Welcome to Smart Podcast, Trashy Books! Each Friday, I talk with authors, readers, reviewers, bloggers, publishing professionals, editors, and librarians, or combinations thereof, and share the fun and mayhem with you. Frequent topics include romance fiction, the brilliant and interesting people who read, write, and produce it, and issues common among romance readers, along with a hefty side order of silliness. Plus, we always recommend some books we’re reading and really enjoying.
And speaking of recommendations, are you new to the podcast? Welcome!
If you’re feeling overwhelmed, fear not: here are some of our most popular episodes – so far!
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 about Color changing taffeta! Sex in department store fitting rooms! … Continue reading 591. Romantic Times Rewind: July 2004 Reviews→
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 … Continue reading 590. Audiobooks and Romance Tropes with Mara Wilson→
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 … Continue reading 589. Romantic Times Rewind: June 2014 Ads & Features!→
Sarah Weinman joins me to talk about true crime, a genre which I absolutely cannot read! We talk about how true crime “can be a catalyst for social change” and why people, especially White women, obsessed with true crime. Plus we talk about Sarah’s latest books, Scoundrel, which has a surprising (to me) literary angle for true crime, and the anthology, Evidence of Things Seen. We discuss at length looking at the true crime genre … Continue reading 588. True Crime as Social Change with Sarah Weinman→
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: neither of us can say “minutiae,” which, my bad. It’s a word that never comes out of my brain correctly. My apologies. You can also check out all the book covers … Continue reading 587. Romantic Times Rewind: June 2014 Reviews→
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 … Continue reading 586. Saying Yes to the Dress with Valerie Bowman→
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.
THIS is episode 584 (I said in the intro that last week was 584 but I was wrong. Oops – my bad). Maggie Tokuda-Hall returns as a guest to talk about The Siren, The Song and the Spy, and so much has changed since our last conversation in Episode 406 when the first book, The Mermaid, The Witch, and the Sea released in May 2020. We also talk about racism and her experience with Scholastic … Continue reading 584. Queer Pirate Decolonization Fantasy with Maggie Tokuda-Hall→
It’s our first Romantic Times Rewind episode, starting with May 2014! We are looking at all 298 (!) book reviews in issue 363 of RT Book Reviews Magazine. Amanda and I are going to pick a book from each of the review collections by genre, from historical to urban fantasy to the Teen Scene. We also discuss the very narrow grading rubric, and the rarity of two- and one-star reviews. Journey back to May 2014 … Continue reading 583. Romantic Times Rewind: May 2014 with Amanda→
Lorelei King has been a guest on the show before, and you may recognize her name and her voice from her work in romance audiobook narration. This week, Lorelei joins me to talk about her role as a core participant in the official UK government COVID Inquiry, which begins its second phase on October 3. We also discuss her volunteer work on the COVID Memorial Wall in London. A content warning: We’re talking about COVID, … Continue reading 582. COVID Bereavement and Activism with Lorelei King→
Several years ago, Amanda had coffee with Maria Vale at a conference, and Maria mentioned a book she was working on that sounded really cool. And now, Molly Molloy and the Angel of Death is available to read! So we got together to talk about the book, what it’s like to write something that feels risky, different, and comes with warnings about HEA-expectations. This becomes a conversation about the HEA, how it works, and how … Continue reading 581. Death, Candy Corn, and Witches with Amanda and Maria Vale→
