The Readirect Podcast
Shifting the conversation back to books. Hosted by Abigail Freshley and Emily Rojas.
The Readirect Podcast
Book Talk: Thursday Murder Club Movie, Heated Rivalry TV Show, and Recent Reads
We're back for a chill book talk episode where Emily is definitely not going insane about Heated Rivalry for the 40th time this year.
We catch up after travel, compare notes on The Thursday Murder Club film, and share a stack of recent reads.
Here for the links?
- Request Heated Rivalry on your favorite streaming services. DO IT FOR EMILY IF NOTHING ELSE!!!!
- Heated Rivalry official trailer
- Heated Rivalry and The Long Game books
- Thursday Murder Club book
- wading in waist-high water by colgatemintybluegel
Recent Reads
- Play Nice by Rachel Harrison
- The Hacienda by Isabel Cañas
- The Beartown Trilogy by Fredrick Backman
- Come & Get It by Kiley Reid
- Tough Guy by Rachel Reid
- The Compound by Aisling Rowle
- The Fall by Tal Bauer
Welcome to the Redirect Podcast. My name is Abigail Freshley. And I'm Emily Rohan. The Redirect Podcast is the show where we shift the conversation back to books. We discuss themes from some of our favorite books and how those themes show up in our real lived experiences.
SPEAKER_02:On today's episode, we are catching up, checking in, and doing a book talk.
SPEAKER_01:But before we get to that, if you enjoyed the show, we would love for you to support us in a few simple ways. The first thing you can do is you can go to Apple Podcasts or Spotify and leave us a five-star review and tell us about how much you love our show.
SPEAKER_02:You can also follow us on Instagram and Blue Sky at redirectpodcast. And if you really, really love the show, consider sharing our show with a friend. Sharing our show with a friend is by far the best way to help us grow our community of book loving nerds. And welcome back. We have been we were like boom, boom, boom there for a while.
SPEAKER_01:And now so much to discuss. Yeah, I know. So welcome back. Thank you. Do you want to share about your, you know, extensive travels and sure.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. So wait, before I left, did I talk about um every step she takes on the podcast? No, because I hadn't and still have not read it. So okay, got it. Cool. No worries.
SPEAKER_01:But you can vaguely discuss if you want. Or I can keep my headphones on.
SPEAKER_02:I had mentioned the context of the travel because we were talking about that book. So I joined some friends I made back in 2018 walking um the Camino de Santiago. Uh and we uh I walked for a week with them on a different route, the Camino Portuguese. And um it was a lot of fun. My feet are killing me. Um they are not fit for human view. It is like dark, dark times. Um, but besides that, it was really amazing. I did not use social media, I did not look at the news, I was just totally in the moment in my body with people and nature. It was just great.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Um, I do have a a podcast mention though from the trip because my friend Nathan, shout out Nathan, who um is actually in the midst of editing his own book. So we can't wait to have him on the podcast. But he we were sitting around talking about books and or something like that. And then he mentioned, because he listens to the podcast, he mentioned um Bull Moon Rising or something about bulls came up, or like something I don't know, something and he's like Bull Moon Rising, and then he made me explain to everyone at the table what Bull Moon rising is. So I was like, you know what? I deserve that. This is the consequences of my life choices, yeah. This is the consequence of my actions, yeah. Um wow, so that was nice, and uh also made it made a new friend who is now a new listener. Um she listened to our uh shout out Natalie if you're still listening to the podcast. She excuse me, she listened to our normal people episode. So yeah, it was fun. Um I did no reading, basically. I was way too tired to read at all. I read a little bit on the plane, but um I was I went into the trip and I was I had caught back up and I was two books behind my goal. And now I have fallen to six books behind my goal. Okay. So I'm always in this like yo-yo of like I'm almost caught up, and then something happens and I'm but at least I'm doing the cut catching up part, because if not, then the getting behind would just compound so much I would be like so far behind.
SPEAKER_01:And it's fine. Like if you don't make it, it's totally fine.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, but now I have to make it and we're running out of time to like catch up. That's true, yeah. So now I have to make it get get the show on the road. Yeah, yeah, get the show on the road. You can do it. I believe in you. It was good. I'm still a little jet lagged. Sure. Um, and I have been yeah, just adjusting, and I didn't have any buffer time, so I went immediately back into work and sucks. That does suck, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Anyways, how have you been? Good. It's it was so weird when you were gone because like, yeah, I didn't realize how much we do talk. I'm like, oh god, I want to tell Abigail about that. Um, and yeah, it was good, but it's been a good few weeks, and I've been do I have been doing a lot of reading, which I can talk about. I have fallen back into my Kindle Unlimited era because I can explain why, but I have gotten back on that and slacked on like the library books, which is not going as well. But uh been reading, yeah, I've been reading across a lot of genres, so I'm excited to talk about what I've been reading recently because I feel like I have stuff something for everyone, and you know, I've uh been I've been doing great. I did um okay, as an indication of my mental health while you were gone. I did I did reread uh Waiting in Waste High Water.
SPEAKER_02:Okay. I leave you alone for one week.
SPEAKER_01:I needed it because you are the one who told me, and you were so right. I over the summer I was like, oh, I really want to reread Waiting in Waste High Water, and you're like, don't do it because you're gonna be sad and it's gonna be colder, and the new seasons came out of Bake Off. It's airing right now, yeah.
SPEAKER_02:And so I I've been thinking about that a lot because we've been watching Bake Off.
SPEAKER_01:Yes, and you're like, and it was just as good as I remembered. So that that is part of my reading, but other than that, I've I've read a lot of good books.
SPEAKER_02:So amazing.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, it's been great.
SPEAKER_02:Love that, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Great.
SPEAKER_02:So should we jump into recent reads? Sure. Or where should we start, or should we, or should we jump into recapping some like book news? Let's do that first.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, let's do that first and with the recent reads like we normally do.
SPEAKER_02:Okay, okay. So we long teased that the Thursday Murder Club movie was coming out on Netflix, and then we just never ended up talking about it because we had other episodes that yeah, this is our first chance to really just catch up. Yeah. Um, so we haven't shared our thoughts. But let's share our thoughts. Emily, what did you think of the Thursday Murder Club movie on Netflix?
SPEAKER_01:Okay, so I watched it with my mom and I felt like it was a safe bet to watch with her, and I think she liked it. I don't know. Um it it was more like it was definitely more murdery than I recalled the book being. So uh that's on me. Like I remembered it being more, and maybe this is part of the adaptation. I did well, yeah, and your mom doesn't really like anything unpleasant. No, but she she liked it, she liked it. Um and you know, so we watched it together. Um I think it was a little boring, and I think it probably would have been better served as like a series, because that's what I was gonna say is I remembered so much more of like the group dynamic, and like to me, it's it's a murder club, but it's also about how like these people are finding meaning in their life and a in an age where it's more difficult and they have these connections with each other and the relationships between the members, and I felt like that suffered a little with it being just like a movie adaptation, and so then it made the like murder parts to me not really as interesting because I think the beauty of the book is like that it is about these relationships, or like the relationship with the police officers, and then like with yeah, the the children of the older people, and like all of that is more interesting to me than the like murder mystery itself, which kind of fell a little flat, but I mean it was good, it was fine. I just didn't I like found myself really bored watching it to be honest several times.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I was disappointed as well. Um and then I'm thinking about it, I'm like, I just don't know how you translate all of their rich inner worlds into a movie. Yeah, because so much of it is internal, like you're saying. The thing that's so amazing about the book, like the thing I remember about the book is like I never really remember the mystery plots. Yeah. I have to I would have to remind myself it's like the characters, yeah, and the dialogue and the character growth and like the things that happened in their lives. Um, one thing I was most disappointed about was they made um Chris, who is one of the detectives, they made him into kind of like this dumb butthole kind of guy. Yes, and I just was like, that is not how he was in the book at all. Right. I agree actually. He was like this really complex person who had like was kind of struggling in life and was figuring things out, and the relationship between him and Donna was totally different. So that was a that bummed me out. Um and I think maybe it would have been better served as a series that had more like narration or something. Yeah. Um or maybe it's just like some things are not meant to be adapted. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Well, it's almost like they changed um, because I know a lot of people are outraged about Bogdan as well. Um they kind of butchered him as that in addition to the the cop guy. Um, and his ending is different, and uh, it's almost like they changed these weird things where like I think they probably could have made the mystery plot because the mystery in this one is pretty complex. Like, there's multiple layers, there's like and they didn't even flesh everything out the same way the book did, but I do remember reading the book that there was like many things going on, and they tried to sort of do that in the movie as well, um, where it's like unrelated kind of murders end up being connected and whatever. Yeah, um so it's almost like they could have just made the mystery really, really simple and kept the characters a little more interesting. Yeah, I wish they had done that, and that might have served it better. It's like if you're gonna change something, I feel like maybe it would have been better to change that than and like the actors were there. Like it wasn't a lack of talent, it was just the acting was was pretty great, actually. I thought like David Tennant, I thought was really great. I thought all the you know, the elderly gang was great. Like just the adaptation of it was just not the best.
SPEAKER_02:It was disappointing. It was disappointing. I would say But it's still fine.
SPEAKER_01:Like read it, read the books, yeah. Read the book, please. But it's fine, like it was a good way to pass a night with my mom, you know. Like it was still it's still uh palatable, you know. It was just a little boring, and definitely doesn't hold a candle to the book, which is excellent. So yeah, overall takeaway. Great. Okay, moving on.
SPEAKER_02:Nice. So we there was that. I'm glad we didn't devote a whole episode to it, to be honest with you. It worked out. Yeah, that really did. Yeah. Um although I am still excited about the release of the next book in the series, which you are not excited about because you had never read past the first book. So whatever.
SPEAKER_01:That's my TBR pile.
SPEAKER_02:And you really should. They just I know.
SPEAKER_01:I did and I did notice the other day when I was at the library, they have all of them. So once I read the second one, I can get the rest from the from the library. Yeah, but I need to.
SPEAKER_02:Um yeah, what like a tiny spoiler and maybe an encouragement for you is that the last book, or the most recent one, um, I had I have not cried so hard reading a book since um that book. Um you know which one I'm talking about.
SPEAKER_01:The Song of Achilles.
SPEAKER_02:I don't know why that's the first one that came to my mind. Um, the John Boyne book.
SPEAKER_01:Oh god, the Hearts of Invisible Furies.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, yeah. I had not cried so hard. And one of my friends, she was reading that book out in public, and she was like, I need you to come pick me up. I'm crying so hard in public.
SPEAKER_01:So Okay, okay, okay. I'm walking in like this is gonna change. Yeah, I'll move that up from the bottom of my stack that I have neglected for Kindle and library books. Yeah. Okay, great. Okay.
SPEAKER_02:Also, Mate came out. We haven't read it yet. Yeah. Mate by Allie Hazelwood, but man, I'm excited too.
SPEAKER_01:I can't wait. I'm so excited. I just I decided, well, we were gonna book club it, and obviously we're not. So um maybe we'll talk about it. We'll talk about it once we read it. But um I just normally if we were gonna book club it, I would get the Kindle version so I could just read it right away. But I did go ahead and buy the paperback um today. So I can't wait to get it and read it. And uh I'm sure we'll have thoughts. But I can't wait. I know. I'm very excited.
SPEAKER_02:Very excited.
SPEAKER_01:Thank you. Allie Hazel that keeps us fed.
SPEAKER_02:I know. So that's cooking, and um, you have something else to share. I'm sorry, I'm gonna keep bringing this up.
SPEAKER_01:Okay, because we talked about literally the day after we talked, we recorded our last episode, which was a while ago. Um, heated rivalry stills photos from the show came out. Um, so I What streaming platform is it having? Okay, that's what I need to discuss. Okay. This is a call cry for help. That's why I have to bring it to the podcast. It is currently only being streamed by Crave Canada, which is an exclusive Canadian streaming service. So you're getting a VPN? No, because you have to have a Canadian billing address to watch the show, to sign up for Crave.
SPEAKER_02:Like you can't You don't have any Canadian friends you could hit up.
SPEAKER_01:Do I look like someone who I'm very far from the border. Anyways, this is not the point. It is allegedly, uh, by the time let me think, I think when this episode airs, it is being shopped to US-based streamers. And apparently there's like a history of shows from the streamer coming over to Hulu, and you know. Um, but there's like a campaign going that Rachel Reed has shared to like request, you can request stuff to like Netflix or Hulu or whatever, like tell them you want them to pick up this content. So um, you can do that. I'm c we'll put the links in the show notes. And even if you don't care about this, if you can do it for Emily, do it for me. But, anyways, the the it's coming out in November, so happy birthday to me. If it could come out in November in the US too, that would just be so amazing.
SPEAKER_02:Uh, writing to Hulu to ask them to carry out a show is the new calling your senator.
SPEAKER_01:It's actually way easier because they have a link and maybe more effective. Probably more effective because I'm sure people actually read this. Um, but anyways, the trailer's coming out tomorrow as of the day we're recording this. So I'll come in from the future and tell you guys what I think about it, but I'm so excited. Hello, it's me, Emily from the future. I have now watched the trailer. It is now Monday, October 13th, when I'm recording this. The trailer came out last week, and since then I have watched it. Uh yeah, an embarrassing number of times, just to be honest with you guys. I am having so much fun. I'm having the time of my life. The amount of edits, if you guys, uh if any of you follow me on TikTok, the amount of edits I have reposted. First of all, let me just shout out to start my thoughts. Shout out to the heated rivalry editors, the editing community. Um, because you guys have like a few photos, a few behind-the-scenes things, one trailer, and like a dream. And you're out here converting that into the most compelling, beautiful edits I've ever seen in my life. And it's the same exact footage over and over with new songs every time. I've reposted four. I'm looking at my TikTok right now. That scratches the surface of the amount I've actually watched and seen, but you know what? I'm trying to rein it in a little bit. So, anyways, if you're out there and you are as excited for the show as me, please feel free to slide into our DMs at redirect podcast or me at Emily Roarhouse Reads on TikTok and Instagram. I would love to chat about this. I am so deeply excited. The trailer looks so good. If you have read the books and you watch the trailer, pretty much every single scene, you know, just by looking at it, exactly what's going on. You know what that scene is. Um, like you have the memories in your head from the book. So I have a lot of faith in this for it to be like a faithful, really well-done adaptation. From everything I've heard from Rachel Reed and her like perspective on it, it seems like they've done a really good job. Like they've cared a lot about the source material. Everyone involved seems to care a lot about it. So I'm deeply excited about this. The trailer looks amazing. I will put a link in the show notes to that as well. Go watch it. And just a reminder to ask your streaming services to pick it up. I've also seen some posts from Rachel today of like them shopping this um at whatever. There's like some, you know, in-person event where streamers can shop shows and it's happening today. So let's cross our fingers for good news. But I just want to say the trailer looks amazing. This is my reaction. I I don't know. I'm not like um a person who has extremely high expectations for a book adaptation. It can be they can be hit or miss, but I'm also not like a purist where I'm like everything has to be exactly like if it's not the right exact thing, if they if they don't have like the height difference downright or whatever. Like things don't have to be perfect to me because books and movies are different things or TV shows or whatever. So I feel like I just go in with an open mind, but this has surpassed my expectations, honestly. I never would have thought. I think, yeah, we feel I think this is gonna be great because it seems like, like I said, everyone involved is taking this seriously and not treating it as something that's like silly or frivolous, but like a really nice love story between two people. And so I can't wait to see it. I have high hopes. I am also believing that it will make its way to the US at some point. So that's my little yap from the future. Thank you guys for listening. Please go watch the trailer. Maybe the trailer will convince you to read the book. If that happens to you, please let me know. Comment on this post or DM us or go comment on Spotify uh and let us know because I would be so interested if this trailer convinces anyone to read the book, or if me. Am I convincing you? Here's how I want to say one last thing how you should read this book. Because you never remind, I meant to say this on the episode, but I had a similar experience rereading this as I did rereading the cadence of part-time poets. And here's why. Similar to that, again, this this is like such niche content. Um, and I'm making it nicher, but the the cadence of part-time poets, when I reread it, I just told myself, I think I saw someone comment this somewhere, so I told myself, every single chapter, you are going to get um a glimpse of the relationship. Like something will happen in the relationship. Whether it's a small thing, whether it's like an internal thing or something that actually happens, you will get something. And when you read it that way, it doesn't feel as painful of a slow burn because you're like, oh, I see every step along the way something was happening. That is how I feel about heated revelry, especially on the reread. It kind of can feel like it's just all these scenes happening and like what's the point of some of them. But when I reread it this time, I was like, look for that thing. Similar thing in every single scene, every chapter, um, every time they're hooking up, getting together, like what is that thing? And there is something in every scene that makes it meaningful, to me, in my opinion. Like, whether that's Shane coming to terms with his own sexuality, whether that's them like having some kind of connection outside of like a physical relationship, whether it's a realization on one or both of their parts, um, a decision to take things to the next step, like things progress. And I think when you read it through that lens, you will enjoy it. So if you are a longtime fan or a new fan, or if you've been inspired to read this, please let me know. I also have been going a little bit crazy on my Instagram stories um ever since this trailer posted. So uh feel free to head over there and we can talk because as of right now, there is no one in my life who has read this book, which is such a rarity because normally I can count on Abigail. Um, and it's no shade to her. This is not for her, and that is fine. No shade. She's not here to hear me say that, but no shade at all. I just am definitely open to chat about this because I'm so excited. So okay, that's it. Shout out to Shane and Ilya, shout out to Rachel Reed, and I can't wait to see how this all comes together, and we should all watch it. Okay, love you guys back to present day. As part of my recent Reads preview, I did uh recently read Heated Rivalry again. So I have even more excitement for it. I'm excited for you.
SPEAKER_02:Thank you.
SPEAKER_01:And maybe I'll watch the show. Yeah, you should watch the show. I mean, give it a shot. I mean, maybe it's gonna be good.
SPEAKER_02:I think that you haven't tried hard enough to figure out the Canada VPN situation.
SPEAKER_01:I mean, my understanding is you literally cannot sign up for it without a Canadian like credit card and billing address. So that is what I have understood. I'm sure it I don't here's the thing. Here's my here's my soapbox. I do not want to pirate this. I do actually would pay money for it. If I had to rent it from Amazon or like, you know, pay extra money for a streaming service for a month to watch this, I would personally do it because I think it's amazing that this is being made. It's like great to be able to say that like queer romance books don't get adapted to the same level that regular, not regular, but like heterosexual relationships do. Um, so like for this to be getting an adaptation, for people to be so excited about it, um, it's great for everything. It's great for me, it's great for Rachel Reed, it's great for uh authors who are diverse and who are writing diverse content, it's great for hockey. So let's just support this and get it to the US and I will pay for it. So, anyways, if I have to pirate this, I'll do what I have to do, maybe allegedly. But Hulu on the I don't want to do that, and I do want to support this in a real way and let people know that people want to see this. So I'm very excited about it. I'm sure I really feel like it'll get picked up. Like, I think there's a lot of buzz around it. Also, the actors for this are kind of like doing their own insane gorilla marketing. They got matching tattoos on their physical bodies for like posting all these pictures together. So um, I just like they're doing it, they're doing the work, you know. They're excited for doing the things and I'll I'll watch it along with you.
SPEAKER_02:Thank you. I appreciate that. Maybe I'd enjoy it more than the book.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. I mean, it's okay, it's not for everyone, but for me, if you guys can just go to the show notes right now and click the links and request that this. Although maybe, maybe we'll have good news by the time this airs. I'll come back from the future as well for that. We still never got the Twilight book, but maybe we can have this. I feel so gaslit. I feel so dumb. Every time I'm I was editing the last two episodes, I'm like, we're so stupid because nothing happened. Like we hyped that up so much only for nothing to happen. We weren't the only ones, though. I don't feel like I don't feel like it was crazy. I mean, she's released a book for every other anniversary. I don't feel like that's crazy at all. No, like she's just does what she does, so I don't know. R.I.P. to our hopes and dreams for that.
SPEAKER_02:Still really looking forward to go seeing to seeing uh Twilight in the theater.
SPEAKER_01:Totally. Yeah. And we're gonna do a 20th anniversary Twilight Revisited Part 2 episode. Something.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. Something.
SPEAKER_02:Okay. Um, yeah, on that note, you should read Why We Love and Hate Twilight before that episode.
SPEAKER_01:I do need to, yeah. And you need to your uh illustrated appendix.
SPEAKER_02:I know my illustrated guide. Okay, so what have we read recently? So I have a list of books I read in September, which is actually quite lengthy, but I think I've some of them we've talked about on the podcast. I mean, so some of them were our book club episodes, Sister Wife. Sure. I talked about why we love and hate Twilight. Yeah. I talked about we've talked about every step she takes. Yeah, you haven't gotten away detail. Um, but did I mention Americana? Yes. Okay, I mentioned Americana. Did I mention To the Moon and Bag?
SPEAKER_01:Yes.
SPEAKER_02:Okay, great. I'm just trying to remember. All right, so I think that was the last we talked about though. So Okay. So I read a great book called The Hacienda. Okay.
SPEAKER_01:Yes, I saw this.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah. Isabel Canyas. And I'm actually right now reading in uh her newer release, which is Vampires of El Norte. But um, okay. I think I have found like a great crease for me. So I think I have mentioned, you know, one of my goals this year is I'm trying to read more diverse authors. I'm trying to like up that number. So far this year, like one of the demographics that had really gotten underrepresented in my reading were Latino, Latina, Latina authors. And um I think it's because, and I've mentioned this, I was picking up like contemporary novels or contemporary romance, and it just like that was like when I was searching, okay. Ooh, highly recommended books by Latina authors. I was picking books that I knew I like I wish I just wasn't gonna like. I was picking contemporary romance that was plot-driven, you know? Yeah, not your fave. So the hacienda is really different. It is um a historical novel, and it is historical gothic horror, which is great for spooky season. And it's um this one and Vampires of El Norte are both about like Mexican history. But the hacienda is about this young woman who um in the like fight for Mexican uh independence from Spain, there's like this whole fallout with her family. She's kind of in a dire situation, so she ends up getting married to this guy for safety and security, moving to his country house, and like this is gonna be her redeeming thing where she's gonna like build this house back up, have her mom come live with her, and they're gonna be safe. And she is a second wife to this man. Oh, and she goes to the house, and quickly sh is really, really weird in this house, that's right, and there's lots of weirdness going on. It's also a dual point of view book. There's like a priest in the town who um is like helping her figure out what's going on with the house, and also maybe they're falling in love, and you learn about Mexican history, and um it was really, really good. I was really, really into it. It was spooky but not too scary, um, and horror but not too like horrifying. Um, so it was really, really fun, and I highly recommend. Um she's a really good writer.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, that sounds really good. Have you read um Mexican Gothic, the book?
SPEAKER_02:I have, yeah, I read that. Yeah, it kind of reminds me of that similar creepy.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, and I think I really like the historical vibe of it. Yeah. That's just getting to learn some stuff I didn't know about. Um so that was great. I actually really didn't know much about the history of Mexican independence from Spain. I mean, I knew that they had independence from Spain, but I didn't really know about it.
SPEAKER_01:No, it's crazy how much. I mean, you just think about all the world history we don't know about, but um Yeah. Yeah.
SPEAKER_02:I had a all the American history we don't know about. Yeah. Yeah. Because we weren't taught it.
SPEAKER_01:Oh yeah. Yeah. Last or a couple years ago I went to I went to Mexico City, as you know, and we went to like uh a museum about like the war where Mexico, you know, lost their land to America. And I was like, oh wow, definitely didn't learn this stuff, you know. Like did not learn this. We're horrible. I mean, no surprise, but it's just like it's kind of like how British people never really learn about the American Revolution. Yeah. And you're like, it's like so interesting.
SPEAKER_02:You guys were pretty evolved with us. Yeah. But um, yeah, actually, so The Vampires of El Norte, I think I've probably read enough of that book to to recommend. But that is more about um Texas and like the annexation of Texas. Cool, yeah. Um, so yeah, a little something to learn, but also you've got like the creepy horror thing going on. And what I've learned is that I really like a book about a haunted house. I think that's that's fun for me. So which kind of plays into the next book I have to say that I read, which is Play Nice by Rachel Harrison. Okay. So I read this book and then she actually happened to be speaking at my local bookstore. So then I went to the event and got to hear her talk about it, which was cool. Um, so this is maybe one of my favorite books by her. Um and so this is about a young woman who's uh has like an estranged ration an estranged relationship with her mother. Um because when she was growing up, she and her sisters her mom, they like thought that their mom was like she was like an alcoholic, kind of like mentally ill, and um like the mom thought the house they grew up in was possessed, and they got taken away by their dad. Anyways, the mom has passed away and has left the house to the sisters, and so she uh Cleo has taken it under like she's she's taken on the challenge of flipping the house and selling it. Um and she's also like a social media influencer. Anyways, she quickly learns that there is something going on with the house, and maybe the narrative that was told about her mom was not fully true because this is also a fun thing. It's like a book within a book. Her mom wrote a memoir about the house, yeah, and the girls never read it, uh huh, but her mom left her a copy, so now she's reading it. So you got the book within a book, and it is scary, but not in like a oh my god, I can't sleep at nightway. Yeah. Um, that's a I personally love the haunted house thing. Yeah, and also I felt like the big bad of the book, I didn't even I kind of sympathized with it a little bit. So it's like very complex, like it's just not very straightforward. Sure. Um, so highly recommend. Okay, that sounds really good. That was really great. Yeah. Wow. Those are great spookies. And then I read another book, but it's not really worth talking about. But, anyways. Okay. To you. Okay.
SPEAKER_01:Okay, so the reason that I was in a depressive state is because of uh Friedrich Bachmann's Bear Town trilogy. And I have to issue a personal threat to anybody who has read this trilogy and who heard me with my full chest say, I hope good things happened to Benji and didn't warn me about what was gonna happen to him. I'm not gonna spoil too much, but I just want to say things got so much worse. To where I was, I yeah, speaking of crying as hard as you've ever cried, I was just crying through the whole third book pretty much. So, anyways, I do highly recommend reading this trilogy if you didn't listen to a previous episode. Um, it's Bear Town and then Us Against You and then The Winners is the last book. And it's about this like town in this forest that's sort of cut off from the rest of the world. And it's kind of about the hockey team, but it's really more about the town and like the rivalry they have with their neighboring town and like the stakes of like kids playing hockey and how that can represent a lot of different things and all the people involved in that. And uh things I can't even emphasize how bad things got for Benji. Um, so I really want to murder anybody who chose not to like you know, maybe like you're watching a car accident. You're hoping they did the right thing.
SPEAKER_02:I'm not telling you.
SPEAKER_01:They didn't have to tell me, but they could have been like, hey, you know, you're really attached to this character. I do think you should just mentally prepare yourself for it to get so much worse. Like, so, anyways, I had a bit of a mental breakdown about that. I'm not gonna lie to you guys. Um, but it was really good, it was really worth reading. Um, they're pretty like depressing, like they're very sad. It doesn't really end happily either. Um, it ends, I would say, with some degree of hope. But I did cry my eyes out. I wish I could tell you why, but um I'll just say that I it ends with a degree of hope, but like not not happy. So I would not go into this if you're looking for something uplifting. If you want uplifting, go to anxious people um by Friedrich Bachman. But if you want to cry and really think about like the consequences of hatred, the consequences of like yeah, like the trickle-down effect of like one event leading to another and how it can like destroy lives and destroy a town. Um, do you might want to read this?
SPEAKER_02:But boy, do I have the book for you.
SPEAKER_01:It was tough, man. Oh, it was so bad. I can't even I can't even get into it anymore. Um, and there is a TV show of this, but I don't I I don't think I can handle that. So I think I'm gonna stay away. God bless all of you guys. Um anyways, moving on. Um, also I read a book that you recommended, which was Come and Get It by Kelly Reed. Oh, yeah. Did you like it? I loved it. I loved this even more than such a fun age.
SPEAKER_02:It was so there's so many moments, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:Right, where you're like, ah, stop, stop, please stop. Yes, stop what you're doing. Yes. This took me like a while to get through because I was there were so many times where I had to put the book down because I'm just like, I can't re I can't read this anymore. Like everybody is making bad decisions.
SPEAKER_02:And it wasn't fun that it it came out like this year, but it was set when we were in college.
SPEAKER_01:It yes, and it was startling.
SPEAKER_02:And it was like, oh like this is hitting too close to home too close to home. Too close. And it at an in a school in the south, it oh my god, it hit it hit the wrong notes. And you were in res life, and this book is about res life.
SPEAKER_01:This book is about res life. You should read this if you were ever, yeah.
SPEAKER_02:It it if you ever if you ever were in residential life in your college, you gotta read this.
SPEAKER_01:It was wasn't it great? It was so good in the most horrible way possible. It was so good, and yeah, and every every character though, you're like, uh, why are you doing this? But then you're like, oh my god, I've done that exact same thing, like, or like a version of it, you know? Like I too have been.
SPEAKER_02:Why are you doing this? But also I I totally get it. And it's one of those things where you're like, you don't think that you get everyone's point of view until you do. Yeah. Like you get every you kind of sympathize with everyone. Everyone.
SPEAKER_01:And but it also you're like, you kind of hate them all. Like it's such a so yeah, I think and I really noticed this, and I remember this from such a fun age. Like, she is so good at writing like extremely detailed and real like environments and people, like the little details are so it feels like she just went and watched this happen and just wrote down what happened. Because like every little like part of the setting or like weird quirks that characters have, like, it's all so fully fleshed out.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, and it's like like so she's describing like a dorm room, but instead of being like, there was a fridge with tea bags on top of it, yeah. She just like she is like, Oh yeah, and then so-and-so character like reached on top of the fridge and made a cup of tea or something like that. Like, there's a specificity to it that's like it's just all I I can I can see in my mind's eye the dorm room. Yes, I can see it too.
SPEAKER_01:And that's rare because I don't picture like a lot of detail when I'm reading normally, but this I'm like, I can picture the dorm room, I can picture like the house that Millie works at, I can, you know, picture all the stuff.
SPEAKER_02:So it was so I don't even know. I like all I can't remember any of their names, of course. Obviously. But the girl, the transfer student.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, yeah. She was probably I probably related to her the most. There's a scene where she's like, this was I'm like physically ill thinking about it and reading it, but there's a scene where she like this girl in her class asks her to go to a party.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, and she's like, I get sick. I got sick recently. She's like looking at her clock, like, okay, should I leave it now?
SPEAKER_01:No, and then she texts her, she's like, and then the girl texts her and is like, hey, I'm here, where are you? And she's like, Oh, like I kind of thought we were gonna walk together, but like then I've just been here waiting, and she's like, Okay, I'm on my way. And then the girl's like, actually, we're leaving, and it's like, I thought we were gonna have this, like, I thought we were about to be friends, and it now it seems like this meant more to me than it did to you, and uh uh it just yeah, it made me physically sick. I like trying to frow it.
SPEAKER_02:And then the there's like an aspect, um, there's like uh that character uh she like can hear the RAs talking. Yes, from the room, and I'm like, I oh my god, like yeah, I would have probably done the same thing.
SPEAKER_01:I probably would have eavesdropped on them. Like, I don't know what to tell you, but like at the same time, when you're watching it, you're like, stop, stop listening to that. Like, oh my god, it was it was like a train wreck, but I loved it. I think it's so good. You guys should read it. But it was hard to get through. Like, read this, but have something else on the side because I had to like take breaks from this. Um, it was so good though. Thank you for watching.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I think if you've been to an SEC school, if you've lived in the South, yes, if you went to college in the 2010s, yes, and the way she writes about money too.
SPEAKER_01:I've been I've been harping on this. Obviously, the whole thing's about money and like class and race and how those all play together, but like even the the relationship between the author, old whatever, old the professor and her girlfriend before she moves out there, and like the the m financial dynamics between them and like oh, it's just so good.
SPEAKER_02:So it was masterful, so good, and then just like these little like details, like with how the one girl wants to buy a five thousand dollar dog or something like that, and it's just like these little these little just like yes, they seem insignificant, but it paints this picture like everyone's got all this money. It's just so and yeah, you could probably edit this conversation down, but the one thing I loved was the boo pig. Yes, yes, yes. The boopig fiasco that felt like Lee. That felt I was like this feel so real, man.
SPEAKER_01:Oh that's what I'm saying. Her writing is glad you liked it.
SPEAKER_02:Oh my god.
SPEAKER_01:Because that's what I think about such a fun age. Um, actually, one of my friends was asking me recently if she should read it, and it's like, even now, that's what book I read pre-podcast, because I feel like I remember books I read before we had to talk about all of them less. It was in like 2020 when I read it, and I still can visualize so many scenes from that book because she's just so good at writing these like very specific moments. So I think everyone should read this one. Um, it was so good. Okay, next I read this was a weird book. Um, it's called The Compound by I I don't know how to say her name. Eiling Raleigh. I think she's, you know, one of those UK people. Let me let me Google those pronounced Eiling. Oh, Irish. Ashling. That was very very off. Ashling, let me do her last name. Rawl. Ashling Rawl. Okay, so this is the compound by Ashling Rawl. And this book was so weird. Um, so it is basically like a near future semi-apocalyptic world. Like probably what's gonna happen to us, but you start, you don't really know what's going on in the world. You start off with the your main POV character, and she wakes up and she's in a compound, and you understand, like you come to understand that she is a part of a reality TV show that is essentially like Love Island, meets Survivor, meets like big brother. Like, I would describe it as all kind of three of those, where they're on this compound in the middle of a desert, um, and ten girls wake up on the compound, and then there are ten boys coming from the desert, like they have to journey there through this like treacherous land, and you don't know, they're gonna come sometime. And then when they're there, they all have to kind of couple up. If you're not coupled up, you're at risk to getting voted out, and they have to do these like seemingly random, weird tasks in order to earn things for the compound. So, like to earn food, they can start off with nothing, um, and they earn food, they earn furniture, they can earn, like, you know, I don't know, other stuff, a hot tub, whatever. Um, but it's kind of like I don't know, it feels very fitting for this this day and age. Because something I've actually been thinking about lately is like, okay, well, let's say, you know, hypothetically, the world continues to get worse. Like a slow-moving apocalypse. How long do we get The Bachelor? Like, how long are sports still gonna be played? You know, like how long and this is kind of what that is. Like, you do there's mentions of things going on outside, but you're very much in this reality show. Um, so there's mentions of like changes. And yeah, it's kind of like changing all-stars. I would say it's not as good. Um, but it's like a social commentary on like, yeah, late-stage capitalism, uh, an apocalypse where reality TV still happens, um, and what people will do for like resources in like an extreme environment. Um, and the links still go to. And uh it's very interesting. So it's a short read, too. It's less than 300 pages. So I read it really quickly and it was good. It was very weird, but also very disturbing because when I got to the author, like about the author at the end, it was like Ashley was born in 1998.
SPEAKER_02:I was like, I shouldn't she be a giant rabbit.
unknown:Like, what?
SPEAKER_01:Uh and I'm like, why did you put that in your bio? That feels like a call-out, but okay. It feels like a flip. So I do recommend this one. Um time for you to write your book. Yeah, I guess so. Out of Kendall. Okay. Then I did do a heated rivalry reread. I don't need to go into that, but I just want to say this book does hold up for me. And you know what I thought on the reread? Um, for anyone who cares out there, this book of all, like okay, because I would put this series into like the KU Kendall Unlimited romance genre, which is a mediocre genre. Okay, it's filled with a lot of like fine books that are fine. Um, but heated rivalry is like the biggest thing I've noticed is like they're an under-editing of those books. Like they tend to like not be super clear or like have excess stuff that could have been trimmed off. But I was reading that book, I'm like, this moves so fast. The pacing is insane, and it's if anything, I like finished it and was like, I think this should have been this could have been two books. Like it already has a sequel, but it almost could have been broken up even more because like the amount of like character development and just I mean, it spans like almost a decade of their lives, so that's kind of some of that's natural, but like the amount of stuff that happens, even there's like one scene that's extremely seared in my brain where they're like at a club and one of them is like with his girlfriend, and the other one's there with his like teammates, and then the the one with the teammates sees the other one across the club and is like mad because he's with this girlfriend, and so then he's just grabs a random girl, starts making out with her, and then the guy with the girlfriend looks back across the club and sees him making out with this random girl, and he's like, I wanna let's go, let's get out of here, and they're like, you know, it's the party for you scene, and they're just staring at each other across the room, which is as we all know, probably by now, my favorite thing to happen in any book ever is just stare at each other. Anyways, but that scene's like two pages, like all of that happens in like a page and a half, you know? So that was my takeaway. Um, it was still really great to me, and I'm trying to like microdose, so I'm gonna I want to go back and reread The Long Game as well, which is a sequel, but I'm waiting. But I did read in the meantime another book from this series, which I skipped the first time, but I keep seeing everybody say this is their favorite, so I went to read it. It's called Tough Guy, it's the third book in the series. I would say I don't think it's my favorite, but it was really good. And this one's um, you know, it was just it was like a nice little exploration of like what it means to be a tough guy, what it means to be masculine, what it means to like be this like big, strong sports guy, but like also be vulnerable and um to let yourself love who you want to love. And I thought it was cute. So yeah, I think that's the last of the ones I'll read in the series. The other one people seem to not like that I haven't read. Um that's wise, no one to stop. Yeah, so I think I'm good. But then the reason I this is my last recent read. The reason I slid back into Kindle Unlimited is because of Tal Bauer. I blame him. He is a writer I really like, and I've read several of his books and talked about them on here, and he had a new book that came out that is an Amazon exclusive. So I was forced to, at gunpoint, obviously, read this book or download Kindle Unlimited. Because at certain point it's like, if I'm gonna buy the Kendall that's like$8.99 for the book, I might as well just get um, you know, get my money's worth. So, anyways, it's called The Fall. This book is insane. Um, I don't know, I don't know how much to say on here because I don't want to spoil anything, but basically, it is a hockey romance. It follows though a Tori. This is about Tori. He's a hockey player who like was supposed to be the next great thing, like number one draft pick, you know, young, up-and-coming star, and then he gets drafted and he kind of like flames out. Like he isn't good, he doesn't connect with his teammates, he's like depressed, nobody likes him, he's like doesn't care about anything. So it opens up with him, and he's like at this turning point in his life, and he like has kind of accepted defeat. Like, I'm they're gonna cut me after this year, I'm never gonna live up to the expectations on me. I have no friends, my family is distant from me, and all this stuff. So um, that's where he's at. And the next day he goes to play a game about against Tampa, their team, and he is playing, playing whatever, takes a really bad hit, hits the ice, blacks out, wakes up eventually. Um, he is in a bed he doesn't recognize. He is laying next to the captain of the Tampa hockey team. Hello, who he has never spoken to, like off playing against him, like they've never met, as far as he's concerned. Um, and he's in like a house he doesn't recognize, he looks different, he's like looks healthier, happier, he plays for a different team, and it's a year later. So he has no memory of the last year of his life. And allegedly, like the night before, he had taken another hit um on the ice and like gotten a concussion. And so he is like, This is crazy. I don't remember a year of my life, and in that year, I'm like now happy, I'm like deeply in love with this person. Um, whereas I didn't even know I was maybe gay before, and now like I'm in love with this man who I thought was my like opponent, and now we're teammates, and I'm doing really well, and his team's about to make the playoffs, but he keeps having this like feeling that something's not right, and there are more twists that I don't want to reveal, but this book is fully insane. I literally, it is 800 pages. Whoa, I read it in one that's crazy. Because I can't even tell you about the twist because I don't want to spoil it, but um actually, do you wanna know? Are you gonna read this? Can I tell you? Okay, well, never mind. The twist though is so insane that I that's why like I couldn't put it down because it was like 11 o'clock at night and something happened, and I was so shocked. You're like, well, and I can't sleep. I can't sleep. So yeah, I read it like fully, it was like a Friday night. Read it all night basically, not really, but to like midnight. And then I woke up the next day and I'm like, I have to keep reading because like I don't know what's gonna happen. I will say, Tal Bauer is probably not for everyone. He writes like incredibly sickeningly sweet love, and I like that. Um, because I really like established relationships, and that's what's to me interesting about this because you wake up and you're in a relationship. Um, but it is like very sweet, like like might be vomit-inducing for some people. So I would just warn you of that. It's very long and very sweet, but like I thought it was really nice. I thought the relationship between them was really, like, really lovely, and um again, the twists were crazy. Uh it was kind of interesting.
SPEAKER_02:You've spiked my intrigue.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, it's it is a lot, so just I'm warning you all to that. And you do have to buy it on Kindle or get Kindle Unlimited to read it. But if you need any recs for other good books on the Kindle Unlimited, I have many that I can offer you. I mean mediocre ones.
SPEAKER_02:You need to do like um like a blog post or like a like a listicle or something of like your top Kindle and be romances.
SPEAKER_01:I should. Because there's some bad ones out there, but there are some good ones. You need to catalog it all in one space. I do, but the problem is I kind of I this is why I reread Heated Rivalry because I black out and I read like 20 and then they all blur together. And I don't even put half of them in story graph. Like I I don't because I just don't feel it feels like it feels like reading fanfiction to me, honestly, so which I don't also count in my story graph reading goals, so uh it's hard for me to recall. So yeah, I had to go back and reread Heat of Raver because I'm like, I know I really liked this, and I remember the long game a little better because I think it was more spaced out, but I read this with so many others, and I'm like, this is a kind of a black hole, honestly. Um but yeah, I this one was really, really good. I will be thinking about it for a while. I don't think it's probably everyone's cup of tea, but uh again, the twists were like so many twists and turns in this because I'm like getting through and like so much is happening, and it's like 40%, and you're like, okay, well, I know something else is gonna happen because I'm only four, I'm not even halfway done, but what is gonna happen? Anyways, two thumbs up. T. Thank you, Tao Bauer, for releasing a new book. I loved it. Anything else? That's it. That's all I've been reading recently. That's it.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I think that's a good roundup.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, it was really good. It was really good.
SPEAKER_02:Again, I will we're in the home stretch of the year. It's like, oh gosh, every book it's like choosing, okay?
SPEAKER_01:No, that's what I keep that's why I'm at reading. Okay, like decisions.
SPEAKER_02:I'm gonna spend time reading this book means and not spending time reading another book.
SPEAKER_01:Yes, but I am six books away from meeting my goal. So that's amazing. I'm really happy about that. And uh I'm six books behind from staying on track with my goal. I think it's okay. It's fine, it's all gonna work out. It's totally fine. No, I am gonna get it done. I believe in you. Plus, you get time off around the holidays, right? So maybe you can get some reason.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah, I mean I keep I keep closing my gap. Yeah. And then widening the gap again. Six isn't insurmountable though, I don't think. No, I've come back from six already.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. So I think you'll be fine. Um, and we'll be here to talk about it with you.
SPEAKER_02:All right. All right, Dan. Shorty. Have you seen this? I I you know how like growing up your family members will be like, okay, well, I'll let you go. All right, bye. Well, I've been seeing that a lot on TikTok. Like, this is such like an Appalachian thing, and I'm like, I never realized that. It's like Appalachian mom trying to wrap up a phone call. It's like, well, all right, okay. Well, I know you're busy, so I'll let you go. Okay. I'll let you go. Baum.