Reading Glasses – Ep 446: Should You Lie in Your Book Journal?

Hosts: Brea Grant & Mallory O’Meara
Date: January 22, 2026

Episode Overview

This spicy episode dives into the ethics and practicality of lying in your book tracker or reading journal. Brea and Mallory debate whether fudging the truth about your reading—like marking a book as read when you haven't finished it—is a harmless brain hack or a literary misdeed. The hosts also test a handcrafted wooden book stand and recommend books with complex political systems. Listener feedback and quirky bookish confessions abound in this lively, introspective discussion for every kind of reader.

What the Hosts Are Reading

[00:39]

• Brea: "I'm double-timing—reading and listening to Nosferatu by Joe Hill for my book club. It's a thick boy, almost 700 pages. I watched the show but never read the book, so I'm excited we're doing it. The protagonist has a gift for finding things and there's a creepy Rolls Royce with a 'NOS4A2' plate taking kids to a place called Christmasland."

  • Mallory: “This book is never talked about when we talk about Christmas horror, and it really should be.” [02:13]

• Mallory: "I texted you about 'If You’re Seeing This, It’s Meant for You' by Leigh Stein. It's a gothic thriller set in LA, with two storylines: one about a photographer invited to live in a declining architectural landmark converted into a hype house for influencers; the other about a fan investigating a missing tarot influencer."

  • "This got me out of kind of a slump... This was a book that I was like, do I need to do anything else today? Because I just want to read this book." [04:55]

Listener Feedback & Hot Book Tips

[05:30]

• Megan: Submitted a tip for Libby app users—create a widget that displays your current book and its cover art, even for print readers, by opening a sample in the app.

  • Brea: “This is hot, hot, hot. Book tip in the morning.” [06:16]

• Priscilla: Used a family tamale-cooking tradition to fulfill a “two-person book club” Reading Glasses challenge, listening to 'Hidden Valley Road' with her sister during marathon cooking sessions.

  • Brea: “That is so cute... I love that you read that book. I read that book too. Honestly, I would like to have read that with my family because it's such a wild book.” [07:54]

  • Priscilla's wheelhouse includes: non-fiction that reads like fiction, disability memoirs, pop science, Japanese-translated fiction, cookbooks that make her cry, food histories, queer romance, neurodivergent characters, and the ‘yandere’ character archetype.

    • Brea explaining: “‘Yandere’... who starts sweet and loving, but whose affection becomes dangerously obsessive...” [08:28]

Main Segment: Should You Lie in Your Book Tracker?

The Listener's Dilemma

[10:47]

• Anonymous Glasser writes in: If they get 20% into a book and decide it’s not for them, they look up a plot summary and mark it as “read” on Goodreads/Storygraph—pretending they've finished, for the sake of completion.

  • “Is this a book sin?”

Brea & Mallory Weigh In

• Brea: “I think this is great because what this person has done is hacked their own brain. There’s no Goodreads police. No one shows up at the door and asks, ‘Did you really read that book?’” [12:08]

• Mallory: “Marking it as read when you haven’t finished isn’t great, but it’s a mid-level sin. It would be worse if you were reviewing and rating the book too.” [13:51]

• Brea's Confession: She once ‘cheated’ on her 10,000 steps a day challenge, moving her arm to meet the goal: “Am I a liar? Yes. But did I finish it? Did I keep going? … It’s a hack for your brain.” [13:09]

• Mallory: “If this solution helps you dump books, I get that. But you might not remember years from now that you DNF’d. Are you counting that toward your end-of-year total? If you look back and see 150 books, but you didn’t finish 20, it throws off your assessment of your reading life.” [17:27]

• Mallory's Confession: She once skipped unpleasant exercise sets in her powerlifting journal: “The problem was it harmed me in the long run because I wasn’t getting as strong and my coach was making decisions based off those numbers.” [18:08]

Pros & Cons

• Brea: "Reading isn't about the system, it's about yourself. The obvious con is you have to come clean to people when they think you read something you didn’t." [15:04]
• Mallory: “If you’re posting it publicly, someone might want to talk about a book you didn’t finish. Plus, your reading stats and goals won’t be accurate.” [17:27]
• Brea: “You did do some work—tried a book, didn’t like it, and didn’t finish it. That’s still some work!” [19:39]

Alternative Solutions

[18:57]

• Track pages rather than books if you want measurable progress.

• Use DNF (“Did Not Finish”) features on tracking sites.

  • Mallory: “What if this reader was like, ‘I want to DNF 20 books this year’?”
  • Brea: “That’s interesting...you’re checking a box for yourself but not completely lying.”

• Only mark books as finished after actually finishing them.

  • Mallory: “Maybe it might just be as simple as waiting... That’s why it’s so easy for me to dump things—nobody knows.” [20:29]

• Make book tracking private so you can track however you want without social pressure. [22:51]

• Mostly: Do what serves your personal reading life. If marking unfinished books helps you move on and read more of what you love, who cares?

  • Brea: “Whatever you need to do to move on to read something you actually like.” [22:00]
  • Mallory: “We’re not going to tell anybody. Actually, we’re telling everybody, but not your name!” [21:09]

Notable Moment

• Mallory: “Reading isn’t about the system. Reading is about you. Someone should embroider that.” [16:05]

Book Tech Review: Wooden Book Stand

[24:39]

Recently tested: a handcrafted, triangular wooden book stand with a mug holder (approx. $40 on Etsy).

• Brea: “Very cute. I don’t think I would personally ever use it, but it feels really nice and handmade—a great gift.”
• Mallory: “I love being able to put my book right down next to me and keep my drink inches away... It’s very classy looking... I’ll be using it for myself.”
  • “[...] you don’t have to use a bookmark. You just put it right down on the stand.”
• Pricey but sturdy and beautiful; both hosts give it 4/5 pages.

Book Recommendation Request: Complex Political Systems

[29:18]
Listener Kenny’s Request: Books with complex/interesting political systems (like The Goblin Emperor or Ancillary Justice). Likes: political intrigue, queer sword-wielding ladies, meaningful smut, asexual characters, magic, etc.

Recommendations

• Brea: Infomocracy by Malka Older – A sci-fi thriller set in a world of micro-democracies, each with different laws and leadership, providing lots of intricate political machinations.

  • “It’s so different from anything I’ve ever read and is intriguing, kind of thrillery, and really fun.” [31:03]

• Mallory: A Winter’s Promise by Christelle Dabos, tr. Hildegarde Serle – Fantasy about a world split into floating ‘arcs,’ each ruled by different political families with their own laws and magic. Features a quietly strong protagonist thrust into an elaborate political (and magical) world.

  • “Complex magic system, complex political system... It also ticks off atypical heroes choosing responsibility over love, authors that trust the reader... I think Kenny’s gonna love it.” [32:53]

Memorable Quotes

• "No one is coming, and they're like: 'Did you really read that book?'" – Brea [12:30]
• "Reading isn’t about the system. Reading is about you." – Mallory [16:05]
• “We live in hell anyways. We might as well be sinning.” – Mallory [21:55]
• “Just don’t lie to me to my face. I don’t like that.” – Brea [22:08]

Timestamps for Key Segments

• What Are You Reading? – [00:39]
• Hot Book Tips & Listener Feedback – [05:30]
• Core Discussion: Lying in Your Book Journal – [10:47]
• Debate & Solutions – [12:08], [15:01], [17:27], [18:57], [20:07], [22:51]
• Book Tech Review: Wooden Book Stand – [24:39]
• Book Recommendations: Complex Political Systems – [29:18]

Closing Thoughts

Ultimately, Mallory and Brea agree: your reading life is yours to shape. Whether you want to bend the truth in your book journal, track your DNFs, or make your reading log private, the important thing is to read what you love, track it however suits your brain, and keep having fun. Just don’t get caught in an awkward convo about a book you didn’t finish!

Contact & Community:

• Send recommendations or thoughts to readingglassespodcast@gmail.com
• Join their newsletter for book lists
• Connect via Discord and Facebook (links in show notes)