Sponsored by Tor Books.
Award-winning author Alaya Dawn Johnson returns with Trouble the Saints, a magical love story, a compelling exposure of racial fault lines—and an altogether brilliant and deeply American saga.
Amid the whir of city life, a young woman from Harlem is drawn into the glittering underworld of Manhattan at the dawn of World War II, where she’s hired to use her knives to strike fear among its most dangerous denizens.
The dangerous magic of The Night Circus meets the powerful historical exploration of The Underground Railroad in this dazzling, daring new novel.
Welcome to In The Club, a newsletter of resources to keep your book group well-met, well-read, and well-fed. This week I’d like to remind everyone to get outside if you’re able and it’s safe to do so. Summer is starting to wind down (queue Lana del Rey’s “Summertime Sadness”), so I’m determined to absorb all the Vitamin D and get as much outside air in these lungs as I can. When my anxiety creeps back up or I’m overcome by the stuck-in-the-house blues, I feel almost instantly better after going for a walk or sitting in a park for as little as 30 minutes. So let this be a reminder to get outside if you too are feeling all the things. Bring your book club buddies and some nibbles, too.
To the club!!
Nibbles and Sips
I celebrated a friend’s birthday yesterday with a social distance picnic at one of our favorite parks. I packed a simple lunch of sandwiches, chips, and rosemary lemonade—it was perfect, if I do say so myself!
I know what you’re thinking: “Woman, I know how to make a sandwich.” Yes! But! To some a sandwich is just meat, cheese, bread—and sometimes that is all you need. But your flavor fairy bookmother is here to remind you to step up your between-the-bread game. Start with good bread, meats and cheeses: I got a hearty loaf from a local bakery, some ham and capicola, a little provolone, and a nice sharp cheddar. But don’t forget the spreads, sauces, and toppings! I brought a whole bunch of stuff for everyone to build their sando to their liking: lettuce, tomato, red onion, avocado, pepperoncinis, jalapeños, mayo, dijon mustard, and red wine vinaigrette. The possibilities are endless, just take a few extra minutes to pack them up.
Now for the beverage: there is nothing quite as satisfying as a nice, tart lemonade on a hot summer day. I tossed together the juice of about a dozen lemons, water to taste, a quick rosemary simple syrup for sweetness (sugar, water, rosemary, heat, pow!). And because I promised my friend some birthday bourbon, in the bourbon went.
No Theme. Just Books.
I couldn’t think of a theme to tie these books together, friends. I just think you should read them because they’re really great reads and have lots of discussion potential.
By Force Alone by Lavie Tidhar – This is an Arthurian retelling unlike any I have ever read. No one is particularly likable: the Knights of the Round Table are all sort of out for themselves, Merlin is a jerk who feeds off violence and conflict, even the Lady of the Lake is a shady arms dealer. I’m sorry.. what?! Out there as this premise sounds, stay with it; it’s a really smart (and violent and funny and the most subversive) critique of Brexit. Make sure to read the afterword, then discuss how Tidhar’s twisting of such a venerated story works to point out the hypocrisy of nationalism.
Disfigured: On Fairy Tales, Disability, and Making Space by Amanda Leduc – Oh my gatos, this own voices book on disability in fairy tales was a wake up call. You may think you know that the fairy tales of the West have major ableist tones, but reading this book really aims a floodlight at all that’s problematic. Able-bodied privilege has kept many of us from thinking critically about the implications of ableist messaging in these beloved stories, from those of the Brothers Grimm to Hans Christian Andersen to Disney. The villains are either disfigured in some way or disability is doled out as a punishment. The princesses and princes who find love aren’t ever disabled, or if they are, it’s after their hideous disfigurement has been shaken off. Discuss all the ways in which disabled representation frankly just sucks, and how so much of our society’s approach to disability focuses on curing it rather than making spaces (and not just physical ones) accessible for disabled people.
Take A Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert – I knew I wanted to include this book after a particular corner of the internet lost its ever loving mind over the song “WAP.” This newsletter isn’t the space for me to go on the stop-policing-women’s-pleasure-and-sit-down-if-you-never-had-a-problem-with-men-rapping-about-the-same-thing rant I have in my soul, so instead I’ll recommend a romance novel—and series, really—that portrays women (emphatically!) owning their sexuality. The titular character of Take A Hint, Dani Brown is a queer Black woman who openly likes to get hers, and her hottie love interest is a former pro rugby player coping with mental health struggles. It was so refreshing to see each of these characters exploring issues so often hush-hushed and shamed by society. It’s also just a super fun take on the fake relationship trope with some very steamy sexy time scenes. This is excellent on audio with narration by Ione Butler. Just.. maybe be careful if you’re listening to it loudly in your car and you’re at a stoplight next to a family in a Subaru, or else be prepared for shocked expressions when Dani starts going on about her throbbing lady parts… I’ve heard that can happen. Discuss!
Suggestion Section
Pick a title from this list of books to inspire confidence, especially if your book club members are feeling a little out of sorts these days. I go back to the Year of Yes a lot years after reading it, especially the part about saying yes to saying no.
Also up at the Riot right now: this roundup of books for a more inclusive approach to learning US history. I like to call this “WTF reading” because I dare you to read any one of these books and not mutter “what the f@%#?” to yourself at least once. When your club sits down to discuss it, take turns sharing how much of what you read was or was not taught to each of you in school, or what version of that history you got instead.
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 and catch me once a month on the All the Books podcast.
Stay bad & bookish, my friends.
Vanessa