Ren Reads Too Much Podcast

This week was…a lot, and honestly, I don’t have the energy to pretend everything is polished or perfect, or worse, try to actually make it be like that. So I figured, why not lean right into the mess and talk about why this podcast exists, why it sounds the way it does, and why I don’t care about editing or fancy extras?Done is better than perfect, and sometimes the magic is in just showing up: imperfectly, joyfully, talking about books because I want to, not because anyone expects perfection.This week, I’m diving into the books that have been true game changers for me and my reading life; those stories that shook something loose in my brain or helped me see the world, myself, or other people in a new way. I’m talking about the ones that make you want to talk back, start a podcast, join a fandom, or, let’s be honest, rethink your feelings about vampires and hockey smut.It ended up being a mix of book love, personal confessions (yep, I admitted the Twilight thing), and reminders that it’s okay to be loud, messy, and take up space as a reader.My reading life isn’t tidy, and neither is this podcast. If you’re looking for highly edited, polished content, there are plenty of other places you can go. But if you’re happy with joyful chaos and slightly unhinged book talk, I’m so glad you’re here.📚 Books MentionedSome of these may be affiliate links, which just means I get a tiny kickback for fueling your reading habit.* Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid* Twilight by Stephenie Meyer* Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk* the princess saves herself in this one by Amanda LovelaceThis Substack is reader-supported. To receive your FREE Best Reading Life Guide, become a free or paid subscriber below!Let’s TalkI want to know - do you have a book (or a series) that totally changed something for you, even if it surprised you? What’s your “game changer”?Now also available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify! Get full access to Ren Reads Too Much at renreadstoomuch.substack.com/subscribe

Some weeks, my brain is like…yeah, we’re not doing anything new right now.I reread Role Model this week, and knowing what’s happening in The Long Game at the same time?? Completely different experience. There’s so much happening in the background that you don’t fully catch it the first time, and going back to it felt like I was reading it fully for the first time.And at the same time, I picked up Lobizona, which is doing something totally different but still kind of the same. Identity, belonging, immigration, gender - all wrapped up in this wild, magical world, and I’m still sitting with it because it impacted me in a completely different way.But I’ve also been watching what’s happening online this week, and I feel like we need to gently, collectively, come back to center a little bit. Because there’s a difference between loving a story (book or TV show), even obsessing over it a little, and starting to lose the line between that story and real people.You’re allowed to feel connected, and everyone involved is grateful that you care and appreciate their work. What makes it fun, safe, and not weird is remembering where the story ends.And I think most of you already know that. I’ve seen it in your comments, your messages, the way you show up here. This isn’t about shutting anything down. It’s just about keeping the thing we all love, something we can actually keep enjoying.📚 Books MentionedSome of these may be affiliate links, which just means I get a tiny kickback for fueling your reading habit.* Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid* Role Model by Rachel Reid* The Long Game by Rachel Reid* Lobizona by Romina Garber* The Hobbit by J.R.R. TolkienJoin the conversation over on Substack! https://renreadstoomuch.substack.com/ Get full access to Ren Reads Too Much at renreadstoomuch.substack.com/subscribe

Some weeks are not “try something new” weeks. And I feel like we don’t talk about that enough.This has been a low-capacity week for me. The kind where everything feels a little too loud, a little too heavy, and I do not have the energy to invest in figuring out if a new book is going to give me the dopamine.So I didn’t. I went straight back to The Long Game because I knew exactly what I was going to get from it. No ramp-up. No risk. Just feelings on demand. And honestly? That was the only thing that sounded even remotely appealing.I did add a few other books to the mix, but every night, I came right back to sad Ilya and clueless, disordered-eating Shane.Remember, sometimes the win is not finding something new. Sometimes the win is knowing yourself well enough to say, “I don’t have it in me this week, I need something that already works.” It’s not lazy or boring. It’s a really solid read on your own capacity and needs in the moment.Also, the amount of messages I’ve been getting about starting a book club?? I see you. I’m working on it. And I’m already thinking about how I want it to feel less like “keeping up” and more like a place where you can show up exactly as you are.Whether you’re reading something new, rereading the same book for the fifth time, or just there for the vibes and the conversation. If you’re here, you’ll be the first to know when that’s ready.So if your reading life looks a little repetitive right now, or if you keep reaching for the same story because it’s the only thing that sounds good, remember that I’m right there with you.📚 Books MentionedSome of these may be affiliate links, which just means I get a tiny kickback for fueling your reading habit.* Heated Rivalry* Role Model* The Long Game* Cocky Score by Kenna King* Lobizana by Romina Garber* The Age of Overwhelm by Laura van Dernoot LipskyLet’s TalkWhat’s a book you didn’t just fall back on, but actively chose because you knew it would take care of you? Get full access to Ren Reads Too Much at renreadstoomuch.substack.com/subscribe

There’s a difference between being unable to move on and choosing to stay somewhere that feels good.There’s this boring narrative floating around that rereading the same book means you’re stuck. That you should be moving on, finding something new, expanding your horizons like a “good reader.” But that’s not actually what’s happening.When you go back to the same story again and again, it’s usually because your brain already knows it’s safe there.You know how it ends. You know how it feels. There’s no emotional risk, no uncertainty, no extra effort required to process something new. And when life feels loud or heavy or just like too much, that predictability isn’t boring. It’s regulating.And I think what’s easy to miss is that this isn’t just about the book…It’s about what the book is giving you.If a story makes you feel connected, or hopeful, or a little bit softer in a world that feels sharp, of course, you’re going to go back to it. That’s not avoidance. That’s meeting a need. I see it all the time in this community. People aren’t just rereading for the sake of it. They’re taking the feeling the book gives them, and letting it spill into their real life.And maybe the more honest question isn’t “Why can’t I move on from this?” but “What is this giving me that I don’t want to lose yet?”Because once you see it that way, the guilt kind of falls apart. You’re not behind. You’re not doing reading wrong. You’re responding to something that feels good, or safe, or meaningful.And you’re allowed to stay there for as long as you need.📚 Books MentionedSome of these may be affiliate links, which just means I get a tiny kickback for fueling your reading habit.* Game Changer* Heated Rivalry* Tough Guy* Common Goal* Role Model* The Long Game* Love and Saffron* One and Only* Mythos Let’s TalkWhat’s the one story you keep going back to lately, and what do you think it’s giving you right now? Get full access to Ren Reads Too Much at renreadstoomuch.substack.com/subscribe

This week felt a little off.Not in a bad way, just one of those weeks where I really wanted to curl up with a book and disappear for a bit. And instead, I was doing mom stuff, cleaning, organizing, trying to settle into a new rhythm around the house.And when I did get time to read, I noticed something interesting.I wanted something new. It finally felt like I could move on from Heated Rivalry (if I was properly motivated).I ended up picking up Cursed King, book 1 of 4 in a series that isn’t finished. This is not something I usually do…I don’t love starting unfinished series. But this one works because each book stands on its own. It gave me just enough of that “new” feeling without asking too much from me. And it filled a category for my Ultimate Book Nerd Challenge with my local library (A book with a curse). The characters were well written, and it was pleasantly spicy, with a fun premise. An enjoyable, quick read!I’m still doing my deep dive on Shane’s autism traits in Heated Rivalry, and the close reading of the story is making me love it even more!At this point, I don’t think that’s changing any time soon, and I’ve accepted it with joy.📚 Books MentionedSome of these may be affiliate links, which just means I get a tiny kickback for fueling your reading habit.* Game Changer* Heated Rivalry* Tough Guy* Common Goal* Role Model* The Long Game* The Re-Do List* The Age of Overwhelm* Cursed King (Once Upon Ever After Book 1) Let’s TalkBe honest…are you reading “responsibly” right now?Or are you fully committed to a book (or series) that you will absolutely not be moving on from anytime soon?Tell me what you’re stuck on, I want to know! Get full access to Ren Reads Too Much at renreadstoomuch.substack.com/subscribe

This week felt like one of those moments where I zoomed out a little and realized, oh, there are a LOT of us out here.I had someone comment that they were 83 the first time they read Heated Rivalry or watched the show, and I have not stopped thinking about it. Because that’s it, right there. This whole idea that reading, especially emotional, immersive, sometimes slightly unhinged reading, is just for a certain age or phase of life? Completely false.At the same time, I’ve been bouncing between books that make absolutely no sense together…Neon Gods, Olive Kitteridge, and yes… back to Heated Rivalry again. And I’m just letting that be what it is. No overthinking, no trying to “fix” my reading habits into something more productive or impressive.And I think that’s the thread running through all of this.There is nothing wrong with wanting books, people, and spaces that feel good to be in. You don’t age out of that. You don’t earn your way into it. You’re just allowed to be the delightful human that you are.📚 Books MentionedSome of these may be affiliate links, which just means I get a tiny kickback for fueling your reading habit.* Game Changer* Heated Rivalry* Tough Guy* Common Goal* Role Model* The Long Game* Neon Gods* Olive KitteredgeLet’s Talk…What are you reading this week?Are you in a reread loop, too?And if so, are you stuck at the cottage (or the trophy room (IYKYK)?! Get full access to Ren Reads Too Much at renreadstoomuch.substack.com/subscribe

This has been coming up a lot in my comments and messages lately: people saying they’re in a reading slump, they can’t get into anything new, nothing is hitting the same.And I get it. I really do.Because I am still picking up other books right now… My TBR is full of things I genuinely want to read. But it’s been harder to choose, harder to stay engaged, harder to sink in the way I normally do.And at the same time, I keep getting pulled back into Heated Rivalry and the Game Changers series. Finishing, restarting, lingering a little longer than I probably “should.”So I don’t think this is a slump. I think this is something more like a reset.Because reading has never just been about getting through books for me. It’s how I regulate, how I settle, how I give myself something steady to come back to when everything else feels like a lot.So if you’re in that in-between space where nothing new quite clicks, but something familiar does, maybe nothing is wrong.Maybe your brain just knows what it needs right now.And you’re allowed to give it that.📚 Books MentionedSome of these may be affiliate links, which just means I get a tiny kickback for fueling your reading habit.* Game Changer* Heated Rivalry* Tough Guy* Common Goal* Role Model* The Long Game* Neon GodsLet’s Talk!What book are you a little too emotionally attached to…and not sorry about?I’d love to hear about it in the comments! Get full access to Ren Reads Too Much at renreadstoomuch.substack.com/subscribe

I’ve been a reader for most of my life…until I wasn’t.College kind of knocked it out of me, as it does for many of us. Reading became something I had to do instead of something I loved. Somewhere along the way, I just stopped reaching for books altogether.And then in 2012, I picked up Twilight from the library as a joke. Which, unfortunately for everyone around me, was not a joke.That one very unserious decision turned into something much bigger. Reading became how I regulate, how I find comfort. It became my best friend during some of the darkest days of my mothering journey, which has been one heck of a ride.Most of all, it became a way I connect with people, and myself! It also became a coping mechanism for when the world, and everything in it, feels very heavy.This podcast is just an extension of that.It’s a place where we get to talk about books the way we actually experience them: emotionally, sometimes irrationally, often with strong opinions and questionable decisions. No deep summaries, no pressure, no “you should be reading this instead.”Just a reading life that feels good to be in. Full of joy and love, because we all deserve sunshine. ☀️📚 Books Mentioned* The Twilight SagaMore coming next week once we get into the chaos…Heads up: some links may be affiliate links (aka I get a small commission, you get good books).Let’s Talk…What are you reading this week?Or…what’s a book you picked up “as a joke” that absolutely got you hooked? Get full access to Ren Reads Too Much at renreadstoomuch.substack.com/subscribe