Hey Book Talkers, welcome to a new bonus episode of Book Talk, etcetera. And I am here with Hannah and we wanted to give you a sneak peek about what to expect from us moving forward and to reintroduce me and introduce Hannah to the group. Hi Hannah, how are you?

Hannah (01:55.223)
I am doing great. I am so excited to be here with Tina talking books.

Tina (02:01.614)
I know, I know, that's the best part. It's like, you know, we get to talk books every week and people can listen to us, people can hear us and then it's fun because you'll be reminded, oh yeah, once the episode drops, like people will start chiming in and giving you their thoughts on the book. And I'm like, yeah, I did like it. So it's like a more immersive reading experience. So right now, this is just a bonus episode. We are going to release this first for our patrons. And then this will be right now.

You might be listening to it on the main feed. There's not a main episode today on April 30th, but you will get one next week. So we just wanted to share a few thoughts early. Let's start first with our vision for the podcast. And quite honestly, I don't see a lot of changes other than obviously a new co -host, but format wise, I'm anticipating everything will be the same. But more than that, I'm excited to grow with you. I'm excited to make it our own.

And I don't want you to ever feel like we're just, you're trying to fill a role, like you're trying to do what Renee always did. Like I'm excited for you to get into it and make it your own. Well, what are you, what are your vision for what to expect?

Hannah (03:12.919)
Yeah, honestly, I am just stoked to have another excuse to geek out about books. I'm really excited to continue building a bookish community. You know, the Booktalk, et cetera, community is one that I've been a part of as a patron since, like, its pilot episode. And to be able to continue on this side of the mic is really exciting. I'm excited to see what I can bring and, you know, build off of what you and Renee have already put so much work into creating. And I think what I'm the most excited about, A, is talking about books and being a part of the community because reading in community is really how I prefer to read. And I also am passionate about recommending books that are perfect for like finding the perfect book for the perfect reader.

Tina (04:04.237)
Yes, absolutely. I am with you. And OK, so we basically, I love that you said build on the community that we started because that was the first thought I had was, oh my God, I don't want to stop this. We've done such amazing things with Book Talk, et cetera, and I want to continue to build and continue to grow. So when I first got the news, I truly just sat there process. And then I immediately was like, I want to continue. And I want to.

Hannah (04:05.847)
Yeah.

Tina (04:29.325)
I think part of what makes our show so special is the friendship Renee and I have but also that it's two people really passionate about books and you get that consistency. I didn't want a bunch of interviews or co -hosts. I think people do that really well. For me, I know I do really well one -on -one. And so I just sat there and thought, okay, who might I want to talk books with? And I was like, you came to mind and I swear to you, I'm not usually like a universe girl, but something...

put you in my mind. And I reached out really awkwardly via DM on Instagram. I said something to the effect of, hey, can I have your phone number, I have a book question for you? I'm sure you were like, OK?  But then we spoke and sort of went from there.

Hannah (05:14.967)
Yeah, when you reached out, I obviously wondered if it was something related to the podcast, like, you know, coming on for an episode or something. But.

Tina (05:20.781)
Yeah.

Yeah. I was like, by the way, do you want to like, just do it with me? I don't know.

Hannah (05:29.143)
Yeah, I also love how when you asked, I was like, let me think about it. And then in the same conversation, I was like, let's do it.

Tina (05:36.622)
Let's go ahead and do it. Yeah, no, I appreciated that though, because I'm the same way. Like, I'm like, oh, absolutely. And truly, when we first thought of this, I was like, no, I couldn't possibly. Then I was like, no, yeah, actually, I'm definitely interested. So it felt familiar.  Okay. So a question I do have is what are you excited to bring to the show?

Hannah (06:28.919)
Yeah, something that I really enjoy in my reading life is reading a different variety of books all the time. I consider myself an extremely eclectic reader, which on social media can be challenging because I feel like Instagram and and TikTok are always trying to put you in a box and you have to.

Tina (06:54.157)
Mm -hmm.

Hannah (06:56.599)
have a niche in order to find community. And although I haven't necessarily found that 100 % to be true, I definitely have felt that in my experience on social media. And so I think I'm excited for an opportunity to be able to reach a lot of people with the really eclectic variety of books that I enjoy reading and talking about.


Tina (07:23.757)
Yeah, and I will say too, I do find, someone asked me in my real life, like, what does she read? And I said, you know, that's a great question. I truly sat there and I thought, God, I couldn't tell you, but I know I always like your recommendations. And then I thought in terms of like, okay, if someone were to describe me, maybe dark mystery thriller kind of might come to mind. And I was like, I think Hannah reads literary. I know you like weird books.

Hannah (07:44.727)
Sure. Mm -hmm.

Hannah (07:49.463)
Mm -hmm. I do.

Tina (07:51.565)
But I agree, I don't know that I would put you in a, but you also dabble too in fantasy. I don't know if it's called fantasy.

Hannah (07:57.175)
Yeah, yeah, I kind of, I mean, yeah, I mean, I guess being a mood reader, like sometimes I'll get on kicks, you know, where I'll read a bunch of romance and then I'm on to horror and you know, you never know, you never know. I like to keep things spicy, you know? But I would say that I typically, I think one thing that I would say is pretty consistent in my reading life is I really love emotional reads.  I really do like darker books in general. when I look at my story graph, my consistencies are emotional reads and reflective reads. And so I think across the genres that I read, those are two things that remain pretty consistent about my reading life.

Tina (08:50.22)
Mm -hmm. Yep.

Tina (08:57.485)
Mm -hmm. I'm with you. And I was thinking, too, like, I'm sure you'll have bringing new... I was thinking, too, I'm sure you're gonna be bringing new listeners to the show. So I'll share some of my, you know, things just in case folks aren't familiar with me. I like emotional, dark, mysterious. I do like a mystery and thriller. And God help me, I love a popcorn thriller, even though, like, I should be over them by now. They still get me.

I don't read a lot of true crime, although I like it in theory. I don't read it in print. And I also really like memoir. And I'd like to get into more nonfiction. Horror is definitely another interest of mine, but I'm excited to continue to branch out, because I think that's one thing I noticed when podcasting is that my reading definitely did change. It definitely broadened my scope. So I'm also kind of cool. I think it'll be cool to see how things change for you. Or maybe they won't. You know, maybe that's already, we're just leaning into what you typically do. I do want to know more about your... beginnings on Bookstagram. Can you tell me a little bit about that?

Hannah 
Yeah, so I got started on Bookstagram in 2015 in an effort to find community after moving away from my hometown for the first time in my 20s. I was newly married, I lived in a new city, and I'd been following some Booktubers and Bookstagramers for a while, but I hadn't yet considered making my own channel, whether that be on YouTube or Instagram.

It was a smaller community then. It wasn't quite as robust as it is now. But my husband is actually who encouraged me to create a bookstagram as a way to encourage my reading and find community. I've since met some amazing friends through the platform, including you, Tina. And I think we've been following each other, I mean, basically since we started, because I think you started around, I think you started around the same time.

Tina (
Yeah.

Tina 
Yeah, for a really long time.

Hannah 
My reading has changed a ton since I started on on Bookstagram and I anticipate that probably happening with this new adventure and platform to talk about books as well. When I first started, I read a ton of historical fiction and young adult and now I wouldn't consider those two main genres that I read at all. I don't really read any. I read some, but I don't read a ton of young adults anymore.


Hannah 
So yeah, my reading has already changed a lot over the last seven or eight years, and I'm excited to see how it'll change, if it does, moving forward.

Tina 
Yeah, I know. You're right. I started in 2016 on Bookstagram because I remember I got my doctorate and heaven forbid I take a moment's peace. I was like, I need to keep writing. I just finished my dissertation and I was like, I need to keep writing somehow. So I started a blog and also started an Instagram for books kind of just in conjunction with that. Totally got really more, much more into the social media aspect of things and.

It was, I love it. I kept, I have all my old posts up still and I just look back and I think, wow, what a, I mean, I've come a long way. I remember it was, I kept it secret from people for like the first long while, including my husband. And finally he saw the pictures and he was like, I was like, oh, I do this thing. I like take pictures of my books. He's like, right, I noticed. Like not a big secret, not a secret. I'm an only child and you're a Scorpio too. I know our birthdays are like two days apart.

Hannah (12:34.359)
That is so funny.

Tina  
So I'm very secretive. I'm like a little rat. I don't want anybody to know what I'm doing. Like, I don't know. I'm insular. But yeah, so he didn't even know. But yeah, like you said, since then, wow, has it grown. Now I've got a podcast. I've got so many friends. I just met over the weekend another friend from, two friends last week from Instagram. I'm like, how incredible, right? And the people around us were like, oh, how do you and Laura know each other? And I was like. ..Instagram

But I wasn't embarrassed anymore. I'm like, no, I'm very proud of the fact that this is a very legitimate way to meet people and create community like you mentioned.

Hannah 
I love that. And we don't live too far apart from each other either, so I'm sure.

Tina (13:18.925)
No, we don't. I know. We should say we've not yet met. Someday we will absolutely make a trip. But yeah, very, very much not a far ride at all.  So this is just a little sample of what you can expect from us, but I thought it would be fun to wrap today up with this. When Renee and I did our very first teaser for the show, we had a prompt question, and the question is, it's the first nice day of the year. What are you reading and what are you drinking? Could be anything, so I will let you go first.

Hannah (14:13.463)
Okay, I love this question. So I would be sitting on my back deck. We have an awesome back deck. I'd be reading Ready or Not, which is the new romance by Cara Bastone. It has that really pretty spring cover, the couple walking on the sidewalk. It's got all those pastels and it's just such a pretty spring book. And it's a slow burn, friends to lovers romance, which are two of my favorite tropes in the romance genre.

and I would do either an iced matcha latte or if it was a weekend, I'd keep it spicy and I'd make myself a really nice gin cocktail with a lime wedge.


Oh, with a heavy on the lime wedge. Okay. I like this. I like this. Okay. And I remember what I said last time. I talked about my little chair that I said, and we're in a new house since then, but I am going to be outside as well. I'm going to be on our front porch. We've got, I just got furniture for it. We had one weekend where it was like in the sixties in Chicago. And of course I'm like, Oh my God, this is perfect. I got our chairs out. I got this little.
kind of bistro table. I'm like, this is going to be my summer. And then immediately it's been pretty much in the 40s and 30s ever since. So I've not sat, I sat in it one time, but warmer weather is coming. So I'm sitting in my front porch or on my front porch and the girls are somewhere else. They're not around. They are elsewhere. So I can actually sit. And this book that I am obsessed with is, We Used to Live Here by Marcus.

How do you say that, Clywer? It's called We Used to Live Here by Marcus Clywer. And this one is one that I just had my eye on. And if there's one thing about me that I love, it's a spooky house. If it's an unsettling house, the house has something in it that's a little questionable, and this perfectly hits. It's about a young queer couple who flips houses. They get this deal on a house and they cannot believe it. They're like, oh my gosh, it's an old house in a picturesque neighborhood. They're so excited.

One day there's a knock on the door and a man stands there with his family and says he used to live there years before. But hey, would it be okay if I came and showed my kids around? Eve lets them in. I could see myself probably doing the same thing. And then as soon as they leave, uncanny and creepy things start happening. One of the kids goes missing. I mean, it is just, sounds like chaos from there. That's my sort of story. I want a story that's a page turner. I want to be titillated. I want to be immersed.

And even better if there's like maybe a spooky element to it. So that would be my, that's what I'm up to.  So I couldn't drink last summer. So this summer we've been joking is the summer of Tina. And I'm seeing myself have a nice cold summer shandy with a lemon wedge. Like that's what I'm having if it's the weekend. Yeah. Right. Or if it's like four o 'clock on a Friday, I guess that's the weekend. So that's what I am doing. It's the year of Tina. Yes. Summer of Tina. Yeah. Yeah. So.

Hannah (17:28.023)
Oh, sounds like a perfect summer beverage. Mm -hmm. Mm -hmm. It's a Tina. It's the year of Tina , and I love it.

Tina (17:41.612)
I mean, that's it for today, everyone. We're so excited to meet you and work together. This bonus is going out to our patrons first, so you all would have heard this, but this is also on the main show during our dark week. There will be no main episode today on April 30th, but we'll be back next week. Thank you for spending a part of your day with us. Again, Hannah and I will be next week and remember.

Hannah (18:04.471)
Everything's better with books. Bye.


Bye.


 Oh my god, I'm so excited. I'm such a dork. <3