Transcript

[00:00:00] Nicole: Welcome to another edition of the Readerly report. Today Gayle and I are going to be giving a few gift guide recommendations, our bookish things that we like around this time to share with you all. And then we are also going to be touching on some of the year-end lists that are starting to roll in already in November.

And then we’ll talk about, well, before we talk about any of that, we’ll talk about what we’ve been reading. So, Gayle, why don’t you kick us?

[00:00:30] Gayle: My reading’s been a little slow too. I finished the 10th-anniversary edition of Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Stray, which is a collection of some of the advice column questions and answers that she got.

I think it’s actually very, very similar to the 10th an 10 years ago version. So if you read that one, I would not necessarily pick this one up cuz there’s not that much new in there. There’s a little section at the very end which has some new letters. Like maybe six letters, but I really liked it.

Cheryl Stray does a kind of a different style of advice column than the ones I usually read. Usually, the ones I read in the newspaper are just super short. Cheryl Stray likes to give very long answers, and she brings in lots of, you know, anecdotes for her own life. She talks about herself a lot. Took a little getting used to for that.

But then once I got past that, I really liked it and I did it on audio, so I got to hear her voice. So if you’re an advice column fan, I definitely recommend this. Did the letter sound

[00:01:28] Nicole: familiar or did you enjoy listening to them? Again? I’d never heard of. 

[00:01:31] Gayle: Oh, you had never, yeah, that’s right. You had never read.

No, I never read the first one, and I never followed her on the rumpus, and I don’t follow her sub stack like any of the places where she’s been available over the years. I’ve never, I’ve never followed her. So everything was new. Yeah. Okay. That’s good. So I like that a lot. And then I am listening to the Matthew Perry memoir, friends lovers, and the big terrible thing by Matthew Perry.

I think I mentioned to you last time that I was gonna go and see him and hear him speak. And I did, and I’m listening to the book now. So this is not necessarily your typical celebrity memoir in. It’s not like a dishy name droppy, although he does drop a lot of names. You know, chronicle of his time on friends.

It’s actually all about his addiction. And so you have to be interested and open to hearing about the story of an addict to appreciate it. And for the most part, I’ve liked it a lot. Sometimes gets a little repetitive because sadly for him, his. Pattern was very repetitive, like using rehab, clean, using rehab, clean, this sort of cycle that repeated itself for so many years for him, I still find it really interesting.

And if you’re not an addict, it’s kind of eye-opening to get into the head of somebody who is, there is some celebrity stuff in there, but it’s not like, it’s probably not enough to satisfy someone who picked up the book for that reason. 

[00:02:59] Nicole: So this is Matthew Perry, the man in his journey?

[00:03:01] Gayle:  Yeah. This is not like Matthew Perry’s like seasoned by season Chronicle of Friends.

[00:03:06] Nicole:  Was he on, was he using for most of Friends?

[00:03:09] Gayle: All of him. All of it. And he says like you can track which drug he’s using, by how much he weighs. Like if he’s heavy, he’s drinking alcohol. If he’s really thin, then he’s on painkillers. If he’s got a goatee, he’s on, you know, something else, like he says, it’s very, he can look back and pinpoint exactly where he is in his cycle just by looking at the screen and seeing what he looked like.

This is the thing that’s kind of sad is he’s not really that likable. Like I think that you, you feel sorry for him that he’s gone through all. He expresses gratitude for a lot of people. He expresses gratitude for his family who stuck by him for, you know, some of the doctors who helped him for his friends who encouraged him.

He’s really weird about relationships and he’s, I don’t know, like you wanna like him more. Like I kept trying to like him and then he’ll say something kind of obnoxious and I’m like, so

[00:04:03] Nicole: what’s not likable about him? Did you feel like you liked the actor when you were Yeah. Like he was funny friends. Yeah.

[00:04:10] Gayle: The self-deprecating.I. Yeah, I did. I thought like he seemed funny. He seemed relatable and self-deprecating and cute and all of that. I don’t love his treatment of women, like he’s, he either puts them on a pedestal and has nothing but amazing things to say about women. You know, he’s never been able to keep a relationship because he’s so afraid of people leaving him, that he pushes them away when they get too close.

[00:04:33] Nicole: I think I saw the clip about that

[00:04:35] Gayle: with Julia. Like he was dating Julia Roberts and then he was like, oh my God, it’s Julia Roberts. She’s gonna leave me, so I’ll just do it first. But didn’t, he’s had like longer-term relationships and you know, he has nothing but amazing things to say about these amazing women.

Or he talks about just these nameless, faceless women that he like had sex with over the years. Like how he’s like, oh, I could have any woman. And I did. And I don’t know, like I kind of wish that there had been some middle ground there. It felt like sort of women served a role in the book. Not, they weren’t like treated like actual people.

I dunno if that makes any sense. Yeah. And then I’m reading our book club book tomorrow and tomorrow. And tomorrow by Gabrielle seven. And I’m like halfway through. So I’m gonna hold off on saying anything about it until we have our discussion.

[00:05:19] Nicole: Okay. I just remember from last week you had been liking it and you felt like she had

[00:05:23] Gayle: grown since her last book.

Yeah. It’s not moving along as quickly as

[00:05:26] Nicole: I would like. Okay. Oh, that’s, that smells trouble for

[00:05:30] Gayle: for me. I know, I know. That’s why I don’t really wanna say anything. I don’t wanna like taint you in any way. I think there will be a lot to discuss. Okay, so well, sounds

[00:05:38] Nicole: good. Yeah, I’m still reading that same book that I’ve been reading for the last, I guess, month and saying that I’m gonna finish it.

I have made really good progress though, so I’m like at 60% now. Which book is this one? This is the Katie Gut’s

[00:05:53] Gayle: book. More than you’ll ever know. More than you’ll ever know. Thank you.

[00:05:56] Nicole: Yeah. So, yeah, I’m like halfway through starting to get to the meat of it and starting to get to where there’s a little bit more suspense.

I don’t know. It’s been interesting since, since the beginning. I just, I think, so I’ve gone through this big thing where it’s just like, well, I don’t wanna buy any more books. I have a small apartment. I’m not wanting to keep the majority of the books that I read, so I. Try to focus on Kindle and I was going okay for a while.

But I do really think, just in my heart of heart, I am a book person. . Yeah. And it’s just better in terms of having something to like open up. There’s just so many cues with the actual book, you know, getting it and getting your tea or water or coffee or whatever, sitting to prepare to read it, opening the pages and flipping through to what you are.

I don’t know, there’s something sensory about it that I, whatever, I’ll just have to maybe try to just buy whatever book that I’m currently reading and just, it’ll make it easier to give away that one book and then go to the next, because I do think that the stall this time is the fact that it is not a physical book.

Yeah. It’s just way too easy for

[00:07:06] Gayle: me to forget. Yeah. That’s it. Like you don’t, I mean, the book is like sitting on your pillow and you’re like, You, I need to read you. Yeah,

[00:07:14] Nicole: yeah. I need to like flip. You know, you get in a few pages at bedtime and I feel like I don’t do that with this book. Like with reading on a device, it’s just kind of like, oh, let me check my email before I go to bed or something else.

I don’t have that, that visual cue, and all that sensory goodness of flipping pages and stuff, so. I’m probably gonna buy this book just to finish it. . And tomorrow, and tomorrow and tomorrow. Cause we gotta get cracking on that because Gayle and I are gonna be taking a bit of a break at the end of December.

So I think the last episode might be the week of the 15th, the week of the 13th. So we have some things to get in. So speaking of things to get in, why don’t we get into our gift?

[00:08:01] Gayle: Sure. So my number one gift that I wanted to raise this year, I don’t have one yet, but I’ve asked for one for my birthday, which is next week.

[00:08:12] Nicole: This sounds exciting. what does Gayle want for her birthday? 

[00:08:14] Gayle: I’m like, well, I want one. Yeah, I know. I know. I want a headband with headphones in it. Oh, really? So, yeah. Okay. So I use my air. When I walk, you know, when I walk my dog a lot and so it’s a great audiobook time for me. Or sometimes when I’m just like puttering around the house or cooking or something, I might pop ’em in, but they’re like, they’re still like, and they’re pretty comfortable, like well designed, nice job Apple.

But like, first of all, if it’s really cold outside, which it is right now, that means AirPods plus hat. It’s just a lot to, you know, coordinate. So I’ve been seeing people. Having or like ads for these headbands that you put, you know, that’s like wearing just like a headband. So it’s more comfortable than like a hat.

Especially if you’re inside and it has these flat earphones in them so that you just connect them by Bluetooth to your phone and they, they recommend them for, actually, for people who have trouble falling asleep. Like, so you could put like relaxing music in there, but like people who like to fall asleep to some sort of audio.

Or maybe they have a roommate and they wanna tone, you know, or snoring. Somebody’s snoring in the room and they wanna tune it out. But you know, it’s really hard to fall asleep with AirPods on like that. Those are not comfortable, especially if you sleep on your side. So they recommend these headbands.

And so I thought, I don’t need that for falling asleep, but I thought it would be good for audiobook listening for when I’m out and about. And then I also notice that you can get them in like a hat, like a warm winter hat. So if a headband isn’t warm enough for you or like, oh, a headband could be good also for working out cuz it’s, you know, tight.

And then if you wear, like, some people wear a headband just to keep their hair out of their face. Like now they’ve got ear earphones in them so you can listen to stuff. So

[00:09:58] Nicole: I’m always, so why are we not getting headbands when we have EarPods already? What do you mean? Like you can’t just get a headband and put it over yourself?

[00:10:08] Gayle: Well, you can, but like it’s not, I feel like it’s not always as comfortable to then compress your ear over the AirPod. In this one, the earphone is in the headband. Right. So there’s nothing actually in physically In your ear. In your ear. Yeah. And then I think for people, like it says like for side sleepers, it’s really good.

[00:10:25] Nicole: That’s so interesting cuz I had just looked at like they’re designing these new earphones that actually do not go in your ear, but they’re. I guess it’s have been like, and they go right before your ear, like nothing is in your ear. There’s just these little speakers that somehow direct sound right into your

[00:10:41] Gayle: ears.

Yeah, I mean, I think any kind of like earphone technology is good. You know? I wonder also if it’s better, you know, that people say like, especially if you listen to loud music with ear AirPods in, or any kind of earphones in, like it can damage your hearing. Maybe it’s less damaging if it’s not actually that close to your eardrum, but it’s just like outside of it.

I don. I will report back. I found. Some on Amazon that seemed to be really popular. Had a ton of reviews and my best friend asked me for a link of what I wanted. So thanks Tiwan. I know you can for me. She listens to the show . So I will report back and let you know. But then I think my mom was getting them for my husband in a, in a hat, which I thought would be good for him.

Like if he’s out like shoveling snow or walking the dog or just do being out and about and having a hat on and wanting to listen, then he can do that too. So that is my first. Idea. So for people in your life who listen to. Or anything else? Podcast book. Podcast. Get ’em these.

[00:11:38] Nicole: Okay. Well, I won’t tell anyone to get a Kindle because I find it so hard to stay reading it, but if you, if you feel like that might be something for you, I do really recommend the paper White.

You know, I don’t have any problems with glare. It’s always a good backup for a vacation just because you have your library in your pocket. So that’s always nice, like when you’re going somewhere and you. If you’re like me and Gayle, you wanna refrain yourself. So with us, that’s just like, oh, I’m just gonna take four books or something,

And then if you happen to read all of those, you still have it. Or if you wanna travel light, I think Kindle or a no, they’re just both great choices for that. So that is a recommendation. Like I said, if you read like me, probably not for you, but there’s a reader in your life. Those are always great, especially, you know what?

I’ve heard that they’re really good for new mothers just because it’s so much easier to just handle. They’re lightweight and it’s easy to handle in one hand so that you have your other hand free to like if you’re breastfeeding or doing something else with the baby, you know, requiring holding the baby.

Then it’s easy to also reach your book. That’s what I hear from my mom friends, some who have not gone back to reading books after having that experience with the Kindle.

[00:12:50] Gayle: Yep. I know some people love it, and if you get review copies from. Neck alley. It’s really easy, supposedly, although I have to be honest with you, I had a terrible time with the Kindle getting it connected either to neck alley.

Like I have a really old Kindle fire that my daughter took with her to Taiwan, which is where she’s living this year. And I bought a book for her on Amazon that she wanted, and I can’t get it to her via Amazon. I can’t, can’t seem to add. Kindle Fire to my Amazon account, and we’ve tried everything under the sun.

Why don’t you just email it to her? Email it to her, and then what? How does she get it under the Kindle? Because she doesn’t wanna read it on her laptop. Right?

[00:13:34] Nicole: They have email addresses, so like if I get a document that I wanna send and have it on my Kindle, I just attached the PDF or whatever the document is to an email and I send it to my Kindle address and it puts it in there.

[00:13:45] Gayle: Oh my. Okay, so just go to, so just download it as a file and then send it?

[00:13:53] Nicole: Yeah. And in Amazon, in your Kindle section, there should be a section that tells you, it’ll tell you what the email address is of your device.

[00:14:00] Gayle: Well, she does, she, I have the email address of the device. She has sent that to me.

[00:14:05] Nicole: Oh, okay.

So yeah, so just attach it to an email and then email it to the Kindle.

[00:14:10] Gayle: Okay. Okay. But can I tell you what happens when I try. Okay, so I saw download and transfer via usb, right? Is that what you’re

[00:14:19] Nicole: saying? I should do? Mm-hmm. ? No, no, no. I actually just sent the email, not nothing with usb, like if you have the file, I just go to my email and then I put the,

[00:14:31] Gayle: but I can’t, I don’t, I don’t know how to get the file download.

It says delete. Oh, I see. Clear furthest page. Read. Read now, add or remove from collection order details. Gift. Return for refund managed family library. Those are my options. I don’t even have the option to download it. Hmm. All right. Let’s

[00:14:49] Nicole: talk about this . Okay. After the show, . All right. So, but that was my pitch for, you know, a gift for Kindle readers who are, you know, people who wanna Kindle, who are not like me.

I’m struggling with it.

[00:15:06] Gayle: So I get my turn right? We have the headband on the Kindle. Okay. I have said this before on the show, and I’m gonna say it again. I really liked my membership to scr. It’s S C R I B D. Scribd is a digital content site for purchase. It’s not like Libby, it’s not a borrowing thing. But what I like about it is that it is, you pay a monthly fee and then it’s unlimited.

So it’s not. Audible where you only get one credit and you have to sort of like parse it out. This way you can download as many as you want. Now there are some limitations. I don’t think you can do as many as you want. You can’t like download like 10 books. I think you can have, you can do multiple ones and I think after a certain time they sort of throttle you a little bit and they start like limiting.

They’ll be like, oh, you can have this in one month or something. So it. It’s not completely unlimited, but for my purposes, who I read, maybe two audiobooks a month, one and a half to two, I’ve never, I almost never bump into their limits. And then secondly, they don’t have everything. I would say 30% of the time I’m looking for a book on audio and they don’t have it.

So it’s not, you know, the absolute solution to everything. As somebody who is constantly sort of like strategizing on audio versus print and when can I do this and I’ve got book club and I wanna do this, it works for me pretty well. So between like, you know, review copies I get like penguin random house audio and the library and script.

I can almost always get what I want and I don’t think it’s ridiculously expensive. I don’t remember now. What the membership is. But it’s, it’s worth it. And I’ve always been glad to do it. And they also have digital, like e eBooks, so it’s not just audio. If you don’t do audio, it’s, you can still use

[00:16:46] Nicole: It’s 1199 a month now.

[00:16:49] Gayle: Oh. I mean, that’s not, that’s not nothing. Well, it’s less than a movie ticket. I send a movie ticket. It’s probably like two coffees. I don’t know. I don’t drink coffee, so I don’t know. But people go to Starbucks. But like, you know, it had, like, Matthew Perry’s book is huge right now, and it was there, so like I didn’t have any problem getting it.

That’s how I’m listening to that. It’s generally pretty good. 

[00:17:12] Nicole: and then you get other things with them, like magazines and stuff? Mm-hmm.

[00:17:15] Gayle: podcast. Books books, eBooks, magazines, podcasts, sheet music if you’re a musician. That’s kind of cool. So I, I recommend it. I’ve had it for a long time. I also like their app.

I listen to lots of different audiobook apps and I like the script app a lot. It remembers where I was like, I have some pet peeves about audiobook apps. I think we maybe talked about this before, but like, Some audiobook apps, like every time you rego back to it and reopen it, it doesn’t remember which book you were reading.

So you have to like go back and select it. It doesn’t lose your place in the book, but I think if you’re listening to an audiobook, it should be front and center. The second you open the app and if you wanna listen to a different book, then you go navigate to another book. But don’t like make me do it every time.

That’s just annoying. So script seems pretty intuitive and user-friendly and I like it. So for 120 bucks a year, well no. 1, 4, 150 bucks a year, you. Can pretty much get generally what you’re looking for when you want it, and if you don’t read it right away, just, it just goes in your library. So it’s not like the library where you have to check it out.

And if you don’t listen to it, you’ve only got three weeks, it gets returned this way, it’s just sitting there. So you can go on a little binge and, you know, save, save, save a whole bunch of books, and then, you know, three or four months later when you want it, it’s there. 

[00:18:30] Nicole: Well, on that note, I really like Libro.fm.

I don’t listen to as many as Gayle, so one credit a month is usually enough for me. And they also have this, the influencer program, so I get to get audiobook from that. So I go between that and I still have a bank of books, like I have not had a subscription to, to Audible for a long time, but I have such a backlog of books in there.

So I would recommend both services.

[00:18:58] Gayle: Sort of like the audible model of one book per month? Yes. Okay. And how much does that cost? I think

[00:19:04] Nicole: it’s 14. It’s 1495 a month and you get one credit. You know, you don’t have to use it each month cuz you know, that’ll probably be a lot for me.

[00:19:14] Gayle: And if you don’t use it, does it just roll over?

It does. So is it like it accumulates like if you don’t use, let’s say you didn’t get one in November, would you have two in December? Or it just means you don’t get charged for. No, it means I have two. Okay, got it. Now, Libro FM also supports independent bookstores, right? Yes. Yeah, so that’s, it’s like basically using Audible for good

I’ve used the Libro FM app because I’m in that reviewer program. I like the app. Yeah, the app is good. It’s one of the good ones. Mm-hmm.

[00:19:46] Nicole: So what’s up?

[00:19:47] Gayle: Okay, the next one, this is gonna only appeal to Pride and Prejudice fans. I asked for this for my birthday, also for my husband, and it is a hoodie that says Pemberley 1813 on it.

So it like looks like a college sweatshirt, except it says Pemberley, which of course is Mr. Darcy’s. And I feel like it’s like, I love it because I love anything related to Pride and prejudice, but I also feel like it’s like a subtle nod to pride and prejudice, that if you’re out and about and someone sees it and kind of gives you a nod, like, you know, you know, in, you know, like I have this sweatshirt that I’ve been wearing that is the police’s third album was called Ghost in the Machine.

And what it is, is this, this black album cover with these red digital. Looking characters. They kind of look like computer numbers, but they’re not. It’s actually the three members of the band, like in this digital design, and it’s from the eighties. It came out in like what, 1979? 1980. I don’t know when the album came out, but I wear it because I, and I had it.

It’s like one of those sites where you can go on and you know, they have all these different designs and then they sort of print it out like. Custom, you know, like they only, they make one at a time. So I went on, I ordered a black hoodie with this design cuz I love the police. It’s my favorite band of all time.

And I wear it and like 99% of people who I see either have no idea what it is, or they ask me, they’re like, what is your sweatshirt? But then that last 1% looks at me, they’re like, oh, nice sweatshirt. I’m like, ah, if you know, you know. So I. P’S gonna be the same thing. I’m just excited for it because I love, as, you know, anything related to pride and prejudice.

That’s my idea. If you have, if you have a Jane Austin fan Oh, and it’s on Etsy, I can, I put the link, we’ll put the link in the show notes for this. It’s someone on Etsy who’s selling it. It’s very cute.

[00:21:36] Nicole: That is so funny. Your excitement over the 1%.

[00:21:42] Gayle: But like, you know, it’s like, it’s like a bumper sticker.

Like, it’s like it’s not about you, what you wear in your hoodies. I take my hoodies very seriously.

[00:21:51] Nicole: So that is, So now I have a couple of things that I’m gonna recommend all at once because this is how I read books and so I mentioned coffee, tea, like I, I have my special mug, my mug says day drinker because like that’s, if I’m gonna drink anything it needs to be during the day so that I can go to bed like a.

Grandma that I am like to be in bed by 10. So my, and it, and it’s winter now where I am. So maybe this is something that you can save if, if you are listening from a temperate climate you might not wanna do this. But my favorite thing is like settling down on the couch with a weighted throw. I have this weighted blanket that I love.

I’m the type of person that even if it’s summertime, I have to. Some kind of comforter, some kind of quilt, some kind of heavy, comforting thing on my bed. It doesn’t matter how hot it is. So I love this weighted blanket. I’ve had it for a couple years now. I think it’s great. It has like these, it has glass bes in in it, and sometimes you can hear them like when you shift.

You can hear them like moving around in the blanket, but it’s just so nice and so cozy to sit there with my book. And my other recommendation would be hella bidders or I think they’re just called hella now. When they came out was this company called Hella Bidders, and actually the bartender who worked at the bar across the street from my apartment founded it.

And he was always like, you know, after a, an evening, a heavy dinner or a couple of. Angus store or bitters is what they give you to kind of like, I don’t know, cut the meal or whatever. It just like really helps you not have any digestive problems or whatever. So he actually formed a bitters company and you can get these, you can get these kits where you make bitters, but he also, you know, Has these mixes for drinks.

One is a Moscow Mule, which I will link to, but it will also show you the other drinks that you can get with this. I mean, I, I really love, I love mules. And I love ginger, so like this has like a lot of ginger in it and you can use it to make a mosco meal. You can also use it to make dark, dark, and stormy.

Another drink that I’m a fan of, but they also do like old-fashioned margaritas, habanero margaritas, and it’s like a drink kit that will give you enough to make like 12 drinks.

[00:24:15] Gayle: Looks like I know that they use them in an old fashion. What bidders? Yeah. Yeah. What is, what is that word? August Horror. What is that?

[00:24:25] Nicole: Angus, you know, it’s, it’s, I have no idea. They would just give them to me. 

[00:24:31] Gayle: But is it like a, is it a place?

[00:24:32] Nicole: No, I think, or maybe it is, hold on. I just looked it up. I look it up. Yeah. It’s concentrated bitters and it has like these special blends of herbs and spices and it’s by the House of Angus store and Trinidad and Tobago.

Oh, that’s cool. Used for flavoring beverages or less often food, but yeah, it’s almost like you, I, you know, they would give them to me at the end of a meal to just kind. Ward off badness. They say they’re medicinal. Angus store bidders are alleged to have restorative properties.

[00:25:03] Gayle: The name Angus comes from the town of Angus, Venezuela, where the flavoring was first produced.

This concentrated botanically infused alcoholic mixture. Oh, so that has alcohol in it itself? Yes. Includes water, 44.7% alcohol, herbs, and.

[00:25:20] Nicole: But it’s the herbs that they use. Well, I don’t know. So this one says it’s Trinidadians use. These herbs an castora. to treat digestive problems under the assumption that gent and aid’s digestion.

So I think that that’s why they would give it to us after we’ve eaten a meal and had a couple cocktails. But it looks like different regions have their recipes cuz you can also, you know, Hong Kong also has their version of it, so. Mm.

[00:25:45] Gayle: Interesting. This says, one of the questions is, does Angus Orio get you drunk?

Does Angus Bitters get you drunk? All Angus Bitters are alcoholic at around 44.7%. Therefore, these bitters can indeed get you drink. However, the intense flavor of the spices and the bitters make them difficult to stomach on their.

[00:26:02] Nicole: Yeah, they really, essentially the, the little bottle that they have that they give you, it’s like, maybe it’s a shot, but it’s, it’s less than a shot, so it’s not like you’re getting, you know, a whole drink worth or anything like that.

Right. I think it’s mostly the bitters, the herbs and stuff are suspended in the alcohol solution, but of course, you know, I guess if you bought a big bottle and we’re able to drink it down, of course you can get drunk. Right. Other things that have alcohol and not large amounts, but that I feel when I drink is like kombu.

Yes. Um, What else did I have? Something that, you know, oh yes, my elderberry, my elderberry tomic that I take is suspended in alcohol and I take a little teaspoon every day and I feel that ,

[00:26:46] Gayle: you know, I can’t drink kombucha because it has caffeine in it. And I tried it once and I realized it’s, what is it?

It’s, does it have a certain type of tea in it? Or like green tea or something? Why is it, it’s fermented tea. Yeah. And it’s fermented green tea or black tea or something that has caffeine. So I realized, and that’s such a, I’m so bummed cuz I really like it, but I can’t have it.

[00:27:08] Nicole: My God, Gayle, you must not, there must be a lot that you, I mean, caffeine, I feel like Wakes makes its way into.

Yeah, I know. Like no chocolate, right? So no chocolate chip pancakes or

[00:27:20] Gayle: correct. No caffeine, no coffee, no tea. I mean, It has to be herbal tea. No soda.

[00:27:25] Nicole: Maybe you confirm it. Some peaches. Peach tea.

[00:27:28] Gayle: You know, I get my sugar many ways. I work my way around. Okay, mine is, there was this time a couple of months ago when everyone was talking about this product and I can’t find the specific product anymore that everyone was talking about, but it is a category of product.

So it is a book pillow, but like, Imagine like a big lump. It’s like a, like a little bean bag that you can stick anything on it. You can stick a book, an e-reader, a magazine, an iPad, you know, a laptop. Well, I don’t have a laptop. Might be too big, but, so imagine like this like sort of triangular-shaped like beanbag type thing that you just stick the book on and then you can.

Sit up in bed, lie down in bed and just have a place to rest it. Cuz it’s like, you know, I find sometimes when I’m reading in bed like my arms get tired, like if I’m holding the book up. So Yeah, no, it’s not just you at all. And I remember people talking about it and I remember some very long discussion in some book thread on some Facebook group that I’m in.

I don’t remember which one it was or when it was or where it was, but it was some Facebook group and some people were like, this is the greatest thing. And some people were. If you, you know, why are you throwing away like $30? Like some people thought it was totally useless and other people had said it changed their life.

And I wish I could find oh, you know, who made it. I feel like Uug made it zip.

[00:28:59] Nicole: Really? I think I saw something that looked like that when I was looking at Oprah’s list of Christmas gifts that she does each year. Yeah. And there was something kind of shaped like.

[00:29:13] Gayle: It is, it may be this Ugg Sherpa mini lap pouf. Oh, that’s what it is. It’s the Ugg classic Sherpa mini lap Pouf. Comfortably props up laptops or tablets. So you can view the screen from any angle. But I think you could stick a book there. Like, I don’t think it has to be an E-reader. I think it was that. I think it was Ugg Cause everyone was like, this is a waste of money.

I don’t know. I’m seeing this for like 20 bucks out of stock of course. But I think it sounds great, but if you Google book pillow, you’ll find lots of other versions of it, not just this ugly one. Right. I think it sounds great and I think I would use it if I had it,

and I think it’d be a great gift for someone else who didn’t wanna spend 20 bucks on it, but you wanna spend 20 bucks on them. And then they have it. Well, I think

[00:30:08] Nicole: gifts like that are really good. I mean, because things that you feel are too frivolous or you won’t buy, it’s nice to get them from other people and, and then to get to use it, you know, like some people won’t splurge on nice bath products or candles or stuff like that.

Right. Which is what makes them so nice to get. Cause

[00:30:28] Gayle: it’s just like, oh, it’s like I wanted that, but I would never have paid that, bought that for myself. And then someone gets it. . Yeah, I agree. Like the pemberley sweatshirt

[00:30:38] Nicole: and the next thing on my list, which I, I think everything on my list I’ve mentioned, but they’re just such good things to, if you’ve forgotten about them, to to think about.

My theory is that people who love books, love paper, and I in particular love planners and this is my favorite planner. You can find it. It’s at plan her. P l a n n h e r.me. A woman. I think she lives in Spain, so this is a foreign planner. So just a warning that it is, it’s a splurge gift. It’s like 55 pounds, plus you have to pay for the shipping.

So maybe it comes to like 70, $75. I love this planner just because it has so many different sections that I found really helpful. It has like a place to track your budget. In the back, like you have a place to like put all the amounts that have come in. Like if you wanna track like extra money that you’re receiving from different places or whatever.

I guess it’s like an abundance prosperity type calculator thing. There is a, there’s diary entries in the back. Like they have this quarterly planning guide for your clothing, you know, like the capsule wardrobe or. If you wanna make one they have the New Moon and the Full Moon, which is like either writing with the full Moon.

I think it’s like writing down things that you would like to habits or things that you would like to let go of in your life. And New Moon is for things that you would like to see happen in your life, and I just find whether you believe in the moon or not, it’s just so helpful to kind of be aware and think about what you.

and I’ve looked back on some of those lists I’ve made and been really surprised. And then it has like a monthly to-do list for you to put things that you wanna accomplish during the month. And then there’s a weekly spread where you have, you know, what you wanna accomplish during the week. And I just find this so useful.

Like I, I get one every year. They are not dated, so you can get one at any time. I feel like I’m back and forth. Like I might order one for January because I think when I found this, it was mid-year, so I had it for July, but I’ve like packed so much stuff in it, written so much stuff like, and I tend to use it too to write down thoughts on books like as I’m reading it, to just jot a few notes, which, you know, helpful for the show.

I love that planner.

[00:33:00] Gayle: Well, I’m gonna close by actually recommending three. These are books I’ve just very recently read, so they’re in recent memory, but I think that cuz they’re new releases, they might be good. And I’ve actually talked about two of them on the show already. One is the deer sugar, which I think a lot of people would like appeal for many.

Many different types of readers. And because it’s an anniversary edition, it looks, you know, it’s nice new packaging. Oh, and also, I forgot to mention, the cover says it’s gonna be a Hulu series. Wait, what’s this? The cover of the Dear Sugar book says soon to be a Hulu series. So I guess adopting Dear Sugar.

Maybe it’s kind of like what they’ve done with Modern Love, where they are gonna take one letter and turn it into like a 30 minute. Modern Love did that, and it’s like, I just think it’s fantastic. It’s my, one of my favorite shows on tv, which is, you know, the column in the New York Times magazine. So I’m excited to see what they do with this one.

So anyway, I recommend this version of Dear Sugar and is out in paperback, so it’s not a big splurge. I like, I think the Matthew Perry memoir is also a good gift. You know, there’s probably a reason they released it right in November and again, like don’t give it to someone who is. Only interested in the gossipy side of celebrity memoirs, but for someone who might want something a little more, a little darker and a little more realistic and gritty, I think it would be a good gift.

And then finally, I’m gonna recommend what I think is gonna be my favorite book of the year, and that Signal Fires by Danny Shapiro. So you know, literary fiction fans, people who like family dramas. I just think it was a beautiful book. So those would be my three book gift.

[00:34:39] Nicole: So I should have mentioned this when you mentioned your berry sweatshirt, but Uncommon Goods has these, like you can get a first edition of your, I guess this one is Pride and Prejudice.

They show pride in the Pride and Prejudice book cover, but I think that you can select different books like they have classics like David Copperfield Black Beauty. and you just get the cover and it comes in this really nice frame. They have they Adventures of Tom Sawyer and so it’s like a first, first edition book cover.

They say they really do a really nice scan. They mount it really nicely and they’re really pretty. Actually, I might get a couple of those and then. I really like book Darts . You can get a little 10 of them. They’re not super expensive. I really like these copper ones and I use them to mark like really specific lines that I like, like when Gayle and I sometimes do.

Lines that we really love, or lines that make us think, this is what I think about with these. You know, sometimes you underline quite a bit or I turn down a lot of different pages. But for quotes that really, really get me, I like to dart them.

[00:35:53] Gayle: Nice. I just doer the page. . All right. Well, that’s our show.

Hopefully give you some ideas for gifts and enough time to order them before the holidays.

[00:36:06] Nicole: We didn’t get a chance to get to those book lists, but we have time because it’s November .

[00:36:11] Gayle: Yeah, that’s good. All right. Yeah, we’ve got time and I’m sure more will come out between now and the next time we record, so we’ll have even more to talk about.

Well, until next week, happy reading.

. Poof. Comfortably props up laptops or tablets. So you can view the screen from any angle. But I think you could stick a book there. Like, I don’t think it has to be an E-reader. I think it was that. I think it was U Cause everyone was like, this is a waste of money.

I don’t know. I’m seeing this for like 20 bucks out of stock of course. But I think it sounds great, but if you Google book pillow, you’ll find lots of other versions of it, not just this ugly one. Right. I think it sounds great and I think I would use it if I had it,

and I think it’d be a great gift for someone else who didn’t wanna spend 20 bucks on it, but you wanna spend 20 bucks on them. And then they have it. Well, I think

[00:30:08] Nicole: gifts like that are really good. I mean, because things that you feel are too frivolous or you won’t buy, it’s nice to get them from other people and, and then to get to use it, you know, like some people won’t splurge on nice bath products or candles or stuff like that.

Right. Which is what makes them so nice to get. Cause

[00:30:28] Gayle: it’s just like, oh, it’s like I wanted that, but I would never have paid that, bought that for myself. And then someone gets it. . Yeah, I agree. Like the pemberley sweatshirt

[00:30:38] Nicole: and the next thing on my list, which I, I think everything on my list I’ve mentioned, but they’re just such good things to, if you’ve forgotten about them, to to think about.

My theory is that people who love books, love paper, and I in particular love planners and this is my favorite planner. You can find it. It’s at plan her. P l a n n h e r.me. A woman. I think she lives in Spain, so this is a foreign planner. So just a warning that it is, it’s a splurge gift. It’s like 55 pounds, plus you have to pay for the shipping.

So maybe it comes to like 70, $75. I love this planner just because it has so many different sections that I found really helpful. It has like a place to track your budget. In the back, like you have a place to like put all the amounts that have come in. Like if you wanna track like extra money that you’re receiving from different places or whatever.

I guess it’s like an abundance prosperity type calculator thing. There is a, there’s diary entries in the back. Like they have this quarterly planning guide for your clothing, you know, like the capsule wardrobe or. If you wanna make one they have the New Moon and the Full Moon, which is like either writing with the full Moon.

I think it’s like writing down things that you would like to habits or things that you would like to let go of in your life. And New Moon is for things that you would like to see happen in your life, and I just find whether you believe in the moon or not, it’s just so helpful to kind of be aware and think about what you.

and I’ve looked back on some of those lists I’ve made and been really surprised. And then it has like a monthly to-do list for you to put things that you wanna accomplish during the month. And then there’s a weekly spread where you have, you know, what you wanna accomplish during the week. And I just find this so useful.

Like I, I get one every year. They are not dated, so you can get one at any time. I feel like I’m back and forth. Like I might order one for January because I think when I found this, it was mid-year, so I had it for July, but I’ve like packed so much stuff in it, written so much stuff like, and I tend to use it too to write down thoughts on books like as I’m reading it, to just jot a few notes, which, you know, helpful for the show.

I love that planner.

[00:33:00] Gayle: Well, I’m gonna close by actually recommending three. These are books I’ve just very recently read, so they’re in recent memory, but I think that cuz they’re new releases, they might be good. And I’ve actually talked about two of them on the show already. One is the deer sugar, which I think a lot of people would like appeal for many.

Many different types of readers. And because it’s an anniversary edition, it looks, you know, it’s nice new packaging. Oh, and also, I forgot to mention, the cover says it’s gonna be a Hulu series. Wait, what’s this? The cover of the Dear Sugar book says soon to be a Hulu series. So I guess adopting Dear Sugar.

Maybe it’s kind of like what they’ve done with Modern Love, where they are gonna take one letter and turn it into like a 30 minute. Modern Love did that, and it’s like, I just think it’s fantastic. It’s my, one of my favorite shows on tv, which is, you know, the column in the New York Times magazine. So I’m excited to see what they do with this one.

So anyway, I recommend this version of Dear Sugar and is out in paperback, so it’s not a big splurge. I like, I think the Matthew Perry memoir is also a good gift. You know, there’s probably a reason they released it right in November and again, like don’t give it to someone who is. Only interested in the gossipy side of celebrity memoirs, but for someone who might want something a little more, a little darker and a little more realistic and gritty, I think it would be a good gift.

And then finally, I’m gonna recommend what I think is gonna be my favorite book of the year, and that Signal Fires by Danny Shapiro. So you know, literary fiction fans, people who like family dramas. I just think it was a beautiful book. So those would be my three book gift.

[00:34:39] Nicole: So I should have mentioned this when you mentioned your berry sweatshirt, but Uncommon Goods has these, like you can get a first edition of your, I guess this one is Pride and Prejudice.

They show pride in the Pride and Prejudice book cover, but I think that you can select different books like they have classics like David Copperfield Black Beauty. and you just get the cover and it comes in this really nice frame. They have they Adventures of Tom Sawyer and so it’s like a first, first edition book cover.

They say they really do a really nice scan. They mount it really nicely and they’re really pretty. Actually, I might get a couple of those and then. I really like book Darts . You can get a little 10 of them. They’re not super expensive. I really like these copper ones and I use them to mark like really specific lines that I like, like when Gayle and I sometimes do.

Lines that we really love, or lines that make us think, this is what I think about with these. You know, sometimes you underline quite a bit or I turn down a lot of different pages. But for quotes that really, really get me, I like to dart them.

[00:35:53] Gayle: Nice. I just doer the page. . All right. Well, that’s our show.

Hopefully give you some ideas for gifts and enough time to order them before the holidays.

[00:36:06] Nicole: We didn’t get a chance to get to those book lists, but we have time because it’s November .

[00:36:11] Gayle: Yeah, that’s good. All right. Yeah, we’ve got time and I’m sure more will come out between now and the next time we record, so we’ll have even more to talk about.

Well, until next week, happy reading.