Reading Glasses – Episode 434

How to Find the Perfect Writing Style for Your Brain
Hosts: Brea Grant & Mallory O’Meara
Date: October 23, 2025

Quick Overview

In this episode, Brea and Mallory dive deep into the mysterious “click” that occurs when an author’s writing style perfectly aligns with a reader’s brain. They respond to a listener who finds that cadence and rhythm—not just content or genre—can make or break their reading experience. The hosts share thoughts on defining this phenomenon, how to identify and pursue books that “click,” and even try to name the feeling. As always, they solve listener dilemmas and recommend novels centered on the topic of banned books (distinct from simply recommending banned books).

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Current Reads & Bookish Banter

[00:34-06:00]

• Brea’s Read: Sister Aimee: The Miraculous Life and Mysterious Disappearance of Aimee Semple McPherson
  • Reads for a two-person “book club” with her mom; toggling between audiobook and print.
  • Finds the charismatic historical figure fascinating, discussing her Echo Park legacy, scandals (disappearance, possible hypocrisy), and impact on LA’s religious culture.
  • Memorable Quote:
    “Now knowing this story, it’s so fascinating. This woman lived a wild life. It’s been great for my two-person book club.” – Brea [01:19]
• Mallory’s Read: Final Shady Hollow cozy mystery, Mockingbird Court by Juno Black
  • Laments the end of a beloved series, praises its seasonal, sensory writing and characters.
  • Memorable Quote:
    “This is one of my favorite series... got me back into series.” – Mallory [05:27]

2. Listener Feedback: Relay Reading & Classic Kidlit

[06:00-10:28]

• Relay Reading (Kate):
  • Suggests a method to avoid reading slumps: at 75% of a book, start the next one until you’re “hooked”, then finish the first and roll right into the next.
  • Hosts find it “complicated but interesting” – Bria [07:11].
• Boxcar Children—Still Relevant:
  • Library worker writes in to confirm classic series (Boxcar Children, Nancy Drew) with new covers remain popular.
  • Nostalgia for hiding “drinks in a cool stream to chill them down.” – Mallory [08:06]
  • Memorable Quote:
    “Not a dated reference. Wow. People are still reading about those kids living in the boxcar.” – Mallory [08:06]
• Wheelhouse Share (Hollis):
  • Grateful for the show’s impact on their own and their family’s reading, including setting up audiobooks for their blind grandmother.
  • Hollis’ Wheelhouse: “morally gray protagonist, sad villains, queer romance... vampires, yearning, religious symbolism, cyberpunk, enemies to lovers, found family...” [10:03]

3. Main Topic: Writing Style “Click”—The Book pH

[13:12-26:18]

What Is This “Click”?

• Listener Email (Alicia): Identifies the phenomenon where the “cadence” of writing matches the cadence of her thoughts, resulting in effortless immersion (“not thinking about every single sentence”).
  • It’s not about bad writing or pacing or genre—it’s about language rhythm syncing with the reader’s brain.
  • Memorable Quote (Alicia):
    “It’s about getting on the right wavelength to find flow when reading... so if I could figure out how to harness this....” – [13:12]
• Host Reflections:
  • Brea identifies with the issue, stating she “gravitates toward choppier, shorter sentences” and that her own writing and thinking style influences what clicks. [15:17]
  • Mallory calls this “the white whale of reading”—the elusive match in writing rhythm and reader brain chemistry. [15:51]
  • Both agree: This phenomenon transcends “wheelhouse” or “doorway” concepts.

How Universal Is This? Visualization Spectrum

• Discuss aphantasia—a spectrum for visualizing mental images while reading.
  • Mallory easily imagines photorealistic 3D objects in her mind: “I can pick perfectly... look at it from all angles.” [17:00]
  • Brea: sees flat, 2D, often cartoony images. [17:14]
  • Quote:
    “Inside of Bria’s brain is like Richard Scarry... driving around a large apple truck.” – Mallory [17:34]

Can You Search For/Find That “Book pH”?

• Not quantifiable or easily searchable—akin to personal chemistry in friendships or dating, a mysterious “alchemy”.
  • “It’s like why you become friends with one person and not another... just the specific alchemy of your brain.” – Mallory [19:19]
• Sometimes, reading books from a particular language or translator helps.
  • Brea: Japanese book translations often “click” due to their cadence, separate from genre or topic. [18:09]
• Practical Tips:
  • Take note of titles/authors or translation styles that “click” and seek more in that vein.
  • Word-of-mouth & Reviewer-match: Find trusted sources with similar taste (Mallory: Liberty Hardy at Book Riot).
  • Recognize the sensation early to DNF (do not finish) quickly, optimizing reading happiness.

Naming the Sensation: "Book pH"

• Mallory suggests “Book pH” as the best metaphor for personal resonance with an author’s style.
  • “It is the doggy door on the door of language... I’ve been saying book pH.” – Mallory [24:56, 25:19]
  • Also proposed: Book alchemy, book chemistry.
• Encourages listeners to share alternative names for this sensation.

Memorable Quotes

• “This is the white whale of reading—picture me with a peg leg and an eye patch at the prow of a ship.” – Mallory [15:51]
• “Some people just have the same pH as you... You don’t have to adjust.” – Mallory [19:46]
• “It is the doggy door on the door of language... Book pH.” – Mallory & Brea [24:54–25:21]
• “When you do find this, it is the greatest—this hits like a Mack truck...” – Mallory [25:22]

Key Timestamps

• [00:34–06:00] – What Are You Reading?
• [06:00–10:28] – Listener Feedback (relay reading, Boxcar Children’s enduring appeal)
• [13:12–26:00] – Main Topic: Writing styles that match your brain, “Book pH”, and how (or if) to seek them out
• [17:00–17:40] – Apple test and mental imagery (aphantasia spectrum)
• [24:36–26:00] – Naming the concept; consensus on “Book pH”
• [28:30–33:15] – Bookish Problem: How to read in public with background noise
• [33:15–34:53] – Recommendation Request: Novels about book banning

Solving Bookish Problems

Reading in Public with Noise

[28:30–31:09]

• Complaint: Reading in public foiled by ambient music/noise; noise-cancelling headphones help, but don’t erase all distractions.
• Tips:
  • Try earplugs or combine with headphones.
  • Seek out quieter parks, libraries, or coffee shops—sometimes research helps more than gadgets.
  • Mallory: “I hate noise canceling headphones... makes me feel like I’m underwater.” [31:30]
  • Brea will experiment further to see how well Apple noise-cancelling headphones work.

Book Recommendations: Novels About Book Banning

[33:15–34:53]

• Brea: Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey
  • Dystopian Western novella with anti-censorship “librarians,” secret distribution of forbidden materials. “Super gay, super fun.” [33:24]
• Mallory: The Banned Bookshop of Maggie Banks by Shauna Robinson
  • Contemporary novel set in a repressively “historic” bookstore where protagonist rebels by running a secret book club for modern literature.
• Honorable mentions: Attack of the Black Rectangles (previously recommended), Banned Books Club (graphic novel), Ban This Book (middle grade).

Conclusion

This episode leaves listeners with a new vocabulary for that elusive harmony found between reader and writing: “Book pH.” The hosts encourage readers to note their personal book clicks, seek out like-minded recommendations, and embrace the alchemy of reading. Plus, they tackle practical issues (public reading) and the ongoing battle for literary freedom (banned books).

Final Thoughts

The episode is warm, relatable, and as always filled with humor and empathy for all kinds of readers. It’s especially useful for anyone searching for their next favorite author—or simply the perfect next “click.” As Mallory puts it:
“This is the kind of indefinable, difficult to describe quality that makes reading so great.” [25:22]