Secret Stuff by Laura Tremaine

Well, it may be August, but it’s never too late to talk about the best books we’ve read so far this year!My real life book club friends Yasmin Dunn and Stephanie Newman-Smith join me for our annual tradition of sharing a few of our favorites mid-year(ish) before we put together our final lists in December.It has been a STELLAR publishing year and we still have months to go until the end, but already the three of us have some favorites.WATCH THIS EPISODE ON SUBSTACKA special bonus to this conversation is that you can WATCH us have it. For the first time ever, I’m sharing the video version of our BBoTY(sf) conversation on Substack.This conversation is free for everyone! Secret Stuff members get to hear us discuss our LEAST favorite books of the year + get all the Secret Stuff premium content. JOIN SECRET STUFF HERE--------MENTIONED:Secret Stuff main Substack pageStephen King Summer ends with CUJOSLOW READ: Outlander starts soon!Laura’s Best Books of the Year (So Far):Angel Down by Daniel KrausFamesick by Lena Dunham(I will put out a full list soon!)Yasmin’s Best Books of the Year (So Far):The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth StroutA Short Stay in Hell by Stephen PeckA Hymn to Life by Gisele PelicotStephanie’s Best Books of the Year (So Far):Dangerous, Dirty, Violent, and Young by Zayd Ayers DohrnLondon Falling by Patrick Radden KeefeThe Shampoo Effect by Jenny JacksonAlso mentioned in this episode:The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett (Laura is currently reading)The Autobiography of Mark Twain (Yasmin is currently reading)You Could Make This Place Beautiful by Maggie Smith (divorce memoir that Yasmin brought to the show a few years ago)Books Yasmin is reading with her teenage daughter: Pride and Prejudice, The Other Bennet Sister, and Death Comes to PemberleyTranscription by Ben Lerner (on a lot of lists already)The Lottery by Shirley Jackson (might be an October pick for Secret Stuff)Pineapple Street by Jenny JacksonThe Library of Babel by Jorge Luis BorgesOffice Hours podcast with Tim HeideckerSo much discussed in this packed episode! And still so much we didn’t get to. I’ll be sharing my full list of favorites from 2026 (so far) soon.Would love to hear from YOU about your favorite books at the mid-year mark. Comment or jump in the members-only chat.Go to the SECRET STUFF SUBSTACK This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit secretstuff.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit secretstuff.substack.comThis month, my husband Jeff Tremaine is releasing his fifth and final movie in the jackass franchise he created over 25 years ago. In our June Symposium, we talked about his body of work, how it has always been the background of our family life, and so much more.WATCH the video version on SubstackTHANK YOU my friends for indulging in this real detour from the usual Secret Stuff vibe. It was a blast to share this part of my life with you.Links to Jeff’s work mentioned outside of jackass:wildboyz tv showNothing But A Good Time documentaryUp For Whatever Bud Light Super Bowl Commercial (FULL LENGTH) and the tv versionAmerican Airlines safety video and the Behind the Scenes video (so good!)30 for 30 docs: The Birth of Big Air and Angry SkyThe Dirt (Netflix)

The next SECRET SUMMIT event is happening April 16 - 18 and I want you to be there!We’re gathering in Nashville, Tennessee for three days of connection, presence, and incredible conversations.I can’t wait to be in the same room with you!TICKETS HEREThe first time I hosted a weekend for Secret Stuff members was so magical. I will never forget coming out from behind our screens, being in the same room together, having a community Symposium, Journal Party, and with activities meant to strengthen our spirits and build a bond. I am so ready to do it again.JOIN ME for 3 days in Nashville:⚡️A kickoff party at Trisha Yearwood’s private space in the Friends In Low Places bar on Broadway (love those Oklahoma roots!)⚡️A full day “SUMMIT” of Secret Stuffers doing what we do best: talking, journaling, laughing. We’ll have an in-person community Symposium, I’ll lead a Journal Party, we’ll have lunch together in a downtown rooftop lounge, and more activities meant to foster connection⚡️On Saturday we’re taking a party bus to the bookstore! 🤣 Is there anything more appropriate for our community??Find out the full schedule, get details about the Secret Summit hotel room block, and buy your tickets on the dedicated website:SECRET SUMMIT NASHVILLESpots are limited so don't delay! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit secretstuff.substack.com/subscribe

We couldn’t close out 2025 without a Best Books of the Year episode with my “real life book club” members Yasmin and Steph.Since I closed the 10 Things To Tell You podcast this summer, I’ve decided to post this annual year-end conversation on Secret Stuff, free and public for all to enjoy just like you did on 10TTTY, but now in a different spot.JOIN SECRET STUFF on SUBSTACKIt was a weird reading year for everyone, as you’ll hear us discuss, which led to an uncommon mutual favorite novel, and also some differences of opinion on some of the picks. This conversation felt like the best parts of book club, gushing over a shared love and dissecting our differences of opinions on a different title.Of course, we also couldn’t help but talk about the books we didn’t like in 2025 in a bonus conversation for Secret Stuff members only.If you're a bookworm, make sure you check out:2026 Secret Stuff Book SelectionsSLOW READ: The Stand (which starts January 1!)______Favorite Books of 2025:Mutual Favorite:The Correspondent by Virginia EvansYasmin’s Favorites: Rejection by Tony Tulathimutte How to Lose Your Mother: A Daughter’s Memoir by Molly Jong-FastThe House of My Mother by Shari FrankeSteph’s Favorites:Heart the Lover by Lily KingMargo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi ThorpeLaura’s Favorites:What Kind of Paradise by Janelle Brown Annie Bot by Sierra GreerDidion and Babitz by Lili AnolikThe Names by Florence KnappAlso Discussed:Small Things Like These by Claire KeeganAn American Marriage by Tayari JonesThe Great Believers by Rebecca MakkaiFriday Black by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah A Woman of Independent Means by Elizabeth Forsythe HaileyOlive Kitteridge by Elizabeth StroutWriters and Lovers by Lily KingColored Television by Danzy SennaA Little Life by Hanya YanagiharaParable of the Sower by Octavia ButlerSorrow and Bliss by Meg MasonThe Knockout Queen by Rufi ThorpeFear of Flying by Erica JongThe Measure by Nikki ErlickThe Husbands by Holly Gramazio This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit secretstuff.substack.com/subscribe

As is our tradition, we ended our year in Secret Stuff with our annual No Book Book Club meeting. Instead of all reading the same book, we came with our recommendations for the best things we read this year.These were the books we can’t stop talking about or buying for our loved ones… these were the books that went the distance in 2025.ICYMI, we also announced the 2026 Secret Stuff Book Club selections.For your convenience, we time-stamped this meeting so you can easily find what you may be looking for:Announcements: 3:21Laura’s Favorite Book Club Moments: 11:17Fiction Recs: 16:06Non-Fiction Recs: 58:28BEST BOOKS OF 2025Fiction:To the Lighthouse by Virginia WoolfBest Offer Wins by Marisa KashinoStill Life by Sarah WinmanThe River Has Roots by Amal El-MohtarDeath of the Author by Nnedi OkoraforRoad to Tender Hearts by Annie HartnettThe Lost Journals of Sacajewea by Debra Magpie EarlingAll Fours by Miranda JulyWe Begin at the End by Chris WhitakerThe Bright Years by Sarah DamoffWild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghyI’m Thinking of Ending Things by Iain ReidMiss Austen by Gill HornbyThe Irish Goodbye by Heather Aimee O’NeillThe Lexington Letter (from the TV Show “Severance,” available for free on Apple Books)The You You Are (from the TV Show “Severance,” also available for free on Apple Books)The Golden Compass by Philip PullmanThe Overstory by Richard PowersHow to Sell a Haunted House by Grady HendrixA Gentleman in Moscow by Amor TowlesNon-Fiction:The Storyteller by Dave GrohlThe Deepest Well by Dr. Nadine Burke HarrisEverything is Tuberculosi s by John GreenSay Nothing by Patrick Radden KeefeReagan: His Life and Legend by Max BootThe Editor: How Publishing Legend Judith Jones Shaped Culture in America by Sara B. FranklinThe Black Angels: The Untold Story of the Nurses Who Helped Cure Tuberculosis by Maria SmiliosBetween Two Kingdoms by Suleika JaouadA Different Kind of Power by Jacinda ArdernMadness: Race and Insanity in a Jim Crow Asylum by Antonia HyltonChallenger by Adam HigginbothamIt’s Not You: Identifying and Healing from Narcissistic People by Dr. Ramani DurvasulaAlso Mentioned:There’s Always This Year by Hanif AbdurraqibBook Club for Troublesome Women by Marie BostwickMrs. Dalloway by Virginia WoolfOrlando by Virginia WoolfAmericanah by Chimamanda Ngozi AdichieThe Stacks PodcastCurrently Reading Podcast This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit secretstuff.substack.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit secretstuff.substack.comOur family of four just returned home from a long-awaited and life-changing trip to Africa.I had so much fun documenting the two-week adventure on Instagram (check out the SAFARI highlight in my bio) that I wanted to share more details about the safaris including our travel coordinator, the three camps where we stayed, what surprised me the most, and the pros and cons of doing this as a vacation with teenagers.For all the links to everything I share in this episode (and some bonus stuff like links to what I packed), check out the full post on Substack.

The 5th annual Stephen King Summer starts June 1 and I am so excited to embark on another summer celebrating the world’s greatest living storyteller.See THIS POST with full details about SKS 2025**Join SECRET STUFF as a monthly or annual member to get all the Stephen King Summer conversations**By the end of August 2025, you will have a better understanding of Stephen King and his place in the literary landscape.For Stephen King Summer 2025, we're reading:THE SHINING (1977)Under the Dome (2009)And we're watching:Christine (1983)Episode 1 of The Outsider (2020)Doctor Sleep (2019)Stephen King Summer is a part of my Secret Stuff book club & membership community.Browse Stephen King Summer MERCHNot sure where to start with Stephen King? Jump right into Stephen King Summer OR listen to this episodes for book recommendations:Ep 121: Stephen King Starter KitEp 222: Stephen King Starter Kit Part II (What To Read And What To Skip)Hope to see you over on Secret Stuff for the 5th annual STEPHEN KING SUMMER! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit secretstuff.substack.com/subscribe

How have you changed in the last 10 years?Who were you in 2015 and the years following? What is different about your life and ambitions and spirit now? We focused on the areas of family & home life, career paths, and the state of our spiritual/emotional selves.This conversation aired as Ep 265 of the 10 Things To Tell You podcast, but I wanted to put it here for you as part of Secret Stuff AD FREE.My longtime friend, podcasting pioneer, and fellow Substacker Meg Tietz and I get really vulnerable in this conversation. We both say things we’ve never said on microphone before. I hope that listening to it sparks something in you about your past decade.It’s just a really good journal prompt that might lead to an AHA moment, some pattern recognition, and a NOTICING of things you’re ready to release.My conversation partner of 30+ years (!!!) is Meg Tietz.Follow Meg Tietz on Substack or on IGHire Meg for voice over work (she’s amazing!)Mentioned in this episode:Meg's Deconversion Series on Substack (Part 1) and Part 2 and Part 3Ep 235: 4 Lessons After Publishing 2 BooksEp 34: The RobberyEp 194: On Endings and Intuition This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit secretstuff.substack.com/subscribe