Sometimes the best part of finishing a book is figuring out what to watch next.

In this episode of I’d Watch That, we're starting with Battle of the Bookstores by Ali Brady, a rom-com featuring rival bookstore managers, very different reading tastes, and the complications of finding someone much easier to like online than in person.

But instead of simply talking about the book, we're asking a different question: What movies would we pair with it?

Michelle, Laura, and Katya each pulled out different themes from Josie and Ryan’s story and brought movies they think belong beside it, from workplace ambition and proving yourself to competitive banter, unexpected connections, and feelings that refuse to stick to the plan.

Michelle brings Set It Up, Laura makes her case for How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and The Ugly Truth, and Katya takes us back to Working Girl.

Some connections are obvious. Some require a little explaining.

Sometimes we watch a movie and think, “I'd read that.” Sometimes we finish a book and think, “I'd watch that.”

Welcome to Chapter One, Scene One, where books and movies meet and we figure out what stories belong together.

Join Michelle, Laura, and Katya as we pull apart the themes, tropes, characters, and ideas behind the stories we're reading and watching, then pair them with something from the other side of the page or screen.

And in our What Would _____ Read? episodes, Michelle and Laura do a little digging into the actors behind the movies, from what they've actually read to the roles they've played, to answer one completely unsolicited question: What book do we think they'd love?

Expect book recommendations, movie recommendations, questionable connections we'll attempt to defend, occasional disagreements, and a TBR and watchlist that will probably be longer by the time we're finished.

Because around here, the question isn't just “Was the book better?”

It's “What should we read—or watch—next?”

🎧 New episodes of Chapter One, Scene One

Follow along wherever you listen to podcasts.

📚 Find us online:

Instagram & TikTok: @chapteronesceneone

Website: chapteronesceneone.com

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: We discuss the books, movies, and shows featured in each episode in detail, so spoilers are always possible.

Same research. Same actress. Very different vibes.

In our first What Would _____ Read? episode, Michelle and Laura are putting Parker Posey's imaginary TBR to the test.

We dug into books Parker has actually talked about reading, the writers and ideas she's drawn to, her own wonderfully unconventional memoir, and a career filled with smart, eccentric, ambitious, complicated—and occasionally unhinged—women. Then we each came to the microphone with three books we think belong on her shelf.

Michelle went vintage, eccentric, Southern Gothic, and old-Hollywood adjacent with The Hearing Trumpet by Leonora Carrington, The Dud Avocado by Elaine Dundy, and We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson.

Laura took the same research in a much more contemporary direction with The Husbands by Holly Gramazio, Best Offer Wins by Marisa Kashino, and Strangers by Belle Burden.

Six books. Two completely different interpretations of Parker Posey. And somehow...they both make sense.

So which version of Parker's bookshelf would you choose?

Welcome to What Would _____ Read?, a Chapter One, Scene One series where Michelle and Laura build completely unsolicited book recommendations for actors from the movies we've been watching.

But we're not picking books based on vibes alone.

We dig into what they've actually read, the books and writers they've talked about, their interests, interviews, and even the characters they've chosen to play. Then we each bring our picks to the microphone and make the case for why that book belongs on their TBR.

Same research. Different readers. And sometimes very different books.

Because they didn't ask us what they should read next...

but we're going to tell them anyway.

📚 Find Chapter One, Scene One online:

Instagram & TikTok: @chapteronesceneone

Website: chapteronesceneone.com

🎧 Follow Chapter One, Scene One wherever you listen to podcasts so you don't miss our next I'd Read That, I'd Watch That, or What Would _____ Read? episode.

Sometimes the best part of finishing a movie is figuring out what to read next.

In this episode of I’d Read That, we're starting with You've Got Mail—the 1998 rom-com that gave us bookstores, AOL, enemies-to-lovers, anonymous correspondence, and the eternal battle between the charming little indie shop and the giant corporate bookstore.

But instead of simply talking about the movie, we're asking a different question: What books would we pair with it?

Michelle, Laura, and Katya each pulled out different themes from You've Got Mail and brought books they think belong beside it—from falling for someone through their words to small-business communities, reinvention, rivalry, and, of course, enemies-to-lovers.

Some connections are obvious. Some require a little explaining. And apparently some of us interpreted “bring a book” as “bring half your TBR.”

Sometimes we watch a movie and think, “I'd read that.” Sometimes we finish a book and think, “I'd watch that.”

Welcome to Chapter One, Scene One, where books and movies meet—and we figure out what stories belong together.

Join Michelle, Laura, and Katya as we pull apart the themes, tropes, characters, and ideas behind the stories we're reading and watching, then pair them with something from the other side of the page or screen.

And in our What Would _____ Read? episodes, Michelle and Laura do a little digging into the actors behind the movies—from what they've actually read to the roles they've played—to answer one completely unsolicited question: What book do we think they'd love?

Expect book recommendations, movie recommendations, questionable connections we'll attempt to defend, occasional disagreements, and a TBR and watchlist that will probably be longer by the time we're finished.

Because around here, the question isn't just “Was the book better?”

It's “What should we read—or watch—next?”

🎧 New episodes of Chapter One, Scene One

Follow along wherever you listen to podcasts.

📚 Find us online:

Instagram & TikTok: @chapteronesceneone

Website: chapteronesceneone.com

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: We discuss the books, movies, and shows featured in each episode in detail, so spoilers are always possible.

Hey everyone! Just popping into your feed for a very quick Chapter One, Scene One update.

We are officially putting ourselves on summer vacation.

Which sounds much more glamorous than saying, “We need a few weeks where nobody has to read a book by Tuesday.”

So there will be no new episodes during September — BUT we are not going anywhere.

In fact, we're using this little break to shake things up a bit, because Chapter One, Scene One will be back October 6th with new episodes…and we're doing things a little differently.

I'm not going to tell you everything yet. You'll just have to come back and find out.

In the meantime, you can still hang out with us! We're going to be posting throughout the break on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Threads at @chapteronesceneone, and you can always find us at chapteronesceneone.com.

And while we're on vacation, we have homework for YOU.

Tell us: What is one book-and-adaptation pairing you desperately want us to cover?

The one you've been dying to talk about. The adaptation you loved more than the book. The one Hollywood completely destroyed. We want to hear all of it.

Send us a message, comment on one of our posts, or come find us on social media and tell us what needs to go on our list.

We'll see you back here October 6th for a new chapter of Chapter One, Scene One.

Until then…go read something good.

Or watch the adaptation instead.

We won't judge.

Oh, enjoy these bloopers (aka our finest work) and some Real Housewives taglines we recorded awhile back just for fun.

After a devastating loss, Hollis Shaw decides what she needs is a weekend on Nantucket surrounded by her closest friends. Sounds lovely, right?

There’s just one small catch: she invites one best friend from each era of her life.

What could POSSIBLY go wrong?

This week, we’re diving into Elin Hilderbrand’s The Five-Star Weekend—a story filled with friendship, grief, old grudges, complicated history, fabulous food, Nantucket scenery, and the kind of emotional baggage that definitely requires an extra carry-on.

We’re talking about the friendships that worked (and the ones that absolutely did not), the characters we loved, the ones who tested our patience, and whether bringing together the people who knew completely different versions of you is actually brilliant…or a spectacularly terrible idea.

And, because this is us, we have some thoughts.

Grab your drink, pick which era of your life gets an invitation, and join us for The Five-Star Weekend.

Check us out at www.chapteronesceneone.com!

Apparently, “beach read” is a genre. Except… it isn’t. So what actually makes a beach read a beach read?

Does genre matter? Does it need romance, or can there be a murder or two? Does the story actually have to take place at the beach? And if you read a decidedly un-beachy book while sitting under an umbrella with a frozen drink, does that count?

In this mini episode, we’re attempting to define the completely undefinable—from the genres and settings that give us beach-read vibes to the books we’d actually toss into our vacation bags.

And because apparently books aren’t enough, we’re also talking beach watches: the movies and shows that belong in your vacation lineup when you’ve had enough sun, sand, and reading for the day.

Grab the sunscreen. We’re about to have opinions.

Welcome to Chapter One, Scene One, where the SPF is high and the literary standards are… negotiable.

A dead body. A Nantucket wedding. One unbelievably wealthy family with enough secrets to fill an entire beach house. But here's the question - The Perfect Couple is marketed as a mystery... so why does it sometimes feel more like two hundred pages of rich family drama? This week we're breaking down Elin Hilderbrand's bestselling novel and the Netflix adaptation starring Nicole Kidman. We'll debate whether this story is really about solving a murder, which character got the biggest glow-up on screen, and whether the show actually improved on the book.

From the page to the screen and every plot twist in between, Chapter One, Scene One is where books meet their movie and TV adaptations. Every week, we read it, watch it, and then bring our completely unbiased (and occasionally judgmental) opinions to the discussion.

⚠️ SPOILER ALERT ⚠️

Nothing is safe. We spoil the book, the movie, the ending, and probably someone's favorite character.

Follow us @chapteronesceneone on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.

Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts so new episodes land in your feed every Tuesday.

Check out Laura's latest blog post at chapteronesceneone.blogspot.com and find all of our links at linktr.ee/chapteronesceneone.

This week we're continuing The Genre Series with Classics. What is a classic? Who defines when a book becomes a classic? Do we need a checklist? This week we discuss what we think defines whether a book falls into the Classic category. We also discuss old classics vs modern classics. Join is for the discussion!

From the page to the screen—and every plot twist in between—Chapter One, Scene One is where books meet their movie and TV adaptations. Every week, we read it, watch it, and then bring our completely unbiased (and occasionally judgmental) opinions to the discussion.

Follow us @chapteronesceneone on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.

Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts so new episodes land in your feed every Tuesday.

Check out Laura's latest blog post at chapteronesceneone.blogspot.com and find all of our links at linktr.ee/chapteronesceneone.