Off Book - Bryanna on Contemporary Book Club Books & Romance Comfort Reads

genredpodcast
12 minutes ago
4 min read

Bryanna is back on Genre’d: Off Book—and if you’ve been with us since the early days, you’ll remember her from the first three episodes of the pod. This time, she joins Katy and Elyse in the newly upgraded “library” studio (still evolving, still a little chaotic) to talk about her favorite genre: contemporary fiction with Big Celebrity Book Club Energy.

You know the vibe: the Reese pick, the Oprah pick, the “everyone is talking about this” pick—the books that feel like you’re keeping up with culture and getting a story you can’t stop thinking about. Bryanna makes the case for why these books are not “silly little women’s books,” why celebrity book clubs have real literary power, and why she’ll always be drawn to stories that become movies and miniseries.

Also: we take a detour into audiobook economics, Kindle + audio double-dipping, Alexa’s unhinged text-to-speech “performance,” and a very serious discussion about why romance is basically the literary version of the Hallmark Channel.

About this Off Book episode

In this episode, Bryanna (editor/journalist + one of our favorite reading friends) breaks down the genre she’s always chasing: contemporary fiction that feels current, buzzy, and conversation-starting. She talks about being a lifelong “I read what everyone’s reading” reader—from Magic Tree House to Harry Potter to Twilight—and how she fell out of reading as life got busy…until Sarah J. Maas pulled her right back in.

From there, it’s an honest conversation about what makes book club books work, why they’re often misunderstood, and how a great contemporary novel can make you think bigger than your own life (while still delivering drama, relationships, and that delicious I need to talk about this immediately feeling).

What we cover in this episode

The reading origin story (and the nostalgia spiral)

Childhood gateway reads: Magic Tree House, Harry Potter, Twilight, Divergent
How adulthood + being “chronically online” can quietly kill fun reading
The classic “reader in childhood → lost it in your 20s → comes back in your 30s” arc

The genre: “Book club books” (aka contemporary fiction with cultural heat)

Reese/Oprah/morning-show picks as a whole ecosystem of new releases + community
Why Bryanna loves reading what the internet is buzzing about
Books-to-screen adaptations as the ultimate gateway drug

The audiobook rabbit hole (and why it’s so expensive??)

Kindle + audiobook double-buying and why it hurts every time
The Audible credit system vs the dream of “Audiobook Unlimited”
Alexa reading your Kindle book: helpful in a pinch, cursed in practice

Starter recs + “if you already love this genre” recommendations

A great “starter” that blends drama, motherhood themes, friendship dynamics, and mystery
What to read when you want psychological suspense that’s character-driven (not gimmicky)

The defense of “women’s books” (say it with us: literature)

Why contemporary fiction + celebrity book club picks get dismissed unfairly
How these stories tackle modern themes: parenting, technology, relationships, identity, womanhood
Oprah as the original powerhouse—and how book clubs shape the culture

Romance as the comfort zone (and the trope she can’t quit)

Bryanna’s “comfort zone” when she’s in a rut: Kindle Unlimited romance
The trope she’s always chasing: Golden Retriever x Black Cat
Why romance is basically a serotonin hit (and why that’s not a bad thing)

Romantasy: the one rant she had to give

Why a lot of romantasy has started to feel recycled lately
The exceptions (and why Sarah J. Maas still hits different)
A quick detour into Manacled, Alchemised, Zodiac Academy chaos, and endgame reading

Books & authors mentioned in this episode

Childhood/YA nostalgia

Magic Tree House — Mary Pope Osborne
Harry Potter — J.K. Rowling
Twilight — Stephenie Meyer
Divergent — Veronica Roth

Contemporary / book club / adaptations

Little Fires Everywhere — Celeste Ng
Big Little Lies — Liane Moriarty
Jillian McAllister — (Wrong Place Wrong Time mentioned)

Book club history + cultural touchstones

Beloved — Toni Morrison
The Deep End of the Ocean — Jacquelyn Mitchard
A Million Little Pieces — James Frey

Romance + romantasy + “what we’re reading adjacent”

Sarah J. Maas — (A Court of Frost and Starlight / ACOTAR discussed)
Spark of the Everflame — Penn Cole
Manacled — SenLinYu
Alchemised — SenLinYu (discussed)
Rose in Chains (mentioned)
Zodiac Academy — Caroline Peckham & Susanne Valenti
Victoria Wilder — (Bourbon and Lies mentioned)
Elsie Silver (palate cleanser era)

Listener-friendly takeaway

If you’ve ever called contemporary “book club books” fluff, this episode is your gentle (and slightly chaotic) reminder: these stories are often sharp, theme-rich, and deeply human—and the fact that women love them doesn’t make them less serious. It makes them culturally powerful.