Sponsored by Flatiron Books, publisher of The Paris Hours by Alex George.
One day in the City of Light. One night in search of lost time.
Paris between the wars teems with artists, writers, and musicians, a glittering crucible of genius. But amidst the dazzling creativity of the city’s most famous citizens, four regular people are each searching for something they’ve lost. Told over the course of a single day in 1927, The Paris Hours takes four ordinary people whose stories, told together, are as extraordinary as the glorious city they inhabit.
Welcome to In The Club, a newsletter of resources to keep your book group well-met, well-read, and well-fed. This week I’m feeling the rage, yo. I’m trying to do my part and stay positive, but when I catch up on the news with only one eye open, I’m just tired. Today I’m pivoting from the comfort content I’ve given you the last few weeks and tossing in some books to help spark conversations on race and oppression. I’m acutely aware of how communities of color are disproportionately affected by all of this mess and encourage my beloved club members to think critically about that too.
But first, imma hit you with some comfort food. We all need it!
To the club!!
Nibbles and Sips
Friends. You know I love to cook. Pero…. the rona has stolen my joy. Not all the way, but I’ve def started looking at these pots and pans thinking, “This again?” If you too are getting sick and tired of cooking and don’t have the budget for a bunch of takeout, here’s one of my cheap go-to recipes for throwing stuff in a dish then tossing it into an oven. I make a big batch of this semi-homemade, super lazy enchilada casserole and freeze half of it for later.
Ingredients (real imprecise, sorrynotsorry)
- shredded chicken
- big can of enchilada sauce (red or green, up to you. I like the Pato, Herdez, or Las Palmas brands)
- shredded Monterrey jack (or other melty white shredded cheese)
- crappy white corn tortillas (I’m serious: don’t use the good ish on this sort of thing)
- sour cream
Instructions: layer away in an oven-safe (obvi) casserole dish. Start with a little bit of sauce, then a layer of tortillas, then chicken, then sauce, then cheese. Repeat the layering until the pan is full, making sure the last layer is a whole mess of cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 min. Top each serving with some sour cream.
Book Club Full o’ Rage
Disclaimer: Like I’ve said and will continue to say throughout this pandemic, read whatever you feel comfortable reading right now, if you even want to read at all. This is the heaviest subject matter I’ve suggested for the club in a few weeks, but the situation in Michigan got me all fired up and I think reads like these will spark important conversations if you’re in the right state of mind to have them.
When They Call You A Terrorist by Patrisse Khan-Cullors and asha bandele – This is the first book that came to mind when I saw all those people with their assault rifles descending on Michigan’s Capitol building. That mess goes unchecked, but Black Lives Matter is labeled a terrorist organization? What Black Americans must feel, and what ALL of us should be feeling is just… a lot. This book says it better than I ever could, and one of its authors is a co-founder of BLM.
So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo – It’s in the title: this is the book you read when you’re ready to have those tough conversations about race, privilege, and systemic oppression. How do you tell your roommate her jokes are racist? How do you explain white privilege to your white, privileged friend? And also maybe: how do you tell a bunch of entitled gun-toting <insert-strong-expletive-here>s to stay home and learn how to care about other people? No one is saying it’ll be easy, but it must be done.
Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall – For way too many women, feminism is completely non-intersectional. That’s a problem. Mikki Kendall flames that particular brand of feminism, arguing that its loud, flashy focus is not on basic survival for the many, but on increasing privilege for the few. If your cause ignores issues like food insecurity, access to quality education, safe neighborhoods, a living wage, and medical care for ALL women, it misses the point.
Suggestion Section
E! News rounded up a bunch of May celebrity book club picks.
This week in Entertainment Weekly’s Quarantine Book Club: how fashion books helped one reader look forward
Marvel has launched a weekly virtual book club with a roundup of celebrity guests!
Vox’s May book club pick has been staring at me from my bookshelf for yearrrrs: The Secret History by Donna Tartt
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, catch me once a month on the All the Books podcast, and watch me ramble about even more new books every Tuesday on our YouTube channel.
Stay bad & bookish, my friends.
Vanessa