Mostly Fictional

Hallie shares two buddy read updates, and Pam has a French book haul. 

Books mentioned, in order:
Water Moon: A Novel by Samantha Sotto Yambao
O Pioneers by Willa Cather
The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty
Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James
The Anthropocene Reviewed: Essays on a Human-Centered Planet by John Green
Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green
The Door by Magda Szabó
The Last Gifts of the Universe by Riley August
La version qui n’intéresse personne by Emmanuelle Pierrot (The Version That Interests No One)
Le projet Ariel by Catherine Bush, translated from English by Sonya Malaborza, original title Blaze Island
The Tempest by William Shakespeare
Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy


Find Pam and Hallie online!
Follow Hallie’s Substack at wordsmithreads.substack.com
Pam can be found on Youtube and Bookstagram at @pams_inkheart
Or, send us both a message at [email protected] 

Find Pam and Hallie online!
Follow Hallie’s Substack at wordsmithreads.substack.com
Pam can be found on Youtube and Bookstagram at @pams_inkheart
Or, send us both a message at [email protected]

Pam shares three finished titles, and Hallie shares exciting news!

Books mentioned, in order:
Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay
The Man Who Loved Books Too Much: The True Story of a Thief, a Detective, and a World of Literary Obsession by Allison Hoover Bartlett
The Pretenders Jo Harkin 
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell
Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix
Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix 
The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix
My Best Friend’s Exorcism by Grady Hendrix
The Tales of Beatrix Potter
Curious George by H. A. Rey and Margret Rey
If You Give a Pig a Pancake by Laura Numeroff
Clifford, the Big Red Dog by Norman Bridwell
Madeline by Ludwig Bemelmans
Harry Potter series by JK Rowling
The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle
Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy
Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy
Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy
O Pioneers by Willa Cather
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty
The Princess Bride by William Goldman
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

Find Pam and Hallie online!
Follow Hallie’s Substack at wordsmithreads.substack.com
Pam can be found on Youtube and Bookstagram at @pams_inkheart
Or, send us both a message at [email protected] 

Find Pam and Hallie online!
Follow Hallie’s Substack at wordsmithreads.substack.com
Pam can be found on Youtube and Bookstagram at @pams_inkheart
Or, send us both a message at [email protected]

Pam's book club rant continues! Plus, Hallie previews the buddy reads she's doing for March. 

Books mentioned, in order: 
Grievers by Adrienne Maree Brown
How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu
Maroons by Adrienne Maree Brown
Ancestors by Adrienne Maree Brown
Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay
The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty
The Odyssey by Homer
The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien
The Pretenders by Jo Harkin
Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell
The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell
The Man Who Loved Books Too Much: The True Story of a Thief, a Detective, and a World of Literary Obsession by Allison Hoover Bartlett
Off Course by Michelle Huneven
Search by Michelle Huneven
Jamesland by Michelle Huneven
O Pioneers by Willa Cather
Gone with the Wind by Maragaret Mitchell
The Door by Magda Szabó
The Transit of Venus by Shirley Hazzard
The Terror by Dan Simmons
Same As It Ever Was by Claire Lombardo
The Queen of Paris: A Novel of Coco Chanel by Pamela Binnings Ewen

Find Pam and Hallie online!
Follow Hallie’s Substack at wordsmithreads.substack.com
Pam can be found on Youtube and Bookstagram at @pams_inkheart
Or, send us both a message at [email protected] 

Find Pam and Hallie online!
Follow Hallie’s Substack at wordsmithreads.substack.com
Pam can be found on Youtube and Bookstagram at @pams_inkheart
Or, send us both a message at [email protected]

This week, we had 5, 1, AND 3-star books to review!

Books mentioned, in order:
Blind Spots: When Medicine Gets It Wrong, and What It Means for Our Health by Marty Makary, MD
The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
Rednecks by Taylor Brown
Same As It Ever Was by Claire Lombardo
Black Woods Blue Sky by Eowyn Ivey
To the Bright Edge of the World by Eowyn Ivey
The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
The Unexpected Gift by Berna King
The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty
The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
Grievers by Adrienne Maree Brown
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
Severance by Ling Ma
Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay

Find Pam and Hallie online!
Follow Hallie’s Substack at wordsmithreads.substack.com
Pam can be found on Youtube and Bookstagram at @pams_inkheart
Or, send us both a message at [email protected] 


Find Pam and Hallie online!
Follow Hallie’s Substack at wordsmithreads.substack.com
Pam can be found on Youtube and Bookstagram at @pams_inkheart
Or, send us both a message at [email protected]

This week, we're catching up after our 100th episode bonanza last week! 

Books mentioned, in order: 
Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon
Loveless by Alice Oseman
The Guest by Emma Cline
Lifeform by Jenny Slate
Peaces by Helen Oyemi
What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours by Helen Oyemi
Mr. Fox by Helen Oyemi
American Rapture by CJ Leede
The Con Artist by Fred Van Lente, illustrations by Tom Fowler
The Transit of Venus by Shirley Hazzard
Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes
The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
Celestial Harmonies by Peter Esterhazy
Same As It Ever Was by Claire Lombardo
Blind Spots: When Medicine Gets It Wrong, and What It Means for Our Health by Marty Makary, MD

Find Pam and Hallie online!
Follow Hallie’s Substack at wordsmithreads.substack.com
Pam can be found on Youtube and Bookstagram at @pams_inkheart
Or, send us both a message at [email protected] 


Find Pam and Hallie online!
Follow Hallie’s Substack at wordsmithreads.substack.com
Pam can be found on Youtube and Bookstagram at @pams_inkheart
Or, send us both a message at [email protected]

It's our 100th episode, can you believe it! We share some reflections on how we've changed since Episode 1, as well as share Book "Superlatives" and do what we're calling the Time Traveler Tag. 

Books mentioned, in order: 
Simon Vs The Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli
Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill
The Crane Husband by Kelly Barnhill
Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-Reum
Geek Love by Katherine Dunn 
Marina by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
A Snake Falls to Earth by Darcie Little Badger
My Murder by Katie Williams
Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield
To the Bright Edge of the World by Eowyn Ivey
The Pallbearer’s Club by Paul Tremblay
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel 

Find Pam and Hallie online!
Follow Hallie’s Substack at wordsmithreads.substack.com
Pam can be found on Youtube and Bookstagram at @pams_inkheart
Or, send us both a message at [email protected] 


Find Pam and Hallie online!
Follow Hallie’s Substack at wordsmithreads.substack.com
Pam can be found on Youtube and Bookstagram at @pams_inkheart
Or, send us both a message at [email protected]

Pam read lots of books about the water, and Hallie has a library haul. 

Books mentioned, in order:
Celestial Harmonies by Peter Esterhazy, translated by Judith Sollosy
Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
How Far The Light Reaches: A Life in 10 Sea Creatures by Sabrina Imbler
The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery
How to Be a Good Creature: A Memoir in Thirteen Animals by Sy Montgomery
Disorientation by Elaine Hsieh Chou
Filterworld: How Algorithms Flattened Culture by Kyle Chayka, narrated by Kaleo Griffith
The Book of Eels: Our Enduring Fascination with the Most Mysterious Creature in the Natural World by Patrik Svensson, translated by Agnes Broomé
The Last One by Will Dean
Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon
Grievers by Adrienne Maree Brown
American Rapture by CJ Leede
Maeve Fly by CJ Leede
Rednecks by Taylor Brown
Off Course by Michelle Huneven
Search by Michelle Huneven
Notes On An Execution by Danya Kukafka
Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll
The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty
Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James
House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
S. by JJ Abrams and Doug Dorst
Cain’s Jawbone by Edward Powys Mathers
The Transit of Venus by Shirley Hazzard 
Lifeform by Jenny Slate
Loveless by Alice Oseman

Rachel Carson + eels: https://rachelcarsoncouncil.org/ephemeral-waters/
Freud + eels: https://www.freud.org.uk/education/resources/freud-the-physician/the-young-anatomist/ 
Normal Gossip with Sabrina Imbler: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/loud-cats-and-thin-walls-with-sabrina-imbler/id1597761181?i=1000580139895 

Find Pam and Hallie online!
Follow Hallie’s Substack at wordsmithreads.substack.com
Pam can be found on Youtube and Bookstagram at @pams_inkheart


Find Pam and Hallie online!
Follow Hallie’s Substack at wordsmithreads.substack.com
Pam can be found on Youtube and Bookstagram at @pams_inkheart
Or, send us both a message at [email protected]

We share 10 titles we are looking forward to in 2025! 

Books mentioned, in order: 
What If It's Us by Adam Silvera and Becky Albertalli
Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
Fifteen Dogs by André Alexis
Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
How Far The Light Reaches: A Life In 10 Sea Creatures by Sabrina Imbler
The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery
Black Woods, Blue Sky by Eowyn Ivey
The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger
To the Bright Edge of the World by Eowyn Ivey
Paradise Logic by Sophie Kemp
Awakened by A.E. Osworth
Other Worlds: Stories by André Alexis
Metallic Realms by Lincoln Michel
Aftertaste by Daria Lavelle
Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
Sweetbitter by Stephanie Danler
Popisho by Leone Ross
Piglet by Lottie Hazell 
The Afterlife Project by Tim Weed
This is Not a Ghost Story by Amerie
Tantrum by Rachel Eve Moulton
Chouette by Claire Oshetsky
A Land So Wide by Erin A. Craig
Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy
Migrations by Charlotte McConaghy
Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy

A few 2025 books lists:
https://lithub.com/lit-hubs-most-anticipated-books-of-2025
https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20250109-books-to-read-in-2025
https://themillions.com/2025/01/most-anticipated-the-great-winter-2025-preview.html

Find Pam and Hallie online!
Follow Hallie’s Substack at wordsmithreads.substack.com
Pam can be found on Youtube and Bookstagram at @pams_inkheart


Find Pam and Hallie online!
Follow Hallie’s Substack at wordsmithreads.substack.com
Pam can be found on Youtube and Bookstagram at @pams_inkheart
Or, send us both a message at [email protected]

Pam read three books and Hallie read NONE!

Books mentioned, in order:
Table for Two: Fictions by Amor Towles
Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
Albatross by Terry Fallis
The Savior's Book Café Story in Another World by Kyouka Izumi, Oumiya, Reiko Sakurada
Celestial Harmonies by Peter Esterhazy
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
Transit of Venus by Shirley Hazzard 
Filterworld: How Algorithms Flattened Culture by Kyle Chayka
Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
What If It's Us by Adam Silvera and Becky Albertalli
They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera
The First to Die at the End by Adam Silvera
The River by Peter Heller
Slade House by David Mitchell
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
The Dallergut Dream Department Store by Miye Lee, Translated by Sandy Joosun Lee
Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop by Hwang Bo-Reum
Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao
Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor
Zahrah the Windseeker by Nnedi Okorafor
Yellowface by RF Kuang
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Persuasion by Jane Austen
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

Watermoon’s Origami Dust Jacket
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DDvVWxxzc4a/?igsh=NTczNHo5MW9neHNn

Find Pam and Hallie online!
Follow Hallie’s Substack at wordsmithreads.substack.com
Pam can be found on Youtube and Bookstagram at @pams_inkheart
Or, send us both a message at [email protected]

Hallie has her first DNF! And pushes Pam to pick three words to describe her reading.

Books mentioned, in order:
Clean Air by Sarah Blake
Eliza and her Monsters by Francesca Zappia
Fox 8 by George Saunders
Open Throat by Henry Hoke
Tenth of December by George Saunders
Table for Two: Fictions by Amor Towles
Swamplandia! by Karen Russell
St. Lucy’s Home by Karen Russell
The Beast You Are by Paul Tremblay
Celestial Harmonies by Peter Esterhazy
Marrying the Ketchups by Jennifer Close
A Secret Kept by Tatiana de Rosnay
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
The Locked Tomb Series by Tamsyn Muir
Nona the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir
A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J Maas

Links mentioned:
Haley Larsen, PhD https://haleyalarsen.substack.com/
Deedi Reads https://deedireads.substack.com/

Find Pam and Hallie online!
Follow Hallie’s Substack at wordsmithreads.substack.com
Pam can be found on Youtube and Bookstagram at @pams_inkheart


Find Pam and Hallie online!
Follow Hallie’s Substack at wordsmithreads.substack.com
Pam can be found on Youtube and Bookstagram at @pams_inkheart
Or, send us both a message at [email protected]