8_25 BB edit 1 === 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: So today we're discussing feel-good fiction. So what does that mean to you all? Michael: Feel-good fiction? Since I read some of the darker stuff, a lot of times some of that might not seem as feel good or comforting. But maybe a reread or something with a similar trope that you're familiar with, you know how it's gonna go. Jacqueline: Yeah. That's what I was kind of like that for me, I was thinking, well, to reread something then I don't have to worry. There's that expectation of, I've already read it. I know nothing's gonna be like a big surprise, it's gonna be upsetting or whatever. Or an author that I [00:01:00] know. That's not gonna be too crazy or whatever. Even though it's like my book is like a murder mystery, but it's, to me, it's like I've read it before, I know this author, and so it's comforting for me. Michael: Yeah. You know what, you're kind of gonna get Jacqueline: true. Yeah. Michael: So, you know, Stephen King or Joe Hill, you kind of know what you're gonna get, what you're in for. Or maybe, you know, like if I read The Shining, you know, it's a terrifying book, but, you know, I read that 20, 30 years ago. It seems like, so, you know, it's kind of almost has a nostalgic thing for you too. Carrie: Well, I, I seem to remember seeing that cozy horror was a thing now, but I was unclear exactly how horror would be cozy. Do you know, I mean, other than what you've already talked about, like what, what would make a horror novel cozy? Michael: I would think those would be especially more the more Gothic ones. Carrie: Mm-hmm, yeah. That's true. Michael: [00:02:00] They take place in like an isolated house or something. You got crackling fires. It's fall. Carrie: Yeah. Jacqueline: Yeah. Michael: It's cold. Yeah. You got got the whole moon atmosphere. Carrie: Okay. Yeah. For me, I mean, I agree with you all about having a comfort read, but also feel-good fiction to me. I don't think that necessarily has to be something that I've read before, and there can be conflict or whatever during the book, but it turns out okay in the end. Michael: Yeah. Yeah. Carrie: And maybe, you know, for me, feel-good fiction tends to be what, what is kind of labeled feel good fiction by like publishers and in NoveList where it's often kind of dealing with relationships, like family relationships or chosen [00:03:00] family relationships. Maybe there's. I don't know. It tends to, it tends to be like, it seems like feel-good fiction often has a pretty large cast of characters in the ones that I read. Michael: Yeah. My feel-good fiction is definitely way outside what I'm, what I've typically read. But yeah, it deals a lot with relationships and friendships and it's a little more, I guess, low stakes. Carrie: Yeah. Yeah, definitely. Yeah. And maybe it helps you kind of, at least for me anyway, see that there can still be good in the world. Michael: Yes, exactly. Yeah. Carrie: Which can be, when we're bombarded with terrible news all of the time, Michael: All day long. Carrie: It's nice to have an escape every once in a while. Michael: Yeah. Yeah, Carrie: especially on audio when you're like driving home from work. Jacqueline: I think setting for me too, like it takes place in the [00:04:00] maybe not in current day where there's so much stress and everything was set back when, a simpler time as people would say. Which I didn't choose a YA book because there's a lot of drama in YA, usually so. This is the first time I think I've done one that that wasn't a young adult. Michael: No love triangle? Jacqueline: I know. No. Well, maybe a little, but not really. Carrie: No, no dragons? Jacqueline: No dragon. Yeah. No dragons. Michael: Or hot gargoyles? Sorry I couldn't. [Laughter] Jacqueline: Not this time. Carrie: All right, well I look forward then to hearing what you picked. So as I mentioned before, I've been kind of in a feel-good fiction [00:05:00] mood. So I have two books to talk about today. The first one is Musical Chairs by Amy Poeppel. Musical Chairs centers around the members and one former member of the Forsyth Trio, a New York City based chamber music trio who are currently in a state of flux. Cellist Bridget and pianist Will have been best friends since Julliard, and are the trio's longest running members. Bridget had planned to spend the summer at her country house in Connecticut with her boyfriend Sterling, a novelist who everyone but Bridget seems to realize is a whiny, selfish jerk. But her plans change when Sterling breaks up with her over email the day he's supposed to join her. Will takes the train out to Connecticut that very night to console her. Other people in Bridget's life are in flux as well. Her adult twins have crises of their own and decide to spend the summer with her in Connecticut. [00:06:00] Her famous 90-year-old composer father is getting married and plans to travel the world with his equally elderly bride. Will is about to get evicted from his cheap New York City apartment and is spending a considerable amount of time in Connecticut after falling in love with a local. Plus, the trio must find a new violinist. Will wants to rehire their first violinist, Gavin. But Bridget has a secret about Gavin that not even Will knows. This amusing, upbeat novel has a large cast of mostly likable, quirky characters. Although Bridget is a central character, the novel's multiple points of view deepen the plot and the stakes. For me, it's a great summer read: smart but unpretentious and with enough tension to maintain your interest without keeping you up at night. The themes of family and chosen family [00:07:00] relationships are also some of my favorites for feel good fiction. NoveList lists musical chairs as a read alike for one of my favorite novels, Early Morning Riser by Catherine Heiny. They do have similar concerns, but I still prefer Early Morning Riser, which I think is much funnier. And then the next book is Flying Solo by Linda Holmes. After her Great Aunt Dot's death, 39-year-old Laurie Sassalyn is back in her hometown of Calcasset, Maine to clear out Dot's House. Laurie has recently called off her wedding, and she feels a particular kinship with her favorite unmarried aunt. She wants to make sure Dot's estate is as well tended as that of someone who had a spouse and children. Amid her aunt's boxes and boxes of Polaroids, letters, and collections. Laurie finds a painted wooden duck decoy [00:08:00] tucked away in a chest. She also finds a love letter with the sentence, "And any way if you're ever desperate, there are always ducks, darling." Laurie is intrigued and sets out to learn about the duck. Her search begins with the handsome, hip t-shirt, wearing "bereavement declutterer" she's hired, but when he turns out to be a conman-- purchasing the duck from her for $50 despite knowing that it may have been crafted by a famous Maine artist-- Laurie quickly pivots to trying to get the duck back. She's joined by her best friend; an old high school boyfriend, Nick, who's now the town librarian; and other friends and relatives. This charming story has all the things I could possibly want in feel-good fiction: a mystery that is partly solved by searching through library databases, a heist [00:09:00] at the local farmer's market, cozy feels, and romance. But it also cuts deeper exploring Laurie's desire to find a different way to be. She doesn't want to get married, have children, or even live with someone. Yet she can't stop thinking about Nick. Can she find a way to maintain her independence while also finding love? I listened to this book on Libby, and it's read by Julia Whelan, one of my favorite audiobook narrators. If you're seeking a break from the news on your commute, you can't go wrong with this book. Both Musical Chairs and Flying Solo are set in summer and summer means, among other things, blueberries-- another thing the books have in common. Bridget bakes blueberry muffins, and Laurie enjoys blueberry pancakes at the local diner. Pair either novel with one of my favorite blueberry recipes, Homemade Maple Sweetened Blueberry Muffins. [00:10:00] This recipe from the blog Live Simply uses spelt flour, yogurt, lemon juice, and lemon zest for a muffin that's the perfect blend of earthy and sweet, tangy, and bright. We'll link to the recipe on our website. Jacqueline: It does seem like it's kind of a comforting thing for people when they go somewhere else and like, maybe even like near water where they're, they're relaxing and you kind of get that the setting where it's, makes you feel comfort comforted 'cause you're gonna go and just not have the stress of every day. When you were reading those that's what I thought of. Carrie: Mm-hmm. Yeah, I mean, neither of them, well, I guess the one that's in Maine, it is close to the water, but they don't really spend a lot of time at the water. But they are both kind of, they're in a place for the summer that's not where they normally live. So yeah, they do have that in common. Michael: Where's your, your second one took place in, Carrie: in Maine. Michael: [00:11:00] Maine. Carrie: Yeah. Michael: I mean, new England, I mean, Jacqueline: I think of waters Michael: very cozy. Comfort water. Jacqueline: Yeah. Comfort. Carrie: And also the, you know, the library, Michael: yeah. Carrie: Tie-in and, you know, research in the library archives. And that was, that was fun too. And, and they, she kind of, she got that part right. Like, a lot of times there's a lot of, you know, stereotypes of libraries, but, I felt like this one was pretty, pretty true to, you know, they, it was a small town library, but they had, you know, they were checking out cake pans and stuff from their Library of Things and Jacqueline: Oh, cool. I guess authors use the library a lot 'cause I've noticed, and so many books have something about the library in them, not. Of course not every book. So many seem to, Michael: I do love that in the horror genre when, the, they go. They have to figure out what's up with this house or property. And they go digging in the [00:12:00] archive, find out terrible thing that happened. Jacqueline: Right. Right. Or they're like doing the reel, the old newspaper reel, like, no, we don't use anymore. But you see that in news all the time. Carrie: Yeah. They, they did use microfilm in this, in this one, yeah. Jacqueline: Oh. And blueberries too remind you of kind of summer and Carrie: Yeah, Jacqueline: I think I wrote about that. Like how it's just a feel good you're out thinking, picking blueberries or blackberries or. So comforting. Just being out there. Carrie: We have a prompt where you can either read The Dark Library or another book set in a library. So I, I think this, the second one, Flying Solo, I think that would. It's not totally set in a library, but I think enough of it deals with the library that you could probably count it for that prompt as well. Jacqueline: Oh, that's good.[00:13:00] For my feel- good book, I chose an Agatha Christie novel. I've been reading her books since I was a teenager, looking around the house for something to read during the summer. Back then I did not have access to all her books. But now thanks to Hoopla and Libby, I can enjoy both her print and audio books. Many of her stories even have play adaptions on those platforms. Rereading her books feels like reconnecting with old friends and sometimes discovering stories I have not read before. For this episode, I chose Murder at the Vicarage, which was published in the 1930s. It is the first full length novel to feature one of my favorite characters, Miss Marple. She says that observing human nature has always been a particular hobby of hers, and she's able to figure out who committed the crime just by paying attention to people. Although she had appeared in short stories [00:14:00] before, this was her first, full debut novel and the beginning of the 12 book Miss Marple series. The story takes place in a quiet English village of St. Mary Mead. It is in the 1930s and people still leave their doors unlocked. Also, reminding me of my own childhood, no one in my neighborhood locked their doors either. The narrator is Vicar Leonard Clement, who is married to Griselda, she often calls him Len. He's a kind, easygoing guy, and his parishioners seem to like him. They come to him with all sorts of concerns. When Len lightly dismisses a parishioner's complaint about the missing money, she goes to Colonel Lucius  Protheroe . Protheroe serves as the church warden and the local magistrate who decides to investigate the matter. The colonel is not a popular man. He is wealthy, harsh, and his first wife left him, and his daughter seems to resent how [00:15:00] controlling he is, especially when it comes to money. He is known for handing out harsh sentences and once told Len that it does not matter why someone commits a crime. They should be punished regardless, and he has given out many, many harsh sentences. When Len comes upon the Colonel's wife Ann, in a passionate embrace with a young artist. She implores Len to help her because she's never been happy in her marriage. Many people are not fans of the Colonel Len. Even jokes, maybe not entirely joking that anyone who murdered Colonel Plethora would be doing the world a large favor. That comment comes back to haunt him when he finds the colonel murdered in the vicarage study not long after. There is no shortage of suspects. Even Ms. Marple is not sure at first. She says there are seven possible culprits. Could Len be one of them? After all, the colonel was investigating some missing church funds the week he died. Christie incorporates so many components in this story, [00:16:00] so as the investigation unfolds, you are right there with the characters trying to piece together to discover who did it. One of my favorite scenes is when Griselda is playing the role of the vicar's wife hosting tea for the parishioners, who also come to spill the tea as the teens say these days. For my bite this time, I chose a recipe for American tea cakes. According to the website, Dessert for Two, tea cakes are soft rollout cookies that are tender, chewy, and pleasantly dense. They have a cake like texture, and the ingredients are super simple. Flour, sugar, butter, milk, nutmeg, and eggs, and it is the nutmeg that makes them really special. And you can find the recipe at Dessert for Two. Michael: I don't think I've read an Agatha Christie book since And Then There Were None probably in, in middle school or high school. Jacqueline: Yeah, Michael: I mean, I loved it. I just, I never haven't picked her back up. Jacqueline: Yeah. It's kind of comforting to pick her back up. I mean, [00:17:00] of course I hadn't read all of hers, but you know, 'cause a lot of libraries just didn't they, you know, they might have had like five or six of her books, but they didn't have everything. And now there's just Libby and in-house books and Hoopla, there's just, there's a lot you can still read. Michael: I mean, she's the queen of the mystery. Jacqueline: True. True. Carrie: Yeah. I've read other Agatha Christie. I haven't read that one though. So I'll have to give it a try. Also, she had such an interesting life too, Agatha Christie. Was really a pioneer for women writers in a lot of ways, and a pioneer in mystery writing. Jacqueline: Yeah. They, they still seem kind of relevant in a way to me. I mean, I still enjoy them. Michael: Oh yeah. I mean, Miss Marple has a whole. BBC series, I think. Jacqueline: Yeah. Michael: You know, and then her, the Murder on the Orient Express was adapted into film and, what was the one? I can't remember the name of it. It was adapted maybe a year or two ago on like a Halloween night [00:18:00] they do a seance. And someone, of course, one was, it was the name of that one. That one. But it was. Jacqueline: The, a lot of the, it Michael: was a Poirot. Jacqueline: Poirot mysteries. Yeah. He's got, he's got quite a few. The last one of his was really sad, like his last appearance. Kind of made me sad 'cause it was like, you know, it was like a goodbye to a friend. Was it not comforting enough? Carrie: I watched an adaptation of, And Then There Were None. I think it was on, I think it was on Kanopy. It was a fairly recent one. Oh my gosh. That was dark. And very scary. Yeah, Jacqueline: I just actually reread that one too. When I was, I reread actually three of hers when I was looking for my, the one I was gonna choose for the comfort one. And Then There Was None was like, Carrie: Not comforting? [Laughter] Jacqueline: Not, not really. It's like, wow. It was very, very [00:19:00] dark. Talk about horror, Michael. Michael: Oh yeah. I loved it. I loved it. Jacqueline: You did? Okay. [Laughter] Carrie: I have noticed though, in a few, when I've gone back and read them, some parts of it are just like, the viewpoint, you know, they're kind of pretty racist and you know, they kind of make me uncomfortable sometimes, in reading them in that way. Jacqueline: Yeah. There's been a few that I'm like, Ooh. But of course it was set in, you know, 1930s, so just a different, such a different time period, but it wasn't, and she didn't seem cruel or anything in her books, like there was. Did you think? Like towards, Carrie: I mean, yeah, I thought her attitudes, I mean, they were clearly coming from the author. It wasn't like, it was portraying, you know how sometimes like historical fiction, it portrays people's beliefs at the time and it's accurate. [00:20:00] Like this was clearly an author who had racist viewpoint. Jacqueline: I think there was one that I do remember that I kind of cringed a little bit. Carrie: But, yeah, I guess the nice thing about contemporary adaptations is they can edit that and, and, and, you know, update it to not be quite so bad. Jacqueline: Yeah. In And Then There Was None, there was like this guide decided like he left these, natives to die because, well, they didn't care about death the way white people did. And I was like? [Laughter] Michael: yeah. I mean, And Then There Were None, it was originally called like 10 Little indians I believe. Carrie: Oh yes, exactly. Jacqueline: That's true. Oh, I forgot about that. And there are little, they're the little figurines. Which, Michael: mm-hmm. I mean, yeah, HP, I mean, in horror, HP Lovecraft, I mean, he didn't even hide it. He was just a very virulent, racist xenophobe. [00:21:00] Like you read this stuff and now like, Ooh. [Laughter] But people have taken it and turned it into something else, which is, Jacqueline: yeah. Some things just need to be updated a little bit, I guess. Michael: Yeah. Something's can use a retelling, Jacqueline: right. Michael: I don't usually reach for cozy or feel- good books, but lately I've been in a bit of a reading slump and decided to go all out for this month's prompt. Turns out it, it was exactly what I needed. So this month I read Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree. This cozy feelgood fantasy opens with Viv, a battle weary orc finishing her final job with her adventuring party. She's ready to leave the life of swords and danger behind and start fresh. As payment, she takes the one thing she truly wants, a magical Scalvert’s Stone. Viv sets off alone for the city of Thune where she has a [00:22:00] dream to open a coffee shop. Inspired by a Gnomish city in the east where she first encountered the rich comforting drink called coffee, she's determined to bring that experience to a place where no one's even heard of it. She buys a rundown delivery stable and begins a long process of renovations. Along the way, she builds not just a business, but a new life. She finds Cal, a gruff hob and master woodworker; Thimble, a soft-spoken ratkin who turns out to be a genius baker; and Tandri, a savvy and artistic succubus who becomes both business partner and friend. There's even a Direcat that makes occasional mysterious appearances at the cafe. Together, they transform the space into Legends and Lattes, a cozy, welcoming coffee shop where people come for more than just a warm drink. It's about connection, community, and starting over. Just as things are starting to settle in, trouble arrives in the form of the city's crime syndicate looking for protection money. Viv could take care of them the old fashioned way. She is an orc after all, but this time she doesn't want to solve [00:23:00] things with violence, not when others are depending on her, not when she's trying to leave that life behind. Then to make things even more complicated, one of Viv's former companions, a slippery stone fey named Fennus, reappears and starts snooping around the shop, clearly up to no good. If you've ever played Dungeons and Dragons, I can't recommend this book enough. It's a low stakes post quest story about what happens after the dungeon crawling is done, when the hero lays down her sword and tries to build something peaceful. It's heartfelt, funny, and filled with warmth and friendship, a celebration of the simpler things in life: fresh baked pastries, good company, and second chances. If your TBR pile is feeling overwhelming, or you might just need a breather from heavy reads, this is a perfect book to restore your faith in people and reading. And speaking of pastries, Thimble's cinnamon rolls and his signature Thimblets, a biscotti-like pastry, becomes legendary across the city of Thune. And guess what? Over at fantasycookery.com they've actually replicated a super easy recipe [00:24:00] for Thimblets. The recipe features cozy ingredients like cardamom, brown sugar, currants and walnuts, and is absolutely worth a try. Carrie: Hmm. Yeah, that sounds good. I've, I've seen that book a lot and thought about trying it, so I'm glad you did. It's, Michael: yeah, it's, yeah, I enjoyed it. And that's actually, part of a series. So there's a second one, and a third one comes out later this year. Carrie: Okay. So, so you said it got you out of your rut. So have you, like, have you been able to start new books since then? 'cause I know you had talked about that for a while. Michael: Yeah, I wasn't like, I was, I couldn't pick up anything but this one kind of, I feel like it, it kind of busted that slump for me. So I've been, my time's not quite what it was. What my reading time is, but yeah. I've definitely been able to do more and listen more. Yeah. I don't know what, why, why some books, like you can just pick up a book and some maybe it's just like a reset or something. Have something, something can just kind of, I don't know how to say that [00:25:00] sometimes. Bust you out of that slump, I don't know. Jacqueline: I think sometimes you need to step away from what you usually read too. 'cause this is very different. It seems like it's different than what you usually read. Michael: Way different. Jacqueline: Way different. Yeah. So I think that sometimes you need that. To just break away from like, like for me, I broke away from YA and I'm doing, I'm reading this. So maybe that helps you, especially if you get in a slump. 'cause a lot of the horror books probably have a very similar storyline sometimes Michael: they can, and you know, it's always kind of dark and dreary and bloody and gruesome. I mean, not so feel- good. And even like the fantasy I, you know, I've read before is. It's definitely more of the grim dark stuff where nothing good happens or, no happy endings. Jacqueline: Not necessarily comforting, huh? Michael: No. Yeah. So maybe you need to have something comforting kind of once in a while, give you a little palate cleanser. Reset. Carrie: I mean, even with like, like literary fiction or mainstream [00:26:00] fiction, a lot of it can be so focused on trauma and that can get wearing too. Jacqueline: Yeah. Carrie: So yeah, it is, is nice to have a little, a little palate cleanser with some tasty- sounding pastries. Michael: Yeah. Some Thimblets. I know, like, Carrie: are they really tiny? Michael: I think they were like regular size. Carrie: Okay. But like, he's like a, I guess a ratkin is just like a humanoid. They're bigger than like a rat. So they're like a, I don't know how they, I don't know. Jacqueline: The cover is kind of, are they on the cover? Michael: Yep. Well, kind of. You can kind of see old Thimble right there. But he's like a, I guess he's about, if a dog stood up, he's about here. It's not true rat size. Oh. Like a rat person. Jacqueline: I hope a rat doesn't, as big as a dog would scare me [Laughter] Michael: because they said the cinnamon rolls are like this were quite big, so . Jacqueline: It's kind of interesting, the foods we choose this time, like tea and [00:27:00] tea cakes and coffee stuff. Michael: Biscotti like, yeah, Carrie: it sounds like we need to have a tea party with Jacqueline: blueberries Michael: Books and Bites tea party Carrie: or a coffee party with the Tea and coffee party. Jacqueline: Well, you know, we did have the silent reading party at the coffee shop too. Hopefully we'll have a new one soon. Carrie: We've contacted two coffee shops. We're still waiting to hear back from them, but if we don't, we will throw our own party here at the library. Jacqueline: Oh, cool. Yay, that'll be fun. Carrie: Oh, and um, I guess before we go, we should talk a little bit about the book club read, which is The Dark Library by Mary Anna Evans. And we have some exciting news about that. We've contacted Mary Anna Evans and she is going to be coming on the October edition of the podcast. So as far as the book situation, Michael, you wanna talk a little bit about that? Michael: So yeah, [00:28:00] we're gonna have a couple of copies circulating in our collection, but also we're gonna, if you've ever been part of one, one of our book clubs in the past, it's gonna operate like that. So we're gonna have 10 copies, and then once the event becomes open for registration, you can reserve your spot for the, for the book club and then pick up your copy at the front desk. Carrie: Mm-hmm. Yeah. So the first 10 people to register will be able to get a free copy of the book. So every, you know, I think everyone who wants to participate should be able to, but we would, you know, kind of give that the caveat of please don't register if you're not sure if you're gonna be able to come. 'cause we wanna make sure that everyone who wants to, can get the copy of the book. It is also available on both Libby and Hoopla. And Hoopla, there's no limit on checkouts. So everyone who wants to read it through Hoopla, can read it [00:29:00] through Hoopla and not worry about it being checked out. Jacqueline: Just make sure you keep it for one of your five checkouts. Carrie: Well, yeah, Michael: so we got a few different ways you can read that book. Carrie: I'm reading it right now and I'm, I'm liking it so far. Michael: Yeah. I'm about 50 something pages in. Carrie: Okay. Yeah, we might be about the same, so I'm not, not very far into it, but it's, it's good. Michael: Yeah. I don't want to, yeah. Spoilers. Carrie: Yeah. Well, no, I don't, I haven't read far enough to, to get to give any spoilers, so. I think it, I think it kind of falls under that Gothic category that you were you were talking about, Michael: what's her name? Her name? I know her name is Estella. The character Carrie: Yes. Michael: Goes by. I can't remember the name she goes by. I can't remember, but yeah, she's definitely, she living in this, her parents' old house on top of a cliff. Carrie: [00:30:00] Mm-hmm. Works in an English department. Michael: Yeah. Carrie: At a college. Yeah. Michael: Her mother disappeared, her father's dead, Carrie: and there's a, like what appears to be a suicide at the, at the opening? I haven't Michael: Oh, yeah. Yeah. Carrie: I haven't gotten to. It, whether or not it is a suicide, but usually when it appears to be a suicide and a mystery, it's not a suicide. Jacqueline: Oh yeah. Michael: It's not Carrie: So yeah. Lots, lots of, um, excitement in that book. Thanks for listening to the Books and Bites podcast. To learn more about Books and Bites Bingo, visit us at jesspublib.org/books-bites. Our theme music is The Breakers from the album In Close Quarters with the Enemy by Scott Whiddon. You can learn more about Scott and his [00:31:00] music at his website adoorforadesk.com.