Categories
Audiobooks

Audiobooks – 02/27

Hola Audiophiles! It’s Vanessa here with the latest from the audiobook world. I’ve finally gotten back on a good listening streak after striking out with *seven* different “meh” listens! I’ll share one of the good ones with you all today, but first: let’s get to new releases.

Ready? Let’s audio.


New Releases – February 25  (publisher descriptions in quotes)

Oona Out of Order by Margarita Montimore, narrated by Brittany Pressley – It’s 1982 on New Year’s Eve and Oona Lockhart will turn 19 at midnight. Then she faints, wakes up, and BAM! She’s 51 years old in a strange house she learns belongs to her. She also learns that with each passing year, she’ll wake up at a different point in her life at random.

Narrator Note: I’ve had my eyes on Maybe You Should Talk to Someone by Lori Gottlieb which Brittany Pressley also narrates. You may recognize her from lots of thriller titles by David Baldacci, Fiona Davis, Mary Burton, and Carolyn Brown. She also narrates Zoraida Cordova’s YA Star Wars novel A Crash of Fate!

Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall, narrated by the author – I know the term “searing” gets thrown around a lot, but this very much sounds like it earns the searing badge of honor. It asks: “How can we stand in solidarity as a movement when there is the distinct likelihood that some women are oppressing others?” Basically, it flames white feminism, indicting the glaring blindspot therein that ignores women outside a particular category of race, class, and privilege. I’m always looking for ways to keep myself accountable; this book promises to be a powerful reminder on the importance of intersectionality.

Narrator Note: Listen to that sample, yo. Mikki Kendall is a natural; she narrates like she’s speaking her words to you in an in-person conversation.

Too Much: How Victorian Constraints Still Bind Women Today by Rachel Vorona Cote, narrated by Suehyla El Attar – Rachel Vorona Cote is a Victorian scholar who draws some interesting (and maddening!) parallels between that era’s fixation on women’s “hysterical” behavior and the policing of women’s behavior that still very much occurs today. How dare we “illicit liberties to feel or fuck or eat with abandon!” It encourages women to reconsider the beauty of their excesses; as I like to say whenever I’m called a handful, maybe some of y’all just need bigger hands!

Bonus: Rachel Vorona Cote recently wrote a piece for Lit Hub that rang ALL of my bells: How Ramona Quimby Taught a Generation of Girls to Embrace Brashness. Have I ever told you all that I named one of my dolls Chevrolet?

Narrator Note: Suehyla El Attar is one of the narrators on Trust Exercise by Susan Choi, a book that most people seem either love or hate with no in between!

We Unleash the Merciless Storm by Tehlor Kay Mejia, narrated by Kyla Garcia – This is the sequel to Latinx inspired fantasy We Set the Dark on Fire and gaaaaah I can’t say much here without spoiling it! In the first book, the Medio School for Girls trains young women for one of two roles in their highly polarized society: Primeras run their husbands’ households and Segundas raise their children. Dani is stoked when she’s named Primera to Medio’s most eligible bachelor, until mean girl Carmen is appointed her Segunda. To make matters worse, Daniela is approached by a resistance group who will only keep Daniela’s deepest, darkest secret if she agrees to help them spy on her husband, who it turns out is kind of a jerk face. What to do???

We Unleash the Merciless Storm picks up right after We Set the Dark on Fires cliffhanger ending. It promises high stakes, political intrigue, and (I hope) a continuation of a certain queer love story. Gimme!!

Narrator Note: Yes, yes, I’ve been critical of Kyla Garcia’s narration in the past. I’m pleased to report that I enjoyed her work here and had no issues with any of the pronunciations!

Latest Listens

A Conspiracy in Belgravia by Sherry Thomas cover imageA Conspiracy in Belgravia by Sherry Thomas, narrated by Kate Reading – This is the second book in the Lady Sherlock series and I think Lady Sherlock is my fave! The famed detective Victorian-era London knows as Sherlock Holmes is actually Charlotte Holmes, who solves cases with the help of a generous benefactor, a camera, and a few little white lies about her brother Sherlock being in another room. Huzzah! In A Conspiracy in Belgravia, Lady Ingram writes to “Sherlock” to ask for help finding the man she loves. Problem! The missing love of her life is not the man she’s married to but he is Charlotte’s estranged half brother. Problem, part two: Lady Ingram’s husband is Lord Ingram, the gentleman our dear Charlotte happens to be in love with.

I’ll admit that it took me a second to get into this listen, but I don’t think that was due to any fault on Reading’s part. As is often the case with this style of whodunnit, a lot of facts needs to be laid out before we get to the good stuff. About a quarter of the way in, I was hooked! I am a sucker for an English accent, and I love how smoothly Reading switches between numerous dialects and how she paces her narration. I’m excited to keep going with this series!

From the Internets

I sometimes naively forget that not everyone has hopped aboard the audiobook train.. Let’s welcome all newbies with open arms and remind them that now is a great time to start!

Jude Law, Evanna Lynch, Jason Isaacs, Bonnie Wright and several other actors from the HP universe have signed on to narrate the new Tales of Beedle the Bard audiobook! J.K. Rowling isn’t someone I’m eager to throw my money at these days, but guess what else is true: Jude Law could get it is very nice on the eyes and ears (as are the rest of the cast) and no amount of hate can take those stories from my Hogwarts-loving corazon. Also, sales of the new audiobook will go to the Lumos foundation.

Over at the Riot

Sometimes you need a quick listen and that’s where short stories come in. Here’s a list of some excellent short story collections for you ear holes.


That’s all I got today! Shoot me an email at vanessa@riotnewmedia.com with audiobook feedback & questions or find me on Twitter and the gram @buenosdiazsd. Sign up for the In The Club newsletter, peep the Read Harder podcast, and watch me booktube every Tuesday and Friday too!

Stay bad & bookish, my friends.
Vanessa

Categories
In The Club

In the Club – 2/26

Welcome to In The Club, a newsletter of resources to keep your book group well-met, well-read, and well-fed. This week we’re talking re-reads and movie watchings, which I may just partake in by my literal self because writing it about it got me hyped?

While I decide on my preferred book/film combo, let me share a few suggestions with you. To the club!!


So you may have noticed that we like to have fun on our podcasts. I know I had a blast breaking down Such A Fun Age with Sharifah and el Jefe, and not just because I got paid to do it! As a listener, I have really been enjoying the main Book Riot podcast’s bonus episodes breaking down movie adaptations. This gave me the idea of bringing back the book + movie club idea. I really want to do this!

Nibbles and Sips 

I have been wanting to have a movie night for such a long time; make it bookish and I’m in times two! Arrange to meet at someone’s house (or some other event space/venue if you fancy) and have a spread of movie snacks at the ready:

  • Popcorn – Get the movie theater butter variety, duh.
  • Candy – Keep it classic with Red Vines, Milk Duds, Raisinettes, etc
  • Nachos – Yesss, melt that delicious fake processed cheese in that Crock Pot and slather it all on those corn chips! Have pickled jalapeños on deck or I’m not coming.
  • Beverages – You probs don’t have an Icee machine in house (props if you do!), so go with whatever quenches your thirst. Might just have a bottle of Coca Cola to keep it all the way real.

Read the Book, Watch the Flick

I picked a couple of the book/adaptation pairs that Jeff, Rebecca, and friends have covered on the pod recently as well as a couple of others I think would just be fun.

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare – While there are numerous adaptations to choose from here, I think a great one for discussion is Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 Romeo + Juliet. Break down the setting (Verona as part Venice Beach, part Brazil?), the use of the traditional iambic pentameter in a modern setting, the soundtrack, and ALL of the symbolism (Catholic imagery! Drugs! Guns!) as it relates to the themes in one of the Bard’s most famous of tragedies.

Related: Jeff and Rebecca’s rewatch of Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet

Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton – You know the premise: some smarty pants scientist man finds a dusty ol’ mosquito in a chunk of amber and decides it’s a good idea to harvest the dino DNA therein. The next logical step is of course to bring dinosaurs back and then stick ’em in a theme park. Foolproof plan, nothing could go wrong! I so, so want to do a re-read and rewatch of this one.

Related: I happened to be sitting next to Jeff as he edited the bonus pod episode covering Jurassic Park and was treated to several hilarious transcriptions snafus, recording anecdotes, and a whistled edition of the Jurassic Park theme song. Amanda joins Jeff and Rebecca for this one – check it out!

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury – Now might be good time to stipulate that this doesn’t have to be a re-read situation because ehhemI’veneverreadthisbook. No judgement if it’s your first time with a read! Whether you go with the 1966 film version or the one from 2018 HELLO because Michael B. Jordan is fine, there should be plenty to talk about regarding government suppression and misinformation.

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie – If you’re unfamiliar with this classic by the Queen of Crime, it’s all in the title, boo. There is a murder and it happens (gasp!) aboard the Orient Express. I urge you to pair this re-read with the most recent adaptation featuring Kenneth Branagh as Poirot and a whole lotta other famous people. I know one thing I’d like to unpack is the choice to depict Poirot as a man with a broken heart. He’s just fastidious, bruh. Did that have to be about a woman? Anyway, discuss!

Note: This version does start Johnny Depp which some of you may take issue with, and I get that. If it makes you feel any better—SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER, skip to the next paragraph if you want to avoid SPOILERS— ol’ Johnny Boy’s character is the victim of the titular murder so you don’t have to look at him for too long.

Suggestion Section

In Rowlett, Texas, a mother and her son started a book club for members of the young man’s football team. The group of seventh grade teammates started out reading graphic novels (YES, so much yes) and have now incorporated traditional novels. Love this!

Kiley Reid, Tomi Adeyemi, and Jason Reynolds each shared several books for Black History Month with the Good Morning America Book Club. All of these reads are perfect for book club. I’m re-reading Danez Smith’s Homie now!

Club Stuff at the Riot

How to find a queer book club, or start one of your own!

Joining a book club can be an intimidating for an introvert, but it doesn’t have to be!


Thanks for hanging with me today! Shoot me an email at vanessa@riotnewmedia.com with your burning book club questions or find me on Twitter and the gram @buenosdiazsd. Sign up for the Audiobooks newsletter, get it on the Read Harder podcast, and watch me booktube every Tuesday and Friday too.

Stay bad & bookish, my friends.
Vanessa

More Resources:
– Our Book Group In A Box guide
– List your group on the Book Group Resources page

Categories
Audiobooks

Audiobooks – 02/20

Hola Audiophiles! It’s that time of the week again already! Time for some new releases and audiobooks news. This week I have a whole bunch of audio content from the Book Riot site too, because I really just have zero regard for your TBRs. So open up that Libby app, fire up Hoopla, and get those Libro or Audible credits in line.

Ready? Let’s audio.


New Releases – February 18, 2020  (publisher descriptions in quotes)

Of Curses and Kisses by Sandhya Menon, narrated by Shiromi Arserio, Jason Carpenter – The Rao and Emerson families have been feuding for centuries, and Princess Jaya Rao decides she’s had it when the Emersons begin to target her little sister. When she realizes that she and his Lordship Grey Emerson will attend the same elite boarding school, she concocts a plan: she’ll make him fall in love with her and then stomp, stomp, stomp on his heart! Meanwhile, Grey knows that his 18th birthday spells doom thanks to a curse placed on him by a long dead matriarch of the Rao family. When he meets Jaya, he immediately senses that she’s hiding something from him; it might just have something to do with the rose-shaped pendant she wears around her neck, and the curse.

Narrator note: Romance readers may be familiar with the work of Jason Carpenter, a veteran with a catalog of titles by Colleen Hoover, J.R. Ward, Abbi Glines, and Christina Lauren.

The Boston Massacre: An Intimate History by Serena Zabin, narrated by Andrea Gallo – You may have guessed that this is a history of the Boston Massacre! In case you need a refresher (like I did): on a late winter evening in 1770, British soldiers shot five local men to death in a storied event that helped trigger the American Revolution. Serena Zabin, a professor of American Studies at Carleton College, argues that the Massacre arose from not only political but personal conflicts. The wives and children of British soldiers had integrated into Boston society and formed a community with its residents; when the troops shot down those five men, a very intimate personal bond was shattered.

Narrator Note: I’m not familiar with Andrea Gallo who narrates a lot of nonfiction. I do see that she narrates a self help book called I Wanted Fries with That and friends, I feel seen.

The Antidote for Everything by Kimmery Martin, narrated by Dorothy Dillingham Blue – Georgia Brown is a urologist at a South Carolina hospital where her best friend Jonah is also a family practice doctor. When she travels out of the country for a medical conference, Jonah calls with an urgent message: the hospital has instructed its physicians to stop treating all transgender patients. Jonah, a gay man, refuses to comply and is fired for his resistance. Georgia takes a stand to fight alongside her best friend but ends up doing incalculable harm.

*I was initially hesitant to highlight a book about trans issues written by a cishet woman; I ultimately decided to include it after reading several reviews citing how she consulted with numerous sensitivity readers and actually took their advice.

Narrator note: If you enjoyed Emily Griffin’s All We Ever Wanted or Phil Stamper’s The Gravity of Us, Dorothy Dillingham Blue was a part of both of those productions.

The Other Mrs. by Mary Kubica, narrated by Piper Goodeve, Jeremy Arthur – Sadie and her husband Will have only just moved their family from Chicago to small-town Maine when a neighbor is found dead in her home. The murder rocks the entire community but really, really shakes Sadie, who’s terrified at the idea of a killer in her own backyard. It’s not just the death though; it’s also the old, creepy house they inherited after Will’s sister died unexpectedly and the dark and threatening presence of Will’s disturbed teenage niece, not to mention the couple’s troubling past. As Sadie is drawn deeper into the details of the murder, she begins to realize just how much she has to lose if the truth ever comes to light.

Narrator note: Piper Goodeve is awesome in Meg Cabot’s No Judgements, and Jeremy Arthur most recently narrated Kindness and Wonder: Why Mister Rogers Matters Now More Than Ever by Gavin Edwards.

Latest Listens

I’m currently very engrossed by Sherry Thomas’ A Conspiracy in Belgravia! I am a huge fan of this Lady Sherlock concept and have been lagging on keeping up with the series. I’ll report back when I’m done with this one. So far, so great!

From the Internets

Paste’s roundup of February’s best audiobooks. I’ve had my eye on Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line by Deepa Anappara; according to my audiobook fairy Jamie Canaves, it has a fantastic cast and is a wonderful read.

A reader with a killer commute writes into an advice column to extoll the virtues of audiobooks.

What do Claire Danes, Nick Offerman, Colin Firth, and Meryl Streep have in common? They’ve all narrated audiobooks! Check out this list of audiobooks narrated by these celebrities and more.

Over at the Riot

SO much good audio content on the site this week!

Check out these middle grade and YA audiobooks with Muslim girl protagonists.

We all know what it’s like to find that perfect narrator and immediately want more of their work; here’s a roundup of narrators we want more from asap!

Black History Month is a great time to get into these 20 must-read audiobooks narrated by Black women. We of course love them year round.

Are you an Audible person? Here are 15 books available on Audible Escape.


That’s all I got today! Shoot me an email at vanessa@riotnewmedia.com with audiobook feedback & questions or find me on Twitter and the gram @buenosdiazsd. Sign up for the In The Club newsletter, peep the Read Harder podcast, and watch me booktube every Tuesday and Friday too!

Stay bad & bookish, my friends.
Vanessa

Categories
Events

Today is Shakespeare Retelling Day at Book Riot!

But, soft! What light through yonder window breaks? Could it be Shakespeare Retelling Day at Book Riot? Methinks it is!

Come hang out with Book Riot and the Bard today as you explore new takes on the plays and sonnets of William Shakespeare. Whether you’re in the mood for witchiness, love a romantic retelling, are in search of Sapphic Shakespeare, or can’t get enough Hamlet tales, we’ve got something for you.

Check out these and other Shakespearean remixes at bookriot.com!

Categories
In The Club

In the Club – 2/19

Welcome to In The Club, a newsletter of resources to keep your book group well-met, well-read, and well-fed. This Portland transplant is in an especially good mood as the sun has decided to show itself these last few days! Before I begin to obsessively plot all the nature excursions I’m about to embark upon once spring hits, let’s talk book clubs as an opportunity for a read aloud.

To the club!!


Before we dive in, have you checked out Book Marks? It’s our brand spanking new reading tracker and journal (complete with recommended reading lists from Book Riot)!

Nibbles and Sips

Imma keep this section short and deliciously sweet, mi gentle. Fellow Rioter Hannah brought in a version of this cake to the office this week and I may have inhaled a giant slice without actually chewing. I regret nothing. Blood orange. Rose. Cardamom. Cake. Do it!

Let’s Get Loud 

Rioter Mikkaka recently wrote a piece on why we should all be participating in read-alouds and I thought this might be a great idea for book club! Some thoughts:

  • A read aloud means no one has to read anything ahead of time! All that’s required is to show up and participate, great for anyone who finds themselves without a lot of extra time in their schedule for reading.
  • Pick short books that could be read in one meeting, or split the read aloud up into two or more meetups.
  • When selecting a read, do keep the “out loud” element in mind. What works best will vary from book group to book group: some of you may enjoy slow plots and gorgeous writing while others may need fast-paced page-turners.
  • Discuss as you go!

Here are my suggestions!

A book of poetry: Homie by Danez Smith – I can think of no better form of book to read aloud than a work of poetry, especially when it’s one by such a talented slam poet. This collection is a meditation on the experience of living in a country overrun by violence, xenophobia, and injustice while in a body defined by race, queerness, and a struggle with mental health. It is also very much about the healing power of friendship, a read that both breaks the heart and shakes the soul.

A YA novel in verse: The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo – On the same poetry track, try a novel in verse! Elizabeth Acevedo’s debut about a young Afro-Latina slam poet won all the awards for a reason. Acevedo is herself a slam poet and I would very much like to be her friend. But I digress!

A short story: Fox 8 by George Saunders – You have options here: read a standalone short story, one from a collection, or an entire book of short stories. This one by George Saunders is the kind of weird us Saunders fans have come to expect; it’s about a fox who learns to speak “yuman” by hiding in the bushes outside a house and listening to the “yumans” tell their little ones bedtime stories. It’s a dark comedy and cautionary tale of the consequences of man’s quest to tame the natural world. I laughed several times because our friend the fox talks a liiiiiittle like a frat bro.

A novellaMagic for Beginners by Kelly Link – I added this to my TBR when I saw it described as a work of “kitchen-sink magical realism — riffs on haunted convenience stores, husbands and wives, rabbits, zombies, weekly apocalyptic poker parties, witches, superheroes, marriage, and cannons.” Make sure you grab the re-release version of this collection; it includes several new stories as well as a conversation between Joe Hill and Kelly Link.

A straight-up (but shorter) novel: The Incendiaries by R.O. Kwon – I want more people to read this book! A slim but powerful dissection of politics, religion, love, faith, and obsession, it’s about a young Korean woman at a schwanky American university who is drawn into a cult’s acts of terrorism.

Suggestion Section

This week on The Handsell (a new weekly bonus of the Get Booked podcast!), Amanda recommends an excellent book club selection.

Speaking of podcasts and excellent book club picks: check out your girl on this bonus episode of the Book Riot podcast! I sat down with Jeff and Sharifah to rant, rave, and make assorted noises about Kiley Reid’s Such a Fun Age.

Because we all get stuck sometimes: a list of book club questions that will help get the convo off the ground.

Pardon the paywall- I try to avoid linking to paid sites as much as I can! If you do happen to be a Washington Post subscriber, here’s a nice piece on hosting a better book club.


Thanks for hanging with me today! Shoot me an email at vanessa@riotnewmedia.com with your burning book club questions or find me on Twitter and the gram @buenosdiazsd. Sign up for the Audiobooks newsletter, get it on the Read Harder podcast, and watch me booktube every Tuesday and Friday too.

Stay bad & bookish, my friends.
Vanessa

More Resources:
– Our Book Group In A Box guide
– List your group on the Book Group Resources page

Categories
Audiobooks

Audiobooks – 2/13

Hola Audiophiles! Well, if I haven’t said it before, I’ve officially reached that point where so many new books come out each week that picking which ones to include in this newsletter is hard. It feels like deciding which kids get to be perform in the school play and which ones get rejected! While I sit here with my guilt that matters literally not at all, get into these new listens and tell me what you’ve been loving lately!

Ready? Let’s audio.


New Releases – February 11 (publisher descriptions in quotes)

Untamed Shore cover imageUntamed Shore by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, narrated by Maria Liatis – It’s 1979 in Baja California, Mexico and Viridiana is bored. Real bored. The most bored. Then a trio of wealthy American tourists arrives for the summer and Viridiana is immediately drawn to them, mixing herself up in their glamorous lives. Problem! One of them turns up dead. Guess she should have minded her business!

Narrator Note: Maria Liatis recently Adam Silvera’s Infinity Son, is part of the ensemble cast of both One of Us is Lying and Once of Us is Next Karen McManus by Karen McManus, and is also the voice of Zoraida Cordova’s Bruja Born.

American Sherlock: Murder, Forensics, and the Birth of American CSI by Kate Winkler Dawson, narrated by the author – From the author of Death in the Air comes this account of the birth of criminal investigation as we know it. “Based on years of research and thousands of never-before-published primary source materials, American Sherlock captures the life of the man who pioneered the science our legal system now relies upon – as well as the limits of those techniques and the very human experts who wield them.”

A Witch in Time by Constance Sayers, narrated by Courtney Patterson, Claire Christie, Brittany Wilkerson, Stephanie Willis – Helen Lambert has lived life after life—she’s been an actress in old Hollywood, a rock star in 1970s LA, a piano virtuoso in 1890s Paris. The thing is: she doesn’t know it. That is until a mysterious presence in her latest life hits her with a tale too far gone to be true, except it is: she was cursed long ago to experience the same tragic love story over and over again, but might now have the power to break that terrible spell.

Narrator Note: I know just about nothing about this cast of narrators! they each have a decent to extensive catalog of work, just none that I am particularly familiar with. I did sample A Witch in Time though and I liked what I heard!

Stormsong by C.L. Polk, narrated by Moira Quirk – Yessssssss, the followup to Witchmark is here! Grace grapples with the consequences of helping her brother Miles reveal a dark and terrible secret at the based of Aeland society. “With the power out in the dead of winter and an uncontrollable sequence of winter storms on the horizon, Aeland faces disaster. Grace has the vision to guide her parents to safety, but a hostile queen and a ring of rogue mages stand in the way of her plans. There’s revolution in the air, and any spark could light the powder.”

Narrator Note: Elizabeth Hoyt readers may recognize Mora Quirk as she narrates a lot of Hoyt’s work. She’s also the voice of Gail Carriger’s Finishing School series and of Book Riot favorite Gideon the Ninth!

Latest Listens

who thought this was a good idea by alyssa mastromonacoAll this election stuff has my head spinning and rely on the Pod Save America podcast to help weed through the mess. They break it all down and make it so accessible! If you aren’t already hip to this show, it is one of many in the growing Crooked Media empire. My latest fave, Hysteria, is what got me thinking of this backlist bump: Who Thought This Was A Good Idea by Alyssa Mastromonaco.

Alyssa is one of the regular hosts of Hysteria this is one of my faves of the Obama staffer books. It chronicles her career in politics, focusing in large part on her time working as Barack Obama’s Deputy Chief of Staff. It’s a political memoir, and a good one, but it’s also a really honest and hilarious account of what it’s like to be a woman in politics specifically: the discrimination, the fight to make your voice heard, the second guessing of our instincts. She gets really real about the toll it often took on her physical and emotional being to do her job, in spite of having a really rad freaking boss. I love this audiobook, though I do wish I’d known about playback controls back when I listened to it. There are a couple of times when her narration feels a liiiiilte bit too I’m-reading-the-words-on-this-page-and-forgetting-to-include-my-personality, but I think some of that can be remedied by kicking up that playback to a 1.5x.

From the Internets

15 Podcasts and Audiobooks to Help Your Commute Fly By from Self.com

The best audiobook apps for Android 

Over at the Riot

This roundup of new and forthcoming LGBTQ YA audiobooks reminded me how badly I want to read We Unleash the Merciless Storm by Tehlor Kay Mejia and Dark and Deepest Red by Anna-Marie McLemore, and now a whole bunch of other books too!

What are your audiobook quirks?


That’s all I got today! Shoot me an email at vanessa@riotnewmedia.com with audiobook feedback & questions or find me on Twitter and the gram @buenosdiazsd. Sign up for the In The Club newsletter, peep the Read Harder podcast, and watch me booktube every Tuesday and Friday too!

Stay bad & bookish, my friends.
Vanessa

Categories
In The Club

In the Club – 2/12

Welcome to In The Club, a newsletter of resources to keep your book group well-met, well-read, and well-fed. This week I am fed up with 45 for the 7,572,985th time, whose 2021 budget proposes huge cuts to the arts and the elimination of library funding. I cannot, yo. No puedo! So today we’re making book club all about the library love.

To the club!!


Nibbles and Sips

I was going to suggest a whole “make your own burger” thing and be like, “It’s a stack. Like library stacks. Get it?!” But I like you all too much to go that far off the deep end; keeping it simple instead with a few book-themed nibbles and sips.

For drink ideas, I love my handy copies of Tequila Mockingbird and Gone with the Gin (shoutout to A Sidecar named Desire). I also love the Atonment Julep in this roundup of book-themed libations.

These library cookies are kind of corny but I heart them. I can throw down in the kitchen but don’t bake much, so feel free to reach out to a local bakery if you aren’t a master baker yourself.

https://twitter.com/stoonlibrary/status/769284205716963328?s=20 From the Saskatoon Public Library Twitter feed

For the Love of the Library

I don’t have to tell you how important libraries are, you already know. So we’re going to celebrate everything there is to love about libraries and librarians with some fantastic books on these subjects. One is a queer, near-future reinvention of actual historical librarians, one is a history with a dash of true crime, and one is a picture book about an iconic librarian. Discuss the role and impact of librarians throughout history, the evolution of the library in modern society, and share the myriad of services beyond the books that they provide (like these!)

upright women wantedUpright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey – A one-sitting read (or in my case, a one-listen audiobook) about Esther, who’s just been discovered stowing away in the book wagon of the Librarians. She’s trying to escape the arranged marriage her father set up for her, a marriage to a man who was previously engaged to Esther’s best friend who BY THE WAY she was in love with and was just hung for possession of resistance propaganda. This book, yo. It’s Sarah Gailey’s take on the pulp Western, it’s queer AF, and is inspired by the actual horseback librarians of the Great Depression!

The Library Book by Susan Orlean – I listened to this on audio, but I think I’d recommend this one in print if for no other reason than because it’s just such a pretty book. It’s a history of libraries as well as a deep dive into the devastating fire that almost wiped out the entire Los Angeles Central Library back in 1986. It’s thought that arson was the cause of the fire but the case was never solved, and the news should have been front-page news but then… Chernobyl happened. You already love libraries, I already love libraries, but this book turns up the love to the next notch.

Planting Stories: The Life of Librarian and Storyteller Pura Belpré by Anika Aldamuy Denise, illustrated by Paola Escobar – I’m going with a picture book for my last pick because I’m obsessed with it, and because I don’t share enough picks for kid book clubs. This is an absolutely gorgeous book about Pura Belpré, New York City’s first Puerto Rican librarian and the namesake of the Pura Belpré Award. This story is important and wonderful, the illustrations are so detailed—there’s one spread of the library that I legit want framed—but my absolute favorite part is the story Pura Belpré tells about Perez y Martina. Who are they, you ask? A cockroach and a mouse in love! The illustration of this insect + rodent romance with Martina perched on a Juliet balcony is just *chef’s kiss.* This is the one and only time I’ve said “aww” in response to a cockroach, as opposed to my usual “KILL IT! KILL IT WITH FIRE!”

Bonus: This is also available in Spanish (you know this is the version I own) as Sembrando Historias. Perez y Martina forever!

Other library-themed faves:

The Invisible Library by Genevive Cogman

The Library at Night by Alberto Manguel

Sorcery of Thorns by Margaret Rogerson

Want even more awesome books featuring libraries?

10 Great Books About Libraries

100 Must-Read Books About Libraries & Bookstores

Other recommended reading:

Heroic Librarians: Unexpected Roles and Amazing Feats of Librarianship

5 Ways You Can Support Local Libraries

The Economic Case for Supporting Libraries

Suggestion Section

We have some discussion guides for some noteworthy book club reads! Check out topics for Colson Whitehead’s The Underground Railroad, Elizabeth Gilbert’s City of Girls, and The Dutch House by Ann Patchett.

You’ve got a friend book club, maybe a work book club, but what about a family book club?

A group of sci-fi and fantasy lovers at 2nd & Charles bookstore in Alabama noticed that SFF gets overlooked in a lot of traditional book clubs. So they started their own online SFF book club with a pretty rad name: Literarily Wasted.


Thanks for hanging with me today! Shoot me an email at vanessa@riotnewmedia.com with your burning book club questions or find me on Twitter and the gram @buenosdiazsd. Sign up for the Audiobooks newsletter, get it on the Read Harder podcast, and watch me booktube every Tuesday and Friday too.

Stay bad & bookish, my friends.
Vanessa

More Resources:
– Our Book Group In A Box guide
– List your group on the Book Group Resources page

Categories
Audiobooks

Audiobooks – 2/6

Hola Audiophiles! Welcome to February and the land of books aplenty. It is getting harder and harder to pick just a few audiobooks to highlight each week, which is, of course, a good problem to have. I might start including a bulleted list of titles in addition to the ones I blurb in detail – what do you think of that plan?

For now, let’s dive into some of the listens out this week.

Ready? Let’s audio.


New Releases – February 4

upright women wantedUpright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey, narrated by Romy Nordlinger – Esther is a stowaway who’s just been found in the book wagon of the Librarians. She’s running away from home to escape (deep breath, here I go!) an arranged marriage set up by her influential father to a man who used to be engaged to her best friend Beatriz, the best friend whom Esther was in love with and who was just hung for possession of resistance propaganda. This queer, near-future, post-apocalyptic take on the pulp Western about lesbian librarians on horseback is just so good!

Narrator note: This book is also my latest listen! More on that in a bit.

18 Tiny Deaths: The Untold Story of Frances Glessner Lee and the Invention of Modern Forensics by Bruce Goldfarb, narrated by Nan McNamara – Did you know that a woman is responsible for advancing modern forensics? I didn’t! She was a grandmother with no college degree who was so respected for her intelligence and skill as a researcher that she was able to break down barriers in women’s education. She sounds like a Miss Marple type, a woman whose keen observations of everyday life made her a force to be reckoned with—she helped change the face of science!

Narrator Note: Nan McNamara is an actress you may recognize from her work on TV series like Hawaii Five-O and Criminal Minds

black sundayBlack Sunday by Tola Rotimi Abraham, narrated by Ron Butler and Liz Femi – It’s 1996 and twins sisters Bibike and Ariyike are living a comfortable life in Lagos, Nigeria. Then their mother loses her job and the family turns to a local church whose lead pastor isn’t shy about worshipping material wealth. Things go from iffy to terrible when the girls’ father puts the family home up on a “sure bet” and loses it. The twins and their siblings are forced to move in with their reluctant grandmother and soon find themselves drifting further and further from one another.

Narrator Note: Liz Femi is an actress and casting director who’s newer to audiobooks; Ron Butler has narrated the work of James Patterson, N.K. Jemisin, and James Baldwin, and more

The Lost Book of Adana Moreau by Michael Zapata, narrated by Coral Peña – In 1929 in New Orleans, Adana Moreau writes a work of science fiction about a young Dominican immigrant not unlike herself in search of a lost city. The book does well and Adana begins to write a sequel, then destroys it with the help of her son when she suddenly becomes ill. Decades later in Chicago, Saul is cleaning out the home of his recently deceased grandfather when he finds a manuscript of—whaddya know—that allegedly destroyed sequel. How does this manuscript exist? Why does his grandfather have it? Saul will find himself in New Orleans in the thick of Katrina to get to the truth.

Narrator Note: Coral Peña is the voice behind Angie Cruz’ Dominicana, a book I’ve had on my TBR since it came out last year! From the samples I’ve listened to, she reminds me of the mellow but effective style of Almarie Guerra, the voice behind Ann Davila Cardinal’s Five Midnights.

Latest Listens

I went on a hike through Portland’s Forest Park over the weekend (after first getting super lost and wandering through some uphill a$$ neighborhoods), allowing me to finish Upright Women Wanted in one listen. I knew this would be good because Sarah Gailey always comes through, but it was even better than expected!

River of Teeth by Sarah GaileyIf you don’t already know, horseback librarians were a real thing! Much like with River of Teeth (did ya know the U.S. once tried to make hippos our primary meat source??), Gailey took a real moment from history with Upright Women Wanted, put their unique flavor on it, and packaged it in a page-turner novella. This was my first audiobook by Romy Nordlinger and I am an immediate fan! You all know how quickly exaggerated, gimmicky accent work turns me off, and I was rull worried when I realized the accents here were… hmm, what to call them: Western, maybe, or “cowboy” twang? Nordlinger was spot-on though and built a nice level of suspense, not to mention the excellent job she did of conveying conflict and desire. So fun!

From the Internets

I know you all like audiobooks, but maybe you know someone who has yet to dip their toe in these waters. If you know a podcast fan who’s audiobook curious, have them start with these short stories.

Eight audiobooks about queer women to add to your queue

Over at the Riot

Ya girl (it’s me, I’m the girl) talked about audiobook speed on YouTube last week. Weigh in: do you adjust your audiobook speed?

Curious about Libro.fm? Tirzah answers some FAQs about my favorite audiobook platform, one that supports indie bookstores!

Five of the best audiobooks by narrator Soneela Nankani as picked by Rioter Kendra. I’m glad it wasn’t my job to narrow it down to just five because Soneela is so fantastic! Some of my most recent faves include Internment by Samira Ahmed and Sonali Dev’s Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors.


That’s all I got today! Shoot me an email at vanessa@riotnewmedia.com with audiobook feedback & questions or find me on Twitter and the gram @buenosdiazsd. Sign up for the In The Club newsletter, peep the Read Harder podcast, and watch me booktube every Tuesday and Friday too!

Stay bad & bookish, my friends.
Vanessa

Categories
In The Club

In the Club – February 5

Welcome to In The Club, a newsletter of resources to keep your book group well-met, well-read, and well-fed.

We’ve at long last waved adios to one hell of a January and I am proud of all of us for making it through! My man Punxsutawney Phil has done us a solid and predicted an early spring and we have Black History Month to celebrate; I don’t know what the rest of this year brings, but let us revel for now in these two Very Good things.

To the club!!


Nibbles & Sips

So what I am NOT gonna do is suggest some gross and patronizing food theme for Black History Month. If I logged on during Hispanic History Month and saw someone suggesting everyone make chimichangas for book club, I might have to take these earrings off.

I do however want to highlight a few of my favorite Black food bloggers, chefs, and TV personalities. These are all recipes I’ve made and loved from people I’ve found through podcasts, word of mouth, and my obsessive online recipe search habit because food is life.

Suggestions:

Now for Some Books!

such a fun ageSuch a Fun Age by Kiley Reid – Alix, a white influencer, hires Amira. a twenty-something Black woman, to be her young daughter’s babysitter. A surprising connection from Alix’ past and Amira’s present threatens to undo them both. This is a funny, thoughtful read about race and privilege that will be sure to spark good book club conversation, one that really dives into that whole “the road to hell is paved with good intentions” thing. (Also: Sharifah and I will be joining Jeff for a bonus episode of the Book Riot podcast to discuss this very book. Be on the lookout for that in the next few days; I have feelings!)

Trailblazer: A Pioneering Journalists Fight to Make the Media Look More Like America by Dorothy Butler Gilliam – Dorothy Butler Gilliam is the first Black woman to write for the Washington Post, a fact I’m ashamed to admit I didn’t know until last year when I picked up this book. This is a memoir of her life and experience breaking down barriers, but also a sort of crash course on the history of Black journalism in America.

Ghost Boys by Jewell Parker Rhodes – Jerome is a twelve year old boy who dies when a police officer mistakes his toy gun for a real one and shoots him. As a ghost, Jerome befriends Sarah, the daughter of a white police offer and only living person who can see him, as well as the ghost of Emmett Till. He observes the complete devastation his death has wreaked on his family and community, and confronts this country’s long history of violence against Black people. Yes, this is a middle grade read, but don’t let that dissuade you from reading it. It packs a punch and asks a lot of tough but important questions, ones that we need to discuss with children early on.

Suggestion Section

Calling all MythBusters fans! Adam Savage is starting a book club and wants you to join.

February book club picks from PBS and Jenna Bush Hager

Is Reese’s Book Club more potent than Oprah’s?

An orthodontist in Indiana created Connections Book Club, a book club that brings together health-care practitioners passionate about innovation and partnering with other professionals to better treat their patients.

Why one reader skips her book club meetings – sometimes this is just how it goes!


Thanks for hanging with me today! Shoot me an email at vanessa@riotnewmedia.com with your burning book club questions or find me on Twitter and the gram @buenosdiazsd. Sign up for the Audiobooks newsletter, get it on the Read Harder podcast, and watch me booktube every Tuesday and Friday too.

Stay bad & bookish, my friends.
Vanessa

More Resources:
– Our Book Group In A Box guide
– List your group on the Book Group Resources page

Categories
Audiobooks

Audiobooks – 1/30

Hola Audiophiles! We’ve finally reached the last few days of January, which somehow lasted 17 seconds and yet also went on for 45 years. One of the bright spots I’ve held onto is the number of awesome titles that hit shelves this month, including one this week by a Rioter! Let’s dive into some of those now.

Ready? Let’s audio.


New Releases – January 28 (publishers’ descriptions in quotes)

HIghfire cover imageHighfire by Eoin Colfer, narrated by Johnny Heller – Wyvern used to roam the skies looking for angry mobs to scorch. Now this dragon has taken human form and spends his days getting drunkity drunk on his recliner wearing his favorite Flashdance t-shirt, as one does! When a young man named Squib faces death by grenade launcher after witnessing a corrupt cop commit a murder, Wyvern saves Squib from that fiery death. The two unlikely companions strike up a deal: Squib will bring Vern all the booze he wants and keep him company in exchange for protection against the cop who continues to hunt him.

Narrator Note: Did anyone else catch the audiobook of The Swallows by Lisa Lutz? Johnny Heller was part of that ensemble cast. He also narrated Christopher Moore’s latest, Noir.

A Delicate Deception by Cat Sebastian, narrated by Joel Leslie – This is the latest in Cat Sebastian’s Regency Imposter series, a trilogy of queer and queer-adjacent regency romances. Here we meet reclusive historical novelist Amelia and Sydney, an engineer, both of whom have fled London for the respite of the English countryside. Neither of them is really looking for company, but they find it and whoops, now they’re kidding. Then a friend of Sydney’s comes to town and reveals a secret Sydney’s been holding onto that could spell doom for his relationship with Amelia.

Narrator Note: First: if you’re looking for queer romance, Joel Leslie had narrated a lot, and I do mean a lot, of it. Go forth! Second: I sampled four different audiobooks to get a sense for his sound and got everything from gruff sexy Englishman to angsty lustful millennial. He doth contain multitudes.

Children of the Land by Marcelo Hernandez Castillo, narrated by Tim Andres Pabon – Marcelo Hernandez Castillo is an award-winning poet and activist who was five years old when he and his family prepared to cross the US-Mexico border. Castillo went blind temporarily from the stress of it but thankfully regained his vision. With it came an understanding: crossing the border would mean learning to hide in plain sight, to make himself less visible for his very safety and that of his family.

Narrator note: Tim Andres Pabon has a deep catalog of business, finance, and self help books. I admit that isn’t my usual lane, but his crisp, mellow voice pairs beautifully with Children of the Land.

Hi Five by Joe Ide, narrated by Zeno Robinson – Private detective Isaish Quintabe is back in the fourth installment in Joe Ide’s IQ series. A man is found murdered in a boutique owned by his girlfriend Cristiana, whose father happens to be the biggest arms dealer on the west coast. He convinces IQ to take Cristiana’s case by threatening to harm IQ’s new love interest should he fail to prove her innocence. Sounds like a sticky situation, and there’s more: Cristiana has multiple personalities, and all of them were witness to the crime.

Narrator Note: I was wondering how this narration was going to work after sampling Zeno Robinson’s performance of James Patterson’s Alex Cross. He sounds so young and fresh in it and I thought, “Would that work for Joe Ide’s IQ?” No reason to worry: turns out he’s just, ya know, talented. Nails it.

Don’t Read the Comments by Eric Smith, narrated by Richa Shukla Moorjani, Sunil Malhotra – Yaaaaay, this is finally out in the world! Eric Smith is a literary agent and also one of our own, the co-host of our Hey YA podcast! He introduces us to Divya Sharma, known as celebrity gamer D1V in the world of a popular video game.  She and fellow gamer Aaron Jericho run to the game for escape from the real world and troubles thy each have at home; when virtual harassment in the game bleeds into real life, Divya and Aaron band together to fight back against the trolls.

Narrator Note: I am obsessed with this narrator combo! Sunil Malhotra is awesome in When Breath Becomes Air and Eleanor & Park. I believe Richa Shukla Moorjani is newer to the game, but I am really loving the chemistry these two have here so far!

Latest Listens

I have no new listens this week, friends. My choices have all failed me! I’ve ditched three different titles in the last week because they either didn’t pull me in, the narration was meh, or the book had severely problematic plot points. So instead I’m giving a shout out to Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain. I saw Rebecca re-reading this on Instagram and decided to revisit it myself. It’s a warm hug for my soul, but with swear words. If you want to learn a lot about the restaurant industry, about Anthony Bourdain’s roots and thoughts on life and food, or just revisit an oldie but goodie like I did, treat yourself.

From the Internets

If you’ve been looking to get into audiobook narration, here’s how to do it!

Over at the Riot

Did you know that not a lot of Australian books are published here in the US? I learned that in this post, a roundup of awesome Australian audiobooks!


That’s all I got today! Shoot me an email at vanessa@riotnewmedia.com with audiobook feedback & questions or find me on Twitter and the gram @buenosdiazsd. Sign up for the In The Club newsletter, peep the Read Harder podcast, and watch me booktube every Tuesday and Friday too!

Stay bad & bookish, my friends.
Vanessa