Show & Tell: Guilty.
Unstacked Digest for the week of May 27 - June 2
Welcome to another edition of Show & Tell where I tell you the nine things I loved from the week and the one thing I hated, plus round up everything else going on around these parts. The first half of Show & Tell is free to all. The adoration and hateration are for paid subscribers only.
I got to co-host an event with Danzy Senna this week, and if you know me, you know I love her so very much and her forthcoming Colored Television is one of my favorite reads of the year. Easily. She was as funny and wonderful as I could have imagined.
This Week on Unstacked
I had a lot to say about musicals last week.
Book pairings for all five May episodes of The Stacks.
All 12 books I read in May ranked from least to most favorite as a little mini-podcast episode.
Heather McCalden the author of The Observable Universe: An Investigation talks about forgetting bad advice and all her crushes.
I’m sure you’ve heard by now, and no this isn’t a joke, and yes, I’m OK, we’re reading It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover for book club in June. Join us!
Books I Read This Week
It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover
Look, this book is bad. The writing, storytelling choices, character names, are all pretty cringe. But, and I hate to say this, I didn’t hate it. I didn’t like it, but it didn’t illicit a super strong reaction. I don’t think it is good enough to really make me love it or hate it, but I was fascinated by Hoover’s choices and the things that (maybe) worked. There is so much to unpack so I am thrilled we’re doing it for book club this month.
Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space by Adam Higginbotham
This book is so good. It is exactly what I like in a disaster narrative. You know what’s going to happen, but Higginbotham builds up the suspense and your love for the people involved to the point that you really think the shuttle won’t launch. It is a feat of journalism and storytelling. My favorite of the week yes, but also a favorite of the year, too!
Fave of the week!
The Brothers: The Road to an American Tragedy by Masha Gessen
A deep investigation into the the Tsarnaev brothers who bombed the Boston Marathon in 2013. The majority of this book is a well reported look into their lives, their family’s history, and the sociopolitical goings-on in Russia that led to their immigration to America. However, and this is where things get weird, the last chunk of the book is Gessen going full conspiracy theorist on the brothers and the bombing. To say this book jumps the shark is somewhat of an understatement. I liked the book mostly, but really wish Gessen could have a redo at the ending. More time would’ve helped, I think. I hope.
I Finally Bought Some Jordans: Essays by Michael Arceneaux
A collection of humorous personal essays that have become Arceneaux’s calling cards. I have now read all three of his collections, and I like this one best. It is the most vulnerable while still delivering his wry humor and observations. He is grappling with grief, family, and what it means to thrive versus succeed, in a way that made me feel a new connection with Arceneaux.
Housekeeping
The great Yahdon Israel came back for The Stacks Book Club discussion of No Name in the Street by James Baldwin. We talk about power vs. influence, Baldwin’s impact, and the performance of activism.
HEADS UP! I am going to be on a much needed vacation starting later this week. I will not be posting a Show & Tell on June 10th or 17th. There will still be new installments of Read to Know Basis. There will also, of course, still be new episodes of The Stacks. Thank you for understanding that I need to take a little time away to rest and recharge. If you miss me, go read the NRG again.
Nine Things I Love…
Book News
There was this new piece in Esquire titled “Why Are Debut Novels Failing to Launch?”. I read it, and thought it was interesting, but like so much writing about publishing I think it missed a lot of opportunities to connect with readers over the topic.
The whole thing is about how publishing doesn’t know how to make a relatively unknown author resonate with readers, but there is not one interview with a reader asking them what/when/how/why they do or don’t buy a debut. It is all publishing pros pontificating about how hard it is to get a debut to sell.
I understand the sentiment of this piece. I even liked the piece. But, the way that folks in the publishing industry would rather complain rather than connect with readers is really wild to me. Like, there are thousands of people who do buy and read books, and they’re just out there in bookstores and in parks and at cafes reading, and waiting for you to genuinely connect with them. But instead you’d rather act like they don’t exist, and keep saying no one buys books or no one reads, so that you can make authors feel like no one cares about them. Cool.
No one asked me, but I think this is why so many debuts “fail to launch”. The companies that publish their work have a lack of imagination when it comes to connecting with readers. They think it is either Reese’s Book Club or the book has failed. They think a book is old news after a few weeks. They think books will just magically find their audiences. They don’t understand how we engage on social media, they don’t understand what excites us. They don’t have a game plan to reach readers who are outside their perception of what a reader is (which could be related to race, age, gender, sexuality, location, and on and on). They are condescending and dismissive of things that readers say they like. I’m going to go out on a limb here and say, I would imagine it is very hard to connect with an audience you think is stupid, wishy washy, and is only interested in famous people. But, that’s just me. And no one asked.
For another take on this topic check out
on the topic. While I still think this piece misses the inclusion of reader voices, her experience and perspective enriches this conversation.Pop Culture
I know I’m late, but in light of our June book club pick, I watched this trailer. I love that I can’t tell if this is awful or great. I can tell that there is a 0% chance that Blake Lively looks 23. I lover her but, no.