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For the month of August, Ronnie chose, M. L. Wang's: "The Sword of Kaigen" which is a self-published novel set in an original universe created by the author. It's a pretty hefty tome, with a map, glossary, and all kinds of cool stuff inside. It turns out that we decided to read a heavy world-building novel the same month we moved but we got through it and have a lot to talk about. The novel follow...

July was Ian's pick and he chose Magda Szabó's: The Door which follows the lives of two women just after World War II. When the main character, Magda, whose work has been censored for some time begins to get attention, she realizes that she needs a housekeeper. Emerence is recommended to them by a friend but turns out to be a bit strange. She sets her own hours, tasks, and wages, but slowly a frie...

Originally, Bethany Baptiste's: The Poisons We Drink was supposed to be read earlier this year, but due to publishing delays, we had to move things around. Then, Ronnie's original pick for this month got delayed so we brought back The Poisons We Drink. Baptiste's debut novel explores an urban fantasy world where magical humans named Witchers live among us. One of these Witchers, a woman named Venu...

Home Work: A Memoir of My Hollywood Years is a memoir of Mary Poppins herself: Dame Julie Andrews. The memoir covers a broad range of years from Mary Poppins up until Victor/Victoria and details not only her rise to fame with movies like The Sound of Music but also focuses on her marriages to Tony Walton and Blake Edwards. In the memoir she also focuses on her relationships with her children, frie...

Trigger warning: War, Violence, Assualt, and Starvation   Well, originally we planned to read The Poisons We Drink by Bethany Baptise, but due to printing delays, we had to change our book. So Ronnie chose Zoulfa Katouh's: As Long As the Lemon Tree Grows. The story is set during the Syrian Civil War and follows Salama whose family has been killed. She is reckoning with her survivor's guilt, as wel...

Trigger warning: This podcast episode discusses racism, rape, eating disorders, and abuse.   For March, Ian chose Kiese Laymon's: Heavy as his reading choice. Heavy is a memoir that is, well, heavy, taking the form of a letter written to the author's mother. In the letter, Laymon opens up and discusses his life and upbringing to this point both from the viewpoint of a family dynamic, but also as a...

This month's pick was Ronnie's and she chose, "The Wishing Game" by Meg Shaffer. After reading Irving's, The Cider House Rules we needed something a bit lighter so this feels like a perfect February read. When a reclusive writer who hasn't published a novel in years holds a contest on their private island, Lucy Hart needs to win. She wants to adopt a child but doesn't have the space or funds and w...

Trigger Warning: This book and conversation contain discussions of rape, incest, and abortion.   Happy 2024 everybody! We're excited to start our reading for the new year with Ian's pick, John Irving's: The Cider House Rules. Ian chose this novel partially because he's wanted to read the story for a while and because it's Buffalo's Literary Center's Babel pick for March—the novel centers around a...

Trigger warning: This novel discusses gun violence.   Our final read of 2023 is Gabrielle Zevin's: Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow. Spoiler alert, we both LOVED this novel. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow follows Sam Masur, Sadie Green, and Marx Watanabe from their time in college, through their collaborative work of creating video games and running a company. This novel is very human an...

Trigger Warning, this book contains graphic violence, animal abuse, and sexual assault /harassment.    John Ajvide Lindqvist's: Let the Right One In is a vampire story set in a suburb of Stockholm in 1981. It revolves around a 13-year-old boy named Oskar and a young girl named Eli who lives next door. It turns out she is a vampire and as Oskar and Eli develop a romance, he is mercilessly bullied....

It's Halloween and Ronnie chooses A.M. Strickland's: Beyond the Black Door. A novel with plenty of LGBTQ+ representation as well as some mild horror for Ian. The story follows a young woman named Kamai who has the ability to walk in other people's souls. However, one day, when her mother is murdered she is thrust into a situation full of secret societies, hidden plots, gods, and a struggle for the...

This story has many trigger warnings which can be found listed on Morgan Dante's website: https://www.morgandante.com/providence-girls.html For the month of September, Ian chose Morgan Dante's: Providence Girls. He found this book while scrolling on Twitter and it had everything he liked in the description. Lovecraft, sapphic romance, and horror. The book centers around an albino woman named Lavin...

For the month of August, Ronnie chose Andrew White's: Hellow Followed With Us. This book is a dystopian, body horror, queer-rage story filled with Christian evangelicals and monsters. At the core of this story is the idea of embracing your inner monsters and fighting back against your oppressors. It's a rapid novel that takes place over a violent few days and revolves around a trans boy named Benj...

Ian choose the book for July and was in the mood for something spooky (as always) so he chose Compton's: The Spite House. The story revolves around a family of three, on the run with secrets, and desperate for cash. When they're offered a lot of money to stay in a haunted house things get spooky fast. Compton has been featured in various collections as well as on the NoSleep Podcast and the story...

There was quite a bit of conversation about Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone’s: This Is How You Lose the Time War this month so Ronnie decided to choose the novel as her pick! We both had a great time reading this story and honestly, had a bit longer of a conversation than expected because the novel is so compact. In Ian's opinion, time travel stories can get messy real fast but this one holds up pr...

This month, Ian wanted to read R.F. Kuang's: Babel! Babel is the story of a young Cantonese boy named Robin who is brought to England and raised to work at the Oxford Translation Institute. In this version of England, the empire is powered by silver working and a magical version of language translation. Babel follows Robin and his friends Ramy, Victoire, and Letty as they navigate the world and fi...

This month Ronnie chose Sequoia Nagamatsu's : How High We Go in the Dark. A story about an "arctic plague" that changes the world forever. It's a bit of a heavy read with some really interesting themes that show how humans work together in the face of adversity. We enjoyed the concept but had a few mixed feelings about the way the story was actually presented. It's beautiful but we wanted a bit mo...

No God's for Drowning was an absolute treat to read.   Come hang out with us and listen as we discuss the story. No Gods for Drowning takes place in a world where the gods are present and interact in people's everyday lives, but one day they all disappear. A decade later creatures known as glories threaten the city of Valentine while a woman named Lilac sacrifices people to try and summon the gods...

We choose a fluffy graphic novel that was nominated for a Goodreads Choice Award. Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker and drawn by Wendy Xu tells the story of a young witch named Nova who must help their friend Tam combat a demon hellbent on possessing them. Tam is a werewolf on the run from a villainous cult. With help from their grandmothers known as the Nans, family, and a little romance, this story ho...

It's 2023 and we decided to start the new year off on a slightly cosmic bend. The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle follows a man named Charlie as he navigates Harlem, magic, racism, and a strange man's desire to awaken a cosmic entity known as The Sleeping King. For a short story, this book contains a lot of characterization and leaves the horror up to the imagination. The events blur togethe...

For our final book of the year, Ronnie picked Sayaka Murata's: Convenience Store Woman. A novel about a Keiko, a neurodivergent woman who only wants to fit in with society and to keep working at the convenience store she is employed at. However, societal pressures from coworkers, bosses, friends, and family force her to make changes she isn't ready for. This book is an interesting way to look at s...

We chose a pretty lengthy book for the month of November because we forgot with all the Thanksgiving craziness we'd have less time to read, however, we still go the job done! Fairy Tale tells the story of a boy who wants to help his dog live longer. Along the way, he'll go on a magical journey and learn more about who he is. Take a listen and tell us what you thought about the story over at Twitte...

This month's pick was Ronnie's and she choose Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki. Ronnie was looking for something similar to Clark's: Piranesi and this book moved us in ways we didn't expect. Katrina Nguyen is a transgender violinist looking for a safe place to live, Shizuka Satomi has made a deal with a devil, and Lan Tran is an alien fleeing with their family from an interstellar plague. Th...

In Road of Bones by Christopher Golden, two Americans travel to Siberia hoping to make a documentary but end up involved in a supernatural event. Written at a breakneck pace, Golden tells a tale of survival against the odds in one of the coldest and most desolate places on Earth. Ronnie and I both enjoyed this book and we hope you did too!   Next month's book: Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aok...

Ronnie has been a romance novel kick recently and Ian is a pretty big fan of Dana Schwartz so it seemed a no brainer to read Anatomy. The story of a résurrection man and an upper class woman who wants to be a surgeon. We both really liked this story and are looking forward to to sequel that was recently announced!   Make sure to follow us over at Twitter. Com/SharedPagesPod!   Next month's book is...