Meet Caitie C. | Avid reader and occasional 9-5 worker.

We had the good fortune of connecting with Caitie C. and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Caitie, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
While there are thousands (thousands) of book-tokers and book-bloggers, we couldn’t find a single account that made talking about books FUN. We were greatly inspired by Drunk History, which is arguably the greatest invention of our time, and thought we could implement a similar concept. Queue our first book club meeting, where we accidentally got a bit too tossed, and found the conversation around the books start to change from something clinical into something fluid and silly. From here we realized there was a gap in the industry that we could fill, leading to the genesis of Drunk Book Club.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
We are both working 2 – 3 jobs on top of maintaining our ‘hobby’, DBC. This passion project started out of convenience, we were getting drunk and sharing books already, might as well just film it! It soon became much more than a project, and initially created quite a rift in our ‘professional’ world. Do we embrace this creative side that is begging for more attention and time, or stay focused on the careers we ‘dreamed of’ since college? Mara works 50+ hours a week in the academic sector, and I work 7 days a week at two different hospitals. While we are very proud of our big girl jobs, nothing inspires conversation in a new crowd quite like DBC does. It has become our favorite thing about ourselves, and has quickly challenged our adult identities. The challenging day-to-day work continues, while we dedicate our nights to reading and building up our DBC peers and authors. It is easy for hobbies to slip into the ‘chore’ category when the magic and excitement fades, but we have always prided ourselves on maintaining this space that has allowed us to spend time together, read great literature, and connect with authors, publishing houses, and fellow readers.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
It’s always sunny in Arizona! Welcome to the desert, where the scorpions and rattlesnakes are about as welcoming as the locals. Fear not, they are late for their tee-time and Flower Child order took too long. head on into Scottsdale, where the saguaros are protected and there are surprisingly more palm trees than you thought there would be. First stop is a late lunch at Diego Pops, because you’ll need a margarita after dealing with PHX airport. Since you’re in the area, you might as well take a scooter over to Old Town and window shop the galleries and boutiques. You’ll find some surprising pop art items and sculptures, and you’ll gradually come across Cala – a lush oasis of a restaurant with no shortage of espresso martinis (yes, with tequila). Enjoy a light family-style dinner (might I recommend the Fungi pizza?) and head over to your Vrbo in Arcadia. Wake up in the morning refreshed and energized and head over to Piestewa Peak – do not forget your sunscreen and water or you’ll end up like the europeans that get airlifted to the nearest hospital for heat stroke. Enjoy an afternoon resort pass and lounge by the pool, particularly the Andaz Resort and Spa. It is somehow both the most isolated and conveniently located resort. You can walk to Blanco, a local cocina and cantina that actually has pretty great tortilla soup, and an even better patio. You can swing by AJ’s Fine Foods in the morning for a pastry and a latte, don’t forget to take a number!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
The most versatile and generous publishing house, Two Dollar Radio, have been our role-models throughout this process. While presenting bold works of literary merit and supporting artists of varied cultural and artistic backgrounds, they somehow noticed us, a twosome reading mostly smut but sprinkling in some short stories and essay collections. They not only support our bookshelves by sending us wonderful advanced copies, but they are incredibly kind-hearted and generally just amazing to work with. They make us, the reader, feel important and valued. And we cannot thank them enough for the stories they share.

Instagram: @drunkbookclubs

Image Credits
These photos are our own – logo was made on Canva and the drawing was purchased from an artist on Etsy