Sorta Awesome

It’s a question that lots of us could spend so much time discussing: what is a book that you think every woman should read? In this bite-size bit of Awesome in the Extra Awesome series, Meg shares her list of five books that SHE thinks should be read by every woman, and she shares some suggestions from the Awesomes, too!

What books would be on your list? Come tell us @sortaawesomeshow on Instagram or in our Sorta Awesome Hangout on Facebook!

Want to find out more about becoming a Super Star Awesome? Get access to hundreds of ad-free episodes created just for our Super Stars (including our Sorta Spicy series!), membership in our Super Stars Facebook community, and start texting with Meg and the Sorta Awesome team! All for $5 a month at Patreon!

SHOW NOTES:

Come As You Are: The Surprising New Science that Will Transform Your Sex Life, Dr. Emily Nagoski

Taking Charge of Your Fertility, Toni Weschler

Cycle Savvy: The Smart Teens Guide to the Mysteries of Her Body, Toni Weschler

The Red Tent, Anita Diamant

The Gift of Fear: Survival Skills that Protect Us from Violence, Gavin De Becker

Daring Greatly: How the Courage to be Vulnerable Transforms the Way we Live, Love, Parent, and Lead, Brene Brown

The Lazy Genius Way, Kendra Adachi

Share Your Stuff, I’ll Go First, Laura Tremaine

Just Mercy, Bryan Stephenson

The Crosswicks Journals, Madeleine L'Engle

Let Your Life Speak, Parker Palmer

The Vagina Bible, Dr. Jen Gunter

The Menopause Manifesto, Dr. Jen Gunter

A Thousand Splendid Suns, Khaled Hosseini

The Bad Muslim Discount, Syed M. Masood

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What are you up to this week, Awesomes? Are you getting ready for some Olympic fun? Wondering what else there is to watch? Looking for a book recommendation? Meg and Kyle have tons of suggestions for what all you can check out this week that will bring more awesome to your life, plus a ton of news stories that you may have missed but you're going to want to hear!

Any Way The Wind Blows, Rainbow Rowell

Dial A for Aunties, Jesse Q. Sutano

Your Own Backyard podcast

Ultra Comfort Waist Utility Shorts

Just Watch

Magnetic Drawing Board

BudgetBytes.com

Sorta Awesome: Olympics Obsessed Group

Guo Gangtang finds his son

Fudge Cake Balls

WHY IS THIS A THING

Want to live in the heart of Awesome? Make sure you've joined us in the Sorta Awesome Hangout Group!

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Summertime and the living is … well, not that easy when you are trying to fight the heat and feed your family! Running out of meal ideas for these long summer days? We’ve got you, friend! Meg and Rebekah share all their best tips, recipes, and meal ideas for everything from fun breakfasts to no-oven dinners to eating on vacation with family. Plus some inspiring decluttering inspo and a great new podcast in Awesome of the Week!

We are THRILLED to announce that our latest Super Star perk is texting with us! Through the Community app, we are able to send texts to our community and communicate back and forth via texting. No bots, no AI, just your friends at Sorta Awesome texting you!

When you sign up to become a Super Star supporter of Sorta Awesome on Patreon, you’ll get access to texting, over 150 bonus episodes to download and binge, new monthly episodes created just for our Super Stars (including our Sorta Spicy series!), and access to our exclusive Facebook group. All for $5/month!

Sign up to become a Super Star Awesome here!

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS:

Headspace: Go to headspace.com/AWESOME for a free one month trial

LinkedIn: Post your first job for free at linkedin.com/AWESOME

Grove: Go to Grove.co/AWESOME and choose a FREE gift (with orders $30 or more).

PlushCare: Go to PlushCare.com/awesome to start your FREE 30-day trial.

SHOW NOTES:

Meg’s AotW: Not Past It podcast

Rebekah’s AotW: cleaning out closet

Grilling:

Ep. 58 Grill It, Girls!

7 Meal Ideas for Leftover Grilled Chicken

Easy Grilled Salmon (and house seasoning!) from The Seasoned Mom

Grilled grilled cheese sandwiches from the Food Network

Slow Cooker:

Creamy Mexican Chicken

Cheesy Pasta & Beef Casserole

Slow Cooker Coconut Curry Chicken

Instant Pot Chicken Fajita Bowls

Instant Pot Iced Tea

Kids Breakfast, Snack, and Lunch ideas

3 ingredient banana pancakes

Apple Peanut Butter Cookies from A Farm Girl Dabbles

Banana nice cream

Chocolate Granola Bars from Foodlets

Kids charcuterie board ideas from Six Sisters Stuff

Vacation Meal Ideas:

Baked Pesto Ravioli

Honey Baked Chicken

Pizza Tot Casserole

Ham & Cheese Sliders with Sweet Mustard Glaze

Homemade Sweet & Sour Salad Dressing

Slow Cooker Cocktail Meatballs

Meal Kit Service like Home Chef. (Use this affiliate link to try Home Chef and get $90 Off. That's $30 off your first two orders and $15 off your third and fourth order.)

You can find Meg on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram!

Find Rebekah on her blog, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!

Visit sortaawesomeshow.com for show notes on this and every episode. And don’t forget to find us in the Sorta Awesome Hangout on Facebook or @sortaawesomeshow on Instagram, and @sortaawesomepod on Twitter!

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Sorta Awesome had to take a little time off last week but we are back with our weekly round-up of everything good in pop culture! This week will leave Twilight fans rejoicing, Rainbow Rowell fans celebrating, #FreeBritney conversations buzzing, and Spotify playlists bumping! And in the weird news department, we’ve got heists and hidden treasure, a big wedding in the Sooner State, and ancient oil wrestling. A little bit of everything for everyone!

Any Way the Wind Blows, Rainbow Rowell

The Ten Thousand Doors of January, Alix E. Harrow

The Four Winds, Kristin Hannah

Called By Name: A Memoir, Anna Shane Stadick

Under the Influence with Jo Piazza

Toxic: The Britney Spears Story

Boil The Frog playlist maker

Saltwater Sandals

National Park Service Facebook account

Cantu Wave Whip Curling Mousse

Mark Zuckerberg Take Me Home

Forrest Fenn treasure heist

Legendary foul ball catch

TikTok’s travel pillow correction

Are you part of the Sorta Awesome Hangout group? Come join us for daily discussions of all things awesome!

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It's Monday and we're here to start your week off with all the awesome you need to know! What to watch this week on streaming, something to listen to when you need help falling asleep, a TON of recommendations from the Awesomes, fascinating and weird news stories ... we've got a fun mix to start the first week of July!

Show notes:

Nothing Much Happens podcast

Drama Queens podcast

Countertop ice maker

Peepers

Recipe for pavlova

Roomba

Sign up for a free trial of Audible and listen to Project Hail Mary

More details on The Book of Courtesans

Find us on Instagram for daily Awesome!

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Have you ever been listening to an episode of Sorta Awesome and thought "Gosh, I wish I could tell them _______!" or "Why don't they know that the name of that movie is  _____?" Have you ever wondered what TikToks we text our friends, or how we let each other know when we just finished an incredible book? 

We are THRILLED to announce that our latest Super Star perk is texting with us! Through the Community app, we are able to send texts to our community and communicate back and forth via texting. No bots, no AI, just your friends at Sorta Awesome texting you!

When you sign up to become a Super Star supporter of Sorta Awesome on Patreon, you’ll get access to texting, over 150 bonus episodes to download and binge, new monthly episodes created just for our Super Stars (including our Sorta Spicy series!), and access to our exclusive Facebook group. All for $5/month!

Sign up to become a Super Star Awesome here!

Show Notes from Awesome Overflow:

Tretinoin information

Foot care kit on Amazon

You can find Meg on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram!

You can find Emily on Instagram!

Visit sortaawesomeshow.com for show notes on this and every episode. And don’t forget to find us in the Sorta Awesome Hangout on Facebook or @sortaawesomeshow on Instagram, and @sortaawesomepod on Twitter!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You know we love any reason to celebrate the everyday around here, and this week, Meg is thrilled to kick off the revived Extra Awesome series with a conversation with Mary Carver about celebrating Christmas in July! Mary returns to Sorta Awesome with some background, inspiration, and ideas and more to get you thinking about making July really special this year with some holiday happiness. Frozen hot chocolate bars, Hallmark holiday movies, homemade cinnamon rolls and more!

Show Notes:

teleparty extension

Listen to Mary’s podcast The Couch with Mary Carver wherever you find your favorite podcasts

Find Mary at her blog or on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter!

You can find Meg on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram!

Visit sortaawesomeshow.com for show notes on this and every episode. And don’t forget to find us in the Sorta Awesome Hangout on Facebook or @sortaawesomeshow on Instagram, and @sortaawesomepod on Twitter!

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We’re just about to wrap up the month of June, and we’ve got a BUNCH of recommendations for you of what to watch, what to read, what to listen to, and fun lifestyle picks! But before that, Meg and Kyle dig into some silly, fascinating, and awesome news stories that you definitely missed in the big headlines!

What to watch on streaming in July 2021

Starstruck HBO MAX

Try Audible Plus (for Project Hail Mary and other good stuff!)

Project Hail Mary

The Stars of Whistling Ridge Amazon | Bookshop

Storygraph App

Sara Thackwray music

Stella and Grace dead sea mud mask

Folex Carpet Spot Remover

La Colombe Coffee Roasters

Cotton Flower Clothing on Etsy

Follow Sorta Awesome on Instagram for daily Awesome including everyday celebrations and birthdays!

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Summer reading season is in FULL SWING, and that means you are probably hearing about great books everywhere you turn. But how many of those books live up to the hype? This week, Meg is joined by Sorta Awesome Regular and author Katie Proctor, and they are here to give you the rundown on which recent books getting lots of buzz actually live up to all the hype! Plus a fun summer beauty pick and vicarious travel in Awesome of the Week!

BECOME A SORTA AWESOME SUPER STAR! This summer, treat yourself to our exclusive Patreon content and catch up on our latest Sorta Spicy series, enjoy monthly Awesome Overflow episodes and hang with other Super Stars in our Facebook community!

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS:

Moink: Go to Moinkbox.com/AWESOME to get FREE bacon for a year

Bombas:  Go to bombas.com/AWESOME and get 20% off your first purchase

Brightside: Go to brightside.com/AWESOME and take your free mental health assessment and get up to one hundred dollars credit on your first month of treatment

Zocdoc: Go to zocdoc.com/AWESOME and download the Zocdoc app to sign up for free and book a top-rated doctor.

SHOW NOTES:

Katie's AotW: Thrive Causemetics Brilliant Eye Brightener

Meg AotW:

Vicarious Voyager

WeDoFunThings on TikTok @rooftopreviews

Adult contemporary fiction:

A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes Amazon | Bookshop

Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller Amazon | Bookshop

Circe by Madeline Miller Amazon | Bookshop

Olympus, TX by Stacey Swann Amazon | Bookshop

Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid Amazon | Bookshop

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo Amazon | Bookshop

Daisy Jones and the Six also by TJR Amazon | Bookshop

One, Two, Three by Laurie Frankel Amazon | Bookshop

Project Hail Mary, Andy Weir Amazon | Bookshop

The Last Thing He Told Me, Laura Dave Amazon | Bookshop

Non-fiction:

Broken, Jenny Lawson Amazon | Bookshop

Live Your Life, Amanda Kloots Amazon | Bookshop

Middle Grade:

Hand in Hand, Katie Proctor Amazon | Bookshop

Amari and the Night Brothers by BB Alston Amazon | Bookshop

Just Like That by Gary D. Schmidt Amazon | Bookshop

Mentioned:

The Wednesday Wars, Gary D. Schmidt Amazon | Bookshop

Okay for Now, Gary D. Schmidt Amazon | Bookshop

Young Adult:

A Pho Love Story by Loan Le Amazon | Bookshop

Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley Amazon | Bookshop

Tokyo Ever After, Emiko Jean Amazon | Bookshop

You can find Meg on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram!

You can find Katie at her website or on Facebook and Instagram! And be sure to check out her latest book Hand in Hand!

Visit sortaawesomeshow.com for show notes on this and every episode. And don’t forget to find us in the Sorta Awesome Hangout on Facebook or @sortaawesomeshow on Instagram, and @sortaawesomepod on Twitter!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Happy mid-week, friends! We've got the scoop on all the stories you might have missed in the past few weeks. Instead of bumming you out, however, the stories we cover will keep you looped in on the inspiring, the silly, and the plain old weird. Tune in to hear Meg and Kyle give you your serotonin fix for the week!

Don't forget to follow Sorta Awesome on Instagram for daily celebrations and birthday wishes!

A few links:

Gorilla and human moms bonding at the zoo

Florida Man's birthday prank

JLo's mom weighs in on Bennifer

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