The SSR Podcast

Beyond the ivy-covered walls of the Constance Billard School and the moneyed Upper East Side is upstate New York and the equally moneyed Waverly Academy—and Jenny Humphrey is bound for them as we meet her at the start of Gossip Girl spin-off, The It Girl! Episode 313 is a juicy deep dive into all things Boarding School Jenny: rich kids, nuanced mean girls, problematic love affairs, hedonism, and the deliciously nostalgic aesthetic of the Gossip Girl extended universe.Asha Elias is the author of Pink Glass Houses and the forthcoming The Namaste Club. Follow her on Instagram @asha.sue.elias.CHECK OUT ASHA'S BOOKS: Pink Glass Houses The Namaste ClubCHECK OUT ASHA'S BOOK RECOMMENDATION: Don't Be a Stranger by Susan MinotMORE READING: "The It Girl (Novel Series)" (Gossip Girl Wiki)"The It Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar Review" (Courtney Shek, 2024)"Review: It Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar" (Grown Up Book Reports, 2017)

This week, Alli and her guest revisit some required reading from their school days in Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes. Picking up this 1966 novel was just as emotional and thought-provoking as picking up the 1959 short story was years ago, and this time around, they unpack the experience together on the podcast. Tune in for conversations about their fuzzy memories of reading Flowers for Algernon as kids, the book's classification in the science fiction genre, the differences between intelligence and life experience and kindness, icky depictions of women, animal testing, the linguistic challenges of dissecting a book like this, and so much more.TW: sexual shameEmma R. Alban is a screenwriter and a USA Today bestselling queer historical romance author. Her books include Don't Want You Like a Best Friend and You're the Problem, It's You. Follow her on Instagram @eraofemma.CHECK OUT EMMA'S BOOKS: Don't Want You Like a Best FriendYou're the Problem, It's YouCHECK OUT EMMA'S BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS: The In-Between Bookstore by Edward UnderhillA Rival Most Vile by R.K. AshwickA Captured Cauldron by R.K. AshwickMORE READING: "Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes—review" (The Guardian, 2016)"Book Review: Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes" (David Bruns, 2014)"Book Review: Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes" (Frappes and Fiction, 2020)"Flowers for Algernon: Book Review" (Threefold Advocate, 2023)"Flowers for Algernon" (Kirkus, 1966)"Review of Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes" (Rhapsody in Books, 2018)

Grab your denim bucket hats, butterfly hair clips, and overalls, listeners, because we're going to the land of the Olsen twins! Episode 311 unpacks all things Mary-Kate and Ashley, with a special emphasis on their multiple book series and one of their mystery novels, The Case of the 202 Clues. After reading this book, Alli and her guest have lots of thoughts about basset hounds, kid-friendly stakes, and what makes the perfect entry point for the mystery genre. They also take a bigger picture walk down millennial memory lane, comparing notes on their favorite MKA core memories and reflecting on the twins' many contributions to pop culture.Jamie Harrow is the author of One on One and Fun at Parties. Follow her on Instagram @jamieharrowbooks.CHECK OUT JAMIE'S BOOKS: One on OneFun at PartiesCHECK OUT JAMIE'S BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS: Zoe Brennan, First Crush by Laura Piper LeeNo Ordinary Love by Myah ArielMORE READING: "Growing Up Olsen: What Mary-Kate and Ashley Meant to Millennials" (E News, 2016)"Dissecting Gen Z's Obsession with the Olsen Twins" (British Vogue, 2024)"The Lasting Impact of the Mary-Kate and Ashley Content Empire" (Chatterblast, 2021)"The Series We Loved: Mary-Kate and Ashley" (Book Riot, 2020)

It's the first SSR: WTF (WriTing Friends) episode of 2025, and it's only fitting that Alli and Abby kick off the new year with a discussion about routines, processes, practices, and how they're rethinking all of those things at the moment. They discuss their creative mindsets in the new year and compare notes about specific elements of their creative lives: planned breaks, problematic mindsets, time management, organizational tools, inbox zero, cheap notebooks, writing in longhand, and romanticizing the process.CHECK OUT AND SUBSCRIBE TO ABBY'S SUBSTACK NEWSLETTER HERE! LISTEN TO OUR PLOTTING VS. PANTSING EPISODE HERE! BOOK SHOUTOUTS: Written: How to Keep Writing and Build a Habit That Lasts by Bec Evans and Chris SmithMotherhood by Sheila HetiSandwich by Catherine Newman

At last, the Hardy Boys get an episode all their own! Episode 309 takes a deep dive into the first book in the series—The Tower Treasure—as well as the bestselling franchise as a whole... and the conversation is juicy! Launched in the 1920s, the Hardy Boys prompts discussion about gendered book marketing, racism, white saviorism, letting boys be boys, virtuous poverty, Nancy Drew, the interchangeability of the Hardy brothers, nepotism, obstruction of justice, portrayals of law enforcement, and depictions of women. Christina Cooke is the author of Broughtupsy. Follow her on Instagram @christina.j.cooke. CHECK OUT CHRISTINA'S BOOK HERE!CHECK OUT CHRISTINA'S BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS: When the Emperor Was Divine by Julia OtsukaHeadshot by Rita BullwinkleMORE READING: "Book Review: The Tower Treasure (1927) and The Tower Treasure (1959) by Franklin W. Dixon" (Read-At-Home Mom, 2017)"I read all 190 Hardy Boys books" (Reddit, 2023)"In Which I Read My First Hardy Boys Mystery" (Pages Unbound, 2022)"Reading Through the Hardy Boys Mysteries (Books 1-10)" (Pages Unbound, 2023)"1: The Tower Treasure" (Hardy Boys Book Reviews, 2013)"The Hardy Boys have not aged well" (Reddit, 2024)"The Hardy Boys: Comparing Hulu's Show to the Classic Book Series" (Den of Geek, 2020)"The Knotty Nostalgia of the Hardy Boys Series" (The Atlantic, 2019)

Many requests later, SSR has finally answered the call to cover The Hundred Dresses. Written by Eleanor Estes, published in 1944, and granted a Newbery Honor in 1945, this beautiful little book tackles the well-trod bullying narrative with a uniquely soft and empathetic hand. It creates space for conversations about what it means to play the bystander to bad behavior, rising above one's bullies, what justice looks like, and everything in between. Kirsty Greenwood was once a book editor, but is now a full-time writer of love stories that make readers belly laugh and ugly cry, including The Love of My Afterlife. Follow her on Instagram @kirsty_greenwood.CHECK OUT KIRSTY'S BOOKS: He Will Be MineThe Love of My AfterlifeCHECK OUT KIRSTY'S BOOK RECOMMENDATION: All Fours by Miranda JulyMORE READING: "Realistic Fiction: The Hundred Dresses" (The Western Corner of the Castle, 2019)"The Hundred Dresses: A Little Book with a Long Impact" (Nerdy Book Club, 2018)"The Hundred Dresses" (The Good and Beautiful Book List)"The Hundred Dresses" (American Library Association)"The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes" (Children's Lit Love, 2020)"Book Review—The Hundred Dresses" (GC Annison, 2022)

The Magic Tree House has been making readers, history buffs, and science geeks of kids for more than thirty years—and at long last, SSR dives in! Episode 306 covers all things Magic Tree House with a special focus on the first installment, Dinosaurs Before Dark. Alli and her guest chat about everything from the origin of Magic Tree House and unpopular opinions about the books to the allure of treehouses and time travel. Also... dinosaurs.Kat Tang is a former lawyer turned fiction writer with an MFA in creative writing from Columbia University. Her debut novel Five-Star Stranger has made most-anticipated and must-read lists by many outlets. Follow her on Instagram @tangkat.CHECK OUT KAT'S BOOK HERE! CHECK OUT KAT'S BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS: Fiona and Jane by Jean Chen HoRevolutionary Road by Richard YatesHalf a Life by Darin StraussMORE READING: "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly about Magic Tree House" (Big Books, Little Ears)"30 years and 65 books later, Mary Pope Osborne reflects on 'Magic Tree House'" (Today, 2022)"Book Reviews: An Unpopular Opinion about the Popular Magic Tree House Series" (Dragon Bite Books & Crafts, 2021)"Celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the Magic Tree House Collection" (First Book, 2022)"Series Review: The Magic Tree House" (The Starving Artist, 2017)"The Magic Tree House's Magical Popularity" (Pine Reads Review, 2021)

Alli and Abby are BACK for the fifth installment of SSR: WriTing Friends, this time for a conversation with memoirist Molly Roden Winter about the personal, vulnerable, intimate experience of putting one's own story on paper for public consumption. They put their heads together to consider the similarities and differences between writing fiction and writing memoir and tackle some specific aspects of the former: the nature of memory, the ethics of reviewing memoirs, how to edit your personal experience, reading your old journals, having hard conversations, and what we can learn from someone else's story.Molly's New York Times bestselling debut memoir—More: A Memoir of Open Marriage—is available wherever books are sold. Follow her on Instagram @mollyrwinter.CHECK OUT MOLLY'S BOOK HERE!CHECK OUT MOLLY'S BOOK RECOMMENDATION: Intermezzo by Sally Rooney