Categories
In The Club

Latine Heritage Month, a Haunting, a 19th-Century Romance, and More

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

With so many great new releases coming out, as is typical with the season, and Latine Heritage Month starting on September 15th, I thought to highlight some recently released books by Latine authors. The books I mention below look at the devastating effects of corporate greed on a family, one woman’s haunting by a figure in Mexican folklore, a London romance in the 19th century, and more.

But before we get to the Club, Book Riot’s editorial team is writing for casual and power readers alike over at The Deep Dive! During the month of September, all new free subscribers will be entered to win Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler, plus 5 mystery books from The Deep Dive. To enter, simply start a free subscription to The Deep Dive. No payment method required!

Nibbles and Sips

two donuts with a glazed top

Crème brûlée donuts by Ms. Shi/@msshiandmrhe

I recently discovered Ms. Shi on YouTube, and I have to say that she makes some seemingly complicated recipes seem more accessible. This is one of those recipes. There are plenty of steps to making these crème brûlée donuts, but each step is fairly simple (depending on your ability and experience, of course) and the ingredients are what many bakers already have in their pantry and fridge: milk, eggs, flour, cornstarch, yeast, butter, sugar, cooking oil, and salt. Seriously, I barely bake and already have most of that. For a full list of ingredients and written instructions, you can visit Ms. Shi’s page.


cover of Where There Was Fire by John Manuel Arias

Where There Was Fire by John Manuel Arias

In this lyrical debut, readers try to piece together the remnants of a family torn asunder by the imperialist-driven corporate greed of an American banana plantation. It’s 1968 in Costa Rica when a devastating fire takes hold of the American Fruit Company’s most valuable banana plantation, killing many and destroying evidence of its wrongdoing. Lyra’s father, José María, seems to be among those who perished. Twenty-seven years later, Lyra and her family have left Costa Rica and are in shambles — she’s estranged from her mother and is raising her nephew after his mother died by suicide. An encounter with someone who used to work at the American Fruit Company sets Lyra on a course that travels through different times and puts her up against different spirits as she tries to suss out the truth of what happened that day at the plantation.

cover of the haunting of alejandra by v. castro

The Haunting of Alejandra by V. Castro

*Beautiful cover alert!* Here, we follow Alejandra, who wears her usual roles of mother, wife, and adopted daughter, even as she slips into a familiar darkness. The same darkness that she learns plagued her biological mother. And her mother’s mother. Once she starts learning more about her biological family, she finds out that the women in her family were tied together through the years by tragedy, specifically tragedy brought on by the Mexican mythological La Llorona, or the weeping woman. The murderous apparition wants to cover Alejandra’s life in despair, but she, like the women before her, is not so easily conquered.

cover of Ana Maria and The Fox by Liana De la Rosa; Latine couple dancing

Ana María and The Fox by Liana De la Rosa

When the French invade Mexico in 1862, Ana María Luna Valdés and her sisters get sent to London for their protection. While they are originally meant to lay low, their uncle convinces them to socialize in high society, with the hopes that the neutral Queen will become sympathetic to their plight. While there, Ana María meets the stoic Gideon Fox, who has worked hard all his life to achieve his current status as a member of Parliament. Fox is on the brink of permanently abolishing slavery — and its loopholes — as he begins to (reluctantly) fall for Ana María. But the two know that their social statuses are precarious in Victorian England — hers as a foreigner, and his as the descendant of a formally enslaved woman. This is an interesting break from the usual historical romance setup.

cover image for Creep

Creep: Accusations and Confessions by Myriam Gurba

With this collection of essays, Gurba is snatching edges. She looks in depth at creeps — the actions and people who we actively label as “creeps,” as well as things that we maybe should. Instead of looking just at the more offensive, overt actions, Gurba also looks with nuance at things that are taken less seriously, but are on the same spectrum. People who commit sexual assault and get away with murder are creeps, but so is the society that lets them. But Gurba also makes this collection personal, weaving in pieces of her own story throughout, including her experiences with sexual assault. She even reckons with sources of inspiration and how they’ve missed the mark (specifically Joan Didion and how little she’s had to say on Indigenous populations as a California writer).

cover of Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo; wicker chair with a red cushion and flowers growing up one side

Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo

Acevedo is the National Book Award-winning author of The Poet XWith the Fire on High, and more, and Family Lore is her adult debut. In it, Flor Marte has a gift that lets her predict when someone will die. It’s because of this gift that, when Flor tells her family she wants to have a living wake for herself, they’re worried. Has she seen her own death? Someone else’s? She keeps her sisters Matilde, Pastor, and Camila in the dark. Meanwhile, in the three days leading up to the wake, we learn of the rich inner lives of the Marte women — Matilde’s marriage issues, Pastora’s drive, and Camila’s need to stand out. We even learn of their cousins, Yadi and Ona, one of whom is being reunited with their love, who’s been imprisoned since they were young, and another who is struggling with the decision of having a child.

Book Riot has podcasts to keep your ears listening for days! Check them out and subscribe.

Suggestion Section


I hope this newsletter found you well, and as always, thanks for hanging out! If you have any comments or just want to connect, send an email to erica@riotnewmedia.com or holla at me on Twitter @erica_eze_. You can also catch me talking more mess in the new In Reading Color newsletter as well as chattin’ with my new co-host Tirzah Price on the Hey YA podcast.

Until next time,

Erica

Categories
In The Club

Must-Read September Book Club Books

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

Just when I was starting to get good-n-cozy with the fall temperatures, here comes a September heat wave. Sheesh. Anyway, keeping with the relatively new tradition I’ve started off highlighting some of the most book club-worthy books being released each month, I’ve got a few great ones coming out in September.

But first! Book Riot’s editorial team is writing for casual and power readers alike over at The Deep Dive! During the month of September, all new free subscribers will be entered to win Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler, plus 5 mystery books from The Deep Dive. To enter, simply start a free subscription to The Deep Dive. No payment method required!

Nibbles and Sips

banana bread

Cinnamon Crunch Banana Bread by @healthfulradiance

Have you ever heard of cinnamon crunch banana bread? Yeah, me neither, but I now know that I 100% need it in my life. The video @healthfulradiance posts on it makes it look so comforting!


cover of The Fraud by Zadie Smith

The Fraud by Zadie Smith

In The Fraud, bestselling and award-winning author Smith gets into some Victorian-era messiness. As The Tichborne Trial — in which a poor Australian butcher claimed he was heir to the Tichborne family fortune — takes hold of England’s attention, we follow the lives of a few of its citizens. There’s Scottish housekeeper Eliza Touchet, who knows that her employer, washed-up writer William Ainsworth, can’t write to save his life. And then there’s Andrew Bogle, the formerly enslaved man from Jamaica whose testimony may very well decide the entire Tichborne case.

cover of Black Sheep by Rachel Harrison

Black Sheep by Rachel Harrison, Sept. 12

Does your book club ever read horror? Here, the author of Cackle brings us a supernatural cult tale just ahead of spooky season. Vesper left her oddly religious family’s community when she was 18, even though she was told doing so would mean she couldn’t return. But now she’s been invited back to attend her friend and cousin Rosie’s wedding, and she is curious why the rules are being broken for her. She’s also wondering what happened to her father and why everyone seems uncharacteristically happy to have her back…

cover of Thicker Than Water by Kerry Washington

Thicker Than Water by Kerry Washington, Sept. 26

She of Scandal fame is publishing her memoir! Washington details her life as an actor, director, mother, daughter, and activist, showing how she’s overcome setbacks and even kept traumas from the public view. She shares more of her private world and everything — including the mentors and journey to self-discovery — that has led to all her success.

cover of Land of Milk and Honey by C. Pam Zhang

Land of Milk and Honey by C Pam Zhang

The smog that covers the city where an unnamed chef is still trying to eke out a living means that the fresh ingredients the land once produced have turned into canned products. That is, until the chef takes a job at a mountaintop colony where the privileged have been able to escape many of the negative effects of the climate disaster. Finally, she’s experiencing a clear sky, and she’s able to make recipes with some of the world’s last fresh ingredients. She’s also isolated from her clientele, and learns that the purpose the unseen investors have for her goes beyond just cooking.

Book Riot has podcasts to keep your ears listening for days! Check them out and subscribe.

Suggestion Section

Book Club:

More To Read

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I hope this newsletter found you well, and as always, thanks for hanging out! If you have any comments or just want to connect, send an email to erica@riotnewmedia.com or holla at me on Twitter @erica_eze_. You can also catch me talking more mess in the new In Reading Color newsletter as well as chattin’ with my new co-host Tirzah Price on the Hey YA podcast.

Until next time,

Erica

Categories
In The Club

Indie Reads for the Book Club

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

Have y’all ever started reading your book club book and realized you didn’t care for it? What did you do? I had that experience for a virtual book club I joined and wasn’t sure what to do at first. I tried to power through for a bit, but then got real with myself and just put the book down and took myself off the “attending” list. I did struggle through four chapters, which were all punctuated with me pausing the audiobook to look up reviews and reconfirm that I was reading the right book.

I’m curious: how long have you waited to put a book club book down that you weren’t enjoying?

As you think on that, we can get to the club. Before we do, though, make sure to check out Book Riot’s New Release Index! It’s what I use to assemble new release lists and it will keep you ahead of the library holds list. IYKYK.

Nibbles and Sips

rose tteokbokki

Rose Tteokbokki by Sue at My Korean Kitchen

Another question for you and your book club activities: do you prefer to have snacky, appetizer-like items or more substantial dinner-type things? I could personally go for either, so today I’m hitting you with my latest food obsession: Rose tteokbokki. It’s basically just tteokbokki with cream/milk added. I have to admit that I “cheat” and use the frozen pack from Trader Joe’s and just add the dairy component, but if you want a more detailed recipe, click here.


I realize I don’t highlight indie titles as much as I could in this newsletter, so today I’ve got a few that I think would do well for book clubs.

cover of The Night Flowers by Sara Herchenroether

The Night Flowers by Sara Herchenroether

In the ’80s in a national forest in New Mexico, bodies are found that belong to two children and a young woman. How they got there remains a mystery for 30 years until two women try to figure out what happened. Now, each woman — librarian Laura and detective Jean — has their own reason for solving the cold case. Laura is trying to keep busy as a way to keep her mind off her cancer treatments, and Jean is trying to prove that she shouldn’t retire yet. Even with their baggage, they’re both willing to risk it all to give a voice to the slain.

cover of A Darker Wilderness, edited by Erin Sharkey

A Darker Wilderness, edited by Erin Sharkey

This collection of essays from different writers looks at Black history, nature, and Black folks’ relationship with the outdoors. Starting with an archival object — like Benjamin Banneker’s 1795 almanac and a statue of Haitian revolutionary François Makandal — each of these essays reaches back generations and crosses thousands of miles to tell the story of how Black people have related to the land they’ve lived on, even as that relationship has been marred by colonialism.

cover of After the Rapture by Nancy Stohlman

After the Rapture by Nancy Stohlman

The structure of this one is interesting. It’s basically a collection of flash fiction pieces that come together to make a novella. Each miniature story shows another aspect of the apocalypse in a ridiculous way that juxtaposes things like pop culture with the trappings of the end of the world. *Bonus points for the inclusion of Barbie as a character.*

cover of Dragon Palace by Hiromi Kawakami, translated by Ted Goossen 

Dragon Palace by Hiromi Kawakami, translated by Ted Goossen 

Here’s another collection of stories, this time from the author of the bestselling Strange Weather in Tokyo. In these eccentric tales, Kawakami explores the very human need for love and wonderment. A goddess uses her spiciness to control followers, a con man shape shifts, a woman has a string of husbands until she’s able to return to the sea, and more.

Suggestion Section

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10 Fever Dream Books To Make You Check Your Temperature


I hope this newsletter found you well, and as always, thanks for hanging out! If you have any comments or just want to connect, send an email to erica@riotnewmedia.com or holla at me on Twitter @erica_eze_. You can also catch me talking more mess in the new In Reading Color newsletter as well as chattin’ with my new co-host Tirzah Price on the Hey YA podcast.

Until next time,

Erica

Categories
In The Club

Memorable Memoirs

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

What are some bookish habits you’re trying to start? Personally, I’m trying to get into the habit of reading more nonfiction. I’m sure I’ve discussed my tendency to stick to fiction before in this newsletter, and it even comes out in the lists I write every week, but I would still like to achieve some balance. With that said, I’ve got some recent memoirs to recommend to you and your book club, as well as a reminder to check out the Maui Relief Effort Readathon, which ends August 28th.

Before we get to the club, make sure to check out Book Riot’s New Release Index! It’s what I use to assemble new release lists and it will keep you ahead of the library holds list.

Nibbles and Sips

Creamy Strawberry Agua Fresca

Creamy Strawberry Agua Fresca by @lifewithmarq

Though @lifewithmarq made this video for Cinco de Mayo, it can, of course, be made at any time and I think it’ll come in clutch in the (hopefully) last days of this heat.

All you need is fresh strawberries, water, condensed milk, and regular milk.

Blend the strawberries and water to make a puree, strain the puree into a pitcher with the condensed milk, add the regular milk, and that’s it!

Here is a more exact recipe with amounts included.


cover of Stay True: A Memoir by Hua Hsu; photo of person holding a camera up to their face and pointing it at the camera

Stay True by Hua Hsu

Hsu writes of the friendship he had in college with Japanese American Ken. He and Ken became close friends despite their seemingly immense differences — Ken was mainstream, while Hsu was more of a rebel. Their friendship came to an abrupt end when Ken was killed during a carjacking only a couple years after they met. Stay True is a tribute to this relationship — it’s about coming of age as an outsider and finding where you belong.

cover of Better Living Through Birding: Notes from a Black Man in the Natural World by Christian Cooper

Better Living Through Birding: Notes from a Black Man in the Natural World by Christian Cooper

Cooper has lived a life! He broke ground at Marvel Comics as the writer who introduced the first queer storylines and has long advocated against racism and homophobia. Once he discovered his love for ornithology, it led him to birding expeditions in the Americas, Africa, and beyond. It was an incident that took place in New York City that put him more in the public eye recently, though — he was the Central Park birder who a white woman called the police on during one of his routine birding excursions in 2020. The video went viral, and while Cooper explores that incident here, he also explores the other avenues of his life that have made him who he is — from the relationships with his father, mother, and grandmother, to his experiences as a Black queer, nerdy kid growing up on Long Island.

cover of Dyscalculia: A Love Story of Epic Miscalculation by Camonghne Felix; illustration of a burning heart with a sword in it

Dyscalculia: A Love Story of Epic Miscalculation by Camonghne Felix

Poet Felix weaves her childhood dyscalculia, a disorder that influences how numbers are understood and interpreted, into her miscalculations in her adult life. This is a clever and raw memoir that will have you in your feelings, even as it makes you laugh.

cover of Starstruck: A Memoir of Astrophysics and Finding Light in the Dark Sarafina El-Badry Nance

Starstruck: A Memoir of Astrophysics and Finding Light in the Dark Sarafina El-Badry Nance

In Starstruck, El-Badry Nance shares a love for space that started with gazing up at the stars with her father when she was a child. But the field of astrophysics isn’t the most welcoming for A) women, and B) people of color. Nevertheless, El-Badry Nance fought her way through misogyny, racism, and personal issues — like family-induced trauma and a cancer diagnosis — to make a space for herself within the field of astrophysics. And here, she weaves illuminating lessons on the cosmos with her own personal history to tell a unique story.

Join Rebecca & Jeff in the First Edition podcast to consider the 10 finalists for the “It Book” of August and pick a winner.

Suggestion Section

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I hope this newsletter finds you well, and as always, thanks for hanging out! If you have any comments or just want to connect, send an email to erica@riotnewmedia.com or holla at me on Twitter @erica_eze_. You can also catch me talking more mess in the new In Reading Color newsletter as well as chattin’ with my new co-host Tirzah Price on the Hey YA podcast.

Until next time,

Erica

Categories
In The Club

Māori Pocahontas, a Redacted DOJ Report, and More Poetry for the Club

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

By now I’m sure you’ve heard of the fires ravaging Hawai’i. The Queer Collective book club has started a relief fund. It’s running until August 28th, and you can find out more about how to participate here.

Since it’s August, and when the Sealey Challenge takes place, I’ve had poetry on my mind a little more than usual. I’ve never actually discussed poetry with other people outside of a classroom setting, so before now, I hadn’t thought about how poetry discussions would look for a book club. Like, yeah, obviously you read the poems and discuss them, but poetry is different from prose, and that didn’t seem like enough to me.

Googling how to treat poetry within book clubs yielded what I think is a pretty good find. This brief guide gives some solid tips, like reading the poem before the meeting, and then having a couple people read aloud once the meeting starts.

If you feel like some people are maybe a little hesitant about the idea of discussing poetry during a book club meeting, you can share this post that matches book tastes with potential poetry tastes to ease folx into it.

Before we get to the club, make sure to check out Book Riot’s New Release Index! It’s what I use to assemble new release lists and it will keep you ahead of the library holds list. IYKYK.

Nibbles and Sips

blueberry loaf with some slices cut

Lemon Blueberry Loaf by @lovevivvv

The payoff for this seems way too big for how easy it is to make.

You just need: sugar, butter, eggs, lemon zest, lemon juice, flour, baking powder, milk, and blueberries. @lovevivvv shows how to do it on her Instagram, as well as in print on her Substack.


cover of The Ferguson Report: An Erasure by Nicole Sealey

The Ferguson Report: An Erasure by Nicole Sealey

The Sealey Challenge is named for Nicole Sealey, the award-winning poet who started the challenge in 2017. This collection looks at the ways Black lives have been erased — both literally and physically, as well as in public records — by honing in on what happened in 2014 to Michael Brown in Ferguson. And I have to say, the way she goes about it is striking: she uses the Department of Justice’s official report — which described the policing and justice system of the city as racist — and redacts it. The contents of the report are visible just past the words that Sealey has bolded, which gives an entirely new interpretation of the text.

cover of Feast by Ina Cariño

Feast by Ina Cariño

This collection has won the Whiting Award and the Alice James Award. Lush and rich, these poems look at how Brown bodies are nourished, by food, language, and wherever they call home. Cariño looks beyond trauma, instead focusing on community, bonds, and how those across the diaspora connect to each other.

cover of Song of My Softening by Omotara Jame

Song of My Softening by Omotara James

The publication date has shifted a bit with this one, so just make sure to keep an eye out for it. James looks at the body, and how one connects to their own. How the dynamics — between self and body and body and society — change, as well as how the world relates to Black queerness.

cover of Poukahangatus by Tayi Tibble

Poūkahangatus by Tayi Tibble

Tibble dives into the many aspects of her identity. She looks at how Indigenous Māori traditions fit into her modern reality, discussing everything from the Kardashians to Twilight with lyricism and humor. Mythologies, stereotypes, pop culture, and the effects of colonization are all broken down and looked at, and Tibble shows where you can find her in them.

Join Rebecca & Jeff in the First Edition podcast to consider the 10 finalists for the “It Book” of August and pick a winner.

Suggestion Section


I hope this newsletter found you well, and as always, thanks for hanging out! If you have any comments or just want to connect, send an email to erica@riotnewmedia.com or holla at me on Twitter @erica_eze_. You can also catch me talking more mess in the new In Reading Color newsletter as well as chattin’ with my new co-host Tirzah Price on the Hey YA podcast.

Until next time,

Erica

Categories
In The Club

Hunger Personified, an Astrologist Sleuth, and More Translated Fiction

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

So we all know how beneficial reading fiction can be, but did you know that it can increase empathy, thereby improving how we relate to people outside of our own experiences? This is partially why it’s important to read books written by diverse authors. It’s also partially why reading translated books by women specifically is so important. By doing so, we become more privy to the experiences — from the struggles to the joys — of women around the world. Apart from making us more empathetic to certain hardships, reading translated books by women can also open our eyes to new ways of thinking.

Since books written by women account for such a small percentage of translated works, Meytal Radzinski started Women in Translation Month to try and increase visibility. So today, I’m sharing a few translated books by women I think you should check out.

Before we do, make sure to check out Book Riot’s New Release Index! It’s what I use to assemble new release lists and it will keep you ahead of the library holds list. IYKYK.

Nibbles and Sips

fruit empanada

Peach Cobbler Empanadas by @kimmyskreations1

I think I’ve recommended a few recipes by @kimmyskreations1 already, but I feel like y’all see why. I don’t do much with baking + fruit, but it’s still peach season and I’m looking forward to trying something out of my ordinary.

She doesn’t include printed instructions, but Creole Contessa does here.

You’ll need:

– 2 cans of peaches

– butter

– empanada wrappers

– white sugar

– cinnamon

– brown sugar

– nutmeg

– vanilla bean gel/vanilla extract

You can add amounts by eyeballing @kimmyskreations1’s video (and stopping when your ancestors say to), or just follow Contessa’s listed-out instructions.


cover of Igifu by Scholastique Mukasonga, translated by Jordan Stump

Igifu by Scholastique Mukasonga,translated by Jordan Stump 

This takes place during the Rwandan genocide and is partially fictional, partially autobiographical. Hunger has such a constant presence in characters’ lives that it’s personified as Igifu, “a cruel guardian angel.” A child searches for nourishment at the bud of a flower, a woman recounts her life before the war and after, and a young man remembers his father and the wealth that cattle promised in another time. Zadie Smith has said the collection “rescues a million souls from the collective noun genocide.”

Talk to My Back cover

Talk to My Back by Yamada Murasaki, translated by Ryan Holmberg

Is “talk to my back” the Japanese version of “talk to the hand?” I personally think so, and if it really is, then this title is serving an extra bit of life. Especially considering its subject matter: it follows Chiharu as she struggles with the state of her marriage and mothering two teenage daughters. As her husband’s disregard for her — he sees her as a domestic servant and cheats on her — becomes apparent, so too does Japan’s failing of its female population. Murasaki was the first manga artist to use manga as a medium to explore the lives of Japanese women in such an honest way, and Talk to My Back was originally published serially in the influential alternative manga magazine Garo from 1981-84.

cover of Drive Your Plow Over the Bones

Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk, translated by Antonia Lloyd-Jones

Janina is an aging astrologist who house-sits for some of her neighbors, who usually only return to their houses in her small Polish town for vacations. She also translates the poetry of William Blake, which is an interesting combination of activities (listen, get you someone who can do both). When the bodies of some of her neighbors, people she knew not to respect nature, turn up dead, she assumes that animals are taking their revenge. This is a mystery that has possible supernatural elements, with a main character who is eccentric and just as passionate about the lives of animals as she is that of humans.

cover of still born

Still Born by Guadalupe Nettel, translated by Rosalind Harvey 

This was shortlisted for the International Booker Prize and follows two homegirls and their ever-changing views on motherhood. Since forever, Laura and Alina have thought that becoming mothers wasn’t for them, instead structuring their lives around careers. So much so that when they reach their mid-30s, Laura has her tubes tied. But then Alina does a 180 and announces her decision to have a child. This, understandably, rattles their friendship, but what starts off as shaky ground turns into sympathy for a damning diagnosis for Alina’s unborn child. As Alina contends with what may happen to her baby, Laura begins to see motherhood in a new light, courtesy of her widowed neighbor’s young son.

Suggestion Section

Book Club:

Join Rebecca & Jeff in the First Edition podcast to consider the 10 finalists for the “It Book” of August and pick a winner.

More To Read

August 2023 Horoscopes and Book Recommendations

8 Award-Winning Literary Fiction Books You’ve Never Heard Of

Libraries Are Under Attack Because They Are Anti-Fascist

The Bestselling Books of the Week, According to All the Lists


I hope this newsletter found you well, and as always, thanks for hanging out! If you have any comments or just want to connect, send an email to erica@riotnewmedia.com or holla at me on Twitter @erica_eze_. You can also catch me talking more mess in the new In Reading Color newsletter as well as chattin’ with my new co-host Tirzah Price on the Hey YA podcast.

Until next time,

Erica

Categories
In The Club

Must-Read August Book Club Books

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

It’s the first of the month already! In the words of Lil Jon, “WHAT?!” For real, the time just keeps flying by…I will admit that I kind of like new months, though, because it means new books, new horoscopes, and just new possibilities.

In keeping with the recent tradition I’ve started, below I’ve got some new books out this month that I think will be perfect for book clubbing.

Let’s get to them!

Before we do, make sure to check out Book Riot’s New Release Index! It’s what I use to assemble new release lists and it will keep you ahead of the library holds list. IYKYK.

Nibbles and Sips

watermelon slices

Watermelon Fries by @Feelgoodfoodie

I have never heard of watermelon fries, but I’m so intrigued! It’s essentially just watermelon cut into fry-like shapes, and @Feelgoodfoodie made a delicious-sounding dip to go with them.

All you need is: a watermelon, crinkle cutter (if you want to be extra cute), and yogurt, honey, and strawberries for the dip. Cut up the watermelon and blend the dip ingredients together and there you have it.

What Vibe Is Your Book Club Going For?

cover of Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo; wicker chair with a red cushion and flowers growing up one side

Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo — Women-Centered Family Saga with a Lil Magic

Bestselling and award-winning author Elizabeth Acevedo makes her adult debut with Family Lore. In it, the women of a Dominican American family prepare for a living wake. Flor Marte can see when other people will die, and so it worries her sisters when she requests a living wake for herself. But whether she will die soon or not she keeps to herself — and she’s not the only secret keeper. From a secret attraction to an old lover recently released from prison — the Marte women’s rich, complex, and magical lives are brilliantly brought to life here.

cover of The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride — Small Town Secrets and a Community Coming Together

A dead body is discovered in a small town of Black, Jewish, and other European immigrants in Pennsylvania in 1972. To fully understand what happened, McBride takes us all the way back to 1925, when Moshe and Chona ran both the only integrated dance hall as well as the Heaven & Earth Grocery Store in the Chicken Hill community. It’s the Moshes who help their friend Nate, the leader of the Black community, when he needs to hide his deaf nephew to stop him from becoming institutionalized. But then racists interfere and something terrible happens. But the community comes together to protect its own. (Aug. 8)

vampires of el norte book cover

Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas— Some Familiar Horror Tropes, But in a Historical and New-to-You Setting (+ Healer Magic)

I really loved Cañas’ The Hacienda and am super excited for this one. It’s the 1840s, and Mexico has long been threatened by invaders from the north. But there’s another kind of monster that threatens the country’s borders. And when Nena and Néstor were young, it was one of these monsters that attacked Nena and caused Néstor to flee. He’s been fleeing ever since, and doing his best f-boi impression to drown out the guilt of having abandoned his best friend. The two are united, though, when Néstor is part of a militia to fight off the Americans, and Nena is that militia’s curandera, or healer. She (understandably) feels some type of way about how he bolted nine years ago, but the real threat soon takes precedence over any long-held grudges. (Aug. 15)

cover of Happiness Falls by Angie Kim

Happiness Falls by Angie Kim — A Nuanced Look at Neurodivergence and Family Dynamics + Mystery

This is part whodunit, missing persons case, meditation on race, philosophical exploration, and more. And it’s delightfully twisty on top of all that. The patriarch of the Parksons goes missing, and it’s only Eugene — one of the Parksons’ kids who has a rare condition that prevents him from speaking — who saw what happened. We follow the investigation, yes, but we also see how the family relearns how to communicate with each other and how they define what it means to be happy. (Aug. 29)

Join Rebecca & Jeff in the First Edition podcast to consider the 10 finalists for the “It Book” of August and pick a winner.

Suggestion Section

Cookbook Showdown: The Best Pound Cake Recipes, Tested

Riot Roundup: The Best Books We Read April-June 2023

Which Barbie Are You Based on Your Book Picks?

Adult Versions of Beloved Childhood Fantasy Novels


I hope this newsletter found you well, and as always, thanks for hanging out! If you have any comments or just want to connect, send an email to erica@riotnewmedia.com or holla at me on Twitter @erica_eze_. You can also catch me talking more mess in the new In Reading Color newsletter as well as chattin’ with my new co-host Tirzah Price on the Hey YA podcast.

Until next time,

Erica

Categories
In The Club

Books That Are Beachy Keen

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

Y’all. I’ve finally been hit with the need to read “beach reads.” I’ve been hearing the term since forever and have always felt rather ambivalent about it (I say that because I know some people prefer to go in the opposite direction). But this summer, with the heat on 10,000 and my attention in the negatives, I’m seeking out beachy book goodness. So today, I’ve got a few books that you can read to take your mind off the heat (while you cozy up under that AC).

With that said, let’s get to the books! But first, make sure to check out Book Riot’s newest podcast, First Edition, where BookRiot.com co-founder Jeff O’Neal explores the wide bookish world. Subscribe to hear them and stay to hear Book Riot’s editors pick the “it” book of the month.

Nibbles and Sips

white rice topped with smelt roe

Tobiko with rice by @CafeMaddy

This is a simple dish/technique if you like tobiko/fish roe. You just need the fish roe, steamed rice, butter, fried egg, rice seasoning (like furikake), sesame oil, soy sauce, scallions, and a little bit of sesame seeds.

Now for the books!


cover of Jana Goes Wild

Jana Goes Wild by Farah Heron

In this second chance romance, Jana is set to attend a destination wedding in Tanzania and ready for the reset it’s sure to provide. But then she finds out her ex, and child’s father, Anil will also be there, and suddenly her plans are ruined. Even though he’s a good father, she can’t forgive him for what he did years ago. To distract herself and show that she’s not sweating him, she comes up with a list to get her juices flowing. She’ll perform karaoke, do dance routines for strangers, and generally let her guard down. But that makes her more susceptible to her still-lingering attraction to Anil.

cover The Way of the Househusband

The Way of the House Husband by Kousuke Oono

Main character Tatsu provides a good portion of this manga’s comic relief as a former member of the yakuza who now spends his days as a loving househusband to his wife Miku. Turns out you can take the husband out of the yakuza, but you can’t take the yakuza out of the husband. Tatsu’s natural aesthetic and demeanor are just a little too gangster-adjacent and still reflect his time as the much-feared “Immortal Dragon.” And, his facial expressions still make people sweat. They’re also just a little out of place in the clearance section of the grocery store. Tatsu brings a hilarious intensity to the most mundane and everyday househusband chores, and it’s fun to watch him interact with his neighbors.

Get you a man who can do both! “—Miku, probably

paperback cover of That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon by Kimberly Lemming

That Time I Got Drunk and Saved a Demon by Kimberly Lemming

Tell me you wouldn’t read this cover in a bookstore or at a library and have to pick it up. And the title is pretty spot on. Cinnamon is drunk when she saves the shifter demon Fallon, and after he follows her home and tells her of the evil goddess that has reduced demons to zombie-like states, she accompanies him to free his people. She helps him free some other things, too, if you know what I mean. This is a fun, funny, steamy monster romance with a Black female lead (in other words, you should read it ASAP). Bonus points for Cinnamon’s siblings being named Chili and Cumin, and for the fact that the paperback cover is fuego.

manslaughter park book cover

Manslaughter Park by Tirzah Price

This queer YA retelling of Jane Austen’s Mansfield Park is the last entry to Price’s Jane Austen Murder Mystery series. Fanny is living at her uncle Sir Thomas Bertram’s estate, where she suffers at the hands of her mean relatives. Then her uncle dies. Now, against the advice of her crush Edmund, aspiring artist Fanny is trying to get to the bottom of what really happened to her uncle and will uncover blackmail, art fraud, and more.

Suggestion Section

Book Club:

Delighting velocireaders since 2017, Book Riot’s New Release Index will keep you in the know about all the latest books. Start your 14-day free trial today.

More To Read

10 of the Best Historical Science Fiction Books

Enchantment & Intrigue: Magical Cozy Mysteries to Enliven Your Bookshelf

20 Horror Books for People Who Don’t Like Horror

Can You Match the Romance Novel to Its Opening Lines?


I hope this newsletter found you well, and as always, thanks for hanging out! If you have any comments or just want to connect, send an email to erica@riotnewmedia.com or holla at me on Twitter @erica_eze_. You can also catch me talking more mess in the new In Reading Color newsletter as well as chattin’ with my new co-host Tirzah Price on the Hey YA podcast.

Until next time,

Erica

Categories
In The Club

Disability Pride Month in the Club!

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

It’s Disability Pride Month!

The fight for disability justice is ongoing a there is a lot that needs to change so that everyone truly has equality. Today I’m highlighting books that center people with disabilities or the fight for justice for all, and have a great mix of nonfiction and fiction, as well as a poetry collection.

With that said, let’s get to the books! But first make sure to check out Book Riot’s newest podcast, First Edition, where BookRiot.com co-founder Jeff O’Neal explores the wide bookish world. Subscribe to hear them and stay to hear Book Riot’s editors pick the “it” book of the month.

Nibbles and Sips

oreo dessert

No Bake Chewy Oreo Bars by @spicednice

This is one of those sweet treats that I think you’ll love, but also be good with just one serving. It seems pretty rich. Also, it’s basically just fresh Rice Krispie treats, but with crushed Oreos instead of cereal. Here’s a video to follow along with.

You’ll need:

– a big pack of Oreos

– a pack of mini marshmallows

– 4 ounces of unsalted butter

As with Rice Krispie treats, melt the butter at a medium-low temperature, add the marshmallows and stir until they’re melted as well. Add the melted marshmallows to a tray that you’ve already added nonstick spray + crushed Oreos to. Mix together and spread across the tray/pan evenly, then let it sit in the fridge for 30 minutes and cut into squares.

Now for the books!


Since I recommended Head Above Water: Reflections on Illness by Shahd Alshammari, which came out just yesterday, in a recent newsletter send, I’ll just give a reminder here to pick it up.

a graphic of the cover of Sipping Dom Pérignon Through a Straw: Reimagining Success as a Disabled Achiever by Eddie Ndopu

Sipping Dom Pérignon Through a Straw: Reimagining Success as a Disabled Achiever by Eddie Ndopu (August 1)

The official blurb for this book mentions how Ndopu, a global humanitarian with muscular atrophy, wrote this memoir with “one good finger.” And it’s with that one good finger that he excelled in school when told he wouldn’t make it past age 5, became a highly requested speaker on disability justice in his teens, and got accepted to Oxford University. But it’s also been a struggle — Ndopu speaks on how, while he has the opportunity to do things like sip on bubbly with the world’s leaders, he’s also had to fight that much harder for his success because of the ableist world we live in. Case in point, Ndopu has struggled to get accommodations from Oxford, with all their money and resources. Which is just shameful, honestly.

a graphic of the cover of The Future Is Disabled: Prophecies, Love Notes and Mourning Songs by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha

The Future Is Disabled: Prophecies, Love Notes and Mourning Songs by Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha

Piepzna-Samarasinha writes about how living through COVID has been as a disabled, queer femme-presenting person. The fact that the world was made for nondisabled people was made even more clear since the onset of the pandemic, but in this book, they imagine a world where the majority of people are disabled. They posit that disability justice and disability culture is vital to overcoming things like fascism, the environmental crisis, and other issues. They also talk about the care crisis, and how disabled people have supported each other, and how they can continue to.

the cover of Just By Looking at Him

Just by Looking at Him by Ryan O’Connell

O’Connell actually stars in Queer As Folk and Special, and has a few things in common with the main character of Just by Looking At Him, Elliott, who is a TV writer, gay, and has cerebral palsy. Elliott is super-duper going through it, though. Behind his seemingly Instagram-perfect life, he’s struggling with alcohol addiction, being unfaithful to his boyfriend, and issues with internalized ableism. There are quite a few laughs to be had as he tries to get his ish together.

A graphic of the cover of The Perseverance by Raymond Antrobus

The Perseverance by Raymond Antrobus

CW: nasty ableist language

When I mentioned this poetry collection in this newsletter a while back, I mentioned Ted Hughes, and I feel like I should again. Antrobus features a Ted Hughes poem titled “Deaf School” where he crosses out each line. Why? Because Hughes wrote things like “the deaf children were monkey nimble” and how they had “faces of little animals.” Antrobus actually won the 2018 Ted Hughes award (the irony) for poetry with this collection, in which he explores his identity as a d/Deaf person, a British Jamaican, and society’s failings where d/Deaf children are concerned.

Side note, but when I tried to look up the poem by Ted Hughes (Sylvia Plath’s husband for those unawares), I could only find stuff having to do with Antrobus, which was…interesting. The original poem is so gross to me, I can’t imagine how Hughes has a poetry award in his name, but here we are.

Delighting velocireaders since 2017, Book Riot’s New Release Index will keep you in the know about all the latest books. Start your 14-day free trial today.

Suggestion Section

A conversation with Korean American authors

Must-Read Historical Fiction Set in Mexico

Book Riot’s The Best Books of 2023 (So Far)

Barack and Michelle Obama Thank Librarians for Protecting the Freedom to Read


I hope this newsletter found you well, and as always, thanks for hanging out! If you have any comments or just want to connect, send an email to erica@riotnewmedia.com or holla at me on Twitter @erica_eze_. You can also catch me talking more mess in the new In Reading Color newsletter as well as chattin’ with my new co-host Tirzah Price on the Hey YA podcast.

Until next time,

Erica

Categories
In The Club

Part 2 of July’s Must-Read Book Club Books!

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

As I mentioned in last week’s newsletter, July has got some hot new releases, so I’m doing a two-part July books to know about/potentially have as book club books. And, if you don’t end up reading them with your book club, you can still request them early from your library (for the ones that haven’t come out yet, obviously).

In bookstore news, early July has been a raggedy, yet kind of encouraging week for indie bookstores. It’s really shown how much readers support and love indies. In Chicago, what looked like it was going to be a devastating few days for local indie Exile in Bookville because of a NASCAR event turned into the most online sales the bookstore has seen in the last two years. And, over in NYC, Yu & Me books suffered destruction by fire. They started a GoFundMe to get afloat, and what was a $150,000 goal has already risen to more than $300,000 raised (which includes a $5,000 donation by Celeste Ng). If you’d like to help out, you can donate here.

Indie bookstores are important spaces and these ones are clearly loved and supported. You love to see it.

With that said, let’s get to the books! But first make sure to check out Book Riot’s newest podcast, First Edition where BookRiot.com co-founder Jeff O’Neal explores the wide bookish world. Subscribe to hear them and stay to hear Book Riot’s editors pick the “it” book of the month.

Nibbles and Sips

roasted potatoes

Crispy Parmesan Roasted Potatoes by Moribyan

This is like top-tier-level comfort food. And looks super easy to make. For exact measurements and directions, click here. For a video, click here.

You’ll need:

baby gold potatoes

parmesan

Garlic and Herb Sauce:

unsalted butter

olive oil

parsley

garlic

parmesan

salt

black pepper

dried oregano

red pepper flakes

For dipping sauce, Moribyan used Sweet Baby Ray’s chicken sauce.

More July Releases for the Club

cover of Promise by Rachel Eliza Griffiths

Promise by Rachel Eliza Griffiths

Hyacinth and Ezra Kindred are two Black sisters who have a very loving upbringing in a coastal town in Maine. But in the summer of ’57, everything changes. Suddenly, it feels as though their adolescence has brought about a change in how their white neighbors — some of whom were their friends — view them. Around the country, the Civil Rights Movement is gaining steam, and the sisters have to reevaluate where they fit into everything.

cover of Ripe by Sarah Rose Etter 

Ripe by Sarah Rose Etter 

The horrors of capitalism are on full display in Ripe. Cassie has gotten her dream job at a Silicon Valley startup but is also seriously regretting it. The people she works with are toxic, entitled, and downright criminal — and once her bosses start requiring she engage in illegal activity, too, the black hole that’s always been with her, that gets stronger through her depression and anxiety, feels closer than ever. 

cover of Head above Water: Reflections on Illness by Shahd Alshammari

Head Above Water: Reflections on Illness by Shahd Alshammari (July 18)

In time for Disability Pride Month — and beyond, of course — Alshammari has written a memoir sharing her experiences as a Kuwati Palestinian English professor. A diagnosis of multiple sclerosis at 18 makes her come face to face with mortality, as she is told she only has a short time to live. Years, later, having outlived the lethal warning, she completes a graduate degree in the UK and returns home to become a professor. One of her students becomes a confidante and encourages her to put her experiences on the page. The result is an intimate weaving of Alshammari’s life as a professor of English in Kuwait, as a disabled person, and as a woman.

cover of Small Worlds by Caleb Azumah Nelson

Small Worlds by Caleb Azumah Nelson (July 18)

Nelson’s follow-up to the award-winning Open Water sees Stephen, a natural-born dancer, as he tries to navigate the tricky waters of being a first generation Ghanian in England. He dances to find joy — in church, with friends, in basements, with his band, and even to his father’s music as a way to bond with the man he doesn’t know. But then the dynamic between him and his father turns sour, and he has to readjust and figure out how to repair things — or not.

Suggestion Section

Book Club:

Delighting velocireaders since 2017, Book Riot’s New Release Index will keep you in the know about all the latest books. Start your 14-day free trial today.

More To Read

July 2023 Horoscopes and Book Recommendations

Hoopla, Overdrive/Libby Now Banned for Those Under 18 in Mississippi

The 20 Most Famous Books of All Time

Sleuthing Summer: 12 Great New Mystery & Thrillers For July 2023


I hope this newsletter found you well, and as always, thanks for hanging out! If you have any comments or just want to connect, send an email to erica@riotnewmedia.com or holla at me on Twitter @erica_eze_. You can also catch me talking more mess in the new In Reading Color newsletter as well as chattin’ with my new co-host Tirzah Price on the Hey YA podcast.

Until next time,

Erica