Summer Reading Lists!
Plus saving state governments, cute Tevas, and BELLIES.
Friday Thread: What Are You Reading?
We somehow haven’t done a book-related Friday Thread since March (how!) and this is probably my favorite recurring Thread question to ask. (OK, tied with what’s for dinner, and yes we’ll do that one again soon too!) And summer reading is always so much fun, whether you define that as beach read or Big Project Read or something else entirely.
I’ve been alternating between fun fiction/feminist romance and reading some really good not-out-yet non-fiction for the podcast, which you should just go right ahead and preorder:
Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson: On the advice of
who has impeccable taste; great family drama especially if you like WASPs and gorgeous house interiors.Yours Truly by Abby Jiminez: A+ Fem-Rom with a good mental health-driven plot plus hot fat dude as the love interest, you never see that!
(POST PUBLICATION EDIT: I mixed up YOURS TRULY, which is delightful but about thin people, with WEATHER GIRL by Rachel Lynn Solomon, which has the fat hero. Read them back to back, whoops!)
Growing Up in Public: Coming of Age in a Digital World by : Preorder it now for September, and stay tuned for our podcast interview!
Unshrinking: How to Face Fatphobia by : Obviously brilliant, and not out until January, get hyped now.
(Reminder that if you order any of these through the Burnt Toast Bookshop, you can get them for 10 percent off if you also purchase or have purchased FAT TALK there!)
Your turn! What are you reading and loving this summer? And, as always, if you’re looking for a great book rec, feel free to crowd source it here, because somebody always knows!
PS. You do need to be a paid or comped subscriber to comment, because that’s how I keep the trolls out. Here’s how to go paid if you’re able, or just hit reply to this email if you’d like a comp. (No explanation needed!)
Links & Recs
We’ll do a separate kids book thread soon, but one kids book rec: B Is For Bellies! by Rennie Dyball is just adorable. And I love her conversation with Christy Harrison.
Obsessed with
’s exquisite pregnancy shoot — that celebrates her belly and her decision not to become a parent.Tevas figuring out how to be cute is truly such a gift. (I have lavender, which seem mostly sold out, but all the colors are good!)
Oh whew, so much to unpack with Mark Zuckerberg’s Hot Girl Summer. The men are not okay.
Iowa is also not okay and
is right: We should be hysterical about it.Speaking of state legislatures that need saving: This year, the Burnt Toast Giving Circle is focused on Virginia, which is dangerously close to a rightwing trifecta. If they get it, we can likely add VA to the list of states with abortion bans (and yes, this one feels personal).
We’ve raised almost $7,000 so far —thank you recurring donors! — and I’d love to double that by November. If just 50 of you sign on to give $20/month, we’ll be there! But every dollar helps. Join us here.
And I absolutely loved this conversation about body image and CHD:
Book Stuff
I talked to Scary Mommy about why food neutrality is not the same as spoiling your kids.
I talked to two icons, Jenn Romolini and
, about oh just about everything fatphobia-related on Everything is Fine.