Latest / Reality Writes / Reader Confessions—Bookish Hills We'll Die On - Part 2

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Reader Confessions—Bookish Hills We'll Die On - Part 2 · Reality Writes

0:05
Ellie Alexander: Hello, hello, and welcome to another episode of Reality Writes.
0:10
Ellie Alexander: I am author Ellie Alexander.
0:11
Ellie Alexander: This is the podcast where we discuss all things bookish, writer-ish, and we try to give you a look behind the scenes at the writing life and everything that goes into sending a book out into the world.
0:23
Ellie Alexander: And I'm here today with the Tech Guy.
0:26
Tech Guy: Hello, hello.
0:27
Tech Guy: Uh, we're talking about some more controversial writer-ish, reader-ish topics this week.
0:35
Ellie Alexander: Ooh, it's gonna get ugly, readers, darling.
0:39
Ellie Alexander: No, it's not.
0:40
Ellie Alexander: Well, I don't know, it might.
0:42
Tech Guy: But first, I want to start out by reading a message we got from a listener uh via the send us a message link that I'm always talking about with our episodes.
0:51
Tech Guy: Uh, this was this came in on on our last episode where you talked all about your writing process and uh how everything that goes into that and the progression over time.
1:01
Tech Guy: This is a message from Erica in Tigered, Oregon.
1:05
Tech Guy: She said, Ellie, I'm so excited to hear this.
1:08
Tech Guy: I've taken your master class and I'm almost done with my first draft again.
1:13
Speaker: Yay! Right?
1:15
Speaker: Yeah, totally, Erica.
1:16
Speaker: That's that's good though.
1:17
Speaker: That's how it's supposed to be.
1:19
Tech Guy: Yeah, that's really great.
1:20
Tech Guy: So it sounds like Erica has been following the process that you talked about in that episode, and she is almost done with the first draft of a book, which is a massive accomplishment.
1:31
Ellie Alexander: It's such a huge accomplishment, and it usually takes a few rounds, like we talked about in the last episode of Reality Rights.
1:37
Ellie Alexander: So yay to you, Erica, for sticking with it.
1:40
Ellie Alexander: I think that's honestly the hardest part.
1:42
Ellie Alexander: It's it's so easy to get discouraged and just give up.
1:44
Ellie Alexander: So you didn't.
1:46
Ellie Alexander: You're almost there.
1:46
Ellie Alexander: Home stretch.
1:48
Tech Guy: That's right.
1:48
Tech Guy: That's right.
1:49
Tech Guy: And for anybody else that wants to get in touch, just go to the show notes of the episode you're listening to and click that send us a message link and you can send us a message uh via text or even voice if you so choose.
2:04
Speaker: Love it.
2:05
Tech Guy: Today we're gonna talk about five controversial reader-ish hills that you would die on.
2:12
Tech Guy: Uh, five topics that people have very strong opinions about.
2:16
Ellie Alexander: Well, before we dive in too, we did an episode about this a while ago.
2:20
Ellie Alexander: And when we did my first five bookish hills that I would die on at the end, we said, you know, I think there's plenty of material for part two.
2:28
Ellie Alexander: So this is part two.
2:28
Ellie Alexander: And as I was thinking about hills that I will die on as a reader, then I was like, I think there's plenty of material for part three, maybe part four.
2:36
Ellie Alexander: So, darlings, this might be never ending.
2:39
Ellie Alexander: I don't know.
2:39
Tech Guy: Yeah.
2:40
Tech Guy: If there are topics that we do not cover in this part two, be sure to let us know in the comments and uh via send us a message.
2:48
Tech Guy: And maybe there's a part three in the near future.
2:50
Tech Guy: Who knows?
2:51
Ellie Alexander: Or maybe it just means that I am very opinionated when it comes to reading in books.
2:56
Ellie Alexander: And I don't think I am, but I clearly am because I feel strongly about all five of these.
3:01
Tech Guy: Yeah.
3:01
Tech Guy: Uh, you actually briefed me on this episode this week, so I know what the topics are, and I feel strongly about them as well.
3:09
Ellie Alexander: Oh okay.
3:11
Ellie Alexander: I can't wait.
3:12
Ellie Alexander: All right, yes.
3:12
Ellie Alexander: So without further ado, I will share my number one bookish hill that I would die on, which is that I never, ever, ever, ever read a review about a book that I am reading until after I have finished the book or after I have decided that I'm not finishing the book.
3:31
Ellie Alexander: Um, because as we talked about in that first version of this, I am completely okay with embracing DNF.
3:38
Ellie Alexander: If I don't love a book, I there's not, and it's not resonating with me.
3:41
Ellie Alexander: It just means it's not for me.
3:43
Ellie Alexander: And maybe it's not for me right then, but I set it aside.
3:46
Ellie Alexander: I don't want to be swayed by anyone else's opinion of a book while I am reading the book.
3:52
Ellie Alexander: But as soon as I finish, whether I love a book, whether it's kind of mid, or whether I just have so much to figure out about what just happened in said book, then I will go and read reviews.
4:04
Ellie Alexander: And not because I'm necessarily interested in how someone's reading it, but I then I'm just so hungry after the fact to figure out, like, oh, who were the other darlings that felt like me, or did you pick up on those themes, or did I miss things, or you know, anything like that.
4:20
Ellie Alexander: But I don't want to be tainted.
4:21
Ellie Alexander: I don't want to go into a read having any sense of what other people are thinking until I've finished.
4:29
Tech Guy: Yeah.
4:29
Tech Guy: And the other thing about that too is with negative reviews, especially, you don't know what's going on in that person's life.
4:37
Tech Guy: Like maybe they loved the book, but they were just having a really, really hard time in life at the time.
4:43
Tech Guy: And it was cathartic to just like unleash on the poor author.
4:47
Tech Guy: Right.
4:48
Tech Guy: Um maybe, maybe the book was deserving of the negative review, too.
4:52
Tech Guy: I mean, there is that, but yes, I I agree.
4:55
Tech Guy: Um, it's just really you you want to form your own opinion, and you can't do that if you read about what everyone else thinks before you start a book.
5:04
Ellie Alexander: But see, in our relationship, this is also true for me in any sort of media.
5:09
Ellie Alexander: Like if we go to a movie, I don't, I don't know anything about it.
5:12
Ellie Alexander: Maybe short of seeing the previews.
5:14
Ellie Alexander: Sometimes I haven't even seen the previews.
5:16
Ellie Alexander: I'm just in for the title or the concept.
5:18
Ellie Alexander: And then the minute we get home, I have to then go and figure out what reviewers are saying and like hash it out right after the fact, which is the same for the book.
5:29
Ellie Alexander: I don't know if you're as like militant about needing to know what other people think after you finish a book or movie, or you're more like sly about it, I guess, if you do.
5:39
Tech Guy: Well, on the topic of movies, I think I tend to know more about them going into seeing them than you do, uh, just naturally, um, because it's a topic I'm really interested in.
5:50
Tech Guy: So a lot of the times I'll learn about plot points and everything just through maybe learning more about the production of the movie and you know, the special effects or the practical effects or things like that.
6:05
Ellie Alexander: But like with a book, let's say you've just finished Dungeon Carl Carl Carl.
6:09
Ellie Alexander: Why can I never say that?
6:12
Ellie Alexander: Dungeon Crawler Carl or like a Martha Wells book.
6:16
Ellie Alexander: Like when you finish, I never see you like racing to go see what other people think afterwards.
6:22
Ellie Alexander: Do you?
6:23
Tech Guy: I mean, that's the truth of the matter is I don't care what other people think.
6:26
Tech Guy: So I I honestly, I honestly, the only book reviews I read on occasion are reviews of your books.
6:33
Tech Guy: And then you tell me not to because uh like somebody will leave some unhinged review that's completely false and I'll get all spun up and you'll be like, let it go, let it go.
6:44
Tech Guy: Yeah.
6:44
Tech Guy: So I I actually this is not a topic I have a problem with because I just don't read reviews.
6:51
Ellie Alexander: Yeah, that's what I thought.
6:52
Ellie Alexander: Yeah, that's my sense.
6:54
Tech Guy: Yeah.
6:54
Ellie Alexander: Yeah.
6:55
Ellie Alexander: Where I definitely read reviews after the fact.
6:58
Ellie Alexander: After the fact, because I want my opinion validated, I want it confirmed, whether I love it or I hate it.
7:04
Ellie Alexander: I want to have that point of connection with other readers to feel like, oh, okay, yes, yes, you love that too.
7:10
Ellie Alexander: Okay.
7:11
Tech Guy: Well, and part of the reason for me is I have some friends who are readers who are extremely opinionated about books, and they'll tell me, oh, you you will love this one or you should love this one.
7:22
Tech Guy: And I'm like, you know what?
7:23
Tech Guy: I'll decide if I love it or not.
7:26
Ellie Alexander: You know what?
7:27
Ellie Alexander: Fine.
7:29
Tech Guy: It's great that they love it.
7:30
Tech Guy: I mean, that's I and that's the thing for me with reviews.
7:33
Tech Guy: Like, if somebody doesn't like something, great, they don't like it.
7:36
Tech Guy: I don't I don't know why you need to tell everybody else about it.
7:39
Ellie Alexander: Okay, darlings, we want you to weigh in.
7:40
Ellie Alexander: What do you think of about this?
7:42
Ellie Alexander: Do you read reviews before, after, during a read?
7:46
Ellie Alexander: Like, do you have a policy?
7:47
Ellie Alexander: I'm super curious.
7:49
Tech Guy: No, and and obviously, thousands and thousands of people write reviews.
7:53
Tech Guy: So they're I don't think they'd be writing them if people weren't reading them, but I I am curious to know what uh the darlings out there, what what their opinion is on this particular hill.
8:03
Ellie Alexander: Well, I'm still dying on this hill.
8:05
Ellie Alexander: After is the only answer.
8:08
Tech Guy: After after.
8:08
Tech Guy: Love it.
8:09
Tech Guy: Love it.
8:10
Tech Guy: All right, what's number two?
8:12
Ellie Alexander: Number two, this one is definitely going to be a hot topic.
8:16
Ellie Alexander: I I know, I know, before these words even escape my lips.
8:20
Ellie Alexander: And that is you should read a series in order.
8:24
Ellie Alexander: Really, you absolutely should read a series in order.
8:27
Ellie Alexander: And of course, I'm saying that as someone who writes series, but as a reader, I read series in order because I want to know all the things.
8:37
Ellie Alexander: I want to go on a journey with a character.
8:39
Ellie Alexander: I want to see them develop.
8:41
Ellie Alexander: I want the emotional payoff of knowing who they were when they started and where they are at book 15.
8:47
Ellie Alexander: I want it all.
8:48
Ellie Alexander: I want it all.
8:50
Ellie Alexander: I do not want to jump in midway through a series.
8:53
Ellie Alexander: I have actually never done that in my entire reading career.
8:58
Ellie Alexander: I always start from book one.
9:01
Tech Guy: I could not agree more with this with you on this one.
9:06
Tech Guy: Um, this, no, I I mean, I I would be physically ill.
9:12
Tech Guy: And listen, darlings, I understand this is probably a problem, but I would be physically ill if I read a book and found out that it was book two or three after the fact.
9:22
Tech Guy: I might my brain might break at that point.
9:26
Tech Guy: I just might it would be, I would be, I would be so disappointed in myself.
9:30
Tech Guy: Devastated is the word that comes to mind.
9:32
Speaker: Devastated.
9:34
Tech Guy: Devastated.
9:34
Tech Guy: There there's a reason that the books are written in the order that they're written in.
9:40
Tech Guy: Um, so I think you know, I I'm a rule follower.
9:45
Tech Guy: I like to I follow, I follow instructions.
9:48
Tech Guy: I read the instructions, I follow the rules.
9:50
Tech Guy: So if books are if if there's a book series and it's it's a series in order, I'm gonna read it in order.
9:56
Tech Guy: Um, I am curious though, I do have a question that I hadn't thought of before, but you as an author obviously chose to write the series or any series that you write.
10:08
Tech Guy: You obviously choose to write those books in a specific order, but you didn't write Live and Let Pie before you wrote Meet Your Baker.
10:15
Tech Guy: So you already have an idea of there being kind of a linear story line that goes that you know that spreads throughout the the series.
10:26
Tech Guy: So do you expect readers to do the same, to follow that that linear path?
10:32
Ellie Alexander: I know.
10:33
Ellie Alexander: I want readers to do the same.
10:35
Ellie Alexander: I'm less of a rule follower than you are, but when it comes to series, that is 100% true, darlings.
10:41
Tech Guy: 100% true.
10:43
Ellie Alexander: Rules are suggestions, they are open to interpretation.
10:48
Ellie Alexander: You should break them.
10:50
Ellie Alexander: Uh, but no, when it comes to series, yes.
10:53
Ellie Alexander: And I hear from darlings all the time who jump into the series, The Bake Shop Let's Use, The Bake Shop Mysteries.
11:01
Ellie Alexander: I mean, because book 23 comes out this fall.
11:03
Ellie Alexander: That's a lot of books.
11:04
Ellie Alexander: That's a big ask for somebody to say, like, hey, you're you want to start at book one and you have to commit to reading 23.
11:12
Ellie Alexander: Like, I understand.
11:12
Ellie Alexander: And there are lots of books in the world.
11:14
Ellie Alexander: And I do appreciate it when I hear from darlings who pick the series up at Live and Let Pie or Book Four, Book 17, or whatever it is.
11:22
Ellie Alexander: Uh, my job as a writer, of course, is to give you enough backstory to hopefully set the world and the scene so that you are sinking in and you're not super lost.
11:31
Ellie Alexander: But there is so much that goes into building a series and all of the characters and the secondary characters, they all have arcs and growth journeys.
11:42
Ellie Alexander: And for me as a reader like you, I don't want to jump into a series and then learn, you know, that this like romance that I was shipping at the beginning.
11:51
Ellie Alexander: Oh, they that they broke up or they're long married now.
11:54
Ellie Alexander: Like, I I lose the thrill of some of that.
11:57
Ellie Alexander: And then, of course, with mysteries, a lot of times you have some sort of subplot, which is often another mystery or something else that readers are solving.
12:05
Ellie Alexander: So if you jump in part way through, like you might miss out on all of that too.
12:11
Tech Guy: Yeah.
12:11
Tech Guy: Yeah.
12:12
Tech Guy: Well, and I think what especially with a long-running series, like just taking the Bait Shop Mysteries as an example, the 23rd book comes out in in just a couple months.
12:25
Tech Guy: And with that, 23 books, uh, if you just started on book 18, for example, there might be uh characters who have been introduced three or four books into the series and have left since then that you would not even know about at all.
12:43
Tech Guy: Uh if if you started later.
12:45
Tech Guy: So it is those, those are the types of things I worry about.
12:49
Tech Guy: Now, hey, I get it.
12:50
Tech Guy: Some people doesn't matter to them, and that's great.
12:53
Tech Guy: Um I it just like I said, it would break my brain.
12:57
Tech Guy: If I started, I couldn't do it.
12:59
Tech Guy: I couldn't do it.
13:00
Tech Guy: I would the whole time I would be thinking about what did I miss in the first, you know, whatever number of books.
13:08
Ellie Alexander: Yeah, it's too much FOMO.
13:09
Ellie Alexander: I I'm just gonna be jealous of anyone who went all the way along.
13:12
Ellie Alexander: I will say though, from a writing perspective, it is the highest compliment that I can get when a reader reaches out and says, I just picked up book 20 and I was fully in that world and I loved it, and I'm gonna go back or I'm gonna keep reading from this point forward.
13:26
Ellie Alexander: We're just starting to get early reviews of the Pumpkin Vice Cafe, which is book 23 in.
13:32
Ellie Alexander: And I can't believe how many new readers there are that are sharing reviews and saying, this was my first book and I loved it.
13:40
Ellie Alexander: So, like that makes me feel good because I want to make sure as a writer that I am able to put you in that position, even if there are, let's say, characters like you mentioned who have come and gone, if if they happen to come back, let's say, for pumpkin vice.
13:54
Ellie Alexander: I'm not saying they are, but long-term darlings might be like, ooh, say more.
13:58
Ellie Alexander: Um, that I give you enough background and backstory so that you feel really knowledgeable about the world you're living in temporarily.
14:07
Tech Guy: Yeah, and you do get those comments all the time.
14:09
Tech Guy: I see them come through the website, and it is, it's always, you know, and with that many books, I guess there are a lot of opportunities for people to start mid-series, especially people who uh use the library, for example.
14:23
Tech Guy: And and you know, you get to maybe, maybe you're you want to start the series, but the first three books are on hold until October or whatever.
14:33
Tech Guy: So you start with book four and go from there, and then you can go back and read them later.
14:38
Tech Guy: And um, and you know, it is so from a writing perspective, that has always been uh something that has um really I I've just been amazed by that that you're able to do that and and keep people as interested.
14:53
Ellie Alexander: Yeah, and I really appreciate it when readers do give something a try, because for me, being this, you know, um rigid, I guess, on needing to start a series from the beginning, I might be missing out on other series that I'm not willing to give a try because I'm like, oh, that's a lot of books, or you know, sometimes even with the same thing, like TV shows where you're like, oh, that looks great.
15:13
Ellie Alexander: Oh, there are 20 seasons.
15:15
Ellie Alexander: Like, do I want to commit?
15:16
Ellie Alexander: So I appreciate you, darlings, when you do jump in.
15:20
Ellie Alexander: I appreciate you.
15:21
Ellie Alexander: I still am dying on the hill that I'm starting a series from book one.
15:27
Tech Guy: Right, yeah.
15:28
Tech Guy: All right.
15:29
Tech Guy: So, darlings out there listening, do you read a series in order?
15:33
Tech Guy: I want to know.
15:33
Tech Guy: I got and if and if you don't, I I have to know how do you not do it?
15:39
Speaker: How tell us.
15:42
Tech Guy: Yeah, I I I have to know.
15:44
Tech Guy: Um okay, uh, what's what's hill number three?
15:48
Ellie Alexander: Ooh, hill number three is I think it's so important to give yourself a break from whatever genre you've been binging for a while.
15:58
Ellie Alexander: So I've been in a mystery kick.
16:01
Ellie Alexander: I've been reading so many mysteries the last few months, and I just got to one that was not a match for me at all.
16:09
Ellie Alexander: Um, and so sometimes I think this is true if you really have gotten into like a reading slump, that it's important to shake it up and try a different genre.
16:18
Ellie Alexander: But sometimes I think it's important just to give yourself a break.
16:21
Ellie Alexander: So I'm reading uh nonfiction right now that is completely different than mysteries.
16:26
Ellie Alexander: I'm I'm taking a break, um, and then I'll come back to it.
16:29
Ellie Alexander: And I do that a lot because I am the type of reader who tends to go deep into whatever genre.
16:35
Ellie Alexander: I will read historical fiction for months and months and months on end, and then I'll be like, wait, what am I doing?
16:41
Ellie Alexander: And I think it's important to cleanse our palate, to give something else a try, to give your brain a little break, just to shake it up a little bit.
16:49
Ellie Alexander: What about you?
16:51
Tech Guy: Um, uh that's a tough one because I don't necessarily feel like I intentionally take breaks.
16:59
Tech Guy: I kind of gravitate toward whatever I happen to be in the mood for.
17:05
Tech Guy: I really only read like three genres anyway.
17:07
Tech Guy: So um it's like it's like mystery slash thriller, sci-fi, and fantasy um are kind of my sweet spot, right?
17:15
Tech Guy: And if you can mash all those into the same book, that's perfection.
17:20
Tech Guy: Uh but uh uh yeah, I don't I don't I don't know that I I uh intentionally take a break, but I think that's a good idea.
17:28
Tech Guy: Um I you know, if if you're going too far down the path on one particular genre, you're likely to hit a low where you can't necessarily find a great book to read.
17:41
Tech Guy: And then that's going I I could see where that might cause frustration or maybe, you know, maybe maybe stop you, you know, have a bid stop you from reading uh for a while.
17:52
Tech Guy: So I think you know, keeping get keeping it fresh is is always a good thing.
17:57
Ellie Alexander: Yeah, and I think then, you know, things tend to blend together.
18:00
Ellie Alexander: I'm a really fast reader, which is great and also problematic because then I'll be like, did I read that?
18:06
Ellie Alexander: Oh yeah, I read that amongst seven other things that aren't like that cover that looks the same, and the storyline is basically the same.
18:12
Ellie Alexander: And I think shaking up genres then gives me new appreciation when I come back to something, you know, when I'm on a binge for one genre, I take a break, I walk away, and then a month later I'm like, oh, that's right, that's why I love this.
18:25
Ellie Alexander: Uh so I do think it's important to kind of, you know, vary what you're reading.
18:31
Tech Guy: Yeah, it keeps that interest sparked for sure.
18:33
Tech Guy: All right, for everyone out there again, do you take a break from the genre that you're stuck in, or do you stick to the same genre over and over and over again?
18:45
Tech Guy: Let us know.
18:47
Tech Guy: Uh, what are we at?
18:48
Tech Guy: One, two, three, we're on number four.
18:51
Ellie Alexander: We're on number four.
18:53
Ellie Alexander: Okay, this one is a good one, and I'll be curious to hear what darlings think on this one.
18:59
Ellie Alexander: It's really something that I do quite often, and that is rereading a book is never a waste of time.
19:07
Ellie Alexander: I always love a reread, especially comfort reads.
19:13
Ellie Alexander: For example, I love the book I Capture the Castle Castle by Dodie Smith, and I stumbled upon it when we were in Portland a few months ago.
19:21
Ellie Alexander: I've read the book, I don't even know how many times now, but I just slipped back into it and read it in a few days.
19:28
Ellie Alexander: And it's just like going back, meeting old friends, being in a wrapped in a warm hug.
19:34
Ellie Alexander: Like there's just something so comforting about going to a back back to a book that you are really, really familiar with.
19:42
Ellie Alexander: But I know some readers feel like that's just kind of a waste of time because your TBR stack is so huge.
19:48
Ellie Alexander: Why would you reread a book that you've already read?
19:52
Tech Guy: Yeah, I I agree with this one too.
19:54
Tech Guy: I think I I don't think it's a waste of time at all.
19:57
Tech Guy: There are books that, well, I read a Christmas Carol every year.
20:01
Tech Guy: I just I I love it.
20:03
Tech Guy: Just a few months ago, we were in a bookshop up in Portland, and I saw this historian on on the shelf, and I was like, oh, I have to get that again.
20:13
Tech Guy: Um, scariest book I've ever read in my life, but I want to read it again.
20:17
Tech Guy: Uh I don't know why.
20:18
Tech Guy: I don't know why.
20:19
Tech Guy: I but I I was very excited to find it and and and want to read it again.
20:25
Tech Guy: I've read um Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy probably seven or eight times.
20:30
Tech Guy: Um there are just some books that you know I I can see why people don't.
20:35
Tech Guy: I can see one of the one of the reasons I think people might not reread books is uh but besides thinking it might be a waste of time, is maybe especially if you haven't read a book for a long time and you only read it once, going back to reread it, uh it's maybe going to disappoint you.
20:52
Tech Guy: Maybe it's not all that you've built it up to be.
20:55
Tech Guy: I I can see that happening.
20:57
Ellie Alexander: I worry about that all the time.
20:58
Ellie Alexander: And and I mean there is truth to that.
21:00
Ellie Alexander: I've reread Agatha Christie, I've reread childhood books, and you know, sometimes pieces of those don't hold up in terms of modern culture, right?
21:10
Ellie Alexander: So so there is that element that sometimes I have to like decide am I willing to look past that because I still, you know, love Agatha's writing or, you know, her storytelling.
21:20
Ellie Alexander: Even I Capture the Castle, I think you especially run into this if you're rereading books from a hundred years ago plus Jane Austen, et cetera.
21:28
Ellie Alexander: But um, you know, I just I feel like there is something to it.
21:32
Ellie Alexander: And what I think is fascinating is over the last few years, especially with Gen Z and even Millennials in the mix now, you see a lot of comfort show rewatching.
21:45
Ellie Alexander: Like Sky Guy, our kiddo, has rewatched The Office so many times.
21:49
Ellie Alexander: The the entire office, every season of The Office, so many times.
21:53
Ellie Alexander: He could quote every single episode, but there has have been studies done where therapists are like, no.
21:59
Ellie Alexander: This is a way that you are self-soothing and you're comforting yourself because you're slipping back into this world that you're familiar with.
22:07
Ellie Alexander: You don't, you, you know how it ends, so it's okay.
22:10
Ellie Alexander: And I'm always fascinated with that because I will hear from darlings who reread cozy's and they're like, Yeah, I don't really care if I remember who the killer is because I just want to be back in Jewel's world, or I want to be in the bookshop with Annie, or I want to be with Sloane.
22:24
Ellie Alexander: Um, so I I do think there's really something to that.
22:26
Ellie Alexander: It's good for our mental health, is what I'm saying.
22:29
Tech Guy: And you know, the other thing about this topic and listening to people talk about it too is no one ever brings this up when it comes to movies and TV shows.
22:39
Tech Guy: But but for books, it's somehow an issue.
22:42
Tech Guy: And I don't get that at all.
22:44
Tech Guy: You re-watch the same movie four times and it's a you know two-hour movie.
22:49
Tech Guy: You've you spend eight hours watching the same movie that and you know what's gonna happen, you're not gonna be surprised by re-watching the movie any more than you will be by rereading the book.
23:00
Tech Guy: So I don't think it's a waste of time at all.
23:03
Tech Guy: If it if it makes you happy, go for it.
23:06
Ellie Alexander: Yeah, and you could argue with movies, it's the same thing.
23:09
Ellie Alexander: Yeah, a movie doesn't have a TBR, but there are so many movies that we want to see that we haven't seen, but I'll still sometimes pick a re-watch over that.
23:18
Ellie Alexander: So yeah, I'm curious to hear from you, darlings.
23:21
Ellie Alexander: I really want to know also what are the books that you keep going back to?
23:25
Ellie Alexander: What are your rereads?
23:26
Ellie Alexander: Are they something that are gonna keep you up at night?
23:29
Ellie Alexander: Like the historian?
23:30
Ellie Alexander: What the heck?
23:33
Tech Guy: That's so funny.
23:33
Tech Guy: I was gonna ask the exact same thing.
23:35
Tech Guy: I wanted to know if they reread books, but I wanted to know specifically which books they want to, you know, that they do reread.
23:41
Ellie Alexander: So yes, tell us.
23:43
Ellie Alexander: There you go.
23:44
Ellie Alexander: I'm gonna warn everyone, or you will likely know, darlings, when the tuck guy has reread the historian because he's gonna be like shaking in a corner for every podcast that we do, because that book terrified you 20 years ago.
23:58
Tech Guy: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
24:00
Tech Guy: It was it's been a couple decades since I since I last read it.
24:03
Tech Guy: And honestly, it's not even gonna feel like a reread because I don't, to be honest, I don't clearly remember all the details of it.
24:12
Tech Guy: Um, I I the it may come back to me as I'm reading it, but I just remember lying in bed, sweating, literally sweating from having read this, and then just laying there like eyes wide open, like, what was that?
24:28
Tech Guy: You hear that noise?
24:29
Tech Guy: What was that?
24:30
Tech Guy: You know, just it was it was uh terrifying.
24:33
Tech Guy: Uh, I think I might start that tonight.
24:35
Ellie Alexander: Okay, great.
24:36
Ellie Alexander: I'll sleep in another room.
24:37
Ellie Alexander: That's all good.
24:38
Ellie Alexander: No, it will be really fascinating with something like that.
24:42
Ellie Alexander: Now, rereading it with some distance is it still gonna be a scary too, you know?
24:47
Ellie Alexander: Like we that that all of those things are so fascinating, which again is why I think it's absolutely fine for you to reread a book that you've already read before.
24:56
Tech Guy: Yep, agreed, agreed.
24:58
Tech Guy: All right.
25:00
Tech Guy: Brings us to number five.
25:03
Ellie Alexander: Number five, who these are all actually I'm surprised.
25:07
Ellie Alexander: We haven't really we've we've agreed on more than I thought, actually.
25:11
Ellie Alexander: Um, this one though, this might be where we have a real Oh, this is gonna break the streak.
25:17
Tech Guy: Okay.
25:17
Ellie Alexander: This might, this might.
25:18
Ellie Alexander: I mean, I would say there've been a couple that you've been more like mid-level on, or like not not one way or the other.
25:26
Ellie Alexander: But um, this one I think I think we have a different opinion on.
25:29
Tech Guy: Okay.
25:30
Ellie Alexander: I say you cannot read more than one book at a time.
25:36
Ellie Alexander: And I know there are a lot of darlings out there who are reading like three books at a time.
25:41
Ellie Alexander: I that you can't.
25:43
Ellie Alexander: You cannot.
25:44
Ellie Alexander: You have to be fully immersed in the book that you were in.
25:47
Ellie Alexander: You have to be in the moment.
25:49
Ellie Alexander: You should only be reading one book at a time.
25:51
Ellie Alexander: One, that's it.
25:53
Tech Guy: Are you talking about physically, like exactly at the same time?
25:56
Ellie Alexander: Or just like I mean, yes, that too.
26:01
Ellie Alexander: Uh you have an audio going and you're reading, and no.
26:04
Ellie Alexander: Sorry.
26:05
Tech Guy: No.
26:06
Tech Guy: I am sorry to tell you, but you are 100% wrong on this topic.
26:12
Tech Guy: Uh, not only can you, but I believe that you should read more than one book at a time.
26:17
Tech Guy: Because, and and just hear me out, hear me out, because I read in bed, I read on vacation, I read while running, I read uh you know, audiobooks, um, just in case somebody thought I was running down the street holding a book in my hands.
26:36
Tech Guy: And I feel like there are different interests during those different activities or times or whatever.
26:45
Tech Guy: So, for example, I can't read a book, I can't start a book while uh you know, every night when I'm going to bed, for example, reading on my Kindle or reading the the paper copy of it, and then try to find where I'm at in an audio book while I'm running.
27:03
Tech Guy: So that that's just that issue.
27:07
Ellie Alexander: This this seems you're gonna this is a technicality, is what you're saying.
27:11
Tech Guy: But the other the other thing is there are books where like when I'm running, I may listen to a book that I have to concentrate on more for two reasons.
27:21
Tech Guy: One, I don't want to read that book while I'm in bed because I will fall asleep and then have to go back four or five pages every night, and that will be even slower than I already read to finish the book.
27:33
Tech Guy: But two, if it's something that I have to concentrate on more, it keeps my mind off the excruciating agony of running.
27:43
Ellie Alexander: Oh, come on.
27:44
Ellie Alexander: You're just trying to win sympathy points from the darlings.
27:46
Ellie Alexander: Darlings, do not buy into this.
27:48
Ellie Alexander: He's just trying to appease your kind, tender hearts here.
27:55
Tech Guy: Yeah, so I think right now I'm reading two, I'm reading, I'm only reading two books right now.
28:01
Speaker: Only, only reading two books.
28:02
Tech Guy: But I've I've been known to read three or more books at a time.
28:06
Tech Guy: Um, I which you know I'm a I'm a slower reader than you by far already.
28:12
Tech Guy: And so this really stretches it out because there've been more than one time where you'll look over and you're like, you're still reading that book, and it'll be like four months later.
28:19
Tech Guy: And I'm like, I haven't finished it yet, but I finished these other two books.
28:25
Ellie Alexander: Yeah, I mean, okay, I do, I I can see your point, and I still disagree because I think when you are in a world, in a moment, even in fiction, like I want to be fully, completely present in that world.
28:40
Ellie Alexander: I don't want anything else distracting me.
28:42
Ellie Alexander: I feel strongly about this.
28:44
Ellie Alexander: Like, I don't ever have my phone out when we're watching TV because I don't like the whole second screen thing.
28:50
Ellie Alexander: Like, I want to be fully focused on one thing at a time, which is how my brain works too, because that's how I am when I'm writing a book.
28:57
Ellie Alexander: I am only writing one book at a time because I am creating that world.
29:02
Ellie Alexander: I'm using all of my energy, all of my creative headspace to be in that world.
29:07
Ellie Alexander: So I parallel that to the way that I want to read.
29:10
Tech Guy: Yeah, see, whereas in my like mad workshop here, I'm making candles, I got stickers cutting over here, and I'm heat pressing aprons on the other side of the room all at the same time.
29:20
Tech Guy: Yeah.
29:25
Ellie Alexander: I'm very curious to hear the darlings weigh in on this because I have a feeling, darlings, you might might side more with the tech guy, but you should not.
29:34
Ellie Alexander: Don't let his running story sway you from what you know the truth to be, which is that you should not read more than one book at a time.
29:42
Tech Guy: Can you hear the panic in her voice, darlings?
29:44
Tech Guy: She knows that that she's gonna get outvoted on this one by a lot.
29:49
Tech Guy: The margin is gonna be huge.
29:51
Speaker: Okay, okay.
29:52
Tech Guy: I can't wait.
29:53
Tech Guy: I cannot wait.
29:54
Tech Guy: Oh, all right.
29:56
Tech Guy: That is five bookish hills to die on for sure.
30:00
Ellie Alexander: Yes.
30:01
Ellie Alexander: Uh, and I still maintain now that we have done part two, I think there's enough for part three.
30:08
Ellie Alexander: I still have quite a few, quite a few thoughts on this topic.
30:11
Ellie Alexander: So I will save them for the sake of time, but we're coming back to this topic.
30:16
Ellie Alexander: I can feel it.
30:17
Tech Guy: Oh, yeah.
30:18
Tech Guy: No, she's selling part three because she knows she's gonna get decimated by number five in part two.
30:23
Tech Guy: So she she needs a part three to even the score back.
30:28
Tech Guy: All right.
30:31
Tech Guy: Well, that's five bookish hills to die on.
30:34
Tech Guy: Uh, hey, let us know in the comments what you think.
30:36
Tech Guy: Uh, really curious to know, especially number five.
30:40
Tech Guy: Go with me.
30:41
Tech Guy: Um, yeah.
30:42
Tech Guy: And and be sure to follow us and hit that subscribe button so you won't miss an episode of Reality Writes and send us a message.
30:52
Tech Guy: We'd love to hear from the listeners out there.
30:54
Tech Guy: So until next time.
30:56
Ellie Alexander: Till next time.