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- [00:00]
Listener Presser
Foreign.
- [00:11]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
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.
- [00:25]
Katie Cobb
We are light on the chit chat, heavy on the book talk, and our conversations will always be spoiler free. Today we have a very special episode for you.
- [00:32]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
I'm Meredith Monday Schwartz. I'm both a mom and a Mimi and a full time CEO living in Austin, Texas. And I am so happy to hand over the mic this week.
- [00:42]
Katie Cobb
And I'm Katie Cobb, a homeschooling mom of four living in Arizona. And our listeners know how to convince me to pick up a book. This is episode number 48 of season eight and we are so glad you're here, Meredith. Okay.
- [00:54]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
Yeah. If they can't figure out what this episode is, they haven't been here before.
- [00:58]
Katie Cobb
It is one of our favorite ones of the season. Yes. And I am excited because we do have a lot of new listeners this season. So this might be some people's first listener press episode.
- [01:07]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
That's true.
- [01:08]
Katie Cobb
Y', all. You are in for a treat. We have done this all eight seasons of Currently Reading where we ask you to send in a voice memo with your listener press. We want you to press a book into our hands. And here we are. We have a collection of 16 of them this year. They range across decades and genres and authors and places in the world where people called us from. It's just this grand variety of readers who are thrilled to talk about books and we can't wait to share them with you.
- [01:41]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
I know this is a really good bookish melange that we have today.
- [01:46]
Katie Cobb
Oh, a melange. See, now we're even French. We're so exciting here. All right, I think we should get into it. We are going to get started with one of our long term favorite bookish friends. Ms. Sarah has a book to press for us.
- [02:02]
Sarah from Virginia
Hi bookish friends, this is Sarah from the beautiful mountains of Virginia. The book I want to press into your hands is Red City by Marie Lu. You may know Marie Lu from her bestseller Warcross, which came out nine years ago, which I also recommend. Red City is the first book in a new series. It was published in October 2025 and clocks in at about 420 pages. Here's the setup. Red City is a dark and deadly contemporary fantasy of magical warfare, star crossed ambition and the pursuit of perfection at any cost. Set in a glittering alternate Los Angeles, alchemy is the hidden Art of transformation. An exclusive power wielded by crime syndicates that market it to the world's elites in the form of sand. A drug that enhances those who take it into a more perfect version of themselves. More beautiful, more charismatic. Simply more. Among the gleaming skyscrapers and rolling foothills of Angel City, Alchemy is controlled by two rival syndicates. For years, Grand Central and Luminez have been balanced on a razor's edge between polite negotiation and outright violence. But when two childhood friends step into that delicate equation, the city and the paths of their lives will be irrevocably transformed. The daughter of a poor single mother, Sam would do anything to claw her way into the ranks of Grand Central in search of a better life. Plucked away from his family as a boy to become Illuminez apprentice, Airy is one of the syndicate's brightest rising stars. Once, they might have loved each other. But as the two alchemists face off across opposite sides of an ever escalating conflict, ambition becomes power, loyalty becomes lies, and no transformation may be perfect enough for them to both survive the coming war, this is what I loved about it. With fantasy reads, I lean heavily on folklore and fairy tale vibes. The dark urban setting of this book is an unusual choice for me. I picked it up because I recognized Marie Lu's name, and I'm glad I did. You are immediately drawn into the world of Sam and Ari, meeting them as children and following them as they gain power and reputation in the syndicates. The story switches between Sam and Ari's stories, weaving their paths together. This is not a romance, but there is a thread of love woven throughout the story. Book two is due out in April 2027. The author wraps up book one well, with no major cliffhanger and a clear path towards book two. Happy reading.
- [04:30]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
Oh, she did a really good job of setting up a complicated fantasy plot that is not easy to do.
- [04:38]
Katie Cobb
Indeed. I think first of all, Marie Lu is well versed in building worlds like this. I really loved the Warcross series. I think it's a duology, if I remember right. And like, she's sure footing when she's writing stuff like this. And I think Sarah gave us a really definitive flavor of what we can expect with this one. I've loved her in the past, so I think this is probably going to be another win for me. I'm going to have to pick it up unfortunately for my tbr.
- [05:05]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
Yeah, this one sounds really good.
- [05:07]
Katie Cobb
Okay, for our next one this week we have Sicilian inheritance and I can't wait to hear from this listener about it.
- [05:15]
Braden Long
Hi there, I'm Braden Long from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and the book I would like to recommend for the listener press list this year is the Sicilian Inheritance by Joe Piazza. I first came across Joe Piazza when I saw her interviewing Richard Osmond at a local bookstore eventually. I didn't know much about her work at the time, but after meeting her and hearing her speak, I picked up this book. I had honeymooned in Italy before and I ended up completely being drawn into it. Here's the Sarah Marsala's life is in free fall. Her restaurant career in Philadelphia has collapsed, her marriage is falling apart, and she's trying to figure out how to rebuild while staying present for her daughter. When her great aunt Rosie passes away, Sarah expects a small inheritance and maybe some closure, but but instead she's pulled into something far more complicated. A trip to Sicily, a piece of family land, and an old half buried request to investigate what really happened to her great grandmother Serafina, who is believed to have been murdered decades earlier. What starts as a reluctant trip abroad quickly becomes something much more unsettling. In the Sicilian village she visits, Sarah finds that the past isn't really the past at all. Family stories carry weight there and long held beliefs about her ancestors begin to crack as as she hears different versions of what really happened. The deeper she digs, the more she realizes that this isn't just a family mystery, it's tied to land, power and secrets that certain people would prefer stay buried. Running alongside Sara's present day search is Serafina's story. In the early 1900s. Serafina is a young woman growing up in a harsh traditional world. But she finds an unexpected role as a healer, someone who understands medicine, birth and survival in a way that gives her both influence and suspicion in her community. Her story shows a village shaped by absence, where many of the men have left for America and the women are left to carry both responsibility and consequence. Together, the two timelines explore how stories get passed down and how they get distorted. The novel is really about inheritance in all its forms, not just land or money, but memory, identity, and the truths families choose to preserve or erase. As Sarah gets closer to the truth, she also has to reckon with what it means to uncover it. Some answers don't just explain the past, they reshape the present and force her to decide what kind of future she actually wants. That's where I'll leave it without spoiling how it all comes together, only that nothing in this family history is is quite what it seems. This has been the Sicilian Inheritance by Joe Piazza.
- [07:54]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
Man, if Braden doesn't have a podcast, he needs one.
- [07:57]
Katie Cobb
He does have a really great voice. It's rich, it's dynamic. It was really fun to listen to. I thought he did a great job setting this one up. And I love a dual timeline mystery where we're putting together two pieces from opposite sides of the time continuum.
- [08:12]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
Especially when we realize that all the things we thought were true are not necessarily true. I love the idea of who lives, who dies, who tells your story, like that whole concept. I think that's really interesting.
- [08:24]
Katie Cobb
Yes. And I also loved how he drew out that inheritance timeline, that it's not just about, like the physical things that you leave your children. It's like blood and story and oh, what a. What a cool way to use the word inheritance and really draw out its nuance. Nicely done, Brayden. Yeah.
- [08:41]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
And Joe Piazza is great. I've loved her work. So that's. That's when I want to get to.
- [08:44]
Katie Cobb
Rui has been an excellent author for me as well. Okay, our next one is Japanese. It's from a different Sarah. I did put both Sarahs up here at the top, but this is a very different book. We're going to hear about Strange Pictures.
- [08:57]
Listener Presser
Hi Katie Meredith and all the listeners. This is Sarah from Omaha, Nebraska, and I'd like to press Strange Pictures by Uketsu. It's a translated Japanese mystery. Here's the setup. A collection of creepy childlike drawings start to reveal a much darker story underneath. One involving hidden connections, family secrets, and clues that have been sitting in plain sight. Part of the fun is that you're not just reading the mystery, you're studying the pictures too, trying to figure out how they link together and what they mean before the connections are revealed. This novel has this really fun puzzle box structure where each picture seems innocent at first, but the longer you look, the more you realize something is creepy and something is off. It's eerie without being too heavy, super readable and perfect for someone who wants a mystery that feels different from the usual thriller. It gave me that just one more chapter feeling because every reveal made me want to go back and look at the drawings again. The pages fly by, making this a great palette cleanser or even a one sitting book. It's the first of three in this series so far, but it wraps up perfectly within this one book, so no pressure at all to continue. However, I've read more in this series and enjoyed them too. This is Strange Pictures by Ukketsu.
- [10:24]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
This is one that I've been wanting to get to for a while because it looks so interesting.
- [10:32]
Katie Cobb
Yes, we do love some mixed media here at currently reading. This is well established on the record. I actually picked up at the bookstore Strange Houses by Uketsu, which I think is the second one in this loosely connected series. Like Sarah said, they don't have to be read in order and that was the one on the table. But when I flipped through it I was like, ooh, architectural drawings. I need this. So yeah.
- [10:54]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
And then the third one is Strange Buildings.
- [10:57]
Tyler from Glasgow
See?
- [10:57]
Katie Cobb
Gosh, what a cool concept. I love the idea of like getting to pull apart this story using the media elements inside. It is giving a little bit Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak which also came out in 2022. So it's not like one is pulling from the other. And I loved that experience so much. That was another. Meredith made me and many other people do it when she brought it to the show. Meredith, do you feel like we're going to get some of that in here?
- [11:24]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
I definitely think so. And also I think it bears mentioning this has a 3.9 on Goodreads on over 110,000 ratings. So it's definitely highly rated for sure.
- [11:35]
Katie Cobb
It does feel like one that you should pick up in paper though so that you can a flip back and forth. B there's drawings that you're not going to get. I don't know how they're going to do the audio with something like this, but.
- [11:46]
Tyler from Glasgow
Right.
- [11:47]
Katie Cobb
It seems like one that you would want to have in your hands in order to experience it for sure.
- [11:51]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
That's a good one.
- [11:52]
Katie Cobb
Okay, next we are going back in time a couple 30 something years to hear about Bellwether.
- [12:00]
Listener Presser
Hi Meredith and Katie. My name is Diane Perrin. I'm up on Whidbey island in Washington and I'm calling in to recommend a book called Bellwether by Connie Willis. It's from 2010, so it's not a new book. A lot of you might recognize Connie Willis's name because she's an award winning science fiction writer and has a lot of delightful books. I would put Bellwether in the category of gentle satire with maybe a little magical realism more than science fiction, but it truly is delightful. Here's the setup. The main character, Sandra, studies fads at a research institution. How fads start, what keeps them going, why they die out. So she goes through her days noticing things like at her coffee shop, certain tattoos are popular. And she's thinking, where did that start? What does that image mean? Why are tattoos already or Suddenly popular things like that. And she's trying to track down a particular thing about bobbed hair. When did that start? Was it the 1920s? Who had the first bob? Why did it catch on? So her musings about that sort of thing are very interesting and entertaining. In her very quirky research institution, she meets another researcher named Bennett who is studying chaos theory by observing monkeys group behavior that is also really quite comical. Through a series of sort of funny events, they get together on a project involving sheep. Sandra figures that the herd mentality of sheep will give her some insight about fads. And Bennett figures sheep are pretty good on chaos and they happen to know somebody who has a herd of sheep that they can use. So lots of funny things and observations ensue, including a bunch of very really entertaining characters in this institution. I listened to this on audio. The reading was done by Kate Reading and it was just delightful. I laughed out loud many. So again, the title is Bellwether and it's W E T H E R by Connie Willis and I highly recommend it.
- [14:26]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
Oh, a couple things here. Kate Redding actually is the female narrator for the Wheel of Time books. So I have had her in my ears for hundreds of hours News. So no, that automatically lets me know that I want to do this on audio. And it won the Audie Award for Science Fiction and fantasy in 2010. So clearly this scene to be the way to do Bellwether. I've been meaning to read Connie Willis forever. I feel like she's someone who we almost always see represented in the listener press episode. Why am I not reading her? I want to read more science fiction. Why is she not coming up to the top of my tbr? I need to fix this.
- [15:08]
Katie Cobb
Well, maybe this is the time. Summer is coming, girl. We are finishing Crush Week, which means we've got weeks of uninterrupted time ahead of us. This one struck me as interesting. Okay, first of all, I'm pretty sure the audio came out in 2010. But this book was originally released in 1996, which is why I said it was 30 some odd years old when I first introduced it. The COVID is screaming 90s. Meredith could do a quick Google on the COVID Of course y' all have seen it if you were watching us on YouTube for this episode. But it is. I never would have looked at this cover and been like, oh, obviously that is something that I need in my life. I would have been like, maybe not for this reader, but the way that Diane sets it up, I'm super interested in it. I was a Little giggly thinking about the sheep. I love Chaos Theory ever since my formative watching of Jurassic park when I was a child and Ian Malcolm talking about Chaos Theory. So I feel like this has a lot of fun elements in it. That'll be a really good hit for me.
- [16:08]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
Yes, that is going on the list for sure.
- [16:11]
Katie Cobb
Definitely. Our next one is historical fiction. We're going to hear about the Beekeeper of Aleppo.
- [16:18]
Listener Presser
Hi, my name is Sophie Allers and I would love to press the Beekeeper of Aleppo by Christy Lifterry. This book I read in a hybrid way with audio and ebook, and I really enjoyed it that way. It's all about a couple that makes their way from Aleppo and all the way to London. So you're experiencing it in a dual timeline. I believe the first chapter, the first or second chapter is in England. And then you go back to Aleppo and you experience their journey as Syrian refugees escaping to England. And it's a really cool story because you learn about why they choose to leave, how they leave, what is it like being a refugee and their story. And while it's made up, I really felt like it helped me resonate and understand what it might be like to be a refugee, which just felt really, like, difficult for me to understand what that might be like. So this book does. I say this with trepidation, it does come across a little bit literary, which is not my favorite genre or type of book. But in this case, I think the literary way about it didn't detract from the story or take away from it, but instead it really drew me in more deeply and helped me to understand the feelings associated with being a refugee. So I would highly recommend the Beekeeper of Aleppo.
- [17:51]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
I love how she says that. She's gonna say with trepidation that this might be literary, which I understand why she's saying that for sure. But also what we know for sure is that those can be big hits for all of us, whether or not that's something we're drawn to. But also we know here at currently Reading there are a lot of people who are listening for whom that is a catnip word, hearing that this is literary fiction indeed.
- [18:15]
Katie Cobb
And I feel like within historical fiction, genre readers of historical fiction are also a little more willing sometimes to tiptoe into that literary feeling. They're good with depth and character development on a different level than somebody who maybe picked up sci fi as a plot forward reader and is like, listen, I don't care what the sheets look like in space. Like, you know, like, there's There's a little more give and take in the in the literary fiction side of historical fiction, so it makes sense to me why this would be a good fit for Sophie and for a lot of our listeners. The COVID is beautiful. This is definitely one that hey, I love bees. So I'm not sad about anything having to do with this. I think this is during my I don't read historical fiction era. Maybe because I don't know why I wouldn't have picked this up.
- [19:07]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
I was gonna say, do you know why you didn't pick it up? Because it does sound like one you would love.
- [19:11]
Katie Cobb
It really does. Even. I was looking up the author and she was born in London to Greek Cypriot parents, so she has. This is a lot of like her personal family history that she's pulling from. I'm guessing in order to make this a lush historical fiction that feels personal, that. I mean, all of that works for me really well. What am. What am I doing with my life?
- [19:33]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
I know those listener press episodes always make me feel this way. Why am I choosing the books I'm choosing?
- [19:39]
Katie Cobb
This is why we do it. That one is from 2019 also, so lots of good stuff back here. Let's move on to Dana's Press of Cascade Failure.
- [19:49]
Listener Presser
Hi Katie and Meredith. My name is Dana and I am from Cave Springs in Northwest Arkansas. I want to press the book Cascade Failure by LM Sagas. Here's the setup. The story takes place in a space world that has some similarities to the Murderbot universe. We have an all powerful corporation called the Trust, balanced by the worker driven union. Between them stands the intergalactic police army known as the Guild. Our main character is Jace. He has been labeled a Guild deserter and is on the run, desperate to get back to his family. He is looking to bum a ride at an Outer Rim spaceport and ends up aboard the cobbled together ship the Ambit, crewed by its holographic AI captain with exquisite fashion sense, a scrappy but lovable mechanic medic, and a trigger happy XO who Jace knew in his former life. This quirky band of misfits responds to a distress call on an empty planet and the adventure rockets forward from there. This is a good old fashioned space romp in the vein of Murderbot and the much lamented show Firefly. We have augmented humans, all powerful bad guys who will do anything to make a profit, and an action packed plot that will keep you turning those pages. But what makes this story truly special are the relationships that form between the characters and and the deeper themes that kept me thinking about what it means to be family or even human long after I had closed the book. If you love a heartfelt, fast paced sci fi story with found family and characters to root for and fall in love with, I highly recommend this book. This is Cascade Failure by LM Sagas.
- [21:36]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
This one sounds really good and I love the Firefly comparison, right because it says that it features a fierce, messy, chaotic space family and that's really what you get. That's the main reason to watch Firefly, which is such a good show and I love that we're finding that here. This sounds really good.
- [21:56]
Katie Cobb
It does sound really good. I'm also getting vibes of Ready Player One, some of that kind of quirky sci fi found family adventure fiction. These are big hits for a lot of readers, so I'm curious why I haven't heard of Cascade Failure. It feels like one that would have been on my radar.
- [22:15]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
Yeah, it got BookPage's best science fiction novel of 2024. So for sure.
- [22:21]
Katie Cobb
What's that about? What is happening here? What is happening? Good job Dana. I'm excited to put that one on my TBR as well. This is getting problematic. Hey, good news. I chose an essay collection next which will also go on my tbr, so enjoy.
- [22:37]
Listener Presser
Hello, I'm Gail Garmoski, longtime listener, first time presser from the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia, Canada. I'm here to press what We Talk About When We Talk About Dumplings, a collection of dumpling themed essays edited by John Lorenck. Here's the setup. Nearly every culture in the world has its own variation of the dumpling, and this unique anthology gathers essays from food writers, journalists and creatives exploring a mere handful of them, from ravioli and samosas to pierogies, matzo balls, wontons, and many more. These bite sized essays range from fascinating cultural and family histories to heartwarming stories of dumpling making, parties among friends, and fundraising events built around food and community. Some explore the intersections of culture, history and food, including the impact of colonization on the creation of certain dishes. Others are simple, affectionate tributes to a beloved childhood dumpling that Grandma used to make. What surprised me most about this collection was how much inspired action reading it with my short story book club sent many of us down culinary rabbit holes. We researched unfamiliar dumplings, explored specialty food stores, tracked down restaurants, and discovered dishes we otherwise never would have known about. Our group read one essay a day over the course of a month and became the perfect little dose of comfort. And what Better source of comfort than dumplings. As one essay points out, dumplings nourish us in more ways than simply eating them. They're about gathering, sharing stories, building community, and caring for one another. By the end of the book, I felt cared for too. This is what we talk about when we talk about Dumplings, edited by John Lorenck. And it's on its way to becoming one of my favorite books of the year.
- [24:24]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
Who knew that we would be uttering the phrase, here's a collection of dumpling related essays? I mean, this is. This was not on my list for today.
- [24:36]
Katie Cobb
Okay. But also a. I love dumplings.
- [24:40]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
Food purses. Jackson, when he was little, called them food purses because we would talk about how they exist in every culture. He was like, they're like food purses. So every time we eat like a samosa, it's like, oh, look, it's an Indian food purse.
- [24:53]
Katie Cobb
That's the cutest. I love that. And honestly, like, you give me an empanada, you give me a pierogi, I want it. I don't care which culture made it. I want all of them. I love this. I'm obsessed with a whole book about dumplings, and they are. They're just little food purses of comfort. Yay for this whole setup.
- [25:13]
Braden Long
Yeah.
- [25:14]
Katie Cobb
I'm delighted by the entire thing. I think Gail did a great job, and I love that her book club got so into it that they started, like, cooking, and they were going and looking for, like, specialty food stores and recipes for different things. Like, it. It was out in the world with them. And also it made me hungry. I would like some dumplings now, please. Yeah.
- [25:34]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
This is a great idea for a book club if you really want to get into it this way. I mean, like, you could go out and eat them. Each person could, like, bring one that they've decided they want to figure out how to cook. I mean, it's just rife with possibility.
- [25:48]
Katie Cobb
Yes. It would be like a tapas book club. Everybody bring eight of the dumpling you made. And then we all get to try eight different types. Types of dumplings. And that's our meal. Sign me up. I would eat that every day. Yeah.
- [26:00]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
No, this collection sounds really, really excellent and is exactly the reason that we do the listener press episode. Because I'll tell you what, this was not on my radar before, but now I really kind of want to read it.
- [26:10]
Katie Cobb
Yeah, I know. It's gonna be so good. Next we're gonna hear from Molly about evening class.
- [26:17]
Listener Presser
Hi, this is Molly from Spokane, Washington. You can find me on instagram @the joyfulbookworm. The listener press episode is always one of my favorite of your amazing podcasts every year and I think I have just the perfect backlist gem to bring this year. Here's the setup. We follow a group of small town Irish people who have signed up to take the titular evening class to learn Italian. In Maeve Binci's evening class, the novel is broken up into multiple sections, each following one member of the class as we learn their backstory story and what brought them to sign up. One of the characters we follow is Aiden, a teacher at the school where these classes are held. After not receiving the promotion he desperately hoped for at the school, he sets his sight on setting up these evening classes. We learn of this marriage and family life and watch as his knowledge of not only Italian, but of himself grow with this new experience. We also follow Signora, the teacher of the class. We learn of her life in Italy, the tumultuous relationship that took her there, and what eventually brought her back to Ireland. We also follow Connie, a wealthy woman in an unhappy marriage Laddie, a sweet and simple minded local man, Bill and Lizzie, a couple with very different priorities in life, and a few more it may sound like too many characters, but they are all so distinct and well drawn and woven together it's very, very easy to track them all. As I said, the novel's broken up into sections focused on each character. I'd get so connected to a character and then be so sad their section was over, only to find myself so connected to the next character and not want to move on from them. Certainly a sign of excellent writing and character development. I didn't want this book to end and I think that everybody would really enjoy this backlist gen and that was Evening by Maeve Benji. Thanks Katie and Meredith, you're the best.
- [28:17]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
Okay, that was actually evening class, but here's the thing about evening class, Katie. You know how I've talked a lot about how for 10 years after my daughter Devin was born, my reading got really, really screwy in that I only read Cozy Mysteries for 10 years because I just couldn't seem to have the bandwidth to read much more than that. And also I couldn't read anything dark and scary, which is what I had always read before. This is the book that actually got me into like out of that 10 year kind of only reading that cozy mysteries. This was the book. I love this book. This is a hug it to your heart book. This is so readable. As soon as I heard our listener talking about this book, I remembered exactly, like so many details of it. This is up there with like Shel Seekers, like if that kind of book where you read Shell Seekers and you're like, where's this book been all my life? Evening class introduced me to Maeve Benchy, which I went on to read a lot more of her at that time. And really this was the book that made me go, you know what, I need to start reading some other stuff because there are a lot of characters that I need to give my heart to at this point. And so evening class is. It's an absolute treasure. It's not just a gym. It's a treasure. It's so good.
- [29:43]
Katie Cobb
It's like an Ebenezer Stone book for you. Like, I love that it marks this very specific pivot in your reading life for you. Like, oh, I got chills thinking about that. What a, what a great memory to dread up.
- [29:56]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
Yeah. And I hadn't thought about it in forever until I saw it on this list and I was like, oh my gosh. I could remember the bed that I was laying on in one of our first apartments when, I mean, I was like, I was there all of a sudden. This book is really, really good.
- [30:11]
Katie Cobb
So fun. I love. I actually took an Italian class in the evening when we lived in Oregon for just one like session of, I don't know, community center Italian. And this made me think of, I had a very little baby and I was like, I just need one little thing for me. So that connection right there made this an interesting pick for me as well. Yeah.
- [30:35]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
And that's how the characters have, you know, they're each coming to it for some particular reason. That's really meaningful. Oh, so good.
- [30:42]
Katie Cobb
So good. Okay, we are going to hear Sidra next talking about Eleanor of Avignon.
- [30:50]
Listener Presser
Hello Meredith and Katie in the currently reading audience. My name is Sidra. I'm from Silver Spring, Maryland and I would like to recommend Eleanor of Avignon by Elizabeth Delozier. This book is historical fiction at its best. I absolutely love spending time with Eleanor as she battled the plague and narrow minded people in 1347 France. Eleanor is a midwife who wants to be a physician but isn't able to because of restrictions against women at the time. Instead, she becomes an apprentice to the personal physician to Pope Clement. The story is told with such depth during such an interesting time. I went down many rabbit holes trying to figure out how much of the story was true and wanting to learn more about Avignon and the plague and blaming Jewish people for all of the bad things happening. If you love a good historical fiction that pulls you into an interesting time and place, pick this one up now.
- [31:34]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
Katie, didn't you just get together with Sidra?
- [31:37]
Katie Cobb
I did. I got to meet Sidra in person. So it was fun to hear her voice again on this listener press. She is great at talking about books. While we walked the bookstore, she pressed multiples into my hand. I had a very large stack by the time I left that day. I am very interested in this one. I love plague centered historical fiction.
- [31:57]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
I do too.
- [31:58]
Katie Cobb
I do think that the paperback version, having a woman's back on the COVID is probably what pushed me away from it because of my preconceived notions about those things. But the hardback is very pretty, so I should have picked it up at that time before the paperback ruined it.
- [32:14]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
I love a historical fiction where there's a plague figuring prominently.
- [32:18]
Katie Cobb
Yes, we know you do. What is the. The Murmur of Bees by Sophia Something. What is her name?
- [32:25]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
I got nothing.
- [32:26]
Katie Cobb
Sophia Segovia.
- [32:27]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
I was gonna say two S's.
- [32:29]
Katie Cobb
Yeah, Is a long term favorite. And then what was the other one with the. The white. That one. Wanderers by Chuck Wendig. That like anything.
- [32:39]
Listener Presser
Yeah.
- [32:39]
Katie Cobb
Has like some plaguey ness to it. We know is going to be a hit.
- [32:44]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
Yeah. And the Year of Wonders. The Year of Wonders is so good.
- [32:49]
Katie Cobb
Geraldine Brooks.
- [32:50]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
There you go. Yeah. I love plague fiction.
- [32:52]
Katie Cobb
What can I say?
- [32:53]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
And historical plague fiction with a really strong female character. This Eleanor of Avignon sounds really, really good.
- [33:00]
Listener Presser
Yes.
- [33:01]
Katie Cobb
And like strongly feminist. She can't be a doctor because of restrictions at the time. It's just a lot of buttons hitting on this one. For Eleanor of Avignon, I gotta say.
- [33:11]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
I mean, the doctrine in the 13, the doctoring in the 13th century. That's some rough stuff.
- [33:18]
Katie Cobb
Indeed. Oh, man, I'm so glad I wasn't alive in the 13th century. Yikes.
- [33:25]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
Yeah, that's like the whole. Here, take some brandy and bite on this kind of doctoring. Not good.
- [33:32]
Katie Cobb
Also, we're gonna slice your arm and put some leeches there as well, just to balance your humors. They'll be fine. You have too much black bile. Gross. Okay, let's move on to more blood. Let's hear from Liza about Midwinter Blood.
- [33:48]
Listener Presser
Hi, this is Liza from Colorado. And the book I would like to press today is Midwinter Blood by Marcus Sarah Sedgwick. This is a young adult love story, but kind of an unusual one. The story starts in the year 2073 with journalist Eric Sutherland, who is Traveling to Blessed island to investigate why no one seems to age or die on the island. When he arrives, he meets Merle, and he feels like he has met her before. As the story progresses, we move backward in time, all the way back to a time unknown. In the different time periods of the story, Eric and Merle are connected in some way from, but not always as a couple. Sometimes as family, sometimes as friends. When we get to the last chapter, we finally learn why they have been able to find each other over and over throughout their lifetimes. One of the reasons I love this book is because I love the idea of being able to find people you love in more than one life and having those connections over and over and knowing that just once isn't all you get. This book is also unique in that I have read it multiple different ways forward. The first time the normal way, then from the back, and then even from the middle out. Either way, and the story gains depth every single time. This is Midwinter Blood by Marcus Sedgwick.
- [35:04]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
That is interesting on so many levels. Midwinter Blood doesn't seem like a title that I would associate with what she's told us that it's about, but now I'm even more interested the way that you can read it all of these different ways. I love the concept of, you know, that human souls do find, you know, kind of the same human souls multiple times. If they're. If they're, you know, for us. I think that's all very interesting.
- [35:30]
Katie Cobb
Yes, I agree. A lot of times I will. I don't know. Blood in a title doesn't usually draw me in.
- [35:37]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
Oh, that's interesting.
- [35:38]
Katie Cobb
I don't know why, but when I think about it, like, even just reading the title on this one, I'm like, that's probably not me. It's probably, like, weirdness about periods. That's really what it comes down to. But this does sound interesting, and I almost want to, like, sit Liza down and be like, okay, tell me about reading this book forward and then backward and then from the middle. Is that like you've dipped into it multiple times because you loved it so much, or is that a thing with this book where it's like a Choose your own adventure path? You can just pick your timeline and go from there.
- [36:14]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
Right? Like, did she. Did she just introduce this, or are there other people who are doing it too? Yeah. And the Kindle cover is really, really beautiful. Good Lord.
- [36:24]
Katie Cobb
Yes. I. I don't know. This does sound interesting. And it's from 2011.
- [36:31]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
Yeah, I like this a lot.
- [36:32]
Katie Cobb
I'm definitely gonna do this one fun backlist. All right. I like it. Okay, we do have our second nonfiction pick of this episode. Let's hear from Jessica about Invisible Women.
- [36:44]
Listener Presser
Hi, my name is Jessica from Houston, Texas, and I'd like to press the book Invisible Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Perez. Here's the setup. Our world runs on data. It shapes public policy, economic decisions, health care, resource allocation, safety standards, so much more. But the truth is that much of the data that we can used to make these decisions is collected using the average size mail. That sounds crazy, right? I didn't believe it either. I didn't really think it would be so important. But Criado Perez does a fantastic job showing us just how important data really is. She uses hundreds of studies from the United States and United Kingdom to show how male centered data at the heart of so many decisions, really disadvantages women in big and small ways. From things like safety standards in cars to the way certain medications are used. I listened to this book on audio and I loved every minute of it. It was eye opening and fascinating. I still think about it almost every day. A year later, I recommend it all the time. This nonfiction book made My Time Top 10 of the year list. That's crazy.
- [38:04]
Katie Cobb
For me.
- [38:04]
Listener Presser
I highly recommend Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez.
- [38:10]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
This is one that sounds like a real eye opener. Doesn't, does it?
- [38:14]
Katie Cobb
Reminds me also of when your brother Scott was on the show and he brought Datalysm by Christian Rutter as his book that he wanted to press into other people's hands, which is why I ended up reading it all. The Mondays are very good at pressing books into my hands. Invisible Women seems like another kind of facet to that same gem of what is happening with the data around humans. I think this sounds so interesting. It has a 4.33 on Goodreads. So Jessica is not the only person who's excited about this. Why haven't I picked this up?
- [38:48]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
Yeah, this sounds really, really interesting.
- [38:51]
Katie Cobb
I love that it made her top 10 of the year that year. It sounds like it would infuriate me, but you know, sometimes that's what you need in your top 10 lists.
- [38:59]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
That's what I'm saying is sometimes our eyes just need to be opened.
- [39:02]
Katie Cobb
Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Our next pick is historical romance. Let's hear from Rachel about Atomic Love.
- [39:11]
Listener Presser
Hi, Katie and Meredith.
- [39:12]
Katie Cobb
This is Rachel from Liberty, Missouri.
- [39:14]
Listener Presser
Today I wanted to press into your hands Atomic Love by Jeannie Fields. Here's the setup.
- [39:20]
Katie Cobb
Our main character is Rosalind Porter, a physicist who worked on the Manhattan project. It's now 1950, and the war is long over. Rosalind is now working for an upscale department store in Chicago. Rosalind desperately misses her work in the lab, but the men are back and the women are being forced out. When Thomas Weaver, a former project colleague and Rosalind's former lover, reaches out, Rosalind is thrust into the early years of Cold War intrigue and paranoia. FBI Special Agent Charlie Saslow tasks Rosalind was spying on Weaver, who is suspected of passing state secrets to Russia. What unfolds is an unforgettable story of celebrating your true self, standing up for what you believe in, and making room for love in whatever way you can. I absolutely adored this book. I identified with Rosalind from the beginning. She was smart and proud of it. She wasn't willing to change who she was to make others happy. She's a heroine I think everyone should look up to, especially young women. It's okay to be smart, and it's okay to be proud of it. This is Atomic Love by Jeannie Fields. It's okay to be smart, and it's okay to be proud of it.
- [40:27]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
I love it. Doesn't that sound like such a banger? Like that. That's a romance plot that I could really get behind.
- [40:33]
Katie Cobb
Yeah. Yes, a banger, indeed. Meredith. It sounds absolutely explosive, if you ask me. Atomic Love.
- [40:43]
Tyler from Glasgow
Yeah.
- [40:44]
Katie Cobb
There are some interesting books titled Atomic Love. I just went on a whole journey with this cover search. Like, Janie Fields is the popular one. But there's also one by Jesse Rose, the Sex, Dirt and Blood of Rock and Roll. With a skull on the front. Oh, yeah.
- [41:01]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
Let's not confuse people. This is the one by, what did you say?
- [41:04]
Katie Cobb
Jeannie Fields. This is historical fiction. It does have another woman's back on the COVID Although I'm seeing maybe the British cover that is very much drawing me in. So I think that's probably the way to go on this one.
- [41:17]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
Yeah, I think we're just gonna have to make it okay. If the book is really good, we're gonna have to just accept the woman's back as payment for that.
- [41:27]
Katie Cobb
This is the toll. The bridge toll for having really good historical fiction is you have to look at a woman's back. Okay, next we have Tyler telling us about the Sunlight Pilgrim.
- [41:40]
Tyler from Glasgow
Hello to Meredith, Katie, and all of my fellow bookish friends. I'm Tyler from Cloudy and Gray, Glasgow, Scotland. I'm hoping to press a Scottish book into everyone's hands. I'd Love to tell you about the Sunlight Pilgrims by Jenny Fagan. Here's the setup. Our story begins in November of 2020 with our protagonist Dylan getting evicted from his family's old fashioned movie theater in England that was also once home to him, his mother and his grandmother. Dylan decides to move north to Scotland to try to start over. But there's a problem. The world is cooling and it's cooling fast. In a matter of weeks, a giant glacier is set to float by and bring with it enough snow and ice to bury everything in its path. When he arrives at a caravan park in the Highlands, he meets a group of oddball characters including Constance, a single mother just trying to make the best of a bad situation, and her 12 year old daughter, Stella. Stella and her mom are just trying to make the best of what life has thrown at them. And the addition of a man who's just looking for friends and a place to start over brings light that is desperately needed. This book is about who we are as people, what it means to be human, what we owe each other, and what you do when you don't know what tomorrow will bring. You'll fall in love with Stella. You'll root for Constance, and you'll want the best for this little found family. I love this book for its heart. You'll fall in love with almost all of the characters you meet. Jenny Fagan is able to make you care about all of them and put you right in the middle of the crisis they're going through. You'll feel like you're right in the middle of a cold winter in the Highlands. It has great writing, strong character development, and enough plot to keep you going. It's not a thriller or an apocalyptic book by any means. The Coming Glacier is more of the vehicle for exposing who we are as humans and and what we do when our community is all we have. I loved it. If you end up loving it, Jenny Fagan has several other books for you to fall in love with after this one. Again, this is the Sunlight Pilgrims by Jenny Fagan.
- [43:42]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
Oh, I think Tyler did a great job of really letting us know what this book is about and what it's not like, what it is and what it's not.
- [43:51]
Katie Cobb
Right.
- [43:51]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
This is not an apocalyptic thriller and I think it's super important to know that before you go in because reader, know thyself about whether or not that's the kind of book you want to move toward or you want to move away and then also just your mood. You just might be in the mood for something that's more of a meditation on what it means to be a part of your community than like, oh my gosh, what's going to happen when the snow comes.
- [44:17]
Katie Cobb
Yes, definitely. Also reading about Jenny Fagan, it says that she has a number of books, but then she also has of standard, you know, novels, memoir, and then seven books of poetry. And I think that also tells us a lot about her as a writer and her writing style. So this is a book that you're going to want to be with rather than tear through. And it does matter when you pick it up and where you slot it in your reading life because unmet expectations are the reader's bane. Right. Like we don't. That's not what we want and that's not what this author wants for you.
- [44:52]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
Yeah, this is very, very useful information. It sounds like a gorgeous book.
- [44:56]
Katie Cobb
I love that. That's the Sunlight Pilgrims by Jenny Fagan. Okay, next we are going to hear from Monica about the Rage of Plum Blossoms.
- [45:06]
Listener Presser
Hi Katie and Meredith. This is Monica from Fairbanks, Alaska. And I cannot wait to recommend to you a perfect for summer mystery called the Rage of Plum Blossoms by Christine Whitehead. This is a book that I feel is perfect for the currently reading community. It is all about a wonderful main character, woman attorney Quinn Jones, who comes home one day to find her husband dead in their apartment. And not only is she reconciling herself with this husband whose death has been ruled a suicide by the police, but she's recognizing he's wearing clothes that aren't his, he's been seen at different locations that he shouldn't have been in. And, and suddenly she's a millionaire because he's way richer than she thought he was. So she's reconciling the fact that she doesn't know who her husband really was and she cannot believe for a second that his death was a suicide. So she sets out on her own to uncover the truth. And along the way she goes down all kinds of interesting rabbit holes that you never knew you cared about, like scents and Chanel number five, which I know Meredith has been really into horses, butter, butterflies, and she acquires quite a wonderful found family along the way. So I know that your community will love this book. And it's also on Kindle Unlimited for free. So it's an absolute no brainer for summer. Hope you enjoy that.
- [46:26]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
I mean, right up my alley. Right up my alley. Open up the alley.
- [46:30]
Katie Cobb
You started reading this one already,
- [46:33]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
right? Yes, exactly. No, sounds so good. It's got a gorgeous, gorgeous cover. It's got a 4.1 rating on Goodreads. Over a small amount of ratings. But that just lets us know that that means that there's a hidden gem to be found here. I love it. This is such a good recommendation for me.
- [46:52]
Katie Cobb
Yes, I agree. It has Meredith all over it. It's also 10 years old at this point, so it's not zeitgeisty. It's not buzzing. But, gosh, that, like, finding your dead husband in not his clothes. And also Secret Millionaire, like, bring it on. I want all of that.
- [47:10]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
That is it. The whole. Just. The whole, like, finding the dead husband within, not his clothes even. Just that, like, all of a sudden, I'm like, okay, I. I have got to figure out what's going on there, because that's the kind of thing that would drive me to distraction.
- [47:23]
Katie Cobb
Yes, absolutely. Why wouldn't it? That. Yeah. What happened? Okay. A, I need you to read it. B, I might have to read it too. We're gonna figure this out. I like it. Okay, this next one is from Kristin. She actually has a great track record for me, so she sent a press, and she was like, also, I would never tell Katie to read this, but if she happened to, she would be very happy. And I was like, fine, Kristen, whatever. So let's hear about that's what Friends Are For.
- [47:53]
Listener Presser
Hi, this is Kristen Kessinger from Elk
- [47:56]
Katie Cobb
Grove Village, Illinois, and I would like to press that's what Friends Are for by Wade Rouse. Teddy Berry, Ron, and Sid are four
- [48:04]
Listener Presser
octogenarian gay men living their best lives
- [48:07]
Katie Cobb
in Palm Springs, where they reenact Golden Girls episodes at the local theater. But each is facing their own heartaches too.
- [48:14]
Listener Presser
And an unexpected visit from Teddy's estranged
- [48:17]
Katie Cobb
family member brings those issues to the forefront. I absolutely adored this gem of a book. The humor, the grief, the friendship, the found family. The important reminders of everything the LGBTQ+ pioneers made possible.
- [48:31]
Listener Presser
The Golden Girls.
- [48:33]
Katie Cobb
It was perfection.
- [48:34]
Listener Presser
I feel actual sadness that the Golden
- [48:36]
Katie Cobb
Gays are not real people I can hug. The audio, which has four narrators, really brought the characters to life. And the audio version is not to be skipped. The book will make you laugh and cry. You'll be delighted and angry and heartbroken and heartwarmed. And above all, you will feel like you know and adore this cross crew and desperately want to pop into their pink Palm Springs home for their Sunday brunch. If you're a fan of the Gunkle, I think you'll really like this one too.
- [49:04]
Listener Presser
That's.
- [49:04]
Katie Cobb
That's What Friends Are for by Wade Rouse.
- [49:07]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
All right, Katie, this is one that you that I want to read, but you need to read it and then let let us know about it.
- [49:13]
Katie Cobb
Report back. I am not a a Golden Girls aficionada, I would say, but I do love the old gays on Instagram and even the COVID of this, I'm like, it's them. If if this was not written about the old gays on Instagram, I don't know what Wade Rouse is doing with his life. This pink Palm Springs beach house, there's like the muscly one in a Speedo on the COVID There's like cool leisure suit guy. I just, I am obsessed with the whole thing. I have not heard of this book which why what's happening there? Last year Kristen recommended zero stars do not recommend. Also a very vibrant color and was a very fun hit for me in a in a completely different wheelhouse than this book. So I love that this this brings me a new recommendation from Kristen and she is hitting it out of the park for me. I will definitely be reading that's what Friends Are for by Wade Rouse.
- [50:12]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
So good.
- [50:13]
Katie Cobb
Okay, we have made it to our final listener press for this episode. Let us hear from Kelsey about the Thief.
- [50:20]
Listener Presser
Hi listeners, this is kelsey from Abbotsford, B.C.
- [50:23]
Katie Cobb
canada.
- [50:24]
Listener Presser
When it comes to my press, I thought to myself, everyone seems to be longing for a 90s summer and Meredith did say the more backlist the better. So with all that in mind, I want to press into your hands the Thief by Megan Whalen Turner, published in 1996. Now, because it is so backlist, I realize that many of you friends might already be familiar with it and have even read this one or more in the series. Can I then make a case that this is one of the most re readable series I have ever encountered and that this summer would be the absolute perfect time for you to pick it up again? Here's the setup. Our story follows Gen, who is plucked from prison by the King's scholar, the Magus, to go on a quest to steal for the king a lost mythical treasure in another land. After all, Jen bragged to all who would listen that he could steal anything. So wouldn't he be just the man for the job? Set in an ancient time reminiscent of the Byzantine era, where the gods and goddesses are more than just silent idols made of stone, this expedition sets in motion events that will have long, far reaching consequences for all of our characters, and Jen most of all. With action, romance, humor, mythology and plot twist galore, there is something here for almost every Every reader believe me when I say that reading it for the second time is just as pleasurable as the first, if not more. Because you can truly notice and appreciate the intricate world building and complexity of plot that Megan Whan Turner has accomplished in only 280 pages. Book two is incredible, but three is my favorite. This series came to a long awaited conclusion with book six in 2020 and it was one of the most significant satisfying reading experiences of my entire life. I have now done this entire series both in print and on audio and both formats are amazing as Steve west is an excellent narrator. If you've never read this series, you don't want to miss it. If you have, you can start again and won't be able to stop. Buddy, read with your teen or pre teen, bring it on your vacation or put it in your ears while you complete your summer project. I can't wait to recruit new fans of the Thief. Book one of the Queen's Thief series by Megan Whelan Turner.
- [52:37]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
Oh, you just have got to love the incredible enthusiasm of this press, right? The lifetime favorite, the reread. The book one is fantastic. Book two is even better. Book three is the best book. I just, I love her. I love her passion for this series. I love it so much.
- [52:54]
Katie Cobb
Yes. And this is such a perfect capstone to this episode because this is the stuff we love from the listener press. Right? Something that you have loved for 30 years that you have just been waiting to tell other readers about to get them on the bandwagon with you. Like great job Kelsey. Gold star to you. This sounds incredible. I also want to point out, Meredith, that it says readers also enjoyed the Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison, which is one that you really love.
- [53:24]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
Yes. Lifetime favorite for me.
- [53:27]
Katie Cobb
There's something happening here. There's something happening here.
- [53:30]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
Yes. And when I, I look at it in my library and my library has several different lists like that the librarians will put together of their lifetime favorites. This is also on one of my favorite librarians list of her lifetime favorites.
- [53:43]
Katie Cobb
Oh my gosh. We should do. We should do an episode about this. Like getting to know a specific librarian and figuring out their taste. So you can always find that person or a bookseller or whoever it is. Like knowing that person you can go to. Maybe it's Meredith, maybe it's me. You go find your person and they'll get you the perfect books to put in your hands. I have not heard of this series. It looks like it was recently reissued because there's a new kind of updated cover probably when the Last one came out in 2020. That's a little bit more graphic. It's appealing to today's readers, but it, it looks fantastic. And I love the start of a big fantasy series where the books themselves aren't big. 280 pages, I was gonna say.
- [54:26]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
That's part of what makes it interesting is that there aren't like big 900 page tomes.
- [54:31]
Katie Cobb
Mm, yes. So good. All right, that was the Thief by Megan Whalen Turner. And those were 16 incredible listener presses from our friends, neighbors, countrymen all over the world.
- [54:46]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
Yes. Such a good stack. Huge stack. A tall stack of books from all different kinds. It's really, really wonderful. And you know, as always, the listener press episode delivers to the tbr. All right, that is it for this week. As a reminder, here's where you can connect with us. You can find me. I'm Meredith, Meredith Monday Schwartz on Instagram
- [55:08]
Katie Cobb
and you can find me Katie 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.
- [55:19]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
With the title of every book we mentioned in the episode and timestamps, you can zoom right to where we talked about. It can be found in our show notes and on our website@currentlyreadingpodcast.com youm can
- [55:30]
Katie Cobb
also follow the show at currentlyreading podcast on Instagram or email us@hellourrentlyreadingpodcast.com if you head to our website or our substack, you'll be able to sign up for our reader Know Thyself newsletter, which will help you hone in on exactly what works in your reading life. If you'd like to watch this episode and get a blue check for everyone, you can also find us on YouTube where we're constantly trying new things.
- [55:54]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
And if you love this kind of content, join us as a bookish friend. We actually do listener presses on all things Murderful and Love and Chili Peppers every single month. We love to do listener presses, so you can join us there. You get that content, you get a ton of community, and you keep this show commercial free. You can also help us by rating and reviewing us on Apple podcasts and shouting us out on social media. Every one of those things will help us to find our perfect audience.
- [56:25]
Katie Cobb
Yes, bookish friends are the best friends. Thank you for helping us grow and get closer to our goals.
- [56:31]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
All right, until next week, may your
- [56:33]
Katie Cobb
coffee be hot and your book be unputdownable.
- [56:36]
Meredith Monday Schwartz
Happy reading, Katie.
- [56:37]
Katie Cobb
Happy reading, Meredith.