hating change but embracing it anyway
plus, a Q&A with bookstagrammer Lianna Cohen of Get Lit with Lianna
hello, from the sun-drenched living room of my mom and stepdad’s house in the suburbs of Buffalo! we’ve got the fireplace roaring, the sunday Times sections divvied up amongst us, and the communal satisfaction of Thanksgiving leftovers paninis lulling us into silent commas. you may be wondering, “wait, was it Canadian Thanksgiving this week??” nope, that was back in early october! but since the pandemic, my mom’s side of the family deemed moving up Thanksgiving by a couple weeks as our best bet to actually get our extended family together during this highly coveted holiday.
the truth is, I HATE CHANGE and wasn’t on board for this pivot in the slightest. in fact, I didn’t make it to the first iteration of this version of Thanksgiving due to a work trip to Peru, and it took me nearly the entire following year to get on board with the reality that we weren’t going to be doing Thanksgiving on the *actual* day anymore. but, the truth is, the meal tasted just as delicious yesterday, and more importantly, our family was able to gather from all over the country to make memories and rally around my nana, whose progressing dementia makes each holiday even more meaningful to spend together. I’m always going to have a hard time adjusting to a shift in traditions and nostalgic attachment to what-once-was, but I can also recognize when that unwillingness to evolve tends to block growth. adapting to change continues to be something I’m working on now and in the year ahead. advice for this realm of life? I’m all ears.
after a jam-packed weekend of family fun, it’s back to the city bright and early tomorrow! we’ve got West Village Book Club’s november meeting slated for tuesday with a Friendsgiving theme, which means we’re each bringing our favorite dish from our respective Thanksgiving traditions. we’ll be discussing The Guest by Emma Cline, which naturally, I’m nowhere near finishing. I made the very grave mistake of going into Barnes & Noble (NOTHING hits like a suburban errands combo of B&N, Target, and Wegmans, amiright?) with my sister, which led to each of us picking up a few books which are pictured below. since, I’ve been deeply invested in the oldie but goodie, Gone Girl, completely in awe that its 145,000 words all seem vital, despite that the average thriller is usually around 80,000 words. I can’t wait to finish tonight and then cue up the 2014 film adaptation featuring Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Neil Patrick Harris, and Emily Ratajkowski.
10 things I saved on IG this week
as opposed to the weekly R.E.P.O.R.T. as I’ve done in past editions, I thought it might be fun to round up some of the things I saved this week instead. I was inspired by this listicle-style that
delivers in her Weekend Reading recaps as she digs into the cultural zeitgeist. let me know if you’re into this format, and I can continue to include this in future sunday series!
“If I Don’t Text Back” a poem by Lyndsay Rush
this momma and baby leopard causing mischief at Singita Sabi Sand (TAKE ME BACK!!!!) by @kutwelo
this NYPL event happening on 11/20 with author Emma Grey moderated by
“In a World Full of Hustle Culture, Dare to be Mid” by Hayley Schueneman in Bustle
this stellar nonfiction book roundup by
a reminder by
to use your NYPL card to access #culturepass, a program that allows you to visit nearly every museum in the city for free once a year! she recommends The Jewish Museum on E92nd and 5tha poem about creativity, despite everything in the world being on fire by Nikita Gill
Town & Country post about “Nothing New” being on the soundtrack to a new Apple TV+ show, The Buccaneers (it’s giving Bridgeton and I’m SO IN)
a tennis court tablescape by @aceandclay
5 reminders for anyone working on a creative project by @prettydecent
meet Lianna Cohen
with the online world full of influencers, podcasters, BookTokers, and Bookstagrammers, it can be overwhelming to know exactly where to turn for vetted book recs. one of my goals with the sunday series is to bring you conversations with some of my most trusted voices in the book world so that you don’t have to go digging! Lianna Cohen, known on the internet as @getlitwithlianna has amassed an impressive collection of content through her Instagram and podcast, both of which we dig into in the interview below!
Kayla Douglas: Lianna, tell us a bit more about your origin story and how you wound up as a content creator in the book world.
Lianna Cohen: Oooh, my origin story — I love how this is put. I feel like I'm a Bookstagram Superheroine or something! I've always been an avid reader, but when the beginning of the pandemic hit, I found myself (like most people) with ample time on my hands. I started getting back into reading romance books and really wanted to find other titles similar to the ones I was loving. I started searching up the books I was reading on Instagram and found a whole world of like-minded readers who were posting reviews, challenges, book recommendations, and more to audiences of varying sizes.
I've always loved social media — prior to being a Bookstagrammer, I actually ran a The Bachelor fanpage Instagram and Twitter where I live-commented on the episodes as they aired. It got some great attention — I was actually featured on Bachelor In Paradise: The After Show to chat about the season, and was invited out to be a guest panelist on the Canadian franchise's show too! When I realized people were building a social media following from posting about the books they were reading, and knowing all of the time I had on my hands being locked in the house, I figured this could be the opportune time to make my own page and see what came of it.
KD: What inspired you to branch out from social media recommendations to launch your podcast, Get Lit with Lianna?
LC: Funny enough, it was almost at the request of some of my favourite authors. I was direct messaging with so many of them after posting about their books in any capacity (mostly from the romance trope round-ups I started doing nearly three years ago!) and asking so many questions about their books — a few made comments to me about how insightful my questions were. I realized in that moment that if I was asking these questions, I'm sure others were equally curious. And that's how the Get With Lianna podcast concept came to me! I record and post the audio to be downloaded anywhere you listen to podcasts, but I also have a video version of most episodes up on YouTube for those who'd prefer to watch rather than just listen.
KD: Over the years, you've interviewed some of the most talented authors around—if you had to pick just one, which conversation has left the most long-lasting impact? Who is your dream author to interview?
LC: I've been blessed to have some really interest conversations on my podcast with all of my favourite authors. At the beginning of this endeavor, I made an "author wish list" of people who I would DIE to chat with — and within the first fifteen episodes, I had managed to sit down with nine of the twelve on that list. Absolutely BONKERS! I think my favorite episode to date is probably with Kennedy Ryan. We had such a moving conversation about one of her latest books, Before I Let Go, where she really brought such interesting perspectives to a love story of hers that quickly became my favourite.
In terms of people who I have yet to speak to and would simply just combust into a million speckles of pixie dust to chat with... I mean, how could I not say Colleen Hoover?! She was my "gateway author" to romance books in my teenage years, so I would loooooove to sit down with her.
KD: What are your favorite romance book tropes? Least favorite?
LC: I've given A LOT of thought to this question over the last three years of being a creator, especially when drafting over a hundred different versions of my viral romance trope roundup posts. I think my favourites have to be dual timeline, friends to lovers, and second chance! These often go hand in hand with one another, and there is something so wholesome about these types of love stories... they always give me the biggest butterflies!
I don't really have a least favourite trope, but the ones that I guess I'm not as enthusiastic about are probably forced proximity and love triangles. Forced proximity is always so predictable, in my opinion, and often kind of cheesy. And love triangles give me such a pit in my stomach — I never know who to cheer for and always feel so conflicted!
KD: With so many new books being released, how do you decide what to read next?
LC: This is the hardest part of my “job.” I am so blessed to be living in an era where there is no shortage of romance books and love stories being released. I truly believe there is no better time to be a romance writer than right now. With that said, I am constantly inundated with book options and it's very hard to choose — I still have a whole list of books I want to read that started back in 2017!
So, it's a balance. I'm a mood reader and I often choose books that fit the mood I'm in. Either based on its synopsis, a review from a friend, or a post I saw on Instagram that catches my attention. I'm not someone who can make a schedule of what to read next because I will never be able to follow it.
KD: You're headed to a desert island — which five books are you bringing with you?
LC: FAVE question! I would bring books I've read before and absolutely loved — that way, I know I will be entertained — or at the very least, very, very, VERY emo. So many of these I've already read a handful of times, and I never get sick of them. In no particular order:
The Idea of You by Robinne Lee
Every Summer After by Carley Fortune
Seven Days in June by Tia Williams
November 9 by Colleen Hoover
Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman
KD: Tell us about the most recent work of fiction that left you with a book hangover.
LC: Oooof, I have to say, I often get book hangovers! If it's a compelling love story, I'm likely to be thinking about it for an unwell amount of time. I have to say though, I recently finished Liz Tomforde's latest sports romance Caught Up and I still can't stop thinking about it. I've read two books since then, and those characters are still taking up real estate in my mind!
KD: What book is on your TBR that you're most excited to pick up?
LC: Hmmmm, that's a good question! I've heard a lot about Moonshot by Alessandra Torre. Released in 2016, it’s by no means a new title, but I've randomly seen some chatter about it on Instagram and it definitely piqued my interest. It's a sports romance — and that is another trope I am a big sucker for. That will likely be one of my next reads.
KD: The Sunday Series was conceptualized as a love letter to my favorite day of the week. If we were with you in Toronto on Sunday, where would you take us to spend the afternoon?
LC: I LOVE THIS! There are so many places we could go. I'd love to grab a coffee and walk around Yorkville. There are so many great stores to shop at — but also, my favourite Indigo book store location is there! It's massive and so well organized, and I swear I could spend hour shopping in that bookstore and I often do! Then we could grab dinner somewhere in the area. There are so many cool and yummy restaurants in Toronto.
KD: Where can we keep up with the pod and what you're reading?
LC: Interestingly (and excitingly) enough, the pod is on a brief hiatus until April 2024! I am getting married this Spring and decided to take a pause for the Fall and Winter to focus on all things podcast — and invest my attention towards my fiancé and all upcoming wedding planning and plans. With that said, I'm still reading and posting about books incessantly on my Instagram, @getlitwithlianna! My DMs are always open, and I love when fellow readers slide in to chat about books or comment about a review or round-up I've posted. PLEASE message me and say hi — it's my favourite thing ever! Oh, and the podcast will be back with a bang in 2024.
I so look forward to reading your writing every week Kayla. Sunday is my favorite day of the week as well.