Episode 40: Wonderful Publishers Behind Wonderful Authors

Hello, hi, and welcome to Medium Lady Reads. This is episode 40, “Wonderful Publishers Behind Wonderful Authors.”

Welcome back to Medium Lady Reads! Erin and Jillian are excited to land in a new “decade” of episodes. The ladies are both in their 40s and they’ve hit their stride with the podcast as they arrive at episode forty. This episode will continue to bring you all the content you love! Book recs, cozy vibes and hot takes, Jillian and Erin are so glad you’re here!

In This Episode:

• The ladies thank their listeners for helping them hit 40 episodes. 
• Erin and Jillian check in with each other about how they’re reading and how life is going. 
• Both ladies bring 2 new books to the show and then share a review of the latest TJ Klune release.
• It’s time for the hot take of the episode! Jillian and Erin share their thoughts on this week’s hot take - tune in to learn what they’re chatting all about.
• What’s on their Holds List? Erin and Jillian weigh in on what they’re reading next. 
• Mentioned in this episode: Episode 27 and The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon.

Books Mentioned In this Episode:

• Deep End by Ali Hazelwood
• Oathbound by Tracy Deonn
• Let’s Call Her Barbie by Renée Rosen
• Penitence by Kristin Koval
• First Time Caller by B.K. Borison
• Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
• Missing White Woman by Kellye Garrett
• The Many Lives of Mama Love by Lara Love Hardin
• How to Read a Book by Monica Wood
• What Happened to the McCrays by Tracey Lange
• The Bones Beneath My Skin by TJ Klune
• The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
• Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune
• Wolfsong by TJ Klune
• The Extraordinaries by TJ Klune
• The Mars House by Natasha Pulley 
• The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon
• You Still Look the Same by Farzana Doctor
• James by Percival Everett 
• Better Than The Movies by Lynn Painter
• Kate & Frida by Kim Fay

Transcript

MLR Ep 40 Wonderful Publishers Behind Wonderful Authors
[Music] Hello, hi and welcome to Medium Lady Reads. This is episode 40. Huge thank you to our listeners, friends and fellow readers for supporting us to this amazing milestone. Hi everyone, I'm Jillian, an Instagram content strategist for Focus People, a mom of two, based in Buffalo, New York. And I'm Erin, a mom of three, a hospital administrator in Ontario, Canada, and the host and founder of the Medium Lady Community and Medium Lady Talks podcast. Together we're thrilled to bring you another episode of Medium Lady Reads, podcast about reading as self-care, passionate love for the public libraries, and all of our thoughts and opinions on book culture having its moment. Hi everyone, welcome back to Medium Lady Reads. This is episode 40 airing the week of April 22nd. We're excited to land in a new decade of episodes. Erin and I are both in our 40s. We've really hit our stride with the podcast as we arrive at episode 40. This episode will continue to bring you all the content you love, book wrecks, cozy vibes, and hot takes. We're so glad you're here. Hi Erin, it's good to see you. How's your reading going? It's going well. Maybe going as well as my podcast life, Jillian congrats on 40 episodes. We're doing great too. He did it. Each episode feels like an achievement, but sometimes when you take a step back and you're like, oh, 40, okay, all right. I'm really proud of us and I really love this partnership that we have going on. And thank you to all of our listeners, especially people who have shared the podcast, people who have written to us, people who tune in or tune in to catch up, people who have read our book recommendations. This is such a nice, cozy community. And we all need a little bit of cozy in our lives these days. And if you want to give us a gift for our 40th episode, you can go ahead and send an episode to a friend and demand that they read it and begin their bookish life and their library love immediately. So that's my, that's my little 40th, 40th episode, hurrah. But otherwise life updates, I am ready for spring. I am like so done with our weather. Where is the spring? I am tired of being inside, hiding from the rain and the damp and the cold and the clouds and the dark. I'm done with this crap. I'm like, I'm so tired of it. I had my birthday last weekend. One of the things I wanted to do was to read most of the weekend. And I did. My family was like very respectful of my reading pajama time. I finished the new alley hazelwood and then I got deep into a few more books. But I'm still reading a lot. I feel, I think the key for me is to read highly rated books for me, like books that I really like from the jump. And that maybe sounds like hard advice to put into place. You can't really know that you're going to, what you're going to rate a book until you read it. But many of the books that I have made my way through in April are four or five stars already. So I think that that's for me, the key to reading more is to just like read what I like. And I've been reading consistently and long enough to, to trust that I know what I like and trust that I know what I don't like. In terms of current reads, I just started oath bound, which is the third book in the Tracy Deon legend born series. This is a Knights of King Arthur Round Table Contemporary Fantasy that features a black female main character. This is the third book in the series. I might, I might DNF it. The copy I got from the library is print and it's a chonker at 642 pages. Yeah, I can't decide if I should persist with this print copy or if I should return it to the library and then just put a digital hold on Libby. We'll see. I'm about 140 pages in. I'm also currently reading a novel called Let's Call Her Barbie. This is historical fiction recounting the creation of Barbie by Mattel in the 50s and 60s. Is it, it's good? I mean, it's fine. You know, there was another point where I almost DNF this book. I'm, I'm almost 70% in. So I'll finish it. DNFing, Jillian, I know you feel this. DNFing is hard. And these are two books. These two books are a really good example of why DNFing is hard. Yeah. Okay, Jillian, that's a lot for me. How's your reading going? I think I'm in a bit of a book rut. I was reading penitents, which I'll bring to the show eventually or another day. So I won't say much, but it took me 11 days to read it, which for me is a lot for a 308 page book. I just could not get into it. So half of April is almost gone and I've only read two books and one was an audio book. Yeah, kind of disappointing. I don't, I don't like book ruts. It happens. It happens to all of us. Yeah. I've also been working on my business trying to grow with the right followers at IG. I actually just started a new account and I'm training it like a case study doing kind of what I would recommend for a client. How do they, how they could grow on Instagram? I'm going to do that exact same thing and hoping it works. So it's had me all the good growing vibes you can. Mm hmm. And you're doing amazing. You're doing amazing. Keep going. Very inspiring. Thank you. I'm not going to share the username on here yet. I want to stick to just trying to get organic reach, but maybe eventually I will share it, but just not right yet. Hey, whenever you want us, we're ready behind you. As for kids and family, we're still busy with gymnastics for Esther and Emma is now doing track and field. So we're go, go going, but overall things are pretty good. My current read right now is first time caller by B. K. Borison. I'm very excited about this book. Here's the brief synopsis. Aiden Valentine, jaded host of a romance hotline is thrust into the spotlight when a young girl's call about her mom, mom's love life goes viral. Suddenly all eyes are on Lucy's stone, a no nonsense single mom who isn't sure she wants or needs a love story. But when sparks fly off air, Lucy must decide between a scripted happily ever after or the man who's been in her ear all along. And I like I said, I'm very excited about reading this one. B. K. Borison is the love light farms person. Mm hmm. Yep. Is this in that universe or? No, this is a brand new one. This is a new series she's calling Heartstrings, which this is the first in the series. Great. I've never read B. K. Borison. Should branch out. You should. It's she's good. All right, but we've already got one recommendation B. K. Borison. Okay. Seven minutes in first recommendation. Let's jump into our reviews for today though, Jillian. Tell us about the books you have for this episode. What are we in for? This week I'm bringing a young adult romance that took me some time to love, a nonfiction memoir, and will both be bringing you a sci-fi fantasy that has a little romance in it too. All right, Aaron. What are you reviewing today? Okay. Today's show I brought a thriller that had me second guessing, a bittersweet romance, and I'll be joining you to discuss that last sci-fi romance. Five new books to celebrate our 40th. I'm excited. Jillian, you get us started with today's reviews. The first book I'm bringing to the show is Eleanor and Park by Rainbow Raul. This book was our March Buddy Read and it took me a little under halfway to get into it, but once I did, I fell in love with it. Here's the brief synopsis. Bono Metta's wife in high school Park says, "So did Jerry Lee Lewis Eleanor answers. I'm not kidding," he says. "You should be," she says, "we're 16. What about Romeo and Juliet? Shallow confused then dead." I love you, Park says. "Wherefore art thou Eleanor answers?" "Not kidding," he says. "You should be." Set over the course of one year in 1986, this story of the two star-crossed misfits smart enough to know that first love almost never lasts, but brave and desperate enough to try. When Eleanor meets Park, you'll remember your own first love and just how hard it pulled you under. Once I got into this book, I enjoyed it and found Eleanor and Park's story to be touching, heartwarming, but also completely heartbreaking. One thing I will say is that the parts of this book didn't age well, which is partly why I only gave it four stars. There was a lot of comments on the shape of Eleanor's body, plus some races from marks made off-handedly, that went and fly in the stain age. That aside, if you're looking for a YA book that's full of all the fields, then this is the book for you. Aaron, since this was our buddy read, I know you read this. What would you like to add? Oh gosh. I mean, I think we had different experiences of the book, and that's what makes buddy reading really special, is you get your own experience, but then that experience kind of bangs around and echoes against the other people who are reading the book. I really love this book. I think the parts of it that like pushed me or got under my skin, even the because of the setting of 86, there's some choices that Rainbow Rowell makes about characters of color and how they're portrayed or the way that they spent. But I felt like everything was so intentional that even those parts to me had purpose and meaning and weren't meant to characterize a specific character or make them one dimensional. It actually made them more dimensional. This book also comes with a really traumatic backstory. And I think that that's what really sets it up romance, is that Eleanor in particular is everything she experiences as she's falling in love is in the backdrop to a really, really unsafe situation. And that kind of you kind of feel the crest of the love story also hit the crest of this like safety plot. And I just felt like that line of like how it pulls you under. I just felt totally pulled in by this book. I felt like every word choice, every music reference, every all of the like there's references to poetry and Romeo and Juliet. I felt like it's all really, really specific. The comments on Eleanor's body, I thought were really interesting that you point that out, Jillian. I felt like most of those come from Eleanor herself. And I know Rainbow Rowell is a person who lives in a bigger body. And I would love to just like sit down with her and have a chat about like that discussion and that conversation about like being a teenager and the ways that you think or the ways that you're conditioned to think about your own body as it's developing and growing and changing. And I felt like that was like a really heavy nuanced part. This is not a frothy book. It's very, it's kind of heavy, right? Like it's yeah. And that's kind of what made me fall in love with it. I I annotated while I read this book. I can't think of any other YA fiction. I would ever bother no shade to YA fiction. But like, you know, it's the soda fountain of the book section for me at least. But this book I feel like I feel like you could hand this to a 10/11th grader and get them to get some pretty solid analysis out of it. But it's it's it's got some some pointy bits which which you know, you could take it or leave it for sure. Great way to put it. All right, Aaron, you're up next. What's your first review for the show? Okay, first up, I'm reviewing Missing White Woman by Kelly Garrett. Here's my review. I gave this book four stars. It had me hooked right from the start. This is a thriller. It opens with Brianna, our heroine, arriving at what should be a dreamy weekend escape with her new but serious boyfriend. The Airbnb is picture perfect. It's nestled in a posh New Jersey neighborhood with views of Manhattan just to train right away. But from the moment Bri arrives, there's tension because Missing Person posters for a local woman are plastered everywhere. And the neighborhood is clearly on edge. As the weekend unfolds, Bri starts noticing her boyfriend's distracted energy, but she gives him space. And then on the last day, she comes downstairs to find not her boyfriend, Ty, but a dead woman in the foyer. Not just any woman, is this the missing woman? Suddenly, Bri is alone, the only black woman in a wealthy white neighborhood caught in a web of suspicion, judgment, and the terrifying realization that someone has been murdered, and she may be the only witness or what I loved about this book was Bri herself. Kelly Garrett has created a main character that you feel instantly connected to. Bri's inner life, her dreams, her grief, her complicated history adds so much emotional richness to the plot. You're not just along for the twists and turns of a murder mystery, you're kind of rooting for somebody who feels really real. Garrett also layers in a sharp commentary on race, privilege, and the power of public narrative. There's a really smart subplot in this book that involves online investigation culture and how true crime obsession can turn people into self-appointed detectives and how that public perception, especially online, can warp the truth before it's even known. That adds a really interesting, unreliable narrator part of this thriller. As a white woman myself, I deeply appreciated how this book laid bare the constant calculations and vigilance that Bri navigates, these experiences that would never cross my mind, but are obviously a part of her everyday reality. The story's fictional, yes, but the themes are incredibly real and handled with nuance. I gave this book 4.5 stars, sorry I said four stars earlier, it's 4.5 stars, and if you love a smart, socially aware thriller that still delivers on pace, mystery, and sharp writing, missing white woman is absolutely one to add to your TBR. That sounds so good. I feel like this was one I added to my TBR and kind of forgot about, so maybe I need to bump it up. I would definitely recommend it. It's a good like spring summer book for sure. Awesome, I'll have to add it or bump it. All right, your next Gilliam tell us about your second review. All right, my next review is The Many Lives of Mama Love, a memoir of lying, stealing, writing, and healing by Laura Love-Hardon. This was just a random choice I made on Audible. I saw it had been on the Oprah Book List and decided I'd give it a try, and I absolutely loved it and gave it 5 stars. Here's the synopsis. No one expects the police to knock on the million dollar two story home of the perfect call to sack housewife. But Sakraman Laura Love-Hardon has been hiding a shady secret. She is funding her heroine addiction by stealing her neighbor's credit cards. Laura is convicted of 32 felonies and becomes inmate S32179. She learns Jail is a class system with the power structure somewhere between an adolescent sleepover party and Lord of the Flies. Furniture is made from tampon boxes and Snickers bars are currency. But Laura quickly finds the rules and brings love and healing to her fellow inmates as she climbs the social ladder to become the shot collar, showing that Jail House politics aren't that different from the PTA meeting she used to attend. When she's released, she reinvents herself as a ghost writer. Now she's legally co-opting other people's identities and getting to meet Oprah, meditate with the Dalai Lama and have dinner with Archbishop Desmond Tutu. But the shadow of her past follows her. Shame is a poison worse than heroin. There is no way to detox. She must learn to forgive herself and others. Navigate life is a felon on probation. Prove to herself that she is more good than bad and much more. Laura Love-Hardonn's story is one of heartbreak caused by her addiction and redemption made by her decision to get in stay clean. This story opened my eyes to the criminal justice system in the US and how ugly it truly is. I was swept away in the story that Laura tells that she as she was arrested on 32 counts and then eventually released a non-perhibition until she was able to pay back her restitution. I loved this book and found it uplifting despite Hardonn's jail time. I listened to this book and if you are someone who enjoys memoirs read by the author, I would recommend this book. Laura Love-Hardonn does a tremendous job narrating it. That one sounds really good. It actually reminds me, not reminds me of, but the experience inside prison reminds me of how to read a book by Monica Wood. We read that. Yes. Part of that book takes place in the prison system. Yes, definitely. That's fiction. Obviously, this book sounds like the kind of story that you just have to see through to the end. It's really, really good. It's heartbreaking. You know, you listen to her story. Obviously, she did the crime and she deserves to pay for that. The crimes that she committed, but the way that she describes jail and prison is just it's beyond what you would expect. At least beyond what I expected. Wow. It sounds like a really good one, especially if you love memoir. We talked last week about celebrity memoirs. This is a great one to balance that feast a little bit. Yeah, it's good. Oprah did a good job choosing this one. How do you get to be a reader for Oprah's book club? Like, is it just Oprah's just reading books and choosing them? Or are there people? Is that a job? Can we apply for them? Can we? Oprah. Hello, Oprah. Thanks for listening. Laura actually explains how her book got chosen. Oh, wow. In the book, she talks about how, do you want me to tell you or would you rather me not say? Oh, you can tell me. You can tell me. You can tell me. I'll probably, I'll probably, I hope to stumble on this book someday, but. So Oprah came into her living room or whatever room. It doesn't matter. And the book was just sitting there and Oprah started reading it and fell in love with it. But no one in Oprah's camp put it there. Like they claimed that no one knows how it got there. No. At Oprah asked all the people, all of all of her people and they're like, no, no, no, no, no. And so somehow, I mean, obviously someone put it there. But that's what they claimed that nobody put it there and Oprah read it and chose it. Amazing. Wow. Imagine just like having a house where you just walk in. There's a book sitting there in your, maybe I'll read this right now. What? I know. I know. I don't know where this book came from, but I don't need to ask questions. It looks like something I would read. Thank you, friendly book ghost. And also like, I'd be like, well, I already have four books on the go so you can get in line new book that appeared out of nowhere. Yeah. You wonder how fast Oprah can read. Is she a fast reader or is she just somebody who skims? You wonder. Oh, good question. I don't know. If anybody knows, tell us. I wonder if Oprah's disclosed what kind of reader she is. Yeah. Oprah's people give us a call. Yeah. We're available. You can reach us on Instagram at Medium Lady Reads. All one word. Okay. All right, Erin, you're up next. What's your second book? Okay. Next up, I'm reviewing What Happened to the Macrae's by Tracing Lange. This book landed squarely in the heart and healing category for me, Jillian. I think you're going to love it. I really loved every minute of this book. I gave it five stars. We open on Kyle McCray, our male main character, quietly observing a tense moment in a sandwich shop. A young woman is holding her own against a group of drunk and aggressive teens. And while Kyle isn't sure how it how it'll play out, he sticks around just in case. And that tiny act of care and watchfulness tells you almost everything you need to know about Kyle. He's the classic, strong, silent type, but his silence has a weight to it and the rest of the book unpacks exactly what he's carrying. Kyle's journey takes him across the country from Washington state back to his hometown of Pottsdom, which is way upstate New York near the Canadian border. After news that his father has suffered a major stroke, that's why he's heading home. But Kyle hasn't been home in two and a half years and his return stirs up a lot, broken relationships, community hurt, and especially unfinished business with his ex-wife Casey. This book is romantic, but not a romance in the way we've come to expect with the rise of authors like Emily Henry, Ali Hazelwood, or Catherine Center. It's not all banter and butterflies. The sweetness here is really earned. There's something incredibly moving about watching two people who know each other so well and who have been through so much try to navigate their emotional scar tissue and then decide whether rebuilding is even possible. And that's what makes "Second Chance Romance" one of my favorite genres within the romance category. The story shares point of view between Kyle and Casey, but it was really Kyle that won me over. Him and his backwards baseball cap, Jillian. Oh, oh, swoon. Watching him slowly come to terms with his past and with the damage his sudden departure caused, it made this a really immersive read. There's a subplot about him coaching a floundering middle school hockey team, which appeals to my Canadian millennial Mighty Ducks loving heart, and those scenes with the kids really deepen the emotional tone of the book in a subtle but effective way. I will say the author takes her time revealing exactly what happened to the macraes, and there were moments when I wanted them to just get to it. But once the reveal landed, it lands really hard and the emotional payoff was absolutely worth it. I didn't feel like the pacing was manipulative or drawn out for drama's sake. Rather, it felt like part of the healing arc that the book was building towards. This is one for fans of quiet fiction, people who really love books about second chances, emotional honesty, and the kind of romance that's about being there, and doing the work not just falling in love. That's my review of "What Happened to the Macraes" by Tracy Lange. I love second chance stories. I know me too. Me too. So good. This one was really, really good. A lot of heart. I always have a hard time adding books that we review on the podcast. I know. Reading them. Oh no, what am I going to review? Because I already read, Aaron already reviewed this. So now I got to read a new book. But I got it. Here's what I'll say. I feel the same way. Listen, I'm like, I'm like, oh, but if I read that, it's not going to take up a slot for the podcast. Yes. But I have heard, I've heard Tracy Lange's books are all like this. And I've never read her before. So if you want to take the baton and read a Tracy Lange, I think you'll really like it. I know you would really probably love this book. I'm adding it right now. Well, that was easy. All right. It's our final round of books. And for this round, we thought we'd both share our thoughts and reviews of TJ Clune's latest for latest tour release. Bones beneath my skin. Jillian, why don't you start us off? Sure. Oh my gosh. Okay. I absolutely love this book. I added it to the pile of amazing writing that came from TJ Clune. But before we get too much further, here's the synopsis. In the spring of 1995, Nate Cartwright has lost everything. His parents are dead, his older brother wants nothing to do with him. And he's been fired from his job as a journalist in Washington, DC. With nothing left to lose, he returns to his family summer cabin outside the small mountain town of Roseland, Oregon. To try and find some sense of direction. The cabin should be empty, but it's not. Inside is a man named Alex, and with him is an extraordinary little girl who calls herself Artemis Starth Vader. Artemis, who isn't exactly as she appears. Soon, it becomes clear that Nate must make a choice, let himself down in the memories of his past or fight for a future he never thought possible. Because the girl is special and forces are descending upon them, who want nothing more than to control her. Oh my gosh. So good. Really good. It's really fun to chat about this one together because we both loved it so much. What I love most about this book is about how much the signature TJ Clune magic was shining through, chapter after chapter. As an author, Clune always impresses me not only with his beautiful writing, but he's so intentional about the reader experience and how the reader is going to perceive his work. And then because of that perception, what place it'll hold in conversations about books, about queerness, about healing, about hope, he's really carved that space out for himself, but that's because he considers so much what the reader is going to take from his books. I think we need more of these kind of books, and I'm really excited that there will continue to be more from him. This book was originally published in 2018 before his mega hits, like The House in the Cerulean Sea, Under the Whispering Door, but it still felt really contemporary and relevant and I was really pleasantly surprised. Tor signed TJ Clune around the same time that this book was published. I think he self-published it. And then in 2022, Tor announced that they'd acquired the rights to nine of TJ Clune's earlier works, including this book. So in 2022, the publishing rights transition from TJ Clune to Tor, and that's why it's a re-publication. This book, Bones Me Me My Skin, has some grit. I felt like it was darker in tone than Cerulean Sea, but not any less tender, just a little bit darker, and it's not nearly as cozy as Under the Whispering Door. Nobody drinks tea in this book. The characters are layered and raw, the stakes are high, the emotional payoff is huge. I'm so, so, so glad this book is getting a second life and reaching more readers because it's absolutely worth your time, and it's probably not something I would have picked up without that re-release. Same here. I don't think I would have. I think I would let it go. Unfortunately, it just wasn't on my radar, and I'm so glad Tor picked it up, though. I can't even put into words how much I love this book, or yet, or better yet, how much I love TJ Clune. He is by far my favorite author. I just, I love him. I wish he was a friend. This book is compelling and gripping from the very first page. There's no slow start here. And then I wanted to refer, if you read the paper copy, the physical copy of the book, there's an author note in there, and it may be in other books too. It might be in the book. I'm not really sure, but he talks about, he writes an author's note, and he talks about calling himself a weirdo. But I want to say he is my favorite weirdo. His books, all of them, have a very special place in my heart. They are full of love and sadness and triumph, and just they're so good. So I want to say to TJ Clune, if you're listening. So please keep being weird and wonderful. I can't wait for the next one. Yeah, I'm with you. I went into this one with a bit of healthy skepticism. I think we both did, knowing it was a re-release, because at first it was sort of, it's, you have to kind of dig to find that information about Tor that we shared. It just looked like a new release. It was like coming soon February 2025, and it's this beautiful orange book with the cover art we've come to know and love from TJ Clune. And we were like, oh, a new book. And we got somewhere beyond the sea in the fall. So like, wow, he's like really picked up the pace. And then I can't remember how I found figured out, I can't remember how we figured out that it was a re-publication. Something you found out somehow, you were like, why is this saying 2018? And I'm like, what? I recently had a not-so-great experience with a republished book that felt super dated, and actually was super misleading and how it was marketed. I don't know if I should mention that book here, but anyway, Clune's bones beneath my skin completely restored my faith. It's every bit as immersive and emotionally satisfying as his works that we know and love. And I think Tor did actually a really good job choosing this as the first of the nine to republish. It looks like we're actually going to get another republished one soon. Plus this past summer, TJ Clune announced that he's also committed to four brand new novels as well. So there's obviously beautiful synergy happening between TJ Clune and Tor. We see this happen with other authors like M.H.N. and Carly Fortune. They're love affair with Berkeley publishing. So sometimes remember, it's not just your favorite author. It's sometimes really wonderful publishers that stand behind those authors that allow them to really shine and do their best thing. Yes, absolutely. I am so excited. I actually need to go in the meantime. I need to go through his back list. I have to there's all of the wolf family. I can't think of the name. Wolf song, I think. Yes, all of the wolf song series. There's the, oh, what is the other one that he has? That's it's a extraordinary. Is the YA. Yes, that's the one. That's the one I was thinking of. I got that one to read. And I may just reread. We have to divide and conquer. We have to reread. I love it. He did suggest in that August announcement that he might be bringing back some beloved family. Beloved what did he say? Beloved characters. Oh gosh. No, but like, do we need does under the whispering door need a sequel? It doesn't. It stands alone. I agree. I agree. Especially if let's be honest, somewhere beyond the sea was not great. We didn't love it. It left a lot on the table. Yeah. A lot of potential in my opinion. Maybe he's not, although the wolf song series, there's multiple books in there. So I can't say he's not good at series, but no, and actually a lot of what he does is series. So the five that were released, there's also this something called like the green something series. I think I think as a romance author, what he's done a lot of is series, as especially when he was self published. Yeah, you're right. I'm looking at it on good reads. You're right. Or if you go to his website and just kind of scroll through, he's pretty prolific. He's written like at least 20, 25 books. Yeah. He's written a lot a lot of books. We should divide and conquer who gets who gets what next series between the extraordinary and wolf songs so that we can each feel like we can we can bring stuff back to the show. Well, I already read one. It's so the wolf song series is Green Creek. I'm just seeing. Oh, Green Creek. There we go. I've read the first book in Green Creek. So maybe I stick with that and you read the extraordinary. Perfect. Perfect. That's fair. That's fair. I'll read the extraordinary. All right. Well, we've had yet another episode where we rave about how much we love TJ Clune and the bones beneath my skin is an excellent heartwarming, immersive, fast-paced sci-fi romance. And we really think you should pick it up. Yes, please do. Okay. It's time for Hot Takes and our current thoughts on Book Culture. A Hot Take is an opinion usually formed off the cuff and with little research, sometimes provocative. Today's Hot Take. It's easier to buy books than it is to get a new library card. Okay. So initially I was on the camp that it was the library card was simple to get because there are multiple there at least in my area. There are multiple libraries within a very close distance. And so if all you have to do is walk into a library and get a library card, it would be easier. But then I thought about it more and I'm like, wait, but you can buy books online now. You don't even need to leave your home. Yeah. So I'm going to have to say that I think it might be easier to buy books than it is to get a library card. However, I don't think that that means that you shouldn't get a library card. I still think that you should get that darn library card. Yeah. And use it a lot. What about you, Aaron? I agree with you. Like I think unfortunately it is way easier to buy a book than to go and get a library card. Like what do we think an average book is costing right these days? $25? Yeah. Well, hardcover probably. Hardcover might even be 30. Someber between like $18 and $30. If you at least where I live, you can get a virtual library card that will allow you access to Libby basically. But to get your library library card, you have to bring your ID with your name and address to the library location. And actually if you're not a resident of Mississauga, but you work in Mississauga, you can get a library card. You have to bring proof of employment, property ownership or proof that you live that you attend a school in Mississauga. And then that library card is renewed every two years where you go and you again show that proof all over again. So I do think that like the chore of getting to the library to get your physical card. Yeah, that can probably get in the way for people. I definitely think so because especially if you're going to use Amazon, which let's face the facts, most people are still going to be using Amazon. Or maybe you're going to a big box brick and mortar bookstore like Barnes and Noble or here in Canada, we have chapters in to go. If you're going to be going to those stores to purchase online, you'll probably have that book in your hands, you know, in the in the next 48 hours. Even if you get your library card, the odds are that the book that motivated you to get that library card is probably going to you're probably going to have to put it on hold. And I do think that like it's these kinds of little things that just drain away the dopamine hit of loving the library. So I'm trying to make it my own personal mission to help as many people as possible get a library card. So if you are, you know, living wherever you live and you're like, I don't even know how to get a library card. I don't even know like it's too much work. I'm just but I'm constantly buying books. And then listen, I'm happy to do the Google search for you and tell you here's how you get your virtual card number. Here's how you can get a physical card number. Here's the the branch locations and to do some of that like legwork for you, because I think our mission in 2025 is to get as many people holding a library card as possible. And as many people using the library as possible, I think is really, really good for books. It's good for books and it's good for reading if more people have a library card. I love it. All right. We're going to wrap up with the holds list. Aaron and I are very passionate about the library. And because we're both avid users, we both have a very active holds list. And we feel like that's something we don't hear a lot about on book podcasts, book talk, or IG. So we know it's something we can offer the bookish community. Plus we'll be sharing a what's up next to let you the listener know what we'll be reaching for on our TBR. So Aaron, what's up on your holds list? I do have a few ready for pickup and I'll probably head over after recording get some fresh air and walk over to the library. I'm still waiting on this book, The Mars House by Natasha Pulley. I'm really excited to get this. It's a queer sci-fi novel about a marriage of convenience between a Mars politician and an Earth refugee. Next up, what I'm reading is The Frozen River by Ariel Lawan. I was supposed to read this in the winter, but I only got it recently from the library. And you may remember Jillian's review of this book back whenever you reviewed it. I don't remember any. You may remember. Okay. We'll try to find it for the show notes. The Frozen River. So I'm picking that up next. That's if I decide to DNF oath bound. And then another book I'm going to be picking up next is You Still Look the Same by Farzana Doctor, which is for my full challenge. This is an intimate deep dive and a humorous glance at the tumultuous decade of her 40s. And this is for the prompt for April, which was to read a book of poetry by a Sikh author. Okay, Jillian, what are you waiting for from the library and what do you have coming up on your TBR? I don't have anything at the library waiting for me. I picked up a couple of books on Friday. I got James by Everett, Percival Everett. And then I also picked up Better Than the Movies by Lin Painter, which I've actually admittedly picked up twice already. I have to keep returning it because one because it's been reviewed on the podcast. Sorry. Don't be sorry. And two because it's not a new release, I keep skipping it and not reading it. So I need you to get though because I know how much you love it. As for what's up next, I'm going to be reading Katen Frida by Kim Faye. Here's a brief synopsis. In 1991, aspiring war correspondent Frida Rodriguez writes Societals bookshop and sparks an unexpected life-changing friendship with bookseller Kate Fair. As letters fly across the ocean, their bond deepens, inspiring both women to chase bold dreams, take big risks, and find beauty and even the hardest moments. Katen Frida is a tender ode to books, friendship, and the joy of becoming who you're meant to be. And I'm pretty excited about that one. Is that nonfiction? No, I'm pretty sure it's fiction. Oh wow, it sounds lovely. It was one of the ones I found through Modern Mrs. Darcy's Spring. Oh nice, nice, nice, nice. Yeah, I'm not really sure what you call it, but Spring Book thing. Yeah, go with that. Okay, great. Well, you have to let us know how it is. I will. Absolutely. That wraps up episode 40 of Medium Lady Reads. Medium Lady Reads is a spin-off of the Medium Lady Talks podcast and Instagram community. On Instagram, you can find me, Aaron at medium.lady, and you can find Jillian at Jillian Finding Happy for more of our current reads and other shenanigans. And of course, you can follow the podcast itself on Instagram @mediumladyreads. If you'd like this episode, please share it with another bookish friend. It really helps us continue to grow the show to reach more readers. Thank you for listening. I'm your host Jillian. And I'm your other host, Aaron. Until next time, we hope that your holds arrive quickly. And your next book, find you right where you need it most. We'll talk to you soon. Bye. Bye.