Ep 402 - The Oldest Book on Your TBR + Rex for Grandmas!

Summary

Podcast Summary: Reading Glasses - Episode 402: "The Oldest Book on Your TBR + Rex for Grandmas!"

Release Date: March 13, 2025
Hosts: Brea Grant and Mallory O'Meara

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Introduction to the 2025 Reading Glasses Challenge

In Episode 402, Brea Grant and Mallory O’Meara kick off their 2025 Reading Glasses Challenge by focusing on tackling the oldest book in their To-Be-Read (TBR) lists. This segment is designed to encourage listeners to prioritize lingering reads that have been on hold for an extended period.

Notable Quote:
Mallory: "We're doing some troubleshooting here, and we..." [00:28]

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Current Reads and Recommendations

Priests by Sierra Simone

Both hosts are delving into "Priests" by Sierra Simone, an erotica novel that has garnered significant attention with over 200,000 Goodreads ratings. While primarily classified as erotica, Brea and Mallory acknowledge the presence of a plot, albeit light.

Notable Quotes:
Bria: "It's an erotica book... it's 90% erotica." [00:44]
Mallory: "It's like four chilies. It's not pure filth, but it is pretty close." [01:04]

Vantage Point by Sarah Sligar

Mallory shares her enthusiasm for "Vantage Point" by Sarah Sligar, describing it as a blend between Megan Abbott's "Succession" and Shirley Jackson's haunting narratives. The novel revolves around a wealthy Maine family plagued by mysterious deaths every April, blending family drama with enigmatic occurrences that blur the lines between curse and reality.

Notable Quote:
Mallory: "It's Shirley Jackson-esque because it has that tense, cloistered feel..." [04:02]

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Listener Feedback and Community Engagement

The hosts take time to read and respond to listener feedback, highlighting personal stories and offering practical advice.

Amanda's TBR Experience

Amanda shares her journey of refining her TBR list. Initially dissatisfied with previous recommendations, she discovered new genres and realized her true reading preferences, leading to greater success in finding books she enjoys.

Notable Quote:
Mallory: "You have a totally different wheelhouse." [06:18]

Kelsey's Gratitude and Book Guilt

Kelsey expresses gratitude for the podcast's role in helping her overcome shame associated with reading romance novels. This newfound confidence has led her to engage in book discussions and shared reading experiences with her husband.

Notable Quote:
Mallory: "This is so sweet." [07:36]

Emily's Library Tips

Emily, a librarian, offers valuable advice for listeners seeking alternatives to crinkly plastic dust jackets on hardcover books. She suggests requesting trade paperbacks or large print editions and highlights the benefits of ebooks and audiobooks.

Notable Quote:
Mallory: "This is a super hot tip." [08:50]
Bria: "This is the kind of stuff we're here for." [08:19]

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Upcoming Events and Support Initiatives

Daughter of Daring Event

Mallory announces her participation in the Daughter of Daring event at the West Valley Regional Library in Reseda. She will be screening one of Helen's serials and handing out copies of a featured book, encouraging local listeners to attend.

Notable Quote:
Mallory: "I'm really, really pumped about it." [09:04]

Maximum Fun Drive 2025

The hosts promote the Maximum Fun Drive, detailing how listeners can support the show by becoming members of the Maximum Fun Podcast Network. They highlight exclusive events, gifts, and personalized book recommendations available to supporters.

Notable Quote:
Bria: "We have decided we are going to bring back book recommendations." [10:21]

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Solving Reader's TBR Challenges

Callie's Dilemma: Choosing the Right Book

Listener Callie faces a dilemma: her oldest TBR book no longer resonates with her, and subsequent entries lack appeal. The hosts advise her to cleanse her TBR list by removing books that no longer interest her, emphasizing that the TBR should reflect books she genuinely wants to read.

Notable Quote:
Bria: "Time to delete. Time to throw away." [25:33]
Mallory: "The whole point of a TBR is a list of books you want to read." [26:38]

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Book Recommendations for Grandmas

Recommendations for Jamie's Grandmother-in-Law

Jamie seeks recommendations for her 93-year-old grandmother-in-law who feels bored with her current reading. Brea and Mallory suggest cozy mysteries and light-hearted romance novels with strong female protagonists, avoiding excessive violence or sexual content.

Recommended Titles:

• How to Age Disgracefully by Claire Pooley
• Dial A for Andes series by Jesse Q. Satato

Notable Quotes:
Mallory: "She has mentioned to me on multiple occasions she's bored with all her books these days." [28:41]
Bria: "They are light hearted, they're cozy." [29:30]

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Conclusion and Community Engagement

The episode wraps up with a reminder for listeners to rate and review the podcast, support through merchandise purchases, and engage with the community via social media and email.

Notable Quote:
Bria: "If you like the show, please rate and review us on the podcast listening app of your choice." [30:44]

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Key Takeaways

• Prioritize Long-Standing TBR Books: Tackling the oldest entries can declutter your reading list and provide a sense of accomplishment.
• Tailor Recommendations to Personal Preferences: Understanding your true reading wheelhouse enhances enjoyment and reduces frustration.
• Engage with the Reading Community: Sharing experiences and seeking advice can enrich your literary journey.
• Support and Participate in Events: Joining podcast events and support drives fosters a stronger connection with fellow readers and the hosts.

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For more personalized book recommendations or to solve your own reading challenges, listeners are encouraged to reach out via email at [e-mail].

Transcript

[Mallory O'Meara]

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

[Bria Grant]

And I'm Bria Grant, filmmaker and e reader. This episode, we're ticking off a box of our 2025 reading glasses glasses challenge. Read the book that's been on your TBR the longest. Plus, we solve a TBR problem about what spin on your list for the longest. It's the same.

[Mallory O'Meara]

We're doing some troubleshooting here, and we.

[Bria Grant]

Recommend books for grandmas.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I'm so excited about this. I've been waiting for this. We get so many requests for dads, Always dads and husbands. Finally, we're getting some. Grandma, Grandma, I'm excited. But first, Bria, what are you reading?

[Bria Grant]

Well, I'm reading a book for our other show. I'm reading Priests by Sierra Simone.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I'm also reading Priests. The Prime.

[Bria Grant]

This comes out. It may already be out or. No, it comes out. It'll be out tomorrow. This was a book that. It was recommended to us so many times. I just am looking at over 200,000 ratings on Goodreads. It is an erotica book.

[Mallory O'Meara]

A priest very much an erotica book about it.

[Bria Grant]

It's mostly. I would say it's 90 erotica. It is like.

[Mallory O'Meara]

It's like on our ratings because we came up with a rating scale for reading spot in it. I would say it's like four chilies. It's not pure filth, but it is pretty close.

[Bria Grant]

I mean, you haven't. How far are you.

[Mallory O'Meara]

But there is some plot.

[Bria Grant]

There is some plot.

[Mallory O'Meara]

So it's like light on the plot.

[Bria Grant]

Anyway, if you want to get more into it, listen to our show tomorrow with Jordan Morris, friend of the show, friend of Max Fun, someone.

[Mallory O'Meara]

We're so excited to talk to you about this. Who?

[Bria Grant]

I actually. Okay, wait. The plot is. There's a priest and a woman comes in and to confess, and he's like, she has a nice voice. And then he sees her and he's like, oh.

[Mallory O'Meara]

And she's. Well, she starts confessing sexy things.

[Bria Grant]

Not at first, though. At first she's like, stuff she couldn't talk about. And then quickly, pretty quickly, she gets into the sexy stuff, and he loves it. Thank.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Good enough.

[Bria Grant]

And I did have to text Jordan at some point. And I said, I'm a little embarrassed that we asked because we are. Jordan and I are friends. And I said, I'm a little embarrassed that I we asked you to read this book. And he said, I am so excited to talk about it.

[Mallory O'Meara]

So it's going to be a funny.

[Bria Grant]

Conversation, an awkward conversation. Very excited. I just feel like I needed to shout it out because so many people. When would I say what is your favorite erotica book? This is one of the top ones.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Well, I was last night talking to our patron sain of meeting Smut, our friend Robin and she was like, yeah, I loved it so.

[Bria Grant]

And honestly loving it too.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah, it's great. I'm really enjoying it.

[Bria Grant]

Fantastic. What are you reading?

[Mallory O'Meara]

I am reading another book that is going to be on my best of the year so far.

[Bria Grant]

Wow, you're really in the 2025 books. I haven't even really started yet.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Well, I did all I did that shopping when we were at Skylight for our and I picked up some, some hot new releases. So this book is Vantage Point by Sarah Sligar. So people keep saying that this is if Megan Abbott wrote Succession, but I would say that it's as if Shirley Jackson wrote Succession.

[Bria Grant]

Nice.

[Mallory O'Meara]

It's very rare that I give the this book is Shirley Jackson esque, but it is and I do want to say off the top, this book I think is having the same problem that Model Home did by River Solomon.

[Bria Grant]

Oh, you said that. You told me that this.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yes. Where it's like some of the, the like marketing around it makes it seem like it's a supernatural book and it's not. I thought this was going to be a haunted house book and I was real grumpy. But it's not.

[Bria Grant]

But then you. But it's also one of your favorites.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yes, but it's so fudgeing good. So it's basically it's about this old money family, very succession. Like, you know, they, they live in Maine. They have this big fancy house. Like everybody in the family does something. You know, they're politicians, they're tech people. You know, they're very, very, very famous. They have tons of money. But they also have this curse where every April, not every April, but in April, a lot of people in the, in the family die under weird circumstances. And it always happens in April. And the main characters are woman and the brother and sister, their parents died in very weird circumstances. And it's 14 years later. They're like, she's kind of a, she's kind of a mess. He's sort of running the family business and keeping everything running and he has married her childhood best friend. So the three of them are very, very close together and the brother is running for office and he's running for Senate. And all of a sudden these weird videos of his sister get leaked online. And she doesn't remember filming any of them at first. Like, they're like, oh, well, she's just such a fuck up. She's probably fucked up. But as she's. The more she watches it, she goes, I don't think this video is real.

[Bria Grant]

Oh, that's weird.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I don't think this video ever happened.

[Bria Grant]

Oh. Huh.

[Mallory O'Meara]

And it's like an AI thing. I'm not going to tell you. Okay, I'll tell you after we record, but. So she feels like she's starting to lose her grasp on reality, but more weird things start happening. She starts seeing more videos come out and she doesn't know if it's the curse or not. Her brother thinks someone's just trying to make it so he. His sonnet run is being ruined. And it's so. It's like a big family drama. A lot of family secrets. But I say it's Shirley Jackson esque because it has that sort of like tense, cloistered feel of like, almost like we've always lived in the castle. Like this weird family with these weird family secrets and these like, weird quirky people and they're always talking around this, like, terrible thing that happened and these weird things are happening and you don't know if they're actually happening or not. I fucking loved it. This was like a book where I had to stay up late and finished it. Finish it.

[Bria Grant]

Okay, I'm adding it to my. Adding it to my tbr.

[Mallory O'Meara]

This vantage point by Sarah Sligar.

[Bria Grant]

And mine is Priest by Sierra Simone. Go check out our podcast tomorrow.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Do you want to take a moment to share some listener feedback? Amanda wrote in to say, dear Bri and Mallory, let me start by saying thank you for asking my question about using library bathrooms while out running.

[Bria Grant]

Oh, this was the person who wrote in and said, I'm out running. I really need to use the bathroom at the library. Is that okay?

[Mallory O'Meara]

I was delighted to find out that librarians everywhere welcome such usage. No more cutting long run short because I can't find facilities. I primarily wanted to write in to share a fortuitous failure. I wrote you back in the summer of 2023 to ask for long book recommendations, and you made two recommendations which were spot on based on what I sent you. I bought them and read them. Didn't like them very much. But this was an excellent discovery because it made me realize that what I thought was in my wheelhouse wasn't actually in my Wheelhous.

[Bria Grant]

Interesting.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Since then I quote, dated around the library a bit to try different things and figured out what my wheelhouse items really are. Since then, I have far greater success finding books I like. Furthermore, to combat some of the haters, just know that we, you two and I have very little overlap in book taste and I still adore the podcast, although I occasionally find a wreck that I also enjoy. But generally just love the bookish community you've built.

[Bria Grant]

Oh, that's nice.

[Mallory O'Meara]

This is so wonderful. And Amanda, I have had this. I think all of us have had an experience where you think you like something and you don't actually. And what you are looking for is something that's very tangentially related to it.

[Bria Grant]

And turns out you have a different wheelhouse.

[Mallory O'Meara]

You have a totally different wheelhouse.

[Bria Grant]

That's right. Kelsey wrote in and said hi there. Last night I met you at your book event for the no Pressure Book Journal. Congrats again. Hi Kelsey.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Thanks to all the glassers who came out. It was a fucking blast.

[Bria Grant]

And asked you to sign a book plate I made in place of my copy that hadn't arrived yet and to include the words we absolve you of your book guilt. That's very lovely. I didn't have any book guilt to report when you asked. Except I remember this morning that I did have some book guilt that I already got over thanks to this podcast. Oh, amazing. Okay. I used to be very ashamed of reading romance, despite how much comfort it brought me. Probably because it's the girly genre and not quote unquote, real reading. All the things that you have struck down in the podcast. Listening to reading glasses has helped me get past that and just accept what I like. I've even spent 20 minutes with my friend hostage in my car explaining what I love about Ali Hazelwood books in spite of the fact that they were shaking their head through all of it. Since we have very different taste in romance romance novels. Now I am prepared to read A Court of Thorn and Roses with my husband as our two person book club. Oh, and I just wanted to email you and thank you again. Happy reading.

[Mallory O'Meara]

This is so sweet.

[Bria Grant]

Very sweet.

[Mallory O'Meara]

This is like this, like if this is our life's work, I'll be happy.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah, I agree that people actually get to read what they want and not feel ashamed about it. I think that's great. I agree.

[Mallory O'Meara]

That makes me so happy. This, this, like, helps me. Helps me get out of bed in the morning. Emily wrote in to say, hi, Bri and Mallory. I work at a library. And I was listening through the backlog and found a question ages ago that I can actually help with. The listener wanted to check out more library books, but hated the crinkly plastic cover that gets put on hard covers. While asking librarians to take the plastic cover off isn't really feasible, not in our system at least. What might be easier is requesting trade paperbacks or large print editions. Large prints are almost always big paperback books or hardcovers with the COVID art printed straight on the book. No dust jacket at all.

[Bria Grant]

That's right.

[Mallory O'Meara]

This is called Paper Overboard. Yeah, like my, my third book, Girls Make Movies is this. And actually the no Pressure Book Journal is this.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah, it is.

[Mallory O'Meara]

It's just.

[Bria Grant]

This is.

[Mallory O'Meara]

This is a hot tip. Hold on.

[Bria Grant]

Hot. Hot tip.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Hold on. Hot. Booked up in the morning. Emily says while more obscure books are less common to find in large print, most bestsellers will be available in these alternate editions that avoid the crinkly dust jacket cover. And of course, ebooks and audiobooks avoid the issue entirely. Thanks so much for all you guys do and I hope this helps someone looking for a quiet reading experience. This is super hot tip.

[Bria Grant]

That is a really hot tip and something I had never thought of, but great. This is. Listen, this is the kind of stuff we're, we're here for. Emily. I love. This is what our librarians, the people working at the libraries, they know this inside information. This is good information and you pass it on and we appreciate that.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yes, you can email us@reading glassespodcastmail.com if you want a list of all the books we talk about on the show delivered to your inbox every month. You can sign up for our newsletter. There's a link in the show notes. So some bookmarks just let folks know this Saturday, like when this episode comes out in a couple of days, I will be at the West Valley Regional branch of the library in Reseda for a Daughter of Daring event. They're giving away copies of the book. I'm going to be screening one of Helen's serials. There's. That's like her little 15 minute long serials, which I'm really excited about. So if you're in Reseda or in the Valley, come hang out. I'm really, really pumped about it. And also, folks, Max, fun drives happening next week. As always, we're going to be doing a bunch of stuff, but if you started listening to the show within the past year and you love it, we've helped your reading life and you're like, I want to help out these ladies. I Wish they had a Patreon. Well, we kind of do, but it's called the Maximum Fun Podcast Network. We're very proud to be a part of it. It's a co op. I don't. I think we are the only co op podcast network.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

So you're supporting a good cause, but that's how you can pay just five bucks a month to support Bria and I. Help us make the show. That's how. That's how we pay our bills and pay our cat food bills, pay our chewy.com orders. So you can sign up all year, but during the drive, there's going to be a lot of fun events, a lot of fun gifts that you can receive, cool things that we're doing, goals we're trying to do. So that will all be unveiled next week. But keep a. Keep an ear out. Maximum Fun Drive is on its way.

[Bria Grant]

Hey, Glassers. Bria here. I wanted to jump in and say that Max Fund Drive is next week and we have decided we are going to bring back book recommendations. We hesitated to do this a little bit. It's a lot of work for us, but we wanted to do it. And we're only doing it once, possibly one more time, but most likely just once during the drive, and that is the very first day. So if you want a book recommendation, and this is for new members only, we aren't doing upgrading members. If you are a new member and you're joining Maximum Fun and you select Reading Glasses or Reading Smut, either one as one of the shows that you listen to, send your receipt toreading glasses podcastmail.com and let us know your wheelhouse. And then we will send you personalized book recommendations from Bria and Mallory. And, you know, we give recommendations on the show all the time, but often those take months, weeks, years sometimes for us to get to. We have hundreds just piled up. If you want to jump ahead in that line, we will send these directly to you. And we do them live on Instagram, which is very fun. It's very fun. And if you are watching it live on Instagram, then you can come up and talk to us on Instagram. So we'll be doing that at 4pm Pacific Time on Monday, the 17th. Mark your calendars, join us. And if you want that recommendation, join Between. It helps if you join on Monday, but if you join between now and Monday, become a member of Maximum Fun. Send us that receipt to reading glasses podcastmail.com Let us know you want a book recommendation. We are so excited for you to join and we want to make sure you have a reason to join. This is a great reason to join. Again, we don't do this very often and we really love talking to y'all. We love getting to make these recommendations, but it's tough, so we have to limit it. So again, join on Monday at the beginning of the drive. It's maximumfun.org you can go right now and join and then send us that receipt to Reading Glasses podcastmail.com.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Reading Glasses is sponsored in part this week by Pear Eyewear. Folks, spring is finally on the way and it is time for a spring refresh. Some spring cleaning. Maybe you do a closet refresh, maybe you want to do a face refresh. And you know who can help you with that is Pear Eyewear. They have three new colorways for their most iconic acetase based frames. Folks, I'm literally wearing their acetate base frames right now. It is in a turtle shell pattern. They're very cute. But these are just the base frames. Folks. There are so many top frames that Pear has. There are literally hundreds of them and they have so many cool new ones for spring. They have amazing collabs like Disney Princesses, Marvel, Star wars, NBA, NHL. I've talked before about how I love my Washington Capitals glasses. It's very exciting for me. But they also have like fancy collections. They have a premium collection. They have sun tops. They have sparkly ones. They have queer ones. Folks, it doesn't need to be June for you to wear cool Pride glasses. You can wear them all year round. The top frames are so easy to change in and out. They're just magnets. So you can wear 15 different ones in a day if you want to. But you can wear cute spring colors. It's been a long, long winter. It's even been cold here in and I am so excited for the return of pastels and florals and nice spring colors. I want to see some green, I want to see some pink. You can get all of these top frames and base frames for a very affordable price. Folks, glasses can be really expensive. If you are a lifelong glasses wearer like me, you know, glasses are expensive, sunglasses are expensive. Pear is so budget friendly. You can change up your look with top frames starting at $25. The base frames start at 60. Top frames are just like I said, 25. There's free shipping. You can also save with pre tax FSA and HSA dollars. And the frames are really durable. My cats knock them off my bedside table all the time and they're still looking good folks. It's springtime. If you want to refresh your look and get a bunch of different looks that you can wear every day, you can change your look multiple times a day. Go to Pair Eyewear. You can upgrade how you see the world and how the world sees you. Go to pair eyewear.com and use code GLASSES for 15% off your first pair and support the show by mentioning reading glasses sent you in your post checkout survey. That's pair P A I R I wear.com code glasses glasses hi, I'm Alexis. And I'm Ella and we're the hosts of Comfort Creatures. We could spend the next 28 seconds telling you why you should listen, but instead, here's what our listeners have said about our show. Because really, they do know best. The show is filled with stories and poems and science and friendship and laughter and tears sometimes, but tears that are from your heart being so filled up with love. A cozy show about enthusiasm for animals of all kinds, real and unreal. If you greet the dog before the person walking them or wander around the party looking for the host's cat, this podcast is for you. So come for the comfort and stay for Alexis's wild story about waking up to her cats giving birth on top of her. So if that sounds like your cup of tea or coffee, Ella, we're not all Brits then join us every [e-mail] this week we're ticking off another box on the 2025 reading glasses challenge. Read the book that's been on your TBR the longest. Why did we put this on the challenge? How are we completing it? And most importantly, how can it improve your reading life? All right Bria, what's the rules? What are the Glassers need the rules.

[Bria Grant]

They got to know the rules first. However, you keep your tbr the stack. Stack next to your to your bed, on a shelf, a paper journal, a digital list, your library wish list. Whatever you do, find the book at the bottom. The very the one.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Dig down in there.

[Bria Grant]

Dig down in there. You put on there first before all the other books, the one that's been on there for a long time and start it. But you don't have to finish it. No, just start it. Give it a little read. Try to read it. You can dump it if you don't like it, but we're saying go to that very, very last one. Mallory, what do you do if you don't keep a TBR though, folks?

[Mallory O'Meara]

Figure out a book you've been meaning to read for a long ass time.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah, yes. That's the cloud atlas of your life, if you will.

[Mallory O'Meara]

If there is a book that you've spent years or maybe decades going, huh, I want to read that, and you haven't. That's the book.

[Bria Grant]

That's the book. You can think of it. Think of it right now. You're like, I've always said I wanted to read this. Try it. You don't have to finish it, but give it a try.

[Mallory O'Meara]

We're not going to come into your house and check your work. Like, if they're like, Especially if you don't keep a tbr, if you don't keep, like, a list. So you're not sure exactly that, you know, maybe this book, you. You heard of this one book two weeks before this other one. The spirit of this whole thing is not. Is not to be technical. It's to find a book that you've been meaning to read for a long time and get it off your tbr. All right, so, Bria, why did we put this on the challenge?

[Bria Grant]

Well, first of all, this is both. This is a twofer. You get to tick it off of your reading glasses challenge and tick off something off your tbr. So this is very exciting.

[Mallory O'Meara]

This is Brie and I's shared kink is ticking something off of a list.

[Bria Grant]

We love it. This might be your oldest to do of all.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah.

[Bria Grant]

The oldest thing you've been meaning me to do for the longest time.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Your oldest to do list.

[Bria Grant]

There was something I put on my to do list at the beginning of January of last year, and I never did it. And I was like, finally, like, in December, I was like, I guess I'm not going to do this. This is the oldest thing I like to do.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Sometimes you got to. Sometimes you just got to let something go.

[Bria Grant]

You really do. And I did. I deleted it. Anyway, it's a fun exercise. You get to check in with the version of you that put that book on the list.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah.

[Bria Grant]

But how will it improve your reading life?

[Mallory O'Meara]

Well, we love a TBR cleanse. We encourage a TBR cleanse.

[Bria Grant]

Definitely.

[Mallory O'Meara]

It's always, always good for your reading life, especially for those of us that get stressed out about having a huge TBR list. You are not one of those people. Some people don't care about it. I don't like. To me, I'm like, you have a.

[Bria Grant]

Lot of physical books.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yes.

[Bria Grant]

Words on a page, a lot easier.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah. If I. If I did not manage my TBR list, I would just be living in a cave made out of books, which would not be Terrible.

[Bria Grant]

But it's a little bit like that. You know that ar the bookstore in la.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah. My house would look like the last bookstore that aren't. A tourist would come, and my cats would be scared to be. Very stressful. But also, it feels great to read a book that you've been meaning to for a long time.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

To get it. Like, it feels good to do that.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Because, like, it just feels like, especially if there's something that you've really wanted to do for a while, it feels nice to make the time to do it. I agree. And I think that can really improve your reading life. And like you said, like, you know, maybe this. The you of 10 years ago put this book on your TBR or have been meaning to read it, and you get to check in and be like, well, what. Why did I do that? Why was I interested in this? Like, what in this book? Book made me want to read it? What version of me was interested in this? And it's nice to do that. We love a. We love a self reflection.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

On this. Yeah. All right, so how are we completing this part of the challenge?

[Bria Grant]

Well, the problem for me is that I go through my TBR list at the beginning of the year. That's my favorite thing. The one. This is the. The list on my phone that is very, very, very long. And I go to the very bottom, and I start reading the books at the bottom of the. In January. This is just something I do every January because there's not a lot of 20, 25 books out. It's just like a freeing thing I do. So I already kind of do this. I love it. It's nice. I. I go through. I'm very cutthroat about it. Like, I will start at a book and I'll be like, no.

[Mallory O'Meara]

And I.

[Bria Grant]

And I get through. Through quite a few books in the bottom of that list, and they've been on there for a while. But I start. I like to get through as many as I can before these ones from 2025 start catching my eye. So I start going, ooh, hey, that sounds like a good one.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah. February is the Valentine's Day. That's when all those hot new books.

[Bria Grant]

Are hot new books. Yeah. You see them in February.

[Mallory O'Meara]

They're batting their eyelashes at you.

[Bria Grant]

What about you? How are you completing this challenge? Challenge.

[Mallory O'Meara]

So, surprisingly, I did go to my. My list. My tbr, which I care is a physical TBR that I carry around with me like a turtle. It was not the book that's on there. The Longest.

[Bria Grant]

What do you mean?

[Mallory O'Meara]

I thought it was Cloud Atlas.

[Bria Grant]

Cloud Atlas is not the book that's been on there. Okay, what was it?

[Mallory O'Meara]

I have a confession to make.

[Bria Grant]

Okay.

[Mallory O'Meara]

The book that has been on my TBR the longest has been on there for 11 years.

[Bria Grant]

Oh, my God.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Is a hardcover copy of Falling angel by William Hjordberg.

[Bria Grant]

I don't even know the book.

[Mallory O'Meara]

So when I lived in Providence, Rhode island, my favorite city in the world, I went over a friend's house and watched the movie Angel Heart, which is a movie that I fucking love. I rewatched it recently, and he was like, wait, wait, wait.

[Bria Grant]

What is Angel Heart?

[Mallory O'Meara]

I'm thinking of Robert. You're thinking Angel Heart is Robert De Niro. Mickey Rourke, that super hot lady, Lisa Bonet.

[Bria Grant]

Oh, yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

You're like, yes, that is the super hot lady. It's an incredible, like, weird, cosmic horror erotic.

[Bria Grant]

I've never seen this movie.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Oh, my God, Bri, you gotta watch it. Angel Heart. But we were. So. We finished watching, and he was like, oh, this is an adaptation of a book. And lent me the book it was based on, and I obviously never gave it back. Yeah, Book crimes. Send the book police to my house. I don't even talk to this friend anymore. So. Whoopsie. Anyway, I rewatched it recently because I've been watching all these erotic thrillers, and I was like, God damn, I have to read that book. And turns out it's the one that's been on my TBR the longest. So that's what I'm gonna do. I will also. I'm still gonna read Cloud Atlas because now it's become a thing. I have to read Cloud Atlas.

[Bria Grant]

At least try it.

[Mallory O'Meara]

But I'm also gonna read Falling Angel. Okay. And I'm very excited about it.

[Bria Grant]

So I was trying to figure out what I did because this was, like, January when I started this, and now we're recording this in March. But I think I read it. I read this book called the Hanjin murders from 1946. It's been on my list since 1946.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Wow. Bria was born in 1946, made a TBR, and then was put in cryo stasis for 50 years.

[Bria Grant]

I think it's been. I think it's been there since 2020. Maybe it was. It was good. I really liked it. It's like a Japanese murder mystery. The other one that definitely was on there that I. That I have not read yet, but I. I do have it, actually, from the library right now. It's called FKAUSA, which is a post apocalyptic book from 2019, which is when I think I put it on my list.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Which is six years in regular time, but is 20 years in emotional time.

[Bria Grant]

But it's really hard. I'm gonna try it. But the problem is I'm not really into apocalyptic books right now.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I know.

[Bria Grant]

So all these apocalyptic books are getting.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Checking in with 2019 Bria.

[Bria Grant]

2019 Bria. Loved it. And then a true apocalypse happened.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah.

[Bria Grant]

And then I decided, let's get. I'm a little less interested in the worldwide disease.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah. When it's outside your door.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah. I'm not as interested. But I'm gonna. I'm gonna try it. I think the one, the Japanese murder mystery is probably on there longer, but. And I did try a few other ones that I know I quit pretty quickly, but this one, the FK one, I am gonna try also.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah. Well, I mean, again, that's what we're saying is that you don't have to finish these books. The point is to get it off your tbr.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Is to at least give it a try. Read, read even a page. Read even a chapter. And if you're like not interested, dump it.

[Bria Grant]

Dump it.

[Mallory O'Meara]

So you can send your thoughts to reading glasses podcast gmail.com. before we solve a TBR problem that's very related to this, we're going to take a quick break. Reading Glasses is sponsored in part this week by Lumi Labs. Folks, what if edibles made you just feel good instead of way too high, consistent, mellow, and super delicious? Lumi Gummies are specifically designed to make you feel good, not stoned. Whether you're looking for an end of the day de stressor, a midday mood boost, or help getting the best sleep ever, Lumi Gummies has a strain that's right for you, folks. I am a wicked bad sleeper. I have a really hard time falling asleep. And lately, being in my mid-30s, there's a new fun wrinkle, which is I have a hard time staying asleep. So it's so great. I love being in my mid-30s. It's 10 out of 10. Fantastic. But you know what's been helping me with that is Lumi Gummies. I take one right before I go to bed. It helps me fall asleep and it helps me stay asleep even when my cats. Cats like to sleep on me. Lulu likes to sleep directly on me. She sleeps on my chest or on my back. And if I don't have a Lumi Gummy, sometimes I will wake up and then I'll be Up all night, which is not terrible because I do like to read in the middle of the night, but I would rather be sleeping and Lumi Gummies are available nationwide. Go to lumigummies.com that's L U M I gummies.com and use code glasses for 30 off your order. Again, that's L U M I gums.com code glasses lumigummies.com code glasses glasses. Hey you. Yeah, you with the Giga pet. Me. Do you like supporting artist owned podcasts?

[Bria Grant]

Totally. What about limited edition gifts, hours and.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Hours of bonus content and more? Sounds sweet. Then stay tuned For Max Fun Drive 2025 www.maximumfun.org on the World Wide Web.

[Bria Grant]

Next week.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Time to solve a bookish problem for one of our listeners. Callie writes in I really don't want to read the oldest book on my TBR because one, I've gotten older and wiser and two, this author has really shown class in recent years. Some of the next oldest are also kind of meh, but although not for moral issues, I'm just not really feeling them. Do I read the next oldest one? That actually speaks to me to complete the challenge. It kind of feels like that goes against the purpose, though. Thanks so much for your thoughts. Wishing you both the best. You want to read Cali's Wheelhouse?

[Bria Grant]

Yeah. Fantasy sci fi horror with detailed, thoughtful world building, particularly with badass women, main characters, gorgeous writing, memoirs by interesting women, celebrities and or funny people. Cozy books where nothing really happens. There's too much horror happening in the world right now, and sometimes all your girl really wants is to read about someone making coffee and eating a muffin by the seashore for a few hours. Who doesn't?

[Mallory O'Meara]

All right, Bria, what do you think Callie should do?

[Bria Grant]

We're gonna say the same thing, but I just want to say these books are should not be on your tbr.

[Mallory O'Meara]

They're not your tbr.

[Bria Grant]

Also, here's the thing. Okay, okay, I'm gonna say, first of all, time to call. Time to delete. Time to throw away. You don't even want to read this book. Whatever system you have, you got to get rid of that book. That's not actually the oldest book on your tbr. Although you're kind of in the same situation where I'm in, where I'm like, do I actually want to even read this book? I am going to try one of them, but I. But I think this is a great time for you to clean up that list.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yes.

[Bria Grant]

Like go through and you're like, you don't want to read this. Take it off the tbr. The book, as we've always said, does not disappear. No, it'll come back if you let it go. It'll come back to you one day. But you actually don't even want to read this book. You can take it right off the list.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah, I've actually seen a lot of glossers talking about this on the slack. It is very much within the rules to do a TBR cleanse before you do this part of the slack. Please do.

[Bria Grant]

In fact, I would say do that. Make sure you aren't reading a book you don't want to read. That's against everything you have to take. Read the book that is the oldest one that you actually are still interested in, because these are books not on your tbr. They shouldn't be. They shouldn't be Cali. Take them off your list.

[Mallory O'Meara]

The whole point of a TBR is a list of books you want to read. It's not the. It's not the To Suffer through list.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

It's the book list of books. Like, the goal is to read a book that you've been wanting to read for a long time. Not like. Like crawling your way through a book that the. You of a decade ago was interested in and you don't even give a fuck about it anymore.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Like, that's. I mean, that. The whole goal of this is to improve. The goal of the reading challenge is always to improve your life and make you happy, not give you homework that you're mad about. So please. I mean, that's. Like, I didn't have to do this because I moved last year.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

So I got rid of. I mean, Jeremy and I. Well, mostly me. Jeremy is not good at getting rid of books, but I got rid of at least two full bookcases full of books. Like, I just got rid of so many. And so the tb. So my. I have one TBR bookcase in my house, and it's set apart from all the other bookcases. And, like, it's only books that I really still want to read. And that's why I picked Falling angel, because even though it's been 11 years, I still want to read it.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah. Kelly, these are tbd. TB deleted from. To be deleted from your tbr. These are tbd. You don't even want these books.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yes.

[Bria Grant]

I think go and read the book that you actually want to read that it feels the oldest.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yes. Go through your list. Get all. Get. Get rid of everything, but go all the way down in the first book, book that at the bottom that you see that you're still interested, that's the one that you read. And you can still dump it if you don't like it.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah, absolutely.

[Mallory O'Meara]

So we got you covered.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

If you want us to solve your book as problem, you can send it to reading glasses podcast gmail.com. now let's answer a recommendation request from Jamie who says hello, Bria and Mallory, I have to start by thanking you for helping me get back into reading after listening to your podcast. I went from reading almost never to finishing over 40 books this year. God damn.

[Bria Grant]

Wow.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Jesus.

[Bria Grant]

Good for you.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I'm proud to say, with your encouragement, I am now a reader in multiple mediums, including audiobook and e reader.

[Bria Grant]

Nice.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I have a request that I'm hoping will be helpful for many people. I am looking for a recommendation from my grandmother in law. She has mentioned to me on multiple occasions she's bored with all her books these days. I knew I just had to reach out to you for guidance. This was a y'all, but I don't do y'alls. I'm sorry, folks.

[Bria Grant]

You're doing great.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I normally have Bria read these.

[Bria Grant]

Okay.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Based on what I can glean, I think she'd like a cozy mystery or romance. Fiction is a yes, but fantasy isn't quite her thing. She's 93 years old, so not too much sexiness or violence. A book with female protagonists is a plus as well. Thank you in advance for all your help. Bria, you want to read not the Grandmothers, but Jamie's Wheelhouse.

[Bria Grant]

Yes. Historical fiction with female protagonists. Vampire books that play with the standard lore cozies, fantasies that aren't epic. Romantasy. And looking to add haunted house books.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Oh, hello.

[Bria Grant]

This is a. Ooh, I like haunted house.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Curious.

[Bria Grant]

What do you have for Jamie?

[Mallory O'Meara]

I am recommending how to Age Disgracefully by Claire Pooley, which I thought would be really fun. Romance that takes place in a senior center where all the quirky folks at the center, like, there's all these, like, senior senior citizens there and like, you know, they all have big personalities and they hang out there all the time and they find out that the building that they're in is going to be sold by the city council and they have to band together to save it. And the protagonist is this very funny woman. She just started working there and of course she falls in love during the course of it. But I think it's a, like, good grandma book.

[Bria Grant]

That's great. I like that.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah.

[Bria Grant]

What do you think I'm going Dial A for Andes by Jesse Q. Satato. I just got the second one in the series from the library. I literally just saw it come up.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Fantastic.

[Bria Grant]

Honestly, any of her books, she does very fun mysteries. They're light hearted, they're cozy. There is a death element, but every cozy mystery has. But the aunties are so funny about the, about the death element. They will make you laugh. And it's about. It all takes place at a wedding and it's just, it's very cute, it's very funny, it's very family based. It's a romp. It's quick. I just really enjoyed this book and that's why I got the next one.

[Mallory O'Meara]

What's the other one with the old lady in it?

[Bria Grant]

That one's Vera Wang's Guide to Unsolicited.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Unsolicited Advice to Solving a Murder or something.

[Bria Grant]

Unsolicited advice for Murderers. That one's also really fun.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Oh yeah, I think this would be a great. I think this is a great recommendation. I think this is a good author for this grandmother. Yeah, well, Jamie, let us know because I know we're pretty good at recommending books to husbands and dads. We're a little inexperienced at recommending books to grandmothers.

[Bria Grant]

We are, we are.

[Mallory O'Meara]

So let us know if you want us to answer your recommendation request. You can send it to reading glasses podcastmail.com as always, want to thank the wonderful mods who run our Facebook group. And remember folks, there's all kinds of cool stuff in our store. Thanks to Void Merch, we've got totes and sweatshirts. If you looked at Chelsea DeVonta's Instagram and you were like, oh, I love that library user sweatshirt. That's our merch. It comes in all different colors. There's so much cool library stuff over there. We love our library T shirts and sweatshirts. Check it out. 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's so great for us and helps us reach more readers. 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.