Oooh, this makes me also want to rec this book OUTSIDE WOMEN by Roohi Choudhry which is coming out at the end of the month! It looks really good to me: "Would you risk your own life to pursue justice for a stranger? Two migrant women—separated by geographies and generations—face this same devastating choice."
I got woken up at 4 AM by a sick kid, couldn't fall back asleep, checked my email, borrowed Finlay Donovan is Killing It on Libby, and ended up reading the whole book by 7! I am kind of exhausted now, but thanks for the great recommendation!
In the deep but not heavy category, I've been really into ON THE CALCULATION OF VOLUME I, a very different take on a groundhog day premise. In relatively light historical fiction murder mysteries (with casual queer storylines) I just enjoyed FORTUNE FAVORS THE DEAD. In more noir and more central to the plot queer historical fiction murder mysteries, LAVENDER HOUSE was very engaging. I recently saw a new play of The Odyssey, which got me thinking about how beautiful and haunting (and really heavy) A THOUSAND SHIPS was - a retelling of the Trojan war from the perspective of many of the women it effected. Really loved the spiral of the narrative structure. In nonfiction, I'm super into (not finished yet) SWEETNESS AND POWER - The Place of Sugar in Modern History. Never heard so much of this history presented in so much nuanced context!
For people who liked Stag Dance, there's so much amazing contemporary trans fiction out there to explore, especially in the last few years! I recommend fans check out LIttle Fish by Casey Plett, Girlfriends by Emily Zhou, OKPsyche by Anya Johanna DeNiro, Summer Fun by Jeanne Thornton, and Small Beauty by jia qing wilson-yang. Lots more out there too; we're truly blessed to be in such a generative time for trans writing.
Oh, and a couple shoutouts to excellent trans books addressing embodiment, anti-fatness, and disordered eating: Margaret and the Mystery of the Missing Body by Megan Milks (one of my all-time favorite books) as well as A + E by Ryszard I. Merey, which was published by the awesome trans-focused micropress tRaum books.
I am tooting the horn for HUSH LITTLE FIRE (Penguin Random House Spring Book Club Pick)
because it’s a wild ride about naughty people. . .and what women did about surprise pregnancies before Roe v. Wade when they lived in a tiny town on Cape Cod.
Keep the baby?
Call the stork?
Get a secret procedure to end it?
The dark- humored OLD LADIES GOSSIP MILITIA knew all the secrets until the health clinic burned down. A cross-generational mystery told through the eyes of a potter and a drug-thief nurse living in the underbelly of the Cape.
Because of or in spite of how bad this year has been politically, socially etc etc, I have had a great reading year thus far. Some of my favorites have been SUCH A FUN AGE by Kyle Reid. Such well written, entertaining story with some good commentary on race and class. Somewhat similar in terms of funny/enraging commentary on race and class is BLACK BUCK by Mateo Askaripour. Two non fiction books I really enjoyed were THE FAMILY ROW: AN AMERICAN STORY by Joshua Prager which tells the story of the family and legal team behind Roe V Wade. That book was truly amazing. There is so much to unpack about how class, generational poverty and the repression of sexuality lead to this pivotal case in American history. I also read Tressie McMilllan Cottom book of essays THICK which unsurprising was phenomenal.
If anyone has any recommendations for fiction featuring fat characters where that is not the central theme or an issue in the story I would appreciate the recommendations. Despite loving some of the books I've read lately I've been super turned off by the anti fatness which seems to be so casually thrown around in so much fiction.
Just a shoutout for the joy of preorders, the arrival of a new book ordered long ago is so good. AND these happen to all be books I've preordered.
Currently reading a lot of historical fiction and it's really helping me with the current times. I read about strong women of the past. Currently reading The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray.
I really enjoyed reading (childless-by-choice) Ina Garten's memoir, "Be Ready When Luck Happens." The parts about her childhood and early years of her marriage were especially fascinating.
Thanks for the Girl Scout cookie essay shout-out. I used to hold out hope that people would rediscover common sense and common courtesy, but it seems our best bet is still to empower parents and bystanders to respond instead.
I'm in a deep horror kick right now (both in books and movies). Something about intentionally scaring myself with fiction makes it easier to face the scary stuff happening in real life. I'm reading my first T. Kingfisher book (The Hollow Places) right now and it's pretty delightful! I just finished The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones and it was incredible.
I’m in deep with Linda Holmes’ books right now. We’re reading her new one BACK AFTER THIS for Audacious Book Club this month, so I went back and read EVVIE DRAKE STARTS OVER. Loved, loved, loved EDST. About halfway through BAT and loving this one, too! Doing both on audio and really enjoying listening to them.
I've been in such a book slump lately, but my library hold on Dana Dorrance's Polar Vortex *finally* came in, and it was so fantastic. It's a graphic memoir about a woman who travels to her childhood home to take care of her mother after a fall. Mom has dementia, her other sister is a pain in the ass, and the woman struggles to figure out next steps. As someone whose brother estranged himself from his family in recent years, and whose father was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, I needed this.
As far as pure brain candy goes, I enjoyed the egalley for Mason Coile's forthcoming novella Exiles, and so I picked up his already-out full-length novel William, and both of them are so fun (and both are fast-paced sci-fi horror).
Finally, I also enjoyed the egalley for Amity Gaige's Heartwood, a multiple-POV outdoors mystery. It's out next month, so not too long a wait!
Oooh, this makes me also want to rec this book OUTSIDE WOMEN by Roohi Choudhry which is coming out at the end of the month! It looks really good to me: "Would you risk your own life to pursue justice for a stranger? Two migrant women—separated by geographies and generations—face this same devastating choice."
I got woken up at 4 AM by a sick kid, couldn't fall back asleep, checked my email, borrowed Finlay Donovan is Killing It on Libby, and ended up reading the whole book by 7! I am kind of exhausted now, but thanks for the great recommendation!
Omg Finlay is perfect to that!!
I love that book! There's a whole series of FInlay books.
In the deep but not heavy category, I've been really into ON THE CALCULATION OF VOLUME I, a very different take on a groundhog day premise. In relatively light historical fiction murder mysteries (with casual queer storylines) I just enjoyed FORTUNE FAVORS THE DEAD. In more noir and more central to the plot queer historical fiction murder mysteries, LAVENDER HOUSE was very engaging. I recently saw a new play of The Odyssey, which got me thinking about how beautiful and haunting (and really heavy) A THOUSAND SHIPS was - a retelling of the Trojan war from the perspective of many of the women it effected. Really loved the spiral of the narrative structure. In nonfiction, I'm super into (not finished yet) SWEETNESS AND POWER - The Place of Sugar in Modern History. Never heard so much of this history presented in so much nuanced context!
I wanted to cosign A THOUSAND SHIPS, which is one of my most favorite books I've read in the last 5-6 years (and possibly ever).
Hooray! I’m about to start that for a book club.
Whew The Good Mother Myth is in some good company there, thank you 🤩
Leading the pack!!
Ahhh thank you for the shout-out!!!! Also here to say I, too, adored THE GOOD MOTHER MYTH.
Ohhhh thank you for this. I now have a whole list of books to ask my library to buy!
For people who liked Stag Dance, there's so much amazing contemporary trans fiction out there to explore, especially in the last few years! I recommend fans check out LIttle Fish by Casey Plett, Girlfriends by Emily Zhou, OKPsyche by Anya Johanna DeNiro, Summer Fun by Jeanne Thornton, and Small Beauty by jia qing wilson-yang. Lots more out there too; we're truly blessed to be in such a generative time for trans writing.
Oh, and a couple shoutouts to excellent trans books addressing embodiment, anti-fatness, and disordered eating: Margaret and the Mystery of the Missing Body by Megan Milks (one of my all-time favorite books) as well as A + E by Ryszard I. Merey, which was published by the awesome trans-focused micropress tRaum books.
I am tooting the horn for HUSH LITTLE FIRE (Penguin Random House Spring Book Club Pick)
because it’s a wild ride about naughty people. . .and what women did about surprise pregnancies before Roe v. Wade when they lived in a tiny town on Cape Cod.
Keep the baby?
Call the stork?
Get a secret procedure to end it?
The dark- humored OLD LADIES GOSSIP MILITIA knew all the secrets until the health clinic burned down. A cross-generational mystery told through the eyes of a potter and a drug-thief nurse living in the underbelly of the Cape.
Pre-order judithstiles.com
I'm about 60% through THE GOOD MOTHER MYTH by Nancy O. Reddy and it's mind-blowing! Cannot recommend it highly enough
Because of or in spite of how bad this year has been politically, socially etc etc, I have had a great reading year thus far. Some of my favorites have been SUCH A FUN AGE by Kyle Reid. Such well written, entertaining story with some good commentary on race and class. Somewhat similar in terms of funny/enraging commentary on race and class is BLACK BUCK by Mateo Askaripour. Two non fiction books I really enjoyed were THE FAMILY ROW: AN AMERICAN STORY by Joshua Prager which tells the story of the family and legal team behind Roe V Wade. That book was truly amazing. There is so much to unpack about how class, generational poverty and the repression of sexuality lead to this pivotal case in American history. I also read Tressie McMilllan Cottom book of essays THICK which unsurprising was phenomenal.
If anyone has any recommendations for fiction featuring fat characters where that is not the central theme or an issue in the story I would appreciate the recommendations. Despite loving some of the books I've read lately I've been super turned off by the anti fatness which seems to be so casually thrown around in so much fiction.
HOUSEMATES by Emma Copley Eisenberg!!! Great fat rep without being the entire focus.
Just a shoutout for the joy of preorders, the arrival of a new book ordered long ago is so good. AND these happen to all be books I've preordered.
Currently reading a lot of historical fiction and it's really helping me with the current times. I read about strong women of the past. Currently reading The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray.
I really enjoyed reading (childless-by-choice) Ina Garten's memoir, "Be Ready When Luck Happens." The parts about her childhood and early years of her marriage were especially fascinating.
Thanks for the Girl Scout cookie essay shout-out. I used to hold out hope that people would rediscover common sense and common courtesy, but it seems our best bet is still to empower parents and bystanders to respond instead.
I loved that one! Fascinating and delightful
What a lineup to be included in! Thank you so much! I hope come back to school season that it is a helpful, reassuring take on screen time.
I'm in a deep horror kick right now (both in books and movies). Something about intentionally scaring myself with fiction makes it easier to face the scary stuff happening in real life. I'm reading my first T. Kingfisher book (The Hollow Places) right now and it's pretty delightful! I just finished The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones and it was incredible.
I’m in deep with Linda Holmes’ books right now. We’re reading her new one BACK AFTER THIS for Audacious Book Club this month, so I went back and read EVVIE DRAKE STARTS OVER. Loved, loved, loved EDST. About halfway through BAT and loving this one, too! Doing both on audio and really enjoying listening to them.
I’m so excited for her new book too.
EDSO is SO good!! I loved Flying Solo too.
I've been in such a book slump lately, but my library hold on Dana Dorrance's Polar Vortex *finally* came in, and it was so fantastic. It's a graphic memoir about a woman who travels to her childhood home to take care of her mother after a fall. Mom has dementia, her other sister is a pain in the ass, and the woman struggles to figure out next steps. As someone whose brother estranged himself from his family in recent years, and whose father was diagnosed with Alzheimer's, I needed this.
As far as pure brain candy goes, I enjoyed the egalley for Mason Coile's forthcoming novella Exiles, and so I picked up his already-out full-length novel William, and both of them are so fun (and both are fast-paced sci-fi horror).
Finally, I also enjoyed the egalley for Amity Gaige's Heartwood, a multiple-POV outdoors mystery. It's out next month, so not too long a wait!