Episode 34: Let's Get Spooky - October's Read/Watch/Listen Recs

RAD Reading Podcast

Episode #34 

Episode Title: October’s Read/Watch/Listen

Release Date: October 14, 2022

Episode Summary:

It’s that time of year again! Light the pumpkin-scented candle, get a bowl of your favorite Halloween candy, and turn on a stormy night soundtrack to set the mood. Today, we’re bringing you the best scary (from Roni) and gently spooky (from Dawn) things we’ve read, watched, and listened to lately.

Listen above or in your favorite podcast app:

• Apple podcasts

• Audible

• Spotify

• 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: 

• Why Dawn can’t go to the movies in October

• Reading slumps are the worst

• Roni tried a new method to tackle her giant TBR pile and it worked!

• A book that was on Roni’s TBR for 7 years

• Locked basements are a bad sign

• A book that had one of us thinking WTF the whole time

• We need warnings if the dog dies

• A book that was just right for Dawn

• Roni’s spooky/scary TV and movie recommendations (and an anti-recommendation)

• Dawn recommends a few fun and not-so-spooky things to watch

• A genre mash-up with fantastic audiobook narration

• Lycanthropy is a word and Roni is standing by that

• It always comes back to Buffy

• Our RAD recs of the week

***episode spoilers below**

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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:

• 16 Things I Thought Were True by Janet Gurtler

• Love In the Time of Serial Killers by Alicia Thompson

• Comfort Me with Apples by Catherynne M. Valente

• For the kiddos: Goosebumps - Welcome to Dead House by R.L. Stine

Books recommended by Dawn:

• Crux: The Dragon Brides (Intergalactic Dating Agency) by Kate Rudolph

• Grave Reservations by Cherie Priest

• For the kiddos:

• Bunnicula by James and Deborah Howe

• The Haunting by Margret Mahy

• Secret of the Sevens by Lynn Lyndquist

Watch Recs by Roni:

• Freaky (Netflix)

• Midnight Club (based on Christopher Pike book) on Netflix

• Boo, Bitch (Netflix)

• Anti-Rec: My Best Friend’s Exorcism movie

• The 20/20 episode The Vanishing Act (about Sheri Papini)

• Looking forward to watching:

• The new Interview with a Vampire series

• (rewatch) The Craft

• (rewatch) The Grudge

• Hereditary

• Idle Hands

• Smile

• (rewatch) Jennifer’s Body

Watch Recs by Dawn:

• The Good Place

• She-Hulk

• Rings of Power

Listen Recs by Roni:

• Such Sharp Teeth by Rachel Harrison

• Missoula: Rape and the Justice System in a College Town by Jon Krakauer (rec with reservations)

• Listening now: It Came From the Closet: Queer Reflections on Horror edited by Joe Valesse

• Listening now: Bloody Fool for Love by William Ritter - Spike from Buffy prequel

RAD Reading Recs of the Week: 

• Saltaire by Hazel Jacks (Dawn’s rec)

• Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo (Roni’s rec)

Other books mentioned:

• What If You & Me by Roni Loren

• Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo

Other non-book recommendations:

• Storygraph app

• Currently Reading podcast

• Last Year’s Halloween episode: They All Float

Find us online:

RAD Reading on Instagram

RAD Reading Facebook Page

RAD Reading Website

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 32: Unlikable Heroines with (Likable) Guest Author Pippa Grant

RAD Reading Podcast
Episode #32 

Episode Title: Unlikable Heroines with (Likable) Guest Author Pippa Grant

Release Date: September 16, 2022

Episode Summary

USA Today and #1 Amazon Bestselling author Pippa Grant is joining us today to talk about unlikable heroines and why they need love too. Plus, we get to hear a little about her romantic comedies! (Fair warning: this talk is more PG-13 than some of our others so don’t listen with kiddos in the car.)

Listen above or in your favorite podcast app:

• Apple podcasts

• Audible

• Spotify

• 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: 

• Unlikable heroines need love too

• Not all things marketed as romantic comedy are true comedy

• Pippa’s got a new release coming called Irresistible Trouble

• Dawn and Roni have their RAD Reading After Dark voices going because when we recorded, we were both recovering from COVID

• Unlikable heroine does not mean a badly written heroine

• The double standard for heroines

• Types of unlikable heroines - the b**ch, the achiever, the sexually liberated heroine, the messy heroine, true female villains

• Why authors try not to read their own reviews

• Roni has feelings about Fatal Attraction

• “Cool motive. Still murder.” – Dawn

• Roni’s meanest heroine

• Our reading recs for books with unlikable heroines

• Our RAD recs of the week

**episode spoilers below**

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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:

• Book Lovers by Emily Henry

• The Intimacy Experiment by Rosie Danan

• The One You Can’t Forget by Roni Loren

• Never Saw Me Coming by Vera Kurian

Books recommended by Dawn:

• By the Hour by Roni Loren

• In Death series by J.D. Robb

• Make Me Shiver by Marie Johnston

Books recommended by Pippa:

• Always Only You by Chloe Liese

• After Hours by Milagro Street by Angelina M. Lopez

• The One Who Loves You by Pippa Grant

RAD Reading Recs of the Week: 

• Paper Ghosts by Julie Heaberlin (Dawn’s rec)

• Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead (Roni’s Rec)

Other books mentioned:

• Stud in the Stacks by Pippa Grant

• Flirting with the Frenemy by Pippa Grant

• Irresistible Trouble by Pippa Grant

• Mr. McHottie by Pippa Grant

• Summer Sisters by Judy Blume

• Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Other things mentioned:

• The Proposal (movie)

• Vampire Academy TV show (Peacock)

Visit Pippa on her website

Find us online:

RAD Reading on Instagram

RAD Reading Facebook Page

RAD Reading Website

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 31: Don’t You Forget About Me - Stories Told In Alternative Formats

RAD Reading Podcast 
Episode #31 

Episode Title: Don’t You Forget About Me: Stories Told In Alternative Formats

Release Date: September 2, 2022

Episode Summary:

Sometimes we get so focused on the traditional novel that we forget that stories come in all different types of formats and structures. This week, we’re giving those kinds of stories the spotlight. Join us as we recommend graphic novels, anthologies, short stories, novels with creative formats, and some truly wacky things Dawn found at the bookstore.

Listen above or in your favorite podcast app:

• Apple podcasts

• Audible

• Spotify

• 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: 

• • Reading is reading and don’t let anyone tell you format dictates whether something counts

• • Roni gets on her reading soapbox at a football game and was “that person”

• • Giving things a try that you think may not be for you

• • Dawn wants to time travel

• • The upsides of short stories

• • Dawn was definitely almost killed by one of the Children of the Corn

• • Leonard the dog makes known his love of LGBTQIA+ romance

• • The difference between graphic novels and comics 

• • Roni discovers a new way to read graphic novels that makes it so much easier for her to follow the story

• • Roni is going through a Buffy phase #sorrynotsorry

• • Novels with interesting formats

• • Remember when Twitter wasn’t a hellscape?

• • The elusive state of “full mental capacity”

• • IKEA can be effing scary

• • The curse of “have a great summer”

• • Roni loves her scary movies and books but she’s terrified of one book Dawn loves

• • Dawn cheats on “choose your adventure” books

• • Coloring books with interesting subjects

• • Our RAD Reading Recs of the week - including a book a listener recommended to us!

***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:

• Night Shift by Stephen King

• Different Seasons by Stephen King

• Vampires Never Get Old edited by Zoraida Cordova and Natalie C. Parker

• Slasher Girls and Monster Boys edited by April Genevieve Tucholke

• Echoes: A Ghost Story anthology edited by Ellen Datlow

• Take the Heat: A Criminal Romance anthology

• Nightingale charity anthology 

• Fifty First Times: A New Adult Anthology

• Break Me Down by Roni Loren

• Yours All Along by Roni Loren

• Heartstopper by Alice Oseman (multiple volumes)

• Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 Volume 1 comic

• The Neverending Story by Michael Ende

• The Appeal by Janice Hallett

• Goodnight Tweetheart by Teresa Medeiros

• Catherine Ryan Howard books

• House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski

• Night Film by Marisha Pessl

• Grady Hendrix’s books

Books recommended by Dawn:

• The Tattered Blue Line anthology

• Dissent: A charity anthology for reproductive rights  

• Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh

• Solutions and Other Problems by Allie Brosh

• Chat stories 

• Love Letters by A.R. Gurney

• Minalima pop-up books - Alice In Wonderland, Wizard of Oz

• My Lady’s Choosing by Kitty Curran and Larissa Zagris

• Murdered by James Schannep

• Paint by Sticker books

• Crush and Color - Ryan Reynolds edition

RAD Reading Recs of the Week: 

• Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell (Roni’s rec)

• Wrong Place, Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister (Dawn’s rec)

Other books mentioned:

• American Predator by Maureen Callahan

• Vicious by V.E. Schwab

• Not Until You serial by Roni Loren

• By the Hour by Roni Loren

• Where’d You Go, Bernadette? By Maria Semple

• Carry On by Rainbow Rowell

Find us online:

• RAD Reading on Instagram

• RAD Reading Facebook Page

• RAD Reading Website

• 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 24: The Summer Reading Extravaganza!

RAD Reading Podcast

Episode #24 - Summer reading

Episode Title: The Summer Reading Extravaganza

Release Date: May 27, 2022

Episode Summary:

It’s one of the best bookish times of the year—summer reading season! Today, we’re giving you our best picks to add to your poolside stack, whether you’re looking for traditional breezy beach reads or something a little darker to keep you turning the pages.

Listen above or in your favorite podcast app:

• Apple podcasts

• Audible

• Spotify

• 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: 

• Does our reading change during summer?

• Roni got herself in trouble with summer reading lists and her library holds

• Our easy breezy summer pics

• The book Roni was able to read at a NASCAR race and not be distracted

• Dawn is reading some historicals now but she needs something extra in them

• Roni is slightly concerned with her obsession with dual timelines and time-travel in contemporaries

• Why Dawn has a friend to thank for not missing her “moment” to meet her husband and Roni has an old computer and a non-compatible America Online CD-ROM to thank for not missing hers

• How Dawn failed as a parent ;)

• What Dawn can’t listen to on audio

• Our darker “summer is too sunny” recs

• Roni’s weird category of books that make her think of summer

• Our RAD Recs of the week

**spoilers for book picks below*

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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:

• One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle

• Hello, Sunshine by Laura Dave

• The Roommate by Rosie Danaan

• The Suite Spot by Trish Doller

• Lady Bridget’s Diary by Maya Rodale

• Maybe In Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid

• Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen

• Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen

• Every Wild Heart by Meg Donahue

• Good Neighbors by Sarah Langan

• A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson

• The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix

• The House Next Door by Anne Rivers Siddons

• Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

• 11/22/63 by Stephen King

• Joyland by Stephen King

• Fantasticland by Mike Bockoven

• Fierce Kingdom by Gin Phillips

• Hot Dog Girl by Jennifer Dugan

Books recommended by Dawn:

• Only a Crush by Delancey Stewart

• Her Highlander Choice by Fenley Grant

• Second Chance Summer by Kait Nolan

• The One Night by Meghan Quinn

• Lucky Charmed by Sharla Lovelace

• Dirty Lies by Kristy Mallory

• The Survivors by Jane Harper

• Princess Claimed by Alison Aimes

• The Dragon of New Orleans by Genevieve Jack

• Scarred by Emiy McIntire

• Hard Time by Cara McKenna

Roni’s Summer Release

For You & No One Else by Roni Loren (July 5th)

RAD Reading Recs of the Week: 

• A Sinful Empire Trilogy by Eva Charles (Dawn’s rec)

• Tell Me Everything by Erika Krouse (Roni’s rec)

Other books/things mentioned:

• Timeline (movie)

• Along for the Ride (movie on Netflix)

• The Reunion by Meghan Quinn

• A Charmed Little Lie by Sharla Lovelace

• Serial podcast

• Upgrade by Black Crouch

• We Keep the Dead Close by Becky Cooper

• I’ll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara

Find us online:

RAD Reading on Instagram

RAD Reading Facebook Page

RAD Reading Website

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 17: Reading on a Budget

RAD Reading Podcast
Episode #17 

Episode Title: Reading on a Budget

Release Date: Feb. 18, 2022

Episode Summary

There’s nothing wrong with wanting ALL the books. Give us all the books! Unfortunately, very few of us have an unlimited book budget. So today we’re sharing our best tips on how to keep your TBR piled high without having to dig for quarters in your couch cushions. 

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: 

• When we use the phrase “at least it’s not drugs” and reference Scrooge McDuck right out of the gate

• Roni and pandemic book buying

• Why libraries are awesome and how to use yours to its fullest

• Dawn the book thief

• The fancy copy of The Neverending Story

• The magic of non-resident library cards

• Our favorite insider library tips

• Library sales

• Book subscriptions

• Book deal email lists

• Dawn uses “Roni curation” deals

• Goodreads giveaways and the one annoying feature that pushes Roni’s uptight buttons

• Becoming a book reviewer

• Dawn may still be bitter about getting rejected for a particular book

• Used bookstores

• Little Free Libraries

• Book swaps & Dawn declares “There are RULES for books swaps.”

• Don’t invite Roni to your book swap

• RAD Reading recs of the week

*spoilers of our picks 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!

Things mentioned:

• A list of libraries that offer non-resident cards 

• Kindle Unlimited

• The Book of the Month club

• The Bookworm Box

• The Book Drop

• Audible

• Libro.fm

• Bookbub

• Kindle Daily deals

• Nook Daily finds email 

• Book Riot Deals email

• Modern Mrs. Darcy daily deals email

• Audible daily deal email

• NetGalley

• Edelweiss

• Little Free Library

• Book darts

RAD Reading Recs of the Week: 

• Chasing Fire by Emery Jacobs (Dawn’s rec)

• The Suite Spot by Trish Doller (Roni’s rec)

Find us online:

RAD Reading on Instagram

RAD Reading Facebook Page

RAD Reading Website

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 12: The Best of the Best - Our Top Reads of 2021

RAD Reading Podcast
Episode #12 

Episode Title: The Best of the Best: Our Top Reads of 2021

Release Date: December 17, 2021

Episode Summary: 

Who doesn’t love a “Best of” book list? Join us today as we share our top reads of 2021!

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 shares her nerdy, detailed reading statistics and the spreadsheet she used to track them

• Roni’s most successful book recommendation source

• Our favorite thrillers of the year

• Our favorite contemporary romances of the year

• Roni’s favorite historical romances

• Giving audiobooks a chance and Roni’s faves 

• Our favorite fantasy books of the year

• Roni’s favorite memoirs and essay collections

• Our favorite general fiction books

• Dawn’s random favorites

• Our RAD recs of the week

*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!

Roni’s Faves of 2021:

• In My Dreams I Hold a Knife by Ashely Winstead (reviewed in episode 2)

• Good Neighbors by Sarah Langan

• Never Saw Me Coming by Vera Kurian (reviewed in episode 2)

• The Roommate by Rosie Danan (reviewed in episode 4)

• The Wallflower series by Lisa Kleypas (reviewed in episode 11)

• When He Was Wicked by Julia Quinn (reviewed in episode 4)

• My Life In France by Julia Child (reviewed in episode 7)

• Share Your Stuff, I’ll Go First by Laura Tremaine

• Shadow and Bone trilogy by Leigh Bardugo (reviewed in episode 6)

• Vicious by V.E. Schwab (reviewed in episode 9)

• I Miss You When I Blink by Mary Laura Philpott

• Text Me When You Get Home by Kayleen Schaeffer

• Joyland by Stephen King (reviewed in episode 4)

• Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult (reviewed in episode 7)

Dawn’s Faves of 2021:

• No Exit by Taylor Adams (reviewed in episodes 5 and 9)

• Twisted Hearts/Unraveled Love (duet) by Stacey Lynn

• Fireproof by Delancey Stewart

• The Art of Falling for You trilogy by Maya Hughes (reviewed in episode 2)

• You Deserve Each Other by Sarah Hogle

• Waking the Dragon by Juliette Cross (reviewed in episode 4)

• At the Cabin by Claudia Blood

• The Alpha’s Salvation by Marlowe Roy

• Hooked by Emily McIntire 

RAD Reading Recs of the Week: 

• Long Shot by Kennedy Ryan (Roni rec)

• Yes & I Love You by Roni Loren (Dawn rec)

• What If You & Me by Roni Loren (Dawn rec)

Other books mentioned:

• As Always, Julia: The Letters of Julia Child and Avid DeVoto by Joan Reardon

• The Ones Who Got Away by Roni Loren

Other non-book recommendations:

Sarah’s Bookshelves Reading Tracker 

Find us online:

RAD Reading on Instagram

RAD Reading Facebook Page

RAD Reading Website

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 10: What-to-Read Decision Fatigue + the Secret to Reading Reviews

RAD Reading Podcast
Episode #10 

Episode Title: What to Read Decision Fatigue + the Secret to Reading Reviews

Release Date: 12/3/21

Episode Summary: 

The What to Read decision fatigue is real, y’all. Join us today as we talk about some practical (and some bonkers!) ways to pick your next book, how to deal with choosing if you’re a mood reader, and what to do if you keep picking up books you don’t like. Also, we’re giving you insider tips on how to read those Amazon and Goodreads reviews because all is not as it seems at first glance. Oh, and there’s an incident with an umbrella. 

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:

• The decision fuel tank and Roni melting down over a Christmas tree

• The teetering TBR and the Why did I buy that again? brain fog

• Roni loves a spreadsheet as long as there is no math (and you can download a blank copy of her TBR spreadsheet for yourself!)

• Your taste and how books go stale

• Dawn and The Umbrella, you’ll just have to listen to understand

• Reading challenges and our opposing views

• Using “best of” book lists for inspiration

• Strange Facebook recommendation groups

• Some bonkers options for picking your next book

• Wrapping books? Um, what?

• Mood reading struggles

• Contagious bookish excitement and where to find it

• Book monogamy not required

• What to do when you keep picking up books you don’t enjoy

• Deciphering the gold in book reviews

• When  “adorable” and “hilarious” are bad words

• No, Roni doesn’t have a chip on her shoulder about reviews, shut up

• “Weird sex” reviews

• Our RAD Reading Recs of the week

Book selection spoilers ahead

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RAD Reading Recs of the Week: 

• Mercy Street by Mariah Stewart (Dawn rec)

• It Happened One Autumn by Lisa Kleypas and Devil In Winter by Lisa Kleypas (Roni rec -- yes, she cheated with two.)

Other books mentioned:

The Third Best Thing by Maya Hughes

No Exit by Taylor Adams

Ice Planet Barbarians by Ruby Dixon

Cackle by Rachel Harrison

Joyland by Stephen King

Riley Thorn and the Dead Guy Next Door by Lucy Score

Breath of Deceit by Selena Laurence

Other things mentioned:

Roni’s TBR/Book Rec spreadsheet - you can access a blank version here

Roni’s Read Wide Challenge

Help Name That Book facebook group

The umbrella photo

Book Darts, Dice Rolls, and Other Creative Ways to Pick Your TBR on Book Riot

Fated Mates podcast with Sarah MacLean and Jen Prokop

Storygraph

Find us online:

RAD Reading on Instagram

RAD Reading Facebook Page

RAD Recs page

Connect with Roni on her website or @roniloren on Instagram

Connect with Dawn on her website or @dawnalexanderbooks on Instagram

*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!

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.)

Episode 6: Distraction Detox - Less Screen Time, More Reading Time

RAD Reading Podcast
Episode # 6 - Reading Upgrade

Episode Title: Distraction Detox - Less Screen Time, More Reading Time

Release Date: Nov. 5, 2021

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

Episode Summary/Highlights: 

Do you find yourself picking up your phone instead of picking up a book or your e-reader? Yeah, us too. Today we tackle how to tame the screen time so we can get more reading time, especially during the busy holiday season. We’ll also discuss how the type of book you pick up can make all the difference. And as usual, we’ll have a pile of reading recs for you! 

Highlights:

• This is our reading brains on smartphones

• The power of Do Not Disturb

• How to reclaim reading time in a screen time world

• Roni’s haunted moaning window makes a cameo

• The types of books that are better suited for distracted minds

• Fast-starting book recs

• Recs for short and snappy reads

• Short story/essay collections that you can tackle in bite-sized bits

• Page-turning memoirs

• Some of our favorite binge-worthy book series

• Roni is horrified to realize she’s read books two and three of a series and not book one

• Roni’s doorstop length books

• Our RAD Reading Recs of the week

*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!

EPISODE SPOILERS AHEAD…

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Books recommended by Roni:

• Boys Like You by Juliana Stone

• I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron

• Evidence of the Affair by Taylor Jenkins Reid

• This Will Only Hurt a Little by Busy Phillips

• Shadow and Bone series by Leigh Bardugo

• Brokedown Cowboy (Copper Ridge series) by Maisey Yates

• Bad News Cowboy by Maisey Yates

• 11/22/63 by Stephen King

• Wanderers by Chuck Wendig

Books recommended by Dawn:

• Chasing Vega by Terry Shepard

• Why Moms Are Weird by Pamela Ribon

• Charmed in Texas series by Sharla Lovelace

• Faceoff anthology by International Thriller Writers

• Matchup anthology by International Thriller Writers

• Different Seasons by Stephen King

• Tinsel and Tatas anthology for charity

• The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

• Always a Bridesmaid (For Hire) by Jen Glantz

• One For the Money (Stephanie Plum series) by Janet Evanovitch

• Naked In Death (In Death series) by J.D. Robb

Other books mentioned:

• Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

• Gold Valley series by Maisey Yates

RAD Reading Recs of the Week: 

• Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons by Lorna Landvik (Dawn)

• Deep Work by Cal Newport (Roni)

Roni’s many blog posts on social media breaks and device-free summers:

• A Screen-Free Summer for Kidlet: How, Why, & If I'll Lose My Mind

• The 10-Day Update 

• 5 Week Update on Screen-Free Summer

• The End of Our Screen-Free Summer: Results and Moving Forward

• The After-Effects of Our Device-Free Summer

• Device-Free Summer 2.0: Why We’re Doing This Again

• 7 Things to Reduce Distractions and Increase Focus

• On Productivity and Distraction: Deep Work

• Revisiting Deep Work

• Stop Letting Your Inbox Distract You: Making Rules Work For You

• The Digital Declutter & Why I’m Taking a 30-Day Social Media Break

• After the 30-Day Social Media Ban: What Surprised Me & What I’m Changing

Find us online:

RAD Reading Facebook Page

RAD Reading 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 3: Making Your Own Reading Journal (AKA Fun with Office Supplies)

RAD Reading Podcast
Episode # 3

Episode Title: Making Your Own Reading Journal (AKA Fun with Office Supplies)

Release Date: October 15, 2021

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

Episode Summary: 

We love upgrading our reading lives, so this week we’re talking about one of our favorite ways to enhance the reading experience--creating our own reading journals! Plus, as always, we’re giving our RAD Reading Recs of the week.

Highlights:

• Why Dawn’s teen journals led her to get grounded--unnecessarily!

• The one journal Roni’s been able to stick with

• The basics of a reading/book journal

• Private reading journals vs. Goodreads 

• Roni avoiding awkward book signings

• What Dawn said that made Roni clutch her pearls

• The unexpected benefits of a reading journal

• Dawn’s epiphany about stencils

• The nuts & bolts of putting together your own journal

• What Roni wishes she’d been putting in her journal from the start

• Rating systems - Roni’s highly detailed one & Dawn’s low-key method

• Documenting reading challenges

• Finding your journaling style - decorative, bare bones, etc.

• Digital options for journaling

• Dawn’s signal that she’s been kidnapped

• Journaling tips

• Instagram perfect journals are not necessary

• Our favorite journaling supplies

• Our RAD Reading Recs of the Week

*Note: all book/product 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!

Supplies recommended by Roni:

• Leuchtturm1917 Journal 

• Stabilo Fineliner Pens

• Zebra Mildliner highlighters 

• Staedtler Ergosoft colored pencils 

• Staedtler Template, Geometric Shapes & Symbols to draw boxes and circles

Supplies recommended by Dawn:

• Plum Paper Notebook 

• Frixion pens

• Prisma Color Pencils 

Other resources mentioned:

• Roni’s free downloadable Romance Reading Journal

• Rock Your Reading Tracker by Sarah’s Bookshelves

• My Reading Journal by Anne Bogel (Modern Mrs. Darcy)

• Pensieve app

• Book of the Month club 

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Dawn’s Reading Journal

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Roni’s Reading Journal

RAD Reading Recs of the Week: 

Dear Writer, Are You In Burnout? by Becca Syme (Dawn’s rec)

Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert (Roni’s rec)

Find us online:

RAD Reading Facebook Page

RAD Reading Website

Connect with Roni on her website or @roniloren on Instagram

Connect with Dawn on her website or @dawnalexanderbooks on Instagram

Episode 2: Feeling All the Fall Feels - Seasonal Book Recs

Fall is here! This week we’re talking about whether or not we’re seasonal readers and how to enhance those autumnal vibes with your reading choices. We’re also bringing you a big stack of book recommendations! Roni’s got a pile of recs from one of her very favorite micro-genres: dark academia & campus novels. And Dawn is bringing the heat with sexy football-themed romances and some fun seasonal rom-coms. Come feel all the Fall feels with us!

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:

• To Pumpkin Spice Latte or not?

• Which of us is a seasonal reader

• The genres we reach for in Fall

• How to enhance the season with your reading

• The types of books that are particularly suited for Fall

• Halloween getting the short end of the holiday stick

• Roni trying to pronounce “horror” but sounding like she’s saying something offensive

• Roni’s favorite dark academia and campus novels

• Why Dawn almost had to move out of her new house

• Why Roni, the romance author, doesn’t read a ton of romance 

• Roni horrifies Dawn with her stance on mysteries

• Texting whodunnit guesses while reading

• Dawn recs a football-themed romance series and some LOL seasonal rom coms

• The RAD Reading Recs of the week

• How Roni sees book scenes through Instagram filters

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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:

• THE SECRET HISTORY by Donna Tartt

• FINDING FELICITY by Stacey Kade

• NINTH HOUSE by Leigh Bardugo 

• MISADVENTURES WITH A PROFESSOR by Sierra Simone

• NEVER SAW ME COMING by Vera Kurian

• IN MY DREAMS, I HOLD A KNIFE by Ashley Winstead 

• THE MAIDENS by Alex Michaelides 

• DINNER: A LOVE STORY by Jenny Rosenstrach

Books recommended by Dawn:

• THE FOURTH TIME CHARM by Maya Hughes

• THE ART OF FALLING FOR YOU by Maya Hughes

• FALLING INTO FOREVER by Delancey Stewart

• SHAKING THE SLEIGH by Delancey Stewart

• PINWHEELS, POTIONS, AND POSSIBILITIES by Fenley Grant

RAD Reading Recs of the Week: 

• THE LOST MAN by Jane Harper (Dawn’s rec)

• THE INVISIBLE LIFE OF ADDIE LARUE by V.E. Schwab (Roni Rec)

Other books/authors mentioned:

• The Babysitter’s Club series

• The Harry Potter series

• Author Grady Hendrix

• Author Riley Sager

• Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

• The Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris

• Author Kresley Cole

• Harlequin holiday books

• Author Ruth Reichl’s food memoirs

• My Life in France by Julia Child

• Shadow & Bone by Leigh Bardugo

• The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

Other non-book recommendations:

• Felicity (TV Show)

• YOU (TV show)

As promised on the podcast, here are photos of Roni’s cookbook collection:

Episode 1: The Life-Changing Magic of the DNF (Did Not Finish)

RAD Reading Podcast
Episode 1

The Life-Changing Magic of the DNF (Did Not Finish)

Release Date: Oct. 1, 2021

WAYS TO LISTEN & SUBSCRIBE:

• Apple podcasts

• Audible

• Spotify

• Acast  

• On the web without a podcast app

• 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

• Or just listen below!

Episode Summary/Highlights: 

Our first episode! Join us as we talk about our vision for the podcast, preview our weekly bookish themes, and then jump into our topic of the week--the life-changing magic of not finishing a book you’re not enjoying. And make sure you stay until the end to get our RAD Reading Book Recommendations of the week!

Highlights:

• A sneak peek of our four weekly themes

• The “I used to be a reader” struggle

• Why being a chronic finisher can be a roadblock to a happy reading life

• Reasons it’s so hard for some of us to DNF (not finish a book)

• The book trope Roni hates

• How to combat the DNF fears

• Do DNFs count for reading challenges?

• Tips for becoming a DNF master 

• The difference between a DNF and a Not For Now

• How to pick better books

• Our RAD Book Recs of the week

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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!

RAD Reading Recs of the Week: 

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (Dawn rec)

I’ll Be Gone In the Dark by Michelle McNamara (Roni rec)

Other books mentioned:

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

Emma by Jane Austen

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

The Only Plane In the Sky by Garrett M. Graff 

Non-book things mentioned:

9/11: I Was There (documentary)

Find us online:

RAD Reading Facebook Page

RAD Reading Website

The RAD Reading 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.)