The Letter Corner

Happy Sunday Book Friends,

Something I have wanted to bring to Ink & Ether since I discovered it, is finally happening.

I believe that books and letters live in the same world. They are both acts of reaching toward a story, toward another person, toward some part of yourself you haven't met yet. So when I discovered the Sunday Letter Project, it felt less like finding something new and more like recognizing something I had always been moving toward.

Ink & Ether will become an official Letter Keeper.

Here is what that means. Beginning in August at Communitea Coffee in Brea, there will be a letter basket. Inside that basket are letters written by real people who are looking for a pen pal — someone to write to, someone to be written back to. You can come in any time the shop is open, choose an intro letter that speaks to you, take a photo of it, and write back. No home addresses are ever exchanged. Everything goes through the Letter Keeper network safely and privately.

Send Locally or Abroad

You can also add your own intro letter to the basket to connect with pen-pals locally. Write a little about yourself, what you love, what you are reading, what you are looking for and leave it in the basket.

To connect with pen-pals abroad, you need to find a shop to send your intro letter to. You can find a shop in the Letter Keeper Network. Be sure to include us as the return address (see below) on the back of your letter and you're all set. Send it off and wait for a response. Easy!

This is community that does not require an algorithm. It is slow and intentional and a little bit magic, which feels very Ink & Ether to me. I hope you like the way that sounds.

To get you started, here is this week's letter writing prompt:

Write to a stranger about the book that changed something in you. Not your favorite book necessarily — the one that left you different than it found you. Tell them what it was, what it did, and whether you have ever recovered.

The basket will live at Communitea Coffee year round, even between pop-ups. So if you can never quite make it to an event, this is another way to find your way into the Ink & Ether community.

Return Address:

Ink & Ether
c/o Communitea Coffee
1015 E Imperial Hwy, Unit C1
Brea, CA 92821

Pages & Pour: Silent Reading Group

Last but not least, come join us for Silent Reading at Communitea Coffee today at 1pm.

This is for the introverts who want to do book club things without the book club socializing. Instead we each can choose our own book, and read at our own pace, in quiet community while enjoying an iced latte.

This may or may not be a ploy to give me more time to get some reading in but who isn't looking for a good excuse to read more. Right?

Hope you can join me today. But if you can't make it, look for the next one on Wednesday August 5th.

With gratitude,

The Keeper

Every Sunday after Link and I finish our walk, I sit down and think about what all of my books had in common. Sometimes there's an obvious theme. Other weeks, I don't notice it until I'm writing this post.

This week, every story was about what happens after life refuses to go according to plan. Not one of these characters ends up where they expected to be. Instead, they're forced to ask a difficult question: Who do I become now?

In The Sea Hides Its Dead, that question is wrapped in eldritch horror. Caroline enters an underwater cave expecting an academic expedition and instead finds herself trapped in a nightmare. But beneath the cults and cosmic horror is a story about breaking free from manipulation and learning to trust your own instincts again. The monsters are terrifying, but Caroline's greatest battle is reclaiming herself.

Brighter Than Before asks the same question in a much quieter way. Claire's marriage ends, the future she imagined disappears overnight, and she has to build a new life from scratch. I loved that the novel doesn't offer one grand, life-changing moment. Instead, it reminds us that healing often looks like a series of small, brave decisions that slowly become a new beginning.

Then there's Yes, Chef, which proves reinvention doesn't have to be dramatic to be meaningful. Jack is grieving both the loss of his mentor and the career he thought he'd have. Poppy is desperate to prove she's more than the image everyone has created for her. Together, they rebuild their confidence, their purpose, and eventually a future neither of them expected.

Not That Kind of Proposal surprised me for a similar reason. Underneath the witty banter and romantic tension is a story about letting go of the life you thought you wanted. Gracie spends so much of the novel believing her happily-ever-after looks one particular way, only to discover that the future she'd been mourning was never actually the one she needed. Sometimes the best endings are the ones we couldn't have imagined.

The only book that didn't fully land for me was The Last to Drown, but even it explored this same idea. Kaia joins the rafting trip hoping it will help her process profound loss. While the mystery didn't surprise me the way I'd hoped, I appreciated that the emotional journey centered on moving forward after tragedy rather than remaining defined by it.

I think that's why this week's reading resonated with me.

It's easy to think of books as escapes, but the stories that stay with me rarely encourage us to run away from our lives. Instead, they remind us that none of us get the life we planned.

• Careers change.

• Relationships end.

• Dreams evolve.

• The people we thought we'd become aren't always the people we're meant to be.

Maybe that's why I keep coming back to stories like these. Whether they're filled with sea monsters, wedding cakes, restaurant kitchens, or whitewater rapids, they all whisper the same truth: Starting over isn't failure.

The sea wall has broken during one of the worst hurricanes in known history, destroying New York City and the northeastern coast. Climate change ravages the world with power outages, water shortages, and the slow erosion of society inland.

So mudlarks are born.

People who can enter the ravaged city and scavenge for things the government needs that live under the brackish water of the city. Neko and Iggy, two seasoned mudlarks with their own license and crew, take their apprentices Harriet and Jules on a job that's a little legal a little illegal that changes everything.

Neko finds a master CD of her vanished mother's old band The Nightjars. This request from a mysterious client makes her ask something that's plagued her for the last twenty years: is Jenny Sweet still alive somehow?

I finished Mudlark and had dreams about it. Moving, emotional, sometimes a little too busy, but man it stuck to me so badly. This wasn't about the apocalypse or survival or high-octane action. This was about the struggle of mothers and daughters, the meaning of motherhood, love and purpose and how they don't always intersect, and what it means to let go.

Heavy on the musical themes, a lot of that is lost on me. I am not a big music person, but it didn't detract from the meaning of the story at all. I got to watch the present-day and past-day perspectives of Jenny and her interactions with her daughter, Neko, as the girl grows up and as her relationship with Neko's father - Max - deteriorates. We see Jenny's perspective on herself and interactions with Neko, then present-day Neko's interpretation of those moments.

Neko idealizes her father, then slowly becomes disillusioned with him. She also repeats her mother's patterns in a different, subtler way despite not having her around after the age of 13 when the hurricane hit. She carries immense guilt with her over her mother's disappearance, a childhood acting-out gone awry meant her mother was in their apartment. Right where the blast zone of the breaking sea walls were.

We follow Neko's life and her complicated relationship with the ghost of her mother and her own guilt. When she gets the chance to uncover the mystery of Jenny Sweet and kindles the hope she might be alive, she jumps on the opportunity and becomes singular to it. Iggy, her partner of twenty years, struggles to understand or reconcile this dogged pursuit of a mother who's been out of her life more than in it and it causes them to expose their feelings about their relationship, each other, the futures they want, and how a relationship can slowly fray over time no matter how strong.

As someone with a strained relationship with her mother because I felt alien to her my whole life, this hit so many chords for me (pun!). I also watched my dad descend into the cruel abyss of dementia until I lost him and have had many relationships face the question of whether or not the futures we want are irreconcilable. I was very touched by a lot of themes in this book and a lot of parts it explored. It broke my heart so badly, but I also welcomed it because it was about the tragedy of change and acceptance. There's a certain kind of complexity to being a misunderstood daughter with a mother who can't comprehend you, but likewise it changes as you grow and understand the truth: your parents are, in the end, just people. Specht captures that layered experience from both angles - the mother doing her best and the daughter who feels like she's the problem.

I loved watching Neko piece together her mother and learn how to lay down the specter of her. She had unknowingly shaped her life around this understanding of Jenny and the weight of her sense of responsibility for everything that happened. her subtle mirror to her mother and Max's relationship, her unknowing reticence at motherhood that echoed Jenny's, her desire to help without grand dreams of heroism... there are parts of our parents that make their ways into ourselves whether we want it or not. We become echoes of them - less strong and faded, but the same song. Neko and Jenny shared so much across time that they never got the chance to see in one another, but I got to see it as the reader. It was so bittersweet and I just wanted to yell at Neko that Jenny loves her and tell Jenny she's a good mom.

The ending, I felt, gutted a part of me. So much upheaval and change that I was dizzy about it. Things I thought would be immutable truths of human connection broke and reforged, changing the entire trajectory of lives beyond just Neko and Iggy. But that's always how it works, right? We stagnate and get comfortable for a while until something in us chafes for change as we grow without noticing. We become archons of change and growth and it means we need a bigger cage or a wider enclosure. Neko and Iggy show us how there are ways we change that are too much to hold onto - perpendicular winds that take us in all sorts of directions where we can't follow each other not matter how hard we try.

Mudlark was bitter and warm and hopeful and lost at the same time. In the vein of Station Eleven or Shark Heart, Specht takes an experiment with a setting and uses it to share an intimate story of mothers and daughters and how to forgive ourselves. I loved this a lot more than I expected to and I hope, when it releases on the 21st, you do the same.

Welcome to your sneak peek of this month's Early Warning System!

Every month, The Page Ladies Book Club rounds up the most anticipated upcoming releases so you can discover exciting new books before they hit the shelves. Whether you're a fan of romantasy, fantasy, thrillers, mystery, horror, romance, or literary fiction, August is packed with books worth adding to your TBR.

👀 Sneak Peek

Here's just a taste of what's featured in this month's guide:

• ✨ Eyes of Kings by Chloe Gong

• 🩸 A Bargain So Bloody by Vasilisa Drake

• 🔮 Dreamland by Olivie Blake

• 👑 Steelborn by Taylor J. Larue

• 🖤 Heart of Glass by Jennifer Hillier

• 👻 The Unknown by Riley Sager

...plus dozens more exciting releases coming throughout August!

🔓 Unlock the Full Guide with The First Editions

Upgrade your membership to access the complete August 2026 Early Warning System Pre-Order Guide, including:

• 📚 Every major August release organized by publication date

• 🏷️ Genre tags to help you find your next read

• ✨ Deluxe and collector's edition highlights

• ❤️ Our most anticipated picks of the month

• 📅 A convenient, easy-to-browse guide designed to keep you ahead of every new release

As a The First Editions member, you'll also receive exclusive book club resources, printable reading guides, member-only content, and our complete monthly Early Warning System to help you stay one step ahead of your ever-growing TBR.

❓️Which August 2026 release are you pre-ordering first or looking forward to the most? Let us know in the comments!👇

Thank you for being part of our community. We can't wait to share even more great books with you!

Happy reading! 📚✨

If you're already planning your late summer reading list, you've come to the right place! Welcome to The Page Ladies Book Club Early Warning System, your monthly guide to the most anticipated August 2026 book releases.

Whether you're looking for the next viral romantasy, an edge-of-your-seat thriller, a cozy romance, literary fiction, horror, mystery, or fantasy, we've rounded up the books readers should have on their radar before publication day.

📚 Where to Pre-Order

Support independent bookstores by shopping our curated Bookshop.org list:

👉 Bookshop.org August Pre-Order List:
https://bookshop.org/lists/august-pre-order-list

Prefer Amazon?

👉 Shop Our Amazon August Pre-Order Idea List:
https://amzn.to/4fvQilW

Simply tap either link to browse and pre-order your favorites.

🌟 August 4, 2026 Releases

💕 Romance, Romcom & Contemporary Fiction

• The Project by Annie Lord (Romcom / Fiction)

• Done and Dusted (Deluxe Edition) by Lyla Sage (Contemporary Romance)

• The Roman Holiday Rule by Andra Loy (Romcom / Magical Realism)

• Autumn at the Cat Cafe by Kathleen Fuller (Cozy Romance)

🐉 Fantasy & Romantasy

• The Iron Hex by Victoria S. Walsh (Fantasy Romance)

• Steelborn (Deluxe Limited Edition) by Taylor J. Larue

• Eyes of Kings by Chloe Gong

• A Bargain So Bloody (Deluxe Limited Edition) by Vasilisa Drake

• To Dance with Death by Brittney Arena

• Sunsplitter by S.A. MacLean

🔎 Mystery & Thriller

• Crescendo by Robert J. Harris

• A Stranger in Corfu by Alex Preston

• The Amateur by Chris Bohjalian

• The Unknown (Deluxe Edition) by Riley Sager

📖 Literary & Contemporary Fiction

• The Wild Beneath by Kelly Anderson

• Etna by Paul Yoon

• Appraisals by Claire Boyles

• A Dog in Georgia by Lauren Grodstein

• Breathing Under Water by Jacqueline Friedland

• Mona Acts Out by Mischa Berlinski

• Kitten by Stacey Yu

• Everything That Is Beautiful by Louise Nealon

👻 Horror

• Slash or Pass by Thalia Sanchez

• Queen Mab by Emily McBride

✨ Deluxe Editions Worth Collecting

Collectors won't want to miss:

• Steelborn

• A Bargain So Bloody

• Done and Dusted

• The Unknown

featuring sprayed or stenciled edges, illustrated endpapers, foil stamping, exclusive artwork, and other beautiful collector details.

🌟 August 10 Release

• Between Sky and Sea (Black Heart Tribunal #1) by Katy Tearle (Fantasy / Paranormal Romance)

🌟 August 11 Releases

Fantasy & Romantasy

• Spellfire by Agatha Willow

• The Magic We Made by Meg Cabot

• These Vile Hearts by Melody Robinette

• Splintered Kingdom by Gretchen Powell Fox

Mystery, Suspense & Thriller

• Brimstone Hollow

• Mia

• Freight

• Stay Buried

• Saint Delilah

• Dreamland (Deluxe Edition)

Fiction

• Bury Your Dead

• Hocus Pocus

• Bad Influence

• A Hard Habit to Break

🌟 August 18 Releases

Thrillers

• What They Did

• That Night

• The Secret Dinner

Horror

• The Sleeping Sisters

• The Minimalist

• These Walls Remember

Fantasy & Sci-Fi

• Siren Says

• Once Written in Gilded Blood (Deluxe Edition)

• The Two of Us at the End of the World

Romance

• Fireworks

🌟 August 24 Release

• A Kingdom of Magic and Rain by V.I. Davis (High Fantasy Romance)

🌟 August 25 Releases

Fantasy & Romantasy

• Heir of Prophecy

• A Curse of Shadows and Ice

Mystery & Thriller

• Heart of Glass

• The Camino

• Find Me

• They Say a Girl Died Here

Horror

• The Devil Knows Her Name

• The Sunken, the Adored

Romance

• The Cozy Nook Bookshop

📖 August 2026 Genre Highlights

❤️ Romantasy

August is packed with magical romances featuring vampires, witches, monsters, kingdoms, fairy tale retellings, arranged marriages, and enemies-to-lovers stories.

🔥 Thriller & Suspense

Psychological thrillers, legal thrillers, espionage, noir mysteries, survival stories, and supernatural suspense dominate this month's lineup.

👻 Horror

From Southern Gothic and folk horror to Lovecraftian nightmares and psychological terror, horror fans have plenty to look forward to.

📚 Literary Fiction

Readers looking for emotional family dramas, historical fiction, and contemporary literary novels will also find an impressive selection.

⭐ Most Anticipated August 2026 Books

Some of the biggest releases we're watching include:

• Eyes of Kings by Chloe Gong

• Dreamland by Olivie Blake

• The Unknown by Riley Sager

• Done and Dusted Deluxe Edition by Lyla Sage

• Heart of Glass by Jennifer Hillier

• The Amateur by Chris Bohjalian

• Heir of Prophecy by Analeigh Sbrana

• The Devil Knows Her Name by C.N. Vair

• A Bargain So Bloody by Vasilisa Drake

• Steelborn by Taylor J. Larue

📚 Shop the Complete August 2026 Pre-Order Guide

Ready to fill your TBR?

✨ Support independent bookstores by shopping our Bookshop.org list:

https://bookshop.org/lists/august-pre-order-list

🛒 Or browse our Amazon Storefront August Pre-Order List:

https://amzn.to/4fvQilW

Just tap the links above to grab your most anticipated August releases before they hit shelves!

💛 Affiliate Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links. This means that if you make a purchase through them, The Page Ladies Book Club may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. Your support helps us continue to provide free books to our young readers book clubs and the content we share! Thank you for supporting our community!

Join The Page Ladies Book Club

Every month our Early Warning System rounds up the biggest upcoming releases across fantasy, romance, mystery, thrillers, horror, literary fiction, historical fiction, science fiction, cozy reads, and more so you'll never miss a book worth adding to your TBR.

Which August 2026 release are you pre-ordering first? Let us know in the comments!

"All that purple? The Heater? It only blooms twice a year. You just happen to be here at the right time, but in a few months all this purple will turn brown. This place ... it wont look like this forever. But maybe that's what makes this special, what gives it meaning. If we all went on forever, if this went on forever, would we even be able to understand how beautiful this is?"

GENRE: Romance
RATING: 5/5
FORMAT: eBook ARC
Tropes: Scottish Highland Roadtrip, Poet/Bagpiper MMC, Family Rekindling, Forced Proximity

Review:
This is my first book by Naina Kumar and I fell in love with her writing and the whole book! I really loved following along with Neelu and Jacob in this book, going on a road trip with them in the highlands and spending time in Aberdeen too. OH AND AN MMC who is a bagpiper AND a poet who wears glasses? What else could we want🤭

We get to see them come together, through Neelu's POV in this book. We also get to learn about Neelu and her dad's relationship plus we get to understand more about Jacob and his grief. I did love how Grief was addressed here as a theme and how we got to dive into it. I also really love how we get to see both characters address their vulnerabilities in a single POV book and how they help each other through their strengths.

Just a Highland Fling focuses on finding love between two people while also just finding your home in your person. It's about rekindling your relationship with your loved ones and finding your chosen family. It truly was a wholesome book and the only thing I could ask for (other than for more about Neelu & Jacob) is that I wish we could have learned more about Neelu and her father. We definitely get to see and understand some of what happened but it was something that I wanted to dive deeper into.

Seriously though, this book was SO fun to read and so wholesome! I can't wait to read more by Naina Kumar and go back to read her two other books.

I was provided a free advance reader copy and I’m sharing my honest thoughts.

The Library is Looking So Fine Tonight - Link Roundup

Hello my loves! It's been a hot second, but I'm back with a link roundup for my library reveal! I'll add some pictures alongside the links (some of which are affiliate - your girl has to eat, after all 😊)

First:
I'm reading: an arc Sea of Charms by Sarah Beth Durst - I've read two chapters over the past few weeks because my reading slows SO MUCH when I'm working 65+ hour weeks at the ranch. BUT I'm loving it!
On the sound system: Rose Betts' "You Never Looked Back"
What I'm dreaming of: A hot fudge sundae with cashews and a g&t

Okay! Here's a link roundup with any discounts or freebies laid out for you (I don't gatekeep)

💛 This is the newest addition to my library, a burnt orange barrel chair graciously sent to me by Wayfair for their Tried & True program: https://creatorlink.shop/3RksoAI

💛The shelves are the Billy shelves from Ikea, and the color I used to paint them is Sherwin Williams Fairfax Brown * However I would not suggest painting the white shelves from Ikea - they now add a paint-resistant coating that even with sanding/ planing I could not get the paint to adhere properly!

💛The Switchcovers and Outlet covers I got from Etsy, from a seller (StillwaterMNCNC) who graciously gave me 15% off (and they're PERFECT)

💛 The paint is Storms in Paris in Matte Ceramic Interior from Tonester Paints

💛 The star mirrors are from Amazon and at time of purchase were $9.99! They have not budged from the first day I stuck them to the ceiling in a very specific pattern 🤩

Are there any other links you'd like? Let me know in the comments and I'll get them for you! Happy Saturday 💛💛

Hello darling rebels. I just got back from two weeks in the UK and Paris, and I am still speaking in bastardized French like that "girl who makes her vacation her entire personality" meme genre. Bonjour merci tres bien!!

I saved two books to read on my trip because they are destination romances: The Paris Match by Kate Clayborn and In Every Possible Way by Alicia Thompson. Kate and Alicia are gorgeous, meticulous writers who fold prose like laminated buttery croissants. Their 2026 releases are career highlights that show off their dedication to craft, to knee-weakening chemistry, and to subtle progressive edge.

In Every Possible Way by Alicia Thompson

My travels took me to the United Kingdom first, where I visited family in West Sussex. Ireland is distinctly not the UK, but I was able to pretend I was in Dublin with the help of Alicia Thompson's new novel and many, many Irish pubs.

I'm a big fan of Alicia's work. Her romances are full of heart, cleverness and aching sexual tension. In Every Possible Way is more tender and magical than her other titles — it's a multi-day, wandering adventure through Ireland following a birthday wish gone wrong. The conversations between Jess and Eamonn channel the soul-baring unlikeliness of the Before trilogy. I recommend it for folks who enjoy a soft, thoughtful dose of magical realism and folklore in their contemporary fiction.

The book is told from the first person POV of Jess, who wakes up in a field in Ireland without a phone, passport, or any clue how she got there from a parking lot in Florida. Luckily for her, she is adopted by a calm and generous love interest, car mechanic Eamonn. Our hero has been alone for a long time, still processing the death of his mother during his incarceration for car theft and arson. This is the first time I've read a contemporary romance about a formerly incarcerated hero where his criminality wasn't eroticized or trope-ified; Thompson writes about Eamonn's past with care and intention.

In Every Possible Way is also one of very few contemporary romance novels published post-Dobbs that discusses abortion. Jess shares her story of terminating a pregnancy during college with Eamonn as they get to know each other. It is not a traumatic memory, and she talks about it as a sliding-doors moment where her life could have been completely different. It is a good example of abortion-positive storytelling that avoids shame or stereotype.

I am interviewing Thompson soon for Rebel Ever After and I look forward to asking her how she approached including abortion as a small part of Jess's backstory. If you have any questions for her about In Every Possible Way, or her other romance novels Love in the Time of Serial Killers, With Love, from Cold World, The Art of Catching Feelings, and Never Been Shipped, drop them in the comments.

The Paris Match by Kate Clayborn

I'd only read one book by Kate Clayborn before now: her 2019 romance Love Lettering. It's a beautiful story about a hand-lettering artist who loves old signs that other people fail to notice in New York City. Clayborn has a gift for enriching familiar settings with fresh texture and life. Her newest romance, The Paris Match, fully embodies that strength.

Up until now I've avoided reading romances set in Paris because, to be honest, it always felt like an on-the-nose cliché to me. The American idea of Paris has been commodified and packaged, from Eiffel tower pajama sets to Carrie Bradshaw weeping on the Pont des Arts pedestrian bridge. Don't get me started on Emily In Paris.

But! Thanks to my public school education (shoutout Madame Thomas, you scared the bejesus out of me), I speak passable French, at least enough to ask if I can get some more milk in my coffee. I always wanted to visit Paris, less for the Paris! of it all, more because France is the only non-English speaking country I had a shot at navigating.

After a week in the UK, I took the Eurostar from London directly to Paris, where I met up with my boyfriend. The Paris Match was the perfect read to prepare me for my first experience of the city. With deep affection, Clayborn illustrates the uninterrupted beauty, history, and joy of Paris.

Our heroine Layla flies in for her former sister-in-law's wedding two years after her own divorce. She has been dreading the trip, and her unease increases when the bride has second thoughts. Layla is forced to work with the best man, Griffin, to get the wedding back on track, but Griffin wants to be there even less than she does. He lives with intense nerve damage and trauma from a tragic house fire, and his constant physical pain is misread by those around him as rude unkindness. Layla and Griffin connect over their outsider status and explore Paris on their own terms, getting to know one another at street cafes and in art museums, over delicious food and delicate perfume.

As for its themes, content warning for a backstory spoiler! We learn over the course of the novel that a key reason Layla's first marriage ended is that she never wanted children, and her ex-husband changed his mind about parenthood. After years of subtle pressure to give in to his desire to have kids, Layla opted for divorce (good for you, girl). Layla does not regret her decision, but she is still hurt by the lack of respect shown for her deeply held conviction not to become a mother.

Heroines who do not want children are slowly becoming more common in contemporary romance, but it is rare for their choice to be explored in depth. The Paris Match affirms Layla's desire to remain childfree while depicting the impact it has on relationships and how society treats her. As a woman in my thirties who does not want children, I saw myself in Layla and her breakup with Jamie, as well as her anxiety that Griffin will be disappointed in her if they build a life together without becoming parents.

Clayborn weaves interior reflection with exterior beauty to create a lush reading experience. The Paris Match is almost as good as visiting Paris. Considering the city's current heatwave, I might recommend the book over the city itself.

OMG, when I talk about a lawless country, I am talking about BookTok Threads.

I had no idea people got down like that over there! 😂

There is drama daily, and sometimes it genuinely feels...manufactured. Like controversy is no longer just something that happens; it almost feels like it's part of the system.

And honestly, I think this says a lot about how book communities have changed.

Readers don't just consume books anymore. We consume personalities, discourse, and drama around books.

Books have become more than just stories. They're attached to authors, influencers, opinions, identities, and communities. And when fandom becomes a public social ecosystem where attention is rewarded, things start to get interesting.

Because being controversial sells.

It gets engagement.

It pulls you down a rabbit hole you didn't even know was in your walking path.

One second you're scrolling past someone's fantasy recommendations, and the next you're getting tea on which author is sleeping with who. An author got caught using AI. An author is getting bullied, and people are defending said author.

It's very wild.

And I think that's also why I've stepped back from sharing my opinions as much as I used to.

Not because I don't have thoughts, but because I've realized nuance is often lost online. A lot of people aren't necessarily looking to understand, they're looking to respond. They're looking to debate, argue, or prove why someone else is wrong.

And sometimes I just don't think every conversation needs to become a battlefield.

I tend to think in a more nuanced way. I believe people's feelings can be valid while also recognizing that someone's actions can still be harmful. Two things can exist at the same time.

Now, if you ever want a place to share your unhinged opinions, Threads is definitely the place. But tread lightly because people get dragged there often. 😂

And honestly, while I'm trying to build my Threads presence, I'm realizing I'm just not a super controversial person. Being on Threads can absolutely be a dopamine hit for the inner gossip girl in me, but I'm not sure if it's a place where I can build long-term traction.

And tbh, reading has changed and the way we talk about books has changed.

And I'm still figuring out where I fit into that.

So I'm curious...

What are your thoughts on Threads? Do you think book communities have changed?

Hello Cozy Family!!

Help me pick my next audiobook to listen to whilst training!

I have so many audiobooks in my Audible library and I need to decide which one to start next. I've selected just a few of the many many titles that I have available currently to put in a poll below. But if you have a suggestion you think I should consider instead, please do let me know!!

I've been putting off finishing Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid for a little while now because I just love it so much, but I know I will for sure finish it on my next training session and so need another audiobook lined up to start.

Apart from The Martian, of which I've seen the film and it was my favourite film of all time until I saw Project Hail Mary and that took first place, I haven't actually heard much about any of these books. They just caught my eye whilst browsing Audible and ended up in my library over time. (I have read Project Hail Mary and it is on my top ten books list, so I'm surprised I haven't gotten to The Martian yet honestly).

Vote away!! And please do leave audiobook suggestions too! I have a lot of training for my 10k ahead of me (updates on that coming soon!) and so a lot of audiobook listening time.

Until next time,

Charlotte xx

Hi book buddies,

Here's a few things that have been on my mind lately. Let me know what you think. :)

Black Stories

Earlier this week I attended the Kathryn Stockett book event in Santa Monica, and my wheels are turning.

I’ll be honest: I didn't have high hopes about her book event. I certainly didn't expect to leave feeling reinvigorated. But that's exactly what happened. It's fair to say, Mrs. Stockett's event far exceeded my expectations.

What makes me say that? 1) Hearing her talk about why she writes the way that she writes, i.e., her characters, her very in-depth character studies, her layered and lengthy books, and what's at the heart of those stories. 2) Hearing what motivates her: the people in her life and the history she wants to preserve, even though it's complicated.

For a Mississippi woman, she's far more liberal than I expected her to be, even after reading both her books. She is openly supportive of women’s reproductive rights, and she was very adamant that everyone knew where she stands with regard to issues on race and human rights. She was very open about her feelings and her experience after writing The Help and the criticism that she received, and I respected that very much. I'm sure living in New York (she splits her time between Mississippi and Manhattan) opened her heart and mind the same way that Los Angeles opened mine. That shared connection was very impactful for me.

I was talking to a friend about The Help recently and shared that the world of social media feels very much like a landmine when it comes to certain books. And The Help is one of the books many people feel VERY strongly about (both for and against). Regardless of how you feel about a white woman writing Black characters (it's not my favorite thing, I'll be honest), it's important to recognize that the book was really impactful. It spent 103 weeks on the best seller list and motivated many women to pick up a book for the first time probably in a very long time.

As a result, many (albeit white) women have very sentimental views of that book. And while white authors have written books (some rather important books might I add) portraying people of color for many years, the social climate has changed considerably. For that reason, it's hard to defend any white author writing from the perspective of Black characters today. There are far too many GREAT Black authors writing amazing books (stay tuned for tomorrow's post) that it's just not necessary. But to not mention it feels disingenuous.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I feel conflicted about it, even after hearing Stockett share her thoughts about The Help controversy. She freely acknowledged understanding why it was controversial, but she rather than apologizing about it, she doubled down saying that she felt it was important to tell the stories of her home state to ensure they weren't lost to time. While she was being her authentic self, it felt like a missed opportunity to challenge the crowd to read books by Black authors for a more authentic account of those stories.

Bindery = My Favorite Thing Now

Shifting gears a bit here, I’ve been reflecting a lot lately about what role I want She’s Becoming Bookish to be in my life. How do I want show up in my spaces? What is this all for? Am I doing too much? Am I not doing enough? Why am I always hungry? You know, the normal questions everyone asks themselves.

To be honest, I’m starting to feel a big shift happening in my relationship with my online life and with the books that I read. Whether it's grief or burnout, I've been feeling frayed on the edges lately. I feel a bit like I'm on a racetrack with no clear exit. There is always something to edit, write, reply, etc. As much as I love the community I've created, I have to be honest: She's Becoming Bookish is a lot of work.

So, I think it's time I assign a value to my various platforms. I need learn how to spend my time wisely. It's clear after just a few weeks that TikTok is not like it used to be, so I don't know how much exclusive content I will share there. Youtube is a LOT of work, but it's been very rewarding for me, so maybe a bit more time there. Instagram comes and goes in terms of value add, but it's my first love, so I struggle to abandon it altogether. Because I've been in the mood to write, write, write, Bindery has quickly become my FAVORITE place to spend time, so it's fair to say you can expect a lot more content here in the coming weeks (sorry, not sorry). I've got big plans for this place, so I hope you stay tuned and upgrade (if it's within your means).

Social Media A-Ha Moment

This goes out to any of my book buddies that create book content online. I had an epiphany on the ride home the other night that I need to share.

While at the book event, the host shared that Stockett is No.1 on Audible right now and No.2 on the New York Times bestseller list. So, what I'm hearing you say, Mr. Host, is that the audiobook is more popular than the book? That opened my eyes: I am not creating enough content about audiobooks.

Seriously, you guys, if you are creating content right now, you need to be talking about audiobooks. There seems to have been a shift at some point the past few years, and now audiobooks are the norm instead of being frowned upon.

I think we need to embrace audiobook content and STAT. So start thinking about ways you can showcase audiobooks more often. Things like "Top 10 Audiobooks," "LAST/NOW/NEXT Audiobook Edition," "If You Like This Audiobook, Try This One," etc. Let me know if you'd like a list of ideas to help you get started.

Ok, so that's enough rambling for today. What did you think about my musings? Did anything resonate with you? Thoughts you want to share? Let me know below.

I'm debuting something really fun tomorrow for my Book Besties tier, so stay tuned! And, of course, I'll be back on Sunday for a little reading update.

In the meantime, happy reading!

xoxo

c

After weeks of gray, a heat wave has finally hit us in SoCal and all I want to do is curl up with a good book (in front of a strong fan). I am doing just that with an audiobook, listening to Wisdom Corner as I put together another book nook: this detective agency one I featured in a previous Cluesletter holiday catalogue.

ICYMI, I am running a giveaway for The Cloak and Dagger Club by Jackie McMahon over on Instagram! Look for my interview with Jackie in next week’s Cluesletter. 😊

This week’s reads:

• Scary Movie Night by Miranda Smith (read): A horror-themed birthday party turns deadly! This was such a fun, murdery romp and an excellent example of a well-written isolated thriller, thanks to its balanced cast of characters.

• Wisdom Corner by David Heska Wanbli Weiden (currently listening): Virgil Wounded Horse is trying to escape his vigilante past on the Rosebud Indian Reservation. I’m halfway through this and really enjoying the plot and narration.

• The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith (currently reading): I am alternating between biting my nails and looking through my fingers as I read this psychological thriller about con man-killer Tom Ripley! I love the midcentury Italy vibes and even though Ripley’s narration is dark, he fascinates me. This is the Read Herring Book Club’s July pick.

This week’s book mail:

• We Chase Shadows by Richard Osman (out September 15): EVERYBODY STAY CALM!!!!!

• Home for the Homicides by Elle Cosimano and Hannah Morrissey (out October 13): I know, it’s early! But I’m already looking forward to the holiday season thanks to this romcom mystery set in an idyllic town named Christmas.

• You Let Me In by Lucy Clarke (out October 13): Returning home after renting out her Cornish home on Airbnb, Elle Fielding feels like something has changed . . . eerie!!!!

• All the Crime in the World: Locked Room Mysteries and Impossible Puzzles from Across the Globe ed. by Gigi Pandian and Tom Mead (out soon): You know me and locked rooms! Very excited to dig into this short story anthology with works by S.A. Cosby, Martin Edwards, Sulari Gentill, and more.

Thank you to my friends at Viking/Pamela Dorman Books, Minotaur Books, Atlantic Crime, and Crippen & Landru for these gifted books.

Yours mysteriously,

Manon

I'm having a very bug girl summer, I think. First The Demon Star with its worm exorcists, and now this book. Anyway. Andrew Joseph White, what on earth did you dream up here?

I was shocked and blown away by this book. I know AJW from his YA book, so this was a sharp and cutting left turn into adult horror and I think this is exactly the place he is meant to be. What a mess of a book in the best way. White gave us such a visceral, nuanced, and confrontational experience in the head of a mute, autistic, trans man named Crane.

Crane is self destructive in a way I understood in my early 20s and it hurt my heart to read about a character in that same place. Crane indulges in risky, dangerous behavior including sex that blurs the line between consensual and not, emotional and not. All of it is meant to contend with mental health issues run amok, a struggle in his own skin, and him not giving himself permission to live and be someone worthy of healing. He doesn't deem himself worthy of care and thus takes off down a path of demolition that I never could have expected.

Crane turns up pregnant one day. The Hive, the mass of bugs and viscera that brought a bunch of people in their worst days together in a violent patchwork found family they never chose, won't allow him to abort it. It threatens his friends, it sends a guard to keep watch on him, and it tasks his not-quite-boyfriend Levi with keeping him in line until the birth. It is just... horrific.

Claustrophobic, frantic, and disgusting. Crane loses control over his body even more after already not feeling as if he has control over his body. He considers the dark side of parenthood and maternity and all of the things he's supposed to feel never coming to the surface. He tries to set other women free from this curse and protect them at the expense of himself, not sure why he even does it. He experiences resentment and hatred at the women in his life who support it, even tacitly, and lashes out.

This book was about the complexity of the trans experience and the experience of a woman transitioning into a man. It was also about the betrayal of sisterhood and how our fellow women are sometimes the architects of our suffering. Women who discredit each other's identities, try and push their agendas on other women, refuse to acknowledge trans men, obsess over each other's bodies... we hurt each other and ourselves when we deny our sisters the ability to choose their own path for their body and their lives.

White also shows the complex duality of living in a transmasc body. The struggle between appearing feminine and feeling masculine, the comfort of hearing your pronouns used correctly, and the personal struggle in the mirror to reconcile your body with your mind. I don't have gender dysphoria, I don't fully understand that struggle and I count myself very fortunate I feel like I am in the right body. White showed me this vulnerable, brutal window into what it's like to endure through those conflicting identities all converging on each other. How hard it is to look at yourself and not know you. I had no idea what that felt like, but damn did White really help me understand.

There's a certain level of control women and trans folks do not have over their bodies. YWMTBH dives into how suffocating and frustrating that is in a real, intense way. The other thing he does, though, is he captures how no matter the restrictions - alien or government - nothing changes. Nothing. Not one thing. Crane is still trans. Crane is still autistic. Crane still doesn't want to be pregnant. Crane is still Crane, no matter how the Hive or Levi or the government try to stamp that out of him.

Crane also dealt with the fear all young folks deal with and I think I would've like to see that explored a little more - the fear of telling his family because he had seen so many awful, awful endings to people who told their truth. Society and exposure to so much made him fear telling his parents anything and instead he fled and started over with the Hive. He never gave his parents a chance because we have highlighted how much hatred there is that trans people experience every day.

When laws aren't working, when restrictions aren't working, we try force instead. We force trans people to be something they aren't, we force them to stay in the closet, we force them to suffer and when they die for it we consider that a job well done that they died in a body they do not want and did not fit them. Seeing this in action made Crane too afraid to go to two people who clearly loved him so much they recognized him at a gas station as a fully different version of himself.

We have tried so hard to batter trans people down with hate, but we have never tried love. Of course Crane descended to the point he did. We did that to him.

Another theme in this book I want to talk about is how White handled the complexity of an abusive relationship. I was in one, once. Seeing someone take that situation and portray it how White did was actually liberating and refreshing. He got it right. All of the statistics and plans and maps for how to deal with a friend in one? Correct. I got out because my friends never stopped being there for me and never let me be isolated until I was ready.

He also was so good about showing how abuse isn't what you think. It's not always black eyes and bruises. It's a lack of control over your psyche, it's self doubt to the point of making decisions you'd never make in your right mind. It's about manipulation and when that doesn't work it turns into force. White showed Crane experiencing abuse in a very different way than we think of it and I thank him for that. It's not always what we think, but it's still abuse even if it doesn't leave a physical mark every time.

We also got to be in the head of one of the rarest character types - a nonverbal autistic person. I don't think I've read another book that has a main character that's nonverbal and autistic. What a unique experience. The struggle of communication, not knowing how to get past his autistic meltdowns, what they look like, how they feel. This was such a book about feelings it's hard to explain. It should twist your gut and make you nauseous because some of the things we do and the ways we treat people are, actually, nauseating.

Stagger, his guard, becomes a staple of the story and the effect of what it feels like to have someone with your best interests at heart after being surrounded by people who don't. It's hard for Crane at first to accept Stagger actually cares about him, but by the end he is so connected to Stagger that being without him is painful. Stagger is the bridge of well-meaning that tries so hard to do its best while still not doing enough to allow Crane to have control over his body. Wanting more and caring about him, but not interfering to protect him until the damage is done. It's all of us who have never marched, spoken out, intervened, etc. until it's already over. It isn't enough to be well meaning, even if it does help in the long term. We have to be brave and willing to put ourselves in the way to protect each other's rights to our bodies and our lives. We can't exempt ourselves because we aren't part of their group - whatever happens to one community affects us all eventually. That's what the scene with the bathtub was showing you: eventually, we are all affected by the same attacks on our neighbors.

There is no escape, there is no exemption. That's why we have to stand for each other.

I liked this book so much more than I expected for a book about bugs and viscera. It was haunting and gross and stark and very raw. If you're looking for a horror book that will challenge you in ways horror tends to shy away from in a serious way, this is a great place to plunge your hands into the worms and get grimy.

DNF’d.

I really loved Wicked Onyx by Debbie Cassidy - it’s a 10/10 acc to me and I definitely recommend it - but Lost and Stolen Gods just wasn’t the right fit for me.

I read almost 50% of the book, and there were some things I did enjoy. The fantasy world draws inspiration from Hindu mythology, and even if you’re unfamiliar with the mythological beings, the story does a good job explaining their powers. It also has a strong opening, and the physical copy is beautiful - especially the page edges.

What didn’t work for me was the romance between the leads. This romantasy includes a “binding,” which is similar to a mate bond, as well as a forced proximity setup, since the bound characters are required to stay in the same room and share a bed. For me, these elements felt a bit artificial and uncomfortable.

I think I would have enjoyed it more if the relationship had developed more naturally, or if the binding had felt more organic rather than being tied to the game.

I have just finished up the Salt Lake City Guide now I need help decided what city to work on next! Please vote in the poll what city you want to see a bookish guide from!

Reminder- all member content can be found on my website!

https://www.bookmoretravels.com/member-content

September Events Poll is live! Please fill out the following form to help me decide details and dates that best work for the group in September!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf2zHS-4s2FT8v4fuh445hhlcbdBO3Eh1mpi__wnbQbJsR2eQ/viewform?usp=dialog

We are officially half way through Disability Pride Month, and to celebrate I’m giving away one of my FAVORITE YA fantasies with own voices disability representation! When I saw my local indie had a copy of To a Darker Shore on display, I knew I had to snag it to for a giveaway for yall—and Leanne is the sweetest person ever and was kind enough to send me a signed bookplate, art print, and bookmark for you guys!

About the Book

To a Darker Shore is a Dantean-inspired journey through hell starring not one but TWO autistic main characters. It’s an interrogation of monstrosity, religion, and belonging.

When her best friend is sacrificed to the devil, she'll go to hell and back for him. Plain, poor, plus-size, and autistic, Alesta grew up trying to convince her beauty-obsessed kingdom that she's too useful to be sacrificed. Their god blessed their island Soladisa as a haven for his followers, but to keep the devil at bay, the church sends a child sacrifice to hell's entrance every season—often poor or plain girls just like Alesta. With a head full of ideas for inventions, Alesta knows her best shot at making it to adulthood is to design something impressive for the festival exhibition so she might win a spot in the university—acceptance could guarantee her safety.

But Alesta's flying machine demonstration goes awry, a failure that will surely mean death. What happens is worse: Her best friend and heir to the throne, Kyrian, takes the blame expecting leniency but ends up sacrificed in her place. To stop the sacrifices forever, Alesta plans to kill the monster that killed her friend. Prepared to save her kingdom or die trying, she travels to the depths of hell only to find Kyrian—alive, but monstrously transformed.

There is no escaping hell or their growing feelings for one another, and the deeper they descend into hell, the closer they come to uncovering a truth about the sacrifices that threatens to invoke the wrath of not only monsters but the gods as well.

The Giveaway

This giveaway is open to all members of my Bindery community, and it will run from July 16th through 11:59pm pacific on Sunday, July 19th.

To enter:

• Leave a comment on this post!

• Must have a US shipping address

• As always, Follower tier members get 1 entry, Inner Circle members get 5

I will announce the winner on Monday here on Bindery, so keep your eyes peeled for that!

I've got giveaways planned for the next couple of months--mostly contemporary romance, but I'm hoping to pick up some fantasy and books with disability rep for future giveaways as well! Best of luck to all who enter, and even if you don't win, I highly recommend picking up TADS!