Hooray, It’s Time for New Books!

This is a look at the wife of one of history’s most famous pirates: Captain Kidd. Sarah Kidd, twice-widowed at an early age, was secretly helping her third husband in a time when it was inconceivable for women to break with societal norms, and certainly not acceptable to marry pirates and take up a life of crime. Whether she was an antihero or a villain, I’ll let you decide. (CW for violence, murder, death, sexism, assault.)

Backlist bump: Enemy of All Mankind: A True Story of Piracy, Power, and History’s First Global Manhunt by Steven Johnson

Sisters Sarah and Angelina Grimke were famous abolitionists in the 1800s. They gave up their rich plantation lives to live in the North and write pamphlets protesting slavery. They are famously known for that work and for being champions of the cause. But Greenidge actually takes a look at the little-known Black members of their family over the past century or so, specifically the Black women. And she also shines a light on an overlooked aspect of the sisters, and how they objected to slavery but did not believe that Black people deserved equal rights. (CW for slavery, racism and racialized violence, violence, murder, death, sexual assault, and sexism.)

Backlist bump: Slaves in the Family by Edward Ball

If you have been reading this newsletter or listening to the show recently, you know that I have a newfound obsession with birdwatching. So of course I had to read this book. Kumar had a love of nature as a child in India, but sort of lost touch with it when she moved to the United States. She rekindled her love of birds and birdwatching in her 20s, and she shares her thoughts about our feathered friends in these lovely essays. Kumar covers different types of birds, memories from her life and her work, and a look at climate change and how it is affecting the birds we love.

Backlist bump: The Home Place: Memoirs of a Colored Man’s Love Affair with Nature by J. Drew Lanham

This week, I am reading The Wishing Pool and Other Stories by Tananarive Due and P. Djèlí Clark’s children’s book debut Abeni’s Song. Outside of books, I have been following the Jeopardy! Tournament of Champions. (I need someone to come up with a word for the feeling you get when you know an answer none of the contestants know. It doesn’t happen very often to me, but I like it.) And the song stuck in my head is “Night Shift” by Lucy Dacus. When she lets loose at the end, the hairs stand up on the back of my neck every single time. You can still listen to the playlist of music from the 1980s I made! And here is your weekly cat picture: Farrokh is a big fan of the new rug on the sun porch, especially when there’s sun.