Episode 48: Five Stars, Please.

Hello, hi, and welcome to Medium Lady Reads. This is episode 48 - “Five Stars, Please.” As always, Jillian and Erin have a fresh batch of book recommendations they’re excited to share.

So pour yourself something warm, grab a blanket, and let’s talk about what we’ve been reading lately. Erin and Jillian always want you to feel like the third reader in our chat. With any luck, you’ll leave this episode with at least one new title to put on your library holds list—and maybe even your next favorite book.”

In This Episode:

• Erin and Jillian check in on how their reading and lives have been going. 
• It’s time to share their 3 books each! What will the ladies bring to the show this week? Tune in to find out. 
• Mentioned in This Episode: Cozy Christmas Reads 2024
• Next up, is Hot Takes and today Jillian and Erin are talking about a reel that Mychal Threets put out about rating books. Watch it HERE.
• Mentioned in this Episode: Medium Lady Reads 45.
• Jillian and Erin wrap up with the holds list. Listen in to find out what’s on each woman’s hold list.

Books Mentioned In This Episode:

• The Wilderness by Angela Flournoy
• Crazy Spooky Love by Josie Silver
• Winging It with You by Chip Pons
• I Leave It Up to You by Jinwoo Chong
• The Breakaway by Jennifer Weiner
• Me, But Better by Olga Khazan
• Once Upon a Time in Dollywood by Ashley Jordan
• We Are All Guilty Here by Karin Slaughter
• All The Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker
• The Plan by Kendra Adachi
• If It Makes You Happy by Julie Olivia
• Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
• Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
• People Watching by Hannah Bonam-Young

Transcript

MLR 48 Five Stars, Please
[MUSIC PLAYING] Hello, hi, and welcome back to Medium Lady Reads. This is episode 48, and we're so glad you're here. Whether your reading life is feeling a little scattered or you're sinking into the rhythms of fall and looking for that perfect next book, we hope something from today's reviews will spark your curiosity. Hi, everyone. I'm Jillian, an Instagram content strategist for "Bokers 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, a Medium Lady Talks podcast. Together, we're thrilled to bring you another episode of Medium Lady Reads, a podcast about reading as self-care, a passionate love for the public library, and all of our thoughts and opinions on book culture, having its moment. Hi, everyone. Welcome back to Medium Lady Reads. We're so glad you're here with us. This is episode 48, "Landing the Week of October 14th." And as always, we've got a refreshed batch of book recommendations. We're excited to share. So pour yourself something warm, grab a blanket, and let's talk about what we've been reading lately. We always want you to feel like in the third reader in our chat. With any luck, you'll leave this episode with at least one new title to put on your library hold list and maybe even your next favorite book. Hi, Erin. It's good to see you. How's your reading and life going? Hi, Jillian. It's amazing to see you. Life has been busy. Life has been busy, and that has kind of trickled and impacted Medium Lady Reads. You know, sometimes I sit to myself and I think, what day is it? Where am I? What am I doing? What's happening? September, totally flew by. And even now, October is proving to be no different. Back to school was one thing, but in my house, we also had massive issues with our van. Then we bought a new car. We had a ton of birthdays. I got sick. Like, it's a lot in September. But I feel like I use the time not to rush into fall, and not to feel like I was already behind on enjoying the fall. And now October's here, and I'm feeling really great, and I'm ready to kind of welcome everything the fall season has to offer. I did only-- I'm saying only-- that's just this is just for me-- reads seven books in September. Seven books is a great number. I'm just saying only because of the way the patterns that I have when I read. I think I just found-- I didn't have time. I didn't really have time to be reading. But I am finding a reading rhythm again, especially in the fall. But I'm taking longer than usual to get through a book. And it's thankfully not really impacting my ratings. Like, I would say for the most part, I'm still finding five star reads. But I'm not quite whipping through, and that might also be the types of books that I'm choosing. I have been wanting to read more of the books I actually own. And I've also been thinking about prepping my home for cozy season, trying to create some new cozy reading nooks in my house. My current reads, I'm wrapping up The Wilderness by Angela Flournoy. This novel is told from the point of view of four Black women and friends, a really well-written exploration of sort of intersectionality and individuality between friends. How are you the same, but how are you different, especially as these four characters move from their 20s into their midlife in the early arts, especially. So it sort of starts around, I think, like, 20 2005, and it moves into, like, present day, which is just kind of an interesting timeline to explore. And also, like, point of view and age range, because I myself was in my 20s in the early arts. And I'm moving into my middle age now in my 40s. So I'm enjoying it. That's great. How about you, Jillian? How's your reading going? Well, reading is going about the same as you. I feel like it is taking me a lot longer to get through books that it used to. I don't know what it is, why that is for me. But because I'm still reading the books that I was-- type of books I was normally reading. So I really don't know what's going on. But it's going. I'm reading a lot of romance still. I'm sticking with that. I've been enjoying that. I finished wayward, and it was a total slumpbuster. Yay. I'll be reviewing it, not on today's show, but in the future. So keep your TBR ready. And in the meantime, add it to your TBR because it is that good. As for life updates, we're back in the school routine. Emma's doing soccer. So he's got practice every day after school, mixed in with his games. And then Esther's doing gymnastics again. So we have that two nights a week. We're busy, but I love this time of year, and I have zero complaints about what's going on. I will say that we had-- you had car issues. We had plumbing issues. And that kept us from recording, which is why this is a bit delayed for those of you listening. We didn't hit our every other week mark. But that's OK, because we do what we can. And this is for fun. This isn't serious-- I mean, if it became a serious, that would be fine. But we're not going to say-- stress ourselves out if we miss something. Yeah, I mean, if there's any podcast networks out there that want us, we are open. But I think the podcast has to fit real life, and real life gets in the way. Absolutely, absolutely. So my current read is Crazy Spooky Love by Josie Silver. Here's a short synopsis for you. "In the quirky town of Chapelwick, melody, bittersweet, launches her own gross busting agency, determined to help breastless spirits move on. Her first case, a trio of swabbling ghost brothers with secrecy murder, draws not only her rakeish ex and his TV crew, but also a maddeningly attractive reporter, benton exposing her. Between feuding phantoms and a heart she can't quite keep in check, melody must prove she's more than a bittersweet name. She's the real deal. And it's super cute. It's taken me a while to read. I don't-- again, I don't know why. But it's been-- I've been reading it for like two weeks now. But it's cute. It's really cute. Well, it's the perfect time of year for it anyway. For sure. We know you love a ghosty. I do. I do love the ghosts. All right. Well, let's jump into our reviews for today. Jillian, tell us about the books you have for today's episode. What are we in for? This week, I'm excited to bring an LGBTQIA+ romance, some chick-let, and a beautiful contemporary romance. And what do you have for us today, Aaron? For today's show, I'm bringing a heartfelt family drama, personal development book about personality, and an incredible thriller/police procedural that I finished this morning. I actually went into our script. I took out the book I was going to review. I put in this book because I am just like-- That's that good. --thresh off of loving this book. And I just want to talk about it. And that's the beauty of having a podcast is I can talk about it whenever I want. It's exciting. Now I can't wait to hear about it. All right, Jillian, you have today's first book. What do you have for us? The first book I'm bringing to the show is "Winging It With You" by Chip Ponds. I gave this book 4.5 stars and thought it was cute. I love getting to know Theo and Asher. Here's a synopsis. Asher Bennett thought his relationship was just fine, until he was unceremoniously dumped at the Boston Airport at the Worldwide Travel Competition reality show, the Epic Trek. Armed with only a ticket and a righteous indignation, Asher finds as close as solace he can. I'm a Mosah and Matsurellistix combo at an airport TGI Fridays. Still, Asher is determined to find a new partner and luckily right in front of him is a smooth-talking airline pilot, ready for takeoff. Theo Fernandez has been grounded. He's the only pilot that has never taken a vacation and the edict has been passed prioritizing work-life balance or goodbye to your wings. As he struggles to bask in the new downtime without reconnecting with his family, he stumbles upon the perfect opportunity. The handsome guy who stole his Matsurellistix at his favorite terminal eatery has a sudden opening for a partner on a nationally televised reality show. Theo and Asher buckle up to fake date for this cameras, but as they do, the undercurrents of attraction make them wonder if their on-screen chemistry hints at something bigger. Do they have a courage to leave behind their baggage and wing it together for another chance at love? Not only was this a wonderful rom-com, but there was also almost zero miscommunication and when there was it got cleared up quickly and just like adults would do, it was chef's kiss. Mwah. I adored the relationship that Theo and Asher built up together through their fake dating. I think I really like the fake dating trope after this novel. It did feel a tiny bit slow in the middle, but I loved the way it started and the way it ended, so four and a half stars is absolutely deserved. If you're looking for a sweet romance that is full of complex feelings, this is the book for you. That's my review of "Winging It" by Chipons. This sounds really good. I'm gonna add this to my TBR. I have a fondness for the amazing race. How much of this story takes place with the actual reality competition? Pretty much all of it. Oh nice. They're pretty much the whole, I mean, it's kind of going on behind the scenes, but there, I mean, that's exactly what it's mocking is the amazing race for sure. I think that's really fun. That's really fun place, like an unexpected setting for a romance storyline. Yeah, it was. It was good. It was really good. Aaron, you have next. What's your first review? The first book I'm bringing to this episode is "I Leave It Up To You" by Jin Woochang. I honestly, I, Jillian, you know, this happens. You're like, you pick up a book, Libby sends it to you, and you're like, where did this come from? I have not. Obviously, I put it on hold at some point, but I cannot remember how this book landed on my radar, just one of those titles, and suddenly I felt like I was in the right mood for it. And sometimes that's just the magic of books. They find you right when you need the most. Absolutely. So in "I Leave It Up To You," we meet Jack Jr., who wakes up, gazing into the eyes of a man he thinks is his husband, Ren. Except it isn't. The stranger is masked, frantic, and Jack realizes he can't speak. Jack, himself, can barely even breathe. The truth lands hard. He hasn't been asleep. He's been in a coma for the last two years. And from there, the novel unfolds around Jack's rehab, the memories he's lost, and the family he begins to reconcile with as he rebuilds his life. What follows is charming, often pretty funny, and sometimes unsettling story of finding your way back to yourself through connections to those who know you best and will always love you. One element I didn't expect, but that really worked for me, is the timeline in this novel. Jack entered his coma at the end of 2019, and he wakes up at the end of 2021, which means he's missed the pandemic entirely. So for him, those two years never happened, but for the people who love him, everything for them has changed. And reading about those shifts from Jack's perspective, without the weight of hindsight, what would we have done or how did we feel during the pandemic? It was really refreshing and poignant. This is a family drama through and through. There's vivid characters, a lot of heart, and a story that pulled me in right from the first page. I think it would be hard for any reader to not really want to get past the first 10% of this book. It's the kind of book that makes sense for a cozy fall or even for winter nights. Visit this family with a blanket and a mug of tea. It's a very, very lovable cast of characters. This one honestly really surprised me. I ended up giving it five stars, and that's my review of "I Leave It Up To You" by Jin Woo Chang. - Sounds really good. You should have saved it for cozy Christmas reads if it's that cozy. I thought about saving it for cozy Christmas reads. I could have, I do think Christmas features, Thanksgiving definitely features in this book, but I have some other books on my mind for cozy Christmas, so yeah. But, Fair enough, if listeners who are new to the show might not know, we do every year, cozy Christmas reads is an episode, medium lady reads hosts with Jillian, myself, and our two buddy reads members. So it's essentially our entire book club hops on Mike, and we each give recommendations for what we think you should read for your cozy holiday reading season. - I'll try to link to the last one we did in "The 25 For" so that, yes, so if you feel like listening to it, you can grab it right there. - Perfect. - All right, my friend, your next to tell us about your second book review. - The next book I'm bringing to the show is from a back list. I'm talking about "The Breakway" by Jennifer Weiner. I'm 100% smitten with this book. I love Abby and can relate to many of her body insecurities that come up throughout the book. Here's the synopsis. 33 year old Abby Stern has made it to a happy place. True, she still has gig jobs instead of a career, and the apartment where she's lived since college still looks like she's just moved in, but she's got good friends, her bike, and her bicycling club in Philadelphia. She's at peace with her plus size body, at least most of the time, and she's on track to Mary Mark Medov, her childhood summer sweetheart, a man she met at the weight loss camp that her perpetually-dieting mother forced her to attend. 15 years after her final summer at Cam Golden Hills, when Abby reconnects with half his size Mark, it feels like the happy ending she's always wanted. Yet, Abby can't escape the feeling that something isn't right, or the memories of one thrilling night she spent with a man named Sebastian two years previously. When Abby gets a last minute invitation to a lead cycling trip from New York City to Niagara Falls, she's happy to have time away from Mark, a chance to reflect and make up her mind. But things get complicated fast. First, Abby spots a familiar face in the group, Sebastian, the one night stand she thought she'd never see again. Sebastian is a serial dator who lives 100 miles away in spite of their undeniable chemistry. Abby is determined to keep her distance. Then there's a surprise last minute addition to her the ride, her mother, I lean. The woman Abby blames for a lifetime of body shaming and insecurities she's still trying to undo. Over two weeks and more than 700 miles, strangers become friends. Yet in truths come to light, a teenage girl with secret unites the riders in unexpected ways. And Abby is forced to reconsider everything she believes about herself, her mother, and the nature of love. It was fun to read about the upstate trail. I live in Buffalo and have bent in Niagara Falls on numerous occasions. So that was fun. One thing I wished would have been handled a little differently was how Abby didn't communicate clearly with her mother. Her mother did wrong her as a child, and I understand that I can lead to loss of connection. But they could have spoken about what Abby was feeling and reconnected that way or not, but still could have communicated more clearly. Overall, I enjoyed the book and would highly recommend it if you liked any of Winer's other books. That's my review of The Breakway by Jennifer Weiner. I really like this book too. I think I read it in 2023. It's like an easy win. I think most people will like this book. Really strong, female main character, really straightforward, but compelling backstory. There's no kind of questionable plot holes or like, you know, how some novels kind of like really muscle you into the premise. And they're like, but no one can find out that she's actually a famous Instagram. Like, you know, like I'm like, you know, like you're kind of like making up stakes. This book doesn't have any of that. Jennifer Weiner is actually, she's a very talented, talented author in my opinion. She is. I like her a lot of her books. All right, you're up next. What's your second book, Erin? Okay. The next book I want to share is called "Me But Better" by Olga Hazan. And this one came to me through the Instagram algorithm. I saw a few clips of Olga being interviewed on podcasts and something she said must have stuck with me because I went and I put her book on hold before it was even released to the library. And what really drew me in is this central question in the book of personality. Are we stuck with who we are? Are we stuck with our personalities or can we with enough effort actually change? And so here's a bit of setup. Olga Hazan is a journalist who despite having what looks like a very successful life, found herself stuck in an existential crisis. Her neurotic, overachieving tendencies had always been an asset at work, but she began to feel like her brittle disposition could crack under the pressure of just one more thing, something had to give. So she sets out to see if she can improve her big five traits of personality. And these are well-known traits studied across a lot of personality science. Openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. And so you can imagine like, people exist on a spectrum within each of those traits. The book mixes engaging journalism, some accessible pop psychology, and Hazan's own memoir style reflections, as she experiments with ways to adjust her personality. And she's very determined to adjust her personality. She tries new approaches, she questions her mindset, she even makes some big life changes along the way, including a cross-country move, and a pregnancy that she's very excited for. For me, this book wasn't so much about whether she could change her personality, but more about whether she could build a life that felt better suited to who she really is. And I think that nuance for me is what made this book really interesting. I have always loved personality quizzes and the self-awareness that they spark. So I did find this book fun and easy to read, thought provoking in the same way. I think if you're into personal development and you want something in the positive psychology or mindset category, this is a great addition to your list. And that's my review of me, but better by Olga Hazan. So this was, was this personal development or was this a memoir? It's a mixture. It's one of those ones where you sort of learn a lot about personality science. You learn a lot about the domains of what might make up a personality. And then she's also on this journey to improve herself. So you sort of learn about the different ways one might improve oneself, one might develop personally through her own experiments. She really writes for the most part about how she might improve her own life. And she interviews experts who sort of understand, she's on this journey to become less neurotic, for example. She scores very, very high on neuroticism. And so she works with someone who has studied and understands neuroticism. And they encourage her to try different things. And she really throws herself into this project. She says no to almost nothing during the whole thing. So she really brings like a good faith attitude to this experiment. Oh, that sounds great. OK, it's our final round of books, Jillian, what is your last book? The final book I'm bringing to the show is Once Upon a Time in Dollywood by Ashley Jordan. I loved no, I adore this book, and I gave it five stars. Here's the synopsis. Eve Ambrose may be a rising star playwright, but her personal life is falling apart. Desperate for a fresh start, she breaks up with her fiance, cuts off her parents and heads to the Tennessee mountains. But keeping up with life that she's just on a writing retreat becomes near impossible when faced with the well-meaning downspi people and neighbor who has just as much baggage as she has. Coming off of a contentious custody battle, Jamie Gallagher is reconstructing what his life looked like as a single dad. And spending more days at his cabin makes his new free time a little less empty, especially when he meets the beautiful and prickly woman next door. The last thing he needs is a new romance to shake up his family dynamics even more, but there's something about Eve. What starts out as a fling quickly becomes more serious, and it's not long before Eve is running the scared once again. She's loved and lost in every possible way and risking it one more time could finally break her. But like the fireflies that fill the mountains around them, Jamie's and Eve's lives keep falling into sync. A fairy tale ending could be then in the cards, but only if the new couple can get out of their heads and put their hearts first. Maybe fairy tales didn't exist, but that didn't mean she couldn't have a happily ever after. That was Eve Ambrose from the book, and that perfectly sums up the book for me what a beautiful and unexpected romance. You know how romance novels have a formula? Mm-hmm. Well, this one was beautifully didn't follow that formula. I honestly didn't think the two main characters would end up together. That's how unique this book was. There was depth and a rollercoaster of emotions pecked into this amazing book. I'm so happy I picked it up, and I'll be picking up everything by Ashley Jordan from here on out. That's my review of Once Upon a Time in Dollywood by Ashley Jordan. Wow, that is a good review. I had this book, and I must have read maybe three pages, almost nothing, and then it got returned, auto-returned by Libby. I didn't mention when I talked about my reading life that I think I DNFed five or six books in September, including this one, which, I mean, this was sort of a force DNF, but there were a couple other books that I just abandoned. I wasn't really into or enjoying, and I'm definitely going to have to put this one back on hold, for sure. I think you should. It's very good. Erin, you have our last review of the show. What are you sharing today? Okay, my last review today is that book that kept me up until 1 a.m. last night. It's We Are All Guilty Here by Karen Slotter, and what a name for someone who writes thrillers. Before I get too deep into it, I do want to mention a quick content warning. This book includes references to harm towards teenage girls, and if that is not a topic you're comfortable with, please take care of yourself, and just skip this review and go ahead to our next segment. I'm not going to review that. I'm not going to review details of that harm, but the entire premise of this book centers around that. Earlier this summer, I finished all the colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker, which I reviewed back in episode 45. I decided to open myself up to some more mystery thrillers, and this new book by Karen Slotter showed up on a lot of best of the summer, and best book of the year so far lists. And while it took me a little bit to get into it, I think it was more of my attention span than anything. Once I got into it, I was frantic to find out what happened next. Here's a bit of setup. It's the 4th of July in North Falls. Madison is waiting for her best friend, Cheyenne. They're both about to turn 15, and they're completely over their small suffocating town. Overprotected parents, boring teachers, absolutely no freedom. But when Cheyenne doesn't show up, Madison starts to worry. So she tries asking her stepmom's best friend, Deputy Sheriff Emileu Clifton for help. But Emileu is distracted and angry about something else, entirely, and she kind of blows Madison off. So the fireworks start, and by the end of the night, both Cheyenne and Madison are missing. I really hesitate to say anything more than that, because I think the less you know about this book, despite me sort of reminding you about the content warnings, the more the story will completely carry you away. And the story itself here is what made me give this book five stars. It is phenomenal storytelling. I was completely tense while reading. I would catch myself holding my breath or like clutching my mug, squeezing it, turning pages way too fast. As I said, I stayed up until one in the morning last night, reading, and then I was furious because I physically could no longer stay awake to finish, and I had to finish the last like 10% of it this morning. The final chapters had me crying multiple times in completely unexpected ways. And I've never filmed a reading reaction video, Jillian, have you ever seen like people who like, I don't know how they know that they're gonna cry, but they like set themselves up and they capture themselves reacting to the end of a book. This book would have been perfect to record a final reading reaction video. Karen Slaughter is new to me as an author. I don't think she's, she might not be new to anyone listening, but I'd never heard of her before, and she will now be an auto-read author for me. We are all guilty here, stands alone, but it's actually the first in what's expected to become a series. So it's like, it's called, we are all guilty here, and it's called North Falls Number One. So listen, if we're gonna get North Falls Number Two or Number Three, I'm like really thrilled about that. I will say this again, and I'm being repetitive for a very specific reason. The content is heavy. There are no on-page assaults, but there are detailed descriptions of evidence related to the investigation that can be very, very hard for sensitive readers, especially if you have very specific triggers that are known to you. But if you love thrillers that are propulsive and emotional with unforgettable characters and heart pounding pacing, I think we are all guilty here is definitely one to add to your list. I am definitely adding this to my list. It sounds amazing, and you made it sound so exciting, and something I need to read immediately. This is a like wish I could wipe my memory and read it again, kind of book. - Wow, that good. - So good, so good. Now I know I also loved all the colors of the dark and Jillian for you. It was like not the right fit. - No, it wasn't. - I don't think that will happen with this book. - All right, I am in. - I can't wait to hear what people think. Okay, those are our reviews for this week's episode, and it's time for hot takes and our current thoughts on book culture. A hot take is an opinion formed off the cuff and with little research, sometimes provocative. Today's hot take comes from the internet's favorite librarian and new host of Reading Rainbow. Michael on Instagram, Michael is on Instagram and book talk, and his controversial book take is that people should not review or rate books if it's going to be less than five stars. He says authors work very hard on their book projects. A less than five star rating can negatively impact the legacy and success of the book. We will link to his very passionate and compelling argument as to why if you're not going to give a book five stars, you should just not rate it at all. - So Jillian, what do you think? I mean, we love Michael. I love Michael is one of the most wonderful influencers on the internet, but do you agree with him? - I don't, I don't agree with him at all. - Sorry, Michael. - I think we need to review books and be honest. It's the only way that you're going to get to know new authors, honestly, and it's the only way to know if a book is going to be up your alley. I'm not saying you should trash an author. I certainly don't think we should do that. I don't think that you should be nasty or rude in your review, but I do think that if you have a four, three, two, one review, I think it's important that you do document that wherever you keep track of it, whether it's good reads or your own spreadsheet or wherever, I just, I think that it's important. What about you? What do you think? - I mean, listen, I'm totally with you. And I think I agree with Michael's argument, and like I do think that negative book reviews will eventually have a downstream impact on the work, the work for sure. But I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing because I still, even in the age of like books to Graham and book talk, I still think books are art. And I think art's place in society is meant to generate conversation and disagreement and discourse in a way that should allow us to practice disagreement and discourse and conversation in some of our higher stakes, you know, moments and conversations. It's a skill. You and I come on, we talk about the books we like, the books we didn't like. I have to be okay that I gave all the colors of the dark six out of five stars and you DNFed it. I think it's important that I know how you felt about the book, right? And I guess I think that if we, I think what he's sort of making a connection is that like negative reviews will harm the author and it's important to live intentionally in a way that minimizes harm. I think I agree with that. I do want to live in a world that I do want to act as a person who minimizes harm. But I think that we also have to be really protective of what we define as good discourse for art and culture and what we define as harm. And I don't know that what he's describing in terms of giving a book less than a five star rating at an individual level is quite meets what I would consider a threshold for harm that should eliminate discourse about books. Because like how do we talk about books at all? If we're not reviewing them, maybe he only meant specifically ratings, but I don't think like the way he describes it, he really says is like, it's kind of like if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. Yeah, that was definitely what came across to me. I was a little surprised to hear this take from him. He's a very kind, like kindness is his number one value. You can tell like in everything that he does. But I sort of thought as a librarian, I was like, yeah, but as a librarian, you know that like, it's like censoring, censoring in a different way. Yeah. I don't know, maybe that's too strong of a way and that's maybe too strong of a way of putting it. Yeah, I would say, I don't know that it's censoring, but as a librarian, you have people come to you and ask you for recommendations. You've got to think that you have opinions one way or the other, like in order to, in order to properly recommend a book to someone, you've got to have thoughts and opinions on it. And I guess the difference is then that those are kept to himself or yourself and not shared openly. Like he's not going and writing a review about it. So maybe that's the difference. And I think there's a part actually that he's commenting on, which is this sort of like negative review gotcha culture on Instagram. Like I think about a couple books right now that are getting really roasted online. And part of me wonders how much that negative content, negative reaction content feeds the algorithm because people are naturally drawn to negativity when they watch content. And so then what you have is like, maybe you have balanced reviews, positive and negative for Elizabeth Gilbert's new book, which I've just, I've been hearing so many things from people about that book. But the positive reviews don't get the views that the negative reviews do. And so the negative reviews amplify. And then people see the negative reviews and they also post their negative, so it becomes a pile up. That is true, that is a thing that happens. I think that's more of like maybe like a commentary on just like our behavior and our attention and how much the algorithm has transformed that into like mathematical output for content. Yeah. But here on Medium Lady Reads, Jillian, it sounds like we are going to continue to provide diverse star rating. Yes, we're going to bring the books we don't like. I think so. But Michael, we love you. We keep doing your thing and we're very excited for reading Rainbow. And listeners, let us know what you think. Where do you stand on this? Do you think that people should stick to reading books five stars only or do you think it should be varied and put honest reviews on places like Goodreads or other public places where people keep track of books? Yeah, I want to know what people think. Me too. 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 in book podcasts or book talk or IG. So we know is something we can offer the bookish community. Plus we'll be sharing what's up next to let the listener know what we'll be reaching for on our TBR. All right, so Aaron, what's on your holds list? Oh, no one will be surprised to hear that I am in trouble once again with my books. With the books I've checked out from the library, as I have an unsustainable number of books that I will have to do the Jillian Kitchen release. But instead of the Kitchen release, I'm like keeping them, letting them die, and then returning up to the sea. Instead of being like, I think the beauty of Kitchen release is you're like, I'm not going to read this. I'm going to put it back in the library circulation immediately. I'm becoming a bit of a hoarder. And it's a problem and I'm confessing here so that you can publicly shame me into stopping this bad habit. I do see some DNFing in my future, but nonetheless, I continue to put books on hold and I will not stop. Right now in transit, I have people watching by Hannah Bonham Young. This is a new fall romance. I've never read Hannah Bonham Young before, but she has a very loyal following. So I'm excited to read that. It's a very folly book. It has a very fall cover. And next up, I'll be reading The Plan by Kendra Adachi. Jillian, I know you've brought this to the show before. This is on a pile of fall books that I picked from my real collection. I'm also, in addition to stop being a library hoarder, I have a commitment to read something other than library books. And I have a-- I have not a huge collection, but I have enough of a collection of books that I've not read. I probably have anywhere from 70 to 100 books in my home that I've never read. And so I want to start really chipping away at that. OK. Jillian, that's what's up next for me. What are you waiting for from the library? And what do you have coming up on your TBR? So I don't have anything waiting for me. I picked up some books on Friday. But I do have, if it makes you happy, by Julia Olivia, that is in transit. And then Gideon the 9th, which is also in transit. What is Gideon the 9th? It's a new book to me. I don't know. That's how it's familiar. And then as for what I'm reading next, it is hoping this could change. But I'm hoping to read Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Deneman. Here's a brief synopsis for you. When Earth collapses into an 18-level dungeon crawling with monsters and traps, survival becomes a blood sport streamed across the galaxy. Ordinary guy Carl and his ex-girlfriends cat must fight, loot, and perform for alien audiences who reward only the most entertaining kills. And this deadly game where fame equals life, Carl has only one rule. He's not here to play. I don't know if I'm going to make it through the book. I don't know if I'm going to like the book, but I'm going to give it a try, because why the heck not? It's got some great reviews. We've been talking about it for months now. It's time. It's time to read it. I think, Jillian, what will be key for you is casting Carl. It sounds very Paul Red coded, but that's just me. Yeah, we'll see. It could be a Paul Red. Paul Red is always good. If you can imagine Carl as you read this book, I think you'll-- I think you're going to love this. Cut to future, a future episode. Where I'm reviewing it negatively. No, I'm just kidding. I don't know. Mary, she did, in fact, not love it. We'll see. I don't know. I'm so torn. Like, that synopsis doesn't sound gripping to me. It doesn't sound like I'm going to like it, but it has some great reviews. So why the heck not give it a try? It sounds fun. It sounds like pu-pew fun. I think I am too invested in you reading this book, and I've admitted that on other episodes. I feel like I'm also worried that now you're like, I can't read this. Aaron has been so weird about it. No, not at all. Not at all. Oh, OK. Well, that's good. That's good. All right, everyone. Will Jillian Reed, Dungeon Crowler, Carl, and how many stars will she give it? You're going to have to stay tuned to our next episode, because that is a wrap on episode 48 of Medium Lady Reads. Thank you so much for spending part of your day with us. Honestly, everyone, it always feels like such a gift for us to share books and reading time with you together. Medium Lady Reads is a spinoff of the Medium Lady Talks podcast and Instagram community. On Instagram, you can find me, Aaron@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 like this episode, please share it with another bookish friend. It really helps us continue to grow the show to reach more of 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 finds you right when you need it most. We'll talk to you soon. Bye. Bye. [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] (upbeat music)