443: The Joy of Reading, Fiction Romantasy Era

We're back, two episodes in a row (look at us go!), we're chatting all things reading: why fiction is its own kind of self-help, how a good book is the ultimate antidote to endless scrolling, and how we are in our romantasy genre era. We really didn't do this topic justice, just getting back into the groover of podcasting.

We get into reading as a presence practice (hello, kind of a meditation), why doing things just for the joy of it is so underrated. And a little tangent on why a business needs a whole lot more than money to feel successful. Plus, of course, all the books we've been reading.

Key takeaways:

• Fiction is self-help in disguise. Stories help us process emotions, build empathy, shift perspective and feel less alone, often more enjoyably than a stack of "become a better you" books ever could.
• Reading is the perfect scroll-stopper. When you're deep in a story, you're participating, not consuming, which is why a book leaves you restorative instead of drained like an Instagram-to-TikTok spiral.
• It's a beautiful presence practice. If silent meditation feels hard, reading a chapter before bed (phone in another room!) is single-focus, calming and great for sleep.
• Let go of needing an ROI on everything. You're allowed to read, paint, or learn purely for the joy of it. Not every activity has to "better" you or make money, and that includes how you approach learning.
• Don't knock the "cliché" books. Romance and romantasy aren't lesser reads. They're fun, human and absolutely worth reclaiming (and yes, Fourth Wing is worth the hype x 100000).

Resources & books mentioned:

• My Brilliant Friend series – Elena Ferrante
• Women Who Run With the Wolves – Clarissa Pinkola Estés
• Fourth Wing (The Empyrean series) – Rebecca Yarros
• A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR), Crescent City & Throne of Glass series – Sarah J. Maas
• The Seven Sisters series – Lucinda Riley
• Zodiac Academy series – Caroline Peckham & Susanne Valenti (I kind of put this down but it's actually so good!!)
• The Ascended, Riftborne & Duskbound – Greenwich & Lennox
• Mile High / The Windy City series – Liz Tomforde
• The Poisoned Daughter (standalone)
• Alphabet Weekends – Elizabeth Noble
• Confessions of a Shopaholic – Sophie Kinsella
• Off Campus (book-based series)
• Kayla Books – Canadian book reviewer on Instagram (good recommendations)
• Got a book rec for us? Get in touch, we'd love to hear from you!

Read for the joy of it. Move for the joy of it.

This whole episode is really about doing things for the sake of doing them, not because of what you'll get out of them. And this is kind of similar to our ethos with exercise too!

MerryBody is our Yoga, Pilates & Meditation app made for exactly this kind of joyful, no-pressure practice, short, feel-good classes with zero "fix yourself" energy. Roll out your mat and join us: merrybodystudio.com/ — or download straight from your app store: geni.us/merrybody

Dreaming of going deeper? The School of MerryBody Yoga Teacher Trainings are all about falling in love with the process, not just chasing the certificate (yes, you'll absolutely get certified, it's Yoga Alliance approved!. Our 200 Hour, Yin Yoga, and Yamas & Niyamas trainings are open now: 200 Hour YTT · Yin Yoga YTT

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