What I'm Reading

A List

Hey Friends,

I’m taking a reading week to catch up on the mountain of manuscripts waiting for me on my Kindle. (Also, my family is recovering from COVID—we’re fine!!—and I was supposed to be on vacation this week and WELL I’m taking a break from email.) I’ll be under a blanket in my reading chair all week, brb. (There is be no Thursday newsletter. Thanks for understanding.)

In the meantime, here’s some things I’ve read recently that you should also read!

COVER STORY by Susan Rigetti—I read this in about two sittings. I ate it up with a spoon. This contemporary novel is part ripped from the headlines and part female friendship and ambition is difficult and wait for it….TWIST! It uses emails, depositions, articles, and diaries in the storytelling, which is something I like, to great effect. Take this book on vacation. Read this book when you’re hungry for something to completely take over your attention.

HIMAWARI HOUSE by Harmony Becker—This graphic novel has been on my TBR for months and I finally sat down with it this weekend. I knew I was going to love it and yep, I loved it. It’s about a person who takes a gap year in Japan, the country of her birth, to immerse herself in the culture and language to find out how she fits in, after growing up in America. The titular house is one where everyone is from somewhere else, trying to figure out what they want and what it means to be themselves. The art is AMAZING and I can’t wait to read this one again.

NEVER SAW YOU COMING by Erin Hahn—I’ve been doing a thing lately where I’m going back and listening to client’s books on audio, to enjoy them again and to see what the audio production brings to the work. Run right out and listen to NEVER SAW YOU COMING, asap! It’s a dual POV YA novel about two kids grappling with how their faith fits in with their lives after those they trust betray them. There is also some excellent swoony romance and a lot of STICK IT TO THE MAN anti-purity culture stuff that will have you fist pumping in solidarity. The narrators Jessica Almasy and Michael Crouch are fantastic, and when you get to Erin’s author’s note at the end, have the tissues ready. I loved the audio even more than the first time I read it on paper.

I’ve read Alix Harrow’s next book TWICE already neerer neerer neerer. And I can’t tell you anything about it!

Last but not least, my kid and I are going through Nick Lund’s first book THE ULTIMATE BIOGRAPHY OF EARTH and it is so informative and fun! The illustrations are fantastic (h/t Jason Ford) and it’s giving us lots of fun things to talk about even when we’re not reading it! This is a perfect gift for the science/space/nature/dinosaur enthusiast in your life, especially if they’re about 7-12 years old.

Tell us what you’re reading in the comments.

Back to my reading chair!

GET VAXED AND WEAR A MASK!

XOXOXO,

Kate