This week I’m chatting with Rikki and Michaela, two Seattle area friends and SERIOUS book lovers who knew each other for YEARS before they discovered they shared a love of reading. Now they say its the best part of their friendship. In today’s episode we discuss what it means to live a literary lifestyle, why they believe in reading with the seasons, and how scary it can be to recommend your favorite book to your best friend. We also explore how they create meaningful, interactive experiences to bring favorite books to life, like their literary dinner parties. (That photo above is an example of the gorgeous work they do; see below to follow their accounts!)
I’m pretty sure I say this every week, but this is a fun one. Let’s get to it.
Connect with Rikki & Michaela at The Ardent Biblio: Website | Twitter | Instagram | Facebook
Books mentioned in this episode:
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• Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott
• The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• Wuthering Heights, by Emily Brontë
• The Secret History, by Donna Tartt
• Tigana, by Guy Gavriel Kay
• The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins
• Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Relilience, and Redemption, by Lauren Hillenbrand
• The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, by Mary Anne Shaffer
• The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman
• Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously, by Julie Powell
• Persuasion, by Jane Austen
• Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neal Hurston
• Voracious: A Hungry Reader Cooks Her Way Through Great Books, by Cara Nicoletti
• My Kitchen Year: 136 Recipes That Saved My Life, by Ruth Reichl
• Brideshead Revisited, by Evelyn Waugh
My book Reading People: How Seeing the World Through the Lens of Personality Changes Everything is coming this September 19! This is the story of how my long journey digging into 7 popular personality frameworks changed my life for the better, and how you can put those frameworks to work for yourself to make real, lasting change in your life, in your work, and in your relationships without going through quite so many hard knocks yourself. Pick up your copy on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, your local indie, or wherever books are sold.
What do YOU think Rikki & Michaela should read together? Let us know in the comments!
20 comments
Anne, I totally agree about the Persuasion movie kiss. That scene makes me cringe!
Yes (that kiss-why, oh why?!). But I otherwise liked that version. Actually, I like the Amanda Root version too. None are perfect, but I like that they enhance the reading fo me.
I was surprised to hear that The Secret History was a favorite. I’m just finishing up the book, and man it is disturbing! I can certainly appreciate it was a well-crafted piece of literature, but it’s definitely not on my favorites list.
I’ve heard a few guests mention literary dinner parties. Where do I find people to have these with?! I feel like we need MMD meet up groups!
I enjoyed this episode! I was happy to hear someone finally claim “Unbroken” as a favorite. The story and writing are amazing! That would definitely be one of my 3 favorites.
So, what are your favorite seasonal reads for fall?
Ladies, I think you would love “My Cousin Rachel” by Daphne du Maurier (author of “Rebecca”). It’s atmospheric, has complex characters, and lends itself to discussion and a gothic-style tea party. Also try “The Woman in White” by Wilkie Collins… it’s like a Victorian soap opera! A classic, but a page-turner and so fun to read.
The Woman in White is actually on my October TBR! I’ve read Rebecca, but I will definitely check out My Cousin Rachel as well. Thanks for the recommendations!
Super excited to hear Guy Gavriel Kay make a guest’s favourites list! “Tigana” is a book that has stayed with me for years, but really needs an “HSP beware” sticker on the front. Let’s just say cultural reclamation takes a few characters into some really dark places, and several of those places a pretty graphic. For a good example of Kay’s brilliance without the trigger warning, try “Ysabel”. Loved hearing you ladies chat books & the book life!
Finally, another Kay lover! I’ve never met anyone in real life who has read him! That makes me super happy!
Have you read The long fatal love chase by Louisa May Alcott!!? one of my favorites…but be warned it is NOTHING like Little Women!! I haven’t seen the kids scene from Persuasion but the one that ends North and South(also a great book)is worth watching the whole MOVIE!!!! Enjoyed the show today…Potato Peel society is one of my favorites too!!
Oops meant KISS scene not KIDS scene!!
I gave that Alcott title a try this summer for the first time!
Annnnnnd??you didn’t like it??
I totally second the Persuasion suggestion! Lovely setting and characters and definitely atmospheric. Also agree about the movie adaptations – neither one does the book complete justice. I’m ready for a remake of it! 🙂
Loved this episode! I love Rikki and Michaela and the community they are building – it’s such an interesting spin. Thanks for the shoutout too! 🙂
I LOVED this episode, definitely a favourite. Potato Peel Pie Society and Unbroken two of my favourites too! Very happy to have found The Ardent Bibliophiles!
Oh, I really really loved this episode. I read most of their favorites already and have just placed a hold on the suggested “My Kitchen Year”.
Does anyone know the title of the article written by Lauren Hillenbrand? Can’t seem to find it.
Here’s the article by Laura Hillenbrand: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2003/07/07/a-sudden-illness
It’s fabulous – reads just as compellingly as her books do!
Thank you! Just read the article and as expected was once again moved by her story of a once mysterious disease and her story of Seabiscuit.
Off I go to add yet another book (Seabiscuit) to my TBR pile.
Since this episode was all about friendships forged over a great book, I think you would both enjoy a new nonfiction release, “A Secret Sisterhood — The Literary Friendships of Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, George Eliot and Virginian Wolf” by Emily Midorikawa and Emma Claire Sweeney. This book by two women writer-friends, would give you so much material for one of your literary dinners. The friendships explored within include: Jane Austen + Anne Sharpe (a servant employed by Austen’s brother and also an amateur playwright), Charlotte Bronte + Mary Taylor, George Eliot + Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Virginia Woolf + Katherine Mansfield. You could read it all at once, or you could pick a section. You could even read about one of the famous literary pairings and then read a book by each of them.
Ladies,
This podcast was amazing!