A trench coat full of book recs with Mallory O'Meara

[Music Playing]

Adam Sockel:

You are listening to Passions & Prologues, a literary podcast where usually each week, I talk to an author about a thing they love and how it inspires their work.

I've already done that with today's guest who's the first ever guest on this show. And we are doing a bonus episode (which I've done a few of these now) to talk book recommendations. And without exaggeration, this is my favorite person to do book recommendations.

And actually probably I think the person I've done the most often with in my entire career, it's Mallory O'Meara.

Mallory, welcome back. How are you doing?

Mallory O’Meara:

I am so good. Honestly, I think if something ever happened and we needed to do a podcast together, that was just me and you, we could just do a book recommendation show every week, no problem.

Adam Sockel:

Yeah. Listen, everyone, I tried to come up with a creative angle for this podcast when I launched it. Like you guys on Reading Glasses have such a unique take, but it really could just be, “Alright, listen, it's Mallory and Adam and we're going to do a book.” Like it could just have no like hook or name and be like-

Mallory O’Meara:

Nope. It's just nothing but book recs.

Adam Sockel:

Yeah. By the way, the intro I should have done is my strongest author friend, but I omitted that part.

Mallory O’Meara:

Why? Thank you.

Adam Sockel:

For people who don't know what I'm talking about, who are recent listeners to the show, go back to the first every episode and you can hear Mallory talk about power lifting, which is just the-

Mallory O’Meara:

Which is really just so I can lift up more books, so.

Adam Sockel:

That’s right. Yeah. It's like very important. So, Mallory and I are going to, like we said, a real fastball straight down the middle, we're going to do book recommendations back and forth.

But before we do that, Mallory has something very important change to talk about. When you guys are listening to this, it's going to be the week before your latest book comes out. Tell everybody about your new book.

Mallory O’Meara:

Oh my God, it's my first book for kids. I'm so nervous. It is called Girls Make Movies: A Follow-Your-Own-Path Guide to Filmmaking. So, it is what I think the very first filmmaking books that is directed at young girls.

And I created it with my friend, illustrator, Jen Vaughn. So, it is filled with so many cool illustrations. It looks amazing.

And the book teaches you how to make a movie from development all the way to the red carpet. And you make your choices. The follow your own path part is you get to make your own choices through the book you want.

You're making a fictional zombie movie and do you want your zombies to be CGI or do you want them to be practical? And you flip to one page for one and another page for another.

And along the way, you find out how movies are made, what sort of jobs are involved, and what those people do, how they got their jobs, the tools they use, the things they love about making movies.

And because it's me and I'm a historian, it's filled with all kinds of cool women's history. But it's an absolute blast and we tried to aim it pretty wide. So, anywhere from 10 to 16, 17 can get something out of it.

So, if you have a young person in your life who loves movies, who loves making TikTok videos, who loves social media, who loves creativity, this is the book for them. Really, really excited about it. And yeah, it's coming out next week. Can't believe it.

Adam Sockel:

Listen, I'm not just saying this because you're my buddy and you're on the show. I already have pre-ordered multiple copies because I have multiple-

Mallory O’Meara:

Oh, thank you.

Adam Sockel:

A 100%. I was actually, we were talking before I started recording, I was in Universal Studios last weekend. And like I was walking around all of their like park stuff, that's like all movie making things. And then, of course I saw a creature from the Black Lagoon show. I actually can’t believe I didn't say-

Mallory O’Meara:

Hell, yeah.

Adam Sockel:

But like I was thinking about this and I knew you were coming on and I was just like, “It's such a cool idea. It's so unique.” Like how did you … see, I cannot interview people.

Before we get to our book recommendations, it's really quickly, like how did you decide like I want to make this a choose your own adventure type sort?” Because you could have just done like how to make a movie, because that is a past life you had.

So, how did you do that? How did this come to be?

Mallory O’Meara:

Oh my God, this book went through so many iterations. It was funny. Its original form, I actually wanted to aim it towards adult readers because there's so many people who love movies that just have no idea what a producer does or what a production designer does. And I love movies so much.

And then I realized this book would be better if it was aimed at kids. There are some books about filmmaking that are for kids, but there's none that's like, “Hey, girls can do this, girls have done this.” And you know me, women's history is really my great love in life.

And then it was actually my old agent Brady McReynolds who was like, “Why don't you do like a choose your own adventure style thing?” I was like, “Wow, that's a wild idea.”

And actually it used to have like a fictional component to it. And then this book just went through like so many different changes to make it work and landed on what it is now, that's just like totally non-fiction.

And I actually think it might be the world's first pick your own path non-fiction book. When I tell people like, “It's like a choose your own adventure style non-fiction.” And they're like, “What?”

But it totally works in the framework of making a movie because you get to … I mean, there are parts of the book where the … because all your choices matter.

And there is this one part where a disaster might happen. You might have to turn back and like start at the beginning and try making the movie again. And you meet totally different people going through all the different paths.

And yeah, it was really wild to kind of put together because I've never had to think about different paths through a non-fiction story before. But it was really fun and I hope people get a lot out of it.

Adam Sockel:

I'm so excited. Like I said, I definitely have pre-ordered for all of my nieces and also, one for myself just because I cannot.

Mallory O’Meara:

Thank you.

Adam Sockel:

So, it will be for everybody. The link will be in the show notes and you can definitely go get it. I'm so, so freaking excited for this. And like I said, we couldn't not talk about that before we do the thing that we do. So, Girls Make Movies, go get your pre-orders right now.

And now, as a thank you, we're going to give you a whole bunch of book recommendations.

Mallory O’Meara:

Hell, yeah, we are.

Adam Sockel:

I'm the home team here, so you can go first. I will give you to be the first opening solo.

Mallory O’Meara:

So, it wouldn't be me if I was recommending a spooky book. And I'm very excited. So, this book actually comes out in September. It is called The September House by Carissa Orlando. And it is such an interesting take on a haunted house book.

Like I'm obsessed with haunted house books and it's really hard to like surprise me or show me something that unique. And honestly, that's not a bad thing. Like I will take the same grieving couple moves into a new house story for the end of time. But I always get really excited when I see something new.

And it's about this woman and she is very mild mannered and doesn't like to make a fuss at all. And she lives in a haunted house. And at first, it's kind of like a very dry and sly funny book because like all this like crazy shit is happening around her and she's just like making her tea.

And like, ugh, one of the ghosts like has her head split in half by an ax and she's just like, “Oh God, the gorp is putting me off of my jam and scones. And it's so like dry.” And then the book morphs into like this really chilling and macabre story about abuse and resilience and you kind of …

My short pitch about it is it's a woman who's in an abusive relationship with a haunted house. And it's just so smart and so fun and I loved it so much. That's The September House by Carissa Orlando.

Adam Sockel:

Okay. Immediately, I want to get off track because I also, I didn't have this as one of my picks, but I have a kind of similar one that comes out in July. It's called Magdalena by Candi Sary, S-A-R-Y.

Mallory O’Meara:

Oh my God, how have I not heard of … this is the part when Adam and I talk to each other, is that it involves me ordering books. I'm writing this down.

Adam Sockel:

Honestly, like there's few things in life that make me prouder than when I recommend. There's two things. I have a brother-in-law who knows everything about music. So, when I recommend an album he has never heard of, and then when I recommend a scary book that Mallory has not yet heard of. So-

Mallory O’Meara:

I'm so excited.

Adam Sockel:

Yeah. So, it's a really short book. It's like 200 pages. They sent me a copy. It's delightful. It's this like small, secluded town and-

Mallory O’Meara:

Oh-oh. I'm already so in.

Adam Sockel:

One of these towns, they describe it in the description (I’ll just pull it up) as it thrives on gossip and superstition. So, it's like one of these small towns, everyone's in each other's business.

And Dottie is our main character. And she offers like basically she's the main interest in all the scandal because there's a missing girl, there is a ghost in this, and then there's an affair that kind of like started everything.

So, Dottie is very, very reclusive. She's had a number of miscarriages and just kind of like doesn't want to be a part of the very in each other's business town anymore. And she develops this really like weird connection with this 15 year old neighbor of hers named Magdalena.

And then there's this like you can never really tell what's real and what's not in this. But they have this weird relationship that's very spooky. And there's just strangers that come.

There's so many things that get thrown into this story. There is literally like crows, which I feel like crows are having a moment lately. But there's crows.

Mallory O’Meara:

Crows are having a moment. I wonder if crows are going to take the baton from mushrooms.

Adam Sockel:

Ooh, I bet they will. In fact, I just realized one of the books I'm going to recommend later has a crow on the cover. But like it's very, very creepy and unnerving and the relationship is very weird.

And what ends up happening is Dottie like decides to write about her life and she's like, “You know what? Screw all of you guys, I'm just going to write what's actually happened to me.” And it's just like it becomes very, very creepy.

It's uncomfortable in like the best way, but at the end, it's like one of these … it's sort of like you were talking about it. I thought about it because I have been drawn lately because of life experiences to like ghost stories that deal with trauma. And this is definitely a ghost story that … and it's-

Mallory O’Meara:

Horror’s got you covered. Horror's always waiting for you.

Adam Sockel:

Yeah. So, that's Magdalena by Candi Sary. That one comes out in July.

Okay, you do your next one. I know you have an extra one anyway, so we'll just … yeah. Now, you're going to get seven from each of us.

Mallory O’Meara:

So, I want to take a hard left turn and I talk about this on my show this month on a future episode. I have for some weird reason, maybe it's because (as we were talking about before the show) 2023 has just been a rough year.

I have gotten into romance so hard. And I've always liked romance, but it's never really been something that I read. Like I would read like one or two romance books a year.

And for some reason the past few months, like that's all I want, is just romance books. And this book I just finished recently, it's a back list book. It's called Satisfaction Guaranteed by Karelia Stetz-Waters.

And it is about this woman, she's an accountant, she's very buttoned up. She like runs her parents’ very famous art gallery. And her aunt dies.

And her aunt was like very quirky, and she was a nudist, and she loved to do drugs. And she was just like this really eccentric old woman and she owned a sex toy shop.

And the main character like gets to the funeral and is like, “Oh my God, my aunt was so weird. All these people are …” Everyone is like dressed in gold and people are doing drugs at this funeral. She's just like, “I can't deal with this.”

And she finds out that the aunt has willed her the sex toy shop, but she has to share it with the woman who runs it and who was like her aunt's like the daughter that she never had.

And she is way more like her aunt. Like she's wearing a feather boa. Like she is ridiculous. And the two of them have to like get together and figure out how to save this sex toy shop.

And it is just so fun. It takes place in Portland and it's just like a total blast. And that's like all my brain has been craving right now is …

I mean, my brain's always craving horror, but besides that it's like, “Oh, just give me like fun romances where I know that everything is going to be okay at the end.” And this one is a blast. So, it's Satisfaction Guaranteed by Karelia Stetz-Waters.

Adam Sockel:

That's awesome. I am also, going to cheat and pick one that's coming up later in the month on my show. The one that you’re currently listening to, everybody. This author will be on J. Ryan Stradal or Stradal.

Mallory O’Meara:

I know what you going to talk about.

Adam Sockel:

His latest book is Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club. Have you read this?

Mallory O’Meara:

No, but it is on my TBR because someone put him on my radar because he wrote a book about brewers and I was like, “Ooh, I'll just check out the new one.” And it's about a diner, right?

Adam Sockel:

It is. So, J is as Midwestern as they come and as a Clevelander, I've [crosstalk 00:13:20] this. So, I was actually thinking about you when I was prepping this because we were going to talk to each other.

But I know like anyone who follows Mallory, I love how like four or five times a year, you'll put like an Instagram story or something up about how you miss New England, whether it's like a specific type of coffee or like whatever it is.

Mallory O’Meara:

Oh, yes.

Adam Sockel:

And so, this book, Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club, is extremely my version of that for the Midwest. So, it takes place in Wisconsin, which is like the opposite end of the spectrum of Midwest from Ohio. But that's okay. It's fine, it's still Midwestern.

But I am finding myself drawn lately to stories that are very like cozy. And this is an absolute cozy story. It is the story of a supper club, which we get into it in the episode, but basically for people who are unfamiliar. Like think like small diner in a community where everyone knows each other.

But also, like there's specific oddities about supper clubs where like old fashions, which are traditionally a bourbon drink are made with brandy and are just like so sugary and sweet.

And they'll give you like a relish tray with like olives and pickles when you first sit down. And the whole concept is like giving people value before they even give you any money.

And so, this is the story of a supper club in upper Wisconsin, and it goes through four generations of the family who owns this supper club.

So, it takes us over a hundred years and it kind of jumps back and forth a little bit for the first like two thirds of the story. And it's just really interesting because it's a fictional story that's birthed from a lot of J's research into these small town places that are like established and are thought of like iconic.

But in reality, they don't make much money because there's cheaper options all around them and it's you go there and people want to get like the meatloaf, or they want to get the like prime red meal that they've been having for generations and they don't want to pay more than $16 for it.

So, it's really hard to make money. But then you also, get it passed down from generation to generation.

So, Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club is kind of like this story of these four women who sort of have this either volunteer lamp or thrust upon them depending on their attitude about luck and the life that they kind of make around it.

It's really interesting. Like I said, a lot of it at the beginning is kind of jumping back and forth and you're getting to know everybody, but then at the end, it's much more straightforward from the timeline standpoint.

It's a little heartbreaking, a little heartwarming, but it is very, very cozy. If you are Midwestern at all or know anyone who is, this is a great one. That's Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper Club. Yeah, really delightful.

Mallory O’Meara:

So, my next one is a really good read, like for people who are looking for more books like The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, which is like one of the books that people are always looking for read the likes form.

It's so fun. It just came out, it's called Advika and the Hollywood Wives by Kirthana Ramisetti. And it's about this woman and she's in her early 20s, and she lives in LA. And she's trying to make it as a screenwriter and things are going rough for her. And she works at a catering business like many screenwriters do.

Her sister who was her twin had died like the year before and her parents moved back to India. So, she feels just like very alone, and bereft, and like uninspired with her writing, and just like in a bad place.

And the night that the book starts, she's catering, she's working as a bartender at one of the Oscar parties. And she's like working the bar and dealing with all these like extremely annoying Hollywood people who are rude as fuck to her.

Until this one guy comes up and orders a drink. And she can tell that he's older, he is in his 60s, but he's really still handsome. He's like George Clooney esque. And he's really nice to her.

At first, she's just like, “Oh, like what a welcome reprieve from this shitty night.” This like older man who isn't … she doesn't know who he is, but she knows that he has to be … besides the fact that he's holding a Oscar that he just won. Like people treat him with the deference that only comes from people who are like aggravatedly famous.

So, she knows he has to be someone fancy. And he ends up like flirting with her and saving her from this really rude woman. And like long story short, by the end of the night, they're making out in his Bentley.

And she doesn't expect anything to come of it, but of course the next day, he texts her and things move really fast. And before she know it, (this is not a spoiler) like they're married.

And all of her friends are like, “Hey, this seems kind of weird. Like he's 40 years older than you and has a lot more money. And you guys have been only together for like a month and you're getting married.”

And she's doesn't want to hear it. So, she blocks all of them. She's like, “I'm going to start this new life and it's going to be amazing.”

But pretty quickly into their marriage … she's his fourth wife. She gets some communication and actually also, sees it in the news that his first ever wife died and left her a million dollars and a single film reel that no one knows what it is, but she can only get both these things if she divorces him.

So, obviously, secrets, you're trying to figure out what's going on with this guy with like … it's almost thrillery, it's really intense, it's really fun, like the dark side of Hollywood kind of stuff. And it's just a blast. To steal a very popular blurb, it's a compulsively readable book. But oh my god, very intense.

Adam Sockel:

That is a real blurb, I love it. Yeah. Oh, that sounds good. Sorry, what's the name of that one, one more time?

Mallory O’Meara:

Oh, it's Advika and the Hollywood Wives by Kirthana Ramisetti. And it just came out and it's got a really cool cover.

Adam Sockel:

That sounds so good. Alright. I'm pre-ordering that.

Mallory O’Meara:

It's very good. It is so intense. It’s the one of those books the whole time you're like, “Girl, no. What are you doing? Why? No, no, no, no, no, no. You're making terrible decisions.”

Adam Sockel:

I’m going to do something I don't normally do. I usually pride myself on picking book recommendations that are less popular and less super buzzy. But-

Mallory O’Meara:

Sometimes you get it. My next one's also, really buzzy. Yeah.

Adam Sockel:

Okay. So, mine's Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano or Napolitano.

Mallory O’Meara:

Oh, I haven't heard of this one.

Adam Sockel:

Oh, okay. So, Ann is the author of Dear Edward, which came out a few years ago.

Mallory O’Meara:

Oh, okay. Gotcha, gotcha.

Adam Sockel:

Yeah. So, Dear Edward was the story of a sole survivor of a plane crash, who’s young boy, and like basically how a community raises him. Heartbreaking, and you want to … yeah. So, I'm just starting to think that either something horrible happened in Ann's life or Ann-

Mallory O’Meara:

Or she's just a sadist.

Adam Sockel:

Yeah, she was just a sadist or like she has an incredible therapist who walks her through life and so she's able to write the saddest things.

Anyway, Hello Beautiful. I am only like three fourths of the way through it right now. And actually speaking of book podcasters, my buddy, Tina, who's also, been on the show from TBR et cetera. She's become like the-

Mallory O’Meara:

The street team for this book.

Adam Sockel:

Yes. Like she did a post about it and like now, everyone keeps tagging her and this. I know she listens. So, hi, Tina. But she was the one who told me, she's like, “You need to read this.” So, it's a story-

Mallory O’Meara:

And it happens to us though, is sometimes you just all of a sudden become the street team for a fucking book and you don't know how it happened, but you love it and you want everyone to read it.

Adam Sockel:

Yeah. So, Hello Beautiful is the story … the description talks about how it's basically like an homage to little women. And I definitely see that because the story of four sisters, the Padavano sisters or Padavano sisters, however they want to pronounce it.

There's four of them and they all are very different in the types of people that they are. One of them is very much like the organizer of the family, then there's twins. And one of them is like a free spirit who's an artist, and the other one is looking for their true love. And then there's the fourth one who's a little bit withdrawn from the rest of the family.

But how the story works as it opens with this boy named William Waters who grew up in this house, that … and this is in the first like three pages, this is not a spoiler. He was the second born in a family.

When he was born, his older sibling was three years old. And within the week that he was born, his sibling tragically dies.

Mallory O’Meara:

And so, what happens?

Adam Sockel:

Yeah. So, what happen … and this is like-

Mallory O’Meara:

Jesus Christ.

Adam Sockel:

I literally am considering this book, like a version of like the movie Blue Valentine where it's like starts depressing and that's the high point. So, basically, he grows up and his parents like don't even really make eye contact with him, let alone like connect with him.

Mallory O’Meara:

Because he's just a walking reminder of just what they lost.

Adam Sockel:

So, despite all of that, he like does really well in school. He gets incredible at basketball and he goes to Northwestern on a basketball scholarship. And he studies really hard in history. But he is very quiet and just like an odd person, which who wouldn't be with his upbringing?

Ends up meeting Julia, who is the oldest of the sisters. They fall in love, get married, have a kid. But like all throughout it, what happens is you get a huge chunk of his story and then you get little chunks in each chapter of each either sibling's story or his story and it kind of like overlaps each other.

So, one of the chapters will be like January, 1983 to April, 1983 and then something like horrible will happen at the end of that chapter and then it'll go back to like February, 1983. But it'll be someone else's perspective.

And then you see it from their perspective and then you get your heart stabbed again. And then you go back to this other's perspective.

But it's really interesting to see how — like Ann did an incredible job of creating these extremely unique characters who are sisters and like how they come together in a way. Like I'm the youngest of four and my siblings and I are really close. And it's interesting to see these characters like this.

So, it's basically the story of the four siblings and their relationship with each other and despite all these things that are happening around them, how they find a way to stay together. But just like if you're going to read this, anyone out there, just buckle up because you don't-

Mallory O’Meara:

Get a box of tissues.

Adam Sockel:

Yeah. Just get a box of tissues.

Mallory O’Meara:

Brace yourself.

Adam Sockel:

Have an a good ugly cry. Yeah, that's Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano.

Mallory O’Meara:

So, I'm also, going to jump on the hyping up already hyped book train. But this book is just so good that I have to. It is a wild read. It is Yellowface by R. F. Kuang. This book comes out this month, I think in May.

And holy shit, Adam, this book is a wild ride. It is the only book I have ever read where it is from the point of view of the antagonist, the whole thing, and you are rooting for something terrible to happen to this person literally every chapter.

It is about this woman and she is white. And she's a writer, she's always wanted to be a writer. And she has this friend who they went to the same college, they were in the almost all the same programs up until like they were about to leave college and then their path started to diverge.

The main character, she did okay. She got into an okay grad school. Her first book was with a smaller publisher and didn't do very well and now, she's teaching at a college. And she's having a hard time coming up with a new book to write. She's just kind of like on the skids.

But her friend, right out of college got a six figure book deal. Every single book that she's ever written is at the New York Times Best Seller list. She's a millionaire and she gets paid to speak all over the place. She's just like the golden child and she is from a Chinese American family.

And so, the one night they are … and they still are like kind of like frenemies. The thing about the really successful writer is that she doesn't have a lot of friends. And for some reason that the main character can't figure out, like she keeps like wanting to hang out with her and go out for drinks because they both live in DC still.

So, she's like doesn't even really like her that much. But because this friend is so famous, like always says yes, always goes out for drinks with her.

So, one night they are celebrating the very successful friends more — one of her new deals. Her latest book got option for Netflix and she's all excited about it. And so, the main character's like going out to celebrate with her, but she's just like, “Ugh.”

Her friend is like she's so beautiful, and so successful, and everyone's hitting on her at the bar. And she just feels like chopped liver. And this is not a spoiler because this happens right away. I won't tell you how it happens, but through weird events that happened that night, the successful friend dies.

And something that is like the hallmarks of her writing is that she doesn't work on computers. Like she types all of her manuscripts on a typewriter. And so, until like something is ready to be published, there is no digital version of it. It only exists in her office.

So, the main character, while she's waiting for the ambulance to show up and like the cops and stuff, she looks in her friend's office and sees the fresh stack of typed pages of this new manuscript that no one has heard about, no one knows what it's about. It doesn't exist anywhere but in this apartment.

And so, in like a one moment of … well, I guess not one moment, but like a moment of ridiculousness, grabs it. And she ends up bringing it home, and editing it, and starts to pitch it as her own.

And it's a World War II novel about Chinese laborers. So, the main character's name is Juniper Song Hayward. But up until this point, she's always gone under June Hayward.

But now, that she's pitching this book, she goes under Juniper Song and she takes an ethically ambiguous author photo. And like the book becomes viral and does really, really well. And it's harder and harder for her to keep up this illusion.

And it is just like the most all about … the best blur I saw for it is that you have to kind of read it through your fingers because it's just so wild. It's soap buggers. Again, you are waiting for something horrible to happen to this woman the entire time. And it's like really salty about the publishing industry. And it's just such a wild book, but it's so good.

Adam Sockel:

Man, I'm trying to think if anyone's had like a better publishing like three or four years than R. F. Kuang. Like you’ve got-

Mallory O’Meara:

I know. Good for her.

Adam Sockel:

… happy war books. You've got Babel-

Mallory O’Meara:

Babel.

Adam Sockel:

Babel. Yeah.

Mallory O’Meara:

And this book is so different for Babel. It's so cool.

Adam Sockel:

There's something I think they have like two PhDs or something. Like it's so-

Mallory O’Meara:

Yeah, they are complete genius.

Adam Sockel:

Yeah. It's one of those like frustrating-

Mallory O’Meara:

And this book is a salty publishing book and on paper, like you look at it and you're like, “Well, why would I want to read about this person?” But like it is so compelling and it is like you cannot fucking put this book down.

I literally, have the NetGalley app on my phone and I would have to be careful because sometimes I read between sets when I'm working out. And like I had to not read this book because I would be sitting there for like 10 minutes and I'm like, “That's too long.” Because you can't put it down. It's just so wild.

Adam Sockel:

Unrelated, that's the most Mallory sentence I've ever … incredible. I read in between-

Mallory O’Meara:

NetGalley in between sets.

Adam Sockel:

Oh my God. So, I have not met R. F., I haven't interviewed them ever, but that feels like an interview like-

Mallory O’Meara:

Oh, it'd be so cool. Yeah.

Adam Sockel:

Like the week that this comes out, my episode is with Rebecca MacKay and they-

Mallory O’Meara:

Oh my god. What a get.

Adam Sockel:

She was one of those people where like as I was having a conversation with her, I was like, “You are smarter than me.” Like you ever like meet those people where you're just like, “Oh my God, you think of …” Yep, like that'd be the same way.

Mallory O’Meara:

Yeah. Oh, for sure.

Adam Sockel:

Yeah. Okay. So, here is my mandatory spooky book when we have recommendation. I feel like you might have read this one though, came out in 2020, The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean.

Mallory O’Meara:

We did. Yeah, Brea and I read that because it was funny because every once in a while we do a book or we hear about a book on Reading Glasses, not necessarily through publishing, but just because so many of our listeners are reading it.

And that's what The Book Eaters was. We were like, “We got to read this because everybody loves this that listens to this show.” It is such a wild concept.

Adam Sockel:

It’s so wild. And also, now, that you said that, as soon as you said that, I was like, “Oh yeah, that's obviously, where I got the idea to read the book was from you guys.” I'm a dummy. Anyway, the book-

Mallory O’Meara:

But you should tell me all about it because it is such a cool idea.

Adam Sockel:

It's such a cool concept. So, okay, there is this family and they're literally known as The Family and they are literally like what's known as they're a clan of book eaters.

And what a book eater is they are literally people who like for sustenance, they eat books. And they have this trait where anytime they eat a book, they kind of gain that knowledge, but they aren't able to write or like communicate via language.

Like they can't send each other text messages, they can't write letters, they can't write their own books. But like if they are in London and they want to know the way around London, they can like eat an underground like rail station-

Mallory O’Meara:

Oh, it's so crazy.

Adam Sockel:

It's so weird. And so, but in addition to these book eaters, there are sometimes people that are born in like their lines that are mind eaters where they're like … for lack of a better terms, think of them, it's almost like they're like vampires, but they eat people's brain instead of drink their blood. Like that's a perfect way to put it.

Mallory O’Meara:

Yeah, yeah. Like that.

Adam Sockel:

And none of this is a spoiler. Like you learn all this in the first 10, 15 pages.

And so, to them, like I said, they get all these different types of books, but not … so, you have all that, that's like just establishing who the characters are.

And then the actual story is like the complex, complicated relationships that these families have with each other because they're constantly trying to have more women born, basically to like keep the line of book eaters going.

Because they continue to birth like these men who become these like mind eaters and they kind of turn them into like knights, so it's almost like they're like the heavies, if this was a mob.

And we have this main character, Devin, who has a child, and this child is a mind eater and like-

Mallory O’Meara:

That’s so stressful.

Adam Sockel:

So stressful. And so, when a mind eater gets born, they basically either like cast it aside or like basically like it's of no value. And each mother that is basically married off has a relationship for three years while they have a child. I believe they have three different weddings they can be a part of.

And she has this son as part of her second wedding. Like she had a daughter at first and like the way that they kind of keep dangling the carrot for her to continue to like kind of quote unquote “play her part.” It's like, “Oh, you're going to get to see your daughter after this is all done.” And she sort of realized like, “This isn't going to happen.”

And so, she like escapes more or less with her son. And then it's kind of like she has to figure out a way to help him survive. And like there's this like plot for her to like get back at the other people in the family. And there's so much going on.

And I didn't even mention the fact that like in addition to basically eating books, they were like more or less superhumans. Like they all have like superpowers. They can like literally like Superman, like leap a tall building and like-

Mallory O’Meara:

It gets wild.

Adam Sockel:

So wild. I don't how if I did … I don't even know if I really described the plot.

Mallory O’Meara:

No, but I think you did a great job.

Adam Sockel:

Ugh. But yeah, The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean. So good, so weird, so spooky. I loved it so much.

Mallory O’Meara:

So, I'm going to do … so, one thing last year, at the end of every year, me and Brea at Reading Glasses try to do our best books of the year. And every year I'm like, “Man, this is mostly gore.” So, I've been trying so hard to read other genres this year.

And so, I've been trying to read a lot more fantasy. And the next book, it's so much fun. It's called The Magician's Daughter by H. G. Parry. And it takes place in Ireland in like post Victorian time. So, it's like early 1900s, like right after the Victorian era ended.

It's not a YA book, but the main character is a teenage girl and she has lived on this sort of magical island as far as she knows her entire life.

And he's not her father, but he's her father figure. It's this like magician and his familiar who is a rabbit that can sometimes turn into a man. And she's like lived this sort of like idyllic, beautiful existence on this Irish island.

And now, she's getting older, as you know the story, she wants to see the world more, she wants to know what's going on. And she's noticed that her magic dad, I guess like every few nights she watches him and he has this stone that can make him turn into a raven and he flies away.

But lately, he's been gone longer and longer. He is injured when he comes back, she wants to know what is going on. And he's always told her that she showed up in a boat on the island when she was a baby and they don't know where she comes from.

But turns out that there are people hunting both him and her and that's why they've been hiding on this island for a really long time. And they can't hide there anymore. They've got to go out in the world and see who's hunting them, what's happening, who are these people.

And obviously things go very wrong as soon as they get off of the island. And there's this whole like council of wizards and magicians.

And in this world, like magic is sort of like a natural element. Like it's like wind or water. It just sort of is around, but it has been disappearing for the past few generations but nobody knows why. And their story is very tied into what's going on and it's like sort of like a magical mystery.

And it's just like really fun, a nice romp. Everyone loves a romp once in a while. So, if you like magic and that like … it takes place in London and Ireland during that time period, if you really like parts of the world in that time period.

There's like some nice dresses, fancy clothes, and magic. And it's just a fun book. So, that's The Magician's Daughter by H. G. Parry.

Adam Sockel:

Not only can I cosign on how good this book is because I've also, read it, but-

Mallory O’Meara:

Oh, yay. I do the job.

Adam Sockel:

It's so great. So, actually H. G. is going to be on the show. We did an interview-

Mallory O’Meara:

Oh, yay.

Adam Sockel:

I will just give everyone a quick preview. I won't like get into it. Her passion is rabbits and mice because she owns a bunch of them to the point-

Mallory O’Meara:

It's a lot. This is a very rabbit heavy book, I will say.

Adam Sockel:

Very rabbit heavy book. And the reason is she did her like doctoral thesis on rabbits in literature.

Mallory O’Meara:

What? Oh my God, I can't wait for this episode.

Adam Sockel:

Velveteen Rabbit, Secret of the NIMH, or not secret, and then Watership Down. Like we … yeah. It's a depressing episode because we talk a lot about sad-

Mallory O’Meara:

Watership Down. Yeah, there's a lot more sad rabbit books than you think there are.

Adam Sockel:

There’s a lot more sad rabbit books than you think they are. Absolutely right. No, yeah. The Magician's Daughter is so … I love it. It’s a great book.

Mallory O’Meara:

So fun.

Adam Sockel:

Okay, here's my as promised, raven slash crow covered book, Weyward by Emilia Hart.

Mallory O’Meara:

I was wondering if this was going to be the one. I haven't read this and I'm very excited too.

Adam Sockel:

Really good. The cover is gorgeous. I believe it was a book of the month pick. But it's like three sort of dueling interwoven timelines, which I love a story that does a … it reminds me a little bit of … trying to think like the best books I can think of. It's almost like a Dawn Kurtagich book, like Teeth in the Mist.

Mallory O’Meara:

I know you love a spooky YA. You are my spooky YA expert. Yeah.

Adam Sockel:

But I should clarify for everyone, this is not YA. But yes, Dawn's book-

Mallory O’Meara:

The same energy.

Adam Sockel:

Yeah, exactly. So, the three different timelines take place in like kind of present day-ish 2019, in the early 1600s, and then in like the 1940s.

And so, they're all woven together and they take place connected to this Weyward cottage, which in 2019, the main character, Kate was kind of fleeing London and she inherited this cottage from aunt that like she didn't even know who it was.

And it's overgrown and it enables her to get away from an abusive partner. Again, I love a book that's like aura that's wrapped with trauma. But she kind of starts to figure out like there's some (you're never going to believe this) sort of secret that her aunt wasn't telling.

Mallory O’Meara:

You don't say.

Adam Sockel:

Yeah. And it's all tied to like the 17th century witch hunts that were taking place. And so, in the 17th century, in the 1600s, there's Altha who is awaiting this trial for murder, for maybe being a witch, maybe not. And casting spells, but the spells are like of the natural variety.

So, I think the spells of like Alice Hoffman practical magic type spells. And yes, I did just look at my bookshelf to find the book I was thinking of.

So, there's that storyline and then there's the mid-1940s where World War II is taking place and there's this woman, Violet, who is trapped in this estate and she like wants the education that her brothers are getting and she is just furious about it.

And she discovers these secrets and this locket with this like scratch word that says Weyward in it. And then it's like weaving-

Mallory O’Meara:

That's never good.

Adam Sockel:

Exactly. So, everything gets like woven together and it goes back and forth, but it all is centered around this very mysterious and witchy cottage that is the Weyward Cottage. And it's very good. I love it so much.

It's a little bit creepy. It's very dark, but there's some good magical realism in there. So, that's a Weyward by Emilia Hart.

Mallory O’Meara:

I'm bumping that up on the TBR as well because that sounds amazing.

My next one is another 2023 release that just came out, is an author that I really love. It's VenCo by Cherie Dimaline. And this is an adult literary fantasy, like almost horror but sort of fantasy.

It's a witch book. Everyone loves a witch book. Witches have been having a moment for quite a while. And it's just a really fun. If you like a book about witches that's much more literary and less like world buildy and much more just like we don't care how this stuff works. Like this is all about the characters. This is the perfect book for you.

It's about this woman. She lives in Toronto and she is not doing great in life. She's a temp and she takes care of her hilarious grandmother who her mind is starting to go. And they're very poor, and they're about to get a evicted, and she doesn't know what she's doing, what she's going to do in life.

Until one day she finds this weird little spoon with a witch on it. And very soon they get contacted by this group of women who operate out of Salem, Massachusetts called VenCo. And they're very mysterious.

They contact her and they're like, “Hey, we want to hire you to be a writer.” That's the main thing about the main character is that she's a writer and she's always wanted to be a writer, but like life has beaten down those dreams with like the big hammer of temp work has just like beaten her soul down.

And she's like, “I don't know how these people know who I am and I don't know why they want to hire me to be a writer, but this seems too cool to pass up.”

So, she goes on this crazy road trip with her grandmother, who again, is just like so funny and so ridiculous. They get there and finds out that she's from a line of witches and she is the latest witch that they want to collect for their covet.

And all of the witches find these spoons and that's how you know that you're part of this. But of course someone is hunting the witches and the witches are trying … I won't say what, but they're all working on trying to get together and find the last witch for their covet before something happens.

And it takes place in Salem and in New Orleans. And it's just like the characters are really fun. There's great representation. The group of witches is very varied crew and it's just really fun.

I love the way Cherie Dimaline writes and it's just a fucking blast. It's just like a really fun, fun book. So, that's VenCo by Cherie Dimaline.

Adam Sockel:

I like the cover too. I was just looking up while you were talking. It’s a cool cover.

Mallory O’Meara:

It's fun. It's cool.

Adam Sockel:

I have one more, my last one I went nonfiction. It came out a couple years ago. It's In the Weeds by Tom Vitale and it's basically, it's the behind the scenes story of Anthony Bourdain.

Mallory O’Meara:

Ooh.

Adam Sockel:

Yeah. And so, like to me, I feel like Anthony Bourdain is one of those people, like A, as a person who I love food and like discovering food from around the world and obviously like cocktails and salvage. I know it holds a special place in your heart as well.

Mallory O’Meara:

Yeah, buddy.

Adam Sockel:

I feel like Anthony Bourdain is like … there's a couple people who have passed away now, like a few years ago. At this point, it's still like every time I see a video of them, it just hits me in the heart. Like him and Robin Williams and there's just like a few people.

And so, I was thinking about this book because on my TikTok mindless scrolling, there's this video that I've now, seen a bunch of times of Anthony Bourdain making a Negroni where he is not measuring at all.

So, anytime I make myself a Negroni, I just call it a Bourdain now. Because I just kept all three of the … it's like I'm going to keep the equal parts, so it doesn't matter if it's two ounces or six, who cares?

Mallory O’Meara:

Vibe is only Negroni.

Adam Sockel:

Exactly, yeah. So, anyway, In the Weeds, it is a non-fiction book and it's written by his longtime director and producer.

And like the whole concept of it is like when people look at all of the different shows that Anthony Bourdain did, they probably were like, “Oh, no reservations, is like anyone who's working on that crew, it must be just like it's basically like a free tour of the world. This must be incredible.”

But in reality, like there's so much chaos that's going on and like the book just gets into all these like random things. Like when they're eating a meal in like Vietnam or like the Republic of Congo or Libya, like these places, like they have to go through a whole bunch of stuff to get there.

And like he just tells these like behind the scenes stories and especially the fact that before Anthony Bourdain tragically passed away, everyone saw him as like this snarky TV personality. And we've since learned there's a whole bunch more to him, obviously, and everyone contains layers.

But like the thing about Tom, the writer of this, like he knew all of the like idiosyncrasies and like literally behind the scenes aspects that made Anthony Bourdain a bold person.

And so, he just tells you this really interesting, funny, heartbreaking, tragic, like just incredible stories that you wouldn't know.

And it's super quick. It's under 300 pages, but it's like you just want to-

Mallory O’Meara:

Sounds awesome though.

Adam Sockel:

You just want to soak up as much of it as you can. So, that's In the Weeds by Tom Vitale. It's the kind of behind the scenes with Anthony Bourdain.

Mallory O’Meara:

Oh, that sounds amazing. I'm going to take another hard left turn for our last one. I'm going to go middle grade graphic novel, which is so different from what we're talking about, but I bent about as far away from Anthony Bourdain non-fiction memoir that you can possibly get. But it's so much fun. It's called Wizkit by Tanya J. Scott. And it is this, again, little middle grade graphic novel.

It is about this little cat. It's a cat cyclops, and she's a wizards apprentice, and she's kind of lazy, and she against the rules.

Like the opening scene is like she's supposed to be cleaning the house, but instead she's enchanted all of the cleaning products to like work by themselves while she sits on the couch and eats bread.

And like she doesn't like going outside, she just wants to hang out and eat snacks. But the wizard she works for is like, “Hey, if you want to be a full wizard, you need more experiences, you need to go outside.”

And turns out that one of his library books who is a sentient talking book is overdue at the library. And he's like, “Great, well, why don't you be the one to bring this book back to the library?”

And the library book is like extremely eager, and earnest, and like overenthusiastic about everything. And the main character Wizkit is kind of like, “Oh geez, okay, I got to take this book to the library.”

And of course, they end up on like this ridiculous adventure to the library and they meet all these creatures and learn about all these little lessons. But it's just like so cute and heartwarming and fun and bookish at the same time. And I was just like, “Ugh.”

I read it yesterday, which is on Sunday. And it was like perfect Sunday afternoon waiting for my hockey game to start. Like, ugh, beautiful. It's so much fun.

So, that's Wizkit by Tanya J. Scott. She wrote it and drew it.

Adam Sockel:

The shit eating grin I just had on my face while you described that book. Oh my God.

Mallory O’Meara:

It's so cute.

Adam Sockel:

Ah, that's incredible.

Alright, well, listen everybody, I feel like the people who listen to this is like I'm a circle inside of the Venn diagram of Reading Glasses. Well, much like it used to be at Professional Book Nerds.

But in case you don't, go listen to Mallory and Brea on Reading Glasses. They now, have over 300 episodes of-

Mallory O’Meara:

Oh my God, I can't believe it.

Adam Sockel:

Of bookish discussions and recommendations and all of the incredible aspects that make being in the reading community so wonderful. And most importantly, go get Girls Make Movies.

Mallory O’Meara:

Thank you. Yes, yes, yes. Please do. If you want to get a signed copy of it, the only way to do it is to order from Skylight Books, which is the indie bookstore that I love to partner with. And they're just wonderful.

So, if you just go on skylightbooks.com and look up Girls Make Movies, that's where you can get a signed copy.

Adam Sockel:

You are the best. As always, this is my … like I say a lot of times, like I love doing podcasts, but in reality I love doing this specific podcast. So, like book recommendation.

Mallory O’Meara:

I will come back literally anytime. Like you and I are basically just a stack of book recommendations and trench coats, so.

Adam Sockel:

Oh, absolutely. You’re the best. Mallory, thank you for joining me today.

Mallory O’Meara:

Thank you.

[Music Playing]

Adam Sockel:

Passions & Prologues is proud to be an Evergreen podcast and was created by Adam Sockel. It was produced by Adam Sockel and Sean Rule-Hoffman.

And if you are interested in this podcast and any other Evergreen podcast, you can go to evergreenpodcasts.com to discover all the different stories we have to tell.

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