Ep 401 - Hot Genre Alert - Queernorm Books!

Summary

Podcast Summary: Reading Glasses – Episode 401: Hot Genre Alert - Queernorm Books!

Podcast Information:

• Title: Reading Glasses
• Hosts: Brea Grant and Mallory O’Meara
• Episode: Ep 401 - Hot Genre Alert - Queernorm Books!
• Release Date: March 6, 2025

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1. Introduction

In Episode 401 of Reading Glasses, hosts Brea Grant and Mallory O’Meara delve into the burgeoning genre of Queernorm books. The episode kicks off with a playful exchange, setting an energetic tone for the discussions ahead.

Notable Quote:

• Bria Graham [00:13]: "This episode we got a hot genre alert. Oh no. Wow. Mallory wasn't prepared. Where's the emergency?"

2. Current Reads and Recommendations

The hosts share their current reads, providing personal insights and recommendations for their listeners.

• Bria's Read: Wake Up and Open Your Eyes by Clay McLeod Chapman

  • Description: A dark, violent narrative where the protagonist returns home to find his parents transformed into demonic versions of themselves due to consuming toxic media. The story evolves into a broader catastrophe involving family members and societal decay.
  • Notable Quote:
    • Bria Graham [01:20]: "It is incredibly violent. It's not a feel-good read."

• Mallory's Read: Old Soul by Suzanne Barker

  • Description: Set in Osaka, this novel follows two individuals who miss their flight by seconds, leading to an unexpected connection. They embark on a global quest to uncover the mysterious deaths related to a particular woman, blending elements reminiscent of Historian and Under the Skin.
  • Notable Quote:
    • Mallory O'Meara [03:43]: "It is so fucking good."

3. Listener Feedback

The episode features feedback from listeners, highlighting personal challenges and solutions related to reading habits.

• Adria's Conundrum:

  • Challenge: Struggling to maintain a reading routine during stressful times.
  • Solutions Offered:
    1. Identify as a Mood Reader: Recognizing reading preferences based on mood.
    2. Rereading Favorites: Revisiting beloved books until ready for new reads.
    3. Explore New Genres: Including smut to diversify reading.
    4. Journaling: Documenting reading thoughts to understand preferences.
    5. Swapping Formats: Alternating between physical books and audiobooks.
    6. Library Renewals: Utilizing services like Libby and Kindle Unlimited.
    7. Backlog Exploration: Tackling existing unread books.
    8. Listening to Back Catalog: Re-engaging with past podcast episodes for inspiration.
  • Notable Quote:
    • Adria [05:06]: "I never have to worry about embarrassing myself in front of Jerry O'Connell."

• Jillian's Feedback:

  • Issue: Navigating audiobooks without chapter markers, causing confusion in book club discussions.
  • Solution: Utilizing Reddit forums to identify chapter progress in audiobooks.
  • Notable Quote:
    • Bria Graham [07:00]: "I have a problem on set where I put something down and then it's gone."

4. Book Tech Review: Water Bottle Carrier

Bria and Mallory review a practical accessory—a water bottle carrier designed for hands-free hydration, ideal for audiobook listeners and active readers.

• Features:
  • Design: Sling-style holder with a zipper pocket for essentials like keys.
  • Usage: Suitable for hikes, walks, or general mobility without the hassle of carrying a backpack.
  • Pros:
    • Convenience: Keeps water bottles secure and accessible.
    • Functionality: Additional storage for small items.
  • Cons:
    • Aesthetics: Received mockery for its appearance.
    • Maintenance: Cream color prone to dirt, requiring frequent cleaning.
  • Notable Quote:
    • Bria Graham [25:49]: "I loved this thing. It's a little less than 20 bucks. Worth every penny to me."

5. Hot Genre Alert: Queernorm Books

The centerpiece of the episode is an in-depth exploration of Queernorm books—a genre where queer identities are normalized within the narrative, devoid of conflict related to queerness.

• Definition:

  • Queernorm/Queer Normative: Stories depict queer characters and identities as a natural and accepted part of everyday life, eliminating typical struggles like coming out or facing homophobia.

• Current Popularity:

  • Reasons for Buzz:
    • Cultural Shift: Increased acceptance and representation of queer identities in society.
    • Escapism: Readers seek comfort and escapist narratives amidst global turmoil.
    • Diversity in Genres: Predominantly found within sci-fi and fantasy, offering imaginative worlds where queerness is seamlessly integrated.

• Recommended Queernorm Books:

  1. House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
  2. The Deep by Rivers Solomon
  3. Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo
  4. Someone to Build a Nest In by John Wiswell
  5. Floating Hotel by Grace Curtis
  6. Legends and Lattes by Megan E. Freeman
  7. What Moves the Dead by [Author Not Specified]

• Notable Discussion Points:

  • Market Demand: Growing reader desire for inclusive narratives without the burden of queer-centric struggles.
  • Genre Trends: Heavy presence in speculative fiction due to inherent world-building elements that accommodate diverse identities.
  • Cultural Reflection: Queernorm books mirror the evolving societal norms where queerness is seamlessly accepted.

• Notable Quotes:

  • Bria Graham [15:11]: "Queer norm or queer normative, describes stories where queer people and identities are... normal."
  • Mallory O'Meara [17:06]: "Queer norm just gives you some escape and some comfort."

6. Announcements and Events

The hosts share updates on their personal projects and upcoming events, engaging with their community.

• Mallory's Upcoming Engagements:

  • WonderCon Panel: Discussing her book Daughter of Daring.
  • Podcast Appearance: Scheduled to appear on Go Fact Yourself with Jerry O'Connell on March 9th.
  • Book Launch Events: Including a movie theater launch and a free bookstore talk at Romans in Pasadena on March 13th.

• Bria and Mallory's Reflections:

  • Gratitude: Appreciation for listener support, especially during the challenging month of Ultra February.
  • Merchandise: Promotion of their Void merch store, emphasizing the purchase benefits for their cats.

Notable Quote:

• Mallory O'Meara [09:46]: "I am still doing more Daughter of Daring events."

7. Sponsor Segment

The episode includes brief mentions of sponsors, focusing on enhancing listeners' lifestyles.

• Green Chef Promotion:
  • Description: A Certified Organic meal kit service catering to various dietary needs—keto, paleo, vegan, gluten-free, and more.
  • Offer: Use code glassesfree at greenchef.com/glassesfree for free salads for two months plus 50% off the first box.
  • Notable Quote:
    • Bria Graham [12:28]: "Thrive all year with clean, easy meals from Green Chef."

8. Closing Remarks

Bria and Mallory encourage listeners to engage with the podcast through reviews, social media, and merchandise purchases. They reiterate their gratitude and invite ongoing interaction via email and their Instagram page.

Notable Quote:

• Bria Graham [33:00]: "If you like the show, please rate and review us on the podcast listening app of your choice."

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Conclusion

Episode 401 of Reading Glasses offers a comprehensive exploration of Queernorm books, blending personal anecdotes, reader feedback, and practical reviews. Brea Grant and Mallory O’Meara create an engaging narrative that not only highlights emerging literary trends but also fosters a sense of community among book lovers. Whether you're seeking your next read, navigating book-related challenges, or interested in inclusive storytelling, this episode provides valuable insights and recommendations.

Transcript

[Bria Graham]

Foreign.

[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 we got a hot genre alert. Oh no. Wow. Mallory wasn't prepared. Where's the emergency? Emergency? Someone find the slide whistle. Okay. For our Queer Norm books, anytime we start to see a lot of one kind of book, we try to alert.

[Mallory O'Meara]

You and you are alerted.

[Bria Graham]

You're alerted. Plus we review a water bottle carrier which I have at my house and I forgot to bring for Mallory, but it's.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I wasn't gonna get to use this anyways.

[Bria Graham]

Great. And solve a problem about ordering books in the uk.

[Mallory O'Meara]

But first, Bria, what are you reading?

[Bria Graham]

I just did a lot of driving this week because I was shooting something very. It was like an hour away. And for some reason every book I've read in the last like two weeks or something, you'll, you'll notice or suggestions by you. But this I listened to. Wake up and open your eyes by Clay McLeod Chapman, read by Joe Hemple. It a full cast because there's part of it at the end where there's all these like youtubers and news people. And they did that part with a full cast, which is pretty cool. And the rest of it was read, I believe, by somebody named Joe Humble. It's kind of hard to tell on the Libro FM app, but we talked about it because he came on the show. You read it. It is one of the darker books I've read in a long time.

[Mallory O'Meara]

It is incredibly violent. It's not a feel good read.

[Bria Graham]

Like, and, and please check the content warnings because there are things in there that I was, I was gasping. I'm clutching my pearls, says the woman who also does a smut podcast. Basically this guy has hasn't heard from his parents in a few days and he goes home and they have turned into sort of demony versions of themselves because they've been watching a news channel called Fax News. Just the facts. And it has turned them into these demons. And then it has. So it has that whole beginning and then it goes into like his brother and his sister in law and like she gets really into these sort of like yoga mama world and they also are like demons. So it's, it's basically like social media news, all this stuff putting demons into people and then on this one specific day they all lose their minds and start killing people. It is very dark, very well written. Really enjoyed it. It is a little epistolary because it has this whole section where it's like a YouTuber talking. A news person talking could count over the reading glasses challenge. I think it's like, I would say, you know, a quarter epistolary or something. But it is fantastic book. Really enjoyed it. Might be my favorite of clays.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Wow.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah, it might be my favorite.

[Mallory O'Meara]

That's big.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah. Really liked it. What about you? What are you reading?

[Mallory O'Meara]

I am reading a book that immediately went on my best books of the year so far list. Wow. I texted you about this. It's Old Soul by Suzanne Barker and it's about these two people there in Osaka. They meet because they both miss the flight by like 30 seconds and the like the attendant won't open the door even though they're there and they're still loaning. Loading luggage into the plane. So they're like kind of commiserating and. And they end up talking and like having dinner together. And they realize that they both have recently lost someone. Her twin brother and his best friend both died under mysterious circumstances. But they both realize that these two people interacted with the same woman before they died.

[Bria Graham]

Okay, I gotta add this to my list right now. And I'm adding it to my list. I think I already have it on my list, but I gotta, gotta get on the wait list for this incredible.

[Mallory O'Meara]

And so the main character, this man, the guy, this man named Jake, starts going on this, like, worldwide search to meet all these other people whose loved ones died after meeting this woman. But you also get the POV from the woman and it's pitched as historian meets under the skin. And this book blew me away.

[Bria Graham]

Wow.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Like, it's so fucking good.

[Bria Graham]

Maybe I'll just read books you've approved of this year because that seems what I like, seems like what I'm doing.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I was thinking about you the whole time I was reading because I was like, oh, this is because he travels around the world. Like this one chapter where he goes to church, Germany, Japan. Like he meets all of these people and you kind of get their live stories.

[Bria Graham]

I love that.

[Mallory O'Meara]

And like, why they ended up in the path of this woman. And like, it is. It's really. It's like, it's scary. It's. Oh, it's. I loved it so much. So that's Old Soul by Susan Barker.

[Bria Graham]

And mine is wake up and open your eyes by Clay McLeod Chapman.

[Mallory O'Meara]

So we're going to take a moment to share some listener feedback. Adria wrote in with some follow up so this was the glasser looking for an incredibly specific wheelhouse.

[Bria Graham]

Okay.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Because their favorite author was on hiatus.

[Bria Graham]

Hiatus. Okay. Did we find out who the author was?

[Mallory O'Meara]

No, I don't. I don't know if they said okay, but Adria says. Hey again, Mallory and Bria. And thank you so much for the incredible response to my conundrum. What ultimately helped was a gamut of things. One, realizing I'm a mood reader. And that's okay. I eventually realized that I'm a mood reader, and part of what happened was me wanting a comfort read during a stressful period of my life. For me, comfort was and still is. Those urban fantasy novels, they're not the only thing I can turn to when I need comfort. Two, rereading the books until I felt ready for a break. Three, exploring new things, including a bit more smud.

[Bria Graham]

Hello.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Hello.

[Bria Graham]

We have a podcast for you.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Four, journaling my reading thoughts, which we always recommend because it kind of, like, helps you think about what you like and what you don't like. Five, swapping book formats.

[Bria Graham]

Oh, great.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Six, renewing my library card and trying Libby, because between Libby and Kindle Unlimited, it's now easier to try books I'm not sure about and dump, slash, shelve them if they don't fit my mood without feeling like I'm wasting money. Libraries forever.

[Bria Graham]

That's right.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Seven, reading other authors in my backlog. And eight, listening through the reading glasses back catalog. Listening to you guys every Thursday became a beloved part of my routine, and I've been listening to old episodes as well. In doing so, I got a lot of the answers to the problem I wrote in about. Mallory. Thank you for the PSA from that episode, which I completely and wholeheartedly endorse. I did always feel weird using the standard industry language about romance being clean or not.

[Bria Graham]

Oh, yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

But I didn't have the right language to replace it until you mentioned using the phrase mild romance.

[Bria Graham]

Oh, I like that.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Mild, mild, or spicy? Yeah. Open, closed door.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

And then, Bria, to your thing about tea being steam.

[Bria Graham]

Steampunk. That's the question.

[Mallory O'Meara]

That part made me laugh my ass off, because I would have considered afternoon tea a normal occurrence in a steampunk world. Your recommendation of a Psalm for the Wild Build ended up being perfect in its own way.

[Bria Graham]

Great.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Thank you both again for everything. I'm super grateful to have found you, and I'm proud to call myself a glasser. Another satisfied customer we're here for. I love this, but I also love that Adria figured out a lot of this problem. Yeah, it was like, we helped, but it was also Adria being figuring out.

[Bria Graham]

Like, I'm a mood reader like that. I mean, I think I feel kind of bad for the mood readers of.

[Mallory O'Meara]

The world, especially if you're a library user.

[Bria Graham]

And I think it takes a while to figure out that that's what your problem is, that people are like, I want this thing, but I don't want this thing. You know? And it's like, maybe that's. You're just a mood reader.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah.

[Bria Graham]

And that's okay, everybody. Jillian wrote in and said, hi, Bria. Mallory. I had the same reactions about the iron frame flame.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I put this in Graphic Valley.

[Bria Graham]

Okay. Mallory reads these emails and I actually. You would think I would read them before I show up to record this, but I don't. So this is actually a very.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I like that they're a surprise for you because.

[Bria Graham]

Okay. She's going to explain all the things that were frustrating to me. One, why the heck doesn't have chapters? This was especially annoying for me since I was book clubbing it on Fable. And on Fable, there are chat rooms for each chapter, but I never knew what chapter I was on. Thank goodness for that Reddit post. Same Reddit post I found. Wow, it just took a lot of back and forth referencing. Two, I was super concerned I was missing something with the abridged version. After doing some research, it turns out it's actually shorter because it cuts out all of those little things like he said, she said and she scoffed or she shuffled her feet. It just has that character's voice actor reading that their part, which cuts out having to identify who's speaking or puts those noises, scoffing, shuffling into the audio. I thought that was super cool. Oh, I wondered that too. That's kind of what I figured.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah. And I guess I wouldn't think about it being a bridge, but I mean, if you cut all of that out, that's like.

[Bria Graham]

It is abridged.

[Mallory O'Meara]

That's a chunk of pages, two words.

[Bria Graham]

It's abridged, right? I mean, in theory. That's right. Thanks as always for your wonderful podcast. Congratulations on your book. I love it and I can't wait to start listening to reading Smut tomorrow. Well, hey, it's out right now. This is super helpful and good to know it.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Not having chapters is bonkers.

[Bria Graham]

Well, sometimes I feel like the beginning of things. They. Yeah. Does every audiobook. You would think I listen to so many audiobooks. Do they announce the chapter?

[Mallory O'Meara]

Some of a lot of them do.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

It's like, yeah, I mean, I do in my own audiobooks. In the Daughter of Daring audiobook. You can hear me going, chapter 14.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah, I guess they do do that.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah.

[Bria Graham]

But, yeah, it was, it was very frustrating. But thank you to that Redditor. I mean, Redditor, come on the show. Like, you're like, you've saved. You've saved me and at least one other person that we know of.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Like, it's, it's nuts that the publisher doesn't release a guide, at least.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah, that's right. Like, I guess they want you. Here's why. Because they want you to buy part two.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Very grumpy about this. So you can email us at reading glasses podcast gmail.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, some bookmarks. Folks, we just want to thank you for all the support. During Ultra February, we launched.

[Bria Graham]

Is that what we're calling it?

[Mallory O'Meara]

I mean, we launched a podcast, we released a book. I released a book. We had a bunch of events. There's probably more stuff. Oh, we had our 400th episode. It's just a lot of stuff in the shortest month of the year. So we just want, like, we know it's a lot of promo. We just really appreciate the support. All of you have been so wonderful, posting photos and tagging us and things and promoting. We just, we really appreciate you folks.

[Bria Graham]

And the support for reading Smut has been amazing. But head over there to. If you haven't listened yet, check it out. The last episode is all about why people like horny fairy books.

[Mallory O'Meara]

So we're getting a lot of feedback. People like it. People agree with our, with our assessment of why people are horny for fairies.

[Bria Graham]

Nice houses. Nice houses. But we would love your feedback and we would love you to listen to the episode. And you don't. A lot of people are like, do I have to read the book before I don't. We really explain everything. We're very. In some ways, we're noobs too. So don't feel like you can. You have to know everything to jump in.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah, it's more, it's more about why is this book sexy than what the book is about.

[Bria Graham]

That's right.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Also, I want to tell folks I'm still doing more Daughter of Daring events. I'm going to be at WonderCon. I'm doing a bunch of events in Southern California. Yeah. Are you going no. Oh.

[Bria Graham]

But I just like it there. It's a nice event. It's a nice thing.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I really like.

[Bria Graham]

Are you doing a panel?

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yes. Okay. And I'll put. I'll put link in the show notes. So I will be doing a bunch of stuff, including. I am going to be on Go Fact Yourself.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah, I.

[Mallory O'Meara]

On this Sunday. When it. When. When this episode comes out. Sunday, March 9th, with Jerry O'Connell.

[Bria Graham]

I cannot believe it. I'm so jealous. Wait, are you doing this live?

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yes.

[Bria Graham]

Oh, maybe I'll come.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Please. I'm so nervous.

[Bria Graham]

I'm like, no to WonderCon. Yes to Jerry O'Connell.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I'm so scared.

[Bria Graham]

Why?

[Mallory O'Meara]

I don't like performing. You know me. I don't like performing.

[Bria Graham]

Oh, they're really nice, though. And also, they're funny. And so, like, they really lead the show. Because I also don't actually like performing, in spite of what you might think. I don't like doing stuff in front of crowds. But they make it really easy. And the crowds varies. It's small.

[Mallory O'Meara]

He's little. I know. But. Well, hopefully some glasses will be there. I'm just nervous. I don't know what my topic is yet.

[Bria Graham]

Okay.

[Mallory O'Meara]

But I. I'm very. I. I can't embarrass myself in front of Jerry O'Connell.

[Bria Graham]

I mean, don't do it. He was in Stand By Me. I know.

[Mallory O'Meara]

That's why I'm like, I got to get. I got to do good.

[Bria Graham]

And it's just gotten cuter with age. Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

He looks great.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Shout out to Jerry.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Well, hopefully I will do all of the glasses proud. One. One of the. The subjects I gave to them was haunted houses.

[Bria Graham]

So feel like if you get that.

[Mallory O'Meara]

What do they bring in a haunted house as the special guest?

[Bria Graham]

Actually, I will say glassers. If you're listening, this comes out before you record.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yes.

[Bria Graham]

Okay. They do bring out a special guest, and it probably will be some cool writer. So you should definitely go. Like, they always bring a special guest.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I know.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah. So you have to.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Which makes me even more nervous.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Because I have. I have to worry about embarrassing myself in front of Jerry O'Connell. But also a special guest.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah. Yep. But.

[Mallory O'Meara]

And also for Daughter of Daring, we did a movie theater launch. But I'm also do. If you want to just see a free bookstore talk. I'm going to be at Romans next week. I'll put a link in the show notes. Gonna be at Romans in pasadena on the 13th. And some other stuff. I'll. I'll put a Link in the show notes. But again, folks, we know this has been a lot this year. We've been throwing a lot at you. And Bri and I were at a friend's birthday party last night and someone was like, congratulations on the book. And I was like, oh, thanks. And someone else in the circle was like, oh, well, which one? And the other person was like, you did two books this week. I was like, yeah, I know. It's a lot happening. It's a lot happening, whatever going on. So before we talk about a hot new genre, we're going to take a quick break. Reading Glasses is sponsored in part this week by Green Chef. Green Chef, who is now owned by HelloFresh. Which means a wider array of meal plans to choose from. And that means there's something for everyone. But, Bria, what is Green Chef?

[Bria Graham]

Green Chef is a CCOF certified meal kit. They make it easy to fit any kind of lifestyle. Keto, paleo, vegan, vegetarian, gluten free. What are you looking for? Green Chef has got it ready for you. If you are just looking to eat more balanced meals, they're going to have a range of recipes to suit your preferences.

[Mallory O'Meara]

If you're the kind of person who has to ask for substitutions at a restaurant, that's right, Green Chef has got you covered. You can create healthier eating habits that last with real foods. Green Chef makes it so easy that even I can do it. They've got pre made sauces, pre portioned ingredients, which means there's less prep, less mess, less, less stress from Mallory O'Meara. More time to savor a delicious restaurant quality meal. Even on your busiest days, you can stay on track. There's salads that are ready in five minutes or less, ready to blend smoothies and grab and go. Protein packed breakfast. Bria, you know I hate cooking. Very stressful to me.

[Bria Graham]

I do know that about you.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I deeply dislike it and so many people are always like, I have the solution. Well, you know what? Who has the solution?

[Bria Graham]

Green Chef.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Green Chef. They deliver this nice package to your front door that's got all your stuff in it. You don't have to think. You just got to quickly make this meal. It is fantastic.

[Bria Graham]

Thrive all year with clean, easy meals from Green chef. Go to greenchef.com glassesfree and use code glassesfree to get started with free salads for two months plus 50 off your first box. Wow.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Free salad.

[Bria Graham]

Who doesn't love a salad?

[Mallory O'Meara]

Who doesn't love a salad for free?

[Bria Graham]

Yeah, that's greenchef.com glassesfree and code glassesfree for free salads for two months and 50% off your first box glasses. Free salads.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Free salads.

[C]

Somewhere in an alternate universe where Hollywood.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Is smarter and the Emmy nominees for outstanding comedy series are. Jetpackula Airport, Marriott Ruppell. Dear America, we've seen you naked. And Allah in the family.

[C]

In our stupid universe, you can't see any of these shows, but you can listen to them on Dead Pilot Society, the podcast that brings you hilarious comedy pilots that the networks and streamers bought but never made. Journey to the alternate television universe of Dead Pilot Society on maximum fun. Org.

[Mallory O'Meara]

This week. Get out your slide whistle.

[Bria Graham]

Get them out.

[Mallory O'Meara]

We got a hot genre alert for Queer Norm. What is it? Why is it buzzy? And most importantly, how can you find it? We have got you covered. Okay, first off, Bria, what is queer norm? What does that mean?

[Bria Graham]

I had to learn for this episode, but I love it. I love the idea. Queer norm or queer normative, describes stories where queer people and identities are. You already guessed. They're normal. They're just normal. Queerness is part of everyday life. There's no issue. There's no conflict in the story relating to queerness or coming out, reckoning with sexuality. It's just like these people are queer. Let's. That's not the point. The conflict within the story.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yes.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

And this type of story has been around for quite a while, but it's been gaining buzziness over the past couple years. Why? Well, if you're in the US you can probably guess.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

People looking for comfort in this because, you know, things are fucking awful in the world right now. I'm guessing. And I'm guessing that you are also guessing that queer Norm stories are. They're only going to get more popular. Of course. It's very important to depict the struggles and problems and hard experiences of queer people in fiction. But there's a lot of folks out there that just want to fucking break. They just want to read a book and not have to brace for impact about, like, their main character getting, you know, slurs yelled at them or, you know, experiencing homophobia and queer norm just gives you some escape and some comfort.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah. Yeah. So, you know, I keep thinking of normcore fashion movement. When I read this, I was like, oh, it's like norm core, which was like wearing normal people clothes, kind of unisex clothes, had really a moment in the early 2010s. Do you remember this?

[Mallory O'Meara]

It's happening. It's really big now. Is it big right now in la? At least okay. Like, I feel like it's very specific in la. Like a lot of unisex stuff.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah, yeah. Which I think is just kind of a. It's just like. It's a nice sort of easy, easy kind of.

[Mallory O'Meara]

And I kind of dress like you more than me, but like I do.

[Bria Graham]

Dress kind of normcore sometimes. Yeah, yeah. But I just kept thinking about it with, with this word. I think also it's just because of. Yes. The state of the US but also maybe it's just becoming, you know, there's a lot more people who are able to be out. There's people that we know that are queer, they're gay, they're whatever, they're, you know, and they are able to. It's just part of everyday life. So it doesn't seem so wild.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Queer norm.

[Bria Graham]

But the world should be queer norm.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yes.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

And that's. That's the thing. So these books are not necessarily cozy. They're not queer cozy. Although there are lots of cozy queer norm books. It's just that this is not where the conflict comes from. There might be other, you know, there might be serial killers and space wars and stuff, but the, like. There's no problem with being queer in these books.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah. Most of them are sci fi fantasy. Because even though I think we talk about it a lot, a lot. We live in a world where it's normal to be queer. Maybe not everywhere in the world is that's the case. Fantasy.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yes. We're saying it's like. Because it's like a kind of a world building thing. A lot of these books are sci fi and fantasy.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah. So they're like imagining a world whether in the future, like this magic kingdom or whatever. But like part of that world is. Is like part. Part of them building that like the magic system the society is imagining just queer people being normal, which we love. And that's the funny thing is we've talked about like, we're about to name some queer norm books. We've talked about these on the show a lot.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah, we have. And glasses, like weird. Need a label, you know.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I think that's what it is. It's like a cozy. It's like a lot of these hot genre alerts. It's like stuff that people have been looking for, but they just need a word for it.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

And we, I mean we. Queer books are one of the biggest, if not the biggest, glasser wheelhouse item. But. And I think this is going to. One of the reasons I wanted to do an episode on this is it gives you the ability to Google it.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah. Because I think people often write in to us, I was going to say, but they write in because they want these books, but they didn't have this name for it. What they ask for, I think is more they want queer characters, but no homophobia. Right. They're looking. Their queerness isn't the struggle, but they want it to involve queer people because they want to see themselves reflected on the page, but they want to see the world they know reflected on the page, which is important to me as well. So what are some books?

[Mallory O'Meara]

Well, first is Some for the Wild Built. Oh, yeah, of course. But a lot. A lot of Becky Chambers.

[Bria Graham]

Sure.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Work is queer norm.

[Bria Graham]

Sure.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Same with another big glasser, TJ Klune. House in the Cerulean Sea comes up a lot. Like, that's what we're saying is we can give. You can Google this term and like, you will find a book riot list of queer norm books. What are some other ones?

[Bria Graham]

The Deep by Rivers Solomon, Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo.

[Mallory O'Meara]

A lot of Nghi Vo books.

[Bria Graham]

Oh, yeah. Someone to Build a Nest in one of my favorite books of last year by John Wiswell, which is Queer Norm, but it's also like Monster Romantasy.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yes.

[Bria Graham]

So that's very cute.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Very buzzy. All the buzzy things in one book. It's horromance, but also romantasy, but also queer. Queer norm. There you go. Like, there's also Floating Hotel by Grace Curtis, which I read last year. Legends and Lattes. It's just a huge.

[Bria Graham]

Holy. Makes sense. Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Honestly, I think that's part of why it got so huge.

[Bria Graham]

Oh, because it was cozy but also queer. There was no question about.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yes.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

That was the moment when. Because it was during the pandemic, during lockdown, and people just wanted escapist, cozy as fuck. Comfy books where people are falling in love and no one's being homophobic at them. Like, I think I like, because, I mean, there's a lot of. We read so many queer books, but, like, you know, and some of that we love some of them Camp by Elsie Rosen is amazing queer book, but it's not a queer norm book.

[Bria Graham]

Right.

[Mallory O'Meara]

A lot of the conflict in that book comes from, like, the main character struggling with his identity and trying to, like, be a different person. And like, the other word is low stakes.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

People just want, well, you're fucking tired.

[Bria Graham]

Or you can have high stakes. It's just that the stakes don't involve, you know, someone having to Deal with. With a homophobic.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yes.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

What are some other ones?

[Bria Graham]

What Moves the dead by T. Kingfisher, which we love T. Kingfisher. And I mean any book by T. Kim Fisher is probably going to fall into this. Gideon the ninth. That's a good one because very world building. But yeah, you never. There's never. The conflict is about something much more fantastical.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yes, but you're. I mean, all of these books, I mean, what moves the Dead, I would say is more like horror fantasy as well, but it's any like. They're all like, you know, world building books. Because if you can't have a literary fiction queer norm book right now, unless I guess you could set it on a commune.

[Bria Graham]

Okay, wait, why?

[Mallory O'Meara]

That's away from the rest of society.

[Bria Graham]

I see, I see, I see, I see. Yes.

[Mallory O'Meara]

That's the problem is a lot of you can't really have queer norm literary fiction because if it's in the real world, our real world fucking blows. So it's not realistic.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah, I see what you're saying.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Like you can have queer norm characters, but you can't have a queer norm world.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Which. Fuck this fucking country.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah, no shit.

[Mallory O'Meara]

But we know that Book riot had this on their. Their reading challenge either this year or last year.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

So now we are. Go forth and find your queer norm books, folks, and also write in. Tell us what your favorite queer norm books are. We'd love to read more of them. And honestly, like, even I like. I like reading these books too. Because sometimes you're like, you don't want to see your protagonist being sad about the people that they love and their identity.

[Bria Graham]

It's very true. Yeah, it's true. I mean, I like it too, because it's just a reflection of the world that I live in. This is what the. I mean, the world I live in.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Everyone'S queer and wearing unisex clothing. Yeah, everyone's walking around L. A in a big buttress jumpsuit.

[Bria Graham]

Fox News would have you believe it's a negative thing, but I love it.

[Mallory O'Meara]

But I was gonna say it's kind of true and it rules.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah, I like these kinds of books. I mean, I think also, unfortunately, the world we live in, even though this reflects the world I live in, there's also a lot of homophobia there. But yeah, these are the look especially I think sci fi books are often looking to the future. Right. And in the future, I think we will, hopefully we are headed down a path, although it doesn't seem like right now where the homophobia goes away. Now. I don't know if it'll happen in our lifetimes or who knows now where we are. This is not the point. The point is that sometimes the world can be nice and it's in a queer norm book. That's the point.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I want to live in legends and lattes. I want an orc to make me a latte and for everyone to be nice to each other.

[Bria Graham]

That sounds nice.

[Mallory O'Meara]

So you can tell us your favorite queer norm book. Send us your thoughts. Reading glasses podcast gmail.com before we. And by we, I mean Bria. Test out a water bottle.

[Bria Graham]

Wow.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I wrote water bottle or carrier? Test out a water bottle Carrier. We're going to take a quick break. Reading Glasses is brought to you in part this week by ZOC doc. Bria. We both have weird food allergies.

[Bria Graham]

Yes.

[Mallory O'Meara]

And sometimes I wake up with weird rashes and weird places.

[Bria Graham]

Oh yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

And people, a lot of people don't realize I'm allergic to my own cats. I am such a cat lady. And I am allergic to sailor and Lula. And Lula likes to lick my eyelids to wake me up in the morning.

[Bria Graham]

Sometimes that is not good for someone allergic to cats.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Nope. And sometimes I need medicated cream. We all know that the healthcare system in this country is very difficult to navigate. Sometimes you want to self diagnose, you want to google things. What you should be doing is finding a real professional. And Bria, how do you find that?

[Bria Graham]

Well, you can try ZocDoc. ZocDoc is a free app and website where you can search and compare high quality in network doctors and click to instant instantly book an appointment. You can filter for doctors to take your insurance. They're located nearby. That's very important in Los Angeles. Are a good fit for any medical need you might have and are highly rated by verified patients. And once you find that doctor, you can see their actual appointment openings. Wow. Amazing. Choose a time slot that works for you and click to instantly book. Nothing worse than finding a doctor that you want to go to. And it's like they are available next year.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah, yeah. Or you finally get an appointment and then they're like, oh, we don't take your insurance anymore.

[Bria Graham]

The worst.

[Mallory O'Meara]

The worst. But sock document clears all of that. It's so easy to use. It's fantastic. It really makes looking for a doctor, I mean maybe not a pleasant experience, but a manageable one. And that's a huge, huge boon right now. So you can stop putting off those doctor's appointments and go to zocdoc.comglasses to find and instantly book a top rated doctor today. That's zocdoc.comglasses zocdoc.com glasses classes in two weeks. Two weeks. Put on your gecko shorts and grab your pogs. We're celebrating max fun. Drive 90s style. Support the shows you love and get some rad retro themed gifts, meetup day bonus content and more. So don't miss it. On the World Wide Web March 17th. Time for some book tech. Advances in bookish technology. We don't know who sent this to us, but we thank you very much. This came with no name. It's basically a water bottle holder that you wear like a purse. It's like a sling for your water bottle that has like a strap like a purse. They're a little less than $20 on Amazon. This one is cream colored. Bria. What did you think? Wow. Okay, so this is a pretty good review because I never got this. Okay.

[Bria Graham]

Never give it to Mallory. I was like, you know what? I'm just gonna use this. I'm gonna wear it to set. And I was like, I'm just gonna wear it once. But I wore it the entire time. And okay. This thing is specifically designed for these dumb cups that Mallory and I have these stupid Stanley knockoffs have still with us right now. We have the simply modern ones, but we love them. And I wore to set. And was I mocked? Yes. Was I hydrated? Also yes. Which was.

[Mallory O'Meara]

They're not gonna be mocking you when they look at your luminous hydrated skin.

[Bria Graham]

And I have a problem on set where I, I, I put something down and then it's gone. Like, I just lose, I've lost multiple Apple pens, which is horrible because those are so expensive. But okay for reading. This is a little different for reading. I'm gonna review it for reading because this is a book podcast. I would say this is for audiobook listeners on the go.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I have a different opinion.

[Bria Graham]

Oh, I think it would work for hiding hiking, for general walks. It's a hands free holder. You sling it around your body. It isn't light because these cups themselves are quite heavy, but it does a great job. And it has a little zipper to hold your keys or whatever you need held in there.

[Mallory O'Meara]

A little pocket.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah. So it makes it really convenient. So you can literally, if you took it on a hike or and listened to your audiobook, you could put your keys in and that's all you would really need for the hike, which is kind of great. Or I mean, your phone if you're listening to an audiobook. But so I do think it is for that. I loved this 5 out of 5 pages. I actually was leaving to come record with Mallory and I went back inside to get it and I couldn't find it. But I do think it's at my house somewhere and I will give it.

[Mallory O'Meara]

To you at some point. Well, I think this could also be good for print readers because we all know the pain of packing up your tote bag to like go to the park and you're like oh, oh yeah, great. I don't want to. Should I put this container of liquid in this bag with paper and no, it just like even if your water bottle is good, it does feel a little nerve wracking to do that. So I feel like this is really good if you are a person who carries around a water bottle but also carries around books bag.

[Bria Graham]

Y that's actually a really good point. And the only problem is once you have it on there, it's kind of if you're driving somewhere it's kind of hard to fit into a cup holder cuz it makes it just a little too big for the at least in my car. But I loved this thing. People mocked me relentlessly wearing it, but it was so convenient.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Secretly jealous.

[Bria Graham]

Who do I. What do I care? I don't care if you. I get mocked. I'll wear whatever I want at this point in my life. I don't give a. I'm hydrated.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Look at this skin.

[Bria Graham]

Look at this skin. It's amazing. I loved this thing. It's a little less than 20 bucks. Worth every penny to me. Yeah, the only problem was that it's cream and it got dirty.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah, well, but I mean that kind of stuff, like my purse is black and I have to wash it because it gets dusty.

[Bria Graham]

I did wash it and it didn't look cleaner after that. Based on maybe where I was shooting but also maybe the material it's made out of. But that was fine.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Well, I can't give a Paige's review but I think.

[Bria Graham]

Sorry.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I think the fact that Bria immediately claimed this and I never saw it again is the best review that you're going to get. But yeah, I think it this I think we're saying yeah if you are someone who likes to hydrate and reads on the go, whether it's audiobooks or print or even your e reader, sometimes you don't want to put your bottle water bottle in a bag with an E reader.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah, that's right.

[Mallory O'Meara]

We've. Everybody has had a water Bottle in a bag Mishap.

[Bria Graham]

Oh God, constantly. Oh. And honestly, these Stanley cups are, are if they fall like in my car or something, like they immediately start leaking because it comes out through the top. So it is a problem.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yes. So. And this water bottle carrier solved it. So you can send your book tech ideas to Reading glasses podcast or gmail.com or check out the wish list in the show notes. Now let's answer a bookish question from one of our listeners, K Rhoden, to say. Hi, Brian, Mallory. Firstly, I love the show. Like a lot of listeners, listening to Reading Glasses helped me realize how much I love to read and that I should make time for it day to day. Thank you. I also really appreciate all your book recommendations. But I have a question. I'm a listener in the UK and often find when I look for recommended books, they aren't out over here or they're available but very expensive. Or sometimes they're anticipated in the US but have been out here for a few months. I wondered if you could shed some light on how releasing books in different countries works. Does it depend on the publisher? As if they'll release books at the same time in different English speaking countries? Or maybe how popular the books are anticipated to be? Thank you again for the show and for expanding my reading world.

[Bria Graham]

Okay, I'm just gonna let Mallory take this.

[Mallory O'Meara]

This is very complicated and it's something I have a lot of, a lot of experience with. So yes, this is something that a lot of readers might not know is that not all book deals are for worldwide distribution. Some are and some aren't. So when a book gets sold in the US for worldwide rights, it's very likely that the UK branch of that publisher will be putting the book out, but it doesn't guarantee they're going to come out at the same time. It might have a different cover, it might be released a little later or a little earlier, depending on that other country's publishing schedule. So it depends on the publisher or that plan for that specific book. Sometimes books are hugely popular in the US but not in the UK and vice versa. Sometimes a book is huge in the UK and then it takes up to a year to come out in the US and it still doesn't make a huge splash over here. They're just very different markets. But if a book gets sold with North American rights, which a lot of books are, that means only the US and Canada authors and agents do that in the hopes that they can sell the book in foreign territories and make more money.

[Bria Graham]

Got it. Got It.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Because so, like, it's the equivalent of being like, all right, we'll give you $50,000 for this book, worldwide rights. And a lot of agents are like, all right, well, we'll take your $50,000, but you only get North America.

[Bria Graham]

Right.

[Mallory O'Meara]

So the hope is that you get.

[Bria Graham]

That same thing with movies.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah. And then you get the $50,000, and then maybe you sell it in Japan, maybe you sell in the uk, maybe you sell it, you know, in Spain, and you get $5,010. So all my books are North American rights only, but that means that all the UK editions of my books and other countries, like Girly Drinks. Girly Drinks is out in. In Japan and Korea. Lady from the Black Lagoon is out in. In Brazil. That they're totally unconnected to the US version. Girly Drinks, for example, it came out a year later in the UK even though it had the same cover. But that was because my UK publisher liked the COVID and license it from Hanover Square Press. Overall, it's very complex, and it's basically different book to book publisher to publisher. That's why it's not guaranteed. And it is very frustrating for readers.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I have had this experience many times. I can't tell you how many fucking times I really wanted to read a book. It was only out in the uk and I paid extra to have it shipped over here. And then two months later, it came out in the US and I was like, oh, sick.

[Bria Graham]

Cool.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Awesome.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah. And how often. I mean, like, the major books, are they gonna be both in the UK and the US or. No, there's no guarantee. It's just like, if they're like, we over here, like, are not going to enjoy this book for whatever reason. Like, who makes that choice?

[Mallory O'Meara]

It's. I mean, it's. It's the agents, the publishers. It's the markets. Like, the markets are just so different. An example, I think, of all the time, there's an amazing writer named Sean Fang. She wrote the transgender issue. She has a new book out called Love in Exile, I think. But the transgender issue was, like, a number one Sunday Times bestseller for, like, months in the uk and it took. I think it didn't come out for another year here.

[Bria Graham]

Wow.

[Mallory O'Meara]

And, like, it did. Okay. But it wasn't a number one New York Times bestseller like it was in the uk. It just, like, was a different book. Like, they're just different tastes.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

You know, like. Like, lady from the Black Lagoon did not do super well in the UK because it's such a American, like, LA focused book. But like Girly Drinks did much better. Like, because it's more of a worldwide. Got it.

[Bria Graham]

That makes sense.

[Mallory O'Meara]

They're just different, different markets. And that's why there's different covers to things, different schedules. But it is like what I'm, what I'm saying for to this classroom is like you're not wrong for being frustrated because there's just no, there's no guarantees of anything. And like the only thing you can really do is look on an author's website or you just have to do research on your own. And that's not a great answer. And it's annoying. Yeah, but it's kind of all you got.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Like I've had a bunch of UK listeners be like, why can't I buy Daughter of Daring in the uk? But it hasn't sold in the UK yet. You can send some emails.

[Bria Graham]

Can you get the E book though?

[Mallory O'Meara]

Maybe. Yeah. I mean you can, you can get it, you can get it off of Amazon, but it's the American version. Got it. You want to read Daughter down the uk, write to some publishers, be like, hey, buy this book because I want to read it. Yeah, but it's, I never feel bad. I never feel bad about it because again, sometimes huge, huge books take a long time to come out in the UK or never do it all. So it's just weird. It's like, what's the thing that they love in the uk? Or like, like how Canada has bags of milk. Why do they like bagged milk up there? Who could say?

[Bria Graham]

I don't know.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Why don't we have bag milk down here? Who could say? It's just weird cultural differences. These books are the bagged milk of the, of the literary world. So if you want us to answer your reader question or solve your bookish problem, you can send it to reading glasses podcastmail.com as always, want to thank the wonderful mods who are in our Facebook group. And remember folks, all kinds of cool ass shit in our Void merch store. There's totes shirts, stickers, sweatshirts, all kinds of fun stuff. And all of it, when you buy it, helps us purchase cat food. My cats eat a lot of cat food, as they should and it costs a lot of money. And 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's not going to take you that long. All you got to do is open up your podcast listening app and go to where Reading glasses is and give us a five star review. A nice little rating. It's really great for us, but also it really helps grow the show. You can email us at reading glasses podcastmail.com find us on Instagram at Reading Glasses Podcast. Thanks for listening and thanks for reading. Maximum Fun. A worker owned network of artist owned shows supported directly by.