All Your Weekends Are Booked With Weddings

Consider “Jeopardy!” appointment viewing or are praying for a break in the heat

Jul 12, 2021

Hi friends,

I hope you had a great weekend. It’s been so much fun watching your completed Bingo cards roll in. I’ve added a bunch of books to my (never-ending) TBR after seeing what you all used to fill up your boards. If you’re looking for another Bingo game, check out this one from Libro.FM, an audiobook company that supports independent bookstores nationwide. The prize is a year’s supply of audiobooks!

Shout out to everyone who recommended a book in translation last week. Three people suggested Disoriental, a novel by Negar Djavadi and translated by Tina Kover. It’s an intergenerational story about an Iranian family that was a finalist for the National Book Award. After seeing so many of you rave about it, I’ve requested it from the library.

This week, I’m looking for your favorite books to give kids. I just purchased a few baby gifts (no surprise, I always give books) and realized I have a small stable of children’s books I keep going back to. So help me shake up my library and let me know your favorites!

You’re Knee-Deep in Wedding Season

Dial A for Aunties by Jesse Q. Sutanto

It seems like everyone I know is going to a half-dozen or so weddings this summer. Part of this is that at 31, I’m at prime-wedding age and part of it is that, thanks to COVID-19, we’re jamming two wedding seasons into one. Dial A for Aunties is a laugh-out-loud read that captures — and satirizes — the sometimes mad-dash feeling at a wedding.

In the early chapters of the book, wedding photographer Meddelin Chan accidentally kills her blind date. In a panic, she calls her mother, who in turn, calls her three sisters for assistance. The five women agree to hide the body, but then the corpse is accidentally shipped to the billion-dollar wedding the women are coordinating. In between finishing the lavish floral arrangements and perfecting the bride’s hair and makeup, the Chan women attempt to ditch the body and evade hotel staff.

Dial A for Aunties is perfect for fans of “Jane the Virgin,” combining increasingly absurd scenarios, a family with a lot of love for each other and a lush resort setting.

It made me laugh and want to give all my aunts a giant hug. To maximize your enjoyment, suspend any sense of reality and just enjoy the ride.

Bingo boxes this book checks: Debut, romance

You’re Waiting to Hear Who the New Host of “Jeopardy!” Will Be

Answers in the Form of Questions by Claire McNear

After longtime “Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek died in November, a series of guest stars — ranging from Anderson Cooper to Katie Couric — have filled in as guest hosts. The show plans to announce the new permanent host later this month or in early August before it begins taping its next season.

Claire McNear explored what exactly it takes to host the beloved quiz show in Answers in the Form of Questions, a history of the show, its contestants and the ways it has affected our culture. McNear, a sports and culture writer for The Ringer and “Jeopardy!” superfan, takes us behind the scenes into the writers’ room and casting calls for the quiz show. I was delighted to learn about contestants’ buzzer practice and the stories of multiple “Jeopardy!” marriages.

McNear’s love of the game show shines through the book, making it an entertaining, quick read for avid “Jeopardy!” fans and casual viewers alike.

And if you need extra incentive to pick it up, Answers in the Form Questions features a What to Read If subscriber. (By my count, at least three of you are former “Jeopardy!” contestants.)

Bingo boxes this book checks: Debut, nonfiction, book set in a place you want to visit (if you’ve always wanted to be on “Jeopardy!”)

You Need to Escape the Heatwave

One by One by Ruth Ware

Significant portions of the U.S. continue to rack up record-breaking temperatures. If you’re struggling to stay cool — or just wish you were skiing in the Alps — check out Ruth Ware’s One by One, a traditional locked-room mystery with a modern twist.

The book follows the staff of Snoop, a trendy London startup, after they check in at a luxurious ski chalet in the French Alps. The trip begins like any other corporate retreat, complete with PowerPoint presentations and office gossip until the startup’s employees are killed off, one by one, as the title suggests.

Ware, regularly dubbed “the new Agatha Christie,” clearly drew inspiration from the Queen of Mystery’s And Then There Were None, leaving all the book’s characters trapped in the chalet following an avalanche. Told from alternating perspectives, One by One is riddled with clues, giving amateur sleuths a fair shot at solving the crime themselves.

Bonus recs: One by One is one of the many, many books I recommended in a recent guest post for Strong Sense of Place.

Bingo boxes this book checks: Mystery/thriller, book set in a place you want to visit

That’s it for me this week. If you missed my last round of recs, you can read them here. You can also check out my recent Q&A with David Heska Wanbli Weiden.

I have a favor to ask: If you like What To Read If, can you please hit the heart at the top or bottom of this page? Liking the newsletter each week makes it easier for other people to find it.

This week’s guest rec comes from Anne Trubek, the founder of Belt Publishing and writer of the “Notes from a Small Press” newsletter.

“I adore a thick novel that you can spend weeks or months with, and this summer I’ve been working through Sigrid Unset’s incredible Kristin Lavandsdatter, which is both soothing and surprising. I also like light books I can gobble up in a day, especially if they are funny; I read Jean Hanff Korelitz’s The Plot on a wonderfully lazy June Saturday. And when Israel and Gaza were bombing each other, I reread Ari Shavit’s My Promised Land: The Triumph and Tragedy of Israel, which is masterfully written. Next up is Francine Prose’s new book, The Vixen — she’s a longtime favorite author of mine.”

Don’t forget to share your favorite children’s books.

What To Read If