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Today In Books

Queer Eye’s Jonathan Van Ness to Publish Memoir: Today in Books

Sponsored by our What’s Up in YA Giveaway of a $100 gift card to Amazon! Enter here.


Queer Eye‘s Jonathan Van Ness to Publish Memoir

Queer Eye fans rejoice: JVN’s memoir Over the Top is coming this fall! The book will open with a look back at his childhood in a small Midwestern town, where years of judgement and ridicule were unable to dull his unique and resilient spirit. It’ll surely be a testament to embracing individuality and turning pain into something beautiful. Read more about it here.

Vanessa Veselka’s Latest is Going to Knopf

The PEN/Robert Bingham prize-winning author took to Twitter this week to announce that Knopf will publish her latest, The Offshore Grounds. The industry announcement calls it a read in the vein of Nathan Hill’s The Nix and Ottessa Moshfegh’s Eileen and… je suis intrigued! Read the whole announcement here.

#Bookstagram: Where Books Reign Supreme and the Internet Sucks Less

“You may find this hard to believe, but there is a place within social media, tucked away behind the outrage and the trolls and the eye-rolling GIFs, where the weather is mild and disagreements are conducted at reasonable volumes.” The Chicago Tribune dives into the magical realm of #bookstagram, a hashtag with one 28 million posts and some really cute pictures of coffee mugs, unmade beds, books, and sometimes ferrets. Check out the article here.

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Audiobooks

Audiobook Sales Continue to Rise!

Hola Audiophiles,

Thanks for joining me for another week of audio love! I don’t know about you, but I am setting a personal record for audiobook consumption. Between the bookstore’s book club, reading for Indies Introduce, and all the podcasting/booktubing stuff for the Riot, my required reading has really ticked up a couple of notches in the last few months. I’m constantly working on lots of titles at once and would never be able to do it all without the my Libby and Libro apps!

Let’s put some of that listening to use then, shall we? Let’s audio.


Sponsored by Oasis Audio.

Fred Rogers was an enormously influential figure in the history of television and in the lives of tens of millions of children. The Good Neighbor, the first full-length biography of Fred Rogers, tells the story of this enduring American icon. Narrated by LeVar Burton, The Good Neighbor traces Rogers’s personal, professional, and artistic life through decades of work — including a surprising decision to walk away from the show to make television for adults, only to return with increasingly sophisticated episodes. An engaging story, rich in detail, The Good Neighbor is the definitive portrait of a beloved figure, cherished by generations.


Latest Listens

One of my recent faves is To Night Owl from Dogfish by Holly Goldberg Sloan and Wollitzer, an amazing middle grade epistolary novel about two girls who discover than their dads have been dating in secret. They plan a reverse parent trap to keep them apart when they’re shipped off to the same camp for the summer – what could possibly go wrong?!

If you tuned in to last week’s All the Books, you already heard me rave about this super sweet and hilarious book. As I mentioned then, I have just one complaint about the audio: I couldn’t quite handle the reading of the subject lines of the girls’ emails. Once it went from “ re: you don’t know me” to “re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: you don’t know me” and beyond, The narrators themselves are really quite excellent, but if I had to hear “ree” one more time, I was going to start cussing at my car speakers in Spanish.

Listens on Deck

I’m part of the way through Yangsze Choo’s The Night Tiger which is beautiful and mysterious from page one! The author narrates this one and her voice is just so soothing and melodic that I’d listen to her read the ingredient list on a back of a cereal box. I will of course take her engaging novel set in Malaysia instead; it’s about a young woman working as a dancehall girl to pay off her mother’s Mahjong debts and a house boy on a mission to fulfill his master’s dying wish. The two are brought together by a severed finger as sometimes happens. Throw in a string of unexplained murders and whispers of a tumor about men turning into tigers and I am in for that ride. So excited to finish it!

Some of the other audiobooks I’m working on and loving include Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson and Internment by Samira Ahmed. Get both of these now!! They’re such important and emotional listes that are wrecking me gorgeously. The rest I can’t talk about yet… guess you’ll just need to tune in to the Read Harder podcast.

From the Internets

Audiopreneurship – Forbes recommends ten audiobooks every entrepreneur should listen to. I’ll admit I’m terrible at reading business books but really appreciate this list! It’s got some of the category classics but also Laura Hillenbrand’s Unbroken; now that’ll give you some perspective for sure.

Still I Rise – Forbes had a lot of info for me this week, apparently! This piece states that according to the Association of American Publishers, e-book sales are falling but audiobook sales continue to rise. We’re talking double-digit growth!

Over at the Riot

On last week’s episode of the Book Riot podcast (Episode #301: Bibliographic Rigor), Jeff and Rebecca talked about the news that HMH will begin producing its own audiobooks. I thought about that conversation when I came across the Forbes article about e-books vs. audiobooks; audio, amirite?!?

Women Doing the Thing – I’m bringing back some older posts in honor of Women’s History Month! No time like the present to acquaint thy ear holes with some fabulous women:


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 Friday too!

Stay bad & bookish, my friends.
Vanessa

Categories
In The Club

In The Club – 3/6

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

It’s Sunday, March 3rd as I put this thing together and I am beside myself with joy. Have you all seen this year’s Women’s Prize nominees?! Gah! It’s one of those lists that made my oohs, aahs, and ay-Dios-mios escalate in volume and excitement the further down I got!

But before you all rush to bookstores, libraries, and internet sources to read these crazy talented nominees, let’s talk books. I’ll touch more on some of the nominees next week when I’ve gathered my thoughts and am not a fangirl mess.

To the club!


Question for the Club – Last week I asked: what’s a book club pick you were really not looking forward to reading but ended up loving? I’m always so interested to understand what makes folks hesitant to read certain books and what about them changed their minds.  Here are a few of the titles you shared!

    • The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas – I got several emails about this one! One reader wasn’t exactly sure why she was hesitant to read it, but was glad she did and learned more about issues facing black Americans. Most of the other readers resisted because they knew it would be an emotional read; all seemed thankful for the discussion it fostered and for the insight.
    • Fortune is a Woman by Elizabeth Adler – The reader was expecting a trashy 1980’s TV drama (which… could be awful or pretty entertaining, ya know?) but enjoyed it a lot.
    • The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood – This was a different scenario where our reader picked this read and no one else read it! She ended up reading it anyway and it became her favorite read of the year.
    • Krampus: The Yule Lord by Gerald Brom – One reader’s book club chose this in December as a hybrid Halloween/holiday read; the synopsis didn’t hook her (umm it’s kind of bananas!!), but after a slow start she really got into the weird.
    • Beartown by Fredrik Backman – While the reader didn’t mention exactly why, I think I get it: does anyone else sometimes hold out on books that are super crazy popular?! I know I do even if I’m not sure why! This reader wasn’t looking forward to Beartown but every single person in book club loved it – that is quite the feat!

It seems like the common threads in reluctance to read certain titles are distrust of hype, fear of emotionally challenging content, or plain ol’ disinterest in the plot’s description! While you all know I encourage DNFing if a book just isn’t speaking to you, I also challenge everyone to push themselves in book club like these readers have. You’ll find you learn a lot that way and maybe even find a favorite read.

And now for next week’s QFTC:

Famous People Book Club Updates – Where once there were few, now there are many: check out the most recent picks in the world of celebrity book clubs.

  • Book Club Bonus: As the piece above points out, so far celebrity book clubs are supes white. Sans color! I hope this changes in the very near future; in the meantime, perhaps focus your book club’s attention on the bookish persons of color who share their reads on social media. These include the Obamas and Shonda Rimes, so you’re in good hands.

A Very Becoming Brunch – My forever first lady Michelle Obama is making some bonus appearances during her Becoming book tour and this one made me seven kinds of jelly: she joined the ladies of a Houston-based book club for brunch!

  • Book Club Bonus: So listen: most of you probably aren’t going to get Michelle Lavaughn Robinson Obama to attend your book club meetups. I know, friend: the truth, it burns. But I do love the idea of including outside book people! Invite your local librarian, a bookseller, or even a local author to your meeting. Pick their brains for recs, get them to weigh in on your reads, and just have a generally pleasant chat with people that deal in books.

Adios, Friend Zone! – I really enjoy the friends-to-lovers trope and I am not sorry! If the cold temperatures have you craving the heat of a romance and you too enjoy seeing folks hop up out the friend zone, check out this list of books about friends falling in love.

  • Book Club Bonus: I love the idea of structuring a romance book club all around tropes. Pick a different one every month or quarter and explore all the romance therein. Steam levels up to you, of course. 
  • Related: I recently caught up on lots of podcasts and loved the online book club chat in the February 11th episode (Easing People In) of When in Romance! Trisha and Jess addressed a question I think a lot of us have or had at one point: what exactly does an online book club do?! Give it a listen.

Fantastic Voyage – Every single time I talk fantasy in my writing, I have to remind myself that I have used the lyrics to the Mariah Carey classic in this newsletter on more than one occasion. It’s not my fault that the song still slaps years and year later! Anyway, here’s are some sweet, sweet fantasy books for adults that you won’t want to miss.

  • Book Club Bonus: I recently spoke to someone at the bookstore about reading fantasy in book club and he brought up a good point: fantasy novels are so often part of a duology or series these days. Sometimes you just want a standalone! The list above features just that, so go on ahead and find your fantasy in the club.
  • Related: Your quarterly reminder that I am the little girl from Rush Hour every time I hear that song.


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 Friday too.

Stay bad & bookish, my friends.
Vanessa

Categories
Audiobooks

March Audiobooks By Women

Hola, Audiophiles!

Heyyy, sooo: February is over. Not to be completely unoriginal, but how did January drag on for years while this month popped in, gave a lazy wave, dropped off its dirty laundry, and bounced?! I don’t even know how to feel since February was, in a lot of ways, some trash. The books that came out this month were fire though and I’m one month closer to traveling to Cuba (!!!!!), so I feel like it’s all going to be just fine.

In even better news, the end of one month means the start of another and that means: NEW BOOOOOKS! Because March is Women’s History Month, I decided all of the books discussed today will be by women. WHO RUN THE WORLD??

Let’s audio.


Sponsored by Princeton University Press Audio

Ibn Khaldun (1332–1406) is generally regarded as the greatest intellectual ever to have appeared in the Arab world—a genius who ranks as one of the world’s great minds. Yet the author of the Muqaddima, the most important study of history ever produced in the Islamic world, is not as well known as he should be, and his ideas are widely misunderstood. In this groundbreaking intellectual biography, Robert Irwin provides an engaging and authoritative account of Ibn Khaldun’s extraordinary life, times, writings, and ideas. Start Listening Now!


New Releases (publisher’s descriptions in quotes)

dealing in dreamsDealing in Dreams by Lilliam Rivera, narrated by Marisol Ramirez (March 5)

First I just have to say that the main character is in an all-girl crew called Las Mal Criadas. I mean… I have many yesses to offer here. Is there Mal Criadas merch available? Have credit card, will buy.

Our heroine Nalah is sixteen years old when she realizes she’s had enough of street life (aka la vida de una Mal Criada). Leaving the streets behind is of course not simple, and Nalah must decide just how far she’s willing to go to get what she wants. I’ve seen this pitched as “The Outsiders meets Mad Max: Fury Road” and yep. Gonna need to read that.

Gingerbread by Helen Oyeyemi, narrated by the author (March 5)

This cover is a thing of beauty and the concept even better: a gingerbread recipe that is both the curse and legacy of three generations of women. “Influenced by the mysterious place gingerbread holds in classic children’s stories—equal parts wholesome and uncanny, from the tantalizing witch’s house in “Hansel and Gretel” to the man-shaped confection who one day decides to run as fast as he can… As the book follows the Lees through encounters with jealousy, ambition, family grudges, work, wealth, and real estate, gingerbread seems to be the one thing that reliably holds a constant value.”

So Here’s The Thing…: Notes on Growing Up, Getting Older, and Trusting Your Gut by Alyssa Mastromonaco, narrated by the author (March 5)

I absolutely loved Who Thought This Was a Good Idea? and am pumped for the follow up from Mastromonaco, who once served as President Obama’s Deputy Chief of Staff and has gone on to hold executive roles at VICE and A&E. She currently serves as Senior Advisor and spokesperson for the National Abortion Rights Action League and is back with “a bold, no-nonsense, and no-holds-barred twenty-first-century girl’s guide to life, tackling the highs and lows of bodies, politics, relationships, moms, education, life on the internet, and pop culture. Whether discussing Barbra Streisand or The Bachelor, working in the West Wing or working on finding a wing woman, Alyssa leaves no stone unturned…and no awkward situation unexamined.”

Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson, narrated by the author (March 12)

If you’ve never read Laurie Halse Anderson’s Speak, do that now. Then come right on back for this vulnerable and inspiring poetry memoir that you’ll love and perhaps also kind of hate for it’s timeliness. “Anderson shares reflections, rants, and calls to action woven between deeply personal stories from her life that she’s never written about before. Searing and soul-searching, this important memoir is a denouncement of our society’s failures and a love letter to all the people with the courage to say #MeToo and #TimesUp, whether aloud, online, or only in their own hearts. Shout speaks truth to power in a loud, clear voice– and once you hear it, it is impossible to ignore.”

The True Queen by Zen Cho, narrator not yet announced (March 12)

Finally! The next installment in the Sorcerer Royal series is here and introduces us to sisters Muna and Sakti. They wake up on an island with no idea how they got there, cursed by some nefarious entity. Sakti starts to fade away and the only hope of saving her is in Britain, where the Sorceress Royal leads a magical training academy for women. “If Muna is to save her sister, she must learn to navigate high society, and trick the English magicians into believing she is a magical prodigy. As she’s drawn into their intrigues, she must uncover the secrets of her past, and journey into a world with more magic than she had ever dreamed.”

The Near Witch by V.E. Schwab, narrated by Heather Wilds (March 12)

Is anyone else as excited as I am for the re-release of V.E. Schwab’s debut novel?! Gah! I feel like I’m terrible at describing this, so we’ll just stick straight to the publisher’s copy: “The Near Witch is only an old story told to frighten children. If the wind calls at night, you must not listen. The wind is lonely, and always looking for company. There are no strangers in the town of Near. These are the truths that Lexi has heard all her life. But when an actual stranger, a boy who seems to fade like smoke, appears outside her home on the moor at night, she knows that at least one of these sayings is no longer true. The next night, the children of Near start disappearing from their beds, and the mysterious boy falls under suspicion. As the hunt for the children intensifies, so does Lexi’s need to know about the witch that just might be more than a bedtime story, about the wind that seems to speak through the walls at night, and about the history of this nameless boy.”

Internment by Samira Ahmed, narrated by Soneela Nankani (March 19)

On the list of many things for which I curse my recent bout of swine flu is the fact that I missed the chance to meet and chat with Samira Ahmed at Winter Institute! The author of the bestselling Love, Hate & Other Filters has returned with a novel set in a pretty terrifying near-future where Muslim American citizens are forced into internment camps. “With the help of newly made friends also trapped within the internment camp, her boyfriend on the outside, and an unexpected alliance, Layla begins a journey to fight for freedom, leading a revolution against the internment camp’s Director and his guards.”

Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams, narrated by Shvorne Marks (March 19)

I don’t know how one manages to write something described as “Bridget Jones’s Diary meets Americanah” but I sure am interested! “Queenie Jenkins is a 25-year-old Jamaican British woman living in London, straddling two cultures and slotting neatly into neither. She works at a national newspaper, where she’s constantly forced to compare herself to her white middle class peers. After a messy break up from her long-term white boyfriend, Queenie seeks comfort in all the wrong places…including several hazardous men who do a good job of occupying brain space and a bad job of affirming self-worth.” This is going to resonate with any woman anywhere who’s searched for meaning in the world while trying to find her place in it.

The Lost Gutenberg: The Astounding Story of One Book’s Five-Hundred-Year Odyssey by Margaret Leslie Davis, narrated by Coleen Marlo (March 19)

Books about books! Yay! Ok yes, the book in this story is the Bible but go with me for a second. “For rare-book collectors, an original copy of the Gutenberg Bible–of which there are fewer than 50 in existence–represents the ultimate prize. Here, Margaret Leslie Davis recounts five centuries in the life of one copy, from its creation by Johannes Gutenberg, through the hands of monks, an earl, the Worcestershire sauce king, and a nuclear physicist to its ultimate resting place, in a steel vault in Tokyo. Estelle Doheny, the first woman collector to add the book to her library and its last private owner, tipped the Bible onto a trajectory that forever changed our understanding of the first mechanically printed book.” This sounds like a saga with bits of Indiana Jones and The Club Dumas plus… Worcestershire sauce? I dunno, but I’m in.  

White Elephant by Julie Langsdorf (March 26)

I was wondering why this author’s name sounded so familiar to me and it finally dawned on me: Julie Langsdorf wrote A Secret History of Witches, which has been on my actual nightstand for months. “Barrie Anne Blythe and her aunt Charlotte have always known that the other residents of their small coastal community find them peculiar — two women living alone on the outskirts of town. It is the price of concealing their strange and dangerous family secret. But two events threaten to upend their lives forever. The first is the arrival of a mysterious abandoned baby with a hint of power like their own. The second is the sudden reappearance of Barrie Anne’s long-lost husband — who is not quite the man she thought she married. Together, Barrie Anne and Charlotte must decide how far they are willing to go to protect themselves.”

From the Internets

And the Awards Goes To… – The Oscars may be over and we all may have our feelings, but this list of audiobooks by LitHub of audiobooks to get you through the Oscars is still worth taking a peek at.

Over at the Riot

All The Libros – Speaking of new books, did you catch this week’s episode of All the Books? I joined Liberty this week to chat about new releases and you know I snuck in some audiobook commentary too!

I Be Book Tubin’ – Not exactly audiobook-related, but make sure to check out the Book Riot You Tube channel on Friday, March 1st. My video this week is all about a few badass women writers who inspire me on and off the page in honor of Women’s History Month, many of whose work I have enjoyed thoroughly on audio.


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 Friday too!

Stay bad & bookish, my friends.
Vanessa

Categories
In The Club

In the Club – 2/27

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

Well wow, friends! I got so many awesome responses to our inaugural Question for the Club segment! So we’re going to (hopefully) keep that same energy going with a different question every week and see how this thing goes.

Keep on reading for this week’s query, results from last week’s question, and some other book club business: fake book clubs, comics that cook, a little bit o’ sex ed and more.

To the club!


This newsletter is sponsored by Flatiron Books, publishers of Girls Burn Brighter by Shobha Rao, now in paperback.

An electrifying debut novel about the extraordinary bond between two girls driven apart by circumstance but relentless in their search for one another. Shobha Rao’s Girls Burn Brighter introduces two heroines who never lose the hope that burns within.


Question for the Club – You all have some seriously creative club names and some pretty cool stories to go along with them. It was so hard to choose, but here are ten (okay ten-ish) of my faves below.

  • The MACs (Middle Age Chicks) – They’ve been meeting for 15 years!
  • War and Peas – A literary supper club where everyone brings a dish inspired by the book. YUM!
  • The Insane Circle of Glittering Biblio Babes – These ladies have been meeting for 21 years!
  • Novel Women – It gets right to the point and I love it.
  • Book Bosomed Babes – yaaasss.
  • Ten Shades of Grey (made up of ten retired gentlemen) and Filling in the Blancs (readers who drink wine) – These and several other names were shared by a reader who manages the Riverina Regional Library Book Club program which has over 80 registered clubs in Australia!
  • The Critical Chicks – These ladies range in age from 40-66 and have been meeting for 18 years!
  • Ruffians Bearing Cakes– When one group member had a knee replacement, she left her front door open to let the rest of the group into her home. They came with cake and she remarked, “When you leave the door open you never know who will wander in — perhaps even ruffians bearing cakes!” For the record, I left my door open all day and have yet to encounter a single cake-bearing ruffian. Rude!
  • Book, Book, Goose! – It’s held at a bar called The Dutch Goose which is already perfect, but this reader also has a forthcoming zine club in the works called Store Subject. Brilliant!
  • Fake Book Club – yes that’s the name and oh my gatos, I love the concept. In fact, I’m going to elaborate more below.

Thank you to all who shared! Here is this week’s question (oh and please send responses to vanessa@riotnewmedia.com !)

We’re So Fake – Reader Andy shared this awesome book club idea that I had to pass on to you fine book club people: fake book club! “It’s all about overdosing on THRILLERS only. It fits into everyone’s schedule because there are NO MEETINGS. Our group loves Thrillers and can share the stories, or a scary part, etc. –  in the short amount of time it takes to ride the elevator, walk the flight of stairs, or a quick gab at a break or lunch. This makes the books exciting, even when everyone is reading their own thing!” You know, this is sort of genius.

    • Book Club Bonus: For those who just don’t have the time – and some of us really, really don’t – for a formal club gathering, this is a fast and loose but still ultimately bookish way to talk books with friends. If you’ve found that committing to a meeting isn’t working, maybe give it a try!
  • Related: Don’t forget the value of online book clubs too. My friends and I all live scattered across the country and had a book club going for about a year where a lot of what we discussed was done through emails. It worked!

Will Cook for Comics – I need to read more comics and enticing me with food is an easy way to me there. Are you nodding and thinking, “Same”? Check out this list of mouth-watering comics with recipes.

  • Book Club Bonus: Can you tell I like book clubs where someone cooks (and also when there’s wine)? You probably already know then that I’m going to suggest reading comics like these and whipping up the recipes for your meetups. If the comic is short enough, read it at your meetup. Have every person read a few pages aloud and then pass it on to the next club attendee.
  • Related: Since this basically sounds like story time plus snacks, it might be a great idea for a kids book club. 

Pop the Pill, Ignore the Pope – A recent NHS study out in the UK now advises that women take the pill continually all month long. That week of placebo pills? Unnecessary. In fact, that practice’s sole purpose was to appease the pope back then into “accepting” some form of contraception. Go ahead: scream. When you’re done, check out this list of books on sex ed, contraception, and reproductive justice and learn some more stuff you may not -but need to- know.

  • Book Club Bonus: I started to say that I thought women and feminism-focused book clubs should read these kinds of books but scratch the hell out of that idea: we ALL need to read these kinds of books. So many of the most frustrating parts of the discourse over reproductive rights seem to be rooted in an extreme lack of knowledge or misinformation on women’s bodies, women’s health, contraception, policy… you name it. So, all my book club people: consider dedicating one month (or better yet a quarter) of book club to learning a little more about these very important subjects.
  • Related: Anyone else think the Vatican owes us all checks for the money we’ve spent on tampons??

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 Friday too.

Stay bad & bookish, my friends.
Vanessa

Categories
Audiobooks

Listen to Black Women, Free Audiobooks, and More

Hola, Audiophiles!

How’s everyone doing? I’ve been so wrapped up in my health woes and other assorted life concerns that I haven’t asked how YOU are all feeling. It feels like everyone I know is giving 2019 a zero or one star rating so far and I honestly cannot blame them! What is in the water? Why does it feel like these first couple of months have been longer than the longest of longs?!

Still, beneath the garbage there is usually some treasure and I for one am trying (with effort) to focus on the good stuff I have going on! My baby nephew is getting bigger and stronger every day, a friend is expecting a new baby, I’ve found a rad new cowork space in the neighborhood I love, and the new Flavia de Luce book (even if it’s the last one) is out in the world. So! Tell me friends? What’s good with you? Let’s get some positivity flowing in this space!

For now: let’s audio.


Sponsored by Princeton University Press Audio

When Iranians overthrew their monarchy, rejecting a pro-Western shah in favor of an Islamic regime, many observers predicted that revolutionary turmoil would paralyze the country for decades to come. Yet forty years after the 1978–79 revolution, Iran has emerged as a critical player in the Middle East and the wider world, as demonstrated in part by the 2015 international nuclear agreement. In Iran Rising, renowned Iran specialist Amin Saikal describes how the country has managed to survive despite ongoing domestic struggles, Western sanctions, and countless other serious challenges. Start Listening Now!


Latest Listen

I mentioned to you all last week that I was listening to The Raven Tower by Anne Leckie and holy crap! There is a lot to keep straight. Gods! Mortals! Animals! Accents! Treachery! I want to tell you more about it, but I’m going to make you all wait a little. Don’t hate me! It’s for a pretty cool reason: I’ll be recording a guest spot on All the Books with Liberty on February 25th!

 

Listens on Deck

I promised myself I was done blaming swine flu for the things that have gone wrong as of late pero…. how? HOW??! How did I somehow miss that Toni Morrison had a new book coming out this year!?!? And during Black History Month?! I blame all the meds.

I am at last slowly listening to The Source of Self Regard and it had me before I’d even pressed play. It’s split into three parts: a prayer for those that died on 9/11, a meditation on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and a eulogy for James Baldwin. Woven into these three sections are a discussion, commentary, and critique of just about every contemporary topic you’d expect this prolific writer to tackle. Need I say any more?

From the Internets

Free Books Here! – My buddies over at Libro.fm are celebrating Independent Bookstore Day this year with free audiobooks! Ya hear that, kids? Free! Gratis! Zero dollars and zero cents!

Customers who create a Libro.fm account in the lead up to Independent Bookstore Day will receive an e-mail on April 27 with a link to the free goods. Already have a Libro.fm membership? Lucky you! You’ll automatically be getting an e-mail with a link to the free audiobooks. BOOM.

A Motivation Situation – Ok friends, it’s February. How are all my resolution peeps doing with their New Year’s goals?! If you find your motivation is in need of a super charge, check Bustle’s list of motivational audiobooks to keep you inspired while on the move.

Listen to Black Women – A member of the American Booksellers Association Diversity Task force recently asked Libro.fm to put together a playlist of listens by black women – and they did! The list is comprised of books by, about, and performed by Black women and includes books from a beautiful variety of genres. Get into it.

Over at the Riot

How to Listen to Audiobooks on an iPhone – You asked, we answered. Check out this guide for listeners new to audiobooking on the iPhone.


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 Friday too!

Stay bad & bookish, my friends.
Vanessa

Categories
In The Club

In the Club – 2/20

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

Hey! So! Winter found it’s way to San Diego. We’re getting more rain than we have in years and the temperatures have dropped into the 40s and 50s! But don’t worry, friends. We will rebuild.

Back to club business! Here’s what I’ve got for you today: some book group ideas, a representation challenge, historical fiction fun and book club for breakups. I’m also trying out a new section to see how it goes – tell me what you think!

Let’s begin.


This newsletter is sponsored by An American Marriage by Tayari Jones—now in paperback—from Algonquin Books.

Tayari Jones on her New York Times bestseller, An American Marriage: This is the story of Roy and Celestial, newlyweds living the American Dream. They’re not a perfect couple—who is? They’re still coming to terms with the true meaning of “I do” when Roy is arrested for a crime he didn’t commit and given a lengthy prison sentence. This is a story about the power of love, and its limits. It’s an old-fashioned love triangle, but it’s also an account of a tragic miscarriage of justice. At the edges are people seeking to move into the future by mending the hurts of the past. This is an American story that speaks to us all.


Question for the Club: Baddest Weirdest Bestest Club Names – I really enjoyed all of your feedback regarding library book club programs and thought I’d experiment with a new section for our newsletter! I’m dubbing it “Question for the Club” and I’ll be using it to ask for feedback and input, or just to ask fun & silly thangs because levity is much welcomed these days.

First question! You all know that I love me a good book club moniker, so I wanna know: what fun, sassy, quirky, nerdy, and generally awesome names have you given your bunch of book lovers? I’ll share some of my faves next week. I’m a little too excited to see what you’re all going to have for me!

I’d Show Up for That – I love this list of book group ideas, and not just because a lot of them tie in with suggestions I’ve made in the past. The ideas are unique, purpose-driven, and/or just plain fun! Draw from here if you need to shake sh*t up.

Breakup Book Club – Ever played Beyonce’s Sorry 27 times in a row? Yeah me neither. Whether you’re the breaker upper or the broken up with, the period after parting ways with your significant autre can be a rough one. Find some comfort in these titles to help with the many post-breakup stages.

    • Book Club Bonus: Are you and some of your pals newly single? Read some books together! Read some nonfic on relationships if you’re feeling introspective; read some romance if you’re about ready for some steam; read some humor if you need laughs in a major way. Whatever you want, whatever you need: read that. Start that Lonely Hearts/Bad Bitches/I Ain’t Sorry book club and find some happy in the pages.
  • Related: This list of book recs based on your relationship status. I’m a little hurt that there’s isn’t a Extra Super Duper Single category buuuut everything’s not about me. <walks away singing, “middle. fingers. up. put them. hands high. wave it. in his. face. tell him, boy, bye…”>

A Taste of 2019’s Bisexual YA Reads – Go on, add these forthcoming bisexual YA releases to your TBR. You know you want to!  I brought home more than a few of these from Winter Institute last month and don’t even know where to start first. Representation matters, and it also just really, really rocks.

  • Book Club Bonus: Someone on my Twitter feed reminded me this weekend of the importance of requesting books with queer representation from libraries. Doing so not only makes the books available to kids who may not be able to afford to purchase them but also helps put them in the hands of kids who don’t feel safe requesting these titles themselves. This is such an easy thing to do in book club! Pick a title with LGBTQIA+ rep and then have all your clubbers request it from their local libraries. For these purposes, pick a title that specifically isn’t already available; the goal is to add to the selection!

Historical Fiction For Errbody – In case you missed it, Book Riot ran all kinds of awesome content last week to celebrate Historical Fiction Day! Here’s a sampling of the posts:


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 Friday too.

Stay bad & bookish, my friends.
Vanessa

Categories
Audiobooks

You Can’t Stop Me On The Come Up(!), Rock Narration, and More

Hola, Audiophiles!

Well, I’ve managed to stay healthy for two weeks in a row now, so I’m feeling pretty proud of myself! I’m back to eating solid foods, being able to taste said food, and of course: audiobooking! Can’t tell you how great it is to throw on my latest listen and not almost instantly give way to fatigue. It also helps that my latest listens have been pretty damn riveting.

Let’s talk about that, shall we?


Sponsored by Princeton University Press Audio

During the long eighteenth century, Europe’s travelers, scholars, and intellectuals looked to Asia in a spirit of puzzlement, irony, and openness. In this panoramic and colorful book, Jürgen Osterhammel tells the story of the European Enlightenment’s nuanced encounter with the great civilizations of the East, from the Ottoman Empire and India to China and Japan. Start Listening Now!


 Latest Listen

So after all the indecision from last week, I ended up going with On the Come Up by Angie Thomas. Wow. Just wow. Miss Thomas took a good, long look at Sophomore Novel Syndrome, chucked up the deuces, and went about her badass, chart-topping writer way. I know this is a mouthful because The Hate U Give was brilliant but I think… I might… like this one… even… more!?

We need to talk about the narrator here, Bahni Turpin, who just does Angie Thomas’ characters so right. I loved her in The Hate U Give but the life she breathes into Bri in On the Come Up gave me chills more than a few times. The teenage angst, the raw emotion, the inspired delivery of Bri’s raps, even the know-it-all, hothead attitude that sometimes makes you want to shake Bri until you remember that teens are gonna teen. Turpin masters every other characters’ angle with ease too: there’s contrast without gimmick, dialect without schtick. If you see her name in an audiobook, consider yourself in good hands.

Side note: I definitely walked around last week rapping to myself, “You can’t stop me on the come up! You can’t stop me! Nope! Nope!”

Listens on Deck

I just started listening to Anne Leckie’s The Raven Tower which is out on 2/26 from Hachette Audio. While I’m only about a quarter in, this listen has made me go, “Wait – que!?” at least a dozen times, which I suppose I should have expected when the author has won the Hugo, Nebula, and Arthur C. Clarke Awards.

So much is happening! The god known as the Raven has protected the kingdom of Iraden for centuries. Perched atop a tower in the port city of Vastai, he speaks through a living bird called the Instrument and rules via a human ruler of his choosing known as the Raven’s Lease. The Lease is a powerful position no doubt, but it comes with a little caveat; see, when the Raven’s Instrument dies, so must the Lease; it’s the Lease’s blood sacrifice that feeds the Raven’s power.

In theory all of this blood sacrifice stuff should keep things in order, but something wicked this way comes in the form of a throne usurper. The Raven’s power is waning, Iraden’s borders are being tested by shady invaders, and those invaders have made pacts with other gods to disrupt the peace and prosperity in Vastai. The true heir Mawat must try and retake the throne, but things keep getting twistier as secrets from a dark history unfold.

There’s also the fact that I’m *pretty* sure the narrator here is a rock. Like an actual rock, a boulder, but the rock is also a god. So many questions! Stay tuned.

From the Internets

Acts of Distraction – The Washington Post suggests three great audiobooks to distract you from reality, because that is a much nicer way of saying, “Read These Books to Forget About the Garbage Fire!!!!!” These listens do all sound pretty riveting: a little murder, a little culture clash, and a crash course on Native American history/counternarrative to Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.

Over at the Riot

Audie Riot Rundown – I know I mentioned the Audies last week, but the buzz keeps on growing! The full list of nominees across all twenty four categories can be a little overwhelming; Rioter Romeo has highlighted a few finalists from each category to get you a little more in the know.

Narrator Chat – Last week on the Book Riot YouTube channel, Rincey talked about audiobook narrators and what makes a good one (or a bad one!). I totally felt what she said about the fine line that is inflection (or for me: accents!!): it takes a very specific skill to know how to deploy each deftly without a whole lot of distracting overkill! Also, someone in the comments mentioned Bahni Turpin and so here I am again, cosigning so hard on her greatness!

Narrator Faves – Apparently this is a good week to talk narrator faves! Here’s a great post about one Rioter’s narrator hall of fame with examples of some of their best work for each. This is a seriously fantastic list with many names that I recognized, and a few that I hadn’t realized I was already a fan of! And yes, Bahni Turpin sure did make the list because #duh.


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 Friday too!

Stay bad & bookish, my friends.
Vanessa

Categories
In The Club

In the Club – 2/13

Welcome to In The Club, a newsletter of resources to keep your book group well-met and well-read. I’m just so happy, club goers! I’m officially on Week Two of my flu-free life and living life like it’s golden (if, of course, “golden” means you have some lingering post-nasal drip and are sniffing nose spray to get by).

In more exciting news, I got so much awesome feedback in response to last week’s newsletter! It turns out a lot of amazing libraries are offering a “book club in a bag” type of service and that just makes me feel better about the world. I thought I would share some of them with you all, in case any library users in these areas don’t already know about this resource. Links to all programs provided for your convenience!

Book Group in A Bag sample from the Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library

Grand Rapids Public Library (Grand Rapids, Michigan)
Kent District Library (Grand Rapids, Michigan)
Sno-Isle Libraries (numerous locations in Snohomish and Island counties, Washington)
Hennepin County Library (Minneapolis, Minnesota)
Rochester Public Library (Rochester, Minnesota)
Central Rappahannock Regional Library (Fredericksburg, Virginia, but kits can be picked up at any branch in the region)
Estes Valley Library (Estes Park, Colorado
Topeka & Shawnee Public Library (Topeka, Kansas)
Escondido Public Library (Escondido, California) – this one is in San Diego county but it’s 50 minutes away from me so I didn’t know. Try not to judge.

Yay libraries and yay book clubs! Now onto other book club business.


This newsletter is sponsored by The Lost Man by Jane Harper.

Two brothers meet for the first time in months in the Australian outback; their third brother lies dead at their feet in this stunning new standalone novel from Jane Harper, the New York Times bestselling author of The Dry.


A Safe and Sapphic Space – OK yes, this post about 40+ sapphic reads coming out in 2019 is great and amazing and wonderful. But also, the writer of the post has a book blog named The Lesbrary and how much do you want to be Danika’s friend right now?!

  • Book Club Bonus: I’ll admit I did a Google for “lesbian book blogs” in search of other brilliantly-named sites (Danika wins) and accidentally typed in “lesbian book clubs” instead. I found the top hit under the auto-complete list was “lesbian book clubs near me” and hope that anyone searching has found one to call home! This may seem like an obvious suggestion then, but join or create a queer book club. When you do, consider making it available, if you’re comfortable, to other members of the community by posting about it (community bulletin boards, coffee shops, libraries, apps like Meetup or Nextdoor etc). You may just reach someone looking for a safe bookish space of their own.

Decolonize Your Book Club – “It follows demands from students at universities including Cambridge for courses to be ‘decolonised’, and more black and ethnic writers to be included in the canon instead of more white, male authors.” F*ck yeah. Swansea University is offering a “decolonized” English lit course and I am here. for. it.

  • Book Club Bonus: If an entire university can do this with a college course, you can do this with your book club. You can make this concept the central theme of the club or just adopt the principle into your established reading habits (especially if you’re reading your way through any kind of Western canon, good grief). Either way, make it happen. Track your reading, Be intentional with your reading. Do more with your reading.

Bringing Book Club to Young Black Men – An organization by the name of Black Boys Read NOLA aims to inspire young, black men to read diverse books, and in doing so instill pride and amplify dignity in their boys. They are ostensibly a book club but aim to do and be so much more as they work to attain non-profit status: a place of community outreach, a history club, a networking source, etc. The book club is specifically for ages 3-9 and is led by the founders’ oldest son and his high school classmates which makes me love this even more. Their next meeting is on February 16th at 3PM CST at the Algiers Regional Library in New Orleans; if you’re interested in making a donation, you may do so through their Eventbrite event page here!

Side note: The cover photo on their Facebook page has me looking like la llorona over here; adorable children all holding books always messes up my mascara! Also, founder Therese Colin was kind enough to share her mission and story with me and I’m thinking this deserves a whole post on the site soon. Stay tuned!

  • Book Club Bonus: I have been meaning to look further into book clubs for kids and was reminded of the importance of representation by Black Boys Read NOLA; it’s not enough to find (and start) book groups for kids, but to make sure all children feel represented when doing so. If your local library, bookstore, or community’s kids club isn’t diverse and inclusive, start one of your own. A huge part of getting kids excited to read is making sure they see themselves in the books we’re putting in their hands.

Book Clubs in Plain Sight – Why yes I DID just watch that crazy Netflix documentary and sort of steal its title (also: soooooo many questions!!). Back to the program though: sometimes you need a little help finding a book club. I’ve thrown out a few suggestions today, but this post puts me to shame. It offers local and online options, more sites to check out, and just more thorough suggestions in general. Happy hunting!


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 Friday too.

Stay bad & bookish, my friends.
Vanessa

Categories
Audiobooks

Audiobooks for Black History Month, Analysis Paralysis, and More

Hola, Audiophiles!

I already quoted the opening lines to Madonna’s Like A Virgin in this week’s In the Club but I’m about to do it again! I really did make it through the wilderness! Somehow I made it through!

I am so relieved to be rid of the swine flu, I could cry. I want to hug every person I see in the street and slip them goodie bags of Emergen-C, zinc, and oregano oil. Thank you all for sticking by me while I went on about that mess for nine whole weeks! I think I’ve finally–like for real this time–turned the corner and am ready to get back to my regular, healthy, not-dependent-on-steroids-and-an-inhaler self.

So! Let’s audio!


Sponsored by Princeton University Press Audio

Though mankind has traded tangible goods for millennia, recent technology has changed the fundamentals of trade, in both legitimate and illegal economies. In the past three decades, the most advanced forms of illicit trade have broken with all historical precedents and, as Dark Commerce shows, now operate as if on steroids, tied to computers and social media. In this new world of illicit commerce, which benefits states and diverse participants, trade is impersonal and anonymized, and vast profits are made in short periods with limited accountability to sellers, intermediaries, and purchasers. Start Listening Now!


Latest Listen

The honest truth? Swine flu made me too sick even for audiobooks. I spent most of that dark period falling in and out of sleep, coughing up a lung, and wondering what series of life choices I’d made to bring such prolonged exposure to the plague upon myself. Pretty sure I caught myself singing, “Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen…” at least once and mos def looked up local curanderas to chase away the evil spirits. Dios mio, it was… dramatic.

Before the 102 degree fevers though, I’d been listening to Jewell Parker Rhodes’ Ghost Boys on audio as research for the Read Harder podcast. This story of a young boy who dies when he’s shot by a police officer and comes back as a ghost got me square in the feel box, especially when that boy ends up meeting other ghost boys like him and one of them is Emmett Till. This Walter Award winner (hellooo Read Harder task #22!) is a beautiful and heartbreaking history lesson and a must-listen for young readers and adults trying to make sense of so much tragedy. The audio messed me up, fam, but in the best and most necessary way.

Listens on Deck

I have been trying to pick my nest listen for a solid two days and am facing major analysis paralysis over here! I’m thinking it’s either going to be Angie Thomas’ much anticipated On the Come Up or Lyndsay Faye’s The Paragon Hotel. Who to spend time with first? Do I follow along while young Bri tries to make it as an MC in spite of so many impossible obstacles, or do I embark on a journey with Alice “Nobody” from Prohibition-era Harlem to Portland’s Paragon Hotel? DECISIONS!! Oh, what’s that? I can listen to one, and then… the other? Oh yeah. Good point.

From the Internets

Get the Audie Started – If you haven’t heard of the The Audies, it’s time you get hip to these awesome awards celebrating the best in spoken word entertainment. Since audiobooks are quickly becoming the fastest growing segment in publishing, this year is shaping up to become the biggest year ever for audiobookin’!

This year, the award show is getting a makeover of sorts and Queer Eye’s adorable Tan France (who will soon narrate his own Naturally Tan: A Memoir) is set to host! A panel of industry personalities will serve as judges for the Audiobook of the Year category, whose nominees include Sally Field, Megan Mullally, Nick Offerman, Leslie Odom, Jr., Emma Thompson, Rosario Dawson, Joanne Froggatt, Amber Tamblyn, Joe Biden and tons more.

Black History Listens – Bustle recently shared this list of audiobooks to listen to this Black History Month. I cosign all of these fantastic titles, which do everything from educate to illuminate and hilariate. Yeah… that last one isn’t a word but seriously? Born A Crime will manage to make you cry-laugh while teaching you a lot you probs didn’t know about South African apartheid.

The Dreamwork of Audio Team Work – I’ve often wondered whether authors and narrators see themselves as part of a team, especially when a particular narrator is tapped to narrate multiple of an author’s works. This piece from the Washington Post speaks to the bond that apparently does often exist between authors and audiobook narrators.

Over at the Riot

For Those Listening Slumps – Whether you’re bored, overwhelmed with choices, or crying in a corner from body aches and fevers like I was, sometimes a reading – and listening- slump is unavoidable. It’s ok, take a breather; this list of podcasts make excellent company while you find your way back to ze books.


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 Friday too!

Stay bad & bookish, my friends.
Vanessa