Latest / Friday Night Readers: Gilmore Girls Inspired Book Club / 🎙️My 4 Most Viral Book Podcast Episodes (and What Made Them Hit)

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🎙️My 4 Most Viral Book Podcast Episodes (and What Made Them Hit) · Friday Night Readers: Gilmore Girls Inspired Book Club

• 0:05
  SPEAKER_00: Hello Friday Night Readers.
• 0:06
  SPEAKER_00: For anyone new here, we are a virtual book club inspired by Gilmore Girls.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: I am Jules.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: I have read a Rory Gilmore reading challenge since 2021.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: I am actually working on our 2027 challenge right now.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: And this year I've published the unofficial guide to the books on Gilmore Girls
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_00: where I go episode by episode.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_00: Listing all of the books that I have found over the years on the show,
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: kind of at an unhinged level.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: To my knowledge,
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: I've got a hundred plus discoveries that I don't think you'll find anywhere else.
• 0:34
  SPEAKER_00: And that's what makes my book different.
• 0:36
  SPEAKER_00: It also has a little reading journal in it so that you can track your reading,
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: just like The Gun Murderers.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: So what do we do around here?
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I am fueled by coffee,
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_00: just like the Gilmore Girls,
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: and my mission is to help cozy introverted women read,
• 0:49
  SPEAKER_00: live, and write like Rory, Lorelai, Emily and the Gay.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_00: I want you to escape into a community that feels as good as Stars Hall Out,
• 0:56
  SPEAKER_00: not like the doom scrolling of the internet,
• 0:58
  SPEAKER_00: and find and become so well-read that you can reference the most iconic books
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: of all time in daily conversation.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_00: That's what it's really all about.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: This is a new podcast description that I just came up with this week,
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_00: and I did redesign the So take a look at that.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm telling you all this for a reason.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_00: We're here tonight to talk about the most viral hits in one year of podcasting.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: In looking back at my data and preparing for the episode,
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_00: as well as trying to grow the podcast in the future,
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: these are a few of the things I worked on,
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: especially because of my most viral hit just came recently.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_00: It was our in-paget books.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: Little bit of a spoiler.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: That is our number one viral hit of the year.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: And we will talk about that a lot more later.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: So if you are new here, welcome.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: And if you are a regular, welcome back.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: Today will be all about my one year journey of podcasting.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: The lows.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, there were a lot of lows and highs.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: There were some pretty high highs as well.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: And where all of this is going.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: And going through my most viral hits,
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_00: you'll learn where to start if you're new around here or get a nice little recap.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: You may also feel compelled to press replay.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: Which is encouraged.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: And if you don't have time to go through the four greatest hits,
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: I'll talk about what you need to know from them.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: This is something that I am actually appreciating myself in other podcasts.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: In now working more diligently on Ground the Podcast,
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_00: I have been researching podcasts about podcasting.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_00: And I find myself looking for exactly this kind of playlist.
• 2:25
  SPEAKER_00: I don't have time to go through 600 episodes of someone else's catalog,
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: but when they tell me where to start,
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: I feel so relieved to just go through that list.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: So that's what I'm going to do for you today.
• 2:36
  SPEAKER_00: But first, let's recap the week over a virtual Jumbo Coffee at Weeks.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: It is October, the best month of the year, and in my opinion, the most beautiful.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: We're just about at peak re-season here in Philadelphia and over the weekend,
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: since there was no Eagles game on Sunday, and it was 70 degrees and sunny.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_00: We took the opportunity to head to Longwood Gardens,
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: which is in the suburbs and is my second favorite place in Philadelphia.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: My first is Citizens Day Park, which is a Philly stadium.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: One thing you may not know about me as a Gilmore is that I am a really, really big baseball fan.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: It's just something I don't talk about here, but in my real life.
• 3:11
  SPEAKER_00: I'm actually known as a baseball girl more than I'm known as a Gilmore girl.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_00: Anyway, Longwood Gardens is so beautiful that Martha Stewart visits here
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: and it's always changing.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: While many love their Christmas decorations with lights all around the property,
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: I personally love October Vest because you do get all of that foliage as well
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_00: as mums and I love mums.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: And let me tell you, these mums are like nothing you've ever seen before.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_00: The biggest worm measures probably at least six or eight feet wide and has 1500 buds on it.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: There's also these mums that are like bonsai trees, all different colors.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: And then mums that are maybe three and a half feet high and with buns,
• 3:49
  SPEAKER_00: literally the size of my hand.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: We love to go there because it's a really lovely way to get females in.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: There's a waterfall, there's fountains.
• 3:58
  SPEAKER_00: We actually also really got a kick out of the lily pads this time.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_00: There's also this little outdoor VRV looking thing.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: Which is super charming and quirky with the light taming and all the leaves falling.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_00: And the last two Octobers we've been there,
• 4:11
  SPEAKER_00: they have had polka music occurring and it just cracked us up so much.
• 4:15
  SPEAKER_00: My husband said he felt like he was in store solo.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, I was absolutely thrilled by that reference and how he used it in a sentence.
• 4:23
  SPEAKER_00: I'm always trying to get him to use my prop culture in a sentence.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_00: Now we have had a hard year as a family and being outside,
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: being in fall,
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_00: present in the moment,
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_00: Enjoying the beauty of nature really did feel so healing for us.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: I wish the same for you as we headed to November in just a few more weeks
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: before it gets cold and dark in many parts of the USA.
• 4:44
  SPEAKER_00: Now, the next big thing I did this week was I went to an awkward event
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_00: and it really felt like a full circle moment.
• 4:51
  SPEAKER_00: So I went to see Becca Freeman, the author of Back Where We Started, which is a new book.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: But I know her best as the podcast host of That On Paper,
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_00: I started listening to something like eight years ago.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_00: And to me, it shows how important book podcasts are in our lives.
• 5:07
  SPEAKER_00: This was actually one of the reasons I started a podcast.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: So to me,
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_00: her the exact week I'm looking back at my first year as a podcast host
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_00: and what this medium means to me.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: It was pretty much a chef's kiss.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_00: Her writing is actually perfect for millennials.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_00: It's littered with pop culture, just like Gilmore Girls.
• 5:24
  SPEAKER_00: She did reference Gilmore Girls at the event as well.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: She's got a small town mayor as the male main character of her novel.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_00: And she was saying how she did not want him to be too Taylor Ducey.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_00: It was such a fun night.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_00: And I always want to encourage you to do these author events.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_00: They are great for bookstores.
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: They're great for you.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_00: They're great for meeting new friends.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_00: The natural high of talking to an author whose work you read in person.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: And I will say,
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_00: even as someone who has listened to Becca's podcast every single week,
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: I still found it so insightful to hear her in person talk about the choices she made
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_00: in the book and why.
• 5:57
  SPEAKER_00: It's always hard to make friends as an adult,
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_00: but this is one great way to do it, but also supporting your community.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_00: I always leave these events on a natural high.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_00: In my personal life, I am getting ready for winter.
• 6:09
  SPEAKER_00: And that means shopping for puffer coats.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_00: I've got two that I want to link in the show notes for you.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_00: So the issue is that my puffers are a little bit small on me.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_00: I've had my North Face one for probably 10 years.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_00: It's mid-length and black.
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: But I did not want to spend a lot on the new coat.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_00: The one that I ended up getting was from Williams End.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: I felt like it would be cheaper than LL Bean, but maybe around the same quality.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I ended up thinking it was even better than my North Face jacket.
• 6:35
  SPEAKER_00: And it was on a great sale.
• 6:38
  SPEAKER_00: I will link it in the show notes.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_00: I can't promise it will be on sale, but there are many colors.
• 6:42
  SPEAKER_00: They do have a lot of sales.
• 6:44
  SPEAKER_00: So you can just check it out whenever you're listening to this,
• 6:46
  SPEAKER_00: if you need that mid length kind of coat with a hood.
• 6:49
  SPEAKER_00: So what I loved about it, it was listed as one of the warmest jackets on their website.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_00: And that's really what I wanted out of my longer coat for winter.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_00: This is the one I'm going to grab on those.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_00: Coldest days in the West where I'm actually spending a lot of time outside.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_00: What surprised me was how nice it was on the inside.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_00: It was lined with this sort of like velour throughout the top and in the hood.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_00: And of course the hood has fur around it.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_00: And I am one of those people who will wear a hood.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_00: The other thing is that I had these sleeves within the sleeve where it's sort
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: of like a stretchy cuff underneath that sort of seals at the cold.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_00: And it's nice and fitted so you don't look like a martial art.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_00: Then I also wanted something that was shorter and something cheaper,
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_00: casual, running out to the store or running out to do Christmas decorations outside.
• 7:34
  SPEAKER_00: Something I could just throw on.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_00: So I found out that I would actually consider to be the Rory Gilmore jacket.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_00: If you remember that jacket Rory had that was maybe, and it had tan sherbet inside of it.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_00: Her edge was not a prefer and this one is, but otherwise it looks just like that.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_00: And the fur is all the way down the front and in the hood as well.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_00: So I know again, that I can just throw up that hood and feel really cozy in it.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_00: Now that lands end jacket, that one runs a little bit small.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_00: This one ran big.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_00: I got a great deal on it.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_00: I'm going to leave that one as well.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_00: Again, I cannot promise it will be as cheap as I paid for it,
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_00: which was something like $50 to $60.
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_00: But you can check it out and see this one ran really big.
• 8:13
  SPEAKER_00: I ended up having to send it back and get a smaller size.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_00: But if you want to look like Worry in Stores Hollow this winter,
• 8:20
  SPEAKER_00: this is the one I would recommend for you.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_00: As far as my reading life,
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_00: I am working on Jane Eyre right around one chapter a day,
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_00: and I'm both reading it and listening to the exclusive Audible edition,
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_00: which is narrated by Sandy Newton.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_00: I know I mention this all the time.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_00: Listen to the classics this way on Audible just makes them that much easier to consume.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_00: And I do prefer Audible for this because they have exclusives that are narrated
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_00: by famous actors, which in my opinion are more immersive.
• 8:47
  SPEAKER_00: I almost forgot to tell you last weekend, I also went to my local library sale.
• 8:51
  SPEAKER_00: This is the best library sale ever.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_00: It is three floors.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_00: It is 30,000 books.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_00: You have to go at least a half hour early and stand in line.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_00: I usually go about 45 minutes in line,
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_00: and I was probably at least number 50 in line at that time.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_00: It'll go up to maybe 100 to 200 people by the time the doors open.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_00: And it is intense.
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_00: The books range from $1 to $3.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_00: And you can get all kinds of things from new books to vintage books to special editions.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_00: Personally, I always focus on trying to find some cool old Stephen King editions.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_00: Those go first, so I always run to that collection at the beginning.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_00: And then I run to the American Girls because I'm trying to fill out my collection of those.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_00: I did not get any of those this time.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_00: While I usually show off the newer books,
• 9:33
  SPEAKER_00: I'm actually looking to work on a forever collection of books from Gilmore Girls.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_00: The reason is that When it comes to newer books,
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_00: I've been doing a lot better reading those on my Kindle in the morning on
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_00: the treadmill.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_00: The classics still work as well for that because they're harder to read.
• 9:47
  SPEAKER_00: So I can't read and walk at the same time while reading classic,
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_00: but for those more contemporary,
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_00: easier to read books, those work great on my Kindle in the morning.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_00: So my goal now is not to buy physical books that I'll read and then get rid of.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_00: It's to buy these long ton of classics that I'm going to keep forever.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_00: There's always something fun to be found.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_00: And I'd say one of my craziest finds this time was,
• 10:09
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's called The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: It is a Richard Gilmore book.
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_00: Let's be honest, I never read this one, but I couldn't help but pick it up.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_00: I also picked up his favorite Churchill biographies.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_00: I came home with three grocery bags full of books and pulled my back out.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_00: It's actually still a little bit sore.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_00: Now, if you are reading for the Roy Gilmore Reading Challenge with us this month,
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_00: We are reading books from season two of Gilmore Girls,
• 10:34
  SPEAKER_00: and I don't want you to fret because it's the end of the month.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_00: The book that I read was The Lottery by Shirley Jackson.
• 10:39
  SPEAKER_00: It is a short story.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_00: It takes five minutes to read.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not going to say how the following feel, but it definitely has a gothic dark feel.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_00: So I think even And if you're behind this month,
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_00: you can pick this one up over Halloween weekend and just catch right on the back end
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_00: of the business.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_00: I've been really hard at work on planning.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_00: I'm finding it to be really crucial to my business success in the next year.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_00: So it's something that I'm spending full days I really want to latch on
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_00: to what's working and double down on it.
• 11:11
  SPEAKER_00: I am also closing a few sponsored deals.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_00: This is incredible.
• 11:15
  SPEAKER_00: It means so much to the business to get sponsored by brands that I love.
• 11:19
  SPEAKER_00: And the ones I'm working on right now are two of my favorites.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_00: They truly keep me making content and keeping it free and accessible to you.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_00: A podcast episode like this with a blog post that accompanies it can take one
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_00: to two days to produce, plus expenses like the software I'm recording on.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_00: So it's absolutely huge in keeping the business alive and a big part of
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_00: where I want things to go next year.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, speaking of,
• 11:41
  SPEAKER_00: let's get into today's topic,
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_00: our most viral book episodes in one year and what made them hit.
• 11:47
  SPEAKER_00: First, I want to tell you a little bit about my journey in becoming a podcaster.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly one year ago,
• 11:52
  SPEAKER_00: October 23, I pushed record for the first time on the Friday Night Readers podcast.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_00: This was something I never expected to do.
• 12:00
  SPEAKER_00: I became a content creator because of blogging.
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_00: I loved writing and I loved doing it on the internet.
• 12:06
  SPEAKER_00: This is true even since the days when blogging occurred on a bright blue screen with
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_00: a cursor and an actual floppy disk.
• 12:13
  SPEAKER_00: If you're old enough, you will know what I mean.
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_00: These were about six inches by six inches with a circle full in the middle and yes,
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: they felt floppy.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_00: Somewhere in the 1990s or the 1900s as the kids these days would say.
• 12:26
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, I am a relic of the 1900s.
• 12:28
  SPEAKER_00: I went on to blog in various forms throughout my lifetime,
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_00: from taking web writing courses as part of my English minor,
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_00: To write personal blogs as an escape from the drudges of law school.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_00: Later in my career, I started a book blog as a side hustle slash fluffy.
• 12:43
  SPEAKER_00: I did things like summaries,
• 12:45
  SPEAKER_00: character guides, book club questions, book reviews, and book lists.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_00: And it grew really big to the point that it replaced my day job and I went full time on it.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_00: That is until AI took over digital writing.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_00: Now that is a story for another day.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_00: And boy, is it a banger.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_00: Thousands of us who had made careers running our own websites over many,
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_00: many years were practically jobless overnight.
• 13:09
  SPEAKER_00: So despite the fact that my heart was in writing, I had to decide how to pivot.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_00: First, I decided to focus only on Ray Gilmore Girls Book Club and rename it from
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_00: the Rory Gilmore Book Club to Friday Night Readers.
• 13:20
  SPEAKER_00: I wanted it to just be slightly more open-ended.
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_00: More of a holistic Gilmore Girls Storrs Hall lifestyle than just a book club.
• 13:28
  SPEAKER_00: And I had to decide how to connect more deeply with readers.
• 13:32
  SPEAKER_00: The problem with a book blog is that many of your readers come in just for one time.
• 13:36
  SPEAKER_00: They get there through Google.
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_00: They're searching something like Anna Karenina chapter summary.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_00: They're getting the answer they came for, and then they're leaving.
• 13:43
  SPEAKER_00: They're not becoming part of your ecosystem.
• 13:45
  SPEAKER_00: They knew that was the way of the past.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_00: I needed to do something that people kept coming back to.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_00: So this is where that whole Becca Freeman thing comes full circle.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_00: I thought about how I personally felt most connected to the podcasters that I listened to.
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_00: These were the people that I spent an hour with right in my ears
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_00: without distractions every single week.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_00: They felt like friends, even though I didn't know them.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_00: And they were with me through all these things that I was doing in my life
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_00: that were very personal.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_00: Driving to work.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_00: Doing laundry, doing the dishes, getting dressed.
• 14:15
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that there's something special about that.
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_00: There's something very human in it that I did not think that AI could replace
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_00: as easily as the written word.
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_00: I also saw that footpressers were doing well on the Substack platform
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_00: and converting paid subscribers.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_00: And paid subscribers is where the industry was going.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_00: I used to earn from display ads on my website.
• 14:34
  SPEAKER_00: So every time someone came onto my website and read an article,
• 14:37
  SPEAKER_00: they would be served display ads and I would get paid from those companies
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_00: without traffic for search because ChatGPT and Google started giving out answers
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_00: without linking you to a website.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_00: Which again is another story for another day.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_00: Pates and frictions were all the more important.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_00: So I thought I could continue my writing on Substack and add a podcast to it
• 14:57
  SPEAKER_00: to start building those connections more deeply.
• 14:59
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I mean nothing is not driven to succeed in this business, maybe even to a fault.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_00: So in making this decision,
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_00: I completely overlooked the fact that I was Anything but improvisational.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_00: I had a law background and I worked on very serious product liability litigation.
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_00: These were multimillion dollar and sometimes even billion dollar cases,
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_00: class actions, things that involved massive product recalls.
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_00: In other words, the stakes were really high.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_00: Anytime I did something speaking,
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_00: it was always insanely rehearsed because there were always transcripts
• 15:32
  SPEAKER_00: that could be picked apart word for word years and years later for years to come.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_00: While this never happened to me,
• 15:38
  SPEAKER_00: I did hear of someone even losing their job based on one question that they asked in
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_00: a deposition, which a client read in a transcript and did not like.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_00: So very different world for podcasting.
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_00: I also overlooked a fact that I had no idea how to edit audio.
• 15:54
  SPEAKER_00: Eyes were set on the fries and I figured that I've been able
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_00: to handle everything else that has come up in business to date.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_00: I've been able to figure out how to do reels.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_00: I've been able to code things on my website.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_00: I could handle this as well.
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_00: Was it crazy?
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 16:08
  SPEAKER_00: But to be honest,
• 16:10
  SPEAKER_00: I think that my willingness to fail very publicly at this and
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_00: then reiterate it again and again until today,
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_00: So I was set on Friday Night Readers as a brand,
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_00: I was set on starting a podcast,
• 16:23
  SPEAKER_00: and the way I decided to do it was the way that I was watching Gilmore Girls,
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_00: which was episode by episode trying to pull out all of the book references little
• 16:31
  SPEAKER_00: by little and compile them into a book.
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_00: Which yes, did eventually become my book, the unofficial guide to the books on Gilmar Griles.
• 16:38
  SPEAKER_00: So I started the way I had always been trained to do blog posts,
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_00: which was massive articles, highly informational.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_00: Because I love pop culture too, I decided to add the pop culture references to them.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_00: Based on my lack of audio skills,
• 16:51
  SPEAKER_00: the way I decided to handle it was reading it aloud like an audiobook,
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_00: not by improvising.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_00: Let me tell you, not only was this all incredibly time consuming, but it was also boring.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_00: Beyond that, half the time, the audio quality was absolutely appalling.
• 17:07
  SPEAKER_00: Even with good tools,
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_00: and I do have some of the best tools that can be used to edit audio,
• 17:12
  SPEAKER_00: I had no clue how to fix things like a fuzzy sound or glitches in the audio.
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_00: By the new year, after just a dozen or so episodes, I absolutely burned out and took a break.
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_00: I honestly did not think I would come back to podcasting.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_00: The thing is though, I really wanted to improve my audio skills.
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_00: Most of my career is reading and writing.
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_00: Speaking aloud is a challenge for me, especially when it's improvisational.
• 17:35
  SPEAKER_00: Like I said, it all goes back to how I was treated in law.
• 17:38
  SPEAKER_00: So the way I did it was very slowly dictating my text messages to friends.
• 17:43
  SPEAKER_00: And yes, this was very slow.
• 17:45
  SPEAKER_00: Once I build up the stamina, I started doing them as voice notes.
• 17:48
  SPEAKER_00: And now my friends can tell you how many voice notes I send a day.
• 17:51
  SPEAKER_00: I'm actually more likely to send you a voice note than a text message at this point.
• 17:55
  SPEAKER_00: At that point,
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_00: I was finally ready to let my written words guide an episode like an outline,
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_00: not become a script.
• 18:01
  SPEAKER_00: So I eased back into podcasting by hosting my friends as my first podcast guests
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_00: and also testing a few new formats and episode styles.
• 18:09
  SPEAKER_00: Gone was the Gilmore Girls episode by episode rewatch.
• 18:13
  SPEAKER_00: Now, exactly one year after facing my biggest fears,
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_00: after pulling my hair through countless technical challenges,
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_00: A repeated flop, including a force, some unsavory comments.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_00: It is part of the game and content creation on the internet.
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_00: Friday Night Readers now has several viral podcast episodes in the top 1-2% of all podcasts.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not saying this to brag.
• 18:36
  SPEAKER_00: I'm saying this because even I didn't realize the magnitude of my trajectory
• 18:40
  SPEAKER_00: until I stared deeply at my own one-year analytics to start planning for next year.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that a lot of times, growth is like that.
• 18:48
  SPEAKER_00: When you're in the trenches, it's really hard to see the progress you're actually making.
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_00: Then, something happens,
• 18:54
  SPEAKER_00: like my viral Ian Patchett episode, and it really sucks you in the face.
• 18:57
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I am nowhere near done burning my skills as a podcaster.
• 19:01
  SPEAKER_00: In fact,
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_00: as I mentioned,
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_00: I just redesigned the logo and description this week for the third time this year,
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_00: but I do feel like I am well on my way to leaning into this as a quieter,
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_00: cozier medium.
• 19:12
  SPEAKER_00: I think what's old is new.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_00: Hot Pest came before Instagram and TikTok, but now Instagram and TikTok don't feel good.
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_00: They fractured our attentions.
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_00: They made this doom scroll and podcasting still feels intimate and focused.
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_00: I'm also getting ready to monetize my audio work.
• 19:29
  SPEAKER_00: This is a really big deal because it's actually quite hard to monetize a podcast,
• 19:33
  SPEAKER_00: especially for sponsors.
• 19:35
  SPEAKER_00: I just started reaching out and Substack, which is my host, just announced a podcast ad program.
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_00: This may be huge for my business and allow me to continue being a book tease.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_00: Just like Rory was to Jess.
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_00: So let's mark this one year journey and toast the year ahead with the greatest hits.
• 19:53
  SPEAKER_00: As I mentioned, if you are new, you can start tuning in right here.
• 19:57
  SPEAKER_00: And if you're a regular listener, then you can recap the best of the best with me.
• 20:01
  SPEAKER_00: So as we talk about the four greatest hits,
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_00: I want to give you some reference because I think the numbers can feel
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_00: a bit different than you would see on social media.
• 20:09
  SPEAKER_00: So only the top 4% of podcasts get over 1000 downloads per episode in the first week.
• 20:15
  SPEAKER_00: And only the top 1% get over 4,500.
• 20:19
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm going to start right at the top here.
• 20:21
  SPEAKER_00: Number one,
• 20:22
  SPEAKER_00: with over 10,000 downloads in less than two weeks,
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_00: is the podcast episode titled, I read all Liam Hatchett's books.
• 20:29
  SPEAKER_00: Here's how they were.
• 20:30
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I definitely thought that this could be a hit as a blog post on Substack.
• 20:35
  SPEAKER_00: I did not necessarily think it would be a podcast hit.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_00: This was a challenge that I started a good year and a half ago when I went to Nashville.
• 20:43
  SPEAKER_00: I was already a fan of Ann Patchett and that is why I went to visit her bookstore.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_00: But it was there that I felt part of something really special and wanted to become a completist.
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_00: And I do think that being a completist and framing
• 20:54
  SPEAKER_00: the episode this way is what made it so interesting.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_00: I think not only is Ann Patchett one of the most popular living authors today,
• 21:01
  SPEAKER_00: But I also think that because her career stands such a long time,
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_00: I believe 1992 was her debut.
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_00: Many readers have not gone back that far and don't know what to read
• 21:11
  SPEAKER_00: after her newest, most popular releases.
• 21:14
  SPEAKER_00: So it is informational, but it also has that extra interesting little hook to it.
• 21:18
  SPEAKER_00: If you want some quick takeaways,
• 21:20
  SPEAKER_00: it's always interesting to hear how an expert on a topic rings something.
• 21:25
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not going to spoil my thought pick.
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_00: You'll have to listen to the episode for that.
• 21:29
  SPEAKER_00: But I will give you some takeaways.
• 21:31
  SPEAKER_00: These Precious Days,
• 21:32
  SPEAKER_00: which is a nonfiction essay book about very emotional things that happened during
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_00: the pandemic, ranks the highest on Goodreads.
• 21:39
  SPEAKER_00: And I do think it is that emotional connection that makes it so highly rated.
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_00: It is a tear driver.
• 21:45
  SPEAKER_00: And The Dutch House has the most reviews.
• 21:47
  SPEAKER_00: That one is a Pulitzer Prize finalist.
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_00: Now I did two different polls on Substack.
• 21:52
  SPEAKER_00: For your favorite and passionate book,
• 21:54
  SPEAKER_00: on the post, The Dutch House is currently in the lead with 38%.
• 21:59
  SPEAKER_00: In the other poll that I did on Substack Notes,
• 22:01
  SPEAKER_00: which is like a social media feed on the Substack platform, Talib was the winner.
• 22:06
  SPEAKER_00: I'll give you a little hint and say that you may or may not see both of those in
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_00: the top half of my ranking.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_00: I'll leave it at that.
• 22:13
  SPEAKER_00: One final point of interest is Commonwealth is her underrated gem.
• 22:17
  SPEAKER_00: It's about 10 years old,
• 22:18
  SPEAKER_00: so if you're newer to reading,
• 22:19
  SPEAKER_00: you may not have heard of it,
• 22:21
  SPEAKER_00: but those who've read it Did provide a lot of positive feedback.
• 22:25
  SPEAKER_00: I actually had a little wheel that I did.
• 22:27
  SPEAKER_00: It goes somewhat viral on TikTok.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_00: I had a lot of great conversations about Ann Patchett there and Commonwealth came up a lot.
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_00: Last but not least,
• 22:35
  SPEAKER_00: Bel Canto is an award winner and many consider it their favorite book of all time.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_00: Besides my ranking in the podcast episode,
• 22:41
  SPEAKER_00: I also share authors that I like that are like Ann Patchett.
• 22:45
  SPEAKER_00: One of those is Elizabeth Stratt,
• 22:46
  SPEAKER_00: who I think is going to be the next author who I consider to be a completist of.
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_00: I did start grabbing for books from these bookstores and the most clicked link in
• 22:55
  SPEAKER_00: that post is Ann Patchett's own book recommendations.
• 22:58
  SPEAKER_00: What's interesting here is that you will actually see a lot of crossovers
• 23:02
  SPEAKER_00: with our Rory Gilmark reading list.
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_00: That was such a treat.
• 23:05
  SPEAKER_00: If you want even more about Ann Patchett,
• 23:07
  SPEAKER_00: head to the show notes and listen to that full episode or read the blog post
• 23:11
  SPEAKER_00: that accompanies it.
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_00: Now, clocking in at number two.
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_00: Let's stick to 900 downloads is the podcast episode titled,
• 23:19
  SPEAKER_00: I read 125 plus books set in summer.
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_00: These are the top 10.
• 23:23
  SPEAKER_00: So it's the same formula as how I did the Ann Padgett post.
• 23:26
  SPEAKER_00: And again,
• 23:27
  SPEAKER_00: I think the reason this hit was first because summer is the most popular season
• 23:31
  SPEAKER_00: for reading,
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_00: not just with readers,
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_00: but with the general public,
• 23:35
  SPEAKER_00: people are going on vacation and looking for beach reads.
• 23:38
  SPEAKER_00: And then it also shows some expertise.
• 23:40
  SPEAKER_00: Why people should listen to me because I read 125 plus.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_00: And you may say, why the heck did you read 125 plus?
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_00: Because that was how my old blog worked.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_00: I would hyper fixate on the topic, read as many books as I could on the topic.
• 23:54
  SPEAKER_00: Write an informational blog post and then update it every year.
• 23:57
  SPEAKER_00: That's how I thought to this point.
• 23:58
  SPEAKER_00: So I know that we are not in summer right now.
• 24:01
  SPEAKER_00: That said,
• 24:02
  SPEAKER_00: if you are heading on a side trip anytime soon,
• 24:05
  SPEAKER_00: I'll tease a little bit of that episode for you.
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_00: My top five.
• 24:09
  SPEAKER_00: First, I shared five books that are not just my personal favorites,
• 24:12
  SPEAKER_00: but are also some of the most popular summer books, generally with readers.
• 24:16
  SPEAKER_00: Of course, we've got an Ellen Hildebrand book.
• 24:19
  SPEAKER_00: And I do also like my ranking of Ellen Hildebrand books.
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_00: I've read most of them.
• 24:23
  SPEAKER_00: An Emery Henry book.
• 24:24
  SPEAKER_00: She is the newish queen of romance.
• 24:27
  SPEAKER_00: She's known for her witty banter and really smart, sharp, spicy books.
• 24:31
  SPEAKER_00: Quarry Forging,
• 24:32
  SPEAKER_00: another author who has become popular in the last few years, were summary romances.
• 24:37
  SPEAKER_00: These are authors set at a lake in Canada.
• 24:39
  SPEAKER_00: So you also get lake vibes, not just beach vibes.
• 24:42
  SPEAKER_00: A juicy,
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_00: salacious,
• 24:43
  SPEAKER_00: suspenseful camp book that was actually my book of the year that it came out.
• 24:48
  SPEAKER_00: And a classic.
• 24:49
  SPEAKER_00: I'm going to tell you what the classic is because it is on our Gilmore Girls reading list.
• 24:53
  SPEAKER_00: And it may surprise you.
• 24:54
  SPEAKER_00: But it is The Great Gatsby.
• 24:56
  SPEAKER_00: I think it really captures the spirit of a wealthy summer in New York during the Jazz Age.
• 25:01
  SPEAKER_00: It's also pretty short for a classic and very easy to read.
• 25:05
  SPEAKER_00: It's a book that I consider to be the great American novel.
• 25:08
  SPEAKER_00: And then in the second section, I shared a few more picks.
• 25:11
  SPEAKER_00: A few popular authors you will see there are Abby Jimenez.
• 25:13
  SPEAKER_00: She's actually my favorite romance author.
• 25:16
  SPEAKER_00: Now, as a Gilmore, I'm not super into romance reading, but hers are usually not too spicy.
• 25:21
  SPEAKER_00: The characters are very quirky.
• 25:23
  SPEAKER_00: And there's always these cute little dogs like Paul Ingram.
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_00: And they're usually dealing with complex real life issues, which I always love.
• 25:30
  SPEAKER_00: You'll also see Judy Blume, but it's an adult book by her.
• 25:33
  SPEAKER_00: It's not a children's book.
• 25:34
  SPEAKER_00: A modern icon.
• 25:35
  SPEAKER_00: Jenny Khan, who writes young adult books with Asian American characters.
• 25:39
  SPEAKER_00: Her books are very coming of age and work really well for Gilmore Gross fans.
• 25:43
  SPEAKER_00: People who like the early years worry being in high school versus college.
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_00: The last two are Read with Jenna book club picks.
• 25:50
  SPEAKER_00: One was one of the most popular books of the last few years, set at a Rhode Island wedding.
• 25:55
  SPEAKER_00: And the final I think is underrated,
• 25:57
  SPEAKER_00: but has a popular author and tackles coming of age as a writer after college.
• 26:02
  SPEAKER_00: So again, very Worry Gum War.
• 26:04
  SPEAKER_00: If you head to the blog post that accompanies that podcast episode,
• 26:07
  SPEAKER_00: I also shared something That I thought was super cute.
• 26:10
  SPEAKER_00: It's a collage of manifesting a 90s reading summer and what that means to me
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_00: as someone who grew up as a child of the 90s.
• 26:17
  SPEAKER_00: Goosebox and the Babysitter's Club and the Book It program at Pizza Hut.
• 26:21
  SPEAKER_00: You better believe I earned every single one that I could.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_00: Watching Reading Rainbow and Clueless.
• 26:26
  SPEAKER_00: Decorating my books with Lisa Frank stickers.
• 26:28
  SPEAKER_00: And eating this colored Freezy Pops.
• 26:30
  SPEAKER_00: How I turn the pages.
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_00: How is that for analog living?
• 26:34
  SPEAKER_00: Our third most viral podcast episode with 4,400 downloads
• 26:38
  SPEAKER_00: to date is 101 essential classic books to read like the Gilmar Gross.
• 26:42
  SPEAKER_00: What I have learned in a year of podcasting and in a year on
• 26:45
  SPEAKER_00: the Substack platform is that Gilmar Gross sometimes hits, sometimes doesn't.
• 26:50
  SPEAKER_00: It does need a really good hook.
• 26:51
  SPEAKER_00: And classic books are a great hook on this platform.
• 26:54
  SPEAKER_00: It is filled with readers and writers and they love classic books.
• 26:57
  SPEAKER_00: So I think a big list of the most essential ones is compelling to them.
• 27:02
  SPEAKER_00: And also when you think about the Gilmore Girls book list and the reading challenge,
• 27:06
  SPEAKER_00: classic books go hand in hand with that.
• 27:08
  SPEAKER_00: Now, since I tracked all of the books on Gilmore Girls episode by episode,
• 27:12
  SPEAKER_00: I was able to quantify 101 classics by their exact reference on the show.
• 27:17
  SPEAKER_00: In that episode,
• 27:18
  SPEAKER_00: the one that I chose to highlight It may surprise you,
• 27:21
  SPEAKER_00: but it is one of the most popular books in our book club.
• 27:23
  SPEAKER_00: It is The Outsiders by S.E.
• 27:25
  SPEAKER_00: Hinton.
• 27:26
  SPEAKER_00: Here's what's great about it though.
• 27:28
  SPEAKER_00: It's short.
• 27:28
  SPEAKER_00: It's easy.
• 27:29
  SPEAKER_00: It was actually written by a teenager.
• 27:32
  SPEAKER_00: And by the way, she is a woman.
• 27:33
  SPEAKER_00: She used S.E.
• 27:35
  SPEAKER_00: to disguise that fact.
• 27:36
  SPEAKER_00: That's another problem in the book world.
• 27:38
  SPEAKER_00: But anyway, it has a popular movie adaptation.
• 27:40
  SPEAKER_00: You can pair with it.
• 27:41
  SPEAKER_00: Tom Cruise is in it and Rob Lowe.
• 27:43
  SPEAKER_00: And it is proof that reading the classics does not have to be hard or boring.
• 27:48
  SPEAKER_00: We've got teenage gangs or high school drama, class conflicts, coming of age themes.
• 27:53
  SPEAKER_00: And when I polled readers and listeners on why they love us so much,
• 27:57
  SPEAKER_00: they voted that it's because the story packs an emotional perch.
• 28:01
  SPEAKER_00: And it really does.
• 28:02
  SPEAKER_00: This one will definitely get you.
• 28:04
  SPEAKER_00: The second reason they modded it is because it was iconic in pop culture.
• 28:08
  SPEAKER_00: And this also goes back to the Gilmore Girls.
• 28:10
  SPEAKER_00: You'll hear it on the show when Maurelie talks about Soshis and then Dean
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_00: and Rory also discuss the character Ponyboy on the way to the dance.
• 28:17
  SPEAKER_00: And being able to reference books in the Zeitgeist
• 28:20
  SPEAKER_00: in your own daily conversation is part of the reason we love Gilmore Girls so much.
• 28:24
  SPEAKER_00: So I actually think this book is the perfect representation of a classic book on Gilmore Girls.
• 28:29
  SPEAKER_00: Because it was spring at that time, I also shared classic books that feel like spring.
• 28:34
  SPEAKER_00: Personally,
• 28:35
  SPEAKER_00: I think that because classic books are so beautifully written,
• 28:39
  SPEAKER_00: they have that spring feel to them.
• 28:41
  SPEAKER_00: A few of the ones that I picked that are also
• 28:43
  SPEAKER_00: from Gilmore Girls are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland,
• 28:46
  SPEAKER_00: Pride and Prejudice, Leaves of Grass, The Wind in the Willows.
• 28:49
  SPEAKER_00: I actually just picked this one up at my library sale.
• 28:52
  SPEAKER_00: And that one is a children's book.
• 28:53
  SPEAKER_00: So again, reading classics does not have to be hard or boring or long for that matter.
• 28:58
  SPEAKER_00: And Walden.
• 28:59
  SPEAKER_00: There's also a little treat in the post that accompanies this podcast episode.
• 29:04
  SPEAKER_00: Normally when we do a reading froms,
• 29:06
  SPEAKER_00: every month in our Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge and you pick a book from all
• 29:09
  SPEAKER_00: the books on Gilmore Girls that match that prompt and I keep it behind the paywall
• 29:13
  SPEAKER_00: for pay subscribers just because it takes so much time to curate the books.
• 29:18
  SPEAKER_00: But because Gilmore Girls is so tied to classic books, I left that one free for everyone.
• 29:23
  SPEAKER_00: So you will get the full list of 101 classic books on Gilmore Girls.
• 29:28
  SPEAKER_00: As well as my reviews of the ones that I read,
• 29:30
  SPEAKER_00: my goal here is always to be an open invitation for you to read the classics
• 29:35
  SPEAKER_00: and not feel overwhelmed, scared, or intimidated in the process.
• 29:38
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, just scrolling through the list,
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_00: I see Charlotte's Web, which was a love and an easy for me.
• 29:44
  SPEAKER_00: Death of a Salesman, that is also a love and an easy.
• 29:47
  SPEAKER_00: That one is a play.
• 29:48
  SPEAKER_00: You can probably read it in one to two hours.
• 29:50
  SPEAKER_00: The Glass Menagerie, another loss, also a play in one to two hours.
• 29:54
  SPEAKER_00: The Great Gatsby,
• 29:55
  SPEAKER_00: which we talked about earlier,
• 29:57
  SPEAKER_00: of Mice and Men, that is one that just about everyone in our book club loves.
• 30:00
  SPEAKER_00: It is very short, maybe like a hundred pages, and it is easy.
• 30:04
  SPEAKER_00: It helps you check off a Steinbeck classic off of your list.
• 30:07
  SPEAKER_00: I'll leave it at that,
• 30:08
  SPEAKER_00: but if you are a classic book reader,
• 30:10
  SPEAKER_00: I definitely recommend that podcast episode and the book list that gives with it
• 30:15
  SPEAKER_00: to you.
• 30:16
  SPEAKER_00: Now, Worth on our list.
• 30:17
  SPEAKER_00: This is the final viral podcast episode I've wanted to share with you.
• 30:21
  SPEAKER_00: With 4,200 downloads,
• 30:23
  SPEAKER_00: it is five Jane Austen adaptations as good as the book and which ones to skip.
• 30:27
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I feel like what classic reader wouldn't want to listen to this episode?
• 30:32
  SPEAKER_00: The hooks are just so good.
• 30:33
  SPEAKER_00: From Jane Austen to adaptations versus books,
• 30:36
  SPEAKER_00: that timeless question of is the book better than the movie,
• 30:39
  SPEAKER_00: And then which ones are not worth your time?
• 30:41
  SPEAKER_00: There are so many points of interest.
• 30:43
  SPEAKER_00: And as a Gilmore girl, I love a good adaptation.
• 30:46
  SPEAKER_00: So to give you a preview of that podcast episode,
• 30:49
  SPEAKER_00: I'll note that it does include three direct book adaptations in two retellings.
• 30:55
  SPEAKER_00: I also talked about The Other Banded Sister.
• 30:56
  SPEAKER_00: I don't know if you have watched this or not on Prime,
• 30:59
  SPEAKER_00: but at the time I wrote this post, It had just come out and I was really into it.
• 31:04
  SPEAKER_00: It has that PBS Downton Abbey feel and it's this re-imagining if the less to talk to
• 31:09
  SPEAKER_00: that bandit sister from Pride and Prejudice had her own story
• 31:12
  SPEAKER_00: and her own character arc.
• 31:14
  SPEAKER_00: And it's really quite lovely.
• 31:15
  SPEAKER_00: It's charming and captivating.
• 31:17
  SPEAKER_00: The characters really pull you in and it did so well that they did renew it for,
• 31:21
  SPEAKER_00: I believe it's a Christmas special.
• 31:23
  SPEAKER_00: And that is actually also based on a book called The Other Vented Sister.
• 31:27
  SPEAKER_00: So between that,
• 31:28
  SPEAKER_00: as well as the fact that I had just finished all of Jane Austen's novels
• 31:32
  SPEAKER_00: for her 250th birthday,
• 31:33
  SPEAKER_00: I've wanted to Died not just into the books, but into the adaptations.
• 31:38
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, I will talk about that part of Prejudice,
• 31:40
  SPEAKER_00: the one that is so popularized to this day from 2005, the Keira Knightley version.
• 31:45
  SPEAKER_00: I also share the movie soundtrack because it is so beautiful.
• 31:48
  SPEAKER_00: It is actually something that I listen to while I work regularly.
• 31:52
  SPEAKER_00: Can't talk about that one without also talking about Mr. Darcy's infamous hand flex.
• 31:57
  SPEAKER_00: This is simply an improv moment that he made in the adaptation that went viral.
• 32:02
  SPEAKER_00: I do picture it in the blog post that accompanies the podcast episode for you.
• 32:06
  SPEAKER_00: Now, I don't want to say too much.
• 32:07
  SPEAKER_00: I may have to update this one because there is a new Sense and Sensibility movie out
• 32:12
  SPEAKER_00: and there is a new Pride and Prejudice miniseries coming out on Netflix,
• 32:17
  SPEAKER_00: so maybe next year I will update this episode for you.
• 32:20
  SPEAKER_00: To give your hint,
• 32:21
  SPEAKER_00: one of the reimaginings I talk about as one of my favorite Austen adaptations,
• 32:26
  SPEAKER_00: maybe even my favorite overall,
• 32:28
  SPEAKER_00: I did already mention earlier in this episode,
• 32:31
  SPEAKER_00: that is your hint that you'll have to go to the episode to see which one it is,
• 32:34
  SPEAKER_00: if you're not already sure,
• 32:36
  SPEAKER_00: and then As for Jane Austen adaptations that didn't make the cut,
• 32:39
  SPEAKER_00: there are four of them that I felt were just not good enough for the list.
• 32:43
  SPEAKER_00: A few of them you probably didn't even hear of.
• 32:45
  SPEAKER_00: They weren't that popular.
• 32:47
  SPEAKER_00: One was on Netflix recently and it was very controversial.
• 32:50
  SPEAKER_00: And then there's one where my opinion is kind of controversial.
• 32:53
  SPEAKER_00: It was released in the 1990s with a very famous actress.
• 32:56
  SPEAKER_00: And I know a lot of people love it.
• 32:57
  SPEAKER_00: I just found it to be boring,
• 32:59
  SPEAKER_00: especially because there is another adaptation that I liked better
• 33:03
  SPEAKER_00: that made my top line.
• 33:04
  SPEAKER_00: One thing that is fun about this podcast episode,
• 33:07
  SPEAKER_00: since I am being a little bit obscure,
• 33:09
  SPEAKER_00: One about my picks is that Kelly Miller,
• 33:11
  SPEAKER_00: who is an award-winning author of Austin-esque Regency romances,
• 33:15
  SPEAKER_00: gave me her expert advice, and here is what she said.
• 33:17
  SPEAKER_00: Her favorite adaptations are the 1995 Pride and Prejudice miniseries because
• 33:21
  SPEAKER_00: of Colin Firth, 1995 Persuasion, four wonderful performances all around.
• 33:26
  SPEAKER_00: Her favorite Emma is Kate Beckinsale.
• 33:29
  SPEAKER_00: I don't believe I've watched that one.
• 33:30
  SPEAKER_00: And she loved the 1995 Sense and Sensibility,
• 33:33
  SPEAKER_00: since I have not seen The new Sentence flexibility,
• 33:36
  SPEAKER_00: which is currently in theaters,
• 33:37
  SPEAKER_00: it will be interesting for me to see how it holds up to the last one,
• 33:41
  SPEAKER_00: which I agree was fantastic.
• 33:43
  SPEAKER_00: I did also poll my audience and they kicked the 2005 Pride and Prejudice
• 33:48
  SPEAKER_00: with Keira Knightley as their favorite with 65% of the vote.
• 33:51
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're new to Austin adaptations, that would be the one to start with.
• 33:55
  SPEAKER_00: And then if you want more, go to the podcast episode or the blog post that accompanies it.
• 34:01
  SPEAKER_00: All of this will be linked in the show notes for you.
• 34:03
  SPEAKER_00: So I hope you enjoyed walking down this little podcast memory ring with me.
• 34:07
  SPEAKER_00: I hope it inspires you to tune in.
• 34:09
  SPEAKER_00: As I mentioned earlier in the podcast,
• 34:11
  SPEAKER_00: I truly do believe in this format,
• 34:13
  SPEAKER_00: especially as we head more and more into a world of AI and doom scrolling.
• 34:17
  SPEAKER_00: You are not stuck living like a zombie on your phone.
• 34:20
  SPEAKER_00: There is feel good content out there.
• 34:23
  SPEAKER_00: And it can also inspire you to read as opposed to go back to your phone thereafter.
• 34:27
  SPEAKER_00: Now, what's next?
• 34:29
  SPEAKER_00: It actually doesn't end here.
• 34:31
  SPEAKER_00: And I can promise you that I am working so hard on the back end to come up
• 34:35
  SPEAKER_00: with ideas that are just as intriguing as these poor viral hits to make
• 34:39
  SPEAKER_00: the podcast next year as interesting as they were to you.
• 34:42
  SPEAKER_00: I truly want to lean into what is working with you.
• 34:45
  SPEAKER_00: I forget the rest.
• 34:47
  SPEAKER_00: It is not my goal to get viral downloads.
• 34:49
  SPEAKER_00: It is my goal to serve you.
• 34:51
  SPEAKER_00: So well that you are inspired to listen at this level.
• 34:54
  SPEAKER_00: That is what I want for the next year.
• 34:56
  SPEAKER_00: So believe it or not, that is not all.
• 34:59
  SPEAKER_00: We've been talking for a while, but if this topic interests you, head to the show notes.
• 35:04
  SPEAKER_00: There you can subscribe to the podcast on your favorite podcast player.
• 35:08
  SPEAKER_00: You can also subscribe on Substack.
• 35:10
  SPEAKER_00: And what that does is puts you on the email newsletter list.
• 35:13
  SPEAKER_00: Which means you will never miss a podcast episode.
• 35:16
  SPEAKER_00: I also send other fun newsletters throughout the week on all kinds of different things.
• 35:20
  SPEAKER_00: This weekend,
• 35:21
  SPEAKER_00: for example,
• 35:21
  SPEAKER_00: I will be sharing my Sephora pics for the Sephora sale that work for readers.
• 35:26
  SPEAKER_00: This means things like the products I use when I'm reading in the bath,
• 35:29
  SPEAKER_00: my favorite face masks that I wear while I'm reading because it's a great way
• 35:33
  SPEAKER_00: to pass the time while doing skincare, handles things like that.
• 35:36
  SPEAKER_00: Free subscribers get the checklist of the 475 plus books on Gilmore Girls.
• 35:42
  SPEAKER_00: As a bonus,
• 35:42
  SPEAKER_00: we're signing up And then if you want the list with the episodes listed after them,
• 35:47
  SPEAKER_00: you can upgrade to become a paid subscriber.
• 35:49
  SPEAKER_00: Being a paid subscriber also gives you access to exclusive content.
• 35:53
  SPEAKER_00: This is usually things like hot takes,
• 35:56
  SPEAKER_00: honest book reviews,
• 35:57
  SPEAKER_00: things that didn't make the cut on certain lists,
• 36:00
  SPEAKER_00: the types of things that are so controversial, they should be behind the table.
• 36:04
  SPEAKER_00: Now, then if you upgrade to the highest level of membership,
• 36:08
  SPEAKER_00: which is called a founding member, you get access.
• 36:11
  SPEAKER_00: To what I call my Room to Write section as well.
• 36:14
  SPEAKER_00: Room to Write is based on a room of one's own where Virginia Woolf said that
• 36:18
  SPEAKER_00: a woman needs money in a room of her own to write.
• 36:21
  SPEAKER_00: Now Rory Gilmore wrote this on Gilmore Girls and of course is a writer herself.
• 36:25
  SPEAKER_00: We love to sharp her writing career and think about where it would be today.
• 36:29
  SPEAKER_00: So what I do as your real life Rory Gilmore or founding members is go behind the scenes of mine.
• 36:34
  SPEAKER_00: This is where I'm sharing My nitty gritty business data,
• 36:37
  SPEAKER_00: my strategies as a long-time full-time content creator,
• 36:40
  SPEAKER_00: my data trends, the flops, the strategies I'm trying.
• 36:44
  SPEAKER_00: It's mostly meant for creatives, especially writers.
• 36:47
  SPEAKER_00: It is called burn to write after all.
• 36:49
  SPEAKER_00: But I think that if you are a big fan of Friday Night Readers, it may work for you as well.
• 36:54
  SPEAKER_00: Personally,
• 36:55
  SPEAKER_00: I find myself to be interested in other people's behind
• 36:58
  SPEAKER_00: the scenes business information.
• 37:00
  SPEAKER_00: So you may too, even if you are not a free reader.
• 37:02
  SPEAKER_00: So all of that said,
• 37:04
  SPEAKER_00: for founding members in the blog post that accompanies this podcast episode,
• 37:08
  SPEAKER_00: I dive deep into my one year podcast stacks.
• 37:11
  SPEAKER_00: Now we've already talked about what worked.
• 37:13
  SPEAKER_00: I'm going to unpack it even further.
• 37:15
  SPEAKER_00: What are the data trends?
• 37:17
  SPEAKER_00: What are we learning from it?
• 37:18
  SPEAKER_00: And what are the strategies we are formulating based on that data?
• 37:22
  SPEAKER_00: These are my plans for creating content that hits on Substack,
• 37:25
  SPEAKER_00: just like the viral hits we talked about.
• 37:27
  SPEAKER_00: And I also talk about my biggest flops.
• 37:30
  SPEAKER_00: I think you can't talk about your greatest hits without talking about what tanked and why.
• 37:35
  SPEAKER_00: Now, as I talk about the growth of the podcast and monetizing it,
• 37:39
  SPEAKER_00: I think that you may also be thinking,
• 37:41
  SPEAKER_00: should I also start a podcast to stay competitive in 2027?
• 37:44
  SPEAKER_00: And I answered that question very honestly with the pros and cons behind the scenes
• 37:49
  SPEAKER_00: for Friday Night Readers.
• 37:50
  SPEAKER_00: In closing, I just want to thank you for one year of podcasting.
• 37:54
  SPEAKER_00: It is an incredible honor to spend such personal time with you.
• 37:58
  SPEAKER_00: I hope you enjoy the show.
• 37:59
  SPEAKER_00: I hope it inspires you to read.
• 38:01
  SPEAKER_00: I hope it makes you feel better than the other time to spend on the internet does.
• 38:05
  SPEAKER_00: And I hope I can continue to level up and make it better for you.
• 38:09
  SPEAKER_00: I truly believe that you deserve to feel like you are in Stars Hollow every day of the year.
• 38:14
  SPEAKER_00: See you next time.
• 38:20
  [music]