Ep 448 - Can You Be Too Critical of a Book?

you're listening to reading glasses a show about book culture and literary life designed to help you read better i'm author and book devourer mallory o'mara and i'm bria grant filmmaker and e-reader this episode we're talking about whether or not you can be too critical with books we're gonna get into it plus we talk about what to do with dust jackets and recommend books that are out in mass market paperback first bria what are you reading i am reading a book that's been on my list for a minute it came out in 2023 okay so not that long it's ripe by sarah rose edder oh it feels like a book you would have read or were interested i got an arc for this and i don't remember i think it the arc expired before i could get to it cover is really beautiful it has like pomegranate seeds on it and she also wrote the book of x which is a book i liked a few years back this one is about a woman who's living in silicon valley i was in san francisco and so i started reading it because I was in San Francisco. It's set in San Francisco. And she is working in this like horrible corporate job with like long hours. Everyone's mean to her. They're wanting her to do things that are like unethical. And also since she was little, she's always had what seems to be a black hole following her around. Oh. And it changes sizes and shape depending on her mood, but she's the only person who can see it. And it kind of just follows her around everywhere she goes as like her companion. And it's just sort of a, it's a bit of a, I would call it a meditation on her life and like what's going on and like how horrible all these people are. And she calls these people who like go in and they believe in the, she calls them the believers. They go in and they're like into the company and they're like part of the corporate culture. But she's like, I know I'm faking. And every time I have to put on a smile, I'm faking. And every time I have to listen, I'm faking, but I don't know what else to do. So it's very like anti-capitalist, fun, dark literary fiction. It's very moody, super moody, basically just like what it is like to be a young person trying to have a job in like one of these like fast paced startups where everyone is kind of a piece of shit. And it's fascinating. And I really love it. It's exactly what I wanted for something that's like, it's not cozy, but there's like, there's not a lot that happens. It's just like, you know, she's at this job. She has to like write this thing and her boss is mean to her about it. And it's just kind of been like a really easy, but like tense book to read. Easy, but tense. Yes, that's what I said. And I am going to stand by it. What are you reading? so I am reading a book that came out last year again I'm getting all of my holds that I tried to put in last year that are finally coming in it's called If the Dead Belong Here by Carson Faust and this is a very Mallory book this is about the six year old girl she vanishes completely without a trace and her family is you know kind of struggling to navigate the situation there's a lot of unanswered questions from go the first chapter I will tell you you're immediately like is this supernatural something weird happening and one of the sisters of the girl who disappeared, she starts experiencing these nightmares that are kind of, she can't tell if they're real or not and she becomes convinced that this little girl's disappearance is actually connected to other disappearances in the family and her and some of the other family members kind of set out to uncover whether these family secrets are the key to finding this little sister and you know, I love ghosts and oh, I should say, so this is it's not just Southern Gothic. This is native American Southern Gothic. Oh, cool. So, which is very cool and just very, my shit. It's again, the, I don't want to spoil anything, but just the opening chapter, you're immediately like, since it's the opening chapter, I could say it. It's the opening chapter is from the point of view of whatever takes the little girl. And it is really good, really interesting. And I'm really enjoying it so far. I wish I had gotten it last year. That's if the dead belong here by Carson Faust. And I'm reading ripe by Sarah Rose. Etter. So we want to take a moment to share some listener feedback. Kelsey wrote in to say, hello, I was just listening to the latest episode on how to focus on reading and I wanted to send a quick note. First, thank you both for this wonderful show, particularly hearing Mallory share about her grief journey has been really helpful for me as I move through my own grief over losing my dad. I found reading to be super cathartic at times, but other times I can't do anything but just sit or lay in bed. And it's wonderful to have the reading classes community affirm that sometimes your reading life will have ups and downs just like any other part of your life. Kelsey, I'm there. We're here. We got you. And yeah, sometimes you're reading life when you're grieving. Remember the month after Scott died, I just read the same book three times. And that was all I read the whole month. It just it's tough. And you just gotta do whatever you need to do to keep going. Books are always going to be there. And look at me now. Ma, look at me go this whole year. I have been truly since last May. I have been reading so much. I'm back. It's going to come back for you someday. You got to do what you need to do. And Kelsey says, for my focusing tip, I practice almost a personal circuit. I switch between different media types, so I don't do anything for too long, but I do get to do a variety of things. Read a chapter of my current book while listening to a record, listen to a podcast episode while chipping away at my to-do list, watching a show while having a snack or walking on my walking pad, playing a mission or a chunk of whatever video game I'm currently playing, still chipping away at Baldur's Gate 3. I like this. I like this personal hobby circuit. That's fun. I do love, I also have a walking pad. Love to, love to do a little, yeah. Well, I have it for when it's like raining or if it's like, I want to go for a walk and it's nighttime and because I'm a woman in a big city, I don't want to get murdered, but sometimes you want to go for a little walk. I love it. I love this. I love the idea of, of hobby circuit training. Yeah. But can I ask another question about the walking pad it doesn't have handles right no you can get them with handles though mine doesn't but you feel like you're not gonna fall i mean you're you're not running it's a walking pad so it's it only i think mine only goes up to 3.8 miles an hour so you're not going fast but it's it's really nice if you live in a place like i i bought it when i lived in idyll wild because uh in idyll wild they don't have sidewalks so it's not a great place to walk if you're not doing it at a park. And I wanted to make sure I was getting cardio in. So I really like it. You can get them for like $100 online. If you don't want to do audiobook walks, but you live in a place that doesn't have sidewalks or the only time you have to do it is at night, I highly recommend these. Honestly, you can come over here and you can try it out. We can test it out for the show. Okay. We could. I would love it. Let's do that. Okay. Jackie wrote in and said, Hey, Brian Mallory, I love your show. I'm a library student and just learned about book weeding. in one of my classes. So I want to give you advice to the letter writer who wasn't sure whether to put a chewed up book in a little free library. That's from episode 430. I'm a little behind. Sorry if someone else already wrote in about this. They didn't. So exciting. My almost professional opinion is toss it out. You can think of a library like your closet. If you don't get rid of the stuff that's too worn out, uncomfortable, it doesn't fit anymore. You'll feel like you have nothing to wear. Even if you have lots of clothes you love because you don't have to shove everything else around them. Similarly, library shelves are much more functional if everything on them is in good shape and useful. With a little free library, you might not have someone monitoring the books and throwing things away so the book could just languish worse. Putting a book in that should be trash might encourage others to leave things that are in grosser condition or actual trash. That's actually a great point. Basically, if the book isn't in good enough shape for a user to want it, throw it away and get a new copy or ask a friend with a dog to replace it. Once you know how libraries maintain their shelves, the actual book objects are much less precious unless they are rare editions, personalized, or something that's out of print and really hard to find used. While I'm here, I'll say I love how much you two share your love of reading. We don't always have the same taste, but I enjoy hearing about what books you are excited about. I think that's great advice. This is a really good perspective. And a good point. Don't jump up your little free library. That's probably good advice. I didn't think about that. But I mean, it's good perspective. You know, it's good to hear both sides because we did have someone talking about how, you know, you could still read it, sure. But also, I think it's people who have never worked in a library or a bookstore and had to toss out books have never, if you've never had that experience, It's very easy to get wrapped up in the preciousness of the object of a book. But I think after you've worked in the book world for a while, we have received, honestly, thousands of arcs. And now I'm at the point where it's very easy for me to throw it in the recycling bin if I need to. So good perspective. Do you want to read Jackie's Wheelhouse? Yes, which is time travel, alternate slash parallel selves, dysfunctional family relationships, sticking it to shitty systems. Love that. And badass women in their 30s or older Love that too Yeah great Great wheelhouse You can email us at readingglassespodcast at gmail If you want a list of all the books we talk about on the show delivered to your inbox every month you can sign up for our newsletter This is a link in the show notes And before we talk about being too critical of books, we're going to take a quick break. Reading Glasses is sponsored in part this week by ZogDog. Folks, it's the start of the year. you've probably been putting off something like a dental cleaning, an annual checkup, honestly, really any kind of doctor's appointment. When you're a kid, you really don't look forward to going to the doctor. And then the problem is it doesn't get any better because when you're an adult, you don't miss school. You're just, you have to drive yourself. No one gives you a lollipop. Very annoying. Trust me, we get it. I go through the same thing. I put them off for way too long because it's such a pain. 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You know how much movies cost nowadays when you add in your popcorn and your bagel bites and your cheese critters? You can't go wrong with a Henry Cavill mustache. Here at Henry Cavill Mustache is the only supplier. The Flophouse. New episodes every Saturday. Find it at MaximumFun.org. This week. This week. This week. This fucking week. It's like you with a megaphone standing at the back of the room. This week. This fucking year. I'm more like it. If you didn't listen to the last episode, this joke is going to be lost on you. It's just like someone who's coming out for a concert. Hello, Los Angeles. This week. Oh, my Lord. This week we're drunk. You really do. You're going to find a new intro. No, I can't. This week we're drunk. Okay, okay. I'm going to do it. I'm going to do it. Brett, leave this all in. leave this all in also folks just a shout out to our fucking awesome sound wizard editor britt who has to deal with all of this bullshit constantly britt the real mvp of this show you think you're we're bad right we are we're making things you have to cut out all the time all the time giggling we're doing all sorts of dumb shit over here truly shut up this week we're talking about being overly critical of books can you be too critical of books can you love a book that is not a five-star read Should we all be raising or lowering our standards for reviews and recommendations? We are getting into it. Today's episode was inspired by Bela. Bria, you want to read this question Bela sent in? Okay. Hi, you two. I am listening to the episode about making a best of list and a question occurred to me. I sometimes feel weird saying I loved a book and would recommend it if there is something concrete I don't like about it. Maybe it's a four-star book, say. But like Bria said, those books might be the ones that I keep thinking about or bringing up in conversation. There are very few books that I don't have some opinion on that I leave exactly as is. That doesn't mean I don't enjoy them. It's just that I'm not having a, whoa, this exploded my brain a little bit feeling. Is this just me having an overly editorial eye or am I not reading books I truly love? Maybe this connects to an earlier conversation about three-star books being capable of five-starness in the right setting. Anyway, that was probably confusing, but if you have thoughts, I'd appreciate it. Thank you for continuing to make the most cozy podcast ever. All right. This is a really interesting set of questions and I think very relevant to a lot of readers and a really good thing to think about. All right, Bria, let's get into it. First question, can you love a book that is not perfect? What do you think? Yes, of course. I mean, I think that would be most books for me. I don't know how many perfect books there are out there in the same way that like people aren't perfect and you can love them anyway. Nothing has to be like 100% perfect. I would actually say there's no perfect human, but I have a lot of people that I love. what about you? Do you think a book has to be perfect? Can you love a book that's not perfect? Absolutely you can love a book that's not perfect. So I want everyone listening to take what I'm saying in this episode with a grain of salt because the thing you have to know about me and you probably know about me from listening to the show is that I'm a big vibes reader. That's how I am with really all art. I would rather read a book or watch a movie that takes a big weird swing that doesn't totally land over something that is more perfectly technically sound and structured, but isn't as interesting to me. It's all about how a book makes me feel. A book can have mistakes, but leave me feeling really satisfied or cozy or excited or happy at the end. And to me, that's a book I love, even if it's got some problems with it. So question, do we think it is possible to be too critical of a book? What do you think? I mean, I think we can all know too much. This is kind of a problem. I think we all do know too much. God, let's go back. Let's run it back. Take some of this knowledge out of my head. If you are a big reader, you're probably pretty critical. Like, you know, because you know what you like. You know what is important to you. Like, if you're a big language person, you're like, language is important to me. but if you're not a big language person but you understand what good writing is you may be more forgiving like that's me I like language stuff but like I'm more forgiving so I think I can understand that like yeah for a language reader this may not be the best book in the world but for me it's fine but that is pretty critical for me to be like this is kind of poorly written but I love it that is still like a form of criticism I think when you've read as much as a lot of people have you know especially people listening to the show not everyone, but a lot of you're going to be like, well, this book did it better or this book has this thing that's better or whatever. You have a lot to compare it to. You have a lot of knowledge there. And I think that that can be, it can ruin an experience at times. I know like with filmmaking, you often find that where you're like, wait a second, but the midpoint didn't make any sense of that great movie. And if it's kind of important, sometimes you're able to let some of that knowledge go and do what you do, which I think is great where you're just like, yeah, I don't know. This made me feel. So like, that's all that matters is like the, the feeling that it left with me, which is actually, I think you're right. The best way to judge good art. Yeah. If you're going to judge art, which is tough to do. Um, what do you think? I think this depends. Is, is your critique infringing on your enjoyment of this activity? Cause for me, maybe you love critiquing. That's the thing. I think it is so fun to look at things critically, especially when it's with my friends. If I'm talking about a book with you, if I'm, you know, or watching a movie, whatever it is, one of my favorite things in the world is talking about art with my friends and digesting it, dissecting it. You and I recommend stuff each other all the time with caveats It is so fun to be like yeah this book was really fun but it a little long You know this book the ending of this is amazing The middle of it a little saggy It really fun to dissect art That is an activity I enjoy If you find that you cannot enjoy a book if everything is not perfect, I do think you might have to have a little heart-to-heart with yourself. Like, the point of art is not perfect. It's conveying a feeling or telling a story. And so maybe tip for some glasses out there for the past like a year or so, I have started thinking about books in terms of success. As in, was the story successful? Did this haunted house book achieve its goals? Did it entertain me? Did it scare me? Did it compel me to fear for the protagonist? Then for me, it's a success, even if there were some bumps along the way. And that's, that's a book that I'm into. I love that. I think that's a great way of looking at things. So Baila had a really good question. It's like, if you feel like you're not reading a lot of five-star reads, should you lower your standards? What do you think? I mean, I don't think so. I think like you just have a different scale than other people. And I know many people who are like, three stars, great book. I loved it. Three stars. Gave it three stars. That's me. If three stars is a fucking fail. But don't lower your standards for anyone. Not books. Not men. Not the FDA. You know, like we're not lowering standards over here. This is, 2026 is not our year of lowering standards. So don't feel like you have to lower your standards. These are your standards for books. You just have a different scale. You know, like, so let's, like, stick with your scale. This is a, it's a personal thing. You don't have to, like, go with the wild scale that I literally had someone text me the other day and they were like, hey, notice everything you give on Goodreads is five stars. And I was like, yes, because I don't want to, like, deal with the, you know, aftermath of, I read it, it's getting five stars, you know, because I don't really finish books I don't really like. So, yeah, yes. So your scale is your scale and you can do whatever you want. What do you think? You giving things three stars? Well, you know, I'm not, but you and I are aligned to that. Again, it depends. You might not be reading the right books. If all the books you're doing are one star and two star, then it's time to assess the books that you're picking up. But your scale is for you. Like you just said, there's a lot of people who like a three star book is great for them. As long as your scale is serving you and your book tracking means and you feel like you're good with your reading life. Like I know a lot of folks save their five star ratings for perfect books, like new favorite books, like books that you're like, oh, this is like, this is going to be the best. This is the best book I read in this year. This book is like a life changer. And that's fine. You know, obviously you and I are much more liberal with those stars, but it's again, it's what you're using the ratings for. Yes. I actually, there's a few books out there that I think are perfect books. It's me in that scene from Love Actually standing in front of the bookstore or withholding the little place cards. You know, there's, I think, what book we talk about on the show all the time, Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay, which has been now retired, is hanging, there's the cover of Head Full of Ghosts by Paul is hanging in the rafters of reading glasses. To me, that is a perfect book. And I come across maybe one of those a year. Last year, my perfect book was Old Soul by Suzanne Barker. That's a perfect book for me. But it also, the thing about it is that it has so much to do with the person you are at the time of reading. There's so much of you in that rating. And I obviously, I really remember those books. But I'm really happy giving books that aren't quite perfect five stars because to me, they still are. If I love the ride, I thought about it after months later, that's a five-star read to me, even if it was a little clunky in parts or too long or whatever. If you're saving those five stars for those perfect once a year books, it's okay. I think it really comes down to, for me, your enjoyment while you're reading. If I'm thinking of the people who are like, and I'm calling some of these people out, the people who are like taken out. Remember someone that wrote in and was like, I get taken out of a book if I see a typo. I think you got to calm down. like the art is made by humans and if you just have really high standards for a five-star book but you still generally enjoy most of the books you read i think you're doing great if you are the kind of person that you're like i i spotted two typos this is this this book has is is marred beyond recognition this book there was one there was one chapter i didn't like not perfect and like and you are so what i'm trying to get at is if you're so distracted by these minor mistakes that you're no longer enjoying the book and it is infringing upon your ability to lose yourself and have fun with reading, that's when you have to be like, yeah, a little heart to heart. But I think if you're a person who saves high ratings, that's fine. It's your fucking scale. This stuff serves you, you know? Yeah. And I think like what you're saying is right. Art is made by humans and humans are imperfect. And there is something really interesting to me about when you're reading something or watching something and it takes a turn and you're like, I don't know if we even needed that part or something. But like, obviously the artist, the writer, the filmmaker or whatever thought that like, oh, I needed to do a full detour into this one thing that like makes no sense structurally and like doesn't fit with the vibe or whatever. But like, to me, it's sort of like looking into someone's brain and being like, oh, wow, like this thing that was so important to you, I get to like see how it doesn't feel where I, it's not where I thought this was going, but it's interesting to see where it went for this artist. Especially like, I mean, you as a person who likes David Lynch, who loves a left turn where you're like, what the fuck is happening right now? David Lynch is nothing but left turns, baby. Yeah, and so I'm often like, wow, I can't believe he just put that in this movie. And I think me as a person who does love a very strict film structure, it's hard sometimes because I'm like, you can't just do that in a movie. You can't do that. Who do you think you are? And you know who you think you are? It's David fucking Lynch who made a living. The greatest director of all time. doing wild shit that doesn't make sense and isn't Hollywood and isn't maybe doesn't fit with someone's very specific idea of what a structure of something looks like. Anyway, that was a tangent, but I think you're totally right. Yeah. Well, I am very interested to see what people think about this. And also final thoughts to Bela. Again, if you're still enjoying your reading life and you're picking up books you like and you're having fun reading, don't change a goddamn thing. You're doing great. You don't have to give out five-star ratings all the time. just because your old pals Bree and Mallory do. If you are enjoying yourself, you're doing great. So you can send your thoughts to Reading Glasses podcast at gmail.com before we talk about dust jackets. We're going to take a quick break. Reading Glasses is sponsored in part this week by Apron Notebooks. Folks, this podcast is hosted by a couple of notebook heads. Priya and I are certified notebook fiends. I keep so many different notebooks. I love them. We're both juggling a lot of different things. We're trying to keep track of things. We're both very irritated with having to use our phones all the time. A notebook can be the answer to all of those problems. And you got to check out the Apron Notebook. The Apron Notebook is a super flexible system for tackling your to-do list, maybe multiple to-do lists. Okay, the thing about apron notebooks that I really like, which is what puts me off buying some other notebooks, is I don't like a notebook that is dated. Because what if I need three pages for one day instead of just one? It really stresses me out. I don't like it. Apron is super flexible. You can skip days, you can skip weeks, you can skip months without wasting any space. It is so annoying when you buy a really fancy dated notebook and then you forget about it for a month and you're like, well, that's 30 pages that I guess are just going to rot and not be used. You don't have that with Apron. You use only the features that you want. And each journal comes with a handy little ruler and is designed to be recycled when you're done with it, which is great for the environment. We love that. You can check out their Instagram at Apron Notebooks if you want to look at some cute Instagram posts. I will say I do love looking at social media pictures of people stationary. I love looking at a bullet journal. I love looking at a notebook. Go check that out. But truly, if you are, if you maybe you've never been a notebook person and you're like, this seems like it would be good for me because I hate keeping track of things on my phone, which is the stress machine. Apron is a really great way to start. Again, I love it. I've been using it to track my writing progress, my words for each day and week. It's so great. Again, especially because you can skip a day and just not worry about it. It's like it is the low stress option while still being extremely cute. And also this isn't even mentioned in the ad But it is really affordable. Some of these notebooks are wicked expensive apron notebooks are low stress and compared to a lot of other notebooks out there not super expensive I love it So get your to list under control today Go to apron notebooks comm the code GLASSES for 10 off your first order That ApronNotebooks and enter code GLASSES to save 10 on your first order Glasses. Say you like video games. And who doesn't? I mean, some people probably don't. Okay, but a lot of people do. So say you're one of those people and you feel like you don't really have anyone to talk to about the games that you like. Well, you should get some better friends. Yes, you should get some better friends, but you could also listen to TripleClick, a weekly podcast about video games hosted by me, Kirk Hamilton. Me, Maddie Myers. And me, Jason Schreier. We talk about new releases, old classics, industry news, and whatever, really. We'll show you new things to love about games and maybe even help you find new friends to talk to you about them. TripleClick. It's kind of like we're your friends. Find us at MaximumFun.org or wherever you get your podcasts. Now let's solve a bookish problem from one of our listeners. Christine writes in to say, Deabrian Mallory, I love books, but I hate dust jackets. That sounds like, what's that show that everybody likes where people have like their catchphrase? oh uh like a real housewives yeah yeah yeah i've never seen it but i know that like people have like catchphrases yeah i love books but i hate dust jackets yeah like yeah yeah that's great yeah that's this person's real housewives um christine says i always take them off read the book put the dust jacket back on and send them on their merry way but with my kids books it's gotten out of control i've kept every dust jacket for every book in her current bookshelf rotation with the noble intent of one day reuniting each jacket with its book before passing it on or storing it. But honestly, I'm tired of the maintenance. The pile of jackets is growing and I'm in a get rid of stuff phase. So can I recycle them? Does anyone actually care about dust jackets? I'm not trying to make money from these. I always pass books on to the next kiddo, but I don't want to violate some book lover code. Tell me your thoughts. Am I a monster or am I just freeing myself from unnecessary paper clutter? Bria, what do you think? Oh my God. Take them right now and put them. And while you're listening to this podcast, go put those in the recycling. You do not need the clutter. I also read some meme recently. Yes. I'm quoting a meme. I'm quoting a meme on the podcast, but it was like women are more sensitive to clutter than men, which is a hundred percent true. Oh yeah. Like you need to, I haven't redone my office yet. And I changed my backdrop to a waffle house as you can see, but I haven't redone it. Brie is coming to us live from the waffle house. I wish, but yes. Yeah. Do not raise your blood pressure because of some dust jackets, throw those in the garbage or recycle them or whatever. but yeah you don't need to hold on to those anymore we forgive you we forgive them away get rid of what's that we're doing a coordinated dance to to freedom right now it is oh my god you are not a monster christine i'm also i'm a clutter like i've been this week has been a distracted week and i had i like today i was like if i don't sit down and put away all the clutter in vacuum and like like i can feel it in my i always call it predator vision like i can it's like a blinking thing and it drives me nuts uh so you're not a monster and also once you buy a fucking book it's yours you do whatever you want with it the cover artist the thing is the cover artist has achieved their goal you bought the book everything else is gravy that's right if you find the dust jacket your kids are like drawn in those books anyway what do you care about the dust jackets yeah it's a it's a kid's book if you find the dust jackets annoying and you want to take them off put them back on the shelf recycle them whatever you need to do the book police are not coming for you okay and if they are you call your lawyers Mallory and Bria I want to do it we should do a photo shoot like one of those like billboard highway lawyers call Bria and Mallory but no you are absolutely not a monster you are forgiven forgiven throw them away so if you want us to solve your reader problem you can send it to reading glasses podcast at gmail.com time to answer a recommendation request from Laura who says do you have any recommendations for books that are mass market paperbacks that are sci-fi fantasy featuring a strong female lead. I find many available are epic fantasies by the popular male authors that I am not pumped about reading. Bria, you want to read Laura's Wheelhouse? Uh-huh. Post-apocalyptic, near future sci-fi fantasy, books that feature a competitive school slash training environment and World War II historical fiction with a strong female lead. We got two great fucking wrecks for you. We do. But we were worried about this because I literally, we hopped out and I was like, Mallory, I don't know how to find a mass market paperback. Like I had to Google, but then I was like, oh wait, maybe I just find the title of something and then Google, Hey, you know what? Fourth wing is available in mass market paperback, which I did not realize. So go fourth wing. You got competitive school training environment. You got sci-fi, you got fantasy, you got post apocalypse, like all the things. And, and like very strong female character, everyone. I literally was talking to my friend who's like a dude in his sixties yesterday I was having lunch with. And he was like, you know what I just discovered was fourth wing. And I was like, I love that for you. And like, listen. Go get this book. This is available in mass market paperback. And Mal, are you going to talk a little bit about how to find mass market paperbacks? Because it's interesting. Yeah, this is tough because not a lot of books are released in this format anymore. Because the format of mass market, it was like quick, easy, cheap. And a lot of that market has been sort of absorbed by the e-book world. So we're not seeing as many of them. Not many books are released. A book has to get basically really, really popular to get released in mass market paperback. because then it will be in grocery stores and Target and places like that. I'm trying to like, obviously, Fourth Wing is huge. I think one of Paul Tremblay's books, speaking of Paul Tremblay earlier in the episode, I want to say maybe Head Full of Ghosts. One of his really popular titles got released in the mass market paperback. And you kind of only see it with genre. You're not seeing a lot of literary fiction. And the way that I did, got to look at a book selling website. I don't know if you can do this on Bookshop. I know you can do it on Amazon, but just don't buy the book. Well, I mean, you know what? Fuck it. Do whatever you want. But like try to – we use Bookshop on this show. We recommend Bookshop. But if you're looking for a mass market paper pocket, it is easy to look on Amazon because you can filter for it. You can filter for format and then you can buy it from your local bookstore instead. But it is kind of tough to find. And we talked about this on the show a long time ago. And it's sad because I love a mass market. A book that can fit in my back pocket. You're a fan. Love it. There's still a lot of romance that gets released like this. the pick for reading Smut, our other show this month, is out in mass market paperback. And I got to read A Week to be Wicked by Tessa Dare in mass market paperback. And I was so delighted about it. Have you already read it? I haven't read it yet. Not at the time that we're reading this. No, but I'm reading it this week. So people know how far in advance we record these. But anyway, I'm recommending a fantasy series with a very badass female lead. It's called Angel's Blood by Nalini Singh. So this is urban fantasy slash paranormal romance. So I hope you like some boning. it is about a vampire hunter who's hired by a very sexy angel to track down an arch angel who's gone bad and it's not good to be immortal in the middle of a battle between sexy angels so i literally went to the rip bodice and i was like i want physically badass like fighter warrior lady female leads and this is what they put in my hands and it's a mass market paperback and if you like this nalini singh has a ton of books like this a lot of paranormal romance urban fantasy i think is going to start to come back. There was a big glut of it in the early 2000s and now it's, and then it tapered off for a bit. But I think it's going to come back because everything from the early 2000s is coming back. And I think Laura will really like this one. So I'm recommending Angel's Blood by Nalini Singh. And I'm recommending Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yaros. So you can send your recommendation request to readingglassespodcast at gmail.com. 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