Smart Podcast, Trashy Books

Elissa Sussman has a new book, Once More with Feeling, so of course I could not WAIT to have her back to talk about the story, the pop culture inspirations for this novel, and her research methods.We also talk about the way stardom and pop stardom specifically has changed since the early 2000s, and how we’re now examining the way we talked about young women and young people at that time.TW/CW: I want to flag that because we’re talking about pop stars in the early 2000s, there are references to disordered eating, anti fat bias, and staggering misogyny.I have QUESTIONS: Do you have a favorite musical? Did you or do you have a favorite pop star?...Music: purple-planet.com

In September of 2022, we snarked a cover, Planet Oster: Fertility Fusion.The cover designer, who is also one half of the writing team behind the series, reached out to me saying that they were unironically flattered that we’d snarked the cover, and asked if I’d like to talk about the process and the behind the scenes of the design work.Of course I said yes.Music: Purple-planet.comCoupon! Control Body Odor anywhere with @lumedeodorant and get $5 off off your Starter Pack (that’s over 40% off) with promo code SARAH30 at lumedeodorant.com/SARAH30! #lumepod

You asked questions, and we have answers! We talk about paranormal worldbuilding mysteries, choosing recommendations to introduce folks to romance, and our origin stories - plus the enigma that is Amanda’s ability to remember book details.Thank you to Varian, Norette, Rachel, Elizabeth, Sandra, and Sol for the questions!...Music: purple-planet.com

Amanda and I are back, trying to shock one another, and possibly you, with astonishing covers. We have Easter and bunnies and our latest guess as to what the next monster schtupping romance trend will be! For extra fun, try to imagine what the cover looks like based on our baffled descriptions, then have a look at the show notes to see the cover in question. How close are you to the stunning reality? You can see all the covers right here.

Meredith Goldstein is the host of the Boston Globe’s Love Letters podcast, and she’s been writing their Love Letters advice column for years.The newest season of Love Letters has arrived, and this season is all about money. We talk about the stories from couples featured in this season, and what she’s learned about love and relationships writing an advice column for so long.And of course, we talk about books, too.

Amanda and I are answering listener questions about reading when you’re burnt out, saving the last book of a series, and mood reading. We also talk video games, cozy horror especially, and more.Thank you to Agatha, Malaraa, Clay, Ellen, and Abigail for the questions for this episode! ...We also mentioned:The Merlin Bird identification app Shana's review of The No-Show by Beth O'Leary...Coupon! Control Body Odor ANYWHERE with @lumedeodorant and get over 40% off your starter pack with promo code SARAH30 at lumedeodorant.com/SARAH30! #lumepodMusic: Purple-planet.com

Jeff Adams, who you may know as one half of The Big Gay Fiction Podcast, is also a credentialed expert in web accessibility, and he’s co-written a new book, Content for Everyone.This book is for creative people to help ensure that all your online content, from websites to social media posts, is accessible to everyone.We’re going to talk about the top four things you can do to make your web content accessible, and spoiler: they’re really not difficult.Then, of course, we’ve got tv and book recs, because that’s what we do here.music: Purple-planet.comCoupons! Honeylove.com/SARAH - Get 20% off!

Chels, who is on TikTok as Chels_Ebooks, has been doing a series debunking the myths of BookTok, and let me tell you, when people say everything old is new again? Myths about the sales power of readers on social media are recycled with every new platform.We’re going to debunk some myths about romance and TikTok, and cover what Chels really loves about TikTok, too.And we have some very special discussions of classic romances and even more classic cover art.

Amanda and I make a startling discovery at the start of this episode! Author Karelia Stetz-Waters collects clitoris images and research and we have so many questions. After we take a side trip into the French Olympic mascot design, and cliteracy, a term coined by Sophia Wallace.Then we talk about Karelia’s latest book, Behind the Scenes, which was one of Amanda’s favorite books.Music: purple-planet.com