Episode 1: Beginning Strong in 2026

Welcome to Fetch and Contitude bookbook Podcast. I'm Melissa and I'm Elise. This show is about two very best friends who love books but also love talking about life occurrences. Join us for the girl talk. It'll get real, it'll get fun, it'll get interesting. Sit down, buckle up, and let us talk to you about all the things. Today. We are talking about our twenty twenty six TVR list, reading goals for the year, reading games, and our first book club read Thanks for joining us today. Hey guys, so I'm not going to tell you everything on my twenty six for twenty six list. Why don't you explain what twenty six for twenty six is. So Welcome to twenty twenty six. Woo woo woo, first podcast of the new year. Cool cool, shut up a lease god. So twenty six for twenty six is where you pick out twenty six physical books that you already own or on your kindle if you have a huge library like a Lisa and I do, and you pick out twenty six of them, whether it's a mixture of new, old, whatever. We chose to do older books on our TBR to make sure that we're reading through all of the things I very much am a mood reader, and I have more than twenty six on my list. This is just so I can be fair to myself. I found last year I did twenty five and only twenty five, and I actually didn't finish them because I was at the point where I didn't have anything else that my mood wanted me to read, and I got frustrated and just said I'm done. I don't want to do this anymore, so I stopped. So the ones that I'm most excited for on my list is I have a bunch of El Kennedy this year, and el Kenny's my favorite author. She really is. She can do no wrong in any of the books I've ever read. Sorry, it's true. I did start twenty twenty six with my favorite book, one that I read every single year. It's The Wanderer by Sharon Creech. That's my favorite book ever. Even as a child, it was my favorite I do. As i've been an adult, I have gone back and read it every single year. That is just something that I need to do for myself. I love seeing how I've changed. I don't annotate books, but I've had several physical copies of it that I have annotated and just saw how I've progressed in my thinking about it. Give it or read. It's one of my seriously, probably my all time favorite book. I also am reading Stonemaidens by Lloyd Devereaux Richards. He is a Vermont author, very close to home. He takes the prot of his books, especially holiday time, and will purchase angel try gifts or go to food pantries. He spends a lot of time helping out the community. I think it's really cool that he worked at a place that I also worked. It was a pretty large business, but he worked there while he wrote the book, and when he was when you were retired was when he kind of pushed to finish it. And he's actually written several books since then. And he has a great TikTok. I suggest going to look at it. He's hilarious. But that's really exciting I think is I want to try to start reading more local authors. My significant other, my fiance, really likes Vermont authors. He loves Vermont lore, he loves Vermont ghost stories. I was gonna say, you both have read pretty like local books on lore and like ghost stories stuff like that. That's kind of cool though, Yeah, in terms of like being from home, and it's I feel like, no matter where you are, it's always kind of fun to read a book about home, right, And I mean, maybe it just means a little bit more to us because our our state is very small, right, But I mean, I think it's always kind of fun to do that, right. I agree. Sometimes I feel like I read the same thing over and over and over again because our state is so small. But there are several Vermont authors who write Vermont lore and ghost stories and abandoned buildings and all of this just really cool history that, whether you believe it or not, is still super interesting to learn about. That's been one of our big things together is we just we get books and he reads it, and then I'll read it or I read it and he reads it. No way we can talk about it after. Must be nice. Yeah, my husband does not read, which is perfectly fine. It's just not his thing. He is much more of a I want to be out in the garage. He's mechanic, so that's much more his jam. That's fine, absolutely, Like I'm okay with it just being my thing in our household, right, Yeah. And then the last two that I'm super excited about is Deepened by Ali Hazelwood. I'm also very excited for that. You want me to read it so you can read it, I know. Yeah. And then i have that Kenny Chesney autobiography, and I'm so excited. Kenny Chesney is my favorite. I told my parents when I was younger. I told my parents, I think I was like ten or twelve, that I was gonna marry Kenny Chesney one day. I mean, the goal is still there. So that's my excitement for my twenty six and twenty six. So for my twenty six. For twenty six, I have a couple older reads that I have read before. Like Alyssa said, like she reads this one book every year. I think I'm gonna start that just because this is like my childhood favorite chapter book. I should say I always loved Hatchet by Gary Paulson. I also really loved Island of the Blue Dolphins. So I'm saving these smaller filler books right for in between when I need a palate cleanser, because I know that I love these books. Right So along with that, I also have books like All Good People Here by Ashley Flowers, because Ashley Flowers is a host of one of our favorite podcasts. We are also both super into true crime, and I think Ashley Flowers like Crime Junkies, was one of our most binged podcasts of the past few years. I absolutely love it same so love both her and brit shut Out. Yeah. I'm also super into dystopians. It is one of my favorite genres to read. I took a class in high school called Utopian Lit and it was all dystopian novels. So dystopians have always been a favorite of mine ever since that class, and I've sought them out right. So one of the ones that I put on my list that I really do believe that I'm gonna read this year is the one by John Mars and that is actually a series, and I'm planning on continuing the series. I just don't have it in physical copy. The other big one that I really want to read is the Selection series all over Again. I only have the first two books, but I did really enjoy that one. I think I read that one in college. But I mean I have a couple of those books, most of mine where just I took off my shelf and separated them to These ones have been on my shelf forever and I really need to read them because I just haven't. I also really need to take Scythe. And now that I'm looking at my bookshelf, I need to take Scythe off of my shelf and put it on my list because that one I bought like two years ago and I just have not gone around reading it. Girl, some of these books I've had for fifteen plus years. Okay, this is true. And my fiance is like, oh my gosh. He supports me in every way, shape or form when it comes to reading. If he leads me to bookstores, we adventure, unless it's at least and I go into the book store together and then he's like, oh great, I don't want that. I want to make a comment about that, actually, because I gave you so much shit because in the last episode, in our introductory episode, because this is technically our episode one, I know whoa in our introduction he had literally said, I don't plan on buying any more books because I need to finish the ones that I have. What does this girl go do? She goes on a trip up to Burlington and they end up going to Barnes and Noble. Wow, the whole reason. I didn't plan it it's not my fault. Well, well, I I totally called her out on it, and she she says, I had gift cards. It's it's not money buying it, girl. That is not the point here. I excuse me. I had a gift card. I didn't even spend the whole thing, which is fantastic. I only bought two books and they were both hardcover and fifty percent off. Leave me alone. You're getting so defensive. I am, he planned a nice date. Leave me alone. I can't complain. If my husband took me out to Barnes and Noble, which is like not gonna happen, I would be forever thankful. But yeah, no, there's no chance of that. That is zero percent chance happening. So with that all being said and talking about our twenty six or twenty six, you are more than welcome to join us in this adventure this year. You do not have to finish all twenty six. It is just like a reading goal, like, hey, I might try to finish these books this year. So, with all of that being said and gone over some of our books that we are planning on reading, which does not include our kindle nor are audible. Or Nook or Coloh, here's the thing. Here's the thing. I can't give you a list on my kindle, but I want to read this year because I literally just scroll up and down really fast and then pick them. Because I will get lost in reading the synopsis. I will get lost and reading the blurbs. I don't want that. I don't want to know how many pages. I love that. I'm looking for something very specific, like Christmas time. I look for Christmas books. I love Christmas books, always hates them. But like I, if it is just a regular Tuesday and I need a new book, I am just scrolling up and down really fast and then picking one. You can see it happening too. It's great. It's like a restaurant lette type. There have been many times where I've clicked into a book and be like, oh, this was a bad choice for right now. Yes, as an emotional reader, that's never a good choice. Yep. My kindle library is so full. I cannot emotional read my kindle library. I can't do it. Speaking of Kindle, oh, yes, we are going to have an as up to date list as we possibly can on our website of the stuff your Kindle days. There are lots this year, like a ton this year, and there are two stuff your earbud day. So if you're an audiobook user, I suggest Cobo. It's fantastic. I have not tried Cobo yet, but I really do need to. I just tend to only do Audible. But that's because I have so many other things going on in my life. That's all I can like maintain. So I will tell you because I have so many books on my library and I have so many downloaded audio books on Kindle, I actually got rid of Kindle Limited and Audible the subscriptions because I need to focus on the ones that I already have, and I'm just stopping that subscription meant I couldn't be like, oh my gosh, this new release is on Kindel Limited and I need it right now. But here's the thing, though, that's where these stuff you're Kindle days come in really nicely. And yeah, until I download a thousand, get an email for every single of the oh my, got you download this? Oh my, got you download this? I'm like, oh my god, shut up, I know did. I don't need your help. I will say our list right now. We did go through. We made a list. There are a lot of to be determines on it, and I will try to keep that as updated as possible or Alyssa will whichever, but we will try our best to keep those updated so that you will know. We'll try to announce them when they come up. I know in January there are three that we know of. January twenty first through twenty fourth is the sports stuff You're Kindle by Indie Author Collective. There's also a Stuff You're Kindle twenty third through twenty five, twenty third through the twenty fifth ninety nine cent ebooks Frost and Flame by Cloutbooks dot Com. And the twenty seventh is the first of the year's romance book Blast by Romance Booklovers dot Com and Indie Author Collective. And that event happens the first of every quarter, right, the. First month of every quarter. Right, It changes what week or what day, but it is once a quarter, right. So those are the ones we know of for right now. There are two more that are to be determined for this month, but we will keep an eye out for those. And again we will put the list of the year. We went through and actually found the ones for the entire year. That would be interesting and we'll have that up on our website in the blog section. And it does include a little bit of everything for everyone. Absolutely. We tried to be as inclusive as we could. Yeah, diverse and inclusive I mean, and we want that for everybody listening. Absolutely, And I do have to say there are several that are not listed on there that we did find because websites are broken or the links don't work. And we don't want to give you that hope that even if there's something new and exciting that you want to try reading and then have it not. I would hate that. That would drive me crazy. So another thing that we're actually trying to do this year is come up with more games for ourselves, if not for everybody to join, and I might actually include those in our blog section as well. I personally, I would like to do every month, I put together the list of the books that I've finished for the month, and I want to pick my top book read for that month, and then kind of like a sports bracket, right, I want to go through and find my number one top book of the year, and I would love for you to join me in that, but I know I'm going to be taking a selection of five books and you're going to be selecting out of eighteen, so good in luck, thank you. I also this sounds terrible. I hate reading books. I hate it even like personally because I know someone's hard labor went into that and like so much thought and my yuck could be your yum and. I hate like that would be like my disclaimer on it. It's like my my yum is not gonna be everybody's yum. Yeah, But also I just want to mention I thought you said I don't like reading books, and I'm like read. Reading books. I got it, like Goodreads want you to rate them in order to like win more prizes. I can't do it because that goes out for everyone to see. And what if I'm the deciding factor and someone would have loved that book. I know. I take everybody's ratings with a grain of salts because like it's like when I go on to TikTok and I look at some of the book talk creators, some people like the one person the other day I saw really liked five books that I really liked and then gave one like five star to a book I hated, and I'm like, well, yeah, I mean that's gonna happen, right, and it sometimes it's just as small as like writing style of the author. It's not to say that any of that author's books are terrible. It's just maybe just not for you. Yes, I will say, as of the last three months, margins and oh man, how authors have margins and books is an automatic inch for me. I don't know why I'm hoping this just goes away. I it was. Like what ten pm. I was like, I have the margins in those book. I can't do it. Oh. The worst part about that, too, though, is that I did not actively realize or notice the margins until you said something, and that was like great, I hate this because I then looked at my physical book that I'm reading between two kings and I'm like, don't like this. The lettering is too small, the margins are too not even like, I can't do it. And I texted you and I was like thanks. Well, the book I was reading was like five hundred pages long, and they was like a good half inch or more of space all the way around on every single page. It was like, this book could have been three hundred pages. What has happened? Like, yeah, it makes me look really good. I just read this super long book. Dang, just take it and roll with it. I couldn't do it, Okay, I know it took me. That's just like our book OCD. Like I also specifically with this book, and I'm not trying to bash anybody at all. The book is about a basilisk and the front where the snake is the snake just the artwork looks a little funky to me. It does not. It looks very too d snake to me. Kind of yeah, although I will appreciate it. Like, I'm not trying to throw shade at the book by any means, because I absolutely love I love it. I know it's naughty for you, but the I got the one with the artwork on the spray edges, thank you. I couldn't do it. May mean you're gonna see the hand motions around the book. The artwork on the sprayed edges is actually really pretty. Oh it's gorgeous. It's so pretty and it makes me want to buy more sprayed edge books. But oh, I have an issue with that. Great it's like a drug. It is. I'm like, oh my gosh, like how pretty it is. To be completely fair buying books in general, right, But My. Issue is is I could already have the book, or I could have want copy it. So I'm not gonna lie when I say that I specifically with my series of Harry Potter one. Those are the ones that are on my bookshelf, are the ones that I had as a kid, so they're beaten up. I really want the ones that are like house oriented. But I don't just want. My not all of them. I don't want just my house. I want all that ouse. Oh my gosh, we saw one I remember where we were. It was so cool. It was fully illustrated and it had pop outs. I also okay, So any version of Harry Potter I could probably end up buying, and it is a problem. The same goes for any of the Hunger Games. I could buy all of those special edition, regular first edition. I could buy all of the Hunger Games. I saw an El Kennedy book off I think it was the off Campus series, and it was pink and it was hardcover and it had beautiful gold writing and it had etching, and I was like, oh, I need that, and I didn't buy it, and I felt so proud of myself both. So I really meant that I didn't buy it. I have two copies of the full series. Yeah, I don't need it, but I wanted to sell. So yeah, we're gonna try to do some games. Maybe we'll come up with a better selection by next week. Speaking of games, though, I have fun for today. Oh god, I forgot. I'm not ready for this. I hope you are answering these as well. Oh duh? Okay, So do you want to explain we're gonna play. This or that book edition? Are you so excited? I'm so excited. I'm so excited. This or that you're ready? No, I think you will be. Okay, read in bed or on the couch. On the couch in bed? Absolutely in bed? No, see, I fall asleep and then my candle falls on my face and. That's where your kid gets it, right there? Night reader or morning reader? Night reader? All day? Yeah, yeah, I'm. An all day doesn't matter. I have more time at night. No, it doesn't matter. Okay, in the morning, I'm like, I am getting shit done. No, it doesn't matter. Borrow or bye bye bye, And then I feel bad about it. I do not. I have no buyer's guilt when it comes to books. I know your answer for this one. Already, but one sitting or slow and steady go for for yourself. I wasn't being mean. I just know that you like to actually like when you're reading fantasy, you like to sit back and imagine it, and it takes you longer sometimes because you get lost in the pictures in your head. I think it really depends. If it is a book that I cannot put down, I will read the absolute crap out of it. But normally, most of the time, probably ninety five percent of the time, I am a slow and steady reader. Right, You have a fantastic imagination where I also have an imagination, but mine is not build the world in my head. That's not so for me. I would much rather read it in wan sitting because then I can move on to the next one. For me, it's getting lost in the story, not building the story. Yeah, a real place in my head. And that's like any of the books that I've tried to write, because I've tried to write several of them, and I do have like drafts of several. I always get lost in the world building or the character building, and that is my downfall when it comes to writing. And I just I very much believe that's why I'm not a fantasy reader like you very well. You loved reading the Akatar series. I did, but I think it's because there's so many different places that you could build in your mind. Yep. I am not that person. I am not that reader. I don't want anything to do with it, you know. And I think that's fair. Specifically for this utopian lit class that I had in high school. I mentioned before, of our assignments was to write a story, and my cousin, who was in the same grade as me, just could not. She was not a fantasy like I'm not gonna make up the story. I'm not gonna make up the character. She just could not do it, and that's perfectly fine. She was much more I want to give you the facts. She was much more of a either biography, autobiography, or just a research paper type person. She wanted to give you the facts of the situation rather than build a story around some made up place. And that's very much. How I feel about things. I think that's why I gravitate towards like the Vermont settings, because it's true stories. I think that's fair. But I think that is very much why I am not a fantasy person because you have to have a certain amount of imagination to build those in your head, and I cannot do it. What say it? My mind just went, you know how earlier we were talking and like we came up with the same song. My mind just went to the south Park imagination. Mine went to SpongeBob imagination where he does the rainbow. I've never even watched SpongeBob. Ask me how I know this. I don't know. I do love how our minds went to two different places. And that also explains our Golden retriever black Cat. Before I forget oh, no, I know what you're gonna say. Sorry to interrupt our game, but before we progress, I need to embarrass somebody a little bit. And she's not here in this room. However, when she listens either one, her reaction is going to be to call me first thing and be like, oh my gosh, you're terging me me, or it's gonna be oh, I have a feeling it's going to be the calling me and like. Being so excited. It's gonna be a group call. It really is. It's gonna be a group My youngest stepdaughter has a few and we did not include her and give her the proper mention that we should have in our introduction. My stepdaughter's fiance is the one that came up with the name Fetching Catitude, and I want to give her all the credit in the world. So claps all around. Yes, she did so good, We're so proud of you. No, but this girl is wonderful. She is intelligent and came up with this name. No, Honest to god, she actually put it through a generator, which is fine, Like she's much better at it than I would think both of us are, because we're old and AI is not our thing. So she put it through a generator I think, and she came up with several and then she was like nope, this one yeah, and it just it kind of stuck. Yeah, absolutely, like we hadn't even decided we were fully doing this, and we're like, oh, well now we have. To I know. After that, I was like, well, we have a name, so we are to actually do something with it, right, Okay, continue with your with your game bookmark or dog ear bookmark. Absolutely, I used to dog ear and I cannot do it anymore. I get so upset if my book even gets wrinkleds. There are a handful of books that I don't mind. And it's not because they don't like them, but I don't know why. But sometimes I'm like, ah, this is a dog yearbook. I don't know why, and it could be one of the best books I've ever read. It doesn't matter. I don't know what the issue is. So I should say this as well because it fits into this story. My husband and I have a friend that lives above our garage because we are turning it into an apartment. And I bought him a book for Christmas because he could not find his copy, and I think he's lost it along the way of moving around. Well, he was reading it the other day and he put it down. I saw what he put in it for a bookmark, and it was a piece of torn off paper towel. I had a c niption fit. I went and grabbed one of my bookmarks and I shoved it in there. I was like, you're not doing that in my. House, see, And I think that's where think you get so mad at me. And I try to hide them sometimes because I'm like, ah, it's just a random receipt. Oh, this is a piece of this is a gum wrapper. I'm not gonna lie. I have done the whole receipt bookmark thing. At least it's like it's not like a napkin or anything. The gun wrapper that would I don't know. I have a thing for bookmarks, which again, if we did the whole like gift box thing for like subscribers and. Stuff, I'm gonna give you a gum wrapper. I'm just kidding. Please buy our book box. It's a bunch of empty cup wrap. Maybe I'll give you a piece of dumb to it. And now you have to you have to add like a gumback or something. I can't with you. Please pull it together. We've got more questions. All right, are you ready? Classic or contemporary? Contemporary? Absolutely? I do love some classics, but I struggled, like in school, whenever I had to read something classic, I struggled. I just couldn't do it. Yeah. There are some classics that I'm like, great, I love this, Yeah, and others that I get to page five and I'm like, Okay, I'm gonna gouge my eye out and we're done. Yeah. I mean that's one of my books. Actually, I have on my my list the Swiss Family Robinson that technically is a classic, but it's an adventure book for me, and I love that, whereas like technically The Odyssey is a classic as well, and as adventure, I struggle. I just am dramatic, and I think that if I can't, if I can't get into and five pages, I'm no, that's. You know, that's fair though, like I have the same thought about that, to be completely fair. But also if I d n a book, I think about it for months and a half to go back and actually read it. So also on my list is one that I can't. I've picked it up twice now and I just cannot get past the first like five chapters. I just can't. But I want to push myself through it because so many people have said it's such a good book. Right. No, I get that. That's like me and Butcher and Blackbird. Right t I felt about akatar first book. I texted Lisa said, I cannot do this. We are not reading this whole story because I loathe it. I have nothing to do with it. That was one of the ones that I had suggested to you as a book series, because I absolutely loved it. No, we read it together, right, But I had told you that I wanted to do it, and then you were like, okay, cool, and then you were like, girl, I am struggle busting through this. Once we got through the first one because I made myself do it, because we were doing it together. I was like, okay, there's no way. And then the next one, I was like, okay, not terrible. That's because the second book is a lot better in my opinion. Right, the first one is definitely a Beauty and the Beast remake, but not quite. Yeah, I will be kind. I will not add further. But we did it. We did it. I did not finish the last one because I just was like, okay, I'm done. I can't go ahead. You would really like the last one. I don't care, that's rude. I just I can't. Okay. I made it through as much as I could of all of the fantasy things, and I was like, ah, I can't do this. But it makes more sense now that I'm explained it to you. Right, like no, and yeah, I could not understand, but it does make sense now that you've like fully explained it to me. And I feel like we've talked about it before. But I definitely have a better appreciation for your reasoning because I was like, girl, you're just crazy. I mean I know that anyways, but sh don't tell my secrets rude hard copy or ebook or audiobook. That's hard. It depends, It really does depend. I think I prefer hard copy, but I read more kindle, So. When my daughter was younger, it was easier for me to put down a kindle, right, rather than a whole physical book. I don't know. Why don't like make it make sense to me? I don't know. I will say for me, I listen to a lot of audio books because because I just have more time for that. But otherwise, I think if I had to choose between physical and kindle, because I think my answer will be audiobook all day long, just because I listen to more audiobooks, right, But if I had to choose between kindle and physical, I love holding a physical book. I like I don't know what it is. I like flipping the pages. I like seeing how much I've finished. I mean, we all know as book readers, and some of our listeners will understand this as well. There is a certain smell to physical books that you cannot get rid of. Oh, and I love it, live for it same. I also like to turn to my fiance and be like, look at how much you ritchity and it's like a chunk of the book. And I'm like so proud of myself, and he's like, ah, that's awesome. I yeah, it doesn't. It doesn't quite feel the same when you have like a little percentage you are at bottom of the screen being like, oh, yeah, I read two percent. Yeah, Like I'm seventy five percent through a book on Kindle and I'm like. I know, it just doesn't give you the same satisfaction. No, it doesn't. I also think that because my physical books are in color, I can see how pretty the cover is, it like draws me to it. I do not have a color reader. That's my issue, I think. Yeah, I mean, I guess I could understand that that doesn't make a difference to me. I suppose, so I could see it making sense for you, though. So I read with He's not my nephew, but I call my nephew twice a week most of the time, and he is in third grade and we're reading chapter books, and there are so many pictures that I wish that I could see because he's like, oh my gosh, look at this, or look at that, and I'm like, I see it, but it's not as cool. Right, well, and I understand that too. Like one, I'm a little bit. I've always kind of been a little bit jealous that you do that, because I think that's amazing. Because my daughter, who's only three, won't even really let me read picture books to her. No, she has one of those dreamlight story books, yeah, which projects the pictures. Yes, she loves it. It projects the picture of the page onto the wall, onto the ceiling, and it will actually read to her. It is the best purchase I've ever made, because she'll actually put it in bed with her right, put it up on the ceiling, and that's what she goes to sleep to do. I wish it was me, yes, because my mom used to do that with me. But I also was the kid who had cassette tapes, same of books, and that's actually what I listened to to go to bed. So it's kind of the same thing. So same but not the same. When I was in middle school, my mom, I wasn't allowed to read Harry Potter by myself. My mom and my dad and I would lay in their bed and my mom would read it out loud. To us, and it was such a wonderful bonding time for us because we all were so busy. And I think that as an adult now that I'm trying to read it, I'm like, this is this, It's not the same, And that's why I'm so hesitant to push forward. Yeah, I have a book like that. It's not a kid's book, per say, but I have a book like that. Like that was something that because my mom specifically read a lot of books to me as a kid, we definitely bonded over our books. Sister, shout out to our mama and your sister. My dad was a great. Reader, So my sister was not into books, but she is as an adult. It is now circle correct. But my sister was kind of like my daughter, and she did not want to be read to. If she was going to read it, she was going to read it herself. And she was just much more of an independent reader. Whereas I loved to sit. My mother and I would sit on this love seat that we had, and it was an old love seat that we'd gotten secondhand, So we would sit on this love seat and the one book I can completely remember us reading. We read so many books on that couch. I don't remember any other than this one book, and it was The Yearlink. So I used to sit on this couch with my mother and we used to read many books, like we used to read Box Car Children too. Loved all of those, but the one that I can really really remember most, I think because it traumatized the both of us, Like this was not my mother's first time reading the book, but we read The Yearling together, and of course if you've read The Yearlink, you will get it. We both bald, like, and my mom's in the middle of trying to read this and we're just bawling together, and it's kind of like reading up where the red ferns grow or Yeller stuff like that, like anything with animals with me, they're. So good, but also stop traumatizing children, what are you doing? Right? So that one, in particular is kind of the same thing where I'm scared to pick it back up because I don't know if I'm gonna have the same feels. But I do have it in a physical form because for me, it's it's almost like a reminder I like need to frame this book or something because it just needs to go my wall and being like, yeah, memories were made with this book. Yeah, and maybe I should do that. I should get like a shadow box and put it in there and like decorate it. That would be really cute. Okay, continue indoor or outdoor reading both. It really depends summertime. Outdoors all day long, either out on my porch or by the beach. Camp reading. Oh the best reading, I agree, even if I'm indoor or outdoor. There. Two summers ago, we were there, My fiance and I were there. It was our first year ever being there by ourselves with the dog, and it poured for twenty four hours and we just read and it was wonderful. So the first time I was ever like single as an adult, I was up at camp. My husband did come to visit at one point, but for the majority of that week, because I took a week there, I was by myself, and that was very good for me. I finished so many books. But you know what, I had a twenty four hour rain session and I was fine. I sat on the couch that's up there, and I read all day long. I finished two books that day. Speaking of a place that has a particular smell, the camp smell, I cannot tell you what that does to me, Like I walk in and it's like I can let everything in the world go it. I don't know what it is, but it just perfect. Yeah, and we should take photos when we're out there this summer and post them to Instagram of us like hanging out and reading on the new dock. We'll have to get ziploc bags and like carry them out with us to the new dog. Oh, that's right, the floating dock that we I'm getting a wet bag, but I'm not gonna be able to I don't trust myself even on the dock without like something covering my book. We'll have to bring our kindles. That way, we can just pug the buttons. I can't through the classic. Okay, okay, adult young adult, adult adult for me. I think i'd also have to say adult. I do read, like we both read a good amount of young adults. I do actually have quite a bit of young adult on my list this year. Yeah. Oh, and that's fine. I actually think I have more adult reading than I do young adults at this point, But it kind of depends on the book for young adults, right. I just as an adult, I like adults use same. But also sometimes it's nice to just not oh for sure, for sure paperback or hardcover. It depends. If it's a series that I already have, like hardcovers, I'm going to get hardcovers. But I guess in reading, just like a standalone if I had to choose paperback all day long. Right, if I have it in hardcover or they only offer it in hardcover, like the Kenny Chesney book is only offered in hardcover, then I'm gonna buy in hardcover. It's not my face because I don't feel like I can read it as many places. If that makes sense. Yeah, I mean, and let's be honest here too, Like I am not the type of person that will take a paperback and break the spine. Oh yeah, now that's a big ick for me. Same big ich or like letting someone borrow your book and then they break the spine. I'm like, I don't want that back. Yeah, I mean, I done, I do. But also so my work friend who is one of our great friends, borrowed one of my books and she called me in tears because she ripped one of the pages. And when I say she ripped one of the pages, it was like three centimeters. It was teeny. Tiny, but to some people that really matters, and to her, obviously it very much mattered to her. Just it shows how much she cares for her books. She loves coming to shop my shelf. She loves it. She takes books I've never even read it. I don't care. And I actually surprised she didn't shop my shelf. But I don't think we had enough time when we were here. Yeah, but she's like, I'll buy you any one. And I was like, girl, there's no need. I don't care. And then I had one of her books and I was in the bathtub, and I asked her before I like took a bath, do you mind if this goes into the bathtub of me. She's like, I don't care. But there are certain things where I'm like, Okay, if my book gets a water spot on, I don't care. I don't care that she ripped one of the pages. I don't care. I dropped a drink on one of my books the other day at your house, down the wall, down the outline. Oh god, that's. Right, And it's pretty pretty design. It's the painted edges that pissed me off. Yeah, I know it did. You were so madath and I get that. I do if if I do it to myself, I am so mad. If someone else does it, I'm like, who cares? All right, except for don't break my spine. I will hunt you down right next. One comfy blanket or cozy. Socks, comfy blanket all day long? I want both. Well, I get that, But if I had to choose, Like right now, I'm actually barefoot, but I would love to be covered with a blanket. Like I feel like I can cover mottoes with a blanket. I can also cover my toes with a sock. But see, I like to raw dog mottoes. Fun fact, I hated wearing socks until I was like mid twenties early thirties. Hated it. If the seams touched my toes, I am dead. Oh I get that feeling. Actually I had that yesterday with my socks. Or if there's a hole or if I develop a hole through the day that ruins my whole day. That not so much for me. But okay, we're getting like tangent. Here, Okay, hero or villain villain? Hero? See this is the Golden Retriever and black Cat. I'm much more like I'm rooting for the villain all day long. First person or a third person? Oh ah, first person, I want it happening to me. I just read a book that was both what Yeah, it had a narrator and the characters would talk to the narrator about themselves. Oh, I don't like I don't like that. Oh my god. It was so good though, Like I didn't think I was going to like it neither, and it added so much to the story. I would say I would probably prefer first person, but I read more third person. Most books. A good percentage of the books that I read are third person. But I want it happening to me. Okay, weirdo. Prequel or sequel. Depends on the series sequel one hundred percent. I don't want to read something and then go back and read the prequel. No lit. Again. This is where like my love for like the Hunger Games comes in, because the last two books have been prequels. But That's what I'm saying is like that is very much a fantasy thing. I mean, yes, it happens outside of fantasy. If I read a book, I don't want to go back and read about what happened before the book. Fair. Fair, I mean to me, it just it depends on the series and if there was more like history. Again, this is much more of a fantasy thing for me, But if it was, I mean, Hunger Games is not necessarily fantasy, if anything is a dystopian. But that's where I really did appreciate some of the background. But see, here's the thing. I'm gonna take it to TV shows now. No. I live for NCIS. It's my favorite. I tell you how much I hate prequels. NCIS origins makes me so happy to see what happened to Lead Gibbs there. Ye books, I can't do it. And that's sometimes fine. Sometimes you just need that. But I honestly, I'm gonna answer it like both, because it pends on the series for me, right, I. Much prefer for the most part standalones. I agree. I also am like, I'm gonna out my mother here. But my mother has this thing where she'll get into a series, knows it's a series, and then finds out after the last book that there's another one coming. It's just not coming for another couple of years, and that upsets her and it does to me too, Like I am patiently waiting, Rebecca. I need the next book for four. I need. I need the next book after on nexttorm. Please give it to me faster. Whereas I won't read the series unless I own all of them or can have them in my possession. That is fair too, because if I sit down and binge one of the books in one day and don't have the next one, you will think I'm going to light the world on fire because I'm that angry. Yep, Okay, notes on margins or. No notes, Absolutely, no notes. I want a clean book. In college, I used to do that to my textbooks, but I feel like that's different. Yeah, if it is a story, I am not an annotator. I've never really tried either, but I feel like I overthink it. I am not an annotator. The only caveat to that is the Wanderer, and that is just because I read it every single year. And I want to see how my as an adult versus how I was as a child, how one how it shaped me, and to how I look back on things that have happened to Sophie and to Cody in the book and I want to be like, wow, I really related to that as a child, and now I just want to hug them yeah, and be like it gets so much better. Well, and I think that's fair to say too, Like, I could probably do the same thing with Hatchet, right, just because like I read it as a elementary school student originally, right, and I go back and read it and it affects me in a different way. Because I have more life experience, I can maybe see patterns in the writing style, in what's going on, and you know what's going to affect the character later. Like, yes, I could probably annotate that one too, but I can't. If I'm reading a book for the first time, I want to sit there and enjoy the story of it, rather than sit there and be like, oh, okay, this might come up later. That might come up later, right, Okay, meet your favorite author or meet your favorite character character author. Okay, I have a lot of book boyfriends that I would love to meet. I'm sorry and advanced to my husband. El Kennedy and Quinn. I mean, if you ever want to meet up for coffee, please, I beg you. I just want to pick your brain. I mean, I feel like that's so unfair. I would love to meet some of my favorite authors. Like, I'm not gonna lie. I do have a whole collection going of one specific author. Personally, I don't think i'd want to meet that author. I would have questions for that author, but I'm not positive that I would want to meet and sit down for coffee with that. Author, which sucks because that author is so close to our state. Oh my god. You know, I personally will probably never read another book by that author. I know, and it kills me. I very much try really hard not to fall into the authors doing stupid things or saying stupid things, or acting some type of way. I try very hard to stay in the middle. Whether I believe what you're saying or not. We all have our own opinions. That's just how it goes. Your opinion is your opinion. Yep. This author, for me, has at this point done so many things and said so many things that I cannot get behind, and made it very clear to people to not come and visit their home which is decorated like several of the books, and just made it very quick like I don't want you around if you don't believe the things that I believe. And that it kills me inside, it really does, because this author is an amazing author in my eyes. It pains me that certain things have to be that way with certain authors. Yes, my thought is, I don't care if you're an author, you're a movie director, you're politician. I believe if you wanted to have like your own page to talk about it, great. I want to enjoy you. I want to read your books, I want to watch your movies. I want to learn more about you. But if you are saying terrible things about any human, I don't care what the situation is on your book related page, That very much is a I don't think I can do this anymore. Right, And that's like, we're not gonna talk about it like that. We don't want anybody to feel different about us. We also don't want people to get offend, did buy anything like? That's not why we're here. We are here to be enjoyable and to have a good time. We are not here to share our opinions about that side of life. Yeah, and there's already too much conflict in this world we really don't need to discuss. Yeah, and that's kind of where we're like, I don't want to have to stop reading someone. But if you get to the point where like this author has where I can't respect the work, that you've done. I just need to not and that's fine. It's not like you're losing money off of me because I'm one person. Yeah. So in that same respect too, there are a couple authors that I would like to sit down with. I just feel like a lot of them would be very controversial. Right exactly. But I feel like that would be with anybody like I. I yeah, somebody might look at yours and say, okay, an really like what But oh I'm not that. I am not personally saying that, but I'm just saying, like, again, I am a huge Harry Potter, right, but a lot of people could be like, mmmmm, you want to sit down with that author? Exactly. No, And again I'm not yucking. You're young. If you believe whatever you want to, you read whoever you want to whatever. I don't care, I think. Okay, So I think the author that I probably would sit down with because I would love to pick their brain. But I loved all the Little House on the Praier books. I know, I knew that was coming. I would love to sit down with Laura Inglewilder, right, I would love that because that was one of my favorite book series as a child, and I read them by myself. Is one of the first book series that I actually read by myself. I mean that is honestly, that's me in a nutshell. I would love that, right. I like going back to my roots, and I think I want to make time to reread some of the books I read as a kid. Even if there are books that I'm gonna read in twenty minutes, I don't care. I think that that's something I want to do in the next few years is just go back and read the books. Like my first book series that the book that got me into reading was Magic Treehouse. And I had a third grade teacher I refused to read. Hugh couldn't make me do it. I didn't care. This third grade teacher sat down with me and he handed me this book and he's like, read it. So I have a plan in place. I have made lists. I have. It's terrible. I would love to get all of the Berenstein Bear or Berenstein, whichever way you say it. I would love to get all of those books because those were some of my favorites. Also along the same line, Little Critter. Yes, oh my gosh, cute. But the biggest book series that I want to get from like my childhood the goose Bumps series. Yeah, and that's a huge series now because it's continued. But I want to get like at least the original Goosebump books, right, because those were the ones that I grew up on, Right, I love them as somebody who doesn't like like mystery, like weird. Okay, last one, you're ready, no wandering a bookstore or wandering a library. Bookstore, so because there's the possibility that I'm leaving with one of these forever. So this is gonna surprise you. I don't think it is. I would rather wander a library because it's silent. But a lot of bookstores have that ambiance too, some not all. We just went to Barnes and Noble the other day and it was on a Friday, so there should not have been as many people. And there were small children who were screaming, which is fine whatever, I don't care. That's not my issue. They were screaming in the romance section. Girl, I'm trying to look for a romance book. I don't need your two year old ripping books off the shelf and screaming at me because I'm standing in front of the bookshelf. Literally yelling at me. Really, oh one, this one little boy was freaking out. I love children, boy, you and I looking at these books yourself? Right, I love children. I love when parents bring children to the bookstore. Yeah, do not get me wrong, right, don't yell at me when I'm trying to pick a book for myself. Well, and I guess that's where I'm like, I love going to the bookstore. I actually have not been to a library in years, and that is terrible for me because I would really like to get the Libby app. I just have not been to. And the worst part was in my last house, I lived right next to a library and I just never went to go get a library card. And that's terrible of me. And I really should do more of that, especially if I want to read more physical copies. Yeah. My problem is I if I'm going to read a physical copy, I want to keep that stucker as a trophy. Starn it. I've lived with my fiance for eight years, just under eight years. I literally just went to get a library card. You went to the one in town, I'm assuming, Yeah, yeah, I gotta make my there. I really want to go see because they just added an addition onto that library. Yeah, it's gorgeous. I want I really want to go look at it because that was actually a library. Is there? Can we take an. Adventure to our local library? Yeah, look forward to that on like Instagram, TikTok, Facebook. Wooa. So was that the last question? Yeah, one more thing in this podcast we got to cover whoa. I'm so excited. So this quarter from now until March thirty first, we have decided to read The Cory Girls by Jess Lowry, and we're gonna do this as a book club thing. So if you've read it, if you want to reread it, if you want to read it for the first time, you can absolutely join us. I'm gonna probably have a big post on the website about it when we do get together, or maybe we can make it a live on like TikTok or something or Facebook live to discuss it as an actual book club. That would be pretty cool. I never actually thought about that. I have big brain ideas. But we're gonna read this. We're gonna have it done by March thirty first, and that will be our first quarter book read for our book club. Absolutely, I'm so for it. I'm so excited. I downloaded it the other day. I didn't start reading it yet because we didn't tell you. And for the next quarter, we might, depending on how many followers we have or how many people are interested, we might put up like we might pick several books that are similar in style to what we like to read or whatever, and maybe we'll have like a poll. Yeah, well from our next book. Heck yeah, because this is one of the biggest things that I want like engagement in, because that was like the whole point. We love reading. Most of our listeners love reading. Except for all of a family who's doing it because they love us. Shout out to the family. We're family, I. Was gonna say, and again with that being said, to thank you to every everyone who did listen to our introductory episode. We've had a lot of feedback, including Alyssa's Mike. Was way too quiet. Apparently I just wanted to steal this show. That's not surprising, rude. We had this conversation. She just wanted to be the star from one, just one, just one time. We will probably re record the introduction at some point, but thank you to everyone who has given us the feedback. It means so much to us. And please continue to give us feedback because it's only going to make us better in this My editing has become better in the last week. Thank you to our husbands who are always trying to keep themselves occupied while we're in the back room and. A little keeping a little occupied, Yeah. And trying to keep my daughter out of I mean, you can hear her clearly, you can hear again. Things will be better when we we have a different space. We already have an idea of where we're gonna go, but it will be quieter. We're gonna put up sound blocks so there's not as much echo in the background. We know there's echo in the background. I know that you can hear her in her little elephant feet. She loves to be loud for such a small thing, she loves to be loud. So thank you to everyone who has supported us in this adventure thus far, and who keep continuing to support us and engage with us. We really do appreciate it. This is actually something that it just in the past week and now on our first full episode. We've really enjoyed it. So, I mean I have enjoyed it so far. I have too. I have wicked social anxiety. Yeah, and so it feels like we're having a conversation with us, but also there's a new element which kind of threw me last week. It definitely threw me this week, not so much. I think I hype myself up a little bit too much for this one. Well, you had come up with the game, and I'm super excited that you were happy for that and excited to share that, because that's what I wanted for this. It wasn't again, we've discussed this. It was for us to build our relationship, but also to have fun with like the possibility of people enjoying it as well. Right, and we're already gonna have the conversations, so why not bring you along with us? Right? Pretty much? I mean, and that's going to happen anyways. But again, thank you to everyone. We really do appreciate it. Shout out again so I don't get yelled at again. To my step daughters, Beyonce, I love you, Yeah, we love you. Are. In fact, this stepdaughter's fiance calls me and my significant other mom number two and dad number two. Right, and she calls myself and my husband mom one and dad two. We all really appreciate all of you. Guys and all of your support, so keep that coming. We love that. We love you. From the very bottoms of our hearts. This might be called and dead, but. Oh, I'm just kidding. I am definitely gonna have to add the disclaimer to this upisode you brought. We already have told them this is not for small you know, but I'm actually gonna have to mark this one as explosives were good last time, I know. As you might have heard earlier too. O listen when we get going laughing too really hard? At least, no, we both snort. At least snorts. It's not like it's not like our significant others make it a game to see if they can get us to snort. Yeah, I mean, not only do we cackle like little witches, we also snort, which doesn't help our situation. However, how did they find us attractive? I'll never know, but I don't. Know how they looked like that's the one I. Want right there? They didn't. They were just like, well, she can stand us, we can stand them. I guess it's true. They make us food. I don't even make him food anymore. He does it himself. Well, he decided to go do the. Carnivore thing, and I am not doing the you know what, no good for him because he's done so well on us. He's doing so well. I just look look at me not picking on him in this episode. Shout out, cousin. Yeah, stop wining that we picked on you the first one. I'm never going to apologize for that. Oh your poor hubby. So anyways, thank you for joining us today, and we hope that you see some of our blog posts. Definitely follow the website so you can keep up todate. We'll post everything on Facebook as well, so go follow our Facebook page, Fetching Catitude, booknook, pod, and I have all this listed as well in the show notes. Follow us. I think we're on every platform except for iTunes right now because I have something went wrong with that. I'm figuring it out. But please share this with your friends who love books if they don't. Anyways, we're kind of just goofballs, just hanging out anyways, so just join us, enjoy the ride. Can't wait to see you next week and talk your ear off next week. Next week, what are we talking about? I don't know yet. We're gonna have to come up with some really cool things though, I know, maybe we'll get through the first chapter of our book and at least discuss that, So feel free to read ahead. If you can't get through a chapter in a week, that's fine. True. Maybe we can come up with some ideas for adventures or potential adventures. Yeah, absolutely, Or if there's any book news that happens coming week. We should talk about the movies that might be coming out or have come out. Yeah, we should come up with that list, because that's fun. Guess who's coming out with a show? Oh Kennedy. Yes, and we love that for her. Oh god, we love that for me. I don't know. Lord. So I'm going to try to get this one out again on Friday. It'll probably be later in the evening, so you'll probably see it Saturday morning because I have to go back to work. Boo. Me too, because I'm no longer on vacation boo. But just kidding, I know, we do kind of love our jobs. Yeah. Anyways, so join us next week, where we might be discussing some more things adventure wise, talking about our book, and maybe coming up with a few more games. I know I have one for you. I was just saving it. I just thought this one would be great as kind of an introductory episode of our preferences before we got too far into actually talking books. Yeah, and I mean a lot of the time there's there might be a couple like maybe one episode per month or whatever that we just kind of chit chat and don't talk about books. Like we might do a recap at the end of the month, and that might just be us one coming up with like the books that we really liked for the month, but also talking about just what's been going on. Yeah, because I'm gonna have some big things sooner than later. I for one, thank God, really don't have a lot. I'll tell you how my garden's going. So anyway, thank you for joining us this week, and we will see you again next week. We hope you enjoyed this episode and continue to keep supporting us. Jesus, she's so Sassin. We better get to get in I know, was it okay? Well, thanks for listening, guys. Thanks bye, have fun. Bye.