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Hey Readers! Welcome back to Anchor Texts, our quarterly book club and close reading series. I’m excited to continue our year of Ann Petry together with Country Place, a slim, small town novel packed with tension. In today’s introductory episode, I’m sharing my annotations from the first two chapters, including notes on the narrator, possible themes to track, and Petry’s expertise in building suspense from the jump.

If you are new to Anchor Texts, welcome! Here are some previous posts to catch you up on our project—but please know you aren’t missing anything or “behind” if you’re just joining us now. This is a low key, loose schedule, choose-your-own-adventure kind of reading group. We will meet via video call to discuss Country Place on February 25 at 6 pm Central/7 pm Eastern.

Links to our book club meeting and our exclusive Discord chat await you on Substack.

Hey, Eclectic Readers! I’m excited to share my favorite reads of 2025 with all of you—and even more excited to welcome a special guest to this yearly wrap-up episode. My husband and former podcast co-host Curtis joins me today to discuss how parenting small children has impacted our reading lives, what books we loved this year, and what we’re hoping to read in 2026. You’ll get to experience the complete breadth of our reading tastes in this episode, with recommendations from nearly every genre.

Special thanks to Grandma and Grandpa for occupying the four-year-old, and to our one-year-old for napping long enough for us to record this episode. It took an entire month to make the time, and we both had terrible colds, but we got it done!

Books Mentioned

* The Palace of Rogues series by Julie Anne Long

* The Ferryman by Justin Cronin

* The Passage by Justin Cronin

* The Twelve by Justin Cronin

* Audition by Katie Kitamura

* 5 books to read if you liked Audition

* Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry

* The Devil Three Times by Rickey Fayne

* We Few by Nick Brockhausen

* Whispers in the Tall Grass by Nick Brockhausen

* Surprise, Kill, Vanish by Annie Jacobsen

* MACV-SOG (Wikipedia)

* Sex of the Midwest by Robin Ryle

* The Street by Ann Petry

* Country Place by Ann Petry

* The Anchor Texts Project

* The Stormlight Archive series Brandon Sanderson

* The Dark Tower series by Stephen King

* Grant by Ron Chernow

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chelsey.substack.com/subscribe

Hey, Eclectic Readers! I’m taking you on a behind the scenes tour of The Fall 2025 Romance Collection to share how I source books, sort books, and cement my final curated list. Along the way, you’ll find out which books did NOT make the final cut, and why. I hope you enjoy this chatty how-did-this-get-made episode, and I can’t wait to share more podcast chats with you soon.

Books Mentioned

* Mate by Ali Hazelwood

* Bride by Ali Hazelwood

* People Watching by Hannah Bonam-Young

* Soul Searching by Lyla Sage

* After Hours at Dooryard Books by Cat Sebastian

* The Sea Witch by Eva Leigh

* Witch of the Wolves by Kaylee Archer

* Learning Curves by Rachel Lacey

* Love Walked In by Sarah Chamberlain

* An Academic Affair by Jodi McAlister

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chelsey.substack.com/subscribe

Hey readers! I’m excited to be back on the mic for a seasonal reading wrap-up. I have more podcast episodes coming your way, including monthly reading reflections for paid subscribers. Grab a 20% discount on annual subscriptions and get your TBR lists ready!

Books Mentioned

* Reel by Kennedy Ryan

* Let’s Make a Scene by Laura Wood

* Under Your Spell by Laura Wood

* Alanna: The Graphic Novel Adaptation by Tamora Pierce, Vita Alaya, and Sam Beck

* Promise by Rachel Eliza Griffiths

* The Wedding by Dorothy West

* Copper Script by KJ Charles

* Audition by Katie Kitamura

Also Mentioned

* Eclectic Recs

* Unstacked Reads Ranked

* Fiction Matters Ranked Reading Recap

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chelsey.substack.com/subscribe

Happy New Year’s Eve!

I’m so excited to share this special 2023 wrap-up podcast episode with you all. If you’ve followed my creative journey online for the last several years, you know I used to host a podcast called He Read She Read with my husband and favorite bookstore browsing buddy, Curtis. We discussed books in a book club style format, shared recommendations based on audience requests, and discussed our different reading tastes and approaches to the reading life. It was a blast, and I learned so much about podcasting, sharing work with an audience, and generating entertaining, educational content.

Curtis deployed in 2020, we had our son in 2021, and we moved in 2022. It was a LOT, and we had to put the podcast on permanent hiatus. We won’t be returning any time soon, but I thought it would be fun to bring Curtis on for a special end of year episode for my Eclectic Readers.

Thank you for your continued support as I navigate new platforms and projects. I hope you enjoy today’s little blast from the past.

How to listen to Substack podcasts in your podcast app.

Books Mentioned

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

The Color of Water by James McBride

Tom Lake by Ann Pachett

Alexander the Great by Philip Freeman

Hannibal by Philip Freeman

The Ferryman by Justin Cronan

The Last Ranger by Peter Heller

The Golden Spoon by Jessa Maxwell

Alone at Dawn by Dan Schilling

More of Chelsey’s 2023 Favorites

2023 Romance Novels

Out On a Limb by Hannah Bonam-Young

Disoriental by Negar Djavadi

Monsters by Claire Dederer

Congratulations, the Best is Over! by R. Eric Thomas

Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo

The Rachel Incident by Caroline O’Donoghue

You Could Make This Place Beautiful by Maggie Smith

Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club by J. Ryan Stradal

A Little Devil in America by Hanif Abdurraqib

Some of the links in this newsletter are affiliate links. If you shop these links, I earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting my work in this way.

To find out more about my current reads, favorite things, and life updates follow me on Instagram. If you’re interested in reading classic literature with accessible guidance and a cozy community, check out the Novel Pairings podcast and Patreon.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chelsey.substack.com/subscribe

To wrap up my short summer podcast series on romance novels, I’m sharing broad musings on the genre’s trends, themes, and historical context. I’m getting pretty nerdy in this episode—if you like this conversational literary criticism, I highly recommend checking out my podcast with Sara Hildreth: Novel Pairings in which we hold educational chats like this one all the time.

Today I’m discussing:

* historical and social context in relation to romance novels

* the trend of “wholesome romance”

* starting over

* tight-knit friend groups and found families

* connecting today’s trends with our current moment in history

* I also reference: Recipe for a Summer Romance 2023

What romance trends and themes have you noticed in your summer reading this year? I would love to discuss this more in the comments with you!

Works Cited

* Where are romance novels headed given the current state of women’s issues? (Chicago Tribune)

* The Consolation of Genre: On Reading Romance Novels (Los Angeles Review of Books)

* Fascinating Trends in Romance 2023 (Book Riot)

* Popular Trends in Romance (Harlequin)

* Future Trends in Romance Novels (Reddit)

* Find your next romance read with the genre’s hottest trends (Goodreads)

* The Alarming Trend of the Wholesome Romance (Time)

Novel Pairings: Hot takes on the buzzy books of last summer & Summer book releases paired with backlist reads

Chelsey

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Welcome to Recipe for a Bookish Life: the podcast! A few weeks ago, I shared the first episode in a small summer podcast series detailing my romance spice rating system, and today I’m sharing which romance novels did NOT make it into my curated list of summer romance books: Recipe for a Summer Romance. 

Thanks for reading Recipe for a Bookish Life! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.

I read (and DNF’ed) many, many romance novels before choosing my 12 final titles, and a few popular books stood out as worthy of discussing in this episode. I also share some under-the-radar gems that, while fabulous, did not meet the criteria for my list.

You can listen to this podcast episode in your internet browser, on the Substack app, or in your favorite podcast player. Here are some instructions to help you set it up.

Books Mentioned:

* The Neighbor Favor by Kristina Forest

* Happy Place by Emily Henry

* Jana Goes Wild by Farah Heron

* The Fiancee Farce by Alexandria Bellefleur

* Desert Island Duke by Kate Bateman

* A Rogue’s Rules for Seduction by Eva Leigh

* Knockout by Sarah Maclean

I’ll be back with one more summer romance episode this season. Let me know if you have specific questions, requests, or curiosities about Recipe for a Summer Romance—and feel free to share this episode with a romance reading friend.

Happy Romance Reading,

Chelsey

Thank you for reading Recipe for a Bookish Life. This post is public so feel free to share it.

Some of the links in this newsletter are affiliate links. If you shop these links, I earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting my work in this way.

To find out more about my current reads, favorite recipes, and life updates follow me on Instagram. If you’re interested in reading classic literature with a cozy community and contemporary flair, check out the Novel Pairings Patreon community.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chelsey.substack.com/subscribe

Welcome to Recipe for a Bookish Life: the podcast! I’m excited to experiment with this facet of Substack this summer to share behind the scenes morsels and scrumptious pairings for my curated list of summer romance novels: Recipe for a Summer Romance.

I’ve been podcasting in the literary space for about five years now, formerly on He Read She Read (listen to our backlog before we permanently shelve our episodes) and now on Novel Pairings, a podcast dedicated to making classic literature readable, relevant, and fun. No matter what I’m creating, be it a romance list, an Instagram post, or notes on Jane Austen’s life, I am always thinking in podcasts. I love the podcasting medium as an opportunity to share stories, conversations, and detailed thoughts—especially on books and reading.

In today’s short podcast episode, I’m sharing how I created my spice scale for Recipe for a Summer Romance, what I find so tricky about rating romance novels, and where to find the nuance between a number three and four spice rating.

I would LOVE to hear your thoughts on spice ratings and summer romance reading in the comments. If you have specific, or sensitive, questions, feel free to send me a DM @chelseyreads on Instagram. This episode does include a discussion of sex and sexy books. Nothing detailed! But I don’t think I’ve ever said the word “sex” so many times within a 10 minute span, so pop your air pods in while listening to this episode, folks.

You can listen to this podcast episode in your internet browser, on the Substack app, or in your favorite podcast player (I recommend this method!). Here are some instructions to help you set it up.

Episode Outline:

* Why I’ve avoided spice ratings in the past

* Why I thought a scale was necessary for Recipe for a Summer Romance

* Why it was tough to conceptualize an inclusive, positive, and all encompassing spice scale

* Subjective

* Succinct

* Nuanced

* How I created my scale, with examples

* A few books from my summer romance list that I found extra challenging to rate

Books and Authors Mentioned:

* All the Right Notes by Dominic Lim

* Priest by Sierra Simone

* The Nanny by Lana Ferguson 

* Emily Henry (try Beach Read)

* Take a Hike by Mimi Grace

* Business or Pleasure by Rachel Lynn Solomon

* An Island Princess Starts a Scandal by Adriana Herrera

Other Links:

* The Scoville Scale

* On Steaminess and Subjectivity from Moonstruck Reads

I’ll be back on the Substack podcasting platform with more summer romance episodes this season. Let me know if you have specific questions, requests, or curiosities about Recipe for a Summer Romance—and feel free to share this episode with a romance reading friend.

Happy Romance Reading,

Chelsey

Some of the links in this newsletter are affiliate links. If you shop these links, I earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting my work in this way.

To find out more about my current reads, favorite recipes, and life updates follow me on Instagram. If you’re interested in reading classic literature with a cozy community and contemporary flair, check out the Novel Pairings Patreon community.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit chelsey.substack.com/subscribe