The Great Read-Alike Roundup

Summary

Podcast Summary: Bad On Paper – The Great Read-Alike Roundup

Podcast Information:

• Title: Bad On Paper
• Hosts: Becca Freeman & Olivia Muenter
• Episode: The Great Read-Alike Roundup
• Release Date: October 16, 2024
• Description: Join Becca Freeman and Olivia Muenter every Wednesday for a dose of books and banter, along with interviews with women who inspire us.

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Introduction

In this engaging episode of Bad On Paper, hosts Becca Freeman and Olivia Muenter dive into their much-anticipated segment, "The Great Read-Alike Roundup." Olivia introduces the concept, explaining that they'll be recommending books similar to ones their listeners have adored, covering a mix of backlist treasures and fresh releases suitable for the fall season.

Notable Quote:

"[Olivia] I thought it would be fun to do an episode that was essentially, if you loved this book, then we suggest you read this other book."
— Olivia Muenter [00:29]

Highs & Lows

Before delving into book recommendations, the duo shares personal highs and lows, adding a relatable touch to the episode.

• Olivia’s High: Olivia revels in the crisp fall weather, picturesque leaf changes, and the simple joys of autumn, including a delightful visit to the library adorned with pumpkins.

  Quote:

  "It's really crispy out there. And the leaves are really changing quickly now. So, yeah, there's just been a lot of really cute fall moments."
  — Olivia Muenter [00:55]

• Becca’s Low: Becca candidly discusses her struggle with insomnia, attributing it to constant thoughts about her ongoing book project. This creative unrest leads her to jot down ideas late into the night, disrupting her sleep.

  Quote:

  "I've been having some insomnia somewhat the past two weeks, but especially the past week... every time I lay down, I keep having all these thoughts about my book that I'm working on."
  — Becca Freeman [02:39]

• Olivia’s Low: Olivia recounts a harrowing experience with stubborn San Marzano tomato cans, culminating in a broken knife incident. Her humorous yet intense storytelling highlights the everyday frustrations that can escalate unexpectedly.

  Quote:

  "I just assumed I had been impaled by the knife. It was terrifying."
  — Olivia Muenter [08:55]

Book Recommendations by Genre

Romance

The hosts explore books that resonate with readers of romance novels, particularly those akin to The Idea of You.

• Olivia’s Top Picks:

  1. "Big Fan" by Alexandra Romanoff
     A retired boy band member seeks the help of a woman who once managed his fan network, blending romance with the intricacies of the music world.

  2. "Seven Days in June" by Tia Williams
     A steamy, second-chance romance between two authors reuniting after years apart, set against the backdrop of literary events.

  3. "On the Island" by Tracy Garbis Graves
     Though featuring an age-gap romance similar to The Idea of You, this book ventures into unsettling territory, drawing comparisons to classic controversial narratives.

• Becca’s Top Picks:

  1. "Vari McFarlane’s Series"
     British contemporary romance with sharp dialogue and humor, akin to Emily Henry’s style.

  2. "You Should Ask" by Alyssa Sussman
     A playful take on the real person-famous person trope, inspired by celebrity interactions.

  3. "Who’s That Girl?" by Holly Grimasio
     *Explores the dynamics of wealth and friendship in romantic settings, perfect for fans of The Royal We.

Notable Quote:

"If you haven't read it yet, here's your reminder. Read, read this."
— Olivia Muenter [16:11]

Thrillers and Mysteries

For listeners who crave suspense and intricate plotlines, Becca and Olivia offer compelling recommendations.

• Olivia’s Top Picks:

  1. "Night Watching" by Tracy Sierra
     A fast-paced mystery about a mother suspecting an intruder in her home, blending suspense with themes of motherhood.

  2. "Mad Woman" by Chelsea Beaker
     Delves into the pressures faced by mothers, intertwining personal struggles with gripping mystery elements.

  3. "My Dark Vanessa" by Kate Elizabeth Russell
     An intense exploration of a predator-prey relationship, examining the long-term effects of abuse.

  4. "The Plot" by Gene Hob Korolitz
     A literary mystery set within the world of publishing, focusing on intellectual property theft and moral dilemmas.

• Becca’s Top Picks:

  1. "Happiness Falls" by Angie Kim
     A unique mystery featuring a non-verbal son with Angelman syndrome, emphasizing themes of communication and stigma.

Notable Quote:

"What I can say is, it’s very intense. So check the trigger warnings for sure."
— Olivia Muenter [31:14]

Literary Fiction

Exploring deeper, character-driven narratives, the hosts suggest books that intertwine humor with heavy themes.

• Olivia’s Top Picks:

  1. "Fellowship Point" by Alice Elliot Darke
     An epic saga of two wealthy women navigating friendship and land ownership, echoing the thematic depth of Demon Copperhead.

• Becca’s Top Picks:

  1. "I Hope This Finds You Well" by Natalie Sue
     A workplace comedy featuring an Iranian Canadian woman uncovering deeper connections and personal growth.

  2. "Bel Canto" by Ann Patchett
     A crowd-pleasing novel set during a hostage situation at a birthday party, praised for its universal appeal and character development.

Notable Quote:

"It's very hard to describe, but something tells me you would like it in the other as well."
— Olivia Muenter [55:56]

Popular Book Comparisons

The hosts tackle widely-read books, providing alternatives that capture similar essences.

• "Remarkably Bright Creatures" by Morgan Matson:
  Olivia likens it to "All the Colors of the Dark" by Chris Whitaker, noting the blend of mystery and heartfelt friendship.

• "The Midnight Library" by Matt Haig:
  Becca recommends "The Husbands" by Holly Grimasio and "Time Tomorrow" by Emma Straub, which explore alternate lives and personal transformations.

Notable Quote:

"If you liked either of those, like, this is the book that would be in the... every book club for women who are between 40 and 80."
— Olivia Muenter [66:13]

End Matter: Obsessions and Book Club Picks

The episode concludes with the hosts sharing their current obsessions and highlighting their upcoming book club selections.

• Becca’s Obsession:
  Micro Stitch Tool from Amazon – a handy gadget for quick wardrobe fixes, though she warns of a confusing setup process.

  Quote:

  "This solves so many wardrobe situations."
  — Becca Freeman [60:05]

• Olivia’s Obsession:
  "Burnt Toast" Substack by Virginia Sol Smith – a collection of insightful writings on diet culture and personal narratives.

  Quote:

  "I've been enjoying every single piece of her writing. And I feel just so excited to read more."
  — Olivia Muenter [64:02]

• Upcoming Book Club Pick:
  "Bel Canto" by Ann Patchett – a universally acclaimed novel revolving around a hostage situation, fostering unexpected alliances and love stories.

Notable Quote:

"I'm so excited to check this out with all of you. I've seen a lot of people... say that this is one of their all-time favorite books which makes me even more excited."
— Becca Freeman [64:33]

Conclusion

Becca and Olivia wrap up the episode by inviting listeners to engage with them on their Facebook and Geneva groups, as well as following them on Instagram. They encourage audience participation and look forward to discussing their book club picks in future episodes.

Notable Quote:

"If you want to talk about any of this with us, you can join us in the Facebook group or the Geneva group."
— Olivia Muenter [70:52]

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This comprehensive roundup offers a treasure trove of book recommendations across various genres, enriched by the hosts' personal anecdotes and insightful commentary. Whether you're seeking a steamy romance, a gripping thriller, or thoughtful literary fiction, Bad On Paper provides curated choices to enhance your reading journey.

Key Takeaways:

• Personal highs and lows can influence book preferences and recommendations.
• Diverse genres require tailored recommendations to match specific reader interests.
• Engaging with a community, whether through book clubs or social media, enhances the reading experience.

Final Highlight:

"You should start it tonight. You should start it now."
— Becca Freeman [45:22]

Stay Connected:

• Becca Freeman: Substack
• Olivia Muenter: Follow on Instagram at @oliviamenter
• Join the Discussion: Facebook and Geneva groups under Batonpaper Podcast

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This summary encapsulates the essence of "The Great Read-Alike Roundup" episode, providing listeners with a clear and detailed overview of the discussions, insights, and book recommendations shared by Becca Freeman and Olivia Muenter.

Transcript

[Becca Freeman]

Hi, everyone, and welcome back to Badon Paper Podcast. I'm Becca Freeman.

[Olivia Mentor]

And I'm Olivia Mentor.

[Becca Freeman]

And I feel like you should explain today's episode because this is something that you've been very excited to do.

[Olivia Mentor]

Sure. I thought it would be fun to do an episode that was essentially, if you loved this book, then we suggest you read this other book. So I think Becca called it a read alike episode and I really liked that too. So read alike episode for fall. If you need some backlist books to check out, and some new ones too.

[Becca Freeman]

Well, before we get into the books, though, tell me what your high is.

[Olivia Mentor]

My high is just fall. Tiny things. I feel like it's been a week or two full of just like, the most perfect fall weather imaginable. I'm sure it's the same in the city. It is gorgeous. And especially this week, the temperatures have really dropped. So it's like, it's really crispy out there. It's really crispy. And the leaves are really changing quickly now. So, yeah, there's just been a lot of really cute fall moments. Like yesterday, I have been wanting to read. I haven't read a lot of Stephen King, so I was like, I didn't either. It's fall. I'm gonna go check out, like, the Shining or something.

[Becca Freeman]

Ooh.

[Olivia Mentor]

And so I brought myself to the library and, like, all the leaves are falling down. It was the end of the day, so it was, like, really cool outside. It smelled like leaves. The town looked really cute. There was pumpkins outside the library. And I just, like, walked in and looked for the books I wanted. They didn't have them. But still really pleasant just to, like, have a little excursion into town. Jake and I got pumpkins over the weekend. We got mums. It's been really nice. It's just like peak fall. And so I'm trying to just appreciate every minute of it.

[Becca Freeman]

You're like a solar battery that's recharging. Your fall energy has to last you through the rest of the year.

[Olivia Mentor]

Yeah, it's really nice. I am trying to just remember it for when it's like the dead of winter and I'm like, why? Why do I live here? I live here because of this time of year. What's your high?

[Becca Freeman]

I don't know. It's not that I'm like, having a particularly bad week or anything, but it will make sense when you hear my low. I'm overwhelmed right now and I don't have anything specific that I'm like, that was a high.

[Olivia Mentor]

I know. That feeling very well. Oh, I'm sorry. Well, do you want to talk about your low?

[Becca Freeman]

Yeah, my low is just that I've been having some insomnia somewhat the past two weeks, but especially the past week. And I am generally a sleepy person and do not do well when I am not sleeping. And on the one hand it's kind of good. So I think the reason that I'm not sleeping is because every time I lay down, I keep having all these thoughts about my book that I'm working on. So I'm getting these brain flashes and last night I actually had to get up and get a notepad and write everything down just to get it out of my head. But I'm either not able to go to sleep. Like last night, I think I got in bed at maybe like 11 and I don't think that I fell asleep until 3:30 or I'm waking up in the middle of the night. I'm waking up from like 3:30 to 6:30. So I'm just like not sleeping well.

[Olivia Mentor]

That's horrible. That affects everything too. So I feel for you, but did the journaling actually help? Cause I know that is something I have read online, like as a suggestion from professionals. If you can't sleep, you should journal.

[Becca Freeman]

It wasn't journaling. It was just like I was having ideas or snatches of dialogue or something and I was like, ugh, I gotta get up and write this down so I don't forget.

[Olivia Mentor]

I mean, did you feel good afterwards or were you just kind of like, annoyed that you were worried?

[Becca Freeman]

No, I was annoyed that I was getting out of bed at 12:30 at night to write something down and that then it did not clear it so that I could go to bed.

[Olivia Mentor]

It is giving tortured creative genius. So there is that. I'm sorry.

[Becca Freeman]

Maybe I will make a very popular musical album out of this experience.

[Olivia Mentor]

I think you should.

[Becca Freeman]

I don't think you've heard my singing voice, so I don't think you should say that.

[Olivia Mentor]

I still think about the person who thought that it was either you or Grace singing the Bottom Paper theme song.

[Becca Freeman]

Surprise.

[Olivia Mentor]

It's both of us. Just really makes me laugh every time.

[Becca Freeman]

I was laughing really hard the other day when you shared the graphic for that adult book fair. And right over my head it says live music. And I shared it. I was like, I'm not the live music people, just so you know.

[Olivia Mentor]

I think most people who know us probably put that together. But I did have an image of you just with an acoustic guitar just playing the down on paper. Theme song for four hours.

[Becca Freeman]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Olivia Mentor]

But also closing time at the end.

[Becca Freeman]

Adjacent to low territory. I mean, it's not my low. So this morning I went out and I think because of you, I know when you were doing your last round of edits with your book, you bought a crappy notebook to kind of make your notes in. And I was like, I should do that. Just have a scratch notebook as opposed to a legal pad so that it stays all in one place. And with a legal pad, sometimes when I flip the pages, they start to tear. And I don't want to have just a bunch of loose pieces of paper. So this morning, first thing, I went out to go buy a notebook and I just went to Duane Reade, which is. It's like our version of Walgreens, and I bought a one subject, five star notebook. Olivia, can you guess how much it is?

[Olivia Mentor]

I'm scared. $8?

[Becca Freeman]

Yeah, it was 7.99.

[Olivia Mentor]

Oh, I don't. Wow. For a one subject, that's a lot for paper. Essentially.

[Becca Freeman]

Cheap, regular notebook.

[Olivia Mentor]

I was shocked. It's not even like cute or anything.

[Becca Freeman]

No.

[Olivia Mentor]

Yeah, it's.

[Becca Freeman]

And the paper isn't even nice. It's really thin paper. It's not even as if it's like so cheap.

[Olivia Mentor]

Yeah, it probably costs like 20 cents to make.

[Becca Freeman]

I had such sticker shock. I mean, obviously I still bought it, but school supply inflation, man. You know, like, I get it with. When I buy a nice notebook from a stationary store, I'm expecting to pay a lot of money, but like a crummy Walgreens school notebook. Wow.

[Olivia Mentor]

You're almost double digits. Is out of. It's just. That's not. That's not right.

[Becca Freeman]

Yeah. What about you? What's your low?

[Olivia Mentor]

Oh, my low was a terrifying incident, actually that I experienced last week. So whenever Jake and I go to Costco, I always get the three pack of the giant 28 ounce can of the San Marzano tomatoes. Cause I use them for a lot of different things. However, I don't know who's making these things, but they are so hard to open with a can opener. And that thing happens where you get like halfway around the can and then it won't complete the circle. So then like, it's literally impossible to get the lid off. It's not like a pull tab. It's like you fully have to use the can opener. And anyway, I had a problem with it. I was making something. I was making soup and I was opening the can and it wouldn't fully detach. From the can, the lid. So I had to wedge it open, which. Bad idea. From the beginning.

[Becca Freeman]

I'm really trying.

[Olivia Mentor]

I'm so sorry to.

[Becca Freeman]

No, I'm like trying to figure it out if this is going towards you cut yourself and like, physical accident or you get tomatoes everywhere. And I honestly have no idea which way it's gonna go.

[Olivia Mentor]

Neither. It ends. If you're scared, if you're on the edge of your seat right now, heart pounding, just know I was okay. In the end, everything was okay, but. So I had the brilliant idea. What should I use to wedge open this razor sharp piece of metal on this can? I know. I will use a knife. That was the stupidest idea I've ever had. So I have this knife. It's like a. It's like a steak knife, I guess. And I try to wedge open the top of the can and the blade snaps clean in half. What? And so I. Yeah, clean in half. So I pull the knife away and there's no. And it. First of all, it makes this terrible sound. Terrible sound. Tomato splatters. Not everywhere, but a good amount. I pull it away and this. The tip of the knife is gone. And I swear to God, for like 20 seconds, I just stood there waiting for like the pain to set in. Cause I was like, the knife is lodged somewhere in my body. It hasn't hit me yet. I am in shock. And it was just in the tomatoes, so.

[Becca Freeman]

So, yeah, that was my assumption.

[Olivia Mentor]

It was, but I just. I just assumed I had been impaled by the knife. It was terrifying. And then the whole can was wasted. Cause, you know, like, what if a piece of the metal got into the tomatoes? I don't want that in my soup. It was really a struggle. And I just. I want to do like a PSA or announcement, a plea to the San Marzano tomato people. Can we just make the cans easier to open? I don't need an industrial can opener in my life. I don't need an automatic one. Just make it easier, please. I beg of you. That's all.

[Becca Freeman]

San Marzano. You know what you did, they know.

[Olivia Mentor]

And also, in the words of Jake, you cannot use a knife as a wedge. Who knew? It seems like it made sense to me, but apparently they're brittle.

[Becca Freeman]

Hmm.

[Olivia Mentor]

Sharp but brittle.

[Becca Freeman]

I probably would have used a butter knife, but, yeah, I get the knife.

[Olivia Mentor]

That would have been better.

[Becca Freeman]

I get the knife compulsion.

[Olivia Mentor]

And now I wasted a very nice knife, actually. It's another sad part of this, but all right, well, that's my low.

[Becca Freeman]

Can I ask you another question unrelated to highs or lows, but that I feel like I need an update on.

[Olivia Mentor]

Oh, sure.

[Becca Freeman]

I saw on Instagram that you did watch Pumpkin Everything, and it was darker than you expected, but do you have an Olivia's Hallmark movie of the Week that you have watched or plan to watch?

[Olivia Mentor]

Yes, I did watch both. I watched Pumpkin and everything. And then I also watched one I've actually seen before, but this time I kind of watched it with a new critical gaze, which I enjoyed. And this one is called Falling for Vermont, I believe.

[Becca Freeman]

Okay.

[Olivia Mentor]

And the plot is somewhat. Yeah, well, it is, but I think there's, like, a darkness lurking under the surface because the entire plot is that a famous author, again, lots of authors in these movies, gets into a car accident on her way to Vermont. And, of course, she has amnesia afterwards. She doesn't know who she is. She doesn't know what to do. She doesn't know that she has a boyfriend, that she's an author.

[Becca Freeman]

Amnesia, 90s.

[Olivia Mentor]

It is.

[Becca Freeman]

Like, you don't hear about a lot of people having amnesia in 2024, but every 90s TV show, like, I would say once per show, sometimes more, somebody had amnesia.

[Olivia Mentor]

Yeah. I mean, it provides a lot of drama. Anyway, she is treated by the town doctor, who is, of course, a widower and a father of two.

[Becca Freeman]

Ooh, this feels predatory.

[Olivia Mentor]

Just wait. And he's like, well, while we figure out who you are, why don't you stay with me in my guest house?

[Becca Freeman]

Sure.

[Olivia Mentor]

And he's like, we'll call you. I think it's like, elizabeth, we'll call you Elizabeth. And she's just like, sure, she's fine. She's just going with all of this. And then at one point, they're in the house. She's like, basically becoming a mother to his children. Again, creepy. It's scary vibes. Something comes on the TV that reminds her of her book and her career. And he walks up to her and he's like, don't try too hard. Don't hurt yourself. Don't try to remember too much. Like, there's a darkness there, which I enjoy. But I suggest that one just because there's a lot more drama than punk and everything, which also is kind of dark.

[Becca Freeman]

Yeah, these seem tonally much darker than their Christmas offerings. And I wonder if that's a facet of their fall lineup, because their Christmas lineup is almost, like, blindly optimistic in the face of, like, verging on not living in the real world.

[Olivia Mentor]

Yeah, well, I've only watched those two so far. So Maybe I'll, I'll do another update when I catch some other ones that are, I don't know, perhaps less filled with intense plot lines. I do appreciate that they're trying to add some depth though, you know, good for them. Well, let's take an ad break and then we will talk books.

[Becca Freeman]

This episode is sponsored by Prose. You know when you visit someone's house and you use their shower and you kind of snoop on what products they're using? Olivia, full warning that I'm coming to your house in a couple of weeks and I'm going to do this.

[Olivia Mentor]

I accept this. I'm ready.

[Becca Freeman]

You know, I just want to know, like, what their go to shampoo and conditioner is. And have you ever noticed how everyone seems to be using different products? And that's because hair care isn't really a one size fits all experience. Everyone needs a different product that's best for their specific hair care needs. And if that's the case, why not get as customized as possible? And Prose does just that. They have a formula that can address my exact hair concerns, which makes sense because it's based on me.

[Olivia Mentor]

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[Becca Freeman]

I feel like I've had a full hair transformation since switching to Prose, and my hair hasn't gotten used to it over time. Like it's continued to work for, I think almost five years now is how long I've been using it. My hair just overall is so much healthier. It's shinier, it's fuller. I definitely notice that I can go longer between washes without getting greasy. And like, I have the best version of my hair. I have fine hair. It hasn't changed that. But I just have like my best hair, if that makes sense.

[Olivia Mentor]

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[Becca Freeman]

All right, Olivia, lead us into this. This is your idea. Be our master of ceremonies, our cruise director. Tell us how we're going to do this.

[Olivia Mentor]

So I've Broken this down into a few different genres. And mostly I try to start with books that you love. I love listeners, Love, we've talked about a lot and then build the comps based on those. So we're going to start with romance, which is kind of your genre and area of expertise. And I thought we had to start with the number one, the bat on paper Hallmark title of the idea of you. So for people who love that book, what are we telling them to read next?

[Becca Freeman]

Olivia, I feel like this is going to set me up. I'm starting off week because I think.

[Olivia Mentor]

That this book, this is a tough one.

[Becca Freeman]

I think that this book is singular. I do not think that there is a good answer to this question. Like, I do not have the like. Ah, yes, I am confident. Here is the next thing you need to read. I have things that fulfill certain pieces of this, but I do not have something that is the whole shebang. Like, I think this is, bar none, my bar for romance. And like there is nothing that compares to it.

[Olivia Mentor]

So if you haven't read it yet, here's your reminder.

[Becca Freeman]

Read, read this.

[Olivia Mentor]

Vibes. We'll go on vibes then. Similar vibes.

[Becca Freeman]

Okay.

[Olivia Mentor]

Scratch an itch a little bit.

[Becca Freeman]

So if you like the boy band piece and the aspect of a boy bander dating a woman who has her shit together, I think Big Fan by Alexandra Romanoff, which just came out and we. That was the book we talked about in the episode we did with Claire Mazur and erica Cerulo, about 831 stories, their new romance entertainment company. So that's about a former boy bander who's like since retired from, let's say, like a One Direction esque band and is launching a solo career. And he comes to this woman who is a political PR operative who used to run the biggest fan network for his band to help him with this. And so I think that has some similarity to it. The other one, which I think captures a different aspect of it is I think Seven Days in June by Tia Williams also captures some of the idea of you. You know, it's a steamy romance. This is a second chance romance. So it's about these two people who met when they were in high school, grew apart and then get reunited. And they're both authors. And in this one, the main character is a mother with an artsy career. And so I think tonally, if that's what you liked about the idea of you, that she was like a divorced mother with like a precocious daughter having a romance I think that gets you that and it also. They have artsy careers. You know, they're going to like literary parties or panels or things which in the idea of you. They're going to art fairs and they're going to concerts. So if you like that kind of like scene set at cultural events, I think Seven Days in June could be a good one for you. The other one, I will say, which I did not like. It creeped me out too much. But I have heard other people say if what you like about the idea of you is the age gap. Romance aspect. There's this book called on the island by Tracy Garbis Graves. And I don't know if Ashley Spivey recommended this as a read alike or if somebody in her audience recommended it as a read alike, but this one is. Okay, hold onto your hat, Olivia. It's about this woman who is a teacher and one of her students who are marooned on an island for like years.

[Olivia Mentor]

Oh.

[Becca Freeman]

And as they are marooned on the island.

[Olivia Mentor]

Wait, what?

[Becca Freeman]

A romance starts between them. So I think he's like 17. They get together, but it is creepy.

[Olivia Mentor]

Yeah. Okay.

[Becca Freeman]

It is like very tough.

[Olivia Mentor]

Nothing obviously happens until he's an adult.

[Becca Freeman]

Can't remember where the line is. It might happen when he's 17.

[Olivia Mentor]

It's giving blue Lagoon in a different way. Did you ever hear about that? I think that's what it's called with Brooke Shields. And it's actually quite disturbing because she was like a child doing fully nude scenes in this movie in the 70s. And basically this girl and her, I think, brother are marooned on the island, but they don't actually realize they're related anyway. Just a little. Very disturbing. But maybe this book you're describing isn't as disturbing as that. No incest. So there's. That's.

[Becca Freeman]

There's no incest. I mean, if what you like about the idea of you is an age gap, I think he's 19 in the idea of you turning 20. So, you know, like, that's true. This book has that. It was not my cup of tea.

[Olivia Mentor]

I actually am kind of curious. I might read it.

[Becca Freeman]

It's a fast one.

[Olivia Mentor]

I also, I just thought of this, but I really like the real person, famous person trope. And I absolutely loved romantic comedy by Curtis Sinfeld, which I know is divisive. I did not like that one, but I adored it. And like there's this portion in the middle that is just back and forth emails and I was just like kicking my feet in giggling throughout all of Them, like I absolutely loved that. But I know it's not for everyone, but if you have similar taste to me, maybe you'd like it. I don't know. So we had to include like an Emily Henry section in this. Cause I feel like that's a big one. Who are your Emily Henry comps? Like when you're in the mood for that style of book. And again, like Emily Henry is doing something, I would say pretty singular. But you know, that kind of very back and forth chatty dialogue, great character development, great love story. What do you have for us?

[Becca Freeman]

No, this I have good read alikes for. So I would say you should read Vari, McFarlane, who I've mentioned before. This is my favorite British contemporary romance author. She is also Emily Henry's favorite British contemporary romance author. And I think Vari's probably been writing since maybe 2012 or so. And Emily has stated that she's really inspired by Vari's dialogue and pattern and like the funniness of it. And so I think it's definitely more British, the humor. But like a Vari McFarlane, it scratches a very similar itch to an Emily Henry. So Just Last Night is a book that I would say is the most similar to Happy Place. It's even sadder. It deals with a friend group and one of the friends dies in a car accident. And then my favorite one, which I've been hawking for years is who's that Girl? Which is a famous person, normal person, one which doesn't really comp onto one of the Emily Henrys perfectly, but is a really fun time. And then the other one, I would say for Emily Henry, like the patter of the dialogue and that like snappiness. And I think there's also something about an Emily Henry that's like a little bit weird. Like the sense of humor is a little bit weird. I loved you'd Again by Kate Goldbeck and that one. I wrote a Goodreads review and I hope I didn't offend the author when I said this, but I was like, it's like Emily Henry for bad people. And so in Emily Henry's I think everyone has kind of like a molten center. Like when it's enemies to lovers, it's just because they don't understand each other well enough. And I was like, the people in this book are like more assholes. But I liked it. It was like a darker twist on Emily Henry.

[Olivia Mentor]

I've been wanting to read this one for like a year now.

[Becca Freeman]

It's so good. It's a good fall winter book. I would say that this one is probably most similar to Book Lovers but without a small town setting. So it's enemies to lovers.

[Olivia Mentor]

Well, those were great recs. Very specific. I like how you broke it down by book.

[Becca Freeman]

I think about this a lot. I'm always looking for something like an Emily Henry. Okay, so now you tell me Talking at Night is one of your favorite romances. I adored it as well. What would you read that is similar?

[Olivia Mentor]

So the thing that came to mind for me when thinking about talking at night, which, yes, I adore, I'm obsessed with, is the book Sharkheart by Emily Habeck, which is about a couple who within their first year of marriage, the husband, wait for it. Is diagnosed with a rare disease where he mentally and emotionally is staying as is, but physically is turning into a great white shark. So it sounds a bit weird and it is a bit weird. It definitely has this like kind of surreal quality to it. But the way I just openly wept on the deck of a cruise ship while reading this book, like it destroyed me. It was so romantic and also just heartbreaking, but also is just a lot about like love and loving a person and what it means to lose them and how that feels. And it's very different than Talking at Night, but in terms of just having like an emotional center that really just like ripped through me and like just absolutely devastated me in a really beautiful way. It is the same and don't let the weirdness of it scare you away. I've seen a lot of people recommend this book as well that it kind of surprised me that they did. So I guess it's more widely appealing than you might think.

[Becca Freeman]

Okay.

[Olivia Mentor]

Did you have a comp for Talking at Night?

[Becca Freeman]

Yeah, I would say just this little known book called Normal People by Sally Rooney. Like I think they have in common the young romance, like first love between two people that come from different social circles and then kind of keep coming in and out of each other's lives and they can't quite get it together to be together.

[Olivia Mentor]

Also no punctuation. Am I correct in that?

[Becca Freeman]

No quotation marks.

[Olivia Mentor]

Oh, no quotation. No punctuation. That would really be.

[Becca Freeman]

That would be really hard. I would not.

[Olivia Mentor]

I did see this really funny note on substack that was like, I'm sorry guys, but I'm just not willing to put myself through the experience of reading books without quotation marks. And I was like, that's fair. Although it didn't really bother me in either of them.

[Becca Freeman]

It doesn't bother Me, I always notice it at first and once I'm into the pattern of the book, I stop noticing. But I know for some people it's a huge deal breaker.

[Olivia Mentor]

So what about the Royal we? Which I have not read but I know is one of your all time favorites. Correct.

[Becca Freeman]

That's so good. Yeah. So I don't have anything that's a perfect comp, but. But if you like the type of like ripped from the headlines romance. Because the Royal we is basically Kate Middleton Prince William fanfiction kind of. I think you would really like funny you should ask by Alyssa Sussman. And we have a book club episode about that from a few years ago. And that one is about a journalist who is interviewing an up and coming like heartthrob actor. And they have kind of this like, will they, won't they thing. And it's based on an article. Is it a Vanity Fair article? I can't remember where the article is from, but if you Google like funny you should ask article, you'll find it. It's based on this article from when Chris Evans was kind of up and coming and there was a interview where there was a lot of like gossip about whether or not something happened between him and the interviewer. So I think that scratches a similar itch if you like Royal Romance. Okay. I have not read this in quite a few years, so I'm not positive my opinion of it holds up. And it's ya. You should also know Rachel Hawkins has this book called Prince Charming. It was originally called Royals when it came out and then they renamed it. And it's about a girl in high school in a Florida suburb who kind of doesn't fit in, whose sister starts dating a Scottish prince and she gets sucked up into the royal family of Scotland and starts hanging out with his brother.

[Olivia Mentor]

Is there a royal family of Scotland?

[Becca Freeman]

No.

[Olivia Mentor]

Oh, darn. I was like, that'd be fun. But that does sound like a very fun book.

[Becca Freeman]

It is. It's ya. So it's a little bit younger. It also is just fascinating to me how many careers Rachel Hawkins has simultaneously. Like she's writing her mysteries, she's writing these. And then did you know that she also writes under the pseudonym Aaron Sterling and she writes those Halloween romances like she wrote the X Hex.

[Olivia Mentor]

I did know that, but it's still like hearing all of it. It's hard to believe that anyone can produce that much writing. It's really impressive. Good for her.

[Becca Freeman]

And then the other thing that I feel like, if you like the British aristocracy, Slash the group drama of the friend group of the royal we. I feel like you would like Magnolia Parks.

[Olivia Mentor]

Actually, this is a good time to check in about this because I feel like for a while this was your. The center of your universe. And did you finish all the books or are you waiting for a new one or.

[Becca Freeman]

So far five have come out and I think there's one to two more that are yet to be released.

[Olivia Mentor]

And you've read them all?

[Becca Freeman]

I've read them all, yeah. The most recent one, Magnolia Parks and the Long Way Home, was probably my least favorite. It was incredibly sad.

[Olivia Mentor]

Okay.

[Becca Freeman]

But the one before it, Daisy Hades and the Great Undoing, was probably my favorite. And the series alternates between two protagonists, Magnolia Parks and Daisy Hades. And I think the fifth book is the final Magnolia book, but I think there's one to two more Daisy books coming. But they're both side characters in each other's books. Yeah, I'm definitely gonna read them all. Right, Olivia, onto your area of expertise. Let's get into some thrillers and mysteries. So if somebody loved the Push as much as you did, what do you recommend to them?

[Olivia Mentor]

I have three for this one. The first one, I've already talked about a bunch this year, which is Night Watching by Tracy Sierra. It's like a super propulsive mystery about a woman who is in her house with her two small children and suspects that there is an intruder. And so the whole book is just like the most fast paced, like will not be able to put it down mystery. But it also is a lot about motherhood in the same way that the Push is, but like in a very dark. But this would also just make a great movie. Like if you loved that feeling of reading Gone Girl, this to me gave me a very similar feeling. And then additionally, I would recommend Mad Woman by Chelsea Beaker, which also has a lot of similar through lines about motherhood and the pressure put on mothers and like trying not to sort of pass on the stuff that we were taught in childhood or that we absorbed in childhood to our children. That one just came out and it's. It's just beautiful. And then finally, if you liked like the darkness of the Push and the way that it sort of just flew, but maybe you're not as interested in the parenting plotline. I would suggest a book that I think about probably once a month since I read it a couple years ago, which is My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell. And this book is about a girl who, I don't want to say who has a relationship with her teacher, because that feels wrong. But her teacher is a predator who preys on her. And basically her experience of looking back and sort of unraveling how it affected her. It's like, very hard to read in parts and extremely dark. But I have never read anything quite like it. And it's really, I feel like had a very long tail. I think it came out in 2020, in March 2020, in fact. But I just looked and it has like half a million reviews on Goodreads.

[Becca Freeman]

This goes everywhere.

[Olivia Mentor]

Yeah, I think it has just continued to be something that is read a lot. And it's like impossible not to want to talk about it after you read it. But it is very intense. So check the trigger warnings for sure.

[Becca Freeman]

I am very curious about this next one, which is the Quiet Tenant, because I really enjoyed this book despite not usually liking a very scary, scary thriller. And I found this one. I don't know what it was about it, but, like, I was able to read this and I really enjoyed it. So I'm curious if you have a recommendation, if you think it would be on my level.

[Olivia Mentor]

Yeah, I would say that actually my recommendation is less scary than the Quiet Tenant. And that's Notes on an Execution by Danya Kakovka, that this is about a serial killer, but it's told through the lens of various women in his life. And he is on death row. And so the first scene is like a countdown to basically his execution. And it has similar sort of themes to the Quiet Tenon in terms of, like, exploring a serial killer and violence against women. But it's not as, to me, the Quiet Tenant was scary because, like, he was on the list. So it's like, you know, either one of us could go on a walk. Probably more me, since I'm in like, the middle of nowhere and be kidnapped. And it felt possible. And I know that's something that kind of scares you sometimes in stories. This is more, I would say, like a exploration into the effects of violence against women through different women's stories, rather than like the actual scary thing, if that makes sense. I mean, it is very dark, but it's different than like a typical mystery or thriller.

[Becca Freeman]

Okay, I'm interested now. We just talked about this the other week. What about Yellowface by RF Kuang?

[Olivia Mentor]

Yes. So I did just mention this, but if you loved Yellowface as much as I did, highly suggest the plot by Gene Hob Korolitz, which is about a professor who steals a former student's premise for a book when he finds out the student is Dead. And I saw someone describe this as, like, yellowface, but with white guys, which is like, oh, well, then why would we read it? But I actually think that yellowface leans a little more satire. And the plot eventually slowly works up to be more of, like, a traditional whodunit mystery thriller. So different, but similar. If you love the idea of a mystery or thriller set within a literary universe, I think you'd love it. And as we already talked about, there is a sequel that is now out called the Sequel.

[Becca Freeman]

I am going to read both of these. I have the sequel in my pile, so I just need to go get the plot as my aperitif.

[Olivia Mentor]

There are also at least the plot. It's very readable. I think I read it in maybe 24 hours.

[Becca Freeman]

I was gonna say it's so crushable.

[Olivia Mentor]

Yeah, it flies. It's really good.

[Becca Freeman]

All right. I think listeners are gonna be excited for this next one. Cause I feel like this is one of the books of the summer. What if people read God of the woods by Liz Moore and want more of that?

[Olivia Mentor]

Well, you should read Liz Moore's other book, Long Bright River. And I think she has other ones, too, which are supposed to be great. But I can personally recommend Long Bright river wholeheartedly. But if you would like to check out another author, I would really suggest Happiness Falls by Angie Kim. And this is a mystery. A father who goes missing after a hike with his son. And his son is 14. His name is Eugene, and he has autism and also Mosaic Angelman syndrome, which is a neurogenetic disorder where he can't verbalize. But he's, like, also always smiling outwardly. And so obviously very difficult for them to ascertain from Eugene, like, what happened to the father. And the whole story is the mystery of the family trying to find him and trying to figure out what happened. So the heart of it is, like, really page turning, very readable. But at the same time, there are a lot of additional themes about communication and sort of the stigma placed on people who have syndromes where they can't communicate or they don't sort of have facial expressions that are necessarily connected to how they're actually feeling and what they're actually thinking. So I learned a lot. And it's just one of the most unique mysteries I've read in a very long time. So it's similar to God of the Woods, I think, in the sense that it's Slow Burn, and there's a lot more going on beyond just the through line of the mystery and who did it or what happened?

[Becca Freeman]

I should say interesting. Well, let's take a quick ad break and then let's get to a few more genres.

[Olivia Mentor]

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[Becca Freeman]

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[Olivia Mentor]

I've talked about my fears in therapy for years now, and with my therapist I've worked through my fears about plane crashes and scary medical diagnoses and basically everything in between. So no matter how absurd the fear feels to me, just speaking it out loud helps me feel that much better. And talking through it afterward with my therapist helps that much more as well.

[Becca Freeman]

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[Olivia Mentor]

So for this next section, I kind of chose a bunch of books that are popular. Book club picks are kind of books that get suggested in the book clubs in our lives over and over again. So basically books that a lot of people have read, and I started with one that I feel like has been on the bestseller list for years now actually, which is remarkably Bright Creatures.

[Becca Freeman]

Did you read this, Becca? No. I have the reaction to it when something is too popular that I'm like, I'm not interested, like I'm being obtuse against my own interests.

[Olivia Mentor]

I understand that it is a wonderful book which features a main character who is an octopus named Marcellus, which I just enjoy so immensely. But I feel like it's a crowd pleaser for a really big reason because I feel like there is a mystery that keeps you turning the pages, but at the same time it's not particularly dark and there's a friendship story as well. It's just a crowd pleaser. And so the one that came to my mind when thinking about this book was all the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker, which I would say is slightly darker because it is about kidnapping and violence. But there is a really strong friendship story through the whole book that is just really warm and comforting in the same way that Remarkably Bright Creatures felt to me.

[Becca Freeman]

No animal narrator though, right?

[Olivia Mentor]

No, there is no animal narrator. Okay.

[Becca Freeman]

I was gonna say I was like, in all the people I've heard talk about all the colors of the dark, like, nobody has mentioned this to me.

[Olivia Mentor]

There's also an octopus narrator.

[Becca Freeman]

Not necessarily an octopus, just any animal narrator. I was gonna be surprised to learn.

[Olivia Mentor]

That this is more of a vibe sort of read alike for me. It's just sort of that crowd pleasing. Like, I don't think it's so violent or dark that it would push anyone away. I don't think it's not. There's not a lot of sex, if any. It's just very readable, very universal. And that sort of like heartwarming aspect is there in the same way it was in Remarkably Bright Creatures.

[Becca Freeman]

What about the Midnight Library by Matt Haig?

[Olivia Mentor]

This was a tough one.

[Becca Freeman]

Oh, I feel like this was an easy one.

[Olivia Mentor]

Oh, really? It's such a specific type of book to me that I just wasn't sure. So I guess I should start by saying the plot. So the Measure, I think we did a book club episode on this, is about what happens when everyone wakes up one day and there is a box on their doorstep with a string inside that corresponds to the length of their life and how everyone deals with that. Great premise. But I think similarly to the Midnight Library, it dealt a lot with what do you want out of your life? How would you approach this situation? How would it make you think about mortality and your goals? And I feel like the Midnight Library also forces you to think about a lot of those concepts. But I think the Measure reads sort of more like not thrillery, but like mystery. Whereas Midnight Library, it always felt like a very comforting bedtime story to me that dealt with really heavy topics. But I want to hear your picks for this one as well.

[Becca Freeman]

So for me, the Midnight Library is so much about what are the other lives you could lead. And so I automatically thought of the Husbands by Holly Grimasio, where this woman has an unlimited supply of husbands in her attic. And so anytime one of the husbands goes upstairs, he's just replaced by another one that is somebody that this main character could have feasibly fallen in love with. And so she gets to experience all these different versions of her life via the romantic partner that she's with. And then the other One that came to mind is this Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub, which, again, is an alternate Lives book where this woman, on the night of her 40th birthday, goes into a time loop and gets to live all these different versions of her life. I would say some of these are more personal to her. So, you know, like, what would it be like if you got married to the guy that you had a huge crush on in high school and, like, you know, you took a left turn instead of a right, so it's more closer versions to her life versus. I feel like the Midnight Library and the husbands are also kind of, like, a little further out in terms of the lives that the characters are leading.

[Olivia Mentor]

Those are great recommendations. This Time Tomorrow also sort of, to me, had that quality of, like, very cozy feeling.

[Becca Freeman]

Oh, I think it's cozy. But I also think of that book as very sad because of the plotline with the main character's father, who is dying in it. So trigger warning on that.

[Olivia Mentor]

Yes. Cozy and set.

[Becca Freeman]

Yeah.

[Olivia Mentor]

Okay. One I put on here that I could not think of one for, but you did is Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin, which was definitely, like, the biggest book in 2022, I would say, so.

[Becca Freeman]

I would say the Interestings by Meg Walitzer, which is a book that I feel like is having a mini resurgence. I've seen a lot of people talking about it in the past few months, which is interesting because came out in 2013. So this is a book about a group of teenagers who meet at summer camp in the 70s, and then it's told in two timelines. So it's in that timeline, and then in the present, they're all adults in their 40s and kind of like what has happened to them. And so it takes place over a more exaggerated time frame. But I do think it has that in common with Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, especially with Sam and Sadie, who are the two friends who meet when they're children, and then it kind of goes into probably, like, their 30s. But how relationships change and evolve over time, and especially, like, how relationships that do or do not become romantic change the dynamics of friendship. So I think this has a lot of thematically in common, even though the premise is much more normal, I would say, you know, like, it doesn't have, like, the video game element or anything like that.

[Olivia Mentor]

I always see this listed when people list their favorite books.

[Becca Freeman]

I loved it.

[Olivia Mentor]

I feel like it's really common because it's just amazing. I guess I need to read it.

[Becca Freeman]

I would like to reread this. I read it when it came out. And so, you know, if it came out in 2013, I would have been, like, 27 or so, and I feel like I would have a different take on it being closer to the age of the characters in the second timeline than in the first timeline. Reading it again.

[Olivia Mentor]

Maybe if we do another backlist book club somewhere down the line, we can consider this one.

[Becca Freeman]

Oh, yeah. I think this would be a really good one to discuss.

[Olivia Mentor]

So I wanted to do a couple fantasy options, which is not my area of expertise, but I know you always talk about the Night Circus. Admittedly, I think you bought this for me, and I have owned it for many years to the point where my. Are you okay?

[Becca Freeman]

Yeah. I need you to read this so badly. I. I like.

[Olivia Mentor]

Oh, okay. Sorry, I thought you. I thought. I thought you got such a bad text or something because you. Becca covered her face with her hands, and I was like, oh, my God, what happened?

[Becca Freeman]

It hasn't read this book.

[Olivia Mentor]

I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I know. Okay, so I had this book. You sent it to me. My mom somehow took it, read it, liked it. Anyway, it is next on my list. I. I will start it tonight. How about that?

[Becca Freeman]

Oh, my God.

[Olivia Mentor]

I will make that agreement with you. It is a fall book. I've heard. I heard someone say, there's a lot of spice drinks, and I was like, I'm in.

[Becca Freeman]

It might be slightly more than fall. No, I. Maybe fall.

[Olivia Mentor]

Oh, should I wait?

[Becca Freeman]

No.

[Olivia Mentor]

Okay.

[Becca Freeman]

You should start it tonight. You should start it now.

[Olivia Mentor]

I'm gonna read this.

[Becca Freeman]

Cut this podcast. This is what you get.

[Olivia Mentor]

I honestly thought you just got an email that someone died. I don't know why someone would email you that, but you looked so distraught when I said that. I feel horrible.

[Becca Freeman]

It is one of the books that, like, if I could wipe my brain and reread it again, like, I would love to wipe my brain and reread the idea of you, but that is a different experience. It's spicy. It's exciting. Like, this is just so transportive and magical in a way that is so heartwarming that I'm like, if I could have that experience again, I think I could right a lot of wrongs in my life.

[Olivia Mentor]

Oh, I'm excited. I've been wondering what to read next, so great. It's settled. Okay. But for people that have already read that aren't dumb like me and have put it off, what would you suggest they read to give the same vibes?

[Becca Freeman]

Okay. So I would say I think the closest thing is maybe the 10,000 doors of January by Alex E. Harlow. And so again takes place, I want to say the Night Circus takes place either in the late 1800s or the early 1900s. And I would say, like, the 10,000 doors of January is like similar time period. Ish, like not Renaissance, but like not contemporary either. And it's about this. Is that right? I don't know when it takes place. Anyway, it's about this girl who is the ward of this eccentric man and finds this like, mysterious book that lets her not time travel but like go to different places. And it has this kind of like beautiful magic. And it has this like, character that is somewhat lonely, which is also a hallmark of the Night Circus. And they have similar vibes. To me, they're like cousins.

[Olivia Mentor]

It sounds good. It sounds similar.

[Becca Freeman]

And then the other one that the magic feels similar is this book called the Paper Magician by Charlie Holmberg. And this is the start of a. I think it's a trilogy. It's a YA trilogy. And I have not read the other one, so I'm not sure how the rest of the series is. But in terms of like the magic itself being really beautiful, I think the Paper Magician also hits that. And then if people want other recommendations. I've seen a lot of people comp it to Caraval by Stephanie Garber. And I tried that one and I couldn't get into it. I don't know if maybe I just didn't give it enough time, but I've heard that one be comped as well.

[Olivia Mentor]

So what about the fourth Wing and Acotar of it all? I know those aren't the same, but I'm grouping them because it feels right to me. Okay, feel free to correct me, but what should people read after that?

[Becca Freeman]

So if you've read those two. The other thing that people liked is the series called From Blood and Ash by Jennifer Lynn Armentrout, which I would say is probably most similar to Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas. I understand where the comparison comes in. And I read the first book and I didn't love it, so it didn't work for me. But I think that is the correct answer. If you liked those two things, that is a series you should try for fourth wing. I mean, do I recommend you get into Zodiac Academy by Caroline Peckham and Suzanne Valenti? I don't know. Do you have a lot of free time? Do you want to read nine unedited thousand page fantasy books and potentially like a lot of novellas and like Spin off books. It's a world you can dive into.

[Olivia Mentor]

I think people want the world then.

[Becca Freeman]

Yeah. So, you know, it has it in common, I guess. I don't know what education level Zodiac Academy is. I think they're like 18ish. Is it college? Is it high school? Who can say? Same with fourth wig. Who can say? But you know, similar. They're at a school. In Zodiac Academy, it is literally every type of magical being that exists. So, you know, you have werewolves, you have vampires, you have dragons, you have witches, like literally everything. So it really scratches every itch. Here's the thing. The first book is somewhat hard to read because it is really. The men in the book are very like, not sexually abusive necessarily, but like, they're mean to the women and like the rules of this universe is like very kill or be killed. So everyone's a bully. And I was like, this is really problematic. I can't stop reading this. So I just want to flag that before anyone reads it and is like, what did Becca recommend to me? But if you can put that aside, it's a warrant. I mean, it's so addictive.

[Olivia Mentor]

I feel like that's what people love.

[Becca Freeman]

About and there's so many of them.

[Olivia Mentor]

The genre do you have 12 years to set aside?

[Becca Freeman]

Yeah, exactly. Like, it's like, you know, with Fourth Wing, there's only the two books. So if you were really disappointed when those ran out, you'll never run out of these. You could make it your whole personality.

[Olivia Mentor]

Going until the next fourth wing, which I'm sure is right around the corner. I've lost it.

[Becca Freeman]

I think it's January.

[Olivia Mentor]

Oh, okay. Wow, they're moving fast.

[Becca Freeman]

Let's get into some literary fiction. I'm very curious to hear your why behind this first one. So the first book that you have here is the Wedding People by Alison Sbach, which we both read and loved this summer.

[Olivia Mentor]

Yes. And from what I can tell, a lot of listeners are loving it as well. I've seen some posts about it from people who have taken your recommendation and read it like me and loved it. So this gave me similar feelings to one of my all time favorites, which is We All Want Impossible Things by Kathryn Newman. And the reason it did, even though they're quite different, those are very different.

[Becca Freeman]

Books for me and have very different feelings for me.

[Olivia Mentor]

Oh, really?

[Becca Freeman]

Yeah.

[Olivia Mentor]

See, they gave me really similar feelings, which is that they both deal with extremely heavy subject matter. Like the Wedding People, the main character goes to this hotel to end her life. And in We All Want Impossible Things it's dealing with death and sickness in a very pertinent way because the main character's, I believe, its best friend is dying of cancer and in hospice. And it's very intense. However, it is still somehow funny. And the Wedding People is also very funny. And there's a tone to me that felt similar between the two books and a sort of takeaway that felt, I don't know, aligned, I guess, which is like this idea of feeling all of the emotion that life has to offer in one book, which is something really rare. But I think both of these books did really well. And Kathryn Newman did blurb the Wedding People. So it's not just me that thinks this. Do you really? You don't find them having a similar tone?

[Becca Freeman]

I can kind of see it with the humor aspect, but I think that there's something about the. I mean, first of all, We All Want Impossible Things is told from the best friend's perspective. So the woman who's not dying. And there's something about like the inability to change, like the inevitability of this person dying and the helplessness of not being able to do anything. Versus in the Wedding People, it's this woman who has given up and needs to like, find hope again. And so I found there to be much more hope in the Wedding People versus I found We All Want Impossible Things to just be beautifully done but so crushingly sad.

[Olivia Mentor]

It is much sadder. Like I did cry more. Yeah, but it's funny because I still had a feeling of like, hope from it, but maybe in a different way. But anyway, tell me your pick because I haven't read this, but this makes me want to read it even more.

[Becca Freeman]

So I think that there is something similar in this book called I hope this finds you well by Natalie sue, which came out earlier this year. And this is a workplace comedy. It has a very specific tone, which is not exactly the same of as the Wedding People, but like, it is very voicey as well, which I think the Wedding People has a very strong voice. And this one is about an Iranian Canadian woman who works for a kind of like anonymous big box retailer in their corporate office. And she ends up through a series of events, getting access to all of her colleagues emails. And so I think it has something in common with this kind of like main character who has given up, who then gets sucked into the drama of all of these people who she has judged on face value and then like finds much more depth there than she might have assumed. So in terms of like the relationship between Phoebe and why can't I think of the bride's name in the wedding people anyway? If that dynamic was the piece you liked most about the wedding people, I think you would really like I Hope this Finds you well by Natalie Sue.

[Olivia Mentor]

Okay, well, this just shot up to the top of my tbr. Now I'm gonna go buy it. Well, not before the Night Circus.

[Becca Freeman]

Not before the Night Circus, you can't. It also kind of has, like, Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine vibes.

[Olivia Mentor]

Another one that I haven't read, but I need to.

[Becca Freeman]

No, I mean, like, I hope this finds you well does. I don't think the wedding people does necessarily.

[Olivia Mentor]

Oh, yeah. But I still want to read it.

[Becca Freeman]

Oh, okay. To me, the next one is so singular. So Margot's got money troubles. What do you have to recommend?

[Olivia Mentor]

So I have a book that you've already mentioned that we also both loved, which is the Husbands by Holly Grimazio. And I think the reason why it felt similar to me is because both of them are so singular and also kind of encompass many genres and also, like, weirdly, weirdly, none of them at the same time. Very unexpected.

[Becca Freeman]

I could not make the connection to this.

[Olivia Mentor]

I think it's because they're both really singular. But I also think there's something about them that both of them felt very warm to me and, like, very funny and very smart, but in ways that just felt new and fresh. So if you like those vibes. I feel like I'm talking so generally, but I just think they're both really hard to describe.

[Becca Freeman]

No, I see what you mean. I see why you're saying it now. Even though, like, plot wise and theme wise, like, they're very different.

[Olivia Mentor]

Yes, very different. But I think if you like the writing and the plot in one of them, something tells me you would like it in the other as well.

[Becca Freeman]

I don't know why I can see that.

[Olivia Mentor]

Or vice versa. If you didn't like one, I don't think you'd like the other one either.

[Becca Freeman]

What about our all time most controversial book club Pick All Fours by Miranda July? I'm proud of that. That it's, like, so controversial. I have nothing to do with it. I didn't write the book. But like, good conversation.

[Olivia Mentor]

I have been fascinated reading the comments and conversations in the Facebook group and the Geneva group.

[Becca Freeman]

Oh, I have an alert on the Facebook group thread. Like, the minute somebody says something on there, I want to know.

[Olivia Mentor]

I feel like I've learned so much reading people's takes and perspectives on it. I could not think of one for this. And then it really just hit me. I was like, oh, my gosh. Of course. So this is actually very similar to another book that I admittedly have not finished, but it's called We Were the Universe by Kimberly King Parsons. It came out this year. It has a really pretty pink cover. And this is about a mother who goes on a trip with her best friend who's just gone through a breakup with his boyfriend. I believe they go somewhere in Montana. That could be wrong, but they're in this hotel and very similar. And it really has a lot of themes of, like, desire and guilt and grief. The main character in We Were the Universe has recently lost their sister. And so there's that plotline that's a little bit different, but in terms of, like, exploring motherhood and desire, it's all right there. It really reminded me of the other book. Both of them.

[Becca Freeman]

I haven't heard of this, so I've.

[Olivia Mentor]

Been checking that out. Yeah, I had not heard of this writer either, but apparently her last book, I think it was a short story collection, was longlisted for the National Book Award, so, you know, if you like literary fiction and reading about womanhood, go for it.

[Becca Freeman]

What about Demon Copperhead?

[Olivia Mentor]

Also, this is a tough one.

[Becca Freeman]

Olivia, I meant to text you the other day, and I forgot Barbara Kingsolver was the guest on last week's episode of Ellen Hildebrand's podcast. And the interview is so good.

[Olivia Mentor]

Okay, it's funny you mentioned this. Cause I was just listening to an interview with Barbara Kingsolver, and I was, like, blown away by how. How cool she is. I already knew, but I love her, so I'm gonna go listen to this right away.

[Becca Freeman]

I think you should.

[Olivia Mentor]

I love the idea that we were both in different places at maybe the same time, listening to two different Barbara King Solver interviews. Like, that brings me a lot of joy.

[Becca Freeman]

I'm so happy for you.

[Olivia Mentor]

Anyway, so a book that always reminds me of Demon Copperhead is one of my favorite books of all time, which is called Fellowship Point by Alice Elliot Darke. Thematically, it's very different than Demon Copperhead, which deals a lot with poverty and opioid addiction. But Fellowship Point follows two wealthy women in their 80s whose friendship is tested when they have to decide what to do with this piece of land they own in Maine, which is also a bird sanctuary, which sounds like the most boring thing you could possibly imagine, but I feel like one of the things.

[Becca Freeman]

Wealthy, wealthy women in their 80s did sell me on something.

[Olivia Mentor]

And one is A writer, which is really great. It's basically just this epic saga of two women and their friendship, going through all these different phases of their lives and of society and of culture. And it felt to me like demon Copperhead in the sense that it took me forever to read. And at the end of it, I was just absolutely blown away with how it all came together and it felt epic. That's the word that demon Copperhead makes me think of. And that's where the fellowship point makes me think of. So I think you'd like them both. If you liked one, you'd like the other.

[Becca Freeman]

I feel really unable to commit to such a large book right now. I feel the same way about all the Colors of the Dark. So this will have to stay on my back burner for now. But I am intrigued.

[Olivia Mentor]

Well, let us move in to some end matter. Tell me what you are obsessed with.

[Becca Freeman]

So my life has been changed this week. Oh, I got this micro stitch thingamajig from Amazon. Have you seen. So Sarah from my sister made me buy it. Always talks about this.

[Olivia Mentor]

Yes, I have seen this.

[Becca Freeman]

And honestly, I think Sarah is probably the person who influences me the most. Like, I very much trust the things she recommends. She has, like, weird things, cheap things, like handy things. So anyway, she recommends this micro stitch tool all the time. So I think I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I was going to moderate an event for Kate Stamen London for her new book called Fang Fiction. And she told me that the theme, the dress code was sexy vampires or something. And so I bought a couple of, like, cheapy Halloween costumes basically on Amazon. And then I started reading the book, and I was like, oh, no. Like, the book actually, like, is very fashiony. Like, I can't wear this polyester Wednesday Addams Halloween costume. So I went into my closet and I have this dress that I've owned for a long time. I've only worn it once because it's a little booby. And I was like, I wonder if I can make this work. So I ended up buying the Micro Stitch tool on Amazon. It had one day shipping, it came. This thing is a miracle. And I cannot believe that I've waited this long to get it. So it's this, like, little gun, and it inserts, like, basically like a plastic stitch. Like, almost like a very tiny version of, like, what they use to connect a price tag to a garment. And it comes with black ones and white ones. And so I took the dress, which is usually too low cut, and I just. I stitched it to the middle part of my bra so that it couldn't go lower than that. And then I stitched the neckline to, like, my bra, too, so that it couldn't open too much as a V. Oh, my God. This thing is amazing. I mean, like, I don't know that I would use it on couture or something, like, super expensive, but I don't. I. There was no visible damage to the dress. Like, the needle that it uses is pretty thin, but. Holy mother of God, this solves so many wardrobe situations.

[Olivia Mentor]

That sounds like a great investment. You're basically getting pieces out of your wardrobe that you haven't worn before.

[Becca Freeman]

Oh, my God. Yeah.

[Olivia Mentor]

Thanks to the micro stitch. So that's wonderful.

[Becca Freeman]

We'll link it. It's like 30 bucks. The only thing that I have to tell you about this is the instructions could not be less helpful. It comes with a QR code on the back and, like, wow. The instructions could not be less helpful. And so I really had to do it, like, trial and error. I don't know if I googled if there are YouTube videos that are more helpful on how to set it up. I figured it out eventually, but just know that there's gonna be a learning curve because the instructions are not helpful.

[Olivia Mentor]

Okay, noted. I am one of those terrible people who doesn't read the instructions and then attempts the thing, and then it doesn't work, and I give up. So that's good to know.

[Becca Freeman]

Yeah. Yeah. Like, set aside 10 minutes the night before. You're going to have to use it to, like, try to figure it out.

[Olivia Mentor]

Worth it, though.

[Becca Freeman]

Oh, my God. I am. I really feel like this is going to be not used frequently, but, like, this is going to. When it gets used, it's going to save the day.

[Olivia Mentor]

How much does it cost?

[Becca Freeman]

29.99.

[Olivia Mentor]

Worth it.

[Becca Freeman]

Yeah.

[Olivia Mentor]

Whole new wardrobe.

[Becca Freeman]

Yep. What about you? What are you obsessed with?

[Olivia Mentor]

I'm obsessed with this new substack I just found, which is called Burnt Toast, and it's by Virginia Sol Smith, who I was, like, vaguely familiar with as a writer and had read some of her articles and stuff, because she talks a lot about diet culture, and so she just sort of, like, been on my radar. But I was not a paid subscriber to her substack until this week, and I've just been enjoying. Yeah, I just. I don't know why. It's just one of those things. I just. It hadn't, I guess, come across my substack feed, and I hadn't clicked the little box, but now I am. And I've been going through all of her archives and just enjoying every single piece of her writing. And I feel just so excited to read more. So it's been great.

[Becca Freeman]

I'm so happy for you. What have you been reading? That is not Virginia Sol Smith's newsletter archives, which we love.

[Olivia Mentor]

So I read. Yes, I read two books this week. The first one comes out in March, so I'm really ahead of the game. It's called Broken country by Claire Leslie Hall. They really hyped it up in their PR email to me, and I was like, you know what? I'm doing this. It's set in the countryside of England. So immediately I was sold. I'm in. And it's like a romance, mystery, sort of thriller vibes. This is about. It's set, interestingly, I should start by saying, in the late 50s and then the late 60s. Okay. So it's dual timeline, and it's about a woman who has, like, a teenage love, and then they end up breaking up. She marries a farm guy, and a decade later, her teenage love moves back to, like, the manor down the hill or whatever. Okay, he's rich and she's not. And there are a few tragedies that take place. And there is a huge twist at the end is what I will say. This reminded me so much of a cross between the Notebook and this is controversial, but talking plot and vibes alone. Where the crawdads sing.

[Becca Freeman]

Huh?

[Olivia Mentor]

If you liked either of those, like, this is the book that would be in the.

[Becca Freeman]

Which One Hated the Other.

[Olivia Mentor]

This will be in every book club for women who are between 40 and 80. I think it was insanely readable. The twist at the end got me.

[Becca Freeman]

And this is out. Coming out.

[Olivia Mentor]

It comes out in March, so I think it's already being made into a movie. I understand why it is. I think the rights in, like, 30 countries.

[Becca Freeman]

Wow.

[Olivia Mentor]

Yeah, it's. It was, like, a big deal. Apparently insanely readable. This could be. I could see, like, where the next. Where the crawdads Sing. I also read you Know what yout Did? By K T Nguyen, which is a thriller about a painter whose mother recently died and has ocd. And so it's like this intersection of, like, a mental health story, but also a thriller. And I really did not know what was gonna happen to the very last page. Like, and that doesn't happen to me often, so I appreciated it very much for that. And also, I thought the way OCD was worked into the story was, like, genius. What have you Read.

[Becca Freeman]

I am reading fang fiction by Kate Stammen, London. I am loving this so much. So this is her second novel. Her first one was a book you heard me talk a lot about in 2020 called One to Watch, which was a romance set on a bachelor esque TV show. And this one is totally different. So the premise is basically this woman who has dropped out of her PhD program and is a hotel night manager in Brooklyn. She's very much into the fandom community of this series of vampire novels. And online there's a lot of theories that these vampires might actually be real. And she gets sought out by one of the vampires in this book to, like, go save this vampire world. And so she basically gets sucked into the world of her favorite vampire novel series. And it is so fun. Like, it's winky in a way that is like, even if you're not earnestly into vampire novels, like, if you're not like a huge Twilight person, like, I think you would like this. And it's very smart, it's very well done, and it's very much about, like, fandom and friendship. There is a B plot about main characters experienced a sexual assault in the past. So both a trigger warning, but also to tell you that there's like, more there than just like, spelunking around with vampires. But I am having so much fun with this.

[Olivia Mentor]

I really enjoy One to watch, I think. So I would like to read this one very much.

[Becca Freeman]

This one is really surprising me. Like, I didn't know what to expect based on the COVID copy and the premise. And from the first chapter I was like, oh yeah, this is great.

[Olivia Mentor]

Well, I can't wait to see your outfit for the event.

[Becca Freeman]

Thank you. And if none of those appeal to you or you just can't get the book Olivia recommended until March. Although you have a lot of recs in this episode, we also have our October book club pick, which is Bel Canto by Ann Patchett. So this we're going all the way back. It's her fourth novel from 2001. Neither of us have ever read it. This made all of the best books of the 21st century list that were going around over the summer. And I've heard a bunch of people talking about what, like a universal crowd pleaser this book was, and I am just so curious. So the book takes place in South America at the birthday party for a powerful businessman. And all of the party guests get taken hostage by a band of terrorists. And it's really like a locked room. Unexpected allies and lovers come out of this and just like people from all different backgrounds having to like live together under this weird circumstance. And so I'm so excited to check this out. I'm so excited to check this out with all of you. I've seen a lot of people in the Geneva group and in the Instagram comments say that this is one of their all time favorite books which makes me even more excited. So I cannot wait to discuss this with all of you.

[Olivia Mentor]

I tried to check this one out at the library too but it was checked out. So maybe there's a bound paper listener in town that I'm dueling with to get the library picks. Anyway, if you want to talk about any of this with us, you can join us in the Facebook group or the Geneva group. Both are under Batonpaper podcast. Our Instagram is the same. I'm on Instagram oliviamenter I'm on Instagram.

[Becca Freeman]

Ecamfreeman and you can follow me on substack Becca freeman.substack.com and we will see you next week.

[Olivia Mentor]

Bye.