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The holiday season is upon us! We know just how hard it can be to find the perfect gift for everyone on your list. These titles make the perfect gift for friends that loves a dark thriller, moms who love reading historical fiction, brothers who can’t stop talking about the Stranger Things finale, and more. Check out Simon & Schuster’s #BooksILikeToGive holiday gift guide to find something for all of your fellow bookworms!
Happy Tuesday, readers! We’ve reached that time of the year when publishing slows way down for the holidays. That’s not to say there aren’t still great books coming out – there just aren’t as many of them. So for today, I’m going to tell you about a few recent releases I have enjoyed that I didn’t get to read in time for release day (or didn’t get a chance to discuss when they first came out.) You can hear me talk about awesome reads out now on this week’s episode of the All the Books! Jenn and I discussed Mary Toft; or the Rabbit Queen, Wyoming, Wake, Siren, and more great books!
And now, it’s time for everyone’s favorite gameshow: AHHHHHH MY TBR! Here are today’s contestants:
The Deep by Rivers Solomon with Daveed Diggs, William Hutson, and Jonathan Snipes
Inspired by the song “We Are In The Future,” by the rap group Clipping, featuring Diggs, Solomon wrote this inventive novella about the descendants of slaves living in an underwater colony. Yetu is the historian of the colony. She is the only one who holds the secrets of her people’s traumatic past. But holding on to such horrors is ruining her, so she flees to the surface to escape her responsibilities. There she will learn about the people left behind, and how embracing the past is the way to the future.
Backlist bump: An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon
Fate of the Fallen by Kel Kade
There are a zillion books about The Chosen One, i.e. the one who has been chosen through fate or prophesy to save the world or some other world-altering task. Like Buffy or Harry Potter. But what if the Chosen One fails at their job? That’s the question at the heart of this fun fantasy about two very different friends, one of whom is supposed to save them all, and how the other steps in when things don’t go according to plan. I highly enjoyed this book, and look forward to more adventures in this world!
Backlist bump: The Ruin of Kings (A Chorus of Dragons) by Jenn Lyons
Acid For The Children: A Memoir by Flea
If you’ve been reading this newsletter and/or listening to All the Books! for a while, 1) YOU ROCK and 2) you know that I’ll read anything if I’m told it’s good. Which is how I wound up reading this memoir. I am not a big fan of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, of which Flea is bassist and co-founder, but I had read nothing but incredible reviews of this book. And it was indeed wildly interesting! For starters, I had no idea that Flea was from Australia. It’s a candid look at his life of sex, drugs, and rock and roll, as well as his journey to spirituality, self-reflection, and healing. Sometimes it’s fun to read about a life so vastly different from anything you’ve ever experienced, especially when that person manages to turn it around for themselves. Includes a beautiful introduction poem from Patti Smith.
Backlist bump: Just Kids by Patti Smith
See you next week!
xx,
Liberty