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Bookish Flights: Books, Author Interviews & Must-Read Recommendations
Bookish Flights is the place to talk books and reading. This podcast focuses on connection, storytelling and the transformative power of books. Each episode invites guests to share the three books that have influenced them, unlocking their wisdom and how it changed their lives. Books are a bridge that connects us, a remedy for loneliness, and the best conversational currency to be the most interesting person in the room! Rooted in the belief that stories shape who we are, this podcast brings people together through a shared love of literature. Perfect for book lovers, Bookish Flights inspires listeners to discover the books that can shape their own lives.
You will love this show If you have ever asked:
- What are the best fiction and non-fiction books to read?
- Which books should I add to my reading list?
- How can I find more time to read?
- What are the best books for exploring new genres?
- What books are perfect for my kids?
- What is the publishing journey like for authors?
- What books do my favorite authors love to read?
Discover book recommendations across a wide range of genres, including historical fiction, romantasy, rom-coms, mysteries, thrillers and personal development. Check out the website www.bookishflights.com to see book club picks and the wide range of book flights.
Bookish Flights: Books, Author Interviews & Must-Read Recommendations
That’s What Friends Are For: Aging, Authenticity, & Found Family with Wade Rouse (E201)
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In today’s episode, I sit down with USA Today, Publishers Weekly, and internationally bestselling author Wade Rouse. Many readers know Wade by his pen name, Viola Shipman, his grandmother’s name chosen to honor the woman whose stories and heirlooms inspire his fiction. But this novel marks something new. That’s What Friends Are For is the first book he has published under his own name. Inspired by The Golden Girls, the novel follows four gay men “of a certain age” who have built a vibrant chosen family in Palm Springs, until an unexpected family arrival begins to unravel long-held secrets.
Episode Highlights:
- Why Wade chose his grandmother’s name as his pen name
- What publishing under his own name represents at this stage of his life
- The Golden Girls inspiration behind “The Golden Gays”
- Writing about aging in America
- The power of found family and chosen friendship
- Humor as a doorway to deeper emotional truth
- The legacy behind his beloved Viola Shipman novels
If you have ever built family beyond blood, navigated reinvention, or believe friendship carries us through life’s hardest seasons, this episode is for you.
Connect with Wade:
Show Notes
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Books and authors mentioned in the episode:
- Erma Bombeck books
- David Sedaris books
- I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron
- Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs
- The Last of the Savages by Jay McInerney
- Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger
- So Old, So Young by Grant Ginder
Book Flight
- Awake by Jen Hatmaker
- The Forget-Me-Not Library by Heather Webber
- Hazel Says No by Jessica Berger Gross
✨ Find Your Next Great Read! We just hit 175 episodes of Bookish Flights, and to celebrate, I created the Bookish Flights Roadmap — a guide to all 175 podcast episodes, sorted by genre to help you find your next great read faster.
Explore it here → www.bookishflights.com/read/roadmap
Be sure to join the Bookish Flights community on social media. Happy listening!