The big question: are we living in a literary golden age or a post-literate society ???
On this week’s episode we’re doing something a little different to our usual bookish chats, and we’re breaking down a couple of intriguing Substack essays on the combined subject of literature and society. Our primary references include ‘Ignore the pessimists – we are living through a literary golden age’ by Henry Oliver versus ‘The dawn of the post-literate society’ by James Marriott. From the simultaneous (oddly, and apparently) global decrease and increase in reading to the role of screens in the downfall of reading comprehension, we wade through the facts, the arguments, and our own experiences to come to a conclusion about the current state of the literary world. But, we’re also interested to hear what you guys think – tune in and join the debate!
S6 E6: Join us in conversation with Gregory Grosvenor, writer, author, teacher and fellow only child. We talk about Greg’s early inspirations in writing, from growing up in Germany, supportive parents, and an early conviction to write. We then delve into a myriad of topics including Greg’s experience as a creative writing teacher, his past as an alcoholic, and of course, his debut novel, Second Pocket First, full of quirky characters, bucolic Vermont scenery, great outfits, and some good old fashioned burglary.
To learn more about Greg Grosvenor and to purchase Second Pocket First, you can check out his website, and follow him on Instagram.
In this episode we talk to Laura Goode, author, essayist, poet, screen writer, and educator, about her latest book, Pitch Craft. Pitch Craft is all about the art of presenting yourself as a person and a writer, but our conversation doesn’t just end there. From talking about the quirks and perks of being an only child to the magic of female friendship, this is a conversation that explores the hidden side of writing – the part which is less about the writing itself than it is about connecting with yourself and the people around you.
To learn more about Laura Goode and to purchase Pitch Craft, you can check out her website, and follow her on Instagram.
S6E4: While the days are getting shorter and the temperatures are dropping lower, being indoors is looking a lot more cozy. In other words, it's the perfect season to get back to reading! Not only is autumn THE season for reading, but there are so many sub-genres that perfectly compliment the moody weather and spooky atmosphere of fall. Tune in to hear our recommendations for witchy and gothic reads, to cozy, dark academia, and just plain dark. We also spend some time reviewing lists compiled by reading platforms (GoodReads and Fable) on suggested autumnal reads. As ever, happy reading from the Hot Girls Read podcast.
Titles Mentioned
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
The Secret History by Donna Tart
Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree,
Discworld series by Terry Pratchett
The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery
The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston
The Hexologists by Josiah Bancroft
The Wisteria society for Lady Scoundrels by India Holton
Weird Woods: Tales from the Haunted Woods of Britain (A British Library short story collection)
Anything by Shirley Jackson (Haunting of Hill House, We Have always lived in the Castle)
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio
Bunny by Mona Awad
Temptation of Magic by Megan Scott
Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
Natasha Preston books
A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid
The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling
A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness
Weyward by Emilia Hart
The Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow
Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman
The Green Witch: Your Complete Guide to the Natural Magic of Herbs, Flowers, Essential Oils, and More by Arin Murphy
Slewfoot by Alexis Henderson
Psychic Witch by Mat Auryn
Dracula by Bram Stoker
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkein
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving
The Complete Stories and Poems by Edgar Allan Poe
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hotgirlsreadpodcast
Check out our website: https://hotgirlsreadpodcast.com/
S6E3: Settle in for a cozy and long overdue catch up with us! Life has been busy lately and it’s time for the two of us to debrief the start of the fall season, the back-to-school rush, and all the changes that have come with it. From moving countries, starting new jobs, solo trips, and all the little things, we had a lot to chat about. And of course, being us, somehow everything relates back to books and bookish things. What can we say – being a booklover (read, Literary It Girl) is a lifestyle!
If you love books, like really love books, you’ve probably dreamed of opening your own bookstore – we definitely have! Well, in this episode we’re getting ALL THE TEA on running a bookstore from Jamie Fortin, owner of Friends to Lovers, a romance bookstore in Alexandria, VA. From building a community to overcoming challenges (like a fire that almost shut her down before day 1!) and having fun with it all, Jamie has created a thriving business that proves that independent bookstores are here to stay. If you want to know what it takes to open a bookstore, or any business for that matter, this is an episode you must listen to. As Jamie says, if she can do it, you can too!
Season 6 of the Hot Girls Read podcast has officially begun! We are opening the season by chatting with Kailu Yu: author, travel writer, and former pop star. Kaila’s recently released book, Fetishized, is a collection of essays that explore Kaila’s first hand experience of the fetishization of Asian women in the US during the early ‘00s. Not only do we cover everything from ABGs, import modelling, the fetishization of robots, and the current reality of racism towards Asians in the United States, but we also talk about Kaila’s journey from model and pop star to writer. This one is a conversation that touches on a little bit of everything!
Tune in for our interview with software engineer and author, Liz Shipton. With her upcoming release Dot Slash Magic, we cover a multitude of topics: the consequences of AI and its effect on the publishing industry, Liz’s writing inspiration, her journey as an author and viral presence on Booktok, and much more! We end with a debate about the enemies to lovers trope: is it simply a marketing ploy or is it really a key hingepoint of a plot? Listen and find out!
Temperatures are rising on the Hot Girls Read podcast! It’s the middle of summer making it the perfect time to serve up some hot girl summer reading recommendations. Whether you’re on a beachside holiday or trying to stay cool at home, this is a must-listen episode showcasing a variety of reads to keep you company during the heat. Organized by fiction, non-fiction, and fantasy, tune in for everything from steamy scenes and unhinged characters to short, sweltering stories.
Reading List:
Beach Read by Emily Henry
Big Fan by Alexandra Romanoff
Done and Dusted by Lyla Sage
The Most Famous Girl in the World by Iman Hariri-Kia
The Dating Plan by Sara Desai
Praise by Sara Cate
Stories for Summer and Days by the Pool - British Library Women Writers
Games at Twilight by Anita Desai
Crime and Punishment by Dostyvesky
Weekend Wodehouse by P.G Wodehouse
By the River, Essays From the Waters Edge
Women Hollering Creek by Sandra Cisneros
Tell Me I’m Not on Fire by Nicolette Daskalakis
Brandy Sour by Constantina Soteriou
Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton
Attached by Amir Levine and Rachel S. F. Heller
Come As You Are by Emily Nagoski
King Kong Theory by Virginie Despentes
The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron
Neon Gods by Katee Robert
Heirs of the Cursed by L.C. Emerson and Denna Selen
We have another exciting author interview, this time with debut sci-fi/fantasy writer Mina Brower! Mina is an author, mother, and lawyer, and not only do we talk about the inspiration behind her book, A God of Moonlight and Stardust, but we also find out how Mina got started as a writer and balances her creative practices with being a partner at her law firm and a new mother. At the end of the conversation, Mina gives us a teaser for her next book, An Heir of Darkness and Ruin, coming out July 30!
TW: Grief, loss, abuse, miscarriage
You can find Mina at @minabrowerauthor on Instagram and minabrowerbooks.com.
This week’s short story is a bit of a longer story that we have broken down into a couple of parts for you guys! In Part I, we talk about our journey starting the very famous creativity course, The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. We discuss where we are in the course, how we’re faring, what we’re liking, what we’re struggling with, and more! If you have ever thought about starting The Artist’s Way, are currently working through it, or have heard about it but aren’t sure what it’s all about, you won’t want to miss this conversation! In Part II, we chat about some fun bookish events we’ve recently attended, the highlight being the Capital Crime literary festival in London.
This week’s short story is a bit of a longer story that we have broken down into a couple of parts for you guys! In Part I, we talk about our journey starting the very famous creativity course, The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. We discuss where we are in the course, how we’re faring, what we’re liking, what we’re struggling with, and more! If you have ever thought about starting The Artist’s Way, are currently working through it, or have heard about it but aren’t sure what it’s all about, you won’t want to miss this conversation! In Part II, we chat about some fun bookish events we’ve recently attended, the highlight being the Capital Crime literary festival in London.
Is romantasy dead? That’s the question we try to answer on our latest Short Stories episode. Ayesha gets the ball rolling by giving her thoughts on recent romantasy read, QuickSilver, and what booktok’s take is on Silver Elite. This leads us to question what exactly romantasy means these days and why all of the sudden it seems like newly published romantasy books are giving us…well, nothing. No plot, only vibes (if even that). After airing our many grievances with the genre, we try to end with recommending some romantasy books we do actually enjoy!
Let’s welcome our featured guest poet Aimee Donnell! Originally from Northern Ireland, Aimee is a York-based poet who recently released her debut poetry collection We Are All Creatures of Struggle. We chat with Aimee about her inspirations, her journey as a writer, her writing process, and more! At the end of the episode, Aimee leaves us with a beautiful reading of one of her favorite poems in the collection and some sneak peeks into her upcoming works!
Follow Aimee on Instagram @awriternamed_aimee and check out her book on Amazon or Waterstones.
For this latest episode, we spend time interviewing guest author Nehemiah Russell! Local to the DMV (or DC area for you non-locals), Nehemiah is the author and illustrator of Codename, a manga style comic book set in a dystopian world where a teenager’s future is determined by their assigned codename.
We talk to Nehemiah about his journey as an artist and writer, his storyboarding process, the importance of identity, and much more! We left our conversation feeling inspired not only by the story behind Codename but also by Nehemiah’s own path as an artist. If you’re seeking validation to take a leap of faith, whether it’s a career change or starting a new passion project, this is certainly an episode to listen to.
Follow Nehemiah on Instagram @nehemiahr and find his website here: https://nrussellweb.wordpress.com/
Our latest short stories episode is a pot-pourri of bookish updates in our lives, from attending bookstore launches and book club meetings to a live book haul and reading anecdotes. We’ve been lost in the bookish sauce recently and we wanted to share with you!
In this episode of Short Stories we are joined by special guest Miles Spencer, adventurer, tech investor, and co-author of ‘A Line in the Sand.’ We talk with Miles about the inspirations behind his story, the underlying message he hopes to share, the writing process, and best of all, his escapades across the Middle East! Having grown up in Saudi Arabia, we particularly enjoyed talking to Miles about his adventures in the Kingdom, and hearing his perspective on certain issues that hit close to home.
Find out more about Miles at milesspencer.com and check out ‘A Line in the Sand’ on Amazon!
In this Short Stories episode, we are delving into the behind-the-scenes of our podcast journey! We discuss the birth of our podcast idea, managing everything from editing to marketing, and balancing it with our personal and professional lives. To end, we reflect on the podcast’s challenges, growth, and our hopes for future episodes.
00:54 Full Moon Reflections and Tarot Readings
04:42 Podcast Journey and Friendship
08:35 Starting the Podcast: The Origin Story
11:18 Podcast Growth and Future Plans
22:23 Podcast Goals
From “It Girl” celebrity book clubs to sneaky senators and questionable government bills, this episode of Short Stories is all about who gets to influence the books that we read. With the new wave of celebrity book clubs popping up, it looks like reading itself, and particularly the types of books we read, is becoming a status symbol. On the other hand, representatives in Oklahoma are trying to clamp down on the distribution and even creation of romance books (of the spicy variety). Why is everyone so obsessed with what we are reading? The message we leave you with: reading is political!
For our third short stories episode, we have something a little different (and super exciting) to share with you guys: our first guest interview with poet Caitlin Kent-Halliday! We talk with Caitlin about her writing process, inspirations, our favourite poems in her collection, and much more. We hope you enjoy this heartfelt conversation with Caitlin about her debut poetry collection 'Peace of Mind' as much as we did.
To find out more about Caitlin and her poetry, you can visit her website at www.caitlinkenthalliday.com.