I spent most of the holiday weekend grooming the Corgis and cleaning my house, anything to keep listening to my ridiculous number of audiobooks that I wanted to finish over the break. Let me tell you, brushing that amount of Corgi floof gave me a lot of time to enjoy my audiobooks. So, today, we’re looking at a couple of my favorites from the weekend. Plus, new books!
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Bookish Goods
Personalized Christmas Book Tree Ornament by Chippico Toys
I love these adorable little ornaments made out of the images of Christmas trees made out of books. Just too cute. $24
New Releases
Stitching Through the Seasons: Evocative Patterns and Projects to Capture the Magic of Each Month by Yumiko Higuchi
You can now travel through the year with 52 different patterns featuring plants and fungi of all different shapes, sizes, and colors. Higuchi gives textile lovers plenty of inspiration, perfect for embroidering everything from pillowcases to handkerchiefs.
Growing an Edible Landscape: How to Transform Your Outdoor Space Into a Food Garden by Gary Pilarchik and Chiara D’Amore, PhD
Plant lovers rejoice! Pilarchik and Dr. D’Amore tell readers how to grow plants that are both delicious and beautiful. Learn how to landscape your yard while also growing herbs for your kitchen.
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Riot Recommendations
Doppelganger by Naomi Klein
For years, Naomi Klein has found herself continuously confused with Naomi Wolfe. They are both Jewish women who have historically moved through feminist spaces. But in the last decade, Wolfe has steadily become more connected with extremist right-wing politics. In this one-of-a-kind book, Klein details the history of the confusion and misidentification the two women have experienced online. From there, Klein expands into what she calls the mirror world, a place where men like Steve Bannon go off about stolen elections and forced mask mandates. Wolfe joins Bannon on his popular podcast, which astounds Klein as she listens to Wolfe’s guest appearance after guest appearance. Doppelganger is a fascinating look at the evolution of American politics and how we got to the chaos that we’re experiencing now.
Breaking Bread: Insurgent Black Intellectual Life by bell hooks and Cornel West
bell hooks’ backlist is slowly but surely being turned into audio editions, so I’ve been making my way through them. Most recently, I picked up Breaking Bread, which is a series of conversations between bell hooks and Cornel West, two of the greatest minds of their generation. I’ve sometimes wondered what it would be like to sit in on conversations like this, and Breaking Bread brings us in on that conversation. hooks and Cornel describe their experience being in community as Black intellectuals. They include essays about each other, showing such admiration for each other’s work. It’s a beautiful testament to their friendship and mutual respect.
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