Episode 49: The First Ten Percent of a Book is the Worst

Hello, hi, and welcome to Medium Lady Reads. This is episode 49 - “The First Ten Percent of a Book is the Worst!”  As always, Erin and Jillian have new book recommendations to share!

Grab your beverage of choice, find your coziest corner, and join Jillian and Erin for their latest reads. They love having you as their honorary third reader, and who knows—maybe one of today’s picks will be your next five-star favorite.

In This Episode:

• Erin and Jillian check in on how their reading and lives have been going. 
• Time to jump into the reviews for this episode. Jillian and Erin share their latest 3 books. 
• Mentioned in This Episode: Embracing Enchantment with Megan Hamilton.
• Mentioned in This Episode: Leila Mottley on The Stacks Podcast.
• Hot Takes is up next. Tune in to learn what we’re talking about this week. 
• Last but not least, the ladies share what they have on hold and what they’ll be reading next. 

Books Mentioned In This Episode:

• Carry On by Rainbow Rowell
• Birding with Benefits by Sarah T. Dubb 
• Weyward by Emilia Hart
• The Secret History by Donna Tartt
• Sister Snake by Amanda Lee Koe
• A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna
• The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna
• The Girls Who Grew Big by Leila Mottley
• Nightcrawling by Leila Mottley
• Crazy Spooky Love by Josie Silver 
• Kooky Spooky Love by Josie Silver 
• The Boy, The Mole, The Fox, and The Horse by Charlie Mackesy
• Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
• I’ll Be Home for Christmas by Jenny Bayliss
• Hot Desk by Laura Dickerman
• Period Power by Maisie Hill
• The Compound by Aisling Rawle
• Maggie; or, a Man and a Woman Walk Into a Bar by Katie Yee
• The Secret Book Society by Madeline Martin
• One Day Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El Akkad

Transcript

MLR 49 The First Ten Percent of a Book is the Worst
[MUSIC PLAYING] Hello, hi, and welcome back to Medium Lady Reads. This is episode 49, and I'm so glad you're here. The days are getting shorter, the tea is getting hotter, and if your reading life needs a little refresh, or maybe just a good recommendation or two, you're in the right place. Let's talk books. Hi, everyone. I'm Jillian and Instagram content strategist for "Pokeish 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, a podcast about reading a self-care, a passion of love for the public library, and all of our thoughts and opinions on who culture having it's moment. Hi, everyone, and welcome back to Medium Lady Reads. We're so glad you're here with us. This is episode 49, landing the week of October 28th, and as always, we've got new book recommendations to share. So grab your beverage of choice, find your coziest corner, and let's dive into our latest reads. We love having you as our honorary third reader, and who knows, maybe one of today's picks will be your next five-star favorite. Hi, Jillian, it's good to see you. How's your reading and life been going? Things are chugging along. We've been our usual busy cells with soccer and gymnastics, and life in general. But we did make time to go apple picking sort of. (laughs) The apples on the trees had all been picked from our favorite apple farm, so we just picked from the bins. But we went to the apple farm. We got the picture that I love, and we had some apple cider slushies. We got our pumpkins. It was lovely. It was absolutely lovely. That sounds so fall. And like, I know that's a really sweet tradition you guys do every year. Yeah, since Shemus and I have been together, even before we were married or anything, we've gone to the same farm and gotten apples. So it's a nice tradition that we have. It means a lot to me. I'm sure the, I know it means a lot to the kids too. I'm sure it means a lot to Shemus too. It just, he's not as vocal about it. (laughs) My reading is going. I have been chugging along there as well. My current read is Carry On by Rainbow Raoul. This is our buddy read for the month, so it's gonna be fun, 'cause you'll hear Aaron and I probably mention it in the future episode somewhere. But here's a quick synopsis for you. Shemus know is the worst chosen one ever, at least according to his vampire roommate and mortal enemy Baz, or Baz, maybe. And honestly, Shemus starting to think Baz might be right. His magic misfires, his mentors gone MIA, his girlfriends dumped him, and there's a monster on the loose wearing his face. To make matters worse, or maybe better, Baz hasn't shown up to school at all and Simon can't stop wondering why. Because as much as he hates him, nothing feels quite right without Baz around. Mm-hmm. All right, Aaron, how are you doing and how is your reading and life going? Yeah, I'm like loving fall. I gave myself September to mourn the end of the summer and October hit and I just really am loving fall. I'm trying to balance, you know, each and every day there's a lot going on. Right now, my family is deep into baseball playoffs. Not my kids playing baseball, but the major league baseball playoffs. So go J's go and I don't know by the time this airs, who knows, maybe we're playing in the world series. Yeah, I hope so. Across my fingers, I hope so too. So that is kind of what is running my life in my household right now. Work has been busy, the kids have been busy, the weekends have been busy. I don't feel like I'm making enough time for reading, but I'm okay with that. You know, I'm finding other ways to rest, trying to invest in some new hobbies for fall. I'm trying to spend less time on my phone, but like when you're trying to spend less time on your phone, you're sort of like, well, what do I do if I'm not on my phone? And so I'm just trying to kind of incorporate reading in one of the things I do when I'm not on my phone, but also trying to like find some other stuff. So I did recently get a sourdough starter from our friend Steph Cunningham, mailed me her sourdough starter from Florida. So I right now have a starter that's starting. I just did that this morning. So stay tuned. I don't know, maybe I'll become a sourdough girlie way late after the pandemic when it was cool, but that's going on right now. In terms of current reads, I've been bouncing around a few things. I'm kind of like 10% into everything I'm reading right now, which is sort of the worst. Like I hate being 10% into a book. It's just like not enough to get really into it. When I'm at the 50% mark, that last half of a book flies by. Absolutely. And I actually didn't read our scripts. So I also put carry on as my current read. I won't review this in Opsis. This book is kind of like a Harry Potter adjacent book. YA fantasy. It's a great pick for our buddy read. I think it's very different from the stuff that we've normally been reading the last year. So I do think that it's kind of campy. It doesn't take itself too seriously. The plot is pretty fun. I think it'll be a great one for our buddy read group. All right, let's jump into our reviews for today. Erin, tell us about the books you have for today's episode. What are we in for? Okay, I've got a romance that's an easy win. A campy, mythical fantasy novel and a brilliant literary fiction that I really hope people will pick up. What about you, Jillian? What are you reviewing today? Today I'm bringing some comfy, magical realism, a cozy witchy novel and a paranormal romance. Erin, you're up first. What do you have for us? Okay, on first. So the first book I'm bringing to the show today is "Birding with Benefits by Sarah T. Dub." And I have to say, I really love this one. It was the perfect palette cleanser after last episode's thriller, "We Are All Guilty Here," which was kind of heavy, kind of tense, kind of a lot. This book, "Birding with Benefits" is my kind of romance. It's heartfelt, it's funny, it's full of charm. I gave it 4.5 stars. I first heard about this book from Katie Cobb, who is one of the hosts of the currently reading podcast. You've heard Jillian and I mentioned that. That's like podcast goals. We love the currently reading podcast. Katie recommended it for both the story and the spice. And for me, she was absolutely right. So here's the setup. Celeste, our main character, is a 42-year-old divorcee on a journey of self-discovery after realizing she spent 20 years in a marriage that required her to minimize herself and hide her strengths. Now she's saying yes to new things, new experiences, new people, and opportunities to grow. So when her partner at a pottery class mentions that his best friend needs a fake girlfriend to win a burden competition against his ex, Celeste thinks, why not? I'd be great at that. And that enters John, the introverted burden expert who's still nursing the sting of his last relationship. He's skeptical, but he also wants to win the competition so he can finally launch his bird guide business. So he agrees, and as you might expect, what starts as fake dating arrangement turns into something much deeper. This book, Jillian, it's just fun. Like it's fun. It's nice to read books that are fun and it's okay to read books that are just entertaining. The chemistry between Celeste and John is really well done. It's a kind of slow burn. It feels grounded in like a real connection. Something that might really happen or at least like sort of reality adjacent. I really love that Celeste is in her 40s and it's always refreshing to read a romance that celebrates a woman who's already kind of lived a big part of her life and yet still on a journey, still growing, still reconnecting with herself, rediscovering things on her own terms. The conflict and tension in this novel felt authentic and there was no overused miscommunication trope, Jillian. So you can be relieved to hear that. - Yeah. - If you've been in a bit of a reading slump or romance has been hit or missed for you lately, birding with benefits might be exactly the cozy, hopeful story that you need. And that's my review of birding with benefits by Sarah T. Dubb. - This sounds so good. And I love romance. I've been really in a romance kick for almost six months now. So I've got to read this. - I actually checked that you hadn't brought it to the show before, before I brought it. - No. - I thought, I'm sure Jillian's already read this and I should have checked your good reads, but there you go. That one's just for you, Jillian. - Thank you. I haven't even, I just added it to my TBR because I hadn't even heard of it. - I hope you like it. - Thanks. - All right, Jillian, you're up next. What is your first review? - The first book I'm bringing to the show is Wayward by Amelia Hart, with an incredible debut novel for Amelia Hart. I absolutely love this book and gave it five stars. Here's the synopsis for you. 2019, Undercover of Darkness, Kate flees London for a Ram Shackle Wayward Cottage and herded from a great aunt she barely remembers. With its tumbling ivy and overgrown garden, the cottage is worlds away from the abusive partner who tormented Kate, but she begins to suspect that her great aunt had a secret. One that lurks in the bones of the cottage had in ever since the witch hunts of the 17th century. 1619, Alta is waiting for murder of a local farmer who was stampeded to death by his herd. As a girl, Alta's mother taught her that magic a kind not rooted in spellcasting, but in deep knowledge of the natural world, she knows it will take all of her powers to maintain her freedom. 1942, As World War II Rages, Violet is trapped in her family's grand crumbling estate, straight jacketed by societal convention. She longs for the robust education her brother receives and for her mother long deceased, who was rumored to have gone mad before her death. The only traces Violet has of her are her locket bearing the initial W and a word Wayward scratched into the baseboards of her bedroom. The stories of the three women, Alta, Kate and Violet were so well told. I felt their joy and their anger, their pain. I didn't want this book to end. This book is a mix of historical fiction, women's fiction and magical realism, and heart does an excellent job of leaving them all together. This is the perfect book for autumn, so I'm very glad I waited until now to read it. That's my review of Wayward by Amelia Hart. - Hmm, great review. What a compelling book. Jillian, how do you plan this kind of seasonal reading? We've talked about seasonal reading on and off on the show. I feel like you're very intentional about it. You sort of saved this book for the fall, but how do you make sure it doesn't fall out of your head? - I don't know. There isn't a special list. There isn't a special notebook or anything like that. I just, on good reads, I do tend to, although I haven't done this yet for my fall books, but I do tend to tag books with what their personal development. I think I do have a Christmas list over there, but I just, for Wayward, I just obsessed about it. My sister read it a year ago. I wanted to read it and every time I came upon and time finished a book, I'm like, "Oh, I could read Wayward, I could read Wayward." But I'm like, "No, I want to wait until our fall to read it." So it was just a matter of remembering. And it was one of, it's a book, "I Own." - Oh, I see. - Yeah, yeah. So you probably maybe like, you could see it in your own home. It wouldn't be like, on your dusty library holds list, with a couple months' weight or whatever. Yeah, yeah, yeah. 'Cause you did the same thing with the secret history last year. - I did, yep. With that one, I had Googled best books to read in the fall. And that was one of them that came up. And I actually came up for me two years ago, and I didn't read it because somebody in the comments, I think it was like a Reddit post, probably, said, "This is the best book to be read in September." Now, after reading that, I don't necessarily agree. I don't think it made a difference reading it in September or any part of fall. But I wanted to wait until September and do what I was told. (laughs) So I did. - You wanted to complete the assignment. - I did, I did. - Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I like that, that's funny. - So yeah, there's nothing special about it. It's just sort of, when I book, I do read very seasonally. I don't mean to, but lately it's just the books I've been into. Like I'm pretty soon, I'll be starting my Christmas books for the Christmas season, even though we're still in the fall. And I'm not rushing Christmas. We just have a cozy Christmas reads episode that I need to prepare for. So I'll be starting those soon too. - I feel like it must add to your ratings and your reading experience though. - It probably does. - Even to know that you have a fallbook waiting for you. - Yeah. - That anticipation can be really fun to be like, I'm gonna read that in the fall. And then the fall arrives and you're like, I'm doing it, I'm reading it. - And the weather always, well, although we have bad. - No, it's gorgeous, it's like 19 degrees. It's hot out today. - Yeah. - It's beautiful. - But- - But be treated. - You know, the leaves are still changing. Things are happening that way. So it's still, you still get those fall vibes. - Mm-hmm. - All right, it's your turn again. What's your second review? - Okay, this one is unexpected. So I'm kind of putting it in the middle. It's a genre mashup of contemporary fantasy, mythical lore and a heavy-handed dose of camp. I actually read this book, it's "Sister Snake" by Amanda Lee Coe. And I read this book for a book club at work. And the funny thing is, I actually didn't finish the book before the book club meeting. So I showed, I was like, I'll show up, or whatever. I don't know, I don't even know if I'll, maybe I'll DNF it. So I showed up to the meeting, and my colleagues gave it such wildly mixed reviews that I was like, I have to read it now, I have to go back and see for myself. And as it turns out, I might be the only one in book club who really liked it, 'cause I gave this book for a half stars, here's the setup. "Sister Snake" is inspired by the ancient Chinese legend of the white snake, and the story about two snakes who become human women, one who falls in love with a man and the other who becomes her sworn loyal sister. The original tale is about sisterhood, loyalty, and the constant forces that pull them apart. Amanda Leecoe takes that legend, and she spins it into something modern and vivid, and a little bit outrageous, to be honest. We meet Emerald and Sue, two snake sisters who dream of becoming human, and when that wish is granted, they become immortal women bound together and driven apart across centuries. Then we fast forward to present day New York City. Sue catches a Google alert about mysterious deaths, linked to the sighting of a green snake, and she hops on her private jet, naturally to save her sister. When she arrives, Emerald, her sister seems perfectly fine. Of course, Sue has brought a few secrets of her own, and from there, the sister's reunion becomes this wild, emotional, and sometimes ridiculous tug of war between loyalty and independence. It is kind of hard to describe how funny, weird, and timely this book is without diving too deep into spoilers. This is a book that you really just have to go with. The minute you start trying to make sense of it, they're women snakes, okay? They're women snakes. Just have fun. Once I got that advice from my book club, I was able to read this book, let myself go, and really enjoy it. But underneath all of the chaos and humor, I think Amanda Leecoe has used this Chinese myth to explore themes of bodily autonomy, self-expression, choice, gender roles under patriarchy, and she does that in such a creative and joyful way that to me, it never felt heavy-handed, but I think some people might say, she's doing too much in this book. I didn't feel that way to me, but I think some people might make that criticism. I think if you're craving as a reader, something that feels original, you've maybe you've had enough of the romances, you've had enough of the thrillers, you're sick and tired of romanticy, this is a perfect book to pick up. It's something no one else in your friend group is reading. I promise you, sister snake is a great, addition to your TBR. That's my review of Sister Snake by Amanda Leecoe. - You know, you make it sound very compelling and interesting, but based on the fact that your book club rated it all over the place, I may just skip this one. - You know, Jillian, I was also imagining like our Buddy Reads group reading this book, and I think it would have been one of those polarizing reads that we've had lately. In our Buddy Reads with Stephanie and Allie, I think we've hit these books where we're like, "What is going on? "What are these books?" - Despite all of us, we're in charge of picking the books and yet, yeah. - We still sometimes end up with books that we don't really love. - We still sometimes end up with books. We often end up with books that are polarizing. So that's a great, that's a great encouragement to people, to just, you know, join a book club, talking about books can be so, so, so fun, especially when you don't agree. It's almost more fun when you don't, when not everybody loves the book. - Yeah, you know, I really would love to join a book club, but I cannot find one around here for the life of me. - Oh my gosh. - I would love it. - Mm-hmm. - Well, maybe we'll have to sit and think on that. All right, time for your second book, Jillian. - The next book I want to share is A Witch's Guide to Magical Inkeeping by Sangu Mandana. This is a wholesome, found family story with so much love mixed in and of course magic. Here's the synopsis. Sarah Swan used to be one of the most powerful witches in Britain. Then she resurrected her great Aunt Jasmine from a very recently dead and lost all of her magic. She befriended a semi-villainous talking fox and was exiled from her guild. Now she's slightly reluctantly and just a bit crumpling helps her aunt run an enchanted inn in Lancashire, where she deals with her quirky guest, Shenanigans, tries to keep that said talking fox and check and longs for the future that seems lost to her. But then she finds out about an old spell that could hold the key to restoring her power. Enter Luke Larson, handsome and icy, magical historian who arrives on a dark winter evening and might just know how to unlock the spell's secrets. Luke is absolutely no interest in getting involved in the mad cap going on of the inn and is definitely not about to let a certain bewitching innkeeper pass to his walls. So no one is more surprised than he is when he agrees to help Sarah with her spell. Worse, he might actually be thawing. Running an inn, reclaiming lost magic and staying one step ahead of the watchful guild is a lot for anyone. But Sarah Swan is about to discover that she doesn't have to do it alone and that the weird, wonderful family she's made might be the best magic of all. I absolutely loved this book. I gave it four and a half stars because it was a bit slow in the beginning, but overall I loved it. It's so cozy. The center of the story is the inn and all the inhabitants of the inn. It's so heartwarming how much love circulates between all the people who live there. Then you have the slow simmer of love and adoration developing between Sarah and Luke. It's just Chef's Kiss. If you like cozy, found family books, this novel is for you. That's my review of a Witch's Guide to Magical Inkeeping by Sangu Mandana. Oh my gosh, I love that. I feel like everyone's putting that on their TBR after your review. They should. They really, really should. And like I said, a bit slow in the beginning. So stick with it, but it's so warm and welcoming. It's wonderful. It's just wonderful. I actually own a copy of the irregular society of something the Witch is the same. First one, I went on a book crawl this spring to for independent book day. I think it was independent bookshop day or it was like a secondhand bookshop day. I can't remember. Anyway, I took myself on this path of-- I went to three independent bookstores and I ended up my best friend's house on the way there. Anyway, one of the shops I stopped at, I ended up buying a used copy of the irregular society, secret society of Witch is with the UK cover. So it doesn't have that blue cover that we're familiar with. And I keep forgetting I own it. So I really need to-- what your review is reminding me is that I really need to pull it out, put it somewhere visible before Halloween, I think-- not that I can't read it after Halloween. But you know what I mean? And enjoy that. And that's also a book that Megan Hamilton mentioned when we were interviewed on her podcast in embracing enchantment. She mentioned that book as well. So this sounds great. Everybody go check it out. This sounds really lovely. And the one you're referencing just so everybody knows is the very secret society of a regular Witch is the-- There we go. There we go. I always forget the name of it, too. Her books have very long titles. Very charming. All right, it's time for our last round of books, Erin. What do you have for us? OK. The final book I'm bringing to the show is a book I will be thinking about for the rest of the year. It's The Girls Who Group Big by Layla Motley. It's so hard to know where to start with this book. I loved it. I loved this book. I didn't know I needed this book. And I want to review it in a way that will also make you want to read it. So let me just try to do my best. Like bear with me, Jillian. I'm going to do my best here. I did not have any expectations reading this book. The premise didn't treat me. And it was on a few summer preview lists. Layla Motley is known for her writing of the astounding book, Nightcrawler. I have not read Nightcrawler, but it's pretty famous book. It's a New York Times bestseller and Oprah's Book Club pick. So I had this book, The Girls Who Group Big checked out from the library for a while. And then the library was like, hey, we want our book back. And so I was like, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Let me just read it before I return it. So that's when I decided to start. And from the first 30 pages of this book, I was in love. I was in love with the characters. I was in love with the themes. And I was in love with the setting and the story. The Girls Who Group Big is a literary fiction. It centers around a group of very young mothers in Padua Beach, which is part of the Florida Panhandle. The story is told from the point of view of three women. Simone, who's about 2021, she's the oldest of the girls. She's independent. She's raising her five-year-old twins from her truck. She's keeping things together with her ingenuity and her tight relationships. Simone has created a community for the girls. The girls are basically a group of teen moms. They come together. They take care of each other. They create a sense of stability when nothing else will. Within the girls, we also meet Emery, who is the mother to Simone's nephew. Simone is a hard worker. She's a biology-obsessed high school senior. She tells the school counselor that she will finish her last year of high school with her infant son at her side. Despite the counselor trying to tell her, she wasn't allowed to bring her kid to school. And then finally, we meet new to town Adela. Adela is staying with her grandmother after her pregnancy shocked and shamed her parents in descending her away. Adela expects to spend a lost year in Padua, deliver her baby, and go back to her life as a swimming athlete on her way to the Olympics. So the whole story centers around these three women. The plot knits them together in a way that isn't exactly propulsive, but it is intriguing. And it made me so curious about the lives of people that I would never be likely to meet. The empathy and compassion that I felt for these characters is mixed with some of those real and raw descriptions of early motherhood. Those are experiences I can relate to. I've had three kids, even though I've never been a pregnant teen, I've never been unhoused, and I've never been rejected by my family and community. This book is something special and rare, and I really hope people pick it up. It is another six out of five stars. And I've been really lucky to have had a bunch of those this year. This book is unforgettable for me. And that's my review of The Girls Who Groobig by Layla Motley. I've had this book out of the library twice and haven't gotten to it. You've done your catch and release. I had to because I had so many other books on there. And I know everybody wants it right now. So I'm like, I can't hang on to it. I got to give it back. It'll find you at the right moment. Yeah. I have read Nightcrawler or Nightcrawling, whichever it is. I'm sorry. I don't remember. Oh, I think it is Nightcrawling. And it's so good. It is amazing. And I'm not going to go back and add it to my TBR for sure. Have you ever reviewed it on the show? Did you review it? No. I believe I read it before we had a podcast. I heard Layla Motley on a podcast. I don't know which one at this point. It was a while ago. But I heard her on a podcast talking about the book. And I was sold instantly to get it. And it's so good. It's so awesome. Oh, you should tell me where you heard her. Because I just want to extend my experience with this book. So I should definitely dive into those podcasts. If I think of it, or I'll Google it or something, I'll try to find it for you. All right. Jillian, you have our last review of the show. What are you sharing today? My last review today is Crazy Spooky Love by Josie Silver. This was a fun book to read. There is mystery and intrigue throughout the book. But it does feel a bit slow in the middle, which is why it got three and a half stars and not a four. Here's the synopsis for you. And the leafy charming town of Chapelwick, the bittersweet family, has been a fixture on High Street for as long as anyone can remember. Their rambling black and white building houses all three generations of ghost sensitive bittersweet women and their business, Blight's Spirits. On her 27th birthday, Melody Bittersweet converts the disused backstore room into her office and opens her own business. Unlike the rest of her family, she's not taking down messages from ghosts. She's taking them out. Soon, the girl's ghost-pusting agency takes on its first, a grand old house that won't sell because a trio of incumbent ghost brothers raise Mary Howe whenever prospective owners arrive to view it. It soon becomes clear that there's a whole heap of unfinished business between the Scarborough brothers, including murder. And Melody isn't the only one trying to unravel the mystery. Leo Dark, her rakeish ex and business rival, is also on the case along with the TV crew that trails him. To make matters worse, the sarcastic and skeptical and annoyingly good-looking local reporter Fletcher Gunn has his nose in the story as well. Sniffing out a way to publicly discredit the bitter sweets is his favorite assignment, and has absolutely nothing to do with his inability to resist Melody. While there are some dark parts in this book, the humor from the characters, Artie in particular, makes her some light-hearted laughter. I mentioned that the middle felt a little slow, while the ending was anything but slow. It was fast-paced and high stakes and just pure goodness. If you love Triangle Trope and spooky quirky novels, then this is for you. That's my review of Crazy Spooky Love by Josie Silver. - Fun. Ghostbusters meets love, Triangle. - Yes. And Josie Silver has another one coming out at the end of the month. - Oh, I thought I saw that, but then I was confused. I thought maybe that was like a backlist or something. She has another one. - Yeah, "Cookie Spooky Love." This one is-- - Oh! (laughs) - What was this one, Crazy Spooky Love? And then this, the number one is "Cookie Spooky Love." - That's too much. - Too close together. - I know. - We're like a regular secret society, magical in keeping spooky cookie love. Come on, guys, with the titles. Like, help us out here. (laughs) - So I think, if I'm not mistaken, I think these books were written both Crazy Spooky Love and "Cookie Spooky Love." We're written under a pen name. - Oh! - And that Josie Silver had, and then they're re-being republished with her new publisher. - Because-- - Oh! - When you open the cover and you look, I don't know if other people do this, but I love looking at copyrights. Even if I know that the book is brand stinking new, I will look at the copyright. I love it. I don't know why I just do. It's like people I like to read the acknowledgements too. Anyway, under the copyright, it said, it was like, I wanna say 2015, and it had some random weird name there. - It's like the bones beneath my skin. - Yeah, except that TJ Clune wrote both of those and not under a pen name. - Oh, fair, fair, fair. Yeah, but the new publisher. - Yeah, right. - So I googled this name that was in there, and it came up with pictures of what I was like, oh, is this Josie? 'Cause I don't know what Josie Silver looks like. So then I, of course, had a Google Josie Silver, and it was, I'm pretty sure it was the same person. - Detective Jillian on the case. (laughs) - So I think these are old books that she wrote previously and that are just being republished under a new publisher. I'm not 100% on that, but I think that that's the case. - That makes the most sense to release, because Crazy Spooky Love is a new release. - Yeah. - And Cookie Spooky. Are you gonna read Cookie Spooky? - I haven't requested from the library. I don't know, 'cause it's gonna come in, it's not published yet. - And you gave this one 3.5. - Yeah, so I don't know if I'll read it, probably not. - Is Cookie Spooky from 2015? - Well, it's not yet published, is what Goodreads is saying. - Oh, I see. - But I have a feeling that it has been published. It's just been published under her pen name, and the new publisher is just re-releasing it. - That's great. (laughs) - Cookie Spooky Love and Crazy Spooky Love. Keep 'em straight, people. - Okay, well, I think people are gonna pick up both of those based on this review. They're gonna figure it out, and they're gonna DM us at Medium Lady Reads on Instagram. - I hope they do. - Here's the truth about Cookie Spooky, Crazy Cookie Spooky. (laughs) - Oh, all right, it is 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 is Reading Slumps aren't real. They're just your brain telling you to do something else for a while. Aaron, what do you think? - I guess it depends what you call a reading slump. 'Cause I do, I don't know, so like, I guess, okay, reading slumps not really real your brain's just telling you to what stop reading for a while, to just like take a break from reading. - I guess. - I feel like reading slumps are our self-judgment of how we should be doing things, and we just use reading slump to label when we think we're not doing reading right. Because I feel like a lot of readers will call themselves, say that they're in a reading slump, but really what it is is they're not picking up the books that are resonating with them, or they're struggling to DNF. People call that a reading slump, or they're needing a genre switchup, but they're reaching for their comfort zone, but they're not really enjoying their reading, or their, you know, reading slower, we've talked about that, is like we're still reading, but we're just reading slower. I don't know. I'm trying to think about why my brain would be like, time to not read anymore, time to do something else. Because what I have to often do is I have to tell myself to not scroll, and actively make a choice to read instead of scrolling. So I have to make a choice to do something other than reading. It would be scrolling. Yeah. What do you think? What do you think? I think they're real. I really do. I think they're real, and I think that I experienced one back in like August, late July, August time, because I just wasn't finding the right books to read. I didn't want to read. I didn't feel like my brain was telling me that I should go do something else. I just didn't feel like reading, and I don't know if it wasn't having the right books, or what, but I think they're real. Mm-hmm. Yeah, and like you were still reading, I think five-star reads. I was. I was reading five-star reads. I was reading books. I theoretically should have enjoyed. I just didn't, wasn't like having the time of my life with reading. I was just like, what would we call a slump? The slump is an emotional experience, not a physical experience where you're just not reading, or maybe it could include that. I think it could be both. Okay, so the reading slump is when you're in a drought, you're just not reading. Yeah. Or you are reading, and you're like, blah. Reading. Yes, yes. I think it could be both. Okay. Yeah, I think for me, what I call a reading slump is when I'm judging myself, when I'm criticizing myself, and I'm like, you're not reading it right, you're reading too slow, or you're not, you're not choosing your book, you're choosing other things. But also, the beginning of every book feels a bit like a slump. Yes, I would agree with that wholeheartedly. Like, you know, the first 10 to 20% of a book, you're like, we can do this. We can do this. It's very rare when a book, like I said, like with that Leila Motley book, I was like, I have to spend time with these characters. I'm upset. Like I was so in love with these girls from the jump. Yes. All of my six out of five star reads, basically from the first 20 minutes of reading. So I don't know if that experience is like, when it takes 50% to get into a book, that's a slump. Yeah. I agree with that. That is, so there's a third take on that on reading slumps right there. When a book grabs me from the first page, or, you know, from the first couple pages, I'm like, I love you and you're gonna get high rating. Yeah, thank you, author, so much, right? Yeah. It's also too like if you've watched a show, shows can do that too, where they're like, hang with it until episode four. Yes. And I'm like, ain't nobody got time for that. Especially with the TV shows. If it's an hour TV show, that's four hours of your time in order you, until you get into the book. All right, get into the story. That's one book. That is one book. Four hours. I could have read a book in four hours. Yeah. Well, I don't know, maybe. I mean, maybe that's the whole thing. I certainly can read the whole thing, but it depends on the book. Yeah. Well, what do our listeners think? Listeners, what do you think? What does a reading slump feel like? How do you know you're in one? And are they real? Are they real? Or are we just like, you know, we've just made it up as a way to kind of talk about when our brain doesn't want to read? I don't know. I agree with you, Jillian. I think they're real. I think so too. You just can get burned out on reading. It happens. It does. And you just sometimes need to slow it down or read different books or take a break. Yeah, exactly. There's nothing wrong with you if you're slumping. But we're here to help. And one of the ways we can help is encourage you to go to your library. Because I think one of the things that makes people feel slumpy is when they own a lot. And they're like, I don't want to read any of these. And I own 200 books or whatever. So one of the ways to do that is go to the library. There's infinite books at the library. So let's wrap up with the holds list. Jillian and I are very passionate about the library. And because we're both avid users, we both have very active holds lists. And we feel like that's something we don't hear a lot about on other book podcasts or book talk or Instagram. So we know it's something we can offer our bookish community. Plus, we're going to tell you what's up next. So you know what we'll be reaching for on our TBR. All right, Jillian, what's on your holds list? - So I don't currently have anything on hold for me at the library. I have many books out of the library. I have 14 books out of the library though. So, you know, I don't necessarily need anything. But I do have the boy, the mole, the fox, and the horse by Charlie Mackasey. That is in transit to me. And this was a recommendation from my good friend, Jen. She said it would have felt like a whole hug. So I'm excited to read it. I will, she said it took her not very long to read it too. So I'll probably report back quickly with that one. But that's in transit to me. And I did want to share with the readers or the listeners. I always do that. - I like it. I like that you do that because the readers too. - Yeah, that's true. That's true. I did finish reading Dungeon Crawler Carl. I read the whole book and it will come in, I will definitely discuss it in a future episode. But I did read it. It was not at all what I expected. But I read it and I didn't hate it. So there's that. I think I gave a preview of the review. Didn't I hate it? I don't even remember what I gave it. If I gave it four stars or not. I think I gave it four stars because it was a very well written book and it kept my attention. But we'll talk about that in another time. Don't pressure me to giving the review now. - Maybe episode 50. - Don't pressure me. - Next up for me is "I'll Be Home for Christmas" by Jenny Bayless. Here's a short synopsis for you. After a breakup and eviction, Fred Hallohart reluctantly returns to her quirky hometown of Pine Bluff and the family's Christmas cracker shop. Between rekindling her friendship with Ryan and feeling an unexpected spark with visiting journalist Warren, Fred's heart is an unfamiliar territory. But if she can't face the past and trust herself again, she might lose more than love. She might ruin the holidays for everyone she holds dear. That's Jenny Bayless's latest Christmas one and I can't wait to read it. I'm chomping at the bit. All right, Aaron, what are you waiting for from the library and what do you have coming up on your TBR? - Okay, so I went to the library right before we recorded to pick up my holds. I had five books on hold. I did the catch and release on five books that I had. So you can clap for me. Thank you, thank you. Here's the five books that I recently picked up. "Hot Desk" by Laura Dickerman, "Puried Power" by Maisie Hill, "The Compound" by Asling Rawl, or "Rolly Maggie" or "A Man and a Woman Walk Into a Bar" and "The Secret Book Society." This is like terrible news. I wanna read all these books and I probably desperately need a library reset but I really don't see that happening in my future. So don't expect reviews on these books anytime soon. Just to, you know, by the way. Next up is none of these books. None of these books are my choice. Next up I will be reading "One Day" "Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This" by Omar El-Akad. Here's a short synopsis. "One Day" "Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This" Chronicles the Deep Fracture, which has occurred for Black, brown, and Indigenous Americans, as well as the upcoming generation, many of whom have all clung to a thread of faith in Western ideals. And the idea that their countries or the countries of adoption will actually attempt to live up to the values they espouse and I guess the disengagement when that's not happening in our current society. So this is a slim book. It's this red, it has a stark red cover. You've probably seen that going around. I've been waiting for this book for quite a while on hold. It's been very popular. So I am looking forward to reading it. I do kind of wish, I do wish again, like it's probably a good book to read in community would be a good book to read with a book club. But nevertheless, that is what's up next. All right, that's a wrap on episode 49 of "Medium Lady Reads." Thanks so much for joining us. It's always such a joy to share this reading time with you. We hope you leave feeling inspired, to pick up something new, cozy, or just perfectly you. "Medium Lady Reads" is a spin-off of the "Medium Lady Talks" podcast and Instagram community. On Instagram, you can find me, Jillian, at Jillian Finding Happy, and you can find Aaron at medium.lady for more of our current reads and other shenanigans. And of course, you can follow the podcast itself on IG at "Medium Lady Reads." If you 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, Aaron. And I'm your other host, Jillian. Until next time, we hope that your holds arrive quickly. And your next book finds you right where you need it most. We'll talk to you soon. Bye. Bye. [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] (upbeat music)