New and Upcoming Releases With Kelly Holmes (S9E4)

The Currently Reading Podcast

In this episode of The Currently Reading Podcast, Kelly Holmes joins hosts Katie Cobb and Meredith Schwartz for a deep dive into new and upcoming book releases. The conversation begins with personal

Key takeaways

• Rereading beloved books can be a powerful emotional anchor during life transitions like children leaving home.
• Small-town dynamics in romance novels can serve as a lens to explore complex social issues like misogyny and community judgment.

Main topics

• Rereading as emotional support during life changes
• Sapphic romance in small-town settings

Notable quotes

When you are going through a hard time, you really should try rereading a favorite book, especially if you just can't seem to get into anything else.

Conclusion

This episode celebrates both personal emotional journeys and the power of books to inspire real-life connections.

Transcript preview

Speaker 2 (0:10) Welcome to the Currently Reading Podcast. We are bookish best friends who spend time every week talking about the books that we've read recently. And as you already know, we don't shy away from having strong opinions. So get ready. We're Speaker 1 (0:22) light on the chit chat, heavy on the book talk, and our conversations will always be spoiler free. Today we'll discuss our current reads, a readerly deep dive, and a little something bookish before we go. Speaker 2 (0:32) I'm Katie Cobb, a homeschooling mom of four living in Arizona, and books make Speaker 1 (0:37) even the hard days better. And I'm Kelly Holmes, a freelance writer and a homeschooling mom of four living in Austin, Texas. And I believe doctors and therapists should write prescriptions for re-reading. This is episode number four of season nine, and we're so glad you're here. Speaker 2 (0:53) We are so glad you're here. And y'all, I bet you have noticed that we have a new voice joining me today. Kelly, thank you for being here. Welcome, welcome to Speaker 1 (1:02) Currently Reading. Yeah, I'm definitely having a fangirl moment here. I've been listening to y'all for a long time, so I'm excited to sit down and chat books. Speaker 2 (1:10) Kelly is bringing us a super special deep dive today. I'll give you a little hint here at the top of the show that today we are what I'm calling breaking open the dam on new releases, and we'll get to know Kelly a little more. All right, Kelly. But as you know, we always get started around here with the same delightful energy. And we're going to get started with our bookish moments of Speaker 1 (1:32) the week. What is yours? So I have never really been a rereader, but my oldest is leaving for college soon. By the time you're listening to this, my husband and I, plus our three younger kids. We're going to be just days away from dropping her off at college, 1900 miles away. And I am honestly, I'm not okay. It's impacting my reading life. I have DNF'd 12 of the last 14 fiction books I've started, two of them after the 50 % mark, which is so painful to do, but I just couldn't force myself to keep going. So I have really been leaning into rereads of favorites. And so for the third time in less than a year, I am getting swept up into the delightful shenanigans of Emma M. Lyon. I listen to Emma M. Lyon every morning on a walk through my neighborhood. I have this near constant smile on my face. I probably look like a Disney princess who's listening to the woodland animals serenading me. The same neighbors pass me every morning and they've passed me on non-MMYN mornings. And so they must wonder what in the world I'm so happy about. Little do they know the audiobook that I'm listening to is literally holding me together right now, which is why I am now a firm believer. that when you are going through a hard time, you really should try rereading a favorite book, especially if you just can't seem to get into anything else. Speaker 2 (3:04) I love that. And because of the way that our recording schedule works, you haven't heard next Monday's episode yet, which is the episode before this one. But Roxanna is living her same life, doing the same thing, listening to Emma M. Lyon on repeat. So you are in good company, my friend. Speaker 1 (3:23) Awesome. Well, honestly, there's another bookish friend. She has triplets who are going to college here shortly, and she is also listening to Emma M. Lyon. Yes, that is Speaker 2 (3:34) actually my good friend Erin, who also lives in Texas. So y'all are in good company there as well. Speaker 1 (3:39) I love Erin and I love Emma M. Lyon, as do the rest of us. But Speaker 2 (3:45) I'm ready to pivot to my bookish moment, which I hinted at. Books make even the hard days better. basically the exact same thing you're talking about here, Kelly. But my bookish moment has to do with birthday week in our house. We have two birthdays in two days. My middle boys turned 10 and 13 on Tuesday and Wednesday of this past week. And that also means multiple well child checks in a week because I take them annually like you're supposed to. Sometimes that means vaccines, of course, and nobody likes a poke. But the best part about our doctor's office, it is directly next door to a Barnes and Noble. Makes it so easy to deal with the poking and the prodding and the measuring and the testing and get to the end of appointment for a cafe reward and a little book browse. Everybody loves that. That's part of the routine. We can go to the doctor's office. A, it's like solo time with mom, but then the best part is the solo time at the bookstore afterwards. Double bonus. It's actually fun to go to the Speaker 1 (4:47) doctor's Speaker 2 (4:47) office. Speaker 1 (4:48) I love that because what happens when I take my kids to the doctor is they bring out the bin of cheap plastic stuff from the dollar store. And then my house has all of these rubber duckies accumulated over four kids for years and years and years that clutter the floor. And the book option, I am a big fan of that. That would be a great tradition to get into with your kids. Speaker 2 (5:15) It's a great tradition, and this is not bookish, but I will say that starting from long, long ago, I made a household rule that things like dollar store treats or happy meal toys or birthday party goodie bag. Speaker 2 (5:33) Tchotchkes, they have a 24-hour shelf life in my house. So I'm like, you know what? I hope you love that and I hope you play with it constantly. But tomorrow when I see it, it is going to go in the trash and we're just going to be all done with it because otherwise a dog's going to eat it or I'm going to find it later or somebody's going to get mad that it got broken. And I just, no, we're all done with that. Speaker 1 (5:52) That is so smart, man. You're like halfway through your parenting journey and you hear about this pure gold. And I wish I'd had that at the beginning. That's fantastic. We Speaker 2 (6:02) all have to lean on each other and learn from each other. This is what happens. All right. Let's get into our current reads, though, Kelly. Did you have a hard time choosing what you were going to bring to the show today? Speaker 1 (6:13) Yes, by virtue of the fact that I've DNF'd 12 of the last 14 fiction books that I have started. But I went back. I really wanted to bring some books that we haven't heard on the show yet. So I let that guide me and picked some of my favorite recent reads before my mental health turned to M.M. Lyon. Speaker 2 (6:34) Perfect. I can't wait to hear about them. What is your first one? Speaker 1 (6:37) So first up is Ribbonwood by Ruby Landers. Here's the setup. Ribbonwood is the name of a small town in Australia. And I do mean small. I think the population is 900. And its most infamous resident is Laura Bennett. She's a single mom and a business owner that everyone loves to hate. Anytime a scandal crops up in this little town, Laura is sure to blame, according to everyone. And then we have Ollie Gabrielli. She left Ribbonwood right after high school. She went on to become this hotshot doctor. She's really good at her job. And she is now dealing with burnout. out from the trauma that she sees as a doctor. So she has come back home to Ribbonwood for three months to stay with her family and recover. But back in ye olden days, Ollie and Lara were arch nemeses, nemesi? What's the plural of that? Is it nemeses? I Speaker 2 (7:32) think it's good. Speaker 1 (7:33) Back in high school. So when they cross paths now, decades later, as adults, that old hatred they had for each other, it is just simmering under the surface. And it sparks to life every time they speak. And now there's something new in the mix. Ollie can't take her eyes off Laura. So as you might guess, this is an enemies to lover romance. And it is a sapphic romance. What I loved about it is that it flips the script on misogyny. And in particular, the flavor that you get in small town gossip. That enemies to lovers tension, it really comes out in the... best way every time Ollie and Laura talk because their banter is just sharp and snarky but also playful. It's not mean-spirited. You can tell that they still care about each other underneath it all. And you probably should know that this is open door. The spice is spicy. I gave it four chili peppers in my currently reading spreadsheet, which kind of surprised me looking back at it. So I went back to look at romance.io and they had four out of five on the spice scale as well. So I guess I did remember correctly that it was pretty spicy. But one of my favorite parts of this book was really unexpected for me. When I pick up a romance, it's because I'm in the mood for a romance. I just want to get a love story. But I really loved the way that all the women in this community show up for each other. I am not a big crier when reading, but there is a scene with an overwhelmed mom that really touched me in a deep way. It made me tear up and it made me deeply grateful for the times that the women in my life have shown up for me when I was having a hard time. So I gave this five stars. It is emotional and funny, but hopeful. And it was published in 2024. So you should be able to get it. I think it's even on Kindle Unlimited. So that was a big hit for me. And I haven't really seen many people talk about it. I feel like it's an under the radar gem that not many people have picked up. I Speaker 2 (9:38) have actually not heard of. Ruby Landers before, but I like leaving the continent, the North American continent, for my romance. So I'm definitely interested in popping over to Australia for a little visit here. And our listeners definitely know well established that I'm a big fan of sapphic romance in general. This Speaker 1 (9:58) title, I thought you were going to give either historical fiction or women's fiction. So yes, when you said four chili peppers, I was like... Are we sure about that? Yeah. I didn't read this for the longest time because when you read the publisher blurb, it's kind of a weird romance setup the way that it starts with the Lara character and talks about how everybody loves to hate her, basically. It was just really fresh and different for me, not just like a typical. Speaker 2 (10:26) romance Speaker 1 (10:27) and dealing with some really grown up things. You know, Laura is a single mom and a business owner. And I have in the past been a single mom and I have been a business owner. And so it went a little deeper than just the well-day, well-day kind of stuff. So I really appreciated it. So this was Ribbonwood by Ruby Landers. Awesome. Great job on your very first book setup. I'm impressed, Kelly. Speaker 2 (10:52) All right, my first one this week is a little older release, also from 2024. This is When the World Tips Over by Jandy Nelson. Here's the setup. Dizzy Fall, a precocious 12-year-old, can see ghosts. That's all well and good, though, because that's just part of this story. She has two brothers, the Fall brothers. perfect Miles, the 17-year-old who can do no wrong, is always meeting or exceeding expectations in everything he does, and the daredevil Wynton, who is 19 and could be a world-famous violinist if he wasn't always mucking things up. When Dizzy is almost hit by a car one day right at the beginning of this story while crossing the street, an angel shows up to save her and pull her from danger. It might just be an ordinary girl, but she quickly becomes tangled up in the lives of all three fall siblings. This book blends magical realism and family drama and road trips across the country. It pulls together stories of generations past and the ghosts that follow Dizzy Fall around. It's a little bit of an epic tale. It feels a little bit Odyssey-like, but that's probably just because I have the Odyssey on the brain. It takes time for the reader to sink into this story and get your feet under you. Interspersed with our current timeline of Dizzy and her siblings and this... angel slash girl. Who is she? Trying to figure out what's going on with their lives. We also have letters written from the mom of all three kids to each of them and their absent father. In addition, we have a nearly fairy tale storyline of lost love and a journey across the sea and a winery created in the California wine region. We have Sandro the dog who Speaker 1 (12:37) is the perfect dog. Oh, Speaker 2 (12:39) Sandro. He gets to guide us on our travels through this past and present journey. Not everything about magical realism is sweet and easy, though. There is trauma in this story in some of these characters' pasts and presents. There's a substantial amount of time spent in hospitals and waiting rooms. We have abandonment and abuse, suicidal ideation, homophobia, and just plain old heartbreak. Our characters are beautiful but flawed, and this family is broken but loving, and I loved that about this book. It is complex and nuanced and multifaceted in a really wonderful way, even though it did feel a little bit like I'm all over the place here. Like, I've got this old fairy tale, I've got this current thing, I've got a dog that can talk into somebody's head. What's going on there? However, I was happy to pick it up. I really enjoyed I'll Give You the Sun, which is Jandy Nelson's previous release. It came out in 2014. And then after that, I read her debut release, which is called The Sky is Everywhere, which did not hit for me as well. But this newest one from 2024 was a winner. I really loved how she wove the narrative. It was not just a flat timeline from beginning to end. I loved the family and found family at the center of this story and the way that it was almost a multimedia narrative with the letters and the fairy tale braided into that tapestry. I gave this one four and a half stars and only took off that little bit because sometimes it felt a little bit scattered to me like the tapestry was too confusing to look at as a whole. But it was truly excellent and is currently sitting at a 4.3 star rating on Storygraph as well. So I'm not the only one who feels this way. This was delightful. And even though I've got a 12-year-old, 17-year-old, 19-year-old at the center of my setup here, I would probably call this an adult novel, maybe YA. It just ranges all over the place. There's a lot of complex themes here and the writing itself is pretty complex. But I would hand it to a teenager if they were interested in reading it. It is a chonker, though. Over 500 pages. This is When the World Tips Over by Jandy Nelson. Speaker 1 (14:48) Oh, man. That's got some catnip for me. The found family, the road trip, the talking dog. Sandro! Would you say it's like a huggable book, like when you finished it? Speaker 2 (15:02) Oh, yes. By the time I finished it, I Speaker 1 (15:04) definitely wanted to give it a hug. It was very sweet and well done. I have it in paper, Speaker 2 (15:10) and this is one that I not tandem read, but multi-formatted, so I would switch back and forth depending on where I was. The audio was excellent, the chunks that I listened to of the audio, but I did also like having the physical book in my house so I could hold on to it Speaker 1 (15:25) when I was done. Speaker 2 (15:25) All Speaker 1 (15:26) right, Kelly, let's move on to book two. What do you got? All right, book two, I'm keeping tradition here. This is where I'm slotting my nonfiction pick. And this one is called Art Cure, The Science of How the Arts Save Lives by Daisy Fancourt. And this is a fantastic nonfiction book about the impact that engaging in the arts has on our mental and even our physical health. And here I'm defining the arts broadly as... the author does in the book. This includes visual arts, reading, writing, dance, music, theater, even crafting, which I am personally interpreting to include book bedazzling, which means book bedazzling is good for your health. But a lot of us think of the arts as a luxury or as purely something we do for leisure, but from the evidence of decades of studies, this book proves that engaging in the arts isn't just a luxury. It's as essential to our health as physical exercise and a healthy diet. And if you're sitting there, as I say that, and you're rolling your eyes a little bit at such a bold statement, I honestly get it because when I first read the blurb of this book, I was skeptical too. And I actually convinced my husband to read the book before me to make sure that it was solid and that I wouldn't waste my... limited reading time on a dud, which I like to do this a lot when there's a book that I'm on the fence, whether I want to read it, then he pressed it into my hands, which he doesn't really gush about books very much. And so the fact that he said, no, you really need to read this. I wanted to share this quote from the publisher Blurb to give you an idea of what you'll find inside. Music supports the architectural development of children's brains. Artistic hobbies help our brains to stay resilient against dementia. Dance and magic tricks build new neural pathways for people with brain injuries. Arts and music act just like drugs to decrease depression, stress, and