How has your audiobook month been going so far? I’ve listened to six books so far, making it one of my best reading months this year. Dylan and Gwen have been enjoying the warm evenings. The other night, they went to visit a friend’s house and came home covered in red clay from all of the mud puddles in the yard. Gwen took THREE rinses to clean her white feet and belly. It’s like she was trying to naturally dye her fur! The work of a Corgi parent never ends. Okay, enough about the Corgis’ summer shenanigans, let’s talk about new nonfiction!
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Bookish Goods
Paused My Audiobook For This T-Shirt by Homecraft Shirt Design
In honor of audiobook month, it’s time for some audiobook swag! Here is a T-shirt that I am definitely going to be wearing at the next family reunion. $23
New Releases
Kiss Me in the Coral Lounge: Intimate Confessions from a Happy Marriage by Helen Ellis
The queen of Southern lady humor is back with another collection of essays. This time she writes about the quirky, difficult, and hilarious situations that marriage can bring to a Southern woman’s life.
Better Living Through Birding: Notes from a Black Man in the Natural World by Christian Cooper
Birder Christian Cooper was part of a viral moment where he was birdwatching in Central Park when a white lady threatened to call the police when he asked her to follow park rules and leash her dog. Cooper’s book celebrates his identity as gay Black man, bird lover, and self-described “blerd” (black nerd).
For a more comprehensive list, check out our New Books newsletter.
Riot Recommendations
Pageboy by Elliot Page
Elliot Page came out as trans after struggling with his identity for his entire life. Assigned female at birth, Page made a career for himself playing women on the big screen, receiving a nomination for his role as the lead character in Juno. But behind-the-scenes, Page felt miserable as he was stuffed into expensive dresses and pushed to behave in a more feminine way. Page narrates the audiobook edition, bringing such a personal touch to his story.
Finding Me by Viola Davis
In her Audie-winning performance, Viola Davis narrates her memoir Finding Me. We follow her childhood growing up in a poor family in Rhode Island. Many of Davis’ memories are of listening to the rats scurrying around her bedroom, and waking up to rat bites and the faces of her dolls being chewed off. But she found comfort in theater, pursuing her passion to college, an institution none of her family members had ever been to before. She performs her story with such an incredible connection with her text, refusing to shy away from the emotion she feels while performing her story.
That’s it for this week! You can find me over on my substack Winchester Ave, over on Instagram @kdwinchester, or on my podcast Read Appalachia. As always, feel free to drop me a line at kendra.d.winchester@gmail.com. For even MORE bookish content, you can find my articles over on Book Riot.
Happy Reading, Friends!
~ Kendra