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Bookish Banter: Karmen's Top Picks!
17 Plays17 days ago
Join Karmen this week as she gives her top book recommendations by genre along with some honorable mentions. Don’t forget to answer our question of the week on Instagram.
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Instagram: @familyfictionpod
Karmen’s Bookstagram: @karmensreadingcorner
Hallie’s BookTok: @hallie_br00kes_n00k
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Transcript
Halle loses voice; co-host takes over with book recommendations
00:00:31
Speaker
Hello everyone, and welcome back to family fiction with Carmen to- today. Um, Halle is not sick, but she has lost her voice. Um, so instead of doing chapters five through seven, sorry, eight through 11,
00:00:50
Speaker
of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets this week. We decided to let Halle take a break um since she's supposed to lead anyways and no point in recording if she can't speak. So um if you haven't paid attention via the title, um I'm going to be giving my number one recommendations for books be a genre. So whichever these genres is your favorite. These are my top picks for those genres. um And yeah, I'm gonna have some honorable mentions in here for each genre as well. um And if you can think of any more genres that I didn't cover that you would like to know my number one recommendation for, then just let me know.
00:01:39
Speaker
Okie dokie. So let's just get started.
Non-fiction favorites: 'The Royal Diaries' and Matthew Perry's memoir
00:01:44
Speaker
So for non-fiction, my number one recommendation is always The Royal Diaries rural dire um by Burton Morgan.
00:01:57
Speaker
If you don't know who she is, she played Peyton Sawyer on One Tree Hill. um She's married to Jeffrey Dean Morgan. I don't know if any of this rings a bell for you. She's in some Hallmark movies. um But I am a huge One Tree Hill fan, so this was a book that I definitely wanted to pick up when it came out. um And it is one of the first non-fiction books that I devoured cover to cover normally with non-fiction i'll listen to the audiobook just because sometimes it's hard for me to stay in the book if i'm reading it and not listening to it um but for this one i was able to read it not listen to it i read it cover to cover um my actual goal at some point is to re-listen to it since she is the narrator for it
00:02:51
Speaker
um But essentially it's just about her time on One Tree Hill and her time with um MTV before that and things after One Tree Hill, everything that went down with the producer and creator of One Tree Hill um and how she started a farm called Mischief Farm um in Rhinebeck, New York and basically how she took a small town and kind of in a way saved it like they were um having some failing businesses and i know she still does like fundraisers for the local theater programs and stuff so they're very involved in their community out there and it's just kind of a story of her life and i thought it was pretty amazing
00:03:39
Speaker
um Honorable mention for non-fiction would be Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing by Matthew Perry. Unfortunately, I picked up this book after he passed. um and It was very sad to listen to after he passed because he is the narrator and you have a forward by Lisa Kudrow and all of it's just very very sad um especially like at the end of the book he's thanking everyone in his life that's made his life better so it just really felt like
00:04:14
Speaker
I don't know what the word is, it felt like foreshadowing a little bit and it was was very sad. um But I enjoyed hearing about his time um on Friends and his life before Friends and just learning a little bit more about Matthew Perry. um And I think it helped to define his legacy for me a little bit more than I knew and just all the work he's put into rehab facilities that helped him. um So really good.
Fantasy series: 'Throne of Glass' and 'Game of Thrones'
00:04:43
Speaker
My next genre is epic fantasy. um So I kind of split fantasy into epic fantasy and romanticy. But for epic fantasy, my number one recommendation is always going to be Throne of Glass by Sarah J Moss. I think this is an amazing series, it is unlike any other series I've ever read, no I did not put it in romanticy because I consider it epic fantasy since if you've read the series it's not like focusing on any sort of relationship for a good like half of the series.
00:05:20
Speaker
um And even then when a relationship is introduced, it's not the main plot point. um I just love the vibes that it gave me of like, um it almost gave me like parts of the Caribbean vibes. Like I just love the assassin being a main character and you've got people fighting for their kingdoms and you have all sorts of magical creatures including dragons. Thank you.
00:05:45
Speaker
and you have princesses and magic and witches and knights and just all kinds of crazy goodness. um I will forever say this is my favorite Sarah Jamal series. Honestly, don't hate me.
00:06:04
Speaker
Akator is not my second favorite. I would easily say that Crescent City is my second favorite. I really enjoyed Crescent City um and I'm ready for more of that series. But Throne of Glass is one that like I felt a pit in my stomach when I got to the last book and I am So ready for her to do some sort of spin-off please um But these are some of my favorite characters this book has Two out of the top three of my favorite Sarah J Maas characters so Just saying my favorite is Dorian. I love Dorian If you know, you know um
00:06:52
Speaker
If you haven't read Throne of Glass, it is a whirlwind fantasy about an assassin and she's trying to get revenge and do some justice in the world and it's hard for me to explain what majority of the series is about without being a major spoiler.
00:07:11
Speaker
If you've read it, then you know what I'm talking about. Um, but it's very good. And if you enjoy fantasy at all, please read Throne of Glass. If you have read any other Sarah J Ma's book and you haven't read Throne of Glass, you're missing out.
00:07:26
Speaker
um honorable mention for epic fantasy is of course game of thrones by george rr martin um i actually watched the show first and then read the books and then went back and re-watched the show and it is kind of crazy like when i first watched the show i don't think i realized like you know it probably went off book but I don't think it's that bad and then read the books and then went back and rewatch the show it is so notable the moment they go off the books like
00:08:03
Speaker
All of a sudden Bran has no personality, um certain characters like Arcs shift drastically, and it just stopped making sense after that. um So yeah, definitely have an appreciation for the fans that were upset about the last two seasons of Game of Thrones.
00:08:25
Speaker
I'm with you. But I do think the books are amazing. And if you haven't read the books, but you're a fan of the show, go listen to the books, or read them or however you want to do it. I listened to them. The narrator was like this older British man with a gruff voice and it just, it felt appropriate.
Romantasy picks: 'Fourth Wing' and 'Red Queen'
00:08:47
Speaker
um great books Aria Stark is my favorite show and book love her um for romanticy honestly and this probably could change if you asked me a little while from now but you know coming high off of what just got released my number one recommendation is fourth wing um by rebecca yaros um if you have a red fourth wing then you're probably living living under a rock if you like anything about romantasy or fantasy or dragons um this is an amazing like series so far i'm only like
00:09:27
Speaker
30% of the way through Onyx Storm, which is the third one. um So not very far, but um fourth wing was amazing. It is about a flight, like a dragon rider flight school. It's a war college and we start out with our main character, which is Violet.
00:09:48
Speaker
and she is becoming a dragon rider kind of against her will a little bit and has to go through all these challenges and trials um that dragon riders do um because once they officially graduate from the war college they do fight in the war against Vinen which are like dark dragon riders essentially um and so you just follow her journey through the War College and like all the trials and stuff she has to go through and obstacle courses it's kind of like Divergent meets The Hunger Games meets Throne of Glass if that makes any sense
00:10:28
Speaker
Um, but it's very, very good. We have some, you know, dark, brooding male main character. has she um We have an FMC that is unlike others. She's not.
00:10:43
Speaker
you know strong when she enters this college and she's not really like strong at the end of the book one like she still is having like physical issues into book three like she never becomes like oh she's gonna you know just be the person to take down them all like no she I mean she does have an amazing ability but you know she's not the traditional FMC that you're used to and that's what I really liked about it Plus this book, it feeds into so many theories. I think I hear more theories about this series than I do any other series. so But it's an amazing book. If you like magic, if you like fantasy, if you like dragons, if you like the vibes of Divergent, Hunger Games, Throne of Glass, Crossbreed, then this is for you.
00:11:33
Speaker
My honor roll mention here has to be Red Queen by Victoria Aviard. I am a long time Victoria fan. I actually am getting to meet her in March and I cannot wait. You guys don't even know what this means for me. um I'm taking my special edition of Red Queen to get it signed. um If you haven't read Red Queen, I had a bit of an issue figuring out where to place this because I almost kind of view it as dystopian a little bit.
00:12:01
Speaker
um And if you've read them then you kind of probably know where I'm coming from on that um So essentially Red Queen is about this girl named mayor um She is a red-blooded person in this world people with silver blood are considered royals They're considered, you know greater than they usually have some sort of magical ability and people with red blood are like living in the slums they are people who are you know paycheck to paycheck and they don't have any magical ability um and mayor is a red-blooded person until one day by accident while in the castle working she falls into the fighting pit which kind of like brings forth people's powers and stuff and she discovers that she has a Lightning ability and This is not supposed to be a thing. She's not silver-blooded. This should not be anything that's happening and so they kind of take her into the castle against her will and They betrothed her to one of the princes and and she just kind of has to find her way in this new life and um you know figure out what it means to have abilities as a red-blooded person and and she's trying to navigate the world of silvers who are not very nice people for the most part and you know she's dealing with some prejudice and she's dealing with some uh some rebellion as well it's a good time um i love that series it's one of my favorites
00:13:36
Speaker
um So the next one I have is romance.
Romance recommendations: 'After' and others
00:13:40
Speaker
um My number one romance recommendation is always going to be after by Anna Todd. Okay, I might scare some people off when I say this. It is a Harry Styles fanfiction.
00:13:53
Speaker
but if you're one of those people those few people these days it seems that doesn't like fanfiction do not let that deter you because his name is hard and Scott not Harry Styles so the names are changed and so if that bothers you then you don't have to think of it as a Harry Styles fanfiction which is you know if you've listened to the podcast and you listened last week that's one of the reasons I'm excited for the new version of Manicold to come out because I don't have to picture him as Hermione and Draco if I don't want to. I can just, you know, get all enemy slivers. After is about this girl named Tessa who moves into her dorm room and she meets her roommate's friends. One of them is harden Scott. He is tall. He is dark. He is handsome. He has tattoos and he is kind of a jerk to her.
00:14:48
Speaker
I know I've already caught your attention with that. um And it's, you know, it's an Emmy slovers kind of thing. um And she's trying to navigate college life. She's lived a very sheltered life and this new world of people she's been introduced to.
00:15:04
Speaker
live a very unsheltered life. um So now she's going to parties, she's drinking, she's going out all hours of the night and trying to navigate college life while balancing her own, you know, sheltered life. And it's a very fun time. I will give warning that you will be annoyed with everybody in this book at some point. um You just have to push through.
00:15:34
Speaker
because i know when i was reading them i had moments of like i can't do this anymore because if they fight one more time i'm gonna lose it and i'm so upset and by the time you start feeling that way if you push through just the tiniest bit more you're hooked back in um because anna does a great job at writing these books so i highly recommend just sticking with it
00:15:56
Speaker
I have two honorable mentions here. One of them being The One and Only, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. This is a book I now own 11 copies of. I love this book. I have reread it a few times. I know the movie does not match, but I love the movie with Keira Knightley.
00:16:19
Speaker
um Um... Mr. Bennett. I just... I love Donald Sutherland in this movie. It is his redeeming quality from playing President Snow.
00:16:31
Speaker
Um, but yeah, you know, classic. My other honorable mention is Broken Harbor by Catherine Cowles. Um, if you've been following me on Instagram, then you know, I've really been getting into Catherine Cowles books in this like romantic suspense genre that's happening. Um, and her books have been amazing. Um, they are romance. They have a little like side mystery plot to each of them. And I never Guess who the villain quote-unquote is gonna be Never I always think I do I have yet to guess it and if I do guess like one of the villains Then there's always the second villain that pops up that I'm like, okay Would have never guessed that so there's always a surprise factor even if you think you've got it figured out There's always a surprise factor
00:17:27
Speaker
um This is her Spiritual Falls series and I have been absolutely devouring them. Broken Harbor is the most recent release. Beautiful exile comes out soon. But Broken Harbor has been my favorite so far. It's a good time.
00:17:48
Speaker
um This one's essentially about a baker. Her name is Sutton. She owns a bakery and she's being haunted by her ex-husband, the father of her child, um but she meets Copeland Colson, who is a, like,
00:18:08
Speaker
professional hockey player we love um and he kind of just takes over a like protective role over setting in her little boy because he loves to play hockey and starts going to hockey camp with Colson with Copeland and you know it's a good time.
00:18:28
Speaker
highly recommend. My
Dark romance spotlight: 'The Sinner'
00:18:30
Speaker
next genre is dark romance because obviously um and my number one recommendation for dark romance is The Sinner by Chantel Tessier. I ah absolutely devoured this book. If you again, if you follow me on Instagram, you'll know that I've been loving the Lords series. um And this has been my favorite of that series so far. It was beautiful, enemies to lovers, but not really enemies lovers. It's
00:19:08
Speaker
technically friends to lovers and if you know me you know i don't typically go for the friends to lovers but they've been like it's he's been in love with her since they were kids and she just never really saw him that way and she has a tragic backstory she has some childhood trauma and he's in love with her and he's trying to get her to be with him and She just has a lot of trauma and it's, you know, touch her and die kind of vibes and it's wonderful. If you like dark romance, highly recommend. My honorable mention here is Hate by Tate James. um This was a series I was recently introduced to this year and I read the entire series in two weeks, i couldn't put it down.
00:19:58
Speaker
um It is a reverse harem. um We have Madison Kate who has just moved back home after being exiled by her father um and when she gets back home she realizes that the Men who are responsible for getting her exiled and getting her put in jail the night that shall not be spoken of are now living in her house. um And so she has to go to school, deal with them, come home, deal with them. And it's a beautiful moment. We love, love, love this series.
Thrilling reads: 'The Silent Patient' and more
00:20:42
Speaker
um my next genre is mystery thriller um my number one recommendation would have to be the silent patient by alex my mica leads and i'm not really sure how you say his last name but y'all this book. earlier when i was saying that the villain you'll never see it coming by golly did this book catch me off guard i never saw it coming
00:21:17
Speaker
and now like it's infuriatingly so to the point where like I need to reread it to see what signs I missed because it's amazing um if you like a good like eerie book with a plot twist you'll never see coming this book beautiful um essentially it's about this psychiatrist who is trying to solve what happened to this girl um the girl's so husband was like tied up beaten up tortured she was tortured too I believe um her husband was killed and she got away
00:21:59
Speaker
um and now she's in a psychiatric facility because she's having psychiatric issues um and so you follow um like it goes back and forth a little bit you bounce back to what happened that night and then to the psychiatrist who is you know speaking with her and trying to solve what happened that night and it's so good I have two honorable mentions here again. ah The first one is The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. If you like a book with a good solid mystery, puzzles, riddles, things to solve, this is the book for you. um It is about a girl named Avery Grahams who one day discovers that hey this billionaire died
00:22:48
Speaker
and he's left her all of his money his empire his businesses everything and she has never met him before so throughout the book she moves into the house um because she has to stay in the house for one year to get the money that's the rules them's the rules um and when she moves in there's four grandsons that live there um he did give some money to the grandsons but not much and I know you're thinking like why wouldn't she just let them have the money well if she doesn't live there for a year the money doesn't even go to them it goes into his charities so she kind of has to live there for a year so then she can give them their money and get out as her plan
00:23:38
Speaker
Um, but the billionaire that passed, he was a big fan of puzzles and riddles. So he left behind all these clues. And if she solves them, she believes that she'll find out why she got the money. So her and the grandsons kind of schemed to find out what happened. It's a good time.
00:24:01
Speaker
My other honorable mention is The House Made by Frieda McFadden. Um, I've only read a couple books by her so far. I definitely plan to read more. I got a ton for Christmas this year. Um, but out of the ones that I've read so far, this one's been so good. Obviously they're turning it into a movie, um, with Sydney Sweeney. Love. Um, and, uh, oh, oh gosh. The Girl from Mamma Mia.
00:24:32
Speaker
i can't think every name but you know i'm talking about um it's about this maid who moves into the house to become the maid for the house obviously um she doesn't have a lot of money she's staying there and while she's cleaning for the house cooking for them you know helping to pick up the kid from school stuff like that she discovers that this house might hold a dark secret the wife is kind of nuts
00:25:06
Speaker
and she feels very threatened by the wife. um And just a bunch of crazy things start happening and you'll never see what's gonna happen next. It's really wild. um Yeah, the thing I love about Frida books is they always start off with a chapter that you don't know whose point of view it's in. And it's like the last chapter, essentially.
00:25:30
Speaker
but you don't know whose point of view it's in. So then throughout her book, she'll bounce back and forth between points of view and so you're trying to figure out like whose point of view is it going to be at the end. Anyways, my next genre is paranormal supernatural.
Eerie stories: 'House of Salt and Sorrows'
00:25:47
Speaker
So if you know me, this is one of my favorite genres. I love this genre. I've been getting into it more over the past few years. um Honestly,
00:26:00
Speaker
this love of this genre came from the books that I'm gonna talk about here um and I just I love a good eerie book like I don't like scary movies at all I don't like the suspense of waiting to jump I hate it I can't stand it um I also don't like things that could be real if that makes sense so I will not watch The Conjuring I like the quiet place, mostly because I watched it because of John Krasinski, and I liked like Split, and I watched House at the End of the Street, but the only reason I watched that was because that was Jennifer Lawrence and I was in the Hunger Games era.
00:26:43
Speaker
But I just don't really love scary movies But I kind of love a good scary book I again I don't think I'd read a scary book about things that could be real if it has just the slightest touch of fantasy to it I can my brain can process it better, I guess. um Anyways, my number one recommendation is House of Salt and Sorrows by Irina Craig. um The way I always describe this book is if 13 Dancing Princesses Barbie movie was scary.
00:27:19
Speaker
Let's put it that way. Um, essentially there's these sisters and they live on this castle on a cliff side over next to the ocean. Um, and it feels like a Scottish fable. It really does. Um, and the sisters are <unk> cursed. Um, I think at this point I know at least two have died.
00:27:45
Speaker
maybe three but they've all been like questionable suicides and so to the point where like the sisters don't actually think that the other sisters committed suicide they think they were killed um and it's like a curse of the sisters essentially um and we follow one of the sisters as she's trying to discover why her sisters were killed and also she discovers that a there's a magical door in a cliffside and it takes them to this fantasy realm where where they can dance the night away and fancy new slippers and fancy new ball gowns and
00:28:28
Speaker
be bougie and so her and all her sisters each night get dressed up in their fancy shoes and their fancy see dresses and go to the cliffside and go to the fantasy realm um turns out there is a dark past behind everything that's happening and obviously and it just gets eerie and crazy from there so highly recommend um honorable mention we used to live here um by Marcus Clewer. This was a book that we read last year for Book Club for like November, I think. um Because everybody had pretty much read it for October, so we decided to discuss it in November.
00:29:14
Speaker
i was obsessed with finishing this book i think i read it in a day um so this is probably the closest i can get to being like okay this feels like it could be real i can't read that this is as close as it gets folks so essentially this girl has just moved into this house that's like out in the middle of nowhere her think it's just her girlfriend I don't think they're married um is gone from the house and while her girlfriend will say I don't I can't remember if they're married or not while her girlfriend is out this family shows up at the door they've not moved in yet you know they're just moving in there's still a ton of boxes like things are not unpacked they're doing renovations all that kind of stuff
00:30:10
Speaker
And when she opens the door, first of all, never would I ever have even opened the door. um When she opens the door, the man, the dad, explains that this was his childhood home. He used to live here. He wants to bring the kids and his wife in to show them where he used to live. They were driving through town on their way back from visiting somewhere and he wants to know if they can come in well she's really skeptical and very like paranoid about things me too that's why i'm like why would you even open the door but um and so she says no to begin with and then she ends up telling him yes never mind if it's quick you can come in
00:30:57
Speaker
Well, the minute they enter the house like immediately from there, crazy things happen. they There are several points where they just that can't leave because their car breaks down or one of the kids is hiding in the basement. It gets even crazier from there. I would maybe put this more closer to like the paranormal.
00:31:20
Speaker
um like sci-fi side of things it's very crazy at the it's one of those books that at the end you start reading reddit theories and you just really like you don't know like there is no true ending they're just infinite amount of possibilities of this is maybe what happened it's crazy it is a mind twist and If you like books that are eerie, if you like books that are a little bit sci-fi, very paranormal. Very gonna leave you with a book hangover at the end and you're gonna be thinking about this book non-stop for weeks. Read this book.
00:32:04
Speaker
Another honorable mention is The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud. So this is actually the show that sparked my love of this genre of books. Probably not sparked, more like really fueled the flames and now it's all I want to read.
00:32:24
Speaker
um So the series that I'm talking about is Lockwood & Co. on Netflix. I was obsessed with this show. So of course, in Netflix's Infinite Wisdom,
00:32:43
Speaker
they cancelled it. um So we never did get season two. So essentially season one ended with such a plot twist and like cliffhanger that I was like, well now I have to go buy the books. Great. So the odd thing about these books is that they are found in the kids section at Barnes and Noble. Like I'm talking all the way in the back, back there where Jeannie B Jones has like this section.
00:33:05
Speaker
And it's a little wild to me that these are in the kids section because there are parts of these books that like freaked me out. um So essentially, it's kind of dystopian. So it's supposed to be set in London, far in the future. um At this stage, ghosts.
00:33:23
Speaker
I've kind of taken over spirits and ghosts, kind of like run the world a little bit. Um, and kids below a certain age, starting as young as like five can sense ghosts, whether they can see them or hear them. Um, I think there's another way they can see them. They can hear them.
00:33:50
Speaker
Maybe it's both, I don't know, there's different like abilities you can have. um And we follow our main character, Lucy Carlisle, as she um has a talent for hearing ghosts, and she can kind of hear the echoes of how they died. If they make themselves super visible, they can all kids can like see them, but if she can hear them, she can't necessarily see them.
00:34:17
Speaker
Seers can kind of see like a glow around the ghost and like see where it's at But they can't hear the stuff that here that the hearing people can hear it's a whole thing um, but essentially she can hear like the echoes of how they died and Like try to find the body to um so they can find their remains and burn it or whatever um but as the kids can sense ghosts they work for like ghost hunting agencies i guess is what you would call it and they're sent out to people's homes who have ghosts infesting their homes or to certain areas if areas are being haunted and somebody wants to renovate that land or whatever
00:35:02
Speaker
um they are sent to get rid of the ghosts and so Lucy after an incident that kind of involves her whole squad being wiped out um she runs away from home um because her mom's kind of the worst and she goes to London where she um you know interviews for the job at Lockwood & Co which unpopularly is ran by other kids her age, teenagers, and normally agencies are run by a few adults and they always have like an adult agent that has to go with the kids on missions but this one's run by a teenager and his name is Anthony Lockwood and he only has one other employee his name is George and the trio makes an agency and they go hunting ghosts
00:35:58
Speaker
and each book has a different like adventure um season one of the show was books one and two which is very unfortunate because the third book was my favorite of the series and we didn't get to get that plot unfortunately so here we are um but yeah if you like ghosts if you like a good easy read i you know that's a good series to get into but there were parts like i was reading a chapter that i had like a little kid ghost and it was being extremely creepy and right at the time the kid ghost was like about to pop out halle knocked on my back door and i didn't know i didn't see her text that she was coming down and we i left my body for a minute
00:36:47
Speaker
um My final genre of recommendations is dystopian.
Dystopian tales: 'The Hunger Games' and 'Blood Red Road'
00:36:52
Speaker
um I think you guys know me well enough by now to know what I'm going to mention. We of course have the one. The only.
00:37:03
Speaker
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I don't think anyone's shocked that this is my recommendation. um If you don't know what The Hunger Games is, let me just tell you. It's about this girl named Katniss Everdeen. Essentially picture North America becoming this like it's called Pan Am is North America it gets divvied up into districts there's 12 districts technically 13 um and the capital kind of runs the districts and basically what happened is district 13 rebelled against the system and caused a war in the
00:37:50
Speaker
like effect of that war um cause the capital to then create what is called the hunger games where they take one boy and one girl from each district every year to fight to death fight for death fight to the death in an arena um and only one will survive and that one person is known as a victor and they get riches and they get to go to the capital if they want they get spoiled for the rest of their life um and this is not a voluntary action kids are have to participate in what's called a reaping every year where they get their name drawn out of a pot
00:38:32
Speaker
um And our story follows Katniss Aberdeen for the 74th annual Hunger Games. And she gets picked to go to the Hunger Games. Well, her sister gets picked and she volunteers to go in her sister's place. So she goes with my man Peanut Malark. And she has to fight in the Hunger Games. The books, they they don't go straight to the games from there. like They have to do these like like where they have to basically pitch themselves to the public and to the capital because if they are seen as a capital darling you know if somebody in the capital likes them they'll send them gifts in the games which could be the difference between life and death and like you know they can send them like at one point Katniss gets sent a healing ointment for a burn on her leg um they can send them food they can send them water
00:39:28
Speaker
healing things I don't remember if they can send them weapons I don't know I assume no um but yes so she's having to fight against 23 other people to survive so she can get back home to her family It's a good time. um And a big motivator for a lot of these tributes is the fact that the districts, for the most part, some of the districts are okay, but most of the districts are in like poor states. So winning the games could literally be survival for their family because they also get a like monthly
00:40:10
Speaker
Like stipend that they get from the capital that you know helps provide for their family They get put up in a nicer home. They get more food. They get to do things go to the capital for these lavish parties holding It's a great series and if you don't recognize my love for it, then you should um It's fantastic the new one comes out soon. I can't wait. I've always wanted Hamish's games, so I'm very excited My honorable mention for this category is Blood Red Road by Moira Young. This was a book that I read in high school. I got it at this classic book fair. I've reread it like two or three times since then. I love this series. It's a trilogy. It's so good. I will say one like tricky thing about this book is that you kind of have to adjust
00:41:07
Speaker
to reading it a little bit so dialogue does not have quotation marks around it everything's written like if you've read the hungry games I mean sorry if you've read Harry Potter and you know how Hagrid's dialogue is written in Harry Potter that's essentially how the whole trilogy is written because it's supposed to be like they're from like the backlands and They talk with a country accent and you ain't got nothing for my Paul. Like that kind of like that's exactly how it's written. Um, and so it does take a minute just to get used to. but
00:41:45
Speaker
storyline so good. Essentially we follow this girl her name is Saba and her one day they live out in you know the desert with her Pa her sister Emmy and her brother Lou. One day these writers come and they take Lou because they think that he's some sort of special person because of his tattoo. Her and Lou were twins don't know how to mention that.
00:42:11
Speaker
um and did they kill her paw in the process so she decides to seek revenge and go after her brother and save him from these people and we follow her as she navigates the dust lands and as she navigates the you know big cities in the dust lands it is very dystopian she finds like a crashed helicopter later like and it's you know it's been there for a while but they call him um I believe this is the book where they call like us wreckers so it's like wrecker like a wrecker machine is what she finds like it's that but it's a helicopter
00:42:53
Speaker
um It's really crazy. If you ever watch the Mortal Engines, it kind of gives that kind of vibe. Because at one point there's like they're called land skiffs and it's essentially like a boat on dry land because there essentially is no ocean. um The series is called Dustlands and that kind of sums up what's going on. But I loved this trilogy. It's an amazing trilogy. You have a love triangle on point. It's beautiful.
00:43:22
Speaker
It's a good time. Highly recommend. It's very Hunger gamesy very hungry Games Hunger Games-y. Especially the first one. It's great. um Okay.
Listener engagement: Share your book recommendations
00:43:35
Speaker
That's, you know, all all the recommendations I have. um We do have a question of the week and that is, what is your number one book recommendation to everyone? If I had to pick one... Honestly, I want to say The Hunger Games, but it probably would be Throne of Glass.
00:43:51
Speaker
I think it would depend on what people like. If you like a good just like solid read The Hunger Games. If you are itching for a fantasy. If this is somebody who's like, I just got done reading fourth wing. I need something to read. Don't I loss? Easy. So depends on the vibe of the person. um But let us know your number one book recommendation to everyone. If you want to give your number one for each of these genres feel free but you don't have to um be sure to follow the podcast and rate us five stars and also be sure to follow us on instagram at family fiction pod where you can check out our question of the week and any future polls or posts on new episodes all that all that jam um
00:44:38
Speaker
Yeah, thanks so much for listening to this week's episode bookish banter episode Hallie I'll be back next week and we'll be discussing chapters 8 through 11 of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets So be sure to come on back and we will see you next