Today, I pulled on my first sweater of the season. It’s a glorious, overcast fall day with a chill in the air. Local coffee shops have burst out in pumpkin. So has Trader Joe’s, creating an autumn lover’s paradise. I love listening to audiobooks as I walk through my neighborhood, keeping tabs on the different trees as their leaves turn golden and fiery orange. I recently listened to two essay collections, both read by their authors.
But before we jump into those, I thought we’d do another round of university press new releases. And here’s a reminder to check out our personalized TBR service, where you can get book recommendations tailored to you.
Bookish Goods
Life Size Human Skull Bookends by the blackened teeth
It’s that time of year when skulls make their appearance, and what’s better for creepy decor than skull bookends? They give those perfect Halloween vibes. $60
New Releases
American Classicist: The Life and Loves of Edith Hamilton by Victoria Houseman (Princeton University Press)
Edith Hamilton is most well-known for her book Mythology, which has become a classic since it was first published almost 100 years ago. But few know that Hamilton didn’t publish her first book until her early 60s. This biography sheds light on one of our most famous classicists.
Nimrods: a fake-punk self-hurt anti-memoir by Kawika Guillermo (Duke University Press Books)
Guillermo writes about his experience growing up in a tumultuous biracial household. After his parents’ divorce, Guillermo begins a life constantly on the move as he searches for a place to escape the systems of oppression in the Western world.
For a more comprehensive list, check out our New Books newsletter.
Riot Recommendations
Opinions: A Decade of Arguments, Criticism, and Minding Other People’s Business by Roxane Gay
I first read Roxane Gay after her essay collection Bad Feminist hit shelves. Since then, Gay has written essays, celebrity profiles, and advice columns. Opinions includes the best of Gay’s writing, giving readers little snapshots of Gay’s life over the course of the last decade. There’s a profile of Janelle Monáe describing how Afrofuturism influenced their album Dirty Computer. Gay writes about #MeToo from her perspective as a survivor of sexual assault and pushes it further, discussing what it’s like to be well-known for being a survivor of sexual violence. In other less-serious pieces, Gay includes her delightful sense of humor and a practical take on what’s going on in the world.
Thin Skin: Essays by Jenn Shapland
Sometimes, you read a writer, and you just find yourself mesmerized by their prose, wondering how on earth they do it. For me, Jenn Shapland is one of those writers. Her essays are beautiful. They would feel otherworldly if she didn’t anchor each piece in lived reality. In one essay, she writes about being diagnosed with thin skin, a condition that makes her ultra-sensitive to things like pollen and certain foods.
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