Author and Creator Eli Rallo Owns Around 500 Books — Which Genre She Reaches for Most (Exclusive)

It’s no secret that author and content creator Eli Rallo is a bookworm, but on top of her writing, as well as running her Prose Hoes Literary Salon, life can get busy. So when Rallo does have free time, she likes to relax with a good read in an even better environment.

“I always like to have a candle lit, a blanket,” Rallo tells PEOPLE exclusively. “I always have candles lit. Then for a drink, I think it depends on time of day. I would say always a glass of wine, but in the afternoon, you have to have a cup of tea.”

In her new partnership with LoveSac, Rallo is helping spread the word about the furniture company’s latest launch: two new editions of their viral PillowSac Accent Chair. The cloud-like seat, now with new black and brown wood frames, is an ideal choice for readers, Rallo notes.

“There is something to be said about the perfect little reading nook and I have always made it a mission to have my own library,” Rallo says. She owns around 500 books, and has read the majority of them.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

“I have been building [my library] since I was probably 8 to 10 years old and most of the books are still at my parents’ house, but I do own a lot of the books,” she says.

Though Rallo’s favorite pastime is reading, she doesn’t choose her next book on a whim.

“I am intentional about the types of books that I read at different periods of my life, and the types of authors that I’m consuming,” she says. “I like to read all the big splashy lit fic. I’m a big literary fiction girl, but I also like to find different books as well.”

It’s the ethos behind her Prose Hoes book club too, which Rallo created to revamp the centuries-old literary salon for the modern age. Each month, Rallo chooses a new book for members to read (June’s pick is The Catch by Yrsa Daley-Ward). Rallo discusses the book on the salon’s podcast — sometimes joined by the author themselves — and encourages Prose Hoes members to meet up with each other in-person.

“I really pride myself on seeking out diverse perspectives, and so I wanted to share those books with a community of people,” she says. “It’s just really fun and exciting to be able to champion these debut writers and be their biggest fan, which I am.”

The PEOPLE App is now available in the Apple App Store! Download it now for the most binge-worthy celeb content, exclusive video clips, astrology updates and more!

Rallo herself became a debut author in 2023, with her essay collection I Didn’t Know I Needed This. Her new book, Does Anyone Else Feel This Way?, is out this fall, and tackles what many call the “quarter-life crisis.” Rallo says the following she’s built helped to inspire the book too.

“In sharing my own mishaps and missteps and challenges of being in my twenties, I was able to connect with an audience of young people who felt the same way,” Rallo says. “Sometimes, it can feel massively isolating to be experiencing loneliness or singular emotions, and fear that other people don’t share in those. So I was really grateful to have built a community of people where we could all talk about these things.”