In this week’s episode, Kayla and Taylor discuss Madeline Miller’s 2018 novel Circe. Topics include work holiday parties, weird winter weather, every child’s obsession with Greek mythology, the true nature of the gods, Circe’s banishment, and commentaries on womanhood and motherhood. Plus, we cannot recommend the 1997 Disney movie Hercules enough. Go watch it!

This week’s drink: The Circe (a Taylor original)

INGREDIENTS:

• ½ oz Kitron (or other lemon liqueur)
• 1 ½ oz gin
• Lavender bitters
• ½ oz lemon juice
• Egg white

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Add all ingredients to a shaker without ice and shake for 10 seconds. Add ice and shake again until chilled
2. Strain into a coup glass and garnish with a lemon peel

Current/recommended reads, links, etc.:

The Odyssey by Homer, translated by Emily Wilson

Follow us on Instagram @literatureandlibationspod.

Visit our website: literatureandlibationspod.com to submit feedback, questions, or your own takes on what we are reading. You can also see what we are reading for future episodes! You can email us at literatureandlibationspod@gmail.com.

Please leave us a review and/or rating! It really helps others find our podcast…and it makes us happy!

Purchase books via bookshop.org or check them out from your local public library.

Join us next time as we talk about our favorite reads (and other things) of 2025! Then tune in January 6th for our first read of 2026: Heart the Lover by Lily King

In this week’s episode, Kayla and Taylor discuss our One Hundredth Book!! M.L. Rio’s 2017 novel If We Were Villains. Topics include Stranger Things, Bisexual Disaster Oliver Marks, insufferable drama kids, the genius of Shakespeare, 90s Shakespeare adaptations, the frustratingly vague ending, and shades of Half-Blood Prince (and High School Musical??)

This week’s drink: The Friendly Betrayal via The Attic on Eighth

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 ½ oz Bourbon
• 7 drops grapefruit lavender bitters
• ¾ oz grenadine
• Juice of half a lemon
• Ginger ale, to top

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. In a rocks glass filled with ice, pour in the bourbon and bitters, stir until cold
2. Slowly drizzle the grenadine over it to create a layered effect, following with the lemon juice
3. Top off with the ginger ale, give it another light stir and enjoy

Current/recommended reads, links, etc.:

Derry Girls (on Netflix)

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain

Follow us on Instagram @literatureandlibationspod.

Visit our website: literatureandlibationspod.com to submit feedback, questions, or your own takes on what we are reading. You can also see what we are reading for future episodes! You can email us at literatureandlibationspod@gmail.com.

Please leave us a review and/or rating! It really helps others find our podcast…and it makes us happy!

Purchase books via bookshop.org or check them out from your local public library.

Join us next time as we read Circe by Madeline Miller.

In this week’s episode, Kayla and Taylor discuss Gabrielle Zevin’s 2014 novel The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry. Topics include a seemingly lackluster movie adaptation that we definitely will end up watching, the Hallmark movie premise that’s very well written, our desire to monologue in real life, reading short stories, literary fiction vs. genre fiction, chicken pox and shingles, what spices we would be, the elegance of picture books, the triumphs and perils of middle school/high school English classes (shout out to Mr. Solorio, the GOAT), the perfect amount of sentimentality in this book, and the dream of owning a bookstore.

This week’s drink: Hot Buttered Rum via Friday Night Cocktails

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 oz gold rum
• 1 TB buttered rum batter*
• Boiling water, to top
• Cinnamon stick, for garnish

INSTRUCTIONS:

In a mug, add the rum and batter. Fill with boiling water and stir until the batter is dissolved. Garnish with a cinnamon stick.

*For the buttered rum batter: In a large bowl, combine ⅔ cup dark brown sugar, ½ cup unsalted butter (at room temp), ¼ cup honey, ½ tsp ground cinnamon, ¼ tsp ground nutmeg, ⅛ tsp ground cloves, and a pinch of salt. Beat until smooth. Transfer to an airtight container and store in the fridge (or freezer).

Current/recommended reads, links, etc.:

Pathogenesis: A History of the World in Eight Plagues by Jonathan Kennedy

The Henna Artist by Alka Joshi

The Art of Gluten-Free Bread by Aran Goyoaga

Follow us on Instagram @literatureandlibationspod.

Visit our website: literatureandlibationspod.com to submit feedback, questions, or your own takes on what we are reading. You can also see what we are reading for future episodes! You can email us at literatureandlibationspod@gmail.com.

Please leave us a review and/or rating! It really helps others find our podcast…and it makes us happy!

Purchase books via bookshop.org or check them out from your local public library.

Join us next time as we read If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio.