So LC is getting her room painted so we're in a weird new studio that's all echoey and loud. We can't figure out if we're cool with it or not (feat Chloe whisper-shouting). But that didn't stop us from getting into Lauren Kung Jessen's astrology flavoured rom-com Lunar Love! Katie being super sweaty, super aggro about this book for some reason and how she whistles when she orders SubwayChloe is trying to bully the girls into adding to 10 years with BTS social media thing. Also she's pretty sure Jungkook is sending her coded messages in his karaoke choices. It's all part of her dealing with her upcoming military wife statusChloe low-key forgetting how to read halfway through the author bio. Which might be a side effect of exposure to Bennet's arms. Which she really did not stop talking about. This whole bicep exposure she's getting with the 4th gen KPop groups is making her EVEN thirstierHow talking about real love has us talking about LC and her bloke's stupid happy marriage - mutual respect, teamwork, and pretending to be a 10 year old boy from TallaghtNew love vs stable relationships - which is better? And is that harder for folks that are LGBTQ, since straight folks (straight girls anyway) be all flirty but not interestedOur opinions on the zodiac and whether it takes advantage of vulnerable people or notHow astrology deep dives can fuel the romance of the beginning of a relationship Can you appropriate your own culture? With a sidebar into Chloe's deep-seated fear of traditional Irish music sessions. Which, to be fair, are terrifying It's all in the latest Chick Lit 4 Life! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lc-lewis/message

We are back! Even a weird & confusingly specific increase in LC's normal job work couldn't keep us from finally getting our episode on Kate Solly's Tuesday Evenings at the Copeton Crochet Collective together! What do the girls get into? Well, we've got: - Crochet and it's power to bring people together - no seriously we've seen it - LC's Mam yarnbombs with her knitting club. It's serious shit - Racism, particularly as it pertains to people migrating from war or famine. A very timely issue in Ireland in 2023 - How having a bunch of young kids seems like the scariest thing in human existence, and Katie & Sersh get into the whole biological countdown they do be feeling - Yasmin's character - seriously we would have read a whole book just about her - The 'soft' racism that Yasmin has to deal with - that at least 2 of the girls could imagine themselves perpetrating without meaning to - Katie's head exploding from loving Harper's character, and digging that Sr Ruth wanted to help her, despite her being a nun and therefore the ANTIKATIE - The mindreading and judgement going on among the crochet group and how it reminded us of a LOT of the same things we do - Bad bitch energy and why Katie would thank Megan Thee Stallion for stepping on her neck Tangents? You got it - the girls also got into: - How K-Pop powerhouse Stray Kids are Austraian and so is Kate. We don't need more than that for a link you guys. Also Katie is cheating on BTS's Yoongi with SKZ Changbin. She's got a thing for Korean rappers… - Shout out to Buzzfeed getting Eric Nam to read thirst tweets. It's the best thing that has ever happened in the history of the world - And Sarah and Clee discussing having their period during bedroom dance party sessions. No seriously It's all here in the latest Chicklit4Life!! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lc-lewis/message

You guys - it's the last show of 2022! We were able to get one last book into the year - Kiley Dunbar's SPARKLING "Christmas at the Borrow A Bookshop"! Eagle-eyed listeners will know we've covered this book's predecessor in Series 6, and this second installment in the series is JUST as gorgeous! Topics covered include (but are not limited to): We love that it's not a Hallmark movie Christmas story. That would have triggered us too hardJowan is a bad bitch and Saoirse absolutely wouldMagnus and Alex falling in love at first sight and what that has to do with the unbearable lightness of being (oh we can get wanky if we want you guys)Magnus triggering all our internalised misogyny by being a feminist ICONThe Pride & Prejudice insertion and a related argument over whether that is better content than the time BTS's Jungkook's jacket couldn't withstand his pecsThe romance of someone taking responsibility for themselves for the sake of the other personBen being the actual worst. Seriously, he is lucky he's not a real person. He would have caught these handsThe whole book is a death defying balance between high romance, sexy sexual tension, proper melodrama and some serious old school action - anchored in people being human and understanding that dramatic stuff is transient - being okay in yourself is the one thing we can work towards as a constant. And we are HERE FOR IT Plus, it wouldn't have been an episode without some tangents right? We found ourselves talking, for some reason, about:  How we're freezingChloe's stance on bobble hatsBTS's Jin going into the military and the weirdly biased Wikipedia page about women in the Korean militaryWhat is quite possibly our very first masturbation joke ever (how did we make it this long?Katie's mam makes her own mince pies. No one is surprised. Though all her adorableness is harnessed at this time of the year to help the St Vincent de Paul Christmas appeal and we encourage our listeners to support similar organisations if they're in the position to do so :) It's all here in this week's Chick Lit 4 Life! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lc-lewis/message

You guys, do you have any idea - any idea - how romantic and compelling Malinda Lo's "Last Night At The Telegraph Club" is? Seriously, I hope you have all had your coffee because this is a WHIRLWIND of fangirling - including, but not limited to: The super intense level of grossness McCarthyism introduced for immigrant communities in the US in the 1950s (and what is McCarthyism anyway?*)Contradictory expectations of womanhood - what people want from you sexually vs what they want you to be in public. Which, from our view, was even worse for the community of young women in this bookHow sexuality and puberty can be really scary at the beginning (and all the way through, let's be real). And whether that makes us less sex-positive (we don't think it does. But we've been wrong before...)Kath is scarily similar to Katie and we don't know how we're only realising it nowFear for your own community making it next to impossible to empathise with others in a similar situation (and therefore, somehow, Chloe's first ever Woke Alert)How making a character's misery just a tad less miserable gets us as readers into their shoes SO much quicker (which, in turn, makes us just as miserable as they are, instead of just looking at someone suffering)Sarah saying "advantage" instead of "advances" and no one noticingClee and Katie saying "level" way too much, and have since signed up for a vocabulary building courseKatie getting too excited reading a bit from the book about a newspaper article and barely explains what she's talking about I mean, of course there are tangents - it wouldn't be CL4L without them! This week, the girls also talk: Poking your Mam in the boob age 4How Sarah has managed to pee herself while working outThe fact we can all have a go at each other and not worry about our friendship being affected by unsaid thingsThe girls' top 5 Katie Murphy intro songsBirth of the name "TeQuliodhna" I mean, it does NOT get better than that you guys! *If you want to read more about the effect of McCarthyism on the Asian American community we loved this article that PBS published as part of their “Asian American and Pacific Islander Experience” feature collection: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/mccarthy-numbed-with-fear-chinese-americans/ --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lc-lewis/message

Oh people, this episode of CL4L was supposed to be all sunshine and rainbows, discussing Mhairi McFarlane's sparkling "Mad About You", but somehow it ended up with Katie getting super upset about something her bloke Dave said, but it all getting twisted and her thinking Chloe and the girls think she's dumb or something for being with him in the first place? It was super weird, but luckily, that was only one small, weird-ass part of the show  We did get to talk about lovely book related things, including but not limited to: The energy Harriet puts into not allowing her past to define her being equal parts inspiring and sad-makingHow everyone in this novel gets the wrong end of the stick about something or someone and we are HERE for that type of content (and no the irony is not lost on us)Misreading your place in a relationship vs being possessive vs actual emotional abuse. And hell do we get into it you guysCal essentially being Ryan Gosling but in the North of England, also his shirts be real nice And we even had time for some non-Dave related sadness tangents! We got into: How Chloe can still broadcast effectively while ugly-cryingTom Segura and Bert Kreischer (Thicc Boy Nation Represent) having an unexpectedly strong influence on CleeChloe's improved KoreanHow we all have very different opinions on the whole incoming winter situation (Clee, for one, can't wait to get back into her standard issue ginger girl knitwear) It's all here in this month's Chick Lit 4 Life!! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lc-lewis/message

Oh gorgeous humans - the girls are back and they are COVID free! (Note: there is still a slight sinus infection within the group but that's not what we're here to talk about is it?!)  What we are we're here to talk at length about Bonnie Garmus's luminous "Lessons in Chemistry" and man alive we have much to say Points of note include: Respect = Love. You can't have one without the otherThe idea of being with someone and never running out of something to talk about is goalsA writing style and tone that treats inequality as the farce it is - more effective than a thousand angry monologuesJudgement and how it becomes a habit. Internalised migogyny turning women against each otherElizabeth having no one to lean on People are so much more than their trauma, and Elizabeth is kind of the president of that placeCloset allies and non-human hero allies (we can't handle how much we love Six-Thirty)The hate you catch when you find joy and live joyously on your own terms Tangents you ask? Oh they were plentiful. Including, but not limited to: LC's holiday to Gran Canaria has weirdly reminded the girls that they'll be out of their teens soon. No we don't know how that happened eitherTalking about BTS's upcoming break to work on solo projects led to some weird ass conspiracy theories we were NOT prepared for...Chloe low-key bullying Sarah because she does Multimedia and not Science (Chloe has since apologised)Chloe coins the phrases "You can't beat a bit of Regency Ridin" and "Queen to Queen Combat". You're all welcome Lessons in Chemistry is available at all reputable booksellers - YOU NEED IT IN YOUR LIFE --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lc-lewis/message

Beautiful people, MAGNIFICENT people! We are back and we are ready to talk about the last book in our series on People What We Love Loads - Elaine Feeney's "As You Were"! Points of note include: Clee is quite taken with Elaine. Like it could be a problemThese characters being some of the most compelling we've seen in FOREVERThe toll that patriarchal abuse takes on a person - often turning them into someone doling out their own share of pain to othersThe indignity of illnessIs taking a decision out of someone's hands or keeping secrets to protect someone a good or bad thing?And a healthy aside about the atrocity that was the Irish Mother & Baby Home industry (Katie insisted we term it as such) Tangents you ask? Oh they were plentiful. Including, but not limited to: The 2011 performance poetry crew, of which LC was briefly partSaoirse doesn't need your thoughts and prayers. No seriously. She'll scratch your eyes right out manChloe's boobs are unexpectedly climate consciousChloe needing to go to Vegas to see BTS - and the fact the girls all went to see the PTS in Seoul show a week or 2 agoCliodhna, Saoirse and Chloe can still remember all of the stuff a bishop carries around with him. They insist they are not religious. Katie is still not talking to them.  As You Were is available at all reputable booksellers - go get yourselves a copy! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lc-lewis/message

Oh holy crap you guys. Today, we are not here to talk about just any book. We are here to talk about the new novel from the QUEEN of warm, affecting, hilarious fiction herself, MS MARIAN KEYES (thunderous applause) Not only are we talking a new Marian Keyes novel, we are also talking a return to our beloved Walsh family, and arguably our favourite Walsh - Rachel! When we last saw Rachel in The Mystery of Mercy Close she was happily married to sexy, tight-pantsed Luke and living in New York as a serene addiction therapist. But now she's back in Ireland and has had many changes in her life. What's going on and WHY ARE WE SO TRAUMATIZED BY THE FAMILY TREE GRAPHIC AT THE BEGINNING Points of note include: The aforementioned Most Traumatizing Family Tree Graphic Ever DrawnThe Walshes and OH MY GOD HOW MUCH WE LOVE THEMAddiction and the reality of how it effects so so many of us - more than we're willing to admitThe effect of trauma on your reality The corrosive nature of shameThe undeniable human miracle of recoveryAnd how we are 100% on board with Mammy Walsh's funeral demands Tangents you ask? Oh they were plentiful. Including, but not limited to: Chloe's weirdly specific fantasy about buying wind chimes with Queen Marian in Busan, South Korean (before or after marrying BTS's Jungkook, she is not particular)The theory that success in business is inextricably linked to the volume and quality of your coat wardrobe, and hence the cultural moment that was K-Drama Itaewon ClassA very strange interlude about Chloe's fanny and Soap and Glory products (don't ask)An introduction to Saoirse and Cliodhna's plant babiesKatie's middle name is Veronica and for some reason that's hilarious"Childhood horseriding = abnormally muscular adult calves" Again, Rachel is out on 17-Feb, pre-order your copy now. NOW DAMNIT! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lc-lewis/message

Romance? Suffragettes? WWI? Mustard Gas? BTS's Kim Seokjin and the magic of his "Super Tuna" (not a euphemism)  I mean, if that's what we're talking in this month's episode on Susan Lanigan's "White Feathers" we better all strap in folks. To give the briefest of overviews, we've got: Ashling Murphy's murder and how we wish the other women killed last year (some as recently as 3 weeks ago) had the same public responseWhat is a Bluestocking anyway"Finishing School" sounds like the most depressing thing in the worldThe Evil Stepmother - is this a trope simply because evil stepmothers ran rampant at one time?How much we love a complicated "horrible" character - and Eva's sister Grace is exactly one of thoseHow familial support is different depending on what your parents experience is growing up - if someone grew up in poverty, is keeping you out of it enough for protection?And is a relationship with a teacher EVER okay? Tangents? Well I mean, obviously: Our shared anger over the murder of Ashling Murphy AND the other unmentioned women killed recently in IrelandChloe's imaginary wedding to BTS's Jungkook (yes again)Seriously, when is BTS's Jin going to get a Pultizer for Super Tuna?Katie's Dad's carA whistlestop tour through Cliodhna's therapy scheduleAnd the fact that Katie still isn't 100% sure what gaslighting is, no matter how many times she (incorrectly) uses the term That and the birth of the hashtag "WWI Germans are people too" It's all here in this month's Chick Lit 4 Life! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lc-lewis/message

We did it!! We finally got our episode on Deirdre Sullivan's Perfectly Preventable Deaths and Precious Catastophe recorded and posted! I mean, the girls have much to share, with at least 60% of said sharing being on how much we LOVE Deirdre, seriously she is the actual best, we cannot. But if we were to try to quantify what it is we have to say in this episode, we've got: - Which do we like better – the humour or the lyricism? The question that nearly tears the friend group apart (not really) - Mamó being an actual beast and then the wise woman archetype in general - Predatory behaviour and how it’s permitted to just exist because we don’t really have the toolkit to combat it - Ownership of human souls being a focus, and the main threat in both books - The strength of sisterhood being the main power that fights that threat - And of course, the most important erotic chimney metaphor of recent times Tangents? I don't know if we did go on any tangents... (JK OF COURSE WE DID): - Chloe’s been 공부해ing her Korean - Clee’s trapezius muscle is still terrifying - Saoirse and Sarah geek out considerably about Dwayne The Rock Johnson and lament the loss of Glenn Greenwald to sad, sad media criticism - Astroworld and whether the Kardashians are agents of evil or women being real about the time, money and medical expertise involved in maintaining that body type - How Chloe says the word “elegant” - LC’s sister’s sexy, sexy BTS fanfic. Again. - Irish death notices on the radio (no it’s NOT weird) - Chloe’s Granny Nolan is beyond terrifying - You can make Katie understand almost anything by comparing it to Series 7 of The Simpsons - Of course following that we go on quite the tangent about the words “embiggen” and “cromulent” Like...that's enough isn't it?  --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lc-lewis/message

And we're back! In the second episode of Series 6 the girls get their teeth into Amita Murray's DELICIOUS "Arya Winters and the Tiramisu of Death" (available Oct 26!). The girls get into what rudeness is really, how childhood trauma infects present day relationships and how frozen custard might just be the answers to all of the world's problems. I mean if we want to get into it: - The beauty of getting to know a character right from the get-go (cold open optional) - Lots of mates vs few mates (small talk optional) - Seriously, frozen custard is the answer - We all can't handle how much we LOVE Veronica Chives - How insanely rewarding this book was to read - Seriously we can't handle how much we love Arya as a character And I mean, of course there were tangents. What are we if not queens of the tangent as an art form my friends? What we got down to (tangent-wise) was: - We're all sick and our keyboards are gross - Transphobia and now Katie can't enjoy Dave Chappelle no more - BTS's Suga taking us to the gun show and the healing powers of same  - The Gay Agenda vs Clee's gay agenda - Katie's brothers are dicks and have ruined every movie twist ever - and Chloe doesn't listen to the Japanese BTS albums and therefore is a socialist (no we don't understand either) It's all here this week in Chick Lit 4 Life! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lc-lewis/message

And we’re back! In the first episode of Series 6 the girls get stuck into our first “People What We Heart Loads” in Kiley Dunbar and her Borrow A Bookshop Holiday! The girls talk (and disagree mainly) on whether trauma makes a story worthwhile, the merit of light or romantic fiction in general and how Kim Namjoon of BTS fame works as a disguised leading man I mean if we want to get into it: - Why do we feel bad about reading books where trauma isn’t front and centre - And the thing is, there was plenty in this book to dig into trauma-wise, it just wasn’t the focus of the whole piece - Romantic fiction as a celebration of when we FINALLY get to win, even just for a second - And yes, Kiley cast BTS’s RM as her leading man DON’T EVEN TRY TELL US DIFFERENT!! Tangents? You got it! Briefly: - We are still bitterly jealous of that girl from primary school that always had packs of tissues with her - Cliodhna and Sarah have both considered joining a convent at least once in their young lives. Seriously, we’re not even messing - WB Yeats remains the creepiest poet in our experience - We were not prepared to enjoy the BTS/Coldplay collaboration and we do not know how to feel about it - Chloe is not over the UN plane outfits and may never get over it - Also we’re coming for that creepy IT guy what comes on to first years. Boy better watch his back It’s all here in this week’s Chick Lit 4 Life!! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lc-lewis/message

Gang! We are finally back with our sixth and final episode in our LGBTQ+ series – this time with Ciara Smyth’s warm and affecting “The Falling In Love Montage” This is just the way we wanted to finish our toughest series yet – with a strawberry sorbet of sexual tension, class one-liners and a chewy centre of aniseed flavoured existential angst (I think we can all agree that is exactly how angst tastes, fight me in the carpark later if you disagree. In discussing said flavour bomb of romantic same-sex awesome, the girls get into: How refreshing it is (See? Strawberry sorbet!) after all the tough and US dominated reads we’ve had over the last few months, to have a current Irish love story based around someone that is the same age as the girls with the same concerns we have. Except maybe her super-hot summer girlfriend. We don’t have that... Unfortunately...How we can get caught up in having answers and working towards huge life goals, at the expense of our own happiness and well-beingHow that, when you start to get over that and open yourself up to experiences -  despite romance being very much alive, true love may not conquer allAnd that’s not the worst thing in the world. Not reallyClee and Sarah share how Saoirse (book Saoirse, not our Sersh – they say their names differently, it’ll make more sense when you listen to it) and her experience of family life resonated with them on a very deep levelOh and Ruby being the ACTUAL hotness Tangents? Sure thing: Well K has written what might be our forever theme tune which is VERY exciting!Chloe, naturally, went on a 5 minute monologue about JK’s see-through pyjamas he insisted on wearing on a Live cast a few weeks ago (she’s okay. Just about)She did also share her thoughts after re-reading Twilight not that long ago (disclaimer: Chlo-Chlo was disappointed)Clee shares her experiences with people treating her like she’s “Hetero-Girl Classic (now in cherry flavour!)” when she’s actually anything butAnd, of course, how we can’t figure out what it is we liked about Love, Actually in the first place. Except maybe that Joni Mitchell song... It's all here on our latest episode of Chick Lit 4 Life! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lc-lewis/message

Well, it's been aaaages (due to LC having to do a hell of a lot of late nights for her day job - don't ask) but we're back with Episode 5 of our series on LGBTQ+ authors, this time on Leslie Feinberg's acclaimed "Stone Butch Blues". In discussing our most affecting examination of the LGBTQ+ experience, the girls get into: Stone Butch Blues being, straight up, a critical novel in our learning about the historical experience of gay women when living a gay lifestyle or presenting as gender nonbinary was straight up illegal Trigger warning: This episode discusses physical abuse and rape – a lot. Because it happened a lot to these characters we loved. That’s why we need to talk about it and show it in the way it’s shown in the book. But if that is a source of trauma for you please be aware before listening, or indeed reading Stone Butch Blues. It’s important to note that this story is restricted to the experience of a white gay woman, presenting as gender non-binary in 1950s America, but this is also something the author is very clear about – with Jess learning from her friends of colour what their struggles at the intersection of racism and homophobia are. And we experience the effects of that on her loved ones along with her This book isn’t for the faint-hearted. Or maybe it is. We need to look the vile things our predecessors did head on. We are the better for reading about people we would have known or been related to or loved, dehumanising these people simply because they did not understand the way they live their lives But I mean, of course there were tangents: Chloe has named her new haircut. She’s that excited about it Chloe and Katie get into a fight over the symbolic nature of the Purple balloon in the Permission to Dance video – Katie's likely more accurate but Chloe’s theory is a LOT more entertaining Interestingly Chloe did also come up with her latest possible t-shirt phrase “Men, lesbians want nothing to do with your gross little willies” Followed closely by Cliodhna’s “Lesbian Minesweeper Wiz” And not so much a tangent but definitely something we want to be aware of – given the anti-capitalist stance of the author we do not have ads for this week’s episode (even if they are made up and not for anything real). Instead LC is sharing information on LGBTQ+ resources It's all here on our latest episode of Chick Lit 4 LIfe! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lc-lewis/message

OMG I know we’ve been gone forever but we swear it was for a good reason. Our disappearance aside, our 4th episode in Series 5 is now LIVE! The girls discuss #TheSubtweet, our first novel by a trans author - #VivekShraya (@vivekshraya – follow her for fierceness, hair goals, and playsuit game that has forced us to face our preconceptions of femininity. Seriously, she’s that good) The Subtweet is a warm, moving and upsettingly accurate depiction of friendship between women and the havoc the ‘Likes=Acceptance’ Algorithm™ can wreak on it. Throw in a good dose of white privilege marginalizing talented af brown women, world-building songs that exist in real life and a touch of feminist theory and you’ve got yourself quite the immersive book my friends. The Subtweet is available at all reputable booksellers (buy independent where you can!) and is available on Kindle and Apple Books! Stream Vivek Shraya’s/Too Attached’s music on Spotify or Apple Music and catch Neela and Rukmini’s versions of Every Song on there while you’re at it! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lc-lewis/message

And we're back! The girls' third book of Series 5 on LGBTQ+ authors is Gabby Rivera's joyous "Juliet Takes a Breath". While fangirling over, quite possibly the most lovable main character we have ever come across, the girls talk: - First and foremost, how we CANNOT HANDLE how much we love Juliet. Seriously. Why is she fictional? We need to hang out with her IMMEDIATELY - Juliet's journey after she comes out, and how her foundation of love with her family makes it even more affecting - How Juliet's tendency to get overwhelmed, freak out, but then do the thing anyway makes her our actual hero, move over Beyoncé - How through doing that, Juliet identifies and creates her own relationship with feminism - Speaking of feminism, Juliet (and hence the girls) talk about where white lady feminism falls short - Not to mention all of the super-gross parts of ourselves and our behaviour we came across in that discussion - Plus our further fangirling over Titi Wepa and cousin Ava, Kira The Hot Librarian ™, and a lot of oversharing on how Juliet's Mam, as an imperfect, loving mother, makes us cry like bitches Oh, you want to hear about the tangents? Well... - Chloe goes in unnecessary depth into the BangBangCon experience and the gif-only conversation she and Clee had during it - Clee can't speak spanish (we disagree) and Chloe can't say many of the words for "vagina" (we heartily disagree) - Though we should use this opportunity to say this week's episode has some stronger language than usual, listener discretion is advised - Oh and speaking of listener discretion... - We found out during recording that our very own Katie Murphy has guest written some sexy fanfic with LC's baby sister @btsfantasty on Instagram. She is not happy that we know about it, but that is part of the fun All that and muchos fangirling over how much we seriously want to be best mates with Juliet despite her fictional status, on this episode of Chick Lit 4 Life! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lc-lewis/message

And we're back! The girls' second book of Series 5 on LGBTQ+ authors is Ilana Masad's stunning "All My Mothers Lovers". In discussing possibly our most divisive main character to date, the girls talk: Said divisive main character - is Maggie super selfish or just grieving the loss of her mother in her own way?How the grieving process can have you come to terms with your parents' humanity, often too latethe reality of desire - and how we can be boxed in by what qualities are "acceptable" to be attracted toWe also get into the differences between the Hindu god Shiva and the Jewish tradition of shiva. Which is not something I thought I'd ever be typing. Are there tangents? Why do you ask questions you definitely know the answer to? We have some Miocic Ngannou pregame excitement and a plug for The Bash with Petesy and Niall if that's what you're intoSome discussion on Chloe's granny sounding like the most terrifying person everBTS not getting a Grammy but we have their upcoming Japanese album to look forward toBut despite that, we can't co-opt Takeshi Murakami's intellectual property just because it flawlessly symbolises everything J-Hope is. Oh man we love him so much For all that, PLUS an update on whether Deano has returned to the Two Tyres One Chain family (#ComeHomeDeano) tune in to the latest episode of Chick Lit 4 Life! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lc-lewis/message

And we're back! The girls' first book of Series 5 on LGBTQ+ authors is Rita Mae Brown's bestselling "Rubyfruit Jungle". In discussing (arguably) the first lesbian protagonist in popular culture, the girls talk: - The effect of a shining superhero lead character in tackling oppression - How that makes us feel as gals that love a bit of emotional struggle and nuance - Interestingly, how Molly's self-belief trips our (super-Irish) "Notions" alarm, and how that's just very uncomfortable - Plus Chloe Cullen in her best dramatic performance to date! And we did not go on one tangent! Okay that was a lie. We did foray into - How OBSESSED we are with all the people making epoxy resin charms and jewellery on Instagram, we just CANT with you people!! - Saoirse's unwavering dedication to PopSugar fitness videos. And the fact that she does them with no shoes on. Which we insist is weird. It IS weird, right?! - And of course, finally, Katie's crazy forehead-vein. We don't know how it took so long to bring it up to be honest  It's all here in this week's Chick Lit 4 Life! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lc-lewis/message

Another year, another round of book talk the girls need to have! The girls' first book of 2021 and the last in our series about authors of colour is Cho Nam-Ju's feminist powerhouse "Kim Jiyoung, Born 1982". In discussing this stark novel's approach to laying out the cadaver that is misogyny and disregard for women, girls, sisters and mothers, the girls talk: - The physical and mental health issues motherhood and pregnancy present (and we had NO IDEA) - Sexual assault and how small actions build up over time (why are you feeling our bra straps?!) - What if sexism isn't just an outdated societal rule? What if it's a tradition? One that we're proud of? - How sexism affects children (maybe it's NOT adorable when little boys bully the girls they like!) - and how having the luxury of choice changes everything Plus, I mean, there were always gonna be tangents, right? - With our first Korean novel, we had to go into how Run BTS! and our K-Drama obsessions informed our enjoyment of the book, right? - Not to mention Katie's, ahem, flawless pronunciation? (She cannot say 승연 to save her life) - Way more apologising than we've seen on previous episodes - maybe the subject matter brought us closer as a group? - AND, the piece de resistance, Deano from 2 Tyres, 1 Chain fame advertising his one-man musical, Deano - Nice to Meetchyou (working title) It's all here in this week's Chick Lit 4 Life! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lc-lewis/message

Well this is surprising...we managed to get this episode up despite LC working like an IDIOT the last few weeks. GO TEAM This week the girls get stuck into Banana Yoshimoto's classic "Kitchen",  discussing, among other things: -Are we reading the author or the translator? - How the abnormal becomes normal once it's your everyday life - Is Chloe as goodlookin as Eriko? (spoiler: She really isn't) - Anger over misgendering and how it's pretty cool it's an automatic response now - The life within inanimate objects in a home - Loss and how it manifests for different people - Soulmates Vs Settling - Normals (aggresively normal people in your life) vs AbNormals (the opposite. Obvs) - Mammy & Daddy Murphy being couple goals  Did the girls go on tangents you ask? Well if the following count as tangents given they had NOTHING TO DO WITH WHAT WE WERE TALKING ABOUT: - Hanger. Seriously. - Coco pops v s granola bars and the foodiest Easter Eggs we've ever done (Except for katie's. Because she's the worst) - The Grammys and whether prizes are something to get excited over - What the Queen of England's treehouse probably looks like - The faces Chloe pulls when she's dancing - A listening party for the highlight of the new BTS album - Dis-Ease All this and a LOT of cackling, right here at Chick Lit 4 Life! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/lc-lewis/message