Los Angeles, October 24 EST: There’s a point where the constant flying, posing, posting everything that looks glamorous from the outside just wears you down. Olivia Ponton hit that point back in 2021. She was 18, traveling nonstop, shooting for Victoria’s Secret and Sports Illustrated, smiling for the camera even when she was running on fumes. Somewhere in all that noise, she picked up a book.
That one book turned into two, then ten. And now, reading has turned into her next act.
This week, Ponton launched a podcast called Booked and Busy, which she describes, in her own words, as something that’s “healing my soul.” It’s part book club, part journal entry an hour or so of her talking about the novels that have shaped her life and the lessons hiding between the lines.
From Selfies to Storytelling
The first episode covers Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros, a fantasy juggernaut that’s taken over BookTok. Ponton dives right into it, not as a host trying to sound intellectual, but as someone who’s simply obsessed. She laughs, goes off track, talks about theories. It’s unfiltered in the best way.
“I think fiction sometimes gets a bad rep because it’s make-believe,” she told People. “That’s great. That’s amazing. But there’s so much to learn through fiction and through storytelling.”
She’s not pretending to be an expert. “I didn’t go to college, I wasn’t an English major,” she says. “But I’ve read every conspiracy theory possible for these books. I know way too much.” It’s endearing someone whose career has been built on perfect images now diving into messy stories that live entirely in her imagination.
A Different Kind of Influence
If you only know Ponton from Instagram, the podcast might surprise you. She built her name on beauty and lifestyle content, not on literary deep dives. But this shift feels real. Not a rebrand, not a strategy just something she needs.
The show, according to People, mixes talk about books with talk about life: burnout, loneliness, trying to stay grounded while everyone’s watching. She’s creating a small community where listeners can show up, say what they think, and maybe argue about a plot twist or two.
There’s a sense that she’s trying to make space for something quieter. A place where she’s not the product.
Slowing Down in a Loud World
Ponton isn’t rushing this. The plan is to start solo, then bring on guests writers, friends, maybe fans. She’s thinking about video episodes too, since most of her audience already lives on YouTube. But right now, it’s simple: a mic, a book, and her voice.
The tone is easy, human, sometimes clumsy. She doesn’t sound like she’s reading from notes. She just talks. It’s the kind of thing that feels like you’re sitting across from her, two coffees deep, comparing favorite chapters.
There’s something refreshing about that, especially in a world where every influencer is trying to sound perfect.
A Softer Kind of Ambition
No one knows yet if Booked and Busy will take off. There are no listener numbers, no flashy sponsors, no reviews. But that doesn’t seem to be the point. Ponton isn’t selling anything. She’s showing something.
She’s showing that you can be a model, an influencer, a public figureand still crave the quiet act of reading. That you can be surrounded by cameras and still want to talk about something that has nothing to do with looks.
For someone whose life has been defined by visibility, this is her first real attempt at being seen differently. Not for how she looks, but for what’s going on in her head.
She’s tired, she’s curious, she’s reading. And right now, that’s enough.
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A bi-coastal pop culture critic and former indie screenwriter, Gia covers Hollywood, streaming wars, and subculture shifts with razor wit and Gen Z intuition. If it’s going viral, she already knew about it.
