S08.17: Setting New Year's Reading Resolutions

Summary

Podcast Summary: Fated Mates S08.17 – Setting New Year’s Reading Resolutions

Hosts: Sarah MacLean and Jennifer (“Jen”) Prokop
Date: January 14, 2026
Theme: Approaching the New Year with intentional reading resolutions and organizational strategies, reflections on technology and publishing, plus favorite books and upcoming releases.

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Episode Overview

In this lively, thoughtful conversation, Sarah and Jen embrace the beginning of 2026 by examining their own reading habits, strategies, and hopes for the year. While both admit to being ambivalent about traditional New Year’s resolutions, they find real value in resetting reading goals and systems, from embracing new tech to tracking books on paper. They reflect on industry changes, the value of debut authors, the necessity of intentionality when choosing what (and how) to read, and share anticipations for upcoming releases in romance and beyond.

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1. Rethinking Resolutions & Organizing The Reading Year

The Skepticism of New Year's Resolutions

• Sarah wonders why resolutions are made in the winter, citing biological rhythm misalignment:

  “I read this, like, really interesting thing that was, like, biologically, like, the winter is actually a terrible time to do resolutions because… we're designed to just like, shut down, to, like, fatten up and, like, go under the covers.” (00:27)

• Jen, a teacher, quips that January is “just the middle of school.” New Year's as a reset feels arbitrary compared to the academic/calendar rhythms.

Geography and Seasons

• Anecdotes about friends living in the Southern Hemisphere disrupt default assumptions about when “the year” begins—a reminder to question ingrained habits.

  “My friend Brittany… moved to Botswana with her family… her daughter being on summer break. I was like… my brain just, like, glitched.” (01:35)

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2. Tech Talk: Kobo vs. Kindle, NetGalley Issues, and Amazon’s Policies

Sarah’s New Reading Gadgets

• Sarah shares her Christmas gift: a Kobo e-reader and a Kobo remote, delighting in the ability to “read my book [with a clicker]… never in my life felt more lazy.” (08:13)
• She critiques the lack of NetGalley support on Kobo, calling out both publishers and Kobo for the technical disconnects.
• Larger frustrations surface over Amazon's “locking books down” on KU (Kindle Unlimited), and both vent about the increasing use of AI in publishing:

  “I'm also real pissed off at Amazon right now as an author for the way they are just like dumping AI tools into our books and for sure, scraping the books.” (13:00)

Amazon vs. Kobo: Weighing Ethics and Practicalities

• Both acknowledge wanting to diversify away from Amazon, but note the real-world difficulties:

  Jen: "I've tried several times and failed every time to leave… I had to, like, forgive myself for not being able to do it…" (12:36)

• Real talk about where books “live”—switching platforms is cumbersome for heavy readers.

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3. Banishing the Book Clutter: Systems and Strategies for Tracking What You Read

Tracking Books Read: Paper Planners vs. Digital Tools

• Sarah describes her low-key new system: simply jotting down each finished book (title, author, brief thoughts) in her daily paper planner:

  “I have a planner… I've started… marking the books that I finish on the day I finish them… put in like a couple of little notes, like, you know, like, kind of rating… or, you know, a trope.” (25:04)

• She rejects Goodreads as “torture” due to its public ratings and the temptation for authors to spiral.

Jen’s Perspective: Minimalism and Multipurpose Devices

• Jen mostly reads on an iPad loaded with all relevant reading apps, admitting she does not track books individually anymore. “The podcast is me tracking what I've read to some extent.” (29:40)
• Misses sometimes leaving herself wry one-sentence notes about books on old spreadsheets.

The TBR Backlog & Digital Organization

• Jen uses e-reader collections/folders to keep new, unread books organized by year, arcs, holiday, etc.:

  “I call them all the year first… as I am buying new books, I am trying to put them into these folders…” (36:26)

• This keeps the most relevant books handy when preparing themed podcast episodes.
• Both share that the stacks—both physical and digital—can get overwhelming, and they take comfort in slowly culling through.

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4. Reading Intentions: Debuts, Backlists, and Breaking Your Own Patterns

Intentional Reading Goals

• Both are committed to boosting debut authors: “Without debut romances, the genre will fail… we need fresh meat.” (57:01)
• Recommendations for debut authors: identify yourself as “debut” for increased discoverability.

Expanding Horizons

• Sarah intentionally reads historical romance by authors she’s never read, remembering the genre thrives with new voices, contrary to the “historical is dead” narrative.
• Jen vouches for “meta-reading” (reading your own TBR), finding it grounding and affirming as a reader.

  “You spend an hour… go to your… content and devices… just kind of like go through and you're like, what have I not read?” (61:04)

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5. Producing the Podcast: Behind the Scenes

• Monthly planning meetings: “Every kind of month or so… we sort of go like, all right, what are we doing?... tropes that we want to tackle…” (40:18)
• Fluid episode scheduling—sometimes tracking “themes” months in advance, often collecting notes and title ideas in the Notes app or digital spreadsheet.

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6. Readers' Advisory Philosophy: Why Fated Mates Picks What It Picks

• The show avoids hyper-popular books when listeners already know them (e.g., no “Hockey Romance Episode,” not doing readalongs for juggernaut authors like Emily Henry)

  Jen: “If you’re going to be reading to recommend things… You don’t need to do the stuff that is already so freaking big.” (46:45)

• Sarah, as an author, reads the major titles even if not for enjoyment—“it’s the work.”
• The emphasis: Fated Mates wants to showcase the best and introduce listeners to new and excellent work rather than reiterate the obvious.

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7. Print vs. E-books: Preferences, Bookstores, & Lending

• Both enjoy supporting independent bookstores—if Sarah needs to read for work or a podcast blurb, she asks for print copies to better retain details.
• Jen’s print purchases largely come from indie romance bookstores in Chicago. Her print-to-ebook ratio is about 10%.
• Both love sharing print finds—donating to Little Free Libraries or coworkers.

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8. Book Anticipation & Recommendations

Upcoming & Recent Titles Mentioned:

• She Fell Away by Lenore Nash (Lenora Bell writing as Nash) – noir mystery, March release.
• As Far as She Knew by Diana Awad (Diana Quincy) – suspense novel, an upcoming Mindy Kaling pick, April.
• The Romance Revival by Christina Lauren – July.
• The Paris Match by Kate Claiborne – “the one for me… early April,” highly anticipated by Jen. (65:19)
• Just for the Season by Rachel Griffiths – next historical, post-debut.
• The Duke by Anna Cowan – Sapphic historical, coming in April.
• Upcoming Lisa Kleypas – excitement for the legendary author’s new book.

Jen's Print Book Recommendation

• Alphabet in How Letters Got Their Shape – “a big, huge, like pop up book about the Alphabet and how letters became letters.” (85:01)
• Jen prizes paper books that do what no other book can do, e.g. beautiful illustrated editions.

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9. Memorable Quotes

• On tracking:

  “I'm not ever going to put them into a Google spreadsheet. Like, that's just never going to be it.” – Sarah (26:35)

• On intentional debuts:

  “If you're out there and you're a debut, first of all, tell people … say, like, it's your debut romance. I think a lot of people are really eager to try new people.” – Sarah (57:44)

• On reading as identity:

  “This is me saying, like, reading is an important part of me and who I am, how I process the world and the things around me.” – Jen (61:04)

• On culling print books:

  “On a Saturday afternoon, [I] just pull out all the books that came in the mail that week and I can call half of them into the little free library that day. Like, not for me. Not for me, not for me.” – Sarah (73:19)

• On the labor behind podcasting:

  “Can you imagine? That would be amazing… No, this is our brains.” – Jen (43:59)

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10. Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:27 – New Year's skepticism and seasonal resets
• 08:13 – Sarah’s experience with Kobo and critiques of e-reader interoperability
• 13:00 – Frustration over Amazon and AI in publishing
• 25:04 – Sarah’s minimalist paper-based tracking system
• 36:26 – Jen explains organizing ebooks with digital folders/collections
• 40:18 – Behind the podcast: choosing themes and scheduling
• 46:45 – Why they don't cover major, mega-popular books on the podcast
• 57:01 – Commitment to debuts, concrete encouragement for new authors
• 65:19 – Upcoming anticipated releases (Kate Claiborne, Christina Lauren, etc.)
• 73:19 – Culling print books and the pleasure of sharing them
• 85:01 – Jen’s appreciation for “books as art”—recommendation for a pop-up alphabet book

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11. Closing Thoughts

Both hosts encourage listeners to develop systems—however imperfect—for staying engaged and excited in their reading lives, whether that means tracking, culling, making digital folders, or simply forgiving yourself for unread books. The most important takeaway: Be intentional, be curious, and let joy and discovery drive your reading year.

“If you have a system… designed for people who are bad at systems, you're welcome to share it with me, but at this point, I'm just gonna try and keep on with my paper planner system because it seems like the lowest hanging system…” – Sarah (86:49)

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For full book recs and discussion, check Fated Mates show notes and join their community on Patreon or Discord.

Transcript

[A]

I had a whole thing I wanted to do, and now I can't remember what it is.

[B]

Well, welcome to 2026, I guess.

[A]

And it's. This is a good topic for sort of New Year. I want to talk about New Year, actually, because I always feel like, should.

[B]

We introduce ourselves first? Just, like, really early, get it out of the way.

[A]

We'll throw Eric off and everyone else, but sure. Welcome, everyone, to Fated maze. I'm Sarah McLean. I read romance novels and I write them.

[B]

And I'm Jennifer Prokop, a romance reader and editor.

[A]

And it's January, and I think here's questions, and I know what your answer is going to be because you're still a teacher. But New Year's always feels sort of like a fraud to me because it's really not. Like, I appreciate that we all do New Year's resolutions. Although I read this, like, really interesting thing that was, like, biologically, like, the winter is actually a terrible time to do resolutions because, like, your body, like, we're animals, right. So it's. We're designed to just, like, shut down, to, like, fatten up and, like, go under the covers.

[B]

Great job, everyone.

[A]

I mean, I'm good at that in July, too. Everyone but the. And so, like, really, we should be making resolutions in, like, you know, late spring.

[B]

Interesting.

[A]

So. Which isn't, you know, whatever you do. You, everyone. But truly, like, it's that whole new and crisp in the fall thing. Yeah.

[B]

I mean, I listen my entire life as a school teacher, I just feel like, what's. This is not anything. This is just the middle of school.

[A]

It's like a northern hemisphere thing, I think, because although I'm sort of curious, like, I don't. I don't really know how school works anywhere else in the world, so.

[B]

Well, well, my friend Brittany, I don't know, you guys. You know this. The one who did all your tiktoks moved to Botswana with her family. And I literally, like, the other day, she talked about her daughter, Botswana.

[A]

To find it on the map.

[B]

It is directly north of South Africa.

[A]

And so it's the southern hemisphere.

[B]

Correct. And she mentioned being on, like, her daughter being on summer break. And I was like, brittany, it is one thing to know that you live on a different continent now, but the fact that you flat up live in a different hemisphere.

[A]

Yeah, the upside down.

[B]

My brain just, like, glitched. I was like. Was like, wait, that's crazy.

[A]

Does they have multiple months off the way we do?

[B]

I don't know. I have not acquired.

[A]

It's Complicated. We don't know. Somebody on the discord is about. Is already drafting a post.

[B]

Yeah. Please tell me how school work where you live.

[A]

I want to know how this works, how school works. We were in. My daughter. I took my daughter to Australia and New Zealand over this. Over our summer in August. And it was not summer there and all the kids were in school. So that felt.

[B]

And she.

[A]

She kept going. Why are all kids in school? Because it's not summer here.

[B]

Yeah. Right.

[A]

Which is why she got the flu. So there it is.

[B]

My.

[A]

Listen. Public service announcement. If you are going to the other hemisphere, to the southern hemisphere in the months of May, June, July, August, September, get your flu shot.

[B]

Yeah. Before you go in Southern hemisphere people, if you are coming to see us, well, frankly, don't get all your shots somewhere else.

[A]

Why. Why would you be doing that?

[B]

This measles thing is craz.

[A]

Listen, I can't. I mean, it's all gonna come back, you know, I'm like, literally a heartbeat away from like, we're heartbeat away from somebody getting polio. And I. Yeah. Honestly, like, can't.

[B]

Can't really process it. Yes.

[A]

RFK Jr. Should just walk into the sea. Imagine being his relative. Imagine being descended from the Kennedys.

[B]

Well, did you read that piece in the New Yorker?

[A]

Horrifying.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I mean, the word. The piece in New Yorker we're referring to is Caroline Kennedy, who is JFK's John F. Kennedy's daughter.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And John F. Kennedy Jr. Sister. Her daughter has terminal cancer.

[B]

Yeah. And she.

[A]

And wrote about it. Yeah, she wrote about it.

[B]

And like, I'll link to it in.

[A]

Show notes if you haven't read it, everybody.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Now in.

[B]

It's like biblical tragedy first.

[A]

Right. In a lot of ways. But like, imagine being descended of like, liberal lions.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And your idiot cousin slash brother, slash.

[B]

Getting, you know, millions of uncle slash across the world. Yeah.

[A]

The worst. Yeah, the worst.

[B]

You know, it's funny because. And I'm sure, okay. If you're like a lifelong reader, like a really hardcore reader your entire life, I feel like a lot of things I learned I can. Or some things I've learned. Maybe I can really, like, remember the book that taught it to me. So this is like a really, really, like, old school thing. So when I was a kid, there was this series of books I really loved, which were old at the time called the Great Brain, and they were set in Utah, so they were kids were like Mormons maybe. And the Great Brain was like the smartest kid in town. He was like encyclopedia Brown. But like, you know, from the 30s, from that I don't remember. And this was, you know, a time before immunizations existed. And in one of the stories, like one of the kids in town got like mumps and all the moms, like took the kids over there. Essentially. It was like, you know, the moms were like, we're gonna get you sick now.

[A]

We're.

[B]

And you know, like kind of plan essentially like get you sick now so that you will be, you know, like immunized essentially. But like, you don't have to live like that anymore. People died, you know, from this kind of like an immunization is not going to kill you. And I frankly cannot believe that we're like back here. So. Yeah, I saw a thing yesterday on social media. This again was like. It was like, you know, possible measles exposure at Newark Airport between 7am and 7pm and I was like, do you know how many thousands of people were probably in Newark Airport three days after New York City area?

[A]

We have three airports and that's one of them.

[B]

Three days after Christmas. I was like, especially three days after.

[A]

Christmas and we'd had a snowstorm, right?

[B]

And I just was like, oh my God. Anyway, sorry.

[A]

So, I mean. Yeah, this is. I mean, it's making me think. Did you read everything is Tuberculosis?

[B]

I didn't, but I did read. God, did you read the book by. Is it Yule Abyss? There's a great book about inoculations.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And immunizations. And I think that was her name and. God, it was terrific. Let me look up the name.

[A]

I mean, everything is tuberculosis. This is written by John Green. That John Green. And so it. I mean, it's very readable. Like, I think part of. I gave it to my father in law actually this year for Christmas because I felt like. I mean, I always give him. I usually give him a book that's a biography of stuff. Like I've given him like COD and salt and like, you know, the. I mean, he really likes like a very particular kind of nonfiction. But I gave him this because I have not read it. But I have heard John talk so much about it. And I mean, this idea that like disease, especially diseases that feel like ancient. Right. Like measles or like TB or polio, like, you know, leprosy, like things that feel like they should be eradicated, the reason why they're not is injustice. And I think that's the thing that's sort of so shattering about what's going on in the United States right now is like, this is injustice. This is targeting injustice.

[B]

Anybody? Let me just mention this Eula Bis book is called on immunity. It's from 2014. It was a great read. It was really terrific. If you've never read her essays or her work before, she's just a terrific writer and she just. Anyway, so, yeah, I don't know. Get.

[A]

Get him.

[B]

Get your immunizations now, while you still can.

[A]

Get vaccinated, everybody. But I know that it's two weeks later, but I want to. I do want to talk about the holidays because I got a Kobo for Christma.

[B]

Oh, yeah, that's right.

[A]

And let me tell you what else I got for Christmas, which is a Kobo remote. And I will tell you that last night I crawled into my bed and I started reading the new Kristen Callahan. And I propped my Kobo up on my red side table and I lay like a slug inside my blankets. And I clicked my remote from inside.

[B]

My blankets and read my book.

[A]

And I have never in my life felt more lazy.

[B]

You were. And I literally was like, I'm an animal hide hibernating in my bed, in my.

[A]

This is. This is what I'm supposed to do for winter. I do have several things. Eric. I said to Eric. I was like, I have a list of problems. He was like, well, good for you. You have a microphone to the book world.

[B]

You're like. You're like, tap, tap.

[A]

So here's what I want to say to publishing and to the people at Kobo about. Now that I've used my Kobo for, like, whatever, a week. And that is one NetGalley has got to get themselves. We've got to sort out this NetGalley Kobo problem, which is parent. So everybody in NetGalley is. If you are a reviewer of romance or any books, of any books, I.

[B]

Guess there's other ones.

[A]

I don't know. I've heard of other books. I guess this John Green book. If you are a reader of books and a reviewer of books, you can get an account at a thing called netgalley. And publishers put up early copies of those books up there. And one of the sort of, like, revolutionary things that you can, that you have been able to do on NetGalley for a long time is send your early copy of your book to your Kindle so you can read it on your Kindle, which is amazing. And there is a function where you can send it to your Kobo. You can link up your Kobo, which I did. But not all publishers distribute to Kobo. So that's a publisher issue. But then I was talking to Dana, I think, on Threads. Dana from Grand Central. On Grand Central, yes.

[B]

From Forever. Yeah. We love you, Dana.

[A]

We love you, Dana. Dana from Forever on Threads. And she said the part of the problem is that, like, if a file is too big or, like, it has art inside, like, the Kobo doesn't. It's like Kobo rejects the file and says, like, you can't distribute it to us. So that's Kobo problem at Kobo. Here I am just airing my grievances here.

[B]

Mid January, I mean, I guess.

[A]

And then, of course, there is this larger issue, which is a lot of the books that I want to read are on ku, which is, you know, which is an Amazon problem. Amazon, stop locking books down. Let them distribute widely.

[B]

Yeah, let's. You know, I don't know what to tell you about any of that. You got to be careful, though, with the. I mean. Okay, you know what? We can talk offline about The. The. The NetGalley disappearing. The disappearing book thing. If you're downloading them not to your Kindle, they disappear. Bing.

[A]

What?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Like on the date.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Like, they're essentially like times appear.

[B]

They're sort of like time stamped. What?

[A]

I mean, I'm gonna write a sternly worded letter to everyone. CC Publishing.

[B]

Cc Keep sending those to your Kindle, my friend.

[A]

You know, I got a Kobo. You didn't say that. Anyway, I do. Like, what I will say is, I.

[B]

Do say things like. I do say things like, I have had a hard time transitioning.

[A]

I know, but that's. I mean, Jen, you don't have to talk and code to me when we're not on the podcast. Listen, here's what I will say. It is a very light device. It is a very smooth working device. And so far, the clicker. I got the Clara. And the clicker is nice. And I'll be honest, you guys, anything I could do to diversify.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Out of Amazon, that is my goal right now. I appreciate that. Like, these Julia Wolf books that I'm mainlining, they are all in ku, and I can't stop. But I've had a hard time.

[B]

I've had a hard time. I've tried several times and failed every time to leave the.

[A]

I know. Because it is hard. It's hard. It's hard also to say, like, well, what was that on my Kindle? Or was that. Is that on my Kobo? Like, where does it live? Jen's making faces at me. I don't know. We're gonna have to have talk. We're gonna have to talk.

[B]

No, I mean, it's just you, you. I don't know what to tell you. It. I had to. I had to, like, forgive myself for not being able to do it, even though I've tried several times. That's. That's my current situation. That's fine.

[A]

If you're not. If you're out there and you're not able to. That's fine. Here's what I.

[B]

Okay, this actually, but I'm starting to get.

[A]

I'm. Here's the other thing. Listen, I will tell you straight up, everybody. I'm also real pissed off at Amazon right now as an author.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

For the way they are just like dumping AI tools into our books and for sure, scraping the books.

[B]

And I.

[A]

And listen, do I think Kobo is not pro. I mean, like, I know Kobo is surely using AI also, but, like, it just feels like. I don't know. I. I don't know.

[B]

There's no.

[A]

It's 2026 and there's no solution except for what makes you feel like you're.

[B]

Yeah, right.

[A]

A little bit of work, you know.

[B]

Freeing yourself from the. Our technology resistance.

[A]

What's happening with AI and that's happening, obviously, much more frequently with companies that have trillion dollar revenue streams than. Yeah.

[B]

Trillion dollar revenue, zero taxes. What a time.

[A]

This week's episode of Faded Mates is sponsored by Allison Bettis, author of Red Flag Warning.

[B]

So, everybody, this is a romantic suspense. The first in stupid meets crime scene novels. And in this one, we have meteorologist Iris o'. Hara. She spends her days forecasting the weather, including Red flag warnings. And now she's dating one. And that would be brooding park ranger Hector Madera. He is a military veteran and basically the human embodiment of everything that, like, women are supposed to watch out for. Except that he's pretty hot. He's kind of of, you know, sexy. He's got a lot of flannel, permanent scowl. I mean, how could you resist this? Right? Like all park rangers, I mean, obviously people are messing with the parks and he's just really upset about it. So Hector and Iris get involved in a murder investigation when she finds essentially a body of a missing woman. And so she has to go to Hector and ask for help. And then a wildfire tears through the national park where he's stationed, and they have to work together to essentially figure out what. So the fire is spreading, secrets are igniting, and they have to decide which burns hotter, the wildfire outside or the one between them. Oh, boy. I would like to just say, as is written on the back of this book, that nothing says romance like running from a killer in the middle of a wildfire. And honestly, that's true.

[A]

I feel good about that. Honestly. Well, if you also want to learn about romance killers and wildfires, you can do that right now in print, print, ebook, or Kindle Unlimited. If your podcasting app supports it, you can click on the chapter title to be taken to by Red Flag Warning. Thanks to Alison Bettis for sponsoring this week's episode.

[B]

Our topic today is something I suggested to Sarah because even though, as you could tell at the beginning, at the top of the episode, I'm not, like, a real big person to, like, set a bunch of, like, New Year's resolutions, I do have some, like, ways I approach a new reading year. Right. And I think that. So I suggested to Sarah, like, let's, like, talk about a lot of that stuff. Like. Right. Like, you know, there's all these ways in which we, you know, that people can, like, sort of think, like, I don't know, like, clear the decks for a new reading year. And even though it's two weeks into the year, it's still gonna work. And so, you know, like, one of those things for Sarah is like, you know, really to, like, switch to a new platform or, you know, as much as possible or, you know, like, what are the, you know, like, sort of things that we do as we approach a new year. And, you know, the idea is kind of like, it's going to be a little bantery, but I think, you know, thinking about, if you're a big reader, it's like, you know, like, the books, the tbr, all of the. How are you keeping track of everything? What are you doing? What do you do or not do? And I thought that would maybe be, like, a fun topic.

[A]

I think it's interesting that you put it that way because for me, as much as I think of September. Right. Fall.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

As being the beginning because of school, it just sort of is embedded in my brain. Reading, like publishing.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Really is, like, a calendar year.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

Structure.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

And so. And I think that in a lot of ways, it is. It is that way because so I don't know how much I have talked about this in. On the podcast, but my career prior. To. Even prior to writing romance was in publishing. And so. And I did. I was a publicist for many, many years. And I started out as a literary publicist. And when I started out as a literary publicist, it Was long enough ago that there really was a sort of sense of the publishing calendar and the idea. And that's not to say that there isn't still, but it was sort of like quiet like certain types of books were published in the winter, certain types of books were published in the summer. Certain types of published books were published in the fall. And it was like when I first started like in literary fiction in like. Or literary. Even sort of big non fiction. The biggest, biggest books of the year in like non fiction were published in the fall. And like the fall would have this like big beautiful like batch of you know, political mem. Like political memoirs or biographies or you know, biographies of stuff. They would all come out like all together in the fall. And so, you know, you steered clear of the fall if you had like a fun like beach read, like it just wasn't right for you. Beach reads for the, for the summer. And when then, when I started writing romance and I started writing publishing romance at Avon, which is an imprint of HarperCollins, there was HarperCollins. Their fiscal year turns over mid year. Right? So like in July. And so the structure was that their biggest books of the year were published May, June, July, August. Because the last two those May, June books were. This is in. This is in romance because romance is beach read, right. Romance falls. Romance is a summer read unless it's a. Unless it's a holiday romance. And that's a different thing. But like, so they would publish, you know, Stephanie Lawrence, Julia Quinn, Eloisa James, Me, Tessa, Dare, kind of like, all right, like in that sort of May, June, July, August world. And the idea was like May and June were good years for. Were good months for those sort of huge books, huge summer books because they would close out the fiscal year with a bang.

[B]

Oh, interesting.

[A]

And then July and August were also good years because they would open the fiscal year with a bang. Right. So like you, the publishers themselves had a sense of like, right. How that. What they had to hit for the last two months of the year and how like how successful they had been for that sort of. And remember it was. And then it would go sort of July, August, September, October would sort of across a whole traditional publishing house would look really great by the end of the year.

[B]

Right. Read.

[A]

Because then you get that boost at the holidays when people are buying books.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So it really did feel like, you know, the quieter books would come out in sort of January, February, March, and then you'd sort of ramp up, ramp up, ramp up. And then you'd have all that Big fiction in the summer and then all that big non fiction in the fall. And then the holidays would come and people would buy all the books that were big and on the. On the table. Right. Because if you think about holiday publishing, it often was, you know, the things that were on the table. And again, this. This is a. This is years ago, pre pandemic, really, the things that end up on the table at the holidays are just the big books of the year.

[B]

Yeah, of course.

[A]

Right. Like atmosphere. Taylor Jenkins Reid's Atmosphere was on the front table at Barnes and Noble on the holidays because that's the book everybody was buying for their mom or something, their wife or their sister or whatever. So all of that is to say that then the pandemic came. And now, you know, my. My agent now find is sort of famous for saying, like, there is no publishing calendar. Like, just put the book out unless it has summer in the title, and then you're kind of stuck. Unless there's like. Unless there's, like, Christmas in the title and then you're sort of stuck in a different way. Yeah, but I do sort of think in my head, but then, you know, you think about, like, end of the year episodes, like, what were the best books of the. The kind of. So for me, as much as I'm like, a life turns over in September. For me, reading does turn over now.

[B]

Yeah, I think so. I think so for me, too. And I think it's, like, hard not to feel that way because of. I mean, so I think there's a lot of, like, external structures now. Right? Like, so lots of, you know, like, if you're on Goodreads, and I would assume, storygraph, it does something similar. It's like, like setting your yearly reading goals or your intentions for that. You know, there's a lot of, you know, things like that, you know, the big end of the year, like, best of lists have already dropped. And so there's a sense that, like, everyone is, like, kind of resetting that clock. And I also just think, like, it is somehow easier for me to, like, think about, like, okay, this is a new year. It's time to, like, like, clean up my reading life. Right. And I think, you know, like, in terms of, like, looking at what books came out or are coming out, you know, and sort of planning for those and thinking ahead about, like, what I want to be reading or what books I'm really looking forward to, you know, So a lot of that kind of stuff does tend to happen. I also think for me, it has to do with, you know, listen, reading is the most. Most. I love it the most. Right? My entire life is based around this thing I love doing.

[A]

Right?

[B]

It's my job at work. It's my. My podcast. It's my editing life. It's like my hobby. It's my free time. Like, this is it, everybody. I'm really committed to reading. And the thing about that is, at after Christmas is over and before I go back to school, it's also a time where I get to really, like, sort of, like, look around and think, okay, well, what is it that I am, you know, like, moving out of the house? I'm often cleaning out things. I'm giving books away, like, whatever. So it just, like, is a really good time for me to also sort of think about it. And so I figured it would be, like, maybe a fun episode to have us, like, talk about again. Like I said, like, how we sort of approach some of those tasks or the ways we, like, reset and think about, you know, kind of like, what.

[A]

What's coming? What's the best way for us to tackle this? Because I think I've started a new system.

[B]

Okay.

[A]

This year, I love a system.

[B]

Let's talk about systems.

[A]

So here's what I do. So I am a paper planner person, although I am not. You know, there are some people who are like, planner people, and they use stickers and color coordinating and they, like, post them to Instagram. That is.

[B]

You're not that kind of paper planner person.

[A]

Nobody who's ever listen to this podcast is like, Sarah is definitely that organized because she's not. So. But what I would say is I am a paper planner person. And one of the things that I struggled with last year, and I talked about this a little bit on, you know, some of the late in the year episodes, was that I really struggled to read last year. Like, I had. I struggled finding books that I really. I found compelling. I struggled to remember a lot of the things that I was reading. Like, I think my brain was just, like, in a really complex place last year. Like a lot of us, Right?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

You know, I think for many, many reasons. And so I. One of the big challenges that I had, especially with the podcast, because you and I spend a lot of time going like, oh, we should do an episode on whatever the. Whatever the thing is.

[B]

Right.

[A]

And so. And. And then I would be like, I know I said that, and I know I said it because of something I had read.

[B]

Right.

[A]

But I actually don't have any memories of what. Yeah, what that book was that, like, inspired me to say to you, like, jen, we should do men in fur.

[B]

Right.

[A]

And so for me, what I started doing is. So I have this. I have a planner, and it has, like, kind of. It's not a complex planner. It just has, like, a few lines for every day. And what I've just. What I've started doing is marking the books that I finish on the day I finish them in the planner. And then so I just sort of, like, put the title and the author in. I know I finished that book. And then I put in, like, a couple of, like, little notes, like, you know, like, kind of rating. And then, you know, this is a Marriage in Trouble book. Or this is, you know, like something. Or like, if the hero has a scar or, you know, just. Because I think for me, there is no good system. Like, I know a lot of people use Goodreads. I don't use Goodreads because why would I ever torture myself in that way? Like, if I end up on a rating website?

[B]

I do think if you're an. An author, those sites have to feel like.

[A]

I mean, they're just too temp. It's too tempting to put in your own book and then go into a death spiral for a week. Of course. So, like, I need a system. And then last year I bought a reading journal, but, like, that felt too much.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

This feels like I've got a journal in front of me. I've got a diary in front of me every day. Like, I have a planner. It has a structure to it already. And this is like, kind of of an easy way for me to keep track. And I'm not ever going to put them into a Google spreadsheet. Like, that's just never going to be it. But, like, if you said to me, I want to do Marriage in Trouble.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Now I could, like, flip back and say, like, oh, okay, I read that. Okay, Read that.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Also, I did this because I keep a list of books that I really love on my personal website and the podcast. I have gotten really lazy, like, about updating that list because now we do this.

[B]

Yeah, Right, right, right.

[A]

So this. This way I also, that it gives me. It's sort of if I put in a book that I really, really loved, now I'm gonna. I'll update the website, too.

[B]

I. I do not keep track of what I read. I've tried. You know, there have been years I actually have tried, like, on a spreadsheet.

[A]

And I.

[B]

You know, it's too bad because in some ways, I do really Like. Like, when I look back at, like, those years where I kept them, for me, like, I don't really use Goodreads. I think it's tricky. I occasionally will, like, go in and look at Goodreads and kind of like, say that I've read something I just don't have. I think my problem is that I. I want my notes to be, like, private. And I know that you can, like, make that all the case on Goodreads if you want to, but I just don't want to have to go somewhere else to do it. Right. And then what I discovered is, you know, I'm often reading on the go. You know, you were talking about your Kobo earlier, but, like, the biggest sort of, like, efficient change for me is that I read at home on an iPad. And that iPad has, like, every reading app on. On it, right? So it's like. And I know that you can't do that because of the lighting thing, right? But, like, so it has a Kindle app and the Kobo app and Apple Books and, like, a PDF reader. I use, like, Blue Sky Reader and Libby. You know what I mean? And so I'm kind of like. And my phone is the same way. And so I'm often just, like, reading on the go. And I'm just not very good at then, like, sort of remembering, oh, I finished that book, but I was somewhere else or. Or whatever. So I really stopped. I'm. I've stopped tracking what I've read. I feel like the podcast is me tracking what I've read to some extent, right? It's like, kind of. And it's. I. I am not one for redundant systems. I think that's it. Like, once we started the podcast, I was kind of like, man, I wish I did, though, because sometimes what I like about, like, those old spreadsheets is I would just leave myself, like, a one sentence to note, right? About what I thought of the book or whatever. And sometimes they're really funny. You know what I mean? Just like. Like, whatever dumb things on my. In my brain. And I. I do sort of miss that. Like, I feel like that's what's kind of missing is, like, it's a note from me to me saying, like, here's. Here's what you thought of this. And somebody was like, you could put the Google app on your phone or, you know, like, Google Sheet or whatever, and then just be updating it on your phone. And I was like, theoretically, I could. Yes, you're right. But I clearly am not gonna do that.

[A]

It Just feels so antithetical to the process.

[B]

Yeah, I think, yeah, I'm not reading. I mean, listen, I know a lot of people really like that, but like, I am not, I feel like go, oh, let me put it this way. I think when people. Some people. And maybe this is. Cause I work with kids. I don't mean adults maybe I mean kids. I think a lot of kids and parents view like keeping track of reading as sort of a. I don't know, like you're competing against yourself and you got to get your pages in and you got to read the books. And I. Reading's never been like that for me, so.

[A]

Yeah, agreed.

[B]

There's nothing in like the me as a reader that kind of needs that, I guess. Except that sometimes later I'm like, did I read this? I don't know.

[A]

I mean, I think it's interesting because I, you know, it's that time of year, whenever it's like Spotify wrapped.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Discord wrapped and whatever. Wrapped and you know, and people are doing that sort of Goodreads like, oh, I read 5 million books. Good for you.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And I think I would be interested in some sort. And somebody's gonna be like, this happens. But I don't know where. I think I would, you know, be vaguely interested in like, here's a list of the books you read this year, like a sort of, you know, whatever. But it's interesting because I opened my Kindle just now as you were talking to see the app, to see like what it, you know, whether it had that and it says you've read 19 books.

[B]

And I'm like, that's categorically untrue.

[A]

Like, I mean, I've read 19 books for one episode of this podcast, so.

[B]

Right.

[A]

I don't know what that means. I mean, it must not be counting KU books. Maybe. I don't know. Or maybe you have to get to the very, very last page of the file. And often I like, sure. You're like, about the author. I don't care about authors.

[B]

Yeah. I often am really, really frustrated that the E Reading apps we use do not have like a pop up window you can click at the end that says like, I finished it this date. You know what I mean? Like, I'm always like, why? And then like, leave yourself a note about what it was.

[A]

Oh, and it wants to be like star review and then like write a review.

[B]

Like, I want, I want to know what I thought. I don't want anyone else to feed your algorithm. Right.

[A]

I think when I finish a book.

[B]

Don't boss me around. Scorpio. Big Scorpio energy.

[A]

You're not the boss of me.

[B]

You're not the boss of me. Kindle App. This week's episode of Faded Mates is brought to you by Caroline Linden, author of how to Get Away with Scandal.

[A]

So sometimes a writer writes a book and you are just entranced by secondary characters. And that happened in Caroline's book, Love and Up Scandals. And now all the readers who were desperate for Aunt Evangeline's book are getting it. Evangeline is a scandal. She has had two unhappy marriages. She is now, like, fully living out her life with a tarnished reputation, and she has vowed to never get entangled with another man. She's not even interested in looking them at them. Smart. We support you, Evangeline, with making that decision. Jen is that at some point a dashing explorer is going to pass through town and you're not going to be able to stop yourself from looking at him. Nor are you going to be able to stop yourself from taking this handsome man home for one night. Just one night, and then you won't look at men again. Except Richard Campion is deeply entranced by Evangeline. In this one night, he's happy to go home with her and very sad when he wakes up in her home and she is gone. She has peaced out on him in her own house.

[B]

A.

[A]

So he heads off to his travels, kind of obsessed, like never really having had enough of this one woman who haunts him through all these years. And when he gets home after all these years, he is just as fascinated and very excited to discover that Evangeline would like to repeat the events of that one night before she's definitely interested in looking at Richard again, and this time he intends to persuade her to look at him for the rest of his life.

[B]

Sounds amazing. So if you'd like to check out how to Get Away with Scandal, it is available now in print, ebook and audio. And if your podcasting app supports it, you can click on the chapter title right now to be taken to buy the book. Thanks to Carolyn Linden for sponsoring this week's episode One of the Problems. And Sarah has this problem, too, and I have this problem, and you all listening at home have this problem, which is too many books, not enough time, right? And there's more coming every day, like just a flood of books into my mailbox from publishers, right? I buy them like a fucking idiot. There's all the books, you know what I mean? And so one of the things that I Did want to talk about is like, well, it is, you know, when you have thousands of books on your apps and I have thousands of books on my apps, everybody. And thousands of unread books. Books. How do I, like, keep track of them? Because the truth is, I am often downloading books that I know I'm not going to read right away or whatever. Now, I wanted. So I want to talk a little bit about, like, sort of organizing, like, a digital library, because I think that might be kind of fun. And then also, like, you have to figure out now some of you might actually have way more. I don't know. You know, you're like, I only. I only have digital books. I only buy another one when I've read the previous one. And I don't have this problem. And to you I say, remarkable work, everyone. Good job.

[A]

I mean, I don't know how you.

[B]

I mean, I can't imagine anyone on this podcast feels that way because I know how you all are. You're like us, right? I really try to utilize like. And it has different names depending on which reading app you use, right? Like on Kindle, it's like collections and, you know, or whatever. I do try at the beginning of the year to set up, like, new folders.

[A]

Oh, okay, interesting.

[B]

And 1 and 1. I call, like, 2020. And I call them all the year first. Okay. Because there's all the previous year. So 2026. And it'll say like, arcs, which are like advanced reading copies, galleys, right? Like preview books. Then I will say, like, 2026. Like, just like fiction, 2026, nonfiction. And what I'm doing is, as I am buying new books, I am trying to put them into these folders so that when I can. When I'm read, when I'm looking for something to read, right. I don't forget that I have bought something. Right? Like, that I. Right, Like, I don't forget that. And I. Because the other thing is I mostly do do read an E now. You know, I have lots of paper books around and I still buy them. But, like, for the most part, I do read an E because of my. I'm traveling around and it's everywhere with me, right? There's nothing worse than being like, now I'm stuck somewhere in a line for 20 minutes, but my book's at home. So I don't really feel that way if all my books are an E. And so this is one thing that really helps me to, like, kind of move with intention into the new year and to be like, okay, Here are the books that I downloaded, thinking I would be interested in them. And, you know, that's not to say that if I, you know, of course you can read backlist. But, like, if I downloaded an arc in 2022 and I didn't get around to reading it, it's not a priority for me right now. Probably right. Until maybe what I'll do is I'll be like, okay, we're doing marriage in trouble. And then I will look at a marriage in trouble list, and I'll be like, I might have this book on my Kindle. And then I'll, like, kind of dig in it out. So I think one of the things that. That really helps me is to really think, like, okay, it's a new year, new books. I'm going to organize into these folders. And then when I have that, like, last night, I was like, what am I gonna read? What am I reading? I can open one of those and be like, oh, yeah, I downloaded blah, blah, blah book three weeks ago and didn't get to it, But I'm still really interested in reading it. And it's a 20, 20, 26 arc, and here it is. So I. I do think that, like, that's one thing that I really find useful is, you know, in the thousands of books on my Kindle, how can I find the ones that are, like, the most recent? And you would think that you could just, you know, if you open your Kindle, it's showing kind of what's recent. But, like, that gets real messy for me, because when I'm, like, then recording an episode where I'm like, okay, now we're gonna do time travel, and I'm pulling all those books up. It's pushing everything else down. Right. So.

[A]

And you're a rereader, too, and I'm a rereader.

[B]

And so often something is at the top of the list that is, you know, I'm like, oh, I just reread that scene because I wanted to suffer. Yeah. So I would say, like, if you have never experimented with, like, making folders or collections in your E readers, I do think that it can be a really, like, trust. Try it. You know what I mean? I have found that this is a really efficient way of working. And I also think, like, okay, so there are episodes we do every year. Every year, we do a holiday episode. Last week, I read a really fun Christmas book I'd never read before. So I'm Gonna make a 2026 Christmas romance, and I'm gonna put it in there. And then when it comes time to prep for that episode, I will remember. Oh, I read this last year year. But after we recorded the 2025 one. So I do some. I mean, you. Nobody at home cares about that because, you know, you're not doing that. But I, I do find that kind of stuff can be really helpful for, like, then I'm like, what's. What's new in my Kindle? Yeah, right. It's in these folders.

[A]

I also think that because the podcast listeners are often interested in how the podcast. Podcast itself works, I think. So we've probably talked about this before, but it's worth us sort of saying that every kind of month or so we have, Jen and I have a conversation where we sort of go like, all right, what are we doing? Like, right. What are the, you know, what are the tropes that we want to tackle over the next month or so? Over the, you know, a month in the future? So right now, for example, it's January 17th. We're recording this end of December. We know what the. We know what our episodes are through the first week of February.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And then. And then there's one or two that we sort of have question marks around, like, maybe that will work, maybe it won't. And then we will. So sometime, probably right around this week when you're listening, we'll have a conversation where we'll talk about February and into March. And so when we know, for example, that, you know, Jen talked about time travel, we talked about this last week that we have a time travel episode, like, kind of cooking often what we do is we know, like, we want to do a time travel episode, but instead of setting the date for it right away, we sort of say, like, we want to do a time. Time travel episode. Jen brought this up a couple of months ago to me. So we've both been sort of quietly setting aside books that are like, oh, this is time travel. We're gonna. We're gonna read this book. I happen. Like, I, you know, so then. Or we might author is coming out with a time travel book that we'll want to talk to them about if, like, if it's a close friend.

[B]

Right.

[A]

Like, if it's. Or a friend of the pod. Or we might say, like, oh, there's this great debut. Yeah, you know, that I really loved. Or there's this great book that I've already read that doesn't come out until July, and I loved it so much. For example, I already have one of my best of the year books on the list? Yeah, now. Now for next year. That book comes out in the summer of next year. So it's like, well, I know I'm going to want to talk about something related to that.

[B]

Right, right.

[A]

So sometimes we read a book, we really love it, and we think, like, well, what if we did right?

[B]

What if we did this right?

[A]

So for me, that does exist. That list does exist for me. And that list exists in my notes app. And it's basically like, like, you know. Yeah, here, you know, sex lessons, for example. I really want to do an episode about sex lessons. I've wanted to do an episode about sex lessons for many, many years. Right. Just trying to figure out, like, what the right angle is on that. And then so I'm sort of keeping that list. And then, you all know, sometimes there's like a theme that I start to see. Like, for example, I was like, I'm really interested in the fact that there's a lot of dead people in romances these days. Last year. And I mean, that took. I recognize that two years ago in 2024. Right.

[B]

It took us a while to get there, you know.

[A]

Yeah. Or whatever. And I think that was our October 24 episode. And so it took us some time to sort of figure it out. And so that's sometimes what we do too. We sort of start recognizing themes and then keeping those lists. That is all in, like, one big notes app file for me. And I literally will drop. If I see a book even go past me on threads or on Instagram that even looks a little bit like it is relevant, I'll drop that in there. And then when we finally pull the trigger on that episode.

[B]

Right.

[A]

That's when all those books get purchased for me.

[B]

Yeah. You know, it was really interesting because, like, at some point someone in the Discord was like, wait, you guys are doing all that? There's not, like, someone running this down for you? And I was like, you know, can you imagine?

[A]

That would be amazing.

[B]

I was like, no, this is our brains.

[A]

Everybody.

[B]

Everybody. You know, and I think, like, that is the part. I mean, I. I guess it is kind of. Yeah, good for you to know. Like, everything that is, like, generated into the podcast is really coming from just, like, the fact that we are long term longtime romance readers and also like current day hardcore romance readers. Right. So everything is, like, sort of just being, like, generated. And, you know, it's interesting because, like, there are episodes, I'll be honest, that, like, people have seen, suggested, you know.

[A]

That I'm like, even just an example, like, Hockey.

[B]

A lot of people have been like, will you ever do, like, a hockey romance episode? And I'm like, no, you don't need that from me. And I feel like I have this. This is.

[A]

Again, surely there's a hockey romance podcast. I'm going to Google that right now, everybody.

[B]

You keep going, okay, like, and here's why. It's not that I wouldn't. I wouldn't talk about hockey books, but I personally don't. I don't read enough of them to, like, have anything interesting, really to say. And it's so. It's like, kind of also the inverse, which is everybody reads so much of them that it's not something you need us to, like, pull together for you, right? And I feel this way in my day job with kids. Like, if there's a book, I remember when the Hunger Games came out and I read it and I loved it. I will confess to never having read any of the books after. And a lot of times people are really surprised by that. They're like, well, why not? And I was like, because kids do not need me to wreck them. The Hunger Games. The Hunger Games is big enough without me, if that makes sense, right? Like, if you're going to be reading to recommend things, right? Like, readers advisory is what librarians call this, then they. You don't need to do the stuff that is already so freaking big, right? Like, so if right now you're a librarian out there, you don't need to actually read Heated Rivalry to know what you need to know about it, right? You can be like, people love it. It's a gay hockey romance. There's just a big show about it. You know them. You know enough already to recommend it to someone. And I think that's the part about, like, sometimes the episodes people want. I'm kind of like, nobody needs me to do hockey romance on this podcast. It is already big enough. Right? And that doesn't mean that we don't do things that are, you know, really big. But, like, I feel kind of the same way. I mean, like, time for me to confess. I've never read a book by Emily Henry. And it's. I'm sure they're nice books, but, like, everybody already reads Emily Henry. Like, you know what I mean? And so it feels to me a little like I don't need to read something for the podcast that is already so well known. Now, if I was like, I want to read it for me, of course I would read plenty of really popular books. But I just mean in the sense of, like, that, like, we'll never do an Emily Henry read along. Like, does that make sense to people?

[A]

It's just. Just not. It's not worth it. Because the goal of Vader Mates was always. I mean, I have read a lot.

[B]

Of Emily Henry books.

[A]

So, I mean, and I think that's a. That's an interesting point too, right? Like, remember Jen and I comment romance with different. Like, romance is my job, right. Like, and so, you know, even if I didn't. Even if I didn't enjoy Emily's books, which I do, I would have read beach read and people we meet on vacation because they were juggernauts.

[B]

It's a job, right?

[A]

Like, if you're out there and you write romance novels and you're like, I've never read Emily Henry. Like, you should. Why? Right?

[B]

Like, there's no good.

[A]

There's no reason why you shouldn't, in fact, factor. It's your. It's your work. Like, if you were an accountant and, like, the tax code changed, you would read all the articles about the tax code, right?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And, like, I'm sorry, but that is the work. Right? And so, for example, I mean, like, we've talked. We talked about this, I think extensively when we did the 50 shades of gray episode because, like, that was a good. That was really a remarkable moment for me as a writer who really has always thought of my work as work.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Like capital W work, capital J job.

[B]

Yeah, right, right.

[A]

Like, so many writers. So many romance writers in 2011 or whatever it was were like, I would never read that. That's just. I'm not. I haven't read it. I don't care. And it's like, you haven't read the biggest juggernaut thing ever, Ever.

[B]

Like, in our genre. Right. Even. Even if it's to be like, why. What. What is.

[A]

What is it that is speaking to people?

[B]

It's genre fiction, right?

[A]

This is the job.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Right. Like, I felt that way when Colleen Hoover became like, you know. But again, I'm probably naming, like, if I named all the books that I have read that Jen has not read, we would sit here for a long time. And it largely. It's because Jen's able to say, like, that's not for Jen. Like, I know straight up from the jump that it's not for Jen and she doesn't have to. So the. But I would say, like, for example, if you're a writer out there and you haven't read Heated Rivalry might be.

[B]

A good time because, Right.

[A]

The show is a, you know, beat for beat.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Recounting of the. Of the book.

[B]

Right. And.

[A]

And it feels like, you know, this is what's very. This is just shaking the ground of romance right now. Like, you got. You got to read that.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And so I think there's that, too. Right. Like, there's. I think when we came to the podcast, obviously, it's not like nobody had ever heard of Kressley Cole.

[B]

Right.

[A]

Like, but we also just happened to love it. But also, like, it's interesting, Right. Because we haven't done any of Chrisley's books since the sort of first 19.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And she's released three, I think, since the podcast has been going. And should we have. Probably. Because, like, that is where we started. And a lot of our. And obviously, like, the first season of the podcast was Kressley Cole fans coming to the podcast. But, like, at this point, it feels like, well, if you listen to Faded Mates, you've heard of Kressley.

[B]

Yeah. Right.

[A]

Like, if you were with us from the beginning and care enough for, like. Sure. The launch of the next IED book, which we of course all do. Like, you're reading it. We don't need to do that with you. And so. And when we sort of moved away from that first episode. Episode of first season, rather, of the podcast into, like, you know, the books that blooded us and then the Trailblazer series, like, we started sort of thinking about what we wanted the podcast to be.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

It just never occurred to us, I think, to be the podcast that's reading the most popular stuff. What we wanted to do was read the best stuff and, like, share it with.

[B]

Yeah, well.

[A]

And our listeners.

[B]

Plenty of popular stuff is great. Like, I'm not saying Emily doesn't write a great book or whatever. Right. Yeah, yeah. I don't.

[A]

I don't mean to, like, like, that's the Venn diagram of. That is overlapping. Like, there are there, obviously.

[B]

This week's episode of Faded Mates is brought to you by Avon Books, publishers of, like, in Love with you by Emma Albin.

[A]

So Emma's books are widely known as regencies that have a real, like, modern twist to them. And this one is billed as Mean Girls meets Northanger Abbey and begs the question, what if Katie and Regina George instead. So Catherine Pine relocates to Bath in 1817 and comes face to face, surprisingly, with her mother's arch nemesis and her mother's arch nemesis daughter, the wildly popular kind of mean girl, lady rosalie. It's been 25 years, and there was a horrible betrayal. And now Catherine's mom sees the perfect opportunity for revenge. What if Catherine jumps in and wins the favor of Lady Rossley's suitor and unofficial betrothed, the most eligible Mr. Dean? Except Catherine soon discovers that Lady Rosalie is by far the wittiest, cleverest, most intriguing, most beautiful young woman she's ever met. And she's smitten with rosalie, not with Mr. Dean. Except she has a responsibility to her mother and to her mother's revenge plot for her. For her matter, Rosalie feels trapped in her relationship. She doesn't want to be Bass resident mean girl anymore. And this newcomer Catherine is gunning for her spot as queen bee, but also gunning for a spot in Rosalie's heart. And how is this ever going to work itself out?

[B]

So if you would like to find out, you can check out this rival to Lovers Opposite Attract Extra Spicy Historical Romance. It is available in print, ebook and audio. And if you're your podcasting app supports it, you can click on the chapter title right now to be taken to buy the book. Thanks to Avon Books and Emma Albin for sponsoring this week's episode. Often, like, the popular stuff I'll read is maybe like out of the genre. I mean, so for example, I just read in the God, the God of the woods by Liz Moore, which was like one of those books I felt like was everywhere this year year. And I tore through it, like tore through it in a day and a half and it was terrific. And it was really fun to read something. Like, really. And I think that's the other part about, you know, like having like my little folders or whatever is it is so easy to just sort of feel like kind of burned out sometimes, right? Like, you know, I'm stuck. I haven't read anything good in a while and often like, what I need to do to like reset is to read something that's not right romance. And so having like a folder where I'm like, these are books I have downloaded recently, you know, that are like literary fictions or mysteries or thrillers or whatever, and like to give those a shot and be like, okay, I'm gonna read one of these. I'm just gonna like, take a chance. And here they all are right here. I don't have to go like searching in my Kindle to be like, when's the last time I saw, you know, whatever. So I think like that part about, like thinking about what has caught my eye recently, you know, I really pretty religiously read, you know, like the New York Times Best 100 Book. Not, like, read the books, but I will read the description. Right. At the end of the year, the New York Times does, like, 100 notable books of the year. The Summer Storms was one of them. Then I, like. Then they narrow it down to, like, a top 10 credit. Kirkus puts out a lot of, like, top, you know, best of the year lists. I really love reading people's best of the year lists because even if I'm not gonna necessarily read them, I kind of like, they're in my brain. And then, like, if I see one on sale or it's on Bookbub, or somebody mentions it somewhere else, you know, I see it at this, at the library, then I might be like, oh, that one did sound kind of interesting to me. You know, and so I think that that's another thing. It's like, I'm always. I'm always kind of like, what else is out there that I might really like and what's coming? And, you know, what. What did people love last year? And that, for whatever reason, feels like I'm really. It's at this time of year, it's in the dead of winter when all I want to do is hibernate and read that, I find myself. It's like, a good time for me to be, like, just really thinking about all that, you know?

[A]

Yes, agreed. I also, when I sort of sit. So there are a couple of other things that I do specific to the podcast. Right.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And this is. We've talked about this before.

[B]

You know.

[A]

In order, I think, to be both a good citizen of romance and also a good podcast, it's our work to. We have to read intentionally. Right. And that doesn't just mean, like, we're doing an episode on, you know, Olympics. Like, we have to go look for all the Olympics romances. It's. It's a lot of things. In. In many ways, it's like, okay, we're doing an episode in the Olympics. Like, yes, we have to go look at Olympics romances, but we have to think about, like, diversity, breadth, depth, depth. Like, how many, like, the types of romances that we're talking about. The types of sports. Right, Right. If we said we were going to do Olympics romance, and it was all ice skating romances, like, we've missed the mark.

[B]

Right, Right.

[A]

So there's like, that level of intentionality. But I think then for me, there are two other levels. One is we are now, like, two years into being very committed to debuts.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And this is, I think, because, and correct me if I'm wrong, Because I'm gonna put words in your mouth too. But I think you and I both feel like without debut romances, like, the genre will fail. Like, we need fresh meat. Right, Right, Right. So last year, we talked about this on our debut episode last year that, like, I feel like I was not as intentional around debuts as I could have been throughout the year.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So when we did our Winter Reads episode this year, I was really focused on, like, if something came up as a debut, I immediately downloaded it.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And then I made a note of it.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Like, in my app, I do have.

[B]

A 2026 debuts folder.

[A]

Yeah. We have a spreadsheet already. I noticed. But, like. And I haven't filled out the spreadsheet yet, but I do have everything in my app, and, like, so that's giving me a lot of joy, because I feel like I'm already kind of, like, on top of it in a way that I was not last year. And I was really, like, disappointed in my stuff myself for not being on top of it. But, you know, there's. And I would say to the authors out there who feel debut authors especially often feel like they're just shouting into the void. Like, I have, like, Grace Riley. I follow her on. On threads. She follows me on threads. And I see her talking about her book. Yeah, Chef. A lot on threads. It's a debut. And, like, Grace, if you're listening, like, I see you hustling, like, I already have it on my list to read. I'm, you know, and so I think there is that too. Like, I'm. I'm keenly aware, I think, like, so many people of, like, just how difficult it is to get seen and heard in the noise. And so, um, just know if you're out there and you're a debut, first of all, tell people you're, like, when you're talking about your book, say, like, it's your debut romance. I think a lot of people are really eager to try new people. So there's that. And then the other thing that I myself am very intentional about or have been for the last year and will be this year, is I'm trying really hard to add in, like, a book or two a month who the. Of historicals that are by people who I've never read.

[B]

Never read before. Yeah.

[A]

And that was because last year we did a historical episode, people we had never talked about on the podcast before. And I had a great time.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

So, I mean, I think I probably read, like, 30 books for that podcast, and it was, yeah, really fun. For me, a nice reminder in the noise of like historical is dead measure out its grave that like it's not people are still writing it.

[B]

And I think the other thing about like setting an intention like for a reading year, whatever, you know, in whatever way that is for you, like, so for some people it's about like a number of books and for some people it's about like, you know, a type of book or a sub genre you don't read as much or you know, like sort of committing to a certain number of newer, new to you authority or whatever or, you know, for a lot of people. And this is also valid capital V. Valid is going back into your Kindle and finding, you know, 20 or however 25 books that you haven't read, right? Like essentially reading your own tbr read the books that you committed to at some point and said, you know, I was interested enough in this book at some point that I downloaded it or bought. Bought it and I never read it. And I think like, that can also be really. And so I think like, that's the thing. It's like there's so many ways to approach that and I think there's something about it being a new year where you can really say, right? So, you know, and, and like I said for me, like, sort of organizing that is really helpful. So like, for example, if you're interested in like, I'm gonna read my own tbr, right? Kind of like, those are really fun. Fun. The years I have done like a kind of TBR challenge have been really fun in like going back through and just, you know, again, like it's a, you know, you spend an hour, you know, you go to your, you know, master list of books or whatever, your content and devices on your Kindle or, you know, whatever, wherever it is, and you just kind of like go through and you're like, what have I not read? Right? And then you're like, let me put this in a separate folder and send. Say these are books I still want to read and that I find like these types of. I don't like the meta reading kind of activity as being really. I don't know, I just find it very grounding, right? Like it's. And I don't know, like, what other word to use for it. Like, this is me saying, like, reading is an important part of me and who I am, how I process the world and the things around me. It's so easy, easy to get caught up in like, what's new or I'm like hurrying up to read Something for the podcast which are really instead say, like, you know, like. No, like, with intentionality. These are the books I really want to spend time reading. Right. Yeah.

[A]

Yeah, yeah.

[B]

Or these are.

[A]

I mean, I think.

[B]

Yeah. That have languished on my Kindle and I'm gonna pull them back out, you know. Yep.

[A]

And then I want to talk about. Also, there's something happening this year that I've sort of prepared for. And. And again, it's sort of a. It's easier for me because of my life and just sort of knowing the people that I know and being. Being as plugged into the universe as I am. But there are a number of new books coming out by people who I love and who I think are talented. And so those obviously become, like, the kind of tent poles over the course of the year. Like, I know. Know that these books are going to be books that I read like, so. Lenora Bell, who is a historical romance novelist who I adore in person and in print, has a new name, Lenore Nash, and she's writing noir mysteries. Her first book, she Fell Away, is set against the State Department, which is really. And it's very cool. It's sort of. The heroine is a State Department employee whose job it is. Like, I didn't know that this was a real job, but. But of course it is. Like, if you're in a foreign country and something happens to you, like, bad. Like, let's say you get murdered in a foreign country, the State Department has, like, a liaison whose job it is to connect with your family and connect with local police and, like, keep. You keep your family, like, apprised of everything that's going on. On. So this book, she Fell Away, is the first in a series. The heroine works for the State Department and is a diplomat, and she.

[B]

It.

[A]

That is her job, like, family liaison. And there's a missing girl and there's like, a terrible billionaire, and there's, you know, this kind of big question mark of, like, what happened to this girl? And is there a killer? And there's a dead body that turns up. And this diplomat. And it's. The picture. Pacing is so. I've read this one. It's so fast, so, like, voicey and, like, it's just so fun. And that's coming out in March, but there's a new one, you know, like, this is. This is Lenore's. It's going to be Lenore's new kind of detective series.

[B]

Fun.

[A]

And so, like, that's on my list.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Diana Quincy is now writing under the name Diana Awad. And she is also writing. So wait, that she Fell Away comes out in March. Diana. Diana is writing under Diana Awad. Her book is called as Far as she Knew. It's a Mindy Kaling pick. It comes out on April. And that's also another kind of, like, suspense novel. A wife and mother discovers that her dead husband has had, like, a secret life, you know. Christina Lauren has a new book out coming in July, the romance revival. Kate Claiborne has a new book, the Paris Match.

[B]

That's the one for me. I mean, I just want to, like, pause and say, like, Kate didn't have a book out in 2025, so, you know, to have, like, a really big, like, Kate book coming out, I think it's early April is super fun. So, yes, you know, that's big time. Yeah.

[A]

And then, like, Rachel Griffiths, who was a debut author this past year, Historicals, has her next historical out called Just for the Season. So, like, there are people who now I'm waiting for, right? Like, what's. When's their book coming?

[B]

Coming out?

[A]

You know, I talked about Kristen Callahan as a new book out, which I'm reading right now, and that's out in February, January, maybe. January. January. So I think, like, these and all these books will be in show notes, so you can go see everything that. That we're talking about. But I think there's that, too. That sort of. And I know that this is not just because of how I'm connected to the. To the people in this world, but, like, I know all of you are sort of like, yeah, when is the next fill in the blank?

[B]

Right.

[A]

Right.

[B]

Well, and I think, like, that's the part, like, keeping track of.

[A]

So Anna's book coming out in the fall. Issac Lapis has a book coming in. I mean, like, and we don't even have the information on those yet. So, like, there's so much. You sort of have these moments of, like, oh, some cool stuff is coming.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah. And that's a part, like, I often. I'm really looking forward to those books. Right. So, you know, it's just like. And I think that's why we are really committed to doing, like, the little roundups. Right. We did it last week. It was like, you know, like, the preview episodes is. It is a good. A good time to be like, these are the books I intended to read, or these are the books that seemed interesting and fun to me, you know, and then it's kind of like, okay, we'll actually follow through and then, like, read some of them. And so, you know, for example, a bunch of them that were, like, time travel, like, I downloaded. And then I put into the time travel folder, like, in. On my Kindle. And then, you know, when I go to read for that episode or when I look for something, so it's. It just, like, thinking about some of these things, like, the things I'm looking forward to, the things that are thematically interesting to me. So, yeah, I mean, I do find. Like I said, I just really. And then when it comes to, like, the actual physical books in my house, you know, that can be a little trickier for me because I really feel like they kind of come in and I have seen stacks of books all over the place.

[A]

So. Wait, can I ask you. I feel like I should know this answer. Can I ask you, Are you a print? You don't reprint by choice?

[B]

I mostly read an E because of the portability factor, and I read in bed a lot, and I just feel like I want to, like, lay there and look at something without having to hold it.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But I do still read in print. I do, right? I mean, it's not like. But I would say it's probably 90% E, 10% print. Right. So for. And honestly, sometimes if, like, I'm really. If I start a book in print and I'm really liking it, I sometimes will be like, can I get this at a library as an ebook? And we'll read it that way. Because the other thing is. So here's the thing. Even though I know you can, like, use bookshop.org and support local bookstores, the reason the. For almost every print book I own, I bought at a indie bookstore. And so I'm like, okay, I. For example, there are three romance bookstores in the Chicagoland area, right? There's Love, Sweet Air, which was first. There's one called the Last Chapter, which is in kind of in the middle of the city. And there's one called Pink, the Pink Couch Store, which is adorable. And it is up in, like, the northern suburbs, which I am never up there, but my cousin lives up there, and my mom was here, and I took my mom to see my cousin, and I was kind of like, okay, everybody, we're gonna have to take a small detour into this little bookstore because it's here and we're here, and it was really adorable. But I was like, okay, when I walk into the store, what I want to do is I want to, like, buy some books, right? And they were great. I was like, okay. We're planning for a time travel episode. What have you. What can you recommend to me? And then I bought a couple of books in there, but so I feel like every book I own in my house that I'm buying, like, now I am buying because I was in 57th street books. I was in. Right. Pink Couch Book Store. I was at an indie bookstore there. And I therefore am, like, buying something because I want that store to stay in business. Yep. Right. Yeah. So I do still read in print, but I would say, say a lot of my reading is in E. Okay.

[A]

Yeah. Because I read. I prefer if I'm reading a book for the podcast or for blurb or basically, if there's a book that you want me to look at, I need that in print.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And the reason why is to, you know, citation earlier in this episode where it's like, I'm not organized. Right. Like, I have no digital organization practice at all. In fact, like, and that is across my whole life, like, I am one of those horrifying people. My brother always used to. I used to, like, really enjoy freaking him out because he. My desktop on my.

[B]

Oh, you're one of those.

[A]

Laptop is. I'm one of those people who. I don't just have all the icons, like, across the whole board, across the whole screen. I'm so disorganized on my desktop that they actually. I bet you didn't know this. They actually stack on top of each other if you end up with more than. There's room for horrifying. So, I mean. Yeah, because you could just search. There's a search functionality on your computer. You don't have to have folders. So I. I'm that kind of digital. I have no digital.

[B]

Someday the laundry basket method. You're just.

[A]

I hope that someday Rebecca Romney's predecessor or, you know, the people who come after Rebecca Romney who inherit my. My laptop are going to have a great time. So. But my point is that. So, yeah, that is. That is true. And a lot, A lot. A lot of people in. In publishing know that, like, if they want something from me, you got to send a copy.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

They're gonna have to send me a hard copy. So all of that is to say that there are a couple of more books that I'm very excited about this year. Molly Fader. Did you know this Molly Fader has a new book coming in May?

[B]

No. So this is Molly, everybody.

[A]

Molly O Key.

[B]

Yeah. When she's writing Molly Fader, these are like, her women's fiction titles. Yeah.

[A]

This is like three generations of women in a propulsive novel of female resistance and rage sweeping from contemporary Los Angeles to New York City in 1977.

[B]

Sarah's like, correct. I would like it.

[A]

So that's already on my bedside table. I'm very excited about that. And that is coming out in. In, I think, July, maybe May, but soon. Yeah, May. And then Anna Cowan has the Duke coming in April. And I'm really excited about this one. I still haven't read it, although they sent it to me, like, a year ago. And it is a Sapphic historical Duke.

[B]

Oh, yeah, I saw this.

[A]

I mean, the COVID of this book is really great. Like, I think. Think it's clear that, like, these are. This is. St. Martin's is publishing it. It's a stunning cover. And I just think, like, they're trying really hard to, like, make this look like something big and different. And Anna writes a great, great historical. So I'm really excited for that one. And that's coming in April. Yeah.

[B]

I will say sometimes up a stack of actual books will get out. And again, though, like, it's like I have to sit down with them and kind of, like, look through them and be like, okay, what is this? Am I going to engage with this? Right. Yeah.

[A]

Listen, I'll be honest. Sometimes I sit down with them. I read the first, like, two pages. I think this is the other reason. Like, I can say on a Saturday afternoon, just pull out all the books that came in the mail that week and I can call half of them into the little free library that day. Like, not for me. Not for me, not for me. Right, right. But the. But I. It's just easier to do it when I can, like, hold it in my hand.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah.

[A]

So my neighbors like it.

[B]

Sure. Why wouldn't they? Amazing. No, I take. You know, I did take. I think I probably mentioned this. I took, like, a bag full of romances to work, and I took a picture of it, and then I sent it to, like, all of the women I work with who are romance readers. And then I did, like, a little, like, sort of like, here's what each one of these as well about. And, like, some of them I'd read, and some of them I hadn't. And I was really clear. And, like, by the end of the day, they were all gone. And I was like, this is so satisfying. Right? Like, just, like, you know, like, share them with the world. And I. I think that's the other reason I do really like books in print. Right. You're like, I loved it. Let me pass it on to somebody else.

[A]

Well, there's a legacy to them, right? Like you. You can pass them on like somebody. What is not for Sarah might be for Jen. It might be for some someone else. Like, and, and I think also the other thing that I really like, I personally, part of the reason why I like them to be in print is because I definitely internalize, like, plot better when I've like held the book in my hand. And what that does for me is like, it makes it so that this. Both this experience on the podcast where, like, I might not finish the. I might not read the book. I may not finish the book. But like, if somebody were to say to me online, like, hey, can you recommend a book that has, you know, a leprechaun in it? Yeah, in fact, I can because I held that Sarah Raasch book in my hand.

[B]

Yeah, yeah.

[A]

Which happened yesterday, everybody.

[B]

Yeah, no, that was amazing.

[A]

I also read that book. It was really fun.

[B]

Yeah, I was like, spoil. It was leprechauns and unicorns. I was like, spoiler alert, dragon ball.

[A]

What are you up to over there, ma'?

[B]

Am? But I like it.

[A]

This week's episode of Fated Mates is sponsored by luminous gummies. Consistent, mellow and super delicious Lume Gummies are specifically designed to make you feel good, not stoned. Whether you're looking for an end of day de stressor, a midday mood boost, or help getting the best sleep ever, Lume Gummies has a stream that's right for you.

[B]

So, Sarah, I was recently doing a little reheated rivalry where I was like, I'm just gonna like sit here and have like a little bit of an hour at the cottage and you know, it was great. I took a gummy. I like, like teed up the little HBO Max saw what Ellie and Shane were up to and I just had like a nice time. Perfect.

[A]

You heard it here first. Everyone heat your rivalries with Lumi Gummies. Lumi Gummies are available nationwide. You can go to lumigummies.com that's L U M I gummies.com and use the code faded mates for your 30 off your order. Again, that's Lumigum Gummies. L U M I gummies.com code faded mates for 30% off your order. If you're a podcasting app supports it. You can click on the chapter title right now to be taken to get your gummies. Thanks to Lumi Gummies for sponsoring this week's episode. Discoverability is hard for all of us. And I think you and I spend a lot of time thinking like taking seriously our job. Yeah. To be Discover Billa buddies to as many people as possible in romance.

[B]

What I am getting better at. So again now this is like not going to necessarily happen to all of you but like we get lots of emails from publicists who are kind of like, can I interest you in XYZ book? And I really try to take those emails very seriously. Like I basically I answer them once a week. Right. So like once a week I just like look through them them and some of them I'm not. Right. Like I, you know, you get on like some lists that are just like, I don't know what this is. I'm not going to. I'm not the really the, you know, the intended target for this. But you know, whatever, I'm on the list at St. Martin's or whatever. So some of those I just delete some of them if I am interested in the book. Like often there's like, we'll send you a copy or there's like a neck out widget and I'll just download it on NetGalley and then like put it in my 2026 folders. And I'm trying to be better about that because if you're sending me a print book, like one of the things I've realized is I do like debuts in print. But like a lot of the other books I'm like, you know what, it's okay with me if this is like on my Kindle, especially if I am like more organized. But like you said, like often it is. Sometimes I'll like double dip. They're gonna send me one and I'm gonna download it. And that, that way if I do like it, I can transition to like having it on my, you know, my Kindle. So I do. It's just like really interesting to like sort of think about that. And so behind my desk I have like a. It's like one of those little carts from the container store. Sarah can see it right behind me. And I emptied it out last week. And then what I'm doing is like when people send me books and I look at them, I'm like, yes, this is one I want to consider. It goes on that like cart. And so then it's like. And then like one of the stacks is just like, this looks good. And then one of them is like these. This is a 2026 debut. So I'm kind of like keeping them separate. And so I think like that's the other thing is like really trying to think through. Like, okay, what is it? You know, how am I saying, like, with intentionality, like, this is a book I really, really want to keep, and this is a book I want to read. And so I think, like, like I said, I just feel like there's lots of ways to do that in a year. You know, like, if you are a person who has a lot of physical books. I have a. On my bookshelves, I have one shelf that's just like a TBR shelf, right? This is a whole shelf full of books I have not read yet. And then if I am like, okay, what am I looking for?

[A]

Right?

[B]

And the one upstairs is like, not ready romance. The one down here is romance. So it's like, right, like, sort of really thinking through. And then, you know what? Sometimes at the beginning of the next year, I look at that shelf and I think, okay, those books have been here for a year and you didn't read it.

[A]

Are you going to read it?

[B]

Am I going to. Right, yeah. And so then I will sort of like, do a big kind of.

[A]

Oh, but, man, do you. Do you have that feeling of, like, abject failure when you like, I'm not gonna read that book. Cause I'm always like, I have a big stack. I think you probably have seen the stacks stack. I have this big stack, like, right outside my office. Like, that's just a pile of books that truly, ultimately are going to end up in the little free library. But, like, I just can't pull the trigger yet.

[B]

Here's what I will say. Sometimes if I can't do it right now, now this is like, not this time of year, but in my neighborhood, neighborhood, there is a huge book sale. The Hyde Park Book sale happens every fall. It's like, in, like, the first weekend or two of October. It's like, whatever. And so then starting in, like, August, September, you can essentially start donating books. And so that is like a big time of year when I am, like, clearing the decks, right? So maybe I'm not gonna do it right now, but I might look at that and think, like, okay, now this is the time for me to really, like, right? And. But I feel like it's almost. For me then that process is like, the beginning of, like, the beginning of the end of the year, the end of my reading year.

[A]

I'm gonna speak for the people who live with us for one moment, which, you know, I hate having to do. But I will say, if you're out there and you are like, us, like, you know, a book lover and Maybe if you're like me and like, a book, you have a slight hoarding problem with your books, especially if they're books that you kind of know you're never going to read. What I would say is if you live with somebody who also is a collector of things that they might never use, and you have ever in your life been like, it's time. It's time for you to clear out, like, half of this stuff, then.

[B]

You.

[A]

Know, look to thyself.

[B]

Yes.

[A]

You never, ever have to play this part of the podcast. For those people, though, like, they have. They never know that we had this conversation.

[B]

You just feel it in your heart. You know, it's funny because I. The thing about, like, physical books, so, like, I think a thing we're all feeling is that, like, it is good to, like, interact with physical things with your hands. It's good for your brain. It's just good in general. At the end of last year, there was a new. The 12th edition of the Merriam Webster.

[A]

Collegiate Dictionary that's brand spanking new. It's like mine is held together with, like, duct tape and paperclips, MacGyver style.

[B]

Sarah. It's the first new, like, version they published in, like, 15 or 20 years or something. And I was like, I'm going to order myself a new dictionary. And then I was. I keep it at my desk. And there is something very satisfying about looking up a word. I did it this morning.

[A]

I bought myself at a. So every summer we go to Rhode island, and there is a Quaker meeting house that does, like, a fundraiser, like, book sale, and it's a weekly long book sale in July. And I've talked about it on the podcast before. And last year they had, like, a massive oed. I mean, obviously a bridge, but, like, you know, the bridge version of the OED is, like, humongous. Anyway, and it was $5. I need this. And Eric was like, you need this? You need this in Rhode island to be schlepped back to our small house in New York City. I was like, clearly I do. And it literally is just seated at the floor on the. On the floor, like, by my. My desk. And. And every once in a while, I come in and my daughter is like, I'm gonna look in this. And I'm like, great. Learn about words.

[B]

Have a nice.

[A]

I can remember doing that as a kid. Like, my mom also had a massive abridged oed. And, like, I can remember, like, the weight of that book, like, dragging it open.

[B]

Yeah. So I guess I will say I am, I am. I, I, I'm not gonna say I'm gonna like read everything in paper, but it, you know, after reading the God of the woods last week in paper. Although I did switch to E for part of it.

[A]

It's nice. I was, I was like, also. Yeah, it's just nice.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

It also, you guys, makes it impossible for you to switch over to social media, texting, email, news, all of it. Like, paper is how you avoid it.

[B]

All right. You can't stay focused on. Yeah, my reading iPad only has reading apps on it. Like, it has.

[A]

Oh, you have a reading iPad.

[B]

I have a reading iPad. It's adorable, right? I mean, I don't, it doesn't have email, it doesn't have any social media, it doesn't have any other apps. It literally is like my read. It's my E reader.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Well, you have any books you want to recommend?

[B]

No, I'm like, no. I don't know. I guess I didn't really think, you know, Kate's book, I'm really excited about. I mean, I would say, like, you know, the, the ones you mentioned, for sure. The idea that there'll be a new Lisa Clapus this year is very exciting to me. Yeah.

[A]

Anything you've read that you suggest people buy in paper.

[B]

I will say I do love, like at this time of year, kind of a big like coffee table style book, you know, And I just, I just ordered this book and it came yesterday and it's. I am really excited. I am gonna look at it. It like literally came yesterday and I just took it out of the box before we started. It is a big, huge, like pop up book about the Alphabet and how letters became letters. It's called Alphabet in How Letters Got Their Shape. And it's really.

[A]

That's cool.

[B]

Yeah. So it's like basically like, I'm really kind of fascinated. And so as like this ABC pop up book explains and demonstrates the technologies and philosophies that have shaped letter forms throughout the ages.

[A]

That's cool.

[B]

And I was like, right. And so sometimes I will say I, like, books are books and like they're paper and I don't get real like, but like, if a book is like doing something no other book can do, those are the books I really dig. Yeah. So, yeah, I'm really excited about, about checking out this book.

[A]

That's cool.

[B]

Yeah, I do like a, I do like a, A beautiful book. Those are the things that I, I fall right into the boop. Right. Like, I have an illustrated version of James Joyce's Ulysses. Okay, sure, weirdo, but fine. You know, and I do think, like, those are books that I, I find now really appealing. Right?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

A book that celebrates books. Well, Jen, happy New Year. Organize your reading life.

[A]

Yeah. I mean, if you have a system. Yeah, it seems like it's designed for people who are bad at systems. You're welcome to share it with me, but at this point, I'm just gonna try and keep on with my paper planner system because it seems like the lowest hanging system.

[B]

Fruit. And that'll work for you.

[A]

And then maybe that will help you'll. I'll. I'll start referring to. Oh, I found in my planner that I read.

[B]

See, there you go.

[A]

Then we'll know if it's working. Everybody, I'm Sarah McLean. I'm here with my friend Jen Procop. We are Faded Mates. You can find us every Wednesday wherever you get your podcasts or@faded mates.net where if you click on show notes, you'll see that a list of of all the books that we talked about this week in the podcast and also on other episodes, all the books that we talked about then last week's episode was our preview episode for winter 2026, so make sure you check that one out. If you're looking for new books to add to your pile, you can also find us online at Faded Mates pod at Instagram and threads, and you can find us us on Blue Sky A Faded Mates. We are. I don't know.

[B]

We're doing it. We're here.

[A]

We're. It's the New Year New reading list and we're here all year long. Thanks for joining us. We're ever more grateful to have you. If you're interested in finding more romance readers who want to talk about their systems of how they read romance and recommend good books to you, you are welcome to to join Our [e-mail] Patreon the patreon gets you access to one extra episode a month and our Discord, where a thousand or so other listeners hang out 24. 7 talking about romance. So thanks so much for joining us. We're very grateful for you. Take care of yourselves and each other. It.