Ep 386 - Fable + Are Social Media Apps Worth It?

Summary

Reading Glasses Podcast Summary: Ep 386 - Fable + Are Social Media Apps Worth It?

Release Date: November 21, 2024

Hosts: Brea Grant and Mallory O'Meara
Title: Ep 386 - Fable + Are Social Media Apps Worth It?

---

1. Episode Overview

In Episode 386 of Reading Glasses, hosts Brea Grant and Mallory O’Meara embark on an in-depth exploration of Fable, a multifaceted bookish social media app. They delve into whether such specialized social platforms enhance the reading experience or simply add to the digital clutter. Additionally, the episode features book recommendations centered around folklorist protagonists, catering to readers with niche interests.

---

2. Current Reads

Bria Grant shares her excitement about starting "A Better World" by Sarah Langan. She praises Langan's ability to craft a "creepy suburbia" narrative, describing the novel as a "really fun dystopian, near future" story (00:37). Bria highlights the plot's focus on automation gone awry, leading to societal collapse where humans cannot interact with automated systems, resulting in dire consequences for ordinary families.

"It's a lot of things. And we decide whether bookish social media apps are worth using. Wow. Stick around for that." — Bria Grant (00:12)

Mallory O'Meara discusses her choice to take it easy with her reading this year, opting for a mix of new releases and beloved backlist titles. She introduces "Confessed" by Rob Halford, an audiobook memoir by the legendary Judas Priest frontman. Mallory commends Halford's candid storytelling about his life, music career, and his journey in reconciling his sexuality within the traditionally homophobic metal scene.

"He's super funny. He's a great narrator. In the introduction, he says that he is the stately homosexual of heavy metal. And I was like, oh, hell yeah." — Mallory O'Meara (04:14)

---

3. Listener Feedback

The hosts engage with feedback from their listeners, discussing personal strategies for enhancing the reading experience.

• Cali shares her method of rating books over time using a spreadsheet, noting that her initial ratings tend to be higher and often adjust after reflection. She emphasizes the importance of context in rating scales to maintain consistency.

  "Using a spreadsheet is really helpful to me for rating books because I can compare to other books I've rated." — Cali (05:23)

• Mitch Rodin offers tips for searching within audiobooks, suggesting the use of Google Books for finding specific quotes by pausing and jotting down memorable phrases.

  "Sometimes listening to a dense nonfiction book is a lot easier than reading it because you can zone out on the boring stuff anyway." — Mitch Rodin (06:16)

• Emily recommends crowdsourcing solutions on platforms like Reddit or Discord when searching for specific audiobook content, highlighting community support as a valuable resource.

  "How do you navigate this? You might need to find someone who owns the book and can help out." — Emily (07:39)

---

4. Deep Dive into Fable: A Bookish Social Media App

The core of this episode revolves around Fable, a comprehensive social media platform tailored for book enthusiasts. Brea and Mallory dissect its features, usability, and how it compares to other reading apps like Goodreads and StoryGraph.

• App Features: Fable allows users to log readings, join book clubs, manage To-Be-Read (TBR) lists, review books, add friends, and share book-related photos. It combines elements of StoryGraph, Litzy, and Instagram into a single platform.

  "It's sort of like a mashup of StoryGraph and Litzy and Goodreads, all kind of wrapped up into one Instagram." — Bria Grant (13:36)

• Usability Challenges: Both hosts note limitations, such as the inability to search for past book clubs and the ineffectiveness of the book recommendation feature, which is currently in its beta phase.

  "I tried the book recommendation part, which is technically just in beta, and they let you know that. But it was not very effective at all." — Bria Grant (15:42)

• Social Dynamics: While Fable excels in fostering a community-centric environment, allowing users to engage deeply with book clubs and share experiences, it falls short for those seeking robust tracking and recommendation systems.

  "If you are looking for a social media app that is just bookish, this is exactly what you're looking for." — Mallory O'Meara (17:17)

---

5. Are Bookish Social Media Apps Worth It?

Brea and Mallory engage in a thoughtful debate sobre the value versus distraction offered by specialized bookish social media apps.

• Pros: Enhanced sense of community, access to diverse book clubs, sharing and discovering book-related content.

• Cons: Potential for increased screen time, redundancy with existing apps, and possibility of distraction from actual reading.

  "If it relaxes you, if it makes you happy and you find community there, I don't think there's any problem with that." — Bria Grant (25:01)

• Personal Reflections: Both hosts express a need to streamline their app usage to prioritize reading and personal time. Mallory contemplates reducing the number of apps to minimize distractions, while Bria favors maintaining a balance between social interaction and personal reading habits.

  "If you're looking for that community, that kind of activity, I don't think Fable is bad. It just depends on what you already have in your life." — Mallory O'Meara (21:37)

---

6. Solving a Listener’s Problem: Using Library Bathrooms

Amanda poses a practical question about using public library restrooms during her training runs. Bria and Mallory offer reassuring advice, emphasizing the library as a public resource meant to be accessible to all.

*"Yes. Duh. Yes, you can. You can." — *Bria Grant (32:40)

They advocate for respectful and considerate usage, highlighting the importance of public facilities for community members.

---

7. Recommendation Request: Books with a Folklorist Protagonist

Ella seeks recommendations for books featuring a folklorist protagonist, aligning with her academic background in folklore studies. The hosts provide insightful suggestions:

• "Emily Wilde" by Heather Fawcett: Follows a folklorist studying fairies in a small town, blending research with magical discoveries.

  "It's a really great book. There's two in the series." — Bria Grant (38:15)

• "The Fair Folk" by Sue Bristow: A historical fantasy exploring the consequences of accepting a fairy bargain, with academia intertwined in the narrative.

• "Fruiting Bodies" by Katherine Harlan: A short story collection featuring a folklorist delving into fairy lore and engaging in magical card games.

Mallory adds a bonus recommendation:

"It's a historical fantasy book about a young girl who gets offered a fairy bargain when she's a little kid and she takes it and she gets gifts." — Mallory O'Meara (39:08)

---

8. Community and Resources

The episode concludes with acknowledgments to their listeners and community, encouraging engagement through various channels like their newsletter and merchandise store. They emphasize the importance of reader communities and support systems in enhancing the literary experience.

---

Notable Quotes with Timestamps:

• "If you are looking for that community, that kind of activity, I don't think Fable is bad. It just depends on what you already have in your life." — Mallory O'Meara (21:37)

• "She's super funny. She's a great narrator. In the introduction, he says that he is the stately homosexual of heavy metal. And I was like, oh, hell yeah." — Mallory O'Meara (04:14)

• "You're looking for recommendations. That's the big thing, is that you join these clubs, you get along with these people and they're like, we're gonna read this next. Great." — Bria Grant (28:31)

---

Final Thoughts:

Episode 386 of Reading Glasses offers a comprehensive examination of Fable and the role of social media in the literary community. Through candid discussions and listener interactions, Brea Grant and Mallory O’Meara provide valuable insights for book lovers navigating the digital landscape of reading. Whether enhancing community engagement or streamlining personal reading habits, the episode fosters a reflective approach to integrating technology with literary passion.

---

For more details, book recommendations, and to engage with the community, visit Reading Glasses Podcast.

Transcript

[Mallory O'Meara]

You're listening to Reading Glasses, a show about book culture and literary life designed to help you read better. I'm author and book devourer Mallory O'Mearo.

[Bria Grant]

And I'm Bria Grant, filmmaker and e reader. This episode, we do a deep dive into Fable. It's a social media app, but it's also a club. But it's also a place where you can get book recommendations. It's a lot of things. And we decide whether bookish social media apps are worth using. Wow. Stick around for that. Plus, we recommend books with folklorist protagonists.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Very cute, very specific.

[Bria Grant]

And debate whether you should use the library bathroom when you're not using the library.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I am so excited about this. But first, Bria, what are you reading?

[Bria Grant]

Last night, I started a book that I had been looking forward to that came out this year. It is a Better World by Sarah Langan.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Ooh.

[Bria Grant]

Sarah Langan wrote Good Neighbors.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yes.

[Bria Grant]

Which we loved.

[Mallory O'Meara]

We both loved.

[Bria Grant]

This is. Seems like it's also going to be a creepy suburbia book. I don't know. I'm on a creepy suburbia kick, I guess, because the River Solomon book was also a creepy suburbia book. This one is about. Okay, so it starts with a world. It's kind of a near future world where everything's kind of gone to shit because everything has been automated, basically. So.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Oh, wow. It's so hard to imagine that.

[Bria Grant]

That's okay. I have to tell you, scariest book I've read this year so far. Cause it's like, oh, what happens is that your health insurance payments are automated, but something messed up in their system and you can't get a hold of anybody. So then your health stuff isn't covered. And then you have an accident and nothing's covered. So none of your hospital bills are covered because they say that you missed a payment even though it wasn't your fault. And then they repossess your car because anyways, this shit happens. It does and it does. So basically, it's a world in which that is status quo. Everything. You can't talk to a human. Everything is automated. And so you are. You're just stuck basically at the beginning.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Oh, this is giving me anxiety.

[Bria Grant]

This family is like, we have to figure out how to live because the husband loses his job and they're having trouble making ends meet. And they keep seeing people in their lives. Like, suddenly those people are gone or they live somewhere else, or they're living on the streets and they're trying to figure out what to do. And the husband Gets offered a job to go live in Plymouth Valley, which is a walled off company town with clean air, lots of food, perfect schools, Everything is wonderful. It only like 0.0001% of people get to live there. It's very small. And yes, like, the wife's gonna have to like, sacrifice her medical career, but they decide that they're going to do it. But then they get there and. And I'm not that far into the book. I just started it last night. But the residents, according to the blurb, the residents adhere to a group of customs and beliefs called hollow. And so I think it becomes culty.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Ooh.

[Bria Grant]

And it just. I think Sarah Lange is just a really brilliant writer. It actually opens with a little flyer from the town and it's like, here's our town customs and our town. All the things about our town. It's a really fun dystopian, near future, dystopian book. And again, I just think, Saralin, this.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Is like, made for you. I know.

[Bria Grant]

I think Sarah Ling is just such a great author.

[Mallory O'Meara]

She's fantastic.

[Bria Grant]

Very, very excited to get into this one. What are you reading?

[Mallory O'Meara]

So this year I decided to go a little easy on myself. Normally I am like reading a book with every limb a new. Trying to read this year's release every second of every day. But I'm trying to learn from last year and be a little nicer to myself because a lot of the books.

[Bria Grant]

You read last year at this time, they did not make the top 10 list. Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

And thank you to the Glassers for always encouraging me to read the things that I want to read. So in addition to the 20, 24 releases I'm reading, I was like, I'm gonna read an audiobook that I want to read that is very much a backlist book. It is Conf by Rob Halford. If you follow me on anything else, you know that I'm a big metalhead. I've been a fan, huge fan of Judas priest for like 20 years, which freaked me out when I realized that I was like, oh, am I an old metal head now? Do I need a beer? Cut. I got to finally got to see Judas Priest a couple of weeks ago, which was. Just blew me away. But I've always been a huge fan. I think Rob Halford is one of the coolest people in the world. And after I saw them a couple weeks ago, I was like, I was just like, looking something up about him and I was like, oh, my God. Rob Halliburt wrote a memoir. And if you. Oh, Sorry if you don't know. Rob Halbert is the lead singer of Judas Priest, which is one of the most influential, amazing, best legendary metal bands in the world. They really were super influential. And he's the lead singer. And I was like, I didn't know. He wrote a memoir, and it is so fucking good.

[Bria Grant]

Bria.

[Mallory O'Meara]

He reads it. I did. I'm doing it on audio. And it's both a. It's like his. His life story, which is really fascinating about how Judas Priest was formed and, like, how they got their start and how they, like, really had to fight in the beginning and, like, you know, changing. Changing the world of metal. But it's also his story, which is so interesting of, like, growing up gay and accepting his sexuality and trying to reconcile his sexuality with the very, like, sometimes homophobic world of metal. And it's just. He's all. He's super funny. He's a great narrator. In the introduction, he. He says that he is the stately homosexual of heavy metal. And I was like, oh, hell yeah. It's just. It's super compelling. It's super funny. It's just so interesting. And if you are a metalhead or you're just really interested in, like, a cool gay memoir, it's amazing. And I just feel so lucky that I got to live at the same time as Rob Halford and see him and see Priest. And, yeah, I could not recommend this enough. So that's Confessed by Rob Halford, read.

[Bria Grant]

By Rob Halford, and mine is A Better World by Sarah Langan.

[Mallory O'Meara]

So we want to take a moment to share some listener feedback. Cali wrote in to say. Hi, Brian Mallory. I know from experience that my rating of a book will change over the week or so after I finish it. So I will put my initial rating in my spreadsheet and then periodically will review my most recent ratings to see if I feel like they should be modified. I tend to rate a book highly immediately after I finish, and then after a bit of reflection, I generally end up lowering the score.

[Bria Grant]

Wow.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Using a spreadsheet is really helpful to me for rating books because I can compare to other books I've rated. For example, I'll look at if my feelings on a book are more similar to other books I've rated 7 out of 10 or books I've rated 8 out of 10. Just choosing a rating without any context of other ratings is hard for me because what is the scale? But as I've read and rated more books, I built up my own ratings and have a better idea of what a particular rating feels like.

[Bria Grant]

This is an argument because I said I rate immediately, and you were like, you need to wait to rate.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah, you gotta wait.

[Bria Grant]

Wait to rate. All right, maybe this is another argument in that direction.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah.

[Bria Grant]

Mitch Rodin said, I'm a researcher and pleasure reader, both. Sometimes listening to a dense nonfiction book is a lot easier than reading it because you can zone out on the boring stuff anyway. If you want to look something up, especially a citation, I pause it ASAP and write down a quote of just a few words. Most books aren't going to use the same sentence fragments more than once or twice. Oh, this is because someone was trying.

[Mallory O'Meara]

To figure out they wanted to search in audiobooks.

[Bria Grant]

Search an audiobook.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Like they were driving and like they didn't have time to write.

[Bria Grant]

So Mitch. Mitch pauses what he's listening to and writes down a quote of just a few words. And then from there goes to books.google.com find the book you're after and you can search inside it even if you can't otherwise view it. It will give you a limited number of page views on any book that Google may scans. Oh, I see what you're doing. To get back to that part in the audiobook, you can estimate a percent through the book or use title chapters, if available. Okay, that's interesting. So you can try to do that using Google Books to find where you were.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah, remembering a little phrase. I mean, that's something you can even do if you're driving.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah, you're right. Because most of the time you aren't repeating a phrase over and over again unless it's like the title of the book. Or for nonfiction. Nancy said she didn't want piracy, but you can easily go on Libgen, that's L, I, B, G, E, N, download the book, find that part, and then delete the file if it makes you feel good. You're just using it for reference. I mean, is what Google does somehow not piracy? Question. Good question.

[Mallory O'Meara]

But this is a I would good tip.

[Bria Grant]

I like that hot book tip.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Oh, no, my. My slide whistle is tangled and all the cords. And then Emily wrote in about the same problem. Hello, I'm emailing in response to Nancy's question about searching audiobooks, which I also find incredibly annoying. As someone who listens to a lot of audiobooks, unfortunately, I don't have a perfect solution. But when I'm in desperate need of a specific quote, I usually end up crowdsourcing, hanging around until some kind soul who owns the book is willing to help out. My go to is Reddit though. Any community of bookish folks would work. Perhaps the Glassers discord. In fact, I will say I have seen stuff like this happen in the Slack where someone's like oh no, my book got taken and I only had a chapter left. Can anyone get a copy and take a picture of the last chapter for me? I like that. I love bookish crowdsourcing. In particular, I often take super specific questions to the daily Short Questions and Recommendation thread in our fantasy. Or sometimes the community in an author's subreddit will be active enough to help, like our Stephen King. I hope this helps. Thank you guys for a wonderful relaxing podcast that's also hold on.

[Bria Grant]

Emily, Great tip, great tips.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I think again, these are not perfect solutions until Libby and audiobook companies figure out a way to do this. I think this is a great I because I wonder if audiobooks because you know how on Apple podcasts now they have the transcripts that just kind of automatically generate. Oh yeah, I wonder if they could start doing like that, something like that within audiobook.

[Bria Grant]

You could. And I like the book at that.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Point on Liberal fm. But it's not like an ebook, you know.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

It's just like a running transcript of.

[Bria Grant]

It as you're going.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah, that you can search in there could.

[Bria Grant]

They probably will be like, but we want you to buy the ebook at that point. That's the problem. I think we'll see. We will see. I guess we'll see. Someone's gonna figure this out.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yes, but these are. These are. I think these are as good a solution as you can get until librofem and Audible figure this stuff out. So you can email us@reading glassespodcastmail.com if you want a list of all the books we talk about on the show delivered to your inbox every month, you can sign up for our newsletter. There's link in the show notes before we deep dive into fable and answer some existential questions about Bookish apps, we're going to take a quick break. Reading Glasses is brought to you in part this week by Pear Eyewear. Folks. It's the holiday season. It is the highlight of the year for funky, cool little things that you wear. Cool little accessories. You want to switch up your look. You want to wear something fun and holiday related. It's time for Christmas sweaters. It's time for for ugly holiday sweaters. It's time for decorations. Why not extend that to your face? Well, Bria, what is pair eyewear? What is the what makes it Special as a glasses company, Pair Eyewear, they're.

[Bria Grant]

These frames and then you can snap on top frames on top of them. That's it. It's quite easy. You can switch up your holiday look in a snap. New top frames just start at $25. And sun tops. That sounds like it's, that's what you wear out in the sun. But no, we're talking about sunnies. We're talking about glasses. Sunglasses.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Sunglasses, baby.

[Bria Grant]

They're start at $30. And hey, new designs drop every month including fun collabs.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Trust me folks, I'm a glasses wearer. I know how stressful it is when you're like picking out a new pair of glasses and you're like this thing is going to be my main accessory literally on my face every single day. Trying to pick a pair of glasses that's going to go with every single outfit that you own, all of your jewelry and something that you're not going to get sick of is daunting. But with pair Eyewear you can pick your base frame and then you can, I don't want to say infinite, but it almost feels like that there's so many different colors and patterns and for the holidays again, there's so many cool holiday prints. It's fantastic. I have talked on the show before about how much I love my Washington Capitals now that it's hockey season. Washington Capitals top frames that I put on and cheer for my beautiful beloved sons. Folks, it's so much fun. You should at least go on the website and see all the different top frames they have. It's really fun. It's really festive. If you maybe work in an office environment and you want to just have a fun little pop of some kind of holiday thing, this is for you. And new designs drop every month. There's all kinds of fun collabs you can save by using pre tax FSA and HSA dollars, free standard shipping and a flexible 30 day return policy and.

[Bria Grant]

Get matching pairs for the little ones. Stuff a stocking or gift a pair to yourself during Pears sitewide holiday sale. Go to pair eyewear.com and shop the holiday sale to save 20% site wide and support the show by mentioning that reading glasses sent to you in your post checkout survey. That's pair P A I R I wear.com glasses.

[C]

Somewhere in an alternate universe where Hollywood is smarter and the Emmy.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Nominees for outstanding comedy series are Jet Pacula Airport Marriott Thruppel Dear America, we've seen you naked and Allah in the.

[C]

Family in our stupid universe you can't see any of these shows, but you can listen to them on Dead Pilot Society, the podcast that brings you hilarious comedy pilots that the networks and streamers bought but never made. Journey to the alternate television universe of Dead pilot society on maximumfun.org.

[Mallory O'Meara]

This week we're doing a deep dive into Fable and asking the question, what do we get out of bookish social media? Is it worth it? These apps add to your reading life. Are they just another stressful social media scroll on your phone? So we had so many glasses write in about Fable that we had to do a deep dive on it. And it is a bookish social media app. You can also use it for TV shows, but obviously we're focusing on the book side for this episode. You can log your reading, you can join book clubs, keep a tbr, review books, add friends, and post bookish pictures of what you're reading, pictures of your reading, nook your pets, stuff like that. It's sort of like a mashup of Storygraph and Litzy and Goodreads, all kind of wrapped up into one Instagram. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. So what are our initial thoughts on this? What do you think, Bria?

[Bria Grant]

I have a lot of thoughts, Initial and non initial. Okay. It's cute. I like it. It has a full social media site. Right. Where you said that you post stuff that was cute. I joined a few clubs to see what they were reading. It has a very intense section within the club. It's like, okay, we're reading Acotar or whatever, and it breaks down the book by the chapter. So there are no spoilers for you. That's why they do that. And you go in and talk about each chapter with the people in the book club. But you can also the book, the moderator can say, like, oh, we're on this chapter, but they don't have to. What I wanted to do immediately was search a book name and find a club, which you can do.

[Mallory O'Meara]

You can do.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

But the books that I kept looking for, I couldn't find.

[Bria Grant]

Right. Because you can only search what they're currently reading.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yes.

[Bria Grant]

So I joined a club and I was like, oh, they're reading how to sell a haunted house. They had an interesting discussion. I went and read some of the stuff that they were reading, but then I searched for how to sell. Search for. They did that. Sorry, they did that previously. How to sell a haunted house. I saw they did that previously. Um, but then I tried to search for how to sell a haunted house, and no clubs are doing it currently. So Then I. I couldn't have found it. I only found it by going through, like, their backlog. So I feel like. I don't know, I feel like there needs to be a filter for that. If I'm trying to just read what people are saying.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah.

[Bria Grant]

But I get it. This is not what they're trying to do. They're trying to push. They want it to be current.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah. They want activity.

[Bria Grant]

Right. They. And it's. It's nice because only the ones that were currently doing Haunted house will be like, actually, oh, wait, no. I did find some that were currently doing how to sell a haunted house and they only had like two or three people in them. And I was like, oh, that's kind of cool. Because you'll. They're pushing those clubs that are currently doing a book. That book. Right. Those book clubs obviously don't come up very quickly when you're browsing because it's like they have three people in them or whatever. So I get it. Maybe it's a way to highlight less populated clubs and get new clubs out there. But it was funny that both of us were like, the first thing I want to do is see, like, what I'm reading right now. Is there a book club reading this?

[Mallory O'Meara]

I did it with Shady Hollow and I. Same thing. I saw that there were some people who had done Shady Hollow, but there were no current ones.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah. So I would like that search function, but I don't think that's how they want you to use the app. Right. I also tried the book recommendation part, which is technically just in beta, and they let you know that. But it was not very effective at all.

[Mallory O'Meara]

We talked about this with our AI episode or like, the segment we did on AI book recommenders. It's a lot harder to recommend a book than people think it is.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah. And we're just not there. I mean, honestly, the best way. This is unfortunate, but it's like Amazon or Goodreads, who's just connected to Amazon because they know what other people have bought that. Bought that book.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yes.

[Bria Grant]

Just the recommendations. Doesn't. It doesn't totally work.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Or human, like, obviously, like, humans are the best.

[Bria Grant]

But I'm saying if you want any.

[Mallory O'Meara]

If you're browsing online. Yeah.

[Bria Grant]

That seems to be the best way.

[Mallory O'Meara]

But going to. Going to the library or going to a bookstore and asking a bookseller, like, but you need that human. Human touch.

[Bria Grant]

What'd you think of this?

[Mallory O'Meara]

I did like it as soon as I opened it. It's cute what it did for me because I'VE been offline for so long. I really did miss seeing people post cute pictures of their books and their bookish things. It's very cute. It is easy to use, like, so you don't have to. There's not a lot of onboarding like there is with some apps. And it does give you graphics on your reading history, like StoryGraph, but it doesn't track as many things as StoryGraph does. But as someone who already uses StoryGraph and Book Buddy, I wouldn't want to track on another app I would use it for. I think the thing that this is best at is that social stuff, because that's what it pushes. It pushes book clubs, it pushes posting, it pushes like commenting on other people's bookish posts. Like, if you are looking for a social media app that is just bookish, this is exactly. This is really what you're looking for. Because you're looking for. If you're looking for that community that, that kind of activity, I don't think that this is. This is not something I would want to track books on. But if you want to, like, talk about books with other people. Right.

[Bria Grant]

Enjoy the club. You know, I think that's. That. That is what it is. It's about the community. Yes, you're totally right.

[Mallory O'Meara]

And I do. I do think that it is very successful at that. So if that's something you're looking for, like, if you don't have a lot of bookish friends, this app is great for that.

[Bria Grant]

I agree. I agree. And there where I was like, oh, I am kind of curious. Like, I don't necessarily need a book club to tell me what to read. I already have a book club that tells me what to read once a month. And. And that's a lot. I don't need another one.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah.

[Bria Grant]

Although my friends and I are threatening to start a comic book club, so there is that a graphic novel club. Because I just find I don't read as many as I used to, especially not new ones. And I have a lot of friends that feel the same way. So I have like two or three friends that we might start a small club. Anyway, that's a side note. I'm not gonna put it on this woke hood, but yeah, finding that community. I think you're right.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yes. But so here's the big question. This is what I kept thinking about while I was using this and actually enjoying using it. But it. This question cropped up. Is it worth it to have Fable and storygraph and Instagram and Goodreads and like, is it Worth it to have all of these apps. What are we getting out of them?

[Bria Grant]

Honestly, right now I'm just really liking my Cawpile spreadsheet. That's been the one thing I've been liking the most, which is not social at all. It's just me.

[Mallory O'Meara]

So funny.

[Bria Grant]

And now the other ones, I update the other ones because I feel like otherwise I'm gonna forget to do it. And this spreadsheet takes me longer, so I don't do it immediately. I'm gonna be honest, I may Give up on StoryGraph or Goodreads by the end of the year.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Well, that's why I wanted to wrap this for me episode at this time because we're coming up on the end of the year. We've been using these things for a while. Do you. That's the thing. Do you feel like it's too much bookish social apps for me?

[Bria Grant]

I think it is. I. Story graph I don't find quite as useful, but I like that it's not run by Amazon, so there's like that aspect of it. I find like the. The interface not as. I'm just not as used to it. I do use it. I have been updating on it, but I don't really even post my books on Instagram any anymore. Except like maybe our mid year and end of year ones. Yeah, yeah. You know, I'm just really enjoying my spreadsheet, which is not social at all. That's just me alone, me being.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Being self.

[Bria Grant]

I don't know. So I'm gonna say no. And if I get rid of one, it'll be goodreads or storygraph. I use Instagram for film stuff still and keep up with a lot of friends so that I keep. I will keep for that purpose. But I don't do much book stuff on there anymore because I find the reading glasses. Instagram does that.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yes.

[Bria Grant]

What are you gonna do? You gonna give something up?

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah.

[Bria Grant]

I mean, okay, I can't be on five apps.

[Mallory O'Meara]

That's the thing. So I think if you are not on other apps, like if you don't have Tick Tock, you don't have Instagram, that this could be really fun to just have this.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Or if you just like. Especially now, again, we are recording this on election day. If you just want. If you want to do something on your phone, but you want it to just be pure, uncut bookishness. Because every other. I mean, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, I will never call it X. It's Twitter that like even. Even, no matter how much you curate it. Like, other things are gonna poke through, you know? And I like, if you just want an app that is nothing but books, you just want to think about nothing but books. I think this could be good. And again, if you really like interacting online with people about books, I think Fable is definitely more social than storygraph and social. More social than Goodreads, like, because it encourages it a little bit more. And the interface is so much nicer than Ugly Ass Beige goodreads.

[Bria Grant]

Absolutely. So it is really beautiful, the site.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yes. So I think that can be good. If you like sharing bookish photos, you like seeing recommendation lists. Like, if you are someone who reads Book Riot every day, great app for you. But personally, this is not for me right now. I'm not posting anything online at all. Like, I will post stuff on Instagram if I need to for work, like, if I have an event or like, Girly Drinks just got translated into Japanese. And I was like, I should probably post this. But I'm just. I'm not. Even when I post stuff, I'm not looking at people's stuff. I'm just going on, putting it on there and taking it off. I don't want to look at anyone's posts. I don't want to, like, look at anything. I see the appeal and the escape of seeing nothing but book stuff. And I kind of felt that while I was looking at Fable. But you and I have very specific rules about how we talk about books online. I don't know. It just, like, are Bookish social media apps just another stressful distraction? Like, should I just be reading instead? Because that's. You and I have a lot, a lot of bookish friends. We host a bookish podcast. I. What's funny is I think that a lot of the stuff that I would be getting from Fable I get from the reading glasses. Slack.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Cause then I'm like, oh, I'm seeing what people are reading, seeing what people are talking about. Like, I already have that. And I think what I'm saying is that I don't think Fable is bad. It just depends on what you already have in your life.

[Bria Grant]

I agree. I might stick around for our Horny Fairy Book Club and read and talk to people on there about a court of throne. Like, find a book club that's doing it right now. Oh, yeah. And think about that. Cause I feel like there's gonna be things that come up there that I can, first of all, refresh my memory about certain things if I don't reread the book. Which now it's kind of leaning towards not. I may re listen to it, but I might do that, you know, as a way to kind of inspire me and like just see and to do a further testing of it because obviously we just scratched the surface here and maybe once you get into those discussions, it's really fascinating. But yeah, a lot of that stuff is happening in the slack, obviously.

[Mallory O'Meara]

So I haven't used Goodreads in a really long time. As longtime listeners to the show will know. Once I once lady from the Black Lagoon came out, I stopped being on Goodreads because I don't think it's appropriate for authors to get into that space. I think readers should feel like they can say whatever they want without feeling like an author is going to be watching them or saying something or getting upset. I feel like people should have the freedom to say whatever they want about books. And also I don't want to read what people are saying about my books because it will be branded on my brain forever. So I don't use Goodreads. I will use my Book Buddy forever because we're married. That still is my favorite app, but again, it's not social.

[Bria Grant]

You're monogamous with the Book Buddy.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah.

[Bria Grant]

You're on Goodreads.

[Mallory O'Meara]

No. Or storygraphs. But I'm not actually, you know, that's not true. Don't tell. Don't tell Book Buddy.

[Bria Grant]

Don't tell Book Buddy that you're not monogamous with. You should be. You shouldn't be honest in your relationship.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Well, you know, he's not good at communicating. She is not threatened by Storygraphs.

[Bria Grant]

Okay, fair.

[Mallory O'Meara]

And we're gonna talk about this a little more at the end of the year. But I have been enjoying the data that I'm getting from storygraph. I recognize that I could get that from a spreadsheet, but I'm not good at making spreadsheets. I know that.

[Bria Grant]

Spreadsheets.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I know.

[Bria Grant]

I really look forward to it. And when I finish a book, I'm like, oh, yes, I get to go into the Cawpile. I'm thinking about adding two or three more little sections of my own because it doesn't have appeals or doorways. And I thought that could be fun.

[Mallory O'Meara]

That's a good idea.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah, I think I'm at those.

[Mallory O'Meara]

You know what? Maybe next year instead of doing Storygraph, I'll do Cawp and then I'll see which one I like better.

[Bria Grant]

Try.

[Mallory O'Meara]

But I. I've been enjoying the little. The monthly wrap ups. I've been Enjoying the data. Like, just being able to, at a glance, see how much fiction I'm reading versus nonfiction.

[Bria Grant]

That every month.

[Mallory O'Meara]

You can. Yeah, like, you can do it does view this past month's graphics on the.

[Bria Grant]

Website or on the.

[Mallory O'Meara]

On the app? I never use the website. I only use the app. But I have been enjoying it. But I think for me, Book Buddy and storygraph are enough. Like, that's. That already feels like a lot of bookish app. Like, I don't feel. Because I have a lot of bookish friends and because I have the reading glasses. Like, I don't feel like I'm missing anything bookish in my life. You know what I mean? Like, I don't feel like it was nice when I looked at Fable, but I was. I was. I didn't have the urge to post. It was cute to use, but I don't think it would be. I think it would just be adding to my scrolling time. And that's really the thing. Like, Bria, do we think we have too many bookish apps in the world or us?

[Bria Grant]

Personally, I am. I do like these graphs. Right. These are very satisfying.

[Mallory O'Meara]

It is very satisfying.

[Bria Grant]

This is enough to keep me on storygraph, actually. Wow. Except I don't ever do the print versus digital thing. And I do that.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I make sure to do that. And that really has been interesting to.

[Bria Grant]

Track because I should do that. That's the existential thing, apparently. I love emotional and dark books. So do I. Oh, really? And mysterious books. Those are my favorite. But that was October. That's why.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah. Do we think that ultimately these apps. Should we just be reading? Bria? Like, are these apps just a distraction ultimately? Just like. Just like any other social media.

[Bria Grant]

If you're scrolling through an app of books, that does mean you're not reading. But I do think there is a. If it relaxes you, if it makes you happy and you find community there, I. I don't think there's any problem with that. I don't think there's. I think it's fine to find community wherever you want to find community. And I do like that this one isn't just about scrolling. It's not just about, like, what's everyone reading. It's about here's a community that's also reading what you're reading.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah.

[Bria Grant]

And that's interesting to me.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah. I think if you're getting something out of them, like if you are a person who's always looking for book recommendations, if you are having fun in one of their book clubs, if you like Me enjoy seeing people posting pictures of their books. And you're not already, like, having a hard time with how much time you spend on social media apps? I think you should keep them. Like, I think this is worth checking out again, especially if it's not adding to your social media time. Like, if you get Fable and it adds an extra 30 minutes of your data scrolling, not good. But if you get Fable and it takes away 30 minutes on TikTok, I think that's fine. But if you're just again, using it to scroll, maybe it's time to put the phone down.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah. And Fable, by the way, is just on your.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yes.

[Bria Grant]

Because I just looked up to see who all's doing Quarter Throne and Roses right now, which I want to. I wanted to. Hold on. I'm gonna do a live update. I'm gonna tell you how many people are doing that one because you could join it while we're doing it as well. You have multiple clubs going for that same book.

[Mallory O'Meara]

As much Horny Fairy as you can take.

[Bria Grant]

Really?

[Mallory O'Meara]

Can I really? I think ultimately what I've been thinking about a lot lately because, you know, I'm trying to get into, like, you know, my whole life fell apart this year. I'm trying. I'm like, coming up with a new routine. Getting my. My new life in order is like, what do I want my day to look like? And, like, do I want. How much time do I want to be spending scrolling versus how much time do I want to be spending reading? Like, good example. When Jeremy and I broke up, Jeremy had all the gaming computers, so I have not been able to play my beloved World of Warcraft. And oh my God, I want to play wow so bad. But I keep thinking, because I'm like, I need to buy a new gaming computer. And then. But I think to myself, I'm like, I haven't even figured out my reading and my workout schedule. Like, all the other things that I really want to be doing, I haven't figured that out yet. And I know if I buy myself a gaming computer and just start playing World of Warcraft, it's just gonna take a steamroller to every. To all the routine I'm trying to build up. So I want. I want to be reading every day because I like to read and I have to read. I want to be working out. I want to be like. And I also. It's hockey season, so I'm watching a lot of hockey, so I'm making really conscious decisions about what I want to be spending my time on on I.

[Bria Grant]

Think that's very smart because, look, there's only so much time in the world, so I think that that is a very smart thing to do. Just so you know, there are dozens of.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I'm not surprised.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah. Some of them look like they haven't been very active lately, but there are definitely dozens if you want to find one. And I. Look, I think that that's the important question is like, if you are looking for a specific thing, this fills that hole. Great. If it's like something that's also just feels like another thing you have to do.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yes.

[Bria Grant]

Why are you doing it?

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yes.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

And like, like a lot of people that we get a lot of emails from people who are like, how do you and Bria read so much? So much of really doing anything that you want to do is just sitting down and prioritizing it. Make sure you have the time in your life. And I literally was like, if I start using this app, this is just going to take away from my reading time. I'm not getting anything out of it. But I think if you are and you find it, it's improving to your reading life and it's not stressful and it's not having an averse effect. I would try it out, but.

[Bria Grant]

And you're looking for recommendations. I mean, that's the big thing, is that you join these clubs, you get along with these people and they're like, we're gonna read this next. Great. You're looking for recommendations. That's wonderful. I think the other thing is we're not looking for that many recommendations. We get them from the glasses, we get them from our friends, we get them from other places.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah. I think it's time to take a look at that glasser in the mirror and decide what you want your life to be.

[Bria Grant]

Starting with the glasser in the mirror.

[Mallory O'Meara]

But I would love to know what folks if. How much. How you use Fable. If you love Fable, what Fable looks like in amongst of your other social media apps, let us know. Send your thoughts to reading glasses podcastmail.com before we solve a problem about using the bathroom in the library, let's take a quick break. Reading Glasses is sponsored in part this week by our friends over at Dipsea. Calling all romance lovers. If you're a horny fairy fan, if you love 50 Shades of Gray, you love Emily Henry, you like the Spanish. Love deception, you like erotica, you like romance. We have the perfect app for you. Bria, what the heck is Dixie?

[Bria Grant]

Well, Dipsea is a female founded app for spicy audiobooks and more. Created by women for women. Their app has over a thousand spicy audiobooks, all crafted by a team of professional writers and top tier narrators. And whether you're looking for, let's say, a rugged cowboy, a Scottish sailor. Did you hear me try to do an accent?

[Mallory O'Meara]

I was impressed.

[Bria Grant]

Scottish sailor, that's pretty good. Fae royalty or the God of the underworld. You'll find characters and genres you love on Dipsea.

[Mallory O'Meara]

That's right. It doesn't matter what kind of erotica or romance you are looking for. If you want just straight up realism, you want fantasy, you want those horny fairies, Dipsea has got you covered. We love this app. Dipsea has been a longtime sponsor of the show. We love the way that it's designed. And the thing that we really love about it is that it doesn't matter if you are the horniest girl in the land and you've read every erotica there exists or you're someone who's really curious. You are interested in trying out romance, but you have no idea what tropes you like. You don't. You have no idea what kind of protagonist to look for you. You really feel a overwhelmed. Dipsea has got you covered. They're a great entry point or they're great for seasoned erotica heads. What do we call people who like erotica? Just horny people.

[Bria Grant]

Just. Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Little horn dogs. Yeah, horn. Horn readers. They're releasing new content all the time. There's so many different genres and types of characters. We love them. For listeners of reading glasses, Dipsea is offering an extended 30 day free trial. When you go to dipseastories.comglasses that means free a whole month. You could go buck wild on this app and read as much as you want for 30 days, folks, for totally for free. You should at least try it out. That's 30 days of full access for free. When you go to dipseastories.com classes, that's dipseastories.com glasses.

[Bria Grant]

Glasses.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Glasses.

[D]

Throughout history, sirens have captured men's attention.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Enticed men with their feminine wiles and fulfilled men's primal needs.

[D]

The sirens allure persist. No, they have not. Unless the primal need is. I need to be smashed on the rocks.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah.

[D]

Smash me. Smash me, mommy.

[Bria Grant]

Smash me, mama.

[D]

Smash me, mommy. The siren's the Lord. Why do we do this to ourselves? Strand me, baby.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Strand me.

[D]

Strand me, baby. So, yeah, listen to my brother, my brother me from Maximum Fun on Mondays. It's just like that. Just like to have a. It's just like to have more of it.

[Bria Grant]

There's.

[D]

There's just more of that.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Time to solve a bookish problem from one of our listeners. Amanda writes in. Dear Brian Mallory, writing with a question about appropriate, appropriate, but maybe unconventional use of the library. I am an ultra runner and sometimes like to train in the city of Richmond. I live in a neighboring county, but I have a library card for the city libraries. Also, when I run downtown, I sometimes need to use the restroom. But most businesses in the city prefer you to be a customer to use their facilities. And I usually have all the supplies I need in my pack, so I don't need to purchase anything. Is it okay to use the public library as a potty pit stop? I will be sweaty and wearing a hydration pack. But of course I will be quiet and respectful as always. Thanks for all the help. Bria. Can you pee at the library?

[Bria Grant]

Yes. Duh. Yes, you can. You can. By the way, this is great. And you don't have to tell us you will be quiet and respectful. We already know. Yes. Because we can tell by this email. And also, you listen to the show and everyone who listens to the show is quiet and respectful.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yes.

[Bria Grant]

That is the most respectful group of people in the world.

[Mallory O'Meara]

They truly are. The glasses are the nicest people of all time.

[Bria Grant]

Also, can I just say, you don't have to have a library card to go use this bathroom. You can. This is a public resource. And there should be more nice public bathrooms in the world. But there aren't. Like, I want those cool Japanese public restrooms. Like in Japan, you know where it's like, yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

And they have a bidet.

[Bria Grant]

And they have a bidet and then.

[Mallory O'Meara]

They'Re like, nice smell and they clean themselves.

[Bria Grant]

They're like somehow the like water rushes through after you leave them. And like, why don't we have those everywhere? There should be public restrooms everywhere in Calabria. It is. It's wild and like. Yes. Anyway, I won't gonna get on a rant about public restrooms, but why not? This is a place where you can use a public restroom and you should use it. And I know you're gonna be polite and quiet. And it's very nice if you to write it about this. So sweet.

[Mallory O'Meara]

You know what I keep thinking about? You remember when was it Brazos who tell told us about someone came into his library and was using the slow cooker in the bathroom.

[Bria Grant]

Oh, that's right. I heard about that.

[Mallory O'Meara]

They walked in and someone just had their slow cooker plugged into the plug in the bathroom.

[Bria Grant]

Public Resource. Maybe not that, but, like, you know, there's a line you could.

[Mallory O'Meara]

That's what I'm like. I'm trying to think of situations where this would not be appropriate.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

You know, if Amanda rolled it and, like, set up a pop tent in the bathroom and, like, had her music going. Like, I can't think of anything that would be too. Like that, like, realistic. That would be actually disruptive.

[Bria Grant]

One of my friends had a hot tip for me where she's. I think when she got a toddler. She still has a toddler, but she used to go to banks. Banks usually let you use their public restroom, but you kind of do have to have a bank account there. But she would. You always use banks when you have.

[Mallory O'Meara]

To swipe your card to get into the. You know how you get to do an ATM at night? It's like, that's how you get into the back.

[Bria Grant]

A lot of that stuff is closed. Like, the. The public restroom. But yes, the library. That's the place.

[Mallory O'Meara]

You know what? Sorry, this is such a tangent. You know what I saw that was closed. I went to the Goodwill near me recently to, like, look at clothes. They didn't let you try on clothes. Clothes there. They're like, oh, since the pandemic, we have the. The rest the changing rooms closed. And I was like, you want people to buy used clothes without trying them on?

[Bria Grant]

That's. There's a lot of things they haven't opened up because they're like, the pandemic. And I'm like, you just don't want to do.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah. I was like, you just don't want to clean these.

[Bria Grant]

These.

[Mallory O'Meara]

These changing rooms, which. Fair. But also. Come on.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah, yeah. No, you got a client. Try on the clothes.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Oh, I was so grumpy about it.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah. But did you buy anything?

[Mallory O'Meara]

No, I literally put. Put down everything that I put back everything that I had, and I left.

[Bria Grant]

I would, too. Shh. Can you use the bathroom at the library?

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yes. Oh, my gosh. Pee, poop, whatever you need to do. Especially if you have, like, Amanda has a library card for this library she's already supporting.

[Bria Grant]

But you don't have to.

[Mallory O'Meara]

You don't have to. Like, again, libraries are a public institution. If you need to pee, you should pee there. It's not like you're disrupting anyone or using up anything except maybe a little bit of toilet paper. Like. Yeah, I love. I would love to hear from our librarian glassers on this one, but I suspect that everybody is going to agree that you should use the bathroom again. It's a public place. Yeah, I think we should. I totally agree. God.

[Bria Grant]

If you Feel bad, donate $5 every couple months for the toilet paper.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Do you ever watch the show how to with John Wilson?

[Bria Grant]

I have seen it, but I haven't watched the whole thing.

[Mallory O'Meara]

He does have an episode on public bathrooms.

[Bria Grant]

Oh, he does.

[Mallory O'Meara]

And it is one of my favorite episodes. But he's. It lives in New York City, and he, like, does this deep dive into how there's not. Not enough public bathrooms.

[Bria Grant]

I know.

[Mallory O'Meara]

And how it's hard for cab drivers and cab. So there's a. You find bottles of pee all over New York City because cab drivers pee in the bottles and then throw them out the window because they have nowhere else to go. We need more toilets. I agree.

[Bria Grant]

One of my post person. Postman. Do we say postman anymore or do we say post person?

[Mallory O'Meara]

I don't know.

[Bria Grant]

Mail person. The person who delivers my mail asked if he could use my bathroom, and I said, yeah, of course.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Hell yeah.

[Bria Grant]

Because where does they go to the bathroom?

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah. It's not like there's so many people who work out in the public space and they have nowhere to go.

[Bria Grant]

I know. Yeah. It's weird.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I think Amanda has radicalized us. Do it to create more public bathrooms, but 100%, if you need to. If you need somewhere to pee, if you need someone to wear to breastfeed, if you need somewhere to, I don't know, splash water on your face, go to the fucking library. That's why we all pay goddamn taxes like this is. It's a public institution. And as long as you are being, as Amanda said, being quiet and respectful and clean, and you're not making a big, weird, gross mess, which we know.

[Bria Grant]

You'Re not, I think it's totally fine.

[Mallory O'Meara]

To use up the library bathroom for a lot of stuff. Unless you're doing coke and there.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah. If you need a place to do.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Coke, imagine doing coke at the. Like, doing a line and then just checking out, like, a thousand books. That's my kind of party.

[Bria Grant]

That is fun.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Okay, so, Amanda, please pee at that library. And if you have any other reader problems you want us to solve, you can send them to reading glasses podcastmail.com now let's answer a recommendation request from Ella, who says hi. I'm usually not in need of more book recommendations. I already have way too many. But I just found a possible wheelhouse item and I need help with finding more books fitting said wheelhouse. I recently came across Allison Saff's upcoming novel, a Dark and Drowning Tide. And it caught my eye 100% because of the gorgeous cover by Audrey Benjaminson. But what really got me interested in actually reading the book is that the protagonist is a folklorist. I just got my BA in folklore Studies, and I'm starting my MA this fall. I didn't think I could ever find a book with a protagonist who also studies my highly specific field. Google was no help with this and fuck AI, so reading glasses, you're my only hope. Do you know any other books where the protagonist or one of the main characters is a folklorist? Love the show. Thank you so much, Bria. I already know what you're gonna say.

[Bria Grant]

Well, okay, wait a second. Is this one? Is the folklore exist in this book? Do you know what I mean? Does it. Is it real? Wait, what are they a folklorist where they study folklore? Are they folklore for us? Where they study folklore and the folklore exists? Do you get what I'm saying?

[Mallory O'Meara]

No, I don't.

[Bria Grant]

Is there magic in this book?

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah, I think it's a fantasy book.

[Bria Grant]

Okay, all right. That was the Maryland question. Well, first of all, Mallory wrote. I assume you're gonna do Emily Wilde for this next to it. But actually, I was gonna do A Natural History of Dragons, which I thought would also is a lot of folklore. So personally.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Oh, I haven't read that.

[Bria Grant]

You're right. This is a better book. And Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia Fairies is probably more accurate for this than Natural History Dragons. Emily Wilde by Heather Fawcett. Big glasser book. Huge glasser book, if you haven't read it already. Ella. It's Emily Wilde, but she's great with research. She's a folklorist. She studies fairies. She goes off to study fairies in this cold, small town and ends up finding them and along with a love interest. And it's great. It's a really great book. There's two in the series.

[Mallory O'Meara]

This was my first fairy book.

[Bria Grant]

I think this is your first fairy book. This was a big one for me, too, because I.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Fairy gateway. Gateway. Fairy. Gateway drugs.

[Bria Grant]

And I was like, oh, maybe I'll like this book, which is a little more fantasy than I normally do. But it was such a cute book. I loved it.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Well, my friend is the. My friend Trisha Narwarni at Del Rey was the editor for this book.

[Bria Grant]

Oh, great.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Shout out to Tricia. She's incredible. She's done a lot of amazing books. And I saw her posting about it, and I was like, oh, well, this is when fairies are starting to get kind of Buzzy. And I was like, well, the glasses are liking it. I'll hop on this train. And now I love, I mean, I love this series.

[Bria Grant]

What are you gonna recommend for Ella?

[Mallory O'Meara]

I'm gonna recommend the Fair Folk by Sue Bristow. It's a historical fantasy book about a young girl who gets offered a fairy bargain when she's a little kid and she takes it and she gets gifts. I won't tell people what it is, but, you know, everything's great until she's old enough to go to college and that fairy magic that's been helping her out starts to wreak havoc. She teams up with a folklorist professor to figure out the true nature of fairy magic and hopefully get her life back. Obviously, the protagonist is not the folklorist in this one, but there's a lot of folklore academia in it. One of the main characters is a folklorist. It's the professor who's helping her. And I will also do a bonus recommendation. There's a story in the short story collection Fruiting Bodies by Katherine Harlan. It's like a weird fiction collection. I think I read it last year. It's about a folklorist who, like, she discovers there's her way under a fairy hill and there's like a regular fairy card game that that happens and she goes to it every, I think it's every month or every week. And it's like while she's there, she's trying to do her job as a folklorist and study the fairies, but also she gets like really wrapped up in the game. Absolutely. Great collection. So that's the Fair Folk by Sue Bristow and Fruiting Bodies by Katherine Harlan.

[Bria Grant]

And I'm going the Encyclopedia of Fairies by Heather Fawcett. And there's more A's and E's in that than you think. There's going to be so many.

[Mallory O'Meara]

So if you want us to answer your recommendation request, you can send them to reading glasses podcastmail.com as always, want to thank the wonderful mods who run our Facebook group. And remember, you can buy reading glasses, totes and shirts and stickers. All kinds of fun stuff over at our Void Merch store, folks. It really helps feed our pets. Please check it out. There's a link in the show notes and if you like the show and want to do something for free, you can rate and review us on the podcast listening app of your choice. It is great for us and helps us reach more readers. You can email us at Reading Glasses Podcast at gmail. Find us on Instagram at Reading Glasses Podcast. Thanks for listening and thanks for reading. Maximum Fun, a worker owned network of artist owned shows supported directly by.