I run a book club for children at the library where I work, and I’m also very deliberate and intentional with my picks, often looking back to see what we’ve recently read, making sure there’s a diversity of genres, topics, and authors represented too, and a mix of debut authors and recognizable favorites. Even though I’m more well-versed in middle grade than adult horror and mystery/thriller I LOVE seeing that your brain works the same way in selecting titles!!!

This channel is like a warm blanket to me. You are the most comfortable corner of the internet to be in

@sorenkrane

6 ай бұрын

Agreed. And if there aren't new vids, I always go back and rewatch my fav Lala vlogs. 😍 Cozy blanket

29:36 I’m really glad there are books addressing the problematic nature of the true crime genre. I know someone who was a victim of a “true crime” podcast exploiting her tragedy, and whenever I bring up how problematic it is, *I* end up getting attacked by fans.

@theotherveronica

6 ай бұрын

it’s definitely a topic i think is, thankfully, addressed more often now. i think true crime can sometimes do good (i listen to a few podcasts that work with the families to get their loved ones stories out there and i also know some podcasts and shows have helped generate new activity in someone’s case or even lead to solving it) but i think if it’s not done delicately it can be really harmful. i’m hoping more nuanced conversations will allow for more helpful and less harmful content!

@taylorgayhart9497

6 ай бұрын

⁠@@theotherveronicaI do agree that there are people out there who are speaking and writing about tragedies in way that is both sensitive to the victims and useful for the victims and public at large, and some of those people have podcasts. But to me what makes “True Crime” it’s own genre, the tropes and characteristics that makes it “True Crime”, are inherently bad, and those being the sensationalized and exploitative way in which they “investigate” and telegraph that tragedy. Yes it’s great that people want to help victims, but that’s also led to a culture of people who think it’s now acceptable to contact victims of tragedies to “offer” their “services”. Journalists have a publication or organization you can complain to if they overstep, who is checking these “True Crime Investigators”? No one. And that’s not even touching on the way True Crime has been found to negatively impact the mental health of the consumer. I agree it’s nuanced but I also believe the percentage of people doing good and not harm is so small, that the whole genre needs a reckoning.

loved this video. 10/10 concept per usual. having a timelapse of the different hair colors over the last X months was the cherry (Spoiler: all a slay)

Kayla, I love when you recommend a book for fans of another genre. It helps to narrow down the target audience and get the book in the right hands. I think that would be a fun video concept. Thriller recs for nonfiction readers, romance recs for horror readers, nonfiction recs for romance readers, memoirs for fantasy readers, etc!

I really loved Vera Wong 😊

Great vlog. Interesting to see your thought processes on what should and should be a book club pick

@JoshsBookishVoyage

6 ай бұрын

Sorry to hear you didn't like the hole. I remember really liking it when I read it a few years ago. I really liked the psychological side, the anxiety and claustrophobia of sorts.

I loved Monstrilio and haaaaated Twisted Love Story this year.

@FullMetalMakubeX

6 ай бұрын

My answer is exactly the same. I gave Twisted Love Story a 3 when I first read it, but the longer I sit on it, the more I hate it lol

@spines.and.needles

6 ай бұрын

@@FullMetalMakubeX I do this rarely...like really rarely...but it got a 1 from me.

@ToaNeko

6 ай бұрын

I think most of is agree 😂

Another original and great video! ❤ Your videos are so comforting ☺️

Idk, but I'd be down to read two novellas with similar themes. That way people have options to read one or both and then guests can talk about comparisons between the themes.

New to your channel and the book club, I appreciate how thoughtful and thorough you are about book club selections. I already read March selection, and I can't wait to talk about this book with everyone else, because I loved it! I actually used some of your suggestions for your reading challenge to test out some new genres I don't usually gravite too, and I've enjoyed all of the books I've read this year thus far.

Best grief writer. Daniel Barnett. He's a self-published author, and I love his writing. The Safe was amazing, but the best thing I've read in a really long time is his Nightmare Chronicles. THE BEST!!

Vera Wong is one on my tbr, I think a good book club pick!

whenever i see that you posted, my day gets 100% better !!

I'm so glad to hear you loved Green Fuse Burning, because I have also been obsessed with the cover since I saw it on Instagram!

I’m not a big mystery reader, but I recently picked up Murder on Sex Island, and I LOVED it and highly recommend! It’s a cozy mystery I guess, but it’s not like “cozy” it’s more silly!!

I read The Woman in the Library last year and gave it 5 stars!! I thought it was very unique and I was completely engaged the entire time. I enjoyed reading about the friend group dynamics and also Boston haha

i'm so glad you loved The Woman in the Library! It was one of my top reads of the year but I've not really seen anyone talk about it lmao. I'd also absolutely recommend Sulari Gentill's other book After She Wrote Him - I think I enjoyed it just a little more than TWITL. It also plays with those confusing story within a story type vibes and revolves around characters who are authors.

Ai Jiang is really growing as an author and I love her. I Am AI is my favourite book from her so far. She actually endorsed my upcoming book Moon Soul which was super special. I am happy to see you read a book from her and not hate it

This is such a fun idea for a video I love it!! 😍 My favorite book club pick this year was The Writing Retreat for sure, that one was almost a Book Troop pick for me, and I’m sad it don’t end up being one because it’s my favorite thriller of the year haha 😍👏 also so excited to see you read Kill Creek, I really enjoyed that one!

I loved loved loved vera wong. It is hilarious and heartwarming. Def more of a cozy mystery feel. I hope y'all enjoy it next year🎉🎉🎉

I love your review of The Woman in the Library, I read it in October and gave it 4 stars! My one critique that brought it down is I thought going in that it was a story of the 4 friends trapped in the library over the span of hours because the body was found and they had to figure out between them who the killer was. So it just went in a different direction than I was expecting, but it was still a good book!

Loved watching this!!!

I really loved Woman in the Library. I highly recommend her other book, After She Wrote Him. It it so weird and intriguing. It also centers a book within a book (but we don’t know which is which). It also gives so much insight into her own personal writing style and process

Home Before Dark, The Guest List, They Never Learn, Confessions, and The It Girl were my top favorites! Still have to pick up For Your Own Good and The Family Game, but I just bought Monstrilio so hoping I enjoy it as much as other readers did!

I found your channel after finishing Catherine House and was desperate to find someone who loved it as much as I did! Happy to still be here. I felt very similarly to Death of a Bookseller--I think if it was A LOT shorter, it would have had a lot more impact. I was invested in the story but it took too long to get where it was going.

yesss I gave Vera Wong & The Overnight Guest solid 5 stars! definitely going to put Kill Creek & Green Fuse Burning higher on my priority list 👀

I loved Vera Wong, so excited it got chosen as the cozy read. It's definitely cozy mystery but so funny and good.

I am so happy you read The Woman in the Library. I read it last year and never see anyone talking about it, but I thought it was such a unique concept & interesting way of telling the story. I need more people's thoughts on it,

Vera wongs’s unsolicited advice for murderers was probably one of my favourite reads of 2023! Vera was hilarious and really made the story! Golden spoon I listened on audio and it wasn’t bad at all! I’m two months late on this video but I’m okay with that 🤣

I know you didn’t like the audiobook narration for Linghun, but when you gave us a sample I got so excited because that narrator (Nancy Wu) is one of my favorites! I added that audiobook to my list because you made me want to listen to it now (:

Love all the hair color changes in this video 😂

I feel like for a novella to work with the book club it has to be a series. So like both books for What Move The Dead so that we could have a conversation about the world building, keeping to the original text, etc. Or two Eric LaRocca books to torture our eyeballs

I’m so glad to hear your thoughts on the woman in the library!! I’ve been waiting so long to hear your thoughts and I’m so glad you loved it! It was super captivating and I rated it a 5!! It was sooooo good to me and I loved everything about it

I really enjoyed Vera Wong, I think you made the right decision there 😊 I’ve had Green Fuse Burning and Linghaun on my radar all year, just haven’t gotten my hands on it yet

To name a few selections that were my favourites: All’s Well, House of Hunger, What Moves the Dead, Monstrilio, and The Only One Left!

I have been watching for a little while but now I have joined your book club after watching this video.

I read an arc of Green Fuse Burning earlier this year and I was excited when I saw it in the thumbnail because I KNEW you would love it! Also, I’m so excited to see what you think of Vera Wongs Unsolicited Advice for Murderers!! I read it this month 🥰

Haunted house rec: In the Shadow of Spindrift House by Mira Grant The book wasn’t a 5⭐️(it was a 4.5) but, it’s my favorite haunted house book.

The Weight of Silence by Heather Gudenkauf is one of my favorites.

i LOVED Death of a Bookseller, but i listened to the audiobook, and I loved the audiobook. I think if I was reading it physically I wouldn’t have liked it, but it translated so well as an audiobook.

Vera Wong was in my top 5 of 2023 (of 100+ read this year) so I hope you enjoy it!

I'm glad you read Kill Creek, I've been hoping you'd pick it up for a while. It's not my favorite haunted house book but I really enjoyed it. The Golden Spoon was one of my most anticipated reads of the year and it was a total flop for me so I'm glad you didn't choose it for your book club lol

Vera Wong was really fun!

The Green Fuse Burning cover caught my eye a couple of weeks ago - I definitely need to get around to picking it up!

Just marked down Vera Wong to get from my library for March!!

I only started participating this year but my favourite so far has been Monstrilio and my least favourite was The Writing Retreat.

Always look forward to your vlogs.

The Woman in the Library was one of my most anticipated mystery books of last year and I was thoroughly disappointed. I thought the book within a book was pretty uninteresting and didn't feel like a mystery, and the second plot line with the correspondence just didn't have enough to it to keep me engaged. I ended up giving it 3 stars. Glad you liked it though, and also not surprised since we have pretty much opposite tastes in the mystery/thriller genre 😂

I got an ARC of The Woman in the Library and I gave it 3 star, but definitely a low 3. When I think back I think it might have actually been a 2. You’re right that I didn’t like the romance and I like thrillers/mysteries with more substance.

Hi! I just LOVED "Moon Of The Crusted Snow", and I wonder if you've read the second book yet? Im currently reading "Moon of the Turning Leaves" and it's great so far. I hope we get to hear your thoughts on it!!

So, you did a bookish/librarian list so I do have to recommend The Sentence by Louise Erdrich. Not sure it's a great book club book, but it's bookish, with indigenous people, during Covid, with some paranormal vibes.

choosing book club picks is so hard!! if you havent read it, how are you supposed to know it’ll be good or how well it fits the theme? my book club reads a different subgenre or trope of books every three months to taste test it, and i have struggled hard when the theme is specific. i have definitely failed before 😂

was reading, but got notified that you posted a new video and I jumped to it! And what a treat! I've only read two of these books - hated The Hole, but also really really liked Green Fuse Burning! I was so happy to see it in the thumbnail of the video, because it feels criminally under read and hopefully it will get to more people now :) Can't wait to see what Tiffany Morris writes next

My Southeast Asian heart loves that you picked Vera Wong 🖤 I'm ready to talk about all the food in it 😂

I don't think it's surprising that you enjoyed The Woman in the Library. I think the style of the book, as far as someone writing and then someone else adding notes and critiquing, is a lot like Paul Tremblay's The Pallbearers Club. Its def not a common style in books but I wonder if you could find others written similarly and see if those would be favorites/high rated as well.

The golden spoon was so fun 😭

Loved this video! Heather Gudenkauf has a new book coming at the end of March called Everyone Is Watching

I love your videos but we have totally different taste in books. Lol. I LOVED The Overnight Guest and would have loved to hear a discussion about it in your book club. 😊

i gave the woman in the library 4.25/5 stars; i really enjoyed it and am excited to pick up more from the author!

I've read a few thriller books, I'm afraid it might not be my genre, but your videos have helped me so much in an anxiety heavy time. I just love your content!

i read the woman in the library and gave it a 2. i became uninterested in the book inside of the book and was really hoping that the 2nd plot line would get more interesting and then like barely anything happened. i felt like because everything in the second plot line happened over written correspondences i wasn’t able to really get into everything that was going on. i ended up feeling detached from both plot lines and was disappointed by the ending because i thought that the set up was so good but the execution was not.

@mockingjayreads414

6 ай бұрын

I fully agree. I also feel like I just didn't really care about the book in the book because it felt like there were no stakes as we were being constantly reminded it wasn't real and I couldn't immerse myself

I keep getting The Golden Spoon and The Writing Retreat plots mixed up lol

Woooo! Love this video idea!!!

“The woman in the library” I gave a 3! I read it as an arc and mentioned the conversations about the plot, critiques, etc. I also loved all the cliffhangers on Hannah’s chapters but overall wasn’t itching to pick it up and it took a bit of time to realize how meta it was set up.

The Woman in the Library just went on my TBR.

You could do 2 novellas for a given month for the book club. Maybe they share some kind of theme like female or nonbinary author, a similar trope, similar covers, etc. Would give some added discussion to compare them.

@BooksandLala

6 ай бұрын

This is so true! I remember considering it a while back, but didn't know if it was the right call! Thanks for the reminder, this could definitely work

Kill creek, literally my favorite book ever written 😂

I adored The Woman in the Library and agreed with all you said! Excited to pick up Pallbearers Club - been meaning to for a while and this is push I need

I loved hearing your thought process for choosing the books for the book club. My favorite past book for the book club was The Other People by CJ Tudor. She became a new favorite author for me. I decide favorite authors by if I want to read everything they own. I rarely give 5 stars so my favorites aren't determined by that. I've also learned through your book club that I don't love Riley Sager or Ruth Ware. I wear my Literally Dead Book Club merch at work and people really like them. They love your logo. I have the gold shirt and orange sweatshirt.

Omg, I'm so excited to see Green Fuse Burning on your TBR. I read it months ago and loved it. I hope you enjoy it too (I'm writing this before watching the video). Edit after watching the vid: Yayy, I'm glad you liked the book. Linghun is also one of my favorite reads this year

Love waking up from nightshift to a video from you. ❤

I watched the clip of you falling multiple times. Omg I can't 😂😂😂

girl you can’t be dropping these while i’m at work and expect me not to watch asap

The people I saw read Vera Wong for Goodreads related videos all seemed to like it.

I will be picking up The Overnight Guest and Green Fuse Burning both because of personal interest and what you had to say despite the very different ratings.

The Woman in the Library was a 5 star read for me. I couldn't stop reading it, I sat in one place and devoured it.

I gave the woman in the library 4.25 and I really enjoyed it when I read last year. But I thought similarly that many people would hate or dislike it. So glad you liked it.

Favorite bookclub pick- The Guest List (5 stars) Least favorite- Twisted Love Story (1 star) So excited for the next year of LDBC :)

amazing video Kayla as always. may we PLEASE have a bookshelf tour in 2024??

Will there be another besties literally dead book club round? Because I would totally be up to join some time!

Of the books I’ve read, my favorite was Confessions and least favorite is Hide!! Also, I’m in the minority, like you, that enjoyed The House Across the Lake!

I liked the concept/idea behind "The woman in the library, but I felt the book ended before all of the different parallel story threads were resolved. To me, when the library scream mystery aspect was resolved.. the book just ended when the other threads going on at the same time were still in the middle of their stories.

im excited to participate in this bc for the first time next year. is there a book chosen for jan?

@danielleoliver1734

6 ай бұрын

It restarts in February so no January pick

@kathybryar06

6 ай бұрын

Feb read is Out There Screaming, black horror anthology edited by Jordan Peele

I participated in year 1 but haven't had enough time to join in since. From that year I loved Platform Seven but DNF'd Zone One (the writing just wasn't for me).

I gave the woman in the library 3.5 stars. I was entertained, not surprised. However, I'm looking forward to Sulari Gentill's 2024 release because I think she's an exciting writer and I'm curious to read more from her.

the pink shirt you were wearing at the start is not available??? :(

@BooksandLala

6 ай бұрын

the pink has been sold out for months now, it's devastating 😭 hoping it comes back soon

I only read 1-3 selections a year but HOUSE OF LEAVES was life changing- It took me 6 months to read it but I think about it all the time- If you haven't read it, take the time and read every word- wild!

The Only One Left by Riley Sager has been my favorite! and Catherine House would have to be my least favorite:(

I believe the murder in Golden Spoon is revealed in the prologue.

Everyone in my bookclub is making a presentation based on their "Rating Rules," so now I'm curious about yours: you mention at 30:07 that you rate books low instead of DNF-ing them -- does that mean that you don't rate books you don't finish? I would never rate a book I don't finish, but someone in my bookclub automatically ranks the book as a 1 if they DNF it (which I think is bananas tbh). Anywoo -- I just love your videos. Currently reading (and loving) The Writing Retreat because of you!

@XOmangoXO

6 ай бұрын

Personally, I rate a DNF if I stopped reading it because it was so offensive (ie writing was terrible, painfully boring, content was literally offensive); if I DNF because it wasn’t bad but just not for me then I won’t rate In my mind, I know if I were to finish I’d still rate it low anyways so why continue to subject myself to that experience. Once a book has already crossed that line, no ending is going to change the rating a whole star

@fooduzzi

6 ай бұрын

@@XOmangoXO Oh interesting! This is great, thanks for sharing. I've never rated a book I've never finished, but I feel like there are so many nuances to this five-star scale rating deal! Hence why we're all making a presentation about our approach. 😉

I LOVED the overnight guest so I’m hoping you like it (I’m typing this before you talk about it in this video just fyi)

also I highly recommend karin slaughter's books if u are taking recommendations. false witness wrecked me.

@XOmangoXO

6 ай бұрын

I know she’s read Pretty Girls!

Don't know what I missed with the Golden Spoon. It's my least favourite book of year. Absolute loved the Woman in the Library though

I tried reading and listening to a Woman in the Library a year ago or so and I was so disappointed. I never read mystery or literally anything that's not romance or non fiction so I was really pushing my comfort zone in this book and it let me down so much. I hated the structure. It killed all enjoyment I had in the story being told and I quickly came to resent it I DNF'ed in less than 30 pages

VERA WONG INTERESTING👀👀

I rate my books on the scale of A+ to F minus but I’ve never given any book anything lower than a B minus maybe a C but not in recent memory one of the last books I finished recently I gave a B minus

Hey Kayla! I would love to help host the book club!

Vera Wong is so great! Golden Spoon is good but not as good. Mother Daughter Muder Night slapped!

Favorite: When No One is Watching Least: House of Leaves Overall, more good than bad here but definitely some huge hits AND some huge misses. 🤷‍♀️