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Reagan has always liked people better from afar. Maybe that’s why social distancing came so easily. But she doesn’t want her grandpa to be alone for Christmas this year, so she heads home to Nebraska bearing gifts of Jell-O salad. She’s forgotten all about Mason, the boy next door. He’s all grown up now, and he doesn’t mind Reagan’s prickliness… he might even like it. In a time when six feet is close enough, how long can they keep their distance? From #1 bestselling author Rainbow Rowell comes a short, sweet holiday story. Prime members read and listen free.
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Hello fellow nonfiction nerds! If you’re lucky enough to have the day off today, I hope you’re able to spend it in a way you find relaxing and fulfilling. If you’re working or out in public, I hope people are kind and you’re able to find some peace as the holiday season kicks off.
Today, the day after Thanksgiving, has a lot of different meanings too. For some, it’s a big day of shopping. For others, it’s a chance to reflect on the history of Indigenous people in the United States. Luckily, I have a couple of book recommendations for both!
Don’t forget! We’re hiring an Advertising Sales Manager! Do you like books and comics? Does helping advertisers reach an enthusiastic community of book and comics lovers intrigue you? This might be your job. Apply by December 5, 2021.
In this book, Aja Barber digs into the fast fashion industry to explore how a culture of consumption is creating an environmental crisis. She also looks at how social media algorithms push shopping and purchasing, the racist and dangerous history of the textile industry, and how we can unlearn our habits about consumption for a better future. This one seems absolutely great – but if you’re interested in a sneak peek first, I suggest this interview with Barber on the Forever35 podcast.
The premise of this book is a bit of a thought experiment – what would happen if we just stopped shopping? To answer, journalist J.B. MacKinnon set out to find answers from big box stores to tribal communities that consume at a perfectly sustainable rate. But then, of course, the COVID-19 pandemic happened… creating an opportunity to see the impacts of less consumption in real time.
Don’t forget you can get three free audiobooks at Audiobooks.com with a free trial!
There are more than 500 federally recognized Indigenous nations in the United States, descendants of the more than 15 million Native Americans who once lived here. In this book, historian and activist Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz presents a history of the United States from the perspective of Indigenous people. She also connects this history of resistance to current events and struggles being led by Indigenous peoples.
A common idea about Native American history is that it basically ended in 1890 with the massacre at Wounded Knee. In this book, Ojibwe historian David Treuer explores a different narrative – that the story of contemporary Native Americans is “one of unprecedented resourcefulness and reinvention.” The book blends history, reporting, and memoir to look at actions taken against Indigenous people and how they have pushed back.
Turns out I can finish reading books! Last week I sped through The Art of Gathering: How We Meet and Why It Matters by Priya Parker. Parker is a facilitator and conflict resolution expert who has facilitated gatherings for a variety of complex groups and gatherings. In this book, Parker argues that when we rely on routines and conventions we end up with gatherings that are boring or don’t meet their intended purpose.
She then walks through the steps she takes to help forge meaningful and memorable experiences at each gathering. Her steps are actionable and hopeful, and she uses her vast experience to show successes and failures in various gatherings. It’s really fascinating! If you’re not ready for a full book, Parker also has an email newsletter that I’ve really enjoyed too.
For more nonfiction reads, head over to the podcast service of your choice and download For Real, which I co-host with my dear friend Alice. If you have any questions/comments/book suggestions, you can find me on social media @kimthedork. Happy weekend!
Sponsored by Amazon Publishing
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Sponsored by The Detectivists, book 1 on sale now for $0.99 on Kindle.
Astraia Holmes, sister of Sherlock, is baffled by a series of bizarre and brutal murders committed by a dragon-like assailant. Desperately wishing to impress her brother and solve the crimes, she teams up with a mysterious and brilliant young woman, Madeleine Barquist, who is the daughter of Jack the Ripper, a fact she is eager to hide. Sherlock suspects an ancient malevolence at work and he fears for Astraia’s safety. The two women are drawn into a dark conspiracy involving a Chinese Dragon Cult known as the Ya Zi and have to face an ancient evil in this gripping page-turrner.
Hello mystery fans! If you’ve got mystery lovers in your life who you’re looking to get a gift for, or you’re just looking to buy something for yourself, I’ve found some fun items for you on Etsy.
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You can’t argue with Yoda so this $20 mug is clearly correct: Baby Yoda Best Detective Mug
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For $3.50 trash panda is gonna solve the case (of the missing trash that maaaaay be in its belly): Detective Raccoon Vinyl Waterproof Sticker
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For $12, cozy bakeshop mystery lovers will want to stick these on everything: Cozy Mystery Stickers
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Louise Penny and Inspector Gamache fans will love this $20 mug: Take me to Three Pines Mug
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Fans of puns, totes, and Angela Lansbury will love this $18-ish gift: Murder She Tote
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For a fun and ridiculous $12 gift: Just one more thing Columbo Prayer Candle (There’s also a $33 set of Only Murders in the Building Holy Trinity Prayer Candles and for $13-ish a Sherlock and Watson Funny Prayer Candle)
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If you’ve ever thought “Sherlock, but make it nesting dolls,” here’s a set for $35: Matryoshka Russian Nesting Dolls On The Motives Stories of Sherlock Holmes 7 pcs Wooden Figurines
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If you’re looking for a t-shirt under $15: Murder Shows Comfy Clothes Shirt
Don’t forget you can get three free audiobooks at Audiobooks.com with a free trial!
Browse all the books recommended in Unusual Suspects previous newsletters on this shelf. See upcoming 2021 releases. Check out this Unusual Suspects Pinterest board and get Tailored Book Recommendations!
Until next time, keep investigating! In the meantime, come talk books with me on Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads, and Litsy–you can find me under Jamie Canavés.
If a mystery fan forwarded this newsletter to you and you’d like your very own, you can sign up here.
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Happy Friday, shipmates! It’s Alex, hoping if you’re from the US you managed to survive a lot of family togetherness and a deluge of carb-laden sides–and if you’re not in the US, I sure hope you survived your work week and are powering through to the weekend! Since this is the official-ish start of the holiday gift-purchasing season, this will be a slightly different newsletter. We’re going to check out some SFF literature-adjacent merch!
Let’s make the world a better place, together. Here’s somewhere to start: NDN Collective and Jane’s Due Process
You know I’m going to start off with an item of Octavia E. Butler merch. How could I not?
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This is a really cool print with a couple verses from The Book of the Living in The Parable of the Sower illustrated. A big part of the beauty of those books is the philosophy she lays out in them. $25
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Iron Widow is such a new book, I didn’t honestly expect to find anything inspired by it. But now I must have this pin that quotes one of the book’s many memorable lines. $12
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If you’re a fan of These Violent Delights, there’s a quote sweatshirt for you. (And I’m impressed I was able to find it among all of the Shakespeare merchandise.) $26
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These bookmarks with quotes from Raybearer are freaking gorgeous, and you can never have too many bookmarks. Honestly, this seller has a lot of great bookmarks. $3
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This is a nifty necklace with one of my favorite quotes from Dune on it. I really like the simplicity of it. $66
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This headband is so adorable, I cannot. It’s got fan art of the main characters from Cemetery Boys on it. You can also get it as a scrunchie! $10
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I’m a sucker for bookends, even if I’m running out of space to put them. The number of SFF references on this set is just impressive! $69
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Elise Matthesen is a ubiquitous presence at science fiction literary conventions and has supplied more than a few authors with jewelry for the Hugo or Nebula Award ceremonies. Her whole Etsy store is dazzling, but this pendant is one of my favorites: Where the Dragons Went. $175
Don’t forget you can get three free audiobooks at Audiobooks.com with a free trial!
See you, space pirates. If you’d like to know more about my secret plans to dominate the seas and skies, you can catch me over at my personal site.
Several major authors, including Kamila Shamsie, Monica Ali, and China Miéville, are backing Sally Rooney’s decision not to sell translation rights to an Israeli publisher. Sally Rooney refused to sell translation rights for her new novel, Beautiful World, Where Are You to Israeli publisher Modan, stating that she did not feel it would be right to collaborate a company “that does not publicly distance itself from apartheid and support the UN-stipulated rights of the Palestinian people.” Rooney’s decision has now been backed by 70 writers and publishers.
A Texas mother organized a Transgender Story Time after her local public library canceled their Rainbow Storytime on Transgender Day of Remembrance over threats of violence. The event was held this past Saturday with the help of a local church and brewery in Denton, Texas. “I want trans kids to know they’re perfect as they are and that they’re worth fighting for,” said Amber Briggle, the mother of a young trans child and the organizer of Saturday’s event. “We have to celebrate these children. Reading a book with a transgender theme does not make kids transgender, but it does make transgender kids feel empowered.” The three-book story time included the following books: Michael Hall’s Red: A Crayon’s Story, Jessica Love’s Julián is a Mermaid, and Vanessa Ford and J. R. Ford’s Calvin.
Former president Barack Obama was nominated for his third Grammy Award on Tuesday in the Best Spoken Word Album category for his audiobook version of A Promised Land. If Obama wins in this category, this would be the third Grammy win for the former president. In 2006, Obama won for Dreams from My Father, and two years later, he won again for The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream.
Book festivals are the ultimate book lover’s experience, and there are a bunch to look forward to attending in 2022!
Sponsored by Inkyard Press.
Adam Stillwater is in over his head. His family’s pinball arcade is the only piece of his dad that Adam has left, and he’s determined to save it. Whitney Mitchell doesn’t know how she got here. Her boyfriend dumped her. And now she spends most of her time running social media for her dad’s gaming cafés—which mostly consists of trading insults with the old pinball arcade across town. But when a huge snowstorm hits, Adam and Whitney suddenly find themselves trapped together. What will happen when the storm stops?
Welcome to Check Your Shelf. By the time you read this newsletter, it will be after Thanksgiving, and I hope everyone had a relaxing day with loved ones and good food. Anyone else stuck working the day after Thanksgiving or is it just me? Typically our Black Fridays at the library have been very slow, and I hope the same holds true this year.
Lawmakers expand their inquiry into the library eBook market.
Republican proudly claims credit after violent threats shut down the Denton Public Library’s Rainbow StoryTime.
Senator Ted Cruz goes after the Library of Congress for dropping the subject heading “illegal alien.” (Okay, Ted…)
Library staff in Salem, Oregon report that their Covid concerns were dismissed by a now-resigned city librarian.
In happier news, the first Drag Queen Story Time in Jonesboro, AR drew a good crowd and helped create a safe space for youth.
And in Pennsylvania, donations flood the Fulton County Library after elected officials called a local LGBTQ community a hate group.
Has the culture war come for libraries?
Augustine Frizzell will be directing the upcoming Invisible Life of Addie LaRue film.
Marie Lu’s YA fantasy novel, Legend, is getting a TV adaptation.
Jesse Eisenberg joins Lizzy Caplan in the Fleishman is in Trouble adaptation.
Don’t forget you can get three free audiobooks at Audiobooks.com with a free trial!
Librarians fight book bans with a Twitter takeover.
More Republican leaders try to ban books on race, LGBTQ issues.
Texas schools respond to the House inquiry on library books about sexuality, race.
Clear Creek ISD (TX) is revising practices for student access to books, including Sex is a Funny Word.
A group of Katy ISD (TX) parents want supposed “porn” pulled from libraries, and are calling for an audit of district libraries.
Katy ISD makes 6 books unavailable to students.
Lamar CISD (TX) is reviewing a list of books for inappropriate content.
Keller ISD (TX) parents call on the school board to remove sexually explicit books or resign.
League City (TX) councilman Justin Hicks calls for the book Sex is a Funny Word to be removed from the public library.
Parents want Canutillo ISD (TX) to ban Gender Queer from the school library.
Tyler ISD (TX) parents compared certain books in the school libraries to content found in Penthouse.
The Texas book ban would cost school districts millions of dollars in staff time as they evaluate and audit their collections.
The Pflugerville Public Library (TX) shared a photo of what their shelves would look like if they removed all the books that might offend someone.
Texas librarians are on the front lines in a battle for the right to read.
Fort Mill (SC) school libraries will not return Gender Queer to the shelves.
Book ban battle headed to the Georgia General Assembly.
Parents file criminal police reports against the Howard County Public School System in Maryland, as well as the county Board of Education regarding sexually-explicit materials in public schools.
Fairfax County Public Schools (VA) have returned Gender Queer and Lawn Boy to the shelves after temporarily removing them for review.
At least 12 Victoria County (VA) residents have filed official complaints about LGBTQ books in the Victoria Public Library and are requesting that they be removed.
The Spotsylvania (VA) School Board rescinds its previous book ban.
Librarians warn of a threat to intellectual freedom in Virginia schools.
Downers Grove (IL) high school students show up to the school board meeting to defend Gender Queer.
Lake Forest High School (IL) creates a book review committee in response to local “rumblings” about Gender Queer and Lawn Boy, although no formal complaints have been received yet.
A Detroit school district pushes back against anti-CRT legislation.
Mississippi Attorney General Eric Schmitt filed a lawsuit against Springfield Public Schools amidst a CRT probe.
Liberty School District (MO) community members push back against calls to have certain books removed from its libraries.
The North Kansas City School District is returning Not All Boys are Blue and Fun Home to library shelves after receiving a letter from the ACLU of Missouri.
Copies of at least nine books have been removed from libraries at four high schools in the Canyons School District (UT): The Bluest Eye, Beyond Magenta, Monday’s Not Coming, Out of Darkness, The Opposite of Innocent, Lawn Boy, Lolita, Gender Queer, and L8R G8R.
Sonya Sones, author of The Opposite of Innocent, says that her book was written to help combat sexual abuse against teens.
Parents and students in Lawrence County, OH discuss the controversial book The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian.
The ImagineIF library system in Montana is currently reviewing Gender Queer and Lawn Boy after receiving formal complaints.
All Boys Aren’t Blue has been permanently banned from Indian River County (FL) schools, and others have been temporarily removed as the district plans to review their content.
The Pinellas School District (FL) has removed Gender Queer from the shelves for review after hearing complaints from community members.
Flagler County (FL) School Board member Cheryl Massaro rebukes her fellow school board member Jill Woolbright over “rogue” attacks on books and the superintendent.
Meanwhile, the Flagler Sheriff says that the schools didn’t break any laws by having Not All Boys Are Blue on the shelf.
Brevard County (FL) public schools remove Gender Queer from library shelves without review.
Anchorage, AK schools remove Gender Queer from school shelves.
5 ways to fight back against school and local library censorship.
Librarians and educators warn of “organized” book banning efforts.
North Carolina is vulnerable to a dangerous new book banning wave.
“My school board’s rejection of “sexually explicit” books sends a cruel message to students like my daughter.”
The hate they censor: Purging KKK truth and Angie Thomas to bury lessons of history.
Nobel winner Orhan Pamuk is under investigation again for “insulting Turkishness.”
Caroline Todd, who wrote mystery novels with her son under the pen name Charles Todd, has died at 86.
The National Book Award winners have been announced!
Barnes & Noble names The Lyrics: 1956 to the Present by Paul McCartney as their 2021 Book of the Year.
A close look at the world of ghost writers.
A contrary view of book clubs.
Life’s too short to finish books you don’t like.
A brief history of literary cats.
The things this Rioter learned during their first nine weeks as a school librarian.
Bella de Costa Greene, the world’s most glamorous librarian.
How to audit your reading life.
Why this reader took reading apps off their phone.
We mustache you a question: what are the best mustaches on book covers for Movember?
The first two episodes of our new podcast Adaptation Nation are live! Listen to us chat all things TV and film adaptations of your favorite books.
Enjoy the weekend, and I’ll see you next week! (And don’t forget Book Riot is hiring for an Advertising Sales Manager! This could be you!)
—Katie McLain Horner, @kt_librarylady on Twitter.
Sponsored by Amazon Publishing.
Choose Me, the sexy murder mystery from New York Times bestselling author Tess Gerritsen and acclaimed thriller writer Gary Braver, now has over 11K 5-star ratings. When Detective Frankie Loomis begins investigating a brilliant college student’s sudden death, she knows in her gut there’s more to the story. To English professor Jack Dorian, Taryn was the ultimate fantasy. And now that she’s dead, his problems are just beginning. Jack had secrets and he is guilty of deception… but is he capable of cold-blooded murder? Read Choose Me now.
Welcome to Read This Book, a newsletter where I recommend one book that I think you absolutely must read. The books will vary across genre and age category to include new releases, backlist titles, and classics. If you’re ready to explode your TBR, buckle up!
I hope you had a great turkey day, if you celebrate Thanksgiving! I know that I always love long weekends for the chance to sneak in some extra reading, and I hope you’re well-stocked with books for just that purpose! This week’s recommendation is one that was recommended to me by a friend, and while I probably wouldn’t have picked it up otherwise, I ended up inhaling it!
Content warning for infidelity, alcoholism, talk of suicide.
Twin sisters Ruth Macallister and Iris Digby couldn’t be more dissimilar, even as children. But they never thought that one argument in Rome in 1940 would result in years of estrangement. When Iris and her family disappear from London in 1948, Ruth is as surprised as anyone else. But she has a suspicion that the rumors swirling around her sister’s husband are true, and they defected to the Soviet Union.
Four years later, Ruth herself is living a somewhat charmed life in New York City, running things behind the scenes at a swanky modeling agency. So when she gets a postcard from her sister out of the blue, she’s shocked…but she knows something is wrong. And so does FBI agent Sumner Fox, who begins asking questions about Iris. It turns out that her sister really is in Soviet Russia…and she’s desperate to get out.
As Ruth and Sumner come up with a daring extraction plan that will have them posing as newlyweds, we also get Iris’s side of her marriage, going back to 1940 when she fell in love with a dashing young American diplomat with rather unconventional ideals…and between the two sisters, a bigger story emerges.
I know that a ton of WWII and post-war fiction has been published in the past few years (I love Kate Quinn!), and it can sometimes be difficult to sort through what’s good and what’s meh, but I really enjoyed this one. I liked the tension between the dual narratives and timelines, and Ruth’s breezy tone contrasted against Iris’s more serious, but passionate voice. The spy elements were very interesting but not overdone, and I kind of enjoyed that, actually. I suspect that in reality, spy craft is probably 99% boring and 1% thrilling, and for me the pull of this book was in the sisters’ dynamic and the fact that they were constantly misunderstanding and misreading each other in profound and fundamental ways…but they also still care deeply for each other. They just happen to be caught up in greater forces and ideologies beyond them, and the choices they made kept driving them apart, but didn’t break their relationship. The book had its moments of suspense, and a few little twists that I didn’t see coming, and it was enough that I was manufacturing all sorts of excuses to keep listening to the audiobook.
If you enjoyed Kate Quinn’s The Rose Code or American Spy by Lauren Wilkinson, I highly recommend this book!
Don’t forget you can get three free audiobooks at Audiobooks.com with a free trial!
Happy reading!
Tirzah
Find me on Book Riot, Hey YA, All the Books, and Twitter. If someone forwarded this newsletter to you, click here to subscribe.
We’re giving away ten year-long subscriptions to Sips by to ten lucky Riot readers!
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