September 18, 2023 • 35 mins
Susan and Whittney discuss what they read and watched this summer.
For items mentioned in this episode, click here.
Website: susanandwhittney.buzzsprout.com
Instagram: @susanandwhittney
Facebook: The Conversation with Susan and Whittney
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Susan (00:38):
Hi Whitney.
Whittney (00:40):
Hey, Suze.
Susan (00:41):
Hey, welcome back to another episode of Novel Ideas,
and this time we're gonna talkabout what we have been reading
and enjoying this summer.
Whittney (00:50):
I'm so excited, Suze.
There's been a lot that wehaven't talked about that we've
read.
I.
Susan (00:55):
I know in speaking of that, at the beginning of the
summer season, I.
Happy Place By Emily Henry wasreleased.
And Emily Henry, for those thatdon't know, is one of our
favorite authors.
We really enjoy her books andShe came out with her new book,
happy Place.
So I read it and then I mailedWhitney a copy for her to read
on all her work travels.
And we have yet to talk aboutwhat are our thoughts on this
(01:16):
book.
So Whitney, what did you thinkof Happy Place?
Whittney (01:21):
Well, first off, I'm going to say this book came in
very handy on my first travelperiod, which was 23 days long.
so I finished this by the end ofmy 23 day travel period at the
beginning of the summer.
So it was a lovely end to a longburst of travel.
I also wanna just shout out thecolors on the cover, which are
(01:43):
pink and there's a lot ofyellow, so it's very on brand
for us.
This book cover,
Susan (01:49):
I felt like the cover was very joyful.
Whittney (01:52):
Yes, joyful, happy colors, are some of our favorite
colors.
I Really loved the setting ofthis book.
I don't know how you felt aboutthe setting, but I'm pretty sure
it's basically based on BarHarbor, Maine, and I went.
To Bar Harbor, Maine last summeron a vacation.
So it was pretty cool to picturesome of the things they were
(02:13):
doing in light of what Iremember about Bar Harbor,
Maine.
Susan (02:19):
Yeah, no, I think the setting was one of the strong
points of the book.
And just for some context, forthose that haven't read this, it
is about a group of friendsbasically coming together.
For their annual summer trip,they do this Bar Harbor trip.
They always get together andshare this house and so it's
kind of like the reunion of thefriends, but this time there's a
twist because.
(02:41):
One of the couples, Harriet andWyn, they had been a perfect
couple since college.
They have now broken up but havenot told their best friends that
they've broken up.
So they have to put on thischarade during their annual
friends weekend that they'restill together.
And then that kind of comesfalling apart.
There's other secrets that otherfriends are keeping from the
group as well.
So it's really an interestingcommentary on friendship and
(03:03):
what you choose to share.
how people can grow apart orgrow together.
So for me, the trajectory of thefriendships and how that mirrors
different things that we all gothrough in our lives with our
friendships, that to me was themost interesting or relatable
part of this book.
Whittney (03:20):
Yes, I agree.
And I think for me, one of thethings that stood out was, this
group of friends, they've all..they all used to live together
in New York City when they werelike in grad school, even after
they had finished theirundergrad, which is where the
entire group met.
It was so relatable to readabout a group of friends that
then of course, are nowdispersed across the country,
(03:42):
right?
Nobody is living in the samearea anymore, and the tensions
that that can create andfriendships and how when you're
not physically with the, groupof people all the time, how you
can kind of, hide things thatyou're going through or just,
not be as open as You were inthe past because you actually
(04:02):
have that distance and thatability to kind of keep those
things private, right?
Susan (04:08):
I liked the story.
I think for me there was otherEmily Henry books that were
higher for me on my list.
Like last summer Book Lovers wasreleased, favorite one.
I loved book lovers.
It was so funny.
It was so funny and witty.
And the between the two maincharacters.
Uh,, it was Nora and Charlie, Ibelieve.
(04:29):
I was laughing out loud atvarious points but,
Whittney (04:31):
Mm-hmm.
Susan (04:32):
that to me was my favorite one.
That was probably one of myfavorite reads last summer.
So this one was not up to thatlevel.
I still really enjoyed it, whichis the beauty of Emily Henry is
that even if it's not yourfavorite book, somehow you're
still compelled to turn thepages.
Whittney (04:47):
Mm-hmm.
Susan (04:48):
I just didn't feel as connected to this group of
friends.
Um, she did a great job atbuilding the connection.
Like, I think she did it well.
I just personally didn't feel asinvested as maybe I was with
some of the other characters andI, that might have been more of
a me thing.
Not a fault of Emily Henry.
But yeah, love the relationshipbetween Wynn and Harriett.
(05:09):
I liked win a lot, and I thinkthat's another strength of Emily
Henry as she writes theseincredible male characters,
almost to a fault where I'm likebecause they don't actually
exist.
And so I'm like, this is why wehave unrealistic standards for
men.
And I'm out there trying to findguy who's like in the Emily
Henry book and he doesn't exist.
(05:29):
So I her on one hand for makingthis like Ideal guy that you
just swoon over while you'rereading.
But on the other hand, I wannathrow the book because I'm
like,, that's not real.
upping my expectations.
what did you
Whittney (05:43):
Yeah, Yeah, agreed.
I definitely loved Wyn wasn't asinto Harriett, and I think that
that was one of the reasons Ihad trouble connecting to the
central relationship storylinehere.
Even even Harriet's friendships.
Like I get that they are allclose and everything, but
(06:05):
because I didn't connect as muchto Harriett or I didn't identify
as much with her.
I, I wasn't rooting for her asmuch as I was like rooting for
Wyn weirdly.
So I wanted their relationshipto be fixed because I thought
Wyn deserved to be happy.
that sounds terrible, but So I,yeah.
I found that I wasn't really asinvested in Harriet.
(06:27):
I weirdly was invested in whatis, what was the one girl's the
artist girl.
I was, I felt like I was muchmore invested in her
relationship.
It was like Kimmy and Kimmy'sgirlfriend, I can't remember her
name.
Susan (06:43):
I know I know who you're talking about.
Whittney (06:46):
I feel like I was a little bit more invested in
their, their life
Susan (06:50):
Yeah.
Sabrina and Perth were the othercouple, and I felt like I
enjoyed their relationship.
I mean, again, I did enjoy thefriends.
Emily Henry's very good atwriting conversations between
friends, like she weaves indifferent backstories or inside
jokes that they've experienced.
You kind of feel like you're.
You have a good idea of whattheir friendship's all about and
(07:11):
how they all came together andhow they bond.
So, again, she's very gifted atthat.
But yeah, I, for me, this waslike, it was a good Read, but it
wasn't an amazing read.
And I don't know that I wouldrecommend it to everybody, but
I, I still enjoyed it.
Whittney (07:27):
Yeah.
if you were to rank the books, Ithink you and I both agree that
book Lovers would rank numberone of Emily Henry's books.
Susan (07:36):
I think Beach read number two, and then people we made on
vacation number three, and thoseare tight because I liked both
of them a lot.
But I think since Beach Read wasthe first one that I read of
hers, and it pleasant
Whittney (07:47):
yeah.
Susan (07:47):
to me.
Like I was surprised at how muchI really liked that book.
That maybe just, you know, thefeeling you get the first time
you discover a new author ordiscover.
Whittney (07:56):
Yes.
Susan (07:57):
It's something you really like about a story.
That's how I feel like a specialconnection to that book, since
it was my first Emily Henry one.
But yeah, I would say BookLovers Beach read.
People meet on vacation And nowHappy place coming in after
that.
Whittney (08:11):
So according to Goodreads, the average ratings
We are, in good company rating.
Book lovers number one, butHappy Place has the second
highest rating.
Just very close behind booklovers.
So Book Lovers has a 4.17average rating and Happy Place
has a 4.13 average rating.
(08:31):
So it seems like a lot of EmilyHenry fans either, either people
are picking up her books youknow, last summer and this
summer more frequently than theywere in the past, or, we are an
unpopular opinion herepotentially.
So I think that that'sinteresting.
Susan (08:50):
Yeah, that is interesting.
It's, it just depends on howmuch weight you put on book
reads or good read stats.
Right.
Whittney (08:58):
Yeah, I mean, beach Read has a 4.03 and then people
we meet on vacation has a 3.91,which again, I think you and I
both agree, people we meet onvacation was a fantastic book.
It's just not, not her bestwork.
Susan (09:14):
So Whitney, I'll go through some of the reads that
I've enjoyed this summer.
First of all, I wanna say thatthe last time, the last Novel
Ideas episode we released, Italked about, I am not your
perfect Mexican daughter.
I wasn't yet done with thatbook, and I promised I would
come back and give my finalreview.
So I just wanna say that I, Idid really enjoy that story.
I thought it was worth the read.
So I gave that four stars forme.
(09:38):
Probably My favorite book thissummer, Whitney, is The Heart's
Invisible Furies by John Boyne.
Have you heard of this?
Whittney (09:46):
I have not.
Please tell me more.
Susan (09:48):
Okay, so the author, John Boyne, I think he might be most
known for his book, the Boy inthe Striped Pajamas.
But this book, basically, it'shard to give a synopsis without
giving away some of the bigthings.
But essentially it's a storythat leads you through one man's
life from before he was evenborn up until the very end of
his life.
So you go through the entiretrajectory of his experiences
(10:12):
him.
he is born in Dublin.
Ireland.
So a lot of the book takes placein Ireland at one point.
There's a setting in the UnitedStates, and then it goes back to
Ireland.
But it's just the ups and downsof someone's life, everything he
goes through, there's somereally eccentric characters.
There are a lot of really sadmoments, but also some really
(10:32):
hilarious moments.
So this book has sort of theperfect combination of.
Emotions where anything that'sreally dark is balanced out by
the amazing writing and thehilarious situations that this
character finds himself in.
I just loved this book andeveryone I, I've recommended it
to has also loved it.
It's five stars for me.
Whittney (10:54):
Amazing.
I'm gonna have to read this.
Susan (10:56):
It is 582 pages, so it was quite a long read.
I did it on audio and I will sayI highly recommend, I know you
don't really do audio, but foranyone else listening, the audio
narrator is so gifted.
So just a little plug there forthe audio book, but I highly
recommend this.
It's just such a great story.
Whittney (11:14):
Amazing.
Yes.
I'm sure none of our listenerswill be surprised to hear you
plug an audio book for a readthat you really enjoyed.
It's very on brand for you.
Susan (11:23):
No, it was just the characters that you encounter in
this story are just so rich.
They're such, such quirkycharacters.
again, I don't wanna go into toospecific about the things that
happened in this character'slife, but definitely worth the
read.
You'll feel like you've justgone on the best kind of journey
in this story.
loved it.
Whittney (11:43):
Awesome.
Susan (11:43):
also, yeah, I also really loved lessons in chemistry.
Is that one that you've read?
Whittney (11:49):
No, I, it's still on my T B R.
Susan (11:51):
Okay.
Well, I read Lessons inChemistry with my book club and
that was unanimously Liked byeveryone.
My sister also read it in herbook club and she said that
there was a few people thatdidn't like it.
So it might depend yourgeneration because this story is
about a woman chemist in the1960s, and it's a lot about her
experiences as a woman in theworkforce and just.
(12:15):
coming from the perspective ofwhere we are now, you sort of
look back and see how much haschanged for women in terms of
having a professional career andhaving equal opportunity in the
workplace.
But you do see how difficult itwas back then for a woman to
make her own way.
this chemist, Elizabeth Zott,she somehow finds herself in the
situation where she's running atelevision cooking show because
(12:38):
cooking is, is really chemistry.
The way that she frames it.
So as a chemist, she approachescooking from this very
scientific perspective.
So, this is a plot that's hardto explain, it's so funny, it's
very quirky.
Whittney (12:53):
Mm-hmm.
Susan (12:53):
Of the best parts of this book is that one of the
narrators is a dog.
The dog's name is six 30 and six30 narrator a character in the
book, and you'll love six 30.
Whittney (13:06):
Interesting that this is the second book this year
that you're talking about onthis podcast that has an animal
narrator because you talkedabout Marcellus in what was that
book called?
Susan (13:17):
bright creatures.
Yes.
loved.
I loved that book so much.
I think I really like an animalnarrator because it's just a
different perspective.
It's a lighter perspective.
Just something unique anddifferent.
So I really appreciated whatthis, what Bonnie Garma, the
author was trying to do withthis story.
I feel like she was trying totry out some different
(13:37):
techniques.
It was so different fromanything I've read recently.
I know a lot of people havecommented that it was hard for
them to read about.
I.
What women dealt with in the1960s, like sexual harassment in
the workplace, not havingopportunities the same as men,
you know,, not getting paid thesame, and it's by no means
perfect this day and age.
(13:58):
I know that those things stillexist, right?
It's just that this book doesshow that we have made progress,
but I can see where that wouldbe a.
Setting, particularly for peoplewho maybe lived through this
time and it hits a little tooclose to home.
Whittney (14:10):
Yeah, it's sometimes we need to read about where
we've been to see how far we'vecome,
Susan (14:17):
And I, I think it's a really important read.
So Whitney,, another book that Ireally enjoyed this summer is
called The Cartographers by PangShepherd.
And obviously as the titleindicates, it has a lot to do
with maps and there in thisstory, there is a map that this
map is like a portal to adifferent world.
(14:39):
So it's kind of like a fantasyfiction.
Mystery thriller.
It was fun read and I enjoyedit.
And Whitney, My other favoritebook of the summer is One
Italian Summer by RebeccaSearle.
Whittney (14:56):
Oh yes.
Susan (14:57):
yeah.
Have you heard of this?
Whittney (14:59):
Yes, I've read I think one of her books in the past.
Susan (15:04):
Well, when we went on vacation, my sister brought this
book with her she read it inlike two days she was raving
about it and telling me I had toread it.
So I picked it up and also lovedit as much as she did.
It's just, it's such a touching,delightful, heartfelt story.
It's about this woman, Katie.
Her mother recently passes awayand they had planned a trip to
(15:25):
go to Positano together, and shedecides, Katie decides to go on
this trip by herself as sort of,like she's grieving her mother,
but she's still kind of therewith her mother in spirit,
right?
And then when she's in Italy, Idon't really wanna give away the
surprise twist, but sheencounters a really surprising.
Character and she finds anothercharacter who she has a romantic
(15:47):
relationship with.
'cause she's also kind ofgrappling with the status of her
marriage.
'cause I think when you gothrough a really traumatic
experience of losing a parent,you kind of question the other
relationships in your life.
Like Everything falls apart.
So the story's kind of aboutKatie being broken going to
Positano to rediscover herselfand try to figure out her
relationships.
(16:09):
And then you know how they allend up coming back together.
So I just thought It was sodelightful.
The setting is amazing.
You feel like you are justsitting on a balcony in Italy,
basking in the sun, sippingLeman cello, looking out over
the coast.
I mean, it's just, you feel likeyou're there.
I immediately wanted to booktickets to Italy I, I get over
(16:33):
how lovely this book was.
It was a lovely, delightful,pleasant book.
Whittney (16:38):
It sounds like it would be a great vacation read
or a great staycation read,
Susan (16:42):
It was, I mean, Devin and I were both reading it on the
beach and the morning I finishedit, I was sitting in the beach
house, like basking in thesunlight, eating an Italian
wedding cookie So fitting forthe story, I was sipping my
coffee and eating my Italiancookie reading this book.
And it was just like, That wasdelightful, right?
and I was reading this very justfeel good, delightful, lovely
(17:05):
book.
I kind of felt, I said to Devin,thank you for sharing that with
me.
'cause I feel like that was sucha a special experience just
reading that book.
Like I, I just really loved it.
You feel, you feel good readingthat story?
Whittney (17:19):
do you know what, it made me think of when you were
describing the scene when youwere reading that book?
It reminds me of remnants of aperfect morning.
Susan (17:30):
Oh yes.
Whitney, can you share forlisteners what, what are you,
what talking about right now?
Whittney (17:36):
So I remember it still lived in Pennsylvania and you
came to stay at our house inBellefonte and I had put, I
think, an Oprah magazine in yourroom for you because that was
back during the time when theyactually still, I.
Made Oprah magazines and then wehad,, you came down in the
morning and you had yourmagazine and we made coffee and
(17:59):
you said, these are the remnantsof a perfect morning.
Susan (18:03):
Yes.
Well you're right.
This book brings back remnantsof a perfect Morning.
I was having like the mostdelightful experience and it was
just a beautiful story.
It was beautiful writing.
Also at the end of the book,which was really neat, is the
author included emails betweenherself and.
I don't know if it was the ownerof the hotel, but so the hotel
in the story that Katie stays atis actually based on a real
(18:26):
hotel that the author stayed at.
She stayed there herself and gotthe idea to write a story that
took place in the setting, andshe was emailing back and forth
with, maybe it was like thehotel owner or something, the
manager, in order to get somebackground for her story.
And she included some of thoseemails at the end of the book so
you could see that it was basedon a real experience.
And I thought that was reallycool too, that you got an
(18:47):
insight into What the authorexperienced and how she came up
with the idea for the story.
I, I love when books dosomething like that.
Whittney (18:56):
That is really cool.
I realized that I hadn't hadthis on my T B R list, but I am
putting it on right now.
Sounds amazing.
Susan (19:03):
What have you been reading this summer that you've
been loving?
Whittney (19:07):
One thing that I read this summer, so, we haven't
really talked too much about,you know, my work travel in the
summer, but, I travel for workto college campuses and we host
programs for enlisted veteranswho are trying to transition to
higher education One of ourparticipants this summer was an
English major.
(19:27):
And so he and I were talkingabout reading and writing a
little bit, and he recommended abook to me.
He's very into reading andmilitary fiction.
And so he had recommended a bookto me called Redeployment by
Phil Clay.
It was a really interesting,book for me because I don't read
a lot about military stuff, eventhough I work pretty.
(19:49):
Consistently in a militaryconnected field.
So redeployment won the Nationalbook award for fiction in 2014.
And so I'm now potentiallylooking into are there other
military fiction books that Imight like.
But shout out to Troy Ashcroft,for telling me about
redeployment by Phil Clay,because it was a very enjoyable
(20:11):
read.
I read a whole series thissummer.
So Susan, are you familiar withthe Amazon Prime series?
This summer I turned pretty,
Susan (20:22):
Yes.
So actually when I was in NewYork the other weekend, there
was a huge billboard about thesummer.
I turned pretty, the show but Ihave not watched it myself, so
you'll have to tell me whatthat's about.
Whittney (20:34):
So it's a trilogy by Jenny Hahn.
It's a young adult book.
Trilogy.
And so I was really excitedbecause I got, really sucked in.
It's about, two families that,the moms have been best friends
their whole lives, Susanna andLaurel, were best friends and
now their kids.
(20:54):
Spend summers together.
So Susanna owns a beach house ina fictional Cape cod esque town
and is in Massachusetts andevery summer Laurel's kids,
belly, they call her belly.
Her real name is Isabelle orIsabella.
But she goes by belly, which Ikind of find weird and like Why
(21:18):
would you call yourself belly?
That just seems like a weirdnickname, but she goes by belly.
And then her brother Steven andLaurel come every summer and
they spend the summer withSusanna and her two sons, Conrad
and Jeremiah.
And so basically the trilogy isessentially a love triangle
between belly and Susanna'ssons, Conrad and Jeremiah.
(21:42):
Because at one point when hersons were born, Susanna says
that she knew and Belly wasborn.
She knew that belly was likemeant for her sons.
And it's interesting because Iwas so excited about the series.
I think the series is so welldone, which Jenny Hahn, I think
is a producer on the series, soshe's very involved in it.
(22:04):
I think the series isincredible.
It just really sucks you in.
If you have Amazon Prime, Ihighly recommend it.
So I decided to pick up like thebooks, you know me, I, if I like
the, the visual, like the showor movie that a book is based
off of, usually I like the bookeven better, right?
(22:24):
I.
So for this one, I have to say,this is one of the rare
occurrences where I, and I'veread all three books now.
I flew through them.
They were very easy reads.
the books I feel are not as richand, well done as, as the
series.
I feel like the series just has.
(22:44):
Many more layers and many morenuances and like additional
characters and subplots.
So this is one of those rareoccurrences where I didn't like
the book better.
Susan (22:56):
Actually, Whitney, didn't you say the similar or the same
thing about Sweet Magnolias?
Whittney (23:01):
Oh, yes, that's true.
But, but again, it's not acommon occurrence for me.
Normally, if something is basedon a book, I will always like
the book better, like with ahandful of exceptions.
Susan (23:13):
Right.
No, I understand that becauseyou would get more background,
maybe some more descriptions,things like that.
So obviously it sounds like theseries is one to put on the
watch list, but the books Icould forego.
Whittney (23:26):
Yes, I think so.
Also, there's apparently aphenomenon where, women in their
thirties and forties areobsessed with this show, and
it's interesting because it'ssupposed to be made for like
teenagers.
This is like a coming of age Idon't wanna say drama, but a
coming of age story andapparently it's the, the
demographic that's most oftenwatching it is people our age.
Susan (23:49):
Well obviously I knew it was popular'cause I saw the
billboard in Times Square,which, you know, that's like all
the most trending things rightnow.
all right, well, duly noted.
Duly noted.
What else has been on your T B Rthis summer that has been worth
the read?
Whittney (24:05):
So I wanna give a shout out to Carly Fortune.
I'm currently reading Meet Me AtThe Lake, which is her newest
book, are you familiar withCarly Fortune?
Susan?
Susan (24:17):
I've heard you mention her before, but I have not read
anything by her.
Whittney (24:22):
So last summer, She had released a book called Every
Summer After, and so I had putit on my library holds list and
I almost had forgotten about it.
And then at the end of thesummer, I got the hold for every
summer after, and I read it andI just Loved it.
It was so wonderful and rich andengrossing the story and it was
(24:44):
layered and deep.
And honestly, I think a lot ofpeople who, like the summer I
turn pretty series or the AmazonPrime series or the book series
would probably enjoy everysummer after, because again,
it's like this girl spending asummer by the lake, with these
two brothers.
And all, everything that comeswith that.
(25:05):
so shout out to Carly Fortune.
That book was amazing.
And so I'm reading Meet Me Atthe Lake, which is a similar
book.
I will note that both of thesebooks are set in Canada, so some
of the references, unless you'refamiliar with Canada, you might
have to look up some of theplaces to get a feel for the
regions that she's writingabout, But, I'm just so excited
(25:27):
'cause it's it's about a, awoman who, whose mother passes
away and she's taking over the,Lakeside resort that her family
has owned for 50 years and likeunexpectedly, she has to come
home and take over it.
So It has kind of Emily Henryvibes to it.
And it's really good so far andI'm very excited.
(25:50):
So I would recommend this newestone for Meet Me at the Lake for
fans of Emily Henry.
But something cool also is thatprince Harry and Meghan Markle
actually bought the rights toadapt this book for Netflix So I
just found that reallyinteresting.
So we'll probably be seeing thison Netflix next year, I imagine.
Susan (26:12):
Oh, that's great.
And this is a case, well, Idon't know how that show will
turn out, but It sounds likethis is definitely a case where
the source material is verystrong.
Whittney (26:20):
Yes.
Well, I, again, I think I'mmaybe 30% of the way through
'cause I just got the holdrecently.
But, I'm savoring it.
I'm not like flying through itas fast as I probably could,
but, so far it is living up tothe hype.
Susan (26:34):
Oh, that's awesome.
think I'll put that on my holdSounds good.
Whittney (26:39):
Again, I think it is, this one in particular is more
Emily Henry fan, like would,would enjoy it.
So try this one first.
Susan (26:47):
Yeah, definitely.
So, what about anything thatyou've been watching this
summer?
Did you get to watch SweetMagnolias yet, or No?
Whittney (26:55):
I, I have not watched Sweet Magnolias yet.
Susan (26:57):
I did finish it last weekend.
I think I was telling you thatwhen I was dog sitting for my
sister, I was watching it and Ithink the last time I was dog
sitting for them, season two hadcome out.
So I feel like every time I'mdog sitting, I'm watching Sweet
Magnolias with the pups.
So I told them when I talked tothem, you know, I was like, this
is our show.
So we were watching our showtogether.
I finished it.
I thought it was really good.
(27:18):
I, I think Sweet Magnolias isjust, such a nice show.
Whittney (27:22):
Yes, it's a very accessible feel good.
Feel good series.
Yeah.
Susan (27:27):
Yeah, I really enjoy it.
Whittney (27:28):
So one thing that we watched this summer that I think
is really good, but Susan, Ican't remember, I think I've
talked to you about this before,but I can't remember if you've
ever seen The Bear.
It's a, an FX show that is onHulu.
Susan (27:44):
No, I have not.
Whittney (27:46):
So season two of the Bear came out, and it was
really, really good, completelylived up to the hype.
So that's another show that Nateand I watched together and it
was just fantastic and I enjoyedit a lot.
Susan (28:01):
That's great.
So Whitney, what's that about?
Whittney (28:04):
So it's about a Chicago area restaurant and the
people who work in it.
It's a weirdly like heartwarmingshow.
Like I saw one article aboutseason two recommending it for
people who had watched all ofTed Lasso and needed a new show
that they should watch The Bearbecause the bear has like
(28:25):
similar themes.
And I, it was funny because I'veseen, I haven't seen the entire
Ted Lasso, like series.
But I've seen some episodes andI, I understand the vibes of
those and I have watched all ofthe Bear and I was like, that's
an interesting correlation thatthey're making.
But I can kind of see it becausedespite challenges and Setbacks,
(28:51):
the team working at therestaurant, which in the season
two they launched the newrestaurant and the restaurant is
called The Bear.
So that's why the show is calledThe Bear.
Also in general, the, I thinkthe process to put the this, to
fix the restaurant and put ittogether in its new format is a
bear, so to speak, of achallenge.
(29:11):
Also the last name of the familythat owns the restaurant.
Sounds like bear.
So that's why, it's always been,they've always decided that's
what they were gonna call therestaurant was the bear.
So I highly it.
Susan (29:24):
That sounds good.
I have not seen Ted Lasso, eventhough I guess you said you
don't see the correlationnecessarily between the two, but
I have not seen that.
I've actually heard You mentionthe bear, but I have not seen it
or heard much about it myself,so thanks for putting that on my
radar.
Whittney (29:39):
Yeah.
What else were you watching?
Other than Sweet Magnolias?
Susan (29:43):
I actually just started watching the Lincoln Lawyer
season two'cause I, I don't knowif you remember when the Lincoln
Lawyer movie came out years ago.
It's based on a book series byMichael Connolly, the movie I
loved it had Matthew McConaugheyand so when the season came out,
the show came out, sorry, lastyear.
I loved that.
And then yeah, just startedwatching season two.
I also watched Wednesday thissummer.
(30:04):
I know I'm late to the game onthat one, but I, I watched
Wednesday
Whittney (30:08):
Oh, I love Wednesday.
Susan (30:10):
yeah, me too.
I thought it was really welldone.
Again, just a fun show.
think, honestly, I've been sortof laying low with TV and movies
this summer.
I've just sort of been otherthings, so really not too much
on my watch schedule.
I guess focusing more on readingthis summer.
Whittney (30:27):
Yeah.
Nate and I also just, since I'vebeen home from travel started
the show Killing It.
I don't know if you've heard ofthat one.
It's a peacock show.
And it's about a guy who needssome money for, a business idea
he has, which is creating a sawPalmetto farm in the Everglades
in Florida.
And he tries to go through thenormal means to secure the
(30:49):
investment you know, getting aloan, et cetera.
And he ends up, needing to justbecome a, Burmese python hunter
in the Everglades because he,there's a contest and there's
prize money for the person wholike kills the most Burmese
pythons'cause they're aninvasive species.
That's Wreaking havoc on theEverglades ecosystem, which is
(31:10):
actually a true thing that ishappening in Florida and it's
been happening for many years.
I'm not sure if you were awareof that.
Susan (31:16):
No, I'm not.
Whittney (31:18):
So, a lot of people in Florida, I 10 ish years ago or
more having a Burmese python asa pet was like a thing that
people did, but then they buythese snakes as like little tiny
snakes and then they, Burmesepython just keeps growing and
gets bigger and then needs,larger food sources.
And so a lot of times I thinkwhen people buy a snake as a
(31:41):
pet, they don't think aboutthat.
And then a snake lives a longtime.
so, apparently people in Floridaparticularly were just like
releasing their snakes into thewild'cause they just couldn't
handle taking care of themanymore.
and in the Everglades it was aperfect storm of the right
conditions for snakes.
And so they were breeding atridiculous rates in the
(32:04):
Everglades, all these pythons,it was a great habitat for them.
And so, so This is a realproblem.
And so this in the state ofFlorida, I think pretty much
anybody is allowed to kill aBurmese python if they see it in
the wild, because again, they'remessing up the food chain and
wreaking havoc on the ecosystembecause they don't have any
natural predators because theyare not a natural species in the
(32:25):
Everglades.
This, comedy show on Peacock,the whole first season is them
killing snakes to win this prizemoney so that they can start
their saw Palmetto Farm And so,
Susan (32:36):
goodness.
What a premise.
Yeah, sounds terrifying,
Whittney (32:41):
That it sounds gory and whatever, but like it,
because it's a comedy, becauseit's a comedy, they like tone
down the gore a little bit.
Susan (32:50):
Right.
Well, I will keep that one inmind.
that I know the I'm like, Idon't know.
But I appreciate hearing aboutsomething new.
'cause I'm really not, myfinger's not on the pulse of
what's going on with, like showsand movies and, Movies.
I'm trying to get on the pulsewith movies though.
I'm going to see a Barbie movietomorrow and Oppenheimer is
(33:10):
still on my list.
Whittney (33:11):
So I have seen the Barbie movie and I cannot wait
to talk about the Barbie moviewith you when you have seen it.
Nate and I went to see it.
We have not yet seenOppenheimer, but whenever I was
traveling this summer, I.
We went to some campuses thathad ties to the Oppenheimer
story.
Two of them were like ColumbiaUniversity.
There were some labs where a lotof the work for the project was
(33:34):
done at Columbia.
Susan (33:36):
I was just thinking about, Einstein's connections
with Princeton.
Whittney (33:40):
Oh yes.
In Einstein, yes.
In there.
Yes, there are.
Apparently when we were therefor the alumni conference, a lot
of people were going to therooms where the, where Einstein
had lectured and things likethat.
Princeton was one of the filminglocations for Oppenheimer,
Susan (33:55):
What were the locations
Whittney (33:56):
It looks like it was the East pine courtyard, yes.
The East Pine courtyard was aplace where they filmed, and
they definitely used some of thearchitecture,
Susan (34:09):
I can't wait to see it.
And then I'll, once I see bothmovies, I can weigh in and I can
really, decide which movie isbetter.
But I have a feelingOppenheimer, that's the one that
I actually really wanna see themost.
But anyway, I look forward to uscoming back on again in the fall
to discuss what we're reading,in a few weeks from now.
Whittney (34:27):
And I hope you enjoy Barbie and we will chat about
that soon.
Susan (34:31):
Sounds good.
All right,
Hi Whitney.
Whittney (00:40):
Hey, Suze.
Susan (00:41):
Hey, welcome back to another episode of Novel Ideas,
and this time we're gonna talkabout what we have been reading
and enjoying this summer.
Whittney (00:50):
I'm so excited, Suze.
There's been a lot that wehaven't talked about that we've
read.
I.
Susan (00:55):
I know in speaking of that, at the beginning of the
summer season, I.
Happy Place By Emily Henry wasreleased.
And Emily Henry, for those thatdon't know, is one of our
favorite authors.
We really enjoy her books andShe came out with her new book,
happy Place.
So I read it and then I mailedWhitney a copy for her to read
on all her work travels.
And we have yet to talk aboutwhat are our thoughts on this
(01:16):
book.
So Whitney, what did you thinkof Happy Place?
Whittney (01:21):
Well, first off, I'm going to say this book came in
very handy on my first travelperiod, which was 23 days long.
so I finished this by the end ofmy 23 day travel period at the
beginning of the summer.
So it was a lovely end to a longburst of travel.
I also wanna just shout out thecolors on the cover, which are
(01:43):
pink and there's a lot ofyellow, so it's very on brand
for us.
This book cover,
Susan (01:49):
I felt like the cover was very joyful.
Whittney (01:52):
Yes, joyful, happy colors, are some of our favorite
colors.
I Really loved the setting ofthis book.
I don't know how you felt aboutthe setting, but I'm pretty sure
it's basically based on BarHarbor, Maine, and I went.
To Bar Harbor, Maine last summeron a vacation.
So it was pretty cool to picturesome of the things they were
(02:13):
doing in light of what Iremember about Bar Harbor,
Maine.
Susan (02:19):
Yeah, no, I think the setting was one of the strong
points of the book.
And just for some context, forthose that haven't read this, it
is about a group of friendsbasically coming together.
For their annual summer trip,they do this Bar Harbor trip.
They always get together andshare this house and so it's
kind of like the reunion of thefriends, but this time there's a
twist because.
(02:41):
One of the couples, Harriet andWyn, they had been a perfect
couple since college.
They have now broken up but havenot told their best friends that
they've broken up.
So they have to put on thischarade during their annual
friends weekend that they'restill together.
And then that kind of comesfalling apart.
There's other secrets that otherfriends are keeping from the
group as well.
So it's really an interestingcommentary on friendship and
(03:03):
what you choose to share.
how people can grow apart orgrow together.
So for me, the trajectory of thefriendships and how that mirrors
different things that we all gothrough in our lives with our
friendships, that to me was themost interesting or relatable
part of this book.
Whittney (03:20):
Yes, I agree.
And I think for me, one of thethings that stood out was, this
group of friends, they've all..they all used to live together
in New York City when they werelike in grad school, even after
they had finished theirundergrad, which is where the
entire group met.
It was so relatable to readabout a group of friends that
then of course, are nowdispersed across the country,
(03:42):
right?
Nobody is living in the samearea anymore, and the tensions
that that can create andfriendships and how when you're
not physically with the, groupof people all the time, how you
can kind of, hide things thatyou're going through or just,
not be as open as You were inthe past because you actually
(04:02):
have that distance and thatability to kind of keep those
things private, right?
Susan (04:08):
I liked the story.
I think for me there was otherEmily Henry books that were
higher for me on my list.
Like last summer Book Lovers wasreleased, favorite one.
I loved book lovers.
It was so funny.
It was so funny and witty.
And the between the two maincharacters.
Uh,, it was Nora and Charlie, Ibelieve.
(04:29):
I was laughing out loud atvarious points but,
Whittney (04:31):
Mm-hmm.
Susan (04:32):
that to me was my favorite one.
That was probably one of myfavorite reads last summer.
So this one was not up to thatlevel.
I still really enjoyed it, whichis the beauty of Emily Henry is
that even if it's not yourfavorite book, somehow you're
still compelled to turn thepages.
Whittney (04:47):
Mm-hmm.
Susan (04:48):
I just didn't feel as connected to this group of
friends.
Um, she did a great job atbuilding the connection.
Like, I think she did it well.
I just personally didn't feel asinvested as maybe I was with
some of the other characters andI, that might have been more of
a me thing.
Not a fault of Emily Henry.
But yeah, love the relationshipbetween Wynn and Harriett.
(05:09):
I liked win a lot, and I thinkthat's another strength of Emily
Henry as she writes theseincredible male characters,
almost to a fault where I'm likebecause they don't actually
exist.
And so I'm like, this is why wehave unrealistic standards for
men.
And I'm out there trying to findguy who's like in the Emily
Henry book and he doesn't exist.
(05:29):
So I her on one hand for makingthis like Ideal guy that you
just swoon over while you'rereading.
But on the other hand, I wannathrow the book because I'm
like,, that's not real.
upping my expectations.
what did you
Whittney (05:43):
Yeah, Yeah, agreed.
I definitely loved Wyn wasn't asinto Harriett, and I think that
that was one of the reasons Ihad trouble connecting to the
central relationship storylinehere.
Even even Harriet's friendships.
Like I get that they are allclose and everything, but
(06:05):
because I didn't connect as muchto Harriett or I didn't identify
as much with her.
I, I wasn't rooting for her asmuch as I was like rooting for
Wyn weirdly.
So I wanted their relationshipto be fixed because I thought
Wyn deserved to be happy.
that sounds terrible, but So I,yeah.
I found that I wasn't really asinvested in Harriet.
(06:27):
I weirdly was invested in whatis, what was the one girl's the
artist girl.
I was, I felt like I was muchmore invested in her
relationship.
It was like Kimmy and Kimmy'sgirlfriend, I can't remember her
name.
Susan (06:43):
I know I know who you're talking about.
Whittney (06:46):
I feel like I was a little bit more invested in
their, their life
Susan (06:50):
Yeah.
Sabrina and Perth were the othercouple, and I felt like I
enjoyed their relationship.
I mean, again, I did enjoy thefriends.
Emily Henry's very good atwriting conversations between
friends, like she weaves indifferent backstories or inside
jokes that they've experienced.
You kind of feel like you're.
You have a good idea of whattheir friendship's all about and
(07:11):
how they all came together andhow they bond.
So, again, she's very gifted atthat.
But yeah, I, for me, this waslike, it was a good Read, but it
wasn't an amazing read.
And I don't know that I wouldrecommend it to everybody, but
I, I still enjoyed it.
Whittney (07:27):
Yeah.
if you were to rank the books, Ithink you and I both agree that
book Lovers would rank numberone of Emily Henry's books.
Susan (07:36):
I think Beach read number two, and then people we made on
vacation number three, and thoseare tight because I liked both
of them a lot.
But I think since Beach Read wasthe first one that I read of
hers, and it pleasant
Whittney (07:47):
yeah.
Susan (07:47):
to me.
Like I was surprised at how muchI really liked that book.
That maybe just, you know, thefeeling you get the first time
you discover a new author ordiscover.
Whittney (07:56):
Yes.
Susan (07:57):
It's something you really like about a story.
That's how I feel like a specialconnection to that book, since
it was my first Emily Henry one.
But yeah, I would say BookLovers Beach read.
People meet on vacation And nowHappy place coming in after
that.
Whittney (08:11):
So according to Goodreads, the average ratings
We are, in good company rating.
Book lovers number one, butHappy Place has the second
highest rating.
Just very close behind booklovers.
So Book Lovers has a 4.17average rating and Happy Place
has a 4.13 average rating.
(08:31):
So it seems like a lot of EmilyHenry fans either, either people
are picking up her books youknow, last summer and this
summer more frequently than theywere in the past, or, we are an
unpopular opinion herepotentially.
So I think that that'sinteresting.
Susan (08:50):
Yeah, that is interesting.
It's, it just depends on howmuch weight you put on book
reads or good read stats.
Right.
Whittney (08:58):
Yeah, I mean, beach Read has a 4.03 and then people
we meet on vacation has a 3.91,which again, I think you and I
both agree, people we meet onvacation was a fantastic book.
It's just not, not her bestwork.
Susan (09:14):
So Whitney, I'll go through some of the reads that
I've enjoyed this summer.
First of all, I wanna say thatthe last time, the last Novel
Ideas episode we released, Italked about, I am not your
perfect Mexican daughter.
I wasn't yet done with thatbook, and I promised I would
come back and give my finalreview.
So I just wanna say that I, Idid really enjoy that story.
I thought it was worth the read.
So I gave that four stars forme.
(09:38):
Probably My favorite book thissummer, Whitney, is The Heart's
Invisible Furies by John Boyne.
Have you heard of this?
Whittney (09:46):
I have not.
Please tell me more.
Susan (09:48):
Okay, so the author, John Boyne, I think he might be most
known for his book, the Boy inthe Striped Pajamas.
But this book, basically, it'shard to give a synopsis without
giving away some of the bigthings.
But essentially it's a storythat leads you through one man's
life from before he was evenborn up until the very end of
his life.
So you go through the entiretrajectory of his experiences
(10:12):
him.
he is born in Dublin.
Ireland.
So a lot of the book takes placein Ireland at one point.
There's a setting in the UnitedStates, and then it goes back to
Ireland.
But it's just the ups and downsof someone's life, everything he
goes through, there's somereally eccentric characters.
There are a lot of really sadmoments, but also some really
(10:32):
hilarious moments.
So this book has sort of theperfect combination of.
Emotions where anything that'sreally dark is balanced out by
the amazing writing and thehilarious situations that this
character finds himself in.
I just loved this book andeveryone I, I've recommended it
to has also loved it.
It's five stars for me.
Whittney (10:54):
Amazing.
I'm gonna have to read this.
Susan (10:56):
It is 582 pages, so it was quite a long read.
I did it on audio and I will sayI highly recommend, I know you
don't really do audio, but foranyone else listening, the audio
narrator is so gifted.
So just a little plug there forthe audio book, but I highly
recommend this.
It's just such a great story.
Whittney (11:14):
Amazing.
Yes.
I'm sure none of our listenerswill be surprised to hear you
plug an audio book for a readthat you really enjoyed.
It's very on brand for you.
Susan (11:23):
No, it was just the characters that you encounter in
this story are just so rich.
They're such, such quirkycharacters.
again, I don't wanna go into toospecific about the things that
happened in this character'slife, but definitely worth the
read.
You'll feel like you've justgone on the best kind of journey
in this story.
loved it.
Whittney (11:43):
Awesome.
Susan (11:43):
also, yeah, I also really loved lessons in chemistry.
Is that one that you've read?
Whittney (11:49):
No, I, it's still on my T B R.
Susan (11:51):
Okay.
Well, I read Lessons inChemistry with my book club and
that was unanimously Liked byeveryone.
My sister also read it in herbook club and she said that
there was a few people thatdidn't like it.
So it might depend yourgeneration because this story is
about a woman chemist in the1960s, and it's a lot about her
experiences as a woman in theworkforce and just.
(12:15):
coming from the perspective ofwhere we are now, you sort of
look back and see how much haschanged for women in terms of
having a professional career andhaving equal opportunity in the
workplace.
But you do see how difficult itwas back then for a woman to
make her own way.
this chemist, Elizabeth Zott,she somehow finds herself in the
situation where she's running atelevision cooking show because
(12:38):
cooking is, is really chemistry.
The way that she frames it.
So as a chemist, she approachescooking from this very
scientific perspective.
So, this is a plot that's hardto explain, it's so funny, it's
very quirky.
Whittney (12:53):
Mm-hmm.
Susan (12:53):
Of the best parts of this book is that one of the
narrators is a dog.
The dog's name is six 30 and six30 narrator a character in the
book, and you'll love six 30.
Whittney (13:06):
Interesting that this is the second book this year
that you're talking about onthis podcast that has an animal
narrator because you talkedabout Marcellus in what was that
book called?
Susan (13:17):
bright creatures.
Yes.
loved.
I loved that book so much.
I think I really like an animalnarrator because it's just a
different perspective.
It's a lighter perspective.
Just something unique anddifferent.
So I really appreciated whatthis, what Bonnie Garma, the
author was trying to do withthis story.
I feel like she was trying totry out some different
(13:37):
techniques.
It was so different fromanything I've read recently.
I know a lot of people havecommented that it was hard for
them to read about.
I.
What women dealt with in the1960s, like sexual harassment in
the workplace, not havingopportunities the same as men,
you know,, not getting paid thesame, and it's by no means
perfect this day and age.
(13:58):
I know that those things stillexist, right?
It's just that this book doesshow that we have made progress,
but I can see where that wouldbe a.
Setting, particularly for peoplewho maybe lived through this
time and it hits a little tooclose to home.
Whittney (14:10):
Yeah, it's sometimes we need to read about where
we've been to see how far we'vecome,
Susan (14:17):
And I, I think it's a really important read.
So Whitney,, another book that Ireally enjoyed this summer is
called The Cartographers by PangShepherd.
And obviously as the titleindicates, it has a lot to do
with maps and there in thisstory, there is a map that this
map is like a portal to adifferent world.
(14:39):
So it's kind of like a fantasyfiction.
Mystery thriller.
It was fun read and I enjoyedit.
And Whitney, My other favoritebook of the summer is One
Italian Summer by RebeccaSearle.
Whittney (14:56):
Oh yes.
Susan (14:57):
yeah.
Have you heard of this?
Whittney (14:59):
Yes, I've read I think one of her books in the past.
Susan (15:04):
Well, when we went on vacation, my sister brought this
book with her she read it inlike two days she was raving
about it and telling me I had toread it.
So I picked it up and also lovedit as much as she did.
It's just, it's such a touching,delightful, heartfelt story.
It's about this woman, Katie.
Her mother recently passes awayand they had planned a trip to
(15:25):
go to Positano together, and shedecides, Katie decides to go on
this trip by herself as sort of,like she's grieving her mother,
but she's still kind of therewith her mother in spirit,
right?
And then when she's in Italy, Idon't really wanna give away the
surprise twist, but sheencounters a really surprising.
Character and she finds anothercharacter who she has a romantic
(15:47):
relationship with.
'cause she's also kind ofgrappling with the status of her
marriage.
'cause I think when you gothrough a really traumatic
experience of losing a parent,you kind of question the other
relationships in your life.
Like Everything falls apart.
So the story's kind of aboutKatie being broken going to
Positano to rediscover herselfand try to figure out her
relationships.
(16:09):
And then you know how they allend up coming back together.
So I just thought It was sodelightful.
The setting is amazing.
You feel like you are justsitting on a balcony in Italy,
basking in the sun, sippingLeman cello, looking out over
the coast.
I mean, it's just, you feel likeyou're there.
I immediately wanted to booktickets to Italy I, I get over
(16:33):
how lovely this book was.
It was a lovely, delightful,pleasant book.
Whittney (16:38):
It sounds like it would be a great vacation read
or a great staycation read,
Susan (16:42):
It was, I mean, Devin and I were both reading it on the
beach and the morning I finishedit, I was sitting in the beach
house, like basking in thesunlight, eating an Italian
wedding cookie So fitting forthe story, I was sipping my
coffee and eating my Italiancookie reading this book.
And it was just like, That wasdelightful, right?
and I was reading this very justfeel good, delightful, lovely
(17:05):
book.
I kind of felt, I said to Devin,thank you for sharing that with
me.
'cause I feel like that was sucha a special experience just
reading that book.
Like I, I just really loved it.
You feel, you feel good readingthat story?
Whittney (17:19):
do you know what, it made me think of when you were
describing the scene when youwere reading that book?
It reminds me of remnants of aperfect morning.
Susan (17:30):
Oh yes.
Whitney, can you share forlisteners what, what are you,
what talking about right now?
Whittney (17:36):
So I remember it still lived in Pennsylvania and you
came to stay at our house inBellefonte and I had put, I
think, an Oprah magazine in yourroom for you because that was
back during the time when theyactually still, I.
Made Oprah magazines and then wehad,, you came down in the
morning and you had yourmagazine and we made coffee and
(17:59):
you said, these are the remnantsof a perfect morning.
Susan (18:03):
Yes.
Well you're right.
This book brings back remnantsof a perfect Morning.
I was having like the mostdelightful experience and it was
just a beautiful story.
It was beautiful writing.
Also at the end of the book,which was really neat, is the
author included emails betweenherself and.
I don't know if it was the ownerof the hotel, but so the hotel
in the story that Katie stays atis actually based on a real
(18:26):
hotel that the author stayed at.
She stayed there herself and gotthe idea to write a story that
took place in the setting, andshe was emailing back and forth
with, maybe it was like thehotel owner or something, the
manager, in order to get somebackground for her story.
And she included some of thoseemails at the end of the book so
you could see that it was basedon a real experience.
And I thought that was reallycool too, that you got an
(18:47):
insight into What the authorexperienced and how she came up
with the idea for the story.
I, I love when books dosomething like that.
Whittney (18:56):
That is really cool.
I realized that I hadn't hadthis on my T B R list, but I am
putting it on right now.
Sounds amazing.
Susan (19:03):
What have you been reading this summer that you've
been loving?
Whittney (19:07):
One thing that I read this summer, so, we haven't
really talked too much about,you know, my work travel in the
summer, but, I travel for workto college campuses and we host
programs for enlisted veteranswho are trying to transition to
higher education One of ourparticipants this summer was an
English major.
(19:27):
And so he and I were talkingabout reading and writing a
little bit, and he recommended abook to me.
He's very into reading andmilitary fiction.
And so he had recommended a bookto me called Redeployment by
Phil Clay.
It was a really interesting,book for me because I don't read
a lot about military stuff, eventhough I work pretty.
(19:49):
Consistently in a militaryconnected field.
So redeployment won the Nationalbook award for fiction in 2014.
And so I'm now potentiallylooking into are there other
military fiction books that Imight like.
But shout out to Troy Ashcroft,for telling me about
redeployment by Phil Clay,because it was a very enjoyable
(20:11):
read.
I read a whole series thissummer.
So Susan, are you familiar withthe Amazon Prime series?
This summer I turned pretty,
Susan (20:22):
Yes.
So actually when I was in NewYork the other weekend, there
was a huge billboard about thesummer.
I turned pretty, the show but Ihave not watched it myself, so
you'll have to tell me whatthat's about.
Whittney (20:34):
So it's a trilogy by Jenny Hahn.
It's a young adult book.
Trilogy.
And so I was really excitedbecause I got, really sucked in.
It's about, two families that,the moms have been best friends
their whole lives, Susanna andLaurel, were best friends and
now their kids.
(20:54):
Spend summers together.
So Susanna owns a beach house ina fictional Cape cod esque town
and is in Massachusetts andevery summer Laurel's kids,
belly, they call her belly.
Her real name is Isabelle orIsabella.
But she goes by belly, which Ikind of find weird and like Why
(21:18):
would you call yourself belly?
That just seems like a weirdnickname, but she goes by belly.
And then her brother Steven andLaurel come every summer and
they spend the summer withSusanna and her two sons, Conrad
and Jeremiah.
And so basically the trilogy isessentially a love triangle
between belly and Susanna'ssons, Conrad and Jeremiah.
(21:42):
Because at one point when hersons were born, Susanna says
that she knew and Belly wasborn.
She knew that belly was likemeant for her sons.
And it's interesting because Iwas so excited about the series.
I think the series is so welldone, which Jenny Hahn, I think
is a producer on the series, soshe's very involved in it.
(22:04):
I think the series isincredible.
It just really sucks you in.
If you have Amazon Prime, Ihighly recommend it.
So I decided to pick up like thebooks, you know me, I, if I like
the, the visual, like the showor movie that a book is based
off of, usually I like the bookeven better, right?
(22:24):
I.
So for this one, I have to say,this is one of the rare
occurrences where I, and I'veread all three books now.
I flew through them.
They were very easy reads.
the books I feel are not as richand, well done as, as the
series.
I feel like the series just has.
(22:44):
Many more layers and many morenuances and like additional
characters and subplots.
So this is one of those rareoccurrences where I didn't like
the book better.
Susan (22:56):
Actually, Whitney, didn't you say the similar or the same
thing about Sweet Magnolias?
Whittney (23:01):
Oh, yes, that's true.
But, but again, it's not acommon occurrence for me.
Normally, if something is basedon a book, I will always like
the book better, like with ahandful of exceptions.
Susan (23:13):
Right.
No, I understand that becauseyou would get more background,
maybe some more descriptions,things like that.
So obviously it sounds like theseries is one to put on the
watch list, but the books Icould forego.
Whittney (23:26):
Yes, I think so.
Also, there's apparently aphenomenon where, women in their
thirties and forties areobsessed with this show, and
it's interesting because it'ssupposed to be made for like
teenagers.
This is like a coming of age Idon't wanna say drama, but a
coming of age story andapparently it's the, the
demographic that's most oftenwatching it is people our age.
Susan (23:49):
Well obviously I knew it was popular'cause I saw the
billboard in Times Square,which, you know, that's like all
the most trending things rightnow.
all right, well, duly noted.
Duly noted.
What else has been on your T B Rthis summer that has been worth
the read?
Whittney (24:05):
So I wanna give a shout out to Carly Fortune.
I'm currently reading Meet Me AtThe Lake, which is her newest
book, are you familiar withCarly Fortune?
Susan?
Susan (24:17):
I've heard you mention her before, but I have not read
anything by her.
Whittney (24:22):
So last summer, She had released a book called Every
Summer After, and so I had putit on my library holds list and
I almost had forgotten about it.
And then at the end of thesummer, I got the hold for every
summer after, and I read it andI just Loved it.
It was so wonderful and rich andengrossing the story and it was
(24:44):
layered and deep.
And honestly, I think a lot ofpeople who, like the summer I
turn pretty series or the AmazonPrime series or the book series
would probably enjoy everysummer after, because again,
it's like this girl spending asummer by the lake, with these
two brothers.
And all, everything that comeswith that.
(25:05):
so shout out to Carly Fortune.
That book was amazing.
And so I'm reading Meet Me Atthe Lake, which is a similar
book.
I will note that both of thesebooks are set in Canada, so some
of the references, unless you'refamiliar with Canada, you might
have to look up some of theplaces to get a feel for the
regions that she's writingabout, But, I'm just so excited
(25:27):
'cause it's it's about a, awoman who, whose mother passes
away and she's taking over the,Lakeside resort that her family
has owned for 50 years and likeunexpectedly, she has to come
home and take over it.
So It has kind of Emily Henryvibes to it.
And it's really good so far andI'm very excited.
(25:50):
So I would recommend this newestone for Meet Me at the Lake for
fans of Emily Henry.
But something cool also is thatprince Harry and Meghan Markle
actually bought the rights toadapt this book for Netflix So I
just found that reallyinteresting.
So we'll probably be seeing thison Netflix next year, I imagine.
Susan (26:12):
Oh, that's great.
And this is a case, well, Idon't know how that show will
turn out, but It sounds likethis is definitely a case where
the source material is verystrong.
Whittney (26:20):
Yes.
Well, I, again, I think I'mmaybe 30% of the way through
'cause I just got the holdrecently.
But, I'm savoring it.
I'm not like flying through itas fast as I probably could,
but, so far it is living up tothe hype.
Susan (26:34):
Oh, that's awesome.
think I'll put that on my holdSounds good.
Whittney (26:39):
Again, I think it is, this one in particular is more
Emily Henry fan, like would,would enjoy it.
So try this one first.
Susan (26:47):
Yeah, definitely.
So, what about anything thatyou've been watching this
summer?
Did you get to watch SweetMagnolias yet, or No?
Whittney (26:55):
I, I have not watched Sweet Magnolias yet.
Susan (26:57):
I did finish it last weekend.
I think I was telling you thatwhen I was dog sitting for my
sister, I was watching it and Ithink the last time I was dog
sitting for them, season two hadcome out.
So I feel like every time I'mdog sitting, I'm watching Sweet
Magnolias with the pups.
So I told them when I talked tothem, you know, I was like, this
is our show.
So we were watching our showtogether.
I finished it.
I thought it was really good.
(27:18):
I, I think Sweet Magnolias isjust, such a nice show.
Whittney (27:22):
Yes, it's a very accessible feel good.
Feel good series.
Yeah.
Susan (27:27):
Yeah, I really enjoy it.
Whittney (27:28):
So one thing that we watched this summer that I think
is really good, but Susan, Ican't remember, I think I've
talked to you about this before,but I can't remember if you've
ever seen The Bear.
It's a, an FX show that is onHulu.
Susan (27:44):
No, I have not.
Whittney (27:46):
So season two of the Bear came out, and it was
really, really good, completelylived up to the hype.
So that's another show that Nateand I watched together and it
was just fantastic and I enjoyedit a lot.
Susan (28:01):
That's great.
So Whitney, what's that about?
Whittney (28:04):
So it's about a Chicago area restaurant and the
people who work in it.
It's a weirdly like heartwarmingshow.
Like I saw one article aboutseason two recommending it for
people who had watched all ofTed Lasso and needed a new show
that they should watch The Bearbecause the bear has like
(28:25):
similar themes.
And I, it was funny because I'veseen, I haven't seen the entire
Ted Lasso, like series.
But I've seen some episodes andI, I understand the vibes of
those and I have watched all ofthe Bear and I was like, that's
an interesting correlation thatthey're making.
But I can kind of see it becausedespite challenges and Setbacks,
(28:51):
the team working at therestaurant, which in the season
two they launched the newrestaurant and the restaurant is
called The Bear.
So that's why the show is calledThe Bear.
Also in general, the, I thinkthe process to put the this, to
fix the restaurant and put ittogether in its new format is a
bear, so to speak, of achallenge.
(29:11):
Also the last name of the familythat owns the restaurant.
Sounds like bear.
So that's why, it's always been,they've always decided that's
what they were gonna call therestaurant was the bear.
So I highly it.
Susan (29:24):
That sounds good.
I have not seen Ted Lasso, eventhough I guess you said you
don't see the correlationnecessarily between the two, but
I have not seen that.
I've actually heard You mentionthe bear, but I have not seen it
or heard much about it myself,so thanks for putting that on my
radar.
Whittney (29:39):
Yeah.
What else were you watching?
Other than Sweet Magnolias?
Susan (29:43):
I actually just started watching the Lincoln Lawyer
season two'cause I, I don't knowif you remember when the Lincoln
Lawyer movie came out years ago.
It's based on a book series byMichael Connolly, the movie I
loved it had Matthew McConaugheyand so when the season came out,
the show came out, sorry, lastyear.
I loved that.
And then yeah, just startedwatching season two.
I also watched Wednesday thissummer.
(30:04):
I know I'm late to the game onthat one, but I, I watched
Wednesday
Whittney (30:08):
Oh, I love Wednesday.
Susan (30:10):
yeah, me too.
I thought it was really welldone.
Again, just a fun show.
think, honestly, I've been sortof laying low with TV and movies
this summer.
I've just sort of been otherthings, so really not too much
on my watch schedule.
I guess focusing more on readingthis summer.
Whittney (30:27):
Yeah.
Nate and I also just, since I'vebeen home from travel started
the show Killing It.
I don't know if you've heard ofthat one.
It's a peacock show.
And it's about a guy who needssome money for, a business idea
he has, which is creating a sawPalmetto farm in the Everglades
in Florida.
And he tries to go through thenormal means to secure the
(30:49):
investment you know, getting aloan, et cetera.
And he ends up, needing to justbecome a, Burmese python hunter
in the Everglades because he,there's a contest and there's
prize money for the person wholike kills the most Burmese
pythons'cause they're aninvasive species.
That's Wreaking havoc on theEverglades ecosystem, which is
(31:10):
actually a true thing that ishappening in Florida and it's
been happening for many years.
I'm not sure if you were awareof that.
Susan (31:16):
No, I'm not.
Whittney (31:18):
So, a lot of people in Florida, I 10 ish years ago or
more having a Burmese python asa pet was like a thing that
people did, but then they buythese snakes as like little tiny
snakes and then they, Burmesepython just keeps growing and
gets bigger and then needs,larger food sources.
And so a lot of times I thinkwhen people buy a snake as a
(31:41):
pet, they don't think aboutthat.
And then a snake lives a longtime.
so, apparently people in Floridaparticularly were just like
releasing their snakes into thewild'cause they just couldn't
handle taking care of themanymore.
and in the Everglades it was aperfect storm of the right
conditions for snakes.
And so they were breeding atridiculous rates in the
(32:04):
Everglades, all these pythons,it was a great habitat for them.
And so, so This is a realproblem.
And so this in the state ofFlorida, I think pretty much
anybody is allowed to kill aBurmese python if they see it in
the wild, because again, they'remessing up the food chain and
wreaking havoc on the ecosystembecause they don't have any
natural predators because theyare not a natural species in the
(32:25):
Everglades.
This, comedy show on Peacock,the whole first season is them
killing snakes to win this prizemoney so that they can start
their saw Palmetto Farm And so,
Susan (32:36):
goodness.
What a premise.
Yeah, sounds terrifying,
Whittney (32:41):
That it sounds gory and whatever, but like it,
because it's a comedy, becauseit's a comedy, they like tone
down the gore a little bit.
Susan (32:50):
Right.
Well, I will keep that one inmind.
that I know the I'm like, Idon't know.
But I appreciate hearing aboutsomething new.
'cause I'm really not, myfinger's not on the pulse of
what's going on with, like showsand movies and, Movies.
I'm trying to get on the pulsewith movies though.
I'm going to see a Barbie movietomorrow and Oppenheimer is
(33:10):
still on my list.
Whittney (33:11):
So I have seen the Barbie movie and I cannot wait
to talk about the Barbie moviewith you when you have seen it.
Nate and I went to see it.
We have not yet seenOppenheimer, but whenever I was
traveling this summer, I.
We went to some campuses thathad ties to the Oppenheimer
story.
Two of them were like ColumbiaUniversity.
There were some labs where a lotof the work for the project was
(33:34):
done at Columbia.
Susan (33:36):
I was just thinking about, Einstein's connections
with Princeton.
Whittney (33:40):
Oh yes.
In Einstein, yes.
In there.
Yes, there are.
Apparently when we were therefor the alumni conference, a lot
of people were going to therooms where the, where Einstein
had lectured and things likethat.
Princeton was one of the filminglocations for Oppenheimer,
Susan (33:55):
What were the locations
Whittney (33:56):
It looks like it was the East pine courtyard, yes.
The East Pine courtyard was aplace where they filmed, and
they definitely used some of thearchitecture,
Susan (34:09):
I can't wait to see it.
And then I'll, once I see bothmovies, I can weigh in and I can
really, decide which movie isbetter.
But I have a feelingOppenheimer, that's the one that
I actually really wanna see themost.
But anyway, I look forward to uscoming back on again in the fall
to discuss what we're reading,in a few weeks from now.
Whittney (34:27):
And I hope you enjoy Barbie and we will chat about
that soon.
Susan (34:31):
Sounds good.
All right,
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.