I just had a Well Seasoned Potato… I was waiting for the right time to read The Secret History to dive in without distractions. I waited until my trip to Italy and it made the experience SOO incredible… nothing like a long immersive book paired with a long train through Tuscany
Ariel! Hearing you talk about Shakespeare is making me wonder if you have read Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell yet. It is a (fictional) book about his wife and children. The writing is incredible and it paint such a beautiful picture of the time and setting. Would 100% recommend! ❤
I’m so happy Raeleen included Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st century. I read it upon her recommendation and it is now one of, if not my favorite Short Story collection and I haven’t stopped thinking about it ever since.
I was listening the pod on my way home and it was imperative that I came to check the video after the vital question "who is that frog behind you?" - I wasn't disappointed 😂😂
It would be cool to do seasonal shelves in the book truck, depending on how much of the year you're open! Raeleen could choose cozy or spooky recommendations to switch up the choices on the BFF shelf in the Fall!
Interestinggggg. So I didn't really like There There so Wandering Stars wasn't on my radar at all, but hearing you compare it to Homegoing, one of my favourite books ever, has made me really intrigued hahaha
I really relate to Raeleen’s outlook on books this year. I have had to remind myself that reading should be fun, and it’s ok if I don’t want to read something or I want to stop reading something
I'm so glad you got chlorine!! I lovedddd it. It fits into two of my favorite subgenres which is "unhinged women/girls" and also "obsession with water". I highly recommend "The daughters of Y's" (if you haven't read it) which is a graphic novel that I think would fit well for the fish and chips theme of the month.
My comment got read 🥲🥲 I’m still on Priory of the Orange Tree but I’m chugging along!! Thanks Ariele and Raeleen for gifting us mashed potato may and building such a great community. 💖
The superb opening chapter of “Long Island” by Colm Toibin succeeded in reeling me in to read the rest of this excellent book. 😀And if anyone’s wondering, you don’t have to have read “Brooklyn” to enjoy this book.
Raeleen! Since you and your friends are into celebrating the Sabbats, I suggest looking into Year of the Witch by Temperance Alden. It's a really great book on celebrating the cycle of seasons and how to cater your Wheel of the Year celebrations to your specific part of the world.
The Pisces is one of the books I can do most impassioned rant about, so much so that I can't get rid of it and want to re-read it eventually. There's a fine line between love and hate, right? I just remember being so confused why it was so hyped up as I thought it was so ridiculous when I read it years ago, but I kind of want to revisit it and see what I think this time around. Would LOVEEE to hear your take on it if you end up reading it for Fish & Chips May.
I read Turtles all the way down for mashed potato May, I'd put it off ever since it came out because I was worried all of the mental health stuff would be a bit too much for me (I also have some mental health issues), and I think reading it right now was pretty perfect because I'm in a fairly good place at the moment, and I ended up really really loving it! A very good mashed potato 🥔
Hi! I never comment, but I've just found out that Wordsworth Classics has released an "Exclusive Collection" of some children classics with amazing, beautiful illustrated covers (for real, they'e STUNNING). Anne of the green gables is one of them, and I've immidiatelly thought: Ariel NEEDS to know it exists!! Also, I might as well take the chance and tell you I love your podcast! I love listening to it every week. Love from Barcelona, Spain🤍
They sell, something here in the states at these huge gas stations called Buccees similar to beaver tails. But since the name is apparently copyrighted or something we call them or the gas station calls them paddle tails.
For the book truck, will you be doing...I can't remember what the word for it is now, but you know, in bookstores, in the staff picks section, you'll have a little handwritten note on the shelf for a book that's like a little review or what the person who is recommending the book loved about it? I guess a blurb? Clearly, you are the staff, but would you have blurbs from customers or friends? Like say a customer spots a book on your truck they have read and loved maybe you can ask them if they want to write a little blurb for it? i think that would be cute.
I teaching English 10 and 11, and I use Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century in my short story units. My students tend to react to the stories positively (or as as positively as you can expect high schoolers to react to short stories).
Forgot to comment this last week, but if you are still in your "books about nature" mood I would recommend Nettles by Adam Scovell. It's a literary fiction book (150 pages) about a man revisiting his childhood village and the nature surrounding it. But nature talks to him. Seeing as I just finished my mashed potato book in April (the bear and the nightingale) I will dive straight into the hot mashed potato and start on my new book that just arrived, Albatross!
My favorite part of Mondays is listening to your podcast ❤ you girls are AWESOME, thank you for always brightening our days 💛 And Ariel I need your help🙏🏻. Because you are always mentioning George Orwell I have become very interested in his work, I have already read Animal Farm and 1984 but am really curious about his least known books. If you could recommend me where to start I would be so so grateful. Hope you have a great week🌻
Okay how is it that i have been Canadian for 46 years and i never knew there was such things as Beaver Tails???? Sounds delicious and now i feel like a fraud.
That's okay. I didn't read "Anne of Green Gables" until this year yet I'm Canadian. And I can't really ice skate either. Grounds for having my Canadian citizenship revoked.😆
Oh this episode. So excited for Raeleen's list! Ive read half of them and hopped on bookshop for a couple I haven’t. Definitely make more lists! Next, im actually more excited for Wandering stars because I really liked Homegoing 😊 And finally Chlorine, i cant decide if i think Ariel will like it. Im leaning towards not so much but it does have The Vegetarian vibes which she liked. The mermaid part 🫣
There is an actual phobia which is a fear of antiques. That means there might not be a rational reason, but something that sprung from her experience as a child.
I'm moving at the beginning of June so for this #mashedpotatomay I am reading as much of my physical tbr as possible to determine what to bring. We will see though, I'm still on book 1
Honestly I have tried to read Steven King and never really liked any of the books until Colorado Kid. I think I might try to check out others along the same theme.
I pay for RU-vid Premium and it's the best $14 a month I ever spent. I watch a lot of RU-vid, and don't pay for many streaming services, so it's worth it to me. NO commercials.
PLEASE PLEASE READ Lessons In Chemistry❤you will definitely DNF it. I am on the last 30 pages and sad that it’s ending. Best book I’ve read in a long time and I can’t believe it was Bonnie Garmus” first book. Read it and you won’t be disappointed 😆👍🏻♥️
I'm not a huge Shakespeare lover but I did really enjoy reading Shakespeare Was a Woman by Elizabeth Winkler. Reading her book made believe that the writings of Shakespeare could have been written by a woman.
Hello! I wanted to gently say that while I'm sure Winkler is an entertaining writer, I recommend you read "Was Shakespeare a Woman" by Isaac Butler in Slate magazine. This book is rife with historical misinformation that seems harmless at the surface, but goes into elitist rhetoric when picked apart. The conspiracy that Shakespeare did not write Shakespeare is championed by a lot of the British elite as it's believed someone of Shakespeare's modest background could not have written Shakespeare's plays and the book feeds into that and does a lot of cherry picking with what it selects as evidence. If you're interested in historical women's writings I recommend (although 40 years after Shakespeare's time) Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz--she has some very ahead of its time commentary on gender.
Ummmm please tell me you have had yeast doughnuts before! If you have not you need to drop everything and run to the nearest doughnut shop! That's weird and I'm not saying you should be ashamed but umm...
