Imagine: your mom asks you to leave your air-conditioned palace to go out in nearly 100-degree heat to use the bathroom in public. Then, she won’t let you chase the cats or squirrels you meet along the way. After she drags you back inside, she doesn’t give you enough snacks. What a ruff day. — If you were to ask the Corgis how their day had gone, that’s the response you would have received. Now they have draped themselves over the furniture in protest of the summer heat. Bless their little furry hearts. While they’re wilting in the heat, I’ve continued on my memoir kick, so today is all about backlist memoirs!
Before we get to them, new books and a reminder to check out Book Riot’s New Release Index. Delighting velocireaders since 2017, the Index will keep you in the know about all the latest books. New books for days. Subscribe today — you won’t be able to read them all, but it’s fun to try!
Bookish Goods
Book Witch Energy Toadstool Cotton T-shirt by Romantasy Designs
*whispers* fall is coming…so we might as well be dressed for it. 🙂 $33
New Releases
They Called Us Exceptional: And Other Lies That Raised Us by Prachi Gupta
Prachi Gupta writes about how America’s model minority myth ripped apart her family. These unrealistic expectations meant Gupta’s family might have looked “perfect” to outsiders, but in reality, Gupta was unable to deal with the childhood trauma she was experiencing.
The Art of Libromancy: On Selling Books and Reading Books in the Twenty-First Century by Josh Cook
A book lover’s dream, The Art of Libromancy is a celebration of books and book culture. Cook also discusses the business of bookselling, the industry, and how Amazon has impacted bookstores.
For a more comprehensive list, check out our New Books newsletter.
Riot Recommendations
![a graphic of the cover of Mamaskatch by Darrel J. McLeod [AOC]](http://newsletters.riotnewmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Mamaskatch.jpeg)
Mamaskatch: A Cree Coming of Age by Darrel J. McLeod
Darrel’s mother escapes a residency school where the nuns were incredibly abusive to the Native children there, adding to the generational trauma that Darrel’s family had already experienced. The majority of the memoir focuses on his own childhood and adolescence, including moving around from house to house as his mother struggles with addiction and he discovers more about his sexuality. Just as a heads up, there is violence and sexual assault of women and children in this memoir.
The Erratics by Vicki Laveau-Harvie
This book is one of my favorite hidden gems. It won the Stella Prize a few years ago but has somehow still flown under the radar. I especially love the Australian audiobook, which Vicki Laveau-Harvie performs herself. The Erratics follows Vicki Laveau-Harvie as she flies back home to Canada to care for her elderly parents after her mother’s fall. When she arrives, Vicki discovers that her mother has been starving her father. What follows is her account of trying to navigate care for her parents while coming to terms with her difficult childhood.
That’s it for this week! You can find me over on my substack Winchester Ave, over on Instagram @kdwinchester, or on my podcast Read Appalachia. As always, feel free to drop me a line at kendra.d.winchester@gmail.com. For even MORE bookish content, you can find my articles over on Book Riot.
Happy Reading, Friends!
~ Kendra