Apr 20, 2019
Celaena facing the problems of every bookworm with an enormous TBR 😂
seen from Yemen
seen from Germany
seen from China
seen from United States
seen from Saudi Arabia
seen from Philippines
seen from Russia
seen from Malaysia
seen from Russia
seen from Malaysia
seen from Greece
seen from United States
seen from Greece
seen from China
seen from United States
seen from Greece
seen from Italy
seen from United States
seen from United Kingdom
seen from Australia
Celaena facing the problems of every bookworm with an enormous TBR 😂
Episode 5: Mysterious Galaxy Summer Bingo Showdown -- Part One
You can listen to episode five on any major podcast provider HERE and on Apple Podcasts HERE.
We made the rookie mistake of recording in front of an open because it was a beautiful day and who closes their windows on a beautiful day?
A: people recording podcasts, because that “gentle breeze” causes some weird vibrations.
(Sorry, everyone. Our bad.)
Book Tournament/Competition
To review our summer bingo reads, Gabi and Smack wrote all the titles they read on little pieces of paper and put them in bowls. They swapped the bowls (so they’re pulling titles that the other person has read) and then have to convince each other that the title they read was better than the title the other person read.
The Winter Duke by Claire Eliza Bartlett vs. Spoiler Alert by Olivia Dade
Spoiler Alert:
Read it when you’re sick of our real world *coughpolitics*
Good fat rep
Golden retriever of a love interest with a secret online identity
Gabi’s favorite part: at what point is it okay to tell the person you’re dating a giant secret? A: by the time you know for sure that you can tell them, it’s too late.
Legitimate misunderstandings and adult responses
The Winter Duke:
Magic marine biology
Sleeping curse!
Main character is so shit at being in charge and would very much prefer to not being in charge
An Important YA read for our current political climate
I’ll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara vs. Lycanthropy and Other Chronic Illnesses by Kristen O’Neal
I’ll Be Gone in the Dark:
True crime (a genre that Smack has never before in her entire life read) but also part memoir
Don’t read true crime at night before bed!
Author got to give the Golden State Killer his moniker
Serial killer terrorized Sacramento who moved south
Smack’s favorite part was when the author outlines a bunch of petty crimes committed by some unknown guy and argues that the unknown peeping tom was the Golden State Killer before he started murdering people
The book was fine
Lycanthropy and Other Chronic Illnesses was better
The Angel of the Crows by Katherine Addison vs. Legendary Cracow by Ewa Basiura
The Angel of the Crows:
Same author of one of Gabi’s favorite books (The Goblin Emperor)
Started as Sherlock Holmes wingfic
Fantasy retelling of all the best Sherlock Holmes stories without all the racism or boring parts
Incredibly well written
Not a weird parallel world like Smack suspected; it really, honestly is NOT Sherlock or Watson.
Fun and lovely and progressive
Legendary Cracow:
Collection of Polish folk tales
It’s fine, but it’s also not Katherine Addison <3
Stealing Thunder by Alina Boyden vs Bodyminds Reimagined: (Dis)ability, Race, and Gender in Black Women’s Speculative Fiction by Sami Schalk
Stealing Thunder:
Trans girl who is born the crown prince of an India-inspired empire
Her dad sucks, so she runs away, transitions, and lives as a hijira (Here’s briefly what that is)
Falls in love with the local prince
Feathered dragons!
Bodyminds Reimagined:
Intro was the densest part, keep going, we believe in you!
Academically critiques the intersection of disability, race, and gender in black women’s speculative fiction.
Pretty short but also very powerful
The Bookish Life of Nina Hill by Abbi Waxman vs The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen
The Bookish Life of Nina Hill:
An introvert with a rich social life (???)
A structured life thrown into disarray by the discovery of an entire extended family!
Nina’s dad got around a lot, there’s a lot of extended family
Trivia rivals to lovers, but more about the family
The Winter Queen:
An hour long audiobook! (It’s not cheating, it’s still an audiobook)
Completely different from the Disney movie
It’s Gerta, not Greta
Christian overtones–everything works out for the MC because she is good, kind, innocent, etc.
Still worth reading if you like fairy tales
The Nature of Witches by Rachel Griffin vs. The Night of the Dragon by Julie Kagawa
The Nature of Witches:
Magical academy
Witches control all the weather and stuff; the MC has powers for all four seasons and her personality shifts as the seasons do
Second half if better than the first one
The Night of the Dragon:
We’ve talked about this trilogy at length; Gabi automatically won this round
Remote Control by Nnedi Okorafor vs. The Demon in the Wood by Leigh Bardugo
Remote Control:
SUPER weird
Ending was intense.
The MC has this intrinsic radioactive glow that kills people and machines
She accidentally killed her entire town
“The Daughter of Death”
The Demon in the Wood:
Darkling prequel to the Shadow and Bone trilogy
Gabi wants it to have been the prologue instead of a side story
The darkling is a magical amplifier?? Go figure.
Spoilers last from 49:20 to 51:15
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo vs Shuri: The Search for Black Panther by Nnedi Okorafor
Six of Crows:
We’ve also talked about this one at length, Gabi automatically wins this round
Shuri: The Search for Black Panther:
Technically volume I but Smack felt a little lost; she’s more familiar with the MCU than the comics
Gods and Monsters by Shelby Mahurin vs. Aru Shah and the Tree of Wishes by Roshani Chokshi
Gods and Monsters:
Really good trilogy ending
Smack is embarrassed but also shameless about how much she enjoyed it
Aru Shah and the Tree of Wishes:
Middle of a five book series
Same qualms as Gabi has about the rest of the series
The Resurrectionist of Caligo by Alicia Zaloga and Wendy Trimboli vs The Heist by Janet Evanovich and Lee Goldberg
The Heist:
Sort of like the TV show White Collar if the FBI agent was a woman and it was a typical hetero romance.
Breasts come up an annoying amount??
But it’s fun overall; cute dynamic between the two mains. Also the FBI agent’s dad is awesome.
The Resurrectionist of Caligo:
A ressurectionist is someone who digs up dead bodies and sells them to medical schools
Subplot: second chance romance
Got a string of gruesome murders to solve!!
Terrifying magic mushrooms
The Book of the Unnamed Midwife by Meg Elison vs. Shuri: The Search for Black Panther by Nnedi Okorafor
Well this was an easy pick. (See episode 2, “When In Doubt, DNF,” for Smack’s reactions to The Book of the Unnamed Midwife)
The Beast Player by Nahoko Uehashi translated by Cathy Hirano vs. Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
Crooked Kingdom won, obviously.
Gabi has won six rounds and Smack has won five–tune in to episode six to find out who won! Until then, here’s hoping that… you win your next trivia night? That your significant other doesn’t ice you out when you have an anxiety attack? No–here’s hoping you win your next showdown with your BFF!
I’m a thousand books behind schedule.
and a million thoughts.