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Reading Glasses
Ep 440 - Best Book COVERS of the Year + Alonso Duralde!
00:48:30
Brea and Mallory pick their favorite book covers of 2025. Plus they interview Alonso Duralde about his new Christmas movie book, and give ideas for gifts for ereaders.
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- [00:00]
A
Foreign.
- [00:08]
B
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.
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A
And I'm Bria Grant, filmmaker and E reader. And this episode, we're starting a new reading glasses tradition. We're picking our favorite book covers of the year. Pretty exciting stuff, which was really fun to do. I had a great time doing this. Plus, we are interviewing fellow Max funster Alonzo Deralde about his new Christmas movie book. And we're recommending gifts for e readers.
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B
First, Bria, what are you reading?
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A
Mallory had, which is good. We should all laugh at me, but I have so much trouble. I read so many books in other languages that I don't speak, so I'm so sorry if I butcher these names.
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B
We're all doing our best here.
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A
Anyway, I'm reading a book that I have not been able to put down. It's. It's a very interesting book that I think was on our anticipated books episode. It's called the Midnight Shift by Chun Sun Ran. Translator is Jean Ping. And this book is. This is Wild. It's a Korean book that I think was just recently.
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Translated into English. I think it maybe came out in Korea a little while ago. But basically there's a hospital and all of these elderly people keep jumping off the six story floor and committing suicide. Yeah. And no one seems to, like, be able to figure out what's going on. And they're like, oh, it's just because they're lonely. Everyone's like, oh, it's because they're lonely. And the police is like, not engaging. But then this main character has this friend, this elder, this woman who she calls Grandma but wasn't. Wasn't Grandma, but was like a part of her life. And that woman, she has dementia and she's living on the sixth floor of this. Of this hospital where people are jumping off. And so she's like, I don't want anything to happen to her. So she starts to investigate on her own. And she's. She's also a police officer. And she meets this woman, and the woman is like, yeah, vampires are doing this.
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B
What?
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A
And then there's this, like, there's these. There's. I know, I know. Then there's these flashback chapters of. Of this little girl who's meeting this strange woman. And that's about how far I am. So you get to see flashbacks of the same woman of a woman meeting a girl you're pretty sure might be a vampire. But yeah, so it is. So these older people, why would vampires be throwing them off the building? And she's like, well, they have to, like, feed. And then they're, like, forced. They're like. And they all have written these suicide notes. Anyway, it's a wild book. I was not expecting it to be what it is. But it's also, like, very literary fiction as well. But whenever vampires want you to die.
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B
By suicide, that's all that blood you're throwing out the window.
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A
Like, oh, here's the thing. There's no blood when they. When they. There's like, this is fast forward. If this is not. If this is. Could be content warning for you. But when they land, there's no. It's like. There's no splat. It's just. They're almost drained of blood.
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B
There's not much.
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A
Like, their heads hit the ground.
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B
So it's like. It's the equivalent of a vampire, like, eating a Taco Bell wrapper and throwing it out the window.
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A
Throwing out the window. That's what this person is saying. I don't know if that's true or not. I haven't. I haven't gotten that far. So I don't know if it's vampires or it's not vampires, but it's a really. It's a. It is a quite a wild book, and I'm really enjoying it. And there's a little bit of a queer element as well. Definitely. If you like a horror, literary fiction, translated book, this could be the book for you. What are you reading?
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B
I'm really glad you said that, Bria, because the book I'm reading is really wild and. But it doesn't seem as wild compared to the one that you're reading.
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A
It's not Suicide by Vampire.
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B
Oh, my God. I am reading a smut book.
- [03:47]
We're rounding the bend of the end of the year here, so I'm finishing up my 2025 books, and this is a book that came out this year. It is so smutty, Bria. It's called Willing Prey by Ali Oleander, and this has been one of my most anticipated for a while. It finally came out, and it's a contemporary, I guess you would call it a romance. It's very smutty about this woman, and she has just gotten through a divorce, and she's a teacher, and she's looking to make some money over the summer. Like her, basically her husband. She helped her husband pay off all of his student loans, and then she found out he was cheating on her. And then they got divorced. Like, the plan was to pay his off first and then to pay hers off. And. Yeah, so she's broke, she needs money. And she gets a really interesting offer from her ex's boss. Her ex, who is a lawyer. Her ex's boss is offering her $30,000 to live in his house for one month and let him hunt her in the woods behind his house.
- [04:47]
Look at Brian's face right now.
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A
What, so she gets paid hunt her?
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B
Yeah, she gets paid $1,000 a day. And she has to wear this, like, smartwatch on her phone and some at any time of the day.
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A
What else does she have to wear? What else does she have to wear?
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B
Like, I mean, hiking boots. Like, okay, she's not like running around in a French maid outfit, but like, she has the smartwatch and she'll be like, grading papers or whatever. And then like, the number 8 will appear on the watch. And that means that she has eight minutes to start running. And when he catches her, he bangs the hell out of her.
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C
And.
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B
Yeah, but like, he is. I. I can't tell. It seems like he's kind of autistic coded. But he wanted to do this because he's like, really interested in her. But he. He wanted to, like, codify it in some way because he wanted to put, like, make it like, very stark and like, easy to understand. And he's like, so because he found out that her. That she used to do this with her ex husband and he heard her ex husband talking about at the office one day and got really interested in doing it, so.
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A
Oh, so this is like a thing for her?
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B
Yes, she's done it before. He's done it before. They're really interested in doing, like. And she of course wants the money, so she says yes. And of course they start falling for each other. But it's like the classic, like, every time that he thinks he's falling for her, he's like, no, she's just doing it for the money. And then every time she thinks she's falling for him, he goes, no, he's just doing it for the sex. And it is so wild and so smutty. And I love it, love it so much. And I feel more normal about reading it because you're reading about vampires sucking people try and throwing them off of a. Off of a building. So, yeah, two absolutely bonkers books. So I am reading Willing Prey by Ali Oleander.
- [06:29]
A
And I am reading the Midnight Shift by Chan San Ron, Translated by Jean Ping.
- [06:39]
B
So we want to take a moment to share some listener feedback. Sami wrote in to say hello. Mallory and Bria, I love the podcast and I want to thank you for inspiring me to be more involved in the bookish world. You've talked in the past about books to prisoners programs and I've recently started volunteering at one and I want to tell you about it. I've been volunteering with the Women's Prison Book Project for a couple weeks now. This organization gets letters from incarcerated women and non binary and trans folks all over the country requesting books to read. The volunteers then take a look through our storeroom of donated books and pick out a couple books that match the inmate's request. Oh Bria, we would be so good at this. I know we would be. Oh my God.
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A
I did used to volunteer at a place like this and it was really fun.
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B
We get requests for all kinds of fiction, especially horror and romance. We also get a wide range of nonfiction requests. It's really inspiring to be a part of a service that provides these women with books that can entertain, educate, and ultimately make the lives of them just a little bit easier. I'd encourage Glassers to see if there is a prison book project near them that they can help out at. If you don't have the time to volunteer, consider donating to a prison book project too. While book donations are great, keep in mind that many of the prisons we serve have very strict restrictions on the types of books we can send. Most of the prisons we work with specify that the books have to be new or at least look like they haven't been read before, which means we have to turn away a lot of donations of used books that look obviously used. I'd highly recommend donating money instead. That allows these organizations to buy the exact types of books they know are in high demand and don't get a lot of donations of horror books in Spanish and craft books especially. I hope this long email is helpful to other classes looking to make a difference. I want to thank you again for all that you do and for making such a great show and community. This is awesome. God, we would be so good at this. Yeah, we a really long time on the show we talked about the Women's Prison Book Project, but it's clearly still going and still doing a lot of good.
- [08:21]
A
Yeah, I love that. And yeah, people are looking up for a place to volunteer. That seems like a great place for the glassers. Melissa wrote in and said hi Brian mallory, in episode 429 you mentioned Bookcon and reminded me of my book con experience several Years ago. I never attended the event before, so I had no idea what to expect. The only thing I knew is that I was desperate to meet Richelle Mead. Growing up, I was a big fan of her Vampire Academy series and the spin off series Bloodline Lines. Anyway, she was holding a signing and I didn't realize it was a wristband only signing. And by the time I figured all this out, the wristbands were gone. I did manage to get a wristband for other authors, but I was bummed that Rachelle was so close and I couldn't meet her in a moment of insanity, or maybe genius. I decided to get in the line and hope one of my colorful wristbands looked close enough to the blue wristband. That was a year mark for Michelle. And thankfully I acted confident enough or the person checking the bands didn't care enough. And I got to meet Michelle, tell her how much her writing meant to me, and have her sign my book. That's amazing. It was everything I ever wanted to be and more. And I didn't end up in bookcon. Jail is the world feels like it's burning down around us. It's nice to have your podcast to look forward to every week. Thanks for all you do. That's very. Listen, act like you belong there. Just try it. It's a signing. It's a sign. Well, I guess we can't all be doing this because then if you ever.
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B
Watch any system like heist movie, this is how it works. You just have to pretend like you belong, which I'm not good at doing. I'm not good at doing this.
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A
I like cheating the system a little bit. As, you know, like as much as of a rule follower as I am, I always am. Like, maybe may. Maybe I can cheat the system.
- [09:42]
B
See, I'm bad. I would not be. I remember one time we threw a birthday party for one of my friends and it was like a big secret that we invited. His parents had flown out for it and I had one of his other friends at the. Well, we were all like at the restaurant waiting and we knew his parents were gonna show up and one of his friends was like, mallory, you have to go to the bathroom. Because you just keep looking at the door every 30 seconds and you're gonna give it away. I would make the worst spy of all time. I could never do this. But I do admire people who can.
- [10:10]
A
I do too. Do you know the story? Do you know this? This is a total tangent. But you know, there's a group of people in LA who have this joke. This bria plus 17. Do you know about this joke? Have I told this on the show that I was at Comic Con? It was not that many people, by the way, but that's what is. The lore has become wild. But I was at Comic Con, and I think I had seven people with me, and I went to a party and they were like, you don't have any pluses. I was like, yeah, it's Brio Grant plus seven. And they were like, what? And I was like, I have seven now. This is the lore has. Has also Has. Has grown. And so now it's Bria plus 17. And people love to make this joke of me, like, Bria plus 17. Did you get in the party seven? Yeah, we all got in. Yeah. If you just act like it's normal. And then they were, like, confused, and they were like, seven, seven. You know what I mean? And I was like, no, no, I have seven. I have seven with me. Is that cool? Is it cool? Like, I. I will really try to book a success.
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D
I would.
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B
I would just dissolve.
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A
Well, what. What's the worst thing happen? They say no.
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B
And what?
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A
We're embarrassed.
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B
I'm not embarrassed.
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A
It's very hard.
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B
See, that's. That's. That's your superpower. You are so. You do not care.
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A
Lack of embarrassment.
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B
It's. I mean, but that's. Honestly, that's. There's a lot of people who get held back from their dreams, from. Because they're afraid to be embarrassed.
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A
3 plus 17.
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B
3 plus 17.
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A
Do you want to read this? Nice. Melissa's Wheelhouse.
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B
Yes. Because it's amazing.
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A
Rule breaker.
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B
The rule breaker wheelhouse is thrillers. Bonus points for anything with a dead wife. Amazing Queer love, Omegaverse romance and stories set in Australia. What a cause. Wow.
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A
This is so specific.
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B
So much so you can email us at reading classes 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. Quick bookmark, folks. It's present buying time, and I do want to remind you all that there's two great books that you can buy for your loved ones. First off, you can get the reading glasses book. If you have somebody in your life that is a reader and you don't know what books to get them because they probably have the books that they want to read, get them a book journal. Get them the reading glasses Book journal. We love it. We designed it specifically so it's as enjoyable and useful for people who love the show or people who have never heard of the show, people who read a ton and people who are just getting back into reading. It's a journal, but there's also essays and workbook pages that are specifically designed and written by me and Bria to improve your reading life and help you figure out yourself as a reader. And we love it. It's so pretty. It is a beautiful object. I like. I'm like, is it weird for me to display my own book in my home? Also, you can read Daughter a Daring if you have somebody in your life who loves history, who loves Hollywood, who loves feminism, women's history, and you're looking for a great gift for them, get Daughter of Daring. Don't take my word for it. Bria also loved it. It is a biography of America's first stuntwoman. It's also a history of Hollywood, a little bit of a history of la. It is my my love letter to women who are not embarrassed and women who who are brave and want to make things happen in in the world of filmmaking. And it's filled with all kinds of cool historical facts, funny footnotes, cool pictures of cool ladies doing stuff. Would make a really great Christmas present. Before we pick our favorite book covers of the year, we're going to take a.
- [13:26]
A
Reading Glasses is brought to you in part this week by Aura Frames. This is a great holiday gift for you. If you're looking for something you don't know quite what to get. Hey, you never have to struggle again because you can find the perfect gift in Aura Frames. Okay, I'm sure all of you go through this, this time of year just like me, where it's like, what do I buy this person? I know them, I love them, but I can't decide what I should give them. This is something that is unique and interesting and personal. You can make it personal because do you know what Aura Frames are?
- [13:58]
B
Aura Frames.
- [13:58]
A
It's a frame and then it has digital photos that go through it. And you can download the Aura app, you connect to WI Fi to add all the photos that you want and videos and you can add from anywhere at any time. So you could send this to like your grandmother, put photos on there of you, of your family, of your cats, of your kids. I don't know. I don't know what your relationships are, but I do know that this could be perfect. And Aura displays those photos that you put up there for your grandma or whoever. But in this situation, we're going to talk about grandma Puts it up there in true color and automatically adjusts for light level of the room. And at night, when you turn off the lights, the frame also turns off to save energy. Don't wait. You can win the holidays now with aura frames. And for a limited time, save on the perfect gift by visiting auraframes.com to get $35 off. Or as best selling carver matte frames named number one by wirecutter by using promo code glasses at checkout. That's a U R A frames.com promo code glasses. This deal is exclusive to listeners and frames sell out fast, so order yours now to get it in time for the holidays, support the show by mentioning us at checkout. Terms and conditions apply.
- [15:03]
B
Glasses.
- [15:09]
E
Hello?
- [15:10]
C
Hello, I'm calling on behalf of the.
- [15:11]
E
Beef and Dairy Network podcast. No, I'm sorry, no sales calls. Goodbye.
- [15:15]
C
It's a multi award winning podcast featuring guests such as Ted Danson, Nick Offerman, Josie Long.
- [15:20]
E
I don't know what a Josie Long is. And anyway, I'm about to take my mother into town to see Phantom of the Opera at last. You are wasting my time. And even worse, my mother's time. She only has so much time left. She's 98 years old. She's only expected to live for another 20 or 30 years. Mother, get your shoes on. Yes, the orthopaedic ones. I don't want to carry you home again, do I?
- [15:38]
C
Right, well, if you were looking for a podcast.
- [15:40]
E
Mother, you're not wearing that, are you? It's very revealing. Mother. This is a musical theatre, not a Parisian bordello.
- [15:46]
C
Simply go to maximumfun.org I'm reaching for.
- [15:49]
E
My Samsung Galaxy 4 as we speak. Mother. Mother, not that hat.
- [16:03]
B
This week we're starting a new reading glasses tradition and picking. I almost went. Tradition, tradition, tradition.
- [16:11]
D
Wow.
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B
We are picking our favorite book covers of 2025 across all genres. Between series and standalones, we're gonna decide which covers are our favorites. So first off, important to know that these are books that are released in 2025. I almost made it a single category in our best books of the year episode, but there are so many goddamn good covers. I thought it would be fun.
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A
So many good ones.
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B
Just dedicate an entire episode to it. All right, let's get into it. Bria, what's your first category is? Best series. What is your favorite series cover of the year?
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A
So everyone should know that. I did text Mallory and I said, do I have to have read these books or can it just be books I've seen? And she said, you can be either. But I actually ended up going with books that I have.
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B
I also picked.
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A
I have read these books mostly because.
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B
It made it easier to whittle them all down. Because I was like, oh, it could just be whatever books. And then I was like, well, there's literally thousands and thousands of books that came out this year. I'm going to pick from books that I read. Yeah.
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A
So I actually am going. I'm going. Series is hard because a lot of times, like with series, you have to kind of match the previous book in some way. So like, a new series is interesting versus an old series. I actually went with Adrift in Currency, Clear and Clean, the 10th book in the Wayward Children series, which is a book series I love. And the covers of these are all the same with this, like, similar style of writing. And this one has a little turtle on it because it all takes place in this water world where turtles are like a mode of transportation.
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B
You would love that.
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A
I like this. I. I would love that. But I like this book. I like this cover, the COVID of the series, because they're all very subtle. Like, it is a fantasy story, it is a fantasy book. And I don't read that many fantasy books. But I think one of the things that keeps coming back to it is how this series bucks a lot of traditional fantasy tropes and a lot of traditional fantasy things, and the COVID being one of them. Because as we know, a lot of fantasy books, and there's no harm or foul to fantasy books, they have a very specific cover looking. Looking cover in this day and age. Like, it has a very specific style of writing, very big font. Like it's like a specific cover. Whereas I think these books, it's actually kind of like a clean cover in a way that I really like. It's simple. It's like slightly childlike because all the characters are usually like teenagers or younger. Yeah. And I just. I just think it's a very beautiful cover. Whoever's been designing these for the past, I mean, 10 years or so has been doing a really good job. They still all fit.
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B
They all have the same aesthetic, which is really cool.
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A
They're all the same aesthetic. Yeah, for sure. What is. What is your series? Best series.
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B
This one was really tough because there's a lot of good looking series out there. But I have to give it to Mockingbird Court by Juno Black. This the last in the Shady Hollow books. RIP the series. Long live Shady Hollow. I'm obsessed with the book covers in the series. It's honestly Part of the reason why I picked them up in the first place, like, they're very. They just. I don't know art words. So I apologize to everybody. We're. We're not art. We're not visual. I mean, Bria is a visual artist in the way that she's a film director, but we're not, like, visual art people. But they, like. It's these little. It almost looks like hand drawn woodland creatures. It looks like. It almost looks like a wood carving of, like, trees and just, like, woodland things. And they're a little bit different for every series, and they're just so. They're so beautiful. They're so unique. And again, I picked up the first book in the series because of that. I like it so much that. So I'm thinking about doing an accent wall in my living room with wallpaper. And I was like. I was looking at what.
- [19:35]
A
I have that behind me currently.
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C
I know.
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A
I'm actually about to change it. I'm about to change this up.
- [19:39]
B
Is it easy to do?
- [19:42]
A
No.
- [19:44]
I had a professional install the wallpaper, but I'm about to have to pull it down by myself. And then I'm gonna put up a big picture, actually, is what I'm gonna do. But what are you gonna do?
- [19:54]
B
Well, I was looking at one of those, like, peel and stick wallpaper websites, and I picked one that I really like, and I'm like, oh, why do I like this? I'm like, oh, because it looks like a Shady Hollow cover.
- [20:01]
A
Oh, my God.
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B
If that doesn't say one of the best book covers of the year, I don't know what could. All right, Bria, what's your favorite horror cover of the year? I almost picked this book.
- [20:11]
A
Okay. Best of All Worlds by Kenneth Awful. Hands down, you turn me on to this one. I love this cover. So it's all red. It has a little, like, upside down house. And it is so unnerving. For what? For a book. That is quite unnerving. And it's just a simple cover. I found that, like, simple covers are really what does it for me. It really pushes my buttons. It's like the simple, like, a very, like, plain thing. And this is just one image with a house upside down. And it's so unnerving. Yeah, I. I just. It drew me to book. You talked about it. But then when I saw the COVID I was like, oh, hell, yeah.
- [20:41]
B
Yeah, this is.
- [20:42]
A
This is an amazing.
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B
It has.
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Red. Like, there's something about that particular, like, shade of red that just says horror to me. Because it's, like, very. Like, very blood red. But, yeah, it is very sinister cover.
- [20:55]
A
What do you got for horror?
- [20:56]
B
Mine is Fiend by Almakatsu, and this.
- [21:00]
A
Was actually on my list as well. I thought this was. This is such an amazing cover.
- [21:03]
B
It's just like. It's like. Like. Like the top, not turret, but like Gable, I guess, of like, a very fancy penthouse in Manhattan with, like, a storm cloud over it. And it's like a blue that, like, Grady. Like gradients. Gradients. Grades. Yeah, grades down to pink. Again, people, there's. There's art people who are listening to this whose ears are bleeding. But it, like, it's like pink and blue gradient, and it's just so ominous and creepy. And like, there's. There's, like, light showing from the windows, and it just, like. It gives you a feeling of, like, ooh, something bad is happening in that building. And I want to know what it is. And I also really love the colors. Like, this is. This is the kind of book that I would. I mean, we always read everything that Alma writes, but I would have picked this book up off of a table in a bookstore just off of the COVID alone. I like that we both picked, like, very sinister, creepy, creepy covers that make you feel weird. All right.
- [21:58]
A
They make you feel worse. Well, that's what you want for horror.
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B
That's true. What about nonfiction? What's your favorite nonfiction cover of the year? Oh, this is a good one.
- [22:04]
A
Yeah, I'm going with Sister. The Miraculous Life and Mysterious Disappearance of Amy Semple McPherson by Claire Hoffman. A lot of words. A lot of words to put on a biography. A lot of things to put on the front, which I was like, that's tough to do. But I love this cover because it has Amy Simple McPherson looking, like, so ethereal. And they put this color grade on her that makes her look like she's glowing or like she's in some sort of, like, old movie or something. It's really interesting and really drew me to the book. And I just kept. Cause you're reading about her, and then you're looking at this, like, photo of her where she's sort of, like, otherworldly, which this woman kind of was in some way, like. Or at least presented herself that way. It's just a really well done, like, clean cover design that I really appreciate. What's yours? I have to look this up.
- [22:47]
B
Yeah, you're gonna love this when you see it. It's Sucker Punch by Sachi Kul, and it is a divorce memoir. And so the COVID is like a neon green and there it's just a picture set of brass knuckles and. But in the. For the ring finger, it's an engagement ring that's like set into the brass knuckles. It's so clever and it's so eye catching and it's so cool. I. I love it. It's such a perfect. Again, this is, this is a book that I would pick up in a bookstore. But I really like this author and I loved her last book so I was very excited to read it. But it's like, it's such an eye catching green. I haven't seen a lot of covers with that green. Yeah, that's cool. Ibri, what's our next next category?
- [23:27]
A
Next category we have is just Cutest. Cutest one that we've seen. Well, there was.
- [23:31]
B
Yeah, there were some covers where there's a couple. I was like, these aren't don't fit into any particular genre, but they're just really cute and I feel like they need to get shouted out. What is your cutest cover of the year?
- [23:41]
A
It's Automatic Nouvelle by Anna Louis Newitz. It's similar to the style of the one you're picking, I think, where it's all this like animated little cute robot hands picking up little noodles and it just makes you want to read it. It's like very like, it's a cozy book, but this is like, it's very like bright and cool colors. I just think it's like really well done and really like makes you want to pick up. It's like bright, cutesy, but like not like over the top for me, which I appreciate. And what's yours? I actually looked at. I had this pulled up even though I did not read this book.
- [24:12]
B
Yeah.
- [24:12]
A
Because I thought it was such a good cover.
- [24:13]
B
It's a great cover. It's Cosmic Love at the Multiverse Hair Salon by Annie Mare. And I love the type on it. It's like, it looks like a cool 70s poster for like a show that you'd want in your living room. Like, the title is in this like groovy psychedelic y 70s font. And it's just like. Yeah, it's a part of the reason why I picked it up was because of the COVID and it just looks. I would want a poster of this. It's adorable. I love that we both picked very queer books for our cutest covers. All right, the next one is Best Sci Fi Fantasy. So.
- [24:44]
A
Yeah, what do you got?
- [24:45]
B
I could have put this in Best series, but I feel like I wanted to Put it in the fantasy category because it just is such a cool look for a fantasy book. It's Emily Wiles Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett. These just book. They look so great. I love the design of them so much. They look like an old book of fairy tales, which is, again, why I wanted to put it in the fantasy section. And the design is so great. And it's like the COVID overboard. It's like a hardcover where it's printed directly on the COVID There's not a jacket.
- [25:15]
A
Oh, I like that.
- [25:15]
B
Yeah. It's just so pretty. And it's like, it makes. It just puts you in the mind of reading a cozy. Nice fantasy. What is yours?
- [25:23]
A
I went with A Strange Case of Of Jano by Karen Thompson Walker. I love this cover. It's so beautiful. It's very ethereal. It looks like. Have you ever taken an aura photo?
- [25:31]
B
I haven't taken them, but I know.
- [25:32]
A
You'Re in there, like, you know what I mean? And it's like you're in the middle, and then they have this, like. You have these, like, auras that they're like, oh, you're blue or orange. I just did one because I was in Sedona. I can't remember what my color was, but it kind of looks like that. It looks like that, but on the COVID of a book. Which really works for this book because it is. It is sort of like it's moody, but it's also very like. Like, reality is, like, not making sense. And like, you're kind of like, reaching into the. To the aura for all sorts of things for trying to figure out the book itself. So I think it's a really good book for what it is. Like, the book could be very, like, they also could have had, like, oh, it's just an office, like a therapist office or something. And instead they went super. More like ethereal and beautiful. And I think that was a really cool choice for.
- [26:18]
B
For this book. Yeah, it's a cool cover.
- [26:20]
A
Yeah. Next we have literary fiction.
- [26:22]
B
So mine was. Stop me if you've heard this one before by Kristen Arnett. I love it. It's so clever. It's just like they made the. The type. They made the title of the book into a clown face. And, like, if you've heard this one before, is like, in the shape of a frown.
- [26:37]
A
Yes, yes, yes. I'm looking at Mallory. You've picked two books that are the same.
- [26:42]
B
Maybe this is a Green Year. I like a. You like a. I've been liking. I'VE been liking a neon colored book. A lot of these, A lot of these covers are very, like brightly colored. It's just I. It's just very clever. I remember the first time I saw it when she announced the COVID I was like, oh, that's such a clever way to do this. What is yours?
- [27:00]
A
I put Blob by Maggie Sue. I could have also put this up in Sci fi or horror or something, but I just. This is such a beautiful cover. Very simple. It's just, just the word blob and it's like magnified by a blob.
- [27:11]
B
Yeah, right.
- [27:12]
A
Yellow cover, super fun. Also kind of mysterious. But you are like, oh, I know what this is about. Spot a blob. And that is what the book is about. And you and I both really enjoyed this book and I just think it's such a smart, cool, cool way to do this cover.
- [27:24]
B
Yeah, fantastic. Our last category is smut and romance. Kind of the same. What is yours?
- [27:29]
A
I went with Sky Daddy by Kate Falk.
- [27:33]
B
Yes, it's good.
- [27:34]
A
This is also could have been a literary fiction book. It's romance light, just so you know, because the smut and the romances with airplanes.
- [27:42]
B
Yeah, it's only romance light because an airplane doesn't have a penis.
- [27:45]
A
But it is phallic and that is what the COVID is. And the COVID is a plane and it's just looking extremely phallic. And I'm like, that is such a brilliant cover for a book that I don't know if we can call this a romance book. And maybe it's not. But I just, I wanted to include it somewhere because I just thought it's such a brilliant cover because it's called Sky Daddy. It has a very phallic plane on the front and I just think that's super comical. This is very smart.
- [28:09]
B
We like a clever cover on this show, I think.
- [28:12]
A
Yeah, we do. We like a clever cover. What do you have?
- [28:15]
B
So my last one is a Tropical Rebel Gets the Duke. I'm talking about the paperback version or like there's a couple different versions of this cover. The first versions were photo covers, which I do really love and I love the colors of it, but I'm talking about the new illustrated ones. I just think it's a really great example of how romance books can have these like, illustrated covers without making them look like they're for kids.
- [28:36]
A
Like, you're totally right.
- [28:39]
B
We talk about this on our other show a lot, that some of the cartoon covers for romance almost make them look like ya. This is such a great example of a book that looks like it's for adults. It's definitely romance. It's definitely historical romance. It's very eye catching. The covers are great, but yeah, it doesn't look childish. It doesn't look like it's a middle grade or a YA book. And I just think it's very, very well done. And I love this series. So much so. And I love the colors of it. It's like a really nice purple. It's a reading glasses purple kind of, actually. And yeah, I love the. I love all the covers for this whole series. So you can send your thoughts on your favorite book cover of the year to reading glassespodcastmail.com before we interview Alonzo Giraldi about his updated Christmas movie book we're gonna take.
- [29:27]
A
Reading Glasses is brought to you in part this week by Green Chef. We're getting into winter, y', all, and everything is starting to feel a bit more cozy. Your books, can you imagine, you know, sitting with your book by the fireplace or the blanket? And this is the perfect time for you also to eat something healthy. Maybe reset, bring back some healthy habits with Green Chef. That's the number one meal kit for clean eating. You can do just that. Green Chef makes it really easy. You can just spend less time in the kitchen and more time enjoying the fall and the winter and all your cozy stuff and reading books. That's what we're here for. And with their new heat and eat meals, you can enjoy delicious, wholesome meals in just three minutes. With 80 plus weekly meal options, Green Chef makes it easy to find meals that fit your lifestyle. So pick from Mediterranean. You can go gluten free. You can go plant based. That's what I do. You can go protein heavy. You can even go for gut and brain health. You know how gut they're saying the gut and the brain is all connected? Well, guess what? You can, you can get ahead of that. You can do that with all of these weekly meal options and you can switch it up shop, change every week. You can have it one week. You not have it one week. You can adjust it. It's really easy to adjust to your mood if you're a mood eater, like you're a mood reader, this can be perfect to fit your schedule. Listen, Green Chef is great. And if you're looking for your person who wants to start cooking or you're like, I just want to be healthier, there's certain things you're wanting to change about your diet. This is a great way to go but if you also are like, I'm already eating really well, but I just want to spice things up, that's what I do. I like adding something like this so I know it's in the fridge. I love cooking, so going home and knowing this is in the fridge, it's ready for me to make. This is really fun for me, but also it's just a way to, like, do something new and spice up my diet a little bit. So make this season the healthiest yet with Green chef. Head to greenchef.com 50glasses and use code 50glasses to get 50 off your first month, then 20 off for the two months following that with free shipping. That's code 50glasses@greenchef.com 50glasses.
- [31:27]
B
Have you been looking for a new.
- [31:28]
A
Podcast all about nerdy pop culture? Well, I have just the thing for you. Secret Mysteries of Nerd Mysteries.
- [31:36]
C
Secret Histories of Nerd Mysteries is a weekly pop culture history podcast hosted by.
- [31:40]
B
Me host Austin and me host Brenda.
- [31:43]
A
We've already tackled mystery stories such as.
- [31:45]
B
What happened to the puppets from Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer?
- [31:48]
A
Is Snoopy Mexican?
- [31:49]
B
And why do people hate Barney so much?
- [31:52]
C
From theme parks to cartoons to 80s, 90s and 2000s nostalgia, we tackle it all.
- [31:56]
B
Check us out Every Tuesday on MaximumFun.org and wherever you get podcasts.
- [32:16]
D
So here we are, very special holiday edition of a Reading Glasses interview. We're so excited to have fellow Max Funster, film critic, podcaster and author Alonzo Daldi back on the show. Thank you so much for joining us. So excited to talk about your new book. But before we dive in, what are you reading?
- [32:34]
C
Right now I am reading a goofy holiday romance written by my friend Steve who do the Deck, the Hallmark podcast. It's called oh, Christmas.
- [32:44]
D
Tell us all about it.
- [32:45]
C
And it is, it is, it is very much, I think, shaped like a Hallmark movie but kind of poking fun at that shape at the same time. They like to call it a holiday rom com, heavy on the comm, but it is very self aware, you know. So if you, if you know the tropes, if you know the shapes of these movies, you know, you will, you will recognize what they're doing along the way. So it's, it's fun to read it from, from the perspective of people who just know these movies backwards and forwards and, and know how these stories get told.
- [33:15]
D
That is fantastic. Definitely in our wheelhouse for sure. So. Well, speaking of Christmas books, please tell us about your new version of your book.
- [33:24]
C
Sure. Yeah. So have yourself a movie, Little Christmas. I Originally published this in 2010, and somehow that's 15 years ago. I don't know how that happened.
- [33:34]
D
Makes me want to lie in the road, but.
- [33:36]
C
Okay, I know I woke up one morning, it's like. But anyway, so there was, like, you know, obviously a ton of new releases between now and then to kind of dig back into, but then also classics that I hadn't gotten to the first time. So, you know, really, from the time the first book came out, I was kind of itching to update it. I mean, I think we get you so used to things like, you know, websites and stuff where you can always sort of append and adjust and. Yeah, books are just there, and they are. They. They're done deals, you know, so. So, yeah, luckily I was able to circle back and. And. And go into this again. So, yeah, so it's. It's. Again, it's a. A lot of the stuff that has hit theaters since this first book came out. And then also, you know, thank you, Turner Classic Movies. I have a lot more holiday noir this time, which I was woefully ignorant of the first time I did this. So, yeah, it's. There's plenty of new stuff for people who already have the first edition. If you don't have the first edition, it's a good place to hop in. And if you want to have both, I will.
- [34:36]
B
I think people should have both.
- [34:37]
D
I got to. You sent me the. The new edition, and it's really fun. I mean, Christmas noir is just such a cool concept and definitely really, really fun to read about. All right, so I have some Christmas movie book questions for you, and the most important one that I'm so fascinated.
- [34:55]
B
To hear your answer.
- [34:56]
D
What is your. Not. Not the one that you think the best. What is your favorite adaptation of A Christmas Carol?
- [35:04]
A
Ooh.
- [35:05]
C
I mean, so many to pick from. My personal favorite. And weirdly enough, I didn't see this movie until I was, like, 30. Usually it's the one you see as a kid, and it sticks with you forever. The Albert Finney musical version. Scrooge from 1970. Yeah. He's one of the few actors who plays old Scrooge and young.
- [35:24]
D
Oh, wow. Yeah. I don't think I've ever seen that.
- [35:26]
C
Yeah. So. So, yeah, so old Scrooge suddenly is, like, hot young Albert Finney, you know, in the flashbacks. And it makes it all the more heartbreaking when he turns into this sor. Stooped, craggy figure we see later. The songs are by Leslie Brickus, who I'm a big fan of Brickus and Anthony Newly are probably best known for doing like the Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory songs and, you know, almost everything Sammy Davis is saying in the 1960s. But yeah, it's a lovely score.
- [35:56]
It was made on the heels of Oliver, so they were clearly like doing these sort of big, elaborate Dickensian musicals. And, and I think so many Christmas Carol adaptations because of just budgetary considerations. You know, they seem to be set on like a block and a half of Victorian London, whereas this is like they had all of Pinewood Studios. So it stretches out in different directions. It's a, it's a sooty like Industrial Revolution London, which is as it should be. I've seen some that are way too sunny. You know, they clearly filmed in Malibu or whatever. So. Yeah, I just think it gets a lot of that stuff right. And then it's got, you know, I mean, like Alec Guinness is Jacob of Marley and you know, Dame Edith Evans is the Ghost of Christmas Past. There's just a lot of just yummy Britishness in it. So. Yeah, that's, that's my go to. But there's so many great ones, like if you say Muppets or if you say Georgie Scott or Alistair Sim or, you know, Vanessa Williams. I'm not going to argue with you. Those are all true.
- [36:53]
B
Yeah.
- [36:53]
D
Personally, I'm a Muppets person, but now I want to watch this version because it sounds amazing.
- [36:59]
C
Oh, yeah, please do.
- [37:01]
D
So do you have any other favorite Christmas book to movie adaptations? I feel like there's probably a lot of. Of Christmas movies that we don't realize are adaptations from books.
- [37:10]
C
Yeah. I mean, well, you know, a Christmas Story obviously is an adaptation of various Jean Shepar, my personal favorite Christmas movie. Oh, nice, nice, nice. Yeah. And, and, and I mean, I think you, when you've got the actual author there narrating, I think that just lends it an immediate sense of like, well, I guess this is legit. You know, I, I think we're doing the thing here. Yeah. I mean, there aren't a ton of them or, or, I mean, like, you know, or the, the. The source material is so obscure. Like, I don't think a knew about the Greatest Gift by Philip Van Dor and Stern, although it does become the source material for It's a Wonderful Life.
- [37:44]
D
Yeah, I had no idea until you just said that that that was an adaptation. Wow.
- [37:50]
C
Yeah. But I mean, this is a story he could not get published anywhere. So he just put it in a Christmas card.
- [37:54]
A
Wow.
- [37:55]
C
And sent the Christmas card out and Frank Capper was like, I like this. Let's do something. Literally that's this, that's the story behind this. So yeah, that's kind of like the, the, you know, the, the, the, the South Park VHS of its day. You know, remember when before that show became a thing like there was that spirit of Christmas short film that was just duped and duped and duped and passed around and you know, that's what made those guys famous.
- [38:20]
D
That is wild to think about. So do you have any favorite Christmas books?
- [38:25]
C
I have a whole shelf.
- [38:29]
Christmas. A biography is really great. Just as far as like a, you know, just, just kind of a. Here's what you like. The history of Christmas trees or the history of mistletoe or whatever. And, and she really digs into actually more like this happened and then this was later became a custom of yada. You know, that's a really good one. There's a wonderful Janette Winterson compilation and I'm looking up the exact title. But it is a mix of.
- [38:58]
Sort of non fiction essays, like reminiscences about, you know, her childhood, about how she likes to make, you know, what goes in her mince pies, you know, that kind of thing. And then also these stories. It's called Christmas days. 12 stories and 12 feasts for 12 days. So yeah, it's sort of an advent calendar and it's a mix of 12 short fiction pieces and then 12 reminiscences. Somebody gave me that as a gift a few years ago and it's one that I just really love.
- [39:27]
B
Awesome.
- [39:28]
D
So before we wrap up, we like to normally like to ask our guests what their wheelhouses are for their.
- [39:33]
B
For reading.
- [39:34]
D
I would love to ask what your Christmas wheelhouse is. Like, do you have any tropes or story setups or just things in general that draw like will make you pick up a Christmas book or a Christmas movie or just the tropes that you particularly love?
- [39:50]
C
Well, yeah, I mean it depends. Like with fiction I tend to gravitate towards the queer ones just because there aren't a ton of them. But there are some, you know, and a lot of them written by the same person. Of course now their name is flown out of my head. But they, they, they wrote the. What is actually I think the first queer Harlequin romance and then have since gone on to do. I think it's like the holiday treasure. Hang on, I'm gonna look this person up. I want to give them their. Just do. Rowan Parrish has written several that I like the Lights on Knockbridge Lane, which I think was the first, first Queer Harlequin Romance or Queer Christmas One rather. And then. And has written a couple of other ones that I think are really entertaining in a Hallmark movie. I love a Fake Fiance. Okay, that's a good one. You know, where, where the, the, the person feels like they get, they, they were supposed to bring their, their betrothed, you know, home for Christmas. They have a breakup right beforehand, they find some other schmuck to fill in. Of course a actual fiance shows up at some point, you know, wackiness ensues. That's a, that's a pretty, that is.
- [40:57]
D
A really good Christmas trope.
- [41:00]
C
Yeah, I like that one a lot. And then for like, you know, movie movies, I think that, you know, when people get into the weeds about, oh, what makes this a Christmas movie? Why do we consider a Christmas movie? And again, there's no universal answer here. There's a lot of different ways, I think, to, to approach this, but I think the ones that we think of the most warmly and the ones that we often find the most satisfying are ones that have redemption arcs. I think that whether it's Scrooge, whether it's George Bailey, whether it's Kevin McAllister, you know, that certainly in those cases it's all like, oh, they don't understand what they've got and they're bitter about, you know, their circumstances, but then they get this glimpse, they get that look at what their life could have been otherwise. And then suddenly, oh, no, no. Okay, what I have is awesome. I'm going to appreciate that and it's going to like it all is going to tie into the magic of Christmas. But, and it doesn't have to be on that scale, but I think anything where the, the, the, the, the fact of Christmas itself makes people work toward being their best selves, makes them resolve this long standing beef with a family member or have the conversation that no one's had for 20 years that will resolve this thing that's been, you know, standing in the way of them. I think that's what we, we look to in Christmas fiction and maybe even in, in our Christmas reality. You know, we kind of hope that the season will, will have some kind of, you know, special sauce that's gonna like, you know, improve our lives and improve our relationships with, with our community or our family or whatever.
- [42:35]
D
Oh, that's beautiful.
- [42:36]
B
That's.
- [42:36]
D
I, I love a, a serious Christmas wheelhouse. And then the fake fiance is a great, great Christmas combo right there. I love it.
- [42:44]
C
I contain multitudes.
- [42:45]
D
So where can readers find you? And also where can readers find this new, new, updated version of the book?
- [42:51]
C
The book is out there in the world.
- [42:55]
Anecdotally, I think I've been hearing that it's been tougher to find at actual retailers, that you might be better off just going to your favorite online vendor.
- [43:04]
D
A lot of books are hard to find at regular retailers now.
- [43:08]
C
Yes. I don't feel like, you know, I don't think I'm being personally attacked here, but, you know, sometimes it does feel that way. So, yeah, I would say, like online is your best bet. Probably, you know, bug your local library, get them to get a copy if they haven't already. You can find me. I'm on blueskyderaldi. I'm Alonzo Deralde on Instagram, and I'm the easiest person on earth to Google, so have at it.
- [43:35]
D
Alonzo, thank you so much for coming back on the show. We love to have you on Always a treat.
- [43:44]
B
Now let's solve a bookish problem from one of our listeners. This is from Anonymous who says, hi, Brianne, Mallory. My wife and I are big fans of your show. I was hoping you might be able to recommend a gift for me. My wife has been beating her reading goals by a mile this year and I want to get her a gift about it. Great, husband. This is great. I thought of a personal library embosser, but she reads 95% digital library loans, so that feels very not personal. Do you have any suggestions for something in the family of celebrating your bookish wins for the digital reader? Bria, what do you think this person should get for their wife?
- [44:15]
A
I think digital reader accessory. We're both going to say that a nice sleeve would be really nice. But what I really like about this email is that you know your wife so well and that's so sweet to me that like maybe you do a personalized sticker for it or something. Like, I read xx number of books in 2025. Or like a little. A little counter or something that you're like, what's great about this gift. Yeah. Is that you take notice and you're encouraging her. And that to me feels like the important part of this gift. Finding a way to celebrate this win, I think is the important thing. So, yeah, you could, you could. I just finding like, yeah, like a little counter. That'd be fun. Like next year, like get her a little counter to like, like make count the books. That's like a really fun thing. Also, the other idea is that if you do not want to get, like, an E reader accessory or something, but maybe a book that she loved, like a nice display of.
- [45:07]
B
If there's a book.
- [45:07]
A
She kept talking about, like, get a nice book, like, physical book display somewhere, something to display. I'm saying display in a weird way. Display addition. That's what I mean. And display edition. So, like, you know, obviously I just talked about how much I loved that cake folk book. If someone got me that to put on display somewhere, like, that would be really cool because I want to know that.
- [45:24]
B
Nice plain dick on your shelf.
- [45:27]
A
Yeah, plain. That's exactly right. I mean, because the weird thing about being an E reader is that you've read all these books that you have this relationship with, but you don't own the books, or you own them, but you don't ever get to see them. And, like, being able to display some of those books might be fun. Like, you could get her top book of the year in, like, a really great. Like, if they have, like, a special edition or something. That could be a nice way to show how much you care about. But I just think this is such a sweet email.
- [45:50]
B
I love it. What.
- [45:51]
A
What do you think that this person should get for their wife?
- [45:52]
B
All right, I have some ideas, but it depends on how crafty this wife is. So I love seeing those little collections of, like, tidy paper versions of all the books you've read this year. Like, you.
- [46:01]
A
Oh, oh, yeah. Like those.
- [46:02]
B
They have kits for them on Etsy. And then you, like, basically you print out tiny versions of all the covers of all the books you've read, and then you glue them onto these tiny little paper books and you can put them in a jar or like some people put them in a glass ornament bulb for a Christmas tree. I just think it would be really cute to have, like, a physical version of all of her reading in one year. And you could be like, look at this bulb contains all of the books that I read. Again, this is only if she's a crafty person. Speaking as a not crafty person, if someone got this for me, I'd be like, oh, boy, I got a lot of shit to do. So if that does not work and she does not seem like something that would be fun for her, I definitely think a cool E reader gift, like a new case or maybe one of those page turner remotes or just, like, something that, like, Bria said, be like, hey, you're reading. You've been crushing your reading goals. I see how much you're. See how well you're doing. I'm really proud of you. Here's something special for your E reading that I think would make it more comfortable and fun for you. You know, could be one of those E reader stands or a book bean or just something to be like, hey, I see what you're doing. I'm proud of you. I love you. Significant other of the year.
- [47:09]
A
Very significant other of the year. For sure.
- [47:11]
B
I have these kids.
- [47:13]
A
I am looking up the kits and I'm adding them. Sorry, I'm adding them to our list. They also on Etsy there is this thing that says books read this year and it's a num and it's like a little personalized number thing that you can do.
- [47:24]
B
Oh, that's cute.
- [47:25]
A
Personal anxiety Bookshelf. This is so cute.
- [47:28]
B
Wow.
- [47:29]
A
These are really adorable. They have all sorts of. Etsy is a great place. I'm glad we moved our screen over there.
- [47:36]
B
Yes. All right, so if you want us to solve your reader problem, you can send it to reading glassespodcastmail.com as always, want to thank the wonderful mods who run our Discord server and our Facebook group. Remember, you can buy reading glasses, totes and sweatshirts and pillows and shirts and stickers and all kinds of fun stuff over at our Void Merch store. There's a link in the show notes and that you like the show. Folks, we're so close to 2,000 reviews on Apple podcasts. Please, please, please. We're also trying to get some on Spotify and the other podcatchers. So whatever podcatcher you use, please take a moment on the mobile app to rate and review us. It really makes a difference for the show and warms our hearts. You can email us@reading glassespodcastmail.com, find us on Instagram at Reading Glasses Podcast. Thanks for listening and thanks for reading.
- [48:14]
A
Thanks for Reading. Reading.
- [48:23]
B
Maximum Fun, a worker owned network of artist owned shows supported directly by you.