Ep 466 - Buying Dracula Himself - Is Reading for Rich People Now?

Summary

Reading Glasses Ep 466 - Buying Dracula Himself: Is Reading for Rich People Now? (June 11, 2026)

Episode Overview

In this episode, Brea Grant and Mallory O’Meara dive into the question: Is reading becoming a hobby for rich people? Sparked by Sarah Wendell's article at Smart Trashy Books about books and reading culture as luxury items, the hosts critique trends in “bookish aesthetics,” sky-high book/accessory prices, and elitism in literary culture. They also share practical strategies for keeping reading accessible for everyone and offer advice on new library tech frustrations. The episode keeps its trademark witty tone while unpacking the social, economic, and cultural sides of book life.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Current Reads and Wheelhouses (00:36–07:09)

• Mallory & Brea's Current Reads:

  • Wolfworm by T. Kingfisher: Atmospheric historical horror/Southern Gothic with a female scientific illustrator in 1899 North Carolina. Themes: “What happened to the person here before me?” and gross-out screw worm scenes.
    • “It is so spooky.” (Brea, 01:54)
    • “If you are someone who gets very squeamish—a lot of yucky moments in this book.” (Mallory, 02:08)
  • A Perfect Hand by Ayelet Waldman: Fast-paced historical fiction set in Regency England from a servant’s POV. Unique for showing the "nitty gritty" of non-wealthy historical life.
    • “The main character is not a lady. She’s a servant. So she kind of gets out of some of the, like, the social traps that plague a lot of characters in books from this era.” (Mallory, 04:36)

• Listener Feedback:

  • Roxanne shared success with the “give an author a second chance” challenge.
  • Iona recommended books for readers loving "aliens obsessed with human food" and shared their own cozy, folklore-inspired wheelhouse.

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Main Topic: Is Reading Becoming a Hobby for Rich People? (11:00–27:54)

1. The Luxury Aesthetic of Books

• Prompted by Sarah Wendell's “books as luxury items” article: High-end brands (Dior, Coach) making book-themed accessories, e.g., $3,600 Ulysses bags, $2,000 Dracula sweatshirts, $90 mini book “bag charms.”

• Quote: “It’s so extravagant to be like, I spent $90 on a tiny copy of a book that I could buy for $30, but now it’s clipped to my $2,000 coach bag. Like, that does feel... dystopian.” (Mallory, 13:42)

• Discussion on whether these buyers are genuine readers vs. adopting bookish style for the “aesthetic.”

• The myth of quality by price: “In my mind, the more expensive something is, the better quality it is. [But] this is just a regular fucking bracelet... This is like, in my mind, I was like, this bracelet costs hundreds and hundreds of dollars. It’s gonna last me forever. [But it didn’t.]” (Mallory, 14:27)

2. The Cost of Books

• Book prices have soared: Hardcovers up from $25 (2016) to $30–$40.
• Disappearance of mass-market paperbacks, leaving only pricier options.
• Special editions with sprayed edges and premium features add to the cost.
• “It does feel like we’re living in the Hunger Games. Like, it feels so dystopian to me.” (Mallory, 16:46)

3. The Bookish Influencer/Internet Aesthetic

• The social media “reading cottage” ideal: Accessorized reading nooks, gadgets, snacks, and endless décor.
• Quote: “To be considered like, oh, I’m a real reader, you know, I have all of these things and I do all of these things.” (Mallory, 20:18)
• Noted contrast between curated reading spaces online vs. hosts’ real habits (“reading in my ugliest clothes, on my unmade bed”—Brea, 17:59).

4. Time as a Luxury

• Having extensive time to read often signals economic privilege.
• Quote: “Time is a luxury... Having extra time, having free time is a luxury, and it’s important to acknowledge that, and obviously, a particular class has more of that time.” (Brea, 21:04)

5. Pushing Back Against the Elitization of Reading

• Fight for libraries and accessible reading.
• Don’t feel pressured to emulate expensive or elaborate reading cultures online.
• Actively embrace affordable, authentic reading experiences (library, used books, minimal accessories).
• Remember social content is curated; real reading doesn’t require a “book arm” or $2,000 sweatshirt.
• “Reading is not for rich people. Reading is for everybody.” (Brea, 23:25)
• “Put your time into actually reading and actually having a good time reading instead of, like, setting up a really aesthetic Instagram picture... Try to enjoy yourself. And remember, you don’t have to spend a bunch of money to enjoy yourself.” (Mallory, 27:46)

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Book Tech: The Libby Hold Suspension System Blues (32:10–36:47)

Chris’s Problem:

• Changes to the Libby app disrupted the “holds vortex” system, leading readers to slump (can no longer automatically cycle through books; now have to manage holds manually).

Hosts’ Solutions:

• Brea: Sets aside a specific time to curate reading choices, decides quickly whether to continue or “dump” a book.
• Mallory: Unsuspends a batch of top holds, reads whatever comes in first without overthinking the book type, focuses on reading or dumping quickly to keep things moving.
• Both hosts emphasize that adaptation and flexibility are key in the new system.

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Book Recommendation Request: Books Set in Connecticut (38:46–42:20)

Listener Jen asks for “Connecticut fiction recommendations” fitting their wheelhouse (urban fantasy, witty banter, nerdy pop culture references, MCs coming into power, animal companions).

Recommendations:

• Mallory: Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo (urban fantasy, secret societies, Yale, atmospheric Connecticut setting).
  • “Leigh Bardugo does a really good job of setting the book at Yale in Connecticut, and I think it’ll really, really hit.” (Mallory, 41:02)
• Brea: A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro (Sherlock Holmes retelling, female MC at a Connecticut boarding school).
  • “You can’t talk about Connecticut without talking about prep schools.” (Brea, 41:48)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “You could buy Dracula himself. You could rent Dracula.” (Mallory, 23:20) — on the absurdity of luxury prices.
• “It’s like pornographic but for money. Like, I’m just like, this one bath costs you $200.” (Mallory, 18:13)
• “...My bath, and then my pool guy comes over and cleans the bathtub.” (Brea, 19:12)
• “I don’t have the time to pluck the roses, to pick the roses, then pluck the petals... You think I have time to do that?” (Brea, 25:41)

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Important Timestamps

• 00:36–05:19: What are you reading segment (Wolfworm, A Perfect Hand)
• 11:00–27:54: Main discussion — Reading as a luxury/literary elitism
• 32:10–36:47: Libby app/Book tech hold suspension problem solving
• 38:46–42:20: Book recs for Connecticut settings

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Summary

Episode 466 critiques the increasing commercialization and elitism in reading culture—from $2,000 Dracula sweatshirts to curated bookish aesthetics filling up social media feeds. Mallory and Brea remind listeners that reading doesn’t require wealth or special accessories. They advocate for libraries, accessible books, and “reading in your ugliest clothes.” Whether navigating the new Libby android app or craving Connecticut-based stories, the episode returns again and again to the core idea: reading is for everyone, anytime, anywhere.

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For more recommendations, troubleshooting, and to connect with the community, listeners can email [e-mail] and join the Discord or Facebook groups.

Transcript

[A]

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 Graham, filmmaker and e reader. This episode, we're discussing whether or not reading is becoming a hobby for rich people. There's a whole article about this. We're gonna talk about it wild. Plus, we solve a book tech problem about the new Libby hold suspension system. Something that's plaguing me like it's plaguing our listene. And we recommend books set in Connecticut.

[A]

But first, Bria, what are you reading?

[B]

Well, you and I, we're both reading the same book. Or you just finished it.

[A]

I just finished it. It is funny when sometimes I get a book from the library and I'm like, I wonder if Bria and I are in line with each other. You know what I mean?

[B]

It's when we talked about on our recommendations or our anticipated books episode. It's Wolfworm by T. Kingfisher. Something we were both really looking forward to. It is set in North Carolina in 1899. It's about this young scientific illustrator who. Who goes to this town. Cause she's going to work for this doctor illustrating the insects that he's working on. So she did used to do plants with her father. And then at some point she's like, gets this job in this town and she doesn't know anyone, and she goes to this big spooky house in the middle of nowhere.

[A]

Yeah, very Southern Gothic.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then strange things start to happen in the woods around her. And she starts to wonder, who was the illustrator before her? Oh, it turns out it was his wife and she was living here and what happened to her? And there's a lot of questions. So it's like mystery meets Southern Gothic, I would say. Yeah.

[A]

In horror, it's like historical horror, Southern Gothic. Almost a thriller. Like, I do love a trope of getting a job or like getting a position. And you get there and you're like, what happened to the person here before me? And everyone just starts whistling and looking the other way.

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. We don't talk about that. Yes. And that's a really. That is very fun. And something that happens early in the book is she's talking to him. And his favorite insects are ones that live on dead things. I'm not done with the book yet, but I was like, ooh, that's so spooky.

[A]

It's real gross. If you are someone who gets very squeamish. A lot of yucky moments in this book.

[B]

I have read two books this year that involve. Are they called Screw Worms?

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Where they like. Yeah.

[A]

That's weird.

[B]

I've read two books. What's those?

[A]

What was the other screw worm book?

[B]

The sixth Nick has a major screw.

[A]

Big, big moment for screw worms.

[B]

I didn't. I thought. I honestly thought they were sci fi. And then they came up in this book and I was like, these aren't sci fi. And then I. And I guess they're not sci fi. I actually have not yet looked.

[A]

Keep your eyes peeled for Screw Worms.

[B]

Really scary. They seem so scary.

[A]

I keep wanting to say squoo worms School.

[B]

What are you reading besides Wild Wolfworm?

[A]

Wolf worm, Wooworm. I. I am reading a book that was one of my most anticipated and I was so correct in anticipating it because it's a fucking banger. So far it is a Perfect Hand by Ayelet Waldman. And this is a historical fiction book that takes place in. I think it's Regency and Regency England. And it's about this lady in waiting. She's like this lady's handmaid and she is like really working. She's from like a. A family. She's really trying to work. She's. It was supposed to be just like a regular serving maid, but through her moxie she was in like. She's also very beautiful and she's very graceful and she just like knows how to work the system. And she's worked her way up into being this like this lady's handmade. And the lady that she works for is like, kind of annoying. Like not the. Not the. Not the best lady in the world. And she has been unable to find a husband because of this. Even though she like, you know, comes from a good family, she's very beautiful. She's just like, has a shitty personality and like no one really wants to. To court her because of that. And then one day the main character crosses paths with the valet of this. This eligible bachelor and they fall in love with each other and they start trying to scheme to get the two people that they work for to fall in love with each other so they can be together. And it is so great. It was. It's one of those books that, like, there's something about it, like fast paced and compelling is not typically words that you ascribe to historical fiction just because there's so much setting up that you normally have to do. This book is like you just open it up and fall right into it like, the pacing is so great. I love the main character. I love this book because a lot of the stuff that frustrates me about Regency stuff doesn't apply because the main character is not a lady. She's. She's a servant. So she kind of gets out of some of the, like, the social traps that. That plague a lot of characters in books from that are set in this era. And it's just so great because a lot of the stuff that's romanticized in a lot of Regency books, this main character is like, oh, took off her corset and it stinks. I gotta find her a new one. Like, it's just the. You're really getting that, like, nitty gritty of what it is like to live in this era from someone who isn't rich, which I love. I didn't even. I didn't even put it together that I paired this book with this episode, but it's so fucking great. I really love it so far. So that is a perfect hand by Ayelet Waldman.

[B]

And mine is Wolf Farm by T Kingfisher.

[A]

So on day I wanted to share some listener feedback. Roxanne wrote in to say hi, Brianne Mallory re give an author a second chance. A couple years ago, I tried reading Whalefall by Daniel Krause. Even though I love horror, I couldn't finish it because of some doghouse items I didn't realize I had. Then I remembered Bria talking about angel down late last year. I read it in two sittings, rated it five stars, and it was my favorite book I've read this year so far. Thank you so much for creating this prompt for the challenge. It really helped me out. I'll be trying it again with more authors. This is it. This was the whole point of this part of the challenge. We love it. Love that. Because sometimes so great. Sometimes an author writes a book that is just not for you, but they have other stuff that is super, super, super your shit. I'm so happy for Roxanne.

[B]

Iona wrote in and said, hi, Brian Mallory. I've got some recs for the glasser who said their wheelhouse included aliens obsessed with human food.

[A]

That caused quite a bit of discourse. People were really. We're talking about this quite a bit in the. In the discord and in the slack. It was very, very.

[B]

That's so fun. Okay, here's the suggestions. Scales of Empire by Kylie Chan. A first contact story where space dragons and cat aliens become obsessed with potatoes. Potatoes are suddenly Earth's most valuable resource and are used in intergalactic treaties. That's very cute.

[A]

Love it.

[B]

Oh, Life from Uncommon Stars. A book I love. I didn't think about that. Aliens run a donut shop. They can recreate human recipes in their replicator, but they find they sell a lot more if they make them from scratch. A Closed and Common Orbit by becky chambers and AI's sake. Synthetic body can't taste. But every time she eats or drinks something, it triggers a sense of memory. So she enjoys exploring foods and finding a warm drink that's like stroking a cat or refreshing drink that is like stepping into the sea. That sounds so good. Okay, thank you so much for these. That is.

[A]

I'll put this list in the show notes because I'm sure people are going to want to check these out.

[B]

Do you want to read Ayanna's Wheelhouse?

[A]

I do. It is cozy, sci fi, ordinary job, extraordinary circumstances, blunt women, bakeries, Japanese, slightly surreal slice of life, household magic, local folklore, succinct clean prose, short literary fiction, almost any ghosts and autumn. This is a fun wheelhouse.

[B]

That is fun. Super fun. Bookmark for me. If you are in Chattanooga, Tennessee, I will be there with my movie Grind. We're playing next Thursday, the 18th, and I'll be there and so will some of the other filmmakers and come see me. I don't know what the deal is with the. With the tickets, but I'm sure there's a way to get them.

[A]

I'll put a link in the show notes.

[B]

We would love to see you there. And then if you next month, if you're in Korea, if you're in Seoul, South Korea, maybe you're there. I'll be there for that. I'll be there also supporting the movie. I don't have a specific date for that yet, but it's the first week of July. If, if you are there and you're looking to see a fun little horror movie, I would love to see some glassers.

[A]

So you can email us at reading glasses podcastmail.com if you want a list of all the books we talk about on the show delivered to your inbox every month, you can sign up for our newsletter. There's a link in the show notes. Before we talk about whether or not reading is becoming a hobby for rich people, we're going to take a quick. Reading Glasses is sponsored in part by our old pals over at Storyworth. Folks, Father's Day is coming up quick. It's really hard to get stuff for dads. What are you gonna get? A tie? A golf club that he already has. I'm kind of an uncle and I don't even know what to get for dads. I don't know what they like. Nails WD40 maybe if you're Hank Hill. Most Father's Day gifts, if we're being honest, end up in a drawer with doesn't. It gives your dad a year long experience and gives your family a book full of stories he'd probably never think to tell on his own. Dads are really busy. They're in the garage, they're doing stuff, they're tinkering away. They don't have a lot of time to tell you stories, but Story Worth will make it happen. Every week Story Worth will send him a question about his life and he can respond however he wants. He can write back over email, online via a voice recording or brand new this year, a guided phone call. There's no apps, there's no logins or tech hassle. You get each story as he tells it. And after a full year, Storyworth will compile everything, his words, his photos and his wonderful stories into a beautiful hardcover book and new, brand new this year. We've been sponsored by Storyworth for a long time and it's really exciting. They've got this new thing called unlimited plan. You buy it once and you can give Story Worth memoirs to friends and family all year long. Plus it comes with all their newest features and multiple full color book copies. Full color, multiple copies. Pretty sick. We love Storyworth. There's a reason why they've been a long time sponsor. And one thing that's really good about Story Worth is that you can do it last minute. Maybe you're listening to this and you're like, oh my God, Father's Day is this weekend. I still have no idea what to get them right now. Go to storyworth.com classes this year you can give your dad a gift that captures who he really is before the stories get harder to remember. Father's day is Sunday, June 21st. Order right now and save up to $20 at StoryWorth.com classes save up to $20 at storyworth.com glasses that's StoryWorth.com glasses glasses. Sunscreen companies calculate SPF by testing it on volunteers butts.

[B]

There is a can of Spam in the Mariana Trench.

[A]

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[B]

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[B]

Stuff about ordinary topics like sunscreen and

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Spam and speed bumps topics you'd never expect to be. The title of the podcast Secretly.

[B]

Incredibly fascinating. Find us by searching for the word

[A]

secretly in your podcast app [e-mail]. This week we're talking about books becoming luxury items and indicators of wealth. How did we get here? And most importantly, how do we push back on it? We're getting into it. Okay, so today's episode was inspired by an excellent piece over at Smart Trashy Books by Sarah Wendell, who is a friend of our other show, Reading Smut. I will link to the piece in the show notes, but Sarah wrote this whole thing about books becoming luxury items, and I immediately emailed it to Bria and I was like, this is such an interesting piece. We should really talk about it on the show because it's something that we've been noticing. So essentially, since we're all living in late stage capitalist hell, two things are happening. One, books themselves and like, the aesthetic of reading are becoming luxury items. In the piece, Sarah pulls examples of like these high end luxury brands making bookish accessories. But also books themselves are so expensive and there are so many special editions with sprayed edges and all that. Bria, did you look through some of these extremely fancy luxury book accessories?

[B]

I mean, so I looked through. I mean, obviously we see these special editions and this stuff that costs money like that are just books. But the thing that really shocked me was the high end accessories, like from Dior and stuff like that. I did not know about these. Dior has a line of items which just like the covers of like Ulysses or Dracula and they sell like, it's like a bag and it's like the COVID of Ulysses and it's like $3,600 or sweatshirt. That's like two grand. And as you know, I don't like to pay for clothes. So like, this is so shocking to me. Yeah, Coach has Char charms for like Sense and sensibility for like 90 bucks.

[A]

Yeah. And it's just like a tiny little bag charm, which. Can we say, can we. Can we talk about the. The rebranding of keychains into bag charms? That's really bugging me.

[B]

Oh, is that what that is? You put them on your purse and now they're bag charms instead of keychains?

[A]

Yeah, it just, it feels like it's trying to judge up a keychain, but it's just a tiny copy of Sense and Sensibility that you can actually read. That you can read. Yeah, it's like an actual copy of the book.

[B]

It just went up a Step for me. I thought it was, but for $90, well, they got to print that. Who's writing that? Writing so tiny. Oh, I love a miniature. You can't. You can't. Like, a miniature, honestly, is worth more money to me. I didn't realize you could read it.

[A]

Brie does love a tiny, tiny version of a thing.

[B]

I love a tiny version of something.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I always have, always will.

[A]

This, like, really, really. Like, it does seem so. It's just so extravagant to be like, I spent $90 on a tiny copy of a book that I could buy for $30, but now it's clipped to my $2,000 coach bag. Like, that does feel. It feels really dystopian.

[B]

Yeah, it. And also it's that thing of, like, these sweatshirts where, you know, it's $2,000 for a sweatshirt that says, like, Dracula on it. And I'm like, are the people buying this? Do they like Dracula? Like, I mean, it was like, it is like more of like a. An aesthetic of. Of like, bookish culture, but you aren't actually a part of it, I guess.

[A]

Yeah, it's like, it was like when people. When, like dark academia was like a aesthetic that people were into for a while and like, obviously wear as many thigh high socks and plaid skirts as you want. But it does feel like that, like, part. And I'm. I'm trying not to be gatekeepy, but part of my brain is like, do you even like to read? Like, you could do this for cheaper. It's also, stuff like this bothers me because I had a really. I had a big revelation a few years ago. I had a long time ago, like 10 years ago. A friend of mine got me a very extravagant gift, which I think they had just had and gave to me and re gifted. But it was an Alexander McQueen bracelet. It was like a leather bracelet. If you look at old pictures of me for book tour, I'm wearing it constantly. And I loved it so much. And I was like, wow, this is so expensive. It's Alexander McQueen. Surely it's going to last me forever. And then I remember, like, after a few years of wearing it, it just started to fall apart. And I. It was a really big moment because growing up poor, in my mind, the more expensive something it is, the better quality it is. And I was just like, oh, this is just a regular fucking bracelet. It has a brand name on it. This is like, in my mind, I was like, this bracelet costs this much, like, hundreds and hundreds of dollars. It's gonna last me forever. And it so like the idea of paying $2,000 for a Dracula swe. That's the same exact quality as like an out of print shirt that you get that says Dracula on it, which is a brand that you and I both own stuff from for $60. It's just like you could buy so many books with that, that $2,000. So many books. Like, so and then. But also like the books themselves are getting expensive. I went to, I went to go pull some older hardcovers for this episode and it really, like, I know, like, I, like, I know intellectually that everything's getting. But like, Jesus, I pulled a hardcover book that I bought in 2016 and it was 25 and now hardcovers are around 30. Some 35, sometimes almost 40 in just 10 years. Like, that's a dollar a year. It's getting so ridiculous. Like, and of course now mass market paperbacks are disappearing. So we're a lot of us. If you want a print copy of a book, you're, you're basic, you're forced to choose between trade paperbacks and hardcovers. And like, like, I get it. Publishers are trying to make their books stand out. They're trying to make customers want them. So they're doing all these things, all these special editions with sprayed edges and special, all this special shit on them. But it does feel like just this, like, it does feel like we're living in the Hunger Games. Like, it feels so dystopian to me.

[B]

Yeah. So in this piece, Sarah specifically is talking about the aesthetics of, of reading those millions of videos that people make where they have like little reading cottages or private libraries or like a ton of gadgets and drinks and snacks and accessories and stuff. And it feels like these reading sessions, in order to be a reader, quote unquote, you have to own all, all this, all this stuff to be like a proper reader on the Internet, to be like some sort of reading influencer.

[A]

Do you get served these, these videos? Because I obviously get them. My only. I haven't been on my own personal Instagram in so long, but the only Instagram I use is I post stuff on the reading smut Instagram. So I get so many of these.

[B]

Yeah, the reading glasses get some too. Me personally, I don't. I will say I, I do. When I see a little book nook set up or a little reading tent, I'm like, oh, I like that. Like, I enjoy, I do like looking at them. Yeah, I enjoy a homosex page in general on the Internet. I like looking at someone's Little cozy home. That's something I enjoy looking at. I don't think I'm. I'm reading in, like, my ugliest clothes, like, sitting on, you know, sitting on my unmade bed. Like, this is not something I'd be able to emulate. I don't feel the need to emulate it, but I do like the idea. I do like looking at it. But you're not online that much, so you're not even seeing a lot of that.

[A]

Yeah. I mean, again, it's really only when I go on the reading spot, Instagram, and it's the same thing. It feels like the same as when you see those videos where people are getting ready to take a bath and it takes them, like, two hours. They're, like, throwing rose petals in there and oils and lotions, and they're setting a candle and they're setting this little, like, tray across the bat. Like, they're doing so much stuff. It's like. It is, like, pornographic, but for money. Like, I'm just like, this. This one bath costs you $200. And then, like.

[B]

Yeah. You know, I don't think about the money aspect because I. I love an organizing video where someone's, like, going through and they're, like, putting everything into little Tupperware containers and stuff. And I don't feel the need to do it. I just sort of like to watch it. There is something about the organizing. And the bath thing is the same thing where I'm like, wow. And she put that in there. And she put that in there. I don't feel the need to fill my bath with a hundred rose petals. You know, every time I take a bath.

[A]

Clog up your drain.

[B]

Yeah. What are you doing with the rose petals if they're in the bath? Yeah.

[A]

I don't.

[B]

You're Just get them out with a skimmer after you're done. Like, what's happening?

[A]

It's like a pool cleaner.

[B]

Yeah. Like, the thing is, I do my bath, and then my pool guy comes over and cleans the bathtub.

[A]

Sexy situation. I feel bad for pool guys. They do get, like, do you think that there's just a pool guy who's like, everyone's so horny about me, and I hate it. But I guess, like, we. We test them out on the show. I do love a bookish accessory, but, like, the aesthetic of it is it does make me kind of stressed out, and it does feel overkill. Like, and it feels like, oh, I have to do all this shit just to read, because, like, you, I want to sit in dirty sweatpants with my water bottle. Like. Cause I do actually like setting up my reading area. But it's not, it's not that overkill. Like, I like a nice, I like a blanket, I like my cat. I like a little ambiance video on YouTube.

[B]

But like, well, what's nice about reading is you can do it anywhere and you can do it like I'm doing it on the middle seat of a plane, you know, like, and it's also fine, you know, like there's not, I don't need to, to be doing it. I mean, I feel like you are better about setting up that kind of stuff than I am. Like, I'm just like laying on the floor like, you know, passing the time.

[A]

Yeah, but I think you're right. It does feel like what Sarah says in the piece, it's like to be considered like, oh, I'm a real reader, you know, I have all of these things and I do all of these things. The, the final part of this is like, it feels like having time to read it all is an indicator of wealth. And that's sort of Sarah's point in the piece is that, oh, look at you. You can spend $2,000 on a Dracula sweatshirt and you have all this free time to sit around and read because like so many people are working multiple jobs, they can't afford childcare. Like having the time to read for a few hours a day feels like a L. Like. No, it does. That makes it feel especially yucky that like Dior is releasing two thousand dollar book cover sweatshirts. Like, so how do we push back on this? You and I are pretty good at not spending money on things.

[B]

Yeah. I mean, I just want to say time is a luxury like that. And we know that. And time, it's like one of the things that it's hard to measure but having extra time, having free time is a luxury and we, and it's important to acknowledge that. And obviously like a particular class has more of that time or I mean even like I, I feel like I'm very fortunate in that I get to like figure out how I want to use my time most days. But yeah, so I think when we're talking about like pushing back on this, we have to remember reading doesn't have to be pricey. You can go to the library and we should remain, keep fighting for libraries, keep fighting for that kind of thing to remain open. I think we also have to think about what we have time for again, because time is luxury and not feel guilt when you have a tough week, and that week is work focused. Or a week where you can't do anything but, like, veg out and watch Parks and Recreation on repeat. Like, that's all okay. Like, this is all okay. And I think there's these systems that work that make us feel bad for not having time, for not having money, for not having resources to build a little cottage in the back with all your cute little books and that. Listen, I want to look at that cottage, but I don't have the resources to do that. That. And it's. I don't think these things are required for a full and wonderful life. We. You don't have to have, you know, a book arm for your book and the remote thingy and the whatever. It's great if you want to do that. And, like, that's where you want to put your time and resources. But there's only so many hours in the day, and there's only so much money. And, like, if I am choosing, like, to set up something, I'm probably not going to do it most of the time. I'm going to lay on my couch in my sweats, you know, because even the five minutes to set up something, I'm like, no, I don't have the energy. And I think acknowledging that these people on the Internet, we're seeing their best moments, we're seeing their best lives, we're seeing the aesthetic that they have curated, and I've curated it for photos as well, where I'm like, here's a book in a cute place. Like, that's a curation. We all know that. That this is a curation, yet we somehow still fall for it. We always still fall for it.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I don't know what to do about those Dior sweatshirts. That shit's wild. Yeah, that's a. That's just a. That's wild to think about.

[A]

This one's paying. That's an entire year's worth of buying books.

[B]

Yeah. Yeah, that's buying. That's buying. Like, not just a Dracula sweatshirt. You're buying. Like, you could buy 200.

[A]

You could buy Dracula. You could buy Dracula himself. You can rent Dracula.

[B]

How do you feel people should push back against this? Because I think the theme of today's show is reading is not for rich people. Reading is for everybody.

[A]

Reading's for the people, baby. I mean, I think it's really. It's just about, like you said, not about feeling. It's about sidestepping that pressure. Like, it's. It's funny. It's it's, it's kind of what I say about the bookish candles and like I love an independent candle maker and I still spend money on candles but I used to spend a lot more money on themed candles and it. Because it feels really good to be like ooh, I'm. I'm reading Court of Mist and Fury and I'm lighting my cord of Alaris candle and like everything is so, is so aesthetic and perfect. But you could also just go to Target and spend $8 on a candle that like smells like nighttime or whatever the fck. Like if you want to achieve this stuff, there's ways to do it for cheaper. I actually spend a lot less money on books now. I mean I lean on the library really hard. I, I work really hard. Not because I used to just spend so much money on books. Which is the thing is if you're going to be spending money on something, not a bad thing to spend it on your Sporting authors sporting bookstores. Buying books is of all the capitalist activities. Buying books is pretty great. But I've worked really hard to, to curate my book buying. Like most of the time I'm pre ordering and buying books from authors that I already love. If I'm interested in a book from someone but I have never read anything by them and I don't know if I'm gonna like it. I asked the library to buy it for me. I do love a fancy edition, but I'm just not buying a lot of them. Like I think it's, I think it's good to get offline and remember you don't have to constantly be in a cycle of buying things and showing them off on the Internet because that's what a lot of these accounts are. And a lot of this like cycle is, is like oh, here's the hot new buzzy edition with sprayed edges and you got to pre order it and then you have to take a picture with it in your book nook with your special candle and your knee and your, and your socks and your Stanley cup with the little tray full of snacks and like you don't have to do that that you can get it from the library and read it in bed. When you're underpants. It's easy to when you feel when you're like looking at a lot of this stuff online all the time in the field, like you need to participate in it. But you could do pull a bria and just be like I like looking at this but I'm not gonna do it. I'm not putting I'm not. I'm not skimming 100 rose petals out of my. Out of my bathtub.

[B]

And I think I don't have the time. I don't have the time to pluck the roses, to pick the roses, then pluck the pet pedals off of them. You think I have time to do that? And then I'm putting them in the tub, and then I'm skimming the tub and putting all. Cutting all the pollen out of the tub. I don't know about that.

[A]

Oh, I actually, that is one of my. One of my hot bath bomb takes is that I think that legally, if you buy a bath bomb, it should be required to disclose if there's in it, because the amount of times I've gotten a bath bomb and it's full of petals, like, okay, I guess it looks nice in an Instagram photo. But then I'm like, without my. I'm naked, covered in lotion, no glasses on, trying to scoop out waterlogged petals from the bottom of my tub. Fuck off. I don't want that.

[B]

You should be up. It's like you, like, emerged from the woods or something. Yeah. You're covered in petals and leaves. Yeah. What am I, a swamp monster? I'm trying to take us pretty bath.

[A]

I feel like bath bombs should legally be forced to disclose whether or not there's a bunch of crap inside of.

[B]

You need to tell me whether or not it's gonna make my skin turn a weird color. Cuz sometimes I take a. I take. I do a bath bomb. I'm like, why? Like, why is my skin red now?

[A]

Like, it's weird. Or why is my tub a weird color?

[B]

Like, yeah, it's no good.

[A]

Yeah. I mean, I think what we're saying is ultimately, like, even though a lot of this stuff is aesthetically nice, there's a dark side to a lot of this stuff. And you just don't. Don't feel the pressure. Don't feel like, step out of that. That cycle of like, like getting something. And it's funny because it does kind of tie to that book that I was reading last week about the wardrobe project, about that cycle of, like, buying a new thing and being excited about it and showing it off and then not actually enjoying it. Like, put your time into actually reading and actually having a good time reading instead of, like, set. Because there definitely used to be times where I would set up a really aesthetic Instagram picture and then I would keep scrolling on Instagram, but I wouldn't even read. So don't do that. Like, try to enjoy yourself. And remember, you don't have to spend a bunch of money to enjoy yourself.

[B]

Yep, true.

[A]

You can just take a regular old bath with nothing in it.

[B]

You can. A regular bath is also good. And it's, like, good for you.

[A]

I do love it.

[B]

It's fine. It's.

[A]

I've been. I've been soaking the splinter in the bath.

[B]

Yes, folks, by the way, this is. We're recording batch episodes. Mallory has not. Hopefully has not had the splendor for an additional week. Hopefully since last episode when we talked about.

[A]

I am wondering if I'm going to get special wood powers.

[B]

Wow. All of a sudden, like, you're growing trees out of your fingers.

[A]

Or I can cause trees to grow.

[B]

Oh, that's better. Growing trees out your fingers would be not cool.

[A]

Well, I could shoot splinters out of my fingers. Like, there's someone trying to attack me. Pow, pow. Splinters. They don't shoot them. They just get lodged in their skin and it's really uncomfortable for them.

[B]

Yeah, you know exactly what that's like. That's what you're experiencing right now. Maybe someone shot this at your.

[A]

You. I'm splinter woman. Anyway, folks, you could tell we're really. We're getting off target. You can send your th to reading glasses podcast gmail.com. before we give advice on the new Libby hold system, we're going to take a quick break. Reading Glasses is sponsored in part this week by Aura Frames. Folks, Father's Day is almost here, and dads are pretty notoriously the hardest type of person to shop for. You know what dad's like. Dads like tech stuff. Dads like stuff that looks really, really cool, especially stuff that actually is pretty easy to use. And Aura Frames has got you covered. It's sort of like if there was a picture frame and a fantasy novel that was imbued with magic, but it's in real life. You preload as many photos and videos onto it as you want, and you can keep adding to it from anywhere, anytime. So you can add photos to your dad's frame from your house, even if your dad lives on the other side of the world. It is so perfect for gift. It comes packaged in a really fancy gift box, and you can add a message to it before it arrives. Also, the app for it reached number one on the App Store on Christmas Day in 2025. That means a lot of folks have these and a lot of folks are happy with them. Named number one by wire cutter, you can save now by visiting or frames.com for a limited time, listeners can get $35 off their bestselling Carver Matte Frame with Code glasses. That's a frames.com promo. Code glasses. Support the show by mentioning us at checkout. Terms and conditions apply. Glasses. If you like too many podcasts, you'll love Sound Heap with John Luke Roberts.

[B]

It's got clips from all your favourite

[A]

podcasts, such as Diary of a Tiny CEO Leonard Sprague. Tell me how you make your money. I go to the beach and I steal people's towels. Remember armor? Do you remember the trend of everyone whacking themselves on the head with hammers and mallets when they wanted to lose weight? And Eltie Jom's lobby songs? I'm here today with Kiki D. Hello

[B]

Kiki D. Hello Elton.

[A]

There's dozens of episodes to catch up on and brand new episodes going out right now. So if you want far, far, far too many podcasts, then look for sound on Maximum Fun BO. Foreign. Technology this week we're solving a book tech problem from Chris who says Dear Brian Mallory, I'm writing for advice about a massive book slump due to the changes in Libby's hold system. In the old system, I would throw interesting books into the time vortex, AKA my holds list, and then receive a steady stream of books without having to choose what to read next next. If a book arrived that I wasn't ready for, I would throw it back into the vortex for a few weeks, months. It also pushed me to read books that I would otherwise procrastinate on because if it was the only book available, I'd give it a shot. The new hold system has totally wrecked my flow. I've gone from reading six to eight books a month to nearly zero. Almost all of my holds are suspended and the process of manually selecting my next book from all the options is overwhelming and frustrating. I want my book vortex back, but I really want my reading life back. I'm wondering if you or the listeners have cultivated any advice for how to deal with this over the past few months. Thank you for the warm and this was a y' all one, but I'm gonna say you because I feel like that's cultural appropriation for me. Thank you for the warm and supportive community you are creating here.

[B]

I think this is wild that you care about the y' all thing. It just feels you can say anything. You. You can. You hang out with a lot of yers, you know, like, and when someone says stuff around you to a certain point you start saying it too.

[A]

No, but y' all this. Doesn't it just.

[B]

I say cowabunga and hang 10 because I live in California now.

[A]

Yeah, yeah. Bria's on a surfboard right now. She's wearing a Hawaiian shirt.

[B]

You have permission for me to say y'?

[A]

All? I just feels weird. Anyway. Bria, what are you. Are you. You're also in the same boat as. As Chris.

[B]

I am having the same trouble, and I miss my vortex. And, Chris, I don't know what to do about this. This sucks. I find I either have, like, a shit ton of books or I have zero books, and I'm not doing a good job of figuring that out. So what I've had to do, what's worked for me, is because. Because I used to do the same thing, and. And I. Using the word. Like, I would just throw things on there, and that is what I would do. And then I suspend, and they come back up, and I'm like, oh, okay. You know, they kind of, like, made decisions for me. And I think this is for those of us who have trouble making decisions sometimes. That was really helpful. What I've had to do is I set aside a specific time to curate my reading experience. I don't know why I'm mad about it, but I am mad about it. So basically, like, on a Monday, I look through what I have on hold, what is suspended, and I try to do some mental math, and then I just make those decisions. So I just set a time aside, a time to, like, make a decision about what I'm about to read. That's kind of fun. He is kind of fun. But I'm trying to be quicker about deciding what to dump earlier, too. Like, I think that's helping, because some of these books, I'm like, I'm just gonna try it, you know, like, instead of it making the decision for me, I'm like, I'm just gonna try this right now. And then I try it, and then I dump it quickly if it doesn't feel right. So I miss the vortex also, but it's not coming back. So we're gonna have to adjust our.

[A]

I know we're all here. We gotta pull ourselves up by our. Our.

[B]

Our.

[A]

Our bookmarks and. And figure this out.

[B]

What do you. What do you. What. What is your suggestion for Chris?

[A]

I have developed a kind of modified version of it. So what I will do, I unsuspend a batch of them, like, the top four or five, and whatever comes in first, I read in that order. Like, I'm not like, boom. If too many Come in at once. I'll suspend a couple. Again, I don't focus on what the whole. On what the book is itself or what type of book it is, is, or I get overwhelmed. I just focus on. I'm like, all right, I've either read or dumped these three, and I'm gonna unsuspend the next four. And as they come in, I read them. And like, that, that kind of satisfies that, like, that random, like a book is being, being served to me out of the vortex feeling. Does that make sense?

[B]

I think that. Yeah, I think that's good. I think that's right. I mean, it's just taking some adjusting on our. It means we're having to be a little bit more choosy about what we're getting.

[A]

Well, that's why I don't look at what the book is. It's literally just like, top three books that have come in. Cool. I'll unsuspend these. And like, normally, honestly, normally what I do is I'll put a book on hold when it comes in, I suspend it. And then after a while, like, right now I have, like, I have a big chunk of suspended holds. And as soon as I make it through this bat, I have three books checked out from the library right now. As soon as I make it through those, I'll just unsuspend the next chunk. And whatever comes in, comes in. And I, like, I try to. Because what trips me up is I look to. If I'm looking too hard at what the book is, if I'm like, oh, this is three horror books, or this is three whatever. Like, I don't look at that. I'm just like, oh, you're doing so

[B]

you're just doing exactly what it used to do for us.

[A]

Yes. Yeah.

[B]

There's no, there's no rhyme or reason to it. Yeah. And I'm doing, like a curation thing.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Interesting, Interesting. I like that.

[A]

And that's. It's honestly, really, really helping me. And Because I, I, I stumbled with it too. Because then you're like, a book comes in and you're like, well, what if I don't want to read this right now? And you were like, I was really getting tripped up on what I wanted to read. And with this, I'm just like, nope. I just. Whatever. Whatever comes in, comes in. And if, if I'll, I'll pick it and. But I'm doing the same thing that you are, where I'm trying to really be like, am I into this? And I'll Read a chapter and then dump it. It. Yeah.

[B]

Yeah. Okay, listen, these are two different strategies. I think two strategies here. But I think the key is to get through those books a little bit faster. That seems like the big thing. Because we're. Because otherwise you're going to end up with all the suspended ones. I'll end up with so many suspended ones. That's what was happening to me.

[A]

Oh, See, I don't mind that because then I just do them in the. Because the thing about unsuspending a book, you are getting. Getting it pretty quick.

[B]

You are.

[A]

Yeah. Which is nice. So I just. Yeah, I'll do three or four at a time and then I'll just get a chunk. It feels like every single week I will do another chunk and then get like three or four books and I'll normally dump probably at least one of them and I'll. I'll like at least one. And it's. Honestly, it's been feeling really good, but it took me a while to. I just had to like radically stop caring about what the books were. Just look at them as like a list of stuff to get through. And it's been great. Right. So. But I know that there's a lot of glassers that are struggling with this. Let us know what your methods have been. Let us know what your coping mechan coping mechanisms are. What, what new methods you are trying to get through this. Send them to reading glasses podcastmail.com or if you've got other book tech problems you want us to solve. Now let's enter a recommendation request from one of our listeners. Remember, our members get to cut the line on this. We started doing members only book recommendation episodes and that's how you get it answered in a time manner. You're getting it answered within a month or two instead of a year or two. If you want to become one of those members, all you have to do is go to the link in the show notes maximumfun.org join to sign up to support reading glasses. You get this at any level, five bucks a month. And then all you got to do is email us that proof of membership. We'll send you your discord invite. But if you want a recommendation request, you just say hey, member recommendation request in the subject line of the email and let us know and we'll put put you in one of those special episodes and you get to cut the 293 page queue. Jen wrote in to say hello to my favorite bookish podcast. Longtime listener and subscriber, first time emailer As I progressed through my reading last year, I noticed a strange coincidence popping up. I'm a resident of the questionably New England state of Connecticut for a few years now, and so is it not New England? It is, but the thing about Connecticut is that it's touching New York too much, so it has too much New York flavor. We really have Connecticut there just so we don't have to touch New York York too much. It is. It is absorbed, because. And also, there's so many rich New York people that live in Connecticut.

[B]

Oh, okay.

[A]

So it is. It's kind of like our buffer state.

[B]

Got it. Okay.

[A]

Jen wrote in to say suddenly. In several books I read the past year, Connecticut just kept coming up. I wasn't picking books deliberately said in Connecticut, and many of them merely just mentioned the state or a town in the state at some point in the story. Out of the 45 books I read, Connecticut came up in at least six. Two books completely set in the state, unbeknownst to me when I picked them up. Slue Foot and the Grimoire Grammar School Parent Teacher Association. Anyway, I thought I'd go with the flow since it feels like the universe is trying to tell me something. If anyone has Connecticut fiction recommendations, I'm ready for them. You want to read Jen's Wheelhouse?

[B]

Yeah. It is urban fantasy, witty banner nerdy pop culture references that don't feel forced, main characters discovering and coming into their power, and cute animal companions. Also, I just finished the year, coincidentally reading three consecutive books with Communicating Cats, Dungeon Crawler Carl, the Village Library, Demon Hunting Society, and Starter Villain. Wow. I will also accept Talking Cat Rex, which is very funny. What do you have for Jen, by the way? Mallory was like, we should talk about these two books. And I was like, those are good. Those are good choices.

[A]

Well, these are books that pretty prominently feature Connecticut, and they're both books that we like. I'm gonna recommend Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo, which we've talked about quite a bit on the show, but not recently. This is a book that takes place fully in Connecticut at Yale. It's about this young woman. I think she's 20. She's like a.

[B]

Her.

[A]

Her life is very messed up. She's a high school dropout. She's a trauma survivor. And while she's in the hospital recovering from this thing that has happened to her, she gets a surprise visit that someone is. This sort of mysterious organization is offering her a full ride to Yale. But in exchange, she has to monitor this cult activity, this sort of secret society that operates at Yale and report back to this organization that is. That is offering her the free ride. And even though she's very skeptical, she's very smart and really wants to go to Yale, so she accepts. And like, there's this guy that she's. That she's kind of falling for and there's like all this weird cult, like, secret society activity that she's monitoring. It's really, really good. It's very evocative. And Leigh Bardugo does a really good job of. Of setting the book at Yale in Connecticut, and I think it'll really, really hit. What's your recommendation, Bria?

[B]

I'm going with the Study in Charlotte, which is one you said we should do by Brittany Cavallaro, which I think you're totally right. It's all set at a boarding school. It's a retelling of Sherlock Holmes, but it's a young female Sherlock Holmes home from the point of view of a young. So it's like the great granddaughter, great, great great granddaughter, some great granddaughter of Sherlock Holmes and then the great grand, great, great grandson of Watson. And obviously there's like they. It's kind of like rivals slash, friends slash. Is he in love with her? But then basically one student dies and they have to work together and figure out what's going on. So it's like a mystery. It's pretty dark. All set in a boarding school. Very Connecticut, I think you can't talk about Connecticut without talking about prep schools.

[A]

Connecticut is mostly prep schools and.

[B]

Right.

[A]

That's what I think of Ivy League colleges.

[B]

Yeah, that's definitely what I'm thinking of. But yeah, those are both great. I think those are. Both would be fun. I wonder. I want to know what Connecticut books that this person read.

[A]

Yeah, I am. And I. I feel bad. I should. I love. I mean, I have to love Connecticut because it is part of my beloved New England, but it is just. It's so full of rich New Yorkers that it's like. It is like. It's our, like, line of sandbags against New York. So anyway, I'm recommending Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo.

[B]

And I'm recommending A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallara.

[A]

If you want us to answer your recommendation request, 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. I just want to also shout out. We got so many new members during the drive and a big influx of members on our Discord Channel. And our mods are just so great. They're so wonderful. I appreciate the work that you do every day. Thanks so much. And remember, you can buy Reading Glasses Merch in our Void Merch Store. There's totes and bags and shirts and sweatshirts and stickers. Check it out. There's a link in the show notes. And if you like the show and want to do something really nice for us that's totally free, rate and review us on the podcast listening app of your choice. It's so great for us and helps us reach more readers. You can email us at reading glasses podcast gmail.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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