Books Are My People Weekly Newsletter
out today, paperback releases and more!
Welcome to my weekly book recommendation newsletter. You can learn more about me by visiting my introductory post here. Please consider purchasing recommended books through my Bookshop.org affiliate links. It’s a great way to support the show and an ethical way to support your local bookstore. (You can even buy books I don’t link in my shop!)
Happy Book Release Day! My favorite day of the week. I spent last week in bed with Covid – a little souvenir I picked up on the East Coast. Luckily, it wasn’t that bad and I watched movies and even figured out a way to paint from bed. But I did have to forgo my planned trip up to Northern California, which was a real bummer.
I’m currently working on two novels at once, which I don’t recommend. But hoping to have one wrapped up by the end of summer.
Speaking of novels, I have a little poll for everyone.
Have you been sitting on an idea for a novel? As you may or may not know, I’ve been teaching creative writing on and off for the past twenty-four years, most recently eight years at UCLA Extension’s Writers’ Program. I’m thinking of offering an asynchronous, beginning, 8-week novel writing course starting in September. I just wanted to take a little poll to see if there was enough interest to run the class. I do offer a discount for people who refer a friend who signs up.
Be honest. I promise, you won’t hurt my feelings.
Click here to read more about my classes and what past students have to say about them.
Substack Members: I’ll send out a poll on Thursday about our end of June Meetup to discuss what we’ve been reading and loving.
Podcast Guest this week and Summer Break: I was beyond ecstatic to have the amazing Catherine Newman on episode 128 of Books Are My People this week to talk about her latest novel, Sandwich, out today! You can check it out here. Don’t forget, I’m taking a little podcast summer hiatus; I’ll be back in August.
Let Me Help You Discover Books You Might Not Otherwise Read!
Out Today (I’ve starred the ones I’ve read)
A deeply moving and riotous novel about a family’s weeklong vacation in Cape Cod.
key words: family secrets, humor, memories
One weekend in the underbelly of a Nigerian city.
key words: dangerous party, corruption
The Next Mrs. Parish by Liv Constantine
I loved Constantine’s The Last Mrs. Parish. In this sequel, Daphne and Amber Parrish are thrust back into each other's lives due to the resurgence of a long-forgotten threat, forcing a vicious game of cat and mouse where everything is on the line.
key words: socialite, revenge, betrayal
An artist paints his wife upside down, makes her ugly. The paintings are a great success. In Paris, a woman is attacked by a stranger in the street. Her attacker flees, but not before turning around to contemplate her victim, like an artist stepping back from a canvas. Parade is a novel that demolishes the conventions of storytelling.
The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley
Old friends and enemies circulate among the guests outside at The Midnight Feast, a party at a manor. But the Sunday morning of opening weekend, the local police are called when a body's been discovered.
key words: locked room mystery
The Memo by Rachel Dodes and Lauren Mechling
A sliding doors novel about a college reunion where Jenny Green receives a memo - a second chance to make all the right choices in her life. But at what cost?
Key words: sliding doors, satire, humor, friendship
Join the authors for a free Virtual Book Club event on Wednesday from 5-7 pm PT.
Same As It Ever Was by Claire Lombardo
From the author of The Most Fun We Ever Had, Lombardo’s new novel is about a messy family and a multifaceted marriage.
Key words: family drama
A tender, funny, and fresh novel about a gay writer in New York City whose life is irrevocably altered with a dual timeline thirty years later.
Key Words: queer NYC 90’s, dual timelines
Woman of Interest by Tracey O’Neill
A genre-bending book about O’Neill finding her brith mother, written like a mystery/detective novel about a woman trying to discover where she came from.
key words: nonfiction, birth mother, adoption, pandemic
Paperback Releases:
A young Hasidic woman on a quest to get married fears she will never find a groom because of her secret addiction to porn.
Roman Stories by Jhumpa Lahiri
Nine short stories from a Pulitzer Prize-winning author.
*Hotel Laguna by Nicola Harrison
Hazel leaves Kansas for California working to construct bombers for the U.S. military, but now that the war is over, she ends up apprenticing for a cantankerous artist.
Listen to my interview with Nicola Harrison below:
Online Writing, Reading and Art Events This Week (three things I love!)
Reading:
Writing:
Friday, June 21st at 12pm PT: Writing A Great Essay
Art:
Tuesday, June 18th at 11 am PT Circus Drawing Session with Odd Orange
Wednesday, June 19th at 3 pm PT: Burgers and Beyond: Drawing food with Char Hamilton
Thursday, June 20th 4pm PT
from Art Hang Party will be photo booth photos!
I’ve been doing A LOT of painting from bed. Here’s a Degas statue from The Met. I made a little zine that I will share another time and I filled it with lots of my New York adventures.
What are you looking forward to this week?
I hope you all have a wonderfully bookish week! Any new releases out today that you’re excited to share? Leave me a comment!
Like what you read? You can buy me a coffee!
Books Are My People: A Podcast Companion Newsletter
(click here to listen to the most recent episode of my book recommendation podcast.)
The best way you can support this show 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!)
And, if you haven't yet, the greatest gift would be to rate my show, wherever you listen!
I think Bill would be interested in your novel writing class.
Thanks Jennifer! I'm looking forward to drawing with you on Thursday, and am glad you're feeling better! 🤗💖✨