My Favorite Fiction Podcast and Book Pairings: Spooky Edition
/My family and I have been so busy lately that finding time to read has been extremely difficult. As someone who always has an earbud in and a podcast playing, I’ve come across a few fiction podcast gems that have completely sucked me into their worlds and made me slightly obsessed. I have always enjoyed audiobooks and still listen to several a month, but there is just something different about a story in podcast form. Maybe it’s all the time I spent watching soap operas growing up, but the short episodes filled with a wide range of characters and multiple concurrent storylines has always been the best way to keep my attention and interest.
Some of these podcasts are no longer active, but all their episodes are available for listening. Some have some pretty intense content warnings so definitely check their websites for details.
Because I loved:
I listened to:
Old Gods of Appalachia. Created by Steve Shell and Cam Collins, this horror anthology podcast is set in an alternate Appalachia and features dark gods, magical people, and intricate storytelling. Steve Shell’s voice is almost disturbingly perfect for the narration of these stories and the full cast episodes are absolutely haunting. It’s highly recommended that you begin with episode 1 and continue in episode order. This is one of my absolute favorite podcasts.
Unwell: A Midwestern Gothic Mystery is a fabulous full cast fiction podcast. Lillian Harper returns home to care for her estranged mother and discovers that there is so much more to the small town of Mt. Absalom. Centered around the boarding house her mother runs, Unwell is full of ghosts, creepy mysteries, and disturbing happenings in the woods.
Because I loved:
I listened to:
After losing his job, Nate moves across the country with his precious dog Bella and discovers a disturbing stash of letters in the cellar of his rental house. As Nate tries to uncover the mystery of his new house, he documents it all in podcast form with some….mixed results. I really love this one and luckily, the third season is coming soon!
I’m pretty sure I was the last person on earth to discover this fantastic podcast. Jonathon Sims is the new head archivist of the mysterious Magnus Institute. As Jonathon begins the overwhelming task of organizing and recording disturbing witness statements that were left in disarray from the previous archivist, Jonathan uncovers a disturbingly dark side of the Institute. Full cast, completely engrossing and horrifying, it’s no wonder it has won ALL the awards.
What are your favorite spooky podcasts?
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I Think You’re Wrong (But I’m Listening) by Sarah Stewart Holland and Beth Silvers (Copy)
/So….news just dropped! Big news here in the U.S. I’ve never been shy about my politics so let’s just say, I’m buying champagne on my way home today! If things are going to be touchy where you are, might I suggest this book, which I first shared in February of 2019.
The hosts of one of my all time favorite podcasts, Pantsuit Politics, have written their first book! I Think You’re Wrong (But I’m Listening) is just as wonderful as the podcast. Beth and Sarah are known for their ability to have tough discussions about difficult topics and do so without any shouting or insults. In fact, they say that at the beginning of each and every podcast. Their ability to bring nuance to each and every discussion has led to a devoted following and one of the most informative and enjoyable podcasts available today.
I Think You’re Wrong (But I’m Listening) is their guide to having these nuanced conversations in our everyday lives. They provide real life tips and advice on how to talk politics with friends and family of differing political views and opinions. At the end of each chapter, Beth and Sarah provide questions for the reader to help further the conversations that need to happen in real life and provide scriptures that have helped guide them in their own interactions.
You can hear Beth and Sarah in this book. It is true to their personalities and provides that seem level of grace, intelligence, and thoughtfulness that they give us each week in their podcast. If you are looking for a nuanced take on politics and life, I highly recommend picking up this book and checking out their podcast, Pantsuit Politics.
You can get your copy, and help support the site, here:
Full Disclosure: I received an advanced copy of this book from the authors-but I did also preorder this book. All opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links and I earn from qualifying purchases.
Don't Overthink It by Anne Bogel
/Available Now
I have been a longtime listener of the book podcast What Should I Read Next and if you haven't heard it yet, I highly recommend it. For several years now, I have trusted Anne and her soft, perfect for radio voice, to provide me with quality books in genres I don't typically read. Anne is a big believer in how learning about your personality type can help you better understand yourself and has written a book on called Reading People. Her second book, I'd Rather be Reading, is a love letter to readers everywhere about the joys of falling in love with books.
When Anne announced on her podcast that she had a third book coming out, I instantly preordered it. And just to throw this out there, she's a mom of 4 kids, runs a podcast, a website, and teaches online classes. How does she do it all? I'm ready for her to write that book!
Don't Overthink It is full of sound advice backed by research on how to stop stressing about decisions and instead, trust our instincts and experiences to guide us into making the right decision for us. Anne gives us examples from her own life on how the stress of overthinking decisions can lead to fatigue, exasperation, and spending time stressing instead of enjoying our lives.
With our world in such a state of chaos right now, I found this book to be the calming influence I need right now. School is cancelled for at least the next month which means now we're doing remote learning. Should I have The Kid stick to his regular school day schedule or be more flexible? Will being flexible lead to us not getting all of his work done in a timely manner? Would it better to spend the day hiking-far from other people in a remote park-or spend hours on the computer completing math and science assignments? How much screen time is too much? It can be overwhelming or I can trust his teachers will be understanding about the differing needs of families and know that not everything will get done on the day it's scheduled. One should never pass up the chance to go hiking in a park that is miraculously empty of people. That bottle calf named Mae Belle who joined the farm last week, she'll be the best teacher of consistency and needing to follow schedules because that little girl lets you know when she is hungry! She can just as easily teach him patience and empathy as any of his Social Emotional assignments can.
Don’t Overthink It allowed me the confidence to trust my instincts and quit stressing about the small stuff. And, even some of the big stuff.
I thoroughly enjoyed this title and if you would like a copy for yourself, you can get yours here:
You can find more about Anne Bogel's podcast here:
https://modernmrsdarcy.com/what-should-i-read-next/
You can find more about Anne Bogel here:
More books by Anne Bogel:
As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases through affiliate links.
I Think You’re Wrong (But I’m Listening) by Sarah Stewart Holland and Beth Silvers
/So….news just dropped! Big news here in the U.S. I’ve never been shy about my politics so let’s just say, I’m buying champagne on my way home today! If things are going to be touchy where you are, might I suggest this book, which I first shared in February of 2019.
The hosts of one of my all time favorite podcasts, Pantsuit Politics, have written their first book! I Think You’re Wrong (But I’m Listening) is just as wonderful as the podcast. Beth and Sarah are known for their ability to have tough discussions about difficult topics and do so without any shouting or insults. In fact, they say that at the beginning of each and every podcast. Their ability to bring nuance to each and every discussion has led to a devoted following and one of the most informative and enjoyable podcasts available today.
I Think You’re Wrong (But I’m Listening) is their guide to having these nuanced conversations in our everyday lives. They provide real life tips and advice on how to talk politics with friends and family of differing political views and opinions. At the end of each chapter, Beth and Sarah provide questions for the reader to help further the conversations that need to happen in real life and provide scriptures that have helped guide them in their own interactions.
You can hear Beth and Sarah in this book. It is true to their personalities and provides that seem level of grace, intelligence, and thoughtfulness that they give us each week in their podcast. If you are looking for a nuanced take on politics and life, I highly recommend picking up this book and checking out their podcast, Pantsuit Politics.
You can get your copy, and help support the site, here:
Full Disclosure: I received an advanced copy of this book from the authors-but I did also preorder this book. All opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links and I earn from qualifying purchases.
I'd Rather Be Reading by Anne Bogel
/
I’d Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life is a love letter to readers everywhere. It’s a reassurance that it’s ok to have overflowing bookshelves and never ending piles of books that we couldn’t let languish on a sale rack. It’s an affirmation that no matter how you read-audio, physical, e-reader, book club,in a coffee shop or in line at the store-it’s all equally important.
And, perfectly ok.
Anne covers everything reading related. From how to select books, proper shelving techniques, and how to not force books on others no matter how good your intentions are. Oh, and how to rearrange your books because the first shelving system didn’t work. And then, change it again.
Her words on never ending TBR piles spoke volumes to me. I have 37 physical books I want to read on the two shelves next to me right now. 37! That I have paid for and can’t wait to get to. I also have 7 advance digital copies and 4 paperbacks that come out next month to read-and hopefully they’re great so I can share them with you. Not to mention Book of the Month and oh, yeah, I work at a library. So I completely understand never ending TBR lists.
Anne writes of her love of the library and how living next door to one shaped her as a reader and an adult. How a library can help fuel passions and help discover new interests.
I’d Rather Be Reading is a slim volume about the true love of reading life.
Anne has another book, Reading People: How Seeing the World Through the Lens of Personality Changes Everything, that was published last year and definitely worth checking out. Not only does Anne have a thing for long titles, she has a gift for gorgeous book covers that look amazing on your shelves.
You can also find her on one of my favorite bookish podcasts, What Should I Read Next, where she provides book recommendations to readers facing the biggest obstacle-what should I read next? It's actually the first book related podcast I started listening to and it is truly a delight to listen to other readers gush about the books they love.
I'd Rather Be Reading is available now, and available wherever you buy books. You can get your copy, and help support the site, here:
Also, as of this morning, Anne's book Reading People is available on Kindle for $2.99 this morning!