← Book Talk, etc.
Book Talk, etc.
Easily Distracted by New Releases (Nov. & Dec. 2024) + End of Year Reading Plans
00:52:27
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- [00:00]
A
And today we are talking about our. What's it called? Hannah Books on the Radar.
- [00:05]
B
And today.
- [00:06]
A
Oh, I got it. I got it. Okay. Welcome to Book Talk Etc, a podcast bound to grow your TBR. I'm Tina from TBR, etc.
- [00:25]
B
And I'm Hannah from Hand Picked Books.
- [00:27]
A
This is a conversational podcast about books and more from two Midwest mood readers where distracted by new releases. And today we are leaning into our love for new releases and talking about some new releases that we've recently read.
- [00:40]
B
If you enjoy listening, we'd love for you to follow us on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app. And if you have a quick minute, please consider leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts or sharing us on social media. It truly helps us connect with other book lovers.
- [00:55]
A
Hey, Hannah.
- [00:56]
B
Hey, Tina.
- [00:57]
A
How are you hanging?
- [00:58]
B
You hanging in there today, Medium?
- [01:00]
A
You know, I. We've been better. We've been worse. Question mark? No, we're good. I'm good.
- [01:07]
B
Yeah.
- [01:08]
A
I don't know what to say. I know.
- [01:09]
B
I don't know what to say either.
- [01:10]
A
Clumped. Let's see. I will say I'm excited to talk books with you.
- [01:15]
B
Me too. I think it will prove a much needed distraction.
- [01:18]
A
It always brightens my day. I swear to you, I can be in any kind of mood. Up, down, otherwise. And sitting down in front of the mic to talk about books always puts me in a better headspace space. Yes, I love sharing with our listeners and I know for me personally, I have a wide variety of titles today, both in types of books I'm bringing, but also in my enjoyment of them. So I'm excited to at least go there and talk about what I thought.
- [01:42]
B
Yes, same. I have a book that did not work for me and then I have one that was pretty good and one that I really loved. So again, a good mix.
- [01:53]
A
Good mix. Okay. All right, well, I'll lead in with our loving lately. And this is something that my husband put on. So we're a household that oddly doesn't really watch a lot of tv. I watch my shows, but like when we're home at night, we don't watch TV. We watch YouTube. And the other day Jonathan had on old 90s cartoons. And so I wanted to bring it to the show because it was such a fun distraction. It's this YouTube channel called J Bucks Retro Rewind. And of course, here I am thinking I'm like, oh, my gosh, it's Old Rugrats. It's Rocco's Modern Life. I'm like, oh, this Is amazing. I thought it was, like, I don't know, some random bootleg channel. And Jonathan sent it to me. It has 94,000 subscribers. So clearly, I am not alone in my love for nostalgia. And what this channel does is brings everything from the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s nostalgia, whether it's Saturday morning cartoons, forgotten gems, whatever. It sort of makes you watch it and think, oh, my God, I remember that. The best part about this, though, is that it's not just the episodes of whatever show you're watching. The commercials are there. So the commercials. Oh, my God. You get the old McDonald's commercials. You get old toys. It was so fun to reminisce with my husband, but also our girls were watching. They were both like. We were watching Rocco's Modern Life. And then Doug came on, and they were just like, like, totally mind blown. And it was just sweet. It was like a fun little aside to watch together. And I loved the commercials. Lily was very confused by some of it because it's like, oh, that's Ronald McDonald. But, like, why is he so weird looking like, you know, it's just like, all these cool references. So I had a blast. It's not just Nickelodeon. I'm looking on it. It also had Snick. Do you remember SNCC from. I don't, no.
- [03:47]
B
But I was not a Nickelodeon. We were not Nickelodeon family. We were a Disney family.
- [03:51]
A
Got you. Okay. I was not Disney. Snick was on Nickelodeon. And it's like all that and all of these other kind of kids skit shows, but that's on there. There's a lot of cartoons that I didn't watch. So it's not just like, it spans a wide scope, and it does break it down by, like, 90s Halloween from this WB channel from 1997, 1998, Saturday morning cartoon. So anyway, I thought this was a fun time. Really enjoyed watching through it. If you're looking for something to put on and, I don't know, get a good hit of nostalgia. Check it out. This one is J. Buck's Retro Rewind.
- [04:29]
B
I was feeling a little emotional hearing you talk about that. It is just sometimes good to remember good things.
- [04:37]
A
Remember the good. Remember the olden days, right? I was like, wow. Like, even, like, the old, like, McDonald's food. I'm like, we didn't go to McDonald's all that often. But I like, it's like core memories. Like, I'm like, oh, I remember that. Yeah. And that's what was fun. Like, you were constantly hit with, oh, I remember that. Like my brain was lighting up with old memories.
- [04:56]
B
Yeah. Oh, that's really great. So my loving lately is also one that is not necessarily distracting, but definitely has been a comfort to me over the past week and I think will definitely continue to be a comfort for me moving forward into the coming weeks. And that is the Everything Happens podcast with Kate Bowler. I really like Kate Bowler. I love following her on Instagram, too. She's a great follow. She talks a lot about grief. She's a historian. She also talks a lot about hope and how to continue to move forward when things are hard. I just really love her philosophy. I really like the way she talks about grief or hard things in a way that allows you to sit in it and, you know, for lack of a better phrase, feel those feelings. But she also provides action steps for forward movement. She's really good about bringing guests onto the podcast that might come at different feelings with a different perspective than she has. And she's really good at connecting with them on the way that they process things and the way their perspective has impacted, you know, how they navigate grief, but also just different life scenarios. And I really love the way that she invites different guests to tell their stories. She's a really, really good interviewer. She recently interviewed Rainn Wilson. And another interview that I listened to recently was with a New York Times journalist. And I will link those particular episodes in the show notes because I'm drawing a blank on the exact titles of those episodes. But those were two that I listened to recently in particular, that I just found to be really special and wholesome and made a really positive emotional impact. So, yeah, I just really love her and love her work, and this podcast has definitely been a comfort to me recently and I'm sure will continue to be. And that is the Everything Happens podcast with Kate Bowler.
- [07:11]
A
Thank you for sharing that. I am immediately pulling up my Instagram right now and following. Great.
- [07:20]
B
Oh, she's just great.
- [07:21]
A
I love this. Yeah, I have not. And I love the title of the podcast, Everything Happens. Like, it's.
- [07:27]
B
Yeah.
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A
And I like that it's not everything happens for a reason. It's not this toxic positivity. It's sort of like, yes, bad things happen. Let's talk through it. Because you have to. You've got to. The only way out is through. Right? And, you know, I like when people especially, I really, really admire strong interviewers because it's such a skill. I think it's such an underrated skill. It's the one that I'm constantly trying to hone I don't know that I'm great at it, but it's something where you can just tell, like, oh, this person's strong, talented in this way.
- [07:56]
B
Yeah, definitely. She. She has a great way of connecting her interviewees, and she actually. Funny that you brought this up, but one of her. I don't know if it was her first book or if it was one of her first books that she kind of became known for was her book Everything Happens for a Reason and Other Lies I've loved. And she battled, I think, stage four colon cancer. And. And that was kind of what started this journey for her. But that book really kind of empowered her to continue going on this journey with us. And she's written a lot of other books and things like that since then, so love her.
- [08:33]
A
Yeah, I'm glad you brought that. And I need to incorporate more. I don't listen to many podcasts. I mean, shockingly, I have one, but I'm also often reading audiobooks or listening to audiobooks and things. So I always want.
- [08:45]
B
For the podcast.
- [08:46]
A
For the podcast. Right. So it's hard to consume content sometimes when you're trying to create it. So thank you for bringing that. I'm glad we got a chance to. I will chat with you about my next book. It's my latest read. It's called Clean by Aaliyah Trabucco Zeran. And this one was okay for me. I think it suffered a little bit because I finished it in October, toward the end of October. And my. October was such an incredible reading month. I had some standouts. I really, really enjoyed most of my reading. And in comparison, this one was just a little bit slower and a little bit less stellar. But I'll tell you about it. This is about a maid who has seen too much in a family at a breaking point. It is set in Chile, and you are sitting with the maid as she's being interviewed by somebody. You are not sure who she's being interviewed by. And I liked that aspect of it because it's a different way of storytelling. She's like, oh, are you bored? Are you not listening? Like, is this story too dull for you? Like, she will tell her story and then, like, cut out and like, basically talk to the reader. And at times I was like, oh, you know, you're. You're calling me out because Estella came from the countryside and she is being interviewed because a young girl has died. She's. She was the maid in the house, and she's basically being interrogated about it. So, you know, what happened. And the story works backward to figure out why it happened and. Or how it happened. So Estella came to work for this family. She left her mother behind in her family, when they're only. She was basically sort of a part caretaker, part, know, housekeeper. And they wanted a housemaid very specifically to be somebody who has a smart appearance, who works full time, but is also quiet, who can keep things to themselves. And this woman goes there. She wanted to make enough money to support her mother and ultimately returned back to her hometown. But she did work for them for seven years, did her their laundry, wiped their floors. But in doing that, you, as you can imagine, figure out a lot about who people are. And she uncovered some of their secrets. She knew about not only their secrets, but also their fighting and the things that were important to them and the things they disagreed about and sort of how they were raising their daughter. And she really did care for this girl. She saw her from when she was a baby up until, you know, when she was seven years old. And then something happens that causes Estella to basically leave. And you're trying to figure out what happened and who is interrogating her. That's the crux of the story. I think that this book does a lot of things really, really well. I should mention it is in translation. And so I really appreciated learning all about the new, new culture and country that I had not a ton of reference for. It is very slow. It's a very slow burn. And you all know that. I don't mind a slow burn. I am somebody that actually, you know, kind of digs it from time to time. I also like the confession style, but I think where I kind of got lost was in the minutia, like, okay, we're doing dishes over here, we're cleaning over here. And that, I think, is part of the point, because she's telling you in. In providing us with Estella as a character, she is illustrating how often people in this role can be overlooked and how, oh, this is boring. Or, you know, oh, you know, their story's not important. And so I think it was a really smart book. I think for me, I needed something that had just a little bit more plot, had just a little bit more drive to it, because you're coming to figure out what happened to this girl. And once I got to that point, I was sort of like, okay, that was that really good exploration of some topics like power class, domestic workers, family. And, you know, I do think there were some things that were done very, very well. But I just think Overall, it was very quiet and ultimately at the end of the day, not something that I would highly recommend. I would probably give this maybe three stars. For me, this book was Clean by Aaliyah Trabucco Zayran.
- [12:51]
B
You did a really good job talking about that one and highlighting positive things that you pulled from it, even if it's not one that you would necessarily widely recommend. I really enjoyed listening to you talk about this one and this was not a book that I had even heard of before. So I applaud you for bringing something that was completely new to my radar.
- [13:11]
A
Yeah, good. I'm glad. Yeah. The reason I picked it up is I had talked about it in one of my new release Tuesday videos and it has a great hook. It's like a maid is being interviewed because her charge has died and she's basically telling her story. I was like, heck yeah, I did. The audio, I should say I liked the audio. It reminded me a tiny bit of how not to Drown in a Glass of Water by Angie Cruz, which I loved. I loved that book. So it has. So that book is so smart. So it has that similar cadence of she's talking to somebody and being interviewed. Not quite, quite as well produced is this one, but still, if you like that, you could like this one.
- [13:49]
B
Well, good call out about how not to Drown in a glass of water because if you haven't read that one yet, I co sign that one as well. That is a great one.
- [13:58]
A
Yes.
- [13:59]
B
To pick up. Well, my latest read is a horror novella. This was something that I read in October and I buddy read this one for a friend. We wanted to read a, you know, horror novella for spooky season and this one is called this is Where We Talk Things out by Caitlin Marceau. And at the start of the book we follow an emotional journey of Miller, our main character, and her estranged mother Sylvie, as they attempt to heal their strained relationship after the death of Miller's father. She has reluctantly agreed to a girls trip with her mom to reconnect with the only family that she has left her. She doesn't have any siblings, it's just her, her and her mom. While Miller hopes to make this retreat a fresh start, it soon becomes very clear that Sylvie sees this more as a getaway than a chance to mend their bond in their mother daughter relationship. But that also turns out to be the least of Miller's worries. Sylvie is stuck in the past and she's really trying to have Miller get trapped in the past with her. This book blends the tension of Misery a little bit if you've read Misery by Stephen King with the twisted dynamics of darling Rose Gold, it's a psychological horror that delves into the dark side of family trauma and the danger of holding on a little too tightly to our loved ones. I enjoyed this one for what it was. This was a quick, chilling horror novella that was perfect for reading in one sitting. I read this one on my Kindle. It's available on Kindle Unlimited, which is how I chose to read it. I think this one would especially be perfect on a snowy night by the fire or during a snow day. I did find the number of editing and grammar errors to be really frustrating, which seems to be happening more and more lately. I do know that this one was independently published, but it just seems to be a trend that I'm noticing more and more lately. And I know there are a lot of issues with like editors and publishing and stuff like that on a on a bigger scale, but I'm definitely noticing it and I noticed it here. The story itself was really engaging, though the themes were a little bit heavy handed. Without giving too much away, you catch on pretty early to the dynamic between Miller and her mother, as well as the twists and the main conflict. However, it was still a really enjoyable read. I was never bored. I went through it really quickly and I appreciated how it explored generational trauma and showing the readers how you can get stuck in these toxic cycles without a clear way out. I think that even with its flaws, this is worth picking up if you are in the mood for a short, unsettling story that has some emotional depth. And that is this is Where We Talk Things out by Caitlin Marceau.
- [16:54]
A
That sounds perfect for me. Definitely getting that on my radar for a later date. You know, not that I can't read it when it's not October, but you said maybe a snowy season.
- [17:05]
B
Yes, it takes place in the winter, and that is a big part of the story is being stuck inside of a cabin during a blizzard. So I think this would be a perfect snow day read.
- [17:17]
A
Okay, say less. I'm into it. And it's so funny too. You called out the like editing errors because I feel like it's not the first time that you have said that.
- [17:25]
B
So yes, the Blue Book of Nebo, which I talked about a couple episodes ago, had that too. And a couple of the children's books that we've been reading recently have had some pretty severe ones, so.
- [17:39]
A
And you know what? You keep finding these editing errors. I keep running into books with cancer as a subplot and it's like not a main thing, like out in the open. It just like sneakily is woven into the plot. Every other book I read has it. I also keep running into books where there's animal cruelty or a dog dies and I should call this out. I'm so sorry for not mentioning this. In clean. There is a dog and it does die in a. Yeah, it does.
- [18:08]
B
Yeah. Yeah, that's. That's rough. I. I forgot to mention it a couple episodes back when I mentioned the Night Guest. I read that. I forgot there's. There's a big scene toward the end of that and I was like, oh, I should have mentioned it. Yeah, that stinks that you're running into these particular issues that are some of your only.
- [18:26]
A
Only things. I don't really. Yeah, the only things. I wanna go. Here we go again. Yeah. But anyway, I digress.
- [18:32]
B
Shall we get into our.
- [18:33]
A
Gotta get into book talk, man. We gotta keep this train moving. Right. And we obviously plan a little bit ahead in our episodes and for me, my. A little behind the scenes is I cannot deal with coming up with booktok topics I like blank every time. I'm like, I don't know, couldn't be me, have no idea in my brain at all. And so luckily we have a spreadsheet and Hannah's very good at like some ideas. So for this one, I loved this idea. And you know, as we're heading into November, right, we've got two months of reading left for 2024. Not in our lives, hopefully. But we wanted to talk a little bit today about the books we regret not reading this year and ones we think will carry over into next year's TBR and talk a bit about what we think we'll prioritize.
- [19:19]
B
Yeah, I was thinking about this a little bit just as I've been reflecting on my end of year reading. I know you and I both definitely do that as we head into these last couple of months and think about the books that are still left on my TBR that were published this year and really trying to decide which ones I definitely want to prioritize in the year that they were published. I don't know why that's a thing for me.
- [19:44]
A
Me too.
- [19:45]
B
But it's a thing for me and it feels like a big decision of like, okay, which ones do I want to read in the year they're published? Do I want to be in the moment with these one? And then which ones do I want to keep on my tbr? And I'm okay with moving them into the next year. And which ones do I want to say? I don't think that I'm going to keep this one. I think we're going to go ahead and move on.
- [20:08]
A
Keep it moving.
- [20:09]
B
Yeah, and keep it moving.
- [20:11]
A
You got to call the old tbr, you know, And I've recently, as I've shared on this show, become somebody who is more of a person who keeps track of their tbr. Before it was just this ephemeral thing. I don't know, it's on my tbr, like, whatever the heck that is. So it's been actually quite fun for me to go through, you know, some of the books that I have marked on my TBR shortlist and think about whether or not I still want to get to them. So one thing I'm with you. I and y'all have to let us know if you are the same way, if you kind of like reading the books that are published in the year that they are published. And I don't know, I like to put them on my best of end of the year list. Not to say the books can't exist and end up on these lists later on, but I at two came to mind. One came out this year and one didn't. But for me, the books that I tend to put on the back burner naturally, are the ones that you brought to the show. Because I'm like, well, Hannah's brought it. You know, I feel like we've. We've shared it on book talk, et cetera, and I don't want to continuously be like, oh, Hannah brought it. Now I'm going to. Not that we're totally against that, but I am mindful of it. One of the big ones for me that I've sort of accepted that it's not for me this year, and I might change my tune and pick it up later in December when we have a bit of time off. But it's God of the woods by Liz Moore, because I've just heard so many people love that book. I feel like it could be a Tina book. So that's one that I'm like kind of. It's a. It's the one that got away.
- [21:35]
B
Oh, I would love to hear you talk about that book. And I feel like it's one of the more buzzier books of the year. So I think it would be fun to hear both of us talk about it.
- [21:44]
A
But that's just my take and I could do it. So, you know, and maybe this is helpful, too. Some insight. We are not taking any weeks off in November. But in December, our plan is to take the week of Christmas, just before Christmas off, and then come out with our best books of 2024 list. And it just so happens that the last day of the year is on a Tuesday. And so our best books list is going to come out on Tuesday, December 31st. I know a lot of people put it out way earlier, but I'm. I think you and I are both like little gremlins that like and have as many days as absolutely possible to try and find some of these best, best books. So I'm pretty pumped about that. So during that week off, I might try and squeeze a couple of these that I'm about to talk about in.
- [22:30]
B
Ooh, I love that. Yeah, I'm really excited for that week because I do think that it will be that perfect time to read some of these books, the ones that got away, if you will. The one that comes to the very top of mind is the Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden. And listen, I can't even tell you right now what this book is about, but I keep coming back to it. It came out in January, and I have just been excited to read it since then. And every time I either mention it or it shows up in a book stack that I share or anything, I have friends commenting, being like, you need to read this already. And so I think it might be one that I try to get to by the end of the year just in case it could end up on my top books of 2024. You never know.
- [23:21]
A
I know. I am pumped about that list. I'm still sort of. I think about it at least once a day. Like, it's a problem, y'all. I have a little bit of an obsession, which shouldn't come as a surprise to anybody. Yeah, absolutely. And I'm glad. I'm glad that I'm not alone in this, like, odd obsession that I have. One that keeps haunting me. This book has haunted me so many times. It's Martyr by Kava Akbar. And I definitely want to read it. Finally, I just grabbed it from the bookstore I visited most recently. I'm like, you know what? I'm just going to buy it. I might not get to it right away. And it's okay. It might not be for me because I'm a little worried that it's too literary, but another one that came out in January that has been stalking me since then, and I think I feel like this one has themes that really could lend itself to being a favorite of the Year. I'm not going to say what my favorite of the year so far is, but I've had it since the beginning of. I've had it since like before you came on the show. I. I think so. I'm like kind of ready to find one that might give it a run for its money.
- [24:24]
B
Yeah. I will be curious if in December either of us find books that kind of topple other books off of our best of list. It's always so exciting to think about. And I am definitely one that when I make a best books of the year, typically in the past when I make a best books of the year, those are just the best books that I read that year. However, I do like to make a separate list of best books that came out this year that I read. So it's a different list.
- [24:56]
A
They're two different things. Okay. You got to have the top 10. Top, top. Then you have to have the top 10 of 20, 24 publications. I also separate out my mystery and thriller because for some reason that feels separate to me and I just like to have them separately. Sometimes there's crossover. Do you off. Do you ever find that you get a best book of the year in December?
- [25:15]
B
That has happened to me before. Yes.
- [25:18]
A
I remember two years ago when Renee and I were doing our best of 2020. I guess it was two. One of the books she had brought to the show, I read and it ended up being my favorite of the year. I think it was Razor Blade Tears. And so I was so happy that I was able to find time to. Cause I'm like, this is my favorite of the year. Imagine if I didn't get to it this year.
- [25:35]
B
Well, and that one didn't just end up being a favorite of the year for you. But wouldn't you say that that is one of your top books, at least within that genre?
- [25:43]
A
Absolutely.
- [25:44]
B
Of all time.
- [25:45]
A
It's one of my favorites of all time. I love everything that this book did. I think it's one of the most perfect books. Not for every reader. It's definitely violent. But it's one. It's definitely for me.
- [25:57]
B
I still want to read it. I haven't read it yet. I've only read all the Sinners Bleed by this author.
- [26:03]
A
Yeah. You got to get to this one at some point. I think you'll like it for sure.
- [26:06]
B
Yeah, I think I will too.
- [26:08]
A
So I had said earlier that there were two books that I'm like you had brought to the show that are just calling to me. God of the woods, the one that Was backlist that you brought that's calling to me is I, who have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman. And this has been on my list for a while. I know it gets a lot of buzz online, and I'm just so, so curious about this. So that one's short, too. I own it.
- [26:32]
B
I really want you to read that.
- [26:33]
A
Yeah, that'll definitely be one that I'm planning to read in my infinite downtime.
- [26:38]
B
Yes, absolutely. With all of that time that we have, like you said, at least it is short.
- [26:43]
A
But then something else happens, right? I'm like, let me Finish as many 2024 books as I can in this time period. Let me see what's on the tbr. But then this little monster is like, but, you know, there's 2025 books. Like, what about the January books? What's going on over here? So there's this also. I'm like, oh, I could get ahead. It's a sickness, really.
- [27:03]
B
When do you start reading ahead for 2025? Typically.
- [27:06]
A
Typically not until January. I. I usually don't. I like to keep my things separate because this is another interesting Picadillo. That. Another interesting thing is that if I read a book that is published in 2025 and it wants to be on my favorites of the year list, I can't allow it. I can't. It has to. I couldn't bring it to a Favorites of 2024 list because it's dark. Like, you get it. You feel me?
- [27:32]
B
I do. I do. I get it. This happened to me with an. Was it Emily Henry? I think this happens to me with an Emily Henry book once where I read it, like, I don't know, December or so, and it was coming out that spring, and I ended up really loving it. And I was like, well, I can't bring it. I haven't loved all of her books, but. And I can't remember which one this was that I read ahead of time. And I couldn't put it on my favorites list. No, it just didn't seem right.
- [28:01]
A
You couldn't. I know it doesn't seem right.
- [28:03]
B
Well, also, please keep Picadillo.
- [28:05]
A
Well, Picadillo pie, I gotta tell you, I just did a light Google and I might have used it a little bit wrong. Picadillo.
- [28:13]
B
Oh, okay. Okay.
- [28:14]
A
Means a very minor or slight sin or offense. A trifling fault. So it's kind of correct. It's kind of a trifling fault of mine that I like, have this weird quirk that I can't allow books published in the year later to be on my Best of the previous year list. You know, but we can keep that on the list.
- [28:31]
B
You know, I just think it makes sense.
- [28:33]
A
I think it makes sense.
- [28:34]
B
It's not this huge trifle.
- [28:36]
A
No, not a huge one. A very. A minor. A minor. A trifle.
- [28:39]
B
A minor one. A minor trifle.
- [28:40]
A
Well, you'll have to let us know, as you consider your end of the year reading, if any of what we're saying resonates, if we're just a little bit delirious, you know, if you're on the same wavelength as us or what your feelings are about how to structure your end of the year reading. But for now, we're going to share two new releases each that you might want to add to your tbr. For me, I recommend both of them, and I know Hannah doesn't.
- [29:05]
B
We'll. We'll get there.
- [29:06]
A
We'll get there. We'll get there. Not to spoil. So I'll start and lead in. Because my first book that I want to bring as a new release is the sequel by Jean Hamp Corlitz. And I'm happy about this. I am happy about this. I'm going to do my best to share this book without spoiling the plot. But be very clear. You have to read the plot first and then you can come to the sequel because they're very tied together. It picks up. This book picks up right where the plot let off. And it is about. In the plot, you're following Jacob Finch Bonner, who is this author, and you know, you basically, in the synopsis of that book, you find out that he wrote this book and people are basically accusing him of plagiarism. This book picks up and is told from the point of view of his wife, and she is going through her own thing. She's had sort of a flash of inspiration and now wants to publish her own book. So a lot of this book is getting into the inside baseball of publishing. You're getting a lot of the ins and outs. You're revisiting a lot of the plot points from the plot. And I thought it was really good. She then starts getting haunted by some of the same demons that her husband was. And so it's very interesting how the two interplay. And I will say, you've got to read. Well, maybe you're just really smart and have a great memory, in which case, disregard. But for me, I had to read a synopsis or a refresher of the plot because I was like, okay, what are you talking about? Because you do as you did with the plot, get a little bit of a book within the book. And I did this primarily on audio. It's narrated by Julia Whelan. It's done really, really well. But I was like, what book are we in? Because it's sort of that Inception. And I was getting myself a little confused. Once I had read through a little bit of a spoiler breakdown of the plot, I was good to go. I just needed a refresher. I really loved Anna as a character. She is somebody that I like to root for. She's a very complex character, and there are things that I. She does things that I'm like, huh? But I understand her. Doesn't mean I do the same. Doesn't mean I agree with her. But I. In a. In a certain sense, I was like, got it. Yeah, I see where you got to, how you got to that conclusion. It's funny that I recommend this so highly because I am not somebody that typically needs a sequel. I'm not a series reader, but this was a sequel I didn't know I needed. I really, really enjoyed reading this one. And I keep thinking, how did this author come up with the idea? I wonder if she had the long idea of this planned out when she wrote the plot or if it came out because Anna still had something to say. I would love to ask her that question. I might seek out an author interview because I'm sure somebody has asked her. But overall, I recommend it. It's really good. It's the sequel by Jean Hanf Corlitz.
- [31:59]
B
Yeah. The plot is one of those books. We were just talking about this that I wish I had read the year that it came out when people were talking about it, because it just seems like such an interesting story.
- [32:10]
A
Like you said, if you like authors behaving badly, both of these books highly, highly, highly top my Authors Behaving Badly reading list.
- [32:19]
B
Yeah, that is definitely. I don't know, I just love books about people behaving badly.
- [32:23]
A
Yes. And, like, I just like seeing the lengths that some will go to because it's just, like, satisfying. Because you're like, I'm just a little reader up in my nook, you know, reading on my Kindle. But I get to see, where are.
- [32:35]
B
They going to take this?
- [32:35]
A
Where are they going to go? Like, I want to see how you react when you're backed into a corner or whatever.
- [32:40]
B
Yeah, definitely. Well, my book is in a pretty different vein, but I am going to start with the one that I really enjoyed, and that is into the uncut Grass by Trevor Noah. Oh yeah, yeah. This is his new book and it's. It's very different. This is in the tradition of the Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse, which came out a couple of years ago. This is a beautifully illustrated book and it's a fable for readers of all ages. It tells the story of a young child's journey into a magical world beyond home where he learns about kindness, connection and peace. It's filled with a lot of wit and imagination. It is a book to be read aloud or alone and it really celebrates the rewards of curiosity and companionship. There is a little quote, an excerpt at the bottom of the synopsis and it says, what will we find in the uncut grass? It depends on what we are looking for. And that is really what this book is about. It is also a tribute to the parents who read to us in a love letter to neurodivergent minds that are allowed to explore their untethered creativity. And for those reasons, this book felt like a really warm hug. If you are looking for a heartwarming imaginative story that inspires empathy and open mindedness and connection, I think this would be a perfect pick. I also think that this book would be ideal for families, educators and readers of all ages that love stories that spark meaningful conversations and encourage personal growth and out of the box thinking you are struggling right now. If you're grieving in any capacity. I think this would be a lovely story in the vein of think like Frog and Toad or Winnie the Pooh or those short fables that are maybe possibly for kids, but also really for grownups too. It's very wholesome and just great storytelling in its purest form. I think this would make a perfect gift for the holidays. This is a perfect gift book. If you had a parent that read to you as a kid, this would be the perfect tearjerker gift that connects and holds. I just thought that this was a wonderful story and I'm glad that it exists. And that is into the Uncut Grass by Trevor Noah.
- [35:05]
A
Oh, what a good call out. I assume you did print for this.
- [35:08]
B
I actually did audio, but I bought the book immediately after I did the audio and then read it and my kids really enjoyed looking at the pictures and it. I mean you could definitely read this to your kids. My kids are 6 and 3 and there isn't anything in there that I could see being an issue or a problem. It's really a book for readers of every single age and the illustrations are lovely.
- [35:35]
A
I love this. Yeah, I saw it was on one of our audiobook influencer lists. I forget which one, but yeah, and I was like Charonoa because I love his book. You know, Born in Crime is one of my all time favorites, especially on audio. So yeah, I was curious what format you did that in.
- [35:51]
B
Yes, and his voice is lovely. I recommend both. Obviously. It's great to have the pictures in front of you and the pictures are really pretty. It's a lovely and beautiful book. But listening to him read it is also great. And I loved listening to him read his author's note too, because he does talk about his mom who used to read to him and you know, his diagnosis with ADHD and how this book was really him like totally honing into being his completely untethered creative self and that this book was really a tribute to that. So I really enjoyed listening to him talk about that as well.
- [36:25]
A
Oh, good call. I'm so glad you brought that. I have one that is pretty under the radar and I'm going to need my listeners to trust me on this one and pick it up because my book is how does that make youe Feel? Magda Eklund. This is by Anna Montague. I loved this book. Spoiler alert. I loved it. I was going on a long road trip. I had the audio downloaded and I had known about it because I brought it to a new release Tuesday and I was like, I don't know about this cover because it's sort of illustrated. And I was like, eh. But I put it on and immediately was captivated. This is for fans of less and remarkably bright creatures and for fans of road trip novels, because it's about Magda. Magda is a psychiatrist and she has a small private practice with two friends that she went to med school with. She has her routines, she has her anxious therapy patients. She has her again, her longtime colleagues, and they have this wonderful banter with each other. She's also mourning. She's mourning the recent loss of her best friend Sarah, and she is working with Sarah's widower to try and go through some of her last possessions and figure things out. And one of the possessions is Sarah's old journal. Magda gets it and through this finds that she, Sarah, had plans for Magda's upcoming milestone birthday. Sarah was big into birthdays and Magda's going to turn 70 and she's sort of a reluctant celebrator. And so they agreed that every five years they would have this big birthday party. She finds out that Sarah had planned this big road trip for them for her 70th birthday and she decides to take her. She is in an urn with her on this road trip and she goes out together and goes to New Orleans. They head to some other places, you know, all the spots that were listed in her journal. And it forces Magda to really break away from her grief a little bit and break away from her routines. This book, if you are looking for a book that has really thoughtful things to say about aging and about grief, I think this could be a good pick. I. This book had me crying within the first, I think 10% because she was talking about her deep love for this friend and how friendship grief doesn't often get the same gravitas that you might get if someone lost their spouse and how it can be just as devastating. She's like, I've had this person in my life for however many years, 40 something plus years, and it made me really sad. I could cry right now thinking about my friends and all. You know, we're all finite, right? And I'm like, God, like, someday, God willing, I'm living until 70 plus, but like, this will happen, right? And it says, I'm also in my feelings because I read this almost on my birthday and it's very much about birthdays. And one of the quotes is, to celebrate birthdays feels like a privilege afforded only to the young. And so she's really, she's not sad about aging, but she's sort of reflecting on all of the things that happen when one ages. It's both a privilege, but it's also really, really hard because things change. And she also is somebody that. It's interesting because she is a psychiatrist, so she does prescribe, you know, medications to folks and she, she does therapy as well. But also she is a character that I, in my opinion, feels pretty unexamined. And so for a lot of this, I was like, Magda, like, come on, you know, this and that. I was like having these one way conversations with her. And I will say, you know, you get a character arc, right? Of course, as any good book does, if you have in your life long term friendships. I absolutely highly recommend this. I think you will definitely understand it. But there's also plot, it's character driven. But there's also certain points where I was like, what? And I'm like looking at, you know, doing my live reading updates. I'm like talking into my phone like, this character's such a jerk for doing that, right? And I had like all of these reactions. It's also really nice because you get to hear From Sarah via some of these letters that Magda is reading. So you've got her journals. And they actually have this, you know, as friendships do they EB and they flow. And sometimes they were closer and sometimes they were further away. But they used to have like these emails and pen pals, letters that they would send to each other. And it made me sad. It made me want to, like, write letters to my friends so that we can have this memory of, you know, instead of just text messages. We also find out that Magda has some, you know, she's definitely has found family in this story, but you find out she does have a biological family and so that plays a role as well. Into the end, there's themes of what I thought was so interesting, Schrodinger's cat, if you're familiar with that. It's like they go into this idea of Schrodinger's cat, but they talk about things can still be true even if you aren't acknowledging them. And like, I just thought, I don't know what the author's background is, but I'm like, she has to have studied psychology in some capacity, in my opinion, because I felt like there were just a lot of these really interesting existential questions that fit really well with a character that was a psychiatrist. Overall, I highly recommend this one. If this sounds good at all, if you are grieving somebody, something. If you want a book that does have a little bit of a feel good, but also has some very serious themes that make you think and make you feel, I think this one is great. This is an under the radar gem for me. I'm going to give it five stars. This is. How does that make you feel? Magda Eklund.
- [41:51]
B
Ooh, I loved hearing you gush about this book and what a Tina book. I mean, we've got, I know psychology, we've got, you know, that emotional depth and levity and friendship. And I loved what you were saying too, about how it isn't talked about, like grieving a friend or even if they didn't pass away or die, that a lot of times, like, if you decide to break up with a friend because of, you know, differences, I think especially in this current climate that has been happening a lot and it's really, really heavy and hard and people think, well, it's not a spouse or it's not a significant other, it's not a partner. So. But no, like, it can be just as traumatizing or grieving, like, it's very hard. So I love that this book explores that this is one of those times where I'm like, ah, dang, now I can't read this, at least for a while.
- [42:45]
A
I know, I know. Maybe in our off time. Because I do think you'd get a lot out of it too.
- [42:50]
B
Oh, I think I would love it. Yeah.
- [42:52]
A
Also there's a little queerness to it which I didn't mention.
- [42:56]
B
We always love that.
- [42:57]
A
I always love a sneaky queer scene or two. So anyway, that's not me too. Well, tell me about. Oh, I can't wait. Now I know because I know what book you're bringing. So tell me about your final new release.
- [43:09]
B
Oh yeah, I forgot. I'm just sitting.
- [43:10]
A
I was sitting here like, tell you what, like I'm happy to. What is it?
- [43:14]
B
Let's keep talking. Okay. I think I was just maybe dreading this moment. I don't know. No, I am bringing Intermezzo by Sally Rooney which is arguably one of the buzziest books of this year. Right. People always really look forward to the new Sally Rooney coming out. This one follows two brothers, Ivan and Peter, who have very little in common. Peter is a successful 30something lawyer medicating himself to sleep every night while simultaneously self medicating by obsessing over and trying to manage two relationships and or situationships. Ivan, the younger brother, is in his 20s and a competitive chess player. We also follow Ivan's romantic relationship with an older woman emerging from her own turbulent past and their lives become very rapidly and chaotically and intensely intertwined. We follow these two men as they grieve the loss of their father, fumble through their desire and possibility and try to figure out life and how much it can hold for them. So this is my second Sally Rooney and I wanted to try this one to see more of where I could land with her work. I read Normal People and did not fall in love with it like other people did. With Normal People though, I feel like I was better able to understand the appeal and I could understand why people really enjoyed it. I had a harder time having a little bit more of an open minded approach when reading this one. I will talk about it. I don't think I would have finished this one if I hadn't already made it 50% through and it became like my Everest. That was another friend that I was talking to about this book. We were both like, this book is my Everest. Like I am going to make it to the top. And I was able to put the audiobook on while I finished some things at work. And here's the thing, this didn't work for me. But it wasn't because it was slow or character driven or because Rooney bravely tackles internal conversations that we all have, but never speak out loud because those are all things that I actually think that this author does really well. It wasn't because I didn't like her writing or don't appreciate the intentionality that she puts into her prose and her storytelling. I think that, again, she really is a talented and gifted storyteller and writer. I think that this book was even creative in the way that it was told. It was structured in two parts, having the brothers stories both simultaneously complement and contrast one another. But I didn't care about these two characters and these two men. And in fact, I really didn't like them. And I know that Rooney was painting them as flawed and human, but some flawed humans we like and some flawed humans we don't. And that's just a part of life. And I didn't like Ivan and Peter, and I don't care about their complicated and weird relationships or their sex lives. So I'm really glad that I'm done with this one. I'm on the fence at trying a Sally Rooney book again. If you think that I should give her one more go, please let me know which one you think I should try. But for now, I'm just not sure about this author and if she is for me in particular, as a reader. And that is Intermezzo by Sally Rooney.
- [46:26]
A
You know, fair enough, right? I'm glad you did it for me. I own this book. I actually own all of Sally Rooney's books. I've only read. I know I've only read Normal People and I enjoyed it. I really did like that one, but I bought this sort of thinking, okay, you know, someday I think I'll grab this and pick it up again, but, you know, it's going toward the back of my list.
- [46:48]
B
Yeah, I. I could say that that that's probably safe.
- [46:51]
A
Probably a safe spot for it. Okay.
- [46:54]
B
But I do know I've heard so many people say they think that this is her best work, you know, et cetera. So do your due diligence and maybe check out some other reviews and if you think that this one could work for you, I. I think that you should give it a go.
- [47:09]
A
Okay. All right, maybe I will. You know what? It is fun to disagree sometimes, though I will say it is very much enjoy having a fun little back and forth about whether or not we think it was a good book.
- [47:20]
B
Yeah, that is fun.
- [47:22]
A
All right, let's do Shelf Editions, please clap for me because you know I'm doing a self imposed netgalley November. This one came up on one of the emails that they send me to entice me about 2025 books and I did not request it. I tagged it as request next time you're able to when you're back to requesting but the book is Mutual Interest by Olivia Wolfgang Smith. This one comes out on February 4, 2025. It's historical fiction and I cannot wait to read this one. It is a novel about marriage and ambition, sexuality and secrecy and the true cost of building an empire at the turn of the 20th century. Vivian is determined to flee her origins in Utica, New York and avoid repeating her parents dull, limited life. When she meets Oscar Smith, a middle manager at a soap company, Vivian finds a partner she can guide to the life she wants. Not least because more interested in men himself, Oscar will leave Vivian to tend to her own romances with women. So they're having an agreement here it's a beard marriage, but Vivian's plans require capital. So the two pair up with Squire Clancy, a scion of an old American fortune. And together they found Clancy and Schmidt, a manufacturer of soap, perfume and candles. Then Oscar and Squire fall in love and the trio form a new kind of partnership. Vivian works her way to the top of the business while operating behind the image of both men because she's actually in charge, but because she's a woman, they're not going to be as accepted as they would be if men were in charge. And then exposure threatens and all three partners are made aware of just how much they have to lose. Excuse me. I am so excited about this one. It's a pink book too. I just love the COVID I can't wait. This one is Mutual Interest by Olivia Wolfgang Smith.
- [49:16]
B
Ooh. So the book that I'm going to bring for my shelf edition is also a pink book. And it's, I mean it's very like pastel pink, et cetera. Thankfully, our listeners won't have to wait as long for yours. Unfortunately for mine, I just looked because I am also bringing a netgalley book and it does not come out until June. I'm still going to bring it. I'm still going to bring it because I'm very excited about it. And that is this Princess Kills the Misadventures of a Fairy Tale Stepsister by Ry Herman. And this one sounds so fun. It says a princess with a mostly useless magical talent takes on horrible monsters, a dozen identical masked heroes, and a talking lion in a quest to save a kingdom and herself. It's an affectionate satire of the Grimm's Brothers fairy tale, the Twelve Huntsmen, and I think that it just sounds so fun. It's about Princess Meliot, and she is tired of her stepmother's dangerous quests, and she now faces an unwanted marriage to a stranger king. On her journey, she's attacked by monstrous spider wolves, but rescued by 12 identical masked huntsmen. And soon she is dodging constant assassination attempts and solving confusing tests from a talking lion and navigating a tricky love triangle. And if she can't unravel these mysteries, the kingdoms may just fall apart and she might end up married to the wrong person. This is coming out from random house on June 17th of next year. It is tagged under LGBTQ Fiction Sci Fi Fantasy. So, yeah, I'm really excited. I'm determined to make sci fi and fantasy more a part of my reading life next year. And this one just sounds really fun, and that is this. Princess Kills the Misadventures of a Fairy Tale Stepsister by Ry Herman.
- [51:09]
A
I love it and I support you in your quest for more fantasy sci fi. Absolutely.
- [51:15]
B
Thank you. Thank you.
- [51:16]
A
Alrighty. Well, that's it for today. We thank you for spending a part of your day with us. Links to all the books mentioned can be found in the show notes. If you enjoyed today's episode, you can help us by following wherever you listen and by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts. It helps us get our show out to new listeners and grows our audience. Don't forget, if you would like access to exclusive bonus content and community, Please head to patreon.com booktalk etc, go there and then subscribe for $5 a month.
- [51:44]
B
If you'd like to connect with us, you can email us@booktalk etcmail.com you can also connect with us both at Booktalk Etc on Instagram and Tina Tbr etc and hannahandpickedbooks. Talk to you next week. And in the meantime, remember, everything's better.
- [51:59]
A
With books.
- [52:09]
B
And we gotta have it be better.
- [52:11]
A
We. You know what, though? This. The time when we were talking to each other, it was better.
- [52:16]
B
It was.
- [52:16]
A
I literally just had a rush. I was like, it's time to go back to the real world.
- [52:21]
B
Time to go.
- [52:22]
A
I know, I know. But take care. I mean, I'll be here.
- [52:26]
B
Yeah, I'll be here.