Ep 389 - Non-Numerical Reading Goals for the New Year!

Summary

Reading Glasses Podcast Summary: Episode 389 - Non-Numerical Reading Goals for the New Year!

Release Date: December 12, 2024

In Episode 389 of Reading Glasses, hosts Brea Grant and Mallory O’Meara delve into the concept of non-numerical reading goals for the upcoming year. Moving away from traditional metrics such as the number of books read, the duo explores alternative ways to enhance one’s reading life, making the experience more enjoyable and less stressful.

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Personal Book Updates

Bria Grant opens the episode by discussing her recent read, James by Percival Everett. She shares her enthusiasm for this book, highlighting its unique retelling of Huckleberry Finn from Jim's perspective. Bria notes, “It is a retelling of the adventures of Huckleberry Finn... and it’s called book of the year” (00:38).

Mallory O’Meara counters with her current read, Legacy of Arneson House by Teal Huccio, the fourth installment in the Edinburgh Night series. She praises the protagonist, Ropa Moyo, describing her as “no bullshit and is also broke” (03:30). Mallory emphasizes how the book helped her overcome a reading slump, appreciating its blend of fantasy, horror, and relatable everyday struggles.

Listener Feedback and Stories

The hosts take a moment to engage with their listeners, sharing amusing and intriguing feedback:

• Peeing at the Library: A recurring topic where listeners express the practicality and benefits of taking breaks at the library.

• Sarah’s Book Return Video (06:54): Sarah shares a charming video showcasing the book return process at her local library, complete with a whimsical conveyor belt system reminiscent of a children's show.

• Laura’s Library Mystery (07:35): Laura recounts her visit to the library, where she and a fellow glasser discover a mysterious partition section. Despite inquiries, the librarians remain tight-lipped, sparking curiosity and amusement among the hosts.

Main Discussion: Non-Numerical Reading Goals

The heart of the episode revolves around non-numerical reading goals, strategies that focus on enhancing the quality of reading rather than quantifying it. Brea and Mallory discuss various approaches to setting these goals, aiming to reduce stress and increase enjoyment.

1. No Spend Year (15:42)

   • Concept: Only read books you already own or have on your To-Be-Read (TBR) list, avoiding new purchases.
   • Benefit: This goal encourages decluttering your reading list and prioritizing books you genuinely want to read.

2. Read Outside More (16:25)

   • Concept: Incorporate reading into outdoor activities, such as reading in the park.
   • Benefit: Enhances the reading experience by connecting it with nature and providing a refreshing environment.

3. Dump More Books (17:54)

   • Concept: Let go of books that no longer interest you or those you’re forcing yourself to finish.
   • Benefit: Frees up mental and physical space, allowing more room for books that truly engage you.

4. Tracking Your Reading (18:36)

   • Concept: Monitor reading habits through platforms like Goodreads, StoryGraph, or personal journals.
   • Benefit: Helps you become more aware of your reading patterns and preferences without focusing on numbers.

5. Read More of a Certain Type or Try New Genres (19:18)

   • Concept: Diversify your reading by exploring different genres or specific types of books.
   • Benefit: Expands your literary horizons and introduces you to new perspectives and styles.

6. Time-Based Goals (19:34)

   • Concept: Commit to reading for a set amount of time each day or week, irrespective of the number of books.
   • Benefit: Encourages consistency and allows for deeper engagement with longer or more complex texts.

Mallory reflects, “It’s more about the enjoyment of a book rather than getting as much reading done as you can” (19:58), emphasizing the core philosophy behind non-numerical goals.

Bookish Gift Kit Review

The hosts unbox and review a bookish gift kit titled the Ko Leo Forever 11 Pieces Book Lovers Gift Set:

1. Metal Bookmark (26:27)

   • Features a charming “one more chapter” design.

2. Book Page Holder (26:36)

   • A wooden device with a hole for holding pages open, complete with a straw and straw cleaner.

3. Bookish Socks (27:17)

   • Adorned with the phrase “So many books, so little time,” adding a fun and cozy element for readers.

4. Zip Makeup Bag/Camper Pouch (27:37)

   • Decorated with whimsical book and cat motifs, perfect for organizing small items.

5. Tote Bag:

   • Inscribed with “My weekend is all booked,” ideal for carrying books and accessories.

6. Keychain (27:58)

   • Features the humorous quote, “If you can’t take my book, I’m not going,” resonating with avid readers.

Bria and Mallory laud the kit for its thoughtful and practical items, noting, “This is really cute” (29:11) and awarding it a perfect score of 5 out of 5.

Listener Recommendation Request

A listener named Sam requests audiobook recommendations for his boyfriend, who enjoys action, motorcycle journeys, urban fantasy, grim dark elements, and distinct character voices. The hosts respond with tailored suggestions:

• Bria’s Recommendation: World War Z (31:04)

  • Why: Features a full cast, each chapter narrated by different survivors, providing diverse voices and an action-packed narrative.

• Mallory’s Recommendation: No Gods, No Monsters by Cadwell Turnbull (31:38)

  • Why: An urban fantasy novel infused with grimdark elements and distinct character voices, aligning perfectly with Sam’s boyfriend’s preferences.

Bria also mentions a potential favorite, Black Goat Motorcycle Club by Jason Murphy, though it's currently out of print and unavailable as an audiobook.

Conclusion

The episode wraps up with a reflection on the advantages of non-numerical reading goals, encouraging listeners to adopt strategies that prioritize enjoyment and personal growth over mere quantity. Brea and Mallory reaffirm the importance of making reading a fulfilling and stress-free part of life.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Bria Grant: “It is a retelling of the adventures of Huckleberry Finn... and it’s called book of the year” (00:38)
• Mallory O’Meara: “It’s more about the enjoyment of a book rather than getting as much reading done as you can” (19:58)
• Bria Grant: “This is really cute” (29:11)
• Bria Grant: “If you can’t take my book, I’m not going,” [from the Keychain] (27:58)
• Mallory O’Meara: “It was so lovely. And if you're setting a goal for yourself... I am enjoying myself more every time I do it” (22:57)

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For more enriching discussions and bookish insights, tune into Reading Glasses weekly and transform your reading life!

Transcript

[Mallory O'Meara]

Foreign. 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'Meara.

[Bria Grant]

And I'm Bria Grant, filmmaker and e reader. This episode, we're talking about non numerical reading goals. That's like, when you don't count the books that you read, you count something.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Else in your heart.

[Bria Grant]

Plus, we test out a bookish gift kit. Comes with, like a bunch of stuff, some tchotchkes. Be careful, everyone, and recommend audiobooks for boyfriends.

[Mallory O'Meara]

But first, Bria, what are you reading?

[Bria Grant]

I just read very buzzy. Very popular book this year, James by Percival Everett.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I think Barnes and Noble named it the book of the year.

[Bria Grant]

Is it there? The. I know. It was like. I thought it was that. And it's something else as well. Maybe it. It's a Pulitzer Prize finalist. It says it is a retelling of the adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which I had no idea.

[Mallory O'Meara]

You told me about this on Thanksgiving, and I had no idea that that's what this book was about. Yeah.

[Bria Grant]

From the point of view of Jim, who was on. I. Okay. I must admit, I don't remember much about Huck Finn. And I. I actually went and read the Wikipedia about halfway through because I was like, did all this shit happen in Huck Finn? And a lot of it did, but it's told from the point of view of Jim, who is. Is a slave, and he. He finds out he's about to be sold and so he escapes. And meanwhile, Huck Finn has faked his own death to escape his dad, who's abusive, and they meet up and they go on this, like, raft journey.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yes, I remember the raft.

[Bria Grant]

And then a lot of stuff happens and it's just really, really well written. I mean, there's a. It is. I could definitely see why it is.

[Mallory O'Meara]

The best book of the year.

[Bria Grant]

Book of the year. And it's. There's. There's an element to it that I. I've never seen in something like this, which is that all of the slaves, the enslaved people, when they're around white people, talk in a particular way. And when they're around each other, a lot of them can read. A lot of them can read maps. They can. They talk in a very different way. Like a way a. Much more like modern, sort of. I hate to say the word educated, but that is sort of what.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Well, they don't want their oppressors to know how educated they are.

[Bria Grant]

Exactly. They don't want them to know. And so occasionally he'll accidentally say something and Huck Finn will be like, what did you say? And he's like, oh. And then he goes back to the way he's depicted in the book.

[Mallory O'Meara]

He's like, let me dumb it down for this white boy.

[Bria Grant]

He's right. And it's really interesting. And, you know, it's hard because it's all said.

[Mallory O'Meara]

It doesn't sound like a feel good read, but yeah.

[Bria Grant]

And Huck Finn is kind of, you know, he's kind of dumb.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I mean, he is a child.

[Bria Grant]

So he like needs a lot explained to him. But it's. There's also like a twist in there that I didn't know about. And I don't think it's from. It's not from the book. But there's an interesting twist that happens in there. It's a great book and the writing is incredible. It reminds me of Huck Finn sort of the way I think Huck Finn is written, but it's also very modern at the same time. There's a reason everyone is talking about.

[Mallory O'Meara]

This book except me, because apparently I had no fucking idea. You know what? I keep confusing this book with? Martyr.

[Bria Grant]

Oh yeah, the one with an exclamation point.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah, because they're the inverse. Percival is black with red with yellow writing. Martyr is yellow with black writing. And their fonts are like a little bit similar. So in my mind the fonts are really similar.

[Bria Grant]

They become the same book also. It's like one just big name on it maybe. But yes, I think very different books.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Very different books.

[Bria Grant]

What are you reading?

[Mallory O'Meara]

I am reading something quite different, but I've been anticipating it since last year. It is the new Teal Huchoo. Oh, great friend of the show that we got to hang out with when we were in Edinburgh ourselves this year. So this is.

[Bria Grant]

I saw he got a new He. There's another. He has another book coming out or another deal for a book. I just saw that.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Oh, I have to check. I think it's the series. So this is the fourth. This is the Legacy of Arneston House by Teal Huccio. It's the fourth in the Edinburgh Night series, which if you've listen to even a sniff of this show, you know, I'm completely obsessed with these books. This is the series that starts with Library of the Dead and it is. This is definitely the book in the series where all of like the underlying threads are starting to come together, like all the big bads, all of the overarching evils. Are coming together and you're seeing what their purpose is. So I don't want to spoil too much, but, you know, I love this series. This book got me out of a really bad book slump. Like, I just. Ropa Moyo is maybe one of my favorite protagonists ever. Like, I just love her. I love. I love a protagonist that it's no bullshit and is also broke. Like, I've talked about this on the show before. Like one of the. Her primary motivations because she's. The whole series is set in this sort of like dystopian future, but it's also. It's not a sci fi book. It's more of a fantasy horror book.

[Bria Grant]

Right.

[Mallory O'Meara]

So it's set like probably 100 years from now. Like all the. Everything is still there and there's still electricity. But poverty, like the wealth gap is. Is even more huge. You know, people are really scrounging and scrabbling. But there's magic in this world that Ropa does not have access to because she's poor. But her grandmother trained her in being a ghost talker. So she helps ghosts cross over to the other side, delivers messages from the dead. That's how she makes money. And she's been kind of gotten entangled in the greater bureaucracy of Scottish magic. And book opens up the last. The third book, the Mystery at Dunvegan Castle, I think it was. There's a big cliffhanger. So this book starts right off. It's just super fun, you know, in the midst I. I just love her. In the midst of all of this horror and ghosts and magic and fantasy, she's like, I gotta pay my rent. Like, it's just so relatable and she's so funny and he writes her so well. Her. Her friends are so great. Like, this book is just. It's a romp. It's a rollicking story. Tendai is just like, I think one of the best urban fantasy writers out there today. I love the series and it's a blast. Why are you not reading this, folks? It's the Legacy of Arneson House. That's what I'm reading by Teal Hue.

[Bria Grant]

And I just finished James by Percival Everett.

[Mallory O'Meara]

So we want to take a moment to share some listener feedback, folks. Very important follow up. We got so much feedback about this, I could not put it into an episode. Librarians agree. Pee at the library.

[Bria Grant]

You're allowed to pee at the library if you were not using the library that day.

[Mallory O'Meara]

No, we have a. There's going to be a future episode where I pulled out a few bits of feedback, but we got so many. There was a big threat on the slack. Tons and tons of emails. People are talking about it. Everyone agrees. Pee at the library. It is good for you. It's good for the library. Oh, yeah, we'll find out. I pulled a few emails for the future, but just a quick follow up now. Pee at the library, folks. Okay, great. Do not be afraid. Pee. Do whatever you need to. Well, maybe not whatever you need to do, but yeah, publicly acceptable things. Do them at the library.

[Bria Grant]

Great. Love that. And then Sarah wrote in. Sarah. Hey, Sarah. Any. Sarah wrote in and said, hi, Brianne, Mallory.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Sarah. The hive mind of Sarah.

[Bria Grant]

I wanted to share a video of the book return in my local library branch because it makes me stop and watch like a little kid every time I return a book. What a journey video featuring two recommendations from the podcast, both of which I really enjoyed. What's the video, Mallory?

[Mallory O'Meara]

I'm pulling it up.

[Bria Grant]

Okay. It's a little. Oh, okay. It's a little like escalator for the books and then they move forward and they go off a little cliff. They have like one like this at the Silver Lake Public Library.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Really? It's like a little book conveyor belt.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah, a book conveyor belt.

[Mallory O'Meara]

This is what you. This is how you would start your journey if you were in a kids show where you shrunk down and did an adventure in the library with Ms. Frizzle.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah, I remember those behind the scenes ones from like Sesame street where they were like, here's how crayons are made. And you just see all the like, conveyor belts and stuff.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah, it's a real. It's a. It's a fun little conveyor belt system for a library book. I want to ride on one. A little library. This looks great, Sarah. Thank you for setting this in.

[Bria Grant]

I love it.

[Mallory O'Meara]

And then Laura wrote in to say, hi, Bri and Mallory. I put the story in the slack, but thought you two might enjoy it as well. I went on a library trip today with a fellow glasser, a Sarah, whom I met through the pod and then discovered we live just a couple streets away from each other. God, this is the most glassery email. I love it. We ran across a odd little partition section in the stacks. Photo attached. It's just a weird cubicle with mostly walls, no furniture, and a single photo on the wall. As I checked out, I asked the librarian what it was. He said that was a great question. And I was a very astute observer and he'd seen it this morning and also did not know what it was. I asked, is this library jail for book crimes? A true Glasser nightmare. Another librarian who overheard was horrified at the idea of library jail for book crimes, but she did not offer any explanation as to its true purpose. A mystery for the ages. So this is.

[C]

It's.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah, I. Laura sent us a picture. It's just a clear cubicle. I wonder if it's a place for people to take calls. Oh, or I was gonna say breastfeed, but it's clear walls.

[Bria Grant]

Maybe it's where people who need to listen to an audio. Some sort of audio.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Oh yeah. Or like need a little like. I was gonna say like some people that have like sensory areas where you can like take like quiet places, but.

[Bria Grant]

Then it's still see through.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah. I wonder if it's for taking calls or something.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah, maybe. Yeah, that's possible.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Librarians. Right in. You helped us with the peeing thing. Help us with this thing.

[Bria Grant]

What is the. The. No furniture though.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah, just a single photo on the wall.

[Bria Grant]

You put it. There's like. You go in there and it's like a book that's in there.

[Mallory O'Meara]

It's for contemplating that photo. Yeah. It's a contemplation room. Laura says thank you for the wonderful podcast and all you do. Reading Glasses is always a highlight of my week and has catapulted me into a reading renaissance this past year and a half.

[Bria Grant]

A reading renaissance?

[Mallory O'Meara]

Mm. Bria, you wanna read Laura's wheelhouse?

[Bria Grant]

Uh huh. Horror with humor by protagonists, small town settings, polyamory gothic ambience, and funny, arrogant trickster figures with a secret heart of gold.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Love it. You can email us at reading glasses podcastmail.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 a link in the show notes. Quick bookmarks. 1. We just want to thank you to everyone who came out to our horny fairy book club. We have not done it yet. Bria and I are literally on our way there after we record this episode. I don't know why I looked at my watch.

[Bria Grant]

Well, we got to watch the time, make sure we get there on time.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Thank you to everyone who is going to come out tonight. We love these. We love doing zoom events with glassers. It was so, so much fun. Second bookmark. Just to remind folks that you can pre order my book this month or a few weeks ago. I recorded the audiobook so you can pre order the Audiobook right now. You want to hear me tell you about the story of America's first stunt woman?

[Bria Grant]

And who doesn't?

[Mallory O'Meara]

It's. Yeah, it's. It's. I think personally, it's my favorite audiobook performance I've ever done. My director, Lauren Ezzo, she, who's an audiobook narrator herself, I had such an incredible experience with her.

[Bria Grant]

Would she come on the show?

[Mallory O'Meara]

Maybe.

[Bria Grant]

That'd be fun.

[Mallory O'Meara]

That'd be super fun. She was super funny and just. I had such a great experience with her and because of that, I flew through that bad boy.

[Bria Grant]

Great.

[Mallory O'Meara]

But if you want to hear me tell you about this incredible woman who lived during the most fascinating to me time period in Hollywood where there were more female directors and female writers than there are now. A time where women really ruled Hollywood before the golden age. You could pre order it. You could pre order it on Libro fm Audible. You can ask your library. I saw a glasser in the Slack posted that their library had already let them know that they ordered it. So you can do that. It really means a lot, folks. Thank you. And then finally, just a PSA about recommendation requests. I talked to Bri about this a few days ago. We've been getting a lot of recommendation requests that are requests for two, three, four, sometimes even five people. And folks, we got to tell you, we can't do that. We, we just don't. That's. We don't have time on this show. We wish we could. And we've actually started the kicking around the idea of doing something that's just recommendations or something. But for the regular show, if you wrote in and you were like, they never answered this. And if it's more than one person, that's probably why it's just too much for us. We're doing our best.

[Bria Grant]

Maybe we do need to do like full recommendation episodes.

[Mallory O'Meara]

That's what we're kicking around the idea of next year.

[Bria Grant]

But again, it will probably still be for one person.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah, sending four or five. It's just quite. It's a lot. So we, we've been picking, putting people in the queue that only have one, sometimes two, but mostly one. So we apologize. It's just, we just don't have the. It's just too much, too, too long on the show. Sorry. We got multiple people who sent us their Christmas lists and oh wow, we're getting cold this year because we couldn't, cannot fulfill them. So before we talk about non numerical reading goals, we're going to take a quick break. Reading Glasses is brought to you in part this week by our friends over at Dipsea. Hello folks. We're all sad. Man, it's been a rough year. Why don't you take a break from doom scrolling and treat yourself to some me time instead? Dipsea's spicy bite sized stories get you right to the good part so you can escape into a captivating romance whenever you need a break. But Bria, what's Dipsy?

[Bria Grant]

It is a female founded app for spicy audiobooks and more. Created by women for women. This app has over 11000 spicy audiobooks. Y'all can't get through that many. That's so many. There's so many audiobooks.

[Mallory O'Meara]

If anyone could, it would be the glasses.

[Bria Grant]

That's right.

[Mallory O'Meara]

But even you glassers cannot.

[Bria Grant]

And they are crafted by a team of professional writers and top tier narrators. Whether you're looking for a record cowboy, a Scottish sailor, Fae royalty, God of the underworld, you name it, you'll find these characters and those genres that you love. We're telling you they definitely have some romantasy, which we know that's what y'all are looking for. They're gonna have it on Dipsea.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Folks. I am so impressed with Dipsea. They really keep their finger on the pulse of what romance and erotica readers like. Remember, as soon as horny fairy stuff started getting buzzy, we we were seeing it on Dipsy. They have got you covered. Doesn't matter if you were looking for realistic stuff, fantasy stuff, queer stuff, maybe you have always been curious about this and you don't know where to start. They got you covered. You were a hardcore erotica reader. You've been in those slapping and sliding trenches for a really long time. They have got you covered. We love it. The app is so easy to use. It's so cute. It really is designed by romance lovers. For romance lovers. We could not recommend it more. And for listeners of the show, Dipsy's offer an extended 30 day free trial when you go to dipseastories.com glasses that's 30 days of full access for free when you go to dipseastories.com glasses dipsystories.com glasses glasses.

[C]

People say not to judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Which is why here on Just the Zoo of Us, we judge them by so much more.

[C]

We rate animals out of 10 in the categories of effectiveness, ingenuity and aesthetics, taking into consideration each animal's true strengths. Like a pigeon's ability to tell a Monet from a Picasso or a polar bear's ability to play basketball.

[Bria Grant]

Guest experts like biologists, ecologists and more join us to share their unique insight into the animal's world.

[C]

Listen with friends and family of all ages on maximumfun.org or wherever you get podcasts.

[Mallory O'Meara]

This week we're talking about non numerical reading goals. Can you motivate your reading without a number to shoot for? Can non number goals improve your reading life? Or are we all shackled to numerical progress? Bria so this of a year is finally winding down and soon we'll all be setting our reading goals for 2025. So lots of readers choose a number to shoot for. So we have come up with a few goals that you can do instead of or alongside a numerical goal that might take some stress off of or maybe make you love reading more. Bria, what is our first first idea? I've seen a bunch of glassers doing this and people seem to love it.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah, the no spend year where you only read TBR books or books. You are read the books that you own. Or maybe sitting on your TBR shelf.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Plus buying Daughter of daring.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah, there you go. Does this count library books though?

[Mallory O'Meara]

I think. I don't know. I think it depends on you if you feel.

[Bria Grant]

If you're not spending.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah, you know what, that's a good idea.

[Bria Grant]

It's library for your books and then.

[Mallory O'Meara]

TBR for your backlist. I love that. Library in the front. Backlist in the back. I love that.

[Bria Grant]

I think this is a great idea. And you clear off that TBR shelf and you open books and you're like, oh, I don't even want to read this on your TBR shelf. And how wonderful is that? Just get rid of that book.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Oh yeah, that's the best is when you're like, you finally get to a book and you're like, I don't even want this. And you just. And then you have a space for a new book.

[Bria Grant]

What else?

[Mallory O'Meara]

Read outside or out in the world more often.

[Bria Grant]

That was one of yours a couple.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Years ago and spoiler alert, it might be one of my next year.

[Bria Grant]

Great.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Like that. I love this because it's more about the enjoyment of reading. It's like putting, it's like when you and I put reading on our to do list, it's like, it's like putting be happy on your to do list for the day. But I love some of us need that. You know, if you're really busy and you're really stressed out, you need an item to check off to give yourself permission and the excuse to be like all Right. Well, it's on my to do list. I gotta go read in the park for a half an hour. I love this.

[Bria Grant]

Mm. Similarly, go in person to the library more often.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah, this is really fun.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah, it's great.

[Mallory O'Meara]

It's a great excuse to get out of the house. And also I love this because you know when you're having a bad day and you want to buy something, you're like, time to add to cart.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, that and yeah. What is it? Shopping therapy.

[Mallory O'Meara]

What?

[Bria Grant]

Retail therapy.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Retail therapy. But you can do that at the library.

[Bria Grant]

You definitely can. And I have been known to do it online, where I will go late night library, picking things off, adding them to that wish list, adding them to the wait list, adding myself to the waitlist. It is. It is very fulfilling in a weird capitalistic way.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah. But it's. But it's not because it fulfill. It helps the library and it gives you books for free. It's a win. Win all around. And this would be fun to like maybe in 2025. Once a month you want to go to the library in person.

[Bria Grant]

If you.

[Mallory O'Meara]

If you can and do some browsing. Do a little browsing. And then there's also dump more books or stop powering through two star reads.

[Bria Grant]

Two star reads. Stop powering through three star reads.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Someone sent us a very interesting email about the case for reading a three star book. Maybe we'll do an episode about that next year.

[Bria Grant]

Wow.

[Mallory O'Meara]

But I like this. I mean, we put this on the reading glasses challenge a few years ago, right? Dump a book.

[Bria Grant]

And people loved it.

[Mallory O'Meara]

We love dumping books.

[Bria Grant]

I love it.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I dumped so many books this year.

[Bria Grant]

There is something about. Cause it feels kind of negative when you're doing it. But having it on your to do list is helpful because then you're like, oh, I did accomplish something by dumping the book.

[Mallory O'Meara]

And I think putting it, like, as something you have to do is dumping a book can get you over that sunk cost. Some sunken page fallacy. We talk about where you're like, I've already read 50 pages of this book and put all that time in, but if I dump it, then I check this thing off a list, right?

[Bria Grant]

That's right.

[Mallory O'Meara]

So we like that.

[Bria Grant]

Also tracking your reading, which obviously we love doing. Mallory, I am tracking my reading in four different places right now, and I need to calm down.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Wait, where's the. Okay, hold on, hold on. Let me. Goodreads Storygraph Cawpile Journal.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Wow. I know you so well.

[Bria Grant]

That's really weird. The journal. I've like letting kind of wane. Like, so I do that one. Like a few, like just a bunch at a time.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah. Same thing with my in person journal.

[Bria Grant]

Goodreads in Storygraph is just a way for me to keep up with.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah.

[Bria Grant]

Like where I'm like, okay, I read these.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Storygraph is just a way for. You get that graph, baby.

[Bria Grant]

It's a way for me to get the graph. But now I'm getting it on compile.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah. So coming for you.

[Bria Grant]

But yes, tracking reading, which obviously we love.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah. And there's a lot of. If there's some people who listen to the show who don't track their reading, this might be a fun goal to just try out, see if you like it.

[Bria Grant]

Mm. Read more of a certain type of book or try a new genre.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah, that's fun. Especially if you are a person who reads a lot of one genre. It could be fun to like set a goal for yourself for the year. Like, I'm gonna read three new genres this year and see if I like them.

[Bria Grant]

That's fun.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I think that's super fun.

[Bria Grant]

It's a good idea.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Then last one is time per day or week instead of number of books.

[Bria Grant]

That's great. Cause then you can read longer books. Also. I remember you having a problem where you would read a graphic novel and you'd just kind of speed through the whole thing. But instead if you're like, I'm going to read for an hour and I'm going to read a graphic novel, you can really like, take your time and absorb it and. Or if you're reading a book of poetry, it's less about speeding through it and more about actually absorbing what's on the page.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah. It's about reading. It's about making a habit, putting something like. And I think it really, at least for me, I love. This might be one of my favorite ones in this whole list because I immediately started thinking like, ooh, I could do it before bed. You do it on your lunch break. It encourages you to take a break instead of like, again, what I love about all of these goals is it's more focused on the enjoyment of a book rather than getting as much reading done as you can. Like, I think, I think that's the way to do it. So what do you think? You think non numerical goals can improve your reading life? Have they ever done that for you?

[Bria Grant]

I mean, definitely. I think this is why reading challenges are fun. That's why we do them. That's why we do one every year. It's a challenge but it's less about the numbers. I actually don't know how many books I read a year. I don't keep up with it.

[Mallory O'Meara]

That's so wild.

[Bria Grant]

I don't. Well, how would I know? I mean, you were dragging your reading in four places.

[Mallory O'Meara]

How would you not know?

[Bria Grant]

How would I know? I guess the cawpile.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I can hear your cawpile spreadsheet screaming.

[Bria Grant]

I mean, cawpile does. I have a spreadsheet, and the spreadsheet does have numbers, so this will be the first time. I know. But I don't write number one. Number two down in the journal. I don't write it on.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Teach me how to free myself.

[Bria Grant]

Bria, I just don't. I'm not very interested in that as a number because what am I gonna do? Try to beat it next year? Is that what you're trying to do?

[Mallory O'Meara]

I don't. I guess, either you beat it next year. Hit the same one every year. Read more.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah, I think this is much better for me not to think like, that. I am a goal motivated person. So, like, having a number would mean I power through a bunch of books that I don't want to read, or I, like, choose short books on purpose, or, you know, I just told you I'm reading, like, a very long book right now, and I might not pick that book up, you know, and that.

[Mallory O'Meara]

That seems like a. I will keep the title secret. But I. We were talking before we started recording. There was a book I really liked, but it was really long, and I knew that I would. I had to get. I have got to read a bunch of 20, 24 books before the end of the year. And I let it go back to the library, and I was like, I'll read it next year.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

And I'm kind of bummed about that.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah. I think that this could get in the way for me, being goal oriented. So it is better to do this kind of. I do the reading glasses challenge, and that seems great for me.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah.

[Bria Grant]

Like, that's great. What about you?

[Mallory O'Meara]

Oh, yeah. We all know I'm a little overachiever. Maybe. I get really stressed out about numbers. I. I call it predator vision. It's like, you know, probably better than anyone else. Like, the way my brain works. Like, I just know, like, hold everything in my brain at all times. I remember every email that I have to send.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Anything. Everything that's due, every date. Like, I just. It's the way my brain works. And I do think that there is a time and a place for a number of books Goal. Especially if you're a person who wants to read more and that's the motivation that you need and it's not stressing you out.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

However, pushing myself to like a couple years ago and maybe next year, read out of my house more. It was probably like my favorite goal.

[Bria Grant]

Great.

[Mallory O'Meara]

It was so nice. The goal was to enjoy myself and it was fucking awesome. And it's like I started it set me up for habits. Like last week I brought a blanket to the park near my house and I listened to an audiobook and I ate a big bagel. It was so nice.

[Bria Grant]

I like that.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I felt like a baby.

[Bria Grant]

Like what was the bagel? What was on the bagel?

[Mallory O'Meara]

It was everything. Bagel with vegan veggie cream cheese.

[Bria Grant]

Wow. Love that.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I love veggie cream cheese. I love a bagel that has like the most flavor in it. Like whatever.

[Bria Grant]

All the flavors.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Oh yeah. It's like whatever bagel is going to make stuff stuck in your teeth the most. That's what I want.

[Bria Grant]

Yum.

[Mallory O'Meara]

But I was just like sitting on this blanket, eating this bagel, listening to my audiobook. Wonderful in the sun.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Listening to birds. Like, wow. I was like, this is so lovely.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

And if you're setting a goal for yourself in the back of my brain, I'm like, well. And I'm getting stuff done because I am enjoying myself more every time I do it. I'm like, damn, why don't I do this all the time? And I will say though, the tough thing about non numbers goals is that it is harder to track them. What I have been started to do and I highly recommend for people is do like a seasonal check in like at the start of a new season. Be like, how was I doing less season with all of this stuff? You know, did I read outside more? Did I track my reading? Was I powering through a lot of books that I wasn't liking? Like just regularly check in with yourself. But you leave this shit to the end of the year, you're going to forget you're never going to do it.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I always do like a mid because I do set personal goals. I always do a mid year check in where I'm like. And some of them, I look at them like these goals are not serving me anymore. These were goals. These were January 1st goals. We were at June.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I'm in July.

[Bria Grant]

This is, I'm a different woman. This is a different. This is a different scenario. And. And I let some of those go.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I think, you know, it's funny you say that because I put on our calendar for next year, I think we should do a mid year goals check in. We don't normally do that.

[Bria Grant]

No, we don't.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I like that we're doing next year.

[Bria Grant]

Okay.

[Mallory O'Meara]

All right, folks, tell us if you have any non numerical goals that you like or ones that you're thinking of. Send them toreading glasses podcastmail.com. before we test out a bookish gift kit, we're going to take a quick break.

[D]

All right, we're over 70 episodes into our show. Let's learn everything. So let's do a quick progress check. Have we learnt about quantum physics?

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yes.

[Bria Grant]

Episode 59.

[D]

We haven't learned about the history of gossip yet, have we?

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yes, we have.

[D]

Same episode, actually. Have we talked to Tom Scott about his love of roller coasters?

[Bria Grant]

Episode 64.

[D]

So how close are we to learning everything? Bad news. We still haven't learned everything yet.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Oh, we're ruined.

[D]

No, no, no. It's good news as well. There is still a lot to learn. I'm Dr. Ella Hubba.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I'm regular Tom Love.

[D]

I'm Caroline Roper. And on.

[Bria Grant]

Let's learn everything.

[D]

We learn about science and a bit of everything else too. And although we haven't learned everything yet, I've got a pretty good feeling about this next episode.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Join us every other Thursday on Maximum Fun Time to test out some book tech. Advances in bookish technology. This week's book tech was sent to us by Nicholeen. Thank you so much. This thing is so fucking cute. Thank you, Nicholeen. And Bri and I are going to be splitting this up with using a bunch of it for ourselves. We bumped this up in the testing queue because we think it's a perfect holiday gift. And what it is, it is a. Basically a kit. It says a kit, but it's just really like a gift box full of 11 pieces of, like, bookish things.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah, it's funny. On Amazon it's called the Ko Leo Forever 11 pieces Book lovers gift set.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yes. And. All right, Bria, we're gonna go through this live.

[Bria Grant]

Wow. A piece at a time. All right.

[Mallory O'Meara]

First thing you get.

[Bria Grant]

So you open the box.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yes.

[Bria Grant]

And it's a cute. It's a. It's a cardboard box, but it's cute. And you get to see. And it's just full of book.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah, basically.

[Bria Grant]

But, you know, good book.

[Mallory O'Meara]

And what'd you say it was? 28.

[Bria Grant]

28.

[Mallory O'Meara]

And then so you get a really nice metal bookmark that says one more chapter.

[Bria Grant]

Let Me see that? Toss it here.

[Mallory O'Meara]

So you get a metal bookmark. This is just one more chapter. You get one of those thumb.

[Bria Grant]

It's a good bookmark. Good book. It's not long, but it is hefty. But it seems hefty. It seems like it's gonna do well. Okay.

[Mallory O'Meara]

And then remember that thumb thing we tested out long time ago?

[Bria Grant]

On the pillow, they hold the pages.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah. It's a piece of metal or this one's a piece of wood. Sometimes they come in plastic, but it's a piece of wood with a hole in it that you use to, like, put your thumb through and hold the book open. So it's got one of those. It has a little tumbler that says, I'm reading with a stack of books on it in a. This is one thing I really like. It has a straw for the tumbler and a straw cleaner.

[Bria Grant]

Ooh, I like that.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I'm calling dibs on. Because I need one for my.

[Bria Grant]

There you have it. Yeah, it's a metal straw, too, which is nice.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yes. And then it's got a pair of bookish socks.

[Bria Grant]

Mallory's opening them right now.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Wow.

[Bria Grant]

This is live. The live opening of socks. You can hear the plastic. What do they say?

[Mallory O'Meara]

So many books.

[Bria Grant]

So many books, so little time.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Very cute. Oh, yeah. So many books, so little time.

[Bria Grant]

And by the way, look, if you look at it on the Internet, some things are different colors. So on the Internet, it looks like it's like blue socks, but these are, like, pink and brown.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yes. And then.

[Bria Grant]

And then the tumbler we got was pink, but it's. It's still the same design.

[Mallory O'Meara]

And then it comes up with this little zip, zip makeup bag, little canvas pouch.

[Bria Grant]

Oh, I like that. That's cute.

[Mallory O'Meara]

It has cat and books and says book lovers on it. Very cute. And then it has a tote bag.

[Bria Grant]

Oh, what's that say?

[Mallory O'Meara]

My weekend is all booked.

[Bria Grant]

And does it also have the same cat and books? Cat and book.

[Mallory O'Meara]

So it's all kind of the same thing.

[Bria Grant]

And then is there a little keychain?

[Mallory O'Meara]

Oh, yeah. And there's a keychain that says, if you can't. If I can't take my book, I'm not going. Which is hilarious because I have a sticker on the back of my phone that says, okay, but I'm bringing a book.

[Bria Grant]

Oh, you know what? I'm sorry. There's a pink one. There's ones with a lot of pink, and there's ones with a lot of blue. This is blue and white.

[Mallory O'Meara]

So this is $28. You get 11 pieces of bookish things. I think if you have like a bookish teenager in your life or a bookish person and you're like, this is a question we get asked a lot of. You're like, I don't want to get them a book. Because I assume that whatever book I get that I think they'll like, they're already going to have. What do I get them? This is a great Christmas present.

[Bria Grant]

I think so, too. Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

This would be a great. If you. If your book club is doing like a Yankee swap.

[Bria Grant]

Oh, yeah. That would be awesome. That's fun. Yeah. I mean, it's a little pricier. Or my book club does Secret Santa, but we. I think we only do up to 15. It's a little too pricey.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Oh, everything. You can't even get eggs for that now.

[Bria Grant]

I can't get eggs for that. No. But luckily, I'm not gonna buy anybody eggs.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Imagine that's what you get at AAP Swap. And here, Bria Grant brought a dozen eggs.

[Bria Grant]

I'm adding random stuff to our wish list right now. Who sent this? Mallory.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Nicholeen.

[Bria Grant]

Nicholeen. Thank you, Nicholeen. This is. There's so much in here, and Mallory and I are both interested in the things that are in here.

[Mallory O'Meara]

It's very useful, but I'm glad we tested. This is something that I could see you seeing online and you're like, is this really worth it? I can tell you. We can tell you this is really cute. Great bookish gift for the holidays for somebody like, you could bring it to an office party. You know, it's good for somebody you don't know really well, but you know that they like books. Like, all of this shit is stuff that readers want.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah, it's very true. There's a lot of these on Amazon. It looks like a lot of them, maybe by the same company. So you definitely have some options there. But this one was in particular, quite cute.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah, I like this. I'm gonna give it a 5 out of 5 pages because it does what it says on the tin. It's very rare that you get one of these things where all of the things in the box are good, nice, and stuff that you want. I. There's nothing. There's not a dud in here, I don't think.

[Bria Grant]

No, there's not, but. And not as many Chachkis. There's not like some random stickers or something that you're never going to use.

[Mallory O'Meara]

For the sticker haters out there. You're all set.

[Bria Grant]

You're set. Yeah, I'll do the same. I'll say this is a. This is a 5 out of 5.

[Mallory O'Meara]

So you can send your book tech ideas to reading glasses podcast gmail.com or check out our wish list in the show notes. Now let's answer a recommendation request from one of our listeners. Sam writes in, I wonder if I could request a wreck for my man. He's always so great about letting me play play my audiobook, so I'd love to put on something he'd really love. He likes action, motorcycle journeys, urban fantasy, grim dark elements and narration where the character's voices are very distinct or full cast. Examples of ones he liked include the Ballad of Perilous Graves, Hard Boiled Wonderland, and the End of the World and American Gods. He just drove off on his motorcycle for a couple weeks away, so something with motorcycles would be particularly appreciated. I'm enjoying the Slack group. Thanks for building such an awesome community. Sam. We've got you covered. Got your man covered. Bria, what do you think, Sam's lover?

[Bria Grant]

This is not what I'm saying, but I do think that the audiobook for Fourth Wing was amazing. Full cast? Oh, yeah, Very good. One of the best things I listened to this year.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I love action in it.

[Bria Grant]

One of the best things I listened to this year. But it's none of the things he likes. Except for action. Yeah, And a little bit of fantasy, but it's not urban fantasy. So I'm gonna go with. Note that I actually went online to see what other full cast books were around and interesting. And I'm gonna say World War Z, which I know seems like a random one, but it's not.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Sounds like it'd be wicked fun though.

[Bria Grant]

But it is dark and every chapter is narrated by a different person because if you remember the book, each chapter is written by a different person who survived this apocalypse. It's very action packed and I don't think you'll get bored with it, so I'm gonna go with that because that seemed like an interesting audiobook with a full cast.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I think that's a great reg.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah. What do you got?

[Mallory O'Meara]

No Gods, no Monsters by Cadwell Turnbull.

[Bria Grant]

That's great.

[Mallory O'Meara]

It's action packed. It's Grimdark. It's dark to the point where it's like horary urban fantasy.

[Bria Grant]

Okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's. Yeah, you're right. Yeah. There is. Is there a motorcycle, sir? That's what I was trying to think. I think there is. Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I think there. I. But I Think it's because, like the cops are.

[Bria Grant]

Oh, maybe that's what it is.

[Mallory O'Meara]

It's like cops are related in this. So it's not like, about like the protagonist is not very motorcycle, but I think there are motorcycles in the ambiance.

[Bria Grant]

Okay, got it, got it, got it.

[Mallory O'Meara]

But I think it fits the bill. The narrator, Dion Graham, does a great job. And because you know how some narrators are really good at making the character's voices distinct without doing like a weird lady voice, you know what I mean?

[Bria Grant]

Yeah, that's.

[Mallory O'Meara]

She's really, really good at this. And it's, you know, about this woman who finds out her brother's been murdered by produce. Police brutality. Or at least that's what everybody thinks. Turns out monsters have emerged into the world. They want everybody to know it. So it turns into, again, it's like a horror urban fantasy with a lot of action. I think this would be a really fun, like in, like in the car or on a motorcycle read with somebody else and there's a sequel if you really like it. So my recommendation is no Gods, no Monsters by Cadwell Turnbull, read by Dionne Graham.

[Bria Grant]

And mine is World War Z, which is a ton of people cast, man. The one I really wanted to recommend was Black Goat Motorcycle Club, written by Jason Murphy, because I think it's a really great book, but it's out of print and there's no audiobook that I can find, so. But it is a motorcycle based book that has some fantasy elements in it.

[Mallory O'Meara]

You know what's funny is I also was gonna pick a fantasy motorcycle book and I had the exact same problem.

[Bria Grant]

Interesting.

[Mallory O'Meara]

It was the Suicide Motor Club by Christopher Buhlmann.

[Bria Grant]

Huh.

[Mallory O'Meara]

But like, it's hard to find an audiobook.

[Bria Grant]

Wow. Interesting. Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Someone needs to make more motorcycle books.

[Bria Grant]

I think so. That's when we know the call for motorcycle books is out.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Well, Sam, I hope you and your man like these and get a lot out of them. If not, write back in. We'll help you out again. If you want us to answer your recommendation request, send it to reading glassespodcastmail.com as always, we want to thank the wonderful mods who run our Facebook group and R.E.M. for folks, it's cold out there. You need a sweatshirt. You need a tote bag to put more sweatshirts in because it's chilly. Maybe some. A scarf. Whatever you put in your tote bag when it's cold, Mittens, an extra beanie. We got you covered. Check out our void merch store. We got some really fun merch in there and it helps us feed our pets. There's a link in the show notes for that. And if you like the show, please rate and review us on the podcast listening app of your choice. It is really great for us and helps us reach more readers. You can email us@reading glassespodcastmail.com, find us on Instagram @reading glassespodcast. Thanks for listening and thanks for reading.

[Bria Grant]

Thanks for watching.

[C]

Maximum Fun, A worker owned network of.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Artist owned shows supported directly by.