Categories
In The Club

More of the Best October Releases for Your Book Club

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

There are so many great books coming out this month that I thought to do another round of some of the best ones for book clubs. There’s a queer Detroit memoir, a passioned look at the field of forensic science by the host of a true crime podcast, a horror tale that takes place during Jim Crow in the ’50s, and more.

Before we get to the Club, here’s a reminder to check out our personalized TBR service, where you can get book recommendations tailored to you.

Nibbles and Sips

Caramel Apple Moscow Mules

Caramel Apple Moscow Mule by Cheryl

I haven’t tried this yet, but it sounds like an interesting twist on a favorite. You’ll need:

caramel vodka, apple cider, lime, ginger beer, cinnamon sticks, and apple slices for garnish.

For a full list of measurements and instructions, go here.

Memoir, True Crime, Romance, and Historical Horrors

cover of Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant: A Memoir by Curtis Chin; rainbow background with a restaurant order slip on the front

Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant by Curtis Chin

This funny and insightful memoir follows Chin, a gay American-born Chinese kid growing up in Detroit in the ’80s. Though the city has its issues — like segregation, for one — the Chinese restaurant his grandfather opened is a safe haven for many. All of Detroit — from drag queens to the city’s first Black mayor — are welcomed and gather around Chin’s family’s sweet-and-sour pork and scooch into their vinyl booths.

cover of Lay Them to Rest: On the Road with the Cold Case Investigators Who Identify the Nameless by Laurah Norton

Lay Them to Rest: On the Road with the Cold Case Investigators Who Identify the Nameless by Laurah Norton

True crime lovers! I know I don’t usually have many suggestions for you, but today I’ve got you. Host of the true-crime podcast The Fall Line, Norton guides us through the vast world of forensic science, taking us from its (first recorded) beginnings with the ancient Roman death masks to our modern-day 3D facial reconstruction technology. We’re also walked through a case she solves in real-time alongside forensic anthropologist Dr. Amy Michael.

cover of Hold My Girl by Charlene Carr

Hold My Girl by Charlene Carr

Two women undergo IVF, but only one conceives. Katherine, with her type A personality, finally has the perfect life once she has a baby. Thing is, the baby’s complexion is a little too different from her own, and it’s throwing her off…Then there’s Tess, who visited the same fertility clinic as Katherine but whose baby was stillborn. Two years later, she’s struggling with depression and a dead-end job, but a call from the clinic puts things on the upswing for Tess: they tell her that her and Katherine’s eggs were switched.

cover of Iris Kelly Doesn't Date

Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date by Ashley Herring Blake (Oct. 24)

All of the people in Iris Kelly’s life are in love. Her parents, her friends, her siblings, and she really hates — *is happy for them*. Truly. Tear-soaked Lyft rides home notwithstanding. Her lack of love is especially confounding since she’s a romance writer, and it’s probably partially why she’s been out of ideas since her debut. To distract herself from her pitiful state, she goes out to a bar and hooks up with the sexy stranger Stefania. Only, the one-night stand has made the hottest of messes when vomit and crying both make appearances. To distract herself from that, she tries for a local play and meets Stefania, or Stevie, again, who wants Iris to play as her fake girlfriend for reasons. Of course she goes along with it, and sparks fly, but neither is trying to make the first move to make it official.

cover of The Reformatory by Tananarive Due

The Reformatory by Tananarive Due (Oct. 31)

Due has been killing the Black horror game for a minute now. In her latest, 12-year-old Robbie Stevens is sent to the Gracetown School for Boys reformatory in Florida in 1950 for defending his sister from a rich white kid. If you got shudders thinking of a Black kid being sent to a reformatory in Florida in the ’50s, I did too. The horrors are just as real as you’d think, and the haints (ghosts) Robbie sees show him the terrors that were met upon the boys who have gone missing from the reformatory and worse things that have yet to come. Hopefully, his sister Gloria can get him out before it’s too late.

Book Riot has podcasts to keep your ears listening for days! Check them out and subscribe.

Suggestion Section

Book Club:

More To Read

Nonfiction About Witches, Ghosts, and Other Odd Creatures

Look Again: 10 Great 2023 Mysteries You May Have Missed

What Would an Author-Centered Publishing Company Look Like?

8 of the Most Shocking First Lines in Fiction


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 the new In Reading Color newsletter as well as chattin’ with my new co-host Tirzah Price on the Hey YA podcast.

Until next time,

Erica

Categories
True Story

New Essay Collections for Your TBR

Today, I pulled on my first sweater of the season. It’s a glorious, overcast fall day with a chill in the air. Local coffee shops have burst out in pumpkin. So has Trader Joe’s, creating an autumn lover’s paradise. I love listening to audiobooks as I walk through my neighborhood, keeping tabs on the different trees as their leaves turn golden and fiery orange. I recently listened to two essay collections, both read by their authors.

But before we jump into those, I thought we’d do another round of university press new releases. And here’s a reminder to check out our personalized TBR service, where you can get book recommendations tailored to you.

Bookish Goods

a photo of black skull bookends on a black bookshelf

Life Size Human Skull Bookends by the blackened teeth

It’s that time of year when skulls make their appearance, and what’s better for creepy decor than skull bookends? They give those perfect Halloween vibes. $60

New Releases

a graphic of the cover of American Classicist: The Life and Loves of Edith Hamilton by Victoria Houseman

American Classicist: The Life and Loves of Edith Hamilton by Victoria Houseman (Princeton University Press)

Edith Hamilton is most well-known for her book Mythology, which has become a classic since it was first published almost 100 years ago. But few know that Hamilton didn’t publish her first book until her early 60s. This biography sheds light on one of our most famous classicists.

a graphic of the cover of Nimrods: a fake-punk self-hurt anti-memoir by Kawika Guillermo

Nimrods: a fake-punk self-hurt anti-memoir by Kawika Guillermo (Duke University Press Books)

Guillermo writes about his experience growing up in a tumultuous biracial household. After his parents’ divorce, Guillermo begins a life constantly on the move as he searches for a place to escape the systems of oppression in the Western world.

For a more comprehensive list, check out our New Books newsletter.

Riot Recommendations

a graphic of the cover of Opinions: A Decade of Arguments, Criticism, and Minding Other People's Business by Roxane Gay

Opinions: A Decade of Arguments, Criticism, and Minding Other People’s Business by Roxane Gay

I first read Roxane Gay after her essay collection Bad Feminist hit shelves. Since then, Gay has written essays, celebrity profiles, and advice columns. Opinions includes the best of Gay’s writing, giving readers little snapshots of Gay’s life over the course of the last decade. There’s a profile of Janelle Monáe describing how Afrofuturism influenced their album Dirty Computer. Gay writes about #MeToo from her perspective as a survivor of sexual assault and pushes it further, discussing what it’s like to be well-known for being a survivor of sexual violence. In other less-serious pieces, Gay includes her delightful sense of humor and a practical take on what’s going on in the world.

a graphic of the cover of Thin Skin: Essays by Jenn Shapland

Thin Skin: Essays by Jenn Shapland

Sometimes, you read a writer, and you just find yourself mesmerized by their prose, wondering how on earth they do it. For me, Jenn Shapland is one of those writers. Her essays are beautiful. They would feel otherworldly if she didn’t anchor each piece in lived reality. In one essay, she writes about being diagnosed with thin skin, a condition that makes her ultra-sensitive to things like pollen and certain foods.

a photo of Dylan, a red and white Pembroke Welsh Corgi, standing on a book inspired halloween set. There are gourds and pumpkins. leaves made out of book pages. Chains wrapping around Dylan made out of book pages. Dylan is standing on a pile of books.
Dylan during a Halloween photo shot back in 2016

That’s it for this week! You can find me over on my substack Winchester Ave, over on Instagram @kdwinchester, or on my podcast Read Appalachia. As always, feel free to drop me a line at kendra.d.winchester@gmail.com. For even MORE bookish content, you can find my articles over on Book Riot.

Happy Reading, Friends!

~ Kendra

Categories
Unusual Suspects

Tiffany D. Jackson announced her next YA thriller!

Hi mystery fans! I watched the adaptation of Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret (Starz) this weekend: I really enjoyed it, felt super old that Rachel McAdams is now playing mom roles, and spent some time discussing how some things surrounding puberty don’t change, and others have drastically changed thanks to things like the entire internet.

I have the best job that matches people with what they want to read more of through TBR, so if you want to give it a try, here’s a thing about it: Autumn is here, which means it’s time to curl up with a great read and get cozy—whatever your version of cozy looks like. Whether it’s romance, creepy reads, modern classics, or escapist reads you crave, TBR can help you find the perfect books for your fall reading, with options curated to your specific reading tastes.

Bookish Goods

illustrated sticker of a skeleton reading a book that says "just one more chapter"

Grim reaper reading sticker by LorelaiMarketWonders

At least when you’re a skeleton, you can stay up all night playing this game ––I assume. ($4)

New Releases

cover image for Murder by Degrees

Murder by Degrees by Ritu Mukerji

For fans of historical mysteries (Philadelphia, 1875), amateur sleuths, and doctor leads!

Dr. Lydia Weston has her schedule full as she helped create a low-cost clinic for the working class where she treats patients, and she’s also a teacher for future doctors at the Woman’s Medical College. After a patient of Weston’s goes missing, and an unidentifiable body with the patient’s diary is found, Weston ends up assisting with the autopsy and then the detectives on the case. But will what she knows about her patient help solve the case, and do they, in fact, have the correct body?

cover image for Lay Them To Rest

Lay Them to Rest: On the Road with the Cold Case Investigators Who Identify the Nameless by Laurah Norton

For readers of forensic science, cold cases, and true crime.

Norton is the host of the podcast The Fall Line, which focuses on cases that haven’t gotten much attention, centering minority communities in Georgia. In Lay Me To Rest, she takes a deep dive not only into cold cases, but into the unidentified dead cold cases specifically, and the forensic science/tools for identification throughout history up until the newest generation of the science.

Looking for more new releases? Check out our New Books newsletter!

Riot Recommendations

Casey McQuiston (Red, White and Royal Blue) announced their next book publishing in 2024(!), so I decided to go back to my fun game of looking at crime releases to be super excited for in 2024, along with the author’s current work that you can read now!

Under Lock & Skeleton Key cover image

Under Lock & Skeleton Key (Secret Staircase Mystery, #1) by Gigi Pandian

For fans of fun murder mysteries, amateur sleuths, family mysteries, food, and intricate puzzle mysteries!

Tempest Raj has lost her career as a magician with a Las Vegas show, so naturally, she returns to live in a tree house at her family’s home. Her father, who builds intricate hidden spaces in people’s homes, has offered her a spot on his crew. Except, instead of working on a new fun project, a dead body is discovered in a wall, and it looks just like Tempest… Guess who will go from magician to amateur sleuth?

(TW brief mention of past suicide assumption, detail/ past domestic violence mentions/ stalker)

The second book, The Raven Thief, is out now. The third book, A Midnight Puzzle, will be released in March 2024.

cover image for paperback edition of The Initial Insult

The Initial Insult (The Initial Insult, #1) by Mindy McGinnis

For fans of dark YA and revenge!

Tress Montor is filled with a lot of anger: her parents disappeared; she’s been shunned by her town as she lives and works with her grandfather at an animal attraction with dangerous wild animals; she’s certain her once best friend fed her dog to her alligator, graffitied her home, and knows what happened to her parents. So what’s a girl to do? Take some inspiration from Edgar Allan Poe’s The Cask of Amontillado and slowly brick her best friend into a wall in order to force a confession out of her. I know!

McGinnis’s next psychological YA mystery, Under This Red Rock, will be released in March 2024.

News And Roundups

Tiffany D. Jackson announced her next YA thriller, The Scammer, coming in 2025!

Critics At Large podcast: Spies, Sex, and John le Carré

Suspect Arrested in Connection to Several Illinois Library Bomb Threats

Anatomy of a Fall Is the Year’s Most Gripping Murder Mystery

10 Underrated Japanese Crime Dramas

Travel Books: 5 Cozy Mystery Series To Satisfy Your Wanderlust

These ‘Final Girl’ horror films will get you in the spooky spirit

What Else Do Parents Who Believe Librarians Should Be Prosecuted for Library Materials Think?

Halloween Tote Bags To Put A Spell On Your Books

Scholastic Offers Option to Exclude Diverse Books from Book Fairs

Browse all the books recommended in Unusual Suspects previous newsletters on this shelf. See 2023 releases and upcoming 2024 releases. Check out this Unusual Suspects Pinterest board and get Tailored Book Recommendations!

Until next time, keep investigating! In the meantime, come talk books with me on Bluesky, Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads, and Litsy—you can find me under Jamie Canavés.

If a mystery fan forwarded this newsletter to you and you’d like your very own, you can sign up here.

Categories
Read This Book

Read This Book…

Welcome to Read This Book, a newsletter where I recommend one book that needs to jump onto your TBR pile! This week, I’m talking about one of my favorite short story collections of the year.

Autumn is here, which means it’s time to curl up with a great read and get cozy — whatever your version of cozy looks like. Whether it’s romance, creepy reads, modern classics, or escapist reads you crave, TBR can help you find the perfect books for your fall reading, with options curated to your specific reading tastes.

a graphic of the cover of Every Drop Is a Man's Nightmare

Every Drop Is a Man’s Nightmare by Megan Kamalei Kakimoto

Megan Kamalei Kakimoto’s new collection, Every Drop Is a Man’s Nightmare, is a multifaceted look at what it’s like to be Kānaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian). Of mixed Japanese and Native Hawaiian ancestry, Kakimoto’s stories examine the lives of the Indigenous women from the islands of Hawai’i. 

In “Aiko, the Writer,” a queer writer is on a writer’s panel on the continent, fully aware that the conference is less interested in her work and really just wants her to check an Indigenous diversity box. As she attends the conference, she grapples with whether or not she should write about some closed cultural practices from her community. Does she share these ideas with the world to benefit her career, or does she respect her cultural heritage?

“The Love and Decline of the Corpse Flower” features a woman whose partner has died, but a woman who looks strikingly similar is growing out of a corpse flower. In “Touch Me Like One of Your Island Girls: A Love Story,” a woman struggling financially answers an ad for a Native Hawaiian woman to star in adult films for white men. In “Hotel Molokai,” a teenage girl is taken to a secret location by her grandmother—against her mother’s wishes—to participate in a ceremony that signifies her new womanhood.

Each of Kakimoto’s stories centers around different ideas of Indigeneity in the face of ongoing colonialism. These women and girls are making their way in the world, defining for themselves what it means to be Kānaka Maoli. There is no singular answer, and each person works through their ideas, deciding their futures for themselves.

Kakimoto uses elements of fabulism in her storytelling, reminding me of other queer writers, like K-Ming Chang, who use qualities of folklore and fables in their fiction. Each tale is a unique gem, perfectly polished. Her messy, complex protagonists are fully formed and glorious. I could go on, but it’s safe to say that Every Drop Is a Man’s Nightmare is one of my favorite books of the year.

Book Riot has podcasts to keep your ears listening for days! Check them out and subscribe.


That’s it for this week! You can find me over on my substack Winchester Ave, over on Instagram @kdwinchester, or on my podcast Read Appalachia. As always, feel free to drop me a line at kendra.d.winchester@gmail.com. For even MORE bookish content, you can find my articles over on Book Riot.

Happy reading, Friends!

~ Kendra

Categories
Giveaways

101723-OctEACPushes-2023-Giveaway

We’re teaming up with HTP Books to give away a pair of AirPods Pro to one lucky winner!

Enter here for a chance to win, or click the image below!

Here’s a bit more about our partner: HTP Books newsletter celebrates books and popular culture, connecting readers, booksellers, librarians, and book clubs with relevant content and resources.

Categories
Kid Lit Giveaways

101723-PuppetsOfSpelhorst-KidlitGiveaway

We’re giving away ten copies of The Puppets of Spelhorst by Kate DiCamillo to ten lucky Riot readers!

Enter here for a chance to win, or click the image below!

From master storyteller and two-time Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo comes an original fairy tale—with enchanting illustrations by Julie Morstad—in which five puppets confront circumstances beyond their control with patience, cunning, and high spirits. The Puppets of Spelhorst is the first title in a new chapter book series called The Norendy Tales.

Categories
Past Tense

Vampires Take Historical Fiction

Hi historical fiction friends!

Anyone else been trying to get all their spooky horror reads in this October? I’ll pick up a horror or thriller book upon occasion year-round, but it’s really October when I try to set my sights on all things haunted and haunting. A little bit of true crime, a little bit of Stephen Graham Jones. Autumn is just the perfect time for it and a good excuse to read some books I might not pick up as often the rest of the year.

Speaking of autumn, this time of year is the perfect time to curl up with a great read and get cozy—whatever your version of cozy looks like. Whether it’s romance, creepy reads, modern classics, or escapist reads you crave, TBR can help you find the perfect books for your fall reading, with options curated to your specific reading tastes. As a former bibliologist, I can confirm that a lot of time and effort is put into finding the perfect reads just for you. So why not sign up today as a little fall treat for yourself or a loved one?

Bookish Goods

6 bookmarks featuring heroines from vintage gothic romance novels against a light wood background.

Vintage Gothic Romance Bookmarks from La Creeperie

Finally, a fitting bookmark for all your thriller reads. $5

New Releases

Let the Dead Bury the Dead book cover

Let the Dead Bury the Dead by Allison Epstein (October 17, 2023)

In Imperial Russia, the revolutionary spell of one woman changes the lives of a grand duke, an army captain, and a Koalitsiya lieutenant, and it threatens the lives and peace of an entire nation. Combining history with Eastern European folklore, Epstein paints a thrilling historical tale of forbidden love and revolutionary fervor.

The House of Doors book cover

The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng (October 17, 2023)

Based on true events, The House of Doors tells the story of a couple living on the Straits Settlement of Penang when it is visited by author William Somerset Maugham and his secretary, Gerald, as he searches for inspiration for his next book. He finds it in Lesley, whose marriage is more troubled than it at first appears and whose relationship with the revolutionary Dr. Sun Yat Sen is the beginning of a tale far more fascinating than William ever could’ve imagined.

For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our  New Books newsletter.

Riot Recommendations

So far this month we’ve looked at witches and ghosts in historical fiction, but now it’s time to turn our eye on the most horrifying of all monsters: the vampire.

Vampires of El Norte Book Cover

Vampires of El Norte by Isabel Cañas

Years ago, Nena was attacked by a strange creature that left her all but dead. Now, years later, the United States has invaded Mexico, and rumors of terrifying monsters once again plague the countryside. Can Nena survive them–and the encroaching violence–a second time?

Opium and Absinthe cover image

Opium and Absinthe by Lydia Kang

A girl drained of her blood. A new book about a terrifying monster.

After her sister is found dead with two puncture wounds on her neck, Tillie can’t help but think of Bram Stocker’s recently released novel. But vampires only exist in stories, don’t they? With rumors swirling and those closest to her all too happy to keep her in a laudanum-induced haze, Tillie begins to wonder just who–and what–she can trust.

That’s it for now, folks! Stay subscribed for more stories of yesteryear.

If you want to talk books, historical or otherwise, you can find me @rachelsbrittain on Goodreads, Instagram, and Litsy, my favorite bookish social media.

Right now I’m reading Rouge by Mona Awad. What about you?

Categories
The Stack

Comics About Refugees

No funny joke in today’s title, I’m afraid: just some comics that spotlight a vulnerable population that is all too often used as a pawn by politicians and ideologues. But don’t worry: there is still fun to be had in the world of comics.

Autumn is here, which means it’s time to curl up with a great read and get cozy — whatever your version of cozy looks like. Whether it’s romance, creepy reads, modern classics, or escapist reads you crave, TBR can help you find the perfect books for your fall reading, with options curated to your specific reading tastes.

Bookish Goods

A skater skirt featuring black-and-white panels from One Piece

One Piece Manga Skirt by MoonieCozy

Fans of both manga and fashion will appreciate this skirt, available in a variety sizes from XS to 2XL. $40

New Releases

City of Dragons Vol 2 cover

City of Dragons: Rise of the Shadowfire by Jaimal Yogis and Vivian Truong

With her new dragon friends under threat, Grace and her human friends must travel from Hong Kong to Paris to stop a ruthless villain from obtaining the artifact he needs to implement his plan. Be sure to check out the first volume, The Awakening Storm, before diving into this one!

Animalheads cover

Animalheads by Son M. and Sam Curtis

Like too many young adults, Oliver, Wyatt, and their friends can’t seem to find a job despite their degrees. When a supposedly easy moneymaker draws them down into the underworld, they decide that the only way to survive is by becoming criminals themselves.

For a more comprehensive list of new releases, check out our New Books newsletter!

Riot Recommendations

Today’s Riot Rec theme is: refugees. Given recent events (and less-recent events), I thought we would do well to remember that people forced to flee their homes are just that — people — not bargaining chips or boogeymen.

Prism Stalker Vol 1 cover

Prism Stalker Volume One by Sloane Leong

As a refugee and “indentured citizen,” Vep has never had full control over her own life. This is made even more apparent when she is forced to help colonize a strange planet that messes with the mind in ways that Vep will have to learn to understand and control if she wants to survive.

We Are on Our Own cover

We Are on Our Own by Miriam Katin

Katin was a very young child when the Nazis occupied her native Hungary, forcing her and her mother to flee. Katin’s fragmented memories tell a heartbreaking story of how war affects not just our physical safety, but our emotional and spiritual well-being.

If you have some money to spare and want to help someone who may have been forced from their home, Charity Navigator has plenty of options to choose from. And if you can’t afford to give right now, try to brighten the world where you are. A polite gesture or a spontaneous compliment might not seem like much, but it could just make someone’s day!

~Eileen

Categories
New Books

Hooray, It’s Time for New Books!

Hello, friends. I have to apologize in advance for today. I have had COVID the past week, and it has made it almost impossible to read. So, for you today, I have one book I read and two I am very excited to read. I hope that you are excited about them too! There’s a zany workplace novel about capitalism and worker burnout, a Booker Prize-nominated work of historical fiction, and a memoir about a gay Chinese American kid growing up in Detroit in the 1980s.

At the top of my list of today’s books that I want to buy are The Last Language by Jennifer duBois, Great Falls, MT by Reggie Watts, Tremor by Teju Cole, and The Best American Short Stories 2023 by Min Jin Lee and Heidi Pitlor. You can hear about more of the fabulous books coming out today on this week’s episode of All the Books! I had to sit this one out because I am so sick, which makes me sad because I hate missing a show. But missing only one in every one hundred episodes is a good average. 🙂

Autumn is here, which means it’s time to curl up with a great read and get cozy — whatever your version of cozy looks like. Whether it’s romance, creepy reads, modern classics, or escapist reads you crave, TBR can help you find the perfect books for your fall reading, with options curated to your specific reading tastes.

And now it’s time for everyone’s favorite game, “Ahhhhhhh, My TBR!” Here are today’s contestants!

cover of Jonathan Abernathy You Are Kind by Molly McGhee; illustration of a green person riding a green horse in a forest of foliage

Jonathan Abernathy You Are Kind by Molly McGhee

This is the book I read, and I loved it. It’s easy to explain, but the execution is much more complex and weird and smart. In a future America, people are hired to go into the dreams of stressed-out workers and remove the frightening, upsetting bits. So when the workers wake up, they feel less stressed and more relaxed, therefore hypothetically being more productive. The workers don’t even know this is happening; it’s their bosses who hire the company. Jonathan Abernathy is a twentysomething with so much college debt he has a lien on his wages. So, he takes this job as a way to get debt forgiveness. But as someone who has been in the shoes of the exploited, the overworked, the workers who have three jobs just to make ends meet, this is a tricky occupation for him. Plus, unbeknownst to him, he has a partner he can’t see who follows him everywhere. This is a weird sci-fi dramedy that gets at the heart of exploitation, capitalism, debt, life, and death. It reminded me a bit of reading a Kurt Vonnegut novel, and it has the kind of narration I love, where we know things about the main character before they do. If you like original debuts, give this one a try.

Backlist bump: Several People Are Typing by Calvin Kasulke

cover of The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng; image of profile of man and woman in dated historical dress

The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng 

This longlisted Booker Prize nominee is high on my list of books to read soon. It’s set in the 1920s and follows a couple in Malaysia whose lives are disrupted when writer W. Somerset Maugham and his secretary come to visit. Everyone is unhappy; everyone is hiding something about themselves, such as their sexuality, an affair, and a dark past. As Maugham searches for ideas for his next novel, he discovers the truths that keep being revealed will make for the most compelling book yet.

Backlist bump: The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng

cover of Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant: A Memoir by Curtis Chin; rainbow background with a restaurant order slip on the front

Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant: A Memoir by Curtis Chin

And this one I picked up because I heard Chin speak about it, and he was such a wonderful storyteller. This is his memoir about his parents’ Chinese restaurant in Detroit. It was a place that brought in customers from all paths of life from all over the city. And it is where Chin grew up realizing he was gay and how the city and his family helped him navigate his young years and grow up to be a filmmaker and writer.

Backlist bump: Family Style: Memories of an American from Vietnam by Thien Pham (Not technically backlist, but worth a shout-out.)

Book Riot has podcasts to keep your ears listening for days! Check them out and subscribe.

orange cat sitting on bookshelf, looking at hammerhead shark decal; photo by Liberty Hardy

This week, well, I am too sick to read anything. (Frowny face.) But I have watched almost 30 episodes of Moonlighting, which just started streaming for the first time. What a wild trip it has been! It’s so quintessentially 1980s, and I have missed zany Bruce Willis. The song stuck in my head this week is “Run from Me” by Timber Timbre, which, if you have been watching the new season of Our Flag Means Death, you heard there recently. And here is your weekly cat picture: Zevon is checking out MC Hammerhead on the wall behind him.

Thank you, as always, for joining me each Tuesday as I rave about books! I am wishing you all a wonderful rest of your week, whatever situation you find yourself in now. And yay, books! See you next week. – XO, Liberty

Categories
The Kids Are All Right

Refugee Stories, The Brontës, And More!

Happy Tuesday, kidlit friends! It’s been a rough week for many of us, and I hope everyone is taking care of themselves as best they can. Today, I’m reviewing picture books that center refugee stories as well as two fantastic new releases.

Before I get to those reviews, are you at a bit of a loss for what to read next? Whether it’s romance, creepy reads, modern classics, or escapist reads you crave, TBR can help you find the perfect books for your fall reading, with options curated to your specific reading tastes. I’m one of the TBR bibliologists, so if you sign up for a letter, I might be the one recommending you books!

Bookish Goods

Halloween Ghost Books Sweatshirt by ChicLandThreads

Halloween Ghost Books Sweatshirt by ChicLandThreads

I would wear this ghostly sweatshirt all fall and winter long. It comes in youth sizes! $12+

New Releases

Cover of The Little Books of the Little Brontes by O'Leary

The Little Books of the Little Brontës by Sara O’Leary, illustrated by Briony May Smith

This picture book is a lovely way to introduce young readers to the Brontës. It opens with a young Charlotte Brontë making a small book for her younger sister, Anne. It then explores all the books the four siblings read, the books and stories they created together, and how their stories were informed by where they grew up. It’s a sweet and simple glimpse into their childhood lives, beautifully illustrated by Smith. Back matter includes instructions on how to make your own little book, an author’s note about the Brontës, a timeline, and a long list of sources.

Cover of Poetry Prompts by Coelho

Poetry Prompts by Joseph Coelho, illustrated by Georgie Birkett, Grasya Oliyko, Amanda Quartey, and Viola Wang

Budding writers of all ages will have fun with this collection of 41 poetry writing prompts. Prompts explore one-word poems (with very long titles), emotional poems, whispering poems, renga poems, and so much more. Each page is accompanied by vibrant, playful illustrations. It would be great for classrooms and homeschoolers.

In my list of October children’s book releases for the main website, I also review My Grandfather’s Song, which releases today. For a more comprehensive list, check out our New Books newsletter.

Riot Recommendations

The horrors occurring in Israel and Gaza right now are beyond words. I know some kids will have questions and want to know more. While there are no children’s books that address the specific crisis occurring right now, I think these four children’s books centering refugee stories could be useful aids in conversations.

Cover of Migrants by Altarriba

Migrants by Eduard Altarriba

This nonfiction picture book uses graphic design to discuss immigration, with sections focusing on refugees and the many reasons people leave their home countries, including war. Chapters discuss borders, documentation, colonization, poverty, persecution, and more. The author/illustrator has also recently published a companion book, What is War? This book is probably best for older elementary-aged children and up.

The Moon from Dehradun by Shamsi

The Moon from Dehradun by Shirin Shamsi, illustrated by Tarun Lak

This beautiful picture book is based on the author’s refugee experiences fleeing the partition of India in 1947. Azra knows she and her family are being forced to leave, and she plans to take her beloved doll with her. But when violence breaks out, she and her family flee earlier than expected, and she accidentally leaves the doll. When the family moves into a new home, she finds another doll that’s been left behind. The lovely illustrations depict the clamor as thousands attempt to flee via train, the despair and exhaustion on people’s faces, and also the love between Azra and her younger brother. Back matter includes a map of the partition in India, a glossary, more about life before and after the partition, and the author’s story.

Cover of These Olive Trees by Ghanameh

These Olive Trees by Aya Ghanameh

I reviewed this picture book earlier in the year, but it’s worth adding to this list as it tells the story of Palestinian refugees in 1967. The simple story makes it easily relatable to children. Oraib was born in a refugee camp in Nablus, Palestine. She particularly loves the olive trees that grow around the camp, and she helps her mother harvest the olives and make many products from the olive trees. When war erupts, the family has to flee the camp before harvesting the olives. Before she leaves with her family, Oraib plants an olive pit, hoping to return one day and see the tree it grows into. This picture book is based on the author’s grandmother. I also recommend reading Homeland: My Father Dreams of Palestine by Hannah Moushabeck.

Cover of Stars of the Night by Stelson

Stars of the Night by Caren Stelson, illustrated by Selina Alko

This picture book is told from the perspective of the 669 Prague Jewish children saved on the Czech Kindertransport by the British man Nicholas Winton right before WWII began. The children love their home and families and don’t understand what’s happening when their parents secure them train passports to leave Prague for England. They gather in the trains with other refugees, without their parents, worried about what is to come. When they arrive in England, they’re adopted into new families, though they never forget their parents. When the war is over they return to Prague to find their parents, but most never do. Their parents are gone. Fifty years later, they discover the identity of the man who secured their passage on the Kindertransport and saved their lives. Back matter includes a timeline of the Kindertransport movement and more about Nicholas Winton. The illustrations are beautiful and moving.

Butt rainbow coloring page, the kids are all right

For some levity, here is a picture my daughter colored of a butt rainbow. That’s right, a butt rainbow. She wrote the word “Poo,” quite appropriately, on a butt sun. This comes from The Butts On Things Activity Book by Brian Cook. I am having a long recovery from illness, so we’ve been working on lots of activity books during fall break.

If you’d like to read more of my kidlit reviews, I’m on Instagram @BabyLibrarians, Twitter @AReaderlyMom, and blog irregularly at Baby Librarians. You can also read my Book Riot posts. If you’d like to drop me a line, my email is kingsbury.margaret@gmail.com.

All the best,

Margaret Kingsbury