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Bookish Goods

Bookish Good of the Week: February 11, 2024

Year Of the Dragon Magnetic Bookmark

Year Of the Dragon Magnetic Bookmark by studioichiban

Bring in the Year of the Dragon with this adorable bookmark featuring the iconic Doraemon. $6

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Bookish Goods

Bookish Good of the Week: February 4, 2024

Black Writers and Activists Bookmarks

Black Writers and Activists Bookmarks by GlasshousebyKai

Bring in Black History Month with these brightly-colored bookmarks featuring Black writers, artists, and activists. In addition to original art, each bookmark has a mini biography. Get 2 for $10, or all 4 for $18.

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In The Club

Chilled — But Not From The Snow…

I’ve hit a little pocket of fascination: lately, I’ve been really into thrillers set in harsh, cold climates. It started with A Murder at the End of the World, and it’s mostly Icelandic setting, and is continuing on with the Alaskan-set fourth season of True Detective (starring Jodie Foster!).

It’s interesting to think on how my tastes in horror have changed, or maybe I should say how they’ve developed at all, since I wasn’t a very big consumer of the genre before. But, watching the two aforementioned shows, I’ve gained a certain appreciation for horror and thriller stories told in harshly cold climates. The shows’ landscapes are as stunning as they are deadly, so much so that they become their own kind of monster the protagonist has to survive.

As a newish fan of horror, I’m not entirely sure why pondering on this through these shows and the books below appeals to me. It could be because it adds stakes to the overarching plot or maybe even because it allows me to confront and resolve some subconscious fear. If you and your book club find cold settings to be similarly engaging, I’ve got a few thrillers below.

Nibbles and Sips

Butternut squash soup

Butternut squash soup by Aysha Harun

It’s prime time for soup, especially with these book recs. This one is vegan, and Aysha pairs it with a wild, good-looking grilled cheese.

You’ll need: butternut squash, carrots, shallots, rosemary, coconut milk, and a bevy of spices. For a full list of ingredients and instructions, here’s the Instagram video.


the winter people jennifer mcmahon cover

The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon

In 1908, in Vermont, Sara Harrison Shea’s dead body was found in the field behind her house not long after the death of her daughter. Now, about 100 years later, Alice has moved off the grid to Sara’s house to live with her two daughters, Ruthie and her younger sister. But this comes with a cost. One day, Ruthie wakes to a motherless house, with Alice nowhere to be found. As she searches for her mother, she finds a copy of Sara Harrison Shea’s diary under Alice’s floorboards. The more she learns about Sara, the more she realizes she’s not the only one looking for someone.

the hunger alma katsu cover

The Hunger by Alma Katsu

There are a couple tales from American settler history that have always intrigued but also kind of haunted me — a few of them being the lost colony of Roanoke, what the Jamestown settlers did during “the starving time” (Google that if you dare), and what happened with the Donner Party. Here, Katsu gives life to the latter — an ill-fated journey made from Illinois to California in 1846. As misfortunes mount, many look at Tamsen Donner with blame. While they explain things away by labeling her a witch, they also can’t shake the feeling that there is something stalking them. As they try to endure the harsh conditions of the journey — from sand-boiling heat to immense cold — a growing evil begins to grow and fester. Around and within them.

cover of Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice

Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice

As I understand it, the cause of the apocalypse that happens in Moon of the Crusted Snow isn’t explained, only felt one day, when a small northern Anishinaabe community suddenly loses cell service. Electricity is the next to go, which spells grave trouble as a harsh winter approaches. As the town tries to ration out its supplies and hold on, a stranger arrives, having escaped from the south, throwing what little order was left into chaos. As more die and become hopeless, tensions harden, but one person emerges as a leader. Young father Evan Whitesky leads a group of young friends back to the old Anishinaabe ways that looked to the land. This may be the solution to dissolving the chaos, but they aren’t out of the storm yet.

There’s a sequel to Moon of the Crusted Snow that just came out titled Moon of the Turning Leaves, for once you’ve read this one.

Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney book cover

Rock Paper Scissors by Alice Feeney

This book has beaucoup reviews on Goodreads, which can be good if your book club likes to read books that a lot of other people have read to be part of the conversation. It follows a marriage hanging on by a string. Adam and Amelia are Mr. and Mrs. Wright (I know), a British couple who have decided to go on a trip to Scotland they’ve won, thinking it might fix their marriage. But it’s kind of the worst thing ever. The place they arrive at is a church that’s still mostly in its original form, freezing cold, and has a caretaker who…spies on them a bit. As a snowstorm rages on, their dog goes missing, and, through a narrative that shifts between Amelia and Adam, we find out about their usual traditional anniversary gifts to each other — paper, cotton, pottery, tin — and how Amelia writes a letter to him each year that she doesn’t let him read. Until this year. The year that one of them is lying and 10 years of secrets will finally come to a head.

Side note: but I didn’t understand what was meant by “traditional anniversary gifts,” and looked it up. Apparently, it’s been around since the Victorian era??

Suggestion Section

Book Club:

2024 is the tenth year of the Read Harder Challenge! Join us as we make our way through 24 tasks meant to expand our reading horizons and diversify our TBRs. To get book recommendations for each task, sign up for the Read Harder newsletter. We’ll also keep you informed about other cool reading challenges, readathons, and more across the bookish internet. If you become a paid subscriber, you get even more recommendations plus community features, where you can connect with a community of passionate, like-minded readers in a cozy and supportive corner of the internet. Sign up today!

More To Read

Freedom to Read Act Reintroduced in New Jersey

100 Must-Read New Books by Black Authors

The Bestselling Books of the Week, According to All the Lists

12 of the Best Queer Books: 2024 New Releases

N. Scott Momaday, the first Native American to win a Pulitzer Prize, has passed away.


I hope this newsletter found you well, and as always, thanks for hanging out! If you have any comments or just want to connect, send an email to erica@riotnewmedia.com or holla at me on Twitter @erica_eze_. You can also catch me talking more mess in our In Reading Color Substack as well as chattin’ with my co-host Tirzah Price on the Hey YA podcast.

Until next time,

Erica

Categories
Bookish Goods

Bookish Good of the Week: January 28, 2024

Bookmobile Valentine’s Day Card

Bookmobile Valentine’s Day Card by TalesandPagesShop

Even if you’re not into Valentine’s Day for the romantic aspect, these make great cards for bookish friends! $5

Categories
In The Club

💗 Meet Cutes in the Club 💗

Valentine’s Day will be here in a couple weeks, and if your book club likes to do seasonal reads, it means y’all are probably ready to get into some romance.

After you catch up on a little book-banning news (Kansas legislators are trying to ban book bans!) and the latest book world tea 🍵 (what is going on with the Hugos??), I’ve got fake dating at weddings, fated romance, a love spanning centuries, and more.

But first, a little snacky snack.

Nibbles and Sips

beignets on a red plate

Nutella-Stuffed Beignets by Sara @ TheFrayedApron

Y’all. I stumbled upon some “chocolate hazelnut” (Nutella, basically) beignets at Whole Foods, and they had me trembling for a whole week. The cheat code was spraying them with a little cooking spray and putting them in the air fryer for five minutes. Oowee.

So here I am trying to find another, more cost-effective way to get my Nutella-filled beignets. Thank you for accompanying me on this journey. You’ll need:

Donut stuff: yeast, sugar, flour, egg, salt, half-and-half, coconut oil

Nutella (obvs)

Powdered sugar and cinnamon (if you want)

Full list and instructions on The Frayed Apron.


cover of Say You'll Be Mine by Naina Kumar

Say You’ll Be Mine by Naina Kumar

When theater teacher and hopeful playwright Meghna Raman’s writing partner and secret crush Seth becomes engaged, he asks her to be his best man. And she agrees! In an effort to move on (while still planning some of Seth’s wedding activities), she agrees to be set up by her parents and meets the grumpy engineer Karthik Murthy. He agrees to stage a fake engagement with Meghna to keep both their parents at bay but doesn’t bargain for the vibrancy that Meghna brings into his life.

cover of Red String Theory by Lauren Kung Jessen

Red String Theory by Lauren Kung Jessen

Fate and love collide in this rom-com based on the Chinese legend that says that everyone is tied to their true love by a red string. Artist Rooney Gao believes this legend so strongly that she’s even incorporated red string into her artwork. But once she starts experiencing artist’s block, she starts questioning everything. A perfect date with a new guy in her life, Jack Liu, reinvigorates her, and she thinks she’s found her one true love. Thing is, Jack isn’t a believer, and she’s not even sure they’ll see each other after their magical date.

cover of The Emperor and the Endless Palace 
 by Justinian Huang

The Emperor and the Endless Palace by Justinian Huang (March 26)

In 4 BCE, a courtier is made to seduce a young emperor, which sets off a love story that echoes through centuries. Years later, in 1740, an innkeeper helps a mysterious visitor, and finally, in modern-day L.A., a college student is coaxed out of the closet by an enigmatic artist. Across these lives is a love that is reborn, relived, and timeless.

cover of Funny Story by Emily Henry

Funny Story by Emily Henry (April 23)

Emily Henry’s joints are always popular, and I understand why. She takes common romance tropes and puts her own little spin on them. On top of that, her characters’ often undergo some meaningful growth. With Funny Story, we’ve been gifted an opposites-attract, fake-dating story that starts off a bit messy. Daphne’s fiancé Peter leaves her for Petra, and Petra leaves her fiancé Miles for Peter. Then, these two Messy Melindas invite both their exes to their wedding. So, naturally, Daphne and Miles decide to fake date and attend the wedding. But practical children’s librarian Daphne may find more than she bargained for in the chaotic Miles.

Extra mention: A Love Song for Ricki Wilde by Tia Williams (Feb. 6) (I didn’t want to leave this one out in a discussion about new romance books, but also didn’t want to do another feature since I mentioned it recently. As a quick reminder, it’s: Harlem Renaissance + Romance + a Lil Razzle Dazzle!)

Suggestion Section

Book Club:

2024 is the tenth year of the Read Harder Challenge! Join us as we make our way through 24 tasks meant to expand our reading horizons and diversify our TBRs. To get book recommendations for each task, sign up for the Read Harder newsletter. We’ll also keep you informed about other cool reading challenges, readathons, and more across the bookish internet. If you become a paid subscriber, you get even more recommendations plus community features, where you can connect with a community of passionate, like-minded readers in a cozy and supportive corner of the internet. Sign up today!

More To Read

Read the Books These 2024 Oscar Nominees are Based On

Bestselling Books of the Week

This Year’s Winners of the ALA Youth Media Awards


I hope this newsletter found you well, and as always, thanks for hanging out! If you have any comments or just want to connect, send an email to erica@riotnewmedia.com or holla at me on Twitter @erica_eze_. You can also catch me talking more mess in our In Reading Color Substack as well as chattin’ with my co-host Tirzah Price on the Hey YA podcast.

Until next time,

Erica

Categories
Bookish Goods

Bookish Good of the Week: January 21, 2024

TBR Scratch Off Card

TBR Scratch Off Card  by HeyHelloBookish

If you routinely have trouble thinking of what to read next, these scratch off cards are a rather novel (ha!) way to figure it out. The seller has a short video on how to set them up (you just write the names of books on the card, them cover them up with a scratch-off sticker). $4

Categories
In The Club

Biographies and Memoirs to Read in 2024

When I interviewed for my current position at Book Riot, I remember being asked about my reading habits (naturally). I’ve always been a big fantasy/literary fiction/graphic novel girl, but am terrible with reading nonfiction.

Welp, I am still kind of bad, but I think I’ve gotten a *little* bit better. Just a smidge. Since I’ve noticed some great memoirs and biographies coming out in the new year, I thought to highlight some for your book clubs since it’s the genre of nonfiction I’m probably least likely to pick up *hides face in shame*.

First, I’ve got a li’l snack for ya.

Nibbles and Sips

soufflé pancakes

Japanese soufflé pancakes by Kristen/Mochi Mommy

I don’t know what time of day you hold your book club meeting, but if you ever want to have them during prime brunch hours (or in the evening; I’m a breakfast-as-dinner girl myself), these fluffy soufflé pancakes would be perfect.

You’ll need: eggs, sugar, cake flour, baking powder, salt, milk, vanilla extract, and butter. You’ll mix all ingredients with a hand mixer at different intervals, which the full recipe and instruction list on Kristen’s website tells you about.

For some video guidance, check out her clip on Instagram. Top with cream or Nutella!


cover of The House of Hidden Meanings by RuPaul

The House of Hidden Meanings by RuPaul

RuPaul had already made a name for himself as a premier drag queen and entertainer before the first episode of Drag Race. But since the show started, he’s become even more iconic, even ushering in a new era of Drag. Here, he offers a more intimate side of himself, detailing his life growing up as a queer Black kid in California, his time as a punk in Atlanta and New York, and how he found self-acceptance.

cover of Carson McCullers: A Life by Mary V. Dearborn

Carson McCullers: A Life by Mary V. Dearborn

McCullers is one of my favorite Southern writers, and just writers ever. I remember being amazed at how well she could write from the perspective of those who had experiences so outside of her own at such a young age (23, if we’re thinking of The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter). This is the first biography of the genius author in the last couple of decades, and it details her life — from the time she thought she’d be a concert pianist to her inherent queerness — referencing materials unavailable until the last decade or so.

cover of Thunder Song: Essays by Sasha taqwšəblu LaPointe

Thunder Song: Essays by Sasha taqwšəblu LaPointe

Though this is a collection of essays rather than a straight memoir (the author does have a memoir as well: Red Paint), it still gets into LaPointe’s experiences as a queer Indigenous woman. With a very punk spirit (and the help of her family archives and her great-grandmother’s anthropological work), LaPointe picks apart narratives surrounding Indigenous people, analyzes cultural displacement, and critiques environmental destruction.

cover of Private Equity by Carrie Sun

Private Equity by Carrie Sun

Carrie Sun has always worked hard. She excelled in school, graduated early from MIT, and entered the corporate world, all in the name of the American Dream her parents wished for her when they immigrated to the U.S. from China. But once she hits 29, she starts feeling like something’s missing. So, she drops out of a master’s program and quits her job. When she gets the opportunity to work for one of the most respected hedge funds in the world, she jumps at it. Soon, luxury and privilege like she’s never known are opened up to her, but it also starts to swallow her whole.

Suggestion Section

Book Club:

2024 is the tenth year of the Read Harder Challenge! Join us as we make our way through 24 tasks meant to expand our reading horizons and diversify our TBRs. To get book recommendations for each task, sign up for the Read Harder newsletter. We’ll also keep you informed about other cool reading challenges, readathons, and more across the bookish internet. If you become a paid subscriber, you get even more recommendations plus community features, where you can connect with a community of passionate, like-minded readers in a cozy and supportive corner of the internet. Sign up today!

More To Read

This is what your favourite book genre says about you

Does Literary Fiction Also Work on BookTok?

7 Types of Booktoks That Skyrocketed My Reading By 1000%

8 of the Best Historical Fiction of 2023


I hope this newsletter found you well, and as always, thanks for hanging out! If you have any comments or just want to connect, send an email to erica@riotnewmedia.com or holla at me on Twitter @erica_eze_. You can also catch me talking more mess in our In Reading Color Substack as well as chattin’ with my co-host Tirzah Price on the Hey YA podcast.

Until next time,

Erica

Categories
Bookish Goods

Bookish Good of the Week: January 14, 2024

2024 Year of Reading Wall Calendar

2024 Year of Reading Wall Calendar by LemonPeelPrints

January is already well underway, but there’s still the rest of 2024! This calendar features bookish images for each month that fit within seasonal themes. $30

(Though it’s on sale for $23 at the time of writing this!)

Categories
In The Club

Some of My Most Anticipated Books for 2024

Welcome to In The Club, a newsletter of resources to keep your book group well-met, well-read, and well-fed.

I’ll still hype about all the new releases and possibilities for the upcoming months, so I’ve compiled a list of books that I’m most excited about for book club reading.

The books below are ones I think will be great conversation starters and include everything from a Harlem Renaissance love story to a novel about grief, AIDS, and the internet.

But first, a little something sweet…

Nibbles and Sips

Pumpkin muffins with cream cheese frosting

Pumpkin muffins with cream cheese frosting by thelivelykitchen1

Listen, I believe in year-round pumpkin activities, and these look amazing.

For the batter, you’ll need the usual baking supplies, in addition to dark brown sugar, maple syrup, vanilla bean paste, pumpkin purée, and pumpkin pie spice. For the frosting, you’ll need cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, milk, and the spices from the batter. After baking at 350 for about 20 minutes, you can let them cool and frost those bad boys.

For a full list of ingredients and instructions, you can look at this Instagram video.


cover of Womb City by Tlotlo Tsamaase

Womb City by Tlotlo Tsamaase (Jan. 23)

There is a lot going on here. In the best way. In a future Botswana, technology and folklore collide. Nelah’s consciousness currently resides in a body that is microchipped and controlled by her husband. Still, Nelah is able to rebel and have an affair, which leads to an accidental death that she tries to cover up. A murder cover-up goes about as well as you’d expect, and soon, Nelah is being haunted by the ghost of her victim — one that wants vengeance paid in blood.

cover of Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts: Stories and Recipes from Five Generations of Black Country Cooks by Crystal Wilkinson

Praisesong for the Kitchen Ghosts: Stories and Recipes from Five Generations of Black Country Cooks by Crystal Wilkinson (Jan. 23)

Food is so heavily tied to language and culture, and I always love reading about how the three are intertwined in Black American history because so much of our history isn’t widely taught. I think any other lover of history and food will appreciate how Wilkinson does that here, as she writes out the history and fortitude of Black Appalachians through recipes passed down from the women in her family. Part memoir, part cookbook, I think this is a perfect book club read.

cover of A Love Song for Ricki Wilde by Tia Williams

A Love Song for Ricki Wilde by Tia Williams (Feb. 6)

Here’s another book that has a lot going on. I also suspect it’ll be one of the major releases of the year. It follows Ricki, the outsider of her socialite family, who decides to move from Atlanta to Harlem to open a flower shop. It’s tough going for a while, but then she meets the enigmatic Ezra, and magic seems to unfurl around them. There’s a secondary timeline that takes place during the Harlem Renaissance that gives some context to Ezra and the huge secret he’s harboring.

cover of The Observable Universe: An Investigation by Heather McCalden

The Observable Universe: An Investigation by Heather McCalden (March 19)

In this genre-blending memoir, McCalden explores what grieving the loss of her parents to AIDS was like during the ’90s. Turns out, there are some parallels between the development of the internet and the development of AIDS, and here, McCalden scours through scientific papers, shows, and various internet histories to detail the double meaning of “going viral.” This is both a meditation on grief and a look at how we connect to each other in this new age.

cover of The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo

The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo (April 9)

Reading Bardugo at the top of the year is becoming somewhat of a tradition for me. Last year, Ninth House and Hellbent were a couple of the first books I read in January, and they had me gasping. As a longtime lover of fantasy, I really appreciate Bardugo’s brand of adult fantasy — there’s something about it that feels very real and relatable, even as there are literal demons coming out of the depths of hell.

Here, Bardugo takes that relatability to the Golden Age of Spain. In the 16th century, Luzia is a lowly kitchen servant who can perform light magic. When her mistress realizes her talent, she tries to exploit her to the benefit of bored nobility. But this leads to Luzia gaining the attention of Antonio Pérez, who is trying to get back in good with the king after a disgrace. As Luzia gets deeper into the world of miracle workers, seers, and alchemists, she becomes more known and therefore, more in danger if the fact of her Jewish heritage were to get out. But there is a familiar, Guillén Santangel, who could help secure her future…even if their secrets may be worse than hers.

2024 is the tenth year of the Read Harder Challenge! Join us as we make our way through 24 tasks meant to expand our reading horizons and diversify our TBRs. To get book recommendations for each task, sign up for the Read Harder newsletter. We’ll also keep you informed about other cool reading challenges, readathons, and more across the bookish internet. If you become a paid subscriber, you get even more recommendations plus community features, where you can connect with a community of passionate, like-minded readers in a cozy and supportive corner of the internet. Sign up today!

Suggestion Section

Book Club:

More To Read

West Seattle’s silent book club

7 Cozy Fantasy Books to Start 2024 Off On a Gentle Note

9 of the Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Books of January 2024

9 New Nonfiction Releases to Read in January


I hope this newsletter found you well, and as always, thanks for hanging out! If you have any comments or just want to connect, send an email to erica@riotnewmedia.com or holla at me on Twitter @erica_eze_. You can also catch me talking more mess in our In Reading Color Substack as well as chattin’ with my co-host Tirzah Price on the Hey YA podcast.

Until next time,

Erica

Categories
Bookish Goods

Bookish Good of the Week: January 7, 2024

Sigh Adds to TBR kindle sticker

Sigh…*adds to TBR* kindle sticker by MadamsdesignsCo

We have all been here (and are possibly here right now). $3.50