Advertise on podcast: Booked & Busy w/ Olivia Ponton

Ana Huang has written a LOT of characters… so what happens when you put them all at one dinner table? I gave Ana a seating chart, two heads of the table (Bridget and Dante, obviously) and one rule: maximum drama. Who's getting stuck next to King Petty?? xoxo,Olivia

Hiii angels! Today I'm sitting down with my BookTok crush, the queen of steamy romance and the mastermind behind the Anaverse, Miss Ana Huang!! 👸 The Twisted series has had a hold on me for YEARS (Twisted Games forever… princess and bodyguard, iykyk), and her newest book The Keeper is out October 27th and closes out the Gods of the Game series.We get into the one TikTok that launched her career, which morally gray man would actually make the best real-life boyfriend, and where all the Dante Russos in New York are hiding. This is our last episode until the new year, so you DO NOT want to miss this one! xoxo, Olivia 🎀 #booktube #anahuang #twistedseries #bookish

Not sure which Colleen Hoover book to pick up next, or even where to start? I gave Colleen a few real-life situations and she matched each one to the book she'd recommend, plus she reveals the couple she loves most and a secret connection hiding between some of her books! 🎀🪽 What would she recommend for YOU? xoxo,Olivia Timestamps00:04-00:23 - Which Colleen book should you read?00:24-01:48 - Going through a breakup (November 9 & All Your Perfects)01:49-02:10 - Why she ends every writing day on a funny note02:11-02:58 - Falling in love (Heart Bones)02:59-04:19 - The secret Finding Cinderella connection

Hiii angels!! 🪽 I genuinely cannottt believe I'm typing this, but today I am sitting down with THE Colleen Hoover 🎀🎀 ...the author behind 26+ books and the reason so many of us became readers in the first place! With the Verity movie finally here, we are obviously getting into Dakota, Anne and Josh, plus the secret origin of Woman Down, her next thriller, and why her husband is banned from reading her books. And yes… I finally asked her: letter or manuscript?? iykyk You DO NOT want to miss this one! xoxo, Olivia 🎀

Veronica Roth got to watch the idea she wrote in college get built in her own city - gravel poured over the streets, the Ferris wheel painted to look worn, and an entire El car built from scratch by the crew. She's taking us behind the scenes of Divergent, including the one set that made her cry the first time she saw it. xoxo,Olivia Timestamps00:00-00:06 Can we talk about the movie?00:07-00:26 On the set in Chicago00:27-00:44 Turning Chicago into a dystopia00:45-01:08 The Ferris wheel & Shailene Woodley01:09-02:11 Watching the cast and crew work02:12-02:38 Building the pit02:39-03:04 Rebuilding an El car03:05-03:40 Her favorite scene: the choosing ceremony

Hi angels! Today I'm sitting down with the woman who built the world that raised me - Veronica Roth!! She wrote Divergent over winter break of her senior year of college, and I have been waiting YEARS to ask her my Tris and Four questions. Her new book The Sixth Faction comes out October 6th, and it takes Tris back to the choosing ceremony and sends her somewhere else entirely. We hold a choosing ceremony for our beverages (we agreed on nothing), she tells me why she went back to this world after all these years, and then I make her sort Xaden, Hermione and Katniss into factions. You DO NOT want to miss this one! xoxo, Olivia

SURPRISE, ANGELS!!! This is an exclusive sit-down Booked, Blonde & Busy conversation with the incredible cast of Verity. I had the honor of sitting with Anne Hathaway, Dakota Johnson & Josh Hartnett to talk about the headboard bites, their favorite scenes they filmed, and the way they got into the twisted world of Verity.  xoxo  Olivia 🎀

I've been cheated on in nearly every relationship I've ever had...so I asked a licensed therapist the question I can't stop thinking about: why do people do it? Kier Gaines breaks down what's really going on in a cheater's brain (spaghetti and a dirty chicken wing are involved), then we get into over-functioning and why so many of us work ourselves into the ground.  xoxo,Olivia  Timestamps00:04-02:25 Olivia's cheating hot take 02:26-04:10 Why do people cheat? 04:11-05:33 What's going on in a cheater's brain? 05:34-06:44 Would you stay? 06:45-07:42 A reason, not an excuse 07:43-08:49 Trust & miscommunication 08:50-10:19 What is overfunctioning? 10:20-12:18 When work bleeds into everything 12:19-14:52 Finding the root of overfunctioning

Hey Angels! Today I'm sitting down with a licensed therapist who has DEFINITELY been on your For You page - the one and only Kier Gaines! His new book It All Starts When You Do: How to Do the Real Work of Self-Healing just came out, and it had me rethinking my own life choices (in the best way)... We get into claiming your baggage, why "have healed" hits different than "healed," and I get real about a friendship breakup I still can't shake. Then I put Xaden, Maven and Johnny on the therapy couch, and Kier does NOT go easy on our book boyfriends. You DO NOT want to miss this one! xoxo, Olivia  Timestamps Intro/Bev of the Day 00:29-01:39 Sour Apple Is Bad ? 01:40-02:42 Who is Kier Gaines? 02:43-03:33 The biggest misconception about Kier 03:37-06:41 60-second pitch of It All Starts When You Do 06:42-09:34 What's your pebble? 09:35-11:04 How do you slow down in NYC? 11:05-12:42 Getting asked for a pic mid-fight 12:43-14:17 How to tell a fan "not right now" 14:18-15:03 Practice saying no 15:04-18:05 How social media targets men vs women 18:06-20:23 Men with feminine energy 20:24-21:16 Most of Kier's clients are women?! 21:17-23:07 Why men talk shoulder to shoulder 23:08-24:17 What do men vs women talk about in therapy? 24:18-26:50 "Healed" vs "have healed" 26:51-27:53 Living with depression 27:57-30:30 Olivia's friendship breakup 30:31-33:22 Kier's follow-up questions 33:23-34:01 Drinking friends vs sober friends 34:02-36:09 Should Olivia reach back out? 36:13-37:10 What is a book boyfriend? 37:11-39:37 Book boyfriend 1: Xaden (Fourth Wing) 39:38-41:01 Book boyfriend 2: Maven (Red Queen) 41:02-43:25 Book boyfriend 3: Johnny (Binding 13) 43:26-44:28 The best-friend-of-the-month friend

Growing up on the Upper East Side, author Alexandra Andrews is all too familiar with the secret lives of the ultra-wealthy, and is not afraid to write about it in her book The Fine Art of Lying.  From art auctions, archaeology, and a lifestyle so absurd it will have you asking… is this actually what people do with their free time??  xoxo,  Olivia  Timestamps 00:04-01:30 Archeology  01:31-02:29 Art auction politics

Hi angels! 🪽 Today I am sitting down with one of the hottest authors on the market right now, Miss Alexandra Andrews! She writes sexy thrillers with complicated, morally gray women and we are so obviously here for it. 💁‍♀️ Her newest book The Fine Art of Lying has not only consumed my brain for the last few weeks, but is also Reese’s Book Club pick for the month of May AND an adaptation is already in the works with Scarlett Johansson attached. Watch while we discuss Alexandra’s writing process, from plotting out all the crazy twists to how her daughter inspires her. xoxo, Olivia 🎀

This week, we get a rare peek behind the curtain of women’s HERstory.  Lifelong feminist Dannielle Robay joins us today to give us ALL the details about Gloria Steinem's Talking Circles, a tradition that's shaped generations of feminist conversation, and why it still matters today. xoxo,Olivia

Hi angels! I couldn't be more excited about this week's guest, Danielle Robay!👸👠Known as the Queen of Questions, she hosts not one but TWO iconic podcasts: Reese Witherspoon's book club podcast "Bookmarked" and her own show "Question Everything," where she interrogates the most interesting people alive. Today, we're flipping the script and putting HER in the hot seat.We're asking her about her love of books, how she's developed her interview style, and where her curiosity comes from — and maybe I'll pick up a few nuggets of wisdom for my own interviewing along the way.You don't want to miss this one, babes!coxo,Olivia 🎀Timestamps:00:28-02:45 Intro/Bev of the Day02:46-05:06 Danielle’s likes & hobbies05:44-08:54 What’s it like interviewing for a living?08:55-11:55 Favorite authors to interview11:56-14:55 Learning from others vs experience14:56-19:44 Advice for interviewing Chapter 119:48-25:06 Danielle’s reading journey 25:07-27:37 Hosting Bookmarked (Reese’s Book Club podcast)27:38-30:06 Getting into fantasy booksChapter 230:10-35:35 Booktok vs “institutional” book world35:36-37:18 What Danielle’s reading now37:19-40:12 How do you read 100 books a year??40:13-41:41 Books every girl should readChapter 341:46-45:22 Rapid fire book recs45:22-45:51 Wrap up!#booktube #booktok #bookish

Not sure if Red Queen is for you?? Let us help! Victoria Aveyard and I describe the type of girl who would love this book so you’ll know exactly whether it belongs on your TBR  (Spoiler: it probably does...)

Hi angels!!! Today I am joined by the one and only Victoria Aveyard, the BRILLIANT mind behind Red Queen... the only book I have ever reread in my entire life 😭📖 We get into her film school background and how 'Game of Thrones' shaped her writing, why dystopian fiction feels more relevant than ever, and how to actually write a plot twist that makes your readers lose their minds 👀✨ Plus we dive into her newest book Tempest, the Pirates of the Caribbean inspiration I did NOT see coming, and a very important conversation about women and power. This one is for the girls who aren’t afraid of a strong female character.... xoxo, Olivia 🎀 #authorinterview #romantasy #bookrecommendations #fantasybook #bookish #booktok