Category: In The Club

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

Today I’m giving you a dose of YA-related snark, some Obama reads, hexes, costume ideas, and more! And if that don’t sound like a poppin’ kind of club you, I really don’t know how to help you.

Here we go.

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This newsletter is sponsored by HMHTeen.

Dexter meets This Savage Song in this dark fantasy about a girl who sells magical body parts on the black market — and seeks revenge when she is betrayed.

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Everest or GTFO – Another day, another terrible take on YA, and another hilarious takedown. Read Annika’s brilliant rebuttal to the latest bad opinion piece that we read so you wouldn’t have to. A snippet of the brilliance: “Collect anything? God help you if it is four-inch Star Wars figures, you absolute infant. You should be collecting frown lines, real estate, and income tax returns like an adult.” DEAD. 

• Book Club Bonus: I (clap) CAN (clap) NOT (clap) with all of these stuffy I’m-too-good-for-YA types. Go sit down somewhere and congratulate yourself for reading Crime & Punishment in its original Russian, bruh, but keep your snobbery to your damn self. For the rest of us who know better, we really need to make a bigger push for including YA titles in book club. I’d love to read Children of Blood and Bone and then break down how the story is a commentary on racism, classism, colorism… but sure, tell me again how YA is just fluff?!

Read Like Obama – I would personally love to see an “Oh HELL no. MICHELLE! Hold my beer!” Twitter rant from my boy Barry going aaaaall the way off on the GOP, or even a Facebook or Instagram Live dragging 45 to absolute Cheeto dust filth. Sigh. Barack is of course classier than that and prefers to serve his shade – and calls to action – in the form of a well-curated reading list. I’m here for that too.

• Book Club Bonus: What I love about the idea of Obama Book Club is that it offers some variety in reading experience; you could read the books he suggests in traditional book club format, or could also read and discuss the articles he links to in this post. If you find yourself strapped for time but want to engage in civic discourse with a book-club feel, this is a great way to do so.

Paris Review, Je T’Aime – Last week in Critical Linking, Kelly linked to an installment of Feminize Your Canon, a new column in The Paris Review dedicated to lesser-known female writers.

• • Book Club Bonus: I mean… this is like book-club-in-a-box, n’est-ce pas? Reading inspiration is served up on a fine and prestigious platter with a side of feminism and a history lesson too. Get to know female writers that you might not otherwise have ever discovered like Olivia Manning, who as Kelly points out is someone I think I’d like to have spent time with. 
  • Related: If your book group likes to open or close the discussion with a quote for inspiration, here’s a great round up of empowering feminist quotes that you might find handy. 

Hex in the City – The good people at Catland Books in Brooklyn hosted an event to hex Brett Kavanagh and “all rapists and the patriarchy which emboldens, rewards and protects them.” Some people were real in their feelings about this. Oh, you have a problem with hexing rapists but not with… actual rapists? Let’s have a moment of silence for all of the f*cks we don’t give…

If you missed the event, fear not, witches! There is indeed a Hex Part II on the books for November 3. If you can attend the event or just want to support the cause, click here to buy tickets or make a donation. Fifty percent of the event proceeds will be donated to charity: 25% to the Southern Poverty Law Center and 25% to the Sylvia Rivera Law Project. Hex yeah! (I’m sorry I just HAD TO.)

• Book Club Bonus: Whether or not your club is learned in the art of brujeria, I love the idea of dedicating space & time to rid ourselves of bad energy. Pick a deliciously indulgent read, then pick some kind of ritual to either kick off or wrap up your meeting. Light candles. Burn some palo santo. Break out the crystals. Write down the things that ail you on a small piece of paper and then burn that thing in a blaze of symbolic glory. Find empowerment in small acts of resistance.

Gonna Dress You Up in My Club – With Halloween just around the corner, it feels like a good time to revive this piece from last year on 31 awesome literary costumes. Aaaaah that teeny tiny Dobby costume kills me!

• Book Club Bonus: Dress up for book club (duh) BUT don’t tell anyone what you’re coming as. Choose a literary character and then take turns guessing what each other’s costumes are, and try to make it challenging! I’ve thought about dressing up as a calendar with the word “death” written on a random Tuesday. You know, like an Appointment with Death?

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Thanks for hanging with me today! You can find me on both the Twitter and the gram @buenosdiazsd. Shoot me an email at vanessa@riotnewmedia.com if you want to say hola or if you have any book club questions!

Stay bad & bookish, my friends.
Vanessa

Hey there, word nerds! Welcome to In The Club, a newsletter of resources to keep your book group well-met and well-read.

Today on the agenda for book club talk, I’ll start us off with some creepy + cozy reads. I’ve also got some thoughts on Narco Lit, a lot of love for National Coming Out Day, then some fangirling & feminism to bring it on home. I may have even thought up the scariest Halloween costume to rule them all… 

Onward!

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This newsletter is sponsored by Epic Reads.

The sequel to Sword and Verse follows Soraya as she attempts to rebuild a nation after the slave rebellion destroyed the capital city. On the new ruling council, she finally holds the political power she always wanted—but over a nation in ruins. When a slave ship arrives in the city, full of Arnathim captured before Qilara fell, the civil unrest that has been bubbling since the rebellion erupts. With the threat of attacks high, Gelti, a former guard captain, trains Soraya in self-defense. As the two grow close, tension within the city ramps up, with danger, betrayal, and deception meeting Soraya everywhere she turns.

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I’ll Have the Creepy Read, Hold the Horror – I am such a weenie when it comes to straight-up cue-the-Pyscho-soundtrack horror. If you too are in that weenie tribe, fear not (ha). Tirzah Price had our kind in mind when she put together this sweet list of Atmospheric Non-Horror Novels to read in October.

• Book Club Bonus + Shameless-but-Related Plug: I filled in for Amanda on last week’s episode of Get Booked where I recommended a non-horror novel that still packs a creepy, unsettling punch. Explore this idea: what is it about quieter, less violent stories that often make them terrifying? Is it the dark side of human nature that’s creepy AF? Do they just feel more real? 
• Related Weenie Anecdote: The last scary movie I saw was The Ring. I was so #%@& freaked that I screamed when I saw my reflection in the mirror as I toweled off my hair after a shower. That’s right: I thought I was seeing Somara. Nope. nuh-uh. No quiero.

Murder + Machismo – On the last episode of Read or Dead, Katie and Rincey highlighted some Latinx authors writing crime/mystery/thrillers.  

• Book Club Bonus: One of the books Rincey picked is a piece of Narco Lit, i.e. books whose plots are centered around the drug/cartel culture in Latin America. She discussed how difficult it was to ignore the gross misogyny in the physical descriptions of women. *sighs in Spanish* Let’s talk about whether we have the stomach and/or head space for this kind of talk, even if it “make sense” for the genre.  

Out, Proud, and Well Read – October 11th was National Coming Out Day and we celebrated by featuring all content by LGBTQIA+ Rioters and guests. Here are just a few of those pieces:

• Happy National Coming Out Day! by Alyssa Eleanor Ross 
• Still in Search of Queer Women in Mixed Gender Romance by Jessica Pryde 
• I Was a 90s Teenage Lesbian: Lesbian Book Recommendations by Rachel Rosenberg
• Existing in the Sunlight: A Story of Coming Out, a guest post by Mark Oshiro   
• Book Club Bonus: You know how passionate we are about thoughtfully selecting the work we consume in order to support marginalized voices. I keep on saying but but je suis not sorry: read books by LGBTQIA+ authors and that feature queer characters. We have ALL of the content to help.

Interview with V.E. Schwab –  “Women are not allowed to be ambitious for the sake of ambition. They’re not allowed to want in that way for themselves.” Read Rioter Emily Wenstrom’s interview with V.E. Schwab as she talks female anger, ambition, and lessons from her early career. I am a very jealous heart-eyed emoji.

• Book Club Bonus: Read both Vicious and Vengeful for book club. Examine the progression in Schwab’s writing of her male and female characters. Discuss women’s anger and ambition. Talk about the villains you couldn’t help but kinda root for. There is SO much to unpack here.

Worse Than What’s Happening in the Handmaid’s Tale and Other Words to Keep You Up At Night– That terrifying line is from this New York Times piece about feminist dystopian fiction channeling women’s anger and anxiety. It gave me many feelings, like anger and anxiety. The buzzkill here: there’s not enough diversity in these books and most of them lean towards the super gender normative. Let’s do better here, people. It’s 2018.

• Book Club Bonus: I cannot wait to get my hands on The Water Cure. I mean seriously: literal toxic masculinity?! Brilliant! I’m kinda scared! Put this on your lists for it’s January U.S. release and read another of the titles mentioned in this piece in the meantime if you haven’t already. Then compare, contrast, and come with wine; you’re gonna need that shit when you talk about the ways in which this stuff feels a little too real.
• Related: I am most surely not the first person to come up with this, but someone puh-lease dress up as toxic masculinity for Halloween. I’m envisioning a can or box with a biohazard logo and the word “masculinity” in giant writing. BOOM. Instant horror.

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Thanks for hanging with me today! If you want to be friendly on the innanets, you can find me on both el Twitter and the gram @buenosdiazsd. Shoot me an email at vanessa@riotnewmedia.com if you have any feedback or just to say hola.

Stay bad & bookish, my friends.
Vanessa

More Resources: 
– Our Book Group In A Box guide
– List your group on the Book Group Resources page

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

Can we talk? Last week was hard. So is this week. If you’re tired, it’s ok. You’re not alone. To women, to survivors, to rioters everywhere:  I believe you, I see you, and hope that today we might share in a little bit of well-deserved joy.

So let’s get to it.

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This newsletter is sponsored by Epic Reads.

Bestselling authors Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera combine their talents in this heartfelt collaboration about two boys who can’t decide if the universe is pushing them together—or pulling them apart. ARTHUR is only in New York for the summer, but if Broadway has taught him anything, it’s that the universe can deliver a show-stopping romance when you least expect it. BEN thinks the universe needs to mind its business. If it had his back, he wouldn’t be on his way to the post office carrying a box of his ex-boyfriend’s things. But when they meet-cute at the post office, what exactly does the universe have in store for them . . . ?

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It’s giveaway time! Enter here to win this gorgeous custom bookplate stamp and make your library just a little bit fancier.

Also, file this away under Nice Things Vanessa Can’t Have because I’m seemingly one of seven Latinos without a middle name. That’s right, folks. My initials are V.D. Ay ay ay.

Sea Witch & Chill? – Madeline Miller’s Circe has been optioned for TV!!!! Somebody please tell me what network or streaming service I should throw my hard-earned money at because my body and Visa are ready.

• Book Club Bonus: I’m a little bit obsessed with books that tell a traditionally villainized woman’s story from her perspective and fully flesh it out with lots of juicy nuance. Pick a retelling that does this sort of thing, then unpack how the retelling changes (or doesn’t change!) your interpretation of the main character. Need some recs? Try Circe, Wicked, or Language of Thorns.

30+ (and 40, and 50, and 60…) and Thriving – “Youth is often celebrated, especially in publishing; there is a pervasive idea that one must debut by Age X (often 30) or one has Failed Utterly.” Wise words from the Riot’s Annika Klein in this piece on women authors who debuted at 35+. Don’t mind me, I’ll just be over here slow-clapping as I mutter, “I haven’t missed the ship. I haven’t missed the ship.”

• Book Club Bonus: Celebrate these women! Dedicate a season (or an entire book club, yeeee!) to reading work by women who were published after 35. Discuss how these women’s perspectives and life experience have informed their work.
• Related: Want to further support the authors? Check out this list of easy (many of which are $Free.99!) ways to do so.

Bookish Brujas – Here a witch, there a witch, everywhere a lit witch! The question is: which literary witch are you? Take this awesome quiz to find out.

• Book Club Bonus: I said this newsletter was all about joy and I freakin’ mean it. Have your whole book club take the quiz, then take turns sharing which witch they got and how they do or don’t identify with that pick. Ooooh you should totally meet on Halloween and then dress up as each of those witches. Book Club Coven, yo.
• Related: I got Elphaba and I AM HERE FOR IT. “Powerful, intelligent, and maybe not the biggest fan of precocious children.” #awkward #iwasthatprecociouschild

If You Don’t Give A Damn, We Don’t Give A… – Yep… that is indeed a classy rap throwback from my 20s. Sing that chorus in the dark three times and the ghost of Lil’ John will appear yelling, “YEAH!” More importantly, it’s also the sentiment behind Unlikeable Female Characters, a brand new podcast by three feminist crime writers that’s all about female characters who DGAF if you like them. Say it with me now: “YEAH!”

• Book Club Bonus: You know you have to listen to this pod as a group, right? While you’re waiting for the first episode to drop in a few weeks, check out the work of hosts Kristen Lepionka, Layne Fargo, and Wendy Heard.
• Related: This piece by Rioter Olivia Páez on liking “unlikeable” women in fiction.

That One Time at Book Club – Book club ain’t always easy: there’s no time, but you make time and then Susan shows up and she hasn’t read the book and she didn’t bring a dish for the potluck and now you’re throwing wine in her face so WHY GAWD WHY did you ever sign up for this??! One Rioter shares why you should throw a one-time book club and this might just be the answer to your readerly prayers. Brunch, bonding, and minimal commitment: f*ck yeah.

• Book Club Bonus: Errrr… hold a one-time book club. Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

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Thanks for hanging with me today. But wait! There’s more! You can catch me this Thursday on Get Booked where I sub in for Amanda and try not to make a giant fool of myself.

As always, you can find me on both el Twitter and the gram @buenosdiazsd. Shoot me an email at vanessa@riotnewmedia.com if you have any feedback or just to say hola.

Stay bad & bookish, my friends.
Vanessa

More Resources: 
– Our Book Group In A Box guide
– List your group on the Book Group Resources page

Happy Booktober, Rioters! Welcome to In The Club, a newsletter of resources to keep your book group well-met and well-read. Let’s gather our pumpkin-flavored everything and talk creepy books, first-gen stories, bookshelf shame, and more.

Read on, my pretties!

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This newsletter is sponsored by Amy B. Scher, author of This Is How I Save My Life (Simon & Schuster).

Sometimes, you only find everything when you are willing to try anything … The true story of a fiery young woman’s heartwarming and hilarious journey that takes her from near-death in California to a trip around the world in search of a cure for late-stage Lyme disease. Along the way, she discovers a world of cultural mayhem, radical medical treatment, an unexpected romance, and, most importantly, a piece of her life she never even knew she was missing. Praised by Vikas Swarup, New York Times bestselling author of Slumdog Millionaire as “an inspiring story that will change the way you look at life.”

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Get Your Creep On – Halloween doth approacheth! There’s no time like the present to dive into this list of the best horror books from 2018. 

• Book Club Bonus: Get your creepy-crawly swerve on with a horror-themed book club! You could stick to the usual read-then-meet format, or maybe pick a collection of short stories to read aloud at book club. Create a whole vibe here: throw on a creepy soundtrack, read by candlelight, read at a cemetery… I mean I would sooner kick you than risk running into la llorona at a graveyard, but I know some of you are into it. 

Latinx in Space! – Ok, so not just in space, though that would be awesome too. I’m talking all manner of speculative fiction by Latinx writers, i.e. those on this collaborative list/spreadsheet situation by Silvia Moreno-Garcia.

• Book Club Bonus: Do a reading checkup with your book group. I’ve done this myself and was surprised to find that though my book club read diversely on the whole, we weren’t reading as many works by authors of colors in specific genres (like SFF, for example). If you find similar gaps, address them! Need some suggestions? See aforementioned list.
• Related: You read about Moreno-Garcia’s list in last week’s Book Riot’s Swords & Spaceships newsletter yes? If you didn’t, you know what to do (psssst: click that link). 

Shared Shelf Shame – I’ve got them, you’ve got them: books on our shelves that we’re supposed to have read but somehow… just… haven’t. Popular reads, classic reads, of-the-moment reads… so many reads! One brave Rioter shared the most embarrassing unread books on her shelf. See? You’re not alone. 

• Book Club Bonus: While I’ve totally given up on the idea of ever conquering my TBR (amirite?), there are certain books that I do insist on making time for at some point. Book club is a great space for getting that done! Select a title that no one has read but that everyone’s been meaning to. Then break it down: did it live up to the hype? Was it as important as you expected?

American Like America – If you haven’t already picked up American Like Me: Reflections on Life Between Cultures, get on that right now. Then check out this interview with America Ferrera, who edited and contributed to this collection of stories from first generation Americans. The list of contributors is like woah: Issa Rae, Uzo Aduba, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Diane Guerrero, Padma Lakshmi and so, so many others but word count is a thing so I’ll stop.

• Book Club Bonus: Any collection this diverse is bound to make book club discussion juicy and interesting. How are their narratives different? How are they the same? Do you code switch? Why or why not? Soooo much good stuff.

Witches be Shrillin’ – While I’m all about that bruja life, this bit isn’t actually technically about witches. It’s about Lindy West’s new book news! The brave, bad-ass, best-selling author of Shrill will release her second book in 2019. The title? The Witches Are Coming. SOLD. 

• Book Club Bonus: I’m usually a part of ladies-only book clubs. I need that safe space and you probs don’t need me to tell you why. But this last week (@%$#!) got me thinking long and hard about toxic masculinity. I wonder what a feminist book club of women and woke dudes would look like. I’ve found that even my most progressive ally friends have blind spots when it comes to feminism; I’d be interested – and yeah, a little bit terrified – to start an open, honest, and careful discussion around books on the subject.

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Thanks for hanging with me today! If you want to be friendly on the innanets, you can find me on both el Twitter and the gram @buenosdiazsd. Shoot me an email at vanessa@riotnewmedia.com if you have any feedback or just to say hola!

Stay bad & bookish, my friends.
Vanessa

Sup, book nerds! Welcome to In The Club, a newsletter of resources to keep your book group well-met and well-read. Today I’ve got book club suggestions for parents and young readers, lots more Latinx writer amazingness and I’ve even managed to work strippers into the conversation. I tried to tell you that book club was poppin, yo!

Let’s commence.

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This newsletter is sponsored by The Motherhood Affidavits: A Memoir by Laura Jean Baker.

With the birth of her first child, professor Laura Jean Baker finds herself electrified by oxytocin, the first effective antidote to her lifelong depression. Soon her “oxy” cravings, and her family, grows—to the dismay of her husband, a freelance public defender. Baker is in an impossible bind: The drive that sustains her endangers her family. With a wrenching ending that compels us to ask whether Baker has fallen from maternal grace, her ruthless self-interrogation makes this memoir her personal affidavit.

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In Prose of Parenthood – “I would look at him and feel a love so sharp, it seemed my flesh lay open. I made a list of all the things I would do for him. Scald off my skin. Tear out my eyes. Walk my feet to bones, if only he would be happy and well.” Those are some of the most beautiful words from one of my favorite books this year (Madeline Miller’s Circe), just a few of many other profound literary quotes about parenting compiled here.

• Book Club Bonus: Squeezing in time to read a book may be easier for some than others, but I think a book club for parents – new parents, adoptive parents, parents with teens, parents dealing with loss, etc – could be an awesome act of self care. Pick a work (nonfiction or fiction, your choice), set a realistic goal for completion (because hello… #parentlife), then get together to share your thoughts on the book and your parenting journey in general. Book group meets parenting support group.

Latinx LitFic – This Hispanic Heritage Month, consider reading the work of lesser-known Latinx authors. A whole new crop of talented writers is emerging all over Latin America! Start with these three recent Latin American novels for fans of literary fiction.

• Book Club Bonus: Kind of a no-brainer for you here: read lesser-known authors. You’ve probably (hopefully??) heard of Latinx heavyweights like Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Isabel Allende, as you should! But make space in your book club for the next wave of great authors and spread. the. word.

Girl Talk, Tech Talk – Over at Wired.com, Room to Read CEO Geetha Murali put together a list of books to get girls excited about tech. I’d argue these books are great for women of all ages, not just younger reader by any means.

• Book Club Bonus: I see book clubs for grown folks all the time but don’t hear as much about book clubs for younger men and women. Whether structured as a parent/guardian + child book club or a meetup just for young minds, I’m into it; anything to get young readers excited about reading, learning, thinking critically, or even a potential career.

Love in this Club – I may well have already used this Usher song reference before. I am not sorry. More importantly, did you know our When In Romance podcast has a book club of its very own?? Their first pick is Butterfly Swords by Jeannie Lin and will be discussed during their October 8th episode. Nab the book and listen in; their last episode is titled “Look How We Accidentally Recommended All the Strippers” so… you’re welcome.  

• Book Club Bonus: Trisha and Jess did indeed talk about strippers; I mean have you seen that Zoey Castille cover for Stripped? *cue Magic Mike soundtrack*. They also talked about romance writers taking the time to make consent sexy, which I am emphatically here for. The next time you incorporate a romance read into book club, pay close attention to the sexy times and discuss how consent is or is not made plain in the writing.
• Related: A lovely piece on why women read romance novels, for those days when “Mind your business, assh*ole!” is perhaps too ragey a response to that question. #thingsivesaid

Lift Every (Own) Voice – You all know how I feel about own voices writing, right? Then you won’t be surprised to read that I have lots of muppet arms for Tirzah’s latest 3 on a YA Theme post: #OWNVOICES YA Novels Starring Latinx Teens.

• Book Club Bonus: Once again, y’all: young people’s book club. We need diverse books! Give them to the youth.
• Related: Are any teachers out there using a book club format for required reading? Whether inside of the classroom or after school, I’m curious if some students would feel more comfortable, compelled, invested, etc. in reading if they could discuss the books with a small group of their peers.

See the Spectrum – September 23rd was Bi Visibility Day and Danika Ellis has a great list of books for you featuring bisexual women. These reads are obvi great any ol’ time of year, as is the importance of people all across the sexuality spectrum being seen year round.

• Book Club Bonus: Take the time to read books with bisexual characters and then discuss how they either nail or fail in their depiction. Break down how society differs in its handling of bisexuality in men vs women – this should give you plenty to discuss. Spoiler: heteronormativity is stupid.

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Thanks for hanging with me today! If you want to be friendly on the innanets, you can find me on both el Twitter and the gram @buenosdiazsd. Shoot me an email at vanessa@riotnewmedia.com if you have any feedback or just to say hola.

Stay bad & bookish, my friends.
Vanessa

More Resources: 
– Our Book Group In A Box guide
– List your group on the Book Group Resources page

Happy Alleged Autumn, bookworms! Welcome to In The Club, a newsletter of resources to keep your book group well-met and well-read. I’ve got more Hispanic Heritage Month fun for you today along with tears for Michelle Obama, banned book love, and more. I’m also asking one of you to help me out with a teensy tiny several-hour literary + culinary favor. Somebody’s got to be down, right? Anyone? Beuller?

*crickets*

Fine then, on to the book stuff!

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This newsletter is sponsored by Epic Reads.

Cottonwood Hollow, Kansas, is a strange place. For the past century, every girl has been born with a special talent, like the ability to Fix any object, Heal any wound, or Find what is missing.

To best friends Rome, Lux, and Mercy, their abilities often feel more like a curse. Rome may be able to Fix anything she touches, but that won’t help her mom pay rent. Lux’s ability to attract any man with a smile has always meant danger. And although Mercy can make Enough of whatever is needed, even that won’t help when her friendship with Rome and Lux is tested.

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Don Quixote Droppin’ Knowledge – Rioter Romeo Rosales opens this list of five works by Hispanic authors with a gem from Don Quixote: “ He who reads a lot and walks a lot, knows a lot and sees a lot.” Here’s to reading and walking and knowing and seeing as much as you can during Hispanic Heritage Month.

• Book Club Bonus: Here’s the deal with subjects of specific awareness days/weeks/years: you shouldn’t partake exclusively during one particular time of year, but it’s totally cool to use that moment to kick-start good habits. Hispanic Heritage Month is a great time for your book club to get hip to the word magic of these and countless other Latinx authors. Just keep that same energy flowing all year round.
• Related: I have been dying to try quail in a rose petal sauce ever since reading Like Water for Chocolate as a teen. If any of you out there is bold enough to attempt the recipe, holler at your girl. Here’s hoping I have a less, err, visceral reaction to your culinary masterpiece than Gertrudis.

New in November – The one reader to rule them all Liberty Hardy has put together a list of hot November releases to put on hold at your local library now. Whether la libreria is your jam or you’re pre-ordering for purchase, get these hot reads on your radar with the quickness.

• Book Club Bonus: Believe your eye holes: Michelle Obama’s book Becoming is coming at last. When the time comes, let the hot, stinging tears of longing remembrance stream down your face as your group discusses her greatness! From her humble roots in South Side, Chicago to her time at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, unpack how particularly stunning her personal successes and professional accolades are in light of the unique challenges faced by black women in America.

Stitch It, Stitch It Good – The indie bookstore where I work is right next to a cute yarn shop and a few of our regulars are just as avid knitters as they are readers. That got me thinking about how knitting and reading might go hand in hand, which reminded me of these cross stitch patterns for book lovers. I don’t know a %$#*ing thing about knitting but would embarrass myself with an attempt just to make myself a sweet wall hanging or bookmark.

• Book Club Bonus: For those of you with the knitting knack, why not make your knitting circle a book club too? The ladies and gents of your group could select an audiobook and knit away while you listen, then gather again to stitch while you talk about the book when you’re done. You could stretch the book over as many sessions as you like and revel in your multi-tasky brilliance. Also, I’m totes available if you need help naming your combination book/knitting group. Stitch & Bitchin’ Bookworms? Needles in a Book Stack? And your book selection could be your ‘knit pick!” Who’s with me??

Mind the Gap – On last week’s episode of Get Booked, a listener wrote in looking for books for her mother, who she’d recently discovered to have “some cringeworthy misconceptions” about the Civil War, slavery, and its long-lasting effects. I was pleasantly surprised to hear that her mother specifically asked for books to educate herself, which I thought was freakin’ rad. You can listen to the episode here, and subscribe while you’re at it!

• Book Club Bonus: Book club is a perfect space for acknowledging the gaps in our progressive ideologies; odds are each of us has at one point also clung to a cringey misconception in our journey towards wokeness. We move forward by examining our ignorance and battling it with knowledge. So do the work: have a frank discussion with your group members about what subjects you could all stand to learn more about and pick a book around that topic. 

The Banned and The Beautiful – September 23 kicks off Banned Books Week! The theme this year is Banning Books Silences Stories and I would legit purchase that t-shirt if someone made one. In the meantime, I’ll just be over here prancing around in my banned books socks and drinking from my banned books mug.

• Book Club Bonus: In honor of Banned Books Week, take this sweet quiz that will tell you which banned book to read next. I took it and got Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood which is exactly what I’m in the mood for! Don’t be selfish though: take your quiz as a group so everyone gets a say in the selection.
• Related: Novel level Book Riot Insiders: don’t forget that September’s deal is 30% off your order in case you want to nab some of those banned book goods! Not a member yet? Click here to start your FREE two week trial.

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Adios for now! If you want to be friendly on the innanets, you can find me on el Twitter or the gram @buenosdiazsd. You can always shoot me an email at vanessa@riotnewmedia.com if you have any feedback or just to say hola. 

Forever bad & bookish,
Vanessa

More Resources: 
– Our Book Group In A Box guide
– List your group on the Book Group Resources page

Hola, libro lovers! Welcome to In The Club, a newsletter of resources to keep your book group well-met and well-read. I’ve got so much good stuff to talk about today: Latinx poets, golden girls, Anthony Bourdain… *these are a few of my favorite things….

Let’s get it.

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Sponsored by Buried Beneath the Baobab Tree by Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani

Based on interviews with women who were kidnapped by Boko Haram, this poignant novel tells the timely story of one girl’s harrowing fight for survival.

A new pair of shoes, a university degree, a husband—these are the things that one girl dreams of in a Nigerian village. But her dreams turn to nightmares when her village is attacked by Boko Haram in the middle of the night. She is taken with other girls and women into the forest and forced to follow her captors’ radical beliefs.

Still, the girl defends her existence. As impossible as escape may seem, her life and future are hers to fight for.

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Have you completed our Fall Reader Survey yet? It takes all of five minutes and helps us learn a little more about fabulous readers like you. Plus you’ll be entered to win a $100 gift card to the Book Riot store! Get it crackin’.

Latinx Word Magicians – Remember last week when I promised to spread some Latinx love in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month? Well boom shaka laka, here it is! One of our Rioters put together this incredible list of Latinx poets weaving some serious word brujeria. I’m obsessed with Analicia Sotelo “Ariadne Discusses Theseus in Relation to the Minotaur” from Virgin. It’s a retelling of the Ariadne/Theseus/Minotaur myth in which Ariadne sort of works out that this Theseus dude may be a bit of a doucheus. No, reader: I don’t know how I have any friends.

• Book Club Bonus: Today in Vanessa’s Confession Corner, I’ll admit I spent a lot of my young reading life feeling like I didn’t “get” poetry. As an adult, I’ve stopped trying to force a specific connection with the “important” works and have adopted an “I like what I like” approach instead. Do the same with your book club; if Emily Dickinson and Lord Byron aren’t speaking to you, switch things up with a more current collection. Find a contemporary poet whose work is of the moment or rooted in contemporary issues.
• Related: This list of 100 must-read Latin American titles

The Anatomy of a School Shooting – You’ll probably give me some side-eye for recommending YA books about school shootings for your shiny happy book club. I get it – they’re not exactly warm & fuzzy stories. They are however essential reading about a moment in history that requires careful examination, reading that may help instill empathy in young readers.

• Book Club Bonus: A few years ago, I tore (and cried) through David Cullen’s Columbine. It was a surreal and disturbing experience to both relive and newly discover the nitty gritty details of the first major school shooting in my memory. Challenge yourself to push through books on the topic, whether fiction or non-fiction, even if it makes you uncomfortable. Have a deep and meaningful conversation at book club and/or with the young reader in your life about the shootings, about gun control, about your many, many feelings. Do it for empathy, for knowledge, for hope that these deadly shootings will someday be a much, much less frequent occurrence.

Don’t Write Off the Golden Girls – Fun fact: The Golden Girls is my favorite show ever. It showed me that my life won’t suddenly cease to have meaning when I’m applying for my AARP card and auditioning for the Shady Pines talent show. If you’re still reading this and haven’t yet written me off, well… thank you for being a friend. Now check out this list of books with strong female characters over 50, because women of all ages deserve to be and feel seen.

• Book Club Bonus: Whether you’re reading one of these suggested reads or another of your choice, pay attention to the way the women are treated in the book. How does sexism or ageism factor in? Are they depicted as whole and capable or as tragically past their prime? Examine the work with a critical eye; it is after all one thing to include underrepresented characters and another thing entirely to do it well.

The Tony (Bourdain) Awards – I miss him. You miss him. We all miss him. Anthony Bourdain has been gone three months now and his loss still stings. It’s therefore bittersweet to learn that Uncle Tony was just awarded six posthumous Emmys for Parts Unknown. Even in death, his excellence reigns supreme.

• Book Club Bonus: If you haven’t already, now is a great time to discover or re-read one of Bourdain’s books, like the classic Kitchen Confidential. Do like my friends and I are doing and make recipes from Bourdain’s Appetites on the night of your book chat; read, eat, and drink in Uncle Tony’s name and discuss the components of his legacy.

Persist! Round Tres – Last but certainly not least: we’re baaaaack! Our feminist book club, Persist, is back for a third round and you should totally join. Make our book club your book club. We can all club together.

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Thanks for hanging with me today! If you want to be friendly on the innanets, you can find me on el Twitter or the gram @buenosdiazsd. Shoot me an email at vanessa@riotnewmedia.com if you have any feedback or just to say hola.

Stay bad & bookish, my friends!
Vanessa

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

It’s September! Fall is almost here… kinda? I live in San Diego so it might just be 90 degrees through Halloween. *shrug emoji* Guess I should put these boots and scarves away.

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Sponsored by Epic Reads

Growing up in a conservative African American family in Texas, Taja struggles with her family expectations, a changing body, and a handsome new boyfriend as she tries to discover her own identity. Lyrical and literary, Tamani’s debut is a strikingly honest and genuine exploration of family, religion, sexuality, and how we define self-worth. Now available in paperback, Calling My Name is a must-read for fans of Jacqueline Woodson.

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More importantly, it’s that time of year when book releases start to rain down from the sky at a pace almost too dizzying to keep up with. But we wouldn’t be true bookworms if we didn’t try, would we? So let’s get started!

Book Riot wants to hear from you! Click here to take our super-fast Fall Reader Survey and be entered to win a $100 gift card to the Book Riot store!

Holiday! Celebrate! – Did you know that September is National Library Card Sign Up Month and Be Kind to Writers and Editors Month? Huzzah! Wondering what other bookish holidays exist throughout the month and year? Check out this sweet calendar of bookish holidays to maximize your celebratory fun.

• Book Club Bonus: Plan your book club around one of these festive days/weeks/months. Some of them are perhaps too wide/general for book club, but some would make for awesome inspiration. Read a comic for National Comic Book Day on the 25th of this month, or read a mystery in October for one of my faves: Mystery Series week.

Alternative Prizes – The New Academy has announced the alternative Nobel Prize in Literature shortlist for 2018! Four finalists were chosen from the original list of 47 authors and the winner will be announced on October 12th.

• Book Club Bonus: Pick a work by of the four shortlisted authors for your book club. While any of the four authors’ works would certainly spark some healthy book chat on their own, discuss the works within the framework of #metoo. These writers were after all selected by an organization whose very existence was necessitated when allegations of sexual misconduct brought about the collapse of a major literary institution. I’d love to hear some deep book club chat on Murakami’s Men Without Women, for example. Discuss!

A Few Coins for Jane Austen – A first edition of Pride and Prejudice is going up for auction and I totally want it!

Me: What was that? It’s almost $24,000? Cool cool cool. I’ll get right on that.
Narrator: She did not get right on that.

• Book Club Bonus: Consider a classics remix for book club. Take a classic that you love and look for a modern retelling. If you have the time, maybe read both the original and the remix, or just the remix – you do you, boo. There are so many good ones to choose from! I would love to get my girlfriends together to compare and contrast Jane Eyre vs. Jane Steele – what we loved, what we hated, what was oddly distorted or creatively updated.

Book Club Gets Lit – Oooh snap. Guess what? I’ve got a second giveaway for you! Ten lucky Book Riot Readers will peach won a copy of our bookish conversation game, Lit Chat. Enter here to win!

• Book Club Bonus: A round of Lit Chat is the perfect book club meeting activity! You’re all book lovers, obvi. Use this as in ice breaker if it’s your first time meeting, or just add a fun little interlude to your book discussion with this bookish conversation starter.

Book Recs Written in the Stars – We’ve all been there: you’ve searched your soul, your book club and your TBR for what to read next and you can’t just decide on a title. Did you ever think to let your astrological sign do the picking for you? Maybe it’s time you do! I’m loving the Scorpio pick and can’t wait to get into it!

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That’s all for today, book people. Stay tuned for recs for Hispanic Heritage month in next week’s newsletter – I can’t wait to spread the Latina bookworm love!

Stay bad & bookish, my friends.
Vanessa

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

Summer is just about over, pero like….how?? It feels like it was all of twelve days long. I’m not quite ready to give up the longer days, the warm nights, reading in the sunshine with a cold drink in hand. Let’s soak it all up while we still can, shall we? Let’s talk club things and end-of-summer reads!

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This newsletter is sponsored by Sold On a Monday by Kristina McMorris.

2 CHILDREN FOR SALE

The scrawled sign, peddling young siblings on a farmhouse porch, captures the desperation sweeping the country in 1931. It’s an era of breadlines, bank runs, and impossible choices.

For struggling reporter Ellis Reed, the gut-wrenching scene evokes memories of his family’s dark past. He snaps a photograph of the children, not meant for publication. But when it leads to his big break, the consequences are more devastating than he ever imagined.

Inspired by an actual newspaper photograph that stunned the nation, Sold on a Monday explores the tale within the frame and behind the lens.

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Alright folks, this is your last chance to win 16 of the books mentioned on Recommended! You know & love the podcast, so whatcha waiting for? Enter here before August 31st.

August is for Romance – I somehow missed that August is Romance Awareness Month! One of our Rioters put together a round-up of new romance books that I had to give a quick nod to. There are but two days left in the month, so you could try and give Liberty a run for her money and finish these books by then (haahahaha, look at me making a funny). Or you could just accept that you don’t technically need a special month to read & enjoy romance. You’re welcome.

• Book Club Bonus: First, a fun tip: get weird! Gather your book club tribe, find the romance section of your favorite bookstore and make your next selection *purely* off the basis of the cover’s steaminess OR the title’s creativity. On a more thoughtful note, read outside of your comfort zone. I’m a romance novice myself but have noticed that I lean towards the Regency variety; if you’re in my same boat, go for a contemporary version for your club pick. Already into contemporary? Throw it back and get historical with thy steam.

Badass Chicks & Comic Strips – I’ve got all of the muppet arms, fist pumps and mariachi music for this list of comics by women dropping this fall. Jessica Jones, Catwoman and Shuri, y’all. Do I really need to say anything more?

• Book Club Bonus: Problem! I have never known anyone who’s read a comic or graphic novel in their book club! While I super hope I’m in the minority here, my spidey senses are telling me that not enough book clubs do this. So next time, pick a comic! And would you look at that: a link to tons of related content. Boop!  

Book by Book, State by State – You probably don’t have to think too hard to name books set in places like LA, New York, or Chicago, but what about cities in the rest of our giant land mass? Enter this awesome list of books set in every last one of our 50 states.

• Book Club Bonus: Listen. I will rarely pass up an opportunity to work more travel into my life and I’m about to try to work it into yours too! How fun would it be to take book club on the road??? If you and your friends already have a trip planned, read a book set in your destination in the weeks/months leading up to the trip and then chat about it once you’re there. If road tripping is your thing, map out the length of your drive and pick an audiobook that lines up with your drive time.
• Related: This round up of end-of summer audiobooks for any last-minute travels.
• Related, Part Dos: Whaaaaat? A giveaway of end-of-summer audiobooks!

THUG Life – A new trailer for The Hate U Give dropped last week! I love everything about this project thus far and cannot wait to see it!

• Book Club Bonus: The Hate U Give has been challenged a couple of times in the last year; it was banned by a school district in Katy, TX and ruffled the feathers of some South Carolina police officers when the title popped up on a local high school’s reading list. With the the film release looming nearer and nearer, yes: definitely read the book and take a movie field trip with your book club besties. But also, consider contacting local schools to donate copies of books like The Hate U Give to classrooms in need, maybe even donating your copy when you’re done with it. Screw the haters and the hate they give.

When You Literally Can’t Even – There are books that you think you’ll enjoy and then just loathe, or mildly dislike, or ones that you just sort of feel meh about and that never quite hook you. Ever wondered which books are most popular on the DNF (Did Not Finish) list? Us too. Here’s a list of the most commonly DNFed titles according to Goodreads.

• Book Club Bonus: In case you need a reminder: you don’t have to finish a book you don’t like! There are soooo many books out there and not enough time to read them (nope, sure doesn’t give me any anxiety, none at all AAAAAH) and life is too short to get bogged down in one that just isn’t working for you. Be a good book clubber and let your pals know if you just don’t feel like continuing as a courtesy. You can still participate in the chat portion, or you might even find that the other club folk feel the same way!

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Stay bad & bookish, my friends. Hasta luego!
Vanessa

More Resources: 
– Our Book Group In A Box guide
– List your group on the Book Group Resources page

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

No lie: this week’s newsletter was almost “Read books and discuss them ok thank you that is all for now bye” because I have a week-old nephew and he occupies, like, 92% of my brain space. But I got it together long enough to bring you some tips on philanthropy, science fiction baddies, phallic soap and more. Shall we?

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Sponsored by Amy B. Scher, author of This is How I Save My Life (Simon & Schuster).

Sometimes, you only find everything when you are willing to try anything …

The true story of a fiery young woman’s heartwarming and hilarious journey that takes her from near-death in California to a trip around the world in search of a cure for late-stage Lyme disease. Along the way, she discovers a world of cultural mayhem, radical medical treatment, an unexpected romance, and, most importantly, a piece of her life she never even knew she was missing. Praised by Vikas Swarup, New York Times bestselling author of Slumdog Millionaire, as “an inspiring story that will change the way you look at life.”

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There’s still time to win 16 of the phenomenal books featured on the Recommended podcast!  Enter here to win by August 31. Hurry!

WTF Do I Read? Sometimes you just need a quick and easy way to figure out your next book club read. Here’s a quiz that’ll take the guesswork out for you. Boom.

Read Well & Do Good – The past year’s slew of natural disasters and humanitarian crises have forced me to more thoughtfully consider the concept of philanthropy. If you too are thinking more about it – what it means, what it does, and when it’s truly effective – check out these five books on the subject.

• Book Club Bonus: Read up then meet up to discuss what you find the most eye-opening, both the good and the bad. As a group, research and select one cause or project that effectively embodies the essence of good philanthropy. Find a way to contribute or participate as a group – it doesn’t have to be a huge gesture, just whatever is within your means. Be a club of good readers and do gooders.

Star-Studded Book Clubs – Did you know that Oprah’s Book Club ran as a segment of her talk show for the first time in 1996? Skrrrr. Nineteen ninety-QUE?! *buys eye cream* But this segment isn’t about me feeling old as dirt; it’s about the rise of the celebrity book club and how everyone from Reese Witherspoon to Jimmy Fallon has gotten in on the club action.

• Book Club Bonus: It seems to me that folks are either really into the idea of a celebrity book club or are totally turned off by it. If the massive popularity of the Oprah and Reese varieties isn’t your bag, there are other options: Emma Watson’s Our Shared Shelf; Florence Welch’s Between Two Books; Andrew Luck’s eponymous book club.
• Related: Persist, Book Riot’s own IG book club, will be returning in September!

Cooking & Killing – You’re listening to Read or Dead, yes? Book Riot’s bi-weekly mystery/thriller podcast? On last week’s episode, Katie and Rincey talked about culinary cozy mysteries and their research was pretty hilarious (spoiler: crack is, like, so shocking!). I usually take my cozies classically British but these food-related mysteries are a freaking riot.

• Book Club Bonus: Take a break from your heavier reads, check your bias at the door and pick a fun & silly cozy (no shame here). The plot will provide some necessary levity AND you can make some of the recipes for your meet-up. And now for some suggested titles, and a warning: these authors love a good pun:
  • Cheese Shop mysteries by Avery Aames: To Brie or Not to Brie, The Long Quiche Goodbye
  • Mack’s Bar mysteries by Allyson K. Abbott: Murder on the Rocks, Shots in the Dark
  • Tea Shop mysteries by Laura Childs: Death by Darjeeling, Shades of Earl Grey
  • Pancake House mysteries by Sarah Fox: The Crepes of Wrath, Of Spice and Men, Yeast of Eden

So… who’s going to invite me to their cozy cooking club?

Literotica. Get Into It. – Jess Pryde, editor of our Kissing Books newsletter and co-host of the When in Romance podcast) put together this big, beautiful, diverse list of must-read erotic fiction to spice up your reading life.   

• Book Club Bonus: I don’t have to tell you to read romance, right? Great. Now: are you reading diversely? Make a concerted effort to read romance by authors of color and/or queer romance. As for your book club meeting… I mean, the world is your oyster here. Pajama party? Passion party? Dick soap for everyone! This is a judgement free zone.

Hugo Hat Trick – The 2018 Hugo Awards were given out over the weekend and if you’re vewy, vewy qwiet, you’ll hear my TBR going to aaaabsolute crap. While all of the winners (so many women, yay!) are fabulous, let us bow down to the incomparable N.K. Jemisin. She took home the award for best novel for the third time in a row, y’all. Third!

• Book Club Bonus: If you’ve been slacking at life (like me, sssh!) and have yet to read the Broken Earth trilogy, now would be the perfect time to dive into this Hugo Award-winning series. Watch Jemisin’s acceptance speech from Sunday’s awards here and use it as a starting point for your chat. There’s lots to unpack, like “what it takes to live, let alone thrive, in a world that seems determined to break you.”

Also: read like Obama. Might I suggest playing “Baby Come Back” in the background?

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Thank you for clubbing with me! If you want to be friendly on the innanets, you can find me on el Twitter or on the gram at @buenosdiazsd. Shoot me an email at vanessa@riotnewmedia.com if you have any feedback or just to say hola (and invite me to your cozy cook-off: don’t think I forgot).

Stay bad & bookish, my friends. Hasta luego!
Vanessa