Books Are My People Weekly Newsletter
out today, paperback releases and more!
Books Are My People: A Podcast Companion Newsletter
Dear Reader,
The results are in on last week’s poll! The numbers are a bit skewed because I accidentally voted “yes” when I was trying to take a screenshot. But it looks like most of you have not had a dream about being on your cell phone, which I find fascinating, considering how much we use our phones!
Tell me what you’re looking forward to reading this summer?
I just got my hands on the latest Julie Clark novel, The Ghostwriter. Julie is an old friend of mine (Our kids all went to preschool together) so it was fun seeing her speak at her book launch over the weekend. It’s about a woman hired to ghost write her famous horror-writer father’s new book. I’m only on chapter 3, but it’s already a wonderfully propulsive suspense novel.
Guest Author Book Recommendation:
Throughout the summer, in lieu of my Books Are My People Podcast, I’ll be featuring guest author recommendations in the newsletter. Today’s recommendation comes from Jessica Stanley, author of Consider Yourself Kissed.
When she first meets Adam, Coralie is new to London and feeling adrift. But Adam is clever, witty, and (he insists) a quarter inch taller than the average male. His charming four-year-old daughter only adds to his appeal. But ten years on, something important is missing from the life Coralie and Adam (though let’s face it, mostly Coralie) have built. Or maybe, having gained everything she dreamed of, Coralie has lost something else she once had: herself.
Check Jessica Stanley’s guest author recommendation below:
Journal Sale:
I’m running a sale through the end of the month on all of my handmade journals made out of upcycled books. Use the coupon code: ALMOSTSUMMER25 at checkout to receive 20% off of all journals in the store! Stock up and give them as gifts to your book-loving friends!
Book Art:
Check out book club member Maria’s @
wall of painted books she’s read. It’s such a fun way to keep track of her reading!Podcast News:
You can click here to listen to the most recent episode of my book recommendation podcast - This week, I spoke with bibliophile, hospice and emergency medicine social worker, Lisa Pahl. She talks about using the Death Deck as a way to have difficult but important conversations about death and dying. We also discuss books connected to this topic.
It’s my last episode before my summer hiatus, but I’ll be back in August. Until then, you can keep up to date with book releases and bookish news by signing up for my free newsletter in my link in bio. And, if you haven't yet, the greatest gift would be to rate my show, wherever you listen.
Member’s Corner:
June: Independent Reading Month: read whatever you’d like! We’ll gather over zoom at the end of the month to discuss.
July: Book to Film Adaptation - We Were Liars by e.lockhart. Order your copy here!
The best way you can support this newsletter is to click on the books below and purchase them through my Bookshop.org affiliate store. A portion of your spending goes to independent bookstores! A win-win-win! (You win, I win, indie bookstores win!) Let Me Help You Discover New Books! (I’ve starred the ones I’ve read) I’m confident readers of all stripes will find their next read in this newsletter, where there’s something for everyone! You can learn more about me by visiting my introductory post here.
Today’s New Releases: (I’ve starred the ones I’ve read)
suspense: We Don’t Talk About Carol by Kristen L. Berry - A dedicated journalist unearths a generations-old family secret—and a connection to a string of missing girls that hits way too close to home.
A transformation tale: Clam Down by Anelise Chen - In this wondrously unusual memoir, a woman retreats into her shell in the aftermath of her divorce, and must choose between the pleasures and the perils of a closed-up life after her mother texts her to “clam down” instead of “calm down.”
literary fiction: Flashlight by Susan Choi - One summer night, Louisa and her father take a walk on the breakwater. Her father is carrying a flashlight. He cannot swim. Later, Louisa is found on the beach, soaked to the skin, barely alive. Her father is gone. She is ten years old.
no sex for a year: The Dry Season by Melissa Febos - An examination of the solitude, freedoms, and feminist heroes she discovered during a year of celibacy and a wise and transformative look at relationships and self-knowledge.
a start up story: Notes on Infinity by Austin Taylor - Zoe and Jack are Harvard students who find themselves propelled into the intoxicating biotech startup world when they announce they’ve discovered the cure for aging.
a story of sisters: The Catch by Yrsa Daley-Ward - Estranged twins Clara and Dempsey are all grown up. One day, Clara sees a woman who looks exactly like their mother on the streets of London. The catch: this version of Serene, aged not a day, has enjoyed a childless life--the very life, it seems, she might have had if the girls had never been born. The novel asks, Is it a crime to choose yourself?
memoir: How to Lose Your Mother by Molly Jong Fast - a memoir from the daughter of Erica Jong who wrote Fear of Flying and was diagnosed with dementia in 2023.
ART:
This piece of mine is on view at the Summer Salon Exhibition at Art Share L.A., an art gallery in the heart of the arts district downtown. It’s a mixed media piece comprised of handprinted paper, collage and acrylics. 18 x 24 inches.
🙏🏻
Jennifer, I saw the art peace and thought someone copied your art. Then I read what you wrote. You did create it!
I Love it. And did you arrange the chair and vase? I love that too.
I am looking forward to the books you wrote about. I had no idea re Erika Jong. I might fear reading that one. I fear that disease like nothing else.
Both you and Maria are so very inspirational I love reading you both. I tend to use the word “love” a lot when it comes to both of you. I need to expand my vocabulary.