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Tumblereads 6: Random things that give us the ick
73 Plays9 days ago
This week on Tumblereads, we're talking about things we don't like. Full list of books we mentioned can be found on the show notes at smutreport.com/podcast.
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Transcript
Introduction to Tumble Reads
00:00:00
Speaker
Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-smut report! Hello, friends, and welcome to this week's episode of Tumble Reads from your friends at the Smut Report.
00:00:10
Speaker
I'm Ingrid. Erin. And I'm Holly. And it's Ingrid's turn to guide our conversation. have the timer on. For Tumble Reads, for people who are just joining or or are catching up on what we're doing here, um for Tumble Reads, we just kind of go where the wind takes us.
00:00:29
Speaker
Like tumbleweeds, but with books. Exactly. ah So we just do 30 minutes and we just talk about what we're reading or what we're thinking about reading or what we think or all of the above.
00:00:42
Speaker
So usually we don't get that far because we like to talk about things. So.
Personal Reading Styles
00:00:48
Speaker
Anyway, it's my week, as I said. So I i am a little more loosey-goosey, I feel. it and And also perhaps a little bit less cerebral. but i Why are you putting yourself down like that, Ingrid? Come on. and you guys talk about like, you're like, let's talk about racial inequality in romance novels. And I'm like, let's talk about how much we don't like it when they call body parts by weird names.
00:01:10
Speaker
Yeah. ah So, but it's fine. Everybody needs a wild card. Every group needs a wild card. So, um, okay. But first though, really quick, I always want to know what you guys are reading.
00:01:20
Speaker
So, um, let's do that. So Holly, what did you read this week? I read The Ogre's Bride by – don't remember the author. It's the one that I was like, let's read this for our monster discussion. And then I changed my mind and picked something else to assign to the group. But I was like, well, but I'll read this one anyway for extra points. And I'm not going to say I regret that decision, but mostly I regret that decision.
00:01:48
Speaker
Well, thank you for not making it the money reading. All right.
Exploring Genre Preferences
00:01:50
Speaker
I mean, I feel like it would have – prompted kind of an interesting conversation about but not as a book itself but as like the state of what monster smut is doing but i'll bring all of that up yeah better put a pin in that one yeah when we when we are talking about what monster smut is doing okay all right i like it i mean also because i know you have other questions for us and i don't want to spend 10 minutes i do this i do have other questions um aaron how about you well i have been binging a series uh the series is death of the devil it's by lj hayward and it's a like mazzillion book spy versus spy and
00:02:32
Speaker
Oh, you started that last week, didn't you? but that Yeah, well i read I read also um when I was talking about the hellhounds, I was kind of concurrently listening to, I was going back and forth based on like availability.
00:02:46
Speaker
And then I just went down the rabbit hole. um But Charlie Adara has a series that starts with it's about wolf shifters, except for it's like wolf shifters are secret.
00:02:58
Speaker
um the The Wolf at My Door might be the first book in the series. But that's like another five book series with the same couple. And they have like it's like a murder mystery or yeah, basically a murder mystery in each of the five books.
00:03:11
Speaker
So that was fun. And this one I got i picked up the first book because Libro FM was having a like free book sale. So I went through all the books and picked out like, I don't know, five or six. i was like, I feel like this could be fun.
Plot Twists and Character Consistency
00:03:23
Speaker
um And some of them are like super dark. I was like, well, this one sounds like an adventure. And now i have spent like legit an entire week listening to suspense spy versus spy thrillers while building my child's Halloween costume. That sounds awesome.
00:03:41
Speaker
Yeah, it's been really fun. I haven't read too many of those. And every time you talk about them, I'm like, I bet I would like that. I should probably try that. But um I do like a good I like a suspense.
00:03:52
Speaker
Yeah. And I think this one, like Holly doesn't really like romantic suspense. And I can agree with that because sometimes it's like, what are you doing? Like a suspense book kind of has to be plot heavy. So when you get really into emotional stuff with the romance, like it's hard when it's like, well, that switch flipped really fast. Like, why are we danger banging right now?
00:04:09
Speaker
Well, I feel like I like romantic suspense when it's done well, but I feel like it's really, I struggled to find ones where the author really successfully balances The two pieces. yeah Yeah, yeah, yeah, i agree.
00:04:24
Speaker
And so this one was more of like the first book ended on like the barest HFN. Like, like, we're we're not going to kill each other anymore. And maybe we'll hook up sometimes, you know, so it's the same couple over multiple books. And there's like a lot going on. It's like political intrigue. It's very exciting. So anyway, and but yes, so that's what I'm reading. It's very exciting, but I don't want to I've already taken up enough time.
00:04:47
Speaker
Also, I'm curious about what the other questions are, where we're going to go for the rest of this tumble. Right. Well, mine was inspired by what I read this week. And I, this is one of those few times going to drive you guys nuts. And I can't, I cannot tell you the title without ruining the book if someone else reads it. Okay.
00:05:04
Speaker
That's fine. Yeah. So suffice it to say it's a new romantic that has come out. And it looks like it's picking up steam. So it looks like it's on the precipice of being popular.
00:05:17
Speaker
um And I read it and I was like, okay, it's cute. Like it's cute. And I was, I got kind of invested in it. And it the author did this thing and I'm going to tell you what they did. And you tell me if I'm irrational for being totally fear. I was furious.
00:05:31
Speaker
I like okay to the point where I was reading it at night. It was before bed. I was like, there's only like one chapter left. I'll just finish the book and then I'll go to bed, you know, perfect timing. And I got to the a certain point in that last little chunk. Maybe there were two chapters left, but it was literally like no more than two chapters left in the book. So like the end. Right.
00:05:50
Speaker
And I realized what the author was doing and I just closed the book and put it down. And I was like, I can't I can't deal with this shit right now. OK, but what was the author doing? Like, was the author setting up a cliffhanger?
00:06:01
Speaker
Well, yes. Prepare yourself for the kind of cliffhanger I'm talking about here. Okay. And I'm going to tell you – and then to tell you why I thought it was, like, completely out of bounds at the end. So you've spent the entire book getting to know the main character, who's the heroine, right?
00:06:16
Speaker
And the hero and their relationship and their mated, right? Fated mates or whatever. um but like supercharged because there's like bonded mates or, you know, I don't know how they put it, but you know how in some romanticity books there's like mates and then there's like, like ultra mates. Yeah. Like ultra mates, like get the gods have decided you must be together to change the world. Like that kind of mates, like they just go extra with it sometimes. Anyway.
00:06:40
Speaker
So, so they're that kind of mate. Right. And they've spent all this time and like works through all this stuff. And anyway, and like, you know, this is a kingdoms. So like,
00:06:50
Speaker
One is the, you know, heir of one kind of country. The other is the heir of the other country. And I really have to do be vet be vague because I don't want to ruin it because it will ruin the book for people.
00:07:01
Speaker
um And like one the heroine, obviously, because it's a classic trope in Romanticy, no idea that she is actually the heir because she... Didn't even know because she was stolen at birth or whatever or whatever it was. You know what I mean?
00:07:13
Speaker
That kind of thing. Spent all this time and it turned and then at the end, in the last two chapters, it turns out, one, she knew all along that she was an heir. Two, she knew exactly who she was.
00:07:25
Speaker
Three, she had planned from the first chapter to betray the hero. And she is four with the bad guys. What? What? Yeah. And is she, is sorry, is she a point of view character?
00:07:37
Speaker
I'm so glad that you asked that, Holly, because it's first person the whole time. From her perspective. From her perspective. What? WTF, mate?
00:07:47
Speaker
And I swear to you that that's why it felt like a betrayal because I'm like, I've been in your damn head the whole time. The whole time. Yeah, that only works if you're doing some kind of like, ah you know, Gideon the Ninth stuff where the characters like have amnesia or like traumatic brain injuries.
Irrational Dislikes in Books
00:08:10
Speaker
Or...
00:08:11
Speaker
If there are hints throughout the book that something's amiss, right? but But there were no hints. None. In fact, she's sitting there being like, oh, I'm not going to fit in here.
00:08:22
Speaker
Oh, blah, blah, blah, blah. Like, she's, like, it feels like a brain, a complete brain transplant. what I mean, you know, and but i bet i bet it's rising in popularity exactly because of this choice.
00:08:36
Speaker
Because people are like, whoa! Yes, but it's like, how effective is it when it doesn't make sense? It doesn't make sense. yeah like i It was a great idea. I loved how it turned a bunch of different things from a man to see on its head. It had lot of potential. But for me, it's just like you, I would have the in the second book in a series, you should be building towards like this, you know, bigger picture crescendo here. And instead, I'm stuck being like, I don't even know who you are. I have to start. Yeah. Or like what the stakes are. Yeah. Or like, I don't even know who the bad guy is.
00:09:10
Speaker
Right. You know what i mean? Because they're on opposite sides of this. You've heard all about how, like, the people she's now apparently working in cahoots with and that she's aligning herself with that they're bad, right? Like, but from her head. Right.
00:09:25
Speaker
Well, it's not quite that simple and I can't give too much away, but like the the people that she grew up with, like they are still bad, I think, but she's aligned herself with another faction of that. But it's the whole point is this.
00:09:38
Speaker
The whole point is this. The person that you thought was bad from the beginning turns out it's not bad. And it was a love interest as well. Well, I mean, I feel like that's standard. That's right. to So then it's like, well, and then he sla like he slaps the heck out of her at the end of the book, the hero does.
00:09:53
Speaker
like So you're stuck at this thing where they're enemies. Like, now they're enemies. Well, yeah, because he she did a big betrayal, probably. Right. Anyway, it was infuriating. I won't go into it too much more. But the whole point is, i it got me thinking. And that's that's where we are now.
00:10:08
Speaker
So I figured it'd be fun to talk about one of two things, and you guys can pick. But one of them is... um Random things that give you the ick in books or maybe and, but we're not very good with checking our time.
00:10:22
Speaker
um Trends that we're seeing in books lately, whether they give you the ick or not. It's like new trends. Well, I will say, i mean, that and this is kind of related to the thing that you described.
00:10:35
Speaker
um The thing, this is not an ick. This is actually a big thing. But I have discovered that the thing that makes me the most angry when I read a book is when the way the author describes what the characters are doing and then the way the author is like directly telling the reader how we should think about these characters is is misaligned.
00:11:03
Speaker
o Right? where i'm Where like the author describes the characters behaving in what is like objectively not a cool way, but then trying to tell me but that like actually they're a good person. Right.
00:11:18
Speaker
yeah are Yeah, this is like we can refer back to the pet like that you just read where the hero kidnaps her because he's a vampire but then the book is trying to tell me that actually he's good and I'm just like no he's a vampire who kidnapped somebody after stalking her for multiple years.
00:11:37
Speaker
You gotta it. you got to lean into it you If that's what you're doing, you gotta lean into it. And he can, we can do a morality chain, but that's different. That's a different kind of thing where the execution is different. Right.
00:11:51
Speaker
And, or like, I feel like, uh, hot under his collar, that Andy J. Christopher priest book we read together like several years ago where, uh,
00:12:03
Speaker
Like we would see a scene and then the heroine would retell that interaction to somebody else and it wasn't the same. Oh yeah. Right. And that was a little different because I'm like, maybe, maybe they're trying for unreliable narrator because it's like the P because of how the POV was. But also that like that disconnect of like, am I taking crazy pills or do I not and understand how social interactions are supposed to work?
00:12:31
Speaker
That also really bothers me. Or is this author not good at what they're doing? Or what is happening here? And it just makes me really furious. Yeah, I feel like that one was particularly egregious in that because because of the content of the book and like the emotional heaviness of what they were dealing with and like the way that when she was describing it, it like kind of changed the meaning of what had happened before.
00:12:57
Speaker
but I see that a lot too in books and i just wonder sometimes i'm like are you just trying to like not have to write like are you trying to be succinct here and not write the thing over again because that's a waste of words you know it's taking up time just saying the same thing again which we don't want to do but like you're doing too much too much glossing over like you're not hitting the i feel like ah it's the worst for me when it's taking a paragraph it's like oh these are the takeaways like this is the emotion i'm It's the worst when the author is... Like summarizing the emotional takeaway? Like the reader is stupid? No, no, no. And then doing it wrong? yes.
00:13:37
Speaker
Yes, yes. So yes, that is where I'm going. But it's the whole processing, right, is very explicitly written because the author is not trusting the reader to judge from cues like... how the emotions, the and a lot of these are like first person too, so that makes a difference.
00:13:52
Speaker
But not trusting the reader to kind of interpret what's going on or what the character's feelings are in this scenario. and And you come to the conclusion, because it's like explicitly written on the page,
00:14:06
Speaker
But like, this is the problem that the character is having. And then when they go and talk about it, they don't say that problem. yeah They say something else or they just don't say anything at all. I'm just like, did we just, are you, are we avoiding?
00:14:21
Speaker
But we're not being explicit. Like we were really explicit about our feelings over here, but now we're not being explicit about the fact that we're like intentionally avoiding something difficult. Like what is happening right now? It's really frustrating. It happens all the time in my like,
00:14:35
Speaker
kind of vibes not plot like let's all get emotional and like be fluffy and happy kind of romances that I've been just like binging for the past two years it's a lot so it's not enough to make me stop reading them but I'm just like why why and yes like you Holly like am I am I not understanding how what like it's very frustrating But when Ingrid asked about what gives you the ick, I thought about her like meet Ingrid post where she did like the best like Holly, you and I were like, well, these serious things give me the ick.
00:15:08
Speaker
And Ingrid was like, in no particular order. And it was really funny. Because some of them were really serious and some of them were just And some of them were like, I know what book she's talking about.
00:15:21
Speaker
i know what book she's talking about.
00:15:25
Speaker
Yeah, that, maybe, I didn't realize that that was like, I thought everyone was kind of going to go in my direction, which is one of those moments where you're like, I guess one of us is not like the others,
00:15:38
Speaker
but, yeah. So I will say, I mean, yours were really funny because you were like, Cutting your toenails. I don't remember if that was on your list. yeah I've never seen somebody actually cut their toenails in a book. I've never seen either.
00:15:51
Speaker
Well, maybe not toenails, but like I feel like I was like, I don't, why? but like but Like, what is this adding to this scene? I don't know. But I will say i do also, i mean, i think I said in mine like hot for teacher, but actually i just get irrationally angry at ah the way academia in general is is described in books. This is what I'm talking about. It's stuff like that where it's like it's a little bit unreasonable.
00:16:14
Speaker
There's really no rhyme or reason to it. But like it's just something that's like it's not something you can control. That's what the ick is. When people talk about the ick, it's like this knee jerk like dad don't like that, you know, immediately. yeah Well, and I'm just like, oh, that's not how tenure works.
00:16:28
Speaker
That's not what you do on sabbatical. I'm just like any book with a non-tenured but tenure track professor where they go on sabbatical and they're like, I'm just going to like hang out for a year. I'm just like, this is why people hate academics because they think it's like that's what they think it's like. And it is not because if you have a tenure track job, especially in this economy, you are spending literally every waking minute on your
Realism in Historical Romance
00:16:58
Speaker
research. And it's like you have worse work-life balance than surgeons and lawyers working at
00:17:05
Speaker
fancy law firms it's just i'm like those are just the reality speaking as somebody who uh decided not to be in academia but is married to an academic yeah yes he was tenure track but does not yet have tenure yeah no it uh i i so like I won't read the whole thing, but this is what I'm talking about when I say the ick. I'll just read what I wrote because that way it'll, this is what I mean.
00:17:33
Speaker
Erin and Holly is our thoughtful. Mine is yeah unapologetically manipulative main characters using random substances for lube, age gap relationships where the heroine is under 24 years old, characters that make out after one throws up.
00:17:48
Speaker
Behavior that's meant to be angsty but is blatant abuse. Smoking. Thinking too hard about historical dental care. Descriptions of really rough hands on satin. Tell me that you don't think about that. That really bothers me because snags. It's going to snag. I'm just like, oh.
00:18:04
Speaker
They talk about it like it's something sexy. I'm like, okay, you're basically talking about um dry erase markers squeaking on the board right now or nails down a chalkboard. like This doesn't belong in any romantic seat of any kind. I'm just saying.
00:18:16
Speaker
Anyway, characters drinking bottles. Okay, but speaking as somebody who that doesn't bother, I'm like, I don't even know what satin feels like. That's just like written by somebody who doesn't know how to sew. Like, yeah sorry. i i use hand lotion and when I'm sewing or or touching like satiny fabric in the store and I feel my so my skin go like, here like that feeling, like that.
00:18:39
Speaker
feeling i immediately like nope no touchy no touchy i can't that's fabric is off limits for me like i can't handle it so what ingrid doesn't even have like she's not like a guitarist this is just not like you wielding tools for her job every day she doesn't have like wicked calluses even so just that then you add like even just me Yeah.
00:19:00
Speaker
yeah by del And then it's like the sexy farmer. and yeah You like not use lotion. The level of Velcro sounds that are coming from that man's hands right now, like that would be a record scratch for me. Especially because like presumably she's wearing that that those clothing articles, that satin whatever, because she wants to or because she likes it.
00:19:22
Speaker
If you were having romantic times, I mean like i would be like, oh let me just check and see if you... you know snagged in my dress because that's how what it's gonna just no i can't i can't even care characters drinking bottled water out of their fridge out of fridges in their own homes yeah yeah you have a faucet like do you live in a place where the water is not safe to drink like i think didn't aaron write a whole post about this and i think got some responses being like well the like where i live the water actually isn't some places too Except for things that are alternative, but does it have to be bottled? That's the thing that gets me. It's like, don't you get one of those big jugs?
00:20:03
Speaker
Or get the jugs or yeah, have a, feel I mean, some people just can't deal with like the process of... having a whole processor, fine, whatever. But like you can, they're like subscription services.
00:20:15
Speaker
You can do this anyway. It's just, anyway yeah, I just find it really confusing to me where I'm like, there are so many solutions for that, that like buying crates. And then I'm just, ah yeah, it just, weird weird I just don't understand it.
00:20:27
Speaker
Ignoring a blatant no in the bedroom, ah character's parent discussing their child's sex life with their child's partner. That one happens all the time. And I'm like, how come how How are you going look at that person across the table later? like yeah I mean, I will say in real life, I'm sure I've read this in contemporary romance, but like I can't even imagine talking about my sex life with my mother-in-law. like Oh, right? Yeah.
00:20:56
Speaker
Like, or her bringing it up with me. I mean, I can't, I'm not going to air my dirty laundry. I have tiptoed around that. And I still would like to take a Brillo pad to my brain and just make it have never happened.
00:21:11
Speaker
Let's just say that. So I am speaking, I believe that this, that that is an accurate reaction to that scenario. And I don't understand how people are like... Don't mind me. I just pwned your son in the bathroom. Let's have Thanksgiving dinner. Like, I don't understand it.
00:21:26
Speaker
Dirty shoes on the bed ah Characters that too closely resemble insects. And that is
00:21:38
Speaker
the best. Shout Priest and the Bugloof. Strangelove, yeah. those are they're permanently on my They're permanently on my list. they you don' for all time, Hall of Fame.
00:21:52
Speaker
You're welcome, Ingrid. Aren't you glad that you have me i to bring you books like this? Yes, my list would have been too short otherwise. So, yeah. um Yeah, there's that. So it's stuff like that. like i remember one time when we were reading the cowboy books and Holly was like, how come they keep doing it like after they sleep on the ground around a campfire? And that was it you, Holly, or Erin? One of you was like really focused on how bad they must smell.
00:22:22
Speaker
Well, right. Oh, yeah. That was the spoon book. That was the spoon book. Yeah. e She was like, let's have a poke. And I was just like, oh,
00:22:32
Speaker
ah and there was a lot of other stuff going on. But I was just like, no, no, no. And they did it at that point. I don't think. I don't think so. Yeah. Yeah. well i may Because I'm sure he responded yeah very much like you did.
00:22:45
Speaker
But yeah, stuff like that where it's like not it's not reasonable. It's just a knee jerk thing where it's like, yep. Nope. No, thank you. Yeah, well, or like that um that other Western that was rampant Confederate nonsense. Oh, yeah.
00:22:58
Speaker
Oh, geez. ah I put it in the little free library so I can't check my shelf and tell you what it is. I'll look it up. But where where they're like in the lean-to and like having lots of sex, but it's like – But like like they like can't go outside to go to the bathroom, right? Yeah.
00:23:16
Speaker
and But I feel like that's just, yeah, I feel like that was more in our conversation than when I was in the moment. i was just, I think in the moment I was so distracted by like how ah troubling the sex scenes were that was, it was only later that I was like, wait a minute, but like, are they also next to a pile of shit?
00:23:37
Speaker
Because they might be. Yeah. They might be. It smells like pee in there. Yeah. Yeah. and I think that especially like, Intimacy related hygiene it's difficult. Like if there's just a brush over and they just don't talk about it at all.
00:23:55
Speaker
I'm not the type of person who's like, how come they're not talking about showering? I'm just assuming that it's happening off the page. But if there's something that happened beforehand and then they didn't shower and then they're getting it on, I'm like, hmm.
00:24:09
Speaker
That doesn't seem clean. Like, maybe. Do we want to put our mouths there right now? Right. So I just read this Adra Richards one, which was adorable.
00:24:20
Speaker
I mean, i this whole series really made me really like Adra Richards. um But one of the books is it involves. but one of the characters, um the heroine, going to confront the hero because they were engaged as children and he just never showed up and she ended up like missing out on like being being able to marry someone else because he wouldn't end the engagement because like no one could find him to end the engagement.
00:24:45
Speaker
um Anyway, so she goes to confront him and he's like dirt poor, even though he's the heir to a title um because he adopted – his friend's infant daughter before she died and refuses to not claim her because he doesn't, i don't know, there's this whole thing, but basically he's like, no, she's my daughter.
00:25:04
Speaker
And so his father disowns him. And so he's stuck living with no money, basically. So anyway, the point is, is that when she gets there, he's like, I need some help because my daughter is like a little hellion and no one will watch her anymore. And so she's like, okay, I'll watch your daughter for you for a while. you know And then he's like, and then i'll I'll end your engagement so you can marry someone else. She's like, okay.
00:25:22
Speaker
Well, part of the agreement is she's like, I get a bath every night. And he's like, oh, we do that once a week. Right? So- so presumably, and as it turns out is accurate, like at some point they start bumping bits, right?
Dialogue and Descriptions in Romance
00:25:38
Speaker
She's taking baths every night, but that doesn't mean he is. And he works in a mine. so Now, I will say this. She does... make it work out a couple times because, and maybe, i can't remember if it's every time or a couple times, but like, he is so like, you know, hot and bothered that he goes and jumps in the pond, like nearby to like cool himself down.
00:26:02
Speaker
So presumably he's like cleanish, but, but like, there's been some stuff that happens before then. That's not all the way, but enough where it's like, okay, but he's still been like rooting around in rocks underground all day and sweating in the only outfit he has for mining and y'all have been like making out and stuff like it probably doesn't smell very good you know but but i try not to let it bother me yeah i mean so i feel like actually most historical i just i just pretend to right i just pretend oh or i'm just like you know what everybody just kind of has the same baseline of smelliness so it's what's normal
00:26:38
Speaker
It's fine. Right. Unless I don't think I would have noticed if she hadn't been like, i get a bath every night. Yeah, that does make a difference. That's the thing. If you don't mention it, then it's just like, oh, it's happening off page. It's happening somewhere.
00:26:51
Speaker
How many like Regency romances do they never talk about a bath at all? Because probably they never took bath. Right. You know that they're not bathing regularly because hygiene was not the same as it is now. Yeah.
00:27:02
Speaker
Here we are. And then, yeah, if you if you start it, like you got to finish it or like you've introduced the idea, like where are you going? Yeah. I mean, it even have to be stuff like that. Like I brought up the other day that I've seen in how many books was it? Three books now that instead of it being na-uh.
00:27:19
Speaker
Oh, right. ah Right. it No, and not uh-uh. and Right. Uh-uh. uh-uh yeah like it's spelled here oh it's supposed to be uh-huh so it should be u-h-h-u-h uh-huh but they're doing it u-h-u-h uh-huh with no dash that's wrong which is wrong but i've seen it in three books in the last couple weeks and as soon as i saw it i was like oh no that's not i had to go back and read like but she's agreeing why is she saying uh-uh um And so then I told Erin and Holly, and I was like, all right, keep your eyes out. Because every time I start seeing stuff like that, I start seeing it everywhere. Like the popping the peas thing. I know. Well, and I think I texted you guys about it. Because I saw my first popping her pea in the wild.
00:28:04
Speaker
um Because I don't normally read Romanticy, but I was reading one. um And, you know, and it was like a cutesy witch romance. And I saw it. I was like, o I don't like this. Like, I'm just like, this adds nothing to this conversation mean and i understand that it's like that now it's telling me that she's saying yep yeah instead of yep but like you don't for emphasis you don't need i don't know like but this is the thing this is exactly what i'm talking about with like the ick it's this is like low grade stuff this is not like gonna make you stop reading the book but when you see it you're like oh i don't like that and there's no reason why you're just like i just don't like that
00:28:45
Speaker
you know Although honestly, I probably wouldn't have even noticed if you hadn't told me. If you hadn't mentioned that it was like a thing that was showing up. And then I was like, oh, it's thing.
00:28:56
Speaker
I like to, well, i read I think because I just read so many books per week that it's just like, and and ah since I do a deep dive into one niche, it makes it easier to see like what the heck is developing or like the trends or what's popular and like one thing. It just happens naturally.
00:29:10
Speaker
But yeah, the uh-uh instead of uh-huh and the pop and the peas are both really heavy in romanticity. don't really like either, going to be honest with you. um But anyway, so any romanticity authors that are binging our podcast can make a mental note to not drive us nuts.
00:29:25
Speaker
Anyway. that's that's the time all right well and now that we're all in like a great headspace to move forward but you're welcome ah thanks ingrid well no what's gonna happen is is that then you're gonna read the next book that you read is not gonna have these things in it because they're not common it's not like they're like right all over the place and you're gonna be so grateful that there's no sandpaper ass hands on a satin slip and you're gonna be like I'm so happy
00:29:59
Speaker
that does really bother me thank you Ingrid you're welcome I know I give you permission to just not like things sometimes with no reason. You just don't have to like it. I feel like maybe I should keep better track of things that i that are like this, that I'm just like, ugh, didn't like that.
00:30:14
Speaker
Because I was feeling like the ick was more so substantive. No, no. It's very irrational. It's little stuff. I will say i do. One thing that frequently gives me the ick is like bad descriptions of kissing.
00:30:26
Speaker
But like, well, that's a whole other thing. And that's a whole other thing. That is a tumble reads conversation in and of itself is like, and that I think I wrote a post about that recently, too, where I'm like, you've got to have someone read your scenes, because some of them, they try to be creative with some stuff. And it's like, I'm I bless you for trying. I think it's great that you're trying to break out of the mold here. But we don't want to hear the word in other lips.
00:30:47
Speaker
You know what I mean? Like, I don't want that. There's a bunch of things you can, you can keep track of and just
Humor in Book Dislikes
00:30:52
Speaker
be like, I don't like that. And like, yeah, like mine with kissing is like plunders her mouth because the way that the word is set up, i maybe because I read fast, I think like toilet plunges and I'm like, that ain't nothing sexy about that. Like, no, thank you.
00:31:10
Speaker
seems your technique is off um yeah for me it's delve oh no yeah like while is your tongue like like yeah why is your tongue delving into her mouth like what's it looking for for me yeah sorry willful posted on my eye contact post about tongues i was like oh yeah but for me it's literally anytime tongue goes into another person's mouth or sucking tongues i'm like why why has ever done that i listen i'm not saying i've been around the world a lot in that regard but no one has i have if someone did that i'd be like you can leave
00:31:49
Speaker
we are done here maybe i'm Maybe I'm missing out. I don't think so. I feel like that person would swiftly get the boot. No. So maybe that be the next one.
00:32:00
Speaker
where Yeah, Holly, I guess you some things to chew on now for next week. Yeah. Yikes on bikes.
00:32:10
Speaker
I think we have a, yeah, it's set up. It sounds like negative Nelly, but it's fun to not like things sometimes, especially when it's not malicious. And you're just like, I just don't like that. This
Conclusion and Listener Engagement
00:32:19
Speaker
is a me problem. I just don't like it. I'm sorry, but like using your tongue to delve into someone's mouth is not a me problem. That is a universal unacceptable.
00:32:29
Speaker
Well, and that we have others. We should, we maybe we should have one where we just come up with our respective lists and have at it because I feel like that would be really fun. Anyway. Well, that's it That's all we have, I guess. We could talk about this forever, apparently, but we must not.
00:32:45
Speaker
So um thanks for listening. And if you have any that you don't like, you're welcome to share them with yeah. We definitely want to hear from yeah listeners. what i mean What's the most irrational thing?
00:32:58
Speaker
Oh, yeah. Off the wall, unhinged. I want to hear like, yeah, I would love to hear that I'm not crazy because I feel like my list is very reasonable, actually, if you think about it.
00:33:13
Speaker
All right. Well, we mentioned a lot of books in this podcast, so maybe Holly will post more things in the show notes than usual for a tumble reads. We'll see. We'll see. It'll be exciting for all of us to find out.
00:33:24
Speaker
ah You can find any of the notes that exist at smart report.com slash podcasts, and maybe we'll be on the socials. You can find us at smart report where we exist. We do what we want.
00:33:34
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Keep it smutty. yeah Keep it smutty, folks. Na na na na smart report!