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- [00:00]
A
My friend, she has a bachelorette party coming and she was waiting for our prices on the hotel to come down. On the Friday we're supposed to go to dinner. Do you want to take a stab at what one hotel room in Chicago Lollapalooza weekend costs?
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B
650.
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A
$800.
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B
No way.
- [00:18]
A
800 a night. Correct.
- [00:23]
B
For like a basic room. Like a two Queen?
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A
A double. Exactly.
- [00:27]
B
Yeah.
- [00:28]
A
I was like, okay, well, yeah, hopefully Patreon does their thing. Welcome to Book Talk Etc, a podcast bound to grow your TBR. I'm Tina from TBR, etc.
- [00:48]
B
And I'm Hannah from Hand Picked Books.
- [00:50]
A
This is a conversational podcast about books and more from two Midwest Mood readers who are easily distracted by new releases and and today we are tackling our tbr.
- [01:00]
B
If you enjoy listening, we'd love for you to follow us on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app. And if you have a quick minute, please consider leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts or sharing us on social media. It truly helps us connect with other book lovers.
- [01:13]
A
Hey everyone. It is the start of a brand new month so we wanted to take the time to invite you to join us on Patreon. Our Patreon Group is such a wonderful, supportive community of readers and if you've ever wanted your reading to be more of a social experience, this is a great way to find that connection. Becoming a Becoming a Patron is a great way. Becoming a patron is also a way to financially support our podcast, to meet other readers, and of course get access to our exclusive Bonus content. For $5 a month, you get access to two bonus episodes per month and one live event, as well as invites to our BTE Discord server, Facebook Group and our monthly community Read. You also have access to everything we've created since we started, which at this point is many, many years of content. For July, for our community read, we're going to be reading the Shampoo Effect by Jenny Jackson and we will be recording two bonus episodes, one Book Talk After Dark and then one of our what's in the Mailbag episodes. We're also hosting a reading Sprint, so if you're Interested, head to patreon.com booktalk etc or look for the link in our show notes. Thank you for your support. Hi Hannah, how are you?
- [02:22]
B
Hi Tina. I'm doing okay. Getting ready for probably a busy, very hot weekend. How are you?
- [02:30]
A
Oh, I'm medium. I'm fine. It's very hot here as well. We are heading into the 4th of July weekend and hopefully we don't get any of the storms that they've predicted, so I'm not sure. We're kind of keeping an eye on it, but we have swimming plans, and I'm like, I really want to go swimming. So we'll see if that holds up or if we're stuck ins.
- [02:52]
B
Who's to say we have blueberry picking plans as well? So, yeah, the local blueberry place close to us or not blueberry only, but, like, berry picking place opens tomorrow, which is July 4th, and they're doing like a pancake breakfast, and then you can go pick blueberries. So we would like to do that.
- [03:13]
A
So cute.
- [03:14]
B
So fun. I. Because I'm kind of feeling that as opposed to a parade. Sometimes we go to the parade, but yeah, I'm feeling that this year. So hopefully it doesn't rain.
- [03:22]
A
Hopefully it doesn't rain. We've got a parade. It's at, like, the end of our block, so we usually walk over there because it's like, we can basically hear it from our porch. So, yeah, I'm excited to spend time with family and friends, but I do. I do like a parade. I gotta. I gotta say, I do like a parade now and again.
- [03:38]
B
Yeah, me too. We can't walk to hours, so sometimes it's a question of do I want to pack up. Oh, the kids, the snack, the water bottles, the umbrellas, you know, all that stuff.
- [03:49]
A
Yeah. You're like, that's consideration. Never mind. Blueberry pancakes. It is. We actually love. John was talking about making a trip up to Michigan specifically for blueberries because we went last year for our friend's bachelorette party, and they. The. The group that went out the next day got these massive things of blueberries. And we were so jealous because we didn't stay that second day. So now we're like, how can we. We'll squeeze it in somewhere. We got blueberries down here, but they're not the same. They're not. They're not as good.
- [04:17]
B
There you come later in the season when they're like, extra ripe, fresher.
- [04:22]
A
Oh, my God. Apparently my youngest is now a connoisseur of fruit. Yesterday she was eating. I gave her like, a little watermelon dessert, and she's eating it and she goes, ma, this watermelon's not sweet, mind you. She's two. I was like, okay, Got it noted.
- [04:35]
B
Not the freshest watermelon she's had.
- [04:37]
A
Not my best work. It's not my best work. I'm so sorry. At any rate, speaking of children, my loving, lately I am very Proud of myself for. Because I don't know about you and your algo rhythm, but it always pushes to me these really fun things you can do with your kids for summer. And I always take a screenshot, and then I immediately forget about it. However, not this summer, baby. I've done two things that made it from my screenshots in my phone into real life, and I wanted to share them on the podcast in case you are, you know, hanging with your kids this summer and wanted a couple ideas. The first one, I think I showed you, Hannah, it is a summer bucket list. So. So I had already pretty much all the materials. I had, like, a big butcher paper rollout thing. So we rolled out a big thing of butcher paper, and then at the top, I wrote summer bucket list, and the girls colored it. And then we made little squares for things we want to do this summer. For example, blueberry picking, going to the splash pad. You know, all the little things that you would like to potentially get to this summer. So I put them. I made little squares, and then I. Instead of just checking a box, Hannah and I both have these mini printers that we love to use, and I've been printing out photos from the thing. So now I have these little boxes with the girls doing the activity that we imagined we would do. It's super fun. If you're watching us on YouTube, I'll put some B roll in here so you can see our progress thus far. I also really like it because it's a visual reminder of, like, hey, what. What should we do today? Oh, let's cross off the little box off the list. You know, I love a list. The other thing I did was, in part for my oldest birthday, we had a bunch of kids over in the backyard, and I really. I wanted a water table, but the one I had is, like, broken. And I'm like, thinking, okay, what could I do? So I have these really long bins that are really long. I would say about the size of, like, a wardrobe. Like, maybe I'm not good with measurement. Just know that it's a very long one, and the top, like, folds up on either side, and I'm like, what if I put water in here and just threw a bunch of stuff in it? So that's what we did. I got the tub out, and I got a pool. Pool noodle from Dollar Tree. I cut it up into little, little pieces. Little. What are these called? Squares? Yeah. You know. No, circles.
- [06:52]
B
Circles.
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A
Little circles.
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B
I was like, what are you getting at?
- [06:55]
A
I know those. You know, I made, like, Little circle, little donuts, if you will.
- [06:59]
B
Yeah.
- [06:59]
A
And added just like ladles and like a bowl for scooping. And I'm like, I don't know, is this dumb? No, this was the talk of the town. I mean all the little kids were playing, specifically our 2 year old. When I tell you this child did not come in the for the party the in entire time. She has the best tan line now. She wouldn't come inside, she would not. Finally like at the end of the party, she's like fisting a hot dog because she had not eaten. Because she would not come inside and take a break. So all of this to say, you know, these little activities, you think, oh, that looks fun. I'll probably never get around to it. I don't know. These two worked for me and I feel like they were low lift to set up. So my loving lately is a little DIY fun summer crafts that I've been doing with my kids.
- [07:41]
B
Yeah, I love that. I think I brought as a loving lately a while back, this book that my daughter was really into called 101 Things to Do Screen Free or something like that. And this is exactly the kind of thing that are in like books like that and you can find tons of ideas on Pinterest and like you said in your algorithm and things like that. And I cosign do the thing, actually go out, get the craft paper or the mini pool or whatever it takes because it really does relieve your summer. And we all know us, you know, parents who are at home with our kids all summer need that little break every once in a while. So what a great recommendation. And actually Tina, exactly. I took that summer bucket list idea from you and we are doing it as well. I don't have any paper, so we're gonna literally go out to Michael's or something later and grab like a banner sized, you know, craft paper or something like that that we can use.
- [08:38]
A
Perfect. Yeah.
- [08:40]
B
So I'm really excited. So thanks for that, for that idea. We stole that one from you as well.
- [08:44]
A
Yay. I want to see it when it's done.
- [08:46]
B
I sure will show you my loving lately. I'm also bringing like two things. You brought a couple of crafts. I am bringing two documentaries and one of them I was like, well, I don't know if I can really call this a loving lately because man, it was rough. And that is the documentary on Netflix called Maternal Instinct. And Tina, I think I messaged you about this one and then you did follow up about it, which classic me being like, have you heard about this and then someone being like, no. And then I never follow up. But you get to hear about.
- [09:21]
A
You're like, got it. Moving on.
- [09:24]
B
Well, you get to hear about it now. But maternal instinct is a psychological deep dive into a years long web of deception by the one and only Taylor Parker. And she is a pathological liar. And she ends up faking a pregnancy in order to maintain relationships in her life. Yeah.
- [09:50]
A
Have you ever seen this lady? Yeah, well, I've seen photos floating around. There's like, she had like, threw herself a baby shower. Right. For a fake pregnancy. Oh, yeah.
- [09:57]
B
A gender reveal. Gender reveal, yes. All of that stuff. And you think that you understand because the start of the documentary flashes forward and you see a flash forward into some things that happen. And then you go back in time and they're like, okay, let's rewind. Let's go back to the beginning and see how we got here. So you think that you kind of understand, like, oh, I think that image or that scene that we saw in the beginning, I think this is what happened. It is. I'm just saying it went in directions that I was not expecting. It is really, really scary and just a terrifying thing that ends up happening. So definitely watch at your own risk and know your limits going into this one. But I did just find this story really fascinating and a really interesting deep dive into how far a pathological lia will go to get people to just believe them even when they know that they aren't telling the truth. And so it was just a really fascinating story. My husband and I watched it together. We talked about it for like an hour after we finished watching it. So it definitely brings up a lot to discuss as well. The other documentary is also on Netflix. It's called the crash. These two documentaries were like just taking up space in my TikTok feed. And I was like, I need to finally just watch these. So this was the second one that I watched, watched. And this one follows the 2022 case of Mackenzie Shurilla, who was an Ohio teenager who drove her car into a brick building going 100 miles an hour, resulting in the deaths of two passengers, one being her boyfriend and one being one of her best friends. And this one, this one was more emotional for sure, because in the beginning, really the first 30 minutes, you're really getting a deep dive into these teenagers and who they were. And you already know what happen and it's just so heartbreaking. But really you are kind of trying to piece together, did Mackenzie do this on purpose or was this an accident? And they go through kind of who these kids were, who Mackenzie was. And then you do get to see the before and the aftermath of the crash. And then you also get to see pieces of the investigation that are put together and you get to see her trial as well. And there is, there's not that much of a polarizing case as to whether people believe that Mackenzie did it or not. I think a lot of people kind of land on one side of that coin. I will leave you with the fact that I think that she's guilty, but you'll just have to watch and see and find out why I think that to come to your own conclusions. So both just really interesting, fascinating documentaries. The first one being Maternal Instincts and the other one being the Crash. And those are both on Netflix.
- [13:07]
A
Both of those sound incredible and I'm glad you explained them because I, you know, folks know I don't watch a ton of tv, but I catch things online and I'm like, what is this? What's exactly happening? Where do I find it? But then I don't know what to search because I'm like, what am I looking up? You know? And that's like when you asked me what is it called? The Perfect Mother or something?
- [13:26]
B
Maternal instinct.
- [13:28]
A
Totally wrong, but maternal instinct. I was like searching it and I'm like, you mean the movie from 2018? Like, surely that's not what she's asking me about. But anyway, I'm glad that you, I can always count on you to bring good documentaries and those I will certainly consider adding to my list. Speaking of documentaries, I feel like my latest read could be a perfect Netflix if it was real. It didn't really happen. It's fiction. But it read like a documentary. It is the Truth about Ruby Cooper by Liz Nugent. You may have heard of Liz Nugent before. She is somebody that I've been reading for a while, but she got pretty popular here in the US with Strange Sally Diamond, a book that I think is just perfect. So I was really, really excited to pick this one up. This is actually not out yet in the US now that I'm thinking about it. I ordered it from Blackwell's. It does not come out until September, but I couldn't wait. I had to get a copy of it and it, the synopsis is kind of interesting. It just says if my sister hadn't been beautiful, none of it would have happened. Ruby Cooper and her sister Aaron live an idyllic life in their close knit church community in Boston. But When Ruby is 16, she is involved in an incident that causes her family's world to implod across decades. The fallout leaves a wake of destruction behind Ruby in Dublin and Aaron in Boston. Not that Ruby wants to think about the past, but the past can't stay a secret forever. So you're really not getting a ton from the synopsis. I will say, like, yes, that's what happens in this, but I think this story goes a lot deeper than that. If you like complicated sisters stories, I highly recommend this one. Now I will say maybe search up content warnings on storygraph because it's very much about one specific incident that happened and that could be tough for some folks to read. But I was like, okay. And then at the same time, that's what I like about Liz Nugent's writing is that she pushes the envelope, man. She is like the only writer that I can think of that would pull this story off. If I'm not being clear, I loved it. I love everything she writes. So it really, really works for it's dual point of view. You're also following these characters for many years, not just in their teenage years, which worked for me quite well because you're really getting to see the long lasting effects of what traumatic incidences can have on a family, can have on a person and can have on a community. I just feel like the author, you're following both women in this story and they're not perfect characters certainly have flaws, but she really did a great job getting me to care about even the unlikable ones. There were some surprises in here and I will say some of it I'm like, okay, I think it's going to go this way. And maybe I was right. But I love that any twists or reveals that were there were well earned. It did not feel cheap. It didn't feel like it was just throwing in there just for what have you. But again, there are a couple of things in here. One of the characters really goes deep into rock bottom and you get that on the page. I. I really loved this. It's a hard one to recommend because I don't know you listener, if you have like this one. I think if you don't mind unlikable characters. Again, if you like complex sister stories, if you like exploration of trauma. I really liked the Dublin Boston dual setting. I thought that was really interesting. It's also a family story and again, sort of the things that happen, how families are connected and how if something happens to one of the members, it can totally affect the rest of the folks as well. I loved it. I really did. Boy, oh boy, is it a hard book to say you loved because it's pretty twisted, but I really, really liked it. I think her characterization is unmatched. She really, really does a great job with characters and it is a classic example of what I like to call literary suspense. So all of this to say, I highly recommend it and I enjoyed it very much. It's the Truth About Ruby Cooper by Liz Nugent.
- [17:36]
B
I was so glad you loved that one. I know you were really looking forward to getting it. I actually recently just got a book from an author that I know that I really enjoy from Blackwell's because it's releasing. It's already released in the UK and we don't get it until next year. So I just did the same thing.
- [17:57]
A
That's a great hack to order from Blackwell's if it came out in the UK first. And also they have free shipping to the us. It's like amazing and you might like their covers better. Yes, we so today's episode we're doing Tackling the tbr. You might remember, I think we announced it maybe a couple episodes ago where we are focusing on the books that we own and we were asking our patrons to submit prompts and I was like, you know what, I can submit my own prompt. So I submitted books we bought from Blackwell's. So we'll do it next time we do our poll. Perhaps that will be the one that comes up.
- [18:27]
B
Yeah, I'm excited. I have a lot of Blackwell's books that I have purchased that I definitely need to prioritize to the top of my tbr. So hopefully that is one that gets to gets pulled here soon, within the next few months. But my latest read also comes with its share of content warnings. So this one is Saculina by Philip Fracassi and this is my first by this author. I know that he's a very well known author in the horror space. I know. Tina, you have read a couple of his books I think, that you have brought to the show. I wanted to start out with a novella because I feel like sometimes these are great ways to discover if you enjoy an author's writing or not. This one is about Jim's big brother Jack and this family of men and boys. And Jack has been released from prison and the brothers, along with their broken father and Jack's menacing best friend, decide to charter on an ocean fishing boat to celebrate Jack's new freedom. But the small crew is far out at sea and once they are of course far out at sea and away from all help that could possibly come to them. A mutant species rises from the deep abysmal darkness to terrorize the vessel and its occupants. This is. That's all I'm going to say about that one because this is a very short novel. It's only about 130 pages.
- [19:54]
A
Is.
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B
It's a novella, not a novel. And that is really all you need to know about what to expect going into this perfect summer novella. It is extremely fast paced. It takes place on a fishing boat. So the atmosphere I just felt like was perfect. Peak summer reading if you enjoy a creature feature with a lot of body horror. I kept thinking about the troop while I was reading this one. And I'm not going to say specifically why, but this felt in a lot of ways like a very condensed version of the troop, but set at sea. The monsters are these mutated parasitic barnacles and they are just so deeply unsettling and gross. While this was a fast paced body horror novella, it does tackle some themes of. Of grief, battling cancer, death. And while it doesn't go into these themes very overtly, it is clear that they are there. So content warnings there. If those are some topics that you don't like to read about, that is definitely in this particular story. One issue that threw me off is that there is a dual timeline piece. And for a book that is this short, I didn't think that that was necessary. I would have been happier if we'd kept it all in the present. It let's just keep us on the boat. And I would have. I would have been happier if they'd. If this author had left it there. However, this was like a high three star read for me. I don't know if that makes sense for people who rate books. I feel like sometimes it's like a low three star, sometimes a high. This felt like a really high three star read for me. One that left me happy that I'd read it. I felt like it was a great summer read. And you know, for a book this short, I would call that a thumbs up and I would recommend it if you enjoy horror and you have a Kindle Unlimited subscription. This is available on Kindle Unlimited. You could read it in an hour or two. So that was Sacculina by Philip Frakassi.
- [22:01]
A
I'm glad you read this book. Have you read Philip Frikassi before?
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B
No, this was my introduction to his work.
- [22:08]
A
Okay. I think that's. Yeah, I think you did say that. I've read one by him, the Boys in the Valley, and I was very impressed by his writing. Hardcore agree, though, that it's like, gory. You're getting. He goes there, if you will.
- [22:22]
B
Yes. And I. I actually, I didn't bring this up in my review and I meant to. I'm going to pull up a text from my friend Emma because we. This was one of our buddy reads that we did together in the month of June, and we were kind of like, live texting each other as we were reading. So one of the things that I texted her as we were kind of of live tweeting each other is this is definitely a little bit of a bro horror book, but I'm not hating it. And then I put in quotes, it's like the ocean farted something wicked and we're standing right on her. And I was like, I could have done without that, but otherwise really enjoyed it.
- [23:06]
A
Hannah, I thought you were quoting yourself that you texted that to your friend. I'm like, hannah, this is a weird quote to. Oh, yes, this is from the book.
- [23:16]
B
It's like bro horror, right? Where it's like farts and butts and all that stuff.
- [23:21]
A
Yeah, no, And I can't stand that when I come across a book and it's like, oh, my God, how many poop jokes are you going to make? Like, it doesn't make any sense, given what we're reading. Hannah, I swear to you, I was thinking, I'm like, how am I going to. How am I going to resist? I'm glad to hear that it was Kassi's quote and not your quote from your text.
- [23:40]
B
Yes, yes. So anyway, I was like, I could have done without that. But onward is what he said.
- [23:46]
A
But onward. Let's keep pushing, baby. Well, I'm glad to hear that you brought that one. I am excited to now dive into a little bit of book talk before we tell you about the books we pulled again. I said this earlier, but I'm. I think we're both very excited about our new series, Tackling the TBR Shelf. I cannot tell you how satisfied I am that I've read books that I own. I know groundbreaking, like, sounds like the silliest thing to say, but behind me, if you're looking, I have my TBR shelf. Right. And it's organized, but I'm, like, looking. I gotta redo it a little bit and, like, call some things and whatnot. But the both of the books that I'm bringing are purple. I can't tell you how satisfied I am that I'm like, oh, my gosh, I read purple books now. They get to go upstairs. Yes. It's a whole thing. Anyway, it feels very nice to read books that we own, even if they aren't the perfect read. I'm like, at least now I know.
- [24:43]
B
Yeah, now I know. I can either put them in a little free library, and they're just done. They're off my shelf. And that alone feels so good. And I also feel like it's a good opportunity, too, as we're doing this. I know I've already done this once where I pulled one of my Book of the Month books off, and I was like, this one's an absolutely not. I only made it, you know, five pages in. And I was like, we're gonna kick her out. And that was so good, too. Even though I didn't finish it, it was still an opportunity for me to take a book off my shelves that I tried. Didn't work. It was a dnf.
- [25:17]
A
I DNF one for this episode, too. And you're right. There is something to it, right? Where you're like, okay, our only focus for this week is we're. We have to read something we own and whatever topic it is that we happen to pull. And it's nice because then it's like your brain's like, okay, no, literally, do you want to read this book right in this moment? If not, then donate it, probably. You don't need to hang on to it for the end until the end of time. And both of mine are ones that I've had for my goodness. One says March 2018. I know. The other one is really been around for a while as well. Next, we are going to share our statistics and gentle listeners, please. I'm fragile. Don't judge me for the number I'm about to share. Okay. I'm sharing in the spirit of With Love, promoting literacy. Okay. So I have. And mind you, I've also been a member of Book of the month since January 2017. The first books I ordered actually were Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk and all the Ugly and Wonderful Things. Love both of those. So great early picks on my part. I have purchased 159 total book of the Month books.
- [26:28]
B
That sounds about right. Sure. That sounds about right.
- [26:31]
A
It's about right. And again, this is a part of my job. I don't need to justify it, but I'm gonna. I feel exposed saying that. However, of the 159 that I own, prior to this episode, I had read 91. And that gives us. Okay, that's good 57% read rate, which I'm Actually fine with. I'm like, that's not so bad. That's not so bad.
- [26:54]
B
No, that's not.
- [26:54]
A
I feel a little better now. I feel a little better now having gotten. It's a. Weightlifted a little bit.
- [27:00]
B
Yes. I am not currently a member anymore. And what was really frustrating as we were prepping for this episode is that I did log into my app and I logged into my account that I had used. I'd been a member since 2017 and I've been a member on and off.
- [27:13]
A
Yeah.
- [27:14]
B
But I did officially cancel last year just because I noticed that I wasn't reading a ton of the books. And at the time we were getting ready to move and I was like, you know, this could be a book burden that I took off of my. My sagging shelves for a little bit. And I just never rejoined for no particular reason other than it hasn't called back to me yet. But because I canceled last year, I wasn't able to look at any of my stats.
- [27:41]
A
Oh, that's really a bummer. That's so annoying.
- [27:44]
B
I do have some, though. First of all, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I have. I have purchased over a hundred as well because there was a period of time where I was getting way too many add ons every month as well. And times where I was getting like, you used to be able to get all of them so you could get five books in a box. I don't know if they still do that. I think they limit you now.
- [28:08]
A
They have like various. Actually they have varied numbers, like depending on how long you've been a member. I just saw somebody say in a. In a Facebook group that I want to say they, they upped it for some people. They're like rolling out. Ten. They're rolling out. Oh my gosh. I was like, how big is that box? One. And also that's a lot of books in a month.
- [28:27]
B
But anyway, it's $10 a book as an add on though, so.
- [28:30]
A
I know, I know.
- [28:31]
B
You know, that is so tempting because otherwise it's $30 to. To get a new hardback. But I did count the ones that I have at home and then the ones that I have on my shelf that I've read. So I have on my TBR shelf of books that I haven't donated. Ones that I've decided to keep that are still on my shelves that I got from Book of the month, I have 27. And then ones that I have already read that I have decided to keep on my Shelf because I really enjoyed them and I either want to give them away or reread them at some point and that number is 17. So that is bearing in mind that I have donated a ton of Book of the Month books. Books. I've DNF'd a ton of Book of the month books and I've also read a bunch of them and then decided that I was gonna go ahead and kick them out. I'm not gonna reread them, they were three stars or lower, et cetera. So knowing that I have like almost 30 on my TBR shelf and then almost 20 that I've read, that's 50 right there. And I know that I have donated a ton like I said, et cetera, et cetera. So over a hundred for sure in my Book of the month history. But 27 on my TBR is still a significant am excited that it is now down to 25.
- [29:45]
A
Wait a minute. That feels manageable though. You know, like I feel like you could get that. I feel like you could read all of those. Like that's kind of exciting.
- [29:53]
B
I could potentially get my membership again. Is it's a potential.
- [29:57]
A
Maybe that's your reward.
- [29:59]
B
Maybe that's my reward that if I, if I get through those then maybe I can join Book of the Month again.
- [30:05]
A
There you go. I don't know how many of the 159 that I still own because similarly for a long time I kept every single one and then I was like okay, this is getting out of hand. So I have donated some and things like that. But I feel like I can do better. I can get up to 100. You know, I did just order one this month though in July. To be fair, it is our community read. So I ordered the Shampoo Effect and that was kind of great. I was like wow, I can use my credit. Moving on. Like I didn't get any add ons or anything. So now I'm up to 160. But I will definitely read this one and so my stats will improve. One of the things that I noticed that Book of the Month has been doing Hannah and I don't know if you've been able to even glean this because you're. They do restrict your membership and I think that's like a part of the kind of downside of it is you can't see your own history which I find frustrating. However, they have been doing this series of Book of the Month centennial editions. So essentially they are re releasing books that still celebrate their legacy. Books they discovered early believed in Deeply and still stand by. I am super into it. The problem is some of that they sell out really, really fast. So I know last month they had a centennial edition of the Catcher in the Rye and I'm kind of mad that I did not pick that up. I know that's such a like, polarizing book. I happened to really like it when I read it. I also would love a copy of Native Son. That one is sold out. One that I did get that I considered reading for this episode but I didn't get to is all quite on the Western front, which I'm like, that is so cool that they. That book was picked by Book of the Month as one of their selections. And yeah, and I love too, if you're like in the website, they're giving you some of the cultural history of like when this book took place. Etc.
- [31:53]
B
Yeah, I didn't realize how long Book of the Month had been around. It has been a book order, a book mail order service since 1926.
- [32:02]
A
Incredible. So it's literally a centennial. It's 100 years, man. Anyway, I have been. I enjoy my membership. You know, like you said, you do get books kind of at a discount. But then a piece of me is really thinking, gosh, you could have used the money you spent at Book of the Month on an independent bookstore. So I really do have to think about that and evaluate. At any rate, I am still a member and I'm glad that I picked up and I'm glad that we're doing this project because it encouraged me to read some of the ones that I have been hanging on to for quite some time.
- [32:34]
B
Yes, I completely agree. I will just close with saying that I found on the wonderful place of Reddit a historical list of. I think it's pretty holistic, but a historical database of all of the Book of the Month books. I do think that there are some years that are missing, but it is pretty holistic and I enjoyed browsing through this Google Sheets database. So I will link that in our show notes for anyone that is curious or wants to bookmark that chat for their future TBRs you.
- [33:07]
A
Yes, we'll definitely link to that because I want to see it as well. I'm very curious to see what all is in there.
- [33:13]
B
Yeah. Okay. Well, shall we dive in to the books that we read for this challenge?
- [33:18]
A
Yes, let's dive right in, listeners. I feel like I am. We're on a lag, so I'm reacting. If I'm reacting a little slowly or we're not quite hitting our Notes like we normally do. It's because I'm like, trying to anticipate. I'm like, okay, here's what she's going to say. Say it's a whole thing. Listen, it's hot. Our Internet. My Internet's hot. It's like, let's just get the show on the road. My Internet's hot. It's firing at all cylinders. But I will tell you about the first book that I read for this challenge. It is a book called not that I Could Tell by Jessica Strasser. And I really, really enjoy the COVID Quite frankly, this is probably the reason why I grabbed it. The COVID is purple. I never have enough purple books. And it has these two Adirondack chairs. There's a fire, and two wine glasses. I'm like, I want to come over. What's happening here? I would love to come and find out. So this one is domestic suspense. And it says everyone knows something about everyone else in the quirky small town of Yellow Springs in Ohio. But no one can make sense of the disappearance. Kristen was a sociable twin mom, college administrator, and doctor's wife who didn't seem all that bothered by her impending divorce. And what happens in the beginning of this book? The women were at this bonfire that's on the front, drinking, gossiping, having a good time. And then the next day, you come to see that Kristen is gone and so are her children. Children. And there is an investigation, naturally. And it comes up with more questions than answers. You're following Paul, of course, the husband at the center of it, her closest neighbor, Clara and Izzy. And there's some other folks in there as well. And the two main friends, Clara and Izzy, are sort of on opposite ends of suspicion. Clara has had some trauma in her past, and this missing neighbor is triggering some things for her. And she has her suspic. The husband, Izzy, is newer to the group. And she's pretty determined not to jump to any conclusions because she's dealing with stuff at work. And she kind of has her own crises. She's managing. And she's like, let's not be too hasty here. Of course, as you might imagine, the police investigation turns into a media circus to a cold case. And it essentially forces the neighbors to re examine what's going on behind closed doors. Now, I grabbed this one because I needed an easy win. I needed a thriller or, you know, suspenseful. No. Were setting up for our daughter's birthday party, and I was like, okay, I need something. Also, I was coming off of having read Land by Maggie o'. Farrell. So I was like, I need something easy that I can just really sink into. I saw that this one was comped to Big Little Lies, which I really, really like. Okay. And I think it's a fine novel of domestic suspense. It is a motherhood story. It wasn't particularly graphic. And so I would say if you want a domestic suspense that's not brutal or not overly graphic, except for one ra. Random scene that kind of annoyed me because, like, I'm like, oh, I could recommend this to people that don't like a lot of traumatic scenes. And then they threw in this one really odd one that was. Made sense. And I was like, dang it. I would say, though, you could still pick this up. It sort of was a little bit frothier, I think, than I was expecting. Of course, you have the suspicions and you've got the red herrings and, like, who did it? The neighbors are gossiping. I actually quite liked that piece. They're all, like, meeting at the one woman's house, like, to talk about the neighbor that's missing. They're kind of, like, gossiping with each other. You also get to visit these different areas in their small town. One of the neighbors owns a clothing store. And it was kind of fun. I, like, felt like we were in this town together. Yeah. But overall, I am a seasoned thriller reader, and I don't know that this one added anything to the canon that I was not expecting. Like, I wouldn't say that. This is like a super twisty one. I think it was entertaining. I thought it was really great for summer. Again, if you like your culdesac novels or domestic suspense novels, you might enjoy this. I liked it fine. It helped me pass the time and I'm giving it three stars. But that book is not that I could tell Jessica Strasser.
- [37:26]
B
Sometimes you just need those three star books that'll help you pass the time. Especially coming off of a. A book like you mentioned, like, Land where it is. It is heavy. It is descriptive, and even if you love that, sometimes you just need a little break afterward, so.
- [37:44]
A
Exactly. It was a very pairing, you know, given having just Red Land, I was like, okay, I feel like I reset. Now I can move on.
- [37:50]
B
Yeah, I love that. Okay. I'm also bringing a thriller. And this one is you're invited by Amanda Jayatissa. So this one is about Amaya, who is invited to Kavi's over the top wedding in Sri Lanka. And she is surprised and a little hurt to hear from her former best friend after so many years, years of complete radio silence. But when Amaya learns that the groom is her very own ex boyfriend, she is consumed by a single thought. She must stop the wedding from happening, no matter the cost. But as the week long wedding celebrations begin and the rumors about Amaya's past begin to swirl, she can't help but feel like she has a target on her back. And then Kavi goes missing right before the wedding and is presumed dead. And all evidence is starting to point to, to Amaya. I'm going to leave it there. As we all know, I am not a huge thriller reader, but this one I genuinely really enjoyed. It's kind of long, it's like 376 or so pages, which I feel like is a little bit long for a thriller, but I just really had a good time with this one. I also think that this one is perfect for summer. It is set primarily in Colombo, Sri Lanka with the specific events taking place at this really lavish five star beach resort with a bunch of rich people behaving pretty badly. And I just think that that is such a perfect summer vibe. This one reminded me so much of A season of White Lotus and it made me really hope that we get a season of White Lotus set in a place like or in Sri Lanka. I just think that that would be so juicy and so good. But if you are kind of looking for a book that will scratch that itch as we wait for a new season of White Lotus, I think that this would be the perfect thing to pick up. Amaya, our main character, is one that is a little bit hard to understand at first. She suffers from severe anxiety and it is unclear in the beginning exactly what she is so paranoid about. But her background of course slowly unfolds as the story moves along and I thought that that was really well done and I thought the pacing of that was really great. In the second half of book we also get other characters perspectives on things, which was another way to allow the reader to try and piece together more pieces of the puzzle through a different lens. And I thought that that added a really just. It added some nice movement to the plot overall and I really enjoyed that. The twists were fun in my opinion. There was one element at the end that I was like, okay, that was not necessary. And we could have still had a good twist without that, that. But I was still pleased how everything went down in the end. A lot goes on, it's very messy and everything kind of gets turned on its head and I, I really enjoy that in a thriller. So for Someone who doesn't read a lot of them. I was very pleasantly surprised by this one. This was a pick in 2022, so a little bit older, but not too. Not too. Not too old. That was. You're invited by Amanda Jayatissa.
- [41:09]
A
I also read this one and I agree with everything you said, from the White Lotus to it being entertaining. I had a good time with it. I also loved the setting. Like, I thought that was a really fun addition.
- [41:20]
B
Me too. I'm glad that you co signed that.
- [41:23]
A
Yeah, I'm glad that worked for you.
- [41:25]
B
Yeah.
- [41:25]
A
All right. I have a different one now for my next book. And by different, I mean it's not a thriller. The book that I finished for this is called. It's a little novel you may never have heard of. It's called the Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan.
- [41:39]
B
Oh, yes.
- [41:40]
A
And this was on under. Yeah, right. This was one of the books they love. I'm not exactly sure what year this one came out. There's actually a fun spine too. I mean, I'm impressed that they, you know, used to put some detail into the. Into the spines. But you all, I am sure, know of the Joy Luck Club. I knew nothing about it. I had not seen the film and sort of loosely knew that it tied up centered around mothers and daughters. But it's about four mothers and four daughters. Four families whose histories shift with the four winds, depending on who's saying the stories. In 1949, four Chinese women, recent immigrants to San Francisco, begin meeting to eat dim sum, play mahjong and talk united and shared, unspeakable loss and hope. They call themselves the Joy Luck Club because rather than sink into tragedy, they choose to gather to raise their spirits and make money. To despair was to wish back for something already lost or prolong what was already unbearable. That's a quote. Forty years later, the stories in history continue. And essentially this book is about the relationship between the characters with each other, as well as the relationships between the characters and their mothers slash daughters. You're getting a lot of point of view in this one, almost to the point where it felt like a short story collection. I, in the beginning, was very compelled by the initial story. It was about a woman whose mom was one of the original four mothers playing mahjong who sadly passed away. And so she is coming to the meeting and is almost like kind of wondering, am I going to take my mom's place? And while she's there, she finds out this pretty big bombshell secret that she did not know about. And I was like, oh, my God, I want to know everything. And then all of a sudden, I'm like, wait, where are we at now? And so you are really following all of the folks in this story. Story. The author did a good job with giving you information about who these characters are. So in the very beginning, they sort of outline the theme of that particular section, and then it tells you the characters. They also give you this nice list here of the mothers and the daughters so you can follow. Okay, so this mother is the one who did this, and the daughter is the one that's pursuing that. Gosh, there's so much to like about this. There really was. I. I again, did not know what to expect, but I found it to be a very lovely family story that's not without its trauma. I mean, definitely some of these stories were so hard to hear. I did this on audio, but also, that's fiction. That's history. Right? This really happened. It also made me Google. I love when books make me do that because I was like, okay, I vaguely know what time period we're in. I know what place we're in, what's about to happen. I was like, oh, yeah, I remember that. And, and for me, I said earlier that I did the audio. I thought it was helpful also to have print so that I could keep everything straight and keep the relationships straight. In some sections, I was like, similar to Land, I'm like, okay, it's another family story. Just let some of the finer points just wash over you. But that worked for me. I will say this. The main point of view, or the first point of view that we're introduced to was my personal favorite. I loved learning about this part of history. History. I thought it was a sad, bittersweet story with a fabulous ending. I also love how they explored, especially some of the daughters, how they were not fully Chinese, but they're also not fully American, depending on the context and, like, how they identify or don't identify with their culture and what that all means. I really, really enjoyed this one. So that one's the Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan.
- [45:16]
B
Oh, I love that you read somewhat of a classic. I. Yeah, I've seen so much about mahjong coming back.
- [45:25]
A
Oh, my gosh, yes.
- [45:26]
B
I mean, I don't know if I necessarily want to say making a comeback because it's been around for, obviously a long time, especially in Chinese culture.
- [45:32]
A
Been colonized.
- [45:33]
B
Yes, yes, exactly. But I have seen a lot of people, Americans, etc, been playing this a lot, and I just think that's interesting. You brought it up in this story. Really fun to see it actually in its context. In its actual cultural context.
- [45:54]
A
Exactly. Yes, I know. I was thinking like, I would love to learn to play when don't know. But it looks really fun.
- [46:00]
B
It does. And I guess you can get, you know, like different types of sets. Like there are people that I've seen that are like, I just found this amazing set and look how beautiful it is. And it's fun that there are different, like artistic versions of the sets that you can get. But anyway, I just found that interesting and like I said, great to see it in its original historical and cultural context. So I love that you brought that book. My next one is called Mine is also a very little known book. Once There Were wolves by Charlotte McConaughey and this was actually voted on. I was having a hard time time choosing my next read and I put a little poll up in our Patreon Discord and I had our patrons get to vote on which one that I picked up. So I gave a few options. This was one of them. And this won by quite a few votes. I was really happy to get this off my list as well because it is the last book in my Charlotte McConaughey list that I hadn't read yet. So. So I've officially read all of her books after this one. This one is about Inti, who is not the woman she once was, changed by the harm that she has witnessed inflicted by humans on both the wild and each other. Yet as the wolves surprise everyone by thriving, Inti begins to let her guard down, even opening herself up. Oh, hold on. I started at the wrong place. I'm going to restart that over John. This book is about Inti Flynn, who arrives in Scotland with her twin sister Aggie to lead a team of biologists tasked with reintroducing 14 gray wolves into the remote highlands. She hopes to heal not only the dying landscape, but Aggie, too. Unmade by the terrible secrets that drove the sisters out of Alaska, Inti is not the woman she once was, either. Changed by the harm that she's witnessed, inflicted by humans on both the wild and each other. Yet as the wolves surprise everyone by thriving, Inti begins to let her guard down, even opening herself up to the possibility of love. But when a farmer is found dead, Inti knows where the town will ultimately lay their blame. Unable to accept her wolves could be responsible, Inti makes a reckless decision to protect them. But if the wolves didn't make the kill, then who did? And what will Inti do when the man that she is falling for seems to be the prime crime suspect. I know that this is so many folks favorite Charlotte McConaughey book and I see why. I really enjoyed it. I ended up giving this one four stars, so I'll start with saying that. But I did ultimately enjoy her other two books more. All that to say though I've loved all of her books. I just think that she is such a great emotional writer. She writes a such, such fabulous characters and this was another just very deeply emotional story with the nature and landscape being a strong character and backdrop for the story as well, which is something that I feel like she does so well. I always come out of reading her books wanting to take better care of this world and deep dive into conservation efforts across different topics in some, you know, in one of her books she covers birds, Arctic terns that was in Migrations and in Wild Dark Shore she covers the seed bank and seed banking, which is really interesting. And in this one we're talking about wolves and repopulation efforts there. So I just love that she really clearly is very passionate about conservation, about protecting our environment and that comes out really strongly in her books in a way that I really enjoy. Also, in true McConaughey form, we get a mystery that is woven in and a bit of romance as well. I really enjoyed both of those elements. I don't know what else to say. I really like this author. I love her books. They're deeply emotional with wonderful characters that you fall in love with. There's mystery, there's love. I mean, what's not to like? The writing is also beautiful. This author is a three out of three for me. I can't wait to see what she continues to bring us in future releases. And that is is Once There Were wolves by Charlotte McConaughey.
- [50:29]
A
I agree. It's a great story. This is actually, I think I rated it the same as you. This is the first one that I read by her and then I read Migrations. I just love her writing and like you said, what she says about the world, it makes me look at conservation and it just makes me like look at things in a different way. I gave it five stars on Goodreads, so maybe I did like it more than memory serves. But all of her books are fantastic and I can't wait to see what she comes out out with next.
- [50:55]
B
Me too. What's your favor by her?
- [50:58]
A
Oh, Migrations is just an all time like I want to read it again type story. Like h so good. But I love Wild Dark Shore like, probably just as much. But, like, I think because I had that experience with migrations, I was like, that's the number one.
- [51:13]
B
Oh. I sobbed.
- [51:15]
A
Oh, I know. Oh, my gosh. So unexpected. I loved it.
- [51:20]
B
Okay.
- [51:20]
A
I loved it.
- [51:21]
B
Well, you're gonna. What do you have for us for your shelf edition?
- [51:25]
A
Should I land this plane?
- [51:27]
B
Yeah, land it, girl.
- [51:28]
A
Okay. I thought it would be kind of fun, actually. So not only am I a Book of the month member, I'm also an aardvark member. I keep trying to cancel, and they keep calling me back for one reason or another. And this month, I'll tell you about the book that I grabbed from them. It's called Die for Me by Charlene Obuobi. Charlene Obobi is an author that I've read from before. I know you recently brought one of her books to the show, and this is so not my comfort zone, but that's okay. All right, first of all, the COVID is fantastic. I love it, but it is. It's so good. This is a stay up all night, smart, spicy romance following a doctor who finds herself falling for an alluring, much younger man with a deadly secret. And it says, sean is not in the market for love. She is the only female, let alone black, cardiologist at her hospital. She's watched too many of her male colleagues divorce their first wives to marry younger models. And then there's the abusive relationship she spent the better part of her 30s healing from her passions are reserved for her best friend, her goddaughter, and her job. And then she meets Julian. Brooding, beautiful, and 11 years her junior. In short, a bad idea. Julian pursues her in a way that sets off alarm bells in her mind. But she finds herself unable to resist their undeniable chemistry. Even starts fantasizing about him in dreams that feel altogether too real. They also have a lot in common, despite their age gap. So to hell with it. If men can date younger, why can't she? But the more she gets to know him, the more impossible he seems. He has a depth and sorrow to him that's beyond his years. And sometimes there's a look in his eyes that's less than human and leaves her feeling more like prey. Plus, Shawn herself has been exhibiting odd symptoms. Memory lapses, a lack of restraint that's unlike her persistent exhaustion that all trace back to Julian, making her feel. Feel more than a little afraid. Who or what is she falling in love with? I don't know. We're gonna find out. Though. I love that she's a cardiologist I love that it says it explores aging in time. Salacious. And it's a paranormal romance, so we will see. I hope this one is very addictive. Like it said, it will be. This book is Die for Me by Charlene Obobi.
- [53:38]
B
Yeah, that sounds great. And I just agree. The COVID is to die for, if you will.
- [53:44]
A
Oh, I will.
- [53:47]
B
My next shelf edition. Thank you. Is also a romance, albeit a contemporary one. And that is the Missed Connection by Tia Williams. And this is a recent release. And it's about Sasha Cruz, who knows all about typing. She is a booked and busy casting agent and she's always casting people in real life at happy hour, the post office, the grocery store, everywhere. She is all about finding the perfect person to slot into the perfect role. What she doesn't do, however, are relationships. Too much energy, not enough time. Men find her very intimidating and she likes it that way. But when Sasha is seated next to a mysterious, broodingly handsome Italian man on the way to a work trip in Paul Paris, sparks fly. But they miss the chance to exchange contact information. Now, convinced that she is lost out on her actual literal soulmate, Sasha is on a manhunt to find seat f. Sasha enlists her work best friend to help the search. But when she accidentally emails the entire global company, colleagues around the world begin searching for oh no. And they all chime in. And I actually read the first, first few pages of this and so I've gotten to this part of the book where she emails everybody. But it's kind of one of those cute human moments, right, where everybody like hits reply all and they're like, I'll search, I'll search this and I'll search that.
- [55:13]
A
Oh my gosh.
- [55:13]
B
It's pretty cute. Albeit very embarrassing for Sasha. So she ends up trying to take matters into her own hands from there and hires a smoldering detective who complicated Kates matters in unforeseen ways. Are we gonna get a love triangle? I don't know. So this one sounds really cute. That is the Missed Connection by Tia Williams.
- [55:39]
A
I think this one sounds good too. I don't know. I liked her book Seven Days in June. Really? That was one of my favorite romances. Probably. I don't know what made me not consider this one, but I'm glad that you've got that on your list.
- [55:52]
B
It seems a little frothier than Seven Days in June. Seven Days in June was a hard hitter, was very emotional, which I love those romances too. This one so far seems, and based on the synopsis, seems a little bit more like fun summery. So which is good a little bit. I like that we need both. We'll keep you updated if I I'll definitely finish this one. I'll be bringing it to the show soon.
- [56:17]
A
Oh, awesome. All right, well, that is it for today. We thank you for spending a part of your day with us. Links to all the books mentioned can be found in the show notes. If you enjoyed today's episode, you can help us by following wherever you listen and by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts. It helps us get our show out to new listeners and grows our audience. And don't forget, if you'd like access to exclusive bonus content in our community, you can join us for $5 a month on patreon.com booktalk@7, etc.
- [56:43]
B
If you'd like to connect with us, you can email us@booktalk etcmail.com you can also connect with us both at booktok Etc. On Instagram and YouTube. You can find Tinabrec and Hannah at handpickedbooks. Talk to you next week. And in the meantime, remember, everything's better with books.
- [57:04]
A
Cars getting stuck as the rain today caused flooding across our area, the high water even closing both directions of the Bishop ford from Sibley 230 30th, leading to big backups in traffic trying to get off the freeway tonight. We're told the roadway is still closed.