The Everygirl Book Club interviews best-selling author V.L. Bovalino about The Second Death of Locke and her new novel, The Thief and the Traitor Bride, which follows Nore Gordon, a spy forced onto a mission with her estranged husband. In “Read Receipts,” Bovalino shares her current reads, recent 5-star reads, and upcoming books she's excited for. She discusses formative influences like Kristin Cashore’s Fire, inspirations ranging from Game of Thrones to The Queen’s Thief, and how her PhD on secondary-world worldbuilding shaped her approach to storytelling. Bovalino recounts her publishing journey, explains the “year of the lady knight,” recommends immersive romance-forward fantasy and historical romance, and talks craft choices including Nore’s non-warrior strengths, shifting perspectives on Grey and Keir, and queer-normative worldbuilding.

00:53 Surreal Success Stories

02:27 Read Receipts Segment

02:43 Current Read Gothic Fantasy

08:59 Formative YA Fantasy

13:09 Influences and Romantasy Roots

16:24 PhD Worldbuilding Deep Dive

21:31 Early Drafts and Evolution

23:00 Publishing Journey Highs and Lows

28:57 Lady Knights

32:53 Reader Prescriptions

44:24 Nore As Unusual Heroine

51:03 Grey And Keir Reframed

55:21 Queer Normative World

01:02:31 Tropes With Fantasy Twist

01:05:37 Building Politics And Magic

01:15:39 Book Three Tease And Stakes

01:18:49 Crafting Romances With Yearning

01:22:49 Subgenre Debate And Farewell

Books Mentioned

• The Second Death of Locke by V. L. Bovalino
• The Thief and the Traitor Bride by V. L. Bovalino
• The Knave and the Moon by Rachel Gillig
• The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig
• Once Was Willem by M. R. Carey
• A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik
• Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
• Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo
• The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera
• Rakesfall by Vajra Chandrasekera
• This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
• Fire by Kristin Cashore
• Graceling by Kristin Cashore
• Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore
• Winterkeep by Kristin Cashore
• Seasparrow by Kristin Cashore
• The Selection by Kiera Cass
• Matched by Ally Condie
• The Queen's Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner
• Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
• Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
• King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo
• Rule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo
• Uprooted by Naomi Novik
• The Winternight Trilogy by Katherine Arden
• Natasha's Dance: A Cultural History of Russia by Orlando Figes
• War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
• For My Lady's Heart by Laura Kinsale
• The Raven Scholar by Antonia Hodgson
• Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri
• Realm of Ash by Tasha Suri
• Six Wild Crowns by Holly Race
• The Beheading Game by Rebecca Lehmann
• The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory
• The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren
• The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow
• The Isle in the Silver Sea by Tasha Suri
• The Princess Knight by Cait Jacobs
• Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid
• Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
• Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan
• Bridgerton series by Julia Quinn

Join The Everygirl Book Club meetings

September 24: It’s Different This Time

• RSVP here

October 25: And He Shall Appear

• RSVP here

December 3: Conform

• RSVP here

January 7: Under Story

• RSVP here

Enjoy the episode? Like and follow The Everygirl Book Club Podcast, leave a rating and review, and share the episode with a fellow reader. Then, join the conversation on Instagram @theeverygirlbookclub for monthly book picks, book recommendations, reading challenges, and more. Fill out this form to submit your own reader prescriptions or request specific discussion topics.

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Lauren and Garri wrap up summer reading for The Everygirl Book Club, share their favorite books, and talk about fall vibes, reading slumps, and why they increasingly prefer Kindles over physical books. They discuss book pop culture, including ACOTAR’s influence on romantasy, evolving genre labels and sexism in categorization, and how fandom theory culture can diminish simple enjoyment. They answer a reader “slump-ender” prompt with fall recommendations spanning cozy rom-coms, witchy/cozy fantasy, and dark academia, then announce upcoming book club picks—It’s Different This Time (Sept), And He Shall Appear (Oct), Conform (Nov), and Understory (Dec).

02:21 Favorite Summer Reads

07:21 Kindle Versus Physical Books

12:04 ACOTAR Chat

22:35 Summer Hits And Misses

29:45 Fall Releases To Watch

31:59 More ACOTAR Release Buzz

40:27 Parasocial Fandoms

48:00 Cozy Fall Romcoms

50:07 Fantasy Girl Fall Picks

52:28 Dark Academia Thrillers

56:46 Book Club Lineup

01:02:15 Wrap Up And Goodbye

Books Mentioned

Retro by Jessica M. Goldstein 

The Good Parts by Evann Normandin

Girls’ Girl by Sonja Feldman

Into the Blue by Emma Brodie 

The Second Death of Locke by V. L. Bovalino

The Thief and the Traitor Bride by V. L. Bovalino

Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke

Daggermouth by H.M. Wolfe

Land by Maggie O'Farrell

Whistler by Ann Patchett 

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett

Theo of Golden by Allen Levi

The Correspondent by Virginia Evans

Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell 

Understory by Chloe Benjamin 

The Gnave and the Moon by Rachel Gillig 

The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig

If It Makes You Happy by Julie Olivia

Belladonna by Adalyn Grace

Rewitched by Lucy Jane Wood

The Likeness by Tana French

Katabasis by R.F. Kuang

Babel by R.F. Kuang

If We Were Villains by M. L. Rio

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

It's Different This Time by Joss Richard — September pick

And He Shall Appear — October pick 

Conform by Ariel Sullivan — November pick

Join The Everygirl Book Club meetings

September 24: It’s Different This Time

• RSVP here
• Use code ‘EGSept26’ for 15% off on Bookshop.org
• Use code ‘TEGBookClub’ for 30% off on Libro.fm

Enjoy the episode? Like and follow The Everygirl Book Club Podcast, leave a rating and review, and share the episode with a fellow reader. Then, join the conversation on Instagram @theeverygirlbookclub for monthly book picks, book recommendations, reading challenges, and more. Fill out this form to submit your own reader prescriptions or request specific discussion topics.

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#10 Kirsten King: Unlikable Heroines, Downward Spirals, and the Perils of Modern Dating

The Everygirl Book Club interviews Kirsten King, author of the summer bonus pick A Good Person, about Lillian’s provocative downward spiral after the death of her situationship, Henry. King discusses embracing polarized reactions to an intentionally unlikable protagonist, her current reads and recommendations for “messy women” books, and how her background in journalism and screenwriting (including using Save the Cat) shaped her debut novel while feeling more creatively exposed than in collaborative film work. She explains writing the book during the 2023 WGA strike, building side characters to reveal Lillian’s flawed POV, and choosing not to give Lillian redemption. The conversation covers modern dating, virtue signaling, therapy-speak, female friendship breakups, LA spirituality, and the Daisy Edgar-Jones/Working Title adaptation. King also previews a 2027 dark-comedy novel about a breakup, AI chatbot companionship, and a self-help podcaster chatbot.

01:26 Unlikable Heroine Talk

03:04 Read Receipts

07:10 BuzzFeed Millennial Era

09:02 From Screen To Novel

12:12 Handling Criticism

16:56 Creating Lillian

28:49 Morally Gray Influences

36:44 Reader Prescriptions

46:35 Building Side Characters

48:47 Etsy Witch Culture

52:11 Modern Dating Morality

55:05 Adaptation Update

56:38 Kirsten's Next Book

59:50 Ranking Morally Grey Characters

01:01:51 LITigation

Books Mentioned

A Good Person by Kirsten King

I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman

200 Monas by Jan Saenz

She's a Lamb by Meredith Hambrook

Salomé by Leslie Baird

Sky Daddy by Kate Folk

Famesick by Lena Dunham

Fruit Fly by Josh Silver

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Bad Marie by Marcy Dermansky

The Guest by Emma Cline

Best Offer Wins by Marisa Kashino

Yellowface by R. F. Kuang

Big Swiss by Jen Beagin

My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante

Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney

Beautiful World, Where Are You? by Sally Rooney

Empire of AI by Karen Hao

Join The Everygirl Book Club meetings

September 24: It’s Different This Time

• RSVP here
• Use code ‘EGSept26’ for 15% off on Bookshop.org
• Use code ‘TEGBookClub’ for 30% off on Libro.fm

Enjoy the episode? Like and follow The Everygirl Book Club Podcast, leave a rating and review, and share the episode with a fellow reader. Then, join the conversation on Instagram @theeverygirlbookclub for monthly book picks, book recommendations, reading challenges, and more. Fill out this form to submit your own reader prescriptions or request specific discussion topics.

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The Everygirl Book Club interviews September pick author Joss Richard about It’s Different This Time, a second-chance romance in which former roommates reconnect after inheriting a New York City brownstone, and her second novel, Let’s Kiss and Tell, about sex columnist Lucy and reporter Marsh entering a fake relationship that turns real. Richard shares recent reads, how she went from childhood fan fiction to drafting her debut in the Notes app during the pandemic, and landing an agent and a fast traditional deal. She discusses imposter syndrome, leaving a TV/marketing job with her husband’s support, writing on deadline, LA dating culture, tropes and miscommunication, answers reader dating dilemmas, and teases a third coastal romance.

00:00 Everygirl Book Club Intro

00:22 Meet Joss Richard

02:06 Read Receipts 

06:58 Curl Routine

09:04 From Fanfic To Notes App

16:55 Romance Shipper Origins

20:56 Publishing Whirlwind

28:21 Writing Book Two

33:33 Reader Advice

53:20 Why Older Romance Leads

56:37 Realistic Romance Ingredients

59:05 Miscommunication Trope Debate

01:03:32 Building LA Media World

01:09:54 Next Book Tease

01:10:54 Litigation

01:14:05 Goodbyes and Book Club Updates

01:14:55 Podcast Sign Off

Books Mentioned

Every Version of You by Natalie Messier

Full Throttle by J.K. MacLaren

Leave and Come Back by Lavanya Lakshmi

Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke

Everyone is Lying to You by Jo Piazza

Shop Let's Kiss and Tell

Buy on Bookshop.org

Buy on Amazon

Join The Everygirl Book Club meetings

September 3: A Good Person

• RSVP here
• Use code ‘EGBonus26’ for 15% off your copy on Bookshop.org
• Use code ‘TEGBookClub’ for 30% off your copy on Libro.fm

September 24: It’s Different This Time

• RSVP here
• Use code ‘EGSept26’ for 15% off on Bookshop.org
• Use code ‘TEGBookClub’ for 30% off on Libro.fm

Enjoy the episode? Like and follow The Everygirl Book Club Podcast, leave a rating and review, and share the episode with a fellow reader. Then, join the conversation on Instagram @theeverygirlbookclub for monthly book picks, book recommendations, reading challenges, and more. Fill out this form to submit your own reader prescriptions or request specific discussion topics.

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Jessica Guerrieri: Motherhood, Writing the Hard Stuff, and Depicting Addiction

The Everygirl Book Club hosts Garri and Lauren interview Jessica Guerrieri, author of Both Can Be True, the August pick, about her novel of estranged sisters Mer and Frankie reunited after a local woman, Brie, goes missing, exploring family secrets and “the many ways women can disappear in plain sight.” They share current reads, recent five-star books, and TBRs, and discuss algorithm-driven recommendations versus browsing bookstores. Guerrieri recounts her roots in a family of English majors, an influential high school teacher, and authors she admires, including Lily King and Barbara Kingsolver. She reflects on publishing, defining success, her sobriety journey, AA community, relapse portrayal, and themes of motherhood, neurodiversity, sisterhood, and identity. She previews her completed book three, The Inheritance of Worry, and book four, which she describes as The Wedding People meet Remarkable Creatures.

00:00 Welcome to Book Club

01:05 Read Receipts 

16:51 Author Origin Story 

22:20 Authors She Admires

26:45 What Publishing is Really Like

33:25 Taking Risks

38:12 Defining Success

40:19 Why This Book Hit

41:50 Building Both Can Be True’s Atmosphere

49:16 Motherhood In Many Forms

01:01:16 Sisterhood And Identity

01:08:57 Recovery And Relapse Truths

01:22:41 What's Next for Jessica 

01:27:31 Farewell and Book Club Announcements

Books mentioned:

Both Can Be True by Jessica Guerrieri

Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by Jessica Guerrieri

It's Different This Time by Joss Richard

The Inheritance of Worry by Jessica Guerrieri

Understory by Chloe Benjamin

The Bee Sting by Paul Murray

Wind Weaver by Julie Johnson

Let's Kiss and Tell by Joss Richard

Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert

A Good Person by Kirsten King

Bad Words by Rioghnach Robinson

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

The Knave and the Moon by Rachel Gillig

The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

A Hymn to Life by Gisèle Pelicot

Join The Everygirl Book Club meetings

August 27: Both Can Be True

• RSVP here
• Use code ‘EGAug26’ for 15% off your copy on Bookshop.org
• Use code ‘TEGBookClub’ for 30% off your copy on Libro.fm

September 3: A Good Person

• RSVP here
• Use code ‘EGBonus26’ for 15% off your copy on Bookshop.org
• Use code ‘TEGBookClub’ for 30% off your copy on Libro.fm

Enjoy the episode? Like and follow The Everygirl Book Club Podcast, leave a rating and review, and share the episode with a fellow reader. Then, join the conversation on Instagram @theeverygirlbookclub for monthly book picks, book recommendations, reading challenges, and more. Fill out this form to submit your own reader prescriptions or request specific discussion topics.

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The Everygirl Book Club hosts are back with summer reading updates, five-star book reviews, and the latest bookish news. They share why Habits of the Sea and The Good Parts earned perfect ratings, give their first impressions of Bad Words, and explain why Broken Dove didn't live up to the hype after loving Silver Elite. Plus, they check in on their Summer Reading Challenge progress, swap recommendations for the perfect late-summer reads, discuss exciting updates from the Fourth Wing universe and Taylor Jenkins Reid, and finally reveal September's Everygirl Book Club pick.

00:00 Everygirl Book Club Intro

00:35 Read Receipts

23:17 Summer Reading Challenge Rules

24:33 Challenge Progress and Picks

25:52 Girls Girl Coming of Age Rec

30:43 More Summer Reads

32:42 Fourth Wing Updates

37:20 TJR New Release

39:28 Reader Prescriptions

45:17 September Pick Reveal

47:41 Litigation Book of Summer Debate

Books mentioned:

Habits of the Sea by Shay Earnshaw

The Unmaking of June Farrow by Adrienne Young

The Good Parts by Evann Normandin

Into the Blue by Emma Brodie

Bad Words by Rioghnach Robinson

Silver Elite by Dani Francis

Broken Dove (follow-up to Silver Elite) by Dani Francis

Love By The Book by Jessica George

Conform by Ariel Sullivan

Beneath (Conform prequel) by Ariel Sullivan

Core (unreleased sequel to Conform)

Girl's Girl by Sonia Feldman

Let's Not Go Overboard Here by Erica Hendry

June Baby by Shannon Garvey

Everyone Is Lying To You by Jo Piazza

The Mash-Up by Laura Marie Meyers

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Threshing Day by Rebecca Yarros

A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) by Sarah J. Maas

The Last Days of Viv and Coco by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid

The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lyon by Beth Brower

The Guest by Emma Cline

Animal by Lisa Taddeo

A Good Person by Kirsten King

Both Can Be True by Jessica Guerrieri

It's Different This Time by Joss Richard

Let's Kiss and Tell by Joss Richard

Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke

The Shampoo Effect by Jenny Jackson

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Join The Everygirl Book Club meetings

August 27: Both Can Be True

• RSVP here
• Use code ‘EGAug26’ for 15% off your copy on Bookshop.org
• Use code ‘TEGBookClub’ for 30% off your copy on Libro.fm

September 3: A Good Person

• RSVP here
• Use code ‘EGBonus26’ for 15% off your copy on Bookshop.org
• Use code ‘TEGBookClub’ for 30% off your copy on Libro.fm

Enjoy the episode? Like and follow The Everygirl Book Club Podcast, leave a rating and review, and share the episode with a fellow reader. Then, join the conversation on Instagram @theeverygirlbookclub for monthly book picks, book recommendations, reading challenges, and more. Fill out this form to submit your own reader prescriptions or request specific discussion topics.

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The Everygirl Book Club hosts an interview with Andy Hunter, founder and CEO of Bookshop.org and publisher of Literary Hub, Bookmarks, and CrimeReads. Andy shares his current reads and recommendations, how books helped him navigate a challenging upbringing, and the formative titles that shaped his life. He discusses the creation of Bookshop.org and its mission to support independent bookstores in the face of Amazon’s dominance, early skepticism from investors, the platform’s rapid pandemic-era growth, and the impact of BookTok on book sales and niche bookstores. Andy also dives into Bookshop’s goals for the future, including improving bookstore technology and expanding independent bookstore access to e-books.

00:00 Welcome and Introductions

00:42 Vacation Reads and ARCs

06:10 How Books Shaped Andy

07:41 Childhood Favorites and Classics

13:03 Raising Readers at Home

15:12 Building Bookshop Against Amazon

20:06 BookTok and Indie Bookstore Boom

26:09 Opening a Bookstore Advice

27:41 Boldness and Embracing Failure

29:46 Anti-Acquisition Guardrails

42:10 Affordable Ethical Reading

45:56 Finding Better Book Recs

49:30 Impact And Future Plans

59:29 Final Thanks And Sign Off

Books mentioned:

Dodge City by Patrick deWitt

French Exit by Patrick deWitt

The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt

A Real Animal by Emeline Atwood

Famous Men by Julie Buntin

I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman

On the Road by Jack Kerouac

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson

Watership Down by Richard Adams

The Tin Drum by Gunter Grass

The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

Charlotte's Web by E.B. White

The Mixed-Up Files of Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg

The Dark is Rising series by Susan Cooper

Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery

Enjoy the episode? Like and follow The Everygirl Book Club Podcast, leave a rating and review, and share the episode with a fellow reader. Then, join the conversation on Instagram @theeverygirlbookclub for monthly book picks, book recommendations, reading challenges, and more. Fill out this form to submit your own reader prescriptions or request specific discussion topics.

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The Everygirl Book Club hosts an interview with author Rachel Lynn Solomon ahead of her novel Extracurricular, about former pop star Ramona Wilder starting college and developing chemistry with her psychology professor, Nick, while trying to escape a toxic, objectifying career and heal from an emotionally abusive mother. Solomon discusses the books that made her want to write (especially Meg Cabot’s The Princess Diaries), her chaotic “Mad Libs” drafting process across YA and adult, and why adult romance allows broader life questions and more explicit content while still modeling healthy desire, consent, and communication for teens. She explains her draw to entertainment settings, researching authentic Los Angeles details, crafting a charged meet-cute, and balancing the professor-student power dynamic by giving Ramona agency. 

00:00 Meet Rachel Lynn Solomon

02:46 Drafting Process

03:55 YA Versus Adult Romance

06:23 Fanfic Reader Origins

09:47 Why Entertainment Settings

14:10 Writing Extracurricular

23:53 Strangers And Meet Cutes

28:17 Fame Persona vs Person

30:40 Balancing Pop and Trauma

34:04 Girlhood and Fandom

39:12 Parasocial Loneliness

44:23 Tropes as Marketing

50:22 Therapy is Sexy

53:10 Book Recs and Farewell

Books Mentioned

The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot

The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon

Business Or Pleasure by Rachel Lynn Solomon

Isn't It Obvious? by Rachel Runya Katz

Fifty Shades Of Grey by E. L. James

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

Warriors Series by Erin Hunter

The Heartbreak Hotel by Ellen O'Clover

If Not You by Ellen O'Clover

Just a Highland Fling by Naina Kumar

Musicians/Artists Mentioned

Taylor Swift

Olivia Rodrigo

Charli XCX

The Smiths

The Cure

One Direction

Enjoy the episode? Like and follow The Everygirl Book Club Podcast, leave a rating and review, and share the episode with a fellow reader. Then, join the conversation on Instagram @theeverygirlbookclub for monthly book picks, book recommendations, reading challenges, and more. Fill out this form to submit your own reader prescriptions or request specific discussion topics.

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#4: The Power of Fandoms, Magical Realism, and Negative Reviews

The Everygirl Book Club hosts interview New York Times bestselling author Ashley Poston about her novel The Someday Garden, in which Sophie, the new head gardener at Lilymoor, discovers a secret garden and a mysterious man trapped inside. Poston explains how growing up in fandom and writing fanfic shaped her voice and led to her magical realism romances. She shares her craft process: using fanfic-style scenarios to test character chemistry, then ensuring the magic serves character growth. Poston reflects on The Seven-Year Slip’s personal origins, its reader-driven “long tail” success, coping with grief while writing it, handling reviews (including a harsh Kirkus line as motivation), researching gardens despite having a “brown thumb,” drafting The Someday Garden’s time-based magic through multiple versions, and teases a forthcoming romantasy duology.

0:00 – Introduction

2:03 – The Dead Romantics & Discovering Romance

6:27 – Fandom, Fanfic & Reylo

12:47 – Characters, Magic & Writing Process

15:35 – The Seven-Year Slip's Success

28:20 – On Reviews, Ratings & Reader Taste

35:20 – The Someday Garden & The Secret Garden

41:12 – Sophie, Grief & the Garden's Magic

47:10 – The Challenge of Writing Time Travel

51:52 – About Time & Character Inspirations

57:23 – Easter Eggs & the Ashley Poston Universe

58:20 – The End of an Era & What's Next

1:00:59 – Book Recommendations & Closing

Books mentioned:

The Someday Garden – Ashley Poston

The Dead Romantics – Ashley Poston

The Seven-Year Slip – Ashley Poston

Heart of Iron – Ashley Poston

Geekerella (Once Upon a Con trilogy) – Ashley Poston

Novel Love Story – Ashley Poston

Bishop Takes King (Hawkeye) – Ashley Poston

Priory of the Orange Tree – Samantha Shannon

Howl's Moving Castle – Diana Wynne Jones

The Secret Garden – Frances Hodgson Burnett

A Little Princess – Frances Hodgson Burnett

Fourth Wing – Rebecca Yarros

Dearly Departed – Chip Ponds

The House of Now and Then – Edward Underhill

The Summer Girlfriend – Kristina Forest

Romantic Hero – Kirsty Greenwood

Movies/TV shows mentioned:

Star Wars (franchise, plus Ashley's upcoming Star Wars novel)

Avatar: The Last Airbender

About Time

Fairy Tale

Dimension 20 / Dropout (TV series)

Enjoy the episode? Like and follow The Everygirl Book Club Podcast, leave a rating and review, and share the episode with a fellow reader. Then, join the conversation on Instagram @theeverygirlbookclub for monthly book picks, book recommendations, reading challenges, and more. Fill out this form to submit your own reader prescriptions or request specific discussion topics.

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Jessica M. Goldstein: The Absurdity of Office Culture, Nostalgia, and Tech Billionaires

The Everygirl Book Club hosts an interview with debut novelist and journalist Jessica M. Goldstein about her novel Retro—a speculative time-travel novel that kept us hooked from the moment we first read the synopsis—discussing “the sickening pain of nostalgia,” escapism, and why female friendships and platonic love are undervalued. Goldstein shares formative childhood reads and describes her affinity for vintage media and film craftsmanship. She explains building Retro’s grounded speculative world—an office-run time-travel agency using a Metro-like system—while setting clear limits, blending satire with serious themes of debt, corporate power, moral responsibility, modern dating, and the need to stay present. Goldstein also reflects on moving from journalism and McSweeney’s satire to speculative fiction, and on crafting an emotionally open ending meant to spark debate.

Chapters

• 00:26 Why Retro hooked us
• 01:15 The books that shaped Jessica as a writer
• 04:12 Developing her love of vintage media
• 10:37 Nostalgia and escapism
• 15:42 Building Retro's world
• 21:46 Offices are actually so weird
• 32:19 Moving from Journalism to Fiction
• 36:35 Laughing at reality
• 44:59 The nostalgia trap
• 46:58 Choosing hope amid uncertainty
• 53:57 Friendship as a lifeline
• 01:02:36 Balancing humor and heart
• 01:08:12 On the importance of staying present

Books Mentioned

• Retro
• Alice in Wonderland
• The Wizard of Oz
• The Phantom Tollbooth
• Peter Pan
• Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan Novels
• Yesteryear

Movies Mentioned

• Dog Day Afternoon
• The Red Shoes
• Before Sunset
• Clueless
• Independence Day
• Argo
• Forrest Gump
• Coco
• You've Got Mail
• When Harry Met Sally
• Sinners
• One Battle After Another
• La Chimera
• The Wolf of Wall Street

TV Shows Mentioned

• Euphoria
• Severance
• Party Down

Enjoy the episode? Like and follow The Everygirl Book Club Podcast, leave a rating and review, and share the episode with a fellow reader. Then, join the conversation on Instagram @theeverygirlbookclub for monthly book picks, book recommendations, reading challenges, and more. Fill out this form to submit your own reader prescriptions or request specific discussion topics.

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