If you love to read books, chances are you love to talk about them too. But have you ever wondered about whether your favorite celebrities or public figures love to read as well? If you might share a favorite book or preferred genre with them? Well, I sure have! So, I’m on a mission to find book lovers (book nerds, if you will!) in unexpected places. In this interview series, I’ll be talking with people you recognize but don’t necessarily associate with books — musicians, actors and actresses, athletes, and more. We will be discussing all of their current projects you want to hear about, of course, but we will also be digging into their unique reading and writing lives!
In this interview I chat with Karah Preiss, who you know as half of the duo that makes up Belletrist, an online book community she founded alongside actress Emma Roberts. Karah is definitely not an “unexpected” book nerd these days, but I’ve long been curious to pick her brain on what she did before Belletrist and how she channeled her passion for all things books to become a now well-known bibliophile! Listen below to hear us discuss how Belletrist came to be, how this book community is extending into television and film, learn some of the great reads Karah has been digging into this year, and much more!
- 1:12 – Checking-in with Karah on how things have been going this year
- 3:55 – Karah talks about what she was doing before Belletrist, how Belletrist came about, & her podcast about artificial intelligence, Sleepwalkers
- 11:40 – Karah discusses behind the scenes of Belletrist, including what a work day looks like for her & how books are selected each month
- 29:00 – Karah discusses reading across her life, including books she has read this year
- 51:00 – Karah shares a parting suggestion for bringing your dreams to life
You can listen through Spotify below or on any platform where podcasts are available!
Books/authors mentioned:
- A Promised Land by Barack Obama
- Becoming by Michelle Obama
- Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
- Lucia Berlin
- The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin
- Luster by: Raven Leilani
- The Dreamers by Karen Thompson Walker
- Happy All the Time and A Big Storm Knocked It Over by Laurie Colwin
- That Time of the Year by Marie NDiaye
- The Dark Archives: A Librarian’s Investigation Into the Science and History of Books Bound in Human Skin by Megan Rosenbloom
- The Gossip Girl series by Cecily von Ziegesar
- The Shopaholic series by Sophie Kinsella
- The A-List series by Zoey Dean
- Nora Roberts
- James Patterson
- John Grisham
- Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster and Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
- Silvia Plath
- Joan Didion
- M. Homes
- Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart
- The Rules Do Not Apply by Ariel Levy
- “First Kill” by V.E. Schwab
- Tell Me Lies by Carola Lovering
Where to find Karah Preiss on social media:
- Belletrist: @belletrist on Instagram and @BelletristBooks on Twitter
- Personal: @kpreiss on Instagram and @Karahpreiss on Twitter
- Podcast: @sleepwalkerspodcast on Instagram and @sleepwalkerspod on Twitter
