Podcast Summary: "DEDICATED 3.0"

Podcast: I'll Read What She's Reading
Hosts: Reggie, Mikayla, Kennedy
Episode Date: February 18, 2026

Overview

In this episode, the hosts celebrate the unique art of book dedications. In their third "DEDICATED" installment, they bring their signature blend of heartfelt discussion and chaotic, witty banter to a collection of sappy, poetic, funny, and even petty dedications found in some favorite and lesser-known reads. With each dedication, they reflect on the emotional resonance, speculate about the people behind them, and often spiral into laughter and sentimentality. The episode provides both a love letter to readers and authors and a reminder not to skip those opening pages.

Main Discussion Topics & Insights

Why Book Dedications Matter

• The hosts reminisce about previous "DEDICATED" episodes and viral moments (e.g., Mikayla crying over a Sarah J. Maas dedication) [00:41].
• Initial discussion centers on how dedications set the emotional tone for a book and serve as touching, personal gestures from authors to significant people in their lives.
• Kennedy shares a fun fact about the origins of dedications:

  "Book dedications originated in medieval and Renaissance Europe as a way for authors to honor, thank, or secure patronage from the wealthy, influential figures who supported their work financially. Over time, that turned into personal, intimate gestures." [10:13]

Emotional & Poignant Dedications

• To Struggling and Dreaming Readers

  • "For anyone who has ever felt lost and alone and found, sanctuary in the pages of books is for you." — Bridge Kemmer, Warrior Princess Assassin [06:26]
  • "To those who talk too much and sing too loud and cry too often and love something in life more than you should." — Fredrik Backman, The Winners [24:06]

• To Family and Loved Ones

  • "For Joey. You are so perfectly my favorite person." — Emily Henry, Beach Read [03:52]
  • "To my mom for being the most loving woman I know. I wish every girl could have a mom like you." — Liz Tom Ford, Mile High [07:27]
  • "For my mom and my three grandmothers. Life is complicated. Your love never was." — Emily Henry, Great BBBL [15:16]
  • "For Emily, who has all my love." — Brandon Sanderson, Tress of the Emerald Sea [14:10]

• To Mentors and Inspirations

  • "To Paul Dye, the longest serving flight director at NASA and author of Shuttle Houston. Paul, I can see how you guided many a crew home safely. This book would not exist without you." — Taylor Jenkins Reid, The Atmosphere [11:32]
  • The hosts research Paul, marvel at his 40+ years with NASA, and speculate he may have been a consultant or inspiration for Reid's book research [12:24].

• To Fellow Dreamers

  • "To the child in each of us yearning to be special, Take my hand, you strange little creature, and together we shall walk beyond the wall." — Rachel Gillig, The Night and Moth [10:47]
  • "To all the little girls who wanted to be spies when they grew up, there's still time." — Ally Carter, The Blonde Who Came Up from the Cold [27:32]

• For Perseverance

  • "For the ones who fight their way forward." — V.E. Schwab, A Gathering of Shadows [18:01]
  • "To those who have had to claw their way out of the dark and still chose to be a light of this world, I’m proud of you." — Fantasma by Kaylee Smith [28:09]

• To Siblings and Friends

  • "For my siblings, Mallory, Taylor, and Ryan. You were mine from the moment you were born." — Ashley Winstead, The Future Saints [05:45]
  • "To Mark, Allison, Page, and Camille. One of the themes in this book is finding friendships that fill your cup instead of draining it. Thank you for being the people who fill mine." — Liz Tom Ford, The Right Move [26:10]
  • "Here's to the 10 characters, five couples, three teams, two sets of siblings, and one amazing friend group that changed my life. This one is dedicated to you: the readers. Thank you for hanging out in Chicago with me." — Liz Tom Ford, Rewind It Back [26:43]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Dedications Hitting Different After Reading:
  • "After you finish the book, you should go read the dedication. Because I feel like sometimes, not always, they tie back to the book." — Kennedy [03:21]
• On the Pressure of Dedicating a Book:
  • "I think it would be stressful...it would be hard to pick who you would dedicate this to, depending on what your book's about." — Kennedy [15:42]
• Emotional Reactions:
  • "I'm going to be on the verge of tears pretty much this entire episode." — Reggie [07:46]
  • "Guys, I might just cry over every single one. Cause I'm about to start my period. So just don't mind me." — Kennedy [05:23]

The Power of Dedications: Personal Reflection

• The hosts discuss the power of encouragement from loved ones and how dedicating a book can honor those who believed in an author before the world did.
  • "There needs to be a little more people in that world that just push people to...see their potential before you yourself can see it." — Mikayla [16:45]
• They marvel at the idea of being personally named in an acknowledgement or dedication, joking about their own hypothetical mentions and dream scenarios. [20:37]

Funny & Quirky Dedications (Timestamp ~[28:30] to [33:56])

To break up the tears, the hosts share dedications that made them laugh out loud:

• "For Colin Firth. You're a really great guy, but I'm married, so I think we should just be friends." — Shannon Hale, Austenland [28:36]
• "To all the girls who want to be railed by a psychopath." [29:04]
• "This is for Mamu Fuku Ando, the creator of Instant Ramen, which sustained me for many a long night as I struggled with both words and self doubt. Nothing but respect for my president." [29:12]
• "For everyone who knows there is enough room for Leonardo DiCaprio on that door. And for England. We're really sorry for what we're about to do to your history." — Cynthia Hand, My Lady Jane [29:51]
• "To my wonderful readers. Sorry about that last cliffhanger. Well, no, not really. But seriously, I love you guys." [30:11]
• "For all the food lovers out there who burn popcorn in the microwave, we'd be too strong if we could cook, too." — Ashley Poston, The Seven Year Slip [30:21]
• "Dedicated to the strongest person I know. Me. — Psychos by Babe Walker" [30:41]
• "For all the readers who like their book boyfriends covered in red flags. Red's my favorite color, too." [30:50]
• "This book is dedicated to Kanye West because he'll not never effing read it." — Joan Rivers, Diary of a Mad Diva [31:04]
• "For my father, who is not evil. Well, maybe a little bit." — Cassandra Clare, City of Ashes [31:24]
• "For Carly, who is a better person than I am, even though she was a dog." [31:50]
• "No, thanks to [list of publishing houses]" (E.E. Cummings dedicated his collection to the 14 publishers that rejected him) [32:14]

Thought-Provoking & Relatable Insights

• The group muses on the impact of dedications, how they change with context, and the joy of discovering a heartfelt or hilarious line at the front of a book.
• They playfully imagine what it would be like if albums or movies had dedications, much like books do [09:31].
• They share ideas for a meta-romance where books on shelves fall in love and get separated (eagerly claiming the idea and requesting a dedication if anyone writes it!) [22:41].

Recommendations and Reminders

• Never skip the dedication page! The hosts encourage listeners to read dedications and acknowledgments for secret gems and genuine emotion.
  • "It's reminding me to open the dedication page first because you never know if it might hit you in the heart or make you giggle, or maybe it's just to Tom." — Kennedy [34:37]
• They reflect on how dedications can nudge a book up the TBR list and foster deeper appreciation for the people behind the stories.

Key Timestamps

• [00:41] – Reminiscing about earlier dedication episodes & viral TikTok moment
• [03:52] – Emily Henry’s Beach Read dedication discussion
• [05:45] – Dedication in The Future Saints and group’s emotional vulnerability
• [10:13] – History of dedications explained
• [11:32] – Taylor Jenkins Reid’s tribute to NASA’s Paul Dye
• [14:10] – Multiple tender dedications by Brandon Sanderson
• [18:01] – VE Schwab’s dedication to perseverance
• [24:06] – The Winners by Fredrik Backman, celebration of being "too much"
• [26:43] – Liz Tom Ford's reader-centric dedication
• [28:36] – Shift to sharing funny dedications
• [32:14] – E.E. Cummings' legendary petty dedication to rejecting publishers
• [34:37] – Closing reflections and the importance of dedications

Final Thoughts

This joyful, emotional rollercoaster of an episode is a tribute to the little pages at the front of our favorite books. With laughter, tears, and plenty of banter, Reggie, Mikayla, and Kennedy remind listeners that dedications are tiny love notes from authors—to family, friends, readers, and even themselves—and they hold a magic all their own. The hosts invite everyone, seasoned reader or not, to join in the fun of “reading what she’s reading” and to never again skip those first, precious lines.

Noteworthy Quotes

• "Let this be your sign to always read the dedications. And also sometimes author's notes at the ends of books are so sweet." — Mikayla [02:19]
• "Imagine if someone dedicated a book to us. That's a dream." — Kennedy [20:37]
• "Apply them to your lives. These are really fun. I think we really enjoy getting to go back and read some of the dedications from some of our favorite books." — Mikayla [34:26]