694. Holiday Wishes II with Agnés, Emily, Sarah Jane and Jenn

694. Holiday Wishes II with Agnés, Emily, Sarah Jane and Jenn

Author: Sarah Wendell November 28, 2025 Duration: 44:00

Ready for more wishes and recs? And bad jokes? I bet you are! This week we’re talking with Agnes, Emily, Sarah Jane, and Jenn – and Min the cat.


And in the outro, you’ll hear from ShoesforAll, aka Sarah.


And! Important announcement 1: thanks to your Patreon pledges, we have reached our goal with the F’ICE campaign, and all dynamic ads will be turned off permanently for everyone who listens. Thank you so much!


Important announcement 2: the Smart Bitches Candle Collection is LIVE! I partnered with Wax Cabin Candle Company, an independent small chandlery, to offer two limited edition candles just for the holiday season!

They are on sale now, Friday November 28, through early January, and you can buy one or both in a gift set!


The Smart Bitches 20th Anniversary candle is an 11 ounce hand poured soy candle with notes of sea salt, book pages, sandalwood and jasmine.


The Bad Decisions Book Club candle, also 11 ounces, is designed to be the perfect pairing for late night reading, with scents of sweet tobacco, book pages, leather, rose, and sandalwood. I had a marvelous time picking out the scents.


So if you’re looking for the perfect gift for yourself or the book lovers in your life, check out the 2025 Smart Bitches Candle collection. You can shop small, support the site, and spread light and warmth this year.


We also mentioned:




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If you’ve ever felt a little defensive about loving romance novels, or just want to dive deeper into the books you can’t put down, Smart Podcast, Trashy Books: A Romance Novel Podcast is your perfect companion. Host Sarah Wendell approaches the genre with a critic’s sharp mind and a fan’s enthusiastic heart, creating conversations that are as thoughtful as they are joyful. This isn’t just author interviews, though you’ll hear brilliant voices like Ilona Andrews, Sarah J. Maas, and the wonderfully unique Chuck Tingle. The scope of the podcast is deliberately wide, bringing in reviewers, librarians, editors, and publishing professionals to examine every facet of the romance world. You’ll get honest talk about tropes and trends, the business behind the books, and why these stories resonate so powerfully with millions of readers. Regular appearances from Amanda Diehl add another layer of camaraderie and insight. Listening feels like being part of a smart, welcoming book club where no opinion is dismissed and passion is a given. It’s a celebration of a genre that dominates fiction, explored with humor, intelligence, and genuine curiosity. Whether you’re a longtime devotee or a curious newcomer, this podcast offers a rich, engaging, and deeply human look at the stories we love.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Smart Podcast, Trashy Books: A Romance Novel Podcast
Podcast Episodes
715. Books, Wine & Nachos at Joie de Livres, with Claire Trottier [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:40
Thanks for Geoffroy in the podcast Patreon (merci, Geoffrey!) my guest this week is Claire Trottier, owner of Joie de Livres, a romance and speculative fiction bookshop in Montreal, Canada. Hi Neighbors!We’re going to ta…
714. The Edge of Space-Time with Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:18:01
When you subscribed to this podcast, I bet you thought, “When is Sarah going to interview an expert on theoretical physics ?” Today is your day!My guest is Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein author of the book The Edge of Spac…
713. Enemies to Lovers with Alisha Rai [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:16:20
My guest this week is podcast community favorite Alisha Rai! We start off catching up on our history of podcasting together, our life changes, and the challenges of making children wear coats.Then it’s enemies to lovers…
711. RT Rewind: July 2000 Ads & Features [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:23:03
We are back in the time machine, heading to July 2000 to check out the Ads & Features from Romantic Times Magazine!We’re going to talk about Geocities websites, author research, and Hands.Lots of Hands.This one is a litt…
709. RT Rewind: July 2000 Reviews [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:58
We're back in the time machine, heading to July 2000 - for real this time - to check out the reviews in this issue of Romantic Times magazine!We’ve got anthologies, Carpathians, and several books where we’re pretty sure…
707. RT Rewind: June 1997 Ads & Features [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:27:38
Amanda and I are traveling back to June 1997 to discuss:Touring inside author’s homes and whether we think it’s kinda intrusive and uncomfortableNeverending reader hate for “the F word”The fans used to blow back cover mo…
706. The Astral Library with Kate Quinn [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:15:52
Kate Quinn’s new book, The Astral Library, is out this week and I was so excited to not only get an advanced copy but an opportunity to interview Kate Quinn.We talk about the inspiration for this very magical book, and a…