Bookmarked with Becca Freeman

Welcome to Bookmarked, a new interview series where our favorite bookish people share recommendations and rituals for reading.

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Welcome to the first installment of Bookmarked, a new newsletter series where our favorite writers, readers, and other bookish people share their reading recommendations and rituals. We’re kicking off the series with a conversation between Alisha and writer

Becca Freeman

, which is full of fun thoughts on reading as self-care, finding the time for books, and more. We hope you enjoy! Have thoughts on one of her recs, or one of your own to share? Let us know in the comments. –Aliza

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1. Becca, please tell us about yourself!

   I’m a writer and podcast host living in Brooklyn, NY. My debut novel, THE CHRISTMAS ORPHANS CLUB, comes out on 9/26.

2. You've publicly shared the journey of pitching and writing your new book on Instagram and the Bad on Paper podcast while working on it. How has this transparency impacted your work? It’s been pretty amazing.

   During the writing process, I used listeners/followers as non-complicit accountability partners. I felt like I had to keep going because I’d talked about the project. Now that the book is being published, it’s been incredible to see people get to read it after hearing about every step of the process.

3. What advice has been most helpful (or least helpful :)) to you in your writing process?

   Most helpful: first drafts are supposed to suck! Reading the essay Shitty First Drafts by Anne Lamott made me feel so much better about my own first draft.

4. Is there anything else about the book you want to share?

   While I love reading romances, I was really excited to write a book about long-term platonic friendships and chosen families. They’re topics that are so close to my heart that I don’t see portrayed enough as central plotlines (especially in holiday content!).

Q&A - ON READING

5. What’s your reading routine or ritual?

   If I don’t have plans, I read for a few hours after dinner or love to sit on my couch and gulp down an entire book on a Saturday (bonus points if it’s raining and I can do so guilt-free). I’m generally a physical book reader (as opposed to Kindle) and also a dogear-er (controversial, I know). Usually, I’ll give a book 50 pages and if I’m not into it I’ll DNF. Life’s too short to read books you’re not enjoying!

6. What's your ideal reading setup?

   I have no reading ritual. I’ll read anywhere and everywhere. But my favorite kind of reading is at a pool on vacation!

7. What’s your favorite indie bookstore?

   I love Books Are Magic in Brooklyn, and am dying to check out the newly-opened Ripped Bodice (a romance-only bookstore!), which opened a Brooklyn location recently.

8. How and where do you discover new books to read?

   I’m a huge Goodreads user and love to stalk what friends are reading there. I also get a lot of recs from Bookstagram (NYCbookgirl, BookswithTay, SCSReads, and BeachReadsandBubbly all have very similar reading tastes to my own). And I follow a lot of authors on IG and love to see what they’re reading!

9. Do you have any advice for those who want to read more?

   Find books you enjoy and don’t want to put down instead of reading books you feel like you’re *supposed* to read! Maybe that means picking up a YA fantasy novel (I devoured Fourth Wing!) or a steamy romance (Business or Pleasure by Rachel Lynn Solomon had me looking like this emoji 🥵) instead of that *very important 800-page biography*.

QUICK ROUND: BOOK RECS!