Ep 470 - Hotel/Motel Books & Library Thieves

Summary

Detailed Summary: Reading Glasses Ep 470 – Hotel/Motel Books & Library Thieves (July 9, 2026)

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Episode Theme & Purpose

In this episode, Brea Grant and Mallory O'Meara tackle a new prompt on their 2026 Reading Glasses Challenge: Read a Book Set in a Hotel or Motel. They explain what makes hotels so appealing as book settings, discuss their picks for this prompt, and review the viral "purse bookmark" from bookish social media. The episode closes with an ethical debate: is it ever okay to "lose" (aka steal) a signed book from the library?

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What Are We Reading?

(00:46–03:37)

Brea’s Pick:

• Strange Bedfellows by Amanda Morelock
  • Recommended for fans of quirky, fantastical premises—about a young woman who is sometimes a cat and her romance with a boy who turns out to be a witch.
  • “It’s so cute. I love reading about this girl being a cat, and then she, like, leaves the house… and transforms into a girl and goes to school. It’s so adorable.” (01:14, Bria)
  • “It is definitely, I think, smutty. And Amanda is a fantastic writer… I’m excited to keep going…” (01:44, Bria)

Mallory’s Pick:

• The Girl with a Thousand Faces by Sunya Dean
  • Dark, fantasy-laced-with-horror—about a middle-aged ghost talker in Hong Kong who negotiates with spirits and is forced to confront her own secrets.
  • “She works as a ghost talker. So she’s not an exorcist, but she can talk to ghosts… She also has a ghost cat that helps her out, which is absolutely amazing.” (02:20, Mallory)
  • “If the Library of the Dead series left a hole in your heart like it did for mine… This kind of has the same flavor.” (03:31, Mallory)

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Listener Feedback: Bookish Games & Tech

(03:44–06:09)

• Librarian Tidy Up the Arcane Library (video game for Steam)

  • Carrie recommends this cozy digital library organizer.
  • “It’s literally just organizing tons of books about magic.” (05:19, Carrie to Mallory)
  • Mallory mourns her inability to play it easily due to using a discontinued desktop Chromebook (“I work off a Chromebook. And it is the biggest banger’s existence.” 04:22, Mallory)

• Kobo Integrating Storygraph

  • Helen writes in noting the integration is big news for ebook lovers.
  • “This is big news in the Glasser community and very bad for me because I’m not using Storygraph this year.” (05:40, Mallory)

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Comic Con Announcement

(06:53–07:22)

• Bria announces she's contributing to a new RPG book and will be playing it live at Comic Con.

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Challenge Segment: Reading Hotel/Motel Books

(09:16–19:46)

Why This Prompt?

• The main location of the book must be a hotel or motel (can be any genre, even nonfiction).
• Chosen because hotel books are fun, escapist, and offer narrative potential and quirky settings/characters.
  • “It’s specific, but it also encompasses many different types of books… I think this could be fun.” (10:47, Bria)
  • “I love when we put stuff on the challenge just because we’re like, this seems awesome.” (11:16, Mallory)

Why Readers Love Hotels/Motels in Fiction

(11:27–15:45)

• Brea: “Books are about escapism. And what is more escapist than a hotel?... I love a hotel. I love a random room… What a great experience.” (11:27)
• Mallory: “It’s a great excuse for a quirky cast of characters… It’s sort of automatic narrative intrigue because you meet a character in a hotel, you [ask] why are they there? Where are they going?” (13:09)
• Both agree hotels strip away ordinary routines, allowing odd behaviors and providing built-in intrigue or creepiness (“There’s something creepy and anonymous about it, you know?” 15:11, Bria)

Hosts’ Personal Hotel/Motel Habits

• Brea: Unpacks everything, loves HGTV and Animal Planet (never watched at home), becomes a “different person.”
• Mallory: Never unpacks, becomes “a little messy goblin,” always uses “do not disturb” sign—enjoys the change from her highly organized home life.

Book Picks for the Challenge

(15:52–19:46)

Brea:

• Magic and Mischief at the Wayside Hotel by Elizabeth Everett
  • Romantasy/sci-fi with magical creatures, a “world travel hub” hotel, and cozy vibes.
  • “This feels like a good one for me.” (16:51, Bria)

Mallory:

• The Sundown Motel by Simone St. James
  • “Dark secrets inside a motel. Hell yeah.” (17:41, Mallory)
  • Two timelines, a mystery, plenty of buzz, “perfect excuse” to finally read it.
  • Mallory recounts her recent solo road trip, referencing real-life stays in creepy motels.

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Book Tech: Reviewing the Viral Purse Bookmark

(21:22–27:49)

What is it?

• A special bookmark with holes for a strap, transforming any book into a faux-purse for carrying and marking your spot.
• Original invented by Corinne Marie (“I put a link in the show notes to her shop.” 22:09, Mallory)

Hosts' Thoughts

• Brea: “I think it’s mostly for cuteness factor, though. I think this is 99% just TikTok.” (23:11)
• Mallory: “It is very cute. But then what? I’m carrying two fucking purses? No, thank you.” (23:41)
• Both agree that for those who don’t carry purses (or have small bags) it might be practical, but mostly for aesthetics or Instagram.

Notable Moment:

• Mallory: “Without that [extra pocket], I’m not a child during the Great Depression. I’m not carrying my book with a strap.” (24:44–24:54)

Book Tech Rating:

• Both rate the basic version as 2 out of 5 pages (“Very cute… but sort of pointless except for Instagram photos.” 23:41, Mallory)
• Revise to 5 out of 5 only if using the new version that combines a book cover and card pocket.

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Bookish Debate: Should You Steal a Signed Library Book?

(27:52–34:14)

Listener Dilemma from Jen:

• Jen found an author-signed book at the library and wonders if it’s ethical to “lose” the book to keep the signed copy.
  • “Can I really lie to the library? I am not the type of person who loses books… but I want to keep it!” (28:41, summarized)

Hosts’ Responses:

Bria’s Take:

• Advise not to steal; instead call the library, explain the situation, and ask if it’s possible to purchase the book.
  • “I would go the honest route here… You’d be surprised how people will work with you.” (29:53)
  • “Obviously, Jen already turned the book in, but this is for anyone else…call and talk to them!” (30:08)

Mallory’s Take:

• Shares the idea of requesting dibs for when the book is retired from circulation.
  • “What happens when that book is at the end of its library life cycle and they need to replace it anyway?... Hook a up.” (32:20)
  • “There’s ways you could get this book ethically…” (33:14)

Notable Quotes:

• Bria: “I could never bring myself to steal from the library… I understand why Jen is interested in the book. I also understand why Jen doesn’t want them to think that she lost a book.” (30:01)
• Mallory: “This is a real crossroads for Jen. Soon Jen is going to be stealing other things. Yeah, this is really wild.” (31:14)

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Memorable Moments & Quotes

• On hotel behavior:

  • “There’s a freedom to it.” (19:43, Bria)
  • “Being the person you are in a hotel really tells you something deep about your soul.” (19:46, Mallory)

• On the viral purse bookmark:

  • “I remember we did the strap… this is cool. What do we use it for? Like, we don’t need to put a book on a leash.” (24:54, Bria)
  • “You never know. The glassers are surprising… We could get a wave of glasses who are like, steal from the library. Do crime.” (32:42, Mallory)

• On signed books and morality:

  • “It is so funny to… not care about descending into a life of crime, but to be like, I don’t want the librarians to think that I’m the kind of person who loses a book. That is the most glassy dilemma of all time…" (34:14, Mallory)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:46 – Currently Reading Picks
• 03:44 – Listener Feedback: Games + Kobo/Storygraph Integration
• 06:53 – Comic Con Preview
• 09:16 – Why Read Hotel/Motel Books? Challenge Explanation
• 15:52 – Picks for Hotel/Motel Book Challenge
• 21:22 – Book Tech: Purse Bookmark Test & Review
• 27:52 – Listener Dilemma: Stealing a Signed Library Book

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Episode Tone & Language

Both Brea and Mallory maintain their signature blend of lighthearted, bantering humor with practical, reader-centric advice. The conversation is candid, friendly, and peppered with pop culture references, personal anecdotes, and a supportive stance for all levels and types of readers.

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For more details or to contribute your own advice or bookish dilemma, email the hosts at [e-mail].

Transcript

[Unknown Announcer]

Foreign.

[Mallory O'Meara]

You're listening to Reading Glasses show about book culture and literary life designed to help you read better. I'm author and book devourer, Mallory o'.

[Bria Graham]

Meara. And I'm Bria Graham, filmmaker and e reader. This episode, we're ticking off another box on the 2026 reading glasses glasses challenge. Read a book set in a hotel or a motel. Plus, we test out the viral purse bookmark. You all really want us to test this out, so don't worry, we're doing it.

[Mallory O'Meara]

And we popular on Instagra.

[Bria Graham]

Yes. And we debate whether or not you should steal a signed book from your. From the library. This is such a funny email, and I'm very excited to talk about it with you, Mallory.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I love when we get these.

[Bria Graham]

This is.

[Mallory O'Meara]

This is what we live for. All right, Bria, before we get into all that, what are you reading?

[Bria Graham]

I am reading a book by a friend of mine. It is called Strange Bedfellows.

[Mallory O'Meara]

This in my TBR cart.

[Bria Graham]

Okay. I literally. I didn't know what it was about, and I started reading it last night, and it was from the point of view of a cat, and I was like, wait, what is this about? And. And it's about a young woman who secretly is sometimes a cat. This feels like such a glasser. Like, I just think I am so excited pre ordering this. It's about a girl, Summer as a cat, and then she meets a boy. They're both at school. She meets this boy, and it turns out he is a witch. And so then it becomes, I think, a sort of romance between them. It's really cute. I literally just started it last night, but it's so cute. I love reading about this girl being a cat, and then she, like, leaves the house that she's living in and transforms into a girl and goes to school. It's so adorable.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I will say, if I could transform into. Into a cat, I would not go to school. I would.

[Bria Graham]

No, but you got to go to school sometimes.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah.

[Bria Graham]

And it is, like, steamy. It is definitely, I think, smutty. And Amanda is a fantastic writer. She's a TV writer, and I think this is her debut novel, and it's so fun so far. I'm excited to keep going, and I think if those things sound good to you, you definitely should be pre ordering. What are you reading?

[Mallory O'Meara]

I'm reading a highly anticipated book, the Girl with a Thousand Faces by Sunya Dean, which you also have, I think right now.

[Bria Graham]

I literally have it from the library, but have not started it yet.

[Mallory O'Meara]

So this is the same author who wrote the book Eaters. And I was really excited for this because Sunya Dean writes these, like, fun fantasies that also are, like, laced with horror. And it's just such a fun flavor that I don't get very often. So I've been really, really loving this book. It's about this woman. Okay. And also the thing I love about the main character of this book is that she's in her fift and she's done taking. She is. So she works as a ghost talker. So she's not an exorcist, but she can talk to ghosts and can kind of like, negotiate with them. She also has a ghost cat that helps her out, which is absolutely amazing. So she works with this, like, local gang, like the local Triad, that it takes place in Hong Kong. So the city that she lives in is infested with ghosts. So anytime they had this. This local gang, like, needs ghost help, they send her out. But the thing is, she has no memory of her past. She washed up in Hong Kong years ago and just kind of, like, made this life for herself. And then one day, this really powerful ghost in comes to this, like, infest the city. And it claims to know her past and her secrets. And it is, you know, I love that shit. Oh, baby. A secret, dark past. Ooh, some ghosts. It's. It's so. It's so great. It's so. You know, if the Library of the Dead series left a hole in your heart like it did for mine, that nothing could fill. This kind of has the same flavor. It's so great. I'm really enjoying it so far. So that is the Girl With a Thousand Faces by Sunya Dean.

[Bria Graham]

And mine is Strange Bedfellows by Amanda Morelock.

[Mallory O'Meara]

So I want to take a moment to share some listener feedback. Carrie wrote in to say hi. Brian. Mallory. I just had to recommend a new video game I just discovered that I really think Mallory will absolutely love.

[Unknown Announcer]

Ooh.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Do tell. Oh, it's called Librarian Tidy up the Arcane Library. And as far as I can tell, it's only on Steam. Oh, my God. I don't even need to know any more. But I will say I have seen a lot of glasses talking about this.

[Bria Graham]

Okay.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I don't know if I can play it anymore. I used to play Tiny Bookshop, but me and the person who had a switch broke up, so I have no access to.

[Bria Graham]

But you can get Steam. Steam, you can get on anything on a Chromebook. Oh, you know what? I don't know about that.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I work off A Chromebook. And it is the biggest banger's existence.

[Bria Graham]

It is the most shocking. And I relearned that you work every few months. You're like, it's a Chromebook. And I'm like, I forget. It's just so wild.

[Mallory O'Meara]

The wildest thing is that I choose to. I. I have a very Chromebook, years ago, put out these desktop Chromebooks. And it is. They. They. I don't even think they. I think they discontinued them, but I. They are exactly what I need for exactly what I do for a living. And I love them, so I love it so much. And even one of our mutual friends helped me upgrade the RAM a few months ago so I didn't have to get a new one. And Bria was like, no, get into. Get a new.

[Bria Graham]

Get a fucking Mac.

[Mallory O'Meara]

But I don't know if I can play it on there. But anyway, Carrie says it's this cute little game where you have to reorganize this library of over 3,000 books all about magic that's a big mess. You have to categorize all the books in their genre, like Transfiguration or Astrology or spells, et cetera. If you like Tiny Bookshop, which I did, I think you'll love this one too. It's literally just organizing tons of books about magic. Love your podcast and all the effort and heart you put into it. Thanks. Well, you know what? I am going to check this out and see if I can play it on. On Chromebook, because this does sound extremely up my alley.

[Bria Graham]

Sounds so cute. Helen wrote in and said, just in case y' all don't get auto updates, this was exciting for me. Kobo is integrating StoryGraph. Mallory.

[Mallory O'Meara]

This is big news in the Glasser community and very bad for me because I'm not using storygraph this year. I know I used it last year, but this is pretty cool.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah, it is cool. It's very cool. So that basically means what, that you can just go and rate and do

[Mallory O'Meara]

things on your Kobotically transferred to your storygraph. Or we should do a book tech segment on it so we could get all the full details. But this is really cool.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah, these both seem like book tech segments, both the game and this. Yep.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Well, we'll see what. What my. My. My old beloved maligned Chromebook can do. And then Samantha wrote in to say, good afternoon, Bri and Mallory. I just started listening to Reading Glasses and Reading Smut within the last month or so and became a member during Max Fun Drive.

[TripleClick Hosts (Maddie Myers, Jason Schreier, Kirk Hamilton)]

Wow.

[Bria Graham]

Thank you so much, Samantha.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I started at the beginning of both podcasts because that's just something I do. My wheelhouse is cozy mysteries with pets, fantastic beasts and where to bang them.

[Unknown Announcer]

Oh my.

[Mallory O'Meara]

What?

[Unknown Announcer]

What?

[Bria Graham]

That's so funny.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Oh my God, I love this so much. High Fae bat boys, fantasy map in front of the book, and badass female protagonist. Wow, what a banger wheelhouse. I love that so much. Bria, you want to talk about some fun places that you are going to be?

[Bria Graham]

Yeah, I mean, I'll. I'll do more info next episode, but I am going to be at Comic Con. If you're at Comic Con. I'm doing a live roleplay game that I contributed to. They made it. My friends made a book, they made their own RPG and I am one of the contributors. And so we're all gonna play it live. And I don't know when or where that is yet, but I believe, I think it's on Friday. So come see me, come meet me. You can bring stuff that I. You wanna show me. Cause I don't know if I'm gonna be doing any other panels or anything as of the moment. So that would be the place to be. If you are going to Comic Con,

[Mallory O'Meara]

folks, check out the link in the show notes to Comic Con. Go see Bria and then you can email [e-mail] if you want a list of all the books we talk about on the show delivered to your inbox every month, you can sign up for our newsletter. There's a link in the show notes. And before we talk about books set in hotels and motels, we're going to take a quick break. Reading Glasses is sponsored in part this week by zocdoc. Have you moved? Do you have a new job? Maybe new insurance? Does something change in your life? ZOCDOC is designed to make it easier to find a new doctor when things in your life change. Folks, the first time I ever used ZocDoc is when I first moved to LA and I needed to go to the Doctor and I wasn't sure what I was doing. And the first doctor that I found, I didn't realize he was all the way across town because I was new to LA. It was like a 45 minute drive. It was such a pain. It was like a really weird doctor in this basement of a building. It was so strange. And I was like, I'm never doing that again. And truly, literally use ZocDoc to help find an actual doctor that was not in a basement and was not on the other side of the city. It was so easy to use. It really, really helped me when I need it. So what ZocDoc does is it lets you search and compare local. Important word here. Local in network doctors. Zocdoc's free to use website has tons of reviews from real patients and detailed doctor profiles. To help you choose the right one, see actual appointment openings and click to instantly book a visit, usually within 24 to 72 hours. Folks, you know how much of a pain it is to book a doctor's appointment. Zocdoc makes it so easy, folks. Your health ma and taking care of yourself shouldn't be complicated. Find and book the right doctor with Zocdoc. Head to Zocdoc.com glasses to get started and check that appointment off your to do list. That's Zocdoc.com glasses.

[Unknown Announcer]

The Flop House is a podcast where we watch a bad movie and then we talk about it.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Guys, how does ET Poop?

[Unknown Announcer]

Well, he's not that regular, but as he's gotten older, he has two cloacus, one under each arm. No, I was just looking forward to you going through the other ways in which Wild Wild west is historically inaccurate. You know how much movies cost nowadays when you add in your popped corn and your bagel bites and your cheese,

[Mallory O'Meara]

you can't go wrong with a Henry Cavill mustache here at Henry Cavill Mustaches, the only supplier, the Flop house. New episodes every Saturday. Find [e-mail]. This week we're ticking off another box on the 2026 Reading Glasses Challenge. Read a book set in a hotel or motel. Why do we put this on the challenge? How are we completing it? Let's get into it. Okay, first off, very important for all the glassers, the rules. It's got to be a hotel or motel. There can't just be one scene in a motel or motel. The book has to be set in a hotel or motel or mostly set there. Like, I would say the motel or hotel has to be the main location. Like, you have to have a chunk of the book set there. And it could be any genre. We will even accept nonfiction about a specific hotel or motel. But it can't just be like, oh, we're on. This is a road trip book, and there's one wild scene in a hotel. No, hotel has to be a significant part of the book. Why do we put this on the challenge?

[Bria Graham]

Well, it's fun. It's fun. And last year we just kept talking about hotel books. So we were like, let's just do this as a cute prompt. It's specific, but it also encompasses many different types of books. You can go to literary fiction. You can go sci fi. You could go. I mean, there's just all sorts of, like, fun. I would love if someone came up with, like, a poetry book or something set in a hotel. Like, there's. I mean, there's all sorts of interesting things. I think there's just. There's. There's just a lot. This could be fun. We think this is a fun prompt and a fun way to choose a book for the reading glasses challenge.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I love when we put. Sometimes we put stuff on the challenge just because we're like, this seems awesome. This seems like we're just excited.

[Bria Graham]

We're just stuck.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Bria, why do you think people like hotel and motel books so so much?

[Bria Graham]

I mean, I love a location, so for me, it's like, okay, that's why. But also for me, books are about escapism. And what is more escapist than a hotel? Like, I. Unless you work at a hotel, which. I don't know what that is. Like, but. But, like, I love a hotel. I love a random room. I love going in hotel. It's clean even when it's not that clean. I'm like, what a. What a great experience. Somebody else is cleaning my room. It's a room that has, like, the air conditioning is so crisp. You know, like, there's just.

[Unknown Announcer]

So.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Those hotel air conditioners are, like, military grade.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah. Yeah. And, like, I don't know. I think, like, for me, there is something interesting about being in a hotel, because when I started working a lot, I would have to travel a lot for to make movies, and as an actor, and I would be put up in a hotel, and suddenly I was like, wow, I am an adult. Like. Cause I had never stayed in a hotel by myself before. Until that moment, I had maybe crashed with a bunch of friends or something every so often. But, like, you know, I was in my early 20s, and I was getting to stay in hotel rooms all by myself. And, like. So for me, it's very much like a fun. Like, I can't believe I get to stay in a hotel by my. I still feel like that in my mid-40s, where I'm like, oh, wow, I can't believe I get to stay in a hotel by myself, even though I am an adult. Why do you think people like them?

[Mallory O'Meara]

One, I think, is an excuse for a really beautiful or quirky building. Like, if you. If you want an excuse for a fun location, hotel is great. 2. I also think it's a great excuse for a quirky cast of characters because it's like, yes, it's like forced proximity, but for a lot of random people. So. And most of them will have an interesting reason for being there. There's just like so much going on inside a hot. Like people are vacationing, they're on business trips, they're having affairs, they're working there. It's like sort of automatic narrative intrigue because you meet a character in a hotel, you why are they there?

[Bria Graham]

Why?

[Mallory O'Meara]

Where are they going? Where are they coming from? Like, there's just. There's a lot of built in like narrative interest in a hotel and people

[Bria Graham]

are out of their element. It's not like you're meeting them as your neighbor or they have to behave like they're there somewhere where they can kind of do other stuff. Like they're out of. They don't have to be themselves. Like they're kind of like out of their norm. Which is. Makes it even more intriguing.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Are you not yourself at a hotel?

[Bria Graham]

I'm going wild. I'm having late night parties. I'm. No, I am.

[Mallory O'Meara]

You're eating chocolate in bed. You're going to bed at 9.

[Bria Graham]

I do do some things at hotels that I don't do at home. I turn on the TV and I will watch random channels. Like I will watch like an Animal Planet or a hgtv. And I don't. I don't even watch that much of anything at home. But like, like I will sit there and just keep it on in the background, which I don't do it. I sit in silence at home. Like I don't have any music going. I have nothing. And like at the hotel, I love putting on like a, like some show like where they're like the show where they're like going and like rescuing animals from people's backyards and like, like that. Where I'm like, this is not. There's like something about it that makes me like kind of move into a different person. The other weird thing about me in hotels is a lot of times I unpack my full bag. I do a full. Put things in drawers and then. And then repack. If I'm there for more than a couple days, I tend to do that. So I do have some strange hotel behavior. What about you? What are you doing in a hotel?

[Mallory O'Meara]

I don't. No, I. Well, I don't watch tv, I don't unpack. I guess it depends on if I'm staying, how long I'm staying for. Yeah, I don't think I do any. Like, I am so entrenched in my little routines that I will say I do sleep with the air conditioner on, which I don't normally do because it's just like. It's so crisp and so cold.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah, you gotta have the noise, you know?

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah. But I don't. Yeah, I don't turn the TV on. I like to play music. I think I go to bed earlier in hotels. I don't like staying up late in a hotel because it's creepy to me.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah, it's creepy.

[Mallory O'Meara]

It is something.

[Bria Graham]

Which is the other reason they're good in a book. Like.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yes.

[Bria Graham]

There's something creepy and anonymous about it, you know?

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah. I don't. Yeah, I like to go to bed early. I just don't like being up late. I don't like listening to the sounds of a hotel. Like, remember. Remember that hotel we stayed in Edinburgh a couple years ago? There was something. Wherever my room was, it must have been next to, like, some water pipe. But every, like, after I would shower, like 10 minutes later, it would sound like horses galloping through the walls. And it, like at night, and it really freaked me out. It was just. Yeah, I don't. So I guess that's. I get. I turn into you. I go to bed. I'm like, oh, sun's going down. Time for bed.

[Bria Graham]

Time to. Yeah, so it's like a reverse vampire. Like, it's like, sun's going down. I'm going to bed.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I'm going to bed.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah. All right.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Bria, what are you reading for this part of the challenge?

[Bria Graham]

So I went through my TBR because I was like, I know I have to have a hotel book on my tbr, and the first one I ran across, which I thought sounded very cute, is Magic and Mischief at the Wayside Hotel by Elizabeth Everett. Looks like it's sci fi, but also right now there's like gargoyles and gnomes and stuff. That's what it says. It looks very like a me book. Like a cozy, ish sci fi hotel.

[Mallory O'Meara]

It's romantasy and.

[Bria Graham]

Romantasy. Yeah, it's kind of all the things, but it's also like somewhere in the universe. When did they say universe? I think sci fi. Is it not sci fi?

[Mallory O'Meara]

No, you're. You're right. It seems it's a magical hotel, but it appears in the middle of a. Of a new world. So that is kind of sci fi. Yeah.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

It's like a world travel hub that's Sci fi. Yeah, this is romantic sci fi. The manager of the number five wayside and in world travel hub Pax Nomen is one of the easiest jobs in the world. So this, yeah, this is definitely sci fi y.

[Bria Graham]

But yeah, I'm excited. This feels like a good one for me. What are you gonna do? What are you gonna do?

[Mallory O'Meara]

This is so wild. You're gonna lose your mind when I tell you this. I'm reading the Sundown motel by Simone St James because I read it.

[Bria Graham]

Oh, wow. Wow. You're gonna love it.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I know it's really well read. This was. Because I know she's written a lot of books, but it feels like this one was her big breakout book because this was what, 2017 or something somewhere around there?

[Bria Graham]

I don't know. But that's a while ago. I feel like it's a little bit later than that. But maybe, maybe then.

[Mallory O'Meara]

But if this felt like it was her big, massive breakout book and the year it came out, it was wicked buzzy. And I what think would happen is this was one of those books that. It was a big book. It came out and you read it and talked about it a bunch on the show. So I just didn't feel the need to read it because I knew you were going to be talking about it. But I did really want to read it. So I do have a copy of it that I've been saving and what a perfect excuse.

[Bria Graham]

Great.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Dark secrets inside a motel. Hell yeah.

[Bria Graham]

Also, I love some timelines. Yeah, two different timelines. There's a mystery. It is so good.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Also, I. Having just got back from my nine day solo road trip, I stayed in so many motels, including one motel that I literally texted Bria and I was like, I have my location turned on. If I do not text you in the morning. Please come find me.

[Bria Graham]

Call the FBI.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Call the FBI, please. Because was. It was a very creepy motel. It was very weird. But I. Most of the time you stay in a motel and they're not the best, but they are. What's the word I'm looking for? Like, really quaint. And it was a very fun time. I love, like, I like staying in a motel because you do kind of feel it. You feel like, I don't know, you feel like a woman. Like, you feel like a. Like a, like a dame, like a. Like some. You just feel so independent and cool and you're like, I can literally do whatever I want.

[Bria Graham]

You know, Is it also part of it is that like the responsibilities of the of home are gone? Where you're in there is like, if you go and you're like, oh, I don't have dishes. I don't have to clean. I don't have, like, to do list. Yeah. You're like, I can just kind of like, yeah, I don't have very much stuff here, so it's like, I can just kind of live, however, and it just is a little bit easier than like. Like knowing that you're gonna leave.

[Unknown Announcer]

Oh.

[Mallory O'Meara]

And you know what? That is what is different about me? Because you know me, I'm so organized and neat. Like, I. The first thing I do when I wake up in the morning after cuddling Lula, is make my bed. Like, that's. I'm. I'm a bed maker. I am so organized. But in a hotel room, I'm not making it. Even if I'm staying there for a few days, I don't make the bed. I also, here's a weird thing that I do. I. As soon as I get. If I'm staying in a hotel for multiple days, I put the do not disturb on and I leave it there the whole time. I don't want anyone in the room. I. I don't want anyone making the bed. I don't care if anyone's changing the towels. I don't want anybody in my space because I'm going to be a little messy goblin in there who goes. That's what. That's the weird thing about me. I like to go to bed early, and then I like to be a little messy goblin and leave all my stuff everywhere.

[Bria Graham]

There's a freedom. There's a freedom to it.

[Unknown Announcer]

Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

So interesting, huh? Wow. There's something that being who the. Who you. The person you are in a hotel really tells you something deep about your soul. But, yeah, I'm. This is such a big glasser book. I know people really love Sundown Motel, so I'm so excited to finally read it, and I feel like the buzz has worn off enough that I can read it. I still don't even really what it's. I know someone maybe is again, an unhappy woman in some sort of a situation. I don't know. But I'm. I'm really pumped about it. So if you want to send your thoughts and let us know what hotel book you are reading, send it to reading glasses podcastmail.com before we test out that viral purse bookmark, we're going to take a quick break. Hey, are you playing a video game right now?

[TripleClick Hosts (Maddie Myers, Jason Schreier, Kirk Hamilton)]

Maybe you put on a podcast while grinding in an RPG or Maybe you just don't want to hear that boss boss fight music one more time.

[Bria Graham]

Been there.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I'm Maddie Myers.

[TripleClick Hosts (Maddie Myers, Jason Schreier, Kirk Hamilton)]

I'm Jason Schreier. And I'm Kirk Hamilton. We're the hosts of TripleClick, a video game podcast, a podcast you can listen

[Mallory O'Meara]

to while you do other things like

[TripleClick Hosts (Maddie Myers, Jason Schreier, Kirk Hamilton)]

driving or cooking or playing video games.

[Mallory O'Meara]

On TripleClick, we share our thoughts on

[TripleClick Hosts (Maddie Myers, Jason Schreier, Kirk Hamilton)]

the latest games and breaking news out of the video game industry. And we also talk about other stuff besides games. So while you're doing something else, make sure to check out triple click Click listen on MaximumFun.org or wherever you find your podcasts.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Time to test out some book tech advances in bookish technology. This week's book tech was sent to us by a listener when we still had our Etsy wish list, which no longer exists because there's too much weird AI crap on Etsy. And Etsy never sent us the names of the wonderful folks who got us stuff. So let us know if this is you. So this is a version of the viral purse bookmark. So what this is if you're like, purse, bookmark? What does that mean? It is either a plastic or fabric bookmark, but it has holes on either end, and into those holes go a strap, like the end of a strap making your book. And then you put the bookmark in the book, and it basically makes your book itself a purse. Also, I did that thing where I put book for every noun, and in the outline it says it makes your book into a book,

[Bria Graham]

which it does. Is still a book. It's still a book. At the end of the day, it's still.

[Mallory O'Meara]

It's basically like a strat for your book that keeps your place. So the shop that we actually got this from no longer exists on Etsy. So we're gonna shout out Karine Marie, and that's the woman who invented the original bookmark purse. I put a link in the show notes to her shop. So what do we think of this, Bria? Is this. Is it worth the. The viralness?

[Bria Graham]

Well, okay, so we, you and I both had the same problem where we're like, cool. Why is it? But then I started thinking, okay, this morning I was thinking about it because sometimes I go to the park and I'm wearing my fanny pack around my upper torso as the kids do, you know, or did a few years ago. And I'm still doing it. And sometimes I do want to bring a book, and it would be helpful to have a way to carry that book because it doesn't Fit in the fanny pack. Fanny pack's too tiny. So for that reason, if you have a purse that doesn't fit a book, it could be good. I think it's mostly for cuteness factor, though. I think this is 99% just TikTok, like, TikTok made me buy it kind of thing.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah.

[Bria Graham]

Like, if you don't have pockets or if. If you don't have pockets or like, I don't know, or. I mean, like, you can put your stuff in your pockets, but I always have too much stuff in my pockets. It just doesn't. I just don't know. The other thing I can think of is, like, okay, you finish a book.

[Unknown Announcer]

Book.

[Bria Graham]

And you want to hang it up somewhere, like, get it off your bed. And you can, like, use that. And the bookmark won't fall out.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Okay.

[Bria Graham]

You can hang it on your wall.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Okay.

[Bria Graham]

I don't know. I think it's most. Mostly for aesthetics. Are you feel the same way?

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah. So the original version of this. This is just the bookmark and the strap. It gets two out of five pages. For me. It is very cute. But then what? I'm carrying two fucking purses. No, thank you. No, thank you.

[Bria Graham]

But I think the.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I have not two person over here. Like, I. I wonder if it's a generational thing, because you and I have the same purse. Like, I still carry a purse. I still have a wallet. Like, I'm not walking out of the house with just a book and no place to put my keys and my phone and my wallet and my lip balm. It is extremely adorable, but sort of pointless. Except for Instagram photos. But then Corinne Marie solved her own problem. So she has a new version of this where she designed a plastic book cover with the clips in it. So. Or, no, it's the. It's a plastic book cover. And then you put your book in. In it. And then she has a new version of the bookmark purse where the bookmark itself has a little pocket that you could put your cards and license and stuff in it. And with those two things combined, you can basically turn your book into a purse.

[Bria Graham]

That book is a five.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yes, that's a five out of five pages for me. But, like, without that, I'm not a child during the Great Depression. I'm not carrying my book with a strap.

[Bria Graham]

I remember we did the strap. We looked at the strap and we're like, this is cool. What do we use it for? Like, we don't need to put a book on a leash.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Remember those invisible. What Happened to invisible dogs. Those used to be so funny when

[Bria Graham]

I was a kid. That was height of comedy.

[Mallory O'Meara]

That was the funniest thing.

[Bria Graham]

Peak of comedy. What else could you turn a book into besides a purse? Purse, book. Can book speak turn into other fun stuff? Because turning a book into a purse is not something I ever thought about.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah, I guess you could turn a book into a plate if you put a piece of glass on top of it.

[Bria Graham]

Okay, interesting. Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

You could put a book into a hat if you put a strap on it.

[Bria Graham]

That's funny.

[Mallory O'Meara]

It can be an umbrella and a book at the same time.

[Bria Graham]

Okay. Okay. Yeah. Funny. There's a lot of things, I guess books can be turned into you.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah, it's again, like, this is very. Again, it's so cute. And the straps are very adorable. They, like, come in all these different colors and materials. This one, that's just, like. Just pearls. I. I think it's hard because you and I are of a generation where we have purses, but I think younger people, they don't have wallets. They don't have. There's a lot of people who, like, keep. Have those phone cases with, like. It's like a phone case, and then it's like a little. I have one for all their stuff.

[Bria Graham]

I don't know which. But it was so scary because it was like, what, do I want to lose it all at once?

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah. All my eggs in one basket. So I don't like that. And I. So I think if you were someone who travels really light, this would be perfect. Like you said, if you have a tiny little bag or a tiny little something, this could be good. But for if you were a purse person, I just. There's nothing that this offers. Like, I love my purse. I have found the perfect purse. I've had the same purse for years now. I can't see it ever replacing my purse. Unless, you know what, What. What if you were. Here's one, one thing. If you were going to a fancy event and you weren't carrying a big

[Bria Graham]

purse, I guess that's true. But would it be weird to carry a book there? Why do you need the book?

[Mallory O'Meara]

I never. Fancy event, never go.

[Bria Graham]

You go to your fancy, and you're like, I gotta have my book. I don't need my keys, but I need my book.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yes, yes. You never know.

[Bria Graham]

Okay.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I went to a wedding recently of two of my closest friends, and I was like, I brought a little book just in case.

[Unknown Announcer]

Case.

[Mallory O'Meara]

You never know.

[Bria Graham]

Sure.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Okay. Maybe you're in line, waiting in line. At the wedding bar and you're really bored.

[Bria Graham]

You're like, you don't want to listen to something this glass of wine. I need to not be present and read my book.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Yeah, you never know. But. So this is. This is a two out of five pages. Because there's certain situations where it would work. Because it is, it does work. It is like you can carry like the weight of the book especially. I will say this doesn't work very well for like a mass market paperback, for like a trade paperback or especially a hardcover. Works very well because you need the weight of the book to. To pull it down. But it is very cute. Very high aesthetic factor here. But unless you were going with Corinne Marie's the case and the special bookmark with the slit in it, I would just keep a purse. The younger generations can tear my. My dorky purse away from my cold, dead fingers. Like, I need. I need my bag full of crap.

[Bria Graham]

Yeah, I'm same with you. Two out of five. I'll do two out of five.

[Mallory O'Meara]

So you can send your book tech ideas for us to test out to reading glasses podcastmail.com foreign now let's solve a bookish problem from one of our listeners. Jen writes in. First, I want to say how much I love the podcast. I only started listening six months ago and since then have joined storygraph, started tracking my rereads and audiobooks. All books are real books, and although I've never thought I'd see the day I bought a Kobo. Hey, welcome. My dilemma. For my birthday read, I decided on a reread of a favorite book. I picked up a copy from the library, settled in, and opened the book to find it was signed by the author. So do I tell the library I, quote, lost the book and keep it? The author is still alive, but has not done book events in a long time, so this feels like my only option for a signed copy. I post my dilemma to my book club and other reader friends, and they were all supportive of immediately telling the library lost it, so I could pay for their replacement right away. But can I really lie to the library? I am not the type of person that would lose a book. I would hate for the library to think of me that way. Oh, my God, this is such a classic question.

[Bria Graham]

I like that they're more concerned of, like, they're like, I don't want them to think lost the book, but I am gonna steal it.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Realistically, it feels unlikely the librarians would remember me and then think badly of me for losing one book, but I Had a hard time shaking this feeling. It was a real struggle, especially as I was reading it and remembering how much I love the book. I'm super curious what other readers think. My decision. I returned the book. I decided that I don't care enough about having a signed copy to alleviate the guilt I would feel. And I feel good knowing some other reader gets to enjoy the surprise.

[Bria Graham]

Guys.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Bria, what do you think? Should Jen have stolen this book?

[Bria Graham]

This is so funny. We have to back up. We have to back up a second, because are we sure it's the author's signature? We have to figure that out, because before we can say, should you steal from the library? Which obviously, most people are gonna be like, no, but first of all, let's just. Let's just get along feeling it.

[Mallory O'Meara]

If you say you lost it and then you replace it, it's just. It's a changeling book. You are taking it and replacing it with another thing.

[Bria Graham]

Very loosening. Yeah.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Before.

[Bria Graham]

Before Jen goes through some sort of, like, Ocean's Eleven thing to steal this book, you have to make sure, like, you have to make sure this is, like, this is a lot. Obviously, Jen already turned the book, but this is. For anyone else thinking about stealing from the library, I would go the honest route here, because you'd be surprised. I think about, like, what people will. If you just tell people things, you'd be surprised how people will work with you. I think if you. I call and say, like, hey, instead of stealing spoilers, call and saying, like, I would like to maybe purchase this book. I see that it's signed. I really have always wanted this book signed. Would it be possible? It's gonna be pricey because replacing books at a library is more expensive than just buying a book. Like, because I don't know why, but it is. So I think I wouldn't steal it. I wouldn't steal it. I could never bring myself to steal from the library. I understand why Jen is interested in the book. I also understand why Jen doesn't want them to think that she lost a book. So I would call. I would call and talk to them. Jen, you could still do this and be like, hey, I checked out this book. I saw it was lined. You. Once you've done your research and, like, is there a way you would sell this book to me? Because they may just not care that it's signed, or they may care, and then, you know, don't steal it because it's important to the library. So you'll kind of know where they stand, you know, after that. Because you're right. They may just not care. And they may be like, we don't really care if this is signed. Yeah, we'll sell this to you. It's going to be like, nine.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Librarians are like, we fucking hate that author.

[Bria Graham]

What do you think Jen should do?

[Unknown Announcer]

So.

[Mallory O'Meara]

This is so wild. This is, like, real crossroads for Jen. Soon Jen is going to be stealing other things. Yeah, this is really wild.

[Bria Graham]

Things from other public institutions.

[Mallory O'Meara]

Jen's gonna go to the courthouse stop sign. It's like that. It's like that lady who stole that Nick's trash can in New York. Like, slippery slope. Stealing from the public. Yeah, I don't care about sign things at all. So unless I have some sort of, like, precious memory associated with it, I just cannot imagine concocting a scheme to get a signed book. But if you are so. Like, there are people in my life that really love signed stuff, and, like, it really means a lot to them, and it's, like, a big deal if you're someone like that who really covets signed books. I don't know, man. Bria's right. You could always call the library and ask what. At least ask what their book replacement fee is, because, like, again, you don't. Every library is a little bit different. You don't know. The librarians and other patrons might not notice. And if it really means a lot to you, it could be worth asking. Especially my contribution to this is like. Like, what happens when that book is at the end of its library life cycle and they need to replace it anyway? You could be like, hey, when this library book gets beat up enough that you are going to either throw it in the library sale or recycle it. Hook a up. You know, like, there's. There. I think there's ways that you could get this book ethically without, you know, sliding.

[Bria Graham]

The glasses are gonna. We're gonna cause an uproar right here. The glassers are gonna come out in and be like, how dare you?

[Mallory O'Meara]

But, like, you never know. Listen, the glassers are surprising because you never know. There have been times where I thought glasses were gonna get upset about something. Nothing. And then there's. There's times where I thought. I didn't even think at all. Musicals and things also, it. I. I hate to even bring this up because I feel I'm gonna bring a rain of pain down on my head, but I was watching some interview with somebody recently, a notable person from New England, and in that interview, that person was like, of course I don't like Movies where people sing. I'm from New England. And I was like, vind, wow.

[Bria Graham]

I can't believe you'd even bring it up.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I can't believe you wouldn't bring it up. I've been really leaning into my New England identity recently. And yeah, that really made me feel. I was like, I'm gonna print out this quote and hang it on my wall. But what I'm saying is you never know what the glasses are going to get upset about or not care about. We could get a wave of glasses who were like, steal from the library. Do crime. We, we have no idea. But I think if you want this book, if it really means a lot to you, what it sounds like it does, it is worth inquiring because I think again, you could see how much it costs to replace it and you could just. I don't, I don't even know if it's possible to get on the list for, to, to get a book at. When it's done at the end of its cycle. If you don't mind having a book that's a little. I mean, I'm assuming it's a little beat up anyway. It is a library book. You know what I mean? But I think there's way, ethical ways to get this book. We are not judging you. I, we understand that, like, this is judge free zone.

[Bria Graham]

We're not judging you. We, we want to help you get a book that you want, but maybe there's a good way to go about.

[Mallory O'Meara]

I think there's a good way to go. Go about it. And I agree that it is so funny to be like, well, to not care about descending into a life of crime, but to be like, I don't want the librarians to think that I'm the kind of person that would lose a book. That is the most glassy dilemma of all time. And Jen, I know you returned the book, but I think there might be a way for you to still get it. Let us know. Call that library. Get the info. And if you want us to solve your reader problem and potentially help you from sliding into a life of crime and villainy, send your problem to reading glasses podcast gmail.com. as always, want to thank the wonderful mods who run our Facebook group and our Discord server. And if you want to buy some cool merch, you can go to our Void merch store. There's a link in the show notes. And if you like the show, we've helped you. Perhaps we've solved one of your book problems or recommended a book to you. Please rate and review us on the podcast listening app of your choice. It's so great for us and it 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 Listen Listening and thanks for Reading.

[Bria Graham]

Thanks for Reading.

[Mallory O'Meara]

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