Bookwild - Books We Took a Chance on and Loved with Gare and Steph

Episode Date: April 25, 2025

This week, Gare, Steph and i talk about books we took risks on that we ended up loving!Books We Talked AboutLion Women of Tehran Marjan KamaliHush Anne FrasierThe Wedding People Alison EspachAn Academy for Liars Alexis HendersonA Density of Souls Christopher RiceThe Shards Bret Easton EllisWe Used to Live Here Marcus KliewerThe Paper Palace Miranda Cowley HellerIKEA BookshelfRing Page TurnerPaperfeel/Matte iPad Screen ProtectorThe Push Ashley AudrainThe Manor of Dreams Christina LiHow We Named the StarsDisorientation Elaine Hsieh Chou Ring Page TurnerPaperfeel/Matte iPad Screen Protector Get Bookwild MerchCheck Out My Stories Are My Religion SubstackCheck Out Author Social Media PackagesCheck out the Bookwild Community on PatreonCheck out the Imposter Hour Podcast with Liz and GregFollow @imbookwild on InstagramOther Co-hosts On Instagram:Gare Billings @gareindeedreadsSteph Lauer @books.in.badgerlandHalley Sutton @halleysutton25Brian Watson @readingwithbrian 

So someone sent, I forgot if it was like bookshop.org or something, someone sent my book club a little meme-ish thing that said, how do you organize your bookshelf? And I do know that some people are very particular. And like a lot of people had a lot of things. And then one girl was like, I realized mine is pure chaos. And I don't even, I just put them on there. So I'm curious. And I know, I know Kate's is mostly trophies, but you may organize them in a certain way. I don't know. It is trophies. And I do organize them a specific way. So if you're watching on YouTube, you can see over my shoulder. I have just like a vertical. It's actually from IKEA. So if anyone wants it, I'll put the link in the show notes too. But it's just like a vertical bookshelf. And almost, I think I need three or four more. Almost all of the ones behind me now are guests that I've had on the podcast. So that's how,

Like, this shelf is ordered. And then I have some, like, it's not even really shelves. It's like builder grade shelves in a closet over here. And that's where all the other books go. They don't get to be seen. There. Yeah. Gary, you have a lot of.

Like, he doesn't know how he was. I don't know even how to explain this. I have. mine's like a combination of like chaotic but I am very like OCD about having all my like all authors together so like all my Karen Slaughter's together like all my Jessica Knoll the rest of it like there's like a little section of like four or five that are like my favorite books that I've ever read and then I have I have three book carts one MM that I've already read. One MM that I've already read one MM that I want to read. And then my third one is like backlist that I thought I would actually read in 2025. That's going to be backlist that I want to read in 2026. And then I have one of

those like random like book tree bookshelves that I keep my arcs on. Oh, nice. And then I have piles of books on my dresser that are like book mail that I don't have any room for. So, One day the floor is just going to collapse and I'm just going to like, or they're all going to follow me and I'm just going to be dead. She's just going to be dead. And I'll be like, my last breath will be like, keep all the Karen slaughter together. Whoever takes. Don't split them up. Don't split them up.

To be together. Yes. I have mine. TBR is at the top. And then it's all my like regular size hardcover in alphabetical order by author. And then on the bottom shelf is like shorter stature hard covers. Like, for example, Omna Oktar has all like shorter covers. She does.

And then paperbacks, which is not a ton. So those are just one. But mine are alphabetical. When I had older shelves, I think I tried doing it color coded once. And I was like, this isn't for me. Yeah. I love the way color coded looks. But like if I had like my office.

book split up, it would like... Exactly. It would just drive me nuts. It would drive me nuts. Or like, I don't know. Could you imagine the shelf that had to hold all the blue and yellow covers together? Oh, you would break if you're a thriller reader. Yep, yep, yep.

I will say I have four... I have the four practical magic books by Alice Hoffman. they're all like really pretty gold. Like I have those in a little stack like kind of decoratively. But other than that, they're all. I don't know. And I'm having to read hardback or paperback. Do you have a preference?

I prefer reading hardback because I, just like keeping them nice. But otherwise, I don't think I would care if I wasn't, if that wasn't important to me. That's literally, like, what I was just thinking is, like, how crazy it is that, like, Steph prefers hardcover. I prefer paperback. And Kate prefers, like, e-reader.

Yeah. Yeah. And Steph's our only audiobooker. No. And if I have something in paperback, I most likely will read it e-book. Oh. Just to keep it nice. Yeah.

Or also, like, for example, one of my Lisa Jewel books, like, older one. I opened it and I was like this print is real small. I was like I will be reading this book. Yeah. I used to and now I'm like, how I feel every time I open a real physical book, I'm like, I am reading something with like four to five times the height of this font. Because I have it about, that's another one. But I've been seeing that on TikTok, you've been asking like, what is your Oh, what font number font are you at? And I'm at like, I'm at this first to last. Like, I'm one away from the largest. Oh, really? I mean to see it there. I kind of look like an old lady, but like I just started doing it at this size. And I just love it. Well, on your phone, I feel like that makes sense. Yeah, and on my iPad, I just like have it really large everywhere. But I also have my text bigger on my phone in general. It's just easier to read.

read. Do you read on your phone, iPad, and Kindle? Mostly my phone and my iPad lately because my iPad has Bluetooth, and so I have like a page I have the other one with Kindle, but basically this one's even, you don't have to clip anything onto any screen. So I've ended up reading on my iPad a lot more lately. And then I have a paper like, you can get like paper that there's a, there's a name brand. I think it's it's paper-like or paper feel. But then Amazon has like knock-offs, for lack of

a better word, where you can get like matte screen covers. So my iPad screen looks like a Kindle screen now. So like once I made those upgrades, I was like, this is just kind of better. Yeah. Yeah, and bigger.

Especially if you have a page turner. Mm-hmm. And it's just a little ring that you wear. A little macha baby, you're perfect the way you are. poor macha. Poor macha. Poor macha's like, damn, I'm outdated. I know if I'd want to travel with my iPad just because it's like a bigger one,

I would probably still take my Kindle, but I do like the idea of getting all those. Like it's still not shiny. Like if it's a minute's green. Yeah. It makes a big difference. I like it. That's so funny too because like I am like looking at like some of my like hard covers and they're like so few and far between.

And I think most of them are like, sometimes like a publisher when they reach out. They're like, do you want to review a copy of this? Like I assume it's going to be like an arc, which is always a paperback. And then sometimes I'll get like a finished hardcover. And I'm like and I'm and then I'll read it as an ebook instead. Yeah. Like I'll read an ebook over a hardcover. Yeah.

I'll prefer hard covers. The only, I think most of the hard covers I have were like surprises or somebody like, Ashley Winstead and Jessica Knoll where like I buy every oh my god why are their balloon Jessica Knoll! No, it's new. Ashley Winstead or Jessica Knoll where like I buy like the hardcover, I buy the paperback and then I like whatever additions there are. So yeah, especially if they're signed.

I think all of mine are signed. Same. That's cool. I pick usually whatever I can get their whole collection uniform. Oh, yeah. Times if their earlier books were only paperback. Got to go paperback. Speaking of exciting new paperbacks,

I got the new covers of The Butcher and Wonderland by Jennifer Hillier. Oh, nice. Wait, what does Wonderland look like? Because I have a paperback, but I don't know if it's the same. Um, it's this newer cover. Let me see. I'll put it up on Amazon. Mine has like a clown on the top and then like a Ferris wheel on the bottom, I think. Oh, that's a kid's book. Oh, wow.

Um, so this is the new one that I got. Ooh, that looks good. Yeah. I really like it. And then there was like another one that, like, another one that, like, Like, I spent, like, a stupid amount of money on, but, like, I don't even know. I think it was, like, a park and then, like, the, like, a man's back, maybe. Mine looks like this. What?

Maybe that's the one I have. I think that's the one I have. And I think I spent, like, stupid money on it. Yeah, that's probably the one I have. I think I probably did too then I think I I think I spent like over $40 on that Wow

And that was An amazing book but not my Proudest moment Was that easy to find it a store or did you have to order it because I had to order it Okay This was like 2020 because I remember Like when everything went into lockdown

And I was like well I'm not going to be like socializing or like going into work like my like one of my things with like what I thought was going to be like a week or two of free time instead of like a lot longer was like I was going I reread every Jennifer Hillier book from like start to finish. But what about the new ones? Were they at the store? Because I'm trying to figure out if I'll be able to find them or if I need to order them. Oh yeah. The new ones. I got them in store. Oh nice. Yeah. Yeah. I think that's what they were doing because when I first like got. all of the physical copies of her books, I think The Butcher was only mass paperback. And Wonderland, I think, was like mostly e-book and it was, like, harder to find.

So I think they are putting out The Butcher and Wonderland in between, like, when her next one comes out. I have the best news. Oh. I have a TV show recommendation for you guys. that either one of you have mentioned and I feel like I'm usually the last to know about like good new TV shows and I have to spill it

because it's very book wild related Yes, go for it Happy Face on Paramount Plus Haven't even heard of it? Just canceled Paramount Plus Based on a true story and podcast about a woman whose father was a serial killer Oh

Dennis Quaid plays the father Mm-hmm it is so wild it is so good it's based on a true story this cover is so cool acting is incredible james walk i believe is his name he's like one of those guys that you see that's like oh i recognize him from somewhere but like nobody like really like knows his name except for me but like i'm in love with him and he's like the husband and i hope that they end up divorced so that he won't come to bombay and marry me oh okay yeah i've seen the guy before for sure yeah he's so freaking cute and so sweet and i just like love him i want to like gobble him up but the show is so freaking good

So good. Damn. And it's like based on a podcast. I'm really excited to like binge these podcast episodes. Yeah. Did it all come out? Nope. No.

Four episodes. Four of eight are currently out as of April 4th. Yeah. I think it's going to be eight or ten is what I saw on. So it's eight. Yeah. So yeah, that's my. It's so good.

I'm obsessed with that. Like I think it'll be one of those. shows that I like comfort watch in the future where you're just like I want to bend something I've already watched well Kate won't do it but dude a comfort watch that Steph and I have in common is the residence I just started that too and I saw you posted about it stuff yeah I don't think I was going to watch it and I don't really know why I don't really I thought it would be more slapsticky I think yeah but I love like the detective cup the main character is so monotone like I love like a monotelia

pretty pants yeah yeah and I love Uzo Aduba yes she's so good oh I love her too and they do the visuals I've only seen I just like had it on at night because like one of these nights I was like I just don't even want to read right now

I need something easier and so it's kind of like you're right I thought it was going to be more slapstick and it's still a lot more serious but it leans more towards like cozy knives out than like thriller, thriller. So it's also just like really easy to watch but they also make so many funny pop culture references

and Shonda rhymes as the I don't think she's the creator but she produces it. It's through Shonda land so yeah like the dialogue's really fun like a lot of her shows are. Correct. Find me up. Yeah it's good each episode is a decent decently long.

Mm-hmm. Yeah, you guys know how I feel about Lock mystery's but I know yeah Kylie Mendoza she's so many people she's funny mm-hmm

yeah oh my god my queer little teenage heart is like compounding I love her and also like not that this really has to do

with the show but like I love when like the opening credits have like really cool graphics almost looks kind of hand on I love that she has this like sketchbook that's really cool I don't know

There's just little details I love about it. Yeah. I agree. And then like the going with the visuals, like another cool thing that it does. So it's like a, if you can't tell, it's kind of a locked room mystery, but at the White House essentially. So someone, the usher, which I don't even really know what that job is, but the usher of the White House is murdered in the first episode. Mm-hmm. So it's in the White House and the way that they like.

transition in and out of rooms they have this like cross section of the house there yes yes and so you like zoom in and out yeah and it's really cool they just have some really cool visuals and then there have even been some like practical camera work that has been very cool the way it like moves through different rooms so it's just fun and easy to watch it's um i want to watch this. I thought you might say this one because we all hadn't talked about it yet. But you had your own.

No, I had my, I know, I had my own. Weird. A TV show about a serial killer. Didn't you like that. No, I had, so, um, fun fact is when I was in my mother's stomach, I was curled up so much,

but my heart rate was higher. So they were like, oh, we don't know the sex of your baby, but we think you might be having a girl based on the heartbeat. And if I was a girl, my name was going to be Cordelia. Yes. Are you serious? I love that. Some of my favorite characters are named Cordelia this year. Yeah.

Yeah, that was my name. Because my sister's name is Aurora. So my dad wanted to name me Cordelia. It always reminds me a buffy. You're so whimsical. How did he get to Garrett from there? It was, my name was actually was going to be, my mom wanted hunter. Yeah, you're not a hunter.

And I was like, oh, like no offense to any hunters out there, but like I'm just not, like, that's just not me. Yeah. I'm not a hunter. I'm not like a hunter or like a David or anything like that. So, um, but my other thing that I wanted to tell you guys about Polly Pocket was that I had a dream about you guys in Polly Pocket the other night. do you know how like funcop pop makes like the like the like movie like yeah like the movie figures or whatever I had a dream that Polly Pocket came out with like a scream version and it was like the house in the end of scream and all the little Polly Pockets were like the characters in the movie

and now I'm like. That's one dream. I know it was so much fun and then I woke up and I was like it'll probably I don't think that Polly Pocket and like scream are ever going to team up but if they do call me. Yeah, I will. You're like, I would buy it just so you know. But there are people that make like

custom things. Like, they make like custom like Barbie dolls for like movie characters and stuff. So maybe one day somebody will make like a custom polypocket. Yeah. Scream. I don't know. But yeah, that was my polypocket dream.

I love well. Speaking of, you know, venturing out into new ideas, we're going to talk about books that we kind of took a risk on and then it paid off. Yeah. Which is such a fun one. I agree. Yeah, it is fun. Who came up with that? You?

Kate? Me? No, Steph. Steph? Yeah. Steph? Yeah. Oh.

Yeah. goodness oh that's amazing oh that's amazing oh man I was telling stuff before we started recording that this kind of

should have made me feel like I don't take too many risks I was like man there's not tons here I have some that are like really out of norm for me but then I have some that like people might be like oh that's a thriller or like that's like something that like I would expect you to read but like it's kind of like

this might be the book as to like why I read like this type of thriller or like this thriller had something that I not usually into but like I read it anyway and liked it so yeah same a risk is a risk whether it's a big one or small risk and especially a mood reader we'll explain why it was a risk yeah sometimes you risk things by trying like a new item at Taco Bell and sometimes people risk things by like smoking crack. So like, yeah. Same concept. Yeah.

Okay. Speaking of shows, we talked about that one with Kate Hudson being the president of the basketball team. And Jason Thorough, her brother, she had to come in because he was smoking crack in like the 2020s. I need to watch that show. I have like such a crush on Kate Hudson. Oh, it's. You like it.

Everyone does. I heard she's like wicked like bitchy. Yeah. That's what the trailer looks like. Yeah. Oh my God. I haven't watched it yet. For the perfect female leader bitchy, I'll say.

Yeah. Yeah. For emotional intelligence is on. But like I have a I have a crush on Justin Thoreau. I kind of always have. And he's like so nasty in it. But I love it. I'm excited.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. But anyway, back to books. Yeah. Well, the first one I thought of was like the most recent one that had the really cool random story that like I wasn't necessarily supposed to be interviewing Marjan Kamali about the lion women of Tehran.

I thought I was logging on to a different interview entirely. So she and I got linked up and I was like, well, I'm also happy to read it. And then we can talk. And I ended up being obsessed with it. I've talked about this one quite a bit. So I can't decide if I should just read the whole synopsis, but probably. In 1950s, Tehran, seven-year-old Ellie lives in grand comfort until the untimely death of her father, forcing Ellie and her mother to move to a tiny home downtown. Lonely and bearing the brunt of her mother's endless grievances, Ellie dreams of a friend to alleviate her isolation.

Luckily, on the first day of school, she meets Homa, a kind, passionate girl with a brave and irrepressible spirit. Together, the two girls play games, learn to cook in the stone kitchen of Homa's warm home, wander through the colorful stalls of the Grand Bazaar, and share their ambitions for becoming lying women. But their happiness is disrupted when Ellie and her mother are afforded the opportunity to return to their previous bourgeois life. It's so hard for me not say boozy when I see that word. I would say boozy. Now a popular student, the best girls high school in Iran, Ellie's memories of Homa begin to fate.

Years later, however, her sudden reappearance and Ellie's privileged world alters the course of both of their lives. Together, the two young women come of age and pursue their own goals for meaningful futures. But as the political turmoil in Iran builds to a breaking point on earth-shattering betrayal, will have enormous consequences. So this is like very much just historical fiction, which is why it was a risk for me. But the characters are, you just fall in love with both of them. You feel yourself in both of them, which is like a whole other conversation, but I don't need to get into it here.

And I just, I just was hooked. It was the most hooked I've been on historical fiction, I think. I put it on my, I have it on my shelf because, I've heard really good things. It's back there somewhere, too. Since she was on the podcast, she's on the bookshelf. Yes. I love that. I love that story too.

That's like why you read it. I know. It's so cool. And like how it worked out for you. Like I'll never forget that. It's just so unique. Mm-hmm. It's such a good one.

Mm-hmm. That's a good one. Gary, you go. you. I'm trying to... Mine's probably going to go in like order of my life. Okay. So when I, as I've like said, thousands and thousands of time, um, I was like the like scholastic book fair like king. Mm. Mm-hmm.

And I would like bully my parents and to be in like, you have to buy me like every book that I want because like I'm not doing bad things like some of my friends are. So like, I love it. first book, I will never forget this. There was a candy kiosk in the mall. And there was like the nicest girl that ever like worked there. And I would always like say hi to her when I went in the mall. And I saw she was reading this book once. And this was the first book that I went from like R. L. Stein, Christopher Pike, like YA stuff. This is my first crime fiction book. And so I feel like this was like the trajectory of like where I was going to end up.

as a reader in my adulthood because I at first when I read the synopsis like in the bookstore like the back of the book I was like I don't know if I want to read something about a cop I don't if I want to read like you know like whatever but I was like 14 and stupid so um I read probably one of the darkest books in the entire world I have an idea I know where this is going and I'm like you're 14 and this is your first yeah yeah yeah yeah this was my first like grown up book following like all the Christopher Pike and everything I read and it's called Hush by Anne Frazier. I really want to read this one again, but like I just like didn't think that I was going to be into like a police procedural as much, but it was so dark and twisty and I was like, wow, this is really crazy and it traumatized me. It's about criminal profiler Ivy Dunlap. Her job is to unravel the psyches of the most.

dangerous men alive. None haunts her dreams more than the killer who took her son's life 16 years ago, then silently disappeared into the dark. Now an urgent request for help from the Chicago police has awakened Ivy's greatest nightmare. The Madonna murderer has returned to fulfill his calling. This time Ivy understands the killer instinct. She knows what this man is capable of, and this time she's ready to confront her deepest fear face to face for the very last time. So it's in like other like synopsuses, synopsies, like around the internet. But basically the Madonna murderer is a serial killer in Chicago who went after unwed mothers and their newborn babies. And the story is like her connection with him is basically that like he was killing, killing women in their newborn babies.

And like when he attacked her, he killed her baby. and then he like she survived and he didn't know it and that's kind of like why she went into that job so like reading not only like a serial killer book at like 14 15 years old and then also like one who was like as heinous as like somebody who does not care that they're taking the life of like a newborn baby i was like this is nightmare inducing yeah yeah from like Christopher pike and r l stein like my first three books to this yeah it was quite a jump pg 13 to like X. Yeah.

Yeah. But it was just like such a good book and I was like so interested in like everything that was going on. And like I think that's why like now as an adult I really like police procedurals. I like like true crime podcasts and documentaries because I found the the whole like investigation part and like catching the bad guy to be like very interesting how it like starts from like A to Z. So yeah, I think that was like the first book that I really took a risk on that that worked out for me. That is so cool that you have a memory like that from like that age and that you like, because what was interesting is it like triggered a memory in me too and I had not thought about this book series in forever. But like, okay, you guys might not even know. But there are literally like family Christian bookstore. I think that's what the like.

What am I trying to say? Franchise name is or whatever I'm trying to say, the brand. So, like, I truly, like, we only bought, like, movies and books from, like, a Christian bookstore. But when you said that, it reminded me that I found a little area in my teens that was kind of mystery thriller. So there's this random series called the O'Malley series. And it's about a bunch, like, of course, because, like, this is. how Christians and Catholics are. So many siblings in this one family.

Like six, there are six books in the series. So she alternates through them. But like the first one was a hostage negotiator. But like I was able to get it because they go to church on Sundays and talk about God in the book too. So like little 14 year old me did find some things too. And I'd never, I haven't thought about this book series in forever. Was it YA? Triggered that memory.

What? Was it YA? Um, no. No. Introducing the O'Malley's. Oh, they were orphanous teens who have had to, who made the choice to become a loyal and committed family. Okay, so they're not totally related.

Found family. But the first one is called the negotiator, and it's about Kate O'Malley, who's a hostage negotiator for the FBI. I remember reading it and being like, this is so fun. And I'm like, yeah, I found a Christian thriller. I remember like, I have like a lot of like memories of like books like when I was like reading them and stuff. Like I remember my parents running this like cabin on the lake like in Canada. And like when we went there like my way to like prepare was not only like packing my like swimsuit and all my stuff. but like bringing like, I think it was like four or five book series about these like possessed evil cheerleaders by like R. L. Stein.

And I was like, this is going to be the best vacation ever. Yeah. Yes. And I went to California. I always loved a crazy cheerleader. I always loved a crazy cheerleader. Yeah. And then when I went to California to visit my grandmother when I was 13,

she bought like the entire babysitter series by R. Stine for me. And I remember like binging them like in California just living my best life. That's awesome. Good. I love a good bookishman. Yeah.

I'm struggling to part with them when I was like starting to like donate my books. It was so hard to part with like the goosebumps series and babysitters. Mm-hmm. I still have some mine. That's awesome. I still have some.

Not very many of them, but I still have like a few. Was Magic Treehouse in your Scholastic Book Fair, or was that maybe later? I don't remember that. It sounds familiar. But like, I will be completely honest with you. Like, I went from, like, my parents reading e-books, so, like, the first books that I picked out were, like, goosebumps. Right. So it was, like, goosebumps to, like, Christopher Part.

Pike, R. L. Stein, and then, like, depraved. Hush. Hush. Yeah. That is interesting. God, I love is the book fair. They have an adult book fair now in Madison, which is very cool, but it's also, like, super busy.

Oh, really? So, like, I love to go, because. That's a good sign, I guess. Yeah, like, the tickets support, like, the libraries or something. Like, I mean, it's cool. It's just, like, packed. which so it's very but it is I love the concept that is so fun

I know I just like was like do I have a good story I don't know so I remember when I was getting back into reading and maybe like probably pandemic times 2020 2021 I like had no idea what to pick out so I would just read like pick out like the popular book club books like Reese

And then I kind of found myself getting like kind of bored. And I'm like, these aren't for me. And I didn't really realize like what my genre was until I started reading like Lisa Jewel and all that kind of stuff. Like that was really like, I was like, oh my gosh, I'm a thriller girl. And then I remembered going on book of the month and being like, like honestly I just stopped my book of the month because I like wasn't really thrilled by all the choices that were coming out. but I really wanted one of the add-ons once. And so I was like, all right, I'm going to try it. I'm going to get the wedding people, which was like super hype, not thrillery at all.

And then I ended up loving it. And now I've been reading probably like more dramas and non-thriller books. So I was like, wow, this I didn't expect. And now it's like shifted my reading habits a little bit. That's cool. Yeah. So I guess that was probably one that. came to mind.

A lot of people have read this, but for anyone that has, and this is how many freaking... Oh, wow. It's a beautiful day in Newport, Rhode Island, when Phoebe Stone arrives at the Grand Cornwall Inn, wearing a green dress and gold heels, not a bag in sight, alone. She's immediately mistaken by everyone in the lobby for one of the wedding people, but she's actually the only guest at the Cornwall who isn't there for the big event. Phoebe is here because she's dreamed of coming for years. She hoped to shuck oysters and take sunset sales with her husband, only now she's here without him, at rock bottom, and determined to have one last decadence splurge on herself. Meanwhile, the bride has accounted for every detail and every possible disaster the weekend might yield except for, well, Phoebe and Phoebe's plan, which makes it that much more surprising when the two women can't stop confiding in each other. It turns absurdly funny and devastatingly It's ultimately an incredibly nuanced and resonant look at the winding paths we can take to places we never imagined and chance encounters that it sometimes takes to reroute us.

I am like all about messy people. Yes. And then it's like, oh, I all of a sudden I'm crying a little bit. It's like, I don't know. So, and like some of the chapters were kind of long. I'm like, ah, am I really going to do this? I did, and I loved it, so. I don't know.

I love it. You're going to expand our genres for us. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. I think it's good to have, like, some of those things, because as much as I love thrillers and obviously still do, like, there was a moment where I'm like, gosh, a lot of these are kind of blending together and feeling a little repetitive.

It's nice to spice it up. a little bit. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, that's what the episode's all about. So you nailed that one, girlfriend. Hey-yo. Hey-o.

I love when you say, hey-yo. I do too. It's my favorite thing in the entire world. I wish that, like, I could have, like, a little, like, a GIF. A text notification. Yeah. Like, when I get, like, yeah, when I receive a text message, it's just stuff saying, hey, yo.

Oh, my gosh. Yep. I got you. I'll be your hype. Our group chat is all. need for a pick-me-up. Hipe women. Yeah.

All over like any social media platform, envy attacks. Like you guys just always pick me up. Yeah. I always have to catch up on a bunch of messages, but I'm always into it. I'm obsessed. Obsessed with my besties.

She's like, King Year talk a lot. That's okay. It'll be like out of, I don't take offense to it. I'll have no texts. And then it'll be like 10 minutes later. And there's like,

heaven. Yeah. Oh, God. I so like that's so funny too because sometimes like I'm driving and I you guys start going back and forth in the group text and like I just see the number keep going up like my phone's like on my like and I'm like oh my God like how like what's gonna like what is it that's like got us all like you know like yeah it's like that book covers cool. I'm like cover her it's like always like one of us like this book was made for me and then the other two. The other two being like, oh, my God, it totally was. Get it, bestie. Treat yourself. This is 70% of our group chat.

It is. The other 30% is, what's our topic tonight? That's me. Does anyone have an icebreaker? Anyone have an idea. Remind me what topic is. Yes. Your burning meme was so funny.

And 10% of that is somebody is one of us trying to have a the other two convince us that we're not overthinking the topic for the podcast. You can pick your own. Even today, one, two, three, four, five, six. I had eight. So I was like, but when I listen to you guys, I'm like, okay, I'm getting it. I'm narrowing it down. I love that you're like essentially a pancer.

Yeah. Well, my next one. basically fantasy horror is technically not always for me so it's like anytime i try it out it's like i might like this version of it um but an academy for liars loved that version of it um gosh it was so good i wish it could be a series but it might um yeah we just don't know yet Lenin Carter's life is falling apart. Then she gets a mysterious phone call, inviting her to take the entrance exam for Drayton College, a school of magic hidden in a secret pocket of Savannah.

Lennon has been chosen because, like everyone else at the school, she has the innate gift of persuasion, the ability to wield her will like a weapon, using it to control others, and in rare cases, matter itself. After passing the test, Lennon begins to learn how to master her devastating and unsettling power. but despite persuasion's heavy soul on her body and mind, she's wholly captivated by her studies, by Drayton's lush, moscraped campus, and by her brilliant classmates. But even more captivating is her charismatic advisor Dante, who both intimidates and enthralls her. As Lennon continues in her studies, her control grows, and she starts to uncover more about the secret world she has entered into,

including the disquieting history of Drayton College, and the way her mentor's tragic and violent, intertwines with it. She is increasingly disturbed by what she learns, for it seems that the ultimate test is to embrace absolute power without succumbing to corruption. And it's a test she's terrified. She's going to fail.

This one is just epic and so cinematic, and I just have so many images left in my head from it. Like, I remember a lot about this book, and it's like a 470-page book. But I just loved it. And, like, the easiest thing, thing to say is like if you liked ninth house like you will like this book

generally I almost picked 9th house but I thought that was going to be one of yours yeah it is one of mine I mean like I didn't pick it for this one but it is one of those were like oh I ended up loving it so a little

shout out to 9th house yeah I love 9th house I love when you got in that era because it was was like all you wanted and you were like so like I think like one of like the funest things about having like conversations with you guys obviously other than the fact that I like love you both to death is that like I get really happy and excited for you guys when you find something like that you're really passionate about like whether it's like a book that you love or like something

like new that you're trying out so like I think that like that was like one of my like favorite like core memories of like our friendship was when you got into that like era and you were just like this is good because you read the arc of hellbent. Yeah. And you were like, I really like this. And I was like, oh, I haven't, I couldn't decide if I would like it. And then you pretty much convinced me I would.

Yeah. I remember that episode. I think you did a, did you do an episode. Yeah, I bet we can, I'll find it. Probably. Yeah. Probably. Okay, you know what's interesting is like the reviews are like okay, but like the

people that I follow goodreads, all we're giving it five stars. So it's just kind of interesting who you follow and what their tastes are. I think it's a good point more than what the cumulative score is. You're right. I'm seeing these other reviews not that you mention it that are lower

and I'm like, huh. You're like they're wrong. Wrong. Wrong. I must suck to be wrong. Yeah. It's also long though. And so like

if it is a very specific tone. So I mean, if you don't like it, you should probably DNF it. Like, it's long. I think it sounds cool. I love it. The cover is so cool. Yeah. I should have pulled it from the bookshelf. She sent me the like really cool special edition UK one that has like, it's like black on black, but the shiny black of the like college campus on the bottom. So you just see it when the light catches it. It's really. really cool. Oh, I think I see it here. That's I want to get like all the additions of like every

books that I love. Good luck getting you cable. Yeah, I'm realizing I actually own almost all of the books I'm going to talk about. So all of them paid off so well that they got trophy versions. I'm not used to that. Um, well, speaking of books that I will come for anyone if they give this anything less than five-star. My next core memory where I took a little bit of a risk was when I was reading like dark, gritty, crime fiction, I remember browsing through the bookstore and I came across this cover that I fell in love with and then I read the back of the book and it was written by a gay man featuring a gay character and I was like, this is unheard of for me. so my next book that I took a risk on that obviously really worked out for me is a density of souls by Christopher Rice because this is like I don't even know like it's like contemporary fiction with like thriller

like thriller-esque like points but it's also like very character driven so like I would not consider this to be like a thriller I think if you look it up on like Amazon or like any like book website it's listed as like psychological fiction. Oh, like, tell me lies. Yes. Is psychological drama? Yeah, yeah. And there's like a ton of drama in it.

And then there's like a little bit of everything. But this is about four childhood friends in present day New Orleans torn apart by envy, passion, and a secret murder. Five years ago, Meredith, Brandon, Greg, and Stephen quickly discovered the fragile boundaries between friendship and betrayal as they enter high school and form new allegiances. Meredith, Brandon, and Greg gain popularity while Stephen is viciously treated as an outcast. Then two violent deaths destroy the already delicate bonds of their friendship. When the friends are drawn back together, new facts about their mutual history are exposed in what was held to be a tragic accident is revealed as murder. As the true story emerges, other secrets begin to unravel with more dangerous, far-reaching consequences.

So I know it sounds kind of like a thriller now that when I like read that It does read that plot but it's very much like here's what they were like in high school Here's what they're like now here's like what happened and like it's like very much like drama drama And then like the more like thriller part I would say is like toward the end but like I would say like pacing wise and I would compare this to more like luckiest girl alive. Mm-hmm. But yeah, it's just, I mean, it has everything in it, and it's got like some jaw-dropping moments, and it has drama, and you'll, like, cry. And there's, like, a lot of, like, trigger warnings.

There's, like, sexual assault and, like, a lot of, like, death and bullying and homophobia. And I don't think there's any characters. I don't think there's any character or animal deaths though. Yeah. Well, then. Good old Christopher. Sign me up. Yeah.

I just saw that he's Anne Rice's son. I didn't know that. Yeah. How did I not know that? You didn't? I just know. Reviews. I've even read so many of, I haven't read this one, but I've like read most of his.

Wow. Yeah, he's Anne Rice's son. Uh-huh. And like, I think like, I want to say he was between like 19 to, like, like 21 when he wrote A Density of Souls. So like when you read this, like, when I read it, I was like, this is so powerful. But like now as somebody in their late 30s, I'm like, I can't believe that like some, like, I could not write this book as like a almost 40 year old man.

I can't imagine being 19, 20, 21 and being like, oh, I'm just going to write a density of souls and have it be like one of the most like amazing and influential books that I've ever read in my entire life. That's crazy. Yeah. Good for him. This book reminds me of this book called South of Broad. So maybe you should add that to your Ptvr by Pat Conroy.

Done. Done, done, done, done. Oh. That sounds so interesting. Yeah, isn't that wild that people are like, that he's like, I'm 21 and writing this incredible story. yeah it looks like he he was 22 when it published so yeah he could have been writing it when he was 19 for sure yeah and like I just I don't know like to be like your early 20s and write something this it just like donya kukovka yeah yeah I'm like what a debut it kind of like flows together like

so, like, beautifully, but there's, like, you're, like, reading and you're just, like, it's so, like, character-driven, right? And there's, like, so much going on in, like, everybody's, like, like, lives. And then, like, he'll drop a bomb at the end of the chapter. And you're like, did I just, like, read what I thought I read? And it's just, like, so addictive. Yeah. Yeah. It would, I would say that, like, if you had, like, a gun to my head and somebody was, like, tell me the best book that you've ever read in your entire life. Like, I would say, A Density of Souls by Christopher Rice. And it wouldn't take me very long to answer that.

I got it. Don't worry. Oh, my gosh. Oh, quick note. I just finished this book called The Collected Regrets of Clover. And in her acknowledgment, she said that she somehow was, I don't know, like assisted by, mentored by Donya Kakovka. Oh, that's cool. Yeah.

Which I thought was. I was like, oh. I know her name. Yeah. I always love that seeing like authors I know or books to grammars I know in the acknowledgement. And like, oh, that makes sense why I liked that so much is because they also like these other authors. I wanted to interrupt this episode really quickly. I have a goal of monetizing Book Wild, but I would love to do it without having to have ads in the podcast.

And one way that I can do that is through my Patreon community. For those who don't know, Patreon is a community platform that allows creators to share what they're creating behind a paywall. And so that means exclusive content or early releases. The book Wild Patreon has two tiers. The first tier is the bookish tier. And at that tier, you get all of the episodes out a day early. And you get access to our private community chat where we can talk about anything book-related or TV shows or movies. The second tier is the Book Wilde tier, and it includes everything from the first tier, but also

Book Wilde's Backlist Book Club. So this year, I've been wanting to also still read more backlist, even though I read plenty of arcs, and Book Wilde's Backlist Book Club felt like the perfect way to do that. We meet on Sundays. We are international right now, so Sundays are the best way to do it, and we meet on Zoom, and we all pick a book. And we talk about it. And then we talk about everything else we read during the month. And then we pick another book for the next month. So it's been so much fun so far.

And we'd love to have you join the book club. So if you'd like to support the Book Wild podcast, you can go to the Patreon link in the show notes. And you can sign up for whichever tier interests you. And if you're looking for a free way to support the show, if you can like and review it on whichever platform you listen to, that helps so much. So your last, your previous, the book you just did, Gere, changed what I was going to do next to this. So I just take my guidance from the two people before me. So I don't always, I didn't think I would do well with like denser writing and I don't really read that many chunky books. I ended up listening to the Shards by Brett Easton Ellis.

I did not know. I was kind of like, I don't know if this is going to be for me. I really didn't know. I saw it at the adult book fair, and I bought it. I got a signed copy randomly. I didn't even realize,

but I loved it on others. I'm dying. I'm dead. I know. So this thing is chunky, but I loved it. I remember, like, going out,

we have, like, on our bedroom, we have kind of like a little porch patio thing. and I just like went out with my little headphones on and like finished it outside because it's like 20 something hours. Wow. Like one of them and I will never get out of my head and Brett East and Ellis narrates it. So he says it exactly how he's how he wants it said, right? And like the way he says Robert Mallory will never leave my brain in the whole.

Oh my gosh. That's amazing. Yeah. And so like I just was like so into it. But like the beauty of kind of that denser writing was if like I kind of made. missed a second. Like, it was okay. Because like, yeah, it was, it was fine. And so, like, I loved that. And I, like, by the time I got to the end of it, I'm like, I'm not sure if I'm ready for this to be over. So I, um, so yeah, thanks, Gare for the recommendation. I wasn't sure

if I was like, damn. My pleasure. Like, this is like the biggest fucking book in the entire world. But yes, my pleasure to recommend it to you. I, like, I thought it was dark, but I didn't think it was so dark, but like, I get where you're coming from. There was like something, it was like, I think that the whole like vibe of it made it. So like, yes, it was dark and the things were happening, but it was also through this world of a teenager where sometimes you were kind of like, is this real or is this just in the mind of a teenager? Like I, you, for me, like, there's so much of it that I'm like, I guess it's all kind of up to like the interpretation, but maybe I got it. so wrong. It was just like such an interesting book to me. There's like, I think he's in like Palm Springs.

Yeah. And like he thinks that there's somebody outside of his house. Oh yeah. And the way that he writes, him like seeing the shadow and then like seeing somebody like going by like a glass door or like a window or something was so like visual in my mind that it like scared the hell out of me. And then there's a scene in a hospital at the very end of the book that I feel. thought was like very psychologically like depressing. Mm-hmm. I could see that. And I was like, oh, my God, that broke my heart.

I'm going to read the synopsis really quick. Yeah. So if anyone hasn't heard of this one before, 17 years old, it's kind of meta because the main, it is a fiction book, but Brett Easton Ellis wrote it and he's also the main character. 17-year-old Brett is a senior at the exclusive Buckley Prep School when a new student arrives with a mysterious past. Robert Mallory is bright, handsome, charismatic, and shielding a secret from Brett and his friends, even as Robert becomes a part of their tightly knit circle. Threat's obsession

with Robert is equaled only by his increasingly unsettled preoccupation with the trawler, a serial killer on the loose who seems to be drawing ever closer to Brett and his friends, taunting them, and Brett in particular, with grotesque threats and horrific, sharply local acts of violence. The coincidences are uncanny, but they are also filtered through the imagination of a teenager whose gifts for constructing narrative from the filaments of his own life are about to make him one of the most explosive literary sensations of his generation. Can Brett trust his friends or his own mind to make sense of the danger they appear to be in? Thwarted by the world and his own intimate innate, sorry, thwarted by the world and his own innate desires. Buffeted? Is it buffeted?

B-U-S, B-T-E-A-B? Okay. By unhealthy fixations, he spirals into paranoia and isolation as the relationship between the trawler and Robert Mallory hurdles and inexorably toward a collision. There's even big words in there that I'm sure. Inexorably, if you want to know. I'm not being that person. No, please don't. Inexorably.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. What does that even mean? unavoidably kind of yeah yeah that totally makes sense so yeah that's a good one I'm very 80s vibes

like ray bands deck shoes like the like all of the riding around in a convertible in 1980s LA listening to certain music like I think that's also like yeah Robert Mallory I

I'm just so like I was just thinking as you were like reading that, that was like listening to my favorite song is hearing somebody else read the synopsis of that book to me. But like I think that's probably one of my top five favorite books in the entire world. I get it. And I also like am praying to the movie gods that like the TV show adoption will happen. Yeah.

Has it been purchased? The guy who did call me by your name is supposed to be doing it. Like the director. Yeah. Guadino. Something like that. And I guess he like met with Jacob Allorty for lunch. And they like people were assuming that he was going to be Robert Mallory.

Or that that's the role that they were discussing. I don't know if it ended up happening or because they haven't made any cast announcements. But yeah. But yeah. That's fingers crossed. that it does happen because I just am obsessed with that book. My gosh, not to cut

us short on it, but my next one also has a movie adaptation that I'm like, please still happen. Yes. What is it? It is, we used to live here. And if anyone knows,

I don't know if Blake Lively's production company bought it or she was just billed to be the main. actress but who knows what's going to happen because of that so I still hope it gets made even if she's not yeah they want to attach to it also not who I pictured in this book whatsoever I had a few conversations with some other people and I was like this was not who I was picturing for this role at all so who knows who knows what's going to happen and we just won't even get it into it because it's all too complicated with Blake but this was one where

It was like, I still wasn't reading very much horror. And then this is the one that has made me take more risks with horror because it was so good. So, yeah, I'm just going to read this synopsis, so I do not spoil it. As a young queer couple who flip houses, Charlie and Eve can't believe the killer deal they've just gotten on an old house in a picturesque neighborhood. As they're working in the house one day, there's a knock on the door. A man stands there with his family, claiming to have lived. their years before and asking if it would be all right if he showed his kids around. People pleaser to a fault, Eve lets them in. As soon as the strangers enter their home, inexplicable

things start happening, including the family's youngest child going missing and a ghostly presence materializing in the basement. Even more weird, the family can't seem to take the hint that their visit should be over. And when Charlie suddenly vanishes, Eve slowly loses her grip on reality. something is terribly wrong with a house and with a visiting family or is Eve just imagining things there's like so much more than this but you don't want to know you just don't want to know but also like I don't always love the trope of like people showing up and just not leaving I mean for obvious reasons but yeah sometimes that one just doesn't work for me so like that's not what worked for me about the book, but I also can't tell you what works about the book or it spoils a lot of stuff.

So it's, this like explains it, but it's just such a unique one that I got very hyperfixated on. I need to read this. I need to read this. This is like one of those books that like I need to be bullied into reading, like just pick it up already. It could be our wrist. Because like when Steph was talking about the shards, I was like, I need to read. American Psycho. Like I just have to do it at this point.

I have to commit to it. Yeah. And now I have to commit to we used to live here. You should. And it's still my highest performing video right now. If anybody at Netflix is listening. Yeah. Make the movie.

If you want someone to play a badass woman in a seemingly haunted house and Blake lively is not a good decision at this time, why don't you just go with Samara weaving? There you go. Watch ready or not and tell me that she wouldn't fucking take that role on like a mother. So there's your advice, Netflix. Yeah. Don't let Techie Becky down.

Please don't. I must see this movie version of it. This was another one where like the overall rating is like okay. But like if I look at the people that I follow like 75 people that I follow or our friends on Goodreads rated it and their average is probably like. a 4.25. Oh, you're right. Me too.

You know what I mean? Yeah. I'm like, it's so interesting that I'm like, the people that I know are like, hell yeah. This book is amazing. Yep. Yeah, I made like friendships from that book. Awesome.

Yeah. I got so into it. And most people, if you're into it, you get into it. Like, it's fun to talk about. And I'll link for anyone who's listening, I did a whole breakdown. of I think the title's like everything explainable about we used to live here and it's two and a half hours long

so if you're the kind of person who loves watching a movie because then you get to go home and watch all kinds of commentary on it this video might be for you too yes I just like that just sounds like such a like immersive experience for me to it definitely is to read the book and then to like listen to your Yeah. Your podcast episode would be so much fun.

Yeah. I was obsessed. And you still are and still passionate about it. And I think that's what makes it so intriguing for me. Mm-hmm. I still haven't found the perfect same high from this specific book. I've tried. I've come close.

Yeah, I've struggled with certain books I've loved finding, like... It's like I don't want the same thing again, but I want something... Yeah. If I, like, if I, like, I love. loved that, I'd love this, and there's some that I'm, like, really struggling to find comps for.

Yeah. Damn. Sometimes they just are the peak. I guess. Right. Or just so unique. There'll be more. There's some backlists in the dungeons of your library

banger that no one's talking about, and that's where I think is happening. That's what I think. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. So. Um, my next one is actually a book that I was bullied into reading.

Yes. That I didn't think, like, I had heard about this book. I was like, I don't think this is going to be for me. Didn't bother with it and moved on with my life. And then my friend read it, my friend Cindy. And she was like, no, you have to read this and give me your opinion. Like, just buy it on your Kindle now and read it and tell me what you think. And I was like, okay, so I did.

And I devoured this book. 24 hours and it is the Paper Palace by Miranda Callie Heller. Similar to what Steph was saying about the shards is like I do not think that like contemporary fiction with like very dense like literary writing would ever be for me. And then I read this book and I still think about it to this day. And I'm completely obsessed. So it is a perfect July morning and L. A 50 year old happily married mother of three awakens us. the Paper Palace, the family summer place which she had visited every summer of her life. But this morning is different.

Last night, Alan, her oldest friend, Jonas, crept out the back door into the darkness and had sex with each other for the first time, all while their spouses chatted away inside. Now, over the next 24 hours, Al will have to decide between the life she has made with her genuinely beloved husband, Peter, and the life she has always imagined she would have with her childhood love, Jonas, if a tragic event hadn't forever changed the course of their lives. as Heller colors the experiences that have led out to this day, we arrive at the ultimate decision with all its complexity. So it's described as being tender and devastating. And I would say that's like 100% it.

For me, with this one, I thought this was going to be like a drama. Like, okay, I had sex with my best friend and like our spouses don't know. And now I'm like torn between the two. But like the backstory of... these two characters is like the main focal point of the novel and like seeing their friendship progress over the years and like getting to what tragedy like brought them so close will stick with me forever it is like devastating and violent and just extremely depressing but like you get why if this happened to you that you would stick with that person for the

rest of your life and like why you kind of hope that she chooses Jonas. Wow. I just added that to my interested list. I keep seeing broken country that just came out. People are comping the paper palace. Yeah. Oh. Yeah.

And every time I see it, I think of you. I have a copy of broken country and I'm the only thing that's making me nervous is that I'm like, I heard that there's a lot of animal violence in the beginning of it. Damn. And I'm like, like, I think somebody posted on Instagram, like, that's a good warning. Yeah. Like, that's why they DNFed it. Mm-hmm.

But the first thing that comes. So here's a grievance of mine about Goodreads. Surprise. I have a grievance about a technical company, whatever. But, like, the first thing that they put this is readers also enjoyed the wedding people. So I'm like, sweet. However, I've also noticed that. like goodreads does that so often where they'll put like the recent darlings.

Oh, yeah. Like they loved, um, Chris and Hannah's the women, the wedding people, God of the Woods, um, all the colors of the dark, like all these things. And it's like, did they just, so some people just kind of like read what's just coming out. Yeah. Or like, I want to, I want books that are like similar. for other reasons, not just that other people read them. I get that a lot.

Rex. Like, these to me are not recommendations. They're just like, okay, so if some people read like, whatever's on the bestseller list at Target, like, yeah, that makes sense. That doesn't mean, I don't know, anyways, that's my little. Yeah. I get about that. Because I'm like, I get it. If it truly is for people that love the wedding people, I'm going to read it real soon.

I will anyways, but still. yeah it's so good passionate moment with stuff i love it i do ask a j about those that'll happen that functions on multiple levels he's like um that was actually me in our group chat today about a certain book that someone rated five stars and i was like no fucking way oh yes you were yes you were passionate yes very passionate about i was like nope assumed. That's what I think. Yeah.

Yeah, there's actually a lot of people that I follow. Redd really liked Paper Palace as well. Yeah. Yeah. So this is a pretty like short reason. But so like I do not, I really do not always connect with books about motherhood. I did not like have a traumatic childhood or anything where like it's not, it's like not for me for those types of reasons.

and like I don't have kids but like I don't know if that's why either but like some books about parenthood I'm just like probably won't like it just probably won't like click for me I fucking love the bush yes I think like I think I saw a lot of people read it but then I think when I read heard it on killing the tea I'm like all right just dive in and I did not I had no idea that I was going to be so in it. Like, not one's so good. It's so intense. The writing is so unique, short chapters.

Blythe Connor is determined to be the warm, comforting mother to her new baby, Violet, that she never had. But in the thick of motherhood's exhausting early days, Blithe doesn't find the connection with her daughter she expected. She's convinced something is wrong with Violet. She's distant, rejects affection, and becomes, increasingly disruptive at preschool. Is it all in Blythe's head? Her head question mark? Her husband Fox says she's imagining things. Fox doesn't see what she sees. He sees a wife who is

struggling to cope with the day-to-day challenges of being a mother. The more Fox dismisses her fears, the more Blythe begins to question her own sanity. And the more we begin to question what Blythe is telling us about her life as well. Then there is then their son, Sam, is born. And with him, Blythe has the natural maternal connection she always dreamed of. Even Violet seems to love her little brother. But when life as they know it is changed in an instant, the devastating fallout forces Blythe to face the truth. That pushes a rare and extraordinary gift to readers,

the utterly immersive novel that will challenge everything that you think you know about motherhood and what we owe our children and what really happens behind the closed doors of even the most perfect-looking families and about what it feels like when women are not believed. who gives me goosebumps where does it do all of that and

Ashley Adrain is the queen of like her endings are just intense and they are last sentences are bangers so yeah

she's awesome I like said this about like a density of souls but like I love when there's like the last line of like a chapter is like a drop of a bomb or something and then you're like, what the hell's gonna happen next? But I like love in her books

how she's like done that twice where there's like here's a bomb drop here's my acknowledgements. Like I'm just like damn. Like her writing is so addictive. Yeah. You know what I mean? Like it might not be like the story might not be like super fast pace

but like the way that she writes has you like I'm not putting this down. Like I need to know what happens next. I think that there's this I think that the idea of like motherhood in books, I'm sure can be so complex. Like I'm not sure how often like creepy kids, I'll say it is like a subgenre or like a kind of a trope. But I think that there's this risk where it's like, do I make it that a kid is actually like the villain? Like is that really what we're doing here?

and I think that there's this line that some people probably feel like shouldn't be crossed. And I think like as a, I could imagine a reader who is a parent would be like, I just don't know if I can buy in. But then I'm like, finally, someone went there. It's like, is it? Is it not? We don't know. And like the whole book, you're like, it could be.

We don't know. Like I love that that line just got crossed. and you're so good. I always think, like, too, like, kind of like how I love when you call people losers. Like, one of my favorite things is to, like, be like, you were born soulless. Right? Like, that's, like, one of my things.

Like, if somebody's, like, really shitty, as we're all thinking in the same person, but, like, I can, like, think of somebody where I'm like, you were born soulless. Like, you've been a piece of shit your entire life. And, like, I think, like, that's the thing with, like, that book. And like even like the movie like the orphan or the perfect child by Lucinda Berry, even like Halloween where there's just like this question of like are some people just naturally born evil. Right. Like it's not even something that happened to them. It's just like they were born to wreak havoc and be little demon disasters. Yeah. And you're always going to be like questioning it. Yeah. Because you're like can that truly be. And I think that's the question of this whole book.

And it's so fascinating. Yeah. So I had never read anything like that before. I'm still really hit or miss on books about mother's hood. Some of my favorites have been about it, like this madwoman. But some of them I'm just, it doesn't work. So I agree. I'm glad I took the risk.

Yeah. Well, my next one, it's not out yet. It comes out May 6th, but I still want to talk about it. is called The Manor of Dreams by Christina Lee. I became a woman obsessed while I was reading this book. Like I was reading every second I could get like, oh, Bruce needs to go outside. All right, I'll go read while he's outside. But it's another one where like horror is like the leading part.

And as we've all talked about, like there's just, it's not every horror one that works for us. This one worked on so many levels. It has a lot going on. Vivian Yan is dead. The first Chinese actress to win an Oscar, the trio blazing ingenue rose to fame in the 80s, only to disappear from the spotlight at the height of her career and live out the rest of her life as a recluse.

Now her remaining family members are gathered for the reading of her will, and her daughters expect to inherit their childhood. Their child... Oh, there's a... There's a sentence here that's actually wrong. Daughters expect to inherit their childhood home, Vivian's grand, sprawling Southern California Garden Estate. But due to a last minute change to the will, the house is passed on to another family instead,

one that has suddenly returned after decades of estrangement. In hopes of staking their claim, both families move into the mansion. Amidst the grief and paranoia of the family's unhappy reunion, Vivian's daughters raced to piece together what happened in the last week of their mother's life, only to realize they're being haunted by something much more sinister and vengeful than their regrets. After so many years of silence, will the families finally confront the painful truth about the last fateful summer they spent in the house, or will they cling to their secrets until it's too late? I'm just still going to read this part because this part is good, too. Told in dual timelines spanning three generations

and brimming with romance, betrayal, ambition, and sacrifice. This is a thrilling family Gothic that examines the true cost of the American dream and what happens when the roots we set down in this country turn to rock. Which really sets the tone of this book. It is like, it had so many things. Like, it feels like, did you hear about Kitty Carr or even Evelyn Hugo? You, like, have this decades-long story of a woman, like, trailblazing a certain path in Hollywood.

And then it's like family drama and horror in a home. They reminded me so much of no road home. So it was like a mashup of those, which I never thought I would cop together. But the horror elements are like so vibey and artistic and cool. And I just loved it. sounds interesting it's so good driving words genres

horror gothic mystery fantasy thriller yeah it has so many things going on kind of in the way that like ninth house worked for us because it had so many things going on it's just this is this is a different more gothic horror than ninth houses

and it sounds like it has like enough to like keep it very fast-paced. There was like one book that was described as horror, and it was like a gothic, like, horror house book, and I was, like, bored to tears the entire time. But this sounds like there's like more going on that would, like, keep me, like, really busted. So I need to check that out. Damn. Did you find it to be kind of, like, straightforward, or was it more, like, abstract the horror? it's straightforward. I was like it's abstract in the way that um

like the elements of it I guess are but like you know like around 70% like you know exactly like why what is happening is happening. Okay. And then just like the kind of horror is kind of like the visual representation of what's haunting this family. I see. I see.

Yeah. It's not heady. someone wrote Safic Gothic Horror is literally my lifeblood I saw that review too I loved it

yes lots of saffic elements too that's awesome I'm never gonna finish my TVR I know what's the finishing it

yeah right yeah well to to talk about a book that's the complete opposite. Nice. I was pitched a while ago, a book that is literary fiction, literary queer fiction.

That's told in second person, and I was like, there's no way this will ever work for me. But I picked it up, and I am completely in love with How We Need the Stars by Andres and Orteryka. set between the United States and Mexico, Andres and Orta Rican's debut novel is a tender and lyrical exploration of belonging, grief, and first love. A love story for those so often written off the page. When Daniel Dela Luna arrives as a scholarship student at an elite East Coast University, he bears the weight of his family's hopes and dreams and the burden of sharing his late uncle's name. Daniel flounders at first, but then Sam, his roommate, changes everything.

As their relationship evolves from brotherly banter to something more intimate, Daniel soon finds himself in love with a man who helps him see himself in a new light. Just as their relationship takes flight, Daniel's pulled away, first by Sam's hesitation and then by a brutal turn of events that changes Daniel's lives forever. As he grapples with profound loss, Daniel finds himself in his family's ancestral home in Mexico for the summer, finding joy in the setting even as he struggles to come to terms with that happen and faces a host of Burrtle. knew how is the person he's connected to with this place and his family comes from. I don't know what they were trying to say there. But basically, to make a long story short, Daniel Dela Luna is named after his uncle. So when he goes back to Mexico after this tragic event, he soon realizes that there were things about his uncle's life that he also experiences and like begins to wonder if there's more than a connection with his uncle's life and his life other than just

their name. So. But, yeah, lyrical. Like, when I first started reading this one, I was like, oh, this is very, like, dense and heavy and, like, wordy and lyrical and, like, prosy. But then, like, I was like, but I kind of want to know what happens. And I'm, like, a nosy little bitch. So I just, like, kept, like, pushing through. And then, like, the minute Daniel and Sam me, I was, like, just completely like obsessed with the story and I couldn't put it down and I cried like three or four times during the book and like sobbed at the end. Yeah. Like there's like a like that last chapter in the book reminds me of like the final scene of call me by your name. When he's like sitting in front of the fireplace. Mm-hmm. These books actually aren't as opposite as you think is the interesting part

because it's also like spans decades and there's like family trauma and like social trauma and also a tragic queer relationship at the core of it. So they actually have a lot more in common than you thought. Yeah. Yeah. This one's like very like short timeline in the book. Oh, okay. Yeah.

He's just reflecting on his family's past. Yeah. Yeah. He's, like, reflecting on, there's, like, interwoven chapters that are, like, kind of confusing at first, but then they, like, start to make sense. But I think it was, like, mostly, like, the second, second person narration that I was kind of, like, I've never read a book that worked for me in that aspect. And I haven't really read a lot of them to begin with, but, um, just the quiet tenant. The more I push. What? Push is, right?

Is it? No. Oh, is it? I thought it was. But any, or parts of it are, I think. But like, anyway, keep going. Yeah. The whole, the whole book is, like, second.

But, like, the more I, like, got into it, the more I was like, oh, my God, I feel like he's, like, telling me this story. But, like, as, like, a person that's, like, this is what happened to me. And it's something, like, it just, like, felt, like, very intimate between me as a writer and him as a storyteller. Yeah.

That's fascinating. and I like sobbed like a fucking politic it's the best oh my god invested oh my god I was so invested

and I was like there's like a few like reveals too that I didn't see coming but I was like oh my god they just made the story even sadder and I was like oh my god this book like completely like annihilated me emotionally

but yeah I wasn't expecting to love like a literary lyrical little prosy story. Right. That's one of my biggest hurdles is like, yeah, that story sounds great. But if I start reading a book that's, I'm like, what are you saying exactly? I'm kind of like, if I have to work too hard for it at first, I'm going to struggle with it.

But sometimes the payoff is so good. Yeah. Yeah. It's kind of like one of those things who are like, they meet and you're like, okay, like, it's popping off. then it's like, we went to class, we did this, we did that, we did that, and they're like, okay, you guys are just like roommates and then like something happens and you're like, oh, okay. And then it's like kind of like a slow burn and like their relationship like within the story, but you're just kind of like rooting for them from like the minute that they like first meet

and then I think that's what like kept me like addicted to it. I mean, obviously he's an amazing storyteller, but, you know, it wasn't like some of like the romances because you read where they like meat and bam bam, thank you. Like the first chapter. Right. So not real. You know what I mean? I think sometimes when they take their time, you're like,

this is what really happens. Whatever you want. Okay. When you play the slow game, sometimes, they're also in the push at second person when she goes to her husband's house, like in the beginning, or her ex-husband's house.

Oh, okay. I was like, I have to look at this because I remember it's like chapter one is, but not the whole thing is. Okay. I'm like a new one I've never talked about before in a genre I've never really talked about before. I don't, I think I found this randomly on a bookstagramers review, but it's my first experience with the satire, I would say. And it is this orientation. by Elaine C. Chow.

I'm so sorry. I should have prepared for that. I think that it was really important for me to know that this was a satire going in because otherwise it would have been like, what? Total sense. So a 29-year-old, and this is very relevant,

which some people will maybe be put off by, but for me, I, like, loved it. 29-year-old PhD student, Ingrid Yang, is desperate to finish her dissertation on the late canonical poet, Zhao Wen Chow Chiu. And never read about, in quotes, Chinese-y things again, read about Chinesey things again. But after four years of grueling research,

she has only anxiety and stomach pain to show for her efforts. When she accidentally stumbles upon a strange and curious note in the archive, she convinces herself that it's her ticket out of academic hell. But Ingrid's is much deeper in much deeper than she thinks. Her clumsy exploits to unravel the notes message lead to an explosive discovery, upending her entire life and the lives of those around her. With her trusty friend Eunice Kim by her side and her rival Vivian Ho, hot on her trail, together they set off on a roller coaster of mishaps and misadventures

from campus protests and OTC drug hallucinations to book burnings and yellow peril propaganda. In the aftermath, nothing looks the same to Ingrid, including her gentle and doting fiancé Stephen Green. When he embarks on a book tour with the super-Kawai Japanese author he's translated, doubts and insecurities creep in for the first time. As the events Ingrid instigated keeps spiraling, she'll have to confront her sticky relationship to white men and white institutions and most of all herself. This is the most unique thing. I think you've ever.

I should have, I think I just like glad. You know when you read sometimes, you're like, I'm probably not going to pronounce that, right? I should have looked it up. So it says an uproarous and big-hearted satire, alive with sharp edges, immense war, and a cast of unforgettable characters, disorientation is a blistering, send up of privilege and power and a profound reckoning of individual complicity and unspoken rage. So it's this to me, like when I think about it, I think that she's working on this project that's like semi close to her culture.

I think that she's told by these people like what her culture is. It's asking the question, I think we can all think of some authors. like just because an artist or a person says or does things that are wrong, does it discredit their entire catalog of work? There's just like some really interesting questions that it asks and it definitely like has a satirical like over the top of white people and like I'm here for it. Yeah. You know what I mean? I want to read this. I think you'd really like it. I just saw a hilarious review that says,

Asian girl experiencing burnout and academia. Wait, is this fucking play about me? That's amazing. Well, I think that sometimes, too, like, she's Taiwanese and then people, like, and, like, I think continuously being told, like, that she's Chinese and things like that. It's like, no, they're not all the same. And just, like, the experiences that she has. And then, like, at first, like, it was really challenging to me because I think at first, Her fiance seems like this really great guy.

But the more that you hear about him and like people make observations like, is he though? Like does he treat her actually really well? Or does he kind of treat her with some of the same like stereotypes that everybody else does? Yeah. And so it's just like a really, I like books that challenge like my own way of thinking. And like I think it's really important. and one of those things where it's like fiction is important. But yeah, it was, I felt ragey.

But I also like laughed. That's awesome when it can do both. That's how ominous books make me feel most of the time. Yeah. That's how I kind of felt with, Kill for Love by Laura Picklesmire. That was like one of the first like satirical books that I had read and it really worked for me.

Yeah. Yeah. It had kind of like a thriller edge to it. So I think that's like how I got into it. Oh, definitely. Yeah. Yeah. It's more than an edge.

Yeah. And I think there's some people that are like, sometimes satire can be like, You're bleak and bitchy. I mean, that ending, there are lots of parts there are a while. It's pretty, though, is it? That one. It's bitchy. I don't think it's just bitchy.

It's bitchy. I mean, the ending's kind of bleak, though. The ending is horror. It's pure horror, is the ending, basically. It's explosive. It's explosive. Yeah. I think that sometimes, like, people probably might struggle with satire because it seems kind of, like, on the nose at times. And not everybody likes that, but, like, to me, I'm, like, speak. Just, yes. Same.

Yeah. The people who probably need to read it, probably won't, but it still is good to be said. Yeah. Yeah. I agree. That sounds so good. The cover is so cool, too. Mm-hmm.

I think I actually bought it the same day at the same stand at the book fair as the Shards. Nice. Pretty good shopping day, I guess. I guess so.