Basement daddies? Going down the reality hole? What sort of podcast have you stumbled along? Luckily Kris and Tara, are here to educate and enlighten.
This week, Kris recounts her most recent card show, while Tara sighs wistfully at the memory of a week’s staycation before heading back to work.
Official Recommendations
From Kris: The Old Guard 2 (2025)
Kris’s official recommendation this week is The Old Guard 2 (2025), starring Kris’s wife from another timeline, Charlize Theron. Andy leads a group of do-gooder immortal mercenaries known as the Old Guard while processing her grief from losing her love 500 years ago, when shitheads dumped her in the sea. But the love survived and is back for revenge on Andy for giving up on finding her (to be fair, though, she put in a solid half-millennium). Kris and Tara also share their thoughts on immortality. Good? Bad? You decide!
From Tara: Learning Curves by Rachel Lacey
Tara’s official recommendation this week is Learning Curves by Rachel Lacey. It’s a cozy sapphic romance set in a Vermont university. A bubbly new professor returns to her alma mater to teach, only to learn that her undergrad advisor and former crush is still hot, but super grumpy. A charm offensive ensues, and so does a beautiful story. Tara loved this one!
Enjoyed this episode? You might also like episode 19, where Kris recommends The Old Guard, or episode 92, where Tara recommends The View From the Top, another sapphic romance novel from Rachel Lacey that’s set in Vermont.
Works/People Discussed
- About Last Night (1986)
- The Perfect Match (Netflix)
- Alone Australia (SBS)
- My Life with the Walter Boys (Netflix)
- Wednesday (Netflix)
- Pop Star Academy: KATSEYE (Netflix)
- Date Everything! (Sassy Chap Games)
- Tangled Vows by Anna Stone (Mistress Book 1)
- Ensnared Hearts by Anna Stone (Mistress Book 2)
Support & follow the show
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Transcript
>> Tara Scott:Hey, everyone. Welcome to Queerly Recommended, the podcast where we recommend queer books, films, TV shows, and more. I’m Tara Scott and I review Sapphic Fiction, the Lesbian Review, and Smart Bitches, Trashy Books. And this week I am recommending a sapphic romance novel that is going to be releasing very soon.
>> Kris Bryant: And I’m Kris Bryant, a contemporary romance writer for Bold Strokes Books. And this week I’m recommending a film from this year.
>> Tara Scott: Yay. Kris, what is up with you?
>> Kris Bryant: Well, as I mentioned, last time I had a card show.
>> Tara Scott: And how did that go?
>> Kris Bryant: So it went pretty well. It was a small show.
>> Kris Bryant: Usually.
>> Kris Bryant: Well, I mean, I don’t say usually because I’ve only been to like five, but most of them have been pretty large, anywhere from 100 to 200 tables. And this one only had 40 tables, but it was close to the house, so I said, why not? So we did it. And I did. Okay. I made some money, talked to some people in the. I guess in the biz, if you want to say that. I guess that works. But here’s something fun. Like most people, they’re not okay. My crowd is the basement daddies. I don’t know what to call them.
>> Tara Scott: That sounds. I tell, me more. I’m not sure what you mean.
>> Kris Bryant: So what I mean by that, I just mean like dads who are like, reliving their childhood and, you know, some of them are. Have the money to buy it and some of them, just want to look, and they look like they have just crawled out from the basement wearing like ratty T shirts and shorts and. And just, you know, live in the basement daddy. Look. You know what I mean by that? That’s what I mean by basement daddy. And that probably means something totally different in this world. It probably does, doesn’t it?
>> Tara Scott: Damn it. I don’t know for sure, but I feel like probably.
>> Kris Bryant: I feel like it does. I’m gonna Google it now, because now, if not. Did I just come up with something new? Probably not. Basement Daddy. Let’s see what that says.
>> Tara Scott: Is your safe search on or off?
>> Kris Bryant: It’s on.
>> Tara Scott: That’s for the best.
>> Kris Bryant: Oh, no, it’s, it’s, it’s. Oh, it’s derogatory. It can refer to an adult who lives in their parents home. That’s what I mean. but not really. I mean, a lot of the guys are kind of nice and they’re friendly. Everybody’s friendly. Without a doubt. The guy next to me, his phone was ringing and he didn’t hear it or See it, But I could see it on the thing. He had a shelf between us. And I’m like, hey. It’s like, what? I go, amy’s calling. And he’s like, oh, thanks. And he didn’t realize it until. And then he started laughing. But he talked about, like, the one year I watched baseball when I was a kid, the one year I was a big Dodgers fan, because I was living in California, and they were. They started talking about Steve Garvey. He was a player for the Dodgers. And so I just happened to jump in the conversation because I knew everybody. I knew everybody they were talking about, and I’m sure they’re like, oh, my goodness, maybe she does know some sports. So I got to, like, talk. I got to talk a little bit of baseball, which I never do. And it’s just really fun to show collectors there. The cards that you have in your own personal collection. a lot of the times I don’t bring my personal collection, but I did this time, and I’m glad I did, because everybody just loves, like, this is the coolest card. Look at this. This is in my collection. They’re like, that’s a great card. I wish I had that card. And it’s just fun. It’s just.
>> Kris Bryant: It’s.
>> Kris Bryant: It’s a whole different vibe for me. It’s a whole different world. But I’m having fun at these card shows. I really am.
>> Tara Scott: good.
>> Kris Bryant: And now I’m in three fantasy football leagues.
>> Tara Scott: Is that a lot of work? Because it sounds like it could be.
>> Kris Bryant: It could be if you’re. If you’re very competitive, like I am. You know, I’m going to be up against, like, at work, it’s something different. You know, we’re all basically the same level of what we know as far as sports. But I’m in two leagues that are, like, I am in over my head. I’m not in the same league, but I am in the same league. So it’s going to be hard. It’s going to be stressful when the draft comes. Like, I’m going to do something stupid and draft somebody who isn’t playing anymore. Or like, it’s a third string or something like that. So it’s. It’s going to be interesting. The next two weeks, I have to study my football.
>> Tara Scott: have fun.
Do you remember that movie with Rob Lowe? I think it’s
>> Kris Bryant: I know, like, in another vein of what I like to do, one of my friends, Elisa Jefferson, she plays in a couple different bands, and I think once or twice a year, her band about last night, plays, and they play 80s music because, ah, the movie about last night, you know. I don’t know if you know that. Do you remember that movie with Rob Lowe? I think it’s. Demi Moore is in it too.
>> Tara Scott: Yeah, I didn’t see that one.
>> Kris Bryant: No. Oh goodness. Yeah, that was when Rob Lowe, I mean he’s, he’s an attractive man, but he looked like a girl. And he was beautiful in that movie. Beautiful Little snack.
>> Tara Scott: He was beautiful.
>> Kris Bryant: Hey, yeah, he is. I mean even to this day I, I watch the Texas 911 and he’s in that and still is. Very nice looking man. Good for him.
>> Tara Scott: Good for him.
>> Kris Bryant: He’s never had a carb in the last 30 years, I’m sure. But yeah, he does all the diet commercials here as far as like slim fasts or whatever. Like.
>> Tara Scott: Oh, really?
>> Kris Bryant: Yeah, he does a lot of them.
>> Tara Scott: I did not know that. That’s super interesting.
>> Kris Bryant: Yeah.
>> Tara Scott: Oh, right.
>> Kris Bryant: Fun. I totally forgot about it. And my phone alerted me. Hey, don’t forget this. And I was like, I didn’t have enough time to go buy all the 80s stuff that I wanted to buy for this concert. So I showed up and I rolled my jeans up. Remember how? Well, used to roll the jeans up like way back when I was a baby. But we rolled up jeans and I wore my docs and I, I was actually. I got a blazer because in the day to wear blazers. Roll it up. Roll the sleeves up.
>> Kris Bryant: Not.
>> Kris Bryant: Miami Vice. But maybe it was. No, it was, but not.
>> Tara Scott: Not Miami Vice did that.
>> Kris Bryant: Yeah, they did, but it wasn’t that. It was more the, the Breakfast Club. The Molly Ring Ball. That kind of look.
>> Tara Scott: Oh yeah.
>> Kris Bryant: and I say Breakfast Club as in the group Breakfast Club, not the movie. But that also works.
>> Kris Bryant: But she sang for almost three hours and it was amazing. It was such a good time. There was a dance floor and people were out there dressed and dancing to the 80s music like I used to. And I was just sitting in the crowd just singing and I loved it. And she really gets into it. She’s a great singer. And she went into the crowd, she was on the dance floor, she looked at me and I was like, no, I know all the songs and I know the words to the song. And I was like, no. So she didn’t force me to go on stage, which is good. So that was a lot of fun. So I had that concert and I had the cards and I just chilled. Like, I just relaxed. I needed a, I Needed a weekend where I did nothing. And that’s what I did this weekend. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Love that. So what about you? You had a staycation?
>> Tara Scott: I had a staycation. So Neil went out of town for a week and took our oldest with him, and I stayed at home with our youngest, and we were just, like, dudes in pajamas for most of the week.
>> Kris Bryant: I love that. I love that.
>> Tara Scott: It was so good. They didn’t really want to go out and do a lot because, again, summer is, like. It’s. It is also a time for, like, recharging, especially with school coming up again soon. So we did go to a friend’s for a visit. And then one day, it’s funny, we’re doing a lot of, like, hanging out at home and just chilling, and we would, like, play board games or watch a movie or a show or something. But then Wednesday, out of nowhere, there was this. I want to go out. And I was like, really? What do you want to go do? And we went to the bookstore. Nice. So he got some books, and then we went to get some bubble tea. And I mean, that’s always good. Bubble tea is always a good time.
And then they were like, I’m not ready to go home. So we went to Michael’s and checked out the craft supplies, and ultimately did not get any. But still, we left the house. But it was a lot of, like, I got my workouts in. I read a few books. I’ll talk about a couple of them later. Nice. Read a bunch of fanfic. Like, it was just. It was time. It’s been such a big push, at work since, like, April, that taking a week and a half off, I was like, yeah, I’m gonna go lay down. That’s what I’m gonna do. I’m gonna go lay down with my kids for days.
>> Kris Bryant: Yes.
>> Tara Scott: Yep, I’m gonna do that. And occasionally, I will pick up something heavy and put it down again for a set number of repetitions to keep my body strong. It was glorious. I love a staycation.
>> Kris Bryant: I do, too.
>> Tara Scott: Yeah. Yeah. It was weird not having half the family here. And it was also very cute because the dog is, She’s lovely, and she loves all of us, but she loves Neil the most.
>> Kris Bryant: Oh.
>> Tara Scott: And we know that. And that it’s beautiful to see when he got home. Well, when he. And, Sorry. When he and our oldest got home, the dog was so excited to see him, she peed a little. And we were like, oh.
>> Kris Bryant: Oh, no.
>> Tara Scott: M. Oh, no. And Then she proceeded to just like sit on his lap and smile up at him until it was bedtime.
>> Kris Bryant: That’s so sweet. I so miss having a dog. I miss it so much.
>> Tara Scott: So yeah, that’s my like chilled out wrote and also like wrote three book reviews, I guess. You know, keep your eyes peeled at the lesbian review for some book reviews coming up. So for the the new Virginia Black, the new Rachel Spangler, and my official recommendation.
>> Kris Bryant: Oh. Which we’ll find out about soon enough.
>> Tara Scott: We sure will.
All right, Kris, what have you been reading or watching lately?
>> Kris Bryant: I went down the reality hole again and, watched the new season of the Perfect Match.
>> Tara Scott: Is all the people from other shows that did not end up in love.
>> Kris Bryant: Yes, yes, this is the one. And there’s so much drama. But I can’t stop watching. Like self control in these shows don’t exist. There’s no such thing. No, it’s reality tv, so nothing should surprise me, right?
>> Kris Bryant: And it doesn’t. I’m just. But I still like, like I know that they’re prompted to do certain things.
>> Kris Bryant: Just for ratings for whatever. And it still surprises me. I’m like, are people really this young? And I’m like, when did I get old? It’s one of those things like, does this really happen? But I can totally see it happening. So I’m watching that and I think there’s one more episode where we find out who the perfect match is. And then I’m sure there’s like, a reunion show after that. So there’s two more episodes, more or less.
>> Tara Scott: So does that mean there’s like one couple who wins the whole thing or something like that?
>> Kris Bryant: Yeah. So basically they do little competitions amongst themselves and the winner gets to go into the boardroom and they get to put other people on dates. Like they get to bring in new people, new men, new women, and pair them up with people who are already in relationships to see if they can break them up. Because the ultimate goal is to be the perfect match and win. And you and this person that you win with get to go on a vacation anywhere in the world.
>> Tara Scott: Does anybody stay together after these shows?
>> Kris Bryant: Honestly, I don’t know.
>> Tara Scott: But I have to think probably not.
>> Kris Bryant: I do know something because somebody sent me a screenshot of somebody from the show, made an announcement. Yeah. But I don’t want to ruin it because, you know, we’re not there yet.
>> Tara Scott: All right.
>> Kris Bryant: But yeah, so that. And I’m watching. I’m still watching alone in Australia. Alone. And so there’s a difference. So we are 20 days into alone, and we’ve lost seven people already. Like, they dropped out seven after 20 days.
>> Tara Scott: Holy.
>> Kris Bryant: Well, okay, so to be fair, it’s in Africa.
>> Tara Scott: Oh, yeah.
>> Kris Bryant: And it’s like South Africa. And it’s okay, like, super hot during the day. It’s super cold at night, and you have no trees. They’re like brush and bushes, and there’s. There’s like, very little shelter. And it just looks terrible. Like, everything about that is terrible. I really don’t blame the people who leave. Plus, the water source is so sketchy, you know, like, you have to blow your water, but still going to taste like buffalo poo because, you know, they go in there, the water buffalo go in there and do their thing. They cool off and probably do their business and then come out. And somebody said, even though you filter it, you try to filter it as much as you can. Take a shirt and filter it through the material, you’re still going to be dehydrated because you’re not going to get enough water. And then you have to boil the water, and it’s hot, and it’s never going to cool down. And so you’re just going to be miserable trying to stay hydrated.
>> Tara Scott: Yep, I get it.
>> Kris Bryant: I’m a no on that. Plus, there’s scorpions everywhere.
>> Tara Scott: Hell no.
>> Kris Bryant: See?
>> Tara Scott: Hell no. See? Yeah, I’m gonna cancel my application.
>> Kris Bryant: here’s something funny. Deb’s son, oldest son, said, yeah, I’m, I applied to get out to go on a loan. And I’m like, that’s amazing. I’m so excited. I was so excited. I mean, he hasn’t. He said they haven’t called him, but, I mean, rock on.
>> Tara Scott: Good for him. That is wild.
>> Kris Bryant: I know.
>> Tara Scott: And where it will be if he goes on, it will be.
>> Kris Bryant: We just. We told him, please don’t cry. Please don’t, like, cry. Everybody cries on the show.
>> Tara Scott: Like, that’s not fair. He can cry if he needs to.
>> Kris Bryant: Well, I mean, he. He’s.
>> Tara Scott: Hey, he’s very.
>> Kris Bryant: I don’t even know what to call it, you know, the whole gruff a. Man, I don’t cry.
>> Kris Bryant: Mm.
>> Kris Bryant: He’s that kind of person. So I was really surprised. And we’ll see if he continues to apply for the show. But, I mean, it seems like they need people because everybody drops out after, like, a day. So I’m like, are they just, like, scraping these people up from the streets and just say, hey, be on the show, I just don’t know how they’re finding these people because a lot of them are just like tapping out early. I think said that they, and I might have mentioned it last time, that they’re like, I didn’t. This isn’t the journey I wanted. I didn’t want to record my journey. I’m like, well, what the hell? That’s what this show.
>> Tara Scott: Yeah. Did they not know what show they were applying to see?
>> Kris Bryant: Who knows? I’m so like, I’m so addicted to reality shows, but at the same time I’m so disappointed in them.
>> Kris Bryant: Who knows?
and then I started watching this, ah, series called My Life with the Walter Boys. Okay, this to me is a perplexing show because this girl loses her parents in a car wreck. Because everybody always dies in car wrecks and TV shows and, and books. It’s always a car wreck. So she loses her family and so she has to go live with her mom’s best friend from med, school. I don’t know how. She’s maybe 15, 16 years old. And this family has like 10 boys in this house. Boys.
>> Tara Scott: That’s a lot of boys.
>> Kris Bryant: And some of them are young, some of them are her age and some of them are like maybe a year or two older. And so like none of them have to talk with the sons or with her. Like, don’t hook up. Don’t hook up with the kids in the, in the house. Like, don’t hook up. And so that’s what’s happening. And I’m like, what is happening here? Like they hold hands in public. Like, like there’s like, how is that? Okay, I don’t. Here I am, I’m clutching my pearls and I’m being a mom and I’m being old right now. But that to me is. I don’t understand that at all.
>> Tara Scott: And she’s hooking up with like a bunch of them.
>> Kris Bryant: Well, she’s like in a love triangle with two of them. Like how. Yeah, who doesn’t have that conversation? Especially teenage boys. Look, boys, this is a no. Like your mom and I are telling you no.
>> Kris Bryant: This is, this is a hard no.
>> Tara Scott: And the parents are okay with this.
>> Kris Bryant: Nobody said anything. And the kids are holding hands at school and like kissing and stuff like that. And I’m sure being small town, like, how would mom and dad not know? Because you need somebody else thinking the same way I am. Like the PTA Mom’s like, why are you living in the same house and making out at school? Like, that’s just. No.
>> Kris Bryant: No. So, but I am watching it. And so basically like, have the hard talk. Don’t date your quasi sister at the house. Like, don’t do it. That. No. So, and then Wednesday, season two dropped. Not all of it, just like half of it. So that’s exciting. Yeah, it’s a lot of fun. I liked the first season of it so much. The second season isn’t nearly as good, but that is normally what happens.
>> Kris Bryant: But I’m enjoying it still. It’s fun.
>> Tara Scott: Nice. Yeah.
>> Kris Bryant: So that’s pretty much all I’ve been doing.
What about, what about you? What’s been going on with you? What have you been reading and watching?
>> Tara Scott: So there’s no new Drag Races right now.
>> Kris Bryant: That’s amazing.
>> Tara Scott: Well, and also like how I don’t know and I don’t know when there’s going to be a new drag race and what it’s going to be. Like. I don’t know what the next one is. So I went back and rewatched season eight, which is probably the shortest season because it only has 10 episodes. And it was really, really good. And it was interesting going back and watching it, knowing. Yeah, exactly. Knowing who’s gonna win. but also there’s so much that I forgot because that was back when I was doing kind of my initial just pounding through every, just watching like marathons of it because it was the pandemic and we were in lockdown and there was nowhere to go and nothing to do. And so I watched so much of it that it all kind of blended together. And a couple of the people from this season were in the last All Stars that I just finished watching. So it was really cool to go back and see like, there’s one in particular, her name’s Acid Betty. She’s a New York queen. And all I can remember was that she wasn’t the nicest. But like going back and watching it now, it’s like, oh no, she was excellent though. Like she was excellent the first time around and I did not remember at all. So that’s been really fun.
And then yesterday we started watching on Netflix Pop Star Academy: KATSEYE, which is like the behind the scenes of how the band Cat’s Eye was put together. I didn’t really know anything going into it other than this is about like music studios trying to build a, band using the K pop method. It’s a going to be made up of like global artists. They’re all going to be women or girls. And apparently because Neil was the one who found it and said that there’s like a YouTube show where it’s a competition about going from like 20 people down to the six that are going to be in the band. This is the behind the scenes and the lead up to all of that. And I don’t actually know who’s in the band. I don’t know their music. I don’t know anything. But what I do know is that I recently watched K Pop Demon Hunters and really liked it.
>> Kris Bryant: Yes, you did. I see that all the time. People are either talking, talking about it or it’s on. It shows up on my Netflix, like cue, like, hey, watch this. Since you like this.
>> Tara Scott: It is shockingly good. Like during the staycation, we watched it again. And even having already watched the whole thing before, it held my interest from the beginning to the end.
>> Kris Bryant: Nice.
>> Tara Scott: And I got emotional again during the big, climax, which was wild. So, yeah, enjoying Pop Star Academy. I’m really curious to see how it goes. I finished Date Everything, which is my recommendation two episodes ago. And then last episode I said so there were some problems with the actual tech of it all. I downloaded the patch. I do think it helped, but it did still continue to crash quite a bit. So that’s the only. I would say if you’re gonna play it, maybe don’t play it on the Nintendo. Maybe it’s better on a Switch too. But on an original, I have a Switch Lite. It wasn’t a great experience because of the glitchiness, but I really enjoyed it. I was surprised at all the different messages it had. The ending was fun and, oh, nice. Now that I’ve done it, I’m not gonna do it again. And I put my Kindle Unlimited subscription to work a little bit. I know some people probably have thoughts about Kindle Unlimited because Amazon is evil. Amazon is evil. But you know who’s not evil? Indie authors who are only available on Amazon. I don’t feel like it’s fair to punish them. And so, yeah, that’s who I read on, my Kindle Unlimited subscription. Nice.
And I decided to go back to Anna Stone, who writes erotic romance. And so I read the first one of her Mistress series and I’m, about halfway through the second one in the series. So with this series, it’s based around the executives of a media company. It’s like an all female owned media company that’s like wildly successful. And so for the first one, it starts off from the perspective of Ruby, who is an escort in Vegas. And she is trying to basically, like, find someone for the night, at this, like, expensive hotel bar, sees this woman who’s very attractive. They sort of talk a little bit, and next thing you know, they wake up drunk and married.
>> Tara Scott: So Yvonne is the chief operating officer at Mistress, and she. The reason she was drinking at the hotel bar is her dad has been dead for nearly a decade, and she had 10 years to get married. And if she didn’t, then her inheritance would go to her half brother. Her half brother already got, you know, the bulk of the wealth. And so she’s just like, fuck, I could really. I could really use this m. Like, she’s. She’s rich. Like, she’s rich rich, but also, there were some things that.
>> Kris Bryant: She can be richer.
>> Tara Scott: Yeah, exactly. She had things that she wanted to be able to do with his money and kind of is like, well, you do seem genuinely surprised that, we got married when we were hammered. So, like, what if we just stick it out and I’ll give you some money and, like, if you. If you stay married to me for a year. And they negotiate a pretty all right amount. And so it’s a, you know, fake marriage. Marriage or convenience. I enjoyed this one. And what was interesting was when I went to Goodreads, I saw. Actually need to go update my rating. I read it a few years ago.
>> Kris Bryant: Oh.
>> Tara Scott: I gave it three stars. And I mentioned that there was something that bothered me about it, which I’m not, it’s not worth getting into. But that element isn’t there anymore. So I’m actually wondering if it got some rewrites.
>> Kris Bryant: Oh.
>> Tara Scott: Because I really enjoyed it, honestly. Like, it was going to maybe be my recommendation this week. And then I read something that I absolutely loved. So, sorry, Whatever this book title is.
>> Kris Bryant: Let me say that again.
>> Tara Scott: Sorry. Tangled Vows. I still enjoyed you very much. And so the next book is called Ensnared Hearts. I’m in the middle of reading it right now.
>> Kris Bryant: Oh, okay.
>> Tara Scott: This one is about Lydia. She is the chief financial officer of Mistress Media.
>> Kris Bryant: That’s cool.
>> Tara Scott: Oh, yeah. The other thing with all these books is there’s like, some kind of light bdsm, elements to them, which is kind of common in some of her. In, in her books. So, yeah, Lydia is the cfo and she is still grieving because her wife passed away a couple of years prior. She needs to go to Paris for a work trip. She hasn’t. She doesn’t have an assistant yet because she isn’t really sure. What she wants to do is trying to decide if she wants to settle in or not. So she takes one of the interns with her. Kat is the intern. Kat is kind of grieving the end of a relationship, although her girlfriend did not die. Her girlfriend cheated on her.
>> Kris Bryant: No.
>> Tara Scott: yep. Yep. And, when they broke up, took the friendship group with her. So I hate that. Yep. So Kat is not having the best time, but she has a crush on Lydia, and it’s. So this is one of those ones where I’m like, I don’t know how I feel about a CFO and an intern. That does feel ethically weird, but also, it’s not real and I’m having fun.
>> Kris Bryant: Lean into the fantasy slash, the fiction of it. Yeah, for sure.
>> Tara Scott: Exactly. That’s, you know, if I’m willing to pick up a book. Like, I knew. I knew the premise when I picked it up, and I was like, I don’t know how I’m gonna feel about it. And then I’m reading it, I’m like, yep, don’t know how I feel about this. But I’m gonna keep. Because I’m interested in. In the third book, which is a throuple romance.
>> Kris Bryant: Oh, nice.
>> Tara Scott: Curious to see how that goes. That was actually the one I wanted to read first, but I was like, no. Then I’m going to come up against a bunch of couples and wonder what happened with them. so why don’t I just start at the beginning? They’re not going to. These books are not going to be very long. It’s fine. So, yeah, I’m having fun with them. They’re, like, super readable. So I think, like, if anybody has a Kindle unlimited subscription, like, yeah, go get them. Why not? Yeah, I like them.
Kris Bryant, what is your official recommendation this week?
>> Kris Bryant: Okay, so it’s been kind of a busy few weeks. So when you reached out and said, hey, when are we going to record? I full on panicked because I had been relaxing or had been at concerts or I went to my card show and getting ready for the card show. So I rewatched something that I watched, like, a month ago, and it wasn’t as good as the first movie in the series, but I don’t care because my wife’s in it. My fantasy. I am recommending the Old Guard two.
>> Tara Scott: Yes, you are.
>> Kris Bryant: It did not get the love that the first movie got, but my favorite gay couple is in it, and there’s some serious tension between Charlize and the other characters. So let’s dig into it, shall we?
>> Tara Scott: Let’s go.
>> Kris Bryant: Let’s go.
So, recap is the Old Guard, quote unquote, superheroes slash mercenaries who have been around for centuries. Some of them for centuries, some are just like, brand new to it. And they help good humans fight bad humans. And they are immortals until they are not. Oh, right. M. So basically Andy, whose name is Andromache, and she goes by Andy because. Thank God, because that would be a hard word to say all the time. She is Charlize, played by Charlize Theron, my wife. Another life, hands down. she’s kind of like the leader of the pack. And in the Old Guard, I mentioned that there’s like a strong indication that she was in this. This lesbian relationship with another immortal named Quinn. And at the end of that movie, Quinn is captured, quote, unquote captured, and she’s put into a metal coffin and dropped into the bottom of the ocean. And that’s it. So we never know what happens. Oh, my God. What happens to Quinn, you know, Are they ever gonna find each other? You know? Cause there’s so much love between them. And so the second one picks up to where Quinn. The very first scene is Quinn being, like, chained. Not chained up.
>> Tara Scott: M. raised.
>> Kris Bryant: Thank you. Raised from the bottom of the ocean.
>> Kris Bryant: And that’s like. You’re just like, oh, my God. This whole. The beginning scene is like, And Uma Thurman’s in this movie. Ooh. Oh, right. So we’ll get to her in a minute. Like I said before, my favorite sweet gay couple is in this movie, Joe and Nikki. Very, very sweet, very romantic. And they have had this relationship for centuries, so love can really last. And I just love them. And they are playful and fun, and they take care of each other and the rest of the guards, and they’re just lovely to watch. It just warms my heart. Their relationship is wonderful. And like I said, then Quinn comes back, and I was sad that when she finally meets Andy, they meet again for the first time out in public, because, you know, it’s going to be, like, explosive in a bad way. because she finds out that Andy had stopped looking for her after 500 years or however long it’s been. You know, Andy’s got. She’s trying to help the humans, she’s trying to help mankind. And she kind of, like, not really ditched her girlfriend, but also didn’t, like, make it a priority. So Quinn has a lot of, like, bad feelings towards Andy. Kind of understandable. So, like, I get it. You Know the woman scorn thing sort of in a way like forgotten. It’s hard to overcome that. I think that there’s hope because there’s going to be a, part three. There’s going to be the old part three. I’m so excited about that.
You should watch this movie because it really is action packed
So there’s tension. Uma Thurman’s in it and she is, she goes by Discord. Like of all things really. Discord. She goes by Discord, who is the first immortal ever. And she is hell bent on destroying the other immortals. You think you’re not quite sure why. Why is she after them all? Like she’s after them. She’s like, I don’t know why you’re helping humans. They’re terrible. Look what they did to us. Let’s not help them. Let’s, you know, become immortals and, and rule the world. Basically. In a nutshell, their tension was good versus evil tension. But it was kind of fun to see them. They’re very. Not playful, like playful bad. And so they kind of have this chemistry. I mean, nothing’s going to happen because Quinn is still there and I feel like that’s going to get resolved in the next movie. But she was in it and it was a lot of fun to watch her, Uma and Charlize go at it. It was a lot of fun. You should watch this movie because it really is action packed and it does show beautiful relationships, friendships. Friendships that kind of run deeper than love, which, you know, after 500 years or however long that these people have known each other, these immortals, like, it’s beautiful. Their, their relationship is just so solid. You know, you have to be like, who wouldn’t want to be immortal? Wouldn’t that be fun? Do you think that would be fun?
>> Tara Scott: No, I don’t actually. I think it would get boring. I think it would get. I. Well, I think certain things would get boring. I think other things would get frustrating.
>> Kris Bryant: Like it’s. Well, because like the loved ones and you’re not normal.
>> Tara Scott: Yeah. You’re not really aging. You could like get attached to these people, but you’re going to lose them.
>> Kris Bryant: But also there’s a lot of beauty too. I mean, you’d be around for a lot of different things in this world.
>> Tara Scott: I guess I would wonder how would you be able to continue appreciating the beauty. Well, and that.
>> Kris Bryant: Well, not bored, but maybe disillusioned. And I think a lot of immortals become that way. But I mean.
>> Kris Bryant: All in all, the positives still outweigh, you know, the negatives. I think, I don’t know. It’s something to think about. I’m gonna think about that. We’ll get back to that question. other reasons to watch it is we have sexy people with swords and medieval like fighting equipment. And that’s fun. Like, why wouldn’t that be fun?
>> Tara Scott: What more do you need than that?
>> Kris Bryant: I know Charlize there and like I could stare at her all day on the screen like she’s just so badass. And she’s just like, she has always been in my top five ever since, like ever.
>> Kris Bryant: You know, and then again, there’s sweet love in this book or in this book, there’s sweet love in this movie. Again, Joe and Nikki, like the perfect relationship and it’s just, it just shows that, that love is very strong. All forms of love are very strong. So maybe that’s it. So maybe love for mankind, humankind, maybe that carries them through because suddenly you become, you can become mortal. You just don’t know. You don’t know when that’s going to be or why it’s happening. So there you go. That is my official recommendation. What is yours? Tara.
>> Tara Scott: So mine is a book that’s coming out in September, I believe, mid September. I can’t remember the date off the top of my head, but it is the latest from Rachel Lacey called Learning Curves. I saw her talk about it on Facebook about how she was writing a romance set at a university in Vermont. And I was like, hell yes. Because I love that she’s writing more books that are set in Vermont. This one is very cozy.
We start from the perspective of Audrey Lynn. She’s a fairly new PhD. She is so excited because she got a one year contract to go back to the university where she got her undergraduate degree. She’s going to. And she, you know, found out that like, oh the, there was a professor who like changed her life because she was such a good professor. She was actually her undergrad advisor. She was also her first, you know, crush on a M. On another woman. So it’s like this woman was a formative part of Audrey’s life. You know, she has this sexy British accent, blazers, what could be better? And Audrey’s office is even across the hall from hers. Except this professor is not really the person, the like inspiring, vibrant, not the person that she remembers. Dr. Michelle Thompson is kind of over it. She doesn’t really like her job. Her career has hit that wall. Her divorce was not good. Her wife was pretty awful to her in the last few years of marriage. You Know, nobody at the department likes her. Like, she doesn’t get to teach the things that she’s actually excited about. You know, she’s an art history professor who’s just teaching like all the classics. And what she’s actually excited about is women in art. You know, she finds out that Audrey is there and then immediately finds out that Audrey gets to teach a, women in art.
>> Kris Bryant: Oh. And so she’s pissed.
>> Tara Scott: She is pissed because Michelle has been pitching a women in art course for years and has been turned down by the department chair for years. Right. And so she kind of like, not lashes out, but she could have, she could have behaved better, we’ll say. But Audrey has decided like, no, this woman is going to be my friend. This is just how it’s going to be. And Audrey is like, she’s bubbly, she’s friendly, she’s vibrant, she’s like fun to be around. And Michelle’s m. Like, fuck, fine, fine. I guess we’re going to be friends. And then once they’re friends, she realizes, oh, Audrey is really, really smart and she’s fun to talk to and she’s a talented ceramics artist. Oh fuck, she’s hot too. So they have this, they have this chemistry that’s like really good. But neither of them is interested in a relationship. Like, Michelle got burned so hard with her marriage and you know, her ex wife’s voice is kind of in her head as that like negative voice being critical of her. And Audrey wants a tenure track position, which I don’t know if anybody’s paid attention to higher ed, but like, it is real hard to get tenure track positions. Really, really hard. And yet one night Audrey and invites her over to like, hey, I’ll teach you how to make pottery.
>> Kris Bryant: Wow.
>> Tara Scott: And they maybe have some wine and maybe you’re like, oh no, what are.
>> Kris Bryant: We going to do?
>> Tara Scott: And so it’s kind of this, like, will they, won’t they around?
>> Tara Scott: Is there too much to risk here or are we gonna go for it? And it’s a romance novel, so of course, you know, there’s a happy ending. But I loved this book. I love this book so much. I was hoping for something fairly cozy. That’s kind of what I’m used to with Rachel Lacey. And I definitely got it. But the thing that I found really interesting is I also felt like I learned a lot because she does include, you know, we see like little bits of some of Audrey’s lectures from her women in art course. And there was one in particular that I thought was so good. And it’s not just we don’t see it from her perspective, we actually see it from Michelle’s perspective, because she stops in for a couple of the classes and there’s one in particular where she’s teaching about quilt making and talking about how like, a lot of people don’t recognize it as a real art. And of course, because it’s mostly women who do it and then gets into like an example of a real artist. And so I’m like, I’m learning and this is cool. And then the thing I love about that scene is because they’re already friends at this point. They’re already getting along well at this point. But you see something almost like click for Michelle about how brilliant Audrey is. And I’m like, huh? Yeah. like, it’s just, it’s so great. I also learned some stuff about pottery. I don’t know anything except what I’ve seen on TV and in movies. Which means, of course, in that particular pottery scene, it even makes a reference to ghosts. And you’re like, well, of course. Yeah.
>> Kris Bryant: I was gonna ask about the ghost scene. If there was a ghost scene.
>> Tara Scott: There is a ghost. Yeah. And here’s the thing that’s interesting about that scene to me. No sex. No sex happens on the page. And yet it felt like I read a sex scene and I was like, okay, you go, Rachel. Lacey. That is interesting and kind of impressive. Like, there was nothing that would have been flagged as like a, a problem or whatever. Except I suppose the fact there’s two queer ladies in it for some people, but like no sex at all for a while. But I read a sex scene in that scene. So yeah, I thought that was really interesting in terms of ac, like academia itself and both of them working in the art department. I thought it was really interesting. So they have, there’s a 15 year age gap between them. So when Michelle taught Audrey, Michelle, was fairly early in her career at the university. But because we have an early career and a mid career academic, we actually get to see some of the challenges that happen and especially for women. And for Audrey, for example, she gets this one year contract and she’s like, okay, I need to do so good at this. They have to keep me. They just have to like, that’s, this is my one chance. Because she had applied to dozens and dozens of programs across the United States. Like, she’s applying as often as she can because it’s that hard to find roles. And even after all that work, it was still only a contract job. and it’s hard for PhDs. Like, I actually at one point wanted to be on the PhD track. And I think the best thing that ever happened to me was a professor declining to write a letter of reference for me because I would have hated it. absolutely hated it.
This book is realistic about the challenges of higher ed in 2024
And now, like, it’s just gotten. It’s just harder. Like, that’s not even taking into account. I will say the one thing that was interesting, reading this now knowing she was writing it, what, earlier this year or last year? I don’t think there was any way to anticipate, nor would I even want to read about it. Like, what’s happening to higher ed in the United States?
>> Kris Bryant: Right.
>> Tara Scott: I think if you look at it as, like, very realistic about the challenges of higher ed in 2024, I. I think it’s a pretty good example of that. But, like, I don’t know, man. No one wants to read about authoritarianism and their romance. So I’m, okay with it not being there. So the flip side, where, like, Audrey’s dealing with the scarcity problem, Michelle is dealing with the golden handcuffs problem because she has tenure. And when you have tenure, you don’t let that go because where. Where are you going to go? It’s not like you can just up and leave and go take a job somewhere else. She’s not happy with the administration. The committees are pointless and boring. The reason she was so exciting and dynamic when Audrey was a student was that she was talking a lot more about female artists. But then students complained because they wanted more of the classics, and the classics are men. Really? Yeah, because they’re both at these different parts in their careers that influenced a lot of, like, their choices, their concerns, and their character arcs, which I thought was really good. I really like them. It’s been a, I don’t feel like I very often read romances, or if I do, I guess I don’t remember. But I don’t feel like I very often read romances where, like, neither character is open to a relationship in the first place. Often, you know, one is, the other is.
>> Kris Bryant: And. Yeah.
>> Tara Scott: and I think the, like, the big notable example was what I recommended last time, which was Rachel Spangler’s book, Relationship Material. And so I think it was a little bit similar to it in that regard, but this worked really, really well for me. And, like, once they become friends, the chemistry in this is so good. Like, it’s just. It is so, so good. And also, I do like that it kind of does the it’s. It sort of does the whole like, hot for teacher thing because Audrey did have such a big crush on her back in the day, but it’s like, you know, there’s not the ethical weirdness around it because they are colleagues. They’re, you, know.
>> Kris Bryant: Oh, yeah, okay.
>> Tara Scott: Right. Like, yes, Michelle is 15 years older, but she’s not Audrey’s professor. She’s. She has no position of power over her. And even then, they still have like, really interesting, nuanced conversations about it because when Michelle finds out that Audrey had had such a big crush on her, like, she has to deal with that information.
>> Kris Bryant: Oh yeah.
>> Tara Scott: so, yeah, I adored this book. It was cozy, but also steamy and also it made me think and learn some things and I just loved it. I immediately put it in my favorites folder in my Kindle because I think this is going to be a perfect book for, like, when I’m having a bad hard day and I just want something comforting. This is going to be the one I’m going to go back to. So it’s Learning Curves by Rachel Lacey and I highly recommend it. Nice.
>> Kris Bryant: Mm,
>> Tara Scott: That is all for this episode. Thank you so much for listening. If you have not subscribed yet but you liked what you heard, please make sure you subscribe on your podcast app. If you have a friend who you think would be interested in either of our recommendations or anything we talked about today, please tell them all about it. And if you want to support us, we have a link to our Ko Fi in our show notes.
>> Kris Bryant: Hey, if you want to connect with us on your favorite social media sites, we have links in the show notes for that too. Or you can just search for queerly recommended or email us. Goodbye, everyone.
>> Tara Scott: Goodbye.
>> Kris Bryant: Bye.