Books Are My People Weekly Newsletter
out today, paperback releases and more!
Let Me Help You Discover Books You Might Not Otherwise Read! You can learn more about me by visiting my introductory post here.
Dear Reader,
In light of the devastating fires in Los Angeles I held a book drive for people who lost their home libraries or displaced people, separated from their books and in need of a good read. Look at all of the books friends and kind strangers donated! So far, I’ve received over 900 books!
They will be organized and distributed to people who have filled out my spreadsheet requesting specific books and then the remaining books will be split and half will go to Palisades book drives and the other half will go to Eaton book drives. If you contributed to this book drive, please know I appreciate you so much!
If you know someone in Los Angeles who has been displaced from their home and they are in need of a book, please forward them this form to fill out. I will continue to work from this list as long as I am able.
And a very special thank you to the amazing
for donating 40 (yes, 40!) of her art books, sure to keep minds busy as we all process these terrible events. Sam is a fantastic artist and instructor and if you’re not already following her on Substack, go check her out!Book Giveaway:
I’m giving away a copy of The Great Divide by Cristina Henriquez. I loved this historical fiction novel told from many different points of view about the construction of the Panama Canal. I learned so much!
I think that fans of historical fiction with a large cast of characters will also love this novel.
To Enter: Visit my giveaway post on Instagram and follow the directions. (It will be posted by 8 am Pacific Time) This giveaway will close on Wednesday, March 5th and I will contact a winner on Thursday, March 6th.
This giveaway is open to US mailing addresses only.
Book to Film Month:
Members have voted and we will be reading and watching The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead in March. I’m really eager to read this novel and watch the movie. February will be an Independent Reading Month. April and May will be a Read with Me month (TBD). Upgrade your membership and join us!
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!)
Books Are My People: A Podcast Companion Newsletter
(click here to listen to the most recent episode of my book recommendation podcast.)
And, if you haven't yet, the greatest gift would be to rate my show, wherever you listen
Out Today: (I’ve starred the ones I’ve read.
*Harlem Rhapsody by Victoria Christopher Murray
Historical fiction during the Harlem Renaissance. In 1919, a high school teacher from Washington, D.C arrives in Harlem excited to realize her lifelong dream. Jessie Redmon Fauset has been named the literary editor of The Crisis. The first Black woman to hold this position at a preeminent Negro magazine, Jessie is poised to achieve literary greatness. But she holds a secret that jeopardizes it all. W. E. B. Du Bois, the founder of The Crisis, is not only Jessie’s boss, he’s her lover. And neither his wife, nor their fourteen-year-age difference can keep the two apart. She attacks the challenge of discovering young writers with fervor, finding sixteen-year-old Countee Cullen, seventeen-year-old Langston Hughes, and Nella Larsen, (she was referenced in Faces in the Crowd, which we just read for our online bookclub! OMG!) She has shaped a generation of literary legends, but as she strives to preserve her legacy, she’ll discover the high cost of her unparalleled success.
Gliff by Ali Smith
A genre-bending story: From a Scottish word meaning a transient moment, a shock, a faint glimpse, Gliff explores how and why we endeavour to make a mark on the world. In a time when western industry wants to reduce us to algorithms and data—something easily categorizable and predictable—Smith shows us why our humanity, our individual complexities, matter more than ever.
Memorial Days by Geraldine Brooks
Nonfiction from the author of Horse. After spending their early years together in conflict zones as foreign correspondents, Geraldine and Tony settled down to raise two boys on Martha’s Vineyard. But all of this ended abruptly when, on Memorial Day 2019, Geraldine received the phone call we all dread. Three years later, she booked a flight to a remote island off the coast of Australia with the intention of finally giving herself the time to mourn and pondering the various ways in which cultures grieve and what rituals of her own might help to rebuild a life around the void of Tony’s death.
Bibliophobia by Sarah Chihaya
Books can seduce you. Bibliophobia is an alternately searing and darkly humorous story of breakdown and survival told through books. Delving into texts such as Anne of Green Gables, Possession, A Tale for the Time Being, The Last Samurai, Chihaya interrogates her cultural identity, her relationship with depression, and the intoxicating, sometimes painful, ways books push back on those who love them.
Reading the Waves by Lidia Yuknavitch
A memoir from an extraordinary writer. Drawing on her background -- her father's abuse, her complicated dynamic with her disabled mother, the death of her child, her sexual relationships with men and women -- and her creative life as an author and teacher, Yuknavitch has come to understand that by using the power of literature and storytelling to reframe her memories, she can loosen the bonds that have enslaved her emotional growth. Armed with this insight, she allows herself to look with the eye of an artist at the wounds she suffered and come to understand the transformational power this has to restore her soul.
Land of Mirrors by Maria Medem, translated by Aleshia Jensen and Daniela Ortiz
A graphic novel seeped in flamenco rhythms, a hero’s journey of love and hope:
One of Spain’s most successful contemporary illustrators, Maria Medem’s atmospheric storytelling bursts with sensorial delight—brimming with engrossing sounds, flavors, and tactile sensations. With impeccable line work and an enchanting use of color, Medem spins a heartfelt meditation on loneliness, friendship, and the transformative power of love.
David Lynch’s American Dreamscape by Mike Miley
For fans of the late David Lynch. By interrogating this question, David Lynch's American Dreamscape broadens the interpretive horizons of Lynch's filmography, calling for a new approach to Lynch's films that goes beyond cinema and visual art to explore how Lynch's work engages with literary and musical works that have shaped the American imagination.
No One Knows by Osamu Dazai, translated by Ralph McCarthy
Short stories translated into English for the very first time: This collection of 14 tales--a half-dozen of which have never before appeared in English--is based on a Japanese collection of, as Dazai described them, "soliloquies by female narrators." No One Knows includes the quietly brilliant long story "Schoolgirl" and shows the fiction of this 20th-century genius in a fresh light.
Paperback Release:
*Expiration Dates by Rebecca Serle
Daphne Bell believes the universe has a plan for her. Every time she meets a new man, she receives a slip of paper with his name and a number on it—the exact amount of time they will be together. Daphne has been receiving the numbered papers for over twenty years, always wondering when there might be one without an expiration. Finally, the night of a blind date at her favorite Los Angeles restaurant, there’s only a name: Jake.
Any of these book picks strike your fancy?
And here is some art I made this week:
Expiration Date and Memorial Day look great! Thank you for the good finds.
Bibliophobia, Land of Mirrors and Expiration Date all sound intriguing to me.