Shownotes
t’s a holiday episode… but make it chaotic, feral, and aggressively honest. This week on A Little Bit Bothered, Monica and Nicole are holding it down while Kelsie and Ashley tackle real-life schedules, and the mom energy is PEAK: potty-training cameos, Tuesday-morning delirium, stockings up, patience low, and still absolutely no Elf on the Shelf in sight.
Between trying to create Christmas magic with neurospicy kids and fighting the sugar-gremlin spiral, the girls dive into the world of nostalgic Christmas movies — except they don’t just watch them… they tear them apart lovingly, questionably, and hilariously.
Rudolph? Problematic.
Frosty? Emotional trauma on repeat.
Charlie Brown? Depressed and nobody helped him.
The Santa Clause? A man’s body changes without consent.
Miracle on 34th Street? Manifestation-core.
Gremlins? Accurate representation of our children.
And because it’s us, the episode also spirals straight into book talk, reading goals, and the series that straight-up altered our brain chemistry in 2025. It's a full year-end debrief of the stories that ruined us emotionally and revived us.
Books & series we mention:
(aka your new TBR problems 👇)
The Hunger Games series & Sunrise on the Reaping
Ravenhood series (Flock, Exodus, The Finish Line, Severed Heart)
Lightlark series (including Crown Tide)
Serpent & the Wings of Night / Crowns of Nyaxia
Crescent City series
Mistborn & the Cosmere
Empyrean series (Fourth Wing, etc.)
One Dark Window, Two Twisted Crowns, The Night in the Moth (Rachel Gillig)
Come bother us:
🎧 Tag us in your stories when you listen & tell us which Christmas movie we ruined for you.
📚 Drop your must-read of the year in a review, comment, or our DMs so we can add it to our TBR.
💬 Follow us (and our chaotic reading lives) on Fable & Instagram and let us know if you’re setting a reading goal for next year too.
Stay a little bit jolly and a little bit bothered. 💅
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Welcome to the girls group chat where no topics are off limits and it's like hanging out with your friends.
Don't forget to subscribe & leave us a review! And, as always, stay a little bit bothered... in the best way!
Have a bothersome story of your own? E-mail them to us HERE! alittlebitbotheredpod@gmail.com
About the podcast: Join the feisty crew of "A Little Bit Bothered" as they share hilarious stories, relatable rants, and chaotic conversations about life's absurdities.
Meet the hosts, Nicole, Kelsie, Ashley, & Monica.
Internet friends that became real life besties through the group chat. We know how special that bond is between girlfriends and how wild that group chat can be - from the hilarious to the petty and all things in between! We’re here to chat about it and share it with you!
Episodes are released every Thursday. Available wherever you listen to podcasts.
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🎯 Keywords
holiday season, Christmas movies, parenting, book recommendations, reading goals, family traditions, mental health, holiday spirit, festive activities, motherhood
Transcripts
I swear, like every time I hear that jingle, like it's just...
Nicole (:She's insane. don't know. The unhinged and insane-ness tone in her voice just, it fits. I love it. Your husband couldn't have picked a better AI voice.
Monica (:I just, I, yes,
I love it so much. Anyhow, welcome to another holiday season Christmas episode of A Little Bit Bothered. The stockings are hung, the children are feral. We are pleasantly living our lives not with an elf on our shelves. So, sorry, not sorry. I still don't get it. We talked about it last year. I still don't get it. anyhow, I'm Monica.
Nicole (:preach ⁓
either. I'm
Nicole and you're just getting us through today.
Monica (:Yeah,
just, just us. So hello.
Nicole (:next time.
Hope you guys still
like it here. I hope you guys want to just hang out with us so we don't have our star of the show, Kelsey, today.
Monica (:Right? I know. And
Ashley's working because it's a Tuesday morning and you know what? It's just us because it is the holiday season and it is busy and that's okay.
Nicole (:Yep, hello.
And like you said, it's a Tuesday. Clearly we don't have our life together. We typically record over the weekends.
Monica (:It is a Tuesday. We don't.
is just freaking crazy. Like: Nicole (:2025 can stay in
I'm so sick of: Monica (:Well, and like overall, I actually, do feel like it's been a pretty good year, at least over here. Like it's been an enjoyable year. There's been a lot of stuff that like has happened, but this last end of it is just like, it feels like a big kick to the balls if I knew what that felt like.
Nicole (:Yeah, no, it does. Yeah,
I agree. We've had a year of like, like a lot of back and forth. So like, we'll feel, we'll finally be like, okay. Of course.
Monica (:Yeah.
You
Nicole (:Go! Okay, okay, go on the potty
Monica (:If you are new here, we are four moms recording a podcast from our homes. We are not a fancy production. And if that was not the most like real life mom moment, please don't cut that.
Nicole (:Yeah.
going to cut that. I'm not gonna cut that. god that was so funny. What the heck was I even saying? ⁓ we've just had a lot of up and downs this year. Anytime we feel like we get to like a good place something else will domino and things and so it's like okay that I guess and I feel like we have been like
Monica (:like, die.
Yeah.
Nicole (:holding onto the rain so tight in 2025. Like we just never know what to expect. What's around the corner. So I'm ready to be done with 2025. See you later. But as many really as there's only been like really one big thing ⁓ that's kind of like a rain cloud over our 2025, but there has been so many other really great things. So overall it's been a great year, but you know, just a little difficult, a little ⁓ difficult here and there.
Monica (:Yeah, it's true.
Yeah. Bye!
Yeah.
Yes.
Agreed. ⁓
Yeah, there's just been a lot, a lot that has like
Nicole (:Okay, wait, hold on, she's done.
Potty training is fun. She's doing good though. So that's good She was a little bit difficult to even want to like get into the swing of potty training, but she's finally doing it herself So that is fine She made the decision. She's tall enough to get on the potty herself. So Do it girl
Monica (:That is good.
Yeah. good. Hooray. Celebration.
There we go, perfect,
Yeah, well, I just feel like: Nicole (:A lot a lot.
No, I agree.
Yes.
Monica (:⁓ But we actually, we've really been trying, like my husband and I both, because like, just so much is happening with our jobs and homeschooling and everything that it's really easy to just be so focused on that and like, the holiday will be here before we know it. So we have been trying to be really intentional about it and are doing something a little different.
Nicole (:How's that going for you?
Nothing else. Right.
Monica (:which I actually am really liking. So we have a advent tree, but it has like little doors that like we have to fill. ⁓ And I love it, but the problem is the first year I got it, I was like, great, we'll just do like little chocolates so can have a little chocolate each day, like easy. The challenge is that my kids cannot do sugars and like chocolate especially sets them off. ⁓
Nicole (:How cute. Okay, okay.
Mm-hmm.
Can anybody?
Monica (:I mean, I'm talking like we would do a Hershey's kiss. They would have a single Hershey's kiss and it would still like, it's just the series from like October to December. It's just this like increase of sugar and it makes my little neuro spicy children absolutely feral, like more than normal, more than normal. Like they just, like I hate being like the fun sucker with it, but like they just can't do it. It's just insane. So every year we're ⁓
Nicole (:get spicier. Yeah.
Yeah.
Monica (:We're like, okay, what are we gonna do in the admin door? Because chocolate isn't great. ⁓ But what else do we do? And so last year we had some stickers and I found some cute little cheap stuff off Amazon. But then you're left with these cheap crappy toys that break all over your house and you're just like.
Nicole (:huh.
and those are the ones they love and they have to have all the pieces individually.
Monica (:Yeah, well, not only
that, I don't know if you've seen them, but like a popular thing is like these erasers where they're really cute and it'll be like an animal or like Santa's sleigh or like Santa's hat, but you can take them apart. And then you're left with these little pieces of the eraser that like you just find all over your house and it like, I am more than a little bit bothered about that shit. ⁓ Yeah, I.
Nicole (:Mm-hmm.
No.
No, would send me, yeah, that would send me into overload.
Monica (:Yeah, I can't handle it. So that was last year's, I'm like not doing that one again. So this year, we are trying to do, like there's still a couple treats here and there, especially on days like we just don't have time, but we're trying to do like more experience stuff in there. And so they get to open it up to like a little ticket and like I've been doing like, okay, we'll do hot cocoa or like you guys get to pick the movie tonight. Like I picked up like a gingerbread house, so we'll do that one night and like just like these different activities.
Nicole (:Have
I like that.
⁓ I'm.
Monica (:which are always the thing that my husband and I talk about like, we need to do all of these things every year. But then, exactly.
Nicole (:Yeah, we want to do more activities and then we never do them. Because it's the
overwhelm of getting everybody together and doing the planning and getting everybody to sit and do the activity or...
Monica (:Well, and not only that, it's
like the, like I really am embracing, like, okay, I'm on my ADHD medication, I really do have ADHD, let's look at like the fact that there really have been these challenges and these problems, and one of them being that is it's like,
Nicole (:can do it.
Monica (:I have all these activities I want to do and choosing when to do it is just like, then nevermind, we're just not doing any of them because I don't know what to choose and this is overwhelming and like how much time do we have? And so this has actually been really helpful for me because I'm like writing them and scheduling it for the day and putting it in there and like it's already decided for me, we're just doing the activity. And it actually has helped it feel like more like Christmas and more intentional and more like.
Nicole (:huh.
Mm.
Mm-hmm. Yep. I love that.
More Christmas, that's good.
Monica (:I don't know, I think the kids are enjoying it more too, that it's not just like, it's another chocolate, but like, we're doing stuff. So that's been fun. Yeah, so.
Nicole (:Right. Yeah, that's good.
We're doing, I am doing, we are doing, no, my kids aren't doing shit. I am doing, I am doing, they are feeling the magic. So I'm making sure that like every day in the background, it's not on right now, but usually what I've been having on in the background. So like,
Monica (:Hahahaha
They're just feeling the magic.
Nicole (:We live in a manufactured home, so it's basically a big rectangle. So we have two living rooms, but you can stand in one living room and see the other one. And like, you know what I mean? So we have one where our fireplace is and ⁓ like a smaller TV in there. And then we have our main living room where our like bigger TV is, bigger couch, whatever. That's where the tree is at. I would love to have my tree by my fireplace, but there's literally no room over there.
Monica (:Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah.
Nicole (:Anyway, so on the smaller TV in the further away living room, I usually put on a playlist. I've been finding these playlists on YouTube of old school Christmas music. I mean like Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, like the stuff that really makes it feel like Christmas. And they have little cute like... ⁓
Monica (:I love those.
Nicole (:ambiance like videos that go with it so it's like a little reading chair in the Fireplace and the tree and the fireplace is crackling as the music is going and my fireplace is crackling because it's 30 degrees like
Monica (:Yeah.
⁓ Okay, wait, can I just say, yes, can
I just say one of my new favorite trends? I mean, it's not like new this year. It's been like an accumulation of like several years, but the Yule log and there's all these different Yule logs. I love the Yule logs, but like I love, I love that like different shows and stuff like are getting in on it now. Like there's one for Paw Patrol where it's just all the little pups sleeping and it's so cute.
Nicole (:my god, yes no, I love the Yule log! I love the Yule log!
Mm-hmm.
Sleeping, I thought, there's one for K-Pop Demon Hunters.
It's Gima. He's like.
Monica (:Yes, I did see that one. Merida did not like that one. She was like, yeah, she's like, we don't need the demons in our house. It's Christmas.
Nicole (:She's like, no, anti-Gi-Ma, no, no, no, no. We don't like him though.
my gosh, I love her. That's so funny. I love her. But I thought that was a weird choice though. I will say I was like, why Gi-Ma? I mean, I know he's fire, but like, could we not do anything else? Anyway, anyway. Yeah, he's the bad guy. do I want him on my screen?
Monica (:Right? Like, we don't like Gima. Like, we don't want him in our home.
Nicole (:⁓ Okay, so the other thing I'm doing which is also TV related is I try to put on at least one Christmas music movie a day, Christmas movie a day. And in my car we have DVD players and the permanent movie now that we're playing in there is Rudolph. And like old school Rudolph, Red Nose Reindeer, Little Stop Motion Guys, my favorite, the ones that we grew up with that I ran to the store and bought because I...
Monica (:Mm-hmm.
which I love.
Yeah.
Yes, I love them.
Nicole (:a couple
Monica (:yeah.
Nicole (:years ago because I was like, what made my Christmas? They are. But I was like, what what made my Christmas season feel Christmasy? And like those were a standout movie. So I was like, we need to purchase this. And my other favorite, my other standout movie is the Santa Claus. And I will play all three of them. One, two, three, back to back to back. I don't give a shit. I love those fucking movies. I love them.
Monica (:They're hard to find.
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Yes.
I do too.
Nicole (:Tim Allen is one of my favorite people in the entire universe and there's not a better Santa Claus. There's not a better Santa Claus. I'm sorry you cannot convince me.
Monica (:That movie,
that movie is just so good, which actually, okay, so perfect transition because ⁓ let's ruin some Christmas movies.
Nicole (:Yes, I will start with Rudolph, literally. I'm going to ruin it for you guys.
Monica (:So, yes.
Right,
which, okay, first of all, we actually, we love all of these movies and they are still playing in our house. But when you really start to think about some of these movies, the messages are quite terrible. ⁓ And we all just look past it because we're like, it's Christmas. It's a Christmas movie. So Rudolph, okay, yes, Rudolph.
Nicole (:you
Bye!
Yeah.
Yeah, I know.
Rudolph. I
love it. The ending message, the surrounding theme is great. Be yourself. Be who you are. Right? But every step getting there is not okay in this movie. They just be dogging on my boy Rudy and all the misfits the entire movie. Starting with his father, Donner. I've got a bone to pick with you. Hide your nose, Donner. Fuck off. He almost like, okay.
Monica (:All right, he's.
Right.
Alright, hide who you are. Cover it up.
Nicole (:I literally didn't... fuck off Donner, I literally did not realize. Literally. Not until this year. I'm like, wow, he's a bad father.
Monica (:Donner.
Okay, wait, hang on.
Okay, wait, hang on. I do feel like we just need to give a little bit of a warning right now. If you are with the kids, maybe don't listen to this part. Just saying. I don't think we're gonna ruin anything, but you know, just in case, probably not. I don't think that our podcast in general is good for those little ears anyhow, but like, you know, just probably not. Okay. Just put your headphones in. We're talking about the Christmas magic. I'm just saying, okay. Yeah, Rudolph, Rudy.
Nicole (:Maybe not.
Yeah, probably put your headphones in.
Yeah. Anyway.
Monica (:Like, let's just bully you until we need you.
Nicole (:Donner.
Poor Rudolph, his father sucks. Literally. So watching it this year around, obviously Donner's like, you have to hide your nose. No, my kid's not gonna get bullied. I get it though. From a parent's standpoint, I get it. He doesn't want his son to be the one that's picked on, but there's a different way I think you could go about that than what-
Monica (:Hey.
Yes.
Nicole (:He did. However, I then have to always remind myself like this movie was made how many freaking years ago? I don't even know. So long ago. It's so old. So I'm like, obviously they were a little bit different then. Clearly conversations were different then. And so, you know, Donner's kind of a shit dad. ⁓ Sort of. He's kind of mean. Not fully, but kind of. He's just kind of like mean about it a little bit.
Monica (:Yes.
my gosh, it's so old. Yeah.
Yeah, conversations just they were very different. Yeah, that's true.
Not fully. Not fully.
But you know what,
it is very accurate, I think, to the times and what would have been described. So, okay.
Nicole (:⁓ Yes, and that's what I'm saying. Like have to remind myself when it
⁓ was made, the times and and fathers were very strict. Like there's even one point in the movie where when Rudolph is like ran away, Donner's like, I'm gonna go find him. I'm gonna go look for him. And Mrs. Donner wants to go with him and he's like, no, this is a man's job.
Monica (:Right. But you know what?
Mrs. Donner.
Nicole (:That's her name. That's literally her name in the movie, okay? Never realized that until this year either. But he literally is like, this is a man's job, Mrs. Donner. You have to stay here. Yeah. Correct. Right. So there's like a lot of things in the movie that the themes are kind of, you know, old.
Monica (:Okay, we are unpacking even more issues here, Nicole.
Okay, well, you know what?
It's not even just Donner though, because Santa Claus, you know what? Santa, he didn't want, yeah, he didn't want the red nose until, until you know what? They're in a blizzard and suddenly now it's convenient, now we need you. Now your weirdness is convenient for us. So you know what? Fuck that.
Nicole (:Yeah, Santa too. He's like, ⁓ hopefully he grows out of that like he didn't yeah No, nobody did It was convenient for him
Now we need your red nose.
know. Okay. So I was telling you before we started that there's something that Donner says that like, like I can kind of justify some of his actions in the beginning when he's just trying to keep his kids safe and not get bullied. I kind of get that. Nobody wants their kid to get bullied. However, at the end of the movie, Donner, this mother fluffer, that's what I'm so mad.
Monica (:Yeah.
Right.
Nicole (:He literally says, I knew that nose would come in handy one day. Bitch, no you didn't, you liar! I was so mad, he's like, I knew that it would, whatever. I don't even remember exactly the words that he said, but basically along, yes, he was like, I knew one day that nose would serve a purpose. No you did not, no you did not.
Monica (:No you didn't.
coming in on like the backhand of success.
You know what it makes them sound like?
It makes them sound like a gold digging parent. you know what? Screw you Donner.
Nicole (:Yes, but I was so,
I never realized that that line was said until literally today, today. And so like, I thought, I'm like, ⁓ at the end, everybody is like, you know what? Your nose does have a purpose, okay. Like I thought they just like finally accepted him. Not this like, ⁓ I knew from that. No, you did not. No, you did not. Piss me off, piss me off. I was willing.
Monica (:I didn't either. Yeah.
Yeah.
new.
Nicole (:to accept you and your flaws before that. was. Now I'm just like, Donner, you're the worst father ever. ⁓ And then the other guys, know, the, do you call it? The Misfit Toys. What's the elf's name? I can't think of his name right now, but the master elf. He's so mean. I don't remember, but the master elf is so mean.
Monica (:my gosh, that is hilarious. All right.
the misfit toys and stuff.
crinkle or something? I don't know. Yeah, but that whole thing. Yeah.
Okay, well.
Nicole (:And now watching
as I'm like, wow, that's so.
Monica (:It's so awful. It's so awful. Okay, well next up, next up, Frosty the Snowman ⁓ is just connecting to a sentient being and watching him die over and over again.
Nicole (:Anyway.
my god! No!
Shut up!
Monica (:I know.
Nicole (:This is
like, this is giving Mort energy, you remember in Throne of Glass, the door knocker?
This is giving Mort energy. ⁓ god, just literally left in the rubble. Nobody knows what happened to Mort. I feel no representation for Mort. my god. That's so messed up though. I am not gonna be able to watch. We haven't watched Frosty yet. I don't know if I'm be able to now. Shit.
Monica (:just left in the rubble.
⁓ my gosh, more. Right?
I know, poor Frosty.
The only redeeming thing is that he comes back. But then it's like, but then you have to watch him die again. Right?
Nicole (:Mm-hmm.
But then you gotta watch him go again, that's sad. Why
are all these movies like low key sad? Or like, or?
Monica (:Right?
I know, or like, so James was watching ⁓ Miracle on 34th Street yesterday with the kids and afterwards he was like, it's kind of a terrible story, kind of a terrible message. And I was like, why? Like I haven't seen it in forever. And he's like, it's this little girl who like, granted like she doesn't have a dad, like that's sad. But her mom is this like high executive living in New York where they can like see the Macy's Day Parade. So like, obviously they're not struggling. And I was like, okay, I'm following.
Nicole (:Mm.
Me either.
They're fine. People are dying,
Kim.
Monica (:Hahaha!
But so like, he's like, obviously she's not struggling. And then like, what she, like the moral of the story is that you believe in Santa and she gets the two big things that she asked for, which was a new daddy, who by the way is a rich lawyer and a mansion.
Nicole (:and I don't remember the last time I watched that movie and I don't remember it at all. So...
Monica (:I know, I mean this is just
my husband's take on it from last night, but I was like, oh yeah, and he's like, yeah, so basically if you just believe you're gonna get everything that you want in a Kush life. And I was like.
Nicole (:I believe him.
Then it must be, you know what? mean, that is the manifestation hack. If you just believe it, it will be. So maybe there is something to...
Monica (:I know, I know. Okay, so I know.
Nicole (:gosh. ⁓ That's funny.
Monica (:OK, so the Santa Claus, I freaking love that movie. However, it paints this picture of like mom and Neil being terrible when in reality, in reality, if you actually think about it, he was like the dad was acting delusional. So like as a mental health professional, I'm like thinking about it all this morning. I was like, oh, my gosh, that is so true, though, because if
Nicole (:Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Right? No, right.
Monica (:If you had met somebody who was fully impersonating Santa, you would think that they're delusional.
Nicole (:Yeah, you would have some questions. would, yeah. Yes, correct.
And I do think I love that movie because it came out in a time too where I feel like there wasn't a lot of representation for like two households. ⁓ And I am a child of divorce. So like I had two households growing up. So there's so many things and like little nuanced things in that movie that you're like.
Monica (:Yeah.
Yeah, that's true.
Yeah.
Nicole (:that almost don't seem like they would belong in a Christmas movie. And I actually kind of love it for that reason. And I do think that the mom and the stepdad being obviously overprotective of the son and like very worried. ⁓ It makes sense. Yeah. And I actually, like to see, cause I'm like, sure. Nobody wants to like have their child. It is a conflict, like nobody, obviously it.
Monica (:Yeah.
Right?
I think it does make more, it does make sense, right?
Well, it's part of the conflict.
Nicole (:it works with the story so well because at the end obviously they're like, okay, you weren't crazy. Like, all right. But anybody would be concerned in real life if that was happening.
Monica (:Yes.
Well, here's the funnier take, though. Yeah. For real. For
real. Well, and overall, their take on it is part of the conflict of the actual movie and the story. So that's fine. But this one, because of course Chad helped me compile all these, this absolutely sent me, is that a man's body transforms without consent and disrupts his life and career. like, the who?
Nicole (:Mm-hmm.
Chad.
my god.
Listen Chad, my body is also changing without my consent. Just being a woman, okay? Like, that just comes with the territory, so sorry. I can't feel bad about a man doing, can't, sorry. No empathy for you.
Monica (:Right?
No, I know.
But I read that and I was like, I mean, that is true though, actually. Like he did not, he did not sign up and be like, okay, make me fat. Like give me all this weight.
Nicole (:It's true. And then, and then there's Bernard.
Bernard's just like, did he fall off the roof? Yeah. Did you pick up the card? Yeah. Did you read the card? All right, there it is. That's, that's you. You are accepting the role as Santa Claus just by picking up the card. Like it's so, the logistics are hilarious. As an adult, it's so funny.
Monica (:You're Santa now.
It really is, it really is.
Nicole (:But I
my gosh, as a kid, though, that movie was so spectacular. Like the trains and all the elf scenes. So spectacular. Give me 15 of them. What other movies did Chad come up with? Because those are funny.
Monica (:I love that movie.
Mm-hmm. Give me 15 of them. I want 15 right now.
⁓
the little drummer boy, which I haven't seen that one in so long. So like, I'm just going off of like this because it's been so long, but it says, so the intended message is healing and forgiveness. The contradictory moral is that the boy is traumatized by humans, hates them all and is repeatedly punished. Only a miracle makes everything okay. Implying trauma is fixed easily, which, know, I get, I get
Nicole (:I
Okay
Monica (:the faith aspect in there. then you think about it you're like, he was traumatized over and over and over again. He just wants to be left alone.
Nicole (:Right?
my god, same. ⁓ I also just want to be left alone. No, I actually have that movie. ⁓ I might have to watch it later so I can, because I don't remember it that one very much. That's not one that I like gravitated towards, so I've only seen it a handful of times. So I'm going to have to, I'll let you know. I'll watch it and I'll let you know. I'll report back.
Monica (:I know.
I know, I know. I don't.
I will say, I will say that's
like the one Christmas movie. Like all of these I love and like I have beef with obviously like we got this, but like I love them still. The drummer boy though, that is one that since I was little, I have never liked watching that one. The like animation character, it's not even animation, like whatever it is, it's creepy.
Nicole (:It's kind of a creepy animation. It's
similar to, it's the same people that made Rudolph and like the Miser Christmas, but it's a little bit different of animation. Yeah, he looks more like a doll. He is creepy. ⁓ And yeah, and I don't like that one. Yeah, yeah. It doesn't stick out. I do have it though. I'll watch it. I'll watch it for you just to see. ⁓
Monica (:But it's different and it's like the shiny, it's like the shiny skin creeps me out. I hate it. I hate it so much. Yeah, like a puppet. And it's like the stiff move. I hate it. I hate it so much. So much.
Nicole (:Something disturbing I found out about Rudolph. His fur, he was made out of rabbit fur and like actually shed on the set. I just found that out literally today before we sat down to record. So isn't that weird?
Monica (:Interesting.
⁓
that is weird. That's interesting.
so one final, I mean there's so many good ones. Like I've got the Polar Express, the Grinch, like there's so many that like we could talk about. Even like Jingle All the Way, and it's just about consumerism, right? Okay, but this one, but this one, I was just like, ⁓ my gosh, it's so sad. A Charlie Brown Christmas.
Nicole (:the polar express is actually just creepy. Okay, love jiggle.
⁓ I don't know, you're gonna ruin it for me.
Monica (:Because you wouldn't expect this to be on here, but then
this is the synopsis from Chad. A dark message, a child suffers a depressive episode while adults fail to notice or care.
Nicole (:Hmm
That's every Christmas movie though, have we not seen Home Alone? The parents literally forget about their child, okay, so we don't need to talk about that one because everybody knows that one, but that is a common theme.
Monica (:Like, what? That's on here. That is on here. For sure.
It is a common one, but this one I was just like, Charlie Brown. So yeah, so Charlie Brown is isolated, anxious, and overwhelmed. His peers ridicule him constantly, and the adult's absence or indifference feels unsettling in retrospect. And it's like, poor Charlie Brown, you were depressed.
Nicole (:That's so sad though.
Yeah, they do.
Yeah, you're right.
Right?
Poor Charlie. my goodness. gosh. Okay. I have to watch that again because I like, I don't watch that one a lot.
Monica (:Once you
Yeah, once you put it in that perspective
of like he's having a depressive episode and everyone looks the other way you're just like, that is dark
Nicole (:That's nothing like the Christmas spirit of depression. Anyway, only a little bit jolly, right? It's the perfect that goes with us. It does really fit.
Monica (:We're only a little bit jolly, okay Nicole?
But yes, there's so many on here that are just, they're really hilarious once you start dissecting it, so.
Nicole (:Sounds so mean.
They're unhinged at the
root. Speaking of unhinged Christmas movies, I don't know if you've ever seen Mixed Nuts, but if you haven't, you need to. It is not suitable for children. However, I've been watching it since I was a child. I don't know what that says about my mother. ⁓
Monica (:No
s and early: Nicole (:Right. No,
but I love I actually as an adult, I love this movie. It's really, really funny. So it's got like a full like cast of characters.
s, early: Monica (:Mm-hmm.
Nicole (:It's a mess. So there's this group of people that they actually work at like a suicide hotline prevention and they're trying to spread the holiday holiday cheer and it please watch it. Okay. That's my message to you. Please watch it.
Monica (:my gosh, I'm looking at it now.
⁓ my gosh.
Nicole, my gosh. Okay, first of all, I feel like I'm gonna love this, but also this is killing me because 16 % rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Nicole (:No, no, I'm telling
you, it's so funny. Shut up. Those people who rated it so bad are, they didn't get it. They just didn't get it. It's not for them, okay? But it's so funny.
Monica (:No, I will love it. They didn't get it. It wasn't for them. It's the same people who wouldn't
get best of show and drop dead gorgeous and all of those. Yeah, they don't get it. It's not for them.
Nicole (:Right, Robin Williams literally plays,
he plays ⁓ like a drag queen and he does it so well and so funny. I love him so much in that movie. It's the-
Monica (:Yeah, I'm seeing that.
my gosh, okay, I'm gonna have to watch that. I'm gonna have to watch it. That is so funny. I just, I love the range of Christmas movies though, because you either go from like the super cheesy Hallmark movie where like the morals there are really not great either if we really wanna break those down, even though it's like the same thing on repeat, to royalty fairy tales, to like just.
Nicole (:Please do. Please do watch it. it's my favorite unhinged one.
Ugh, yeah.
No, truly. Yeah.
Mmhmm. Things
like Die Hard. Is that a Christmas movie? Age-old debate. I say it is. I'm fine with
Monica (:Yes, and then die hard well that is that is a debate if you ask I mean
pretty much everybody in my family will tell you that it is and I Think my husband has convinced me like okay that one is a Christmas movie Although I saw some on my list this morning that I was like, I didn't even know that those were considered like ⁓ Batman the one from Tim Burton with like Jack Nicholson and like all of them like yeah
Nicole (:I'm fine with it being a Christmas movie, honestly.
Monica (:The older Batman apparently because it takes place around Christmas time is that one's debated that it's a Christmas movie and I'm like, okay, just because you see a Christmas light doesn't make it a Christmas movie. But again, I guess that's the whole thing with Die Hard because they're at a Christmas party. Grimlins.
Nicole (:Yeah. You know what? I'll take it. I don't like Batman.
I'm not a Batman. Gremlins.
Monica (:Yep, because it takes place at Christmas time. Which that was another one with the moral in there, which the moral is, do what I say, not what I do, because it's all the parents who fuck it up.
Nicole (:I forgot about gremlins.
So, well, yeah.
Listen, I can see him in his little Santa hat now and I totally forgot that that was a thing. I totally forgot. my God. I bet he is. He's like, heck yeah.
Monica (:Jonah's so stoked. Jonah's so stoked. He freaking
loves the gremlins so much. So much. We drove down to Tucson over the weekend and I put on some movies on their tablets and I was like, okay, which ones do you want me to put on? He's like, gremlins. I'm like, no, we're gonna save that one for the family. Yes, you are a little gremlin, it's true. But anyhow.
Nicole (:That is so funny. I love that.
my God. You are a gremlin. Calm down. We don't
feed you after midnight. We don't give you sugar.
Monica (:Seriously, for real,
do you know how many times we have compared and contrasted my child to a gremlin? Because it's a lot. It's a lot.
Nicole (:I love it though.
children are gremlins too, so it's fine. I think they have to be. They're loud, but it's really funny.
Monica (:The comparison, the comparison is there. And also
when he wakes up and his hair is all outgrown and like messy bedhead, like the resemblance is kind of there too.
Nicole (:and he actually looks
like a gremlin? it's so funny. ⁓
Monica (:It's there. It's there. So anyhow, I
hope we made your Christmas movies even better. I don't know, Christmas movies are just like, they're something special of their own. Like they can't be compared to every other movie in general. Like the rating of a Christmas movie is just, sometimes terrible movies are just really fantastic at Christmas time, okay? Right.
Nicole (:Yeah, maybe.
They are. They really are. They can't.
Mm-mm.
huh. Like Jingle All the Way.
I need, I have to watch it all the time. And I just, there's literally a scene where Sinbad is threatening to bomb the police department because he's a mail carrier and he's like, this is a bomb. I was like, you can't say that today. Like. ⁓
Monica (:Right.
No. Well, and it's all...
Nicole (:And then he actually does successfully bomb the police because he didn't know actually was a bomb and he was joking and he throws a package and it goes boom What they would not put that in any movie today
Monica (:Right. No, that would not fly. That
would not fly today. And also that one, like the moral of it is like the lesson learned is like family is more important than gifts because the whole thing is like consumerism, but then the kid gets the gift anyways.
Nicole (:Yes. Right.
But I was going to say, but getting there is what is crazy. Like it's the whole rest of the movie that's like, wow, man, it really shows like how consumerism has a grip on everybody's life, which I get it. ⁓ I get the I get the message there. But yeah, he still gets the toy in the long run and he gets the and he thinks that his dad is actually I get Turbo Man after that point. He's like, my God, my dad's Turbo Man.
Monica (:I know.
my gosh, so much. So much. Please don't get the toy.
Right, that's right.
Nicole (:It's like, now he's just, you know what I mean?
Monica (:my gosh. I do need to watch that one again. That one is a good one, but yeah, there's so many things where like, this is questionable. Is this really the message we wanna be teaching at Christmas time? This is questionable.
Nicole (:No,
and the neighbor is a nasty perv. The neighbor is a nasty perv. Okay, I was watching it again. was like, damn, I don't remember him being that aggressive. He was aggressive.
Monica (:I know.
Right. I will
say my favorite Christmas movie to watch. Like there's two for my family growing up. A Christmas story always. Which by the way apparently is very debatable on Reddit. Like a lot of people hate that movie. ⁓ But the second one is Christmas Vacation and like I freaking love that one. Yes. So. my gosh. I freaking I love that movie so much. It's so funny.
Nicole (:Always.
Listen, nobody cares.
⁓ national lampoons. I have only seen don't kill me. I've only seen bits and pieces of that one. I have ⁓
Monica (:but it's to the point where like it is embedded in our conversations and my entire family, like throughout the year, even to the point that like over this weekend, James was trying to say something and it was just like what I was really irritated or something was going on and it was like the way for him to like break the tension. I don't know if you'll get this since apparently you don't watch good movies, Nicole.
Nicole (:Yeah, because I don't know.
I'm uncultured, so sorry. Yeah, which is what I called the entire group chat the other day because they've never seen Andrew Lloyd Webber's cats. So fuck all y'all.
Monica (:You uncultured swine.
But so there's the
scene where it's the neighbors and they're broken glass, like their window broke or whatever, because the ice went through. she's like, why is the carpet all wet, Todd? And he's like, I don't know, Margot. But it's iconic. OK, Nicole, you don't get it. But that's what I'm saying is this movie is embedded because my husband's way of breaking the tension.
Nicole (:Mmm. It's fine. It's fine. I'll have to watch it
Monica (:He was like, why is the carpet all wet Tod? It's like his way of like pointing out that I was like doing something wrong. I just died laughing and I was like, I don't know.
Nicole (:You're...
You
Monica (:So Christmas movies, they live all year long. So anyhow, on that note, let's do a would you rather.
Nicole (:Mmm.
Monica (:Christmas edition would you rathers. Would you rather spend Christmas Eve trapped in
in a mall elevator with 50 disgruntled department store Santas or have to give a 45 minute slide presentation to your entire family about the history of Tinsel.
Nicole (:Absolutely the history of tinsel because why am I stuck in an elevator with disgruntled Santas? That is some nightmare fuel. No way
Monica (:I don't know. I don't know, but here's
the funny thing because this, I chose that one intentionally because that is something that like we would do. Like, huh, I wonder where Tencel came from. Who created Tencel? Why do we do Tencel? And then there's the hyperfixation tunnel and now it's a presentation. Easy, easy. And, and.
Nicole (:Mm-hmm.
And now it's a presentation, easy, easy. Got it in the bag, no problem. No freaking problem. Also, they use tinsel
in the Santa Claus, the elves. They use tinsel to like unlock, know, break down the jail doors. So there's multiple uses for tinsel, okay? You can put it in your hair. You know, I love tinsel.
Monica (:Yeah, yeah. I loved tinsel when I was little. I loved tinsel. Yeah.
And then you know what? That's one of those just like fun facts that you you tuck away back there and one day you just never know when you need to pull that forward and you're like, you know what? I know the history of where tinsel came from. success. Idiot sheet for the win. I know.
Nicole (:Yep. And I love random weird facts like that. Yeah, I have a bunch of useless fucking information
in my brain, so it would fit right in, honestly, truly would.
Monica (:Exactly,
exactly. I read that one and I was like that is very ADHD coded for us.
Nicole (:⁓ God.
okay, would you rather, Monica, get one dollar every time you spontaneously shout ho ho ho in public or have a small piece of mistletoe permanently attached to your forehead?
Monica (:Mm-hmm.
easy. I would rather just get money. Nobody said how nobody said how loud I had to say it or the context in which I have to say it. I have to shout it. Okay.
Nicole (:feel like easily. Get that money. would.
No, it says shout. You have to shout
in public. I would just, you know what?
Monica (:Just wear Santa hat and then you walk around going, how, ho, ho. Yeah. Okay. But wait, but wait, hang on. Problem with that scenario. When do you get the money? Because no, no, no, wait, wait. Cause no, no, no, no, no. Not in that scenario. I immediately saw a flaw in that plan. If you're ringing the bell.
Nicole (:Sign me up as one of those, yeah, sign me up as one of those little jingle bell guys that stand out in front of the, and that would be purposeful.
It's gotta be right away.
Monica (:saying ho ho ho and every time you do it you get a dollar but it immediately goes to you you're stealing money from the charity or so it looks
Nicole (:No, no,
no, you can choose what you want to do with that money. That's your money. So sign me up. I'll say the ho ho ho's and then as many times as I the ho ho ho's, I'll donate it.
Monica (:Okay, it... Okay,
but think about it though. Like, if somebody's handing you a dollar every single time you do that and instead of putting it in the bucket, you're pocketing it!
Nicole (:I mean, that's fucked. I would still put it in the bucket and just take the bucket home with me. But no, I'm just kidding. No, I'm totally kidding. But OK, so actually, my mom said this when she was here. We went to Holly Lobby and they had the little guy. He was out there, you know, and he was doing it big. So we actually went two days in a row because ⁓ we went the initial day. The girl that was out there, she had on a coat, a beanie. She was like.
Monica (:Okay.
Yeah.
Nicole (:bah humbug, her bell was inside her sleeve jacket like this and she was ringing it like ding-a-ling-a-ling-a-ling. my God, she was so not in the holiday spirit, okay? So we go back the next day, because my mom was like, I've been thinking about this thing, I wanna go back and get it, like it's been bugging me on my mind, I gotta go get it. So we go, this time the guy is in a full-fledged suit with like, he looks like an elf, okay?
Monica (:my gosh, I love it.
Nicole (:and green
suit, red hat, he's got the whole getup and he's like Merry Christmas, jingling, jingling, jingling. Okay, we're like, heck yeah, we give him a dollar.
Monica (:I love it.
So we just went from a ding-a-ling-a-ling to a
J-A-L-A-G-L-I-N-G!
Nicole (:Right, like he is going for it do it and as we're walking up We're like that's how you do it right there and we literally give him a dollar We come out he's gone. We were in it. We were in there ten minutes and I will both my mom was like How much you want to bet? He's like took the money and run. I was like, the fuck up. Don't say that I'm like you can't say that about the charity people. Stop it Maybe
Monica (:That is.
I mean, but maybe, maybe he
did. You know what? You know people do. You know people do, they have to, you know?
Nicole (:Maybe? I'm like, was that a front or did he have a different, did he have to go out and stand in front of a different store? I know. I know.
But anyway, that's pretty funny.
Monica (:my goodness. OK, well,
so we are nearing the end of the year, which for everybody is resolutions and goals and blah, blah, blah. I don't really remember if I set a whole lot of goals other than reading. We did all set a reading goal, although Ashley forgot about it until like a month ago.
Nicole (:Mm-hmm.
other than reading goal.
Yes. She did.
She's like, my reading goal is now 12. Have I read 12 books?
Monica (:And she's like, wasn't
counting. ⁓
Nicole (:That was a pretty funny conversation to have. She's like, have I read more than 12 books? And we were like, yeah, we're pretty sure you've read more than 12 books throughout the whole year. We're like, yeah, we know what books she's read. She doesn't even know what book she's read. So we're keeping track for her.
Monica (:We start listing all the books that she's read.
Well,
I feel very proud because I went from like, never read unless it was a book I had to read for like college and stuff. And so because of that, I hated reading to this last year, my goal was 30 and I am at 28, which by the way, I know and I will definitely hit it because my last two, like I'm.
Nicole (:Mm-hmm.
Monica (:finishing out the Hunger Games series, which I've already read, but I'm finishing it out just because I know that they will be quick, reads. I will hit my goal. I started catching fire last night and I am already almost done because I forgot like they are still just as good. So good.
Nicole (:heck yeah. yeah. It's so good. No, it's so good. If not
better. If not better. Some 10 years or however many years has been removed since I've read it. Kelsey and I did that earlier in the year and I can't remember if we actually talked about it on the podcast, but we were hollering at each other. We were losing our mind the whole time that we were reading it. So good.
Monica (:Well, I...
Yeah.
Yeah, think that
you can appreciate that one even more as you get older and understand it even more. I also feel like I appreciate it even more having been going through grad school and being a therapist now and understanding the mental health side of it. And I'm like, my gosh, this is so fucked. There's so many, well, it's tragic, but I'm catching more.
Nicole (:Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Fucking tragic.
but it's also like stoke,
Monica (:I'm catching more of the psychological nuances in there and I'm like, oh my gosh.
Nicole (:empowering, it's everything. Dude, I know. Like I just saw a video yesterday about somebody explaining why Katniss voted yes at the end to have the like another Hunger Games with the Capitals children. And...
Monica (:Mm-hmm.
Nicole (:She had pointed out that those days leading up to Snow's assassination, they had given Katniss her mockingjay suit and her bow, but they did not give her her arrows. They did not give her any weapons and she's in there for a few days. But the thing that is in her suit, there's still a nightlock pill in her suit. At any time she was in emotional distress. She was
Probably like the worst mental health she's ever been in 100 % realizing now after the fact coin probably knew that pill was still in there Gave her her suit and was like, let's see what she does with it. She had the opportunity to take herself out and I'm sure that's what coin was betting on and she did not and like I didn't I didn't
Monica (:Mm-hmm.
Nicole (:I didn't put that together when I first read it until later. was like, man, she had the opportunity to take that nightlock pill for three whole days before she even executed anybody. And Coin hates her. Coin wants her out of the way.
Monica (:Yeah.
Nicole (:I bet that was intentional. I don't think she just forgot that it was in there. I was like...
Monica (:Mm-hmm.
No. No.
I know. It really is, yeah, it really is a series that is worth rereading because there's so much like foreshadowing and like little pieces that like you just didn't know were significant. Like I mentioned it last night with Plutarch like having the mockingjay on his watch, which like you kind of get the like, okay, that's probably important because why? But now,
Nicole (:find things later and you're like, ⁓ shit, I didn't realize that. Like it's so, ugh. ⁓
Yeah.
At first you just think
like he wants it, like when you find out she becomes a mockingjay, you're like, that's what it meant. But the fact that it's disappearing and too and like, yeah, no, okay. ⁓
Monica (:Yeah, like is it coincidence? it like? Mm-hmm. It was just like his little signal to her, you know, ⁓
There's just yeah, there's so many pieces in there where you're like, you see it all coming together and the people I know
Nicole (:so much. Please, I cannot wait. I cannot
wait until you read the next two. And you have to read Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. You have to because ⁓ Coralineus is a douche and it is not my favorite book, but it does put a lot of things into perspective. And then,
Monica (:I
Yeah, I will.
which I still, cannot.
Nicole (:Sunrise on the reaping, sorry, my brain, it's shorted out there. Will, yes, will emotionally, emotional damage. It will hurt you.
Monica (:Yeah, for hay mitches.
know, I just
went through the part where they watched He-Mitch's games and I was thinking about that and I was like.
Nicole (:It will hurt you.
Haymages Games, ⁓ boy.
can't wait till you get to the reaping part of Hey Mitch's Games. I cannot.
Monica (:I know, I know.
⁓ Okay, well so So on that note though with all of the things that we've read we're not gonna dissect all of them We know that we can go on tangents. We will save you guys from that. However, I know we already did. Sorry. I'm not sorry though ⁓ So with that I am very close to hitting my have you hit your reading goal?
Nicole (:For you!
No.
We already did.
I set a goal for 50. I know I surpassed it already and I know that. I am at 54 and I'm about to be at 55 and I'm also relistening to the Lightlark series. So all four of those books. I'm going to blow my goal out of the water, which I'm happy with.
Monica (:Okay.
Okay. And I know Kelsey's close to.
yes.
Perfect. I know,
Okay so you're close, you've exceeded yours. I think I might, I think I might exceed mine by like one or two and I think Kelsey's pretty close. So kudos to us. We set a goal and we've actually have come close to achieving it. So I'm curious because 54 books is a lot of freaking books. 30 is too. I am curious besides all the jagged edges because we have already touched on that so many times. We love, we love it but besides that one
Nicole (:Yeah, we did good!
lot of books. There is a lot of books.
Monica (:What would be your favorite read from the year that you would record?
Nicole (:Okay, well I have two, okay.
two, maybe three.
Monica (:Okay.
Okay.
Nicole (:It's hard to pick when you've read 54 books. ⁓ Sunrise on the Reaping, think, Sunrise on the Reaping. The Hunger Games series as a whole, yes, but Sunrise specifically. yes, no, it actually altered my brain chemistry, okay? Like actually altered my brain chemistry. And I love when that happens in a book. ⁓ The Night in the Moth.
Monica (:I know.
Mm-hmm.
Well then I'm excited because that one's coming.
Mmm. Okay. Okay.
Nicole (:I have talked about it a bajillion times. I love The Night in the Moth. It was one of my favorites. Another one, Rachel Gillig is an amazing gothic writer. I think you have One Dark Window and Two Twisted Crowns on your TBR. You need to get to it and then add The Night in the Moth right after that because the way that she writes, she writes so intentional and her writing itself is beautiful and her stories are very unique, like so unique. feel like with, like I read a lot of
Monica (:Mmm.
It's on my list. Yep, it's on my list.
Mmmmm
Nicole (:Romanticy more so and fantasy but typically more romanticy and they do a lot of the times follow the same like plot lines and storytelling and themes. Hers are very unique. ⁓ There's nothing like it. gosh and then Crescent City which you and Ashley have to read to you. Crescent City the series, the whole series.
Monica (:Yeah.
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Yes, that's on that's on the list, which I I
do find hilarious that that's like your top recommendation, which I know is like a popular one to be recommended, but all this right. It's overrated, which I still stand by. Throwing a glass was overrated. I liked it. It was overrated. Well, that's what I'm looking at, too, is like I'm I'm looking at what I have finished this year and so like months were spent going through that series.
Nicole (:I know because...
No, no, no. Well, yeah, Throne of Glass, we spent so much time this year reading it.
We spent so much
time! Oh my gosh.
Monica (:so much time
and I don't regret it but for something that took so much time it's not my top up there and I know people will disagree with that they love it. I love the story I just don't think it's the best thing I've ever read and I think it's overhyped. But...
Nicole (:No.
Mm-hmm.
I agree.
Monica (:I'm trying to, like, I'm looking at my list of my top ones. I mean, the Raven Hood series took me out.
Nicole (:⁓ the Raven Hood series. Severed Heart, think, was my favorite.
Monica (:That's
what I was just gonna say. I Severed Heart was my favorite. Well, I think that was maybe my favorite read of the year, to be honest. Maybe, because it was definitely one that I was hooked into. It destroyed me emotionally. ⁓ I don't know. I really did, I loved that one. And I think Tyler is just wonderful, getting to know more of that backstory.
Nicole (:of that series.
really? ⁓ I love that.
Mm-hmm.
I know.
I... Yeah.
Monica (:I don't know, the whole Raven Hood
series is a fave, I think. But Severed Heart really made an impact. If not, if not that one, think my, I'm torn because I really enjoyed the Light Lark series, which I need to get caught up on what just released too. ⁓ And then my last one. Yeah, see I started the year with Raven Hood and Onyx Storm. Solid start to the year, solid start to the year.
Nicole (:I agree.
huh.
Onyx Storm. That was amazing.
Me too. ⁓
Monica (:⁓ But I did also just read the serpent in the wings of night and like the second one to that
Nicole (:yeah, you have, you've
started that series. crowns of Niaxia, right?
Monica (:I really, I really did.
Yes, I really did enjoy that one too. So, but top one, I don't know. think the one that stuck with me the most the entire year was probably Severed Heart. I think so. It was a good one.
Nicole (:Yeah, that was a good one. That was a really
good one. I'm pretty excited for the next one to come after that one. I can't remember what it's called.
Monica (:Mm-hmm.
Nicole (:My brain is like not drawing a total blank, but I am excited to see more of Tyler's story because I did very, very easily fall in love with him. Very easily, very easily, which I feel like when we were reading the first three books, the original trilogy, I was die hard for him, even though he's barely in these books. I remember being like, I think I'm a Tyler girlie and not knowing anything about him.
Monica (:Yeah, I can't think of what it's called either.
Hmm.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
yeah, I loved...
Yeah.
No, but like you...
Nicole (:and he is
the mysterious military man. I think I'm a Tyler girlie
Monica (:I agree, but like, because he constantly was looking out for Cecilia, like there's, and yeah, and everybody. So I think even from the beginning, you want to love Tyler because like, he's just such a strong character, but you know that there's much more to him. I was not prepared for just how complicated his backstory was though.
Nicole (:Everybody.
You
⁓
actually I was not prepared for how much I was going to love Delphine. That is what I was not prepared for. I was not prepared for Delphine. That book, yes it's Tyler's book, but it's just as much Delphine's book and I was not prepared for that. I love Delphine.
Monica (:I wasn't either. Yes, I was not either.
Yes. I wasn't either. And
I think that's why it's it's one of my top books for the year and like highly recommend. Although if you read it, you have to go through the first three books for the Raven Hood. ⁓ But I think that that one just I think it was a book that so well supported the other three. Like it gave so much more context and appreciation for the other three that you already loved.
Nicole (:Mm-hmm.
Yes, you gotta have context.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Monica (:but I was fearful
Nicole (:Yep.
Monica (:that it was gonna be like a retelling of the same story again, and it wasn't, but it still gave so much more and you're just like, my gosh, I love it so much. No. Sean's book was flock. Like it pretty much was.
Nicole (:You're repetitive.
See, and that's why I don't think Sean could have a book because I think it would just be too repetitive. We already know like, yeah, yeah, Sean's
book was flock pretty much. Yeah. Cause even with like Dominic's book, One Last Rainy Day, I felt like that one was definitely, it was repetitive. I liked it. I liked seeing everything through his eyes and getting to know him more because he is a bit more mysterious.
Monica (:It was.
Yes.
even with that is it still gave more context to why they were able to do everything. Whereas I don't know that Sean is necessarily gonna add to that.
Nicole (:It gave more context. Mm-hmm, so was refreshing.
Right, I don't think so either. ⁓ we, I mean, is it maybe a little not fair, but sure, I don't know.
Monica (:And I don't think any of us want, well, the thing is, the only
new thing that could be added is like what happens after Cecilia leaves, and none of us want that. We don't, none of us want that.
Nicole (:after. No, I don't need to really know that very much.
No, I don't need to know. I really don't.
Monica (:So Raven Hood
series, I absolutely adore. If you haven't read that one, highly recommend, but Severed Heart is just, ugh, it crushed me. Yes.
Nicole (:the best one of the series. I'm pretty sure
I rated it five stars and I would probably rate it six stars if that was an option on Fable. If you don't follow us on Fable, you should. We do have a podcast Fable account, but it says that we're still reading Kingdom of Ash as our book club pick because we suck and we don't update things. you can also follow us individually. I think we all follow our Fable, our joint Fable account, so then you could find us individually on there and look at the books we're reading and discuss.
Monica (:Yes.
Yes.
Yeah, follow us individually.
Yes.
Nicole (:So that's because we do love to discuss books.
Monica (:Yes,
agreed. So if there are any that you have loved this year that are a hands down we have to read, let us know in the comments, leave us a review, tell us in our DMs, let us know what we need to read because I feel like we have kind of made our way, I mean, I still have a handful of them, but like we've made our way through a lot of the very popular series.
Nicole (:Yeah.
Monica (:and now like we might be like branching out. So tell us what are some of your faves that we need to add to our TBR that are a must and we would love that.
Nicole (:yeah.
Yes. Yeah.
I have this very, maybe possibly unhinged goal of tackling the Cosmere next year. So we'll see if I get to do that. I know. I know. It happened. It started because I saw everybody went to Nexus and they had the Worldhopper ball. And now I want to reread Mistborn and get into the rest.
Monica (:Oof.
I know.
my
I was looking, cause I was like, did I read those this year? And it was the year before, but Mistborn and Forthwing are the two series that I am like missing the most. And so I cannot wait. I cannot wait to get back into the Empyrean. But then I also feel like I need to go back to Mistborn. Yeah.
Nicole (:Yeah, me too.
Me either.
Yeah,
I want to redo Mistborn so bad and ⁓ I'm very excited for book four of the Empyrean. ⁓ Light Lark 2, I'm highly invested in the Light Lark series, Crown Tie just came out, so.
Monica (:Yes, me too.
Well, now seeing, yeah, now seeing
Kelsey's reactions, I actually, have not had a book in a little while where I'm like really, really excited or that have had a lot of like really big bombs being dropped. And based on her reaction, well, yes, but you've read 54. But based on, based off of her reactions, I'm like really excited to get into it. So.
Nicole (:bitch.
Mm-hmm. Mm, I have.
Okay, well.
I know, I know. That's
why I'm re-listening to the series now, because I do want to end the year with Crown Tide, or like, not maybe not, I'll probably end up listening to them way faster than I think, but I want to go out with a bang, and I think Crown Tide is probably perfect for that. This bitch sent us pictures in the group chat, like this. Going like this with her face. no, making all these faces, and we were, I was, I was, you know what? I'm glad she's not here so I can talk shit about her. I'm mad at you.
Monica (:That'll be a good one. That'll be a good one for sure.
Yeah.
Yeah. Yeah.
Real Kelsey, geez. my goodness, my goodness. Well, on, yes, on that note, thank you for hanging out with us. Thank you for letting us ruin some of your favorite Christmas movies, tell us what books to read. ⁓ We gotta set some new goals for reading next year. So anyhow, hopefully we'll get one more holiday episode in before the holiday is actually here, but if not, stay a little bit jolly and a little bit bothered.
Nicole (:Just kidding. All right. On that note, happy holidays. Bye.
Mm-hmm.
Woo!
Monica (:Make sure you
Nicole (:Okay.
Monica (:like, share, subscribe and tag us when you are listening. Bye!
