After discovering a mutual love of reading, sisters-in-law Whitney and Cara Longoria took their book club virtual and began a podcast, Lit Off The Pages. Now, starting to record episodes for their second season, they are meeting touring authors while garnering an audience of bibliophiles.
Avid readers and moms
What started as a book club with friends meeting once a month became a passion project. Not only was the book club a time to fully indulge in books, wine, snacks and good conversation, it was also a time to relax from the stressors of motherhood. “Cara and I are avid readers so meeting once a month to discuss one book wasn’t enough for us,” Whitney explains. “Cara and I are close in age and our kids have disabilities so that makes us very close.”
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Reading can often be an escape from the trying aspects of life. The hope and mission for their podcast is to encourage other people to embrace the escapism that reading provides as well as to broaden their horizons. Cara and Whitney knew that wine would always be an integral part of the podcast, to enhance the virtual book feel, and Cara came up with the name Lit Off the Pages.
“We had a long list of funny names but one day Cara said Lit Off the Pages and I knew it was perfect,” Whitney said. Whenever the podcast is promoted on Instagram, Facebook or Tiktok, Whitney adds the wine glass, book stack and fire emoji to make sure listeners know they are in for a good time.
Investing in ourselves
Once they decided to launch a podcast there were some logistical issues. “Our husbands are both musicians so we were able to get some equipment from them, but we also decided to invest in ourselves,” Whitney said.
The podcast premiered in December 2023 and has 10 recorded episodes, each titled with a favorite line from the book which is the focus. The books chosen are from a variety of genres, although they often feature fantasy (Cara’s favorite genre) and psychological thrillers (Whitney’s favorite). The second season will feature some memoirs, including I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jeannette McCurdy.
As the podcast has grown, Whitney and Cara have had the opportunity to meet several authors including Rebecca Yarros, author of the very successful fantasy novel Fourth Wing. “Meeting Rebecca was so amazing because she was a little awkward just like us, but her books were my intro to fantasy and they changed my life,” Whitney said.
Furthering engagement
As the second season of the podcast takes off, Whitney and Cara are hoping to expand the reach of Lit Off The Pages by inviting book influencers join the discussion. “We’ve gotten recognized by a few people locally which has been awesome and I’d love to have a book influencer come on to get more engagement,” Whitney said.
Although most of their audience cannot keep up with the voracious reading pace of Whitney and Cara – usually 4-5 books a week – they are both thrilled to foster a community of book lovers. They have published the book list for this season so that their listeners can follow along and enjoy the book club experience. “Often having your nose stuck in a book can be lonely but with Lit Off The Pages we hope to change that,” Whitney said.
Lit Off The Pages can be found with other podcasts on Spotify, Apple Music, etc.
