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- [00:00]
A
No, anachronistic is when it's like the time period is like the 1920s and someone is saying, oh that's so sick bro. Like they wouldn't say that.
- [00:11]
B
I wish they would. Don't mind me. I'm just trying to find a light that makes me look the least like a Victorian child on their deathbed. Hold please. Welcome to Booktok etc. A podcast found to grow your TBR. I'm Tina from TBR, etc.
- [00:36]
A
And I'm Hannah from Hand Picked Books.
- [00:38]
B
This is a conversational podcast about books and more from two Midwest Mood readers who are easily distracted by new releases. And this week we are sharing our February books on the Radar.
- [00:49]
A
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.
- [01:02]
B
Hey everyone, it the start of a brand new month so we wanted to take the time to invite you to join us on Patreon. Our Patreon Group is such a wonderful and supportive community of readers and if you've ever wanted your reading experience to be more social, this is a great way to find that connection. Becoming a patron is also a great way to financially support our podcast, to meet other readers, and of course get access to our exclusive Bonus content. For $5 a month, you get access to two bonus episodes and one live event, as well as invites to our BTE Discord, Discord server, Facebook Group and our monthly Community Read. You also have access to everything we've created since we've started, which at this point is so much and you also help keep our main show ad free. February is packed full of goodness. Our live event is one of our favorites. It is our classic Mood Reader happy Hour where all of the patrons are invited to join Hannah, Jonathan and I to share their latest reads. And for bonus episodes, we are going to be selecting the Community Reads for the next four months so that our patrons can get holds in and patrons will also receive episode two of Bookstore Browse the Hand Sell, where our featured bookseller will share personalized book recommendations based on Patron submitted listener requests. Our February Community Read is a buzzy one. It is Vigil by George Saunders and this is about a spirit guide who must shepherd a dying, unrepentant oil tycoon through the afterlife. Needless to say, there will be a lot to discuss, so if you're interested at all, Please head to patreon.com booktalk etc. Or look for the link in our show notes. Thank you so much for your support. Hi Hannah.
- [02:47]
A
Hi Tina. How's it going? How are you feeling?
- [02:50]
B
I feel amazing. I have had half a glass of wine and I'm going to have a little bit more as we're recording because Right now it's 8:00pm Central Standard Time. And I'm also buzzing because we just finished our community read. So I feel great. How are you?
- [03:05]
A
I am feeling the same way. I am feeling super energized. We just came out of our discuss our patrons and now we get to talk about it a little bit here and I'm so excited to do that.
- [03:18]
B
What a cool group of people. If you're listening, which probably you guys are, we love you guys. It's like the best group of readers and it just always makes the reading experience that much richer. And we don't just read our community reads together. We've been doing this month long readathon.
- [03:34]
A
And I honestly that has been so fun.
- [03:37]
B
Love this group more so than I do, you know, regularly. I just feel so close to them this month. So that's been a really fun time.
- [03:44]
A
I do too. The readathon has been so fun and thank you Jen and Amy for helping us with that. It's just been wonderful and has given me an excuse too to even hop in discord more and chat about not only what we're reading but also what we're doing. We've been getting. It's just been, it's just been so fun.
- [04:06]
B
It's been fun. It's been a really good time. I know we're like bragging. We're like humble brag. It's been the best time. It is wrapping up. Like I need to stop talking about.
- [04:12]
A
It, but it's been really fun.
- [04:14]
B
It's been really fun and honestly I'm. I am sad that in January we know is always a very cold month if you were in the Midwest. And I'm a little sad to see January go because we've been having such a good time with it. But alas, the show must go on and I am slowly getting ready to talk about February. How was it for you trying to find your February reads?
- [04:36]
A
Honestly, easy in the sense that there is a plethora to choose from. I mean so many riches in February and I feel like in 2026 in general. I'm just so excited about this year's releases and this year for books and reading hard in the sense that it was kind of hard to narrow down exactly what I wanted to share. How about you?
- [05:01]
B
Same. I was really debating if I wanted to go. Okay, what are the ones I'm most excited about but are probably super buzz. I wanted to go with ones that are a little bit more, I don't know, not under the radar, but, like, maybe I wanted to spotlight a bit more. So I went with a little bit of a balance. I think you sort of did the same thing, right?
- [05:20]
A
Yes, I did. And I wanted to mention a couple actually at the top of the show that I didn't include for my books on the radar, but that I am really excited to read. They're just getting quite a bit of buzz already. And so, like you mentioned, I decided to go a little more on the route of choosing books that I think maybe might need more of a platform to spotlight. But some. Yeah, but some other ones that I'm excited about are Keeper of Lost Children by Sudeika Johnson, which I love. Tina, you just posted that video of your predictions for book clubs in February. You said this felt like a Reese pick. I hope you're right. It seems totally like a Reese pick. You're spot on with that. So well done with that. Guess the second you said that, I was like, she's so right. That is totally on par with something that Rhys would choose. There's another one called so Old, so Young by Grant Gender that I have heard a lot about, Adrift by Will Dean. And then Ellie K. Wilde has a romance book in her Oakwood Bay series that's called if Only youy Knew. That's coming out in February. And I know a lot of romance readers are going to be buzzing about that one. So those are all books that I'm excited about, but I won't be officially bringing them to the radar. Do you have any that you are excited about that you're not going to be featuring on the radar, but that you're eager to read?
- [06:46]
B
I do. I only have one that I would add to that list, and it's Ken by Tayari Jones. I am not alone in saying we've been waiting years for the next Jones book and I'm almost nervous. I get so weird about it when books that I'm so excited for, I'm like, oh, but I don't know. I don't know what. What's the right time? Should I pick it up now? And now's the time. It's February. It's pub month, so let's get cracking. That is one of my. My Goals is to not, like, let's hold on to these books that I'm desperate to read until. For what? I don't know, a rainy day, I suppose. But we all do it. We all do it. And we also have so, so many good ones. But before we get into our book list, we'll kick things off as we always do, with our loving latelys. And my loving lately is something that we got for Christmas from my parents. And it is the Skylight calendar. Have you ever seen this? Of course you have.
- [07:38]
A
Yes. I want. I would love one. They seem so great.
- [07:42]
B
I have been victimized by ads for this because it's like, is your family busy? Well, here's the thing. That'll be just the ticket. And I'm like, finally, my dad loves Costco. And he asked me and I was like, you know what, can I just call it Calendar? Anywho, it is a wifi connected digital calendar that coordinates the schedules of everyone in the family. We got the 15 inch one, so it just sort of sits on our kitchen counter. What I love about it, you can have four different calendars, one for each per however many people you have in your family. They're all color coded. And there's an app too. So I have the app and I can just look at it and see. Okay, you know, like, today was a crazy day with a half day. There was a dentist appointment and a bunch of random things that don't always happen predictably. So it was great to like pick that up and be like, what time was that appointment? Was it four? Was it whatever? Now you might be thinking, we'll just use a calendar. Sure, you could do that. I find this to be easier for us because you can also do the thing that I love, which is, oh, I'm at the kids school. There's a flyer and it tells me that pajama day is in a couple weeks. Great. Take a picture of that, text it to your Skylight calendar or send it and then it automatically puts it on your calendar. Which for me is fantastic. So helpful. I love that feature. I do believe you have to have the like, pro feature or whatever. It came with our Costco one for a year. I'll probably re up it. It's like, it's stupid expensive. But I'm also like, if I'm using it and it's working for us, I'm probably going to continue to do that. It also has a ton of other things too. It has, you can do like to do lists on it. You can do grocery lists, you can also put little lists for kids, like their to do list, which I think is nice. That's helpful, very helpful. It's got weather. It also has meal planning. And you can send recipes to Skylight, put them in your little meal planner. You can even order through Instacart on this thing. Like, I'm like, you're making it too easy for me. Very customizable. And you know, I don't know. I don't have any negative things to say. And when it's not showing the calendar, it's actually photos. And I love that. That has been so fun to have going. It's like a digital photo frame essentially. And it's fun because, you know, these photos live in my phone. We don't often look at them, but the girls will be walking by and they look very similar to each other. And so the little one will say, oh, is that me? Look, it's me. And I'm like, no, that's your sister. You just weren't around yet. So you don't recognize me.
- [10:14]
A
You were a baby.
- [10:15]
B
You were. Yeah, you weren't here yet. So it's, it's, it's cool. It's a really, really fun thing and I feel like, okay, if you have a lot of things that you're managing for us, it makes sense and it's worth the splurge anyway. I've been loving it. It is my Skylight calendar and that's it.
- [10:32]
A
I feel like the photo feature is great. It's. I love having photos just rolling like that. But I didn't know that about the recipes and that you could send recipes to it for meal planning.
- [10:42]
B
Oh yeah, baby. And then that's the highlight for me. You can take the ingredients from the recipe and put them in a shopping list.
- [10:49]
A
In your list.
- [10:50]
B
Yeah, it's really.
- [10:51]
A
That's a game changer.
- [10:52]
B
It's a good one. Yeah, it's real unbiased. I wish they were paying me. My goodness. Or paying every other influencer under the sun to promote them. But I, yeah, we, we got this with our hard earned Costco money.
- [11:03]
A
Yes. Nice, nice, nice. My loving lately, funny enough, is also something that we got for Christmas from my mom and it was something that we got for my kids and we really been enjoying it, especially my 8 year old. It's the Crayola Light up tracing pad and it, it is exactly what the title implies. It is a tracing pad and it glows from it's backlit. So it has an LED glow. And it has quickly become one of our Favorite screen free activities. I feel like this is great because it gives kids just enough guidance to build confidence and learn the drawing skill whether they're tracing letters or shapes. What my daughter does is she actually puts drawings from coloring pages on the bottom and then puts a tracing page over the top. And it allows her to be able to learn how to draw without taking away her creativity. After my kiddos are done with the tracing, they enjoy coloring the pages after. So that's really fun. The gentle light makes it really easy to follow the lines and this honestly helps also with fine motor skills and handwri. And it's just calming in a way that screens aren't. And it's become a great. I mean we are a very screen positive family. So I love gaming, I love tv, all of that good stuff. But every once in a while it's nice to have that before bed non screen for that calming. You know, screens are just hard at night and this has been something that's different, that's a little bit outside of their normal routine and has been a helpful before bed activity for them to do. So my daughter, it's funny, we read every night before bed, but lately she's been like, can we add more things into our bedtime rotation that are different like maybe drawing or tracing or you know, something like that. Well, we're still gonna read every night, but we could add maybe some more activities like this before bed. So that has been something that she in particular has really been enjoying. And my son likes it too. He is four and a half and that is the Crayola light up tracing pad.
- [13:25]
B
What a great gift. That is definitely something we could use in this house. They like to draw, but mostly I just like to open markers and leave them unopened on my table and let it dry up and it makes me a little bonkers. But you know what, that's really funny.
- [13:42]
A
You mentioned that because one of my friends texted me today and literally was like, my son just took all my mildliners or like five of my mild liners and took the lids off and. And they're mild liners. I mean if you know, you know, you know, right?
- [13:58]
B
No, this is their Crayolas. But I do have beef with Crayola because they make it freaking hard to get the little. You have to squeeze really hard.
- [14:06]
A
They are so hard to close.
- [14:07]
B
Hard to close.
- [14:08]
A
I do the slam on the table.
- [14:10]
B
Love a slam on the table. I should really teach them how to do that. But it's amazing.
- [14:14]
A
They gotta put it on and then.
- [14:16]
B
On the table anyway. But no, that sounds like a lovely activity. Okay. Would you like to chat?
- [14:23]
A
I would love to chat.
- [14:24]
B
Would you like to chat more? Yes.
- [14:26]
A
Okay.
- [14:26]
B
So we had our latest read is our joint latest read. It is our community read that we just finished chatting about, chatting with. With our patrons. It is skylark by Paula McLean. And y', all this book, man. Okay, okay, I'll. I'll tee us up and tell us about it. I will tell you what it's about, and then we can get into it. And honestly, I said this in the chat, but I have to admit, this was one that Hannah suggested. And I have read Paula McLean before, and I was like, sure, let's do it. You know, sounds great. Beautiful cover. The synopsis wasn't giving for me because it's about a master dyer. And I was like, what?
- [15:05]
A
Sounds rt.
- [15:06]
B
Sounds artsy. You know, I don't like artsy books because I can't visualize anything. So I was very nervous. But I will say there's not a ton of that. We'll. We can chat more, but it's about much more than, you know, sort of the dying process. You've got two point of views. The first is in 1664. They both take place in Paris, and in 1664, it's that of Alouette Volund, who is the daughter of this master dyer, and she secretly longs to create colors of her own. But of course, because she's a woman during this time period, she's not allowed to. And she actually ends up getting put in an asylum where thousands of women are held against their will. And while she's there, she makes some allies, and they sort of forge this dangerous path toward freedom. You're also following Christoph Larson in 1939. He is a young Dutch doctor beginning a psychiatric residency, and he ends up up. You know, his neighbors are whatever up or downstairs. He ends up becoming friends with the family, and they are a Jewish family. And then Nazis descend on the city, and his loyalty and skills are tested in ways that he had never imagined. And so the book essentially is going through these two very disparate in terms of time period, points of view. And you're following these characters, so I know what you thought, but would you like to tell the listeners what you thought?
- [16:35]
A
Yes, I would. I gave this five stars. I absolutely loved it. I thought that each point of view was great. There was definitely, like, some periods. There were definitely some points of view that I maybe preferred, but ultimately, I loved all of them. I felt like this was such a Timely read. And gosh, I don't know what else to say, honestly, except for just gushing about it. Why don't you tell us what you thought and then maybe we can talk about some of the details.
- [17:13]
B
Sure, of course. So I also loved it. I swear to you, I again, and I do this often, I'm like, I don't know about the synopsis. Historical fiction, it sounds like it's slow, it's long. And I was like dreading grabbing it. Frankly, I am so glad that I loved it. Now here's the thing. Here's who I am as a reader. When times are tough in real life, I tend to like to read heavier things. If there's two. I like escapist reads, but they tend to feel silly for me. If in real life things are hard. And I'm like, it doesn't work in my brain. I'm like, this is not working. This is is not the time. I know some people are great with escapist reads. I'm the opposite. I like to lean in. And for this reason, I loved this book. There are so many passages that I highlighted and underlined and annotated. And I think what the beauty of this book is that you're getting these two very different time periods and you're being reminded that history is familiar. History tends to have a pattern. It tends to repeat itself. And I loved that, that the author put to word so many things that I was feeling. I read this over the weekend and I was reading. I don't even remember. God. Oh, I was reading something else and I was like, it was sort of one of those books that tells you it's supposed to be funny. And I was like, this is not striking the right tone for me. Let me just dive into Skylark because I know I have to read it anyway for our discussion. And my goodness, I read this in the course of like two days.
- [18:44]
A
Tina texted me at 2:30 in the morning when she was like on the last bit of it. Which if you know Tina, you know that is a weird time to get a text from her.
- [18:55]
B
Yes.
- [18:55]
A
And so.
- [18:56]
B
And I, to be fair, it was in the back.
- [18:59]
A
Yeah. Either way, I welcome a 2:30am bookish message. I'll read it in the morning.
- [19:06]
B
I wasn't reading it. I was just up chatting with Jonathan. Cause he was wrapping a few things up, he had worked. And I was like, oh my God, I can't believe I forgot to tell Hannah W.T. yada, yada, yada. This about the book. Like, what do you mean? And like, it was fun, but I literally sent it at 2:36am I. But it just goes to show how moved I think I was by the book. I knew you were ahead of me, too, which I kind of liked, actually. Like, I like that you were ahead. So I could just know that I could say things. It's fun without, you know, worrying about how far you were into the story. And I also loved that there's these dual time periods, and I'm thinking, I don't know, how are they gonna make sense?
- [19:45]
A
How are they gonna do it?
- [19:46]
B
How is she gonna do it? And let reader trust in the author. This is not her first rodeo, and she did it totally. I loved both of periods. Oftentimes when there's dual time periods, I'm like, let's get back to X or, let's get back to Y. Nope. This time I was truly invested in the characters in both time periods. And I love how she was able to have them go parallel in a not so obvious way.
- [20:12]
A
Agree. I like the way she connected these timelines. And without spoiling anything, I think it will surprise a lot of readers at how she pulls this off in a way that is nuanced and creative, but also very. I don't know. I don't know. It's nuanced and creative, but it also does really tie the timelines together in these stories together. And I feel like it was a great reminder at how we are all connected to each other, even in small ways, in big ways, in, you know, just this thread of humanity that we all have together with one another. And I think that's an important reminder always, of course, but especially right now, it just felt. It felt really good to read that.
- [21:01]
B
Absolutely. And I love that she was able to do this in a way that was very accessible. Meaning you might think, oh, it's another World War II book. And she sort of acknowledges that in her author's note. She's like, I write historical fiction. I never wanted to get into World War II books because I feel like I didn't have anything new to add. But I love that she was able to give us some things that I didn't know about, but also things that felt familiar. Like, yes, I was aware of X, Y, and Z, but sort of, I don't know, give us a different lens, I guess, and did it in an accessible way that it's emotional and it's spelled out. But I liked that. I wanted to see the words that she put on this page because, again, I've been having my own Thoughts and my own feelings about some parallels of things that are happening today. And then to read it in a book, I'm like, are you a sooth seer? Like, how did you know?
- [21:51]
A
I had the same thought. I was like, did she. Like, I have some weird foreshadowing of what was gonna be going on because the parallels were jarringly familiar. And, yeah, I had that same thought. And I also wanna echo what you said, too, just about the. You know, this is World War II fiction again. It's been done many times. But there were facts not only about World War II, but also specific to the location in Paris, that even if they weren't wholly new, there were small granular details about those things that I didn't know. And it was. It was great to be able to dive even deeper into those things that were a little bit more. Yeah. Granular and specific.
- [22:37]
B
Oh, absolutely. And then you also have the one character who is training to be a psychiatrist. You know me, I ate that up. And I'm writing down things. I'm like, oh, I know what this is. I know what they're going to be doing. And you're seeing, like, the early days of medicine where they're, like, leeching women to purify their blood. And I'm like, oh, my God. Their humor is not the humors again. Like, it was just. She did so much with this story. I. It was emotional and. And. And definitely made me cry. Well, I was gonna say it wasn't too heavy. It's definitely heavy, but it was also respectfully heavy. I don't know. I don't know how you write a World War II story without making it heavy.
- [23:14]
A
Yeah, it was heavy in terms of subject matter, but there also was so much tenderness and warmth to it that it. I didn't leave the book feeling depressed.
- [23:23]
B
Correct? Yes.
- [23:24]
A
Yeah. And I feel like there are books like that where it's like, man, there was no thread of hope through that. I just feel yucky. Like, I am bombed out. And there's a time and a place for both. Right. But I think. I think that I liked that this one had the tone that it did and that you were still. We were still able to come out of it feeling hopeful and warm. But also, there were some really, like, just crushing moments that happened as well, too.
- [23:52]
B
Yes. This is a standout read, man. I love it so much. Speaking of Celebrity Book Club, this was GMA's pick for January. I mean, I got to start paying more attention to GMA because the more I look at it, I'm like, they are actually the one that I have the most success with. I thought it was Jenna, but I think it's actually GMA but to that.
- [24:09]
A
Which is interesting because GMA has, like, different judges often.
- [24:13]
B
Right. But they still managed to have a voice that I feel like is their own. Although I think it's less strong than some of the others, obviously, because it's different people all in all, don't care who picked it. This was a fantastic book. Also excellent for book club and we both highly recommend it. I also gave it five stars. I didn't say that. But this one is going to for sure be on my favorites of the year list. I don't see how it couldn't be. I loved it. I'm giving it a hug.
- [24:41]
A
Giving it. Tina's spending some time hugging her book also.
- [24:44]
B
It's beautiful. For those of you that can see me, look at how gorgeous this book is. Are you joking me?
- [24:49]
A
Yeah, the COVID is really pretty.
- [24:50]
B
Cover's gorgeous. The colors. And I told you, I was like, I don't care about colors. But I'm like, no, the colors of this book are definitely worth, you know, making a little noise for. It's even. I love when out the COVID I.
- [25:02]
A
Mean, truly, I love when the inside. Like when the inside of the hard cover, not the dust jacket, but the actual hardcover pages.
- [25:10]
B
Is that what the.
- [25:11]
A
Yes, yes. The end pages. How. When they have, like, a design or. That's so nice.
- [25:16]
B
What am I touch the care of this book. Yes. Fantastic. Moving on, I suppose. But yes, we are going to dive in. That was a January release. We are going to dive in and give you some more February releases that'll hopefully also give you this sense of happiness when you finish them or sadness or whatever, whatever it is that hopefully they make you feel. Can I just dive in? Is that what happens next? Yeah, dive in.
- [25:42]
A
Tell us about our first February book on the Radar.
- [25:45]
B
I'd be happy to. It is Good People by Patmina Sabit. And this one comes out on February 3rd from Crown Publishing. And okay, this one is blurbed by Khalid Hosseini, and he says Good People is a stunning read. I could not recommend it more enthusiastically. What a spectacular triumph this book is. This is the Afghan novel I've been eagerly waiting for, which is incredibly high praise. Okay, so here's what it's about. It's about the Sharaf family, and they are the picture of success. They're prosperous, rich, happy, and they came into this country as refugees with nothing more than the clothes on their backs. And now after years of hard work, they live in the most exclusive neighborhood. Their growing family attends the most prestigious schools. Zora, their eldest daughter, is the apple of their father's eye. But then an unthinkable tragedy strikes. And I'm like, what's gonna happen? And it leaves everyone reeling. And the family is thrust into the court of public opinion. One of my very favorite sub genre sort of tropes. There is talk that behind closed doors, the giraffes happy household was anything but. Did the Sharaf family achieve the American dream? Or was the image of the model immigrant family just a facade? Like a literary game of ping pong? Good People compels the reader to reconsider what might have happened even on the previous page. Told through a kaleidoscope of perspectives, it's a riveting, provocative and haunting story of family, sisters, brothers, mothers, fathers, and the communities that claim us as family in difficult times. Excuse me, that sounds absolutely incredible. As we're recording this, book of the month picks have been announced early this month. And this is actually one of the book of the month picks. So if you're a member over there, go ahead and get you a copy you probably already have, but this one is Good People by Mina Sabit.
- [27:35]
A
Good one. The COVID for this one is. Is simple, but it's kind of doing it for me.
- [27:42]
B
You like it?
- [27:42]
A
Yeah, I like it. I see someone not liking it.
- [27:46]
B
Yeah.
- [27:46]
A
But I. I don't know. Like there's a part of me that. That wants to not like it because I feel like it's not. I don't know. It's hard to explain. I'm looking at it and I'm like, I feel like these colors shouldn't go together, but they do. I kind of doing it.
- [27:59]
B
I really like this weird kind of color scheme they got going. It's sort of a. And I'm bad with colors, but it's like a mustard yellow and maybe some.
- [28:07]
A
Sort of over like a tealish green.
- [28:10]
B
Like a.
- [28:10]
A
Like a. Yeah, like a mint. Almost like a mint. Cream and green and aqua. Aqua. Yeah.
- [28:15]
B
Yes.
- [28:16]
A
I'm struggling to talk. You guys.
- [28:18]
B
It is late. Please enjoy our descriptions of color.
- [28:23]
A
Wow.
- [28:23]
B
And I've never seen color in my life. And I'm like, you're right.
- [28:29]
A
Listen, we are doing our best. We're here to talk about books, not color schemes.
- [28:36]
B
Absolutely.
- [28:36]
A
Speaking of which, I will tell you you about my first book on the radar, and that is the Secret of Snow by Tina Harnesk. Do we hear your name in authors?
- [28:47]
B
Never.
- [28:48]
A
And characters in Books very often Never. I think we do not.
- [28:50]
B
I can't think of another Tina author. I'm sure there are some, but in my head. Can you scoot the COVID over? I can't see it.
- [28:56]
A
Yes, I always have to, like, put it, like, in front of my face.
- [28:59]
B
What a cutie pie. Okay.
- [29:00]
A
Yes, it is a cutie pie. This one is translated from the Swedish. Also, I. I love reading translated fiction, so I love that. And this story introduces us to two lives that don't seem connected at first, but of course, as we find out, they are. First, there's Ma, and she's eccentric, 85 years old and dealing with a cancer diagnosis. Glad that they let us know that right off the bat, she's determined to keep this diagnosis a secret. However, she is focused on one thing. Protecting her husband, Biera, and making sure that he will be cared for after she's gone, even if that means carrying this burden by herself. Then we meet Kaj, who's a newcomer to the village, who's recently engaged and still grieving the loss of his mother. And when he stumbles upon a box of handicrafts that she left behind, it opens a door that he didn't know existed. One that connects him to his heritage in a way that will quietly but profoundly shape the rest of his life. This is a novel about grief and legacy and the unexpected ways that the past reaches forward. Meet us where we are. It is tender, thoughtful, deeply human, showing how love and identity can surface when we least expect them and how even small discoveries can change everything. I love books where, again, we just talked about this in Skylark, where there are these two kind of seemingly totally different and opposite journeys. And as I'm sure we'll find out, these storylines in their lives connect. And I love books that connect to people in this way, or even two groups of people. This sounds like a really quiet, soft and meaningful read. It sounds really good. That's the Secret of Snow by Tina Harness.
- [30:55]
B
That sounds great. And like you said, kudos to you for bringing books, maybe that you want a platform that aren't going to be getting as much.
- [31:02]
A
Yeah, I haven't heard much about really good. I agree.
- [31:05]
B
No, I have not either. My next one is going to be very interesting, I expect. It's called Murder Bimbo by Rebecca Novak. I'm holding an arc in my hand, so it looks like the title's weird, but it says somebody had to do it. And now the final cover is out and we can put that on the screen so y' all can See it, but it's basically a bleeding American flag. This one's coming out on February 10th from avid reader Press and it says Murder Bimbo is the gone girl for the Luigi Mangione era. And Rebecca Novak is one of our funniest and most acerbic new writers. Comps for this are Yellowface and My Sister the Serial Killer. And this one is about a 32 year old sex worker who is shocked when she's approached by undercover government agents. Spooky. To help aid them in a top secret plot to assassinate a politician known as Meat Neck. I don't love that nickname.
- [32:01]
A
I don't either.
- [32:02]
B
I don't love it. I don't love it. I don't love it. But once the deed is done, she realizes what made her the perfect recruit. She's 100 disposable, holed up in an off the grid cabin in the woods. She now only has two days, her wits and a laptop to save her own life. Her best bet is to reach out to the wildly popular feminist investigative podcast justice for Bimbos. In a hastily typed series of emails, the newly minted Murder bimbo explains how she was recruited and then trained by a cabal of code named US agents to take out Meat Neck. Then she opens a new email now, and this time it's addressed to her ex. And the facts line up a little bit differently. This is constructed in three increasingly unhinged acts. Each is a more twisted story than the last. This can be read as a gloriously bold literary thriller, a satirical megalomaniacs manifesto, or a raucous send up of the political insanity we all live inside every day. Either way, it's a dead serious announcement of an electric new voice in American literature. I don't know, man.
- [33:04]
A
Sounds wild.
- [33:05]
B
Good. Sounds wild. I'm also looking and sort of quickly glancing to it. I've seen the F word so far. I see a lot of emails. I think there's dialogue as well though, so it's not just emails. But I do think you're getting a lot of mixed media in this one. But hey, I am interested. I'll vet it for us and bring it back to the show. This one is Murder Bimbo by Rebecca Noah.
- [33:28]
A
Please vet it for us. I want to hear you talk about that again and share your thoughts.
- [33:33]
B
I sure will.
- [33:33]
A
Okay, my next one. I am so excited about this one. I found it today and I'm so glad that I discovered this one because I. It hadn't been on my radar until today, but I'm glad I found it. It's called the Fourth Princess by Janie Chang, and this is coming out February 10th from William Morrow. This story takes us to Shanghai in 1911, and it leans fully into a lush Gothic historical atmosphere. We follow our main character, Lis, who is thrilled to become secretary to Caroline Stanton, a wealthy American newly settled at Lenox Manor on the edge of Shanghai's International Settlement. But the house comes with dark history, and before long, Leeson's childhood nightmares resurface, along with haunting visions of a mysterious woman in red and an unsettling attraction to the manor's young gardener. Caroline is newly married and hoping that China will offer her this fresh start. But also she finds her past catching up her when an unwelcome guest threatens to expose her secrets and her husband falls mysteriously ill. So these strange events escalate and Lisan begins to uncover the truth about her own hidden past. All while she's questioning her sanity as Lennox Manor seems determined to not let her go. This is pitched as a Gothic historical novel full of secrets, identity and a house that may have a will of its own. This sounds so.
- [35:04]
B
Yes.
- [35:05]
A
Fun, good. Gothic, spooky, maybe. I just think that it sounds great and I'm so excited that I came across it today. And that is the Fourth Princess by Janie Chang.
- [35:20]
B
That is one I have not heard of. So good work on you. Yeah, had not heard of that. My next one is already out in the uk, but I got it as a recommendation from the Pastel bookshelf Carly. She was talking about it and I was like, I need that immediately. It's called the Good Girl by Michelle Dunn. This is a thriller. The question it asks is, would you know a serial killer if you met one? Grace Murphy doesn't seem like the type of woman who'd have a man cable tied to a chair, slowly dying in her house. She keeps to herself and goes through life relatively unnoticed, working as a barista and caring for her sister, providing her with wholesome meals and a clean home, things they never had as children. Detective Inspector Jerry Hughes knows about Grace's brutal and troubled childhood. His own life was profoundly affected by it. So when men start going missing in the city, men who seem to have nothing in common aside from a physical resemblance to someone from Grace's past, Inspector Hughes must dive back into the past to face a terrible truth playing out before for him. So I think this one's been previously published, but I'm okay with that. I think this is going to strike the right balance of being a popcorn thriller, essentially. It's going to be ridiculous and nothing you would ever want to happen in real life. But also wildly entertaining. So that is what I'm looking for with the Good Girl. And again, it's the Good Girl by Michelle Dunn.
- [36:47]
A
Oh, that sounds good. I am bringing a serial killer book myself later on. Yes, I will. I will get there, but noticing some patterns here. Okay, I will tell you about my next one. It is Strange Animals by Jared K. Anderson. And this is one that has a wonderful cover. I love it. It's so striking. This one is coming out on February 10th from Ballantine Books, which is an imprint of Random House. And this one starts with everything falling apart. After a series of strange, unexplainable encounters, a man named Green ends up alone in the Appalachian Mountains, frightened, confused, and starting to see creatures that absolutely should not exist and don't in his world. That is when he meets Valentina, a recluse who has spent centuries studying the hidden world of cryptids, a world that Green is only just beginning to gleam Glimpse. It is under her guidance that he is introduced to time stopping giant moths, Cyclops squirrels, and doorways to other places, all while slowly uncovering the truth about who he is and why he was led there. Green finally finds a sense of purpose and belonging as a dangerous threat emerges, putting everything that he has come to love at risk. This is pitched as cozy, which is kind of interesting. I'm not getting cozy, particularly from that synopsis, but we will see. I'll give it a chance. Pants. And it's also pitched as magical fantasy filled with strange creatures found family and the idea that wonder might just be hiding in plain sight. This one sounds really fun and adventurous and also very different, and I'm excited about it. That is Strange Animals by Jared K. Anderson.
- [38:38]
B
That does sound wild. I don't know that I've heard. Was it Cyclops squirrels?
- [38:43]
A
Yep, that's what it said. Cyclops squirrels. A time stopping giant moths.
- [38:49]
B
Sure.
- [38:49]
A
We'll see. I'm gonna give it a chance.
- [38:53]
B
That sounds like my personal nightmare, actually.
- [38:55]
A
Yeah, with.
- [38:56]
B
Oh, with the. So much. With the moths. Yes. Thank you so much for bringing that. Okay, my next one has the. One of the more striking covers that I have seen recently. It is called Family Drama by Rebecca Fallon. And this one comes out on February 3rd by Simon and Schuster. It's got a picture of a woman in this gown with, like, her back exposed, holding a kid. And there's another little kid on the ground, and she's, like, in this beautiful evening gown in the middle of her kitchen. It's lovely.
- [39:26]
A
It is a really pretty cover.
- [39:28]
B
Yeah, it's so good. And this one is a debut that's said to be a powerful meditation on family, motherhood and the cost of holding on to your dreams. And is for fans of Ann Napoleon, which I m says in New England, Susan Bliss is a young mother married to a professor in la. Susan Burns stars in a soap opera beloved coast to coast. Decades after she's gone, her twins have no idea of their mother's fame. But the past can't stay hidden forever. So it starts in 1997. It's snowy, it's New England. And two befuddled seven year olds watches their mother's body is tipped overboard in a boat. It's a Viking funeral followed by a raucous wake 15 years earlier. Susan is a blazing, beautiful young woman passionate about her art. It's impossible not to fall in love with her. And so Alcott, a professor, does fall in love with her. And so begins a love story of Susan's two paneled life. An unconventional jet lag field arrangement that takes her back and forth between New England as a wife and mother and then LA where she stars in the soap opera opera. And in the present Susan twins grow up in the shadow of her all consuming absence. You've got Sebastian, you've got Viola. And then Viola runs into her mother's old co star Orson Gray, who's now a renowned Hollywood star. And she finds herself falling deeply in love with him and begins to put the pieces of her mother she never really saw. I don't like that but I'm gonna continue on. This one I think is supposed to be really good and I like the idea of it. And again, I love a good debut. I feel like this one definitely has potential. It's called Family Drama, a novel by Rebecca Fallon.
- [41:07]
A
I love a debut and love a comp to Anne Nicolitano that is promising. Okay. In case anybody was worried about me, I did in fact bring a horror book today. And I'm going to tell you about that next. And it's maybe the one that I'm the most excited about from my list. It's called she Made Herself a Monster by Anna Kovacheva. And this is coming out on February 10th by Mariner. This sounds so good, everyone. This book leans hard into the idea that we create monsters so we have something to blame and something to destroy. It is set in 19th century Bulgaria and it follows Yana who travels from village to village village staging fake vampire attacks and then convincing terrified towns that monsters are the cause of their suffering and then saving them by getting rid of the threat. But everything changes when Yana arrives in a village plagued by relentless illness and loss, where a young orphan named Anka has been labeled the cause of the curse. As Anka faces a forced marriage and has no way out, Yana steps in and together they come up with a plan to invent a monster, her so terrifying it could give Anka her freedom. Of course, the plan spirals beyond their control and things go from there. This is inspired by Slavic folklore and it is said that it is dark and a feminist fable about power, fear and what happens when women decide to take their fate into their own hands. And that is she Made Herself a Monster by Anna Kovacheva.
- [42:48]
B
I mean, sounds fantastic. It also does sound, you said folklore kind of inspired Slavic folklore. Yes. That doesn't surprise me when you were reading out the full synopsis. Very, very interesting. Okay, I will wrap things up with the Shape of Dreams by April Reynolds. I've had this on my radar forever and okay. It's set in the mid-80s in East Harlem and a 12 year old black boy boy's murdered body is found by Matilda Twin Johnson, an unlikely hero who is both the neighborhood's troublemaker and its conscience. When she breaks a cardinal rule, don't call the cops. Her decision ensnares a community and brings unimaginable grief to her mother, a postal worker and army widow who is determined to solve her son Tyrone's murder. Her quest galvanizes the neighborhood. The neighborhood is a character in itself. It's got Mets fans, it's got gossips, immigrant shop owners and latchkey kids. And the local dreamers include a charismatic man of the cloth, a teenage girl with a Whitney Houston voice and no prospects, and Anita's opinionated friend Wanda, whose truant son the police harass and arrest on a regular basis. Everyone is struggling. Anita, Wanda and Twin, the triad of this vibrant novel, are drawn to the neighborhood drug trap, while a singer, preacher and church ladies who follow him believe their dreams can shape a city. Will the three be able to break away, away from crack's dangerous allure? Will the reverend's pressure on authorities to find Tyrone's killer yield answers? Will justice come to East Harlem? This is about the summer of 1986 in this very specific part of New York. And it's about how this community comes together or doesn't come together to fight for a better life. That sounds interesting to me and it comes out on February 3. It is the Shape of Dreams by April Rose Reynolds.
- [44:39]
A
Good one. I'm glad that you brought that. I hadn't heard of that one before. My last one is the serial killer book aforementioned. It is how to Get Away with Murder by Rebecca Phillipson. And this is coming out on February 24th from St. Martin's Press. It's a debut. It's a debut thriller and the premise is pretty wild. A Scotland Yard detective is investigating a murder that may have been inspired by a self help book. One that literally claims, claims to teach readers how to get away with murder. Detective Inspector Samantha Hansen has just returned from a six month leave after a breakdown at work. And when a 14 year old girl is murdered, she's determined to prove that she still belongs on the force. The biggest lead is a copy of how to Get Away with Murder found in the victim's backpack written by a mysterious man named Denver Brady. Brady claims he's the most successful serial killer of all time, which is why no one's ever heard of him him. And as the book goes viral and Sam digs deeper, she starts to realize there is so much more going on than the author is letting on. To catch the killer and get justice, Sam has to learn to trust her instincts again before somebody truly does in fact get away with murder. That is how to Get Away with Murder by Rebecca Phillipson. Yeah, sounds messy and good. I, I don't always love, love following detectives, but this sounds different. This sounds like more of a thriller and a little bit less a traditional mystery.
- [46:13]
B
But if they're a Scottish detective for some reason, it could work like, you.
- [46:17]
A
Know, I do know what you mean.
- [46:19]
B
I don't know why in my head.
- [46:21]
A
Though I'm like, I agree with you.
- [46:22]
B
Though that that goes together.
- [46:23]
A
Totally agree. I like Scotland Yard Detective.
- [46:26]
B
Bring it on your detective. I mean there we go. We will wrap things up with our current reads and I am so proud of mine. It is My Darkest Prayer by SA Cosby. I have been meaning to read this book for a long, long time. It's even peeling like that. That's how long I've had this book. It's only been a couple years. December 2022. I'm so proud to be reading this though because it is my, it's my last essay Cosby book. You know he's my favorite author and this is actually his debut. It was released I think was independently published first and then after Blacktop Wasteland they reprinted this and I'm really enjoying it. It what my favorite part about reading this is is drawing the parallels between this main character, whose name is Nathan, who works in a funeral home, to some of the other characters that SA Cosby has written. Now, later in his career, he remains one of my very favorites. This one. I'm doing a tandem print and audio. It's also narrated by one of the best in the game, Adam Lazari White. So the audio narration is 10 out of 10. And I'm almost done with this. And I. It honestly just hit me. I'm like, like, after I read this, no more essay Cosby's until he writes his next one, which made me a tiny bit sad. But I'm very much enjoying it. I say I'm enjoying it. It's gritty, though, babe. Like, it is not. It's like his other stuff. Yeah, it's. It's a lot. But I'm enjoying my reading experience. That's my Darkest Prayer by SA Cosby.
- [47:55]
A
I'm so glad you're enjoying it. What a kind of bittersweet moment. What a bittersweet moment. Like fun to cross that off your list. But as you mentioned now, you're not going to have another one until he comes out with a new book. He does seem to do that often.
- [48:11]
B
Often enough. Right. So I'm not going to be waiting like five or more years, hopefully. I bet we'll get one in 20. 27 is my prediction.
- [48:18]
A
Oh, I love that prediction. Oh, that's so fun. We got to write these predictions down. You're so good at predicting stuff. We got to start making a list.
- [48:25]
B
Of my notebook 20.
- [48:26]
A
Please do.
- [48:29]
B
John.
- [48:29]
A
We'll come back to that.
- [48:30]
B
Hang on to this clip for a year.
- [48:33]
A
Okay. My current read, I'm finishing this up, and it is my first nonfiction of the year, and it is called Every Day I Read by Huang Bo Room. And it is literally just a collection of why we read and how to get closer to books and how to make your reading life richer. It asks, you know, these really expansive questions of how to have a more meaningful reading life. It talks about. Talks about quiet moments of introspection and reflection, mostly about this author's own reading life. But it's really cozy and really sweet, and I feel like it's a perfect book if you are a really avid reader. And I'm loving it. It's called Every Day I Read by Huang Bo Room.
- [49:28]
B
That sounds great. How did you get this on your radar? Are.
- [49:33]
A
I think it was an alc.
- [49:35]
B
Ah.
- [49:37]
A
And I just downloaded it, and I'm really glad that I did. It's. It's just so cozy.
- [49:43]
B
Comforting, cozy. Right book at the right time type deal.
- [49:47]
A
I love it.
- [49:47]
B
Totally good. I know I. I thought I hadn't heard of it. Maybe if I saw the COVID I would recognize it, but I'm glad even the co.
- [49:55]
A
Even the COVID is cozy.
- [49:56]
B
Like it would be cozy.
- [49:58]
A
Yes.
- [50:00]
B
Our time has come. 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. And if you enjoyed today's episode, you can help us by following us wherever you listen and leaving a review on Apple Podcasts. It helps us get our show up to new listeners and grows our audience. And don't forget, if you'd like access to exclusive bonus content and community, you can join us for $5 a month on patreon.com booktalk Etc.
- [50:26]
A
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 YouTube. You can find Tina TBR Etc. And Hannah at HandpickedBooks. Talk to you next week. And in the meantime, remember, everything's better with books.
- [50:51]
B
I have another serial killer book, so I want to see if I can maybe pivot. Oh, because I don't want to talk.
- [50:57]
A
About serial killers too much.
- [50:59]
B
That's like a lot of serial killer books.
- [51:01]
A
Serial serial killing books.