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Babes in Bookland: Your Favorite Women's Bookclub Podcast

Alex Frnka - Bookclub Host
  • 5.0 (58)
  • Books
  • Updated Weekly

Babes in Bookland is the book club podcast for women who love women's stories. We read the memoirs, dissect the narratives, and celebrate the writers brave enough to put it all on the page. Great books, honest conversation, and a whole lot of love for women's voices in literature. Think of us as your most well-read friend who always knows exactly which book you need next. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. Objectify Her // Lauren Fleshman's "Good for a Girl"

    5d ago

    Objectify Her // Lauren Fleshman's "Good for a Girl"

    What would it mean to build women's sports around women's bodies?  This week, my friend Becca returns to discuss Lauren Fleshman's memoir "Good for a Girl". What starts as a running memoir quickly reveals itself as something far bigger: an investigation into the science of female puberty and athletics, the eating disorder epidemic inside women's collegiate and professional sports, and one woman's relentless fight to change a sport she loves from the inside out. We discuss Lauren's unconventional path to running, the ways puberty has been treated as "the one injury a girl can't come back from," the NCAA's staggering lack of policy around eating disorders in women's athletics, Lauren's famous Nike "Objectify Me" campaign, and the ways female athletes are still being failed by the systems built to protect them. This episode is for every woman who was ever told she was good — for a girl. The runners, the former athletes, the moms of daughters in sports, and anyone who has ever felt their body was working against them instead of for them. If this conversation resonated with you, the best thing you can do is share it with a friend who needs to hear it, and rate and review the show wherever you listen. It makes a huge difference! Purchase "Good for a Girl" Other Links: https://www.milesplit.com/articles/211759/dear-younger-me-lauren-fleshman (Lauren's letter to her younger self) Follow Becca's bookstagram: @bookedwithbecca and her new running account: @run.with.becca Support the show: On Patreon Buy us a book Buy cute merch Subscribe to the Babes in Bookland Substack Connect with us and suggest a great memoir! Follow us on instagram! @babesinbooklandpod  Thank you for listening! Xx, Alex Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    55 min

  2. Jun 9 ·  Bonus • Subscribers Only

    SUBSCRIBER EDITION: Lauren Fleshman's "Good for a Girl"

    What would it mean to build women's sports around women's bodies? This week, my friend Becca returns to discuss Lauren Fleshman's memoir "Good for a Girl". What starts as a running memoir quickly reveals itself as something far bigger: an investigation into the science of female puberty and athletics, the eating disorder epidemic inside women's collegiate and professional sports, and one woman's relentless fight to change a sport she loves from the inside out. We discuss Lauren's unconventional path to running, the ways puberty has been treated as "the one injury a girl can't come back from," the NCAA's staggering lack of policy around eating disorders in women's athletics, Lauren's famous Nike "Objectify Me" campaign, and the ways female athletes are still being failed by the systems built to protect them. This episode is for every woman who was ever told she was good — for a girl. The runners, the former athletes, the moms of daughters in sports, and anyone who has ever felt their body was working against them instead of for them. If this conversation resonated with you, the best thing you can do is share it with a friend who needs to hear it, and rate and review the show wherever you listen. It makes a huge difference! Links: https://www.milesplit.com/articles/211759/dear-younger-me-lauren-fleshman (Lauren's letter to her younger self) Follow Becca's bookstagram: @bookedwithbecca and her new running account: @run.with.becca Follow Babes in Bookland: @babesinbooklandpod Thank you for supporting the show! Xx, Alex

    1h 21m
  3. AUTHOR CHAT: Jessica Zucker's "I Had a Miscarriage" & "Normalize It"

    Jun 3

    AUTHOR CHAT: Jessica Zucker's "I Had a Miscarriage" & "Normalize It"

    What would change if women stopped being silent about the hardest parts of their lives? This week, I sit down with psychologist, author, and advocate Dr. Jessica Zucker, the woman behind the viral #IHadAMiscarriage movement, to discuss her memoir I Had a Miscarriage and her newest book Normalize It: Upending the Silence, Stigma, and Shame That Shape Women's Lives. TW: Infant loss, pregnancy loss Jessica shares the story behind her 16-week miscarriage, how it deepened her already decade-long clinical work in women's reproductive and maternal mental health, and why she felt compelled to bring that conversation into the public sphere. We also dig into why so many women default to self-blame after pregnancy loss, how our culture has taught us to minimize our grief, and why avoiding painful emotions can be far more destructive than actually feeling them. Plus these big questions: Can pleasure and grief coexist? What does it mean to truly honor a loss? And why do the people who most deserve joy so often feel the least entitled to it? Come for the conversation about pregnancy loss and women's shame. Stay for the moment Alex and Jessica unpack why grief avoidance, not grief itself, is what really derails us, and the simple, no-excuse practice Jessica recommends for anyone who doesn't have time to fall apart. Warm, honest, and full of gentle permission slips, this conversation is for anyone who has ever shrunk their pain to make others more comfortable — which is probably all of us. Purchase Jessica's Books: Normalize It! I had a Miscarriage Find Jessica! Dr. Jessica Zucker's website: drjessicazucker.com Her Instagram: @IHadAMiscarriage Support the show: On Patreon Buy us a book Buy cute merch Subscribe to the Babes in Bookland Substack Connect with us and suggest a great memoir! Follow us on instagram! @babesinbooklandpod  Thank you for listening! Xx, Alex Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    51 min

  4. Season 3 Trailer

    TEASER: Missed Opportunity // Lena Dunham's "Famesick"

    This week, Brett is back for a bonus episode and we are getting into "Famesick", Lena Dunham's new memoir about illness, ambition, Hollywood, and whether any of it was worth it. Brett isn't just any reader here — she worked closely with Lena during the Girls era at United Talent Agency, which means this conversation comes with some serious behind-the-scenes context that you are not going to get anywhere else. We break down what the book actually delivers versus what it promises: the health journey, the name dropping, the rise-to-fame years, the rehab chapters, the wildest dedication page we have ever read, and the moment with Barbara Walters that has been making the rounds for good reason. We also get into what the memoir conspicuously leaves out — her friendship with Taylor Swift, the wording of the November 17th statement — and why those omissions say just as much as what she chose to include. The big question we keep coming back to: is "Famesick" a genuine reckoning, or is it a very calculated, self-serving reframe of a career and a public image? If you loved Girls, hated Girls, or have ever had a complicated relationship with a woman who is clearly brilliant... but also kind of a lot — this episode is for you. Thank you so much for supporting the show! Xx, Alex Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    19 min

  5. Jun 1 ·  Bonus • Subscribers Only

    BONUS: Missed Opportunity // Lena Dunham's "Famesick"

    This week, Brett is back for a bonus episode and we are getting into "Famesick", Lena Dunham's new memoir about illness, ambition, Hollywood, and whether any of it was worth it. Brett isn't just any reader here — she worked closely with Lena during the Girls era at United Talent Agency, which means this conversation comes with some serious behind-the-scenes context that you are not going to get anywhere else. We break down what the book actually delivers versus what it promises: the health journey, the name dropping, the rise-to-fame years, the rehab chapters, the wildest dedication page we have ever read, and the moment with Barbara Walters that has been making the rounds for good reason. We also get into what the memoir conspicuously leaves out — her friendship with Taylor Swift, the wording of the November 17th statement — and why those omissions say just as much as what she chose to include. The big question we keep coming back to: is "Famesick" a genuine reckoning, or is it a very calculated, self-serving reframe of a career and a public image? If you loved Girls, hated Girls, or have ever had a complicated relationship with a woman who is clearly brilliant... but also kind of a lot — this episode is for you. Thank you so much for supporting the show! Xx, Alex

    1h 5m
  6. BSB: Belle Burden's "Strangers"

    May 26

    BSB: Belle Burden's "Strangers"

    Belle Burden's divorce memoir, Strangers, is the book everyone's talking about! She's a Harvard-educated lawyer, a Vanderbilt heiress, a hedge fund husband, and a life that unraveled with a single voicemail. But why are we so obsessed with this woman's problems? On this Bite-Sized Babes, I break down the instant #1 NYT bestseller with some hot takes: the transformation the book promises vs. what it actually delivers, the anger that never quite shows up on the page, and the uncomfortable question of whose pain we choose to center in literary culture. Plus, a fascinating comparison to Jen Hatmaker's Awake, the memoir telling nearly the same story with a completely different energy. Come for the book review, stay for the bigger conversation about women, wealth, divorce, and who gets to fall apart in public. Buy Belle Burden's "Strangers" Connect with us and suggest a great memoir! Follow us on instagram! @babesinbooklandpod  Xx, Alex Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    21 min
  7. Beyond Survival Mode // Parvati Shallow's "Nice Girls Don't Win"

    May 20

    Beyond Survival Mode // Parvati Shallow's "Nice Girls Don't Win"

    Can nice girls win? You know her as one of the most iconic players in Survivor history, but Parvati Shallow's memoir, Nice Girls Don't Win, reveals the story behind the strategy. My friend, Diliana, joins me as we dive deep into Parvati's remarkable journey from growing up in a cult-like commune called The Ranch, to winning Survivor twice, to finally doing the hardest thing of all: healing. We explore the four Fs — fight, flight, freeze, and fawn — and how Parvati spent most of her life cycling through them without realizing it. We talk about the performance of being "the good girl," what it costs women to be likable, and why the villain edit she carried for years says so much more about our culture than it does about her. And along the way, we get personal about growing up in survival mode, about not wanting to be a burden, about the belief systems we inherit from the people who raised us, and the long, non-linear work of unlearning them. This one is for anyone who has ever shrunk themselves to be loved, wondered why they can't just get over it, or needed a reminder that the mess and the healing are both part of the win. Purchase Nice Girls Don't Win by Parvati Shallow Other books mentioned: Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving by Pete Walker The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk Existential Kink by Carolyn Elliott Thank you for supporting the show! Xx, Alex Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    1h 12m

  8. May 18 ·  Bonus • Subscribers Only

    SUBSCRIBER EDITION: Parvati Shallow's "Nice Girls Don't Win"

    Can nice girls win? You know her as one of the most iconic players in Survivor history, but Parvati Shallow's memoir, Nice Girls Don't Win, reveals the story behind the strategy. My friend, Diliana, joins me as we dive deep into Parvati's remarkable journey from growing up in a cult-like commune called The Ranch, to winning Survivor twice, to finally doing the hardest thing of all: healing. We explore the four Fs — fight, flight, freeze, and fawn — and how Parvati spent most of her life cycling through them without realizing it. We talk about the performance of being "the good girl," what it costs women to be likable, and why the villain edit she carried for years says so much more about our culture than it does about her. And along the way, we get personal about growing up in survival mode, about not wanting to be a burden, about the belief systems we inherit from the people who raised us, and the long, non-linear work of unlearning them. This one is for anyone who has ever shrunk themselves to be loved, wondered why they can't just get over it, or needed a reminder that the mess and the healing are both part of the win. Books mentioned: Nice Girls Don't Win by Parvati Shallow · Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving by Pete Walker · The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel van der Kolk · Existential Kink by Carolyn Elliott Thank you for supporting the show! Xx, Alex

    1h 26m
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About

Babes in Bookland is the book club podcast for women who love women's stories. We read the memoirs, dissect the narratives, and celebrate the writers brave enough to put it all on the page. Great books, honest conversation, and a whole lot of love for women's voices in literature. Think of us as your most well-read friend who always knows exactly which book you need next. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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