Booked, Blonde and Besties - my girls take over the podcast!
June 29, 2026
AI Summary
5 min read“I lie about reading books all the time,” Olivia Ponton admits early in this episode of Booked, Blonde & Busy, and her friends immediately nod in recognition. That confession—and the game of “Guilty or Not Guilty” that follows—sets the tone for a conversation that is less about literary criticism and more about the social performance of reading, the pressure of bookish communities, and the deeply personal ways people actually connect with stories.
Olivia brings on her real-life friend group—Jojo, Alexa, Phoenix, and Hannah—each introduced as a character in her own “Sex and the City” ensemble. What follows is a relaxed, meandering discussion that covers three main threads: the dishonesty people practice around reading, the overwhelming nature of BookTok culture, and the experience of coming out and finding representation in LGBTQ+ literature.
The Social Game of Reading
Continue reading the full summary in the app — free to try.
Read Full Summary →Free • No credit card required
Never miss an episode of Booked, Blonde & Busy w/ Olivia Ponton
Get every new episode summarized in your inbox — free, ~5 minutes to read.
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
What you'll learn
- 1 Timestamped Outline
- 2 (00:30) **Opening & Friend Introductions** - Olivia introduces her friends and assigns each a Sex and the City character type
- 3 (04:07) **Guilty or Not Guilty: Reading Confessions** - The group plays a game revealing their secret reading habits
- 4 (08:01) **Unfinished Books & BookTok Pressure** - The friends share books they couldn't finish and critique the BookTok phenomenon
- 5 (13:43) **Recent Reads & Favorite Tropes** - Olivia recommends two books and the group discusses what draws them to a story
- 6 (17:26) **Gateway Books & Childhood Reading** - The friends share what books first got them into reading
- 7 (18:23) **Book Adaptation Tournament: Round One** - The group begins eliminating film adaptations to find their favorite
+ Full timestamped outline available in the app
Guests on this episode
Show Notes
My own real life Sex and the City friend group just took over the podcast!!! 🎀✨Hi angels!Jojo, Aleksa, Phoenix, Hannah and I are here to spill what we've been reading, settle the book adaptation debates once and for all, and expose whoever has been faking their way through a book (you know who you are 👀)And because it's Pride month... we're talking queer reads, coming out stories, and how we're celebrating. 🏳️🌈💛Happy Pride!! xoxo, Olivia 🎀✦︎ Listen To 'Booked & Busy' Everywhere You Stream→ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5Zf0lWdrYI61m3OTd80Bxp→ Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/booked-busy-w-olivia-ponton/id1848952840→ Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/f5856969-999f-4aff-b523-ff96e1121a56/booked-busy-w-olivia-ponton❤︎ Join The Conversation→ Patreon (it's free!): https://www.patreon.com/cw/OliviaPonton→ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/olivia.ponton→ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@iamoliviaponton→ Snapchat: https://www.snapchat.com/add/olivia_ponton12Timestamps:00:00-03:32 Friend intros!Chapter 103:35-04:07 Guilty or Not Guilty 04:08-05:25 Lying about reading05:26-07:26 Jojo’s reading habits and Hannah’s rec07:27-08:56 DNF a book everyone loved08:57-12:12 is Booktok dead?12:13-13:00 Pheonix’s recent reads13:01-15:54 Favorite tropes 15:55-16:45 book that got you into readingChapter 216:46-17:51 Book adaptations bracket17:52-24:02 Off Campus 24:03-26:52 Divergent and Twilight 26:53-29:20 Harry Potter vs Hunger GamesChapter 329:21-30:59 Pride!31:00-32:37 LGBTQIA books (Evelyn Hugo playlist?)32:38-35:12 advice for coming out 35:13-37:21 Olivia’s coming out story 37:22-37:57 OutroBooks mentioned:It Ends with Us by Coleen HooverUgly Love by Coleen HooverThe Never King by Nikki St. Crowe (not “Lost King”)Just Kids by Patti SmithA Little Life by Hanya YanagiharaA Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. MaasBinding 13 by Chloe Walsh Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver Martyr! by Kaveh AkbarPeople You Read on Vacation by Emily HenryNext to Heaven by James FreyThe Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins ReidCrave by Tracy WolffPercy Jackson & the Olympians series by Rick RiordanThe Selection series by Kiera Cass#booktok #booktube #bookish #booklover #podcast
More from this podcast
Booked, Blonde & Busy w/ Olivia Ponton →