Hello, friends! I hope you are well. It has been a very eventful weekend for me. I rescued a bird and I read two amazing books: The Book Eaters by Sunyi Dean and Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands by Kate Beaton. And now as I write this, it is Sunday night, and I am getting ready to start A House With Good Bones by T. Kingfisher. There’s something about this disgusting heatwave we’ve been having here in Maine that makes me want to read horror more than ever, even before bed. But I’m sure I will chicken out at some point and pick something else up instead — she writes scary stuff!
As for today’s books: At the very top of my list of new releases for this week to acquire are Path Lit by Lightning: The Life of Jim Thorpe by David Maraniss, Mother in the Dark by Kayla Maiuri, and Moth by Melody Razak. And on this week’s episode of All the Books! Vanessa and I discussed the best books we read for this week and more, including The Women Could Fly, You’re Invited, and I’m Glad My Mom Died. And now, it’s time for everyone’s favorite game show: AHHH MY TBR! Here are today’s contestants.
A Map for the Missing by Belinda Huijuan Tang
As it happens occasionally, I did not read and love as many of this week’s books as I hoped. So I am kicking it off with this novel, which I just started. It excellent so far, so it seemed worth mentioning it to you. It’s a debut novel about a man living in America who returns home to China when his father goes missing. This will reconcile him not only with his estranged mother, but a childhood friend he hasn’t seen in many years. If the rest of the book is as good as the beginning, this will be an excellent read!
Backlist bump: Do Not Say We Have Nothing by Madeleine Thien
Healing a Divided Nation: How the American Civil War Revolutionized Western Medicine by Carole Adrienne
And this is a little Liberty wheelhouse-y, given my interest in reading about the American Civil War, but it’s always fun to learn! Treatment for illness and injury at the start of the war was archaic and horrifying. Adrienne documents the crucial strides that were made in medicine during the four years of the Civil War, helping more soldiers survive and revolutionizing medicine in general. Though sometimes gross and shocking, this is a great book for people who love reading about history.
Backlist bump: This Republic of Suffering by Drew Gilpin Faust
Mr. Perfect on Paper by Jean Meltzer
Dara Rabinowitz is the creator and CEO of the popular Jewish dating app J-Mate. And while she helps many, many people find love, she herself hasn’t had much luck. When her bubbe shares her private list of the qualities in a perfect husband on national television, everything changes. News anchor Chris Steadfast decides helping Dara find love will be good for his show’s ratings. But there’s the chance he just might fall for her himself. Could Dara be interested in someone who doesn’t check any of the boxes on her list?
Backlist bump: The Matzah Ball by Jean Meltzer
Don’t forget you can get three free audiobooks at Audiobooks.com with a free trial!
This week: Like I mentioned, I am reading A House With Good Bones by T. Kingfisher, as well as Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah. Outside of books, I have been spending a lot of time watching all the nature in my yard again and rooting for a rogue sunflower that has decided to grow in the middle of our yard. The song stuck in my head is “The Authority Song” by Jimmy Eat World. And here is your weekly cat picture: Zevon is taking advantage of the rare day I spent out of my office last week. (That’s his favorite position to be in, which I call the Steve Holt.)
Thank you, as always, for joining me each week as I rave about books! I am wishing the best for all of you in whatever situation you find yourself in now. And yay, books! – XO, Liberty