Kaylia Metcalfe

I miss writing book reviews. I used to do it a lot… I had a blog and everything.

I also miss talking about books. Which, is connected to writing reviews. See, when you write a review, you think more deeply about the book. And if you are lucky enough to get to talk about the book with other people, then you think even more deeply. Processing books is not as much fun as reading them, but it is pretty darn delightful. When I don’t have a review to write or a book club to go to, or a podcast to prepare for, or people to talk about the book with… well, I can still be happy that I read the book, but there is something missing. My poor family really gets the brunt of this as I still feel compelled to talk about whatever I just read no matter what they are trying to do while I follow them around waxing poetic and saying things like “the deeper meaning,” and “what the heck was she thinking?” and “that’s not character development, it’s character assassination!”

Anyway! I produce a podcast and I cohost a podcast but in neither place do I really get to consistently talk about books. Which is kind of a bummer.

But then I remembered that

I have a podcast feed for Pages and Popcorn just sitting there.

I have a blog platform just sitting there.

There is literally nothing stopping me from writing a weekly book review on my blog.

There is literally nothing stopping me from releasing a regular min podcast episode where I do a monologue about whatever book I just read. 

Nothing except my limited time and my limited vision and all my other current responsibilities. 

But. WHATEVER! It’s December! Month of a zillion projects and social events and to-do lists a mile long… what a perfect time to relaunch a podcast feed and commit to reading more and writing a weekly book review!

Huzzah!

So I retooled the websites (they were in desperate need of some updates anyway) and I retooled or created social media platforms for everything (I had meant to do that for the Ghosthroplogy Podcast like a year ago anyway). And then I recorded a little teaser explanation for the PPP feed in which I basically explained the following:

Yes! I am relaunching the Pages and Popcorn Podcast feed… but this time instead of talking with a rotating group of cohosts about movies based on books, it will be just me doing a weekly podcast where I talk about books. More specifically, I will be doing a weekly podcast where I give a spoiler-free review of one specific book.

The books will be a pretty random assortment of titles under the umbrella of fiction. There will be contemporary titles, classics, BIPOC authors, queer books, sci-fi books, fantasy books… maybe even a romance… maybe. Probably not horror. (sorry, not sorry) But then again, you never know. I certainly don’t know. I mean, I have a stack of new-to-me titles that I have chosen to use for this project, but honestly, I might change my mind on a whim and pull a book at random from my shelf. 

I’m not joking. These are my “ooo new books that I can read and then write about” stacks.

Also, full disclosure, the end of the year is nuts and I might grab a review that I already wrote to start us off, but rest assured, soon the feed will be full of brand new material… and let’s be honest, unless you were reading my book review blogs back in 2021, it will feel new to you!

Again, the format will be me, giving you my unfiltered but spoiler-free honest review of some random book. That’s the Pages part of the podcast… and because I didn’t want to change the name, and I do really hope to someday get back to talking about movies based on books… I will be giving you one random Popcorn fact in each episode as well. See, Pages and Popcorn! That makes sense, right?

So, to sum up. Starting next month I will start dropping new book review blog posts into my blog and then dropping new book review podcasts into the Pages and Popcorn Podcast feed. 

I might also do some supplemental episodes with author interviews, news blurbs that relate to books, (I have been following the PEN America lawsuit, and if you care about banned books you should be following it too), and maybe I’ll do some other fun things along the way. 

And, no, I haven’t decided which day of the week the episodes will drop, but I do plan on being consistent. 

At least, that’s the plan.

A few more notes: 

• My book review blogs will be here on the blog. 
• There is a new Instagram feed for this podcast at @pages_pop_podcast
• The Facebook for this podcast has also been resurrected at pagesnadpopcornpodcast
• The website for this podcast (and the other podcasts I produce and cohost) is kmmamedia.com 
• You can also email me book recs, feedback, diatribes about what I got wrong, or your own popcorn facts to pagesandpopcornpodcast@gmail.com 
• And yes, I have a Patreon at patreon.com/pagesandpopcornpodcast Joining gets you early access and mailbag episodes. I will probably do the occasional live event or pop in event (get it, get it) at some point… and I have been toying with the idea of letting the Patrons nominate books you want to hear me talk about, but honestly, I’m not sure I trust some of you, so we will have to see about that. Oh.. and if there seems to be a call for reviews that spoil the endings or whatnot, that might be a Patreon perk down the road as well. We shall just have to wait and see. 

Lastly, I will be using the ASPECT Method for my reviews. This is a system I came up with a few years ago and it seems to work pretty well.

A Atmosphere: How did it make me feel? What was the world like? This includes the overall tone.

S Style: What was the writing style like? Simplistic or sophisticated? Clunky or beautiful?

P Plot/Pace: Was it engaging? Were there holes? Did it feel too rushed or too long?

E Enjoyment: Was it a chore to finish or compelling enough that I picked it over other fun activities?

C Characters: Were they believable, sympathetic, authentic, or interesting? Did they develop?

T This: Why did I read *This* book?

And… Final thought: Would I recommend it? To whom? Why or why not?

Whew!

I hope you will come along with me on this journey!

As always… Thanks for being here and happy reading!