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Bookish Rewind: A look back at previous Top 10 lists | S4E13
510 Plays1 month ago
his week we reminisce on our previous Top 10 Books of the Year lists from 2021 and 2022 and discuss if they still hold up!
Follow us on instagram @BringYourOwnPod
Follow Brandi @Brandos.Books
Follow Kendra @Kendra.Readz
Follow Kayla @Kaylas.Bookshelf
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Transcript
Introduction and Podcast Goals
00:00:04
Speaker
Hey guys. Hey guys. Welcome to Bring Your Own and Catch All Bookish with Time podcast. I'm Brandi. I'm Kendra. I'm Kayla. And today we are taking a look back. We are going to be looking at books from our past that we rated five stars and seeing if they hold up. This is an idea that we've had for a while and we just have been waiting to make it work and I think now is the time. We're excited.
Upcoming Book Lists and Favorites
00:00:33
Speaker
Yeah. Yeah. Very interested to see. Yeah. Especially because
00:00:37
Speaker
a lot of top 10 lists are about to start coming out. We're gonna have one towards the end of the year where we share our collective top 10 and then our individual top 10s. So it's cool to see like what were our favorites and if they're still favorites or if we look back on them we're like what the hell were we thinking?
Current Reads and Drinks
00:00:52
Speaker
But before we get started, what are we reading? What are we drinking? I obviously have my water today, but I also have some apple juice. I feel like a child, but I love apple juice. Daniel loves juice. good It's personally, okay, wait, question. What's your guys' favorite fruit juice? like Do you have a favorite? Apple. It's apple juice, but specifically on a Southwest plane. Okay.
00:01:18
Speaker
It tastes better in the sky. I don't know. Is it like how like McDonald's has the better Coke, like the spicy Coke, you know, ah Southwest has the best apple juice? Yeah, I think that's what it is. Like, it's just something about being in that pressurized cabin. Like, yeah, okay the only time I drink ginger ale is in the sky as well. That's true, too. I love sky ginger. um I love apple juice. I also love cranberry juice, but oh, cranberry juice is really good. I'm not a fan. Daniel loves cranberry juice, though.
00:01:47
Speaker
No, actually I lie. I don't only drink ginger ale in the sky. I drink cranberry ginger oil during Thanksgiving, Christmas. this is So good. So good. um But that's what I'm currently drinking. And then I literally like just finished like 10 minutes before we got on Make the Season Bright by Ashley Herring Blake on audio. Kristin Dimmer Curio, like we talked about last episode, she's great. I really liked it. I actually think I like Iris Kelly better, I think. So, yeah, I rated them the same, but it's okay. Right. Okay. But it's not it's not like in that series, right? It's like a totally it's like, no yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So I just finished that. And then I am going to start, I think, on audio. It's called for she is wrath by Emily Varga. It's a gender bent count of Monte Cristo retelling, which I'm super interested in because I really love the kind of money Cristo.
00:02:41
Speaker
The sandwich. The one from cheddars that I always used to get that at cheddars I know it's not I know it's not only from cheddars, but headers. yeah Brandy, you don't know what Cheddar's is. Oh my God. Another restaurant added to the list. Cheddar's are so good. Brandy. The Honey Butter Croissants. Are you kidding? Literally picture the best croissant you've ever had in your life, but slathered in like the most tasteful honey butter. It's so good. And Cheddar's is like really cheap. Like every time I go there, I'm like, Oh, you get a lot of food and it's not that much money. It's a really nice just like sit down restaurant.
00:03:16
Speaker
To be clear yet, like I said, I know the Count of money or the Monte Cristo sandwich, not the Count of Monte Cristo sandwich. It's not just a cheddars thing, but I would get it mostly at cheddars whenever I would have that sandwich. Anyway, that's I think what I'm going to read next. I haven't read anything with my eyeballs. I looked back in nine days. So it's been a while since I've read something with my eyeballs.
Brandi's Reading Journey and Shadowhunters Insight
00:03:38
Speaker
Well, Brandy, then what about you? I actually have read three eyeball books in the last month, which is more than I have in the fat past few months. But yeah, I was on ah an audio bender for like four months. So I think it's good to take breaks. Yeah, I am currently drinking a hot caramel latte, which I'm very excited about. Tastes delicious. so And I am I actually just last night dived back into first time caller by became or so I started reading that at the beginning of September I put it on pause because like I said I read three eyeball books in between starting that and picking it back up right now I softy enough did I actually like removed it from my good reads and story graph because I was like I
00:04:24
Speaker
I don't want to just have this sitting here. It stresses me out to just have it sitting there. But I picked it back up. I am not as far into that book as I thought it was. I thought I was at like 40 ish percent. I was at like 20. So I read about 15% last night. And I am enjoying it. If I get that feeling again, like I just don't want to pick it up.
00:04:42
Speaker
I will probably softy enough again until the audiobook comes out but I want to give it another shot because there's a couple of physical books that are a couple arcs that I just got on my Kindle that I'm really excited about and I want to read those but I do want to finish this first if I can. So that is what I'm physically reading. I am also listening to Chain of Thorns, ah the very last book in the Shadowhunters series until I'm caught up on the official books.
00:05:09
Speaker
I understand what people say about it starting to drag. I'm at like 60 percent right now. That's where it's like that's literally where it starts. Yeah. Yeah. um And I know that like in a typical Cassie Clare book, the action happens at 70 percent ish around there. So I'm going to be interested to see right now. I just want to like shake all of them a little bit and be like, can you just get the fuck together? But I am enjoying it. Still, it's still a good time. But yeah, that is. Yeah, that's what I'm doing. and And it doesn't help that like, I think I gave that book like 4.25 stars. I still love it. Cause like, oh my God, like I love it, but the villain in it, I can't take him seriously. at of oh I'm just like shut the like, shut up. Like, especially cause I met all the other villains after I met him, like Sebastian and stuff.
00:05:55
Speaker
I'm like, bro, you're nothing. You're nothing. I'm literally, I ranked. I have a note app note of my rankings for every Shadowhunter like scenario. Like I have series, books, FMCs, MMCs, side characters, big bats. Here's my dead ass fucking last big bat below the one from Infernal Devices. And that's crazy because I can't even take that guy seriously. I'm like, you're pussy.
00:06:19
Speaker
But he was still, like, fun, you know? Like, he's clever. Yeah. And at least, like, we didn't really know who it was until, like, book two in that series. But this one we know. And you're like, ugh. And he's a bitch. Loser. Loser. Ugh. But yeah, I'm excited. And then I'm going to do, I probably will take a little Shadowhunters break before I do the Bane Chronicles. Yeah. Yeah, I still got to do those. But I'm like, I have, like, a year, you know? Like,
00:06:49
Speaker
who Then I'll be done, done.
Kendra's Current Reads and Anticipation
00:06:52
Speaker
Okay, I am drinking, Kayla's like, uh-huh. who
00:07:01
Speaker
I'm drinking an iced coffee and I am listening to, on PRH, is she really going out with him, which was a Kayla Ann recommendation. It's very cute so far. I'm like almost halfway. I like when a book is gonna go exactly the way I know it's gonna go. like My brain's like, okay, I i know i know this story, but like it's still fun, the characters are fun. And I'm also 22% into One Dark Window, so we can keep going. I'm so grateful that you saved her to tell her that until this moment. Thank you for letting me bear witness to that.
00:07:40
Speaker
Yeah. um
00:07:44
Speaker
It's so funny. I've been going back and forth on whether or not I was going to do it, but then I was like, Oh, I'll give her a, we just talked about shadow hunters. I'll give her. a but Yeah. I'm 22% and my heart rate just went up a little bit. yeah Well, that's why I started it on Tuesday of this week. And then my week went, I had a really weird week. And so I haven't been reading as much of it, but yeah, I'm 22%. So.
00:08:14
Speaker
If you need fan art, let us know. Well, I saw I saw Kayla posted some on her story. And so then I kind of figured out now I know who she's going to end up with now. So I'm just like, OK, I mean, it's not that hard to figure out. I don't know. No, no, no. but I just like I was just I didn't like I wasn't thinking about who she was going to end up with. And then I saw that van and then I was like, oh, OK. I mean, I would say it's definitely more of like a subplot, though.
00:08:38
Speaker
thanks why I remember texting you and being like, does she end up with the monster? And you're like, no, I thought that too. I thought that like it was going to be like a belladonna thing. Yeah. You know, um but I quickly, quickly learned and like about 10% and I was like, Oh, no.
00:08:57
Speaker
This isn't this isn't like that I Mean don't tell me he's not like I'm thinking oh, maybe he's like human, you know, like month No, he's like has like monster qualities like he's a monster, right? Don't tell you shncom But not telling don't tell her she no I won't it's it's funny though because I've been listening to Florence and machine dropped an album It's like a live recording of her album, Lungs. It's like her first album. It sounds um like I'm like, holy fuck, like she's meant to sing with an orchestra. And I was like, you would think with how much I love Florence and like her music and her lyrics and I would be like more into fantasy because that's she's just talking about like mythical shit all the time and like falling in love with like. Monster, I was listening to her song, Rabbit Heart, and I was like, I should read that Plated Prisoners series because that that's about falling in love with King Midas. And I love that song about King Midas. So I do know that first book.
00:09:48
Speaker
Oh. Really? Yeah. I feel like people really love it or they really hate it. Brandy, did you know? What? That you started? No. I've hung out just now with you. I didn't tell. her I didn't tell. Well, the only person I knew was um Monica, if you're listening. I told Monica that I was reading it because she had sent me a voicemail about something else. And she asked me what I was reading. And I was like, oh, um'm I just started this. Don't tell Kayla. That's like my one my one stipulation. So there you go. OK.
00:10:18
Speaker
Yeah, I'm reading it. I started it physically at first, and then I wanted to read it before I was going to bed, so I switched it over to my Kindle. But yeah, I mean, 22%. There you go.
00:10:31
Speaker
Wow. I'm scared. But okay, let's move on. Next.
Evolving Book Tastes
00:10:38
Speaker
So like we said at the beginning, we're going to kind of go through both our 2021 faves and some of our 2022 faves. So we're a couple years out from both of those. And before we actually jump into the specifics about what books we had, I first wanted to ask you guys, how do you think your taste has changed over time?
00:11:00
Speaker
I think I know what I like in books more now. And I've read so many incredible books over the last four years that I settle way less than I used to. I used to be content just like binging books that now I might call mediocre. um Whereas I have just read so many incredible books and I know there are so many incredible books out there that like I don't want to read mid books. I would agree. I think I don't want to say that, like a lot of the books that I, that I read back then were mid because that's not true because some of those books are still like my favorites of like all time. Yeah. But yeah, I definitely agree. I think I know what I want in a book now. I think that I was so content to just pick anything up. Any, anything romance up, you know, or like, I was like,
00:11:55
Speaker
content to just sit through pages and pages and pages of smut that didn't really need to be there. You know what I mean? So I think that I don't want to say we've matured because it sounds like we're like putting things down, but that's, you know, I think we can say that we've matured into our own taste. You know what I mean? Because there are people out there who's the books that we love, they would call mid and then like the books that they love, we would call mid. But I think like, I don't know. I feel like I've just grown within my own taste way more. Sure.
00:12:26
Speaker
Yeah, I think with romance specifically, like I went really deep and now I'm clawing my way back out where I'm like, all right, I don't need to. I think it's still going to be my primary genre always, but it brings me less joy, which is really sad because I think for a while I was like, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. But now I'm like, no, why are you doing that? Why are you writing that? That's what I like with the Sophie Cousins book. I'm like, oh, I love this. I love knowing exactly it's well written and I know how it's going to go.
00:12:57
Speaker
but some I don't know. But looking back on my list, I always have good taste. So I don't regret any of the books on my list. I think I think if you're a reader and you're posting your books, you should you should always think you have good taste. I mean, you can say like it's changed. Yeah, no, I should never be like, oh, no, looking at my list, I don't.
00:13:17
Speaker
regret it at all. But like I just know that if I were to go back and read some today, that I probably wouldn't give them five stars. Maybe. Yes. Not all of them, but some of them. ah Agree. you know there's ah even Even some books that I gave five stars a couple of years ago that I would still give five stars today, I'm like im um' surprised
Five-Star Book Criteria
00:13:37
Speaker
that that's on my top 10 list of that year. Having read 180-something books that year, I'm surprised. Really?
00:13:43
Speaker
well I don't know, we'll talk about it in a little bit more. There's just a couple where I'm like, damn, that's crazy. But I would still give it five stars. I'm dead. I'm looking at I was like shook, like looking at both my list. I'm like, no, these all like hold up. So I'm pretty proud. What do you look for in a book now versus what you might have a few years ago? We kind of touched on it a little bit, but I definitely think I fell into the trap of like, I want smut in a book. you know I think a lot of people did. and i you know And if you want that, then that's totally your prerogative. I think for me, it just has to make sense with the story and it has to be you know relevant. yeah Yeah, I would say same with that. I think I just look for, I want a good story.
00:14:34
Speaker
yeah And good characters. I don't want like sketches of characters. I don't want like I don't know. I just want good. And it doesn't have to be the best written thing. It just has to be good. And I want to know that the author, like, I want to feel their heart in it. And I want them to be speaking on something. And I think when I say that people think like a topic, like, a you know, like a stance, no, like, what's your thesis with this? Like, what did you hope to accomplish with this book besides like making money? Like, you know, that makes sense. Like, why this character? Why these? Why this plot? I don't know.
00:15:11
Speaker
That makes sense to me. I would say agreed with the smut part and then also like I want a book that's going to make me feel something like quite deeply and I want it to like affect me because I've read a lot of books in the last four years that I have not thought about and will not think about until I see that title, you know.
00:15:32
Speaker
Yeah, whereas like the books that a lot of the books on this list are books that like made me feel so deeply that I carry them with me which sounds so fucking dramatic but there are so many moments where like a book will just pop into my head and that's one of my favorite things about reading is being able to take these stories that we've read and loved and cared about and that somebody crafted with their brain and being able to be like just thinking about it in the middle of the day or something will happen to me and I'll think about a character. And I think that's what I look for now. I want to be affected. Yeah, same. I don't want to be a passive participant in it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Do you guys think you're harsher with five stars now than you were back then?
00:16:19
Speaker
Because me, personally, I gave them out like candy. Yeah, you're really harsh with your five stars. For two years, or like a year and a half, I wasn't rating, which I think really helped. So we're only sharing 2021 and 2022. I have no ratings for these books, you know? I mean, some of them I do now because I reread them since. But um yeah, my motto back then was like, I either liked it or I didn't. And there was like a scale to liking it, obviously, but like,
00:16:47
Speaker
So then, so like for your favorites of 2021, for example, like did you make like a video on TikTok or something about it? Yeah. Okay. Would you say, like back then, if somebody asked you, are these five stars, would you just say yes because they made it into your top 10? Yeah. Yeah. In 2021, I would say like the first half of 2021, I was still rating, but the second half of 2021, I wasn't.
00:17:10
Speaker
But all of these, I would say, are five-star. Maybe one, if I reread, I would be like, maybe not a five-star book, but like a five-star feeling. I think once I say what that book is, you'll be like, oh, OK. But um yeah. that that's a That's how I feel about some of the books I'm writing, too. not Maybe not a five-star book, but a five-star feeling. Yeah. I think I get them out probably at the same rate.
Reevaluating 2021 Top Books
00:17:34
Speaker
It's just I have a different set of criteria now. like i I feel like I haven't shut the fuck up about slow dance, but I cannot overstate you guys how much reading that book was such an experience that literally changed a genre of books for me. Like when I read that, I was like, why am I settling for anything less in romance than the feelings I'm having while reading slow dance? the The type of characters, the story, the emotions that I'm feeling while reading. Like it was such
00:18:09
Speaker
and experience, and that's why I haven't stopped talking about it in eight months. Ever since I read that in February, if a book doesn't make me feel close to what I was feeling there, I'm not giving it five stars. Yeah, that's why I have way more 4.75s this year. Yeah. Kayla, why do you think you're harsher? Because I feel like some people on at least like this is just me like being an observer online like there's like a there's like a like a merit that comes with five stars and i think people don't want to like ruin that merit and i'm like but who who set that up like because you know like there'll be people won't rate a book five stars for like dumb stuff sometimes but everything else is good and i'm just i don't know it's just interesting to me like
00:18:49
Speaker
why Yeah, I think for me, I'm chasing a lot of what Brandy is talking about. Like just that five star feeling that I get sometimes that it literally is just a feeling like there are so many books that I've rated, for example, four and a half stars this year that I thought were really well-written. Oh, the X-Files.
00:19:07
Speaker
No, I did move that one up. Based on how I was thinking and feeling about it like afterwards. yes yeah you know So I think that that is an indicator for me whether or not something is five stars. Yeah, I don't know. There's just um there's only a select few books I think for me this year that have given me that feeling. ah So that's kind of, I think why I'm a little harsher.
00:19:30
Speaker
But back in the day when you would give it out like candy, are you going to say you used to give that, get that feeling a lot more or it was just like the criteria changed? I think a little bit of both because I think it was like 2021 was my first year back, like fully, fully under reading. I did read in at the end of 2020, but not nearly as many books. And I think because I had just gotten like back into it, I was so excited, you know, discovering this world again, you know? And so I was,
00:20:01
Speaker
really back into the romance genre is back into fantasy you know and discovering so many books that had been popular that I hadn't read before. So I think I was just like really excited. I don't know if that makes sense, but yeah that's kind of how it felt for me.
00:20:13
Speaker
I think also you don't know your threshold until you break it. You know what I mean? Yeah, that's true. So there is a book that I absolutely loved, and then there would be a book I would love more, and then a book I would love more, and then a book I would love more. And my standards kept rising because my threshold for how much I thought I could love a book kept breaking. The goalpost keeps moving, kind of. But I think now that I've been reading, back reading for several years now, I know where I stand in terms of what I want to give a five star or something that's close, but not quite. I think that's where I'm at now. Kendra, I think of the three of us, you have read the most consistently in your adult life. I know you also started reading way more back in 2020, but I don't think I had finished a book
00:21:02
Speaker
between the years of like 2016 and 2020. So i I wonder if that wasn't such a drastic shift for you as it was for Kayla and I in those like couple of years. Yeah, I also think like, well, I think like romance, adult romance was like just a whole new genre for me in 2020. So I guess like kind of going what you, like when you first discover it, you're just like, yeah, like this is great. Cause like you didn't know, you know, like what else could be possible. And then once you keep, I was saying this earlier, like I went too far. So like once I keep diving, I'm like, oh no, I don't, I don't want to go like, like that far. Cause then you, and you run into like repetition and you can say, well that author did that better. And like this book did this better or vice versa. So.
00:21:47
Speaker
Yeah, I think I've always um, I think I might have been harsh like because I would use good rings good reads on and off In college, I think I used to be harsher on my ratings like and I think now that like I understand the concept like a half Star and like all that like I was like, okay. It's a four or like, you know, I don't know but Yeah in your guys's opinion What does it take for a book to like?
00:22:15
Speaker
not age well other than maybe the author is actually like problematic you know that that's that's something but you might look back on a book that you gave five stars and you wouldn't do that now yeah like what has changed i mean again i think it just kind of goes back to our threshold now we expect something different from a romance book or just a book in general even if it's not a five star book, I don't, that goes back to like the feeling thing. Like I don't think any book I've ever given five stars, like I would like discredit and yeah besides acknowledging like, Hey, like maybe the person that wrote this like is not the best person and like there's problematic content, whatever besides that point. But yeah, I don't know. I've never had a book drastically like fall from grace in my head.
00:23:04
Speaker
in terms of like the content, me viewing the content. Like, I don't know. Yeah, I think definitely not like a fall from grace. I will say there have been a few books that I like read in 2021 that I have reread since then, that definitely isn't like dropping from like a five star to a three star or anything like that. But I'm like,
00:23:24
Speaker
I probably, if I read this for the first time this year, would not be giving it five stars. But I have never gone back and changed a Goodreads or a Storygraph rating to lower than what I rated it initially. I can think of three books off the top of my head that I reread and been like, I know what I was feeling when I read this. And like you said, it was a five star feeling. It passed me would have been standing on business with that. However, I wouldn't. One of them I'll talk about. Two of them we're not going to talk about today. So I will say I reread The Love Hypothesis. I initially rated that five stars and I probably wouldn't if I read it today. And funny, you should ask by Alyssa Sussman. That book is still a high four for me. But when I was re-listening, I was like, oh, this isn't the 2024 brand. You probably would not have given this five stars. Yeah.
00:24:15
Speaker
Yeah, there's definitely not any book that like I'm looking at on my list of favorites from those years and be like, Oh my God, this actually is a three star. Like you said, like, no, if I were to lower them at all, it'd be like maybe like a four and a half, you know, not nothing crazy that I would drop it to. Yeah. I play around with my ratings more with, with, um, like fours and three, like low fours and threes more. Like I'll drop those or raise those more, but I'd say if it's like a 4.5 and a above.
00:24:45
Speaker
it's not going anywhere. Or if it's 4.5, it might go up to a five, you know? like Yeah. And I would call anything I rate 4.5 and up is a book I love. like I would say I love those books. So it's there's less in my brain that's like, I need to change that. Yeah, I get what you mean, Kendra. Should we look at our past lists now? Let's
Brandi's 2021 Book Reflections
00:25:05
Speaker
do it. I'm excited. Let's start with 2021. Yeah.
00:25:10
Speaker
I can go. I made a top five list. I did not, which is insane to me because I know that Kayla has like a million on her list. I think i I was so new to bookstagram. Oh my God, you guys, my bookstagram aversary is on November 9th, I think. Oh my gosh. Oh my God, what a day. November 9th.
00:25:35
Speaker
Colleen. Yeah, so i I should double check. It might be today. Anyways, I started my bookstagram at the very end of 2021, even though I had been reading for, you know, over a year at that point.
00:25:49
Speaker
i I don't think I really knew what end of year lists looked like. So I just did a list of five, but here's the thing. I did not put Acamap on there because I was very much like scared to be like other girls at that moment on bookstagram. I was like, everybody's talking about Acamap. That would have absolutely been my number one. That book like shook my foundation. I bought fan art for the first time in my life. Oh my god.
00:26:14
Speaker
and but Dude, it was the Jess read or Jess sketches or whatever. The poster of the entire Night Court. It's right there. That's so funny. If I had made a list in 2020, it would have been on mine too. And then I would have immediately like my call. Yeah. um Yeah. Yeah. But yeah, which so we acknowledge like S.J. I'm not the best person.
00:26:38
Speaker
But those books, everyone's read them, so we're not going to deny that. So that would have been on there. And then I had, and they were ranked, so i'll I'll read them in my five to one order. Number five of the year, I had the Song of Achilles, which I think absolutely stands up. I think that book is beautiful and incredible, and I haven't been able to bring myself to reread it because of the emotions I felt while I was reading it.
00:27:07
Speaker
Number four I had people we meet on vacation. Oh, yeah, which stands up. I really read that book I've read that book a total of three times cover to cover not just even counting the times I've just flipped through my highlights ah Five stars every time love in other words was at number three one of my all-time favorite books thought about hi that i thought that would be like ah Okay, this is this is the part where I'm like I The crazy number one and two being above the three that I just listed is the crazy part to me. So, Love and Other Words fully stands up for me. I've reread that book a million times. like I love that book. You know that quote from Pride and Prejudice that's like, if I loved you any less, I might be able to speak about it more. That's how I feel about Love and Other Words. That's how I feel about a lot of books, but Love and Other Words especially.
00:27:58
Speaker
Number two was Exodus by Kate Stewart, which again, this is an author who has done some shitty stuff and is really not my place to speak on no whether what she has done to try and make up for it is good or anything like that. So please be aware that Kate Stewart has controversy. And I don't think I feel comfortable recommending this book to anybody. But in 2021, I was obsessed with Exodus, ah which is a second book in the ravens Ravenhood series. Yeah, I don't know. I don't think that's a five star book, but definitely a five star feeling.
00:28:35
Speaker
when I read it for the first time. I'm laughing because like that book being above like three stunning books that I just listed makes me giggle. And then my number one book of 2021 was From Luke Off With Love by Margot Zappada. Yes, which I put above. I think that's okay. That's fine. Yeah. I mean, it's a great book. That's a lot of people's like favorite book.
00:29:00
Speaker
Yeah, and it's like, it's a great book. That is actually the third book when I was just talking about three books that I can think of off the top of my head that I reread that I probably wouldn't rate five stars again. I just reread Lucov last month. Five star feeling? Absolutely. Would I rate that book five stars in 2024? No. But I have such a vivid memory of a girl that I went to college with, one of my really good friends from college. She followed my books. She's one of my first people who followed my books to Graham. And she texted me in like a couple months into 2022. And she said, Brandy, I just read from Luke off with a love that cannot be at Brando's that books number one book of 2021.
00:29:42
Speaker
Okay, she was like, love you. That book was ass. And I was like, Oh, Brittany, if you're listening, you hurt my feelings real bad. It's fine. If you knew Brittany, you would be laughing with me. Like it was fine. Yes, I love her. She is the most honest and straightforward person you'll ever meet in your life. But I had to laugh um when I was putting this list together because I think I went and like archived my post after that. I was like, Oh, now I just know like,
00:30:18
Speaker
I know Britney. I understand people's taste of books so much more now that if Britney would have asked me today, should I read that book? I'd be like, you would hate that book. No, that book is not for Britney. Anyways, um yeah, those are my top five, Akamath should have been in there, but those are my top five of 2021. I would say that, love in other words, people who made a vacation on the song of Achilles fully, fully stand up for me. The other two were maybe five star feelings and maybe not five star books.
00:30:47
Speaker
Okay. Makes sense. I think that's a pretty good list. I think so too. And five is hard to narrow down to. Yeah. Yeah. I'm not sure like why I chose that. I don't know why I did five. Yeah. My list has only gotten like, I did top 10, two years in a row. And then last year I did 15 because I've read more. And then now this year. and I don't know what the number is going to be. Top 27. Something yeah like oddly specific. OK, Kendra, let's hear yours.
Kendra's 2021 Book Reflections
00:31:19
Speaker
OK, so I had 10 from 2021. I had a lovely TikTok all about my faves from that year. I remember really watching it.
00:31:28
Speaker
Yeah, it was a really fun reading year for me because like that was the first year I started TikTok. And so um everything was like new and exciting. And like, I was like building community at the same time. So a lot of these books, I think helps build my community even more. I feel like my top 10 is not going to be like all that surprising. i Like I said, I think all these books hold up. um My number 10 was The Bully by Sophie Lark. This was, I remember, a late addition to this list because I had just finished the series back in like November. Yeah, you're reading them in like December, right? Yeah, it was like November, October, November. Like, okay. The Bully is a good, this is the book that I was talking about earlier where like, maybe if I reread it, it wouldn't be a five star book, but like,
00:32:09
Speaker
It's part of a series too. So it's like, you have to have that buildup of like meeting the character of Dean. It's, I think it's Sophie larks. It's my favorite book of hers that I've read. I have, I haven't read anything else from her outside of the mafia series, which I don't know if I will, I don't know. We'll see. I think the reviews have been more mixed on her other stuff than it has for this. So, um, number nine was seven days in June. That's like, yeah I mean,
00:32:38
Speaker
Amazing. um Eight was all roads lead here. Maybe that's another book where it wouldn't be a five star again, but that reading experience was like incredible. It was me in that book for like a whole weekend in my little crappy studio apartment in l LA. And like, I just, it was a weekend that Summer Walker's album had just come out to. That was a good weekend. I was just, I'm listening to Summer Walker's like sing about like shitty men. And then I'm like fucking reading about one of the best men like ever written. So.
00:33:11
Speaker
um And then my number, wait, seven was A Million Junes by Emily Henry, which is one of her best books ever. Number six, One True Love by Taylor Jenkins Reid. This is another late edition. I had just read it and I was like, holy fuck. Like I still think about that book all the time. I didn't watch the movie because everyone said it was ass and they like made it to like rom-com-y. And I'm like, you don't take a story that serious and make it a rom-com that like actually hits my heart. That's wild.
00:33:39
Speaker
ah My number five was Clapping You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo, which is like a powerhouse of a book. Kayla, you should read it. It's pretty good. It's ah really so good. And the audio is stunning. It'll hurt your heart. It's written completely in verse and It's really great. Like I love Elizabeth Acevedo. I didn't like her adult debut, but Clapping You Land was pretty good. And then number four was People. Number three was the absolute latest edition. Like I know this now. I keep saying it like all these late ads, like, but this was the latest. What do you think it is? Center.
00:34:10
Speaker
Yes. Yes. I read Sinner in December and it completely, Sinner got me into audiobooks because I read it basic on my phone. I remember, like I just have such a vivid memory of like laying in my bed on my phone, like scrolling. And then I think it was Tanya who was like, have you heard the audio? And I was like, no. And she sent me a snippet. And that was blessed with the one and only Jacob Morgan speaking into my ear, AKA Zachary Weber for the first time. And I was like, fuck.
00:34:36
Speaker
And I could not stop listening to it. Like it was like on repeat for weeks. I love it So i was number I remember so specifically watching your tiktoks when this was happening like I remember you reading it and then I remember you being like you guys you have to listen to the audio and I was like, okay, yeah, it was just Yeah, cuz I was around the time that you and I were talking a lot on Instagram We hadn't exchanged numbers yet. And then I told you to read it too. So like yes, and I read it and like immediately I read it in January and that was one of the first times we exchanged voice my most crazy Wow. I know what your number two and one is. That's easy. Okay. Yes. ah Well, number two is simple wild. Yes. And number one is beetroot. Yes. Yes. Which is funny because like I've definitely thought about
00:35:25
Speaker
john Jonah and Calla more than I've thought about January and Gus, but that's just because there's more content with them than there is with January and Gus. But like, yeah, Btreat is like, I need to re- I've haven't reread it in a very long time. So I need to reread it. That's just Emily. Emily Henry. Sweetie, take a seat. Hold my hand. You can do it. Her next book, I don't know. I don't know. We'll see. I don't want Btreat 2.0. If I want to Btreat 2.0, I would just read Btreat. That book sounds like Btreat.
00:35:55
Speaker
But we'll see. I'll trust the process. I will be applying for that arc, regardless. so And I will be like this. Oh, absolutely. Yeah. Well, Kayla. Yeah. Yours are all still really great. They're all great. That's what I was saying. Like this is the whole time. Yeah. So i I didn't like fully start like reading all the time till April of 2021.
Kayla's 2021 Book Reflections
00:36:23
Speaker
And from April to December, I read 112 books. sla Oh my god. Yeah, so much. I know. ah I read more books in 2021. I know have ever since that I yeah. How many books yeah can you read in 2021, Brandy? 192. Holy fuck. I was reading like
00:36:42
Speaker
I think I got like 116 and then 2022 was like nothing. Like it was 96, which is like a lot still. Oh my God. So much. But yes. Yeah. Wow. I've only gone up since then though. A hundred. Actually 2022 was 192. I apologize. But still that's like, yeah, that was crazy. Yeah. That was nuts. Are you mentally feeling okay?
00:37:03
Speaker
No, I was miserable at my job. like We were really ready to get out of LA at that point. like i was and You know what it was too? is I was spending thousands of dollars on short small-town audiobooks and burning through like one a day. like I remember I read 25 books in March of 2022. Wow. Damn. that seems like that's and i Guys, I was paying for all my audiobooks. like I yeah spent money. I don't like don't even want to look at how much money I spent on audiobooks that year. That's insane.
00:37:34
Speaker
And now Kayla, I asked you the same question, because you read a lot of books that year in a short amount of time. Was everything okay?
00:37:44
Speaker
Yeah, it was like the height of the pandemic. So yeah, probably not. Oh, no. Yeah. yeah So do you guys think about how crazy it is that we lived through that? I'm sorry to interrupt you, Kayla. No, I think about that all the time. like i think about that is Like, we're gonna be like telling our grandkids about that.
00:38:03
Speaker
like well couldn't leave our house. Crazy. Okay, so for some reason my my brain could not narrow down my top 10 couldn't even narrow down top 15 couldn't narrow down top 20. I had 22 for some reason. ah So but I I know I did mark like what I think are my top five from that list like what I would go back and my 2021 self would she was had a gun to her head. These would be her top five but I'll just rapid fire the other ones that I included on this list. All your perfects by calling Hoover. Hey, that's a good book.
00:38:39
Speaker
It is Redeemed larent by Lauren Asher, slide ah The Wall of Winnipeg and Me by Mariana Zapata, right Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid, Once Who Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid, It Happened One Summer by Tessa Bailey,
00:38:56
Speaker
I can't fault you. Yeah. You can't. You can't. Okay. And then I had a lot of mafia romances on here because I also read the, all of Sophie Lark's mafia books, or at least I read King makers and then, um, brutal birth, right? Brutal birth, right? And then I read a couple from the series before that. snow and i him Thank you. snow and i've been So I included underworld it's called.
00:39:19
Speaker
Yes. Thank you. Bloody heart, savage lover, the bully and the rebel. So I include four of them. I i know. I love that though. Out of that, out of those four, if you had to pick one right now, what would it be?
00:39:37
Speaker
ah I really liked miles like a lot. So maybe the rebel. I don't know. I'll give it to you. Yeah. But I also really liked Nico.
00:39:49
Speaker
Yeah, his book was he's a hot guy. All roads lead here by Mariana Zapata twins. I also included because I read Throne of Glass that year and I really liked Throne of Glass, but I included the Tower of Dawn and Empire of Storms. i'll give you that one I'll give you that one. And then the last one that I have to laugh at because this author is problematic and I would not recommend reading her ah the maddest obsession by Daniel Laurie.
00:40:14
Speaker
That series, I read that whole series, but I was obsessed with the Madison obsession. What can I say? It was a fun time. Dude, it was having a good time. I had a good moment in 2021. It was. I read that. I was so close to reading it. And then she got canceled. Yeah. Yeah. And it felt like I just there's a moment from the TV show Awkward where they're like doing like a what if scenario. And I remember Maddie looking at Jenna and he's like, oh, dodge the bullet. I immediately thought of that. Yeah. Which is like it's not like a fun thing to joke about. But I was like, oh, all right. Well, glad I didn't get upset. Yeah. Yeah.
00:40:49
Speaker
ah um But my top five ah people who meet on vacation would be on there because that was my first Emily Henry book. I read it like when it came out and then But you got it early too, because you got it for the month. And then, ah again, since I read all Sarah J. Mass books that were out during that year, I included Crescent City One and ah Court of Mist and Fury. Crescent City One is still my personal favorite Sarah J. Mass book, like just on its own. I think it's it's her best book. ah Sinner is on there.
00:41:26
Speaker
Uh, and then of course the simple wild, I read the simple wild 2021 favorite still of all time. And then I read the addicted series that year. So I read it in the summer of 2021. So crazy. I know. Uh, so my, my top three books from that series though, where our kiss the sky, feel the fire and addicted after all feel the fire being the top top one. I still think about that book.
00:41:48
Speaker
all the time. There's even, so my TikTok is privated now. So, uh, it's not public anymore. No, okay but that, that video is still up. Like my twin top 2021 reads, but I also made a video for the specific scene in field of fire. And I was like, looking back at it yesterday and I was like, Oh my God, you immediately private at your account. No, no, no. I, I privated it before that, but like, I just, I love that book so much. One of my most popular videos on TikTok is about a quote from field of fire.
00:42:19
Speaker
Like mine was a spicy one though. Oh, mine was not spicy. Mine was a sad one. money I know that book is like ah they do that. So anyways. Yeah. The closet.
00:42:31
Speaker
Oh my God. I'll cry. god I know. I can't like that's like one of those books where I feel like I can like quote so many things from memory because there's just so many stand out. Like how do you how do you sentence those words or See, I can't even- How do you sentence those words together? I can't even string a sentence together. And yet Kristin Becker-Ritchie, you were writing that like almost a decade ago. That's crazy. Yeah. And then you get to like us and you're like, oh, what happened? Like, wait a second, girls. Yeah.
00:43:01
Speaker
So yeah, I think most of those still hold up. I yeah i would say so. What were your top five? You were having so much fun. What were the top five that you said? The Simple Wild series. Sinner, Akamath, Crescent City One. Addicted. ah ah Oh, I had six. My bad. Okay. ah Addicted in people. Got it. Okay. Yeah. Love that. Yeah. That's why you read so much because you were just series after series after series. Yeah.
00:43:29
Speaker
It was, it was a lot of series. I am definitely not really embarrassed about my 2021 list. I thought it was going to be before we like looked and I was like, oh, these are not. No, yeah. Should we do 2022 now? Yes.
Brandi's 2022 Favorites
00:43:43
Speaker
OK, so in 2022, I cheated and I broke up my rankings into series rankings and interconnected standalones rankings. So I ranked my top four series that I read that year, like books that you could not just pick one up in the middle and read and know what's going on that you need to read the entire series. And then I ranked standalones. So I'll share my series rankings first. Oh, and by the way, in 2022, I'm going to say like almost all of these books
00:44:10
Speaker
hold up for me and my taste. like I think I could reread almost every single book on this series and still give it five stars. Definitely not 100%, but almost. My series rankings, I had the Poppy War trilogy, still incredible. The Green Bone Saga, which is probably my favorite fantasy series of all time. The Addicted series, which I read in 2022, which my favorite from that is if we're not counting some kind of perfect, which I have a hard time including that in rankings with the series.
00:44:38
Speaker
uh, addicted after all and feel the fire on my top two. And then the Magnolia Park series, which at that point when we were making this video, we had read three of those books. We had read Magnolia Park, Stacey Hates, and Magnolia Park's The Long Way Home. Oh, and the rate I'm doing came out that in December. Yeah. Came out at the very end of the year. Yeah. Yeah. Very end of the year. Yeah.
00:44:58
Speaker
Um, so I ranked those four separately into a separate video. Uh, I even tried when I was making this list for this episode to try and insert them into, and I don't want to. And that's why I did that. Like I don't want to, I don't want to try and put those in, but yeah. So then I had a list of 10 standalones, which I'll go kind of quick lessons in chemistry.
00:45:18
Speaker
was my number 10 in 2022. I think we'll have a lot of similarities. We we all became friends and we were reading each other's wrecks a lot. Yeah. So that one still holds up for me. I read Clap When You Land in 2022 because of Kendra's recommendation. Incredible, beautiful, stunning. Heartless by Elsie Silver was my number eight in 2022. How do you feel about that? I would still rate that book five stars for vibes.
00:45:42
Speaker
and The the this compared to all the other books on my list, it makes me giggle a little bit because it is just such a different tone than most of the other books on this list for me. But like, I love that book. but Yeah, I and I still like I've reread that book multiple times. And like, I love that book. And like, if somebody rates at three stars, I'll say, OK, if somebody rates at four, I'll say, all right, that's fine. But we personally, I'm rating a five. Yeah.
00:46:09
Speaker
You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty, which i I think about that book all the time. And I think about this one specific part from that book all the time. So that one really stands up for me. Babble by R.F. Kuang was on my standalone list. Saint by Sierra Simone made my list at number five. This was my favorite from the pre-series.
00:46:30
Speaker
Juniper Hill was my number four, which I still do think that's Stephanie Perry's best book and my favorite of hers that I've read. Book Lovers by Emily Henry was at my number three. Love that book. Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by, what's her name? Gabrielle Zemmen. Yes. Yes.
00:46:48
Speaker
Yeah, that book was at my number two. That book made me feel so many things. Kayla gifted me that audiobook for my birthday that year. And Alone With You and the Ether was my number one, which is still top three books all time forever for me. So that one definitely, definitely holds up.
00:47:07
Speaker
Yes. I would say, yeah, all those hold up. Yeah. That list is really reflective of, I think, my reading tastes. Like, I've read so many incredible books that would bump books off of that list. Like, if I had to make an all-time favorite book list, I would say probably only about two or three of those are going to make my all-time favorite ever book list. But that year, I do think those were like my favorite books. Yeah. OK. We're going to have a lot of the same, but I think the order will be different.
00:47:35
Speaker
ah So my number 10 that year was Book Lovers by Emily Henry. okay And I had actually read an arc of it in 2021, at the end of 2021. And I didn't want to include it in 2021. And then I ended up rereading it in 2022. So I was like, okay, like I'll just put it at number 10. Because
Kendra's 2022 Favorites
00:47:55
Speaker
I still think Book Lovers is her best written book. um I say that all the time on here. So I could not include it in some way. My number nine was Honey and Spice.
00:48:04
Speaker
I love that book. That book is hilarious and fun. Babe, where's book two? I'm assuming it has to do with the publisher. I'm gonna blame them for now. I saw, I think it was a post on her Instagram last month that she said that she had finished Final Revisions on something. I don't know what the book is. Okay. But let's get off Twitter. Let's open up a word doc. She's always, her Twitter account is great, by the way. And then my number eight was terms and conditions by Lauren Asher. I love that book. I and love it so much. And I had like a different experience with it because I got to beta read it and like talk about stuff with Iris with her and like walk like that whole process, which is so much fun. And then like the reception of that was really fun. So that was cool. um My number wait 1098 number seven was fuel the fire.
00:48:57
Speaker
by Christa Mecorice, great book. And then my number six who was Addicted After All. um So two addictive books like really close together. And then number five was Lessons in Chemistry, which was a Kayla Ann recommendation. And it's so funny, because we run into this all the time, where she will tell me everything that happens in a book. And I won't read it until like months later.
00:49:23
Speaker
And so like I knew a thing was gonna happen and it still gutted me. like yeah Listening to it. If you have not listened to Lessons in Chemistry yet, you should, because it's like an incredible audio book. I haven't heard that narrator since maybe she only does Lipthic, but she killed it. ah I think about it all the time and like my heart like hurts. like I actually recommend that book to like my mom. you know like She would love that.
00:49:47
Speaker
ah um i right like that's a good like mom but like you know like good mom book that's a good mom book um number four was tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow like Randy said incredible book makes you feel so much i was trying to place it that narrator the one the male narrator in that he sounds like someone i've heard recently and i'm like is that max um
00:50:16
Speaker
What's his name? Max Myers. It sounds like him. They have a very similar like tone and Max Myers just did an audio that I just listened to that. Now I can't think of the name, but he did just do something. And it's something we all did. I think I need to look it up, but he did the, he did ah another romance I read earlier this year, but like, I don't know. Maybe, maybe my brain is playing tricks on me, but that's a good audio book too. If you need an audio, the no show is my number three. Mm-hmm.
00:50:43
Speaker
That is a book that I think about all the time. Yes. Max Myers just did The Pairing. The Pairing. The Pairing, yes, by Casey McQuiston. I knew I just listened to something that they were in. But yeah, The No Show. Great book. Fantastic. Bethel Leary, the writer you are. And like I was thinking about this. like You know she's a writer because
00:51:07
Speaker
ah Well, this is for me, if a writer can go from writing in like third person and first person, not with even within the same book, just for different books, I'm like, you know how to write because you know what the story needs. Because other Bethalyre books, first person, but that book like needed that third person, like outside view. And I'm like, oh, you just fucking knew. Even like we care about still, like her first series written in third person, and then everything else is like first, like you just, you just know. Rainbow Rowell too, you just know, you know. ah Talent.
00:51:37
Speaker
And then I had a tie between, uh, at number two, between Long Way Home and The Great Undoing. At the time I could not decide which one I liked more. Now The Great Undoing is like one of my favorite books of all time. I think about it all the time. Um, but yeah, that was reading Magnolia. I'm honestly shook that Magnolia parks itself. Like, I don't know if I did a series ranking that year, like you did, Brandy. I need to, I don't think you did. Yeah.
00:52:02
Speaker
But like I think as a whole, that series is probably just like comfortably at number two. And then my number one was Party World by Abby Jimenez. And I was looking at my TikTok that I did about it ah with this list. And I said that that book reminded me why I love stories and romance so much, and think that that still holds up. And I think it's because she took that like Disney approach of like, princess, princess, all that. like yeah but you just story basics right like When you stick to the basics, sometimes it just works and then you like personalize it to the characters and it just, I have reread that book more times than I can count. And yeah, I mean, we'd talk about that book all the time, but that was my, tucked in. Good more to read. Yes. Our friend Haley at her podcast. We have an Abby Deep Dive that you, if you haven't listened to yet, you should listen to it because then you would just hear us wax poetic about.
00:52:52
Speaker
all those books but yeah i think my list still like all these books i yeah still hold near and dear to my heart so yeah good list i had a top 12 that year i didn't have a series ranking but i had a top 12 so top 10 challenge 2024 i know did i i'm trying to remember if i did top 10 and last year. I did a top 10 last year, I think. Okay. I think you did too. Okay. 11 and 12 were Indigo Ridge and Juniper Hill, also by Debney Perry. I personally prefer Indigo Ridge over Juniper Hill,
Kayla's 2022 Favorites
00:53:26
Speaker
but I included them both. Number 10 was You Deserve Each Other by Sarah Hogle. I love that book.
00:53:34
Speaker
Uh, I really love the book. It's like the perfect rom-com to me. Number nine was honey and spice. So this is where we're getting into a lot of similar territory. Uh, eight book lovers, still my favorite Emily Henry book by far.
00:53:55
Speaker
uh number oh my far don't be rude to siblings by far for me too oh by far is crazy okay it's easily my top top Emily Henry book easily number seven was Daisy hates one number six wait what number am i on hold on I know going in descending reverse order. Yeah, no, that's correct. Yeah. Number six was Daisy hates one. Number five was, uh, wait, no. What did I say? Number seven was Daisy hates one. I'm so sorry. Number six was tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow. Okay. Number five was the no show by Beth O'Leary.
00:54:35
Speaker
Number four was Lessons in Chemistry. And then I tied number two and three for Daisy Hates the Great Undoing and The Long Way Home. But I agree with Kendra. I would definitely pick The Great Undoing over The Long Way Home. It's also one of my favorite books of all time now. And then, of course, number one was Part of Your World by Abby Hemet. It's like, here what else could it be? So, yeah, I still love all those books. It's a good list.
00:55:04
Speaker
do you know what i just realized as you guys were talking about that being your number one is that i read yours truly in 2022 but i didn't put it on my 2022 list but then because i read it in 2022 i didn't put in my 2023 list so it's never made one of my top tens before i you know it didn't make one of mine either because because of that exact reason i Yeah, I always just include any arcs that I read the year before it comes out in my next one, if if i if it deserves it, obviously. But I'm sure I included yours truly in my top list. I think it depends. I think it depends on like how like, like Promise Me Sunshine. That's already number one for 2025. Like. That's going to be hard. That's like the book to beat now for me. Like I'm going to include it this year. I'm going to let me not give off out my plans for my top ten list, but
00:55:54
Speaker
It will be on that list. And then I'm going to definitely include it again next year because it just deserves it. Oh, I was literally like thinking about it so much last night. I was just like talking to myself. It was so good. Is there any books in your list that were not included on each other's lists? For me, you made a fool out of death your beauty heartless and babble were not on or alone with you neither. For me, it was you deserve each other.
00:56:21
Speaker
ah terms and conditions wasn't on, anybody else for 2022? I'm not counting SAIT because you guys put center. So basically. Yeah. Yeah. But I think that's like, and I mean like a million June's like made my 2021 list. Like you guys just hadn't, Kayla still hasn't read it. You haven't read a million June's?
00:56:41
Speaker
um Yeah. Let's, let's talk about that. Cause that is a great book. it' um pi You're not a YA person. So I can't even like, I'm not huge on YA contemporary. Yeah, I know. But it's YA contemporary slash like magical realism. It's so much fun and like heartbreaking and devastating. Julia Weyland is an audio book and it's on PRH. You should do it. OK.
00:57:09
Speaker
Um, but yeah, I think other than that, like a lot of our lists are very similar. Yeah. I think especially twenty twenty two too yeah good i like we have good taste. When we decided to do this episode, I really thought I was going to be like, Oh, and I, even looking at the books that didn't make my top list, but I was like scrolling through my five stars on Storygraph. No, I, most of them stand up.
Anticipations for 2023 and Changing Criteria
00:57:34
Speaker
Yeah. And we didn't do 2023, but if you like to hear us talk about 2023, we have an episode walking you through our picks from last year. And then, like I said, at the beginning of the episode, we're going to have an episode of walking you through our picks this year. And this year, how are you guys feeling about your talk? We have like two months left of the year. And this is when people start to really consider a lot of things. I haven't even I don't know if I'm going to be able to like order them.
00:58:03
Speaker
I didn't order last year either. I did not order mine last year. I think I ordered like the top three and everything else I was like, you can take it or leave it like yeah where you want it to be is where it is. But the top or the top. That's not true. I actually i I had a yeah, I had a top book, but everything else below that I was like, I love all these ones. So yeah, I am excited. I think.
00:58:29
Speaker
I think I'll be able to do it. I do know that there are going to be some where I'm like, I'm not going to rank multiple shot multiple shadow hunters books, for example. So I'm going to stick the shadow hunters book somewhere in my ranking and then share my top three from that series. Like I think that's the approach I'm going to take with like series this year. Um, so that way I don't have to worry about like trying to fit three, four or five books into a top 10. I'm not doing that.
00:58:56
Speaker
Yeah, I think I'll just expand my number again. You know, council some I think i I don't want to go above 15. I think 15 is like solid, but well, I did last year make an honorable mentions video where I shared like six books that didn't make it into my top 10, but I still considered amazing books that people should read. I'll probably do that again. I don't know. Yeah, we'll see. I feel like I'll be able to do it, though. I'm going to include arcs this year. I've decided.
00:59:28
Speaker
i i i I am not, but just because I. It's an excuse to not have to. Yeah. So yeah, it's interesting. Some books at the beginning of the year that I thought would make my top 10 like anticipated reads that are not in there. You know what I mean? Are there any that you can share?
00:59:46
Speaker
Yeah, like, I don't know, Bella Donna made my top list of last year. And so I thought maybe with Syria, I don't, I definitely wouldn't put it with Syria in my top 10. That's, that's the only one that is coming to mind at this exact moment. Like I had really high hopes for Elsie Silver's new series and I wouldn't put those in my top 10 either. So yeah. Yeah. I'm trying to think if there was any like anticipated that, well, I was talking to And you know, we'll see if anyone listening, we'll see if this holds up when the episode comes out, when we record it. I was talking to Kayla and Brandy and I was like, I don't know if like just for the summer would make my top 10 just because like I love it. Oh my God. Amazing. I think it would make like a top 15, but like I think other books have just had, I've thought about other books more. And I think last year in this year, that's how I've approached making this list of like,
01:00:37
Speaker
How much space have you taken up in my brain? Especially if I'm like a lot of these are five stars, but like once you have to like rank them, it's like or like compile the list. It's like, OK, how much real estate? Because sometimes I have read a book that it's like five stars. And then I don't think of like I move on. You know, and but some books I'm like still sitting there. That one will definitely be in my top ten. I do think about that book. So I and I think that Emma is like we talked about in our Abbey Deep Dive Abbey, Emma is Yeah, she's great. Probably my favorite Abby female character. So that's a nice little look back, you guys. Yeah, that's a good taste. Yeah, I wish we could put the Charlie XCX like rewind song like sometimes on Instagram.
01:01:28
Speaker
I'll put that song on the episode announcement. perfect for fun. Yeah, that's a good song. Let us know if there are any books from your past list that you would change the ranking on or the ones that you think really stand up. Did you have good taste in 2021 as well? Let us know. Follow us on Instagram over at bring your own pod. We'd love to see you there. If you enjoyed this up episode, please rate and review five stars and we'll see you next week. Bye guys.