Show Notes
The Everygirl Book Club hosts an interview with Andy Hunter, founder and CEO of Bookshop.org and publisher of Literary Hub, Bookmarks, and CrimeReads. Andy shares his current reads and recommendations, how books helped him navigate a challenging upbringing, and the formative titles that shaped his life. He discusses the creation of Bookshop.org and its mission to support independent bookstores in the face of Amazon’s dominance, early skepticism from investors, the platform’s rapid pandemic-era growth, and the impact of BookTok on book sales and niche bookstores. Andy also dives into Bookshop’s goals for the future, including improving bookstore technology and expanding independent bookstore access to e-books.
00:00 Welcome and Introductions 00:42 Vacation Reads and ARCs 06:10 How Books Shaped Andy 07:41 Childhood Favorites and Classics 13:03 Raising Readers at Home 15:12 Building Bookshop Against Amazon 20:06 BookTok and Indie Bookstore Boom 26:09 Opening a Bookstore Advice 27:41 Boldness and Embracing Failure 29:46 Anti-Acquisition Guardrails 42:10 Affordable Ethical Reading 45:56 Finding Better Book Recs 49:30 Impact And Future Plans 59:29 Final Thanks And Sign Off
Books mentioned: Dodge City by Patrick deWitt French Exit by Patrick deWitt The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt A Real Animal by Emeline Atwood Famous Men by Julie Buntin I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman On the Road by Jack Kerouac Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson Watership Down by Richard Adams The Tin Drum by Gunter Grass The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson Charlotte's Web by E.B. White The Mixed-Up Files of Basil E. Frankweiler by E. L. Konigsburg The Dark is Rising series by Susan Cooper Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery
Enjoy the episode? Like and follow The Everygirl Book Club Podcast, leave a rating and review, and share the episode with a fellow reader. Then, join the conversation on Instagram @theeverygirlbookclub for monthly book picks, book recommendations, reading challenges, and more. Fill out this form to submit your own reader prescriptions or request specific discussion topics. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
More from The Everygirl Book Club
Lauren and Garri kick off The Everygirl Book Club’s October solo episode by discussing current reads, including the October pick And He Shall Appear, and disappointment with the Fourth Wing short-story collection Threshing Day. They note recent four-star reads, share ambitious October TBRs, then review The Love Hypothesis movie adaptation. They reveal a fall reading challenge with themed categories, debate cozy vs. scary fall tastes, create the perfect fall TBR, and close with LITigation on TBR pressure and whether readers must read other Sarah J. Maas series before the next ACOTAR release.
The Everygirl Book Club interviews best-selling author V.L. Bovalino about The Second Death of Locke and her new novel, The Thief and the Traitor Bride, which follows Nore Gordon, a spy forced onto a mission with her estranged husband. In “Read Receipts,” Bovalino shares her current reads, recent 5-star reads, and upcoming books she's excited for. She discusses formative influences like Kristin Cashore’s Fire, inspirations ranging from Game of Thrones to The Queen’s Thief, and how her PhD on secondary-world worldbuilding shaped her approach to storytelling. Bovalino recounts her publishing journey, explains the “year of the lady knight,” recommends immersive romance-forward fantasy and historical romance, and talks craft choices including Nore’s non-warrior strengths, shifting perspectives on Grey and Keir, and queer-normative worldbuilding.
Lauren and Garri wrap up summer reading for The Everygirl Book Club, share their favorite books, and talk about fall vibes, reading slumps, and why they increasingly prefer Kindles over physical books. They discuss book pop culture, including ACOTAR’s influence on romantasy, evolving genre labels and sexism in categorization, and how fandom theory culture can diminish simple enjoyment. They answer a reader “slump-ender” prompt with fall recommendations spanning cozy rom-coms, witchy/cozy fantasy, and dark academia, then announce upcoming book club picks—It’s Different This Time (Sept), And He Shall Appear (Oct), Conform (Nov), and Understory (Dec).
#10 Kirsten King: Unlikable Heroines, Downward Spirals, and the Perils of Modern Dating
The Everygirl Book Club interviews September pick author Joss Richard about It’s Different This Time, a second-chance romance in which former roommates reconnect after inheriting a New York City brownstone, and her second novel, Let’s Kiss and Tell, about sex columnist Lucy and reporter Marsh entering a fake relationship that turns real. Richard shares recent reads, how she went from childhood fan fiction to drafting her debut in the Notes app during the pandemic, and landing an agent and a fast traditional deal. She discusses imposter syndrome, leaving a TV/marketing job with her husband’s support, writing on deadline, LA dating culture, tropes and miscommunication, answers reader dating dilemmas, and teases a third coastal romance.