THE VIBE
In a stressful world, The Book & The Vibe is a weekly escape for mood readers who love historical fiction, real history, and travel. Talking about atmosphere more than plot points, this show is for readers who often decide what to read next based on mood.
WHAT TO EXPECT
Episodes features a spoiler-free Main Review of a great historical fiction pick. We follow that with our Unearthed segment, where we dig into the real history and trivia behind the story to enhance your reading experience - carefully avoiding any plot giveaways. We close with The Tavern, a rotating segment covering bonus reviews, travel destinations, and book related chats. Once a month, we go big with a themed Stacked Episode covering three books at once.
BOOKS WE TALK ABOUT
In general, we're not reading historical fiction books with covers featuring women with their backs turned. We ARE recommending everything from World War II (WWII) spy thrillers and Tudor books to mysteries, medieval stories, myth retellings, warlord sagas, legends, historical fantasy, and more. Publishing half hour episodes weekly, this show favors propulsive books that appeal to both men and women, focusing on novels filled with adventure, intrigue, and mystery.
MEET YOUR HOST
Helen Gabay is the creator and host of The Book & The Vibe, drawing on a lifelong love of reading, history, and travel — plus a childhood shaped by her father's life in publishing. After nearly two decades in executive sales roles, she left corporate life to build a show that celebrates stories and the places they take us. Helen studied History, English, and Political Science at The George Washington University in D.C., is based between Richmond and Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia, and begs her husband and son to join her on history and food tours whenever they travel.
Rip, the Rhodesian Ridgeback, and official show mascot. He subs in for Helen on social media often, because Helen is super camera-shy.