International Women's Day was this past weekend so Paige and I thought we'd jump in and talk about women authors. So we're here to recommend books we've read and books we want to read by women! Check out the list below and jump over to Instagram to let us know which authors are your favorite!

Daryn's Author List:

• Lauren Kung Jessen
• Erin Morgenstern
• Fonda Lee
• Shannon (S.A.) Chakraborty

Paige's Author List:

• Jodi Picoult
• Samantha Shannon
• Amber McBride

Non-Fiction:

• Alexandra Elle
• Rebekah Taussig
• Kate Winkler Dawson

Paranormal Romance:

• Jennifer L. Armentrout
• Cassandra Claire
• Gena Showalter
• Amelia Atwater-Rhodes

Poetry:

• Amanda Gorman
• Nikita Gill
• Amanda Lovelace

Historical Fiction:

• Taylor Jenkins Reid
• Brit Bennett
• Sarah Waters
• The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Annie Barrows and Mary Ann Shaffer

Fantasy:

• Olivie Blake
• Sarah Gailey
• Emma Törzs

General Fiction:

• Claire Keegan
• Donna Tart
• Barbara Kingsolver
• Ann Patchett

Picture Books:

• Jan Brett
• Barbara Cooney

Horror:

• Cassandra Khaw
• Han Kang

Young Adult:

• Sarah Dessen
• Isabel Allende
• Maggie Stiefvater
• Libba Bray
• Tiffany D. Jackson
• Maureen Johnson

Romance:

• Yulin Kuang
• Chloe Liese
• India Holton
• Claudia Gray
• Julia Stuart
• Jenna Levine
• Evie Dunmore
• Lex Croucher
• Emilia Hart
• Lex Croucher
• Meryl Wilsner
• KT Hoffman
• Clare Gilmore

Welcome back to the podcast! This episode is about the books that made us love reading as kids. We're both diving into the nostalgia and diving into the stories that made us love stories. Jump into the conversation on our Instagram to tell us the books that made you love books!

Paige's Books:

• The Children of the Red King Series by Jenny Nimmo (no spoilers)
• The Inkworld Series by Cornelia Funke (light spoilers)
• The Enchanted Forest Chronicles by Patricia C. Wrede (light spoilers)
• Where the Sidewalk Ends by Shel Silverstein (no spoilers - it's poetry)
• Falling Up by Shel Silverstein (no spoilers - still poetry)
• A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein (you must know what I'm going to say by this point)

Daryn's Books:

• The Song of the Lioness Quartet by Tamora Pierce (thematic spoilers)
• The Immortals Quartet by Tamora Pierce (thematic spoilers)
• The Protector of the Small Quartet by Tamora Pierce (thematic spoilers)
• Daughter of the Lioness Duology by Tamora Pierce (thematic spoilers)
• The Beka Cooper Chronicles by Tamora Pierce (thematic spoilers)
• Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney (spoilers but it's a kid's book so calm down)
• The Old Kingdom Trilogy by Garth Nix (light spoilers)

This week we're diving into book clubs - how to find them, how to join them, what to look for in a book club...you know...book clubs! Should we be telling you to like and subscribe? Do that if so.

See everyone next week!

We're recommending Black authors that we have read and/or are excited to read! It's important to diversify your reading habits so we're here with a list of authors you may want to check out. No spoilers in this episode - just a list of authors you should definitely support throughout the year, not just during Black History Month.

Our Personal Must Read Authors:

• Yaa Gyasi
• Oyinkan Braithwaite
• P. Djèlí Clark
• N.K. Jemisin
• S.A. Cosby
• Helen Oyeyemi

Historical Fiction:

• Yaa Gyasi
• Colson Whitehead
• Toni Morrison

Memoirs:

• Michelle Obama
• Trevor Noah
• RuPaul
• Gabrielle Union
• Nicole Byer
• Michelle Buteau

Young Adult (YA):

• Leah Johnson
• Elizabeth Acevedo

Non Fiction:

• Bryan Stevenson
• Joseph Graves
• Margot Lee Shetterly

General Fiction:

• Zadie Smith

High Fantasy:

• Tomi Adeyemi
• Octavia Butler
• Even Winter
• Marlon James

Short Stories:

• Deesha Philyaw

Romance:

• Alexa Martin
• Beverly Jenkins
• Jasmine Guillory
• Kennedy Ryan
• Claire Kann
• Kimberly Lemming

Research Study Link

Re: Book Bans:

Daryn looked for statistics on book bans as they relate to Black authors but couldn't find much. There's this article about a study done on books banned in 2023 which found women of color to be disproportionately represented in the Banned Book List but obviously, a lot can change in 2025. Hop over to Instagram and let us know if you know of a better, more current study.

We’re talking reviews, we’re talking spoilers, we’re just talkin’! Jump in to hear Daryn & Paige talk about the books they’ve recommended to each other recently. Paige read a historical romance and a contemporary romance while Daryn picked up a cozy sci-fi novella. Let us know if you read any of these, too!

• Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore (yes spoilers)
• Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers (yes spoilers)
• A Prayer for the Crownshy by Becky Chambers (no spoilers)
• What the River Knows by Isabel Ibañez (no spoilers)
• Something Wild and Wonderful by Anita Kelly (yes spoilers)

We’re back (2 days late, Daryn really needs to set alarm reminders to press "publish") with some book recommendations and as per usual, Daryn is a total glutton for every book Paige recommends! There are no spoilers but here are the books we recommended to each other this time around. Join us in a few weeks to chat about the books we end up choosing!

• What the River Knows by Isabel Ibañez (no spoilers)
• Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers (no spoilers)
• Uprooted by Naomi Novik (no spoilers)
• The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez (no spoilers)
• The Happy Ever After Playlist by Abby Jimenez (no spoilers)
• Life’s Too Short by Abby Jimenez (no spoilers)
• Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark (no spoilers)
• Lunar Love by Lauren Kung Jessen (no spoilers)
• We Were Beautiful by Imbolo Mbue (no spoilers)
• Something Wild and Wonderful by Anita Kelly (no spoilers)
• Love & Other Disasters by Anita Kelly (no spoilers)
• Alanna by Tamora Pierce (no spoilers)
• Red, White, & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston (no spoilers)
• Heartstopper by Alice Oseman (no spoilers)
• The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty (no spoilers)

No book recommendations or reviews this time around - Daryn and Paige chat about the gamification of reading. When is it good? When is it bad? We answer these questions (I mean kind of…we’re just out here talking about books). Tune in then join the gamification conversation over on our Instagram @wejustwantyoutoread.

Articles Referenced:

1. Gamification of Reading: Is It a Page-Turner or a Problem?
2. The Gamification of Reading is Changing How We Approach Books

PS - Between when we recorded this and when it’s airing, The Storygraph has officially added the Pause feature!

Remember when we recommended a bunch of books to each other like a month ago? Well we finally have our review episode! Proceed with caution - spoilers abound here and we’re discussing a book that has a bit of ✨spice✨! Before you listen, if one of these books are on your TBR or you’re in the middle of them…don’t…listen. Because we’re talking spoilers!

• Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire (big spoilers)
• Black Movie by Danez Smith (kind of spoilers?)
• Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore (mid-book spoilers)
• Hawksong by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes (no spoilers)
• Starling House by Alix E. Harrow (no spoilers)
• Once and Future Witches by Alix E. Harrow (no spoilers)
• Fractured Fables by Alix E. Harrow (no spoilers)
• Uprooted by Naomi Novik (no spoilers)
• Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik (no spoilers)