Shared Pages

For June and Pride, Ronnie chose a modern retelling of Icarus by K. Ancrum! We'll spoil the discussion a little bit and let you know here that we loved the novel! Still, there's a lot to discuss. Icarus retells the classic myth, but instead, Icarus is an art thief, his father is a man seeking revenge, and Helios is a boy trapped in a mansion with an abusive father. There's a lot to unpack in this...

The Great Work by Sheldon Costa is a debut novel, and it was also Ian's pick for the month of May. The novel follows a man named Gentle Montgomery who is a self styled alchemist living in the American west just before Washington became a state. A salamander or dragon has been seen in the countryside and is driving animals to act strange, causing hallucinations, and water to go bad. Gentle also bel...

For April, Ronnie chose a novel that was recommended to her by a friend, and that novel was Before the Coffee Gets Cold! Before the Coffee Gets Cold is a collection of four short stories that take place in the same café. The stories involve the employees and people who frequent the space, and each of them involves time travel! If a person sits in the correct chair they can travel back in time, but...

Ian's pick for March 2026 was Tara Westover's memoir: Educated. He chose this book partially because he had read excerpts from it, partially because was a guest at the Babel reading series in Buffalo, NY this year, and partially because it's an interesting read. Babel is the story of Westover's childhood in Buck's Peak, Idaho. She was raised by her strictly religious parents along with her sibling...

Ronnie had a particularly difficult time choosing what to read this year, but when the Wuthering Heights trailer popped up, she jumped on the chance to reread this classic. This is not an endorsement of the film, and you'll hear a few of our opinions about it as we discuss the novel, but we try to stick to the text. Wuthering Heights, in our opinion, is usually mistaken for a romance when it's rea...

I can't believe we're already through the first month of 2026, but here we are. This month, Ian started us off with László Krasznahorkai's: Sátántangó. The Hungarian author was last year's Nobel Laureate, so we decided that we'd better take a look at his oeuvre. Sátántangó is a bleak novel that describes the lives of the people living on an "estate". The people lie, cheat, and steal from each othe...

We're two days late, but happy New Year! Last month's pick was Ronnie's and she chose: Simon Jimenez's, The Spear Cuts Through Water. A novel that we both found truly fascinating and difficult in equal measure. The Spear Cuts Through Water won the British Fantasy Award and Crawford Award, and is highly raved about it. The story follows warriors, Jun and Keema, as they escort an escaped goddess acr...

Happy Thanksgiving to our North American listeners, and to everyone else, we hope things are going well for you! This month was Ian's pick, and he chose: The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo. This novel is part of a series (which Ian didn't know at the time), and follows Cleric Chih who is visiting an abandoned palace known as Thriving Fortune. While there, they meet Rabbit, a former servant...

It's officially Halloween and time for some spooky stories. This month, Ronnie choose C.G. Drew's: Don't Let the Forest In. An atmospheric story about a high school senior named Andrew, his best friend/crush Thomas, and twin sister Dove. Upon returning to school for the year, Andrew finds his sister keeping him at arm's length, Thomas being questioned for the disappearance of his parents, and wors...

It's October already, and this episode is going up a little late (the evening instead of the morning) but this month was Ian's pick and he chose James Michener's: The Bridge at Andau which details the events of the Hungarian student revolution of 1956. Ian chose this book because of a familial interest, but both Ian and Ronnie found something to chew on in this text. The Bridge at Andau discusses...

The God Endings is a meditative take on the immortal vampire story. August's pick was a Ronnie choice, and this novel follows Collette LeSange, a vampire who has been alive for two hundred years, rungs a fine art school, and is suddenly experiencing strong cravings for blood. Told alternatively in present tense and flashbacks, The God of Endings asks readers to consider what it means to be alive,...

We're a bit late, but July was quite hectic for us! Between a bachelor's party, wedding, and some other family events, it took a little while for us to be able to sit down and record, but here we are.   July's pick was Ian's, and he chose: Bury Me Standing by Isabelle Fonseca which details her journey through eastern Europe while she lived among the Roma people. This text explores not only the cul...

A Dark and Drowning Tide is a novel that Ronnie has previously tried to get on the podcast, but unfortunately was delayed due to publishing issues. Now, the book is finally out, and it's Pride! Allison Saft's novel is a sapphic enemies to lover story which follows Lorelei and Sylvia as they embark on an expedition to find the Ursprung: the fabled source of all magic. This expedition has been order...

Somehow it's June already and we're back with another episode of Shared Pages. May's book was an Ian pick, and he chose Yoko Ogawa's: The Memory Police.   The Memory Police takes place on an unknown island where people periodically forget things such as ribbons, perfume, and so on. However, some people seem to remember things that should have been forgotten and so a mysterious and sinister organiz...

Apologies for this month's episode being late. Unfortunately we have a sick kitty that we've been taking care of, but that didn't stop us from finishing Ronnie's April pick, which was The Seep, by Chana Porter. This novel follows the story of a trans woman named Trina who is going through a bit of a crisis after an alien species known as The Seep takes over Earth. The Seep in many ways makes thing...

Fatelessness is a novel by Imre Kertész which won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2002. Ian chose this novel out of familial interest as his father is from Budapest, but he also naturally is inclined to be interested in World War 2 literature. The novel is semi-autobiographical and tells the story of György, a young boy who is swept up and taken to Auschwitz, Buchenwald, and survives. It explore...

For Black History month, Ronnie chose O. O. Sangyomi's: Masquerade. This novel is the author's debut and is an alternate universe were Yorubaland is a dominant tribe instead of the Oyo. This story follows Òdòdó’s, a young blacksmith in a world that treats them as witches, whose home of Timbuktu is conquered by the warrior king of Yorùbáland. Following this, she is abducted, engaged to the Alaafin-...

TW: Suicide and Self-Harm Happy New Year (despite the first time you hearing this episode being February 1st)!  We hope you had a nice holiday season and the beginning of 2025 is treating you well. This month's pick was Ian's, and he choose Sofia Ajram's: Coup de Grâce, which takes place in an ever-expanding, liminal, Montreal train station. The main character is a suicidal person named Vicken, wh...

It's a little late, but we're all caught up now on the podcast. Between Ian's sickness and traveling for the holidays we fell behind, but we did read Atalanta by Jennifer Saint. Both Ian and Ronnie are big into Greek mythology and have a lot to discuss. We end up comparing Atlanta to other famous characters like Jason and Medea and explore Atlanta's story in the larger context of Greek mythology. ...

So this episode is very late. Unfortunately, Ian had an upper respiratory infection and was pretty much bedridden for three weeks. You can still hear the sickness in his voice, but we wanted to make sure that we at least discussed East West Street a little bit. East West Street is part memoir, part historical text, and part legal scholarship. The text explores many people's lives-including the aut...

It feels like it's been forever (even though it's only been a month) but it's Halloween and time for Ronnie's book of the month which is R.F. Kuang's, Yellowface! Ian picked Babel last year and we both loved it, so now we're jumping in again with the story of Juniper Song, an author who steals her deceased "friend's" draft and publishes it as her own. From there, the story unravels in a satire abo...

We're a little late this month. Sorry about that, but with hurricane Helene, flooding, and guests, we had to record a day late. This month is Ian's pick and he found Hannah Ritchie's: Not the End of the World via a Vlog Brother's video in which John Green recommended books. Not the End of the World addresses climate change, and the doom we all feel around it, but also gives us a reason to be hopef...

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...