Brea and Mallory discuss their most anticipated books for the start of 2025, and interview Clay McLeod Chapman about his new book WAKE UP AND OPEN YOUR EYES! Email us at readingglassespodcast at gmail dot com!
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Clay McLeod Chapman
Wake Up and Open Your Eyes
Books Mentioned -
Daughter of Daring by Mallory O’Meara
Catching the Big Fish by David Lynch
January
Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix
Wake Up and Open Your Eyes by Clay McLeod Chapman
Adrift in Currents Clean and Clear by Seanan McGuire
Homeseeking by Karissa Chen
Historical fiction, love story, 1940s, Shanghai, Los Angeles, Chinese diaspora
Y2K by Colette Shade
Nonfiction, essay collection, 2000s
Good Girl by Aria Aber
Debut literary fiction, coming of age, Berlin nightlife, racial tensions
Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor
Literary fiction, writing, publishing, reality mixing with fantasy
We Do Not Part by Han King, translated by E. Yaewon and Paige Aniyah Morris
Literary fiction, hidden history, Korea
Black in Blues by Imani Perry
Nonfiction, Black history, the color blue
Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros
Fantasy, third in Fourth Wing series
Old Soul by Susan Barker
Literary thriller, Japan, mysterious lady killer
Blob by Maggie Su
Debut literary novel, weird fiction, sentient blob, woman looking for love
Flirting with Disaster by Naina Kumar
Romance, second chance, accidental marriage, Texas
Tartufo by Kira Jane Buxton
Funny literary fiction, small dying Italian village is saved by gigantic truffle
Mystery Royale by Kaitlyn Cavalancia
YA fantasy mystery, murder, family secrets, competition
Good Dirt by Charmaine Wilkerson
Literary fiction, multi-generational family epic, mystery heirloom, racism
The Queen’s Spade by Sarah Raughley
Historical thriller, revenge, romance, Victorian England, kidnapped African princess
The Last Bookstore on Earth by Lily Braun-Arnold
Sapphic YA thriller, two teens fall in love in an abandoned bookstore in the apocalypse
The In-Between Bookstore by Edward Underhill
Magical realism, trans protagonist, magic bookstore, time travel
The Rainfall Market by You Yeong-Gwang, translated by Slin Jung
Fantasy, magic to change your life, magic cat
Vantage Point by Sarah Sligar
Literary thriller, New England, family curse, digital haunting
Pretend We’re Dead: The Rise, Fall, and Resurrection of Women in Rock in the 1990s by Tanya Pearson
Nonfiction
All the Water in the World by Eiren Caffall
Sci fi, dystopia, trying to save a museum from a flood
Immortal by Sue Lynn Tan
Romantasy, royal court, gods
We Could be Rats by Emily Austin
Queer literary fiction, sisters, family reconnection
February
Reading the Waves by Lidia Yuknavitch
Queer memoir
Loca by Alejandro Heredia
Literary fiction, queer, debut, NYC, friendship
Hungerstone by Kat Dunn
Carmilla reimagining
Soft Core by Brittany Newell
Literary fiction, coming of age, sex work, woman finding herself
Dengue Boy by Michel Neva, translated by Rahul Berry
Weird fiction, part mosquito part boy goes on journey through dystopian world
Mutual Interest by Olivia Wolfgang-Smith
Historical fiction, queer entrepreneurs in Gilded Age NYC
Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito
Thriller, black humor, murderous governess
The Echoes by Evie Wyld
Literary fiction, ghost protagonist, grief, relationships
Crush by Ada Calhoun
Literary fiction, debut, polyamory, relationships, marriage
The Lamb by Lucy Rose
Horror, folk horror, queer, gothic
Bibliophobia by Sarah Chihaya
Memoir, surviving mental breakdown through books
Little Mysteries by Sara Gran
Short stories, mystery
One Message Remains by Premee Mohamed
Sci fi, dystopia, short stories
Beta Vulgaris by Margie Sarsfield
Weird fiction, “vegetable gothic”
The Poorly Man and Other Things by Sam Rebelein
Horror short story collection set in world of his previous book Edenville
Idle Grounds by Krystelle Bamford
Literary fiction, thriller, family gathering, lurking darkness
The World After Gaza: A Short History by Pankaj Mishra
Nonfiction
Nothing Serious by Emily J Smith
Thriller, feminist, modern dating, murder
The Rose Bargain by Sarah Peyton Smith
Romantasy, Victorian England, fae
(S)kin by Ibi Zoboi
Contemporary fantasy, Caribbean folklore, inherited magic, novel in verse
The Forest King’s Daughter by Elly Blake
Romantasy, enemies to lovers, adventure, magic war
Dream Girl Drama by Tessa Bailey
Romance, hockey, spicy, family drama
Book Boyfriend by Emily Wibberly and Austin Siegemund-Broka
Romance, fantasy fans and fandom, workplace
A Circle of Uncommon Witches by Paige Crutcher
Romantasy, witches, curses, adventure
Deep End by Ali Hazelwood
Romance, diver and swimmer, Olympics
Emily Wilde’s Compendium of Lost Tales by Heather Fawcett
Fantasy, third in series
Harlem Rhapsody by Victoria Christopher Murray
Historical fiction, Black history, novelization of life of Jessie Redmon Fauset, Harlem renaissance
Back After This by Linda Holmes
Romance, funny, podcasting
March
Stag Dance by Torrey Peters
Novella collection, speculative fiction
Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One by Kristen Arnett
Literary fiction, clowns, funny, authenticity, finding yourself
Cover Story by Celia Laskey
Romance, sapphic, Hollywood
The Unworthy by Agustina Bazterrica, translated by Sarah Moses
Horror, post apocalyptic, body horror, creepy convent
The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami
Sci fi, near future dystopia, dream monitoring
Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche
Literary fiction, story of four interconnected women, love
The Antidote by Karen Russell
Fantasy, “dust bowl epic”, prairie witch
Enemy of the Sun: Poetry of Palestinian Resistance edited by Edmund Ghareeb and Naseer Aruri
Poetry anthology
Sucker Punch of Scaachi Koul
Memoir of divorce
The Haunting of Room 904 by Erika T Wurth
Horror, psychic, haunted hotel
The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones
Historical horror, vampire
I’ll Love You Forever: Notes from a K-Pop Fan by Giaae Kwon
Nonfiction
Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins
Fifth Hunger Games novel
Jane and Dan at the End of the World by Colleen Oakley
Romance, funny, falling apart marriage, crime
The Love Simulation by Etta Easton
Romance, funny, competition, teachers
The Bane Witch by Ava Morgyn
Romantasy, thriller, Gone Girl meets Practical Magic
Malinalli by Veronica Chapa
Historical reimagining of life of Mexican interpreter, epic tale
Broken Country by Claire Leslie Hall
Literary, romance, suspense, small town secrets
Hot Air by Marcy Dermansky
Literary fiction, black humor, money, marriage, sex, revenge
Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy
Literary fiction, climate fiction, science researchers, Antarctica, secrets
Salt Water by Katy Hays
Thrillers, murder, family, secrets, Capri
Elphie by Gregory Maguire
Prequel to Wicked
The Paris Express by Emma Donoghue
Historical fiction, 1895, France
When the Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi
Sci fi, John fuckin Scalzi
Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green
Nonfiction
Nowhere by Allison Gunn
Horror, disappearances in a small town
A Harvest of Hearts by Andrea Eames
Cozy fantasy, magic, love spell gone awry, talking cat
They Bloom at Night by Trang Thanh Tran
YA horror, Louisiana, small town disappearances, underwater monsters
Fable at the End of the World by Ava Reid
Sci fi, dystopia, queer romance, wasteland
The Burial Tide by Neil Sharpson
Feast While You Can by Mikaella Clements and Onjuli Datta
Tell Me I’m Worthless by Alison Rumfitt
Survivor Song by Paul Tremblay
And Then I Woke Up by Malcolm Devlin
