S5E5: Greek Mythology retellings have always been popular, most memorably during our middle school days, but never have they seemed more widespread than they are right now. Greek retellings fill up the ‘New In’ shelves and people just can’t get enough of them – us included!

In this episode we not only talk about the Greek myths and retellings we’ve read and loved (or didn’t love), but we also get into what drew us to Greek myths in the first place, as well as the differences we see among retellings, particularly between books geared towards adults versus young adults.

Content warning: Rape, Sexual Assault.

Books Mentioned:

• Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan

• Ariadne by Jennifer Saint

• Elektra by Jennifer Saint

• Circe by Madeline Miller

• Galatea by Madeline Miller

• Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

• Ithaca by Claire North

• House of Odysseus by Claire North

• Neon Gods by Katee Robert

• Electric Idol by Katee Robert

• Wicked Beauty by Katee Robert

• Iliad by Homer

• Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes

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Continuing our book club tradition, in this episode we discuss our latest buddy read: Rebecca Kuang’s “Yellow Face,” one of the most popular fiction books from 2023. As usual, we share our ratings and conduct a deep dive into the characters, the writing, and our overall thoughts.

“Yellow Face” was an eye-opening, and perhaps controversial, read for two people who are interested in and linked to the world of books, writing, and publishing. Needless to say, we had a lot to say about this one!

Content warning: Rape
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S5E3: This isn’t the first time we’ve talked about online bookish communities (see Season 2 Episode 4, The One Where We Talk About Booktok Parts 1 & 2), but this time we’re turning our eyes to Bookstagram.

From blowing up during the COVID lockdown to now influencing the publishing industry and international book charts, Bookstagram is an ever-growing and powerful community, for better, and sometimes, for worse. Ayesha shares her own experience of building a bookstagram account and then we discuss themes we’ve noticed in the community – the good, the bad, and the ugly.

If you’ve ever been convinced to get a book based off of someone's Instagram post, listen to this episode to get a behind the scenes look into the world of book influencing!

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S5E2: Why is reading about relatable characters so fun? Why is it so frustrating when a character feels completely unrelatable? Is character relatability actually important to us as readers? Can fantasy characters still be realistic?

These are some of the questions we delve into during this episode about unrelatable book characters. To begin, we go down a rabbit hole of discovering the differences between realistic vs. relatable/unrealistic vs. unrelatable when it comes to analyzing book characters. Our working definitions thus defined, we then share what the internet seems to think about the whole realistic/relatable character debate before getting into which characters we find the most relatable and unrelatable across both fantasy and fiction.

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S5E1: Kicking off Season 5, we talk about how to get back into reading!

Almost everyone has experienced reading slumps of some sort. Whether you used to love reading when you were younger but can’t find the time or energy these days, are not as consistent a reader as you wish to be, or simply don’t know where to start when it comes to finding a new book, we’ve got you covered! Even as self-proclaimed bookworms, we too have endured our fair share of reading slumps, and in this conversation we lay down the best tips for how to get out of a reading slump, big or small, from our own experiences and that of our friends. Stay until the end for a rundown of our suggested books that are sure to get anyone out of a slump!

Books Mentioned:

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

All My Rage by Sabaa Tahir

The Fortunes of Jaded Women by Carolyn Huynh

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time by Mark Haddon

Attached by Amir Levine & Rachel S. F. Heler

Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton

Dear Dolly by Dolly Alderton

The Lost City of the Monkey God by Douglas Preston

In Defense of Witches by Mona Chollet

Mott Street by Ava Chin

Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas

An Ember in the Ashes series by Sabaa Tahir

Deltora series by Emily Rodda

Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree

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For our final book club read of 2023, we read “Days At the Morisaki Bookshop” by Satoshi Yagisawa, and it was the perfect book to end on. It’s sweet, comforting, and a testament to the power of reading. We loved the book’s setting in the Jimbocho district of Tokyo, a cozy neighborhood known for its multitude of second hand bookshops, the oddball but loveable characters, and the simple yet effective writing that managed to convey so much emotion! 

Whilst this book turned out to be different than we both expected, it was still such a heartwarming read as it evaded cliches and remained enjoyably realistic. 

Wishing you all a happy New Year!

In November, we read the shortest book in our podcast history: “Assembly” by Natasha Brown. 

This was a controversial read for us, and our lowest rated book club read to date. That said, it definitely made for an interesting conversation to discuss a book that both confused and underwhelmed us. Talking through our own questions about the book led us down a rabbit hole of more questions concerning certain plot points, messages, and characters. 

While it’s an odd feeling to disagree with the reviews of such a highly acclaimed book, it felt good to apply our own unique perspectives to form a critique of why it didn’t hit home for us.

Look no further for our favorite cozy read of the year - Sangu Mandanna’s “The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches.” This book was an absolute joy for us to read, and it was equally fun for us to talk about!

After sharing our initial ratings, we discussed what made the characters so likable (authentically quirky and kind) and the book itself so enjoyable (diverse cast, and the coziest atmosphere). Talking together about the book made us realize just how much we loved reading it, especially compared to similar books out there, prompting us to change our ratings by the end – so stay tuned to find out!