001 - Part 2

Okay, here we go. All right. So, my internet went out. Apologies. I was recommending my last book of recommendations, which is The Idea of You by Robin Lee. So, if you take any books from my recommendations, take this one. It is so good. It is so smart. It is... You'll read... Don't even read the synopsis. Just go into it, because it's basically like a Harry Styles fanfiction, and I think that kind of, you know, like, people are not super into that. I know I wasn't, but then I just took a chance. I read the book, and it is truly... It is so good. And Abby can attest, you really liked it, too. So... It is really good. Right before the internet cut out, I was absolutely cracking up, because she said The Idea of You, and I just started laughing, because she loves this book so much. She, like, finds... I feel like you find your way... And for good reason. Yeah. It is very good. Yeah. Especially if you are looking for a relationship story that has some drama, and it is not at all the same level of drama as it ends with us. Like, the same type of drama as it ends with us. Yeah. But you're looking for something that's not, you know, like a romance, but it's a little challenging. The dynamics are a little challenging. You know, they have some heavy things that they've got to go up against. Yes. Exactly. They are making this book into a movie. No, we're not talking about it. Because we don't think it was cast well. Whenever it comes out, we'll talk about it at the end of the episode, because... Well, that's fine. I'm not watching it. I will watch it, and we will go through it. But, yeah, that's how messed with me is about the casting of this movie. Well, they just changed the whole character. They changed the whole character. I completely agree. And the whole... Yeah. And the beauty of the book is the specific character dynamics, and you have to have those characters in order to get the same... Yeah. So, I will watch it, but I completely understand how you're feeling about it. All right. So, what is your book? Yeah. All right. Well, okay. So, well, first of all, let's... Before we jump into mine, let's say thank you for that wonderful reading. Oh, yeah. I thought that was... I've actually never read it in Snippets. So... I did read Verity. Yeah, I'm not going to. I did read Verity, and I read Layla, which is another departure, which I feel like Verity also feels like a departure from what I... What I know of her other books. Right. Right. Because Verity's not, like, a romance story. It's a thriller. Yeah. It's a thriller. Yeah. And then Layla is... I... It's terrible. Like a ghost story. And I'm just going to leave it at that. Yeah. Yeah. It's very strange. I didn't like it. I didn't dislike it. I just felt meh about it. But I also kind of felt meh about Verity. Like, I did like Verity, but I wasn't, you know, like... I don't know. I was sitting next to you when you finished it, and... I mean, I will say... No, here's what I will say. The ending Verity was the read. Yeah. Yeah. The ending of Verity was the read. But as... Exactly. Well, yeah. Like, again, I don't think she's a very good writer. It's fine. Yeah. Yeah. It was an enjoyable read. It will... But the ending was... is worth the read. Yeah. The ending was worth the read. Yeah. Yeah. And that's just kind of... I just have so many other... My stance on Colin Hoover is that I have so many books on my want-to-read list, but, like, I'm just not going to spend my time reading an author that, like, doesn't get me excited. That's my take on it. Although, I will also say this about the sort of, like, cultural phenomenon that is Colin Hoover, because we do kind of believe that it is a cultural phenomenon. Much like The Idea of You, they are also making Dens of Us into a movie. You probably know that. I feel like Colin Hoover's books and just talk about them are everywhere. I do think that there is something really fun about that. Like, the idea that, sort of, it's an author that is, like, accessible to everyone and that lots of people are reading. I think that there's something fun about, like, being... I mean, that's why you and I talk about books so much, I feel like, because we enjoy the ability to talk about a story and, like, enjoy the experience of reading with other people, book clubs and all. Right. So, I will say, while Colin Hoover is not an author for me, I think it is nice that we have authors like her in the world that other people can, you know, find a community around. I'll say that. Not a community I want to be part of, but there is a community. That's nice. So, okay. That being said, it's my turn. All right. So, my book is Sick of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert. Here's the thing. I don't like Elizabeth Gilbert, so I'm just going to start it there. But I did go into this book with a very open mind because typically she writes nonfiction. She's in, you know, she wrote this book called Big Magic, which is sort of like self-help for finding your creativity. She also is the author of Deep Prey Love, which is kind of her own kind of self-help-y, but also kind of memoir-esque. You know, that's like typically where she lives, but then City of Girls is a fiction story. And so, I went into it very open-minded, despite the fact that I do not like her. I do not like her writing. I can't read any of her writing. I just can't do it. I've tried and I can't. But I was determined to, you know, get over that is what I was really trying to do. So, I went in very open-minded. I tried. I hate this book. And I think, so I did kind of want to pull up just some like some Goodreads reviews about it. Actually, wait, before I do that, I feel like I should just tell you kind of what it's about. So, it is, it's kind of touted as a coming-of-age story. I would not call it a coming-of-age story because it's a short story and then the second half of the book is like takes place years later. And I think I'm going to need a little bit more time to develop that, which is also part of the problems that I have with this book. Anyway, so it's set during the 1940s. It's all about like the theater scene. So, kind of like this glamorous, like, you know, Hollywood-esque feeling. It's New York City, it's not Hollywood. But like, you know, like golden age of cinema, that kind of feeling. But New York and specifically theater. Anyway, so what I will give it is that it is very, like, immersive in that setting. So, we're following a, we're following this character, her name's Vivian, and she's moving to New York City to live with her aunt who owns this, like, playhouse. And so she's moving into this playhouse where these other performers and actors and everything live and they are putting on, you know, these plays. The theater is struggling during this time. So, there's, you know, some, like, talk of, like, the big theaters, like, off-Broadway and then they're, like, not on, you know, it's, like, down a little ways. And there are, you know, female friendships that she has, specifically this female friendship with the character named Celia Ray. And I will say, like, Celia does have that sort of, like, brings Vivian along and, like, teaching her the ways of the world and, you know, learning, you know, about sexuality and about, I will say, like, Vivian's place in the world. So, in that sense, there's a little bit of coming of age to it. There's also a small little touching on World War II and how that kind of, like, changes things. And then there's kind of the look back. The whole story is written as, like, a look back, but it's Vivian recounting, like, in her old age retelling. So, there you go. So, there's the kind of what it's about. I don't even know where to start because I hated this book so much. I don't know why people like it. I'm just going to start right there. I just can't figure it out. I just don't know why people like this book. I mean, I have, like, lots of friends on my Goodreads have read this and rating it five stars. Like, I just don't get it. So, my Goodreads reset itself. I have to pull it back up. Give me just a second. Okay. So, yeah. Okay. Here's how I feel about this book. I just keep saying this because I'm so upset about it. I mean, when I finished this, I was so angry. Like, I was so upset. I mean, and even when I started it, I just don't think she's a good writer. And I was on a plane sitting next to a friend while I was trying to read this, and I was just like, I hate this book. I hate this book. And then it got better. It got better. I was like, okay, if I can get used to her writing, if I can just get used to it. You know, sometimes a new author, you just got to power your way through. Power through, kind of get used to the way she writes. And that was great. And so, then I immersed myself in the story. So, everything was going great for the first half of this book. I actually was enjoying myself. I will give it every praise in the sense that it did do what people say it does. It, like, immerses you in the reader world. It's, like, a really enjoyable experience. The descriptions and everything are really beautiful. You want to be in this world. You want to read this book. It's fun. Second half of the book, I mean, it all fell apart. I do not even understand what happened. It was like, we took something good and just said, we're not going to have that anymore. And we're going to change it. And so, like, I get that part of this is, like, you know, the war came about, and they couldn't have anything good anymore. You know, I understand these sort of aspects to it. But to me, it was two different stories. It was two completely different books pushed together. The second half of the book showed everything positive in the first half of the book. The first half of the book, like, that was a storyline that you wanted to continue. There was scandal. There was relationship dynamics. There was cheating. There was, you know, and then it just was like, okay. And if I'm going to read a coming date, I'm going to read a character journey. I want to see how these things impacted the character. I don't want to skip the messy middle part, which is, I can read these things. And it felt like it just jumped ahead and was like, okay, well, that happened. That was a part of my life that happened. And now it's not anymore. Right, right. It was just like, don't set up this book to be about this part of your life that is so monumental and, like, that's what the story is going to be. And then just be like, okay, moving on. Yeah. It just left me so disappointed and angry. Like, every time I think about it, I just get angry. Obviously, I just get angry. Yeah. Yeah, I don't actually really know what else to talk about this. I mean, I was reading some, like, critic reviews of this book. A couple things that it said. This novel is not just about romantic relationships. It also emphasized the importance of female friendships and the strength that can be derived from connections with other women. It's a playhouse that they live at. So it's a symbol of empowerment with Vivian and her friends challenging societal norms and expectations. Completely agree with all of that. Yeah. And the second half of the book, that doesn't continue. Right. That doesn't continue. Yeah. Yeah. It's almost as if the character just said, yeah, I did that at one point in my life, and I don't do that anymore. And that is not character growth in the slightest. Right. I just don't know what book other people are reading. I just don't. I don't know. Like, how does everyone like, I just, I don't get it. I don't know. Anyway, you haven't read this book, have you? I haven't read it. And while you were talking, I was like, you know what we should have done? We should have had a, no, well, no, because we don't need to waste our time. We should have talked about where the crawdads sing, because you loved it. I don't love it. And it's such a beloved book. That's what we should have done. Well, I mean, listen, let's just jump into it and talk about that a little bit. Because here's also, I think this is a really good topic, though, because that is a book that, like, while I was reading it, I really, really loved it. The things that you didn't like about it, I will say, stood out to me, but didn't bother me to the same extent that it bothered you. Something also interesting, again, another, like, book being made into a movie. The movie is horrendous. It's awful. It's horrible. Yeah, I've never watched it. It's so bad. Don't waste your time with it. It is awful. And it makes me hate the book. Like, in retrospect, it makes me hate the book. So, do you want to talk about where the crawdads sing really quick? Oh, I mean, and honestly, I didn't hate the book by any means. Granted, I do not like the author. I do not like that the author is famous. I do not think she should have any money ever based off of this book. Just because of problematic things that came to light after. Actually, they came to light before the book was popular, but there was only one slate article that talked about it. You should do my publicist to tell you that. Yeah, seriously. But no, I just did not get the hype. I didn't get the hype. And I read it before the hype, and I liked it. It was good. It was, I think I gave it three and a half stars. Like, I was like, yeah, this is solid. Sure. It's a good story. I did have some problems with it. But again, overall, I was like, you know, it's pretty good. But then it just blew up. And it was like the best thing anybody had ever read. And I was just like, and I felt like you did. I was just like, did I not read the same book as everybody else? Like, I did not like that. I did not like it that much. So I mean, there's not really any specific things about like, yes, there are a couple things that bother me that are problematic. But that wasn't even what made me dislike the book. And again, I didn't dislike it. I just was kind of like, you know, what did I read that or what does everybody else read? Can I get a take on, yeah, can I get a take on why I think you experienced that? I think for me, and I think for a lot of other people that did enjoy this book, also by Delia Owens, if you are not, I'm sure everybody is familiar with Where the Crowd Is Singed, but Where the Crowd Is Singed by Delia Owens. I think the reason a lot of people like this book, well, I don't, it's just a small side. It takes place in nature. It takes place in like a swamp. It's about this girl who is a child and it's basically raising herself in like, you know, in a swamp. So for me, as a child that spent a lot of time like kind of playing in nature, and like imagining like, oh, if I lived, you know, in these woods, wooded area of this house, then like, this is how I would do it. I would pick berries and I would, you know, all these things. And so there's, there was an element of it that was kind of fun in that respect, this like idea of living in nature and teaching yourself these things. I also think the thing that really resonated with everyone that read this book and the reason that they really liked it, which I think is why it didn't resonate as much with you, she, it's all about isolation. It's all about independence. It's all about like learning who you are and like sort of discovering yourself and like the strength in yourself. You are that person already. Like you have always been a very different person. Well, and I think that might be why. Like you might not understand the hype as much because like you don't, you don't need to read about self going through those experiences because like to you, that's just who you are innately. Like you're able to enjoy your own company and like be on your own. A lot more than other people are. And so I just wonder if that's what really resonated with other people. But that was amazing that I would connect to her more. You know what I mean? I get that. See, I see it as like you don't, you don't need the validation that of like what it feels like. Right. I get it. I get it. I know. Yeah. I appreciate that. I just look at other books and like, I mean, we were talking about this the other day. I love books where like someone is out in the wilderness and has to survive. Yeah. Like I like, yeah, I love those books. And those are books that are like, if I if that's like a summary, I'm like, oh, I want to read that like The Vast or Wild by Lauren Groff, which which didn't end up working for me. But the premise of it, I loved. And it's about a teenage girl trying to survive in like colonial times, like in the middle of winter. So I don't know. I just it just did not. It just didn't do for me what it did for everybody else. So, but again, what I do, what I do like about that book is I know it's a book that got a lot of people back into reading. And I think and I think that's what Colleen Hoover does a lot, too. I just wish it could be someone else other than Colleen Hoover that gets people back into reading. Because I just think there's like some really fantastic authors out there that do very similar things to her. But anyway, I won't go back into all of that. But I do love that Where the Crawdads Sing did get so many, so many women back into reading. Because I mean, you hear that all the time. Like, you know, it came out and everybody got it for Christmas. And then everybody, like, everybody started reading again. And, you know, I think everybody did read all the time. Yeah, but that also could be why it didn't do as much for you as it did for everybody else. And you do read stories like this. And you do, you know, and so you are familiar with stories that are done really well. And for other people, it's a more accessible book. And the book is more accessible. Sometimes it can fall flat to people that, you know, ingested a lot of good writing and good reading. Yeah, that's a good point. That definitely could be it. So yeah. Yeah. So anyway, also do not please do not watch that movie. Like, if you are at all interested in the story, and it is good, because I did rate it five stars. And I do I said when I finished it, I remember saying out loud, this feels like a book, you just want to give a hug. Like you just want to hug this book. And I did really, really love I have some problems with it, you know, a couple years later. I have some problems, a lot of problems with the movie. But if you are at all interested in this story, I highly recommend reading it and skipping the movie. Yeah. Okay. I also am glad that we just talked about that book. Because when the when we had our little internet malfunction, I took a second to kind of look up a few alternates to City of Girls. And I wasn't going to recommend where the crowd is saying if you want to read City of Girls, but there are a couple others. So if you did like City of Girls, and you want something else like it, or if my review that wasn't really much of a review, just like a cat book, and it kind of turns you off, but you want something that I enjoy. Here's a couple books that I really enjoyed that kind of take place or give like a similar vibe, kind of like feeling really beautiful descriptions of setting that either that time period or not that exact time period kind of evoke the same emotion. So the first one, Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, I'm a little surprised that there are so many people that still haven't read this book. I know. It's kind of surprising. So this is by Taylor Jenkins Reid. And she also read Daisy Jones and the Sixth, which we'll come back to that. But Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is, I will say one of the best books I've ever read. Evelyn Hugo as a character is one of my favorite characters of all time. The book is messy. The characters are flawed, like love a good flawed character. It's so good. Like, I just don't know. We read it for book club and everybody I think rated it five stars. I mean, this was such a good book. You have to read it. The other one is a classic. It's The Great Gatsby, because it is very, you know, similar timeframe about, you know, glitz and glam. And also kind of shares some like, finding yourself sort of struggles. So if you have not read The Great Gatsby, it's a classic for a reason. It's also very, very short. It's one of my favorite books of all time, highly recommend it. And then the other one is like a little bit out there. But I think like, the descriptions are really good. And it evokes kind of, I felt like similar feelings as City of Girls, the front half of City of Girls. So this is kind of a hot take. I feel like some people don't like it, but it's called The Immortalist by Chloe Benjamin. I can't remember if you've actually read this one or not. I liked it. I didn't love it. But I did like it. It's good. It's on my, like, not a favorite list, but it's on my, like, up there of books I really enjoyed list. This is about four siblings who, when they're children, they visit a fortune teller and the fortune teller tells them the date that they're all going to die. And so then the book from there is split into four parts. And we follow each sibling, like, their choices that they make leading up to that. And I just loved everything about this book, I think, because I love characters so much. And you get a very different feeling as you're sitting in each character's story. Like, they're all very different, these characters are, and the way that they respond to knowing that the date they're going to die or not knowing, trying to change the outcome versus not change the outcome, you know, just accept it. It's a very interesting take. I love that it was four different perspectives on the same topic. So I really, really, really enjoyed that book and highly recommend it. So those are my recommendations. If you would like to read something other than City of Girls, it's really good. So, yeah. Any other honorable mentions for books that you hated? I love her writing in it. Like, her writing is good. But the story, the characters, I hated all of it. But I don't think that's really a hot take, necessarily. I think that's a pretty average take, because Normal People blew up so much. Conversations with Friends was before Normal People. She wrote it before Normal People. Personally, I loved it as much as I love Normal People, but it is very different. Normal People, it's only two characters that you're, you know, in talks with as you're building. That's why I thought I liked Conversations with Friends, because I love books with, like, four people, six people. I love big friend group books. It was more my speed, I think, but I just didn't like it. Yeah. But I loved it. I thought it did such a good job. I mean, the main character, Frances, is really, she's 21 years old. And I thought that the book, like, so perfectly captured what it feels like to be, like, on the cusp of becoming your own person and your own adult and also learning what type of person and type of adult you want to be. And just this, like, inner, I felt an inner conflict of, like, who Frances wanted to be versus who she was. And I just, I really, I really connected with Frances. And I felt like, later in life, like, I would almost, I know that I would, if she ever revisited Frances later and looked back on that time, I just feel like Frances would hate herself in that time. Right, for sure. I love her character. I love Frances' character. But I'm also just a massive Sally Rooney fan. I think that she's one of my, I mean, she has, like, top two author, favorite authors of all time. But I have a couple that are books that I didn't really like that everybody else seemed to really enjoy. The first one is David Sloane's In the Fix. I don't understand the hype. I just, a lot of people, I know you really loved this book. A lot of people liked it. I liked it a lot. Yeah, I, it's not that I didn't like it, but I just, as I was reading it, and even when it finished, I was just like, I really don't get the hype. Like, I just, it didn't work for me. That book took me a long time to get into. I think I had to start it twice before I, like, really, like, sat down and got into it. But I did, I don't like it as much as Evelyn Hugo, but I did really, really like it. Yeah, and maybe I was super disappointed because I loved Evelyn Hugo. So I was like, ooh, it's Taylor. And that, and Evelyn Hugo was my first Taylor, Duke and Tree novel. And so I was like, oh, could this be a new favorite author? Because I love it so much, you know? So I think that also led to, like, I was just like, oh, I don't really understand the hype. I rated it two. It was probably like a one and a half for me, and I rat it out for what it's worth. So that. And then the other, the other one, this isn't as popular of a book, but I feel like if, if you are a reader, this probably popped up in your circles, is, I'm blanking on it. Sorry, The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Bardot. It's a sick-ass novel. Normally, I love a good, good thick novel because it lets you play with the characters for longer, it lets you progress with them. It's a family story, family kind of saga, which I feel like a lot of people really, really enjoy, at least the people in my reading circles. It was a book club read in my, one of my book club picks. And it follows a family with multiple children and kind of their life and how they're all sort of different from each other. It's centered on the parents. It does jump cuts back in time from, like, their relationship, their beginning of their relationship all the way through, and then intersperses those with the perspective of their children. So in that sense, like, it was a fun read. It's one of those books that, like, had everything I thought I was going to love, like, a lot of time with all the characters, a lot of backstory of why they are the way that they are, that kind of thing. Like, I really thought I was going to like it. But for me, it just didn't go anywhere. Like, I wanted to see some sort of character growth. And I also don't, I also love a good book where the character doesn't grow. Like, I love a book where the character is just continually faced with the same challenges, and they just can't get past themselves. You know, that doesn't bother me. I don't dislike that. And a lot of my favorite books are that way, kind of this shitty ending. In this story, it was like that for everybody. Like, they just went nowhere. The characters just started shitty, ended shitty, or started bois, ended bois. You know, like, it just, there wasn't, where did it go? What did I get out of reading this book? I didn't get anything. My book club loved it. I was very much the outlier. I was, I mean, I think everybody rated it, like, four or five stars. And I was, yeah, I loved it. It's a five star rate for me. Yeah, yeah, it did. Yeah. And I remember you and I talked about it. You loved it. It just didn't work for me. So, yeah. And then the other one, and then we can get with this topic, but the other one I just read recently, it is a Riley Sager book. It's called The Only One Left. It came out this past August. So, it is a very new book. I've never read Riley Sager. I've never had any interest in reading Riley Sager. His books just don't at all interest me. I'm not much of a thriller girl. So, all of that. But it was a book club pick. We read it. Everybody else rated it decent. I don't think, there wasn't, like, any sort of love for the book, but there wasn't any hate, like I experienced. I mean, if I could give it a lower than a one, I would give it a lower than a one. Well, Riley Sager, he just, he's popping out books so fast, and you can tell by the quality of the books. So, if you go back, and if you do want a really good thriller, I highly recommend Final Girls by Riley Sager or Lock Every Door. Those are two of my favorite thrillers I've ever read. And they're by him. But then I think after Home Before Dark, which I believe is his fourth novel, he's been putting them out so quickly. And I think you could really tell in his writing and his stories in general. So, I don't plan to read him ever again, because I think he's lost his, I think he's kind of lost it. He, I think he had a contract to out that. Yeah, I'm sure he did. But a lot of, there's another author, Chris, I don't know how to pronounce his last name, but he read, he wrote a book, he wrote, I think, The Witches, The Lioness, was it? I don't know. He writes, oh, he wrote The Flight Attendant, which was super popular, and became the HBO show with Kaley Cuoco. So, he is also the same type of author where, like, his first handful of books were so good, and then he became so popular and had to start writing them and turning them out so quickly, and they were all shit for, like, 10 years. So, yeah. The pitfalls of becoming a popular author. Right. Right. Well, okay. Well, I mean, we've done it. We've bashed on some things. I feel like you really approached this from a very, like, rare perspective. Like, I'm going to give you a good review, and I approached this from a, like, how angry I am. I honestly, like, I also kind of wanted to talk about The Only One Left by Riley Sager, but since it's such a new book, I was like, I'm not going to do it. Yeah. But, man, if you had any, do you want to hear my take on The Only One Left? Just let me know, and I will. Sounds good. Anywho, yeah. All right. That's it. Well, should we tease our next episode? I guess we'll tease our next episode. Yeah. Our next episode, we're going to be breaking down our personal top five albums of all time, musical albums. This was so hard. Yeah. This is going to be a good conversation. I'm pretty pumped for it. So, if you want to hear what we're doing next, tune on in. That'll be good. Yep. Thank you for being here. Bye. Bye.