Reading Glasses – Ep 437: So Many Magical Cafes – Our Favorite Establishments in Books!

Date: November 13, 2025
Hosts: Brea Grant & Mallory O’Meara

Episode Overview

In this lively, autumnal episode, Brea and Mallory embark on a delightful tour of their favorite fictional establishments. From enchanted cafes to quirky water parks and magical dive bars, they explore the distinct role these settings play in the stories they love. The hosts dig into why certain literary locations resonate, the comfort found in cozy fictional spaces, and which establishments they'd most want to visit in real life. The duo also reviews the book-location website StoryTerra and solves a listener's moral dilemma around library districts.

What Are You Reading? [00:43 – 04:24]

Brea’s Pick:

• Angel Down by Daniel Kraus
  • Set in the trenches of WWI; incredibly gruesome and intense.
  • “It is one of the most gruesome, gory, intense books I've ever read.” — Brea [00:59]
  • Uniquely written in a single sentence, aligning the style with the theme: “War is a sentence that never ends.”
  • Highly recommended for readers who want something challenging and masterful.

Mallory’s Pick:

• Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman (reread)
  • A beloved autumn read full of witches, family, and magical realism.
  • “It really feels like I am accessing so much about the characters that I was not able to access when I was a teenager.” — Mallory [02:37]
  • The book offers more depth and character exploration than the movie.
  • “If you’re looking to, like, squeeze out a little bit more autumn, highly recommend rereading Practical Magic.” — Mallory [03:32]

Listener Feedback Highlights [04:31 – 08:03]

• Julie: Suggests listening to author interviews to gauge if you'll like their writing.

  • “Listening to an interview of an author always tells me whether I will like their writing or not.” — Julie (read by Mallory) [05:24]
  • Both hosts agree: “This is the hottest of tips.” [05:51]

• Laura: Shares appreciation for the Reading Glasses Book Club, especially its influence on her interest in occult history, mentioning “The Bewitching” and tracking down rare academic books for deeper study.

Main Discussion: Favorite Establishments in Books [11:51 – 27:53]

Introduction & Why Establishments Matter [11:51 – 13:18]

• The hosts discuss why certain settings become beloved “characters” in themselves.
• “Setting that gets turned into a character.” — Mallory [13:12]

Brea & Mallory’s Top Picks

1. Kamigawa Diner (The Kamigawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai) [13:19]

• Cozy, hidden Kyoto café famous for recreating meaningful dishes.
• Brea’s nostalgia: “There was this peanut butter fudge I would get from my neighbor… It was so good.” [14:38]

2. Joe’s Cafe (Shady Hollow series) [15:42]

• Central gathering spot with seasonal pastries, run by Joe the moose.
• “It’s always like a comforting thing.” — Mallory [16:27]

3. Viv’s Coffee Shop (Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree) [16:52]

• Orc protagonist opens the town’s first coffee shop, charming everyone.
• “The whole book is just about opening up this coffee shop. So, yeah.” — Brea [17:35]

4. Shamrock Cauldron (Witches of Thistle Grove series by Lana Harper) [17:48]

• Magical, witchy dive bar with themed drinks and décor.
• “A magical, witchy, weird dive bar… my favorite thing in the world.” — Mallory [18:19]

5. Authentic Noodle (Automatic Noodle by Annaly Nitz) [18:49]

• Robot-run noodle shop in futuristic San Francisco.
• “So delicious and they’re made by robots. It sounds incredible.” — Brea [19:20]

6. Fathoms of Fun Water Park (Wretched Water Park by Kiersten White) [19:30]

• Gothic horror-themed water park (middle grade).
• “Imagine like a Tim Burtony water park… That just sounds…” — Mallory [20:18]
• A lengthy tangent on “water socks” and water park attire [21:32].

7. Vera Wang's World Famous Tea House (Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Q. Sutanto) [22:33]

• Quaint tea house with endless varieties, subtly named to attract designer fans.
• “She calls it Vera Wang’s World Famous Tea House, even though her name is Vera Wong.” — Brea [23:08]

8. Hotel Walner (Hotel of Secrets by Diana Biller) [23:40]

• Lavish historical Vienna hotel being restored for ball season.
• “If you love a cool setting, this is such a great book.” — Mallory [24:49]

Honorable Mention: Sweet Berries Book Farm (Campbell Creek series) [25:16]

• Idyllic setting combining a farm, coffee shop, and magical gathering place.

Reflections & Wishlist: Literary Establishments We Want More Of [25:42 – 27:53]

• Desire for more books set in parks, libraries, amusement parks (non-horror!), and magical bars.
• “I want more magical bars… legends and negronis, you know?” — Mallory [27:32]
• Brea suggests revisiting libraries and parks as cozy, underused settings.

Book Tech Test: StoryTerra [30:49 – 35:58]

What Is StoryTerra? [31:08]

• A website mapping books, movies, games, and tv shows by setting.
• Interactive (if you zoom in far enough); user-generated and early in development.
• “I think this idea is fun. It does seem to be in its early stages though.” — Mallory [33:56]

First Impressions

• Some cities (like LA, Mexico City) have limited entries unless you zoom in and click with precision.
• “If you can swing both ways, swing both ways.” — Mallory, offering a creative use-case for library systems (accidentally placed here; belongs in library segment).

Ratings

• 3 out of 5 pages from both hosts.
• “This needs to cook a little bit.” — Mallory [35:50]
• Potential for the future, especially if more readers contribute.

Listener Problem: Library District Dilemma [36:00 – 39:38]

The Issue

• Listener Jill’s affluent city has split from the county library, raising ethical questions about which system to support.

Hosts’ Advice

• Using the county library helps support its circulation stats and funding.
• “If you can use both, use both. …Get buzzy books from the rich system, everything else from the county.” — Mallory [38:16]
• Stay connected to county library events and watch for book bans.
• Library professionals invited to contribute a nuanced perspective.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On setting as character:
  “This is a setting that gets turned into a character.” — Mallory [13:12]

• On author interviews:
  “This is the hottest of tips.” — Brea [05:51] “You can immediately kind of see if their humor gels with your type of humor.” — Mallory [05:55]

• On reading as an adult:
  "It really feels like I am accessing so much about the characters that I was not able to access when I was a teenager." — Mallory [02:37]

• On magical bars:
  "I need, like, legends and negronis, you know?” — Mallory [27:32]

• On book tech:
  “This needs to cook a little bit.” — Mallory [35:50]

• Water park attire tangent:
  Entire segment [21:16–22:13] about flip-flops, water socks, and burning feet.

Episode Structure & Timestamps

• [00:43] What Are You Reading?
• [04:31] Listener Feedback
• [11:51] Main Topic: Favorite Establishments in Books
• [30:49] Book Tech: StoryTerra
• [36:00] Listener Bookish Problem Solved

Tone & Style

Mallory and Brea’s banter is warm, witty, and often includes relatable tangents and honest opinions about books and technology. They approach the episode’s theme with a blend of nostalgia and practical reflection, always rooting their choices in personal experiences and emotional impact.

For Further Engagement

• Send your favorite fictional establishments: readingglassespodcast@gmail.com
• Find the podcast on Instagram: @ReadingGlassesPodcast
• Review on Apple Podcasts to unlock their silly AMA!

Summary prepared with timestamps and direct speaker attributions where relevant, capturing the playful, book-loving spirit of the hosts.