Infinite TBR Infinite TBR

Smack and Gabi are celebrating ITBR's Anni-birthday by inviting you (our precious listeners) to email (itbrshelf@gmail.com) or follow & tweet @infinitetbr with your favorite book of this year OR the name of a book that we recommended that you enjoyed.  One lucky participant will be chosen to receive a $20 gift card to the independent bookstore of their choice.  We went on to answer selections (requested by our #1 fan) from the Mid-Year Book Freak Out tag, complete with copious tangents and unrepentant cheating when it came to answering prompts.  Winners include:


Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher
The League of Gentlewomen Witches by India Holton
Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki
Summoned by C.P. Rider
Gifting Fire by Alina Boyden
Misrule by Heather Walter
A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows
The Whispering Dark by Kelly Andrew
Naomi Teitelbaum Ends the World by Samara Shanker
A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland

In this bonus episode, Smack and Gabi discuss genre stigma.  We review general trends and discuss our personal experiences encountering it in the wild as readers, writers, and academics.  We also discuss strategies for overcoming stigma in ourselves (an ongoing process) and how best to encourage others to do so (the power of friendship!).

Smack and Gabi review their San Diego Independent Bookstore Day Book Crawl a.k.a. Book Crawl a.k.a. Book Crawlidays adventure.  They recount their experiences and book hauls from each of the eleven(!!) participating independent bookstores in San Diego, noting their faves and their…not-so-faves, as well as the sweet swag accumulated along the way.  They are also gearing up for the 2022 Mysterious Galaxy Summer Bingo and celebrating ITBR’s first birthday!  Happy Birthday to Us!!

Smack and Gabi cover a lot of reading ground from March and April.  Smack gives a teaser about her faves (further discussion pending Gabi catching up…some day); Gabi waxes poetic about feathered dragons, Faustian bargains, violin prodigies, and donut-selling aliens; and we both gush about a gross and incredible werewolf horror novel.  Smack’s been listening to a lot of popcorn audiobooks while Gabi pre-gamed for Book Crawl.  We finish by reminiscing about nice dragons - one of our all-time favorites!

Main books discussed include:


The Light at the Bottom of the World by London Shah
Stealing Thunder (#1) and Gifting Fire (#2) by Alina Boyden
Fae Games trilogy by Karen Lynch
Inferno by Dante Alighieri (translated by Mary Jo Bang, illustrations by Henrik Drescher)
Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki
Mongrels by Stephen Graham-Jones
Impact Winter by Travis Beacham
Rylee Adamson series by Shannon Mayer
Hunt the Stars (Starlight’s Shadow #1) by Jessie Mihalik
Mr. Wrong Number by Lynn Painter
Scorpica by G.R. Macallister
So This is Ever After by F.T. Lukens
DFZ trilogy by Rachel Aaron
Heartstrikers (a.k.a. Nice Dragons) series by Rachel Aaron

In our second bonus episode, Smack and Gabi continue their discussion surrounding the Green Creek saga by TJ Klune.  Topics include some hot tea re: the publishing industry, some common werewolf tropes that were not adequately explained during Gabi’s insane Green Creek tangent of the previous bonus episode, a recap of Brothersong (the final book in the quartet), and a couple of essential plot points that Gabi remembers very suddenly mid-sentence.  We’re also not 100% sure what year it is.

Other werewolf books of note mentioned in passing that we think everyone should read include Mongrels by Stephen Graham Jones and The Devourers by Indra Das.

Smack and Gabi continue their recap of their Book Hols with the rest of their recent reads and coverage of their (first) Barnes & Noble Pre-Order Sale Extravaganza.  Gabi belatedly learns a well-known Supernatural trope and bemoans a missed opportunity for a character's Enemies-to-BFFs relationship with a big bad evil serpent.  Smack explains the best friend prop and describes how to get good translator recommendations when reading classics.  Both reiterate their goal to make 2022 the Year of Indulgences and Rereads.

Main books discussed include:


The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski translated by Danusia Stok
Never Have I Ever by Isabel Yap
A Psalm of Storms and Silence by Roseanne A. Brown
Pawn by Karen Lynch