It's the final episode of 2025, and we're wrapping things up with our 3rd annual Secret Santa book exchange! Join Bella, Emma, Jason, and Laura for our coziest, messiest holiday tradition as we exchange books, hot takes, and answer the following questions: Did the right books go to the right recipients this year? Which one of us didn’t finish their book, and what went wrong? Which host picked their Secret Santa book during an active criminal investigation? And which current Emma obsession led us on a ten-minute tangent?

Thank you so much for listening and supporting us this year. We’re endlessly grateful for you. Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and we’ll see you in 2026!

Buy the Books!

• Jason’s Book: Amazon.com | Libro.fm
• Laura’s Book: Bookshop.org | Libro.fm
• Bella’s Book: Bookshop.org | Libro.fm
• Emma’s Book: Bookshop.org | Libro.fm

Other media mentioned in this episode:

• Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordan
• Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett
• The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett
• And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
• Warehouse 13
• The SCP Foundation
• The City We Became by NK Jemisin
• The Magnus Archives Podcast
• Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
• Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid

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PayPal | Venmo | SWR Merch

We're also an affiliate on Bookshop.org and Libro.fm! Order books and ebooks through our link HERE and audiobooks HERE and a small commission will go towards the podcast.

Create your podcast today! #madeonzencastr

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Request transcripts on our website: shitweveread.com/contact

Credits:
Shit We've Read is...

In this special author interview, Bella and Jason sit down with the effortlessly charming R.A. Basu to talk about her debut novel, TO BARGAIN WITH MORTALS—“a stunning reflection on politics and purpose, blood and allegiance—and what we do with the histories we inherit.”

Join us as R.A. spills the chai on the chaotic journey her book took to publication, including the incredible lengths publisher Emma Skies went to acquire it. She also shares how her original inspiration began with Jimin from the K-pop sensation BTS, and how she drew upon her own South Asian identity to infuse the story with cultural depth. Plus, R.A. shocks with a (in hindsight, fairly obvious) revelation about the TV series House, M.D.

You can grab your copy of TO BARGAIN WITH MORTALS now wherever books are sold!

Buy the Book!
Bookshop.org | Libro.fm

Other books mentioned R.A. in this episode:

• Burn the Sea by Mona Tewari
• Murder by Memory by Olivia Waite
• Jade City by Fonda Lee

Guest:
R. A. Basu is an Indian Canadian author from Ontario who works in digital development by day and binge reads novels by night. When she’s not writing, she can be found playing on the Nintendo Switch, fighting for her life in a Pilates class, or looking for the best matcha in her city. She is represented by Allegra Martschenko at BookEnds Literary Agency.

You can find her on Instagram @rabasuwrites

Support SWR!
PayPal | Venmo | SWR Merch

We're also an affiliate on Bookshop.org and Libro.fm! Order books and ebooks through our link HERE and audiobooks

You voted, and we listened! Your choice for our Halloween After Dark pick is SING ME TO SLEEP by R.M. Virtues—a dreamy tale of a sleep demon who falls for the woman he was meant to haunt. ⁣

This episode has everything: tipsy hosts, personal encounters with sleep paralysis (we’ll let you guess if any demons were involved), and a passionate discussion about the need for editing in self-publishing. Plus, a moment so tense that Emma and Jason almost come to blows.

Remember, listeners, you brought this upon yourselves! Happy Halloween!

CONTENT WARNING: This episode features discussions of an adult-themed book, contains explicit language, and is intended for mature audiences only. Listener discretion is advised.

Buy the Book!
Amazon.com (unfortunately, the only place to purchase)

Other books mentioned in this episode:

• Drag Me Up by R.M. Virtues
• Desperate Measures by Katee Robert
• Lord of Eternal Night by Ben Alderson
• Angels Before Man by Rafael Nicolás
• Savage Blooms by S.T. Gibson
• A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson
• Evocation by S.T. Gibson
• An Education in Malice by S.T. Gibson
• Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë