Novel and Nosh

What My 4–5 Star Reads Reveal About Me

• Courtney • Season 1 • Episode 3

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We share a clear guide to the books and cookbooks we’ll recommend by mapping our four and five‑star reads into eight lanes. From atmospheric escapes to food‑lit comfort, we explain what draws us and how it shapes future episodes.

• atmospheric escapes with rich sense of place
• soft fantasy and gentle, healing magic
• bookish and culinary comforts that anchor change
• emotional fiction about family, identity, and repair
• feminine power threaded through historical mystery
• character‑driven psychological tension and unease
• romance as a slow, supporting strand
• coming‑of‑age and transformational journeys

Try it out for yourself—or if you loved books on our love lists, you’ll enjoy listening here. Make sure to go grab a good book and some good food and enjoy


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SPEAKER_00:

Welcome to Novel and Notch, where books and food come together. Today I want to share with you what you can expect from this podcast in the way of the books that I'm going to recommend. I do want to let you know that I will be sharing books and cookbooks and some other things as well. But I know that when I start to listen to a podcast, I'd like to know what the podcaster, like what kind of books do they enjoy reading? So what I did is I went through my four and five-star books because those are the ones I want to come here to talk about, the ones that I choose as four and five-star books. And I put the list into Chat GPT and asked it to kind of define what type of reader I am, which is a fun thing that you can do. I will tell you, it didn't surprise me, honestly. I kind of knew everything that it says, but it's kind of fun to get that reassurance back. But oh yeah, I am that kind of reader. So you are going to, I'm going to quickly go through the types of books that I read based on what it states. And you will hear names of books. So if you like any of these, you might want to write them down, or it might help guide you, like, oh yeah, I love that book too. So it'll kind of just give you an idea of um what more you can hear from me about. And I'm not going to go into explaining any of these books today, but you can be sure that you will hear about them in the future if you haven't heard about them already. So the first one is Atmospheric Escapes with Depth. You're drawn to richly imagined worlds, whether Fantastical, A Discovery of Witches, The Night Circus, The Ten Thousand Doors of January, or Grounded in Evocative Real Life Settings, The Snowchild, Pachinko, Memoirs of a Geisha. These books pull you in with immersive detail in a strong sense of place, often involving history, magic, or mystery. Number two, magical realism, soft fantasy, and the supernatural. You favor fantasy with a gentle emotional pull more than high fantasy. Think Legends and Lattes, The House in the Cerulean Sea, The Honey Witch, Once Upon a Wardrobe. You enjoy magic that feels healing, enchanting, or nostalgic, often with cozy, domestic or romantic tones. Number three, bookish and culinary comforts. You gravitate towards stories where books, bakeries, or fur food serve as emotional anchors. The mysterious bakery on the Rue des Paris, Francesca's Kitchen, the Bookshop on the Corner, the City Baker's Guide to Country Living. These are comfort reads that blend personal transformation with sensory joy with books that nourish. Number four, emotional fiction with family identity and healing. You appreciate layered emotionally resonant fiction that deals with identity, loss, secrets, and healing. The vanishing half, black cake, ask again yes, calling me home, the things we cannot say. These often involve generational trauma, identity, or family reconciliation told with compassion and subtlety. Number five, feminine power and historical mystery. You love strong, often hidden or underestimated women navigating danger or societal constraints. The lost apothecary, the wayward, the dress shop of dreams, the Arctic Fury. You're drawn to plots where women uncover secrets, resist control, or reshape their destinies. Often with a touch of historical magic. Number six, cage turners with psychological or moral tension. You don't shy away from darker themes or thrillers that blend emotional depth with suspense. Birdbox, her every fear, I let you go, my seri my sister the serial killer, our house. You enjoy a gripping plot, but want it to be more than just action. You like character-driven unease. Number seven, romantic subplots that enhance, not dominate. You tend to enjoy slowburn or emotionally satisfying romance as part of the larger story arc. Beach read, happy place, very valentine, twenty-eight summers. Romance in your favorites often has nostalgia, loss, longing, or self-growth at its core, not just tropes. And the last one is coming of age and transformational journeys. Whether it's a child in a harsh world, number the stars, walk to moons, or a woman rediscovering herself, pull of the moon, the late bloomers club, you appreciate stories of inner growth, resilience, and reflection. I thought that was great. I thought it spoke a lot into the books that I love. And obviously it's pulling some of my four and five-star books, but I just thought maybe you would find this interesting. And one, you can try it out for yourself. Or two, if you've heard some books that you loved on my love lists, then maybe you will enjoy listening to this podcast as well. Again, hope you have a wonderful day. Or make sure to go grab a good book and some good food and enjoy.