New Year, New Beginnings!

This episode marks the joyous return of Lazy Girl Library for its eagerly awaited second season, as we dive into 2025 with fresh resolutions and a renewed passion for books and friendship. Darbi and Mikayla celebrate their podcast journey, reflecting on our favorite moments and global audience, while sharing our ambitious reading goals. Whether it’s thrilling wedding planning escapades or navigating life's challenges with a sprinkle of magic, we're excited to embark on another season filled with stories, giggles, and plenty of literary love.

Join our book club on Fable!

We absolutely love hearing from fellow book lovers, so don’t forget to share your thoughts and your favorite reads with us on our social media. You can find us on Instagram @lazygirllibrary. Also, be sure to check our website,  lazygirllibrary.com – your one-stop-shop for all things Lazy Girl! 

Transcript

Speaker 1 0:10

Welcome to the Lazy Girl Library , the podcast , where reading is a pleasure and captivating adventures happen from the comfort of your couch . I'm your host , darby , and I'm Mikayla , and if you've ever spent more time rearranging your bookshelf than your priorities , then you , my friend , are in the right place .

Speaker 2 0:30

Happy New Year .

Speaker 1 0:31

2025 , season two , oh my gosh , we both just went wide-eyed because that's crazy .

Speaker 2 0:40

We already have like one complete season under our belt , which is crazy . The fact that we've talked about doing this for so long and we finally did the thing and now we're on season two . The fact that it was like we actually have listeners who want to join our community and that we are able to do this a second season fantastic so excited .

Speaker 1 1:00

We are basically veterans . Yeah right , Podcast pros .

Speaker 2 1:05

We're in our sophomore year .

Speaker 1 1:07

We're not baby freshmen anymore . That's crazy , but we're still young enough that we are learning .

Speaker 2 1:11

Oh , yeah , no , we're not fully there yet , but welcome back to the Lazy Girl Library . All of our listeners so happy to have you back . If you're new , welcome . We are so glad that you found us and joined us .

5 Star and 1 Star Moments of the Week

Speaker 2 1:26

Let's start with our life check-ins . What are five-star one-stars of the week Darby ?

Speaker 1 1:33

Of course I have not thought about this , but my five-star , I'm going to go with this girl I met at yoga today . Her name was Bethany . She was just like a cool girl .

Speaker 1 1:44

You know , when you meet like a cool like nice girl like they're the best , and so we were doing hot yoga . She'd never been to the studio before and I had , so I was telling her about the class we did it and I was like , dang , she's so good at yoga , like that's awesome . And then afterwards we were talking and turns out she lives in Sweden and is a yoga instructor and I was like she just got cooler .

Speaker 2 2:04

I was like .

Speaker 1 2:05

So that was my five star meeting Bethany from Sweden if somehow in the world she listens to this podcast . I thought you were so cool shout out you , bethany , yeah , so that's probably my five star because I just love meeting new friends .

Speaker 1 2:17

And then my one star um , at soccer I was doing really good defense , and so much good defense that at one point the ball like hit my forearm and my arm was like bent when the ball hit my forearm and so I like hyper flex my elbow . So my elbow has been bothering me a bit and luckily it didn't hurt too much in hot yoga today , but it's definitely like I have noticed it and maybe have winced a couple of times . So that's why my one star going to rest it and maybe have winced a couple of times , so that's probably my one star .

Speaker 1 2:50

Going to rest it up . Yeah , the athlete that I am Such a pro , yeah , so that's my five star and one star .

Speaker 2 2:56

What about you ? I'll start bad , go good . So my one star of the week , kind of like starting off the new year in a frustrated state a little bit when it comes to beauty , because I have oily skin , I have an oily scalp and I thought that in 2024 I found the perfect shampoo that was really helping me and like I could last a little bit longer with my like in between washes kind of thing here recently , especially this week , it's like the day after I washed my hair it's already starting to get oily again . It's driving me crazy . I've tried so many different ones . I have a new one on the way . What shampoo do you use Right now ? I'm using , like the Tea Tree , special Oil , or not oil , not oil .

Speaker 1 3:38

I used to use that one .

Speaker 2 3:39

The Tea Tree Shampoo or whatever . That like super tingly , it's like good quality shampoo and it was working for a while .

Speaker 1 3:47

but yeah , all of a sudden now it's not my suggestion , um , because my hair gets pretty oily too , the redken um like bang one or whatever the one that sabrina carpenter has a commercial for . But my mom actually was the one who turned it on to me , not sabrina carpenter , because I went home and like , showered in her shower and used her stuff and I was like this stuff is nice .

Speaker 2 4:08

Okay .

Speaker 1 4:09

So I'll take a picture of it . It's like a gray Redken bottle and it's like acidic bonding or something . I think the like acidic part of it like helps with the oil . Yeah , and then also , do you blow dry your hair ?

Speaker 2 4:23

Sometimes . I'm trying that now and actually that's what was getting really frustrating was I wasn't . I did air dry it a lot because it's just easier for me that way . Typically I take my showers at night , so I sleep on it wet and I'll style it in the morning , kind of thing .

Speaker 1 4:36

Can't sleep on it wet , why there has been stuff that I've seen that like this is going to sound gross but like yeast , like it's just . That's where the buildup happens is when it's wet in a moist like environment on your scalp . So even if you don't like fully blow dry it out , try like blow drying your scalp a little bit Even if you use like a diffuser or something like it doesn't have to be like the whole , like brush , blow out .

Speaker 2 5:02

Right . But I found here recently that because I did start blow drying , because I was seeing some things about like how , like to help with the oily scalp , as if you blow dry , it got even oilier when I started blow drying than it was if I just air dried it interesting .

Speaker 1 5:16

Maybe is it your heat protectant if you're using , I don't I do use a heat protectant .

Speaker 2 5:21

Um , maybe I don't know , I'm trying it's .

Speaker 2 5:24

It's been a , it's been a struggle and I find highs and lows , yeah everyone's scalp and hair is different too , so it works for one might not work for the other definitely send me the redken picture so I can try that out if this new one that I have doesn't work , because it's been frustrating , to say the least . So that's been my one start , because it's just like I'm trying everything . I see all the recommendations and I feel like so many people too are like you know , don't do this . But then they come back a few weeks later and you're like no , you absolutely have to do this and I'm like I don't know .

Speaker 1 5:52

Or you see , the crazy people not crazy , sorry , everyone has their own right but that are like egg yolk pudding and you're like I can't do that .

Speaker 2 6:00

I can't keep up with it all . And so , yeah , that's been my one star of the week , the start of the year , whatever , but to make up for it , my five star . I was just showing Darby before we started recording my book haul . It's beautiful , thank you , I'm so excited . So for Christmas I got Barnes Noble gift cards Shout out Josh and my Aunt , karen . So for New Year's Day , I started off the year right surrounded by books and Barnes Noble gift cards shout out Josh and my aunt , karen .

Speaker 2 6:29

Um , so for New Year's Day , I started off the year right surrounded by books and Barnes Noble . I went . I can smell it now I know . Oh , I love the smell of a bookstore , uh . And I spent like an hour and a half in there just like browsing , finding good books and like I'm trying to be really intentional about the physical books that I'm buying , because I'm running out of space and I have the Kindle . So like I really want the books I'm buying to be like pretty , and like I want like or like fantasy books that have like maps in them , because it's easier to flip back and forth between the pages on a physical book than is on the Kindle , because I love my maps . So I got a good amount of books that I'm really excited about , and so I can't wait to start like diving into them . So that was my five star .

Speaker 1 7:08

I'm excited too , because I'm probably going to read a lot of the same ones that you do .

Speaker 2 7:12

I love it . I love it . I have started my own library and that was part of my gift for Christmas . I got the barcode scanner I was talking about she's crazy everyone .

Speaker 1 7:20

Oh my gosh .

Speaker 2 7:21

In the best way .

Speaker 1 7:22

It crazy everyone . Oh my gosh , in the best way it's . So , michaela , explain what this barcode scanner is for people who don't know so if you didn't listen to our last episode I talked about .

Speaker 2 7:29

This was on my want list for Christmas . I did get it , thank you , santa . Um , it's just like a basic barcode scanner that you can get and use it essentially for anything . Like you can hook it up for different programs or like create your own like excel spreadsheet , for anything . But I wanted it specifically for my library and so I used the uh , the website called libbib and I was able to like scan all my books into there and like create basically my own library system and like organize all my books by , like you know , uh the different like categories , like fantasy and like romance and like five stars and like all of that uh and so , and I could make like notes and things , and it just like imported all these books . And so now not only do I have like the stamp in all my books that says it's from Michaela's library , I have a library system . So any of our friends who want to come check out books from my physical library , you're more than welcome . I'm so excited it's so cool .

Speaker 1 8:30

It's so like customized . She was showing me the the lib bib website and it just looks so neat . I could not do it . That's okay , but I'm so happy , I'm pumped for you and I wish that that could be my brain , but yeah , it's so neat thanks good five star yep , I , I was excited .

Speaker 2 8:46

So yeah , that was my five star , long-winded , but um fun .

Speaker 1 8:49

No , not long-winded .

Speaker 2 8:50

We're talking books here fun book start to the year .

Speaker 1 8:53

Yes , speaking of books

Book Club Book Announcement

Speaker 1 8:55

and the new year , so our first book for book club in 2025 is going to be that sounds fun by annie f . Here's the summary . We know there are certain things we must have to survive Food , shelter and safety , to name a few but there are also aspects of life that truly allow us to be joyful and fulfilled . For popular podcaster and best-selling author , annie F Downs , fun is close to the top of that list . Few would argue that having fun doesn't enrich our lives , but so much gets in the way of prioritizing it .

Speaker 1 9:28

Tough days , busyness and feelings that are hard to talk about keep us from the fun that's out there waiting to be found . With that Sounds Fun , annie offers an irresistible invitation to understand the meaning of fun , to embrace it and chase it , and to figure out what exactly sounds fun to you . Then do it , exploring some research and sharing some thoughts behind why fun matters . She shows you how to find experience and multiply your fun . With her signature storytelling styling and whimsical vulnerability , annie is the friend we all need to guide us back to staying true to ourselves and finding the fun we need .

Speaker 2 10:11

So we're starting off the new year with this kind of self-help book to get us in the right mindset for 2025 . I'm excited that sounds fun Sounds fun .

Speaker 1 10:17

Yes , I'm excited , I did start it yesterday and yeah , I think it's going to be like a cute , like light read that'll still like kind of hit you in the right spots that you need . We have it already up on Fable , so if you are on Fable , make sure to join us . You can leave your notes on our kickoff post . I did mention that this is technically like a Christian theme book and so there are those like Christian elements in there , but I think if you're not religious , you can easily replace those with other things that matter to you and align with your values .

Speaker 1 10:49

So I think it's going to be a really good one and a great start . And again , join us on Fables . You can hear our thoughts live time in in live time before we do it on the podcast .

Speaker 2 11:01

We'll have the link in the description . So yes , and shout out to all of our Fable members already we have six new friends Growing slowly but surely . We're so excited and so happy to have all of our friends that have joined us now and we'd love to have more .

Speaker 1 11:16

Yes , yes , oh my gosh . I literally get giddy thinking about it .

Speaker 2 11:22

I'm like they want to join us . I know about it . I'm like they want to join us , I know . Every time I get a fable notification , I'm like , oh , has somebody joined oh , has somebody joined crazy so , but this episode , um , we have a few book related reading , related discussion topics lined up with new beginnings . It's the new year , new beginnings theme , talking about what's ahead for this season of Lazy Girl Library and us in this season of 2025 .

2024 Podcast Stats

Speaker 1 11:51

I love it . I think you kind of had a little wrapped moment lined up .

Speaker 2 11:53

Do you want to share some of the stats and cool notes ? I do , okay , so for our listeners , I am such a stats girly . So when I was looking at the end of 2024 . Hence the barcode standard Yep , it all checks out for me , pun intended . So I was looking at some end of 2024 , hence the barcode standard yep , it's , it all checks out for me . Uh , pun intended , uh . So I was looking at some of the fun stats and I thought I pulled some that I think would be fun to share with our listeners . So since our first episode in february of 2024 , we have had 645 downloads , which I don't know if that's good or bad , but that sounded like a really great number to me that I wanted to share so that's phenomenal , that's 645 listens .

Speaker 1 12:30

Yep , that's crazy crazy .

Speaker 2 12:32

I think it's crazy . Yep , and out of the 15 episodes we did in 2024 , our book talk on the nightingale by kristin hannah is the most downloaded , the most popular across all platforms .

Speaker 1 12:43

For obvious reasons Absolutely . As anyone who has listened to our podcast knows we were obsessed with it Top book of 2024 .

Speaker 2 12:50

Highly recommend going back to listen if you haven't already . Fantastic , and I'm so glad that most people agreed to listen to us .

Speaker 1 13:02

Our top app that listeners join us on is Apple Podcasts . I found that to be really interesting because I'm a spotify girl same .

Speaker 2 13:05

Well , I feel like we hear about spotify so much you kind of forget about , like apple podcasts , so that yeah it was interesting , but we love you , apple folks we do um . Speaking of spotify , though , when we're looking at everybody's spotified wrapped , spotify gives us our own like wrapped as creators , and so in ours , it showed us that we were in the top 10 or out of the top 10 podcasts for our listeners .

Speaker 1 13:33

No , For 19 listeners . We were in their top 10 for podcast . Thank you .

Speaker 2 13:39

Thank you . And then , for 14 of our listeners , we were in their top five . And then for four of our listeners , we were in their top five . And then for four of our listeners , we were the number one podcast you four people are our favorite .

Speaker 1 13:52

Yes , just kidding , we don't have favorites .

Speaker 2 13:53

I love you all but that's kind of crazy that we made it into people's top lists on their spotify wrapped . So , um , yep , shout out to all of you listeners . And then the craziest one of them all , in my personal opinion , is that we went global . We were listening to worldwide , around the world . Yes , so some of the places that we reached were south africa , canada , the netherlands , the uk , canada , the Netherlands , the UK , australia , belarus , egypt and Vietnam , among others . I didn't even list all of them . Isn't that wild ? That is wild . So shout out to all of our international listeners , because that is just blows my mind .

Speaker 1 14:37

It does blow my mind . I'm like in shock . I don't know how to process that .

Speaker 2 14:42

Like we're two just lazy girls sitting on our couch , seriously , and somebody's listening to us in Belarus , what ? Don't know how to process that . Like we're two just lazy girls sitting on our couch and we're somebody's listening to us in belarus , what ?

Speaker 1 14:49

I I've never heard of that place . Um where is it ?

Speaker 2 14:53

sorry I shouldn't have asked you . Testing my knowledge , I want to say I'm bad with geography . It's somewhere between , like europe , russia region okay , I want to stop listening to us please don't come after me if that's completely wrong , but that's what I want to say .

Speaker 1 15:08

It's like that kind of Listen , our minds are on lazy break , so it's OK , we're going to look it up after this , but that is so cool yeah , and so I just thought those were some fun stats to share , wow .

2025 Reading Resolutions and Goals

Speaker 1 15:27

But moving out of 2024,'re gonna move into 2025 . Yes , now that we officially have closed the chapter on 2024 and are looking ahead to 2025 , what are some of your reading resolutions this year ? Do you have a reading goal ?

Speaker 2 15:36

um , so my reading resolution being that 2025 is the year that I'm getting married super excited , um . I'm trying to give myself grace this year , though , with how much time I dedicate to reading , because I have a lot of stuff coming up with the wedding , a lot of wedding planning still to do . I feel like a lot of my free time this year is going to be dedicated to that , and so , therefore , my borrows and returns might be scarce until the wedding we listen and we don't judge thank you , and I'm trying not to judge myself because I feel like that's like the biggest thing .

Speaker 2 16:12

Um is like I feel like I should be reading more and maybe I will . Who knows what the year will bring . But I'm trying to like not set my expectations for myself too high , then be disappointed when I don't meet them . So we're starting off at like a reasonable spot that I think for the new year is I'm trying to do in . My reading goal is 18 books . So I think one a month leading up to the wedding , probably like our book club book , and then two a month through the holidays . But I could be reading way more by that point because I'll be just like a reading fiend . Uh , all the more free time that I'll have after the wedding .

Speaker 2 16:49

We'll see so married woman , a married woman a while to think about . My other reading resolution is I want to try a classic this year . Um , I haven't read very many like what people consider like classics . Um , so I found the most beautiful edition of pride and prejudice on my barnes and noble uh hall . So I can attest .

Speaker 1 17:11

It was part of her book haul and it's a gorgeous like blue and gold .

Speaker 2 17:14

It's so pretty and I'm obsessed with it . It's the most beautiful book I own , and so we're gonna try reading that and see how it goes , and maybe I'll dip into more of the classics after that . Who knows ? We'll see . Anyway , enough about me . What about you , darby ?

Speaker 1 17:27

um , okay , so my reading resolution is to utilize living more and be smarter with my book budgeting , because right now I have no book budget relatable . Um , give all my money to literature . Uh , so that's probably my biggest resolution .

Speaker 2 17:42

A patron of the arts is what you are .

Speaker 1 17:44

Exactly , I'm just supporting local authors , but I do think that I could utilize some of my resources better , and that would also be helping out other local places . Yeah , anywho . And then my 2025 reading goal is 34 books , so last year I read 44 books , and then the year before that that I read 24 , and so I was so confused where I should go from there , because those are two pretty different numbers . And then mckayla gave me the good idea of like doing middle ground . So that's right in the middle with 34 and um , I'm not like pressed though if I don't hit it yeah like I read for the enjoyment and not the number .

Speaker 1 18:26

But then Morgan Friedman voice says she would care at the end of the year . So we'll see . But I really don't think I would mind if I hit it or if I don't . But I do think that that , especially with the amount of audiobooks I listened to last year , I think that that is achievable . I think it's more than reasonable .

Speaker 1 18:43

Yeah , and I've been another . This is outside of books , but I'm trying to not use social media at all . This year I will be hopping on for Lazy Girl Library Instagram , of course , and TikToks , but for personal I'm trying not to use social media . But with that I have so much free time that I have been like a reading fiend . So I think , like 34 is a good number .

Speaker 2 19:10

Yeah , I think so too . I think that you'll be able to do it . Honestly , if you did 44 books , I think you might even go over it , especially without the social media . I almost don't want to . That seems like crazy . But I mean , if you're enjoying it , so . But no , I think that's a great goal , thank you what about ? Do you have any goals for lazy girl library this year ?

Speaker 1 19:32

for lazy girl library . I want to post more social media . I want to like , like really up our social media and just be like more active on there , um , and just have more stuff for you guys to interact with too , because a lot of times , um , we're like posting like here's our episode or like a funny tiktok , but I want to hear from you guys more , and so I want to post more interactive things on our social media that's part of mine too .

Speaker 2 20:04

I think I would love to engage with our listeners more . Um , and now that we kind of have our footing in the podcast war , yeah , I want to know what people want to hear from us , or I'm such a feedback person , so I would love feedback good or constructive criticism how we can improve , like let us know , and I think she's gonna put it all in an excel .

Speaker 1 20:26

I will scan your notes .

Speaker 2 20:30

Oh , I wish I could . Um , I think fable is gonna help with that , though I'm really excited that we found this and that we have so many friends already on there , and I think that it'll only continue to grow . I think that'll also really help with that . Between Between social media and Fable , we're gonna engage more and talk to you guys , and you guys should come talk to us , because we'd love to hear from you , unless they're all like no , we don't want to talk to you , we only want to listen .

Speaker 2 20:56

Honestly relatable because I get the same way . But so yeah , goals for 2025 . It's exciting .

Speaker 1 21:03

I love that . What

Changing Reading Habits

Speaker 1 21:05

about habits ? Is there a reading habit that you want to leave behind in 2024 ? Are there any that you want to start in 2025 ?

Speaker 2 21:12

Continuing on that kind of same theme of having grace for myself , I'm trying to leave behind my perfect cozy setup for reading .

Speaker 2 21:21

Not that I'm not going to continue doing that , but I feel like I only read if I'm able to sit down and have like a good you know two , three hours to myself and like get that perfect cozy setup and then I read , which really limits the amount of reading that I can do . So the goal that I want to start is now , especially now that I have my Kindle so I can take it with me more places , not that you can't book , but it's just a little bit easier to fit in like a purse . Um is just picking up my kindle or a physical book and reading just little tidbits whenever I can , even if it's only like five minutes and I don't get to a finishing point in the chapter and I have to stop midway , like that sounds crazy to me . It does sound a little crazy , but I feel like with so there's so much going on , especially with , like I said , with the wedding , that I really limit myself in how much I can read . So we're going to try reading more that way , little tidbits here and there , and it doesn't have to be perfect , and if you know , I get interrupted , I get interrupted and I have to stop , and I'll stop and then I'll pick it back up Josh yes , and then I'll pick it back up At Josh yes . So that's my goals .

Speaker 2 22:26

What about you ?

Speaker 1 22:27

Okay

Changing Habits and Life Perspectives

Speaker 1 22:28

. So habits it's kind of similar to my goals . I want to stop paying for the tap-up hours on Spotify Nice , I've only done it a couple of times , but it's like it's not worth the money , because then it's like I could have just bought the book for paying for the tap-up hours . And so that's why I want to use libby , um , because then I'll just , you know , have the audiobook , um , so yeah , so that's a big one , because I don't need to be just like spending it .

Speaker 1 22:55

And then , honestly , a habit that I want to start in 2025 is like slowing down my reading only , like in a sense of , like I've said , I've been devouring books , but I don't think I've given some of them their like proper due . I want to be like immersed in them for as long as possible , but it's like I'm binging the book , like I am taking the hours and I just like am not doing anything , um , so like kind of slowing down a little bit . I think something that'll help me is I got a walking pad for Christmas , like a little treadmill , and so I've already used it a couple of times where I'll like read and walk , and so then at least I feel like it like forces me to slow down one because I'm like multitasking .

Speaker 2 23:35

Right .

Speaker 1 23:36

And then also it's like , like . It gives me almost like a structure of like well , I'm not going to walk for three hours you know , or maybe I don't know , we'll see what happens , but I think that'll help me too .

Speaker 2 23:48

The fittest you've ever been .

Speaker 1 23:49

Yeah , seriously , you're not going to be able to see me . I'll be so skinny , but yeah , so I think that will be helpful . And again , like , just help me to really take them in .

Speaker 2 24:09

And I think Fable will . With our book club books , fable will help because then I can like go through and like post my notes , being intentional about like having to remember certain things to write it in .

Speaker 1 24:13

It's just hard when some like especially fantasy books , I'm like gripped , Like I have to know what's next . I went to Barnes Noble yesterday . Michaela's already heard the story because she was kind of part of it . I went to Barnes Noble yesterday . Michaela's already heard the story because she was kind of part of it . I went to Barnes Noble yesterday because I read it was the second book in the oh , what's it called ? It's like once . Oh Okay , it's called Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber . It's the second book in the series that I just finished and it ended on such like a cliffhanger that I was like I need the third one right now . They don't even have paperback in it yet . Like it , just it came out a little while ago and I don't even care .

Speaker 1 24:54

it's not gonna match my other two books , like I'm gonna buy the hardcover one and so I've done that before , that's true , that's like something I can't do , but well , I think sorry , a little side note off of my side story , but I think I'm going to start asking Justin Like he never knows what to get me for gifts and I'm like weird about book merch and stuff , like we've talked about that . So I think I'm going to tell him like if you see a book that doesn't match , replace it with the one that matches .

Speaker 1 25:19

That's smart Because it's like , again , I'm trying to save money , but if you want to spend your money to replace my book , then I can , you know , donate that book or something . Um , but anyway . So I went to barnes noble yesterday because I was so gripped by this book and I read it so fast . I was like I need to get the third one and dang christmas time the book was sold out so I like wandered around .

Speaker 1 25:40

I almost went to another barnes and noble and then I thought to myself I'm sounding a little crazy , so I didn't get the book and I'm waiting till I read another book . But I'm like itching , I'm like a fiend right now , so I want to slow down . All that to say , I'm going to slow down .

Speaker 2 25:57

This doesn't really help , but you can check the Barnes Noble right around the corner from my house .

Speaker 1 26:02

Wait , I thought they didn't have one there anymore they just opened the new one well , if it's brand new , I might have to move .

Speaker 2 26:09

So I live close to like a little shopping center and there used to be barnes and noble when I first , like moved into the area , but then they replaced it with a nike store . Yeah heck , ridiculous . But here this year they just opened it next to a different stores in a different location , next to the Target .

Speaker 1 26:27

Sorry for our listeners who don't know what we're talking about .

Speaker 2 26:30

But they did just . That's where I went and spent my hour and a half around the corner . It's kind of dangerous now that they're right there , but and that doesn't help with your goal and I'm here to support you . But I did just want to mention that's OK .

Speaker 1 26:42

I might go . It's on the way habits are meant to be broken and restarted .

Speaker 2 26:50

But you know , you can , you can have it and you can finish your series , but then that's it . And then then we start that's true .

Speaker 1 26:55

It is the last book in the series , so maybe then we start being more like slow and intentional and reminiscing on what we just read . Okay , okay , all right , I'm going to go there .

Speaker 2 27:08

Starting off great . I love it . All

Books That Gave Us New Perspective

Speaker 2 27:12

right . So what is a book that completely changed the way that you see the world or yourself and slash , or what's the most surprising thing you learned about yourself through a book ?

Speaker 1 27:25

So for me it would be . I Don't Wait Anymore . Letting Go of Expectations and Grasping God's Adventure for you by Grace Thornton . And this just came to me at a time when I really needed some like spiritual direction and this was such a good book for me . I think it's time for me to give it a reread , because I've only read it once and that was a few years ago and I don't know how it would affect me now because I feel like mentally I'm in a different place and I don't know if it would have the same effect on other people . But for me in that time it just like really helped me and it just reassured me like of my purpose in this world and just brought me a lot of peace , which I feel like says a lot . You know the everyone is searching for what their purpose is , and so for a book to kind of help me , like ground into what my purpose here is , that was just really big for me .

Speaker 2 28:14

Yeah that's awesome . Yeah , it was a good book as I read it after you recommended it . Um , and actually , as we're talking , I think that our friend shelby still has my copy , because I gave it to her to read too .

Speaker 1 28:26

And it has not been scanned ?

Speaker 2 28:28

It has not , and that's going to bother me now , anyway , what about you ?

Speaker 1 28:38

She's like texting Shelby while we're doing this . She just moved too she did . That's what I'm like it's now all starting to piece together .

Speaker 2 28:44

I'm like , oh , wait a second , then it'll be good . Did that's what I'm ? Like it's now all starting to piece together . I'm like , oh , wait a second anyway . Um , my book I chose the anthropocene , reviewed by john green . Um , and it's like a series of short essays , like published it under this like one book , but I think it really like polishes the lens that I view the world through .

Speaker 2 29:02

I don't remember as much about like the specific stories that they told , because like it was like a huge range of topics like canadian geese , or like the fourth of july nathan's hot dog eating contest , just like random things that he would pick and then the essay would be about like reviewing them , like giving them out of five stars , like how many stars he gives it , and some of them were super silly , uh , which I think kind of like reminds you to like not like not take everything so seriously . Like we live on a floating rock in space , like not everything is that deep . Like it's okay to like have fun or like view things from , like you know , the childlike fun wonder of it all . It kind of like reminded me of that . But then there are other ones where it seems like it's something silly and stupid , but then he really like finds a whole new perspective of it .

Speaker 2 29:50

I love that and like made it really much more deep than what you'd imagine . Um , and so it's kind of like another view of the world , of like how we live in such a beautiful world full of like nature , and that can be like really humbling for us if we take the chance to like really soak it in , or like the human connections that we have can really like ground us and give us purpose if we only took a moment to like pause and look outside of ourselves to see these things . So it's like the two different lenses it kind of gave me I don't like I said I don't remember the stories as much as I do just like the lens that it gave me to view the world a little bit better , so that one really just kind of had that kind of impact on me that I really loved cute , that's like touching thanks thanks .

Speaker 2 30:31

So john green , fantastic , love him .

Books Everyone Should Read At Least Once

Speaker 2 30:34

Um , what book do you think everybody should read at least once in their life for inspiration or perspective ?

Speaker 1 30:41

don't make me choose . This is way too hard . Um , okay , so like quick answer , obviously , I think sarah j mass , just because it's such like our books are such fun fantasies and I think it's such an easy entry into fantasy books if you ever want to like start , so that like that's like a quick answer , but I think one of the actual answers sound might sound repetitive , but the nightingale by chris and hannah . If you haven't listened to our episode of this book , go listen now . It's just such a moving piece of historical fiction that gives you multiple perspectives during such a trying time and though it is technically fiction , the history really shines through and brings to light all the blessings that we have today , and so I I think everyone should read that at least once in their life , because it was so good . It gave me lots of perspective and tears and love .

Speaker 2 31:35

Yes , so phenomenally done . Yeah , it's really one of those books that touches your soul forever .

Speaker 1 31:41

But I did already read your notes , and what you're going to say I completely agree with as well , and I didn't want to copy . I almost copied that's okay .

Speaker 2 31:50

Uh , I'm glad that we agree .

Speaker 2 31:51

Tuesdays with maury by mitch album is my pick . Um , I mentioned in a previous episode that I'm planning on rereading this book every year around thanksgiving , because I think it's the perfect time for it and it's just full of so many great reminders , I think , unlike some other books , where it like gives you new perspective , it's less on what you're gaining from reading it and more about truly reminding you of a lot of the things that you kind of already know , and just like pulling yourself out of the depths of yourself and , like you know , the kind of selfish view we have on the world not that that's a bad thing , because you need to take care of yourself , but like we get so entrenched in like a lot of the day-to-day , like work , living to survive , kind of things that it kind of slows you down and remind you to , like you know , be with loved ones , and like take time to take care of yourself and like I don't know , just like really good reminders that I think everybody should be reminded of again and again and again .

Speaker 1 32:49

So definitely , yep , that would be my pick my mom used to say I think it was my mom my mom used to say that , like a lot of times , people don't actually need to learn new things , but they just need to be reminded of like old things and so I do think this book has so many good reminders , and I haven't read it in a few years , so maybe this year's a reread year for me um because , yeah , I love that book it's so good , so touching , and it's still like light-hearted enough too , and like a quick , easy read

Speaker 1 33:18

yeah , it's super short like I would say , the nightingale feels heavy , right like tuesday , with more tuesdays with mori doesn't feel like you know it's lighter , yeah , it's just lighter than that one it's more like the feel good emotional than it is like the like oh my gosh , so hard-hitting emotional , yeah , beautiful book everyone should read okay , speaking

Talking TBRs

Speaker 1 33:39

of books , still , what's one book that's been sitting on your TBR to be read list forever , and is this the year you're finally gonna read it ?

Speaker 2 33:47

so I've talked about this with darby many times and she's gonna join me on this journey . I've been cautiously circling brandon sanderson and his sizing up his like , his universe that he calls like the cosmere . I believe , um , and I think 2025 is finally the year that I dive in like the way of kings has been .

Speaker 2 34:07

One of his books has been on my tbr for since I got on goodreads , um . But the thing is like his universe is very similar to like marvel cinematic universe , where it's like there's so many different series within like the grander scheme and they all connect and so everybody has so many different opinions on where you start , which books you start with , like how you read it and like how the different ways that you can read it like help you pick up on details later , like more emotional , more adventure , like things like that . So , and there's just so many that it's been like really overwhelming to try to like dive in . But I really want to . It's definitely more epic fantasy . So on my book haul I did buy the first book of the mistborn trilogy , which is where all my research led me to start . So it's in my possession . We'll see when I start it , but I think I'm going to try this year I'm so excited to piggyback on this journey .

Speaker 1 35:04

I'm so glad to have a buddy to talk about it with .

Speaker 2 35:05

I'm so excited to piggyback on this journey with you .

Speaker 1 35:07

Thank you , I'm so glad to have a buddy to talk about it with I'm so glad you did all of the research and I just get to enjoy it'll be fun , it'll be a good time .

Speaker 2 35:17

So what about you , darby ? What are we reading ?

Speaker 1 35:20

so I went to the like the oldest spot on my tbr on goodreads and it's the last dragon king by layla stone , and so that's currently sitting at my oldest spot . Will I read it this year ? I don't know .

Speaker 1 35:36

Looking back on it , it has like a lot of mixed reviews on goodreads like there's some people that like hated it and then some people that like liked it , so I'm not sure if I'm gonna be into it anymore . But that being said , you know , I reread the synopsis because I had no idea what it was about , and it does still intrigue me , so I'm gonna give it a solid .

Speaker 2 35:58

Maybe that's fair but that is the oldest one on my tbr and I don't know if I'm gonna read it this year it's so funny how , like our preferences change so much since , like when , like I first joined goodreads and just added so many books , versus now trying to go back . I really need to clean mine out I need to clean some out it's like no , this , this is not it anymore . Yeah , so that , yeah , that's kind of cool , though , that you were able to go back and find , like the first one well , you can't .

Speaker 2 36:26

It goes in order yeah um date added I just mean like that , you took the time I don't have as many as you do , it's true I I do limit myself to the ones I read .

Speaker 1 36:35

I think I have like 30 something on there which for me I'm like that is so many meanwhile I have like 250 um that's another goal we'll add onto the list .

Speaker 2 36:46

I'm going to clean it out . So it's more intentional , because that was something I felt bad Josh mentioned Because he got me the gift card , because he intended to buy me a book off my list , or a couple books off my list .

Speaker 1 36:56

But there were so many .

Speaker 2 36:58

He didn't know where to start . I'm like oh that's fair .

Speaker 1 37:01

That is so sweet , though , that he was thinking of that , yeah , that's adorable he's a sweetheart .

Speaker 2 37:10

I'm very lucky . Josh tell Justin . So yeah , we'll add that to the list of goals . I've got to clean it out because you know you've got to clean out the closet sometimes .

Speaker 1 37:19

Yeah , I love that .

Fictional Settings for New Beginnings

Speaker 1 37:21

Okay , what is a fictional place that you'd love to move to if you were to start fresh and have a new beginning ?

Speaker 2 37:27

so I was torn between terracin of throne of glass or volaris of akatar , but I think I had to go with my initial gut instinct , uh , which is terracin and I think , because in my brain , like throne of glass is a complete series and so everybody , I would love to meet the amazing cast of characters , obviously , but everyone is kind of like finished all of the trials and tribulations that they had to go through and are already starting their new beginnings together in this world that they're rebuilding . So what better place to go for a new beginning and start that than with them ?

Speaker 2 38:05

Plus , I feel like it's got the mountains , the flowers , the snow but also serene , yeah , and it's like you can get a little bit of everything , the like world that it's in . You can go visit cool places , I don't know . I feel like that would be , if we're talking new starts , fresh starts . That would be it for me . Versus like Akatar and like Volaris oh beautiful . Like aktar and like volaris , oh beautiful , love the nighttime sky . But , um , there , it's not a complete series . There's still a lot to come , I feel like , and like I don't want to get trapped there . Yeah , so , yeah , that's mine what about you nightmares exactly ?

Speaker 1 38:37

um , I love that . I would also love to be in terrison , but in not having the same answer as you , I think I I'm going to go with Carvel I don't actually remember the name of like the actual places on the map .

Speaker 1 38:50

But it just seems like such a magical place and though I surely would be stressed about making like the wrong deal or magic taking more for me than I thought to give it , just like the actual main characters , I think I would be placed on an adventure . So it seems like an elevated , like elevated garden carnival in my mind . Definitely not carnies . This feels like elegant , high-end , mystery , magical city is what it feels like in my mind .

Speaker 1 39:25

I really wish that I could copy and paste the image in my head . But carnival is what it feels like in my mind . I really wish that I could like copy and paste the image in my head . But Carvel is what we are going with and who knows where I would end up it would take you .

Speaker 2 39:36

I love that . I'm really excited to read that because you rave so highly about it , so I'm excited to dive in and see the world that you want to live in .

Speaker 1 39:45

It's just yeah , it's interesting . I don't know . I really enjoy it . So I'm excited to dive in and see the world that you want to live in . It's just yeah , it's interesting . I don't know . I really enjoy it .

Characters Who Deserve a New Beginning

Speaker 2 39:50

All right . If you could rewrite the ending of a book to give the main character a fresh start , which book would it be ?

Speaker 1 39:57

Okay , I think both of ours are semi-spoilers , so maybe skip ahead like a minute or two . For me it be um , in five years is what the book is called . I forget the author's last name , but I think it's in my borrows and returns so you'll hear the author's name later . But it's the book in five years and the main character , danny , just like goes through so much stress and it just kind of like ends , not like abruptly , like you definitely have that like closure . Yeah , you have that closure . It rounds out , but you're just left with like well , she's just left with like well , where does she go now from here ? Like she has a lot of possibilities of where she can go , so she kind of already has a fresh start . But I almost wish that like like I don't know if her trials and stuff are over kind of like you were saying like I wish , like .

Speaker 1 40:46

It ended with like happily ever after where it ends a little more like solemn of like well , here's where we're at , and now we're going to go somewhere , like , and now we move on , sure . So I think that would be one that I would rewrite just to give her some good closure that's a good one .

Speaker 2 41:05

Um , mine would be . Spoiler warnings skip ahead like 15 seconds . I'm not going to go into it very long . Um , the nightingale isabel . She deserved a happy ending and that's all I'm gonna say . On that dark , he's already starting to tear up over here . No sniffles , um yep , that's all I'm gonna say .

Speaker 1 41:26

She just deserved better I really , I really , I really will cry if we talk about it for long anywho um if your life were a store .

Speaker 2 41:36

Whoa why was ?

Speaker 1 41:39

that so aggressive

If Our 2025 Was A Book...

Speaker 1 41:41

? If your life were a story ? Whoa , why was that so aggressive ? If your life story were a book , what genre would 2025 fall into ? Drama , comedy , romance , thriller or fantasy ?

Speaker 2 41:53

Okay , so I decided to split my 2025 book into two books and make it a duology . Thank you , yes , but truly because I feel like this year is going to be a 50-50 split for me . The first half of this year is going to be completely different than the second half . First book in my duology would be a thriller . I'm thinking very much like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde , kind of thing .

Speaker 1 42:17

I think we're living it right now .

Speaker 2 42:18

Yes , we are . We've already started prequel end of 2024 . But just with the stress of the wedding I feel like it kind of turns me and will turn me into a different person . Meanwhile , anybody who asks me about the wedding , I'm like this is perfectly fine , I'm on top of everything and it's all , okay , I'm gonna be the person that , like , has the potion to turn you back , just following you around .

Speaker 1 42:38

It's okay ?

Speaker 2 42:39

yep , pick these flowers , it's all gonna be fine . Uh , it's like that little kid . It was like everything will be .

Speaker 2 42:47

Oh , I think that's my spirit animal I think about that little kid far too much anyway . So , yeah , that would be like my first half of your first book . Second book of the year would be an epic adventure . I'm thinking like lord of the rings , the hobbit kind of style um , because I gained a new ring and now that's so cute . Thank you , um . And now I have to embark on , like , the new quest of marriage and like all the fun trials and stuff that comes with it . Wow , I love how thought out that is . Thank you , so cute . So what about you ? Tell me about your 2025 book ?

Speaker 1 43:22

I think my 2025 would be considered a contemporary fiction , which is probably the most boring answer I could give you , but my year head is kind of like a grinding one for me , so I think we could reimagine it into a fantasy . So having to conquer this year's challenges whether that be like my work events , budgeting , budgeting , creating consistent habits and throughout the year , you're going to fall in love with my many side characters who are keeping me afloat and on target .

Speaker 2 43:50

Oh , that's cute .

Speaker 1 43:52

So contemporary fiction . But if we want to make it more fun , I'll turn it into like fantasy .

Speaker 2 43:57

I'm thinking like Assassin's Blade from the Throne of Glass series , where it's like the little snippets of her life and the different things that she was going through , but it's all like one book .

Speaker 1 44:06

I like that . Yeah , there we go . It's Assassin's Blade .

Speaker 2 44:09

There we go . Perfect , I would read it .

Speaker 1 44:13

I would too . I'm going to live it All right .

Borrows & Returns

Speaker 2 44:17

Speaking of books that we would love to read , though we're going to get into Borrowers and Returns , though we're gonna get into bars and returns and , as always , darby start us off all right , well , call me wendy's , because we have a four for four I love it . So for my returns I read four bucks and they were four stars . I love that .

Speaker 1 44:43

So much I'm so glad that hit . So the first one is In Five Years , by Rebecca Surley is her name , and so that was a four stars . That one was a bit more like dramatic than I thought it was going to be , like it had some more like hard hitting themes in there than I had anticipated and it also ends on a very like oh , like . It was cool . And then I listened to Beyond the Wand , the Magic and Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard , by Tom Felton .

Speaker 2 45:26

That would surprise me when it popped up on my Goodreads that you read it . I'm really curious to hear your thoughts .

Speaker 1 45:31

Well , okay , during Christmas time they had a marathon of the movies going on and I was for those who don't know I was so sick over like Christmas week , like Christmas Eve , christmas day , a couple of days after . So Jess and I were binging the movies and even when we came back up from my parents' house we like finished it out because we didn't watch it all . So it was just like in the mood and one of my like mutual friends had started it . So then I just started it and it was like really quick book and then I could round , because it was so , so quick . I could round out like my books to be 44 instead of 43 . Love that . Um , it was good and I learned a lot about tom felton that I didn't know about which was . It was really interesting . I think just hearing someone's life I mean comparison sometimes can be the thief of joy , but it's also just neat when it's someone that you don't feel you need to compare yourself to right to like just learn about them .

Speaker 1 46:28

It was just really interesting . I feel like I I know him in a different way now yeah , that's cool .

Speaker 2 46:34

I'll have to check it out yeah , um .

Speaker 1 46:36

and then , speaking of my girl , stephanie garber , who I've been obsessed with . I read her like other , so not carvel , but her other series , once Upon a Broken Heart . That one was a four . And then the Ballad of Never After , which is the second book , which was four , and , oh my gosh , the ending of the second one . We've already been over this . I'm going to go to Barnes and Nobles after this to see if they have it . But A Simple Borrow right now is our book talk book , so that sounds fun by Annie F Downs . I just started it yesterday and I think it'll be such a good like read to start our year off .

Speaker 2 47:15

I'm excited to get into it .

Speaker 1 47:17

Yeah , tell me yours . So for returns , I have none .

Speaker 2 47:21

Come stop by Wendy's . I did try so with my borrows . I'm reading wretched by emily mcintyre , from her never after series , and the adhd for smart ass women by tracy atsuka . I started both these in 2024 . I was hoping to finish wretched before the holidays hit , and so I round off my year , um , but I just didn't get the time holidays , um . So I should be finishing that one here today , though I technically could count it as a return . But I haven't finished so I can't talk about it .

Speaker 1 47:56

But I am enjoying it . It's okay , though , because you were like present , like during christmas time . If I hadn't been like astronomically sick , I would not have read as much as I did .

Speaker 2 48:05

I do try during the holidays to just shut off everything . I'm not on my phone a whole lot . I just be present with my family . So I'm not mad about it . But it's more like a almost Because I got halfway through it Missed opportunity . The ADHD for Smartass Women . I feel like that's kind of my self-help book that you've been reading for a long time , where you just kind of like pick it up randomly and give them a little . So I'll probably be on my borrows for a while . Don't know when I'll finish that and add it to a return , but just little tidbits here and there and then . That that sounds fun by annie f downs . I will be starting as soon as I finish wretched here today .

Speaker 1 48:38

Um , I'm excited to get into that one I'm actually so excited to hear your thoughts and excited to hear everybody's thoughts who are going to join us on our fable . Um , because , even like I think it's a book that you're going to get out of it what you want . So I think you could read the whole book and be like , yeah , it was fine , like it was just a book , but I think if you take the time to like pick out the things and like think about stuff , you're going to get a lot out of it right so I'm excited to hear , like , where people land I appreciate that it's more like light-hearted and fun and less about like the hard-hitting goals or like how to .

Speaker 2 49:12

It's like so many self-help books . I feel like it's really hard-hitting and like how to better yourself , and it's not that that's a bad thing . But I like how we're starting off the year with something that's more light-hearted and like yeah , this is how you can like enjoy life a little bit more yeah , and so far , like she really does feel just like a friend talking .

Speaker 1 49:29

So it's like some of my posts have been like as if I was talking back to her . You know , like she writes about something that she's feeling and I like have written in our posts .

Speaker 2 49:38

Like I feel the same way , like how interesting yeah if you want to hear our thoughts on that , join our fable . If not , you'll have to wait for the episode coming up later in the month . But that was our first episode of 2025 season two so crazy exciting . Cannot wait for the new year to come . We've got a lot of good things on the way . Thank you so much for joining us and we will see you next time .

Speaker 1 50:07

See you next time . We're so grateful for you . Bye , bye . Well , dear listeners , we find ourselves at the end of another episode and remember , the Lazy Girl Library is not just a podcast . It's a community . We absolutely love hearing from fellow book lovers , so don't forget to share your thoughts and your favorite reads with us on our social media . You can find us on Instagram at Lazy Girl Library . Make sure to check out our website , lazygirllibrarycom , your one-stop shop for all things Lazy Girl . Before we go , we want to take a moment to thank all of our wonderful listeners , whether you're listening from your cozy bed , on your way to work or anywhere in between . Thank you for making us a part of your day and for being a part of our Lazy Girl family . So keep those pages turning , keep those imaginations flourishing and remember the best stories are yet to be discovered . Until next time , stay lazy and happy reading .