Speaking LITerally

Speaking LITerally #64: Book Club Featuring The Most Wonderful Crime of The Year

The final episode of 2025 is here, and there is no better way to wrap up the year than with a book club episode! Jen and Steph join Holly and Liz to discuss Ally Carter's popular holiday mystery romance. Let's just say the book was a BIG hit!

Additional topics include the Goodread's Reader Choice Award winners, Audible's partnership with ...

Australian Indie Author Sean Bobby Kerr joins the show to discuss his epic fantasy book. She shares some fun and interesting insight on his experience as an author and how he approaches his writing process.

It's the time of year where book awards are announced and holiday books are all the rage. We address both in this episode, as well as some recent and upcoming movie adaptations.

Not to spoil all the fun, but a few of the books...

Natalia Williams joins the show to talk her book Taking the Cake and her Tango Series in our latest episode.

It's Halloween, so we discuss the season and how Darcy Coates has become a fixture in our spooky season library.

Other topics discussed include the Book of the Year candidates and the Indiverse Awards. To cover the international news of the recent Louvre robbery, heist books are also a big topic of discussion.

The fun never...

Rabbit Moon author Jan D Payne joins the show to share her passion of writing and how her background with the Navajo Nation has shaped her storytelling.

Spooky season is here, so we would not be doing our job without discussing some of our picks for the season. Books covered include Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman, The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna, and October Forever by Katie Cawood. Stephe...

Prepare yourself for an epic adventure in this episode. There are more off-the-rails moment than in any recent episodes making it one of the most fun ones yet!

The Book Club girls have quite a bit to share about this new horror book by Nat Cassidy that explores the concept of what happens when we have the power to manifest your fears into real, tangible entities.

What else is in store? Well, what do the Babysitter's Club and KPop...

Laura Hern, author of The Lainey Maynard Mystery series, joins the show to to discuss her journey as an author.

Topics on the show also include adaptation updates, Hank Green's Focus Friend App and many book discussions and mentions: Strange Houses by Uketsu, Babel by FR Kuang, and Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman just to name a few.

When the Wolf Comes Home by Nat Cassidy will be the focus of the next episode&#...

Indie romance author Kat Neil joins the show to discuss her series, In the Name of Love. Her series currently has 3 of the 4 books out now. Book 4 is set to be released in late 2025. You'll definitely want to check them out! We also discuss our favorite binge-worthy cooking shows!

There is much to discuss this time. Everything from the Jennifer Lynn Barnes book signing event, to book award nominees, to BookTok inspi...

The long awaited Dinner Party has arrived! So what does an author/character/podcast dinner party look like? What would a dinner at a swanky New York Italian restaurant look like with a group of fictional horror characters? What would their host gifts be? Take a listen and find out!

Also in this most recent episode, we discuss books including We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer and Funny Story by Emily Henry. Other topics include ...

With our 4th year anniversary show comes a first for us - a show trigger warning, please see ending note.

Book Club this month is JA Forde's "On a Flight to Sydney." According to a Steph during the show this is "one of my favorite romcoms!" Yep, this book is a perfect summer read, and it becomes one of our longer talks as while it is a sweet romance on the surface, there is so much more.

In this episode, we also d...

Dive into the world of books with us again this month as we discuss a wide variety of bookish things including thoughts on the cast for Sunrise on the Reaping and the July release of the Netflix adaptation of Remarkedly Bright Creatures.

Joining the show this month is return Indie author, Jessika Grewe Glover, who discusses her new release, BloodLily, a very spicy vampire romance!

Also discussed are the books Aftertaste by Daria Lave...

Becca Lopez, owner of Bookish Becca, Co., joins the show to discuss her shop - how she got started, her goals, and even the challenges of being a small business owner. Her online shop focuses primarily on candles, wax melts, lotions and soaps that are bookishly inspired.

Did you know that April 26 is Indie Bookstore Day? We share some information regarding this annual event, plus we provide updates on the UK beginning to feel some b...

Jenn Bouchard returns to the show to discuss her new book Considering Us, a fun story that won't leave you sad about a young private chef who takes on the role of Director of Dining at a New England boarding school after facing a scandal in Boston.

Not only do we get to welcome back a return author, but you also won't want to miss our discussions on several books and bookish topics including:

• The Sunrise on the Reaping hy...

What an episode this turned out to be! The moral and ethical roller coaster that our speed round takes us on was unexpected, but so, so good! And, all based off of ideas discussed throughout our book club chat on Noni's hit YA book, "The Prison Healer."

Besides an in-depth analysis of our March Book Club pick, there was much to discuss:

• 2025 Indieverse Award nominations are out - Speaki...

Author Jaqueline Snowe joins the show to talk all things romance, specifically sports romance, and to discuss her debut thriller, Tell Me You Trust Me, that will be released on February 11 under the name Elle Owens.

Onyx Storm is all the rage right now, so there is a deep dive into the book, and thoughts and opinions are shared! Be aware there are spoilers on Onyx Storm that you may want to skip to avoid.

Other topics include, Author...

Hello episode 50! With the first official episode of 2025, the bookish duo rings in a new year with their 50th episode and a fantastic guest author!

Join them in welcoming award winning author Kevin Wolf to the show to talk about his contemporary western fiction mysteries.

Not only is Kevin a fantastic guest, but there are also many discussions revolving around the Tracy Wolff copyright infringement lawsuit, the release of Onyx Storm...

Join Liz & Holly on Speaking LITerally #49 for a bookish look back at 2024!

2024 was another amazing book year! Join Holly and Liz as they reflect on the all the adventures shared over the past year. From Book Club discussions to amazing author interviews, 2024 has been a fun ride.

In this Year in Review, the bookish friends discuss their favorite reads and what they feel was the best book of the year. Liz also teaches Holly how ...

'Tis the season for Book Awards and holiday reads! This month we have an exciting episode filled with talks of book award winners, Kindle news and a little bit of romance.

Holiday book discussions include thoughts on How My Neighbor Stole Christmas by Meghan Quinn and My December Darling by Lauren Asher before jumping into our Book Club discussion of the Victorian holiday novella, A Holiday by Gaslight by Mimi...

The holiday season is upon us. And as always, there is so much to talk about when it comes to the world of books! So, what will you get in this episode?

• The Booker Prize challenge winner
• Update on NaNoWriMo
• Mini-Book Discussions
• Engaging interview with Author DW Brooks

Plus a whole lot of fun and laughs! Don't miss it!

#HappyReading

About Speaking L...

It's October - one of the best times of the year! Join us as we take on all the fun of the spooky season!

Besides our chat on upcoming book adaptations, a mention of a recent Disneyland trip and an upcoming Ireland trip, and NaNoWriMo goals, we discuss many books that might give you something to add to your end of the month reading list.

Just a small sampling of the books we discuss: