Happy Tuesday, readers! Today, I have an important history book, a fun middle grade graphic novel, and a wicked cool book to help you make wicked cool art! As you read this, I am hopefully enjoying my stay-at-home break this week. My only plans are to read books, watch the critters, and view Monty Python and the Holy Grail every day. I think five goals are enough. (Three, sir.) (IYKYK.)
I am also excited to pick up so many of today’s releases! At the top of my list are The Late Americans by Brandon Taylor, Sing Her Down by Ivy Pochoda, Girls Make Movies: A Follow-Your-Own-Path Guide for Aspiring Young Filmmakers by Mallory O’Meara and Jen Vaughn, and The Lost Journals of Sacajewea by Debra Magpie Earling.
You can hear about more of the fabulous books coming out today on this week’s episode of All the Books! Jenn and I talked about some of the books we’re excited about this week, including Bold Move, The Will of the Many, and Shakti.
But first, be sure to check out First Edition! BookRiot.com co-founder Jeff O’Neal explores the wide bookish world. Interviews, lists, rankings, retrospectives, recommendations, and much more, featuring people who know and love books. Subscribe to First Edition on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or your podcatcher of choice.
And now, it’s time for everyone’s favorite game show: AHHH MY TBR! Here are today’s contestants.
How to Be a Rule-Breaking Letterer: A Guide to Making Perfectly Imperfect Art by Huyen Dinh
I have been doing this newsletter for eight years, and this might be the first time I’ve recommended a craft book. But I had to do it, because it’s cool AF! In this brightly colored book, Dinh teaches you not only how to draw fun and fabulous letters and doodles. but how to find your authentic artist inside. And how to stop caring about what you make as long as you’re having a good time! I haven’t tried drawing anything yet, but just looking at these charming pages made me feel more relaxed. And if you love it, The Rule-Breaking Letterer’s Workbook is coming in July.
Backlist bump: Steal Like an Artist: 10 Things Nobody Told You About Being Creative by Austin Kleon
Built from the Fire: The Epic Story of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, America’s Black Wall Street by Victor Luckerson
This is an important piece of underreported history, related to the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. The Greenwood District in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was a prosperous area for Black citizens in the early 20th century. Much of it was destroyed in the racist violence of 1921, but it was rebuilt, and grew to be a thriving community known as Black Wall Street for many decades. The community shrank and changed over the years, but its citizens never gave up on it, and fought back against urban renewal policies and gentrification. Today many of the prominent families still live there, including the granddaughter of a Greenwood businessman who is now in the Oklahoma state legislature.
Backlist bump: Black Birds in the Sky: The Story and Legacy of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre by Brandy Colbert
Peculiar Woods: The Ancient Underwater City: Volume 1 by Andrés J. Colmenares
And on this week’s show, I mentioned that I probably could have filled all four of my spots with middle grade graphic novels. MG graphic novels and mystery books have been my 2023 catnip. This is a delightfully weird comic about a young boy named Iggie who goes to live in Peculiar Woods. It’s the site of a historical flooding, a great tragedy, and Iggie is told not to go in the woods. But from his very first night in Peculiar Woods, weird things begin happening, like rocks and chairs talk to him and his blanket has a life of its own. As Iggie sets out to discover the secrets of the town, he has grand adventures and makes new friends along the way. I loved how funny and absurd this book was! My only complaint is that not everything resolves at the end and I want the next part RIGHT NOW, lol.
Backlist bump: Treasure in the Lake by Jason Pamment (Another flooded town middle grade graphic novel!) (Related: I read the flooded town vampire horror novel Dawn of the Vampire by William Hill when I was a kid, even though the cover terrified me.)
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This week, I am reading Tom Lake by Ann Patchett and A Guide to the Dark by Meriam Metoui. In non-book things, as I mentioned, I am going to channel my high school self and watch Monty Python’s Holy Grail repeatedly on my break, because nostalgia is a powerful force. The song stuck in my head is “Lift Off” by Labrinth, courtesy of a car commercial. And here is your weekly cat picture: Look at King Handsome, aka Zevon.
Thank you, as always, for joining me each Tuesday as I rave about books! I am wishing you all a wonderful rest of your week, whatever situation you find yourself in now. And yay, books! See you next week. – XO, Liberty