Reading our Feelings and Navigating the Chaos of Mood Reading

Summary

Podcast Title: Book Talk, Etc.
Episode: Reading our Feelings and Navigating the Chaos of Mood Reading
Release Date: October 22, 2024
Hosts: Tina (@tbretc) and Hannah (@hanpickedbooks)

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Introduction

In this engaging episode of Book Talk, Etc., hosts Tina and Hannah delve deep into the intricate world of mood reading, exploring its nuances, challenges, and benefits. As two Midwest-based book enthusiasts, they share personal experiences, discuss their latest reads, and offer insightful strategies for fellow book lovers navigating their ever-growing TBR (To Be Read) lists.

Personal Updates

Tina begins the conversation with a personal update, sharing her recent health improvement:

“[00:46] Tina: ...I just got a clean bill of health and my doctor's visit has inspired my loving lately.”

Hannah echoes her enthusiasm, recounting her return to the reading groove after a challenging period:

“[01:13] Hannah: ...I'm back. I'm feeling super like happy about everything that I'm reading and it has definitely been a comfort to me.”

They both highlight the importance of reading as a sanctuary amid their busy lives, especially with increased work demands and family responsibilities.

Understanding Mood Reading

The core of the episode revolves around mood reading—a flexible and intuitive approach to selecting books based on one's current emotional and mental state rather than adhering to a strict TBR list.

Tina introduces the topic by expressing skepticism about her own classification:

“[20:24] Tina: ...I disagreeed with almost every point this author made.”

They reference an article from Book Riot that attempts to define mood reading, but Tina and Hannah find several points unaligned with their personal experiences. For instance, the article suggests that mood readers often have many unfinished books and a sporadic reading schedule. Both hosts challenge this notion, emphasizing their consistent reading habits and selective completion of books.

Hannah adds her perspective:

“[28:28] Hannah: ...the freedom and agency to change my mind, and also knowing that what I'm in the mood for can change.”

They discuss the distinction between mood reading and TBR readers, highlighting that mood reading offers flexibility and personal agency, allowing readers to pivot based on their current interests and feelings.

Strategies to Combat Decision Fatigue

Decision fatigue can overwhelm even the most avid readers. Tina and Hannah share practical tips to manage this challenge:

1. TBR Shortlists:
   Tina explains her method of maintaining a "TBR shortlist"—a curated list of around 30 books that she's excited about:

   “[27:34] Tina: ...the best way to combat decision fatigue is to have a manageable shortlist where you can easily pick your next read.”

2. Sampling and Tagging:
   Both hosts utilize sampling techniques, reading a few lines or tags to decide whether to proceed with a book.
   Hannah introduces a fun approach:

   “[34:28] Hannah: ...I phone a friend and we'll say, like, hey, can you help me pick my next read?... Based off of the first sentence, what's your pick?”

3. Embracing Community Help:
   Engaging friends in the selection process can add an element of fun and reduce the burden of choice, making the reading experience more communal.

Book Discussions

The heart of the episode features detailed discussions of various books that have influenced Tina and Hannah's reading journeys.

1. If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English by Noor Naga

Tina presents a comprehensive overview of this literary fiction piece, highlighting its experimental structure and deep themes:

“[12:00] Tina: ...it was set in Egypt in the aftermath of the Arab Spring, following the relationship between an Egyptian American woman and a local man.”

She praises the book's exploration of identity, gender, and the fetishization of homeland, despite noting its dark and gritty undertones. Tina commends the alternating perspectives and the author's intentional experimentation, ultimately rating it four stars.

2. What I Ate in One Year by Stanley Tucci

Hannah shares her experience with Tucci's journal-style foodie memoir, appreciating its nostalgic value and personal anecdotes:

“[16:00] Hannah: ...it's a fun, easy read that combines food with celebrity memoir, sprinkled with some spicy opinions.”

She notes Tucci's endearing yet pretentious tone, finding his name drops entertaining and his gore-free narrative suitable for casual reading.

3. So Thirsty by Rachel Harrison

Moving into the horror genre, Tina reviews Rachel Harrison's vampire novel:

“[35:01] Tina: ...it explores the dynamics between two best friends who accidentally become vampires, delving into themes of friendship and transformation.”

While appreciating the complex female friendship and eerie settings, Tina criticizes the book's over-the-top elements and lack of depth, comparing it unfavorably to Harrison's previous work, "Cackle."

4. The Night Guest by Hilder Knutzteer

Hannah enthusiastically discusses this short horror novel, praising its unique approach to grief and horror:

“[39:01] Hannah: ...it explores grief through a suspenseful narrative about a woman experiencing mysterious occurrences during her sleep.”

She recommends it to fans of grief horror and those seeking a thought-provoking, yet accessible read.

5. How to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendricks

Tina introduces this horror novel, highlighting its grief-driven narrative and haunted house elements:

“[42:05] Tina: ...it balances character development with a deeply unsettling story, making it a great pick for both horror enthusiasts and newcomers.”

She commends the book's complicated sibling relationships and effective reveals, despite its length and some pacing issues.

6. A Better World by Sarah Langan

Hannah provides a mixed review of this dystopian novel:

“[45:23] Hannah: ...while the premise is strong, the execution felt empty and the characters underdeveloped.”

She expresses disappointment with the book's lack of depth and unconvincing plot twists, contrasting it with Kevin Wilson's "A Perfect World," which she found more satisfying.

7. Like Mother by Susan Rieger

Tina shares excitement about this upcoming multi-generational novel:

“[50:31] Tina: ...it's a gripping story about three generations of women dealing with family secrets, set against the backdrop of Detroit starting in the 1960s.”

She emphasizes themes of motherhood, identity, and family legacy, anticipating its release on October 29th.

8. Fang Fiction by Kate Stamen London

Wrapping up the book discussions, Hannah introduces this vampire fantasy novel:

“[52:19] Hannah: ...it offers a meta take on vampire lore, blending romance with supernatural elements for a fun and engaging read.”

Both hosts express enthusiasm for its unique twist and romantic elements, positioning it as a light-hearted addition to their reading lists.

Shelf Highlights

Before concluding, Tina recommends "Fang Fiction" by Kate Stamen London, emphasizing its meta-narrative and romantic subplot, perfect for those seeking a refreshing take on vampire fiction.

Conclusion

As the episode wraps up, Tina and Hannah reiterate the importance of flexibility and personal agency in reading choices. They encourage listeners to embrace their unique reading styles, whether it aligns more with mood reading or traditional TBR lists. By sharing their strategies and experiences, they aim to empower fellow book lovers to navigate their reading journeys with confidence and joy.

Notable Quotes:

• Tina [22:31]: “Mood reading, I think, can be defined in lots of different ways.”

• Hannah [34:28]: “When I have a group of books that I can't decide between from my immediate TBR, I'll phone a friend and we'll decide together.”

• Tina [45:52]: “Yes, a lot of Readers connect by genre or theme, making it easier to choose their next read.”

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For more insights and book recommendations, follow Book Talk, Etc. on Apple Podcasts or your preferred podcast platform. Connect with Tina and Hannah on Instagram @tbretc and @hanpickedbooks, respectively. Remember, as Hannah aptly puts it, “Everything's better with books.”

Transcript

[Hannah]

You read it?

[Tina]

I read it.

[Hannah]

It was a book.

[Tina]

It's a book. Welcome to Book Talk Etc, a podcast bound to grow your tbr. I'm Tina from TBR Etc.

[Hannah]

And I'm Hannah from Hand Picked 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 what else but mood reading.

[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]

Oh, I'm great. I'm cheese and smiling from ear to ear. I just got a clean bill of health and my doctor's visit has inspired my loving lately. It's fresh, hot off the presses. So I'm excited to share that with you.

[Hannah]

I'm excited to hear about it. I don't think I know at all what you're going to.

[Tina]

I didn't either until about 9am I had an idea, but I pivoted when I met with one of the healthcare providers. I was like, oh yeah, let me bring this to the show. But what's going on with you?

[Hannah]

Well, I have been really busy. I'm good. I'm. I'm really in my reading groove again, which needed to happen because it was a little rough for a couple of weeks. But I'm back. I'm feeling super like happy about everything that I'm reading and it has definitely been a comfort to me again because like I said, we've been really, my work really picks up in the fall and is really busy and we've had, you know, both of the kids are in school and everything. So it's nice to be to have one area of my life that's going really smoothly and is allowing me some respite from all of that.

[Tina]

How do you think or what do you think changed to help get you back in the reading groove?

[Hannah]

I think that I just needed like a clean slate and a lot of that is like a mental clean slate. Right? Like it got to be October and I was like, you know what, I'm just going to kind of drop everything off that I'm like stressed about, which kind of ties into our, our book talk later. But I had like some things that were kind of forced TBR items with even some friends that I buddy read with. And my brother and I finally like texted all of them. And I was like, hey, I gotta. I gotta start over. I need to. I'm not finishing this or I'm not gonna. Not gonna do this read. And in doing that, I was kind of able to look at what I really wanted to read and start over and pick up some books that really just sounded good.

[Tina]

Oh, I'm happy. Okay, good. Well, I'm glad that worked. And of course, good readerly friends will absolutely allow for other fellow Mood Buddy readers to act out if it's just not the right time. I swear. Renee and I have been trying to do a buddy read together since March, and we have not. Because. Because we're not good at it. Both of us are not very good at buddy reading. And so it's been back and forth, like she said, you know, whatever. She's not in the mood for one. I've not been in the mood, so maybe someday. But. Yeah, sometimes you just gotta say, hey, I'm not feeling it.

[Hannah]

Not feeling it. Yeah. I have one of my good friends, we always try to buddy read something too. And, like, she'll be like, oh, I'm picking this up. And I'm like, oh, I want to pick that up too. And then I don't. Or vice versa. And it just. You know, some people, I feel like I do. I am able to, for whatever reason, keep up with it, but then with other. Other reader friends, it tends to fall through the cracks. So it is funny how I know, for me, like, it works with some people and then it doesn't with others, and it's kind of funny.

[Tina]

It's really great being reader friends with Mood readers. Let me say.

[Hannah]

Yes. So true.

[Tina]

I mean, it is good and bad because it's like, they get it, but also, like, will we ever land on a mutual book? Unclear.

[Hannah]

Yeah, Right.

[Tina]

All right, well, I will tell you my loving lately, it's very simple. It's a product. And so I went to my final doctor's appointment for my gallbladder this morning, and the tech was like, ah, I love your outfit. You look very fall today. And where is that jacket from? And it felt very real. It wasn't like a, you know, trying to butter up the patient so they're not nervous. She's like, you gotta send me a link. So what I was wearing is my Loving lately. It is the Whoever women's winter wool coat. And it's a coat. It's a pea coat. However, I remember I bought this back in March because I was going to New York and I wanted a coat that I could have that had a lot of versatility that you could wear dressed up and you can wear dressed down. And it. You didn't necessarily have to button it, but it was still warm enough. So this morning when I left the house, it was probably in the 40s and so it was pretty chilly, but I had leggings and little boots on. And I'm like, let me just throw this coat over it. It is perfect for that. It only has one button and so I don't wear it buttoned. I kind of wear it open. And I think I'm bringing it today because it's the perfect transitional piece. I can wear it in the fall. I've worn it in the early or, you know, kind of tail end of winter. And I think it's really cute. I bought a couple when I was in my era of trying to find the perfect, you know, casual slash. You can still wear it to work. Pea coat. And I returned a bunch. This one is. There's several colors. I got it from Amazon. I got it in the beige color. I ordered an extra large and pretty tall and I wanted it like slouchy enough to where I could wear sweaters underneath. Fits me perfectly. They have plenty of other colors. Black, bright colors. I'm like half tempted. I'm like, wait, maybe I need a bright green one. Price point is good. Right now it's 47 and I have been loving it. If you're looking for a good transitional coat that doesn't break the bank, I recommend this one. It's also not pilling yet. I wore it the entire time I was in Manhattan. I've worn it many times since then and obviously now in early fall. Not pilling, you know, because that's a big pet peeve. But keep in mind, we're not. This is not luxury. It's not a luxury item, but it looks really nice and I feel put together when I throw it on. So that's my pitch for you in case anyone needs a new coat. It is the Whoever Women's Winter wool Coat Casual Notch label Single Breasted peacoat.

[Hannah]

Nice.

[Tina]

Love the long names they have to give you.

[Hannah]

Love the full title. Yeah, I've seen you wear that in some of your Instagram stories. It always looks really nice.

[Tina]

Thanks. And I wear a sweater underneath if you need like a zip up or whatever. Yeah.

[Hannah]

And if you wanted to dress up like a Mormon wife for Halloween, you could wear the blue.

[Tina]

Oh my God.

[Hannah]

You get the blue one. And then you can just look like it'd be a cute, like Group A women's. Like if you have a group of, of girls and you want to dress up for Halloween, all you got to do is spend, you know, 50 bucks and get a blue coat.

[Tina]

There you go. And then you got, got to get the Utah curls going. And there's your, there's your.

[Hannah]

Dye your hair blonde.

[Tina]

Yeah, right. You know, I think there's what, one or two brunettes in the whole crowd.

[Hannah]

But anyway. Oh, it's too funny. Okay. So my loving lately is one that I kind of teased Tina with over the weekend. But I got back into playing on my Switch recently and I got the Oregon Trail, which went on sale on Nintendo Switch last week. What? Yeah, I got the Oregon Trail. It is so nostalgic. And I don't even want to tell you how many hours I logged over the weekend. We were sick. Our family was not feeling good, so we were all kind of having some, you know, deserved screen time. And I just, I had so much fun with it. And if you. So you can get it on your Switch and then you can also get it for the PS4 or PS5. Those are the consoles that I'm familiar with and that we have in our house. I don't know if you can get it for other ones, but I do know that you can get it for those too. And why I have really enjoyed it. Obviously it's very nostalgic. If you grew up a millennial and you played this game as a kid, they kept it very, very true to the original game. I mean, the font is still like just like the old school coding font and the graphics are still like, I don't want to say bad, but like pixely, you know, like they kept the graphics purposefully pixely and it's really fun. They've made some, I think, really good improvements to the game. Al. It is true to the original. They have also taken away some of the harmful representation and replaced it with more respectful representation. And there are even like side quests and side storylines that you can play that kind of add to that representation piece that I thought were really fun. And also just good inclusions and additions to the newer game. You can just like in the old one, like you can do the main organ trail or you can do the. These like side quests and mini journeys that unlock new items and. And quest storylines in the main game. Really fun. I will say it's pretty text heavy, so it's not a listen to an audiobook and play kind of a game. I did get a few other games on my Switch that are specifically puzzle games to do for audiobook time. So you can look forward to hopefully having some other cozy gaming recommendations in the future. But for now I am enjoying my Oregon Trail journey and I know you can get that for the Nintendo switch and the PS5.

[Tina]

That sounds amazing. I love that game. And actually, oddly, we were just talking about that game at book club last night. I don't know why. Or I think Jonathan was talking about how he had played it in early days at his house and we were all like just talking about our love of the Oregon Trail. So very interesting that it keeps coming out.

[Hannah]

So serendipitous.

[Tina]

How long has that game been around for 30 years plus. I don't know. Oh, gosh.

[Hannah]

You know, I meant to look that up actually before I brought it because I was like, oh, I wonder how long? Because I think that when I played it. So I was born in the early 90s and I think that when I played it it was like the second version of it or something like that. I believe that it was around for the first ever computers. Literally the black screen and the green text.

[Tina]

Like.

[Hannah]

Yeah, I do believe that that was a version of the Oregon Trail back.

[Tina]

It says the first game was originally developed in 1971 and produced in 1974. Oh my God. It was designed to teach 8th grade school children about the realities of pioneer life on the Oregon Trail. That is.

[Hannah]

Wow, that's really cool.

[Tina]

I just did a quick Wikipedia shout out to Wikipedia, my favorite reference site.

[Hannah]

Feel free to donate.

[Tina]

Feel free to donate. I do. Every year. They're like, you're one of the only people. Please, we beg of you, give us a dollar. And I always. They get me is what I'm saying.

[Hannah]

Oh, yes.

[Tina]

All right, we're hopping into our latest reads now and today is our mood reading episode. And it's kind of funny because I find that this worked perfectly in conjunction with the other two books I brought that will make sense later because this one is literary fiction. And I was really happy to have the balance of this with some of the other books that I was reading that were in my mood. But the book that I'm bringing is if an Egyptian Cannot Speak English by Noor Naga. And this book is again one of those books. I'm not quite sure what made me pop it to the top of my tbr, but it takes place in Egypt in the aftermath of Arab Spring, which was a series of anti government protests, uprisings and armed rebellions that spread across much of the Arab world in the early 2000 and tens. So that's the time period. That's when it's set. You have an Egyptian American woman and a man from a small village in Egypt, and they meet in a cafe in Cairo. He was a photographer during the revolution, but now is sort of finding himself unemployed and addicted to drugs and living in transient housing. She is a very nostalgic and kind of progressive daughter of Egyptian immigrants who returns to Egypt, returns to the homeland, despite not being from there and having never been there before. Her parents came from there, and so she feels this call to spend some time living there. She's there teaching English and living in this beautiful flat. Her mom helped her get the position and this apartment. And the two meet and they hit it off and, you know, sort of fall in love and develop this relationship. But their relationship soon takes, or pretty quickly takes, a violent turn that neither of them were expecting. Here's what I thought. I've seen a lot of books get called experimental before. And I'm like, okay. And if I had known this was experimental before I picked it up, I probably wouldn't have picked it up, because I'm a coward. And I would think when I hear experimental, I think I'm not going to like it. This is going to feel hard and like, work, but it's not. This did not feel that way at all. It was a rare case also where I can see why they call it experimental. Like, when I'm walking away, I'm like, oh, I get it. I now know what they mean by that. I can also see why the author chose to tell the story in this way. And it very much worked for me. So you're getting these two characters. They are both unnamed, but they're very well crafted in the sense that you get a pretty clear picture of who they are and what their challenges are. They're definitely not perfect people, people, but you know who they are. And the author chose to do this thing where in the first, it's three parts. First part starts with a question, and in that section she sort of answers that particular question. And each chapter alternates between the male and the female perspective. So you're hearing from him, and then you flip to hearing from her and vice versa. Part one was the most straightforward. Part three pulls it all together. And part two uses this really interesting structure where they have a lot of footnotes in it. I will say I enjoyed reading this, but it is very dark and very gritty and at times offer what I imagine to be a stereotypical picture of Egypt, especially Egyptian men. And I get that. That is a big critique of this book. I took it, as the author did that on purpose, to sort of make a reflection or have Western readers reflect on their own prejudice and their own inability to see beyond the stereotypes that they understand of that region. I understand the critics and see why they disagreed with that. I think it's very valid, but I also think it's up to the reader to interpret. This book was very readable, although it did take me a moment to figure out the structure. I'm like, where am I going with this? But as soon as I got used to the alternating points of view, I had to keep reading to see how the couple would fare. Because at the center of everything you have this toxic relationship and I was like, it's going to end badly, but I need to know how how it ends. This one has a lot of great themes. You have themes of identity, gender, language, fetishization of a homeland that you've never been to. Again, it's a dark and gritty story that should come with a lot of content warnings, but I walked away feeling surprised, satisfied, and wanting to discuss. This was really good. I gave it four stars. It's not going to be in my personal top 10 of the year list, but I'm very glad I read it and recommend it to others who love literary fiction. This book was if an Egyptian Cannot Speak English by Noor Naga.

[Hannah]

Yeah, I was excited when that one popped up as your latest read or whatever that we added on our Monday post. It seemed like a different book for you to be reading and I was excited to hear you talk about it. I'm glad that something a little bit different worked out for you.

[Tina]

Yes, definitely.

[Hannah]

It's always fun when that happens. My latest read is one that I know I've seen some people kind of buzzing about. It's Stanley Tucci's newest book, what I Ate in One Year and I really like Stanley Tucci. Unlike his memoir Taste, this book is really more of a journal style foodie memoir that documents food. Primarily, we follow Stanley throughout the period of one year and we navigate all of his experiences through through the lens of food. I think that if you are going to like this book you need to either really like Stanley Tucci and or really love food and food writing. I feel like Stanley Tucci has this way of being equally endearing but also pretentious and somewhat insufferable and that does come out a little bit in this book. I don't know how he does it, but he somehow still manages to be someone that I enjoy listening to. I did listen to this one on audio. He does read it. It's very pleasant. I loved it. That said, there were definitely some things that he documented that I was surprised made it to the final copy because of how, like, for lack of a better way of saying it, but how, like, arrogant and annoying and pretentious he sounded, but also like, I was cracking up because I'm like, wow, he just really said that. And none of it is inherently problematic or anything. It's just they're definite, some hot takes. However, he still manages to somehow be funny and sweet. Some of the name drops in here were really fun, and I enjoyed hearing about the other celebrities that he spends time with. This was definitely very sparsely written. It's a journal and it definitely sounds like one. And I think that if you're looking for more, like, poetic food writing or looking for something more in the style of Root, Ruth, Rachel or something like that, that's not what this is. This is definitely a journal. But if you enjoy food for the sake of food, you like a celebrity memoir, and you like some name dropping and spicy opinions, then I definitely think that this was an easy read. And that is what I Ate in One Year by Stanley Tucci.

[Tina]

I think you said about it being a little bit arrogant, that sort of thing. That is my experience with the vast majority of food memoirs.

[Hannah]

Yes.

[Tina]

Particularly written by men. I'm like, oh, yeah, it kind of comes with the territory. I'm like, it's expected, I think, for sure.

[Hannah]

I mean, there were some restaurants that he went into and he was nice. Like, he didn't name the ones that he really didn't like, but he was like, I walked in and it was the worst sandwich I'd ever had. I don't understand how someone can, like, blah, blah, blah. And, like, he goes into, like, a really salty insult on, like, a sandwich. And it's just really funny and just so extra. And I could definitely see how that would rub some people the wrong way.

[Tina]

Yeah.

[Hannah]

It's also, you know, like I said, just very sparsely written. Like, there were sentences that were like, we were having dinner tonight and Blake likely was. Blake Lively was coming over and Ryan Reynolds had to have a high protein diet. He's annoying. And then that's it. Like, just very, like, that was it. Okay, that's it. That's it. So anyway, but definitely a fun read and an easy read.

[Tina]

Yeah, those are good. Like, brain breaks, sort of. So I can totally see why you're saying, like, it was enjoyable.

[Hannah]

Yeah, not.

[Tina]

Not Setting the world on fire, most likely with. With what it is. But okay, good. Well, and sometimes those brain breaks are really helpful, especially when you're talking about what we both are, which is mood reading. And mood reading, I think, can be defined in lots of different ways. I think some people think it sounds fun. And I'm here to tell you mood reading is not that fun because sometimes it's annoying to try and find your next book. Sometimes you don't know what mood you're in. Sometimes nothing is working. And that can be a challenge. So I think we want to share a little bit today. Like, what do we mean by we're talking about mood reading? How do we help ourselves get in the mood potentially? How do we combat some of that decision fatigue when you have so many books that you want to read? And so what got me thinking about this in general, we, you know, love to incorporate a mood read episode when we can, because it does give us this little bit of chance to read a little bit more widely. We're not reading necessarily for a set prompt, but I also got this article from Book Riot, and it's from 2022, so it's not hot off the press, but it says, what does it mean to be a mood reader? I was like, oh, I love to read this. I'm very curious, you know, what are we. What are we talking about when we're looking at mood read? And I disagreed with almost every point this author made.

[Hannah]

Interesting. Yeah.

[Tina]

Not all. Not all, but signs that you're a mood reader. 1. You have many unfinished books and a sporadic reading schedule. That doesn't really describe me. I don't have a ton of unfinished books, nor do I have a sporadic reading schedule. Cause I'm always reading. I'm often reading multiple books, but I don't even know if that's necessarily a mood reader symptom or if it's just how I like to read.

[Hannah]

I wonder if this reader doesn't just DNF books, like officially call something it. I mean, I think that, yes, I.

[Tina]

Have books that are.

[Hannah]

Yeah, like, I have books that are unfinished, but I just call it quits on them. And I'm like, this has been sitting unfinished on my nightstand for a couple of weeks. I clearly don't want to pick it up. So goodbye.

[Tina]

Not right now. Yeah, you're going to go somewhere else. Either give it a not right now rating or dnf. And this is mentally nowhere do I actually flip it to that. The second symptom is if you have a huge TBR list that you haven't really touched. And I'm like, I think depend. I don't know that again, that that's a necessary symptom of a mood reader. I feel like there's people that have a very structured TBR that can be very extensive. I guess the key is that you haven't touched. It's having all these books that you've been meaning to read and not reading them. I again, would argue that that's a symptom of a lot of people that are very invested in building their TBR list.

[Hannah]

Yeah, I can see that. And I do think that. I mean, I know a lot of friends who have very strict TBRs, and they're definitely not mood readers. They're definitely TBR readers that still have, you know, arguably an excessive amount of books at home. And I think that that's partially because they are also, you know, book influencers in some capacity as well, too. I also do know, you know, I have. I have some friends who are mood readers who don't keep an extensive TBR because that actually makes it hard to figure out what they're in the mood for. And so, yeah, I don't know if that is necessarily, like, indicative of a specific kind of reading because I do also feel like mood reading and book buying are two separate habits.

[Tina]

Yes, exactly. Right. Yeah, I feel you on that.

[Hannah]

Two different hobbies.

[Tina]

Now. I'm like, as I was reading through this article, I'm like, maybe I'm just not a mood reader. And I am actually tempted to. And I think I was alluding to this. I want to do a NetGalley November where I'm reading all NetGalley books. But I'm also like, well, in that I'm going to have a pretty set tbr. It's a finite number of books. And granted, there's a boatload on my unread shelf on NetGalley, but anyway, I would like to dabble, I think, a little bit more in a structured tbr. The next symptom is you've read widely, but not deeply or vice versa. And I don't think that applies to me at all. I definitely read both widely and deeply. Not in every genre possible, but I'm like, I don't again, know if I experience that one.

[Hannah]

I do think that I can have a hard time, like, there are some genres and some authors that I have read more of. But I would say in general, I do have a harder time finishing an author's entire list. Or like, I love historical fiction, but then Because I pick up other stuff all the time. Depending on my mood, you know, I can recommend Kristin Hannah or you know, something like. But there are so many other maybe indie historical fiction writers that I haven't gotten into that I would like to. That I feel like if you are a little bit more structured with the types of books that you read and setting that like really intentional tbr, it might mean that you're not necessarily a deeper reader, but that you maybe have like more specific knowledge in certain areas of reading.

[Tina]

That makes sense.

[Hannah]

Yeah.

[Tina]

No, I'm glad that you explained it in that way. Cause that I can understand. I think there are some genres that I dabble in, like historical fiction. I think there are some genres that I'm deep in which like my mystery and thrillers, like I can tell you a lot about that genre. Other genres I don't really have much reference for and I think that's okay. The other two I actually do agree with and they are. If you've experienced reader burnout and can't follow through on a reading challenge. Yes, reading challenges in terms of our episodes, that is. I can handle that because it's more of a short term challenge. Like find two dark academia books. Okay, I can do that.

[Hannah]

Yeah.

[Tina]

But longer term reading challenges, I pick and choose the topics that I want to read for and I sort of ignore the other ones. There's a lot of reading challenges that I am following in the story graph. Specifically the diverse baseline challenge, which I'm actually doing pretty well with. I have read quite a few of these books, but I can't tell you exactly. But I think I'm like halfway through that challenge. But some of them tell me to read a book of poetry by a bipoc author and I'm like, that would be a big stretch for me. And I just don't know if I'm going to be able to find that this year. And I don't know that I mind, but I do agree that that's sort of a mood reader symptom.

[Hannah]

Yeah. Because you don't. Well also you don't really read poetry, so I sure don't. It's hard to stretch yourself when you're like, well, that's not in my wheelhouse, so I'm definitely not in the mood for that.

[Tina]

Yeah, well, exactly. And maybe that's the point that they're trying to make when you don't read very deeply or widely. Because I'm not ever going to be in the mood for poetry, most likely.

[Hannah]

Yeah.

[Tina]

Because I don't Try it. Like, how do you get in the mood if you've never done it? So, okay. All right, Article. I'm getting closer to hearing what you're saying. The last one is definitely a symptom that I have. You can't really stay committed to a book club. That's not true, though. Wait a minute.

[Hannah]

You have your community book club.

[Tina]

I've got our community book club, and I have my neighborhood one.

[Hannah]

Yeah. But there. Those are also. I feel like. I don't know. I feel like that's a little bit different. I would have a harder time. And you can tell me if you feel the same way. I would have a harder time with a book club that I just, like, went online and looked for a local book club, and there was nothing else tying me to that other than I want to join a book club. Like, you have other. We have other reasons why we're interested in, you know, of course, our community book club, but then also your neighborhood book club, because you get to see your friends, and also people are counting on you to read it. And so if you don't, like, you don't get to take part in this thing. Whereas I feel like if it's a little bit more voluntary and there aren't as many, like, strings attached to it, like, I think I would struggle with that.

[Tina]

No, you nailed it. Definitely. I have that social pressure. It's not really major pressure, but, like, there is that social pressure.

[Hannah]

It's like positive peer pressure.

[Tina]

Yeah. I'm like, yeah. Yes. Positive peer pressure. Because I'm like, I want to go to the thing. I want to participate. So I'm going to read the books anyway. I was just doing a little research for the episode and was. I laughed at the article because I was like, huh. I don't know if I agree with all of these, all of what they're trying to say here. Certainly some of them. And we'll link to that in the show notes.

[Hannah]

Yeah, and definitely some good talking points, too. And I feel like whether you agree with all of those things or not, they are kind of fun things to think about when you are thinking about what kind of a reader you are. And as someone who loves all things books, I think that it's fun to explore other people's ideas of things, too, and kind of see where I land in the mix.

[Tina]

Yeah. So how do you define mood reading? Like, what do you mean by that?

[Hannah]

It's so funny because last year I was talking to one of my good friends Alyssa, about. I was like, maybe I'm a TBR reader. Maybe I'm not a mood reader. I think I'm a TBR reader. And it's so funny because she was like, no, you're not. Absolutely not. And I was like, what are you talking about? And in us talking about that more, I did end up agreeing with her. Sometimes your friends know you better than you know yourself. But I think for me, the reason why I'm never going to be a strict TBR reader is for the simple fact that, like, I can't be given a list of books that's, like, here's what's on your list. Even if they are books that are on my, like, ethereal shelf of books that I want to read one day, I can't pick five of those randomly from my shelf, put them on a TBR and say, these are the books that I'm going to read this month. I think it would physically pain me.

[Tina]

To just follow a list I know.

[Hannah]

And I think, therefore I know that doesn't, like, clearly define mood reading necessarily, but I think it definitely tells me what I'm not, which is a strict TBR reader. And so I think for me, it's mostly just like, agency and freedom to change my mind, pick up what's working for me, put down what's not. And also knowing that what I'm in, like, I right now am really in the mood to pick up some historical fiction next week. I might be feeling horror and knowing that, like, that can also impact, you know, DNFing books, et cetera. And so I think, yeah, for me, it's having that freedom and agency of choice and also the freedom to change my mind.

[Tina]

I get that. I'm with you on that now. I'm like, thinking, I think I am maybe a hybrid of TBR and mood read because I have a. I'll call it my TBR shortlist. It's a list of, like, I don't know, maybe 30 books that I want to get to at any given point in time. The ones that I'm, like, buzzing about. Because my problem for mood reading is I kind of forget what I've been excited for because I'm excited about so much of it. Like, so many of these books are enticing to me. I'm like, oh, I could read that. I could read that. They sort of forget the ones that I'm the most excited for fall off my radar. Perfect example is A Blue Hour by Paula Hawkins. I was so. I shouted when I got this in the mail. It's somewhere in the House. Don't know where. But, like, I. Because I had it on my list, I'm like, oh, my goodness, that's coming out soon. So in that sense, it's helpful for me to have a tbr. But like you, I could not have a TBR of five books and just go ahead and read straight through them. Um, yeah, so I think that's sort of what it means to me. I'm not someone too. You guys know this about me. I'm not someone that samples often, although I'm not afraid to dnf. So if people are TBR readers, do they not DNF that much?

[Hannah]

I don't know. I don't know if that's more of a person nude or is that more.

[Tina]

Of a. Yeah, I guess both can. Right?

[Hannah]

Yeah. I don't know. I think I'm gonna have to. Maybe I'll text a few of my. My strict tbr. We're gonna phone a friend after the episode and be like, so I have some questions for you.

[Tina]

Well, and if you're listening, I mean, obviously you're listening and you are a strict TBR sticker. Tell us about it. I want to know more about sticker. Maybe I should be. Maybe I can be a reformed mood reader. Who knows?

[Hannah]

Who knows? And I. I do think that, you know, like, I'll. Now, of course, these never stick. It's never something I stick to for a long period of time. Freedom to change my mind. But with. With the book carts, sometimes I will, like, stock a book cart full of, you know, 20 to 50 books that are like, I don't want to forget about these. These are books that I'm highly anticipating, whether they've been on my shelf for a long time or they're new releases, et cetera. And then I'm like, okay, I'm going to pick from these first. And then depending on what mood I'm in, I at least have kind of a smaller collection of things to choose from. But, you know, ideally, I feel like in a perfect world, a mood reader could. Could do that. But then I still sometimes get overwhelmed with choice.

[Tina]

The decision fatigue.

[Hannah]

The decision fatigue gets really tricky. Do you have any ways that you combat that decision fatigue with mood reading?

[Tina]

Yeah, specifically, it's the TBR shortlist for me. Now, some of them, what I've been recently doing is I will, like, try a few lines, and if I'm not in the mood, I'm not feeling it. It comes off the short list. And that helps me because I'm like, okay, it's no longer on my shortlist. That doesn't mean I'm like never going to read it again or I'm dnfing it. I guess that's called sampling. Whoops. But I will at least cross that off the list for my immediate tbr. And that helps my brain say, okay, you're trying it, you've processed this. You know, how you decide about it. Also simple and maybe kind of silly, but on my list, I keep the ones that I've read or checked off on the list because it's like a reward. I love seeing those checked boxes. And so I'm like, okay, good. These ones are the ones that I've been wanting to read. I've actually been able to get to them or at least process through them. So for me, that helps with the decision fatigue because if ever I'm like, you know, I don't like to be in between books at all. So I'm always trying to read at least two. But if I find myself having finished two like I did recently, I was like, oh God, what do I do? And I was like, oh, go to your immediate tbr. And I found one there, had the Libby. That was good. That's another strategy. I put holds on everything. I put hold on everything that's on any list and I will just kind of keep delaying it or I'll download it and then it's there. If I decide, hey, I'm in the mood, I'm ready for it.

[Hannah]

Yep. Yeah, sometimes I'll if I've delayed, if I delayed it too many times on Libby, I'm like, you know what, I'm going to go ahead and check this out and if I don't get to it in the next two or three weeks, then I guess, you know, it wasn't meant to be same.

[Tina]

And then, then I have like the tag, okay, you check this out at one point, maybe you'll want to read it sometime. We are exactly a special creature. I swear to you. If you were to tell readers that we just had like a 25 minute conversation about mood reading and like all of the little ins and outs and intricacies, I'd be like, what?

[Hannah]

What? What do you mean? I did want to add one other, just one other tidbit that has been helpful for me and really fun and has kind of made my mood reading experience more like fun and communal when that decision fatigue hits hard. So if I have a group of books that I can't decide between from my immediate TBR and I don't even Know what I'm in the mood to read. Right. I will phone a friend and we'll say, like, hey, can you help me pick my next read? And I will give them just either an emoji or the first sentence from each book. And they don't know what these books are, so they don't know. But based off of, like, a series of emojis that describe the synopsis or just, like, the first sentence of the book, I'll be like, based off of this that I'm giving you, what's your pick? And then I'll make a choice, and then I'll be like, cool, you just picked this one. And then do you read it? Makes it more fun. And then I read it. I don't know why, but that works for my brain.

[Tina]

That works for you.

[Hannah]

That works for me.

[Tina]

It's exciting for you. Oh, I'm so glad to hear that. Yeah. Because I've done that before with Jonathan where I'm like, okay, should I read the book about the beach? The book about this or that? And, like, you know, he's picked it. I can't remember which one he ended up choosing. But I like that sometimes when you gamify it or, like, make it fun, because I bet you enjoy the emoji of it, you're like, oh, which one should I choose? Like, that makes sense to me.

[Hannah]

Yeah.

[Tina]

Well, anything else to add on mood reading or, you know, combating readerly fatigue?

[Hannah]

Gosh, I think we talked about a lot.

[Tina]

Yeah, right.

[Hannah]

I think we added a lot of fun insight.

[Tina]

All right, well, let's land the plane then and go ahead and hop into the books that made their way to the top and actually, you know, got us to read them. All right, so the first one that made its way to the top of my TBR was one I was very excited about. This was actually one of our. We almost picked this for our October community read, but in the last moment, decided against it. And that is so Thirsty by Rachel Harrison. This one is horror, and it is a vampire novel. So what happens when a type A and type B best friend accidentally both get turned into vampires? That is the question that gets answered in so Thirsty. The book opens with Sloan, who is dreading her birthday. She feels like she doesn't need another reminder that she's getting older or feeling that she's indifferent about her life. Her husband surprises her with a birthday weekend getaway. Not with him, but with Sloan's longtime best friend and troublemaker extraordinaire, Naomi, which definitely raises some red flags. Like, why are you not going on this trip with me? Why did you bring in Naomi? What are you hiding at home? But still, Sloan decides to accept the invitation. And she's expecting a weekend of wine tasting and cozy chats with her best friend. But when they arrive at their rental cottage, it becomes clear Naomi is not okay with that. She has something else in mind, and she's really advocating for Sloan to stop letting things happen to her and for her to really live. Sloan lives life very cautiously. She doesn't take a lot of chances, and Naomi is a wild card and really wants to push her out of her shell. So they go out and meet these people at a bar and they invite them to a party. They're like, sure, why not? Let's go to this weird house in the middle of nowhere. And chaos ensues. I know, right? Of course chaos ensues. Things take a pretty horrifying turn that changes Sloan and Naomi's lives literally forever. Again, on the COVID it tells you that it's a vampire novel and the mysterious strangers they go out with are vampires. What worked? I enjoyed the complicated relationship between these two women. I thought Harrison had some wonderful things to say about long term female friendship. You see them go through the highs and lows of friendship, and at times they're definitely a bit toxic toward each other, but they never lose that deep love that they have for each other. I really like the creepy haunted house that they go to. I like the mysterious strangers. But when they leave the house, that's when they lost me a bit. Things go very over the top and veer into silly territory which took away from this cool atmosphere that she had built. I personally needed more. I needed more backstory, more explanations and more depth from the characters. I just wanted that. I'm like, how did these people get turned into vampires? What's their story? What's going on here? I'm not mad I read it. I didn't love the dialogue either. It was kind of cringy sometimes. Again, I'm not mad that I read it. It was a very easy seasonal read. I think if you don't take it too seriously and take it for the feminist camp that it is, you should enjoy. I think my enjoyment of it was colored by expectations. I was really looking forward to it because I really loved her book Cackle. I did not love this one as much as I loved Cackle. Still, though, I will read this author again. And this one was so Thirsty by Rachel Harrison.

[Hannah]

Yeah, I kind of wonder if Cackle didn't work. Because I felt like Cackle was so obviously trying to be silly and satirical. And I feel like with the other two books, at least from my reading experience, they were still kind of, like, not to be taken too seriously. But it didn't seem as intentionally, like, silly, I guess, in a way. I don't know if you felt that way about this one, but I know I felt that way about her book, Black Sheep.

[Tina]

Yeah, that one I did not get very far in. I didn't. I didn't love it to start with. So, yeah, I'll keep trying, though. I really like her. I like how every year we're getting a new one. I still will get excited for the next one. I just was like, okay, not my fave. I gave it three stars.

[Hannah]

You read it?

[Tina]

I read it.

[Hannah]

It was a book.

[Tina]

It's a book.

[Hannah]

Awesome. Well, my next one I really liked. I didn't realize how short that it was because I had it on NetGalley, but I loved it, so I'm really looking forward to talking about it. It's the Night Guest by Hilder Knutzteer. So this is a very short book, like I said, and I'm not going to say a lot about it because I really don't want to give a lot away, but we're following a woman in her midlife who starts to figure out that something weird is happening in her sleep. When she wakes up, she is fatigued, sometimes even injured. Her back hurts, her legs hurt. She sometimes feels like she's run a marathon. She feels so tired and lethargic when she has woken up. And then she starts noticing that her watch when she wakes up has tracked a lot more steps that she is actually not walking during the day. She becomes a little bit obsessed with, like, tracking her steps during the day to, you know, make sure, like, nope, this is definitely happening at night. Alongside these weird things that are happening, we learn more about her life, which helps us eventually unpack the overall mystery of what is happening to her in her sleep. This is exactly the kind of short fiction and the kind of horror that I love to read. It's really weird, but it is not so weird and experimental that you don't understand the point or you don't know what's happening. Kind of like what you were saying earlier, Tina, when you were talking about your latest read. You know it's experimental. Yes, but not in a way that makes it inaccessible. This is definitely a piece of experimental literature, but it's so accessible. And I actually think a lot of people are really Going to enjoy this. This book explores grief in a really unique way. Grief horror is one of my favorite sub genres. I think that if you are looking for something a little bit darker to read this fall, but you don't necessarily want to read straight up horror, this would be a great pick. Also, just things happening to me in my sleep, like, is one of my things that just particularly scares me. This one definitely made me feel like tense or like, oh my gosh, that would be so terrifying. But it never quite reaches, like I can't read this book at night territory kind of a thing. It's a one sitting read, but it feels like a satisfying meal, not just a snack. And I feel like that is not always common in a book that you can sit down on the couch and read in a couple of hours. I definitely felt fully satiated after reading this one. A very high protein snack, if you will. And that is the Night Guest by Hilder Knutstatier.

[Tina]

Wow. Okay. I'm so pumped for that one. I might need to add that to my winter reading list because I loved the COVID I loved what it sounded like. I just like that idea that she's like waking up with all these extra steps, like, what? Why am I, Why am I doing that? What's going on here?

[Hannah]

Yeah, it was really interesting.

[Tina]

And high protein snacks.

[Hannah]

A high protein snack. Okay, what is your next mood read?

[Tina]

All right, my next mood read is how to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendricks. So as you can see, I'm bringing two horror books today. This is why I was saying I was happy to have literary fiction in between because I did horror. And I was like, I need something. Meteor. And then I was back into the horror. And this one I really liked. I will just say that outright. I've never read Grady Hendrix before, somehow despite being a big horror reader. So I'm really excited to bring this to the show. When Louise learns of her parents passing, the thought of returning home fills her with dread. She does not want to leave her daughter behind with her ex and make the trip from San Francisco to Charleston. She isn't ready to face the family home crammed with remnants of her father's academic pursuits and her mother's lifelong collection of puppets and dolls. And above all, she's not prepared to confront life without the two people who knew and loved her the most. But even more daunting is the prospect of dealing with her brother Mark, who stayed in their hometown. He struggles to hold down a job, and the two are not close because she feels he resents her for her achievements. Yet in order to prepare their house, you know, their childhood home to be sold, she needs his help. And there are some other things that they find that they need each other's help with. The synopsis for this one is pretty sparse, and I think that's a good idea. This one worked so well for me. I didn't know much about it, but I will give you a little bit. It does have elements of a haunted house slash haunted doll story to. Right, that's the spooky part, but a lot of fun in reading this was in the reveals. So that's all you need going in. You just mentioned this, but this one's also grief horror, I think. And I think this would especially hit hard for those who have lost a parent or who are dealing with aging parents and like thinking about carrying out their final wishes eventually, someplace, hopefully far away in the future. These characters are fully developed. Mark and Louise are very complicated, and they have this love, hate, sibling relationship that definitely veers closer to hate most times. But I love that the author balanced character growth with a truly messed up story. Don't take my word so far to mean that this is not gory because it definitely has some gory elements to it and you find out what happened to them when they're young and, you know, there's sort of all of these other tricky things going on. There are fabulous extended family side characters that I wanted even more of. I really like the side characters in this book. It's not perfect. It was definitely longer than it needed it to be. It was well into the 400 pages, especially the first part. I'm like, okay, all right, you're selling the house. Okay, you're fighting. I got it. Let's keep it moving. But I thought the reveals were good and the payoff was definitely worth it. I did the audio elevated my enjoyment of this book. And this is my first Grady Hendrix, but definitely will not be my last. This one is how to Sell a Haunted House by Grady Hendricks.

[Hannah]

I am so excited that you read that one. I heard just really fun things about that book. I've never read this one. I do like Grady Hendrix, though, and I'm excited to read more of his books, but I'm glad that this one worked for you.

[Tina]

It worked for me. We did it for our book club last night, and by and large, I think people either enjoyed it or really enjoyed it. So it was pretty. Well, enjoy it. Especially for an October book club.

[Hannah]

Yeah. And especially for horror, which I feel like is outside of what you Typically read for your book or is this not for your.

[Tina]

It is. It's the neighborhood. Neighborhood, yeah. So a lot of readers in the group had not read horror previously, and they were, like, unsure about reading it. But that's part of the fun of book club. We're doing a nonfiction next month, so, I mean, don't tell us. We are just mystery and thriller. We're expanding.

[Hannah]

I love that. Do you feel like this book, how to Sell a Haunted House, is a good option for people who haven't read a lot of horror?

[Tina]

Awesome question. Yes. And I was thinking that, too, last night. I would say, yes, you have to be okay with some gore. But it's campy and it's not. It's campy in that it's like, okay, you know, she gets whacked over the head with a frying pan and this and that. It's like kind of that silly vibe that I think people who are not into horror still can appreciate. I think so.

[Hannah]

Yeah. I think that that's a great call out.

[Tina]

Yeah. No, I'm glad you asked because I was thinking that, too. I wanted to mention that because I know a lot of people and we've been talking about this with some of our patrons. Don't read a lot of horror. And so I think this one would fit in pretty well.

[Hannah]

Perfect. Okay. So my next read is unfortunately. Kind of a Bummer. Yeah. Kind of a clunker. It was one that I had been really looking forward to reading this year. It's a newer release and one that I was really looking forward to, but I have some qualms with it. And that's A Better World by Sarah Langan. Yeah. And I don't know if it was their first book, but Good Neighbors. Is that what it was called?

[Tina]

Yes.

[Hannah]

Yeah, I know. That was a very divisive book. Some people really liked it and some people really didn't. Tina, I think you were in the camp of, I did not like that book.

[Tina]

I did not like that book.

[Hannah]

Okay. I don't know if I would say I hated this one, but I didn't love it. So let me tell you a little bit more about it. This book follows a family as the patriarch. Russell has lost his job and they are looking for a better life. An opportunity arises for them to be able to join this very exclusive community. And it also comes with employment for the father, so. Sounds perfect. On top of that, it looks like the mother, Linda, might also have an opportunity to start practicing medicine again as a local pediatrician. When the family moves in and they start to integrate more within the community. It becomes clear pretty quickly that there is something really weird happening within this community. And not only that, but it actually might be something that's quite sinister. So I usually really like books like this that, you know, they take place within this exclusive environment. And it's also dystopian, which I didn't mention, but it does take place place in the future. Part of why this community sounds so appealing to this family is because the world is in crisis. And I believe it's nuclear crisis in the book, but it's something like that. Nuclear, slash, chemical crisis. And this community seems to give like a freedom and respite from that. And I like books like that. It hits a lot of boxes for me, you know, climate fiction, this exclusive community, kind of maybe almost culty vibes. However, the reason why this didn't end up working for me is a. It felt a little bit empty. Like there wasn't really a deeper conversation happening here that was concise enough for me to be like, okay, yeah, here is the purpose of this book and also the characters. Now, I don't need to like all of my characters, but I do need for them to have a reason to be really unlikable, right? Like, oh, this is a character that you love to hate. Or, oh, this character is really messy, but, like, this is a coming of age story. This wasn't like that. This was just characters that I just really did not enjoy reading from their perspective. And they also felt kind of empty. And ultimately I didn't really feel like we got the answers that we needed for what was going on. And when we did, they seemed pretty ridiculous and just not. They weren't plot choices that I agreed with as a reader. So really good and promising setup. And unfortunately, I did not enjoy the execution. I think that if you want a more positive spin on a book like this and similar to this, you could read A Perfect World by Kevin Wilson. This one is definitely less thrillery and more contemporary fiction, but very similar setup where there's kind of this exclusive community and it's set in the future and some weird things happen. But everything in that book made sense and I really liked it. It's what made me think that I might like this one too. But unfortunately I didn't. And that was A Better World by Sarah Langan.

[Tina]

All right, you know, and they can't all be winners. I. I know, I know. I hate when that happens, though. And you're like, you were obviously interested enough. I loved the premise of that One I was actually tempted. Despite not really enjoying her last book, I was curious about it. So. You know what? Thanks for helping me process what I might think about it.

[Hannah]

Yeah, for sure.

[Tina]

All right. We will end things here with our shelf editions. I am bringing you a book that's coming out in October. It's called Like Mother. Like Mother by Susan Rieger. And this is a novel about three generations of strong willed women unknowingly shaped by the secrets buried in their family's past. You've got family secrets? You know, I love that. It's set in Detroit in 1960, where Lila is two years old when her angry, abusive father has her mother committed to an asylum. And she never sees her mother again. Three decades later, having mastered everything she has brains, charm, talent, and blonde hair, Lila rises to the pinnacle of American media as the powerful, brilliant executive editor of the Washington Globe. She unapologetically prioritizes her career, leaving the rearing of her daughters to her generous husband, Joe. He doesn't mind until he does. But then you follow Grace, who is Lila's youngest daughter, and she feels abandoned. She wishes her mother would attend PTA meetings, not White House correspondence dinners. As she grows up, she can't shake that resentment. She wants out from under Lila's shadow. And yet the more she resists, the more Lila seems to shape her life. Grace also becomes a successful reporter and publishes a best selling book about her mother. And in the process of writing it, she realizes how little she knows about her own family. What happened to her grandmother? Did she die in the asylum? His refusal to look back, the only way to create a future. How can you ever be yourself if you don't know where you came from? So this book is going to span generations. You've got complex, unforgettable characters, and obviously one of the major themes in here is going to be motherhood. So if that sounds interesting, it comes out on October 29th. And that is Like Mother. Like Mother from Susan Rieger.

[Hannah]

Yeah, this is one that's been on my radar for a couple of months now. It sounds really good. I love motherhood stories. I know you do too. And I also love stories that explore, like, where you came from and kind of digging into your past to figure out how to move forward. So that's a really good pick and one that I'm looking forward to as well. And the COVID is really cool.

[Tina]

Cover is really good. Yep. Yeah, A lot of those, like, art faces on covers.

[Hannah]

Yeah.

[Tina]

Kind of like Blue Sisters. I've seen this quite a bit.

[Hannah]

Yeah. And Even. I mean, Cleopatra and Frankenstein, the other book by Coco Mellors also kind of had that similar style too. Yeah, I'm seeing that a lot also. And I. I like it. I feel like in most cases. Okay, so mine is one that just hit my doorstep today, and that is Fang Fiction by Kate Stamen London. Yeah, this one just sounds really fun. Vampires are really making a comeback, and I'm kind of here for it. I've, you know, enjoyed some and not enjoyed others, but this is by the same author who wrote One to Watch, which was just a contemporary romance that was pretty popular a couple of years ago. This one is. Yes, Avant. A fantasy. What is a fantasy? A vampire fantasy. Oh, my gosh. Okay, so this one follows Tess Rosenbloom, who is no stranger to the dark. She is an assault survivor and a grad school dropout, and she spends her nights managing this chic Brooklyn hotel, and then she spends her days reading her favorite vampire novels. So sounds like this one is going to be kind of meta, too. And I. I love that when a book can be kind of self aware. Kind of sounds like this one might have that a little bit. She even dabbles in online conspiracies, claiming that Blood Feud, one of her favorite vampire novels, is real. And deep down, Tess doesn't believe that vampires actually exist. But one day, one walks right through her door, and it turns out that this is the villain of Blood Feud. And he's trapped, and Tess is the only one who can rescue him. So, you know, she's eager to escape her own life. She is kind of in this, you know, quarter life crisis, and she agrees to help. And soon she's on this secret island where the sun never shines, and she's surrounded by deadly vampires. And most terrifying of all, she is falling in love with one of them. This sounds so fun and just different. I think definitely. Probably a book to not be taken too seriously. And I love that there is a romance tie in, since that's what Kate Stedman, Kate Stamen London is known for. I'm excited to try this one out. And that is Fang Fiction by Kate Stamen London.

[Tina]

I hope you do. That one does sound really fun. I was like, ooh, I remember seeing the COVID of that one. I'm like, all right. It sounds like an interesting twist on, you know, something we've read before.

[Hannah]

I agree.

[Tina]

All right, well, that's everything, folks. Goodbye.

[Hannah]

And cutscene.

[Tina]

Okay. All right, 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 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 would like access to exclusive bonus content and community, you can 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 Instagram and tinabreceter and hannahdpickedbooks. Talk to you next week. In the meantime, remember, everything's better with books.

[Tina]

I've got the vision I need to start and actualize it. If that lady stop following up with me. Stop it. I don't listen, this is not my full time job. Not my full time job, babe. Okay, but we'll get there.