The odd specificity of reading moods...

Strange book cravings, a multiverse love story that explains a lot, and a blockbuster movie worth seeing...

Some sad news…

Last week, my family was hit with an unexpected loss. My husband’s father passed away suddenly, a few days before Father’s Day. It goes without saying that it’s been a tough week. We’re all still processing the shock and our grief in our own ways, but sadness permeates all of it.

I’ve found myself vacillating between the desire to find a temporary escape—mostly through movies and upbeat TV shows (i.e. binge-watching The Summer I Turned Pretty)—and the desire to wallow in a dark place in my reading.

Reading moods are such strange, often unpredictable things (if you’re a mood reader.) As a writer, I’ve heard many times from readers who have reached out to tell me that my books have offered an escape when they were going through a loss or a hard time. That romance, in general, is a balm in those times. I love that the genre can provide that kind of escape. However, I’m finding that, for me, I swing in the opposite direction. This week, I’ve found myself reaching for dark, sad things. Specifically, I’m picking up true crime and disaster non-fiction (natural disasters and national tragedy type stories.) For instance, right now, I’m listening to The Only Plane In the Sky: An Oral History of 9/11 by Garrett M. Graff.

Of course, the psych major in me is like, “Why the hell is that what your brain wants?” I don’t have an answer, but my guess is that somehow reading sad, true things helps me process sad feelings. (Just like horror movies help me process fear.) Maybe, particularly with the disaster stories, sad books remind me that death is part of life and it is unpredictable and inevitable. It is not fair, but we can’t change that. It’s part of the contract of being human—that it’s a limited time offer. So whether we want to our not, we all have to walk through loss in our lives.

So, I’m not going to deny what my reading mood wants. My brain has its reasons. I will give it the kinds of books it’s needing right now.

Do you get strange reading mood cravings? When you’re sad, do you reach for happy books or something else?

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On a lighter note…

because, man, do we need one.

I’ve apparently existed in another universe. ;) Remember that You’ve Got Mail quandary I wrote about back in January—where I remembered a different ending (along with a lot of other people) that apparently doens’t exist? Well, I’d chalked it up to the Mandela Effect, where many people remember a variation of something that isn’t actually true—but then I read The Impossible Us by Sarah Lotz.

This story is about Nick and Bee. They meet via a misdirected email and start chatting. They feel an instant connection and decide to meet in person. However, when they go to the designated place, they can’t find each other.

What ensues is a love story with a truly impossible conflict—they discover they live in parallel universes. Their worlds are similar but not quite. For instance, shows or books are called something different, a different president was elected at some point—and though it’s not mentioned, I bet the ending of You’ve Got Mail is different in each of their worlds, lol. This story uses the Mandela Effect in such a clever way and totally explains my issue—obviously, at some point, I’ve existed in another version of the multiverse and that is where I saw the different movie ending. Case closed.

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A blockbuster worth seeing

I’m not exactly the target audience for big action movies. I’m not a superhero/Marvel fan (much to Dawn’s, my podcast co-host’s, chagrin.) I tend to prefer character-driven stories to plot-heavy ones. And my favorite movie genres are rom-coms, straight-up comedy, and horror. However, my 80s/90s nostalgia is strong, and I can’t resist a reboot. So, when looking for a way to distract my grieving husband last week, I took him to see Top Gun: Maverick.

And it was truly a good time at the movies.

Beyond the nostalgia, there’s just something mesmerizing about watching superfast planes doing their thing, especially on the big screen with a full sound system. The plot was straightforward, the nods to the past appreciated, and the “beat the bad guys” rush was real. So, if you’re looking to find a few hours of escape and that summer blockbuster feeling, Maverick was a good choice.

Have y’all seen this one?

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On the podcast

This episode came out on June 10th, but I didn’t get a chance to share it here. We chatted with romance author Taylor Lunsford, who shared some of her book recs, and then Dawn and I shared our favorite books on writing.

Listen in your favorite podcast app:

• Apple podcasts

• Audible

• Spotify

• Or add to your favorite podcast app with their “Add by URL” feature and paste this link there: https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/rad-reading

And be sure to tune in this Friday when a new episode drops. We’ll be sharing our favorite books with a travel theme—traditional travel AND time travel/time loop (one of my favorite tropes)!

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That’s all I’ve got for you this time around. I hope you enjoy the rest of your week!

Roni

*Book links are affiliate links (Amazon, Libro.fm, and/or Bookshop.org), which means I earn a small commission if you buy through my links. Also, I receive advanced listening copies of some audiobooks through Libro.fm’s Influencer program. However, all reviews and opinions are my own.