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10. A Book Chat
19 Plays2 months ago
In a lighter mood this week, we decided to have a chat about some of the books that influenced us in our childhoods (among several other meandering topics).
We're grateful you're here! If you like what you’re hearing, you can follow us on Instagram: @soulpodthepodcast. You can also email us directly at [email protected].
Hosts: Christina Bell & Molly Wilde
Music: The Confrontation, by Jonathan Boyle, licensed from Premium Beats by Shutterstock
Editing: Molly Wilde
Disclaimer: The purpose of this podcast is for entertainment and enjoyment. We are not professionals in any regard. We do not have professional knowledge, training, or education in physical health, mental health, or spiritual matters. Any suggestions or recommendations made during our episodes should be independently researched by the listener before considering implementation, or better yet, listeners should ignore everything we say. We cannot be held responsible or liable for anything we say, or any actions taken by any persons as a result of listening to our podcast episodes. Stay safe, stay informed, stay smart.
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Transcript
Opening Confusion & Humor
00:00:23
Speaker
We made it. Hi Molly. Hello. How are you doing today? How you doing? Jinx. Oh my god. Um, now I'm good. Now we're going to be talking over each other. Oh my god. There's a, there's a lag. There's a lag. There's not, I don't think there is. Um, it's just that like we keep like accidentally talking over each other. Okay. So I was just gonna say, guess what? Hmm.
00:00:53
Speaker
I'm pantsless. Oh my God. um Dare I ask why? Because when I got here, I had to go to the bathroom so bad I ran in there and just took my pants off when I was on the toilet. Oh my God. I need comfort right now because I was just getting hot and sweaty and anxious and I was like, no pants. Yeah. and a Hashtag no pants. Hashtag Donald Duck.
00:01:24
Speaker
Or hashtag Winnie the Pooh. Oh, yeah. Because like, I walked out of the bathroom and I'm like, Julie, just so you know, I'm gonna be pantsless until I have to leave. Oh my gosh. She called me Donald Duck. So I was like, Oh, yeah. Yep, that's perfect. Perfecto.
Introduction & Light-hearted Themes
00:01:45
Speaker
So what are we talking about today? We are gonna have ourselves a little book chat. Yeah.
00:01:54
Speaker
That's what I've been calling it in my head since we decided on it, which for those listeners out there, we're hoping to make this a repeated a kind of episode where we occasionally just need a little bit of lightness and we just ah come in and talk about books or movies or music or depending on TV shows, even. Yeah, I think TV shows, I'm going to put TV shows and movies in the same category. OK.
00:02:23
Speaker
just because I don't have a huge broad range that I really get into. I rarely get into something new, and I'll just talk forever about the stuff that I love. One of these days, one of those episodes will be about Downton Abbey. I was wondering when that was going to come up. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.
00:02:42
Speaker
Uh, that is my number one comfort show for sure.
Childhood Book Influences
00:02:46
Speaker
But no, today we're talking about books, specifically, uh, books that influenced us when we were young. So yeah. And like we both sort of took different interpretations of influenced, but we're pretty much on the same page at the moment. Um, and I think that like in the future, we'll probably also do like another influence, but maybe in like a different train of thought with the concept of influence, such as inspired or changed our lives or whatever. yeah But for this one, we wanted to talk about what influenced us specifically when we were young, something that impacted us immensely ah to the point that we never forgot about it. So yeah. Have you decided what book you wanted to talk about?
00:03:38
Speaker
No. Do you have a couple different? Yeah. Okay. Good. Good. I do. I have multiple as well, but I'm going to prioritize one and then see if we have time for more. So hence this episode may not be entirely coherent. We'll see. I mean, I mean, I'm also really tired. I think that there've been a lot of people that have been struggling to sleep. Like I struggled. I've been struggling to sleep this week. And, um, one of our Anahata's buddies on the Marco group was also talking about not being able to sleep for like three days now, today. um Well, it's not that I can't, it's just that I'm not allowed to.
00:04:16
Speaker
not sure Yeah, you got stuff to do. Yeah, um you probably could if you were given the opportunity. Yeah, I'm actually I'm thinking as soon as I get home, I might just go lay in bed and take a nap for a couple hours and then get up and get him ready for bed. Yeah, that that'd be totally fair and reasonable. But yeah, so honestly, I think that that's probably part of why it's a good thing that we're gonna do like a book episode today. We're both a little tired. We're both a little like out of it.
00:04:47
Speaker
And it's easier to talk about ah light things like young adult fiction or youth child children's fiction. I don't know. ah Then um bigger, bigger topics like spirituality. So yeah, brain isn't operating on 100% specifically. I mean, but, but yeah, it has been, it's also been somewhat of a chaotic day for me too.
00:05:11
Speaker
um And I've had like zero motivation. So, woo! Yay. That'll feel so bad now. this is This is probably the most productive thing I've been doing all day. oh ah But yeah, ah so i you go first. yeah I introduce you book. Oh, goodness. OK.
Nostalgic Book Series Discussion
00:05:31
Speaker
Well, I remembered a series that I was really into when I was a pre-teen, early teen.
00:05:41
Speaker
um It was called Sweet Valley High and you might have to Google it because the cover art and whatnot is like pretty funny. It was like okay two teenage twin sisters ah and they went to, I guess, a high school called Sweet Valley High. but and I looked it up the other day because I wanted to refresh my memory about it.
00:06:06
Speaker
and like It said that there were like guest authors or something like that, that wrote under the supervision of the, the main creator of the storyline. Interesting. And there were seriously over 40 books. And I'm trying to remember, like, no, honestly, I just looked it up. I saw, I believe you book, book number 44 or something like that. I don't know. I never, I didn't actually look up how many specifically yeah put out, but I think I had close to 30 or so.
00:06:38
Speaker
Wait a second. I'm looking at the Wikipedia page right now. It says that the Sweet Valley High series began in 1983 and concluded 20 years later after the publication of 181 books. Oh my god. Wow. I don't know if there's like deeply into it. So I didn't know that. Yeah, it's ah oh my god. I'm literally looking at the okay. There's I don't know. I feel like because I'm not familiar with it, I'm not going to be the ah authority on how many actual books there are, but there are ah close to a hundred at least. But yeah, that's fun. That's, that reminds me of like Nancy Drew and how like there was just so many different Nancy Drew books out there. um Yeah. And I never really read any of those, that Nancy Drew. You never read Nancy Drew? Oh, they're classics. I read Nancy Drew.
00:07:34
Speaker
it's They're good. They're really good, actually. if you ever are looking for something easy to read, they're good and they're not usually too terribly long. So yeah, if you enjoy mysteries, especially. Okay. um Well, yeah yeah, I knew that was mystery based, you know, but this this particular series was silly teen drama and like these sisters fought all the time. There was always a problem. They liked the same guy or, you know,
00:08:06
Speaker
whatever. visit Yeah, just silly stuff like that. I can remember like asking my mom or whoever, if we were at the mall or something like, can I get the next book? And I would buy like, sometimes a couple at a time or whatever. But um I can't believe I read that much when I was younger. It's just, you know, I guess I had nothing better to do sitting in my bedroom alone.
00:08:30
Speaker
Oh man. So yeah, so that was that one. And then I was thinking there was a few other ones that I know like one that was super popular when I was a teenager or when I was maybe, I don't know. I say teenager, but I'm thinking maybe like 12, 13 was a book series. But the first book I believe was called Flowers in the Attic. Have you ever heard of that one? I feel like I have. I'm going to look it up. Hold on. Flowers in the attic Oh, it also became a movie? Yes, yes, it did. Oh, I see. I do recognize that cover. Yeah. I want to say there were three siblings. I could be wrong about that, but I think there was like a slightly older boy and girl and then like a younger toddler or
00:09:19
Speaker
five, six, seven year old, maybe something like that. Yeah. It looks like a 14 year old, a 12 year old and a five year old. There you go. Thanks. That's what Wikipedia tells us in the fifties. The the story is set in the fifties, but it was published in the 70 in 1979. Oh, okay. Looks like so. Yeah. That one was, um that one was really trippy. That one, the mother locked these kids in the attic.
00:09:44
Speaker
and like was, you know, obviously super abusive and neglecting and whatever. But I think it was because she had found a new man or was looking for a new man and didn't want him to know that she had kids or some crazy thing like that. It was, it's been a long time. So like, if anybody has read this and remembers it better than me, then please, you know, write to us. It looks like, it looks like there was actually, there was a film adaptation of it in the eighties, but there was also one another film adaptation of it released in 2014. Oh, wow. Well, I did see it in my lifetime. Oh, interesting. I did see the one in the 80s. I think that's why I read the book because everybody was talking about it and they were all like, oh, I didn't see the movie or whatever. And I liked to read the books before, like in general, I liked to read the books before I see the movies things. But that one was really trippy. I don't know if I should live away much of it. It sounds like freaky.
00:10:40
Speaker
well i begin that That stuff is all, ah yeah if as long as I think as long as you don't give away the ending. um like I don't remember specifically the ending, but I think the but the one thing I do remember is that the kids figured out that their mother was actually poisoning them slowly. Why do I feel like that's based off of a true story? don't know and don't know maybe i mean like I don't know. Maybe I'm thinking of like a recent like news story that you might have shared with me about some
00:11:11
Speaker
mother who was like trying to kill her own kids. Oh, God, I don't know about that. Yes, I don't know. I don't like to know about those things. I actually hate hearing about that kind of shit. Right, right. But that sounds I could also be thinking of people talking about the movie when it because it came out, you know, 10 years ago. true true True. So because I think that's actually where I probably heard the name of the book slash movie originally to But i like I said, when I saw the book cover, it looked familiar. So I probably saw it in the libraries and stuff when I was a kid. Yeah. I don't i never read it though. It was pretty popular. but And I know they're I'm pretty sure that there were maybe one or two other books that went with it, like a series. But I don't remember if I read any of those. But another book that I read around that time frame as an early teen was Pet Sematary by Stephen King.
00:12:10
Speaker
and uh i'm a horror fan and that was a scary book that was a scary book for sure and then i saw the movie when it came out because you know movies because you see so i there was there was an older make of it right because i know there was a very recent one that came out for that was not cemetery i don't know about the recent one at all so it was the older one for sure yeah i haven't seen i haven't seen a lot of stephen king uh movie adaptations i've only seen the shining And I think I saw the new remake of it. Newer. The one that was like 2017, 2018 or whenever when it came out. Right. With the Bill Skarsgard. Oh. Yeah. Creepy ass smile. It was actually the reason my father had a fear of clowns. Oh, no way. Yeah. Yeah. Also a fun fact. ah The first dog that was my parents' dog before they actually adopted me.
00:13:10
Speaker
was a St. Bernard that they named Kujo.
Personal Anecdotes & High School Memories
00:13:13
Speaker
Oh, God. Oh, my God. Did I ever tell you about that? ah You know, you might have. Yeah. And she was like a complete sweetheart, the opposite of the dog in the book. like But I had told when I was in college slash, you know, between colleges, the guy that I was dating at the time, I had told him about my parents naming their St. Bernard Kujo.
00:13:39
Speaker
And then on Halloween, he gifted me a copy of Kujo, the book. That's pretty funny. I haven't read it, but I kept it. I'm pretty sure. Good stuff. You should try to read it one day and I want to hear what you say, what you think about it.
00:13:55
Speaker
I will. If I can find it, it's probably packed up in a box right now, but if I can find it, I definitely will. I'll read it and I'll tell you what what's up with it. I've tried to watch the trailer for the movie, but 80s movie trailers, 80s and 70s movie trailers were so awful that you really like don't get much of a sense of what the movie's like, and you don't get hyped for it either. like I watched it and I was like, this looks like a stupid movie.
00:14:24
Speaker
yeah because they didn't realize how to like they didn't know how to create suspense properly or something yeah no it's it was a different era for sure um but i maybe i'll someday watch that movie too but i don't know i don't need to be more afraid of big dogs than i already am so i'm not terrified of them i'm just really uncomfortable around them so Yeah, actually, I think I can understand that because especially if you have an owner that doesn't know how to keep their dog under control, like they haven't trained their dog properly and stuff, that's the worst. Yeah. And that, that wasn't even necessarily the case or what was happening at the time that sort of developed this fear in me. But like, it was simply that our neighbors had a giant black Great Dane and he was a sweetheart. But one day when I was like 11,
00:15:16
Speaker
He got real excited and and like started to chase me as I was running to the bus stop. Oh no. And chased me down the street and I was fucking terrified. Like i mean I knew in my heart of hearts that he meant no harm, but I did not because I knew like how animalistic instincts tend to take over. I just couldn't trust that he wasn't going to like pounce on me as soon as he caught up to me. And great things are fast. Wow.
00:15:44
Speaker
So that shit scared me and it stuck with me. And also the fact that like, yeah, I don't, I can't stand dogs when they like jump up on you. like Exactly. Don't, just don't. Stay away. Anyway, whew, Stephen King. Did he also write, did he write The Exorcist that the movie was based off of? I don't think so. Okay. um or Or was The Exorcist even based off of a book?
00:16:08
Speaker
I think it was. I don't know why I'm thinking, I'm not sure. I have no idea. Because I'm like, wait, but isn't every single one of Stephen King's movies based in like Maine? And The Exorcist is in DC. Oh, interesting. So maybe it's not him. Either way, I've seen The Exorcist, if it is based on a Stephen King novel. Based on a screen, was based on a screenplay by William Peter Blatley. Blatty. Oh, okay.
00:16:35
Speaker
Uh, based on his, no, based on his 1971 novel. Oh, so a novel, but not Stephen King. Right. So cool. It was, okay, hold on. Supernatural horror film directed by William Friedkin from a screenplay by William Peter Blatty based on his 1971 novel.
00:16:58
Speaker
And I don't know if they said a true story or whatever either. So yeah, I didn't think they were Stephen King. Stephen King has a very specific style. True. and i I might have associated it with it because the first time I watched The Exorcist was around the same time I watched The Shining for the first time. Ah. So I might have just sort of conflated the two in my head. Right, right. But yeah, but you got to read Stephen King novels when you were young.
Empowering Fantasy Fiction
00:17:23
Speaker
Oh, just that one. i think i might have had Yeah, I think I owned it or may still own it, but I never read it all the way through. like i know I think I remember starting it, but I never finished it. like Hence got you the vicious cycle of starting books and not finishing them began.
00:17:42
Speaker
yeah Well, as as I got older, it became more difficult, I think. yeah to like to keep my interest as well as honestly like middle school and high school ended up sort of ruining reading for me a little bit like the English classes specifically because like I was always every book that we had to read in school it was just like the worst most depressing bullshit ever like I actually looked forward to Shakespeare tragedies
00:18:13
Speaker
Oh God. I'm not kidding. Like I genuinely hated everything that was ever assigned to me in English classes. Yeah, but it is what it is. Like I was, I still read a fair bit when I was in high school. I think it was also when I got to college and just like everything sort of fell off for me motivation wise, where I was like so busy working on classwork and homework and studying.
00:18:40
Speaker
And like so drained by that, that I was like, why am I going to bother reading? i didn't I don't know. Yeah. But yeah, but I am trying to read more recently, fiction and nonfiction. But yeah, I read a lot when I was a kid. So tell me, tell me what your favorite books were, or what influenced you as a child? Hmm. Well, I so I like really did just pick one to focus on because it like has always stuck out for me and like stayed in my memory and like influenced me a lot in terms of you know the kinds of fantasy
00:19:17
Speaker
fiction that I was drawn to going forward after that, which was very, a very girl power, very, very feminist, feminist coded stuff, um which was awesome. But ah it started with a book that I can't remember when I was, I can't remember, I must have been 10, maybe 11 when I first read it. It was called The Two Princesses of Bamar,
00:19:47
Speaker
by Gail Carson Levine, who is the author of Ella Enchanted. oh So Ella Enchanted was her first novel and like the one that she became famous for, and she wrote quite a few after that, but none that were as popular as Ella Enchanted.
00:20:07
Speaker
But the two princesses of Bamar, I personally feel I like better. But it is basically a story about these two princesses, sisters who are, I don't know if if there's a specification on how old they were, or if they were like if there was an age gap. I'm not remembering it, ah because they're definitely not twins. But I think it might have been that Meryl was the older one.
00:20:38
Speaker
even if only like a year or two older. And Addie was the younger. And these two princesses could not have been more different for being, you know, related. But they were as sisters often are. True. Like they're very different, but they but they did love each other intensely. And we're very bonded and we're very protective of each other. That's cool. Yeah.
00:21:06
Speaker
And in this setting, the kingdom being called Bamar, there is a and mystical disease going around called the Grey Death, which has various specific symptoms and always results in death. And it's really, it manifests as an illness, but it's more like a curse, it seems. It's anybody can catch it. It's not necessarily like um contagious. Contagious, that's the word.
00:21:36
Speaker
It's not like it's contagious where you have to isolate from people. It's that you can catch it at random. You don't have to, you can be isolated your entire life and still catch it. we Yeah, that's why it's like more like a curse than an actual illness. So that's present in in their world. And these two sisters, Meryl, hold on, I'm gonna pull out my notes because i like i don't I don't really need the notes, but I wanna make sure I don't fuck anything up.
00:22:08
Speaker
Meryl and Addie. Meryl is like a blonde, loud, outspoken, brave, adventurous, and very, very, like, is very much that stereotype of like, I'd rather be a knight, you know, kind of, kind of vibe. And Addie is not necessarily like girly, but she is quiet and reserved and shy and not cowardly.
00:22:37
Speaker
but decidedly not brave. And she prefers to read and do needlepoint and stay safe at home. But they do both have imaginations. They play imagination games and Addie is always the damsel in distress and Meryl is always the, you know, knight coming to rescue her.
00:22:58
Speaker
And in this story, Meryl catches the gray death. And their father, we will call him a coward because fuck men.
00:23:10
Speaker
He says he's going to go out and search for a cure, even though there is not much time when Meryl catches the gray death. goodness ah He returns after like a few days, I think. And it's just like, we made it this far and then ran into this very small speed bump of a problem and turned around and came home gave up we're done a small speed bump i don't know what kind of a problem i can't remember what it was that actually made them turn around and come home but it was something that could have very easily been overcome and it was his daughter whose life was at stake yeah yeah so he's a shit coward and and he's the king so fuck that god but merrill was always the one that was like someday i'm gonna adventure around and discover the the cure for the great death
00:23:59
Speaker
And then she catches the great death and Addie realizes that she has to be the one to go find the cure for the great death. ah And especially realizes that after their father comes back and just proves that he's a piece of shit. So she is given a set of very cool tools and and things to aid her on her quest. She's given something called Uh, seven league boots, which make you go. It's like a time warp. You go seven leagues when you take one step. Um, interesting. And then, uh, she's also given a tablecloth that's magical and it sets itself and makes like plenty of food for you for whoever's present. And, but you have to see those specifically correct magic words to get it to work and to get it to put itself away. Hmm.
00:24:57
Speaker
And she's given a spyglass that can see over like hundreds and hundreds of miles. And there's some great adventures. There's all sorts of danger. There's, you know, getting lost in a forest, getting lured into a cave by a specter. There's getting kidnapped by a dragon. There's all sorts of just crazy stuff. and And, you know, the whole time I can't remember if it's in first person perspective or not, but you get a sense of like,
00:25:26
Speaker
how scared she is the whole time. And yet she manages to keep a level head. And she manages to to think clearly and make decisions and try to figure out what to do next or where to go next. And she, through it all, manages not to give in to despair. Because it's a seemingly impossible quest that she's on. And yeah, I will not give give away the end.
00:25:50
Speaker
But it was a really cool book. I wish that they had made that one into a movie. They made Ella enchanted into a movie. ah But and it was a good movie. It was starred Anne Hathaway as Ella. Yeah. Yeah. In like 2004.
00:26:09
Speaker
Yeah, vaguely, excuse me, vaguely familiar with that movie. Yeah, I thought that that was her. Yeah, it was a really, it was a good movie. And honestly, Oh, Enchanted was a good book, too. Like, it it was worthwhile, but I'd still preferred The Two Princesses of Lamar. But yeah, for that girl power that like, you know, I'm not looking for the like, Prince Charming, you know, kind of story ending. Yeah, I want the girl that is a badass and you know does tough things and break ah breaks the glass ceiling, as it were. I love that kind of shit. Yeah, that's really sweet. I like that that was influential for you. Yeah, and I didn't even realize how much it would be influential at the time. I just knew that I loved the story. It really resonated with something in me, and it you know made me then gravitate toward
00:27:04
Speaker
similar books as I got older. Because I was, like I said, in like late elementary school at the time when I read that. I actually wanted to ask you a couple of questions. so Sure. about you can About this book specifically? or No. ah Younger child.
00:27:21
Speaker
younger childhood books. Oh, okay. um Yeah. So I just was thinking about this, like the other day, because, you know, pondering what to talk about for this episode. And I wasn't sure how far back you were going to go in your your readings. And I don't really remember books when I was really young. I don't remember if I had, I mean, I'm sure I had to have books, but I don't remember them. But I remember that you had the one that was called a Run Dog Run or something like that? Oh, uh, Go Dog Go. Go Dog Go. And then you got my son that for Christmas one year. And then what about Stella Luna? Oh, Stella Luna. Tell me about Stella Luna. Well, I don't remember the details of them. oh like i remember I remember the book itself, but like, I don't know. When I got it, i got because I got Stella Luna from my friend.
00:28:19
Speaker
uh for her baby shower but I don't think I looked at it before I gave it to her or if I did I don't remember it ah um but it was a little bat little baby bat yeah lana yeah I loved that one there was one that I loved when I was a kid called a bad case of the stripes ah think is the title of it. And it was basically just about a girl who hated lima beans and then she came down with the bad case of the stripes and just started to devolve into this like Picasso-esque contemporary art mess of a person. Oh my goodness. And then every doctor that came to try to to cure her said the only cure for this is a spoonful of lima beans and she kept refusing to eat them. Oh my goodness. and
00:29:08
Speaker
Oh my god, it was really funny. I don't even remember much else about it, I just remember that. I know she eventually finally did eat one singular lima bean and it cured her immediately, but like... It was just just absolutely the wackiest. That is so funny. Really incredible, incredible artwork, I will say. Yeah. I was thinking about Stella Luna and like you got my son that book and then also the little stuffed, like a stuffed little. Oh, yeah. yeah Okay. Yeah. I remember that.
00:29:41
Speaker
That was definitely Christmas because we took it with us to the in-laws house. We brought brought the book in the, or maybe just the bat itself. And they were like ripping it apart. And I don't mean like physically ripping it apart. They were like making fun of the bat. And cause it was like right after COVID and they were like, it's the Wuhan bat.
00:30:03
Speaker
Oh my god, can you believe that crap? I was like, this is the sweetest story, but it just it bugs me because I was just like, you guys are rude. It's a really sweet story. Yeah. But you know, I'm glad that he liked it. For sure. It's adorable. It's a very sweet book.
00:30:23
Speaker
And go dot.go, I think we read it once. So it wasn't like you had told me you had read it like a thousand times or something. when you Oh yeah. It was like one of my favorite, like it's not even that I needed to like remind myself of the story because there's not a story. It's just like, it's very Dr. Seuss like, but I don't think it's actually by Dr. Seuss. Yeah, the artwork guide looks like Seussy. Yeah, but I don't, i I could be wrong. It could be Seuss. I don't remember.
00:30:51
Speaker
But I just remember loving looking at it. And like, I've never been the kind of person who can't reread things. I love to reread things. So yeah. So I just wanted to talk about the book that I got from somebody, ah you know, a baby shower gift when I was pregnant with him, with my son. Oh, yeah. And the book was called La Malama Red Pajama.
00:31:15
Speaker
And it is the cutest. Oh my god, I remember you showing me that. I think I read it to you, actually. Yeah, I think you did. Every single time I would read it to him, I would cry at the end. I could not help myself. I could not help myself. Because of the sweetest line that she says, you know, baby llama, don't you know? Mama llama loves you so.
00:31:36
Speaker
And I just like, I get chills and I just want to start crying. But it's the best book. It's the best. Yeah. And I think I told a friend of mine who recently had a baby that I was going to get it for her. So I still need to do that.
00:31:53
Speaker
Aww. There was something I was going to tell you and I can't remember what it was now. And now I'm trying to fake it, I can't fake it. I just saw the pictures you sent of a bed. Aren't they cool? Well I'm looking, hold on. Okay. a Moody be cool. What color should I add? They shouldn't add any color except for maybe like moody color on the walls.
00:32:16
Speaker
a But I'm not saying answer their question, I'm just showing you the bed. and No, I know, I know. Cool as shit, right? It's pretty cool. Yeah, yeah. Hout. But yeah, there's literally something... I'm like getting Marco Brain not on Marco. ah There's literally something I was gonna tell you and I can't remember what it was. Oh my god. Fuck. Look. Look at me on the monitor. I am Jabba the Hutt.
00:32:47
Speaker
Are you pantsless again? I'm pantsless. Hell yeah. Oh my god, why am I blanking on what I was gonna say? It'll come to you. Oh, you remember my idea that I had earlier that we're not gonna announce until we know that we can do it? Okay. The totally like the best part of the idea I totally forgot to mention um when I called you, which was that we can call it either We're sorry, the number you have dialed is not in service at this time.
00:33:19
Speaker
and
00:33:24
Speaker
Oh, my God. That's pretty funny. It's good, right? Yeah. Sometimes I'm smart. who Oh, my God. Well, I'm going to make the end or I'm going to I'm going to say it just in case I need to say it. We have taken a break and we are back mid-episode. Don't mind me munching on my spaghetti. We have had food and maps. Well, one one of us has had a map. The other one has watched seven episodes of a new show.
TV Shows & Modern Storytelling
00:34:05
Speaker
What? What show?
00:34:07
Speaker
It's a show, I literally just opened Netflix just to see what was on it, and it's a show called Nobody Wants This. It's a romantic comedy show, but it's, I, okay, first of all, the main female character is a podcaster with her sister.
00:34:25
Speaker
ah okay Wait, tell me one thing. Can you hear me when I'm chewing my spaghetti? A little. Okay, I'll try. I think it's mostly I hear the bowl sounds. Oh, I'll try not to ding ding. The clinks. I'll try not to do that.
00:34:40
Speaker
um I'm gonna shoot it. It's fine. It's fine. We've already explained that you're eating and absolutely nobody should be mad about it because if you're mad about us for feeding our bodies and our souls, then you can go fuck yourself. Oh, but this, so this show, yeah yeah it's, um, ah it's, it's basically just a kind of a romantic comedy about the unlikely romance between an agnostic sex podcaster and a rabbi. What?
00:35:19
Speaker
it
00:35:23
Speaker
How long are the episodes? They're short. They're like just under a half hour. Okay. Which is why I got through seven of them while you took a nap. Yeah, that's why I was asking, what the hell?
00:35:39
Speaker
Yeah, but it's really good. The main lead female lead is Kristen Bell. I don't know how old her character is supposed to be. I don't know how old the main characters are supposed to be at all, except for like maybe in their 30s. Except, I don't know how old Kristen Bell is, but the main male lead is 45-ish, for sure. And it's weird to realize that he is, because when I saw his face and heard his voice, I was like, I know who this guy is. I've seen him somewhere. I've seen him in something significant that I rewatch. And I was like, why can't I figure it out? And I went to IMDb.
00:36:17
Speaker
and I kept looking at pictures of him and I was like, I know his face, I know his face. And I wasn't scrolling far enough back in his filmography on IMDB because i was go I was stopping at like 2007 and seven I was like, for sure I've never seen anything he's done before 2007. Don't know why I felt so certain about that. I stopped before 2007 and therefore never got to 2001 where he was in Gilmore Girls. Oh no!
00:36:43
Speaker
so Yeah, that's what I've seen him in and I like kept like I like I don't know I must have like gone to his Wikipedia or like some other like summary page where it said like first, you know, big role was Gilmore Girls Adam Bernie's yeah, he was Lane the friend's first boyfriend in that show and they were like high schoolers and so that's why it's weird to be like, oh my god, he's like literally 45 Actually, he won't be 45 until December 15th. Well, and happy early birthday, Adam Brody, if you're ever listening to this, which if you are, hi, what the hell? um Yeah, I know shit, right? And cri Kristen Bell as well. She's fucking sweet as hell. I love her. Yeah. Do you know, wait, do you know how old she is?
00:37:37
Speaker
uh she's also 44 whoa okay okay so like they're they're just over the edge of like millennial to into gen x they're at the very very young end of gen x 1980 she was yeah literally born in 1980 yeah and i saw his said 79 which is why i assumed 45 already right but yeah so you like the show is it good it's really good otherwise i wouldn't have watched seven episodes in a row um No, I really, really like it. And I was gonna say, like, one of the things that I particularly appreciate about new shows and, like, you know, younger writers for shows is the way that they write better stories. And I don't just mean, like, more creative or more interesting, but, like, they don't include or or or fall back on petty drama. And, like, they make characters who are legitimately complex. There's not just a black and white, like, enemy.
00:38:36
Speaker
or whatever like, like the ex girlfriend is not just like, petty and dramatic and being a bitch and that nobody likes her. It's literally, she's legitimately hurt by the breakup. And her friends are just trying to protect her. And so they're not liking the new girlfriend, Kristen Bell, ah because they want to protect her and they want her to feel better. And so it's it's not even that like her friends, you know, the other, but because it's the guys are rabbis, like all of the friends are Jewish. And so like, it's not literally just because like, oh, they're Jewish, and they're excluding Kristen Bell, the non Jew. It's that they're just, they're caring for their friend who got dumped.
00:39:24
Speaker
yeah it's like things like that where it's like you know in previous generations I gotta say like the writing would simply be like the ex-girlfriend is the enemy and she's gonna be petty and try to like break them up or some shit or start terrible drama or start rumors etc etc and like have to deal with all that shit and then like at the same time like this couple are like being so like mature and adult with each other. and like like They're addressing things when things seem awkward and not saying anything and like holding onto weird feelings and not addressing things. you know so Let me let me ah me ask you a question. Do you think that in shows of old, in years of old, the writers were majority men?
00:40:10
Speaker
i think Yes, and I also think majority emotionally unevolved, like no matter no matter their gender. and you know And the population as a whole, society as a whole, was emotionally unevolved too, where like that's the kind of TV that sold, that got popular, you know it got a lot of views. And my generation is fucking sick of it. yeah like I know as a viewer, I'm sick of it.
00:40:39
Speaker
by I'm so glad to finally see like TV being written where like people actually have mature conversations and make rational decisions about things. right Even when they're like really upset or like really struggling with something. It makes for more realistic storytelling and it makes for people, especially younger kids like teenagers and like the younger generations, learn from that rather than learn to continue the petty drama.
00:41:08
Speaker
Yeah, I was thinking the same thing just a second ago. It's a good example for them. Yeah. And I honestly, I mean, like, there's also the the silly trope of like, sort of roping the like parents, the older generation of the show, as in like the parents of the main characters, so as like, comically woke, like in this one, Kristen Bell's characters, dad,
00:41:33
Speaker
and her her parents divorced because her dad is gay. But like the mom is trying to be all accepting of their relationship, but she's still hurt. But they're but they're even having like mature conversations about that, where she's like she's not just like a laughingstock, the like kooky mom that's divorced.
00:41:52
Speaker
and like being too supportive of her ex-husband's boyfriend, but that she's like, i'm I'm putting my best foot forward and I'm you know trying to keep my best face on, but I'm actually hurting still.
00:42:06
Speaker
yeah and they take it seriously and they still poke fun a little bit where she's also all into these like new agey things all of a sudden and like it's a little it's a little funny but it's a little like oh I hope they don't take this too far but you know about like you know making jokes like oh typical mom, she's gonna do ayahuasca with her Uber driver. Oh my god. Does that really happen in the show? it's It's mentioned. It's like mentioned in like the first episode. Oh my god. But like, you know, or she's like referring to like so and so who's her spiritual leader and cat sitter.
00:42:46
Speaker
like It's legitimately funny because it's so close to real life.
00:42:57
Speaker
Oh my God, that's really funny. Wow. What other job would a spiritual leader have? Oh my God, I'm going to like pull this computer off of mine. I hope I do.
00:43:16
Speaker
I didn't totally like fuck up the microphone again because I just screeched it all the time. Oh my god.
00:43:26
Speaker
Too funny. For anybody listening, go watch the show. It's fucking hilarious. And it's it it's really good. I really like it. And I have a history of liking TV that most people hate, but I don't think that's the case this time. I really don't. I really am. And I mean, of course,
00:43:46
Speaker
There's always the possibility that I'll be wrong, and I'll see a whole bunch of terrible reviews for it in the next few weeks. You know what? I don't know how long ago that show came out, but I remember seeing a commercial on Netflix for a show with Kristen Bell in it, and I'm guessing that that's probably it. ah Regardless. It's good. It's worthwhile. Yee. Anywho.
00:44:08
Speaker
yeah books. Oh, yeah. Oh my gosh. you You wanted to talk about another series that you read. Yeah. And so did you, didn't you? Yeah. Yeah. who do you want Who do you want to go first? I guess I can because you did the last sure book. Sure. Anyway, you may ah begin the halfway through the episode.
Vampire Literature Fascination
00:44:30
Speaker
Okay, so when I was a little bit of a later teen, I think maybe 15, 16 timeframe, I started reading Anne Rice interview with the vampire. And I had always had kind of a thing for vampires. And ah that book explains so much about me.
00:44:55
Speaker
Okay, I don't know if I want to know. No, it's, did I tell you about the when I was um the like, joke award that I got at the like, most likely to or whatever at the end of high school? Not like in high school, but in my seminary class? In seminary? We did that like the high school didn't do that because like, it was too big of a high school. But like, in seminary, the my our senior teacher made those like certificates most likely to etc etc for each each kid because there was only 12 of us in the class okay and one of mine because i had like three different ones and i can't remember the other two but the one that i do remember that i will never forget is that i was voted quote unquote no vote was taken voted most likely to marry a vampire
00:45:48
Speaker
so And this is in a Mormon class. oh That is hilarious. and And this is what I mean when I say like, that's how ah that's that explains a lot about why I am the way that I am. yeah I've always been into the dark, scary, sexy, alluring, creepy, all of the weird things.
00:46:11
Speaker
Agreed. Agreed. It's been into that. ah And yeah, so that book was phenomenal. I remember reading it and like the descriptive imagery and the things that she, you know, the way she wrote was so good. It just made you feel like you were there. I was like, Oh, so good. I'm gonna need to read ah it. Hmm. I haven't read it. I watched the movie, the one with was it Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt. Yeah. Football face is what I call him. but i Football face. He just looks like a jock. Oh my god. That's hilarious. Oh my god. I don't like, that's I don't like actually call him that it's just in my head. I'm like
00:46:57
Speaker
sport dude, man face, jock guy. I don't know. Yeah. no Bro. Bro. you look yeah bro He Yeah. But yeah, i I did see that movie and I liked it. I never read the book though. Oh, yeah. Good. Really good. I i own probably five or six of that series. um The first i five or six, not just random ones. And like I read, I think three.
00:47:27
Speaker
So I didn't get super far. And I know that there's even more than what I have. Like that series kept going on and on and on. And then more recently I had discovered, okay, not recently. When you're almost 50, 10 years ago seems like recently. So, no, it was more than 10. So, okay, let me scroll back in my life for a second. 2010-ish timeframe.
00:47:57
Speaker
10 years ago. Yeah. It's recently to me. Well, you know what? That's the year I graduated high school. It's more than half my life ago. What are you talking about? Right.
00:48:12
Speaker
is No, wait, less than, less than, Jesus. Thank you. no You're not 28 years old. But see, the thing is, I think of, I think of, is 2010 was when I graduated high school. Okay. That's been my entire adult life. Okay. So, but it still feels like, like 2010 should be two years ago. Right, right. So that's how it kind of feels to me too. So right it's like, I had discovered somehow that she wrote an erotic series.
00:48:39
Speaker
Oh yeah. The beauty series. Yeah. And I can't think of the first, the name of the first one right off hand, but. something Something sleeping beauty. Hold on. Hold on. Beauty's something or I cannot remember. Hold on. But um put on I have those three. There's three of them. I have them. The claiming of sleeping beauty. Of sleeping beauty. Yes, because I also, I have it in my Kindle library. Do you?
00:49:05
Speaker
yeah but you read it in my house yeah and i wanted to own a copy of my own so i got it on kindle i thought you said you didn't think it was that great some parts are great i couldn't get into the whole story but i like some parts okay okay fair enough i'm not gonna read the whole series but you know sometimes i just need you know i just need a little something yeah a little
00:49:33
Speaker
She's pretty imaginative in that arena. She sure is. Or was. is She does? She passed away a couple of years ago. Oh, I don't think I heard that. Yeah, I was pretty sad.
00:49:49
Speaker
know
00:49:51
Speaker
So yeah, so the interview with the vampire, if you like that kind of stuff, it's a good read for sure. know what I really want like really really badly is somebody to either write a book or write a TV show or movie that's about vampires but like actually sexy and not a joke because I kind of feel like you can't take Twilight seriously yeah like I did when I was 15 but like
00:50:24
Speaker
yeah You can't take Twilight seriously. You can't take True Bloods. I can't take True Bloods seriously. like i I loved it, but I can't take it seriously. youve been been like what you i'm sorry you've You've had to have heard about a discovery of witches. I did. I need to watch it. I haven't seen it yet. okay It just became available on, was it Netflix or was it on on Prime?
00:50:48
Speaker
I think it's Netflix. I think it's on Netflix, yeah. But i it's a book series, first of all. And I had the audiobooks of that. And I had been trying to like listen to that before I got really seriously into listening to podcasts and audiobooks and stuff. Kind of when I was first trying to do the audiobook thing a handful or so of years ago, and I just couldn't... like I keep forgetting about it and I wouldn't... like you know I just never finished it.
00:51:16
Speaker
It seemed pretty good, like not terribly unrealistic or whatever, ah ah but I didn't get super far into it. Okay. But even still, try to watch that and tell me what you think of it if you think that it's... I definitely will. I mean, I keep seeing it recommended. So I was gonna say, I think I saw like, you know, the like minute and a half clips that they'll show. They'll just start playing when you open Netflix.
00:51:44
Speaker
Um, I think I saw that for Discovery of Witches. And, uh, what's his face from Downton? Um, and i can yeah yeah. Um, I'm trying to remember the actor's name, but he's Henry Talbot in Downton. Uh, he's hot as hell. Yep. And he's a vampire, isn't he? Yes. Yeah. Princess Margaret's husband, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Um, something Snowden. That's right. Yep.
00:52:12
Speaker
As soon as I saw him on the crown, I was just like instantly like, oh my God, look who it is. Oh my God. Him and Matt Smith in the first two seasons of the crown, 10 out of 10, love Matt Smith. huh He was Prince Philip. I have to look it up now. He, so i I love Matt Smith with all my heart and soul. I love David Tennant, but Matt Smith was my favorite doctor and doctor who. um I love David Tennant. Love, love, love, love, love him. Matt Smith, I'm a writer guy.
00:52:42
Speaker
And he was also in House of the Dragon. Oh! Yeah. I recognize him, and I have to say, I'm not a big fan. What? You don't think he's attractive? I think his face is very kind of strange. See, that's the thing. I guess if I do have a type, it's I like people with strange faces. Sorry if I've ever hooked up with you when you're listening to me. Oh my god!
00:53:09
Speaker
Sorry to all my ex-boyfriends. You are ugly. But how?
00:53:22
Speaker
it I'm so kidding. I'm so kidding. I'm gonna legitimately have to meditate on whether I need to edit that out or not.
00:53:32
Speaker
I'm not. I don't think so. Oh my god. I was only kidding about being ugly. Nobody's ugly. so None of them are ugly. No. No, but I like it and we the offbeat guys. Yeah. I mean, I can understand the draw in a way. He's really attractive, man.
00:53:53
Speaker
some of the ones I'm seeing, I'm like, see the funny thing is like, there's like a category of attractive that Matt Smith is in. And he's in it with Bo Burnham. And he's in it with the other guy who's his kid, not his kid.
00:54:09
Speaker
who's one of the kids in House of the Dragon. God damn it. what All right. what is his home who To me, Bo Burnham is attractive. yeah Matt Smith's face has too many strange angles to it. I just don't get it. um it's It's kind of Picasso-y.
00:54:28
Speaker
What is this, Matt Smithslander? I'm sorry, I don't know him that well to be a big fan or whatever, but when I'm looking at his face, I'm kind of like... Did you not watch Doctor Who? Nope. Okay. Never. See, I think if I hadn't watched Doctor Who, I wouldn't feel so passionately about him.
00:54:48
Speaker
I understand how that is, because there's probably people that I've been become attracted to because of roles that they played, even though they weren't exactly hot or whatever. who Okay, so the other one, who I feel like belongs in the same category and is also in House of the Dragon, is Ewan Mitchell. hu that' an again He was in, also, what I first saw him in was The Last Kingdom.
00:55:15
Speaker
Oh wow. Like I feel like, I feel like somebody should write a show. He looks like Matt Smith's younger self. Right. Well, that's what I was going to say. Somebody should write a show where you and Mitchell, Matt Smith and Bo Burnham are three brothers. It would work. It would absolutely look like brothers. Absolutely. Yes. Yeah. Yeah. 100%. Anyway, so we are in agreement at least that Matt Smith is not ugly.
00:55:44
Speaker
I can't ah can't agree with you on that. I'm sorry. Oh my god. Well, that's fine. so It's whatever. I can keep him to myself. So I'll say this. He's not particularly ugly, but he's also not particularly handsome to me. That's fine. I'm used to hearing that. That's a nicer way of... i'm I'm very used to hearing that about the guys that I'm attracted to.
00:56:08
Speaker
But let's ands there's guys that you are attracted to that I think are, you know, handsome. So like Bo Burnham. He's, you know, he's a little, he's a better version of that guy.
00:56:21
Speaker
ah that man guy Okay. Okay. Yeah. Books. And rice. Vampires. Matt Smith. Sleeping Beauty. Matt Smith and Bo Burnham and Ewan... What's his face? Oh my god, I literally just had his name. Ew. Ewan Mitchell. You know who Ewan McGregor is, right? Oh, I know who... Of course I know who Ewan McGregor is. I was hot for him for quite a while. Well, he's... Yes, he's an attractive man too, yes. But besides that, he's genuinely fucking cool and sweet as fuck. Oh, I think I've heard that, yeah.
00:56:57
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, he's cool. Yeah, I was gonna say, because I was ah in the vein of talking about needing their somebody to write like a serious, actually sexy show or movie or book about vampires. It should be Matt Smith and Bo Burnham and Ewan Mitchell being vampires. Vampire Brothers? Vampire Brothers.
00:57:20
Speaker
But I don't think anybody would probably take that seriously. no probably not I'd be way into it. but and But it's a very niche audience.
00:57:39
Speaker
that me very nice shot yeah Mainly one person, Molly. Listen, I'm so sure I can get other people on board with the idea. um I'm convinced. It doesn't have to be you, it can be other people. This is a highly distractible episode we're recording. oh And so there was another series that you liked when you were younger and like what age were you?
Breaking Norms in Fiction
00:58:05
Speaker
ah the This one I read when I was about 12. I remember being in seventh grade. So yeah, 12. I can't remember if I mentioned the name of the series earlier or anything about it. But the as I have to mention the author first, because she's written way more serious than just this, and they're all or ah most of them are set in the same world. And so I'm going to start there.
00:58:33
Speaker
The author's name is Tamara Pierce. And she got started with a series. Shit, hold on. Now I got to look it up. Cause I remember the series that I, not the one that I'm going to talk about, but the one that she got started with. But I don't remember the name of the series. She's 69 years old. Nice. Um.
00:58:59
Speaker
She got started writing. Oh my god, don't give me a summary. I need titles, please. Goddamn. The Song of the Lioness Quartet. Four books in a series. So i I also read those when I was in middle school, but I started with another series in the same universe by the same author. And that series is called Protector of the Small.
00:59:24
Speaker
And so this is a fantasy medieval setting, and the main character of the protector of the small series is called Keldry, very medieval name, I think. um The context of the story is that the main character of the first series has paved the way for women. Did she just sneeze?
00:59:50
Speaker
no Oh, oh, she's just... cheek shaking Oh, that's so cute. um Her ears are so big, they're like clapping against her head. ah
01:00:03
Speaker
Oh my God. i mean are you maisy yes Yeah, sweet girl. The main character of the first series has paved the way for women in this kingdom to train to become knights. And so there was a decree made by the king.
01:00:20
Speaker
And 10 years later, no girls have taken advantage of that decree until Caladri comes along and becomes old enough to start training and wants to do that. And her parents are quite progressive. And so they're like supportive of her in pursuing this. So that's how she gets her start. And the protector of the small, I feel like I didn't realize it at the time, but the very beginning of the first book very much makes it clear why the series is called Protector of the Small because she literally she sees a bunch of stupid teenage boys throw a bag of kittens into a river and she rescues them.
01:00:59
Speaker
my god Yeah, and so the series, I'm like not gonna go into like all of the details, but like it has like a little bit of that like boarding school academy feel to it because it's like she is sent off to the palace to be trained and she's got like her room and her classes and her like training schedule and her classmates and there's the bullies and then there's the ones who want to befriend her and you know facing the challenges of being the only girl So she's like having to, you know, get by in this environment and thrive in this environment where, you know, she's not completely accepted, especially not by her instructor. The first book is called First Test. And even though there's a decree from the King saying that girls can train to become squires and knights,
01:01:49
Speaker
The instructor, like the current sitting instructor of the pages and the squires, he insists that she has to go through a trial year. And if she doesn't like completely excel at everything, he's sending her home. And so there's like extra pressure and she gets like particularly bitter, like, why do I have to have a trial? The king literally said.
01:02:12
Speaker
that I can do this." And then she like just works that much harder than everyone else, and therefore becomes better than everyone else. And I could relate a little bit of ah when I went to college. I know I've told you about that before. I related. I related a little bit. Anywho. Amazing.
01:02:34
Speaker
Yeah, it's so like, but that was honestly reading that book, reading that series and then reading more of the series that this author wrote because they're all very much in that same vein of like women doing things that like previously were never done before. And like also being badasses at it was like the best ever. I loved reading that shit, you know, and I liked to imagine myself in that kind of a role. So.
01:03:03
Speaker
Yeah. Awesome. Really good series. Like all, everything this woman has written is fantastic, but like, especially Protector of the Small. So yeah. That was the shit name of the whole series? Basically she wrote a lot of quartet sets. Like a lot of them all took place in the same kingdom, in the same world. But there were like stories about like different people in that world.
01:03:29
Speaker
But like, yeah, the first quartet was the Song of the Lioness. Yeah, yeah. And then there was one that was the Wild Magic something. There was like a like magic and animal focused protagonist in that one, but that was also a quartet. Then there was the Protector of the Small. Then there was one that was just just two. I don't know what you call it when it's just two. I don't know either.
01:03:55
Speaker
but but that one I think was actually about the first series main character's daughter. Anyway, big and complicated. I got way into them when I was in middle school and kept rereading them through high school too. Really, really, really great series. So the protector of the small was the whole series? That was the name of the whole series? That was the name of the four books about Keldry. Okay.
01:04:23
Speaker
But there's like each of those four didn't have their own names. They do have their own names. the The first book was First Test, then Page, then Squire, that i was and then i goingnna get it Lady Knight. Those I think were, I mean, I'm not criticizing Tamara Pierce by any means, but I don't feel like those names for those books were particularly interesting or imaginative.
01:04:45
Speaker
um I think there could have been better names given. But the names of the first series, The Song of the Lioness, the names of each book were a lot more interesting in my opinion. The first one was Alana, Alana the First Adventure, In the Hand of the Goddess, The Woman Who Rides Like a Man, and Lioness Rampant. Way more interesting.
01:05:14
Speaker
And it was, I'm not even gonna compare the two series because they're they're different, but they're both like exceptional. But I think i like I like the names of the first series better. And it was, it's cute because it was set in the like, or not set in, it was published in the 80s and the cover, the original covers are like so very quintessentially 80s. I just screenshotted and sent you the picture. Just very, it reminds me of like the Dark Crystal a little bit.
01:05:44
Speaker
a like that 80s medieval vibe ah yeah that honestly every book that I read by Tamara Pierce had a massive impact on me through the rest of my life thus far So do you think that these books are, I mean, obviously the cover looks a little cartoony, but like, were they aimed towards adolescent? Yeah, yeah. Like, I would say like, adults would enjoy them at all? Oh, for sure. For sure. They're not particularly difficult reads, but they're not super easy reads, by any means. I think that you'd enjoy them. Yeah.
01:06:28
Speaker
They're certainly easier to digest and get through than the Kushiel series. okay I would say start with the Alana series, the first one. Go chronologically if you're going to read them or listen to the audiobooks. Yeah, I'll see if they um if I can get them on Kindle or something like that. Do it! I hope that you do read them, and I hope that you tell me what you think of them.
01:06:54
Speaker
Anywho, distracted. We've been distracted as hell. But it's cool. It's fun because it's like this was a nice low-key episode. I've enjoyed it. Yeah. I want to do more bullshit, like, episodes. And i kind of I kind of thought about that earlier. I was like, we should just call some of our episodes bullshit-sodes because...
01:07:18
Speaker
But they're not. Because our opinions and our things that have like influenced us or that are important to us is not bullshit. I know, but I mean, us just talking about random shit is like bullshit. Shoot the shit zones.
01:07:32
Speaker
you but
01:07:36
Speaker
We'll come up with a name. I like i like um calling this a little book chat. Yes. I think that was a cute one. But yeah, it's been really fun. And it's been a particularly nice to be able to share because I don't think we've ever really gotten too deep into a lot of books that we read. I learned new things about you today. No, you didn't. Yes, I did. I've never knew that you read Stephen King novels when you were in middle school. Maybe one. I didn't know that. I didn't know like, i knew I knew, see the thing is like, I only knew that you had read the Anne Rice books.
01:08:13
Speaker
but I didn't assume that you'd read them when you were very young. I thought you read them when you were like in your twenties or something. ah Yeah. But also that's not what I, like, i I didn't know any other books that you had read and loved, you know? And I don't think I've ever told you about any of the Tamara Pierce books. Oh, you know what else? my Oh, no. What? What'd you forget? Dan Brown, Dan Brown books. Oh, I love him. Yeah. Oh my God. I i read like,
01:08:41
Speaker
I don't know if I read all of them, but I read like the main, the biggest of his novels yeah when I was like 19.
Impact of Dan Brown's Novels
01:08:49
Speaker
Loved them. Loved them. ye And I remember there being controversy in the Christian and Mormon communities about his novels being like, they promote atheism. It's like, really ah no, like the first one literally like confirms the existence of Jesus.
01:09:10
Speaker
yeah they're like looking for the holy grail or whatever right exactly yeah there there's i've read i actually have read three or four of his books yeah at least and like i had one that came out i don't remember 15 years ago maybe or so i don't know there was a couple there was a couple that came out yeah and i haven't and i have them and i have not read them but I kept trying to, the, oh my God, the lost symbol. Is that the one? That sounds right. i I mainly remember obviously the Da Vinci code and angels and demons. Yeah. The lost symbol sounds correct though. Right. I am, I just wanted to look really quick because, okay. So yes, the lost symbol. I have read digital fortress.
01:10:07
Speaker
Okay, I've not heard of that one. Yeah, those were his earlier ones. Okay. Digital Fortress and Deception Point and DaVinci Code and Angels and Demons. And then I had started to read the Lost Symbol and maybe got halfway through. And I think I own Inferno, which was the one that came out after Lost Symbol, but I have not touched that one at all. Okay, cool. ah Yeah.
01:10:33
Speaker
um What I think is really cool about him though is like he writes a lot of like science. like he He puts in a lot of true facts. And you when you read the books, you're just like,
01:10:50
Speaker
This is fiction, right? This is all fiction. But if you read, like, in the beginning, like, I don't know, first, first page inside the cover, it'll give you a history of the true facts of the things that he's writing about. And you're like, oh my God. Yeah. He does, like, hella research for sure. Yeah. Yeah. It's awesome. Noetic sciences is what was like was involved in The Lost Symbol. okay um and and And they talk about like the Hadron Collider, I believe, in CERN. So he's he includes stuff about that in there. It's really, it is very interesting. And I really shouldn't finish that book. But I think that stuff is so cool and fascinating. Yeah, agreed. um What was I gonna say? we We do need to do another one of these
01:11:42
Speaker
in the not destined future because, for some reason, it only just occurred to me that I have not said anything about the Stieglarsson novels, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Oh. Those shits fucking changed my brain chemistry. Yeah.
01:12:04
Speaker
It's, I think, The original Swedish title of that book, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, the original Swedish title to my understanding or to my memory, translates to the girl who hates men who hate women. Interesting. Yeah. And it's honestly fucking awesome. I will have to like make sure to like brush up on the details and then like give you the rundown about it the next time we do this.
01:12:35
Speaker
um Yeah, you can take this part out if you need to so that you can save it. Oh no, I'll make it a teaser for the next time we do one of these book chat episodes. Okay. Stick around, come back for more. We're going to talk about Stig Larson's legendary novels. Um, anywho. Yeah. Thank you, everybody, for joining us on this very adventuresome book chat episode.
01:13:03
Speaker
They're putting up with us. And there is a high chance that a vast majority of the distractedness is going to get edited out of this, but i I'll keep some of it in.
01:13:16
Speaker
um
01:13:20
Speaker
But yeah, we're we're glad you have listened and and we' glad you're here. We're grateful for you. So grateful. Yeah, truly.
01:13:32
Speaker
Really, truly, we can't believe sometimes that people actually want to listen to us. We tell people, hey, listen to us, but then at the same time, we cannot believe it. Anyway, if you'd like to follow us on Instagram, ah you can find us there at Soul Pod, the podcast. If you have any thoughts about the books that we talked about, if you loved any of them, if you hated any of them, if they reminded you of books that you feel like we should read,
01:14:01
Speaker
You should absolutely email all of that, any and all of the above, to soulpodthepodcastatgmail.com. And that's all we got for socials. So, you know, enjoy. Please remember to give us a thumbs up on Spotify. Hell yeah. Recommend us to your friends. Please do.
01:14:25
Speaker
and uh five stars yeah give us give us five stars or we'll hunt you down we're coming to get you uh oh here we go again we're at your back door but no you're not gonna be able to sleep tonight
01:14:52
Speaker
But in all seriousness, if you feel like you've really enjoyed listening to us, it would mean the world to us if you wrote us a review, preferably a positive one. And yeah, but no, were we're genuinely so grateful. We're having so much fun with this and we're excited to see what's in store next week. Because yeah, as of right now, still no idea what we're going to talk about next week. And that's part of the fun, I think.
01:15:22
Speaker
Yeah. but Christina not having any clue about anything to talk about and then getting there going, I'm sorry, I don't know what I'm gonna say. And then suddenly, and then you have so much to say and it's so insightful. So you're doing something right. If I'm doing something right, that's interesting. And thank you imposter syndrome much because that's how I feel.
01:15:50
Speaker
I understand that feeling for sure. I get it. I get it. But yeah, no, you're like, I think, I think we're, I think we're doing a fucking awesome job. So Pat's to us. We're hilarious. Oh my God.
01:16:08
Speaker
ah
01:16:12
Speaker
Hey, in particular, if you also want to see a movie that stars Matt Smith and Bo Burnham and you and Mitchell, ah Please email me and tell me and then maybe we'll start a petition for Hollywood Okay, we gotta wrap this up Yes, have a good night, have a good... Oh, you know what's funny? I have to say this. Okay. I was walking into work to check out, like put turn in my crap and check out and an acquaintance type person, friend, person was walking out and I was like, hey, and he goes, good morning. And I go, and he's like, oh, wait, good morning, good afternoon and good night.
01:17:00
Speaker
because it was like you know four three in the afternoon if he said good morning been there that's been there funny here's what i'll say i'll say good night and good luck remember we're at the back door and you're not going to be able to sleep tonight