Books & Bites Podcast, Ep. 112: Small-Town Reads === Carrie: [00:00:00] Welcome to the Books and Bites podcast. Each month we bring you book recommendations and discuss the bites and beverages to pair with them. I'm Carrie Green, and I'm here with my co-hosts Michael Cunningham and Jacqueline Cooper. Michael: Hello. Jacqueline: Hello everyone. Carrie: On this episode, we're kicking off a new reading challenge with Spring Books and Bites Bingo. Once again, this card will have nine squares, a couple of which we wrote with spring in mind. So we have books with flowers on the cover and books with green covers. And then we've got a couple of in-person events for this card. Michael, do you wanna tell everyone about those? Michael: Yeah. So if you need some time to maybe work on some of these bingo prompts, you can join us on Tuesday, May 5th from 6:30 to 7:30 PM by the fireplace for the next meeting of our (Not So) Silent Book Club. We will have some bookish discussion followed by some silent reading time. We [00:01:00] will also have some light refreshments, if that's your jam. Carrie: I mean, why wouldn't that be? Michael: I know Carrie: your jam. Michael: Yeah. Carrie: We had a good group last time. So. Michael: Really good turnout. Carrie: Yeah. Some people who were doing the card and some people who just wanted to come for the book club. So either one is welcome. Michael: Yeah. We would love to have you. So, for our book club discussion in June, which is also on the bingo sheet, we will be discussing "So Far Gone" by Jess Walter. Carrie and I both read this last year and it was one of our favorite books. And actually it's gonna be a Netflix series soon. So we will be meeting on Tuesday, June 16th from 6:30 to 7:30 in the Davis Conference Room. We will have 10 copies of the book available at the Customer Service Desk beginning on May 4th. So just stop by the desk to register and request your copy of the book. And if you don't need a copy of the book, just let 'em know at the desk. Carrie: [00:02:00] Yeah, because it is available as an audiobook, I think both in Hoopla and Libby now. We have it as a book on cd and then I think it's also available as an ebook. So there are lots of different options for this one. Michael: And we highly recommend the audiobook. Carrie: Yeah. Michael: Very well done. Carrie: Yeah, the audioook was great. Eduardo Ballerini, can't go wrong with him. Michael: It was great. Carrie: So today we're talking about books set in small towns, and I think this is a prompt that has a lot of different options for books you could read. Michael: Oh yeah. I know personally that small towns lend itself very well to the horror/suspense genre. Carrie: Mm-hmm. Michael: Like, "It" by Stephen King or "Salem's Lot." Carrie: Yeah, there is a lot of Stephen King on the list that we made. Michael: A lot of his stuff happens in small town [00:03:00] Maine. Carrie: Mm-hmm. And then on the other end of the spectrum, I think a lot of cozy fiction takes place in small towns like cozy mysteries in a quaint English village or things like that. Jacqueline: Yeah. And for YA, it's more like you don't have a lot of privacy and so things get around for teens, which can be upsetting at that age that other people know things you don't necessarily want them to know. And that's a big angst for them. Michael: Everybody's in each other's business. Jacqueline: Yeah. All the secrets, even without social media. [Laughter] And then it's amplified of course, with social media. Michael: Oh, yeah. Carrie: Yeah, yeah. There's kind of like a tension between having a community that knows you well, but then do they know too much about you? Kind of thing. Jacqueline: Mm. Definitely. Carrie: Well, we have some suggestions for you today. Hopefully you'll find something you like.[00:04:00] Jacqueline: For this month's podcast prompt focusing on small town stories, I chose "Radio Silence" by Alice Oseman. Set in a fictional town in England, the novel explores how pressure and expectations shape the lives of teenagers. The story follows Frances, a studious, high-achieving student who serves as head girl at her school, a role reserved for the most exemplary students. Frances is determined to secure a place at Cambridge University and nearly every decision she makes is shaped by that goal. As a biracial and bisexual student, she feels immense pressure to be flawless and successful. Frances hides both her sexuality and her passion for art, fearing that either could jeopardize her chances of attending such a prestigious university. [00:05:00] Despite these fears, Frances submits her artwork to the creator of a popular podcast, Universe City, who invites her to become the show's graphic artist. The creator goes by the name Radio Silence. When Frances reconnects with her childhood friend, Aled, she realizes he is the creator of the podcast. Frances hides her own identity out of fear that revealing the truth will damage their friendship and make Aled believe she only connected with him because of his success. However, life in a small town offers little anonymity. When a classmate discovers that Frances is Toulouse, her identity spreads rapidly and people soon deduce that Aled must be Radio Silence as well. Devastated by the exposure of his secret identity, Aled blames Frances for ruining the podcast. He fears that his emotionally abusive mother will discover everything and force him to stop. The podcast closely parallels Aled's real life reflecting his deepest feelings, hopes and fears.[00:06:00] He created Universe City after his sister's disappearance, hoping she might someday hear it and understand how sorry he is, a possibility that feels impossible now that his anonymity has been taken away. Aled spirals into depression and cuts off his friendship with Frances. At the same time, Frances's own life begins to unravel. She is removed from her role as head girl, and her dreams of attending Cambridge collapses after a disappointing interview. Through this experience, Frances begins to realize that the future she was chasing may not actually be the future she wants. The novel presents a powerful contrast between a supportive parent and a manipulative, abusive one, highlighting how damaging parental control can be. As Aled's mental health worsens. Frances must confront her fears and decide what truly matters. Radio Silence is a refreshing portrayal of a deep, platonic friendship between two teens grappling with [00:07:00] identity, expectations and mental health. Both characters are terrified of revealing who they truly are due to social pressure, and in Alex's case, an abusive home environment. While the book includes bisexual, demisexual characters and moments of romance, the central relationship is not romantic. This story gave me a deeper insight into teens who struggle with the weight of parental expectations and the pressure to pursue success at the expense of happiness. Ultimately, Radio Silence is a powerful YA novel about identity, dreams, friendship, and--finally, a YA story not centered on romance--loneliness, and the tension between doing what you love and doing what the world expects of you. Alice Oseman has created a believable, compelling, modern story that resonates with teen and new adult readers. When Frances visits Aled in London, they stop at Cream's Cafe, where they indulge in crispy waffles with strawberries, chocolate [00:08:00] sauce, and gelato. A small but joyful moment that contrasts beautifully with the emotional weight of the story. And you can find this recipe on Cream's Cafe Bromley's Facebook page. Michael: Sounds good. Jacqueline: Sounds good. Michael: Yeah. Jacqueline: It's very different than what I usually read, so I was quite surprised. This is the author of "Heartstopper," which was really huge. Michael: Mm-hmm. Oh yeah, I remember hearing about "Heartstopper." Jacqueline: "Heartstopper." Yeah. I hadn't heard about this, but I was looking for a book set in this small town. I came across this one. There was a lot to impact in there, and I just barely touched the tip of the iceberg with that, but. Michael: Is it a big book? Jacqueline: It's not huge. It's probably about 300 pages. Two to 300 pages Michael: And not a series. Right? Jacqueline: It is not a series right now. Yeah. So it's just one, unless they continue the story. But I could see her continuing it, but right now there's not, it's not in the works as far as I know. Carrie: Mm-hmm. It sounds like a [00:09:00] pretty heavy read. Jacqueline: Yeah. It's a little, I was a little confused at first because you go into a different, it's much like the last book I read, but you go into like, his Universe City. You go into his imagination and he creates this whole world that is about, you know, not going to school and the pressures of not going to university and kind of parallels his real life, but. Michael: mm-hmm. Jacqueline: There's like monsters and stuff in there too, so you're like, okay? Michael: There's monsters in this book? Jacqueline: In his parallel world. Michael: Oh, okay. Yeah. Gotcha, gotcha. Jacqueline: Not in the real, in his real life, but there's like people charge, you know? I think the monster might be, I don't know if I'm giving something away, but I think the monster might be his mother. [Laughter] Michael: Like Grendel? [Laughter] Jacqueline: Yeah. Maybe so. Carrie: It's always the [00:10:00] mother's fault. Michael: It's always. [Laughter] Jacqueline: Yeah. Well this mother wasn't, oh, I don't know. It's funny 'cause the other character's mother was like so supportive and you know, like she could tell, you know, she had very open, inclusive relationship. And then the other one was like, he was afraid to tell her anything and then he was really afraid that if she got hold of his, podcast, she would make him stop. Mm-hmm. If she found out that he was doing it. Carrie: Mm-hmm. Well, at least they had one positive mother relationship Jacqueline: There was one. Carrie: to balance out the negative. The monster. [Laughter] Jacqueline: Yeah. There were no fathers in this book, which is kind of interesting. But at least present. Carrie: Yeah. Right. Thanks. Jacqueline: Yeah.[00:11:00] Michael: My small town read is "Mississippi Blue 42" by Eli Cranor, and if you're a fan of college football, this one's gonna tackle you right out the gate. The story takes place in 2013 in the Mississippi Delta town of Compson, home to the University of Central Mississippi. This is a program riding high. They're the defending 2012 national champions and on the verge of heading back to the BCS title game. But here's the thing. They got good--way too fast. We're talking about a team that went from kind of conference, bottom feeder to national powerhouse in just two years. Think a Cinderella run. Much like Indiana last year, but with a lot more suspicion, especially since this is all happening before NIL deals and the transfer portal changed the game, that kind of rise, it gets noticed, especially by the FBI. Enter rookie FBI special agent Rae Johnson, a daughter of legendary Arkansas football coach Chuck Johnson. [00:12:00] She's sent to Compton to dig into rumors of illicit money flowing through the program. She's paired with veteran agent Frank Ranchino, who's been quietly working the case for over a year. At first, there's nothing. Financial records look clean, the potential leads go nowhere. And then everything changes. The star quarterback of the Central Mississippi Chiefs, Matt Talley, turns up dead after falling off the roof of a local college bar with a duffle bag full of cash. Now, Rae and Frank are pulled deep into the shadowy world of college football's underbelly--bagmen, boosters, and power players who make sure the money moves without ever getting their hands dirty. And all of it is leading towards one thing, the BCS National Championship game. A book about college football needs a pairing perfect for tailgating, like a slice of Mississippi mud pie, a no-bake southern staple. It's rich and creamy, made with layers of chocolate pudding, whipped cream, cream cheese, all sitting on a graham cracker crust. We'll link to the recipe [00:13:00] on our blog. Jacqueline: Yum. Carrie: Yeah, that sounds good. Michael: Oh yeah. I love Mississippi mud pie. Carrie: So I feel like I remember you talking about this book maybe earlier. I mean, not on the podcast, but Michael: I probably did. Carrie: Yeah. It just seems like something that could have really happened. Michael: I mean, yeah, I mean, just thinking like last year. With Indiana, who, Indiana Hoosier football. Jacqueline: Mm-hmm. Michael: Yeah. Has always been bad, bad, bad, bad. [Laughter] Jacqueline: That's true. They've always been known for basketball. Michael: Yeah. And then all of a sudden they just, in two years, they get a new head coach and they just go, they just beat everybody last year. Beat 'em like a drum. But now, you know, this happened pre, you know, now, there's no real rules in college football. So anybody could pretty much do anything now. But like this happened in 2013. When this happened, you're getting a lot of suspicion, right. One thing that I didn't like is in 2012, Alabama won the [00:14:00] title, not this team. [Laughter] Jacqueline: Oh. Carrie: Did it come out before that or-- Michael: This book? Carrie: When was it published? Michael: This was published, I wanna say 2025. So last year, was beginning of last year. Carrie: So that was a little revisionist history then. Michael: Yeah, it was, because he, the author, I don't think he played at Arkansas, but I think he played at Central Arkansas. Played his college ball. But yeah. Very interesting look at the college football. It's based on the ESPN article about bagmen and how they distribute money. Carrie: Yeah. I think that's what I remember you talking about. Michael: Yes, I think I did. Jacqueline: Yeah. But how ethical was everything, you know? I mean, there's been, Michael: I mean, come on. We all know. Jacqueline: Yeah. All these Michael: [00:15:00] briberies Jacqueline: with cars and Michael: pre all this, you know, you used to, these star athletes driving around in really expensive cars. Jacqueline: So at least now they can pay them. So Michael: money. Yeah. Jacqueline: It's above board. I mean, Michael: It's out in the open. Jacqueline: Yeah. Carrie: Right. [Laughter] Jacqueline: I think athletes should, personally, I think athletes should be paid. I mean, Michael: I mean when those colleges are getting millions and millions of dollars on tv. Jacqueline: A lot of money Michael: ad revenue and now all this gambling. Every other commercial's a gambling commercial. It's like, Carrie: Yeah. Just wish, you know, we put some of that money into academics. [Laughter] Or paying professors, you know, or the adjunct professors who make $3,000 a class and they [00:16:00] expect them to make a living on it. Michael: What's funny about that is, I was listening to a podcast, sports podcast, and they're talking about. What was it? One of the university presidents like, we're gonna have cuts, cuts, cuts. We're gonna have to make cuts. And the first thing someone said, what about the sports? What about the basketball? What about the basketball? Carrie: Yeah, of course they're not cutting that. Jacqueline: No. Michael: And then the coach had to be like, we're gonna be fine. That's what everybody's worried about is this. Carrie: I read "Big Girl, Small Town" by Michelle Gallen. 27-year-old Majella O'Neill lives a quiet life in a small village in Northern Ireland that is still recovering from the Troubles. Those years of political violence have affected Majella's family deeply. Her beloved father disappeared during the [00:17:00] troubles and her alcoholic mother has been a wreck ever since. Recently, Majella's Granny was murdered in a brutal robbery at her farm. Majella, who appears to be on the autism spectrum, is grieving, though it may not look like it to the small town gossips who seem to know her and her family's every move. The novel takes place over the course of one week, primarily at Majella's workplace, a chip shop called A Salt and Battered! Michael: Oh my gosh. [Laughter] Jacqueline: Oh goodness. Michael: Oh man. Especially what happened to her and the [unclear]. Carrie: And there's an exclamation point at the end of the name. Majella likes working at the chip shop. She likes observing the regulars; cleaning; her married colleague Marty, whom she sometimes shags after work; and enjoying a fag on her breaks. At [00:18:00] home, she likes watching old episodes of her favorite TV show, Dallas, on DVD, and she enjoys going out to the local pub every Sunday. There's a much longer list of things Majella doesn't like--97 total items--but she thinks they could all really be boiled down to one thing: Other People. Not much happens over the course of the week, but through these everyday events of going to work, taking care of her mother, dealing with her period, and, of course, Other People, we come to know Majella as a fully realized character. She is lonely, smart, grieving, perceptive, and darkly funny. If you enjoyed the TV series, Derry Girls or the novel, Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine, you might like this book. The novel is dialogue-heavy and uses unconventional spellings and dialect [00:19:00] to convey the characters' speech patterns--though not quite as heavily as the book I read last month, "Their Eyes Were Watching God," another book that focuses on small-town life. If you have trouble with the slang, the author has helpfully provided a glossary and pronunciation guide on her website. We don't have "Big Girl, Small Town" on audio, but I listened to a clip online of, appropriately enough, Derry Girls and Bridgeton Star Nicola Coughlan reading it, and it was even funnier in her voice. I enjoyed the book overall, but I did find the ending to be quite abrupt. It felt like the author just got tired and quit writing. She didn't stick the landing. It was just like Michael: What? [Laughter] Carrie: all of a sudden it was over. If you can overlook that, I still think it's a compelling look at small town Irish life. Majella [00:20:00] eats the same meal every night after work, fish and chips that she warms up in the microwave and eats in her bed. I can think of no better meal to pair with this, though I'd prefer to eat mine overlooking the Irish Sea than in my bed. A Salt and Battered! serves plenty of curry chips too, which I've never tried. These fries are topped with a mild curry sauce and apparently, Jacqueline, they would be mild enough even for you. The Irish don't like their curry spicy. [Laughter] Jacqueline: Oh, good. Carrie: We'll link to a recipe on our blog. Jacqueline: Yeah, that spicy food gets to me anymore. [Laughter] Sounds interesting that she just kind of, you felt like she just kind of stopped writing, like she just kind of like, oh, I can't think of anything else to say. Carrie: Yeah, it was just like the week's over, so this is over. But you know, I enjoyed it [00:21:00] up until then, it was just, and one of the reviews I had read before I read it said the same thing, so I was a little prepared for it. But yeah. Definitely similar vibes to the Derry Girls, although it's not, you know, the main character is sort of alone, you know, it's not as much like in the Derry Girls where there's a lot of interaction between the other high schoolers. There's more of a community there, but a very similar sense of humor. Jacqueline: Do you think that she's leaving the door open for a sequel or did you get that impression like, Carrie: no, I don't think so. I mean, she is published, I think another novel since that was also a standalone. So yeah, no, I think it was a one time thing. Jacqueline: Interesting. Michael: I get that. All the problems boil down to other people. [Laughter] Carrie: Yes. Yeah, it was funny, like the opening of the book is [00:22:00] basically her list of 97 things that she doesn't like, and then each chapter starts off with an item from the list and that's how she leads into the chapter. So. Michael: Wow. Carrie: And they never say that she's on the spectrum, but you know, some of the things she does, she like stems and you know, like has trouble with social cues. So it's just kind of suggested that she is. Michael: Yeah. She sounds relatable. Carrie: Yeah. Yeah. Very relatable. Michael: How many Irish books have you done this year? Is that the only one? Carrie: I think so. Michael: Okay. Yeah. Maybe we just, where we were talking about it maybe somewhere else. Carrie: Yeah. Michael: We talked about, Carrie: and we talked about, there was another series that I watched recently, How to Get to Heaven from Belfast, which is also, [00:23:00] that's a Netflix series that was written by the woman who wrote Derry Girls, and so it has some similarities to Derry Girls as well. If you haven't watched either of those, they're both very funny and, and the second one, How to Get to Heaven from Belfast. That one is more like supernatural suspense. Michael: Ooh, Carrie: mixed in with the comedy. So I think that you would like that one, Michael. Michael: I like supernatural, you know, something about horror and humor coming together. Carrie: Yeah. [Laughter] This one definitely has both and the ending of that series was really good. It tied things together in a nice and surprising way. Michael: Okay. Carrie: Which doesn't always happen. Michael: Yeah. Carrie: Thanks for listening to the Books and Bites podcast. Our theme [00:24:00] music is The Breakers from the album In Close Quarters with the Enemy by Scott Whiddon. You can learn more about Scott and his music at his website, adoorforadesk.com.