Episode 10 : Get a Dead Finger – Put Your Book Love on Display and Sarah Kuhn

Episode notes

This episode, Brea and Mallory talk about book fashion, interview author Sarah Kuhn and help you improve your reading speed. Participate in online discussion using the hashtag #BookChic on Instagram and Twitter!

Links –

Bookshop AirBnb

Sarah Kuhn
Twitter

Jordandene

Out of Print

Miles to Go Clothing

Book Riot Store

Artist Jen Bartel Store

Mental Floss Reading Speed Article

Books Mentioned-

The Refrigerator Monologues by Catherynne Valente

The Party by Elizabeth Day

Trade Me by Courtney Milan

What Are You Reading?

Brea is reading The Refrigerator Monologues by Catherynne Valente, illustrated by Annie Wu, stories from the point of view of women in comic books who have been “refrigerated”, as in killed/maimed/driven mad to advance a male character’s plot.

Mallory is reading The Party by Elizabeth Day, a thriller about two male best friends who have a fraught relationship with a lot of secrets that culminates in one violent night.

Listener Feedback

Fans wrote in to talk about the Reading Around The World episode, suggesting the UNESCO City of Literature Iowa City and their book fair, Nashville and the Scottish town Wigtown.

Main Topic

This week, Brea and Mallory talk book fashion, book accessories, book decor. How do you show off your love of books? There’s a lot of options and a lot of places to look. Where do you find cool stuff? How do you know if you’re looking at another book nerd? There’s only two ways to tell if someone is a reader in public, and the other way is if they’re reading. And of course you don’t want to interrupt them. So displaying your love of books is a great way to find other reader friends and have a book conversation starter!

Mallory is covered in book tattoos, so she’s pretty committed to showing off book love. She also has a few tried and true places to get book fashion. He favorite book t shirt company is Out of Print, which has all kinds of cool shirts, socks and scarves featuring vintage book covers. She also loves Miles To Go – they have an in house graphic designer that does designs inspired by books. They have a lot of classics, like Don Quixote and Harry Potter, but also more hard to find stuff like House of Leaves! She’s also a big fan of collecting t shirts from independent bookstores. Book Riot also has great bookish gear in their website store.

Brea just went to Comic Con and there are so many many t-shirts! She’s has a hard time finding shirts in her size, but she did find tank tops by Skybound for the comics Saga and Monstrous. They are so cute!

Enamel pins are all the rage! Gone are the buttons of yesteryear with their circles and weird non-working pin backs. Now you can have a pin in the shape of a character or a quote or something else adorable! Brea got a Saga and Monstrous enamel pin at Comic Con!Mallory and Brea think Etsy is a great place to look for pins.

A way to display your love of books and carry them at the same time is tote bags! Yes please! It’s a cheap, functional way to support books and authors!

Get some framed art from one of your favorite comics! Many comic artists sell prints on their website! Etsy is also a good place to look for bookish art – lots of great quote needlepoints, quote prints or book cover art!

You also can look on Etsy for some homemade things from fans but you can also make your own. We are not just here to encourage blind nerdy consumerism!

Brea makes candles and it’s so so easy! She writes little weird vampire stories on stickers on the side. You could easier make a sticker for your favorite book, put it on a homemade (or store bought) candle and give it to a person who loves that book as a gift. Homemade patches are also an easy thing to make with a little fabric, an iron on and a printer of anything you find book-related on the Internet. Mallory is useless when it comes to crafting!

Interview
Mallory and Brea talk to author of Heroine Complex and Heroine Worship Sarah Kuhn. Sarah grew up on superhero stories and loves the power fantasy of them, but she was attracted to how they were powered by emotions. That was what drove her to want to write them. One of the tough things about writing a superhero novel versus a comic is that some things written out in prose seem silly, like Bam! and Pow!, so she dealt with it by having her characters comment on how ridiculous it is. There’s been a great response to her books, featuring female superheroes of color, especially from young geeky women of color. Just seeing her book covers, done by Jason Chan, featuring Asian American superhero women, excites people. Everyone deserves to see themselves as a hero! Sarah loves nerdery fashion. One of her favorite companies is Jordandene, a line of shirts for women with nerdy sayings. She also loves artist Jen Bartel’s enamel pins. A book she loves to gift to people is Trade Me by Courtney Milan.

Reader Problem

Brea and Mallory offer advice for the many fans who have written in asking about how to improve their reading speed. Mallory’s advice is set aside time everyday to read and to start with smaller, bigger print books. Reading a giant book that will take a long time to get through can seem daunting and frustrating, but if you read a smaller book that you can finish easily, the sense of accomplishment can make you feel positively reinforced. Brea’s advice is to get rid of distractions and use the tip of your finger to follow along on what you read, which helps your eyes read faster.

Book Connection
This week’s book connection is #BookChic on Instagram and Twitter. Share pictures of your cool book fashion and swag!

If you liked the show, please rate and review us on iTunes! It’s really great for Brea and Mallory and helps them reach more readers! You can email them at readingglassespodcast at gmail dot com, find them on Twitter at readingGpodcast, on Instagram at readingglassespodcast, and you can always follow along on their bookish adventures using the general hashtag #readingglasses. Thanks for reading!