The episode opens with Meaghan and Shirin bantering about the early onset of winter in Canada. They’re already feeling the seasonal blues even before the new year hits. What normally creeps in around February or March is showing up early this time, and the hosts are already joking (not joking) about escaping to Mexico.
Shirin mentions they’re recording in November, but the energy is very much end-of-year. They agree this month is going to be a patchwork of wrapping things up, and they want each episode to feel like a kind of personal sendoff to the year.
They also share a mutual sentiment: 2025 has been a bit of a slog, and they’re not the only ones feeling it. That gives the episode a cathartic tone. It’s not just a wrap-up; it’s an acknowledgment that sometimes you just want to metaphorically burn the calendar year and start fresh.
Note
The following is an editorialized transcript of our weekly literary podcast. If you would like to listen to the podcast, click the play button above orlisten on your favorite platform with the links below.
What We’ve Been Reading (And Why It’s Shifted So Much)
To kick off their reflections, Meaghan and Shirin talk about how their reading habits shifted dramatically this year. Life got in the way, in good ways and chaotic ones.
Shirin, for example, became a new mom. That drastically changed the kind of books she could realistically dive into. Long, dense fantasy novels with 200 pages of world-building? Just not happening when you’ve got a baby crying every 45 minutes. She admits that while she still loves fantasy, she leaned heavily on thrillers this year. They were easier to pick up and put down. They gave her the satisfaction of finishing a book without requiring a mental deep-dive.
Meaghan says her reading journey took a different kind of turn. The first half of her year was heavy on fantasy, more than usual for her, but she eventually veered back into horror, her more typical genre. She noticed she’d missed that gritty, unsettling feeling she usually gets from a good horror read. Once she got back into it, it felt like home again.
They both mention how their reading paths this year were guided partly by Advance Reader Copies (ARCs) and how much those pushed them to explore new genres. ARCs brought new voices, new authors, and new styles to their shelves. It was sometimes a hit, sometimes a miss, but always an experiment.
Books That Stuck With Us (And a Few That Didn’t)
A big part of the episode is dedicated to talking through the books that really resonated, and a few that didn’t live up to the hype. Meaghan kicks things off with The Bookshop Below by Georgia Summers, an urban fantasy novel set in a magical version of London. She loved how the concept blended books and magic.
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Bookshop owners could literally “read” magic off the pages, a concept she hadn’t seen done quite like this before. She thought the main character was flawed in compelling ways, which kept her emotionally invested. It wasn’t a perfect book, but it brought something new to the table, and that mattered.
Shrin shares that she’s reading The Sweetest Getaway by Sasha Preston, a heist story involving sweetener shortages, ethical ambiguity, and a protagonist working a 9-to-5 job at the company she’s about to rob. Shirin says the vibe is somewhere between Ocean’s Eleven and a light thriller. It might not be groundbreaking, but it’s fun and cinematic, and that’s exactly what she needed this year.
They also bond over shared reads like The Perfect Marriage, which neither of them loved. The characters weren’t relatable, the ending felt rushed, and the plot didn’t come together satisfyingly. It’s not that it was a total loss, but it didn’t leave a strong impression. In contrast, books like Death in the Downline hit the right notes, dark humor, a unique tone, and a strong voice. Shirin found herself laughing out loud even at the bleak parts.
They also both talk about ARCs that surprised them. Oxford Soju Club by Jin Woo Park and The Eyes Are the Best Part by Monica Kim made strong impressions, thanks to their voice, structure, and emotional depth. These authors are now on their radars.
Life Happens: How Parenthood and Burnout Changed Our Reading Brains
There’s a powerful stretch in the episode where Shirin gets candid about how motherhood reshaped her reading habits. She doesn’t have the brain space or emotional bandwidth for 600-page epics, no matter how much she loves them.
Books that once felt immersive now feel overwhelming. Instead, she’s reaching for thrillers, fast-paced stories, and books that don’t require a map and glossary. She used to read romances too, but admits she hasn’t been in the mood for idealistic love stories when her own life feels messy and sleep-deprived. A fictional guy making tea on a porch just doesn’t hit the same when you’ve got laundry piling up and a baby spitting up on your shirt.
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Shirin relates, even though her life isn’t in the same chaos zone. She’s found herself choosing books with characters going through worse things than she is. Reading thrillers gives her a weird sense of comfort. At least she’s not being stalked by a serial killer, you know?
They both agree that escapism doesn’t always mean fluff; sometimes it means reading about chaos that makes your own look tame by comparison.
Characters Over Plot: What Keeps Us Hooked
Near the end of the episode, they ask each other a really good question: what keeps you invested in a book, regardless of genre?
For both of them, it comes down to character. Meaghan needs someone relatable, someone she can understand or connect with. If there’s no one she can root for or relate to, she checks out.
Shirin agrees. Even if a plot is thrilling or twisty, if the characters don’t feel human or layered, she loses interest fast. They both acknowledge that what they need shifts by genre; thrillers can have messy or even unlikable characters if the mystery is tight, but across the board, well-written characters are the glue that holds everything together.
They both recall books with zero plot but fantastic character interaction that still worked. And they bring it back to The Perfect Marriage again as a case study of what happens when character connection is missing. If you don’t care what happens to the people in the story, why keep turning the pages?
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Looking Forward: New Authors to Watch in 2026
To close things out, the hosts list a few authors who left a mark and who they’ll be watching in the future. For Shirin, Jin Woo Park (author of Oxford Soju Club) and Maria Abrams (Death in the Downline) are ones she’ll keep an eye on. Frida McFadden, while fun, might be a “once-in-a-while” read due to how prolific she is.
Meaghan mentions Sarah Beth Durst (The Spell Shop), Ella Stratton (In Deadly Company), and Monica Kim (The Eyes Are the Best Part) as names she’ll follow. She also talks about indie author Tiffany Hunt, who’s now moving into traditional publishing and has a follow-up coming out next year. Her fantasy novel The Dark Lord’s Guide to Dating and Other War Crimes stood out for its humor and creativity.
They’re both clearly excited about discovering new voices and re-centering what brings them joy as readers. That’s the whole vibe of this wrap-up: 2025 may have been tough, but reading gave them some grounding, even if it looked different than years past.
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