We recap Episode 3 of Heated Rivalry! 

You can follow us on Instagram and Bluesky at @readirectpodcast. You can follow Emily on all platforms at @emilyrojasreads and Abigail on TikTok at @fabigail11.

It's not quite the end of 2025, but we're checking in for our annual year-in-review episode. 

We celebrate a breakout year of reading and real talk: how to hit big number goals, diversify authors with intention, and find joy reading. We share five-star favorites, surprising hits, and a few fears about the 2026 release drought (let's not talk about how no new books are coming from Ali Hazelwood, Casey McQuiston, Talia Hibbert, Alison Cochrun, OR Emily Henry so far in 2026 - SAVE US!!!) 

Follow us on Instagram and Bluesky at @readirectpodcast. Emily is on Instagram and TikTok @emilyrojasreads, and Abigail is on TikTok @fabigail11. 

See you later this week for another Heated Rivalry Bonus Episode !!!! 

We're popping in with a check-in chat quickly discussing our initial thoughts on episodes one and two of Heated Rivalry! 

This long-awaited adaptation is finally here. If you were sick of us (Emily, mostly, let's be honest) before, it's only going to get worse from here! 

In this brief bonus episode, we're talking our expectations, viewing experiences, initial reactions, and even discussing the popularity of MM romance as a genre. 

Let us know what you thought & if you'd like us to keep doing this for future episodes. We are ever at your service <3 

Follow us on Instagram and Bluesky at @readirectpodcast. 

You can also follow Emily on TikTok and Instagram at @emilyrojasreads and Abigail is on TikTok at @fabigail11. 

Want to gift a book this holiday season, but not sure where to start? Tune in to today's episode for a thoughtful, curated holiday gift guide. Plus the Goodreads Book Awards, recent reads, and more. 

In honor of the 20th anniversary of Twilight's release AND to commemorate our origins as a podcast, today's episode is all about Twilight! Hear our experiences attending screenings in the theater and our updated thoughts now that we are fully formed adults and not Edward-obsessed tweens. Plus Emily's 14-year-old self's unedited thoughts on the Breaking Dawn of it all. 

Read: Why We Love (and Hate) Twilight by Sarah Gallagher

Recent Reads: 

• Fearing the Black Body: The Racial Origins of Fat Phobia by Sabrina Strings
• Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May
• We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer
• The Brightness Between Us by Eliot Schrefer

Follow us on Instagram and Bluesky at @readirectpodcast! You can also email us at [email protected] 

If you really, really love the show, feel free to leave us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Or (even better) share our show with a friend and help us grow our community of book loving nerds.

We're back with another series of book recommendations as submitted by our listeners! 

PLUS: Breaking news from Abigail, recent reads, Mate reactions, the Louvre heist (???) and more chaos! 

BOOK REC LINKS: 

• Heated Rivalry 
• The Long Game 
• COZY MYSTERIES: 
  • Wrong Place Wrong Time
  • Famous Last Words
  • Everyone in my Family Has Killed Someone
  • You Can Run
  • Station Eleven, The Glass Hotel, and Sea of Tranquility
  • The Ministry of Time
  • Conclave
• PALATE CLEANSERS: 
  • A Witch's Guide to Magical Inkeeping
  • Summer Romance
  • Ali Hazelwood
  • The Raven Boys
  • Kiss Her Once for Me
  • wading in waist-high water
• TRICK YOUR PARENTS: 
  • Margo's Got Money Troubles
  • Beartown 
  • Wool 
  • Careless People 
  • Leave the World Behind
  • The Will of the Many
• LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND: 
  • Bride and Mate 
  • Wolfsong
  • Fourth Wing
  • Brown Sisters Trilogy 
  • The Duke and I 
  • The Paradise Trilogy
• HOLIDAY BOOK RECS: 
  • Winter Street
  • Only Santas in the Building
  • Merry Inkmas
  • The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year
  • Time to Shine
  • A Home for the Holidays 

We're back for a chill book talk episode where Emily is definitely not going insane about Heated Rivalry for the 40th time this year.  

We catch up after travel, compare notes on The Thursday Murder Club film, and share a stack of recent reads. 

Here for the links? 

• Request Heated Rivalry on your favorite streaming services. DO IT FOR EMILY IF NOTHING ELSE!!!! 
  • NETFLIX – https://help.netflix.com/en/titlerequest
  • HBO – https://help.hbomax.com/us-en/Home/Index
  • HULU – https://help.hulu.com/feedback
  • Amazon Prime – https://digprjsurvey.amazon.com/api/feedbacks/AIV/website
• Heated Rivalry official trailer
• Heated Rivalry and The Long Game books
• Thursday Murder Club book
• wading in waist-high water by colgatemintybluegel 

Recent Reads

• Play Nice by Rachel Harrison
• The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas
• The Beartown Trilogy by Fredrick Backman
• Come & Get It by Kiley Reid
• Tough Guy by Rachel Reid
• The Compound by Aisling Rowle
• The Fall by Tal Bauer

Join us for a discussion on Jen Hatmaker's newest book, Awake. Unlike our other book club episodes, this is less deep dive and more vibes based discussion. That's because we enthusiastically recommend reading this book for yourself and then coming back to join us for our discussion. 

You're more than welcome to use this as a TLDR, and trust we are spilling the tea, but it is also impossible for us to capture the true generosity, beauty, and impact of this book in one simple episode. So listen & read & enjoy! 

PLUS Twilight non-news, a buzzy Wuthering Heights trailer, and adaptations we’re excited to watch (*ahem* HEATED RIVALRY!!!!) 

Important Links

• Stephenie Meyer Q&A Livestream recording
• Rachel Reid Blog Post - An Attempt to be Earnest

Recent Reads

• Little Bosses Everywhere by Bridget Read
• Why We Love (and Hate) Twilight by Sarah Elizabeth Gallagher
• Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
• Every Step She Takes by Alison Cochrun
• To the Moon and Back by Eliana Ramage

Leave us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, follow @readirectpodcast on Instagram and Bluesky. Share our show with a friend because that is by far the best way to grow our community of book-loving nerds! 

Today, we're doing a deep dive into Christine Brown Woolley's memoir, Sister Wife. As longtime fans of TLC's Sister Wives, we were SEATED for this tell-all from Christine. Read along or listen in for our TLDR version of this explosive book. 

Plus recent read from Emily, Beartown by Fredrick Backman

Follow us on Instagram and Bluesky at @readirectpodcast, and if you're loving the show, please leave us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Sharing our show with a friend is by far the best way to grow our community of book-loving nerds!

In honor of Back to School season, we're drafting our teams of our favorite fictional schools from literature, discussing what makes these educational settings compelling, terrifying, and gossip-worthy.
 

Team Emily 

• One-room schoolhouse from The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah 
• Shiz from Wicked by Gregory Maguire 
• Hawkings Independent School from The Cadence of Part-Time Poets by mostwolo 
• Elligham Academy from the Truly Devious Series by Maureen Johnson 

Team Abigail 

• Forks High School from the Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer 
• Catenan Academy from The Will of the Many by James Islington 
• Basgiath War College from Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros 
• Crunchem Hall Elementary from Matilda by Roald Dahl 

Recent Reads 

• Love is a War Song by Danica Nava 
• Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield 
• Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe 
• Wolfsong by TJ Klune 

We'd love to hear which fictional school you'd want to attend! Comment on our Instagram or Bluesky @readirectpodcast, or leave us a note on Spotify!