Shows
Shelf Absorbed PodcastRadical Honesty in The Authenticity ProjectThis week, we’re diving into The Authenticity Project, a story about what happens when people finally start telling the truth about their lives. Cecylia is joined by two friends, Kat and Jasmine, who’ve shared a 15-year friendship that’s seen it all: growth, distance, joy, hard conversations, and the kind of support that only comes when someone has known you for that long and still shows up.We talk about what it really means to be honest in your friendships, not the curated kind. The kind that requires trust, time, and sometimes, taking a deep breath...
2025-06-0649 minShelf Absorbed PodcastWe Who Have Never Known Peace After This BookIn this episode, Cecylia sits down with Cheyanne Neuenschwander to process potentially the most devastating read of 2025 so far??? Cheyanne brings forward themes surrounding sense of self, romantic love, humanity, morality, and connection in relation to Jacqueline Harpman's novel I Who Have Never Known Men". Together, we unravel the quiet intensity of this dystopian novel, which follows thirty-nine women and one girl trapped underground entirely cut off from history, society, and even the memory of men.Together, we dive into the loneliness and resilience at the heart of this story: what it means to form an identity in isolation...
2025-05-2949 minShelf Absorbed PodcastMommy Issues with NightbitchIn this season three premiere, Cecylia sits down with Holly, the first guest of this season, to discuss the harder parts of becoming a mom, how to find your way back to yourself, and validate that if every moment isn't soft lullabies and organic fabric onesies it doesn't mean you're a bad mom.In the second half of this episode, we sink our teeth into Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder. This feral, furious exploration of postpartum rage, maternal sacrifice, and identity loss exposes the wild animal that lives inside every mother. We talk postpartum rage, th...
2025-05-2240 minShelf Absorbed PodcastThe Road to Onyx StormCalling all dragon riders! Are you ready for Onyx Storm?!
In this episode, we provided a general, overall summary of Fourth Wing and Iron Flame and chit chat about underlying themes of grief and friendship, potential theories, why Cecylia loves Jack Barlowe, the quadrant Alexandra would be in, and what is next for the Empyrean Series.
Unlike our traditional episode format, this episode is FULL of spoilers as we talk about the books in their entirety. This is the refresher to reference before jumping into Onyx Storm next week.
2025-01-151h 10
Shelf Absorbed PodcastWhen Fear Takes Form: Unpacking PhantasmaFear—what draws us to it, and how do we face it? In this episode, we dive into the theme of fear through the lens of Kaylie Smith's Phantasma. The first half is spoiler-free and focuses on the universal experience of fear, the importance of therapy in overcoming it, and society's enduring love affair with the horror genre. Why are we so fascinated by what scares us? Our first guest of season 2, Chrissy Stevenson, sits down and explores this with us. Chrissy is a bookish content creator, horror genre fanatic, a proud pet parent, and an audiobook narrator.
I...
2024-12-201h 37
Shelf Absorbed PodcastThe Pink Villain of ACOTARThis month's episode is for the giiiiiiiiiirls!
The first half of the episode remains spoiler free as we discuss the vilification of all things pink throughout the years in both media and film. We dive into the roots of this pattern, its impact on modern storytelling, and how girlhood isn't anything to dull down.
For the book portion, we visit Velaris for a special edition visit to the series' warrior party girl, The Morrigan. Using the A Court of Thorns and Roses series as a lens, we examine how Mor's character navigates a world that de...
2024-11-061h 12
Shelf Absorbed PodcastMonster (S)Mash: The Allure of Monster RomanceWARNING: This is not the swamp from your childhood memories...
This week for our plunge into the world of monster romance! In the first half, we discuss a monstrous approach to love. From the history of monster romance to why we could most definitely be convinced to smooch a Kraken, we break down why these creatures have us in a chokehold.
Then, if you've ever been on a date and thought to yourself "what a monster", we put that to the test with a round of Monster vs. Man: a game where we debate who wo...
2024-10-161h 20
Shelf Absorbed PodcastShelf Life on Cheating: Infidelity in The Silent PatientWe're back, book babes! In this Season TWO kickoff episode of Shelf Absorbed, we’re taking a dramatic dip into the discussion around infidelity.
In the spoiler-free first half, we tackle the general dynamics of cheating—how betrayal affects relationships, the journey to forgiveness, and the quest for self-worth in all the wrong ways. We gab about what really constitutes cheating and share some tools for those coping with and recovering from these breaches of trust.
In the second half, we’ll shift our focus to The Silent Patient, examining how this theme sh...
2024-09-181h 02
Shelf Absorbed PodcastVan Life: Missing Home, Finding Community, and Embracing the UnexpectedThis week, our featured guest is Bryn Weber, who joined us to dive into all things van life. In 2017, Bryn discovered Brianna Madia's social media account, and was inspired to live minimally and on the road. In 2021, she made that dream her reality. In this episode, we discuss how into adulthood, Bryn quickly realized a "conventional lifestyle" was not for her. After building the van, she and her husband moved in and began working remotely while traveling across the country. While excited for the transition into their tiny space, Bryn also talks about the effects of being isolated from fri...
2024-07-231h 09
Shelf Absorbed PodcastOPEN BOOK: ConnectionToday, we take you to New Orleans, Louisiana for a story told in our Open Book format.
Say hello to our second Open Book guest, Emily Madeira! Emily is a movement artist, a licensed master social worker, a dancer, and a clown. Her work and art challenge the societal norms oppressing the human body and its natural impulses to play, to touch, to move, and to feel. Emily identifies as queer and polyamorous and is passionate about building networks of community and mutual aid.
In the initial chapters of her Open Book, she s...
2024-07-231h 12
Shelf Absorbed PodcastOPEN BOOK: MindsetThis week, we introduce you to our next Open Book guest, Danielle Wadding. Danielle is a phenomenal mother, friend, career-woman, and finds her center in the middle of a Brazilian jujitzu mat. We are honored to share her story with you today as she provides a message anyone can carry with them long after this episode ends.
In today's episode, Danielle walks us through a difficult year of life in her early twenties where she lost her husband, mother, and child all within a few months span. She takes us through those early days of grief as...
2024-06-051h 04
Shelf Absorbed PodcastOPEN BOOK: Troubled Teen IndustryYou just need your headphones and your heart this week as there is no reading prep to fully immerse yourself in the story, start to finish. Welcome to the format that will air the second episode of each month titled Open Book. With each Open Book episode, a book will never be associated as we hear a true story from the individual that wrote it with their experience. We believe you don’t have to be a reader to fall in love with someone’s story; So our Open Book episodes will give us all the chance to fall in l...
2024-04-171h 35
Shelf Absorbed PodcastSwipe Right: Tales from the Tinder TrenchesAll dressed up with no phone to scroll? Borrow our next featured guest's phone to peruse her dating apps on this week's episode as we explore modern dating.
From gaslighting to ghosting, bachelorette Nicole Harris sits down with your hosts to dive into the science behind a good profile, her automatic dealbreakers, and how serial killers may have ruined dating as we know it.
Tune in as we discuss our rules around dating, ridiculous things men have said to us on dating apps, our final take on men with beards, and how our preferred method...
2024-04-031h 19
Shelf Absorbed PodcastEchoes of Love: Finding Grace Amidst GriefIn this episode of Her Best Interest, we are honored to welcome our very first guest. Today's guest, Paige Galloway, shares her journey which embodies resilience and profound insight. She embarks on a deeply personal reflection of loss as she discusses the profound impact of losing her mom last year.
Through candid conversations and heartfelt reflections, Cecylia and Alexandra offer support as Paige delves into the myriad emotions experienced in the wake of such a significant loss – from grief and sorrow to acceptance and healing. She offers profound insights into the unique bond between a...
2024-03-201h 22Shelf Absorbed PodcastThe Angry Woman and The Shrew Start a PodcastThis episode of Her Best Interest unpacks unlikeability when it comes to women in both the film industry and society in general. With Anna Bogutskaya's novel "Unlikeable Female Characters" guiding the conversation this week, Alexandra and Cecylia share their reflections around why taking back these titles is so important.
For today's episode: There is no need to read the book to tune in for the entire time! The hosts give a brief summary and necessary context in the beginning of the episode so that all listeners can fully participate and enjoy, whether you've read...
2024-03-071h 05Shelf Absorbed PodcastBehind Closed Doors: Comparisons, Compassion, and the Road to ForgivenessThis week's episode revolves around lessons learned in previous relationships, the damage done when comparing women to each other, and mistakes made that shed some light on how forgiveness can be freeing.
With this episode, Cecylia and Alexandra find themselves in the center of the drama they have almost always created for themselves. Listen along as your hosts go on an emotional journey through the themes found within the novel that really made them peer into the scandals of their own lives. Last week's Something I Read This Week could not be topped so...
2024-02-211h 19Shelf Absorbed PodcastBONUS EPISODE: Crazy Cupid LoveHappy Valentine's Day!
To show their love, your hosts have released a SURPRISE bonus mini-episode for you. There is NO book associated with this mini-episode release. Just giggles, games, and girl talk. You know, the basics.
Join Cecylia and Alexandra as they spend this short mini-episode learning about their favorite book tropes, discuss first celebrity crushes, chat through some questionable icks, play a speed date game, and more!
Website: www.herbestinterest.com
Instagram: @_herbestinterest
TikTok: @her.best.interest
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2024-02-1426 minShelf Absorbed PodcastDulling Your Pink: The Silent Sacrifice of MotherhoodWhat pieces of our identify fall away as mothers? Shed some layers with your hosts this week as the topic center around struggling with identity loss in motherhood, comparisons to other women, and the importance of open communication.
Cecylia and Alexandra discuss how social media can warp the image of what it means to be "good enough" in motherhood, how their children shape so much of their identity today, and their own love languages when it comes to communication with those close to them.
The hosts then dive into...
2024-02-071h 14Shelf Absorbed PodcastVampires vs. Wizards: The Magic in the JourneyYour hosts decided to time travel to series they loved in their younger years. Looking back as adults, they pulled some emotional themes from the literature that they can reflect on from a different place. This episode discusses codependency, confronting fears, trying to control outcomes, and how all of these themes show up in their own lives.
With this topic, Cecylia and Alexandra delve into their own realizations with people pleasing, anxiety in parenthood and tools used to overcome, learning to let go, and how much the people in their lives pull them through. O...
2024-01-241h 07Shelf Absorbed PodcastLike A Sister: The Power of Female FriendshipsAnnouncing the FIRST episode created with Her Best Interest at heart! This kickoff episode will center around female friendships, the support system found there, and what a force we are when we let each other in. With this topic, Cecylia and Alexandra delve into growing up in friendships, lessons learned, vulnerable moments, navigating friend heartbreak, and what accountability has looked like in their personal dynamics.As a reminder, the first half relates to the selected topic in their own lives and will remain spoiler free. The second half of the episode is where the hosts bring the b...
2024-01-101h 00