← What Should I Read Next?
What Should I Read Next?
Ep 527: The perfect books for readers fascinated by museums, art, and the creative process
00:53:37
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- [00:00]
Christine Parsons
I have a giant stack of books I bought on spring break and on vacation, and every time I go in the bookstore I have a lot that I have read recently and that I want to read.
- [00:10]
Ann Bogle
Well, that sounds amazing. But you're okay with adding to your stack today?
- [00:14]
Christine Parsons
Of course. I never have any problem doing that.
- [00:20]
Ann Bogle
Hey readers, I'm Ann Bogle and this is what Should I Read Next? Welcome to the show that's dedicated to answering the question that plagues every reader. What should I read next? We don't get bossy on this show. What we will do here is give you the information you need to choose your next read. Every week we'll talk all things books and reading and do a little literary matchmaking with one guest. Readers, I want to tell you about something we've been working on behind the scenes for a long time around here. We've been working on a certain product for our shop and I'm so happy to announce that it is finally available for pre order. Visit our shop to check out our new MMD Sorority style sweatshirt available in a midweight comfort colors crew in two shades, a soft blue called Blue Jean and a soft red called Crimson. Both feature an MMD applique and in deep navy. They are cute and comfortable and I can't wait to wear mine on cool summer nights and then all year round. We are also stocked up in our popular well Read ball cap as well as this year's new style. I'm going to let you pop over to the shop and see it for yourself. They are perfect for keeping the sun off your face at the zoo, the beach or the ball game while sharing your love of reading with a subtle embroidered message. Check out our latest additions and longtime favorites and@modernmrsdarcy.com shop, that's modernmrsdarcy.com shop readers when it comes to so many everyday tasks in my life, well, I'd rather be reading. But fortunately I don't have to spend a lot of time on my morning makeup routine with clean and nourishing products from Merit. Merit is a minimalist beauty brand featuring products that leave your skin feeling and looking great long after you've taken your makeup off. Their elevated makeup and skincare products help you look and feel put together in just minutes. I'm a big fan of their lipsticks and glosses and actually my teen daughter shares my love. She and I both especially like their shade Slick tinted lip oil in the Sangria color, a versatile looks good on almost everybody option. Plus it's good for your skin with shea butter and grapeseed oils that replenish, condition and soften lips. For another pop of healthy natural color, try their Flesh Balm Cheek Color. It comes in a range of shades from subtle to bright, and it's so popular that one was sold every 30 seconds in 2024. Right now, merit Beauty is offering our listeners their signature Makeup bag with your first order at meritbeauty.com that's M E R I T beauty.com to get your free signature makeup bag with your first order. Merit beauty.com readers finding comfortable clothing pieces that are also stylish can be tricky. That's where Quint's comes in. With their selection of pieces that feel effortless yet flattering. Quint's has everything you need for spring and summer dressing lightweight linen pants, ultra soft denim, cute dresses and smart tops that start at 30 bucks. And and because Quince works directly with ethical factories, you pay for quality and craftsmanship, not middleman driven markup. Our team member Shannon recently raved about her new washable stretch silk split hem tee from Quince. She found it a perfect piece to wear to a special event. In this case, that was our recent Darcy awards for Modern Mrs. Darcy Book Club. Shannon especially appreciated the level of quality in the piece, including double stitching in that it came with care instructions so she knows how to treat it well for the long haul. Refresh your everyday with luxury you will actually use. Head to quint.com readnext for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns. That's Q-U-I-N-C-E.com readnext for free shipping and 365 day returns. Quince.com readnext readers today I'm chatting with a book lover who's seeking a literary doorway into the creative world of art and museums. Christine Parsons doesn't have an art background. She works as a County Road Commission manager in Michigan. Yet she is fascinated by art and museums and finds herself drawn to immersive and engaging stories that incorporate one or both elements into the story. Christine loves to travel and visit museums in person, but her day to day life between work and two active preteens means that in the season, these visits are more likely to occur on the page. Today, Christine and I are exploring stories featuring art and the creative process, and if I have recommendations that are actually set in museums, well, so much the better. I can't wait to dive in and share ideas for Christine's armchair cultural adventures. Let's get to it Christine. Welcome to the show Hi there.
- [04:55]
Christine Parsons
Thank you so much for having me.
- [04:57]
Ann Bogle
Oh, the pleasure's mine. I'm so excited to talk to another Michigander. And also, I will confess, I got real excited when I saw the kind of books you were looking for. So thanks for bringing it to the show today.
- [05:09]
Christine Parsons
Of course. I have looked forward to doing this for a long time and any opportunity I get to talk about books, sign me up.
- [05:16]
Ann Bogle
Should we tell the readers we are just talking about accosting strangers in bookstores we visit because they need to know what they might enjoy reading next?
- [05:24]
Christine Parsons
Yes. I consider myself a book pusher. So if I see you in a bookstore browsing, even anywhere near a book that I like or have loved, I will tell you all about why you should read it. So I generally walk into the bookstores and recommend whatever it is that strikes my fancy.
- [05:43]
Ann Bogle
It could be a real gift. The right book at the right time. Okay. I imagine many listeners are just smiling with recognition right now. Christine, tell us a little more about yourself in addition to your book pusher status. Would you give us a little glimpse of who and where you are?
- [05:59]
Christine Parsons
I live in southwest Michigan, not too far away from Lake Michigan, and I have two children, not quite teenage children. I have a husband and two dogs and I work in road construction. So not the actual construction. Myself, I manage a road department. So we deal with a lot of road related questions and problems. It's interesting but stressful. So reading is my escape. It's my main hobby, my passion, the thing that people know me by. I would say for better or for worse, if you don't want to talk about books, you don't want to come too close to me probably. So I have always had a fascination with art, I would say, but an amateur fascination. It feels like one of those things that you need a special entree into that world or an education in an art history degree. And I don't have that. I'm just a person who really appreciates beautiful art and finding beauty in the world. And I love a book that talks about the creative process and in not just in the traditional ways either. I would say like tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow, the development of the video games, I felt like that was really fascinating from a creative standpoint. So anything that gets me more information about what drives someone to create beauty, whether it be a painting or whether it be writing a book or developing a video game or even just the way the light falls on the grass some days, I think people who can recognize that and translate that into creation or the creative process and you know, paintings in particular, I find very moving. But I would love to know more about that. I would love to have more knowledge about who this artist is or their creative process. We have a really wonderful art museum in Michigan, the Detroit Institute of the Arts, and I've never been there. And it's my goal to go and not be intimidated, I guess.
- [08:01]
Ann Bogle
Oh, what an amazing goal. And I believe in you. You can do this. But maybe some good novels could help you prepare for your experience when it arrives.
- [08:12]
Christine Parsons
And that's always the way that I approach any new endeavor is there's got to be a book about that. That sounds perfect.
- [08:20]
Ann Bogle
Oh, that is so relatable. Christine, tell us about your reading life.
- [08:26]
Christine Parsons
Oh, gosh, my reading life. I read in every spare minute that I have. I'm very much like if I'm blow drying my hair in the morning, I'll be listening to a book. I will be reading while I cook dinner. I do a lot of audiobooks. I would say probably 50% of my reading is audiobooks these days. Just with I have a long commute. I read my Kindle at night. I'm definitely a multiple Kindle person. But then I also have an abnormal number of book stacks around my house. I'm sure if you ask my husband. So I have a lot of physical books. I find them soothing. I have a lot of joy just from having the book in my hand to like smell the book, to sit out in my chair in the backyard and read a book, a physical book particularly, there's just a sensation that you cannot pass up on sometimes. So I, I read widely, I would say. I have particular genres that I enjoy. I really enjoy historical fiction. I like police procedurals and I have you to thank for that. I don't think I would have gotten into police procedurals if it hadn't been for your podcast, the Duncan Kincaid particularly. I really enjoy.
- [09:33]
Ann Bogle
Oh, I'm so glad.
- [09:35]
Christine Parsons
I love anything set in Ireland with an Irish narrator or an Australian Jane Harper Tana French. Sign me up. I love them. I like non fiction a lot. And, and most of all, I should definitely say this, I love romance. I'm in a romance book club at my library. I help run and it's called between the Pages and we have a fantastic time reading a lot of different kinds of romance and fantasy. So it's just I read pretty broadly. I will sometimes read outside of what I'm comfortable with if somebody can give me a really compelling recommendation. Like I traditionally I need to have a likable character. If the character's not super likable. I don't know if I'm gonna finish it. For instance, let me give you a really good example here. You recommended on the podcast years ago, the Likeness by Tana French. And I had not read any police procedurals. I was not a murder mystery person at that time. And gosh, that book, one of my all time favorites. I still, I bought a copy. I'm like, I'm gonna reread this. And it just, it's stuck with me. I just, I think about it regularly, which is just wild to me because I feel like I don't have enough bandwidth to think about all the things in my regular life. But just the compelling nature of the story, the characters, the mystery, the way she wove it and it, and it's, it's just so nuanced and interesting and well crafted. And to this day I still think about that all the time. I wouldn't have picked that up if it weren't for the recommendation. So I will try new things with a compelling recommendation.
- [11:10]
Ann Bogle
I'm glad to hear that. I'm wondering what that's going to mean for today. Christine, I believe you've been listening for a long time. What brings you to? What should I read next now?
- [11:19]
Christine Parsons
Oh, gosh, I've been listening since the beginning. I've been working at the road department. Gosh, I feel like that you started this right about the time that I started at the road department because I was pregnant with my daughter at the time, or maybe she was a newborn and I had a lot of time on my hands then. But I love talking about books. I love having conversations with people about the things they love about books. Immersing myself in the literary world on Friday last week, I heard Shelby Van Pelt speak about Remarkably Bright Creatures here in Michigan in advance of her Netflix debut. So it was just really interesting to hear, like, how she crafted the story and her whole process and where she was wandering through the aquarium and thinking about Marcellus and had a newborn daughter. And I find myself so drawn into conversations where people can tell you, like, what book you should read, but also why, like, just tell me what I should read. Tell me why I should read it. That's what I want to know. Because anybody can give a book recommendation. Anybody can say, have you read this? Or, you know, sure, sure, I probably have. But tell me why. Like, that's the important part for me is I want to understand why you like it, why I might like it.
- [12:33]
Ann Bogle
So, okay, well, today you came to the show with a Specific request. Would you fill our listeners in on what that is?
- [12:43]
Christine Parsons
I really feel like that while I have a passion in my interior heart, mind, however you'd like to say it, for art, it can feel a little intimidating to walk into an art museum and really not understand what is happening. Like, sure, art on the walls, statues. But like, what does it mean? Where does it come from? How do you understand it? How can you learn more about it? It can be a little intimidating, I think, for the average person, and I'm the average person. So I would like to go into a museum and better understand, you know, what's going on when I look at a certain painting or understand, like the influences of certain artists or how that ties into, you know, how the painting was created or what the statue means. And as we talked about, I'm a person who, if I want to know something, I go to a book. And I feel like that especially in literature, there's a lot of references to art. There's a lot of stories about art, you know, whether it's a fictional story or a nonfictional story, the art thief or the art spy. Understanding why certain paintings don't exist anymore, what happened and what drove people to collect art, the whole world of it, I find really fascinating. And I am really immersed in those kinds of stories. So I'd like to learn more about it. I'd like to walk into a museum and be like, oh, I know that painting. Or, you know, I understand that where that statue comes from, I don't need to know everything, but I want to have a working knowledge of certain things, some surface level knowledge of art and where I can go to read more about it. And not just the nonfiction. Like, I don't just want to, like, you know, a program. I want to understand stories and backgrounds and just really understand more than I do right now.
- [14:34]
Ann Bogle
So I want to tell you about an experience I had recently in the St. Louis Art Museum. I walked into a room and I was checking out the mid century paintings and was so delighted to recognize a work by Helen Frankenthaler. And I had seen this work before, but it didn't mean anything to me before. But in the interim, I had read a novel, and a huge interlude in the novel takes place at a Helen Frankenthaler special exhibit in London. And I had walked through that exhibit with the protagonist and one of the Ansley characters. And I had googled all the works that were mentioned, and I googled the theory about the art that the artist who was the protagonist was describing. And I just felt like when I walked back into that St. Louis Art Museum that I hadn't been in in several years and noticed that card I hadn't noticed before, even though it was there the last time I visited, it meant something to me. And it was because of the book that I didn't pick up because of Helen Frankenthaler. But that's where the book led me.
- [15:32]
Christine Parsons
I know exactly what book you're talking about. And I also read that part and was like, let me Google all these paintings. Let me Google Helen Frankenthaler. Like, I wish you could have seen my face. I just jumped. When you said the experience they had in the museum in London, I was like, I know what she's talking about. Like, that's the kind of experience I want to have that tie in to a book or an experience or a memory, something that makes it more meaningful, something that will make it stick with
- [15:58]
Ann Bogle
me a little more. So if we could bring you more of that kind of experience, you would be really happy?
- [16:03]
Christine Parsons
Oh, I would be over the moon.
- [16:06]
Ann Bogle
Okay, readers, you may want to know that the book we're talking about is Loved One by Aisha Muharrar. And we're talking about art, so that's all we're going to say about it. Okay. What do you think about this, Christine? What about if you tell me the three books you love, one book you don't, and what you've been reading lately, and I'll be filtering this through your interest in art and your desire to have more of those kinds of experiences, and then we will talk about what you may enjoy reading next, and we'll see what other, like, clues and nuggets we pick up along the way. Okay, perfect readers. It's easy to focus on the big pieces when you're creating an outdoor space you hope to love. But we've often found that the small things are what really make a difference in making a space feel like our own. We've spent time over the past few years making our outdoor lounge area and yard feel comfortable and inviting, but we're still filling in gaps. Some of those gaps are about making things pretty and hospitable, like adding more string lights and solar tabletop lamps around our patio area. But some are more strictly functional, like adding another motion sensor light by the recycling bins so I don't stumble in the dark. Wayfair has tons of options for every possible outdoor lighting need you might have. And if you're looking for those bigger options, Wayfair has you covered, too, with grills outdoor rugs, patio storage and more. Wayfair has over 20 million verified 5 star reviews so you can read what real customers thought about the Wayfair items they use to spruce up their homes. Get prepped for patio season for way less head to Wayfair.com right now to shop all things home. That's W-A-Y-F-A-I-R.com Wayfair every style, every Home Readers Sometimes it can be hard to keep track of all the various subscriptions, auto renewals and monthly payments. And lately I've been trying to keep a close eye on where my money goes each month. That's why I value Mint Mobile's approach to wireless service, which offers great savings compared to the traditional wireless providers. With Mint Mobile you're not paying endless fees, surcharges and taxes. You'll just get premium wireless service starting at 15 bucks a month, no long term contracts and no hassle. All of Mint Mobile's plans come with high speed data and unlimited talk and text delivered on the nation's largest 5G network. I'm always happy to find a good deal on a service I need, so next time I make the switch I'll be looking at Mint Mobile. If you like your money, Mint Mobile is for you. Shop plans@mintmobile.com readnext that's mintmobile.com readnext upfront payment of $45 for 3 month 5 gigabyte plan required equivalent to 15 bucks a month new customer offer for first 3 months only, then full price plan options available, taxes and fees extra. See Mint Mobile for details.
- [18:48]
Christine Parsons
The first book that I loved was the Great Believers by Rebecca Mackay and this is probably the one I've read longest ago. So I'm not as clear on the details as I was when I read it, but I remember the impressions that stuck with me. Just the history of the AIDS crisis and the way that that was portrayed. And as a child of the 90s I grew up and knew about it, but I don't know that I was as aware of it as this story takes you and the way that they wove art into that story that he worked in a museum but he was or an art gallery. That's what it was. But he was more about donations and getting paintings so it was a little more mercenary than perhaps he wasn't just a starving artist, but he was around a lot of artists and and the dual timelines of that story. I really preferred the historical timeline more than the present day timeline, but understanding what it's like to create art when also this major historical event is happening, which maybe they didn't realize at the time was this major historical event. But that will completely impact the way that the art is created and looked at and translated into the. The decades in the future and what it means when you don't know what's going on. And I think a lot of us can relate to that with the pandemic, but what it means to have that experience, that traumatic experience and also be trying to live your life and survive what's happening. I really appreciated the way that she put a human face on the historical events and also dived really deeply into the characters lives and into some of the less serious things too. The trips to visit the art donor and the conversations that he had with her and how there are still practical concerns, you know, how much am I going to make off of this, you know, if I give you all of my art? I mean, all of those things were interesting and relatable. But I think the thing that really moved me the most was what it felt like for those characters to face death and disease and the unknown and not, you know, it wasn't as well understood then as it is now or even understood at all. And then also have to keep living their lives and how that influences the art they create. I think that was a really beautiful story. Really tragic, but also really beautiful.
- [21:20]
Ann Bogle
I believe I remember reading that. Tragic but beautiful is something not uncommon to your superlative reading experiences.
- [21:31]
Christine Parsons
Yes. I like a book to both move me and make me feel hopeful and sometimes also break my heart. Like the emotional experience of being invested and you're hoping that it ends well and that the resolution that you're, you know, really yearning for happens, but if it doesn't, that you're so invested, you're like, whoa, like I need a minute to recover from that. You know, I like a nice, tidy ending, but also I can handle something less than happy if I feel like that I really got emotionally invested.
- [22:05]
Ann Bogle
That's helpful. That is. The Great Believers by Rebecca Mackay. Christine, what's the second book you love?
- [22:12]
Christine Parsons
The second book is the Unseen World by Liz Moore. I read Long Bright river, oh gosh, five or six years ago, and it just blew me away. And I loved it so much. I'm like, I'm going to read everything she's written. And I picked up the Unseen World and I was like, whoa, this is totally different. Which, you know, I read the God of the woods last year, two years ago, and I feel like maybe that's the theme of her books is they're all completely different from each other. And that's a real skill, I think, to be able to pick a subject and characters and have them be so different from each other. But yet the emotional heft of the story is still there. Like you can still feel her mastery of the story happening as she writes it and learning about the characters. And really she makes it easy to get emotionally invested. And for me, I want emotional investment. I think that's a thing that art does well too. So that maybe that's how that ties in here is art allows for. It creates emotional investment if it's done well. And I guess that's a subjective thing, but I really loved the story of Ada and her father and her unconventional upbringing and how she was very precocious and surrounded by all of this emerging technology. And she knew so much. At the same time, she also knew so little a moment. Her life changes from the known to the unknown or the unseen, I guess. And you really go with her on this journey as she discovers what her life is going to look like, what her life means, where she comes from. And you're discovering it with her as she's understanding things about her family that she was unaware of or trying to understand her father better because he was also. Even though she was the closest person that he had in the world, he was also a mystery to her to some degree. So it was a really compelling, intimately told story. And I just really appreciated what the author was able to do.
- [24:16]
Ann Bogle
Okay, that was the Unseen World by Liz Moore. I mean, speaking of bittersweet.
- [24:21]
Christine Parsons
Oh, that's true. Yeah. And I feel like I've read a couple of books lately that reminded me of that. I can't think what's the one where the father's a doomsday prepper and.
- [24:31]
Ann Bogle
Oh, wait, hang on, I got really excited. Cause I thought you were talking about what kind of Paradise. I am.
- [24:36]
Christine Parsons
I am talking about what kind of paradise. That is it. You're so good at this game.
- [24:41]
Ann Bogle
Well, I recommended that book to my 16 year old and then felt really proud of myself when I found out later that it had won an Alex Award, which does highlight adult books that would be especially of interest to teenagers. But I kept thinking as he was reading it if the Unseen World would be a good next pick. So I think those books were already linked in my brain.
- [25:01]
Christine Parsons
Yes, they reminded me a lot of each other. That's where I was going is I think that they. They have very similar premises, but they're done differently enough that I Think you could still appreciate them? You know, I don't know if I'd read them back to back, but they reminded me a lot of each other. It was almost. There was another Confessions, and there's an Irish novel, Confessions, that reminded me a lot of Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow. And I'm like, see?
- [25:21]
Ann Bogle
Oh, I haven't read that one.
- [25:22]
Christine Parsons
Oh, it's interesting. It's not as good as Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, but it is still very similar. Like, similar premise. And you can have stories that are similar and also be completely different and have different emotional experiences. And I guess that's what I love about books. You can read one book one day and a different book the next day, and they remind you a lot of each other, and the emotional experience could be totally different, or it could be exactly what you were looking for. When you're saying, I want another book like this, I think what a lot of people mean is, I want to feel the same way when I read it, you know?
- [25:54]
Ann Bogle
Yes. Which is why the algorithms often don't cut it.
- [25:57]
Christine Parsons
Yeah. 100% an emotional experience.
- [26:00]
Ann Bogle
I'm with you. I'm with you. Christine, what's the third book you love?
- [26:05]
Christine Parsons
The third book is my favorite. I. That's.
- [26:09]
Ann Bogle
That's bold. I'm.
- [26:10]
Christine Parsons
I love it. I love it so much. I was. I was in the car on the way back from a conference when I read this book, and, like, it seared into my memory, just the experience of reading it in the backseat of the car, and people were talking to me, and I was like, I cannot talk to you right now. I want to read this book. It's Heart the Lover. I don't think I said that. Heart the Lover by Lily King. Oh, it just broke me in the best possible way. I loved Jordan. I think the thing I loved so much was not necessarily her experiences reminded me of me, but her emotional depth as a character, her growth, the maturity that you see happening in the book, her flaws, her wounds. It reminded me of myself. And maybe it's just of a particular era. The sort of pre cell phone college experience or early cell phone college experience. I was in college in the late 90s, early 2000s, and it had a very particular flavor that reminded me of my own experiences and being away from home and exposing yourself to different types of people, that can be really intimidating. And, you know, she talks about in the beginning of the book how she felt really intimidated by Yash and by Sam because they just seemed so knowledgeable. I remember having that same experience. Like, you can go from being, you know, a very small world in high school and you go to college, and it just completely, you know, expands your horizons. And I loved her as a character. I identified with her deeply. I like books set in academia. It gave me a little bit of the secret history vibes, not so much for the plot, just the feel, the sort of very academic, literary feel. And I always enjoy learning new things. So she talks a lot about art and history and culture and experiences. And I felt like I learned a lot, you know, was exposed to a lot of different things, authors and, you know, concepts in that book, even though it's just a short little book. And then also it was very emotionally packed. Like, it was very wistful, and it was heartbreaking, and it just leaves you wrung out in the best possible way. Like that young love feeling the way that you experience that first relationship that you're never going to be able to do again because you only have a first love the one time, and the trials and errors that you go through in relationships, it just. It moved me so deeply. And I'm fairly certain after I read it, I called everyone I knew, and I was like, you need to read this book right now. I bought copies for people. You know, it was just something that I felt like it just changed my life, and it needed to do the same thing for everybody else. But, you know, art is an individual experience, so who knows? But I just was blown away.
- [28:57]
Ann Bogle
I love that for you. And I'm making notes. We may be connecting some of those ideas to recommendations shortly. Christine, now would you tell me about a book that was not. Not right for you? And I'd love to hear where the disconnect was.
- [29:11]
Christine Parsons
I'm sure that it's right for other people. It was. Got a lot of publicity, and people seem to really enjoy. It was A Marriage at Sea by Sophie Elmhurst. And the first little bit with the whale, I was like, man, oof.
- [29:24]
Ann Bogle
Exciting.
- [29:25]
Christine Parsons
Like, what's happening here? I love a good, compelling nonfiction story. And then the whole rest of it seemed like it was unlikable characters, and it's real people, so, you know, it's their real story and not incredibly sympathetic. It felt a little mundane, I guess. I felt like the story was going to be more about the survival aspect and the adventure of the story and less about the logistics of the trip. And there were parts of it in there, those survival parts, but it just felt like that was smaller than I had expected, and it just. I wasn't as captivated as I was hoping to be. But it wasn't terrible. I didn't hate it. There are books that I hate. I'm sure there's books that I'll, you know, for the rest of my life remember how much I disliked it. This one just wasn't for me. It. It didn't keep my attention long enough. I wasn't as interested as I had hoped. And I was looking for more of the emotional experience of survival. And I was like really hoping the whale falls on the ship and these people have to survive. And it was not Castle of Water. And to be fair, it is nonfiction, but I was going for a little bit more Castle of Water vibes, but non fictional.
- [30:45]
Ann Bogle
Oh, I haven't thought about Castle of Water. Well, actually I think about Castle of Water. Readers were talking about the Dane Hucklebridge novel. Every time I think about taking out my contacts and not having a new pair,
- [31:00]
Christine Parsons
I was just thinking about that part.
- [31:01]
Ann Bogle
It's about a plane crash on an island and two people make a life thereafter and. Yeah, but she doesn't have her glasses, contacts. Oh, I'm really grateful for my contacts. Okay, but we are talking about your books. And A Marriage at Sea was not for you. I distinctly remember reading that. I listened to the audio, which was short, it was five something hours, while I was doing yard work last summer, and I thought it was very interesting. And also that book was another that made me realize how much I appreciate emotional resonance in the fiction and nonfiction stories I'm reading. Like, that's something that really makes a particularly good reading experience for me and I miss it when it's not there. And so many readers have loved this book. That's worth saying. And what I hear you saying, Christine, I think is that a nonfiction. This happened, this happened, and this happened is not answering that question you said was so important to you in a different context. But the question of why, like, what's the meaning there? What am I to make of this?
- [32:12]
Christine Parsons
No, I would agree with you. I think that that is part of what the problem was.
- [32:17]
Ann Bogle
Okay, Christine, what have you been reading lately?
- [32:20]
Christine Parsons
I just finished Yesteryear with I think half the rest of the world, and I'm still thinking about it. I feel like that book really is made for contemplation and thinking about and book clubs and if you want to talk about it, that's one that you can pick up and talk about. There's a lot of different aspects to it and I really enjoyed the experience. I picked up American Fantasy this week, so I'm super excited about that to see where that's going to go. Because I really love Emma Straub and have not had a bad experience with one of her books yet. I haven't read them all, but I think that this one sounds promising. And I'm also reading Daughter of Egypt by Marie Benedict, and I really love that. I love Egyptology. I reread the Egypt Game last year because it was one of my historical favorites from, you know, my adolescence and just. Just revived that childhood interest in all things like, you know, ancient Egypt and pharaohs. And it's super interesting. I'm really enjoying it. So I have a giant stack of books I bought on spring break and on vacation, and every time I go in the bookstore that I'm really looking forward to, I'm really looking forward to the new Maggie o'. Farrell. So I don't know. I have a lot that I have read recently and that I want to read.
- [33:39]
Ann Bogle
Well, that sounds amazing. But you're okay with adding to your stack today?
- [33:43]
Christine Parsons
Of course. That's how. I never have any problem doing that when people are always like, I have to cut my TBR back. I'm like, I don't. Even if I was to look at Goodreads, I guarantee you it's probably like 7,000 books on there. I don't care how many books are on there. I care about what I want to read in the moment, having choices and. And selection. And the more new books, the better. I will never have enough time to read all the books. But half the joy of being a reader is surrounding yourself with the choices of all the books that you crack open and fall into, and they become your whole personality for two or three days. And then, you know, everybody around you is like, stop talking about that book about the trad wife. I'm like, but wait, I haven't told you about the best part.
- [34:26]
Ann Bogle
So more books is more possibility? And you like possibility in your reading life?
- [34:31]
Christine Parsons
I love possibility. I think that's what makes it exciting. You don't know what you're going to encounter.
- [34:36]
Ann Bogle
Okay, so today we're looking for bookish possibility, including stories set in museums and about art. We've talked a little bit about those characteristics that you really enjoy and the genres that you tend to go to. Is there anything else I should know about what you're looking for or that you want right now? If that's a different question to you?
- [34:58]
Christine Parsons
No, I am really open to anything. I trust your judgment. You're the expert. And also, I really enjoy someone's perspective other than my own. I have a really good dialed in sense of what I like. But I think part of the bookish serendipity that appeals to me so much is something someone presenting something to me that I might not have considered for myself.
- [35:22]
Ann Bogle
Okay, let's go readers. Our family is always on the go and there are six of us so it's a lot to manage. Syncing multiple schedules is tricky but important, so I'm excited to try out Skylight Calendar hours. Just arrived in the mail and I can't wait to see how it works for our busy family. Skylight Calendar was built to bring families together by keeping everyone's calendar to do list and reminders all in one easy to reference place. It's an all in one digital smart calendar that syncs seamlessly with whatever you're already using Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, Outlook and more. You can customize your views for daily, weekly and monthly planning and color code each family member's activities for quick and easy reference. If you've got younger kids or are working on building healthy routines, Skylight Calendar makes it fun and rewarding to keep track of tasks like brushing teeth or completing homework. Sky Skylight Calendar has a 100% happiness guarantee. If in four months you're not thrilled with your purchase, you can return it for a full refund, no questions asked. Families are better when they're working together. Right now, Skylight is offering our listeners 30 bucks off their 15 inch calendars by going to myskylight.com readnext go to myskylight.com readNext for 30 bucks off your 15 inch calendar. That is my s, k y l I g h t dot com readnext readers finding ways to save money while enjoying the same quality of service can be tricky. That's where Mint Mobile comes in with their big savings on premium wireless service. With Mint Mobile, you're not locked into a long term contract and getting billed for fees and free perks you didn't even ask for. If you've overpaid in the past, it's time to make the change and Mint Mobile is here to help with their premium wireless plans. Starting at 15 bucks a month, all of Mint Mobile's plans come with the high speed data and unlimited talk and text you expect pretty all delivered on the nation's largest 5G network. It's easy to make the switch in just a few minutes with their ESIM activation that you can set up on your own phone without changing your number. Say goodbye to overpriced wireless and get three months of premium wireless service from Mint Mobile for 15 bucks a month. Mint Mobile's pricing and clear, easy process makes it a great option and I'm happy to know it's out there for the next time I make a switch in my wireless plan. If you like your money, Mint Mobile is for you. Shop plans@mintmobile.com readnext that's mintmobile.com readnext upfront payment of 45 bucks for 3 month 5 gigabyte plan required equivalent to 15 bucks a month new customer offer for first 3 months only. Then full price plan options available, taxes and fees extra. See Mint Mobile for details. Christine this is going to be fun. Thank you for bringing this request to the show. The first book I have for you is brand new, just out May 5th. It was in the summer reading guide. So I want to focus on a little bit of a different thing than I did at unboxing or in the guide. It's by Alexandra Andrews. It's called the Fine Art of Lying. Do you know it?
- [38:18]
Christine Parsons
I do not.
- [38:20]
Ann Bogle
Okay, she wrote who is Maude Dixon? That came out maybe 2021, give or take a year, which was a suspenseful thriller with no likable characters. And I'm really asking myself, I've been asking myself while you've been talking, like, are these characters likable? But I think the protagonist of this book has a lot that you will like about her. So this is about a woman named Claire. She's a Manhattan stay at home mom. She lives a pretty tame life. She is almost done with her artwork, history, PhD and she says that she's been languishing as an ABD that is all but dissertation for years. And I'm going to skip to her revelation that she has at the end of the book for her. She finally decides, like I, I love art. Like I grew up in this tiny town upstate and I went to a museum and fell in love with this one particular painting. And it set me on a path that made me think I want to know more about this. And she thought, well, obviously the thing to do is pursue art history and if you're gonna pursue it all the way, that ends up with pursuing a PhD and her focus is this fictional artist who's this? She describes it as a successful but enigmatic mid century painter who's supposed to be the subject of her dissertation, except she's not writing it. But she comes to this realization that really you reminded me of with your words about art. She just reflects on how like she loves art. She doesn't know why she loves the mystery of it and she reflects on how no one in the thousands of years that art has existed, has been made by humans, has ever given a satisfactory explanation of what it actually does and why it affects us and how it affects us and what it all means. And why do certain works of art affect some people and not others? And she says all these people have written millions upon millions of words of about art, and she's read so many of them. But she says not a single sentence has come close to capturing that visceral response she had when she looks at a painting that for whatever reason, she loves. And she says it's not logical, it makes no sense, but it's real. And that is why I love art. And that kind of reminded me of what you said. Like, we can't understand it. I mean, we can't understand why we're drawn to it, but we can learn more about the things we're drawn to. And in this book, which is a murder mystery and it begins in this, like, dramatic fashion, then you go back and learn about the bad choices she made that led to her being at the scene of a crime when an art gallerist is murdered. Oh, and an $18 million painting is missing. But she knows all these things about art, but it's not just the knowledge, it's like, what they mean to her. And my favorite parts of the the book were when she gets pulled into conversations with people who know the art world. And she just really quickly, like, says what she thinks and why she likes some things but thinks others are overrated. And she's like, oh, those multi million dollar rainbow dots. Like, they just look good with people's sofas. Like, that's the only reason that that's popular. You want to see some good dots? How about check out this artist or this artist or this artist. And Christine, I think maybe the highest recommendation I can give to you for this one after I think you may really feel a kinship with the protag is my search history was so delightfully full of Richard Diebenkorn and Ed Ruscha and James Terrell and Carsten Holler and artists I hadn't heard of before, like Kusama and Baldessari and Howardena Pindell. And I enjoyed going down that road. And also for books set in museums, there's a fictional museum that's crucial to this book. It's called the Museum of Contemporary Art. It's in New York City. And how the museum functions, how the funds are raised, how the museum decides what to acquire, and then the complex process it must go through if it wants to de accession a work. Like, I never thought about any of that when I was reading it. I thought, oh, of course museums have to make decisions like this. And of course they have to account for, you know, the finances and the decisions about the art and everything else. But I never thought about it. And I really enjoyed how this book drew me to think about it. How does this sound to you?
- [42:45]
Christine Parsons
Oh, my gosh, that sounds incredible. I'm just sitting here, I'm like, how fast can I get this book feels like it perfectly encapsulates what I'm looking for in my reading life right now. And my fascination, if I had to tell you, there's certain things I consider in my reading wheelhouse. Museums, art, nuns, code breaking. I'm sure it's a very eclectic list, but it sounds like that you have taken the words that I've spoken and breathed them into existence in the form of this book. And I'm just so thrilled to get my hands on it.
- [43:22]
Ann Bogle
Well, I'm delighted to hear it. Christine and I are recording before the summer reading guide, but I will have said more about it by the time this episode is airing and you can have your hands on it past Christine can be reading it by the time this episode is playing for everyone.
- [43:37]
Christine Parsons
I can't wait.
- [43:39]
Ann Bogle
Okay, I'm glad. That sounds like a good fit. Next, I'm thinking about Lightbreakers by Aja Gable, and this one has been out for a little longer. Have you read this?
- [43:46]
Christine Parsons
I have not read this. I have it on hold in the library because, you know, I've always wanted to read the ensemble. And I read like the first few pages and I was like, I don't know if I like this. And maybe it was just more not the right book at the right time because they seemed a little unlikable because I don't know if I gave it a fair shot, but I have this one on hold and I haven't read it. And please tell me more about it.
- [44:09]
Ann Bogle
Well, this one has a strong hook for you, just with the content. So it could be a great place to start with Age of Gable, and then you can decide it is very different from the ensemble. And I think this one came out in fall 2024. But I was one of many readers who had just been eagerly awaiting her next one for six years. And she's a screenwriter, so she was writing in the meantime, just not writing books that we could hold in our hands. But this new novel is very different from her first. In this one, a quantum physicist is approached by a rich, egotistical billionaire to work on a secret project involving a dangerous kind of time travel. And at first, our scientist Noah and his wife Maya believe that Noah's been singled out because he's brilliant. And he, like, he's definitely brilliant, but he's also been targeted because of a tragedy in his past that's really being exploited here. And the billionaire also has secret sinister motives, but, you know, like, he's keeping those under wraps for the time being. So Noah and Maya decide he's going to take the job. They can't turn it down, and they move together to Marfa, Texas, because that's where the billionaires lab is. I've never been to Marfa, Texas, but I have really enjoyed the books I have read that include stops in Marfa, Texas. And I think this might be the first one I've read that's set entirely in Marfa, Texas. But art is big in Marfa, Texas. It is a real destination. So while Noah is off trying to, you know, figure out this dangerous kind of time travel thing, bad things are happening to Noah and his work and his marriage. But the stakes are even higher than that. And that, like sci fi kind of story will be deeply compelling to some readers. But let's talk about the setting and the art for you. Much of the action takes place in Marfa, Texas, which is such a cool place that many of us have only been to and perhaps will only go to on the page. And Maya is an artist from Japan and her career and interests feature Princess prominently in this book. How she's thinking about her work and her field and her friends who are artists, her friends who have left. There is so much art in these pages. I did so much googling and my search history just makes me smile when I think about it. I looked up so much Donald Judd and Kusama's Infinity Mirror Rooms. Now on, you want to go to the Detroit Museum. I want to see an Infinity Mirror Room in person now. And it's because of the this book, the Marfa Ghost Lights. The protagonist describes her visceral reactions to some works she sees. Like a Donald Judd installation that she saw and took in and just started crying. And she walks you through why. But also there's some more cerebral breakdowns of how she responds or doesn't to certain pieces. The Marfa Ghost Lights are not artistic exactly, but was also a really fun textural detail. But the art is not limited to Marfa. We also go to LA and New York City and Japan. Like there's so much fun, nerdy, creative, intellectual stuff in these pages. Because her husband's a scientist, she's an artist, and the book really examines that whole interplay between science and art and the human desire to understand it and the things we do understand. And also a question it poses is how much is beyond our understanding at all. And that may sound really deep, but piece by piece, with characters having conversations and thinking about the works in front of them, like the right reader could really fly through this. How's this sounding to you?
- [47:45]
Christine Parsons
Oh gosh, that sounds really fascinating. And science fiction is not a thing that I would normally gravitate to, but I feel like that it's one of those genres where with the right recommendations such as this one, you can find those hidden, hidden gems that are really going to speak to you and be the book that you're like, wow, you know, maybe I do need to look into this genre a little more. Maybe there are some stories that I haven't considered. I don't like to be a person who refuses to pick something up based on genre. You cannot lump them all into one genre and say, well, this is not for me. Like I would generally say horror, not for me. But I know that there are some books that I've read that would be considered horror books that I did appreciate and enjoy. If was not a little icked out by in certain spots of the book, but the compelling storyline, time travel and space, those are also things I'm super interested in. I finished Detour a couple days ago on audio and had no idea what it was about besides space. And I am very fascinated by the idea of time travel and wormholes and multi verses. You have to forgive me, I'm not quite up on my science as much as I'd like to be, but it's so fascinating to think about how one choice that you make creates a spin off universe in which you make the alternate choice and how that domino effect or butterfly effect, whatever you'd like to say, affects everything else around you. So I'm super excited about this one and feel like I will definitely be picking it up immediately.
- [49:15]
Ann Bogle
I'm glad to hear it. Okay, this next one is a little more of a stretch, but I think some of the literary story elements that aren't specifically about arts have a lot in common with some of your favorites, including especially Heart the Lover and Heart the Lover. What we have is the protagonist Jordan, looking back at a distance of many years and reflecting on what happened in her college years and how these relationships changed her life. And also how she feels differently about them in her. I think she's in her 40s than she ever knew to think of them when she was in her early 20s. But the book I'm thinking of is Dear Monica Lewinsky by Julia Longvine. It came out mid April. Is this one you're familiar with?
- [50:02]
Christine Parsons
I almost picked it up at the bookstore.
- [50:05]
Ann Bogle
Did you? Okay. The COVID is really distinctive. Were you drawn in by the COVID or did you put it down because of the. The COVID Some readers love this, and some readers are like, what the heck? I don't think this could be for me.
- [50:17]
Christine Parsons
No, I was drawn in. And the title, it was at the library and I saw it and I was like, ooh. I almost grabbed it, but there's like a 10 new book checkout limit and they waived it already for me. So I was like, I can't do that too. I can't check out another one and have like, 15 new books out and be monopolizing them. Our libraries. Amazing, but on the smaller side. So I was like, I shall save that for somebody else. But I am. I saw it yesterday. It's funny that you mentioned it, because I was like, oh, I really want to read that.
- [50:46]
Ann Bogle
Oh, okay. It's kind of you to look out for your fellow readers. I'm not sure what you gathered from the jacket, but I'll start. I'll start from scratch. This book. Well, Holland Saltzman of the novel Neighbor gave me a galley of this a million years ago and said, read it. I want to know what you think and, like, what is happening with this cover. But I did, and the premise is so audacious, I thought, like, this is a big swing. Like, it's a little bit Dickens, a Christmas Carol, but also not at all that. So in this book, we have this woman in her, I think, early 40s, looking back on what her life could have been, reflecting on how she was so in love with the art and also, she thought, so in love with this man who she felt really took advantage of her innocence and, like, love and appreciation for beauty and beautiful things and never fully understanding how it wrecked her or why, and finding guidance and what seems like both a highly unlikely but ultimately perhaps perfect place that feels like it's able to explore themes that are really perfect for right now. Lots of descriptions of art. Also, if you're into that, really terrific descriptions of France and food. How's this sounding to you?
- [52:08]
Christine Parsons
There were several things that you said that really just, like, struck a nerve and, oh, gosh, like, this is going to be Amazing. I'm already, like. I'm kind of at a loss for words. I feel like I'm anticipating the experience before I've even had it. And I'm so excited just to be able to do that. But talking about the timeline of the story, you know, my college experiences are about that same time frame. And I feel like that I can really relate to that. That if. If you could have developed a comparison to Heart the Lover, like, come up with it yourself, I don't think you could have done it any better than this. This sounds like exactly the type of story that is not the same story, but same emotional experience. And I'm incredibly excited about it because it's both relevant to things that I'm aware of, but also, there's so much in there to unpack and to learn about. I love learning new things about medieval art. I don't really know anything about medieval art. I have a loose knowledge of, you know, medieval times. And it reminds me a little bit from what you're saying about the Rachel Incident. And I adored that book. Just the relationships in there, like, really getting into those and understanding, like, how you feel in that moment emotionally versus perhaps looking at it later with perspective and understanding that it was the power dynamics were not what they should have been, and seeing it through a different set of lenses, perhaps just. The whole book sounds incredible, and I cannot wait to pick it up. Gosh, you are so good at this.
- [53:39]
Ann Bogle
I'm so glad. That sounds like a good fit. And the Rachel Incident is such a good comp. I love that book, and I'm always looking for more of that flavor. And it hadn't occurred to me that that Dear Monica Lewinsky actually fits that description.
- [53:52]
Christine Parsons
I love that book. I listened to it, I think, and I don't know what about it. I think I initially was like, I'm not sure this is for me. And then I'm pretty sure that was one of those, like, I have several, like, in my pocket of, like, go to recommendations, and that's one of them. That and the Likeness and Bear Town. You know, I've tried not to recommend the same books all the time. I really try to think about what somebody might like, because I don't want to just tell you. Read this book. Like. Like I said, I want to recommend a book for a particular person based on their taste because that's so much more meaningful. But there's some that are universally appealing.
- [54:27]
Ann Bogle
You want to hear the why?
- [54:28]
Christine Parsons
Yes. Yes, I do.
- [54:29]
Ann Bogle
All right. Well, good news. I hear your library has it my library.
- [54:34]
Christine Parsons
I hope it's still on the shelf.
- [54:36]
Ann Bogle
Well, if not, I also hear you have plenty to read, but you want to know what's going to strike your mood right now. Okay. Speaking of. So we talked about. We talked about a lot of books, but the three we're left with are the Fine Art of Flying by Alexandra Andrews, Lightbreakers by A.J. gable, and Dear Monica Lewinsky by Julia Langvine. Christine, what do you think? What do you intend to pick up next?
- [54:59]
Christine Parsons
Oh, gosh, Dear Monica Lewinsky, just Recency bias. You talked about that one last and I it just all of them sound incredible. I cannot wait to go out and get them as soon as possible, pick them up today on my way home from work if I can. But I just am so excited about that one. That one sounds unique and different and I. I don't know. Not that I wouldn't have picked it up because clearly I saw it at the library yesterday and I might have. But I love a unique reading experience, something that I didn't expect to have that now I get to and then I can share with everybody else. So thank you so much for doing this. This has been absolutely incredible.
- [55:37]
Ann Bogle
Oh well, the pleasure's mine. Thank you for sharing your life and your reading life with us, and I'm so excited you're excited about what you can read next. Hey readers, I hope you enjoyed my conversation with Christine and I'd love to hear what you think she should read next. Find Christine on Instagram and Goodreads. We have those links and the full list of titles we talked about today at whatshould I read next podcast.com make sure you're following us in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, wherever you get your podcasts. That way you'll find each week's new episode automatically in your downloads. You'll find us on Instagram @whatshouldireadnext. That's where we feature each new episode along with other happenings like our recent Patreon bonus episodes, news about events, photos of our new merch, and other assorted updates from what Should I Read Next HQ Join Join our email list at what Should I read next? Podcast.com newsletter and you'll hear from us each week with a peek at the latest episode and other news to know. Thank you to the people who make the show happen. What Should I Read Next? Is created each week by Executive Producer Will Bogle, Media Production Specialist Holly Wilkachevski, Social Media Manager and Editor Lee Kramer, Community Coordinator Brigid Mistlehorn, Community Manager Shannon Malik and our whole team at what Should I Read next? And modern Mrs. Darcy HQ plus the audio whizzes at Studio D Podcast Production Readers, that's it for this episode. Thanks so much for listening. And as Reiner Maria Rilke said, ah, how good it is to be among people who are reading. Happy reading everyone.
- [57:19]
Christine Parsons
Sam.