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In My Broken Language, a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright tells her lyrical story of coming-of-age against the backdrop of a struggling barrio, with her sprawling, idiosyncratic, love-and-trouble filled Puerto Rican family as a collective muse. This is an inspired exploration of home, family, memory, and belonging, narrated by the obsessed girl who fought to become an artist so she could capture the world she loved in all its wild and delicate beauty.
Welcome to In The Club, a newsletter of resources to keep your book group well-met, well-read, and well-fed.
Have you all been following the Epstein mess? Specifically, did you hear about what happened with Prince Andrew soon after Ghislaine Maxwell was found guilty of sex trafficking charges? The queen of England, his mom, stripped him of titles (describing the situation as throwing him “under the royal bus” is so deliciously messy, I love it). I was surprised she took such swift, definite action. I mean, she didn’t turn him in, but the gesture seemed to imply that he’s not above punishment for wrong doing. Again, I found this surprising. And that surprise is of course because of the fact that he is a wealthy white man who was born into literal royalty.
I think we Americans have an interesting view of royalty. On the one hand, I think we’re brought up to view it as a desirable thing. Disney and the constant coverage of Princess Diana, Grace Kelly, and Meghan Markle has glorified young women becoming princesses. On the other hand, it goes against what are supposed to be American ideals: freedom, democracy, etc., which begs the question as to why it has been historically so heavily pushed in the first place?
As we ponder these things, let’s get to the club!
Nibbles and Sips
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My good friend and I were just extolling the joy that is popcorn. While we were talking, she was having white cheddar, and I my usual store-bought fave kettle corn. Being from Chicago (home of Garrett’s Popcorn), she knows a thing or two about how to dress up a kernel. Today, I’ll include a couple ideas for getting your popcorn extra fancy and all that good stuff. Firstly, here’s a copycat recipe for Garrett’s. Next, the NYT offers a cinnamon toast inspired recipe.
Now, (royal) We are off to the books!
Windsor, Not!
A Princess in Theory by Alyssa Cole
Ok, so we’ve all heard of the whole African prince scam by now. I have certain feelings about it as it seemed to me that it was yet another negative thing westerners latched onto concerning Africans, but that’s another conversation. Here, Naledi Smith is an “all my life I had to fight” type of girl, having grown up in foster care, so she doesn’t believe emails saying she’s meant to marry an African prince. When Prince Thabiso finds his betrothed, Naledi doesn’t immediately clock him as royalty, and the Prince sees this as an opportunity to live life like a regular. You already know romance ensues! It’s definitely a fun ride.
Book Club Bonus: I like when different facets of Black life are shown, so I appreciate African royalty being represented in books. But, there is still apart of me that wonders how good royalty in any land is truly beneficial for the majority of people there. Usually, royalty has meant some kind of absolute rule. Discuss both sides of this.
A Lady in Waiting by Anne Glenconner
Anne Glenconner was a close friend and lady-in-waiting to Princess Margaret. She befriended Queen Elizabeth II when she was young, and was born into a titled family herself— her father was the 5th Earl of Leicester— but could not inherit a title as she was the wrong gender. Let me tell y’all how much drama was in her life. Phew! She dealt with the backstabbing nature of the royal court, a 54-year old marriage to an abusive, cheating man (who left his fortune to a servant when he died. Again, I say Whew!), and two of her adult sons passing away. Through all of this, she was privy to intimate moments of the royal family. I do have to side eye her for “… developing the Caribbean island of Mustique as a safe harbor for the rich and famous-hosting Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Raquel Welch, and many other politicians, aristocrats, and celebrities.” On first read, that detail is giving gentrification, but maybe that’s just me. Nonetheless, Glenconner offers the most personal look into royal life without being a part of the British royal family herself.
Book Club Bonus: Anne Glenconner’s life had many great moments, but many tragic ones as well. How do you think her proximity to the royal family ultimately influenced this?
Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan by Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand
And then there are the people who would rather leave the royal family all together. Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand are reporters that cover the royal family, and here they have built a case for why Meghan and Harry decided to leave royalty behind. The book promises to dispel untrue rumors and give a fair look. Prince Harry is supposed to have a memoir coming out later this year. We’ll see what other tea is spilled there.
Book Club Bonus: This obviously flies in the face of the idea that royalty is the end all, be all. Do you think they should have kept the power and influence that came with the royal titles? Or, are they not really losing anything since they have power and influence from their fame alone?
Don’t forget you can get three free audiobooks at Audiobooks.com with a free trial!
Suggestion Section
The influence of The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran is detailed here.
Jess Pryde speaks on the importance of mass market romance.
A public library is welcoming censorship
A great list of queer found family books
A fun quiz that matched your tea preferences with a book recommendation
I hope this newsletter found you well, and as always, thanks for hanging out! If you have any comments or just want to connect, send an email to erica@riotnewmedia.com or holla at me on Twitter @erica_eze_ . You can also catch me talking more mess in the new In Reading Color newsletter as well as chattin’ with my new cohost Tirzah Price on the Hey YA podcast.
Until next week,
-E