Quick Picks

Tana and I give a rundown of the books we read this year that were our favorites. What were yours?

Discussed:

What the Chicken Knows, Sy Montgomery

Life Hacks for a Little Alien, Alice Franklin

What Does It Feel Like?, Sophie Kinsella

Migrations, Charlotte McConaghy

Puzzle Master, Danielle Trussoni

Puzzle Box, Danielle Trussoni

Daughter of Ruins, Yvette Manessis Corporon

Museum of Failures, Thrity Umrigar

Juniper Bean Resorts to Murder, Gracie Ruth Mitchell

First Lie Wins, Ashley Elston

Bright Young Women, Jessica Knoll

Somewhere Beyond the Sea, TJ Klune

Cheesemaker's Daughter, Kristin Vukovic

Let Us Descend, Jesmyn Ward

Sing Unburied Sing, Jesmyn Ward

Witch of Colchis, Rosie Hewett

Our Hidden Conversations, Michelle Norris

Husbands, Holly Gramazio

James, Percival Everett

Frozen River, Ariel Lawhon

Daughter of Fair Verona, Christina Dodd

Friend, patron, reader, and author, Michelle Habrych, is back to talk about holiday books of all kinds.

Discussed:

One Big Happy Family, Susan Mallery (4 candy canes)

Merry Matchmaker, Sheila Roberts (5 candy canes)

Baking It Merry, Samantha Chase (5 candy canes)

Night Before Christmas, Nicola Knight (3 candy canes)

Wishing Bridge, Viola Shipman (5 candy canes)

Second Chance Year, Melissa Weisner (3 candy canes)

This Time Next Year, Sophie Cousens (4 candy canes)

Homecoming, Kate Morton (2.5 candy canes)

Holiday Switch, Tif Marcelo (3.5 candy canes)

Hercule Poirot's Christmas, Agatha Christie (2.5 candy canes)

Matzah Ball, Jane Meltzer (4.5 candy canes)

Skipping Christmas, John Grisham (5 candy canes)

Twelver Topsy-Turvy, Very Messy Days of Christmas, James Patterson (5 candy canes)

'Tis the Damn Season, Fiona Gibson (4.5 candy canes)

Home For the Holidays, Taylor Hahn (1 candy cane)

Holly Jolly Diwali, Sonya Lalli

Later On We'll Conspire, Kourtney Kiesel

Eight Very Bad Nights, Tod Goldberg

Death at a Scottish Christmas, Lucy Connolly

Author Alexandra Benedict

Christmas Murder Game

Murder on the Christmas Express

Christmas Jigsaw Murders

Santa Overboard, Carolyn McBride

It isn't just all over the news, it's all over the fiction: climate and ecology. Cli-Fi and eco-fiction are far more prevalent than Tana and I realized and went outside our boxes to read and discuss some dystopian and some more conventional fiction that deal with the environment.

Discussed:

The Light Pirate, by Lily Brooks-Dalton

The Morningside, by Téa Obreht

How High We Go In the Dark, by Sequoia Nagamatsu

The Last Murder at the End of the World, by Stuart Turton

Flight Behavior, by Barbara Kingsolver

Migrations, by Charlotte McConaghy

Devolution, by Max Brooks

Cloud Cuckoo Land, by Anthony Doerr

The Road, by Cormack McCarthy

The Beach House, by Mary Alice Monroe

Worst Case Scenario, by TJ Newman

Go As a River, by Shelley Read

Remarkably Bright Creatures, by Shelby Van Pelt

What Blooms From Dust, by James Markert

My favorite! It's ghosty time again and Nick Rodriguez joins me to talk about ghosts across many types of media, for consumers of everything from cozy ghost stories to the stuff that will give you nightmares.

Discussed:

Thirteen Ghosts (movie)

Scream (movie)

Sleepy Hollow (movie)

Legend of Sleepy Hollow, by Washington Irving (book)

Grave Encounters (movie)

Grave Encounters 2 (movie)

Talk To Me (movie)

Ghost Station, by S.A. Barnes (book)

Haunt Sweet Home, by Sarah Pinsker (book)

Murder Road, by Simone St. James (book)

Wendy Webb (author)

Darcy Coates (author)

Left Right Game (podcast)

Agatha All Along (TV series)

Devil's Gate in Libertyville, IL (location)

Ursula Bielski (author)

Ressurection Mary (legend)

Resurrection Cemetery in Justice, Illinois (location)

Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (location)

Jane Addams Hull-House in Chicago, Illinois (location)

1408 (movie)

Phasmophobia (video game) on PC, soon on PS5 and Xbox X/S

Silent Hill (video game) on most platforms

Luigi's Mansion (video game) on Game Cube and Nintendo 3DS

Rebecca (movie)

Rebecca, by Daphne du Maurier (book)

Ghost Story (movie)

Personal Shopper (movie)

You Should Have Left (movie)

You Should Have Left, by Daniel Kehlmann (book)

How To Sell a Haunted House, by Grady Hendrix (book)

Stephen Graham Jones (author)

Gone To See the River Man, by Kristopher Triana (book)

Along the River of Flesh, by Kristopher Triana (book)

The Old Lady, by Kristopher Triana (book)

September House, by Carissa Orlando

Other authors to check out:

Dan Simmons

Joe Hill

Stephen King

Leigh Bardugo

Diane Setterfield

Riley Sager

Barbara Erskine

Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Neil Gaiman

T. Kingfisher

Other staff recommendations:

Expedition X (TV show)

Haunted Road Atlas, by Christine Schiefer, Em Schulz (book)

Ghost Bride, by Yangsze Choo (book)

Hex, by Thomas Olde Heuvelt (book)

Horror Hotel, by Victoria Fulton (book)

Dead Silence, by S.A. Barnes (book)

Nothing But Blackened Teeth, by Cassandra Khaw (book)

Haunting of Hill House, by Shirley Jackson (book)

You Like It Darker, by Stephen King (book)

Rattlesnakes, by Stephen King (book)

Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman (book)

Under the Whispering Door, by TJ Klune (book)

Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstein (book)

Ghosts (TV show) British version

Supernatural (TV show)

Wellington Paranormal (TV show)

Not Dead Yet (TV show)

Ghostbusters (movie)

Muppet Christmas Carol (movie)

My Left Eye Sees Ghosts (movie)

Welcome to Nightvale (podcast)

The Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives in Your Home, by Joseph Fink, Jeffrey Cranor (book)

Being Human (TV series) British version

What Lies Beneath (movie)

With the start of another school year, Michelle Habrych joins me again to talk about literature near and dear to our hearts, Classics.

Discussed:

Tana joins me again today to talk about novels we've read that have fine art or artists in their plots.

Discussed:

A Death in Cornwall, by Daniel Silva

The Riviera House, by Natasha Lester

The Last Mona Lisa, by Jonathan Santlofer

The Lost Van Gogh, by Jonathan Santlofer

Clara and Mr. Tiffany, by Susan Vreeland

Horse, by Geraldine brooks

Girl with a Pearl Earring, by Tracy Chevalier

The Virgin Blue, by Tracy Chevalier

The Lady and the Unicorn, by Tracy Chevalier

The Glassmaker, by Tracy Chevalier

Cooking for Picasso, by Camille Aubray

The Antique Hunter's Guide to Murder, by C.L. Miller

Little Fires Everywhere, by Celeste Ng

The Celebrants, by Stephen Rowley

Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister, by Gregory Maguire

Still Life, by Louise Penny

Picture of Dorian Grey, by Oscar Wilde

The da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown

Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson

Reflex, by Dick Francis

The Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt

Ink Black Heart, by Robert Galbraith

The Curse of Pietro Houdini, by Derek B. Miller

Tana and I share some of our favorite ARCs we've read and other books that will be published this summer (and beyond).

Discussed:

Midnight Feast, by Lucy Foley

Night Guest, by Hildur Knutsdottir

Daughter of Fair Verona, by Christina Dodd

The Glassmaker, by Tracy Chevalier

The Next Mrs. Parrish, by Liv Constantine

Briar Club, by Kate Quinn

Maria, by Michelle Moran

Lion Women of Tehran, by Marjan Kamali

Eddie Winston is Looking for Love, by Marianne Cronin

The Big Empty, by Robert Crais

Somewhere Beyond the Sea, by TJ Klune

Botanist's Guide to Society and Secrets, by Kate Khavari

Tell Me Who You Are, by Louise Luna

That Night in the Library, by Eva Jurczyk

A Body by the Henhouse, by Kate Wells

Last Hunt, by Audrey Cole

Arsenic Eater's Wife, by Tonya Mitchell

Pitch Dark, by Paul Doiron

Elsewhere, by Sarah Tierney

The Burning, by Linda Castillo

A Hunger to Kill, by Kim Magers

Guide Me Home, by Attica Locke

Bear, by Julia Phillips

Love Letters to a Serial Killer, by Tasha Coryell

Trust Her, by Flynn Berry

Breaking the Dark, by Lisa Jewell

Summer Pact, by Emily Giffin

Black Bird Oracle, by Deborah Harkness

Burn, by Peter Heller

Spirit Crossing, by William Kent Krueger

By Any Other Name, by Jodi Picoult

Dark Wives, by Ann Cleeves

Death at the Sign of the Rock, by Kate Atkinson

Where They Last Saw Her, by Marcie Rendon

What Time the Sexton's Spade Doth Rust, by Alan Bradley

Here One Moment, by Liane Moriarty

We Solve Murders, by Richard Osman

Sleep Tight, by JH Markert

Witches of Santo Stefano, by Wendy Webb

The Mighty Red, by Louise Erdrich

Second Smartest Dog That Ever Lived, by Will Pass

What Does it Feel Like?, by Sophie Kinsella

Absolution, by James VanderMeer

The Grey Wolf, by Louise Penny

Robert Parker books

NetGalley

Edelweiss Plus

ARCs (Advanced Reader Copy) at your library

**We apologize for the poor audio quality of this episode**

So many of the books we've read all our lives were written in another language and translated into English. Tana and I talk about some of the ones we've read recently that we've enjoyed.

Discussed:

Before the Coffee Gets Cold series, (Japanese) by Toshikazu Kagawuchi

Full Moon Coffee Shop series, (Japanese) by Mai Mochizuki

Olga, (German) by Bernhard Schlink

What You Are Looking For Is in the Library, (Japanese) by Michiko Aoyama

Decagon House Murders, (Japanese) by Yukito Ayatsuji

The Cat Who Saved Books, (Japanese) by Sōsuke Natsukawa

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, (German) by Patrick Süskind

Enigma of Room 622, (French) by Joël Dicker

The Door, (Hungarian) by Magda Szabó

Little Old Lady Who Broke All the Rules, (Swedish) by Catharina Ingelman-Sundberg

Travelling Cat Chronicles, (Japanese) by Hiro Arikawa

Old Woman with the Knife, (Korean) by Gu Byeong-mo

Elderly Lady is Up To No Good, (Swedish) by Helene Tursten

The Japanese Lover, (Spanish) by Isabel Allende

In the Midst of Winter, (Spanish) by Isabel Allende

Violeta, (Spanish) by Isabel Allende

Maya's Notebook, (Spanish) by Isabel Allende

Fresh Water for Flowers, (French) by Valérie Perrin

Forgotten on Sunday, (French) by Valérie Perrin

Books by Fredrik Backman (Swedish)

Books by Jo Nesbø (Swedish)

Books by Stieg Larsson (Swedish)

Kurt Wallander series, (Swedish) by Henning Mankell

We'll Prescribe You a Cat, (Japanese) by Syou Ishida

This episode I'm joined by my friend, Michelle Habrych, to talk about a wide variety of moms, as depicted in books.

Discussed:

Darling Girls, by Sally Hepworth

The Mother-In-Law, by Sally Hepworth

Becoming Madam Secretary, by Stephanie Dray

The Frozen River, by Ariel Lawhon

Wishing Game, by Meg Shaffer

Yinka, Where Is Your Huzband?, by Lizzie Damilola Blackburn

Tom Lake, by Ann Patchett

Class Mom, by Laurie Gelman

Finlay Donovan Is Killing It, by Elle Cosimano

House of Eve, by Sadequa Johnson

Emily Gone, by Bette Lee Crosby

Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott

You Are Not Alone, by Michelle Habrych

My Darling Girl, by Jennifer McMahon

A Light in the Forest, by Melissa Payne

The Heiress, by Rachel Hawkins

Crossroads, by Rachel Hightower

The Changeling, by Victor LaValle

A House with Good Bones, by T. Kingfisher

Though there are so many sub-genres of fantasy and science fiction, and so many formats to enjoy, Nick joins me to talk about some of our favorite books, movies, and video games.

Discussed:

Song of Ice and Fire, by George RR Martin

Roadside Picnic, by Arkady Strugatsky

Pacific Drive (video game)

Dead Silence, by SA Barnes

Circe, by Madeline Miller

Song of Achilles, by Madeline Miller

God of War (video game)

Legends and Lattes, by Travis Baldree

Stardew Valley (video game)

Uprooted, by Naomi Novik

Spinning Silver, by Naomi Novik

Temeraire series, by Naomi Novik

The Scholomance trilogy, by Naomi Novik

Alice Isn't Dead, by Joseph Fink

Welcome to Night Vale (fiction podcast)

Sworn Soldier series, by T. Kingfisher

The Lighthouse Witches, by CJ Cooke

The O.A. (Netflix)

The Odyssey, by Homer

The Princess Bride, by William Goldman

Annihilation (Southern Reach trilogy), by Jeff VanderMeer

Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley

Poor Things (movie)

Heartstopper (manga series), by Alice Oseman

Cinder, by Marissa Meyer

Other recommendations from our library:

The Raven Cycle series by Maggie Stiefvater

Six Crimson Canes by Elizabeth Lim

Caraval series by Stephanie Garber

Monsters of Verity by Victoria Schwab

So Let Them Burn by Kamilah Cole

Six of Crows series by Leigh Bardugo

Ark of a Scythe by Neil Schusterman

Witcher series by Andrzej Sapkowski

Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells

Parable of the Sower (Earthseed series) by Octavia Butler

Bear and the Nightingale (Winternight trilogy) by Katherine Arden

Briar Rose by Jane Yolen

Thistlefoot by GennaRose Nethercott

Anything by Neil Gaiman

Anything by Douglas Adams

Anything by Terry Pratchet

Dresden Files series by Jim Butcher

Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch

Martian by Andy Weir

Artemis by Andy Weir

Rat Queens by Kurtis Weibe

I Hate Fairyland by Skottie Young

Poppy War by RF Juang

Bone by Jeff Smith

Arrival by Shaun Tan

All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness

House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune

Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune

Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow

Charley Davidson series by Darynda Jones

Hell's Library series by AJ Hackwith

After the Forest by Kell Woods

Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo