0:07

You're listening to Reading Glasses, a show

0:09

about book culture and literary life designed

0:11

to help you read better. I'm author

0:13

and book devourer Mallory O'Mara. And I'm

0:15

Bria Grant, filmmaker and e-reader. This episode,

0:17

we're giving tips on figuring out what

0:19

kind of books you like. Plus,

0:21

we're solving a problem about reading a genre

0:23

when you write that genre, when you also

0:25

are a writer of that genre. So that's

0:28

the one that says shout out to the

0:30

writers. And we're recommending some good books to

0:32

read with friends. Speaking of first, Bria,

0:34

what are you reading? Oh.

0:37

Well, as you know, I

0:39

like to pair my trips with books

0:41

set in those locations. And

0:44

I recently went to Hawaii with some

0:46

friends from college. And I read Sharks

0:48

in the Time of Saviors by Kawhi

0:50

Strong Washburn. I had never even heard

0:53

of this book. I can't believe that.

0:55

It was like a big book in

0:57

2020. Oh, wow. Looking at it.

1:00

It's one of Barack Obama's favorite books.

1:02

Jesus. It was one of the

1:04

best books by the New York Times, The Guardian,

1:06

The Globe, Oprah Magazine. If that ever happened to

1:08

me as an author, I think I would just

1:10

retire. He's so hip too. I know. Like the

1:13

stuff he reads, I'm like, whoa, you read that.

1:15

Like what for you? Obama feels so cool. I

1:17

know. Very, very hip. Anyway, I

1:19

liked this one. It takes place in, okay,

1:21

so it starts with this family. It's basically

1:23

a family saga in Hawaii. And it starts

1:26

with the child, there's a child, one of

1:28

the children in the family falls overboard while

1:30

they're on a boat and there are sharks

1:32

in the water. And they're like, uh oh. And

1:34

they're like, this child's going to die. What's going

1:36

to happen? And then the sharks take

1:38

the child and deliver him back to the

1:40

parents like in their mouth. So this is

1:42

like a sort of magical realism element to

1:45

it. Like in their mouth, they deliver this

1:47

child back. And that's when they realize that

1:50

this child, there's something like special about him. But

1:52

it's the same as the child shark. The

1:54

child is not a shark. But

1:57

Then it's all about the family's struggles with. Stuart

2:00

I'm a child being special people think

2:02

that he can seal people and it's

2:04

a question mark if he can and

2:06

then I don't know how much this

2:08

gives away by it's basically it is.

2:10

There are supernatural magical realism elements to

2:12

it and it's is really interesting is

2:15

like his family saga of this decide

2:17

to the parents and I told from

2:19

the different perspective the two other children

2:21

until from their perspective as well and

2:23

I loved it was really compelling as

2:25

it was such a great real spent

2:27

has or a while I was there

2:29

in Hawaii. Ah What? Hearing?

2:32

I'm. Something funny happened. brand of humor

2:34

I said I wasn't trying to read. New

2:36

releases are can take the pressure on myself.

2:38

We all want us to said you are

2:40

not going to try to read like literary

2:42

fiction is it a lyric, literary out and

2:45

nearly the full of? But something happened when

2:47

I took the pressure on myself Rosalie find.

2:50

Success, success, and the release. But sometimes that happens

2:52

if you just take the pressure of yourself, you

2:54

actually want to do that thing Need to. I

2:56

just I didn't want to be. Told.

2:59

The other and you. Know at that is important and is

3:01

import like when my alarm goes off early in

3:03

the morning I'm like fuck you alarm at but

3:05

the then when I get up early my dilemma

3:08

as early sorry I'm a that sometimes out that

3:10

you're a wake up earlier than my alarm and

3:12

I feel fine but if it is my alarm

3:14

wakes me up there. my body's like know the

3:16

running a band playing world world anyway as as

3:18

the Twenty Twenty Four book coming out in April.

3:21

And we talked about it on an earlier

3:23

episodes or to we mentioned this in the

3:25

romances the episode So it's a Letter to

3:27

the Luminous D by Sylvia Thrall. You love

3:29

it. You married texted me tell me she

3:31

loved it. It is so good and I

3:33

want to say. It. Doesn't feel

3:36

like. Romances see as much as

3:38

a feals leg. Rom

3:40

Fi. It's much more of a

3:42

sigh fi thing than a fantasy

3:44

thing. I take place in this

3:46

like far far future world where

3:48

it's like. Our. World Now is

3:50

like a distant memory, thousands of years in

3:53

the future. The world is mostly water and

3:55

is through these different. Organ. Is it

3:57

like civilizations is one group of people who

3:59

like live on? oh there's wonder people were

4:02

to has has like a floating city sula

4:04

and there's one girl that lives on the

4:06

last like last island like the last known

4:08

landmass. And there's two parallel stories as one.

4:10

Sorry that you're getting through the whole book.

4:13

Isn't a letter said the first. Are you

4:15

getting through letters as these? This man. He's

4:17

a. The. Scientists. He's like a

4:19

very well known scientists but he's written all

4:21

these books. and as woman she comes from

4:23

a very famous scientist family. but she's not

4:25

a scientist herself. She's like as she does

4:27

not leave the house. He has a lot

4:29

of mental health issues. It seems like she

4:31

has. O. C D, and maybe

4:33

some other things happening, but she's A.

4:35

She's very passionate about science and. Oceans.

4:38

And so she starts. She sends him a letter to

4:41

tell him that she's a big fan of his book

4:43

and that she had seen this. We creature in wants

4:45

to know what it isn't They've split up a friendship

4:47

and start fallen in love with each other's the you're

4:49

reading this but. In. Them me in. Like

4:51

the modern timeline you are getting the

4:53

the letters between his brother and her

4:55

sister because something happened to the two

4:58

of them and oh. Wow

5:00

Okay oh man so it to their the

5:03

to have that brother and sister are sending

5:05

their is that these letters back and forth

5:07

to each other so they can feel in

5:09

the other person on that like that person

5:12

side of the correspondence. But they're also trying

5:14

to figure out what's happening now and they

5:16

become friends and it's also like the world

5:19

is so fascinating. Like this world. Of

5:21

like very oceanic. World.

5:23

Of. I. Who'll creatures

5:26

and. It's it's hard

5:28

to think that again is not the Se. It's

5:30

really more like Psi Phi and like the

5:32

way this world works as lead. It's

5:35

mostly run by scholars and everyone

5:37

has like their own thing that

5:39

they're like. Very. Scholarly about

5:41

this oldest like really interesting

5:44

technologies and. It's. Just

5:46

so fucking lovely. Pigs.

5:49

It's. A little bit like blacklisted he

5:51

did. You know it's also Lisa Miller.

5:53

it's on the job of I'm a

5:55

separate the is that the one where

5:58

they're all on and the one, er

6:00

yeah it is. It is. I think

6:02

anyone but that. Yeah, that's cool. I

6:04

love that. sounds like great warbling. It's

6:06

so sweet and adorable. And who was

6:09

Even though I am a very afraid

6:11

of the ocean and ah I see

6:13

him. A really really. Enjoying it as

6:15

again it's out from our friends are at

6:17

orbit. Thanks for forgiveness up with romance seats.

6:19

Even though I would I would definitely categorized as

6:21

as mourn the site by around with there's no.

6:24

Magic that's happening. It's

6:26

much more. I'm like

6:28

a cozy Psi Phi with a little

6:30

mystery at the center. And if you

6:32

like epistolary box, I guess they do.

6:34

Such a banger. Ah so that's a

6:36

letter to the luminous Deep By so

6:38

the cats are all and minus sucks

6:40

in the time as saviors back away

6:42

strong like been. Through.

6:48

One of they more would hear some listener feedback. Carolyn

6:50

Road and to say hybrid. Mallory relatively new listener of

6:52

the show and love love loving it. I just finished

6:55

or episode on how to Buy Books on vacation and

6:57

I have a specific tip that I wanted to share.

6:59

First of all, I'm a Mallory. It's I go to

7:01

a new place. The second I'm off the plane, I'm

7:03

at the door of the closest local bookstore. A fake

7:05

I get it. Since. I have a great

7:08

local bookstore. Shoutout to Chaucer's in Santa Barbara. I

7:10

don't like to buy books that I know I

7:12

can get there so instead I buy a copy

7:14

of Hamlets There So many additions! Normally I can

7:16

find one with a cover I don't have their

7:18

normally pre cheap and takes away the anxiety of

7:20

trying to find the perfect book to take home

7:22

from each store. And this way I can focus

7:24

more on taking fun pictures and looking at the

7:27

local authors flash staff pick section. Ps. Thank you

7:29

for all you guys do you to make reading

7:31

even more fun than it already is. It is.

7:33

So greatly appreciated. Carolina so hot.

7:35

Tip: Like buying a different edition of a book

7:37

you already had Sicily where you have one in

7:39

you. Been doing it for years. Like imagine how

7:42

many cool copies of Hamlet she has are like

7:44

that. Sounds like amazing. Yeah, especially since that's the

7:46

kind. Of Book where they like to a new cover

7:48

of it every few. Yeah, And is so

7:50

cool twenty one time. the story where they

7:53

went to a and want name their name

7:55

that we like same as person's house and

7:57

that entire wall. Of Confederacy have

7:59

done. Yeah which

8:01

are like aesthetically I'm into yeah I I

8:04

don't know that would not be the book

8:06

I would you know by that is a

8:08

it's a cool thought my will probably be

8:10

haunting of Hill House is like a wall

8:13

along. Yeah with all the different. I'm.

8:15

Covers. I love that! Will

8:18

return next. Are singing and I have

8:20

no idea what a comic book may. We'll

8:23

be so hard to football though as is

8:25

of then he needed a big book. Can

8:27

be all about love. Bell Hooks make this.

8:29

Zeroed in and said at thank you for

8:31

you continuous work on the show. I've been

8:33

listening for years and love at a new

8:36

Books are opened in the Pacific Northwest in

8:38

Seattle's International district called Ma'am That Bookstore and

8:40

Am Ma'am Moms. Moms or it,

8:42

Ma'am. It is independent Asian

8:44

American bookstore so I just want to shout it

8:47

out if you wanted to share the bookstore with

8:49

other listeners. Either that or be awesome. I visited

8:51

day and it's super cute as mans books.com as

8:53

you and will get it online. but hey if

8:56

you're in Seattle check it out that this I'm

8:58

very cool. Thank you to that. Sarah will have

9:00

a new indeed! I love that the Network of

9:02

Fair Is is out there. Is

9:04

her and I have a new in the but stories that are coming

9:07

out. And. And Rachel Road and to

9:09

say hi Mallory Umbria I wanted to respond to

9:11

the glass or who was concerned about balancing hobbies.

9:13

I loved your advice about focusing on what brings

9:15

us to ice as that is the point of

9:17

a hobby in the first. What is This is

9:20

a personal run and and said they have trouble

9:22

with this when we're talking about. Audio

9:25

books, And. Balance Or don't

9:27

enough? It was all we're talking about. How

9:29

does not just read? Gotta have that. And.

9:32

How to balance reading with all your other things move

9:34

you. Wanna do which is tough?

9:36

Ah, resources. I love and

9:38

am an avid proselytizer. Of

9:40

audio books. So. i had to add that

9:42

if the class or has another sedentary hobby mine

9:45

is embroidery audio books are an excellent way

9:47

to combine hobbies i will listen to a book

9:49

as i crafts which is a fun way to

9:51

get double the joy out of my hobby time

9:53

thanks for the great podcast other fun thing

9:55

to listen to while i hobby i don't day

9:58

of that and you're doing to activities at

10:00

once. Yeah, you combine all of your hobbies at

10:02

the same time. Oh, I should, I guess I

10:04

don't have any other hobbies. I wonder if I

10:06

could listen to an audiobook and play World of

10:08

Warcraft at the same time. I'd probably could. I'd

10:10

like to see them. I'd like to try it.

10:12

Next fun drive, we'll see. Uh, Braid,

10:14

you want to read Rachel's Wheelhouse? Uh-huh. Middle

10:17

grade fantasy, books about books, libraries,

10:20

and bookstores, Jane Austen, rom-coms without

10:22

toxic tropes. I like that. Puzzles

10:24

or scavenger hunts and snark. Love

10:27

it. All right. You can email

10:29

us at readingglassespodcast.com. If you want a list of

10:31

all the books we talk about on the show delivered to your inbox every

10:33

month, you can sign up for our newsletters, link in the show notes, and

10:36

few bookmarks that pertain to you. Yes,

10:38

you, the glasser, listening to this. Uh,

10:41

next Saturday. Next Saturday is the

10:43

readathon. It starts at 10 a.m.

10:45

Pacific time. I mean,

10:47

it can start and end whenever you want, but for

10:49

us, Bria and I in California and Pacific

10:51

time, we're going to be doing it from

10:53

10 a.m. Pacific to 6 p.m. Pacific.

10:56

We're going to kick it off with a

10:58

Instagram live stream, uh, at 10

11:00

a.m. Pacific. So keep an eye on that

11:02

at this reading glasses podcast on Instagram. And

11:04

then we're going to be reading all day.

11:07

Pick out your stack of books, get your

11:09

snacks, do some stretches, uh,

11:11

massage your eyes to, I don't know,

11:13

I don't know how, how it, will

11:15

that help? Is that how do you massage

11:17

your eyes? But first, I think you have

11:19

to close them. Okay. And you have to, I

11:22

know hockey goalies like do it, do eye exercises before

11:24

games. Maybe you can do some of those. It's

11:26

going to be fun. We're going to read

11:28

for eight hours, get a bunch of reading

11:30

done and do regular check-ins on Instagram live

11:32

again, starting at 10 a.m. It's going to

11:35

be super fun. You all are wonderful. Maximum

11:37

fun numbers unlocked this reward and the last

11:39

drive. So here it is finally kicking off

11:41

readathon. And we do want to say, if you

11:43

want to read something that will be useful

11:45

to you in the future. We finally picked

11:47

the Glasser voted book club with almost

11:50

60 votes. There were many

11:52

books that were picked, but far and away

11:54

the top choice was Starling House by Alexi

11:56

Harrow. It started out hot and no one

11:58

ever caught it. Okay, I think

12:01

bookshops and bone dust came

12:03

close and there was one other

12:05

one that came up the kind of cool to Legends

12:09

a lot. Oh, yeah But

12:11

nobody caught Starling house Exciting

12:15

comment in the sky So if you want to

12:17

put a hole on the library pick up an

12:19

ebook or a print copy That's gonna be the

12:21

glass or voted book club. So we're going to

12:23

be reading Starling house by Alex

12:25

E Harrow next month and then we're going to be

12:28

doing a members only zoom at the end of the

12:30

month We have not all picked the date for that

12:32

yet, but that's coming up We're all gonna read the

12:34

book and talk about it and it's gonna be super

12:36

fun So more details, but if you want to read

12:39

along that'll be Starling house by Alex E Harrow And

12:41

then I do want to say that our challenge winners

12:43

for the reading glasses challenge have been

12:45

chosen and they're all named

12:47

Sarah Yeah, I text a free and I

12:50

was like, I don't know. I can't

12:52

believe this is real Mm-hmm every

12:54

single winner was named Sarah So

12:56

some Sarah's without ages some Sarah's with

12:58

ages But thank you to everyone who

13:00

sent in your completed challenge forms who

13:03

participated who were Talking about it

13:05

during the year on social media on the slack we

13:07

had a ton of fun seemed like people really enjoyed

13:09

the challenge and Thank you

13:12

for for participating. It was so fun

13:14

And I again cannot believe that every

13:16

single person who won named

13:19

Sarah Fucking

13:22

Christ Incredible Anyway,

13:24

okay. So again read it on next

13:27

Saturday February 3rd Glasser

13:29

voted book is officially

13:31

Starling house and Come

13:33

up with a date for the book club and we will come up

13:36

with a date for the book club and the challenge winners Have been

13:38

chosen. I already emailed them all and

13:40

I will be hopefully sending out their boxes

13:42

of books soon Thank you all so much.

13:44

What a lot of hot class or news

13:46

today So before we talk about figuring

13:49

out which books you like we're gonna take a quick break

13:57

Reading classes is going to you in place this week microdose

14:00

bummies. You've probably heard about microdosing,

14:02

maybe you've seen it online, maybe you've

14:04

just heard us talking about it here on

14:06

Reading Glasses. If you haven't, maybe this is

14:08

your first episode, maybe you live in

14:10

a cave in the woods and you haven't been on the internet

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in a long time. Maybe not. This is the first time in

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a while. All you need to

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know is that all sorts of people

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are microdosing regularly to feel healthier and perform

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better. Bria, what does microdosing help with?

14:23

I mean, whatever you need, like let's

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say you need to energize, you need

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to focus, like you're gonna sit down,

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you're gonna read a book, you're gonna write

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a book, you're going to do something,

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you're writing a book. This will help

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you focus or maybe you just need

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to calm down after a long day.

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It's the equivalent of like a nice bath.

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Microdosing can help you with all sorts

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of things. Either you want to stay in the

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zone, maybe you want to get out of the

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zone. It can help you do either. Wow. Zone

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entry, zone exit, zone exit. Or

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I know that there's a lot of power lifters like

14:55

myself that use them. I've used microdose gummies after

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I've had a really big heavy lifting session and

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it really is great. It helps you relax, helps

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your muscles relax. I went on a

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trip recently and I had a friend of mine who

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was like, Mal, Malorie, you are really bad at relaxing.

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He's like, you always have to be doing an activity.

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the twisted minds that brought you

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the adventure zone balance

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and amnesty and graduation in

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and ultra space and

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all the other ones, the McElroy brothers

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and dad are proud to reveal bold

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vision. for the future of

16:01

actual play podcasting. It's,

16:04

um... It's called

16:06

the Adventure Zone versus Dracula? Yeah,

16:09

we're gonna kill Dracula, that. We're gonna- well,

16:11

we're gonna attempt- we haven't recorded all of

16:13

it yet. We will attempt to kill Dracula's

16:15

ass. The Adventure Zone versus Dracula. Yes, a

16:17

season I will be running, uh, using the

16:20

D&D 5th edition of Rules set, and there's

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two episodes out for you to listen to

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right now. We hope you will join us.

16:27

Same bat time, same bat channel. And

16:29

that's- I see what you did there. Sure.

16:32

Oooooooh. Next

16:42

week, we're helping you figure out which

16:44

books you like. For some readers, it's difficult

16:47

to determine what kind of books they like.

16:49

It's a normal problem, especially for people

16:51

who are getting back into reading after a

16:53

long period of time. We have got

16:55

you covered. Today's episode was inspired by Lindsay.

16:57

Uh, Bria, you want to read Lindsay's email?

17:01

Yes. Lindsay wrote, I am hoping to get your

17:03

recommendation for fiction books. I studied history in college

17:05

and plan to go to graduate school for it

17:07

next year, but that means I

17:09

only read historical nonfiction. I

17:11

got sick this year and wasn't feeling up to the nonfiction task,

17:14

so I picked up our hideous progeny

17:16

on y'all's recommendation, of course, because

17:19

I thought the historical elements might fall within

17:21

my wheelhouse. Alas, I got to the end,

17:23

and while I thought it was fine, it just didn't light

17:25

up my life. I definitely do not like

17:27

sci-fi, and to be honest, I find

17:29

most fiction books hard to follow. I

17:31

get so lost in different worlds with a billion

17:33

characters, and it's not like I can do a

17:35

quick Google on a fiction character. The only fiction

17:38

I really enjoyed were by Italian authors, but I

17:40

don't take classes with that pulsar anymore, and I'm

17:42

not sure what it is about this genre that really

17:44

gets me. All right, Bria, what

17:46

are tips for someone who wants to read but doesn't

17:48

know what kind of books they like and doesn't know

17:50

how to find that out? Okay,

17:52

well, do you think... Lizzie does

17:55

know sort of the books that she

17:57

likes. She likes these books. She said

17:59

she likes... Italian author she named

18:01

Elena Ferrante. She made a little list.

18:04

Okay, first of all, you can always write

18:06

into your favorite book podcast. I just want

18:08

to say write us anytime y'all. We got

18:10

to. We got to. But if you don't

18:12

want to write into your favorite book podcast,

18:14

you know, you are, she actually does say

18:16

someone she likes, right? So head over to

18:18

places that sell you books. They want to

18:20

sell you books. Goodreads Amazon. They do. And

18:23

look what books are recommended when you go

18:25

to those authors books, right? So I went

18:28

to those authors books and it said the

18:30

idiot it's a yellow face and hey, these

18:32

are both not sci-fi. These are both not

18:34

complicated world like use the algorithm that's trying

18:36

to sell you shit to your advantage because

18:39

they want to find what you like. They're

18:41

going to tell you what you're gonna like.

18:43

They want to sell you stuff. And there

18:45

if you are a person trying to figure

18:47

out what you want to read, you should

18:50

use that to advantage because honestly the algorithms.

18:52

They're good. They're not perfect, but they can

18:54

they might see something that maybe you wouldn't

18:56

think of. I mean, there's

18:58

a reason why, you know, Amazon was a

19:01

big player in books for a really long time and

19:03

still is. I mean, that algorithm knows

19:05

you. It does. It knows you deeply. What

19:08

about you? What do you think? What is your what is

19:10

a tip or trick here? I think

19:12

the first thing anyone who is trying to get

19:14

into reading or get back into reading or maybe

19:16

widen their reading, what they need to do is

19:19

let go of what they think that they should

19:21

read. I find it interesting

19:23

that Lindsay says that she reads only historical nonfiction

19:25

and wasn't in a nonfiction mood. So she picked

19:27

up historical fiction, but she also says that she

19:29

finds most fiction books hard to follow most of

19:31

the time. And that's

19:33

fine. I think it's fine to only

19:35

read nonfiction. If you only read want to read one type of

19:38

book. I mean, I practically if I could read only haunted house

19:40

books, I'd be OK with that. But

19:42

the thing about nonfiction is that it's a big pool and

19:45

maybe Lindsay should try a memoir.

19:47

Oh, yeah. I mean, I think

19:49

there's a lot of biography essays

19:51

like there is there's a lot. It's

19:54

not just history. I think maybe

19:56

science might be too close to historical nonfiction for

19:58

Lindsay. out you know

20:00

and again same thing like a great memoir

20:03

that's not gonna have a complicated world there's

20:05

no there's no sci-fi in there unless you're

20:07

reading an aliens memoir. Right. An

20:13

alien I like my brain like just like couldn't

20:15

comprehend what you were saying. An

20:17

aliens memoir but then it wouldn't be science

20:20

fiction it would be. Oh wow

20:22

it would be a

20:24

science memoir. I just think like

20:26

a lot of people I get we see

20:29

this a lot from people who write in and

20:31

they're like all right well I want to get

20:33

back into reading I want to read something fun

20:35

I have to read fiction and I just think

20:37

that's that's not true like a memoir a book

20:40

of essays can be just as fun you could

20:42

read about a woman's journey across America learning about

20:44

hot dogs extremely fun. It's great

20:46

try that hot dog book yeah I

20:48

agree. All right what so what else what do you

20:50

how do people figure out what what they like

20:53

to read. Okay like I think zoom out a

20:55

little bit and make a list we love a

20:57

list on the show and write down what you

20:59

remember from the books you like and find stuff

21:01

like that like maybe there was a little romance

21:03

in some of those books like maybe the protagonists

21:05

who live in the gray area maybe you like

21:08

Italian settings like if you like these Italian authors

21:10

like maybe you're like books that take place in

21:12

Italy you know maybe. Maybe Lindsay just really like

21:14

spaghetti. Yeah. Really

21:16

into pasta. There are things that actually

21:19

isn't there a book you pray love that's not

21:21

what I was gonna say. Isn't there also a famous

21:24

person who wrote an Italian food

21:26

book Stanley Tucci. Is it? Or

21:28

is it cuz he's Italian I'm like it must be

21:30

Italian. Is it actually Italian? I don't know. Okay anyway

21:33

there are things like look at

21:35

see what stands out and what you remember liking

21:38

about these books because you have read books that

21:40

are not historical nonfiction and like finding what it

21:42

is within those books that you do like and

21:45

then finding books in that arena. So

21:47

Italian settings that sounds great. Mel is

21:49

gonna figure out if Stanley Tucci did

21:51

write an Italian. It's not Italian. It's

21:53

not it's not it is it Italian?

21:56

It's the Tucci table the Tucci cookbook

21:58

and then taste my life through. food.

22:00

That's what I'm thinking of, taste my less your food.

22:02

I don't read it. I specifically remember this because it

22:04

came out the same day girly drinks did and may

22:07

have bumped me off a best-selling list. Oh. But

22:09

that's his memoir of being in the kitchen. But

22:12

yeah, I think he's just Italian. I don't think

22:14

there's any pot. Okay, sorry. I'm sorry. Well,

22:16

I think there probably are some probably

22:19

Italian recipes in there. Yeah.

22:21

Or as well, you also have a show searching

22:23

for Italy. Oh, oh, that is where I'm picking

22:25

up. I'm thinking of the show. He's a prolific

22:27

man. See, wow. He really is. He's like me.

22:29

He has a hard

22:31

time relaxing. Yeah. Yeah. I'm going to write

22:33

another book on board. Any other tips for

22:35

Lindsay Italian or non Italian tips? What's an

22:38

Italian tip? Let

22:40

your wine breathe. Yeah. Make

22:42

your own pasta. Take

22:44

a nap in the middle of the day.

22:47

That's really, that sounds amazing. Say chow.

22:50

Drink some bubbly water. I don't

22:52

know. Oh yeah. Well, you're neither of

22:54

us have ever been to Italy. I have been to Italy.

22:57

I'm not Italian. I've been there. I

23:03

haven't been in a while. So

23:05

I don't know. I remember it being hot and

23:08

crowded. And the food was delicious.

23:10

Anyway, for people who are trying to

23:12

figure out what kind of books they

23:20

like, thinking back to the last book you enjoyed and

23:22

thinking about why you like them is a great idea.

23:24

But also you could pick a movie. I think there's

23:26

a lot of people, I think if you're trying to

23:28

get back into reading or you are trying to get

23:30

into reading and a lot of our

23:32

tips are around what

23:35

kind of what are other books that you've read and

23:37

like, but if you don't have an arsenal of

23:39

them, or maybe it's been a really long time

23:41

since you read a book, you like pick a

23:44

movie, you know, what is it? What is just

23:46

the kind of stories that you gravitate to? It

23:48

doesn't matter what type of media it is. You

23:51

know, it can also it can be wheelhouse

23:53

stuff like subjects or tropes. It can be

23:55

reading appeal factors like pacing or type of

23:57

characters or another really high

24:00

tip that I think people need to think

24:02

about and I think in Lindsay's case she

24:04

needs to think about might be the context

24:06

of how you read that book. Oh okay

24:08

go ahead. So Lindsay says she finds

24:11

fiction hard to follow but

24:13

she really liked reading fiction books in a cloth.

24:17

Mmm. Where there are regular check-ins. This

24:19

is brilliant. Thank you. Regular

24:22

check-ins and guidance from a professor. So maybe

24:25

that's how Lindsay likes reading books.

24:28

You know there's lots of books like

24:30

Elena Ferrante. You know My Brilliant Friend

24:32

is a historical literary fiction book that

24:34

delves into female friendship and post-world war

24:36

two Italy. That's boom boom boom wheelhouse

24:39

stuff. We can name lots of real

24:41

likes for that but maybe Lindsay needs

24:43

to join a book club. Yes. Whether

24:45

it can be a person, it could be

24:47

online, maybe just reading a book with a

24:49

friend like another person in grad school. Or

24:51

a book guide. Like there are guides to

24:54

these kind of things where like you can

24:56

probably like with a book that famous someone

24:58

has written questions. Yes. That you can I

25:00

mean maybe not at the end of every

25:02

chapter but there's probably there's definitely a every

25:04

section. Yeah yeah yeah maybe. I think it's

25:06

really important and I have to shout out my boyfriend

25:08

for this because he pointed this out years

25:11

ago when he's like oh you loved this

25:13

book so much because you read it in one

25:16

sitting on your birthday. Yeah that does happen. Yeah

25:18

which we talked about on the show like the

25:20

situation which you read it in is important. So

25:22

make sure to think about not just the

25:25

last you know book that you read and what

25:27

things about the book you like but how you read it.

25:29

Did you read it in a book club? Did you read

25:31

it on vacation when you had lots of free time? Did

25:33

you listen to it on audio

25:35

when you were taking a walk or embroidering?

25:38

Try to replicate if you can't replicate those

25:40

conditions at least be cognizant of them you

25:42

know and I think that for a book

25:44

club Lindsay can definitely do that. So

25:47

again it might not be I don't think it's

25:49

a necessarily Italian authors. I think it's

25:51

that she took a class on

25:54

Italian authors with a professor that she liked

25:56

and really liked that guidance because if she's

25:58

having a hard time following fiction and having

26:00

someone regularly be like, all right, well, this is what's happening,

26:02

this is what to pay attention to, let's

26:05

discuss this stuff, that really helps.

26:08

You could even audit a class

26:10

online. Oh, really? Yeah,

26:13

you could take a college class and you could

26:15

just audit it, or you could take it for

26:17

not a grade or something. Oh, I didn't know

26:19

you could do that. Well, I don't know if

26:21

you can either, but I think you could. I

26:23

don't know why you couldn't. You can take classes

26:25

online. Well, Los Angeles woman has been arrested for

26:29

breaking into USC's English classes.

26:31

I mean, maybe not USC, but I know Cal State

26:33

and some offers classes online. You could sign up for

26:35

a literature class and you could go and join the

26:37

discussions and you could take it for not a grade,

26:39

for no grade. Not all classes

26:42

let you do that, but I know my stepdad

26:44

has done it with some music classes, he takes

26:46

classes online, and you'll do it for not a

26:48

grade. Just for the pure love of the game.

26:51

You would have to fail, you know, which you

26:53

will have to do some work. But also you could, well,

26:56

I guess you're in college, so you do care. Yeah, so

26:58

you could do something like that, which is a structured environment.

27:00

Interesting. All right, so we've got, divest

27:03

yourself from what you think that you

27:05

should read. Think about the

27:08

things that made you love the

27:10

books that you have read and

27:12

really, really enjoyed, and also assess

27:14

the situation. Situation, I like that.

27:16

You've read these books, but Lindsay

27:18

specifically did want us to recommend

27:20

some fiction. So what do we

27:23

think? What's the title that you think might be

27:25

a good fit for Lindsay? I'm doing My Year

27:27

of Rest and Relaxation by Otesa Moshfegh. Slightly

27:30

historical, it's a year 2000, which

27:32

is now historical, sorry everybody. And it's got a

27:34

woman, the story is simple. It's

27:37

just one woman, you don't have to learn very much. There's

27:39

not a lot of world building. If you know where New

27:41

York is, it's very easy. If you understand New York, it's

27:43

got a woman who thinks she should be happy because her

27:45

life is sort of, which I

27:47

don't really honestly, but every time I go to New York, I'm

27:50

like, I'm confused. It's a woman who thinks she should be happy

27:52

because her life has gotten together. Everything is working out

27:54

fine for her, but she isn't,

27:56

so she decided to go into hibernation.

27:59

And she's kind of. of like a becomes a muse

28:01

for this man. Anyway, but yes, she goes

28:03

into hibernation and decides not to leave her

28:06

apartment. And it's like dark. But

28:08

like, in the same vein as

28:10

like, I mean, obviously, it's not my brilliant

28:12

friend. But it's I think that it has

28:14

like, some elements of like, it's, it's weird.

28:18

I don't know, I feel like this could be a

28:20

good fit. And it's weird. It's a very, it was

28:22

a buzzy book for a long time. So if Lindsay

28:24

wants to plug into online discussion, yeah, definitely. So there's

28:26

a lot of that stuff is there. Yeah. Yeah. What

28:29

about you? What do you have for Lindsay? Again,

28:31

I would also I really want to encourage

28:33

Lindsay to try some non history nonfiction. There's

28:35

a lot of good stuff out there. But

28:37

my recommendation for fiction is Fates and Furies

28:39

by Lauren Groff, a literary fiction book

28:41

that delves into a whole marriage

28:43

from soup to nuts, marriage

28:46

to death. And the first half is from the point

28:48

of view of the husband. And

28:50

the second half is from the point of

28:52

view of the wife. Oh, yeah, that's right.

28:54

And there's a lot of things you see

28:56

so many things that like little events, moments

28:58

that they took in completely different ways and

29:00

never discussed with each other. So they think,

29:03

like their ideas of what their

29:05

marriage is, is completely different. And

29:07

it is bonkers. It's so well

29:10

written. It's, it's, you

29:12

know, like great literary fiction. I think

29:14

that if she loves Elena Ferrante, she'll love this. But

29:17

again, I we understand that

29:19

the world of reading can be really

29:21

intimidating. And there's so much

29:23

that you think you should do as

29:25

a reader. And just fucking let that

29:27

all go. Just look to the

29:29

things that you that are interesting to you and

29:32

try to and also try to make it so

29:34

that your reading time is fun

29:36

for you and whatever that is, whether that's structured

29:38

or not, or just let

29:40

it all go. Put it all

29:42

into the wind. Send your thoughts to reading glasses

29:45

[email protected]. Before we start a bookish problem, I'm going

29:47

to take a quick break. Reading

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the animals world I

33:18

Now let's solve a bookish problem from one

33:20

of our listeners max writes in hi Brian

33:22

Mallory. I really love your podcast I wanted

33:24

to write in because I know you're both

33:26

writers and readers and have been struggling with

33:29

a bit of a genre slump few Years

33:31

ago. I drafted took a part and redrafted

33:33

drafted again edited and self published a contemporary

33:35

lesbian romance novel I used to love reading

33:37

contemporary queer romance But since going through all

33:39

that process and understanding more about the formula

33:41

of a romance the tropes and the story

33:43

arcs I can't seem to read them anymore

33:45

either I get hung up on comparing them

33:47

to my own writing or I just

33:49

find them predictable and a little stale

33:51

I miss reading them. I still occasionally

33:53

read why a romance and historical romance

33:55

But contemporary just doesn't work anymore any

33:57

advice on how to get out of

34:00

my head, forget the formulas and just enjoy.

34:02

Ria, what do you think? This is hard. This happens

34:04

to filmmakers too, I'm sure. It happens to you. Like,

34:06

if you ever wonder why your favorite filmmakers are like,

34:08

have you seen this documentary? It's because we are, we

34:10

are, we spend so much time

34:13

like watching movies and being like, why did they

34:15

make that cut right there? Like, what is that

34:18

cut? Or like, why did they choose that angle?

34:20

Like, because you just get so, because especially, when

34:22

I'm editing a movie, I

34:24

cannot watch other movies. Well, because I'm constantly

34:26

being like, oh, that's so weird. They cut

34:28

back to the wide instead of going, anyway.

34:30

Like, there's something about like your brain quits

34:32

working. So I totally understand. I

34:34

will say it eventually wears off for me.

34:36

If I'm not editing something actively, it takes

34:39

a minute and then it eventually does

34:41

wear off. So I would try something

34:43

like out of your realm, something

34:46

that you know, like bucks the tropes. Maybe it

34:48

doesn't happen happily ever after. Like something that you

34:50

know, like it's the same as me who makes

34:52

narrative films, watching a documentary. Like, then I can

34:54

go like, okay, I can watch this documentary because

34:56

I don't have to, I mean, it's still the

34:59

editing, but I don't have to like constantly think

35:01

about how they shot this or like the lighting

35:03

setup. You know, like if you can read something

35:05

that like is romance and you

35:07

love romance, but you know is like. A little

35:09

lot of like, you've made a fool of death

35:11

with your beauty. Exactly, like it's like, yeah. It's

35:14

a romance but not. Yeah, it's like, it's like,

35:16

yeah, it has other elements or

35:18

like maybe you don't read much fantasy romance.

35:20

Like something that just has like something else

35:23

in there. But I do think

35:25

it does eventually go away. So don't panic.

35:27

I totally agree. You agree? Okay, what do you

35:29

think? You guys just gotta wait it out. It

35:31

happens to everybody. Yeah. I think

35:34

Max, they miss it, but they don't miss it enough

35:36

yet. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I understand it can be

35:38

difficult to read within the genre you're writing in. It

35:40

happens to me all the time when I'm working. I've

35:42

talked about it on the show in

35:45

our Reader Resolutions episode. I

35:47

don't like reading nonfiction while

35:49

I'm writing nonfiction, which is hard because

35:51

I write nonfiction for a living. So

35:53

I pay my bills. So it's tough. When

35:57

I was working on Lady from the Black Lagoon, my first book,

35:59

I just couldn't read by... Grub. it could. I

36:01

felt the other styles of right? yeah to

36:03

my head. My check though. I use these

36:05

his basement. keep reading what it you know.

36:07

I think it's interesting that Max is. Enjoying.

36:10

Other types of lesbian romance, books,

36:12

riots or just keep leading whatever

36:15

is. Nothing enjoyment and or eventually he your

36:17

with gonna happen Is Max gonna be in a

36:19

post. From across a

36:21

crowded bookstore. They will see a

36:23

contemporary lesbian romance and then that romantic interlude

36:25

will start playing. And Cisco as smart it

36:27

and you're gonna want to read it as

36:29

just gonna happen. Ah and up. The thing

36:31

is, maybe you're always going to have trouble

36:34

reading within a shown or you're writing and

36:36

especially when you're actively working on a damn

36:38

thing that comes and goes there are. I

36:40

know I do. But even though I can

36:42

see behind the scenes and still really enjoy

36:44

history, Biography. Books He. I just don't force

36:46

it. Yeah, you're You're never going. To. Forget the formulas

36:48

but if you get some space you my deal to

36:50

go back to loving them because there's definitely moments of

36:52

what it's like when I'm reading a book run my

36:54

oh, I know what they're doing right now? Yes course,

36:57

but I like yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah you priests.

36:59

Is that to appreciate? The lake. The craft

37:01

of it and young ways we're like, oh,

37:03

I see what you're doing and you've made

37:05

like the Courts was. Yes, like yeah and

37:08

it's eventually. I think it'll evolve into a

37:10

deeper love of that genre. But yeah, he

37:12

just needs a. You. Need the space.

37:14

and especially because it seemed like Max.

37:17

Really like. Worked the shit

37:19

out of this book. veto. Took.

37:21

Up A Drafting taking apart, redrafting, and drafting

37:23

again. Yeah, that's a lot, so I think

37:26

that is definitely an. American

37:28

citizen. If the road to

37:30

publishing with a little bit easier with

37:32

this particular book, Max might have had

37:34

an easier time getting back into contemporary

37:36

romance. but just give a time we

37:38

the the types of romance that you're

37:40

enjoying and. Way. For contemporary when

37:42

you love something let ago and in

37:44

combat you have me want us to

37:47

solve your reader probably to said reading

37:49

glasses podcast chino.com. time

37:54

to answer a recommendation request from abby

37:57

abby says i like many others used

37:59

to devour books as a kid.

38:01

But once I hit upper education I had

38:03

to read so much for school that I

38:05

stopped reading for fun. This is the Glasser

38:07

origin story. This is every Glasser. In

38:10

the last few years I've rekindled my love

38:12

of reading and your podcast has given me

38:14

so many great recommendations. Earlier this year I

38:17

buddy read Paul Takes the Form of a

38:19

Mortal Girl by Andrea Lawler with my girlfriend.

38:21

I love the 90s punk vibes focus on

38:23

queer culture and its celebration of sexuality. What

38:25

are some good books for buddy reads? Something

38:27

mostly fun and has a lot to discuss

38:29

with someone. We both prefer literary fiction but are

38:31

open to reading just about anything. I absolutely love

38:34

the podcast. Thank you so much for your work.

38:36

I knew you were gonna recommend this. What

38:39

is your recommendation? Mine's a future but not

38:41

a timeline but I really knew it. It's

38:44

a time travel book but

38:46

has cool 90s punk

38:49

storyline that I personally really appreciate. Like

38:51

part of it takes place at a

38:53

Riot Girl concert. Yeah. So it's gonna have

38:55

those 90s punk vibes. It has a focus on

38:57

queer culture but also has time travel. So you

38:59

can discuss the time travel and it's kind of

39:01

a fun book because it's people

39:04

who realize you can time travel and people are

39:06

going to the past and making it like

39:08

making it bad for everyone in the future and they

39:11

start to realize it and they're like why I think

39:13

so bad in the future. So you can kind of

39:15

discuss where we may have been gone wrong on our

39:17

own personal timeline here in the year 2024. Oh, surely

39:19

nothing we've ever done. I

39:22

just feel like there's a lot. This book

39:24

probably hits more now than it did even

39:26

when it came out I think because a

39:29

lot has happened historically since then. What

39:31

about you? What do you have? My

39:33

recommendation for this is a book that came out

39:36

last year. It's called Dyket by Jenny Fran Davis

39:38

and it is a funny, messy, very

39:40

messy literary fiction book about this lesbian

39:42

couple and they decide to go on

39:45

a getaway vacation kind of thing with

39:47

some other lesbian couples and that a

39:49

bunch of queer drama happens. There's

39:52

jealousy, there's crushes, there's a lot of bad decisions.

39:54

It's just generally a lot of messy

39:57

drama and the thing that I

39:59

think is very interesting thing and the

40:02

reason why I recommended this book in particular is most of the

40:04

reviews of this book are all people

40:06

saying dying to talk about this book with other

40:08

lesbians. So many people are like, I can't wait

40:10

to discuss this. That was one of the through

40:12

lines. Another through line was that

40:14

this is not a book for straight people like this.

40:17

This is not a book where lesbian culture is presented

40:19

in a way that is digestible

40:21

by straight culture. A

40:23

lot of people are like, no, this is by lesbians

40:25

for lesbians, inside

40:27

baseball of lesbians, inside

40:29

lesbians. I think this would be great for

40:32

a little, this little two person book club.

40:35

And I think it'll be an interesting, I

40:37

think it's also kind of sexy too. So

40:39

I think it'll be a good pick after Paul takes the

40:41

form of a mortal girl. So

40:43

mine was Dyket by Jenny Fran Davis.

40:45

And mine was History of Another Timeline

40:47

by Annalee Newitz. You want us

40:50

to answer your recommendation request, you can send it

40:52

to readingglassespodcast.gmail.com. Big thanks

40:54

to our wonderful mods over at the

40:56

Facebook group. And remember folks, you

40:59

want totes, put those new books

41:01

that you're buying in the new year. You

41:03

want sweatshirts, you want shirts, you want cute

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If you're interested in adopting them, please,

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please take these dogs. I

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think they'll be adopted by the time this comes out. But

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41:30

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41:32

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41:35

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41:41

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41:45

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41:47

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41:49

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41:52

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Find us on Twitter at readinggpodcast on Instagram

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