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Books and Bites
JCPL librarians bring you book recommendations and discuss the bites and beverages to pair with them.
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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: Hi, everybody.
Carrie: So this month, we're discussing hybrid genres, one of the prompts on the Summer, Fall, Books and Bites Bingo Reading Challenge.
So I guess we need to start by explaining what exactly we mean by hybrid genres.
Michael: So hybrid genres is when you kind of mix more than one genre together, like sci fi and horror, You could do Romance and Fantasy is a big one right now.
Carrie: Or romantasy, as we like to call it. And there could be things like books that combine, maybe it's straight narrative with maybe some documents, you know, [00:01:00] like archival documents or something like that, or poetry and prose, something like that.
There, there's a lot of, I think a lot of hybridity is happening in fiction and nonfiction as well. It could be nonfiction too. Maybe like there's, a lot of times there's non fiction books that are about a particular topic, but they also have some memoir woven in from the author, so.
Jacqueline: Yeah, I've read one not too long ago about the Henry the Eighth's wives, and it had like some letters intermingled in there.
How about, have you ever read a horror western?
Michael: Oh yeah. Yeah, there's a, I don't know, we have some on Hoopla, but there's one, there's a whole series called Splatter Westerns, which is more of the, you know, gorier, bloodier side of the horror western genre, but yeah, oh yeah, that's like peanut butter and jelly right there.
Jacqueline: Okay, great. [00:02:00] I was reading about that and I'm like, I wonder if Michael's read that.
Carrie: Yeah, and actually, just a little preview, both Michael and I read hybrid westerns for this time, so.
Michael: Hee haw!
Jacqueline: I didn't know that!
Carrie: Yeah.
Jacqueline: That's funny.
Carrie: All right, so, we also want to remind you that we have a Books and Bites reading party coming up.
It's August 20th at 6: 30 p. m., so we'll have some silent reading time, some bookish conversation, and some snacks.
Jacqueline: Mmm.
Michael: Oh yeah. Yeah.
Jacqueline: Sounds great. We had really a lot of fun last time.
Carrie: We did, and we hope you'll join us. And it's also a square on the Books and Bites Reading Challenge, so come in and, you know, have a little fun getting that square marked off.[00:03:00]
Michael: This month I
read Kent Wascom's new novel, The Great State of West Florida, a novel that Carrie recently alerted me to. Published just this year, this novel blends southern gothic with western dystopian coming of age with hints of sci fi thrown in for some added flavor. And to add another thing to the mix, in an interview, with the Southern Review of Books, the author mentions that this book is actually heavily influenced by 90s anime.
Who knew? This book is told by Rally Woolsack, a 13 year old in 2026. He comes from the notorious Woolsack family, a lineage the author has detailed in his previous works like The Blood of Heaven, Secessia, and The New Inheritors. Rally is raised by his aunt after his spurned mother conspires with Rally's other aunt to wipe out the rest of the Woolsack clan.
Rally's mother, Nessa, "was all eaten up with this boy named [00:04:00] Kenan Woolsack whose family, wouldn't you know, also had roots in Louisiana. Only their roots were all gnarled up and contaminated from leach water and probably ran through gas lines. A family of single moms and future single moms and boys who turned perfectly good girls into single moms.
" That's a pretty good quote.
Carrie: That's a lot of single moms
Michael: oh, yeah.
Carrie: in that quote.
Michael: Except two Woolsacks survive the massacre, Rally's Aunt Destiny and his Uncle Rodney. After wanting to escape his terrible living situation, Rally reaches out to his Uncle Rodney, who is a gunfighter on Duel, an app that allows folks to challenge each other to gunfights, knife fights, sword fights, etc.
After a violent confrontation, Ronnie takes Rally to meet his Aunt Destiny, a. k. a. the Governor, who now has a golden robotic arm and is working to fulfill her grandfather's grandiose dream of establishing the state of West Florida, [00:05:00] which has put them on a direct collision course with Troy Yarbrough, a far right Florida politician that has co opted Destiny's grandfather's dream of West Florida and twisted it into his own vision for a white Christian ethnostate, and is willing to do it by any means necessary.
This wild, pulpy, grindhouse style book has it all. Colorful characters, megachurch magnets, shootouts, robots, all happening in a near future, Gulf Coast setting. There are tender and intimate moments in this violent novel that really let you become attached to these characters, especially Rally and Rodney.
Rally, swept up in this brutal adventure and now beginning to discover who he really is, comes across as a Gulf Coast Huck Finn. And the ending left me wanting more time in the dystopian Gulf Coast, which I'm hopeful for, since he mentioned in that same interview that he wouldn't be surprised if this book kicked off a series.
Being from Alabama, I spent a lot of time along the Gulf Coast and one of my favorite dishes to get when visiting the area is a shrimp po boy. I found a simple recipe with a neat twist. A shrimp po [00:06:00] boy with a pineapple slaw from tastetohome. com. It uses a mayo based broccoli slaw with pineapple tidbits with panko breaded shrimp.
I haven't tried it yet, since I'm the only seafood lover in my house, but it sounds absolutely delicious.
Carrie: Yeah, that does sound delicious, and it's nice that you have a Western that doesn't involve beans, or like, some sort of ground beef chili, which is a typical, or corn pone.
Michael: I know, like, I've never read a Western that takes place on the Gulf Coast.
It's like, on the Gulf Coast, you gotta have some kind of seafood dish.
Carrie: Yeah, for sure.
Michael: Maybe a seafood chili? Gross.
Jacqueline: It's also, like, several genres.
Michael: Oh yeah.
Jacqueline: You know, with the, future
Carrie: yeah
Jacqueline: setting and the southern setting and
Carrie: slight future like
Michael: Yeah, like
Jacqueline: slight future
Michael: two years from now. . .
Jacqueline: Well that's [00:07:00] true.
We only do have a lot of robots, don't we? . .
Carrie: That's true.
Yeah. I know. It's kind of interesting that it's so near future because that's going to be out of date already in just a couple of years, right?
Michael: Pretty much. I mean, besides the robots, everything's pretty, there's not a lot of futuristic stuff in there besides some of the robotics that are mentioned, so.
But it does have this very 70s, pulpy, Grindhouse style feel to it, while it's also being slightly future.
Carrie: Mm hmm.
Jacqueline: Mm hmm. When was it written? Do you know?
Michael: It came out this year.
Jacqueline: Oh.
Carrie: Oh, and I just realized that I can cross off a square since I recommended that book to Michael, a librarian. Well, I didn't recommend it.
I just thought he might, I thought he might like it.
Jacqueline: Yeah, that's the same thing
Carrie: but yeah, cool.
Michael: Thanks for the [00:08:00] recommendation.
Carrie: Yeah, glad you liked it.
Jacqueline: The book I chose for
the prompt with two genres is My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brody Ashton, and Jodi Meadows. This young adult novel crosses several genres. This novel hits most definitions of a hybrid genre. Not only is it a hybrid romantic comedy, it is also a fantastical, historical fiction novel.
The novel is a reimagined account of Henry's shortest ruling monarch, Lady Jane Grey. Jane's accession to the throne of England falls after the death of Edward VI. The novel told in alternating perspectives of our three main characters and narrator, historian, who often break the fourth wall to set the historical record straight.
The book is not only written by three New York Times bestselling authors, it is told from the point of [00:09:00] view of the three main characters, Edward VI, Lady Jane Grey, and Guilford Dudley. This book brings a fantasy aspect from the beginning while still interweaving history from the 16th century. The story begins with King Edward being told that he is dying and that he needs to make sure the kingdom is left in good hands since he has no male heirs.
Edward's most trusted advisor, the Duke of Northumberland, Guilford Dudley's father, is trying to get him to settle important matters regarding the kingdom, but true to the YA genre, Henry is in deep angst. He laments the fact that he has the lack of fun he's had in his short 15 years because he was a king.
Edward is more concerned about the fact he never got to do so many things in his short life. Then the throne of England. In particular, he is upset that he has never got to even kiss a girl and he desperately wants to more than anything. However, he is soon brought back to reality by Northumberland, who has designs on the throne.
Northumberland plans [00:10:00] to get his second son. Guilford Dudley onto the throne by marrying Edward's cousin, Lady Jane Grey, to his son, Guilford. However, Guilford has a problem. He's an Ethian. Ethians are magical humans that can transform into animals. However, many of the English people are divided on the issue of Ethians.
Some believe Ethian magic and Ethians should be eliminated. The practice of persecuting the shape shifters lessen under Edward's father's king Henry VIII's rule, realizing that he is an Ethian lion, when in a fit of pique, he transformed. Henry would get so angry, change into his lion's form, and eat anyone who gave him bad news.
Although his sister Mary is next in line to inherit Edward, is easily convinced to will the crown to Jane and her male heirs, thereby excluding from succession Henry VIII's daughters, because the kingdom is already so divided into the two warring factions. Conventional humans and Ethians. He is concerned that if Mary becomes the queen, [00:11:00] shapeshifters will be treated even more unfairly under her rule.
To prevent more bloodshed, he skips over both of his sisters in favor of Lady Jane. Jane is well read and believes Ethians should not be scorned or abused by conventional humans. For those of you familiar with this time period in this alternative history, the tail shapeshifters are stand in for Protestants and the Verity are replacements for Catholics.
Jane is coerced into marrying Dudley and becoming Queen. She does become Queen, but her reign is short lived because she is dethroned by Mary. She's in prison and Dudley is arrested for being Ethian. At this point in the story, the author breaks the fourth wall and lets the readers know that the rest of the story is made up history.
Instead of dying, Edward's Ethian dog saves him. Jane realizes that she really likes her new husband and hopes to make a go of her marriage if she can escape the tower. But escape will not be easy because Dudley is Ethian and [00:12:00] cannot control when he shifts into his animal form. Unable to control shifting, Dudley transforms at the worst possible moments, lending quite a bit of comedy to the story.
Will Jane and Guilford lose their heads? Will Mary capture Edward? I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a light hearted tale with a bit of history. The book is not a series in the typical fashion, but the writers have gone on to write more alternative tales of the Nine Day Queen of England.
If you enjoyed this book, you might want to read other Jane books. I have found this part of history interesting, so I cannot wait to read more. Like Edward, I love blackberries, so for my bite, I chose a hundred year old recipe that I found for blackberry pudding. Old fashioned blackberry pudding is a delightful summer dessert.
The recipe was made from a hundred year old cookbook. The cake like topping is flavored with cinnamon and is very light and fluffy. And I can't wait to try the recipe.
Carrie: It's always interesting when you find the historical [00:13:00] recipes, I think.
Jacqueline: Yeah, I was, I thought, They mentioned Blackberry Pudding in particular.
I've actually never heard of Blackberry Pudding, but I was like, and Blackberry Pie, but I was like, Blackberry Pudding sounds really interesting.
Carrie: Yeah. That would qualify for the King or Queen prompt too on the bingo sheet. I'm actually reading about, Mary Queen of Scots right now.
So, got some overlap between the events. the real events, which it didn't go so well for a lady, Jane Gray.
Jacqueline: She is actually mentioned in this novel as well. According to, this was part of the historical facts. So I think it might be actually factual that she was engaged to Edward when they were like really small children. Cause that's, they loved to marry people really young.
Carrie: Yeah. Mary queen of Scots was married off. When she, [00:14:00] you know, she was maybe 12 or something, but they sent her to live in France with her first husband's family, like when she was a very small child.
Yeah. So.
Jacqueline: Yeah. That's.
Carrie: Yeah.
Jacqueline: What's really confusing about these books is they all want to name each other. Like they name the same names over and over. So it's really hard to keep track.
Carrie: Yeah.
Jacqueline: There's like. So many Elizabeths and Edwards. I'm like, which Elizabeth? Which, which Mary?
Carrie: Yeah. That is confusing.
The book I read is Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey. This short novel blends dystopian and Western fiction, plus a dash of romance. Though it's set in a post apocalyptic near future-- and they don't actually say the date, like in [00:15:00] Michael's novel it's just, that's kind of what you assume-- the Arizona landscape feels very Old West.
When we're first introduced to main character Esther Augustus, she's hiding in the back of a wagon-- the librarian's wagon, to be exact. Esther is on the run from a marriage her father arranged after he executed her best friend and secret lover, Beatriz, for possessing resistance propaganda. Esther believes that the librarians are working for the government.
If she joins the librarians, perhaps she can prove her loyalty to those in power. Esther eventually learns that the librarians aren't exactly the government agents she imagined. They're part of the resistance movement, providing safe passage to LGBTQ plus people, as well as circulating the type of unapproved materials Beatriz was found with.
Head librarian, Bet, and assistant [00:16:00] librarian, Leda, who are in a relationship, allow Esther to stay on with them until they can drop her off in Utah. Esther is determined to prove herself as a helpful assistant to Cye, a non binary apprentice librarian, so the librarians will let her stay on with them permanently.
Then a sheriff and his deputies ambush the Librarians and a trio of women they're sheltering. Esther finds herself in a Wild West style shootout. Were the men coming after Esther or someone else in the group? If you enjoyed Anna North's subversive western, Outlawed, you might enjoy this witty, compelling novella.
As in Outlawed, Esther and the librarians are on the run from a society that condemns their queer identities and silences women and freedom of thought. The Western setting combined with the all too realistic dystopian elements means Gailey doesn't have to spend [00:17:00] too much time on world building. And though parts of the book's are familiar, the combination of genres feels fresh.
As Michael and Jacqueline know, I'm not typically a fan of dystopian fiction. Upright Women Wanted transcends the typical bleak outcome of that genre to offer hope. The kind that feels to Esther, " like just enough to fit in her fists." One of Esther's chores is to help with the cooking. And when she suggests adding some wine or vinegar to their bean, dried tomato, and jerky stew, the librarians agree to pick some up on their next supply run.
Enjoy Upright Women Wanted with Tuscan Stewed Beans, a vegan recipe from Rainbow Plant Life that uses white wine, whole tomatoes, tomato paste, white beans, and other veggies for a hearty stew [00:18:00] that will help you keep up your energy on the trail or off. We'll link to the recipe on our blog.
Michael: Sounds pretty good.
Carrie: Yeah, I mean, it's hard not to enjoy a book with librarian spies in the Old West setting, even though, you know, so the characters mention having had cars in the past and there's mention of a drone factory. That's really the only indication you get that, you know, that the, that it's in a future setting.
Michael: We don't really know what's happened beyond,
Carrie: no, other than that they're at war and there's, you know
a resistance and, you know, this kind of controlling, you know, kind of is a little, had a similar feel in that respect to like the Handmaid's Tale. You know, that only certain lifestyles were approved and things like that. And women have to, you know, [00:19:00] fulfill their their biological roles or whatever. So yeah, it was similar in those regards, but a lot, a lot packed into a short novel and, it was a fun, fun read, you know, a quick read.
So if you're looking for a quick read.
Michael: Would that be included with a chosen family? Would that work in?
Carrie: Yeah, I think it could work in chosen family also. Yeah. Because the, yeah, because the librarians kind of form their own family in a way.
Jacqueline: They do that in this, in My Lady Jane, too, because they seem to form their own family as it moves, as it progresses. You'll read more about that. But like his sister Mary and Edward don't really end up, getting along at all because they were so different. And so he forms a relationship with other people.
And so I think that one also kind of has that if that's ever going to be a, maybe that can be a,
Carrie: it is a [00:20:00] prompt
bingo card,
Jacqueline: is it? Oh, for November. Oh, sorry. Nevermind.
Carrie: And I would also just say this book is shelved in sci fi and apparently there's this move towards dystopian novels being considered sci fi and I kept waiting for like, you know, I don't know aliens to swoop in or something I'm like, where is the where is the sci fi happening, but it really wasn't. I wouldn't consider it sci fi at all In fact, it sounded like your your novel was more sci fi than this one and it's not shelved in sci fi so
Jacqueline: Yeah, I don't always agree with the subject headings that are for books sometimes.
I'm just like, why did they do that? It makes no sense.
Carrie: Yeah, it definitely had, the Western elements to me were the [00:21:00] most prominent, but it was good.
Jacqueline: Yeah, I've had a few people asking me about Westerns, and, I didn't realize that we were, they were starting to get published more. So that's, that's good.
Carrie: But it's interesting. They, I mean, they tend to be more subversive, I think, than what we think of as the typical Western, like that book that I mentioned earlier, Outlawed, which was kind of about a band, I talked about it on Books and Bites before, but it was kind of a band of outcasts from you know, typical society, had their gang.
Those are the kind of elements that I enjoy about it is that, and I would say even like True Grit, you know, having that female character, main character that's kind of subversive Mm-Hmm. for its time.
Jacqueline: Yeah.
I really enjoyed that.
Carrie: Yeah. True grit?
Jacqueline: Mm-Hmm. .
Carrie: Yeah. That's one of my favorite novels of all time.[00:22:00]
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 music at his website adoorforadesk.com.