Hello everybody and welcome to books on bound the podcast or we unbind books to get to their heart with your host me, it's Ariel. We also have me Raylene. And today we have a special guest. It's Jesse from Jesse the reader Jesse say hi. Hello. I'm the person that you used to be friends with yeah to be friends with just a George accidentally introduced him like that a couple minutes ago and was like, well, we're not friends anymore. Yeah, you're just somebody that we use.We're so excited to have you Jesse you are our first official guests. I am so honored to be the first official guests. I'm also incredibly nervous because this podcast is amazing. I'm obsessed with it and I don't want to ruin it. So we were like we have to have a guest who's it gonna be and we were both just like it's got to be Jesse. It's like my heart like the thing we're trying to do with this podcast in a sense is Bring Back That Old booktube joy and We were like we were the OG. Yeah, um discovered each other's channels when we had like less than a thousand subscribers. Yeah, like we've been in it for the long haul. Yeah. I was thinking about that today. I was like, I'm really proud of us and like where we've come with like all our bookish content on the Internet. It's true. We've all come a long way. Yes for sure. Where will we go next to this forecast we jump in You the podcast were really excited to chat about books off my God. I can't wait to hear like Jesse's recommendation. We have a few little notes. First of all, we are doing our first official buddy read you all voted. And we you have all chosen on Earth were briefly gorgeous by ocean vuong. So we're going to be reading that throughout the next month if you want the details go to our Instagram because we haven't I earned it all out yet. But we will by the time the podcast episode comes out. Out so go to our Instagram and you can join our buddy read. We also have our Facebook group up which is going to function as a place where we can all hang out talk about books and also it'll be really good for the Buddy read. So again, go to the Instagram the details are there absolutely one final thing next week. We're going to try doing a debate and Raylene and I have decided to debate deckled edges versus normal pages. Big controversy. I was like we were thinking we were brainstorming about different debates we could do and I was like, well, we could do deckled edges or normal pages, but who in their right mind would go for deckled edges and really it was like me. Oh my God, that's so hard to believe right? It's hard to so, um everyone we'd love your vote on this go to our patreon. Everyone can vote regardless of if you're supporting us on patreon or not. It just kind of works as a really good. Blog post like blog feed for you guys. So go and vote. We need your opinions Jesse. We are not going to get into it. But which one are you on deckled edges all the way baby. It is now time to get to know our guests Jesse the reader we have for questions for you today Raylene started off. Let's bring it on. So first question it on what kind of questions are these? Bring It On Jesse be ready for this. It's gonna be a really tough question. Oh boy first question. Mmm, who is your favorite author? You guys want to answer for me? No, no. No the people might not know. Okay. Well, if you don't know I have this little obsession with this book called Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children and Ransom Riggs as the author so he is my favorite author. Well, you won't you want to question number two coming here. What's your favorite book? Well kind of spoiled that one Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs true. It's kind of become a meme. Yeah just a little bit. It's true. That's it's who you are but you know what it would be fake. If it wasn't for how many times you've read that book Jesse how many times have you read that book? I've lost count at this point, but I think around like 33 maybe thirty three times. That's a lot. That's a lot of amazing to me. Yeah. Can you read it really quickly. Now the thing is like I just sometimes I'll just put the audio book on and I'll just like listen to it. So I see that makes so much sense. It's like the movie I've seen the most is Pride and Prejudice Keira Knightley version, but it's because of that same reason I just put it on in the background. It's like very comforting. I'm like, I know this it's like an old blanket It Feels Like Home, you know. Yeah. It's an audio blanket. Yes, very nice. I like that's our answer next question. Really? Okay this also kind of ties altogether, but maybe your answer will be different. What is your favorite genre to read? Reed who that's actually a hard question, you know what? No, it's not now therefore assess. I love the magical realism, I guess like the real story with a hint of magic just a layer of magic. It's my eyes my favorite. Yeah. All right our final question for our get to know the guest segment is what is your latest mashed potato book now, you may be wondering Wondering what the hell is a mashed potato? Oh, I've been listening to the podcast. I know I'm so glad that you said that but for anyone who has just joined us here or missed the episode where we talked about this. I'm trying to make it a thing. So bear with me a mashed potato book. Okay, if you're having a meal you usually tend to save your favorite part for the end and Raylene said that yes, she saves mashed potatoes for the end of the the eating experience do and we talked about how How we have a lot of books that are like that. It's like a book that you are so excited to read because it's like you think it could be a favorite you think it'll be really good. But for some reason you put it off and off and off and by the time you get to it those mashed potatoes are cold. Well, you're taking this like Beyond where it was perfect, I think about it at night. Um, so we want to know Jesse. What was the last book that you read? That was like that mashed potato book like you'd been meaning to read it forever or you Answer it by being like what is a book you're currently avoiding? Because you think it's going to be really good and like you should honestly just read it already. Well the book that I finished today was my mashed potato book. So that's isn't that leading us into like wish Eichmann of like our current reads and still right? Let's just jump in Shipley's. Well just jump right in you finished. All right, the last book that I finished was the near which by Victoria Schwab it's her debut book. I've been putting it off for years. I had this thing where I'm like, I just have to read this book during October. Or I'm sure you guys had like a few books where you're like, I have to read this during this month. Like it feels like Christmas Eeyore this feels like you know Halloweeny and that was one of those books that I've just been putting off and like I felt like I had to read it in like the Halloween time, even though I didn't get it. That's nice. I mean I kind of did it I was a few days late, it's November now. So yeah, I was uh, I was glad to finally eat those mashed potatoes. They were very cold there. It was worth the wait, you know, it was great that they were cold. They were cold, but it's not tasty because they're mashed potato. Yeah tasty because it's Victoria Schwab's writing and I also did you love it? Like did you end up liking it? I liked it a lot. It's definitely a lot different than her other books. It is her debut book. It gets her first book. It's the story of this like village where all these kids start disappearing after this. Is this like Strangers in the Night appears and Like it's about this girl named Lexi who's trying to like get to the bottom of it basically, but I liked it in the fact that it's nice to like go back and see how far back Toria Schwab has come since her first book. Like she's just drastically changed and it's so cool to like see that in her writing. I have that with them. Yes King who is like an author? I have loved for 17 million years and her first book is called the death of a hundred dog. It's like completely different than her. Books, yes, like in the last what decade she's really written books that are you know contemporary but with a bit of magical realism, whereas this book is about a pirate girl who becomes a dog one day and she keeps dying and becoming a dog or something and I'm like tryst why it's we haven't I haven't picked it up, but I have no idea but it's a similar thing where I'm like excited to one day read that and like go back to the roots. It really is interesting. How like an author's Debut book can actually be really different than like what they're known for like the rest of their writing style. Yeah, definitely. Well Raylene what the hell was the last book you finished? Well, I have the same problem that you had last week area where I haven't finished the last book I was reading last week. So I'm just still reading The Outsider by Stephen King. Okay, so I haven't finished a book and that's what I'm currently reading. So I don't really have much to add to the conversation. Although I can say I am really really enjoying it. I just haven't had time to finish it because nanowrimo. Yes, he's gotten in the way. I think without your hand. If you are currently doing nanowrimo, we all put hers in my hand. We're all doing it. But yeah, so the outsider is really good. It's like Twisted but not too twisted and it's just like mysterious and with just a dash of Supernatural, but you don't know what's going on. And I love that. How long is The Outsider out of curiosity? It's five hundred and sixty Pages. I'm just curious because I know that he's known for his long books. So yeah. Yes. This one is a solid solid five something. Hmm. That's the breaks a good King Legos too long. I wouldn't pick it up today actually a lady at work asked me what I was reading and I told her I was reading Stephen King and she just looked at me and said are you okay? Oh, he's ranged in the head. I feel like you must have so many weird customer. Can't imagine definitely I used to write them down in a note on my phone like anytime. I would have a weird interaction outside. I have to remember this later because there's a lot of weird stuff in book stores are a lot weirder than you'd think. Um, well the last book that I finished was the book I talked about last week ago. So really it's been nanowrimo. I have not been reading. Let me tell you and everything up but I'm gonna do what you did and I'm going to jump into the book. I'm currently reading and it was actually inspired by nanowrimo. So I decided to try and read books that kind of inspire me and like I think might be like my novel which is really hard to do because you don't know what a book is gonna be. Like totally you're like, I think this is like the novel I want to write but maybe it isn't but I took a chance and I have started reading my year of rest and relaxation. Oh gosh. I don't know I should have looked up how to pronounce his last name. It's by does anyone know it's a testament mosh Fair. Hmm. Can't help you my dad on that one. I will look I will Google that later. But yeah, it's basically about this girl who decides to hibernate for a year. She tries to sleep as much as she possibly can. I mean she's kind of like trained herself to be able to sleep for like, I don't know for like 12 hours at a time. But for the rest of the time she's gotten her therapist to prescribe her like all of these drugs. So she's taking like all of these drugs try and hide Me and she kind of like she doesn't fully sleep the whole time. She just watches a lot of movies and kind of thinks about life and it's not like what my novel that I'm writing is in like any terms of the plot, but it's sort of these in how weird the writing is like it's super twisted and bizarre in a little spooky even though nothing spooky is going on and the main character is kind of like having these really interesting deep thoughts and it's really pushed the way that I want to write my novel. So I'm Enough like oh, yeah. I think if I were to write it a bit more like that, that could be really cool. That could work. I have this one sentence in my novel. Like I don't know how many words you guys have written so far. I've only written four thousand but all those four thousand words, there's one sentence and it is literally like a five-word sentence. It's the best thing I've ever written and it's Lebanese. I'm like, how do I do more of that? And oh Tessa is totally doing that. So so yeah, I mean I'm enjoying it, but I'm only 27 pages in so God only knows if I will end up loving it. Okay, and how is Practical Magic going I gave up. Okay, because it's not Halloween anymore. And I literally guys every day. I'm listening to piano Christmas music on Spotify. I have fully changed gears and I can imagine is gonna have to wait till next year because mashed potatoes man. They're going to be rotten by the time you get back to him God because I like broke this. See the Jesse. What was the last book you bought that's what we want to know the last book I bought was a graphic novel classic. It's kind of a little bit different though. It's called our story and it's a Chinese graphic novel Memoir. So like the are inside of it actually is like traditional totally pick that up. Yeah, the art inside of it is like traditional Chinese art, and I've never read Like a graphic novel with like that kind of art style. So I'm really excited about that. But this is a memoir about like a memoir that this guy wrote after the passing of his wife which talk about just so pure he like wrote about their love story and stuff and they were like married for almost 60 years. So they have like a lot of history and stuff and like not only are we following their love story but like with all the like the politics and the like culture changes that are happening in China. Like throughout their love story, so just thought it was really interesting and I had to have it. So yeah, a lot of words. It does have quite a few words. Yeah II think I remember picking it up and being like it's really cool because usually graphic novels can have like a not that many words because obviously it's just speech bubbles. Yeah, but know that that one looks really cool. I think I ended up not buying it because it sounded so sad. I was like being idea of someone dying that you love. I'm like, that's just too much. I don't need to read that. Lean, what is the last book that you bought? Okay. Well the last book I bought is one that came out yesterday that I just could not resist buying and that is the starless see by Aaron Waugh author of the night circus for those who don't know. I read the night circus like seven years ago and loved it and have been waiting for another book from her since then and this book just came out and I just could not resist buying it. So I did I don't even really know what it's about. Folks I want to go into it not knowing too much. Yeah, but there's something about Pirates. It's very bookish. Apparently, like from what I've heard. There's lots of references to literature and like Donna tartt books and stuff. So I'm like that sounds right up my alley. Nice. Have you read it Jesse? No, I have not. No, I don't know. I think I will but I'm also like a little unsure because I didn't love the night circus. I see so I'm a little hesitant over here. That's kind of like sacrilege everyone loves the night. I know I need to give it a read honestly. I've had to do as well because like I haven't read it in so long so I don't even remember why I love the night circus. Yeah, but I did love it when I read it so it's like who knows if I even like Erin Morgenstern that'll really remember for the night circus because again, I think we all read it at the same time like booktube just went crazy for the night Sir. Yeah, we all read it at the same time. But like I Remember Loving like loving the ambience and atmosphere. I was probably the best magical because it's At a circus obviously and it was just mystical and really cool and I was like, wow, this sounds awesome. But then I remember like the plot wasn't really there. It was like not there wasn't that much of a story. That's why I didn't care because I was super into like the magical area. Yeah, but it was kind of like, okay and I remember thinking I'd love to see her next book because maybe it will have both do you know what I mean? Like, it'll have all of that amazing amazing Ambiance, but also have the What and I still haven't read it even though it's I think you know what guys you know, what guys well, I think it's a mashed potato book. Oh, there you go. I think it's my newest acquired mashed potato, but I'm gonna read that book for another four years. Yeah. Well, maybe I'll love it so much that you'll just have to read it. Yeah, that's super legit. Actually. I didn't buy a book this week with no nicely done has not happened yet in the podcast. I hope it never Ever happens again and I actually bought two books this week. Like I a few days ago. I bought pumpkinhead's. Yeah, and then I was like, okay, I guess we're going to talk about pumpkin heads again on the podcast but then if this book so I was like, okay, I won't talk about pumpkin heads. But here I am. Dr. Ariel you did get a book in the mail though. I do watch your into stories. And I know that you had a book in the mail. It's true. I did get a book in my mouth. So you did get a book and the book son. And podcast stalker and I just I have my eyes on you guys just so you know, I'm gonna call you out. Would you lie like a book I was sent a copy of strange Planet by Nathan WPI God. I love that comic this is very exciting for many reasons. Definitely would have been a book. I would have bought anyways, so it was really excited when I got an email. That was like do you want it? I was like, what are you talking about sending a me FedEx it? Took your look is all like go go. But yeah, so this is a comic that's on Instagram on Instagram. What is the ad? I think it's I don't remember doing that. But it's I think it's at his name and then strange - yeah strange man named Nathan W pile strange Planet. Anyway. I am sure you've seen these Comics there are four panel comics with these little beings that live on a strange planet and they talked in like very weird. Very Frank and honest about what's going on. It's the cutest little thing. I'm really interested to see how it reads as a book. I was thinking about yeah, I don't know if it will work as well as a book. Like I have no idea. Maybe it'll work great. But I think one of the things I love about this comic is randomly seeing it online totally like you just rolling it over something. Oh my God, there's another one. Yeah when somebody post about it or somebody shares it on their story or like sometimes friends will send them to me. Because we think like that one's like me or that's like this moment or whatever and those moments of just like interacting with one of them in a day is like the best because they're so cute and so funny so, I don't know if it will work as a book. I hate. What do you think? I feel like it's similar to that book. That's like what's it called? Magical mutant Academy or whatever you talk about? Okay. Yeah. Yeah. I feel like it's kind of got like a similar vibe to that works just like a bunch of random stories maybe so it's not like a, you know doesn't have like an overarching story that it's alright. Like I also feel like those Comics are so like easy to just look at and enjoy but every single one is so on point like I've never seen one that I was like well that was dumb. So I feel like even if you disagreed a couple at a time, it's probably going to work out. I had to buy that book too. So it might be good like flipping from beginning to end. Will you get kind of tired of not having a plot sort of like, I just don't know. So anyway, I don't know I'm gonna give it a shot. I don't want to get tired of it. Because I love them so much I mean but I do really love them. So I would be concerned to that. It would just like have a lot of the same ones that are already online. Like I would like only one a book full of like totally new Dylan's so it does really does. Yeah, so I flipped through and because I was showing it to my mom and I was Look you'll like these little aliens are really cute and I was flipping through it. Now. It's like oh there's one I saw in line and then I'd read that one to her. So there's definitely a bunch that are online. Gotcha makes sense. Yeah. Well, that's an exciting not purchase but receivable for you. They're so cute. All right, it is time to jump into our recommendations. We would like to thank everyone for emailing in there getting weirder by the minute. It so true. If you would like to set up put in a submission request for a recommendation that you are craving. The email is books Unbound podcast at gmail.com. But Raylene, why don't you read the first one? Okay. So this was truly the most confusing of all the recommendations we receive but we are doing our best to come up with something for your steam. We don't want to let you down. No, no. Yeah. We want to answer every single recommendation. Even if it's so far down the line. Like we want to answer all of these because they're great. Okay. So Christine says I am looking for a book with a puzzle but not necessarily in a mystery kind of way and that was a puzzle and a mystery in and of itself so stunned. Remember me and really and we're like, huh? How is the puzzle? Not a mystery. That's the way it's synonymous a puzzle is mysterious. Yeah, so it's dumped me for a bit and then suddenly it Licked and I came up with the perfect book. Although the book is mysterious. Like don't get me wrong. There's a mystery right? But I feel like this was the most like puzzling. I feel like so I'm going to pick the same book for some reason. Oh, yeah, it's possible. Okay possible. Really? What did you get? Okay, I picked I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak. I haven't read that one. I picked. Oh my God, you have to read this. Okay. So this is one of those books that I have read multiple times and every time I read it it's in one day because it's so easy to read and you just fly through It is basically about this guy who is an underage cab driver, which is just like a random detail at the beginning of the book. There is a bank robbery happening in him and his friend are there and they're basically kind of involved and long story short. They end up stopping the robbery from happening. And then after that the main character whose name is Ed, he just starts getting playing cards that have like weird notes on them that will say like the name of a place and the name of like a time and a place and he's like, what does this all mean? Why am I getting these? Things so it's very puzzling because he gets so many of these playing cards and he ends up having to like piece it all together and figure out what what's going on and what the purpose of all of these messages. He's getting our and yeah, it's it's a real Puzzler. It's really really good. I really want the title is I am the Messenger so I'm sort of like if he's getting these messages and he is the messenger. Who's he supposed to give it to you. Got to read the book to find out mystery. I also know that he wrote your favorite book, right? Yeah, exactly. That's the other thing. He wrote the book thief and I love both of those books, like equally I would say but they're so different from each other. So I would say if you love the book The like give this one a try but take it with a grain of salt like it's nothing like The Book Thief but it is wonderfully written like easy to fly through very interesting Concepts like he's just so good. Good other than Bridge of clay, he's so good. I was just gonna mention that I was like have you read that yet? Because I haven't read that and I'm so curious your thoughts. I did not like that. Okay, dang. It books are awesome. Now, I'm nervous to read it. But I am the Messenger is really good. So I highly recommend that what did you guys pick the puzzling? Yeah. What kind of puzzle did you guys pick Jesse take it away. I'm nervous about this one because I'm so stumped but I have two options for it and both. Probably don't fit this very well. So I'm sorry to this person that has for these recommendations. But the first one I have is illuminae by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman and I can't really explain why I think this one's this one fits this category other than the fact that like the content of the book is kind of puzzling and away like you have all these pieces that you're kind of trying to put together, but it because it's like transcripts. Yeah. There's also like it's got like a really Testing format. It's a mixed media. Yes mixed media. I have not read it. Great. And yeah, I just feel like if it's the puzzle 5, I don't know. I need an explanation. No, I feel like I feel like it makes sense. If you just say this is what it is. This is what it is. That's what I'm wondering if either of you have read this it's sleeping. Since I want to read that, okay, but I've seen it. So this is a story about a team of people trying to figure out the mystery behind this like big mysterious hand that they find and it's like this big giant robotic hand. They're trying to crack the code of like what this big hand is like what does it mean and it's the first piece of like a part of a bigger puzzle basically, which is a little spoilery kind. It's not super spoilery, but it's like red an absolutely remarkable thing. I almost picked that one for this as well. Yeah, because it reminds me of what you're saying for that one. Hmm. I'm intrigued which one do you really recommend out of those two? Like if someone had to pick one up sleeping Giants? Okay, but the thing is like I don't like Diehard love sleeping giant. So I'm like hesitantly recommending you see but Christy just wants to be puzzled. And so I think she will be I think that fits the bill perfectly I said, I feel pretty puzzle right now. Well my book Puzzled me so hard that when I finally finish that puzzle. I started to cry it was we were Liars by heart. Oh, that's a good one. So again, I just feel like Christine you gave us an impossible thing. That could not be fulfilled because like, how can you have a puzzle without a mystery? This is a bit of a mystery right? Like you don't basically without spoiling anything because I do truly and deeply loved this book. So I very much recommend. Recommend that you go and pick it up. And therefore I don't want to spoil it because I want you to go read it. It's very short everyone. It won't take you very long. Basically. It's about this very rich family who every summer goes to an island with like it's like an extended family. So it's kind of like a couple of events and a bunch of cousins and they all go to this island. But this one time something is horribly wrong and you're trying to figure out what the hell is going on like and it Is honestly one of the most puzzling books because you're like wait, there's something weird, but you don't know what and you just it is it is one of these examples of like a writer completely manipulating you like she knows what she's doing. She knows how to guide you she knows how to make you feel like. Oh you're on to it. No, you're not. Oh, you're onto a no, you're not and in the end the reveal your just like, holy crap. Wow. I remember I read this back. Back in like 2014 I think and I sent Jesse a very long boxer message where I just cried and cried. I was like, oh my God, it's so beautiful. I wish I still had that message. I know really I'm actually a little glad it was a loss to the time. So yeah, this book really hit me. I don't know if it would hit me in the same way. Like I was how the hell old was I how old am I now it was a long time ago. I was you. Teen or 20 and so I was like very different stage in my life. So I don't know if I'd crying that will but like I still love it. I need to read it though. Henry read it. We should all reread some of our favorite books. Hey, we never do that anymore. No one ever dishonest. I don't maybe Jesse reads Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children over and over again. Yeah, pretty much do we don't give ourselves that same Joy. All right. Well Christine, I hope we've did some sort of puzzle solving there. I don't know man. We are now going to go on to Rachel's request. Rachel is looking for a book as intense as the road by Cormac McCarthy a book. I believe none of us has red. I haven't read it. I haven't read it. So we don't know how intense the road is what if actually she might like something like it turns out the roads very calm because like I just take intensity level as crude as a not intense whatsoever. Yeah. However, she does say post-apocalyptic. Father and Son Duo very mysterious and beautiful language but a book that's very intense. Jesse start us off. What was your intent book? Huh? My intense book is the Martian by Andy Weir heck. That's a good one. The story is about a guy who gets stranded on Mars and everyone on Earth thinks that he's dead. So we follow him trying to survive on Mars stressful and I feel like this one kind of has like a bit of a subtle intensity. I like you have the initial shock of being like oh crap. He's on Mars. They left him there. How the heck is he going to make it back to Earth? And then, you know as you're following his Survival Story and you get closer to the end things like really pick up and get really intense and it is it's like maybe You're talking about like that tension. It feels attention that definitely hence and then it like kind of explode. I haven't even read it. I've just seen the movie. The movie is great. Oh good. The movie is rated one of the best book to movie adaptations. I would say for show finally. Yeah. Yeah the book I picked is kind of not like along the same lines, but it's also like intense but in like a different way, I guess I don't know. I was mainly focused on the post-apocalyptic beautiful writing part of this. So hopefully that's okay. I picked station Eleven by Emily. Lee family Emily st. John Mandel and this one, I mean, I guess this one probably has a subtle intensity as well because it is post-apocalyptic. There's most of the world is dead. But what's really nice about the yeah, it's sad it's whatever look there was a sickness. I think that killed off most people but this one is kind of more of a literary post apocalyptic book, which I think is similar to the road and it's kind of a emotional Journey because you're following all these people but basically It's about a bunch of people who in the apocalypse are performing Shakespeare. And so they're like trying to keep you know, theater alive, even though there's like nobody left to see it and it's really cool because everybody is kind of connected to this character at the beginning of the story who dies on stage playing King Lear and so like it's got a very intricately like interconnected character story arcs saying lots of words that probably don't make sense, but it's just like a really beautiful story. Yeah, and yeah, I think it's definitely intense because there's kind of a couple of dark Bad characters who you don't know what they're going to do throughout the whole book and you're like, oh man, that guy's pretty scary. So Am I making that up? Isn't there a part side in Toronto or something? Yeah, probably I think the topic Canadians that probably it's been a while since I've read it. Yeah. It's a little foggy but it's a great book. Okay guys before I jump into my read. I'm gonna need you to bear with me here for a second. So have you ever driven past a restaurant? I always start so confusingly the goes get somewhere. But have you ever driven past her restaurant and you think to yourself in your hometown and you think to yourself? Wow, you know, I bet you that's really good. I want to try it someday, but you don't and it's been like seven years and it's not like the mashed potato situation because you can't saving it you're not I was about to say are we getting back on a mashed potato topic here is pretty similar, but I was like, but it's not the same because like a mashed potatoes you're saving them because you know, you love them like, you know, you're gonna love it or whatever code whereas with this restaurant. You're just kind of you've always been curious and every time you drive by it. It you're like yeah, I should try it but you know, but you but you don't like write it off. Do you have you ever had that I think I know what you mean. Definitely that is what my relationship with station eleven is. Every time I see station eleven. I'm like, yeah, I should read that definitely should but I don't hey congrats. Once you drive past it it leaves your memory, right? Like I'm not thinking about it anymore. That's what I'm talking about. That's how it's different from mashed potatoes potatoes forget about mashed potatoes. All right, so drive-by restaurant. That's how you have to think about minors for next episode. I have no idea God. I've lost my mind. All right. Well, my intense book is 1984 by George Orwell. Have you heard of you guys read this book? I know. Yeah, I have good it is hello tent it is intense in a stressful way again. So I guess we all kind of took that to be intense. Me stories, but 1984. I'm so sure you're a part of it. I feel almost like I'm being condescending by telling you what 1984 is but that's kind of the point of the Pod gonna do it. Yeah. I'm just gonna go on forward here. It's about a world set in the future where well, it's not setting our future It Was Written in the 40s. So it was set in 1984. So it was in the future but it was a future where the kind of the government has total control one of the original dystopias. You have very little say About your life and the government controls everything you do there watching you constantly Etc. And it follows his main character character Winston who is a record Destroyer. So his whole point in life is to just go through government records and Destroy them if the government decides that he thought they don't like them anymore so they can be like, yeah, really we didn't like her very much delete her. That's what Winston's job to just completely wipe all records or change records to make sure that like really never Stood it's super stressful because he starts to have this revolution within him where he feels like hmm. You know this actually it's a pretty horrible way to live. I don't really like it. So he decides to have a journal which is super illegal. It's super legal to write it super legal to like write your own feelings and to do things without being told to do them, but he decides to do it anyway and he starts writing his experience which is the book but he starts to kind of want other people who are also in it with him and like also want freedom and he decides like okay. I'm going to take a risk and I'm going to talk to this person and this whole time you're just like, oh my God, please don't get caught don't get caught. Don't get caught don't get caught and like you're also super stressed because the more you learn about this world the more stressed out you are about how horrible it has become I think also right now like everyone super stressed about politics, which is super interesting moment in a lot of people throw away throw away throw around terms like totalitarianism and Big Brother. We're living floor living in the orwellian state and so it's super stressful like politically because you're reading it and you're like, I hope we're not heading there. We're not it'll be okay, but it's very stressful to read. So one of the reasons I chose. This one was because the road is like a modern classic and I thought maybe the Rachel likes reading Classics. So if he hasn't read 1984, I really think that she should give it a shot. Absolutely. That's totally a book that I think everyone should read in style one point. I agree. It'll be sad but it'll be worth it. All right, you made it sound very stressful. So like I don't know if anyone's going to want to read it now, but it is super stressful. But like if that's why it's so good. Oh guys, I went and saw a Stage production of 1984 on my birthday. And I was so excited. I was like, yeah, this is gonna be so fun a night at the theater and then I'll literally we're walking towards the theater and I'm like this isn't going to be fun. I like 1984 is the most dress. Experience of all time and we sit down and he was horrendous. No is so bad. Like they would have this really bright strobe light and this super loud drill sound that would have just cut at any moment throughout the play like they were conditioning you as if I were part of the government Tracy extra stress and it was loose so stressful that like people would pass out. Oh my God. Oh my God. I had to like take a lot of elderly people away. So awful. A really long run on Broadway not probably it was on the west and I don't know if it was in the States but it was really really good play like well done. But so stressful. Yeah. Well, I was thinking I was like you can't make a happy adaptation know like you kill it. But let's do the exact opposite and let's answer Lucy's request. Lucy wants a feel-good pick me up book. Oh, yeah, just some books that have overall positive outlook. I For message well the balm for 1984 you've read 1984 and you're crying. What do you pick up next? I'm starting to feel stressed. Just talking about right feel like we need to move on to the next break right in the mood. Okay. Well I picked a book. That is the most positive uplifting book. I could possibly think of and I'm really hoping that neither of you guys picked up Joe. I feel like Jesse and I might have picked the same book, but let me reveal it. Anyways, I've got nothing else if this doesn't work, I don't Know what else I can do that is wonder by RJ Palacio. Yay. Is that what you pick Desi know I just felt like relief just brushed. So for me, I had a weird feeling that everything would be okay and it just work out. So I'm glad I picked this one because it is truly just the most uplifting book of all time. I haven't read it what I have a sad story. I started reading it for the booktubeathon and I haven't finished it. You go. I know let's just say I haven't finished it. You gotta sing through that pain. I find that so hard to believe I could not stop reading it when I started it's so like pure and innocent and beautiful. It's it's about a young boy named Auggie who has been homeschooled his whole life because he has a severe like facial deformity that makes him look very different from most people and kind of talk differently and all this stuff and so he hasn't gone to school before and this book starts right when he is going to school for the first time because he they just decided it's time for you to go to school and so he has to face a lot of problems with bullying and you know people treating him badly but as the story goes along it all just becomes a beautiful story of acceptance and like being who you are and there's so much positivity in this book like with his family and like his older sister and there's just so many good people in this book and Thing I really like about this book to is it switches perspectives like six times? So it's not just following Auggie the whole time like you get to see what's happening to him through the eyes of his sister and Through The Eyes of his sister's best friend and Through The Eyes of this kid who goes to a school whose kind of mean to him. So you get to see like all the different sides of the story kind of that school and it sounds like it's not uplifting but I swear it is it some is it middle grade? Yeah, it's me. So it should be pretty fast to read totally exactly. It's the Kind of book you could fly through in a day. You can see Jesse has absolutely no excuse exactly. I would say that Jesse should start reading it right now. Probably just finish it you guys this is this has been great. Thank you for having me on the podcast. I'm gonna go read Wonder now. I gotta go Gotta Go, I'm just kidding. I also have not read it. So excuse so you have no excuse. I don't highly recommend it. It'll lift you right up. Oh man. Okay, Jesse. What book is going to lift us right up. All right the book that I have. Was in is Everyone's an alien when you're an alien to or otherwise known as Everyone's an alien been when you're an alien been to I never know which way to say it. Who knows. Yeah, but this book is about an alien who doesn't fit in with all the other aliens and he sent to Earth to study it and it during that process. He like find some finds himself feeling at home for the first time in his life and it's just so pure and just there's so many like relatable things in here and it's a really like happy-go-lucky book. Because it's you follow the process of an alien like finding himself and that's great. So and it novel yeah. It's a graphic novel. It's I like to pitch it as like a adult picture book because it is more like each couple of pages is like its own little story. Generally you can see but the yeah, that's a good way to phrase. It is like a steam lines on each page really unlike there's lots of pictures. So that's kind of like a strange Planet a little bit. Yeah. Yeah, they have a similar Vibe when you're talking about strange Planet earlier. I was literally thinking about that. Yes, he it's kind of like that guy. Oh, that's perfect. They're both really good. Um, well the book I'm going to recommend. I'm actually not sure if either of you have read. I feel like Jesse you might have I don't know it is the storied life of AJ Hickory by Gabrielle 7. Jesse has right? Okay, so good. It is so good. I'm so glad okay. Yes. Perfect. This is for me the ultimate pick me up read. Read the ultimate feel good. It is at the end. It's like Christmas like it's that kind of like warm marshmallow and hot chocolate kind of a feeling. Um, God. I'm just really enjoying adjective successful. So it's about a it's about a Bookshop which to me again is the coziest of all books settings and basically at its core it's about this guy who lost his wife and they used to run the Bookshop together and one day he discovers. This little girl has been abandoned in his book shop and he decides to adopt her and then it's about their lives growing up together in this book shop him dealing with his grief her dealing. Well, not really dealing because She's so little but like her learning about this book shop and growing up with someone who may be like wasn't her parent. And God. This is one of the books that I gift the most I give this book to a lot of people because I have a lot of people in my life who know that I'm obviously a big reader and they are always like what book should I read? I don't read that much, but I want to read something and I'm like, okay, if you don't read that much. I don't want to give you something that's going to be like More stressful like I want to give you something that you're really gonna enjoy is shorter and at the end of it you're going to feel like it was worth it. Like you're happy that you read and so I always give people this book the storied life of AJ fikri. It's so nice and you really liked it to Jesse? I loved it so much. I could look it's got its kind of like a love story to Book Lovers to almost. Yes totally. So if you love books you'll love that book. I feel like that's a great recommendation for peace. That book I really badly need to read it because I haven't read it in so long and it's funny because the reason I picked this up is that Gabrielle's Evan wrote one of my all-time favorite young adult book that I was completely obsessed with called Memoirs of a Teenage amnesiac and then I one day she just wrote this adult book and I was like I can read adult books. I can do that. I checked it and that's like so glad I did because it's just so lovely. Well Jessie we are so thankful for you for being on our Cast and being our first guest. Thank you so much. Thank you for having me. I appreciate it. We are now off to record our patreon bonus mini podcast and we're recording it with Jesse which is going to be so much fun. We all pick an old ya book and then reveal it to each other and we all laugh and scream about the good old times mainly ice cream and really tells me to stop so it's not know I signed up for screaming today, but uh, I'll Are the vocal critic over here if you want to check that out? I'm really excited to see Jesse what book you picked go and check out our patreon. It's patreon.com forward slash books and found and everyone. Don't forget to go and vote deckled edges or normal Pages for god sakes help me defend what the hell is going on with these? I don't know what's going on with Team deckled edges. Oh my God that guy that does all the way. Yes, you're going to be fighting for your life Aerials. I thought And we'll fight about it later. If you want to join in our buddy read pick up a copy of on Earth were briefly gorgeous and check that out on our Instagram or we'll have all the details about the Facebook group and the dates and stuff. So yeah, we did it. Thank you so much. Yes you for joining us, and thank you so much everyone for your support and for listening. We hope you enjoyed the episode and we'll talk to you guys next week. Bye. Bye. Bye. We just gotta go octaves higher.
It's our first guest! We go through our episode with our long time pal Jesse from JessetheReader and discuss puzzling books that don't have mysteries (sort of...), books with intense plots, and cozy books to warm your heart! We loved doing this episode with Jesse and definitely hope to have him back soon! https://www.patreon.com/booksunbound Go follow Jesse! Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin 