Ep 391 - Best Books of 2024!

Summary

Reading Glasses Podcast Episode Summary: Ep 391 - Best Books of 2024!

Release Date: December 26, 2024

In Episode 391 of Reading Glasses, hosts Mallory O'Meara and Bria Graham delve into the literary highlights of 2024, unveiling their top book choices across various genres. This episode encapsulates their thorough discussions, personal insights, and the collective preferences of their listener community, the Glasser voters.

Opening Discussions

The episode begins with Bria Graham and Mallory O’Meara sharing their current reads. Bria discusses her engagement with "The Girl in Red" by Christina Henry, a post-apocalyptic retelling of the classic Little Red Riding Hood, while Mallory reveals her struggle with "The Cautious Traveler's Guide to the Wastelands" by Sarah Brooks—a historical fantasy set in an alternate 1899 where a Trans-Siberian railroad navigates a surreal, disease-ridden landscape (00:31).

Listener Feedback: Top Glasser Books of the Year

Mallory introduces the listener-voted top Glasser books, categorized into Top Three, Middle of the Pack, and Honorable Mentions. The Top Three books, receiving the most votes, are:

1. "Funny Story" by Emily Henry (05:30)
2. "The Husbands" by Holly Grazio
3. "Map of the Other Lands" by Heather Fawcett

The Middle of the Pack includes titles like "Eyes of the Best Part" by Monica Kim and "A Letter to the Luminous Deep" by Sylvie Cathral, while Honorable Mentions feature "Diavola" by Jennifer Marie Thorne and "Horror Movie" by Paul Tremblay.

Top Books Reveal

After a brief interlude sponsored by Miracle Made Folks, the hosts reveal their personal top books of 2024, highlighting both shared favorites and individual picks.

Shared Favorites

1. "Horror Movie" by Paul Tremblay (12:35)

   • Both hosts praise Tremblay's ability to depict the indie film industry with chilling precision. Mallory notes, "Paul is the king of getting under your skin," emphasizing the book's lasting impact.

2. "The Husbands" by Holly Grazio

   • Bria appreciates its humorous take on modern dating, stating, "It's a metaphor for the apps," while Mallory commends its clever narrative and relatable protagonist.

3. "The Night Guest" by Hilda Neutsdottier

   • Translated by Mary Robinette Kowal, this compact horror narrative captivates with its premise of mysterious nocturnal activities (15:09).

4. "Margot's Got Money Troubles" by Rufi Thorpe

   • Both hosts laud Thorpe's smart and hopeful portrayal of a young woman navigating financial and personal challenges, with Bria highlighting its non-judgmental approach to sensitive topics (16:14).

Individual Favorites

Bria Graham’s Picks:

• "The Eyes Are the Best Part" by Monica Kim: Praised for its psychological and body horror elements (18:37).
• "Book of Love" by Kelly Link: Described as a masterpiece blending literary fiction, fantasy, and horror (19:06).
• "The Age of Magical Overthinking" by Amanda Montel: Recommended for its insightful exploration of modern internet culture (20:54).
• "Of Liars" by Alexis Henderson: Celebrated for its Dark Academia themes and magical elements (22:29).
• "Mystery of Time" by Kayleen Bradley: Recognized as accessible and engaging science fiction with romantic undertones (36:07).

Mallory O’Meara’s Picks:

• "Book of Love" by Kelly Link: Also her top overall pick for its multifaceted storytelling (19:06).
• "Grief is for People" by Sloan Crosley: Lauded for its honest and compelling portrayal of grief (20:50).
• "Summer's End" by Juno Black: Highlighted as an exemplary cozy mystery within a series (25:28).
• "Grief in the Fourth Dimension" by Jennifer Yu: Acclaimed for its smart, sad, and beautifully compelling narrative (34:45).
• "Bog Wife" by Kay Chronister: Noted for its unique gothic elements and surreal storytelling (36:45).

Special Categories

The hosts introduce several special categories, recognizing excellence in specific genres and formats:

• Best Translated Book:

  • Bria: "Kamigawa Food Detectives" by Hisashi Kashiwai, translated by Jesse Kirkwood, praised for its cozy narrative centered around food.
  • Mallory: "Wormwood" by Layla Martinez, translated by Sophie Hughes and Annie McDermott, admired for its unique haunted house portrayal (42:03).

• Best Graphic Novel:

  • Mallory: "The Night Mother" by Jeremy Lambert and Alexa Sharpe, commended for its stunning artwork and captivating story.
  • Bria: "Hack Slash Back to School" by Zoe Thgood, celebrated for its fresh take on the Hack Slash universe (43:02).

• Favorite Audiobook:

  • Bria: "Somebody I Should Have Known" by Chelsea Devontez, a humorous and clever memoir (44:47).
  • Mallory: "I'm Mostly Here to Enjoy Myself" by Glynis McNichol, a poignant memoir about seeking pleasure and self-discovery (46:12).

• Best Debut:

  • Mallory: "Letter to the Luminous Deep Baby" by Sylvia Tharall, praised for its romantic sci-fi narrative (49:04).
  • Bria: "Annie Bot" by Sierra Greer, lauded for its intelligent portrayal of an AI's self-discovery (50:24).

• Books Needing More Buzz:

  • Bria: "The Parliament" by Amy Pakwatka, a horror novel featuring owls and a library siege (51:10).
  • Mallory: "Parasol Against the Ax" by Helen Oyeyemi, recognized for its surreal and friendship-centric storytelling (51:56).

• Books to Be Adapted:

  • Mallory: "Sacrificial Animals" by Kaylee Petterson, envisioned as a gripping film with its revenge narrative (53:43).
  • Bria: "In Utero" by Chris Gooch, a graphic novel praised for its coming-of-age story set in an abandoned mall (55:09).

Reflections and Closing Thoughts

Throughout the episode, both hosts reflect on their reading experiences in 2024. Bria expresses satisfaction with her curated list, emphasizing the strength of her top choices, while Mallory candidly discusses the challenges she faced due to a tough personal year, resulting in fewer reads and more book dumps. Despite these hurdles, both remain enthusiastic about their selections and grateful for the supportive Glasser community.

Mallory concludes with heartfelt thanks to their listeners, highlighting the importance of community support during difficult times and encouraging continued engagement through emails and their Slack channel.

Notable Quotes

• Mallory O’Meara on "Book of Love":

  "If you are Guillermo del Toro, spooky fantasy kind of person, please buy this book. It's amazing." (19:34)

• Bria Graham on "The Husbands":

  "It's funny, it's clever. It's very timely." (16:14)

• Bria Graham on "In Utero":

  "It was hard, but it was so smart." (55:09)

Conclusion

Episode 391 of Reading Glasses serves as a comprehensive guide to the literary landscape of 2024, offering both shared and personal recommendations across a breadth of genres. Mallory and Bria’s passionate discussions, enriched by listener feedback and thoughtful categorization, provide valuable insights for book lovers seeking to navigate their reading lists for the coming year.

For more details on the books mentioned and to join the conversation, listeners are encouraged to visit the show’s newsletter and engage via email at [e-mail].

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'Meara.

[Bria Graham]

And I'm Bria Graham, filmmaker and e reader. This episode, it's our biggest, bestest, brightest of the year. The top books we've read in 2024. The top books published, and we read in 2024.

[Mallory O'Meara]

The biggest, most exciting. Bria, we train all year for this. It's finally time.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

But first, what are you reading?

[Bria Graham]

Well, I started on that backlist, baby. Cause I don't. I got. As I was telling you before we started, I got really tired of reading 2024 books. And I said, you know what? I started a good one. Pretty good 2024 book. And I said, no, no, I have too many already for my list. I'm gonna go into the bathroom.

[Mallory O'Meara]

It's like when a hot guy flirts with you when you're married, you're like, no, I'm all good.

[Bria Graham]

I'm good. I'm good. I'm all full up on hot men. I'm reading the Girl in Red by Christina Henry, which is a retelling of a little red.

[Mallory O'Meara]

She has an Alice in Wonderland one.

[Bria Graham]

She does. She has a few retellings. This one's set in a post apocalyptic, disease filled, ravished landscape, and it is about a girl.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Sounds like a Bria book.

[Bria Graham]

Trying to make her way to her grandmother's house. And she wears a red coat, and.

[Mallory O'Meara]

She carries around the world. Grandma's in the apocalypse.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah. She has to make her way to. She told her grandma she was gonna make it, and so she's gonna make it.

[Mallory O'Meara]

That's so sweet.

[Bria Graham]

She starts across the apocalyptic wasteland with her brother and. Yeah, so it's a retelling. It's very apocalyptic. It's a real woman on a journey. What are you reading?

[Mallory O'Meara]

I was just saying the book that I'm halfway through right now maybe was gonna be on this list, and I honestly shouldn't quit it. I almost put it on there anyway. Cause I love it so much, but I just can't, like. Because who knows? What if the end is bad?

[Bria Graham]

Oh, yeah, you can't do that. I think that's a disservice.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yes.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

You gotta go all the way. And I went so close. This is the book. I opened it up and I saw that the print was really small. And I.

[Bria Graham]

You do.

[Mallory O'Meara]

You were. And I literally went, oh, no. Because I was. I started a few days ago trying to get it for this episode. I texted you. I was like, I just opened. This is my last 2024 book that I was trying to get through. And I was like, the print is so tiny. This is going to be such a long book. But anyway, it's called the Cautious Traveler's Guide to the Wastelands by Sarah Brooks. And this is. It's like if Annihilation met. I don't know. Natasha Pulley. Like, it's like historical fantasy. It takes place in the 1890s. I think it's 1899. And there's a few different POV characters and they're all traveling on this train. It's kind of, it's like an alternate past where there's this Trans Siberian railroad between Beijing and Moscow. And it's a big deal because it's like the quickest, easiest way to get a very long distance and it takes two weeks. But something happened a few years ago with Siberia. They call it the Wastelands now. Cause it's just a very weird, like something weird started happening. Like the stuff in Annihilation, like colors that don't exist and mirages and weird creatures and like, just like the light falling in a weird way and a lot of people go mad. So like crossing the Wastelands on this, on this train is a big deal. And the title comes from. There's this book in this world called the Cautious Traveler's Guide to the Wastelands that a lot of the passengers read. And it's like a guide because. And it has all these tips like, don't look out the window too long if you start to daydream. Like one of the main characters, she starts daydreaming and before she realizes two hours have passed, she's been staring out the window. So there's a lot of things you have to do to keep yourself sane on this journey. And all the main characters have their own agendas and secrets. One guy is a naturalist and he's trying to get the train to stop so he can go collect samples. One of the main characters has a secret identity that she's trying to hide from everybody else.

[Bria Graham]

Sounds great.

[Mallory O'Meara]

One of the main characters is a 16 year old girl and she was born on the train and she's, she's finding out all these secrets as this journey is happening and like this stuff going on with the company that owns it. And it is so fucking good because it's like I, you know, I love historical fantasy mixed with like weird sci fi, cosmic horror almost.

[Bria Graham]

That's so fun.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Like this is one scene at the beginning where they start on the journey and all of a sudden these weirdly colored crabs are just swarming all over the train as it's going. And all the, all the staff is like, don't look at them, don't look out the window. Just don't make eye contact. It's so, it's like, it' such awesome, beautiful historical fantasy. And then you get like flashes of like weird cosmic, creepy sci fi horror.

[Bria Graham]

That sounds amazing.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Oh, I love it. And I'm so mad I couldn't get it in time, but God damn, that print's so small. So much. Brooke. So that is the Cautious Traveler's Guide to the Wastelands by Sarah Brooks.

[Bria Graham]

We're both reading apocalyptic books. Mine's the Girl in Red by Christina Henry.

[Mallory O'Meara]

So we want to take a moment to share some listener feedback. We got the top glasser books of the year.

[Bria Graham]

And a lot of crossover with us.

[Mallory O'Meara]

A lot of crossover, yeah, as per usual. But there's a few in here that neither of us have read. There's always like a couple glasser books that you and I don't read. And so the top classer books of the year, I took these, I took pulled in the slack, but I also had people send in. So this is a mix of slack and emails. So the top classer books by you, the Glassers. There's three categories. There's the top three, which were way the hugely popular, lots and lots of votes ahead of the other ones. And then there's the middle of the pack and then there's the honorable mentions. So the three books that were the far and away way popular. Bria, you want to read the three top glasser books?

[Bria Graham]

Uh huh. They're not super surprising to me. It's Funny Story by Emily Henry, the Husbands by Holly Grazio and Emily Wilde's Map of the Other Lands by Heather Fawcett.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Checks out.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah, that totally makes sense to me.

[Mallory O'Meara]

And then the middle of the pack, glasser books, which are still very top glasser books, are the Eyes of the Best Part by Monica Kim. Bria can take personal responsibility for that one.

[Bria Graham]

Yes.

[Mallory O'Meara]

A Letter to the Luminous Deep by Sylvie Cathral. The Warm Hairs of Ghosts by Katherine Arden, which neither of us read. No.

[Bria Graham]

Warm Hands of Ghosts. I haven't read that.

[Mallory O'Meara]

No, no, it's a really. I got an arc of it and I think I started reading it when shit happened, so. But I still really want to read it. And then Somewhere beyond the Sea by T.J. klune.

[Bria Graham]

I don't know how I Missed that.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Margot's got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe. Book of Love by Kelly Link. Model Home by Rivers Solomon. And God of the woods by Liz Moore.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah, all of the same that God of the woods was on a bunch of.

[Mallory O'Meara]

It was almost on my list. It was very close. And Bria, what are the honorable mentions?

[Bria Graham]

Diavola by Jennifer Marie Thorne. Someone you can build a nest in by John Wiswell. Incidents around the House by Josh Malerman. Moonbound by Robin Sloan, which weirdly, I didn't read but was one I was looking forward to. And then I, I think I got it. And I was like, oh, it feels long right now. And then I never went back to it.

[Mallory O'Meara]

That's why we gotta start reading Honkers next year.

[Bria Graham]

Bury youy Gaze by Chuck Tingle. And Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Love, love that Paul Tremblay. All right, so those are the top Glasser books of the year. None. I don't think any of these are a surprise. And 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. Thank you to everyone for voting. I love seeing the top books from the Glasser. So it's always really fun. So thank you to everyone who, who email, emailed in and also participated in Slack. It really, it's, it's fun, but it's also like nice to see what's hip and happening among the glassers. So before we reveal our favorite books of 2024, we're going to take a quick break. Reading Glasses is sponsored in part this week by Miracle Made Folks. It's that weird time of year where it's like cold outside but real stuffy inside. And then like you get hot in the middle of the night cause you have the heater on and it's hard to keep your nighttime bedroom temperature balanced. But Bria, you know what really helps with that?

[Bria Graham]

Miracle Made sheets.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Hell. Oh, am I allowed to say hell yeah in an ad?

[Bria Graham]

Why not?

[Mallory O'Meara]

Hell yeah brother. It does. Tell me about these sheets.

[Bria Graham]

They're NASA inspired sheets. They're infused with silver Nowhere Warwick. It helps prevent 99.7% of bacterial growth and it helps them to stay cleaner and fresher for longer. They're also very, very comfortable without the high price tag of other luxury brands. They feel as nice, if not nicer than Sheetz at five star hotels. I will tell you, I'm very jet lag and I was on my way.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Home dreaming of your miracle made sheets.

[Bria Graham]

I literally was like, God, I hope the sheets on the bed are the miracle made sheets. I hope they're the comfortable sheets because otherwise I'm going to be very sad to get in the bed if it's not miracle made. I dream of these sheets. I get you in the sheets.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Both. Both and all I yeah, we love these sheets. You can go to try miracle.com glasses to try miracle made sheets. If you order today, you can save over 40%. And if you use our promo glasses at checkout, you get three free towels and save an extra 20%. And it' backed with a 30 day money back guarantee. So if you aren't 100% satisfied, you'll get a full refund. Again, that's try miracle.com glasses to treat yourself. Thank you Miracle Maid for sponsoring this episode. Glasses, Glasses.

[C]

You can't really know if your own show is any good, so I asked.

[Bria Graham]

My kids about ours. Is Jordan Jessico a good show? No, definitely not. It's really bad.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I would say out of 10, maybe like a four out of 10.

[Bria Graham]

It's just really boring. Yeah. Zero.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Subscribe to Jordan Jesse Go.

[C]

A comedy show for grown ups.

[Mallory O'Meara]

This week it is the most anticipated episode of the year. We have been training for 12 months. We've been reading Running Upstairs. We've been listening to audiobooks while drinking egg yolks, punching a speed bag with one hand and holding an e reader with the other. Folks, it is time to reveal our top books of 2024. Please check out the show notes for links to all the books that we mention. If this is your first episode of your starting here on reading glasses, we have extensive show notes and all the books will be mentioned in them. You don't have to pull over on the side of the highway to write anything down. We got you. All right. So Bria, before we get into our picks, do you have any thoughts on 2024 books in general?

[Bria Graham]

There's a lot I wanted to get to. And then like December came and I saw, I just, I said to myself, no, no, I'm done. Like I said, I'm done reading.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I'm all so fucking tired this year.

[Bria Graham]

I, I just got way more into investigating my backlist, which we can talk about or not. But this was a light year, lighter year for of reading for me. Less apocalypses. It's funny because I'm looking at my backlist and it's all apocalypses and I'm like, wow, there's Been a lot. That's a lot of what I have. But I've done less apocalypses and more funny stuff. Way more memoirs for me. But the book, I was kind of concerned because when I looked at it, I was like, wow, do I not have a science fiction book on my top? But I do. It's just like kind of a different science fiction than you would normally think was coming from me. But, yeah, a lot of great books this year. Again, per always. There's about five books that I'm not going to be able to mention, but sign up for a newsletter because usually we put one extra one in our newsletter.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yes, we do.

[Bria Graham]

What about you?

[Mallory O'Meara]

Oh, brother. I dumped a lot of books this year. So many dumpings. I don't think it was a reflection on this year in books, though. I think it was a reflection of the general mood I was in. If you were a listener of the show, you know, I had the worst year of my life, and I think we're all just tired. You know, there's a lot of garbage happening in the world right now. Things are really bad. And I just think it's, you know, it really affected my reading. I read the least amount this year than I have in probably since we started the show, and I barely read any haunted house books. There's only one haunted house book on this whole list.

[Bria Graham]

Wow. Did you read? I read one.

[Mallory O'Meara]

The.

[Bria Graham]

One of the last 2024 books I read was Haunt Sweet Home. Do you read that one?

[Mallory O'Meara]

I didn't get to it.

[Bria Graham]

Oh, yeah, it was good.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I know. I saw some people were voting for it for best classroom book of the year. It's just wild that, like, you know, a lot of good horror books came out this year. I just wasn't in the headspace to read them.

[Bria Graham]

I get it.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I really think it says a lot that there's one haunted house book on this list for me and two cozy books. Yeah, I think that is a reflection of my year, but I think a lot of people are feeling this. You know, it feels like we're seeing it in the rise of romance and cozy books. Like we're all just having a time. So that's kind of my. My reflections on this year. It just kind of felt like a weird year of reading, but there's still some damn good books. All right, so let's get to our favorites at the very end of the year. Very, like, literally, like under the Wire, we realized we had more shared picks than we've ever had.

[Bria Graham]

Well, I started looking through your top, and I Was like, well, that's on my top one. That's on my top one. So that we have four shared picks.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah. That's the most we've ever had.

[Bria Graham]

Wild. All right.

[Mallory O'Meara]

You want to name our first one, which become as no surprise.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah. The top one was Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay. It was very. This book was very scary to me. Stuck with me. I still think about this book. We both are just big Paul fans and big Tremblay.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Big, Big tremblers.

[Bria Graham]

Big tremblers over here. Yeah. And this was one of the first MOV movies. Wow. It is called Horror Movie. One of the first books that you put down as well.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yes. Well, I. We also. We read it at the very start of the year.

[Bria Graham]

I read it.

[Mallory O'Meara]

You read it last year. Last year, yeah. So we read it way, way before it came out. And same. I thought about it a lot and we said it when we talked about it early on in this year. Paul just did a really great job accurately depicting what it's like to shoot an indie movie.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

And he. He really is fabulous. He's. He's. Paul is the king of, like, getting under your skin. I was talking about this with somebody at a Christmas party recently. You have to be in the mood for that, like, I don't know what's actually happening kind of book, but I'm always in the mood for that. And nothing hits like a Paul Tremblay book for me, so. God, I love this book so much. And our next one, I also. I snuck in. I read last week and.

[Bria Graham]

But I feel like I told you you had to read it.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yes, you did. I read this book because of you, and it's the Husbands by Holly Grazio, which also was beloved by the Glassers. And you loved this book.

[Bria Graham]

I thought it was so funny. I thought it's so relevant. Just very smart. It is fantasy science fiction, sort of, but it also about dating. It's about kind of modern dating, I think. I think it's very much just a metaphor for the apps.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Oh, 100, I thought. 100%.

[Bria Graham]

But it's just also very funny.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yes. Hilarious. I. I literally read this last week because you were like, you really should read this. You're going to love it. And I got to skip the line copy at the library, so thank the reading gods to whoever dumped this book early. And you were right. I. I read this book in, like a couple of days.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah, It.

[Mallory O'Meara]

It really hit for me, especially because I am also someone in my mid-30s who was on dating apps and then gave up because they're too depressing. And I was having too hard of a time. I like to. I was regularly sending the screenshots of the nightmare things to Tabria's husband because he loves reading. So be literally being in that headspace while reading this book, like reading a.

[Bria Graham]

Book about a woman who literally trades out her husband for a different husband when she sends him up to the attic, is just. Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I mean, it's so smart and it's so funny. I really admired how she was able to make it so funny while also it's so real, like the struggles that she feel, that the main character feels like trying to figure out what she wants. So fucking real. Loved it. All right, what's the next one?

[Bria Graham]

The next one was the Night Guest by Hilda Neutsdottier. Translated by Mary Robinette Kowal Mallory talked me into this.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah, this was a reverse. You had me read the Husbands. I had you read this.

[Bria Graham]

And I read it in one sitting. I read it. I think I read it during our readathon. It was so disturbing, so well written. I just love the idea of waking up and you're really tired and you look at your Fitbit and it's like, oh, my God, I walked. Somehow in the middle of the night, I walked like 20,000 steps.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Like, what happened?

[Bria Graham]

I just thought that's like such a great premise.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah.

[Bria Graham]

And it really delivered. And it's a short, like, powerful, compact little book.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah. I love it's lean, mean, scary machine. I love a real especially. I think we're seeing a lot of that, and I'm seeing a lot of it with the glasses, is that people are having a harder time with really long books recently. So this year, getting a book that is so short, but packs such a punch. It was so perfect. It's so compelling. It's so like this book, really. There's a few images, like scenes like, remember when she goes in the shed?

[Bria Graham]

Oh, yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Like, really stuck with me.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

So it's funny because I was like, oh, I feel like I didn't have enough horror on this list. But two of our four shared picks.

[Bria Graham]

Are horror and very scary.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yes. And our last one, our last shared pick was. I didn't. I wasn't. I didn't think that you had this on your list. I was so happy.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah, it's Margo's Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe. I read this book cause you suggested it, but everyone I know had read this book.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah, Your mom read it.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah, she read it. My stepdad read it. One of my friends was telling me she read it. Everyone I know loved it. People who I wouldn't think would like this book really like this book, and I am one of those people. It's my first Rufi Thorpe book, and I just added Knockout Queen to my library holds because I just thought it was so good. She's such a good writer. She's. It's just. It's funny, it's clever. It's very timely. I like the idea of a protagonist who is young, having money troubles, like, and then ends up. The plot is she ends up doing an onlyfans. And it's not judgmental. It's like, this is just what she has to do.

[Mallory O'Meara]

It's judgmental to the people who are judging her, which I really like.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah. And it's really smartly written. She's very smart. And, like, none of the. And she just makes very logical decisions, and they're not made out of shame. They're not made out of. It's not like, a sad book.

[Mallory O'Meara]

No, it's very.

[Bria Graham]

Even though she's.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Triumphant book.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah. Yeah. And I don't know, it just, like, gave me a lot of hope. And, like, I just thought this. I like reading about smart young women like this. It's just, like, a very hopeful, nice thing to read about because I think there's a lot of books that I read that are about smart young women who are put in horrible positions and then horrible things happen to them, or as instead, this woman kind of made.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Sure that her life has her own creativity. I also really like how it showed in the beginning that it's almost impossible for single moms. She's like, I can't afford childcare. Like, it really shows how difficult it is for moms in this country. This. This. This thing that Rufi Thorpe does where she writes about people in these kind of extraordinary situations, but makes it seem so real and so relatable that, like, these characters, every Rupee Ruffy Thorpe character is a perfect amalgamation of driving you a little fucking nuts. But you also root for them so hard.

[Bria Graham]

I love that.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Like, she just has this ability to. To make you. Even though you're like, oh, my God, why are you in this situation? To also be like, come on, little buddy, you got this. Like, she just. I love her so much. I pick a I. Rufi Thorpe is an auto buy author for me, so I can't wait to see what she reads next. And. God, I love this book. All right, Bria, our individual picks. What is your first one?

[Bria Graham]

Well, I'm calling this my Top horror. Even though we just named two horror books. But, but those were, those were individual. Those were shared horrors. This is my top individual horror.

[Mallory O'Meara]

They're all shared horrors this year, which.

[Bria Graham]

Is the eyes are the best part. I'm agreeing with the glasses here by Monica Kim. This is so scary. Very relevant. It's creepy, but it's from the creepy person's perspective. But you kind of get to watch this like young woman sort of lose control and lose her mind because a lot of stuff is not going her way. It's great horror. It's great psychological horror that has some body horror elements to it. And I just thought it was so smart, so well written and I just couldn't put it down. I just thought it was amazing. What's your first one? First individual.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Mine's best overall because it's just got a little bit of everything. I knew this was going to be on my best of the year last year. It's the Book of Love by Kelly Link. Gotta agree with the classers. Kelly Link. Is this fucking sorceress where like, did.

[Bria Graham]

You read it last year? You read it?

[Mallory O'Meara]

No, I read it. It was one of the first books I read this year, but I. I got the arc of it last year and had to sit on my hands to wait to read it. I think it. Yeah, it was one of the first books I read this year because Kelly Link, she's like. It's like Mumbo number five. It's like a little bit literary, a little bit weird fiction, a little horror, a little fantasy, a little sci fi. A little bit of sci fi in my life. Kelly Link, I always say she's like the heir to Ray Bradbury's crown. Like she is so great at just writing pure speculative fiction with so many different elements in it. And this story, obviously I was gonna love it because it takes place in New England and it's a honker. This was maybe the biggest book that I read all year. 600 and something pages. But it's about these three teens who everyone assumed are dead. They've been missing for a year and they reappear. They have no idea how long is time, how much time has passed. They reappear in their, in their high school and they find out they've been become these kind of pawns in this weird sort of mythological war between these deities and they're being sort of used in like one of. One of the deities really is trying to get them to develop their magical powers. So they're. They're trying to tap into their powers While also, like, dealing with being back in their lives and their lives are a little different. And it's all about, like, friendship and like, changing who you are as a person. And like, there's so. There's so much. It's one of those big honking books where there's just so much in it and it's just brimming. Like brimming with amazing shit. I've thought about it so much. It's truly an achievement. And yeah, if I had to pick one book of the year, it would be Book of Love.

[Bria Graham]

Wow.

[Mallory O'Meara]

What's your next one?

[Bria Graham]

My next is my best nonfiction.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Oh, yeah, Some glassers did vote for this as well.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah. The Age of Magical Overthinking by Amanda Montel. This has stuck with me and I keep recommending it to people for good nonfiction. I just thought it was really well written, well researched, had a lot to say about the modern age, about Internet culture. I just thought it was a great book. I really enjoyed it. I like Amanda Montel. I think she's doing great work out there. I've started listening to her podcast, which is about similar. It's also about overthinking. Oh, but yeah, loved this book.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Overthinking champions here in this room.

[Bria Graham]

There you go. What's your next one?

[Mallory O'Meara]

Also my best non fiction, shouldn't be a surprise, is Grief is for People by Sloan Crosley. Had to have a grief book on here. I read a fuckload of them this year and this one one, it was the closest thing I could find to what I wanted because a lot of grief books are about the death of a child, the death of a parent, the death of a spouse. It's kind of hard to find books about one of your best friends dying. Which I was very. Just fortunate that this book happened this year. It's about Sloane Crossley's best friend, who was also kind of her mentor. And he dies by suicide. And so that obviously that part was. Was a bit different, but it was still. She writes about it in such an honest and compelling way. Like, it just really. She gets to the really the ugliness and the weirdness of grieving. And I loved it. Like, it really. I mean, obviously I'm the intended audience for it. So it was just like. It was like this book felt like it was published this year for me personally. Personally, like, I think it came out in Febr and one of my best friends died at the last day of May. So I was like, thank you, Sloan Crosley, for your service. You knew I needed You. What's your next one?

[Bria Graham]

My next one is the best Dark Academia book, which was Of Liars by Alexis Henderson. I told you you should read it before the end of the year.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I know, it was so long.

[Bria Graham]

This is one of the only ones that I was like, okay, it's December. I have to read this book.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I should have done that.

[Bria Graham]

I have to. I think this is gonna be on my top of the year. And it was Dark Academia through the eyes of Alexis Henderson with magic. So it's magic. It's about a magical school where they're really good at persuading people. Everyone.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Oh yeah, it's like a charm magic.

[Bria Graham]

It's like a charm magic but through that they can like manipulate the whole world. And you know, it's a secret school that's like in the middle of the city, but no one can see it. And it's just really well written. The main character has to deal with.

[Mallory O'Meara]

You just gotta skip the line copy.

[Bria Graham]

Oh no.

[Mallory O'Meara]

On the day the Libby gods have.

[Bria Graham]

Not smiled upon me. You would really. You. It's totally. You should read it this year. It's great and it's really great world building. Alexis Henderson is obviously very good at that, but I was just very impressed and I'm having a little bit of. I like our Dark Academia. Like I'm, I'm, I'm reading a lot more of it. And yeah, this was by far we're.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Pro Alexis Henderson podcast here.

[Bria Graham]

Pro Henderson. What's your next one?

[Mallory O'Meara]

I Had to Do Best Romance should not surprise anyone. It's still from our Best Roman, our halftime show that Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon by Kimberly Lemming. I read a lot of romance this year, but this was the book I think I talked about the most and recommended the most. And I have to thank you for your service, Ms. Lemming, because this is really last year I read Angelica Frankenstein Makes Her Match and that's the book that made me realize that I like genre romance. This is the book that really showed me that I love spicy romance. I love smut. Like I. This, like this book really changed my reading habits and I read the other books in the series and I also loved them. So like I just, I had to give it to this one. Like this was like a reading, life changing book for me. Great. What's your next one?

[Bria Graham]

My next one, which is, I guess it is a sci fi book, but it's. I'm, I'm calling it my like most unique book I read is all this and More by Pong Shepard, it's an adult. Choose your own adventure. It ends up being kind of a meta book about the difficulty of choice and the choices we make and how they affect our lives and how you can never foresee how they're gonna affect your lives. It's really fantastic. It's so smart. And I think it was just I, I think her writing's just very good in general, but this one particularly. It's not like there's a choice every three pages or something. There's only a few choices throughout the book. But it was just, I didn't expect to read a choose your own adventure and at this age and an adult one and one with different endings and I don't know, how did you think about it?

[Mallory O'Meara]

How did you on an ebook, was it just like you click.

[Bria Graham]

Uh huh.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Interesting.

[Bria Graham]

You click it. But I also listened to half of it. So I listened to part of it and I read it physically part of it. And with the listening you just went to the. It's like go to this chapter if you want to choose this. And go to this chapter if you want to choose this.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Easy.

[Bria Graham]

It was great. I just think it was like super smart, super clever. I haven't read anything else like it in a very long time and that I thought deserved to be in the top 10.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Hell yeah.

[Bria Graham]

What about you? What's your next one?

[Mallory O'Meara]

Best series book, which I did last year and it was a tie between this one and the new TL Huchoo. So I had to give it to this one instead this year. But this, oh God. You all know It's Summer's End by Juno Black. I'm fucking obsessed with the Shady Hollow series. It felt like this was the book. The series was what got me into cozy books and like, like they're all bangers. Like this is the fifth book in the series and I still like I'm at the point now where I, I know that little town. I know the main character so well. But like I have, you know, I have a really hard time with series. I have a hard time following stuff for a long time and I, this is the fifth book and I cannot clamoring for the next one. Like they, it feels like they're improving this one. It's a dark academia, cozy mystery with animal protagonists. Like a bunch of really fun stuff in there here. I just, I, I my hats off to Juno Black. Those two authors, just absolutely incredible. God, I love the series. What's your next one?

[Bria Graham]

My next one, last one for the break. My best near future Sci Fi Ish. I'd say it's near future sci fi. Ish. But it's also kind of like very near future. It's a Better World by Sarah Langan. Oh, yeah, this was. This book is Brea Catnip. It is our world. Slightly different future Occulti. Gated community. By the way, I have two gated community books in this which is kind of shocking. It's an outsider family. I loved it. I thought it was just really well written. When I was looking through my Cawpile list, it was the only thing that I gave tens across every category. It was 10, 10, 10, 10, 10.

[Mallory O'Meara]

This is.

[Bria Graham]

This book was five stars on every single category for me. She's an amazing writer. She makes so many amazing points. But also the book itself was good and like it. It's scary in that the world could be like this and it's this family trying to deal with like this horrible way the world has become. And we talked about it this today about. About how it's automated and you know, there's no health insurance and people like the things that we kind of are seeing happening anyway and they're the only choice is to kind of go into these gated communities and get a job for these like big corporations that have these communities, but they all have inside them they have a weird religion and you have to follow the weird religion and follow the weird rules and you don't really know what's happening. And it's.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Oh, this is such a Bria.

[Bria Graham]

And it's a little. I will say it's like a little Shirley Jackson, a little the Lottery.

[Mallory O'Meara]

So Good neighbors. Her last book was kind of like that.

[Bria Graham]

Exactly. She's good at a gated community. At a community where like the, the. The group think of it ends up being very bad.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah.

[Bria Graham]

And what's your last one for the break?

[Mallory O'Meara]

Best historical fiction. And like I said at the top, this almost. This could have been Cautious Travelers Guide to the Wastelands if it wasn't so long. But this is also a book that slid in under the wire. This is the book that I was reading before that. So I just read this a few days ago. Best Sarah book. Maybe it's Enlightenment by Sarah Perry.

[Bria Graham]

Maybe my last one's the best Sarah book.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Oh yeah, there you go. Gotta have a Sarah on the list. This book. I didn't even get to talk about it on the show because I read it so recently. It's a historical fiction that. Well, part of it is historical because it starts in the 90s and then it's in three parts. It's every single time this one comic comes around, so it's in every 10 years. So it's first is 1997, 2007, 2017. And there's two main characters. One of them is this older gentleman. He writes for the newspaper. He's very anachronistic. Like he wears suspenders and uses fountain pens. And like everybody in the newspaper kind of loves him because he's just like a sweet, very kind of like man out of time kind of guy. And he's gay, but he doesn't. Like, no one in the town knows. He lives alone. He goes to church every Sunday. His parents started the church. But once a month he'll go down to London and like, he has like, to him his life is like bifurcated. And he's in his 50s and he is best friends with and like sort of a caretaker for this teenage girl named Grace. And she. Her family's super religious. Even in the 90s. So in the 90s, it feels like a historical fiction book because it's. Even though it takes place in 1997, like, this girl's not allowed to watch TV. She just goes to church all the time. She makes her own clothes. So it kind of feels like it's an older book because of that. And she, because she's. She grows up so sheltered. She's never seen a movie before. She's never been to a movie. In 1997, she gets this crush on this. The whole book is about their friendship, but also how they bond and fight over their. They both get into these unrequited situations and how those situations develop over. Over a couple, over like these decades. And it's all around. So it's their friendship, their two unrequited situationships, and they're both investigating this mystery of this woman and who disappeared in their town, who is an amateur astronomer. And one of the characters is kind of is seeing her ghost and she also like, they find her diaries and she also wasn't like, like in love with someone who did not love her back. So they're trying to find the mystery she went and who she was and who was this person that she was in love with. And like, there's also this like a bunch of like small town stuff. But it's very. It's a very quiet book, but it's very introspective. It's super beautiful. The writing is out of this world and it's so. It's just such a sweet story of unrequited love. And I. I Just, I love Sarah Perry. I've read all her books. I own all of her books, and this one just really, really blew me away. If you are looking. Yeah, if you're looking for, like, I feel like this would be a nice, quiet winter book. All right, so before we go into more of our picks, we're going to take a quick break. You can send your thoughts or your favorite books of the year toreading glasses podcastmail.com.

[C]

Hey, Sydney, you're a physician and the co host of Sawbones A Marital Tour of Misguided Medicine, right?

[Mallory O'Meara]

That's true.

[C]

Jesse, is it true that our medical history podcast is just as good as a visit to your primary care physician?

[Mallory O'Meara]

No, Justin, that is absolutely not true. However, our podcast is funny and interesting and a great way to learn about the medical misdeeds of the past as well as some current not so legit healthcare fads.

[C]

So you're saying that by listening to our podcast, people will feel better? Sure. And isn't that the same reason that you go to the doctor?

[Mallory O'Meara]

Well, you could say that.

[C]

And our podcast Gas is free.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yes, it is free.

[C]

You heard it here first, folks. Saw Bones Merrill Tour of Misguided Medicine right here on Maximum Fun. Just as good as going to the doctor.

[Mallory O'Meara]

No, no, no. Still not just as good as going to the doctor, but. But pretty good.

[C]

It's up there.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Okay, we are back. Bria, what is your next pick?

[Bria Graham]

Next one is the best Current Day what the Hell Is Going On With Our Lives book. It's. I'm starting to worry about this Black Box of Doom by Joseph Pargan. I. I didn't have a good category for this. It's like, sort of. It's just fun literary fiction, I guess, but it's also, for me, like, a really good example of, like, it's a great road trip book. I could have called it the best road trip book. I could have called it Best Literary Fiction. But really, it's like, it's about these two people who have trouble relating to the world for various reasons that I feel like only apply in the year of our Lord 2024. And so it's about these, you know, two, like, unlikely people who end up having to take this black box across the country. And turns out one is a woman who got sort of canceled for something on the Internet, and the other one is a guy who. He's a bit of an incel. But it's really. It's. It doesn't start that way and this kind of unfolds, but it just felt to me, so relevant. It's very fun. It's really well written. I just think it really represents sort of like where we are now. I thought it was a very. Maybe I'll call this my most timely book.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Oh, yeah, There you go.

[Bria Graham]

I just really like, liked it. What is your next one?

[Mallory O'Meara]

Best cozy. This is actually my second cozy, but this is my. This book blew me out of the water. It's the village library Demon Hunting Society by Sam Wagner.

[Bria Graham]

Read it for the end of the year.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I think you're going to love this book. It also kind of felt like it fell out of the sky as a magical gift to me personally because, you know, I've been having a really hard time reading heavy stuff this year, so I've been like, I think I read the least amount of horror that I've ever read this year, so. But this is a cozy book, but it also has a side of horror. Also, it's a librarian protagonist. Plus it takes place partially in a library. And there's a lot of bookishness. And there's a fucking cat. It's so fun. More cozies with the side of horror, please. Like this just like scratched exactly what I wanted. Like, my brain can't take too much. But it was just like cozy with like a nice little garnish of horror. It's just like, ah. I was so fucking. I like audibly gasp when. When the twist happened. Like when it starts to get horror y. I was just like, oh my God. Yes. So excited. What's your next one?

[Bria Graham]

This is my second one with the theme of gated communities and family. So maybe that's my thing now. I guess I have to add that to my wheelhouse as gated communities. Yeah, this is my top literary fiction. I'm agreeing with the Glassers on this one. It's Model Home by Rivers Solomon. I thought this was a beautiful, beautifully written book. It's about family. It's about being an outsider. It's about in multiple ways within your own family, with your family. And it's about the horrors created by other humans and the horror that it is to be around people. And it was just a really well crafted, amazing book. Obviously I love Rivers Solomon's writing, but I think this one, like, they really did themselves. I think it was very beautiful. Amazing. What's your next one?

[Mallory O'Meara]

Mine is best ya. It's Grief in the Fourth Dimension by Jennifer Yu. Weirdly enough, this was one of the last books I read before Scott died. I'm just like, I just love Grease books. I'VE been prepping for this my whole life. This one really floored me. It's so smart and sad and beautiful and also like really deeply compelling. There's a twist that like made me yell out loud. It's about, you know, I. It's been a while since I talked about this. So it's about these two kids. They've both. This is not a spoiler. They've both just died and they appear in this weird kind of omniscient room and they realize that they're. Because there's like tele. There's like old technology there. And they realize that they can see and hear their family still as their family is living after. After their deaths. And they realize that they can use the technology to kind of to try to communicate. But it comes out like they can make lights flicker like they can make. But they can't communicate directly. And there's bad things happening with both of their families because of their deaths that they're trying to fix. And they're also like becoming friends and like they kind of never knew each other when they were alive even though they went to the same high school. So it's like they're forming this like post death friendship while also trying to help their families. It's just so interesting and smart and really beautiful. And I loved it. I really loved it. What's your next one?

[Bria Graham]

My next is my best science fiction. Just straight up science fiction.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah. Big Bria category.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah. It's Mystery of Time by Kayleen Bradley. This is no surprise. I feel like this was on a lot of best ofs this year. It is. It has a romance element to it. It has a time travel element to it. It's about. I think I talked about it on the show, but it's from the point of view of a woman who is helping these people, who they bring forward in time and help them like acclimate to the current day. And it's just like very sweet. But also she's very flawed in a lot of ways and makes some decisions that are not great. And I just thought it was just a really well done science fiction book that was sort of accessible to all. It wasn't super hard sci fi.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah.

[Bria Graham]

And it. Cause it has this romance element to it. I think it. It checked a lot of boxes for a lot of people. I saw it on so many best of the years and I had to agree. It stuck with me.

[Mallory O'Meara]

It was. It almost made the Glasser list too. There was a bunch of votes for her.

[Bria Graham]

I think it was anytime I keep seeing like best of 2024 like at bookstores. It's in a lot of bookstores. Like people.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Hell yeah.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah. Very, very bookstore friendly book. And it's being adapted. It almost was what I was gonna do for best adaptation or what book we wanna see adapted. But then I was like, well that's too easy because it is already getting adapted. But it was just so good. What's your next one?

[Mallory O'Meara]

My best gothic book is Bog Wife by Kay Chronister. This book was so fucking strange and just never went where I expected to and I loved it. And also there's a few books on this list that got me out of book slumps. It's just, you know, it's about this weird. It's another book that kind of feels like enlightenment because it doesn't. It's not a historical fiction. It takes place in modern day but it's this like weird decaying family in Virginia that has been living on this cranberry bog. And like they don't have electricity and they don't watch TV and so it kind of feels like a historical fiction because they're living like it is in the 1800s and like this family has been taking care of this cranberry bog and they're like. They have this mystical relationship with the bog and whenever the patriarch dies they bury him in the bog and out comes a new bog wife for the next son. That was so weird, so strange and like. And then like what ha. Basically what happens is not a spoiler that the patriarch dies and they do all the stuff that there's. One of the siblings has managed to kind of escape and. But she comes back for this ritual that they have to do of the. The of the bog wife and it doesn't work. So they're trying to. They're have. They're left to reckon with like the are they gonna do and it's so, it's so. Again, I love a weird book. Maybe this should have been my favorite weird book. But it's. It' described as a gothic book and it is. And yeah, I've definitely thought about this a bunch. What is your last one?

[Bria Graham]

My last one is my best romance ish book. I'll say. Romance ish. It's someone you can build a nest in by John Wiswell. Just a weirdly sweet book, but also it's historical. It's from the point of view of a monster, a shape shifting monster who is looking for someone to settle down with so it can build a nest inside this person and kill them. And they have their babies hatch out. But that seems that's exactly what they. What the monster wants. But then the monster starts to actually fall and it's like, maybe I don't need to kill this person. And it's just this like very so relatable. It's a very sweet funny. If you're a person who loves books from the point of view of someone who just doesn't understand like a creature who doesn't understand how to. How to human. Yeah, this is that. And I just thought I couldn't put it down. I thought it was so sweet and so funny and just like a really joy. Like it was a joy to read this book.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I'm seeing that with a lot of your books. This year is like funny, funny stuff.

[Bria Graham]

I mean I generally like funny stuff, but this year definitely I was going more towards funny. Funny was helpful. What's your last one?

[Mallory O'Meara]

Best thriller. The Hunter by Tana French. The Queen Returns. You all know I'm big French head. I own and love all of her books. And this one is amazing. It is a sequel to the Watcher or the Searcher, the last book that she had that came out. And it's still this tale of this expat American who moves to Ireland and he's a. He was a cop in America and quit and gets involved in some weird shady small town stuff because he's trying to help and take care of this teen whose father has abandoned her. And this book, if you're looking for a small town secrets, this is like the. The creme de la creme of small town secrets. It's the sequel. So he's still living in this small town and stuff is the teenage girl's dad comes back and he. He brings this guy from the city. And at first you think that this like city slicker guy is gonna try to scam everybody in the town. And then you realize maybe the townspeople are scamming him. So it's like. It's like one of those really interesting books where two entities you hate are fighting each other and you're very. You don't really root for either one of them, but you are very interested to see what happens. And all, all the small town secrets come out of this thing. And it's so. God, like no one can write a fucking book. Like Tana French like this book, it's a big. It's a honker. It's a hefty book. And I flew through it like. Like she's so fucking talented. Yeah. If you love small town thrillers this is. Can't get better than this. All right. We always have our special categories, so.

[Bria Graham]

Here just our way to talk about more books.

[Mallory O'Meara]

But yes, this is our. This is like the. What would this be in the Oscars? Like a special, special award? Yeah, this is like lifetime achievement award.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah, yeah, it's a lifetime achievement award.

[Mallory O'Meara]

So we started doing this last year. We bring. Bringing it back. Best translated book, Bria.

[Bria Graham]

What I'm going with the Kamigawa Food Detectives by Hisashi Kashiwai, translated by Jesse Kirkwood, which loves cozy little food book about people going to a little cozy restaurant and being like, I want this soup that I had as a child. It reminds me of my mother. And they're like, we're gonna make it for you. And then they do. And it's just that, like six times. It was wonderful. What a little. It was a great cozy book and it had food and great food descriptions. I just really enjoyed it. What's your best translation?

[Mallory O'Meara]

I was gonna say this might be the coziest best of the year list we've ever had.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah, it's very cozy. Very cozy.

[Mallory O'Meara]

My best translated book is my haunted house book. I have to shout out Rachel Conrad, friend of the show, for recommending this one. It's Wormwood by Layla Martinez, translated by Sophie Hughes and Annie McDermott. This book, me up. It's pretty short. It's so weird. It's bleak as hell, but I cannot stop thinking about it. It's like. Like not a super fun experience to read because it's very bleak. But the way that Layla Martinez describes the ghosts in this haunted house is completely unique. And you know me, I'm the haunted house junkie. Like, I read so many haunted house books and I've never read ghosts that are like these ghosts. I was over my friend Chelsea's last night and I saw that she had a copy of it, and I like. It was like the queen had arrived. I was like, who's reading this book? I gotta talk to you about it. She was like, I just gotta. I'm like, oh, my God. It's. It's. I love when I can read a haunted house book that does something different. And this really fucked me up and blew me out of the water. I loved it. All right, next category.

[Bria Graham]

Best graphic novel.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yes.

[Bria Graham]

What's your top graphic novel of the year?

[Mallory O'Meara]

The Night Mother by dear friend of the show, Jeremy Lambert and Alexa Sharpe. I have. I had the privilege of. Jeremy and I started dating right when he had just started writing or just finished writing the first draft. So I have seen every iteration of this book for the past five years. I know how hard he worked, him and Alexa, to make this happen. It was a long road because of problems with their publisher. And it makes me so happy to see it getting the rec. It's got a ton of best of the year lists. I'm so fucking proud of Jeremy. But I would. Honestly, when I. When you find out what this book is about, this. This is not me just throwing a bone to Jeremy. This book is so my shit. I keep describing it to people. It really is like. It's like a middle grade Guillermo del Toro graphic novel. Like, it's the art looks like that. The story about this little girl who lives in this town that has been besieged by the moon is stuck in the sky, the tides are stuck, and she has to figure out what's going on. And the reason why the moon is stuck is because the woman who lives in the moon has stopped them. And she has to figure out why. Why the moon has stopped. Why she's interested in Maddie, the main character. And it's spooky, but not too scary. And as Maddie's figuring out the mythology of this world and going through this small town, and when you see this art, it's gonna make your fucking head pop like a balloon. Like, it is maybe some of the most beautiful art I've ever seen. And you can tell that this book is amazing because I read so many versions of it. And when it came out, finally, I wanted to read it again because it's so fucking great. I'm so proud of Jeremy. He deserves all of the accolades and more. Him and Alexa just, just. I can't wait to see the next book. It's going to be a trilogy. If you are Guillermo del Toro, spooky fantasy kind of person, please buy this book. It's amazing. And next one is favorite audiobook.

[Bria Graham]

Wait, oh my God, I forgot to tell your graphic novel.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Oh, what's your. What's your favorite graphic novel?

[Bria Graham]

This was really hard, but I'm going with Hack Slash Back to School by Zoe Thgood. I.

[Mallory O'Meara]

She's a hot new author.

[Bria Graham]

Well, she's written a few graphic novels. This is like her third, maybe her first series, but she's done a few graphic novels.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah, I mean, she's like, she's the new queen of the. Of the comics world.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah. And I was a big hack slash fan. I love Tim Seeley. I love hack slash. Like, I. If you. I've done work on hack slash stuff, I've like In I did a long interview with Tim. See, I'm just a big fan. So when I heard she was taking up the mantle, it was like, oh, wow, how is this going to be like, what's it? Is it going to be different? Is it going to feel different? And I just thought it was so smart taking the mythology of. Because it's. Hack Slash is about a young girl named Cassie Hack, a teenager whose mother was a slasher. And she kills her, and then she goes on the road and kills slashers all over. And she has this sidekick named Vlad who kind of looks like a slasher, but he isn't. And she ends up. She's traveling in this iteration, she's traveling around, and then she ends up at an all girls school for other slasher killers.

[Mallory O'Meara]

And that's fucking awesome.

[Bria Graham]

It's just a really fun version of Hack Slash. And I thought it was still, like, in the world, but it obviously had a very new stamp on it. And I really was a fan. I thought she did a really great job with the series and the world, which was hard. Cause there's. I mean, it's a huge world and hard to step into.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Hell, yeah. All right, Bria, what are our favorite audiobooks of the year?

[Bria Graham]

My favorite one was I shouldn't be telling you this, but I'm going to anyway by Chelsea devontez, friend of the show. It's Chelsea's memoir and it was just funny, clever. It's about Chelsea's life as a writer growing up, the difficulty with her family, particularly her father. It's about thought. There's some stories of abuse by. By a partner, but it's also just. It was just really. She's funny. She's funny and she takes these stories that are like, not easy to tell and she tells you, and it's kind of like you sat there with your friend and she just told you, like, about her life. And it was just really well written. And. And then she does the audiobook and she's funny and it's very clever. And she's. She's just like kind of a star. I don't know how to say it other than that, that she's just like an interesting person.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Some people have that quality.

[Bria Graham]

They do. And I would read another book about her life. I loved it.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Hell yeah.

[Bria Graham]

What's your favorite audiobook?

[Mallory O'Meara]

I'm mostly Here to Enjoy Myself by Glynis McNichol. This book was another book that was like, oh, very timely for me. It's just a memoir that Glynis reads about Being a woman in her 40s, pursuit of pleasure. Like, every year she goes to Paris for the summer. And this is about her first year finally getting to go back. Back, like, after things opened up with COVID Because I think she skipped, like, one or two years. So this is her first year back in a bit. And it's literally just her summer in Paris, being single, being in her 40s. And, like, how people perceive, like, how people think it's strange for a woman in her 40s to pursue other things. And, like, this is not a book that looks down on motherhood or having children. It's not a book that's like, oh, that's bad and boring. It's just. She's talking about how when you reach a certain age, people wonder why you're not doing those things and think that you're kind of like. People kind of couldn't believe that she was just in Paris to fucking enjoy herself and to, like, eat nice pastries and sleep with a bunch of people and, like, look at cool shit and write and just, like, pursue pleasure. And people were just like. Because that's something you kind of do when you're in your 20s, you know? And it was like, as someone who just got out of a really long relationship and was kind of of afraid to be out by myself and having to relearn how to do that, listening to this book hit so fucking hard. And it's so wonderful. So if you're a person who. Even if you're not, like, single or going through a breakup or whatever, it's really nice to be reminded that life can be nice even though we live in hell. There's bread to eat and rivers to look at and songs to dance to. And, you know, it just really. It felt really nice to read a book by a woman like this that was just purely about enjoying yourself. And I loved it. I think I've ended every single segment of me going. And I loved it.

[Bria Graham]

And I loved it. That's why it's on the list.

[Mallory O'Meara]

That's why it's on the list.

[Bria Graham]

That is why I made the list.

[Mallory O'Meara]

All right, what's the next category?

[Bria Graham]

The next category is the best debut. What's your best debut?

[Mallory O'Meara]

Letter to the Luminous Deep Baby by Sylvia Tharall. I love this fucking book. Oh, my God. This is another cozy book.

[Bria Graham]

Wow. Wow.

[Mallory O'Meara]

God damn. Oh, no. Well, no, this isn't cozy. This is romantasy.

[Bria Graham]

Okay, Okay. I didn't read it.

[Mallory O'Meara]

This has been, like, one of my top of the. Basically, I knew it was gonna be My top of the year since I read it. But I keep calling it romantic sci fi because it's more. It's like place in this kind of alternate future where the world is mostly underwater, people mostly live underwater. And it's this epistolary book between both a recluse woman and the marine biologist that she admires. And they start writing back and forth to each other and falling in love. And then both of their siblings, her sister and his brother, as they're writing to each other a year after the. The events of. Of the biologist and the woman writing to each other because the both of them have disappeared and no one knew what happened to them and they're trying to figure it out. So you have this like really compelling mystery that's at the core. It's like a Tootsie Pop. It's like this very comp. Compelling mystery at the core, but it's surrounded by like sweet romance and sci fi and cool world building and like, it's so fucking lovely. I read this at the very start of the year and I couldn't believe it was a debut novel. I cannot wait for the next book. What is your favorite debut of the year?

[Bria Graham]

I'm going with Annie Bot by Sierra.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Greer, another popular Glasser book.

[Bria Graham]

It's. I read a few AI books this year and this one is about an AI from the point of view of the AI and she's a girlfriend bot and she starts to learn and change and grow. And then she's like, oh, maybe I. I should do other things and maybe I should have. I have other interests. And it's great. It's really smart, really well written. And I cannot believe it's a debut novel because I think it. I mean I. We always say that, but it's like, yeah, but people are good writers and you don't have to write. Write five books necessarily to write, to learn to write. But I just think this was. It was just really great. Debut debut book, Annie Bot.

[Mallory O'Meara]

All right, next category is book that we think personally should have gotten way more buzz. What is your pick for this?

[Bria Graham]

This is a horror book, but I thought it was really good. And I didn't see a lot of people, horror people talking about it.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I agree. I did not see anybody talking about.

[Bria Graham]

It except for Glasses by Amy Pakwatka. And it's basically the birds that takes place in a library, but with owls. It's like everyone's stuck in the library. There's a bunch of owls outside of it, they're trying to get in. And then it Goes back and forth between a book everyone, all these kids in the library are reading and the story within the story. And it's just like a cool weird horror book that I feel like the horror community should have given more love because it was fucking scary. And I will tell you, I don't.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Think the COVID was horror enough. I think people thought it was a fantasy book.

[Bria Graham]

I think also because it's called the Parliament, it was a little confusing. But that's what a group of owls.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Owls is called.

[Bria Graham]

But does look a little fantasy. And there is a fantasy element because of the book that they're reading. But it is scary. These owls really.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Owl with a knife.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah. And it's another one where I was looking at my call pile and it was, I think, tens all the way across writing. Everything about it I just thought was fantastic. What about you? What is your book that you feel like should have gotten more buzz.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Listen, I have a bone to pick with the literary world. Helen Oyeyemi is one of my favorite authors, has been for many a year. And I found out about this, her new book. Book, like a week before it came out. I like. And I am so plugged into the book world, I could not believe. I did not. I didn't know that this book was coming out. I would. I take it as a personal affront to the universe. It's Parasol against the Ax by, again, Helen Oyeyemi. I mean, she is her and Kelly Link like. But Helen Oyeyemi is even weirder. Like, all her books are so surreal and so strange in this book. So it's about this woman, she goes to Prague and she is seeing some friends that she's estranged from. And she's reading this very strange book. And she realizes that in different places in the city, the book that she's reading is different.

[Bria Graham]

That's cool.

[Mallory O'Meara]

And the city changes and the city's also changing around her depending on what she's reading. And it's like, it's a really fascinating book about. About friendship and also just like the power of the stories that we tell ourselves. And this is like, this is if. All the books that I read this year, this is the one I would want to read again first. And I didn't see anybody talking about this book.

[Bria Graham]

Book rude.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Like, I don't know what the happened, but like, she's. It's hella. Helen Oyeyemi. Like, dear Lord. But just if you're. If you're someone who likes weird fiction, you should be reading her. And yeah, come on, folks. Why. Why are more people not talking about this? All right, what's the next category?

[Bria Graham]

The next category is book that we'd like to see adapted. What is your choice for this one?

[Mallory O'Meara]

Mine is Sacrificial Animals by Kaylee Petterson. This would make such a great movie because it's. It's one of those. It's a bleak book, but the ending is super worth it. So I think it would be even better. Maybe not even better, but, like, it would make a great movie because, like, a lot of the characters in this book are very deplorable and you want to kick them in the teeth.

[Bria Graham]

Oh, nice.

[Mallory O'Meara]

But, like, seeing them, I just think it would just make such a great. It's all about these two sons who grew up in the Midwest on this, like, in this very weird house, and their dad is. Is really, really abusive. And one of them stays and one of them goes. And the ones that goes falls in love with this woman, and they're white and she's Chinese. The father, this great awful, shitbag patriarch, is dying, and he calls back the estranged son and he brings the wife along with him, and he's like, no, no, no, I won't be crappy and racist to her, I swear. And then, of course, as soon as they get there, but, like, all these, like. It's a twin. Twin story of, like, what happened to them when they were kids, but also what's happening now as they come back, like. And things get weirdly supernatural. It is a revenge story, but I don't want to give too much. This book is one of those books that's really hard to talk about without giving away the ending. And again, it's like a hard read, full of, like, a lot of abuse and. And there's like a very sad, queer storyline and there's racism, but it is worth it at the end. But again, I don't want to say too much, but, God, this would be so good on. On screen. What's the one that you want to see adapted?

[Bria Graham]

I'm going with In Utero, which is a graphic novel by Chris Gooch. I loved this graphic novel. I thought it was fantastic. It's. I don't know if I got to talk about it on the show. It all takes place. It takes place in an abandoned mall where this.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I don't think you talked about this.

[Bria Graham]

Goes to a summer camp daycare. And underneath the abandoned mall, there's basically just a giant monster, but no one knows about it. And this is the author's Australian, and it's just a really great sort of like coming of age. There's comparisons to annihilation and aliens. People compared it to that. But it's also just like. It's kind of just a coming of age book in this really interesting way. And there's a disaster that's happening while this child is meeting this giant monster. Alien monster. Anyway, it's just fantastic. It would be so interesting to see. And I love an abandoned mall in real life and in stories. I think it's fantastic.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Know. Sorry, side tangent. Tangent. During our most popular episode. But did you see that article about that people turning abandoned malls into apartment buildings?

[Bria Graham]

Yeah, I have seen that.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Can you imagine living in a Claire's.

[Bria Graham]

I mean, amazing. Amazing.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I guess it would be kind of nice because then you could, like, walk around the atrium. Yeah, but like, if it. If I guess would be cool if there were no stores there. I don't like. I think it would drive me to madness if I could smell Auntie Annie's all the time.

[Bria Graham]

I don't.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Like, I would be hungry forever.

[Bria Graham]

It's abandoned, though.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah, but that scent, you think it's. It's in there forever?

[Bria Graham]

The same with like, you're. What if you had to live in a former Bath and Body Works that never goes away?

[Mallory O'Meara]

That's when they call in Arnold Schwarzenegger with a flamethrower. But yeah, I mean, I guess you get that nice. The sky, all that nice natural light.

[Bria Graham]

I mean, they're giant buildings.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I.

[Bria Graham]

Because, you know, I went. Well, yeah, I went and looked at a bunch of them to shoot a movie. There's so many of them that are just sitting almost empty or empty and it's really wild. And they're turning a lot of them into like Amazon fulfillment centers or some of the, like, nurse training facilities like. Or like colleges, like little small colleges. But anyway, this is great. And this one happened to be a summer camp.

[Mallory O'Meara]

What mall store do you think would be the best to live in would get turned into the best apartment?

[Bria Graham]

Bed, Bath and Beyond.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Really? Even with all the stink?

[Bria Graham]

Bed, Bath and Beyond.

[Mallory O'Meara]

It's so strong. You smell like cucumber melon for the rest of your life.

[Bria Graham]

Oh, I'm. Are you thinking of the same thing I am? But Bed, Bath and Beyond is the ones that.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Oh, no, I'm thinking of Bath and Body Birth.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah, I know. Bed, Bath and Beyond. Where there's beds.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah, but they wouldn't be there.

[Bria Graham]

Oh, oh, I thought you meant they'd be there. But they're usually really big, which would Be fun to have a giant place like that.

[Mallory O'Meara]

No, that's like dawn of the Dead. Maybe Hot Topic. Cuz it'd be all spooky but then you wouldn't get that nice natural light.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah, you need that.

[Mallory O'Meara]

So maybe not a Hot Topic or a Spencer's or a Hollister. Remember how dark Hollisters were?

[Bria Graham]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Actually maybe Claire's would be kind of nice.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah. I don't think. I think the Macy's would be too big.

[Bria Graham]

They kind of all look the same because I've seen a lot of abandoned malls and they all look the same.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I think because I think the Macy's or the JC pennies would be way too big for me.

[Bria Graham]

I'd take it. I'd make a giant house.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Wow. Okay.

[Bria Graham]

What is your favorite non 2024 read?

[Mallory O'Meara]

Man, I went back and forth with this a bunch, but I had to give it to this book which is Confess by Rob Halford. I have recommended this book to so many people. This was maybe of all the books that I read this year, like all the non 2024 books that I read read. I did not want this book to end like I lighting with Rob Halford so much. And not just because I mean again I've been a Judas Priest fan since I was really young. I've been. I love Priest. So it's really awesome to hear the story of, of Priest and like the seminal metal band and like developing the genre of metal, new wave of British heavy metal. Like that's all super fascinating to me. But it's also mixed with like a really beautiful, poignant, hilarious like coming out memoir of Rob Halford. Like coming to terms with his sexuality and then like trying to hide it for so many years because he was so afraid that like it would ruin the band if it came out that he was gay. And then like coming out and trying to find love and like it's so in all of that. So like awesome metal memoir. Awesome queer memoir. All Titan and read the whole thing top to bottom by Rob Halford. He's so fucking funny. He's hilarious and just like so compelling. And I just like I couldn't. I. This was the kind of book where I was like, I guess I could find some more errands to run so I can drive around and listen to Rob Halford. Like, you just don't want to be away from him. I love him. Like I would die for Rob Halford. And you look at his Instagram now, it's just like him in like weird pictures of cats. I was like, oh, you're just a sweet old, old metalhead. Like, this is so, so wonderful. I could not recommend it enough. What is your. Yours?

[Bria Graham]

I'm going Homesick. Stories by Nino Cipri. It's. It's a short story book. I loved it.

[Mallory O'Meara]

So good.

[Bria Graham]

Great writer, fantastic writer. Each of the short stories was a banger, and I just felt like I wish I had read it sooner. I just thought it was such a good book, and it was really compelling. And every time I read a new short story, I was like, well, that one was amazing, too, which rarely happens to me. Short story books are hard for me, and it's tough. I think. I. I think Kate Fulk's book from last year was on my top books of the year. But rarely does a short story book make my top, and that one was one that I think if I had read it, whatever year it came out, I would have been on my top.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Wow.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

All right, Bria, were there any books that we wish we had gotten to?

[Bria Graham]

I mean, yes and no. But I will tell you, December rolled around, and I was like, I'm gonna read, like, one more. But I was done. I was done. I had a real, like, block, and I. I started a few that I was like, this won't be a top book. This won't be a talk book. And I was just sort of like, nah, I'm good. I'm good. Like, I'll read the books eventually that people have said were good from this year, but I didn't feel like I wanted. I felt like my list was very full and in a good way. Yeah, like, full of books that I could really stand behind 100 and be like, yes. Which was good, because normally I feel like I'm always searching for, like, one last book that I didn't quite find. And this year I was like, no, I found it. I found. I found the books.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Hell, yeah.

[Bria Graham]

What about you?

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah, I mean, there was. The problem was I dumped a lot of books, and I dumped a lot of books that I thought that I was going to like. It's just this. I just had a shitty year. The Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange was one of them. I love Tommy Orange. I love. They're there. I was so excited for this one, but it's very heavy. And I was like, I just don't have a book about generational trauma in me right now. Like, I just. It's just. It was just very heavy.

[Bria Graham]

I hear you.

[Mallory O'Meara]

So I'm hoping I can get to it next year. I mean, I own It. It's a beautiful hardcover, but I just wasn't in the right headspace. Same thing with Pick the Lock by as King. Like, if you would have told me at the start of this year that I would have to dump an as King book, I would have kicked you in the face. Like, there's no possible. She's one of my favorite authors, but this is a very heavy book about an abusive family, and I just couldn't do it. You know, it was. I mean, it's from. I think I got like a fourth of the way in, and it's very, like, weird and experimental and just compelled. Like, it's amazing. It's as King. It's everything she does well. But I just didn't have another heavy book. I didn't have any capacity for it. Also, this Cursed House by Del Sandeen. I just didn't get it from the library in time and I did not get a arc. But I did mention it in our most anticipated books episode. It's like a historical haunted house book, and I'm mad that I didn't get it. This. Maybe this would have been on the list, too. And then there was a ton of romance novels that I got and just didn't get to. But I read. Also read a ton of romance this year. So. Yeah, you know, I think. Think it's just. I had a bad year and.

[Bria Graham]

But are you happy with your list?

[Mallory O'Meara]

I'm very happy with my list. Okay. But I do feel bad for a lot of the books that were kind of left. Left in the dust. Yeah. But maybe I'll scoop them up. Maybe Wandering Stars will be my favorite book. Not released.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Next year.

[Bria Graham]

That's why we do that category.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

All right, Bria, any final thoughts on best books of the year?

[Bria Graham]

I think we got some good ones. So many. So many good ones.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Another good year read. This is our last episode of 2024 have. Folks, thank you for voting. Thank you for hanging out with us this year. As I said, this year was a bunch of pile. Big, big old pile of dog for me. And one of the consistent good things in my life is reading glasses is hearing from all of you is the lovely emails you send, the conversations you have in the slack, the support that you give us every month if you're a member. It really got me through a nightmare, and I am so, so grateful. I love doing the show. We love doing this show. And thanks for sticking with us for our seventh year of reading glasses.

[Bria Graham]

Wowie.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah. Absolutely nuts. We appreciate you all so, so much. We hope you had a lovely year of reading. You can still write in reading glasses podcastmail.com if you want to tell us your favorites, you can still talk about them in the Slack thank you all so much. As always, we want to thank the wonderful mods who run our Facebook group. Remember folks, you got some some Christmas money. You can buy reading glasses totes and shirt stickers and sweatshirts over at our Void Merch store. There's a link in the show notes and if you like the show please rate and review us on the podcast listening app of your choice. It truly makes a difference for us. It really is great for the show. It helps us reach more readers. It helps us make new glasses which kind of sounds like a Frankenstein deal but we're not making you but we are converting you and it having a high rating on Spotify or Apple Podcasts or whatever podcast you use really helps. Can email us at reading glasses podcast gmail.com find us on Twitter at Reading G Podcast Find us on Instagram at Reading Glasses Podcast Podcast. Thanks for listening and thanks for reading.

[Bria Graham]

Thanks for reading.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Maximum Fun, a worker owned network of artist owned shows supported directly by.