The SSR Podcast

Alli Hoff Kosik
  • 4.8 (357)
  • BOOKS
  • UPDATED WEEKLY
The SSR Podcast

Each week, freelance writer and lifelong bookworm Alli Hoff Kosik will challenge a guest to reread a literary throwback or to experience for the first time ever a book they may have missed as a kid. After that, they'll be asked to spill all the feels and all the opinions about that book on the air for your podcast-listening pleasure. Every Tuesday, you can find us breaking down an old school read from our tween and teen days on a new episode of the show. We'll cover everything from The Baby-Sitters Club to Holes, Nancy Drew to Harry Potter. This time around, we're a little wiser (yay!), a lot older (ugh.), and of legal age to drink wine... so we'll have a lot to say. Happy Reading! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. APR 1

    Episode 318: xoxo, SSR (Goodbye for now!)

    It has been a wild, amazing ride and I couldn't be more grateful for all of your support over the years. Please enjoy this reflective last episode, which includes some of my thoughts on podcasting more broadly, a bit of housekeeping, and a whole lot of Q&A. Thank you for every little thing. Love, Alli KEEP IN TOUCH! Follow me on Instagram @allihoffkosik. Check out (and subscribe to!) my Substack: Getting It Alli Together Remember: All 318 episodes of SSR will still be available wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts. Please continue to recommend the show to your loved ones... and never stop listening to the conversations from the archives that make you feel warm and fuzzy :) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    49 min

  2. MAR 25

    Episode 317: Absolutely Normal Chaos (with Rebecca Fishbein)

    For the last-ever guest episode of SSR, Alli is thrilled to revisit a book by one of her personal favorites, Sharon Creech. The book is Absolutely Normal Chaos, a diary-style read from the '90s that serves as a fascinating entry point to grief and loss for young readers. Tune in for a discussion about the emotional roller coaster of the book, but also for some comparing and contrasting with Creech's other work, reflections on friendship and early relationships, and more. Rebecca Fishbein is the author of Good Things Happen to People You Hate and Floral Estrangements. Follow her on Instagram @bfishbfish. CHECK OUT REBECCA'S PREVIOUS APPEARANCE ON SSR HERE! CHECK OUT REBECCA'S BOOKS: Floral Estrangements Good Things Happen to People You Hate CHECK OUT REBECCA'S BOOK RECOMMENDATION: Good Material by Dolly Alderton MORE READING: "Absolutely Normal Chaos" (Kirkus, 1995) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    58 min

  3. MAR 18

    Episode 316: Princess Academy (with London Sperry)

    Add this to the list of Alli's favorite SSR reads of all-time—and just in time for the show to say goodbye in a couple of weeks! Nearly 20 years after it was published and won a Newbery Honor, Shannon Hale's Princess Academy was a delight to read and discuss. The book inspires conversations on Episode 316 about everything from hometown pride and tropes about female bodies to the value of education and lame princes. Alli's guest also blows her mind with some facts about 2025 slang. London Sperry's debut novel Passion Project hits shelves on 4/8/25. Follow her on Instagram @londonsperrywrites. CHECK OUT LONDON'S BOOK HERE! CHECK OUT LONDON'S BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS: Wedding Dashers by Heather McBreen Let's Call a Truce by Amy Buchanan Unromance by Erin Connor You Between the Lines by Katie Naymon But How Are You, Really by Ella Dawson MORE READING: "Book Review: Princess Academy by Shannon Hale" (Books: A True Story, 2013) "Review: Princess Academy" (The Princess Blog, 2018) "Book Review: Princess Academy by Shannon Hale" (Turn the Page, 2012) "Shannon Hale Says Her Novels Are Not 'Girl Books'" (Bustle, 2015) "Q&A with Shannon Hale" (Publishers Weekly, 2015) "One Things Leads to Another: An Interview with Shannon Hale" (The Hub, 2014) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    56 min

  4. MAR 11

    Episode 315: WTF # 7 | WTF Do I Do to Promote a Book?

    On this last installment of our monthly SSR: WTF (WriTing Friends) series, Alli and Abby look to the future! In anticipation of the 2026 publication of Alli's debut novel, they discuss all things book promotion: book events, PR boxes, social media icks, supporting authors online and IRL, newsletters, pre-orders, and more. They also chat more about the decision to end SSR and give you a preview of their future (potential) collaborations! CHECK OUT AND SUBSCRIBE TO ABBY'S SUBSTACK NEWSLETTER HERE! BOOK SHOUTOUTS: Written: How to Keep Writing and Build a Habit That Lasts by Bec Evans and Chris Smith Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    56 min

  5. MAR 4

    Episode 314: Stacey's Big Crush (Baby-Sitters Club #65) (with Saumya Dave)

    Bad news: this is the last Baby-Sitters Club-centric episode of SSR. Good news: this is an amazing Baby-Sitters Club-centric episode of SSR! This week, former BSC superfan Saumya Dave joins Alli for one final trip to Stoneybrook to hang with everyone's favorite young entrepreneurs. They discuss the sixty-fifth book in the series, Stacey's Big Crush, along with hot teachers, women in STEM, all-consuming crushes, long school days, portrayals of divorce in books, goat sitting, and how the baby-sitters have helped us understand ourselves over the years. Saumya Dave is the author of Well-Behaved Indian Women, What a Happy Family, and—most recently—The Guilt Pill, which was inspired by her work as a pyschiatrist. Follow her on Instagram @saumyajdave. CHECK OUT SAUMYA'S BOOKS: Well-Behaved Indian Women What a Happy Family The Guilt Pill CHECK OUT ASHA'S BOOK RECOMMENDATION: Yellowface by R.F. Kuang The Push by Ashley Audrain The Other Lata by Kirthana Ramisetti MORE READING: "Stacey's Big Crush" (The Baby-Sitters Club Wiki) "#65: Stacey's Big Crush" (Live the Movies) "Stacey's Big Crush" (Baby-Sitters Club Snark-fest!) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    49 min

  6. FEB 25

    Episode 313: The It Girl (with Asha Elias)

    Beyond the ivy-covered walls of the Constance Billard School and the moneyed Upper East Side is upstate New York and the equally moneyed Waverly Academy—and Jenny Humphrey is bound for them as we meet her at the start of Gossip Girl spin-off, The It Girl! Episode 313 is a juicy deep dive into all things Boarding School Jenny: rich kids, nuanced mean girls, problematic love affairs, hedonism, and the deliciously nostalgic aesthetic of the Gossip Girl extended universe. Asha Elias is the author of Pink Glass Houses and the forthcoming The Namaste Club. Follow her on Instagram @asha.sue.elias. CHECK OUT ASHA'S BOOKS: Pink Glass Houses The Namaste Club CHECK OUT ASHA'S BOOK RECOMMENDATION: Don't Be a Stranger by Susan Minot MORE READING: "The It Girl (Novel Series)" (Gossip Girl Wiki) "The It Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar Review" (Courtney Shek, 2024) "Review: It Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar" (Grown Up Book Reports, 2017) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    49 min

  7. FEB 18

    Episode 312: Flowers for Algernon (with Emma Alban)

    This week, Alli and her guest revisit some required reading from their school days in Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes. Picking up this 1966 novel was just as emotional and thought-provoking as picking up the 1959 short story was years ago, and this time around, they unpack the experience together on the podcast. Tune in for conversations about their fuzzy memories of reading Flowers for Algernon as kids, the book's classification in the science fiction genre, the differences between intelligence and life experience and kindness, icky depictions of women, animal testing, the linguistic challenges of dissecting a book like this, and so much more. TW: sexual shame Emma R. Alban is a screenwriter and a USA Today bestselling queer historical romance author. Her books include Don't Want You Like a Best Friend and You're the Problem, It's You. Follow her on Instagram @eraofemma. CHECK OUT EMMA'S BOOKS: Don't Want You Like a Best Friend You're the Problem, It's You CHECK OUT EMMA'S BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS: The In-Between Bookstore by Edward Underhill A Rival Most Vile by R.K. Ashwick A Captured Cauldron by R.K. Ashwick MORE READING: "Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes—review" (The Guardian, 2016) "Book Review: Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes" (David Bruns, 2014) "Book Review: Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes" (Frappes and Fiction, 2020) "Flowers for Algernon: Book Review" (Threefold Advocate, 2023) "Flowers for Algernon" (Kirkus, 1966) "Review of Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes" (Rhapsody in Books, 2018) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    59 min

  8. FEB 11

    Episode 311: The Case of the 202 Clues (The New Adventures of Mary-Kate & Ashley) (with Jamie Harrow)

    Grab your denim bucket hats, butterfly hair clips, and overalls, listeners, because we're going to the land of the Olsen twins! Episode 311 unpacks all things Mary-Kate and Ashley, with a special emphasis on their multiple book series and one of their mystery novels, The Case of the 202 Clues. After reading this book, Alli and her guest have lots of thoughts about basset hounds, kid-friendly stakes, and what makes the perfect entry point for the mystery genre. They also take a bigger picture walk down millennial memory lane, comparing notes on their favorite MKA core memories and reflecting on the twins' many contributions to pop culture. Jamie Harrow is the author of One on One and Fun at Parties. Follow her on Instagram @jamieharrowbooks. CHECK OUT JAMIE'S BOOKS: One on One Fun at Parties CHECK OUT JAMIE'S BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS: Zoe Brennan, First Crush by Laura Piper Lee No Ordinary Love by Myah Ariel MORE READING: "Growing Up Olsen: What Mary-Kate and Ashley Meant to Millennials" (E News, 2016) "Dissecting Gen Z's Obsession with the Olsen Twins" (British Vogue, 2024) "The Lasting Impact of the Mary-Kate and Ashley Content Empire" (Chatterblast, 2021) "The Series We Loved: Mary-Kate and Ashley" (Book Riot, 2020) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    53 min
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4.8
out of 5
357 Ratings

About

Each week, freelance writer and lifelong bookworm Alli Hoff Kosik will challenge a guest to reread a literary throwback or to experience for the first time ever a book they may have missed as a kid. After that, they'll be asked to spill all the feels and all the opinions about that book on the air for your podcast-listening pleasure. Every Tuesday, you can find us breaking down an old school read from our tween and teen days on a new episode of the show. We'll cover everything from The Baby-Sitters Club to Holes, Nancy Drew to Harry Potter. This time around, we're a little wiser (yay!), a lot older (ugh.), and of legal age to drink wine... so we'll have a lot to say. Happy Reading! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Information

  • Creator
    Alli Hoff Kosik
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2025
  • Episodes
    321
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Show Website
    The SSR Podcast

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