0:04

Hello, and welcome to Bubbly Bib, the podcast

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about books and bubbles. Literature and l,

0:10

authors and alcohol. We love books and bubbly.

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We are friends to offer. Curated book review

0:17

section on our website and a hilarious podcast.

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We discuss books, drinks, and stories from our

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lives. I'm Rachel, and I am Carmen.

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After that last episode, I really can't stop

0:31

thinking about books that have made an impression. On me, and that got me thinking

0:36

about the reasons they made an impression.

0:39

And it it seems a little pros which by the way is word that I

0:43

learned from you've got mail with Meg ryan

0:45

and Tom Hanks. To say that you love a book because

0:49

the writing is beautiful, Of course, that's definitely a good reason to

0:53

love a book, but there are a lot

0:55

of authors out there who write beautifully.

0:59

That is true. Some of my go to authors are Ag

1:02

the Christie, Andy Weird, Jk k rowling,

1:06

Taylor Jenkins read, and

1:09

Neil Ga. I think we've talked about this before that

1:13

we will buy, sorry all titles by a certain author,

1:18

that they are our sure thing when it comes to a well written book.

1:22

Yeah. And I thought it would be fun to take an episode to pick a few

1:25

titles that are so different that we can't forget them. They are so

1:30

unique that they deserve a special file folder

1:33

in our memories. And as we think about this, and start

1:37

to pick apart the raisins, why these titles stand out, When may see

1:42

a pattern Well, listeners, it sounds like another episode, where

1:46

we are gonna be adding some new titles

1:49

to not only yours, but our Tbr list.

1:53

Because in this episode, Carmen and I are

1:55

gonna talk about unique, distinctive

1:58

and innovative, books. Alright, girl. Well, I kinda made up a

2:08

drink to tonight eat I am drinking a strawberry lemonade gi.

2:14

So it's jen, elder flower tonic and a splash of that

2:18

strawberry lemonade that I bought from Trader Joe's

2:21

when we were? You using? I don't know.

2:28

What? The British, the British 1?

2:31

Temporary? Take take? Okay. Yeah.

2:35

I am, I'm just going old school tonight, and I'm

2:39

drinking a bot. Fran Chris White because,

2:44

I'm too damn lazy to get in there and make anything. Plus, I'm having a hot

2:48

flash restaurant. Sassy see you over their fanning yourself. I'm

2:51

having a hot flash right now, and

2:55

I I just... I can't stand the thought

2:57

of drinking anything that makes me warm.

3:02

So I just finished...

3:04

Reading a dawn of Onyx by Kate Golden.

3:08

It's a fantasy romance, but get this or Roman,

3:14

love that. Oh my god. Are you kidding

3:16

me? Yes. Is what they're calling it Remain.

3:20

I Yeah. I hate that. Okay. Well, alright. It's a fantasy Romance.

3:25

Anyway, it's about a younger sister Ar

3:28

who ends up sacrificing herself to save her brother and her family.

3:32

And she's captured by this most dangerous kingdom,

3:36

you know, on the continent, and they are forcing her to work as

3:41

a healer. And it's just really interesting and she meets.

3:46

She meets the stranger who ends up being

3:48

the king to So I'm given some of it away. So sorry about that.

3:53

It is Kate Golden debut Fantasy,

3:56

and it's a series. So

3:59

I I just got the second book in

4:01

it. Oh, so you'd like the... You like

4:04

the first 1 have to go to the second 1. Yeah. Of course. I'm gotta I gotta do

4:08

the second. No. You don't, but that's another episode.

4:15

It's good though. I liked it. Okay. I

4:18

just finished the change by Kirsten Miller, which was suggested

4:22

to me by Sarah, and I gotta tell you right now. If

4:27

you have not read this book, this is I drop everything and read this book

4:32

because oh my gosh. It it is the change by Kirsten

4:37

Miller And so this this book is about 3

4:42

middle aged women who are going through the change.

4:45

And they... As their bodies

4:49

start changing, so do their

4:53

pro. Let's say they find powers within themselves.

4:59

So 1 is a

5:03

an enforce. 1 is or or like the Braun.

5:08

1 is the retribution. She make sure that you pay

5:12

for your sins. And the other 1 is a seer.

5:16

And so they opt... Come together in this

5:18

little town, and it is just a bad

5:23

feminist book. And I absolutely

5:26

loved it. Alright. That's... I'm already putting another book on

5:31

I... Tv. Yeah? Good. He hadn't even gotten

5:34

to the good stuff. My first book is gonna be easy peasy.

5:50

Because it's the Harry Potter series by Jk

5:52

k rowling. Mh. I know. I bring this

5:55

title up often. But there's a reason.

5:59

It truly does check all the boxes.

6:02

The bixby have been widely is... Has a

6:05

very wide appeal across all the demographics.

6:09

The all the characters are just really compelling.

6:12

They're relatable, their disc and sweet.

6:16

The action is the perfect

6:19

combination of nail biting, close calls, like big victories,

6:25

the villains are wonderfully, at.

6:30

I had. The villains are wonderfully sinister.

6:40

There is a fair amount of redemption.

6:42

For various characters that move you from loa

6:46

to loving. Yeah. Harry Potter and the sorcerer of stone was

6:51

single handedly responsible for making a new generation of readers,

6:56

excited about opening a book. Yeah. And not to be gender

7:01

Specific here, but it's very difficult in particular

7:04

to get adolescent and boys to read.

7:07

And this entire series

7:10

did turn adolescent boys into raiders,

7:14

and I am so happy for that.

7:18

All of this is definitely true, and that

7:20

is definitely a good start. And you do

7:22

bring it up a lot, but it's because it is so

7:25

well done, agreed. So my first book is Ella

7:31

Min p by Mark Dunn.

7:36

And the subtitle on this book is a

7:39

novel in letters

7:42

and that doesn't mean correspondence. It means that alphabet.

7:46

So the story is about a town with a large...

7:50

Monolith type object in the town square covered in

7:54

very large tiles of the alphabet.

7:57

The town is named after a man they think developed the most famous

8:02

pan. And a pan

8:05

is a sentence that uses every letter of the

8:08

alphabet. So the most famous 1 is the Quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.

8:15

So there is 1 letter per tile on

8:18

this monolith, and as time passes, a few

8:20

of the tiles fall down to the ground.

8:23

And as the tiles fall off, the text of the book also drops those

8:29

letters. A matter of fact,

8:33

The town council sets an

8:36

that the citizens can't use the letter either.

8:40

In either writing or inc... Station. And as

8:42

the story continues more and more letters fall

8:45

from the tower and the story.

8:47

And by the time you get to the end of the story, there hardly any letters

8:50

left. I absolutely adored this premise. This was such a cubic.

8:57

You've mentioned it before, and it was on

8:59

my Tbr, so I've gotten it It is adorable.

9:04

But in the interest of time, let's take

9:06

a break, come back for our next books.

9:19

Okay. My next book, I read last year,

9:22

so it's kind of a recent 1, and

9:25

it's gonna be starter villain by John.

9:28

Sc. So instead of following the typical hero's

9:33

journey, this novel explores a life of a villain

9:37

offering a really intriguing

9:41

perspective. So Sc uses a lot of humor in

9:44

this book. So the protagonist

9:47

Charlie finds himself in the role of super

9:50

villain, thanks to the death of his uncle,

9:53

and he is thrown into this extraordinary life,

9:57

with talking cats and talking dolphins and all

10:00

kinds of other villains that he has to deal with. It's it's a funny

10:05

It's funny also because this book is kinda

10:07

in now, contemporary world

10:10

where the... But the existence of super villains

10:13

is just accepted. If not just part of life.

10:18

But the... What's interesting is the story also kind of

10:22

explores corporate

10:24

culture versus modern capitalism, which kinda adds depth

10:28

and relevancy to the story kinda adds a

10:30

little bit of a theme. And it challenges the readers to think critically

10:35

about morality and ethics. But Sc is...

10:39

Really great at writing really quick wit dialogue,

10:44

which really enhances the characters, interactions throughout the whole story,

10:49

it it has a fast paced plot with

10:52

unexpected twist. It's definitely unique and distinctive.

10:57

I don't think I've ever heard you talk about this. When did you read it? Last

11:01

year. It's so funny.

11:06

I'm gonna have to check this 1 out. Is it...

11:09

I'm gonna have to see if it's available. Starter villain by John Sc... Yeah. The whole

11:14

thing sounds really cute. Yes. But, you know,

11:16

this sounds like it would be a good movie, like a deadpool movie. Oh, yeah.

11:23

Yeah. You'd have to maybe lot of Cgi,

11:27

but And yeah. We'll have to can't cast this

11:30

1 later. My next book was memorable because it's the

11:34

first 1 that I remember reading and feeling like I had been on

11:39

a roller coach. Stir when I finished it. Like, I closed the book and thought,

11:43

who have been on a roller coaster,

11:46

and it's called the rook by Australian author

11:50

Daniel O. And it's a crime

11:54

mystery, supernatural Clan

11:57

government organization novel. Wow.

12:03

Okay. The main the main character wakes up

12:06

with Em amnesia and in the box of another person.

12:10

And so much happens in this book that

12:13

I could not read it fast enough

12:17

It's 1 of his books that you can never rate it in the same way again,

12:22

and oh, I... It... It's part of a

12:25

series. And I I read the other ones after

12:29

it, but this 1 just grabs you by the balls even though

12:34

I don't have any, And

12:37

that's why I was absolutely fixated on this

12:40

1. That's good. That's gone on my Tbr list

12:45

now I think. So for my next pick, you can really

12:50

have your pick from... Sounds any of the

12:53

world of token. And but I'm just gonna talk about the

12:56

hobbit. Tolkien has created this rich fantasy world with

13:01

diverse races and creatures. And, I mean, he developed a whole new

13:06

genre of high fantasy where it has these complex worlds and epic

13:12

quest and battles between good and evil.

13:16

And he did this in the narratives style

13:19

which blended this... Well, light lighthearted adventure

13:23

with deep meaningful themes.

13:26

He He always does it from the Hero's journey

13:29

in his books, the... So in this,

13:33

the protagonist, Bilbo ins, the hobbit

13:38

is this unlikely hero, which valued piece and comfort

13:43

and just, you know, second breakfast in his

13:45

home, more than adventure.

13:49

And you remember I mentioned that I tried to read this... The first time I tried

13:51

to read this in high school. I opened

13:54

it and they're like, there's a map. And I'm like, mh.

13:58

I was like, this is not like this.

14:01

So that makes it very unique and distinctive because

14:05

he he used his own illustrations.

14:10

And maps in the books to help the re... With the reader experience.

14:14

And I think it's just an enduring legacy

14:16

that Tolkien had started and created through the hobbit in all

14:20

in all his books. Yeah. You know, in as full disclosure, Rachel.

14:26

The hobbit is the only tolkien book I've

14:28

ever read. Oh, okay. Mh.

14:32

Yeah. And, I was

14:36

really nicely surprised at how much I loved it.

14:39

Yeah. So,

14:43

well, I can't believe it's been

14:45

7 years since I read this next book, I'm gonna

14:48

talk about Lincoln in the bard by George Saunders.

14:53

It's about 1 night set in a cemetery

14:57

where Abraham Lincoln's 11 year old son is buried.

15:02

There are 166

15:05

narrator in this story.

15:08

Some are actual historical figures and others are

15:12

fictional 6 but all of these people are

15:15

in the bard, which is kind of a transitional place between

15:20

death and rebirth, according to Buddhism.

15:23

And it... It's a beautiful work at won

15:26

the booker prize, and it's comics experimental

15:30

literature, which means that it's hard to define

15:32

the genre, and

15:35

the the tag may be in a format

15:38

different from the normal pros of other novels,

15:40

like, sometimes this 1 is written like a

15:42

play. And there may be drawings and handwritten notes

15:46

or photographs within the text. But the 1

15:49

thing that really got to me is this

15:52

spirits are watching Lincoln.

15:56

And the crib where tad is,

16:00

and Lincoln

16:03

opens the casket

16:07

and he hugs

16:10

his son. Okay goodness yes. And

16:13

he just he just holds him and hugs

16:16

him, and the the ghosts

16:19

or the spirits are so moved by this

16:22

because they've never ever seen anyone do that

16:25

before. And, you know, Lincoln is such a a

16:32

conflict man anyway and to add this

16:36

even more to it through this,

16:39

Geo Saunders just really did something here

16:43

that I have never

16:47

experienced before. And it it was just a beautiful

16:52

beautiful book. So

16:55

my next book is gonna be... Long way down by Jason Reynolds.

17:00

This book is very unique and distinctive in

17:03

that it is a 1 minute story.

17:07

The entire narrative takes place over the course

17:11

of a single minute during an elevator ride.

17:14

And so this compressed timeline heighten

17:18

the tension and the urgency of this story making,

17:22

I mean, because every second and every word

17:25

is counting. The the book

17:28

tackle the pressing issues of gun violence,

17:32

And, like the cycles

17:34

of revenge in this urban community.

17:37

It really does provide an honest look at all the consequences

17:40

of the actions prompting the reader to reflect on violence in

17:45

the society. So the main character will,

17:49

experiences, profound conflict and growth within the short minute

17:54

going down. He's just questioning everything

17:58

and reflecting and questioning as

18:02

morality and and everything. It's just very powerful

18:05

and relatable And the other thing that makes it distinct

18:09

is the characters are ghosts. So every time the elevator opens up,

18:15

the, you know, a ghost. From his life

18:18

joins him. And the other thing is it's

18:20

all done on this in a elevator,

18:23

which makes it like very claustrophobic

18:27

and intense because there's nowhere else This trapped

18:30

emotional state is very symbolic. So it's very

18:34

poetic it has lots of visuals that add to this storytelling.

18:40

It's just always gonna be in my top

18:42

10. Well, let me tell you.

18:46

I I go back and listen to our episodes,

18:49

and you were talking talking about this book in another 1 of the episodes when you

18:53

were reading it. And I went to thrift dot com, and

18:57

I bought the hard cover talking But I

19:00

also noticed that there is a graphic fucking

19:03

novel. And I bought that too.

19:09

I know I'm really really

19:12

excited to get those in because you know Rachel, I do not willy nilly buy a

19:17

book. No. No. But when I saw that you were

19:23

gonna talk about it, again, on this episode,

19:26

I thought. Mh. I am... I'm throwing in

19:28

the towel. Rachel has won again on my

19:31

Tbr. Good well, my next book is Song of Achilles

19:37

by Madeline Miller. This book

19:41

was shocking. To me. And let me tell you why

19:46

I I absolutely

19:51

was 100 percent invest did in this book. And it's

19:56

about the the Greek

19:58

Demi god achilles and

20:01

his best friend. And you know, I talked

20:04

about this book, not too many episodes ago,

20:06

I think on booking hangover overs, But this book is such

20:11

a beautiful love story.

20:18

And achilles loved each other

20:22

so purely. And

20:26

so fiercely that even achilles

20:29

got married and had a child,

20:32

with a a woman and Understood completely that that's what was expected of

20:38

him. But the bond between these to and spoiler

20:42

alert. I mean, Pet, he

20:48

absolutely, gives himself up

20:53

on the battlefield so that achilles

20:56

can live. And Wow. It was just Oh, it was just

21:00

such a gorgeous gorgeous book that I I tell everyone if

21:07

you want... A beautiful love story.

21:11

This is the 1. And I really really

21:14

hope they make a movie out of this and

21:17

cast it prop. And if you're a director or casting agent

21:22

out there, you might wanna listen to our

21:25

butcher the movies episode with casting

21:28

suggestions. Oh, I know. You had some good ones

21:31

on that. I I really... I think I did too. But this 1, if if you

21:35

have not read this book, please add it

21:37

to your list. Okay. Well, my

21:41

last book, is the house in the Ce sea by

21:46

Tj j K. You've read this. Right? Haven't you read this?

21:50

Mh. This book is just heartwarming.

21:55

It has a very whim tone,

21:58

but it is a rich. Story with provoking

22:00

themes. It has inclusive characters, including

22:05

Lgbtq plus representation, like in a real natural and heartfelt

22:10

story, the, particularly in the relationship between lin and author,

22:15

It also tackle issues of prejudice,

22:19

discrimination and fear of the unknown using the magical children as metaphors.

22:26

The book, it's a... It combines magical realism with, you

22:31

know, the contemporary world. So

22:35

It just enhances the backdrop of the story.

22:38

K writes with really a lot of humor. He's very light

22:42

hearted. But he balances that out with some of

22:45

the some of his themes that are kind

22:48

of heavy, can be heavy.

22:52

But so don't discount the story because of

22:54

its whim or shrug it off as a

22:56

funny book because it does address, a lot of modern

23:00

themes in a real unique way.

23:08

We'll the other 1. Light under

23:11

the, whispering door. Yeah. That... And and then puppet

23:16

it. Our lives is not. I I have

23:18

not read that 1 yet, but the light under the Whispering door,

23:22

it... That's again. Yeah. It's a... It they're

23:26

very it's a very different take on how to

23:29

tell a story that has a lot of

23:32

heart to it. He's really good about making

23:37

unique stories books. I just had to pick 1.

23:41

They're all like, this 1 is 1 of

23:43

my favorites because it has 1 of my favorite characters who is Luc

23:47

as a child, and they call them Lucy. Mh.

23:50

And, he's 1 of my favorites. You know, you

23:53

don't hear that name very often on school

23:55

roles. So

23:59

well, you know, we're we're nearing the end

24:02

of this, and and I I have several.

24:04

So I'm gonna I'm gonna talk about 2 real quick. Once a here. My first 1

24:08

is remarkably bright creatures by Shelby Van Pe.

24:13

Because I loved Marcel,

24:16

and how the story was told

24:21

from the perspective of an octopus

24:24

and spoiler alert when Marcel marcelo passes at the end, you're

24:29

okay with it because Marcel has prepared you

24:33

to accept the fact that he only lives a certain

24:37

number of years. And then you have the cleaning lady

24:40

whose life is completely changed because of this

24:44

octopus, and it was really the first time

24:49

I had read a book with

24:52

an an animal as a protagonist,

24:56

And it was definitely the

24:59

It it was it was great. The other 1 that I wanna talk about

25:03

is garden spelled by Sarah Addison and Allen.

25:06

Because of that 1 is the first magical

25:10

realism book that I read

25:13

followed very shortly thereafter by practical magic by

25:17

Alice Hoffman. But garden spells by Sarah Addison Allen. It's

25:22

just it is like eating cotton candy.

25:26

You know, it... You can see it and it has substance,

25:29

But when it goes inside you, it just turns

25:34

into beautiful spun sugar.

25:38

And Sarah Addison Allen is 1 of those

25:41

authors that I will read no matter what

25:44

she puts out. So so those

25:48

those are my, 2 or 3 that I wanted to talk

25:51

about quickly. And I I just...

25:57

There were a lot of books here. I had trouble.

26:01

Right? There was a lot. I think we did

26:05

a really good job. And the sound of our cheering fans means

26:19

it's time for listener comments. We've noticed a problem in the production of

26:23

the last few episodes, and I hope we have fixed all these things now. I had

26:27

my microphone, on a setting that I don't normally have.

26:30

I don't know why it changed on me. Thank you to Sarah for letting us know

26:35

that it wasn't up to our normal standards.

26:37

On And also, thanks to Sarah for suggesting some

26:41

really good topics for future episodes. You will

26:44

hear 1 of her suggestions very soon. But

26:48

could have added a lot more on this list. I mean, we could've have

26:52

probably talked about this for another hour. Did

26:54

you have to... Call many to stay within

26:56

this time frame, Carmen? You know, I really did, which is why

27:00

I crammed 2 or 3 into that last...

27:04

That section. I'm gonna encourage you to look

27:07

at 4321

27:10

by Paul Os Life after life by Kate Atkinson

27:16

and the classic, the illustrated man by Ray

27:19

Brad. Because every 1 of those is unlike any

27:24

book you've ever read. So please

27:27

write all 3 of those down, Paul ought,

27:30

Stuart Kate Atkinson Ray Brad,

27:32

and and let us know if you decide

27:35

to rate any of those. Let us know which books you would consider

27:40

unique, distinctive or innovative.

27:44

Good rates has a list. Out there called

27:46

weird and wonderful stories. And I'm gonna have

27:48

to check out these books. There, when I looked at it a few

27:52

days ago, there were a hundred and 6 5 titles on the list and many of

27:56

them were brand new titles to me. Another

27:59

good thing to add to avoid if you

28:02

don't wanna expand your Tbr list. I love searching as read List.

28:08

There are some great lists out there and

28:11

I like most of them are open, so

28:14

anyone could add to it. And remember to

28:17

check us out on all of our social media and continue to like, comment and add

28:23

your own unique content

28:26

and don't forget to share our episodes. It's very,

28:31

very important that you share our episodes and we get

28:34

our readers... Our, listeners up. And remember you want to stand out like

28:40

a sunflower be unique and