Bookwild - Books that NEED Adaptations with Gare

Episode Date: May 1, 2026

This week, Gare and I talk about books we think deserve adaptations ASAP!  Gare also brought a messy icebreaker to the episode. Books We Talked About Good People by Patmeena Sabit The Anniversary by Alex Finlay Judge Stone by Viola Davis and James Patterson Secret Lives of Murderers Wives by Elizabeth Arnott Into the Blue by Emma Brodie Night Watcher by Stephanie Woolsoncroft She Drinks the Light by Yasmin Angoe Ours Is a Tale of Murder by Nora Murphy The Seven Daughters of Dupree by Nikesha Elise Williams Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll Check Out Author Social Media PackagesCheck out the Bookwild Community on PatreonCheck Out My Stories Are My Religion SubstackGet Bookwild MerchFollow @imbookwild on InstagramOther Co-hosts On Instagram:Gare Billings @gareindeedreadsSteph Lauer @books.in.badgerlandHalley Sutton @halleysutton25Brian Watson @readingwithbrianMacKenzie Green @missusa2mba 

Well, Gere is back. Woohoo. Let's do it. I think there are some people who are probably like, yes, Gare is here. Actually, when I was at the Sally Hepworth event last night, the girl who interviewed her, Emma, came up and told me how much she loves, like, us talking on the podcast and how like she never, she could never get into podcasts. and she loves how conversational it is and that it's so fun and so I was like I'm going to tell him because I'm recording with him tomorrow oh my god that's so sweet thank you Emma I think she's going to come on an episode too so that'll be fine rotate through these um these side characters I've developed now I know you're like little miss social I kind of am it's fun to be social though when it's like bookish things or things you're interested in

Yeah, you just know you're going to have things in common. Because I feel like that it's not as like social battery draining. No, it's not. As long as it's the right people. And it typically is. Yeah. Yeah, Sally Upworth, just for everyone listening, she is gorgeous. It'll be hilarious if she's listening, but like that's fine too.

Because she and Jane Harper were like in the comment sections last week. So I saw Jane Harper and then Jane Harper. hyped up Sally Hepworth. There's a lot of H's. And so then I like mentioned it in that post. And then they were talking to each other in the post. And then Sally showed up and I lost the rest of that story. What was the tie in there?

Did I just get excited about a side story maybe? Maybe. Yeah. Sally Hepworth's really pretty. Yes. Yes, she's gorgeous. That was the other part. Like her cheekbones?

are insane. Like I was like, you were just glowing. She was just glowing. She's so cute. She's very funny. And yeah, I love her books more now. It was one of those moments where you like, meet the author

makes you like the book even more. I love that. Yeah. Yeah. I love that. I just got to fly you to Indiana sometimes. I would love to come to Indiana. The way things are going up here,

I don't think I would come back. I'd be like, Murphy, pack your babies on our way. Bruce is getting comfy back there. We've got multiple dog spots everywhere. I don't even know where Murphy is. I really don't. You're like, I don't want to know right now. I don't know what he's getting up to. I don't know what he's getting up to. Murphy. Oh, babe. Well, you have an icebreaker? Mm-hmm. I have a fun icebreaker. I thought of this last night, actually, because I'm a TikTok junkie.

And there's, like, this trend going around that I keep seeing. And it's, like, tell me three things that you think people are lying about liking. Oh, it's kind of messy. It's a little messy. But, like, I usually agree with them. And then, like, sometimes I either am like, girl, preach, like, I agree with you. or I'm like offended because I'm like I am not lying about liking that like I know that's why it's so messy I'm trying to think of like I saw one yesterday and she was like coconut water oh yeah and I was like really anyone enjoying that yeah it was like gross and then she said another one and I was like offended I was like I love that and then I can't remember what the third one was but I remember like agreeing with that and I was like this is so like controversial but I thought It'd be fun to make bookish. So I want to know if there is some...

I was like ice baths and you're like, no, we're going to make it bookish. I'm like, oh. I'm going to be messy. Okay, go on, go on. I want to know if there is something bookish that you think people are lying about liking. Oh, okay. You know, this episode will never see the light of day. I know, I know. I do like it. it um okay what do i think people are lying about liking okay well here is like this is what comes to mind because i just one of the books i'm going to talk about had it is not a spicy book it just

had a couple extended spicy scenes but like i think i've talked about it on here before like if i'm watching something on tv like euphoria like lots of sex on that for example or like movies that have them. I'm not like, oh my gosh, like I don't, but when like certain words like emceed are used in the context. I'm like, I don't think I like reading this, but it's not because of what it is, but it's the wording that sometimes I'm like, okay, that was a little bit weird. Like moist. Yeah. And we're like. Yeah, like, and how many times do you want to hear member? You probably want to hear it a lot.

I don't want to hear a member. If somebody said to me, like, you want to see my member, I'd be like, get the fuck out of here. I'd never want to see you again. I don't want to see your face if you say member. Yeah. But, like, I have noticed that there are aggressively, like, I don't know if this is, like, a, like, politically correct. literary way of saying it, but like I have noticed that like even in a thriller or a book that's not spicy, they always say the word cock. Yeah. Yes. Like it's never like, oh, I grabbed his dick.

Yes. Like I'm reading a thriller right now and there is like not spicy moments, but like she mentioned a cock and I was like, I'm always like a little jarred by that because I feel like that's like a very aggressive way to say like penis is. It just is like the word is. And like listen. between the type of men I'm into and the fact that I have read a lot of M.M. romance, I don't, like, personally find that word, like, bad. But, like, a lot of them say, like, oh, like, his dick or something else. But, like, if you're, like, calling a woman's part of, like, flower. Even for me, sometimes reading, like, the part between my legs, I'm, like,

the part between your legs. Like, why did, why did you say it that way? Yeah, it's a little weird. And it, but I don't know what the balance is enough because I don't read enough smut. So like I, and this wasn't even smut, but I don't know what the balance is. It's not what they're doing. It's how it gets described that sometimes takes me out of it. I've only read a few smutty books that involve women. Mm-hmm.

I've heard opening. Yeah. And I've heard slit a lot. Yep. Yeah. And I'm like, that's a little. Yeah. That's a little weird.

I just want somebody to come up with like, I want to read like a smut one time that's like, got like a funny way of saying it. That is like sometimes better. I approach my boom boom. Oh, you know. I want somebody to be like, you know, one of those like yes yeah but i feel like some of them can be like very aggressive when it's in a thriller

and like i am not prude by any means and i know you're not either but like no i was reading yeah i was reading a thriller today and it was like it wasn't even spicy it was just like imagine what my husband would do if i like grabbed his cock in the laundry room and i was like oh excuse me man you're like this is a murder to solve what do you get your hands out of there That's a good one. Yeah. Now I feel like mine's kind of lame. I don't think it's lame.

I haven't said mine yet. I don't believe it will be lame. I have confidence in you. Mine is mine is Gothic Thrillers. Oh, yeah.

Here's my thing. I am very sensitive to dust same and germs and stuff like that so like I cannot picture myself walking into like a Gothic mansion that has like sheets over the bedding and like furniture and it's like covered in dust and they're just like ripping them off and like sitting on that like I would rather die

but like I just kind of feel like the thing that I find very interesting about thrillers and this might be me looking into it too far is that like I think it's very interesting how something can like completely rattle you to the core when you are in a position that you are at your most like comfortable and vulnerable spot. Right. So like when you're cozied up in your house and you're like on your couch and you're in your like favorite pajamas or comfy clothes, you've got like your blanket fireplace and like you are like at your best most like comfortable vulnerable spot. and then you see a man's face outside of your window. That scares me more than a bunch of idiots ending up in a Gothic mansion where it's already creepy. Totally. Because you're already on edge, right?

And I just don't know. I just don't think, I don't see what the appeal is about a Gothic mansion that people are like, oh my God, it's Gothic. I can't wait to read it. I don't get it. Yeah. It's hit and miss for me is what I've learned too. I like never know.

There are some where like, so like, what I have learned is mine is typically we both read No Road Home by John Fram. And that's considered Gothic. And I would go but it's a very, it's a very psychological thriller as well. Right. And then it just has it, it does fit that there's some gothic elements, but it's also not even a literal Gothic mansion. I think is also kind of what you're saying too. because like the Gothic elements there and actually Laneford does a good job of explaining this. And what's her face?

Eckstein, the author of Junie, where like it's kind of the like house is haunted by in No Road Home, the house is like haunted by like the family's traumatic secrets essentially. And so that qualifies for Gothic but it's mostly a psychological thriller. So I think that's kind of like how with horror I'm still hitting this. Like I typically though, I'm going to enjoy psychological horror or social, social horror. But yeah, I get it because like just a Gothic mansion can feel like a gimmick. It's one of those ones where sometimes you're like, oh, that's all there is. You can kind of, yeah.

Well, because they even said that return to midnight by Emma Doos was like kind of gothicy. And I was like, that didn't feel gothic to me because like when I think of like Gothic mansion, I think of like the dusty, like abandoned house that's like, and like that wasn't it, you know, like those girls were keeping the house clean. Yeah. It was where they were living. Right. But like for me, it's like when it's like a snowstorm and people are stuck in this gothic mansion

that nobody's lived in for 50 years and I'm like, I also don't like, what's it called? Is it adjacent to Gothic? kind of trapped locked locked room is not for you like trapdoor a trapdoor

um no yeah locked room mysteries just don't really do it for me that much anymore I tried to read one the ending rights itself and I thought I was going to love it because the vibes were amazing

and then there was a reveal at 50% and I was like that but that doesn't make any sense and so then I was very disappointed. I feel like sometimes people try to take a trope and they're like

I don't want to be stereotypical so I'm going to try to switch it up and it just doesn't do it. To differing results. Well like I mean it's kind of like how like we I think we've talked about this before but like the wild protagonist

or like the popular beautiful girl used to be like your stereotypical blonde. and now it's like the fiery redhead. Yeah. Like almost every thriller I read lately, there's a redhead. Mad Mabel. And I'm like, Mad Mabel's different.

Well, it's okay. It's okay if she fits a trend. I love my girl Mabel. But I mean like the girl that is the most popular cheerleader who gets kidnapped. And like now she's got to be a redhead in 2026. Because people are like. I'm scared. Because now like, because haven't for bad before.

like everybody was too blonde and then like now it's like there's so many redheads and like thrillers and I'm like what's going on? Can we just have a little. I'm also noticing a lot of twins. Oh really? Yeah, a lot of thrillers have twins. What did I just read? Oh, I read one but it was contemporary fiction. Yeah, I'm noticing a lot of twins. I don't mind the twin thing. It's done right. Yeah. Yeah, I haven't read one too recently. the one I'm reading right now is twins ooh and it has cliffhangers you said

oh my god I'm getting so like I'm loving it but I'm like also like how am I supposed to take a break I'm reading The Girls in the Dark by Avery Bishop Oh yeah we should tell them So good so so so good I love Avery Bishop if you ever hear this I love your book so much

It is like Cold Case Mystery Haunted Pass coming back to like bite you in the ass. There's like a little bit of like the true crime element. There's like shocker element. So it's basically like this woman named Megan.

Her and her sister Allison at 15 got kidnapped by this serial killer who targeted twins. And he kidnapped them and held them for like 150 days in captivity. And only Megan escaped. They never found her sister and they never found the man who took them. And now she's like seeing things and things. are happening where like she wonders if her sister is like alive. And it's dual timeline. And I don't think this is like a spoiler, but like she was talking to somebody about her like theory that her sister could be alive and is maybe like stalking her.

And somebody said, well, if she's coming after you, I don't blame her. So like something happened when they were held. in captivity where like if her sister was alive it would not be a happy reunion like her her sister hates her for some reason so i'm like completely obsessed but every single chapter each timeline is ending in like a major major cliffhanger and i'm like how am i supposed to like pause how am i supposed to pause to like i don't know when to go to bed i don't know when to start cooking dinner i don't know when to do anything yeah it's so good it's so good and i can't stop and i love a that feeling i love a fucking cliffhanger i love a fucking cliffhanger

me too God tease me tease me tease me oh that's good we make a great shell because I love like a shell that has a cliffhanger

at the end of each episode too yes yeah those are the best like thriller dramas suspense yeah I need a show like that again well

there's just a gaping hole in my life of the pit no more pit you have pit left no I don't I just felt like the season finale

it was very lackluster for me I liked it a lot but I love the show I saw a lot of I understand why people did feel that way though I just yeah

it felt like here's a thing if a show is going to be canceled or is going to end I love a satisfactory ending but like I also feel like if you know

that there's going to be more of a show give me something that is going to make me excited for the next season give me something that's going to like make me think about it until I can see the show again and I just felt like with the pit like if they were like we're going to end it at season two I would have been like okay you know like if they were like we're going to end it out of season I would like okay well that that ending felt like

they don't need to see me again and I don't need to see them again but I will you like tease me Give me something. Give me something. Have Noah Wiley and Sean Hatticey show up at the same apartment together and kiss and be like, how is your day? Okay. I mean, I would be fine with that. Give like something where I'm like, oh my God, they've been a couple this whole time. And I didn't know it until now. That would be amazing. I would see those kind of like jokes on threads. I do love threads. Somebody made an AI video of them making out and I actually fell for it. Like it was like, did you see the new episode of The Pit? And it was like, did you see the new episode of The Pit? And it was like, like them in like the bathroom of the hospital and like Sean Hatticey pushes Noah Wiley against the door and like starts like making out with him and I was like oh my god how come Kate didn't tell me about this and then I fucking caught up and I was like I was bamboozled you like thought you were going to get to experience it that's how you found out I thought yeah I saw on Twitter and I was like oh my god and so I caught up on the show and I watched a finale and I was like oh you oh that's the worst way to find out I was like I want to find out how they're a couple I want to find out I want to find out how they're a couple I want to find out how this kiss happened. Have they been like... And I was like, son of a bitch. And then like the finale

was like there was really nothing that was like big that happened. And so I was just like tricked. They got you. By the AI. It was a really good one too. Because usually like my mom will show me something.

And I'm like, oh my God, that's AI. How can you not tell? And then like I got fucking tricked hard. I want to find it. I don't find it. It's insane. Bruce is angry at the AI. He's like, yeah,

we just say, we're going to talk about books that we think would be good adaptations. Yeah. Which is just fun. I like this idea a lot. I, well,

you know what? Okay, I'm going to be very vulnerable for a second. Go for it. I have never mourned a show the way I've mourned Tell Me Lies.

Yes. And I'm having a very hard time accepting the fact that there's, I love the ending. I love the ending. Megan Oppenheimer, I love you so much. I loved the ending of that show. It's perfect. I don't, I didn't watch that saying they could have went on and done more seasons of this.

But I'm having a really hard time letting go. I miss it. I miss the drama. I miss the acting. I miss the characters. I miss everything. And I'm like having a hard time letting go. So I'm like, you know what?

I need something else that is based on one of my favorite books that ends up being one of my favorite shows. and that's when I was like, let's just manifest some bookish adaptations that would give me the same feeling. Yeah. That's a good reason. The third season of Tell Me Lies, I think, is one of the best seasons of any television show in the entire world. In the entire world? Yeah, in the entire world. The third season you thought was the best, even compared to its other two seasons.

My ranking is three to one. Oh, okay. mine is one, two, three. I think yours is one, two, three. Oh, yeah. You thought the first season was better than two and three? Yes. Really?

I don't, well, maybe season two is better than season one, but I don't think so. And by season three, I was like, I didn't dislike it. I was just like, some of it felt so similar. I thought it felt, I think the acting was the best in season three. Oh, yeah. see that. Especially Grace Van Patten. Oh yeah.

And so that was like I felt like season two was like more like twisty. Like there were like a lot of like cliffhangers and like what the fuck moments. Yeah. But like season three I felt like it was like so well acted and it was just like the most anxiety I've ever had watching a TV show in like the best way. Yeah. But yeah.

In season one I thought was a little dull. I might be two one three. I can't totally remember the total differences between one and two. Oh, yeah. I don't know. Damn, crazy. Just got to get some more adaptations out there. Yeah, we got to.

You can kick it off. Okay. Well, I just also probably wanted an excuse to talk about this book, but I just finished Good People by Pap Mena Sabid. And so the gist of this one is a, like, teenage girls. girl and then this rich Afghan immigrant family dies in kind of mysterious circumstances. And so then it's told completely and through transcripts of family friends and neighbors that narrate everything that led to this girl's death.

And so you get like all you get all these people's bias on the situation. and so the whole time you're like oh okay well was is her version the right one or is hers and like you kind of see their biases too it was such a unique way to experience a book it's all transcripts of just different people kind of like kill show that I really enjoyed a couple of months ago um so obviously that format works for me but this one like talks about like it has more like social issues woven into it basically. But I think it would be a really good. I think it would be good as a TV show

because it's like it could truly be done like the scripts, since it's all transcripts, I can see it being so good like just as a documentary where you're like you just have a couple sets and these people just read the lines. And I feel like it would be very engaging because there's a lot of cliffhangery stuff. actually from what you were saying where it's like you're completely convinced for like 30 pages that like

this new evidence means something but then you hear a couple other things from other people and then all of a sudden you're like wait a second did my mind just change like that's the whole book like multiple times so I think you would be good on TV and they would have lots of cliffhangers that sounds good you know also like kind of like documentaries like you know how they have like the reenactments you could have that in it too for a TV show that would be really cool yeah because like then it could be like short little scenes like a big powerful punch basically yes it's it's really good I understand why people like a lot of the reviews are like obsessed with it and that's how I felt I was glued to it that's how I felt with the paper palace I know I did buy it on a

audible so I'm gonna get to it. I think there's also like a thriller that's told through all. Kill show. No, there's another. I think it's like Kara Hunter. Maybe like I think it's called like a murder in the family or something. Oh, okay. But that's like a little, a little micro trope I've noticed in like thrillers where it's like all transcripts or like files and things like that. Yeah.

So maybe that's one you would like. I do enjoy it. it's not something like once you read one like that it's not like you want to go right into another yeah transcript one but i but i know that it works for me so then when because this is even like it's called literary contemporary fiction and there's like a mystery element it is not a thriller at all so like it is mostly literary fiction so it's kind of cool i hadn't read it in literary fiction i'd only read it in thriller that's really cool yeah Now you got me curious about it.

I think you would enjoy it, but like, it's not like fast-paced thriller. You just don't want to be in that mood. Yeah, as long as they're not in a Gothic bansion, I think I'll be over. No. While speaking of books that are told in a unique fashion. I love that. my first one is one that we both recently read and loved, and it is coming out on April, coming out on May 12th.

And it's called The Anniversary by Alex Finlay. Yes. It is really hard for me to not consider this my favorite book of the year so far. It's way up there. Like, it's teeter tottering between this one and another one that I've read this year that I'm going to talk about tonight. So in 1992, two 17-year-olds lives changed forever. So Quinn Riley is the boy from the wrong side of town. He's arrested for trying to break up a fight and almost killing someone.

And then Jules Delaney survives a brutal attack from a serial killer dubbed the May Day killer. So a year later, like she's dealing with survivors' guilt and he's released from juvenile detention and looking to solve the murder of his mother. So every May 1st, their lives kind of converge again as they both look for like answers in his mother's murder and her attack and the identity of who this May Day killer is. But there's nothing in between. So it's all only May 1st for like a decade. Yeah. And that's all you get is like their perspectives like so they could be like I close the door.

May 1st, 1159, and you're not going to find out what happens again until a year later. No. But it's like there's a lot of like shocking revelations about like how much their lives changed in a year, especially like in the beginning. And then toward the end it's more like a little bit. It felt like like like the second half was like a little bit more like police procedural. But I just thought it was a very interesting way to tell a story. I agree. only getting their perspectives from one day out of the year for 10 so years.

But I thought that was, I could see it being like a TV shirt. TV shirt, TV show similar to like Blackbird, very moody. Yeah, I agree. And, you know, character. That's a good segue for my next one. Oh, yeah, do it, do it. Because of course, Judge Stone by Viola Davis and James Patterson. But, like, of course we needed to be a TV show because she's who I was imagining the whole time.

Also, she narrates the audiobook. So it really felt like she's ready to play the character, basically. But it is, she plays a judge in a really small, really small, but also, like, impoverished town. and it doesn't say what the case is about in the synopsis, so I always opt out of saying it. Some people have been saying what the case is about on Instagram, but it's like really vague in their synopsis. So it's just like a really difficult case involving a 13-year-old girl basically divides this really small town in the South. and she has to be the judge in a case that is like very heated and that's all you need to know it would be a great TV show I think or a TV series because there's a lot that happens and it

like covers a lot of topics of like like the effects of like really uh deep poverty deep poverty um yeah so we could I want to tackle a lot I want to read the that. It's very good. They have it at my, they have nine copies at my local indigo. Ooh. But it's hardcover. Oh. Bummer. Yeah.

Is it, is that book, is it historical or is it present day? Present day. Okay. And it says like mystery and then it says thriller, legal thriller. like mostly mystery legal thriller like not like thrilling thrilling but not like super fast pacing it's still yeah like things are still happening and shifting but it's not like pulse pounding thriller stuff all the time i've heard people compare it to a time to a time to kill by john grisham yes i would completely agree with that and i love that movie i've never read the book but i love the movie maybe maybe it wouldn't be a good movie

basically if iola just do whatever you want yeah right this is me just asking all in your we're suggesting it's all in your hands just whatever you want no pressure yeah i really want to read that i think you'll enjoy the way she covers some things i'm very curious um i don't think i have a segue That's okay. But I think I have one that you will definitely agree with me on. The Secret Lives of Murderer Wives by Elizabeth Arna. I wondered, because when I was scrolling mine, I was like, I bet year we'll choose that one.

Has to. So this in the anniversary are pretty much tied for my favorites of the year. Yep. But I'm not like a historical fiction kind of person. And so I love this one. It's like everything in a book basically that I should have. didn't really like based on everything I've said on this podcast. It's historical. It's hot. Like it takes place in California in the summer of 1966. Yeah. And there's Beverly, Elsie, and Margo

who are three friends. And they're very different from one another, but they all have one thing in common. And it's that they are the wives of serial killers. So their husbands are either like incarcerated or dead. And they are just like kind of supporting each other. and then someone begins to murder women locally and they are just like who better than to look for a serial killer than three women who are married to one. So they kind of like form this like Charlie's Angels of Murder Trio and decide to take matters into their own hands to like find out who it is. And it was so freaking good.

It's like dark and exciting and atmospheric and like super cinematic. I just think it would be amazing. I would want it personally as a TV show because I feel like there were a lot of subplots and like things with their lives and also related to the crime that like you could cover in an episode.

So I would love to see it as like a mini series. And I want like David Fincher. Yeah. I want somebody who's going to like this goes for this one and all of the ones that I'm talking about. But Like basically somebody who's going to be passionate about it and not Ryan Murphy.

Amen. I'm with you there. You do not need Ryan Murphy touching that one. No. Like American Horror Story, fine. Scream Queens, fine. Any of these? No.

Look the other way. Go away. Go out of here. We don't want you. No. He would be the one person that would somehow find this episode. I know. after all the people that we've praised.

Yeah, we're like, Viola, just do you. We're perfect for it. Sarah Michelle Geller, like, you're my idol. Ryan Murphy would be like, you fucking bastard. And I'd be like, yeah. Shut up, Brian. Well, now I don't have a segue way. And this is going to be the first time I've talked about this book since I finished.

You could just be like, speaking of a book, I don't want Ryan Murphy to a dozen. Speaking of a book. Ryan Murphy don't go, yes, don't go near this one either. Motherfucker, don't do it. Oh, I would be so disappointed. It's kind of like how the caretaker has cast Sidney Sweeney already. And I'm like, why? Why?

And Blake Lively. Blake Lively is not going to happen. No, I don't think so. I think that one's stalled right now and I think she'll probably get replaced. I'm like nothing about the caretaker. Amber Hurd was supposed to be Lily and the kind worth killing. Ooh. That would have worked.

Yeah. But now people riot. People are peopling. Because Johnny Depp can still have a career, but. Anywho, what's your book? Men. Okay. So my book, out of my genre, and I got so obsessed with it,

it's called Into the Blue by Emma Brody. It's like, it wrecked me. so many different times. I can't believe how invested I was in this book. It was like a 16 hour audio book and there's so many things that are amazing and I don't even know how I'm going to write my review because I'm like there's so much to talk about. So to keep it very short, it's basically this girl, AJ Graves, when she's like 17, like one of the boys in her, I mean, he's like he's 20 years old, comes back in town and basically they start to do improv together and like get really good at connecting with each other they're both definitely theater kids which was where I was like

this is really good for me and but then it kind of turns into like she goes on to be like a reality TV editor and she works at SNL so then like a lot of the like comedy that I I'm really interested then starts happening too. So they have this like summer where they like get really intensely bonded and they have like these plans to like perform together because he's like the grandchild of like he's a Nepo baby essentially like his family lineage is like actors in Hollywood. So like they have this big plan and then he just like disappears out of her life. completely.

And it's like in the 2000s, I'm talking way too much about it, but it's in the 2000s, so like no cell phones. So like he just disappears. And she has like no clue like what even where he is. And then I think it jumps six years.

And then they're on a set together. And then there's all this tension. And they're basically they use the, uses story through improv and like TV shows to like tell their story is the best way to describe how unique it is. It's kind of unique reading experience. But there's also a reason that he left so abruptly that becomes a big part of the plot. But I can't tell you what it is. But it spans like it goes from 2000 to like all the way to 2013 by the end. So it spans a really

long time in their careers with each other. It was so good. That's all I can say. I want to read that. I think it would be best as a TV show, even if it was like a six episode. Well, also, it has four very distinct parts. So really, that would actually probably work well, too, just doing four episodes. Hmm. I want to read it. Yeah. Especially now that, like, I know how you feel about like theater kids and stuff. Right. I enjoyed it. I was like, that's like, that's how I feel about like thrillers and like characters that are like obsessed with Shakespeare.

Yeah. That's where I was nervous and then there was no Shakespeare. Yeah. Like that, what is it? If we were villains. Yes. Like some people like love that book so much and they're like, oh my God, I think you would absolutely love it. And it's like a bunch of like Shakespeare obsessed.

And I was like, no. They sound pretentious. already I don't like them. Mm-hmm. Like, yeah. Behoove you. Yeah, I just, my brain

doesn't click into that. No. It just doesn't. No power to you if it does. Yeah. More power to you. I like serial killers and women who take down shitty men.

Yes. Speaking of. This I'm going to say would be a great movie. Mm. And I want the one who directed The Watcher, no, Watcher with Micah Monroe to do this. All the enough, it's called Night Watcher by Daphne Wilsoncroft.

This would be perfect for it. Yeah. This would be so perfect for people who like kind of like like slasher movies and thrillers because it's kind of like it feels like it's like in between. Yeah. And the character has a really cool name. Her name is Nola Strait. Yes.

And as a child, she had this like encounter. with a serial killer who was targeting the Pacific Northwest which is already like atmospheric as fuck so right into it but now she is the host of a show called Nightwatch which is a popular radio show that she took over from her father

and then she ends up receiving a call on air from a woman who says that there's an intruder in her home and like the details of what is happening to this woman bring her back to the encounter that she had with this serial killer as a child. And now she thinks that this serial killer called the Nothing Man is like coming back to get her. Um, like unfinished business kind of thing.

So it's very like creepy. There's like stalker elements, serial killer, um, really atmospheric. I thought it was like super cinematic too. Like it just felt like I could see everything perfectly in my mind when I was reading it. But I think it would be so good. I think it would be such a good, like movie. Yeah. And I would just love to see it. That's awesome. You would be the perfect director though.

Like when you said that, I was like, this is so perfect. And it's kind of funny that it's watcher and night watcher. Yeah. Well, it's like she was really good with Watcher of having those small moments. So it's not like a jump scare scene, but it's like did I really just see what I saw out of the corner of my eye? Or like you really have to see attention.

lighty aesthetic like you're counting yourself yeah like there's a scene on the subway that like will forever like terrify me um me too there's like a thing like somebody like waving that scares me but like there's it's very much alike this character and myself as the viewer need to look over my shoulder at all times yeah that um this book had a lot of those moments too and i think it would just do really well on screen. I think so too. Box office hit. Definitely. Well, speaking of box office hits, Yasmin Ongo wrote,

She Drinks the Light and the first time I heard about it, I saw the blurb that said for fans of sinners, which is a box office hit. Sinners in Immortal Dark. I don't know if anyone has read Immortal Dark necessarily in this audience, but it's like a Y.A. Vampire

love story ish. But I really got the sinners vibe with this one. So like the short gist of it is Adai is the main character and she has lived her whole life on this private island.

And like her family for centuries have like owns fat islands basically they've been there forever and so then there's some kind of like mythology around the island but you don't really know totally what the mythology all adds up to but then one of her friends goes missing when she like left the island and so for the first time in her life ad i leaves the island and so then like all the questions of like okay what is what did I grow up in and like what were all of those things start to come to light and that's kind of like the best place to leave it but she's also trying to save her friend is essentially a part of it so it's kind of like a it's kind of like a supernatural YA thriller with like a mystery because she's trying to figure things out um but I think you I feel like it would be another one that would probably be good for TV because there are it's kind of kind of long and they're like very distinct like shifts that I think would probably work but it might

be good as a movie too because it's definitely like sinners I would agree with that sinners packed in a lot in a movie yeah yeah yeah I love that movie I want to watch it again it's so good it kind of like also gives me like did you ever see like the village like I'm Shaman. Yes, a long time ago. Kind of gives me that vibe too. Yeah. Where you like see what the outside world is and realize things are a lot different than what you're being told. Yeah. So, um, mine definitely does not have vampires in it. But there is a little bit of a love story. There we go. It's toxic too and I love it.

Ooh. Well, naturally. Um, so. as we all know, I'm a huge, huge, huge fan of John Mars. And especially Chapter 39 of Keep It in the Family, which is like one of the best twists in like any book I've read. So if you enjoy that, you should check out, ours is a tale of murder by Nora Murphy. Because at the end of one of the parts of that book, it is similar to Chapter 39 of Keep It in the Family.

It was one of the most brilliant twist. I never saw coming. I was like just speechless. I freaking love this book. And I think that it would be a very good like thriller kind of like your friends and neighbors vibes

where it's like you think that this little town that you live in with like wealthy people is like big until something scary starts happening and you realize how claustrophobic it can be. Yeah. So it's basically like multiple POVs, but there's a guy named Troy who sets his eyes on Clara and he's convinced that that's who he's going to marry, have the white picket lifestyle with. And like he's like way more into it than she is.

Like she's not really convinced yet. So while they're kind of hiding something behind closed doors, there's a woman named Mary who's cleaning out her son's room. And she feels haunted by, and then there's a man named Henry who's been recently laid off from work and he lives with his parents. But he's been keeping way too close of an eye on some of the wives in the neighborhood lately. creepy. And then before you know it, there is a murder that hits the neighborhood and sends everybody's lives into an uproar. So there's just like a lot going on. Yeah.

Like, does it all come together at the very end? Is that what it is? because like there's something where everyone's like you won't guess. There's a mid. There's a mid. There's a mid point twist. Okay. Yeah.

I think it's like one of the chapters or like I don't, when they sent me the book, they sent me a sticker that says like something about like page 238 or something to that. Oh, yeah. But it was like a very big twist in the middle of the book that kind of changes the whole trajectory of the story. Yeah. And then you get into the meat of. it and you see where it's kind of like they give you hints about oh here's something that could

mean more than what it means right now here's like a little breadcrum for something remember this later and then like you kind of see how all of their lives connect and the ending was pretty pretty intense so yeah and then it also like gives you not in like a frustrating way but like a little bit to the imagination with a couple characters where you're like the wheels start like spinning and you're like maybe there's a reason she didn't get more detail on this because it's kind of dark I like that yeah it's a very very very good book and I think that it needs like the gone girl treatment because more people should be talking about it it was fucking sensational oh I need to listen to it yeah you will say holy shit out loud when you get to page 38

Well, my next one is The Seven Daughters of Dupree by Nikisha Elise Williams. I listened to this one, I don't know, a couple of months ago. And it is so good. And it's one of the like sweeping like a multi-generational family saga. But then the way she uses it to show how like trauma is passed down but maybe morphed differently. is really fascinating because you're basically, I think you jump around mostly like six. It is the seven daughters of Dupree, but you're jumping through multiple generations of women. From, I don't know if it says it here, from sometime in the 1800s all the way up to 1995, basically.

And so it's really kind of all you need to know. Like they, you're charting like how these women who were mostly black, but sometimes biracial or mixed, how they were facing different challenges in those different time periods, basically, and how they all like approached it very differently. And then how like this youngest, um, youngest version, youngest generation in 1995 she's kind of trying to find out like there's kind of a curse within the family and like what is it and it's it's like the main reason that I thought about it is it was one of the more cinematic uh just like literary fiction that I've read and it's like historical fiction too

um but like even the way she wrote it like I like vividly remember like being in certain scenes with all of them I think that's what makes it. I was like seven perspectives. I think you're mostly in six. But I was like, this could be intimidating. Like, is this going to work for me? And it really did. And I think it's because the setting was really strong too.

So that's my long-winded way of saying. I think it would. It could be a really good long movie, I think. Could probably be like a TV show or a miniseries too. Yeah. I kind of like like almost like big little lies too. where like some episodes were more like heavily focused on a different character. Yeah.

So you could do that. Yeah. I think you would work really well for that. And I think if they did it in TV, there are some elements of the book because it's a 336 page book, which is pretty short to span that much time, basically. So I think there are some elements that they could like broaden on if they wanted to, kind of like you're saying, like if it was in the TV realm, I think. she could kind of touch on some more things too.

Yeah. Yeah. Especially if they had the author as like one of the producers. Yeah. Like Leanne Moriardi with. Yeah. It would be cool. You said it's historical too, right? Mm-hmm. Yeah. Like you're going from like you're not in like the 1800s very often. Then you kind of get to like 1917, 1934, 1980, 1995. Okay. Sounds really interesting. Yeah. And there's definitely a like fucking men vibe to it. So that might help some people who are like, ah, it's historical fiction. Yeah. But you will be like, God damn it.

Well, you know, that seems to be a trend. Yes. my last one is a historical fiction that will make you think fucking men oh yes yeah so my last one is to no one's surprise

being a woman by Jessica and all yes it does need to be I've been in Jessica will rehab and haven't been able to talk about this book for a little while so just one of my favorite books there's 70s Pacific Northwest and Florida

there is a killer who is unnamed who is basically dubbed by the media as the all-American sex killer and he's targeting women all over the country so there are a group of sorority girls in Tallahassee Florida who are not really concerned about it because everything is happening in the Pacific Northwest and their sorority president

Pamela wakes up one night in the middle of the night only to find two of her sisters brutally attacked and two of them dead. So the All-American Sex Killer has officially targeted their house. But then meanwhile, there is a woman named Tina who is from the Pacific Northwest and she is looking into the disappearance of her friend Ruth. And you get multiple POVs. The defendant is never named. And it is about women and survival. But there is like a thriller suspense, I guess, aspect to it. I just thought it was really well done.

And I thought it was very character driven. And I absolutely loved it. And I like that it is taking the plot of one of the most notorious serial killers that has ever targeted our country. And telling it from the perspective of women. because when it comes to this man and I'm not even going to name him, there were like a lot of misconceptions about him, about how he was like Kennedy-esque and charming and handsome and smart. And like the more that Jessica Knowles dove into,

yeah, like the more that she dove into the research for this book, she found like that wasn't true. Like the women that survived this killer were like, no, he gave me the fucking creeps. Yeah. He was picking his nose in court. He falsified his transcript so that he could get into law school because he wasn't smart enough to do it himself. And it was basically like the women that he targeted and the women that like were attacked and murdered by him was basically not because he was charming. It wasn't because he was handsome. It was because of the age old female guilt of I need to help a man who's in trouble. I'm too neat. to say anything or like society basically saying that like women should play a certain role when it comes to men yeah especially doing the right thing and being polite mm-hmm and fuck that yeah what is the what is the what is the phrase from like a crime junkie it's like be alive not kind or what is there

I think it's like be rude stay alive that's what it is yeah yeah I was like don't be afraid of being rude don't be afraid of being weird don't be afraid of like anything like i'd rather somebody be like what a fucking weirdo than be like a dead body and like it doesn't fucking matter it like if you're like just like oh i don't want to make this person feel bad it doesn't fucking matter especially if you don't know them and it's okay it's okay if like someone was like they didn't help me it's like well especially like as a man like i'd rather see like i'm so sick of like society being like oh women should be polite and like act a certain way and it's like no you shouldn't like you should do everything like there has been not only society but like serial killers

and misogyny and fucking toxic men and horrible men and disgusting men and everything basically you can imagine in this country and in the world has gone against the safety of women so if you have to be rude or if you have to be weird to protect yourself, do it. As a man, like, if I wasn't thinking and, like, I was trying to get something in the back of my car and I needed help. And I was walking by and I was like, could you help me for a second? And she was like, fuck no. I'd be like, I get it. I, okay, cool. Because, like, I would not either.

Yeah. I wouldn't help me either, you know. Yeah. So, yeah. Hopefully. I would love to see this as it. weird. It's like in development, but like, I don't know. You know, yeah, it can be in development for so long. Or just never have. And then like someone else can buy out the contract and.

Yeah. But. Because Reese Witherspoon was supposed to make luckiest girl alive. Oh. And then Netflix got it. Yeah. Yeah. So they just move around. It might take a little while, but I hope it happens. Yeah. And I'm just manifesting. I'm manifesting something good happens. I'm also manifesting that Sidney's not play Amela. Please God, no. She was my original pick, and I thought she would be, like, perfect, but like, now, no. I get it. It's got to be Madeline

Klein. Yes. Yes. Madeline Klein has the acting chops to do it. She does. I agree. I love her. I do too. Wow. That's five, right? Yeah. We did it. Those are our bookish

adaptation dreams.