#296: Books That Changed How We See the World

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Emma

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You're listening to the A Beautiful Mess podcast, your cozy comfort listen. I'm your host, Emma

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Chapman.

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Elsie

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And I'm your host, Elsie Larson.

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Emma

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And this week, we're talking about the books that genuinely shifted how we see the world, not just five

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star reads, not just books we love, but the ones that rewired our thinking and books that we still find

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ourselves talking about years later.

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Elsie

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I love this episode so much. So before we jump in, I have this like fun parasocial relationship story from

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this past week.

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Emma

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What is parasocial? I don't even what that means.

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Elsie

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So parasocial relationship is the relationship that you have with someone you feel like you know, but

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they don't know you. So like, for me magazine, like, I feel like Alice Hoffman is my best friend, but she,

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in fact, would not recognize me at the grocery store.

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Emma

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Okay, so kind of celebrities, so kind of being a fan girl, right?

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Elsie

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Kind of that, and it mostly happens online. Okay, so this is my funny story. It's so weird, but I kind of

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love it. So a couple weeks ago, I did this Instagram Q and A, you know, I love the Instagram Q and A.

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Emma's not on Instagram anymore, so she didn't see any of this. I didn't Okay, so I did the Q and A,

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and I got like, multiple questions that were like, Are you and Jeremy still married? Are you divorced?

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And I had gotten one the time before, so I was like, Oh my God. Like, because when you get one, it's

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like, who cares? But when you start getting like, more like, it's over and over.

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Emma

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You're like, people are seeing something that I'm not putting out. What's right?

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Elsie

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So I was like, Did I say something? Is it because I never remember to wear my rings? Is it because I

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literally never show a photo of him? But I feel like a lot of people don't show a photo of their photo of

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their husband anyway, so I just put it out there, like, Why? Why do people think this? And I got like,

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1000 DMS. I've never gotten this many DMS. It was so like I got where I couldn't read them all, and it

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people had all kinds of theories. Verdict, there was a lot of theories, many okay? So people who

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listened to the podcast were like, I would never think that, because I listen to the podcast and you

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mention him, right? So it's like, obvious. And then a lot of people were like, I was wondering the same

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thing, because I just don't show them. And then someone said it is, like a more of a reflection on, like

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the millennial early bloggers, because a lot of you guys are getting divorced that I thought was fair.

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Okay, yeah, it's divorce time decade. That is fair. I got my divorce when I was 24 so I am fully done with

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ahead of the game as usual, right? And then one prayer. Okay. So my very favorite comment, someone

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said, yeah, when you moved back to Missouri, I thought you left him in Nashville. Oh, gosh, that was

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my favorite. So anyway, I told him, because he's also not really on Instagram. So I was like, I just want

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to warn you, this is funny, but I a lot of people thought we were getting a divorce, and he was like,

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Whoa, oh, wait, oh, I felt like his reaction was gonna be like, Huh? I mean, it kind of was. He was, like,

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very curious why. And then when there wasn't really a reason, he was like, who cares? So, yeah, um,

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anyway, it's just for fun. But yeah, I think it's, it is, like, so interesting to be. I feel like a human

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experiment being an early influencer, you know I mean, and the experiment continues like even when I

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feel like I have fully separated my identity from, like our early blogger times, but other people haven't.

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You know what I mean, and it's like, you can't control what people think, like, it's just so interesting. So

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anyway, I have never, I don't think I've ever noticed. I think I'm not a very good internet detective,

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because I have never suspected, like, when, when people announce their divorces. I'm always

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surprised.

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Emma

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Oh yeah, yeah.

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Elsie

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So I don't think I'm the type of person who would like, notice or spectulate.

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Emma

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I've had times too that you told me a friend got a divorce. I'm not gonna say their names, you know?

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And I was like, what? And you were like, yeah, it was a year ago. And I was like, what? Like, I didn't you

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know.

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Elsie

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Lots of times you find out people who got divorced a while ago. So that is a common thing online, and

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in that way I can kind of get it.

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Emma

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Yeah, I feel like, too I kind of now because I've been off for a while now, which I'll get back on

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eventually. I'm not, like, against it, but yeah, I'm also just, I've just been off, and I feel like, in some weird

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ways, my brain has returned to, like, the time before, like my old high school brain or something, where

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I kind of forget about, oh, people think things on the internet like it, like, in a way, you're like, you're

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describing this. And I'm like, why would anyone have a theory about your marriage? Like, I'm confused.

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And then I'm like, Well, of course they would. They watch her all the time. Like, this is not, you know,

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like, my little brain that's like, oh yeah, I was on the internet for so long. Is like, obviously. And then my

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new. Brain that's regrowing from my old past life is like, what like this? Just sign of like, these two

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dynamics in there all the time. And it's very strange. It makes me feel very out of touch. I feel like, when

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you say you're out of touch, people think it means you don't know what's going on in the news. And

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that's true. But also it's like a different level of being out of touch, where I'm like, I don't understand how

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the humans interact, because I haven't been interacting with them in this way that everybody does, and

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I've just kind of lost that muscle or whatever, but I remember a little bit, but, like, it just takes when you

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bring something up like that. I'm like, why would anyone even speculate about you? But of course they

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would. Yeah, it's, I don't know.

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Elsie

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It honestly, like entertained me for an afternoon, so that was fun. So this week we are talking about

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books that change how we see the world. I love this topic, and I want to give my caveat up front. Yeah,

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it's caveat time.

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Emma

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What have we ever done the caveat at the end? Actually, we probably do.

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Elsie

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It's usually at the beginning, middle and end.

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Emma

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It's beginning, middle, and end. Yeah. This podcast is renamed to caveat.

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Elsie

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So my caveat is, I told myself, when I was outlining and working like, on the prep for this episode, I'm

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gonna mention all books that I don't talk about all the time on the podcast, like I'm gonna mention new

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books. And I went through my good reads of every single book, and I still ended up picking books that I

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mentioned often. So I'm sorry I did try, but I feel like, when you're going for something this big, like it's

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not favorite books, but it kind of is, you know, I still had to pick my favorites. So I really tried. I really,

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really tried.

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Emma

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Yeah, I did not even try, okay, and I still ended up in the same place you did. So there you have. I

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mainly would say, as you were telling me, because Elsie does our outlines, she does more work for this

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than me, if you can't tell but as you were telling me this idea, I was like, Oh, I love this topic so much.

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Because I just love how books, but also art can be entertainment, it can just be provocative, it can just

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be beautiful, or it can change the way you see the world, and that's so fun. Like, my favorite thing about

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books, I don't know there's so many things I love about them, but like, I feel like it's given me such a

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window into other people's lives, and like, really helped me grow my empathy muscle over the course of

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my whole life, including, like, you know, I became a reader, like middle school, like outside of school,

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obviously. And yeah, I just feel like it makes me see people's lives that I would I would never have a

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chance to see otherwise. And yes, it's fiction. It's not real, it's fake. But I still think so many writers are

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trying to get it right. They're trying to show us, you know, the lives of a sex worker, someone with

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autism, so, you know, just stuff that, like, I don't have any experience with, and I would love to know,

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you know, someone else's life and their interiority and what they go through. And so fiction is, like, one

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way you get to do that, and I think it's really fun, and I love it. And it can, like, change your worldview in

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so many ways, and just sometimes you, like, learn something about like, like video games. I'm not, I'm

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not a gamer. Love learning about like someone else, someone who's passionate about something. It's

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just like, fun. So, yeah, I love books that are just purely entertainment. That's great, and that's a lot of

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stuff we talk about. But I was excited that today we're going to talk about books that are like, they're

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probably fun. Mine were fun to read, but they also just kept me thinking. And some of them healed me.

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Some of them I think about years and years and years later. And I just love that. I think it's like, special

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that books can do that, and any art movies do it too. Like, you know, just storytelling, I think, has the

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opportunity to change us. And I think that's really powerful and fun.

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Elsie

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Yes, I agree. I think it's so interesting how some novels have like, one day of your life, or one, you know,

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three days, two days. Like, how, you know, one, one plane ride sometimes, yeah. And then some of

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them live in your mind for 10 years, yeah, like, and just what a big difference that is, and that it's not

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good or bad it's but it just is like, and you can't always predict why some of them have these longer lives

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internally than others.

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Emma

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Yeah, so let's talk about some of these books. I think we're each picking three, yeah, so it's not an

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infinite number here. So we get to really dive deep on each one. So what's your first one?

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Elsie

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So my first one, I was unable to pick any other book for my first one, like it just has to be Jurassic Park

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by Michael Crichton, first and foremost. It was my childhood special book. It was my first adult novel

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that I read as a child. I'm pretty sure I was in fourth grade or fifth grade.

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Emma

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And you had that feeling of like I read this whole book.

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Elsie

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Yeah I had that feeling. I had my little mass market paper book, and I remember I finished it in, you

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know, those bunk those Trundle bunk beds at our grandma Karina's house.

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Emma

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Yes, those were scary sometimes you couldn't get it open.

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Elsie

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They were scary. So, yeah, it transports me to being a fifth grader like so powerfully. So I think that's a

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part of it, and I will give it that, but there's more. Okay. So what I think is special about Jurassic Park is

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it's kind of my scope for how real fiction can become. Because the book, you like a lot of people,

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including my self as a child and sometimes now believe the science in the book, which is pretend like

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but it is so compelling and it feels so real inside the pages that it feels like inevitable, like we will have

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dinosaurs on Earth and it will kind of how it'll happen, yeah, like, almost like he did a prediction of future

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science, yeah. And that is not true. I've read about it a lot because I just curious, like, How real is it? It's

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not very real. It's not very scientifically viable at all. It is just great storytelling, yeah, and so, yeah, I think

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it's also the best.

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Emma

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Here's my story about that. Okay, as an adult, so you're a fifth grader in the story. As an adult, I

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watched The Martian, and I was like, Yeah, that's so cool. How many times have we been to Mars?

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Like, that's what my brain did. That's how much I believed that storytelling, we have not grown potatoes

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on Mars, if anyone's curious, okay, okay, keep going. Jurassic Park, yeah.

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Elsie

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And there's other writers I could kind of group in with this. I think Andy, where he's a great example. I

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also think Margaret Atwood, from The Handmaid's Tale, is like, in a more terrifying, horrible way, has

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made something so compellingly real.

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Emma

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She's scarier than Stephen King. Take that Stephen King.

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Elsie

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nN, I think it's much scarier.

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Emma

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Oh, yeah, she's terrifing.

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Elsie

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She's a master, yeah. So anyway, yeah. I also think that Jurassic Park is one of the best high concept

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hooks ever. That's something I've been learning about this year to try to work on my own writing. And

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it's like, it's amazing. Like you just, you kind of just can't write a better hook than that. So it's incredible.

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And okay, I have heard so prologs are like, this funny thing in writing. They're frowned upon. And I

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guess, like, a lot of new writers want to put prologs, and they end up being, like, not very compelling

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and like, not adding a lot to the story. But Jurassic Park is considered one of the good examples of a

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prolog, yeah, so, and there's not that many where it's like, these are good examples outside of fantasy

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of a prolog. So anyway, if you care about that, it's also, it's a fun book, I think, to study for so many

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different reasons. But yeah, that is my first one. And I think that also it's just like, lived in my heart in a

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magical way, like it started something inside of me, like this love of like dinosaurs and science that I

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probably would never have had, and it's never gone away my entire life.

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Emma

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Yeah, I think that science fiction is the book I'm about to talk about is also science fiction. So here's my

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segue. Okay, no, I don't know, but I do think science fiction has this ability to, like, tell us an amazing

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story that just grabs us, but then also make us think about the world in a more philosophical way. So

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Jurassic Park, there's a lot of themes in the book, but one is kind of about how, like, you can't control

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nature, or like a scientist who creates something, and then his creation becomes sort of a monster. So

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a little bit of a Frankenstein story, in a way, because the dinosaurs get out of their cages and, you know,

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all those things. So, yeah, it's just kind of about how you shouldn't play God a little bit if you wanted to,

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like, simplify it to something. And I think that's an interesting theme. And showing it, showing it to us

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with a compelling story about dinosaurs is really going to drive the point home so much more than you

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know, some boring story or whatever. So anyway, on that note, science fiction, my first book is Brave

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New World.

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Elsie

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Oh, okay, I've never read this. Ok, give it to me.

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Emma

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So you've never read it.

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Elsie

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No.

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Emma

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Okay, it's pretty short. You should read it. It's fun. It's an oldie, oldie, but a goodie. Okay, so I read this in

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college. I think I was a sophomore, so second year of college, want to say. And I had been a fan of

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science fiction for a while, but also fantasy. Like, yeah, I was a reader, but I couldn't always put my

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finger on what it was about science fiction that, like, really drove it home for me. And I read this book in

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a philosophy class. I had just changed my major from art to philosophy because I had a plan. No, I

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didn't know. I didn't this class was like philosophy of literature. So I think we read like five novels, and

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we talked about the philosophical ideas behind them, and the first one, or one of the first ones, was

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brave new world. And if you're not familiar with the book, like I was telling I'll see it's it's pretty short. You

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should definitely read it. Listen to it. It's a lot of fun. It's science fiction. It's also a dystopian future. So it's

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set far, far in the future. It's London, far in the future. And the world is a totalitarian world, where

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humans are like created in test tubes, and there's different classes, and there is no mobility between

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the classes. You just are what you are. They grow new humans, and people are controlled through

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pleasure, consumerism and drugs. I think the drug is like called sonama or something. There's a

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fictional drug in the book, and the government sort of dispenses these things and controls people

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through them these ways. And so the book kind of follows a couple different characters, but at the end

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of the day, it's kind of about breaking out of the class system, leaving that, you know, controlling state.

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But I would say it's kind of about safety versus freedom. And I think the idea of controlling people

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through pleasure, consumerism and drugs is really interesting. I would add to that list. Now, if I was

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writing the book, something about social media or phones or, you know, that kind of thing, and then it's

00:03:35.000 --> 00:03:36.000
also like, like I said, I was reading it in college, so I was fairly young, I think it's a little bit too about

00:03:36.000 --> 00:03:37.000
finding your place in the world or accepting who you are and what you want like, instead of running

00:03:37.000 --> 00:03:38.000
from your desires and like the things inside of us, embracing them and trying to figure out how to make

00:03:38.000 --> 00:03:39.000
them work in the world, or maybe they don't, if the world is a very dystopian future, yeah, so it's, it's very

00:03:39.000 --> 00:03:40.000
rich in themes. It's kind of a wacky story, but I think it's really, really good, really fun, and it's a classic.

00:03:40.000 --> 00:03:41.000
And, yeah, I still think about it from time to time. I actually this so random side note, but when I got

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married, I wanted to do the thing where you hollow out a book for your your ring book. So the ring

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bearer carried a book down the aisle, and our rings were tied inside of the book, and the book was

00:03:43.000 --> 00:03:44.000
brave new world.

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Elsie

00:03:45.000 --> 00:03:46.000
Oh, did you guys take that class together?

00:03:46.000 --> 00:03:47.000
Emma

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We did.

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Elsie

00:03:49.000 --> 00:03:50.000
They were philosophy students together. Isn't that cute?

00:03:50.000 --> 00:03:51.000
Emma

00:03:51.000 --> 00:03:52.000
That's how we met, yeah. So anyway, should you use a dystopian future book for your wedding? I don't

00:03:52.000 --> 00:03:53.000
know, but I did.

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Elsie

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I don't see a problem with it.

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Emma

00:03:56.000 --> 00:03:57.000
Yeah, I think it's pretty cool.

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Elsie

00:03:58.000 --> 00:03:59.000
Actually, wonderful. Yeah, that sounds very fun. I'm excited to read it.

00:03:59.000 --> 00:04:00.000
Emma

00:04:00.000 --> 00:04:01.000
Okay, it's good, it's weird. You'll like it. I think you'll like it.

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Elsie

00:04:02.000 --> 00:04:03.000
I think so. My second book is Station 11. The reason, there's two reasons, two huge reasons, why I had

00:04:03.000 --> 00:04:04.000
to choose this book. The first one is that it gave me literal nightmares, and that this is one of my I am a

00:04:04.000 --> 00:04:05.000
little bit of a nightmare person, and this is one of my favorite things. The other night, I got one from a

00:04:05.000 --> 00:04:06.000
movie. I was telling Emma about it. It was the Sophia Coppola movie, The Bling Ring. Seen it anyway.

00:04:06.000 --> 00:04:07.000
Okay, we don't need to worry about that right now. So, station 11, actually, okay, actually, I'll be honest, I

00:04:07.000 --> 00:04:08.000
first watched the TV show before I read the book. So I had never even heard of this book at the time

00:04:08.000 --> 00:04:09.000
the TV show came out, which shows you exactly how literate I was in my 20s and 30s. Like it. Yeah,

00:04:09.000 --> 00:04:10.000
you can learn a lot from that. So anyway, we started watching the TV show, which is incredible and a

00:04:10.000 --> 00:04:11.000
little bit different plotting from the book. So I think that you have to do both. They're both so beautiful

00:04:11.000 --> 00:04:12.000
and so good, and they sort of emphasize different characters. And yeah. So anyway, it was actually

00:04:12.000 --> 00:04:13.000
after we watched the first episode of the TV show that I had this nightmare. It was the best nightmare of

00:04:13.000 --> 00:04:14.000
my entire life. Whoa. I know I dreamed that I was together with Emma and our co worker, Jackie, and

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we were on a trip, and there was, like an outbreak of a flu, and I and I was like trying to get away from

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people, but someone came to talk to me, and I to talk to me, and I knew in that moment that I was

00:04:16.000 --> 00:04:17.000
never gonna see my kids again, and like the scariest. But I think that that, I think that's why station 11

00:04:17.000 --> 00:04:18.000
lives inside of me so powerfully, is because it is so frightening and it felt so real. So anyway, that was

00:04:18.000 --> 00:04:19.000
fun. And then the things I really like about the story are dwelling on, like, what would be left like if we

00:04:19.000 --> 00:04:20.000
lost the internet, we lost electricity, we had no more antibiotics, you know, we had no more health care.

00:04:20.000 --> 00:04:21.000
We you know, we lose. You would lose so much, you know, you would lose your ability to talk to anyone

00:04:21.000 --> 00:04:22.000
who's not in your immediate proximity. You would lose countless things. But what would be left over? I

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think, is an interesting thing to dwell on. And in her story, a lot of it ends up being art. And there's. Like

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people who are doing theater, who are performing Shakespeare, and they're keeping that alive for

00:04:24.000 --> 00:04:25.000
themselves and for the remaining people around them, and they're traveling around sharing it. And it's

00:04:25.000 --> 00:04:26.000
a beautiful story in that way, just to think about like, what would we still have books are another thing,

00:04:26.000 --> 00:04:27.000
and then what would we long for and miss for? You know, I like, I love thinking about that. What would I

00:04:27.000 --> 00:04:28.000
miss the most in a world like that? And, I mean, probably traveling. But there's a lot of things, and it's

00:04:28.000 --> 00:04:29.000
actually like, yeah, it's a really heavy thing to think about. But for some reason, I really enjoy it, and it's

00:04:29.000 --> 00:04:30.000
just a part of my brain that like needs, needs that for some reason. Anyway, the last thing I love about

00:04:30.000 --> 00:04:31.000
station 11 is so my favorite trope of them all, one trope to rule them all, is a book within a book. I love it

00:04:31.000 --> 00:04:32.000
when there's a book within a book in any story, and it happens pretty often, but not as often as I wish it

00:04:32.000 --> 00:04:33.000
would. In the books that I read. And in this story, there is a comic book, and in the TV show, I feel like

00:04:33.000 --> 00:04:34.000
they like pulled the narrative even farther with the comic book, and they created some of it, and I've

00:04:34.000 --> 00:04:35.000
been deep into her Reddit threads, Reddit she has this like Reddit thread interviews and stuff like that.

00:04:35.000 --> 00:04:36.000
So anyway, yeah, she said that at some point the comic book will be a real book that you can buy, that

00:04:36.000 --> 00:04:37.000
they were planning to produce it. And I hope that that's true, because I deeply want this book. Like, so

00:04:37.000 --> 00:04:38.000
bad, yeah? Like, that's just one of my favorite things about a book within a book is that you can't have

00:04:38.000 --> 00:04:39.000
it, but it seems so real to you, and it just like, creates this, like, this yearning.

00:04:39.000 --> 00:04:40.000
Emma

00:04:40.000 --> 00:04:41.000
Yeah, it's the ultimate supply and demand, because the demand is high and there is literally no supply

00:04:41.000 --> 00:04:42.000
unless she makes it, which would be really cool.

00:04:42.000 --> 00:04:43.000
Elsie

00:04:43.000 --> 00:04:44.000
Yeah, I saw someone on Tiktok that was talking about, you know, the book The Magicians. Yeah. So it's

00:04:44.000 --> 00:04:45.000
a series, and I haven't read it yet, but she said that in the series, there are these books that are not real.

00:04:45.000 --> 00:04:46.000
But at the time that it was coming out, the author made them look real on websites, like there was

00:04:46.000 --> 00:04:47.000
some, like, marketing there. Oh, that's fine. And it like broke her heart so much. She was still a child, I

00:04:47.000 --> 00:04:48.000
think, and she like, searched for months to try to get these books that don't exist. And I just think stuff

00:04:48.000 --> 00:04:49.000
like that is so compelling. So, yeah, what's your next book?

00:04:49.000 --> 00:04:50.000
Emma

00:04:50.000 --> 00:04:51.000
My next one is The Poisonwood Bible.

00:04:51.000 --> 00:04:52.000
Elsie

00:04:52.000 --> 00:04:53.000
Ah, I'm so glad you picked that. I wanted to pick it.

00:04:53.000 --> 00:04:54.000
Emma

00:04:54.000 --> 00:04:55.000
I had to when I saw you didn't pick it, because I was like, Oh, she'll probably pick this. But okay, so this

00:04:55.000 --> 00:04:56.000
is a Barbara Kingsolver book, and it was actually the first of her books that I ever read. So number one,

00:04:56.000 --> 00:04:57.000
this launched my lifelong love of Barbara Kingsolver books. So that is just that alone is probably

00:04:57.000 --> 00:04:58.000
something to mention, because I've read almost all of her books. I have not read Demon Copperhead

00:04:58.000 --> 00:04:59.000
yet, but it's on my list, but I think I've read almost every other book. I know it sounded so sad, it

00:04:59.000 --> 00:05:00.000
sounded beautiful, but so sad.

00:05:00.000 --> 00:05:01.000
Elsie

00:05:01.000 --> 00:05:02.000
She's one of those authors that is so good that you have to ration her books, and you shouldn't read

00:05:02.000 --> 00:05:03.000
them all in a row.

00:05:03.000 --> 00:05:04.000
Emma

00:05:04.000 --> 00:05:05.000
When I fell in love with her, I did not know this tip. I just went to the library get everything off shelf. So

00:05:05.000 --> 00:05:06.000
anyway, okay, but the poison would Bible specifically, it's kind of about the downfall of a Baptist

00:05:06.000 --> 00:05:07.000
missionary. So he takes his family to Africa to spread the word of God, and he's not able to adapt to the

00:05:07.000 --> 00:05:08.000
culture. He does it wrong, you could say. And he has sort of a chaotic and tragic ending, and the family

00:05:08.000 --> 00:05:09.000
kind of has a lot of tragedy. One one person, aside from him, dies. I don't want to spoil too much, even

00:05:09.000 --> 00:05:10.000
though it's a pretty old book, but what I would say for me with the book was I grew up Southern Baptist,

00:05:10.000 --> 00:05:11.000
and at the time that I read this, I was just sort of coming out of that, or I would say, looking at it more

00:05:11.000 --> 00:05:12.000
critically. I was just getting to an age and getting to a place in my life where I was looking at it more

00:05:12.000 --> 00:05:13.000
critically, but I feel like that became something that a lot of us did over time. When it was first

00:05:13.000 --> 00:05:14.000
happening, for me, the Internet was young, so I think I just wasn't able to connect with as many people

00:05:14.000 --> 00:05:15.000
who were going through that, or perhaps maybe not as many people were going through it. Yet. I'm not

00:05:15.000 --> 00:05:16.000
really sure it was a time where.

00:05:16.000 --> 00:05:17.000
Elsie

00:05:17.000 --> 00:05:18.000
I think people have been going through it for centuries.

00:05:18.000 --> 00:05:19.000
Emma

00:05:19.000 --> 00:05:20.000
I think so too. I think I just the internet was still kind of young, and we so I wasn't able to talk with people

00:05:20.000 --> 00:05:21.000
about it as free as I feel like we're able to now, which is nice, because it's nice to be able to process

00:05:21.000 --> 00:05:22.000
your so anyway, I found a lot of healing in this book, not because I think you could look at it be like, oh,

00:05:22.000 --> 00:05:23.000
so there is sort of this. Hinge on a Baptist missionary, and it's like, no, I don't I didn't really view it that

00:05:23.000 --> 00:05:24.000
way. I just remember feeling like, Okay, I'm not crazy. When I read that book, I remember feeling like,

00:05:24.000 --> 00:05:25.000
okay. There are a lot of ways to look at this, and it's okay that I feel a lot of conflicting things inside me

00:05:25.000 --> 00:05:26.000
about what I believed growing up, how it seems to be evolving in me, and I'm not sure I agree with

00:05:26.000 --> 00:05:27.000
some parts of it anymore. And I'm I'm feeling very like, Am I crazy? Is something wrong with me? And I

00:05:27.000 --> 00:05:28.000
feel like this book gave me a lot of like, healing around that, a lot of like, No, you're not crazy. There's a

00:05:28.000 --> 00:05:29.000
lot of lot of things going on here, and some are good, some are bad. It's good to be processing. And for

00:05:29.000 --> 00:05:30.000
a lot of the characters, the family, the daughters, they go on to have good lives, they're able to get out

00:05:30.000 --> 00:05:31.000
of this chaotic and sad situation and move forward. And I think that also kind of helped me see like,

00:05:31.000 --> 00:05:32.000
well, you're going to move forward. You're just processing through this right now, and you know, it's not

00:05:32.000 --> 00:05:33.000
so great at the moment. You're feeling like you're losing a lot of community and friends, but just keep

00:05:33.000 --> 00:05:34.000
going and be honest with yourself and be kind to yourself and others, and we're just going to keep

00:05:34.000 --> 00:05:35.000
looking at this. And I just I felt less alone reading this book, and so it meant a lot to me at the time.

00:05:35.000 --> 00:05:36.000
Yeah, so thank you, Barbara.

00:05:36.000 --> 00:05:37.000
Elsie

00:05:37.000 --> 00:05:38.000
Yeah, we love you, Barbara, it is real trauma to break away from the religion you were raised in, and I

00:05:38.000 --> 00:05:39.000
think that when you don't know that and you aren't validated, it's very confusing, very lonely. And I felt

00:05:39.000 --> 00:05:40.000
the same way, like it just feels like you're like your world is crumbling, yeah, and you don't know how to

00:05:40.000 --> 00:05:41.000
piece it back together. Yeah. For years, Emma told me to read the poison wood Bible and I based on

00:05:41.000 --> 00:05:42.000
the title, knowing nothing else, I had an expectation that it was going to I was in my nonfiction era

00:05:42.000 --> 00:05:43.000
before I got into fiction, so I had this perception that it was going to sort of cleanly dismantle something,

00:05:43.000 --> 00:05:44.000
and it did not. It was very messy. It left it messy. It left just like it. Just left it there for you to think about

00:05:44.000 --> 00:05:45.000
for yourself. And that it was the first time I had read a book like that. So it was very life changing for me

00:05:45.000 --> 00:05:46.000
as well. And I'll never, I'll never forget that book. And can I say one more?

00:05:46.000 --> 00:05:47.000
Emma

00:05:47.000 --> 00:05:48.000
One more? Yeah, I have one more random thing about this too. So yeah, go ahead.

00:05:48.000 --> 00:05:49.000
Elsie

00:05:49.000 --> 00:05:50.000
I just learned that Barbara kingsolvers new book is going to be set in the classical music world. And I'm

00:05:50.000 --> 00:05:51.000
so excited. I know I'm so excited.

00:05:51.000 --> 00:05:52.000
Emma

00:05:52.000 --> 00:05:53.000
Yeah, that's very exciting. Yeah, I was gonna say she wrote a nonfiction years later, after poison one

00:05:53.000 --> 00:05:54.000
Bible called Animal vegetable miracle. It's kind of about just eating food that is local. If I had to sum it

00:05:54.000 --> 00:05:55.000
up, it's like eating locally. Why that's important, why that might be better for our planet, how she does it

00:05:55.000 --> 00:05:56.000
on her farm. And at the time, I was living in California, I was pursuing acting, and there were farmers

00:05:56.000 --> 00:05:57.000
markets, like down the street from my apartment every week. And it was, you know, farmers markets

00:05:57.000 --> 00:05:58.000
are people who live nearby, who grow things, you get it so, but this was sort of new to me, and so I was

00:05:58.000 --> 00:05:59.000
just, I was just getting into cooking and food. And really, the book kind of inspired me to start my first

00:05:59.000 --> 00:06:00.000
food blog, which was a lot about cooking recipes just from things I found at the farmers market or

00:06:00.000 --> 00:06:01.000
locally. And I didn't really stick with that. Have really deviated from farmer's path on that, but it launched

00:06:01.000 --> 00:06:02.000
it, and I was just interested in cooking and interested in food. And her writing is just so gorgeous. So

00:06:02.000 --> 00:06:03.000
any pros about food I'm interested in, and this one happens to be about growing food and consuming

00:06:03.000 --> 00:06:04.000
food near you. And of course, it's beautiful writing because it's a king solver. So yeah, beautiful.

00:06:04.000 --> 00:06:05.000
Elsie

00:06:05.000 --> 00:06:06.000
All right, my final book is Never Let Me Go by Kazu Ishiguro. So this story, I first saw it as the movie in, I

00:06:06.000 --> 00:06:07.000
don't know, maybe 2010 ish, sometime in there, there was a great movie. I watched it again recently,

00:06:07.000 --> 00:06:08.000
and it's gorgeous, but the book is much more beautiful even. So, yeah, why I love this book? It is a

00:06:08.000 --> 00:06:09.000
story. It's sort of mysterious, it's sort of literary. It is a story about clones. And I have, like, a deep,

00:06:09.000 --> 00:06:10.000
unrelenting love of clone and robot stories that is just kind of one of my side quests in life, and it always

00:06:10.000 --> 00:06:11.000
has been since that the, I think the 1999 AI movie. Do you remember when I talked about that and I,

00:06:11.000 --> 00:06:12.000
like, revealed it was my favorite movie of all time. That's real? Yeah, it's just a category that I love. And I

00:06:12.000 --> 00:06:13.000
think that when you get a chance for, like, beautiful. Full literary writing to be married together with a

00:06:13.000 --> 00:06:14.000
theme that you personally are just obsessed with, that is like the best intersection in books. I just love it.

00:06:14.000 --> 00:06:15.000
So anyway, the thing I love about this book is that it kind of healed my fear of death, which is a crazy

00:06:15.000 --> 00:06:16.000
thing to say, but let me explain. I think I've always had like a normal fear of death. I wouldn't say like an

00:06:16.000 --> 00:06:17.000
outsized, just a normal, like, just your average, normal, boring fear of death, right? But when I read this

00:06:17.000 --> 00:06:18.000
story, the thing that I took from it was that their short little lives were sort of just as full and had just as

00:06:18.000 --> 00:06:19.000
big of an emotional arc as our normal, long old people lives. And that it kind of, you know, doesn't

00:06:19.000 --> 00:06:20.000
matter, in a way. And I don't know about the now, yeah, and it made me realize that, like, it's kind of like,

00:06:20.000 --> 00:06:21.000
not about how much time you have in life, but it's more like, how, like, I don't know, like, who you love,

00:06:21.000 --> 00:06:22.000
what you do with your time, what you what you do with the choices that you do have. So yeah, it was

00:06:22.000 --> 00:06:23.000
very inspiring, and it just kind of gave me a different perspective that I still don't really understand why it

00:06:23.000 --> 00:06:24.000
meant that much to me, but it did. It like, unlocked something, and now I am, like, not very afraid of

00:06:24.000 --> 00:06:25.000
dying. And my husband thinks it's weird, like, how much I'm like, fine with it, but I don't know. I think it's

00:06:25.000 --> 00:06:26.000
great. I think it's like, if you're able to have that so anyway, read the book, see if it does something for

00:06:26.000 --> 00:06:27.000
you. But yeah, I think it's a gorgeous book. I've heard people we yeah, we get a lot of emails from

00:06:27.000 --> 00:06:28.000
people who don't like the books we recommend. And do we read? Well, I do. I think they actually might

00:06:28.000 --> 00:06:29.000
be Instagram DMs.

00:06:29.000 --> 00:06:30.000
Emma

00:06:30.000 --> 00:06:31.000
Actually, I'd never have read one where people are like.

00:06:31.000 --> 00:06:32.000
Elsie

00:06:32.000 --> 00:06:33.000
Really, I get them all the time, and it's always the same three books, and this is one of them that not

00:06:33.000 --> 00:06:34.000
everyone loves it. It's just not for everyone. That's okay, but I'm gonna recommend it until I die, because

00:06:34.000 --> 00:06:35.000
it means so much to me, and I think it's just a beautiful story.

00:06:35.000 --> 00:06:36.000
Emma

00:06:36.000 --> 00:06:37.000
I don't know how you cannot love this book. Yeah, so that's the camp I'm in.

00:06:37.000 --> 00:06:38.000
Elsie

00:06:38.000 --> 00:06:39.000
Yeah, I'm just gonna throw in. He also has a robot book called Clara and the sun, and it is incredible as

00:06:39.000 --> 00:06:40.000
well. It's getting an adaptation, so it is a good time to read it right now.

00:06:40.000 --> 00:06:41.000
Emma

00:06:41.000 --> 00:06:42.000
Yeah, I'm excited to see that, because I liked that book a lot. He also wrote Remains of the Day. And it

00:06:42.000 --> 00:06:43.000
has an old movie that's really lovely too.

00:06:43.000 --> 00:06:44.000
Elsie

00:06:44.000 --> 00:06:45.000
Yes, oh, it has an Anthony Hopkins.

00:06:45.000 --> 00:06:46.000
Emma

00:06:46.000 --> 00:06:47.000
Yes, Emma Thompson's in it.

00:06:47.000 --> 00:06:48.000
Elsie

00:06:48.000 --> 00:06:49.000
It's lovely. I think Anthony Hopkins is my oldest human celebrity crush. I don't know why I said human.

00:06:49.000 --> 00:06:50.000
Emma

00:06:50.000 --> 00:06:51.000
I assume because you have some non humans on the list, that was the assumption I made.

00:06:51.000 --> 00:06:52.000
Elsie

00:06:52.000 --> 00:06:53.000
She's thinking about, I think it's from West world. But anyway, let's, let's move on.

00:06:53.000 --> 00:06:54.000
Emma

00:06:54.000 --> 00:06:55.000
Okay, okay, okay, my third one is Pride and Prejudice. Jane Austen.

00:06:55.000 --> 00:06:56.000
Elsie

00:06:56.000 --> 00:06:57.000
I've never read this, which is crazy, so give it to me like a person who's never read it. Okay?

00:06:57.000 --> 00:06:58.000
Emma

00:06:58.000 --> 00:06:59.000
So this was the first historical book that I ever read outside of school, and I always thought a historical

00:06:59.000 --> 00:07:00.000
book would be boring, and it changed my perspective on that, where I was like, this was not boring.

00:07:00.000 --> 00:07:01.000
This was a lot of fun. They took so many walks in the woods, and I was like, what's gonna happen?

00:07:01.000 --> 00:07:02.000
Like, it's just like, Wow, that's pretty good writing. So there's that. I'll also say this is probably the first

00:07:02.000 --> 00:07:03.000
book I read that is a romance. Wow, I don't know if it's technically a romance. I think it is, but I don't

00:07:03.000 --> 00:07:04.000
really know. I mean, when it was written, I don't know if they were so strong on the genres, you know,

00:07:04.000 --> 00:07:05.000
but I think it would be shelved that way, I assume. So. Yeah, it was first book I read that was a romance.

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And as anyone listening knows I love romance. It's one of my top genres. It's my comfort genre. Love it.

00:07:06.000 --> 00:07:07.000
So it opened my my door for that too. And I think too, it's just like a fun read. So a lot of historical works.

00:07:07.000 --> 00:07:08.000
As a woman, when you read historical books, a lot of times, you're kind of faced with the fact that, until

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pretty recently, people like me didn't have a lot of choices. Yeah, and I think that, you know, like, I read

00:07:09.000 --> 00:07:10.000
this pretty young. I was, like, in high school, but, you know, it's just one of those things you grapple with,

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and it makes you feel grateful. It also makes you kind of look at, okay, well, these are the choices they

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had. Here's what they did with them. Maybe I don't have every choice in the world, but what am I going

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to do with them? Kind of same thing you're saying with Never Let Me Go. So yeah, I liked that. I think

00:07:13.000 --> 00:07:14.000
books about young women being courageous in whatever way, whenever you're a young woman who

00:07:14.000 --> 00:07:15.000
wants to be courageous, they're powerful books for you, and this one definitely fit the bill for me. So

00:07:15.000 --> 00:07:16.000
yeah, Pride and Prejudice forever.

00:07:16.000 --> 00:07:17.000
Elsie

00:07:17.000 --> 00:07:18.000
It's always in the top first lines, like opening lines, in writing courses, because it has a great opening

00:07:18.000 --> 00:07:19.000
line. So definitely check that out.

00:07:19.000 --> 00:07:20.000
Emma

00:07:20.000 --> 00:07:21.000
It's great writing. Really.

00:07:21.000 --> 00:07:22.000
Elsie

00:07:22.000 --> 00:07:23.000
I'm excited to read it. I can't believe it's taken me this long. It's it's embarrassing. I should be humiliated.

00:07:23.000 --> 00:07:24.000
Okay, we have a non fiction bonus round bonus time. I have two two fur so I will die on this hill. I want

00:07:24.000 --> 00:07:25.000
everyone in the world to read Supercommunicators by Charles Duhigg. So this is the most impactful

00:07:25.000 --> 00:07:26.000
non fiction book I've ever read. I think that in a time when, if you're like me, you struggle to

00:07:26.000 --> 00:07:27.000
communicate in real life like you might have certain family members, certain situations, and then also

00:07:27.000 --> 00:07:28.000
communicating on the internet has gone from bad to worse. It's not great. So this book such an

00:07:28.000 --> 00:07:29.000
incredible way to learn what works like, what kind of communicating has a chance to get through to the

00:07:29.000 --> 00:07:30.000
other side with the message you intended? And you know, instead of just like yelling and feeling like

00:07:30.000 --> 00:07:31.000
you're screaming into, you know, the blank space.

00:07:31.000 --> 00:07:32.000
Emma

00:07:32.000 --> 00:07:33.000
Get off my lawn.

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Elsie

00:07:34.000 --> 00:07:35.000
Yes, this book actually, like, teaches you some skills. And I think that everyone should read it. I like I'm

00:07:35.000 --> 00:07:36.000
constantly begging my husband to read it. It's just great. And then my second book is Big Magic by

00:07:36.000 --> 00:07:37.000
Elizabeth Gilbert. I am on an endless loop with this one. I will probably reread it every five years till

00:07:37.000 --> 00:07:38.000
death.

00:07:38.000 --> 00:07:39.000
Emma

00:07:39.000 --> 00:07:40.000
Will never shut up about it.

00:07:40.000 --> 00:07:41.000
Elsie

00:07:41.000 --> 00:07:42.000
I won't ever, never. I won't I just, I think it's just so wonderful. It introduced me to Anne Patchett. I didn't

00:07:42.000 --> 00:07:43.000
know who she was before I read this book, and now she's one of my favorite writers. And, yeah, it just

00:07:43.000 --> 00:07:44.000
has lots of wonderful advice for creative people. There's a lot of stuff in there about like, how to rebuild

00:07:44.000 --> 00:07:45.000
after you've had a big success, and then you're kind of flopping, which is something that I've recently

00:07:45.000 --> 00:07:46.000
experienced in my life. It was very helpful to me. Yeah. I mean, you're lucky to get to experience that

00:07:46.000 --> 00:07:47.000
sort of thing, but with all success comes this like pressure to always follow up with it with equal

00:07:47.000 --> 00:07:48.000
success, which I think is something that everyone should learn about and be prepared for in careers.

00:07:48.000 --> 00:07:49.000
So anyway, great books. What's your nonfiction list?

00:07:49.000 --> 00:07:50.000
Emma

00:07:50.000 --> 00:07:51.000
I was like, what book do I feel like I reference all the time? What do I because I've read a lot of great

00:07:51.000 --> 00:07:52.000
nonfiction. I was like, you know, honestly, as far as, like, recently, the thing that I think about a lot is The

00:07:52.000 --> 00:07:53.000
Anxious Generation, which I think is a great book and really made me start thinking more critically

00:07:53.000 --> 00:07:54.000
about my own phone usage. I have young kids. They don't use phones right now, but someday they will

00:07:54.000 --> 00:07:55.000
have phones or tablets or whatever, you know, they'll go to school and they're going to use stuff. And,

00:07:55.000 --> 00:07:56.000
you know, I'm thinking about that. I'm looking at, I'm looking at what's happening in our country, what

00:07:56.000 --> 00:07:57.000
legislation is happening locally and broad. And it's, it's interesting. I also feel like that book has had

00:07:57.000 --> 00:07:58.000
such an impact on, you know, current events, because I think most parents and people generally, we're

00:07:58.000 --> 00:07:59.000
like, what are the effects of technology on our brains? And also, yeah, a lot of tech is owned by, like,

00:07:59.000 --> 00:08:00.000
these top three companies. Is that good? Is that bad? I mean, they're just companies. They're not like

00:08:00.000 --> 00:08:01.000
necessarily out for our good. I think they're out for our money, sort of like what the deal is in a free

00:08:01.000 --> 00:08:02.000
market economy. So it's just, you know, something that you know made me think a lot still makes me

00:08:02.000 --> 00:08:03.000
think a lot still kind of is in choices I'm making daily. And so, yeah, I really liked it. And I think there's

00:08:03.000 --> 00:08:04.000
some controversy around the book and some controversy around the author. I love this book. I thought

00:08:04.000 --> 00:08:05.000
it was really worth listening to, worth reading. S

00:08:05.000 --> 00:08:06.000
Elsie

00:08:06.000 --> 00:08:07.000
The pushback I've heard to it is that some of the advice isn't realistic, sure, you know. And I think that's

00:08:07.000 --> 00:08:08.000
one of the hardest things about raising your kids in this cell phone social media era is that you know

00:08:08.000 --> 00:08:09.000
you want to protect them for as long as possible, but also it's our responsibility to prepare them to be

00:08:09.000 --> 00:08:10.000
able to do all this on their own eventually. And you know, responsibly, and so you do have to give them

00:08:10.000 --> 00:08:11.000
access to be able to learn those skills. And it's like, how you navigate that middle part is something that

00:08:11.000 --> 00:08:12.000
I still have a lot of questions about.

00:08:12.000 --> 00:08:13.000
Emma

00:08:13.000 --> 00:08:14.000
Yeah, and I don't really feel like any one book is going to tell us how to parent our children. Yeah. I just

00:08:14.000 --> 00:08:15.000
don't really think that's going to happen. I think that, you know, I'm I'm trying to learn a lot about

00:08:15.000 --> 00:08:16.000
parenting, and I probably will be doing that until my kids are like, leave me alone. I'm an adult, and I

00:08:16.000 --> 00:08:17.000
think most parents feel that way because it's a hard job, and every kid's different, and they face different

00:08:17.000 --> 00:08:18.000
challenges. They have different needs. And so I just don't think there's any one solution or one book

00:08:18.000 --> 00:08:19.000
that's going to do that, but I think getting information. Thinking about things, looking at things. I think it's

00:08:19.000 --> 00:08:20.000
good. I'm more of a like, Let's gather all the best advice we can, and I'm gonna pick and choose what's

00:08:20.000 --> 00:08:21.000
making sense for my family at the age my kids is, and I don't really feel any like me personally, any

00:08:21.000 --> 00:08:22.000
judgment towards what other people are doing with their kids. I'm like, good luck. It's hard out there. I

00:08:22.000 --> 00:08:23.000
see you. Keep trying, I'm gonna do what I think is best, and that's where I'm at. But sometimes you do

00:08:23.000 --> 00:08:24.000
have to make decisions as a group, like when you're in schools or things like that, and I think that it just

00:08:24.000 --> 00:08:25.000
has to be an ongoing conversation where we all have to be honest and kind to each other, but also like,

00:08:25.000 --> 00:08:26.000
here are my concerns. Here's what I'm, you know, looking at, worried about, what else can you do?

00:08:26.000 --> 00:08:27.000
Elsie

00:08:27.000 --> 00:08:28.000
So I love it. I love it. Okay, this hot take is from our listener, Rose. She says, spring is the best season.

00:08:28.000 --> 00:08:29.000
Yes, I've changed my mind from when I used to think it was autumn. Spring is when the daylight gets

00:08:29.000 --> 00:08:30.000
longer, the earth comes back to life, and we all feel more energized with so much to look forward to.

00:08:30.000 --> 00:08:31.000
The fall is great, but only for a few short weeks in fall, the days get shorter, everything starts to die and

00:08:31.000 --> 00:08:32.000
it gets colder. All right, okay, Rose.

00:08:32.000 --> 00:08:33.000
Emma

00:08:33.000 --> 00:08:34.000
First off, you're making some strong points. Yes, I think you know, if you were springs defense attorney,

00:08:34.000 --> 00:08:35.000
you did your best here. Okay, these are good strong points.

00:08:35.000 --> 00:08:36.000
Elsie

00:08:36.000 --> 00:08:37.000
I will say last night, at 6:30pm I was sitting there working, and I was thinking, God, it's so nice that it's

00:08:37.000 --> 00:08:38.000
still like full sunlight outside right now, and it just like changes the feeling that you have about your time.

00:08:38.000 --> 00:08:39.000
For me, like my after school hours, between picking my kids up in bedtime, it was so short before, and

00:08:39.000 --> 00:08:40.000
now it's getting really long, but I'm gonna have to hard disagree. I just, I just can't I will give it to spring

00:08:40.000 --> 00:08:41.000
that I like seeing the trees bloom again. I like seeing the grass get green. I like flowers. It's not autumn.

00:08:41.000 --> 00:08:42.000
The reason why I will never not be an autumn to Christmas enthusiast is that those four months of the

00:08:42.000 --> 00:08:43.000
year are like the coziest that like I pack them with all these favorite things that I don't enjoy the rest of

00:08:43.000 --> 00:08:44.000
the year. Like it's just, it's this big sensory overload experience, and then in January I crash, and then I

00:08:44.000 --> 00:08:45.000
wait for it again until September 1.

00:08:45.000 --> 00:08:46.000
Emma

00:08:46.000 --> 00:08:47.000
Yeah, then I'm just, I've crashed. I'm down on the ground until Easter, basically.

00:08:47.000 --> 00:08:48.000
Elsie

00:08:48.000 --> 00:08:49.000
So I'm glad. I'm happy for people who can appreciate spring as, like, a top season, I love that for you

00:08:49.000 --> 00:08:50.000
Rose.

00:08:50.000 --> 00:08:51.000
Emma

00:08:51.000 --> 00:08:52.000
I mean, I'm with rose in that I appreciate spring and also summer more than I used to, yeah, like,

00:08:52.000 --> 00:08:53.000
especially as a mom, like, you know, whatever. But my boys love to be outside. So I feel like winter

00:08:53.000 --> 00:08:54.000
months after Christmas is just tough because I'm just, like, trying to find ways to be active indoors.

00:08:54.000 --> 00:08:55.000
Yeah. And, I mean, we have a great house, but it's just, you know, it's hard, whereas once they're

00:08:55.000 --> 00:08:56.000
outside all day, they just are happier, and they just have more they can do and and so I appreciate it so

00:08:56.000 --> 00:08:57.000
much more. And I love being outside myself. I love the daylight, all those things, but spring does not

00:08:57.000 --> 00:08:58.000
have Halloween, spring does not have impending Christmas. Spring does not have pumpkin spice. It's

00:08:58.000 --> 00:08:59.000
just not gonna do it for me. And my colors, by the way, are spring, yeah? But I just, I love you fall, and I

00:08:59.000 --> 00:09:00.000
will always love you.

00:09:00.000 --> 00:09:01.000
Elsie

00:09:01.000 --> 00:09:02.000
Me too. I can't, switch those, but I will say that I think the thing we do agree on is that spring is so much

00:09:02.000 --> 00:09:03.000
better than winter. Yes, I think we all agree on that. Sorry, winter, but nobody likes you. Nobody. Okay,

00:09:03.000 --> 00:09:04.000
so we have our book report. Yes, do you? Do you have a book?

00:09:04.000 --> 00:09:05.000
Emma

00:09:05.000 --> 00:09:06.000
Yes, this the book I read while we were on our Disney trip. Ooh, okay, go ahead. Okay. My book is One

00:09:06.000 --> 00:09:07.000
Golden Summer by Carley Fortune. Okay, so this was the first book I read. Well, is it or the second? I

00:09:07.000 --> 00:09:08.000
think it's the first book I read from the stash of 40 books that you got me for my birthday. I think I'm like

00:09:08.000 --> 00:09:09.000
starting it on the stash. I've read this. This has now been a few weeks since I read it, but yeah, so

00:09:09.000 --> 00:09:10.000
anyway, you gave me a few of her books, and I love her, and I loved this, and I took it on my trip, like I

00:09:10.000 --> 00:09:11.000
said to Disney, because it just felt like it was going to be right up my alley.

00:09:11.000 --> 00:09:12.000
Elsie

00:09:12.000 --> 00:09:13.000
A vacationy book.

00:09:13.000 --> 00:09:14.000
Emma

00:09:14.000 --> 00:09:15.000
Yes, a vactiony book, a contemporary romance, light, fun, sexy. I just was like, I have feeling this. I

00:09:15.000 --> 00:09:16.000
could tell by the cover. I was like, Yeah, and it was all those things. It delivered on every account. I

00:09:16.000 --> 00:09:17.000
loved it. It was super fun. Yeah, if you've read any of her books, this is along those lines. It's set on a

00:09:17.000 --> 00:09:18.000
lake. There's a lot of like, boating and swimming. And one of the main characters, she's kind of taking

00:09:18.000 --> 00:09:19.000
care of her El. Early grandma at a lake house one summer, as she kind of rehabilitates from a hip

00:09:19.000 --> 00:09:20.000
surgery, and she meets the neighbor across the lake, and he's really hot and you know, it was just

00:09:20.000 --> 00:09:21.000
super fun book. Lovely writing. Loved it. I read it in like five days. Loved it, wonderful.

00:09:21.000 --> 00:09:22.000
Elsie

00:09:22.000 --> 00:09:23.000
Okay, so my book was also from our spring break trip, I read this on the way home. I listened to the

00:09:23.000 --> 00:09:24.000
audio book all in one day on the airplane rides, because we had kind of a long travel day. What I read

00:09:24.000 --> 00:09:25.000
was The Astral Library by Kate Quinn. So I was super excited about this book, because Kate Quinn is

00:09:25.000 --> 00:09:26.000
known for her historical fiction, and I think this is her first magical realism book, so I knew it was going

00:09:26.000 --> 00:09:27.000
to be kind of different from her previous works, and I was really excited to try it. So the premise of the

00:09:27.000 --> 00:09:28.000
book is that people, human, human, people, you and me could live in stories if we want to, but it has to

00:09:28.000 --> 00:09:29.000
be a public domain story. So I think that means older than 95 years old. So I know what I would pick. I

00:09:29.000 --> 00:09:30.000
thought about it. That was one of the most fun things, was thinking the whole time about what I would

00:09:30.000 --> 00:09:31.000
pick or what else like. You know when you're thinking in your mind like she should do this, she should

00:09:31.000 --> 00:09:32.000
do this, you know what? I mean? Yeah, yeah. It was very fun. It had a lot of costumes. It had a lot of,

00:09:32.000 --> 00:09:33.000
you know, different eras. So a couple of the books they go into, I won't give too many books, but I don't

00:09:33.000 --> 00:09:34.000
think this is a book you can really spoil. But they go into the Gatsby world they go into. Let me think

00:09:34.000 --> 00:09:35.000
Sherlock Holmes, there is a Pride and Prejudice. So, yeah, lots of different, lots of variety. And it was

00:09:35.000 --> 00:09:36.000
very fun. I loved the book. I think that this is specifically a recommendation if you enjoyed the midnight

00:09:36.000 --> 00:09:37.000
library by Matt Haig. I love that this book has a lot of similarities, but it is just a little more like lighter and

00:09:37.000 --> 00:09:38.000
more like replace the mental health stuff with like a literary enthusiasm. Happy book girl, yeah, yep,

00:09:38.000 --> 00:09:39.000
yep. Just like people who want to live in libraries will probably enjoy this book, and it's also very Pacey.

00:09:39.000 --> 00:09:40.000
It's like running pace the entire time. It's a page turner. And yeah, I enjoyed it. So yeah, I hope if you

00:09:40.000 --> 00:09:41.000
read it, let me know what your favorite world is and what you would live in if you could live in a Do you

00:09:41.000 --> 00:09:42.000
know what you would pick?

00:09:42.000 --> 00:09:43.000
Emma

00:09:43.000 --> 00:09:44.000
I don't know. I definitely want to read this. This is a good pitch. It also is I just can't, as you all know, I'm

00:09:44.000 --> 00:09:45.000
a nerd, and it's really making me think about the holodeck when Star Trek Next Generation, because a

00:09:45.000 --> 00:09:46.000
lot of times data goes in there and kind of does his own Sherlock Holmes time God. And so it's making

00:09:46.000 --> 00:09:47.000
me think of that a lot. And I'm like, if I could go in the holodeck, where would I go?

00:09:47.000 --> 00:09:48.000
Elsie

00:09:48.000 --> 00:09:49.000
It's basically a holodeck.

00:09:49.000 --> 00:09:50.000
Emma

00:09:50.000 --> 00:09:51.000
Yeah, I love it. Love it.

00:09:51.000 --> 00:09:52.000
Elsie

00:09:52.000 --> 00:09:53.000
Yeah, it's magical. All right, so we're gonna toss it over to a joke or a fact with Nova. Hey, Nova, what do

00:09:53.000 --> 00:09:54.000
you have for us this week?

00:09:54.000 --> 00:09:55.000
Nova

00:09:55.000 --> 00:09:56.000
A joke.

00:09:56.000 --> 00:09:57.000
Elsie

00:09:57.000 --> 00:09:58.000
Okay, I'm ready.

00:09:58.000 --> 00:09:59.000
Nova

00:09:59.000 --> 00:10:00.000
How do aliens serve their food?

00:10:00.000 --> 00:10:01.000
Elsie

00:10:01.000 --> 00:10:02.000
How?

00:10:02.000 --> 00:10:03.000
Nova

00:10:03.000 --> 00:10:04.000
On a flying saucer.

00:10:04.000 --> 00:10:05.000
Elsie

00:10:05.000 --> 00:10:06.000
Good joke.

00:10:06.000 --> 00:10:07.000
Nova

00:10:07.000 --> 00:10:08.000
Have a good week.

00:10:08.000 --> 00:10:09.000
Emma

00:10:09.000 --> 00:10:10.000
Okay, so if a book has changed your life, we want to hear about it, so email us

00:10:10.000 --> 00:10:11.000
podcast@abeautifulmess.com and we just might feature in a future episode. Thank you for listening.

00:10:11.000 --> 00:10:12.000
See you guys next week.