January 2, 2025 • 56 mins
We reflect on our literary journey in 2024, discussing our favorite challenges, surprising reads, and popular books left unread. The episode showcases the variety of genres we explored and the sense of community built around our shared experiences.
• Reflection on reading challenges tackled throughout 2024
• Celebrating favorite reads and their impact on personal journeys
• Discussion on popular books owned but left unread
• Anticipation of upcoming releases in 2024
• Examination of the joys and significance of rereading
• Exploration of surprising and disappointing reads
• Insights shared on the longest and shortest reads of the year
• Recap of best series explored throughout the year
• Debating unpopular opinions and expectations on popular books
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Ashley (00:00):
Views expressed in this podcast are solely those of the
participants.
The hosts make no claim to beliterary experts and their
opinions are exactly thatopinions.
All creative works discussed orreviewed are the intellectual
property of the creators of saidstories and is being used under
the Fair Use Doctrine.
Mari (00:31):
Hello and welcome to Of Swords and Soulmates, a podcast
where we read, watch and discussromancy stories.
I'm one of your hosts, mari,and with me I have Kelly.
Kelly (00:36):
Hey everyone, it's Kelly and we also have Ashley.
Ashley (00:39):
Hey guys, it's Ashley.
We also have Jonathan.
Jonathan (00:42):
Hey y'all, it's JP, so much less enthusiastic I'm
sorry.
I'm sorry y'all, I'm coming offthe cold.
Mari (00:51):
Coming off the kid journey .
Unfortunately, jonathan and Ashare getting over the winter
crud.
That's what Santa brought them.
Today we're going to be doingan end of year wrap up for 2024
and I look forward to the newyear.
So we won't have a new segment.
(01:12):
We're not going to be talkingabout any one particular book.
We're just going to be kind ofchatting about the year and the
year ahead and I've got somequestions that we'll go through
and we'll go from there, and Idon't know that we need to do
this in any particular order.
So whoever wants to jump in canjump in.
The first one is your favoritereading challenge that you tried
(01:33):
this year in 2024.
And it could be youindividually or it can be us as
a group.
It doesn't have to be Romanesie, just whatever your favorite
reading challenge of the year.
Ashley (01:41):
So this is my first year , challenging myself to anything
I hadn't really followed, likeGoodreads or anything like that,
prior to 2024, not in earnest,and I kind of lost sight of it
in the last couple of months.
But that aside, I did read atleast 60 books this year, yay,
(02:02):
which is the first time I'vecounted.
So it's not to say that I'veread more or not in the past,
but I thought it was pretty coolto like see that you know that
progress, that kind ofaccomplishment, that kind of
goal I've never really trackedit before.
Um, so it's the only challengethat I gave myself this year how
(02:23):
about you guys?
Kelly (02:24):
I mean, the only challenge I did was the
Goodreads challenge and I read50 books.
I may finish the 51st, probablynot, but we'll see.
But it's probably going to be50 books and that's more books
than I've read in a couple ofyears because of being in school
the last few years before this.
Mari (02:42):
Yeah, you're reading those chunky chunky textbooks, yeah.
Jonathan (02:47):
Oh, challenges.
I think my favorite challengethat I tried for 2024 was just
when we were going through ourown list for this podcast.
I thought that was a unique andfun and interesting way to kick
it off, so I'm really stokedthat we, that we ventured down
(03:08):
that path.
Mari (03:10):
Yeah, I'm, I'm right there with you.
That was.
That was my thing too.
I think my favorite challengewas like when we decided we were
going to go to the fabledfantasy thing and we were like
there are these books, there's abunch more authors than we're
going to be able to read.
There's more books than we'regoing to be able to read before
the event comes around and westarted just randomly picking
and I thought that was fun.
(03:38):
It was a good time, because it'slike it's one thing to read a
book with expectations, like ifyou've heard a book is good, or
if you've heard a book hascertain tropes in it or a friend
recommends it or somethingheard a book has certain tropes
in it or a friend recommends itor something, but then you have
certain expectations of thatbook.
As opposed to if you just kindof literally, are randomly
picking a book from a list, Ithink the book almost has a
better chance because you don'thave any expectations.
Yeah, and I definitely readbooks I wouldn't have.
(03:58):
I don't think I would have readotherwise or even known about
otherwise.
So I think I enjoyed.
I enjoyed that a lot.
I think it's a fun time I alsofeel like it.
Jonathan (04:07):
It connected us to the event a little bit more and it
made that event so much better.
I don't know if I would havehad as good a time, because we
had.
I feel like we had much more totalk about with the authors
that were at the event than wewould have if we had flown and,
kind of like, just went blind ornot blind, but kind of as we
(04:28):
were.
Mari (04:28):
Yeah, what is a popular book that you own and haven't
read yet?
Jonathan (04:36):
How much time do you have, Ashley?
I'm looking at these stacksthat are still in the wrapper.
Ashley (04:44):
Are you talking to me?
Jonathan (04:45):
Yeah, I can see the shiny.
Ashley (04:46):
No, dothan you answer for?
Mari (04:47):
yourself.
Jonathan (04:49):
Yeah, you gotta answer for yourself, my dear yeah,
I'll go.
Ashley (04:52):
Then Some of these I've read and these are just trophies
.
What are you?
Jonathan (04:55):
talking about.
Ashley (04:56):
What are you talking about?
Jonathan (04:58):
Like a set of five of that one from that thing.
I don't know you got a lot overthere.
Did you read that book, murphyBrown from the other Dragon Boy?
Ashley (05:09):
Murtaugh?
Yeah, I have not read Murtaugh.
Jonathan (05:11):
There you go.
What about those other?
Why?
Ashley (05:14):
are you volunteering my answer?
Jonathan (05:16):
I'm sorry my bad, you go.
Goodness, I just know that yourlist is.
Mari (05:22):
Jonathan, you want to talk ?
What's your list?
Yeah, you go first no, I, I'myeah because I know one wait,
you know one, I know one thatyou have, that's popular, that
you haven't read yet, that youhave oh, what's that?
The the glittery book.
Uh, the Ruby Dixon.
Jonathan (05:43):
Yeah, that's Bull Moon , Rising Bull Moon yeah.
I bought that one.
I bought a couple purely fortheir cover.
That was one.
Mari (05:52):
It's a good book, though.
I would recommend reading it.
I think you'll enjoy it.
Jonathan (05:55):
I'm definitely going to read it.
I just haven't gotten there yet.
Mari (05:59):
Yeah, no understand.
Jonathan (06:02):
I'm not lying when I say that currently, at the
moment, as the collective worksof Juliet Cross stacked on top
of it, the other one that gotaway from me, masters of Death,
I don't even know what that'sabout.
Mari (06:18):
Olivia Blake.
Yeah, yeah.
Jonathan (06:21):
I just thought it was a good looking book.
I've heard great things.
Mari (06:23):
Yeah, I just thought it was a good looking book.
Jonathan (06:26):
I've heard great things.
Ashley (06:37):
Yeah, so I'm hoping those two Bull Moon Rising and
Masters of Death, I'm hoping toget around to soon.
All right now.
Asha's going to that event inJanuary at the Barnes Noble yeah
, and my Corlin's going to bethere.
Mari (06:52):
I've heard good things about that one too.
I have not read that one, butI've heard good things about it.
Kelly (06:59):
Kelly, how about you?
I don't know.
I mean, we have tons of booksthat Mari's bought that.
Jonathan (07:06):
I guess we both own.
Kelly (07:06):
I love that.
I mean, I guess I haven't readany more of the Akatar books.
I haven't read any of thatstuff, so I guess I haven't
really read a lot of the popularRomantic stuff.
Ashley (07:23):
You would feel strongly about it if you'd read the
second book.
Yeah, it's all about thatsecond book.
Akatar really was just okay.
Mari (07:24):
It's'd read the second book.
Yeah, it's all about guitarreally was just okay, it's all
about that second book.
So, um, for me, popular books Iown and haven't read yet would
be crescent city two and three,which technically I'm reading
crescent city two right now, butI literally haven't picked it
up in a a good while.
So crescent city two and three,um, infernal devices that you
(07:47):
got me ash, that I still need toread.
Holy series, it's, it's pretty.
Ashley (07:51):
I just need to read it, pretty.
She's very controversial too,like, yeah, I don't know all the
tea I don't want to knowbecause I love her so much yeah,
I don't know a whole lot, andthat's fine.
Mari (08:03):
And Wuthering Heights Wuthering Heights had been on my
bookshelf for years and it waswhen I first fell in love with
Jane Austen and I was likerewhich I like as well and
Wuthering Heights, and then Ifound out a little bit more
(08:33):
about Wuthering Heights and howapparently everybody is a really
not likable character, and soI'm like, eee, it's just been on
my list there to readeventually and I probably need
to read it at some point, butI've never actually read
Wuthering Heights and I have iton my bookshelf.
All right, this is an easyquestion.
What new releases are youanticipating in the coming year?
Ashley (08:52):
Oh I got a list.
Same you can go first these.
These are not in order OnyxStorm first and foremost.
If anybody on this podcast isnot ready for Onyx Storm first
and foremost, if anybody on thispodcast is not ready for Onyx
Storm, it's Kelly.
Kelly's not ready, it's onlyKelly, accomplice to the Villain
.
Super excited Hannah NicoleMayer, we love you.
(09:14):
The Things Gods Break, abigailOwen, and you're going to like
this one.
I don't know if you've heard.
So there are a couple of um,excuse me, there are a couple of
rewrites that are happeningthis year or releasing this year
.
So writers, uh, like fanfiction writers on ao3 are now
(09:36):
in the process of likeconverting their works into
publishable, like traditionalpublishable books, and so so we
all know about Manicold, which Ithink you knew right.
Yeah, we talked about that, butthere's one releasing in the
summer and it's called theIrresistible Urge to Fall for
(09:57):
your Enemy, which is a rewriteof Draco Malfoy and the
mortifying ordeal of being inlove, which is one of my
favorite fan fic reads of alltime give me the name, that's
actually gonna be theirresistible urge to fall for
your enemy.
Okay, I can send it to you.
I've already pre-ordered it,please.
(10:19):
Um, I think there's anotherrewrite that I didn't save and I
think it's a rewrite of theauction which is in the vein of
manacled, but I didn't catch thename it was all over tiktok,
though, so I'm going to try andfind it, but I'll send you the
link, because I loved dracomalfoy in the mortifying ordeal
of being in love.
That was.
That was moving.
Mari (10:42):
I actually haven't read that one and I've heard great
things about it, and it's it'son my list.
Ashley (10:46):
Chef's kiss, 10 out of 10.
I like there was giggling feetkicking Like.
It was delightful, absolutelydelightful.
It was everything that Manicledwas, without all the depressive
scenes, nice.
Mari (11:02):
Cause there was a lot of depressing stuff in there.
Ashley (11:04):
Yeah, yeah, so that's the list that I was able to come
up with, um for today.
So the onyx storm, accompliceto the villain, the things gods
break and the irresistible urgeto fall for your enemy that's
what I got for me.
Mari (11:18):
I've got onyx storm, of course, easy answer emily weld's
compendium of lost tales, whichis the third one, yeah, oh,
third.
Ashley (11:27):
Yeah, I'm a whole book behind yeah, and it's.
Mari (11:31):
Yeah, I'm excited about those.
I really enjoy those.
I enjoy those as audiobooksespecially.
They're just really, reallywell done.
Um, the enchanted greenhouse,which is the sequel to the spell
shop, where we get to kaz'sbackstory, maybe, uh, the ballad
of falling dragons, which isthe when the moon hatched, book
two.
And faith breaker, which is thegod killer series, book three,
(11:58):
all those sequels I think 75 ofwhat I'm waiting on.
Jonathan (12:03):
Ashley and Ashley popped out there.
What was it?
Onyx storm?
Um, things got the things.
God's break.
A compass to the villain.
Those three I'm I'm definitelylooking forward to, but I'm also
looking forward to a rebelwithout a clause.
Mari (12:17):
Oh yeah, which is?
Jonathan (12:18):
coming out in February .
Yeah, that's a book, one in theSouthern charm series.
Mari (12:23):
It's going to be fun.
Ashley (12:31):
Yeah, and it's listed as the stay a spell next gen.
Yeah, so it's like a spinoff inthe same thing.
Jonathan (12:37):
Yeah, looking forward to that.
Sorry, she already has me soldon the cover.
Those are the four I'm lookingforward to.
How about you, Kelly?
Kelly (12:45):
I think the biggest one I'm looking forward to how about
you, kelly?
I think the biggest one I'mlooking forward to as far as
Romanesco goes is probably thenext book in the Spellshop
series.
Mari (12:53):
Yeah.
Kelly (12:54):
Because I really enjoyed that book.
I probably will read the nextAssistant to the Villain book.
I just haven't read the secondone yet.
You've got time.
I do want to read the secondone.
Just haven't gotten the secondone yet.
But you've got time.
I do want to read the secondone.
Just haven't gotten there yet.
So I'll probably pick up thethird one at some point.
Mari (13:11):
But is there anything that you guys are looking to reread
this coming year?
Do you guys do rereads?
Is there anything you want toreread that you've read before?
Ashley (13:21):
I I see a lot of Rebecca Yarrow's in our future.
I think a lot of us are goingto be rereading Onyx Storm.
I think she's been really goodwith her Easter eggs it's not
even out yet Well for next yearyou'll be rereading yeah.
Mari (13:40):
Yeah, so do you want to reread in this coming year?
Jonathan (13:42):
Yes, both yeah.
Read and reread.
I see that.
Let me ask you are you going tohammer through it like on day
one?
You're going to pick it up andslam it down.
Ashley (13:54):
It's a very, very bad habit of mine to hammer through.
Mari (13:56):
I absolutely plan to as well.
Ashley (13:58):
Consume it.
Mari (13:59):
Yes 100%.
Jonathan (14:00):
Are you then going to go back through it and do the
reread?
Ashley (14:04):
Yeah, Automatically Okay , are you?
Jonathan (14:05):
then going to go through it, go back to it and do
the reread automatically.
Okay, probably, yeah, yeah,reread.
I have 12 that I reread everyyear.
I have them on audiobook, butthis past year I started
collecting them in what I canthink of the format Analog.
Mari (14:17):
Yeah, Like actual paper.
Physical copies.
Jonathan (14:24):
Yeah, physical copies.
So I like to start my year offwith the seven habits of highly
effective people.
Um, and then the gifts ofimperfection by Brene Brown be
our guest, which is um likeDisney's.
Um perfecting the art ofcustomer service.
Extreme ownership by um leafBabin and Jacko Willink.
(14:46):
Um, let's see impact players byuh Liz Wiseman.
Digital body language by EricaDawan I forgive me, I don't know
how to say her name the umverbal judo, the gentle art of
persuasion.
By George J thompson, phd.
(15:06):
And jerry b jenkins.
Leaders eat last.
By simon cynic.
The infinite game by simoncynic.
Creativity inc.
Which is uh, that, the, theinspirational story behind uh
pixar, never split Difference,which is negotiating as if your
life depended on it, by ChrisVoss.
(15:28):
Those are my keys.
That's the secret to businessleadership.
Ashley (15:33):
Sounds like homework.
It is my thoughts.
Mari (15:35):
exactly, Ash, I was like that sounds like school.
Ashley (15:38):
I can't even tell you when I glazed over.
Jonathan (15:41):
I'll probably even I'll get you.
I'll make a certificate for youtoo blazed over.
Mari (15:45):
I'll probably even I'll get you, I'll make a certificate
for you too, okay?
Well, I generally don't readnon-fiction unless it's like
really compelling, uh.
So for me this could be allfiction as usual, all fictional,
all escapism all the time.
I, yeah, I, um, I have somebooks I always read in december,
I always read a reread inDecember.
I'm not really counting them,but I read the Stupidest Angel
(16:06):
by Christopher Moore.
It's a zombie Christmas book.
Love it.
Comedy.
I read Christmas Carol, I meanDickens, it's classic.
Nothing like ghosts atChristmas.
Krampus, the Yule Lord byGerald Brom Love it.
Great read, great listen.
Jonathan (16:24):
Beautiful artwork, I'm sensing a trend.
Mari (16:26):
Hmm, artwork, I'm sensing a trend creepy christmas and
then I have the nutcracker um,you have a giant rat king or a
rat king anyways.
So yeah, I like my christmascreepy.
Uh, those are my christmasstuff, but I wasn't really gonna
do the christmas, but I do I.
That's really the time of yearthat I mostly reread every year.
(16:46):
For sure, I reread those.
As far as what I plan to rereadthis year, that I don't
necessarily reread every year,just that I'm thinking about
rereading this year stuff Imaybe haven't read in a while.
It's been probably two yearssince I've gone through and read
all of Jane Austen's stuff, twoor three years.
So I probably am due for a JaneAusten reread Everything except
(17:07):
Sandition and Mansfield Parkbecause I don't like those, but
I'll reread the rest.
I'll probably be rereadingSwordheart this year because I
think there's a new version or are-released version coming out.
It's T Kingfisher Love herstuff, uprooted by Naomi Novik,
because it's been since I thinkthe year that came out was when
I first read it and I haven'tread it since, um, and I think
that's a good like spring maybe,or fall read.
(17:29):
I'm sure I'll be rereadingWicked for I don't know the
billionth time, um, probablybefore November when the second
movie comes out.
Probably I'm gonna reread someAnne McCaffrey Dragon Riders of
Pern because fourth wing makesme want to read Anne McCaffrey
and it's been a while, so Ithink I'm going to try and read
that whole series in order,which I've honestly never done.
(17:50):
I read it all out of orderbecause my parents weren't
billionaires.
Jonathan (17:55):
Is there an order for it?
Mari (17:56):
Dragon Riders of Pern.
Yeah, there's actually likethree different planets that are
part of the series.
I'll send you the chart, thiswhole chart, for it.
Jonathan (18:05):
I thought I remember seeing that chart.
Mari (18:07):
There's nothing we love more than the chart.
Jonathan (18:09):
It was very interesting.
Mari (18:10):
Yeah, so when I read it it was just whatever book was in
the library, wherever we wereliving at the time.
We never actually bought thebooks because my parents weren't
billionaires.
Like I do now, I read a lotback then.
It was more expensive back thenbecause you didn't have like
the libby app and audiobooks onaudible and all that stuff, um.
(18:30):
So I read them all out of order.
So it'd be interesting to readeverything in order.
All right, so this one you cananswer both or one, whatever you
want to do.
Favorite new character orauthor from this year New to you
.
It doesn't have to be a newauthor New to you.
Ashley (18:50):
Juliet Cross was new to me this year and I think we all
wholeheartedly fell in love withher.
I thought her writing.
I devoured that seriesimmediately, probably in a way
that I didn't read anything elseas quickly this year.
Jonathan (19:05):
Yeah yeah, go with the same.
You know I really did enjoyjuliet cross as an author.
Oh, that's a tough one.
So I really did like abigailowens work too.
The two of those are myfavorite.
Um, yeah, yeah, I'm going withthat.
Juliet cross, abigail owenfavorite author.
(19:28):
I don't know that I have afavorite character.
It's not cats 100, cas carol isthat cas or lou cas and lou
what about uh spoke?
Yeah what about, uh kingsley?
Ashley (19:42):
you know don't kingly fucking kingsley for the win.
That guy is such an icon.
I can't wait to hear his storyyeah, I need to know his story.
I think it's coming.
Excuse me, I think it's coming.
Kelly kingsley.
Yeah, kingsley's like like tiedfor kaz.
Kelly (20:01):
Yeah I liked kaz.
I think he was definitely oneof the best side characters um
this year.
There was a lot of new authorsthat I read.
I don't know that I would sayone was in particular my
favorite, although out of allthe new authors I read maybe the
stuff written by T Kingfisher Ienjoyed the most.
Mari (20:22):
I do love some T Kingfisher.
For me, favorite new charactersthis year was I almost want to
say, everybody in Throne ofGlass.
So if I had to pick one,probably manon blackbeak from
throne of glass was a, was akick-ass character.
Ashley (20:41):
They're on my list of like one one of your categories.
Mari (20:45):
Tog, yes same maya from the goblin Emperor by Katherine
Edison.
It was a book that reallycaught me off guard.
I ended up enjoying it so muchand the main character was just
wonderful.
As far as authors, as far asnew ones to me this year would
(21:05):
be Sebastian Nothwell.
I want to read more of hisstuff.
I really enjoyed his works OpalRain I still need to finish
dust walker bride series.
I really like her stuff and anew one that I just finished,
maybe a few weeks back, is llstarling.
She's only has one bookpublished it's the chronicles of
between, and I really, reallyenjoyed that.
(21:28):
I listened to it as anaudiobook and it feels like a
little bit assistant to thevillain, a little bit golden
girls a little bit.
That's an interesting charmed.
I don't even know what else tocombine it with.
It's an interesting world and Iknow she's writing the sequel
now, uh, but yeah, I reallyenjoyed the world she created.
(21:49):
So lL Starling was a very newto me author this year.
Most surprising ordisappointing, or both.
Book.
Jonathan (22:06):
Interesting.
I'm going to stay away fromdisappointing because I don't
want to set the vibe down thewrong path everybody's feelings.
Ashley (22:17):
No, I mean, I think disappointing for me was the
ending to three dark crowns,because it was.
We were hooked um, and I wasreally interested to see where
it goes.
And it wasn't a bad ending, Ithink it it was kind of like
Game of Thrones series wherethey just wrapped it up too fast
, you know, like they tied it upin a bow and I don't know it
(22:43):
was.
The ending was strange in thatit all just ended so quickly
after a three book series.
So I think that was mydisappointment now that it was
bad writing or I didn't like thestory, or that I didn't like
the ending, because arguably Iliked the game of thrones ending
.
I just think they theyexpedited.
It is like they ran out ofmoney, they ran out of time,
(23:03):
they ran out of ink true, true,um.
Jonathan (23:10):
Most surprising to me would be um the land of milk and
honey money, glory, milk andfarm.
Ashley (23:17):
You know what that's fair?
Yeah, we've been trying to talkother people into reading it
just hear me out, hear me outlike a chapter into it.
Jonathan (23:33):
Yeah, definitely, our sister-in-law had a.
It's like huh interesting.
Ashley (23:38):
I don't think she finished it.
Jonathan (23:40):
No, I don't think she did either.
I think she was like I gotta gotake a shower.
Oh my god, Extra soap.
Ashley (23:46):
I downloaded this in Kibok, I just haven't gotten to
it.
Jonathan (23:50):
It was surprising to me.
I didn't think I would be asentertained yeah, entertain,
that's like I just didn't.
Mari (23:57):
Yeah, um, I'm surprised so I still think it could be.
I think part of what I loveabout that series is because it
is, it's, it's, it's an easy,you know smut kind of lures you
in.
But then she like actuallywrites a story.
And then she also like pulls insome modern references and
(24:19):
allegory and like things thatare happening in our world and
I'm like, hey, isn't it messedup that X, y and Z happened?
And she does that in almosteverything of hers that I've
read, that in almost everythingof hers that I've read.
I read one of her books or Idon't know, conductions or
whatever.
This month it's called.
There Arose Such a ClatterTales from the Naughty List, and
(24:41):
it's a collection of shortstories.
Ashley (24:42):
Oh, that was her I saw it on your thing.
Mari (24:43):
It's a collection of short stories, christmas based.
It's not set in Cambrick Creekso it doesn't tie to those works
that we read, but it's stillthe same author and it's similar
vibes and the first story.
This gives you an idea for thevibe.
Yes, it's sexy, smutty, it'sgrownup book, whatever, but it's
in a world where Santa andKrampus exist and elves and etc.
(25:08):
But like hey, the economy'stough because all all the uh,
the skilled labor is beingoutsourced and so the elves
aren't like needed to docarpentry and all that stuff
anymore.
And like the distributioncenters are basically run like
Amazon distribution centers andso it's a really tough work
(25:29):
environment and there's nounions, etc.
So there's all these Christmascharacters now work at a place
called Santa's Workshop, whichis like a strip club, and that's
how they make their money.
That's the concept of the firststory and I'm like this is
brilliant.
Jonathan (25:48):
Those reindeer are so horny.
See how that worked out you're,you can't no what, oh how,
about you kelly anythingdisappointing, or um what's?
Kelly (26:03):
surprising or surprising.
I think akatar wasdisappointing, given the hype
everyone had for it I thought welaid it very realistic yeah,
we're like hey, the first bookis the worst, but you gotta get
through it, you gotta get.
Ashley (26:19):
Those are the rules now kelly's right.
It was disappointing we're nottaking no arguments, we're just
saying we set the expectation.
We told you it was not, there'sso much.
Jonathan (26:30):
But people like clamor for like, oh yes, this is a
great it is a great series, awhole cosplay off of tamlin yeah
, but then you told me I'm gonnahate him, so I haven't finished
it, yeah, but you got deep ortam tam no, not poor tam tam,
for reasons you haven'tdiscovered yet.
Not poor damn, yeah don't go anyfurther in it, kelly, or they
(26:51):
think you're gonna hate tammerthe tammers, aka tampon, if you
type it in a phone I meantampons are that's what people
actually call them the tamponshave a?
Have you texted?
Mari (27:03):
tampons are tough.
Tampons do a great job.
Tampons are are a wonderfulthing in society.
It is a hard job you know whatI don't?
Know that the tampons deservethat, uh that malalignment my
goodness yeah so my I'm sorry,kelly, are you done?
yeah my most surprising book wasa tie, because I can't decide
(27:25):
on one, I'm sorry.
Surprising was the goblinemperor, because it was just an
amazingly well-written bookabout like compassion and it
just it was really good.
Um, butcher and the blackbird,which is billed as a dark
romance, and it's not um, whichI'm not a fan of dark romance,
(27:45):
but I read it because I promisedsomeone I would and it's
actually like dark humor andthere's a romance.
It was like, if you like MrRight, the Anna Kendrick, sam
Rockwell movie, I suggest youread or listen to Butcher and
Blackbird.
And then the one I read fairlyrecently that was a surprise for
(28:06):
me that I liked a lot was theNightmare Before Kissmas.
So I think I mentioned it onour Nightmare Before Christmas
episode and it's basically aworld where the holidays exist
as royal families basically, andthey're run like corporations
or mafia families, but insteadof money it's all about joy.
So they have mergers andtakeovers and all this for
(28:30):
holiday joy and the Prince ofChristmas and the prince of
christmas and the prince ofhalloween fall in love.
Very sweet, oh, very well doneit sounds so it is really well
done and she's a sequel's comingout in march.
That's like the younger princeof christmas and then, I guess,
the prince of saint patrick'sday or whatever, and it's called
go luck yourself.
Um, yeah, they're fun reads.
(28:54):
My disappointment is the samedisappointment it was when we
talked about the mid, themid-year, which was this is how
you lose the time more.
That was not a great read forme.
Ashley (29:03):
All right, longest and shortest book you read oh, I
mean, I feel like six scorchedroses was pretty small.
Hold on, I think my Goodreadstold me I forgot to write it
down.
Somebody else go first.
Jonathan (29:20):
My shortest book would be green eggs and ham.
That is uh.
What am I?
That's another.
If you're ever in the need, uh,for a change of spirits, I
recommend this.
This is a pro tip for everybodyDr Seuss book.
It takes minutes to read and itchanges your mood and your
(29:41):
temperament.
So I I.
If you're nervous about goinginto a meeting or you're just
having a shitty day, just stopfor a second and reset yourself
with a Dr Seuss book.
So I do that often.
I keep them in the office here.
I fully recommend that.
That was my shortest book.
The longest book it's gotta befor me.
(30:01):
I think it's.
It's is iron flame longer thanum Akatar.
So I think those are two.
Those two are probably thelongest books that I've read
this year.
Mari (30:18):
Those are like um pages for me.
The shortest book I read was umstopping by the woods on a
snowy evening.
It's a robert frost poem andit's illustrated into a book
format by Susan Jeffers.
We picked up the book at thelinks, which is an independent
bookstore in Gainesville, and itwas just a really really pretty
(30:39):
, really well done illustratedversion of that poem and it's
like 32 pages.
So that was my shortest read.
And then my longest read waskingdom of ash, the last of the
throne of glass books, and it'sa 984 pages Dang.
Ashley (30:56):
That's like three books in one.
Yeah Dang Okay.
So according to Goodreads, myshortest was Six Scorched Roses,
which was 187 pages, andearlier this year I had done a
Harry Potter reread, and so mylongest book was 759, which was
the Deathly Hallows, whichapparently has Rebecca Yarrow
(31:16):
speed out.
Mari (31:17):
All right, so the next one is the best series.
Ashley (31:25):
Oh, I didn't see that one.
Mari (31:30):
I can start.
I'm going to.
Ashley (31:32):
I was going to I think, well, no, I, well, no, I'm lying
I did see it and I wrote downakatar and I think, but and I
know that I haven't finished itand I think it's because I'm so
scared because it is unfinishedbut as far as like series and I
read a lot like, I read like alot of like the rebecca yaros
contemporary stuff which Ihighly recommend she will kill
(31:54):
off a main character.
Everybody prepare themselves.
She's, she's zero, fucks, um,and I love that for her, not so
much for me, um, so I willhighly recommend anything that
she has written.
I've, I've read most of them,um, but I think Akatar, and I
think it's because book one wasso awful.
(32:16):
But you gotta do it, you gottado it to, but book two and three
really just suck you in.
And you're committed.
And I think book three justended, you know just politely
enough that I could walk awayFor now With my heart intact.
So that's what I have writtenfor that.
Mari (32:41):
Guys.
Jonathan (32:42):
My goodness, the series for me, I'm.
So I have a toss-up Stay aSpell and Empyrean and it's I'm
cool.
So I have a toss-up Stay aSpell and Empyrean and I think
the other reason I don't have adefinitive one is because I
haven't finished Stay a Spellyet, and not that Empyrean is
(33:03):
that much longer to date as faras what's out there.
But I think I've spent moretime with Empyrean than they
have with the stay a spellseries yeah but I think they're.
They're tied for me.
How about you, kelly?
Kelly (33:25):
I think the best series I've read so far this year has
been the paladins grace series,saints of steel series by t king
fisher.
Mari (33:33):
I've really enjoyed that I love that series so much I may
reread that next year too.
We'll see um.
My best in my series for methis year was throne of glass.
Um, throne of glass.
I thought was a very well donestory as a whole.
Yeah, I will probably bereading that one next year too,
(33:55):
knowing me.
Ashley (33:57):
We'll see.
Was it book one that took younine months to?
Mari (34:00):
get through.
No, that's Crescent City.
Crescent City, okay, crescentCity.
I'm on book two now, and I havebeen for a while.
I haven't touched that secondone for a while, so we'll see.
Yeah, that second one for awhile, so we'll see.
Yeah, no, throne of glass.
I read in like a month it'slike seven books and the and the
last one is like whatever, itwas 900 something pages, um, and
I read, I read them all in, Ithink, march of this year.
(34:22):
I was like I'm gonna readthrone of glass this month, not
knowing what I was getting into,because I didn't want to.
Yeah, I didn't want to look upanything because I'd already
read akatar.
But like I didn't want to lookup anything because I'd already
read Akatar, but like I didn'twant to look up anything about
Throne of Glass because, I mean,there's so many spoilers, and
so I was like I don't know howmany books there are, I don't
know if there's a reading, Iknow nothing.
There are, like multiplereading orders too.
Ashley (34:44):
I definitely feel like an outsider anytime I pass, like
the merch and the TikToks andsocial media stuff, because it
is.
Mari (34:52):
It is an actual cult following yeah, it's a, because
it's a complete series, so youhave a full story.
It's oh, I'm not gonna start,you know, but it's a good.
That was my best series.
I'm gonna do.
It's on my list and, uh,equally I'd say, or very close
to that, is the monk and therobot books by Becky chambers.
It's only two of them andthey're super tiny, short little
(35:15):
books.
So the first one is a Psalm forthe wild, built um and really
well done.
Um little story kind of likegives you life lessons.
It reminds me of the littlePrince, uh, in that.
Or like the alchemist, um,paulo Coelho, like it's that
kind of a story.
(35:37):
Um, yeah, yeah, yeah, I wouldsay that.
Um, I would say dust walkerbrides too, but I haven't read
them all yet.
It just completed this year.
She just wrote the last onethis year, but I'm only on like
book four.
Ashley (35:47):
So I would say those top two that was so much spicier
than I thought it was.
Yeah, it was Question so muchabout myself.
Mari (36:03):
That was everybody, right, okay.
Jonathan (36:06):
I think so.
Mari (36:07):
Unpopular book that you liked, or and or popular book
that you didn't like, and Idon't mind going first.
For me it was.
I Really Liked when the MoonHatched, which a lot of people
have not.
I hear a lot of bad thingsabout it but I thought it was
really well done.
It's just a book that is verydifficult to talk about because
(36:29):
if you give the synopsis you'rekind of giving away the whole
plot and the whole way that shepulls you through it.
So when the Moon Hatches, onethat I like that was unpopular
and for me one that I dislikedthat was popular is the
Fledgling by Octavia Butler.
I really Like the Octavia.
Ashley (36:49):
Butler yes, yes, it was.
Octavia wrote a book and youdidn't like it.
Mari (36:58):
I mean Octavia Butler.
It's not your favorite.
No, I didn't like it at all.
It was a vampire book too,which should be up my alley.
But the main character is old,like I don't know.
She's like 100 and somethingyears old, but she's in the body
of like a, a child, I think,like a 15, 13, 15 year old, and
she does some really adultthings and it just it didn't.
(37:21):
I didn't see the reason for it,it just didn't.
It didn't work for me.
Um, yeah, it was just it feltreally gross, uh, and I was just
like I, yeah, I didn't like it.
Um, so that's, that's my answerto that a popular book that I
(37:41):
didn't love.
Ashley (37:45):
A popular book I didn't like.
I don't know that.
I you know you're not gonnalike this answer.
Uh, I didn't love initially.
It took some time, butinitially I did not love the
cruel prince.
I didn't see it.
I could see that, um, and Ithink only because I listened to
the audiobook and the voicereally sucked me in.
Mari (38:10):
Excuse me, when the plot takes a while to get going too
it does, it really does, and itwasn't unlike I.
Ashley (38:18):
I think it was.
When the book got taken awayfrom me, it was living and then
I was like wait, oh no, what doyou mean?
Um, so while it was not myfavorite book, I thought it was
a really good series.
I I don't think it'severybody's cup of tea, but it
does have its own, you know,popular following.
I, probably, I.
(38:39):
I don't know that I wouldreread it.
I don't know that I would readit without it being an audio
book.
Jonathan (38:44):
I think that's probably really what did it for
me I feel like if I say that, Ifeel like if I say this book,
that kelly might be thinking thesame thing that I'm thinking.
So, kelly, uh, you want to readmy mind for a moment.
(39:04):
Which book that is popular?
Amongst many people that weknow and socialize with, like a
book that's popular.
They were like, hey, this isthe best book ever.
You should never said that.
Mari (39:17):
Yeah, none of us said that I didn't like it.
Ashley (39:19):
Nobody said that I didn't like it in fact, we were
very clear that what do youthink, kelly?
Jonathan (39:25):
which?
Which book do you think thatwould be akatar?
Oh my gosh, it's like we weremade to be.
It's kismet.
Mari (39:33):
Yeah, 100, we're gonna have to come back to this
conversation when you guys readthe second one.
All right, so if you guys couldhave a book redo, what would?
What would it be so if youcould read a book again for the
first time?
Basically, which book would youpick, pick and I I can go first
.
For me it would be the secondakatar book, uh, but of course
(39:57):
you'd have to reread the firstone, but it would be the second
akatar book.
Ashley (40:02):
So ironically I have the third akatar, not the second,
but the third one.
There was a lot of shit thathappened in book three.
Yes, yes, and I know I didn'tgrasp it all I was.
If I could have drank this bookI would have Like through
(40:22):
osmosis.
Jonathan (40:26):
If I, with fresh eyes, could read another book, could
read a book again, it wouldprobably be the games gods play.
I just I feel like I had.
I had a.
I had a good time reading thatbook and I feel like I would
like to have that same good timeagain.
Kelly, do you have any do-oversthat you'd like to, fresh eyes,
(40:50):
take a peek at?
Kelly (40:53):
None that we read this year.
Mari (40:55):
It doesn't have to be from this year, just in general in
your life.
Kelly (41:04):
I mean, there's tons of books that I would love to read
over again, but I don't know,it's not something I really care
about talking about.
I mean, most of them are booksthat are either obscure or most
people have never heard of.
Mari (41:23):
All right.
So a book you wish you wouldhave gotten to this year, a book
you had wanted to finish thisyear, gotten to this year a book
.
Jonathan (41:34):
You, you had wanted to finish this year.
Oh man, I feel like, I feellike.
I feel like mari, since you hadto set that goal, there's
probably a good list of thosefor you um, for me, yes, um.
Mari (41:47):
For me, it's either kushiel's dart series, which I,
when we did our little mid-yeartalk, I mentioned that I was
going to read that this year,didn't read it, haven't read the
first one, haven't picked upthe first one.
So the Cushiel's Dart Series,because a billion people have
recommended it to me for years.
So I hopefully will read thatnext year.
(42:08):
We'll see.
And then probably finishing upthe Dustwalker Brides series,
now that it's complete, I needto finish the rest of those.
Jonathan (42:18):
Nice, nice, ash, do you have any that you wish you
had gotten to?
Ashley (42:23):
Throne of Glass.
Jonathan (42:26):
You haven't read Throne of Glass.
Ashley (42:28):
Don't we own it?
No, we do.
There was a sale and I investedand we just I haven't gotten to
maybe we need to read it as apodcast.
I don't think you're gonna getthe.
She be thick girls what do wetalk?
Jonathan (42:48):
how thick is thick thick is?
Is that the 900?
Mari (42:52):
The last one is 900.
Jonathan (42:53):
Brb, how big is the first one she's going off.
She's on a quest now.
Mari (43:00):
She's got visual aids.
Jonathan (43:02):
Oh yeah, she's getting me.
Oh no, we're out.
Sorry, fuck you.
Book two no, how big does thoselook like?
Mari (43:12):
Book one is 432 pages.
Jonathan (43:16):
Get that what Book one is?
She says book one is 432 pages.
Are the words just big and sothey needed more pages?
Mari (43:24):
There's a lot of story to tell.
Jonathan (43:25):
Page count.
She said 400?
She might have.
The first one is Throne ofGlass.
Okay, hold on.
I said 400.
She might have.
The first one is Throne ofGlass.
Okay, hold on.
Oh, okay, book one.
We could do book one.
She's now holding up book one,which looks reasonable.
The other two books lookunreasonable.
Mari (43:46):
There's seven books.
Jonathan (43:48):
There are seven books.
Oh God, ashley, put yourheadphones on so you can.
No, well, you can talk to me inthe book one.
It looks like a very blah cover, though.
Ashley (44:03):
And not want to finish it.
That doesn't make any sense tome.
Sorry, I'm back.
Jonathan (44:11):
Interesting.
I have them out of orderapparently.
Yeah, alright, what was ourquestion again?
What do you wish I?
Mari (44:22):
would have given to you this year, apparently not thrown
a glass for you not thrown aglass for me.
Jonathan (44:29):
I wish I you know secretly.
I wish I had gotten the mastersof death.
I see it when I look at it.
I wish I you know secretly.
I wish I had gotten the mastersof death.
I see it, it's taunting you.
Ashley (44:36):
Do you want me to read it for you and tell you?
Jonathan (44:38):
No, I don't want you to read it.
No, I would like to.
I don't know, I just I wish.
Ashley (44:47):
I had read it and I just never got to it.
Jonathan (44:49):
That's fair.
Yeah, kelly, is there one thatgot away from you um?
I?
Kelly (44:54):
mean I'd wanted to get to apprentice to the villain just
didn't get there.
Maybe I'll get to it this year.
There were a couple of otherbooks that had caught my
attention that I didn't get to.
One was floating hotel by gracecurtis.
Then there were a couple ofnon-fiction books I had wanted
to read for a while.
I was reading a bunch of booksabout some of the espionage
(45:18):
stuff that went on in World WarII.
You know the old saying abouthow World War II was won because
of American industry, russianblood and English intelligence.
So I read like year before lastI read Operation Men's Meat and
some books that were like thatabout some of the crazy stuff
(45:39):
that the intelligence servicesdid during the war that probably
significantly played a role butweren't found out about until
all that stuff was declassifiedin the 90s.
One of the books I wanted toread this year that came out was
a book called D-Day Girls andit's about spies the spies in
(45:59):
Vichy, france during theoccupation, who were sabotaging
the Nazis and doing all kinds ofcrazy stuff becoming saboteurs
because women were least likelyto be suspected of being
saboteurs, running around,blowing stuff up, you know,
doing all kinds of stuff.
Oh yeah, completely allorganized by women.
(46:21):
They, you know, they organizeda train derailment, they blew up
weapon caches, they destroyed apower plant.
I mean, these women were prettybadass, I like it, and they
were pretty much trained by theEnglish, sent back over there
with the directive to just setEurope ablaze in retaliation.
Ashley (46:47):
Fuck yeah.
Kelly (46:50):
And like half of them, ended up getting caught and
executed and their story prettymuch remained a secret until you
know this came out and gotdeclassified in like the 90s Wow
.
So the women who didn't getcaught lived with this secret,
you know, until most of them hadpassed away by the time this
(47:10):
was all declassified.
Jonathan (47:16):
Wild.
Very nice, I like it Was that.
Do you say it was fiction?
Kelly (47:22):
No, it is nonfiction, that's like.
That's like actually from thedeclassified, you know MI6
English intelligence files thatyou know, from all the stuff
they did in the war, likeOperation Mincemeat where they
dropped a dead body for theGermans to find, to mislead the
Germans about the D-Day invasion, stuff, like that.
(47:43):
The English intelligence didsome really crazy stuff and
there's a lot of history fromthat era, during the war years,
of the contributions that womenand minorities made that have
been largely ignored by history.
I mean, we all know about theyou see the pictures of Rosie
the Riveter and all that kind ofstuff.
(48:03):
But there was a lot, a lot ofother things that women and
minorities were doing that stillmost people don't know about
and there's probably even stillthat nobody knows about still.
Jonathan (48:18):
Yeah, very cool stuff.
Mari (48:20):
If you guys haven't seen it, like I didn't read anything
about it.
But Kelly told me about theoperation mincemeat.
But there's a movie.
I just got both the Darcy's init.
It's got Matthew McFadden andColin Firth in it, but it's,
it's a.
It it's got Matthew McFaddenand Colin Firth in it, but it's,
it's a.
It's a good movie and it tellsyou the craziness of like
operation mincemeat andeverything they did.
Kelly (48:38):
Yeah, the entire premise of what they did is so ludicrous
, but it's all like a hundredpercent factual.
Jonathan (48:46):
That's pretty neat.
I like that.
Mari (48:48):
All right, the only other other, like last two, everyone
answered right yeah, I think sothe last two questions I had was
just, I had put it out toeveryone, whatever and all the
social media stuff to see ifanyone had any questions for us.
And we had a question from Lisaon Facebook and it was just
(49:10):
simple your favorite book, Iguess, of the year, favorite
book and least favorite book andI can start, because I'm
throwing this out at you guys.
So least favorite book for mewas Fledgling, which we've
already talked about, and thenfavorite book of this year, I
can't pick just one.
Like there was 258 books andlike 49 of them were five star
(49:32):
books.
So I read a lot of good booksthis year.
But I can break it down bygenre.
So for sci-fi, it was A Psalmfor the Wild Built.
It was very, very good and it'sa tie between that one and
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir.
They were both very, very goodsci-fi books.
I would recommend to anybody.
For fantasy weird they wereboth very, very good sci-fi
(49:52):
books.
I would recommend to anybody.
For fantasy Goblin Emperor 100%Beautiful story, great listen.
And then for romanacy, actuallyit's going to be Between, the
Chronicles of Between.
It was a very well fleshed outworld with a lot of really cool
quirky characters and it's abook that I would recommend to
(50:17):
just about anybody and you couldlisten to with anybody, other
than the fact that it's long.
It's a long book, but it's areally charming.
Cozy, quaint world Makes youfeel like you're watching a
comfort TV show.
So those are my answers so I'mdigging here.
Ashley (50:44):
I think the book that um I liked this year that I don't
think we've talked too muchabout, was blood marked um,
which is the second book in theLegendborn Cycle series by Tracy
Dion, and it's in and I'm goingto butcher this, so please
don't make fun of me it's anArthurian tale, so I don't think
(51:08):
I've ever read anything in thevein of you know, like the
Knight's Table and King Arthur.
So this is like a modern day,not necessarily retelling,
because they bring in Arthurianlegend have been um passed down
(51:37):
through like genealogy, but likethe twist with this one is that
um is that there's a young girlwho's the main character and
she's of african-americandescent, which goes against
everything um that they've knownas their like, as they've been
following the genealogy stuffand I'm butchering it because
I'm just coming on the spot withit.
(51:57):
But I really liked book one andbook two was released in
January, so I'm not sure whenbook three comes out, but I was
pleasantly surprised.
I thought the plot was reallywell done.
It is YA, so there's like zeroto no spice, but there is like a
whole love triangle situationand it was just like a really
interesting concept to me of.
(52:20):
You know, powers being passeddown through the generations
isn't necessarily new, but I hadnot read anything in the vein
of Arthurian tales and I thoughtthat was really cool.
Mari (52:32):
I've heard of this series.
I haven't read it, but I haveheard good things about it.
Ashley (52:37):
Yeah, I really liked it.
It's not anything like mindblowing or brand new, probably
to those who are familiar withthe legends, but there are some
flashbacks, like there's a wholereason, obviously, why she's
involved, and it actually digsinto a lot of African-American
(52:57):
history and that trauma.
I just thought it was very welldone and very well explained.
I was a big fan.
Jonathan (53:08):
Interesting For me.
Least favorite book a dowry ofblood just wasn't, wasn't my jam
.
And then favorite book you knowI had more five star reads than
I thought I did, but themajority of those are, uh,
(53:32):
nonfiction.
So if I had to go with fiction,hmm, I would say, um, ooh, iron
flame.
But I don't want to leave it atjust iron flame.
Um, I also want to say maybe sothree, my favorite three wolf
(54:02):
gone wild, I did enjoy,assistant to the villain.
Those three, those three arethat's the trifecta for me.
Kelly, did you have a best anda worst?
Kelly (54:20):
I only gave a five star to one book this year and that
was the Ministry of Time, by farand away the best book I read
this year and the least favoritebook I read this year.
The book that I gave the lowestreview to was the Last Storm,
and we talked about that on theepisode where we reviewed it and
most of that was I.
(54:40):
Just it was not a book Ienjoyed.
It wasn't my cup of tea becauseof a lot of the issues that
were in the book.
Many people enjoyed it andthat's great for them, but it
wasn't for me.
Jonathan (54:55):
I agree, I have that one marked low as well.
Mari (55:07):
Yeah, all right.
Is there anything else wrap upwise or for next year that we
want to bring up, or?
Jonathan (55:10):
talk about.
Before I wrap it up, I justwant to say thank you.
It's been a great year ofreading.
Y'all have opened my world tonew and exciting worlds and I'm
grateful for that.
Mari (55:23):
It's been a fun ride with you guys.
Yeah, it's been good.
I'm glad we are doing this.
Jonathan (55:30):
Agreed.
Mari (55:34):
All right.
Thanks for listening to ofswords and soulmates.
Before we go, make sure tocheck out the show notes, rate,
review and subscribe to us onyour podcast app of choice.
It helps others to find us.
Follow us on instagram, at ofswords and soulmates, or join
our facebook page at of swordsand soulmates.
Check us out on our website ofswords and soulmates dot com, or
on YouTube, tiktok, pinterest,same username, if you'd like to
(55:56):
offer a suggestion for a futureepisode.
Reach out to us on any of theseoptions above or email us If
you want to read along with usas we prep for a new episode.
Follow us on Goodreads at ofSwords and Soulmates, or for
chapter by chapter interactionon the Fable app at the Of
Swords and Soulmates book club.
And we hope you'll join us intwo weeks for our next episode,
(56:16):
when we will be talking aboutFourth Wing by Rebecca Yaros.
Bye-bye.
Jonathan (56:27):
How'd you get Kelly into it?
How'd you talk Kelly into?
Ashley (56:30):
it Poor Kelly.
Views expressed in this podcast are solely those of the
participants.
The hosts make no claim to beliterary experts and their
opinions are exactly thatopinions.
All creative works discussed orreviewed are the intellectual
property of the creators of saidstories and is being used under
the Fair Use Doctrine.
Mari (00:31):
Hello and welcome to Of Swords and Soulmates, a podcast
where we read, watch and discussromancy stories.
I'm one of your hosts, mari,and with me I have Kelly.
Kelly (00:36):
Hey everyone, it's Kelly and we also have Ashley.
Ashley (00:39):
Hey guys, it's Ashley.
We also have Jonathan.
Jonathan (00:42):
Hey y'all, it's JP, so much less enthusiastic I'm
sorry.
I'm sorry y'all, I'm coming offthe cold.
Mari (00:51):
Coming off the kid journey .
Unfortunately, jonathan and Ashare getting over the winter
crud.
That's what Santa brought them.
Today we're going to be doingan end of year wrap up for 2024
and I look forward to the newyear.
So we won't have a new segment.
(01:12):
We're not going to be talkingabout any one particular book.
We're just going to be kind ofchatting about the year and the
year ahead and I've got somequestions that we'll go through
and we'll go from there, and Idon't know that we need to do
this in any particular order.
So whoever wants to jump in canjump in.
The first one is your favoritereading challenge that you tried
(01:33):
this year in 2024.
And it could be youindividually or it can be us as
a group.
It doesn't have to be Romanesie, just whatever your favorite
reading challenge of the year.
Ashley (01:41):
So this is my first year , challenging myself to anything
I hadn't really followed, likeGoodreads or anything like that,
prior to 2024, not in earnest,and I kind of lost sight of it
in the last couple of months.
But that aside, I did read atleast 60 books this year, yay,
(02:02):
which is the first time I'vecounted.
So it's not to say that I'veread more or not in the past,
but I thought it was pretty coolto like see that you know that
progress, that kind ofaccomplishment, that kind of
goal I've never really trackedit before.
Um, so it's the only challengethat I gave myself this year how
(02:23):
about you guys?
Kelly (02:24):
I mean, the only challenge I did was the
Goodreads challenge and I read50 books.
I may finish the 51st, probablynot, but we'll see.
But it's probably going to be50 books and that's more books
than I've read in a couple ofyears because of being in school
the last few years before this.
Mari (02:42):
Yeah, you're reading those chunky chunky textbooks, yeah.
Jonathan (02:47):
Oh, challenges.
I think my favorite challengethat I tried for 2024 was just
when we were going through ourown list for this podcast.
I thought that was a unique andfun and interesting way to kick
it off, so I'm really stokedthat we, that we ventured down
(03:08):
that path.
Mari (03:10):
Yeah, I'm, I'm right there with you.
That was.
That was my thing too.
I think my favorite challengewas like when we decided we were
going to go to the fabledfantasy thing and we were like
there are these books, there's abunch more authors than we're
going to be able to read.
There's more books than we'regoing to be able to read before
the event comes around and westarted just randomly picking
and I thought that was fun.
(03:38):
It was a good time, because it'slike it's one thing to read a
book with expectations, like ifyou've heard a book is good, or
if you've heard a book hascertain tropes in it or a friend
recommends it or somethingheard a book has certain tropes
in it or a friend recommends itor something, but then you have
certain expectations of thatbook.
As opposed to if you just kindof literally, are randomly
picking a book from a list, Ithink the book almost has a
better chance because you don'thave any expectations.
Yeah, and I definitely readbooks I wouldn't have.
(03:58):
I don't think I would have readotherwise or even known about
otherwise.
So I think I enjoyed.
I enjoyed that a lot.
I think it's a fun time I alsofeel like it.
Jonathan (04:07):
It connected us to the event a little bit more and it
made that event so much better.
I don't know if I would havehad as good a time, because we
had.
I feel like we had much more totalk about with the authors
that were at the event than wewould have if we had flown and,
kind of like, just went blind ornot blind, but kind of as we
(04:28):
were.
Mari (04:28):
Yeah, what is a popular book that you own and haven't
read yet?
Jonathan (04:36):
How much time do you have, Ashley?
I'm looking at these stacksthat are still in the wrapper.
Ashley (04:44):
Are you talking to me?
Jonathan (04:45):
Yeah, I can see the shiny.
Ashley (04:46):
No, dothan you answer for?
Mari (04:47):
yourself.
Jonathan (04:49):
Yeah, you gotta answer for yourself, my dear yeah,
I'll go.
Ashley (04:52):
Then Some of these I've read and these are just trophies
.
What are you?
Jonathan (04:55):
talking about.
Ashley (04:56):
What are you talking about?
Jonathan (04:58):
Like a set of five of that one from that thing.
I don't know you got a lot overthere.
Did you read that book, murphyBrown from the other Dragon Boy?
Ashley (05:09):
Murtaugh?
Yeah, I have not read Murtaugh.
Jonathan (05:11):
There you go.
What about those other?
Why?
Ashley (05:14):
are you volunteering my answer?
Jonathan (05:16):
I'm sorry my bad, you go.
Goodness, I just know that yourlist is.
Mari (05:22):
Jonathan, you want to talk ?
What's your list?
Yeah, you go first no, I, I'myeah because I know one wait,
you know one, I know one thatyou have, that's popular, that
you haven't read yet, that youhave oh, what's that?
The the glittery book.
Uh, the Ruby Dixon.
Jonathan (05:43):
Yeah, that's Bull Moon , Rising Bull Moon yeah.
I bought that one.
I bought a couple purely fortheir cover.
That was one.
Mari (05:52):
It's a good book, though.
I would recommend reading it.
I think you'll enjoy it.
Jonathan (05:55):
I'm definitely going to read it.
I just haven't gotten there yet.
Mari (05:59):
Yeah, no understand.
Jonathan (06:02):
I'm not lying when I say that currently, at the
moment, as the collective worksof Juliet Cross stacked on top
of it, the other one that gotaway from me, masters of Death,
I don't even know what that'sabout.
Mari (06:18):
Olivia Blake.
Yeah, yeah.
Jonathan (06:21):
I just thought it was a good looking book.
I've heard great things.
Mari (06:23):
Yeah, I just thought it was a good looking book.
Jonathan (06:26):
I've heard great things.
Ashley (06:37):
Yeah, so I'm hoping those two Bull Moon Rising and
Masters of Death, I'm hoping toget around to soon.
All right now.
Asha's going to that event inJanuary at the Barnes Noble yeah
, and my Corlin's going to bethere.
Mari (06:52):
I've heard good things about that one too.
I have not read that one, butI've heard good things about it.
Kelly (06:59):
Kelly, how about you?
I don't know.
I mean, we have tons of booksthat Mari's bought that.
Jonathan (07:06):
I guess we both own.
Kelly (07:06):
I love that.
I mean, I guess I haven't readany more of the Akatar books.
I haven't read any of thatstuff, so I guess I haven't
really read a lot of the popularRomantic stuff.
Ashley (07:23):
You would feel strongly about it if you'd read the
second book.
Yeah, it's all about thatsecond book.
Akatar really was just okay.
Mari (07:24):
It's'd read the second book.
Yeah, it's all about guitarreally was just okay, it's all
about that second book.
So, um, for me, popular books Iown and haven't read yet would
be crescent city two and three,which technically I'm reading
crescent city two right now, butI literally haven't picked it
up in a a good while.
So crescent city two and three,um, infernal devices that you
(07:47):
got me ash, that I still need toread.
Holy series, it's, it's pretty.
Ashley (07:51):
I just need to read it, pretty.
She's very controversial too,like, yeah, I don't know all the
tea I don't want to knowbecause I love her so much yeah,
I don't know a whole lot, andthat's fine.
Mari (08:03):
And Wuthering Heights Wuthering Heights had been on my
bookshelf for years and it waswhen I first fell in love with
Jane Austen and I was likerewhich I like as well and
Wuthering Heights, and then Ifound out a little bit more
(08:33):
about Wuthering Heights and howapparently everybody is a really
not likable character, and soI'm like, eee, it's just been on
my list there to readeventually and I probably need
to read it at some point, butI've never actually read
Wuthering Heights and I have iton my bookshelf.
All right, this is an easyquestion.
What new releases are youanticipating in the coming year?
Ashley (08:52):
Oh I got a list.
Same you can go first these.
These are not in order OnyxStorm first and foremost.
If anybody on this podcast isnot ready for Onyx Storm first
and foremost, if anybody on thispodcast is not ready for Onyx
Storm, it's Kelly.
Kelly's not ready, it's onlyKelly, accomplice to the Villain
.
Super excited Hannah NicoleMayer, we love you.
(09:14):
The Things Gods Break, abigailOwen, and you're going to like
this one.
I don't know if you've heard.
So there are a couple of um,excuse me, there are a couple of
rewrites that are happeningthis year or releasing this year
.
So writers, uh, like fanfiction writers on ao3 are now
(09:36):
in the process of likeconverting their works into
publishable, like traditionalpublishable books, and so so we
all know about Manicold, which Ithink you knew right.
Yeah, we talked about that, butthere's one releasing in the
summer and it's called theIrresistible Urge to Fall for
(09:57):
your Enemy, which is a rewriteof Draco Malfoy and the
mortifying ordeal of being inlove, which is one of my
favorite fan fic reads of alltime give me the name, that's
actually gonna be theirresistible urge to fall for
your enemy.
Okay, I can send it to you.
I've already pre-ordered it,please.
(10:19):
Um, I think there's anotherrewrite that I didn't save and I
think it's a rewrite of theauction which is in the vein of
manacled, but I didn't catch thename it was all over tiktok,
though, so I'm going to try andfind it, but I'll send you the
link, because I loved dracomalfoy in the mortifying ordeal
of being in love.
That was.
That was moving.
Mari (10:42):
I actually haven't read that one and I've heard great
things about it, and it's it'son my list.
Ashley (10:46):
Chef's kiss, 10 out of 10.
I like there was giggling feetkicking Like.
It was delightful, absolutelydelightful.
It was everything that Manicledwas, without all the depressive
scenes, nice.
Mari (11:02):
Cause there was a lot of depressing stuff in there.
Ashley (11:04):
Yeah, yeah, so that's the list that I was able to come
up with, um for today.
So the onyx storm, accompliceto the villain, the things gods
break and the irresistible urgeto fall for your enemy that's
what I got for me.
Mari (11:18):
I've got onyx storm, of course, easy answer emily weld's
compendium of lost tales, whichis the third one, yeah, oh,
third.
Ashley (11:27):
Yeah, I'm a whole book behind yeah, and it's.
Mari (11:31):
Yeah, I'm excited about those.
I really enjoy those.
I enjoy those as audiobooksespecially.
They're just really, reallywell done.
Um, the enchanted greenhouse,which is the sequel to the spell
shop, where we get to kaz'sbackstory, maybe, uh, the ballad
of falling dragons, which isthe when the moon hatched, book
two.
And faith breaker, which is thegod killer series, book three,
(11:58):
all those sequels I think 75 ofwhat I'm waiting on.
Jonathan (12:03):
Ashley and Ashley popped out there.
What was it?
Onyx storm?
Um, things got the things.
God's break.
A compass to the villain.
Those three I'm I'm definitelylooking forward to, but I'm also
looking forward to a rebelwithout a clause.
Mari (12:17):
Oh yeah, which is?
Jonathan (12:18):
coming out in February .
Yeah, that's a book, one in theSouthern charm series.
Mari (12:23):
It's going to be fun.
Ashley (12:31):
Yeah, and it's listed as the stay a spell next gen.
Yeah, so it's like a spinoff inthe same thing.
Jonathan (12:37):
Yeah, looking forward to that.
Sorry, she already has me soldon the cover.
Those are the four I'm lookingforward to.
How about you, Kelly?
Kelly (12:45):
I think the biggest one I'm looking forward to how about
you, kelly?
I think the biggest one I'mlooking forward to as far as
Romanesco goes is probably thenext book in the Spellshop
series.
Mari (12:53):
Yeah.
Kelly (12:54):
Because I really enjoyed that book.
I probably will read the nextAssistant to the Villain book.
I just haven't read the secondone yet.
You've got time.
I do want to read the secondone.
Just haven't gotten the secondone yet.
But you've got time.
I do want to read the secondone.
Just haven't gotten there yet.
So I'll probably pick up thethird one at some point.
Mari (13:11):
But is there anything that you guys are looking to reread
this coming year?
Do you guys do rereads?
Is there anything you want toreread that you've read before?
Ashley (13:21):
I I see a lot of Rebecca Yarrow's in our future.
I think a lot of us are goingto be rereading Onyx Storm.
I think she's been really goodwith her Easter eggs it's not
even out yet Well for next yearyou'll be rereading yeah.
Mari (13:40):
Yeah, so do you want to reread in this coming year?
Jonathan (13:42):
Yes, both yeah.
Read and reread.
I see that.
Let me ask you are you going tohammer through it like on day
one?
You're going to pick it up andslam it down.
Ashley (13:54):
It's a very, very bad habit of mine to hammer through.
Mari (13:56):
I absolutely plan to as well.
Ashley (13:58):
Consume it.
Mari (13:59):
Yes 100%.
Jonathan (14:00):
Are you then going to go back through it and do the
reread?
Ashley (14:04):
Yeah, Automatically Okay , are you?
Jonathan (14:05):
then going to go through it, go back to it and do
the reread automatically.
Okay, probably, yeah, yeah,reread.
I have 12 that I reread everyyear.
I have them on audiobook, butthis past year I started
collecting them in what I canthink of the format Analog.
Mari (14:17):
Yeah, Like actual paper.
Physical copies.
Jonathan (14:24):
Yeah, physical copies.
So I like to start my year offwith the seven habits of highly
effective people.
Um, and then the gifts ofimperfection by Brene Brown be
our guest, which is um likeDisney's.
Um perfecting the art ofcustomer service.
Extreme ownership by um leafBabin and Jacko Willink.
(14:46):
Um, let's see impact players byuh Liz Wiseman.
Digital body language by EricaDawan I forgive me, I don't know
how to say her name the umverbal judo, the gentle art of
persuasion.
By George J thompson, phd.
(15:06):
And jerry b jenkins.
Leaders eat last.
By simon cynic.
The infinite game by simoncynic.
Creativity inc.
Which is uh, that, the, theinspirational story behind uh
pixar, never split Difference,which is negotiating as if your
life depended on it, by ChrisVoss.
(15:28):
Those are my keys.
That's the secret to businessleadership.
Ashley (15:33):
Sounds like homework.
It is my thoughts.
Mari (15:35):
exactly, Ash, I was like that sounds like school.
Ashley (15:38):
I can't even tell you when I glazed over.
Jonathan (15:41):
I'll probably even I'll get you.
I'll make a certificate for youtoo blazed over.
Mari (15:45):
I'll probably even I'll get you, I'll make a certificate
for you too, okay?
Well, I generally don't readnon-fiction unless it's like
really compelling, uh.
So for me this could be allfiction as usual, all fictional,
all escapism all the time.
I, yeah, I, um, I have somebooks I always read in december,
I always read a reread inDecember.
I'm not really counting them,but I read the Stupidest Angel
(16:06):
by Christopher Moore.
It's a zombie Christmas book.
Love it.
Comedy.
I read Christmas Carol, I meanDickens, it's classic.
Nothing like ghosts atChristmas.
Krampus, the Yule Lord byGerald Brom Love it.
Great read, great listen.
Jonathan (16:24):
Beautiful artwork, I'm sensing a trend.
Mari (16:26):
Hmm, artwork, I'm sensing a trend creepy christmas and
then I have the nutcracker um,you have a giant rat king or a
rat king anyways.
So yeah, I like my christmascreepy.
Uh, those are my christmasstuff, but I wasn't really gonna
do the christmas, but I do I.
That's really the time of yearthat I mostly reread every year.
(16:46):
For sure, I reread those.
As far as what I plan to rereadthis year, that I don't
necessarily reread every year,just that I'm thinking about
rereading this year stuff Imaybe haven't read in a while.
It's been probably two yearssince I've gone through and read
all of Jane Austen's stuff, twoor three years.
So I probably am due for a JaneAusten reread Everything except
(17:07):
Sandition and Mansfield Parkbecause I don't like those, but
I'll reread the rest.
I'll probably be rereadingSwordheart this year because I
think there's a new version or are-released version coming out.
It's T Kingfisher Love herstuff, uprooted by Naomi Novik,
because it's been since I thinkthe year that came out was when
I first read it and I haven'tread it since, um, and I think
that's a good like spring maybe,or fall read.
(17:29):
I'm sure I'll be rereadingWicked for I don't know the
billionth time, um, probablybefore November when the second
movie comes out.
Probably I'm gonna reread someAnne McCaffrey Dragon Riders of
Pern because fourth wing makesme want to read Anne McCaffrey
and it's been a while, so Ithink I'm going to try and read
that whole series in order,which I've honestly never done.
(17:50):
I read it all out of orderbecause my parents weren't
billionaires.
Jonathan (17:55):
Is there an order for it?
Mari (17:56):
Dragon Riders of Pern.
Yeah, there's actually likethree different planets that are
part of the series.
I'll send you the chart, thiswhole chart, for it.
Jonathan (18:05):
I thought I remember seeing that chart.
Mari (18:07):
There's nothing we love more than the chart.
Jonathan (18:09):
It was very interesting.
Mari (18:10):
Yeah, so when I read it it was just whatever book was in
the library, wherever we wereliving at the time.
We never actually bought thebooks because my parents weren't
billionaires.
Like I do now, I read a lotback then.
It was more expensive back thenbecause you didn't have like
the libby app and audiobooks onaudible and all that stuff, um.
(18:30):
So I read them all out of order.
So it'd be interesting to readeverything in order.
All right, so this one you cananswer both or one, whatever you
want to do.
Favorite new character orauthor from this year New to you
.
It doesn't have to be a newauthor New to you.
Ashley (18:50):
Juliet Cross was new to me this year and I think we all
wholeheartedly fell in love withher.
I thought her writing.
I devoured that seriesimmediately, probably in a way
that I didn't read anything elseas quickly this year.
Jonathan (19:05):
Yeah yeah, go with the same.
You know I really did enjoyjuliet cross as an author.
Oh, that's a tough one.
So I really did like abigailowens work too.
The two of those are myfavorite.
Um, yeah, yeah, I'm going withthat.
Juliet cross, abigail owenfavorite author.
(19:28):
I don't know that I have afavorite character.
It's not cats 100, cas carol isthat cas or lou cas and lou
what about uh spoke?
Yeah what about, uh kingsley?
Ashley (19:42):
you know don't kingly fucking kingsley for the win.
That guy is such an icon.
I can't wait to hear his storyyeah, I need to know his story.
I think it's coming.
Excuse me, I think it's coming.
Kelly kingsley.
Yeah, kingsley's like like tiedfor kaz.
Kelly (20:01):
Yeah I liked kaz.
I think he was definitely oneof the best side characters um
this year.
There was a lot of new authorsthat I read.
I don't know that I would sayone was in particular my
favorite, although out of allthe new authors I read maybe the
stuff written by T Kingfisher Ienjoyed the most.
Mari (20:22):
I do love some T Kingfisher.
For me, favorite new charactersthis year was I almost want to
say, everybody in Throne ofGlass.
So if I had to pick one,probably manon blackbeak from
throne of glass was a, was akick-ass character.
Ashley (20:41):
They're on my list of like one one of your categories.
Mari (20:45):
Tog, yes same maya from the goblin Emperor by Katherine
Edison.
It was a book that reallycaught me off guard.
I ended up enjoying it so muchand the main character was just
wonderful.
As far as authors, as far asnew ones to me this year would
(21:05):
be Sebastian Nothwell.
I want to read more of hisstuff.
I really enjoyed his works OpalRain I still need to finish
dust walker bride series.
I really like her stuff and anew one that I just finished,
maybe a few weeks back, is llstarling.
She's only has one bookpublished it's the chronicles of
between, and I really, reallyenjoyed that.
(21:28):
I listened to it as anaudiobook and it feels like a
little bit assistant to thevillain, a little bit golden
girls a little bit.
That's an interesting charmed.
I don't even know what else tocombine it with.
It's an interesting world and Iknow she's writing the sequel
now, uh, but yeah, I reallyenjoyed the world she created.
(21:49):
So lL Starling was a very newto me author this year.
Most surprising ordisappointing, or both.
Book.
Jonathan (22:06):
Interesting.
I'm going to stay away fromdisappointing because I don't
want to set the vibe down thewrong path everybody's feelings.
Ashley (22:17):
No, I mean, I think disappointing for me was the
ending to three dark crowns,because it was.
We were hooked um, and I wasreally interested to see where
it goes.
And it wasn't a bad ending, Ithink it it was kind of like
Game of Thrones series wherethey just wrapped it up too fast
, you know, like they tied it upin a bow and I don't know it
(22:43):
was.
The ending was strange in thatit all just ended so quickly
after a three book series.
So I think that was mydisappointment now that it was
bad writing or I didn't like thestory, or that I didn't like
the ending, because arguably Iliked the game of thrones ending
.
I just think they theyexpedited.
It is like they ran out ofmoney, they ran out of time,
(23:03):
they ran out of ink true, true,um.
Jonathan (23:10):
Most surprising to me would be um the land of milk and
honey money, glory, milk andfarm.
Ashley (23:17):
You know what that's fair?
Yeah, we've been trying to talkother people into reading it
just hear me out, hear me outlike a chapter into it.
Jonathan (23:33):
Yeah, definitely, our sister-in-law had a.
It's like huh interesting.
Ashley (23:38):
I don't think she finished it.
Jonathan (23:40):
No, I don't think she did either.
I think she was like I gotta gotake a shower.
Oh my god, Extra soap.
Ashley (23:46):
I downloaded this in Kibok, I just haven't gotten to
it.
Jonathan (23:50):
It was surprising to me.
I didn't think I would be asentertained yeah, entertain,
that's like I just didn't.
Mari (23:57):
Yeah, um, I'm surprised so I still think it could be.
I think part of what I loveabout that series is because it
is, it's, it's, it's an easy,you know smut kind of lures you
in.
But then she like actuallywrites a story.
And then she also like pulls insome modern references and
(24:19):
allegory and like things thatare happening in our world and
I'm like, hey, isn't it messedup that X, y and Z happened?
And she does that in almosteverything of hers that I've
read, that in almost everythingof hers that I've read.
I read one of her books or Idon't know, conductions or
whatever.
This month it's called.
There Arose Such a ClatterTales from the Naughty List, and
(24:41):
it's a collection of shortstories.
Ashley (24:42):
Oh, that was her I saw it on your thing.
Mari (24:43):
It's a collection of short stories, christmas based.
It's not set in Cambrick Creekso it doesn't tie to those works
that we read, but it's stillthe same author and it's similar
vibes and the first story.
This gives you an idea for thevibe.
Yes, it's sexy, smutty, it'sgrownup book, whatever, but it's
in a world where Santa andKrampus exist and elves and etc.
(25:08):
But like hey, the economy'stough because all all the uh,
the skilled labor is beingoutsourced and so the elves
aren't like needed to docarpentry and all that stuff
anymore.
And like the distributioncenters are basically run like
Amazon distribution centers andso it's a really tough work
(25:29):
environment and there's nounions, etc.
So there's all these Christmascharacters now work at a place
called Santa's Workshop, whichis like a strip club, and that's
how they make their money.
That's the concept of the firststory and I'm like this is
brilliant.
Jonathan (25:48):
Those reindeer are so horny.
See how that worked out you're,you can't no what, oh how,
about you kelly anythingdisappointing, or um what's?
Kelly (26:03):
surprising or surprising.
I think akatar wasdisappointing, given the hype
everyone had for it I thought welaid it very realistic yeah,
we're like hey, the first bookis the worst, but you gotta get
through it, you gotta get.
Ashley (26:19):
Those are the rules now kelly's right.
It was disappointing we're nottaking no arguments, we're just
saying we set the expectation.
We told you it was not, there'sso much.
Jonathan (26:30):
But people like clamor for like, oh yes, this is a
great it is a great series, awhole cosplay off of tamlin yeah
, but then you told me I'm gonnahate him, so I haven't finished
it, yeah, but you got deep ortam tam no, not poor tam tam,
for reasons you haven'tdiscovered yet.
Not poor damn, yeah don't go anyfurther in it, kelly, or they
(26:51):
think you're gonna hate tammerthe tammers, aka tampon, if you
type it in a phone I meantampons are that's what people
actually call them the tamponshave a?
Have you texted?
Mari (27:03):
tampons are tough.
Tampons do a great job.
Tampons are are a wonderfulthing in society.
It is a hard job you know whatI don't?
Know that the tampons deservethat, uh that malalignment my
goodness yeah so my I'm sorry,kelly, are you done?
yeah my most surprising book wasa tie, because I can't decide
(27:25):
on one, I'm sorry.
Surprising was the goblinemperor, because it was just an
amazingly well-written bookabout like compassion and it
just it was really good.
Um, butcher and the blackbird,which is billed as a dark
romance, and it's not um, whichI'm not a fan of dark romance,
(27:45):
but I read it because I promisedsomeone I would and it's
actually like dark humor andthere's a romance.
It was like, if you like MrRight, the Anna Kendrick, sam
Rockwell movie, I suggest youread or listen to Butcher and
Blackbird.
And then the one I read fairlyrecently that was a surprise for
(28:06):
me that I liked a lot was theNightmare Before Kissmas.
So I think I mentioned it onour Nightmare Before Christmas
episode and it's basically aworld where the holidays exist
as royal families basically, andthey're run like corporations
or mafia families, but insteadof money it's all about joy.
So they have mergers andtakeovers and all this for
(28:30):
holiday joy and the Prince ofChristmas and the prince of
christmas and the prince ofhalloween fall in love.
Very sweet, oh, very well doneit sounds so it is really well
done and she's a sequel's comingout in march.
That's like the younger princeof christmas and then, I guess,
the prince of saint patrick'sday or whatever, and it's called
go luck yourself.
Um, yeah, they're fun reads.
(28:54):
My disappointment is the samedisappointment it was when we
talked about the mid, themid-year, which was this is how
you lose the time more.
That was not a great read forme.
Ashley (29:03):
All right, longest and shortest book you read oh, I
mean, I feel like six scorchedroses was pretty small.
Hold on, I think my Goodreadstold me I forgot to write it
down.
Somebody else go first.
Jonathan (29:20):
My shortest book would be green eggs and ham.
That is uh.
What am I?
That's another.
If you're ever in the need, uh,for a change of spirits, I
recommend this.
This is a pro tip for everybodyDr Seuss book.
It takes minutes to read and itchanges your mood and your
(29:41):
temperament.
So I I.
If you're nervous about goinginto a meeting or you're just
having a shitty day, just stopfor a second and reset yourself
with a Dr Seuss book.
So I do that often.
I keep them in the office here.
I fully recommend that.
That was my shortest book.
The longest book it's gotta befor me.
(30:01):
I think it's.
It's is iron flame longer thanum Akatar.
So I think those are two.
Those two are probably thelongest books that I've read
this year.
Mari (30:18):
Those are like um pages for me.
The shortest book I read was umstopping by the woods on a
snowy evening.
It's a robert frost poem andit's illustrated into a book
format by Susan Jeffers.
We picked up the book at thelinks, which is an independent
bookstore in Gainesville, and itwas just a really really pretty
(30:39):
, really well done illustratedversion of that poem and it's
like 32 pages.
So that was my shortest read.
And then my longest read waskingdom of ash, the last of the
throne of glass books, and it'sa 984 pages Dang.
Ashley (30:56):
That's like three books in one.
Yeah Dang Okay.
So according to Goodreads, myshortest was Six Scorched Roses,
which was 187 pages, andearlier this year I had done a
Harry Potter reread, and so mylongest book was 759, which was
the Deathly Hallows, whichapparently has Rebecca Yarrow
(31:16):
speed out.
Mari (31:17):
All right, so the next one is the best series.
Ashley (31:25):
Oh, I didn't see that one.
Mari (31:30):
I can start.
I'm going to.
Ashley (31:32):
I was going to I think, well, no, I, well, no, I'm lying
I did see it and I wrote downakatar and I think, but and I
know that I haven't finished itand I think it's because I'm so
scared because it is unfinishedbut as far as like series and I
read a lot like, I read like alot of like the rebecca yaros
contemporary stuff which Ihighly recommend she will kill
(31:54):
off a main character.
Everybody prepare themselves.
She's, she's zero, fucks, um,and I love that for her, not so
much for me, um, so I willhighly recommend anything that
she has written.
I've, I've read most of them,um, but I think Akatar, and I
think it's because book one wasso awful.
(32:16):
But you gotta do it, you gottado it to, but book two and three
really just suck you in.
And you're committed.
And I think book three justended, you know just politely
enough that I could walk awayFor now With my heart intact.
So that's what I have writtenfor that.
Mari (32:41):
Guys.
Jonathan (32:42):
My goodness, the series for me, I'm.
So I have a toss-up Stay aSpell and Empyrean and it's I'm
cool.
So I have a toss-up Stay aSpell and Empyrean and I think
the other reason I don't have adefinitive one is because I
haven't finished Stay a Spellyet, and not that Empyrean is
(33:03):
that much longer to date as faras what's out there.
But I think I've spent moretime with Empyrean than they
have with the stay a spellseries yeah but I think they're.
They're tied for me.
How about you, kelly?
Kelly (33:25):
I think the best series I've read so far this year has
been the paladins grace series,saints of steel series by t king
fisher.
Mari (33:33):
I've really enjoyed that I love that series so much I may
reread that next year too.
We'll see um.
My best in my series for methis year was throne of glass.
Um, throne of glass.
I thought was a very well donestory as a whole.
Yeah, I will probably bereading that one next year too,
(33:55):
knowing me.
Ashley (33:57):
We'll see.
Was it book one that took younine months to?
Mari (34:00):
get through.
No, that's Crescent City.
Crescent City, okay, crescentCity.
I'm on book two now, and I havebeen for a while.
I haven't touched that secondone for a while, so we'll see.
Yeah, that second one for awhile, so we'll see.
Yeah, no, throne of glass.
I read in like a month it'slike seven books and the and the
last one is like whatever, itwas 900 something pages, um, and
I read, I read them all in, Ithink, march of this year.
(34:22):
I was like I'm gonna readthrone of glass this month, not
knowing what I was getting into,because I didn't want to.
Yeah, I didn't want to look upanything because I'd already
read akatar.
But like I didn't want to lookup anything because I'd already
read Akatar, but like I didn'twant to look up anything about
Throne of Glass because, I mean,there's so many spoilers, and
so I was like I don't know howmany books there are, I don't
know if there's a reading, Iknow nothing.
There are, like multiplereading orders too.
Ashley (34:44):
I definitely feel like an outsider anytime I pass, like
the merch and the TikToks andsocial media stuff, because it
is.
Mari (34:52):
It is an actual cult following yeah, it's a, because
it's a complete series, so youhave a full story.
It's oh, I'm not gonna start,you know, but it's a good.
That was my best series.
I'm gonna do.
It's on my list and, uh,equally I'd say, or very close
to that, is the monk and therobot books by Becky chambers.
It's only two of them andthey're super tiny, short little
(35:15):
books.
So the first one is a Psalm forthe wild, built um and really
well done.
Um little story kind of likegives you life lessons.
It reminds me of the littlePrince, uh, in that.
Or like the alchemist, um,paulo Coelho, like it's that
kind of a story.
(35:37):
Um, yeah, yeah, yeah, I wouldsay that.
Um, I would say dust walkerbrides too, but I haven't read
them all yet.
It just completed this year.
She just wrote the last onethis year, but I'm only on like
book four.
Ashley (35:47):
So I would say those top two that was so much spicier
than I thought it was.
Yeah, it was Question so muchabout myself.
Mari (36:03):
That was everybody, right, okay.
Jonathan (36:06):
I think so.
Mari (36:07):
Unpopular book that you liked, or and or popular book
that you didn't like, and Idon't mind going first.
For me it was.
I Really Liked when the MoonHatched, which a lot of people
have not.
I hear a lot of bad thingsabout it but I thought it was
really well done.
It's just a book that is verydifficult to talk about because
(36:29):
if you give the synopsis you'rekind of giving away the whole
plot and the whole way that shepulls you through it.
So when the Moon Hatches, onethat I like that was unpopular
and for me one that I dislikedthat was popular is the
Fledgling by Octavia Butler.
I really Like the Octavia.
Ashley (36:49):
Butler yes, yes, it was.
Octavia wrote a book and youdidn't like it.
Mari (36:58):
I mean Octavia Butler.
It's not your favorite.
No, I didn't like it at all.
It was a vampire book too,which should be up my alley.
But the main character is old,like I don't know.
She's like 100 and somethingyears old, but she's in the body
of like a, a child, I think,like a 15, 13, 15 year old, and
she does some really adultthings and it just it didn't.
(37:21):
I didn't see the reason for it,it just didn't.
It didn't work for me.
Um, yeah, it was just it feltreally gross, uh, and I was just
like I, yeah, I didn't like it.
Um, so that's, that's my answerto that a popular book that I
(37:41):
didn't love.
Ashley (37:45):
A popular book I didn't like.
I don't know that.
I you know you're not gonnalike this answer.
Uh, I didn't love initially.
It took some time, butinitially I did not love the
cruel prince.
I didn't see it.
I could see that, um, and Ithink only because I listened to
the audiobook and the voicereally sucked me in.
Mari (38:10):
Excuse me, when the plot takes a while to get going too
it does, it really does, and itwasn't unlike I.
Ashley (38:18):
I think it was.
When the book got taken awayfrom me, it was living and then
I was like wait, oh no, what doyou mean?
Um, so while it was not myfavorite book, I thought it was
a really good series.
I I don't think it'severybody's cup of tea, but it
does have its own, you know,popular following.
I, probably, I.
(38:39):
I don't know that I wouldreread it.
I don't know that I would readit without it being an audio
book.
Jonathan (38:44):
I think that's probably really what did it for
me I feel like if I say that, Ifeel like if I say this book,
that kelly might be thinking thesame thing that I'm thinking.
So, kelly, uh, you want to readmy mind for a moment.
(39:04):
Which book that is popular?
Amongst many people that weknow and socialize with, like a
book that's popular.
They were like, hey, this isthe best book ever.
You should never said that.
Mari (39:17):
Yeah, none of us said that I didn't like it.
Ashley (39:19):
Nobody said that I didn't like it in fact, we were
very clear that what do youthink, kelly?
Jonathan (39:25):
which?
Which book do you think thatwould be akatar?
Oh my gosh, it's like we weremade to be.
It's kismet.
Mari (39:33):
Yeah, 100, we're gonna have to come back to this
conversation when you guys readthe second one.
All right, so if you guys couldhave a book redo, what would?
What would it be so if youcould read a book again for the
first time?
Basically, which book would youpick, pick and I I can go first
.
For me it would be the secondakatar book, uh, but of course
(39:57):
you'd have to reread the firstone, but it would be the second
akatar book.
Ashley (40:02):
So ironically I have the third akatar, not the second,
but the third one.
There was a lot of shit thathappened in book three.
Yes, yes, and I know I didn'tgrasp it all I was.
If I could have drank this bookI would have Like through
(40:22):
osmosis.
Jonathan (40:26):
If I, with fresh eyes, could read another book, could
read a book again, it wouldprobably be the games gods play.
I just I feel like I had.
I had a.
I had a good time reading thatbook and I feel like I would
like to have that same good timeagain.
Kelly, do you have any do-oversthat you'd like to, fresh eyes,
(40:50):
take a peek at?
Kelly (40:53):
None that we read this year.
Mari (40:55):
It doesn't have to be from this year, just in general in
your life.
Kelly (41:04):
I mean, there's tons of books that I would love to read
over again, but I don't know,it's not something I really care
about talking about.
I mean, most of them are booksthat are either obscure or most
people have never heard of.
Mari (41:23):
All right.
So a book you wish you wouldhave gotten to this year, a book
you had wanted to finish thisyear, gotten to this year a book
.
Jonathan (41:34):
You, you had wanted to finish this year.
Oh man, I feel like, I feellike.
I feel like mari, since you hadto set that goal, there's
probably a good list of thosefor you um, for me, yes, um.
Mari (41:47):
For me, it's either kushiel's dart series, which I,
when we did our little mid-yeartalk, I mentioned that I was
going to read that this year,didn't read it, haven't read the
first one, haven't picked upthe first one.
So the Cushiel's Dart Series,because a billion people have
recommended it to me for years.
So I hopefully will read thatnext year.
(42:08):
We'll see.
And then probably finishing upthe Dustwalker Brides series,
now that it's complete, I needto finish the rest of those.
Jonathan (42:18):
Nice, nice, ash, do you have any that you wish you
had gotten to?
Ashley (42:23):
Throne of Glass.
Jonathan (42:26):
You haven't read Throne of Glass.
Ashley (42:28):
Don't we own it?
No, we do.
There was a sale and I investedand we just I haven't gotten to
maybe we need to read it as apodcast.
I don't think you're gonna getthe.
She be thick girls what do wetalk?
Jonathan (42:48):
how thick is thick thick is?
Is that the 900?
Mari (42:52):
The last one is 900.
Jonathan (42:53):
Brb, how big is the first one she's going off.
She's on a quest now.
Mari (43:00):
She's got visual aids.
Jonathan (43:02):
Oh yeah, she's getting me.
Oh no, we're out.
Sorry, fuck you.
Book two no, how big does thoselook like?
Mari (43:12):
Book one is 432 pages.
Jonathan (43:16):
Get that what Book one is?
She says book one is 432 pages.
Are the words just big and sothey needed more pages?
Mari (43:24):
There's a lot of story to tell.
Jonathan (43:25):
Page count.
She said 400?
She might have.
The first one is Throne ofGlass.
Okay, hold on.
I said 400.
She might have.
The first one is Throne ofGlass.
Okay, hold on.
Oh, okay, book one.
We could do book one.
She's now holding up book one,which looks reasonable.
The other two books lookunreasonable.
Mari (43:46):
There's seven books.
Jonathan (43:48):
There are seven books.
Oh God, ashley, put yourheadphones on so you can.
No, well, you can talk to me inthe book one.
It looks like a very blah cover, though.
Ashley (44:03):
And not want to finish it.
That doesn't make any sense tome.
Sorry, I'm back.
Jonathan (44:11):
Interesting.
I have them out of orderapparently.
Yeah, alright, what was ourquestion again?
What do you wish I?
Mari (44:22):
would have given to you this year, apparently not thrown
a glass for you not thrown aglass for me.
Jonathan (44:29):
I wish I you know secretly.
I wish I had gotten the mastersof death.
I see it when I look at it.
I wish I you know secretly.
I wish I had gotten the mastersof death.
I see it, it's taunting you.
Ashley (44:36):
Do you want me to read it for you and tell you?
Jonathan (44:38):
No, I don't want you to read it.
No, I would like to.
I don't know, I just I wish.
Ashley (44:47):
I had read it and I just never got to it.
Jonathan (44:49):
That's fair.
Yeah, kelly, is there one thatgot away from you um?
I?
Kelly (44:54):
mean I'd wanted to get to apprentice to the villain just
didn't get there.
Maybe I'll get to it this year.
There were a couple of otherbooks that had caught my
attention that I didn't get to.
One was floating hotel by gracecurtis.
Then there were a couple ofnon-fiction books I had wanted
to read for a while.
I was reading a bunch of booksabout some of the espionage
(45:18):
stuff that went on in World WarII.
You know the old saying abouthow World War II was won because
of American industry, russianblood and English intelligence.
So I read like year before lastI read Operation Men's Meat and
some books that were like thatabout some of the crazy stuff
(45:39):
that the intelligence servicesdid during the war that probably
significantly played a role butweren't found out about until
all that stuff was declassifiedin the 90s.
One of the books I wanted toread this year that came out was
a book called D-Day Girls andit's about spies the spies in
(45:59):
Vichy, france during theoccupation, who were sabotaging
the Nazis and doing all kinds ofcrazy stuff becoming saboteurs
because women were least likelyto be suspected of being
saboteurs, running around,blowing stuff up, you know,
doing all kinds of stuff.
Oh yeah, completely allorganized by women.
(46:21):
They, you know, they organizeda train derailment, they blew up
weapon caches, they destroyed apower plant.
I mean, these women were prettybadass, I like it, and they
were pretty much trained by theEnglish, sent back over there
with the directive to just setEurope ablaze in retaliation.
Ashley (46:47):
Fuck yeah.
Kelly (46:50):
And like half of them, ended up getting caught and
executed and their story prettymuch remained a secret until you
know this came out and gotdeclassified in like the 90s Wow
.
So the women who didn't getcaught lived with this secret,
you know, until most of them hadpassed away by the time this
(47:10):
was all declassified.
Jonathan (47:16):
Wild.
Very nice, I like it Was that.
Do you say it was fiction?
Kelly (47:22):
No, it is nonfiction, that's like.
That's like actually from thedeclassified, you know MI6
English intelligence files thatyou know, from all the stuff
they did in the war, likeOperation Mincemeat where they
dropped a dead body for theGermans to find, to mislead the
Germans about the D-Day invasion, stuff, like that.
(47:43):
The English intelligence didsome really crazy stuff and
there's a lot of history fromthat era, during the war years,
of the contributions that womenand minorities made that have
been largely ignored by history.
I mean, we all know about theyou see the pictures of Rosie
the Riveter and all that kind ofstuff.
(48:03):
But there was a lot, a lot ofother things that women and
minorities were doing that stillmost people don't know about
and there's probably even stillthat nobody knows about still.
Jonathan (48:18):
Yeah, very cool stuff.
Mari (48:20):
If you guys haven't seen it, like I didn't read anything
about it.
But Kelly told me about theoperation mincemeat.
But there's a movie.
I just got both the Darcy's init.
It's got Matthew McFadden andColin Firth in it, but it's,
it's a.
It it's got Matthew McFaddenand Colin Firth in it, but it's,
it's a.
It's a good movie and it tellsyou the craziness of like
operation mincemeat andeverything they did.
Kelly (48:38):
Yeah, the entire premise of what they did is so ludicrous
, but it's all like a hundredpercent factual.
Jonathan (48:46):
That's pretty neat.
I like that.
Mari (48:48):
All right, the only other other, like last two, everyone
answered right yeah, I think sothe last two questions I had was
just, I had put it out toeveryone, whatever and all the
social media stuff to see ifanyone had any questions for us.
And we had a question from Lisaon Facebook and it was just
(49:10):
simple your favorite book, Iguess, of the year, favorite
book and least favorite book andI can start, because I'm
throwing this out at you guys.
So least favorite book for mewas Fledgling, which we've
already talked about, and thenfavorite book of this year, I
can't pick just one.
Like there was 258 books andlike 49 of them were five star
(49:32):
books.
So I read a lot of good booksthis year.
But I can break it down bygenre.
So for sci-fi, it was A Psalmfor the Wild Built.
It was very, very good and it'sa tie between that one and
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir.
They were both very, very goodsci-fi books.
I would recommend to anybody.
For fantasy weird they wereboth very, very good sci-fi
(49:52):
books.
I would recommend to anybody.
For fantasy Goblin Emperor 100%Beautiful story, great listen.
And then for romanacy, actuallyit's going to be Between, the
Chronicles of Between.
It was a very well fleshed outworld with a lot of really cool
quirky characters and it's abook that I would recommend to
(50:17):
just about anybody and you couldlisten to with anybody, other
than the fact that it's long.
It's a long book, but it's areally charming.
Cozy, quaint world Makes youfeel like you're watching a
comfort TV show.
So those are my answers so I'mdigging here.
Ashley (50:44):
I think the book that um I liked this year that I don't
think we've talked too muchabout, was blood marked um,
which is the second book in theLegendborn Cycle series by Tracy
Dion, and it's in and I'm goingto butcher this, so please
don't make fun of me it's anArthurian tale, so I don't think
(51:08):
I've ever read anything in thevein of you know, like the
Knight's Table and King Arthur.
So this is like a modern day,not necessarily retelling,
because they bring in Arthurianlegend have been um passed down
(51:37):
through like genealogy, but likethe twist with this one is that
um is that there's a young girlwho's the main character and
she's of african-americandescent, which goes against
everything um that they've knownas their like, as they've been
following the genealogy stuffand I'm butchering it because
I'm just coming on the spot withit.
(51:57):
But I really liked book one andbook two was released in
January, so I'm not sure whenbook three comes out, but I was
pleasantly surprised.
I thought the plot was reallywell done.
It is YA, so there's like zeroto no spice, but there is like a
whole love triangle situationand it was just like a really
interesting concept to me of.
(52:20):
You know, powers being passeddown through the generations
isn't necessarily new, but I hadnot read anything in the vein
of Arthurian tales and I thoughtthat was really cool.
Mari (52:32):
I've heard of this series.
I haven't read it, but I haveheard good things about it.
Ashley (52:37):
Yeah, I really liked it.
It's not anything like mindblowing or brand new, probably
to those who are familiar withthe legends, but there are some
flashbacks, like there's a wholereason, obviously, why she's
involved, and it actually digsinto a lot of African-American
(52:57):
history and that trauma.
I just thought it was very welldone and very well explained.
I was a big fan.
Jonathan (53:08):
Interesting For me.
Least favorite book a dowry ofblood just wasn't, wasn't my jam
.
And then favorite book you knowI had more five star reads than
I thought I did, but themajority of those are, uh,
(53:32):
nonfiction.
So if I had to go with fiction,hmm, I would say, um, ooh, iron
flame.
But I don't want to leave it atjust iron flame.
Um, I also want to say maybe sothree, my favorite three wolf
(54:02):
gone wild, I did enjoy,assistant to the villain.
Those three, those three arethat's the trifecta for me.
Kelly, did you have a best anda worst?
Kelly (54:20):
I only gave a five star to one book this year and that
was the Ministry of Time, by farand away the best book I read
this year and the least favoritebook I read this year.
The book that I gave the lowestreview to was the Last Storm,
and we talked about that on theepisode where we reviewed it and
most of that was I.
(54:40):
Just it was not a book Ienjoyed.
It wasn't my cup of tea becauseof a lot of the issues that
were in the book.
Many people enjoyed it andthat's great for them, but it
wasn't for me.
Jonathan (54:55):
I agree, I have that one marked low as well.
Mari (55:07):
Yeah, all right.
Is there anything else wrap upwise or for next year that we
want to bring up, or?
Jonathan (55:10):
talk about.
Before I wrap it up, I justwant to say thank you.
It's been a great year ofreading.
Y'all have opened my world tonew and exciting worlds and I'm
grateful for that.
Mari (55:23):
It's been a fun ride with you guys.
Yeah, it's been good.
I'm glad we are doing this.
Jonathan (55:30):
Agreed.
Mari (55:34):
All right.
Thanks for listening to ofswords and soulmates.
Before we go, make sure tocheck out the show notes, rate,
review and subscribe to us onyour podcast app of choice.
It helps others to find us.
Follow us on instagram, at ofswords and soulmates, or join
our facebook page at of swordsand soulmates.
Check us out on our website ofswords and soulmates dot com, or
on YouTube, tiktok, pinterest,same username, if you'd like to
(55:56):
offer a suggestion for a futureepisode.
Reach out to us on any of theseoptions above or email us If
you want to read along with usas we prep for a new episode.
Follow us on Goodreads at ofSwords and Soulmates, or for
chapter by chapter interactionon the Fable app at the Of
Swords and Soulmates book club.
And we hope you'll join us intwo weeks for our next episode,
(56:16):
when we will be talking aboutFourth Wing by Rebecca Yaros.
Bye-bye.
Jonathan (56:27):
How'd you get Kelly into it?
How'd you talk Kelly into?
Ashley (56:30):
it Poor Kelly.
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