The It Books of August

Summary

Book Riot - The Podcast: "The It Books of August" Summary

Release Date: July 30, 2025
Hosts: Jeff O’Neill and Rebecca Schinsky
Description: A deep dive into notable book releases for August, featuring discussions on new publications, industry insights, and thoughtful commentary from Book Riot’s experts.

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1. Introduction to "It Books of August"

Jeff O’Neill and Rebecca Schinsky kick off the episode by introducing the "It Books of August" segment, a knockout round to determine the standout books of the month. They emphasize the challenge of selecting from numerous contenders, acknowledging August as a unique month in the publishing calendar.

Quote:
Jeff O’Neill [01:05]: "August is a strange month in publishing this year."

2. Announcements and Updates

a. Job Opening: Digital Content Specialist

Rebecca announces that Book Riot is hiring a Digital Content Specialist to elevate their social media presence. She outlines the responsibilities, including strategy development and content creation across platforms like TikTok and Instagram.

Quote:
Rebecca Schinsky [01:57]: "We are hiring a digital content specialist...we are not social media professionals. We're looking for somebody who has proven experience and proven success."

b. Patreon Tease

Jeff mentions a new project available on Patreon, encouraging listeners to check it out for exclusive content and upcoming developments.

Quote:
Jeff O’Neill [03:47]: "We're really excited about it. Don't undersell it, Jeff."

3. Selection Criteria for "It Books of August"

Jeff explains the methodology behind selecting the top ten books, considering factors like critical acclaim, sales potential, artistic merit, and overall impact. They aim to balance commercial success with literary quality.

Quote:
Jeff O’Neill [05:14]: "We like to think about the quadrants. Is it going to have some kind of heat behind it? Is it good? The critics gonna like it?"

4. Featured Candidates for "It Books of August"

a. "A James Baldwin Biography" by Nicholas Boggs

The hosts delve into the highly anticipated biography of James Baldwin, highlighting its comprehensive exploration of Baldwin's life and relationships. They discuss how the biography aims to contextualize Baldwin's influence and legacy in modern literature.

Quote:
Rebecca Schinsky [10:52]: "This is a humongous book, like physically huge, probably emotionally huge as well."

b. "Anonymous Mail: A Life Among Spies" by Christopher Whitcomb

Jeff introduces Whitcomb’s memoir detailing his experiences as a spy and mercenary. They debate the book's authenticity and potential for adaptation into film or series.

Quote:
Jeff O’Neill [14:03]: "Anonymous mail by Random House by Christopher Wickham is our second candidate here."

c. "The Hounding" by Zenaby Purvis

Discussing Zenaby Purvis's debut novel, the hosts describe it as a blend of "The Crucible" and "The Virgin Suicides," set in 18th-century England with a supernatural twist. They ponder its potential for critical acclaim and reader engagement.

Quote:
Rebecca Schinsky [20:45]: "It's a high concept that could go all kinds of ways."

d. "Between Two Ancient Mesopotamia and the Birth of History" by Maudi Al Rashid

This nonfiction work explores the early development of written records in Mesopotamia. The hosts express curiosity about its popularity on platforms like Goodreads despite its academic nature.

Quote:
Jeff O’Neill [22:00]: "It's popping up a lot of places. I don't know why necessarily."

e. "LA Women" by Ella Berman

Ella Berman’s new release focuses on the dynamic and rivalry-filled friendship between two affluent LA writers. The hosts consider its potential for book club selections and mainstream success.

Quote:
Rebecca Schinsky [24:43]: "A friendship between two affluent writers in LA. A rivalry friendship."

f. "Accomplice to the Villain" by Hannah Nicole Marrer

As the third installment in a popular series, this book continues the dark, socially savvy narrative. The hosts discuss its appeal to fans of fantasy and office-themed stories, noting its strong sales figures.

Quote:
Jeff O’Neill [26:30]: "This is a tick tock Bookstagram social media dark lover...Once Upon a Time meets the Office."

g. "Erasure" by Jason Mott

Jason Mott’s satirical novel about a writer thrust into unexpected literary fame is examined. The hosts debate its merits and potential impact on literary and commercial spheres.

Quote:
Rebecca Schinsky [35:15]: "It's satire. The main characters go on this global book tour."

h. "Automatic Noodles" by Annalee Nevitz

A cozy science fiction novella set in a future restaurant run by robots, this book is praised for its creativity and accessibility. The hosts recommend it to fans of "Murderbot."

Quote:
Rebecca Schinsky [28:34]: "Annalee Nevitz always has something interesting going on."

i. "Tart Misadventures of an Anonymous Chef" by Slutty Chef

This memoir explores the chaotic life of a female chef, drawing comparisons to Anthony Bourdain’s honest storytelling and Lena Dunham’s wit. The necessity of anonymity hints at intriguing backstories.

Quote:
Jeff O’Neill [29:34]: "This is an anonymous chef's memoir of being a woman in the world of cooks."

j. "Katabasis" by RF Kuang

RF Kuang’s latest novel, "Katabasis," is highlighted as a potential book of the year. Set in a magical academic setting with deep literary roots, the hosts express high expectations and excitement for its release.

Quote:
Rebecca Schinsky [44:10]: "Katabasis by RF Kuang...It could be the novel of the year."

5. Final Thoughts and Anticipations

As the episode winds down, Jeff and Rebecca reflect on the lack of a major literary hit for the year so far, placing their hopes on upcoming releases like RF Kuang’s "Katabasis." They anticipate lively discussions and potential adaptations, emphasizing the book’s depth and the authors' prowess.

Quote:
Rebecca Schinsky [43:36]: "We're going to call it a tie in this round. And they're both going to lose to the number to the 10th pick."

Closing Remarks: The hosts remind listeners to check out Book Riot’s website and Patreon for more exclusive content and updates on future episodes.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Jeff O’Neill [01:05]: "August is a strange month in publishing this year."
• Rebecca Schinsky [01:57]: "We are hiring a digital content specialist...we are not social media professionals. We're looking for somebody who has proven experience and proven success."
• Jeff O’Neill [05:14]: "We like to think about the quadrants. Is it going to have some kind of heat behind it? Is it good? The critics gonna like it?"
• Rebecca Schinsky [10:52]: "This is a humongous book, like physically huge, probably emotionally huge as well."
• Rebecca Schinsky [28:34]: "Annalee Nevitz always has something interesting going on."
• Rebecca Schinsky [44:10]: "Katabasis by RF Kuang...It could be the novel of the year."

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Conclusion

"The It Books of August" episode offers a comprehensive overview of the most anticipated releases, blending enthusiasm with critical analysis. Jeff and Rebecca provide valuable insights for readers looking to navigate August’s literary offerings, balancing commercial appeal with artistic integrity.

For more detailed discussions and exclusive content, visit Book Riot’s website or join their Patreon.

Transcript

[Rebecca Schinsky]

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[Jeff O'Neill]

This is the Book Riot podcast. I'm Jeff O'. Neill.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

And I'm Rebecca Schinsky.

[Jeff O'Neill]

And it's August, almost August. It's time for the IT Books of August knockout round. Rebecca, in 32 days, it's going to be September. It's almost over.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

I'm prepared, but also very eager. Summer can go away.

[Jeff O'Neill]

Yeah. Is it still a swamp there?

[Rebecca Schinsky]

It's terrible. We don't need to do the weather report.

[Jeff O'Neill]

No, it's okay.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Yeah, it's not great.

[Jeff O'Neill]

August is a strange month in publishing this year.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

It's really weird.

[Jeff O'Neill]

I don't. There's like a few things that are really worth talking. I mean, there's always more than I can read. I mean, get that out of the way. But from our point of view, I had to hide one. If you've been following the show, you know, there's one I've got to hide put at the end, but it'd still be a good conversation there anyway. But before we get to that, Rebecca, we got a couple of announcements. Why don't you start with if anyone's brave enough to think about working?

[Rebecca Schinsky]

We are hiring a digital content specialist. We're looking for someone who can take strategy and content creation around all of our social media channels to a new level. Help us. We've been working on it ourselves and we are not social media professionals. We're looking for somebody who has proven experience and proven success. So if you're good at the reels and good at the TikTok and interested in translating content from the pieces that we already make for the site into social media, coming up with kind of social content that might feed backwards and can be a way to just build Book Riot's profile, build our audience. We would love to hear from you. All of the details [e-mail] careers. You can see the job description, salary, the position is based in Portland, Oregon. We do have an office there. We're willing to pay relocation. So if you're willing willing to move, we would also like to hear from you and the application is part of that as well. You're welcome to like mention that you listen to the Book Riot podcast in your application. It probably won't.

[Jeff O'Neill]

I don't think it's gonna hurt.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

It can hurt. It won't hurt anything. And I do always like to say when we announce something like this that like if you know us or you're friendly with us online or friendly with any of our staff online, we really wanna keep an even playing field. So all the information that anyone who's applying for the job needs is in that job posting. And none of us on staff can provide anybody any additional information. So any private messages or LinkedIn hits or anything like that are going to go unread. We don't want you to waste your time. Yeah, Jeff is covering his eyes, but there is so much talent on the bookternet and I'm really excited that we're going to be able to bring somebody new onto the team to work on this and help us just improve our video and social media efforts overall. So link will be in the show notes, but again, it's riot new media.com.

[Jeff O'Neill]

Careers Speaking of new things, there's something over in the Patreon feed. I don't want to say what it is, but it's a new thing that we've been working on.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

We're really excited about it. Don't undersell it, Jeff. Don't be too much of the world's most reasonable man.

[Jeff O'Neill]

Why don't you get to oversell it? I mean, what do you think we're doing over here, but something we've been noodling on for a long time. Having a good time with it so far. But go check out the Patreon. More things will happen in this feed, but that's your tease there. Okay, August, if this is your first time joining us for IT Books, here's how it works. I have gone through the catalogs, I've gone through the previews, the lists, the rankings, the summer must read whatevers, and selected 10 books that I think are candidates for the IT Book of the Month. And I have arranged them in a way that I think will make for at least a somewhat interesting conversation where it's a fait accompli. Really what the Book of the month is Book of the summer book of the year. Maybe we'll wait on that conversation till we get to it and then maybe have read it. Sharif actually did a video for us with some it's beautiful. The spreads are strong with this one, Rebecca, I have to say. And the culmination of a lot of literary trends really over the last five, 10 years, six months. It's really kind of peak moment for this kind of a book. So we're going to talk about that at the end, but there's nine other books to consider here. Maybe, maybe it's sort of a Michael Phelps in the hundred freestyle in like his prime. It's like it's just who's going to get second is interesting.

[Harlequin Publishers]

Yeah.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

It's just an honor to be nominated as an IT Book of the month.

[Jeff O'Neill]

So that's how we do it. And I should say it's kind of not just vibes, but also not not vibes how we think about this. We like to think about the quadrants. Is it going to have some kind of heat behind it? Is it good? The critics gonna like it? Are the art, the capital A art category that we want to check. Check as readers of books. Is there anything else going on there? Will IT sell is also a huge part of this. Sales alone don't do it. Critical acclaim alone won't do it. You really want to have a little bit of everything as we go? All right, let's do our first sponsor break and then we'll get into it.

[Harlequin Publishers]

Today's episode is sponsored by Harlequin Publishers of let's Give Em Pumpkin to Talk about by Isabel Popp Textile artist Sadie Fox did not sign up for this when she agreed to come home to Pea Blossom, Indiana. It was to care for her father's beloved pumpkin patch. The deal was that just for the summer, she would grow a ginormous pumpkin, win the Indiana State Fair's pumpkin contest, and finally win back her father's grudging respect. Instead, a horde of wild hogs destroyed the entire patch. Which is precisely when the annoyingly sexy sunshiny next door neighbor shows up. Josh Thatcher is a tech millionaire who traded in the office for growing gourds, including experimental squash hybrids, and for the life of her, Sadie can't understand what he sees in her sweary tattooed, prickly self or why he's offering to help his biggest competitor, but a storm fueled kiss proves there's something growing between them. Maybe it's just an attraction, maybe it's more. Whatever it is, it's already bigger than Sadie's fast growing pumpkin or the secret that Josh has been hiding. This is a spicy small town fall romance that you can read in one sitting. The perfect kind of read to transition from summer to fall. And this book is by one of our very own Book Riot contributors, Isabel Poppy Book is available [e-mail] thank you once again to Harlequin for sponsoring today's show.

[Amazon Publishing]

Today's episode is brought to you by Amazon Publishing, publisher of the Last Letter of Rachel Ellsworth by Barbara o'. Neal After a sudden divorce, Veronica Barrington seeks a fresh start and answers an ad to be a travel companion. Her journey pairs her with Mariah Ellsworth, a former Olympian mourning the loss of her mother, a celebrated food writer. Guided by the mother's final letters, the two women embark on a culinary and emotional journey through London, Paris, Morocco and India. As they uncover clues, confront their grief, and embrace new possibilities, they discover healing, connection and the courage to step out of the past and into the light. From London to Morocco to India, this novel is rich with vibrant culture and stunning international settings. The partnership between Veronica and Mariah evolves into a deep bond as they navigate unfamiliar places. And at its core, this story is about confronting loss and finding strength in the aftermath. Make sure to pick up the Last Letter of Rachel Ellsworth by Barbara o' Neill and thanks again to Amazon Publishing for sponsoring this episode.

[Jeff O'Neill]

Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan are back in Disney's freakier Friday.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Yes, yes.

[Jeff O'Neill]

On August 8th, we switched bodies.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

I am freaking out right now. Let's pause and reframe.

[Jeff O'Neill]

Get tickets now, now, now, now for the ultimate movie event of the summer.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

I definitely don't know how to act as an old person. Do talk about transitional lenses, home repairs, John Mayer, or, you know, Coldplay.

[Jeff O'Neill]

Disney's Freakier Friday in theaters August 8th. Get tickets now. Rated PG. Parental guidance suggested. Let's see. So I did an interview with Alyssa Wilkinson about her new book on Joan Didion earlier this year. I think it was a May title. We Tell Ourselves Stories. It was the name of that book based on Didion's sort of life in Hollywood. And part of that conversation, part of Wilkinson's book is Didion as icon, as a 20th century literary icon. And you and people that how many, how many 20th century writers could again, the general gen pop we're not going to worry about them. They're their own thing right now. But like people who care about books, the arts, ideas, cultural artifacts. How many authors can be identified by face, like from archival footage?

[Rebecca Schinsky]

That's a great question.

[Jeff O'Neill]

And there aren't many, but James Baldwin is one of them, don't you think?

[Rebecca Schinsky]

I do, I do. I think so.

[Jeff O'Neill]

And Nicholas Boggs has a new James Baldwin biography coming out this month. It's the first new Baldwin book in 30 years. And the organizing principle here seems to be organizing around his relationship with four men. And I think some of them romantic and I think some of them aren't. But that's kind of the organizing principle here. But also just like Baldwin is now there. It's like Baldwin and Didion where you see like a black and white picture of someone soaking a cool cigarette writing a book. It's like those are the two, right? I mean, who else is there from the 20th century? And it's the mid to late 20th.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Century of this one. Baldwin a love story. A love story that it's centered around the aura centered on those relationships. But I think there's also something here too, like readers love relationship with Baldwin, the cultural affection for Baldwin, the impact that he had. This is a humongous book, like physically huge, probably emotionally huge as well. I think it's probably got award contender potential. This is the kind of subject matter that literary awards might like to dig into. It's not as long as the Cherno Mark Twain biography, so I guess it has that going for it.

[Jeff O'Neill]

Shorter than Streisand, shorter than Chernow.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Yeah, shorter. Oh, gosh, the Streisand one. Oh, boy. Yeah, you really got to earn your 900 pages there.

[Jeff O'Neill]

Boggs, too. I mean, he was working in the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale as an undergraduate when he uncovered an out of print children's book from Baldwin. So he's been in the. He's been in the archives, the children pulling stuff out there.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

The children of that moment must have been unfathomable.

[Jeff O'Neill]

One of the great reader pilgrimage places just to walk in the library of the Beinecke Rare Book Manuscript Library in New Haven at Yale. We did it this summer when we were there. But like, this has been Boggs's.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

This is his life's work.

[Jeff O'Neill]

This has been his beat, really, since he was 20. PhD in English, MFA in Creative Writing from American. So, like, I expect this to be a readerly experience as well, as, well as a, I don't know, definitive work on Baldwin for Our time. New research material here. So, okay, this is going to hit the bestseller lists 100%. But Baldwin matters. I think this is also like Didion Baldwin. His identity and sort of his visage, his. I don't know, aura, his vibe has now usurped our understanding of his text for most things.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

It's so memed. Baldwin quotes are so memed and so pulled out of context. And so this, I think is a really good time since you were saying it's been 30 years since the last big Baldwin biography for someone to put Baldwin back in full context and to do it in this way of a. Like, let's maybe understand the whole man who was much more complex. And I think in a lot of ways, like the writing is challenging and can be spiky in ways that are surprising if your familiarity with Baldwin is from like the stuff that gets pulled out and passed around and really quotable. Like gorgeous Instagram memes.

[Jeff O'Neill]

Yeah. Or like a 30 second Instagram reel of him on the Dick Cavett show or something where he's erudite and angry and all the things you want out.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Of Baldwin, harming and magnetic and. Yeah.

[Jeff O'Neill]

So. But when it comes to longevity. Longevity. Excuse me, Award season best of list. I think this has all the hallmarks.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

I totally agree.

[Jeff O'Neill]

I actually need to earmark this. Shut your ears. Rebecca, Laura and Sharifah. I should think about drafting for my.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

I think you did good job past me.

[Jeff O'Neill]

Wow, what a job. Great instinct.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

I did draft this one because this was on my long list for our fantasy league and I took the Malcolm X biography when you took Baldwin.

[Jeff O'Neill]

Good instincts, bad memory. Put it on my tombstone. So anyway, that's our better than the other way around. Yeah, well, that's true. So that's. It's going to advance automatically here. Up next. I don't know if I said who the FSG. August 12, the Baldwin I love story. Up next, anonymous mail by Christopher Whitcomb. The subtitle is A Life Among Spies. August 19th from Random House. 320 pages. So Whitcomb wrote a memoir about being a spy called Cold Zero.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Okay, I don't know.

[Jeff O'Neill]

And then in 2006, so this was later after this, he disappeared and became a mercenary, a soldier for hire, and got lost in sort of this murky private world. I don't know if it's actually black water, but black water, like work. And then he comes back the. The mercenary who came in from the cold, it sounds like is what this memoir is going to do. I've got to say the dads out there. We're pressing our cargo shorts. We've got our new balance on.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

We've got our hands on your hands.

[Jeff O'Neill]

Ankle lengths. Yeah. Our arms are. Our arms are folded. We're going to be reading this while our partners try on stuff. Anonymous mail by Random House by Christopher Wickham is our second candidate here.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

I hadn't heard of this one. This sound sounds great and like exactly the kind of thing that I want to get me through until the next season of Slow Horses come out.

[Jeff O'Neill]

Yes, now we're talking. Now do we trust ex CIA agents who are mercenaries to tell us the full truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Rebecca but do we care also? No.

[Jeff O'Neill]

That I care. I don't know that I care.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

This could be a great time. It sounds like also great potential on audio. I think James Baldwin or the big Baldwin biography is going to pass this one like it's going to continue. We're going to knock out anonymous male. It's hard to compete with James Baldwin, but this will be if it's good, it will be a lot of fun. There's not like book club potential here. This is not the kind of thing that gets that sort of attention unless it's really, really good and like reveals some juicy, important stuff. It's probably not awards contender potential. So we're really talking about will people like it, will it sell? And I think both of those are possible. So then it could also be on some end of year best of lists if it' like if it's really as fun and interesting as it sounds. But I will be anxiously awaiting your review because I know that you're going to be like downloading this on audio on day one.

[Jeff O'Neill]

I should look right now. I wonder if I can get it through an audio galley of it. I'm speaking of true stories. We're not that terribly concerned how true it is. I it was my turn to be on all the books with Lib this week. It came out on Tuesday. I talked about the carpool detectives. You and I just finished this and Lib, I think we talked about this off air. So there wasn't actually in the show. How true is it? We don't know. So there's a strangeness about protecting people's identity. But also, couldn't you just Google whatever this was going on in this ravine and every I don't know. There's something else going on. Here's the other thing that strikes me, Rebecca, is Hogan wrote the book that the movie the Town is based on, book called Prince of the Affleck thriller, which is actually quite good. This has all the makings of let's make a movie or see series out of this. I have heard zero. There's no reviews. There's nothing out about this.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

I'm really surprised by that. I wondered while I was listening to it and I think this was one of the Carpal detectives was one of our it books of July about the suburban moms in California who during COVID helped solve a case that had been cold for 15 years. Really like incredible stuff. And I wondered like how as you were saying, how much of it is masked like the. The women's real names are given but he tells you at the very beginning to protect people. A lot of the details are different. So like is it actually that a car was in a ravine or was there some other thing, a boat in.

[Jeff O'Neill]

A river, a gondola in a stream? I don't know.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

And of course he can't tell us how much is masked because that would like deplete the protection against the folks that they're trying to protect the authors from. So I wondered if there's something going on there like not wanting it to be a TV show because that might draw more attention to it. But a Chuck Hogan book, that's enough attention. Maybe people are just slow on the uptake because this I want to watch the Apple TV series that has like bad sisters vibes to it and just sign me right up.

[Jeff O'Neill]

And I was expecting I looked today and maybe I just haven't seen it. Which is entirely possible. The. The process piece of like how Hogan got this story. Did they come to him? Like I. I don't understand.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

I haven't seen that either.

[Jeff O'Neill]

Some of their partners and even some of them at different times, I forget the details work in Hollywood. So they've got connections to the kind of people who would know Was there some sort of packaging deal put together or the is it. Did Scott Rudin already options? I would believe it all, Rebecca. But I enjoyed it. That doesn't take away from the enjoyment.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Of the I really enjoyed it as well. It was fun. On audio.

[Jeff O'Neill]

I've got a lot of questions about that. Okay, so Baldwin A love story goes along, carries on, carries on. The next up is so when I'm going through the catalogs, I mark things that are interesting. I'm also looking At Goodreads, the 200 most popular books coming out in August. I look at previews and then I start to cross match for things that just don't immediately ping my radar. You know, Jeff's radar goes first, but then I'm trying to look for, you know, and I need a couple of. I need a couple of data points. You can't just have one stream. I have to have two streams crossing. And this one is. Sounded interesting on its face in some previews and shockingly high up the anticipated Books Goodreads list.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Okay.

[Jeff O'Neill]

It's called the Hounding. Have you heard of this book?

[Rebecca Schinsky]

I have not heard of this, no.

[Jeff O'Neill]

So first of all, the author's name is Zenaby Purvis, which, I'm sorry, that cannot be right. You. You. Did you take this? Did you lose some sort of Harry Potter naming bet? I don't know.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Somewhere between Kevin Wilson and Zenabee Purvis lies the perfect author name.

[Jeff O'Neill]

It's. It's incredible. And if you got this name organically, Zenabee, congratulations to you. I don't know that you could do anything other than forgettable books. The comps are the Crucible meets the Virgin Suicides.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

All right.

[Jeff O'Neill]

Which we are talking now.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Yes, it's.

[Jeff O'Neill]

It's a debut novel set in 18th century England about five sisters whose neighbors are convinced they're turning into dogs. Now, I haven't read any farther than that. It's got this really cool, like, old 19th century, weird sporting dog cover, but it's like, warped and it's very strange. The. There's. We've got a little bit of pronoun ambiguity. Are the neighbors convinced they're turning into dogs or the sisters turning to everyone ones turning into dogs? I don't know. I'm guessing it's the sisters.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

I'm gonna guess it's the sisters as well, because isn't there a bit in the Crucible about somebody turning into, like, a wolf or a dog, which has turned into all kinds of things? But I'm pretty sure that, like, straight from the Crucible is someone turning into a dog at night.

[Jeff O'Neill]

So this has a lot of buzz. It's a. It's a beautiful, slight greyhound, svelte. 240 pages here coming out from Holt on August 5th. So it's gonna be out next week. I don't know. I mean, debut novels do very. They tend not to do very well in the books. But I wanted to mention this here.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

It's a high concept that could go all kinds of ways. I think if executed well and, like, not in a campy way, this could be a great read. Not surprising to me, I guess, that you found it on the Goodreads list. It sounds more like a little more mainstreamy. Goodreads kind of fodder. So we're not likely to see awards contender. Something amazing would have to happen to it for it to hit a bestseller list. But maybe it's fantastic and it's going to get one of the book club picks. I don't know. This is a hard one for anybody to compete with James Baldwin. And so of course he's going to pass through, but I'm going to be watching and seeing how the hounding performs. The Crucible meets the Virgin Suicides is a hell of a comp. Pretty good if like those. That's also a big. A big check to write. Like you gotta live up to it if those are the comps you're giving up next.

[Jeff O'Neill]

This one I had marked as a being interest to myself. And when a book like this appears anyway on the top 200 most anticipated Goodreads list, it matters because it's nonfiction. From Norton called Between Two Ancient Mesopotamia and the Birth of History by Maudi Al Rashid.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

I'm seeing this everywhere.

[Jeff O'Neill]

It's, it's popping up a lot of places. I don't know why necessarily. I don't know if this, this author has a profile or a platform I don't understand about maybe interest of what's going on. The Middle east itself, even though this is not, you know, Mesopotamia. They're close, they're proximal, but they're not the same thing. I'm delighted, frankly, that this is. Has a little bit of juice, but I don't know what to make of it. Do you, do you have any sense?

[Rebecca Schinsky]

I don't have any sense. And it is surprising for a nonfiction book to be big on Goodreads, especially one that's not more of like a pop culture sort of spin or a light topic. I have no idea. Congratulations to the marketers, I guess, in charge of this book. If it's in the top 100 Goodreads at the end of the year when people have read it, I'll be even more surprised and even more delighted. Like, we love to see nonfiction get attention and go far. Probably can't compete with James Baldwin, but like if the people are out there reading a big book about the history of Mesopotamia, I mean, I'm encouraged by the possibility.

[Jeff O'Neill]

Well, it's not just the history of Mesopotamia. It sounds like. I mean, it is that. But through the lens of these specific, really prosaic documents, like writing was being invented for the first time, there's actually written records of people's lives. So a couple of things Al Rashid writes about you know, a lullaby, dogs, paw prints, imprints of, like, what are the leavings here? So it's not just what your kings and the courts and armies were doing, but the detritus left over from everyday lives and try to put that into a. Somewhat like a snapshot of what life was. Was like. So I don't know if that makes it.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

I don't know what to make of.

[Jeff O'Neill]

That approachable, but I. I have no sense. I'm delighted, but it's a bit mystifying.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Listeners, if you know what's going on with this book, let us know. Podcastookriot.com all right, we're gonna go to.

[Jeff O'Neill]

I don't know if this is something I could punch into Claude or something or one of the other AIs and know, but I don't know how many authors have had a book picked by both Jenna and Rhys, but different books.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Oh, that's got to be a small Van Dyke.

[Jeff O'Neill]

It's a small list. But one of those people people is Ella Berman. Before we Were Innocent for Reese's and then Pineapple. I'm sorry, I've got that wrong. Pineapple street was first one. Jenny Jackson. Yeah, my. My notes are incorrect here. The Comeback by Ella Berman was a read with genetic in 2021. So, like, two for two, 2021 and 2023. You get one. This has all the makings of it. Her new book is called LA Women. It's out August 5th from Berkeley. A friendship between two affluent writers in LA. A rivalry friendship.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Oh, like a frenemy situation.

[Jeff O'Neill]

Yeah. Yep, yep, yep, yep, yep.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Okay, that's got potential. And both Jenna and Rhys tend to go back to the well, and it's kind of surprising that I can't remember which one you said picked her first novel, but it's kind of surprising that that one did not also pick her second novel. So book club potential, for sure. It's showing up on your Goodreads stuff. These, like, sort of, we would call them, you know, like women's fiction. It sounds like these can tend to. If they're good, they can also tend to show up on, like, top 100 of the year for New York Times on a lot of faves. I've not been, like, hearing a whole lot about this, but that doesn't mean anything in August when there's not a lot of attention to go around for books. It's not going to pass James Baldwin, but, like, good job making it onto the top 10 for the month here.

[Jeff O'Neill]

I think this is cool because it's set in the 60s and then in Laurel Canyon in the 70s. So it's like following those Fleetwood Mac, fascinating time. And like women in the arts especially. Berman herself says she was raised by hippies in the 60s and 70s, so she kind of knows this world by proxy. 416 pages, good early buzz.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Maybe some Daisy Jones flavor too. We'll see.

[Jeff O'Neill]

Yeah, yeah, I think a really cool cover. It doesn't look like every other book cover out there. Fashionable and striking and bright. But that sounds pretty good to me. Let's see. Up next. So this is the second most anticipated book from the Goodreads folks. And even if it weren't, I would know to clock it because the first couple of books in this series have done quite well. It's from Red Tower. It's Accomplice to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Marrer. It's the third of these books, I think Assistant to the Villain. And then there was something. There was a Apprentice and Assistant were the first two. And don't quiz me on the order because I will fail. There's some naming difficulty.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

They're gonna run out of a associate.

[Jeff O'Neill]

Yeah, I wouldn't it be. I mean if he had thought of. I'm sure they thought about it. They know what they're doing. But could you come up with assistant and then what's the be bestie to the villain and then like oh, the chauffeur to the villain. Yeah. Sue Grafton it. She knows what she was doing there. 300,000 copies, first run. This is a tick tock Bookstagram social media dark lover, you know, gray moral character situation but also with spreads and everything's fine and everything's ok. Love these. Once Upon a Time meets the Office is the pitch. And I don't know Once Upon a Time well enough to know what that means, but anything meets the Office is not something we see in these kinds of books.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Yeah, that's a fascinating comp.

[Jeff O'Neill]

Fun, sexy fantasy books. Okay. You could do worse.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

You could do worse. It will as you're saying, it will sell. People will like it. It's not going to win any awards. We have not seen the romantic make.

[Jeff O'Neill]

Like big third book.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Yeah, third book in a series is tough. It can be hard also for those to make like big end of year list. There's a barrier to entry if you haven't read the first two. James Baldwin Rides Again.

[Jeff O'Neill]

Okay. Baldwin doing well. I hadn't gamed it out to see, but that's cool to see at this point. Up next, from Annalee Niwitz, her new novella A cozy near future sci fi novella for fans of Martha Wells and Becky Chambers. It's called Automatic Noodles.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

What a great title.

[Jeff O'Neill]

And it's set in a restaurant in the future run by a group of deactivated, newly, formally deactivated now newly activated robots in an abandoned ghost kitchen. And they're just trying to make their way in the big cold world in a little cozy noodle shop out on the corner of the parsec where people can come and fill their tentacles or you know, calories. Whatever you fill yourself with as an organic matter Being out there, you're gonna have a nice time at Automatic Noodle Bite. I thought this was cool. I think I will read this.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Annalee Nevitz always has something interesting going on. There's such a creative, like weird, but also weirdly accessible writer. Like some. Some weird fiction feels like it's trying to make itself weird on purpose. Like just for the point of making you feel like you can't quite get in there. And Nevillette sci fi never does that. This I feel. Novella fun but also hard to market. I'm kind of seeing this one everywhere as well though. I think Tor is doing a good job and Nevitz's profile is pretty significant. They're not going to compete with James Baldwin once again, but like truly an honor to lose to James Baldwin. You are welcome, Annalene Evans.

[Jeff O'Neill]

Wow.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

I think. I think I might read this one too. This really sounds up Bob's alley, so I'm gonna pass it to him.

[Jeff O'Neill]

Oh this Bob. I don't. I didn't know that he likes a cozy sci fi.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Well, not necessarily necessarily cozy, but he likes the sci fi and we'll see. He liked Murderbot and that's about as cozy as we've the voice of that at least.

[Jeff O'Neill]

Yeah, I think it's Murderbot without the murder, you know, sub Ramen for first degree.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Automatic Noodle is a better title than.

[Jeff O'Neill]

Just bot, so it's a really good title. Automatic Noodle. Okay. Oh yes. Tart Misadventures of an Anonymous Chef by Slutty Chef, which is the anonymous name. Two F's on Chef. The. The Jeff Corps is not very happy.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

About a little extra mustard on that one.

[Jeff O'Neill]

Yeah, I guess so. So this is an anonymous chef's memoir of being a woman in the world of cooks. And you can imagine if you're a Bourdain fan in those days and those environments are not amazing. But this is also leaning into that. It sounds like the pleasure in chaos here is a nice one. The comp they're doing is Bourdain style honesty with the wit of Lena Dunham's girls. Interesting for those who like to eat and who. Those who like to synonym for things.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Really painted yourself into a Midwestern corner.

[Jeff O'Neill]

There I was looking over there and there was nothing to help me. Just no this. My printer and a pile of unfolded laundry. No help over there.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

I mean, this is on my personal radar.

[Jeff O'Neill]

I think I have to believe it is.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

I think I'm going to be reading it on a flight over the weekend. We've talked before about where we are on food memoirs. Like, there's got to be something special or different to a food memoir now for it to be exciting. I am inclined to think that if this woman needs to write under a pseudonym, this is either really juicy and she needs to, like, you know, protect the innocent. Names have been changed. Or protect the guilty, I guess, or it's not that juicy. But they want you to, like, think it has to be because this person is writing under a pseudonym. And I'm afraid it will be the second one.

[Jeff O'Neill]

It's always. It's kind of like Bananas Foster. You know, there's like the flame and everything, but it's just kind of like.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

It's just the show. I have heard from one friend who read it, like, in early galleys several months ago. They really enjoyed it and they have a good sense of the food memoir. I think have read most of the same ones that we've both read and enjoyed. So that makes me a little bit more confident. Not gonna knock out James Baldwin, but there's potential here if it's juicy or, you know, sharp in ways that add something to this conversation. Like, we all have read Arbour Day and we know what happened in those kitchens. And then as MeToo developed, a lot of women came forward and told their stories. So this needs to have something. It needs to add something to the body of chef memoirs for me to get excited about it. But we'll see. We'll see. James Baldwin carries something.

[Jeff O'Neill]

Seems to be doing it a lot. Which. Great. If that's what you're into, have fun out there.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Yeah, Like Sweet Bitter might be an interesting comp here, though. That was a novel. There's a lot of doing it in kitchens.

[Jeff O'Neill]

And Sweet Bitter sounds like you're going to get a lot more of that. What do they say? All day. Yeah. Doing it in kitchens all day. Over for Tart. Let's do our second sponsor break before we get to the final two with.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

The Venmo debit card. You can Venmo everything. Your favorite band's merch. You can Venmo this or their next show.

[Harlequin Publishers]

You can Venmo that.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Visit Venmo Me Debit to learn more. The Venmo MasterCard is issued by the Bancorp bank and a pursuant to license by Mastercard International Incorporated card may be used everywhere. MasterCard is accepted. Venmo purchase restrictions apply. Ryan Reynolds here from Mint Mobile. With the price of just about everything going up, we thought we'd bring our prices down.

[Jeff O'Neill]

So to help us, we brought in a reverse auctioneer, which is apparently a thing Mint Mobile Unlimited Premium wireless everybody get 3030 better get 30, better get 20, 2020 better get 20, 20 better get 151515 15. Just 15 bucks a month. Sold.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Give it a [e-mail] Switch upfront payment of 45 for 3 month plan equivalent to 15 per month required new customer offer for first 3 months only. Speed slow after 35 gigabytes of networks busy taxes and fees extra. See mint mobile.com Are you ready to.

[Jeff O'Neill]

Dairy for your mind this summer?

[Harlequin Publishers]

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[Jeff O'Neill]

Enjoy mind blowing flavors like salted caramel.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

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[Jeff O'Neill]

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Been cranking up the flavor with show stopping products that are 100% dairy free, certified vegan by Vegan Action, and are so unbelievably creamy your taste buds will.

[Jeff O'Neill]

Do a double take. Dairy free your mind. Visit sodeliciousdairyfree.com so Jason motto mmm is a name that we've got major awards, has sold titles. The comps. Here you look at it and you're like, really? The comps are Harlem Shuffle, Wandering Stars and James by personal Everett. But then you're like, he won the National Book Award three years ago.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

It's a big swing, but like maybe it's earned.

[Jeff O'Neill]

If you've won the National Book Award, you get to comp yourself to anyone who's alive. I'm serious. You do. You get to.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Oh, I disagree. But we can have that argument another day.

[Jeff O'Neill]

So people like us, it sounds like it's a bit of more than a little bit of auto fiction insofar as it's about a writer who is catapulted into kind of literary fame they didn't expect.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

And it was very surprising when he won the National Book Award.

[Jeff O'Neill]

Very surprising. Very surprising. And it has to be one of the least read of the modern ones. And I think because it's surprising and Jason Mott just doesn't have the profile, at least at that point. And still, even now. And still, even now.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Yeah. Not a big name.

[Jeff O'Neill]

So it's funny, it's satire. There's any in the main characters goes on this global book tour. So a little bit of like sounds like Less by Andrew Sean Greer. Cross with American fiction.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Yeah.

[Jeff O'Neill]

Which that's not the original name of it. Well, Erasure.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Erasure. Yeah.

[Jeff O'Neill]

Which you know what I've got to say I'm here for. Absolutely. Read this one book.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

I'm going to read this.

[Jeff O'Neill]

288 pages.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

This is on my August list. For sure. I don't know that Jason Mott can compete with a big James Baldwin bestseller, but this is the hardest decision I've had on this episode so far. I mean, it could be really great. And if it's really great, then we are talking about the kind of book that will have potentially award nominations and be on end of year lists and might get a book club pick. Like Mott can live in that zone of literary and commercial.

[Jeff O'Neill]

Mm.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

You know, because it has more commercial. Am I gonna put him in here over James Baldwin? I feel like I can do whatever I want right now because we all.

[Jeff O'Neill]

Know this is all rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. So you can do whatever you want.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

We're going to call it a tie in this round. And they're both going to lose to the number to the 10th pick. That's what's gonna happen.

[Jeff O'Neill]

Yeah. I'm really looking forward to this. I don't have a sense of Jason Mott. I should find some interviews or something. Or maybe I could talk to him for a show. But I'm really looking forward to this, though. Let's be careful with our last lines and our synopses and our blurbs. Finishing the novel will leave you absolutely breathless and at the same time utterly filled with joy for life changed forever by characters who are people.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Like, this is what I mean.

[Jeff O'Neill]

We got it. We need to really be careful writing.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Checks your ass can't cash. Like, and not that Jason Mott might not live up to that, but, like, that's just a big promise. We gotta be a little more controlled in our book blurbing.

[Jeff O'Neill]

I wouldn't do that for any book. No, I wouldn't write that sentence for any book.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Like, there is a part of. There's like a place where hype becomes a disservice to an author and where expectations are impossible to meet and that can become a disservice to an author. So, like I mean, I've been on this horse for a decade now. Stop calling things the next Gone Girl if they're not actually that surprising, because I might have enjoyed this book if I hadn't been disappointed that it doesn't actually live up to being the next Gone Girl. So, I mean, Breathless. I don't know about that, man. But good luck to Jason Mott.

[Jeff O'Neill]

Speaking of expectations that may be impossible to match. It's the book of the month, it's the book of the summer, and I haven't done a. Is it the book of the year? But I don't have a contender, honestly.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Very well.

[Jeff O'Neill]

Could be. That really could come up with it. We have not read it yet. Sharifa got hers. I assume ours will be coming any day. We're going to be doing a special pod with a full retinue of BR editors here when the book comes out. It is, of course, Katabasis by RF Kuang, who has written her way into the. Whatever the opposite of the Bermuda Triangle is. Right. Of commercial literary, online, academic literary genre. Like this is. This is it Rebecca.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Yeah.

[Jeff O'Neill]

This is the. The Deadpool, which is you put all the genetic mutants in the same thing and you get the super powered being. And that's what Kwong is doing right now.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

And it's a lot in the stew. And she's maybe the only or one of the few contemporary authors that I would believe could toss all of those things into a book. And I'd feel confident or at least very hopeful that it's going to be as good as it sounds, as good as the publisher says it is. Like, there is a lot of hype here. I would expect to see a katabasis backlash. Like that's what happens when a book gets this much attention.

[Jeff O'Neill]

There will be some, it seems prime, like a Rooney style backlash. Right.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Somebody is going to be delighted to pan it and maybe there will be some TikTok juice to be found from, like being contrary about this book that's been one of the biggest, most hyped books of the year so far. I don't really see a way that it's bad. RF Kuang, I don't think has bad in her in there.

[Jeff O'Neill]

Yeah, I don't think bad's on the table.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

I don't think it's on the table.

[Jeff O'Neill]

Mediocre B is always on the table for any book.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Sure.

[Jeff O'Neill]

That we haven't read.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Yeah, yeah. I mean, I thought that Yellowface was very good, but not great. We, you know, had some nits to pick with it as Well, I would have put yellowface in the B plus, maybe wiggly, A minus, place the pitch on Katavasis. I mean, put it right into my veins.

[Jeff O'Neill]

Dante's Inferno meets Susanna Clark's Piranesi. I think it actually sounds more like Jonathan Strange than Piranesi to me.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Dark academia.

[Jeff O'Neill]

Yeah, it's this. There's the magic school. You know, she's. This is well worn territory even for her. But this student has trained her whole life to be the greatest ever practitioner of magic. Capital A ends with a K. And she's going to study at some university with this professor, but turns out he goes to hell. I don't know why. You know, maybe the normal reasons that one does. But she needs a recommendation from him. And so she goes in after him and seems like a good idea until she realizes that her principal rival Peter has gone to here. I don't want a concern troll, but if they fall in love down there and that's it, I'm the two rivals. I'm worried about this.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

I had not thought of this. And now that you've introduced this to me, I'm also worried about it.

[Jeff O'Neill]

I gotta think maybe sun, great. I don't know, maybe. Maybe it would be great. I'm not sure. It doesn't, it's not. It's fiction, fantasy, historical. It's not slugged as romance as well. It doesn't need to be necessary, man.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

I gotta think that RF Kuang knows that if they end up kissing, it's gonna be not great for a story like that. It cheapens a story like this.

[Jeff O'Neill]

I don't know, I mean it's, it's. I'm not sure. I think there's just a whole substantial edges, there's case effects, illustrated end papers, like. Yeah, but they worried the whole thing is getting in the way of the thing.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Maybe, I mean, they put.

[Jeff O'Neill]

But I don't. This is not. I'm not an Audi, I'm not the audience for this.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

They put spreads on Louise Erdrich. So like, I think that some of this is just like, let's try to trick some romantasy readers into reading something that is more literary. Kwong is certainly literary. The book looks beautiful. Like if you're going to take a swing at trying to like make some converts, it makes sense to me to do it on a title like this. I have faith in her that like I really, really will be now hoping the whole time that there's not going to be kissing. And I also have faith in her that if it happens, it won't be the worst version of that, but that will be the kind of thing that would ruin my personal reading of it. Like, we're going to get Dan Brown in September. Robert Langton is definitely going to kiss his plucky female sidekick.

[Jeff O'Neill]

But that's it.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

And that's, that's what's gonna happen there. And that's what I'm signing up for. But that is not what I'm signing up for with Katabases.

[Jeff O'Neill]

Yeah, I don't know. I don't know what I'm signing up for because, like, I've done Bab, we've done yellowface, we've turned to Dark Academy, but we're really now going like deep into it. I mean, literally and figuratively here. I mean, one of the virtues of, of her is that she's a true blue academic. Like she knows of what she's interested in, academics and studies and learning of her own. That's the only part that gives me pause is because that's. I'm not really interested in that.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Will there be some Dante Easter eggs? I certainly hope so. Those are the kinds.

[Jeff O'Neill]

How could you not? That's right on the tin.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Yeah, that'll be delightful for people who know their Dante. And if you don't know your Dante, you won't know it's an Easter egg. And you'll just breeze right on by and continue to have a good time. Hang out with us long enough and we're gonna get you to read Dante's Inferno.

[Jeff O'Neill]

At least the Inferno. At least where you get the upside down popes and croms are saying, love.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Myself an upside down Pope. That's one of my favorites anyway. Book of the summer, potentially the novel of the year. And I just need to hang a lantern again on the fact that we are rolling into the last third of the year and we have not had a big literary hit. Like there is not a novel that everyone has been talking about.

[Jeff O'Neill]

I've been trying with audition. You know, I've been trying.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

I'm with you.

[Jeff O'Neill]

Stop trying to make audition.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Now. My incentives are mixed up because you have audition in the fantasy league. And so the better it does, the harder it is for me. But I want Katie Kitamura to keep going.

[Jeff O'Neill]

Yeah, the booker long list came. We'll talk about that on the regular new show. I'm famously called Peak Adaptation. Five out of the one time that it happens. But I'm staring at this right now like the dark academia fantasy, possibly with romantic element. Kwong stenciled edges, not the culmination but like the three book bauble yellowface into Katabasis. And that doesn't include the Poppy War, which has been a big hit and has. It has a huge fandom there. Like it feels like this could be the cresting of a certain moment.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

It could.

[Jeff O'Neill]

Right. And because it's. It's not straight up romantasy, it just isn't. So I don't know about that. But like this feels like such a culmination of the last two to three years of interest and commercialness, but also with a literary bent and the packaging and the subject matter and the whole thing is like almost hard to look directly at. I think looking directly at the sun. It's so intense.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

The synopsis for this sounds like it would be just as believable to see it packaged the way that like Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell was packaged. Like in a like solid color hardcover without the slipcover over it. Just like the hardcover book itself.

[Jeff O'Neill]

No embossed copper is copper plate gothic.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

But no embossing make it look like serious and mysterious. You could in a different time I could see this book being marketed that way. And I think the thing that I'm hoping for here is for Katabasis to feel like a book that could be of any moment, not just this moment, in the way as a sort of opposition and to put an intention to these romanasy hits that tend to be the ones with the spreadsheets and all the flashy stuff that is in many cases, at least in my reading, designed as a distraction for a lack of substance. And RF Kuang is an author that I go to for substance and who we know to be a deep thinker and a great writer and capable of doing something that is really interesting and that could be more timeless. So maybe there's adaptation potential here. Maybe a movie. They'd have to give it a new title. Like no one is going to know the title of this book.

[Jeff O'Neill]

On the other hand, you can remember it or at least mispronounce it, even if you see it at the same time.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Thank you to the listener who finally taught us how to say it correctly months ago.

[Jeff O'Neill]

Normally a 560 page count would be a demerit, but I think in a book like this, it actually is more of a.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

It's a selling point.

[Jeff O'Neill]

This is more of a plus than anything. It's you. You really are going to get lost in and sink into this too. I as I hope it's really good. I'm looking forward to reading it. But we are to the point where I've been looking forward to this for so long. It's the culmination. It really feels like peak whatever in the book world that it's really easy for it just to be pretty good.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Yeah.

[Jeff O'Neill]

And pretty good would feel a little bit like a disappointment, I think, which.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Is tough for pretty Good to be tough. A disappointment. I'm going to be nervous about the texts you might send me and nervous about the texts I will want to send you. And will it be good or will we want to save it all for the pod? And if it's total silence, what does it mean? Because sometimes it's been total silence because it's amazing and sometimes we just haven't said anything to each other because it's like I'm not ready to talk about the fact that it disappointed me. We just have to do it for the show. I don't know. We're going to have an adventure. We'll know in four weeks where we are on this one.

[Jeff O'Neill]

Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid continues to sell quite well. Barrier Bones has sold quite well. If, if this book stumbles, maybe one of those books has a chance to sort of go into the fall as the book of the year. But I think it's, I think Kitabis would be have to be fairly poor for that to happen.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

I agree, because neither of those is as literary, at least as I expect Katabasis to be. And to be really the novel of the year, you have to have some literary bonafides.

[Jeff O'Neill]

Yeah, I agree. So those. That's it. Bookright.com Listen for show notes, though it doesn't include the list here because we want you to listen to the show, though. We give them out for the Patreon members. So go join us over there and listen to our new jam that's flying out over the digital airwaves. Choose email podcastookriot.com and with that regular new show next week, Ishiguro's Buried Giant, we're going to be reading for the Patreon here 10th anniversary. Got 10 years since that book and.

[Rebecca Schinsky]

Then I'll have to find something new that I haven't read for you to tease me.

[Jeff O'Neill]

Well, you'll still have the unconsoled, which I'm not going to give you a harder time because it's a harder, a harder lift with that. Rebecca. We'll talk to you later. The Book Riot Podcast is a proud member of the Airwave Podcast Network.