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 TimeFamous Last WordsEveryone in my Family Has Killed SomeoneYou Can RunStation Eleven, The Glass Hotel, and Sea of TranquilityThe Ministry of TimeConclavePALATE CLEANSERS: A Witch's Guide to...

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/titlerequestHBO – https://help.hbomax.com/us-en/Home/IndexHULU – https://hel...

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 l...

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 f...

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...

Today, we're previewing our most anticipated fall 2025 book releases! Plus a bunch of recent reads.

Today we're revisiting Mary Pope Osborne's Magic Treehouse series for a Reading Rewind episode! PLUS: Is Stephanie Meyer going to release a Jacob and Renesmee sequel for the 20th anniversary of the Twilight saga? And personal updates from Emily & Abigail to round out the episode. Stay tuned to the end for a plethora of book recommendations. Recent Reads: Real Life by Brandon TaylorSay a Little Prayer by Jenna VorisNever Let Me Go by Kazuo IshiguroSky Daddy by Kate ...

We take stock of our reading lives at the halfway point of the year, discussing our progress toward reading 100 books, favorite and least favorite reads, and what's on our TBR lists. Recent Reads: And They Were Roommates by Page PowersThe Rose Code by Kate QuinnChain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-BrenyahHold Me Tight by Sue Johnson If you like our candid conversations and unedited thoughts, go on to Spotify or Apple Podcasts, leave us a five-star review, and let us know that you l...

Today we're discussing the world of celebrity pap walks featuring the celebs and their books. From Sarah Jessica Parker (who always seems to be caught with a book) to Timmy C. on the subway reading Dune to a SPIRITED debate over the Bradley Cooper-Suki Waterhouse Lolita fiasco... We've got it all. We're also discussing the recent trailer for Project Hail Mary (hello!!!!!) and the teaser/release date for People We Meet on Vacation. PLUS Recent Reads: Rules for Second Chances ...

Join us for our highly competitive Pride Month book draft! We each take turns selecting our team of favorite books about queer characters and/or authors who are LGBTQIA+. Team Abigail: The Song of Achilles by Madeline MillerHere We Go Again by Alison CochrunHeartstopper by Alice OsemanAtmosphere by Taylor Jenkins ReidTeam Emily: The Pairing by Casey McQuistonA Lady for a Duke by Alexis HallThe Celebrants by Steven RowleyTime to Shine by Rachel ReidFor even more of us gushing...

It's time for another jam-packed Book Talk episode! We catch up on our recent reads, from Abigail's recent Emily Henry reread journey to five-star favorites and recent DNFs, plus discuss the controversial marketing of fanfiction in traditional publishing. Abigail's complete (revised) Emily Henry reread rankings: Funny StoryHappy Place Beach ReadPeople We Meet on Vacation Book Lovers Great Big Beautiful Life Plus, we're covering: Recent DNFs including Fir...

We're joined by dear Friend of the Show Colleen to discuss Careless People by Sarah Wynn-Williams. This book details Sarah's account of her time working for Facebook, and it is definitely explosive. We're recapping the highlights and horrifying revelations including: shark attacks, private planes, Settlers of Catan, Zika virus, global politics, and more. Read the book & join along, or listen to our recap as a ;tldr version of events. Either way, we hope you'll enjoy this book club ...

Today's episode is all about our picks for your beach reads this year! As a reminder, the beach is a closed ecosystem and what you read there does not transcend into other realms. Like the airport, nothing matters here. Read your crazy books, be free, have fun. BEACH READS: Bull Moon Rising by Ruby DixonFunny Story by Emily HenryThe Fake Boyfriend Fiasco by Talia HibbertGravity & The Other Side of the Story by Tal BauerHere We Go Again by Alison CochrunYou With a View by...

Join us for a deep dive of Emily Henry's newest release, Great Big, Beautiful Life! Plus a discussion of upcoming releases, movie adaptations, and casting for Sunrise on the Reaping. If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a five-star review on Spotify or Apple Podcasts, follow us on Instagram and Bluesky at @readirectpodcast, and share our show with a friend. Recent Reads: Trial of the Sun Queen by Nisha TuliDeep Cuts by Holly BrickleyPlus a sh*t ton of hockey romances...

We're here with a short and hilarious episode that had us CRYING laughing on multiple occasions. Today, we're sharing our unpopular bookish opinions, as well as the unpopular opinions of listeners & strangers on Reddit. Want to help us grow our community of book loving nerds? Leave us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, follow us on Instagram and Bluesky at @redirectpodcast, and share the show with a friend! Recent Reads: Deep End by Ali HazelwoodFamous Last...

SPOILER ALERT! We will be discussing this book in exhaustive details, proceed with caution! Today, we're doing a deep dive on Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins. The raw audio for this episode was over an hour and a half long, and it still somehow feels like we barely scratched the surface. There's so much to unpack with this new Hunger Games prequel. Tune in to hear our thoughts, reactions, and speculations. Recent Reads: The Roommate Risk by Talia HibbertThe Cadence...

We're seven years late to reading Sally Rooney's Normal People, a time capsule that takes us back to the 2010s and explores the complex relationship between two Irish teenagers as they navigate high school, college, and early adulthood. If you've been enjoying the podcast, we would humbly ask that you support us in a few very simple ways. Leave us a five-star review on Apple Podcasts, follow us on Instagram and Bluesky at @readirectpodcast, and share our show with a friend. Tune in for ...

Warning: This Episode is Cursed! Just kidding, but seriously, we tried recording this episode like three separate times and it felt like the forces of nature were conspiring against us! Even in the middle of this recording, we both got phone calls randomly, which we left part of the audio in for so you can see how truly chaotic this episode was. Anyway, we've read a lot lately! If you want the name of the fanfiction I (Emily) bleeped out, feel free to DM us but I can't just put my busin...

This episode may sound familiar, because it is! Tune in for a timely re-release of this older episode where we discuss our favorite banned and challenged books. This episode felt relevant when we first recorded it, and even more so now. We hope you'll consider adding some of our faves to your TBR in 2025! Team Abigail: The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret AtwoodLooking for Alaska by John GreenThe Complete Persepolis by Marjane SatrapiTeam Emily: A Lesson Before Dying by Ern...

Today, we're putting the ROMA into ROMAntasy with an Onyx Storm deep dive. We yapped for an hour and a half and it still wasn't enough to figure out what happened in this book & theorize what's going to come next. Join us on this journey with our favorite shadow daddy Xaden & clueless heroine Violet. Plus, recent reads: Flirting with Disaster by Naina KumarTrial of the Sun Queen by Nisha J. TuliPlus - follow us on Instagram and Bluesky at @readirectpodcast.