It has been a wild, amazing ride and I couldn't be more grateful for all of your support over the years. Please enjoy this reflective last episode, which includes some of my thoughts on podcasting more broadly, a bit of housekeeping, and a whole lot of Q&A. Thank you for every little thing.Love,AlliKEEP IN TOUCH!Follow me on Instagram @allihoffkosik. Check out (and subscribe to!) my Substack: Getting It Alli TogetherRemember: All 318 episodes of SSR will still be available wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts. Please continue to recommend the show to your loved ones... and never stop listening to the conversations from the archives that make you feel warm and fuzzy :) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Episode 317: Absolutely Normal Chaos (with Rebecca Fishbein)
For the last-ever guest episode of SSR, Alli is thrilled to revisit a book by one of her personal favorites, Sharon Creech. The book is Absolutely Normal Chaos, a diary-style read from the '90s that serves as a fascinating entry point to grief and loss for young readers. Tune in for a discussion about the emotional roller coaster of the book, but also for some comparing and contrasting with Creech's other work, reflections on friendship and early relationships, and more.Rebecca Fishbein is the author of Good Things Happen to People You Hate and Floral Estrangements. Follow her on Instagram @bfishbfish.CHECK OUT REBECCA'S PREVIOUS APPEARANCE ON SSR HERE!CHECK OUT REBECCA'S BOOKS: Floral EstrangementsGood Things Happen to People You HateCHECK OUT REBECCA'S BOOK RECOMMENDATION: Good Material by Dolly AldertonMORE READING: "Absolutely Normal Chaos" (Kirkus, 1995) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Episode 316: Princess Academy (with London Sperry)
Add this to the list of Alli's favorite SSR reads of all-time—and just in time for the show to say goodbye in a couple of weeks! Nearly 20 years after it was published and won a Newbery Honor, Shannon Hale's Princess Academy was a delight to read and discuss. The book inspires conversations on Episode 316 about everything from hometown pride and tropes about female bodies to the value of education and lame princes. Alli's guest also blows her mind with some facts about 2025 slang.London Sperry's debut novel Passion Project hits shelves on 4/8/25. Follow her on Instagram @londonsperrywrites.CHECK OUT LONDON'S BOOK HERE! CHECK OUT LONDON'S BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS: Wedding Dashers by Heather McBreenLet's Call a Truce by Amy BuchananUnromance by Erin ConnorYou Between the Lines by Katie NaymonBut How Are You, Really by Ella DawsonMORE READING: "Book Review: Princess Academy by Shannon Hale" (Books: A True Story, 2013)"Review: Princess Academy" (The Princess Blog, 2018)"Book Review: Princess Academy by Shannon Hale" (Turn the Page, 2012)"Shannon Hale Says Her Novels Are Not 'Girl Books'" (Bustle, 2015)"Q&A with Shannon Hale" (Publishers Weekly, 2015)"One Things Leads to Another: An Interview with Shannon Hale" (The Hub, 2014) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Episode 315: WTF # 7 | WTF Do I Do to Promote a Book?
On this last installment of our monthly SSR: WTF (WriTing Friends) series, Alli and Abby look to the future!In anticipation of the 2026 publication of Alli's debut novel, they discuss all things book promotion: book events, PR boxes, social media icks, supporting authors online and IRL, newsletters, pre-orders, and more. They also chat more about the decision to end SSR and give you a preview of their future (potential) collaborations!CHECK OUT AND SUBSCRIBE TO ABBY'S SUBSTACK NEWSLETTER HERE! BOOK SHOUTOUTS: Written: How to Keep Writing and Build a Habit That Lasts by Bec Evans and Chris Smith Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Episode 314: Stacey's Big Crush (Baby-Sitters Club #65) (with Saumya Dave)
Bad news: this is the last Baby-Sitters Club-centric episode of SSR.Good news: this is an amazing Baby-Sitters Club-centric episode of SSR!This week, former BSC superfan Saumya Dave joins Alli for one final trip to Stoneybrook to hang with everyone's favorite young entrepreneurs. They discuss the sixty-fifth book in the series, Stacey's Big Crush, along with hot teachers, women in STEM, all-consuming crushes, long school days, portrayals of divorce in books, goat sitting, and how the baby-sitters have helped us understand ourselves over the years.Saumya Dave is the author of Well-Behaved Indian Women, What a Happy Family, and—most recently—The Guilt Pill, which was inspired by her work as a pyschiatrist. Follow her on Instagram @saumyajdave.CHECK OUT SAUMYA'S BOOKS:Well-Behaved Indian WomenWhat a Happy FamilyThe Guilt Pill CHECK OUT ASHA'S BOOK RECOMMENDATION: Yellowface by R.F. KuangThe Push by Ashley AudrainThe Other Lata by Kirthana RamisettiMORE READING: "Stacey's Big Crush" (The Baby-Sitters Club Wiki)"#65: Stacey's Big Crush" (Live the Movies)"Stacey's Big Crush" (Baby-Sitters Club Snark-fest!) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Each week, freelance writer and lifelong bookworm Alli Hoff Kosik will challenge a guest to reread a literary throwback or to experience for the first time ever a book they may have missed as a kid. After that, they'll be asked to spill all the feels and all the opinions about that book on the air for your podcast-listening pleasure. Every Tuesday, you can find us breaking down an old school read from our tween and teen days on a new episode of the show. We'll cover everything from The Baby-Sitters Club to Holes, Nancy Drew to Harry Potter. This time around, we're a little wiser (yay!), a lot older (ugh.), and of legal age to drink wine... so we'll have a lot to say. Happy Reading! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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