Bad On Paper

This week we finally get to discuss our November Book Club pick, Ghosts by Dolly Alderton. This book captured modern dating in a way we haven’t seen before, and honestly, we can’t agree on if the ending was satisfying or not. Ghosts follows Nina Dean, a London woman in her early thirties with a successful career as a food writer and loving friends and family. When she downloads a dating app, she meets a great guy on her first date. When Max tells Nina he's going to marry her on date one, it feels like all is going to plan. But when Max ghosts her, Nina is forced to deal with everything she's been trying so hard to ignore. Obsessions ChappyWrap Blankets Crate and Barrel Sofa   Instagram Obsessions @marthastewart48   What we read this week Fake by Erica Katz (out Feb 22) So, This is Christmas by Tracy Andreen State of Terror by Hillary Rodham Clinton and Louise Penny Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism by Amanda Montell   Sponsors Better Help - go to betterhelp.com/badonpaper for 10% off your first month  Everlywell - Go to everlywell.com/bop for 20% off your at-home lab test Join our Facebook group for amazing book recs & more! Like and subscribe to RomComPods. Available wherever you listen to podcasts. Visit Grace’s blog, The Stripe. New posts daily! Follow us on Instagram @badonpaperpodcast. Follow Grace on Instagram @graceatwood and Becca @beccamfreeman.

We’re so excited to continue our yearly tradition of interviewing each other, starting off with Grace interviewing Becca! (Grace will have her turn in the hot seat in a few weeks!)     Grace asks Becca your questions about bookish things, her new creative projects, career reflections, dating & friendship advice, what she’s learned about herself in the past year, and So! Much! More!    Becca’s Misc. Mentions: For Getting Started at Book Writing - Save the Cat writes a Novel Her GoodReads Account - Follow her here! Her Splurge Item - Sarah Flint Perfect Zip Bootie in Brown  Her Favorite Sheets - Amazon Mellani Sheets    Becca’s Favorite Dinner Party Recipes Grossy’s Vodka Sawce Garlic Braised Short Ribs Coq au Vin   Obsessions  Grace - Midnight Mass Becca - The Chunky Chef Zuppa Toscana   What we read this week! Books To Preorder If This Gets Out by Cale Dietrich and Sophie Gonzales Smile and Look Pretty by Amanda Pellegrino Books You Can Read Now! Palm Beach by Mary Adkins We're Speaking by Hitha Palepu Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl You'll Be the Death of Me by Karen M. McManus     November Book Club Pick: Ghosts by Dolly Alderton   Sponsors: Night - use code BOP30 at discovernight.com for 30% off sitewide Better Help - go to betterhelp.com/badonpaper for 10% off your first mon ZocDoc - Zocdoc: go to zocdoc.com/bop to sign up for free and find a top-rated doctor   Join our Facebook group for amazing book recs & more!   Like and subscribe to RomComPods. Available wherever you listen to podcasts. Visit Grace’s blog, The Stripe. New posts daily!   Follow us on Instagram @badonpaperpodcast. Follow Grace on Instagram @graceatwood and Becca @beccamfreeman.

It’s been a big year of reading, and today we’re talking about our favorite books from 2021! We each picked a top 5 and also had our listeners weigh in on the best books—from thrillers to romance to non-fiction to backlist—they read this year. If you’re in search of book recs, look no further, we have the best of the best for you!   Grace’s Favorites - The Push by Ashley Audrain (Mystery/Thriller) - Good Night Beautiful by Aimee Mollloy (Mystery/Thriller) -Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab (Fiction) -Midnight Library by Matt Haig (Fiction) -Untamed by Glennon Doyle (Non-Fiction) -Joyful by Ingrid Fetell Lee (Non-Fiction) -The Third Door by Alex Banayan (Non-Fiction) -Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert (Non-Fiction) -The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead (Backlist)   Becca’s Favorites -The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (Mystery/Thriller) -People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry (Romance) -Lizzie & Dante by Mary Bly (Romance) -Seven Days in June by Tia Williams (Romance) -The People We Keep by Allison Larkin (Fiction) -The Blue Bistro by Elin Hilderbrand (Backlist)   Listener Reccomendations! -The Plot by Jean Hanff Korelitz (Mystery/Thriller) -Confessions on the 7:45 by Lisa Unger (Mystery/Thriller) -The Wife and The Widow by Christian White (Mystery/Thriller) -Olympus Texas by Stacey Swann (Fiction) -Anxious People by Fredrik Backman (Fiction) -Office of Historical Corrections by Danielle Evans (Fiction) -Detransition Baby by Torrey Peters (Fiction) -We Are Not Like Them by Christine Pride (Fiction)  -Expecting Better by Emily Oster (Non-Fiction) -Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer (Non-Fiction) -Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner (Non-Fiction) -Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism by Amanda Montell (Non-Fiction) -The Wreckage of My Presence by Casey Wilson (Non-Fiction) -Indistractable by Nir Eyal (Non-Fiction) -A Most Beautiful Thing by Arshay Cooper (Non-Fiction) -A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara (Backlist) -Summer of 69 by Elin Hilderbrand (Backlist) Obsessions  The Morning Show  A Discovery of Witches    What we Read this week! Ghosts by Dolly Alderton Garlic and Sapphires by Ruth Reichl Always, in December by Emily Stone If This Gets Out by Sophie Gonzales and Cale Dietrich   November Book Club Pick: Ghosts by Dolly Alderton   Sponsors: Better Help - Go to betterhelp.com/badonpaper for 10% off your first month Everlywell - Go to everlywell.com/bop for 20% off your at-home lab test   Join our Facebook group for amazing book recs & more!   Like and subscribe to RomComPods. Available wherever you listen to podcasts. Visit Grace’s blog, The Stripe. New posts daily!   Follow us on Instagram @badonpaperpodcast. Follow Grace on Instagram @graceatwood and Becca @beccamfreeman.

This week we interviewed Grace Bonney, founder of Design Sponge to talk about her new book, Collective Wisdom! We learn how she got to where she is today, what inspired her to write a book about women over 50, how she found the women featured in her book, and the interviews that had the greatest impact on her.   We also talk about Design Sponge, how it felt to close it down on her terms, and her thoughts on going back to school as an adult!    Follow Grace Bonney Instagram - @grace__bonney & @designsponge Collective Wisdom: Lessons, Inspiration, and Advice from Women over 50   Instagram Obsessions Grace - @designsponge Becca - @nanowrimo   Obsessions  Grace - Nest Pumpkin Chai Candle Becca - Aerie The Sweat Waffle Crew Neck Sweatshirt   What we’ve read this week The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt Always, in December by Emily Stone   November Book Club Pick: Ghosts by Dolly Alderton   Sponsors: Night - Use the code NIGHTBOP for 20% off sitewide at discovernight.com Prose - Go to prose.com/BOP for your free in-depth hair quiz and 15% off your first order ZocDoc - Zocdoc: go to zocdoc.com/bop to sign up for free and find a top-rated doctor   Join our Facebook group for amazing book recs & more!   Like and subscribe to RomComPods. Available wherever you listen to podcasts. Visit Grace’s blog, The Stripe. New posts daily!   Follow us on Instagram @badonpaperpodcast. Follow Grace on Instagram @graceatwood and Becca @beccamfreeman.

It’s book club week and this month we’re talking about A Special Place for Women by Laura Hankin. Capturing start-up culture can be a hit or miss, and we really think Laura Hankin got it right in this book. A Special Place for Women follows a daring reporter who infiltrates an exclusive female-run members club, whose members are far more powerful than she imagined. We also talk about not knowing what’s next, Becca’s Sweater status, and Grace’s accidental trespassing adventure. Pick up A Special Place for Women Here  Startup Books we Like:  The Herd by Andrea Bartz Startup by Doree Shafrir  One by One by Ruth Ware Ripped from the headlines book Grown by Tiffany D. Jackson Admission by Julie Buxbaum Our favorite witch books The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness The Practical Magic Series by Alice Hoffman Obsessions  Grace - Stoney Clover Ln X American Girl, You Season 3, Succession Becca - Succession, The Big Leap What we’ve read this week Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling We’re Speaking by Hitha Palepu November Book: Ghosts by Dolly Alderton Sponsors: Care Of - Go to takecareof.com and enter code BOP50 for 50% off your first order Better Help - Go to betterhelp.com/badonpaper for 10% off your first month  Join our Facebook group for amazing book recs & more! Like and subscribe to RomComPods. Available wherever you listen to podcasts. Visit Grace’s blog, The Stripe. New posts daily! Follow us on Instagram @badonpaperpodcast. Follow Grace on Instagram @graceatwood and Becca @beccamfreeman.

Since we both celebrated our birthdays recently, we thought it would be fun to spend today’s episode reminiscing and looking forward. We reminisce on our most memorable birthdays as kids, have a very in-depth conversation about ice cream cake, and talk about how 40th birthday parties are the year to go ALL OUT. We also talk about aging and if/how milestone birthdays spark anxiety about getting older. Also, Grace recaps her Vienna trip, Becca talks about her trip upstate, and we mourn the loss of a champagne-soaked memory card. Instagram Obsessions @rianne.meijer @p_o_p_k_n_i_t @theknitedit  Obsessions  Becca - Ayr The Pop Jeans Grace - July Checked Trunk Suitcase What we’ve read Not a Happy Family by Shari Lapena Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt Wild at Heart by K.A. Tucker Ghosts by Dolly Alderton October Book: A Special Place for Women by Laura Hankin Sponsors: Night - use code NIGHTBOP for 20% off everything at discovernight.com Hello Fresh - go to hellofresh.com/bop14 and use code BOP14 for up to 14 free meals including free shipping! Better Help - go to betterhelp.com/badonpaper for 10% off your first month  Join our Facebook group for amazing book recs & more! Like and subscribe to RomComPods. Available wherever you listen to podcasts. Visit Grace’s blog, The Stripe. New posts daily! Follow us on Instagram @badonpaperpodcast. Follow Grace on Instagram @graceatwood and Becca @beccamfreeman.

This week, we’re chatting with our friend and standup comedian, Casey Basham! We talk about how we met, how she got into standup comedy, and how she adjusted to doing comedy in the pandemic! We also dive into her comedy about fertility, how people have received it, how it has become a cathartic outlet for her, and her special INCONCEIVABLE filming on October 26! We also talk about Grace’s Vienna trip, Becca’s sweater-knitting project, and everything we’ve been reading the past week! Follow Casey @casefaceb on Instagram The Shady Shit Podcast Inconceivable on October 26 at 7 pm at the Triad Theater   Obsessions Becca - Knitting her Sweater!  Grace - Yacht Rock Revue What we’ve read Goodnight Beautiful by Aimee Molloy Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier The Perfect Find by Tia Williams Wild at Heart by K.A. Tucker The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling October Book: A Special Place for Women by Laura Hankin Sponsors: Better Help - Go to betterhelp.com/badonpaper for 10% off your first month Olive & June - Go to oliveandjune.com/bop and use code BOP for 20% off your first manicure system Everlywell - Go to everlywell.com/bop for 20% off your at-home lab test Join our Facebook group for amazing book recs & more! Like and subscribe to RomComPods. Available wherever you listen to podcasts. Visit Grace’s blog, The Stripe. New posts daily! Follow us on Instagram @badonpaperpodcast. Follow Grace on Instagram @graceatwood and Becca @beccamfreeman.

After our episode with Anne Helen Petersen about burnout, we realized that we also have a lot to say on the subject and wanted to do a follow-up episode about our own experiences with burnout. If you haven’t listened to our episode with Anne Helen Petersen, you can listen here. We talk about our experiences with burnout both professionally and personally, burnout guilt,and some recent realizations about “having it all”. We also talk about our personal tips to improve burnout, what we do to check in with ourselves, and how we set boundaries to prevent even more burnout! Grace also shares details from her 40th birthday bash, Becca talks about getting back into routines, and more!  Our Burnout Resources There’s a Name for the Blah You’re Feeling: It’s Called Languishing Practical Frameworks for Beating Burnout Obsessions The Americans  Dolce Vita Paily Heels Only Murders in the Building Clickbait  What we’ve read Reminders of Him by Colleen Hoover Goodnight Beautiful by Aimee Molloy The Perfect Find by Tia Williams October Book: A Special Place for Women by Laura Hankin Sponsors: Night - Use the code NIGHTBOP for 20% off sitewide at discovernight.com Prose - Go to prose.com/BOP for your free in-depth hair quiz and 15% off your first order ZocDoc - Zocdoc: go to zocdoc.com/bop to sign up for free and find a top-rated doctor Join our Facebook group for amazing book recs & more! Like and subscribe to RomComPods. Available wherever you listen to podcasts. Visit Grace’s blog, The Stripe. New posts daily! Follow us on Instagram @badonpaperpodcast. Follow Grace on Instagram @graceatwood and Becca @beccamfreeman.

It’s finally time for The Magic of Found Objects Book Club! This Book felt totally different than others we’ve read recently and we’re so excited to talk about it!  The story follows Phronsie, who was conceived at Woodstock by a free-spirited hippie mother and a practical farmer father. All her life she’s been torn between the two. After trying her hand at the NYC dating scene, her childhood best friend proposes that they give up on romance and marry each other. After Phronsie agrees, she meets someone who makes a case for revisiting romance. While her stepmother argues for the safety of the engagement, her birth mother relays messages from the universe to hold out for true love, and Phronsie must look to her own heart to find the answers. In addition to talking all about the book, we also talk about Becca’s trip to Palm Beach, Grace’s birthday party prep, and the struggle of being a beginner again at something you used to be great at.  Instagram Obsessions @margaret.wright @ashnb1 Obsessions AFI’s 100 List What we’ve read The Identicals by Elin Hilderbrand The Perfect Find by Tia Williams White Smoke by Tiffany D Jackson Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarity Reminders of Him by Colleen Hoover October Book: A Special Place for Women by Laura Hankin Sponsors: Better Help - go to betterhelp.com/badonpaper for 10% your first month!  Join our Facebook group for amazing book recs & more! Like and subscribe to RomComPods. Available wherever you listen to podcasts. Visit Grace’s blog, The Stripe. New posts daily! Follow us on Instagram @badonpaperpodcast. Follow Grace on Instagram @graceatwood and Becca @beccamfreeman.  

This week, we got the chance to talk with Anne Helen Petersen, writer of the newsletter Culture Study, and author of Can’t Even: How Millennials Became The Burnout Generation.  We talk about how she got to where she is today, her personal definition of burnout, why millennials are more afflicted with burnout than other generations, how the pandemic sparked a new form of burnout, how social media impacts burnout, and so much more! She also shares her advice on how to tell if you’re burning out and how to avoid falling into it! In addition, Grace and Becca talk about Grace’s epic food weekend, Becca’s upcoming trip to Palm Beach, and our computer problems!  Find Anne Helen Petersen Instagram: @annehelenpetersen Twitter: @annehelen  Subscribe to her newsletter Culture Study Articles she recommends: Is everything an MLM, "In reality TV defined by renovation, the self becomes settled.” Her favorite fiction of the year: The Night Watchman by Louise Erdich Her favorite nonfiction of the year: The Season: A Social History of the Debutante by Kristen Richardson Instagram Obsession @british_fluffs Obsessions Grace: LuLaRich Becca: Challenges.app What we’ve read Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead Helter Skelter by Vincent Bugliosi & Curt Gentry White Smoke by Tiffany D Jackson Apples Never Fall by Liane Moriarty  Troubles in Paradise by Elin Hilderbrand The Identicals by Elin Hilderbrand  September Book: The Magic of Found Objects by Maddie Dawson Sponsors: Night - use code NIGHTBOP for 20% off everything at discovernight.com Harper Wilde - Get 20% off at harperwilde.com/BOP  Join our Facebook group for amazing book recs & more! Like and subscribe to RomComPods. Available wherever you listen to podcasts. Visit Grace’s blog, The Stripe. New posts daily! Follow us on Instagram @badonpaperpodcast. Follow Grace on Instagram @graceatwood and Becca @beccamfreeman.