It’s our first Books Just Wanna Have Fun Book Club episode! 📚🎙️

For our inaugural pick, Ray chose How to Talk to a Widower by Jonathan Tropper, and we have THOUGHTS. We’re talking about what worked, what didn’t, the very-2007 moments, our changing feelings about Doug, and how a book one of us struggled to pick up somehow became impossible to put down.

Then it’s time for the Wheel of Fun, where we answer the important literary questions no other book club is brave enough to ask...like what kind of sandwich this book would be. Spoiler: meet the Sloppy Doug. 🥪😂

Plus, we reveal Jessica’s pick for our October/November Book Club!

Read with us, listen along, or just come hang out. There are no deadlines and no pressure in this book club. ❤️

Follow Books Just Wanna Have Fun on Instagram: @books.just.wanna.have.fun

Ray got Pam hooked on DCC. Here's a fun introductory chat we had. As always when Pam and Ray get together to talk there is no linear path to the discussion. We talked for hours, here's 20ish minutes of it.

Join us as we unpack the dual timelines of Opaline in 1920s Dublin and Martha in present day—a story woven with magical realism, love, trauma, and secrets. We break down the murky boundaries between ghostly apparitions, mystical bookshops, and buried family secrets that defy explanation. You'll discover why many readers felt this book was beautifully written but frustratingly incomplete, with loose threads and unexplored mysteries that leave you longing for closure.We explore the specific elements that make this book unique: the mysterious missing bookshop, the obsessive quest for Emily Brontë’s hidden manuscript, Martha’s psychic powers, and the haunting connection between the characters across time. Plus, we examine whether the book’s unresolved plot points are a flaw or an invitation for your imagination to run wild. For anyone who loves stories that leave a lot to decipher—and are willing to embrace the mystery—this episode is essential listening.