This week on Paperbacks and Paychecks, we’re talking heroes—on the page, in real life, and in the workplace. From classic literary legends like Elizabeth Bennet and the Count of Monte Cristo to real-world trailblazers like Viola Davis and Lindsay Pollack, we’re celebrating the people who shaped us and stood up when it counted.

We also unpack the recent BookTok drama surrounding Ali Hazelwood, explore why women authors get dragged for harmless opinions, and why parasocial rage is getting out of hand. (Spoiler: it's a book character. Relax.)

Plus, we shout out the workplace MVPs who see us, support us, and say the hard stuff—even when it’s not popular.

✨ In this episode:
– The Hunger Games take that broke BookTok
– Who gets to be a hero (and who gets canceled)
– Literary faves from Anne Shirley to Judy Blume
– Real talk about mentorship, service industry trauma, and male allies at work
– Why calling someone "an aggressive complimenter" might be a compliment

Got a hero? Tell us in the comments. Prefer a villain with a redemption arc? Same. Just don’t @ us about Peeta.

In this episode of Paperbacks and Paychecks, Sara and Noelle spiral—literally and literarily—through Sarah J. Maas’s Crescent City series and the chaos of unreliable narrators. From Bryce's questionable choices (and even more questionable friends) to Hunt’s whole... baseball hat situation, they unpack what happens when your main character lies to you—and how that mirrors our own messy workplace narratives.

But the paperbacks are only half the story.

On the paycheck side, they dig into how our inner voice can derail us at work, whether it’s anxiety spirals before a Slack message or misreading the vibes in a meeting. The co-hosts share tips on emotional maturity, navigating manager miscommunications, and why owning your professional narrative is essential—especially in job interviews. Also: Pegasus farms, HR investigations, and the most cursed tattoo origin story you’ve ever heard.

✨ Expect:
– What Crescent City got wrong (and right) about grief and growth
– When your work anxiety has you in a chokehold
– The career coach case for becoming a reliable narrator of your own life

🎧 Tune in for chaotic book takes, candid career truths, and catharsis—one dragon-fae side quest at a time.

In this delightfully unhinged episode of Paperbacks and Paychecks, Sara and Noelle dive into their favorite thrillers, horror novels, and the workplace horror stories that haunt them more than any ghost ever could. From dead bodies at the funeral home to the mystery of a completely different guy showing up for a new hire orientation, the vibes are corporate Twilight Zone meets BookTok after dark. They also ask the important questions—does the dog die? Is it ever okay to spoil a scary movie? And who thought 8 rounds of interviews and no callback was acceptable?

Whether you love a sharp twist or just want to hear about a job interview that ended with feet on the conference table, this one is for the readers, the survivors, and the girlies who check trigger warnings before cracking the spine.