Ep 427 - Most Anticipated Books for September and October!

Summary

Podcast Summary: Reading Glasses Ep 427 - Most Anticipated Books for September and October!

Hosts: Brea Grant & Mallory O’Meara
Release Date: September 4, 2025

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Episode Overview

In this energetic and bookish episode, Brea and Mallory dive into their most anticipated book releases for September and October 2025, traversing genres, spotlighting author friends, and sharing curated “must-add” titles for your To-Be-Read list. The hosts provide both quick-hit opinions and deep dives, recommend titles across horror, literary fiction, romance, and more, and even share practical tips for fellow book lovers. The episode maintains their friendly, slightly irreverent banter and is packed with recommendations, listener feedback, and community updates.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. What Are We Reading? (00:44–04:40)

• Mallory’s Pick: The Good House by Tananarive Due

  • Rereading for book club (audio narrated by Robin Miles).
  • “It’s a haunted house book, but...it’s actually a demon possession story...a demon possession wrapped in a haunted house.” (Mallory, 01:26)
  • Praises its writing, characters, spooky atmosphere, and considers it a modern horror classic.
  • Recommendation for both print and audio formats.

• Brea’s Pick: Another by Paul Tremblay

  • Paul Tremblay’s middle grade horror debut.
  • “He’s having some mental health issues...pandemic, bullied at school...parents buy an old rotary phone...phone rings, clay boy comes to life, parents act weird.” (Brea, 03:01)
  • Lauds its spookiness and depth, plus “found it really relevant to the AI conversation.”

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2. Listener Feedback and Community Joy (04:51–09:00)

• Tara’s Email:

  • Reading Glasses challenges expanding reading horizons.
  • “The more different books I try, the more curious I become...my reading range grows even more.” (Tara, 06:21)

• Terry’s Email:

  • Retired librarian, running impromptu “reading retreats” at home with snacks and cozy gear to self-soothe after canceled plans.
  • “Should we have a shirt that says books and books and books?” (Mallory, 08:22)
  • Wheelhouse: dark thrillers, wacky husband plots, haunted houses, and “humor that most people think is too dark.” (Bria, 08:43)

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3. Housekeeping and Upcoming Glassers Events (09:00–11:25)

• Readathon Announcement:

  • September 13th, Saturday, full day to read and connect; check-ins on Instagram Live and community platforms.
  • “Tag us in your stacks for the Reading Glasses Readathon...post some photos on Instagram.” (Mallory, 09:52)

• Glasser Book Club:

  • Next club pick is The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno Garcia.
  • “Start reading now, baby!” (Mallory, 11:18)

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4. Main Feature: Most Anticipated Books (12:21–41:47)

A. September: Hall of Fame Horror Month & More

• Shared Picks and Friends of the Show:

  • Why I Love Horror (Becky Spratford)
    • “If you love horror or you have a friend...you have to get this book.” (Bria, 15:32)
  • Fiend (Alma Katsu)
  • Acquired Taste (Clay McLeod Chapman, short stories)
  • Spread Me (Sarah Gailey)
    • “It’s erotic horror...the Thing, if the Thing was horny.” (Bria, 16:30)
  • Play Nice (Rachel Harrison)
  • House of Idol (Delilah Dawson)
    • “She pitched this to me as evil Jared Leto with dark magic.” (Bria, 17:13)

• Bria’s Personal Picks:

  • Culling Season by Mona Awad (sequel/prequel to Bunny)
    • “Frankenstein by way of Heathers...another Bunny book.” (Mallory, 18:56)
  • The Wilderness by Angela Flournoy
    • “I love a friendship book...over the course of their 20-year friendship.” (Bria, 22:06)
  • What Fury Brings by Trisha Levenseller
    • “Sexy romantasy...a warrior general who must kidnap and train her husband...” (Bria, 24:32)
  • Mockingbird Court by Juno Black (Shady Hollow series)
    • “I’m like, levitate. I don’t want this series to end.” (Bria, 33:59)
  • The Salvage by Ambara Salaam
    • “Underwater haunting...I don’t think I’ve ever read a book like that.” (Bria, 41:02)

• Mallory’s Personal Picks:

  • Salt Cop by Yumi Katasi
    • “I feel like you have two kinds of cli-fi—dry or wet. This is wet.” (Mallory, 21:39)
  • Extremity by Nicholas Benj
    • “Philip K. Dick meets True Detective...a detective finds two bodies—the same guy.” (Mallory, 23:24)
  • Heart the Lover by Lily King (connected to Writers & Lovers)
  • Psychopomp and Circumstance by Eden Royce
    • “Southern gothic, historical fantasy...I like a funeral book.” (Mallory, 32:21)
  • Girl Dinner by Olivia Blake
    • “It’s dark academia, sorority meets...it all comes with a bloody cost.” (Mallory, 40:06)
  • Replaceable, You: Adventures in Human Anatomy by Mary Roach
    • “There’s fireworks going off around me...I’ve been holding it like a tub of ice cream in the freezer.” (Bria, 28:17)

B. October: Chilling Fall Reads

• Shared Picks:

  • The Unveiling by Quan Barry
    • “She’s on a cruise to the Antarctic to location scout and they get stuck there. That’s all.” (Bria, 29:59)
  • Nowhere Burning by Catriona Ward
    • “About feral children in the mountains...runaway teens, staying comes with a price.” (Bria, 31:03)

• Mallory’s October Picks:

  • Psychopomp and Circumstance by Eden Royce (see above)
  • Heart the Lover by Lily King (see above)
  • Bog Queen by Anna North
    • “I love bogs...it’s a literary fiction book about a forensic anthropologist investigating a perfectly preserved bog body.” (Bria, 36:07)
  • Girl Dinner by Olivia Blake (see above)
  • New Susan Orlean memoir
    • “Every day is an opportunity for discovery and every moment has the potential for wonder.” (Mallory, 38:11)

• Bria’s October Picks:

  • Mockingbird Court by Juno Black (see above)
  • Bog Queen by Anna North (see above)
  • The Hong Kong Widow by Christian Loesch
    • “Competition book, but for mediums, in Hong Kong’s most haunted house. A seance competition.” (Bria, 38:52)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Get ready to put things on hold at the library. Ready your little Libby pressing fingers.” – Brea, (00:35)
• “It’s a haunted house book, but it’s actually a demon possession story.” – Mallory, (01:26)
• “I found it really relevant to the AI conversation. I don’t know if Paul intended, but I loved it.” – Brea (03:34)
• “Books and books and books. Should we have a shirt that says that?” – Mallory, (08:22)
• “If you love horror or you have a friend who loves horror, you have to get this book.” – Bria, (15:32)
• “The Thing, if the Thing was horny.” – Bria, on Spread Me, (16:30)
• “You could write a ton of books in this world and I’m so happy Mona Awad did it.” – Mallory, (18:56)
• “I just love strong women. I want a woman who can crush your head like a watermelon.” – Mallory, (25:22)
• “If you want to get on the Shady Hollow train, this is the perfect time.” – Bria, (34:09)
• “I’ve been holding [Mary Roach’s new book] like a tub of ice cream, for when you really, really need it.” – Bria, (28:17)
• “We have really dry skin, so she likes a wet book.” – Mallory, (37:23)
• “A horror buffet this month...it is so much. An embarrassment of riches.” – Mallory, (41:33)
• “Start reading now, baby!” – Mallory, (11:18)

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• Intro & Book Chat: 00:07–04:40
• Listener Feedback: 04:51–09:00
• Readathon & Glasser Book Club: 09:00–11:25
• September Most Anticipated: 12:21–28:34
• October Most Anticipated: 29:18–41:47

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Additional Resources & Community Links

• Curated Show Notes List: Full, detailed catalog of September & October releases—including genres, “wheelhouse” tags, and author info—available in the show notes and on the episode page at Maximum Fun.
• Newsletter Signup: For monthly reading lists delivered to your inbox.
• Discord & Slack: Community groups accessible to supporting members for deeper book chat and more.
• Void Merch Store: Seasonal Reading Glasses sweatshirts and more (proceeds “help feed the cats!”).
• Upcoming AMA: Submit your silly questions for the 2000-reviews milestone AMA episode.

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Summary

With infectious energy and a true book-devourer spirit, Brea and Mallory’s roundup is a treasure trove for readers of all tastes, especially horror lovers and fans of women authors. The episode balances in-depth picks with community participation, emotional support, and a touch of trademark goofiness. Whether you’re seeking your next cozy mystery, a chilling horror novel for Halloween, or a literary deep dive—all the highlights and timestamps you need are above.

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Find the full, curated book list and show links in the episode notes or at maximumfun.org.

Transcript

[Mallory O']

Foreign.

[Bria Grant]

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'.

[Mallory O']

Meara. And I'm Bria Grant, filmmaker and e reader. This episode, we're talking about our most anticipated books for September and October. A very exciting season for books. We're very much. There's like, a very long list. We'll get into Mallory. Mallory is like, okay, October. We're just gonna speed run through.

[Bria Grant]

We have so many friends of the show that have booked coming out. Very exciting.

[Mallory O']

Great and exciting.

[Bria Grant]

Yes. So ready those TBRS folks. Ready. Your little Libby pressing fingers. Get ready to put things on hold at the library. But first, what are you reading, Brad?

[Mallory O']

I am reading. I'm rereading a book.

[Bria Grant]

Oh, my. You're not a big rereader.

[Mallory O']

I'm not a big rereader, but my book club picked the Good House by Tananarive.

[Bria Grant]

Do So good.

[Mallory O']

And I've read it before. I've read it, but it's been a while. It's maybe been. I read it while we were doing the show, so it's been within the last eight years, but.

[Bria Grant]

Oh, it's been a minute.

[Mallory O']

And I decided to listen to it this time. It's a great book to listen to.

[Bria Grant]

That doesn't surprise me.

[Mallory O']

Yeah. So it's read by Robin Miles, who is a big audiobook narrator. She has done every. A bunch of N.K. jemisin books. She's done a bunch of Octavia Butler books. She's very prolific. But it's a great book. If you don't know anything about the.

[Bria Grant]

Good House Haunted house book.

[Mallory O']

It's a haunted house book, but. Okay, so it's got a lot of.

[Bria Grant]

Other flaws, flavors in it.

[Mallory O']

So Tannery actually came to our book club, which was very exciting, and she said something that I thought was really interesting. She said it's a haunted house, but it's actually a demon possession story. So it's like, you think it's a haunted house sort of, but it turns into demon possession. But it's kind of like a demon possession wrapped in a haunted house. So it's all set in this very small town called Sacagawea in Washington state. And. And it's about this. This woman who at the very beginning. This is not a spoiler. She loses her son really tragically, and it's told through his point of view going back in time and her point of view. And it's really well written. You really learn to love These characters and tragedy strikes. And she has this ancestral house that she has to return to to sell. And the book sort of goes back in time and goes back and forth between the present day when she's selling it and weird stuff is happening and she's uncovering a mystery. And then back when this really tragic event happens, like the events right before that. It is a house that's been passed down through her family for many years. And it's called the Good House because the last name of the family was good. And there's all sorts of magicy stuff. It's very spooky. People love this book. I feel like it's become a classic over the last few weeks.

[Bria Grant]

I would think this is a. Would say this is a modern horror classic for sure.

[Mallory O']

And it's been a really fun listen. There's things that I forgot about it and there's ways that I'm like relearning the characters through the listen that I can definitely recommend it both as a read and as us a listen at this point. What are you reading?

[Bria Grant]

I am reading a book that is from a friend of the show. Highly anticipated book for both of us. It's Paul Trembley's middle grade debut. It's called Another and Middle Grade Horror, which, you know, I love and it's so great. It's. I read this for my, you know, for my birthday. I like to read a book on my birthday by a lake. And that's what I did. And I read this book and it's about this little boy. He's in middle school and he's having some mental health issues. It's during the pandemic, so he's. He's been bullied at school. He, like, doesn't have a lot of friends. He's just really struggling and his parents are worried about him because he doesn't have a lot of people to hang out with. And one day his parents at this antique store buy this old rotary phone which he, you know, as a young child has never seen before. And one day, even though it's not plugged in, it starts ringing. And his parents pick it up and are informed that one of his friends is coming over to hang out tomorrow. And he doesn't want to tell his parents that he doesn't know who this friend is.

[Mallory O']

Oh my God.

[Bria Grant]

Because he's embarrassed that he doesn't have friends. And the next day this strange man comes to his house with a large sack. And inside the sack is a boy made out of clay. And his parents start acting really weird and the little clay boy starts living at their house and weird stuff starts to happen. I don't want to tell you anything more, but it is really spooky and really fun and it deals with mental illness a lot but also like the the nature of being a person and making art and I found it really relevant to the AI conversation. I don't know if Paul intended, but I loved it because it's Paul Tremblay. Paul Tremblay has never written a book that isn't great and highly recommend, so that's another by Paul Tremblay.

[Mallory O']

And I'm listening to the Good House by Tanana Reeve du Read by Robin Miles.

[Bria Grant]

So we want to take a moment to share some listener feedback. Tara wrote in to say hi Bri Mallory, I just wanted to thank you for the awesome podcast and to tell you how much it's changed my reading horizons over the past year or two. Yesterday I was manually entering data from a reading spreadsheet sheet into storygraph. That is a very glasser activity, I will say. And the numbers don't lie. If I compare what I was reading in 2020 and 2021 against what I'm reading now, it's dramatic. I didn't add the stats from 2022 to 2023 because they're pretty much the same as the year before I but I started listening to reading glasses towards the end of 2023 and it was later in 2024 in this year where I started actively participating in the reading Glasses challenges and participating in the community on Slack and Discord. The reading glasses challenge has especially gotten me to try things that I said even just a year ago that I did not like and would never like. And hey, I can admit when I'm wrong. It's true that I don't like everything I try and I dnf those things pretty quick, but it has still encouraged me to branch out and leave the romance section of the library once in a while. The more different books I try, the more curious I become about all the other books out there and my reading range grows even more. Even if I don't have the same reading taste as you two or as everyone on the Discord and Slack. I love hearing what everyone is reading and it always gets me thinking and looking for new things to try. And even if I sometimes have a different interpretation of some things from you. For example, I view mood reading differently. I still appreciate hearing your view because it makes me challenge and reevaluate my own assumptions every time you can look at Something from another angle. Whether you end up agreeing in the end or not, your horizons expand just a little bit more. And I love that. While I still gravitate primarily to books that have strong character connections and hopefully some type of family or romantic subplot, you and the reading glasses community have helped me find my wheelhouse items and books outside of just Regency romances. That variety has got me excited about books in a way that I haven't been for years. And because now I pick up a book, it doesn't feel like it's the same old all over again.

[Mallory O']

Wow, what a nice email.

[Bria Grant]

This is so lovely. And Tara, obviously we can't share this with you because it's an audio medium, but Tara attached an image that was like the comparison of all the different genres they had read in that year. And yeah, after they start listening to reading glasses, it explodes.

[Mallory O']

That's very exciting.

[Bria Grant]

I love this. I get up in the morning for.

[Mallory O']

Emails like this and also I'm gonna call them Tara even. Is it Tara for sure?

[Bria Grant]

Oh, I don't know.

[Mallory O']

This is a regional thing.

[Bria Grant]

This is a regional thing.

[Mallory O']

Tara. I'm gonna call you Tara. Well, you'll have to tell us how to pronounce, but if you haven't listened to the Reading Smart episode where we talk about Regency romances with Drake, I.

[Bria Grant]

Saw Tara talking about it in the.

[Mallory O']

Okay, okay, okay, okay. Because we did do a Bridgerton Regency romance romance episode. But I'm so happy you've been able to expand your reading horizons.

[Bria Grant]

Love it.

[Mallory O']

So lovely. Terry wrote in and said, hi, Brianne mallory. As a 62 year old, I'm probably not your typical podcast listener, but I am definitely a fan of your show. We love this. As a retired school librarian and now a caregiver for my 91 year old, avid reader dad, your show helps my daily commute back and forth to his house. Fly by. Other drivers see me giggling and shouting. Yes. And most likely think I have won the lottery. And as a three year listener, I definitely have. Thank you for all you do. That is so sweet. Yeah. What prompted me to write is this idea I have put into action this morning. Because of my dad's failing health, I have had to cancel an upcoming yearly trip to the beach with a dear librarian friend grumbling about this, I thought to myself, why don't I just have a personal reading retreat right here at home? So that's what I'm doing. As soon as this email is sent, I put on cozy snot socks, grabbed a fluffy blanket, no bra of course set up a corner in my living room complete with snacks and a stack of books. My hubby is in full support and is due back at any minute from his run to get my hot chocolate and egg bites.

[Bria Grant]

Oh my God, I love that shout out to him.

[Mallory O']

It's rare. I have a weekend to devote to self care and that translates into books and books and books. Oh, should we have a shirt? This is books and books and books.

[Bria Grant]

Yes, actually.

[Mallory O']

Do we have one?

[Bria Grant]

No, but we should make one and send one.

[Mallory O']

Okay, Terry, if we make that.

[Bria Grant]

We will.

[Mallory O']

We will do that. Just thought this might help anyone who has a spare day and a limited budget. Thank you for your amazing reading wrecks and bubbly banter. Oh, that's so sweet. Do you want to read Terry's Wheelhouse? All right.

[Bria Grant]

Terry's Wheelhouse is dark thrillers and mysteries, wacky husband plot lines, heart wrenching memoirs, humor that most people think is too dark. Apocalyptic literature even though that falls under current events and haunted houses that scream don't enter. And we do. Excellent wheelhouse.

[Mallory O']

Fantastic.

[Bria Grant]

So you can email us at reading glasses podcastmail.com if you want a list of all the books we talk about on the show delivered to your inbox every month. You can sign up for our newsletter. There's a link in the show. Notes and bookmarks reminder folks. Readathon Saturday, September 13th we are so excited. Speaking of little reading holiday, I am really pumped for this.

[Mallory O']

Yeah, it'll be nice. I was telling you before we started recording, I have quit a bunch of books lately and I think it's in part because they're a little too relevant to the current state of things. So I am really looking forward to sitting down with some like cozy ass books.

[Bria Grant]

Oh yeah, Yeah. I mean, you know, autumn is my favorite reading season.

[Mallory O']

It is.

[Bria Grant]

So I'm gonna read.

[Mallory O']

Not very autumn here hopefully.

[Bria Grant]

No, I know it's 90 something degrees right now, but I am really pumped to just sit all day, snack, read. And so that's September 13th. It's a Saturday. We're gonna do Instagram live at 10 o' clock like we normally do. Check in at 1 and finish at 5. So folks, tag us in your stacks for the Reading Glasses Readathon. Post some, post some photos on Instagram. Put it in the discord and the slack. We're really excited to see what you're all going to read. And speaking of reading, I guess that's.

[Mallory O']

Our whole show that is speaking, speaking. The show could be called Speaking of reading.

[Bria Grant]

That actually that's a Good title.

[Mallory O']

Oh, we can make a shirt out of that.

[Bria Grant]

Taking a reading.

[Mallory O']

Yeah.

[Bria Grant]

Just a reminder, folks, we're doing the Glasser Book Club.

[Mallory O']

So have we announced it? Yeah, we announced.

[Bria Grant]

What the. Yeah, the Bewitching by Sylvia Moreno Garcia. That's the Glasser voted book club pick. The Bewitching snuck by with a single vote.

[Mallory O']

Was it you?

[Bria Grant]

No, no. It was literally someone who wrote and was like, I think I'm gonna break the tie. And they did.

[Mallory O']

Oh, good for them.

[Bria Grant]

And so it's the Bewitching by Silvia Moreno Garcia, but we're not doing it this month. It's going to be in. In October to give. Because it's a new book, we're giving people two months to read it, so you can give a little extra time to get it from the library. And we haven't picked a date for it yet, but we will be doing so soon. But. So if this is a members only event, it's going to be a virtual event where you can pop on and talk about the book with Bria and I and a bunch of other glasses. We love doing this. It's so much fun. The last time we did this was with the. Was the Horny Fairy Book Club, and we had a blast. Talking about so many people was so fun.

[Mallory O']

So.

[Bria Grant]

But you got. If you want to sign up to be able to participate in that, go to maximumfund.org join to become a member. And yeah, we're going to announce the date for that soon, but it's the Bewitching by Sylvia Marina Garcia. Start reading now, baby. So before we talk about our most anticipated books for September, we're going to take a quick break.

[Mallory O']

I'm Emily Fleming.

[Jordan Morris]

I'm Jordan Morris. And I'm Matt Lee. We are real comedy writers, real friends, and real cheapskates. On every episode of our podcast, Free with, we ask, why pay for expensive streaming services when you can get free movies from apps with weird names?

[Mallory O']

Each week, we review the freest movies the Internet has to offer. Classics like Pride and Prejudice, cult classics.

[Jordan Morris]

Like Point Break and Holy sh. What did I just watch? Classics like Teen Witch tune in every.

[Mallory O']

Week as we take a deep dive into the Internet's bargain bin.

[Jordan Morris]

Every Tuesday on MaximumFun.org or your favorite favorite pod place.

[Bria Grant]

This week, folks. Get out those TBR. Nope.

[Mallory O']

You guys, Y', all, y', all, I have to tell you, Mallory, when we were starting, was like, oh, my God, wait. And had to grab the slide whistle because she knew that this was going to be an Important slide whistle moment.

[Bria Grant]

Yes.

[Mallory O']

So she, like, really made sure she had those. Slide whistle.

[Bria Grant]

All right, leave this in. This will be how we start the segment. All right, this week, folks, we are going through our most anticipated books getting released in September and October. This is one of the big book release seasons of the year.

[Mallory O']

Help us.

[Bria Grant]

It's like March.

[Mallory O']

Put aside a few hours to listen to this episode because we got a lot to say.

[Bria Grant]

It's a lot.

[Mallory O']

Not really. We'll go through it fast.

[Bria Grant]

We picked out books that we're most excited about and most importantly, that the Glassers will be excited about across all genres. And before we get into them, as usual, we want to thank our incredible and very generous Max Fund members who make it possible for us to do this. I timed it. This episode took me eight hours to write. So the only way I am able to take literally an entire workday to just do one episode and for us to put it out for everybody is because of our Max Fund members who support us every month. We really, really appreciate you. You can do that for just $5 a month. Go to maximumfun.org join to sign up. That's also how you get in the discord. But we really appreciate you wonderful folks that unlocked this for everybody. These are really like the people who are Max Fund members are the ones who did all the work in their group projects when they were.

[Mallory O']

Yeah, that's right.

[Bria Grant]

In school.

[Mallory O']

Yeah, yeah, yeah. They're going above and beyond month.

[Bria Grant]

Yes. Which I also was. So I. I see you. I appreciate you. This is the second year in a row you unlocked this. We're extremely grateful to you. And so remember, we are only in this episode. We're only talking about our picks. This episode document is 20 pages long.

[Mallory O']

Yeah.

[Bria Grant]

There is a gigantic list in the show notes. And it's not just a list. It is curated. It is every book is the title, the author, but also the genres, wheelhouse items. I put again, eight hours of work into this one episode. Please go check it out. And if I think some podcatchers cut it off at a certain point. So just go to the episode page at Max Fun. There's a link to the episode page in the show notes for all podcasters, I believe, and that'll take you to the full list. Please look at them or I will cry. So, all right, September. We have so many friends of the show who have books out this month.

[Mallory O']

I. So, you know, I have a little, like, TBR list going, and I put a little star by ones where I'm like, Oh, I should buy this. I should buy this. And I just have a list of starred ones at the top because there's so many friends, so many books. It's very exciting.

[Bria Grant]

So two of these people are going to be coming on the show, which is really exciting. We have Becky Spratford, who.

[Mallory O']

Oh, great. Yes. You've already recorded that one.

[Bria Grant]

Oh, my God, it's.

[Mallory O']

And I've started this book. It's very good.

[Bria Grant]

It's so great.

[Mallory O']

Yeah.

[Bria Grant]

We also have Alma Katsu coming on, which is.

[Mallory O']

Oh, God, I'm so excited.

[Bria Grant]

Alma so much. And this is going to be the first time she's on the show, so we're really excited.

[Mallory O']

We did the panel with her, but we've. She's never been on the show. Right.

[Bria Grant]

On the show. Never been on the show properly.

[Mallory O']

Thrill.

[Bria Grant]

Okay, all right, so f. Let's. Let's go through. So first off, we have why I Love Horror by Becky Spratford, which is a nonfiction anthology with essays about horror from, you know, all of our.

[Mallory O']

All literally people in this list, all.

[Bria Grant]

The biggest horror authors. Stephen Graham Jones, Paul Tremblay, Rachel Harrison.

[Mallory O']

I think Tanani has one, too.

[Bria Grant]

Yep. It. This, folks, if you love horror or you have a friend in your life who loves horror, you have to get this book. It's so wonderful. But we also have Almakatsu coming on with her new book, Fiend, which is, of course a horror book, but it's a. It's like a powerful family with evil secrets book.

[Mallory O']

Nice. And. And is it historical?

[Bria Grant]

No, this is a modern day.

[Mallory O']

So it's real because she normally does historical. Yes. Okay.

[Bria Grant]

So excited. We just got finished copies of this. Oh, my gosh, I cannot wait. And then what's. What's the next one?

[Mallory O']

Okay. We also have Acquired taste by Clay McLeod Chapman. Reading glasses, hall of Famer Clay. We love Clay. This is short stories, so I'm very excited about it. I actually have a copy downstairs in print.

[Bria Grant]

Oh.

[Mallory O']

We also have a new Sarah Galey, new Serra Gailey. It's called Spread Me, which. Hello.

[Bria Grant]

It's erotic horror.

[Mallory O']

That title. It's sci fi. It's mysterious specimen in a remote lab breaks free. We're very excited about this book.

[Bria Grant]

I've heard that it's kind of like the Thing if the Thing was horny.

[Mallory O']

I'm dying.

[Bria Grant]

Extremely.

[Mallory O']

So it's like monster erotica.

[Bria Grant]

Kind of.

[Mallory O']

Okay.

[Bria Grant]

But it's like a vi. It's like a. It's not like a monster.

[Mallory O']

Okay. Okay.

[Bria Grant]

I think it's more like a virus.

[Mallory O']

Daily well, we love them. We love Sarah and big fan. So excited about that one. What else do we have that we also have?

[Bria Grant]

Play Nice by Rachel Harrison, which is so exciting.

[Mallory O']

I'm so excited. We're getting a new Rachel Harrison. How exciting. Very exciting.

[Bria Grant]

And then the last one is also by friend of the show, Delilah Dawson, called the House of Idol. This is horror, but it's with rock stars and cults.

[Mallory O']

Okay.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah.

[Mallory O']

Exciting.

[Bria Grant]

I. This was. She pitched this to me as evil Jared Leto.

[Mallory O']

Oh, my God.

[Bria Grant]

With dark magic.

[Mallory O']

This sounds like this is so up your alley.

[Bria Grant]

Yes.

[Mallory O']

Yeah.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah. So I'm very excited. So let's just. Again, we have new Clay McLeod Chapman, new Sarah Gailey, new Rachel Harrison, new El Makatsu, Becky Spratford's first book.

[Mallory O']

Wow.

[Bria Grant]

Which, like. Well, I'm not gonna gush too much because I gush in the interview. You can hear that coming up. And then, noon, Delilah Dawson. So this is just hall of Fame Horror Month.

[Mallory O']

Love it. But very exciting.

[Bria Grant]

So those are our shared picks. This is Bria's first pick, but I picked it for her.

[Mallory O']

Mallory literally was like, Bria. And then it was like, literally wrote down my first pick, and I laughed.

[Bria Grant]

Out loud because I got it right.

[Mallory O']

But you're totally right. This has actually been in my TBR list for, like, six months, because I knew it was coming out. We're getting a sequel to Bunny.

[Bria Grant]

I know. It's. It's a sequel and a prequel.

[Mallory O']

It's a sequel and a prequel or.

[Bria Grant]

Yes.

[Mallory O']

Oh, my God.

[Bria Grant]

So it's like.

[Mallory O']

So as you know, there's a book called Bunny by Mona Wad, which I.

[Bria Grant]

Big glasser.

[Mallory O']

Love this book. Book. It's an amazing book.

[Bria Grant]

Weird as hell.

[Mallory O']

It came out a while ago. And this is. I thought it was a pure sequel, but. Okay, so Bunny, the original is about. Which I recommend on the show all the time. It's about a. A woman in an MFA program who's sort of, like, ostracized by this clique of mean girls who call each other Bunny. And they're also weirdly, into sort of a dark magic thing. And this opens. This starts with. She's just the main character, has just published her first novel. And then these friends, these people, but then these bunnies, they kidnap her. So then I guess they tell their stories. I don't know. But I'm very excited. It's called Frankenstein by way of Heather's. What? It's just a sequel to. It's a. It's another Bunny book.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah.

[Mallory O']

You could write a ton of books in this world and I'm so happy. Mono. I did it. I love Mono Wad. I do read all Mano Wad's books. This is the one I have been waiting for.

[Bria Grant]

Oh, so excited.

[Mallory O']

I'm so exciting. And it's very funny that you picked it out as by the way, we only get a certain number of books that we pick. You know, we limit it. And Mallory took one of mine for me and then said it was this one, but she was right. Yep. And that's what you get when you've done a podcast together for eight years. Know me better than my husband. What's your first one?

[Bria Grant]

This is a big anticipated.

[Mallory O']

I'm very excited about you. I'm very excited. You probably could have put this at the top.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah, this could have been a shared pick. So this is a new Patricia Lockwood. If you are a long time listener of the show. You know, I am maybe one of the head cheerleaders of the Patricia Lockwood street team. I love her. She's one of my favorite authors. It's called Will there ever be another you? And this is a book in the same vein as her last book. No one is talking about this where it's like sort of auto fiction. This is like a very literary, like kind of dreamy, strange literary fiction book about this woman with. She gets this strange disease during the pandemic and starts to lose her grip on reality which I know kind of happened to her when the pandemic started. She started, I forget what she. Something strange happened to her health wise and she started to lose her grip on reality and like wrote a novel about it. And I love all of her books. If you know, Priest Daddy is one of our retired books because we loved it so much and I loved. No one is talking about this. So I am and this book has a really great cat cover which I'm excited about.

[Mallory O']

Okay.

[Bria Grant]

So yeah, I am very, very hyped about this. What is your next pick?

[Mallory O']

My next one is Salt Cop by Yumi Katasi.

[Bria Grant]

I thought you would pick this.

[Mallory O']

I read the Deep sky earlier this year and was loving it so much. So I just was like this is, this is a new author for me that I, I, I'm kind of sad. It took me a second to jump on this train. And this new book is a cliffi book and it's, it's a water based clifi. I feel like you have two kinds of clifis, right? You have like a dry Clifi and wet. Correct? Correct. This is, we in the wet one. And it is about. There's a bunch of water, it's got mutant fish, it's got pirates, all sorts of things. And there's two sisters and they earn money skimming and reselling plastic from the ocean to care for their grandmother. And then one goes missing and the younger one has to go find her. And it seems like it's kind of like a road trippy sort of thing, but on the sea. I know there's a lot of people who love like an ocean voyage.

[Bria Grant]

Yes.

[Mallory O']

Here that listen to the show. And she is so good at writing characters and writing relationships and just writes the most beautiful prose. Her stuff is somewhere between literary fiction and science fiction. I'm just really looking forward to this one. And, you know, I love a dystopia.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah, a wet dystopia or dry. You swim. You can go both ways.

[Mallory O']

Give me a wet or dry, distilled. Don't give me anything in the middle. No, yeah.

[Bria Grant]

Not. Not a temperate climate.

[Mallory O']

No, no, no, no.

[Bria Grant]

I need to be too wet or too dry.

[Mallory O']

Full desert or full ocean. And this is a. This is gonna fall into that. So I'm very excited about that one. Next one.

[Bria Grant]

My next one is a really buzzy, hotly, hotly anticipated literary book. It is the Wilderness by Angela Flournoy.

[Mallory O']

I don't know it.

[Bria Grant]

I love Angela Flournoy. She wrote the Turner House, which I've recommended so many times on the show. It came out quite a while ago. So this is her hotly anticipated follow up. And I know a lot of people love female friendship books. Get this book. It is about these five women there over the course of their 20 year friendship. So it like moves through all of their stages of life. And like, some of them live in New York, some of them live in Los Angeles and just sort of like moving through adulthood and all of their different things that happen to them. I think it starts from the late 2000s into the late 2000s and they start out as like young adults. And then they become, over 20 years, obviously become grown women and just like everything that's going on in the country and how that affects their lives. And I love. I love a friendship book. I love a female friendship book and I love Angela Flournoy. So I'm really pumped about this. What is your next one?

[Mallory O']

My next one is it may be in October. We originally thought it was September, but.

[Bria Grant]

It might have gotten pushed.

[Mallory O']

It looks like it's now October, but I'm gonna talk about it now because I put it in this category. Sorry, everybody.

[Bria Grant]

It's fine.

[Mallory O']

But it is Extremity by Nicholas Benj. Nicholas Benj wrote a book called Ascension that I really loved this one. All I needed to know is the people are calling it Philip K. Dick meets True Detective.

[Bria Grant]

Okay. I'm also looking. If you look on Goodreads, it says both expected October and expected September.

[Mallory O']

So we can't wait.

[Bria Grant]

We're gonna expect it for Schrodinger's in a book release.

[Mallory O']

It fits the book, actually, because the book is about.

[Bria Grant]

It's about time travel.

[Mallory O']

It is about. Well, it's about a detective who finds a dead body and then finds another one. And they're the same guy down to the fingerprints.

[Bria Grant]

Whoa.

[Mallory O']

So two of the same guys?

[Bria Grant]

Yeah. This is the pitch for this was Philip K. Dick Meets True Detective. And I was like, excuse me.

[Mallory O']

I know that sounds so good. I actually have it sitting downstairs. I have an arc of it downstairs. So I'm very excited for this. I loved Ascension. I've recommended it a bunch on the show. So I'm very excited to dive into this. And I think it's a novella, which, of course, I'm a big fan of. Breeze right through it. What's your next one?

[Bria Grant]

I am so pumped. Okay. There were quite a few Romantasy books coming out in September that I was really excited for. I actually made a last minute change because. Oh, I. I like. I like, had to put this book. It's what Fury Brings by Trisha Levenseller and. Okay, sexy. I'm reading the copy. Sexy Romantasy, featuring a warrior general who must kidnap and train her husband in order to take her rightful place as queen.

[Mallory O']

Yeah, you love this.

[Bria Grant]

And I was so your thing. I started. Steam started coming my ears. I started hitting myself in the head with a mallet like I would. This is if you listen to our other show reading Smut. You know that I love, like badass warrior lady romances. I did. I don't even know what to do with my body. Like, I was like, I gotta run around like a kid who's been given too much sugar. A princess who has to kidnap a man to make him her husband. Oh, my God. I. And I just like in line in at the library as of this morning. I am. I. I can't. I cannot even convey to you how excited I am about this book. That's all. I mean, again, that's all you need to know. You gotta kidnap a husband.

[Mallory O']

A warrior lady has to kidnap her warrior lady.

[Bria Grant]

Oh, I love a warrior lady.

[Mallory O']

Yeah. Call her up here she is.

[Bria Grant]

She.

[Mallory O']

She's strong and muscles, and Mallory is waiting there, just waiting there for her.

[Bria Grant]

I just love strong women. That is all I want. I am truly. This might not.

[Mallory O']

Emotionally, physically. Physically strong.

[Bria Grant]

Physically. I want to. I want a woman who can crush your. Your head like a watermelon. And this. I honestly, this might be my most anticipated romance of the whole year.

[Mallory O']

Wow.

[Bria Grant]

So excited.

[Mallory O']

Okay.

[Bria Grant]

All right. What's your last September book?

[Mallory O']

My last one is a book I've been waiting for because it's the new Kosoko Jackson. Well, well, well.

[Bria Grant]

You picked an art book this time.

[Mallory O']

I thought I just was, like, reading about it, and I was like, how come Mallory didn't pick this book?

[Bria Grant]

I almost did.

[Mallory O']

So I read the Force Demands Us Due also earlier this year, and I loved it. And this one is an art book. Basically. It's about a young artist and his British museum starts showing interest in his art. And he. He knows there's something special about his art. There's obviously, like something sort of, like, sort of magical about his art. And there's also a connection to one of these art pieces that his great grandfather created over 100 years ago. So he accepts this invitation from the British Museum, and he has to see if he has the magic necessary to enter these paintings.

[Bria Grant]

It's also very queer.

[Mallory O']

It's very queer. And then he also has to, like, destroy a bunch of stuff. Paintings, I believe, anyway. It sounds like it's like art history mixed with, like, queer or horror and cursed paintings and curses and magic and all sorts of fun stuff. I think that Kosoko Jackson just has such an amazing imagination, and I just found that the Force demands. It's Duke could have been a book. I've read books that were similar, and it was so different with a different. With this. With the premise. We I. With a premise that could have been middle of the road, and instead it was like, no, he did something magical with it.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah.

[Mallory O']

And I just think I'm just excited.

[Bria Grant]

If you're a queer horror fan, you got to be reading Kasoka Jackson.

[Mallory O']

Yeah, sure.

[Bria Grant]

I don't know what else you're doing.

[Mallory O']

For sure. For sure. What is your. What is your last one in September? Oh, I know. I'm excited about this too. Wow, we are so excited. Very excited.

[Bria Grant]

Very exciting month to be Mallory. Omara. New Mary Roach. New Mary Roach. There. There's fireworks going off around me. I'm popping champagne bottles. It's called Replaceable, you Adventures in Human Anatomy. So this is mary roach tackling 3D printed organs. And basically just like how it's the whole science of like replacing human body parts, like prosthetics, growing skin from, from frog cells and crafting new eyes and breast implants and like, basically how. How we're replacing parts of the human body. Like, I wouldn't, I would already think this was really interesting, but I, I mean, I would read literally anything Mary Roach would write. She is my favorite non fiction author. She has been my favorite non f a very long time. I have an arc of this. I am. I've been holding it like, you know when you get a really. You get ice cream, like a tub, tub of ice cream. And you're holding it in the freezer for when you really, really need it. This is that book for me right.

[Mallory O']

Now, the tub of ice cream.

[Bria Grant]

Oh my God, I'm so excited. So you can send your thoughts on September books that you're very excited about. Reading glasses, podcast, gmail.com. and before we talk about our most anticipated picks for October, we're going to take a quick break.

[Jordan Morris]

The Flop House is a podcast where we watch a bad movie and then we talk about it. Guys, how does ET Poop? Well, he's not that regular, but as he's gotten older, he has two cloacas, one under each arm. No, I was just looking forward to you going through the other ways in which Wild Wild west is historically inaccurate. You know how much movies cost nowadays when you add in your popped corn and your bagel bites and your cheese fritters, you can't go wrong with a.

[Bria Grant]

Henry Cavill mustache here at Henry Cattle Mustaches, the only supplier, the Flop House. New episodes every Saturday.

[Mallory O']

Find [e-mail].

[Bria Grant]

Okay, we are back. Let's look at our most anticipated books for October. There are. There's only two shared picks for this.

[Mallory O']

Well, I feel like all the horror books are actually coming out in September.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah. But there's. There's two big ones by two authors that we love. So what's the first one?

[Mallory O']

First one is the Unveiling by Quan Berry. What is it about? Tell me what it's about. Don't know. I'll just order it.

[Bria Grant]

This is. I. I pre ordered it. This is such a Bria book. I, I also have an arc of it, but I also pre ordered it because I want to support Quan Berry. This is a horror book. It's survival horror.

[Mallory O']

Oh, great. Wonderful.

[Bria Grant]

So it's about this film scout and she is going. She's on a cruise to the Antarctic to location scout and they get stuck there.

[Mallory O']

Oh, wow.

[Bria Grant]

That's all.

[Mallory O']

I don't know if I want. That sounds horrifying. That's too scary for me.

[Bria Grant]

Too scary. But you love all. You love a cold horror.

[Mallory O']

I do love a cold horror.

[Bria Grant]

So because Quan Berry's last book was not horror, she did rewrite Upon Sticks and then she did like a more philosophical literary book and she's coming back to horror for this. And I am so excited. What's our next one that's also a big US Author.

[Mallory O']

I. I feel like country on award has become one of my favorite modern horror authors and doing a big book called Nowhere Burning, which by the way, Goodreads says it's coming out in February.

[Bria Grant]

What?

[Mallory O']

But also it says expected publication October. October.

[Bria Grant]

Weird. Okay. Yeah, folks, just keep in mind Goodreads.

[Mallory O']

Goodreads is well.

[Bria Grant]

But also folks like things get moved around because of printing stuff. As of right now, it says it's all I. It was on all the October lists. So we'll hope that it comes out in October. But get it on your list regardless.

[Mallory O']

Yeah, put it on your list. Because we know Catrion Award put puts out amazing horror books. This one is about feral children. It's a feral children in the in the mountains book, right?

[Bria Grant]

Yes, but they're staying, so. Okay.

[Mallory O']

All right.

[Bria Grant]

So there is obviously it's horror. This is about this. There was this infamous movie star that owned this ranch in the Rocky Mountains. It is now abandoned and it's become kind of a refuge for teen runaways. But staying there comes with a price. So this is. These are. It's fun because these are two kind of movie related horror books by two authors that we.

[Mallory O']

Really interesting that that happened.

[Bria Grant]

So I'm very excited. So that's. Yeah. New Quan Barry, new Katrina Award for both of us. What is your first solo pick?

[Mallory O']

My first solo book is by an author I never read before. But it just sounded so good because it's like a Southern gothic historical fantasy. It is Psychopop and Circumstance by Eden Royce. It is about a woman, she's born during Reconstruction to a family of free black business owners in Charleston, in New Charleston. And she gets invited to a funeral of an aunt who's been along estranged from the family. And she's kind of coddled by her mother. And she accepts the role of pomp, which is the highly honored duty of planning the funeral service. I didn't know about this. And then she travels to this town and discovers that things are not what they seem. And there's secrets and horror stuff and it Sounds like Southern Gothic, which, of course, I love a Southern gothic book.

[Bria Grant]

Book.

[Mallory O']

This just sounds like a particularly interesting one, and I'm stoked. It just sounds like a really interesting, cool book that I haven't read anything like this. And I like a funeral book that's.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah.

[Mallory O']

Like, I like something set around an event, a wedding, a funeral, anything like that.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah, well, in a funeral is fun because it's like family secrets, drama spookiness.

[Mallory O']

What's. What is. Oh, I know you're excited about this.

[Bria Grant]

Folks. Oh, my God. The next Shady Hollow book's coming out in October also. Okay. It's called Mockingbird Court by Juno Black. Back. If you listen to the show. You know, I'm. This is probably my favorite series. I'm obsessed with the Shady Hollow books. This is book six, and I. I think it's the last book in the series.

[Mallory O']

Oh, wow, that's so sad for you.

[Bria Grant]

I found. Because I was looking. I was actually just yesterday recommending this series to HWB's sister, and I was looking up the new one, and it said the final installment. And they like, we. We were driving in the car and I was like, no. When they were like, what happened? What happened? I was like, it's the last book. Again, if you listen to the show, you know, I'm obsessed with these. This is a cozy mystery series about anthropomorphic animals who live in this cozy little town in the forest called Shady Hollow. You can read them out of sequence, you can read them by themselves, but it's all. They all follow this little fox. Her name is Vera Vixen. She is the investigator for the local newspaper. And the thing that I love about these books, even though I'm not a setting reader, these are setting books. And every single book takes place in a different season and, like, really gets into this, like, the sensory experience of that season. And this book takes place in the cool, crisp autumn of Shady Hollow during the harvest festival.

[Mallory O']

So cute. So cute.

[Bria Grant]

And I'm just. I'm like, levitate. I don't want the series to end. But I'm also levitating with joy that we're getting a harvest festival book.

[Mallory O']

I mean, as the final book. That's really a nice. Like, just. You ended at the harvest festival.

[Bria Grant]

Oh, my God, folks, if you want to get on the Shady Hollow train, this is the perfect time. I'm so, so excited. What's your next book? Oh, this is. Oh, buzzy book, Mallory, by the way.

[Mallory O']

I didn't even look up and see that we both picked the same next book. I just wrote it down without even looking at yours. Not this one, but the next one. We'll talk about it together.

[Bria Grant]

We'll both talk about it.

[Mallory O']

My next one, which also says it comes out in September, but we don't really know, is Heart the Lover. Lily King, who Lily King, wrote Writers and Lovers, a book that I.

[Bria Grant]

Very, very, very buzzy book.

[Mallory O']

And this seems. This is some sort of connective tissue between those books. I. Maybe this is the one you thought was either a prequel or a sequel.

[Bria Grant]

No, they're both prequel.

[Mallory O']

You're.

[Bria Grant]

I think it's like a thing. That's the prequel, sequel, a thing.

[Mallory O']

So it's a connective thread to lovers and writers. And lovers, which is a book I really, really love, loved. It seems like it's also just a book that takes place in a. You know, in and around a college. And it is, you know, about people falling for each other, having complicated relationships with love and ambition and youth. And it's about three people in this same school that I think that Writers and Lovers took place in. Writers and Lovers was a book that it's hard to describe because it felt like you were reading someone memoir that was like, one tick away from, like, who I was at that time.

[Bria Grant]

I remember when you read this, you were like, it almost feels like non fiction.

[Mallory O']

I thought it was non fiction when I was reading it, and then when I finished it, I was like, it's not non fiction. Gosh, this feels like it is. It's just like it was a beautifully written book about how complicated it is to be a young woman with ambition who is interested in people who are doing what you want to do. And anyway, I'm just excited to revisit Lily King. I think Lily King is like a really smart, art, exciting writer. What's the next one? Wait, I can find another one. I can find another one if you want, but I cannot believe I chose the same one as you. That's so funny.

[Bria Grant]

This Brie and I have a big overlap in our Venn diagram.

[Mallory O']

I know there was another one I was interested in, if you want to talk about this one.

[Bria Grant]

Okay. So this is Bog Queen by Anna North.

[Mallory O']

Because I love bogs.

[Bria Grant]

I love.

[Mallory O']

I've been writing a script about the bog bodies for like a year.

[Bria Grant]

Really?

[Mallory O']

Yes.

[Bria Grant]

Well, there was also. What was the bog book from last year?

[Mallory O']

The box Bug Wife.

[Bria Grant]

Bug Wife.

[Mallory O']

That was. Yeah, but I.

[Bria Grant]

So you started out as a bug wife, then you become a bog queen. So if you're feeling boggy, which has been A bit very buzzy. Bogs have been buzzy because we all feel like laying in, you know, muck.

[Mallory O']

We do, we do.

[Bria Grant]

But this is, this is a literary fiction book. I don't think this is. This is. Bog Wife was kind of like strange. Not quite horror, but like sort of strange fiction. This is more literary. It's about this forensic anthropologist and she gets called to investigate this ancient body that has been found in a bog. And even though it is like 200- perfectly preserved. And so she's trying to investigate what's going on with this body, how she died, what happened and like the story of this woman in the bog. But also there's a lot of drama about the bog itself. Like peat cutters who want to take over the bog, activists who want to save the bog. So there's like in the. So in the eye of this sort of landstorm is this. This bog body and this woman trying to find out what happened to her. And it just. Yeah, I've been feeling. Feeling boggy.

[Mallory O']

So interested in that again. It's like a nice wet atmosphere. So I'm interested.

[Bria Grant]

We have really dry skin. So she likes a wet book.

[Mallory O']

I love it. I love it. There are by the way, so many books coming out in October and I just went through and I was like, I know. There's one more I was interested in and there's like five on this list. Mallory.

[Bria Grant]

There's so many.

[Mallory O']

But I'll talk about. There's a new Susan Orlean.

[Bria Grant]

I know. Very buzzy.

[Mallory O']

We both loved the library book that Susan Orlean. This is a memoir. Susan very exciting writes and it. It's kind of about creativity. It's kind of about. It says it's a magic carpet ride through Orleans life and career where every day is an opportunity for discovery and every moment has the potential for wonder. What a beautiful little sentence. Anyway, it just. I thought the library book was so well written and such an interesting essay. Look at. Look. A non fiction book that kind of explored Los Angeles and just I talked about it non stop.

[Bria Grant]

This sounds like LA's literary history.

[Mallory O']

Right? This one seems. Think it's more like for writers. It's a practical guide being creative and also is about Orlean herself. So I'm very, I'm very excited about this and I'll read anything she does after I read a library book. So excited.

[Bria Grant]

She also wrote adaptation. I know.

[Mallory O']

Isn't that wild?

[Bria Grant]

Yeah, she's. She. I mean she's a big header in the non fiction world.

[Mallory O']

Yeah, I, I'm excited About this one. What's your next one?

[Bria Grant]

My next one is the Hong Kong Widow by Christian Loesch. And this is historical horror. I'm very excited about it. It's 1950s, takes place in Hong Kong and there is a. If you like competition books. Oh, this is a competition book, but for mediums in Hong Kong's most haunted house.

[Mallory O']

Oh, I'm excited about that.

[Bria Grant]

So it's a seance competition. Oh, wow. And I was like, excuse me. I literally tried to find this at the library the second I saw it.

[Mallory O']

Wow.

[Bria Grant]

I. So I'm very. I, you know, I love historical horror and I mean a seance competition.

[Mallory O']

Wow.

[Bria Grant]

So it's like in, in this, this house there something. While I won't say what, but something wild took place and they're trying to. They use. They use these mediums to figure out what it is, figure out what happened. And it's the final night of the competition. It's like this, this house is like houses this infamous urban legend. So I'm really, really, really pumped about this. What's your last one?

[Mallory O']

My last was Girl Dinner, which is. I've done a lot of tour books, by the way. This time it's by Olivia Olivier Olivy. I don't know, Blake. I'll look up how to pronounce her name before I talk about it on the show next. But basically it is about a sorority and Very high achieving sorority and a girl who goes into it and. And then it seems like things go. Go poorly. It's dark academia, sorority meets.

[Bria Grant]

Oh, things with an exclusive sorority are going to go poorly.

[Mallory O']

It always ends up poorly. And I like that. It's called Girl Talk Thinner.

[Bria Grant]

It's.

[Mallory O']

I think it's a very.

[Bria Grant]

It's got a cute cover title with.

[Mallory O']

A cute cover and I think just something. It's about the arcane rituals of sisterhood. It's about. And it says that it all comes with a bloody cost, which just sounds like a really fun one. And I have an arc that I thought looked really good. I'm excited to read it. What's your last one?

[Bria Grant]

My last one is by an author that I was just talking about as being underrated on a recent episode. It's the Salvage by Ambara Salaam. She wrote Hazardous Spirits.

[Mallory O']

Oh, I just got that from the library.

[Bria Grant]

Oh, I'm so excited for you to read that. So this is another historical horror. This takes place in Scotland. So wonderful that I have one Scottish book. So this is like gothic horror. It's about a haunted shipwreck so it's a marine archaeologist.

[Mallory O']

Wow.

[Bria Grant]

Who is diving.

[Mallory O']

Wet Horror.

[Bria Grant]

Wet. Wet Horror. Of course. We got a lot of wet list. This is by this marine archaeologist, and she's diving to investigate this wreck off the coast of Scotland island and start seeing a dark figure when she's down there.

[Mallory O']

Oh, that's spooky.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah. And it's. It takes place in the 1960s, so it's. And then I think it's. It might be queer. I can't quite tell from the. It says she forms a relationship with a local woman in the. In the island's hotel that she's at. So I don't know if that's a sexy relationship or not, so possibly queer. But yeah. I mean, underwater haunting. I don't think I've ever read a book like that. So I'm really excited. I love this author very. We got a. We got a. A horror buffet this month.

[Mallory O']

It is so much. We are really. It's an embarrassment of riches in the horror world this month and the non horror world. I like that there's some books that we're. We. We're looking at.

[Bria Grant]

I'm. I was literally, as we're talking, I'm like, should I order the special edition of the husband kidnapping book?

[Mallory O']

Oh, yeah.

[Bria Grant]

Because the fancy edition has the sprayed edges. So I'm like, maybe. Do I need some spreads? Get some spridges. All right, folks, we love doing these episodes and again, we want to thank the members who make. It requires a lot of work on our part, so thank you to everyone who supports us. Every month, you can do so for just five bucks by going to maximumfund.org join to sign up and help us make these really, really long, complicated episodes. You mean the world to us and as always, want to thank the wonderful mods who run our Discord server and our Facebook group. Remember, that's how you get in the Discord. You go to maximumfun.org sign up to support reading glasses, and then you email your proof of membership to reading glasses podcastmail.com and we send you a Discord server invite. It's bumping in there, so. And we have wonderful mods who run it and help me, because I don't really know what I'm doing on Discord, but they are so wonderful and I appreciate them so much. And remember, folks, we're moving into autumn even though it's hot as hell in Los Angeles. So if you need a sweatshirt, go over to our Void merch store. There's all kinds of cute sweatshirts you know you want a library, use your sweatshirt.

[Mallory O']

That's like one.

[Bria Grant]

I think that's our most buzzy item.

[Mallory O']

It's a really cute shirt.

[Bria Grant]

I don't have one. I think I need to order a. I don't have it in sweatshirt form.

[Mallory O']

Oh, I don't know if I have. Oh, no, I do have it.

[Bria Grant]

Yeah, you do.

[Mallory O']

Yeah, it's really cute.

[Bria Grant]

I need to get one. But there's. That's how we feed our cats, folks, partially. And I really, really appreciate it. Sailor and Lula really appreciate it. So check that out over at our Void merch store. There's a link in the show notes and if you like the show, folks, we are going to do an AMA episode.

[Mallory O']

Oh, we are.

[Bria Grant]

I asked the slack and I asked the discord and the thing that was most upvoted and people were most interested in in is an ask us anything episode. So that's what we're going to do when we hit 2000 reviews on Apple Podcasts. We're very close to it. But I think what we're going to do for this AMA episode because last time we did only serious questions. I think we only do silly questions for this.

[Mallory O']

Love that.

[Bria Grant]

So this will be a special silly questions only ama. You want to know what brand of socks we wear? You want to know our favorite sandwich?

[Mallory O']

Ready?

[Bria Grant]

We're doing a silly ama but only when we reach reach 2, 000 reviews on Apple Podcasts. So open up that mobile app. Take 30 seconds to give us a five star rating or a nice little review. We really appreciate it it. And this is not just for our egos, folks. This helps the show. This has a measurable effect on reading glasses. It really means a lot and will cost you nothing. And then you get a silly AMA from Bria and I. And if you want to send in questions for that, send it to reading glasses podcast gmail.com you can 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.