Smart Podcast, Trashy Books: A Romance Novel Podcast

Verity, Elyse, Carrie, and Rich discuss books, TV shows, and writing. They critique the early 2000s language about women, discuss body shaming and anti-fat bias. Elyse and Carrie review the same book. Rich shares a life-changing book. They also talk about holiday wishes, book recommendations, and funny banter. Happy holidays from all of us!

It’s July 2004, and the ads and features are a wild ride.I might say that every month but this month it is especially true. We learn about a bunch of different bookstore that are still in business - and encounter a lot of ads for small presses that are, alas, long gone. There’s a lot of romance history in this issue.Bonus: I solve a HaBO for Amanda! Live! I’m so proud of me.Important: Do NOT miss the visual aids for this episode. My goodness me. Music: Purple-planet.comCoupon! New customers get $5 off Lume’s Starter Pack with our exclusive code and link. And for a limited time, returning customers can get $5 off their next purchase of $30 or more, too! Use code SARAH30 at LumeDeodorant.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s time for holiday wishes, book recommendations, and absolutely dreadful jokes, with listeners and reviewers as my guests!Each year I invite the review team from SBTB and the members of the Podcast Patreon to connect with me to offer recs, wishes, and, if they wish, a bad joke. These episodes are so popular and are like weekly hugs for your ears and your brain, with some potential hugs toward your TBR, which is definitely about to get a little taller.In this first of our holiday wishes series, Agnès, Sue, Jo and Varian join me.Find out what books made up 10% of Agnès’ reading this year!What series and what webtoon did Sue get lost in?What series did Jo and I have in common? What book did Varian text absolutely everyone about?And what happens when I’m on the receiving end of all the wonderful terrible jokes?Happy Holidays from all of us, to all of you! Coupon! New customers get $5 off Lume’s Starter Pack with our exclusive code. And for a limited time, returning customers can get $5 off their next purchase of $30 or more, too! Use code SARAH30 at LumeDeodorant.com.Music: purple-planet.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Thanks to Kay Sisk for sending us this issue! We’re taking a look at the book reviews from the July 2004 issue of RT Book Club – yup, the magazine had a different title back then.This issue predates the founding of SBTB, in fact! The genres are different, and so are the books inside. And! We have some one-star reviews!We’re going to talk aboutColor changing taffeta!Sex in department store fitting rooms!American historicalsAnd heads up for some absolutely incredible amounts of exoticism, racism, and something called “Lad Lit.”Music: purple-planet.comLink to visual aids! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Recently, Mara Wilson was talking about her favorite (and least favorite) romance tropes on social media, so I invited her onto the podcast to tell us all about it. You may know Mara Wilson from Matilda or Mrs. Doubtfire, but she’s currently working very happily as an audiobook narrator, most recently for Chuck Tingle's Camp Damascus!Please note: we don’t talk a lot about the films she has been in, because this was recorded while SAG-AFTRA and the WGA were on strike. Special thanks to Basil and Freya!COUPON! Find your new favorite fits and get 15% off @marinelayer with our exclusive link -> marinelayer.com/SARAH15. #marinelayerpodMusic:Purple-planet.com  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We are back with the June 2014 issue of RT Book Reviews, and we are taking a look at all the advertisements and features – and it’s a ride.We discuss the RT awards, the ads congratulating the winning authors, strange distorted feet, and wolf eyed vikings.No, we don’t know what that means, either.But we do have a question! Amanda, it seems, has never read a Harlequin Presents! Which one should she read for Maximum Presents experience?Music: purple-planet.comCoupon! Coupon! New customers get $5 off Lume’s Starter Pack with our exclusive code and link. And for a limited time, returning customers can get $5 off their next purchase of $30 or more, too! Use code SARAH30 at LumeDeodorant.comLink! Link! Check out all the visual aids for this episode right here at SBTB! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

True crime expert and author Sarah Weinman discusses the genre's societal impact, ethical concerns, and mental health effects. They explore the evolution of true crime writing, online communities' positive impact, and the allure of true crime fascination. The conversation also delves into gripping crime fiction books and highlights a nonfiction case involving investigative genetic genealogy.

We’re heading back to June 2014 to look at the nearly three hundred new books reviewed in RT Book Reviews.Come on a journey with us through historical, contemporary, thrillers, and inspirational, and learn more about cattle fraud. We are obsessed with boilers.Also: apologies in advance for the fact that I cannot say "minutiae," which, my bad. It's a word that never comes out of my brain correctly. My apologies.All the book covers, images, and more are right here at this link.Music: purple-planet.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the May 2014 Ads and Features episode of our Romantic Times Rewind series, the cover feature was all about Valerie Bowman, her latest book - and inside was a mention of her appearance on Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta in 2014!So Amanda and I connected with Valerie to hear all the details! We talk about weddings and dresses and reality tv, including a side trip discussion to the real housewives, Scandoval, and $17,000 sunglasses. Then we invent our own reality shows. This is a goofy, silly, very fun episode.Music: purple-planet.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’re back, traveling in time to May 2014 to take a look at the ads and the features inside RT Book Reviews magazine! Side trips include Say Yes to the Dress: Atlanta, the immortality of strange stock images on book covers, and the importance of alligator fritters in the marketing budget.You can find all the ads and images on SBTB! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.