Ep 438 - What’s the Ideal Wheelhouse Size?

Summary

Episode Overview

Podcast: Reading Glasses
Episode: 438 - What’s the Ideal Wheelhouse Size?
Hosts: Brea Grant & Mallory O’Meara
Release Date: November 20, 2025

This episode centers around the concept of a "reading wheelhouse"—the specific themes, genres, tropes, or elements that instantly attract you to a book. Brea and Mallory revisit their own wheelhouses, debate whether a wheelhouse can ever be too big or too small, and help listeners refine their own lists for optimal reading enjoyment. Additionally, the hosts respond to listeners' questions and share library tips, plus recommend books that will hit readers with strong, visceral impact.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. What Are You Reading?

• [00:49] Brea just finished The Hounding by Zenobi Purvis, describing it as “‘The Crucible’ meets ‘The Virgin Suicides’,” set in a small town with rumors of witchcraft and wild, free-spirited girls.
  • “I highly recommend it. It's a really well written book. Like, super interesting writing style. I highly recommend it.” — Brea [01:00]
• [02:10] Mallory is reading What Fury Brings by Tricia Levenseller, a "romantasy" with a matriarchal fantasy world where women wield power, involving a warrior princess and a political kidnap plot.
  • “Literally go to romance stores and I’m like, can you give me a romance novel with a physically badass warrior lady who’s a beefy queen? ...and I got it, baby.” — Mallory [03:31]

2. Listener Feedback

• Book Bow Praise & Library Hacks: Listener Jess highlights the flexibility of book bows for travel and shares a hot tip about using library audiobooks for language learning, saving money on expensive courses.
  • “With this logic, the library will save me literally hundreds of dollars as I continue my lessons. And it's another way I realized libraries are so great.” — Jess [06:29]
• Cute Wedding Vows: Michelle (a listener) shares that their wedding vows with Bethany included Reading Glasses references, delighting the hosts:
  • “So it will be through my actions and behavior that I will say I love you...like taking time to be with ourselves, a full day road trip and listening to Reading Glasses...” — Michelle [07:51]
  • “...I promise to love you fiercely, compassionately, unconditionally...and of course, through every Reading Glasses episode to come.” — Bethany [08:23]
• Bethany’s Wheelhouse Example: Non-fiction read by the author, cozy fantasy, fiber arts, witchy stuff, character-driven sci fi, bookstore/library settings, friends-to-lovers tropes, etc.

3. Deep Dive: The Ideal Reading Wheelhouse

• Definition & Usage: The wheelhouse is the set of book elements that guarantee you’ll pick up a title and are commonly enjoyed by you—not just things you like in theory, but reliable attractions.
  • “A wheelhouse is not items you’re always looking for and can’t find... Your wheelhouse is items you regularly read and regularly love.” — Mallory [16:18]

Revisiting and Amending Personal Wheelhouses [13:31–19:54]:

• Brea’s Changes:
  • Dropping “space/other planet” books, adding Japanese mysteries, science/anthropology nonfiction, and consolidating overlapping items.
  • Adding “heartwarming family story” to reflect new interests.
  • Realizing her own focus as a “location reader.”
• Mallory’s Changes:
  • Keeps classics like haunted houses and werewolves, adds grief books, historical genre books, monsters, funny memoirs (esp. by women), enemies-to-lovers romances, and art history (both fiction and non-fiction).
  • Drops “Interior lives of women” in favor of funny memoirs.

How to Refine a Wheelhouse [21:12–25:41]:

• Can your wheelhouse be too big?
  • If you have dozens of items but aren’t passionate about each, it may be time to prune. Only include things that make you pick up a book instantly.
  • “You have to remember...you will pick up that book no matter what and you will enjoy it because of that.” — Brea [21:39]
• Can it be too small?
  • If you only have a couple things, look for less obvious characteristics (tropes, formats, narrators). Be specific (“body horror” vs. general “horror”).
  • “Don’t be afraid to get super specific because that’s just going to help you find more books.” — Mallory [25:41]
• Ideal Size?
  • Both settle on around 5–12 items as a practical range. The right number is “long enough to easily find books, not so long it’s overwhelming.” [26:08–26:53]
  • Ultimately, the wheelhouse is personal and should serve your reading life, not restrict it.

4. Book Tech: Library Cards for International Users [30:34]

• A selection of US and UK libraries offer cards for out-of-country residents.
• Notable suggestions:
  • Chapel Hill Public Library (US)
  • Queensborough Library, NY ($50/year)
  • Kensington and Chelsea (UK)—free international membership
  • Queer Liberation Library—a free, online, queer-focused lending library
  • Orange County Library (FL)—$150/year
  • Small US library in Shenandoah Valley—$10 for 6 months
• [34:01] “We’re going to put a whole list in the show notes ... for all of our international Glassers out there, get yourself a new library card!”

5. Recommendation Request—“Books That Punch You in the Stomach” [34:45]

Listener Lauren requests incredibly visceral books across any genre, as a distraction from “meh” and stressful times (avoiding politics).

• Brea’s Pick: Angel Down by Daniel Kraus

  • Brutal, one-sentence novel following World War I soldiers who find an angel.
  • “It is like someone hits you in the head with a bowling ball... Just going and going and going...” — Brea [36:57]

• Mallory’s Pick: Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

  • A tense, psychological page-turner about literary theft and identity in the publishing world.
  • “It’s the equivalent of watching a child about to touch a stove... It's such a risk for reading experience, especially as someone who likes books.” — Mallory [38:26]
  • “[Main character] is so driven by insecurity and ambition and how bad she wants these things, and she’s going about them in the worst way... I can't put it down.” [39:22]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “I feel like it's a Goldilocks situation. You know, Is it too... Is it too big, too short, or just right?” — Brea [00:24]
• “A wheelhouse is not items you’re always looking for and can’t find... Your wheelhouse is items you regularly read and regularly love. There is a big difference.” — Mallory [16:18]
• “If you only have two things on there, maybe it's time to look at all the books that you've loved recently and find some other stuff. And I agree. Maybe it's time to get more specific.” — Mallory [24:55]
• “The Goldilocks size of wheelhouse is in your heart.” — Mallory [27:00]
• “This is why you do a podcast book podcast with somebody—they know your reading better than you know your reading.” — Mallory [20:30]
• “It is like, like, oh my god—like, it's like...someone hits you in the head with a bowling ball. ...I would definitely describe it as visceral.” — Brea on Angel Down [36:57]
• “It's the equivalent of watching a child about to touch a stove... I could not wait for something bad to happen to this character!” — Mallory on Yellowface [38:26]

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:49 | What Brea is reading: The Hounding by Zenobi Purvis
• 02:10 | What Mallory is reading: What Fury Brings by Tricia Levenseller
• 05:07 | Listener feedback (Book Bow, library audiobook hacks)
• 07:14 | Wedding vows with Reading Glasses references
• 12:55 | Episode main topic: Wheelhouse size (Intro)
• 13:31–19:54 | Revisiting personal wheelhouse lists, defining/adjusting them
• 21:12–25:41 | Can wheelhouses be too big or too small? How to refine
• 26:08–26:53 | Ideal wheelhouse size discussion
• 30:34 | Book tech: Libraries with out-of-country cards, international library tips
• 34:45 | Recommendation segment: Books that are a visceral punch
• 36:57 | Brea on Angel Down: “Like someone hits you in the head with a bowling ball...”
• 38:26–39:22 | Mallory on Yellowface: “It's the equivalent of watching a child about to touch a stove... I can't put it down.”

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Summary Flow & Tone

Brea and Mallory keep their famously warm, nerdy, and bantering tone throughout, full of personal anecdotes, laughter, and encouragement for all styles of reading. The discussion is both introspective and practical, offering concrete advice on refining a reading wheelhouse. Listener engagement (through letters and the Discord) is central, and the episode as always balances practical bookish hacks with the hosts’ trademark wit.

This episode is an excellent resource for anyone thinking deeply about their reading life, struggling to find books they love, or wanting solidarity with their ever-shifting tastes. Whether you’re looking for book recommendations that are an emotional gut punch or searching for international library hacks, Brea and Mallory have you covered—with heart and humor.

Transcript

[A]

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.

[B]

And I'm Bria Grant, filmmaker and e reader. This episode, we're debating on whether or not your wheelhouse can be too big.

[A]

I don't know why I've been hearing that in, like, a southern accent. What wheelhouse is too big?

[B]

This is too big. I feel like it's a Goldilocks situation. You know, Is it too. Is it too big, too short, or just right? Plus, we list libraries that give out out of country cards. That's if you're living somewhere else and you want to get a library card for the country you don't live in. And we recommend books that will metaphorically punch you in the stomach.

[A]

Listen, someone ask. Someone asked for it. Okay, but first, Bria, what are you reading?

[B]

I am reading a buzzy book called the Hounding by Zenobi Purvis. Actually, I finished it this morning at, like, 4am Because I have jet lag.

[A]

This was in our most anticipated books episode.

[B]

It was, and it is great. It's a. That. Gosh, I kept thinking of the Virgin Suicides when I was reading it, and then I went and looked at the description, and it's referred to as the Crucible meets the Virgin Suicides. Okay, so that checks out. Basically, it takes place in this very small town, and there's a family with five girls, all under the age of 18, who all live in this farm. And the grandmothers just died at the farm, and their grandfather, who is mostly blind, takes care of them. And there starts to be rumors about these girls. Like they. They're sort of. They keep to themselves. They're a little strange, and they kind of run more free than normally you would allow a group of girls to run and run around, and all the villagers start to suspect something about them. And one of them is like, I swear I saw them turn into dogs. And then it becomes this sort of, are people out to get them? Are they really turning into dogs? Is this a witchcraft thing? Is it people just like. Is it sort. Sort of a witch. Witch hunt about these girls just because they roam freely and sort of live their own lives. And it's all told through the perspective of the villagers. It's a really well written book. Like, super interesting writing style. I highly recommend it. What are you reading?

[A]

Oh, my God, Bria. I am also reading a book from one of our most anticipated books, Episodes. It is what Fury Brings By Tricia Levenseller. This is the Romantasy book. And it's really interesting because this author has an author's note at the beginning where she's like, listen, this world is completely flipped. It is a matri patriarchy, not a patriarchy. But she is very clear. She's like, I don't think this is great either. This is just. I thought it would be very interesting to set it in a world like this. So it's like this fantasy world. It is a matriarchy. And it's from the point of view. One of the main character is this warrior princess. Her cousin is the next in line for the throne. Her aunt is the queen, but she's kind of the better option. She's like an incredible warrior. She's an incredible leader. And I mean, it's very funny in the beginning, they're like, her, like, unit of soldiers is fighting off this king and his army. They have tried to take this. This, like, city. And she's like, look at these men. They're so hysterical. They can't lead. How imagine a man leading. He's so egotistical and angry. He could never. He could never be a leader. And so it's very. It's very interesting. Especially as someone who's been a fantasy fan for since I was a little kid and has grew up on that kind of, you know, misogynist fantasy stuff. It's so fascinating for me to read it flipped. And, like, there's a part of my brain that's like, yeah. And then the other part's like, oh, this is also very bad.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[A]

But it's very interesting. But the romantasy part of it is that in order in this world, in order to become this queen, she has to kidnap a husband. And she thinks it would be amazing in, like, a really great political maneuver to kidnap one of the princes of this, like, neighboring land run by this king who she defeated at the beginning of the book. Not a spoiler. And she wants to get the next in line for the throne because she thinks that's going to cause the most harm to this. This other kingdom. And she hears that the next in line to the throne is, like, a very sweet and docile boy. Turns out that the night she goes to kidnap him and boy, I mean, he. I mean, he's a guy, like a man, Adult man. Turns out the princes were playing pranks that night, and the oldest, who is like a big badass warrior man, took the place of the docile heir that she was supposed to kidnap. So she kidnaps him instead. And he like at first he doesn't even tell her that she has made a mistake. He realizes that he's going to be married to this warrior woman. He doesn't know what to do because he wants to escape and leave. But it starts to fall kind of hard for her. I haven't even gotten to any of the Spice yet, but I love it so much. It is something that I. I literally go to romance stores and I'm like, can you give me a romance novel with a physically badass warrior lady who's a beefy queen? Is what I want. And I got it, baby. I am loving it so far. So this is what Fury Brings by Trisha Levins and I'm reading.

[B]

Or I just read the Hounding by Zenobi Purvis.

[A]

So we want to take a moment to share some listener feedback. Jess wrote in to say hi Brian Mallory, I wanted to follow up on your book bow episode and pass along a hot library tip. I love bookbow and I have a baby size for my Kobo and an XL as a just in case for everything else. You never know how big a fantasy book is going to be, correct, Jess?

[B]

True.

[A]

And I wanted to say the XL comes in very handy when traveling. I found it's a perfect size for magazines which otherwise just get shredded on my journeys. On trips I tend to pack a couple of magazines, a book or two and my journal all in an xl, sometimes thrown in with some pens and even my boarding pass and passport if I don't have a safe space for those. It has tidied up my carry on space and made me feel secure about my items on countless trips. Plus they have the best designs. Yay Book bow. I am literally flying out somewhere tomorrow. I'm gonna bring a book bow, do it and put and put some stuff in it.

[B]

I do find that when I use like little packing cubes and various bags, it helps. It does. It makes everything neater and doesn't get lost.

[A]

Yeah. Or crushed or ripped and you can find it better.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Now just says time for the hot library tip. I've been meaning to learn Mandarin but don't have the time for frequent lessons in my life. I was browsing the library and found they had audiobook versions of language courses that you can listen to in 30 minute chunks. A lesson. I now listen to one a day on my commute, an easy way to squeeze in learning time. I looked up these audiobooks just to have the freedom to review and in case my loan ran out before I finished and found that each audiobook in the series costs $125.

[B]

Wow.

[A]

With this logic, the library will save me literally hundreds of dollars as I continue my lessons. And it's another way I realized libraries are so great. I wanted to pass this along in case others haven't thought of exploring the library as a free option for learning a language yet. Thank you for all that you do. This is super hot.

[B]

Yeah, that is really great. Hot book tip. We don't have a slide whistle.

[A]

I'm sorry, everyone. I feel like I've let everybody down.

[B]

No, no, it's fine.

[A]

I think I know where it is. I'm gonna.

[B]

I'm gonna imitate it. How's it go?

[A]

No, no, no, that's. That's the. Let's see, the. The ambulance thing. See, that's. That's the beauty of a slide whistle. You can't, can't.

[B]

You can't, can't emulate it.

[A]

No, no, no.

[B]

We also have some follow up from the lovely Glasser couple who use the show in their wedding vowels. Hi, Bri. Mallory. Thank you so much for reading my letter on air. My wife, whose name is Bethany, and I were listening to the episode where you address my letter on our one year anniversary. Wow. How about that for timing? We took a road trip to the city where we were married in and heard the episode you read my letter on. What a great way to spend our first anniversary. I wanted to address a few things you brought up. No worries. On the first one. My name is Michael. Michelle. As I'm gender fluid, some days it's more Michael, other days more Michelle, but it's always me. The next is our wedding vows. Here they are. At least the parts we mentioned. Reading glasses. Okay.

[A]

Oh, my God.

[B]

All right, mine. It has been said that a picture is worth a thousand words and that actions speak louder than words. So it will be through my actions and behavior that I will say I love you every day, every moment that I can. Through the bigger things, like taking time to be with ourselves. A full day road trip and listening to reading glasses or spending time at home watching Godzilla or cozy farm shows. Through all the easy and the hard times, I will always be here to lift you up and encourage the both of us. Oh, my God, it's so sweet. I'm gonna cry. And then Beth said, Beth says, I.

[A]

Promise to love you fiercely, compassionately, unconditionally for as long as we have together on this earth and beyond. And of course, through every reading glasses episode to come. It's so cute. Oh, my God.

[B]

So cute. Very cute.

[A]

I need to go run around for a little bit. Bria, I need you to let me in the backyard.

[B]

You do some laughs.

[A]

Oh, my God.

[B]

So cute.

[A]

Thank you so much for including us in your special day. It's such an honor especially to be mentioned alongside Godzilla.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

And I think this is so wonderful. And we hope you have a wonderful, beautiful marriage together.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Oh, my God.

[B]

And then Bethany's Wheelhouse is on here.

[A]

Yes. Which is nonfiction, read by the author. Cozy fantasy characters doing fiber arts of any kind. Knitting, spinning and weaving, witchy stuff. Character driven. Sci fi, bookstore and library settings. Sassy female detectives, gothic fiction, but not too scary. And friends to lovers just like us. My heart can't take anymore. I feel like that seed from the Grinch. Oh, my God. My heart just like burst out of my chest. This is so wonderful. So you can email us@reading glassespodcastmail.com if you want a list of all the books we talk about on the show delivered to your inbox every month, you can sign up for our newsletter. There's a link in the show. Notes and folks bookmark. We're recording this the same day as the other episode, but I'm assuming we still need some more five star ratings and reviews on Apple podcast to get us to drop the silly AMA episode. You know you want it. It's going to be silly. It's going to be fun. It's going to be available to everyone. All you have to do to access it if you are an Apple podcast user, is give us a five star rating or a nice review. It's not going to take you too long. Take your phone out. You know you got. You're probably on your phone right now. I know it's nearby. Open it up and open up the podcast app and give us a five star rating or review on the podcast page. It really makes a difference for us and makes our hearts explode. Not quite as much as that did, but pretty close. And then once we get to 2000, we'll drop that silly ama. So before we talk about wheelhouses, we're going to take a quick break.

[B]

Reading Glasses is brought to you in part this week by Apron. Are you juggling a lot of things? I know you are. Wow. This is really for our listeners. Y' all are always juggling a lot of things, keeping track of things, tracking your books, tracking your to do list, tracking what you've read, tracking your tbr. Hey, guess what? You can get rid of some screens. You can get rid of apps and Be a real human in the real world and get this notebook, the Apron Notebook. What is the Apron Notebook? It is a super flexible system for tackling your to do list or lists. If you're like me, I have so many lists going, y'. All. You can skip days, weeks, months without wasting space and use only the features that you want. So these little journals are really cute. Mallory and I both pulled them out and we're like, wow, adorable. They all come with a handy little ruler. It's designed to be recycled when you're done with it, which we really, really like. It's a great system too. You can kind of figure out what you want to do with it. You can make it your own. Like I said, you can skip days if you don't want it. You can juggle multiple to do lists. It's really, really adorable. It also has sticky tabs, it has prompts if you want prompts. It's just a really incredible day to day notebook if that is what you need or are looking for. If you didn't know that's what you need and your life is like a little messy, you know, maybe you get the apron notebook a try. Might be able to ship you into shape if you will. So get your to do list under control today. Go to apron notebooks.com and use the code glasses for 10% off your first order. That's apron notebooks.com and enter code classes to save 10% off on your first order classes.

[C]

Hey, I'm Jake Heath van Straten from GoFact yourself, and I'm here with Max Fun Member of the Month, Josh Mentor, who has been a Maximum fun member since 2016. Hello, Josh.

[A]

Hey, J. Keith.

[D]

How are you doing today?

[C]

I'm so well, and thank you so much for being a listener and supporter of our show. What made you to decide to support Max Fun in general and to support our show? Go fact yourself.

[D]

Jordan Morris Jon Jordan Jesse Go has a thing that he likes to say, which is, you know, you tip your bartender a buck of beer, you tip your podcaster a buck a month. You know, I get way more use out of Max Fun podcasts than I do like Disney or Netflix.

[C]

Well, it's something we very much appreciate. And by the way, when was the last time Netflix selected you as a member of the month?

[D]

Exactly, Exactly.

[C]

Josh Mentor. Congratulations and thank you again for being the Max Fun Member of the Month.

[D]

Thanks so much, guys.

[A]

Become a Max Fun member [e-mail] join. This week. We're talking about the size of Your wheelhouse. Can you have too many things in your wheelhouse? Can you have too few? Is there an ideal amount of items to have on your list? We are getting into it. The Goldilocks of wheelhouses. Okay, before we debate about wheelhouse size, I thought it'd be fun to revisit our wheelhouses because I look back, it had. The last time we did this was in 2021.

[B]

Bria, I know when you wrote. I can't believe that I thought it.

[A]

Was way sooner than that, but time last year. Yeah, four years ago. All right, so Bria, your last wheelhouse was Woman on a journey. Anything involving a road. Apocalypses and post apocalypses set in space. Slash. Another planet. People dealing with a sci fi event. Dogs that don't die. Shit your pants. Horror personal story inside a large event escapist genre book set in a cool location near future technologies and magical realism related to food. Plus towns with a secret.

[B]

It's a lot.

[A]

It's a lot. And my old one was haunted houses, of course, werewolves, Florida circuses and carnivals. Found families, interior lives of women, evil books and spooky slash scary slash weird. All right, four years later, where. What is your wheelhouse now? What are you. Are you adding? Are you taking away?

[B]

I'm doing both. I need to make some amendments here. I think I don't read nearly as many space books. Things set on another planet. Yeah, it's kind of. That's kind of gone away. I think I need to add a few things. But I'm going to get rid of some stuff too. I need to add Japanese mysteries, which I love. Nonfiction, science slash anthropology books, particularly when they're about brains. Like I read a lot of those and then I think I'd combine them. I don't know why I have so many random. It's like so do I need personal story inside a larger event and dealing with a science fictional event. That's the same thing. Big science fiction event. That's good. I still like a small town secret. But like I think that's just an interesting genre and a location for me. So that kind of covers that. Your pants horror is kind of covers this. But I like. I think like a good for her horror is something I'm more interested now and then I need something that is the nice Jesse Q. Santo slash Annie Hartnett books. The books, those books I went through my copy and I was like what's getting like A. Almost 10 and almost 5 across the board. Like what is getting almost that like perfect score. It's those it's like nice warm ending with a found family. But like, what is that?

[A]

Emotional. Emotional journey with a good end.

[B]

Yeah. But then also like the, the Jessica Tanto ones are almost just more funny. Yeah. They're just like funny family dynamics.

[A]

Could be. Yeah. Heartwarming family story maybe.

[B]

Yeah, maybe it's heartwarming family story is what it is.

[A]

You do like a family. Yeah. That is something that you've been adding over the years.

[B]

Yeah. Family story. I'm writing it down right now.

[A]

We do look at Annie Harnett and Jesse.

[B]

We do. And like, I think I could just combine all the science fiction ones to be just like near future technologies or science fiction events, you know, like, that should all just be the same. Same one. Even though it is a lot. What I. And I could probably get rid of the apocalypse things too. I'm not reading nearly as many apocalypse books.

[A]

Yes.

[B]

It's also like, these are all just cool locations. And now that I'm just like, I'm a location reader.

[A]

That helps a lot. Yes.

[B]

So, yeah, a lot of amendments to mine, but we haven't looked at it in four years. What about yours?

[A]

So I did the same thing. What I did is I looked over all of my five star reason, my book buddy over the past four years and I do want to say something that is important and something I kind of needed to straighten out. In my mind, a wheelhouse is not items you're always looking for and can't find. That's like, that's kind of a different thing. That's like the white whale. Your wheelhouse is items you regularly read and regularly love. There is a big difference. It's not always like, hey, I've never read a book like this, but I really want to.

[B]

Right, right, right.

[A]

Not your wheelhouse. It's like I regularly pick up books with this thing and enjoy it because of that thing. So this is what I got. Obviously I'm keeping haunted houses. I think I, I can't imagine that haunted houses are ever going to go away.

[B]

Yeah, sure.

[A]

It's. Yeah. The, the, the ultimate, the big trifecta for me forever is haunted houses, werewolves, weird fiction. But I have to add grief books.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I don't know if it's always going to be there, but it's something that I've been really enjoying the past few years. And then I started grieving and like really liked it. And I regularly pick up books that are grieving stories. I think it helps that a lot of horror is a grieving story. And now I just like it? From a personal standpoint, I enjoy a lot of books because of that. I want to put historical genre books, like historical romance, historical fantasy, historical horror. Any kind of, like, genre that has a historical aspect to it. I want to pick it up. Like, I'm thinking about that. That train book that I read last year, Cautious Traveler's Guide to the Wasteland. Like, I'm really drawn to that kind of stuff. I'm adding monsters. I don't know why it took me so long to add monsters.

[B]

Yeah, you do love monsters.

[A]

But I love monster books. Funny memoirs, for sure. For smut, I'm doing Enemies to Lovers. But, like, sworn enemies. I don't mean, like, oh, I don't like him. Like, you. These people might kill each other.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah.

[A]

And I. I guess I have to add art history.

[B]

You do? Well, art history in fiction. Well, no. Nonfiction, too. I don't.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah. It's a weird thing because I feel like it's not something I care that much about in my real life. Like, I'm not. I mean, I have a lot of art in my house, but I'm not, like, going to galleries. Like, I didn't go to art school. Like, I don't do art. Like, it's just not something that's kind of. And I think maybe that's why it took me so long to put it in my wheelhouse. But I was looking back at stuff I'm drawn to. I do like art history, so I had to add that.

[B]

You do. I mean, there was, like. You read, like, three artists in a row. Like, it was true. Yeah.

[A]

Yeah. Before we move on, can you think of anything that I should. I'm trying to think of anything that you might add that you might not have noticed.

[B]

Yeah. I mean, I think the weirdest one for me was that. That it's like. That, like, Annie Hartnett and, like, these sort of, like, literary fiction, but, like, also, like. Yeah. They're kind of more emotional than I think I would be drawn to something.

[A]

That I noticed that you might like. That is kind of hard to put into words. And it's kind of maybe under the umbrella of good for her. Horror is like, weird body transformation. Women, books, Chlorine. Or just, like, weird things. Like weird things happening to a woman. Like All Fours Parakeet. Like a woman going through a weird, surreal internal journey.

[B]

That's true. Like a surreal internal journey. Yeah. Yeah. And do you think you're taking interior lives of women off of yours?

[A]

Yeah, because I have. I just. I feel like I've Been reading less literary fiction over the past few years. I used to read a lot more. Yeah, I don't know.

[B]

Maybe you're not. Yeah, it's something I associate with you, but maybe not as much as you used to.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And memoirs.

[A]

Maybe that's what it is. It's like memoir. Because I like funny memoirs. I've always liked. I think. I think maybe I've turned Interior lives of women into just like funny memoirs. Because almost all of the memoirs that I read are from women. There's like the three that I can think. Jeff Hiller's one.

[B]

I saw him recently in the Valley.

[A]

Oh, my God.

[B]

I was at a restaurant.

[A]

Oh my God.

[B]

I almost said something and then I was like, don't be that guy.

[A]

My podcast co host, obsessed with you leg. The one about the.

[B]

Oh, yeah.

[A]

And then did you hear Mammy died?

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

But almost every. I was looking at every other memoir that I read this year besides Jeff Hillier's, and it's all women.

[B]

What about for you? Also there is a certain amount of like political or like feminist history. Feminists. Oh, that's very true. Yeah, yeah.

[A]

Because what I do for a living.

[B]

Yeah. Maybe that's part of it. But then like, also I do love.

[A]

A feminist history of something.

[B]

Yeah. Or like even like, like a sociology. Like kind of.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Thing like, like a social science. Yeah, yeah.

[A]

This is why you do a podcast book podcast with somebody they know you're reading better than you know you're reading.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, I'm actually reading sick houses right now, like on the side. And that's. I know one of your faves, which is like, that doesn't fall into any of these categories. It's like a non fiction.

[A]

It's like. Yeah, but it's. It's like history through the lens of a female author.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[A]

And that's probably. That's what I. What I do.

[B]

That is what you do.

[A]

All right, so what do we think? I saw people debating this in the Discord, which you can join by Signing [e-mail] Join and sending proof of your membership to Reading Glasses podcastmail.com I thought it was a very interesting question. Like, I forget how it came up, but like, do you think someone can have too many things in their wheelhouse?

[B]

I think, I think, look, if it's really long, mine is quite long. I think it's worth taking a look to see if you still read like, say, space books. Are you still reading those? You know, because if you're changing it's going to change.

[A]

You know, some people send us wheelhouses, and there are 20, 30 things on there.

[B]

Yeah, that's a lot. That's maybe too many. Like, I have read a couple space books this year that were great, but I'm not like, reaching for them as much. You have to remember, these are like this. We're talking like a. You will pick up that book no.

[A]

Matter what, and you will enjoy it because of that.

[B]

Right, Right. So that's what we're going for. This is not a maybe read. This is a must read. You're gonna at least give it a shot. Like, you don't. Maybe you won't enjoy it.

[A]

It's like how I will read every single haunted house book.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[A]

It doesn't matter who the author is. You're gonna.

[B]

You're gonna give it a shot. And like, I. There's just a lot of space books that I'm like, I'm probably not gonna give that a shot.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

You know, I definitely had one. I just returned to the library and didn't even open it because I was like, I just don't. I don't. I'm not that interested.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And so, like, that's what I think is that if you had it sitting in front of you and it contains one of these wheelhouse items, you're gonna pick it up.

[A]

Yeah. Cause you're so intrigued by it.

[B]

Yeah, exactly. So do you think people's gonna be too long?

[A]

I mean, it's one of those things that, like, in theory, know, in practice, like, in theory, yes, you could have a wheelhouse that has a hundred things in it. But I think it's worth, like you said, assessing it. Like, there, again, there's a difference between something being in your wheelhouse and you just liking something. For me, like, it's like a haunted house thing. It doesn't. It transcends author. It transcends, like, I will. I'm so interested in that thing. And I regularly enjoy what a haunted house book is. Like, I can't imagine it not being in my wheelhouse. Like, if you are picking up books with things in your wheelhouse and constantly either not liking it or you're just, like you said, you're not picking it. Like, you got it from the library and then you never even ended up reading it. Maybe that thing is just not strong enough to be in your wheelhouse. That's why I take things off regularly. I had to take off Florida, even though Florida books were in my wheelhouse for a really long Time. But, like, there's been a few Florida books that I haven't picked up.

[B]

What about Edinburgh for you?

[A]

Maybe I should put Edinburgh. It's also hard to say because I'm almost finished writing a novel that takes place in Edinburgh. So, like, my brain is. So Edinburgh has been for like the past two years, so.

[B]

Right.

[A]

But could be up, could be on there. But yeah, that's like, I took carnivals and circuses off, even though I do like those. But there were. There's a few carnival and circuses book that came out and like, it wasn't strong enough for me to go, like. And it's not that I don't like these things. It's just like, I wouldn't say that they're in my wheelhouse.

[B]

Right.

[A]

You know, so on the flip side, Bria, can your wheelhouse be too small?

[B]

How do you find the Goldilocks wheelhouse? No, I don't think so, but they probably are things that you're not thinking of if you only have, like three things on there. I think, like, we are very subject heavy when we're doing these, but one I should put on mine is our novella. I do love, I love a short ass book.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Give me that little, short, tiny book. A short king of a book. Give me that.

[A]

Or like maybe the short king of the book world.

[B]

Maybe you like a cool cover. Maybe you like, you know, like comics or. You know what I mean? Like, maybe there's like something within those kind of things. Like.

[A]

Good audiobook narrator.

[B]

Yeah, good audiobook narrator. Like, think about things that maybe we are so subject heavy over here, but like.

[A]

Or tropes. Just situations.

[B]

Yeah, yeah.

[A]

You know, we love, you know, an enemies to lovers situation. There's so many romance tropes, but, you know, like, small town with a secret.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[A]

There's Maybe there's a. Just a. A situation. Like, think about your doorway, you know, and look at your wheelhouse through that lens. I think.

[B]

Yeah. Because I think that. I think you're just missing things because there's definitely. Unless you've only read one book this year, which then I'm like, okay, maybe you do only have like one thing in your wheelhouse.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

But if you've read 20 books.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

There's probably going to be more than like two things they have in common. Yeah.

[A]

Yeah, I think you're right.

[B]

Yeah. What do you think is too short?

[A]

I mean, this is all. If you're finding books that you like, if there's no problems in your reading life, if you're finding books that you like consistently, you're not having any problems with that, then it's not. Then whatever. It doesn't matter if your wheelhouse is two books or. Or the size of a CVS receipt. Like, but if you do, like you said, if you only have two things on there, maybe it's time to look at all the books that you've loved recently and find some other stuff. And I agree. Maybe it's time to get more specific. Like, maybe you're like, oh, horrors in my wheelhouse. But it's not horror. It's body horror. It's parallel timeline horror. It's feminist horror. You know, something more specific. Or like, maybe you think you like romance, but it's really. You like sports romance. You love marriages of convenience. You know, put the tropes on there.

[B]

The.

[A]

The romance is implied. You know, don't be afraid to get super specific because that's just going to help you find more books. I think if you. If you only have a few things on there and they're very general, you're. Because the whole point of knowing your wheelhouse is to find more books that you like. Yeah. And to know yourself as a reader, if you're not getting really specific with it, then what's the point? You know, get. Get weird with it. Get in there. So do you think there is an ideal size of a wheelhouse?

[B]

Well, you wrote 5 to 10, and I was like, yeah, that's right. And I was like, wait, how long's mine? And mine is like 10, 11, which I think that's probably about right for me. But, Yeah, I think 5 to 10, 5 to 12. I'll make it 12 since mine is 11. What are you thinking?

[A]

Yeah, I mean, I think the ideal size is long enough to feel like you can easily find books from it, but not too long, that it feels overwhelming or useless.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Like, if your wheelhouse is 60 things long, just reading it is reading a book. Like, it's going to take you so long to kind of parse, like, to. To find stuff on there, you know, but again, if you only have two things, it's not going to help you find that many books. And I really think it can change from person to person. Again, mine, I think, is 5 to 10. That feels like this is my. My top stuff.

[B]

Yeah, sure.

[A]

And it always changes. I think it probably changes every year. I mean, I would. What I should have done is picked our wheelhouses from when we first started the podcast.

[B]

Oh, my God.

[A]

So different. Yeah, we should revisit that so I, I mean, the only things I think that are still in there for me are haunted houses and werewolves. Like everything else is different.

[B]

I don't know what mine was. Woman on a Journey is probably in there.

[A]

Yeah, that's probably the only thing that stayed. But the stuff is very, very fluid. But remember, the idea of a wheelhouse is in service to you as a reader. It's not just like a fun BuzzFeed quiz you're taking. Like, this is a thing that can help you find books that you like and whatever feels manageable and useful to you that is the ideal size. But if it doesn't feel like it's helping you or it's too overwhelming, that's when you should either add some things, change some things, take some things off. Might be worth worth assessing. So the Goldilocks size of wheelhouse is in your heart. So you can send your thoughts to reading glasses podcastmail.com before we talk about libraries that issue out of country cards, we're going to take a quick break.

[B]

Reading Glasses is brought to you in part this week by Green Chef. Wow, it's been raining in la and all I want is to just make warm autumn nice meals, soups, things that are really comforting. And guess what? Green Chef is the number one meal kit for clean eating. And you can do just that. You can make all these really nice seasonal meals. They have heat meat meals where you can just pop them in the microwave, enjoy a delicious meal in under three minutes, which we really like. And all their recipes feature fresh, organic seasonal produce and 100 responsibly sourced proteins to help you feel your best. There's 80 plus weekly meal options. They make it easy to find something that fits your lifestyle. You can go Mediterranean, gluten free, plant based. I'm plant based. You can also go protein heavy, even one for your gut and brain health, which we now know that's really important is the gut and. And brain health look. We really like Green Chef. For me, it's really nice to know what I'm gonna eat when I go home. I have Green Chef ready to go. I can just pop it in the microwave or make a little meal and you get to choose which I really like. You get to have like a choice with your product. So it's not like you are. You're just given something. It's like, no, I want the Mediterranean. I want all the, the Mediterranean things that you can eat, including the trip to the ocean. Am I allowed to have that? Not yet, but maybe they'll provide it one day. So make this fall your healthiest ever with Green chef. Head to greenchef.com 50glasses and use code code 50glasses to get 50 off your first month. Then 20 off for two months with free shipping. That's code [e-mail] 50glasses 50glasses.

[E]

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.

[A]

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

[E]

Betsy Sodaro I had no clue.

[A]

That's awesome. And nuts.

[E]

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.

[A]

Time to look at some book tech Advances in Bookish Technology. This week we're giving out book tech tips. A while ago we put out the call on behalf of an international listener, of course named Sarah, looking for American libraries that issue out of state slash out of country cards. And the Glassers showed the up.

[B]

We have a lot of suggestions.

[A]

We got a lot of suggestions. So here's the selection of the responses that we got, heavily trimmed for time because there's a bunch of them in here. And yes, these will all go in the show notes. So the first one we got is from Lou who is in Brazil. That's what we needed. We need people who are actually physically in other countries.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[A]

So Lou from Brazil said Chapel Hill Public Library, Broward County Library in Florida, the New York Society, the Mercantile Redwood Library and the Austin Public Library.

[B]

And then Helen wrote in and said, I finally lost my Dorset UK Libraries card when the library did an address check and realized that I was living about as far as you can from there and still be on the planet. While my local library service here in New Zealand is amazing, there's quite a difference in books that libraries acquire depending on where you live. And so I also won an international library membership. Queensborough Library, New York has an annual membership for non residents. It costs $50 US dollars and I just renewed my card with them a few weeks ago. So I think this will work for Sarah. Thanks Helen.

[A]

Great. And then Emma said, I know Sarah wanted access to American libraries, but I think it's also worth looking at British library options. This is something we didn't even think of. This is why we need people outside of the U.S. many of the London Borough Libraries allow free international membership that you can sign up for online. The best one I found is the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Libraries. Again, there will be links to all this stuff in the show notes. The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Libraries also have a Libby collection which would be perfect for Sarah. Sarah could also look at other regional library services in the UK which are all run by the county councils. Many of them use Borrow Box instead of Libby. I was going to say Borough box because it's.

[B]

Because it's English.

[A]

No, that's not it. Borrow Box instead of Libby for ebooks and audiobooks, but they're extremely similar systems. If you don't mind downloading an extra app could be totally worth it. For example, you can get a two year temporary online only membership to Essex Libraries by applying here. Essex Library Services have confirmed that you don't need to live or work in Essex to get a membership.

[B]

Amazing. Okay, it's great. This is kind of information we're here for. Marin wrote in and said, charlotte Mecklenburg Library in Charlotte, North Carolina, there's another one for you.

[A]

Fantastic. And then Lizzie came in with something that I think will be of big interest to the Glassers. For the reader who wants a library with limmy access. And honestly, for all the queer folks whose libraries are quietly quitting queer books. Oh, that's so many cues. Sign up for free to the Queer Liberation Library. I've had a card with them for about a year and oh my Sapphic. Good goodness, it is a lifesaver. This library has handpicked collections of every pride genre possible. Because it is free and not geographically bound, the wait times can be intense. But use that available now feature. Wow, this is a really hot tip.

[B]

Another Sarah wrote in and said thank you for the show. Thursday night starts the weekend in much of the Middle east where I live. And this is the perfect time to listen to reading glasses. For the glasser who asked about US libraries offering international cards, Orange County Public Library System in Florida does. It's pricey. 150 bucks a year, but so worth it if you're an avid library reader.

[A]

All right, and then the last one is Chrissy who says, I'm the president of a tiny all volunteer library branch in Virginia, Shenandoah Valley. Our library was founded in 1993 by a woman's book club. I'm writing to let you know that we offer non resident library cards. The cost is $10 for six months.

[B]

Amazing.

[A]

So there's a lot of different options. We're going to put a whole list in the show notes. But for all of our international glassers out there, get yourself a new library card. We got you covered. And again, this is for international classes who speak English and are looking for English speaking books. Books we cannot speak to people who live in other countries who are looking for other things. It's just not. We. We don't. That's going to be a tough one for us, but hopefully this is helpful for some classers. Thank you to everyone who wrote in. There were a lot of doubles and triples, so not everyone was featured. Sarah, please let us know which card.

[B]

You end up listening. Do a follow up.

[A]

If you have a Brook Tech problem you want us to solve, send it to reading glasses podcast gmail.com. Now, let's answer a recommendation request from one of our listeners. Lauren wrote in, but I'm gonna have Bria read this because there's some y' alls in there.

[B]

I'll yell it up over here. I think I've got a bit of a weird one for y'. All. I think people can relate. When I say everything lately has been pretty meh at best and screaming my guts out at worst, I have a request for a book that you would describe as a visceral experience. I don't care about the genre. I'll read horror, romance, comics, literary, whatever. I just want something that will make me not want to put it down in an extreme way, good or bad. Mm. We have not had a request like.

[A]

I know.

[B]

As for a wheelhouse, I would rather take whatever you offer without limits. With one exception. My doghouse item is that I would like to avoid politics for obvious reasons, but anything else is fair game. Hopefully this prompt is interesting for you guys. Thank you for the podcast and I appreciate you both, by the way. Lauren is both a you guys person and a y' all person.

[A]

Yeah, I know.

[B]

Very specific.

[A]

Very specific. All right. What do you think, Lauren?

[B]

This was so hard because this took.

[A]

Me like an hour.

[B]

I know. I thought about this a lot. That. So the word visceral I associate with violence. But then I saw yours and I said, oh, that is visceral. So.

[A]

Because it could be an emotional thing too.

[B]

This is wild. But I think I'm gonna recommend the book I literally was reading for the last episode, which is angel down by Daniel Krause.

[A]

Because, I mean, the way you were describing it sounds very visceral.

[B]

It is, it is. And it's all like one continuous story that never stops. So it just starts and then it just keeps going. And so the weird so it's so angel down. It's about these, these soldiers in World War I who find an angel. That's all you really need to know. It's all written in one sentence and it's read. It's just like, it's a. It's like a sh. It's just like someone hits you in the head with a bowling ball. Like it is like, like, oh my God. Like, it's like. I, I think there's a quote on it from Stephen Graham Jones who said, like, this is like, takes your breath away because you're just going and going and going and going. And I guess the thing about World War I that I didn't know, but it was really violent. Like there was like some. It's like some extreme amount of horses were killed in World War I and they're just like, this is. Y' all fast forward if you can't handle gross stuff. But like in the book, they, they're accidentally like tripping on horse skeletons all the time. They are. At one point, like they, you know, they. One of them steps on a human heart on accident. What they didn't know in World War I that it was going to be. They didn't know how violent it was going to be or how long it.

[A]

Was going to be. Well, they're using so many new technologies.

[B]

That are just, just up and Daniel.

[A]

Hordes of people.

[B]

Yeah. Really captures that and also captures how stressful it must have been to when it's like at any point in time you're sitting in this, you know, this foxhole or whatever and. And a bomb can blow you up. And he really captures that really well. I hate to recommend a book I just read because it feels so convenient, but I would say I would definitely describe it was as visceral.

[A]

Yeah. I mean, when you were talking about it on the show, like that's. Yeah, that's how you were. How it was coming across as something you, you couldn't put down in both a good and bad way.

[B]

Yeah, I could not. What. What do you have?

[A]

I spent so long on this, I went back and forth.

[B]

This is a great recommendation.

[A]

I picked so many different things, but I ultimately landed on Yellowface by RF Kuang. This is an extremely buzzy book from a couple years ago that is so visceral in a non violent way. It's about this white writer who witnesses the death of a much more successful writer she is sort of like frenemies with. And before the authorities arrive, she steals the writer's unpublished manuscript to pass off as her own. Only the dead writer is of Chinese ancestry, and the book is about Chinese history. And again, the main character is white. So what she decides to do is rebrand herself as, like, very ethnically ambiguous. So people kind of assume she's Chinese without her outright saying that. Like, she takes, like, a. Like a very ethnically ambiguous author photo. She changes her name to. I think it's Juniper Song.

[B]

Yeah. And the whole time you keep going, like, no, no, no, no. Please stop. Please.

[A]

Oh, my God. It is like. It's the equivalent of, like, watching a child about to touch a stove. Like, you're just like, no, don't do that. What are you doing?

[B]

Don't do it. Don't do it. And then she just keeps doing it.

[A]

And, like, the book just gets so intense because, you know, she publishes this book and it's a huge success, but how long can she keep it up? I've never really had the experience to this degree of disliking a character so much. And also, like, I can't put it down because I'm so. I want to. It's like watching a train wreck. I have to see what happens to her. I'm so desperate for her to get. Because normally when you're having that feeling, you. You're worried for someone, you want them to be okay. I could not wait for something bad to happen to this character. But you're in her head, and it's so. It's just so intense. And I mean, I remember I have this, like, memory of reading this book when I lived up in Idlewild and I had my garage gym and, like, it fucking up my sets because I kept, like, sitting down to read for, like, a couple minutes in between sets and then being like, oh, my God, I've been reading for 10 minutes. I have to go squat. Like, it's just.

[B]

It's.

[A]

You're in her head, and you're seeing how intense she is, and she's, like, so driven by insecurity and ambition and how bad she wants these things, and she's going about them in the worst way. And you're just like, it's such a risk for reading experience, especially as someone who likes books. Like, so I am recommending Yellowface by.

[B]

Raf Kuang, and I'm recommending angel down by Daniel Krauss.

[A]

So if you want us to answer your recommendation request, send it toreading glasses podcastmail.com. as always, want to thank the wonderful mods who run our Discord server and our Facebook group. Remember, we got all kinds of cool stuff in our Void Merch store. You can buy totes and shirts and stickers and all kinds of cool things that help us feed our cats and Bria's dog. There's a link in the show notes for that. And folks, we're getting real close. If you like the show, if you love us been listening for a long time, please rate and review us on the podcast listening app of your choice. It really makes a difference for the show. Really makes a difference in our hearts. We're trying to drop that silly AMA episode when we get to 2000 on Apple Podcasts. We are so close to. You can email us@reading glassespodcastmail.com, find us on Instagram at Reading Glasses Podcast. Thanks for listening and thanks for reading.

[B]

Thanks for reading.

[A]

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