Episode 15: Reading for Mental Health + Trigger Warnings

RAD Reading Podcast
Episode #15 

Episode Title: Reading for Mental Health + Trigger Warnings

Release Date: January 21, 2022

Episode Summary:

This week we’re chatting about how books can help our mental health, the kinds of books that work best for us when we’re feeling anxious or down, and we’re discussing the practice of putting trigger warnings in books. Also, we have our RAD Reading Recs of the week plus a few bonus picks!

Spoiler Alert: Spoiler for the book The Push by Ashley Audrain at 42:55, skip ahead one minute to 43:55 mark if you don’t want a spoiler.

Listen above or in your favorite podcast app:

• Apple podcasts

• Audible

• Spotify

• Acast  

• Or add to your favorite podcast app with their “Add by URL” feature and paste this link there: https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/rad-reading

Highlights: 

• Roni got a puppy and is feeling loopy from lack of sleep

• Why waiting rooms can be a gift

• Reading and health

• Goat yoga but with teeth

• Calgon, take me away reading moments

• Dark stories in dark times

• Bibliotherapy is a real thing and a cool word

• Someone send Roni recs for dog-themed essay collections!

• That “this is me” feeling when reading

• How A Wrinkle In Time found Dawn at the exact right moment

• Romance, weirdness, and acceptance

• Thoughts on menage and laundry

• The beauty of the guaranteed ending

• Dawn throws shade at Nicholas Sparks (do people still say “throw shade”?)

• Romance vs. “a love story”

• Genre mystery vs. literary mystery vs. cozy mystery

• Dawn’s Apollo 13 anxiety

• Sometimes sad moods and happy comedic books are a bad mix

• What is a trigger warning? 

• Are trigger warnings spoilers?

• Transcending our GenX-ness (but Roni’s not giving up her Doc Martens)

• Our personal experiences with triggers in books

• Roni wants a “Does this book have…?” database

• Different ways authors handle trigger warnings

• Roni let Dawn down by not giving her a trigger warning for a movie

• Bonus books recs 

• The RAD Reading Recs of the week

• Stay tuned for bloopers!

*episode spoilers ahead*

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*Note: all book links are affiliate links which means the podcast makes a small commission if you make a purchase, but there is no extra cost to you!

Books recommended by Roni:

• Smooth Talking Cowboy by Maisey Yates

Books recommended by Dawn:

• Marrying My Billionaire Boss by Nadia Lee

• Beauty and the Assassin by Nadia Lee

RAD Reading Recs of the Week: 

• Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb (Roni Rec)

• Kiss and Tell by Maya Hughes

Other books mentioned:

• Wanderers by Chuck Wendig

• The Girlfriend’s Guide to Pregnancy by Vicki Iovine

• A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L’Engle

• Yes & I Love You by Roni Loren

• What If You & Me by Roni Loren

• Captivated by Tessa Bailey and Eve Dangerfield

• Melt Into You by Roni Loren

• When the Stars Go Dark by Paula McLain

• One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid

• Make Me Whole by Marie Johnston

• The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

• The Push by Ashley Audrain

Other things mentioned:

• Healthline article on reading and blood pressure

• Roni’s Romantic Movie Marathon

• Does the dog die? Website (has other triggers too for movies)

• Ghostbusters: Afterlife

• Infinity War

• End Game

Find us online:

RAD Reading on Instagram

RAD Reading Facebook Page

The full list of RAD Reading Recs from every episode

Connect with Roni on her website or @roniloren on Instagram

Connect with Dawn on her website or @dawnalexanderbooks on Instagram

Another note: Because we are both in the publishing industry, sometimes the books we recommend might be by an author we know personally, an author who shares a publisher, editor, or agent with Roni, or an author whom Dawn has edited. Publishing is a small world, so that will happen from time to time. However, we guarantee that we only recommend books we love. We have not been asked to promote any of these books and none are paid ads. However, some books we review may be ARCs (advanced reading copies provided by publishers to reviewers for honest reviews.)

Episode 14: Get It Together in 2022 - Our Favorite Planners & Self-Improvement Books

RAD Reading Podcast
Episode # 14

Episode Title: Get It Together in 2022: Our Favorite Planners & Self-Improvement Books

Release Date: January 7, 2022

Episode Summary:

It’s that time of year, and we’re so here for it. Join us as we get all ourselves together for 2022. We’re sharing which planners we’re using to set goals and organize our year, and then we’re recommending our favorite self-improvement books for improving your home life, reducing distractions, getting control of your time, and boosting your creativity. We’ve got a long list! Plus, as always, we’ll be sharing our RAD Recs of the week.

Listen above or in your favorite podcast app:

• Apple podcasts

• Audible

• Spotify

• Acast  

• Or add to your favorite podcast app with their “Add by URL” feature and paste this link there: https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/rad-reading

Highlights: 

• We’ve both ditched the planners we’ve used in the past and switched to new ones

• Which planners we’re using this year – and yes, there are multiple planners because we contain multitudes, okay. No one planner can contain us! ;) 

• Roni’s a pushy planner person

• How Dawn lost many hours of her life…planning her planner

• A "happy life" planner

• Dawn made a stencil journal

• Roni is learning to “use the things”

• Roni apparently needs a lot of self-help while Dawn only needs a little

• Books really can fix things

• Books for improving your home life

• Pondering deep questions like “why am I folding my underwear?”

• Books that helped us reduce distractions and tame social media/staring at our phones all the time

• Books that help you take back your time 

• Books that give you a creativity boost

• Our RAD Reading Recs of the week 

• We still can't say “RAD Reading Rec” without stumbling on our words

• An important change to the podcast

**spoilers ahead**

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*Note: all book links are affiliate links which means the podcast makes a small commission if you make a purchase, but there is no extra cost to you!

Books recommended by Roni:

• Happier at Home by Gretchen Rubin

• Organizing Solutions for People with ADHD by Susan C. Pinksy

• The Joy of Less by Francine Jay

• Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport

• How to Break Up With Your Phone: The 30-Day Plan to Take Back Your Life by Catherine Price

• Essentialism by Greg McKeown

• Off the Clock by Laura Vanderkam

• Make Time by Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky

• Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert

• Keep Going: 10 Ways to Stay Creative In Good Times and Bad by Austin Kleon

Books recommended by Dawn:

• The Me Project by Kathi Lipp

• Organize Your Way: Simple Strategies for Every Personality by Katie and Kelly McMenamin

• Unf*ck Your Habitat: You’re Better Than Your Mess by Rachel Hoffman

• Dear Writer, Are You In Burnout? By Becca Syme

RAD Reading Recs of the Week: 

• Captivated by Tessa Bailey and Eve Dangerfield

• Love & Other Words by Christina Lauren

Other things mentioned:

Rocketbook notebook

Roni’s Romantic Movie Marathon in her newsletter

Roni’s blog and her posts on digital detoxing and device-free summers

Roni’s Fighting for Focus class

Planners mentioned:

Day Designer

Cloth & Paper planner

Cloth & Paper subscription box

Powersheets

Sarra Cannon’s HB90 system

Ban.do planner

Doodlelove year at a glance poster

Passion Planner

Agendio planner

Bloom planner

Plum Paper planners

Find us online:

RAD Reading on Instagram

RAD Reading Facebook Page

RAD Rec Master List

Connect with Roni on her website or @roniloren on Instagram

Connect with Dawn on her website or @dawnalexanderbooks on Instagram

Another note: Because we are both in the publishing industry, sometimes the books we recommend might be by an author we know personally, an author who shares a publisher, editor, or agent with Roni, or an author whom Dawn has edited. Publishing is a small world, so that will happen from time to time. However, we guarantee that we only recommend books we love. We have not been asked to promote any of these books and none are paid ads. However, some books we review may be ARCs (advanced reading copies provided by publishers to reviewers for honest reviews.)

Episode 7: Fuzzy Sock Books - Reading for Comfort

RAD Reading Podcast
Episode # 7 Reading Why

Episode Title: Fuzzy Sock Books - Reading for Comfort

Release Date: November 12, 2021

Grab your fuzzy socks, cozy blanket, and a cup of something warm. Today is all about fuzzy sock books, AKA comfort reading. We’re talking about the types of books that lend themselves best to comfort reading, sharing cozy bookish activities, and then giving you a pile of recommendations to snuggle up with, including our RAD recs of the week! 

Listen above or in your favorite podcast app:

• Apple podcasts

• Audible

• Spotify

• Acast  

• Or add to your favorite podcast app with their “Add by URL” feature and paste this link there: https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/rad-reading

Highlights: 

• Our favorite comfort reading categories

• The odd things we see posted on the neighborhood pages in our small towns

• Black moments vs. gray moments in a story

• What’s comforting can vary widely from person to person

• To reread or not to reread

• Watching the movie/TV show of a book (gasp!) first

• Dawn’s daughter’s shocking reading habit

• Roni’s deep secret she keeps from her husband ;)

• Comforting bookish activities

• Dawn gives us an update on her book journaling

• Dawn hunting down hero-inspired body wash

• Roni’s book-inspired food emergency

• Bookish girls’ night out 

• Our cozy book recommendations

• Roni is shocked--no, like literally with electricity--and blows out her microphone

• Our RAD Reading Recs of the week

*episode spoilers ahead*

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Books recommended by Roni:

• Hope for the Holidays by Alison Kent

• Lady Bridget’s Diary by Maya Rodale

• Sex Lies and Online Dating by Rachel Gibson

• Red, White, and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

• Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult

• My Kitchen Year by Ruth Reichl

• Off the Clock by Roni Loren (yes, my book)

Books recommended by Dawn:

• Vangie Vale series by R.L. Syme

• Accidentally In Love with a Biker by Teri Anne Stanley

• The Outsiders or anything by S.E. Hinton

• Judy Blume: Forever, Tiger Eyes

• A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L’Engle (Dawn’s review)

• Stealing the Bride by Nadia Lee

• Sexy Sinner by Eva Charles

RAD Reading Recs of the Week: 

• Secondhand Sinners by Genevieve Lynne (Dawn rec)

• My Life In France by Julia Child (Roni rec)

Other books mentioned:

• Cackle by Rachel Harrison

• The Suite Spot by Trish Doller 

• Merlin Raj and the Santa Algorithm by D. G. Priya

• The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

• The BFG by Roald Dahl

• YOU by Caroline Kepnes

• Normal People by Sally Rooney

• The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

• Cooking at Home by David Chang and Priya Krishna

• The Ones Who Got Away by Roni Loren

Other non-book recommendations:

• YOU the TV show (Netflix)

• Normal People the TV show (Hulu)

• Dragon Noodles recipe

• Julie and Julia movie

*Note: all book links are affiliate links which means the podcast makes a small commission if you make a purchase, but there is no extra cost to you!

Find us online:

RAD Reading Facebook Page

Connect with Roni on her website or @roniloren on Instagram

Connect with Dawn on her website or @dawnalexanderbooks on Instagram

Another note: Because we are both in the publishing industry, sometimes the books we recommend might be by an author we know personally, an author who shares a publisher, editor, or agent with Roni, or an author whom Dawn has edited. Publishing is a small world, so that will happen from time to time. However, we guarantee that we only recommend books we love. We have not been asked to promote any of these books and none are paid ads. However, some books we review may be ARCs (advanced reading copies provided by publishers to reviewers for honest reviews.)