Episode 31: Your Reading Slump is Totally Normal

Hello, hi, and welcome to Medium Lady Reads. This is episode 31, “Your Reading Slump is Totally Normal.”

This week, Erin and Jillian are here to remind you that reading is self-care, so grab your latest read and join in for our reviews and book chat.

In This Episode:

• The ladies start the episode by checking in with each other to see how their reading is going.
• It’s time for book reviews! The ladies share their reviews of the latest books that they’ve read.
• What’s this week’s Hot Take? You’ll need to tune in to find out!
• Want to find out what Jillian and Erin are requesting from the library, tune in to this episode.
• If you enjoyed this episode, please take a moment and text a friend about it so they can listen, too.

Books Mentioned In This Episode:

• Lady Macbeth by Ava Reid
• The Mistletoe Mystery by Nita Prose
• The Seven Skins of Esther Wilding by Holly Ringland
• The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides 
• This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson
• The Night We Lost Him by Laura Dave
• Within Arms Reach by Ann Napolitano 
• Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano
• Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano
• Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter
• Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty
• The Rich People Have Gone Away by Regina Porter
• The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
• The Bookbinder by Pip Williams 
• Lovelight Farms by B.K. Borison 
• Here One Moment by Liane Moriarty
• Buy Back Your Time by Dan Martell 
• Father of the Rain by Lily King
• The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science by Kate McKinnon
• The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter

Transcript

I still feel like I'm slumping a little bit.

I just feel like there's something Something there not sure what hmm and I've been playing taxi driver for all my kids and their activities Which does give me more time to read because then I can sit there in the parking lot and read while they're in their activity but I don't know I don't know I got a maybe I should really do some journaling and dig into why I've been feeling so slumpish lately [Music] Hello, hi and welcome to medium-lady reads.

This is episode 31 We're here to remind you reading is self-care so grab your latest read and join in for our reviews and book chat Hi everyone.

I'm Jillian and Instagram content strategist for Polish people a mom of two based in Buffalo, New York And I'm Erin a mom of three a hospital administrator in Ontario, Canada and the host and founder of the medium-lady community a medium-lady podcast together We're thrilled to bring you another episode of medium-lady reads a podcast about reading a self-care passionate love for the public library All of our thoughts and opinions on book culture having Hi everyone welcome back to medium-lady reads.

This is episode 31 airing the week of November 12th So let's check in Erin.

How's your reading going?

Oh my reading is going great.

It's going great It just feels like Part of my life that doesn't need too much effort right now, but I have been feeling like I Want to make really purposeful choices for the end of the year like what am I gonna read between now and the end of the year?

I'm not just picking any old book like really wanting to like Really pick good ones from now through the end of the year and that's like an arbitrary deadline the end of the year It doesn't really matter, but I don't know.

I feel like we're in the last two months of the year and It's kind of cool.

So I was actually thinking I own a lot of books that I really really love and Maybe I would take a break from the library and actually read my shelves for the end of the year right?

I know I know but but I have I own a number of really amazing books that I haven't read and I thought well The only way I'm gonna do that is if I don't have an option of the library because that library always trumps It always like supersedes whatever because I could read the books on my shelf anytime So that was what I was gonna do for November But then I had an amazing call Spontaneous call with a really really old friend who lives in Australia.

We were texting back and forth about books And then she's just facetimed me.

She was like listen This is just gonna be so much more fun if we just chat if you're free So we just facetimed I was taking the train home and she gave me so many good book recommendations and she's known me almost my whole life So she's like oh, I know you you're gonna like this.

You're gonna like this.

You're gonna like this and Jillian This is a friend This was the friend who recommended the seven skins of Esther Wilding So I'm like, oh my gosh, these are definitely gonna be good books because that was such an amazing book So now I was gonna take a break from the library, but I got all these good recommendations from my really good friend So I don't know that's where I'm at, but I'd rather have more recommendations than less absolutely Currently reading I actually just finished last night lady Mcbeth by Ava Reed Which is a subversive sort of feminist retelling of Mcbeth and that was like the only book I was reading So I finished that book last night and then this morning I just started a new one But I don't have like usually have at least three books on the go and right now.

I'm just reading the one book So I finished lady Mcbeth and now I'm reading the mistletoe mystery by Neeta prose which is a sort of novella in The Molly the maid universe and it's a Christmas book.

So that's like I'm reading just a novella right now That's it.

It feels very like minimalist I love it though.

I love it.

Yeah, I'm not complaining You'll have to share some of those recommendations as she gave you because I would love to hear them I'm sure the readers would love to hear them So we'll have to talk about those at some point maybe not today, but at some point Yeah, I could definitely get myself organized and figure that out.

That's a great that's a great suggestion All right, Jillian.

How's your reading going?

Well, the slump is still sort of around But I feel like it's kind of on its way out the door I'm still reading I have a book on the go almost all the time, but I'm just not choosing it like I was I'm more choosing to scroll versus pick up the book However, I do feel like it is sort of changing I finished the Silent patient yesterday very late in the evening and I Haven't started well I did start today, but we'll get to the what I'm reading currently or what's up next I should say at the end of the episode But the silent patient was a really good book.

I will review it in a future episode really shocking ending and It got me back into the reading however.

I still feel like I'm slumping a little bit I just feel like there's something Something there much or what?

And I've been playing taxi driver for all my kids and their activities Which does give me more time to read because then I can sit there in the parking lot and read while they're in their activity But I don't know I don't know I got a maybe I should really do some journaling and dig into why I've been feeling so slumpish lately Well, that's kind of a cool idea to like use journaling as an opportunity to you know Figure out a little bit more of like what's going on and Work through a few things and maybe you'll discover something that will help you kind of unlock the slump Yeah, and you know talking to myself through writing has always been really beneficial to me So I think maybe that it could be beneficial in this in this instance as well.

Mm-hmm That's cool.

I love that.

Well, yeah, make sure you tell us how it goes in future episodes and even if you're slumping It's like a really normal part of life like we always kind of expect things to just kind of hummelong tickety-boo Never have ups never have downs or maybe only have ups and never have downs and that's just like not real life, but It's true.

I mean you are reading you are reading a lot like I see the books that you're finishing.

I follow you on good reads, you know, so Some books is not no books, which is great.

This is true.

That is a very good point.

All right.

It's time for book chat and the heart of the episode Jillian tell me about the layout of your reviews today.

What are we in for today?

I'm gonna be sharing two books that I gave three stars to so not real positive reviews here We've got We've got some contemporary chick lit and a mystery thriller that did not leave me mystified or thrilled What are your books like you?

Yeah, boo is right and not the good kind of boo Um today.

I'm gonna be sharing my thoughts on a nonfiction book.

I'm really glad that exists so in there in the world a contemporary fiction that left me kind of torn And a perfect palette cleanser YA romance Jillian, I think this will cut through your slump like a hot knife through butter.

I can't wait to tell you about this book Oh, okay.

Okay.

I can't wait to read about it Hear about it.

I'm always looking forward to more reviews.

So let's hear it.

What's your first book for the show?

Okay, the first book I'm sharing today is called This Book Is Gay by Juno Dawson when I was a kid I don't know about you Jillian or listeners, but at various points of my development I really benefited from a few nonfiction educational books about SEX These books talked about how babies are made as well as things like puberty periods hygiene had a normative coupling These books always felt like a safe way to learn about sexuality without feeling embarrassed or ashamed And many of them completely normalized SEX as a part of my identity But I'm cis hetero so that kind of makes sense those books are out there This book is gay by Juno Dawson is that kind of book for gay kids and youth It is a gift to young people understanding their emerging identities And it provides a safe and accepting space for all the things that I benefited from in my cis het books The fact that this book didn't come to pass until 2014 is sad But at least the book exists now I did the audio and a little bit of the print and I would actually not recommend the audio But I would definitely recommend the print.

There's fun cartoon drawings It's really really fast paced and easy to read This book is written in a way that uses contemporary vocabulary It welcomes queer kids into the fold of their gay identities and helps them get answers to questions In a way that is sex positive Accepting and excited for them to express and embrace their full selves As a parent, I'm really really glad I read this book And while I don't know how my own kids identities will emerge or change over time I do feel a tiny tiny tiny tiny bit more prepared to be the open and accepting adult that I really want to be for them Because I just feel that little bit more educated on the answers to the many questions that our kids have about the big S If you care about raising your kids in an environment that is accepting and loving of who they are You should read this book I didn't learn anything new Rather, what it gave me was an adjustment around the material to make it feel less stuffy, unserious and very very approachable The content is accessible for a multitude of readers, a multitude of reading levels And for a multitude of reasons The print copy has, as I said, fun, cartoony illustrations, really neat graphs even It's a tiny bit silly this book It doesn't take itself too seriously But that's okay to me because sex is kind of a little bit silly And it's okay to role model that to young people What this book does not have is fear And I needed that in my life as a parent And it was incredibly freeing and empowering to read That's my review of This Book Is Gay by Juno Dawson It sounds really good I haven't read it before but it sounds like you said your glatted exists And I think that just based on your review I'm also glad it exists Okay, Jillian, what's your first book for the show today?

The first book I'm going to bring to the show today Is a book that I had been super hyped up to read But it felt completely flat and actually felt like a dragged on and on The book I'm referring to is A Night We Lost Him by Laura Dave Here's the premise Liam Noon was many things to many people To the public he was an exacting self-made hotel magnet To his three ex-wives he was a loving albeit distant family member who kept his finances flush And his family's carefully separated To Nora he was a father who often loved her from afar Notably a cliff-side cottage perched on the California coast from which he felt to his death The authorities were the death accidental But Nora and her estranged brother Sam have other ideas As Nora and Sam form an uneasy alliance to unravel the mystery They start putting together the pieces of their father's past And uncover a family secret that changes everything I really wanted to love this book I absolutely loved the last thing he told me Which is also by Laura Dave But this book definitely disappointed me I was bored through much of it and it even put me in a book slump Because I didn't want to pick it up to read it I expected this book to move quickly and be propulsive But it wasn't that it was a slow read and not in a good way And it didn't really get exciting until the end When they confronted one of the characters in the book I could see Nora and Sam heading toward this character for much of the book And it just made it so disappointing when it actually happened It was also mentioned in this book that it was a love story I mean there is the element of love in a couple of different scenarios But I would not call this a love story One thing I did love were the descriptions of windbreak Which is the place that Nora's father calls home in California It seemed very tranquil and like the perfect place to go and escape I don't know I feel like Laura Dave missed a mark on this one This is The Night We Lost Him by Laura Dave Oh man What a hard pivot That's so challenging to just like Have an author whose book you love and admire And then we do rely a little bit on reliability of our authors To say like this is what I can expect from you So I'm going to grab your next book with that in mind You know it's funny I recently finished Within Arms Reach by Anna Poletano And I'm not bringing that to the show But I was struggling through that book so hard And thinking oh but I love Anna Poletano What is going on?

What is wrong with this book?

What am I missing here?

You know like Anna Poletano She's like written Hello Beautiful It's one of my favorite books of all time Even Dear Edward, I've also read It's a gorgeous, those are five star books And then I realized that it was a re-publication of a book she wrote 20 years ago And I felt like oh and at that point then I could kind of like Understand that the books I loved came from an author Who's had 20 years to become really good at her craft Yeah But you know for this like it's really disappointing And I'm sorry but I know you kind of slogged your way through it And there There would have been so great if there was just a little bit of payoff at the end for you I'm not done with Laura Dave I may give her another shot if she comes out with another novel And it's very very well reviewed But I should have listened to the reviews on this one And just skipped it I should have skipped it entirely and Gone on to the silent patient first Oh well You know say lovey To the next book Yeah That's Absolutely that is the truth All right what's what is your next book Aaron Okay my next book is perfect for anyone looking for an easy read Maybe a palette cleanser Maybe you need to hop off a slump like Jillian This book is just fun, bingeable It's a very good time reading I am really hoping Jillian this might help you On your journey out of your slump If you choose to pick it up So I picked up this book the book I'm talking about is called Better Than the Movies by Lin Painter And I picked up this book after enjoying a YouTube video by Elise Meyers Elise is like a comedian content creator on Instagram She has a very unique style She's very authentic and real in her content And she's kind of fallen into a little bit of book influencing maybe Anyway she reviewed 14 odd books in this one video that I watched while like Relaxing at the end of an evening she couldn't say enough about Lin Painter and she raved about this book So she convinced me to check it out I picked it up from the library I passed over it I passed over it I kept picking up different books from the stack And I finally got to it after recovering from that viral illness that I had at the very beginning of October I needed to just kind of stay put reading a bingeable book in bed And I finally had the energy to read which when I'm sick is usually not the case I just like want to either just like scroll or sleep I was finally feeling well enough but not like not on my feet yet So this book ended up being the perfect content I needed That afternoon slash evening of rest I read this whole book in one sitting and I was genuinely sad when it ended Here's the summary Liz, our eccentric and twee female main character Is in her senior year of high school and looking for that epic romance that you only find in the movies And she knows when she'll find it because she's been a student of the romcom ever since her mom let her watch at the foot of her bed when she was six years old But then her mom died suddenly and those beloved romcoms became the only thing Liz could take hold of to keep her memory alive Now her childhood crush Michael has moved back into town And for Liz it seems like a message from her mom that she's about to get her picture perfect happily ever after Complete with an epic soundtrack There are parts of this book that give you everything you want from those teen romcoms With a little bit more heart, a little bit more nuance Then the stuff that we got from she's all that or ten things say I hate about you It's giving you know to all the boys I've loved or never have I ever Those TV series on Netflix it's just in book form And I can see why Elise gave it rave reviews This is a cotton candy book escape You will smile the whole way through I will say this book has the best first kiss scene I have read in a long time This is perfect for hands of Emily Henry or Carly Fortune But keep in mind it's solid YA these scenes are not active in quotes And that's my review of Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter Yeah that definitely sounds like something I need to pick up I love love love love love the sound of it You love love I do love love and the sounds perfect in fact I want to add it to my my library requests right now Go for it go for it honestly it's very very fast paces a very quick read It won't take up too much of your reading bandwidth I left a few things out of my summary because I felt like they Add to the fun of the story so there's a couple of things that aren't That are part of the plot that I haven't shared But again I hope you like it I hope listeners I hope you like it I hope you pick it up like this is just it's like so sweet and wholesome but also a little bit different It wasn't so predictable or saccharine that you know you're rolling your eyes Just like kid being kids and first love and all of those great things It looks like there might be a um second one that just came out Thing like the movies yes, and you'll have to stay tuned for my holds list and what's up next Okay, I will I'll hush All right, what's your next book jillian The next book I'm bringing to the show is called truly madly guilty by lian moriarty This was our October buddy read pick for our group and it was actually my pick And I'm not proud to say that [laughs] Here's the premise Sam and clementine have a wonderful albeit busy life they have two little girls Sam has just started a new dream job and clementine cellist is busy preparing for the audition of a lifetime If there's anything they can count on it's each other clementine and erica are each other's oldest friends a single look between them can convey an entire conversation But there's is a complicated relationship so when erica mentions elasmine and invitation to a barbecue with neighbors Tiffany and vid clementine and sam don't hesitate Having Tiffany and vids larger than life personalities there will be a welcome respite Two months later it won't stop raining and clementine and sam can't stop asking themselves the question What if we hadn't gone?

So before I get into my review of that That summary does nothing For the book like it is set makes it sound so much better than it is now and I didn't hate the book.

I gave it a three There were some of us in our buddy read who gave it a two [laughs] And maybe I don't know I can't remember what Aaron gave it but I know I know it was you didn't love it No, I didn't I didn't love it But here's my review the book was long like really really long And it didn't need to be there was so much unnecessary content It felt like Moriarty had added content just to bulk up the book Which wasn't needed because if she just stuck to the storyline it probably would have been long enough that way I didn't hate the book there were parts that I enjoyed like the neighbor's daughter Dakota who had an obsession with reading I could see myself as a child in her reading life Another thing I liked about the book is that I felt like Moriarty did a great job of wrapping everything up with a pretty little bow and I do love books that end that way The book should come with the trigger warning too because a child is injured in the book That can be hugely triggering for some people do I recommend this book?

No Unless you're at a loss of books and have nothing else to read This was just too long and sort of boring at points That is Truly Madly Guilty by Leanne Moriarty Aaron I know you read it and I heard some of what you've thought about it.

So let's hear it So I thought this was the most boring longest book I've read the whole year this it just I I just could not understand I made my way 50% of this book without like the seminal plot point happening yeah, so there's so much like secretive what what went wrong at this barbecue and there's so much like secretive unfolding of the plot That takes forever And the reason I think she did that is because Spoilers if you're gonna read this book just forward ahead a little bit the thing that happens isn't that into it's not that bonkers crazy The thing that happens isn't that like devastating.

It's not that horrible.

It's like Once that seminal event happened I completely lost interest and I just like blitzed to the end of the book because I was like I was and I felt that way.

I was like there's no way this is gonna pay off Yeah, because we're halfway through this book and I have no idea what this what this what everybody feeling is feeling so guilty about What is everybody feeling so bad about And I don't know maybe I started to lose compassion for the characters There are some scenes that don't need to be in there.

They make no sense in retrospect And I can't this was my first Lee Ann Moriarty.

I would never pick her up again.

I just like I can't I'm at I'd have to be I'd have to be trapped at the dentist in a waiting room on a desert at island to do that ever.

Yeah, and The it was a hope it was like a what a 450 page book around one oh my god I'm around one event that could have been A barbecue and the whatever happened you know that everybody doesn't know about all of it It could have been summed up in about 150 pages maybe Maybe 150 pages maybe a little less yeah, yeah, yeah, a novella for sure I don't know.

I'm sorry.

So I'm sorry and you know what I will what the things that I liked I did feel like there were There were the building blocks of really good story there But it was how those building blocks were put together that felt to me Manipulative and kind of boring.

Yeah, so that's my I gave it I think 2.5.

Yeah, and that's fading fast over time Just don't um you don't need to update your good read just leave it alone.

No, I'm just kidding.

You can you can do it.

You want?

No, no No, no, no, I don't want to be like I don't want to be like that.

No, no, no Well, I mean thanks for bringing this to the show Jillian.

Yeah, my pleasure.

I mean it's two not so great books.

It's Hey, if I can help people take books off their TBR.

There's nothing wrong with that.

Yes Yes, or even rule out authors, you know like Um, I probably won't read Laura Dave because of the book I know I'm the last time he talked to me or whatever that title also the titles I don't I don't hang with those titles.

Leanne Morarities Tart titles are the same.

They're these like There's these like three word Jingles that don't stick in my head Anyway, um Not all books are for all people and that's okay and if you read these books and you love these books That's great.

We want to hear from you too reach out to us.

Tell us what we missed tell us why we were wrong Please, please or and you know be nice, but um yeah, let's chat about it That would be wonderful if you sent us a message on Instagram especially and send let us know you know look I read truly madly guilty and I love that book and here's why I would love it.

I would love to have that conversation with you Mm-hmm Okay, Aaron.

What is the last book you brought today?

Okay, my last book is the rich people have gone away by Regina Porter I like this book But I found it challenging to read for a few reasons and I actually needed a bit of time after finishing it To seek out a few interviews from the author so that I could kind of continue to learn More about what I had read This is a very smart book and I kind of left this experience feeling like I had missed something Here's the setup in the rich people have gone away.

We meet Theo and Darla a Brooklyn couple who had upstate to escape the city During the 2020 lockdown.

They have the privilege of leaving unlike many of their neighbors and like Darla's best friend Ruby and her partner Katsumi who are working hard to keep their restaurant afloat But when an argument in the wilderness ends with Darla's mysterious disappearance Theo becomes the prime suspect unraveling deep secrets and tensions between friends and family as they search for her It's a layered story of community privilege and the hard truths people sometimes hide even from those closest to them Regina Porter is a beloved author for her debut novel The Travelers which I haven't read But her career pathway was first as a playwright And I'm sharing that because it's kind of this detail that helped me make sense of this book Her love of character comes through very strongly As much as that blurb portrays intrigue and propulsion this sort of like did he or didn't he That wasn't my experience reading the book and I wish I had known that beforehand So that's why I'm sharing it here There are many many more characters than Darla and Theo and we spend quite a bit of time with many of them The majority of the characters are privileged There is another parallel plot point that isn't alluded to in the publisher's description of the book Or even in the title of the book Thematically there's a lot going on here between the lines But mostly the book unfolds with characters interacting almost in solitude Without influencing one another and we learn about their histories and their families We hear about maybe their pivotal life experiences but not a lot of their inner lives And not a lot about their experience in 2020 There were times I wanted so much more plot wise because it was all laid out there for you It was all kind of waiting to happen And it wasn't until after I finished this book and listened to a few author interviews with Regina Porter That I realized that actually that was her intention And Regina Porter as an author is more interested in her characters than anything else And that got me thinking quite a lot And sometimes you read a book and you don't really think that much and you move on And sometimes you read a book and it kind of sticks with you for a little while This book was challenging to read in a good way and would probably be a great choice for a book club That's my review of The Rich People Have Gone Away by Regina Porter You know I love books but I don't love books that have a ton of characters And so much going on that it's really hard to keep them all straight I really struggle with that I'm just trying to find the name of the book The that I at the beginning of the year are maybe mid-year I had read a book it was Barnes & Noble's number one pick Someone's yelling at their phone right now telling me what it is Oh the heaven and earth grocery store That's exactly James McBride That's exactly what I'm thinking of when you just talk about the description of this book It makes me think of that So I probably will skip this one Mm-hmm The writing in this book is really really amazing It's very beautiful.

It's a different kind of reading experience You know and I feel like I appreciate having that in my reading life I know that also sometimes listen like I reach for reading a self-care and that's sometimes because I want to escape But also sometimes I want to grow and be challenged Similar to reading a book like This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson Or reading some of the books that I've read for the full challenge Sometimes I don't mind being challenged I think it was just that from the setup of the story I expected something to evolve that felt a little bit more contemporary And this book is kind of fussy It's a little bit fussy The writing is I think dense is a negative term But the writing is very complex and layered And so you know for that reason I felt like I was picking up something that I didn't Really appreciate until I finished it and then digested it a little bit And that's not a bad experience I also would want our listeners to know that if you pick up this book That's what you're in for and you'll probably enjoy yourself knowing what you're about to consume in terms of storyline Absolutely, great points All right, those are our reviews for the episode so it's time for hot takes and our current thoughts on book culture A hot take is an opinion usually formed off the cuff and with a little research Sometimes provocative Today's hot take is annotating Does it take away from the reading experience?

What do you think, Jillian?

Yeah, I think it does I And I think this kind of contributed to part of my book slump For about three or four my last books I was trying to not so much annotate But like take a moment after every other chapter or so And just do a little like rundown synopsis of what the book was about to try to help me remember What I was reading And in doing that I took away from my reading experience I couldn't just flow through And I know that there are people out there who absolutely love love love They're annotating and they're stickies and they're highlighters And I support that fully I just for me I think it takes away from the reading experience It just doesn't let me flow through the book Sadly What do you think, Erin?

I have a mixed response I think annotating enhances the reading experience But I don't think annotating the way is sort of like Be really popular right now With like highlighters and stickies and post-its And book journals And doodling and all these other things That aesthetic of annotation for me is not how I like to consume books Now that being said I do love annotating and this is how I annotate When I read something If it jumps out at me I mark it And then I keep reading So I essentially put a tick or I'll highlight if I'm reading on my e-reader And then I move on And I don't really think about what I've highlighted Until I finish the book Then I go back And I have an annotation journal And I might go through the annotations that I made I might reflect on those And actually the rich people have gone away As a book where I did a little bit of that But then I kind of I kind of fell out of interest Lady Macbeth is another book I just finished I did some annotation for that book And it's hard to say like what books I annotate and what books I don't But for me having that annotation journal After I've read the book meaning like I'm reflecting on the pros Or what the quote meant to me I'm it's not interrupting my ability To make my way through the plot I have found that very very rewarding And it's almost like another layer of my reading life But it's an activity that doesn't happen while I'm reading Because I'm totally with you If I had to like Sit down with my book but also have my stickies But also have my highlighter And also highlight And then also code the highlight to whatever I would find that really really hard to stay in the story To stay in the world But I do love doing it afterwards How do you do your Kick when you're reading a library book Since you can't highlight a library book Okay, um, some people are going to need earmuffs Because they're not going to like my answer to this question I just fold the page down I just like fold it I just dog hear it I just dog hear it I do have an actually they're just sitting here in front of me I do have bookdarts If you can hear them on mic I was just going to say that Yeah, bookdarts are beautiful But sometimes I don't have them on me Or I've lost them Or they've gotten you know shoved into a corner And so if I don't have my bookdarts on me I'm not going to stop reading to find my bookdarts And dart the passage I just fold And if it's in the bottom half of the page I fold the bottom corner And if it's in the top half of the page I fold the top corner I love it And so then I have all these dog ears Yeah, sorry library books but um They're okay, they're all right They're doing okay I'm a dog ear Yeah, I know, I'm that person I think we can forgive you I think you have other redeeming qualities But even Even the bookdarts are kind of fiddly though They are They are Right Like even a bookdart If I'm like If I'm like Ooh, that's a good passage And then I get my bookdarts And I open the jar And I pull out a dart And then 1700 more fallout And I have to clean them up Then I fiddle the dart in there Trying not to rip the page Because the darts are really snug So I don't know, I don't even think Yeah And I love annotating on my e-reader I love just like Zoop, zoop highlighting And then I just keep I just keep reading Yeah, the e-reader is That's a beautiful thing That being able to highlight in there Even if it's a library book And I annotate it If I borrow that book again The annotations will show up again Yeah, yeah, that's Well, I didn't know that it worked with Kobo But I know that with the Kindle It does save it Or yeah, on a Kindle, it'll save it for you With good reads It'll like the way it connects them It'll save all of your Markings Cool Really cool All right We're going to wrap up with the holds list Aaron and I are very passionate about the library And because we're both avid readers We both have a very active holds list And we feel like that's something We don't hear a lot about on book podcasts Or book talk Or IG So we know it's something We can offer the bookish community Plus we'll also be sharing What's up next?

Let the listener know what we'll be reaching for On our TBRs All right, Aaron, what's on your holds list?

All right, so this is an odd episode So I'm going to tell you about my physical holds list And I did think I would start to take a break from the library I would try to clear out my holds list Return what I've got And just start picking up the books on my shelf For November But that is not going to happen What I've got going on right now And I actually just picked up this morning Nothing like the movies By Lynn Painter, the new Lynn Painter Now Lynn Painter has a number of different books You can grab better than the movies I think she has two or three other ones This is her latest recently published So I will probably be diving into that ASAP And then my next book is The Book Binder by Pip Williams This is also called I think The Book Binder of Jericho It has two different titles The reason I know that is because of my phone chat With my Australian friend Amanda Amanda is also a listener of Medium Lady Reads So hi Amanda Anyway, this book The Book Binder by Pip Williams Amanda said, "Okay, if you loved Esther Wilding Read this one" And she pulled it off her shelves during our FaceTime, her and her husband had just had some custom bookshelves built And they were stacked and beautiful So she showed me her new bookshelves And she pulled the book binder off the shelf And I put a hold on it while we were on the phone So that is what I've got on my holds Next up, I'm reading The Mistletoe Mystery As I said by Need a Pros This is The Molly the Made Series It's a novella for the holidays About a secret Santa gift exchange At the Regency Grand Hotel That raises questions About who Molly can And cannot trust Okay, Jillian, what are you waiting for from the library And what do you have coming up on your TBR?

I only have one on my holds list And that's just because I picked up for yesterday So on my holds list I have I have Love Light Farms Waiting for me by B.K.

Borison This was a recommendation from a friend on Instagram I haven't read it yet She said it's a delight So I'm gonna check that one out And then I'll tell you the ones I picked up yesterday I picked up Here one moment by Leanne Moriarty Which Um, I have it Oh no I've read almost all of Leanne's books And I really enjoy them I don't know whether I'll read this one Now or not I might put it to the side and wait Because it's long just like all of her books And I have a lot of other books that I want to read But we'll see I picked up Bye Back Your Time By Dan Martell I picked up Father of the Rain by Lily King And then I picked up the Millicent Quibs School of Atticate For Young Ladies of Mad Science By Kate McKinnon Which I am so so so so so excited to read Because I absolutely love Kate McKinnon I wish she was my best friend Um, so I'm excited to read her book And I can't wait I know you read all fours because of Amy Polar Your other favorite Yes, yes, I really hope that you don't That's so true I didn't even think of that I didn't even put that together I really want to like this one too Because it's actually written by Kate McKinnon Not just recommended so I'm hoping Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah That's a children's book I think It is, it's a I think middle grade Ah, very good Very good I have that on my whole I think I think I won't get it until next year Because I wanted to do the audio Because she reads the audio I didn't know that Oh my goodness I that might be what I Yeah, yeah, if you have an audible credit Maybe you want to go for it I do I might just have to And the only reason I know that Is because of Instagram I saw her recording it And I was like, oh my god Kate McKinnon's doing an audio book I got to read it And then I found out it was actually her And I turned it to Linda Belcher from Bob's Her sister's And when I did that And then I found I found out it was her book She wrote it and reads it So yeah That's gonna be a delight I watched her I watched her on Seth Meyers And it was very excited about it Apparently she and Seth Meyers did a whole Like 45 minute talk About her book and other stuff So she must sent me My husband sent me the link to it on YouTube So I'll have to watch it And the report back on that too I love that he's always looking out for your interests And sending you stuff That's so sweet He knows me too well Next up for me Is the most wonderful crime of the year by Ali Carter Here's a quick synopsis for you When a famous mystery writer Eleanor Ashley vanishes from a locked room At a snowbound Christmas gathering Kozy mystery author Maggie Chase And thriller writer Ethan Wyatt Find themselves unlikely allies in solving the case With rising stakes worsening weather And a distrust in every corner The two must work together to uncover Eleanor's fate As they close in on the truth Maggie and Ethan's rivalry May just turn into something more If they don't drive each other crazy first So I admittedly did start that one Late last night before bad But um After that'll be Millicent quib So there you have my next next one Amazing amazing All right Aaron that wraps up episode 31 Episode 31 of medium lady reads We're amazing We are amazing Medium lady reads is a spin off of the medium lady talks podcast In the Instagram community If you enjoyed this episode I would love it if you took a moment And quickly you took a screenshot And texted it to a friend or a loved one And if you would like to connect with us You can find us on Instagram I'm Jillian, a Jillian finding happy You can find Aaron at medium.lady And for our current reads and other shenanigans You can find us at the podcast at medium lady reads If you like this episode Share it with another bookish friend Give us a rating and review wherever you're listening Or post on Instagram and be sure to tag us We would be tickled pink to hear from you Thank you for listening I'm your host Aaron And I'm your other host Jillian Until next time we hope that your holds arrive quickly And your next book finds you right where you lead it most We'll talk to you soon Bye (upbeat music) (upbeat music)