We Read That

Hey all! This is the first of many "Beyond the Pod" drops, where either Jenny or Dani talk about books they enjoy not for the pod. Today, Jenny shares her thoughts on R.F. Kuang's Taipei Story (2026), what worked for her, what did not, and why she decided to read it.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Follow us on the socials: linktr.ee/wereadthat

Thank you for your support!

Disclaimer 1: We mix up a protagonist's name. Just roll with it. Don't be mad at us.

Disclaimer 2: This is an episode that discusses sexual assault, child death, postpartum psychosis/anxiety/depression.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

SPOILER FILLED EPISODE!

Jenny and Dani talk about Jodi Picoult's newest novel Hollow Bones (2026), which intertwines a story about 9/11 with the very relevant issue of postpartum psychosis and women's mental health generally. It's a tough topic to discuss, and Jenny was genuinely excited about the release of the book. She even went - and talks a bit about it on the pod - to a book tour stop. However, both Jenny (as a long-time fan) and Dani (as a Picoult novice) struggle with this novel and do not enjoy it at all: but they do present legitimate reasons (in their opinion). It's a bit of a different episode and it is filled with spoilers, so listeners be aware. The ladies would love to hear from you and your opinions on this book!

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Show Notes:

Socials: linktr.ee/wereadthat

Email: [email protected]

Stop the presses! Dani does not like Chief Inspector Armand Gamache. THE Chief Inspector Armand Gamache. She also does not not like him. It's more so that we ponder the big question: Does Armand Gamache in Louise Penny's first novel of the series (2005) ACTUALLY solve the murder? Or are his underlings and Clara the smartest folks in the room? And should Three Pines be a character on its own? And what actually makes a good detective series?

Jenny is mostly appalled throughout the episode because she loves Louise Penny and the series. The ladies contemplate quitting the pod. Mostly Jenny. And mostly internally. :D

In other parts of the pod: Jenny outnerds herself by reading essentially Angela Merkel Fan Fiction. And Dani likes lawyers that do their lawyering in cars.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Shownotes:

All the socials: linktr.ee/wereadthat

EMAIL: [email protected]

Upcoming books:

Disappoint Me by Nicola Dinan

Hollow Bones by Jodi Picoult

A Thousand Monstrous Forms by Saratoga Schaefer

Jenny and Dani are back discussing the new Riley Sager novel "The Unknown" (2026). They make a vow to not spoil anything, so no spoilers for this new twisty McTwist Twister novel that takes its readers to a remote island where a cast of actresses are rehearsing for an upcoming movie. The ladies dive deep into method acting (even though they are not actresses), the spiritual world, and whether scarfs and ascots are pretentious.

In other parts of the episode, Jenny reveals that Casino is an intellectual movie and that Robert DeNiro is actually hot. Dani asks the question whether there are some books we ought to read and how we feel about that. And lastly, once again, your favorite podcast hosts do not spoil this book. Please clap.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Show notes:

All of our Socials: linktr.ee/wereadthat

WE HAVE an EMAIL ADDRESS: [email protected] WRITE TO US. SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS.

Also - thank you for all your on-going support. Tell a friend or two about us. Please and thank you.

Life got in the way. Sometimes that happens. New episode will be out next week!

We are rereleasing a favorite episode of ours: the season 1 finale. In it we talk about Caro Claire Burke's smash hit Yesteryear (2026), which puts a new and exciting spin on the tradwife culture. Quite timely and full of amazing issues to discuss.

Enjoy!

Follow us on the socials everywhere: linktr.ee/wereadthat

We appreciate your support :)

Hello, hello, hello .... Dani and Jenny are back with a new episode, discussing one of Joyce Carol Oates' YA Novels, Big Mouth and Ugly Girl (2002). It's a book that Jenny picked out for a book report in High School approx. 50 years ago, prompting a long discussion between the ladies on what these two had to read in school and why (or did they even read them or just enjoy the cliff notes?). Jenny goes on a long nostalgia journey, reminiscing about her scary English teacher (growing up in Germany), and Dani draw comparisons between this older YA novel and Robert Pattinson's latest movie The Drama. Yes, she makes it possible to connect the two - in an actual coherent way.

Elsewhere, Jenny and Dani try to figure out why they might not enjoy YA novels generally or what it is about them that might not click with these two geriatric podcast hosts. Fun as always is abound.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Note: This episode discusses school violence and suicidal ideation.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Thank you - as always - for your support. Tell your friends about us. We have run out of friends and can no longer force our social circle to subscribing to our weekly chats.

All the socials: linktr.ee/wereadthat

Welcome back! This week Dani and Jenny tackle a historical fiction/fantasy novel, "The Girl with a Thousand Faces" by Sunyi Dean (2026). Although Jenny initially thought Dani was dragging her into a fantasy pit, ultimately this novel deals with war memory, trauma, and grief in Hong Kong (Kowloon specifically) after World War 2. Dani appreciates the discussion of grief and how Dean conveys the complexities of the process of grieving and healing, and Jenny loses herself in monologues about (war) memory culture and remembrance, which are part of her field of research. Win win win win all around.

Elsewhere, in yet another discussion about booktok trends, our two hosts once again concede that they do not like conformity and do not want to be told what to read in what season of the year.

For fans of historical fiction, fantasy, ghost stories, but also deep family based narrative, this episode has a lot in stock for them. Enjoy!

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Thank you for all your support! Please follow us on our socials and like/subscribe/tell a friend: linktr.ee/wereadthat

-----------------------------------------------------------------

If you'd like to read along, here are our September books:

The Girl With a Thousand Faces (Sunyi Dean)

Big Mouth and Ugly Girl (Joyce Carol Oates)

The Unknown (Riley Sager)

Still Life (Louise Penny)

Disappoint Me (Nicola Dinan)

Welcome back! This week, Dani and Jenny are diving into Julia Langbein's new novel Dear Monica Lewinsky (2026). The book tells the story of Jean, who in her 40s, (re)processes an encounter she at age 19 with her professor on a research trip in France. She realizes that her entanglement occurred at the same time as the Lewinsky/Clinton scandal become public news. Drawing parallels between the two cases, Jean conjures Saint Monica (Lewinsky) who shepherds her through this reflection process, using a wild amount of humor, "poetry", and quite a lot of art history. An amazing read that even got Dani out of her reading slump! Score!

Elsewhere in the episode, Jenny essentially does her tight five minutes on relationships, Bill Belichick, and creepy chumy chumchum professors. Both an intellectual and audible delight (definitely, has to be, maybe?). In their weekly book question, Dani becomes the superior heroine while Jenny easily perishes in any - ever so slightly- uncomfortable (book trope) environment. TLDR: it's a good episode.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Thank you for all your support! We love to have you around. Keep listening. Keep telling your friends about how awesome we are.

All the links: linktr.ee/wereadthat

--------------------------------------------------------------

Jenny and Dani are back, having read a Sarah Gailey's Make Me Better (2026). It's a cult book. The ladies encounter their first fiction about cults. And it is a doozy. They dive into all things the people of Kindred Cove accept has their reality, and how they lure in vulnerable people to perpetuate their crazy goals. If you like cults and all the creepiness that comes with, this is your episode.

Dani brings movie adaptations back to the table, yes Dungeon Crawler Carl comes up, to education Jenny on fancasting and IPhone face. It is never too late to learn new things. When I look at you, I see someone expanding their horizons.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks for all your support! We just hit a 100 followers on Spotify, which we think is BONKERS b/c we don't know 100 people, so it this point it is definitely new friends who are joining the party. Like and subscribe and tell a friend. Or two!

All our socials: linktr.ee/wereadthat

Disclaimer! Jenny had to record from the middle of nowhere and had issues with the audio. We did our best to fix it, but ... please be kind b/c the conversation is still funny, engaging, and full of the usual shenanigans.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

We are back! Jenny and Dani are talking about Evelyn Clarke's The Ending Writes Itself (2026), a new murder mystery book by V.E. Schwab and Cat Clarke.

Dani and Jenny attempt to define what a good mystery is ... hopefully, they somehow succeed. When it comes to the book of the week, though, Dani has a lot of thoughts and feelings about happenstance, divine intervention, and whether the title actually makes sense. Spoilers abound.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Thank you for supporting us!

linktr.ee/wereadthat --> Like and Subscribe! Tell a friend! Tell more than one friend!