Literary FOMO and Reading Books We Missed Last Year

Summary

Podcast Summary: Book Talk, etc. – Episode: Literary FOMO and Reading Books We Missed Last Year

Release Date: February 18, 2025
Hosts: Tina (@tbretc) and Hannah (@hanpickedbooks)
Title: Literary FOMO and Reading Books We Missed Last Year

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Introduction: Setting the Stage

In this engaging episode of Book Talk, etc., hosts Tina and Hannah delve into the pervasive phenomenon of Literary FOMO—the fear of missing out on popular books and the anxiety it can generate within the reading community. The conversation seamlessly weaves personal anecdotes, insightful discussions, and thoughtful book recommendations, making it both relatable and informative for avid readers.

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Personal Anecdotes and Real-Life Discussions

Hannah initiates the conversation with light-hearted small talk about enduring a snowy day in the Midwest, setting a warm and relatable tone. Tina shares her own experience of a past snowstorm where she chose to leave work early to avoid getting stranded—a testament to their shared wariness of severe weather.

Notable Quote:
Hannah (00:00): “Just make your reading life yours and then see where you can fit in along the way.”
Tina (00:03): “I love that.”

This exchange underscores the importance of personalizing one’s reading journey, a theme that recurs throughout the episode.

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Documentary Insight: "Buy Now"

Transitioning from personal anecdotes, Tina introduces her latest watch: the Netflix documentary "Buy Now." She offers a comprehensive overview, highlighting the documentary’s exploration of consumerism, planned obsolescence, and the environmental impact of overconsumption.

Key Points Discussed:

• Corporate Influence: The documentary examines how giants like Amazon, led by figures like Jeff Bezos, engineer consumer habits to drive constant purchasing.
• Sustainability Concerns: It addresses the lack of consideration for environmental consequences in product design and marketing.
• Planned Obsolescence: Tina emphasizes the frustration with products designed to fail, compelling consumers to buy newer versions.

Notable Quote:
Tina (03:00): “We cannot recycle our way out of all of this stuff they want us to buy.”

Personal Insights:

• Low Buy Challenge: Inspired by the documentary, Tina shares her Low Buy 2025 initiative aimed at reducing personal consumption. She outlines specific strategies, such as setting a book budget, eliminating certain purchase categories (e.g., makeup, decorations), and canceling Amazon Prime to encourage more thoughtful purchasing habits.

Notable Quote:
Tina (07:00): “This is something I decided to do at the end of 2024, really, because I wanted to be more intentional about what I'm bringing into my home.”

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Deep Dive into Literary FOMO

The conversation shifts to the core topic: Literary FOMO. Tina and Hannah explore its origins, exacerbated by modern platforms like social media and podcast endorsements, yet acknowledge its presence long before the digital age, citing initiatives like Oprah’s Book Club.

Key Discussions:

• Impact on Readers: FOMO can lead readers to prioritize popular or newly released books over personal interests, potentially diminishing their reading enjoyment.
• Strategies to Mitigate FOMO:
  • Personalized Reading Lists: Developing tailored book lists that align with individual tastes.
  • Balanced Consumption: Engaging with both buzzy and backlist titles to maintain a diverse and fulfilling reading experience.
  • Mindful Engagement: Being selective about sources of recommendations to ensure alignment with personal preferences.

Notable Quote:
Hannah (24:50): “It makes sense because it is fun to be a part of those moments, but it's also not possible to be a part of all of them.”

Practical Tips:

• Structured TBR Experience: Tina emphasizes maintaining a diverse and flexible TBR (To Be Read) list to avoid the pressure of consuming only what’s trendy.
• Content Creation Advice: Hannah advises book content creators to focus on genuine reading experiences rather than chasing trends, fostering authenticity and sustainability in their content.

Notable Quote:
Hannah (37:23): “Create content around your reading life. Don't like, read to create content.”

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Book Recommendations: Books We Missed Last Year

In the latter half of the episode, Tina and Hannah present a curated list of noteworthy books from 2024 that listeners might have overlooked. Each recommendation is accompanied by detailed insights and personal reflections.

1. Martyr by Kaveh Akbar

Summary:
A debut novel centered on Cyrus, a young man grappling with trauma from his mother's tragic death and his father's demanding career at a factory farm. Cyrus's obsession with martyrs drives him to seek meaning in his life and avoid a purposeless existence.

Key Themes:

• Trauma and recovery
• Overconsumption and planned obsolescence
• Moral ambiguity and personal growth

Notable Quote:
Tina (43:21): “This book is as brilliant as the people are saying, I fell victim to fomo, but I'm happy that I did. Very glad that I read it.”

2. Piglet by Lottie Hazel

Summary:
A foodie fiction that explores Piglet’s life as a cookbook editor dealing with a sudden confession from her fiancé. Struggling with the aftermath, she turns to food for comfort, leading to emotional unraveling.

Key Themes:

• Female desire and feminism
• Disordered eating
• The complexity of personal relationships

Notable Quote:
Tina (49:46): “Characters that go slightly but not totally over the deep end. I think that is a fantastic way to describe it.”

3. Middle of the Night by Riley Sager

Summary:
Set 30 years after a child’s disappearance during a backyard camping trip, Ethan Marsh returns to his childhood home, Hemlock Circle, and confronts haunting memories and mysterious occurrences.

Key Themes:

• Guilt and grief
• Childhood trauma
• Mystery and suspense

Notable Quote:
Tina (54:09): “So, okay, that's a grounded, good, unsettling story about guilt, grief and childhood trauma. And so if that sounds interesting, I highly recommend it.”

4. Sandwich by Katherine Newman

Summary:
A poignant exploration of family dynamics during an annual Cape Cod getaway. Rocky, the matriarch, navigates menopause, familial secrets, and personal challenges, striving to preserve her family’s cherished traditions.

Key Themes:

• Motherhood and feminism
• Family secrets
• Personal growth and self-acceptance

Notable Quote:
Tina (56:27): “And I have to remind myself often, too, is create content around your reading life. Don't like, read to create content.”

5. Kind of Paradise by Janelle Brown

Summary:
A father-daughter saga set in isolated Montana and sprawling San Francisco, Jane seeks to uncover the truth about her mother’s death and her father’s mysterious past, navigating the clash between nature and technology.

Key Themes:

• Identity and self-discovery
• Nature vs. technology
• Family secrets and legacies

Notable Quote:
Tina (60:03): “It is a story of parents and children, nature and technology, innocence and knowledge, and the losses of our past and our dreams for the future.”

6. Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V.E. Schwab

Summary:
A genre-defying novel intertwining the lives of three women across different centuries, each grappling with immortality, hunger, and the mysteries that bind their fates.

Key Themes:

• Immortality
• Interconnected destinies
• Supernatural elements

Notable Quote:
Hannah (63:01): “One grows high, one grows deep, and one grows wild. And all of them grow teeth.”

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Final Thoughts and Closing Remarks

As the episode wraps up, Tina and Hannah reiterate the importance of crafting a personalized and fulfilling reading life. They emphasize that while Literary FOMO is a common experience, it should not overshadow individual reading preferences and joys.

Notable Quote:
Tina (38:55): “Reading should be fun.”

Call to Action:

• Follow and Review: Listeners are encouraged to follow the podcast on Apple Podcasts or their preferred platform and leave reviews to help grow the community.
• Join the Community: Exclusive content and discussions are available for supporters on Patreon.

Contact Information:

• Email: [e-mail]
• Instagram:
  • Tina: @tbr_etc
  • Hannah: @handpickedbooks

Closing Remark:
Hannah (65:10): “Everything's better with books.”

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Conclusion

This episode of Book Talk, etc. offers a thoughtful exploration of Literary FOMO, blending personal experiences with broader discussions on consumerism and reading habits. The hosts’ genuine passion for books and their earnest advice provide listeners with both inspiration and practical strategies to enhance their reading lives. Whether you're grappling with FOMO or simply seeking new book recommendations, Tina and Hannah deliver a rich and engaging conversation that resonates with every book lover.

Transcript

[Hannah]

Just make your reading life yours and then see where you can fit in along the way.

[Tina]

I love that.

[Hannah]

Look at us.

[Tina]

Anyway, see you next time. And done and done. Welcome to Book Talk Etc, a podcast bound to grow your tbr. I'm Tina from tbr, et cetera.

[Hannah]

And I'm Hannah from Handpicked Books.

[Tina]

This is a conversational podcast about books and more from two Midwest Mood readers who are easily distracted by new releases. And today we're talking about Literary fomo.

[Hannah]

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.

[Tina]

Hi Hannah.

[Hannah]

Hi Tina. How are you?

[Tina]

Good. How are you doing?

[Hannah]

I am doing good. Enjoying a snow day in the Midwest.

[Tina]

Nice. We, we did not get a snow day today. They're at school, the kids. But we only got like 4 inches of snow. And yesterday you would have thought it was the end times, like with how many alerts there were. But I will say it was very. John was saying that people were sliding all over the road. So it's probably a good thing that they called it yesterday.

[Hannah]

Yeah, I agree. We ended up leaving our office yesterday at work a little bit early because the snow was starting to come down. And I will say, you know, we definitely did have or I had some white out stuff happening on the road on the way home. So like while it was coming down, it was definitely coming down.

[Tina]

Yes.

[Hannah]

Hard and heavy and quick. Yeah, hot and heavy. But then today, yeah, hot and heavy. Well, technically cold and heavy.

[Tina]

Cold and heavy.

[Hannah]

But it's not that cold out today. You know, it's like 30 degrees. So I'm looking outside now and I. The roads look clear at this point, so I think they were just trying to be safe.

[Tina]

But yeah, well, that's. I remember one year when I was working downtown. It was years ago at this point, but I was pretty new at the job I'm at now. And it was. Snow was coming and I'm like, you know, I think you and I are similar. Like, I'm a weather girl. Like, I like to know the weather. I like to be prepared. Like, I get scared and they people were like, whatever, it's fine. They're like working till 5pm I'm like, y'all, it is gonna be horrible out. So I'm like, I'm gonna leave early. I told my boss I left early and it was the Snowstorm where a bunch of people got stuck in their cars on Lakeshore Drive overnight. And I was like, station Eleventy couldn't be me. I'm going to be gone. I will be at the house too scary. Could you imagine being stuck in your car overnight?

[Hannah]

Not being able to get home is my worst nightmare. Like, even if we hadn't been advised to leave the office early and continue our workday at home, I would have been like, I'm going to leave and continue my work day at home.

[Tina]

Right?

[Hannah]

Because I do not like the idea of being stuck away, especially now that I have kids. Like being stuck away and not being with my kids. Or like, what if I like someone couldn't pick them up from school?

[Tina]

Right.

[Hannah]

I can't help but go there in my head.

[Tina]

So can't do it. I know. And of course when I went to, went back to work after the winter break, like went back physically into the office, the first day I get a call from her teacher and they're like, lily doesn't feel good. I'm like, I'm on a train. Like, I can't go. So I had to send my mom.

[Hannah]

But anyway, that's so scary.

[Tina]

Fun winter times. Fun with the Midwest winter chat. But let's lean into the anxiety because I'm going to share my loving lately. And I don't know if I can say I loved this, but it was certainly an eye opening and sickening and scary thing to watch. It's called Buy now and it's a documentary on Netflix. This is a subversive documentary that unpacks the tricks that brands use to keep their customers consuming and the real impact this has on our lives and the world. It talks about Bezos and how he started Amazon and he had a patent on the idea of Buy now, like one click buying. He like patented that or whatever. This was terrifying. It was very interesting because it talked to and interviewed, I would say, six or so individuals that used to work in different industries, but all in big tech. One guy was the head guy, Adidas. For a while a woman had worked and the user experience at Amazon and they were just talking about how it's literally designed to get us to consume more. And at no point in the creation process is there any thought about the carbon footprint and the end game. Like what happens, you know, where does all this stuff go when we're encouraging people to buy new, new, new. And I think now more so it's becoming sustainability, obviously becoming more talked about. But in the beginning, I mean it was definitely not they were talking about things like planned obs, obsolescence, which makes me batty. Like, why? Oh, you know, you've heard people say, gosh, I feel like things used to last a lot longer before. And it's like, true. Yes, that's by design. Because they want us to be buying more. And one quote in this made me just. I don't know what to say. This is not a happy thing to watch. It's eye opening. But if you have anxiety right now about the world, maybe don't watch it because one sentence says or one quote from the. The documentary. We cannot recycle our way out of all of this stuff they want us to buy. I'm like, got it. Okay. And so it just was very good to. To watch. And then in my brain, I'm like, oh, donation, right? You know, we're doing good things using, getting secondhand goods. And yes, that is good to do. But then they interviewed this woman who is a designer in Ghana, and she talked about how so much clothing is sent to them to the point where there. There's literally piles on beaches because there's so much more clothing. She's like, enough is enough. And they talked about the fast fashion industry and the carbon footprint that comes with it. And it was just fascinating. I was thinking, okay, what. What can I do? What am I doing? And, you know, what do we do about over consumption? One thing I will say the documentary did is that it didn't place the burden on individuals. Yes, of course, we can all do our individual thing, but it also talked to the corporations directly, like, y'all need to fix. There needs to be something done. Because, look, in 5, 10, 15, 20 years, what is this going to look like? And another thing, this is like tying into my second loving lately. I wanted to talk about my low buy 2025, and this was something that I decided to do at the end of 2024, really, because I wanted to be more intentional about what I'm bringing into my home. And it started as a desire to save money and really reduce the amount of clutter, because I know we do have a lot of stuff. But a happy byproduct of this is lowering waste. I feel like I'm not buying as much and there's not much packaging coming into my house. And I wanted to share my personal low buy guidelines. I'm very specifically saying low buy. This is not a no buy for me. A total ban would not work. It would not be enjoyable. I'm more so sort of reconfiguring how I think about things. I set a book budget for myself of 250 for the year, which I am now halfway through. And it's February, so this might have been on the low end for me personally, but, you know, it's a fun challenge. I also have certain no buy categories. Now. These are categories. I took stock in our house and identified what we have an abundance of. I am not buying this year. Makeup, nail items. I'm not buying decorations for holidays. I love decorations, but I have a lot. So just, like, put up what you've got, right? No candles, lotion, and toothpaste. We have, like 45 tubes of toothpaste somehow in this house. And I'm like, this has got to stop. And I'm also changing the way we do takeout, right? So we can. I'm not saying no, we're not doing any takeout at all. But I'm not doing any door dash, and I'm not buying coffee out unless it's an occasion. And I also canceled Amazon prime, which I think has really led to more thoughtful purchasing. And there's some other things that I have done as well. I'm really enjoying my personal challenge for myself. It's only month two, but I feel like I'm been doing pretty well with it. Those are some of my tips. I've been talking a lot. That documentary was called Buy now on Netflix. And my personal low buy guidelines, I've also really been loving lately.

[Hannah]

No, I love that you have a really strategic list of what is going to work for you to make this goal happen. Because I think just going into something that's like, well, I'm just going to low buy for this year. And it's like, well, what does that mean? And it. It is going to mean something different for every individual. But I think that your rules make total sense. I. I love having, like, plans and things like that that, that help me. And I think that yours make a lot of sense. And I really love that you're. That you're doing that toothpaste made me laugh.

[Tina]

Toothpaste. We have so many. And it's all because of quip, because of that company. And they like, you get on their auto subscription program. And for a while they were sending so much. I'm like, I am not brushing my teeth nearly enough to necessitate all of this toothpaste. But what I like about my little guideline is that I know some people are like, oh, I'll just set a budget of X amount of dollars. I'm not great with tracking that. That doesn't work in my brain.

[Hannah]

Can't have budget rules.

[Tina]

I'm like, oh, just no. No makeup. And it's act. Oh, another thing, no clothes. I don't need more clothes right now. I don't need more shoes right now. And it's so. I can't tell you how freeing it is to, like, open tik tok, for example, or, you know, reels or whatever. And I'm just simply not buying this year. So I'm like, oh, cool. Switch, swipe, swipe. It's just not even going to bother.

[Hannah]

Consuming that content because.

[Tina]

Right, because I'm not going to buy it. So I just swipe away. And it's honestly so freeing. So anyway, that's my experiment so far.

[Hannah]

No, I. And I know I'm continuing to talk about it, but that's what we do. But I have been thinking about this a lot and I'm glad that you're bringing it up because. And I think again, to your point, like, not buying things you don't need is going to look different for everybody. Like, you know, you were like, I don't need clothes or makeup. Well, if you started a new job and you need some professional wear because you used to work at home and now you don't, well, you probably need to buy some professional clothing. But then, like, what does that look like? How many pairs of pants do you need? And is there a way that you can create a functional wardrobe where you can mix and match shirts and pants so that you don't need to buy five pairs of shoes, seven pairs of pants, and, you know, ten blazers or whatever? Because not only is that ridiculously expensive, but, you know, it's not always necessary. So I think just keeping those things in mind for every person is a good reminder in general. And I've definitely felt reminded of that lately. And then through, you know, you talking about this show and your low buy. So I think I'm gonna add this to our list because Dustin and I have been watching a lot of documentaries in general lately, so I think this might be something that we would both enjoy.

[Tina]

It's a quick one. It's like an hour and a half maybe. And, you know, it was just interesting. It was eye opening. It's not anything that I didn't know, but it certainly made me think about it in different ways.

[Hannah]

Yeah, absolutely. And I am going to keep us on the same trend. And I'm also going to bring something that me and Dustin have been watching.

[Tina]

Oh, good.

[Hannah]

Yeah. And that is severance on Apple tv. I am so obsessed with this show and if you didn't already know what it was about. It is about a group of employees who work on what's called the Severed floor of a biotechnology corporation called Lumen. And in order to work for this company, you have to undergo a severance procedure which it implants a medical device into your brain that causes you to lose all memories of the outside world while you are working within the basement floors of the Severed floor. So while you're at work, your only memories are of your life at work. You don't know anything about your personal life at all. You don't know who your family is. You don't know where you live. You don't know anything. You have no memories of what they call in the show your outie. So you have your outie and then you have your innie. I know it sounds. I know it's so gross. It took me a minute. Now I just go with it.

[Tina]

But.

[Hannah]

And then when they leave and they're at home, they don't have any memories or recollection of their work life. They don't know what they do at work. They don't know what their job is. They don't know how they're treated. They don't know anything. So they have kind of these dual lives that they're living. Of course things go awry. This is one of those shows that has a very active Reddit thread of theories and, you know, ideas about where they think the show is going. It's produced by Ben Stiller and it has a bunch of absolutely fantastic writers. I think if writing is really important for you in a show, you're not going to be disappointed with this one. Season two is really good so far and we are absolutely loving it. Definitely add that severance Reddit to my loving lately because every time we finish an episode, I am just down a rabbit hole. It's definitely one of those shows. So if you haven't tried Severance yet and you enjoy science fiction, thriller type shows, I definitely recommend trying this one.

[Tina]

So.

[Hannah]

So that's Severance and it's on Apple tv.

[Tina]

Plus Jonathan, did you hear that? We're watching this. Make a note. We're doing it. We haven't watched. We were just trying to decide the last time we watched a show together. It's been five years. Maybe it's been a really long. Because, yeah, his schedule just changed and now we have six.

[Hannah]

Right. And now you have evenings too.

[Tina]

And I'm like, okay, maybe I can watch a show with you. It's my greatest hope that we can.

[Hannah]

I want that so much for you too.

[Tina]

Oh, I do have a question about severance, though. Is it live right now?

[Hannah]

Yes. So there are new episodes that come out every Friday, so we're currently in the middle of season two.

[Tina]

Oh, good. Okay. I love that because then you're like, really like. Because you had mentioned, you know, conspiracy, not conspiracies, but theories about what's going on in the show. Oh, I love that. That's fun that you can have that, you know, live television experience. How novel. Exactly.

[Hannah]

I know, it's a long time. I was just talking to Dustin about that today because I was like, I. I enjoy. I am someone who doesn't love being spoiled, but I'm so addicted to, like, looking things up and then spoiling myself. I. It's just really hard for me to not look things up. And so this has been really fun because I can watch the episode. And since everybody is on the same, like, we have seen the same amount of episodes. No one's skipped ahead. I'm able to go on Reddit and I only know what everybody has seen.

[Tina]

Right. So you can Google with abandon. You just search for.

[Hannah]

I can.

[Tina]

Okay.

[Hannah]

So good for me.

[Tina]

Good. All right. Well, my. I feel like we're on like a. We've got a theme going here.

[Hannah]

We sure do.

[Tina]

Why I'm showing you this book, I don't know, because you got. I'm showing Hannah the COVID of the book and you all listening, cannot see it. But my latest read is called Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor. And I really enjoyed this novel. Not for nothing, it's got one of my favorite covers of the year. I just think it's so good and just, I don't know, really nice. But it's about Z. And Z has had some curveballs thrown at her over the years. But when she suddenly dropped from her university job and her latest novel is rejected, all in the middle of her sister's wedding, her life is upended. She is paraplegic. She's now unemployed and from a nosy, high achieving, judgmental family. So she's like spiraling in the beginning of this. She's not sure what's going to come next. And at the very beginning, she, at this wedding is really down on herself, but then sits down to write her novel and it turns out to be different from anything she's written before and it takes off. This is a science fiction drama about androids and AI after the extinction of humanity. And for her everything changes. And there is so much to like about this book for me, Zalu is a character that I really enjoyed, but I think she is one that you will either love or hate. And throughout the book, I loved her for the most part. She has such a strong personality and very much is who she is. Though at some point, I did want her to stop feeling sorry for herself and be happy with the success that she got. I'm like, your book is, like, world famous. Just be happy. Easier said than done. And I do think the author proved the point that authors are people and they are just as flawed and complicated as we are. And I, you know, because sometimes I think we think authors are these perfect people that have all the answers, and that's just not reality. I love what this book had to say about ableism because often she was overlooked or undervalued because she's in a wheelchair and, like, people just assumed things about her based on that. I thought the storytelling was great and very unique. It. Well, it. I'm gonna. I say it's unique, and then I'm gonna make a comp. It reminded me a little bit of the three lives of KK in that parts of it read like an interview. So you get to hear from people that know her, love her, critique her, but then you're also learning the story from her point of view. And we know she gets very famous from this book, and the author does a great job bringing us into the highs and lows of authordom and about the pressure of writing a sequel after a smash success. Now you're hearing me talk about this, and you might be thinking, I thought she wrote sci fi. And yes, she technically usually writes science fiction. And I think she. People who are used to that are a little bit thrown with this because there is a sci fi element, because you get the book within a book. It's her book that she's writing, but this one is very much contemporary fiction. For most of the book, I liked the sci fi elements. I think they made sense. I think they were interesting. I don't know that they were integrated in the best way. And for a lot of the chapters, because you're hearing from people in her life, then you might be hearing from her, and then you're hearing from the book. I'm like, wait, when it would start, I'm like, let me settle in. What am I reading about right now? But I like it. It came together really beautifully in the end, and it's an interesting ending. I have a feeling this is one of those books where there is so much more to the story. There's a lot more brilliance going on that I'm not even noticing on the first read. But I loved my reading experience and I highly recommend this book. It is Death of the Author by.

[Hannah]

Nnedi Okorafor oh I am so happy that you brought this one and I am so happy to say that I I'm going to be keeping us on trend soon and this is not planned. I love when this works.

[Tina]

Love when it works out.

[Hannah]

Me too. My latest read is All Systems Read by Martha Wells, which is a science fiction novella that is a part of a big very very beloved especially I feel like on like YouTube science fiction fantasy communities. People love this series. I finally wanted to give it a shot. I read this as a buddy read with my brother. He typically reads a lot of nonfiction and I read more fiction. Science fiction is an area where we sometimes align in our tastes and interests. So I had just received this series from the publisher and thought we could try reading this one together. This little book, the first one in the series is about a corporate dominated space faring future where planetary missions have to be approved and supplied by an organization called the Company. These are there are these exploratory teams that are accompanied by companies supplied security androids for their own safety. But in a society where contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder, safety is definitely not a primary concern. And then on a distant planet we have a team of scientists conducting these surface tests shadowed by their company supplied Android, a self aware SEC unit who we are following the perspective from that has hacked its own governor module and refers to itself, though never out loud, as Murderbot. Murderbot is scornful of humans and very skeptical and all it really wants to do is be left alone long enough to figure out who it is, watch their soap operas and listen to music. But when a neighboring mission goes very dark and unexpected, it is up to the scientists and Murderbot to get to the truth. Like I said, the Internet is absolutely obsessed with this series and I can see why. I think overall the premise being about this Android who is expected to just be a robot, do its job, but all it really wants to do is totally check out and watch soap operas all day. I mean, same same right? I mean who knew that humanity could relate to a robot on such a spiritually deep level. And I mean that's basically burnout, right? So I totally see why this is such a relatable book in this science fiction context. I think many of us who are working these corporate jobs. Plus we're parenting, we're working these side hustles and, and, and, and it sometimes feels like we just would rather rot for a day and watch some reality tv. I think something else that made this just a really fun and entertaining read was that because Murderbot has gone rogue and hacked his own model, he has a really fun, witty sense of humor. It's dry and irritable and they are just a really fun character to follow and adventure with. And of course with this dry and pessimistic sense of humor, they seem to really not care about anything and just be this indifferent character doing its job. But of course we end up finding out that they start to get attached to their humans and care more than they let on. I think that this book also does a really good job at hinting toward things that have happened in Murderbot's past. So offering Murderbot some character development even though it's a robot, without giving too much away and kind of providing you with some excitement to continue on in the series. I think the plot here doesn't matter that much. This is really just a book focused on Murderbot. So if you are a character driven reader but enjoy science fiction, which is often very plot heavy, I think this could really work for you. I think if you're looking for a palette cleanser but aren't wanting to read a thread thriller or a romance per se, and maybe you don't read those genres as much, you could read this as a lighter palette cleanser type read within a different genre than you normally get those kinds of books from. I personally am really looking forward to continuing on in the series and seeing how Murderbot develops and what more shenanigans they get into. And that is All Systems Red by Martha Wells.

[Tina]

I love books that have robots or aliens or non human things that fall in love with the humans. How flawed and silly and goofy we are. That sounds really interesting. Look at us. Look at us.

[Hannah]

Science fiction. Who knew?

[Tina]

I know. Don't call us One Note. Truly don't you dare ever call us one note. Because look at us go. So our book talk today is very relevant I think given my loving lately and sort of given what we were just talking about. We're talking about Literary fomo. Literary Fear of Missing out and obviously specific to the bookish community. And I think whether we like to admit it or not, we all experience fomo. It's a very real thing. It I don't want to demonize it either because I don't think there is anything wrong with fearing of missing out. I don't think there's anything wrong with buzzy books or just buzzy products and things in general, as long as for me, I'm intentional about it and it's in line with what I normally would want. But I do think giving into too much FOMO can lead readers away from what could be potentially their best reading lives. Now, are you somebody, Hannah, that gets plagued by literary FOMO or not really?

[Hannah]

Yes, I definitely am. And I think that because there is something, so, I don't know, fun and collective and universal about being a part of a moment that's happening. Like, I think about recently with Onyx Storm coming out and wanting to be a part of that and read it alongside your friends in the community. And. And then when, like, fun reels and content come out on TikTok and Instagram making jokes about plot points that happen, if you've already read it and you're reading it alongside everybody, you get to kind of share and take part in that community experience of reading that book. And so I think, to your point, there's nothing like we're not. We're definitely not demonizing this feeling, right? Because I think all of us have felt it in one way or another, regardless of the genre or the book. And it makes sense because it is fun to be a part of those moments, but it's also not possible to be a part of all of them.

[Tina]

Right? And that, I think, theron is the key. You can't be a part of all of them. And this literary fomo, where does it come from? And I wonder, you know, I bet this has been around. I'm having a lot of thoughts at the same time, because I was gonna say, I wonder where it comes from. And then my initial reaction was, well, social media and podcasts. And then I thought, well, what did they do before that? And then I thought, well, Oprah's Book Club, and I'm sure there has been literary FOMO for as long as there have been reading it just came from different sources. And I think a part of, like, what we do here is share our love for specific titles. And, like, I love to build that book buzz. And I want you all to feel, I don't know, not a fear of missing out, but I want you to be as excited about the ones I'm excited about. So I do feel like we are sort of perpetuating this FOMO experience. Obviously, social media, obviously there's bestseller lists and award nominations, but to your point, the collective, I think for me, that's One of the things that gets me. No, no, I won't say that. One of the things that I think gets me the most. The collective is close, but for me, it is wanting to, I guess, put out the best content, which sounds maybe silly and creepy if you're not, because I'm thinking, wow, I'm skewing my reading experience based on the content what that I want to put out. But I'm a podcaster and I'm on YouTube and all these other places. Of course I'm going to want to bring the best content possible. So when I am doing, you know, books or seeing things that are, like, catching fire a little bit, I'm like, okay, let me put in my two cents. Like, one that I'm bringing later. I only read because of people online. I never would have picked it up, but I really was curious about it. And that's our theme for today, is we've picked books that we saw people talking about in 2024 that we did not get to.

[Hannah]

Yes.

[Tina]

Yeah.

[Hannah]

And now we get to take part in that experience.

[Tina]

Now we get to take part. Yes.

[Hannah]

It's not the same, but it is still valid. And there's a different kind of form of connection in doing that. I mean, I am seeing people read books this year that I read five years ago, and when I see them doing that, I'm like, oh, yes, I finally get to talk to this person about this book. I had a friend of mine recently pick up station 11 because I'm such a huge evangelist for that book. And that book came out a long time ago. I read it for the first time in 2018, and it was still years old. So you can still take part in this community collective experience years later. No, it's not the same. And you can do both. You can take part in some books, you know, while the buzz is happening, and that's really fun. And then you can also take part later on, and that is still fun in a different way and still valid.

[Tina]

No, you're right. And now I'm thinking there's sort of two different things going on here, and maybe you interpreted our own topic a different way. I picked books specifically that were published in 2024 that I feel like I missed out on last year. Okay, you did that, too. Yes, but I think you're right. There are also these buzzy books that are around the book space that I am curious about that I may or may not have. I don't know when it came out, but for one reason or another, I'm seeing People talk about it and I'm like, okay, that's like on my list. You know those books that have been lingering on your list for a while.

[Hannah]

Oh, yeah.

[Tina]

You're like, no. What do you mean?

[Hannah]

Yes, you know about that.

[Tina]

Yes, exactly.

[Hannah]

I think that that was one thing that I did appreciate about booktok when it kind of first got really popular, is that it was different than Instagram in that I felt like Instagram was very new release focused, which is great. But then Booktok was kind of this different platform where books like the Song of Achilles and 7 husbands of Evelyn Hugo and books that are older were kind of resurfacing. And I really appreciated that too, because, I don't know, it just gave a place for books that you might have missed out on before. And now there's a renewed opportunity to take part in this buzz of it again, even though it's an older book.

[Tina]

So I think that's part of why that platform is so interesting for readers. Because of the algorithm. It, you know, senses something catching on or, you know, it does whatever it does and it can really bring life to some of these older titles. You're right, because it's really not new release focused over there unless something gets really, really big, at least in my experience. And I think with FOMO or with Hype, I think it's definitely a double edged sword. I am not a hater, really. I don't think maybe for some things, but in my heart of hearts, if something's popular and I don't like it, I'm like, good, not. Not for me, but good for you. If you like it, it gets you reading and it blows your hair back. Awesome. Keep doing that. So I think Hype is good. It gains visibility. I'm sure authors enjoy that. I'm sure, you know, people want to be, like you said, a part of the collective. It introduces the books to new readers. But I think it also can be bad for books because then once books get too big, then you've got the people coming in saying, well, it's not as good as everybody's saying. Right? The hype machine.

[Hannah]

Yeah, that's true.

[Tina]

Gets to people. Or it does. I'm thinking of the Favorites by Lane Fargo right now. I refuse to read any reviews on it because I'm a little crazy, but little silly goosey. I'm a little silly goosey, but because I don't want to see it, I'm like, you know what? I loved this book. It was five stars for me and I don't want any dissenting opinions right now in this moment, because I think it's one of those that got really big early in the year, and now people are like, well, it's not that good. And I'm like, I don't want to hear it. I also think FOMO is tough because if you are too into it, and I can definitely fall victim to this, too, it's creating this pressure to read what's popular or what's new or whatever it is instead of reading what's actually interesting to you. And I think that's what leads to having not your best reading year, is if you're reading things that you think you should be reading or reading things you think are popular, then you're not enjoying them, and it kind of messes up the vibe.

[Hannah]

Yeah, I agree. And what you just said kind of ties into a question that I had for you, which is when you are making those decisions on what to read, right when it comes out, you're going to, you know, take a hold of the hype and maybe be able to be a part of it and, like, talking about those books and kind of sharing it while it's happening. Do you have any, like, personal, like, goals or anything strategic that you do in terms of genres you prioritize or just types of books that you want to read specifically to bring to the show to kind of, you know, be a part of that hype? I'm thinking probably thrillers, but I'm just curious if you had any other.

[Tina]

I think the ones that I'm most likely to see earliest are thrillers, because when I see one that's getting some good reviews, I'm like, well, now I want to know, because those are so hit or miss for so many people. But when I see a lot of good reviews for thrillers, I'm like, there's something here I must know. I have to know about what this is about. I think I rely on some of my, like, people that I trust. And this is one of the things I'm thinking about. Fomo. This is why it's okay, I think, to dive into FOMO sometimes, because then you start to find the people that recommend really good books that align with your reading tastes. And then I'm like, okay, if Brett, for example, Brett's bookstack, love him. He's always one that I'm gonna, you know, be interested in, and he reads differently than me, but for him, I'm like, oh, that's one of the books. It's Martyr, by the way. It's Kaveh. Akbar's Martyr. He. I remember talked about it in January 2024, and I was like, what is that book? And then I ignored it, Ignored it, ignored it. And then finally I, like, succumbed to the. The pressure. But I think if you allow your. That FOMO sometimes try and pay attention to where it's coming from, because those could be down the line, good recommendation sources or bad if it doesn't work out.

[Hannah]

Ooh. I really. I really like what you said there, and I think that that is so important. I know that some of the books that I chose, I definitely paid attention to. Like, okay, I ignored this for this reason last year. This is why I didn't prioritize it. What is it that made me decide to prioritize these books this year? And I've actually read Quite a few 2024 releases so far this year. A few that I'm not even bringing to today's episode. But I did pay attention to, okay, where was it that I finally saw it? And then now that it's even been a year later or six months later, who are those people? Or what was that thing that made me decide, okay, even though it's later, I'm going to go ahead and pick this up?

[Tina]

So it's so complex, right? We're making this reading experience just very, maybe more difficult than it has to be, But I think it works. I don't know. For me, it works. And I said this, I think, to Hannah and maybe in a previous episode, but I have been focusing, and this is something that's helping me with fomo. I'm having more of a mood reader mixed with structured TBR experience. This year, I am keeping a list of books that I, you know, I still have my short list of books, but it's a bit longer. I'm like, oh, yeah, I really wanted to read that. I throw it on my big list so that way I can remember, and I refuse to let myself get in a book slump. Like, when I finish one, I'm like, no, immediately you're picking up your next book right away. Because otherwise, it can take some time in between, and I hate that. I'm also working on sampling a little bit more. I'm proud of myself. I did this last night when cooking, I put on two audiobooks. Like, nope, not feeling it, not feeling it. And they're not off the list forever. But I'm like, for one reason or another, I can tell, like, this is not the mood I'm in. And it led me to a book that I'm really enjoying. Which you'll hear about next week. I don't know. I think it's. Maybe we are making it more complicated than it needs to be. Yes. But also, like, I think almost every year, last year being an exception, almost every year I have a better reading year than the year prior. And I think that's beautiful.

[Hannah]

That is beautiful. And it's us learning ourselves and figuring out, you know, and paying attention to this kind of thing. We say, oh, we're making it more complicated or we're overthinking it. But yet at the same time, I think it's because we are actually engaging in our reading lives this way that we're able to continually make our reading lives better and better moving forward. Because is we're paying attention to who we're getting these recommendations from and paying attention to the books that we end up returning to even though they're one or two or three years old. And, you know, it's this kind of stuff that makes us ultimately enjoy our reading lives even more. So I'm glad we're talking about it.

[Tina]

Me too. And as you were talking about this, I'm wondering, do you think literary FOMO impacts bookish content creators more?

[Hannah]

I absolutely do. I think that I've seen lots of book creators say, like, I want to be reading X, but I know that it's not as popular. Or, you know, I'll see people say, like, help me choose my next read. And they'll, they'll do a poll and it'll be one backlist book and one front list book. And that front list book that's popular is always going to be the one that wins the poll because that's what people are wanting to see right now. And so, of course, I think that that naturally impacts all content creators. I think it's important to find that balance as creators and consumers too, of what you personally need to balance for your reading enjoyment.

[Tina]

It's funny because I'm sitting here thinking that and maybe I should let FOMO dictate what I'm reading more. I think it's just such a natural part of how I read that it doesn't feel like I'm doing anything because I think people would like it. And I've always said this for the show too, that I want you to bring. And I'm going to do this for myself, whatever book it is that really calling us for whatever reason, not necessarily just the buzzy books. And I do think you do a good job with that. I can be more buzzy, but you Know, I do bring some backlist as well, you know, I. But I say maybe I should be thinking about this more because maybe my posts would do better. But honestly, I don't care. I'm going to still be that bookstagrammer that's posting just me holding my book in front of my bookshelf with a little review until the platform's not there anymore. Because I find that brings me joy. Maybe a hundred people will see it, but, like, that still works for me.

[Hannah]

Yeah.

[Tina]

But I'm curious.

[Hannah]

I think that I am going to. I'm going to mention this because it's the biggest advice that I always give for anybody who is, you know, struggling with content and doesn't know. Or maybe you want to start talking about books in a more public space and you don't know where to start, or you're worried that things like what we're talking about here, literary fomo, are gonna hold you back from having the reading life that you really want for yourself. And the biggest thing that I have always said, and that I have to remind myself of often, too, is create content around your reading life. Don't like, read to create content.

[Tina]

Yeah.

[Hannah]

And so I think to your point of, like, I want you to bring whatever is exciting for you because that ultimately will help you find your niche, help you find similar readers to you, and it'll help you continue to engage with your, you know, critical thinking brain and your creative brain. And because you're focusing what you're talking about around what you're already doing instead of trying to, you know, reinvent yourself or invent a version of your reading that isn't true to who you are.

[Tina]

No, I think that's great advice. Right. And I think it's something that makes it sustainable. I think if you were trying to read, and I did that in the very beginning, what, 2016, where I would read, I remember fantasy was big, stills, very big. And I was like, oh, I'm gonna read whatever.

[Hannah]

Game of Thrones.

[Tina]

Well, I did read that. That was me. That was definitely a book I wanted to read. No one was giving a shit if I read those books at that time. They were like, what? No, it was Sarah J. Maas books, Moss's books.

[Hannah]

Those books, Court of Thorns and Roses, A Throne of Glass.

[Tina]

All of those, I think, were pretty popular when I was starting. And I was like, maybe reading this. Yeah, right, exactly. Still very much are. And I was like, this is not for me. But anyway, that's all, you know, that's. I think, at the end of the day. Try not to overthink it. Reading should be fun. Reading is fun, I think. But you know, I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing. And I would say think about what you want your own reading experience to look like and move toward that. If you find your reading is not working, change things up. I don't know, maybe you're more of a structured reader. Maybe you're somebody that, I don't know, needs to find new people to follow online or get offline altogether.

[Hannah]

Maybe you're someone who enjoys reading alongside Oprah's Book Club and community and new releases. And maybe you're someone who really doesn't like new releases and you just want to read, you know, classics and Man Booker Prize long lists. There are book clubs for you. There are reading groups for you. There's a Bookstagram space for you. Whatever community you want to be a part of, just make your reading life yours and then see where you can fit in along the way.

[Tina]

I love that.

[Hannah]

Look at us.

[Tina]

Anyway, see you next time. And done and done. But on that note, let's talk books, right? Let's talk about the books that we are bringing for the show today.

[Hannah]

The books that we missed last year.

[Tina]

These are the books that we missed last year. And my first book is I mentioned this lightly, but it's Martyr by Kava Akbar. And I would not have picked this book up at all had it not been for people online talking about this. Not for any real reason. But I was like, what is it about? I don't know. Unclear. But I'm here to tell you it was very well enjoyed. It was a nominee for readers favorite fiction of 2024 for Goodreads and a nominee for reader's favorite debut novel. So this is a debut. The book is about Cyrus and Cyrus is a young man grappling with an inheritance of violence and loss. He is a troubled character who has had a lot of trauma in his life. His mother's plane was shot down when he was younger in a senseless accident. He's never gotten over that. Obviously, his father's life in America was circumscribed by his work. Killing chickens at a factory farm in Indiana is he and his dad don't always see eye to eye. And there's a bit of that friction in the beginning of the story. And he is now in recovery. He is going to AA throughout the story and, you know, talks about his time in recovery. But he is also a poet and a writer and somebody who becomes a obsessed. And this Time, he has become obsessed with martyrs. And he is obsessed with martyrs in part because of his mom and her death and how he feels it's senseless. And now he is really wanting to make sure that his life means something and that he doesn't, too, fall victim to a senseless death. Now, this book is written by a poet, and it shows. I'm. Honestly, when I was working to prep for the show, I was having a bit of a hard time to describe all that went on in this book because a lot of it's so subtle and brilliant and you're just, like, reading along, and then all of a sudden I'm like, is this a point of view from Lisa Simpson? What's going on here? And I just can't imagine how the author crafted the story and what that storyboard must have looked like or how on earth he created this. But I thought Cyrus is a great main character. He is certainly flawed, but funny and very much his own person, even though much of the novel is about him finding himself. I feel like you as the reader are like, no, we know who you are. Lean into that. And he's, like, floundering for much of it. And I will say the first part is a bit more introspective, a bit more about the setup. And then in the second part, he really leans to his. His obsession with creating a book about martyrs as a way to avoid a meaningless life and a pointless death. And it gets more plotty in the second half because he decides to set off to meet a terminally ill painter to gain perspective, a woman's doing this sort of art installation. I liked an art book which is, you know, not about actual paintings. It's about more of a metaphor, I guess. But she's there, and it's. She's only got, you know, a finite amount of days left. We know she has terminal cancer, actually. And so people are waiting in line to talk to her and, like, talk to her about the meaning of life, and she really just wants to hold space with them and talk to them about their lives. I think this book is really, really good. I would say this would have been a great book club pick. I would have loved to speak with people about this book and just unpack a lot of it, because I know just as my last book, Death of the Author, I know there's a lot more going on than I got on the very first read through. This is one I'd be happy to read again, knowing what I know at the end of the book. And I am sure that Readers will bring so much to the discussion, depending on their own lived experiences. I think this book is as brilliant as the people are saying, I fell victim to fomo, but I'm happy that I did. Very glad that I read it. And this book is Martyr by Kava Akbar.

[Hannah]

You did such a good job talking about that one.

[Tina]

Wow.

[Hannah]

What a hard one to discuss, too.

[Tina]

It's very hard to discuss. Thank you. Because I was like, I don't know that I can do this justice, but I'm gonna try.

[Hannah]

Yeah. This is one that I tried last year, and I read it, like, as an arc. So before the hype, and I didn't finish it, and I was on the fence on whether or not I did want to continue. And I'm kind of leaning toward yes after seeing how much praise and accolades it got last year. Hearing you talk about. And I've heard, like, everyone that I've heard talk about this book talks about it a little bit differently, and I love that because I think it speaks to how not only subjective reading is, but just how, like, subjective this particular book is. But yet so many people seem to be getting something out of it, regardless of what they're bringing to reading it in their experiences and stuff. So I really loved hearing you talk about it. Great job. I do think that I am going to eventually try this one after.

[Tina]

I think you'd like it. I definitely think you'd get it. Also, will say you bring up a good point we didn't talk about during our book talk, but arc reading, arc reading can be tough because you don't have other people to discuss.

[Hannah]

Yeah.

[Tina]

Your experience with. There's no hype at all. You're building the hype. You're the taste maker. And for me, sometimes it's hard because I'll be like, am I enjoying this? Hello. Because we did a lot of early reading for our winter reading guide last year, and I was like, I can't tell. Is this a good book? Is this a good book, or is.

[Hannah]

It just in your taste?

[Tina]

Yes, it really does. But I kind of liked it because I feel like it helped me refine my taste a little bit more. But anyway, I digress.

[Hannah]

Agreed. No, I think that that's a great point. One that we could do a whole episode on. Honestly, how do you know who you are as a reader? You know, what a great question.

[Tina]

Oh, my God. Ask ChatGPT.

[Hannah]

Right? Or read a bunch of arcs and see how those end up faring in the literary community throughout the year.

[Tina]

Track that I like that track that, okay.

[Hannah]

The first book that I am bringing as a 2024 that I feel like got some hype last year, but I didn't prioritize it is Piglet by Lottie Hazel. This is a foodie book. I like foodie books. I feel like this one got recommended a lot by women who read a lot of lighter literary fiction, I guess we could say. I ended up hearing a lot of really positive reviews about this one. And finally, I was like, you know what? This is foodie fiction. I feel like a lot of people whose tastes aligned with mine are enjoying this one and gave it really great praise last year. So I'm gonna try it. Piglet is this book's title and our heroine's name. It's a childhood nickname that our main character can't shake. Piglet is rather pleased with how her life has turned out. She has her dream job as an up and coming cookbook editor at a London publishing house. She has lovely, loyal friends and a handsome fiance, Kit, whose family she likes likes most of the time, despite their upper class eccentricities. An important part of this story is that one of the many, many things Kit loves about Piglet is the delicious and unfathomably elaborate meals that she is always cooking for him and for their friend group. The novel, though, kind of takes a turn when her fiance Kit confesses a horrible, monumental thing that he has done just two weeks before they are supposed to get married. Piglet finds herself coping through food, through eating. She finds herself constantly hungry and seeking comfort through that outlet, through everything. They do decide to move forward with the wedding as planned. But as it's approaching and Piglet is balancing family expectations and pressure at work and her quest to make the perfect cake for their wedding, she finds herself increasingly unsettled and behaving in ways that she can't explain even to herself. And just overall unraveling. She's torn between this life that she has always wanted and dreamed of and the ravenousness that comes with not getting what you know you deserve, all while grappling with the lies that we tell ourselves to survive and get what we think that we want. I was definitely really, really invested in Piglet's narrative, and I thought her to be a really interesting character. The tone of the story is a little bit dry, but I thought that this really worked for her as a character. I think overall it disengaged emotion from our main character, which is something that I think was really intentional because Piglet was really disengaging from herself during this period of her Life and what she thought that she'd always wanted. And it felt true to what the author was trying to convey. And I thought that that choice was really thoughtful and well done to kind of make that very tangible emotional disconnect. There were also some scenes in the book that made me viscerally uncomfortable that were almost hard to read. Those moments where your secondhand embarrassment is like, I wanted to shut the book. I was like, this is. I cannot believe this is happening. I cannot believe that she is making this choice and that the worst possible outcome happened. Like, she was like, oh, that couldn't possibly happen. I'm not going to do this. And then everybody's going to see. Nope, everybody saw it. And those moments where, oh, it was just so hard to watch. But you also can't look away. So I take that as a positive reading experience only because I think it was just really a testament to the writing. Piglet's decisions and just really impulsive behavior that she engages in out of pain and desperation is truly hard to read at times. But I think that this is also, again, a testament to thoughtful character development and storytelling. Do I think that there are other books that explore desire, womanhood, feminism, disordered eating, all of that better? Yes, I definitely do. Do I think that this was a good book and did I personally really enjoy it and read it really quickly? Yes, I think it's a good book and I really enjoyed it. I'm unsure how long this one will stick with me over time, so I am curious to see how I feel about it as I sit with it a bit longer. But I do think this was an accessible and entertaining story about the things that we want and the things that we think we want. I thought that Piglet was a very decent examination of women's sometimes really complicated and nuanced relationship with food and with men and our relationships. I think if you ultimately enjoy books about female desire with great descriptions of food and a main character that goes slightly, if not totally off the deep end, I think that you should read Piglet by Lottie Hazel.

[Tina]

Characters that go slightly but not totally over the deep end. I think that is a fantastic way to describe it. Having not read the book, I just love the sound of it.

[Hannah]

Yeah, you know, I don't know. She went totally there. I've definitely read books with women and characters in general that go, you know, a little further off the deep end. So we'll show her some graciousness there. But yeah, she definitely.

[Tina]

She definitely almost went there, you know, I love it. Okay. And that One is, I love the COVID of it, too. It's just eye catching, for sure.

[Hannah]

It's, like, kind of gross, but also.

[Tina]

Oh, disgusting.

[Hannah]

Yeah, right.

[Tina]

But I think that sets you up for what you're going to get with that book in my. From what I understand.

[Hannah]

Right? It definitely does.

[Tina]

We talked about what types of books I get tempted by, and often it is a mystery and thriller. And I am bringing the Middle of the Night by Riley Sager. And I am very excited to say that my Sager slump is over. I can't believe it. I can't believe it. Me, too. So the worst thing to ever happen on Hemlock Circle occurred in Ethan Marsh's backyard. Ethan was 10 years old, and he was in his backyard with his best friend Billy one July night. And Ethan wakes up and Billy's not there. There is, however, a big slit in their tent, and Billy never was seen again. It looks like someone took Billy out of his backyard. The book begins 30 years later when Ethan has reluctantly returned to Hemlock Circle, to his childhood home. His parents moved to Florida, and he's now sort of in limbo and taking care of their house. And he is having trouble sleeping, which is where you get the middle of the night. He begins to notice during his insomnia, strange things happening in the neighborhood. Somebody might be roaming the neighborhood at odd hours. And he feels like he's feeling Billy's presence again. And he can't decide, okay, is this just because I'm back home or, like, what is happening here? And it's also coming up on, I think, the 30th anniversary of Billy's disappearance. And as he gets closer to the truth, the more he realizes that no place is completely safe and that the past has a way of haunting the present. I was so into this book, I got pulled in immediately. One, I will say Santino Fontana narrates the audiobook. We love him. He narrates you. He narrates Joe Goldberg by Carolyn Kepnes. But I didn't have Joe in my head while I was reading this. So he does a really good job, I guess, pivoting. But I was so curious. I love the setup. It's very accessible because I think we obviously were all little kids at one point. You always were playing in the backyard or doing things around your neighborhood, and you have this assumption of safety and what happens when that is broken. And Ethan is a character that is very traumatized by what happened. He's sort of having this arrested development. He never quite got over it. And you find out during your reading experience that he's also going through a breakup or a divorce and he's like, you know, that's really weighing heavily on him too. What I love is that you also are getting dual timelines. So, yes, it's told straight from Ethan's point of view, but then also you're getting other people in the neighborhood's perspectives. And what the book does is it'll say, you know, July 17, 1990, whatever. At this time, it's giving you time stamps and it gives you a couple of pages of different people in the neighborhood and it's working toward the biggest thing that happened. I love the atmosphere. There is something so terrifying about the middle of the night when the world is supposed to be asleep, but someone is awake for all the wrong reasons. Like that really is scary to me. And this book tapped into that unease perfectly. I also love the 90s nostalgia. They talk about CDs or watching the Simpsons at one point, they're going to the CD store at 1 point. And I thought these flashbacks were so well timed without feeling cheesy or corny. The neighborhood itself is a character and you get a lot of point of view in this story. But I didn't feel confused. And, you know, I get fussy with too many characters. I still felt like I was sort of in this with him in the cul de sac with them trying to figure out what was going on. I want to say this is not a thriller and maybe that's why I liked it. I. It's more of a mystery and it is almost grief horror in a way. I don't know if I want to use horror, but it's. Ethan is just so broken from what happened to him. And I didn't mind the fact that he was pretty stoic throughout. He doesn't have a huge, big personality, but I think it makes sense given what he went through. I love that there was a long list of suspects and I think there were a couple of elements or red herrings that could have been more fleshed out, but I don't want to mention them here. And that's any true of any thriller, I would say. I didn't feel like anything was forced in this. I didn't think anything was over the top made sense to me. But it was just a grounded, good, unsettling story about guilt, grief and childhood trauma. And so if that sounds interesting, I highly recommend it. This one really worked for me. I think it's eerie, it's well structured, but, you know, it's a really good story and it makes me excited to put Riley Sager back on my approved author list. I was so mad at him after the house across the lake. I, like thought I was done with him forever. So I did skip the only one left, which I might now pick back up. And he's got one coming out this summer and he's back on my approved list. So this one is Middle of the Night by Riley Sager.

[Hannah]

I would definitely say pick up the only one left. Did you like it based on what you just said? I did like it. And also based on what you just said, like, did it have that Riley Sager, like some kind of, you know, with like the twists that he does? She read a Riley Sager book. Like, you know, how he kind of taxed them on, et cetera. It did have that, but it was more of a mystery, not a thriller. And kind of some of the things that you said that you really liked about that one about nothing, feeling too forced, et cetera. I think that you would like it.

[Tina]

Well, I'm definitely going to read it because I am now on a quest to read all of Sager's books and I only have that one that's outstanding. So I'll read it Perfect. Sometime soon.

[Hannah]

Oh, I'm so glad that you liked that one. I definitely think that you should try the only one left by him because I think that it might work for you based on what you said about this one.

[Tina]

I certainly will.

[Hannah]

Okay. My next book is actually, funny enough, also one that got put on my. Okay, I'm definitely going to try this 2024 release list from Brett's book stack. And actually the episode that you did with him about you guys were talking about your favorites.

[Tina]

Oh yay.

[Hannah]

Yeah. And I can link to that episode. But Brett did mention, if I'm remembering correctly, that this was on his favorites or at least runners up for the year based on, you know, what he had said about it. I was like, okay, I think this is definitely going to be a book for me. I really want to read it. And. Ugh. Sandwich by Katherine Newman.

[Tina]

Oh, yes, yes, yes, yes.

[Hannah]

Okay, so I will tell you about it. For the past two decades, Rocky and her family have taken a yearly escape to Cape Cod for a family getaway. Their rustic, worn down beach town rental has been a place where their family has made many, many sweet memories over the years. It's quirky furniture and mismatched pots and pans being a nostalgic welcome to them summer after summer. In this story we follow the matriarch of the family who is sandwiched between her children, who are adult enough to be fun but still young enough to really need her, and her parents, who are also alive and healthy, are joined with her and her family on this vacation, and she's really trying to preserve this golden season and her and her family's life forever. This book is told during one week in this family's life when everything is simultaneously in balance and in flux. But as we know, every family has its secrets and hers is no exception, and those secrets are explored here. With her body going through menopause surprises, invading her peaceful family retreat, the perfectly balanced seesaw of Rocky's life is tipping faster and faster towards change. I am, first of all, so glad that this book found me when it did. During the time that I was reading this, my dad was in the hospital with a heart scare. And this whole book about navigating family and what it means to carry the weight of your family's history, reckoning with aging, and how to be in relationship with your parents who are different than you but who still love you and are a part of your history and your life journey. I really loved how this book focused on the weight of motherhood while also demonstrating a lot of flaws in our matriarch. You're really rooting for her while also simultaneously saying, oh, I wouldn't have done that, or maybe I would have done that. And as a character, she knows that too. She knows that she's flawed. We get to see her reckon with mistakes that she's made, grief that she's had to hold, loneliness that she's had to feel, and losses that she has had to face because of decisions that she has made. And we see her grapple with knowing she would have made some of those same choices again while also still having regret from those decisions. And life is just really complicated and holds everything at the same time. And I felt that this was a really great exploration of that concept through the context of family and motherhood. Reading this during a time when I was experiencing the messiness and rawness of family myself, this was a particularly moving reading experience for me. And I love when books like this find us at the perfect time in our lives. Speaking to the fact that even if we're disappointed that maybe we didn't read a book alongside everyone else when it was first being buzzed about, it doesn't mean that it's not going to find us at an even more perfect time for us and our reading lives. I think that this would be a great book to read for a family book club to share with a parent or a grandparent. I think this would also be a great book to discuss in a group for just a general book club discussion. Overall, I highly recommend this tender hearted and lovely novel. And that is Sandwich by Kathryn Newman.

[Tina]

Oh, I'm glad this one found you.

[Hannah]

And me too.

[Tina]

Yeah, this is definitely one that I would have that I missed last year for no reason. I don't know what made me not grab it, but maybe someday.

[Hannah]

And so short, so impactful for such a little book. I do enjoy 200 pages.

[Tina]

I think I do enjoy when books are able to do that. All right, well let me add to your literary FOMO by sharing a summer release. It is what Kind of Paradise by Janelle Brown this. She's an author I love. We know this. I loved her book Pretty Things and this one she sent to me personally, which I feel very cool about. But this is a father daughter story and the first kind of opening for the synopsis is the first thing you have to understand is that my father was my entire world. Growing up in an isolated cabin in Montana in the mid-1990s, Jane knows only the world that she and her father live in, the wood stove that heats their home, their vegetable garden, books of 19th century philosophy that her father gives to her in lieu of going to school. And her father is elusive about their past, giving Jane little beyond the facts that they once lived in the Bay Area and that her mother died in a car accident and that car accident is what propelled him to move Jane off the grid and raise her in a Walden esque utopia. Now, predictably, Jane becomes a teenager and starts pushing against boundaries of her restricted world. She begs to go with her father on his occasional trips away from the cabin. But when Jane realizes that her devotion to her father has made her an accomplice to a horrific crime, she flees Montana to the only place she knows to look for answers about her past and her mom's death, which is San Francisco. It is a city during this time period that's in the midst of enormous change, where her quest to understand herself will be a force to reckon with both the possibilities and perils of the fledgling Internet, where she will come to question everything she values. This is a sweeping, suspenseful novel and we see a young woman on a quest to understand how we come to know ourselves. It's a story of parents and children, nature and technology, innocence and knowledge, and the losses of our past and our dreams for the future. I'm into it, can't wait to read it and this book is what Kind of Paradise by Janelle Brown.

[Hannah]

Oh, that one sounds really good. Like a perfect summer thriller.

[Tina]

It's probably going to be on my summer bonanza. Spoiler, spoiler, spoiler alert.

[Hannah]

Right. I love it. Mine might end up there as well. It's another summer release. Release. It's called Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V E Schwab. Okay. So this one comes out in June from Tor and I am going to just read the netgalley description because it's pretty short and I feel like it just makes me even more excited to read it. I love when publishers don't give us a lot, but give us enough to be totally intrigued. It says that this is a new genre defying novel about immortality and hunger. Santo Domingo, 1532. London, 1827. Boston, 2019. Three young women, their bodies planted in the same soil. Their stories tangling like roots. One grows high, one grows deep, and one grows wild. And all of them grow teeth. That's it.

[Tina]

That's what we've got. Okay. That's it, huh?

[Hannah]

That's it. So who knows what we're gonna get in this one? But I do know that I trust VE Schwab. I have read and enjoyed her books in the past. She is pretty prolific and writes, I feel like, pretty eclectically. So we'll see where this one takes us. That is Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V E Schwab.

[Tina]

Very good. Yes, that is interesting. I don't. She wrote the Invisible Life of Addie Larue. Is that right?

[Hannah]

She did, yeah.

[Tina]

Okay. Yeah.

[Hannah]

And then she also wrote. Oh, go ahead.

[Tina]

I was just gonna say that's the only reference I have of hers.

[Hannah]

Yeah. She also wrote Vicious. That's a duology, I believe. I think the second one is called Vengeance. And then there's another fantasy series that she has written that I want to start over and complete. I've only read the first one, which is A Darker Shade of Magic, and that's a trilogy. And I really enjoyed the first book, but it's been so long at this point that I would need to reread it and go forward in the series. So I might do that because I really enjoyed that first book. She does a really good job with like magic worlds and systems. So that might be another one that I bring at some point.

[Tina]

And this one's horror, the one you just mentioned.

[Hannah]

Yeah, it sounds like it.

[Tina]

Sounds like it. Yeah. So, okay. I like it. Multi genre person.

[Hannah]

Yes.

[Tina]

But 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 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. And don't forget, if you'd like access to our exclusive bonus content and community, Please join us for $5 a month on Patreon.com booktalk Etc.

[Hannah]

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 on Instagram and Tina Tbr Etc and Hannah at handpickedbooks. Talk to you next week. And in the meantime, remember, everything's better with books. And I am so. Oh, did you already bring this one?

[Tina]

No, I was gonna say schwab. Like a schwab.

[Hannah]

Did I say that wrong?

[Tina]

No, I just was chiming in for no reason. Okay, carry on.

[Hannah]

Great. I love your chimes. They're so good.