The Everygirl Book Club

Jessica M. Goldstein: The Absurdity of Office Culture, Nostalgia, and Tech BillionairesThe Everygirl Book Club hosts an interview with debut novelist and journalist Jessica M. Goldstein about her novel Retro—a speculative time-travel novel that kept us hooked from the moment we first read the synopsis—discussing “the sickening pain of nostalgia,” escapism, and why female friendships and platonic love are undervalued. Goldstein shares formative childhood reads and describes her affinity for vintage media and film craftsmanship. She explains building Retro’s grounded speculative world—an office-run time-travel agency using a Metro-like system—while setting clear limits, blending satire with serious themes of debt, corporate power, moral responsibility, modern dating, and the need to stay present. Goldstein also reflects on moving from journalism and McSweeney’s satire to speculative fiction, and on crafting an emotionally open ending meant to spark debate.Chapters00:26 Why Retro hooked us01:15 The books that shaped Jessica as a writer04:12 Developing her love of vintage media10:37 Nostalgia and escapism15:42 Building Retro's world21:46 Offices are actually so weird32:19 Moving from Journalism to Fiction36:35 Laughing at reality44:59 The nostalgia trap46:58 Choosing hope amid uncertainty53:57 Friendship as a lifeline01:02:36 Balancing humor and heart01:08:12 On the importance of staying presentBooks MentionedRetroAlice in WonderlandThe Wizard of OzThe Phantom TollboothPeter PanElena Ferrante's Neapolitan Novels YesteryearMovies MentionedDog Day AfternoonThe Red ShoesBefore SunsetCluelessIndependence DayArgoForrest GumpCocoYou've Got MailWhen Harry Met SallySinnersOne Battle After AnotherLa ChimeraThe Wolf of Wall StreetTV Shows MentionedEuphoriaSeveranceParty Down

Hot Takes, Top Reads of 2026, and the MMCs We Actually Hate#001: In this episode of The Everygirl Book Club podcast, Lauren and Garri share the books that made them lifelong readers, their evolving reading phases, and how BookTok shaped (and later sharpened) their tastes. They discuss mood reading, cringe in romance, DNFing, and their auto-buy authors. They share their all-time favorite reads as well as their 2026 highs and lows (so far). They swap current reads and audiobook habits, deliver hot takes (including loving Silver Elite despite the hate, disliking Crescent City, and Garri’s case against Fourth Wing’s Xaden), and answer member-submitted recommendation requests. Finally, they reveal and contextualize The Everygirl Book Club's summer picks—Let’s Not Go Overboard Here, Love By the Book, and Both Can Be True—plus a bonus read, A Good Person, and close with the LITigation segment, defending unlikable main characters and pushing back on the idea that “all romantasy is the same.”Chapters00:46 Read Receipts06:24 Book Taste Explained10:58 Auto Buy Authors15:31 All Time Favorites21:28 2026 Highs and Lows25:41 Current Reads27:29 Hear Me Out36:41 Listener Prescriptions42:41 Summer Book Club Picks53:21 LITigationBooks MentionedPercy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick RiordanThe Phantom Tollbooth by Norton JusterThe Hunger Games by Suzanne CollinsTwilight by Stephenie MeyerA Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. MaasThe Princess Bride by William GoldmanNormal People by Sally RooneyThe Secret History by Donna TarttBlood Over Bright Haven by M.L. WangThe Unmaking of June Farrow by Adrienne YoungMy Brilliant Friend by Elena FerranteThe Love Hypothesis by Ali HazelwoodProblematic Summer Romance by Ali HazelwoodOne Dark Window by Rachel GilligThe Bone Season by Samantha ShannonThe Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha ShannonHeart of the Lover by Lily KingInto the Blue by Emma BrodieRetro by Jessica M. GoldsteinThe Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion by Beth BrowerHabits of the Sea by Shea ErnshawDeath of the Author by Nnedi OkoraforBlood Bound by Ellis HunterSongbird of the Sorrows by Braidee OttoCrescent City by Sarah J. MaasFourth Wing by Rebecca YarrosThrone of Glass by Sarah J. MaasSilver Elite by Dani FrancisYellowface by R.F. KuangYesteryear by Caro Claire BurkeBury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. SchwabWith All My Haunted Heart by Isabel StirlingHappily Ever Afterlife by Emma R. AlbanWayward by Blake CrouchHappy Place by Emily HenryJune Baby by Shannon GarveyLet's Not Go Overboard Here by Erica HendryLove by the Book by Jessica GeorgeBoth Can Be True by Jessica GuerririA Good Person by Kirsten KingEnjoy the episode? Like and follow The Everygirl Book Club Podcast, leave a rating and review, and share the episode with a fellow reader. Then, join the conversation on Instagram @theeverygirlbookclub for monthly book picks, book recommendations, reading challenges, and more.