The Bright Side: A Hello Sunshine Podcast

This week on Bookmarked by Reese’s Book Club, Danielle Robay sits down with bestselling author Alexandra Andrews to discuss May’s Reese’s Book Club pick, The Fine Art of Lying. Alexandra unpacks why stories about wealthy people behaving badly are so irresistible and how female desire gets tangled up with wonder and meaning. She also shares her unconventional writing process, the pressure of following up a hit debut, and the surprising advice that finally helped her finish a novel.   BOOKS MENTIONED: The Fine Art of Lying by Alexandra Andrews  Ninth Street Women by Mary Gabriel All the Beauty in the World: The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Me by Patrick Bringley Transcription: A Novel by Ben Lerner Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar Who Is Maude Dixon? by Alexandra Andrews  The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion  Why I’m Not an Atheist by Christopher Beha All Fours by Miranda July Normal People by Sally Rooney  Mating in Captivity by Esther Perel  Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo  The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave The Woman in Cabin 10 Ruth Ware Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, we’re “obsessed” with creator and debut author of Phoebe Berman’s Gonna Lose It, Brooke Averick. First known as her online moniker, “@ladyefron,” Brooke Averick’s socials exploded after she posted a TikTok reading a letter to her older self. Brooke Averick has gone on to accrue thousands of followers, host the podcast Brooke and Connor Make a Podcast, and is now a published author. Brooke Averick shares her first obsessions, her current crushes, and how writing Phoebe Berman’s Gonna Lose It may have helped her more than therapy. BOOKS MENTIONED: The Clique by Lisi Harrison The Series of Unfortunate Events by Limony Snicket  The Fault in Our Stars by John Green Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid  Twilight by Stephenie Meyer  Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen  Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë Harry Potter by J.K. RowlingSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The hottest book of the year so far isn’t a steamy beach read or a page-turning thriller. It’s a heartbreaking — and empowering — memoir about a divorce. This week, Danielle sits down with Belle Burden to talk about her memoir, “Strangers: A Memoir of Marriage.”  Belle Burden had a picture-perfect life. A husband in finance, three kids, a pristine apartment in Manhattan, and a summer home on Martha’s Vineyard. Then, one day — right at the start of the pandemic — she found out that her husband was having an affair. And the next morning, he tells her he wants out. Out of the house, out of the marriage — even out of custody for their kids. Belle talks about the upcoming Netflix adaptation of her book, starting over after watching her world as she knew it fell apart, and why she wishes a book like hers had existed long before now.    BOOKS MENTIONED: Strangers by Belle Burden Barefoot Contessa by Ina Garten The Summer Pact by Emily Giffin  The Academy by Elin Hilderbrand The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday When the Going Was Good by Graydon Carter  Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh Heart the Lover by Lily King Go Gentle by Maria Semple  Nine Stories by J.D. SalingerSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, we’re joined by BookTube royalty and queen of reviews Cindy Pham. Now stepping into her author era, she’s here to talk about it all: what’s on her TBR, why she’s drawn to messy, flawed characters, and how years of reviewing books have shaped the way she writes her own. Cindy also shares the story behind her debut novel, The Secret World of Briar Rose, from first drafting it as a teenager to returning years later with a completely new perspective and a fully developed frontal lobe. Plus, we get into reality TV deep dives, bookish trends she’s loving and side-eyeing, and the hilarious promise of a future rant video about her own main character, because no one is safe, not even her.   BOOKS MENTIONED: Lady Tremaine by Rachel Hochhauser  This is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone and Amal El-Mohtar A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke  The Secret World of Briar Rose by Cindy Pham That Asian Girl Is a Problem by Rachel Phan (Coming Soon) Just Between Us by Adeline Kon  Strange Familiars by Keshe Chow What My Bones Know by Stephanie Foo How to Keep House While Drowning by KC Davis I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami Book Lovers by Emilty Henry The Invocations by Krystal Sutherland The River Drags Her Down by Jihyun Yun Know My Name by Chanel MillerSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week, we’re back with Emma Brodie, whose second novel, Into The Blue, is April’s Reese’s Book Club Pick - and Emma and Danielle are going down aaaaall the rabbit holes. From what makes a good fandom, to how improv comedy is, in fact, inherently sexy, to the BTS secrets of filming reality TV, their convo is just as lush as Emma’s decade-spanning, sci-fi tinged, “will they, won’t they” romance.  BOOKS MENTIONED: Into the Blue by Emma Brodie Songs in Ursa Major by Emma Brodie Hitmakers by Derrick Thompson  The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory  Romeo and Juliet by William ShakespeareSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.