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Francesca Krihely-Price's avatar

I’m reading “Barbarians at the Gate” about the takeover of RJR Nabisco with some friends and we have a group chat called “cookie wars” which is delightful. The book is a classic for a reason and it’s epically long — we’re all listening on audible and it’s a whole day’s long! — which makes it feel like an accomplishment akin to reading the Power Broker. I love books like this — Liars Poker is one of my favorite books! — so finding this story of gossip, drama and financial engineering poorly handled by some rich dudes is so entertaining during this cold ghastly winter.

Alisha Ramos's avatar

omg this sounds amazing hahaha.

Francesca Krihely-Price's avatar

Any book is amazing with friends

Erin's avatar

I am such a HUGE fan of Normal Gossip. For the folks interested, I recommend the following eps the most (in no particular order): Ready to be Bunco, Spot the Scammer, Righteous Lesbian Energy.

Allie's avatar

Spot the Scammer is s-tier !!! I always tell people to listen to this to get them into the pod.

Erin's avatar

The flamingo lamp is top-tier Normal Gossip lore now!

Alisha Ramos's avatar

Thank you for the ep recs!!

Lucy's avatar

This is such a delight, I love Normal Gossip and have looked forward to new episodes coming out every Wednesday since the beginning! Can't wait to read Kelsey's book. I get a kick out of LinkedIn drama-for example, when someone reveals a new job and on the surface, it just looks like news about an exciting new opportunity, but there are a select few people who know about any drama that occurred in the lead-up to that post (very rarely am I one of those select few, but I have to confess that I really enjoy when it happens!).

Alisha Ramos's avatar

Ha! I must say, I really miss office and industry drama.

Amanda D's avatar

Love this-adding book to my list!

Sandra Mansour's avatar

ooh, I like how it seems McKinney was both critical and supportive of gossip even in this short interview.

Shannon Pryor's avatar

I just finished Party of One which I loved including the references to Real Self-Care and The Other Significant Others which were also excellent.

Allie's avatar

Normal Gossip has gotten me through MANY marathon training cycles! I will re-listen to episodes simply to distract myself during long runs. I cannot wait to read this and might have to opt for the audiobook as I start training for my next race!!

Bhairavi Chand's avatar

Hi! not nonfiction but I have been loving the Binti novella series by Nnedi Okorafor! makes me want to read more afrofuturism.

Alisha Ramos's avatar

I've just finished her latest novel - need to check this out!

Steph Gregerson's avatar

I need something different than true crime, but I did just finish The Devil at his Elbow about the Murdaugh family, and it was really interesting.

Angela Dahl's avatar

I'm a LONGTIME fan of Normal Gossip, so excited to read Kelsey's new book!!!

Lindsey E's avatar

I would love to read this book! I try hard not to gossip but it seems to be such a natural part of female bonding.

Alanna's avatar

I am so intrigued by this book and would love to read it! Gossip is such a strange thing.. it can do so much damage but it also seems like an integral part of the human condition? So interesting! <3

Emily's avatar

I've been on the search for a new podcast, and Normal Gossip sounds like it's the perfect fit (looking forward to starting with the family lore episode, especially as we're uncovering a lot of lore and secrets in my husband's family history!).

I recently started listening to Anna Marie Tendler's memoir "Men Have Called Her Crazy" - she was previously married to John Mulaney, so I'm really looking forward to learning more about her and her perspectives on what happened to their marriage (as that was all over the internet a couple of years ago).

Ashley Dobson's avatar

Love this interview and the perspective on Baldoni vs. Lively! I'm excited to read this book!

Sophia's avatar

I love the Normal Gossip podcast! I like ruminating on the ways in how we define "toxic" gossip versus productive venting. Is it still gossip if it concerns public faces? Government?

Alisha Ramos's avatar

Yes, this! I've been thinking a lot about the role of gossip and the government, in light of everything happening these days.

Claire Frisby's avatar

I love this topic and the idea of exploring it deeper. The lack of water cooler talk is the worst, and this was such a fun Q&A.