Hot Girls Read Podcast

Julia

I found the book I’m currently reading through a TikTok video. The TikTok user, Sara Abou Hadir, read a quote from ‘If the Budhha dated: A handbook for finding love on a spiritual path’ and I was immediately hooked. The quote starts like this, ‘As an intrepid traveler on the path to love, you open yourself to whatever comes your way—hurt, fear, neediness, joy, bliss—invite it in, observe it, make friends with it, and let it pass.’ Sara continued to read the rest of the passage, which is still one of my favourites from the book so far, and after listening I immediately downloaded it on my kindle.

In fact, the very idea of a book modeled off the Buddha dating intrigued me. However, the book itself is less of a fictional story of the Buddha dating and much more of a practical guide to finding love, which I am honestly enjoying. It feels like exactly what I need to hear at this point in my life. The author, Charlotte Kasl (Ph.D), is a practising psychotherapist and reiki healer, and in the book she draws on spiritual traditions such as Buddhism, Sufism, Quakerism, to guide the reader on how to find a partner without losing oneself. The essence of this point is perhaps best explained with the following quote: ‘What would it mean to bring a Buddha consciousness to dating? Instead of feeling a sense of urgency, we would be fascinated by the process of meeting and getting to know new people.’ This may not be a particularly novel idea, but the way it is worded really speaks to me, and as Sara also said in her TikTok, it ‘calmed my heart’. 

Even though the book was written back in 1999, and though there are bits that seem outdated like when Kasl talks about the personal ads people once used to find dates, most of it remains very relevant. I also like the spiritual slant of the book. It feels grounded and supportive, and it was also eye opening to read about the ways different religious traditions regard love. Every chapter opens with a beautiful quote by authors and poets, some of my favourite being from Rumi and Kahlil Gibran. I will leave you with a few lines by Rumi that I think are particularly beautiful and which are part of a longer poem of his.

Show me the way to the Ocean!

Shatter these half measures

All these tiny containers

 – Rumi

Ayesha

I’m currently reading the ARC for “The Geographer’s Map to Romance” by India Holton and I fear this is my least favorite of her works. I’ve read all of her books (I believe) and her writing style and method of storytelling is the same in every book, regardless of being a different series. What keeps me reading her books is her unique whimsiness but it’s gotten to the point where it’s oversaturated and honestly, taking away from the actual story. It’s disappointing because I’m over half way through and I’ve been skimming for most of the time. The story arc is messy and I can’t tell what is happening in the scenes – too much is happening yet not enough at the same time. I love it when authors find their way of sharing stories but I do think there needs to be some thought to how readers will understand and perceive the content. Just because something makes sense to an author does not mean it has translated well to a reader.