Hot Girls Read Podcast

Julia

In lieu of any recent updates, I wanted to write about another book I read over the holiday season: A Cautious Travellers Guide to the Wastelands by Sarah Brooks. I picked this book out when I was in search of something fantastical with hardly a hint of romance (seemingly rare these days). I was also very much pulled in by the premise of a world narrowed down to the inside of a train because a) I love stories that happen on trains and b) enclosed spaces typically provide a delicious tension. And though there was some atmospheric and character tension, I simply wanted a bit more. More plot, more character development, and actually, less description. A huge part of the book was about what was outside the train windows, so I got the need for a healthy dose of description; however, by the end of the book, I felt that it had become a bit too self indulgent on the author’s behalf. All that said, I think the idea behind the book is genuinely interesting and if anything, it made me want to go on another train journey.

Ayesha

I’m still reading Lonesome Dove (over half way through) and I am really enjoying it! While it reads like some of the books I read in high school when we focused on American literature, it’s fairly easy to follow along with the writing. To put it simply, it’s a story about Texas cowboys trying to move to Montana (‘Yellowstone’ vibes). It’s also about community, self-discovery, and friendship. I won’t sugarcoat it though – there are some darker elements (kidnappings, assault against women, death). Obviously I have 300 more pages to go but I think it will be one of my top reads for 2026.