S3E2: Book to screen adaptations are a touchy subject for the booklover. In this episode, we talk about the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to the book to screen adaptations we’ve come across, including Pride and Prejudice, Twilight, and Eragon, to name a few. We also discuss popular adaptations that we liked where we didn’t read the book, those that might even be better than the book, and of course, those we could hardly bear to watch. With more and more adaptations hitting the...

S3E1: Welcome back to Season 3 of our podcast! We are so excited to be back for another season of ‘Meet Me At The Bookstore’, and we hope you are looking forward to more of our bookish babble too! To start off our new season, we give a recap of who we are and what we are all about, sharing the humble beginnings of our 16 year friendship up until now. Jumping off of our year end bonus episode, we also give an update on how our bookish goals have been going so far. Books...

The season isn’t over yet – we are ending the year with a cheeky little bonus episode! We begin by sharing our thoughts on the past year, and talk about the many changes that have taken place for the both of us. We then move on to our aspirations and goals for 2023 regarding our personal lives, our bookish ambitions, and this podcast. We hope to encourage all those listening to acknowledge their own journeys over the past year, and look forward to what is yet to come – even if it’s just the...

Stressed out by fast approaching year end deadlines, holiday socials, and upcoming travels? We invite you to sit back and unwind with us as we wrap up our second season of Meet Me at the Bookstore on a light and joyful note to usher in the holiday season! We start off by running through our gift guide for fellow book lovers, and end with sharing some of our favorite seasonal reads, from winter romances to snow-blanketed murder mysteries! We wish all of you a happy holiday and a wonderful...

In what is probably our nerdiest episode yet, we talk about the different methods and platforms that we use to organize our reading habits. From our own personal techniques to widely used apps, we share what we find helpful, what we like, and what we struggle with when it comes to keeping track of what we read. Whether you’re a data-lover looking for another way to compile your reading stats, wondering how to bring your reading addiction to a new level, or simply wanting to compare notes,...

In our latest episode, we continue our deep dive series by delving into the mystery and thrill of ’The Paris Apartment’ by Lucey Foley. We discuss the in and outs of each character, reconstructing the story bit by bit, until we get to the big reveal. We also go into the writing itself, what we found confusing, and what we liked (and didn’t like)! We finish off the episode with our first ever book rating! Warning: This episode contains spoilers. Books Mentioned: The Sky Beyond the Storm by...

As a little Thanksgiving gift from us to you, this week we have also included a short bonus clip of us taking a quiz to find out which SJM man is our soulmate. See the link below to play along with us: https://www.quotev.com/quiz/15331091/Which-Maasverse-Man-is-your-Soulmate

We love reading fantasy for many reasons: the thrill, the magic, the adventure, but most of all, the men! Join us as we dish about all our favorite male characters within the fantasy genre - from high lords and batboys, to archangels and warriors! We spend a significant portion of the episode discussing the men… *ahem* males (iykyk) in the Sarah J. Mass universe (she knows how to write ‘em!), and conclude our thoughts with a game of kiss, marry, kill. From there, we mention a few more...

During this episode, we take a trip down memory lane and revisit a favorite from our youth: Sophie Kinsella’s ‘Remember Me?’ This re-read was an experiment for us to see if we would have the same experience reading a book now in our 20s compared to when we were pre-teens. Needless to say, there were some major and unexpected differences that cropped up! After breaking it all down, we realise that certain aspects of the story seem to have lost their magic. Is it the price we must pay as we...

Every town, city, and country has its own unique relationship to books. Following our latest trips and moves, we discuss the bookish cultural quirks we’ve noticed between New York, Virginia/DC, London, and Paris. Pertaining to independent bookstores, book deserts, libraries, and more - we chat about the differences we’ve found and come to some intriguing conclusions about book culture in this day and age, and across the world. Disclaimer: All thoughts are our own and are derived from our own...

The world of fan fiction is a world unto itself - another universe of literary imaginings for book-lovers and day-dreamers to explore. While we’re not well versed in fan fiction, with the increase of authors entering mainstream book publishing with a fan-fiction background, we decided it was time to educate ourselves! To begin, we discuss a few popular books and series that were once mere fan-fics. We then share our thoughts on some Harry Potter fan fiction that we recently read. To wrap it...

Continuing our series on Taboo Topics, the contentious issue of this episode revolves around book banning and censorship! Books have been banned throughout time and nations - but is there ever actually a justifiable reason for banning a book? We begin the conversation by briefly discussing classic books that have been historically banned in the US. We then move onto books that have been banned more recently, featuring some popular books we grew up reading. From there, we attempt to unpack...

In this eclectic episode, we share our bookish adventures from our trip together to London. Staying in an area known for its abundance of bookstores, we had so much fun visiting old and new favorites, and couldn’t help buying a few treats for ourselves!  We end our episode talking about current and upcoming reads with a bit of a fixation on Sarah J. Maas’ well known series, A Court of Thorns and Roses, and Crescent City. Books bought from Marchpane: Matilda by Roald Dahl (1st...

In today’s episode, we continue the momentum of sharing our most memorable books in a particular genre, starring Non-Fiction. However, before jumping into the meat of our episode, we start out with a little more booktok drama that just had to be aired out. That aside, while Non-Fiction may not seem to make as many appearances on our podcast as Fantasy or Fiction, it is not a genre to be slept on! Indeed, we had so many books to talk about, we were only able to share our absolute top...

This episode is all about the Classics. Starting with our middle school days and then going into our high school curriculums and beyond, we share our memorable experiences with some of the most widely read books in western literature. Not only do we talk about the books we loved, liked, and really didn’t like, but we also take the time to call out the overwhelming presence of white male authors among the required reading lists of US high schools. To end on a modern note, we share our takes on...

It’s TEA time! From cancel culture and questionable TikTok creators to racist authors and a certain book subscription company, we are here to address some of the controversies circulating on BookTok in our latest two-part episode. Although we ourselves are not very involved in BookTok, our aim for this episode is to try and understand the discussions at hand in order to promote a more open minded bookish community. Books Mentioned: The Body Keep the Score by Bessel van der Kolk House of...

It’s TEA time! From cancel culture and questionable TikTok creators to racist authors and a certain book subscription company, we are here to address some of the controversies circulating on BookTok in our latest two-part episode. Although we ourselves are not very involved in BookTok, our aim for this episode is to try and understand the discussions at hand in order to promote a more open minded bookish community. Books Mentioned: The Body Keep the Score by Bessel van der Kolk House of...

In today’s episode, we are diving deep into our favorite genre - fantasy! Have you ever had a multitude of questions pop up when reading a fantasy novel? Like, HOW do you pronounce that name?? Or, they did WHAT now? And how old are they again?? We have both certainly come across our share of burning questions and are excited to finally have the chance to air them in an effort to make sense of the imaginary, as found in the fascinating world of fantasy. Books Mentioned: The Twyford Code by...

Our latest episode is all about Mystery! Spanning the classics to more modern takes, we share the details of our favorite heart-stoppers and whodunnits. From there, our conversation then turns philosophical. As interested as we are in the genre, we couldn’t help but wonder: why are humans so obsessed with murder and mystery? Listen along as we debate and deliberate in hopes of getting to the bottom of it all. Books Mentioned: From Fury Reborn by Frances Ellen Rodham by Curtis...

We’re back for season two! After a summer hiatus, we are excited to delve into everything bookish once more. To kick off this new season we run through our summer reading lists, covering some of our favourite reads from the past few months and other fun bookish things we filled our summers with. To welcome our new listeners, we have also included a bit of background on who we are and why we are doing what we do! So, cheers to everyone who has stuck with us and to those of you who joined!...

Our final episode of the season is an ode to our childhood, and the books and characters that have made us who we are today in many ways. Similar to an awards show, we share nominations on a variety of categories across three genres: Fiction, Fantasy, and Dystopian. Join us as we reminisce about our favorite childhood books and our shared memories around them. Books Mentioned: Anne of Avonlea by L. M. Montgomery Book of Night by Holly Black Alex Rider series by Anthony...

In our latest episode, we discuss controversial authors and share our take on the book world’s reaction to them and the books they’ve written. The authors we focus on are J.K. Rowling, Delia Owens, Sarah J. Maas, Roald Dahl, and George R. R. Martin. We find that in certain cases, the issues instigated surround the authors themselves, and in others, it’s what they write about and how they choose to do it. While we debate these aspects, we also emphasize the importance of separating the art...

For our first deep dive, we cover The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood. Seen all over bookstagram and booktok, it’s time to dive into our thoughts on the characters, the writing, and the hype for this chick-lit. Join us as we chat about the good, the bad, the ugly, and the spicy!

In this episode we discuss bookish habits! We delve into the nitty gritty of all our bookish quirks, from where and when we like reading most, to bookshelf organisation, toxic traits, and many more. We also coin the term “microreading” and encourage everyone to join us in incorporating #microreading into their literary lifestyle. Books Mentioned: The Defining Decade: Why Your Twenties Matter - and How to Make the Most of Them Now by Meg Jay Court of Dragons by Frost Kay The Girl and the...

This episode is dedicated to our favorite literary female characters, past and present. We talk about why they inspire us, and also discuss what it means to be a badass heroine in general - both in fiction and fantasy reads. Finally, we analyze the portrayal of strong women and how it has changed in fantasy books specifically. That said, we acknowledge that there is still much work to be done regarding diversity of female characters (i.e., body shapes and sizes, skin color, etc.). TW: body...