Oct 29, 20213 min read

Friday Book Debrief Vol 60

HELLO HELLO we've been quiet, but we'll be posting regularly again soon! Here's what our writers have been reading in the meantime.

As always the full list is also available for easy browsing in our US and UK Bookshops! If you buy any of the books in our shops, not only are you actively supporting us and our work but you are also supporting independent bookstores with 10% of your purchase going directly to them at no extra cost to yourself, and all carbon emissions are offset! Good vibes all round. Now enough chat, big love and here is this week's debrief!

Misfits: A Personal Manifesto by Michaela Coel - Maggie

After loving Coel’s show I May Destroy You, this one was a necessity! It is incredible so far and a perfect extension of the show for when I’m missing the feeling it gave me. Highly recommend.

Buy it from our Bookshops - US & UK.

The Yellow House by Sarah M. Broom - Cecilia

I’m a sucker for memoirs and anything set in Louisiana, so here we are.

Buy it from our Bookshops - US & UK.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - Melissa

This is a comfortable reread for me. I absolutely LOVE The Hunger Games - the books, the movies, basically everything. I can't wait to dive back into Panem.

Buy it from our Bookshops - US & UK.

White Is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi - Nikki

Bit of a perfect read for Halloween, no? Love a bit of a haunted house/ghost story, so I'm excited to finally be getting around to this one.

Buy it from our Bookshops - US & UK.

Wild Tongues Can't Be Tamed Edited by Saraciea J. Fennell - Karen

This book will be published on November 2nd and I am so excited that it will be available in everyone's hands. Fifteen writers from across the Latinx diaspora tell their stories, showcasing how Latinx is not a monolith. This is said so many times but the writers in this story are writing for us, to us, and to inspire dialogue and conversation about what Latinidad means to them and what it can mean for us.

Pre-order it from our Bookshops - US.

Spells Like Teen Spirit by Kate Williams - Mel

As I dive into all the spooky and witchy reads, I’m ecstatic to have the third installment of The Babysitters Coven. This series continues to showcase a self-aware borderline satirical world with plenty of heart. Looking forward to seeing what antics and new magic the coven unleashes next.

Buy it from our Bookshops - US.

The Poppy War by RF Kuang - Courtney

After a few weeks of rocky reading I thought the best way to remedy it was get to the hyped books I have long been excited for. While The Poppy War is context-heavy and a lot to take in every time I open this book I fall so easily into this world and love every page. The way Kuang writes is so enticing to me because it is so easy to read but she does not miss a bit. I am hoping to read the rest of the series in quick succession because I don’t want them falling to the bottom of my to be read pile!

Buy it from our Bookshops - US & UK.

A Game Of Thrones by George RR Martin - Courtney

After the release of the trailer for House of Dragon I bit the bullet and started GOT on audiobook and it does not disappoint. It’s a freaking 33-hour tome but I enjoy getting back to a world I love so much (from the TV show) every time I dip back in!

Buy it from our Bookshops - US & UK.

Blonde by Joyce Carol Oates - Jessica Maria

Ever since Oates started tweeting and I was forced to learn some things about her, I'd stayed away from her writing, which I used to love... her short stories thrilling, her novel You Must Remember This a favorite. But last weekend I picked up the 700+ page tome Blonde, a Pulitzer finalist in 2000, and she really must stay off the internet because her fiction writing is brilliant.

Buy it from our Bookshops - US & UK.