Season 7, Episode 16: Wrapper Bookmarks + Spreading Bookish Love

Summary

Podcast Summary: Currently Reading

Season 7, Episode 16: Wrapper Bookmarks + Spreading Bookish Love
Release Date: November 18, 2024
Hosts: Meredith Monday Schwartz and Katie Cobb

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1. Bookish Moment of the Week

Meredith's Bookish Moment: Kindle Color Soft Disappointment
Meredith kicked off the episode by sharing her recent frustration with Amazon’s Kindle Color Soft. She expressed disappointment with its color display and battery life compared to her beloved Kindle Oasis.

“Big fat bummer, Jeff Bezos.” (02:44)
“The screen doesn’t look yellow to me, but that could definitely be a part of what’s happening.” (05:30)

Katie's Bookish Moment: The Three Musketeers Wrapper Bookmark
Katie recounted a humorous mishap where she used a candy wrapper as a bookmark for her hardcover copy of The Three Musketeers. Realizing her mistake, she promptly replaced it with a proper bookmark.

“I put an empty candy Wrapper in as a bookmark on a book that has a dust jacket with flaps. Who does that? An animal, that’s who.” (07:15)

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2. Current Reads

Meredith's Current Reads:

• The Killing Season by Mason Cross
  Meredith delved into this action-packed thriller featuring Caleb Wardle, the Chicago sniper escaping death row, and Carter Blake, the relentless mercenary. She appreciated the book's fast pace and cliffhanger chapters, likening it to her favorite action movies.

  “This was a fun three hours of reading. It was a perfect little palette cleanser between two much darker and more literary books.” (12:45)

• The Grip of It by Jack Jims
  Shifting gears to horror, Meredith reviewed this novel about a young couple experiencing supernatural disturbances in their new home. While she found the premise intriguing and the writing self-aware, she felt the character development fell short.

  “The book pushes our suspension of disbelief so far like to my absolute limits.” (22:30)

Katie's Current Reads:

• The Love of My Afterlife by Kirsty Greenwood
  Katie explored this romantic thriller where Delphi, a recently deceased woman, must find her soulmate within ten days to avoid eternal death. Although she found the premise charming and appreciated the book's frenetic pace, she noted a mid-book lull that impacted her overall enjoyment.

  “By the time the big twisty reveals at the end started happening, I was enjoying myself.” (17:10)

• Where Sleeping Girls Lie by Farida Abike Iyomide
  Katie reviewed this YA mystery set in a prestigious boarding school where the disappearance of her roommate thrusts the protagonist, Sade, into a web of secrets and danger. She praised the book’s ability to maintain suspense but cautioned potential readers about its mature themes.

  “Secrets continue to swirl around Sade, who’s trying to keep her own secrets under wraps as well.” (26:00)

• Non-Fiction Picks:

  • Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara
    Meredith highly recommended this business memoir, highlighting how Guidara transformed Eleven Madison Park into the world’s top restaurant by exceeding customer expectations. She emphasized the book’s universal principles applicable beyond the culinary world.

    “There are a lot of things that I would use in my own business.” (31:50)

  • Better Living Through Birding by Christian Cooper
    Katie lauded this memoir that intertwines bird watching with personal narratives, including Cooper's viral Central Park encounter. She appreciated the book’s heartfelt storytelling and practical birding tips.

    “He invites us into his remarkable story through a common language, that of our feathered friends.” (34:10)

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3. Deep Dive: Spreading Bookish Love on the Internet

Meredith and Katie explored the vibrant world of Bookstagram, highlighting influential accounts, bookstores, and content creators that enrich the bookish community.

Bookstagrammers to Follow:

• Elizabeth Barnhill (Waco Reads):
  Meredith praises Elizabeth for her reliable book recommendations and engaging content.

  “Elizabeth Barnhill is my number one recommendation source.” (37:00)

• Jesse Lynn Weaver (Joy in a Book):
  Katie highlights Jesse’s fun and nerdy niche, noting her thoughtful book selections.

  “Joy Stallworth, who is a great reader and really has this fun, kind of nerdy niche.” (38:05)

• Unlikely Story & Jean Auel:
  Both hosts appreciate the diverse recommendations and authentic voices presented by these creators.

Bookstores with Stellar Social Media Presence:

• Birdrain Books (Holly):
  Meredith commends Holly for her insightful recommendations and resemblance to her own reading style.

  “Holly is often throwing light on books that I need to drop everything and read this now.” (39:30)

• Fabled Bookshop (Waco Reads):
  Katie mentions this store for its phenomenal Instagram content that inspires followers to support independent bookstores.

Notable Content Creators:

• Jason Headley (EZ Cat):
  Katie shares her admiration for Jason’s joyful and engaging content, regardless of the book topics he discusses.

  “Jason’s visceral joy makes my feed better. I love those videos and they make my world better.” (40:50)

• Monsieur Marple:
  Meredith recommends this account for mystery enthusiasts, especially those who enjoy cozy and British-themed books.

  “She does a great feed that’s mostly mystery based but a lot of British and a lot of cozy.” (41:10)

Community Engagement:

Both hosts emphasized the importance of following authors and podcasters who align with their reading preferences, while also appreciating those who challenge their tastes. They encouraged listeners to engage thoughtfully with their Bookstagram feeds to enhance their reading experiences.

“The take-home here is be really thoughtful about like the 10 accounts that you consistently know.” (46:00)

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4. The Fountain Wish

Meredith's Fountain Wish: Podcast Recommendation
Meredith wished listeners to explore the "Best Books Lately with Sophie Hudson" episode on Laura Tremaine's podcast. She highlighted the engaging discussion and valuable book recommendations shared in the episode.

“If you haven’t heard it already and you love good bookish conversation, you’re going to want to listen.” (47:15)

Katie's Fountain Wish: Plan Your Holiday Reading
Katie echoed a previous reminder, urging listeners to organize their holiday reading lists to ensure a fulfilling December. She suggested a variety of genres, from diverse holiday romances to cozy mysteries and snowy-themed books.

“Pick up Christmas in Rose Bend by Naima Simone... or maybe you want the afterlife of Holly Chase that we mentioned earlier.” (48:35)

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5. Concluding Remarks

Meredith and Katie wrapped up the episode by reiterating the importance of community within the bookish world and encouraging listeners to connect with them and each other through various platforms. They invited listeners to share their favorite Bookstagram accounts and holiday reading plans, fostering a sense of camaraderie among fellow readers.

“Happy reading, Meredith.” (51:47)

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Meredith on Kindle Color Soft:
  “Big fat bummer, Jeff Bezos.” (02:44)

• Katie on Wrapper Bookmark Mishap:
  “Who does that? An animal, that’s who.” (07:15)

• Meredith on The Killing Season:
  “This was a fun three hours of reading. It was a perfect little palette cleanser between two much darker and more literary books.” (12:45)

• Katie on The Grip of It:
  “It never delivers on the experimental horror or the deep character study that it seems to be trying to attempt.” (23:50)

• Meredith on Unreasonable Hospitality:
  “There are a lot of things that I would use in my own business.” (31:50)

• Katie on Better Living Through Birding:
  “He invites us into his remarkable story through a common language, that of our feathered friends.” (34:10)

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Final Thoughts

Season 7, Episode 16 of Currently Reading offers a rich tapestry of book reviews, personal anecdotes, and community-focused discussions. Meredith and Katie blend their personal experiences with insightful critiques, making the episode both engaging and informative for listeners seeking their next great read. Whether delving into action-packed thrillers, heartfelt memoirs, or exploring the dynamic world of Bookstagram, this episode encapsulates the essence of a true bookish friendship.

For those seeking in-depth book recommendations and a sense of connection within the literary community, this episode is a must-listen. Happy reading!

Transcript

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Foreign. Hey, readers, welcome to the Currently Reading podcast. We are bookish best friends who spend time every week talking about the books that we've read recently. And as you know, we won't shy away from having strong opinions. So get ready.

[Katie Cobb]

We are light on the chit chat, heavy on the book talk, and our descriptions will always be spoiler free. Today we'll discuss our current reads, a bookish deep dive, and then we'll visit the fountain.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

I'm Meredith Monday Schwartz, a mom of four and full time CEO living in Austin, Texas. And once again, Jeff Bezos. Disappoints.

[Katie Cobb]

Oh, no. I was hoping we'd talk about this. I am Katie Cobb, a homeschooling mom of four living in Arizona. And this week I've recognized my inner animal. This is episode number 16 of season seven and we are so glad you're here.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

All right, Katie. Well, it has definitely been a week. We will tell everybody we are recording today on Saturday, November 9, just to kind of orient people to where we are in the world on the calendar. And we have, you know, there's just been a week. But this is our little bookish area of comfort and joy. We're creating this safe space to talk about books and joy and normalcy. And we love it.

[Katie Cobb]

Yes, definitely. In fact, this week we are going to deep dive on the goodness that you can find on the bookish Internet, bookstagram, great people to follow, amazing bookstores that have amazing social media presence. Just like shouting out and spreading some love. Because that feels lovely, doesn't it? Yes, it really does. So before we do that, we'll start the way we always do, which is with our bookish moment of the week. Meredith, tell us the sad news.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Yes, I mean, it is, it is sad news. I, I mean it's not, I mean, obviously this is not world endings. This is very minor. But in the, in my little bookish world, I needed some wins this week and the Kindle color soft did not give me one, which was a big fat bummer. So, you know, I have my oasis, which I've always set is just like my beloved. It's my precious. My Kindle oasis is my perfect. I've really realized it is my perfect e reader. And so the any new Kindle was going to have a hill to climb. There's no question. I got my Kindle color soft and I was hopeful about a few things that didn't come into play. So the color element of it is very soft. It's right there in the name. Katie.

[Katie Cobb]

True it really they were Trying truth in advertising there. Yeah, right.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

You can just hear the meetings that were taking place like. But do you think they'll understand the soft part?

[Katie Cobb]

We should definitely not use the word vibrant.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Right, right, right. It's kind of got a. The colors have a. The colors are definitely there, but it's very in the sepia type tone part of the color family, which I thought might be okay, but it turns out that for this reader, it wasn't enough to overcome some of the other things. Now, I will tell you, I mean, I don't need to tell you this. We all know that we have our weird proclivities when it comes to the things that we care a lot about in our reading, certainly in our, you know, the way that our reading feels to us in our hands. I really realized that I. There were two things about the Kindle Oasis that are not solved by the Kindle Color Soft that really bother me. I love my buttons, my up and down buttons, even though I'm reading a lot with my remote control. Like that setup where I'm using the remote control, which I love and still works in the Kindle Color Soft, obviously. But when I'm using just the Kindle in my hands, the buttons I really miss on the Kindle Color Soft. And also, I futzed with this thing for a week and I can't get the warmth and brightness exactly right for my eyes. And I did a lot of, like, going back and forth between the Oasis, like tuning it to the exact numbers, like not just relying on my eyes, but actually doing the exact numbers. And the way that the page looks is completely different even when you're tuning it as close, close together as possible. That warmth setting on the Oasis really makes a difference to how my eyes feel about the text on the page. The text has a little bit of a granularity to it on the color Soft that I kept noticing. A lot of people have talked about there being a yellow cast. Now maybe that is truly what's happening. That is making it so that I can't adjust the warmth and brightness to get exactly right. The. The screen doesn't look yellow to me, but that could definitely be a part of what's happening. So what I realized is that. And, oh, the other thing is that they were selling the Kindle Color Soft on having this great battery life. I have definitely found that my Oasis and Johnny and Jackson both use Kindle Paperwhites have vastly better, vastly better battery life. My Kindle Color Soft was losing battery more like an iPhone than. Than a Kindle of any kind. So I didn't send it back because I just am going to use it as a. As a backup Kindle, which is really important for me to have. I also kind of want to keep it because I want to compare it to any new or, you know, better version that comes out, which I'm sure there will be one in the future. For me, I vastly prefer my Kindle Oasis. And also when I want color, my iPad setup is for annotation or just that cover that, like, the cover's looking really great. My iPad is much, much better for me. So right now, my current setup is a lot better. So big fat bummer, Jeff Bezos. It really seems like what they did was that they rushed this out.

[Katie Cobb]

Yeah, I almost had my. My bite sized intro this week. Be that. I'm really glad I didn't fall for his tricks.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Yeah, seriously. Seriously.

[Katie Cobb]

That is such a bummer. And, you know, we just. We wanted better. We wanted better from Amazon because they have delivered so well in the past with their E readers that I guess you can't always have a win, huh?

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

I have high hopes that we will get a better version of it. I just feel like what they needed to do was they needed to do a whole lot more user testing or focus group grouping with actual readers.

[Katie Cobb]

Yeah. Yeah, that makes sense. Okay. My bookish moment. You probably realize I. I struggled this week a little bit, just even coming up with a bookish moment. What did I do this week? First, I scrolled through existential dread. You know, there was just a lot going on. You did timestamp this episode already. I picked something I could control, and my dad and I tore out a wall that I knew that we would find a leak behind. That was exciting because I was right. It was not exciting because there was black mold back there. So we're dealing with that. My people. I took my kids to therapy, and there I opened up the book that I was ready to read because it was one of those times, like we talked about last week, where I scroll for a little bit and then I set my phone down and I know I'm gonna have 30 to 40 minutes to just read, right? Yep. So I open up my book. I had started it. I had read one chapter open to my bookmark, and it was a three musketeers wrapper. Meredith. Ew. I was so mad at Past Katie. You know why? Because this was a hardcover book with a dust jacket that has flaps. So apparently my brain has so completely melted into goo that I put an empty candy Wrapper in as a bookmark on a book that has a dust jacket with flaps. Who does that? An animal, that's who. I have bookmarks literally everywhere in my house, in every drawer. There are some in my car. Because you just never know when you're going to need a bookmark. Right. Plus random other pieces of paper. There's so many ways to mark a book and a cover that has flaps, but that did not matter this week. Candy did. Candy was getting me through the week. Ergo, three Musketeers as a bookmark. I will reassure our gentle readers that when I got home, I threw away the candy wrapper and I put a real bookmark in my book. As a.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Did you take an over amount of time carefully choosing the bookmark?

[Katie Cobb]

Yes. I was like, I am so sorry, my dear book. How dare I. Please let me make amends. It was very upsetting to me. So.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Oh, man.

[Katie Cobb]

It happens. Inner Animal just came out this week.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

It does happen. Katie. I. This morning I, last night stayed up really late doing a bunch of work because I'm. I'm continuing to try. I can't. So my. You know my fountain wish from several weeks ago about a database of books? Like, actually a searchable database. For some reason, I can't let that go.

[Katie Cobb]

Yeah.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

I can't quit it. And so I stayed up way too late last night researching different tools and different. Like just really trying to put together some way that we could actually do this. And then this morning I got up because I had had an idea and I went to go find. I could not find my computer.

[Katie Cobb]

Oh, my gosh. Where was it?

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

I mean, it turned out that it was in my kitchen, which I don't ever, like, walk around and, like, set things. I'm very rigid in my practices, and so I couldn't. I spent five minutes looking for my laptop. And my house is big, but it's not that big.

[Katie Cobb]

I lost my computer mouse the other day for the same reason, because I. I took it somewhere. Why?

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

It just feels a little bit like some. I'm walking through a fog, you know, a little bit. So. But that's okay. With every passing day, the fog clears.

[Katie Cobb]

Indeed. And hopefully as the fog clears, the words become clearer and we can read some books. Meredith, what have you been reading lately? Let's talk about current reads.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

My first current read is a book that's in one of those genres that just every once in a while, I love to dip into it. This is a book called the Killing Season by Mason Cross. Here's our setup so this book starts out with a high stakes manhunt. We have Caleb Wardle, he's better known as the Chicago sniper, and he has just escaped death row with only two weeks to go before his execution. So the FBI knows that this is the. The FBI knows that they're in trouble, right? I mean, they lost a about to be executed serial killer, and so they call in Carter Blake. Now, Carter is one of those mercenary characters who specializes in finding people who absolutely do not want to be found. Blake comes with his own troubled past with Wardell, which makes him both the perfect and maybe the worst choice to team up with the FBI. They put Special Agent Elaine Banner partnered up with Carter, and these two take on this trying to find Caleb. This is one of those twisty thrillers where every time you think you know where it's going, the author takes us on another turn. Wardell commits a seemingly random trail of killings across America while Blake and Banner are chasing after him. And they start noticing that things don't add up about the case, about each other, and about why they are suddenly being pushed to the sidelines of their own investigation. Okay. Shenanigans ensue, obviously. Now, before I start telling you about this book, which I quite liked, I'm going to tell you something about me that you might not know. That is that I have a very particular taste in. In movies and even in some TV shows. I really have a hidden obsession with action movies. The Bourne Identity, Mission Impossible, the Jack Reacher series. Give me any movie in which Liam Neeson is trying to go get somebody who's been kidnapped. I love it. Always. The reality is I love a good guy going after bad guys and getting his man. Not something I'm super proud of. But the heart wants what the heart wants. So I was kind of delighted as I was going through my big book Unhauling of the Summer, where I was going through books from my book drop subscription and I was getting rid of several of them. But I came upon this one which hooked me right from the start. This one was quite good. When I say quite good, I do need to qualify that this is the book equivalent of an action movie. So I just want to be really clear in my. That in my setup that that's what we have here. We've got an interesting premise, we've got a really bad guy, a really good guy, and lots of action scenes in between the beginning and the end. There's lots of times in a book like this where they say things like this is business. It's not Personal partner, things like that. This is where we. I just want to be clear about where we are. But I read this book really quickly because the pages flew and it's got those ridiculously short Cheeto chapters that ended with cliffhangers. I could not resist. I wanted to find out not necessarily what was going to happen because I think we all have a strong feeling about what was going to end up happening in the end, but more, I was interested in how it was always going to come together. And it came together well. This was a fun three hours of reading. It was a perfect little palette cleanser between two much darker and more literary books. And it was exactly what I needed it to be. Apparently Mason Cross has written more books in this Carter series. So if you read this or your dad reads this and really likes it, there's a lot more fun to be had. I will also say, if you like me, watch and re watch the show Tracker. You're going to think this book is a lot of fun because in my mind, the guy who plays the lead in Tracker, whose name is escaping me right now, is the lead in this book. And that made it even more fun. This is the Killing Season by Mason Cross.

[Katie Cobb]

Okay, well, my slight confession for this episode then is also that I love movies like the Bourne Identity and Mission Impossible and anything where Liam Neeson is chasing down a bad guy. Like, what is it?

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

I love it.

[Katie Cobb]

It's just predictability, I guess. I don't know. I guess fast paced.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

The best, the best movie I've seen like that in the past year and I watch a lot of these is the Beekeeper.

[Katie Cobb]

Okay.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

If you like movies like this and you. It's Jason Statham. It's Mama Huxtable. I can't remember what her name is.

[Katie Cobb]

You can't look at me for actors and actresses ever.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Claire Huxtable, Phylicia Rashad. Okay, she's in that too. The Beekeeper is really good. That's a movie, not a book.

[Katie Cobb]

Okay, well, some of us will check out both and some of us will just check out one of them.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Exactly.

[Katie Cobb]

And that's fine.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

All right, what's your first one?

[Katie Cobb]

Okay, this week I have like a ramp up. That's what I'm doing with my current reads. So the first one I'm going to talk about is the Love of My Afterlife by Kirsty Greenwood. This brings together ghosts and romance in a fresh way. Let's dive in. Delphi has died. To be clear, she heated up a microwavable burger alone in her apartment and choked on it until she died, which may have killed her of embarrassment if she wasn't, you know, already dead. She heads to the afterlife, which looks weirdly like a laundromat, where she meets Merritt, her afterlife advisor. Merrit skips off to find some paperwork and Delvey finds herself standing in front of Jonah, the hottest man she's ever seen in her living life. But she's wearing her embarrassing nightie and she just choked to death on a microwavable hamburger. She's not her best self, but doesn't matter. Sparks fly instantly. They start to chat about the weirdness of what's happening to them in this laundromat. There's an inhuman, fateful connection between them until Merritt runs back with the paperwork, realizes there's been a huge mistake, and sends Jonah back to Earth, the land of the living, where he belongs. Turns out then Delphi is offered a deal. She's got 10 days to find Jonah in a city of millions and get him to kiss her. He's her soulmate, says Merritt, who sends Delfy on her way with only his first name. If she fails, she'll die again, and this time forever. So this is like a short term action movie, but with romance at the center, right? I like it when Delfy wakes up on her floor with a piece of hamburger still in her mouth and her cranky and brooding downstairs neighbor Cooper staring down at her with his dark shirt and his r rippling muscles. She remembers everything and has to get to work finding Jonah. Of course, Cooper seeing her in that horrible nightie is only the beginning of her problems. This book took me, it feels like 23 years to read. It was actually about a month because it was on my Kindle and they have melatonin in them. It's a whole thing. I brought it to Love and Chili Peppers as a current read about a month ago when I had just picked it up. The premise sounds cute. It has Ashley Poston Dead Romantics vibes, which I hugged when I finished. But unfortunately for me, it was just okay. There was quite a bit of nearly Laurel and Hardy esque madcap element to this book as she's running through New York City trying to find. Actually, it might not even be New York City. They might be in London. It was that forgettable three. But she's trying to find Jonah. She has to find Jonah. It does have a found family element to it, which I really appreciated, especially with Delphy's upstairs neighbor, an elderly mute man who she visits to check in on and share meals with. There's A library and bookish element that I really enjoyed. And Cooper is a brooding dish of a man that is the perfect kind to get under my skin. But I often felt myself bored wanting to shake Delfy and move the plot along. By the time the big twisty reveals at the end started happening, I was enjoying myself. But that mid book lag almost had me set it down forever. And that seems to be one side of a coin because it has a high average rating overall and many people gave it five stars. There are quite a few reviews like mine as well, with people who were bored or really hate the ending. While it got a bit saccharine and tidy for me, by the end, I didn't hate it and I ended up giving it 3.75 stars with the entirety of the markdown based on that middle slog of the book. Well, and a little bit the writing. But overall, I'll be sticking with Ashley Poston for my liminal space romance reads. Moving forward. This was the Love of My Afterlife by Kirsty Greenwood.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Oh, well, it does have a good premise. It sounds like a lot of fun.

[Katie Cobb]

It sounds fun, doesn't it?

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Yeah, it sounds like that Christmas. What's that Christmas book? The afterlife of Holly Chase. Yes, Chase. Like that kind of was the vibe that I was hoping we were. Because that's a really good. That's a great holiday book.

[Katie Cobb]

That is a good holiday book. I'm gonna bring that up again later, actually.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Yeah. Oh, really? Yes, Serious.

[Katie Cobb]

It will come up again later in my Fountain wish. So make a little note in your head. Okay.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Yeah, I hadn't thought about that at all until we were just talking about that. Okay. All right. You're probably looking to me for another book.

[Katie Cobb]

Did you read anything else, Meredith?

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

I did. I do have another book. Katie, we can do this. I know we can. I know we have it in us to get a show out. All right, here we go. This book is a whole scene. This book is horror. And it's definitely horror. This is called the Grip of It by Jack Jimps. Here's a setup. Our lead characters are Julie and James, and they are looking for. They need a fresh start. So they're looking at a bunch of homes. And they tour a suburban home nestled between a lake and a forest in this gorgeous setting. But quickly, and I do mean quickly, on the house tour. Things are suspect in this house. Sus, if you will. But despite all irrationality and a strange vibrating sound that the realtor dismisses as the house settling.

[Katie Cobb]

Nope.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Good old Julie and James decide to Buy it. Partly because the price is surprisingly reasonable and partly because James gambling has made a quick move very necessary. But from the moment they move in something, a lot of things about the house feel more than a little off. Like crazy wacky bad. The floor plan seems to shift with rooms appearing where they shouldn't be possible. Strange stains appear and disappear on the walls. And Julie starts discovering inexplicable bruises on her body. All things that are. Anytime you say the word strange stains, I'm out of any kind. Of any kind.

[Katie Cobb]

In real life, maybe.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Oh, right. Well, I know, but in my books. Exactly. Bring it on. Okay, so the grip of it is one of those books that does. It starts us out with this familiar premise. A premise that although it does kind of make you suspend your disbelief, can really work for me. In horror Young couple buys a too good to be true house. But then Jack Jims is True, who's a Woman is trying to do something much more literary with it. The writing is so very self aware, it's almost meta in its approach to these haunted house tropes and the rotating points of view between Julie and James. They had real potential to give us insight into this kind of and element of this book, this marriage that's under supernatural pressure. But unfortunately their individual voices, each character, Julie and James, they just weren't distinct enough as individuals to make that piece work. What interested me here was how the author seemed to be setting up this fascinating parallel between the deterioration of this house and the breakdown of this marriage between Julie and James. James's gambling problem and this really quick move that they had to make provided really fertile ground for themes of like trust and the possibility of a relationship. Finding redemption if you go through something together. And how well do we really know our partnership? But somewhere along the way, the book seems to abandon all of that fertile ground in favor of concentrating only on increasingly bizarre supernatural elements. So I read this as a buzzy, as a buddy read with Betsy and Kiara as we read through Sadie Hartman's 101 Horror Novels to read before you get murdered. And buddy reading turned out to be perfect because I needed someone to discuss what was actually happening. The book pushes our suspension of disbelief so far like to my absolute limits. Not just with the supernatural elements, but with the characters bizarre decisions to stay in this situation long past the point where any reasonable person would have run screaming from the building. By the end, I still wasn't clear on what or who we were supposed to view as the actual threat. Which I guess can work in some books for Some readers, but I'm realizing that is a real problem for me in my horror. This is something. As I do a new focus on horror reading that I'm. This is something a reader. Know thyself. So this book had potential to be kind of House of Leaves meets Fates and Furies, but it never delivers on the experimental horror or the deep character study that it seems to be trying to attempt. The literary style and the unreliable narrators are interesting, but they ultimately work against the horror elements. And I have to be honest, the. The ending left frustrated enough to color my entire experience with the book. This one just didn't stick the landing for me. This is the grip of it by Jack Jims.

[Katie Cobb]

The cover's really scary, though.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Yeah, it's got a good cover for sure. I mean, you know, and again, propulsive. Definitely wanted to read the whole time. Never boring. Yeah, Just other really big kind of faults with it.

[Katie Cobb]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

But I'm not mad that I read it.

[Katie Cobb]

Okay. Are we mad about the number of J words and names associated with it? Because it's a lot like Jack, Julie and James and Jack, and it's just a lot.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

It's a lot of J names.

[Katie Cobb]

Yeah.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Probably other names that could have been chosen.

[Katie Cobb]

Call them Martin and Mary. I don't know.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Okay, well, it kind of comes into play, though, because, like I said, because their characters aren't so distinctly drawn and then they're flashing through these different points of view that it. It really sort of becomes indistinct in a lot of ways. Including that one.

[Katie Cobb]

Okay, okay. Well, that's fair. My second book has a bit of a horror element to it as well. I'm going to talk about Where Sleeping Girls Lie by Farida Abike Iyomide. This one has boarding school and murder. Here's the setup. I like it. Sade Hussain is our main character. She's starting her junior year of high school, but she's recently transferred to a prestigious boarding school called the Alfred Noble Academy. She was homeschooled up to now. Check one in my column. Right. So she's feeling awkward and unsure of her footing in a new world. Elizabeth, Sade's roommate, seems to be a decent fit for her. They seem to gel pretty well, at least in the first few hours. But that's all they get because on their first night in the dorms, Elizabeth disappears. And rumors are flying that her new roommate, the unknown player Sade, had something to do with it. The unholy trinity of popular girls at school. You know the ones I'm talking About right? Yep. They have their attention snag on Sade as the drama starts to swirl around her and they kind of take her under their wing. Elizabeth's mystery gets swept under the rug, as I'm sure she ran away or an aunt picked her up is what we heard. Or maybe she withdrew and no one told us. All kinds of theories, but Sade is trying to navigate the girl's attention, her class schedule, and something is not sitting right about Elizabeth still being gone, even though she only knew her for a few hours. The tension keeps building even while it seems like school is running along the way it should until a student is found dead, a popular guy with everything going for him. Secrets continue to swirl around Sade, who's trying to keep her own secrets under wraps as well, and the mystery starts to reveal itself. All the students begin to realize that Alfred Noble Academy may not be the shining star of academia that it's portrayed to be. This is YA mystery. The protagonists are young, under adult age, right? But it is a darker story, so it's definitely more adult feeling than something like A Good Girl's Guide to Murder or One of Us Is Lying, which is usually what gets bandied around as school based YA mystery. Right? There are quite a few trigger warnings listed on storygraphs, so you'll want to be aware of that. Especially if you have sensitivities around sexual assault, which is a major player in the center of this mystery. This one might not be the book for you, my dear reader. However, I found myself listening at a clip and finding excuses to do chores, which has been a struggle for me this year. For that, I was grateful to Farida abike Ayomide for keeping the plot moving. She's got a YA thriller that I'll be looking to pick up soon called Ace of Spades, which has been on my TBR for years. Didn't even realize they were the same author. She also has a lighter YA romance that released this year written with a co writer called Four Eads and a Funeral. I'm looking forward to kind of seeing her range because this one one was dark academia YA mystery really kept me interested the whole way through and I enjoyed it. This was Where Sleeping Girls Lie by Farida Abigail.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Now this sounds really interesting and I've had Ace of Spades on my TBR somewhere. It's somewhere that I see it periodically.

[Katie Cobb]

Right? Once you look at the COVID you're like, oh yeah, I know that. Yeah, how come I haven't read that yet? Right?

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Interesting. Okay, well I'm glad That, that one's.

[Katie Cobb]

That.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

That one was good. All right, big change of pace here for me. We're going to do a swing up. As far as what I thought of this book, this is a five star business book that is now on my list of great business books. When people ask me for that, this is Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara. All right, so nonfiction. So as always, I start with the tagline. Will says, this is the remarkable power of giving people more than they expect. So in this book, author and restaurateur Will Guidara, he built up a small New York restaurant, eleven Madison park, into literally the number one restaurant in the world. There are actually lists that they compile of these things. You've probably seen this book or heard about this book. I mentioned it in a bookish moment of the week a few weeks ago. It's one of those few business books that seems to have to a certain extent, entered the cultural zeitgeist. Partly because the author, Will Guidara, has done a really great job with a TED Talk and his social media introducing the concepts that you find in the book. And also because one of the episodes of the first season, first season of the Bear, I think it's episode seven is based on something that happens and the jumping off point for this book and the cultural momentum that Will Guidara has found is justly earned with this book. As I mentioned, the tagline is the remarkable power of giving people more than they expect. And that is a great distillation of what you find in this book because on every level, I found more than I expected. I knew this would be a great business book. I knew it would be a part memoir, but I didn't expect that it would be as heartfelt as it is. It's impossible not to like Will. He's so earnest and good. You just have to root for him. He's not slick in the way you think about a restaurateur being. He's just a really normal guy who wants to do the right thing by his customers and by his employees. Which leads me to the second thing that I didn't expect to find in this book. I didn't expect to find so many things that I would use in my own business. I mean, I thought I would learn about restaurants and hear some interesting stories. But he really does write this in a way that though the story is based in the food world, he's able to show you how these principles can be expanded upon in a lot of different kinds of businesses. I've now read this book with two different groups in my company and each time we've taken something more and different out of it. In fact, at this point we're in the process of creating a role at our company based on the principles in this book. It was very, very impactful for us. So if you like books about restaurants in the food business, if you like business books, and if you like books that really help you figure out how to take someone's success and use it in your own life or your own work, you are going to find something to love in this book. This is a great book to gift someone in your life for Christmas because they will definitely be able to get something out of it. It's also a really easy, propulsive read. His writing style, very, very accessible. This is Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara. And as I said, going on my list of recommendations for when people ask me for my favorite kind of seminal books about business. Also definitely watch his TED Talk. It really distills it down in a perfect and engaging way.

[Katie Cobb]

I love this. I have had this book on my radar because of the bear episode, you know, for a year or two now. And I honestly I had not heard that much about it. I just like the title and it was buzzing around me. But having you talk about it and knowing kind of my own drive to create a space for our bookish friends really is what it comes down to that is unreasonably hospitable, like the way that we welcome in bookish people. I have had that as like a driving force for seven years now, six and a half years now. And so I am more inclined now to pick it up after hearing you talk about it because it sounds very perfect for me. Maybe somebody should buy it for me for Christmas.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Yeah, I mean it's one of those books where it, you know, it really you could give it to almost anyone and they there would be something that they would take from it.

[Katie Cobb]

Yeah, I think that's so great. I'm looking forward to this one. I also have nonfiction for my third pick today and it is my five star book of the episode. This is Better Living Through Birding by Christian Cooper. Five star book went on my keeper shelf. If you love a memoir, listen right up. I'll give you the subtitle as well, like Meredith did. This is Notes from a Black man in the Natural World. You probably already know about Christian Cooper even if you don't recognize his name right away. Oh, In May of 2020, he was bird watching in Central park in New York City. A routine ask of a dog walker to keep her dog on a leash escalated into a racial confrontation on video when the woman called the police to tell them she was being threatened by a black man. This was the very same day that George Floyd was killed in Minneapolis by a police officer. Both incidents went viral as two sides of the same coin Race based violence in America. Christian Cooper survived his encounter. His life was not in danger during the incident and therefore lived to tell the tale in his book, which released in May of 2023. While it seems like that might be the pivotal moment in his life, instead it's just a small blip in his otherwise remarkable story. Christian grew up bird watching with his dad. It was one of their only points of connection, especially as he realized he was gay and was scared to come out to his father. Starting with his childhood, Christian shows the reader how bird watching created community even when he felt like an outsider. It allowed him to appreciate the natural world, travel to far flung corners of the earth, and accept himself in ways that he may not have otherwise. Christian was also an avid comic book reader and totally nerdy kid, which captured my heart. But as we all hope for our kids, his passion turned into a career, including a storyline that runs right through the center of Marvel Comics where he introduced the first openly gay storylines. Every so often in this book, Christian shares a birding tip like bird first with your ears instead of your eyes or focus on just one species or don't overlook the less interesting finds. He tells stories of mentors and fellow bird watchers who were also remarkable in their own right. And the story with the Central Park Dog walker is just the social media spark that brought him to the world's attention. He invites us into his remarkable story through a common language, that of our feathered friends. I cried reading this book with Katie, my reading partner, this summer, and it wouldn't even have been on my radar without Content Bookstore in Minnesota and their paperback reading sale where they put a selection of 10 books on sale every summer in a number of categories. So it's like 10 nonfiction, 10 adult, 10 ya, 10 middle grade. And your discount grows depending on how many you buy. I usually get at least five books from this sale every year. I end up with some really great finds on my shelves because of it and I'm so grateful that this was one of them. This is Better Living Through Birding by Christian Cooper.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

How great is that?

[Katie Cobb]

So great.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

I love it. That makes me want a high kick that he got a chance to write this book and tell his story.

[Katie Cobb]

And his story is so much more than like that thing, that one minute video, that's just a tiny little piece of it. I just. Oh, I love it so much. Okay, now we're going to spread that joy around. We're going into our deep dive. We're going to talk about bookstores, we're going to talk about Bookstagrammers, we're going to talk about authors that are great followers or other podcasters that are doing fun things on Instagram. And that's partially because we have thrown some new focus on our own Instagram. It's fun to follow us there. There's some cool stuff happening and it's just a fun corner of the Internet as well. So, Meredith, what's the first niche of Bookstagram that you kind of want to focus on today?

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Well, I will say that I. So I definitely have some great follows. But what this deep dive did for me was it really made me realize how much in the last, like six months I have been using Instagram and TikTok to engage with other things other than just. But like a lot of watercolor on, on both of those platforms for me right now. And that's not because obviously I'm not reading or interested in books. It's more because I have been making a concerted effort to try to not consume as much Bookstagram because I really want to be bringing books that are not like the 15 books that I feel like everyone are reading. And when I consume a bunch of Bookstagram, I feel like I'm really drawn towards those books. Right. Like, there's the FOMO aspect of things and all of that. So again, I'm definitely still active in the community, but I do. It was interesting for me to note that I have been using Instagram a little bit differently than I had in the previous, like four years, for example. So I, I mean, there, there are some that seem really obvious to me. Right. So my first thought was, where are the places where I'm consistently, when I see someone mention a book, I'm kind of immediately going and checking. For me, that falls into, of course, Waco Reads. We, we know. Elizabeth Barnhill is my number one recommendation source. Of course. Unlikely story One Minute with Bill is one of my favorite things that happens every week. Sadie Hartman from Mother Horror is another place where I'm consistently finding great recommendations. And then also our good friend Holly at Birdrain Books, we read really similarly. Holly and I do. And I'm just finding that she is often throwing light on books that I'm like, okay, I need to drop everything and read this now. Like I take her, you know, what she says about books really seriously. There's also, of course, Liz Hein. You've heard me talk about her. And then, you know, obviously my. My really close bookish friends, but those are really my core places where their stories come up first for me. When they do a post, I read the entire caption. Those kinds of things, definitely.

[Katie Cobb]

Yeah. I have a few core bookish friends that I love checking in with and seeing what they're reading as well. And for me, that's Jesse Lynn Weaver. That's a joy in a book. Joy Stallworth, who is a great reader and really has this fun, kind of nerdy niche. And she is always sure to tag me directly or send me directly a book that she thinks will be a good fit in the gentlest way possible, always. Which is really great. I have a ton of overlap with Fiction Matters Sarah Hildreth, but she and I have a great working relationship where we go back and forth. So we have a lot of common alley in other ways. And I keep my eyes on what she's reading because it's not always the buzziest thing and it's usually more literary than I like to read. So it pushes me outside of my comfort zones in different directions. There are a couple authors that I really love to follow like Ann Patchett, which is really through Parnassus Books. Right. The Lay Down Diaries. Amazing.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

That's. That should be on my list because that's a. That's kind of like appointment television. Kind of like One Minute with Bill. I love the Lay Down Diaries.

[Katie Cobb]

Same. And Barbara Kingsolver is another author I really love to follow. I would add to an unlikely story our entire list of IPL partners. Right. The indie press list has connected us with so many great bookstores all over the United States. Not all over the world. These are very US centric but novel neighbor. The stuff they are putting out on Instagram is so phenomenal. Fabled bookshop, which is Waco Reads. Of course that's where she works. So half that content is hers anyway. But gosh, it's great stuff. The other bookstores we've mentioned so far but that entire list just full of amazing bookstores that are worth the follow. They will lead to you spending your dollars. That's the plan.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Exactly. So the ones that I had on my list that are really always coming up in my feed are Kings English Charter Books. Just our most recent. Our most recent IPL store and Schuyler Books also does a great job recommending on Instagram.

[Katie Cobb]

Definitely. We also recently had a bookstore that's semi local to me. Brightside Bookshop. Amazing. They're fabulous up in Flagstaff, Arizona. Lots of fun. As far as podcast pals, we also get great content from Sarah's bookshelves, Hearts and Daggers, which is Birdbrain Books. Her podcast, Diving in podcasts when they're putting content out. Love seeing what they're working on. And then my forever favorite, we've already had him on the show. He already knows we love him. It's Jason Headley over at EZ Cat. His visceral joy makes my feed better. And I don't care what he's talking about. He could be doing whispers and crinkles where he opens tiny presents. He could be talking about a board game I will literally never play, or he could be talking about books and reading the books he owns. It doesn't matter. I love those videos and they make my world better. So, like, I feel like everybody's already following Jason Henley. But if you're not, please go follow him. He's so great, right?

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

I also follow Monsieur Marple, who does a great feed that's mostly mystery based but a lot of British and a lot of cozy. And so that, that's a great follow for me for fantasy, I mean, obviously cozy fantasy. We all know a fantastic follow is Meg's Tea Room. I just feel like if you, if you love cozy fantasy, that's gotta be first stop. But lately I've been following an account called Book Huddle. So when I say book huddle sounds like book cuddling, but it's book huddle, like a football huddle. Really great. If you, basically, if you like Acotar, you're going to want to follow that account because there's a lot of great recommendations that are similar. And then I have to say, well, and also speaking of podcasters at TBR etc, she is doing really, she consistently does really great content, both on Instagram and is recently doing a YouTube channel that I am finding really fun to dip into. So that's, that's one that I really like. But do you know Suana books?

[Katie Cobb]

I don't think so.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

She does these. She doesn't only do them, but she's known for these silent book reviews. Katie, you have to follow Uwana books, which is S u o n n A h books. She doesn't read like me. She reads a lot of romance, but also mystery, but a lot of rom comy romance. So I don't follow her because I'm going to get recommendations for books. I follow her because I just love everything about her and the way she talks or doesn't talk about books. That's one of my favorite follows. She brings me so much joy.

[Katie Cobb]

That's so fun. I actually, as I prepped for this episode, I was looking for a specific account who. I always watch her reels and I recognize her right away, but I don't know the name of the account. So I will look for it over the next couple weeks before we actually post this episode. And I'll send it to Megan so she can tag it in the show notes. But it's a woman who basically, like, she does, like, trickery where she's like, if I can guess which dollar, I'm. Which hand is holding the dollar, it's time for you to go buy a book. And she will and like, but it's her own hands. So she's like, oh, look, I got it right. Go buy a book now. Right?

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Or she did Duck, Duck, Goose. If she. She played Duck, Duck, Goose with her kid with her books.

[Katie Cobb]

And if she. How hard I hit this book with a hammer is how much I liked it. It's just hysterical. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

I don't remember what the account name is either.

[Katie Cobb]

She's so good. She's just a lot of fun to follow. And she's like, making Bookstagram fun, which is what I want over there. Right. I want some fun and delight. I also want a little bit of snarky. I'm gonna say this one over here, and it has a zero for the O. He does these little tweets, but one of them is like, why isn't there an adult party bus that just takes you from one bookstore to another? He's that kind of content creator. Davidgate poet is a calming presence for me on Instagram. And because he's a poet, he's also a writer, which makes him a good follow as well.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

I love it. I love it. Okay, Katie, one other thing that. That's a little bit controversial that I. That I will say, but we've talked about this before. I pay a lot of attention to the feed that is Susie from Novel Visits.

[Katie Cobb]

Yes.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Because she is a really good reader. She talks about books really well. She's. She appears frequently on Sarah's Bookshelves Live, so you can find her there. But I follow her specifically because she is my true anti book twin. And so I know and she gives honest reviews of the books that she reads. And really, she does that really well. So again, we have completely opposite taste. If she hates something, I pay attention because I know that I will like it and that is so valuable. And that only happens when someone speaks about a book well enough that you can get a sense of those things. So Susie and I read really differently, but she is very valuable to me as a bookish friend.

[Katie Cobb]

Yes, I feel the same about Susie. We don't have a lot of overlap, but I love her posts, I love her reviews, I love interacting with her on her. And honestly, I love Liz Hein too. And she's almost my anti booktoon. We do have a very small Venn diagram overlap like you and Lexi Largent. Right. And I will message her directly and say, but Liz, this is not a book for me. Right. And she's like, probably not. No, definitely like, you should stay away from this one because I loved it so much. But it just works. To know those people in your life and exactly where that overlap might lie is really useful to know as well.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Yeah, exactly. So we can, you know, we've listed a lot of really great accounts, but I think the take home here is be really thoughtful about like the 10 accounts that you consistently know. If this person loves this book, it's a good potential fit for you. And then also maybe there's a handful of anti book twins. So the reader know thyself takeaway here is know what these accounts are for you and they're going to be different for everyone.

[Katie Cobb]

Yeah. And definitely, you know, we'll have a post sometime this week where you can tag your favorite bookstagram follow and tell us about that account as well because maybe the rest of us will get to expand our circles a little bit.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Yep, exactly. That will be excellent. We love, love this. And you know, when we talk about other accounts, it's great to be able to say like this is a great account for you. If that makes it more likely that the right people will find that account.

[Katie Cobb]

Let's make the table a little bigger for all of us. Let's move to the fountain. Meredith, what are you going to wish for this week?

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

All right, well, speaking about the bookish podcast table being big enough for all of us, I am going to talk about an episode of a podcast that was book related that I just ate up with a spoon. Laura tremaine on her 10 Things to Tell you podcast did best books lately, which she does periodically on her show. I always love those episodes. It's episode 243. She did it with Sophie Hudson, who is a new to me find. Sophie is hilarious and such a good and thoughtful reader. And her conversation with Laura, who of course is both hilarious and a good and thoughtful reader was really, really excellent. It was exactly what I needed this week to listen to. They talked about several books that I knew about, but several more that I didn't and put on my tbr. And the bookish discussion was just really satisfying. Just that combination of bringing books to me that I didn't know about before, adding context to ones that I did, and then just making me laugh along or nod along the entire time. It was just one of those episodes that I feel like if you haven't heard it already and you love good bookish conversation, you're going to want to listen to the Best Books Lately with Sophie Hudson episode on the 10 things to tell you podcast with Laura Tremaine.

[Katie Cobb]

Really, you should also this is not my fountain wish, but you should just know that there's another episode a little further back in Laura Tremaine's feed where she and Meredith talk about horror. And if you have not listened to that one yet and why women should be reading horror, you should go back and listen to that one as well.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Oh yes, that was a good and really satisfying discussion.

[Katie Cobb]

Excellent. Okay, my wish is going to sound like a distant echo of one you made a few months ago. Meredith I wish to encourage our friends to plan their holiday reading. Yes, it's going to sound familiar because Meredith reminded us in September to plan for fall, and I did, and I got some great gore and horror in during October. But some of us are more cozy and snowy and holiday readers, so I want to give the same reminder today. It's time to post on Bookstagram or ask the bookish friends for their holiday reads. Every year I ask on stories about diverse holiday romance because that's my mood for December. In which case you should pick up Christmas in Rose Bend by Naima Simone. But you may want cozy mysteries like the new novella by Benjamin Stevenson. Everyone this Christmas has a secret or dark literary fantasy to match long dark days like Piranesi. Or maybe you want snowy cold books like Cold People or Good Morning Midnight. Or maybe you want the afterlife of Holly Chase that we mentioned earlier in the episode. Whatever your bookish holiday move, make the plan now. If you plan enough of them, you can even gift yourself an Advent calendar of bookish delight. But you have to put the forethought into it, and mid November is the perfect time to start to make sure your December reading is exactly what you wished for. Ping. Splash.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

That's a very good wish. Very, very good reminder. I loved the afterlife of Holly Chase on audio, especially it was such a great, like, I have very distinct memories of that cold, like weeks going up to December. It was just a great audio experience.

[Katie Cobb]

Yes. And that is by Cynthia Hand, who is buzzing again because she's one of the authors on the Lady Jane series, Right?

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Yeah, no, exactly, exactly. So that's a very good wish that I co sign. Absolutely. Katie, plan your holiday reading.

[Katie Cobb]

Let's do that.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

All right, that is it for this week. As a reminder, here's where you can connect with us. You can find the show currentlyreading Podcast. First and foremost, that's where you should be following us. And thanks to all of you who joined us recently there. If you want to find me personally, I'm Meredith Monday Schwartz on Instagram and.

[Katie Cobb]

You can find me, Katie, at Notes on Bookmarks on Instagram. Our show is produced and edited every week by Megan Puttivong Evans, and you can find her on Instagram at most of Megan's reads.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Be sure to check out our show notes everywhere where you get show notes because we list the title of the book that we all of them that we mentioned in the episode and timestamps so you can zoom right to where we talked about it. You can find that in our show notes and at our [e-mail] you can.

[Katie Cobb]

Also email us if you've got questions or books to press into our hands@currentlyreading.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Podcastmail.Com and if you want more of this content, join us as a bookish friend on patreon. It's just $5 a month. You get great content, you get great community and you keep this show commercial free. You can also rate and review us on Apple podcasts and shout us out on social media. That all helps us to find our perfect audience.

[Katie Cobb]

Bookish friends are the best friends. Thank you for helping us grow and get closer to our goals.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

All right, until next week, may your.

[Katie Cobb]

Coffee be hot and your book be unput downable.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Happy reading, Katie.

[Katie Cobb]

Happy reading, Meredith.