Lit Vibes Only

Ep. 53: Lit Recs: The Year in Review

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Join Amanda and Kelsey as they celebrate Lit Vibes Only’s one year anniversary, sharing their favorite Lit Recs books from the past year and discussing their plans to bring even more diverse voices to the spotlight moving forward!


00:00 Welcome to Lit Vibes Only!

00:23 Follow Us on Social Media

03:46 Current Reads and Book Chat

08:24 Favorite Books of the Year

26:03 Diversifying Our Reading

34:22 Looking Forward to Next Year

39:45 Wrapping Up and Socials



Follow us on TikTok & Youtube @litvibesonlypodcast and on Instagram @litvibesonly_podcast. You can also email us at litvibesonlypodcast@gmail.com We'd love to hear from you!

See you on Mondays!

Episode 53: Lit Recs: The Year in Review

[00:00:00] Amanda: Welcome to Lit Vibes Only, where we lit the shit out of books we love and hate. I'm Amanda, the insightful, thrill seeker, and historical fiction nerd. 

[00:00:14] Kelsey: And I'm Kelsey, the unhinged, diehard romantic and fantasy reader. Welcome, 

[00:00:19] Amanda: welcome, 

[00:00:20] Kelsey: welcome. We want to first. Direct you towards our socials. You can find us on Instagram at Live Vibes Only podcast, and on TikTok and YouTube at Live Vibes Only podcast.

[00:00:34] Kelsey: We love it when you engage with us. We work our butts off with, oh my gosh, a full time jobs like and trying to make funny. And engaging content for y'all. Mm-hmm. And it's hard work. And so we do our best. So come show us the love. Alright? Yes. Come Appreci, appreciate our hard work that extend that to go show us the love on your podcast platform, [00:01:00] especially Apple and.

[00:01:01] Kelsey: Spotify. Mm-hmm. We would love it if you rated and reviewed our podcast. Yes, yes, please. And on Spotify you can add a comment to an episode. So please do so. We love it when we hear from you. Mm-hmm. And it actually helps us in the end. So if you like us, yes. Even if it's not the podcast you like, you like us as people, you can go overhead over and do that.

[00:01:25] Kelsey: Thank you. Yes. 

[00:01:26] Amanda: I, I love that little caveat, even if this isn't a great podcast, but you just think that we're like truly, genuinely nice, good people. Could you just do us a 

[00:01:35] Kelsey: solid, just do that please. 'cause it takes like five seconds literally. And it really helps a podcast and it does. We are officially over a year.

[00:01:45] Amanda: Oh my god. Old. 

[00:01:47] Kelsey: We're little 

[00:01:47] Amanda: babies. Yes.

[00:01:49] Kelsey: And. That is what's gonna help other readers and other fans find us so. Just do that for the other people too. [00:02:00] Yeah. 

[00:02:00] Amanda: Like think of all the other people whose lives we could brighten. Yes. If they just were able to listen to this podcast. Exactly. Every Monday, that's all they need in their lives.

[00:02:09] Amanda: That's all they needed to make their commute to work that much better or whatever chores they're doing that much more interesting. So, yes, we would love it if you could take a moment and do that. It's a big help and we are gonna be doing something a little bit different in this lit Rex episode.

[00:02:26] Amanda: Yeah. Where. We're kind of taking a, a moment to reflect on the books that we recommended over the past year, but before we do that, as always, we wanna like check in with each other. Yeah. And see what we're up to on our individual reading journeys. So yeah, it's, 

[00:02:43] Kelsey: yeah, it's funny because. Amanda and I will post about our current reads on socials.

[00:02:49] Kelsey: Mm-hmm. But we rarely get to talk about them together. That's true. Like, it's like this is our opportunity to talk about them a little bit. Mm-hmm. Yeah, it's, that's kind of funny because 

[00:02:58] Amanda: the books that we're normally talking [00:03:00] about are the books for like our littered or quitted episodes. Right. And not necessarily books that we're just reading because we want the two for fun.

[00:03:07] Kelsey: Yeah. And then also we just like don't, we don't get together like. 

[00:03:12] Amanda: Weekly. I know we get together 

[00:03:13] Kelsey: like maybe once a month into that. I know. 

[00:03:16] Amanda: It's crazy. And then even once the, now that the school year is back and such and it's like even, yeah, it's gonna be even harder to find time. Yeah. To, to meet up in person.

[00:03:25] Amanda: Mm-hmm. 

[00:03:26] Kelsey: But yeah, must have been like events and stuff to go to that we can, 

[00:03:29] Amanda: yeah. Well you did send me event, an event a while ago that we didn't end up going to, but Oh yeah. That was yesterday, I think. Yeah. It's just hard when you only have the weekends. There's so much to try and crim. I know. And then it's almost impossible to do anything on a weekday evening.

[00:03:43] Amanda: So time, time is limited, but yeah. Yeah. So, so what are currently reading? Whatcha are you getting into? So, I 

[00:03:49] Kelsey: actually just started. You would probably hate 

[00:03:52] Amanda: this. Oh no. Oh no. 

[00:03:55] Kelsey: Silver Elite by Yes, Danny Francis this 

[00:03:59] Amanda: [00:04:00] morning. That was all over book talk a while ago. Yeah. 

[00:04:03] Kelsey: So funny. Yeah, people were obsessed with it for a while.

[00:04:06] Kelsey: I know. So I'm curious how I will feel, although I have had similar feelings to you where I'm just like. Okay. Like it's kind of clear who she's gonna end up with. Mm-hmm. And I'm like, it's this broy like shadow daddy. Ugh. And I'm just like, so boring. Okay. So predictable. But , I do think that a lot of these books while they use tropes like that, they could easily not use them.

[00:04:32] Kelsey: That'd be great sometimes, but. The magic systems and things like that, I feel like are quite unique oftentimes. And so that's what draws you in? I, yeah. I really enjoy. Yeah. But well wait, it's, now that you've said it though, I'm just like it is the same. 

[00:04:49] Amanda: It is the same over and over and over again. It really is with just like slight tweaks.

[00:04:54] Amanda: But is this, this is the book that people were comparing to the Hunger Games, [00:05:00] right? Is it this one or was it. Am I thinking of another one? I thought it was this one. 

[00:05:05] Kelsey: So far I don't see that, but Okay. I could be wrong. I'm not very far into it though. Okay. So I'm like 12%. 

[00:05:14] Amanda: I just remember when it came out and there was all of this noise about it and people were like, you know, throwing out comparisons and criticisms.

[00:05:20] Amanda: I felt like people were. They were saying it was similar to something else, but not as good. And I, I thought it was Hungary games, but maybe I'm just getting my wires crossed. It's quite possible. Oh yeah. 

[00:05:31] Kelsey: It ha it was often compared to popular young adult dystopian fantasy novels, like the Hunger Games, divergent fourth wing.

[00:05:38] Amanda: Okay. Okay. So I wasn't, I was not based. Yeah. Okay. I was like, I remember seeing that. In an article somewhere. I mean, and again, like I love, we both do, we both love dystopian novels. Mm-hmm. So, 

[00:05:47] Kelsey: yeah. Yeah. 

[00:05:48] Amanda: I'll be curious to hear your, your take on it when you, when you finish. Yeah. I am currently reading or about to start reading, I should say The Vacation by John Mars.

[00:05:58] Amanda: He's one of [00:06:00] the new to me thriller authors that I've like discovered this year. And I've read. Two books by him so far. I have a third on my coffee table over there. That's part of his Dark Future series that I've been really enjoying. It's like very Black Mirror esque and it's fantastic. Oh, okay.

[00:06:18] Amanda: Mm-hmm. And then I have just finally one of his, like, straight up thrillers called The Vacation. So Ooh, gonna hopefully get started on that one. What's the premise of That One? I honestly don't remember. I put it on my TBRA while ago, and I haven't looked at like the book jacket description in a minute.

[00:06:36] Amanda: Mm-hmm. So I, I, I mean it, people are traveling, they're on vacation. That's what I do. But I like to look at the blurb again, like right before I start reading a book just to orient myself. But yeah, Uhhuh, that's, that's what I'm gonna get into very soon. Great. Sweet. So yeah, this is our, you know, I feel like this is a lit recs episode, but it's [00:07:00] gonna feel like a Lit Chats episode because we're just gonna be kind of chatting and not necessarily recommending books 

[00:07:08] Kelsey: reminding you of books that we recommended 

[00:07:09] Amanda: Yeah. And this was very much Kelsey's brainchild. She was like, we should take a moment now that we're, a year in and like year in, reflect back on. How our lit recs episodes went. Mm-hmm. Which books we really enjoyed and which ones we didn't. How we wanna move forward, like do we wanna keep doing?

[00:07:27] Amanda: Mm-hmm. The same thing where we're like recommending books based on the same heritage. Do we wanna branch out? So we're just gonna get into. All of that today. And yeah, hopefully get some input from you guys after this because we wanna make this podcast something that you guys are really 

[00:07:43] Kelsey: excited about too.

[00:07:44] Kelsey: So, yeah. And how you think we could revamp this yes. Portion of our podcast. Yeah, we'd love to hear from you. 

[00:07:51] Amanda: We are very open to suggestions. Right now we have some ideas, but this is like a group community effort and we wanna be producing content that [00:08:00] people wanna listen to and that's relevant and we can't do that if we don't know what y'all think.

[00:08:03] Amanda: So, definitely. 

[00:08:04] Kelsey: And we don't wanna waste our time for sure. Like creating these, 

[00:08:09] Amanda: we just made a big point about like we're busy and we're like, have very full lives and full-time jobs. So yeah, we wanna make sure that when we are putting time into this, that it's time well spent and time that, you know.

[00:08:20] Amanda: Like, you guys are getting a lot out of this and what you want out of it, so Yes. Yeah. Where do we wanna start? Do we wanna start with our favorite books that we mm-hmm. Kinda read over the year and that we, yeah. Okay. Cool. Let's start there then. 'Cause I have a little list in front of me of like five books.

[00:08:35] Kelsey: Okay. 

[00:08:36] Amanda: And I don't know how many you have. I 

[00:08:38] Kelsey: have four with perfect. Kind of like an honorable mention of an author. 

[00:08:42] Amanda: Ooh. Okay. I love that. Mm-hmm. I guess we can just go, maybe go back and forth then. Sure. I didn't really like talk about that, the particular structure, but mm-hmm. I've said this before, I'll keep saying it and I think it, it's very apropos for this episode.

[00:08:55] Amanda: I, you know, one of the things I really love about this podcast is that. [00:09:00] Kelsey is forcing me to read books or, you know, in our Lit Rex episodes, we are both recommending two books each, often books that we've either read or have heard about and are really excited about. Right. And they're often books within our preferred genres.

[00:09:14] Amanda: Mm-hmm. And throughout these lit Rex episodes, Kelsey has recommended books that I otherwise wouldn't have read or even had on my radar. Right. And so this first book is one of those that . Kelsey just kind of ranted and raved about both in our Litre episodes and in other episodes in general. 'cause she really loved this book.

[00:09:33] Amanda: Mm-hmm. And it was buona by, oh God, wait, we should have talked about this. 

[00:09:38] Kelsey: Did you put that? That's great. That's, that's hilarious. But I thought we were going, we were. Yeah. Okay. We're good. We're good. We both love Lovey Sona. We're, we 

[00:09:49] Amanda: both love it and I think it's great that we both had, because I don't know what's on Kelsey's list and she just know what's on mine.

[00:09:55] Amanda: Yeah. We don't, so I actually love this very like, genuine reaction she's having right now. [00:10:00] It's very authentic. That's so funny. But yeah, lovey Sona by Romina Garber, I, you know, it's, it's, ya, it's, it's fantasy. Mm-hmm. It's, you know. Not a book I'd heard of. Mm-hmm. At all. And I'm so glad I read it because it was definitely one of my.

[00:10:16] Amanda: Favorite reads. 

[00:10:17] Kelsey: Yeah. 

[00:10:18] Amanda: Throughout this first year of podcasting, and I still need to read the second book. I I, oh my God. I know, I know. That's the thing with series and it's why I don't read them because I get really excited and even when I wanna keep reading, I just get Yeah. Distracted, sidetracked.

[00:10:32] Amanda: Mm-hmm. I'm off to the next shiny new book and I don't 

[00:10:36] Kelsey: No, it's hard. Like I took it back, have so many series, I haven't finished. Yeah. So. No, I get it. But 

[00:10:44] Amanda: I thought 

[00:10:45] Kelsey: you had 

[00:10:46] Amanda: I know. 'cause the next one's like caa, I 

[00:10:49] Kelsey: think. Caa, yeah. Yeah. And I have that book by the way. Oh, I 

[00:10:52] Amanda: should just borrow it from you.

[00:10:53] Amanda: Yes. I'll give you Legend Born Flip and then you flip, flip Flop. Give me Yes. Great, great. Oh, [00:11:00] funny. Yeah. But I, I loved it. It took me by surprise. It was a great character, a great world. I love that it tied into like Latino culture and history and. Yeah. Future just strong female protagonist. 

[00:11:12] Kelsey: Yeah. And it's truly commentary on our immigration system.

[00:11:16] Kelsey: Yep. Yes. Which is so relevant right now with, you know, the current things happening in our country. Yep. And so it speaks to immigrant. Identity. Mm-hmm. Very strongly. Yes. In the book. And not only that, it also speaks to like gender identity as well. Mm-hmm. And I just loved that integration of it rather than this like plot device that was being used.

[00:11:42] Kelsey: It was just like the story itself. Mm-hmm. Yeah. 

[00:11:44] Amanda: And it's, we recommended it in our Latinx heritage Month, episode one 

[00:11:49] Kelsey: September ago. 

[00:11:50] Amanda: Yeah. Which is crazy. Yeah. But I feel like we also could have very easily incorporated it into our December episode, which was about immigrant [00:12:00] stories as well.

[00:12:00] Amanda: Mm-hmm. So this is definitely a book, clearly that is well loved by both Kelsey and I. Mm-hmm. And if you haven't heard of this book, if you missed that episode I would say absolutely like. Go back and check it out. Yes, 

[00:12:12] Kelsey: definitely. Definitely. Yeah. And 

[00:12:14] Amanda: as always one of my favorites, don't let the ya label throw you wait.

[00:12:17] Amanda: There's so many good YA books that I feel like I don't totally out on. Yeah. And are just deterred by that. Mm-hmm. And it's a great book for sure. Very. Okay. Well then what, since I, that was my first one, Amanda. Now I'm curious if you have some of mine on yours. This is gonna, so wondering now I'm wonder too, because you go next.

[00:12:35] Amanda: I was just choosing 

[00:12:37] Kelsey: the ones that I had recommended. 

[00:12:39] Amanda: Oh. I was just choosing any that I rather or recommended that I just. Really loved and held a special piece. 

[00:12:45] Kelsey: That's so funny because I was also gonna ask you if we should do I wrote them down, I thought, but Oh, there was one I wrote down that's like on my TBR and coming up that you recommended 

[00:12:56] Amanda: Uhhuh, so 

[00:12:58] Kelsey: that kind of thing that I gotcha.

[00:12:59] Kelsey: Anyway, [00:13:00] so my next one, the house in the Ilian Sea. Oh yes. Such a by TJ Clune. Yeah, we 

[00:13:08] Amanda: both read that one. Yeah. 

[00:13:09] Kelsey: And TJ Clune has now become one of my favorite authors. I absolutely adore. His writing style and or is it they 

[00:13:20] Amanda: I think it's they. I'm double check. Can that, I'm gonna double check why you're speaking because I feel like this happened the last time we were discussing tj, so I'll double check.

[00:13:28] Kelsey: And so, TJ Clune just has a beautiful way of storytelling and I, I cried in the last book that I read of theirs and yeah, tease him by the way. I did check. Okay, perfect. Thank you. Yeah, but there was an author that we messed that up for and so thank you for checking. 

[00:13:44] Amanda: Mm-hmm. 

[00:13:45] Kelsey: So. Yeah. That will definitely hold a special place in my heart, this book, because I just, I love the children in it and the audio book.

[00:13:56] Kelsey: If you have not read this book, you need [00:14:00] to pick up the audio. Even if you wanna do immersive, like the audio is so well done and all of the children have different. Voices and Oh, nice. I love that. No. Yes. It's so good. 

[00:14:14] Amanda: Maybe I'll listen to the audio book for the second book, 'cause I haven't read the second one yet.

[00:14:18] Amanda: Oh yeah. And if it's the similar or the same. Yes, it is. Narrators, I feel like. I might have to do that. Yeah, 

[00:14:24] Kelsey: no, it wa It's very good. 

[00:14:27] Amanda: I also love this book. It's very much a cozy read. Absolutely. It's absolutely, it's very cute and heartwarming and funny. It's a funny book. Yes, yes. It's 

[00:14:35] Kelsey: hilarious. It's hilarious.

[00:14:36] Kelsey: Like you're gonna laugh 

[00:14:36] Amanda: out loud reading it, and if you just need a feel good story. Especially like now that we're in, in the fall or almost, you know, to the official start of fall, like mm-hmm. Great book. Book to read at this time of year. Yes. And you recently read or finished under the Whispering Door, and you loved it, which was so funny.

[00:14:54] Amanda: Love it. Because you started it and you were like, this is dumb, I don't like it. Like the House and the Ceil was so much [00:15:00] better. And I was like, no, I like this book. Maybe even better than a il, I don't know that. And you end up really liking it. 

[00:15:06] Kelsey: Yeah. I don't know. It's hard to rate them. Sure. Like side by side.

[00:15:11] Amanda: 'cause they're very different. 

[00:15:12] Kelsey: They're, yeah, they're very different. And they still have like the very endearing like characters. Yeah. And it's just the way that TJ writes his characters mm-hmm. They're just so human. Mm-hmm. And like fairly normal folks. Mm-hmm. And it's just like, mm-hmm. What a character could be or any other human could be experiencing in their life these circumstances.

[00:15:37] Kelsey: And so I just love it. But I don't know that I could compare the two or say like what one I like more. That's fair. Because they just have different themes and structure and like characters that just, I really hold both of those sets of characters. 

[00:15:54] Amanda: That's fair. I think they have similar vibes, like they both have this, like even when they're dealing [00:16:00] with heavier topics, like in under the whispering door.

[00:16:02] Amanda: Mm-hmm. Like there is this element of like, almost like whimsy or I don't even know what the word is that I'm looking for that makes it really accessible and endearing. Mm-hmm. , It almost like they read kind of like fairytales, but not in the sense that they're, ugh, I I'm not saying this well, but you, you just have to read.

[00:16:26] Amanda: I hear you. Yeah. It has this, it, it does have this kind of fairytale, kind of fantastical element. I think whimsy is the right word, but whimsy makes it sound like it's like really lighthearted and superficial and it's not. No. But they read like fairytales or parables or something. I don't know. So I You just have to read his work.

[00:16:43] Amanda: Yes. I actually, just as we were talking, I hopped onto my Libby and added the audio book for the second. Oh, good. Yes. Second because Have you read the second book? Yeah. Oh, you have? Okay. Uhhuh. So I, I need to read that still. So it is now in my Libby, but yeah, that's a good one. I'm glad you mentioned that one.

[00:16:58] Amanda: Mm-hmm. And if I'm remembering [00:17:00] correctly, that was for was that for Pride Mother? Was that for our LGBTQ plus History Month? It 

[00:17:06] Kelsey: was for. Oh my gosh. I think October. October's what I thought. LGBTQ plus History Month. 

[00:17:13] Amanda: . . Okay. That's a good one. And since we're kind of on that theme,

[00:17:15] Amanda: another book that I really loved that I think I also recommended that month was Red, white and Royal Blue. 

[00:17:22] Kelsey: Yes. 

[00:17:23] Amanda: Love that book. It was again, one of the, maybe one of the first romances, like just kind of straight up romance. I had read as an adult or maybe ever, 'cause I don't really read romances and I truly was pleasantly surprised and it was one of those books that I was so happy that I had stepped outside of my.

[00:17:40] Amanda: Normal genres because I thoroughly enjoyed it. And as I said in that episode, like well-crafted characters, it has depth that's not just like a fluffy romance that doesn't have any substance to it. Mm-hmm. It's a queer romance, right? Mm-hmm. You know, two gay men and they're both kind of the sons of heads of [00:18:00] state, and so the stakes are high.

[00:18:02] Amanda: It was just beautiful. It was laugh out loud, funny. It was really smart, very funny. There also is, you know, political and social commentary. Happening as well. So there's like some stuff to sink your teeth into and yeah, I, again, I was just really pleasantly surprised. It definitely became one of my favorite reads and I was like, okay, maybe I am a little bit of a romance girly.

[00:18:23] Kelsey: And also, I don't know how I read it because I remember, I read it. Back in July of last year. Yeah, but you had read it before me before that. 

[00:18:34] Amanda: Yes. 

[00:18:35] Kelsey: But I don't remember if you recommended it to me. I feel like I did. 

[00:18:39] Amanda: And I know also like there was the Amazon show or a movie that came out, so I wonder if maybe you also heard about it through that as well.

[00:18:46] Amanda: But I definitely mentioned it to you because I know you love romance and I just thought that that was a really, 

[00:18:52] Kelsey: but even before July, because mm-hmm. We weren't talking about. Books really [00:19:00] until still 

[00:19:00] Amanda: talk August. 'cause we, I mean, in February when we were in Vegas, right, we were talking about this podcast.

[00:19:05] Amanda: You know what I mean? Yeah. And like we've been having chats about books before that. So 

[00:19:10] Kelsey: it took, it's so funny. It took so long to start it and then, yeah. It just has 

[00:19:16] Amanda: be going. I mean, we had like our first real chat, like outlining things, coming up with a name in February. Yeah. And then we kicked things off.

[00:19:23] Amanda: We started recording in August. 

[00:19:25] Kelsey: August. Yeah. No, that's 

[00:19:26] Amanda: not, and we had to finish up the school year. We had to like totally figure out so much stuff to get it off the ground. So it's that long. Yeah. So that's my second one. 

[00:19:34] Kelsey: Okay. I'm on my third one now. Okay. So Fire keeper's daughter. Ah, that's 

[00:19:40] Amanda: on 

[00:19:40] Kelsey: my list by Angeline Bully.

[00:19:44] Kelsey: I knew it was 

[00:19:44] Amanda: gonna be on there. 

[00:19:47] Kelsey: I could not get this, not put this on here. Yeah, I could. Yeah. I couldn't get this, this episode without mentioning this book. Yeah. It is still like all of these books are some of my absolute favorite books. [00:20:00] Mm-hmm. Of all time. Yeah. And so. The fire keeper's daughter, it's just, it's, it can be heavy at times.

[00:20:09] Kelsey: Mm-hmm. The characters are well-rounded. Mm-hmm. The yeah, the storytelling is really well done. Mm-hmm. Angeline Bully is a really great writer. Mm-hmm. I have, she has two other books out She does. Yeah. And I need to. Get on that. Mm-hmm. Because I have a feeling she's gonna be one of my favorite authors.

[00:20:29] Kelsey: Mm-hmm. But this is the only book I've read of hers. Yeah. The other thing that like hooked me in this book was the plot twist I didn't see coming that came. Quickly at the very beginning. Yeah. And then propel the story forward. 

[00:20:44] Amanda: Yeah. 

[00:20:44] Kelsey: I really enjoyed that.

[00:20:46] Amanda: Yeah. What did 

[00:20:46] Kelsey: you It's 

[00:20:47] Amanda: another, I mean it's another Stellar Ya book Yeah.

[00:20:50] Amanda: That, you know, doesn't shy away from dealing with heavy subject matter. Mm-hmm. And like the. Modern day struggles and challenges of indigenous folks [00:21:00] and mm-hmm. It's really shedding a light on that. Yeah. So , there's so many reasons to love this book and to read this book. And again, had never heard of this book prior to Kelsey mentioning it.

[00:21:10] Amanda: And like, yeah, she would mention this book all the time. Like all the time, do you have to 

[00:21:16] Kelsey: read it, Amanda? I know you're gonna 

[00:21:18] Amanda: love it. And I kind of put it off, put it off, put it off, and then I read it and I was like, I am kicking myself for . Delaying this for so long. I actually have the book behind me, on my shelf.

[00:21:27] Amanda: And then of course I've been recommending it to, to lots of other people. So this book was featured in our Native American Heritage Month, also in the fall, last fall. Mm-hmm. So again, be sure to go back and check out that episode to hear more about that book and other books we recommended. But I think for that month especially, that was like a big highlight for me.

[00:21:46] Kelsey: Yeah, for sure. 

[00:21:47] Amanda: Yeah, 

[00:21:47] Kelsey: totally. 

[00:21:48] Amanda: Yeah, why don't I, so I'll read my next two together, like do both at the same time, since you only had four and then I kind of stole one of yours. I have three 

[00:21:55] Kelsey: I think. And then, and then you, so we're done. Okay, perfect. I'm done. And then I have a [00:22:00] special author. 

[00:22:01] Amanda: Okay. So the other two were books that I.

[00:22:04] Amanda: Have read and recommended. Okay. So one of them was code name Helene, which I recommended for our women's history Month episode. Mm-hmm. And it's historical fiction. It's by Errol Lahan. And I just loved it because it's based on a true story. This actual woman in World War II who was a spy and worked for their French resistance.

[00:22:24] Amanda: Mm-hmm. And her story is insane. Like you don't really need to fictionalize anything about her life to make it more interesting or more like readable or compelling. Like the woman, like Nancy, her name was Nancy Wake. She just had this phenomenal life and ended up writing her own , memoir that this book draws heavily from.

[00:22:44] Amanda: So it's. It's really incredible. And of course a woman that you don't hear about a lot because we don't often hear about women, especially within the context of military history. Oh yeah. Mm-hmm. So really loved it for that. And I've also then gone on to read other Ariel Luhan books like The Frozen River, which we [00:23:00] also covered on this podcast.

[00:23:01] Amanda: Mm-hmm. So really enjoyed that. And then the other book that I absolutely have to mention, because I feel like this book, for whatever reason, hasn't gotten enough buzzer hype, and I think it deserves it. Is Chain Gang All Stars. Oh, yes. Mm-hmm. By Nana Cume, Ajay Brennia. And I recommended this one for our pride Month episode because it features two women.

[00:23:23] Amanda: It's a sic Roman. Well, it's not just a SIC romance, but that is part of the story. Yeah. And it's also a book I could have. Easily also recommended for Black History Month. Mm-hmm. And it's essentially a commentary on our prison system, on our criminal justice system and systemic racism that is pervasive throughout it.

[00:23:40] Amanda: And also just our society's obsession with violence as a form of entertainment. So, so many good reasons to read this book. And as I mentioned in that episode, this book also has a lot of footnotes where he's providing you with factual information. About what's going on in our current prison system and [00:24:00] in our current, yeah.

[00:24:01] Amanda: Criminal justice system. So it's also highly educational. Yeah. Fabulous. We need to cover this on the podcast in a requited episode. We, we will need to that soon. 

[00:24:10] Kelsey: It's on my TBR. Okay. And actually, I had a friend shout out to you, Heather. Hey. Hi Heather. She's currently reading it right now and I was like, oh, nice.

[00:24:19] Kelsey: Oh yeah. It's on my TBR, like I need to see if it's available. 

[00:24:22] Amanda: Yeah.

[00:24:23] Kelsey: But yeah, it's definitely one of the. One of the ones that you have recommended? That's on my TBR. Yeah. The other one that I have waiting for me in Libby, well, I'm waiting for it in Libby, is All My Rage By, oh, who is that by Tahir? 

[00:24:39] Amanda: Yeah.

[00:24:39] Amanda: Saba Tahir. Sophia Tip here. 

[00:24:41] Kelsey: Yeah. Yeah. I have to look up her name, so I'm curious about that book. I wanna read that one. Yeah, that was a memoir, right? 

[00:24:47] Amanda: Yeah. No, it's fiction, but it's Oh, okay. It's partially based on her life. Okay. And we recommended it for a Muslim Heritage Month episode. Mm-hmm. Yeah. And I also want to read that.

[00:24:57] Amanda: Mm-hmm. I think kind of as [00:25:00] we're finishing up this first segment of the, this episode in terms of books like I also on my TBR. It's actually, I'm also waiting for it. Libby is Death of the Author, which is a book that I found and recommended. Oh yeah. For a Disability Pride month. Mm-hmm. That I'm super stoked to read.

[00:25:16] Amanda: I've really good things about those. That book Same, I think it's got like a 13 week wait or something, which is insane. Yeah, I just put on code name 

[00:25:23] Kelsey: Hawaiian because I remember I wanted to read that one and it was like the same. 

[00:25:26] Amanda: Yeah. It's, ugh, it's so crazy. So many books. I'm 

[00:25:29] Kelsey: like waiting five months for a 

[00:25:31] Amanda: book, although I'll say, I think Libby often overestimates the time.

[00:25:35] Amanda: Yes. Because sometimes I'll get it in a, in a much shorter time than that, but 15 weeks. Oh God, that's so long. 17 weeks 

[00:25:42] Kelsey: for another one I did a few days ago, so Oh God. Yeah. K Gang actually as 14 week wait. 

[00:25:49] Amanda: Okay. Yeah. I mean, it, it is, I I guess it's a good sign 'cause that means it is somewhat Yeah. You know, popular in getting traction.

[00:25:55] Amanda: Yes. But I think one of the things that I wanted to say to kind of segue into more kind of more general [00:26:00] comments about how our Lit Rex episodes went, I think mm-hmm. One of the things that I personally want to do in this coming year as we continue with our Lit Rex episodes is to. Actively be reading or read a book connected to that month's topic during that month.

[00:26:18] Amanda: And I wasn't doing that always. Mm-hmm. Oh yeah. Because sometimes I was like recommending books that I had read previously, but wasn't reading that month per se. I think the only month this year. That I was reading a book that was connected to the topic at the time was from Muslim. Oh. American Heritage Month.

[00:26:35] Amanda: 'cause I read unashamed, like the musings of a flat fat black Muslim woman. Oh yeah. Or Fat Black. That's the other one I wanna 

[00:26:40] Kelsey: read too. Yeah. 

[00:26:42] Amanda: And that was the only time when I was like, oh, I'm like reading the book during the month that were highlighting. Yeah. And I wanna do a better job of that. Um mm-hmm.

[00:26:50] Amanda: Just to make sure I'm being really conscientious. That, you know, I'm, I'm diversifying my reading. I feel like I do that pretty well normally, but yeah, because I, I felt, I [00:27:00] dunno, I can't speak for you, but I think disability pride month, Muslim American month, a heritage month and neurodiversity month were the three months that I had the most difficulty finding books that I had read.

[00:27:14] Amanda: I don't know what the months were for you personally. Yeah. But it was a good moment of reflection for me, like, oh. I do need to make more of an effort to read books. Mm-hmm. That feature characters with various, you know, disabilities. Yeah. Or that are neurodiverse or that are Muslim American.

[00:27:28] Amanda: 'cause I don't actually, 

[00:27:30] Kelsey: and then also like even the bookstore you go to mm-hmm. . They decide what's available, not you.

[00:27:37] Kelsey: Yeah. And so like Elliot Bay does a really good job of mm-hmm. Having a wide diverse selection. But it was it, I think it was January, the Arab History Month or mm-hmm. Arab American. Mm-hmm. Yes, 

[00:27:50] Amanda: they Oh yes. Didn't have, we talked about this in the episode. Yeah. 

[00:27:55] Kelsey: Even though. Of course there are so many Arab American writers we [00:28:00] just have to kind of like find them, which is part of the issue.

[00:28:04] Kelsey: Right. 

[00:28:05] Amanda: Or, or, you know, maybe, or maybe there aren't, right? Maybe there aren't as many as there should be. Like maybe in reality, like there's not a lot of Arab American writers that are getting, you know, agents and contracts with these publishing houses. Mm-hmm. And so maybe there is actually a dearth of those writers and we need to .

[00:28:20] Amanda: Work on changing that in the publishing world. Yeah. So could be indie 

[00:28:24] Kelsey: authors though, too. I don't know. 

[00:28:25] Amanda: Yeah, yeah. 

[00:28:26] Kelsey: They're, they are just harder to find. But I think what you said is really, 

[00:28:29] Amanda: it's, it's a really good point. Like if you are shopping local mm-hmm. And you're someone who attends to buy books more than borrow, you know, you are limited by whatever your bookstore has.

[00:28:39] Amanda: It's really going to determine what books you have access to and what you're reading. Mm-hmm. And if what is out there is mostly like, you know. White cisgender authors or whatever, then like, that's what you're gonna be reading. Yeah. So I think bookstores do have a a prerogative mm-hmm. [00:29:00] To diversify what they're selling.

[00:29:03] Amanda: Like, I, I think people worry about it obviously affecting their book sales and they wanna cater to , what's popular on book talk and whatever. Right. You know, that's to the detriment of us. And that 

[00:29:13] Kelsey: that's the reality, right? Yeah. But we are doing that. That's the thing. Yeah. Is like we are doing that.

[00:29:18] Kelsey: We are making what's popular, popular, popular. Yeah. So that's why I will not shut up about the, my daughter. What? Oh my God. Fire keeper's daughter. I got too excited. Fire keeper's daughter and Lo Sona, because not a lot of people are talking about those books. And I just wanna be like, yes, please love on these books.

[00:29:37] Kelsey: The author deserves. The, all the accolades, like Yeah. They need it. Yes. And the only way that that happens if we talk about it. Yes, exactly. The other thing that I wanted to mention before we get too deep into this part of the conversation Sure. Was a author that pleasantly surprised me. Oh, yes.

[00:29:54] Kelsey: You 

[00:29:54] Amanda: mentioned, yeah. Where 

[00:29:55] Kelsey: Helen Wong, I first mentioned her in our, oh [00:30:00] my gosh. I'm like, was it our A 

[00:30:01] Amanda: API? 

[00:30:02] Kelsey (2): Yes. Our May episode. Where we featured A-N-H-P-I, um mm-hmm. Authors. Mm-hmm. Or stories. And she also features and speaks to a various disabilities. And neurodiverse characters .

[00:30:21] Kelsey (2): The last book I read the protagonist had autism. Oh yeah. And or was autistic and, I just thought she did such a good job of describing like what that emotional burden and weight could feel like on a person. Mm-hmm. So I feel like she definitely does do her research around the topics that she's featuring, and I love that.

[00:30:44] Kelsey (2): And I thought it was well done. And that was the heart principle, that one. Okay. That I'm referring to. But yeah, the emotional depth in her characters. Yeah. I love that. 

[00:30:54] Amanda: And she is a romance author, right? Yes. Yes. Okay. Yeah, that's why I thought that's what you mentioned in that episode. Mm-hmm.

[00:30:59] Amanda: That's [00:31:00] great. Yeah. I, I definitely. I feel like I have a whole list of books and authors from this year that I still need to dive into, which is, it's great. It's a great problem mm-hmm. To have and again, authors and books that I would have otherwise been unaware of. Mm-hmm. And that would've just been a gap in my reading experience.

[00:31:22] Amanda: So Totally. I am, I'm really proud of us for. Yeah. Putting these folks out here for each other to engage with. Yeah. And for like our lit vibes only community mm-hmm. To broaden their perspectives and their own reading journey and experiences because it's so easy to get into your little reading silo and be like, this is what I read and this is only what I read and be mm-hmm.

[00:31:47] Amanda: Unconcerned with, or maybe even afraid of stepping outside of that mm-hmm. To, to try something new. Yeah. I. Yeah. And I think, you know, sometimes we recommend books in our [00:32:00] Litres episodes that we've heard about but haven't personally read. Mm-hmm. And so obviously there's the risk there of like, once we do actually reading and being like, oh, I don't know if I would have, I enjoyed this book as much as I thought.

[00:32:11] Amanda: Were there any books like that for you this year? I, I don't know. If there were for me, like off the top of my head Yeah. Where I read it and I was like, oh, this didn't quite hit the way that I thought it was going to. Mm-hmm. 

[00:32:27] Kelsey: I have one. Okay. That it just wasn't, it wasn't like a quit it, but it definitely was one that I was like, oh, maybe I would've chosen a different book because I wasn't in love with it.

[00:32:39] Kelsey: Okay. Right. Like, I really wanna highlight books that I'm . Drawn to mm-hmm. And that I would read again or recommend and which is what we do on this episode. But yeah, it was dash of Salt and Pepper. Oh yes. And it was a romance book by Koko Jackson. 

[00:32:57] Amanda: Okay. 

[00:32:58] Kelsey: And it just didn't [00:33:00] hit for me. Okay. That's all. That's fair. Yeah. But that was just one that I was like, oh, okay. 

[00:33:06] Amanda: Yeah. That's fair. I, I feel like. Most of the books I recommended this year I had read except for a handful.

[00:33:12] Amanda: And one of them, which I just mentioned a little bit ago, that I recommended and then read was Unashamed Musings of a Flat Fat Black Muslim. And I didn't honestly think it was incredibly well written. I, you know, I wouldn't say that she's. An author per se? Well, I, I mean, she is an author 'cause she wrote a book.

[00:33:33] Amanda: But, you know, she does a lot of other things. You know, she's like a model and a social media influencer. And a public speaker. Mm-hmm. And I think, you know, this was her chance to share her story. And I'm glad that she did. Okay. And I learned a lot. But, you know, it wasn't necessarily the, the most well written memoir.

[00:33:50] Amanda: Okay. So that would be my only book that I'd be like, I, I might have recommended something. Different, but I still think it's a book worth reading. Mm-hmm. Just for those [00:34:00] insights into her particular experience, especially because you don't hear a lot about the black Muslim experience.

[00:34:06] Amanda: There's not a lot of books that I'm aware of, right. About that particular experience. Yeah. It's usually, you know, Muslim American and they're also , Arab for example. Mm-hmm. So I think she's kind of filling that niche. But yeah, that would be the only one where I was like, Hmm, I was a little on the fence about it.

[00:34:20] Amanda: Yeah. But yeah, I, I think, you know, especially as we're trying to consider our next steps for mm-hmm. Lit Rex this year, both in December and in August. So last month, december and August. Don't have heritage months. Associated with them, at least not big ones.

[00:34:41] Amanda: Mm-hmm. And so we came up with our own, so we chose immigrant stories for December and then for last month we did like multiracial, multicultural stories and books. And so yeah, I liked that. I like that we got to choose. The topics or the areas to focus on that aren't necessarily Yeah.

[00:34:58] Amanda: Represented [00:35:00] officially in the calendar. Mm-hmm. So I, I like the idea of doing that moving forward. Totally. Like especially underrepresented groups that Yeah. Don't have a month dedicated to them, but there are still stories and authors out there that we can highlight. Yeah. So I am very much on board 

[00:35:15] Kelsey: with doing that.

[00:35:15] Kelsey: Yeah. I'm definitely open to that. Mm-hmm. And. There's just so many options. That's so many, like so many options. And we can make it as narrow or wide as we want. Yeah. And like in August, it was quite wide. It was very broad. Your understanding of it was not, and then I've made it wide. 

[00:35:38] Amanda: Yes. Mine was, yeah.

[00:35:39] Amanda: Pretty defined. Like well defined like. Boundaries. And then Kelsey came in with these books and I was like, all right, like this one guess it's multicultural too. Let's, let's, let's do the whole thing. But this is also an area listeners where again, we'd really love your input. You know, are there particular heritage, backgrounds, identities, experiences that you would love for us to highlight?

[00:35:57] Amanda: Like, yes, email us, [00:36:00] DM us, comment on this. Episode, like that's a really great place to get your feedback. Mm-hmm. On that, because I think the other thing that Kelsey and I have talked about doing moving forward is there are also a lot of months that have multiple identities associated with them, right?

[00:36:14] Amanda: Yes. Mm-hmm. Multiple experiences mm-hmm. Or heritage, et cetera, that are all all packed into one month. Yeah. And so we also talked about pulling those out as well as we head into the next year. And, and doing that, I, I do think there is a part of me though, for some of the. The bigger months, which sounds awful 'cause I don't wanna make one identity.

[00:36:34] Amanda: I know what you're gonna say. More important than the other. And yes, you probably know what I'm gonna say, but like Black History Month, right? Yes. Or even you know, with Pride Month or whatever, like it would, it would seem, or, you know, even honestly for like Hispanic or Latinx Heritage Month,

[00:36:48] Amanda: it would seem kind of remiss to not continue recommending books, but I also don't want you guys, listeners to feel like we've, we've done this before. 

[00:36:57] Kelsey: Mm-hmm. 

[00:36:58] Kelsey: Or even if we like [00:37:00] narrow it 

[00:37:01] Amanda: Yes. To like a 

[00:37:02] Kelsey: sub identity. Yes. You know, like transgender stories. Yeah, exactly. I love that. 

[00:37:09] Amanda: Yeah. 

[00:37:09] Kelsey: Caribbean stories.

[00:37:11] Kelsey: Yeah. Yeah. Ooh. 

[00:37:12] Amanda: So things like that. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah, I love that. Sub identities or like little niches, within the larger, broader identity. 'cause there are so many, or 

[00:37:19] Kelsey: Afro-Latino identity. Yeah. Mm-hmm. 

[00:37:23] Amanda: Yeah. So that's, I mean that's what we're thinking listeners.

[00:37:27] Amanda: Yeah. And you know, this is, like I said, a very kind of open conversation both between Kelsey and I, but with all of you. 'cause this is your community too. Mm-hmm. And. I think it's really important that we're keeping in mind all of those voices and being inclusive 'cause that's what we wanna do. Mm-hmm.

[00:37:42] Amanda: So even if there's identities that. I don't know, like, might not even be on our, I don't know, our radar just based on our own positionality. Yeah. That you're like, 

[00:37:49] Kelsey: Hey, have you thought about this? Or even like thinking about the current conflicts in our world. Yeah, right. Palestinian stories. Yeah. Sudanese stories.

[00:37:59] Kelsey: Yes. [00:38:00] Ukrainian stories. Yes. Like really broadening it. I love that. Outside of ourselves. Yeah. Bringing in part of that because we are educators at the end of the day. Yes. I would love to bring in stories that just are less, less told, I suppose. Yeah. 

[00:38:19] Amanda: But also I like that because I think bringing in a more global perspective too.

[00:38:22] Amanda: Mm-hmm. Because even when we've done other identities you know, it's always still been. Like based in the United States, right? So it's like Muslim American, or like a American or whatever it might be. Mm-hmm. Or Asian American. Which are all great and valid, and of course they're incorporating the cultures that they're bringing with them here.

[00:38:38] Amanda: Mm-hmm. But that still is a different experience than reading a book. Yeah. That is solely. Based in another country told by a person from that country and that culture. Right. So I love that. Right. Adding a, a bit more of a global aspect. 

[00:38:51] Kelsey: Yeah. I think that's what this space we've created is all about. Right?

[00:38:56] Kelsey: Yeah. Like is just highlighting those mm-hmm. [00:39:00] Untold stories. Yeah. And bringing light to them. Yes. And that's what this has become. Yeah. And then our lit re lit. Or quit episodes. Yeah. Are more of the popular books happening that people are reading right now? Exactly. But we're bringing voice to these other ones that Yes.

[00:39:17] Kelsey: Also that are like more important and just like more relevant to. Our lives as well. 

[00:39:26] Amanda: Yeah. Because I think we do want that balance there. Right? Totally. We do wanna be able to talk about what's popular mm-hmm. And relevant and like what people are chatting about and, and books that people are reading, right?

[00:39:38] Amanda: Mm-hmm. But also adding that element of, of exposure and curiosity and learning mm-hmm. And broadening those perspectives. Yeah. And I, I'll say, I feel like in our, especially in our first year as we're just kind of figuring things out, I think we did a really good job of that, of kind of appealing to both of those elements.

[00:39:54] Amanda: Mm-hmm. And I hope, I hope you guys feel the same way, pat in ourselves, [00:40:00] little cat on the back. I think, you know, it's good to do that sometimes. Totally. Yeah. 

[00:40:04] Kelsey: And just a year. Under wraps, like That's great. Yeah. That's a huge accomplishment. It's a, it's a huge accomplishment and it's wild to think that, that that's where we're at now.

[00:40:16] Kelsey: Yeah. 

[00:40:16] Amanda: And it's always good in those moments to do what we're doing, which is like to take a moment to take stock, to reflect, to think about what, what we want moving forward. So we're moving forward with purpose and with intention. Mm-hmm. And I think in doing so, yeah, we'll continue to. To build this community and draw.

[00:40:33] Amanda: It's funny 'cause listeners, 

[00:40:36] Kelsey (2): Amanda and I can just look at our accomplishments and like all of the recs that we've made throughout the year, it is 34 pages. Yep. On a Google doc. Like single spaced, like we put in a lot of work. Yeah. And , I'm proud of us Yes. For that and absolutely just glad we're gonna be continuing to another year.

[00:40:59] Kelsey (2): Yeah, me too. It [00:41:00] is a 

[00:41:00] Amanda: labor of love and for sure. You know, when we, when we were first brainstorming about this podcast and how we wanted to structure it and what kind of material and content we wanted to reduce mm-hmm. We both. As educators wanted to have some sort of element of, of education and growth and learning in this, and for us, that was what RICS was for.

[00:41:20] Amanda: Like that was a way for us to insert that into this podcast. And so I think that's something that, yeah, just holds a lot of value and importance for both of us. So, yeah, we're excited to kick off another year of this, starting with our litre episode next month. Um mm-hmm. So definitely stay tuned for that.

[00:41:39] Amanda: And yeah, as we're wrapping things up, of course, I'm gonna remind you guys one more time where to find us on socials, because again, that's the best way to communicate with us. Yes. To stay up to date with what's going on, to really become an active member of this community, so, mm-hmm. Again, we're on TikTok and YouTube at Lit Vibes only podcast.

[00:41:58] Amanda: Again, you can watch our full [00:42:00] length video episodes. You can like our videos, comment, follow all of that Good stuff. Get involved in the voting that happens every Thursday. Yes, for our lit or quitted episodes. Oh my gosh, we have 

[00:42:09] Kelsey: so much fun there.

[00:42:10] Amanda: Yeah. And then also what we do for our Litres episodes, every Thursday we ask for.

[00:42:15] Amanda: You to add to the, the list mm-hmm. Of books that we're recommending so we can share those out. So really great way to get involved. You can do all of that also on our Instagram, which is Lit Vibes only podcast. So if you're not actively doing those things yet, if you're a little, been a little shy, don't be shy.

[00:42:33] Amanda: Jump right in. There's so many great folks already in our community and we wanna hear from you. And the other thing that you can do, as Kelsey mentioned, is to. Rate and review us if you haven't taken the time to do that yet. Mm-hmm. Really help to get the word out about this podcast. Get more folks reading, get more folks reading different things, right?

[00:42:51] Amanda: And, you know, promoting these authors and these stories that might be underrepresented otherwise. So yeah, thanks for hanging out with [00:43:00] us. 

[00:43:01] Kelsey: Hope you enjoyed it. 

[00:43:02] Amanda: Hope you enjoyed it. We cannot wait to hear what you guys think and what you're looking for in terms of litre as we head into this new year. So don't be shy.

[00:43:10] Amanda: Let us know what you're thinking and otherwise we'll see you next Monday. 

[00:43:14] Kelsey: Bye.