Episode 4: Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey Show Notes

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In This Episode

The Book Evangelists discuss Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey

“It might take a little while to get there, but I’ll tell you everything and I’ll tell you the truth.” Ivy Gamble, in Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey

Morning Chatter

In which we briefly discuss helping our children 3D print their homework.

“I have persistence, which is like skills, by the time you finish.” -Lissa

And we explain how we failed to write our Camp NaNoWriMo projects.

  • “April is the cruelest month.” – Marian
  • “Reading is awesome, you should just read.” – Lissa
  • “Well, there’s always November, you can just recycle your idea then.” – Marian

Writing and Reading Experiments

We both like to use writers challenges and hashtags on Instagram to reflect on and plan our writing projects.

Lissa recommends: If you get really obsessed with a book you can go to twitter and find other people who are obsessed with the book. And then the author sees and joins in. Being a reader on twitter is the coolest. From @lissastaley she follows @charliejane and @scalzi and sometimes experiments with other writer’s twitter feeds.

Marian’s brave experiment was joining #revpit on Twitter and actively interacting with other writers. She reports back on her survey of writer use of social media. @marianrakestraw

Lissa recommends: The Long Way to a Small and Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

Sometimes we leave the comfort of our reading and writing homes to interact with other writers. Marian attended a literature festival for teenagers, run by teenagers, called LitUp Festival and met multiple amazing authors including Gayle Forman and Jacqueline Woodson.

Marian recommends: MasterClass, starting with Neil Gaiman Teaches The Art of Storytelling

We reflect on signed copies of books, which books we keep, and sending books out into the world

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41555947-magic-for-liars
We both really enjoyed this book: Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey

Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey

Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey at Goodreads.

Ivy Gamble has never wanted to be magic. She is perfectly happy with her life—she has an almost-sustainable career as a private investigator, and an empty apartment, and a slight drinking problem. It’s a great life and she doesn’t wish she was like her estranged sister, the magically gifted professor Tabitha.

But when Ivy is hired to investigate the gruesome murder of a faculty member at Tabitha’s private academy, the stalwart detective starts to lose herself in the case, the life she could have had, and the answer to the mystery that seems just out of her reach

description from the publisher

This blog post is spoiler-free. On the podcast, we discuss Magic for Liars beginning at the 37 minute mark. Our discussion doesn’t give away the ending but is filled with minor spoilers, so please read the book before you listen if you are into that kind of experience. We’ll be here for you when you finish!

How Lissa chooses books: Unreliable narrator! It’s mainstream fantasy! This will be interesting to read with Marian!

“On the whole I was impressed, and we know I am not often impressed.” Marian

We really like this book. As readers. And as writers. We were both delightfully surprised. We talk about the parts we like. We have fun discussing how really original books might reach readers in traditional publishing.

Marian: Where would I shelve this in the store? Fantasy? Hard boiled detective? It’s very original. It’s not like a book that I have read before.

Intriguing us for possible future reads: River of Teeth by Sarah Gailey (Also collected as American Hippo)

Next episode: We are listening to the audiobook of Dodger by Terry Pratchett

Our Show Notes include mentions and recommendations, all linked for your convenience. What else would you like to see here? 

Music Credit: The music used during transitions in our podcast is adapted from: Jazzy Sax, Guitar, and Organ at the club by Admiral Bob (c) copyright 2018 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/admiralbob77/58382 Ft: geoffpeters

Episode 3: Pride and Prejudice and Shoeless Joe Show Notes

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In This Episode

The Book Evangelists discuss Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen and Shoeless Joe by W. P. Kinsella.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

“Go ahead and judge me world. I love me, and that’s enough.” – Marian, defending her choice to finally read a Jane Austen novel

Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice at Goodreads. Pride and Prejudice came out in 1813 so are spoilers still a thing? (They are.)

Lissa recommends this Jane Austen website.

Marian recommends: Serial Reader app to read classic books in 20 minutes a day.

Headstrong Obstinate Girl – can we reclaim the insult from Lady Catherine?

Marian recommends Georgette Heyer and thinks Lissa should start with Frederica.

Shoeless Joe by W. P. Kinsella

“As a writer, I’m wondering how I get people to kidnap me and take me to baseball games.” – Lissa, explaining the appeal of Shoeless Joe

Shoeless Joe by W. P. Kinsella at Goodreads. The 1989 movie Field of Dreams was nominated for three Academy Awards and the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.

Marian recommends Save the Cat Writes a Novel

Reading a book about the recent past that includes fantasy elements complicates our own memories of the past.

Is this book mostly about baseball? Mostly about fathers and sons? Mostly about cornfields? Mostly about chasing dreams?

“Everything puts me in the mood for baseball.” – Marian

“These books are tricky. They leave us feeling enamored and tricked at the same time. Maybe that’s why we are still discussing them.” – Lissa

Our Show Notes include mentions and recommendations, all linked for your convenience. What else would you like to see here? 

Music Credit: The music used during transitions in our podcast is adapted from: Jazzy Sax, Guitar, and Organ at the club by Admiral Bob (c) copyright 2018 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/admiralbob77/58382 Ft: geoffpeters

Episode 2: The Gilded Wolves Show Notes

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In This Episode

gildedThe Book Evangelists discuss The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi. A YA adventure with an ensemble cast set in a magical 1889 Paris. 

 

Why this book? Subscription Boxes!

Marian and Lissa are so different from each other, but look at how we ended up with the same book in our mailboxes!

“I got Uppercase because I was instructed by like..the whole world…that I should do more self-care and so I bought myself Uppercase.” – Lissa

Uppercase Box – Uppercase is a monthly YA book subscription box that includes a signed first edition of the best YA book of the month along with high-quality and practical items.

“Because I’m me, before I chose a subscription box, I made a spreadsheet.” – Marian

OwlCrate – OwlCrate is a monthly subscription box for bookworms that sends you newly released YA books and other goodies straight to your door.

Are you suddenly tempted to try a subscription box? Lissa signed her kids up for OwlCrate Jr. while editing the podcast. Here’s a referral link if you are interested!


Magic Not Science

We read for what we know and for what we are interested in most.

So when we struggled to understand the way magic worked in this book, we approached that challenge differently.

Lissa tries to turn all the magic into chemistry. Or explain it away like John Scalzi’s Redshirts science lab.

Marian tries to understand how the magic system works within the book from the perspective of the writer creating the world.

What do you do with magic systems that don’t work for you as a reader?


Why Paris?

Why are so many new books coming out set in Paris in the Gilded Age?

What are your favorites so far? What are you looking forward to reading?

Do you have a story about visiting Paris that is more coincidental that Lissa’s or more crime-ridden than Marian’s?

Camp NaNoWriMo – Choose a writing project for this April. (Do it!) (Did you do it?)

Our Show Notes include mentions and recommendations, all linked for your convenience. What else would you like to see here? 

Music Credit: The music used during transitions in our podcast is adapted from: Jazzy Sax, Guitar, and Organ at the club by Admiral Bob (c) copyright 2018 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/admiralbob77/58382 Ft: geoffpeters

Episode 1: Pretty in Punxatawny Show Notes

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Links

The Book Evangelists discuss Pretty in Punxatawny by Laurie Boyle Crompton. A quirky contemporary YA romance that is a Groundhog Day meets Pretty in Pink mashup.

Camp NaNoWriMo – Choose a writing project for this April. (Do it!)

Blaze by Laurie Boyle Crompton, as reviewed by Lissa on Goodreads

The Clever Thrill Ride of “Russian Doll” from New Yorker

Nichole Millard screenwriting advice and Save the Cat Writes a Novel

Robin Sloan and Sourdough and sourdough

The Good News (about books)

    • Fawkes by Nadine Brandes –“Marian: does not deliver on premise”
    • Fire and Heist by Sarah Beth Durst  – “Marian and Lissa: We need more killing, more stealing, less romance”
    • The City in the Middle of the Night by Charlie Jane Anders – “Lissa: It’s so intense I can only read 10-15 pages a day and my library book is overdue. It’s a snuggling book. I love it.”
    • Shoeless Joe by W. P. Kinsella – “Lissa: Spring training reading, for writers waiting for opening day”
      • Fools and Mortals by Bernard Cornwell – “Marian: I enjoyed the heck out of it, an immersive and terrific audiobook.”

     

Our Show Notes include mentions and recommendations, all linked for your convenience. What else would you like to see here? 

Music Credit: The music used during transitions in our podcast is adapted from: Jazzy Sax, Guitar, and Organ at the club by Admiral Bob (c) copyright 2018 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/admiralbob77/58382 Ft: geoffpeters