In this episode of Books That Changed My Life, host Chris Collins is joined by retired NFL player and author Andrew East.

Andrew opens up about growing up in Indianapolis, his college and NFL careers, the contract-bound book club that made him a reader, and the Book That Changed His Life: The GAP and the GAIN by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy.

He and Chris explore what happens when you measure yourself by the "GAIN" instead of the "GAP," the link between high achievers and depression, gratitude, and the annual goal-setting ritual he and his wife swear by.

Stick around to the end, where Andrew is joined by his wife, Olympic gold medalist Shawn Johnson, to talk about their new book, The Courage to Commit.

They get into the four years (and couples therapy) it took to write it, the challenge of merging their authorial voices, why commitment is the truest form of freedom, the letters they wrote to their younger selves, and more!

#booksthatchangedmylife #library #bookrecs #bookreport #interview #podcast #chrisbulldogcollins 🚨 Grab the coolest book & library tees, socks, hoodies & more! https://booksthatchangedmylife.org/collections/all

In this episode of Books That Changed My Life, host Chris Collins is joined by Olympic gold medalist and author Shawn Johnson.

Shawn opens up about growing up an only child in Des Moines, the obsessive intensity that made her a champion at three and an Olympian at sixteen, the two-year stretch of depression that followed her step back from gymnastics, and the Book That Changed Her Life: The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer.

She and Chris go deep on perfectionism, the impossibility of "winning" at parenting, the four cures for busyness, consumerism as the new religion, and the small daily rituals — "day of delight," morning coffee, "bev time" — she and her husband use to keep themselves in the moment.

Stick around to the end, where Shawn is joined by her husband Andrew to talk about their new book, The Courage to Commit. They get into the four years (and couples therapy) it took to write it, the challenge of merging their authorial voices, why commitment is the truest form of freedom, the letters they wrote to their younger selves, and more! Pick up a copy of Shawn and Andrew's book at https://thecouragetocommit.com/.

#booksthatchangedmylife #books #library #bookrecs #bookreport #interview #podcast #chrisbulldogcollins 🚨 Grab the coolest book & library tees, socks, hoodies & more! https://booksthatchangedmylife.org/collections/all

In this episode of Books That Changed My Life, host Chris Collins is joined by actress, author, and podcast host Jennie Garth! Jennie and Chris talk growing up in the rural Midwest, her educator parents and their devotion to literacy, the chaos and joy of home design, decision fatigue, and life as the baby of a big blended family, before diving into the Book That Changed Jennie's life: Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach.

Jennie recalls discovering Bach's slim, illustrated parable at thirteen on her mother's shelf of self-help books, and how the story quietly molded her into the person she is today.

The two explore the book's themes of nonconformity, transcendence, and reaching one's highest potential, tracing uncanny parallels to Jennie's own journey: breaking away from the flock, enduring loss and grief, and discovering that forgiveness was the moment she finally felt free.

Along the way, they consider what a fifty-year-old fable about a seagull who chose to fly higher can teach us about living authentically and leading by example.

#booksthatchangedmylife #books #library #bookrecs #bookreport #interview #podcast #chrisbulldogcollins 🚨 Grab the coolest book & library tees, socks, hoodies & more! https://booksthatchangedmylife.org/collections/all

In this episode of Books That Changed My Life, host Chris Collins is joined by author, artist, and musician Harper Simon!

Harper and Chris talk teenage years in New York City, sneaking into hardcore matinees, the pull of psychedelics and counterculture, and an early literary education from Allen Ginsberg himself, before diving into the Book That Changed Harper's life: The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe.

Harper recalls how the wild chronicle of Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters found him as a 15-year-old just beginning to explore hippie culture and the roots of American rebellion, cracking open a door to a whole way of seeing the world.

The two explore the origins of New Journalism, the cross-country bus trip that birthed a movement, the Grateful Dead's acid test beginnings, and what Kesey's outlaw spirit can still teach us 60 years later about art, freedom, and the cost of becoming a lightning rod.

#booksthatchangedmylife #books #library #bookrecs #bookreport #interview #podcast #chrisbulldogcollins 🚨 Grab the coolest book & library tees, socks, hoodies & more! https://booksthatchangedmylife.org/collections/all

In this episode of Books That Changed My Life, host Chris Collins is joined by actress and lifelong book lover Danielle Campbell!

Danielle and Chris talk growing up, stage acting, the musicality of language, and the importance of presence, before diving into the Book That Changed Danielle's life, The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett.

Danielle recalls how Follett's sweeping multi-decade saga found her during the pandemic and reshaped how she sees her own life — not as a series of isolated moments, but as a long arc of building, breaking, and rebuilding.

The two explore the book's medieval setting, examining power, faith, resilience, and more, while highlighting what a story about a 12th-century cathedral can teach us about building something that lasts.

#booksthatchangedmylife #books #library #bookrecs #bookreport #interview #podcast #chrisbulldogcollins 🚨 Grab the coolest book & library tees, socks, hoodies & more! https://booksthatchangedmylife.org/collections/all

In this episode of Books That Changed My Life, host Chris Collins is joined by actress, musician, and certified permaculture designer Jena Malone!

Jena opens up about her latest album Flowers for Men (available now!), the vulnerability of songwriting, and how becoming a mother was a "happy death" of old ideals that reshaped her creative life.

Chris and Jena dive into the Book That Changed Her Life, The Flowering Wand by Sophie Strand. Jena explains how Strand's invitation to redefine ancient myths around masculinity arrived at the perfect moment.

The book found her as she navigated dating, raised a young son, and hungered for stories of the sacred masculine in a culture obsessed with the toxic.

Together, they explore Strand's vision of a grounded, earth-rooted masculinity, why an answer often ends a story, and how revision, curiosity, and community in the unknown might be the most radical tools we have.

#booksthatchangedmylife #library #bookrecs #bookreport #interview #podcast #chrisbulldogcollins 🚨 Grab the coolest book & library tees, socks, hoodies & more! https://booksthatchangedmylife.org/collections/all

In this special New York episode of Books That Changed My Life, host Chris Collins is joined by actress, author, and book lover Hilarie Burton.

Hilarie opens up about her upbringing in small-town Virginia, her move to New York City, and the Book That Changed Her Life: Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury.

Hilarie shares how she discovered the book in Greenwich Village, just weeks after 9/11, and how Bradbury's writing taught her to slow down and find magic in the mundane.

Chris and Hilarie talk Motown, theater kids, old souls, the boyfriend test she's used for twenty years, hoarding as memory-keeping, spinster chic, reincarnation, and why Bradbury's 1957 novel is more relevant than ever.

#booksthatchangedmylife #library #bookrecs #bookreport #interview #podcast #chrisbulldogcollins 🚨 Grab the coolest book & library tees, socks, hoodies & more! https://booksthatchangedmylife.org/collections/all

Claim your FREE, SIGNED copy of American Fantasy HERE: https://booksthatchangedmylife.org/pages/win-a-book-3

In this episode of Books That Changed My Life, host Chris Collins is joined by bestselling author and Books are Magic owner Emma Straub!

Emma talks bookstore ownership (including the Top 5 Reasons Not to Open a Bookstore), comedy, fiction, and the Book That Changed Her Life, Miss Piggy's Guide to Life. Emma explains how, beneath the humor, Miss Piggy's "self-help" book taught her 7-year-old self valuable lessons about confidence, body image, relationships, and more.

Chris and Emma dive into her latest book, American Fantasy, and the real life boy-band cruise that inspired it.

Emma explains how fiction creates space for truth telling, and the spiritual core of the novel: delight and pleasure in middle age.

#booksthatchangedmylife #books #library #bookrecs #bookreport #interview #podcast #chrisbulldogcollins 🚨 Grab the coolest book & library tees, socks, hoodies & more! https://booksthatchangedmylife.org/collections/all