The Readirect Podcast
Taylor Swift Songs as Books
Join us today for a little wine and cheese pairing, if you will. That's right, we're picking out some of our favorite books and pairing them up with the perfect companion Taylor Swift song and lyrics.
Books Mentioned:
- Circe by Madeline Miller
- The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
- The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
- Don't Want You Like a Best Friend by Emma Alban
- The Devil Comes Courting by Courtney Milan
- The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
- All the Young Dudes by MsKingBean89
Plus, check out this Count of Monte Cristo playlist by Emily. And here's some more reading about the (mostly joking) theory that TS is a fanfiction author: #SwiftKingBean89.
Don't forget to join us in our NEXT EPISODE on Tuesday, May 7 for our full thoughts on Emily Henry's Funny Story. See you next time!
Join us today for a little wine and cheese pairing, if you will. That's right, we're picking out some of our favorite books and pairing them up with the perfect companion Taylor Swift song and lyrics.
Books Mentioned:
- Circe by Madeline Miller
- The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
- The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
- Don't Want You Like a Best Friend by Emma Alban
- The Devil Comes Courting by Courtney Milan
- The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
- All the Young Dudes by MsKingBean89
Plus, check out this Count of Monte Cristo playlist by Emily. And here's some more reading about the (mostly joking) theory that TS is a fanfiction author: #SwiftKingBean89.
Don't forget to join us in our NEXT EPISODE on Tuesday, May 7 for our full thoughts on Emily Henry's Funny Story. See you next time!
Welcome to the Redirect Podcast. My name is Abigail Huiz and I'm Emily Rojas.
Speaker 2:The Redirect Podcast is a show where we shift the conversation back to books. We discuss themes from some of our favorite fictional books and how those themes show up in real lived experiences.
Speaker 1:On today's episode we're talking about two of our favorite things taylor, swift and books. But first, if you enjoy, the pod.
Speaker 2:We would humbly ask that you support us in a few simple ways. You can first leave us a five-star review on apple podcasts or anywhere that will let you give us a review and just let us know that you love this show.
Speaker 1:we'd also love for you to follow us on instagram at redirect podcast. And if you really really love the show, we would love for you to follow us on Instagram at Redirect Podcast. And if you really really love the show, we would love for you to share it with a friend. Sharing our show with a friend is by far the best way to grow our community of book loving nerds, and summer is one of the best times for reading. We have so much great content coming this summer, so many good books coming out this summer, so many good books.
Speaker 1:Some coming out this very day that you're listening to this. I Some coming out this very day that you're listening to this, I know, and just summer reading is elite and you're going to need someone to talk to about it, why not?
Speaker 2:Yeah, Just yell in your car at us.
Speaker 1:So yeah, speaking of books coming out this week and AKA Emily Henry's funny story, it has been a very big week for the girls. Oh, the biggest. It has a very big week for the girls, the biggest, it has been the biggest, the biggest week for the girls, like so overwhelmingly big. Yeah, I'm not ready, taylor. Swift's new album, the Tortured Poets Department, was released, and you and I have abstained really from talking about it, besides just sending back and forth some TikToks.
Speaker 2:Yes, until this moment. Yes, okay, what do you? So you tell?
Speaker 1:me first. Okay, well, all right, take me. So on thursday yes, you texted me and you were like the streets are saying it's about maddie healy, and I was like no, it can't be it is. It is so much about him and honestly, once I got past that, yeah, like I was like oh man, this is about maddie healy. And then I was like, okay, it's not maddie healy. And now I, I love it yeah, I I still.
Speaker 2:Yes, I did not listen to any of the leaks, but I did me either to see comments about the leaks and people saying it's a maddie healy album and that scared me. So I did text you for reassurance and, um, yeah, it is obviously. But on thinking about it now, I've had a few days to process and, honestly, the maddie healy songs some of them are some of my favorite songs probably. Yeah, and I think, um, like we don't really need an explanation of what happened with joe. It's like everyone gets it.
Speaker 2:You know, you fell in love. You went through the covid stuff, the reputation era stuff. You needed each other and you were together for a long time and maybe you wanted to get married. Who knows what exactly happened, but like everyone knows that. It's like you know that vibe people who are together forever, they don't ever take any next steps and then it kind of fizzles out like, I think everyone yeah, and also in hindsight, midnights was his breakup album but, like when you've been with someone for six, seven years and you love them so much and you care about them, like you really don't want to talk on them.
Speaker 2:No, so obviously I will say I loved so down so long london. That was probably one of my top songs.
Speaker 1:I that song is so unbelievably devastating. It's horrible um whenever she says, whenever she says when she says, oh my god, oh my god when she's like I loved you for so long london yeah, I was just like I.
Speaker 2:I wrote that down in my little notes the double meaning of of so long like goodbye, but also so long like the time I died on the altar waiting for proof.
Speaker 1:Yes, oh my god. Literally I almost walked into traffic.
Speaker 2:I mean, it was but I do think to back circle back to the maddie healy of it all, like I do feel like we kind of need an explanation for it and uh, and you know what, yes, she did and we learned a lot.
Speaker 1:So you wonder, okay, because my first reaction was, come on, like why could this have been so depressing? But she's taken us on this journey. I mean, obviously I still think he's ratty, you know, yeah, but like Disgusting she, like the original spark of him happened 14 years ago. Yeah, you've been through all of this. You get out of this really long-term relationship where you thought you were going to get married, you thought you were going to have kids, and then you're like, oh, this must be fate, like we're getting back, we're like, finally, getting our shot like this is the stuff of movies, this is the stuff of books.
Speaker 1:Like you, finally, you go through all this and then you get back with the person you're supposed to be with and you finally give it a shot, and then for it to fizzle so quickly and to end so badly, yeah, like and to be so.
Speaker 2:I mean, it seems like she did not expect to get as much hate for it as she did no which that's on her, probably for not seeing that one coming.
Speaker 2:But, um, you know, yeah, like I think that's a lot to deal with, probably of of this wasn't what I thought it would be. I've built it up in my head. I'm trying to avoid thinking about my long relationship that just ended. I thought this could be the thing for me and then I'm getting like vitriol for it and he kind of sucks and like I'm trying to change him. I'm trying to change him.
Speaker 1:He's not changing. He actually does suck. He is the smallest man who's ever lived. He didn't live up to my expectations. Like yeah, it's not so. I mean it is, I'm sure, partly about, like, the relationship with him being painful, but also just everything is so painful. Yeah, you got out of this long relationship. You gave away your youth these years. You'll never get back with this guy who never could grow up and never could commit to you.
Speaker 1:And now you think this bright hope of redemption and then, he disappoints you and you're in horrible press for it, and so, okay, I get it. Does it still sometimes cringe to listen to love of my to lmo l-o-m-l and be like this is about ratty? Yeah, yeah, but but I do get it because she's not saying he was a love of her life. She's saying he's the loss of her life, yeah, and that she put all this hope on him for so long. He was, was always. They always had a candle for each other.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and now it's obviously never going to be lit again. I will say I think maybe is this a safe place to say that maybe the vault tracks and the 3am tracks and the double albums like maybe just put out a really good album and some songs could have probably been cut off, you know, but I say that that was my initial thought and I made a list of 15 songs that I thought would have been a better album just one. But I have seen a lot of people doing that and every single person has a different list of songs. So it makes me think, you know, some of these weren't for me. I probably am not going to be fans of them, but everyone has like a different vibe. So I do feel like maybe, yeah, she should have just put them all out. But that was my initial feeling, was like there are some songs in here that maybe shouldn't have made it out into the world.
Speaker 1:This is 31 whole songs. Yeah, I will say that Honestly. I think at this point in her career she's like Okay, what have I haven't done? Let me just that honestly. I think at this point in her career she's like okay, what? Have I haven't done, fuck it. Let me just. Let me just release all 31 like and I think, um, what, who, what am I trying to prove to anybody like? Yeah?
Speaker 2:no, the who cares? Yeah, this album to me also. I did see, uh, someone on tiktok where I was like, are you new here? Um, she said she's talking about, thank you, amy, with the, which I love that song I can't even lie but with the capital K-I-M. She has never been so explicit about what songs are about and I was like, are you?
Speaker 1:new here. This is a return.
Speaker 2:This is a return to the Taylor Swift that I first loved.
Speaker 1:You know, she literally yeah, would name drop people yeah yeah, she was very explicit.
Speaker 2:you know, I think about um. Which song is it? That's about joe jonas, where the intro is the same length as the, the voicemail that he broke up with her. Like she's been extremely clear.
Speaker 1:She's so unhinged.
Speaker 2:One thing about this he was like we're back, we're so back because she's being so vulnerable. And and I mean from like folklore, evermore midnights. All those were way more cryptic, like is this about real life? Is this a about fake life, you know? And this was like oh, this is, this is my journal, this is my diary, oh, this was unhinged, yeah yeah there are.
Speaker 1:There are so many moments in this album that are so unbelievably deranged and unhinged. It's just like girl, you're crazy, but also like I love it me, but me too.
Speaker 2:Yeah, like she's like me, we're the same, yeah um, if you've ever been through a heartbreak that just devastated you in your life, you've been there. You know what I mean.
Speaker 2:You've ever been through a heartbreak that just devastated you in your life. You've been there. You know what I mean. You've been like, you've said some crazy things. You've, if you've like, people express them in different ways. Everyone's going to write two albums about it. But I think you know, I don't know Like, I think everyone's been there where you're like, hey, I was actually insane for a little bit and I'm back and I'm excited for her next album because I think it'll be happier. I hope Me too Okay.
Speaker 1:So what are your fave tracks?
Speaker 2:Okay, let me just read you what I would have made my album, and this is in the order I would have put it. So these are probably my favorites, I guess, and I honestly have not been like. I really just listened to these one by one and put my notes, and this is my thought. So I would have started it with how Did it End? I thought that would have been a better lead single actually.
Speaker 1:Oh, that was good. Yeah, and the starting track.
Speaker 2:I didn't really like Fortnite, just to be honest, as much, oh really, Although I love Post Malone and it's growing on me. But my first listen, a broken heart, obviously, and uh that song.
Speaker 1:That song is deranged. It makes me feel guilty to be a Swifty. Oh yeah, I'm like, I'm so sorry for making you perform for me, yeah, I'm. And at the end she goes I'm, I'm devastated. Or she says I'm miserable or she says I'm miserable.
Speaker 2:I'm like, oh my god, she held nothing back. Okay, anyways, keep on going um. Smallest man who ever lived. The alchemy that's one of my faves, respectfully also. So wrong london, I kept that as track five then I would have thought that would thank you.
Speaker 1:That is the most track five of all track fives. Oh yeah, and it's, and it's so good and it should be exalted.
Speaker 2:Yes, forever. And I don't care, the haters of that song can be dead to me. Cassandra, I love that one, but Daddy, I love him. I also love that one. Oh, I said on my notes. I said, unfortunately I love this song Because I had seen some lyrics. I did not stay up to listen to this. I waited till Friday morning, cause I'm just not a night person. Um, so I had seen some lyrics of that song and I was like oh God, this is so cringe.
Speaker 1:And then I heard it like uh, no, because it's I. That's one of my favorite tracks too, and at first I was like this is about ratty this Also. She knows it's embarrassing because of the rest of the album, so I'm like okay.
Speaker 1:But also yes, she's like I sound like a fucking. Sorry, I gotta stop swearing on this podcast. That's okay, I am such a brat and I'm DeLulu. And also that song is for the girlies who have religious trauma. The whole like let me tell you something. Right now I'd rather burn my. Oh, my gosh, I felt that in my my dna.
Speaker 2:All right, keep going, sorry no, you're good, then the black dog. Love that one.
Speaker 1:Uh, florida, I love it and I love florence like what a hell of a drug oh man, yeah, they need to do more.
Speaker 2:Who's afraid a little of me? I love that. So high school, respectfully, I love it and I don't care for all the haters out there taking screenshots of the lyrics that song. Maybe you've never been happy in your life. You've never been in love.
Speaker 1:I'm sorry, maybe you've never been immature because of how in love you are.
Speaker 2:I'm sorry, you're a nerd and you've never done anything cool in your life or at least like the, the feeling of like just being so into someone that you don't even care. You know what I mean. Like yes, sorry like I'm.
Speaker 1:That's. The whole point is that she's like again. She's saying this is so high school. I'm not saying it's, it's cool or adult to be like giggling, kicking my feet while my boyfriend, 34 year old boyfriend's friends are playing call of duty. But guess what? I'm so in love that I'm doing it. Yeah, I love it literally make it part of the fabric of my humanity I love that.
Speaker 2:I love that song. And then last three, love my life or l loss of my life, whatever you want to say, lom claire bell. And I would have ended it with the manuscript, which I thought was a really strong finish to the second part of the album. So that's mine, but I, I mean, that's just yeah, obviously, I think my tops are all of those actually okay, what are your faves? Um.
Speaker 1:I'm really surprised you didn't say Down Bad. I did not like that song.
Speaker 2:Really Okay. I was like I am in middle school and I just learned I can say the F word and I'm going to say it a lot. That's how I felt about the song.
Speaker 1:I saw a TikTok and it was a widow singing that song.
Speaker 1:And she was like the song. She was like the song. She's like you know, get if I can't have him, you know, yeah. And I was like, oh wow, this is so sad. So now, every time I hear that song, I think about it, makes me like it. Yeah, I think that's part of the reason I love it so much, as I'm like, oh my god, like that is. I might, you know, I might as well die, it would make no difference. And I was like, oh my gosh, it's like this song I relate to it.
Speaker 2:Sad interpretation yeah, yeah, um so long london, obvi.
Speaker 1:Also, have you seen this stuff about the beginning sounding like wedding bells, like so, so long I know um, but daddy, I love him, obviously, obviously I love that song, I love that song.
Speaker 2:I love that song. Who's Afraid of Little Me? I said about that song when she said I write bad men the best she wasn't lying.
Speaker 1:She was not lying. She wants a disgusting ratty cigarette-smelling functioning alcoholic with probably some missing teeth. That's what she wants, okay. Who's Afraid of Little? What she wants, okay. Who's afraid of little? Me, obviously, yeah. The smallest man who ever lived. Yeah, is a systematic take down of a human being.
Speaker 2:Yeah, to put this witness suit is the funniest thing I've ever heard anyone say, and it's so true, because he wears that stupid suit.
Speaker 1:Yeah, she said you deserve prison, but you won't get time. Yeah, okay.
Speaker 2:Hello.
Speaker 1:Wild Um and also the prophecy is sad. As a former like person who nobody ever loved, also I saw a edit.
Speaker 2:I should have sent it to you, but this is before we started sending each other edits. This one actually made me the most sad of any of the edits I've seen so far, and it was fromary about jesus. Stop it. It was so sad stop it okay, like obviously this is not what she wrote that about, but I was crying because I'm like, yeah, this song rip.
Speaker 1:Mary, mother of god, you would have loved the prophecy ripped virgin mary you would have loved.
Speaker 2:Tortured poets department but I mean, it made me so sad because I'm like, yeah, that would be really sad if your son, like had to die and you were like, god, please, anyway also I skipped, so high school, but I love that.
Speaker 1:I mean I think with a 31 song double album which yeah, it's probably too long. No, no album needs to be this long. I will probably come around to different songs, oh yeah, absolutely these are the ones that are standing out to me. That's what I said.
Speaker 2:This was my first I mean full listen through. That was my initial reaction. I'm sure there'll be other songs when I go back, you know it'll. They'll jump out. You know that's how it goes with every album.
Speaker 1:So yeah I would say listening to it right now. But, daddy, I love him is, yeah, it's right there at the top. Um, I love it. So, um, also, like I've been sending you a ton of hunger games edits my tiktok is just full of hunger games edits with these songs so many and the one I sent you, a finnick too I can do it with a broken heart, that one, literally, I'm like, I need, I need to be committed like I don't even talk about finnick odair.
Speaker 2:Like that to me please stop it just thinking about finnick and how he just went through so much and then he finally got to be happy for like one day and then he just died.
Speaker 1:Yeah so that was horrible. So, um, also okay, and then we'll actually get to the content of the episode. But, um, yeah, in, um, in, uh, what's that song? The one about being crazy? Um, which one? All of them, who's afraid a little me? Which is that you wouldn't last a minute in the asylum where they raised me.
Speaker 2:I was like that was insane, anyways all right, no, that one, yeah, can't even talk about it, so let's go.
Speaker 1:We'll get into it. So what we're here to discuss in the Twitter podcaster's department is pairing Taylor Swift songs with books that we think have the same vibe. Obviously, Taylor Swift is a book early. She has many, many references to literature and poetry and myth in her music. You can read a bunch of articles online about that that we could just regurgitate to you and that's not fun.
Speaker 2:I would love taylor swift to be on goodreads or a story graph and share what she actually does read. Yeah, she obviously is a book girly, like you said, but you know it's not like she's out I. That's too much power. I understand that, like she can't go recommending books or saying she doesn't like books, but I would just love to know what, like she should put out, like brock does with the song oh yeah, she should put out like books of the year that I really loved or something I would love to see it's too powerful.
Speaker 1:Yeah, she's too powerful.
Speaker 2:Oprah did it, and hype and she changed people's lives, like if it powerful. But you know what oprah did? It in her height and she changed people's lives like if it's positive, you know, yeah, like just these are 10 books I loved this year, whatever, and do at the end of the year.
Speaker 1:But anyways, just like you know, rapid fire she's. She's referenced alice in wonderland, shakespeare, william wordsworth, the great gatsby, peter pan, romeo and juliet, the scarlet letter, the secret garden, the slaughterhouse five and much more. She just loves weaving in bits of poetry and literature into her music, which is really fun and also provides a way for fans to really understand more hidden meaning if they understand the context of, like the work that's drawn from, which is one thing that her fans love about her. Um, but we're not doing that today. We are talking about some, like you know, a wine and cheese pairing? Essentially yes, um, so who should?
Speaker 1:go first uh, you go first. Okay, my first pairing. Um, the songs I would like to pair are so I kind of cheated, I did a little mashups um mad woman and who's afraid a little old me. These songs give female rage. They give I'm insane, they give you call me crazy. Yeah, I get more crazy. What about that? And when you say I seem angry, I get more angry. And the line that always gives me chills from who's afraid of little me is when she says so I leap from the gallows and I levitate down your street, crash the party like a record, scratch as I scream who's afraid of little of me?
Speaker 2:it's insane, it's really giving wanda of wandavision fame. Uh, yes, that's that's, that's thevitating.
Speaker 1:Like you tried to hang me, I escaped and now I'm levitating down your street I was tame, I was gentle till the circus life made me mean don't worry folks, we took out all her teeth. So, um, I am pairing this with Circe by Madeline Miller. Madeline Miller is great.
Speaker 1:This is a fictionalized story of, based on Circe, of a Greek myth, and she is all about female rage. She was kind of banished to an Island where, um, she is like a sorceress and, uh, she is vengeful and men come up on her Island and she does stuff to them and it's also about, like, her heart exterior but her soft inside and how she really wants to love. And, um, she turns men into swine and it's lit. But also, um, she has a real heart and she's still a woman and there's like a real person under there. It's great. I'm a huge fan. Obviously, she also wrote a song of achilles, which I'll be mentioning later, and that one is better in my opinion. But I also liked cersei. It's really great and I think it totally fits the vibes of, like, I want to express my anger at the patriarchy.
Speaker 2:This book is for you I love that I have this on my stack of physical tbr books, that it's been there for a long time, um, so I really need to get to it eventually yeah, I think I like it holds, come in, you know, to get to the actual physical books you have, that's so true but it's, it's there and it will be got yeah, when you it's a mood read for sure I don't.
Speaker 1:Okay, I think you can pick it at any time. But, like right, if you are feeling that vibe, I'd pick it up. Yeah, okay, what's your first?
Speaker 2:okay, my first is a book I've semi-recently talked about, um on the pod and it's don't want you like a best friend by emma albin, and I picked this obviously because it does have a taylor swift lyric title. Uh, from dress, you know yes, it does I actually think a better song to describe this book.
Speaker 2:Although I like that line, I don't want you like a best friend, you know, because it's about two friends who fall in love, whatever, um. So, yeah, if you don't remember the plot of this book, I guess, before I reveal, my second song is that it is a historical romance, gasp of regent sierra, two friends who are, you know, on the society, trying to find the husband, but they both kind of are in love with each other and they're trying to kind of find out a way that they can be together. They're two women and obviously in those days and sometimes in these days, but definitely in those days not allowed. So, um, but it's so fun. But I did pick a sad song, which is really how I reverse engineered this. I was like my favorite, probably, I don't know, maybe one of my favorite taylor swift songs of all time. I don't know if I want to say the favorite, but it's up there. Maybe the favorite is exile with bonnie bear, because I just thought of, I thought this line describes exactly the kind of book I want to read, um, which is I can see you staring, honey, like he's just your understudy, like you get your knuckles bloody for me first time I heard that.
Speaker 2:It rocked me to my core and I think this sums up this book, because there's a lot of, like you know them, having to watch each other dance with guys and, um, one of them ends up getting engaged through the course of the book. Not to spoil too much, and having to watch the person you love, um, fall in love with someone else or be with someone else, whatever capacity like. I wanted to find a book that matched up with that vibe and this is the one I could think of, especially since the title also pays homage to taylor swift. Um, but yeah, I love a book like that. I love pining, I love like a little bit of sadness.
Speaker 2:Uh, this book is very happy overall, but there's a little bit of that like yearning, yeah, yearning, the yearning love on the spectrum.
Speaker 1:Girls yes, one of my favorite people.
Speaker 2:I'm love of the spectrum. Connor, must I write you exactly?
Speaker 1:what does he say? He said must I write you a poem?
Speaker 2:yeah, it's just like it's just a date. I love it, but that's what I want in a book. You know, I want yearning. So, uh, this book has some of that and it's very fun, and she has a sequel coming out that is also a taylor swift title, and now I cannot remember what it's going to be called um, so let me find it really fast.
Speaker 1:You're the problem, it's you, and that one's supposed to be, lovers, so she's going that that swifty theme but I really like it was fun.
Speaker 2:So and get your money if you guys have more yearning book recommendations, send them to me don't send them to me to find.
Speaker 1:You know, send them to emily. I don't want that Shout out. Okay, my next book is the Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. Obviously, we cannot talk about seven husbands, we can't talk about Taylor Swift in books without talking about seven husbands. Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is a book by Taylor Jenkins. Read about this famous movie star named Evelyn Hugo and her seven husbands and maybe, just maybe, she was also with her in in romantic love with her friend Celia, and she is finally telling her story in the form of biography. And, um, I am a part-time galer. I say part-time galer because I believe there are credible you know, there are credible nods to her being queer or having a relationship with a woman in the past. But I'm I. I just I want to separate myself from the Gaylors who believe that every relationship she has with a man is fake. Yeah, I think that that's strange.
Speaker 2:So um much like sexuality Gaylors are sexual Right, exactly.
Speaker 1:Some of them are yeah Right.
Speaker 2:I just want to say I'm a part-time Gaylor.
Speaker 1:I am not a Hitler. Let's just say that. I think that it's, I think that there's. She has given us a lot of evidence or clues that could potentially be that she had a relationship with Karlie Kloss at least. But anyways, a lot of people drew similar connections between Evelyn Hugo and Taylor Swift and, um, there's, uh, so the song that I'm comparing those two are maroon and the last great American dynasty. Maroon because the first time I listened to that song, I was like this is this feels like a song that's about a girl. Um, she said carnations that you had thought were roses, that's us. And she said you know, it was so scarlet, it was maroon, like it was so wrong. You know that it was maroon. So, anyways, that's what I've always thought. I'm not the only one to think that In the last great American dynasty because it's a song that's telling a story about a historical figure who's wealthy and rich and famous A lot of public speculation, a lot of rumors, um, about, okay, did she kill the neighbor's dog?
Speaker 2:What.
Speaker 1:And then Taylor Swift bought her house. So if you like the vibe of those things mashed together and you've been living under a rock and you haven't read the Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, I really recommend it. It's a great book, really enjoyable, really well written. We love Taylor Jenkins' read and we could not leave her out, of course.
Speaker 2:Of course not. Yeah, I think this book. It also goes back to our memoirs episode. If you guys go listen to that. We we requested a memoir from taylor swift and I would love nothing more than her to one day, I think. I think it's very possible. Um, with enough time, like obviously not now, but when she was evelyn hugo's age, would she consider writing a memoir?
Speaker 1:I think absolutely, and I would love to read it just saying like, here's all the stuff you guys speculated about and here's the truth of it.
Speaker 2:Here's what it was like. I would love that, so I pray for that day. Okay, my next one is a book I have been trying to figure out how to bring up on the pod forever and maybe I have talked about it before, but I don't think I have. It's the Devil Comes Courting by Courtney Milan, and I read this book several years ago and I still think about it all the time and I honestly should reread it because it's been some time. Excuse me, but it is a romance. It's actually also historical romance, which is funny.
Speaker 1:Look at you, are you me? I know.
Speaker 2:But I feel like, yeah, I don't read a ton of romance books, I guess, so you know, there's not that much to choose from and ones I haven't talked about before, anyways. So, but this one is an excellent one. I think what I don't like and what I do like about both of these romance books that I'm talking about historical romances is I don't like when, like, everything is historical, I like some modern sensibilities, uh, in a historical setting. So I like that in the first one they are like queer and trying to figure out how to be together and there's accepting people in their lives. Um, it's not like so depressing. And then also this one um, there's like a little bit of like feminism and and like working within the rules of that time period, but you know a little bit of modernity. So, time period, but you know a little bit of modernity.
Speaker 2:So, anyways, this one follows a character whose name I don't recall, but she is. She's adopted. She is, I believe, from China and then was kind of adopted by some English missionaries, if you know what I mean. Like she had a perfectly fine, loving home, but she has, she lived with them or whatever, and so her name is Amelia Smith. She was taken as a child by English missionaries. And then she's like I have no interest in like getting arranged married, I don't really want to be a part of the society. Like she is kind kind of inventive and really intelligent and wants to have a job and be on her own life, but obviously can't really do that. But then she meets Captain Grayson Hunter and he is fast. There's a lot of fascinating stuff in this. But he's on a mission to like sail around the world and lay the wiring in the ocean for a worldwide telegraphic network so people can send telegraphs, you know oh, wow the seas, which I had never given any thought to how that worked before.
Speaker 2:But he's like working really hard on that and part of this is he needs I forget, obviously, it's been like three years since I read this. I don't remember what exactly he needs from her, but she, I believe, speaks chinese. Is he needs? I forget? Obviously it's been like three years since I read this. I don't remember what exactly he needs from her, but she, I believe, speaks Chinese and he needs her to help translate. So he hires her to actually work on this mission with him and, of course, they end up falling in love and it's a very slow burn, but super good.
Speaker 2:Another thing you love, I love, yeah, you're right, but I just like how? So the song one I picked two songs for this, but one of them is the man, obviously, because her whole thing is like I want to live a man's life, I want to, I don't want to get married just to get married, I want to, you know, have a career and I want to do these things with my life and she's given that opportunity. So I like that. But you know, like I'm so sick of running as fast as I can, you know.
Speaker 2:And then also I picked King of my Heart, but really I just think the vibes of reputation because his the captain in this book, his brother had passed away and he's like has this kind of hardened exterior and obviously she was taken from her family as a child and is is like not really open to falling in love because she doesn't want, like kids or being married, like she doesn't want those traditional things, um, so it's kind of like the vibes of two broken people falling in love after pain, after, like, heartbreak or loss, and I think reputation as an album is really like that, um of, like I just wrote, this is the end of all the endings.
Speaker 2:My broken bones are mending. So it's not necessarily like they both have been heartbroken and they're falling in love, but they've both just been through a lot or have this hardened shell and have to kind of find a way to fall in love in the midst of all that. So this is a really excellent book. Again, I don't always love historical romance and this is top tier for tier for me. It's so good, it was just like excellent storytelling and I really like when something's well researched. So this book also taught me a lot about the telegraphic stuff and it felt very, you know, like oh, this is so interesting.
Speaker 1:So you know we talked about that our last episode.
Speaker 2:Like when you learn something while you're reading, it's kind of fun. So, anyways, highly recommend and if you like reputation or the man, you should read this I will have to add that to my list.
Speaker 1:This one's really good, cute. You should and I love reputation so much oh yeah, me too.
Speaker 2:Nothing has topped it, but for me I love reputation.
Speaker 1:Um, okay, my last book is, uh, the song of achilles, which is one of my favorite books I read last year. It is just in most, it's just so incredibly beautiful. But it is also based on greek myth. It's also by madeline miller and it is the story of Achilles and Patroclus and their friendship slash more their deep soul tie relationship and she kind of imagines what that would have been like for them and it is, you know, a devastating ending. It is, you know, a devastating ending and some of the songs I picked one of the audios often goes around on TikTok referencing this book.
Speaker 1:It's like he's half my soul, as the poets say. I could know him by touch alone, by smell. I just their love is so beautiful and it takes many different forms, from friends to brothers, to lovers, to companions. I mean it's just like, and there's, it's so self-sacrificial for each other. It's like it's just beautiful war, epic plus epic, romance, like it's so much more than just a romance book. I wouldn't even really call it that. Um, yeah, no, it's it's love. It's just, it's incredible. I love it. It's so good, um, so I had to pick some heartbreaking songs a heartbreaking duo of songs.
Speaker 1:the first song I picked is it's nice to have a friend yeah, um, from lover, because they are friends. And also that song, like the way that the song is structured, talks about you know, when you're in in the song, like the character of a song if it's her for someone else, meet somebody else, and they are when they're kids and they really are just friends and and as time goes by, it's like, yeah, oh, like, I have this partner that I love and who loves me, and isn't it nice to have a friend and friendship in the context of relationship, of a romantic relationship, which I think is so fitting for Achilles and Patriculus, because, yeah, there's so much more than just lovers, you know, yeah.
Speaker 1:And then I paired that with LOML, the loss of my life. Um, uh, a new song for some people. So I'll read some of the lyrics If you know it in one glimpse. It's legendary. You and I go from one kiss to getting married, still alive, killing time at the cemetery, never quite buried in your suit and tie. In the nick of time, you, low down boy, you stand up guy, you holy ghost. You told me I'm the love of your life. You said I'm the love of your life about a million times, and at the end of the song she says you're the loss of my life which is when I heard that it was genuinely gutting, um, but there is like a sweet ending to this story which I will not spoil.
Speaker 1:Yeah and um, if you haven't read it, oh my god, please you have to.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'd say too, like I put off reading this book for so long because it seemed really overhyped and also I was kind of like what is this even? But you guys don't even know, so just read it mr vice president mr jefferson, senator burr, what is this exactly? You're trying to put all these together, but you can't know until you read it, so just do it love it.
Speaker 1:My last one actually did kind of a double barrel last one, so one, I won't spend too much time well, I almost put this too, but then I was like, oh, emily's gonna put this, so we co-endorse, co-endorse the count of money christo is.
Speaker 2:Look what you made me do literally no further explanation made me do. Yes, honey, I rose up from the grave. I do it all the time. I made a list literally this is in red underline. Honestly, I always like look what you made me do. I'm a look what you made me do truther.
Speaker 1:I liked it from the second the best video of all time, the best music video ever.
Speaker 2:But this reading the count of money crystal made me love it even more, because it's like every time I listen to it I just think of dante's coming back. Everyone thinks he's dead. He's getting his revenge. Okay, number four also, I'll link my count of money crystal playlist. I have made an entire playlist. This song is on there. I think there's another taylor swift song on there as well, so you can listen to that. Um. Number four I had to bring this up and I haven't even finished reading this, uh, but I did invest some time into it, prep for this episode. It's a fan fiction by yes okay, in 89.
Speaker 1:I'm like behind, like I keep seeing this, but I don't know what it's about. Okay, so I am gonna.
Speaker 2:also, if you're really deep in on this lore, you're going to think I sound stupid as well, because I am really new to this. But there is a fan fiction called All the Young Dudes by MissKingBean89. Okay, I'll just leave you with that, and it is a Marauders fanfic, which I have always avoided because it makes me so sad, like thinking of okay for people whose brains aren't as rotten.
Speaker 1:That is, the marauders from harry potter, which is james um lupin, lupin, serious black and people probably grew.
Speaker 2:Yeah, um and yeah the. The idea is, if you aren't a harry potter person, is that these are, so one of them is harry potter's dad. The rest of them are characters in the books, but they were children together, they went to hogwarts together, they were best friends. And then one of them is betrayed by peter. So james is betrayed by peter, which leads to his ultimate death, and then peter kind of goes to the dark side, fakes his own death, so they all think he's dead. Sirius is put in prison for Peter's death, which we know he didn't do, and then Remus is like the only one left and he has his own problems. So that just devastated me. To think about Four Friends and I just want to say JK Rowling is extremely problematic but also stupid, because instead of this Fantastic Be fantastic beast stuff, if she had gone with the marauders like oh my god, I mean people would have died, they would have lost their minds.
Speaker 2:People have been dreaming of that for years. So this fan fiction is telling that story and a lot of uh, fan fiction or just fans of the books have projected a non-canon romance. Um, not that it couldn't be, but it's not mentioned in the books between Sirius Black and Remus Lupin. And I just I know any Marauder fanfic is going to be depressing, so I have never read them, but I've started to read this one and I'm already all the way in. So, um, people have speculated for reasons that I'm sure there is lengthy documents on Reddit about and I'll try to find some to link in the show notes for people to get more information.
Speaker 2:But for various reasons, I think, especially the 89, people have speculated that this fanfic author what if it's Taylor Swift? And I will say this fanfiction was either written, it's like 2018 or 2019. So it's taylor swift and I will say this fan fiction was either written, it's like 2018 or 2019, so it's not like recent, when she's obviously had no time. It's you know from a quieter time in her life that that's very possible. Um, it's on archive of our own and it is 188 chapters. So again, I am just a toe into this book, but it's telling, like the whole story. It's starting from their first year at hogwarts and it's already oh wow, that sounds so good.
Speaker 1:I'm so excited I it could, it could be her. And if it's not, the biggest salute of all time to miss king, being 89 for getting your back right now and getting the exact respect you deserve. Way to go um.
Speaker 2:So I will just say, though, that, um, the songs that go with this people are referencing, especially on the most recent album. There's the song the black dog, which, serious, is a person who could transform into a black dog. There's a song called peter. There's a song called the prophecy uh, so people are citing that as evidence. Um, like the lyrics from the song peter. I've heard great things, peter, but life was always easier on you than it was on me, and sometimes it gets me. When crossing your jet stream, we both did the best we could do underneath the same moon, in different galaxies. Okay, so that's all. But some people are saying, like you know, I think, even if she's not miss king being 89, maybe she is at least aware, you know, of this kind of um like ship, or this fanfic.
Speaker 1:So oh yeah and like alluding to, yes, tipping her hat too, because to me, okay, because I think that peter could totally be. I, when I heard peter, me, like many people, related it to cardigan. Yeah, um, and like peter losing wendy wendy now waiting on on Peter and he's never grown up enough to come and like be with her.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. But yeah, like I think the prophecy is very much giving Harry Potter as well, so I wrote that first note. I wrote down when listening to it, before I saw any of this discussion. So yeah, anyways.
Speaker 1:Interesting.
Speaker 2:I doubt your thoughts I very much doubt that this is actually taylor swift, but I think so far this fan fiction is excellent. It's very long and I am prepared to be devastated because the author says at the beginning this is like. There's some non-canon things like in this book. I think remus is, his father is dead and he's kind of like in a troubled boy's home. I don't know if that's actually ever alluded to. So there's some things like in this book. I think remus is, his father is dead and he's kind of like in a troubled boy's home. I don't know if that's actually ever alluded to. So there's some things like in their backstory.
Speaker 2:But she says everything else will follow in the canon of what we know, and so obviously it's gonna be depressing, but I'm ready to be hurt, you know. Um, so anyways, I'll let you guys know what I think after I finish it, but that's all I have to say. Um, if you guys have read this fan fiction, please weigh in, because I'm fascinated and I would. I would like taylor swift. She gives fan fiction.
Speaker 2:Author vibes you know, like I think she would write a fan fiction. Well, has she? I don't know, but would she? Yes, yeah, okay she would yeah, um, I mean, she's definitely, she's almost certainly written something, even if she hasn't published it like yeah yeah, like, if you like to write songs, I'm sure you like to write other things, and if you're in this big into literature, which she seems to be again, I'm sure she's written other types of things.
Speaker 1:100 um, okay, books we've read recently. That is something you've read recently or something else you wanted to share about no, that's something I'm currently reading, but, uh, recently I read, um a book.
Speaker 2:You recommended a book I I started previously when it came in on Libby, and then there's too many books and I never finished it. And then I remembered I own this book, which I don't even remember where I got it. So I read it all on Friday after work in one sitting, and it's the Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley. Fun, because I have been like I want to read a good thriller, so bad, and I forgot that I have this book, so I just just all in. So this is uh, this book.
Speaker 2:Um, I really liked her book, the guest list, and you've read her other book, I think hunting party the hunting party and then, yeah, we had both have now read this book and it's about this girl, jess, and she kind of flees England to go live with her half brother in Paris, in this apartment complex, and he's like, yeah, you can come, sure, but not really wanting her to come, but he didn't say she couldn't. So she's there and she basically has no money, no job and no prospects. But when she gets to the apartment her brother is not there and things are really weird. And his keys are still there, his wallet's still there, but he's not there, and his cat has like a little splat of blood on him, and also she finds his necklace that he like never takes off, and so, you know, odd. So she's trying to figure out what happened, but she can't really go to the police because she has her own, you know troubles, and so this is kind of her trying to figure out what's happening. It's very creepy, very creepy.
Speaker 2:I remember that's why I stopped reading it the first, because I started reading it at night and then, um, I was getting freaked out and so then I stopped reading it at night. Then it got returned to Libby, um, but there's, there's a good twist, there's a really good twist in this one and I think Lucy Foley is really good at like it's a pretty run-of-the-mill, you know, thriller in terms of the structure, but she's really good at like tying up all the loose ends and making you feel really resolved at the end and, like you know, not crazy twists that feel like they came out of nowhere. It's like, okay, I see where we got here, but still like really maintaining that suspense. So to me, if I like, she's a person I know I can read her books and I'm gonna enjoy the thriller experience, so I really like this book.
Speaker 1:Um, yeah, that's what I've read yeah, she's very uh, like she makes books really addicting, like you can't stop reading it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I literally couldn't stop. I didn't stop until I finished reading this book.
Speaker 1:Um it's not too long so it's a good super bingeable yeah, that's what I've read. Well, I have another thriller. I said Abigail you have to stop. Like I said, abigail, you can't only read historical romance. 22nd. Um, I have read like maybe 15, 15, something like that, like historical romances. I need to stop, so, um. So I said, okay, let me take a break. And, uh, I realized that rachel hawkins has a new book it's called the heiress right and it was Mm-hmm and it was available on Kindle Unlimited, which I was like girl.
Speaker 2:What are you doing on Kindle Unlimited?
Speaker 1:But anyways, I read it and it's good. So this is also fun because it is set in Western North Carolina, near Asheville, which is where my parents live, and so I felt very much like I knew the place and I felt very like I could really imagine things. But it is about this couple named Camden and Jules, who live in Colorado. Camden is the adopted son of a very famous and wealthy heiress named Ruby McTavish and Ruby McTavish. And Ruby McTavish is famous for a few things One, going missing for three months when she was like two, three years old and then being miraculously returned to her family. Um. Another thing she's famous for is for being married four times in all, four of her husbands being dead. Oh, and now she is gone and her adopted son, camden, is the sole heir of her entire fortune. But his cousins and aunts, his aunt and cousins, all live at the family estate near Asheville and it's been years since Ruby's death and they're having all of these problems with the house and they need Camden to come and sort some stuff out because he holds all the purse strings for the family. So Jules is like no, let's go, like this is our house, like we have this fortune that we're not using. And um turns out Camden has some secrets, jules has some secrets, everybody else has some secrets.
Speaker 1:We get multiple points of view. We also get letters from the late Ruby McTavish telling her side of the story, letters to whom we don't know. We're just reading the letters and it is not super long. There was a lot of it. I guessed until the last piece at the end. It is not super long, it's. There was a lot of it. I guessed until the last piece at the end. I did not guess. So there is a reward at the end for the faithful and it was really fun and if you like her other stuff, you'll like this too. Love it. It's on hold. I highly recommend.
Speaker 2:Wow.
Speaker 1:I love that. Yeah, I think you'll really enjoy it. I can't wait and and, like she has, this is not her first book that's set in the south. The wife upstairs is set in alabama, like, obviously, clearly rachel hawkins has some ties to the south because she's written a bunch of books there and she gets it and she knows what it's like. Um, yeah, so shout out to her um, she's one of us, but one of us, yeah I recommend love it.
Speaker 2:Can't wait to read it yeah, all right.
Speaker 1:Well, that's it for this episode.
Speaker 2:Bye guys and start reading. Happy place today oh, yes, yes back in two weeks and we'll be talking about it, yeah we are talking about happy place in two weeks.
Speaker 1:if you have any questions or anything that you want us to mention, hit us up on Instagram. I can't wait. I can't wait Imagining my future self.
Speaker 2:By the time you're listening to this, I have Happy Place in my hands. So that's amazing.
Speaker 1:Oh my gosh, yay, let's go All right, bye, guys you.