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- [00:01]
A
Hey, what was that? Sorry. That was so good. It sounded like a sound effect. I can't do it like that.
- [00:10]
B
That's amazing. I use my own voice when I do the popping sounds on TikTok because I can never find the right popping sound.
- [00:15]
A
That's fantastic. No, it's really a good popping sound. I know that sounds insane. Thank you. But I use them in capcut and I can never find the right one.
- [00:24]
B
Right. I'll just have to send you some.
- [00:26]
A
Recordings of me going. I can make some.
- [00:33]
B
Hey, that was pretty good.
- [00:35]
A
That one was better than Smost. Welcome to Book Talk Etc, a podcast bound to grow your tbr. I'm Tina from TBR Etc.
- [00:55]
B
And I'm Hannah from Hand Picked Books.
- [00:57]
A
This is a conversational podcast about books and more from two Midwest Mood readers who are easily distracted by new releases. And this week we read titles from our favorite authors.
- [01:07]
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.
- [01:22]
A
Hey, Hannah.
- [01:23]
B
Hey, Tina. How are you?
- [01:25]
A
I mean, I'm great. How are you?
- [01:28]
B
I'm also great. I'm. I've been dying to ask, how are the Cubs doing?
- [01:33]
A
They. Hannah, this is what subject they.
- [01:37]
B
Oh, it is.
- [01:38]
A
Are out. Yeah, they're out. But they came back. They came back and we got to a game five, which was there. It's a five game series and we did indeed lose. It's okay. It is okay. We lost.
- [01:50]
B
But it seems like you've moved on. You've had a. You said. We said you're having a good day.
- [01:54]
A
Yeah, I have. I have indeed moved on. We've been watching the. At this point, the Dodgers beat up on the brewers, which is making me have a little bit of schadenfreude. So sorry, tiny brewers fans. But, you know, I was gonna explain it, but I was like, never mind, don't worry about it. Yeah, I won't get too far into it because podcast surprise. You know, shockingly, I don't know that much about what's going on, but at any rate, we are moving on. I wanted to comment on you. You have a new background here. It looks lovely.
- [02:26]
B
I'm so excited to actually have a recording space that I really like. So I'm excited to have those shelves back there. And we were going to put them in the living room, but then I was like, no, I want to have them, like, in my space in my office. So we have another smaller shelf that we'll put in the living room. But for now, my. My big boy shelves are back here with me.
- [02:48]
A
They look so good and I am like itching to like. I'm like, okay, so now I want to, like, dive into the screen and like, look at the books you've got. Like, I want to, like, manipulate.
- [02:58]
B
Well, don't look too closely because right now there's no organization to this. No organization to get the books on the shelves. So I've got my red and unread books hugging. I've got no genre.
- [03:08]
A
Yes.
- [03:09]
B
Sorting happening. So, you know, type A people, if you're looking too closely, you might.
- [03:15]
A
You might struggle it.
- [03:16]
B
You might not love it.
- [03:17]
A
Definitely. They would definitely struggle if they were looking at my organization or lack thereof behind me. These are all of my unread books. But I do. We were talking before the show started recording. We plan. I. We were talking before the show. I am taking a day off work next week to organize my books. Yes. That's how I want to do it. That's self care. That's how I'm spending my time. And I can't wait. I'm excited to donate a bunch. I'm excited to get fit things and places that I want them to be in. But at any rate, for now, we will tell you a little bit more about the books that we read for this week's episode. This week we were focusing on reading books from our favorite authors. And as we were prepping for this, Hannah, I was like, I could not name one of your favorite authors. I actually have no idea. I don't know. And later for Booktok, we'll share our favorite authors.
- [04:09]
B
Okay.
- [04:09]
A
I actually can't think of them for you.
- [04:11]
B
Well, I think that that makes sense. And again, it's something we can talk about later. Do feel like I'm not a completionist when it comes to authors. I'm not. I very often will read a couple books by an author and love them and then collect all of their books. But then I get distracted by new releases and things like that as. As it goes. But we can. Yeah, we can chat more about that when we get to it.
- [04:34]
A
Excellent. All right, I'll begin with my loving lately. And my loving lately is book related. I am so excited about this. It's what I'm calling an unnecessary necessity because nobody needs this, but I love that I have it because it is a bookaroo pen pouch. And I'm showing Hannah it right now. Basically, you know, as the name suggests, it is a pouch for your pens. And I will take it off so you can see it here. It's a little pouch attached to this piece of elastic. And what I am using it for is to keep. Let me not rip my cover. Heaven forbid. Hold on. Oh, for crying out loud. Okay, okay, here it is. This is what it looks like. It is just a little pouch attached to this piece of elastic. And what it's for, it's to keep your annotation supplies handy or, you know, whatever. You could put whatever you'd like in here. I also plan to put some tabs in here. But you just keep your little annotation supplies handy, and then whatever book you're reading, you can attach it to. Now, the book that I'm holding right now, it's a hardcover. It's my current read. It's called the Wilderness by Angela Flournoy. So I'm reading this, not bringing it to the show today. Cause I'm not done. But look, it looks like it wouldn't fit on it because it looks to be too small. But because it's the elastic, it stretches to fit a standard hardcover. So you can use this on paperback or hardcover, and it does not damage your book unless you're like me and trying to rip it off too quickly. But it doesn't do anything to your book. And they have multiple colors. It says it can hold up to three pens. I don't know if that's true. I mean, I suppose we could try, but I probably would just put maybe a few tabs in here and then a pen. It's like, not bulky at all. They.
- [06:18]
B
I kind of like that, though.
- [06:20]
A
Me, too. I don't want much. I've seen bigger things where you have a bunch of sticky notes and you've got like multiple pens and a highlighter. No, you don't. I just want to pen.
- [06:29]
B
Yeah.
- [06:29]
A
Keep it simple. Because if it's simple, I'm going to keep it. I'm going to continue to use it. I think this is great for any book lovers. You know, you could also use it for your planner. If you're somebody that has a planner like I do, and you're always looking for a pen. I usually just jam it in the side. But I think this is a much more elegant solution. Solution. I grabbed this. I visited a new independent bookstore last week when I was in Champagne. So it's in Champagne Urbana, and it was the cutest bookstore. And they had these. And so I grabbed one. I Was like, I must get one. They also are on Amazon though, so I will link to that in case you want to pick up one of your own. It's one of the things that's very simple, but it's bringing me a lot of joy. So my loving lately is my Bookaroo pen pouch.
- [07:11]
B
I love the name too. Bookaroo book.
- [07:15]
A
It's very sweet. Yeah. And I should say too, they also have other colors. Mine, I think is the rose gold or the gold. I like that brown. They had black and they had pink and I almost went for pink and I was like, you're not a pink girl, sister. Sure, be who you are.
- [07:29]
B
Just be who you are. But it sounds like they have a color and a style that would match any kind of, you know, style or vibe aesthetic exactly.
- [07:36]
A
You got.
- [07:38]
B
Okay. My loving lately is a recipe and this is one that we made last week through the moving process. And we wanted easy meals that we didn't have to heat up that were filling and nutritious that we could have while we were on the go and very busy. And this is the sun dried tomato orzo pasta salad. And it's from female foodie. And this pasta recipe is about to become a meal planning staple for us because it is packed with great protein carbs and it's super veggie rich too. And it's really filling without making you feel lethargic, which is my favorite feeling. It has the sun dried tomatoes in it, which I'd only ever had in soups or Marry Me chicken recipes, but it was really yummy. In this salad, you cut them really thin so you're not chomping on like really chewy sun dried tomatoes. You cut them really thin and then use the oil of the sun dried tomatoes for the dressing. And it just pairs really well with the roasted chickpeas and the cherry tomatoes. Tina, I know you love cherry tomatoes.
- [08:47]
A
Love it.
- [08:48]
B
And yeah. And fresh herbs. And there's also feta cheese in there. It's just such a good balance of foods. And we put some rotisserie chicken in it too to just add a little bit of extra protein. And that tasted great and lasted really well in the fridge for a couple of days. This is a great recipe to batch, prepare and put into lunch containers to have throughout the week. And it's going to become a new staple for us. And that is the sun dried tomato orzo pasta salad from the female foodie.
- [09:19]
A
I need that immediately in my life. That sounds like a Tina recipe. Jonathan always says I could just eat olives tomato, cheese and pasta. And like, be good. And that's.
- [09:30]
B
There you go.
- [09:31]
A
That's like my staple. Do you. It could be worse one, right?
- [09:35]
B
Oh, no. Oh, no. Definitely.
- [09:41]
A
I was gonna say I am very impressed that they're eating sun dried tomatoes just because I know my kids are like, yeah, no, we're not doing that.
- [09:48]
B
No. And we're in a unique. Well, not unique because I know so many parents relate to this problem. But we're gonna a season with food right now where we basically batch prepare our own dinners and meals because it's so exhausting trying to make something for the who family. And like, usually I would say three to four nights a week, we just make something for the kids and make a meal for them. And then if we get sick of doing that, which we often do, it's nice for us to have a meal prepared in the fridge that's nutritious and easy and something we can just throw in the microwave or on the stove that's already made because we're putting work into making food. So I know people have feelings about that, but, you know, that's what we're doing for our family right now.
- [10:33]
A
I don't have any feelings about that. Are your kids eating? Fantastic then I.
- [10:38]
B
You're my kind of person. That's how I feel too.
- [10:41]
A
No feelings here. Oh, boy. But I. Do I ever have feelings about my latest read. It is a book that is.
- [10:49]
B
Okay, okay, let's get into it.
- [10:52]
A
Let's just dive right in. This book is cursed. Would you look at that? It is the Exorcist by William Peter Blatty. And I'm holding this very gorgeous edition of it. It's a hardcover. It's got green sprayed edges. It is just simply absolutely grotesque. Spooky. It's grotesque. Thank you. What a fantastic word. Even look at this. I'm holding up the spine. You have a picture of this young girl, Reagan, and this does indeed glow in the dark. So I love this edition. Thanks to Harper for sending it because that's what inspired me to finally pick this up and read it. Of course, I had heard of the Exorcist, like in culture. I'd never seen the movie. I absolutely never will. That is not something I'm willing to do, but to read the book. So I would consider this to be a classic American horror novel. And it was Originally published in 1971. I was reading this. Apparently it remains one of the most controversial novels ever. And I can see why, because the content is something else. But apparently it spent 57 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and 17 of those weeks were consecutive at number one. So this was a big wow, right? I don't think I really.
- [12:13]
B
At the time it was published.
- [12:15]
A
Yeah, that's what this says. Yeah.
- [12:19]
B
Which is probably why they made it into a movie.
- [12:21]
A
Which is probably why they made it into a movie. And apparently it's also a television show, which I didn't know.
- [12:26]
B
So neither.
- [12:27]
A
Another thing I didn't know is this is. This is inspired by the true story of a child. So I'll tell you a little bit about that too.
- [12:33]
B
Tell me more.
- [12:34]
A
I know this is about demonic possession in the. And so essentially it focuses on Reagan. Reagan is an 11 year old girl who's the daughter of a famous movie actress and they live in Washington D.C. and this thing that I've. Sorry, this is like commentary about the Exorcist. I'll read you the actual synopsis here. All right, so Reagan's the daughter of this very famous actress named Chris. And sometime after her birthday, I think she's like turning 12, everything was normal. And then as soon as she hit this particular age, things just got wild. Her personality completely changed. She was exhibiting disturbing behavior. She wasn't sleeping. Her personality totally changed. And so they brought in mental health professionals and they couldn't figure it out. They brought in medical doctors and they couldn't figure it out. And so the mom is at her wit's end and she comes across priests and essentially enlists in their help. There's essentially two Catholic priests that get brought into the home and they will risk everything, including their own souls, to free the girl from the ancient malevolent force possessing her. And that is what this is about. I picked it up. I'm creeped out, frankly. Let me put it down. So.
- [13:49]
B
And like the cross on the spine.
- [13:51]
A
I know, it's just so blasphemous. I just can't even. So I'm reading this, right. I knew it was public, published in 1971. And I'm like, I can't imagine what people thought when this came out. Like, I just can't imagine the reaction that this had because it is scary, it's profane. I mean, it's shocking. I. And I will say I'm not somebody that is overly religious, so some of the details probably went over my head. But I'm like, this is like, this.
- [14:21]
B
Is controversial enough to make you uncomfy.
- [14:25]
A
Enough to make me uncomfy. Which, you know, that takes a lot. And I will say I'm holding the physical copy. But I also did the audio for this. The audio was fantastic. So the audiobook is narrated by the author, William Peter Blatty. And he deserves an Oscar for this narration. I'm not even kidding. His voices, first of all, his just regular speaking voice is incredible. But also the voices he did of Reagan when the demon is coming out, I mean, that was enough to give you nightmares. I was telling my friends this. I was driving to the city one day and I was in a parking garage and I was underground and it's echoey and I had my windows down because it was really hot. And I'm listening to this book and it's just like, I'm like, I am going to be pulled over. Like people are going to think that I'm like actually having a psychotic break. I mean, because it was like reverberating through the walls in this garage. I'm like, oh my God. It was, well, not the whole time, but like when the demons coming out, I mean, the, the audiobook narrator goes for it. It was incredible. So this book is genuinely scary. I had a good time reading it. It took me a moment frankly to get into it though, because it is, it's sort of dated and like the language, I'm like, okay, am I gonna like this? But once you get to the point where Reagan changes, which happens about maybe 20 in if that, I'm like, okay, the wheels fall off and you are just sucked into this very disturbing tale book series. I guess there's a book two. I feel complete. I don't think I'll be picking that up unless I'm like overly called to it. I just feel like I got the story and I got where I wanted to go with this. So of course though, I saw that this was based on a true story. And apparently There was a 13 year old boy in 1949. He was known as Ronald Doe. He was believed to be possessed after his spiritualist aunt's death and his use of a Ouija board. So I guess this little boy like did this and this is allegedly the true story, right? And so there were several priests who came to this boy and performed between 20 and 30 exorcism rituals on the boy. And the movie obviously dramatizes I think these events, but the real case, the author had heard about this real case and became really intrigued and decided to create this entire story about that. I mean, it's freaky and perfect, I think for this holiday season, this Halloween season. So my latest read was the Exorcist by William Peter Blatty.
- [17:02]
B
I will say that I. I wonder if one of the reasons why this wasn't such a popular book when it came out is because evangelical Christians, I'm pretty sure at the time, were also very obsessed with this book and were, I think, reading it. I don't think. I do know, and have sources had to read it as a part of their spiritual curriculum as well, in churches, because they believed there are branches, you know, of Christians who believe that these things are real and they have to know how to fight and combat it.
- [17:35]
A
Yes.
- [17:36]
B
So that was actually a part of their curriculum. So I do wonder if it wasn't popular kind of on both ends, you know, people that just were fascinated by horror. And maybe there wasn't. Maybe there weren't other books like this out there yet to this extreme. And then you literally had Christians reading it because it was a part of their curriculum.
- [17:56]
A
Wow, I'm so glad you shared that, because it is very. And I do gather that the author is religious. And so, again, me, not, like I said, I think a lot of it. I'm like, I don't know if this is real, if this is how it would actually be handled, or, like, what the thought process is here that is so fascinating to hear and makes a lot of sense, because there, it felt real. I guess it felt like a real exorcism. And, like, not that I would know, but I'm like, wow, you really have done your research. So. Ooh, ooh, fascinating. Okay, move on. Do you have a rom com?
- [18:27]
B
I don't have a rom com. I do have another thriller, but it is. I'll say it's a little bit lighter than the subject we were just tackling. I recently read this Is a Safe Space by Lucinda Berry.
- [18:39]
A
Oh, yeah? Yeah.
- [18:40]
B
I texted Tina about this one and asked if I could give it a listen because Tina has brought some Lucinda Berry in the past as well. And I know she's an author that Tina pays attention to as well, but this is something that I listened to while unpacking and moving boxes. It's about Jenna, who is a successful therapist with trust issues of her own, and she has promised to stop snooping in her husband Colton's phone. But on one night, she gives in to the temptation, and what she finds is a disturbing exchange about a dancer from a bachelor party who is threatening Colton's cousin Bod. The woman's name, Lexus Chardonnay, sounds familiar, and for good reason, because Jenna has heard this name before from one of her clients, Caitlin, who is A med student and part time dancer who disappeared from therapy three months ago. She's been worried about where Caitlyn is and Jenna starts to replay old sessions of theirs because she's looking for answers. She is disturbed by what she saw on Colton's phone, she's worried about Caitlyn and she starts to uncover some dangerous connections that could not only destroy her career and her marriage, but also just her general well being and peace of mind. Like I said, I listened to this while I was unpacking books in my office the other day and it was such a fun, fun, short audiobook to listen to while working. I guess I am biased, but I think that the audiobook is the way to go. With this one you get to listen to their therapy sessions recorded and it's in this kind of mixed media format so you can tell when it goes to the recording of the therapy session because of the filter and the way it sounds and the voice actors and actresses did such a good job. It came through really well on audio. So many ethics are at stake in this one because Jenna is a therapist and she crosses so many ethical lines in this story. She was an unreliable narrator, but one that was honestly really entertaining for me to follow. I was able to figure some things out, but I was still surprised by a couple things at the end and I like that. I like the satisfaction of being able to put some of the puzzle pieces together and then still getting a surprise as well. This book is definitely not as heavy as the other books that I have read from her and ones that I have heard other people talk about. I've read the Perfect Child by this author and it is definitely not as heavy as that one, I think. Tina, you've talked about saving Noah on the show before. It is not like that. There is some sexual assault that happens off page. There is definitely stalking, but nothing talked about or mentioned even as a primary theme in this one was nowhere near as graphic or heavy or just terrible to read about as some of her other books. So from what I know of where Lucinda can go with her themes, this was tame. There's not much else to say about this one except it was just an entertaining audiobook and fun thriller and I would recommend it for a good time. And that is this is a Safe Space by Lucinda Berry.
- [21:51]
A
Now, would you call this a bubblegum read for you?
- [21:55]
B
Yeah, I would definitely like. It's one that I recommend. I guess time will tell because I do sometimes think that I won't consider it a bubblegum book if if for Whatever reason, it stays with me for.
- [22:05]
A
A really long time. I feel that.
- [22:08]
B
Yeah. But I think. Yes. Just for today's Factor. Yeah. For Entertainment Factor. Absolutely.
- [22:16]
A
I just downloaded it on audio, so thank you for that recommendation. Yeah. It's only three hours and 30 minutes. That's an afternoon.
- [22:24]
B
Yes. And I thought that it was the perfect length for this book, too. I think a lot of thrillers could stand to be a little shorter, in my personal opinion, because I don't know, it just makes them just really fast and entertaining. And sometimes that's nice.
- [22:40]
A
Sometimes that is nice. I agree, and I am excited to chat. You had mentioned Lucinda Berry and. Yes, I would consider her to be on my long list of favorite authors because. And I mentioned that because that's what we're talking about today. We read books from our favorite authors. So we had a couple of questions that we wanted to ask each other, you know, as we preface this, our book reviews. And I guess my first question is, are there any authors for whom you've read their whole catalog?
- [23:12]
B
No. Yeah, I don't think so. I didn't know. This was also not something that I deeply looked into before I, you know, listed down some of my favorite authors and some other things. But I guess I didn't think about this. That's a good question. I have to look to make sure. But off the top of my head, no.
- [23:34]
A
Yes. I. You know what, though? I would think in my head, I'm like, of course. Of course there's authors. I've read their whole catalog. I really like them. And then I'm like, crickets. For me, there's only two. There are only two authors that I've read their whole entire catalog. And when I say whole entire catalog, I want them to have at least four books. Like, if they have three. Yeah, I'm not counting that yet. You know what I mean? Like, I need. I don't know why. Just in my head, I need them to have more than three books available for it to be a real catalog, but I've only read two, and they are Riley Sager and Rachel Harrison.
- [24:10]
B
And the only Rachel Harrison was done this year, right?
- [24:13]
A
They both were, actually. Yes.
- [24:15]
B
Okay.
- [24:15]
A
And I was going to say the only reason I went back and read their books was because I was so close and I wanted to do a video ranking them. I specifically Sagers, because his books are so polarizing. And then I thought, you know what? I'm really close to finishing Rachel Harrison's. Let me do that as well. So it was actually quite, quite fun. To read a singular author's books in close succession because I feel like it helped me appreciate their writing more. And you can almost see their writing develop as you go on. And specifically with Rachel Harrison, she had a. They actually both authors had new books come out this year, which prompted my project. But with Rachel Harrison, I feel like the ones that I was reading leading up to her new release helped me appreciate it even more because there's a lot of similarities. I was like, wow. She always writes, you know, books set sort of in New Jersey, New York area. Wow. Her characters are always going out to breakfast. They really. She really must like pancakes. Like, I was able to pull out some of those specifics, which, if I had spread them out, I probably wouldn't have noticed. But it was fun to start to see some of those themes. I do now have a list of authors that I want to finish their catalog, and I will tell you who they are. I would love to read John Mars's catalog. He just has so many that I'm like, It's almost difficult to try and get to them. But I'm about halfway through John Marr's. Although, yeah, I'll keep going. I guess I only have one left of SA Cosby, which I hopefully will get to soon.
- [25:44]
B
My Darkest Prayer. Right?
- [25:46]
A
Yes, his debut. And for some reason, I'm, like, not excited to read it.
- [25:51]
B
Excited about it.
- [25:51]
A
Yeah. I don't know why that is. And I plan to catch up on an author that I'm going to share later.
- [26:00]
B
Okay.
- [26:01]
A
Not really a great. Yeah, there's one more author who has a book coming out in 2026 that I'm going to catch up with so that I can do a ranking series with her. But I would love to, of course, eventually get through all of Stephen King's titles, but there's 600 of those at this point, so I don't know if that's in the cards.
- [26:16]
B
The reason why I struggle with the Stephen King one is because of his gunslinger series. I don't particularly want to read that.
- [26:26]
A
I have read the first two books in the gunslinger series and I didn't continue. Will I someday? Sure, I would love to. Okay. It would help. It would really take a lot for me, I think, to go back into it. And for some reason, me being who I am, I think I have to go back and reread some. I don't. I don't. But, like, I'm like, wouldn't that be fun to go back from the beginning and, like, read all of his books in order it would be fun.
- [26:54]
B
That would be a fun challenge.
- [26:56]
A
Yeah.
- [26:56]
B
It would take some time.
- [26:57]
A
It would take a long time. So I don't know that that's in my immediate future. I know one of our listeners was doing that. Genevieve, she was doing that with, I think, her family, I want to say, and they were like, going through an order, which I think sounds so fun. The reason I'm intimidated by that project, one, there's so many books, but two, I'd have to go back and reread the Stand, which is one of my all time favorite books, but it's also over a thousand pages.
- [27:21]
B
But why would you have to reread it? I was.
- [27:24]
A
If I. I don't. Basically, I do not have to do that. But I like the idea of reading them in order.
- [27:30]
B
I see.
- [27:30]
A
If I did that, if I did it in chronological publishing order, I'd have to go back through the Stand, and that was the big boy. So I'd have to really work myself into that.
- [27:40]
B
Yeah, no, I get that. I think that the author that I'm the closest to completing and I think that this challenge would be very doable for me is Emily Henry. I have only not read, I think, one of her young adult books. I think I've read every single one of her adult romances. And then I've also read A Million Junes, which is one of her YA titles. So I think that I actually would only need to read one more book to finish her entire catalog. I should do it.
- [28:12]
A
I was gonna say, I feel like that's like on your to do list now.
- [28:16]
B
It's gotta be on my goals list.
- [28:17]
A
Yeah, why not? It's just fun. I don't know what it is like when you get close. I'm kind of like, oh, I. I kind of want to finish out this project.
- [28:23]
B
Why not?
- [28:24]
A
Why not?
- [28:25]
B
I also do want to. I think some other doable ones for me that I have always just kind of wanted to do is read all of Toni Morrison and all of James Baldwin. Their stories are so compelling and their writing is really beautiful. They're kind of modern, classic authors, and their books are pretty small and palatable for, you know, being these. These classics that everybody loves. And I would love to say that I've read all of Toni Morrison and James Baldwin's collection.
- [28:55]
A
I think you're right. That would be really. You'd feel so accomplished having done so.
- [28:59]
B
I feel so academic.
- [29:00]
A
I would feel. I would feel so academic, too. I read a couple from both, actually. I've only read one Baldwin and Then a couple from Morrison, but of course enjoyed them. I looked at Stephen King's Wikipedia and apparently It's. He has 65 novels, slash novellas, which doesn't feel right. I feel like there's way more, but apparently that's 65. That's what Wikipedia tells me. So who knows?
- [29:26]
B
What's your. Before we move on from our questions, I'm curious, what's your most obscure Stephen King read that you have read?
- [29:33]
A
My most.
- [29:33]
B
That like nobody talks about.
- [29:35]
A
Okay. Okay. That's a great question. I'm rolling down his big list here. I don't know that many people know that I read the Dark Tower. The Gunslinger is the first one.
- [29:44]
B
That's surprising.
- [29:44]
A
I don't talk about. I don't know. There's not much to say on that one for me because a lot of his. You're right, I do find that I talk about.
- [29:54]
B
Let me see, mine is Joyland. I feel like I see many people talk about that one as much and it's one that I think people would be surprised to hear that I have read.
- [30:07]
A
I am surprised because that one's a little bit more hard boiled. Yes.
- [30:12]
B
Would you say.
- [30:13]
A
Is that.
- [30:13]
B
Okay, it's one of his crime. On like his crime list. And there's also some paranormal elements as well.
- [30:21]
A
Yeah, I don't think I have any that I. Other than the Green. The not the Green Mile. I did read that one. Other than the first two Dark Tower series.
- [30:29]
B
Yeah, that surprised me.
- [30:31]
A
First two Dark Tower books.
- [30:33]
B
Yeah.
- [30:34]
A
Anyway, I also wanted to know a little bit more about who your favorite authors are. And I asked the. This question and you sort of proposed a counter question which was what do.
- [30:47]
B
We have any guidelines or parameters for what makes an author a favorite of ours? For example, we have to have read and loved two or more of their books or we have to have given at least three of their books five stars, et cetera.
- [31:00]
A
Yeah. And that. That's what I would say my parameters are. You know, I have some authors that I loved some of their books and then there's some others that I was like this was ok. Yep. So now I feel like, oh my gosh, you know, I don't know if I. I would need more data, I guess I'm not saying they're not among my favorite and they're not among my auto read authors. I would just need more data, you know, before I make that designation.
- [31:27]
B
I think I do too. I did list some authors that came to top of mind, but then when I was listing their books it was like, okay, I've given two of their books five stars, but there are so few of those favorite authors that come right to the top of my head where I've read five plus books from them.
- [31:43]
A
Right. No, literally. And I was trying to think through and unfortunately for me, I like, couldn't even come up with a. I was. I put five on our little sheet there, but I'm like, I don't know if I have five. Like, I really am not sure. Of course, my. We'll just go with obvious Stephen King, right? Because we were just talking about him. He is one of my favorite authors. If not maybe my favorite author. But also coming in hot behind him is Charlotte McConaughey. I talk about her books often. I actually just realized she has older books. I thought her debut was Once There Were Wolves.
- [32:21]
B
Yeah.
- [32:22]
A
But it's actually not. There's. She has other books. So now I'm like, well, now do I have to go back and try and source those? I mean, maybe I will. And then my third is SA Cosby, obviously. Yes. I mean, what a treasure.
- [32:36]
B
And I've given both the books by SA Cosby that I have read at least a 4.5. So definitely in the running there. If I read another book by him and I want to, like, now that I've read two that are 4.5 slash five stars.
- [32:52]
A
Yeah.
- [32:53]
B
Okay. That's now an author that I'm going to be looking out for and I'm going to read their stuff and maybe go into their back catalog and read their older things too. Also, Charlotte McConaughey. I've read migrations and her newest Wild Dark Shore with the rest of the BookTok etc community, which was such a fun discussion. And now I need to read and Once There Were Wolves, which I haven't yet. And now she's got a backlist that you said I didn't either.
- [33:18]
A
I know, I know. I just saw it the other day because I was planning on like. I'm like, oh, if she comes out with another one I can do, you know, I'll rank her novels. And I was like, wait a minute, there's others? What do you mean?
- [33:28]
B
Yeah, One that's on my list as an author that I want to continue following is Dolan Perkins Valdez. She wrote Take My Hand and Happy Land. Loved both of those. Those are her only two books, though. So she's just one that I'm going to continue to read. And then at some point I will be able to say I've read her whole catalog.
- [33:49]
A
I like that. Yes. Another one for me is Lily Brooks Dalton. She wrote the Light Pirate, which is a novel that I initially DNF'd, and then I reread it the SEC a year later. It changed my brain chemistry. I loved it. I also loved her book Good Morning, Midnight. I've not read Motorcycles. I've loved a memoir, which was from 2015. But I saw that Lily Brooks Dalton has a 2026 book coming out called Ruins, and I am excited.
- [34:18]
B
That's exciting. I didn't know that.
- [34:20]
A
Very exciting. All right, so those are the ones that came to my mind when I was thinking about my favorite authors. Now I feel like I need a spreadsheet, and I need to go in and be like, okay, I need to show the ranking. Like, now my brain is whirling as is. As it does. But I want to know, what are your favorite authors that you wrote down?
- [34:37]
B
Yeah, so I wrote down Lynn Painter because I have read three of her young adult romances. Better than the Movies, Betting on you and Fake Skating. I loved all of those. And then I also wrote down Abby Jimenez, because even though I didn't love her most recent release, I have loved her other books so much that I'm not gonna. I'm not gonna base my opinion of her on that one book that I read that was kind of a dud for me personally. So I'm still gonna look out for her books. And then I also put down Celia Laski because I've read under the Rainbow and so happy for you, and I loved both of those. So I want to continue to read her. She has a new release that I haven't read yet, and I want to. And then I want to go through Emily St. John, and then I want to go through Emily St. John Mandel's catalog. I've only read two books by her, which I feel is such a shame, because Station 11 is, like, my favorite book of all time. And then I read the Glass Hotel, But I want to go and read all of her books because I know they all kind of take place in a world that intersects. And I didn't know that, like, all of her books did that. So I am really wanting to read all of her books. Were there any other authors that you had written down?
- [35:56]
A
You just reminded me that, yes, Kia Abdullah is one of my favorites. And I almost though. So maybe I'll just treat this as an outlier, because she wrote a book called I think it's like those People Next Door, or maybe that was a UK title. I really didn't like that book. I really was like, oh, gosh, I didn't care for it at all. In the US it's called Perfectly Nice Neighbors. Not my fave, but I loved Take It Back and Next of Kin and she has some other ones too. So I think I'm going to need more data. But she is, like, on the long list for one. Maybe I'll just consider that one an outlier. I think with that, we've officially, you know, given the listeners enough of a picture, I think, of who we are as readers and who our favorite authors are. I now that I think about it, Abby Jimenez, I would have gotten for you, I would have gotten there in the end, but the other two surprised me. So I'm glad that we had this chat. I will dive right in with my first book that I read for this podcast episode and it is we spread by Ian Reed. And I love Ian Reed's books. I've only he only has three of them, if memory serves. He has him thinking of ending things and he has Wespread, which is the one I read for this. And he also has foe, so he's only got three. And I will tell you about Wespread. So technically I'm a completist for this author, but he only has three books so far are so this one is about Penny, and Penny is an artist and she has lived in the same apartment for decades. She has all of her things and she's living a pretty quiet life. She's pretty lonely now that her longtime partner has recently passed away. And she is starting to find that things in her life are slipping. Now, she's not necessarily noticing that she's slipping, but the people that are taking care of her and her landlord and folks are saying, Penny, you know, you kind of got to take care of this. Are you sure?
- [37:49]
B
Good.
- [37:49]
A
And then Penny eventually has one too many incidents and she gets placed in a long term care residence. And this long term care residence is very unique because everyone's super welcoming. She gets there and they're like, we've been waiting for you. We're so excited to see you. She's like, what are you talking about? I don't know these people. Like, what do you mean? And they're like, you don't remember before your partner passed, you guys organized this? And she's like, okay. So she kind of just has no ide what they're talking about, but they're nice enough. And she starts to make friends while she's there and she even starts to do her art Again, which is very exciting for her. She's a painter and she hasn't completed art in a long time. And now she's starting to get into that again. And things are good. They wake up, they eat breakfast, they visit, they eat lunch, they visit, they eat dinner, then they visit and go to sleep, rinse and repeat. And things start to get very mundane and the days start to blur together. And Penny is getting uncomfortable with this because she is losing her grip on the passage of time, like, how long have I been here? And she is being told that she's misunderstanding things. And she's pretty confident that she's not. She's pretty confident that she knows what all is happening. And she is really grappling with. Is she succumbing to the subtle deterioration that can come with aging or. Or is she an unknown participant in something more unsettling? And that is what this book is about. I liked it fine. I gave it three stars, which I'm sad to say I didn't love it. Like, I loved his book foe I liked it less than I'm thinking of ending things. This was the least successful one for me personally. Not because it's not a good book, but because I just never really got that into it. And it had a lot of dialogue, which normally is fine for me. I don't really care. You know, sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn't. Like, I'm not like a full stop, I don't like that. But this one was a lot of dialogue and a lot of unreliable narration. And I think the author in that sense did a good job making the reader feel as confused as Penny did. Sometimes I wanted a bit more of a further out view. Like I wanted a little more because I'm like, is this. Is she aging and is this a memory? You know, is this an aging related brain disorder or something weird going on? Like, at what point am I going to find that out? You will get answers. And I think this is very atmospheric, it's a little bit hypnotic. And overall it was fine. Not my favorite. I will still continue to read this author. I think he had a lot of good things to say about aging and specifically how we care or don't care for the aging members of our community. And what I loved is that he really painted the picture of, okay, all obstacles are removed. How do you spend your time and how detrimental that can sort of be to a person's mental health. Because everything looks fine. But like, what do I do with all this time? What am I doing? I can only have the same conversation so many times with the same people, and for that I appreciate what the author did. Overall, it's a lukewarm recommendation. You might like this more than I did, but those are my thoughts. That book is We Spread by Ian Reed.
- [41:16]
B
Well, that book had a lot to live up to with how much you loved Fo and you know, enjoyed his other stuff. So that is a super fair review. My book that I brought was Wild Reverence by Rebecca Ross. I've read Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross and I've also read the first book in her other series, A River and Enchanted, and I have loved all of those books, so I was really excited that she was coming out with a new book in a series this year. This one is about Matilda, who is the youngest goddess of her clan and she was born in the firelit underrealm and blessed with simple messenger magic. She carries words between worlds, but she also guards a dangerous secret that could end up getting her killed. Meanwhile, we have Vincent of Becket, who once dreamed of Matilda and 10 years ago on the worst night of his, he wrote the goddess who once comforted him in his dreams. She never. She never answered and he's since hardened into a cynical river Lord until Matilda quite literally falls back into his life, landing through his window with a letter just for him. These two are drawn together and Matilda and Vincent have to challenge the ruthless gods themselves, and for Matilda, that means facing something much more terrifying than war her own heart. I didn't realize that this one was a prequel to Divine Rivals, but it makes sense because the gods and goddesses that appear in that series are loosely tied to. Well, not loosely tied, they're tied to this story as well. But I don't think that you need to read Divine Rivals and Ruthless Vows before diving into this one. I do think that it stands well on its own. The opening of this one literally felt like a Disney movie and I mean that as a compliment. The way the characters, story and lore is provided to you through this once upon a time type storytelling and world building technique that felt really nostalgic and it worked for me really well. It was such a great way to immediately get immersed into this story without feeling info dumpy, but still giving you all of the information that you needed to know to fall in love with this world and follow the characters alongside felt like the beginning of a folk story almost, but gave me those Disney movie vibes as well. Beautiful writing as always from Rebecca Ross. Her sentences are just so lovely. Usually with her books. I just want to highlight everything and it's interesting because I don't always love stories about gods and goddesses, but they were so well developed in this one that it nearly humanized them and made them feel like they were actually a The storytelling instead of just props for the plot, which is where I think I oftentimes have more of an issue. Vincent and Matilda were so lovely and sweet. I loved them both so much. And I love a romance where I am truly rooting for both of the love interests. Not when just one of them is more appealing to me than the other. I really cared about both of these characters. There was great political dialogue, great discussion of war and strategy in a way that was compelling and made me feel really invested in the outcome of everything. I don't know how Rebecca Ross does it, but she makes war feel whimsical. And I feel weird saying that, obviously, but in this fantasy setting, she really did give me that feeling. And she's just such a great writer. And I will continue to return to her. I really liked this one and I can't wait to finish the series. And that is Wild Reverend remembrance by Rebecca Ross.
- [45:08]
A
I am so glad that you read this. I feel like whenever you bring, like, a fantasy or something, I'm like, ah, this feels like you're getting back to your roots. And it's a book in a series.
- [45:17]
B
Yeah. A duology, I'm hoping, like her other books.
- [45:20]
A
And I love them. I know you love a duology.
- [45:23]
B
If I like you, do stop talking about it.
- [45:26]
A
No, that's like me. And half the stuff I say, I'm like, have I said this already? I don't know. I talk a lot about books. Books, really?
- [45:34]
B
We do a lot of talking.
- [45:34]
A
We do a lot of talking, frankly. And I will tell you about my next book, which is Unraveling Oliver by Liz Nugent. And I love Liz Nugent. She. Earlier I alluded to this. She is an author that I hope to read her entire catalog. She has a new book coming out in 2026 that I did mention. I think I brought it as a shelf edition previously. But her book that's coming out in 2020. So six is the truth about Ruby Cooper that comes out in March. But you might know Liz Nugent, she got some pretty good buzz last year or actually a couple years ago now. Geez. With Strange Sally diamond, which is a book that I loved. I loved this one is an older book from her and it is about Oliver. And Oliver is a real piece of work. He really is. He has the perfect life. He is an Elegant man. And he wants for nothing. He is an author and he lives with his very loyal wife, Alice, who illustrate the award winning children's books that have brought them wealth and fame. So he is the author, she is the illustrator. And they have a pretty good life together. Until one evening, after eating the dinner that Alice has carefully prepared, Oliver assaults her and leaves her her for dead. I'm very sorry to say it so bluntly, but that's Hannah just like snapped up.
- [46:57]
B
Like, excuse me, assaults her so badly.
- [47:00]
A
That she's left for dead, literally. That is what this book is about. And this has one of the. I'm not gonna read you the first sentence of this because it can be triggering for sure. Look it up if you want to. The first sentence is shocking. I was like, holy cow. So Oliver is pretty terrible, you know, from the beginning. That's what this is about, that he is a bad person. Now, what I think Liz Nugent did so brilliantly for me is that she is not telling this story straight. It's not like a straight through. Okay, let's go back and see how they met and see what went wrong and this and that. No, she is telling us about Oliver through the eyes of the people that knew him. And so you hear about Oliver from his mistress, Moya. You hear about him from this French vineyard owner, Veronique, who used to employ him. You hear about him from Alice's friend Barney. Barney, we love Barney. And then you hear about him from Oliver's college pal, Michael. And what none of them understands is the dark secret that lies behind his immaculate facade. And so this book switches point of view and Oliver also gets a point of view as well. So you are hearing from him and you're hearing about, you know, the things that he uncovers because Oliver has a pretty deep secret that he would absolutely not want anybody to find out. I loved this book. Liz Nugent is just so dark and just really good at crafting a complex story. Don't pick this up thinking it's a thriller. I would say consider this maybe literary suspension expense. Because you are wondering what Oliver's secret is, why he did this to Alice and what's going on here. Right? And you're sort of figuring that all out. And she just peeled the layers of this onion so incredibly well, it almost read like historical fiction in some ways. And because I. I don't know what year this takes place. Gosh, throughout the book, you're kind of working back in time. So it's definitely not present day. I would say 70s, maybe. And. And yeah, by 1973. Okay. So you know, that time period, I loved the side characters just as much as I was invested in finding out what's going to happen to Alice. I mean, I'm talking college pal, Michael, Barney, Veronique, they all have these rich stories. And I just think this book is fantastic. I want to mention I did DNF this the first time I tried it because the first chapter I was like, this guy is a trash bag and I don't want to read about him. Yeah, just trust and know that the author is in on it and we know that we're not trying to redeem him, we're trying to understand. And it's more. So he's the author, is interviewing the people that knew Oliver essentially and are all sharing the little bits and pieces about him that make you come to understand how a person can get to this point. Really good story. And I love Liz Nugent. I will continue to read her book books. I'm sitting between four and a half and five stars. I loved it. I mean, I think it's a really excellent story. So that one is Unraveling Oliver by Liz Nugent.
- [50:10]
B
I didn't know you were bringing this one at all. I mean, I, I guess I didn't know you were bringing. We spread either, but every once in a while I'm just like, oh, I had no. I don't know, I'm like, oh, I had no idea she was even reading that or gonna bring it. So that's fine.
- [50:24]
A
Did read this very quickly. So.
- [50:26]
B
Okay. Yeah, it's. I don't know. It's always fun when that happens. Okay, my next one is kind of a bummer. I'm a little disappointed in it, but it's People Watching by Hannah Bonham Young. And I have previously loved this author and I even brought one of her books to our winter reading guide for this year. And this one is about Prudence Welch, who has built a quiet and contained life in her small northern Ontario town. She is working at her dad's gas station, writing poetry and caring for her mom who is living with early onset Alzheimer's. She once dreamed of living Baysville behind, but now just keeping things steady feels really challenging. And then we have Milo, who rolls into town in a beat up van plastered by with terrible bumper stickers. And suddenly Pru's world tilts. He is charming, he's mysterious, and exactly the kind of distraction she didn't know that she needed. What starts as an unlikely friendship turns into a fun romantic arrangement. One that Pushes both of them completely out of their comfort zones. So I will say I loved that we had a bisexual love interest. I just loved that inclusion. And it added just a great element to Milo's character. It really made him stand out and feel really fully developed. Wow, my notes are really terrible for this one. Sorry, hold on. I'm like, wow, they're just like really random. My notes for this one are a little bit chaotic, but it's really funny because the next thing that I wrote was Milo calling her killer in the bedroom over and over again. Only killed the vibes for me. And so that was my note that I had there and I just thought that was funny, so I wanted to include it. But yeah, I don't know, I guess the tropes in this one just fell pretty flat for me. And while I really appreciated these characters, I just wasn't fully believing their actual romance. But I will say that I think that this book handled family sickness and illness better than kind of what I was expecting from Abby Jimenez's 2025 release. Her newest book this year, say you'll remember me, which ended up really disappointing me. This book, I think, ended up tackling that situation and weaving it into the plot line better than what I wanted from that book. However, that also meant that this book was really sad, which was not what I was looking for right now. It was definitely still hopeful and there was still lightness and there was this romance. But it also was just very realistic and painful in so many parts. And I think that it was one of those situations where I don't know if this book was bad. I know it's not. I just. Just wasn't feeling it. It wasn't the book for me at the time. I will continue to read from this author moving forward because I think that this was a one time disappointment for me. It just wasn't what I was looking for. I ended up giving it 3.5 stars. Did not hate it. It just didn't live up to her others for me personally. And that is People Watching by Hannah Bonham Young.
- [53:56]
A
I hate when that happens. Right. And you're like, I was excited for this. It had elements that you wanted to work and it didn't quite get there. I was wondering about that comparison between Ambie Jimenez's book and this one. Yes, and I'm glad to hear this one sounds like it was handled maybe better.
- [54:13]
B
Yes. But also take that for a grain of salt because I don't have a family member that has Alzheimer's or early onset Alzheimer's So I can't speak personally to that experience, but just from a writing perspective and her talking about the character's emotions and how they were feeling and overall writing, I personally think that this one did a better job.
- [54:35]
A
I can hear that. Okay, well, thank you for that. Thank you for sharing. Thank you. What a serious reaction to you.
- [54:46]
B
Well, it was a serious subject, I guess, on the book too, so.
- [54:49]
A
Exactly. And that's, I guess, where I. Because, you know, it can be hard to offer a not so glowing review on something that obviously tackles something pretty.
- [54:57]
B
Yeah, absolutely.
- [55:00]
A
All right. We will end the show as we always do with our shelf editions. And I'm holding a book here and I quite like what I've got going on. It's a very colorful cover. It's called Hush Little Fire by Judith Newcomb Stiles. And thank you to the author, actually, because she sent me a copy of this.
- [55:18]
B
Oh, that's so nice.
- [55:19]
A
I was like, oh my gosh, it's signed. And she sent me a little chocolates as well, so. So turns out apparently I can be bought, but I really did. I love the sound of this story. Okay, so this is about. Okay, this is interesting. So the author is Judith Newcomb Styles and the main character is Mary Newcomb, spelled differently with an e on the end. Interesting. Okay, it doesn't really matter, but okay. This one is for fans of lessons in Chemistry and Where the Crawdads Sing. And it's about Mary, who dutifully returns home to Cape cod with her 12 year old son to celebrate Christmas with her adoptive mother, Mother Birdie. The only part of the trip she looks forward to is digging beach clay for pottery to stoke her beloved kiln. But while she's home, a suspicious fire destroys destroys the town's health clinic and Mary becomes a leading suspect. Mary has a foggy idea of what happened that night. She had too much eggnog. And as always, her mom isn't talking. Birdie has kept secrets from Mary her entire life, beginning with the truth about Mary's birth mother. When Mary discovers her adoptive father made a lot of money performing Pre Roe vs Wade illegal abortions in the clinic that burned to the ground. She's done with being kept in the dark. As the days tick by and pressures mount to find the arsonist, Mary digs deeper into Wellfleet's history and more secrets start to unfurl. There's a cousin that's acting weird and suddenly so is somebody else. And. And the FBI comes in and are zeroing in on Mary when another fire burns in the harbor and it becomes time for Mary and Bertie to face a long brewing reckoning. They're calling this a cross generational mystery told through the perspectives of four women living on the underbelly of Cape Cod, and I quite like the sound of that. I am intrigued if you want the two the two sentence review secrets implode and generations of lies boil over into deadly consequences when a suspicious fire breaks out on Christmas night on Cape Cod. I think that just gives you just enough for what you can expect with this book. But I am intrigued. This book is Hush Little Fire by Judith Newcomb Stiles.
- [57:29]
B
Yeah, that sounds really good. I am really excited about my Shelf edition, which is a book that is coming out. Oh no, it already came out. It came out in September. It is A Land so Wide by Erin A. Craig and this one sounds perfect for fall reading and I actually just picked it up and I'm excited to potentially bring it for an episode soon if all goes well. This is set in the isolated village of Mistaken, and no one can leave. The town is built by a wealthy lumber merchant and thrives on its natural resources. But the surrounding woods hide terrifying creatures called the Bright Eyed, and to keep them out, Mistaken's founders struck a deal with a mysterious force known as the Benevolence, and they place warning stones around the village. The catch, though, is that anyone who spends a night inside Mistaken is now trapped there forever. In this story we're following Greer Mackenzie, who is a mapmaker and a restless dreamer. She has always longed to see the world beyond the stones, but when her fiance, Ellen Ellis vanishes beyond the village borders on their wedding day, Greer refuses to accept his loss and she finds a way to hopefully break the curse, set out into the wild and find Ellis. Apparently this is inspired by Scottish folklore, and this is this author's adult debut. I obviously can't speak to the ending, so I'm not saying this as a spoiler, but so far the vibes of this one feel like the movie the Village, if anyone has ever seen that. It's like a classic, kind of campy, not really campy, but it's a classic horror novel and for those who have watched it, they know how it ends. I've obviously just started this, so I have no idea how it ends, so no intention of spoilers by that comp at all. But just this village that you can't leave and the, you know, something sinister is happening but nobody knows what. There's kind of these selkies or forest creatures that are these magical beings so gives those vibes. So far anyway, that is a Land so Wide by Erin A. Craig.
- [59:46]
A
Yay. All right, well that's it for us for for today. All right, well, that is it from us 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 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 the community, you can join us for $5 a month on patreon.com booktalk Etc.
- [60:18]
B
And 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 Tina at TBR Etc. And Hannah at HandpickedBooks. Talk to you next week. And in the meantime, remember, everything's better with books.
- [60:39]
A
Actually, this is funny. I took PTO next week because it's. I'm kicking off my birthday week next week. Friday. It's our birthday week, actually. But I'm taking it on Friday to deal with this. Let's see if I can get the camera camera to deal with this. To deal with that. You see it?
- [60:55]
B
Okay, you see it? Is that like a TBR mail situation?
- [60:59]
A
Nope, this is just all TBR or books I should say that I haven't read. So I need to do some culling. I need to get rid of some. I need to figure out my life and I'm excited.