Hey Reader,

This is the weekly announcement for The Awkward Handshake, a podcast & community all about networking that I co-host. If you want to opt-out of these podcast & networking community updates, CLICK HERE.

When was the last time you read a book for fun? More specifically, a romance book. Because this week we're diving into why you should ditch the non-fiction and pick up a happily ever after to up your networking game.

For our final guest episode, Megan and I sat down with Katherine D. Morgan (author, ordained minister, and owner of Grand Gesture Books, Portland's beloved romance bookstore) to talk about community, trust, and what the world of romantic fiction can teach you about showing up for other people.

Spoiler: it's a lot.

We talked about:

✨ Why community takes effort and how to tell if you're a giver or a taker (hint: you might not realize which one you are)
✨ What it actually costs to host a great event, and why your $50 ticket is a steal compared to a standing-room concert
✨ How trust gets built one book recommendation at a time
✨ Why Katherine thinks you should swap your self-help books for romance novels
✨ The miscommunication trope everyone hates in fiction and how it's showing up in your networking

One of our biggest takeaways from this whole conversation was that the skills that make someone a great romance reader are exactly the skills that make someone a great networker.

It's not that deep. It's also exactly that deep.

(We also each shared a favorite romance book and what it reveals about us. You'll have to listen to find out.)

🎧 Listen to Episode 19: Come for the Romance, Stay for the Community

Connect with Katherine + Grand Gesture Books: ​
​Website ​
​Instagram​

​Find your next event at Grand Gesture Books here.​

Our challenge to you: go get a book recommendation from Katherine and her team. Read it. Then tell us what you got. If you email us and mention the book, we'll know you made it all the way to the end.

If you enjoyed the episode, we’d love it if you left a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts. It helps more thoughtful, interesting humans find the show.

Talk soon,
Mary + Megan