Ep 417 - Anticipated Books for July and August!

Summary

Reading Glasses Podcast Episode Summary

Episode: Ep 417 - Anticipated Books for July and August!
Release Date: June 26, 2025
Hosts: Brea Grant and Mallory O'Meara
Podcast Description: Reading Glasses is a weekly podcast hosted by Brea Grant and Mallory O’Meara, dedicated to helping book lovers enhance their reading experience. The show covers a range of topics including combating To-Be-Read piles, organizing bookshelves, reviews of the latest reading gadgets, and tackling common bookish challenges.

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1. Current Reads

Bria Grant on "It Rhymes with Takei" by George Takei
Bria shares her enthusiasm for George Takei's new graphic memoir, It Rhymes with Takei, illustrated by Harmony Becker. She highlights the memoir's focus on Takei's activism and his journey in acting, particularly emphasizing his late-life coming out at age 68.

"He's just a wonderful writer, and he's so cute and funny. He has the most amazing quips." [02:08]

Mallory O'Meara on "The Lilac People" by Milo Todd
Mallory discusses her current read, The Lilac People, a historical fiction novel set during World War II. The story explores the lives of a young trans couple in Berlin and their struggles amidst the rise of the Nazis, intertwining themes of love, resilience, and LGBTQ activism.

"I feel like we haven't gotten the chance to read about trans people in history like this before." [04:16]

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2. Listener Feedback

Amanda's Email on E-Readers and Bookshop.org
Amanda praises the podcast for introducing her to Bookshop.org's new ebook feature, which allows her to read books from various apps on a single device, supporting bookstores and preferred podcasts with her purchases.

"Thank you for bringing Bookshop's ebooks to my attention. I love being able to support a bookstore or a podcast of my choosing." [04:39]

Evie's Experience with Reading Slumps
Evie shares how Reading Glasses helped her overcome multiple reading slumps, embracing audiobooks and managing to read over 50 books in 2024 despite personal challenges like completing her bachelor's degree, dealing with loss, and new parenthood.

"Reading glasses has helped me through multiple book slumps... now I read audiobooks almost exclusively." [05:55]

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3. Membership and Community Engagement

Mallory emphasizes the importance of Max Fun members in supporting the show, sharing her appreciation for their contributions that allow her to dedicate extensive time to curating content. She encourages listeners to join the community for exclusive benefits like access to the Discord server and special content.

"When it's 10pm and I have been looking at book titles for eight hours, I think of you and I appreciate you." [14:24]

Brea and Mallory also request listeners to leave reviews on platforms like Apple Podcasts and Spotify to help the show reach milestones, highlighting their goal of attaining 2,000 reviews on Apple Podcasts.

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4. Most Anticipated Books for July

Shared Pick: "The Bewitching" by Sylvia Moreno
A multigenerational horror saga where three women from different eras face dangers and witchcraft. Set across 19th century Mexico and 1990s Massachusetts, the narrative intertwines personal struggles with supernatural elements.

"Back then, when I was a young woman, there were still witches." [15:13]

Shared Pick: "Another" by Paul Tremblay
A middle-grade horror book revolving around Casey Wilson, who deals with social ostracization post a mysterious incident. A peculiar friend arrives for a sleepover, bringing eerie elements that challenge Casey's understanding of friendship and fear.

"It's not normal. There's something going on here." [16:03]

Bria's Pick: "The Woman in Sweet Eleven" by Ruth Ware
A thriller set in a luxury Swiss hotel owned by a billionaire, where unsettling events unfold leading to a cat-and-mouse pursuit across Europe. Bria appreciates Ruth Ware's compelling voice and intricate mysteries.

"I love the woman in cabin 10 because it was this mystery. You didn't know what happened to this woman." [18:05]

Mallory's Pick: "A Resistance of Witches" by Morgan Ryan
A historical fantasy set during World War II, featuring British witches engaging in magical espionage against Nazi witches. The plot centers on a quest to secure a magical grimoire before it falls into the wrong hands.

"British witches going against Nazi witches. Plus a magical book sold very." [18:54]

Bria's Additional Picks:

• "Angel Down" by Daniel Krause: A World War I horror novel where soldiers discover a fallen angel that could end the war.
• "The Convenience Store by the Sea" by Sunoco Machida: Magical realism set in a Japanese convenience store, exploring interconnected stories with a cozy, wish-fulfillment atmosphere.

Mallory's Additional Picks:

• "How to Survive a Horror Story" by Mallory Arnold: A fantasy thriller where writers participate in a deadly game within a mansion, solving puzzles to stay alive.
• "The Library at Hellbore" by Cassandra Kaw: Dark academia meets supernatural horror in a school for gifted individuals destined to impact the apocalypse.
• "The Original" by Nell Stevens: Queer historical fiction about an art forger uncovering family secrets in 1899 England.

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5. Most Anticipated Books for August

Shared Pick: "Automatic Noodle" by Annalee Newitz
A cozy near-future sci-fi novella where leftover robots open their own noodle shop, blending warmth and charm with futuristic themes.

"Every time I read the description of this book, my heart grows a little bit." [29:02]

Bria's Pick: "A Catabasis" by RF Kuang
A fantasy novel about two graduate students who embark on a perilous journey to hell to save their deceased professor's soul, highlighting themes of academic rivalry and sacrifice.

"It's like Orpheus and Eurydice, but instead of love, you have to go back so you can get your recommendation." [30:05]

Mallory's Pick: "The Hounding" by Zenobi Purvis
A historical horror mystery set in 18th century England where five sisters are suspected of transforming into dogs, blending gothic elements with eerie town secrets.

"It's like The Crucible meets The Virgin Suicides." [31:06]

Bria's Additional Pick: "The Midnight Shift" by Sun Run Chun
A vampire murder mystery set in Korea, exploring queer love and the consequences of loneliness as elderly individuals die under mysterious circumstances.

"Four elderly people die back to back in the same hospital by jumping out of the sixth-floor window." [38:08]

Mallory's Additional Pick: "The Game in Yellow" by Haley Piper
A queer horror novel inspired by The King in Yellow, where a kinky couple delves into dark magical practices through a mysterious book, blending cosmic horror with erotic elements.

"A queer version of the King in Yellow." [39:12]

Bria's Final Pick: "Lessons in Magic and Disaster" by Charlie Jane Anders
An adult fantasy set in New England during autumn, following Jamie, a powerful witch balancing her academic pursuits, a queer relationship, and generational trauma.

"Jamie is basically your average New England academic in training. She has a strong queer relationship, an esoteric dissertation proposal, and inherited generational trauma." [35:31]

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6. Community and Engagement

The hosts encourage listeners to share their book recommendations and anticipated reads via email or through their Discord server. They also highlight the importance of community moderators in maintaining an engaging and supportive environment for listeners.

"If there's a book you're looking forward to, we want to hear about it. Let us help." [27:41]

They also mention their upcoming 250th episode celebration, emphasizing that each episode stands on its own with unique and fascinating topics.

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7. Final Remarks

Brea and Mallory wrap up the episode by reiterating the importance of listener support through reviews and memberships. They express gratitude towards their community and promote their merchandise store for listeners interested in showing their support.

"If you like the show, why not give us a nice rating? Write a little lovely review." [40:10]

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Notable Quotes:

• "June is coming after me like a wave." — Bria Grant [00:34]
• "You have to live long and prosper." — Bria Grant [12:30]
• "It's like a competition that's after death." — Mallory O'Meara [23:28]
• "A lot of fun coming out." — Bria Grant [28:49]

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Engage with Reading Glasses:

• Email: [e-mail]
• Instagram: Reading Glasses Podcast
• Discord Server: Join via Maximum Fun maximumfun.org/join
• Merchandise: Available through the show notes link.

Support the Show:
Leave a five-star review on your preferred podcast platform and consider becoming a Max Fun member to support future episodes and gain exclusive access to content.

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Thank you for tuning into Reading Glasses! Happy reading and see you next week with more exciting book discussions.

Transcript

[Bria Grant]

Foreign.

[Mallory O'Meara]

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

[Bria Grant]

And I'm Bria Grant, filmmaker and E reader. This episode, we're going through our most anticipated books for July and August, y' all. You freaking love these episodes. You love them.

[Mallory O'Meara]

This one's a good one too. There's some really exciting summer books.

[Bria Grant]

I'm actually gonna say I had a little bit of trouble with July. A little trouble with July.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I am. My Libby holds are stacked right now.

[Bria Grant]

I'm deep in June. June is coming after me like a wave. So I. I'm gonna have to, like, really? June is hard. But there are some good books coming out and some that we both are very excited about. So get that summer TBR ready.

[Mallory O'Meara]

But first, Bria, what are you reading?

[Bria Grant]

I am reading the new George Takei.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Ooh.

[Bria Grant]

Graphic novel. It rhymes with take. It is.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Is that the name of it?

[Bria Grant]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Oh, that's really.

[Bria Grant]

It's so cute. And it's. It's illustrated by Harmony Becker. It is his second graphic memoir, and this one is more about his activism, but also goes into some of his acting as well and how he ended up becoming the actor that he is that we know him as. But I didn't realize that he did not come out until he was 68 years.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Wow.

[Bria Grant]

And I didn't realize that either. Yeah. And it. And he goes through, like, what. Like, his struggle with that. Everything from, you know, because his career was obviously doing well and well, and then he was a huge activist, and he was really considered an ally, but he hadn't actually come out until the age of 68. And it's just this really wonderful book about his personal struggles with how society viewed him, with how he felt like he couldn't come out because he was an actor and because he. He felt like it was just going. People were going to judge him. And it even goes into parts of him. He goes into these, like, these secret gay bars, but he's always really scared of a raid. And it was just in this real struggle he had within himself to. To want to support, obviously, LGBTQ activism, but not being able to be out himself.

[Mallory O'Meara]

It's.

[Bria Grant]

But it's a gorgeous book, and it's all about him and his husband, and it's so sweet and lovely, and I just. I love George Takei. And if you're a. If you're a Star Trek fan, it gets into the Star Trek of it all as well, which is really fun and all about the community that he had there with the actors, which is just really lovely. He's just such a wonderful writer, and he's so cute and funny. He has the most amazing quips. I just love that he's out there still making really cool stuff. I'm loving this book. It is definitely a must read for June.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Fantastic.

[Bria Grant]

What are you reading, Mallory?

[Mallory O'Meara]

So we're recording this in Pride month. I think this episode's coming out. Still going to come out in June. But I'm also reading a really fun book for Pride. It is the Lilac People by Milo Todd, and it is a historical fiction book. It takes place during war ii. Each chunk of the book is, like, years apart. Like, the first part is about this young trans couple, and they're, like, living in Berlin and enjoying, like, the. The nightlife and, like, people. A lot of people don't realize that in the 1930s there was an institute of Sexual studies in Berlin, and there was, like, a lot of interesting, cool research into, like, queer life and. And trans people and trans science. I don't know. Basically sort of proving that, you know, gender is not necessarily biological. But then the Nazis came. And so the first part of the book is all about how, you know, the Nazis came and shut down the institute, and they had to flee Berlin, and then they make a life for themselves elsewhere, two of them. And then in the later part of the book, like, the war is almost over. So on one hand, they're kind of excited, but they take in this young trans man that has escaped from the concentration camps, and they're trying to protect him because the Allies are coming in and they don't want queer people either, either. So it's definitely, like a sweeping sort of historical story, but it's really. You don't. I feel like we haven't gotten the chance to read about trans people in history like this before. And it's also, like, a really sweet love story between the husband and wife, and it's just really lovely. And I. I feel like I'm getting to. To see a part of history that I've not really gotten to see in. In stories before. Like, I knew about it intellectually, but, like, getting to see characters live it in this novel is really fun. So. So I am reading the Lilac People.

[Bria Grant]

By Milo Todd, and I am reading It Rhymes with Takei by George Takei, illustrated by Harmony Becker.

[Mallory O'Meara]

So we want to take a moment to share some listener feedback. Amanda wrote in to say, hi, Bri and Mallory. I was listening to last week's episode and had to write in. You mentioned Bookshop.org's new ebook feature and using books Books. Books with an X.

[Bria Grant]

Books with an X, B, O, O, X, X.

[Mallory O'Meara]

If this was, if this was the 90s, if this was the 90s, it would be xx Books xx.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah, yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Amanda says, my husband just purchased me a books mini tab C for Christmas. It's about the size of the Kindle paper white, but it has a stylus that allows you to write on it like a Kindle scribe. And I have to tell you that I love it. I'm able to download apps from many sources like Kindle, Kobo, Nook and Libby. And now apparently bookshop.org I can read books that I have purchased from any of the apps on one device. Thank you for bringing Bookshops ebooks to my attention. I love able to support a bookstore or a podcast of my choosing to benefit from my purchase of a book or ebook. Thank you for all that you do. I, you know, I was looking at books has this little like, like a phone sized e reader.

[Bria Grant]

Oh.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Because I was thinking the other day, we're all still just waiting for that clamshell E reader from it follows. That's all we really want.

[Bria Grant]

That's right.

[Mallory O'Meara]

And because I was like, it would be kind of fun to have a thing that is shaped like my phone but does not have emails on it.

[Bria Grant]

That's what people are going. There's. There's a word for that thing that now it's like a, it's like a phone that doesn't have email or Internet on it that people are using. It's just a phone. But there is a word for it that people are using.

[Mallory O'Meara]

People.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

A bunch of people are getting that. But I would, I would be interested in these E readers. But people are loving the books. Yeah, E readers for sure.

[Bria Grant]

Wow. Evie wrote in said hello Brianne Mallory. Reading glasses has helped me through multiple book slumps. First after finishing my bachelor's degree and then after a friend died, you helped me embrace audiobooks, which is now my primary format and helps me to read over 50 books in 2024, almost all before May.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Wow.

[Bria Grant]

Now, as a new parent of three months, you have helped me find ways to keep reading while exhausted and rarely having a free moment. The real reason for this email is that I completed the pick a book based on the title part of the reading glasses challenge and have some things to say. I chose my book after you guys did an episode about this challenge item. What I did was open Libby filtered to only available now and audiobooks. Then I scrolled reading titles before even scrolling down to the book cover to avoid even seeing the COVID I decided I want to do it in hard mode too. Because we're doing this in hard mode. I chose the island of Sea Women. Okay, I love that title. Thinking maybe pirates or mermaids. Or pirate mermaids.

[Mallory O'Meara]

What?

[Bria Grant]

Ended up with a book I never would have read if I looked at the description? I cannot talk. Stop talking about it. And it gave me something to recommend to readers in my life that don't share my typical wheelhouse. Wait, what is it about? Mallory?

[Mallory O'Meara]

So this is about the Korean older.

[Bria Grant]

Women I actually do want to read this.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Who deep dive for. It's like a group of like elderly women who like deep dive.

[Bria Grant]

I love that.

[Mallory O'Meara]

And yeah, it's a non fiction book.

[Bria Grant]

You guys always talk about how a challenge might improve your reading life. And I can definitely say choosing a book based on the title improved mine. I connected with the book in surprising ways, especially as a new mom going back to work. The things I got out of the book are not anything mentioned in the description or obvious from the topic. So I never would have picked it up on purpose. It was a big reminder to just try books because I had been in a book slump. This is so lovely.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah.

[Bria Grant]

Thank you for all your hard work. I especially want to call out the anticipated books episodes. Is that why you dropped it, Mallory? Wow. Mallory, you're creating. It's such a wow. It's such an experience. It's a full time, full blown experience here. I work in a library and. And I go through the list and recommend books to our purchasers. So thank you, Mallory, for all that labor.

[Mallory O'Meara]

You can't see me, but I am saluting you.

[Bria Grant]

You are bringing more glasses books to central Kentucky. Oh, we love that. And thank you for reading this long ass email. We read the whole thing because we loved it. Loved the whole email.

[Mallory O'Meara]

All right. And then her wheelhouse is cozy fantasy and sci fi scary, but everyone ends up okay. Slash better for the experience. That is fun when you get the scare, but it's not depressing at the end. A cast of characters that feels like a D and D party. Quirky side characters like a sentient sourdough starter or a sassy spider plant. I would. I know what both of these books are.

[Bria Grant]

What's the spider plant one?

[Mallory O'Meara]

It's the Spell Shop by Sarah Best.

[Bria Grant]

I haven't read it. Okay.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Anything Becky Chambers or T. Kingfisher, Queer Norm and Romance. Romance. Main Plot, side plot, queer or straight? Open door, closed door. Just give me that.

[Bria Grant]

Romance, romance.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Love it. So you can email us at reading glasses podcast gmail.com if you want a list of all the books we talk about on the show delivered to your inbox every month, you can sign up for our newsletter that' link in the show notes. And hey, folks, just a quick bookmark. We are getting real Close to 2,000 reviews on Apple Podcasts. If you are an Apple podcast user. Yes, you. Oh my God, you were sitting there in your car, sitting there knitting. You're sitting there folding laundry and you're like, is that me? Yes.

[Bria Grant]

Holding laundry on their car.

[Mallory O'Meara]

No, no, not all at the same time. Someone's driving, knitting and folding laundry. Yeah, we're talking directly to you, beloved glasser. Your name's probably Sarah. Maybe it's not, but it probably is if you use Apple Podcasts. Take a moment right now, open up that app on your phone, give us a five star review. If you want to write a longer review, we'd love that. But even if you want to just give us a five star rating, we would love that. We want to get to 2000.

[Bria Grant]

If your name is Sarah and you haven't given us a review, I just don't think that. I just think you have to turn in your name. Oh, no.

[Mallory O'Meara]

The Sarah license has been revoked.

[Bria Grant]

It revoked.

[Mallory O'Meara]

But we would really appreciate it, folks. We're trying to get to 2,000 reviews and if, I mean, we would still love. And we're, we're getting close to, I think a thousand on Spotify. So either way, whatever app you use, give us an old rating or review, we would really appreciate it. And so before we reveal our most anticipated books of July and August, we're going to take a quick break. Reading Glasses is sponsored in part this week by Green Chef. Folks, summer is a delicious season. So what better time to create healthy meal habits that last? What better time to get Green Chef? But what is Green Chef? Green Chef makes it easy to spend less time in the kitchen and more time enjoying summer. They are a meal kit company. We love them. They're a longtime sponsor of the show and they have new heat and eat meals, which means you can enjoy a delicious, wholesome meal in just three minutes. They feature fresh, organic, seasonal produce so you can eat all those delicious summer things, those fresh fruits and vegetables that we're all excited about. And they are 100% responsibly sourced proteins and help you feel your best. They make it so easy to find meals that fit Your lifestyle. It doesn't matter if you want to eat Mediterranean gluten free, plant based protein heavy even gut and brain health. We love our guts and we love our brains and we want them to be healthy and this calorie. Smart choices too, folks. If you've listened to the show for a while, you know that Bria and I have a lot of dietary restrictions. There's a lot of things that we can't and should not eat. That makes it tough to find meals and restaurants and especially meal kit companies that that can accommodate us. But Green Chef does it no problem. It's great to be able to pick plant based gluten free stuff and not have to worry. You get it delivered right to your door in a nice brown paper bag. All your meals figured out all pre portioned ingredients. Folks, you know how much cooking and figuring out meal stuff stresses me out and Green Chef takes all that stress away. So you can make this summer your healthiest yet with Green chef. Head to greenchef.com 50glasses and use code 50glasses to get 50% off your first month save. Then 20% off for two months with free shipping. That's code [e-mail] 50glasses glasses.

[C]

Hi, is this Brennan?

[Mallory O'Meara]

This is Brennan.

[C]

This is Ben Harrison. I'm the host of the Greatest Generation and Greatest Trek along with my buddy Adam on Maximum Fun. I am calling because you, Brennan, have been named Maximum Funds Member of the month.

[Bria Grant]

Oh my God.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I'm so honored to be the Max Fund Member of the month.

[C]

As Member of the month, you'll be getting a gift card to the Max Fund store, a special member of the month bumper sticker, and a special priority parking spot at the Max Fund headquarters in Los Angeles, California, just for you. That's a perk that I don't even get as a host of shows on the network.

[Bria Grant]

This all sounds fantastic.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I'm gonna have to figure out a way to use that parking spot.

[C]

Brennan, you have to do it just to rub it in my face alone. Have a great day and live long and prosper. I don't know how to do this.

[Bria Grant]

That works.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I will do my best to to live long and Prosper. Become a Max Fun member [e-mail] this week we're going through our most anticipated books getting released in July and August. We've picked out the books that we are most excited about and most importantly, that the Glassers will be excited about across all genres. And before we get into them, as always, we want to thank our incredible and generous Max Fund members for making it possible for us to do this. If you listen to one of these episodes before, you know, this takes me. Me so long. This takes me like four or five times longer than a regular episode. I write it over the course of several days. I do a lot of reading. I go through NetGalley. I go through every anticipated books list from every major magazine and literary publication. It takes me. It takes me a while, but I can do it. Because people who adore us and are able to do so sign [e-mail] join to become Maxwell members that support the show. And so I can. I can do that. I feel comfortable spending all of that time because I know that I will be able to pay my bills. We really appreciate this. And on all the folks that joined during the drive, you're the one who unlocked this for a second year in a row. We're just so grateful. So if you want to be part of that, go to maximum fun.org join and sign up. And that's how you get in the discord as well, which has been a pretty hip, happening place. But we send our heartfelt thanks. And when I. When it's 10pm and I have been looking at book titles for eight hours, I think of you and I appreciate you. And remember, we're only talking about a few of our picks here. There is a, like, if you look in the show notes, it is like, you know when you get a CVS receipt and you're like, holy God, it's so many.

[Bria Grant]

And Mallory puts all of your wheelhouse items. So we'll say, like, when I'm going through it, it'll say magical realism, interconnect, connected stories, different POVs. So you can look through and search by your wheelhouse.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah, not. Not to. Not to toot our own horn, but we do a pretty good job with this. So please look at the show notes. There's so many books in there. All right, Bria, what. What's our first shared pick for July?

[Bria Grant]

This is already a pre order for me.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Ordered. Well, they're sending us copies.

[Bria Grant]

Are they sending it?

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah.

[Bria Grant]

Thank you. Already two ways I'm gonna still Ray. We're gonna read it twice. It's the Bewitching by Sylvia Moreno.

[Mallory O'Meara]

So hyped up for this book.

[Bria Grant]

It's three women in three different eras encounter danger and witchcraft in this eerie multi generational horror saga. Speaking of multi generation. And I love this first line that's in the description. It says, back then, when I was a young woman, There were still witches.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Oh, it's so good.

[Bria Grant]

Sounds great.

[Mallory O'Meara]

And it takes place in multiple places. So it's. One of the timelines is in 19th century Mexico, and one of the timelines is 1990s Massachusetts. So I was like, wow. I was like, smg writing Massachusetts, please.

[Bria Grant]

Did you notice that one of the characters names is Beatrice Tremblay?

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yes.

[Bria Grant]

Which I think is.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yes.

[Bria Grant]

I mean, obviously an homage.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Well, that perfectly tees up our next most anticipated pick.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah. Tell people what it is, Bria.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I have been so hyped for this. As soon as I found out he was doing this. Our friend of the show, Paul Tremblay, is writing a. Wrote. It's coming out a middle grade horror book.

[Bria Grant]

Big fan. Excited to. I.

[Mallory O'Meara]

It's called Another.

[Bria Grant]

I'm so excited about it.

[Mallory O'Meara]

And I. I mean, like Paul writing middle grade horror. Like I was like doing. I had like the. The book Zoomies over this. Like, you know, tell us what it's about.

[Bria Grant]

It is about an unbreakable friendship. It's when Casey Wilson's parents tell him that his friend is coming over for sleepover. He has no idea who that might be. Ever since the Zoom incident, everyone treats him like a pariah and his ticks are worse than ever. This sounds really scary, actually. And then this person comes over and it's not like any friend Casey has ever met. His skin is like clay and he doesn't speak. But his parents are really charmed by it. This is a one, you know, this is a. This is a trope I love where it's like someone who everyone is like, this person's normal. And you're like, it's not normal. There's something going on here. Anyway, this sounds amazing. So nice little cover. I like this cover. It's kind of creepy.

[Mallory O'Meara]

So like a fucking hyped up. I. Well, you know, I love middle grade horror and I like. And I was like, Paul's writing middle grade horror. Hallelujah. Present personally. Thank you, Paul, for writing this book personally for me. So two really exciting horror books right off the bat, which I feel like there's not been a ton. Besides Stephen Graham Jones's book, there hasn't been a ton of horror that I. That I've been reading this year.

[Bria Grant]

I feel like it always comes out in the fall.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah. So I'm. I'm excited for these. These two big ones. Oh, and Grady, of course. New Grady at the top of the year, but. All right. So what's your first individual pick?

[Bria Grant]

My first one is the woman in Sweet Eleven by Ruth Ware. I feel like you didn't know I was gonna pick this.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I did not know.

[Bria Grant]

I didn't know you read the first.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Because it's a sequel, right?

[Bria Grant]

I know, but I loved the woman in cabin 10. I thought it was so. So it's a sequel to the woman in cabin 10, which was. All took place on a ship. This one, it takes place, I believe, in a hotel. Yeah. A luxury Swiss hotel. It's owned by a billionaire. And so basically this person there. There's just weird stuff happening at this hotel. It's a cat and mouse sort of pursuit all the way across Europe. It says, I really like Ruth Ware. I don't read a ton of thrillers or mysteries, but I find her voice to be one that's really compelling to me. And I just. I love the woman in cabin 10 because it was this mystery. You didn't know what happened to this woman. It was great. Great reveal. So, yeah, I'm excited. I'm gonna read this sequel. Very stoked. Yeah. It came out like woman in cabin 10 came out like a while ago. Yeah, a long time ago.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah. I haven't read that one, but I read. I read one of her other books and I. Really, really. In A Dark, Dark Night or. Oh, yeah, A Dark, Dark something. Oh, yeah, something like that. But I really liked it.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah. What's your first one?

[Mallory O'Meara]

My first one is A Resistance of Witches by Morgan Ryan.

[Bria Grant]

I'm really going on my list too, by the way.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I am very, very pumped. So this is a historical fantasy, but it is World War II and it's British witches doing magical espionage against Nazi witches. So it's like this. This woman and her, like, motley crew of. Of resistance friends who are trying to find this magical grimoire before it gets into the hands of the Nazi witches. And I was like, that's. That's all I need to know. I'm in, like, British with, like, good witches going against Nazi witches. Plus a magical book sold very. I think this is going to be a good glasser book. What is your next one?

[Bria Grant]

This one you knew I was going to pick.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yes, I did.

[Bria Grant]

Which is the Convenience Store by the Sea by Sunoco Machida. Translated by Bruno Navaski. It is. Wow. Here's. You put these things underneath. And I was like, oh, yeah, of course I'm going to read this. Magical realism, Japanese convenience store and three interconnected stories. I first of all love a translated book that takes. It's. It's what I assume it is. It's a cozy Magical realism Japanese book, which I love.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Which is it. Which is totally its own genre.

[Bria Grant]

It is its own genre and usually it's someone. And this is what this seems like it's going to be as people come there and they have some problem and then it's solved within the store. And so it's a little bit like before the coffee gets cold, that's the name of the one. But this one basically says after you get there you get the feeling. Feeling that what you need might be waiting for you here. So I think it's like a cozy wish fulfillment sort of place. I'm very excited about it. It feels like exactly. Someone wrote a book for me because I love a Japanese convenience store, both in real life and in a book.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Honestly it's. It's always funny to me because whenever one of our friends goes to Japan like the first thing they're like, I gotta go to 7:11.

[Bria Grant]

You gotta.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Well gotta go to a convenience store.

[Bria Grant]

When I went there, I was in Japan for five or six weeks a couple like two years ago. And I ate at 7:11 almost every night because they have good food.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah, I know.

[Bria Grant]

And it was cheap and it was like we were tired because we were so jet lagged. So we'd just be like let's by 711 and get some of those little like onigiri things.

[Mallory O'Meara]

And I love onigiri. I make that at home sometimes.

[Bria Grant]

Do you?

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah.

[Bria Grant]

You don't cook?

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah, well it's more. It's not cooking, it's assembling.

[Bria Grant]

It is assembling. That's true.

[Mallory O'Meara]

It's like a cocktail but for food.

[Bria Grant]

That is true. That is true. I ordered it from restaurants. I don't make it myself.

[Mallory O'Meara]

There's a few places around here. But Yeah, I have a little nori.

[Bria Grant]

That I find very good.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah. Oh, maybe I'll order some of that.

[Bria Grant]

Do that. It's really good. What's your next one?

[Mallory O'Meara]

My next one is how to Survive a horror story by Mallory Arnold that I did not pick because it was a Mallory book.

[Bria Grant]

Okay.

[Mallory O'Meara]

But I'm really. This is like a. It. It's called how to Survive a Horror Story but it's more of a fantasy thriller. It seems like it's this famous horror author who dies and invites all these writers that he knows and kind of has a connection to. And they all arrive at this manner thinking that they're gonna get like his will is going to be read and they're all going to get a piece of it. Turns out they're invited to Participate in this game where they have to solve a puzzle. They start in one room and they solve a puzzle and they have to progress through the mansion. I love that. But if they don't solve it, somebody in the room dies.

[Bria Grant]

Oh, it's a little like Kill Creek. Do you read Kill Creek?

[Mallory O'Meara]

No, but I remember you told me.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

And this just sounds really fun and exciting and a combination of a puzzle book, but also interesting house book. So I am. It says for fans of. Everyone in my family has killed someone. Plus the Fall of the House of Usher, which is a great.

[Bria Grant]

Oh, okay. Two things I really like.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah, I'm pumped. What is your next pick?

[Bria Grant]

My next one is angel down by Daniel Krause. Daniel Krause. I just read Whale Fall this year. Last year.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Last year. I remember you love that book because.

[Bria Grant]

We read it for my book club. And he actually came to our book club on Zoom and we got to hear all about Whalefall, which this man does a lot of research. This man spends so much time researching stuff. I mean, because Whalefall takes place mostly inside in a whale of a whale.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah.

[Bria Grant]

This one seems equally wild. It takes place during World War I. I love. Do you know this about me, that I love horror that takes place during wars? No, it's a weird, specific thing that I really like movies or books. But if it's a war, Josh Mallory has a really good one.

[Mallory O'Meara]

You gotta read in the Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden. You should read that.

[Bria Grant]

Oh, I should read it. Because I do love it. There's something about it. When there's a high stakes event. Here's what it is. I like a high stakes event happening and then high stakes thing happens during that event. So also like horror during a pandemic. Like when there's a big worldwide event, but then you're dealing with these other high stakes.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Oh, that. That much I know you love. You love a horror version of Mike Chen, which is a very personal story against a background of a big story.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah. But I like it when it's also like extreme against an extreme. So it's like a hat on a hat. But this one is about. It takes place during World War I. A bunch of soldiers stumble upon a fallen angel that can hold the key to ending the war. Which just sounds completely wild to me and exactly like. I would expect nothing less from interesting. And it just seems like a really fascinating. This. Obviously this thing's happening during World War I already. A lot of wild happening. And then they find the celestial being and they have to Figure out. It sounds awesome. What's your next one?

[Mallory O'Meara]

My next one is a YA book. This is Immortal Consequences by IV Marie. And this is. So this is a romantasy dark academia boarding school competition book. So like I can feel the ears of glasses pricking up.

[Bria Grant]

You're picking a lot of competition books.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I know what's going on there.

[Bria Grant]

I read.

[Mallory O'Meara]

When I read Darkly earlier this year by Marissa Pissell, I was like, do I love competition books? But this one seems really, really fun. It. But it's because it's a magical boarding school in the afterlife. So, okay, it's this like school that. That exists on the fringes of life and death. And all these teens are compete. They're in a competition to see who gets to move on to the other side.

[Bria Grant]

Oh, cool.

[Mallory O'Meara]

O. Okay. And it's like this one girl, she's very driven to. To win and she wants to move on to the other side. And of course then you have the. The charming playboy who never fell in love with anybody before until he meets her. But they like, they. It's kind of almost enemies to lovers. It seems like they're. They're. Because they're, you know, they're competing against each other, but they're falling in love. And it's like. It just sounds really interesting. I've never really read anything like this before. Like a competition that's after death.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah, that's pretty unique.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah. So I'm excited for that. What's your next one?

[Bria Grant]

Ooh, I'm supposed to on your list, but it's also a dark academia book. It's the library.

[Mallory O'Meara]

And also an academy book.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah, it's called the Library at Hellbore by Cassandra Kaw. We're Cassandra Kaw fans over here.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yes, we are.

[Bria Grant]

It's compared to deadly and deadly education, which I did really enjoy. But basically this is an. The Hellbore Technical Institute for the Gifted is a premier academy for the dangerously Antichrists and the Ragnaroks, the world Eaters and the Apocalypse thinkers. So it's also a weird school for people that like yours a little bit, promises redemption, acceptance and a normal life after graduation. At least that's what our main character is told when she's kidnapped and forcibly enrolled. And on graduation day, the faculty go on a ravenous rampage and they basically eat her class. And then this woman, Alessa, this. Then the main character has to escape the carnage. They're trapped in the school's library and they must offer a human sacrifice every night or the faculty will break down the Door and kill everyone. Sounds really good. Again, some high stakes. High stakes also follows under Queer Fiction. It looks really good. Looks good, I think.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah. And a good, really good cover too.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah, it does have a good cover. All right, what's your last one for? The last one for July.

[Mallory O'Meara]

My last one for July is the original by Nell Stevens. So this is queer historical fiction. That sounds so cool. It is about this woman who is an art forger and she lives in this, like, grand country house. It takes place in England in 1899.

[Bria Grant]

You like an art. An art. I love art history or history or.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I really do. It's something I really.

[Bria Grant]

What is that? Do you have a art. You don't have?

[Mallory O'Meara]

No.

[Bria Grant]

You don't have a background?

[Mallory O'Meara]

I have no background. I have no college degree.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah, yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Just making it by the seat of my pants out here. But I do. I love art history. You know what? I just. Sorry, tangent, but I just watched recently. Did I tell you about this, that we watched the Thomas Crown Affair when I was in Austin?

[Bria Grant]

I think you told me.

[Mallory O'Meara]

And we liked it so much that a friend of ours showed up right at the end and we were like, let's watch it again. I've been like chasing that high of the Thomas Crown Affair. But yeah, I love art history in this book. In the original, the main character, she's this art forger. She lives in this grand house and she's kind of. She's not one of the. She's not like one of the main. She's not part of the main family that lives in this house. So she's kind of been living on the periphery for a while. She's like a cousin and they're kind of resentful for her that they have to take care of her. Like, but she's part of the family, so they, they, they tolerate her. And then the family gets this letter from this cousin who shows up to live with them, which makes me. It almost feels kind of another cousin. Yes.

[Bria Grant]

Okay.

[Mallory O'Meara]

It almost feels like we've always lived in the castle.

[Bria Grant]

Oh, yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Because the cousin shows up and the family starts to wonder if this cousin really is who he says he is. And because the main character does forgeries, she's very. A very good, like, good at art forging. She starts to notice things about him that other people are not noticing. And she starts to try to decipher what's going on.

[Bria Grant]

That sounds cool.

[Mallory O'Meara]

And in doing so, starts to unearth some family secrets. And it just sounds like a really fun, cool, queer historical fiction. And you know I love a big, like, big cool house. Plus art history and like art stuff and art heists. Very excited.

[Bria Grant]

Love it.

[Mallory O'Meara]

All right, so you can send your thoughts on July books to reading glasses podcast gmail.com. but before we talk about August books, we're going to take a quick.

[Bria Grant]

You know what, we mean that if there's a book you're looking forward to, we want to hear about it.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah, let us help.

[Bria Grant]

Send us.

[Mallory O'Meara]

People sometimes post about it in the. In the discord, in the slack. And I love that. And I sometimes I'll. I'll add them to our list.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah, great.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Hello, this is Alex.

[Bria Grant]

Hello, this is Katie.

[Mallory O'Meara]

We host secretly Incredibly fascinating. And this week we released our 250th episode 250D D. Every episode stands on its own.

[Bria Grant]

And every episode is about a seemingly ordinary topic.

[Mallory O'Meara]

We reveal the history and the science of stuff like salt and clouds and your computer mouse.

[Bria Grant]

And episode 250 is about the word hello.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Hello. You know that word. You're ready to go. So let us say hello to you find secretly incredibly [e-mail] okay, we're back. Let's look through our most anticipated books for August. A lot of fun coming out.

[Bria Grant]

Wow, wow, wow. I am so excited for August.

[Mallory O'Meara]

And we have one shared pick that is not normally in my wheelhouse, but I saw this and I just had to put it I. Because I. And I knew you would be really excited about it.

[Bria Grant]

Oh my God. I just. I. While we were sitting here, I just pre ordered.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Is Annalee Newitz's new book. Yeah, Automatic Noodle. I mean, folks, this is so.

[Bria Grant]

Dude, first of all, cute name. Automatic Noodle.

[Mallory O'Meara]

It's a sigh. It's a cozy near future sci fi book. It's a novella and it's about these leftover robots who open their own noodle shop. I could feel, you know that scene with the Grinch where his heart's starting. Starting to grow. Every time I read the description of this book, my heart grows a little bit.

[Bria Grant]

It's so cute. It's great.

[Mallory O'Meara]

But it's also like Annalee Newit's writing a cozy book. I was like, this is stoked. I feel like Annalee knew it's looked up in the sky and was like the book world is. Is despairing. Everyone's sad. I need to. I need to answer the call. I'm gonna. I'm gonna write a cozy novella and I am so pumped for this. All right, what's your first solo August pick? Okay.

[Bria Grant]

I'm so shocked you didn't pick this book, really, because you liked Yellowface. Yeah. And you liked Babel, which I've never even read.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah, I mean, I am. I am excited about this.

[Bria Grant]

All right, all right.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I will. I will co. Sign this for sure.

[Bria Grant]

Okay. I don't know how you say this word. A catabasis.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Seems like it.

[Bria Grant]

It is by RF Kuang. It is about two graduate students who must set aside their rivalry and journey to hell to save their professor's soul, perhaps at the cost of their own. Basically, it's about. It's got academia, it's got. There's a main character who has. Who wants to become the. One of the brightest minds in the field of magic. And she sacrificed everything to make that a reality. And she did all of this basically to work with this one professor who is at Cambridge and. And then this professor dies. So now this professor is in hell and she has to go after him because his recommendation could hold her very future that is so great in his hands. And she is not going to stop anything.

[Mallory O'Meara]

It's like the. It's like Orpheus and Eurydice, but instead of love, you have to go back so you can get your recommendation, your recommendation letter.

[Bria Grant]

We both love our Kwong and so very, very excited for this.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah, it's fun. That I can't. RF Kong's one of those writers that can do wild literary thriller and then go back to Honkin fantasy.

[Bria Grant]

I know.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Just effortlessly.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah, yeah. What's your first one?

[Mallory O'Meara]

I'm so pumped about this book.

[Bria Grant]

I actually am too. And. But when I saw it, I was like, well, it's a Mallory book, but.

[Mallory O'Meara]

But this might be both of our books. This is the Hounding by Zenobi Purvis. And so this is a historical horror and it's kind of like a historical horror mystery. It takes place in the small town and about these five sisters. And it's an 18th century England and their neighbors are convinced that they're turning into dogs.

[Bria Grant]

Into dogs.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah. So it's like, okay, I thought it.

[Bria Grant]

Was wolves, but it's dogs. It's dogs.

[Mallory O'Meara]

And it's. It's pitched as the Crucible meets the. The Virgin Suicides. And like, so it's this little small town in 18th century England. And apparently this small town is already kind of like known for weird things happening. Like weird creatures will wash up or like weird, weird stuff will happening. And then all of a sudden people start to hear parking one night and someone claims to see one of the sisters transform. And then like all the allegations that they're turning into dogs. Spread like wildfire.

[Bria Grant]

Amazing. That sounds great.

[Mallory O'Meara]

It sounds so good. I. It kind of reminds me of that book. What was that book that you read a while ago where someone was giving birth to rabbits?

[Bria Grant]

Mary Toft or the Rabbit Queen? Yes, sir Palmer.

[Mallory O'Meara]

That's what I was thinking of. But, yeah, I love a weird, historic historical horror where something weird is happening and you're not sure if it's real or not. So I am really p. What is your next pick?

[Bria Grant]

This has been on my list for a long time. You know, I loved this book. The ZW by Lindsay King Miller. Lindsay King Miller is coming out with a new book called this Is My Body. It is basically about demon possession, Catholicism and trauma.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Ooh.

[Bria Grant]

And it's basically. It's about a single gay mom who cut ties with her extremist Catholic family. But then she has this daughter who starts having these fits, and she just cannot shake the fact that she's like, oh, is this some. Is this a demon? Oh. Because she comes from a Catholic background.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Oh, maybe I do want to read this.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Because I love. It's funny because I don't. I. You know, I am very famously a heathen freak known, but I also love possession stories.

[Bria Grant]

Yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

So I very much relate to this mom.

[Bria Grant]

Yep. Yep. And so she starts to uncover her secrets about the priest, about exorcism in her family, about her family's past. It does sound like something you would really like, and I think you'd really like Lindsay King Miller's writing. It's compared to Rachel Harrison and Katriana Ward. Two big two. Two people we love. So, yeah, this book has been. I saw that she was coming out with a book this year, and I was like, I'm excited to get it. And then I realized it wasn't until August. So it's been on my.

[Mallory O'Meara]

We've been waiting for it forever.

[Bria Grant]

But. But, yeah. What's your. Oh, Mallory's excited.

[Mallory O'Meara]

That's what happens in my head. Because it's a new helenoia. Yummy. Folks, if you listen to the show, you know, I'm obsessed with Helen. Oh, Yeyemi. She's one of my favorite authors. So, I mean, I didn't even need to know anything about this book, but it seems like this might be a Bria book, so I.

[Bria Grant]

It does. And I do like Helen Oyimi.

[Mallory O'Meara]

This one in particular.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

It seems very you. It's about this woman, and she has a different her for every day of the week, and they. They're like, it's not just, like, different personalities. Like, they have. They all have different jobs, they have different, totally different personalities. This king is A through G, and they each have a day of the week. And, like, one of them's a perfumer, one of them's a window cleaner, one of them's a professional matchmaker that, you know, and they all have varying degrees of their own personalities. And one day, the first protagonist, A, walks into her apartment and discovers that there's a man tied up in there and has to figure out which one of the other ones did it.

[Bria Grant]

I love it.

[Mallory O'Meara]

And I am so excited because, I mean, she's. Helen Oyami is just. I love a surreal literary. Like, just a strange ass book. And like, her and Kelly Link are the queens of it for me. And I'm just. Oh, this. I'm not big into sci fi, but this.

[Bria Grant]

There. There is a thread right now happening of people who we don't normally see through sci fi do sci fi. And I'm loving it.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I am absolutely loving it. So, yeah, I pre ordered, literally as soon as I found out that this book existed, I was pre ordering it. Like, you know in a cartoon, when someone's legs start spinning and like, smoke is underneath and then they disappear in puff. That was me on the way to go pre order this book. What is your next one? Oh, this is also. I am obviously hyped up for this.

[Bria Grant]

August is a good month for me. It is Lessons in Magic and Disaster by Charlie Jane Anders.

[Mallory O'Meara]

It's a. I'll give Charlie Jane the. The. The slide whistle as well.

[Bria Grant]

It's a fantasy adult book by Charlie Jane Anders. I don't know if I need to know anything else.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I am cozy fantasy.

[Bria Grant]

I know.

[Mallory O'Meara]

In autumn in New England.

[Bria Grant]

I know. Mallory, this is for you too.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Oh, my God, I was so sweating reading this. Holy crap.

[Bria Grant]

I'm just gonna read this one part to you. So it says, Jamie is basically your average New England academic in training. She has a strong queer relationship, an esoteric dissertation proposal, and inherited generational trauma. But she has one extraordinary secret. She's a powerful witch. So it's witch stuff. It's. It's. It's stuff.

[Mallory O'Meara]

It's New England in autumn.

[Bria Grant]

We also are seeing a lot of fun witch stuff happening, which is really exciting and so much excellent academia.

[Mallory O'Meara]

You know that meme of the guy from wrestling. And then, like, every ever, like, his face progress. It gets more and more excited, every new thing. I was like, charlie Jane Anders, cozy fantasy in New England in autumn.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah. It just sounds amazing.

[Mallory O'Meara]

So pumped.

[Bria Grant]

And I love Charlie Jane Anders writing, so I'm very excited for this to be coming out.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Oh, so exciting.

[Bria Grant]

What's your next one?

[Mallory O'Meara]

My next one is the House of Monstrous Women by Daphne Fama. I mean, this was one you could just read based off of the title alone, but it's set in the 1980s in the Philippines. It's gothic horror and it's about this woman, her family has died, she's been orphaned and she's been kind of alone taking care of the family home. Her older brother's away. This is, this is a trope that I love. She gets an invitation from her childhood friend to return to the house that she grew up in and she gets there. It's kind of like the other book I was talking about where she.

[Bria Grant]

You love someone returning to their childhood.

[Mallory O'Meara]

But this is someone returning to their childhood home and getting invited to play this game in the house. And the house is kind of a maze. And she said she. The. The friend tells her that if she wins the game, she will get whatever her heart desires. But I think she gets consumed by the house if she loses. And it just sounds like historical horror. Cool house, cool ladies. The description has a rumored witch, so there's just so many elements to this that I'm really excited. So I've got this, I've got this pre ordered and very. I haven't been. We haven't been seeing a lot of 1980s historical horror.

[Bria Grant]

You're right. You're right.

[Mallory O'Meara]

And I am very, very pumped about that. What is your last book?

[Bria Grant]

My last one is a translated book. The Midnight Shift is the name.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I knew you were gonna pick this one.

[Bria Grant]

It looks really good. I'm hopefully pronouncing this person's name right, but it's Sun Run Chun. It is set in Korea and it is a vampire murder mystery exploring queer love and the consequences of loneliness. First of all, I love books about loneliness. I love a murder mystery where it's like not a normal murder mystery. There's like.

[Mallory O'Meara]

It's a normal murder.

[Bria Grant]

There's something else going on. And the fact this is a vampire murder mystery. So it's four elderly people die back to back in the same hospital by jumping out of the sixth floor window. Honestly, you didn't have to tell me anything else.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yep.

[Bria Grant]

And then this person has this. This person has to investigate and goes from there. And it's a vampire hunter involved. It just seems like a really interesting, cool book that doesn't feel like anything I've ever read before. So when I saw this on the list, I was like, hell, yeah. This looks amazing. It's called the Midnight Shift. What is your last one?

[Mallory O'Meara]

I am so pumped for this. I also have this pre ordered.

[Bria Grant]

Oh, Haley Piper has a new book.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Very cool. It's called the Game in Yellow by, like, you said, Haley Piper. And so this is the king in yellow, except for kink. Oh. And I was like, excuse me, please. I just, just. I just whipped my wallet directly at my computer. So this is a queer horror book, and it is about this. This queer couple, and they. They're, like, very kinky. They want to spice up their sex life even further so they get this mysterious book.

[Bria Grant]

Oh, my God.

[Mallory O'Meara]

And start dabbling in something that they should not. And that's all like. I was like, a kinky, queer version of the King in yellow.

[Bria Grant]

Amazing.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I like this.

[Bria Grant]

Haley Piper is playing chess over here while we're all reading books and checkers. Like, Haley Piper is doing things that, like, I'm like, like what?

[Mallory O'Meara]

Oh, yeah.

[Bria Grant]

Like, so I literally said that out.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Loud when I saw the description of this. I was like, what?

[Bria Grant]

That's amazing.

[Mallory O'Meara]

And, like, stopped everything and, like, grabbed my phone and just. And pre ordered this. I'm so pumped for it. So if you liked Queen of Teeth, you gotta read this. Like, and if you are not a cosmic horror person, a King in Yellow is like a. It's like a very famous text in the cosmic horror world. It's most. Most people know it from the first season of True Detectives. So, yeah, if you. If you like weird cosmic horror and stuff getting strange. And also kink. I was like, like, oh, baby. I mean, if this is smutty enough, we can read it on the other show.

[Bria Grant]

Oh, good. Yeah. Reading on. Reading Smut.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah. All right, so those are our picks for July and August. We would love for you all to. I mean, tell us which books you're excited about. And if there's something we missed, let us know. We'll talk, we'll shout it out on the show. You can send your thoughts to reading glasses podcast gmail.com. as always, want to thank the wonderful mods who run our Discord server and our Facebook group. I just want to give a little extra shout out to the Discord mods because sometimes I don't know what to do, how to. How to do Discord things. And I will reach out to them and be like, what? How do I do this? And they're so helpful.

[Bria Grant]

Oh, good.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Like, next month. Next week's episode is our Best books of the year halftime show and I was polling the Discord and I went wanted to pull the Discord and I was like I don't know how to do that. And our lovely mods help me out. And if hey, if you want to join our Discord server, go to maximumfun.org join and then email your receipt to reading glasses podcast gmail.com and we'll send you your Discord invite. It is so hip happening in there. It is so fun. I love it. The slack which is closed is still going strong. You know I love the slack but the Discord server is so much fun. So check that out. And also folks, there's all kinds of fun stuff on our Void merch store. If you are looking for new totes or tank tops for the summer, link in the show notes for that. And like we said at the top of the show, if you like the show, why not give us a nice rating? Write a little lovely review. We're getting close to some some milestone numbers on both Spotify and Apple podcasts. We would really appreciate that. If you the 30 seconds to do that on your on your mobile app you can email us reading glasses podcast gmail.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 you.