20 Books We Read in November 📚 | Best & Worst Reads of the Month

Around our birthdays, we like to reflect on the year gone by. What were the big moments, good and bad? What have we learned? Where do we go from here? This year, Kristen got divorced, Maddie is no longer friends with her best friend of 10 years, and we both had to lean into new mental health practices and get clear about our business goals and approach. We're getting candid in this episode, and we hope you'll share your reflections and vision for the future with us! Thank you for being here, and talking stories—in our books, on the screen, and in our own lives.Timestamps0:00 - Intro 2:25 - End of 202511:04 - Divorce and being newly single18:44 - Mental health and reprogramming 22:12 - Friend breakups31:41 - Seasons in business33:24 - Pinch-me moments & creativity42:37 - Being open & ready to receive 53:22 - Looking forwardLet’s connect!Join our Patreon read-and-watch club: patreon.com/KrisandMadsSisterhoodHave a business inquiry? Email our manager: [email protected]: / kris.and.mads Instagram: / krisandmads All our other links are here: https://linktr.ee/kris.and.madsTo check out our brother C.Ray's music, which we use in all our episodes, you can find him here: / @seerayhardly #divorce #mentalhealth #friendbreakups #lifeupdate #businessgrowth #entrepreneurship #lifestory #sisterhood #sisters #podcast

Welcome back, friends! 📚✨ We have a VERY special video for you today! Maddie and I had the incredible opportunity to host a live author interview with Thomas R. Weaver in London to celebrate Infinite Wisdom, the second and final book in his series that began with Artificial Wisdom! The event took place at the Penguin Random House headquarters in London, and we were joined by fellow book influencer Michael Kist for an amazing panel discussion with Thomas. We talked about the series, his writing, and the highly anticipated conclusion to this story. But one of the BEST parts of the day was getting to meet so many members of our virtual book club in person! 🥹 Seeing so many of you show up to hear the interview, celebrate this series, and get your special edition copies signed made the whole experience even more meaningful. We are so grateful for this little bookish community we've built together! Whether you've read Artificial Wisdom, are excited to pick up Infinite Wisdom, or simply love hearing authors talk about their books and creative process, we hope you enjoy getting a behind-the-scenes look at this special London book event. A huge thank you to Thomas R. Weaver, Michael Kist, Penguin Random House, and everyone from our virtual book club who came out to join us. You made this such a memorable experience!

Spilling the tea on everything we read this month! Lots of thrillers, some romance, a chunky classic, and some duds. What was your best read of the month??Timestamps0:00 - Intro 4:11 - Imperfect Women by Araminta Hall9:31 - The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood13:31 - Verity by Colleen Hoover22:01 - The Lost Daughter by Elena Ferrante28:02 - Upgrade by Blake Crouch32:21 - A Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes by Suzanne Collins37:50 - Drinker of Ink by Shannon Castleton42:21 - Foe by Iain Reid46:03 - Dragon Keeper by Robin Hobb50:50 - The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky56:56 - Wrap-upLet’s connect!Join our Patreon read-and-watch club: patreon.com/KrisandMadsSisterhoodHave a business inquiry? Email our manager: [email protected]: / kris.and.mads Instagram: / krisandmads All our other links are here: https://linktr.ee/kris.and.madsTo check out our brother C.Ray's music, which we use in all our episodes, you can find him here: / @seerayhardly #BookTube #FantasyBooks #BookClub #Reading #Books

Join our Patreon read-and-watch club! In September, we're doing palate cleansers: Imperfect Women, The Love Hypothesis, and Verity! You can try out the Fellowship Tier for free for 7 days! / krisandmadssisterhood We had an awesome August, with a bunch of 5-star books and a variety of genres! What was your best read of August??Timestamps:0:00 - Intro 7:15 - The Good Parts by Evann Normandin12:35 - When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi18:23 - I’m thinking of ending things by Iain Reid22:02 - Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen25:10 - Book Club updates!29:34 - Pachinko by Min Jin Lee33:41 - The Knight & The Moth by Rachel Gillig37:31 - Love Poems by Rupi Kaur42:59 - Girl Dinner by Olivie Blake48:17 - Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery51:13 - The Wolves of War by John Gwynne56:28 - Fool’s Fate by Robin Hobb1:02:57 - Wrap-up!Have a business inquiry? Email our manager: [email protected]: / kris.and.mads Instagram: / krisandmads All our other links are here: https://linktr.ee/kris.and.madsTo check out our brother C.Ray's music, which we use in all our episodes, you can find him here: / @seerayhardly #BookTube #FantasyBooks #BookClub #Reading #Books

Bestselling fantasy author Rachel Gillig joins us for a conversation we’ve been dreaming about ever since we read her Shepherd King Duology in 2023! In this episode, we sit down with the author of One Dark Window and the bestselling Shepherd King duology to talk about her new series, The Stonewater Kingdom and its conclusion, The Knave and the Moon, out September 1, 2026 from Orbit.If you love adult fantasy romance, but with a dark fairy tale spin, and lush worldbuilding, complicated characters, and unforgettable romance, this is an episode you absolutely won’t want to miss.Rachel takes us behind the scenes of The Knave and the Moon and her new series, while also revealing plenty about the person behind some of our favorite fantasy books. We talk about her secret nerdom, her love of classic literature, the hills she is willing to die on, and the hamlet where she would most want to live.We also get into BookTok, online book reviews, book influencers, and the ways the online book community can be our best. Rachel shares her thoughts on the rapidly evolving world of book culture, readers, reviewers, and the conversations surrounding books online.If you want to find more from Rachel Gillig, you can find her here:https://www.instagram.com/rmgillig/?h...https://rachelgillig.substack.com/Timestamps:0:00 - Intro 1:31 - Rachel’s 2 Truths & 1 Lie7:08 - On artists drawing inspiration from her work9:19 - Rachel’s literary hot takes15:40 - Rachel’s fandoms19:02 - The Five Hamlets as a Personality Quiz20:44 - Duologies!25:01 - What hill will you die on?27:46 - On the inspiration from old fairy tales35:33 - Was Rachel a scene kid?40:05 - On propaganda 43:58 - A novella?!47:08 - Future projects & other genres!50:12 - Rachel’s dream tea party52:53 - Rachel’s book recLet’s connect!Join our Patreon read-and-watch club for free for 7 days: / krisandmadssisterhood Have a business inquiry? Email our manager: [email protected]: / kris.and.mads Instagram: / krisandmads All our other links are here: https://linktr.ee/kris.and.madsTo check out our brother C.Ray's music, which we use in all our episodes, you can find him here: / @seerayhardly This episode was edited by Daniel Pena: https://danielpena.carrd.co/