Welcome to the Bookfluencer Pod! This month, to celebrate our heritage, each episode will feature a book written by an Irish author. Today we're talking about Conversations with Friends by Sally Rooney and The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods.

A few takeaways from Conversations with Friends that Shan shares include:

• All of Rooney’s characters are deeply flawed in some way.
• The story is a snapshot of two couples’ lives, their relationships (and affairs), and how those relationships are impacted by internal struggles.

A few takeaways from The Lost Bookshop that Tiff shares include:

• Multiple perspectives and stories intersect across time, which makes for a captivating read as you slowly begin to see how the characters’ lives are intertwined.
• The story is both heartbreaking and heartwarming at times.
• It’s a reminder of the magic of books!

Intro & Outro music credit:

"Wholesome" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Welcome to the Bookfluencer Pod! This month, in honor of Valentine’s Day, our episodes will feature romance reads. (Tiffany didn’t follow the assignment for this second book because there’s only so much romance she can handle in her literature.) <3 Today we're talking about Emma by Jane Austen and The Maid by Nita Prose.

A few takeaways from Emma that Shan shares include:

• The likable characters and their old-English quips make for an entertaining read.
• Austen’s slow-burn romance keeps you turning pages… will they, won’t they?
• Emma’s disinterest in marriage (or, her resistance to other people’s expectations of when she should marry, and whom), makes her a rebellious woman in the age during which this book takes place.

A few takeaways from The Maid that Tiff shares include:

• Although it falls outside the “romance” theme for this month, an unexpected relationship blooms toward the end!
• The main character, who’s also the narrator, offers a unique perspective. Based on other characters’ interactions with her, her internal dialogue, and descriptions of how she interprets social interactions, Tiff interpreted her to be a person with autism.
• Tiff suspected multiple characters throughout the story, which kept her turning pages to solve the mystery. Spoiler alert: she pegged the wrong person as the killer!

Intro & Outro music credit:

"Wholesome" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Welcome to the Bookfluencer Pod! This month, in honor of Valentine’s Day, our episodes will feature romance reads. <3 Today we're talking about The Collected Regrets of Clover by Mikki Brammer and Lovelight Farms by B.K. Borison.

A few takeaways from The Collected Regrets of Clover that Shan shares include:

• The main characters’ choice of profession served as a means of penance.
• Our perception of reality influences our choices and actions.
• Sometimes, we imprison ourselves with our own judgment. Self-forgiveness is freeing.

A few takeaways from Lovelight Farms that Tiff shares include:

• Our pasts tend to dictate how we perceive the present and what we fear about the future, but it's unfair to assess our experiences through that tainted lens.
• We all need community – people we can trust, people who believe in us, people who willingly walk with us through the muck. And people who tell us the truth, even when it's hard to hear.
• Setting and character can make or break a story!

Intro & Outro music credit:

"Wholesome" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/