10: Badass Women Who Love to Read & Make New Friends – Badass Books and Besties
I have such a treat for you today – I’ve been baring my soul and love to you all for the past few weeks and I’m ready to share something super special and near & dear to my heart.
And that is…The Badass Book Besties. I am the founder, which means that I am the owner & creator of this incredible membership, but…that doesn’t mean that I run the ship – or rather the bookstore? I always like to say that I like long walks down a bookstore aisle instead of a beach. I’m the rare person who lives in Florida and who actually hates the heat and being in the sand, but I digress, let’s get back to the point!
The real beauty of this membership is the badass women who are a part of it. Since it’s creation back in 2021, I have met some amazing women who truly define the meaning of the word badass.
Now – you might be wondering why I chose the name Badass Book Besties. Well, it doesn’t mean the first definition that you’ll find on dictionary.com, which is a person who is difficult to deal with; mean-tempered and sometimes violent or even so tough as to be somewhat intimidating.
No way – the third definition is what takes the cake, and it is: to be awesome or impressive and worthy of admiration. THIS IS the true meaning of this membership.
The motto and mission of this membership is to inspire and encourage women to live their most badass life. I mean, you can clearly see where I gained the inspiration for this podcast! My vision is to lift other women to feel confident, validated, and just full of LIFE.
SO – Who are we and how can we help you?
Being an adult can be hard.
Finding friends can be even harder.
Making time to read for pleasure and/or self-improvement? Even worse.
How can we:
- meet new people when we are consistently pushed in a thousand different directions and unable to take time for ourselves?
- put ourselves out here to chat with others when we are unsure of where to find them?
- stay accountable to read when we already have so much on our plate and no one to chat with about it?
The Badass Book Besties is here to help you do just that!
We are dedicated to transforming the lives of women. Our goal is to encourage intellectual conversation, help create new friendships, and keep you accountable to read for fun or for personal growth. We believe in the power of conversation, connection, and analyzing how books and words impact us on a deeper level.
If you’re craving an authentic life, prioritizing what brings you joy (building & strengthening relationships), and spending more time doing what you love (reading fantastic books), then…
THIS is what you have been looking for!
In this membership, you’ll have access to:
Reads Well With Others Book Club – read fiction & non-fiction novels written by women (as they are the best authors, of course). Meetings are twice a month (2nd & 4th Thursday) at 8:30, EST on Zoom.
The Lotus Academy Book Club – a transformational, self-help book club dedicated to transforming your mindset, helping you reach your goals, and connecting you with others through engaging conversation around self-improvement. You are paired with a Book Bestie to keep you accountable on a weekly basis and meetings are held once a month.
Resource Library of helpful content to include book recommendations, motivation, personal development, happiness, and more.
A community of women who are here to support you and cheer you on! Receive validation & excitement from members about your successes (or support when you need it the most).
In this Membership, we want to CELEBRATE YOU BEING A BADASS WOMAN. Whatever interests you, whatever lights your soul on fire, we want to show off how badass and incredible you are, just for being YOU.
Oftentimes we are the cheerleaders for others – cheering them along on their journey and excited to share in their joy, but we might not always get the same accolades. It’s about damn time that changed, my friends.
Our motto is to inspire and encourage women to live their most badass life! To empower them to live out their dreams as a badass book reader, mom, bestie, earth lover, woman, human…whatever makes her the most badass woman she can be.
Are you wondering if this is the right membership for you?
Well, let’s see if this describes you:
💜 You’re a badass woman who deserves to know that she is valued, appreciated, and accepted just as she is. You yearn for a sense of belonging, stronger friendships, and connections with others; an engaging conversation keeps you on your toes and invigorates you.
💜 You love learning new things & expanding your mind, so you sometimes view inspirational content on YouTube and listen to a variety of podcasts. Maybe you love reading a variety of books (even though you sometimes don’t have the time) and filling your bookshelves with new books to read.
💜 You might work from home or you’re unable to find the right people you jive with at work, so you feel isolated and alone, but don’t know where to meet new people. You wish it was easier for you to find a group of women you can connect and grow with, who celebrate you and how badass you are, and who will lift you higher than you’ve ever dreamed.
Does that sound like you? Maybe it checks off some of your personality boxes?
I can assure you – I am right there with you.
Who is Brianna, the creator of the Badass Book Besties?
When I was a young girl, I was obsessed with reading, and I enjoyed spending time with my friends. I devoured all the books I could get my hands on, and my bookshelf became filled with so many different titles to be read; seeing them always brought me so much joy (take that, Marie Kondo). The library and bookstores were my happy place, and I often took stacks of books home. The crinkly sound of the plastic book coverings and the smells between the book pages excited me! I was raised into a family of readers as well, with my grandmother, mother, and sister, so it seemed only natural that I would be in love with reading as well.
Consequently, I chose English Education as a major and career path. I loved diving deep into literature, analyzing texts, and writing verbosely about everything from Romantic Literature to Shakespeare to Adolescent Lit, and Children’s Lit. I was in love.
I knew I wanted to be a teacher or in a school environment, so I spent the next ten years of my life as an educator – a teacher, a school counselor, and then a librarian. I enjoyed being with the students, but I was constantly busy (which caused me to lose some friendships along the way) and felt like I wasn’t the truest version of myself. As I continued in my career, I began to feel more and more isolated.
Then, after having my children (whom I absolutely love and adore), I felt even more isolated – especially with not having mom friends. Once I started working from home, I knew I needed to find another way to interact with adults, form new friendships, and strengthen connections with the amazing women in my life.
When I think about why I decided to become a teacher, a school counselor, and now a community builder, I realized it’s because I want people to FEEL that they are being paid attention to. I want people to know how much they matter and how important they are in this world. It is important to me to show them that someone CARES about what they are doing and where they want to go in life. I accept people for who they are and who they wish to be. I want people and myself to be accepted and loved, like I so badly wanted (and still want) in my life.
I decided it was time to get back to my first true love: reading. I wanted to get back that enchantment feeling I once had. I wanted to get back into reading with others and engaging in intelligent conversations with REAL people. I crave real & honest conversations with women who seek growth, validation, and acceptance. I was fed a content heavy load of classical literature in college, and my passion for reading for pleasure slowly dwindled. I stopped reading as often; I just wasn’t in the mood for it. Books were, in a sense, my friends. I missed being with them, holding their words between my hands. I also missed talking with others about books! I missed the connections and discussions with other like-minded people. I missed that vibe you get when you’re with the right people, discussing topics you enjoy.
So, here I am – a woman in her 30s seeking out friendships with women who value the same ideals – transformation and growth, building new relationships with others, and making time for each other.
THIS is why I started the Badass Book Besties – I wanted to create a membership where women could connect with other women, learn more in a community-based environment, and feel seen.
If you’ve made it this far, my friend – I can tell you’re interested and I am SO excited to see you in the club!
I’d like to now take a moment and chat about the two book clubs inside of the membership, which really drives the whole purpose of how we create community.
Reads Well With Others Book Club
Some of you might be thinking…I surely hope this is not the same old book clubs I’ve seen before where members aren’t discussing the books as thoroughly as you had hoped or spending their time guzzling wine instead? Would you rather analyze & discuss books in a more vivid & engaging way?
This book club might just be your ticket to re-igniting the passion for reading that you’ve been searching for.
We are devoted to reinvigorating the book club scene. We celebrate incredible female authors who write engaging and thought-provoking books to help us expand our minds to new and different worlds. Our goal is to not only highlight amazing authors, but also to analyze literature in new and exciting ways. In return, members become more open minded, they become more enchanted in their reading, and the sparks fly.
Each month in this book club, we read and analyze a new book – adult & young adult fiction and non-fiction, written by a badass female author. Each book is voted on by the members, so you will have a voice in what we choose to read (recommendations are ALWAYS encouraged!)
We truly dive DEEP into the discussion of each novel, analyzing the themes and how it relates to ourselves and society. All members received Guided Notes with discussion questions prior to each meeting to help guide the discussion. The Book Club meets on the second and fourth Thursday of every month (unless rescheduled due to holidays or other major events) at 8:30, EST on Zoom.
Some books we’ve read this year: It I Stay by Gayle Forman, What Might Have Been by Holly Miller, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, Educated, Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, The Book of Form & Emptiness, The Hate U Give, The Immortalists, Untamed, and City of Girls. You can find each of the books inside of my Reads Well With Others Bookshop.
Lotus Academy Book Club
Now, are you looking to dive deeper into transformational or self-help books? Are you intrigued by the idea of collaborating with others, and helping each other grow?
In the Lotus Academy Book Club, our focus will be on transforming our mindset, reaching our goals, and connecting with others through engaging conversation around a new motivational book every two months. You’ll receive access to a Discussion Guide to help you read & analyze the text, as well as break down the information further into manageable steps. You’ll also have a Book Bestie that you’re paired with, if you so choose, to keep you accountable not only to read, but to help you transform & grow into who you’re meant to be.
If you’re wondering about the name –
The Lotus Flower grows in the deep mud, far away from the sun. But, sooner or later, the Lotus reaches the light becoming the most beautiful flower ever. The Lotus flower is regarded in many different cultures, as a symbol of purity, enlightenment, self-regeneration and rebirth. According to Buddhism, every person has the potential to become perfect and enlightened, and it is just a matter of time until each human reaches the light. The Buddha is sometimes depicted sitting on a Lotus flower, symbolizing the one who overcame the pain of that prevails in the material world and became enlightened.
The transformational growth that a lotus flower experiences exemplifies what I hope will occur in the Lotus Academy. You will transform your life into new meaning, even if the path to get here has been muddy or unclear. We are in this together! Our goal is to support you in living your best life!
Some books we’ve read this year: You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero, The Big Leap by Gay Hendricks, Everything is Figureoutable by Marie Forleo, Ask And It Is Given by Esther and Jerry Hicks, and more. You can find each of the books inside of my Lotus Academy Bookshop.
The Badass Book Besties is where you need to be!
Transform your life and join our Membership! Be ready to form badass friendships with other women, just like you. Avoid the feeling of being lonely or left out and be the BEST version of yourself that you’ve been dreaming to be.
If you’re looking to make connections with other women, if you’re wanting to expand your thinking, be celebrated for being a badass, AND make new friends while you’re at it, you should join us! You’ll leave feeling inspired, refreshed, and happier!
I hope you’ve truly enjoyed hearing this episode, my friends. If you’d like to check out the Badass Book Besties:
🌟 Join the Community: Badass Book Besties Website 📚 Find me on Facebook: Badass Book Besties 📚 Follow me on Instagram: @badassbookbestie
Embrace the journey of self-discovery and connection, besties! Let’s turn the page to new adventures together. 📖💪💫
Until next time besties! Always be sure to keep your glass and bookshelves full.