Time to reset reading goals, which also means new reading journals! The Etsy item description for this one mentions its popularity on BookTok, as well as its many features, like TBR pages, book review pages with ratings and space for written reviews, illustrated empty book spines that you can color in, and more. $20
(Though it is on sale for $17 at the time of this writing!)
Welcome to In The Club, a newsletter of resources to keep your book group well-met, well-read, and well-fed.
This is written a little more ahead than usual because of holiday things, so you may have already seen this, but Obama released his favorite books of 2023. He has some books in common with a few best-of-the-year lists, as well as a few ones I haven’t heard of as much. Check it out when you get a chance.
As for today’s roundup, there’s a queer coming-of-age story, a lurking djinn, the story of a trailblazing Black Hollywood star, and social commentary à la Kiley Reid.
This New Year’s Eve champagne punch sounds (and looks!) magical. It’s also pretty easy to assemble. You’ll need triple sec, blackberry brandy, pineapple juice, Chambord, lemon lime soda, pink or Brut champagne, and garnish. You’ll want to mix some of the ingredients the day before and let them sit overnight. Then, you serve with triple sec and soda the day of.
For a full list of ingredients and instructions, visit Sugar and Soul.
Daniel de La Luna starts his tenure as a scholarship student at a prestigious East Coast college with the weight of the world on his shoulders — his family’s hopes and expectations are heavy, as are the shoes of his late uncle, whose name he shares. But his roommate Sam changes everything. In Sam, he finds a comforting friendship, but then something more. Their relationship isn’t able to fully take off just yet, though, because of Sam’s hesitation as well as a tragedy that changes Daniel’s worldview. When he returns to his ancestral home in México, he’ll finally have a chance to reconcile all that’s changed and what’s to come.
Apart from being a great book out in January, this is one I’m looking forward to for the entire year. It’s giving Rebecca meets the movie Three Thousand Years of Longing (starring Idris Elba and Tilda Swinton, if you’re unfamiliar). It centers around Sana, who, along with her father, is one of the latest inhabitants of the once grand Akbar Manzil, an estate off the coast of South Africa. Usually, the estate is a place where people go to forget themselves, even going so far as to ignore the estate’s uncanny qualities — like bones in the garden and mysterious moving figures — but Sana becomes obsessed with the contents of a forgotten room. The room’s pictures, diary, and other artifacts tell Sana of Akbar Manzil’s original owner’s second wife, who died a hundred years ago. She compulsively dives deeper into the woman’s life, but little does she know of the djinn that watches her from the shadows.
Here is a fictional portrait of a trailblazer who I don’t see much written about. Hattie McDaniel was a prolific actress and the first Black person to win an Oscar for her portrayal of Mammy in Gone With the Wind. Which is where some of her heartache started. The role was controversial and barred her from both white and Black gatherings because white people only saw her as The Help, while Black people thought her Oscar-winning role was demeaning. Even so, she still fought for a place for Black actors in Hollywood, and leaned on friends like Clark Gable and Dorothy Dandridge when she had to. This tells McDaniel’s story, covering everything from the Oscars to the war to her marriages.
From the author of Such a Fun Age comes a skewering of academia and privilege. At the University of Arkansas in 2017, Millie Cousins is working as a senior resident assistant when visiting professor Agatha Paul offers her an odd but easy chance to earn some money. Agatha wants Millie to let her listen in on conversations had by a group of privileged women who are living in a dorm meant for scholarship recipients. What follows is an often humorous narrative filled with the aptest of social observations.
Suggestion Section
It’s happening, readers — we’re bringing paperbacks! Whether you (or a reader you know and love) hate carrying around bulky hardcovers, you’re on a budget, you want a wider range of recommendations or all of the above, you can now get a paperback subscription from TBR, curated just for you by one of our Bibliologists. We’ve got three different levels for gifting (to yourself or others) to suit every budget. Get all the details at mytbr.co.
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 our In Reading Color Substack as well as chattin’ with my co-host Tirzah Price on the Hey YA podcast.
Welcome to In The Club, a newsletter of resources to keep your book group well-met, well-read, and well-fed.
Now that we’ve come to the end of the year, I wanted to review some of the best books that were chosen by various book clubs (like Roxane Gay’s Audacious Book Club, Reese’s Book Club, or the Subtle Asian Book Club).
The 11 books below are a mix of nonfiction and fiction, with dystopian realities and romance hopefulness. Some get into heavy topics, while others keep it light. No matter which ones your book club ends up reading, their stories will stick with you.
As Southern and pecan pie-loving as I am, I’m surprised I’ve never had a pecan pie cheesecake. Which may be just as well because it sounds like it might be habit-forming for me.
You’ll need the usual cheesecake things, like cream cheese, sugar, butter, eggs, sour cream, and graham cracker crust, as well as butter, brown sugar, heavy cream, bourbon, vanilla extract, and more for the pecan portion.
This National Book Award finalist comes from the author of Friday Black, and tells the bloody story of Loretta Thurwar and “Hurricane Staxxx,” two women who are friends, lovers, and popular Chain-Gang All-Stars. As All-Stars, they’ve fought against other prisoners in lethal battles to win shortened sentences through a highly contested program that’s run through the controversial Criminal Action Penal Entertainment organization in a (not so) alternative United States. Loretta nears the day she’ll finally be free, but the burden of all she’s done — and still has to do — weighs heavily on her in this damning look at America’s prison industrial complex and culture of violence.
Desmond is the Pulitzer Prize-winning sociologist and author of Evicted, and with his latest, he asks why the U.S. is the richest country on earth with more poverty than any other democratic nation. Through research and original reporting, Desmond shows how the financially secure leech off the poor, securing their own comfort through the sacrifice of those in lower socioeconomic classes. He also gives ways for us to change — by becoming poverty abolitionists, we can make it so that everyone has the chance to have their basic necessities met.
Lamya, like so many people who have marginalized identities, grew up feeling on the outside of everything. When, as a young teen, she develops a crush on a female teacher, she at first tries to hide it. But then, as she reads the Quran, she finds familiarity — the characters she reads about don’t seem to fit within the heteronormative boundaries that have been making her feel ill at ease. As she grows up, eventually moving to New York City in early adulthood, her faith, along with her sense of self as a queer Muslim woman, grows. I’ve never read the Quran, but I love reading about different interpretations of religious texts.
After having risked so much for her children — including illegally entering them into a wealthy public school — Diane Aziz’s last act as a parent is to drive her son Walter to college at UC Berkeley. Then, she falls into a deep depression and enters into a state hospital. Diane’s best friend tries to keep things together for her other children, but it’s tough going — Walter may not be able to continue with school because of finances, his sister Lina risks it all in order to keep up with her wealthy classmates, and Donny, the little brother, is slowly drifting into a life of drugs and listless days at the beach.
The bestselling author of Cutting for Stone pens a family saga spanning more than 70 years. The story of a girl who would come to be known as Big Ammachi — which essentially translates to “Big Momma” — twists and turns, intertwining as the waterways do that her and her would-be family live in Southern India. Big Ammachi’s family, part of a Christian community with a long history, will be as gifted as they are cursed, with the curious incidence of drowning being a common theme reoccurring through the generations. Starting in 1900, we experience the change and advancements time brings as Big Ammachi experiences them.
I’m sure y’all have been seeing this one everywhere. It’s definitely one of the It Books of the year, which I love for several reasons. One being its unflinching look at race within the publishing industry. When June Hayward’s peer Athena Liu dies in an accident, she impulsively takes the literary star’s unfinished manuscript as her own. As the book catapults her into literary relevance — a marked difference from her previous status — her image as a writer becomes more and more racially ambiguous. But Athena isn’t so easily forgotten, and June — now Juniper Song — sees the dead woman’s shadow wherever she goes.
This sapphic 19th-century romance follows Manuela del Carmen Caceres Galvan, who is living it up one last summer in Paris with her two best friends before she becomes trapped in a future loveless marriage. It’s during this time in Paris that she meets the business-savvy Duchess of Sundridge, Cora Kempf Bristol, who tries to tempt her to sell a piece of land she said she’d never part with. But Manuela agrees to sell on the condition that the duchess spend the summer with her. What follows are nights of reawakened passions and days full of art admiration. Cora is the happiest she’s ever been, but is she happy enough to cause one of the biggest scandals in Paris is the question.
Memoirs and other writings by poets are some of my favorite books to read, and in How to Say Babylon, Sinclair lends her poet’s voice to the story of her upbringing. In it, she recounts life as a child reared by a militant Rastafarian father, who projected his oppressive patriarchal views on the women and girls in his household. In an effort to avoid Western influences, her and her sisters’ clothing is restricted, as is the scope of their education and who they can socialize with. But through her mother, Sinclair, and her sisters learned through books and poetry, which helped her to develop her own singular voice.
The horrors of capitalism are on full display in Ripe. Cassie has gotten her dream job at a Silicon Valley startup but is also seriously regretting it. The people she works with are toxic, entitled, and downright criminal — and once her bosses start requiring she engage in illegal activity, too, the black hole that’s always been with her, that gets stronger through her depression and anxiety, feels closer than ever.
Here, the author of the award-winning Miracle Creek writes a mystery that asks some interesting questions. When the father and son of a biracial Korean and white family don’t come home on time from a walk, the rest of the family doesn’t immediately call the police. But when Mia’s 20-year-old brother, Eugene, comes through the door bloody and without their father, they know that something’s wrong. Eugene is a witness to what happened but is unable to speak. As time passes and the window for finding their father alive shrinks, we learn of the intricacies of the Parksons’ lives, including the secrets that may be connected to the father’s disappearance.
Minor Detail by Adania Shibli, translated Elisabeth Jaquette
Book Clubs: Subtle Asian Book Club
(Content warning)
This award-winning novel takes place in the summer of 1949, a year after 700,000 Palestinians were displaced. A young Palestinian woman is captured by Israeli soldiers, assaulted, and buried in the sand. Years later, a woman becomes transfixed on this piece of history — this “minor detail” that has been forgotten by everyone else.
Are you looking for the perfect gift for that bookish special someone in your life this holiday season? Tailored Book Recommendations is here to help! Here at TBR, we pair our customers with a professional book nerd (aka bibliologist) who just gets them. They fill out a survey and then sit back and relax as we pick books just for them. We’ve got three levels — recs-only, paperback, and hardcover — and you can gift a full year or one time, so there are options for every budget! Get all the details at mybtro.com/gift.
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 our In Reading Color Substack as well as chattin’ with my co-host Tirzah Price on the Hey YA podcast.
I know cozy reading has been a thing for a big chunk of 2023, but I think seeking out cozy books, particularly for winter reading, has a longer tradition. For me, anyway. Also, I’m sure we could all do with some soothing stories.
So, for today’s club, I’ve got a great collection of cozy books. From cozy foodie mystery to found family celebrating the holidays in NYC to sapphic sci-fi mystery — the books below all scratch different cozy itches.
The holidays have arrived, and so has our new paperback level at TBR! If you (or a reader you know) are just over-carrying around bulky hardcovers or are looking for a more budget-friendly option, we’ve got you. Check out all the offerings at mybtro.com/gift, and give personalized reading recommendations customized for any and every reader.
It’s all in the title. I think this must be one of the most efficient ways of combining two of the most common ingredients in comfort food (potatoes + cheese).
You’ll need: boiled potatoes, cornflour, mozzarella cheese, salt and pepper.
Assembling them is pretty easy; just combine everything together and form into small balls, then cook in the air fryer for 12 minutes at 180°. Serve with marinara or some other sauce (I could even see chipotle mayo, maybe).
This is the third in the Spice Isle Bakery Mystery series, and while an older version of myself would feel compelled to always start at the beginning, the current iteration of me is very fine with dropping in wherever with cozy mysteries. You can start with Against the Current, in which the main character, Lyndsay Murray, opens the Caribbean Spice Isle Bakery with her family but has to find out who killed a rival baker. Or, you can go ahead with the latest, Coconut Drop Dead, where she works as one of the vendors for the Caribbean American Heritage Festival but has to take a step back from the festivities in order to figure out who killed an up-and-coming reggae singer.
Becca Freeman is one of the hosts of the Bad on Paper podcast and has given us what sounds to be a sweet, holiday-themed story of found family. Every Christmas since college, Hannah and Finn have spent the holiday together. With Hannah’s parents having died and Finn’s disowning him once he came out, the two became each other’s solace. As the years carried on, they added Priya and Theo to their group, and the four were happy for a time. But now Finn’s moving to L.A., maybe even without telling Theo how he feels about him, and Hannah is scared that her self-made family is shattering. As the four of them continue to grow into themselves, they’ll have to figure out how to grow into the relationship they have with each other.
The official blurb of this book calls it “a cozy Holmesian murder mystery and sapphic romance, set on Jupiter,” which I feel hits all the right buttons for a particular subset of people (me, I’m people). Investigator Mossa follows a missing man’s trail to Valdegeld, a place on Jupiter where a human colony’s university is located. A university where Pleiti, Mossa’s ex-girlfriend, works as a researcher. Once Pleiti joins Mossa’s investigation, the two set out on a convoluted path that involves the future of living on Earth…as well as their future together.
Foodie romances are a special kind of soothing, and this one takes place during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Dylan Tang wants to win the festival’s mooncake-making competition for teen chefs for a couple of reasons: 1) to honor the memory of his mother, 2) to publicize his aunt’s struggling Chinese restaurant and hopefully get more business. But the focus he needs to commit to winning keeps getting interrupted by the charming and wealthy Theo, who ends up asking Dylan to pretend to be his date for a Hamptons wedding. Suddenly, Dylan finds himself in a sparkling world of privilege, and maybe even falling for Theo for realsies…
This Regency-era mystery follows the spicy Beatrice Steele, who would rather read about true crime cases in the newspaper than focus on her needlework. So it makes sense that when eligible bachelor Edmund Croaksworth (lol) drops dead during the autumnal ball, it’s Beatrice who steps up to stop anyone else from being murdered while a storm rages outside.
Along this same vein is a series of YA cozy mysteries by my podcast co-host Tirzah Price, the first of which is Pride and Premeditation.
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 our In Reading Color Substack as well as chattin’ with my co-host Tirzah Price on the Hey YA podcast.
This neon library sign can be customized style-wise — choose between a blossom, flora, kitty, or tea design — and size-wise. It would make a great gift for the book lover in your life (which could totally mean yourself). $136
Welcome to In The Club, a newsletter of resources to keep your book group well-met, well-read, and well-fed.
So, of course, now is the time we’re flooded with best-of lists from everyone and their mother. But Goodreads got a little cute with theirs and released a list of their staff’s individual top picks. This is similar to many other end-of-the-year lists in that its selection has been chosen by staff, of course, but it doesn’t rely on a popular vote and includes people who I imagine aren’t usually included in these kinds of editorial decisions (like the sales director and the senior risk manager, for example). It also has books released from whenever, not just this year. Altogether, I like the idea, and obviously always appreciate a chance to see what other people are reading.
It’s soup season! Well, for me, every season is soup season, but I know that normal people prefer theirs when the temperature drops. This one stood out to me because it looks easy, sounds like it would be a comforting addition to any book club meeting, and I’ve been tearing up Trader Joe’s frozen Asian-inspired food lately, so I know in my spirit these wontons hit.
You’ll need: Trader Joe’s chicken cilantro wontons, shrimp (or tofu), bamboo shoots, garlic, broth, mushrooms, bok choy, and a few other items. For a full list with instructions, check out Maxine’s Instagram.
Two girls in Nigeria are at the precipice of great change. Treasure and her mother struggled after her father died, having to beg for scraps in the marketplace just to get by. Then, a man promises to solve her problems. But his feet are hovering above the ground, and salvation through him comes at a terrible price. Then there’s Ozoemena, whose father said that the itch at the middle of her back is part of a great honor. It means she will become a Leopard capable of defending her land and people, something that girls were never before able to do. But all she wants is to fit in at her new boarding school. As the two girls travel on these new trajectories, they become wilder and soon ask the question of what girls must do to make it in the world.
Habib looks at what it means to find joy in traveling in the wake of climate change, capitalism, and the long-lasting effects of colonialism. She considers travel from a colonialist mindset — referencing everything from passports to flowers — and the history of travel while grappling with who is afforded the luxury.
Glass continues the nerd love, following The Love Con. But here, instead of a cosplayer, we have an influential gamer. Samara’s video pointing out the popular game Legendsfall’s shortcomings surrounding representation goes viral, and suddenly, its creator company, Artemis Games, is under fire. Since the company’s CEO, Aron Galanis, has been trying to make Artemis Games’ products more accessible, the bad publicity stings, which is why he decides to hire the person who made the viral video. Samara and Aron start off working together as enemies, but then later as something else…question is, what will going public with what they have going on do considering everything that’s happened?
This book is essentially a messy historical coming-of-age novel with lyrical writing. So, naturally, I’m here for it. It follows Delphine, a biracial writer just coming into herself, who leaves Paris following a tragedy. The journey she embarks on is self-discovery, but with a twist: she’s on the hunt for her missing father who she believes to be literary icon Ernest Hemingway. Tracking down the elusive Hemingway takes her everywhere — from Harlem to Havana — but the scariest part of the journey may be what it would mean if everything she imagined about her father (and, therefore, herself) was wrong.
This is a book that covers something I hadn’t directly thought about but that I feel may have been a nebulous thought lurking in the back of my mind. It asks why, given the enormity that is the philanthropic industry, does nothing seem to change? Billionaires stay rich, and the struggling poor don’t seem to be receiving the millions (billions?) in aid. Schiller looks at the history of philanthropy — from the philosophy of St. Augustine to LeBron James’ work — and argues that philanthropy shouldn’t be focused on everyday survival for the people it sets out to help. Instead, public institutions should cover things like food and shelter when needed, and philanthropy’s main goal should be to help make people feel more fulfilled. I haven’t read this one yet, so I don’t know how she fully fleshes out her ideas, but I’m looking forward to getting into it.
From the author of Trespasses comes a new collection of stories that looks largely at heterosexual relationship dynamics in Ireland — especially as they relate to class. A woman has an affair with a man who resents her “posh” ways, another woman contends with her husband’s revenge, and a man realizes that maybe his wife isn’t the best mother. The writing is melodic and damning but still has glimmers of hope.
It’s happening, readers — we’re bringing paperbacks! Whether you (or a reader you know and love) hate carrying around bulky hardcovers, you’re on a budget, you want a wider range of recommendations or all of the above, you can now get a paperback subscription from TBR, curated just for you by one of our Bibliologists. The holidays are here, and we’ve got three different levels for gifting (to yourself or others) to suit every budget. Get all the details at mytbr.co.
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 our In Reading Color Substack as well as chattin’ with my co-host Tirzah Price on the Hey YA podcast.
Welcome to In The Club, a newsletter of resources to keep your book group well-met, well-read, and well-fed.
I was, admittedly, up way too late scouring the internet for deals this past weekend (Black Friday has high-key turned into Black Week, if we’re keeping it real). I come from a long line of couponing women, so I was in my zone a little bit. But I also overdid it (lolz).
Well, I’m sharing with you some of the things I found. Though some of the deals are over, there are still a lot of things that either have good sale prices or are perfect for book club gifting. And if you order now, you should be able to get them before Christmas, if that’s your goal.
Rebecca Schinsky, Book Riot’s Chief of Staff, shared a ridiculous-looking recipe for braised short ribs, and though I haven’t tried it yet, I don’t see how it could miss.
You’ll need bone-in short ribs and potatoes, obvi, as well as onion, garlic, chili de arbol, cumin seeds, fennel seed, coriander seed, ground cinnamon, tomato paste, white wine vinegar, beef or chicken broth, lemons, and cilantro.
For a full list of ingredient amounts and instructions, visit Alison Roman’s page.
Indulge your inner book nerd and join a community of like-minded readers looking to expand their knowledge and their TBR. Subscribe to The Deep Dive, where Book Riot’s editorial staff draws from their collective expertise to bring you compelling stories, informed takes, tips, hacks, and more. Find out why the bestseller list is broken, analyze some anticipated books, and explore the great wide world of books and publishing. Get a free subscription for weekly content delivered to your inbox, or upgrade to paid-for bonus content and community features.
Even if your giftee doesn’t want to hang this ornament on a Christmas tree, a collection of miniature versions of the books they read this year (or all-time faves) would be amazing to have. $38
I have this candle, and yes, it somehow really does smell like a bookstore. Which is to say that it is comfort in a jar. $9
These simple but adorable magnetic bookmarks have a range of potential colors. $6
For those of us in a lot of the U.S., it’s sweatshirt season, and I love how this green bookworm sweatshirt looks like it’s for a college. $41+
Customize these book earrings with your giftee’s favorite book! $9+
I’m sure any book club member who’s also a board game lover would really love this Really Loud Librarians game. $20
There are never enough totes (especially ones gifted to you by other people!). I am 100% certain this Kate Spade New York canvas tote bag (with interior pocket) will be very much appreciated. $34
This personalized book mug could hold coffee, sure, but it could also potentially hold other liquids favored by book clubs. What I’m saying is that I’m not against wine in a mug. Plus, being able to add your giftee’s favorite books is such a nice touch. $21
I really love the idea of everyone in the book club having this book club enamel pin, so y’all could look like one (cute) bookish unit. $14
For more holiday suggestions, check out our holiday page, which gets weekly updates.
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 our In Reading Color Substack as well as chattin’ with my co-host Tirzah Price on the Hey YA podcast.