Episode 54: I should have DNFd it and other tales from our winter hiatus

Hello, hi, and “Welcome back to Medium Lady Reads! This is Episode 54, “I should have DNFd it and other tales from our winter hiatus.” As always, Erin and Jillian have new book recommendations to share!

We are back after a winter hiatus, and still in the thick of our winter reading. While the hiatus went a bit longer than we expected, we’re still here, and we’re still reading! Sort of…and we still have a series of book reviews coming your way, plus the cozy book chat you know and love!

In This Episode:

• Jillian and Erin kick off the show by checking in and sharing how their last couple of months have been going and what they’re currently reading.
• Bring on the books! The ladies share their latest 6 reads.
• Hot takes are up next! Tune in to hear what Erin and Jillian are dishing about this week. 
• Time to wrap up the show… The ladies share what they’re waiting for from the library and what their next read will be.

Books Mentioned In This Episode:

• The Mating Game by Lana Ferguson
• Bride by Ali Hazelwood
• I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman
• An Academic Affair by Jodi McAlister
• The Death of Us by Abigail Dean
• Why Fish Don’t Exist: A Story of Loss, Love, and the Hidden Order of Life by Lulu Miller
• Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt
• All Fours by Miranda July
• All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker
• This Poison Heart by Kalynn Bayron
• This Wicked Fate by Kalynn Bayron
• Circe by Madeline Miller
• The Mother Act by Heidi Reimer
• Theo of Golden by Allen Levi 
• The Midnight Library by Matt Haig
• The Correspondent by Virginia Evans
• Verity by Colleen Hoover
• Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
• Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
• And Now Back to You by B.K. Borison
• So Old, So Young by Grant Ginder
• The Housemaid by Freida McFadden
• The Seven Daughters of Dupree by Nikesha Elise Williams
• Anatomy of an Alibi by Ashley Elston
• First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston

Transcript

MLR 54  I should have DNFd it  and other tales from our winter hiatus  •  00:00
[MUSIC PLAYING] Hello, hi, and welcome back to Medium Lady Reads. This is episode 54. Is he 54? I believe it is. OK, I'm really glad you've joined us today. We're back after winter hiatus and still in the thick of our winter reading. While the hiatus went a little bit longer than we expected, we're still here. We're still reading. We're still reading, sort of. And we still have a series of book reviews coming away plus the cozy book chat, but we know you know and love. Hi, everyone. I'm Jillian and thanks to Graham Content Strategist for Focus People, a mom of two based in Buffalo, New York. And I'm Erin, a mom of me, a hospital administrator in Ontario, Canada, and a 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 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. And welcome back to Medium Lady Reads. We're so glad you're here with us. This is, in fact, episode 54. I just checked. Thank you, Jillian. We may be a bit rusty, obviously, like right off the intro. Right off the gate. Where am I? Who am I? What am I doing? But we are really happy to be back after a very necessary break. We're going to today shake off the winter chill. It's a little bit fine today where I am, Jillian. Here too. We want you to grab whatever you're sipping these days. I have a bit of coffee, whether it's your emotional support water bottle, maybe you've got a tea and ice coffee. We want you to settle in while we catch up on everything we've been reading lately, maybe not everything. A bit of the things we've been reading lately. And as always, you are our honorary third reader. And with any luck, you'll leave with your next, can't put it down. Pick. Hi, Jillian. It's good to see you. How is your reading and life been going? Hi, Erin. It's been going. Oh my goodness. Life has been a whirlwind with the holidays and family in town. If we leave it or not, we're still talking about the holidays here because we haven't spoken since just after or just before them. I think-- Yeah. We are last episode released just before the new year, I think. So-- Yeah. I think you're right. So we've been busy. Recently, we celebrated my nephew's birthday. And which was wonderful. And the party was wonderful. But shortly after that, shortly as in two days later, we all came down with the stomach bug. Not-- I don't know not everybody at the party, but a couple of people in my family-- I'm in a night had it. My sister-in-law, Sarah had it. My brother, my mom. It was just a blowout. That's it. A blowout. [LAUGHS] We've been busy, but it's been good. And a new reason development is that I got a full-time job. Congratulations. Thank you. I start March 9th. So listeners, if you could send me all the good thoughts. Although I think this may release after the 9th. Yes. It'll probably release the 10th. So-- Jillian's one day in. You'll just need to send those good vibes when you listen. I super appreciate that. Yes, listeners. Please hop on Instagram, DM Jillian @jillianfindinghappy for your way to go, congrats on the job, listening to the episode, so proud of you, all the good vibes. Yes, please. I'm super nervous. It's a huge adjustment for our family. I haven't had a full-time job, like a regular 9 to 5 full-time job in about 11 years. And I've been doing-- I haven't really been doing my business in about a year and a half. So I've really just been doing the mom thing. And I don't mean just to diminish it. I don't know. I just mean I've just been doing the mom thing. So yeah, please send all the good vibes my way. As for my current read, I'm reading the mating game by Lana Ferguson. And it's OK. It's just OK. It feels like a knockoff of Ali Hazelwood's bride. OK. I continue to read it. I don't know. I'm almost done now. I'm like 90% finished. Oh, yeah. We're not doing nothing at that point. No. I'll finish it. But not a terrible-- It's not a terrible recommendation. Yeah. It's not a terrible book. It's a very good book. It just feels like it's a knockoff of bride. Yeah, you know what it's funny? I mean, I digress into book talk already. But I think there are readers who enjoy the subgenre over and over again. So the werewolf subgenre is something people like. Like they like that kind of world and universe in their romance reading. And so then there's plenty of books for everybody. But I'm with you. I'm like, if I've kind of seen the story told in one way, then I would probably pick up on that, too. Well, that is it for me. How is your reading and life going, Erin? OK. Well, you know, I'm not going to lie. Life has been pretty challenging this winter. And if anyone follows me on Medium Lady on Instagram, I've been sharing a little bit of that. And I have been spending a lot more time this winter on my mindset and trying to be really precise, really thoughtful about the self-care I need, which has been good. But it's actually also a lot of work. Like if you really commit to like taking care of yourself, it has to be something you commit a lot of time to. A few weeks ago, my family had a really big change that I'm still adjusting to. So I have shared in the past that my dad Rick has early onset dementia. Since the new year, his care needs have really evolved to him needing 24/7 attention. And so recently in the last couple of weeks, he has moved and transitioned into a care home. It's a really great place, amazing staff. But it's been really hard. It's been really hard for me to see this happen to someone I love so much. And I know it's the right thing. But I still wish it could be different. I still can kind of imagine an alternate reality. So it's been hard. But right now, I am doing OK. And my mom has been an incredible caregiver to him. And it was the right thing for her too, which is really, really important for both of them. So yeah, my current reads. So my reading has been kind of on autopilot. I'm just picking up the next book. I don't really feel like I'm making precise choices, which I think I should incorporate into that self-care stuff that I'm spending time on is considering my next book is going to fill my cup as much as my self-care routine will. I am trying to fix that. Maybe it'll come up a little bit later. My current read is, "I, who have never known men, this is a translation of a post-apocalyptic novel by a Belgian author, Jacqueline Hartman." This book was first published in 1995. I think it's had a resurgence lately as feminine rage is trending, Jillian. If you've noticed. I love it. I have. I wouldn't call this a novella. But it is very short. The book is under 200 pages. So I guess maybe it is. It feels much more complex than typical novella storytelling. The story follows 40 women imprisoned in an underground cage guarded by silent men. And it focuses specifically on a very young narrator who has no memory of the world outside. This is a book. It's probably not for everyone. But I think it's maybe for more people than we might think, really engaging, very curious. But it's not a page-turner. It feels weirdly dense for a book that's only 200 pages. So that's what I'm reading right now. Nice. 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? OK. Well, I've been doing a bit of reading during the hiatus. So I had a few books built up in the back in the back list. It was hard to choose, but I'm bringing a literary thriller, a YA fantasy duology, and a cozy contemporary fiction that kind of surprised me. Nice. Yeah. OK, Jillian, what are you reviewing today? Today I'm bringing a romance surprise surprise, a science-based memoir, and a contemporary fiction. I like the sound of that. So you're starting us off. What is the first book you're bringing to the episode? The first book I'm bringing to the show is an Academic Affair by Joni McAllister. This book started out slow, my goodness. It took almost 100 pages for me to get into it. And honestly, if I weren't in a book slump at the time, I may have DNFed it. But because I was already reading-- or because I was already slumping, I'm sorry. I figured I'd stick with it. I gave it 3 1/2 stars. Here's the synopsis. Sadie Shaw and Jonah Fisher have been academic rivals since they first crossed paths as undergraduates in the literature department 13 years ago. Now that I highly coveted teaching opportunity has come up, their rivalry-- I have such a hard time with that word-- its epic proportions. Jonah needs the job to move closer to his recently divorced sister and her children, while Sadie needs the financial security and freedom of a full-time teaching position. When Sadie notices that the job offers partner hire, she hatches a plan to get them to both the job, and all they must do is get legally married. It's simple, win-win solution, but when sparks begin to fly, it becomes clear that despite their education, these two may not have thought the whole thing through. I'm glad I waited, and I didn't do enough, because once I got past those first 100 pages or so, I became very invested in the lives of Sadie and Jonah. I fell in love with them, and the way they fell in love. It was just-- it was tender and sweet. This is a marriage of convenience trope, which I don't always enjoy, but I did enjoy this book. Despite the slow beginning, I'd like the final 2/3 of it. If you're a fan of Ellie Hazelwood, you might also enjoy this book. That's my review of an academic affair by Jody McGalister. What do you think it was about those 100 pages? Just slow for them to get married, slow for the plot to get going. When you read a synopsis, and you're like, oh, OK, this is going to be a marriage of convenience, but then it takes too long to get to the part that you already are anticipating. Yeah, it was definitely the plot. And this is why I struggle with fantasy novels is the world building. It was taking too long to get going. And so it wasn't world building per se. It wasn't a fantasy novel by any means. But it just set up. Yeah, it just the setup took too long, and it wasn't super exciting. And I was just ready for it to get into the meat of it. But it was good. The final two-thirds were good. The ending was good. It was definitely worth the read. All right. Well, listen, maybe if you don't have a problem with a book taking the time that it wants to take to get to plot, then I bet a bunch of people are adding this to their list. Is this a new release? I don't remember. I'll look that up for you, although good reads is going to take forever to open B. Because good reads are third-- All right, it actually opened. Good reads is like our neighbor that we complain about. November 2025. All right. Pretty new. Yeah. That's a good one for people who like the new release, especially romance publication. And any sort of academic romance. All right. You're up next, Darren. My first book is actually kind of the opposite of your experience. The book I'm reviewing is The Death of Us by Abigail Deen. And in the first 11 pages, I was totally in. The writing pulled me in so deeply into the main character's head. Her name is Isabel. That I knew it was going to be good. And so it was. Thankfully, I did give this book five stars. The Death of Us is marked as domestic thriller. But I actually think that kind of undersells it because for me, it was like deeper and a little bit more psychological and internal than a twisty plot driven page turner. This book follows Isabel and Ethan. They're a divorced couple. They're forced back into each other's orbit when the man who assaulted them during a home invasion decades ago is finally arrested and goes on trial. They reconnect as they prepare their victim statements. And almost immediately, you kind of, as a reader, feel like something is off. Is it Isabel? Is it Ethan? Or is it their own versions of that night that they've never fully shared with each other? The vibe of the plot is somewhere between this domestic bliss of the past, colliding with the domestic horror of that invasion event. The real question, I think, underneath that suspense is what does a marriage look like after something like this? And who gets to define what normal is when you make your way through recovery? There's a really nuanced layer in this book about gender violence and how society treats victims, especially when there's both a male and female survivor. And that comparison to me felt really new. It wasn't just about what happened. It was about what it meant five to 10 to 20 years later to these two people who really loved each other very, very much. The flashbacks are layered and not just the flashbacks to the invasion, but they flash actually further back to the 10 years before the invasion and then also the years after. So you have to be willing to kind of go back and forth in the timeline. This is done really, really well by the author. There's two point of views. And Isabelle's point of view goes backwards and forwards in time. And Ethan's doesn't. Ethan's is just the present day and just the trial. So you are able to orient yourself in that way. By the end, it felt less like a thriller and more like a full psychological portrait of a marriage under pressure. I really don't think I've read anything like this, at least not recently. So if you're looking for something fast-paced and plot heavy, this might feel a bit slower, but it moves along really, really well. Most of the events happen around the trial or in short flashback chapters. The chapters move really quickly in that multiple point of view, keeps you learning more and more about the thriller sort of side of the story. But if you want tension with emotional depth to help with your heart rate, I think this one really lingered with me. I was genuinely impressed by how much I took away from it. And that's my review of The Death of Us by Abigail Dean. Is this-- it sounds really good. Number one. But is this a new release? Because I-- Yes. OK. Well, let's play the new release game. That's pretty fun. I did hear about this book from a book account that I've really been enjoying. It's called Jority's Book Club. I think he has something like a half a million followers or something. Yes. And what I didn't know is actually Jority is a-- how would I call this? Jority works for Universal to option books for scripts. Oh, I didn't know that. So he has this books to gram account. But the reason he reads so many books is because he's kind of like a chief creative director for book adaptations to film. And he's done some really cool book adaptations or he's optioned some really cool books into movies. So I didn't know that about him until he kind of posted about it recently. And I thought, oh, this is a person who's reading for multiple reasons. And I kind of started trusting his recommendations a little bit more. He's also the person who recommended all the colors of the dark. And we are all guilty here by Karen Slotter. I would say the majority of what he reads is psychological thriller, even a little bit of horror mystery genre. Last year, April 2nd, 2025, it's saying originally published. So almost-- You may have originally come out in the UK. It's set in London, England. Nice. All right. Time for your second book, Jillian. The second book I'm bringing to the show is Why Fish Don't Exist. The story of Lost Love in the Hidden Order of Life by Lulu Miller. I wanted to love this book. Heck, I even wanted to like this book. But I was bored most of the way through. I stuck with it hoping it would get better, because I usually love memoirs. But this just didn't do it for me. Here's the synopsis. David Starr Jordan was a taxonomist, a man possessed with bringing out order to the natural world. And time, he would be credited with discovering nearly a fifth of the fish known to humans in his day. But the more of the hidden blueprint of his life, he uncovered them harder the universe seemed to try to thwart him. His specimen collections were demolished by lightning, by fire, and eventually by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, which sent more than 1,000 of his discoveries housed in fragile glass jars plummeting to the floor. In an instant, his life's work was shattered. Many might have given up to the despair. But Jordan, he surveyed the wreckage at his feet, found the first fish he recognized, and confidently began to rebuild his collection. And this time, he introduced one clever innovation that he believed would at last protect his work against the chaos of the world. When NPR reporter Lulu Miller first heard this antidote in passing, she took Jordan for a fool, a cautionary tale. But as far as her own life, solely unraveled, she began to wonder about him. Perhaps instead, he was a model of her how to go on when all seemed lost, what she would unearth about the life would transform her understanding of history, morality, and the world beneath her feet. So the reason I still gave the book three stars is because it's well written, and it's clear the author took her time doing her research. But I didn't really enjoy the book until almost three, fourths through when we meet Anna and Mary. If you like science research books, then you'll enjoy this book. That's my review of Why Fish Don't Exist, a story of lost love in the hidden order of life by Lulu Miller. So how did you find-- how did this book find you? So at the end of 2025, or the beginning of 2026, I can't remember when I did it, I asked for book recommendations, and I wanted to do one book a month from France. And-- I love that. This was the book recommended to me that I put for January. So I felt obligated to read it. Otherwise, again, I would have DNFed it. I just was so bored. I struggled through it. It was some of that reading where you read, and you're not really paying attention to what you're reading. It was too sciencey for me. But I read it, and that's that. OK. Listen, sometimes it's good to know we can take books off of our list. I won't ask you who recommended this in case they're listening or kind of feel sad that you didn't like their book. Although I think that's tough. Like when people recommend a book and you didn't love it that much, or when people say, oh, I'm reading this, did you love it? I get that sometimes too. I get that a lot at work. People know at work I love to read, and they'll ask me. And they'll be like, oh, I picked up remarkably bright creatures. Isn't it amazing? And I'm like, oh, I'm so glad you're enjoying it. That's great. Did you not like remarkably bright creatures? No, I didn't like it. I loved it. I know. Everyone loved it. I'm sorry. Don't ask me when I thought of it, because I don't want to be a party pooper. And it's not nice to yuck other people's yams. I just felt like I knew where it was going the whole time. And when it ended, I wasn't sad, because I was like, yeah, you did exactly what I thought you were going to do. And I didn't like that kid Connor Colin or whatever his name is. So you probably won't watch the movie when it comes out. Well, Sally Field. I mean, listen, I'm digressing again. I want to talk on an episode about book adaptations to TV, because I actually think a book adaptation to TV is different. I don't know. Did they make it? I think they made it a show. A book adaptation to TV is a little bit different than a book adaptation to a movie. And book adaptations are everywhere right now. Yes. And I did actually force myself recently. I'll bring this to another episode. I'll bring this to 55. I read a book. And then I watched the TV show. And I did it on purpose. I was like, oh, this will be a treat, because I'm enjoying this book, which made me want to watch the show. Then I watched the show. And then I enjoyed the show. So it was all kind of this little capsule. I'm not going to tell you what book that is. You're going to have to tune in episode 55. Nice. Yeah. And that's what I think of remarkably bright creatures. But you should read it. And if you read it, you probably loved it. That's OK. Oh, it's great. We all love books. I'm wrong. No, necessarily. What I was going to say is that we already books that other people loved and you done it. All fours, everybody I know has loved that book. And I can't stand it. Yeah. Yeah, that's great. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I was so nervous to read all fours because of how much you hated it. Yeah. Or what was the other one? The other one, all the colors of the dark you didn't like? Well, I'm not counting it out quite yet. But the beginning parts I didn't like. But I mean, so many people have liked that one. I feel like I should really give it another shot. And maybe when I'm a different frame of mind, I'll like it more. But as it stands, I suppose I've didn't like it. OK. Hot takes, just a little side-- [LAUGHS] Books we think are overrated. Also, going to be in episode 55. So stay tuned. But we still have some book recommendations going on I'm Next. So I'm going to dive in. All right. Let's go. Yeah, right? I know. That's OK. Listeners, you're getting a treat. You're going to get an extra long episode while Jillian and I get back in the swing of things. My next book is Two Books. This is a YA fantasy duology by Kaelin Barron. It's called The Poison Heart and This Wicked Fate. Those two books go together. If you're a fan of Greek mythology and you want your reading life to be more diverse, this one is worth your attention. Breezeus is a young black woman with an amazing superpower. She is immune to poison. With a high affinity and power to using plants, Breezeus hopes to keep her power under wraps and live like a normal Brooklyn teenager with her two mumps. But Breezeus gets an unexpected visit from a lawyer. Her birth aunt has died and left her entire estate crumbling and gothic in upstate New York to Breezeus. Bree never knew her birth family, but her desired understand her past and her powers sets her and her parents on a journey to learn more. And from there, it unfolds into a story about identity, lineage and power. But what makes this different is how it reclaims the women of Greek mythology. The side characters, the punished women, the silenced women, their stories really become the engine for the magic system. I'm normally actually not great with Greek mythology. I can read almost anything Jillian, but Greek mythology or Greek retellings usually have me asleep before the chapter ends. And this didn't do that. It had a clear feminist point of view without being preachy, and it never felt heavy-handed. Breeze power, the poison and survival piece, really evolves in a way that felt symbolic and unique between the two books. Both books are also very lush with many plants and smells and sounds. A lot of tactile descriptions, which is what I always want in my fantasy reading. And in the middle of dark gray February, I definitely didn't mind the escape into this world while Bree, you know, walks through her garden with vines coiling at her feet. It was great. The sun on her face. I felt transported. This is YA. But it never veered into that kind of overly self-aware, pandering tone that sometimes makes adult readers feel cringe when they're reading YA. If you love mythology, plant magic, Gothic estates, queer rap, or stories about young women claiming their power, then put this on hold at your library. And that's my review of the duology, The Poison Heart, and This Wicked Fate by Kaelin Behrin. This sounds really good. These sound really good, I should say. I know how you feel about Greek mythology. I feel very similarly. In fact, what did we read that we bought for our buddy read that we all got? Well, this is another hot take. This is so interesting, Cersei by Madeleine Miller, which is a beloved book. Millions of people give that book five stars, put it on their legs. Yes. It's a fully grail shelf, and we did it as a buddy read maybe two years ago. And it's still to this day. It's like this like this thing we shake. It's a book I shake my fist at. I'm like, Cersei, no. We all like just kind of didn't get the vibes of that book that a lot of other people did. Yeah, it was not fun. Which was kind of funny, because that was the four of us. We're all like, ooh. Yeah, we were all wrong. Are we missing something? It was for me that was another one of those books where I read something, and I'm just barely paying attention because it was just so bland and boring. Yeah, yeah, exactly. Exactly. And I see people rave about Madeleine Miller all the time, and I'm like, I don't know. I don't know. Should I reread it? No, I'm never going to do that. Don't waste your time. There are too many good books to reread. That's right. That's right. But it is a hot take. That's a hot take. Neither of us really like that book. Nope. All right. Next, the final book I'm bringing to the show is The Mother Act by Heidi Reemer. If you love books about mother-daughter relationships, then this is The Must Read for You. This book is full of tension, but not in the anxiety-inducing way. It's just so good. I gave it five stars. Here's a synopsis. Sadie Jones, a larger-than-life actress and controversial feminist, never wanted to be a mother. No one feels this more deeply than Jude. The daughter Sadie left behind. While Jude spent her childhood touring with her father's Shakespearean theater company, desperate for validation from the mother she barely knew, Sadie catapulted to fame on the wings of the mother act, a scathing one-woman show depicting her maternal rage. Two decades later, Jude is a talented actress in her own right, and her fraught relationship with Sadie has come to a head, bitterly and publicly. On a December evening in the New York City, at a packed premiere of Sadie's latest play, the two come face-to-face and the intertwined stories of their lives unravel. With years of love, resentment and misunderstanding laid bare, the questions, what are the costs of being devoted mother and devoted artists, and who gets to decide if the collateral damage is justified? Heidi Reemer is a new favorite author for me. This book was so well written, and I ate the book up. It's told from both the mother's point of view and the daughters. It's ripe with drama and theater references, and the mother Sadie's feminism plays a major role in this book. It's early in the year, but I'm betting this is going to be one of the top books of 2026. That's The Mother Act by Heidi Reemer. Oh my gosh, I love that. I'm looking this up right now. Does she have a back list? I honestly don't remember. She doesn't recommend books very often because she's got a regular full-time job and doesn't have the time. But when she does, I tend to always trust her judgment because they're pretty good. Yeah, I've added this to my want to read list on Fable. For sure. That sounds great. Really got great ratings too. They're 4.14, I think. Awesome. And you know you can trust that on Fable. Yeah. Yeah. I do feel like books skew a fair bit higher on Fable. There's not as much hate rating, which we could talk about another time. All right. You are up next, my dear. What is the last book you're bringing to the show? Okay. I'm happy. I feel like this episode is like taking, we're taking our time through this episode. Sometimes the episode goes by like a flash, so I'm really happy to just be on my, and just be talking books. I really missed it. Me too. Okay, my last book. My last book is Theo of Golden by Ellen Levi. I was compelled to read this because I saw two book influencers on Instagram show themselves sobbing as they finished it. You know, we all seen those book reactions or book blog read with me posts. And I thought, well, I'll be the judge of that. I'll be the judge of how sad this book is. Second, please hold, hold my library card. Golden is a small university town in Georgia with a bookstore, a park, and a handful of regulars. But Golden isn't particularly special. So why would Theo, an elegant Portuguese man, move to the town and begin a project that would define the late stages of his life? No one can seem to figure out Theo or his motives, but he quickly makes his way into the hearts and minds of the entire town. If you're expecting something deep and literary, this isn't that. And if you need propulsive plot or adrenaline in your reading, please skip this. But if any of that plot sounds good and you like books with elder protagonists, this book is very cozy. It's set over an entire calendar year, very short chapters that feel kind of like a sweet daily check-in. The stakes are low. You can be there and stop and smell the roses alongside Theo. It's a little bit of a nervous system reset for readers. This book also kind of reminds me of what reading felt like before everything had to be optimized, before we were all reading 100 books a year, before book talk, before good reads ratings. It reminded me of like a simpler time. If I own this book, which I don't, I got it from the library because I get everything from the library, I would put it on a shelf titled "When You Need A Reading Rest." It would also make a great slumpbuster because it kind of asks very little of you, but it gives you atmosphere and gentleness in return. It reminds me a little bit of the midnight library in that way, but it's actually even slightly less propulsive than the midnight library. As for that, tear-joker ending. I wasn't sobbing like those influencers, but I was more moved than I expected. There were times when this book felt overly long and the middle felt repetitive because the emotional stakes didn't escalate, but I think this is actually by design. I heard this book was self-published by Levi, who was a lawyer in 2023, and then it was traditionally published by Simon & Schuster in October 2025, and I do love to see more and more authors on that journey. If you need a loud, dramatic, or twisty book, this is not it, but if you need something gentle to tide you to the spring, then I hope you'll put this on hold at the library. That's my review of Theo of Golden by Alan Levi. I have seen this everywhere. Everyone is talking about it. It's made me want to read it, but I know I remembered when you were reading it, you struggled like you mentioned, you struggled a bit in the middle. I did. I did. I didn't expect the ending would win me over, and it's probably the last 5% of the book. So I probably will skip it. It seems a little slow for me, and not that I hate slow books, but I tend to lose interest. So I'll probably skip this one, at least for now. I think if I hadn't seen those influencers crying at the end, I would have de-enoughed it. That's interesting. Yeah. Yeah. Sometimes you read a book because of the ending. Yeah. Oh, absolutely. That's the only reason I've ever finished books that I hate. That, you know, and I should have de-enoughed it is because I can't. I'm like, maybe the ending will give me more. Right. Maybe I'm missing something. The promise of the ending. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, that's really very relatable. I think that's the reason most people de-enough is they're like, this author got a publishing deal and a publishing company published this book, and I'm holding it in my hands. Maybe they know something. I don't know. Yeah. I'll just keep going. Exactly. Yeah. All right. We did it. Six reviews. Hi, guys. Cool. All right. It's time for hot takes and our current thoughts on book culture. A hot take is an opinion formed off the cuff with little research and sometimes provocative. Today's hot take is "Does Bookish" on books to grammar, book talk, hyped, attract, or detract from you're adding a book to your TBR. Aaron, what do you think? I don't know. It kind of depends. Like, if I see a book that has a lot of hype, I try to do my best to think if it's for me or not. But then there's books that have so much hype that it feels like what more could be said. Or almost like a movie where you've seen the trailer so many times. Like, I feel this way about heated rivalry. I've seen so much heated rivalry content on Instagram. I don't need to watch the show. And like heated rivalry people are going to be up in my DMs that I do. I read heated rivalry. I have seen all of the TikToks. I love the boys as much as everybody else. I don't think I'm going to watch it. But that's kind of how I feel sometimes about hyped books. I feel this way about the correspondent. Like I have no interest in reading the correspondent, which is pretty much everybody's favorite book of last year. Yeah, I'm waiting to get it from the library. Yeah. That's what I thought. And I guess maybe having the podcast makes me think about that too is like, what more could I have to add to the conversation? And I'm like, Jillian's going to review that for sure. Jillian's going to be on the phone. What do you think? What do you think? I agree. It depends because I look at, you know, Colleen Hoover book and Verity. That's a good example. Yeah, I didn't think about it. We all read. We read it as a body read. This is our very first body read. Yeah, Verity. And I enjoyed it. That was actually my second time reading it. The first time I read it, I loved it. And it was like really good. But at the same time, it is very unlikely that I'm going to read very more Colleen Hoover's art. Or, you know, if I guess it depends on, you know, if I read the synopsis and I'm like, really like, yeah, this sounds great. But overall, I'm pretty much, it depends on the book. Yeah, yeah. I'm trying to think of like a really hyped book right now that I've been seeing. Like Dungeon Crawler Carl is a good example. Oh my god, it's huge right now. It's so huge. And it just keeps getting bigger, I feel. Yeah, yeah. So I don't know what's got, what's happened. Or Project Hill Mary, actually. Project Hill Mary is another book that was like, I read that book before it ended up everywhere. And I was like, oh wow, okay. Like, sometimes some books just need a little bit of time to cook. And then they're everywhere. I do also really think a lot more than I used to about who's recommending it. And why they might be pushing or recommending or sharing a book. And like, do I like their review style? Are they giving me enough information? Instead of them saying, this was my, like those reels, there's a trend in reels right now that's kind of like got me super annoyed, which is like somebody's holding the book by the spine. And they're like, this book will change your whole reading life in 2026. And you're like, okay, well, you've hooked me in. And then I have to stare at the spine of that book for five seconds until you flip it and show me the cover. Get out here. Straight to jail. Straight to jail. I'm not into that. You're just baiting me with a hook and then making me wait until you tell the algorithm that you have my attention. I don't care. That's not a recommendation in my opinion. But sometimes someone will sit down and say, here's what kind of book this is. Here's why I loved it. Here are the things I would compare it to. And then I'm like, okay, I can or cannot read that book. In some reason, that's in some part why I'm not choosing to read the correspondent right now, because I'm not a big fan of epistolary novels, like books that are told like through letters. I'm just like, not in, like, it's never been my jam. I don't really find them that interesting. And so, but it's hard to kind of sometimes you do kind of feel like you're left out. Even the fourth wing books, sometimes I feel like I'm really just reading those because of the hype. I don't know that I'm actually the right reader for the fourth wing series. I'm definitely not. Yeah. So there's that. I've only read fourth wing. I haven't read the other two. Yeah, you're fine. You're fine. Fourth wing is the best of three. But yeah, so that's really interesting. But I guess we don't feel strongly one way or the other because I know some people will be like too many people are talking about that book. I don't want to read it. Yeah. I, um, I definitely, it depends. Like I'm, I can be taken up in the hype, but at the same time, the Theo of Golden is a great example right now where I've seen it everywhere. But I'm also, I know you struggled with it in the middle and if you struggled with it, it chances are I'll struggle with it even worse. So I'm like, no, I'll pass. And I guess sometimes when there's like thousands of books on my TBR, but there's that one book that I'm like, like the court, I'm still talking about the correspondent, even though I'm not going to read it. I need to just like, I want to get it out of my mind palace so that I'm like, I want to put it on the soup. I've made a decision to not read it. I don't need to think about it anymore. But then you do kind of, you're like, Oh, is that the right decision? But is that the right decision? Yeah. I don't know. And like, what if you love it? If you love it, I'll probably read it. And I'll probably love it like everyone, but I maybe I'll let the hype die down a little bit. And then, no, I probably never will. I'll probably forget about it eventually. All right. To read or not to read. That's our hot take. Awesome. Okay. Well, we're going to wrap up with the holds list. As you all know, Jillian and I are obsessed with the library. And so we are constantly putting books on hold. If you have a library card and you're not using the hold list, I would highly encourage you to start putting books on hold. I know it's going to feel like you're not going to get that hot book. You're not going to get the correspondent until October. Just put it on hold and forget about it. Okay. And then when it shows up in October, you can thank your current self, your past self for investing in you. And I know it feels like a long time to wait, but it really goes by very, very quickly. So we don't hear a lot of people talk about using the holds list. And so we know it's something we can offer you our community and add to the bookish conversation. And then we know you're nosy. We know you want to know what we're reading. So we're going to share what's up next to let you know what we're going to be reaching for on our never ending TBR. Okay, Jillian, what's on your holds list? All right. I actually have five waiting for me. The first one that I am so excited about is Ann now back to you by B.K. Borez and that's our newest one. I just recently read first time caller. Oh, what did you think? Kicking my feet. Kicking my heels with glee and delight. That is one of the best romance books I've read in a long time. She's so good. She's so good. So and now back to you is waiting for me. I have so old, so young by Grant Ginder. Oh, I want to read that too. I don't know if I'm going to read the next two, but someone told me I should get him out. I have game changer by Rachel Reed and he did rival rival, rival read by Rachel Reed. But I don't, again, I don't know if I'll read them or not. I just put him on my holds list because it can hurt because it's free. And then I have my book of the month that I need for March, which is Macy Dobs by Jacqueline Windspirer, which was requested that I read by my friend Megan. So I will report back on what I think of that one. Hopefully I like it. It's making. I'm so into your like 12 friends, 12 months. I used to do this a really long time ago. And then I would forget about those books. It sounds like you have a really good plan to remind you to get those books. So I love this new goal of yours for 2026. Thanks. And then up next, I have The House Made by Freedomic Fadden. Yes, I'm a little late to the party on this one. It's okay. The hype is died down. It's a good time. Yeah, but I'm excited to read it nonetheless. Here's a brief synopsis for you in case you're living under a rock. A seemingly perfect job cleaning the Winchester's luxurious home hides unsettling secrets. Nina's cruel games to Andrew's quiet despair and a bedroom that locks from the outside. As their house made grows obsessed with the life she envies, the lines between victim and predator begin to blur. But the Winchester's aren't the only ones with secrets and they have no idea what their new new mate is truly capable of. So I'm excited to read that next. I got to read it fast. Was it a film adaptation too? Yeah, yeah, it was. I got to read this one fast because I have those five books coming from the library. And probably two of them are seven day hold. Okay. I'll finish this really quick and then you can leave and read. Aaron, what are you waiting for from the library and what's up next on your TBR? Okay. Well, I mean, it turns out no one to no one's surprised. The podcast is actually a really important part of my library hygiene habits because while on hiatus, my TBR has become a little bit unhinged, my holds have become even worse than they were in December. And I've been trying to be less greedy and less dopamine hungry when I put things on hold. So right now on hold, ready for pickup, I have seven daughters of Dupree by Nikesha Elise Williams. I heard really good early reviews of this book. It's set in 1995. We follow 14 year old Taty, who is determined to uncover the identity of her father while working against the secrets of her mother and her grandmother. And then up next, I don't know, is all the books. I have so many books out right now and so many cool good books that I want to be reading. I've had such a hard time choosing what to read because it feels like they're all a good choice. But I think I'm going to read anatomy of an alibi, but Ashley Ellison. I just did the catch and release on this one. Oh, nice, nice, nice. This is the next book from the author of First Lie Wins, which is a great thriller of this one is about two women trying to help each other out. But when the first woman's husband ends up murdered, they both need an alibi, but only one of them has it. And Ashley Ellison did a really fun post on her sort of like how she built this mystery. And it was like six huge white pieces of paper with no less than 1,000 posted notes. And I just think her brain is really interesting when it comes to crafting plot and story. This will be very plot forward. This will be, I bet I read this in 24 hours. So that's what's up next. I've decided. There you go. You made the decision. This podcast seems to help you make those decisions. That's good. You're right. It really does. It really does. All right. That brings us to the end of episode 54. Wow. Already. Thanks for spending time with us. It really does mean so much to share our reading lives alongside yours. We hope you're leaving with a titular too that feels exciting, comforting or exactly like the book your current self needs. 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, Aaron at medium.lady for all of our current reads and our 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 or your book club or your favorite librarian. 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 when you leave most. We'll talk to you soon. Bye. Bye. [MUSIC]