Smart Podcast, Trashy Books: A Romance Novel Podcast

The re-release of The Luckiest Lady in London has arrived, and Sherry Thomas joins me to talk about the writing of that book more than 13 years ago, how romance and historicals have changed, and how this book is a reflection and subversion of another very, very famous historical romance.

Plus, she gives us recommendations of her favorite historical romance authors and some of their books.

Note: we had some connectivity issues, so sometimes the edit sounds a little abrupt. If you’re watching the video, the video does freeze while the audio continues. My apologies.

You can find Sherry Thomas at her website, SherryThomas.com. She’s on Bluesky, on Instagram @writersherrythomas, and on Facebook as AuthorSherryThomas.

Music: purple-planet.com

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Hey, where are you going? Get in the time machine – we want to bring you back to March 2009 to check out the ads & features from Romantic Times Magazine.

We’ve got:
Snippy letters to the editor!
Covers that look like shaving cream ads for women
Reading in a recession
Folks explaining steampunk!
Pop vs. Soda
And you’ll find out what words are used in an acrostic of “pandemic.”

TW: In the middle you’ll hear from Editing Sarah – which is when I interject additional info into the episode while I’m editing it – for about a minute and a half. There is some gross fatphobia and mean terminology in that section. Skip ahead when I start reading the paragraph about 30 seconds.

And you can watch this episode on YouTube to see all the images as we discuss them. You are most welcome to subscribe to our YouTube channel if you would like!

We also mentioned:

“When Your Friend Goes Steampunk” by Key & Peele (YouTube)
Booklender.com
BookMooch.com
Paperbackswap.com
“‘Girls’ EP Inks Deal With HBO, Developing Comedy With Mike White” by Lesley Goldberg, December 2, 2013, Hollywood Reporter
“‘Mr. Romance’ woos New Regency” by Michael Fleming, December 16, 2008, Variety

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Jo Piazza is my guest this week to discuss her new book, The Parisian Heist. This book is a dual timeline story weaving together a 1990s heist at the Orsay museum with the story of Jo van Gogh, Vincent van Gogh’s sister in law, who is the reason we know who Vincent is today.

Along the way we talk about
DNFing books
Stealing art
Mythologizing artists usually men
And how many women do nearly everything half scared.

You can find Jo Piazza – and her book tour! – at her website JoPiazza.com. Her podcast is Under the Influence.

And you can hear her discussing her book Everyone is Lying to You in Episode 677. Everyone is Lying to You with Jo Piazza.

We also mentioned:
Anthony Amore, Director of Security and Chief Investigator at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
The Gardner Museum Theft
The Red Wheelbarrow Bookshop, Paris
In the Café: Agostina Segatori in Le Tambourin, Van Gogh Museum
A Crab on its Back, Van Gogh Museum
Bookcase Books, Jo Piazza’s pop up bookstore, on Bookshop.org

Music: purple-planet.com
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We’re back in the time machine heading to March 2009 to check out the new books reviewed in Romantic Times Magazine.

We’ve got:
Hot dog shrines
Alpha heroines
PT Cruisers
Allegories for the siege of Leningrad
Whore’s Dust

We’ve got some new books in the magazine that are still bangers today across many genres, alongside some books that we’re going to leave in 2009, right after we talk about them in this episode. We got big yikes, folks! Big yikes!

You can find this episode on YouTube at Smart Podcast Trashy Books.

Music: purple-planet.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A few months ago, Kayleigh Donaldson joined me to discuss Oscar predictions and other pop culture stories, and we decided to connect quarterly to discuss popular culture.

We discuss the misogyny attached to Timothy Chalamet hate, a deep dive into the public post history of Club Chalamet as indicative of larger issues in fandom behavior, Madonna’s new album, Lizzo’s new album, and the Tartan Army.

The through-line of our conversation is really fandoms, specifically changing fan and audience behavior for better or for worse, what it means, why it’s happening, and maybe, how can it stop already.

When two book bloggers who have been on the internet for a good while discuss pop culture, it’s a very good time.

You can find Kayleigh Donaldson at her website, KayleighDonaldson.com, on Bluesky, and on Pajiba.com. You can also sign up for her (excellent) newsletter, Gossip Reading Club.

You can find Kayleigh on the following episodes:
576. BookTok, Hockey Romance, and People as Products with Kayleigh Donaldson
678. The Osmanification of Fiction Covers with Kayleigh Donaldson
703. Oscars and Gossip with Kayleigh Donaldson

We also mentioned:
IG: footage of Madonna and Connor Storrie at Paris Fashion Week
Widow’s Bay
Bitch by Lizzo
Confessions 2 by Madonna
My Lady Jane

Do you like to listen to your favorite podcasts on YouTube?
https://www.youtube.com/@SmartPodcastTrashyBooks
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