Season 7, Episode 34: Reading What We Want + Our Reading Life Temp Checks

Summary

Podcast Summary: Currently Reading – Season 7, Episode 34: "Reading What We Want + Our Reading Life Temp Checks"

Release Date: March 31, 2025
Hosts: Meredith Monday Schwartz and Kaytee Cobb
Podcast Title: Currently Reading

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Bookish Moments of the Week

The episode kicks off with Meredith sharing a pivotal moment in her reading journey. She recounts deciding to skip the next Agatha Christie Hercule Poirot novel, Mystery on the Blue Train, despite her admiration for Christie’s work. Meredith realized that forcing herself to read a book she wasn't excited about was diminishing her joy for reading. She emphasized the importance of allowing oneself to diverge from a strict reading list to maintain passion for books.

Meredith Monday Schwartz [01:44]: “Just skip the GD book. Just go. Go on to the next one. Which I did. And I now I'm almost finished with it. That's been so wonderful.”

Katie echoed this sentiment, highlighting the autonomy readers have over their own reading choices.

Katie Cobb [02:58]: “Nobody else gets to boss your reading, Meredith. Not even you, right?”

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Current Reads Discussion: The No Prep Challenge

Embracing the spirit of April Fool’s Day, Meredith and Katie embarked on a unique challenge: discussing their current reads without prior preparation. Neither host knew the other's selected books, leading to spontaneous and genuine conversations.

1. The Ousawa Murders by Riku Onda

Discussed by: Meredith

Meredith delved into The Ousawa Murders, a Japanese mystery novel centered around a family gathering that turns tragic when 17 out of 18 attendees die from poison. The sole survivor, a blind young woman, becomes the focal point of unraveling the mystery. Meredith praised the book's intricate construction and memorable scenes but noted its lower Goodreads rating (3.6) due to its complex character development and non-traditional clues.

Meredith Monday Schwartz [08:24]: “The construction of the book is kind of like an origami crane. It folds in and folds out and that really, really adds to the story.”

While Meredith found the narrative voice engaging, she critiqued the perceived lack of fair play in the mystery's resolution, which made the book a "slog" at times. Nonetheless, she awarded it a solid four stars.

2. Mrs. Death by Selena Godden

Discussed by: Katie

Katie introduced Mrs. Death by Selena Godden, a contemplative work where Death is personified as a woman recounting her millennia-long experiences to an assistant named Wolf Williford. The narrative explores themes of grief and the human condition, wrapped in poetic prose. Katie appreciated the book's artistic depth and its encouragement for personal creative journeys, though she acknowledged its lower Storygraph rating (3.6).

Katie Cobb [14:35]: “If you're not interested in death, a book with death in the title twice is probably not the book for you.”

She recommended it for readers interested in philosophical and artistic explorations rather than those seeking a straightforward narrative.

3. House of Frank by Kay Sinclair

Discussed by: Katie

House of Frank is Katie’s third pick, categorized as a cozy fantasy with deep themes of grief and community. Set in a memorial garden, the story follows Psycho, a witch grappling with her unique powers and personal loss. Katie admired the book’s rich world-building and representation but felt that excessive internal dialogue detracted from the narrative’s emotional impact, resulting in a moderate rating of three and a half stars.

Katie Cobb [28:14]: “It’s a very standard thriller. It just didn’t give me that much to chew on.”

4. Burn After Reading by Katherine Ryan Howard

Discussed by: Meredith

Meredith tackled Burn After Reading, expressing disappointment despite her admiration for author Katherine Ryan Howard. The thriller diverged from Howard’s typical crime fiction strengths, leading Meredith to rate it lower than her expectations. She critiqued its predictability and lack of the nuanced storytelling found in Howard’s other works.

Meredith Monday Schwartz [34:53]: “Even after reading the setup, I honestly have very few memories of this book, which was the problem.”

Despite this, Meredith reaffirmed her respect for Howard’s oeuvre, recommending her other titles like Rewind and 56 Days as must-reads.

5. Resurrectionist by A. Ray Dunlap

Discussed by: Katie

Concluding the current reads segment, Katie enthusiastically reviewed Resurrectionist by A. Ray Dunlap. Set in 19th-century Scotland, the novel intertwines medical history with a gripping narrative of body snatching to advance medical science. Katie lauded the book’s atmospheric setting and intricate plot, awarding it an impressive 4.75 stars.

Katie Cobb [40:26]: “Everything about it just makes you want to like, like it's gross. And also you just want to be there and be like, oh, I can see everything that's happening.”

She highlighted the book’s blend of historical context and compelling storylines, marking it as a standout addition to her collection.

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Deep Dive: Reading Life Temp Check

In the second half of the episode, Meredith and Katie conducted a personal assessment of their reading lives, reflecting on how external factors influence their reading habits.

Meredith’s Reading Life

Meredith shared a positive outlook on her current reading experience, noting an increase in library usage and a focus on hidden gems that resonate deeply with her. She is also experimenting with tracking her Goodreads ratings against her personal ratings, a practice that has enriched her reading strategy.

Meredith Monday Schwartz [47:16]: “My books are definitely going to be lower again from last year. But the good news is that they are really good books.”

Katie’s Reading Life

Conversely, Katie opened up about her struggles with maintaining her usual reading volume amidst significant life changes, including a recent separation and increased responsibilities as a single parent. She candidly discussed how emotional and societal pressures have led to a decrease in her reading, attributing it to factors like "doom scrolling" and the need to prioritize family time.

Katie Cobb [48:38]: “It's harder to get excited about a book. It's harder to find what I want to read.”

Despite these challenges, Katie remains optimistic, emphasizing the quality of books she selects and the support she receives from the podcast community.

Katie Cobb [52:34]: “The average star rating is very high. I have also DNF'd more. Like I've trusted myself more to be like, you know what, Katie, Current Katie cannot do this.”

Meredith commended Katie for her resilience and underscored the non-linear nature of reading lives, encouraging listeners to adapt their reading habits to fit their personal circumstances.

Meredith Monday Schwartz [54:51]: “Our reading lives are very affected by the seasons that we're living. It's not just a straight line.”

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Visit to the Fountain: Wishes

To wrap up the episode, Meredith and Katie shared their wishes for the reading community, inspired by suggestions from their listeners.

First Wish: "Previously On" Page for Series

Meredith introduced a popular wish from listener Em—the addition of a "Previously On" page for series books. This page would provide a concise recap of previous installments, aiding readers in recalling essential plot points before diving into new books in a series.

Meredith Monday Schwartz [59:45]: “Previously on this is a wish for the fountain for our series books.”

Second Wish: A Reading Repair Manual

Katie voiced a heartfelt wish for a "reading repair manual," akin to home maintenance guides she’s been using. She envisioned a manual that offers strategies and solutions for common reading challenges, such as what to read during difficult emotional times.

Katie Cobb [60:38]: “My wish is that the reading repair manual would also exist in the world and that it could be like, if you are going through a divorce, flip to this page.”

Meredith expressed her approval, likening it to the magical precision found in Ellery Adams’ novels where the perfect book is always within reach.

Meredith Monday Schwartz [63:15]: “Kind of like those cozy novels where you could magically find the exact book you need.”

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Closing Remarks

The hosts concluded the episode on a supportive and uplifting note, reinforcing the idea that reading is deeply intertwined with one’s life experiences and emotions. They encouraged listeners to embrace their unique reading journeys and remain connected with the readerly community.

Katie Cobb [64:25]: “It is what it is.”

Meredith Monday Schwartz [64:23]: “Reading is not just sitting in front of a book and being entertained.”

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Connect with the Hosts:

• Meredith Monday Schwartz: Instagram
• Kaytee Cobb: Notes on Bookmarks
• Podcast Production: Megan Putovong Evans (Instagram)
• Show Notes & Book Titles: currentlyreadingpodcast.com
• Social Media: @currentlyreadingpodcast
• Support as a Bookish Friend: Join for $5/month for exclusive content and ad-free episodes.

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Notable Quotes:

• Meredith: “Nobody else gets to boss your reading, Meredith. Not even you, right?” [02:58]
• Katie: “My wish is that the reading repair manual would also exist in the world...” [60:38]
• Meredith: “Reading is not just sitting in front of a book and being entertained.” [58:24]

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This episode of Currently Reading offers a candid exploration of the hosts' current literary engagements, personal reflections on their reading habits, and creative wishes for enhancing the reading experience for all book lovers. Whether you're a seasoned reader or just embarking on your literary journey, Meredith and Katie provide insightful perspectives and relatable stories that resonate with every type of reader.

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 conversations 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 I just love being off the cuff, loosey goosey and imperfect.

[Katie Cobb]

I am raising my eyebrows. I am Katie Cobb, a homeschooling mom of four living in Arizona, and the bookish life is richer when it's more than books. This is episode number 34 of season seven and we are so glad you're here. You'll notice I did not say I love being off the cuff. And Lucy Goosey, yes.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

I'm just trying to convince myself that I'm good with stuff, just going with the flow.

[Katie Cobb]

See, that's a little preview, folks, because tomorrow is April Fool's Day, and if you've been with us for any length of time, you've probably been around for our annual April Fool's Day episode where we do no prep current reads. So that's what we're doing today. Neither of us knows which books the other one has chosen for us to talk about. We're going to see how it goes. Our deep dive is going to be a reading life temp check. So we're going to see what our reading lives look like in general now. Kind of a broad overview. I'm excited about that slash, not excited at all. But first, we'll get started with our bookish moments of the week, the way we always do. Meredith, what is yours?

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

All right, Katie. Going along with the theme of not needing to be perfect and perfectly planned and ticking every single box in our reading life because our reading life should be a place where we can just do what we want. I had a moment this week that I knew in the Moment was my bookish moment of the week because I made a decision to skip the next Agatha Christie Hercule book on my list because I just didn't want to read it. I wanted to read Agatha Christie, but I knew that the next one, which happens to be the Mystery on the Blue Train, I think is what it's called. I knew that that was one that gets regularly panned by readers that Agatha Christie herself didn't like it was the next one on my list because I started trying to go in order and I just didn't want to read it. And so it was keeping me. It was stealing my joy from my Agatha Christie reading. And so I was like, you know what? Just skip the GD book. Just go. Go on to the next one. Which I did. And I now I'm almost finished with it. That's. It's been so wonderful. It's been one of my favorites and I'm so glad that I did so moment of the week was just saying screw it to my, like, needing to be perfect in my reading.

[Katie Cobb]

Nobody else gets to boss your reading, Meredith. Not even you, right?

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Exactly. I am my own worst enemy on stuff like this because sometimes in my life in general, I'm the boss of most of the things and I am my. I am the worst boss of me.

[Katie Cobb]

I would beg to differ, but I understand the sentiment behind it, so we'll go with it. All right. This week, my bookish life is bookended by some really great events. So that's why the reading life sometimes is about more than books, right? Last weekend, Roxanna stepped in to record for me because I was in Tucson for the Tucson Festival of Books. I went to seven events over two days, bought about 11 books, and fell for some new favorite authors, like people that I had never heard of before that just captured me totally in author panels where I was like, oh, why am I not reading this person? They're clearly my best friend. They just don't know it yet. Which is so fun. Even when you're sitting next to somebody you don't know or that you've never met before. Because everyone is bookish, it's so easy to connect. You can say, you know, where are you traveling from? Have you been to this event before? Are these authors that you've read and loved in the past? If so, where should I start? Like, it's. It's just so delightful to just have that very easy in for bookish conversation. I did say bookended, though, because tomorrow, in real time, which is March 23, I am meeting up at our April Indie Press List bookstore, Warwick's in Southern California with, I don't know, a dozen bookish friends. I am so excited. I only gave them a little bit of lead time, but a solid dozen readers joining us for a bookstore stroll some snackies afterwards. I'm always thrilled to get to visit an IPL store in person. I feel like if at least one of us has been there, it really adds to the episode in Some way. Getting to do so with the local bookish friends is just cherry on top. Perfection. I'm so excited about it.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

That is going to be so fun. I mean, you always love a get together when it's the bookish friends. It's so fun. And when you can add an IPL bookstore, that's perfect.

[Katie Cobb]

Yes. Everything about it is going to be great. As the resident extrovert of the currently reading team, that is typically my job is to go places and find the bookish friends. And it's just a treasure for me. It gives me so much life and so much energy to get to meet our supporters in the wild. I just love it so much.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Excellent. Well, I can't wait to see pictures and to hear how that goes.

[Katie Cobb]

Me too. Always. All right, loosey goosey. We're limbering up. We're doing the things we're gonna do. Our current reads, which we don't know what those books are. We're so excited though.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Normally at this point in the show, we know exactly what books we're going to talk about. We have done full setups. We, we have gone through our notes, we've gathered our thoughts.

[Katie Cobb]

We know the character names, we remember the plot. We remember how we felt about the ending.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

We know the author name.

[Katie Cobb]

Right. See, that is also key. So what happens, the way that we get started with this episode is basically Meredith and I just send each other a list of the books we've read that we haven't talked about. And we're like, here's what you can draw from. And usually in both of our cases, there are no author names. Well, Meredith has a couple book title. There's probably four author names of these 20ish books, 25 books that you sent me. So it's not 100% author free, but I don't know for sure who these authors are or what these books are. So very fun, very exciting, very off the cuff. Also, I kind of hate it and I always want to throw up before we record this episode. So here we go. We're doing the thing. We're showing what it's like when we don't spend all that time prepping our current reads. So let's get started. Meredith, are you excited?

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

I am excited. The biggest reason I like doing this episode is because I think it's important that people know that the only reason that we might sound like we're. We know what we're doing when we're talking about books is because we have prepared for it that almost any reader would be able to do exactly what we do on the mic if they had the ability to prepare for it the way that we do. There's nothing special about our ability to talk about books except for that prep. And that's what I think this episode shows.

[Katie Cobb]

Right. Because that's the other part of it. Right. Because we both go places in the wild and somebody will say, well, what are you currently reading? Or what's a great book you've read lately? I don't know.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

No idea.

[Katie Cobb]

Do I read books?

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Like, right.

[Katie Cobb]

It's just gone for me.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

No idea.

[Katie Cobb]

Oh, you have a books and reading podcast. What do you guys talk about? Books and reading? I don't know.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Yeah. What were your favorite books from last year? I have no idea. Like, I've never read them.

[Katie Cobb]

Those. Those books are way gone. Who even knows what those are? So this is a ra reminder to both of us that, like, the prep is worth it, even when it feels like it takes a lot of time. And it's a reminder to all of you that if you have notes in front of you, it's so much easier to do what we do. So you get to start. It's super fun.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Oh, I'm okay.

[Katie Cobb]

Because I'm driving. Which means Meredith has to start. And first she is going to tell us about the Aosawa murders.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Okay. Yes, yes, thank you, Katie, because that is one that is definitely memorable and it sticks out in my mind. So give me just a second. I'm gonna pull this up and I'm gonna tell you who the author is of.

[Katie Cobb]

Right, See, because we don't know who. Who the author is. That's fine, Katie.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

This is the Ousawa murders by Riku Onda. And here is the setup. Okay, so we've got a summer day, but it is stormy. And a group of a family, the Asawas, is getting together because they're having a large birthday party. Like, a large birthday party. Like, there's 18 people at this. At this birthday party. People coming, going, and then all of a sudden, very suddenly and very violently, 17 people die from poison in their drinks. There's only one survivor, and that is the patriarchs daughter, who is. She's young. I can't remember exactly how old she is. I would have. I would have found this out. I want to say she's like 16 somewhere around there, and she's blind. So the only surviving person of this massacre of her family, like family and friends, is someone who couldn't see what was happening that day.

[Katie Cobb]

Oh, my gosh. How horrifying.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Yes, it Was, yes, it's, it's. This book is very, very interesting. Okay, that's probably the best setup that I can do for you and just kind of leave it there. So Roxanna recommended this to me. I had never heard of this before. She knows you guys know I love a really well done Japanese mystery. And she texted me one day and she was like, okay, you have to read this. She was reading it at the same time. So I immediately picked it up. And there is so much to like in this book. No question. The construction of the book is kind of like an origami crane. It's. It like folds in and folds out and that really, really adds to the story. And it has this very interesting murder at the center of the story. The murder is inexplicable. It's horrible. Like I said, it's very, very gory. Like death by cyanide is awful. Like, it is definitely not the way that you want to die. And when you have multiple people like thrashing around and it's awful. So this book is for you. If you love to solve a puzzle like that. It's got all kind of, all kinds of clues, but they aren't obvious clues. You have to pay a lot of attention. But if you love that kind of book, which I do, you will love this book. Now it's notable that the Asawa Murders only gets a 3.6 on Goodreads. And as I was reading it, it became really clear why. This book has a lot of characters and it really makes you work for solving the puzzle. Those things are always going to equal a lower score on Goodreads in my experience. And it has an ending that I can definitely see being very controversial. Now those are things again that will lower rating on Goodreads. I like all of those things. So that was that. That worked for me. Here's what didn't work for me, which still me, I'm glad that I read it. But if there were some things that didn't make it a five star book, it's first of all because I don't feel that the book, the author was playing like there wasn't that fair play aspect of things. Right. So the author wants to hide the solution from you. And in several cases I feel like that was done in a way that made this book a little bit of a slog. The way that it's constructed. There are several parts and you start to realize when those parts are going to come in the book that you have to wade through, but you can't skim it because if you skim it, you're going to miss the clues. So I ended up giving this book four stars because it. It was. There were times that I was like, oh, okay, why do we have to go so far into the backstory of this person? But if you skip it, you're going to miss it. So there is a ton to like here. It's very memorable now that I'm talking about it. Just completely fresh. I'm vividly remembering not just the. That one scene, but multiple scenes. It's got a very interesting narrative voice. And I liked so much about the reading experience, but I didn't love the fact that the author didn't seem to want to play fair with me. So you'll have to decide if all of that makes this the right fit for you. I'm really glad that I read it. This is the Ousawa Murders by Riku Onda.

[Katie Cobb]

Okay, so question. Did Roxanna also finish it or did she start it and then just say, meredith, this is actually for you.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

She finished it.

[Katie Cobb]

Okay. And did she have similar feels or was it like a buddy read where y'all like, are talking the whole way through?

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

No, because we. This ended up being a caboose read, which is what happens a lot for Roxanna and I, where one of us will get very far through a book and then be like, oh, this person needs to read it. And so then we kind of caboose behind, but close enough in time that we both remember all the particulars.

[Katie Cobb]

Right, Right. So then you can say, oh, remember when this thing happened? It totally blew my mind. And they still have it fresh in their heads. I love body reads like that. Like, oh, I'm so glad you're ahead of me. So I can give you my unfiltered, like, word vomit right now as I hand it to you, which is so fun.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

And so I. I liked this one, but I didn't like it, for example, as much as the complete five star book that was Confessions, which I read last year, which is another Japanese mystery with an interesting construction. So. But the Asawa Murders is. I mean, it's a really memorable book.

[Katie Cobb]

Excellent. Oh, I love that. Just in case it comes up in recording today, I am not in my regular home studio, so if you can hear other noises, it's because there's people on the same floor as me making breakfast right now. Because I can hear plates and things behind me and I'm like, I can hear it.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Yeah, yeah, I can hear it too. But it's always, yeah, it's good to know when we know the why behind it. Yeah. Okay, Katie, are you ready for your first book?

[Katie Cobb]

Okay. I feel like Beaker. No.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Okay. I would love to hear about the book that's actually first on your list. It's Mrs. Death. Mrs. Death. I love that title.

[Katie Cobb]

Right. It is a great title. Okay. This book is written by somebody.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Yes.

[Katie Cobb]

Mrs. Death. The last name's gotten. Yep. Okay. This book is Mrs. Death. Mrs. Death by Selena Godden. And I picked this up in the. When we did our trip in September of 2023. For those who were around at the time, Meredith took a trip to the uk I took a trip to the uk. They did not overlap. We didn't see each other, but we were both there briefly for like a 24 hour period at the same time. Mostly hers was before mine and mine was after hers. This one I bought at Foyle's bookstore, which is a huge, like multi tier, gorgeous bookstore that you could just live in and never come out. Like the kids in Basil E. Frankweiler's, the museum where they just get lost in there. That's what I would like to do in Foy. Foyles.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Foyles is the number one reason that when Betsy and I are taking our trip to Scotland, we actually are doing three additional days in London to go to Foyles again to go back to.

[Katie Cobb]

Foyles, because you could spend all three days there. Like you could just enjoy your time there. So this was like. I still. It's such a visceral memory for me. I still remember walking down the stairs and in these gorgeous multi level stairway, there are like little insets sometimes. And this was like an authors of color inset. The COVID totally captured me. So I bought it knowing nothing about it, just grabbed it because I loved the title. So. Mrs. Death. Mrs. Death, much like the Ausawa murders that Meredith just talked about, has a very interesting construction. It is kind of the embodiment of death, which is a woman. Most of the time when we think of death, he's a man. Right. In this book, death is a woman. And it's kind of like her memoirs being told to an assistant. So the assistant is actually transcribing what has been happening with death, the embodiment of death, throughout her many millennia on the planet. She's exhausted. She's, you know, she's like any woman who has been overlooked in her job for many millennia. She's had enough. She would like to now unburden her conscience. So the person that we're hearing from is named Wolf Williford, which I did not remember. That's from the setup. But he is a very like. He's an important part of the story because it's really told through his voice as Mrs. Death kind of recounts her story to him. They have been aware of each other but hadn't met in person until Mrs. Death kind of pulls him into her story. This book has a lot of almost poetic phrasing to it because Mrs. Death has been talked about in poetry, in epic stories for her entire existence. It also only has 3.6 stars on Storygraph, because sometimes that's what you pick up when you go with, like, bookish serendipity. Right. Woolf is writing her memoirs. They are traveling through time and place. He gets to visit via her memories, kind of notable deaths over time. So it's very like, if you're not interested in death, a book with death in the title twice is probably not the book for you, right? Like, this is not going to be interesting to you if you do not want to read 250ish pages, 300 pages about death in its many forms and the grief associated with it and the ways that people die. And so Selena Gauden really, like, took this to its maximal place because she is also an author of color. So Mrs. Death is a woman of color and really just talked about, like, the experience of being a woman who is overlooked and also having this very pivotal and important role in the world. It's kind of a thought experiment more than a book. I did read it in a single day because it's. It's like a you sit in the stream and let it flow over you type of book. Instead of it being like, oh, I really need to take my time with this. It was beautifully written, but it wasn't earth shattering or like, oh, I have to underline that. It was more like, okay, I'm just gonna, like, let this author take me where she wants to go. I also like Meredith's book. I gave it four stars on storygraph. So a little above the average of what people are giving it. But it's, you know, it's slow paced, it's very character driven. I'm glad I picked it up. I love the memories associated with it. That trip to Foyles and being lost in the bookstore again with bookish friends when I went all the way across the pond to meet people in London that normally don't get to hang out with the two of us. Right. So I love everything about the experience of reading this book. I don't know when it would have risen to the top of my current reads, but I'm glad to have finally gotten to talk about it here. So this is Mrs. Death. Mrs. Death by Selena Godden.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Okay. Well, I think you did a great job of letting us know what we can expect from that. Which is the very best service that you could do. Yeah, absolutely. Now, I have a very firm sense of if, of if it would be for me or not.

[Katie Cobb]

Okay. All right. Well, here's another one that I don't think would have necessarily risen to the top anytime soon for you, Meredith, but I am very excited to hear about the Joy of Watercolor, which might be a little hard to talk about as a current read sometimes. Right, Right.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Well, okay. So I'm glad that you chose this because this is. There was a reason that I chose this for sure. A couple of reasons. And it's actually a two books in one current read. Okay. But I, I really, I really, really love this. So this is. I got it. Okay. So this, like I said, I'm going to talk about two books here. The first one is the Joy of Watercolor by Emma Block, and it's subtitled 40 Happy Lessons for Painting the World around you. Now, I'm bringing this A, because these are two books that I read cover to cover, and B, because they really added something to my life, my watercolor life. And C, because a lot of people dm me saying, please let us know with your watercolor and your art, what is, you know, what is actually moving you through that? Because I guess there are people who are into watercolor. So those are the reasons why I wanted to make it a current read. So these are books that are about watercolor and the practice of art. So again, feel free to skip forward if that isn't of interest to you. Both of these books are by Emma Block, who's an artist who does a lot of watercolor, which is my medium of choice. But she also dabbles in other mediums and I love her bright, colorful, really vibrant, illustrative style. It just really appeals to me. So the first book, the Joy of Watercolor, is very simple watercolor pieces that anyone can do. The vast majority of these in this book are for beginners, and there are also a few that are kind of intermediate and advanced level paintings. This is not necessarily what I consider to be the very best book. If you are looking to get started on watercolor for me, that book is called the Big Book of Watercolor by Mallory Jane. That book is for me, in my learning, was the absolute perfect book for absolute dead simple beginner. I also took a online course from Mallory Jane. But these Emma Block books are really great. If you've been watercoloring for a while and you just want to begin, begin to learn your own style and really figure out what brings you that creative spark. These imablock books are beautifully illustrated and they get. They just get my creative juices flowing on any given day. And it's that creative spark that led me to want to talk about the second book which I bought at the same time, which is called Keeping a creative sketchbook. Build your artistic practice for a joyfully inspired life, also by Emma Block. This one is about the practice of a sketchbook, which is really important to me as an enneagram one. As we've been talking about in this episode, the biggest hurdle that I've had in my lifelong desire to be creative, other than the fact that I'm not naturally talented in artistic mediums, is a constant fight against my natural perfectionism. I started going to a watercolor teacher and the first thing that she had me do was to lean into the concept of a creative sketchbook. This has been really helpful to me because my by nature I fight against this. Your sketchbook is supposed to be the place where you play and where you make a mess and you make mistakes. And these are all things that I'm very bad at allowing myself to do, but they're all the things that make you a better artist. It's absolutely clear in general and in this book that Emma Block believes that it is really important that each person be on a journey to become their own unique artist. And also, one of the things I love best about this book is that she interviews a lot of different artists and gets into the weeds with them about how they use their sketchbook and kind of their own artistic journey. She actually, you can see some of these artists sketchbooks. You can see they're really bad art. And that for me was just incredibly freeing. I absolutely love. It's like peeking into someone's journals, right? For me, these two books have brought a wonderful creative spark and are very useful in what I am calling my creative journey. I mentioned that if you want to learn to watercolor, start with that Mallory Jane big book of watercolor. But these two, if you're already on your journey, are really, really great ones to add to your library. This is the joy of watercolor and keeping a creative sketchbook, both by artist Emma Block.

[Katie Cobb]

Oh, this sounds lovely. I have dabbled in watercolor myself, always only doing Videos. But I love a learning, like a book that I can hold and play with as well. I don't. I don't know why that's so different.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Yeah. I go back and forth between. I like having both available to me because sometimes I want to be able to listen to an audiobook and just.

[Katie Cobb]

Look at and peruse. Yeah, yeah, yeah, right.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Sometimes I want to listen to an audiobook and paint, and then that's where these books are really helpful. And then sometimes I want to just actually be there, present in a course. I've taken lots of different courses. You would think with all of this, Katie, that I would be excellent at watercolor. I am, in fact, not. I am deeply untalented. But I keep trying because I don't need to be a great watercolor artist. I just need to be able to find the joy and the. The respite that painting brings to me. And so that piece of it letting go, the fact that I'm ever going to be great at it has been something that has really been a useful part of my own growth as a person.

[Katie Cobb]

Yeah. I'm also. I'm not great at watercolor, but I do really love it. And hearing you talk about it makes me want to pick up my brushes again. It's been a busy while in my life, and I don't know if I've painted even since I moved, which was like, almost two years ago this summer. But I just love it so much.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

There have been so many seasons in my life where I could never have. Where this just was not in the cards for me. I'm in a season, you know, I don't have little Littles living with me anymore. So for me, I'm in a season of really having a lot of work. Like, I do an awful lot of work. And the way that watercolor enables my brain to turn off, I can. In five minutes of watercolor, I can find the unclenching of my brain that I can't find in any other way, even reading. My therapist pointed this out to me. She was like, reading is when you read. You love it. And I do love reading. And it does bring me relaxation and joy, 100%, but it doesn't unclench my brain. My therapist is like, because you're. When you're reading, you're still. You're still in a work posture.

[Katie Cobb]

Yeah, yeah, Right.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

So it doesn't unclench you in that same way watercolor. Five minutes of just playing in the paint with watercolor will unclench my brain sometimes will help me get out of a panic attack, if I'm being really honest. It's one of the few things that has that immediate dopamine release for me.

[Katie Cobb]

Yeah. Well, okay. And where. This is not a watercolor podcast, but one of the things about watercolor is that you have to let go of it a little bit. Like, you drip water onto a patch of color, and it will move wherever it wants to. You cannot control where the pigment goes. Right. And once you draw out that tiny line from a little bubble of color, it's doing whatever it wants to. And that's part of that release. Right. Where it's like, you cannot control this. It is not acrylic or oil. Where you put the thing exactly where it belongs, and it's stays exactly there. It's doing whatever it wants. And I think that is a big part of the, like, seating control. I am talking myself into, like, just going home and getting my watercolors out. Right.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

The other thing about watercolor, again, we are not a watercolor podcast. Sorry about this rabbit hole, but it is so easy to dip into. And now other other mediums take a lot more. You can literally do five minutes, and you don't have to. There's. There's just not a lot of cleanup, and it's just very easy to dip in and out of. So I love it.

[Katie Cobb]

Okay. I love that. I'm so glad we talked about that. Also, somehow, we're 30 minutes into this episode. I don't know what's happening right now.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Right. Exactly. Okay. Are you ready for your next one?

[Katie Cobb]

No.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Okay. Well, this is one that I have been really excited to hear about because I've been excited to read it myself. I actually bought it, and it's been sitting on my shelf. This is House of Frank from the imprint of one of our favorite people.

[Katie Cobb]

Yes, Easy Cat Press. This is Jason Headley, who we did have on the show, is known as Easy Cat on Instagram, and he partnered with Bindery, as a number of creators did, to start his own imprint, which is Easy Cat Press. This is the first release from that imprint, which is House of Frank by K. Sinclair. Hmm. Okay, so this is. This is cozy. It kind of looks a little creepy on the COVID There's no creepiness in this book. Zero creepiness at all. It's much more legends and Lattes Meets the House witch than anything creepy.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

So cozy fantasy.

[Katie Cobb]

It's. Yeah, it's warm. It's cozy. It's pretty lovely. There's a right time to read this book, so let's talk about it a Little bit Psycha is our main character. She is a witch, but her powers are funky. They don't work the way that other witches in this world have. Their powers work. She has to kind of pull on outside assistance in order to get her powers to work correctly. She also is wracked by grief because she is going to Ash Gardens, which is kind of a memorial garden. But what happens is they take your loved one's ashes, they plant them with a tree, and it creates this beautiful, like they have like a big, like, arbor out behind this house, which is the house of Frank. Frank is the owner of Ash Gardens. In my head, he's the beast from Beauty and the Beast. Like he's like a large furry beastie thing the way he's described. I was like, okay, yeah, the beast from Beauty and the Beast. That's what we've got here. And he is also wracked by grief. His wife died and it was her dream and vision to make this Ash Gardens memorial place come to life. As part of that, Frank has a policy that he never turns anyone away. So he's kind of gathered a lot of like, foundlings to him, including Psycho, who has just showed up to bury her sister's ashes in Ash Gardens but is not quite ready to let her go. So instead she moves in and starts helping around this, like, ramshackle, crumbling house, the house of Frank. There she meets a number of other foundling ish people. Hildy is one of them. There's a music witch. There's somebody that's kind of like an architect that can keep the generator going when it falls apart. There's probably five or six people that are kind of. There's a ghost that lives there that you can't. I think his name's Paul. You can't see him ever, but you can see what he's interacting with. So, like, when he eats, he picks up a cup and he doesn't drink anything out of it. But it's like he goes through that. He goes through the motions of being a human still. And so really, I've already said racket grief twice. This book is about grief. It's about burying a loved one's ashes. And Saika especially has had a very hard time letting her sister go. Her sister's name is Fiona. Because of that inability to let her go, she spends probably almost a third of the book talking to her sister. And that was not my favorite thing, so. And that's because instead of us, it was a showing or it's a telling. Instead of showing situation right where she would tell her sister, this is hard for me because of blah, blah, blah, instead of us just getting to experience those emotions with her. And so it made me as a reader feel kind of talked down to, like, well, this is what's happening inside of Saika's brain. Okay, yeah, I know. Like, of course she's grieving her sister. I don't need her inner dialogue this entire time. I would like to have the story and see how it plays out as she interacts with other people. There is kind of a central mystery about Psycho's magic and what are we going to do to get her powers back? And is that even a possibility? There's a avoidance of death. There's the grief. There's Frank, because of his grief is kind of spiraling downward. So there's kind of a mental illness situation happening at the core of this book as well. It's layered, it's nuanced. The talking to her sister really took away from the story for me, so I did only end up giving it three and a half stars. And. And it really came down to that element of it. I loved the house. I loved the exploration of the different ways that grief can impact us. I love the coziness and the found family of the. There's, like, amazing representation across the LGBT spectrum, especially in this book. I loved all of that. It just didn't hit the way that I had hoped for, especially because it's a cozy fantasy with, like, deeper themes to it. You know, like, I wanted it to feel like a cozy fantasy plus, you know, that, like, plus element where you're like, oh, this was not just like a cozy comfort read. It had this, like, warm heart, molten center that made me a better person, which is a lot to put on a book. But this didn't deliver on that form of it. So three and a half stars. I still enjoyed it. I am so excited to see what else comes from EasyCat Press and from bindery in general, but this one was middling for me. So this is House of Frank by Kay Sinclair. Okay.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Well, again, if you're looking for cozy fantasy, it sounds like it's leaning a little more TJ Klune, a little less Spell Shop. Sara Durst.

[Katie Cobb]

Yeah, so it's. What is that second one under the whispering door? Yeah, that one of T.J. clune. Like, if that was a good hit for you, this one probably will be. But you're still going to have to kind of work through that telling instead.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Of showing element, maybe a new, a newer Author. So interesting.

[Katie Cobb]

Okay. Oh, yeah. I do think it's her debut.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Yeah.

[Katie Cobb]

Okay. Third book for Meredith is Okay. I'm a little nervous about this one because I'm pretty sure that this is a favorite author. But also, it looks like you sent yourself this email two months ago. So now I'm like, why didn't it show up? It's Burn After Reading. Oh.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

This is Burn After Reading by Katherine Ryan Howard, who is, everybody knows, not only one of my favorite crime fiction authors, but is one of my favorite people in real life. So when a book doesn't work for me by a person like that, it just. It's very. It's very uncomfortable. But also, it's okay that not every book by every author works for every reader. It doesn't mean that that author is not fantastic. I mean, Katherine Ryan Howard has a very deep well of fantastic crime fiction. And this book, I think, is an outlier in a couple of different ways. So here's the setup, and part of what I'll say about the book is that even after reading the setup, I honestly have very few memories of this book, which was the problem. So Jack Smith is our lead character. There's a fire in his home. He tries to rescue his wife, but is too late and is injured. And then it comes out that Kate was dead before the fire began. And so he now fast forward when the book starts. He's been under suspicion for a really long time. They couldn't prove it. He finally, a year afterwards, signs a book deal, and he wants to tell his side of the story. So he hires this woman, Emily, who's never ghostwritten a book before, and shenanigans ensue from there. Okay. What is different about this book? This is a book that actually Burn After Reading is not available in the United States for reasons, I believe, having to do with publishing agreements or switching publishers or I don't know exactly. But for whatever reason, you can only get this from Blackwell's. It comes out on April 10, so it's going to be coming out in. In not too long. I got a copy because Katherine sent me one herself, and I just adore her, and she's so talented. There's nothing bad about this book at all. There are some, you know, interesting things about it. It just is not anywhere close to her best. And so we're measuring it on a sliding scale. Right. Kind of like how the latest Louise Penny book didn't work for me, but still, it's better than most other books out there. This kind of falls into that same category. So I would be remiss if I didn't say it's my least favorite of of all of her books because it just didn't seem to be up to her normal standard. But we find here is very much the normal standard in the thriller industry. And this is a thriller as compared to what in her other books I would call crime fiction or domestic suspense. This is a very standard thriller. It just didn't give me that much to chew on, which is true of a lot of thrillers for me. So it kind of left me with this meh feeling. So I saw that this was going to be the coming down the road for me when at 65 pages in of this almost 400 page book, I was actually like, do I want to set this book down? And that had never happened in a CRH book for me before. So there were some interesting breadcrumbs and some plot points that were cleverly introduced, which is something that she does really, really well. So I kept reading. Unfortunately, I saw the ending coming way too early, which again never happens with her books. And I felt like the sentence level writing needed a firmer edit and maybe could have been taken down by 50 pages. There was too much repetition and exposition and again, those are not things that we normally see in our books. So Katherine Ryan Howard remains an auto by author for me and if anything, I want to use talking about this book to point out all of the books that she's written that should be read by I think every reader, including the nothing man, 56 days and my all time favorite of hers which is called Rewind. So I'm very much hoping that maybe we're in the process of getting a new publisher and she's going to get to bring some of some new life and some new blood into her writing because she is so, so good. This one was just not my favorite. I will also say, if memory serves, this book is set in Florida, which felt weird to me.

[Katie Cobb]

Great. She's Irish, right?

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

She's Irish.

[Katie Cobb]

Okay.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

This is set in Florida and it's a pretty big part of the story. So there's that too.

[Katie Cobb]

So.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Oh, I feel like I'm glad to. I'm glad to get this talked about. I'm glad we're doing this right now. Just rip off the band aid because I just adore Katherine Ryan Howard and I adore her books. Her catalog is so strong. Let me just remind you, this is Burn After Reading by Catherine Ryan Howard and you can only get it it through Blackwell's. You cannot get it in the US.

[Katie Cobb]

And the good news there is that Blackwell's will ship for free to the US if the book is over $10. So that's a win. Yep. Okay, well, I feel the same. Like, when I have especially an author that I have, like, a personal relationship with and I don't love something that they created, I'm like, oh, I don't ever want to talk about this, but I need to get it. Yeah, yeah, I hear you.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Exactly. All right. Have you done your three?

[Katie Cobb]

No, I have one more.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

No, you need one more. Okay, Katie, for your last one, I really want to hear about the Resurrectionist. This is one of my favorite covers of the year.

[Katie Cobb]

Ah, yes. Okay. This is a great one to end on. Okay. Yes, the Resurrectionist has a great cover, and I had already ordered it when it showed up on our January IPL from Fabled. So I was excited to get to double dip on this one. I ordered it from Aardvark, which is a subscription that I've talked about a couple times on the show. But this is the Resurrectionist by a. Ray Dunlap. Came out right at the end of 2024, and Elizabeth was already just, like, chomping at the bit. She was so excited to put this on the January indie press list from Fabled. And once I saw it on the list, I was like, yes. Two birds, one stone. Love this. Okay, so this takes place in Scotland in the 19th century. And it is much like, I think on the episode I compared it to the Nick, which was a show, I want to say, on Showtime, starring Clive Owen, about the New York Knickerbocker Hospital and the development of medicine in the 18th and 19th centuries. So it's when medicine was like, we don't really know what's happening inside the human body, but we're pretty sure that it's not humors floating around in the air, which is what they thought during the Renaissance. Like, oh, your bilious humor is too high. That's why we need to bleed you or whatever. They're trying to figure out what's happening internal to the human body. And the way they did that a lot of times was by examining dead bodies. So in this 19th century Scotland story, we have James Willoughby. He is supposed to kind of step into his role as the son of a wealthy man, but it turns out that his father has squandered the family fortunes. That's fine, because James doesn't want to, like, be a merchant that is, like, rolling in cash and married to a posh girl. He wants to study medicine, which is a new and burgeoning field, and he goes to Scotland to do it. He goes to Oxford and he starts studying at a surgery. In order to study at a surgery, you have to have dead bodies to work on. A lot of people think medicine's weird. They're not donating their bodies to science as we see today. Although that is, that is still how medical schools get bodies. People donate their bodies to science and that's what medical students work on today. All the knowledge that I have of the medical field is because of like very personal one to one experience with, with my husband, right? And he worked on a donated body when he was in medical school. That was not happening in 19th century Scotland. So instead they had to rob graves and get fresh bodies that were recently buried in order to study them and open them up and see what was happening inside them. So he meets Nye N Y E rhymes with lie, right? And he works at a surgery that is well known but a little smaller than the biggest one, which is owned by a man named Knox K N o X. And because James cannot pay his tuition bill because his father has squandered the family fortunes, he needs some cash and he is willing to help with the robbery of graves in order to make that happen. That's the crux of this story. We're trying to figure out what's happening with the bodies. We're trying to get them to the medical school. School. In the meantime, somebody else is trying to prevent other schools from robbing bodies. So there's a underground body snatching war happening where other people will die in order to prevent said school from taking these fresh bodies and getting into this graveyard. This is very like under the COVID of darkness, rainy Scotland nights, breaking into churchyards to find the freshest bodies. Figuring out the most efficient way to get a body intact out of a coffin into a trunk into a medical school without getting caught by the bobbies, the police officers, right? All of it, like, it just, it just reeks of atmospheric setting. And you can smell like the grease and the lamps that are lighting these little pubs. There's this room upstairs in a pub where sometimes they have to put bodies in trunks. And then it's like unwieldy trying to get it down these narrow stairs. Everything about it just makes you want to like, like it's gross. And also you just want to be there and be like, oh, I can, I can see everything that's happening. The way they gather around the table for a pint afterward to like, get the adrenaline out of their system. And there's a lot of really cool, like, burgeoning medical knowledge worked into this story as well. It is also tagged as LGBT because there's a kind of a behind the scenes love story. That's not what this book is about. But there is a bit of romance, just a tinge of, like, want and desire within this story as well. I adored this book. I did put it on my keeper shelf. It hasn't been like filed into my forever shelf. It's still sitting on top, which is like, there's like a holy holding area at my house. I have my forever keeper shelf. And then when I finish a book and I think it's going to go up there, I set it kind of perpendicular to the other books on top of them. And I decide later, do you actually get to hang out here or not? But it is sitting on top right now. It's ready to go there, along with other like favorites. James by Purcell Everett is still sitting on top. It's not filed in yet, so it doesn't mean. It doesn't mean anything that it hasn't been filed in yet. I love this book. I gave it 4.75 stars on Storygraph. I just adored it. I thought it was so lovely and I was so glad to have it on the indie press list. It was my first, like, big hit from Aardvark and made me just say, like, all right, you guys got me. I'm in. I read it in paper and just devoured it. I'm sure it's great on audio as well, but because I'm guessing there's Scottish accents in the audio narration. But I did not listen to it, so we'll see. But this was just phenomenal writing. Great story. I would absolutely read more from this author. This is the Resurrectionist by A. Ray Dunlap.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Yeah, that one is very evocative. Good. Excellent. All right, well, Katie, we did it.

[Katie Cobb]

We did it. And God, this is a long episode already.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Right?

[Katie Cobb]

Love that for us. Okay, let's get into our deep dive, which is a reading life temp check fraught is what I will say about this section of the show. So, Meredith, why don't you start us out, give us some good vibes hopefully.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Right. Mine will be simple and easy because my reading year is actually going really well. Better than last year, actually. I feel like I'm using my library again, which is working for me, to find books that are hidden gems that are. That are really, really working for me in a surprising way. My numbers are about where I would expect them to be. I'm allowing myself to read more of what I want, including more of the Wheel of Time series, which feels really good. It feels like I'm kind of master of my own reading life, that I'm allowing myself to read in that series more than I normally would. So in general, I'm also tracking a couple of new things in my reading journal. One of the things I'm tracking, Katie, that you set up for me is that I can track my rating against the Goodreads rating. And that's been an interesting thing for me to watch Happening. You did it in kind of an interesting way where, you know, it's like color coded. Like when I. When I like it a lot more, it's shades of dark, you know, light to darker green. If I like it a lot less, it's, you know, red. And it's very. It's an interesting thing to watch because that's something that I'm paying attention to, how Goodreads ratings relate to what end up being my ratings. And I think that that's adding to my reading life. So in general, I'm really happy with my reading life so far this year, but I know that that's not necessarily the case for you.

[Katie Cobb]

Yeah, my reading life, the temp check is low is what we'll say. It's not sizzling anytime soon. Yeah. So my reading life has changed substantially, as you might expect, over the years that we've done the show. Right. Mostly by doing, by going up and up and up. I went back and looked at 2017, 2018, and like what did Katie's reading life do as like a general trend over those years? And I have had seven year end totals in the high two hundreds or three hundreds for numbers of book read. Last year, 230. That was the lowest in the entire time we've done the show. And I knew that and I saw that coming. It's been on a downward slope for a couple things. A couple reasons. Right. First, we moved back to Arizona. Like I said, that was almost two years ago. Really great for my mental health, my emotional well being. I am in a much better place socially, psychologically. But doing things and being with people, it takes time. You can't do all the things and also spend hours a day reading. I could do that in Santa Fe because I didn't have a lot of reasons to leave the house especially. I mean, it was Covid. Like it was a mess. Right?

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Sure.

[Katie Cobb]

I saw a dip in my reading starting in 2023, about 10%. Not a huge deal. But that dip continued into 2024 because last year, in August and September, Jason and I separated and he moved out legally. We're very close to finalizing that process for of the divorce. That has also impacted my reading in a number of ways. It's harder to get excited about a book. It's harder to find what I want to read. And it's become more important to me, like as a timing, logistical standpoint, to spend individual time with each of my kids, especially my big kids. So time when they would have gone to bed. I am now. I have a show that I watch with Levi and a show that I watch with Micah, but that's like an hour of my night, every night. Like half an hour watching our show with Levi, half an hour with Micah, and then I'm ready for bed. And I don't spend any time reading because I spent that time in a way that still is so important to me. So it's not like I gave it up in a bad way, but it's taking chips out of my reading life, right? And then without getting very much into the politics of it all, the end of 2024 into the beginning of 2023 has also impacted my reading in a big way. My, my sister is trans, as our listeners know. My best friend is gay. My neighbors are black. I'm about to be single in a society that loves trad wives right now. Like, there's a lot happening emotionally with regard to the politics of the world right now that are hard for me. So there's doom scrolling. That's another chip out of my reading life. So they're all like, they're like chinks in the armor that I've built up, up over the last seven years. We're like a quarter of the way into 2025 and my books are definitely going to be lower again from last year. But here's the good news past Katie was really good at picking books. So once I get into a book, once I let myself be captured by it enough. They're good books. I am finding really good books oftentimes. I mean, today, what I had one that was three and a half. But mostly I have really loved the books that I finished this year. My average star rating is very high. I have also DNF'd more. Like I've trusted myself more to be like, you know what, Katie, Current Katie cannot do this. This book is not right for you right now. That's okay. Set it down. So I'm not reading as much. But what I am reading is good reading. It's happy reading, which is what we want every week, a book that's unput downable. Right. So it fully takes me away. And that makes all the books that I finish, that I love feel even more special. Like they're more precious, they're pearls instead of pretty rocks. And that is something to celebrate. So that's my temp check right now.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Yes. Well, I'm. I'm glad that you have gotten to a place that you can talk about this. You certainly don't owe our audience, you know, any of this information, but I know that people have sensed that there was something going on with you. And. And again, we always need to talk about these things in the timing that is. That is right for us. And you have walked through this really, really well. Do taking care of your family in the best way possible and taking care of yourself, and that is the mo. You know, those are the most important things. Obviously, with the show, you haven't missed a step. You've been right there doing everything that needed to happen. And so you know that we all just really want to support you as you go through this. And I know that people will be. Will be glad to be able to come up alongside you and let you know that they've gone through the exact same thing. I have gone through a divorce myself. I know that it affected my reading for a long time, no question. So the other thing that makes me glad that we're talking about this is that but once again, we can underscore for people that our reading lives are very affected by the seasons that we're living. It's not. It's just not a straight line. And sometimes you go through times.

[Katie Cobb]

We don't read in a vacuum for sure.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Right. We don't read in a vacuum. Sometimes you read a lot, sometimes you read a little. Sometimes you read a lot of, you know, my 10 years of reading only cozy mysteries, what we call the lost decade. You know, I mean, it'syour reading life is there to serve you and to be what you needed to be in that season. And it does not mean it's always going to be that way. Right? So right now, your reading life might feel a little bit more fits and starts or kind of clawing your way back to a normalcy. It will not always feel that way. And so what I love is that I have the benefit at 51 of being able to look back on my life and see the times when I read 12 books in a year and the Times when I read 150 and the times where I read only one thing or the times I read everything or all bandwidth matters. And so I really, really love that you're talking about this so that we can remind people it's okay if you don't have the bandwidth for your reading to be normal or optimal or any of those things. It's always going to be there waiting for you.

[Katie Cobb]

It is. And I made a brief comment on a supportive post in the Bookish Friends group probably last week or the week before that. I haven't stepped back from the show at all. Even though there is a lot going on mentally and emotionally and psychologically right now. But that's because being here and getting to talk with you, especially Meredith, but also Mary and Roxanna every week and getting to interact with the Bookish Friends, it has grounded me in a way that really feels like a solid rock to stand on, which is amazing because we built it out of nothing, you know, like, but there is something you can do right now that that matters, that people are excited about, that you, Katie, look forward to with your whole heart. Like, and you can be fully invested in it and it's not going to hurt you like there, I mean, there's just so much goodness wrapped up in currently reading for me that even weeks where I'm like, oh my gosh, I feel like I've done nothing useful in the world, which is not true. My kids are amazing and I'm still homeschooling them and they're amazing. Right. But it's just one more place that I can put my energy that feels really wonderful and life giving and I adore it. So that's like, that's never been like, oh well, this is a just another burden for me. It's never been like that for currently reading, which is so great.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Well, and maybe we, we should clarify if it's okay with you, Katie, if it feels comfortable to you. People might be thinking, oh, Katie's going through this life change. Is that going to mean, for example, that maybe the show will change or you won't be able to be involved in the show? You know, I can see people kind of wondering that. Do you feel comfortable talking about that right now?

[Katie Cobb]

The priority for me is to get to continue doing this work. So it is a huge blessing to me that I am able to do something I love, which is read with people I love, which is this currently reading team and also get paid for it. And that has given me a security in a small number of hours per week that I could not find anywhere else. So even as I look toward the future and what life looks like financially, I am going forward with the supposition that I will always make time for currently reading and build other things around that. Knowing that Meredith and I have always worked with each other's schedules to be flexible with recording or when things need to happen and how long a lead time we can give. Megan, like, all of that has already been built into currently Reading. So that is, like I said, this, like, firm foundation where I'm like, okay, well, if I have sticks built on this, this rock right here, everything else can fit around it and we can make it work. There is absolutely no plan anywhere in my future schedule or life where I'm like, okay, one thing has to give and it's the podcast. That's not it. So, yes, I'll be here. I want to continue to be here indefinitely. So.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Good. Yeah, excellent. I could just see people being like, oh, is she gonna have to get like a full time job now? And maybe that means, you know what I mean?

[Katie Cobb]

So, yeah, maybe I might not be a homeschooling mom forever, but hopefully I will be part of currently Reading for as long as it lives.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Absolutely. Okay, good. Well, we are so, so grateful for that. And you know that we're all here to support you in whatever way that we can. That's. That's really, really important.

[Katie Cobb]

Keep reading. That's. That's it.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

The intersection of life and reading. We don't read in a vacuum.

[Katie Cobb]

It is what it is.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

And this is part of what we love about being in the readerly community. Right. It's why readers become friends. Because as you're reading books together, other things come up in conversation. Right. Books affect us in a lot of ways, and that leads to conversations about things that we're going through, things, you know, and that's the fabric that binds us together. So, yeah, reading is not just sitting in front of a book and being entertained.

[Katie Cobb]

Indeed. Indeed. Okay, let's make some wishes. Let's move this along. Go to the fountain. What do we got, Meredith?

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

All right, well, I am going to bring to the fountain a wish that one of our bookish friends brought to the fountain this week. One of my favorite bookish friends, Em, she has a wish that just made all of us, when we read it, like, smack our foreheads and go, yeah. Why isn't this happening? IM said, why in series books don't we have a page to start the book? That's like, previously on, like in old school television shows. Although Em herself is really young, so I don't know how old school she could possibly be thinking of. But back in the day when you, you know, when you watched a continuation of a show, it would start out with a little bit. And even now we get rec on shows. Right. But so a little bit of a.

[Katie Cobb]

Or.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Or previously on. You know, a Court of Thorns and Roses. Like just like a one or Wheel of Time. Like something that kind of brings you up to speed really quickly so that you could. Not that we want to jump around in series like animals. That's not what we're saying. This would just kind of give you a little bit of a reminder. I think this maybe came up. I know it's been coming up in real time because the new Hunger Games book is out, which is also a prequel, but a lot of people have been like, oh, I need to go find someplace where I can remember a little bit about the Hunger Games world before I jump into this book. We should get that. Previously on this is a wish for the fountain for our series books. Ping splash.

[Katie Cobb]

Yeah. Like literally one page, right? It doesn't need to be a whole thing. It's like the synopsis of the course you took before in college. Like.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Right.

[Katie Cobb]

You already know this. Just a reminder. Yeah. Right. I love that. Definitely. Cosine pink splash.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

It's such a good wish.

[Katie Cobb]

It is. It is. Great job, Em. Okay. I wish this week that there were a reading repair manual. Obviously this has to do with our deep dive, but due to a lot of recent life changes, I've been spending a lot of my. And we're putting this in quotes, free time learning to do home maintenance and repair. Right. So I am not reading a reading repair manual, but I have learned a lot of things lately. My dad is extra super handy. He is like Tim the toolman tailor. He is amazing. It saved me a butt ton of money. A metric butt ton, maybe. I've removed drywall. I've done electrical. I've remediated mold. I've done plumbing work. I've replaced a water softener. Did that last week. And more. There's more where this came from, right? I've learned how to keep my saltwater pool in working order. Gotten a handle on drip systems. What I would super love is for me to be able to fix my reading in the same way. Like grab a book that says, if this is what you're dealing with in your reading life, turn to page 48, whatever it is. Right. Because I have some really great home repair manuals that I love. It's different than watching a YouTube video. Just like we talked about with the watercolor. Right. Sometimes you just want to sit down and, like, have the words in front of you and have the photo and the example of what it's supposed to look like rather than being like, I don't know. Joe Schmo said that I could do my own cabin air filter in my car. I guess I'll just watch this YouTube video about it. So I have Safe and Sound by Mercury Stardust, which is the trans handyman Great DIY manual for anyone in our audience that's interested in learning more about this stuff. Stuff. And for me personally and for anybody with a pool, I have the pool care handbook from Swim University that has saved me from having to call somebody. Like, these two books have paid for themselves 800 times. Like, they were the best investments that I made in this life that I'm currently living. Where I have to woman up. We'll say in ways that I did not expect to have to do. My wish is that the reading repair manual would also exist in the world and that it could be like, if you are going through a divorce, flip to this page. If you are grieving a loved one, flip to this page. Here's some things that could happen with your reading life. And either way you're reading something, it's a win on every level. That's my wish this week. Ping. Splash.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

I love it. I love it. That would be wonderful if such a thing existed for sure, right?

[Katie Cobb]

It would be so great.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Kind of like those. Those, like, cozy novels or what is it? The Ellery Adams books where you could go to somebody who would hand you.

[Katie Cobb]

Like, a book that is exactly right.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Like, yeah, she does it with baked goods. But, like, where you would magically, that person would know the exact book. There's other books that fall into that category. I love that. I love that content.

[Katie Cobb]

Oh, yeah, Like Sarah Addison Allen. There's one of hers.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Yeah. The perfect. Like books as medicine. I love that concept so much. That's a good wish.

[Katie Cobb]

Yeah.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

All right, Katie, that is it for this week with our no prep episode. We survived.

[Katie Cobb]

We did it.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

Here's where you can connect with us. You can find me. I'm Meredith. Meredithmonday Schwartz on Instagram and you can.

[Katie Cobb]

Find me, Katie at Notes on Bookmarks on Instagram. Our show is produced and edited every week by Megan Putovong Evans. You can find her on Instagram at most of megansreads full show notes with.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

The title of every book we mentioned in the episode and timestamps so you can zoom right to where we talked about. It can be found in in our show notes and on our website@currentlyreading podcast.com.

[Katie Cobb]

Youm can also follow the show @currentlyreading podcast on Instagram or email us@currentlyreading podcastmail.com.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

And if you want more of this content, join us as a Bookish friend. For just $5 a month, you can get a ton of content, a ton of 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. Every one of those things helps us to find our perfect audience.

[Katie Cobb]

Yes, Bookish friends are the best friends. Thank you for helping us grow and being the best people ever and getting us closer to our goals.

[Meredith Monday Schwartz]

All right, until next week, may your.

[Katie Cobb]

Coffee be hot and your book be unputdownable. Happy reading, Katie Happy reading, Merida.