Ep 403 - Can You Beat Mallory in Book Trivia?

Summary

Reading Glasses Podcast: Episode 403 - Can You Beat Mallory in Book Trivia?

Release Date: March 20, 2025

In Episode 403 of the Reading Glasses podcast, hosts Brea Grant and Mallory O’Meara dive into an engaging and competitive book trivia session, all while promoting their ongoing Maximum Fun Drive. This special episode not only entertains listeners with challenging literary questions but also offers insight into the hosts' current reads, listener feedback, and the myriad benefits of supporting the podcast through Maximum Fun. Below is a comprehensive summary capturing the episode's key points, discussions, insights, and conclusions.

---

I. Introduction and Maximum Fun Drive

The episode kicks off with Mallory playfully questioning the nature of the Maximum Fun Drive:

[00:00] Mallory O'Meara: "Hey, Glassers. It is the 2025 Maximum Fun Drive. And what the fuck does that mean?"

Brea quickly clarifies the purpose:

[00:23] Brea Grant: "Max Fun Drive is a brief, beautiful, ephemeral window of time where you can support us, Bri and Mallory and get a bunch of cool stuff."

Both hosts emphasize the importance of this drive, likening it to a cooperative Patreon model where listener support directly sustains the podcast.

---

II. Episode Overview: Book Trivia Challenge

Brea introduces the episode's main event—a book trivia competition between herself and Mallory, challenging listeners to test their knowledge against Mallory's literary prowess.

[01:05] Mallory O'Meara: "You're listening to Reading Glasses, a show about book culture and literary life designed to help you read better."

This friendly competition sets the tone for an interactive and fun-filled episode aimed at engaging the podcast’s community.

---

III. Reading Updates: Bria and Mallory's Current Reads

Before diving into trivia, both hosts share updates on their current reading selections.

Brea's Current Read:

• "Four Aunties and a Wedding" by Jesse Q. Santanto

  Brea describes it as the second installment in a charming series, filled with humor and light-hearted mystery.

  [02:33] Brea Grant: "The aunties are not... They keep saying like in it. It's very funny."

Mallory's Current Read:

• "Tartufo" by Kira Jane Buxton

  A departure from her previous work, Mallory appreciates the book's slice-of-life narrative set in a struggling Italian town transformed by an unexpected discovery.

  [03:20] Mallory O'Meara: "It's very much like a language slash setting book because there's just so many incredible descriptions..."

---

IV. Listener Feedback

The hosts take a moment to acknowledge and share feedback from their listeners, highlighting how the podcast has influenced their reading habits.

[05:15] Mallory O'Meara: "I think an audiobook is a great start when it comes to reading history..."

One listener, Sarah, shares how Mallory’s recommendations reignited her interest in nonfiction, specifically feminist history books.

[06:22] Brea Grant: "Bonnie wrote in and said... I love micro history... History of women in fitness, history of the food industry..."

---

V. Maximum Fun Drive Details

Brea and Mallory delve deeper into the Maximum Fun Drive, outlining the benefits and perks for supporters. They emphasize the cooperative nature of Maximum Fun, differentiating it from traditional Patreon models.

[07:46] Brea Grant: "It's sort of like a Patreon. That's the way Maximum Fun works."

Key perks include:

• Extra Episodes: Access to additional content beyond the regular podcast.
• Exclusive Channels: Membership to private Slack and Discord channels for community interaction.
• Personalized Book Recommendations: For supporters who join during the drive.
• Bonus Content: Eight years’ worth of additional episodes and special events.

Mallory highlights the dedication required to produce the podcast weekly for eight years, underscoring the necessity of listener support.

[08:24] Mallory O'Meara: "Reading Glasses is a full time job for us. We write every episode. We record them, produce them, edit them, promote them."

---

VI. Book Trivia Rounds

The core of the episode revolves around an interactive book trivia game, divided into multiple rounds and categories. Here's a breakdown of each round:

A. Round 1: Romance Books

Brea challenges Mallory with descriptions of recent romance novels, testing her ability to identify titles based on summaries.

[12:40] Bria Grant: "Daphne always loved the way her fiance Peter told their story... up until the moment he realized he was actually in love with his childhood best friend, Petra."

Despite Mallory's best efforts, many of the 2024 romance titles prove to be a tough ask, highlighting the depth of recent romantic literature.

[17:38] Bria Grant: "How do you think people are doing at home? Are you doing well?"

B. Round 2: Women in Nonfiction

The trivia shifts focus to influential female authors currently featured on the New York Times Bestsellers list for nonfiction. Questions touch on notable authors and their works, such as:

[20:02] Bria Grant: "Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley Frankenstein."

Mallory struggles with some of the more specific titles, underscoring the niche nature of the questions.

C. Round 3: Short Stories

This round explores renowned short story collections, challenging Mallory to name the anthology based on listed stories.

[28:02] Bria Grant: "The White Cat's Divorce. Prince Underground. Kelly Links, Give the Glassers a chance."

Mallory accurately identifies "The Complete Stories" by Kelly Link, showcasing her strong grasp of short fiction.

D. Round 4: Book Subgenres

In this segment, Bria presents various book subgenres, asking Mallory to define them.

• Canadiana: Books set in Canada.

  [30:36] Mallory O'Meara: "Is that a book that takes place in Canada?"

• Furry Sleuth: Cozy mysteries with animal protagonists.

  [30:50] Mallory: "It's like a cozy mystery with an animal protagonist."

• Nordic Noir: Noir literature set in Scandinavian countries.

  [31:25] Brea Grant: "That's right."

Mallory nails most definitions, demonstrating her comprehensive knowledge of literary subgenres.

E. Bonus Questions

The trivia concludes with bonus questions about the podcast’s membership statistics and historical goals during previous drives, adding an extra layer of engagement for dedicated listeners.

[32:37] Bria Grant: "How many reading glasses members do we currently have as of this recording, which is before we started the fun?"

---

VII. Conclusion: Encouragement to Support and Upcoming Events

As the trivia wraps up, Brea and Mallory reiterate the significance of the Maximum Fun Drive, urging listeners to contribute to sustain and enhance the podcast.

[34:36] Mallory O'Meara: "So right now, go to maximumfun.org join to join. Sign up support Reading Glasses. It means the world to us."

They also announce upcoming events to celebrate the drive, including:

• Live Personalized Book Recommendations: Scheduled for March 21st at 2:00 PM Pacific Time.
• In-Person Reading Party: An invitation to meet at Vista Hermosa in Los Angeles on March 23rd, fostering community engagement and interaction.

[26:00] Brea Grant: "We are going to meet at Vista Hermosa in Los Angeles at noon. Bring your books, bring your blankets, bring your snacks..."

Mallory emphasizes the collective effort required to maintain the podcast's quality and frequency.

[34:44] Mallory O'Meara: "For just $5 a month, you help us stay independent, help us keep putting the show out every week."

---

Notable Quotes

• Mallory on Maximum Fun Drive:

  [00:08] Mallory O'Meara: "What the fuck does that mean?"

• Brea on Supporting the Podcast:

  [00:23] Brea Grant: "You can get extra reading Glasses episodes. You can go behind the scenes and get all the members only perks..."

• Mallory on the Podcast's Commitment:

  [08:24] Mallory O'Meara: "Reading Glasses comes out every single week for eight years, which means Reading Glasses is a full time job for us."

• Brea on Personalized Book Recommendations:

  [09:19] Brea Grant: "Book recs. Tomorrow at 2:00pm Pacific Time."

• Mallory on Book Trivia Challenges:

  [33:07] Mallory O'Meara: "We have to make it hard."

• Brea on Community Engagement:

  [26:00] Brea Grant: "We are going to meet at Vista Hermosa in Los Angeles at noon..."

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Final Thoughts

Episode 403 of Reading Glasses masterfully blends entertainment with community-building, leveraging the book trivia challenge to foster listener engagement while simultaneously promoting the crucial Maximum Fun Drive. Brea Grant and Mallory O’Meara effectively convey their passion for literature, their dedication to the podcast, and their appreciation for their audience’s support. Whether you're a longtime Glasser or a new listener, this episode offers a delightful mix of fun competition, valuable insights, and heartfelt gratitude, making it a standout installment in the series.

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Join the Reading Glasses Community:

Support the podcast by joining the Maximum Fun Drive for as little as $5 a month. Enjoy exclusive perks, personalized book recommendations, and access to a vibrant community of fellow book lovers. Your support ensures that Brea and Mallory can continue to provide weekly literary content that enriches your reading life.

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Thank you for reading, and happy listening!

Transcript

[Mallory O'Meara]

Hey, Glassers. It is the 2025 Maximum Fun Drive. And what the fuck does that mean?

[Bria Grant]

Did that sound like an audience or.

[Mallory O'Meara]

An angry person who really wants you to sign up to support us on Max Fun?

[Bria Grant]

That's right, folks.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Max Fun Drive is a brief, beautiful, ephemeral window of time where you can support us, Bri and Mallory and get a bunch of cool stuff.

[Bria Grant]

That's right. You can get extra reading Glasses episodes. You can go behind the scenes and get all the members only perks like our Slack Channel, private event, undying love. Maybe that one's like a. Like a real special whistle. Can you make that one special, Mallory? Make it special. There you go.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Stay tuned. To hear about everything we're doing this year, go to maximumfun.org join to join or upgrade, that's maximumfun.org join glasses.

[Bria Grant]

Glasses.

[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 Grant]

And I'm Bria Grant, filmmaker and e reader. And this episode is our first special Max Fun Drive episode. You, the listener, are going head to head with Mallory in bookish trivia.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Can you take me down?

[Bria Grant]

So that's the question. So this is designed so that I will ask the question and you keep track of your own points and Mallory. We're keep track of Mallory's points and.

[Mallory O'Meara]

And we'll see if the Glassers can beat me.

[Bria Grant]

See if you can beat Mallory. So this is my special trivia game I made for Mallory.

[Mallory O'Meara]

But first, Bria, what are you reading?

[Bria Grant]

I am reading, which, as promised, I said I was going to read this. I'm reading Four Aunties and a Wedding.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Oh.

[Bria Grant]

By Jesse Q. Setanto. Which is the second book in the series after. What was the first one? Diale for a dial for aunties. And it is very cute so far. Really loving it.

[Mallory O'Meara]

We're really cute Sutanto fans over on this podcast.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah, really? Sutanto heads. Sutant heads. It's the same woman from. So in the first one, this young woman, Mehdi, she has three aunts. Three aunties and her mom, she includes as one of those. And they are. Are always causing trouble and they, they.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Run a wedding company and they run.

[Bria Grant]

A wedding company and they accidentally kill this guy and. But during this time, Mehdi reunites with her college boyfriend and they get back together and it's very cute. And now those two are getting married in the second book. And so in the second book, so Far. Basically the aunties and Mehdi are headed to England where her fiance's family lives. And they're very fancy family and oh.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah, they're very rich.

[Bria Grant]

They're very rich. And the aunties are not. Or they're just a very different type.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yes.

[Bria Grant]

Of person. They're very loud. They're wearing hats with Komodo dragons on them. Like, they're just kind of amazing. Very funny. This is not a spoiler, but at some point when they get on the flight, they start talking in British accents because they were like, well, we're trying to, you know, they're British. We're doing. We wanted to learn like British English and. Very funny because they keep saying like in it. It's very funny. But then slowly Mehdi starts to realize that something is happening and maybe the wedding people that they hired for their wedding are not who they say they are. And there's another sort of mystery thing that starts to happen. But I'm loving it so far. It's great. I just think it's just such a pleasant read and funny and cute. What are you reading?

[Mallory O'Meara]

I am reading the new book by Kira Jane Buxton. This is the author of Hollow Kingdom. But this book is very different from Hollow Kingdom. So Hollow Kingdom is like a post apocalyptic animal protagonist kind of fantasy story. This is just a slice of life story about this. It's called Taruo and it's about this tiny little town in Italy. It's like a dying town. No kids stay there, no tourists want to go there. There's nothing really there. And it's like this story of all, like the weird people in the town who've been there forever. They all know each other. They all know each other's secrets. And one day, one of the guys, one of the like old men who's lived there forever, finds a gigantic truffle so gigantic that it becomes a tourist attraction. And it kind of like completely transforms the town. You're getting all of this from multiple POVs. So it's like there's the, there's the wild wacky bartender lady, there's the mayor lady who's really stressed out because the town's really in debt. And it's very much like a language slash setting book because there's just so many incredible descriptions of like, the way the wind smells and the way that the. The sun falls on the cobblestones in the square. It's a really like, nice read. And it's also, again, it's very funny if you love a bun of actually, if you like dial A for aunties if you like a bunch of like meddlesome older people who are very funny, this book is fantastic for you. So that's Tartufo by Kira Jane Buxton.

[Bria Grant]

And mine is Four Aunties and a Wedding by Jesse Q. Santanto.

[Mallory O'Meara]

So I want to take a moment to share some listener feedback about history books. Sarah wrote in to say, as someone who hadn't read a nonfiction book in over 10 years, I didn't know what I was interested in regarding biographies or history. But it turns out hearing Mallory, who I was already rather a attached to read me a couple feminist history books. Was it? So this was a tip for us in the, in the. In the episode about history books that if you find like a podcaster who writes history books and have them tell you the story.

[Bria Grant]

I like that.

[Mallory O'Meara]

There you go. I think an audiobook is a great start when it comes to reading history, especially if you, like me already listen to a lot of podcasts. I mentally added Bria laughing at Mallory's jokes just to really round out the experience. Oh, maybe that's for my next non fiction.

[Bria Grant]

Have a Bria laugh track.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah, I'll have it. I'll have. I'll bring you into the audiobook studio and you can just laugh at my jokes. But hearing someone I enjoy talking about a subject I care about really solidified it for me. Because of this discovery, I've listened to both Girly Drinks and Daughter of Daring this year and I bet you can guess which one is up next. Thank you so much for everything. This podcast has saved my reading life. P S Mallory, I'm so sorry about your band mug. I know it probably wasn't the Viagra Boys, but when you said Swedish and band in the same sentence, I imagined a beautiful Viagra Boys mug tumbling to its death and felt very sad for everyone involved.

[Bria Grant]

People are concerned about your mug.

[Mallory O'Meara]

No, it's not the Viagra Boys. It's Sabaton. They're my favorite band and I've already checked. This mug is out of stock. They do not sell it anymore. But I appreciate this mug for you.

[Bria Grant]

Because people are very concerned someone wants.

[Mallory O'Meara]

To send me a Sabaton mug. I would be very happy about it. But I appreciate all of the, all of the mug concern as reader. I think that's another like weird thing that readers all like is they readers love mugs.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

And so thank you. Thank you RIP to my fallen mug.

[Bria Grant]

Bonnie wrote in and said, hey Brian, Mallory, I am a longtime listener reading glasses and just want to say how much I look forward to each episode when I see it pop up on Spotify. I have daughter Daring on Libby hold and I enjoyed your discussion on history books. I love micro history. Like let's get physical. It a 4.5 stars for me. I love sports, memoirs, history of women in fitness, history of the food industry, history of the making of my favorite TV shows, Hanna Barbera. The recorded history was amazing.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Ooh.

[Bria Grant]

Interested?

[Mallory O'Meara]

That sounds like a great book.

[Bria Grant]

History of cinema, et cetera. I agree. If people find a topic they love, there's probably a history book out there for them. The rest of my wheelhouse includes do you want to read this wheelhouse?

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yes. Magical realism bonus for sentient beings. Vampire romance. Historical fiction that reads like nonfiction. Gilded Age A plus books about book life. Hell yeah. And why. Hey, fantasy like the Caraval series. Anyway, thanks for coming together each week to bless us with your voices Ops. I signed up for some new library newsletters too. We love it.

[Bria Grant]

Fantastic.

[Mallory O'Meara]

You can email us at reading glasses podcastmail.com if you want a list of all the books we talk about on the show delivered to your inbox every month. You can sign up for our newsletter. There's a link in the show notes. Before we start the first round of Reading Glasses trivia, we're going to take a quick break. Hey Glassers, we love you. And if you love us too, get pumped because it's the 2025 Maximum Fun Drive. What does that mean?

[Bria Grant]

Oh, what does it mean? Okay, the way we like to explain it to people because people often are like, how do you make money podcasting? And it is a good question.

[Mallory O'Meara]

And people also want to are also like, how do we support you?

[Bria Grant]

How do we support you? That's right. And it's sort of like a Patreon. That's the way Maximum Fun works. And remember, we are a co op, so it is very much like a Patreon. This money is going directly to us. It is going directly to the people who run this station. Except it's a Patreon, but it's for our entire podcast network and we get a percentage of that money. You sign up to support us every month and it goes to help making reading glasses. It goes to keep the lights on at our network. It means every cent is going to real people. We are all splitting this money and making the podcast that you love.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yes. So Reading Glasses comes out every single week for eight years, which means Reading Glasses is a full time job for us. We write every episode. We record them, produce them, edit them, promote them. All ourselves, thanks to our Max Fund members, which again is like our version of Patreon patrons, we are able to do this full time and pay our bills. If it wasn't for our members, we literally couldn't do the show as much as we do.

[Bria Grant]

Yep, it's listeners like you that make this possible. Remember when you used to hear that on like NPR or as a kid on PBS and you're like, that's me. I make this possible.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Hey, that could be you. Could be you.

[Bria Grant]

Have you been listening for a while? Have we helped your reading life? Do you enjoy and look forward to hearing us every week? Hey, we're just asking to help us back. And you can join for as little as five bucks a month. And this year we're bringing it back. We didn't do it last year too hard.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Too hard.

[Bria Grant]

But we're doing it this year. We're bringing back personalized book recommendations. We did it earlier this week and guess what? We're doing it again tomorrow.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Tomorrow.

[Bria Grant]

Tomorrow at 2:00pm tomorrow.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Tomorrow.

[Bria Grant]

Book recs. Tomorrow at 2:00pm Pacific Time. You can sign up. If you are a new member, you sign up to support you. Send us that receipt to reading glasses podcast gmail.com youm tell us your wheelhouse and we will get on Instagram live and we will say, hey, here's the book that we pick for you. We will pick multiple books for you. We always have a lot. We do this on our show. We love doing recommendations, but we don't have time to do every single one that comes into our inbox. So this is your way to jump that line. If you are a new member, you.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Can join guaranteed you are going to get a recommendation from us.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah. And Mallory, what website do they go.

[Mallory O'Meara]

To to join maximumfun.org join and folks, that's not all. All right, so let's, let's start the ticker here for $5, not only help support Bri and I and help us make the show. You get a personalized book recommendation, but you also get to join the Slack Channel, the new Discord Channel. All of our BoCo, our bonus content folks, we record bonus content all the time. There are, there's eight years worth of bonus content for reading glasses that you've never heard.

[Bria Grant]

That's right. And this year we did it. We did an ama, which were about our personal lives. Lives and not books which, you know, we don't really get into on the show.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah, I, I, I, I, I, I Get a little personal.

[Bria Grant]

Get a little personal. And also if you Missed that. Fourth wing. Episod Covered fourth wing. That's included. You can listen to that as well. Eight years.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Eight years worth of boco.

[Bria Grant]

That's five bucks a month. And this personalized book recommendation. This is only today. This is only today up until 2pm tomorrow. If you don't get it in, we. If you put it after 2pm tomorrow, you cannot get this.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah. If you sign up after the drive, you're not going to get a personalized book recommendation. You got to do it right now for just five bucks. You get all this stuff. Hours and hours of extra reading glasses. Our eternal love. Just go to maximumfun.org join that's maximumfun.org join it means so much to us. This is literally the only way we can keep doing this show. We could feed our hungry pets, keep our lights on, put the show out every single week. We didn't even take a week off for Christmas last year.

[Bria Grant]

We did not. MaximumFun.org joy maximumfun.org join maximum fun.org join.

[Mallory O'Meara]

This week, it's Maximum Fun Drive. We, we, we love you all and we appreciate the support so much. So we are going to celebrate by bringing a popular event from last year's drive to the actual show. We've done this a few times. Bookish trivia. People love doing it, but it's always been members only. This year, we're bringing it to the actual show so everyone can see the fun and join in. It is bookish trivia, and the way that we always do it is everyone goes head to head with me personally, Mallory O'Meara. So if you've ever.

[Bria Grant]

Because we've learned that when I play, it doesn't make a difference.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Book knowledge is one of my superpowers. So we're gonna see if you can take me down.

[Bria Grant]

All right, so, Mallory, I've divided this. There's two sections and two sections within those sections.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Okay, got it.

[Bria Grant]

And folks, Mallory doesn't know what we're doing.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I don't even have access to this documentary.

[Bria Grant]

That is right. No access. I thought you did. And I was scared for a second. So we're starting because we have a new show, and the new show is called Reading Smut. We are starting with romance book questions. That is round one of four. Round one of four. So first, this is what this round is. I'm gonna read the description of the book and you tell me what the book is.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Okay?

[Bria Grant]

Romance books. And by the way, they all came out in 2024. Okay, so these are new romance Books. You ready?

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yep.

[Bria Grant]

All right. And I'll tell you what. I'm gonna give you points based on how quickly you get it. Ooh.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Okay.

[Bria Grant]

Ooh, I like this from the Goodreads description.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Okay, I'm ready.

[Bria Grant]

So you can. I'm gonna say you can get up to three. Well, I'm just making this up now, but I'm gonna say you can get up to 2.3points. But the points get less as you keep going.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Okay.

[Bria Grant]

All right, ready? Daphne always loved the way her fiance Peter told their story. How they met on a blustery day, fell in love over an errant hat, and moved back to his lakeside hometown to begin their life together. He really was good at telling it. Right up until the moment he realized he was actually in love with his childhood best friend, Petra.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Oh, I don't know this book.

[Bria Grant]

Okay, okay, I'm gonna keep going. That was three points. I'm gonna. Now we're going down to two, which is how Daphne begins her new story. Stranded in a beautiful waning bay, Michigan without friends or family, but with a dream job as a children's librarian that barely pays the bills. And proposing to.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Is this an Emily Henry book?

[Bria Grant]

And proposing to be roommates.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Is it Funny People by Emily Henry?

[Bria Grant]

What'd you say?

[Mallory O'Meara]

Funny people, Funny story.

[Bria Grant]

Funny story. I'll give you two points for that one.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Man, I haven't even read that book.

[Bria Grant]

I. I don't think you've read a lot of these. That's what will be interesting. All right, two points. That is Funny Story by Emily Henry. Did y'all get it before? Mallory, did you race? Did you win? Okay, this one again. 2024 book. Are you ready? All right. This is a description from Amazon.com of a romance book that came out in 2024. Helen Zhang hasn't seen Grant Shepard once in the 13 years since the tragic accident that bound their lives together. Problem with romance books is a lot of the descriptions are the same.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yep.

[Bria Grant]

Now a best selling author, Helen pours everything into her career. She even scored a coveted in the writer's room of the TV adaptation of her popular young adult novels. And if she can hide her imposter syndrome and overcome a writer's block, surely the rest of her life will fall into place too. LA is the fresh start she needed. After all, no one knows you there. Except any ideas?

[Mallory O'Meara]

I can't. I didn't read this one.

[Bria Grant]

Okay, I don't. I'm telling you, I picked ones I didn't think you read. So I hope this is not Too hard. I'm gonna keep going. Grant has done everything in his power to move from the past, including building a life across the country. And while the panic attacks have never quite gone away, he. This sounds like a great book. He's well liked around town as a screenwriter.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Does it have two authors?

[Bria Grant]

No, he. He knows he shouldn't have taken the job on Helen's show. But it will open up doors developing his own projects. Can't pass that.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I don't know. I don't know. I. It's gonna. I. It's on the tip of my tongue. But I never read this, so I don't know.

[Bria Grant]

Okay. It is how to end a love story. A novel.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I would have never got that.

[Bria Grant]

Yulin Kuang. Okay, no worries. All right, ready? Next one. Okay. You may have read this one. Actually, I'm not sure. Ready? This came out again. 2024 June Rue. Seibert might not have it all, but she has enough. A few friends she can always count on. The financial stability she learned yearned for as a kid and a successful career as a biotech engineer at Klein, one of the most promising startups in the field of food science. Her world is stable, pleasant and hard fought. Until a hostile takeover. And it's offensively attractive frontman threatens to bring it all down.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Is this Ali Hazelwood? Mm, I can't remember. Eli Kilgore and his business partner want chemistry or like. I know it's Ali Hazelwood, but I don't know the title.

[Bria Grant]

I'm gonna read the last paragraph to you. Torn between loyalty and an undeniable attraction. Ruin Eli. Throw caution out the lab and board room windows. Their affair is secret, no strings attached. And it has a built in deadline. The day one of their companies will prevail. But the heart is risky business. One that plays for keeps.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Maybe guess it's chemistry or something.

[Bria Grant]

Not in love.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I'll give you one point for Ali Hayeswell. I'll take that.

[Bria Grant]

Okay, I'll give you one point. So Mallory has three points right now. How are you doing at home, Glassers? Are you doing well?

[Mallory O'Meara]

I'm pleased with myself considering I haven't read any of these books.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah, I'm just absorbing also romance. That just came out. So it's this tough. This is from.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I'm just absorbing this. This is just knowledge. I know. From cultural osmosis.

[Bria Grant]

I know, I know. That's what I. This is. This was. This is a hard category. It's hard. All right, ready? This is number four. Eileen Merriweather loves to get lost In a good happily ever after. The fictional kind anyway, because at least imaginary men don't leave you at the author. She feels safe in a book at home. Which might be why she's so set on going to her annual book club retreat this year. She needs good friends, cheap wine, and grand romantic gestures no matter what. When her car unexpectedly breaks down on the way, she finds herself stranded in a quaint town that feels like right out of a novel, because it is. This place can't be real. And yet she's here.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I don't know.

[Bria Grant]

In Elloraton, the town of one of her favorite romance series.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I don't know.

[Bria Grant]

Okay, novel. A love story. Wow. Okay. I can't believe I'm stumping the Malory.

[Mallory O'Meara]

You picked all books that I didn't read. I didn't know.

[Bria Grant]

You said you picked specifically books that he was like. I. There's ones. Okay, all right, we'll do one more. I'll do one more. Wow. I can't believe I'm stumping you. I feel really.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I know. I'm impressed.

[Bria Grant]

How do you think people are doing at home?

[Mallory O'Meara]

Pretty good. I mean, the glassers love romance, so.

[Bria Grant]

Okay. All right. An emotional slow burn. Grumpy slash sunshine. Queer mid century romance about grief and found family between the new star shortstop stuck in a batting slump and the reporter assigned to reluctantly cover his first season, set in the same universe of We Could Be so good.

[Mallory O'Meara]

No clue.

[Bria Grant]

No clue. 1960s baseball season is shaping up to be the worst of the year of Eddie O'Leary's life. He can't manage to hit a ball, his teammates hate him, he's living out of a suitcase and he's homesick.

[Mallory O'Meara]

No. I have no clue.

[Bria Grant]

No clue. Given up.

[Mallory O'Meara]

No idea.

[Bria Grant]

Okay, it's called you should be so lucky by Cat Sebastian. Wow. All right, we're gonna move on from that category. That was too hard. Huh?

[Mallory O'Meara]

Too hard.

[Bria Grant]

Okay, two points. Three points. Three points. This.

[Mallory O'Meara]

The glasses might be. Might be trouncing me right now.

[Bria Grant]

They might be. I guess I should have read all of them to the end. But listen, I'm not. I'm a podcast host here. Not a. Not a.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Not a game show host.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah. All right, I'm calling this section your own genre, Women and Nonfiction.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Oh, okay.

[Bria Grant]

Okay. These are just general questions, all right? What female authors currently have books on the New York Times bestsellers for nonfiction books list? I would say if you can name in paperback or hardcover, three or as many as you can, I'll give you that many points. How about that?

[Mallory O'Meara]

Brene? Brown, Elizabeth Gilbert, Michelle Obama.

[Bria Grant]

None of those really. I think you can name the names more than you can name the banes of the books.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Oh, Jesus.

[Bria Grant]

And they are not necessarily from this year.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Glennon O'Doyle. Glennon Doyle. Ejiomoluo. Nonfiction.

[Bria Grant]

Some of them are new, some are. Some are hardback. Wow, I've really stumped the Mallory this time. I went for hard questions, but you are.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I don't read like New York Times bestseller. But you specifically picked up that.

[Bria Grant]

I know there's ones you know in this. All right, let me tell you.

[Mallory O'Meara]

No, no, no, let me. Give me, give me nonfiction that just came out. Scotchy Sachi.

[Bria Grant]

Cool. What book is that?

[Mallory O'Meara]

Sucker Punch.

[Bria Grant]

No.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Roxane Gay.

[Bria Grant]

Give you some hints. There's two. There's. Okay. Think about ones that are nature related.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Robin something. Robin Shermer something.

[Bria Grant]

Which. What's the book?

[Mallory O'Meara]

Not Braiding Sweetgrass. But.

[Bria Grant]

Well, braiding Sweetgrass is on there.

[Mallory O'Meara]

And Serviceberry.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah, those are both. Those are both on there.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Okay.

[Bria Grant]

All right.

[Mallory O'Meara]

All right.

[Bria Grant]

Okay. Anymore that you think of that of nature related or love related?

[Mallory O'Meara]

Oh, Jesus. These are all the books that I don't read. I don't know. Okay, these are all two points. Okay, I'll take it.

[Bria Grant]

All right, let me tell you what else is on.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah, read some other ones.

[Bria Grant]

Okay. I'll have what She's Having by Chelsea Handler. The House of My Mother by Sherry Frank Service Berry. Lauren by Susan Morrison. Did a Lauren Michaels book. Brady Sweetgrass, The Backyard Bird Chronicles. Amy Tan book Signs. A Secret Language of the Universe. All about love, Eve and everything I know about love. Next question. About nonfiction. I'm going to name women in these history books and you tell me the title or the author.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Okay.

[Bria Grant]

Okay. Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley Frankenstein. Wait, like the book, the. The non fiction book about that?

[Mallory O'Meara]

I mean there's a ton of them.

[Bria Grant]

There are. You can name any of them. There's one.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Mary Shelley Frankenstein.

[Bria Grant]

Is there one called Mary Shelley?

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah.

[Bria Grant]

Oh, I was thinking of romantic outlaws, but I'm sure there is one called.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah, I Own It.

[Bria Grant]

Okay. All right, I'll give you that. I'll give you a point. Lynn Spears and Britney Spears.

[Mallory O'Meara]

The woman in me.

[Bria Grant]

Correct. Point for Mallory. Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughn and Mary Jackson. And this is set between 1930s and 1960s three women history book set in the 1930s to 1960s. This is a tough one. It's giving you the dates. Think about women doing things in fields that they weren't necessarily in before.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Lessons in chemistry.

[Bria Grant]

Oh, Sorry. These are all nonfiction. Oh.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Oh, I don't know.

[Bria Grant]

It's hidden figures.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Oh, fuck.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I never read that. I never. I only watched the movie.

[Bria Grant]

Okay, these are nonfiction books written by women. I'm gonna give you three words, but if you do it, get it on the first word, you'll get three points. Second word, two points.

[Mallory O'Meara]

These are titles of books.

[Bria Grant]

These are. No, no, no. These are words, and you're gonna tell me the title of the book.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Oh, okay.

[Bria Grant]

All right. These are nonfiction books written by women.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Okay.

[Bria Grant]

Taxonomist.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Lulu Miller's why Fish Don't Exist.

[Bria Grant]

That's correct. All right, three points. Stuff I've read.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I know it.

[Bria Grant]

My other ones, there were earthquake and fish.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Okay.

[Bria Grant]

Okay. Hygiene. It's a tough one. It's tough starting words, tough starting hygiene.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Not the home economics book, but it.

[Bria Grant]

Would have been good. All right, next word. Sex.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Come as you are.

[Bria Grant]

That would be good. Actually, I probably should have put something else. Second, I'm gonna give you the third word, because otherwise you're not gonna get it. Space.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Mary Roach. It's packing for Mars.

[Bria Grant]

Great. One point for that one.

[Mallory O'Meara]

You should put a space word first.

[Bria Grant]

That's too easy. All right, ready? This is the next one. Nonfiction books written by women. Sir.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Mix a Lot butts by. What's her name?

[Bria Grant]

Heather Radke Y. Correct. That is correct. My other ones on that were jeans and rear ends. All right. Non fiction books written by women. Here's the first word. You're not going to get it from this one. Actress.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Oh. I mean, tough one. You can guess I'm glad my mom died.

[Bria Grant]

That's correct. Wow.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Wow.

[Bria Grant]

And the next one was iCarly. Last one. Okay.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Okay.

[Bria Grant]

Three more points. We're at 17 points. How are you doing at home, everybody? Are you doing well? Last one. This is a tough one again. Fire.

[Mallory O'Meara]

American Fire by Monica Hess.

[Bria Grant]

That's a good guess. Not right. Los Angeles.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Oh. Susan Orleans. The library book.

[Bria Grant]

That is correct. The last one was books. All right, so we are leaving this section with 19 points. How are y'all doing at home? I probably made it love for you.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I'm actually feeling pretty good, considering with. With the books that I've read. I nailed them.

[Bria Grant]

I think so, too.

[Mallory O'Meara]

All right, so before we move on to round two, we're gonna take a quick break. Bria, when people sign up to support us, they get so much. But on top of that, we're doing extra stuff.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Extra. Extra stuff.

[Bria Grant]

We. We love. We love overachieving.

[Mallory O'Meara]

We really do. So we've Got some reading glasses. Specific goals on top of all the other stuff that's happening for the Max fun Drive, which means more fun events and episodes for the listeners. Bri, you want to read off the list?

[Bria Grant]

Yeah. This is for new and upgrading members. If we get 200 newer upgrading members, we're going to open a discord because unfortunately, our slack is almost full.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yes. And people have been asking for a discord for a long time. The slack is not going away. We're just adding a discord in addition.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah. And y'all will have to make that decision what you want to do.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Or you can have one or you can have both.

[Bria Grant]

Or you can have both. At 300 new or upgrading members, we are going to do a readathon. These are very popular every year.

[Mallory O'Meara]

People love them.

[Bria Grant]

Loves them. So we're excited to do one of those again if we get that many newer upgrading members. At 500 new and upgrading members, we're going to do a book club picked by you.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Another glass revoted books last year we.

[Bria Grant]

A quarter and roses. And we had a great time.

[Mallory O'Meara]

That was so fun.

[Bria Grant]

It was super fun. At 700, we are going to do more anticipated book episodes. We're bringing them back, but they take a lot of work and we only did them because of the fun drive. So we've done all the ones we're going to do up until this point, and we're excited to do more. If we get 700 people, which is a lot. And then at 800, which is a.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Lot, we're doing seasonal readathons.

[Bria Grant]

We want to do seasonal reasons.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Every season, it'll be a themed seasonal readathon, which is going to be super fun. And then, Bria, should we announce our super stretch goal that you convinced me to do that I really didn't want to do?

[Bria Grant]

Yes. At 900, Mallory has to read a Charles Bukowski book.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I'm pretty grumpy about this, folks. So if you want to see me suffer, read a Bukowski book. My least favorite author of all time.

[Bria Grant]

This is a lot. We. We've only 900. Well, we haven't. 900 is a lot of people for us, so that would be a huge get. But help us get there. Yeah, help us get there.

[Mallory O'Meara]

And we're doing some fun events tomorrow on March 21st. We already talked about it earlier in the episode. We're doing live recommendations, personalized recommendations on Instagram at 2pm Pacific. But on the 23rd, Bria, we're doing something we unlocked last year.

[Bria Grant]

Yep. We're doing an in Person reading party. So join us for this in person reading party. Show up. Come to the park with us. We're going to meet at Vista Hermosa in Los Angeles at noon. Bring your books, bring your blankets, bring your snacks, bring your little cups, and you could even sneak some wine in there if you want. Just. We didn't say you could because it is a public park. But meet us there. This is to celebrate everything we've done in this last year. All of our friends, all of our glassers, please show up. We would love to see you in person. You can find us somewhere in the park. It's a very tiny park, so you'll be able to find us for sure. But we are very excited to do that. Excited to see you. Come take photos, bring your books to read. We will be there for an hour or two, so come show up. We would love to see you.

[Mallory O'Meara]

And so, folks, the drive already started. You. You gotta go right now. Go to maximumfund.org join and for $5 a month, if you. Maybe you started listening to the show within the past year, maybe Bri and I have helped you with your reading life. We've given you recommendations or you just like us and you want to support us. Remember, podcasts are really the only thing that people listen to for free. You know, you pay for your Spotify, you pay for your Netflix, you get books from the library. A lot of people listen to podcasts for free and. But they take just as much work as those other things, and we would really appreciate it. So for just $5 a month, you help us stay independent, help us keep putting the show out every week. You get access to the slack, to the discord hours and hours and hours of all the bonus episodes, members only events. And you get us closer to these goals. All you have to do is go to maximumfun.org join sign up to support reading glasses for 5 bucks a month or more. Maybe you're a rich person. It'd be great if you could do more, but for just $5 a month, you get all of that. That's MaximumFun.org join. Join.

[Bria Grant]

Join.

[Mallory O'Meara]

All right, we're back. How did the glassers do in the first round? Are you folks. Are you beating me? Am I beating you? I. I don't know because I'm not there with you.

[Bria Grant]

We're great. This is next round. This next round. I'm calling short stories.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Okay?

[Bria Grant]

Here are names of short stories. I'm gonna tell you the names of short stories in the collection. The first three. And you Tell me the name of the collection.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Okay, okay.

[Bria Grant]

The White Cat's Divorce. Prince Underground. Kelly Links, Give the Glassers a chance.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Kelly Links get in Trouble. No. Kelly Link's White Cat, Black Dog and the White Road.

[Bria Grant]

That's correct. I'm gonna give. I'm gonna give one point for each of these. These may be too easy for you. Now you're at 20 points. 3. First of the next short story collection. This one's harder. Kushtuka, White Hills and Navajos Don't Wear Elk Teeth.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Oh, fuck. I know. This is it. Never Whistle at Night.

[Bria Grant]

Correct. It's Never Whistle at Night. That brings you up to 21 points. Wow. Glassers, how are you doing? Next one. First three books, the Husband's Stitch Inventory.

[Mallory O'Meara]

And Mothers Her Body and the Other Parties.

[Bria Grant]

That's correct. Wow. I should have started with short stories. Geez. She's confident. She's moving forward.

[Mallory O'Meara]

It's books. As long as it's books that I've read.

[Bria Grant]

Okay. Okay. You have read this next one as well. I believe it's maybe too easy. Wait till I'm done with all of them. Okay. Okay. The mistake here, there'd be tigers, the Monkey, Stephen King's.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Oh, I don't know the name of this. Yeah, you do. It's not Nightmares and dreamscapes, is it Night Shift? Four. Four Past Midnight.

[Bria Grant]

No. Oh, this is so aces.

[Mallory O'Meara]

There's so many Stephen King short story collections.

[Bria Grant]

We did do this one on the King cast, though.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Oh, I can't remember the name of it. Scott Wampler was rolling in his grave right now. Oh, there's so many. Not Graveyard. Not Graveyard Shift. Yeah, I can hear the glassers screaming at me. Fuck, there's so many. I can't remember.

[Bria Grant]

It is Skeleton Grim.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Skeleton Groom.

[Bria Grant]

All right, last one. I don't think you'll know this one, but the last one is Tower of Babylon, understand? And Division by zero. And if you want, I can give you the fourth one.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I don't know it.

[Bria Grant]

The fourth one is Story of your life. Life.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Is it? It's not. Is it, Helen? No. I don't know.

[Bria Grant]

It is Story of your Life and Other Stories By Teaching. Oh.

[Mallory O'Meara]

See?

[Bria Grant]

Oh, see?

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah. I've never read that.

[Bria Grant]

I didn't know if you had. All right, that's great.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I'll still take it, though.

[Bria Grant]

I have last section, and then I have one bonus section, this one. What I'm gonna say is a sub genre of books, and you tell me what it means. Okay, so it's a sub genre of books. And you describe what that sub genre means. Are you ready?

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yes.

[Bria Grant]

Canadiana. Canadiana type books. What is that kind of book?

[Mallory O'Meara]

Is that a book that takes place in Canada?

[Bria Grant]

That is correct. It's like Americana. Okay, that's one more point. Oh, sorry. You were at 22 points, now you're at 23.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Okay.

[Bria Grant]

These are all worth one point each. Furry sleuth.

[Mallory O'Meara]

It's like a cozy mystery with an animal protagonist.

[Bria Grant]

That's correct. Sometimes they have scales too. That brings you to 24 points. Bit punk.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Like a cyberpunky kind of sci fi deal.

[Bria Grant]

Close.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Like computery sci fi.

[Bria Grant]

But there's like one specific difference between that and cyberpunk.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I don't know.

[Bria Grant]

It's cyberpunk, but it's about eight bit type characters. So characters in like the worlds of 70s and 80s arcade games.

[Mallory O'Meara]

No idea.

[Bria Grant]

Like War Cross by Marie Luke.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Okay.

[Bria Grant]

Nordic noir.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Oh, it's noir books that take place in Scandinavia, Iceland, that sort of deal.

[Bria Grant]

That's right. That's 25 points. Okay, we'll do two more. Solarpunk.

[Mallory O'Meara]

That is. We covered this. This is like Clifi punk. It's like a sci fi, futuristic deals with climate change kind of deal.

[Bria Grant]

Generally the idea is progressive technology can solve climate change. It's more positive, I'll give you that. It's 26 points. And I'm gonna say manner punk.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Like etiquette Y sort of regency kind of.

[Bria Grant]

But one major difference between that and a manor book. Manor punk.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I don't know.

[Bria Grant]

It is a fantasy plus manner based comedy. But the people are dealing with these elaborate social structures. But also there are monsters. Oh, yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Oh, so kind of like Gail Carragher.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah, or Prime Prejudice. And zombies is a good one. That's 26 points. All right, I'll take it. I'm gonna do three bonus questions. They're all worth one point each. Let's see if you can get to. Well, you can't get to 30, but let's see if you can see what you can do. How many reading glasses members do we currently have as of this recording, which is before we started the fun?

[Mallory O'Meara]

I don't know, 20, 2500 something.

[Bria Grant]

2,107. How many days is our fun drive?

[Mallory O'Meara]

Two weeks. So 14 days.

[Bria Grant]

12 days.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Oh, wow.

[Bria Grant]

It's only 12. And what feels longer? And what's the highest goal we've ever achieved during the fun drive?

[Mallory O'Meara]

It was 2020 and we got like 800 something people.

[Bria Grant]

We actually got 992 in 2020. I know, I'm looking That up I was. And second only to 2021, which our second 21 was second. And it was 781.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Wow.

[Bria Grant]

And that's it. Mallory got 26 points. I know the point system was a little confusing.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I'm happy with how I did.

[Bria Grant]

Maybe the point system was confusing. But listen, I'm sure you all did great at home. You feel good.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I feel pretty good.

[Bria Grant]

The first one was too hard maybe. Yeah, the romance was too hard. I should have done with romance ones that you'd already read. I just was like, maybe she'll just know a bunch of romance books.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Listen, I, I, I, I understand why you went that way because I am very hard to beat it at book trivia. You gotta, you gotta, you gotta make it hard.

[Bria Grant]

But that was very good. And I think people will be surprised by how quickly you got some of those.

[Mallory O'Meara]

So, folks, let me know if you beat me. Let me know in the. Let me know in the. And you can email us at reading glasses podcast gmail.com. let me know if, Let me know if you beat me. Folks, can you believe the Max Fund Drive is already happening? It's happening right now. Right now. You can go to maximumfund.org join to join and support Reading Glasses for as little as $5 a month. Or if you already have a membership, you can upgrade it, you can boost it. But folks, we're really hoping to get new people this year. If you have been started listening to the show within the past few years, or maybe you've been listening for a while and you never joined because you weren't quite sure what Maximum Fun is, is. It's just like Patreon, but it's a co op and not a corporation. So every single cent that you give us goes to me and Bria, goes to our cats, goes to real people working at Maximum Fun. We, we love it. We love being a part of this network. We love this setup. It really lets us interact with our, with our listeners. It lets us have control over the show, folks. We pour so much work into the show every goddamn week. And the reason we're able to do it is because of you. It's because of our wonderful supporters. You get so much stuff, hours of bonus content, access to the slack, access to the discord, but it only lasts for two weeks and we're already almost.

[Bria Grant]

A week in 12 days, if you listen to what we just talked about, 12 days. We have 12 days to beat our 2020 numbers.

[Mallory O'Meara]

So right now, go to maximumfun.org join to join. Sign up support Reading Glasses. It means the world to us. Truly. We put so much work into the show and we would love if you loved us back.

[Bria Grant]

And join us before tomorrow and get your own book recommendations. Do that for personalized bookregs maximumfun.org join send us that receipt in your wheelhouse. We're happy to do it tomorrow.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yes. So you can email us at readingglassespodcastmail.com, find us on Instagram at Reading Glasses Podcast. Thanks for listening and thanks for reading.

[Bria Grant]

Thanks for watching.

[Mallory O'Meara]

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