Books and BS Podcast

That's Novel Books
  • 5.0 (8)
  • Books
  • Updated Biweekly

Two readers and friends talk books, business and a whole lot of other BS.

  1. Jul 13

    Episode 13: Fantastic Books, ARCs, And Reading Black Trauma

    We're thrilled to have another new guest on this episode: That's Novel Bookseller Dezanii! We were lucky enough to snag an advanced reader's copy of Mazywood, Tananarive Due's newest book coming out September 22. Tananarive Due is one of Dezanii's favorite authors, so she devoured the book and joins us to discuss this book as well as another one of her favorites, The Reformatory. Jumping off from this discussion, we talk about what it's like to read stories featuring Black trauma as Black readers, and its importance for everyone's reading journey.  We also hear from Alyssa and Eb on their latest reads. Just a heads up: there is a minor spoiler from 34-36 minutes for the Dungeon Crawler Carl series, so skip that section if you'd like to avoid! As always, here are the books we discussed this episode: Blood & Betrayals - Jeanette Rose For Whom The Belle Tolls - Jaysea Lynn The Belles of Wrath - Jaysea Lynn The Gate of Feral Gods - Matt Dinniman The Butcher's Masquerade - Matt Dinniman Annihilation - Jeff VanderMeer Another Appalachia - Neema Avashia My Friends - Fredrik Backman A Man Called Ove - Fredrik Backman Beartown - Fredrik Backman Sunrise On The Reaping - Suzanne Collins Anxious People - Fredrik Backman Us Against You - Fredrik Backman My Grandmother Asked Me To Tell You I'm Sorry - Fredrik Backman Britt-Marie Was Here - Fredrik Backman Sadako And The Thousand Paper Cranes - Eleanor Coerr Yesteryear - Caro Claire Burke The Reformatory - Tananarive Due Mazywood - Tananarive Due The Nickel Boys - Colson Whitehead  Reel - Kennedy Ryan  Ace of Spades - Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé Love - Toni Morrison All About Love - bell hooks Women, Race & Class - Angela Davis

  2. Jun 29

    Episode 12: Lots Of Books And Alt-Bezos Recommendations

    This week's episode as a whole lot of great book recommendations thanks to Eb and Alyssa getting a bunch of quality reading time in the past few weeks! On top of that, they're returning to their Amazon swaps discussion, with recommendations for alternatives for audiobooks and e-readers for those looking to move away from supporting Amazon as it relates to books. This episode is spoiler free - check out all the books discussed below! Mazywood - Tananarive Due The Reformatory - Tananarive Due Pleasure, Please - Ashley Cobb Enigma - RuNyx Gothikana - RuNyx Blackthorn - J.T. Geissinger Ruthless Creatures -  J.T. Geissinger Carnal Urges - J.T. Geissinger  Savage Hearts - J.T. Geissinger Brutal Vows - J.T. Geissinger Nero - S.J. Tilly Butcher & Blackbird - Brynne Weaver  Harvest Season - Brynne Weaver Tourist Season - Brynne Weaver  Blood and Betrayals - Jeanette Rose and Alexis Rune A Brush With Love - Mazey Eddings Cemetary Boys - Aiden Thomas Mirrored Heavens - Rebecca Roanhorse  Honey And Spice - Bolu Babalola  Sweet Heat - Bolu Babalola  Love In Color - Bolu Babalola  This Is How You Lose The Time War - Amal El Mothar and Max Gladstone Annihilation - Jeff Vandermeer Shutter Island - Dennis Lehane Storm Breaker - Nisja J. Tuli

  3. Jun 15

    Episode 11: Trademarks, 6-Month Check-Ins, And Don't Tell Me To Smile

    Eb and Alyssa are back in a solo episode this week, and boy is it a fun one. They start off hot with some celebrity gossip and how to respond to cat callers before moving into a check-in to see where they are 6 months into the year. They also chat about the recent bookish trademark drama that's taken over the internet.  This episode is spoiler-free. All books discussed are listed below with links where you can purchase them from indie bookstores. The Brit - Jodi Ellen Malpas The Book of Alchemy - Suleika Jaouad The Poet Empress - Shen Tao This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me - Ilona Andrews The Women - Kristen Hannah The Resurrection - Jodi Ellen Malpas Chain-Gang All-Stars - Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah How We Show Up - Mia Birdsong The Lion Women of Tehran - Marjan Kamali Payback's A Witch - Lana Harper The School for Good Mothers - Jessamine Chan Evicted - Matthew Desmond Mirrored Heavens - Rebecca Roanhorse A Brush With Love - Mazey Eddings Carl's Doomsday Scenario - Matt Dinniman The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook - Matt Dinniman Losers Part 1 - Harley Laroux Losers Part 2 - Harley Laroux Enigma - RuNyx

  4. Jun 1

    Episode 10: Men, Undeserved Redemption Arcs And The Kindred's Curse Saga

    A big heads up before you begin this episode: THERE ARE SPOILERS. Around 1 hour 20 minutes, we begin discussing the Kindred's Curse Saga by Penn Cole in more depth. If you have not finished all three books in this series, we do not recommend listening past that point unless you are okay with spoilers! This week we're thrilled to have special guest Andrea McRae on the podcast! Andrea is one of the booksellers at That's Novel and the reason why over half of our staff is obsessed with The Kindred's Curse Saga by Penn Cole. Following Cole's announcement of Burn Of The Everflame, the final book in the series, we have her on to discuss the series as a whole and her hopes for the final book. Books we mention with links to purchase them at indie bookstores: Red Rising - Pierce Brown The Neverlist - Jade Presley Dungeon Crawler Carl - Matt Dinniman When The Moon Hatched - Sarah A. Parker The Ballad of Falling Dragons - Sarah A. Parker  The Island Women of the Sea - Lisa See Bride - Ali Hazelwood Mate - Ali Hazelwood  The School For Good Mothers - Jessamine Chan The Push - Ashley Audrain Verity - Colleen Hoover Tender Is The Flesh - Agustina Bazterrica Payback's A Witch - Lana Popović Spark of the Everflame - Penn Cole Everything Is Tuberculosis - John Green The Anthropocene Reviewed - John Green The Fault In Our Stars - John Green Looking For Alaska - John Green Hollywood, Ending - John Green Burn of the Everflame - Penn Cole

  5. May 18

    Episode 9: Special Guest Author Marissa Serrao And The Return To The Amazon Discussion

    Welcome back to another fun episode of Books & BS with your favorite hosts, Eb and Alyssa. In this one you'll get some fantastic reading updates from each, but we've got another special treat: Charlotte romantasy author Marissa Serrao is joining us and giving us all the nitty gritty of what working with Amazon as an indie author is like. We're talking royalties, Kindle Unlimited, selling on TikTok, receiving edits, the pros and cons of indie publishing vs. trad publishing, and the true grind it takes to be an indie author full time. It's a long one, but full of great discussion. As always, this episode is spoiler free, but all the books we discuss, with links to purchase them from independent bookstores, are listed below: Outlander - Diana Gabaldon When The Moon Hatched - Sarah A. Parker Starside - Alex Aster  Stormside - Alex Aster Fury Bound - Sabel Sorensen Dire Bound - Sabel Sorensen This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me - Ilona Andrews Fourth Wing - Rebecca Yarros  The Poet Empress - Shen Tao I Probably Should Have Gone To Therapy - Darah DeWalt On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous - Ocean Vuong Martyr! - Kaveh Akbar  This Time Tomorrow - Emma Straub The Midnight Library - Matt Haig  Not Safe For Work - Nisha J. Tuli  Then She Was Gone - Lisa Jewell  Mate - Ali Hazelwood  The School For Good Mothers - Jessamine Chan The Island of Sea Women - Lisa See  Between Mischief and Magic - Marissa Serrao  Between Salt and Serenades - Marissa Serrao  Between Broomsticks and Beating Wings - Marissa Serrao

  6. May 4

    Episode 8: Interview With Bestselling Author Nisha J. Tuli

    Welcome to a particularly exciting episode of Books & BS! In this episode Alyssa and Eb give an update on their hectic month, they finally discuss the book recommendations they gave each other, AND they interview best selling author Nisha J. Tuli. You might know her for her Artefacts of Ouranos series (Trial Of The Sun Queen) or her rom com, Not Safe For Work. In this episode we chat with her about her upcoming book release for STORM BREAKER, a YA Dystopian releasing on May 5. We ask her about her writing process, where she draws her inspiration from, and she teases some of her upcoming projects she'll be annoucing real soon! As always, this episode is spoiler-free. Below are a list of the books we discuss with links to purchase from Indie Bookstores. Trial Of The Sun Queen - Nisha J. Tuli Legendborn - Tracy Deonn Red City - Marie Lu Katabasis - R.F. Kuang Yellowface - R.F. Kuang The Poppy War - R.F. Kuang Babel - R.F. Kuang  Shield of Sparrows - Devney Perry Rites of the Starling - Devney Perry  When The Moon Hatched - Sarah A. Parker Praise - Sara Cate Starside - Alex Aster Martyr! - Kaveh Akbar  The 57 Bus - Dashka Slater The Thursday Murder Club - Richard Osman Big Swiss - Jen Beagin Lights Out - Navessa Allen The Women - Kristin Hannah  The Nightingale - Kristin Hannah Crucible - B.B. Reid Storm Breaker - Nisha J. Tuli Too Cold For Comfort - Nisha J. Tuli Not Safe For Work - Nisha J. Tuli

  7. Apr 20

    Episode 7: Amazon, Book Crawls, and Everything Is FINE

    Welcome back to another epsidoe of Books & BS. In this one you'll hear Eb and Alyssa talk about the realities of business ownership and life, the bizarre books they've been enjoying, and all things Amazon: the latest kindle news, their predatory practicies, and more. As always, this episode is spoiler-free. Here are all the books discussed in the episode, with links to purchase each from an indie bookstore: On Wings of Blood - Briar Boleyn The Poet Empress - Shen Tao Red City - Marie Lu The Left Hand of Darkness - Ursula K. Le Guin Know My Name - Chanel Miller When We Lost Our Heads - Heather O'Neill Martyr! - Kaveh Akbar

  8. Apr 6

    Episode 6: Chaotic Rolling Opens And Our Fav FMCs

    Welcome back to another chaotic episode of Books and BS. Today you're going to hear about our parenting woes, our witchy Hollywood theories, the books we've been reading and our top five favorite female main characters. As always this episode is spoiler free. Below are the books we discuss: Flock - Kate Stewart On Wings of Blood - Briar Boleyn Not In Love - Ali Hazelwood Problematic Summer Romance - Ali Hazelwood The Lion Women of Tehran - Marjan Kamali Legendborn - Tracy Deonn The Left Hand of Darkness - Ursula K. Le Guin When We Lost Our Heads - Heather O'Neill Score - Kennedy Ryan Shield of Sparrows - Devney Perry Our Vicious Oaths - N.E. Davenport Throne of Glass - Sarah J. Maas From Blood and Ash - Jennifer L. Armentrout Crescent City - Sarah J. Maas Can't Get Enough - Kennedy Ryan Chain-Gang All-Stars - Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah Mistborn - Brandon Sanderson Parable of the Sower - Octavia Butler Dawn - Octavia Butler The Brit - Jodi Ellen Malpas Atonement - Ian McEwan The Women - Kristen Hannah Lights Out - Navessa Allen

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About

Two readers and friends talk books, business and a whole lot of other BS.

Information

  • Creator
    That's Novel Books
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    14
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2025
  • Show Website
    Books and BS Podcast