Checked Out with Green Hills Public Library District

Episode 14 - Name That Title!

• Green Hills Public Library District • Season 2 • Episode 14

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You never forget your first...line! Checked Out Podcast’s 14th Episode “Name That Title!” tests Sara and Tessa’s memories by matching the title of a recent read with the book’s first line. Will the risks these readers take pay off? 

Interested in hearing your favorite book, topic, or genre discussed? 
Send a recommendation to ghpl@greenhillslibrary.org  

Check out the media we talked about here: 

https://ghs.swanlibraries.net/MyAccount/MyList/87048

SPEAKER_01:

Hello, this is episode 14. Guess that title? I'm your host, Sarah. I'm Tessa, and this is Checked Out with Greenhouse Public Library. This episode is gonna be a fun one since you all really loved our challenge episode, and we really loved our challenge episode. We decided to do another challenge, and this one is focusing on the titles of certain books that we've read. So Tessa and I will take churns going through reading the first line of a book, and the other has to guess the title.

SPEAKER_00:

Just some quick rules so you guys all understand where we're coming from with it. Sarah picked 15 titles that I have read within 2025 and 2024. And I did the same for Sarah. And we will be reading the first line or lines, depending. And the other person will have their list of titles to guess which title belongs with which first line.

SPEAKER_01:

A little bit of background on this. First lines are very important to Tessa. She often will choose her next read based off of the first line. And through our friendship, I have kind of been roped into helping her select a book based on the first line. And I I love it. I think it's such a fun way to choose your next read. So if you're approaching a slump, I would recommend looking into reading the first line of a few options.

SPEAKER_00:

It's crazy what a first line can do.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, it really sets the tone for a book. So hopefully that will make this easy, maybe.

SPEAKER_00:

I don't know. I'm hopeful. Okay. Do you want me to start with reading a sentence for you to guess?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, I'll um read out my options so everyone knows what we're working with. Tessa chose for me to guess from such sharp teeth, caught up, promise me sunshine, ninth house, not in love, how to sell a haunted house, this could be us, the exbows, the stationery shop, you between the lines, play nice under lock and key, rows and chains, the favorites, unloved. A pretty good selection there.

SPEAKER_00:

I tried. Thank you. I tried to give you everything. I I tried to have a little bit of everything. Like an easy, a few like medium difficulty, and then a few are kind of diabolical. Not diabolical. I know you have some of those too. I do. Exactly. Okay. Your first first sentence is I'm sure I loved her once and she loved me.

SPEAKER_01:

I'm sure I loved her once and she loved me. Well, remember when I said that I thought that this was gonna be easy? I take that back. Um, okay, so I don't think it's gonna be one of the horror books. So that kind of crosses off such sharp teeth, how to sell a haunted house, ninth house. Yeah, it's a little too cutesy. Yeah, I think so. Play nice. I know that the start of Rose and Chains, like I feel that it's very specific, so I don't think it's that one. I want to say the favorites, but we don't get Keith's POV. So I I don't think so. But I'm gonna use the favorites as a placeholder right now. I won't lock in this answer.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, that's another thing. We are able to lock in and fully guess a title, or we can make a guess, not lock it in, and then at the end we'll be able to make like our full final guesses. So you're going with the favorites for now until the favorites line comes up.

unknown:

Okay.

SPEAKER_01:

Alright, do you want to read out your options?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, so mine are The Nightingale, Maid Fly, Home Is Where the Bodies Are, Phantasma, Black Sun, The Rose Bargain, The Thrashers, The Will of the Many, God of Malice, Terror at the Gates, City of Gods and Monsters, On Wings of Blood, Wild Dark Shore, A Fate Inkton Blood, and Book of Azreel.

SPEAKER_01:

My first line for you is my mother taught me many skills to ensure I'd make a good wife to my husband.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay. So of our contemporary options. The Nightingale, that's not how it starts. Maevefly, she's not having a husband. Home is where the bodies are. I think that's more of a daddy's issues story. So Thrashers were teenagers. Okay. I'm gonna put it as either the Rose Bargain or yeah, we're gonna put it there for now. It's not a lock-in. I have another that I think it could be, but I don't know if that's how it starts. Is it chapter one or is it a prologue? If it comes down to the wire, I can let you know. I think it's either the rose bargain or a fate inked in blood. They both have marriages. Hair at the gates, wings of blood. No. Yeah, okay. I'll leave it as a rose bargain for now. Alright, sounds good. Your second first line is she thought it might not go well, so she told her parents she was pregnant over the phone from 3,000 miles away in San Francisco.

SPEAKER_01:

Now, who is pregnant? Because I don't think any of these people are pregnant. Okay, so I feel like there was a few big hints here. Okay. Pregnant was one. And San Francisco kind of gives me a little bit of intel on location. So I'm gonna work from there. It's not caught up because that takes place in Chicago. It's not promise me sunshine because that's New York. Ninth House is on the East Coast. Not in love. I don't think anyone's talking about getting pregnant or anything in there. How to sell a haunted house possibly because I think that she has kids. This could be us, no, because that's set in Georgia. The ex-Vows. The ex-Vows takes place in around Seattle, California, the uh San Francisco area. So maybe, but I'm gonna say no because is anybody pregnant? I don't think anybody's pregnant in that. No, I know nobody is pregnant. The stationary shop, that's historical fiction. Um, You Between the Lines takes place in Ohio. Plain nice possibility. So I'm kind of looking at the horror ones. How to sell a haunted house, play nice. Under lock and key, I don't think anyone's pregnant. Rose and Chains is fantasy, the favorites, no, and unloved, no. So I'm gonna put it at how to sell a haunted house for right now. And I'm not gonna lock it in, but if I can figure out such sharp teeth and play nice, then we'll work around that. My next line for you is disasters start on black nights. Okay.

SPEAKER_00:

We have a few, a few ways we could go with this. Well, we don't. Because I feel very confident that I know the first line of City of Gods and Monsters and Book of Azreel, but I feel like it's that kind of tone. I'm gonna say it's God of Malice, and I'm gonna be reckless here. I'm gonna lock it in. That's your final answer. God of Malice? Okay. You're right. I'm proud of that.

unknown:

I'm not.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, sorry. You thought that one was gonna get me? Okay. Number three. Moths flutter around the fluorescent bulb as it blinks into the dark outside the bar.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay, so moths and this bulb, and I don't know, the tone of it seems like it's a horror. And I know that such sharp teeth think it starts with her out somewhere, and then that's when she kind of interacts with the wolf for the first time. So I'm gonna put it there, but again, I'm not gonna lock it in. Okay. My next one is I'm dangling, and it is only my father's blood-slicked grip around my wrist that stops me from falling.

SPEAKER_00:

Father. It's not the nightingale, it's not Mayfly. Homes where the bodies are is daddy issues. And it is a thriller. I'm not counting around, but I don't feel great about it. Phantasma. Dad is not around. And the mom dies at the very beginning. Can't be her. Black Sun, maybe. It's a fantasy. So maybe. It's not the Thrashers. I wanna say that I think it's either the Will of the Many or a Fate Inkton Blood. But I fear that a Fate Inked and Blood is just simply going to continue to be my catch all, and I'll just think it's always that. Yeah. Okay. I'm gonna mark it on my what is this? Three? I'm gonna mark it on my sheet next to a Fate Inkton blood and the Will of the Many. I don't feel great. Cause wait, he's an orphan. Whatever. The man in the will of the many. He's an orphan. Okay, if he's an orphan. But is he he lives in an orphanage? Okay. You're not locking anything in. No. You got some options. And this could be a prologue. Most of mine are probably a prologue. Okay. Because they're fantasy. And I feel like fantasy usually has a prologue. I didn't pay attention, I'll be completely honest with you. Okay. Number four for you. Oh, she's I never imagined that my death would come by way of a sheep avalanche. But as I watch the tumbling massive floof barreling down the hill toward the stretch of road I'm currently stalled on, it occurs to me that it would be at least a memorable way to go. Can you repeat the beginning for me? Yeah. I never imagined that my death would come by way of a sheep avalanche. But as I watch the tumbling mass of floof barreling down the hill toward the stretch of road, I'm underlocking. Huh? Under lock and key. Are you locking it in? Be brave. Yeah, I'm I'm gonna lock it in. You're right. Okay, thank you. That was I felt like you were gonna feel pretty good about that one because of the sheep. Who else has sheep?

SPEAKER_01:

That's when you at first when you started, I was like, this is some kind of fantasy thing. She's not reading any of my stuff. She's tricking me. She's trying to bamboozle me. No, no. And then because I thought you said like at first I thought you said sheet, and then I thought you said sheath, like oh, like a sheath. Yeah. Yeah, no, sheep. But it was sheep. And the minute that I yeah figured out it was sheep, I was like, oh yeah, this takes place in Ireland or Scotland.

SPEAKER_00:

So yeah, perfect. Great job.

SPEAKER_01:

Thank you. The next one I have for you is I have hated my mother for most of my life, but is is her face I see as I drown.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay. It's as they drown. Okay. She's hated. Well, I'm assuming it's just she. I don't read a lot of hmm. Okay. On Wings of Blood, no, because she like gets dropped into another world. I'm not gonna lock it in, but I think it could be black sock. Just because I don't really remember. That's fair. I don't remember that line, and I don't really remember that book, so it feels like so the vibes match. Yes, perfectly off vibes.

SPEAKER_01:

That was four. That was number four. Yes. Okay. Amazing. And so to give everyone an update, I've gotten one correct and I have three options that I'm kind of sorting through.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay. And Tessa, what about you? I also have one correct. And I have I have four things I'm sorting through because I put the Will of the Money in a fading dim blood. I don't know why I got so risky with God of Malice. I think maybe just because that book is very dark, and I knew that if you picked it, it had to be a very unassuming line. You know?

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Instead of like, I'm a psychopath.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. Like nothing too outlandish and and crazy. Yeah. Fair.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay. Are you ready? As I'll ever be. Okay. I hate thinking about the way it ended, but sometimes I think about the way it began. With me walking through the door of someone else's house without knocking.

SPEAKER_01:

And does it say a name and you like placed someone else? No. I want to say the ex vows because the first moment that she like meets Eli is in their friend's house. And their friend's house was known to be like sort of a revolving door thing like going on. And the hangout spot. But it would be so embarrassing if I got this wrong because this is like one of my favorite books of the year. One of Be Serious. It's probably going to be. You cry. I do often. It's been months since I finished it and I still think about it. But you know what? I I'm gonna take a risk and I'm gonna lock it in. But I know that if it's wrong, I don't think I'll be able to continue this.

SPEAKER_00:

You are correct. Oh thank God. I was thinking about being like actually so crazy because the first line of the first chapter is not again, I mutter. Not again. I was only gonna give you that because I felt like you should know. I should know that. Yeah, but then I r remembered that you like go through and you read quotes from it. It's not like you've read it fully more than once. So then I gave you the prologue. Thank you. Appreciate that. You did it.

SPEAKER_01:

I did it. So scared. Wow, I was so nervous about that one. Okay, the next one I have for you is today he would have become a god. That's black. You seem very confident in that one when you said that you weren't sure because you don't remember it.

SPEAKER_00:

He's raised to think he is a god. Like the main character in it. He's his mom is like I'm walking in it.

SPEAKER_01:

You are correct.

SPEAKER_00:

Wait, but now I need to know what was number four? Can you read the sentence again? I got you.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay. Option number four is I have hated my mother for most of my life, but it is her face I see as I drown. Is it wild darkshore? Are you asking or are you telling me?

SPEAKER_00:

I don't know. It is. It is.

SPEAKER_01:

Are you locking that in? No.

unknown:

Okay.

SPEAKER_01:

She says it is with so much confidence. And then no, she's not gonna lock it in.

SPEAKER_00:

What we can come back around to it. Yeah, we have to. Yeah. But I fear I fear that's the only thing with water I have left. I don't know. We'll see. I don't know. I don't know these books. We will see. Number six. Oh, I we also didn't mention sometimes if there are names, we might have changed it to a pronoun to make it less obvious or a blank. This one that I have, there are in fact blanks. It it just it would not have worked to put a pronoun there. You've got to be kidding, blank. Blank drops the scouting report onto his desk in the hotel room. You fired him on a game day. Caught up. Yes.

SPEAKER_01:

You've gotta be kidding. Wow. I don't know who he is. It's Isaiah? I don't know. Kai is the one talking. And Monty's the first blank. You've got to be kidding, Monty. You pulled him from the roster or whatever. You fired him on a game day. Yeah. I think. Okay. I could be wrong, but that's not the game we're playing.

SPEAKER_00:

Somewhere in there. I can tell you that much.

SPEAKER_01:

That's that's not the game we're playing. So anyway. Good job. Um, thank you. That was number six for me. Yeah. Okay. I'm gonna do. If you so much as look at her again, I will break all four of your legs, pup.

SPEAKER_00:

City of gods and monsters. Yeah, I can't believe I said that. You didn't have to say the pup part. I would have gotten it anyway. I would know that anywhere.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, it's uh I'm not gonna say it's a good first line. It's a memorable first line.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

And you've read that book many times, so yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

I sure have. Love them. All right. What are we at? Seven? This baby will not stop judging me. This baby will not stop judging me. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

You got a lot of babies going on. Yeah. Which is crazy because most of these people are not pregnant.

SPEAKER_00:

Also, it's only been two.

SPEAKER_01:

It has. Um, this baby will not stop judging me. I'm gonna say, promise me sunshine, because she's on a ferry in the opening scene, and she's really like going through it right now. Um, and so I do believe that she would think a baby is judging her.

SPEAKER_00:

Locking in?

SPEAKER_01:

I'm locking that in.

SPEAKER_00:

You are correct. I think that's a very silly first line.

SPEAKER_01:

Right?

SPEAKER_00:

I like actually chuckled when I found it. I thought I thought you would get that one quickly, just because it's so silly.

SPEAKER_01:

Again, a memorable first line. Yeah. Okay, so looking at our scores once more. I've gotten four correct so far and three that I'm sitting on thinking about. I have three correct.

SPEAKER_00:

I have three that I'm wavering around on.

SPEAKER_01:

Alright, so the next line I have for Tessa is his face was streaked with mud and blood when the woman first appeared at the tree line.

SPEAKER_00:

Mud and blood. When the woman appeared at the tree line? Okay, it's not Mayfly. It's not the nightingale. It's not home is where the bodies are. Yeah. Locking her. Are you locking that in?

SPEAKER_01:

You are not correct.

SPEAKER_00:

No! Delete that. Really?

SPEAKER_01:

Really? That's not the first line of home is where the bodies are.

SPEAKER_00:

Cut the tape. I won't let this see the air. Maybe I'll get a half point if I get it right at the end. In my heart. Fine.

SPEAKER_01:

That's fine. We can do half points if you want to do half point.

SPEAKER_00:

I don't really care about the half point, but I will figure out what it is by the end.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay. I have faith in you. Yeah. Alright, so moving on. I'm not gonna tell you what the correct answer is because we discussed that that would in fact ruin the game. So go ahead, you can read the next one for me.

SPEAKER_00:

I made an appointment to see him.

SPEAKER_01:

I made an appointment to see him, but I don't even know who he is.

SPEAKER_00:

It's not a like a replacement pronoun either.

SPEAKER_01:

It is truly I made an appointment to see him. Well, maybe it could be. I I'm gonna say that it is play nice, but I'm not gonna lock it in. Okay, my next one for you is The Devil had a wicked mouth and a voice as smooth as bourbon.

SPEAKER_00:

That's fantasy. I feel confident on that fact. Fantasy, what I have left that I haven't maybe placed anywhere else is Phantasma, Terror at the Gate, On Wings of Blood, and Book of Azreel. I know Book of Azreel. Is the D and Devil capitalized? Doesn't mean business today. Okay. Is the D and Devil capitalized? Yes, it is. It's Phantasma. That is correct. He is in fact a devil. We love him. The devil could have thrown me though, because he's not the devil. He's a devil? Yeah. Oh, yeah. Okay. Like how the the magical creatures work. Like one of the like, there's like demons, devils, ghosts. Yeah. So it could have thrown me, but it didn't. But you got it. You got it. Okay. Okay. I can be whoever I want to be. Okay.

SPEAKER_01:

So I don't think it's such sharp teeth, even though it does kind of give finding myself vibes. I don't think it's ninth house because I don't think that Alex cares about being who she wants to be. So unloved is all about finding yourself. And our main female character is doing that throughout college. And so I'm gonna go with that. I'm gonna go with unloved.

SPEAKER_00:

Are you locking it in?

SPEAKER_01:

I'll lock it in.

SPEAKER_00:

You are correct.

SPEAKER_01:

Alright. The next one I have for you is seriously, you're supposed to be these ancient warriors feared by all, and you flinch. That's Book of Azreel.

SPEAKER_00:

We love Diana. We love her. I like her. She's like, yeah, she's good. Okay. She is in fact the monster in that. Oh, I like it. A fun twist. Usually it's the dark shadow man. But yeah, usually. The m male main character in Book of Azreel is like cinnamon roll? Yeah. Oh. Yeah. That's such a nice twist. It is. It's good. I like it. But she's she is bad. And she like knows she is. I love that. I actually And it's not really about like fixing her.

SPEAKER_01:

I love a bad FMC. Yeah. I always want that.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay, bad's real. All right. Okay. Are you ready? Ladies, this is a genuine non-retorical question. How did the two of you survive in the real world?

SPEAKER_01:

Okay. So ladies makes me think that we are a girl group. Chill vibes, hanging out, having a good time. And this could be us, which is part of Kennedy Ryan's Skyland series, follows a group of three. I'm just worried because I don't know if there's a prologue or not. I I'm gonna go for it. You're gonna lock it in? I'm gonna lock in This Could Be Us. You are not correct. Dang. Okay, that's fine.

SPEAKER_00:

And now those half points are looking good.

SPEAKER_01:

Alright. Alright. For you, I've got ritual was teeming. And I can also read the second sentence.

SPEAKER_00:

Go ahead. I think ritual is the name of a place that they are at, if if what I'm thinking is correct. So yeah, give me the give me the next one.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay, the first line is ritual was teeming. The second line is glossy tables and velvet couches were already overcrowded, leaving people standing shoulder to shoulder beneath pulsing blue and purple light as they waited for the entertainment to begin.

SPEAKER_00:

That's a long sentence. It is. It's a long sentence. But I am going to lock in that that is terror at the gate. You are correct. I just I had to make sure that like ritual was like ritual with a capital R, you know? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

And not and not like the ritual. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay. Amazing. For a score update. I have one, two, three, four, five, six guessed correctly. One guessed incorrectly.

SPEAKER_01:

On my end, I have five guessed correctly, and one guessed incorrectly. And I've got one, two, three, four. I've got four that I have not locked in yet.

SPEAKER_00:

Same. The 11th one is by the time she managed to get the blood out of her good wool coat, it was too warm to wear it. I think this is gonna be another one I don't lock in because it could be anything.

SPEAKER_01:

It could. But I know it's not gonna be one of my little romance ones.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

I suppose when I said it could be anything, I didn't mean that. It could be any of the horror ones. So it could be such sharp teeth, ninth house, how to sell a haunted house, or plain ice. I'm gonna just put it under ninth house right now. I don't think Alex is dealing with blood that early on, but possibly. Okay. My next line for you is if it were up to her, she'd be in bed at 11 on a Friday night watching Netflix and pretending the Ben and Jerry's carton was a single serving.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay. So to recap what my situation is, almost all of mine are fantasies. So we have Netflix, we have Ben and Jerry's. We're not. We're not in a fantasy world here. I don't believe we are. If we're name-dropping that way, I would presume not. It's the Thrashers. Are you locking that in? It can't be Mayflies. She would not be saying all that. Or she would have like some weird thing to say with it. And I don't trust ever guessing home is where the bodies are. During World War II, I don't think they had Netflix or Ben and Jerry's for it to be the nightingale. So I'm gonna go with the Thrashers. Seems like a teenage coping mechanism to me. You are correct. 12. Today is the 10th anniversary of the worst day of my life. That's the favorites. Locking in? Locking in. Correct.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay, so now I can unlock. I'm sure I loved her and she had loved me. The first sentence that you read.

SPEAKER_00:

You want me to say it in its completion? Could you please? I'm sure I loved her once and she loved me. Go through your options.

SPEAKER_01:

I'm sure I loved her once and she loved me. I think that I'm limiting myself by thinking that it's a male POV when like this could be about anybody. This could be a daughter.

SPEAKER_00:

It doesn't seem like they're in love. Yeah. That would place like a romantic slant on it.

SPEAKER_01:

I'm gonna put it at this could be us because her mother is dealing with Alzheimer's. And I feel that like if you're looking back, it's like I'm sure I loved her once though. She doesn't stop loving her mom. Okay, I'm gonna put it at the stationery shop just to be a placeholder. Okay. Yeah. We did a lot of moving around there.

SPEAKER_00:

The favorites really threw through the game off.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay. The first line is I think I was drunk. The second line is drunk on power, drunk on her blood. Oh no.

SPEAKER_00:

Drunk on her power? Are you replacing it or is that the pronoun? You got the second line wrong.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay. It's I think I was drunk, drunk on power, drunk on her blood. So not her power, just power in general.

SPEAKER_00:

I'm gonna say that on Wings of Blood is the only thing that makes sense to me. Is this a prologue? Yeah, it is. Okay. I'm not gonna lock it in quite yet because I can think of what the opening scene of that book is, but I think that's chapter one. And this is no. We're gonna say on Wings of Blood for a right. I'm like perplexed. We're like getting down to the wire, and things are like not really getting that much more obvious. So Yeah, I need to start moving things around. Yeah. Okay. It is 13. We're coming up on midnight. I have the second sentence if you want it. Can you read the second sentence? We're coming up on midnight. The room is loud, everyone's champagne drunk, ignorant of volume, and wow, the air in here is intense. All hot breath and designer perfume. That's play nice. Locking in? I'm locking it in.

SPEAKER_01:

Correct. Thank you. I'm impressed. I remember it because it was like she meets somebody, and I thought that that was gonna be like the person that like the secondary character throughout the story. And it wasn't. And it wasn't. So I have to move line number eight.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay. Do you wanna reread?

SPEAKER_01:

Can you please? I made an appointment to see him.

SPEAKER_00:

I just don't know who he could be. If you would like, I can see if a second sentence would help.

SPEAKER_01:

Um, you can pull it up, but I won't take the option to read it yet. I'm gonna just put it at not in love, but that just is not, I don't think. I think it opens with them meeting off of a dating app, but I don't think anyone in the 21st century would say, I made an appointment to meet him if they were meeting someone off a dating app.

SPEAKER_00:

So Oh, okay. Does this change anything? It's dialogue.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, it's someone talking to someone else. Yeah. And they're like, I made an appointment to see him.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I can read the seconds.

SPEAKER_01:

I don't know if that changes like literally anything for you, but I'm gonna keep it at not in love for right now. But it opens up the door a little bit.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, thank you.

SPEAKER_00:

All right. 14, second to last.

SPEAKER_01:

14 is if I have learned anything in this long life of mine, it is this. In love, we find out who we want to be. In war, we find out who we are.

SPEAKER_00:

The nightingale. Yeah, yeah. 14 for you. When he drags his pen over each line of my poem slowly. You between the lines.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. I knew from drag his line or drag his pen. Because it's all about the like in between the lines, literally. Correct.

SPEAKER_00:

I almost know we should name this title read between the lines.

SPEAKER_01:

Right? But I get that it's like you between the lines.

SPEAKER_00:

No, the title of our podcast for this one.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh. Dang. Alright, so that's that one for me. Uh-huh. It changes nothing. Nope. No.

SPEAKER_00:

You didn't guess that anything was you between the lines.

SPEAKER_01:

No. You knew that you would know. I knew that I would know. Okay. For you, I have nothing brings people together better than death. I think that it's home is where the bodies are. But are you locking them in?

SPEAKER_00:

No! Okay, okay. It's either home is where the bodies are or made fly.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay. You think it's home is where the bodies are, but you're not locking in.

SPEAKER_00:

I feel like it has to be that or made fly. Okay. Okay. Your last one is. Blank thought it was strange that she didn't feel it when her brother died.

SPEAKER_01:

That's gonna be Rose and Chains.

SPEAKER_00:

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay, so I'll read your this is your final one?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01:

I'll read your final one and then we'll go over scoring. Final one I have for you is every man shares the same fantasy, and it is this he will marry a universally beloved sweetheart.

SPEAKER_00:

I think that has to be Mayfly. But I'm not locking her in. It's just how I feel at this time. Okay. So the situation is as follows. I have correctly guessed eight titles. I've incorrectly guessed one, and I'm still working on nailing down seven titles. Okay.

SPEAKER_01:

On my end, I've correctly guessed nine titles. I've incorrectly guessed one title, and I have five that I am trying to figure out.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay. Before we nail some things down, I have a question. What was the easiest one for you?

SPEAKER_01:

Ooh, the easiest one for me, I would have to say, was probably caught up. Yeah. I think it was caught up because it's so specific. Like it is a baseball-centered book. So yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

What about you? City of Gods and Monsters or Book of Azriel. I've just like gone through both of those so many times that I I knew. I knew where she would be. What's one that you like looking at the title, you were like, oh, I'll for sure know that, but you didn't like lock in and answer for sure. Does that make sense?

SPEAKER_01:

Oh. I kind of thought not in love, I would know. No. But I'm gonna be like gentle with myself because I haven't read or looked back at this book in a very long time, like since I finished it. So but I thought that I would have a grasp on Allie Hazelwood's writing a little bit better, but it's just the first line. So I'll give myself grace.

SPEAKER_00:

I thought, I don't know if I have like a specific title. I just think that I felt like it was going to be so obvious, at least what like genre or whatever I was looking at. And I don't I don't feel like it was that easy.

SPEAKER_01:

I'm also really surprised at the amount of details that I remember about some of these books or like their opening scenes.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, me too, because I don't remember anything.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, I definitely thought I definitely thought that audiobooking as much as I do would have an effect on the like attention to detail. But it's actually not too bad. Even though I there's a few that I audio booked here that are on my like hmm.

SPEAKER_00:

Will you read me the first the first option that you had?

SPEAKER_01:

The first one that I gave you was my mother taught me many skills to ensure I'd make a good wife to my husband.

SPEAKER_00:

A Faye Inked and blood.

SPEAKER_01:

Are you locking that in? Yeah. You are correct.

SPEAKER_00:

Thank God. Amazing. Okay. Which would you like to hear from me? Can I hear the jacket and blood one? Also known as number 11. I knew. By the time she managed to get the blood out of her goodwill coat, it was too warm to wear it.

SPEAKER_01:

I'm really torn on this one between such sharp teeth and ninth house. Can I hear number three again?

SPEAKER_00:

Moths flutter around the fluorescent bulb as it blinks into the dark outside the bar.

SPEAKER_01:

That's kind of like a seedy opening. Like you're in a seedy place. And I feel that Alex would be a CD place. Alex from Ninth House. She might be. So I kind of want to switch them. But I feel like that's such a big move. That is a big move. High risk, high reward. I'm not a risk taker. Okay. I I don't like this anymore. You're doing really good though. The jacket? It's a coat. It's a wool coat. The wool coat is throwing me off. But it would make sense for I don't know if she wears coats. Ooh. For Alex from Nighthouse. I know for sure it's not in love. I know for sure it's not. This could be us. I don't know if it's the stationery shop now either, because there was a coup going on. She could have had blood on her coat. You want to come back to that one? Ugh, let's come back to that one, I guess. Can you read me number four? I have hated my mother for most of my life, but it is her face I see as I drown. Wild Dark Shore. Are you locking that in? Yeah. That is correct.

SPEAKER_00:

Did you cheater, cheater, pumpkin eater? No. I just eliminated everything else that had water. I was gonna say parents because I'm like, you there were a lot of parents involved.

SPEAKER_01:

There are a lot of mothers and fathers in these fantasy books that you read. Okay. I have to take a plunge. Otherwise, I'm just gonna be sitting at a standstill. So I just I really don't know where such sharp teeth takes place. But I'm gonna go ahead and lock in. Can you reread number three for the audience? For the listeners?

SPEAKER_00:

Moths flutter around the fluorescent bulb as it blinks into the dark outside the bar.

SPEAKER_01:

I'm really not 100% on this at all, but I'll take a risk and just lock in such sharp teeth. For three? For number three.

SPEAKER_00:

You are correct.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_00:

Somebody get me a painting couch.

SPEAKER_01:

We should bring them back, I think. I do too. I think that we need a fainting couch. I could really benefit from one. I just huh. You know? Like they do in all the paintings. Alright. Wait, now I kind of want to do my ninth house one. Okay. But do I want to like ride this high? I don't know. What if I'm wrong?

SPEAKER_00:

What if you're wrong?

SPEAKER_01:

I just have no recollection at all for how to sell a haunted house, how that starts. I've got nothing. I'm not gonna take the risk yet. Okay. Can I hear the ladies' life together?

SPEAKER_00:

Can I hear number 10 though? Ladies, this is a genuine non-retorical question. How do the two of you survive in the real world? And that's really not this could be us.

unknown:

No.

SPEAKER_01:

Okay, it's not gonna be the stationary shop because nobody in the house is talking like that. No. It's not gonna be ninth house because I don't think any of the characters are referring to anybody as ladies, please. Let me do my work. Well, Alice doesn't have any friends. No, yeah, like there's not. That's not happening. So that crosses off. This could be us, that crosses off that the stationary shop, that crosses off ninth house. I'm left with not in love, how to and how to sell a haunted house. I just don't think Rue has friends in not in love. Who is she talking to that she's like, ladies, how do you keep your lives together? She doesn't even talk like that.

SPEAKER_00:

I didn't say she said it, but if she doesn't have friends, then who is talking to her like that either?

SPEAKER_01:

It I feel that for not in love, it could be either that or I made an appointment to see him. But I also think that the stationary shop could be I made an appointment to see him because she goes constantly to the stationary shop. Let's move on to you. I'll I'll hold on to this. Okay. Thank you. Will you read three for me? I'm dangling and it is only my father's blood-slicked grip around my wrist that stops me from falling. My notes say the will of the many.

SPEAKER_00:

Do you want to lock that in? Yeah. It is correct. That one was hard because he in fact grows up in an orphan.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, so then this might have been like a prologue or something.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. I think I have to know. Okay. I feel like it's that or it's a dream, or maybe the prologue isn't even like the man, you know? What's he doing? I think it's like a flashback, maybe. But yeah, that was really the only thing it could be after my deduction. Cause the rosebarga and her dad's not doing all that. On Wings of Blood, or her, she's like in a different, she gets like dropped into a different world. So she's not really talking about her dad. That's how, that's how we got there. I didn't feel confident about it. But it was the only option we had. And now I think everything's gonna fall apart for me. Cause I genuinely don't know. What do you have left? What are the options that you have left? Mayfly, Home is Where the Bodies Are, The Rose Bargain, and On Wings of Blood. Okay.

SPEAKER_01:

I have Ninth House, Not in Love, How to Sell a Haunted House, This Could Be Us, The Stationery Shop.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, you're out here taking literally zero risks.

SPEAKER_01:

I'm I don't I'm not a risky person. I don't play games of chance and risk. I'm Muslim. Gambling is not allowed.

SPEAKER_00:

I just you keep thinking that something's gonna change.

SPEAKER_01:

No, I'm just I am thinking that I'll hear it again and something will click, or that I'll remember a detail or a moment that will tie to this. Okay. That's what I'm thinking of. Okay. But I am gonna ask you for the second sentence of I made an appointment to see him, which is number eight.

unknown:

Okay.

SPEAKER_01:

Because you offered that earlier, and I said, No, I can get it by myself, and I don't know who I was kidding.

SPEAKER_00:

She said it as if she were seeing the dentist or therapist or the pushy refrigerator salesman who had promised her and Walter a lifetime guarantee of cold milk and crisp vegetables and unspoiled cheese, if only they would buy this brand new model. So you did let it slip that Walter is involved.

SPEAKER_01:

But I don't even know who Walter is. Me either. I don't know Walter. But it does help me in a way. Okay. Because I know that, well, you know who Walter is, don't you? No, I don't. Okay. I don't. I just know that Eli is the main character and not in love. And Maverick is the main character and this could be us. But I I don't know because Rue has a really crappy brother in Not in Love. And it could be Walter. And it could be Walter. And she could be like, yeah, Walter or meeting a boy. But I don't know if she ever talks to him like that. Because I know at one point they have to call the cops. So I'm taking out this could be us from that running. Okay. But I also don't know I don't think it's ninth house because I don't think that Alex is making an appointment to see anybody. She needs to be making an appointment to see a therapist. But she's not doing that. That's for sure.

SPEAKER_00:

She's not real worried about a refrigerator either.

SPEAKER_01:

That's true. How to sell a haunted house, she could be. She could be. She could be. She could be. And then the stationery shop. I don't know if she's making appointments.

SPEAKER_00:

Because that seems like a strange thing. Right? Don't listen to me. I don't know why I'm like trying to figure this out with you.

SPEAKER_01:

It seems off, but also they're in the middle of a coup. I don't know if people are allowed to be reading the things that she's reading. So maybe she needs to make a special appointment with the stationary shop man. Maybe. But who is Walter? I don't know. Because I don't know an Iranian man named Walter. It could be possible. I So that helps a little bit, the second sentence. Because it gives me more of an idea of like this what's going on. I'm in a cross off ninth house and not in love. And I think it's either how to sell a haunt or well, no, that's wrong. I'm in a cross off ninth house and this could be us. And I'm down to not in love, how to sell a haunted house, and the stationery shop. But I I think that the pregnant one is how to sell a haunted house. Do you want to lock that in? No, I want to figure out this appointment one.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_01:

So I'm down to not in love and the stationer shop, and I'm not confident either one of them. So maybe I will lock in. But wait, maybe Rue has a pregnancy scare. Because I think they might be are they in San Francisco and not in love? I know they're near Texas. Texas and San Francisco area. I know, but like I'm thinking of the West Coast. And like Texas is kind of Okay, sure. Texas is a good one. Yeah, center. But like Alright, sure. I just don't know if she has a relationship with her parents. There's a lot. But okay, so I'm gonna look at all of the options that I have. And I think that for the stationer shop, my only two choices are the jacket and blood, and I made an appointment to see him. So it's that's a 50-50 shot here.

SPEAKER_00:

The face that Sarah's making was actually crazy. Let's just look like anxiety from inside out, too.

SPEAKER_01:

Because I am. I'm so anxious about this, but nothing is on the line here.

SPEAKER_00:

No, we didn't even bet anything this time. No. You win, I'll bring you whatever you want. Thanks.

SPEAKER_01:

I'm gonna just get rid of this appointment one. Okay. And get rid of the stationary shop.

SPEAKER_00:

For the appointment one? Yeah? Yeah. You're right. Emma? Yeah. You're joking get out. I'm not. It is in fact the stationary shop. Who is Walter in the stationary shop? Walter dried the dishes, his gaze on the kitchen towel, and it's print of a yellow chick holding an umbrella. Walter Archer's penchant for logic. I don't know. Sure, girl. This is the stationary shop. It is the stationary shop.

SPEAKER_01:

Marjon Kamal Kamali? Yes. That's crazy, actually. I need to figure out who's Walter. I don't know, but you got it right. I'm so shocked, everyone listening.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay.

SPEAKER_01:

Alright. 12. Yes. Coming in hot. It is. His face was streaked with mud and blood when the woman first appeared at the tree line. His sword hung by his side, limp in a single moment of pause, and then he fell to his knees. You said the rose bargain? Yeah. You are correct. Oh thank God. Alright. I gotta get a move on because you have what? Three left? Yeah. I've got one, two, three, four left. Okay. So let me see if I could knock out another one. I'm gonna stick with the wool jacket is ninth house.

SPEAKER_00:

Locking in? Yes. You are correct.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes. Oh my god. In that one moment when I almost tried to switch. I was like, this.

SPEAKER_00:

Please know you're gonna be so sad. I will be so upset if I have to. You were gonna be devastated because you were like, I'm gonna switch this and this and this.

SPEAKER_01:

And I was like, You're like, stop talking. Please. Okay, so I locked in ninth house. Okay, right now you and I both have three that we haven't locked in.

SPEAKER_02:

Yep.

SPEAKER_01:

Um, we both have one that we got incorrect. Correct. And the remaining we have gotten correct. Wow, we're really killing this. We kind of are. Look at us. I'm scared.

SPEAKER_00:

It's this down to the wire part is scary. Yeah. Okay. Will you read me the power?

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, let me just pull it up. I think I was drunk. Drunk on power, drunk on her blood.

SPEAKER_00:

It has to be on wings of blood. I'm gonna lock it in.

SPEAKER_01:

You are correct. Okay.

SPEAKER_00:

I think I could finish mine out.

SPEAKER_01:

Don't. Okay. Because I'll be upset if you get them all right and then I get all mine wrong.

unknown:

Okay.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, because then I'll be like, oh my god. Or like the pressure will be really on if yours are right before mine are wrong. You know? What do you have left? I've got Not in Love, How to Sell a Haunted House, and This Could Be Us.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay. So two romances and a horror.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

All right.

SPEAKER_01:

And I've got wait, I'm so confused. Okay. I have pregnant in San Francisco and ladies get their lives together, but I don't know what I'm missing. I'm sure I loved her once and she loved me. I just can't remember a single thing from How to Sell a Haunted House, which is crazy because that's my favorite Grady Hendrix. So, like, I guess it's not my favorite Grady Hendricks. Can you repeat number one? I'm sure I loved her once and she loved me. This one is just not clicking for you. It's not. It's not. I'm not clocking in. I'm not standing on business. Can you read the pregnant in San Francisco one? That's number two.

SPEAKER_00:

She thought it might not go well. So she told her parents she was pregnant over the phone from 3,000 miles away in San Francisco.

SPEAKER_01:

I'm gonna say that one is how to sell a haunted house.

SPEAKER_00:

You are correct.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, so we both have two left.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. All right. I'm gonna finish mine out.

SPEAKER_01:

Will you read me four Nothing brings people together better than death? And 15? Every man shares the same fantasy, and it is this he will marry a universally beloved sweetheart.

SPEAKER_00:

I'm gonna say 14 is home is where the bodies are, and Mayfly is 15.

SPEAKER_01:

That's correct. Woo! Okay, I have left ladies get your lives together, and I loved her once and she loved me.

SPEAKER_00:

Why do you keep saying get your lives together? That's not the sentence. But that's what I have in my notes. The sentence is Ladies, this is a genuine non-rhetorical question. How do the two of you survive in the real world?

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, it there's no lives together at all. No, and you can't say it. Okay, but the phrase non-rhetorical question makes me think Allie. Okay. So yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Not in love?

SPEAKER_01:

Not in love.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay, and then what's the other one?

SPEAKER_01:

And then the other one is I loved her once and she could have loved me. And that's this could be us.

SPEAKER_00:

It's correct. Yeah, you're right. We tied.

SPEAKER_01:

Wow. We just got one out of 15 incorrect.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. It was simultaneously harder and easier than I thought it was gonna be. I had to really think about those last couple ones, obviously, as you guys all heard. We got there in the end.

SPEAKER_01:

We did, and it didn't even matter that we both got one wrong because we ended up getting that right in the end.

SPEAKER_00:

And that's what matters. We're all right in the end.

SPEAKER_01:

That is correct. So I think that's a wrap on guess that title. I hope it was more interesting than I feel like it was.

SPEAKER_00:

I don't know.

SPEAKER_01:

I think it was fun, and I think that we give a lot of info on these books. So if any of the first lines intrigued you, give them a shot. All right, shifting gears over to our little book talk segment. Unfortunately, Tessa and I both ended up DNFing hot wax. I struggled a lot with it in the start and kind of immediately knew that it was not for me. Um, if you've read Grady Hendricks, um I think it's like We Sold Our Souls. It's kind of similar to that in that it focuses on an era of music. And I didn't feel very connected to any of the characters. I was confused a little bit at points, and after reading reviews and feeling that way, I was like, Yeah, this is not for me. So unfortunately, I did have to DNF it.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I think I listened to like one whole chapter already knowing that you were gonna DNF it. Also, I didn't know what it was about. I just have liked ML Rio in the past. And then reflecting upon that, it was just never, it wasn't gonna work. So it was an early, early DNF. I don't have much to say about it other than I knew it wasn't gonna work.

SPEAKER_01:

Same. But we did read a lot of good things this month. For me, I read a debut novel, It's Different This Time, by Joss Richard, that I love. And it is a very top contender for one of my favorites of the year. It is my favorite of the month. I enjoyed it so much. It is sort of a second chance. These two roommates have lived together for years and both have feelings for each other, but are too afraid to share those feelings and embark on a relationship with one another. And then ultimately they split paths, and then about maybe a couple of years later, they end up back in New York because they have inherited the house that they initially lived in for so long. And so being in the same place, being in New York again is bringing back all of those feelings, being with each other, being roommates again. And it's just a beautifully written book and has a whole bunch of scenes that I'm like, check off everything. Like this book has so many lines, scenes, discussions about feelings that I'm always looking for in books, and I think it was so well done, especially for a debut.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, and that was that was a shock to you. Like you didn't think that it was gonna be so high up for you, right? Yeah, I thought it was gonna be good, but I didn't think I was gonna love it the way it surpassed what you were thinking. A five-star for me this past month was Wild Reverence by Rebecca Ross. It's technically a prequel to um Divine Rivals and Ruth the Spouse. Because it's a prequel, you don't need to have read it, read the other duology first. I don't think it really matters. There's a connection that's made, but it's not like a direct like influence on the story. So I don't think it matters if you've read it. I would really give it a shot. Rebecca Ross writes very lyrical uh fantasy, and like you can tell that she has built this world in her head and she knows exactly what it is, but also that she really enjoys the craft of writing. And this one is about two star-crossed lovers, shall we say? One is a lesser god and one is a mortal, and how they keep coming back to each other, and how somehow their love and what their relationship is constantly pulls them back together. It starts when they're kids and it ends when the mortal half of the relationship passes away, and you follow them through everything, and you see all these things and how their decisions directly impact the world around them, and how these decisions that they've made also impact uh divine rivals, if you have read that. Like I said, you don't need to. It's just written so well in the way it's very Greek God reminiscent, the way that their like god system works. I don't know. I just think it's written so well. I think that people who are interested in fantasy worlds but are scared to like make the plunge or they think everything is too long or whatever. Rebecca Ross is a great place to start. She sits very much at like a new adult level. So especially if you're looking to make the jump from like YA to adult, she's a great author as well. And nothing none of them are very long. The one is a duology, and then this one that just came out, I think, is just over 400 pages. So not too bad.

SPEAKER_01:

Great. That one I'm kind of interested in. I tried Divine Rivals and I wasn't too in it, but I'll try out.

SPEAKER_00:

I think this relationship has far more of what you look for than uh Iris and Roman do.

SPEAKER_01:

Alright. I like it. For our next book talk, we are going to be reading Mate by Allie Hazelwood. We both read Bride when it came out, and we are ready and set to read Mate soon. That concludes this month's episode. As usual, if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to send us an email at ghpl at greenhillslibrary.org.

SPEAKER_00:

Thank you guys so much for listening. This has been episode 14. Guess that title. I'm Tessa. I'm Sarah, and we are checked out.