Free Daily Podcast Summary
Bookwild: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Kate Hergott, Bookwild Collective
On Tuesdays, Kate Hergott talks with authors about their books and writing processes. On Fridays, Kate talks with different co-host Bookstagrammers and BookTubers about a variety of bookish topics.
Latest Episodes
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- Yesterday1h 15m
Books We Wish We Could Forget and Reread with Gare and Steph
This week, Gare, Steph and I share books we wish we could wipe from our brains and reread!Kate’s BooksNever Saw Me Coming by Vera KurianThe Ursulina by Brian FreemanBut Won’t I Miss Me by Tiffany Tsao Gare’s BooksFruit Fly by Josh SilverThe Last Winter of Dani Lansing by P.D. VinerA Density of Souls by Christopher Rice Steph’s BooksThe Push by Ashley AudrainMadwoman by Chelsea BiekerNotes on Your Sudden Disappearance by Allison Espach All the Bookwild Links:Check Out the Bookwild SubstackSubscribe to Bookwild on YouTubeGet Bookwild MerchFollow @imbookwild on InstagramCheck Out Author Social Media Packages Follow Co-hosts On Instagram:Gare Billings @gareindeedreadsSteph Lauer @books.in.badgerlandHalley Sutton @halleysutton25Brian Watson @readingwithbrianMacKenzie Green @missusa2mbaErin Ashley @bellametaphor
- 5 days ago56 min
When Faith, Femininity & Capitalism Collide: Kristin Kobes Du Mez's Live, Laugh, Love
This week, I talk with Kristin Kobes Du Mez about her new book Live, Laugh Love: The Secret History of White Christian Womenand the World They Made. Listen to hear all about:How Live Laugh Love grew out of Kristin Kobes Du Mez’s Jesus and John Wayne, shifting the focus from evangelical masculinity to the history and culture surrounding white Christian women. The surprising roots of “biblical womanhood” and hyper-femininity—and how ideas presented as timeless Christian gender roles have actually changed dramatically over time. How Christian romance novels, music, bookstores, mommy blogs, influencers, Hallmark movies, and other seemingly harmless pop culture helped create an entire ecosystem of Christian values and messaging. The fascinating overlap between evangelicalism, MLMs, capitalism, and positive-thinking culture—including why Kristin sees striking similarities between MLM structures and high-control religious systems. Why “I’m not political” can itself mask deeply political beliefs—and how ideas about faith and family quietly shape views on everything from education and immigration to welfare and economic policy. All the Bookwild Links:Check Out the Bookwild SubstackSubscribe to Bookwild on YouTubeGet Bookwild MerchFollow @imbookwild on InstagramCheck Out Author Social Media Packages Follow Co-hosts On Instagram:Gare Billings @gareindeedreadsSteph Lauer @books.in.badgerlandHalley Sutton @halleysutton25Brian Watson @readingwithbrianMacKenzie Green @missusa2mbaErin Ashley @bellametaphor
- 1 weeks ago1h 6m
Horror We Are Excited to Read with Kayla Hardy
This week, Kayla Hardy - screenwriter, reader, and author of The Quarter Queen - and I talk about horror books we are excited to read this year!Kate’s Upcoming ReadsThe Unhaunting — Micaiah JohnsonNightjars — Michael WehuntIncarnate — Alma Katsu Kayla’s Upcoming ReadsRunner — Ashley M. LattimoreHorror Movie — Paul TremblayThe Buffalo Hunter Hunter — Stephen Graham Jones Other Books We DiscussedThe Quarter Queen — Kayla HardyThe Night and the Moth — Rachel GilligBetween Two Fires — Christopher BuehlmanBlood Slaves — Markus RedmondBlood Rising — Markus RedmondRing Shout — P. Djèlí ClarkBlack Leopard, Red Wolf — Marlon JamesThe Reformatory — Tananarive DueFiend — Alma KatsuPerfect Victims — Mohammed El-KurdOur Cut of Salt — Dana HelmThe Disappearers — Marlon JamesThe Hunter’s Daughter — Nicola SolvinicThe Sleeping Sisters — Jennifer GivhanSalt Bones — Jennifer GivhanBlood Sisters — Vanessa LillieTruth to Power — S.A. Cosby All the Bookwild Links:Check Out the Bookwild SubstackSubscribe to Bookwild on YouTube<
- 1 weeks ago56 min
Female Friendship, Identity and Motherhood: Amy Chozick's With Friends Like You
This week, Gare and I talk with Amy Chozick about her suspenseful literary debut With Friends Like You!Short SynopsisEmily, an exhausted new mother in Manhattan, becomes obsessed with finding her long-lost college roommate Daisy, whose mysterious disappearance has haunted her for years. When Daisy suddenly reappears and pulls Emily into a seductive new world of friendship and community, their reunion begins to crack, forcing Emily to question whether Daisy is saving her—or unraveling her life.Listen to hear about:The real-life experiences that inspired With Friends Like You — including Amy Chozick’s journalism career, new motherhood, and the college roommate who helped inspire Daisy’s story. Why female friendship is really the heart of the novel, from intense, almost romantic bonds to codependency, friendship breakups, and those friends you never completely stop thinking about. Motherhood, identity, and the pressure to rediscover yourself during the major transitions that can make you wonder who you are now. The book’s sharp critique of capitalism and the motherhood industry, including why all those over-the-top baby product names were a deliberate commentary on consumerism and the loss of community. How Amy crafted the book’s voice, twists, and upcoming screen adaptation — including her “if it sounds like writing, I rewrite it” philosophy and how adapting the novel actually influenced the finished book. All the Bookwild Links:Check Out the Bookwild SubstackSubscribe to Bookwild on YouTubeGet Bookwild MerchFollow @imbookwild on InstagramCheck Out Author Social Media Packages Follow Co-hosts On Instagram:Gare Billings @gareindeedreadsSteph Lauer @books.in.badgerlandHalley Sutton @halleysutton25Brian Watson @readingwithbrianMacKenzie Green @missusa2mbaErin Ashley @bellametaphor
- 2 weeks ago1h 1m
Class, Race, Jazz and Crime: Andre Hardy's Fresh Take on Noir Fiction
This week, I talk with Andre Hardy about his fresh take on noir in his debut novel Tear the City Down! Listen to hear about: How Andre Hardy’s debut novel, Tear the City Down, grew from his lifelong love of noir—particularly Walter Mosley’s Devil in a Blue Dress, which showed him a fully realized Black protagonist in a genre he already loved. The ways Hardy uses San Diego’s stark dualities—tourist paradise versus underserved neighborhoods, enormous wealth versus systemic oppression—as the foundation for Coltrane's story and the novel’s larger questions about social mobility, morality, and what happens when you actually reach the top. Why Hardy shied away from a traditional stoic noir hero, and created Coltrane to be masculine, dangerous, and deeply vulnerable. How the mystery expands from one missing girl into something far larger, illustrating Hardy’s belief that seemingly isolated injustices often lead back to systems of power and exploitation. How Hardy drew on his own NFL experience, love of jazz, reading, and upbringing in San Diego to give the novel its texture. All the Bookwild Links:Check Out the Bookwild SubstackSubscribe to Bookwild on YouTubeGet Bookwild MerchFollow @imbookwild on InstagramCheck Out Author Social Media Packages Follow Co-hosts On Instagram:Gare Billings @gareindeedreadsSteph Lauer @books.in.badgerlandHalley Sutton @halleysutton25Brian Watson @readingwithbrianMacKenzie Green @missusa2mbaErin Ashley @bellametaphor
- 3 weeks ago1h 11m
Sci-Fi, Philip K. Dick & the Birth of Pink Beam Press
This week, I talk with Keith Giles, David Agranoff, Brian Evenson, Gordon Bonnet, and Andrew Turck about Pink Beam Press, a new speculative-fiction imprint inspired by Philip K. Dick and the strange, reality-bending possibilities of science fiction. Listen to hear about: The origins of Pink Beam Press and how Philip K. Dick’s legendary “pink beam” experience helped inspire its identity and mission. Why speculative fiction is such a powerful way to explore reality, consciousness, identity, technology, privacy, and other big philosophical questions. How the authors behind Pink Beam’s novellas transform wildly different concepts—from digital replicas and mind reading to cyberpunk technology and artificial realities—into deeply human stories. Why writing shorter doesn’t necessarily mean easier, and how the novella forces writers to crystallize their ideas while still leaving room for complex characters and themes. How research, personal experiences, literary influences, and unexpected discoveries during the writing process shape stories—and why sometimes the best fiction teaches the writer something, too. All the Bookwild Links:Check Out the Bookwild SubstackSubscribe to Bookwild on YouTubeGet Bookwild MerchFollow @imbookwild on InstagramCheck Out Author Social Media Packages Follow Co-hosts On Instagram:Gare Billings @gareindeedreadsSteph Lauer @books.in.badgerlandHalley Sutton @halleysutton25Brian Watson @readingwithbrianMacKenzie Green @missusa2mbaErin Ashley @bellametaphor
- Aug 21, 202656 min
Fall Hopefuls on Our TBRs with Gare
This week, Gare and I share fall book releases we are excited about! Kate’s Books The Occidental Book of the Dead by T. Geronimo Johnson Have You Seen Romit? By Chital Mehta It Looks Like You in the Dark by Mathilda Zeller The Turning of Sally Mae by Nuzo Onoh Lethal Kiss by Taylor Grothe Gare’s Books The Little Red House Liv Andersson Killing the Boogeyman by Richard Chizmar The Witch by Freida McFadden This B Just Won’t Die by Tanya Pell All the Little Secrets by May Cobb All the Bookwild Links:Check Out the Bookwild SubstackSubscribe to Bookwild on YouTubeGet Bookwild MerchFollow @imbookwild on InstagramCheck Out Author Social Media Packages Follow Co-hosts On Instagram:Gare Billings @gareindeedreadsSteph Lauer @books.in.badgerlandHalley Sutton @halleysutton25Brian Watson @readingwithbrianMacKenzie Green @missusa2mbaErin Ashley @bellametaphor
- Aug 18, 20261h 1m
The Multi-Hyphenate Marie Laveau: Kayla Hardy's The Quarter Queen
This week, I talk with Kayla Hardy about her dark fantasy The Quarter Queen! How The Quarter Queen began as a television pilot. Kayla Hardy’s screenwriting background shaped the novel’s cinematic pacing, visual set pieces, ensemble cast, and meticulous plotting. Why Marie Laveau is both historical inspiration and a personal connection. Hardy draws on her Louisiana Creole roots, academic background in African American literature and folklore, and fascination with Marie to humanize a woman often reduced to legend. Crafting the mother-daughter relationship is the emotional heart of the novel. Marie and Ree represent different sides of the same coin, allowing Hardy to explore generational pain, privilege, protection, and what happens when the past refuses to stay buried. How fantasy becomes a way to confront real American history. The book explores conflicting approaches to oppression and liberation while using Southern Gothic and supernatural elements to make the consequences of historical violence impossible to ignore. How Hardy reclaims Black and Creole folklore from pop-culture mythology, Through Voodoo and zonbi, Hardy grounds the supernatural elements in traditions that have often been appropriated or stripped of their origins. All the Bookwild Links:Check Out the Bookwild SubstackSubscribe to Bookwild on YouTubeGet Bookwild MerchFollow @imbookwild on InstagramCheck Out Author Social Media Packages Follow Co-hosts On Instagram:Gare Billings @gareindeedreadsSteph Lauer @books.in.badgerlandHalley Sutton @halleysutton25Brian Watson @readingwithbrianMacKenzie Green @missusa2mbaErin Ashley @bellametaphor
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About Bookwild
On Tuesdays, Kate Hergott talks with authors about their books and writing processes. On Fridays, Kate talks with different co-host Bookstagrammers and BookTubers about a variety of bookish topics.
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