Author: Jenn Northington

Hello Epic Insiders, and happy holiday week to those celebrating, particularly to those celebrating Native American Heritage Day! We’ve got some great posts about Indigenous and Native authors to browse if you’re looking for gifting ideas and/or ways to support their community.

We also have some amazing Cookbook Showdown posts if you’re looking for recipe ideas and inspiration (I’ve never been so tempted to stray from my grandmother’s recipe as I was when I saw the pumpkin pie post).

Alright, that’s it from me — onto book talk!

-Jenn

What Are You Reading?

People of the Riot: we are gathered here today to lament my reading plans. They showed such promise, such hope, such potential! But ultimately they succumbed to an enemy that could not be vanquished: a stomach flu. I don’t actually know if what happened to me was the virulent stomach bug that seems to be going around or if it was food poisoning, actually. All I know is that I spent this last week becoming uncomfortably close friends with a porcelain bowl and developed a brief fear of ingesting solid food for a minute there. I’m better now, but when I tell you I didn’t read a single page or listen to a single second of the books I thought I’d read, I mean it!

So here we are, a brand new week, a brand new reading plan, except that plan is basically the same as last week’s for the reasons mentioned above. But I already told you about those reads, so instead I thought I’d tell you about a few of the shows and movies that brought me comfort in between trips to toss my cookies, and then share a few holiday recs just for funsies.

What I Watched

The Dragon Prince: Mystery of Aaravos (Netflix) – Jenn came through with this recommendation and it was just perfect! It’s an animated show about half-brother princes Callum and Ezran and a moonshadow elf named Rayla, who are on a mission to end a thousand-year-old conflict between humans and the mystical creatures of the magical realm of Xadia. To do this they must transport (and keep safe!) a dragon egg that was long rumored to be destroyed. The episodes are less than a half hour each, there are four seasons to marathon, and the brothers have this hella grumpy pet Glowtoad named Bait (because he’s tasty to underwater creatures lol) and I want one of him SO MUCH.

See How They Run (HBO Max) I cannot tell you how up my alley this light and silly movie was, but lemme try: it’s a murder mystery set in 1950s London that revolves around the cast of the long-running West End Show, Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap (it’s still running today and I’ve seen it, it too is silly and over-the-top fun). When one of the show’s crew members is found dead, a weary inspector and the very peppy, eager rookie assigned to work with him must figure out whodunit. That peppy pepperson is played by Saoirse Ronan whom I love and absolutely kills it in this role! The movie also features fun performances by Sam Rockwell, Adrien Brody, Ruth Wilson, Reece Shearsmith, Harris Dickinson and David Oyelowo.

Vatican Girl (Netflix) – I’ve come to a deeply jaded place when it comes to true crime shows, podcasts, and books, which so often feel exploitative and gross in how they rehash traumatic events with varying degrees of accuracy and little to no respect for the victims of these horrifying acts. But this one caught my eye because the family of the missing girl at the heart of the story participated in the documentary, it never gets super intensely graphic, and because Vatican conspiracies are an easy way to reel me in, in general. The case begins in 1983 Rome when 15-year-old Emanuela Orlandi vanishes after leaving a music lesson. The decades-long mystery appears to have some gross ties with the Vatican and unfortunately remains unsolved. It was still very interesting to learn about, I hope it somehow helps the family find answers.

What to Read

And now for some holiday reading recs in case you’re starting to look for those, or if you’re in the mood for them now. Tis the season!

The Christmas Murder Game by Alexandra Benedict – This one comes to you from my TBR because it just sounds like a thing I will love: Christmas + a murder mystery! Here’s the pitch: Twelve clues. Twelve keys. Twelve days of Christmas. But who will survive until Twelfth Night? I am so in.

Stay bad, bookish, and healthy, friends!
Vanessa

Hello and happy Monday, Epic folx! No announcements today, so we’ll get right to the good stuff.

What Are You Reading?

Hello hello, Insiders! It’s me, Vanessa, back again with a little reading check in to start the week off. By the time you read this I’ll be back in Portland where the rain is in full force. Rain and cold temps can be a bummer, I know, but this girl can’t wait to watch the rain from my window with a fireplace ASMR vid going on my TV. I do what I can with what I have, okay!?

Now back to the books!

I finished Her Majesty’s Royal Coven by Juno Dawson and can’t recommend it enough. It was so fun! The witchy magic, the characters and their complex relationships, the humor, the giant middle finger to JKR… it’s just swell. I was not prepared for that ending though and dramatically yelled, “Porque??!!” in my best Telenovela Spanish at the closing paragraph. I won’t spoil it but good grief!! I will be very impatiently waiting till May 2023 for the sequel, The Shadow Cabinet. Shoutout to the audiobook narrator, Aoife McMahon. I loved McMahon’s delivery of each distinct character’s voice and vibe.

Speaking of auto-read authors, lemme talk to you about Alexis Hall. Hall is a self-described genrequeer author of kissing books and I’ve loved everything I’ve read. I came a little late to his work with Boyfriend Material, the audiobook of which convinced me that I’m looking for someone who will talk to me like Oliver does to Luc. Then Husband Material dropped and I stand even more firmly by that statement. Slide into my DMs, Oliver sound-alike. Just saying.

So this week I’m going to do Hall’s most recent release on audio, Paris Daillencourt Is About to Crumble, the follow up to the hilarious and delightful Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake and second book in Hall’s Winner Bakes All Series. This one follows a young man whose roommate enters him in a baking competition show (Bake Expectations!). To his surprise he’s sort of killing it week to week and develops a lil’ romance with a fellow contestant, but his fear and anxiety threaten to get in the way of his happiness. I just love the way Alexis Hall writes romance, especially the banter between the love interests and overall humor in all of his writing. Some other favorites from Hall include his Kate Kane series (a paranormal investigator in London chasing down—and occasionally bedding—demons and vampires, yes please) and the Kobo exclusive Murder Most Actual, a whodunnit set in a fancy hotel in the Scottish highlands that pays homage to the golden age of mystery. On my near futurish TBR from Hall are The Affair of the Mysterious Letter and A Lady for a Duke, but his backlist goes even deeper than that. Is that a challenge? Yeah, I think it is.

What are you reading this week? Sound off in the comments!

Stay bad & bookish,
Vanessa

Hello Insiders! Happy first Monday post-Fall Back; may you have gotten that extra sleep. It’s going to be a Very Intense Election Week here in the US, so here is your reminder to take breaks and take care of yourself in amongst all the :waves hands:.

Our one announcement is that y’all selected “Favorite Non-Bookish Things” for the year for the last Book Riot Podcast bonus episode of 2022; excellent choice. Onto book chat!

-Jenn

What Are You Reading?

Bienvenidos a Monday, Insiders! Vanessa here on this fine November morning, getting ready to head back to Portland later this week after three and a half weeks on the road for both work and personal things. I’m playing a bit of catch-up now that my schedule is slowing down, so today I’ll be telling you about the magical reads I meant to get to in October — whoops! Reminder that whether you’re reading a ton or not at all: it’s all fine. The books will always be there.

Now let’s dive in!

I’m also reading The Cloisters by Katy Hays which I judged by its cover and thought, “Sinister nuns, maybe?” Yeah no! The cloisters here are the famed Met Cloisters, the gothic museum and garden at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Our main character is a young woman who comes to New York to escape the grief and tragedy of her past. Expecting to spend her summer as a curatorial associate, she’s surprised but on board when she’s instead assigned to The Cloisters to work under researchers studying the origins of divination. At first she’s just happy to have a job and goes along with even some of the more out-there theories these researchers propose, but her casual curiosity turns dark and obsessive when she finds a 15th-century deck of tarot cards that might not only legitimize the practice of divination, but hold the key to predicting the future. I’m 3/4 in and have so many questions! There’s a tension to the story that hints at uncovered secrets, I can’t wait to find out how this wraps.

Once I wrap up these two titles, I think I’ll finally go back to The Secret Society of Irregular Witches, another witchy read I meant to get to in October but got too busy to finish. This one’s a romance fantasy about a lonely British witch who gets roped into becoming a magical tutor to a bunch of unruly witch kids, which is A Choice considering she’s supposed to be keeping her identity as a witch on the low. She takes the job anyway and is almost immediately embroiled in the lives of not one the witch children, but two caretakers, an archeologist, a retired actor, and the handsome but grumpy librarian who is very protective of the withchlings. That’s all I know so far, but I know from the description that peril will soon come a-knockin’ and our MC will have to decide how much she’s willing to risk for this found family of hers. Also, the cranky-pants librarian is a love interest. Mwahaha.

That’s it for me, readers. Wishing you a lovely week in life and in reading. Reminder to tell us what you’re reading in the comments!

Stay bad & bookish,
Vanessa

It is Actual Halloween, and I always feel thrown off when it’s on a Monday, but Caitlin is bringing you all the correct vibes below. May you have some of the treats you like and may the tricks be minimal, today and all days.

It is also time for a (really chill) vote! The Book Riot Podcast would like your input for their last bonus episode of 2022, and you can weigh in right here. Voting is open until Sunday if you need time to mull.

Onward to books!

-Jenn

What Are You Reading?

Happy Monday and Happy Halloween, Insiders! I hope your weekend was filled with spooky delights or cozy comforts or gorgeous leaf peeping or whatever this season means for you! I, for one, am declaring that it is still Halloween season for the next three weeks because October just didn’t October hard enough for me this year, so here is your permission to lean into the meaninglessness of time and create your own rules too *throws glitter and biodegradable confetti*

I’ve been a little down on myself because my reading volume has been low this month, but this past week, I feel like I’ve gotten my groove back!

I mentioned a couple weeks ago that I’ve been experimenting with where my reading enjoyment falls on the horror spectrum. Well, I’ve also been experimenting with trying to enjoy audiobooks. It feels like I should love audiobooks given my love for podcasts, but I haven’t quite been able to get onboard. I don’t like being read at, nor do I love different character voices (I can appreciate the art of it, it’s just not for me). I want a narration that feels natural, conversational, and only uses subtle vocal changes to indicate different character dialogue if necessary. So I’ve been thinking nonfiction is probably my best route for enjoying audiobooks — though I have another whole laundry list of my particularities when it comes to nonfiction (that’s for another time).

Last week I also devoured my DRC of The Crane Husband by Kelly Barnhill (set to publish February 28). I didn’t realize it was a novella when I picked it up and read it completely in one sitting. This one is based on folk tales from several different places of partners who are actually animals but take the shape of a human. It was so weird and eerie and deliciously folkloric. I think I might pair it with Flyaway by Kathleen Jennings to begin a collection of short, dark, with a kiss of magic books. And of course up next (I’m just waiting for my library hold to come in), I also have Kelly Barnhill’s When Women Were Dragons to look forward to.

What are you reading this week? Share in the comments!

-Caitlin

Happy Monday, Epic folks! And happy Halloween week to those celebrating — I’ve got tissue paper-and-pipe cleaner spiders up in my window and a stack of gourds on the stoop, and am ready to eat All The Candy since we can never tell how many trick-or-treaters we’ll get. (One of these years I’ll make good on my grand ambitions to dress up and go somewhere, but this year is not the year.)

No announcements, just book chat!

-Jenn

What Are You Reading?

Happy Monday, Insiders! I’m back from the Book Riot staff retreat in Los Angeles, and it was such a wonderful time meeting everyone in person!

We did plenty of company visioning, talking about goals and strategies, and just connecting with each other face-to-face, but it didn’t leave much room for reading.

Next month I have a trip to New Orleans, and although I’ve been there before, this makes me think I should find a fictional New Orleans book to read in anticipation — any ideas?

What are you reading this week? Share in the comments!

— Caitlin

Hello hello, Insiders! I’m riding high off my weekend wins — I spent time with family for my niece’s birthday and was the undisputed champion of the duck races at our farm outing. It was a lovely moment of pure joy in a time when things are still very :waves hands:, so I’m sending some of that joy your way.

On to book chat!

-Jenn

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Hello Insiders! I’m coming at you today from Los Angeles where I’ll be meeting up with the rest of the Book Riot staff tomorrow for our annual retreat.

It’s been a busy week, and although I feel like I’m falling behind on my reading this month, I did manage to sneak in some moments here and there, especially on the airplane. Nothing new, just continuing to work my way through Parable of the Talents.

What are you reading this week? Weigh in in the comments!

— Caitlin

Happy Monday, Epic folx! As always, we’re wishing you a good start to your week and allllll the good books. Speaking of, let’s get right to it.

What Are You Reading?

Well friends, it hasn’t been much of a reading week for me. I tried going mushroom hunting this week (which was mostly a bust because we haven’t gotten enough rain in the PWN yet) and brought out the Halloween decor, but with temps still in the 80s, the October vibes are just not vibing and the cozy reading moments are nowhere to be found.

I have been savoring my way through Jarod K. Anderson’s (of The CryptoNaturalist podcast) first poetry collection, Field Guide to the Haunted Forest. Jarod’s poetry is a love letter to nature, infused with magic, and affirming to those struggling with mental health. He just released his second collection, Love Notes from the Hollow Tree, and I’m looking forward to ordering that one as well.

And if you really want an insiders peek into Book Riot, we’re all reading the same book to prepare for our annual company retreat later this month Financial Intelligence, Revised Edition by Karen Berman and Joe Knight. I never choose to read business books on my own anymore, but I do enjoy having a shared framework and vocabulary for talking about biz things in work conversations!

What are you reading this week? Let us know in the comments!

— Caitlin

Hello and happy Monday, Epic friends! We hope the new season is off to an Epic start for you.

No announcements at the moment, so let’s dive into our reading chat!

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I get to be your What Are You Reading guide through October (universally known as the best month of the year)?? It’s an honor, friends, a true honor!

Spooky Season calls for an exploration of horror. It’s an experiment that I’ve been lightly exploring in my reading life: where do I fall on the spectrum of scary? It’s true that I do tend to gravitate toward books that have a smidgen of darkness — I love a reading moment where I find myself holding my breath, maybe with a couple hairs standing on end — but it’s a delicate balance. I don’t want a book that will make me sleep with the light on. I don’t want a story that is creepy just to be creepy.

I know that I do love a gothic vibe and I do love when the creepy, dark element draws from — but does not demonize — folklore or legend. I love an ambiguous darkness that is not synonymous with evil.

Finally, I just finished reading The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward. I can’t explain my full feelings about this one without spoilers. Much of the twist of this story is specifically something that bothers me as horror story material. However, if it must be done, I feel like Catriona Ward did a pretty good job of ending it on a note that I could feel okay with. I do love a story that keeps me disoriented and guessing until the end, and this one certainly delivered in that regard.

But I’m not sure if I’m going to continue the horror into October (you never know, my reading queue system leaves much of that up to fate). What I do know is that up next I’m finally going to complete Octavia’s Earthseed duology. I read Parable of the Sower a little over a year ago and needed a good year to sit with it before continuing on — I wonder how I would have felt about it in 1993 because in 2021 it felt a little too close to home. So with a deep breath, I’m diving into Parable of the Talents.

Are you having a scary reading month? What are you reading? Let us know in the comments!

— Caitlin

Happy Monday, Epic folks! May it be the best week possible, given our continued :waves hands: existence. No announcements again, just books!

What Are You Reading?

Since I chatted with you last, I’ve finished Our Wives Under the Sea, which was creepy and surreal and exactly what I’m looking for in an autumn read.

I’m now starting A Scatter of Light by Malinda Lo, which comes out at the beginning of October. Despite getting Last Night at the Telegraph Club in hardcover and then buying another signed copy, I somehow have not read that one yet. It’s faced out on my bookshelf, admonishing me. I know I’ll love it! I can’t tell you why I pick up the books I do. This one, though, is a loose companion book to Telegraph Club, so it will be interesting reading it without that prior knowledge — but it can absolutely stand alone. Also, if you haven’t seen the cover yet, go check it out. It’s gorgeous.

I’m still waiting for my stack of Laid-Back Camp manga to accumulate at the library, but I’m very much looking forward to devouring them when I have another five or so at my disposal.

What are you reading this week? Share in the comments!

-Danika

Hello and happy Monday, Epic Insiders! No announcements today, just books.

What Are You Reading?

Since I wrote to you last, I finished the stack of four Laid-Back Camp manga I had out from the library and have requested the next eight or so, because I can’t get enough. Every year, when the weather starts to cool off, I hit a brick wall of tiredness and general malaise. These sweet and gentle manga volumes are exactly what I’m looking for. I’ve since learned there’s a word for this genre! Iyashikei, or “healing” manga/anime. Isn’t that amazing? I need more healing reads in my life.

What are you reading this week? Add your list to the comments!

—Danika