Bubbles and Books

By now, many of us have seen our Spotify Wrapped... but now it's time for the bookish edition. In today's episode, we're diving into a year's work of bookstore data to reveal our most-read genres, best-sellers, biggest surprises, and interesting trends. It's our official Bookstore Wrapped. Listen along, and let us know if anything of these stats surprised you!

Plus, listen to see what our #1 selling book of 2025 is. Hint: This auth...

When Amanda traveled to Australia earlier this year, she was introduced to her new favorite mystery series. As soon as she came home she handed her copy to Ellyn and said that we had to carry "The Bookshop Detectives" at Dog-Eared Books. We are so lucky to be joined on today's episode of Bubbles & Books by the authors and fellow indie bookstore owners Gareth and Louise Ward. Trust us, you're going to want to start on this delig...

Today’s Poppin' Off episode of Bubbles & Books is an absolute delight and reminds us why we love what we do. We are beyond thrilled to welcome debut author Lovell Holder, who joins us to chat about his thoroughly entertaining new novel, The Book of Luke.

Whether you're a reality TV addict or not, you're going to be swept away by this bingeworthy book and its main character, Luke. And after listening to this podcast, we think yo...

Small Business Saturday is the perfect time to show love to our local businesses on Main Street and in our community. In today's episode we're highlighting a few new and familiar voices from Downtown Ames. We hope you'll stop by and shop all of these wonderful stores, as well as the many others that make Downtown Ames such a special place to visit, this holiday season.

SHOW NOTES:

Browse the Dog-Eared Books 2025 Holiday Gift Guide ...

We recently launched our holiday gift guide, and we're going through the books our booksellers submitted as their favorite reads of 2025. Each bookseller sent in a short clip about why they loved their pick, and the mix of genres amongst everyone is fantastic. We know there is something for everyone, and we hope you enjoy listening.

Don't forget to browse our Holiday Gift Guide and find something perfect for yourself or someone in ...

Today, Amanda and Ellyn are highlighting Indigenous authors and stories in celebration of Indigenous Peoples Day. The history of replacing Columbus Day with Indigenous People’s Day goes back to the 1970's! In 1977, the International Conference on Discrimination Against Indigenous Populations in the Americas, sponsored by the United Nations, first began discussing this change. It is a challenge to the notion that Christopher Columbu...

Welcome to the "Bramily!" Today’s Bubbles & Books Podcast episode is a celebration of the one and only Brandi Carlile. Inspired by Ellyn's request to  pop a bottle of Brandi’s own XOBC Cellars Sparkling Wine. Brandi isn’t just a once-in-a-generation talent, she’s also one of the truly good ones, and always has been.

Right now we could all use a little more light and inspiration, so we’re diving into the essential Brandi Carlile...

Okay, hear us out... this episode of the Bubbles & Books podcast might sound slightly ridiculous (or completely unhinged), but it dives into some truly wild and weird bookish territory. We’re talking attractive cryptids, romances with sentient objects, and just how far the romance genre is willing to go in the name of pure, chaotic entertainment.

So now we’re asking you, If you had to pick a sentient object, cryptid, or other c...

Today, we’re singing our hoa hoa's and driving up the 101 of the Pacific Northwest to the iconic town of Forks, Washington. Why, you ask? Because it’s almost the 20th anniversary of Twilight, and we’re celebrating like it’s 2005! 

Dog-Eared Books is throwing a Twilight-themed Prom, and we’re embracing all the sparkly vampire vibes. In this episode, we’re joined by bookseller (and resident Twilight expert) Bailey to give us all the ...

We're bringing back one of our favorite games, reading hilariously bad reviews of some truly great books! This time, Amanda has picked out books that Ellyn read and loved this year. She’ll be reading one-star reviews to Ellyn, who has to guess which book they’re roasting. Listen along and see if you can figure it out before she does!

Books coming out this week | American Werewolves by Emily Jane, Replaceable You by Mary Roach, &...

Today we welcome Annie B. Jones, bookstore owner, author, and podcast host to today's Bubbles & Books episode! Annie is the owner of the indie bookstore The Bookshelf in Thomasville, Georgia, and the voice behind the popular podcast From the Front Porch. We’re convinced she belongs on the (imaginary but totally necessary) Bookstore Owners Walk of Fame. In this episode, we dive into the joys and challenges of bookstore ownership...

As you know, this podcast is called Bubbles and Books, so naturally, every episode comes with a good read and a glass of bubbly in hand. But with so many books on our shelves, we can't talk about them all. So in this episode, we're hitting pause and spotlighting the ones we just can’t let slip by. These are the books we would be remiss to miss sharing with you. 

Books mentioned in this episode:

Ellyn:

Everyone could use a little birding in their life! That’s why we’re so excited to welcome Brenda, host of Dog-Eared’s Better Birding book club, along with bookseller Eloise, who’s just getting started with birding and already loving the journey. Birding is taking off among both adults and younger generations, so today we’re diving into the joys of birdwatching, the best apps for identifying birds, some of our favorite bird-themed b...

Get ready, book lovers, on today's episode of Bubbles & Books Ellyn and Amanda are joined by none other than Kaytee Cobb and Meredith Monday Schwartz, the dynamic duo behind the wildly popular Currently Reading podcast.

These two are bookish podcast legends, and we were thrilled to sit down with them to chat about what they’re currently reading (of course!), how Currently Reading got its start, and Kaytee and Meredith’s amazing...

Ellyn is joined by Bailey and Rachel for a chaotic deep-dive into some of fiction’s most iconic characters from Peeta and Gale in The Hunger Games, to the Roomba in Margo's Got Money Troubles. We’re dishing out red, beige, and green flags to everyone from the Dung Beetle in I Eat Poop, to Edward Cullen, Odo from O Sinners!, characters from Fourth Wing, and plenty more.

Listen to hear which characters pass the vibe check, and which ...

Today on Bubbles & Books, Amanda and Ellyn are joined by author Shoba Rao! Her upcoming novel Indian Country first caught their eye with its stunning cover, and completely captivated them with its brilliant opening. A conversation not to be missed, and be sure to grab your copy of Indian Country when it hits shelves on Tuesday, August 5!

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Make sure to subscribe and rate the Bu...

What would you do if you lost nearly everything you own?

That’s exactly what happened to Dog-Eared’s co-owner Amanda Lepper and author Helen Chandler-Wilde after devastating fires changed their lives forever. Instead of rushing to replace it all, they started asking bigger questions. What really matters? What’s worth keeping? Can we live with less?

In this episode, they open up about loss, letting go, and learning to live more inte...