BBE Reads Thrillers
That's Why She Needs Meds
On the Pod This Week:
Just over a year ago, I decided to spice up my reading life by joining my local chapter of Thrillers By the Book Club. It was an odd choice, given that I don’t like to be afraid, or startled, or spooked, or creeped out in any form. I thought I’d give it a shot, maybe meet one or two people to chat with, and then most likely never show again.
But then trouble struck: I genuinely LIKED all of the women in the group. A lot.
DAMMIT!
I kept going back, even when I can’t handle the book they are reading that month, and my reading horizons have really expanded. I’m definitely not a seasoned Thriller reader - some of my fellow book club members can spot the twist in the first chapter. I’m usually still pretty startled. But I am getting more comfortable with the genre, and really look forward to that gasp-out-loud moment.
Lucky for me, lots of my guests love a thriller also. Here’s a roundup of some of the best:
Asha Sabbella introduced me to “The Last Mrs. Parrish” by Liv Constantine in Episode 013
In perhaps the most disconcerting episode I’ve ever recorded, a woman who MAKES CHILDREN’S TOYS for a living chose the straight up scariest book I’ve ever read. It’s technically medical nonfiction, but I was so tense as I read it that it fits in the thriller roundup: Episode 022, Azhelle Wade on “The Hot Zone” by Richard Preston.
In Episode 076, Lya Badgley talked to me about “Hunters in the Dark” by Lawrence Osborne, a slower burn, more literary thriller.
Episode 119, Author V.P. Morris talked to me about the GOAT of all thrillers, Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Chelsea Hofman, that wily little creator of the Thrillers By the Book Club, got me to read a book about a freaking possessed puppet in Episode 37, “How to Sell a Haunted House” by Grady Hendrix.
My daughter Erin talked to me about her favorite thriller, The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides, on the 3rd Annual Kids/YA Episode, and then I read it by the time she interviewed me in Episode 128: 2023 Reading Goals.
Mystery author Michelle Cox joined me to discuss the classic Daphne DuMaurier thriller, My Cousin Rachel, in Episode 122.
What’s your favorite thriller? I’d love some recommendations!
Julie’s Current Read:
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by She Who Shall Not Be Named
Normally, I wouldn’t alert you to a book I’m re-reading for the nth time, especially when it’s a book by someone who just won’t shut the hell up about hating other humans. BUT I want to call your attention to this particular one because it ties into something else:
Harry Potter and the Sacred Text is a podcast that treats the Harry Potter books as sacred manuscripts. The books - not the author. The hosts examine the novels chapter by chapter with care, love and honest criticism. They’ve just started on Order of the Phoenix, so if you want to start listening, now is a good time. (Though, if you’ve already read the books, you can jump in any time; it’s not like there are plot twists you don’t know.)
This is not a religious podcast (though the hosts do come out of Harvard Divnity School.) It’s a close reading of these books that treats them both respectfully and critically. You can read a bit about their mission here.
You may have heard me mention the show on the podcast. In Episode 085, when Jaclyn Desforges joined me to chat about Jane Eyre, and I told her about host Vanessa Zoltan’s book Praying with Jane Eyre: Reflections on Reading as a Sacred Practice. To be fair, treating the secular practice of reading fiction as sacred is as close to my heart as you can get.
None of this is sponsored - no one associated with HPAST knows I exist. But it’s a fun little reading/spiritual journey that I like to join them on. I like to read a chapter every Wednesday night, before the new episode drops.
Julie’s Current Listen:
Finishing off the Tana French’s Dublin Murder Squad Series with book six, The Trespasser. Not sure yet if I will finish this one on audio or paperback. I started book five, The Secret Place, on audio, then finished the paper copy when my audio loan expired. I was surprised to discover that I liked the paper copy better. We’ll see where this one takes me.
Julie’s Current Obsession:
How Tom Cruise Made Us Forget He’s a Scientologist
Like just about everyone, I can’t help but be fascinated by Tom Cruise. He has such insane manic energy; all I can ever think when I see him is imagine being his wife. Doesn’t it seem like it would be exhausting? Like, he’d get all intense about what to have for dinner and you’d be like, oh my god, please just boil some pasta and run around the block a few times, okay my dude?
I am equally fascinated by Scientology and will read anything I can get my hands on about them. You know how I have said on the pod that there is no such thing as a guilty pleasure in reading? I take it back; I do feel a little guilty about my glee when I read about Scientologists. I’m not proud of it, but we’re always honest with each other, right?
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