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2024 Bookish Ins and Outs, Reading Goals, and Recommendations | S3Ep1
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Welcome to a brand new season of Bring Your Own! To kick off season 3 we're sharing our 2024 reading in's and out's alongside our bookish goals for the year. A new season also means new book recs! We each provide three books that everyone should have on their TBRs this year.
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Follow Kendra @Kendra.Readz
Follow Kayla @Kaylas.Bookshelf
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Transcript
Introductions and Updates
00:00:06
Speaker
Hi guys. Long time no see. Oh my god. I'm like nervous. I had to dust off my mic. Right? Exactly. I know how to like pull it down. I was like, where is it? Right. Hiding in the back of the closet. Yeah. Hey guys, you're listening to Bring Your Own. It gets all bookish most of the time. Podcast. I'm Brandi. I'm Kendra. I'm Kayla.
00:00:30
Speaker
And today for our first episode of season three, we're just kind of going to be chatting about what we've been up to since the end of season two, what we've been reading, what we've been loving, some bookish goals for the year. And then we got some book recs for you at the end for books we think that you definitely need to pick up before the end of 2024. But before we do that.
Current Reads and Drinks
00:00:49
Speaker
Ladies, what are we reading? What are we drinking? Okay. Well, I have two things. I have just my trusty water bottle and I actually have my lovely water bottle that Kinder got for me. My Love Island water bottle. It's great. Every time I'm like...
00:01:04
Speaker
using it, people are like, what does that say? They're like, what is that? And I'm like, you wouldn't do it. And then I have. Yeah, well, it's like hard to like kind of if you're not looking at it close up, it's kind of hard to read. And then I have just a delicious chai latte that I'm still making my way through from this morning.
00:01:22
Speaker
And then I am reading, currently I'm reading the Black Ties and White Lies book by Kat Singleton. I have an event that I'm going to with her because she's a local author. So I'm really excited about that. And I have to read the first book before the second book comes out. And then I'm also listening to A Love Song for Ricky Wilde by T. Williams. Obviously loved Seven Days in June like everybody else. So it's really excited for this one. I didn't read the description for this one before going in.
00:01:52
Speaker
And so I was kind of shocked by something. I won't say what it was, but it took a direction that I wasn't expecting. So I was like, Oh my God, this is so fun. I love that. I can go. I am currently drinking a vanilla latte that I made at home. It's cold at this point, but that is fine. I will be finishing it.
00:02:10
Speaker
And then I am currently listening to Powerless by Lauren Roberts and nobody is more bummed than I am that I am not vibing with this book at all. So I've bumped it up to like 2.7 speed because I'm at like 80%. So I'm going to finish it today and then move on. I'll talk a little bit more about
00:02:34
Speaker
why I didn't love it after I finished it. But I am also reading the second book in the White Ties and White Lies and Black Ties. Black Ties and White Lies. All the way around. Yep. There you go. There we go. I'm reading the second book in that series as an arc right now because I wanted something fun. So just started that. I have no opinions yet.
00:02:58
Speaker
Let's see. I am currently drinking coffee that I also made at home. I have yet to buy coffee elsewhere this year. Like I've only made it at home. So big win for me. Currently like in between books right now.
00:03:13
Speaker
just recently finished like the last hour showed you by Cassandra Clare it was great i think it kind of fucked up my February a little bit because now i'm just like oh like what else is like gonna come and then i'm so sorry to Brandy because i just finished you made a full of dust with your beauty
00:03:30
Speaker
It was kind of funny. It was kind of funny because you texted me like after you saw my Storygraph update right away. I thought that was like the funniest fucking thing.
January 2024 Reading Highlights
00:03:39
Speaker
Like I was laughing so hard. That's just what we always do though. Like we know. You said ouchie. I said oh.
00:03:47
Speaker
Well, the second I saw you post that on your tracker on Instagram and not say anything to me, I was like, oh, fuck. So then I ran the story graph, 3.5 stars on one of my top books in 2022 is crazy. And you wouldn't let me explain why, and I was like, honestly, respect it. She was trying to explain why it wasn't for me, and I said, no, thank you.
00:04:12
Speaker
But I think that's like a tell like if I well it's not always but like most of the time I would say 80% of the time if I post a book on Instagram without any thoughts it's usually like okay it was just okay unless I feel really strongly about how bad it was and I'll be like this sucked but other than that if I don't post anything about it then I probably just didn't really vibe with it that much sorry it's okay I like have really fully honestly it hurt me way more when Kayla read it and didn't like it because
00:04:41
Speaker
I, because you were like my first friend that read it after I did that, I was like, I love this book. Like, I think everybody should read it, blah, blah, blah. So like, I was a little bit expecting you not to love it. I had hope obviously, but just knowing that I've had a couple friends read it and not love it as much as I did, I was like, okay, that book is not for everybody. That is okay. That's fine. Yeah. It was, it was a book.
00:05:08
Speaker
Anyways, moving on. Should we just kind of chat a little bit about how has our reading year been so far?
February 2024 Reading Goals
00:05:17
Speaker
As of the date of recording, early February 2024, what has your reading year been like so far, you guys?
00:05:25
Speaker
Bro, fucking spectacular. Like I have had like January, I was on fucking fire. You were going crazy. Like every day was another book finished. Bro, literally, I was like, oh, this is great. Because like I was like always like having an audio and like always reading something with my eyeballs. I have yet to read a physical book this year. I think my first one will be Bride by Ali Hazelwood because I got my paper back the other day. But so far so good. And you know, we have a hater in this chat right now. Her name is Kayla and
00:05:55
Speaker
And she doubted me because we made a bet. And it was like, hey, if I read X amount of fantasy books before the end of Q1, you have to read this fantasy book that we'll probably talk more about later.
00:06:10
Speaker
And I know she doubted me, and I've already completed my end of the bargain, and she has yet to start. You did so fast. I did so good. I've been just like turning, like truly fantasy girl era. It's been good. It's been fun. So yeah. Love that. I just also want to stay for the record. I want to stay for the record that she makes it seem like I didn't hold up my end of the bargain. I have a month and 20 days.
00:06:39
Speaker
And you will be waiting a month and 19 days. Literally. I know exactly when I'm going to read it. I know exactly what I'm going to do. Is it right before we go to? No, it's not. It's not. I know I have written in my notes app the order of my listening that I'm going to do and reading that I'm going to do. And I know exactly where it is. So it'll happen.
00:07:07
Speaker
Well, we'll see. I had just the best reading month in January, just, I, yeah, it was like Kendra. I didn't read as much as Kendra did, but I, everything I was reading was just so, so good for the most part. And I read a lot of physical, like, eyeball reads, because I'm a big audio girly, as we all know, but I read a lot of really, really fantastic books on my Kindle.
00:07:31
Speaker
Um, in January, a lot of them are arcs. So that's like so annoying. Cause I feel like I can't like fully, fully gush about them quite yet. But I had just an amazing reading month in January. February has, it's been an okay reading month so far. I got really bogged down.
2024 Ins and Outs List
00:07:48
Speaker
with a book that I really, really, really wanted to like that I was reading with my eyeballs that I ended up DNFing because I just could not get into it. So I was really sad that I couldn't get into that one, but I just DNFed it and I honestly, I feel lighter. So that's the best feeling. I'm hoping that now my reading month will turn around and I can kind of repeat what was going on in January because that was just so good.
00:08:14
Speaker
I mean, I'm the same. I think, you know what though, it wasn't just like us. I felt like on, at least like on it for my mutuals, so many people were having just a banger of a January or at least the beginning of the year. And I was the same. Like I, similarly to both of these girls, I was having a great January, especially in the beginning. The beginning is really like where all my top reads were at. And like, definitely I think for me,
00:08:43
Speaker
top reads like probably of the year. Like I definitely got like at least three books that are making the top 10. Yeah. Oh yeah. Yeah. Definitely. So it's definitely making the rest of the year. Like, you know, I'm like, this is gonna suck. Yeah. February's been the same. It's been fine.
00:09:00
Speaker
It's been okay. Like it's not been bad per se, cause I have had some really great reads, but I've also had some just like me, whatever, you know, reads. Most of mine are, it's pretty much the same like stats that I had last year, 50% audio so far. And then like, I've had like two like physical, physical reads and then the rest were Kindle. So yeah. I have not read a physical book so far this year either.
00:09:26
Speaker
twins. Last year I read three of my 176 books. Only three were like actual page turning books. Wow. Yep. Do you like, do you want to change that or do you like that? Like, well, this is such an excellent segue. Do you guys want to do our 2024 ins and outs? Yeah. So we're going to go around and one by one, we're going to say one of our ins and one of our outs.
00:09:55
Speaker
Some of ours might be the same because we didn't exchange these beforehand. We kind of wanted to keep it like a nice little surprise. So we may have some of the same ones. Yeah. And then after that, we're just going to talk like general bookish goals, what we're hoping to get done by the end of the year. So all right. Who wants to do the first in and out? I'll go. OK. I wrote it on a...
00:10:18
Speaker
Oh my god, actual paper. Yeah. Is that one of your goals? Write more on paper instead of in your notes app? I've been writing so like, I've been trying to take more notes and stuff for work because we're going to have like a really busy work year and put like a fun work year. So I've been trying to like just keep up and so I was like, let me just write this down too. Anyways, first in is fantasy books, specifically YA, Upper YA, romanticy with little to no spice, just romance and plot.
00:10:46
Speaker
And that is mainly because I am in my Cassandra Clare era and I realized that like that's what I love most about fantasy when I think back on like the Cool Print series and like some other like YA fantasies that I've read like I love those so much because it was like
00:11:03
Speaker
no spice just plot but the romance is still so good. I feel like in adult romanticy don't shoot me. Sometimes like the spice just takes away like you're just like all right like literally the world is dying like why are y'all fucking like let's go um so I love that and I want to read more of it um and then my first out is only reading contemporary romance. I think I'm like starting to like stall a little bit in that genre and I just like need to like switch
00:11:31
Speaker
things up. It's still my baby. It's still my love. But like, after consistently reading it for like, what, two years only, it's like, all right, like, I think I've seen a lot of it. I will say, again, or like I just said, I have YA fantasy as one of my ins. So I mean, I, you know, YA fantasy kind of took over my life last year. I mean, I was always kind of that way, but like, I didn't really read that much of it in like 2022 or the fantasy that I read was mostly adult. So like, YA,
00:12:02
Speaker
especially last year was like really great for me. I mean, like my top rate of the year was a YA, you know, Bella Donna, obviously. I've read several other great YA fantasies. So that is a big one for me, but I won't say that one since Ken already did, but. Well, I'll say a different one though, because I have more ins than outs, so I don't want to. I'll just say a different one. Okay. Being very selective with my arcs is a big in for me.
00:12:32
Speaker
I already had a pretty great, personally, I think, a great net galley ratio. I want to keep that.
00:12:42
Speaker
I used to be a serial netgalley scroller and requester, but now I just scroll for funsies just to kind of get an idea of what's coming out. I don't actually really request anymore unless I really want it, or it's by an author that I know I love. You know it's going to hit, yeah. Yeah, so that's one for me. And then you guys are going to laugh at this one, but just hear me out for a second. For out and out. Out is buying special editions because I have FOMO. Hear me out.
00:13:11
Speaker
No, that's fair. No, I'm like, Oh my God. No, I was going to say because you guys are going to roll your eyes and be like, she's not going to stick to that. Um, but like, for example, the LC silver, um, pre-orders for like sweet grass, you know, the special editions that she's doing didn't touch those. In fact, I just saw today that she actually had to close it early, um, because she had too many people ordering them. So she closed the preorder early. And so I was like, Oh,
00:13:36
Speaker
Guess I didn't get it. Oh, well. Yeah. And so like that. And then, you know, one of my favorite books is coming out with like another special edition. And I'm not going to get it. So they're really nice. They're really, really nice, but I'm not going to get them. So, yeah. So I just think that unless it's a book that I really, really love and I maybe don't already have that special edition.
00:14:03
Speaker
Not gonna get it. Not gonna do it. Or if it's under $35. Or if it's under $35, I might get it. But, but. All of us just having spent $57 on the steamy lit camera shot. Oh my god. Hey, but. $12 shipping. Ah! Okay, $12 shipping, but also, again, like I said, it has to be a book that I love and that I don't already own a special edition of. I don't own a special edition of yours, truly. Why? One doesn't exist yet. So, there you go. True. There you go. Follow my criteria.
00:14:32
Speaker
Okay, my first in is hot girl audiobook walks. I have vulnerable, I'm about to be vulnerable on the podcast. I have a very complicated relationship with exercise and like what that has done for my mental health and relationship with like all that stuff in the past. So I'm trying to put very little pressure on myself to like enjoy movement. And I think hot girl audiobook walks are the way to go. It is currently freezing.
00:15:01
Speaker
in Colorado. It's not making it easy. It's been a little hard to come by at the moment and the treadmills are broken at my apartment complex, which is so annoying. But yeah, so I haven't been able to do that a ton in the last two weeks, but getting it back on it either once this fucking snow melts or they do that. And my out
00:15:20
Speaker
It is couch rotting. I was doing that a lot at the end of 2023 and that has a place. It has a time. I love a good couch rot every once in a while, but it was starting to affect my mental health. If I feel myself couch rotting, I'm just going to get up, put on an audio book, even just clean my apartment if I can't get outside. I love that. Are you going to take Peach on your walks? Get her a little loose?
00:15:41
Speaker
Dude, I wish, I want, you won't let me buy it. I tried to find her like a little cat stroller and he's like absolutely fucking not brandy. So anyways. Would she like it? Would she have fun? I think she would hate getting into it, but once we're outside, cause she loves sitting next to an open window and just like staring outside and smelling and stuff like that. Soaking up the sun. Yeah. So maybe in the summer now that we don't live in LA, maybe, maybe we'll see. Okay. My second in and second out, I'm going to say them together and then talk about it. So.
00:16:11
Speaker
The second in is duets and series and like true standalones. And the second out is interconnected standalones. And this, let me explain. I think not to be like one of those people, but I think the quality of like certain books has gone down.
00:16:29
Speaker
Yeah, because everyone right now is like trying to make like interconnected standalone series and yeah, they're publishing like three to six books a year and you get to like the fourth or fifth book in that series and you're like What am I here? Yeah, like I feel like no connection like there was no
00:16:49
Speaker
Like it was just like kind of pointless in a way. And I think with duets and series and like true standalones, specifically like duets and series, like I love getting to spend so much time with like a certain set of characters and like getting their POV across multiple.
00:17:04
Speaker
books obviously like magnolia park series is a really good example of that having just done like two cassie claire series like you just become so much more attached to the characters and like their feelings and like what they're going through and you get to see like true character growth and i feel like that's something that like fantasy does really well is like okay you're gonna commit to like a three book four book five book series but i want romance to do more of it obviously this excludes like
00:17:29
Speaker
the interconnected standalone series that like I'm so attached to like because there are people that do it really well and like each book is like has meaning and purpose blah blah blah but I'm like if you're just like doing another random series to do another random series like I don't think I need to invest my time in that I agree yeah that's and that's another reason okay like speaking of interconnected standalones and like you know a series focusing on one
00:17:51
Speaker
POV or, you know, the same POVs. That's another reason why I love the simple wild series is because you follow the same couple and you see their growth throughout the whole thing because it's not done in book one. I mean, there is a lot of work done in book one, but there's even more in the next ones. And so that's, you don't ever see that, especially in contemporary romance. Well, not that you never see it, but you hardly ever see it.
00:18:10
Speaker
you know, multiple books following the same people. That's true. And like you think about the books that we obsess over, like Magnolia Parks, the Addicted Calvary Sisters, Simple Wild, like, yeah, I'm just that connection right now. Like those are true series. Yeah. And like, I also just found myself getting really like frustrated when I get to like the end of a interconnected standalone like book. And I'm like, you guys did not grow one bit as characters. Like,
00:18:40
Speaker
and I think that's what I love so so so especially when like the plot is not crazy and it's a true character driven like story I'm like maybe y'all shouldn't have gotten everything you wanted at the end of this book you know like you need it time so yeah more duets and series and true true true standalones in 2024 I like it
00:19:01
Speaker
My next in I actually stole from a friend whose video I saw Ali at Literary Delight. One of her ins was listening to music instead of an audiobook because sometimes when I am doing something like if I'm cleaning or if I'm doing dishes, whatever, laundry, I feel like I have to be listening to an audiobook to maximize
00:19:25
Speaker
You're listening time. Yeah, you know, but like, sometimes I don't have an audio book. And sometimes maybe I don't necessarily want to listen to an audio book or anything at all. So prioritize, not necessarily prioritize, but just, you know, make sure that that I can I can do that instead of upping my stats, because I feel like I have to. And then again, my next out also follows again, another thing that Kendra was talking about out is quantity over quality. I think now
00:19:52
Speaker
I'm not like, I don't want to call like everybody out. But I just definitely think especially, you know, in Kindle unlimited things like that, people are just like put out five books a year. And I just like, you can tell, you know, that sometimes the quality isn't as great as it once was sometimes. And so I just think that I would prefer if
00:20:16
Speaker
people really take the time to hone in on certain things, whether that's plot points, characters, whatever. And, you know, just kind of take a break for yourself too, you know, and like, don't feel like you have to put out as much per year. I get it from the business standpoint. Like, you know, you feel like you have to do that because that's what's popular. Like that's what people, people are consistently consuming things all the time. So like the overconsumption of everything, like I get it. But I think for me as a reader, you just kind of taking a step back now and realizing, you know,
00:20:46
Speaker
I don't think this is what I'm looking for in my moment. Yeah. We're not talking to you, Justin Hastings. Get writing. Get it now. Get to work. We are not talking to you. Just kidding. Are we? I follow Beth O'Leary on Instagram and her next book doesn't come out until 2025, but she's been very open about the fact that she's been writing this book for like
00:21:12
Speaker
Years and like I don't know something about that like even if like I don't like it Which I doubt it cuz the concept sounds so fucking cool Like I don't know that like makes me feel nice like wow like this is a story that like really means a lot to you Instead of you just being like alright. I want to
00:21:28
Speaker
I mean I've seen like authors talk about slowing down their publishing schedule like I know like Elsie Silver has talked about you know slowing down not putting out you know four or five books a year and I can like appreciate that as a reader and also it just helps build helps build your excitement anyway because you know you're like you finish a book and then immediately like oh my god wait the next one is already out you know so I just think it helps build excitement and you know a little bit of suspense like what's gonna happen. I think the rule should be
00:21:55
Speaker
You got to go a little bit more than six months, six months in between releases. If it's like every other month, slow down. And like maybe even six months in between series, because I'll see some authors and they're like, all right, the series just ended. Next series is up. They've already announced their next series. And I'm like, oh. Chill, chill. And again, this doesn't apply to everyone, because I think some people are good at it. But others, I'm just like, you need to calm down. Yeah.
00:22:22
Speaker
Um, my next one, this is something that's staying in and it's like very obvious, but it's related to my out. So audio books for me are staying in. And then the out that's related to that is feeling shame about being an audio book girly. Like they are my preferred format for reading. And I feel like there's obviously just like so much annoying discourse about that. But like I,
00:22:45
Speaker
love audiobooks. I love being told a story and I think that in a lot of cases it can for me make me engage more with a story and blah blah blah. Obviously that's like personal to me but I think like I do still have like some shame like when people are like oh how do you read so much blah blah blah and I'm like oh I listen to a lot of audiobooks and I'm always like
00:23:07
Speaker
You know so out is the shame around being a true true audio girlie Yeah, and like Brandy I like you and I think Kimmy are like really good at this But like certain like quotes and like stuff like you're very good at like remembering them. I'm like oh Shit be able to when so-and-so said and you'll say it like verbatim sometimes I'm like that's like so like like you and audio go like this because like the fact that your brain can like and
00:23:32
Speaker
And that's like the thing too that I think like a lot of people, like it's just how our brains work, right? Because like I feel like I can remember things better in an audio format. Like quotes, plot points, character development, like things like that stick easier for me in an audio format if I'm not like already super, super engaged in the book. Like with Magnolia Parks, like I'm going to read every single one of those before I listen to the audio because
00:24:00
Speaker
I'm already locked in from book, you know, from page one locked in. But if it's just like a random book on KU, I will 100% understand grasp and engage with the story more in an audio format. Yeah, you're valid. Thank you.
00:24:18
Speaker
So my third in is Storygraph and my third out is like not tracking slash only tracking on my phone.
Reading Habits and Tools
00:24:27
Speaker
For context like for what like when I first got on Booktalk I was using Goodreads and then I just became so anti Goodreads where like I just was only keeping track on my phone.
00:24:36
Speaker
and like that helped me a lot but last year I started doing Storygraph and getting that like end of the year like wrap up with felt so nice it's like the equivalent of getting like your Spotify wrapped like where you're just like fuck yeah and I loved seeing exactly how I read
00:24:55
Speaker
Um, and I love that they provide all those stats for you and like i'm really trying to get into like tagging my books now on storygraph Yeah, me too So fun I think a thing that is like helping me is that like my storygraph is private like only a few people have it and that helps because like I don't want it i'm not tracking in like a social way and I feel like with goodreads like that's what was making me like feel overwhelmed because it was like
00:25:17
Speaker
update here update now like everyone's are trying to and i'm just like i don't need to that's not how i want to update with my reading i just want the the stats and stuff so um i'm trying to like really stay on top of my storygraph this year and it's making me feel so far really good um and it's so fun i can't wait to see like what it looks like at the end of the year so yeah i love that i you guys and my best friend who's like not in bookish spaces are my only
00:25:45
Speaker
friends on Goodreads and I plan on keeping it that way. Yeah, yeah, rather. Sorry, Graf. Okay, an in for me. And I mean, I kind of started doing this last year. I just didn't even really think about it. Like I just
00:26:01
Speaker
realized that I was doing it like after the fact was not reading descriptions. So that can be like, I guess it could go either way. Granted, like if it's in an interconnected series, for example, like I know what's coming next, because you know, I just finished the last book, and you know, that book already kind of sets it up. So maybe I like know the tropes and the characters, things like that, like, but I don't know like the full
00:26:25
Speaker
plot right um but like i said the book that i'm reading now i didn't know anything about it and i just kind of went in blind i just knew that i liked the author um and so like it's just a lot more fun that way um and it can just bring like about like nice little surprises and fun things and so that's an in for me and then out okay this is hard for me because i
00:26:50
Speaker
only dnf'd like one book i think last year like i am really really bad about forcing myself to finish books if i don't like them and now granted i like that doesn't happen to me often like because i feel like i have a pretty good grasp on what i know that i will like versus not like and so like it doesn't really happen that often that i rate a book
00:27:13
Speaker
like two and a half stars or lower. But if I feel like that's gonna happen then like I just want to be able to actually DNF like I'm just not very good at that. So an out is forcing myself to finish books when I don't want to or if I'm not having a good time.
00:27:30
Speaker
bnf is so fun it does hurt so good especially when it's like a book that like someone recommended or like you were excited about and you're just like oh i know but it's nothing personal my next in is kind of bookish related but also kind of not it's intentionality in my free time um specifically like with hobbies like obviously reading is my favorite hobby and i love it but i'm not always always always in the mood to read just like nobody ever is with any hobby
00:27:57
Speaker
But having a broader scope of hobbies, like journaling and crocheting, it just brings me a lot of joy to always have a craft going and not be thinking about the end product of that craft, just to enjoy it.
00:28:12
Speaker
The act of doing it and then my out that is also very closely related to that is doom scrolling because I Can really just like get into that phase where I'm like, oh my god. Oh my god I have to consume every single thing about this specific thing in order to like function as a person blah blah blah, which Not true. So less time on my phone in general
00:28:35
Speaker
Yeah, that's like a personal goal for me this year to spend less time on my phone. Okay, my next in is Pinterest boards for my faves and my out is not sitting with my faves. And I guess this goes back into like this general conversation of like wanting to like truly slow down and be intentional with like what I'm reading. I have read even just recently so many of my favorite books and like, yes, I have like a really good January.
00:29:03
Speaker
one thing that I allowed myself to do was like really sit down and like think more about like the characters and like create Pinterest boards for them and like that was so much fun and like not feeling like okay I have to move on to like the next thing and the next thing and the next thing so I want to do more of that this year because it was something that I would do a lot of before I even joined book talk
00:29:23
Speaker
because like that's when like the book was like just for me you know and like that sort of like gives me like another piece of it and like again like not creating something just to like be shared I guess all the times like I guess occasionally I could but like it's just so much fun and like I want to do more of it and Pinterest is like so
00:29:42
Speaker
Like I can spend hours on that app. Just like, right? Like that's like the one place where I think if you're going to doom scroll, like Pinterest is like the place. Cause it brings joy instead of anxiety. Like it's just so calming. And so yeah, I just want to spend more time with my babes. Cause I think fandom and like being a fan of something is so much fun and you should just give your time, give yourself time. I should give myself time to like really do that. Cause I don't do that anymore.
00:30:09
Speaker
I love that. Speaking of Pinterest, I'm kind of the same. I used to make boards a lot in 2022.
00:30:17
Speaker
I had a board, when Kinder was showing her boards for some of our favorite reads that we've had this year, I was like, oh my god, I forgot that I have this huge, for example, Magnolia Parks board that has 500 pins on it. I look at your Magnolia Parks boards all the time. Thank you. I need to update them. They're old. But I used to do that a lot.
00:30:40
Speaker
Done it recently. So that's a good one. But okay So my next in is slower reading for a physical book that I'm annotating Because like I do want to read more physical books this year by like more physical books I mean like maybe 10 like I don't I don't buy books that I haven't read or I usually don't buy books that I haven't already read so I don't feel like I'm bad at doing at doing that like just buying books and then never reading them and
00:31:10
Speaker
But I would like to, if I am reading a physical book, kind of slow down, slow down a little bit because I, you know, again, you know, in this in this space that we're in, you know, sometimes.
00:31:23
Speaker
you know people just blaze through books and that's totally fine like if that's what you want to do but I think if I'm annotating something I want to take you know my time to do it not feel like I have to get through it within two three days so I want to do that and then my last out is forcing myself to read when I don't feel like it so again very similar to what Brandy has said like
00:31:45
Speaker
you know if I'm just like not feeling it I want to have other things that I can turn to where again like brandy whether that's crocheting you know you know hanging out with my husband you know doing a puzzle anything that also doesn't involve a screen if I can help it so like you know try not to just play mindless games on my ipad or you know watch tv or something so anything else any other hobby
Bookish Goals and Social Connections
00:32:08
Speaker
that I have going on walks whatever
00:32:11
Speaker
You should get into Legos. I think Jared would really like that. Oh, he would. He would love that. But that's OK. We already have like no screen. Just your hands. I'll take a puzzle. I'll take a puzzle instead.
00:32:27
Speaker
My next one my in is my Kindle. I bought a Kindle Oasis like in quarter three last year and I just love it so much. The battery life is not as good as the Kindle Paperwhite, but I love the buttons and it sounds so stupid, but it makes such a difference for me and being able to hold it in either hand because the screen rotates on a Kindle Oasis. So you can flip it upside down and like hold it in your other hand
00:32:56
Speaker
I've just been having so much fun on my Kindle this year and then my out which is staying out which is directly related to what Kayla was just saying is buying physical copies of books until I know I love the book. I just almost never do that and I want to continue doing that. I take a lot of pride in having like almost zero books on a physical TBR. Like I think I own like three books that I personally have bought with my own money
00:33:20
Speaker
that I haven't read. And I also just love being able to look at my shelves and knowing that everything on there is something I love. This is like a me personally thing, but I don't understand how people can look at their bookshelves and be like, I haven't read three fourths of those. I haven't read half of those. I'm like, damn, why are they up there? Why do you wanna see them on your shelf if you don't know that you love them? That's a me thing though. But yeah, so staying out is buying books that I haven't read.
00:33:48
Speaker
I agree. When we both moved over the summer and before I moved, I got rid of so many books that I just hadn't read or had in love. So now when I look at my shelf, I'm like, oh, I can talk to you about every single book on this shelf. It's very rare for me now to have a physical book that I haven't read that I bought with my own money, which is nice.
00:34:11
Speaker
So my next in is I guess is related to book budgeting with patience and the out is impatient, crazy book spending. I easily fall into a trap where like, I know I'm gonna read the book. So let me just buy it now. You know, instead of having to wait, but I'm like, girl, you don't have to do that. Like, why don't you get it when you know
00:34:38
Speaker
You're gonna read it. Yeah, cuz then it just it then it does sit there I've gotten a lot better with that but this year I'm trying to like be really good with my money and like where it goes and like Yeah, so I'm just trying to be a patient reader and then like utilize my free resources like Spotify Libby hoopla Kendall unlimited like that's like a subscription I already pay for and
00:35:05
Speaker
like I don't read a lot of books on Kindle Unlimited but I don't want to cancel it because I know that the minute I do someone's gonna put something on there and I'm like yeah so yeah I'm trying to just like be patient and be calm and like if I buy a book in a format and then I read it I don't necessarily need to buy it in like another format unless it's like
00:35:27
Speaker
something i absolutely yeah like need because like i just bought the entire um last hours trilogy and paperback and i'm so glad that i did but i almost bought the hardcover of one of the books and i was like you don't need this like yes it would be so nice to have and like yes you read it but you don't need it and then yeah i did i don't need it so i don't have it am i okay with that sure
00:35:53
Speaker
Um, I will learn to be okay with it. But yeah, that's like, that's a big goal for me. I don't really have that many left, but I was thinking about this as you were talking, Brandy, kind of going off of what you said a big in is, uh, selling your books, utilizing Pango or Mercari. By the way, I have a code. If you want to use it, you can totally check it out. It's Kayla's bookshelf.
00:36:20
Speaker
But yeah, definitely selling your books like I've just you know sold books either that I didn't love or just like you know I just I'm the same way I take great pride in the you know the fact that the books on my shelf are usually books that I really enjoyed or would recommend and so like if if they're like not why would I keep them there so
00:36:42
Speaker
big in is reselling your books or donating your books however you can and i don't have any more outs actually you know what i'll say i'll say an out out and this is a tentative this is a tentative out because it's like a last resort is audible i
00:37:01
Speaker
have my membership paused currently, although I did just buy a credit pack because I didn't have any credits, but it was a last resort type of situation. I don't know, my brain was like, you have to read this book right now. I don't really know why, but you know, you just kind of get into moods where your brain is like,
00:37:17
Speaker
can't move on unless you read this specific book. I don't know why. And the T. Williams book was one of them. So I was like, I didn't want to wait several months for my Libby hold and they didn't have it on Hoopla. You know, it's not a PRH book or Spotify. My husband wouldn't let me use the Spotify because he's claiming that he's going to get into audiobooks now. It was a whole thing. So
00:37:38
Speaker
So I was like, okay, my last, he's not, he's such a liar. He's the biggest liar, liar. He was like, I just like listened to a couple of hours of one last month. I was like, okay. Anyway, so I did have to buy an audible credit and that pained me like that greatly. I felt pain in my soul. Normally I would just be like, yeah, credits, whatever. But now I'm like, cause I, you know, hadn't bought or,
00:38:04
Speaker
paid anything to Audible since I think October, November when I paused my membership. It does resume in March and we'll see if I either cancel it all together or if I continue, but yeah.
00:38:16
Speaker
I like Kendra started tagging my reads on Storygraph. It has been so fun to look at how much money I'm spending on audiobooks because it's almost nothing now. I think I've used three credits since the beginning of the year, which is very low for me. So that is so fun. I'm proud of you. I might join you soon.
00:38:37
Speaker
my next in is an in-person book club. I want it so bad. I want to like decorate and have people over and like talk about a book and like drink and like have a little snacks. Yeah, the only problem is Kendra's my only friend. But we can do that. Okay, maybe like we could do like a like we just like don't talk about the book at all until we hang out and like drink and stuff.
00:39:06
Speaker
Have you seen those themed ones? Yeah, they're so cute. The smell just had a girl's night with her friends and was posting about all the cute stuff. This is an excuse for us to get on, because I have been thinking about this, maybe I should get on Bumble BFF and just see if we can tackle that together. Okay, yeah. I would love that by the end of the year maybe to just have a kind of standing
00:39:29
Speaker
even if it's just every other month or something like that. But yeah, and then my out related to that is social anxiety, which is not just as easy as snapping my fingers, obviously, but that's it. I love. Yeah, I only had one, two more like on one on either side. And it was kind of what I just talked. It was just what I talked about, though, which was like Spotify, Libby and Hoopla being in and then out is like Kayla Audible. I'm going to keep my Audible subscription because like I budgeted for it.
00:39:59
Speaker
and I like having that backup option. But it's like, there's so many other ways to listen to audiobooks now. I fucking, not to rub this in your face, Caleb, but I fucking love that Spotify has audiobooks now. I think that's just so smart. And the fact that you get 15 hours a month. And they have so many titles. This is turning into an ad, but it's true. I love it.
00:40:27
Speaker
like even just like using libby and hoopla like being able to listen to books that i wouldn't have and i'm gonna do like the entire mortal instrument series
00:40:37
Speaker
And I put all the books on hold on Libby. Is it going to take two months to get here? Absolutely. But like, I don't need to buy fucking six Audible. I don't need to do your patient reading too. Yeah. And because I'm like, I'm already going to buy the entire series. I know in paperback. So like, why do I need two forms of it? Like that's just like a waste of money at the end of the day.
00:40:58
Speaker
So I'm like patiently waiting and then like let's say like I get one before the other. Oh, that's when Spotify can come in and like I can just listen to one of them on Spotify. So it's just trying to like utilize my free, yes, well let's say resources, exactly. And that is my ins and outs list of 2024.
00:41:17
Speaker
Amazing. Kayla, do you have one more or are you done? I'm good. I'm done. Okay. My last one, which my friends who are on my close friends list on Instagram already know in for me this year is physical book journaling and out is my digital book journal.
00:41:33
Speaker
which I'm like honestly a little sad about but honestly mostly relieved. I started to feel like a chore for me at the end of last year to do my journal pages and I think that is just because like it became something I wasn't doing for me anymore. I was doing it for the views and for the engagement I would get on those videos which is great. Like I am so grateful for the people who followed me because of that journal but I don't want it to be like the center of my
00:42:00
Speaker
like online bookish personality anymore and I wanted a physical journal this year and I've been having so much fun and I haven't been sharing it with anybody besides people on my close friends which I'll probably continue to do for a little while and it just feels really good to just be doing it for me so nice I like love that for you like I think that's something that like we all need is like something like just for ourselves
00:42:21
Speaker
And like for our friends and not for the world. Yeah, because it wasn't the like actual journaling that like hurt my soul anymore. It was like the expectation of like, oh well, I have to set up my phone in this weird way and sit in this uncomfortable position so that I can get a good video of me doing this journal. Like that's the part that took away from it.
00:42:41
Speaker
for me because I love having my pages and I love like getting to share those pages with people but it was like the act of like making content around it that felt so icky to me at the end of the year last year. So I'm happy with that choice. So now that we did our like ins and outs, do you guys have any other just like general bookish goals that we just want to wrap it by or quick before we do our recs? Yes, I will read the whole list.
00:43:11
Speaker
Sorry, I didn't even ask if any of y'all wanted to go first. You go. Okay, number one is post more on bookstagram, which I say every fucking year.
00:43:21
Speaker
But this year, I mean it. All right. I mean, I've already posted more within the last two months than I have in the past two years. You have. So thank you. By the way, she means not on stories. She means her grid. Yes, I mean my grid. Stories? Oh, my God. She just posts on stories all day. I love stories. I don't even talk on stories like that compared to some of our mutuals, but I love stories. But yeah, I mean actual grid posts, because Instagram is just so community-based, and I love that. Yeah.
00:43:49
Speaker
And then number two is finish the Shadowhunters universe. At least what's out because there is one more series coming. And then reread more of my faves, which I don't think I do enough of. And again, that goes back to like me wanting to like sit with my faves more. Like it's just I've missed some of these people. More fantasy.
00:44:11
Speaker
more new to me authors and taking more reading breaks that aren't just like spurred off of like me being in a slight deflated yeah yeah like i just like you guys are talking about this or like if you just aren't in the mood to read then like you're just like not in the mood to read and
00:44:27
Speaker
I got an AMC movie pass so I'm like trying to go to the movies more like I love yeah like I love it I went to the movies yesterday like that was just so nice like sit for two hours and like not be on my phone and like consume someone else because I have a lot of the movies all the time in college like you could not you wouldn't find me anywhere else and I miss that and I'm glad that I'm doing that again so those are my bookish related goals
00:44:50
Speaker
I don't have that many only because not that I find like goals inhibiting I just I don't know sometimes I just don't set goals for myself but they're very similar like I would like to read more new to me authors I would like to read you know I don't have a specific number I guess but I would like you know a good chunk of my reads at the end of the year to be new to me people
00:45:18
Speaker
And then I would also like to take content posting breaks and be okay with a content break.
Content Creation and Nonfiction Goals
00:45:26
Speaker
Cause you know, sometimes like if I like look at my grid and I'm like, Oh my God, I haven't posted in 10 days, like on my grid, then I'm like, people are going to leave. Um, so yeah, being, being more okay with that. And then also, um, for, this is kind of funny. I just talked about taking content breaks and then now I'm about to talk about content.
00:45:46
Speaker
For my third one, I would like to, and I'm seeing this more on Instagram. Obviously, you see it a lot on TikTok, but I don't really feel like you see it on Bookstagram specifically, but you're starting to see it more, is more like just talking about the books on reels. I feel like it's more like always the quick aesthetic
00:46:08
Speaker
Reels, you know that are like maybe 10 seconds long and those are great but I've been seeing more like talking videos and I've you know done a couple and so I Didn't ever really used to do those like ever when I started but becoming more comfortable with them now So I would like to make a couple of those. Yeah
00:46:25
Speaker
That's on my list too, Kayla. Love. Yeah. Specifically, I said I wanted to find an organic way because I just always feel so uncomfortable when I just sit in front of my phone and try and talk about books. But my book blanket has provided me with a format that feels comfy to me, less pressure. So talking videos is one of mine as well.
00:46:49
Speaker
um i want to read more non-fiction this year and not because i feel like i have to but because like i genuinely enjoy non-fiction books and i read so many non-fiction books before i joined the online book space like when i was just a lurker um and it wasn't necessarily about like really heavy world events which definitely are important and have their place but like i would read like
00:47:12
Speaker
Jenny Slate wrote a memoir that and she's like a professional comedian and biographies, memoirs, whatever, just like doesn't necessarily have to be like, I'm doing this to learn, which again, at its place. But like, I also just have read a lot of really fun nonfiction is what I'm trying to say. One of my favorite books ever is Trick Me Or by Gia Tolentino, which is incredible. So those two were my only really big goals for this year.
00:47:39
Speaker
Yeah, Mackenzie from the Bad Bitch Book Club last year, she made it her mission to like read every celebrity memoir that came out, like recap them all. And it was like so fascinating. She was like, you can like, spend time with this one, skip this one. Like this person like surprisingly had a really good life. Like, and I found that really interesting. So yeah, that is interesting. I love that. Yeah, I'll send you her video. It's good.
00:48:05
Speaker
I was going to put nonfiction on my list, but I got scared that I wouldn't do it. And that's like, I don't really let myself get super affected by goals I set, like by not meeting them. Like I think it's good to like think about where I want to be and stuff like that, but I am not the type of person that beats myself up and I'm not the type of person like sit down and read seven more books really fast to make sure I hit a number kind of thing. Like that's just not how my brain functions.
00:48:32
Speaker
Books is not the only way that we consume content. And so I think it's easy to assume otherwise and think that everything that you consume needs to be in a book format. But if you're getting that feel elsewhere, then that's fine. I love watching a documentary.
00:48:51
Speaker
Yeah like and then like that is the equivalent of like a nonfiction like you know what I mean like I think people try to put like every single thing stacked within their reading and I'm like you don't have to do that like you can literally consume it elsewhere like yeah okay so now we're gonna spend the last little chunk of this episode
00:49:11
Speaker
We each brought three books that we had to actually compare our list because we want to give you three books that we think that you should definitely make sure you put on your TBR for 2024.
Recommended Reads for 2024
00:49:20
Speaker
But we were texting right before we started recording and we're like, wait, do we all have the same three books on our list? And the answer was yes. So we have three books each that we think that you should read before the end of 2024. So we're going to round table this.
00:49:37
Speaker
Slay. Who wants to go first? I can go first. OK, first of all, I will get out of the way that Magnolia Parks Into the Dark would be on all of our lists. But none of us are going to put that on our list because we're going to do a whole episode devoted to Into the Dark later this season. So get that out of the way right now.
00:49:56
Speaker
But I'll go first with Bride by Allie Hazelwood. This is not a book that I think is not on people's radar. I'm very aware it's on a lot of people's radar. But I'm here to say that I just think Allie Hazelwood's writing since the love hypothesis, which I loved. I loved the love hypothesis. But her writing and her storytelling and her characters have just grown exponentially. And Bride is no exception.
00:50:21
Speaker
It is a vampire, werewolf, romance, marriage of convenience. And it is so good. It is hot. It is funny. Like I think because this is like her first fantasy book and like borderline Omegaverse, I don't know necessarily what qualifies as Omegaverse, but there's an alpha. So I'm going to call it Omegaverse. I think
00:50:44
Speaker
like I was expecting it to not have like her voice in it still or I was expecting it to be a different version of her voice but it's still like funny like I was giggling they're still like kind of nerdy and like silly like I just really really loved that book and I definitely think that it should be on your TBR for 2024.
00:51:04
Speaker
For my first one, again, if you follow me on Instagram or if you follow any of us on Instagram, you have definitely seen this one. But mine is just for the summer or just anything. Abby Jimenez or at least or at least anything after life's too short by Abby Jimenez. And I would say life's too short and onward.
00:51:22
Speaker
Yes. Yeah, that's what I meant. That's what I meant. But yeah, just for the summer comes out early April, April 2nd, I think. But this one follows Justin and Emma who meet over a Am I the asshole Reddit thread? And yeah, I don't want to like
00:51:39
Speaker
say too much but you know they spend the summer together in Minneapolis and first of all Abby is really great at making you want to go to places that she writes about Emily Henry is kind of the similar you know similar in that way
00:51:59
Speaker
grow up in Wisconsin I've been to Minneapolis it is not are you just angry because you guys have like beef with constantly I mean like our schools do but
00:52:14
Speaker
It's just like, it's like one of those things. It's like every city you go to, there's going to be fun stuff to do because it's a city. It's a major city, but like go somewhere warmer. You don't know how to go there. It's in the summer anyway. Yeah, go to Madison. All that to say, Justin and Emma though are great. And Abby is just, again, I can't give too much away that the Easter eggs in this story are just like,
00:52:44
Speaker
about you guys gagged. Yeah, that's that I don't know. It's so good. It's just love is just she's happy is so so good. She writes stories where like, you're like, Oh my god, if these two people don't end up together, I will die. I will kill myself like you like that. Yeah. Yeah. Like they're not like they're like so ordinary. It's so good.
00:53:10
Speaker
Yeah. This is my new favorite Abby book. I'm sorry, Kayla. I didn't mean to like hijack your page. No, no, that's so okay. I was shocked. Yeah. Cause Kayla texted me when she had read it already and she was like, I think you're going to love it. I don't think you'll love it as much as yours truly because that's like your book. Right. I didn't think so either. I did. I was like, yeah, absolutely. You're correct. Like no chance. I love yours truly so much.
00:53:31
Speaker
Um, new favorite Abby book party party world is still my, is still my favorite. I mean, I love, like, I just, it's like one of the, she's just one of those authors, like the, from the books that I've read by her ranking. Any of them last feels like a crime. Like I feel like, yeah. Yeah. Anyway.
00:53:49
Speaker
And also, I feel like if you follow her on Instagram, I think any way to support her this year would be phenomenal. She's very open about sharing her daughter's health issues. And then knowing that she writes about healthcare professionals, like falling in love. I don't know, it feels very nice. And I feel like she's an author that always has something to say, but not in a super, I don't know the right word.
00:54:14
Speaker
all her books are like important like she's always touching on something important in her books and that makes me always feel really nice and doing it in with like such care oh yeah like that's that's what I'm looking for like she takes such care and like she's also just really this is turning into like an abby him in his like love fest um like not to like um age shame but like you know she's older I think she's like in her 40s but from her writing she has like such a
00:54:42
Speaker
she's like on the pulse of like what young people are like talking about but like not in a way that comes off as like corny or like inauthentic because the conversations that she was having in just for the summer were so fucking funny I was like who told you this like how do you know this like someone was that like someone cooked here yeah that and also like she has like crazy viral accounts so I feel like she just yeah she's online like she's a part of that community
00:55:08
Speaker
It just comes off in such a great way and she's genuinely funny too.
Favorite Books Discussion
00:55:15
Speaker
Probably one of the last great true rom-com writers that we have. And speaking of, my first pick is Ready or Not by Cara Bastone, which also one of the best rom-coms I have read in a very long time.
00:55:33
Speaker
equal parts funny, equal parts romantic, equal parts just like introspective. It was so funny.
00:55:41
Speaker
Bro, I was like dying. Like, oh my gosh, no, you're good. Like I said at the beginning of this, like all of us have the same books on our list. So like, we're all just like, yes. So this book follows a girl named Eve and the book opens up with her like in the doctor's office finding out that she's pregnant from a one night stand. And it follows her life over the course of the pregnancy as she
00:56:10
Speaker
has to navigate what parenting will look like with her baby daddy, how parenting is going to affect the relationship with her friends and family, while she's also simultaneously falling for her best friend's older brother. And everything in this book I thought was just done so well and layered so well. Everything came back around to the pregnancy at the end of the day.
00:56:33
Speaker
it was funny and it was amazing if you can do this on audio holy shit like you will be in for like such a great time ting like this narrator this is her only credit on audible but i don't know if this is her first audiobook but like it's her only credit to her name right now holy shit like no i was describing her as like a more expressive version of
00:56:59
Speaker
Britney Presley. So if you like Britney Presley, I think you'll really like her name is like Alex Fink, I think she's so cute. But she was phenomenal. I think she did such a good job because there are so many jokes in this book.
00:57:12
Speaker
And I think if it was any other narrator, the audio could have fell really flat. But she infused so much humor and like just thinking about some of the shit that Eve says is so fucking funny. And care about like I would love to like talk to her like she's just she's so funny and like some of the things that like she thought about I thought were was really
00:57:32
Speaker
great and she holds a lot of space I think for like multiple conversations surrounding pregnancy yes I was so impressed yeah it's because it's not I think sometimes accidental pregnancy books I don't know they can only focus on like one side of pregnancy which is not a bad thing but to have an accidental pregnancy book that focuses on like so many different sides and so many different points of views I thought was highly impressive
00:57:56
Speaker
Why did it make, why did it kind of make both Brandy and I maybe want to have a baby? I literally texted our group chat and I said, why is this before you want to have a baby? And Kayla said, no, same. I said the same thing. I was like, I told Daniel, I was like, why is this making me rethink my like entire future? He's like, you need to get out right now. Take a break. Go get a drink of water. That's so funny. Oh my gosh.
00:58:21
Speaker
I'm not from New York, so I can't speak to this, but I don't care about someone who herself lives in Brooklyn, and I feel like this is one of the most authentic New York portrayals I've ever seen. It wasn't like, oh, New York, blah, blah, blah, blah. They stayed in their neighborhood. I don't know, it was just so good. Excellent pick, Kendra. Would have been on my list if we could have duplicates. Thank you for recommending that. My next one is one that doesn't come out for a while, so you got some time to add it to your TBR, but it's Business Casual by B.K.
00:58:49
Speaker
It's her best book objectively. It's so good. Kendra, fuck off. No, I'm just listening. So good. It was so good. It was the perfect balance for me for funny and swoony and hot. This is a Berkeley book? Are you kidding me? They're so
00:59:14
Speaker
hot and it follows Charlie and Nova who you've been getting little sprinkles of in the previous books that like Charlie's just kind of like this big goof and Nova is like a very like black cat type of character just like kind of very not like grumpy but just very like
00:59:31
Speaker
put together you know and you know Charlie has like this big old crush on Nova who's like this like hot tattoo artist she's got like a bunch of tattoos herself and the book is just I think so well paced and I think the conversations around self-worth in it are really beautiful and like different kinds of like self-worth because like
00:59:54
Speaker
Whatever. I won't go into too many details because it's like so far from release. But like, please make sure you add it to your TBR. I swooned. I cried a little bit. I giggled a lot. It's Charlie. Yeah, it's really good. My man. I mean, for me, this is obviously, like you said, her best book. But this was also the first
01:00:15
Speaker
BK Borson book that I read. Now, this is not to say that I didn't think this about some characters from her other stories or from her other books, but this is the first book I read by her where I was like, both of these people, both of them are so, so hot. I want to be with both of them, like both. They're gay. Yeah. Did I have a thing for tattooed women? I mean, that one tattoo, that's really hot. Like she's got a tattoo between her titties, you guys. You learn this. Oh, like Rihanna is not a spoiler.
01:00:45
Speaker
She got this big rose down this, like on her sternum. Yeah. Like, like the center, like the placements, like Rihanna's tattoo. I don't know what Rihanna's tattoo looks like. Oh my God. It's iconic, Randy. It's like inspire like a whole generation of women to get tattoos in that exact same place. My friend in high school has a titty chandelier, like the top of the chandeliers between her titties and the bottom of it. Okay. The bottom of it is like her breasts on her rib cage.
01:01:13
Speaker
Like so many girls after Rihanna got this, got like that exact same just placement for all their tattoos. Oh, she's so hot. Yeah. Nova and Charlie, so hot, so funny. Highly recommend business casual. Yeah.
01:01:29
Speaker
Okay. My next one is now I haven't read this author's newest release yet, although it is sitting on my Kindle and I will read it probably either this month or next month. Um, but Jessica Joyce, I love her. Um, she came out with you with a view last year and I read that as an arc loved it. And then she came out with a novella around the holidays called a risk worth taking. It's literally only 74 pages. It's not on Kindle limited, but it's only 99 cents and you should definitely read it because
01:01:59
Speaker
Like I said, it's only 74 pages, but she manages to get me to care so deeply about both of these people within that really short amount of time. I think that that is just... That's impressive. That's yeah, very impressive. And it's just one of those, it's also very hot. Like it's again, only 74 pages, but the tension and the chemistry between both of these two people is so
01:02:24
Speaker
It's so good. He's kind of you would love him. He's definitely he's like a jack from love theoretically type and he just wants to take care of her. He's very much like, let me take care of it. Like it's just it's okay. And then I again, I haven't read the X vowels, which comes out, I think early summer.
01:02:39
Speaker
Um, but I am so excited. I just know, like I'm like filming at the mouth for it. I just know it's going to be good. Um, and several of like my mutuals have already read it and have been raving about it. So I'm just like so excited. I think she's kind of solidified to be an auto buy author for me at this point. Um, I think she's just also like really funny too. Um, Brandy, this needs to be the year that you read one of the books at least. Not even one.
01:03:09
Speaker
Well, it's hard it's All right, I'm gonna let's go kid or what's yours what's your name? Sorry, no, I'm next. Oh wait. Oh, you know, I'm sorry. Yeah Because I never shut the fuck up. Well, you guys are talking so I'm like, oh, it's still my turn
01:03:30
Speaker
Um, since we all sort of did like talked about early releases, I will talk about, uh, Love Unwritten by Lauren Asher, which I got to beta read earlier this year. It was my first read of the year, but like, I don't talk about that like on Instagram. Cause like, I don't want to have an open conversation about it, but this is a controlled conversation that I can have about it. Yeah. That book is my new favorite Lauren Asher book. Holy shit. I messaged her and I was like, were you on drugs? Like.
01:03:55
Speaker
It was so fucking good and just so beautiful. And I said this when we interviewed her, but she is like very, I feel like her thesis could be like, everyone deserves a love story and seeing like Rafa and Ellie's love story play out. It's single dad, nanny romance. And I think what she does with like the nanny trope is like so inventive and like just amazing. And like, she's really good at making a trope her own instead of just like writing to the rules of the trope.
01:04:26
Speaker
I think everyone should order it, pre-order it. It was fucking, I have not stopped thinking about them at all. And like, I can't wait to like scream about it when I can. Cause it was just so good. And I cried. So I can't wait. Like obviously Kendra hasn't told us anything about the content, but while she was reading it, she was like, holy fuck, holy fuck, holy fuck. It's so good. So Kayla and I know like nothing really, but like I'm so, so pumped based off your reaction.
01:04:55
Speaker
I will say at one point, Kendra was like just consistently talking in my ear off about it that I had to be like, Kendra, you have to shut up. We can't read at this point. It was January. So I was like, we're not going to be able to read this book for like four or five more months. I really need you to shut your mouth respectively with peace and love. I love you.
01:05:16
Speaker
I know, but the cover just got revealed and it's fucking, it's her first pink cover. It's stunning. It's just so good. And that will definitely be a book where I'm like, I will defend. Yeah, that's like my, again, my favorite book that she's ever written. And I'm just so happy. It's just warmed my heart so much. They're so cute, guys. Oh my God. All right. So my last one is,
01:05:45
Speaker
maybe for a very specific audience. And it's the Legacy of God series by Rina Kent. I started this series at the end of last year, when I finished at the beginning of this year for like all the books that are out for right now. And I'm going to give you two disclaimers. I recommend this if one, you are an audiobook person, and two, if you are okay with very, very, very taboo, dark romance.
01:06:13
Speaker
CNC is a big or like not even CNC. Dubcon is a big
01:06:20
Speaker
thing in all of these books. So please make sure you check your content warnings if you decide to read the series. But you guys, I cannot stop thinking about them. It's a second gen series. I have not read any of her other books. I did not read the first gen. I don't think you need to. But it's two like rival colleges. And all of these characters aside from one character are all like there's only one that's a freshman. The rest of them are not freshmen.
01:06:46
Speaker
So it's like two colleges on this like island off of England and one's like a predominantly American school. And that's the second gen from like the American Mafia series that she wrote. And then the other one is like primarily British students and almost all of the relationships are like crossing those two schools like
01:07:07
Speaker
So like a lot of rivalry stuff happening. Big dub con vibes. But like I said, I just like can't stop thinking about them. I thought the audiobooks were so well done. I did not rate any of these books higher than 4.25 stars. So please keep that in mind. But did I have fun? Boy, oh boy, I did. Like I was thoroughly entertained. My favorite is God of Ruin, which is a very unpopular opinion. But yeah, I had fun. It's
01:07:37
Speaker
It's wild like I can't even really give you a synopsis. They're just doing insane shit, and there's like so many people So many people love them so like yeah, like she has a huge following yeah and Yeah, a lot of our mutuals have read and liked them, but yeah, they're just like Lauren Asher big fan was messaging me throughout
01:08:00
Speaker
wrote JV and read the MM one and loved it. That one is definitely the most popular one and I really liked it. I honestly think if I if I would have had the break that all of the people who are reading this series in real time had, I probably that probably would have been my favorite. But by the time I got there, that was like I read all of those books over the span of like two weeks. So like five Rena Kent books over two weeks. It was like the fifth one.
01:08:22
Speaker
And that was the first one. She has like a mold for these books. I don't know about any of her other works. Like I said, I haven't read any of it, but like there was definitely a mold with all of these books, especially the first three. I was like, God,
01:08:35
Speaker
Damn it, like you're just like control pasting and replacing the names for some stuff. But I thought the MM one, the last one, God of Fury is very different than the rest, which I really liked. But it also makes me question, does she think women are stupid? Because this was the first book where I feel like both characters were like fully fleshed out, independent, like really established characters was in God of Fury. And neither of the main characters was a woman.
01:09:06
Speaker
which that's why I'm like, but I think in my favorite God of ruin, like she's the most competent woman in the series. So just like a lot of damsel in distress vibes for the first three books, but
01:09:23
Speaker
I had a lot of fun. Can I say one really quick honorable mention and not talk about it? Yes. Okay. The book I was debating saying besides God or the legacy of God series was a Fate, Ink, and Blood by Daniel L. Jensen, which is her newest fantasy release, which was so freaking good. You guys listen to it on audio. Nina Indus is the narrator and it's like a Norse mythology retelling. So good.
01:09:48
Speaker
Slay. I will be reading that one. Slay. My next one also comes with some caveats. I would say funny story by Emily Henry, but I know everybody's going to read that anyway, so I'm not going to say that. Mine is When the Moon Hatched by Sarah A. Parker. I didn't read this book five stars either. And I only recommend this if you are a seasoned fantasy reader. And I guess that's really my only caveat. But also know that I
01:10:19
Speaker
that the world, while it is really interesting, it also can be really complicated because this is one of those books that has a glossary, a dictionary, a list of characters at the beginning of the book, like not even at the back, like after you've read. It's like, get ready to reference this a bunch. Get ready. Yeah. So like it's a lot, I will say.
01:10:41
Speaker
And this story follows, oh my God, I already forgot her name. That's crazy. But she's an assassin and she, but she like, you know, it's like the classic only kills bad guys, saves the kids, but kills the bad, you know, that kind of thing. But she's got this like kind of mysterious past that
01:11:00
Speaker
You're slowly learning as the story goes on and she runs into this king of one of the different regions in the story and they kind of embark on this journey together. The romance was really good, the tension and the chemistry between these two characters was great. I really especially enjoyed, this makes me sound like I hate women, but I really especially like the guy.
01:11:22
Speaker
I like the girl, but the guy I thought was fantastic. The world was also really interesting. Like there's, it focuses heavily on dragons in these three different regions. And when the dragons die, they actually become moons in the sky. They like curl up and become little like moons. Like it's really interesting. Yeah, very cute. Um, I was reading this with my friend destiny. We kind of had an impromptu
01:11:47
Speaker
like, buddy reading session together. And so we were kind of exchanging comments back and forth. We were very confused in this book at many, many points. But it was also really fun. So like, I don't know, it's just one of those books where I was confused on how to even read, read it, but I would recommend it if you are a fantasy girl, if you
01:12:11
Speaker
Enjoy intricate plot points and intricate worlds and just remain to see in general. I would recommend it, but just know it's a lot. Just know it's a lot. And it's not a standalone. No, that it's not a standalone. It is a series. And I don't know when the second is coming out.
01:12:30
Speaker
Be prepared. Bring us home, Kendra. My last pick is The Infernal Devices trilogy by Ms. Cassandra Clare. I read this series at the end of last year because the first book was on my friend's TBR and it was recommended by our friend Taz. And Taz had made a TikTok about it, like how to read the series.
01:12:57
Speaker
And in her caption, she said, Shadowhunters is discovering that show on Netflix that has eight seasons and you just get sucked in. And that is exactly what happened to me. In Front of Devices is technically a prequel series that's spun off of The Mortal Instruments, which is the most popular.
YA Fantasy and Infernal Devices Trilogy
01:13:16
Speaker
And that's the one that has the TV show and the movie and whatever. But you can start with The In Front of Devices, because it's the earliest
01:13:23
Speaker
Story within the universe and then work your way through the timeline that way which is what I'm doing But this series I did it all on audio
01:13:32
Speaker
was just so much fun and like so captivating and like for a fantasy series that was like a prequel very easy to understand like um the magic system and like who's all involved i thought was very digestible i think it's because i don't even know how to like describe this because i'm not like that again i'm still a new fantasy girl but
01:13:55
Speaker
The fact that the Bible is essentially just mythology in this, and it's like angels, demons, warlocks, werewolves. It's like every mythical creature, but still surrounding the Bible, but turning everything that happened into the Bible into mythology. I don't know, but because it's not religious at all. It's just like, I don't know how to describe that better, but it's so much fun. The lore. Yeah, the lore around it.
01:14:22
Speaker
In front of devices, Hands Down has my favorite love triangle I've ever read. I thought Tessa Gray as the main character is just amazing. Like, what a girl, truly. And the men in her life are equally amazing. And the narrators for this series are really good. The first book probably has the weakest narrator. She's not bad. She's not great. But the second book is narrated, partly narrated by Ed Westwick, who played Chuck Bass.
01:14:50
Speaker
Oh, my God, he does so good. And then the last book is narrated by I think his name's like Daniel Sharman or something. But he was on Teen Wolf and he's my favorite out of the bunch. And he's so his accent. So good. But I think if you just want like a good fun, like easy to understand and get sucked into fantasy, like that would be it. And like after like talking about like the universe with some people and like
01:15:18
Speaker
I just never realized how huge Cassandra Clare was. And like honestly for good reason and like, if I look at when these books first came out in like 2007 is when she started Mortal Instruments. She has like children in the young adult fantasy like realm, like,
01:15:35
Speaker
Like I feel like people definitely take like inspiration and like notes from her. And she's like best friends with Holly Black. So I'm like, oh my God, those two bitches just like fucking capturing over the shit that they do. Like, oh my gosh. Yeah, I would highly recommend that series. And then you guys can all just get sucked in with me. I just did the last hour, Shilji, which was also really good. And yeah, and my honorable mention would go to Sinner's Isle by Angela Montoya, which is
01:16:04
Speaker
a Latinx fantasy with witches and pirate hunters and pirates. And it was like so good. It's also a standalone fantasy, which if you want something quick and easy, I gave it like 4.25 stars. It was so much fun. Like I loved it. I just know Kayla's just like vibrating with the anger that you didn't read any of her fantasy books from last year, but now you're a full on fantasy girly. Well, let's see. I've read I read Bella Donna last year. I read
01:16:32
Speaker
the big S&P title last year. I just read Serpent in the Wings of Night like every book that's out in that series. Yeah, so I know. But you're like a full on fantasy girl now. Yeah, it's been it's been fun. But like I said earlier, like I think I think I prefer YA fantasy over adult fantasy. Like I don't I don't need to see the characters fucking a fantasy, you know, like I love the romance of it all. But like,
01:17:01
Speaker
again the world is ending like I don't need to see all like full like and even in shadow hunters like you do get like sex scenes but it's YA so it's just like oh like that's so like that's sweet and then you move on to like the next thing and like I don't know I like the focus on like the romance of it like without relying on sex yeah
01:17:20
Speaker
I feel you. I read the Infernal Devices trilogy because of Kendra and then she said, call me when you finished the last book. And I called her and I was trying to have a conversation with her, but I was like, and then when, when this happened, it was rough. And I'm just like, bro, I know. I was like, hack-a-lick.
01:17:41
Speaker
I was like oh finally like I can talk about this with someone and like um our friend Allie at literary delight just read it and like also really really loved it and then um mary rose is just started the first book and is really loving it as well so like the renaissance is happening you guys it's happening and it's just a good universe like they're popular for a reason like are they going to be the best books you've ever read in your entire life nope are you going to have fun are you going to love the characters
01:18:07
Speaker
Are you going to be a little devastated? Absolutely. So. Is it going to make your tummy hurt the entire time that you're reading the trilogy? Yes. Yeah, but it's worth it. Oh, my God. And I was like showing Brandi like fan art. I was like, oh, like, look at Cap's enemies. I was like, stop it! Stop! Stop! Soon Kayla and we'll be able to join and then we can all have fun. Just sitting here.
01:18:34
Speaker
What's that Beyonce? Why do you deny yourself heaven? You could have been done with the trilogy already. That's crazy. Okay.
Podcast Reunions and Meet-ups
01:18:43
Speaker
That was so fun. That was a lot of fun. Oh my goodness. I missed you guys. I know. Me too. Same. As if we don't talk like every single day. We talked about this when we started the podcast. It's such a great excuse to see each other's faces and sit down on an uninterrupted time together.
01:19:01
Speaker
It is really, really nice. We will be seeing each other in person, all of us. So far, twice this year. It might be more. We're going to Sweetgrass. So if you guys are at Sweetgrass, all three of us will be at Sweetgrass. And then we're all going to Steamy Lit Con, which we're so excited about. So if you're also going to be there, come say hi. I mean, we have a ways off. We'll definitely remind you guys. But I'm excited. Yeah, me too. All right. We'll see you guys next week.
01:19:56
Speaker
Bye ladies.