Ripped Bodice Bingo Suggestions

Okay, the Ripped Bodice released their summer reading bingo card, and I have suggestions.  They will include me.  I do not have suggestions for all the categories, so am going to skip a few.

Rescue Mission - This is a stretch, but Not Here to Make Friends by Jodi McAlister
Cover has a sportsball on it - Playing the Player by Amy Andrews
Texas Hold Em
Published before 2005 - I recently re-read Nora Roberts Sea Swept, and it held up well. There's definitely some stuff that is of it's time, particularly in the next book in the series, and Roberts was a hold out on any discussion of safe sex or birth control, so there is no mention of that.  
They Were Roommates - There are many very literal ones that would work here, including a recent release literally called They Were Roommates, but if we count valets as being like roommates kinda, A Gentleman's Gentleman by TJ Alexander would work here. 
Merfolk - Water Under the Bridge by Holley Trent
Historical Ruins - Temple of Swoon by Jo Segura
Haunted House - I'll Conjure for You by Charish Reid, Love in All the Haunted Places by Claire Kann
Road Trip - Time Loops and Meet Cutes by Jackie Lau, Here We go Again by Alison Cochrun
Telepathic Connection - Witch of Wild Things by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland
Who Doin it - Using a loose definition of mystery here, I think One in a Million by Beverley Kendall, The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter
Punny Title - Tanked by Mia Hopkins, A Legend in the Baking by Jamie Wesley
Medieval
It was Supposed to be a Summer Fling - Unromance by Erin Connor.  
Animal with a Job - Pardon My Frenchie by Farrah Rochon
Fairy Tale Retelling - Perhaps, my I Belong to You would work here.  And if we include Shakespeare as a fairytale, Ben and Beatriz by Katalina Gamarra
Fall
Rival Teams - Guava and Grudges by Alexis Castellanos
 

Books About People

The Supreme Court came out against books and it sucks. Sure, they say it's only some books but the reality of things is when the Supreme Court has said that picture books that mention anything about the world that parents somewhere might not like can be removed, it means several things. 

Teachers and librarians are going to have to figure out what books some parent somewhere might not like. My mom was a teacher, and once showed the Disney version of "The Lion King" (the original cartoon one which was rated PG) during after school care on a rainy day when they couldn't have outside time, and had a parent complain. That child's other parent was surprised to hear that because they had taken the kids to see the movie. 

So, in order to prevent further issues they only showed G movies. 

This case was brought by parents in Montgomery County, Maryland. A place I attended school. It wasn't my parents objecting since I am above picture book age. But it feels close. 

The idea that anything aimed at a picture book audience could be so terrible that a child couldn't possibly see it or hear about it, sort of defies the principles of educating children. I am not saying parents can't have values. Of course they can. I once read an op-ed by parents who hate the curriculum about recycling, because they feel the way we truck recycled items around in this country actually creates more climate harm than it saves. That is a perspective. And I understand that when children are in the sponge learning stage, it can be hard to figure out how to say, yes your teachers are very knowledgeable, but also I personally do not agree with everything they taught you today. But guess what, this is the world. Exposure to other people and other ideas is a normal response to talking to other people. You and your children should be prepared for that. 

But let's also talk about what it means for the authors of these books. First it is incredibly sad for them. They worked hard to make books that were lovely and thoughtful and age appropriate. And now they are being told that their books cannot be safely shown to some children if their parents disagree. 

Now when you google their books, you will get a Supreme Court case. 

Many libraries and schools will remove these books from their collections. 

Many libraries and schools will choose not to ask these authors and illustrators to come to their schools.

Should these authors and illustrators choose to produce another book, they will have to decide if they should be more cautious about subject matter or not. 

When their publishers review their sales record, they will likely not consider that being banned from certain schools and libraries hurt their sales. They will just have low sales. And so they will get either lower offers or no offers when their work is being considered. 

Being banned doesn't help your sales, even if you know some authors who were banned and are successful. Judy Blue, to give an example, is not successful because she got banned. She is successful because she happened to write enough bestsellers to counter being banned. Not everyone gets the chance to do that. 

What can you do? Write to your library and tell them you love books. Thank them for displays or programming that includes books that have characters of all kinds. If your library has a board, show up to the meetings. I sent my library what I called a love letter. I was specific about the things I loved that they were doing. 

And I am writing to my city council as they discuss budget to indicate how much I think the library is an important part of our budget. 

Edited: Sure, they say it's only some books but the reality of things is when the Supreme Court has said that picture books that mention anything about the world that parents somewhere might not like can be removed, it means several things. Orinally the prior sentence did nto include the phrase :can be removed".

Pasifika Reading Challenge Suggestions

So the Pacific Islanders in Publishing group has put together a Pasifika Reading Challenge for May which is somehow this week. 

I have suggestions of course, and yeah, they include me. 

Book to Film/Translated Book:

Chapbook/Short Story: I have a few short stories that would fit into this, including Called to the Water. Melissa Llanes Brownlee writes mico and short fiction, and lists her recent publications here.

Climate Fiction: Weird Fishes by Rae Mariz

Fantasy/Sci-Fi: Nafiza Azad has several fantasies that would work for this. 

LGBTQIA author: Kahaula writes queer and polyamorous romance.

Literary: Megan Kamalei Kakimoto's Every Drop a Man's Nightmare is a great read. 

Melanesion: Nilima Rao has a book called A Disappearance in Fiji.

Memoir/Biography: Okay, this is an older pick, but if you've never read Liliuokalani's memoir, written while she was imprisoned in the palace after the Americans overthrew the Hawaiian government, maybe now's the time. 

Micronesian author: Makiia Lucier has a new YA fantasy called Dragonfruit that looks great.. 

Mythology/Folklore:Malia Maunakea's Lei and the Fire Goddess is a great option for this. 

Mystery/Thriller: Michael Bennett's Better the Blood.

Non-fiction: Emma Espiner has a memoir There's a Cure for This that looks amazing. 

Poetry:UH Press has Indigenous Pacific Islander Eco-Futures, which has a trove of poetry by PI authors. Another option is Jamaica Osorio who has videos of some of her performances on her site linked here.

Polynesian Author: Lehua Parker is a prolific author. 

Romance: Oh hi. So I have many choices that will fit into this, but let's say, Clear as Ice. Also, if you have already read me, consider Azalea Crowley and/or Kahaula.

Middle grade/YA: Juleah del Rosarios has a YA called 500 Words or Less that looks wonderful.

My Own Ripped Bodice Bingo

I read a lot this summer. And yes, I binged a few authors in particular. 

Since there is also a 23 for '23 push, to suggest folks try to read at least 23 authors of color this year, I have starred any that fit this qualification. No reviews in this post, they are all good books. I'm a big fan of reading things you like, not because they are good for your reading challenge. But you can do both!

Also, there were some other suggestions in my earlier post, including some of mine. 

Some of these books are in multiple slots, obviously for bingo I trimmed it down, but left it this way in case any of these are a particular fave for anyone.

Kissing for Science -Second Chance at Paris by Cole McCade*, The Mane Squeeze by Shelly Laurenston*, We Are Totally Normal by Naomi Kanakia*, Mixed Signals by B. K. Borison

Cover has a body of water on it - Year of Cecily by Lisa Lin*

Fae/Fairies - Surrendering Saul by Holley Trent*

Prohibition - Love's Serenade by Sheryl Lister*

Train - Zero Day Exploit by Cole McCade*, We are Totally Normal by Naomi Kanakia, An Island Princess Starts a Scandal by Adriana Herrera*

Farm - Between Then and Now by Zoe York, Mixed Signals by B. K. Borison

Librarian - The Coyote's Cowboy by Holley Trent*

Bachelor(Ette) Party - Bite Me by Shelly Laurenston*, Hot and Badgered by Shelly Laurenston*, Rebel Hard by Nalini Singh* 

Long Distance Relationship - The Comeback by Lily Chu*, Something Wild and Wonderful by Anita Kelly, Year of Cecily by Lisa Lin, Rock Courtship my Nalini Singh*

Vigilante sh*t - The Mane Squeeze by Shelly Laurenston, Big Bad Beast by Shelly Laurenston, Bite Me by Shelly Laurenston, Hot and Badgered by Shelly Laurenston, Breaking Badger by Shelly Laurenston, Never Ever Getting Back Together by Sophie Gonzales 

Grazing hands gently - The Comeback by Lily Chu

Left at the altar - His True Alpha Janine by Chencia C Higgins*, Fall Into You by Georgina Keirsten*, The Coyote's Cowboy by Holley Trent, Year of Cecily by Lisa Lin

Protagonist smells like citrus - I'll Come Back For You by Charish Reid*, The Rules of Forever by Nan Campbell

Reunion - Second Chance at Paris by Cole McCade, The Beast in Him by Shelly Laurenston, Love's Serenade by Sheryl Lister, Year of Cecily by Lisa Lin, Dos and Donuts of Love*, Capture the Sun by Jessie Mihalik, Never Ever Getting Back Together by Jessie Gonzales, The Rules of Forever by Nan Campbell

Makeover - The Mane Squeeze by Shelly Laurenston, Fake Dates and Moon cakes by Sher Lee*, Never Ever Getting Back Together by Sophie Gonzales

Outer space - Second Chance at Paris by Cole McCade, Capture the Sun by Jessie Mihalik, We are Totally Normal by Naomi Kanakia

Alliterative Title - Big Bad Beast by Shelly Laurenston, The Coyote's Cowboy by Holley Trent, Breaking Badger by Shelly Laurenston

Choreographed Dance - The Comeback by Lily Chu, On Rotation by Shirlene Obuobi*, Rebel Hard by Nalini Singh

Relationship of Convenience - Bet On It by Jodie Slaughter*

Character acknowledges romance novels exist - On Rotation by Shirlene Obuobi, Bet On It by Jodie Slaughter, Going Bicoastal by Dahlia Adler, Rebel Hard by Nalini Singh

Fainting Couch - Going BiCoastal by Dahlia Adler, What the Hex by Alexis Daria*

It was supposed to be one night - Zero Day Exploit by Cole McCade, The Wolf's Joy by Holley Trent

Swimming - Big Bad Beast by Shelly Laurenston, Bite Me by Shelly Laurenston, Fake Dates and Moon cakes by Sher Lee, We are Totally Normal by Naomi Kanakia, Never Ever Getting Back Together by Sophie Gonzales, Rebel Hard by Nalini Singh

We have the same job - Big Bad Beast by Shelly Laurenston, Dos and Donuts of Love, Capture the Sun by Jessie Mihalik, For Butter or For Worse by Erin La Rosa

Bingos

Okay, the Ripped Bodice released this year's bingo card, and I have some suggestions. Not for every category just yet, some like smells like citrus are not details I hang on to past reading, but I included them for perusal. 

But I do have some thoughts. And yeah, some of them are things I have written. 

Kissing for Science - The Hookup Plan by Farrah Rochon

Cover has a body of water on it - Sorry, Bro by Taleen Voskuni

Fae/Fairies - Bitter Medicine by Mia Tsai, also Holley Trent's Afotama series

Prohibition - Slippery Creatures by KJ Charles is set in this time period, though in the UK.   

Train - Oh hi, I have a book called Bored By the Billionaire that has an Amtrak train. 

Farm - Season of Love by Helena Greer

Librarian - Desire and the Deep Blue Sea by Olvia Dade

Bachelor(Ette) Party - Oh hello, may I suggest Undercover Bridesmaid

Long Distance Relationship - Love boat Reunion by Abigail Hing Wen, Meet Me in Madrid by Verity Lowell

Vigilante sh*t - I Think I Might Love You by Christina C. Jones

Grazing hands gently

Left at the altar - The Wedding Crasher by Mia Sosa

Protagonist smells like citrus

Reunion - The Reunion by Kayla Olson

Makeover - If we get a little esoteric about what kind of makeover, Token by Beverley Kendall works here. 

Outer space - Jessie Mihalik's books will work here.  

Alliterative Title Oh, hello, may I suggest Bored by the Billionaire again. 

Choreographed Dance - Jana Goes Wild by Farah Heron

Relationship of Convenience - Not Your Valentine by Jackie Lau

Character acknowledges romance novels exist

Fainting Couch

It was supposed to be one night - This one seems almost like a free square, but Ties That Tether by Jane Igharo 

Swimming - Fish Out of Water by Holley Trent

We have the same job - Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail by Ashley Herring Blake, A Taste of Sage by Yaffa S. Santos, The Spy in 3B by Nana Malone

Endings

One of my dayjob coworkers told me Friday it was her last day on the contract and she had mixed feelings about the case she was handing off to me being the last, because she enjoyed working with me.

As writers we spend a lot of time trying to figure out an ending that addresses all the pertinent things, and doesn't seem to easy, and also feel like it fits. And we look for these things in life too. 

We look for signs that things are wrapping up or pivoting or leading us somewhere. Now of course part of this is because it would be very clear if a dude with a light saber showed up and said, "Follow me." Like I have questions, like what about my cat, but okay, dude with a light saber is a sign, right? You don't ignore that. 

But should I keep doing this, quit that, or try to seek out something else, or stay the course, and also dinner should be what? There is so much. 

Even books or movies that have unclear endings have to signal appropriately so that - hopefully - even if the audience is shocked in retrospect they go, ah yes. (I am still mad at one movie. Argh!) And we've all read or watched some thing we loved until they did that one fatal thing at the end. 

But with my coworker,  the important thing was that we got to chat at the end and wish each other well. 

The Ripped Bodice Bingo Suggestions for 2021

I enjoy the challenge The Ripped Bodice Bingo presents to my reading.  (Formal rules and bingo board at the link.)

If you choose to participate, here are some suggestions of books that I have already read that meet some of the categories.  (I will obviously have to find more for my own challenge.)

Educator:  The super easy answer on this is Teach Me by Olivia Dade.  Rebekah Weatherspoon's Xeni also qualifies. 

Construction: Meka James Being Neighborly and Beverly Jenkins Wild Rain both have folks involved in construction. 

Friends to Lovers: Jackie Lau's A Fake Girlfriend for Chinese New Year

Down on it's luck small town:  So, I think Tracey Livesay's Sweet Talkin Lover works here.  The town is not quite struggling, but they need the factory to survive and the corporate person has been sent there to evaluate and unbeknownst to them has been encouraged to find in favor of shutting it down.  

Reality TV:  Well, wel, well, *stretches*, Alexis Daria's Take the Lead series, Lyla Lee's I'll Be the One, Ryan La Sala's Be Dazzled.  There are more, but that should keep you busy.

Demigods: Bear with me because this is kind of a stretch. Olivia Dade's Spoiler Alert features an actor in a show based on The Aeneid. 

This Dating is Fake Isn't It:  Well since I already mentioned Jackie Lau and Tracey Livesay, let's add in Gloria Chao's Rent a Boyfriend, and Talia Hibbert's Take a Hint, Dani Brown

Cover has snow: Since I already mentioned Jackie Lau (who has several titles that meet this), let me mention Stacey Agdern's Miracles and Menorahs. 

Reporter:  Since I already mentioned Beverly Jenkins Wild Rain, let me also add Andie J. Christopher's Not the Girl You Marry, and also, I have Aloha to You that fits into this category.  

Holiday That is Not Christmas:  The Love All Year Anthology has got this covered.  

Scientific Pursuit:  Alyssa Cole's A Princess in Theory 

Protagonist smells like freshly baked bread: This requires a more thorough search, but I think baker romances are likely the best bet.  

Triplets

Circus: Lucy Parker's Making Up

Graphic Novel: Tee Franklin's Bingo Love and S. W. Searle's Patience and Esther

Stable Romp: The Shadow Warrior by Ann Aguirre

Revenge Quest: Oh goodness, Beverly Jenkins' Wild Rain works here again too, but Emery Lee's Meet Cute Diary also has some internet stuff as the catalyst. 

Bodyguard: Piper J. Drake's Safeguard series is a great choice here.  

Tattoos:  Roan Parrish's Small Change and Alisha Rai's Wrong to Need You are great choices here. 

Wardrobe Malfunction: Sarah Morgan's Ripped works for this.  

 

In the Public Eye - #RomBkLove

One of the things that fascinates me as the internet and other forms of social media create new ways for a person to be a public figure, is the many ways that fiction has begun to reflect that. There's a song about how everyone in a small town is famous. Right now we have celebrities, people who are famous on just one app, and well everything in between.

In thinking about this, it occurred to me my initial fascination with this was a book I read as a teen - Ellen Emerson White's White House Autumn. It was the sequel to The President's Daughter, the title of which is a spoiler. But we follow Meg as she has to move to DC and attend school where now her mom is president, and she has secret service agents, and how do you even date when you have a secret service agent?

Those books appear to be only available in kindle form these days. But there are still plenty of stories about falling in love and also navigating being a public persona.

Meow Or Never by Jazz Taylor - Bookshop link Now this is a middle grade and you might be like Tara, we are talking romance, but trust me, Avery has a huge crush and also some social anxiety which means she has barely been able to talk to Nic her crush. But Avery discovers a cat in the closet at school and sings to it, and now Nic wants Avery to audition for the school play. Exactly as cute and angsty as you might imagine.
Content notes: Depiction of panic attacks, references to off page child abuse.

Be Dazzled by Ryan La Sala - Bookshop link. Raffy has a streaming channel where he details his cosplay work. So now he's entered a huge cosplay competition, and it looks like his ex-boyfriend has teamed up with his main competition.
Content notes: Depiction of panic attacks, some parental biphobia, and manipulative parenting

I'll Be the One by Lyla Lee - Bookshop link - Skye is entering a K-Pop reality show taking place in the US. She's fat, and she knows she'll have to extra wow the judges (and her mom) to convince folks she should win and she will not be distracted by a very cute boy. Who is maybe also kinda famous.
Content notes: fatphobia directed at main character, some depiction of social media abuse.

Now That I've Found You by Kristina Forest - Bookshop link - Evie was set to break out and be the next big star in her family like her grandmother, until an ex-friend posts an embarrassing video on social media. Evie has a plan to get back into Hollywood's good graces, she just needs the help of her now reclusive grandmother. Except that not long after she arrives, her grandmother disappears. Now she needs the help of the very annoying even if he is maybe cute Milo. The Love Study by Kris Ripper - Bookshop link - Declan agrees to go on Sydney's You Tube advice show to get dating advice. Except that, eventually, it becomes pretty clear that Declan really wants to date Sydney.
Content notes: Depiction of panic attacks. (Yes, I am realizing I have a second theme here.)

Something to Talk About by Meryl Wilsner - Bookshop link - A showrunner and her assistant make a bit of a splash when pictures of them looking cozy on the red carpet make them look like a couple. They aren't of course. But maybe they wish they were?
Content notes: Depictions of workplace sexual harassment, discussions of racism in Hollywood.

Quick note, if musicians are your fave fictional public people (a totally valid choice) - you may want to go check out the Day 13 post for #RomBkLove Now I had to hold myself back from flooding this list with more. What are your favorite falling in love when everybody is looking at you stories?

Reading Roundup and LTAFS

I took a very brief pause in the Let's Talk About Fictional Sex series to post my first quarter reading round up.  

And then dove back in with LTAFS Sex and Money. 

2020 Reading Tally

171 books.   Not my highest year, but a good showing.
7 were novellas. 4 were rereads.  
Other years of extensive reading data analysis here, here, here, and also here and here. .  
135 authors.
Oldest book read was from 1994 - a book club "classic" read choice.  
90 were from 2020, so I was somewhat impressively current.  (Somewhat because books don't go stale.)
68 were new to me authors.  This is always true, but in 2020 in particular new to me included people I've followed for years on Twitter who had a book finally released and/or people who've already won multiple awards. So new to me is not always debut, and debut means many things these days.  
Most read was a three way split between Jackie Lau/Laura Jardine, Jessie Mihalik, and Rebekah Weatherspoon at 4 each.  Did it help some of these were novellas or rereads?  I'm guessing yes.
February was the least productive reading month with 8 finished. October - where I had a staycation week - I completed 23.  (Not all of those were started in October.)  
5 rereads.  
3 paper books. 37 audio. Remainder were e.  
51 were library books.  Shout out to the local library systems that made online renewal or reupping easy.  
73 romance, 54 ya.  
Contemporary is still my jam, although I did read some fascinating ones that blended magic and folklore this year.
By my likely flawed count about 80 of these books were own voices for at least part of the traditionally marginalized characteristics that the characters represented.  

And I decided that I wasn't going to pick a best of the best.  But if you want to review some of my faves that I read last year, the quarterly roundups are here, here, here, and here.  

4Q Reading Roundup

Is posted over on the newsletter, with Bookshop links.  

Edited to update link.

The Cozy Spectrum

In a discussion (held via video conference) last week, a friend mentioned that the clothes that felt like a delightful contrast to work clothes prior to the pandemic are starting to feel less comfortable. In a similar discussion, I listened to one person say that wearing heels has always made their feet hurt, and most people's responses boiled down to, well, you get used to it.  

I personally gave up heels a while back.  They always hurt.  I have tripped and fallen in a gravel parking lot while on my way into a ball, and let me tell you, the heels do not make up for your bloody knee.  I tried a variety of comfort brands.  And for me, while I still love a comfort shoe, the hurt and potential danger involved in training myself how to be in heels, did not seem worth the reward.  Now this is not to say I think heels should not exist or that people who are willing to put up with the discomfort, or who have learned how to navigate the world in heels are wrong.  I applaud their fortitude.  

But there are things about a large change to your life that can allow you to evaluate what previously had seemed acceptable.  Those cargo pants that were such a nice contrast to a skirt and hose, may now feel restrictive.  In contrast, I put on one of my fancier stretchy pants (the ones that call themselves dress pant yoga pants) and found myself feeling like a person who gets things done.  (In fairness, it is the stretchy plus the fancy that helps a lot.)  

I know there are people who are back at work, or who never got to stop going to work.  And to them this conversation about the stretchiness of pants, about throwing a cute top over a pair of raggedy sweats because on video conferences, you can keep your bottom off camera with some care is a little silly.  It is.  

It's hard not to sound like an out of touch tech bro every time I revel at a local restaurant's pivot towards farm pickups or pop ups.  Because these changes are happening because things are very bad and folks are struggling on multiple levels.

But if you have the privilege of time to ponder your work from home clothes, you can take a look at the norms we used to accept, and figure out which ones we're not going to return to.    

Reading Roundup - Second Quarter 2020

The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta is a story told in verse of a biracial and queer British kid trying to find himself.  It does contain some racism and homophobia directed at the character, but overall I found it a joyful journey as the main character found his way into the world.  

Leah Johnson's You Should See Me in a Crown was a delightful story of a girl entering into her prom obsessed town's elaborate prom process.  There is a forced outing, but I felt (other than the second hand embarrassment) the characters supported the lead through it.  Also smoochies with the new girl.  

Something to Talk About by Meryl Wisner is a story about Hollywood and the slowest of burns because gosh these characters are so delightfully confused by their feelings.  There is some workplace sexual harassment.  

He's Come Undone anthology has five buttoned up dudes being unraveled by feelings, so if that is your jam, you should likely have this.  

Rick by Alex Gino is a middle grade that I thoroughly enjoyed about figuring out that maybe your grandpa is like a cool person, and also that maybe the person you thought was your best friend isn't really the best friend for you.  

Loveboat Taipei by Abigail Hing Wen is a story about being away from strict parents and the freedom and danger of all of that.  There is some revenge porn, along with some references to racist sports teams.  

We Unleash the Merciless Storm by Tehlor Key Mejia is a second book in a duology.  It switches POV and I found the story of trying to live up the ideals you and your team have sacrificed so much to serve, really compelling.  Also there are smoochies. 

Brittney Morris' Slay was a fascinating look at gaming.  So many of the big gaming books (Warcross excepted) have dude, and often even white dude main characters.  So the idea of a gaming world created by a Black girl character for Black characters and what happens when the rest of the world finds out, was really fascinating.  Also, the game has a Mambo Sauce card.  

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid is just great.  There are so many layers to the story of a Black woman working as a nanny to a white woman and the stories people tell about themselves and too themselves, and what happens when those are challenged.  Also, the children in there are delightfully rendered.  

Chemistry by Weike Wang is a book I tried to thank several people for recommending to me, and none of them claimed credit.  It is a story of a grad student trying to figure out her life using logic and logic is failing because human nature is not always logical.  She is kind of a mess, but I found it a fascinating journey.   

Black Publishing Power Week

The folks at Amistad publishing have suggested that perhaps if everyone bought two books by Black authors this week, the bestseller lists might* reflect this, which would be very cool.

I am a big fan of buying books, so this fits into my kind of economic power demonstration, if you will. 

I certainly don't want to tell you what or how to buy books. Because honestly, if all that happens is a bunch of people have two new books to enjoy, well yay.

If book buying is not in your budget this week, you can get two from the library, or request two you think your library should add. 

Sales matter to authors whenever they happen. 

But if you were looking for recently released books to take a look at, here are a few of my suggestions:

I'm put them all in a Bookshop list for easy ordering. If you prefer audio, may I suggest libro fm. Obviously you do you, but these options let you support local bookstores, so it's like a double win. If the bookstores near you are awful, I am fans of mine, including Loyalty Books.

I have not read all of these.  Some of them are still patiently waiting in my TBR, or made it into my cart this week. And obviously, this is just a starting point.  There are so many more great books out there.  

*There's a lot of factors that go into bestseller lists, most notably the NYT is open about the fact that sales is only one factor, and opaque about the other factors.  The USA and other lists are a little clearer about their methodology.  

Ripped Bodice Bingo

Ripped Bodice has debuted this summer's bingo card. 

Here are some books I have already read that would fit the qualifications: 

There was only one bed: I Wanna Be Where You Are by Kristina Forest, Chaos Reigning by Jessie Mihalik

I am on a boat: Nothing to Fear by Juno Rushdan

Set on an island - He's Come Undone - Adriana Herrera's story here is primarily on an island

Suffragettes - Let Us Dream by Alyssa Cole, The Sufragette Scandal by Courtney Milan
Secret Identity - See also Nothing to Fear, Lady's Guide to Celestial Mechanics by Olivia Waite
Title is a pun - Unsung Heroine by Sarah Kuhn (see, there's karaoke.  That's punny.)  
Healthcare professional - See also He's Come Undone - Ruby Lang's story has a healthcare professional

The Final Frontier: See also Chaos Reigning

Cover has a large piece of jewelery on it: Something to Talk About by Meryl Wilsner

Ice Cream - Ice Cream Lover by Jackie Lau

Reading Roundup - First Quarter 2020

I know some of these came up in my Books for These Times post.  But this time just looking at 2020 reads.  

Akwaeke Emezi - Pet - As I mentioned before I read this is paper.  In a world where monsters have been defeated the child makes a monster and then has to reckon with the monster who says it has a job to do, and what the existence of monsters really means.  

Minor Feelings by Cathy Park Hong - This was a really interesting book of essays looking at the Asian American experience and how the push for model minority status created a situation where a generation of Asian Americans were encouraged to not discuss any racism they felt.  For me personally, the opening story was tough to get through, but once I did the rest was interesting enough, that I may well wish to revisit it.  

Mikki Kendall's Hood Feminism - Also a book of essays, in particular looking at how the focus of mainstream feminism on upper and middle class white women leaves a lot of gaps in issues that affect women harder.  

Jessica Kim's Stand Up, Yumi Chung! - Yumi Chung wants to go to comedy camp this summer and not study camp.  But her parent's restaurant has hit a bad patch and they need her to get a scholarship to keep going to the fancy school they expect to bring her success.  Except she wanders into comedy camp and they all assume she's a student with an Asian sounding name who had signed up.  I don't read a lot of MG, and this book was delightful until it reached a big reveal moment, and oh my god, if you suffer from second hand embarrassment, it is really tough.  It was still delightful and I was glad I read it.  

Tehler Kay Mejia's We Unleash the Merciless Storm - In a fantastical world where the fancy folk have two highly trained wives, and the rabble are kept out with a wall, a high ranking wife has just been killed by her son's segunda wife who was revealed to be a spy for the rebellion.   Except Carmen - said spy - had to leave behind the primera wife who she had maybe been falling in love with.  She discovers the La Voz organization has changed since she was sent on her mission, and they perhaps do not believe her when she tells them Dani, the primera is on their side.  So she's going to have to take fixing things into her own hands.  This is the second in the duology.  I mentioned elsewhere that I haven't quite figured out how much my enjoyment of the second was due to the POV shift, or just more getting to the part where things start happening.  None of this is to say I hated the first book, I would never have tried the second if I had.  But if you thought the first was enjoyable but quiet, this might be to your liking. 

Mia Sosa's The Worst Best Man - Read about Brasilian food and wedding planning, and lots of things we cannot be doing right now.  Okay, but seriously, Carolina got left at the altar and to get a new job she has to team up with either her ex-fiance or the brother who convinced her to dump him.  The brother seems like the lesser of two evils.  But maybe he is even more than that?   

Jayci Lee's Temporary Wife Temptation -  It's super tropey.  He needs a wife to avoid a matchmaking grannie.  She needs a husband to prove she's stable (and rich, rich doesn't hurt either) enough to adopt her sister's kid that the grandparents want to adopt.  So they get married.  And hang out with a baby a lot.  And it's great.  Until someone ruins it and then has to try to fix it.  

Camryn Garrett's Full Disclosure - This is a story about a teen who is HIV positive, who had to leave her old school after word got out about her status and folks did not handle it well.  So now she's at a new school, and working as the student director on a production of "Rent" and there's a cute someone and she has questions about how to best handle it.  Content warning:  Her status does get outed at the new school.  

In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado - I got this book out of the library in e, and when the library emailed me I looked at it and thought, hmm, did I really ask for this?  But I downloaded it, read the first chapter, and went, oh yes, I need this.  It is a story of an abusive realtionship told in pieces.  It is not an easy read.  But it looks at how people get to a place where the realtionship they are in matches some but not all of the things they have been warned about, what it's like to have been told your lifestyle will lead you astray and then need help.  It ends well, as the author is now not in that relationship.  I don't often get super excited about the way a story is told, but for me this one was interesting and not gimmicky.  

Suleika Snyder's Tikka Chance on Me - A grad student who has moved home to re-figure out her life and work at her family's restaurant finds herself noticing one of the bikers in the biker gang that comes for dinner every week.  They run into each other elsewhere and things move fast but there are secrets and things to be sorted out.  

Rebekah Weatherspoon's A Cowboy to Remember - Amnesia, so you know I was in.  A TV chef gets pushed down the stairs soap opera style and then her team decides the best place for her to recover is the small town where she grew up which also contains her first love.  

Books for These Times

It looks like folks might be sticking inside a little more than usual for peak pollen season aka not quite spring.  So, some book suggestions.  

I Want to Read About Bad Things (aka pandemics, apocalypses, zombies): 

- Orleans by Sherri L. Smith.  A bloodborn diseases has caused the US to wall off a segment of the area formerly known as New Orleans and society has altered and shifted behind the wall. Fen finds herself in charge of a baby girl she has promised the mother she will get over the wall, and teams up with a scientist who snuck over thinking he could fix it.  

-Love is the Drug by Alaya Dawn Johnson - I know, I recommend this book a lot.  Emily has been following the rules, the right hair, the right school, the right boyfriend.  When a deadly flu strikes, Emily's parents are sequestered, a homeland security agent keeps asking her odd questions, and the DC neighborhood her uncle is in seems to be getting different messages than she's getting.  Coffee, a classmate who excels at breaking rules seems to be the only one she can trust.  

-Radio Silence by Alyssa Cole - Power's been out for long enough that friends Arden and John decide to try going to his parent's cabin. John's brother Gabriel intervenes when they are attacked and he and Arden annoy each other until they, well, don't.  

-Dread Nation by Justina Ireland - The Civil War got called on account of zombies, and now Jane is - like most colored folks - in training to be a protector - aka zombie killer for rich people.  Except, it looks like maybe there's more to what's going on than it seems.  

-Every Last Breath by Juno Rushdan - Spy thriller, DC area set, with former lovers discovering they might have to work together to stop someone from unleashing a fast acting virus in DC.  

-Pet by Akwaeke Emezi - Is a book I read in about three sittings.  In paper.  And those of you who know how rarely I read paper, know what a feat this is.  In a world where monsters have been defeated, a child accidentally makes a monster from her mom's painting.  The monster says it's there to stop another monster.  With the help of the library, and her best friend, she manages to figure out how to handle things.   

I Want to Read About Happy Things: 

-A Cowboy to Remember by Rebekah Weatherspoon - An amnesia story (and yeah, starts with the heroine getting pushed down the stairs, so um, like after that it's mostly happy.)  Celebrity chef Evie goes to the ranch she grew up near to recover from a head injury, and of course there is the hot cowboy who is the main reason she hasn't visited much.  

-The Worst Best Man by Mia Sosa - Full disclosure I know and adore Mia.  Nonetheless, this book was for me the correct blend of oh no, cringe, and oh this is just delicious.  Few years ago, up and coming wedding planner Carolina found out from her fiance's brother Max that her fiance had decided to take Max's advice and bail on the wedding.  Now, they've both been hired to convince a new hotel owner that Carolina is the best person for the new job at the hotel.  It's also a delightful look at neighborhoods familiar to many in the DMV, Dupont, Adams Morgan, Columbia Heights, Wheaton, and so on all make appearances. 

-Sweet Talkin Lover by Tracey Livesay - While this Livesay does not take place in DC like some of her other stories, the shall we saw standoff between career woman who has been sent with an agenda to look at a small town factory and the mayor of said small town starts quickly with an amazing pinball standoff and goes from there.  

-Most Ardently by Susan Mesler-Evans - A modern Pride and Prejudice retelling where Elisa and Darcy are in college and Darcy is the daughter of the rich and famous who has suddenly ended up in this town, and Elisa is crammed into a small apartment with her mom and sister.  

-Hungry Hearts - edited by Else Chapman and Caroline Tung Richmond - This anthology has a range of moods and foods (I'll stop now), but thirteen tales should keep you busy for a bit. 

I Want to Think Deep Thoughts (aka Non-Fiction): 

Hood Feminism by Mikki Kendall - I listened to the audio for this, but it looked at the ways mainstream feminism often leaves out those with less privilege.  

Lead From the Outside by Stacey Abrams - Abrams talks a lot about making and finding opportunities for growth and mentorship, even if you didn't go to the fanciest schools.  

The View From Flyover Country by Sarah Kendzior - Kendzior has a new book out next month, but this collection of essays about privelege and class in America while many of them collected over several years, has a lot of information and careful inspection of our society in the US. 

Winners Take All by Anand Giridhiradas - A really interesting look at how our equation of money with merit, and merit with success, means we reinforce existing power.  

2019 Reading Tally

This is now my thirteenth year of tracking reading data.  Links to all of the many evolving and various previous years here. 

Total read: 143*.  Not a bad year, but not the highest.  6 were novellas. 
The earliest was from 2008.  74 from 2019. 54 from 2018
I read 115 distinct authors, 68 of which were new to me.  The new to me category seems a little odd, when you factor in it includes Michelle Obama, but I had not previously read her, so that is how we are counting.  
Kris Ripper's Queers of La Vista series made them my most read author this year, at 5.  
June and July were banner months with 22 each.  (It helps to have a bunch started. And then have some travel.)  
33 audio books, 110 were ebooks.  45 library books, some of which I already owned in another format or purchased later. 
17 non-fiction, but romance remains my number one at 69 (heh), and YA at 44.  73 contained diverse main characters or people, by my count at least 66 of these were ownvoices across one of the represented marginalizations, or were non-fiction.  

*I counted re-reads if I re-read the whole thing a didn't just skip to my favorite parts. Novellas released singly counted as one, anthologies counted as one.    

This year I tried talking about good reads quarterly to see if that would help me member things I loved in January at the end of the year.  And instead my top ten is now a top twenty.  Ooops.  

-The Hungry Hearts anthology - edited by Elsie Chapman and Caroline Tung Richmond has some great stories all set in a fictional town with a great batch of restaurants and food.  The stories range from sweet love stories, to ghosts and mobs and murder.  It will make you hungry and show how food is such a great connecting force.
-Blair Braverman's Welcome to the Goddamn Icecube is a travel memoir, looking at journeys to cold places.  But it was an interesting reminder of how so many travel memoirs are about folks who get to travel without worry.  Not always an easy read, but Braverman's frankness about the challenges of facing those moments where you know nothing has happened to you yet, but it might, and how tough that can be to communicate to others, made it a memoir that seemed truer to me than some others I have read.
-Jessie Mihalik's Polaris Rising was recommended to me several times before I finally decided to give it a shot.  Sci-fi is often far more interested in the bits of climate or the operation of space doors than I am.  Polaris Rising is for me, a delightful on the run, maybe my fellow prisoner wants to help me escape not just this ship, but the even bigger group chasing me story that just happens to involve interplanetary escape.  It was great.  I have marked the arrival of the next story on my book calendar.  
-Anna Zabo's Syncopation has a new band member joining after another leaves following a video being posted online making it look like the lead singer is violent.  It involves some kink and everything about the two characters love of music as they learned to appreciate each other was really wonderful
-Therese Beharrie's One Day to Fall - I loved this story of two somewhat cranky people who run into each other at the hospital and have to deal with altered family relationships and figuring out their new place and if they even have time to think smoochie thoughts at each other.  
-Caitlin Crews' A Baby to Bind His Bride - For those familiar with the Presents line, this is bonkers in the way of Presents in that a woman shows up at a commune to discover her husband who was presumed dead in the hopes of being like, cool, cool, please take your awful family back and I'll be on my way.  And then of course she ends up pregnant and they have to figure basically everything out.  There is some imprisonment, because Presents dudes are terribly controlling.  I felt the groveling balance made up for it, but YMMV.  
-Olivia Dade's Teach Me  - We read this for romance book group, and it was everything I had hoped for.  Full disclosure, I am friends with Dade.  This book about two teachers of a certain age navigating a shifting school year, divorce (more recent for him), and what it might mean if they fell in love was just delightful.  My angst meter is very broken.  But to me this felt low angst, there were career concerns, and of course, can I trust happy concerns, but this demonstration of mature people falling in love was a delight.  
-Claire Kann's If it Makes You Happy - I loved this Gilmore Girls-esque story of a young Black woman going to visit her grandmother for the summer, and ending up in a summer royalty situation where her ungirlfriend and her possible crush compete for her attention.  Warning: Her grandmother and others do participate in some fatphobic behavior.  She handles it well, but it is tough.  
-Aminah Mae Safi's Tell Me How You Really Feel - Also Gilmore Girls-esque, but if what you really wanted was Rory and Paris to be a enemies to girlfriends style couple.  Sana keeps firing the lead in her movie, so her film club advisor forces her to cast Rachel.  
-Ruby Lang's Playing House - I adored this story of two New York urban planners finding each other at various open houses and then discovering that maybe there is something there.  Sure, come for the real estate nerdery, but stay for the moment where a mom tells her kid in front of the siblings that they were right.  
-Tara Pammi's An Innocent to Tame the Italian - This is also a Presents, and also bonkers.  She hacks his system, he locates her and basically is like so now I need you to both patch my security and be my fake fiancee.  And off they go.  
-Becca Syme's Dear Writer You Need to Quit - Syme and I met when we both worked on a contest together, and I've admired her posts on how knowing yourself can lead you to better sort through the conflicting productivity advice out there.  She in this book, and in the Quitcast podcast focus on writers, but I think a lot of this advice works for other folks to.  
-Olivia Waite's The Lady's Guide to Celestial Mechanics - This book did everything I had hoped for when Waite first announced a story with an embroiderer and an astronomer.  The ideas about who gets to be at the table, why it always looks like the women there are just listening, and what it means to face publicity.  
-Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert I read alongside Sick Kids in Love by Hannah Moskowitz.  These two ended up pairing well together in that both were books about folks with chronic conditions and discussed how that changes and alters your relationships with others, and creates some additional angst when healthier folks in your life don't quite get it.  Enjoyed both a lot.  
-Priya Parker's The Art of Gathering took me a while to read, not because it wasn't great but because it created so many aha moments.  Parker looks at how some of the ways we create gathering work at cross purpose to the event we wish to create and how to dig deeper on that.  
-Angie Thomas' On the Come Up - I started out reading this and then switched to audio (thanks, library!) and found I really liked listening to it.  All respect to the reader, I'm not sure she has a career ahead in rap, but it helped to animate those sections.  The story is about Bri, who feels like the least helpful member of her struggling family, and is focused on making it big as a rapper so she can change that.  Angie Thomas writes some of the best, layered sibling relationships.  It was also a really modern look at the choices we make about living up to or defying stereotypes.  
-Rachel Spangler's Edge of Glory - This is the story of two winter Olympians, a skiier and a snowboarder.  It is a slow burn, but also just a really great look at two athletes who do not have time to be distracted, unless of course, they just are.  
-Sara Rees Brennan's In Other Lands - Speaking of riffing off other fantasy tropes, this book made me exceedingly happy as it poked fun at literally every thing I have ever whined about in fantasy.  The main character is super snarky and barges into everything, so you have to be willing to go with that, but I snickered and texted someone halfway through that they had to read it.  
-Kris Ripper's Gays of Our Lives - This is the first in a series about a small California town that has an active and social LGBTQ community.  This story features the classic grumpy hero and the ball of sunshine hero, and I just adored it to pieces.  And immediately bought the next one.  
-Mia Garcia's The Resolutions - I read this in one day, specifically New Year's Day.  This book is a wonderful story about four friends who decide to make each other's resolutions.  And one of the characters is so clearly struggling with the burden of living up to this, all while smiling and telling everyone that everything is fine, that I do not think I could have read this over a few days and not really been mad at everyone.  So, for me, the one day read was the way to go.  It does all get resolved and the journey was well worth it.

Books - A Fourth Quarter Round Up

Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert I read alongside Sick Kids in Love by Hannah Moskowitz.  These two ended up pairing well together in that both were books about folks with chronic conditions and discussed how that changes and alters your relationships with others, and creates some additional angst when healthier folks in your life don't quite get it.  Enjoyed both a lot.  

Melissa Blue's Grumpy Jake just did the thing, short, steamy, and she writes good kids that are not plot moppets.  

Chanel Miller's Know My Name is not an easy read.  Content warnings for sexual assault, and trauma of our current justice system.  Miller takes a more carceral viewpoint than some, but also takes a look at the toll the process takes, how much time and energy it asks of victims, and how much it privileges defendants who already have privilege.  And how writing can be it's own therapy. 

Priya Parker's The Art of Gathering took me a while to read, not because it wasn't great but because it created so many aha moments.  Parker looks at how some of the ways we create gathering work at cross purpose to the event we wish to create and how to dig deeper on that.  

Jessie Mihalik's Aurora Blazing is also a look at chronic illness, although of a sci-fi bent.  I enjoyed that this sister had different skills than we saw in Polaris Rising and yet both as a result of being stuck in the same patriarchal system.  

Sarah Kuhn's I Love You So Mochi was a great look at a teen who goes to visit her grandparents in Japan for the first time and the finding home and yet not home and figuring yourself out was great.  I think adult readers will likely quickly spot the solution to much of the life concerns, but it was an enjoyable read.  

 

Books - a Third Quarter Round Up

Therese Beharrie's One Day to Fall - I loved this story of two somewhat cranky people who run into each other at the hospital and have to deal with altered family relationships and figuring out their new place and if they even have time to think smoochie thoughts at each other.  

Caitlin Crews' A Baby to Bind His Bride - For those familiar with the Presents line, this is bonkers in the way of Presents in that a woman shows up at a commune to discover her husband who was presumed dead in the hopes of being like, cool, cool, please take your awful family back and I'll be on my way.  And then of course she ends up pregnant and they have to figure basically everything out.  There is some imprisonment, because Presents dudes are terribly controlling.  I felt the groveling balance made up for it, but YMMV.  

Olivia Dade's Teach Me  - We read this for romance book group, and it was everything I had hoped for.  Full disclosure, I am friends with Dade.  This book about two teachers of a certain age navigating a shifting school year, divorce (more recent for him), and what it might mean if they fell in love was just delightful.  My angst meter is very broken.  But to me this felt low angst, there were career concerns, and of course, can I trust happy concerns, but this demonstration of mature people falling in love was a delight.  

Claire Kann's If it Makes You Happy - I loved this Gilmore Girls-esque story of a young Black woman going to visit her grandmother for the summer, and ending up in a summer royalty situation where her ungirlfriend and her possible crush compete for her attention.  Warning: Her grandmother and others do participate in some fatphobic behavior.  She handles it well, but it is tough.  

Aminah Mae Safi's Tell Me How You Really Feel - Breaking the alphabet because to me this paired so well with the Claire Kann book.  Also Gilmore Girls-esque, but if what you really wanted was Rory and Paris to be a enemies to girlfriends style couple.  Sana keeps firing the lead in her movie, so her film club advisor forces her to cast Rachel.  

Justin A. Reynolds' The Opposite of Always - I listened to this book on audio so it took me perhaps longer than it should've to figure out what was happening.  But it is essentially a longer term Groundhog Day, so he has longer to figure out if the tweaks to this run through have been more or less successful.  

Ruby Lang's Playing House - I adored this story of two New York urban planners finding each other at various open houses and then discovering that maybe there is something there.  Sure, come for the real estate nerdery, but stay for the moment where a mom tells her kid in front of the siblings that they were right.  

Tara Pammi's An Innocent to Tame the Italian - This is also a Presents, and also bonkers.  She hacks his system, he locates her and basically is like so now I need you to both patch my security and be my fake fiancee.  And off they go.  

Daniel H. Pink's When - A number of people recommended Pink to me.  This one looked at the way we've designed timing and how that does and doesn't work for many people.  I did the audio and found some useful tidbits.  

Becca Syme's Dear Writer You Need to Quit - Syme and I met when we both worked on a contest together, and I've admired her posts on how knowing yourself can lead you to better sort through the conflicting productivity advice out there.  She in this book, and in the Quitcast podcast focus on writers, but I think a lot of this advice works for other folks to.  

Olivia Waite's The Lady's Guide to Celestial Mechanics - This book did everything I had hoped for when Waite first announced a story with an embroiderer and an astonomer.  The ideas about who gets to be at the table, why it always looks like the women there are just listening, and what it means to face publicity.