Season 8, Episode 9: Car-cuteries + Narrative POVs

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• The hosts define and differentiate between narrative points of view (first, second, and third person) and the concept of 'voicey' narration, suggesting voice is more impactful than the objective POV structure.  Copied to clipboard!
• Second-person narration is strongly disliked by both hosts, while first-person narration is highly effective when the narrator's voice is compelling, as seen in books like *Demon Copperhead*.  Copied to clipboard!
• The hosts recommend the practice of 'book flights'—sampling multiple books briefly—as a superior method for determining if a book's narrative voice will appeal to the reader.  Copied to clipboard!

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Bookish Moments Introduction

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(00:00:10)

• Key Takeaway: The Currently Reading podcast prioritizes book talk over casual conversation and maintains a spoiler-free policy.
• Summary: The hosts, Meredith and Kaytee, introduce the episode structure, which includes current reads, a deep dive, and a visit to the fountain. Meredith enjoys car picnics, while Kaytee aims to have books in every room of her house. The episode number is confirmed as Season 8, Episode 9.

Kaytee’s Kitchen Bookshelf DIY

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(00:01:31)

• Key Takeaway: Kaytee is renovating space under the stairs to create a dedicated bookshelf in her kitchen for cookbooks.
• Summary: Kaytee is undertaking a DIY renovation to remove a 1990s/2000s-era junk cupboard in her kitchen. This space will be converted into a bookshelf for cookbooks, a device charging station, and open storage. This project supports her goal of having books in every room of the house, including the bathroom.

Meredith’s Car Picnic Bookish Moment

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(00:03:50)

• Key Takeaway: Meredith attended the Austin launch event for Jen Hatmaker’s memoir Awake, featuring a ‘carcuterie’ picnic beforehand.
• Summary: Meredith, Lexi, and Betsy enjoyed a car picnic featuring sourdough, almond butter, and sweets before attending the launch for Jen Hatmaker’s memoir, Awake. The event, hosted by BookPeople, was emotional, featuring Hatmaker’s sisters and friends discussing the period after her marriage imploded in July 2020. Meredith highly recommends Awake for its authenticity and redemption narrative, noting it reads very quickly.

Kaytee’s Read: American Royals

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(00:09:47)

• Key Takeaway: American Royals by Katharine McGee presents a soapy YA alternate history where George Washington became King, focusing on the pressures faced by Princess Beatrice and Princess Samantha.
• Summary: Kaytee finally read American Royals, a book Meredith recommended years prior, set in a world where the US has a monarchy. The story follows the royal siblings: Beatrice, heir to the throne; Samantha, the spare; and Prince Jefferson, the eligible bachelor. The book is described as soapy YA deliciousness, but readers should be warned that it ends on a cliffhanger.

Meredith’s Read: Magical Innkeeping

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(00:14:46)

• Key Takeaway: A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna is a sweet, cozy fantasy that balances warmth with grounded emotional depth, avoiding saccharine territory.
• Summary: Meredith loved this standalone novel about Sarah Swan, a witch stripped of powers who runs an enchanted inn with her resurrected aunt. The plot involves the arrival of Luke Larson, a mysterious magical historian, leading to a predictable but satisfying romance. The book successfully navigates the line between cozy fantasy and genuine emotional honesty, making it perfect for early fall reading.

Kaytee’s Read: These Truths

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(00:19:59)

• Key Takeaway: Jill Lapore’s massive nonfiction work, These Truths, offers an engaging, non-partisan overview of American history from 1492, focusing on politics and social movements over battles.
• Summary: Kaytee listened to the nearly 800-page history book, These Truths, which examines whether American history has upheld the truths stated in the Constitution. Lapore profiles diverse figures, including suffragettes and social movement architects, while largely setting aside detailed battle descriptions. The book is praised for reading engagingly and avoiding partisan bias, even when covering the first election of Trump near its conclusion.

Meredith’s Read: The Hounding

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(00:24:52)

• Key Takeaway: Zenobi Purvis’s debut, The Hounding, is an atmospheric, feminist historical literary fiction about five sisters in 18th-century England accused of transforming into dogs.
• Summary: The novel follows five motherless sisters living with their blind grandfather who become the subject of village gossip during a drought. A smart narrative choice is that the reader never gets the sisters’ point of view, forcing them to be seen only through others’ perceptions, highlighting how women are often known by external views. The book is short, discussible, and avoids being preachy while exploring themes related to the Salem witch trials’ historical context.

Kaytee’s Read: Demon Copperhead

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(00:29:29)

• Key Takeaway: Barbara Kingsolver’s Pulitzer-winning Demon Copperhead, a first-person coming-of-age novel loosely based on David Copperfield, powerfully details Appalachian poverty, foster care, and the opioid crisis.
• Summary: Kaytee found the novel heartbreaking yet transportive, praising the strong, sure voice of the protagonist, Demon. The book advocates for social reform by detailing the struggles of a boy born into poverty whose life is shaped by addiction and an abusive foster care system. It is considered an exceptional piece of writing that broke Kaytee’s heart in the best way.

Meredith’s Read: The Carpool Detectives

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(00:34:15)

• Key Takeaway: The Carpool Detectives by Chuck Hogan is a compelling true-crime narrative about four ordinary moms who solve a 15-year-old cold case during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Summary: Despite a frivolous title, this serious nonfiction book details how four mothers, bonded by carpool duties and a love for true crime, investigated a missing couple’s case. The women, lacking formal training, succeeded by leveraging determination and being underestimated by authorities. Their investigation not only solved the case but also fundamentally changed how cold cases might be approached in the future.

Deep Dive: Narrative POV Preferences

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(00:40:02)

• Key Takeaway: Second-person narration is the least favored POV by both hosts, while the subjective quality of ‘voiceiness’ often matters more to readers than the objective POV structure (first vs. third person).
• Summary: The hosts defined first person (I/we), second person (you), and third person (he/she/they, limited or omniscient). Second person is generally disliked, often feeling lazy in thrillers. The hosts concluded that readers remember how a book made them feel (its voice) more than the technical POV used, citing Piranesi as an example of a highly voicey novel.

Fountain Wishes: Book Recommendations

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(00:53:52)

• Key Takeaway: Kaytee pressed Alix E. Harrow’s gothic, voicey haunted house novel Starling House for October reading, while Meredith wished for everyone to try a ‘book flight’ to discover their next read.
• Summary: Kaytee strongly recommended Starling House, which features an orphan caretaker, a gothic mansion owned by a reclusive author, and a Beauty and the Beast element, noting its atmospheric quality. Meredith reiterated her support for book flights—sampling five books to choose one—as the best way to find a book that grabs the reader early on, often due to its voice.