Ep 420 - Digesting Books Forrest Gump Style - Reading Slowly!

Summary

Reading Glasses Podcast Episode 420 Summary Title: Digesting Books Forrest Gump Style - Reading Slowly!
Release Date: July 17, 2025
Hosts: Brea Grant and Mallory O’Meara

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Introduction

In Episode 420 of Reading Glasses, hosts Brea Grant and Mallory O’Meara delve into the Reading Slowly challenge, exploring how taking time with a book can enrich the reading experience. They also share listener feedback, test out a stretchy bookmark, and provide tailored book recommendations for a listener seeking horror without excessive body horror.

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Current Reads and Book Swap

Bria’s Pick: Spirit Collection of Thorn Hall by J. Ann Thomas

Bria introduces Spirit Collection of Thorn Hall, a novel set in the 1800s featuring a large, opulent manor and the popular spiritualism of the era. She describes the plot as following a hired individual who oversees a seance that spirals out of control, releasing spirits that the young protagonist, Elegy, must manage. Bria shares her initial impressions, highlighting the book's blend of humor and historical elements.

Bria Grant [00:38]: "So far, it's a little bit funny and clever. It's funnier than I thought it was going to be."

Mallory’s Pick: Murder at Gull's Nest by Jess Kidd

Mallory discusses her enjoyment of Murder at Gull's Nest, a cozy mystery set in 1950s Kent, England. The story revolves around a nun who leaves her convent to investigate the disappearance of a younger friend, staying at a quirky bed and breakfast. Mallory praises the book's engaging characters and intricate small-town secrets.

Mallory O'Meara [03:00]: "It is so great. Like, if you like small town secrets, you like an older protagonist... it's really fun."

She also addresses a common misconception about the term "cozy," emphasizing that while the book fits the cozy mystery genre by lacking on-page violence or sex, it delves into darker themes, challenging the blanket association of "cozy" with "feel-good."

Mallory O'Meara [05:02]: "Cozy is just... there's no on page violence or on page sex. So we need to come up with a new term."

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Listener Feedback

Sarah’s Tip on DRM-Free eBooks

Sarah provides a valuable tip regarding DRM-free eBooks available on Bookshop.org, explaining how to identify and utilize them across various devices.

Mallory O'Meara [07:16]: "Whether or not an ebook has DRM on it in their store depends on the publisher's policies... these books can be... freely downloaded."

Abby’s Advice on Handling Triggers

Abby shares strategies for managing reading triggers, particularly around sensitive topics like sexual assault. She recommends using tools like StoryGraph and community groups to identify and navigate potential triggers.

Abby [07:59]: "Whenever they are ready to jump back in, I recommending using tools like Storygraph to check for specific Triggers in books."

Kerm’s Recommendation on Calibre

Kerm highlights the benefits of using Calibre, a free ebook management program, to remove DRM and gain more control over eBook libraries, though noting some compatibility issues with Chromebooks.

Kerm [09:16]: "Libre is a free ebook management program that lets you completely customize your library..."

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Reading Slowly Challenge

The main focus of the episode is the Reading Slowly component of the 2025 Reading Glasses Challenge. Mallory and Bria discuss the benefits of slowing down their reading pace to enhance comprehension and enjoyment.

Rules and Guidelines

• Pace: Read significantly slower than usual, whether it takes days, weeks, or even months.
• Consistency: Maintain a regular reading schedule without excessively long gaps.
• Flexibility: It's acceptable to drop a book if it doesn't engage, allowing for a switch to a more enjoyable read.

Benefits Discussed

• Enhanced Enjoyment: Savoring each page leads to a more immersive experience.
• Better Retention: Slower reading aids in absorbing and remembering information, especially in non-fiction.
• Mindful Engagement: Encourages readers to fully engage with the material rather than rushing through.

Notable Insights:

Mallory O'Meara [16:25]: "You're savoring it, which is something that I really struggle with... it really becomes about the enjoyment and the experience."

Bria shares her successful experience with Dracula Daily, a structured reading approach where chapters are read incrementally. Both hosts express enthusiasm for this method, noting how it transformed their challenge experience from struggle to enjoyment.

Bria Grant [23:10]: "This is the book that you were like, I want to, I want to turn it into a musical."

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Book Tech: Stretchy Bookmark Review

The hosts review the Last Word Bookmark, a stretchy elastic bookmark designed to loop around book pages with a metal arrow indicator.

Features Evaluated:

• Durability: Made of thin elastic with a metal arrow, it withstands regular use without falling out.
• Practicality: Effective as a purse bookmark, keeping track of reading progress during on-the-go scenarios.
• Design: The minimalist design is both functional and aesthetically pleasing, though the metal arrow may pose minor inconveniences.

Pros:

• Affordability: Priced at $6, it's a budget-friendly accessory.
• Versatility: Can be used as a headband in a pinch, showcasing its stretchiness.

Cons:

• Limited Functionality at Home: The loop can be cumbersome to place on books compared to traditional bookmarks.
• Potential Hair Snagging: The metal arrow might get caught in hair when used as a headband.

Overall Rating: Bria rates it 4 out of 5 for general use and 5 out of 5 as a purse bookmark, while Mallory suggests a slightly lower score for home use.

Bria Grant [27:39]: "I’m gonna say this is a good four out of five."

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Book Recommendations

For Anonymous Listener Seeking Non-Body Horror:

Recommended Books:

1. Universal Harvester by John Darnell

   • Description: A psychological and surreal narrative about a video store clerk encountering mysterious robed figures in movie tapes. This book offers a creepy atmosphere without graphic body horror.

2. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

   • Description: A classic gothic novel with a spooky, atmospheric vibe. It involves house horror elements rather than body horror, maintaining a creepy ambiance without excessive gore.

3. Ian Reed's Works

   • Description: Known for his psychological and unsettling storytelling that aligns with the desired horror vibes without delving into body horror.

Mallory O'Meara [34:24]: "This book is not a traditional horror novel... it's very psychological, very surreal."

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Closing Notes

The hosts encourage listeners to participate in the Glasser Voted Book Club by submitting suggestions and joining their community. They promote their Discord server and merchandise store, urging listeners to leave reviews on Apple Podcasts to help the show reach its milestone of 2,000 reviews.

Commendation [37:07]: "We're trying so hard to get to 2,000 reviews on Apple Podcasts. If you are an Apple podcast user, please take 30 seconds... give us a five-star rating."

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Key Takeaways:

• Slowing Down Enhances Reading: Taking time with a book can deepen understanding and enjoyment.
• Community Engagement: Listener feedback and community tools like StoryGraph enrich the reading experience.
• Practical Book Accessories: Innovative bookmarks like the Last Word Bookmark offer functional alternatives to traditional options.
• Tailored Recommendations: Thoughtfully selected book suggestions cater to specific reader preferences, such as avoiding body horror.

Notable Quotes:

• "Cozy is just... there's no on page violence or on page sex. So we need to come up with a new term." — Mallory O'Meara [05:02]
• "It's so funny to have her run around with these [spirits]." — Bria Grant [02:15]
• "You're savoring it, which is something that I really struggle with." — Mallory O'Meara [16:25]

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For more insights and to join the Reading Glasses community, visit Maximum Fun and follow the podcast on Instagram.

Transcript

[Mallory O'Meara]

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

[Bria Grant]

And I'm Bria Grant, filmmaker and e reader. This episode, we're ticking off another box from the 2025 Reading Glasses Glasses Glasses Challenge. Read a book slowly. Plus, we test out a stretchy bookmark and recommend scary books with no body horror.

[Mallory O'Meara]

But first, Bria, what are you reading?

[Bria Grant]

I'm reading a book that fulfills the Reading Glasses challenge. Read a book based on its title that you chose for me.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Oh, I don't even remember.

[Bria Grant]

Spirit Collection of Thorn hall by J. Ann Thomas.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Oh, no. You picked this for me?

[Bria Grant]

No, I sent you Ice on the show. I said, here's a bunch of books. And I said, which one sounds good? You said. You said this one.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Oh, is it good?

[Bria Grant]

It is good. So far. So I am only four chapters in, but it starts with this, like, very fancy giant hall, Thorn hall, where this big, old, large hall where this very rich family lives. And it's set in, like, the 1800s and told from the point of view of a guy who's, like, hired for this night where all these people are coming to this house for this big party. And, you know, this is sort of the era. I believe it's 1800s. Yeah. In sort of the era where the. Where spiritualist or spiritualism was very popular. And people would be like, oh, here's a person who, you know, we'll talk to your ancestors, or, like, we'll do a seance or whatever. So this guy.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Oh, so this is. Is this historical sort of.

[Bria Grant]

I don't know, because I haven't read. I haven't gotten that far, but yes. Well, I can't tell where the current. So it's two timelines. So it opens like this. This guy has this big seance, or he's like, I'm gonna have a seance. But it starts to get a little too real, and they kick a bunch of the people out, and then someone starts crawling out of this floor, and it gets really wild, and then it goes to a different time period. And now I can't remember when that is because I just started that chapter. But basically, there's all. It must have let loose a lot of spirits. And now it's kind of a funny.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Funny.

[Bria Grant]

It's a little bit funny and clever. It's funnier than I thought it was going to be. Of this young woman named Elegy, who. Which is a great name. Who has to basically keep all these spirits from wreaking havoc.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Oh.

[Bria Grant]

Because, like, she wakes up one morning and one has, like stopped up the drains and it's like flying flooded the house and her dad is still alive. He's on his deathbed. And she's like, in charge of keeping all these little rascally spirits happy and she's constantly, like, mediating between them. And I don't know how this all happened because I. Again, I'm not very far into the book and I won't know until. Because I don't. I didn't read the. What the book is about. I'm still discovering it as it goes.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Okay.

[Bria Grant]

But it's not the. I thought it was going to be tonally much darker and. And it was dark. And now this part is just. It's. I mean, it's not super light, but it is sort of funny to have her run around with these. So we'll see if it maintains that. I don't know, it's, again, purely based on the title. Fun so far. What are you. What are you reading?

[Mallory O'Meara]

So I'm reading a book I fucking love.

[Bria Grant]

Okay.

[Mallory O'Meara]

But I do have a big PSA about it.

[Bria Grant]

Oh, okay.

[Mallory O'Meara]

In the middle. So I am. I have already. Actually, I finished it last night. I read Murder at Gull's Nest by Jess Kidd. Jess Kidd is an author that I love. I've read all of her books. She wrote Things in Jars, which is a historical book that I. And I'm completely obsessed with. And this is the start of a new cozy mystery series. So I'm going to tell you what it's about and then I'm going to tell you my psa. So what it's about is this woman, she's a nun and one of her friends in the convent is this much younger woman. She decides to leave and she's been like, writing to the main character and one day she just stops writing, stops responding. So the main character leaves the convent and decides to go investigate what happened to her by staying in the same bed and breakfast that takes place in England in the 1950s. 50s. And she goes to this, like, little weird resort town in Kent, England, and doesn't tell anybody why she's there or who she is or whether or not she knows. But she. She ends up getting the same room as her friend and she starts investigating. And it is so good. It's so great. Like, if you like small town secrets, you like an older protagonist because she's, I think, in her 50s. So it's like it's really fun because there's a lot of like she went into the convent when she was a teenager and now she's like out into the world and she's like, oh, I need reading glasses. I need like I'm my, I'm just so different now. Like I, I haven't been in the world at this age before. But the all, there's all the quirky people who live in the bed and breakfast. You will be guessing till the end. It is so great. But I do want to say, and I've seen a lot of glasses complaining about this and I do agree with you. I've seen a lot of publishers using the word cozy. Not in a technical way, because this book is a cozy mystery by the definition of cozy, which is that there's no on page violence or sex. But this book is dark.

[Bria Grant]

Oh yeah, yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Dark. Dark, dark, dark. Dark is a lot of dark subjects. A lot of darkness is not a feel good book. It's not cozy in feeling. It's cozy in form.

[Bria Grant]

So do you think that this is just a marketing thing?

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yes. So right now there's tons of publishers are using the term cozy. And I don't know if they're just trying to ride the wave of cozy. And some of these books are cozy by that definition. There's no on page violence or there's no on page sex. But they're not feel good books. And I think people are starting to equate the two. And we've been guilty of it too. It's a really easy shorthand like, like T.J. clune. But there are books that are cozy by like a cozy mystery definition that are not feel good, that are not do not feel like a warm hug that like some of these other books do. So I feel like, and I've been seeing a lot of glassers complain about this and you're right to complain, but cozy is just. There's no on page violence or on page sex. So we need to come up with a new term. I don't know if it's feel good or whatever, something like that. But like again, this book is so great. But it is a feel bad book for sure. So just be aware of that. If you are looking for, you know, like cozy fantasy, cozy romance, just know that that like that might be what the publisher is trying to convey, which is what cozy mysteries have been for a very long time. It's just been, I think maybe in the past like two or three years people have been looking for low stakes feel good fantasy and romance and sci fi. And this book is not that. Yeah, it's a. It's not. It's not cozy in that way, but God damn it is so good. So that is Murder at Gull's Nest by Just Kidd.

[Bria Grant]

And mine is the Spirit Collection of Thorn hall by J. Ann Thomas.

[Mallory O'Meara]

So we want to take a moment to share some listener feedback. Sarah wrote in to say hi. Super quick one. I got the impression during the discussion of Kindle jailbreaking that you might not be aware that some of the ebooks you can get from bookshop.org are DRM free. Ooh. Whether or not an ebook has DRM on it in their store depends on the publisher's policies, but whenever the publisher allows it, that's how they sell them. These ebooks can be freely downloaded and added to your devices by whatever means your device accepts files. Unlike their other ebooks, which have to be read in the Bookshop app. Super easy on Kobo. I assume doable on jailbroken Kindles and other readers on the website, these books will be marked with a little unlocked padlock icon. For some reason this is not present in the app, but there will be a statement in the book's detailed sections if it is DRM free.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah. And also if you open up an ebook. Hello.

[Mallory O'Meara]

This is a hot book tip for sure. Of course it came from a Sarah.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah, because all tour.com books are DRM. Any of Tor.com and their imprints. That's all DRM free stuff. And that makes sense. So yeah, you could. Kobo would be easy. I think this is the problem with the Kindle is that unless. Yeah, you gotta. Because that's how people were transferring files in and now you can't transfer the files in which I don't do. But that. Yeah, that would be a problem. But this is great. That hot tip.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Good to know.

[Bria Grant]

Abby wrote in and said hi Mallory and Bria. I just finished listening to your last podcast and wanted to add something that Abraham and other listeners might find helpful. Re feeling triggered. This is for when Abraham's therapist suggested.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Stop to stop reading for a while because of the vh. Because of the ve Schwab.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah. Yeah. I also struggle with triggers for me specifically around sexual assault and rape and I've become a frequent checker of trigger warnings. Obviously sometimes you just have to not go near a thing as Abraham's therapist suggested and that's an important part of healing. But whenever they are ready to jump back in, I recommending using tools like storygraph to check for specific Triggers in books and does the dog die for movies. Does the dog die, by the way, also has.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah, there's some books on there, not all.

[Bria Grant]

I'll talk about that later. Yep, there's also unconsenting media for all media types, but it might be less relevant to Abraham's triggers. You can also. I don't know about that one unconsenting media.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I haven't heard about that one either.

[Bria Grant]

You can also just ask others who have finished the book or and any of the reading glasses. Community groups are a great place to do this since there's a good chance someone will have read the book in question. Love that we can provide that for people. And also, I don't know about this unconsenting media. Is it a website?

[Mallory O'Meara]

I'll look it up.

[Bria Grant]

I have also on occasions skipped entire chapters to avoid my triggers and it's become a way for me to to not miss out on books I otherwise would have. My heart goes out to Abraham. As a fellow panic attack sufferer, I know how scary it is and the journey to heal can take a while, but I hope these tools will help anyone who needs it to feel more empowered to enjoy the media they want, love the show and keep doing what you do. This is great. Thank you.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Consenting media seems like it's specifically focused on consent and sexual violence. Okay, if that's a trigger for you that, I mean definitely we, we should, we should test this out and and talk about it. But yeah, Abraham, give us an update. We hope we're we've been thinking about you and anyone. I mean this is something that clearly other glassers go through. So you are. You're not alone. Kerm wrote in to say hi Bri and Mallory. I just wanted to share something with you in the wonderful classers. I'm a die hard Kobo girly myself, but I know Kindle users are going through it with Amazon, taking away their book rights. I saw that you talked about Calibre briefly on a very old episode, but it's worth bringing up again. Libre is a free ebook management program that lets you completely customize your library. It allows you to remove the DRM from books and essentially let you, quote own them rather than just borrowing from Bezos and allowing him to take them away on a whim. I am not at all tech savvy and even I figured it out. Plus the subreddit is super helpful if you get stuck. Thanks for a great podcast. You have enriched my reading life beyond measure and greatly lengthened my tbr. I Do want to say I struggle with calibre. We ended up not testing it out on the show because I have a Chromebook which throws a wrench into every single thing that we do. And it doesn't quite work the same on Chromebook.

[Bria Grant]

I believe that it's. It's a great app if you. Yeah, for like I have a. Just a regular Apple. Yeah. But it does. It will help you take the DRM off those books or help you turn them into other kinds of files. And I used to use it more when we would get used to. I couldn't send PDFs. I needed to transfer things to PDF and so it would help me with that. But yeah, it's great if you are looking to buy stuff and take that DRM off that. Great, great app.

[Mallory O'Meara]

You want to read Kerm's Wheelhouse?

[Bria Grant]

I do. Something is wrong with a little trademark T at the top.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Very funny.

[Bria Grant]

Sapphic yearning. Translated especially from Spanish and Japanese. Weird literary fiction, Women's rights and wrongs. Yes we can. But should we Sci fi.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Love it.

[Bria Grant]

Deeply unsettling Horror family and small town secrets. There's also a P.S. that says I just listened to the infamous house sitting episode.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I did not realize this was an infamous episode, but this makes sense because this sparked so much debate.

[Bria Grant]

Big debate. The biggest separation between Mallory and I. And it made me laugh because I'm such a Mallory. When I was 18, I was in Columbia and my mom lent one of my books to a homestay worker and I was livid. That worker and I are now good friends. And the book was educated by Tara Westover, which I think everyone should read.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I like to think that Kerm specifically befriended this person.

[Bria Grant]

To get that book back.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah, they're like. They ingratiated themselves into their lives to get that book back.

[Bria Grant]

That would be amazing.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Wow. Yeah, I guess I just. I. I totally forgot about that episode. But it does. It is kind of in like the Reading Glasses hall of Fame is like a big delineation between two different types of book owners. So you can email us at reading glasses podcast gmail.com if you want a list of all the books we talk about on the show delivered to your inbox every month. You can sign up for our newsletter. There's a link in the show notes and quick bookmark reminder. Folks, we are taking suggestions for the Glasser Voted book Club. Please email us at reading glasses podcast gmail.com but remember, the Glasser Voted Book club event is going to be for members only. So if you want to join and talk about this insert book that we end up voting on here. Go to maximumphone.org join to sign up. Support Reading Glasses. Send your receipt to us by email and you'll get in the discord, you'll get our internal love and you'll get to participate in this event. So before we talk about reading a book slowly, we're going to take a quick break.

[Bria Grant]

Reading Glasses is brought to you in part this week by Pear Eyewear. We know you love reading. We know you're reading something you love right now. Tell people what you're reading, share what you're reading. But you can't read what you're reading unless you're wearing glasses. Well, I don't know you, but maybe, but most if you, if you have bad eyesight, you gotta have glasses or sunglasses if you're reading outside. There's a lot of new books coming out this summer. We're gonna be poolside, we're gonna be beachside, we're gonna be in the mountains, wherever we want to go. Mallory's about to go to the east coast for a little bit, right?

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah. I'm going on a little book tour this summer, so. And I am going to hopefully do some fun stuff out there, which for me means reading. I'm going to. If I'm having fun in the sun, that means reading. So now need sunglasses for it.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah. No matter what you're reading, Pear Eyewear has budget friendly shapes and styles that don't compromise style or quality. Mallory, you want to tell people what Pear Eyewear is?

[Mallory O'Meara]

So. Okay. Pear Eyewear is this really cool glasses company and they have this really amazing unique system where you buy base frames, they have all types of budget friendly shapes and styles. And then you buy top frames that click on top with magnets. So you can either get regular glasses so like you can wear them indoor, like, you know, a, a normal clear pair of glasses, or you can get the sun tops and turn them into sunglasses. But they have so many different collaborations, folks. They have Disney princesses, they have Disney, Mickey and friends, Marvel, Star wars, NBA, NHL, mlb, a bunch of different sports acronyms. I am a big NHL fan, so I love my Washington Capitals glasses, as you know. But folks, it's summertime. Maybe you want to try a new look, you want new sunglasses, you want a new, you want glasses that are a different color for May, changed your hair for the summer or got a cool new summer wardrobe. This is such a great and budget friendly way to do it. So if you want to slay your summer reading GL go to pair eyewear.com and use code GLASSES for 15% off your first pair. And support the show by mentioning that reading glasses sent you in your post checkout survey. That's P A I R I wear.com code glasses, glasses, glasses.

[C]

Are you a celebrity? Are you searching for meaning, connection and a little levity these days? Hi, I'm Kamel Nanjiani, actor, writer, and yes, a celebrity too. And I've got four words for you. Bullseye with Jesse Thorne. Are you tired of junkets, red carpets? Sick of the endless spicy snacks you have to eat? Do you want to connect with someone who gets your work and laugh with you a little? Join me, Andre 3000, Tom Hanks, Tina Fey, and many more and become a guest on Bullseye with Jesse Thorne from NPR and Maximum Fun.

[Mallory O'Meara]

This week we're ticking off another box on the 2025 Reading Glasses Challenge. Read a book slowly. How do you complete this? What are we doing for this part of the challenge? And most importantly, how can this improve your reading life? All right, first off, of course, the rules, very important. So this, the book can be any genre fiction, non fiction, novel, poetry collection, just as long as you read it much more slowly than you normally would. And this is person specific. So if you are a me, that is anything longer that's than a couple of days, but it could be weeks, it could be months. Just as long as you feel like you are taking a lot longer to digest it, but not long enough that you don't feel like you're reading it anymore. Like don't read a chapter and then the next year come read the next one.

[Bria Grant]

Right. You don't remember the chapter.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah, just try to keep up with it regularly. But you should try to finish it. It shouldn't be a book that you want to dump after a chapter. All right, Bria, how do we think this can improve Glasser's reading lives?

[Bria Grant]

We've gotten a lot of feedback from Glassers who are enjoying this.

[Mallory O'Meara]

In all people are really into this.

[Bria Grant]

Poetry collections, love that big world building novels, short story collections. This is very smart. I like the way like breaking it up. But when you read something slowly, you're, you're digesting it. Right. It's a fun experience. You're not thinking about it, inhaling it. Yeah. And I think especially like, like you talked about last week, like with a short story collection, it's fun to not just like read four short stories in a row because it's like four different ideas.

[Mallory O'Meara]

It's like when you just opening A box of chocolates and taking a handful.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah, yeah. You mean like a. Like an assorted box?

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah.

[Bria Grant]

Oh, yeah. Like a. Just like a. Like a force gump box.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah. A forest gump sampler.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

But instead of enjoying each one, you're just like.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah, yeah. You're eating your cherry. Your cherry one with the one that.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah. The caramel with the coconut cream.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah. You're eating them all at the same time. So that. That's fun. Yeah, it's fun to get to kind of digest them in the way they're sort of meant to be digested.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah, I think it's really fun because when you do this, it really becomes about the enjoyment and the experience instead of ticking off another book on the month, you know, like you are savoring it, which is something that I really struggle with. Or like, if you're doing non fiction, we've had people write in to say that they absorb a lot more instead of just like. Because it's so much fat. Especially if you're reading like a science book or a history book. It's a lot of facts that are being thrown at you. And if you're blowing through it, they're not all sticking.

[Bria Grant]

Definitely not. Definitely not. And the only downside is if it's a book you're not really into, it's going to take you longer to dump it. That's okay. If you want to dump it. You can start again with a book you really like. Yeah, that's the nice thing about dumping a book. You can read another book for a long time or. You tried it. You tried the challenge. You don't have to finish the book.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah. Again. And if you. If you feel like you gave a good effort, don't, don't, don't keep going. Don't push yourself. How are you completing this, Bria?

[Bria Grant]

I'm doing Dracula Daily.

[Mallory O'Meara]

So am I. We gotta talk. Yeah, we gotta. We gotta talk about this. We gotta talk about this.

[Bria Grant]

Okay. Shout out to the person who's sending Dracula Daily. We don't know this. Who is it? We don't.

[Mallory O'Meara]

We should interview them.

[Bria Grant]

Oh, yeah, let's find them. It is helpful because I cannot. I mean, I could read ahead, but I'm not going to because I don't have. I don't think I own the book. The dra. The book.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Oh, I have so many Draculas.

[Bria Grant]

But I could, you know, I could get it. But this is very helpful because. Okay. Basically, if you haven't heard us talk about it on the show, whoever this angel is. Is sending out. I'm looking part a chapter from the book Dracula on that Kirkland. Hey, Matt, come on the show.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Do you think he's from the Costco Kirkland?

[Bria Grant]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. He's part of that empire. But he sends out a chapter of Dracula on the day that it happens within the book. So right now, I'm still in the castle. I mean, you're reading it, too. Yeah, we got today, I think, actually. Yeah, I haven't read it yesterday.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I read it in the morning.

[Bria Grant]

I try to read in the morning, too, but we're still in the castle, as last time I checked. And it's. So it's very interesting to read Dracula in this form. Also, like having seen Nosferatu recently, that's been really fun to compare those two. But I can't read ahead, which has been kind of fun, is that I'm sort of just, like, following the story and. Yeah, we're still figuring out lots of stuff.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Well, the thing I really like about it is that I. Something that I really struggle with in books is the. Is the passage of time is, like, absorbing how long something takes. Yeah, sure, maybe because I read really fast, but, like, something that I'm really guilty of is not looking at the dates of things and then having to flip back and be like, what? What?

[Bria Grant]

You have that problem in the book I'm reading right now, and the Thorn Home. Thorn collection.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I really struggle with that. So Dracula Daily, it really shows you how long he's.

[Bria Grant]

Because he's there for so long.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Literally, this morning, I was like, God damn, he. Poor Jonathan, he's still stuck there. Like, it's happening in real time. It's. And not that you should try to read all books in real time, but the way this is done is it. It really does show you, like, how long he's stuck in that castle and how long things take.

[Bria Grant]

And I would never do this in my real life. So this person who has organized this is very cool. They have taken the time to organize this. Yes. You're. So you're doing Dracula Daily or something else?

[Mallory O'Meara]

Well, I am.

[Bria Grant]

I'm also.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I'm doing Dracula Daily, but I'm also. Bria, I'm sorry, I'm gonna have to tell you about Ethan of Athos again.

[Bria Grant]

I don't remember.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Oh, thank God. Thank God. Because I'm telling everybody in my life. Okay, so I. I had other ideas for this. And then me and HWB went on vacation in April, and we went to Bart's Books, which is one of My favorite bookstores we literally organized. I. I found out that HWB had never been to Bart's books. And I was like, we have to go on vacation and organized a vacation just so we can go to this bookstore.

[Bria Grant]

Very cute.

[Mallory O'Meara]

And so we get there and he, like, we split apart. And about an hour later he finds me and he's like, look at all these books. And he found the owners of Bart's books had just like, gotten. Someone had passed away and, like, their estate was filled with old sci fi books.

[Bria Grant]

Oh, wow.

[Mallory O'Meara]

So he.

[Bria Grant]

Oh, I know Ethan about this. God, I forgot this, but I forgot.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah, okay. So he gives. He brings over this giant stack of books and he's like, help me pick out of all these, like, cheesy old sci fi books. And we, like, went through them all. We picked about half of them. And the one that we became most. We were most interested in is called Ethan of Athos. It's called by Lois McMasters Bujold. And I'm just gonna read the back of this book.

[Bria Grant]

Oh, please.

[Mallory O'Meara]

For. For everybody. And so we. So we started reading, reading it to each other that night in our hotel room. And we became so obsessed with Ethan of Athletes. We're still not finished with it yet. We've been like, we. We started out the first few nights reading it to each other, but HWB does all the voices. He's fully cast this book.

[Bria Grant]

Amazing.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Ethan himself is Keanu Reeves. So he has done most of the book in a perfect Keanu Reeves voice. All of the villains are Scottish. It is so funny. The description on Goodreads is different than the book. I don't have the book with me, but it's basically about this. It's this like space sci fi book about this planet where women are illegal.

[Bria Grant]

Right?

[Mallory O'Meara]

It's. Women are not illegal. Yes. They are forbidden to go there.

[Bria Grant]

United States of America.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah, it is. It's called Athos. Women are. Women are forbidden there. It's an entire. You figure out that it is basically a gay Christian cult planet. It's only gay Christian men. Okay. They're very Christian, but they're also very afraid of women. Okay. And the main character, he's an obstetrician. So he like, makes like, like, he works in like a lab making children. Male children, of course, because they. They don't need. They don't use women. They like, grow children in a lab. And you have to. To get its son, but they are. Have run out of ovarian tissue. And so he needs to go out into the Wider world. So they send him to the space station that's kind of like a way station. It's like a. Like a trade station to go pick up some more. And he's never been in the world before. He is terrified of women. Every time he sees one and he gets. As soon as he gets there, he gets wrapped up in this kind. In like this conspiracy. He doesn't realize that the reason why the shipment that they have ovarian tissue that they had gotten was messed up was for this other like a secret reason. And so we started this in April. We're still reading it. John reads it. Reads me like one chapter a week.

[Bria Grant]

Amazing.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Like he like one out of every two or three times he stays over. Sometimes I'm like, we gotta check in on Ethan. And before we go to bed, he reads me a chapter of this book. And so we've been. We have like four chapters left. We've been going since April. And it is so fun. I. I really, I have to say. So this part of the challenge I really struggle with because, you know, I just. I either inhale books or I not at all. And I've been. There's a couple non fiction books that I have been going through slowly, but I start to lose interest. And I was really struggling with this. And then I was like, oh my God, Ethan. We've been reading so slowly and it's so fun. I've never had anybody read a book like this to me. And we are so invest. Ethan is our son. We are so invested in him. We are so worried about him all the time. And it feels like. It feels like we're watching a show. Like, it feels like that kind of like it almost like, like feels like serialized storytelling the way that we're doing it. And it is such a. We literally have like our next few like cheesy old paper paperbacks picked out for. We're gonna just keep doing this. And I love it. I. This went from being the part of the challenge that I struggled with the most to the one that I am having so much fun with. I mean, of course I'm also not the one not doing a Keanu Reeves voice. I'm just sitting there eating a snack while. While HWB reads to me. But it is so fun. This is the book that you were like, I want to, I want to turn it into a musical.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Because it is just like folks is weirdly progressive for. For what this book is, is. It's very funny. Like he does go around like trying every time he sees A man. He's like, man, I got a planet for you. And everyone's like, I don't want to go to your weird cult. There is definitely some look up, triggers warnings because there is some, some homophobia. Like also his husband is his brother. It's very weird. But it, this book is so immensely entertaining. Like, we talk about it so much that other people in our lives are like, how's Ethan doing? So I, yeah, this is, this is how I'm doing this book. Highly. If you are struggling with this, like, I did have your significant other read you a book in a Keanu Reeves voice.

[Bria Grant]

That's a, that's a great way to complete this challenge.

[Mallory O'Meara]

It is so funny to me. All right, so send your thoughts on reading a book slowly to reading glasses podcast gmail.com. before we test out a stretchy bookmark, we're going to take a quick break.

[D]

Walking about is the podcast about walking. It's a walkumentary series where I, Alan McLeod and a fun, friendly guest go for a walkabout. You'll learn about interesting people and places and have the kind of conversations you can only have on foot. We've got guests like Lauren Lapkis.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I figured something out about, about this map, like how to read it.

[D]

Betsy Sadaro.

[Bria Grant]

I had no clue. That's awesome. And nuts.

[D]

John Gabris. This is like great first date for like broke 20 something, you know, and more. Check out Walking about with Alan McLeod on Maximum Fun.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Time to test out some book tech. Advances in bookish technology. This week's book tech was sent to us by a listener, but we didn't get a name. We are phasing out doing stuff on reading glasses. Aubrey is testing out the stretchiness of this bookmark. How far can it go?

[Bria Grant]

Fading out, Doing stuff on reading glasses.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I mean, we're.

[Bria Grant]

You didn't tell me.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Jesus Christ. Where we have not been doing. We're trying to find a. We're working on switching over from our Amazon wish list to another that's been.

[Bria Grant]

On me and I just haven't done it.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Well, folks, we do have to say the re. One of the reasons why it has not been quick is that all of the other places that we've looked at the shipping costs us and it was like one of them was like going to cost US$18 per thing that was sent to us, y'.

[Bria Grant]

All. Or it cost. No, it cost the person sending. And like you don't need to. If you're sending us a two dollar bookmark, we don't want you to pay 18 bucks.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah, it was. So we're.

[Bria Grant]

But we. We. We're. We're gonna figure it out, and we're gonna. I. Yeah, I, I.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Next one is helping us. So we are. We are phasing out Amazon. We're working on it. So just wanted to let you know. But. So. So this bookmark did come from Amazon. It's called the Last word bookmark. It's $6 right now. It's basically a loop of thin elastic with a little metal arrow threaded through it that you. You, like, put the elastic around the section of book you haven't read yet vertically, and then the arrow gets sort of situated on, like, the line that you left off on. What do you think of this, Bria?

[Bria Grant]

Wait. First of all, you. You put down all the things that we talk about, usually, which is rigidity, thickness, stamina, durability, aesthetic length, and environmental factors. What's an environment? Is that one we've always had? I.

[Mallory O'Meara]

You know what? I don't quite remember. We've been doing this show for so long. I think maybe if it's like. If it's like a laminated bookmark, that makes it more waterproof.

[Bria Grant]

Oh, okay. That should mean if this is letting off, like, some CO2 or something into the air.

[Mallory O'Meara]

What's your bookmarks? Carbon footprint?

[Bria Grant]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. This has. Here's one that we don't have on this list, which is like. Like, it's not. It's like, thoughtfulness. Yeah. Or something. Because. Okay, so it has this little arrow, like Mallory says, and you move it up and down on the elastic mark. That's like, here's where I stopped. So you can, like. That's cute. Right? That's great. In practice. So, like, points for thoughts. Maybe this is aesthetic. Maybe highest static. Maybe that's what I'm trying to say. Highest setting, high stamina, high durability design.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Maybe.

[Bria Grant]

Very practical. Might. Would not mind having it around in case you need it. And then I was just stretching it out pretty strong. You could also wear this as a headband.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Oh, wow. A dual headband bookmark.

[Bria Grant]

You could do it. I mean, the little. The little pointer is a little sharp because it's metal.

[Mallory O'Meara]

It might get stuck in your hair.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah. Depending on what your hair is like. But I'm gonna say, yeah, it's pretty good. I would not actually use the little pointer because it's hard to move around. Up and down the thing.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah.

[Bria Grant]

Unfortunately. So I'm gonna say this is a good four out of five. It's like the idea is good. Yeah. And it's durable. Yeah. It's not expensive, but. Yeah. Like you're gonna say, I feel like. Like getting into the thickness and stuff. That doesn't really matter.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah. I was gonna say. So a lot of our typical bookmark parameters don't apply to this. Length does not. Rigidity does not. Because it's a piece of elastic.

[Bria Grant]

In my environmental factors, I heard that this is a real. It pollutes. It's actually.

[Mallory O'Meara]

You look, there's a tiny little bit of smoke coming out. Yeah.

[Bria Grant]

It keeps dumping, like, nuclear waste into the water.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Created a super sight. This, for me, this is a purse bookmark for sure. Because it's. It is a kind of annoying to put it on the book. Like, it does feel like I'm putting a coat on my child.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Like, you're kind of, like, wrestling the book into it, which is why I wouldn't use it at home. Yeah. But I will say I did test this out in my purse. Very good travel bookmark.

[Bria Grant]

What about a giant coffee table book? And then you put it on there, because those. Sometimes I am, like, in the middle of a page, and I'm like, this page is huge. You know, and so I do actually need to know where I was.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Bria's the size of a mouse.

[Bria Grant]

I mean, it is. Well, sometimes a coffee table book, you.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Know, it's gonna be like a football.

[Bria Grant]

You know, and, like, so you're like. Or longer than that. And so you could put this on and that it might be helpful for something like that.

[Mallory O'Meara]

That maybe.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

For me, this was, like. This was great for a book that I'm throwing in my purse, and I'm not putting it in, like, a book bow or something. Got it.

[Bria Grant]

Okay.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Like, I tested this out on a arc that we got, and I put it in my purse. Stayed. Stayed. Great. Wicked hide stamina. Won't fall out. I didn't really use the arrow. Like I said something. I. I always know exactly where I am on a page. Even if I haven't read a book in, like, a month, I know exactly where I am.

[Bria Grant]

Oh, I don't. So maybe this will be helpful for me. But I just start at the top of the page every time.

[Mallory O'Meara]

There you go. Oh, wow. But, like, for six bucks for a piece of elastic, perfectly sized for a book book. Sure.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

You know, as a purse bookmark, I will give it a five out of five. It's not expensive. It's very effective. It's not wicked cute, but it is not ugly.

[Bria Grant]

No, it's not ugly. It's actually pretty cute.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah. For it's not essentially a headband. Yeah but and for like an at home book market. Yeah, it'd be like a four out of five. Three out of five.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

But if you're looking for like if you're looking for a good purse bookmark, this is extremely worth looking into. So you can send your book deck ideas to reading glasses podcast gmail.com now let's answer a recommendation request from Anonymous who says hi Brianne Mallory I haven't read horror since my teens. I'm in my 40s now because I developed an oversensitivity to being scared. I still don't watch scary movies either, but through some fiction podcasts I've discovered I can listen to stories that are scary podcasts like Magnus Archives, Night Vale, Alice Isn't Dead, etc However, I cannot deal with excessive amounts of body horror. A little is okay as long as the description isn't too graphic or doesn't go on for too long. I've tried various ways of googling and searching on different bookish websites but could not find results for horror books that don't emphasize or dwell on body horror. Bria, what do you think Anonymous should read?

[Bria Grant]

Okay, first of all, I'm gonna. Abby at the beginning gave a lot of advice on this, so scroll back and listen to what Abby said. But okay, I think, I think Anonymous should try some ghost stuff.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Some ghost stuff?

[Bria Grant]

Yeah. Okay. No, witches, witches give you some body horror. Zombies, body horror, sci fi, body horror. Those all get kind of body horror ish.

[Mallory O'Meara]

It just sounds like. Sounds like something you'd ask your wife like hey baby, can we try some ghost stuff?

[Bria Grant]

It's our other podcast. Go to does the dog die.com because it does have some books. It has a bodily harm section that seems pretty accurate as far as I can tell. I think what you're looking for is like horror vibes or you're looking for. You're looking for vibey horror or ghost.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Stuff if you can find some ghosts. I'm actually not.

[Bria Grant]

I wanted to.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I'm really into ghost.

[Bria Grant]

I'm actually going to recommend some old school horror because I actually think that modern horror. Have you found this? Mallory pushes body horror in a way that old school like horror from like 50 years ago.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Completely agree with that.

[Bria Grant]

So I think you'd be safer going from things published before 1990 would be my theory, maybe even 2000. So I'm actually going super old. I'm going Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. It's a vibe. It's a spooky, creepy vibe. There are some intense things that happen, but no body horror. Nothing too, too bloody. There's. There's a fire warn you.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah, but that's. That's body horror for a house.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah, that's house horror. House resets. Like, no. No content warnings for all house. Does the house die.net does the house died? But I. That's what I recommend for you. I think you'll be safe in that general era of things that are like before modern horror. I just think with the exception of Stephen King, who's always been a little bloody. I think just going more.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Oh, that's Stephen.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah. I'm going more vibey. Going pre 1990 and look for ghost stuff because ghosts.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Got any ghost stuff?

[Bria Grant]

They're usually not that body horror. And if they are, it's ghost blood.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Well, it's also like sometimes you get stuff where people get like, possessed.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

But it's not like. Yeah, it's not gory.

[Bria Grant]

It's not gory. It's not gory. So I think that that wouldn't count, I think. For Anonymous, what are you recommending?

[Mallory O'Meara]

I want to say off the top, I really get this. I don't like body horror, which is crazy because I. I love werewolf.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Anything other than a werewolf transformation, I do not like. I'm covered in tattoos. I have a facial piercing. I don't like body mod stuff. I don't like body horror. There's so many movies that I won't watch because people getting done to their. Their bodies freaks me out so badly. So all the podcasts that Anonymous listed were very weird horror. So I'm going to put pick a book that we both like. We haven't really talked about this one in a while. It's Universal Harvester by John Darnell. So this book is not a traditional horror novel. But Priya, like you said, it has horror energy.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

It has a weird sense of dread that I really think this listener is going to like. Especially like with Alice Isn't Dead and Night Vale. Like those. Those podcasts aren't necessarily scary, but they just feel really weird. This book is about a video store clerk and he keeps getting customers complaining that footage of robed figures is being spliced into their tapes. Like, they'll go to watch Beethoven 2 and there'll be like footage of robed figures in it. And that's all I'm gonna say. There's no gore, there's no body horror. It's. And again, it's not quite horror, but it feels like it. It's very hard to explain. It's very psychological, very surreal. Ian Reed is also really good for this.

[Bria Grant]

Oh, yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

But yeah, Universal Harvester I think would be good. And it's short. It really has. And it also has that same like Midwestern energy that Alice isn't dead has.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah, that's right.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Like weird Midwest. Yeah. So, yeah. But I get it. I also anybody getting stuff done to them.

[Bria Grant]

Oh yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Like I don't mind go. Like someone getting their head blown off in a zombie movie doesn't bother me. But like someone modifying someone's body maybe. But even I don't like gore doesn't. But there's something about, like people, like weird stuff happening to people's bodies. Like, I don't know why I do weird stuff to my body. Yeah, you do. Do you do don't know what it is. I think it's like a consent agency thing.

[Bria Grant]

Oh, okay, okay, okay.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Maybe that's the werewolf things. Like when werewolf stuff like it's not someone doing something to you. Surgery stuff really freaks me out.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

But anyway, this book's great. Universal Harvester by John Darnell.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah. And I say go to go Rebecca Daphne du Maurier.

[Mallory O'Meara]

So if you want us to answer your recommendation request, send it to reading glasses podcast gmail.com as always, want to thank the wonderful mods who run our Discord server and our Facebook group. If you want to join that Discord server, go to maximumfun.org join to sign up to support Reading Glasses. Email your receipt to reading glasses podcast gmail.com and we'll let you in. Bumping in there.

[Bria Grant]

We'll let you in.

[Mallory O'Meara]

We'll let you in there. We'll open the door right up. And remember, if you want to support the show and support our hungry animals, you can buy reading glasses, totes and shirts and stickers over at our Void merch store. Folks, I turned that my other car is a TBR list sticker into a car magnet. And I love it. Makes my boyfriend laugh every time he sees it. I love that thing. Check out the show notes for our link to our store. And if you like the show, folks, we're trying so hard to get to 2, 000 reviews on Apple Podcasts. If you are an Apple podcast user, please take 30 seconds. Open your mobile app. I know your phone's nearby. Everyone's phone is near them at all times. Listening to this on your phone probably. Yeah, you're probably listening to this on your phone. Open up the app, give us a five star rating, write a nice little review. We'll do something special at 2000. How about that, Bria?

[Bria Grant]

We do exciting. Okay.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Something special at 2,000 reviews. So it's not just for our hearts. It is really great for the show and helps us grow the show. You can email us at reading glasses podcastmail.com find us on Instagram at Reading Glasses Podcast. Thanks for listening and thanks for reading.

[Bria Grant]

Thanks for reading.

[Mallory O'Meara]

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