You Want to Keep the Olympic Spirit Alive

Want a YA heist novel or are a reality TV superfan

Hi friends,

I hope the start of September is treating you well. I’m enjoying the cooler weather and using it as an excuse to take long walks with the dog.

Thanks to everyone who submitted their Bingo card! I’ll announce the winner of the raffle soon. I hope you all had fun.

And now, what to read if …

You’re Hoping to Extend the Olympic Goodness

Excavations by Kate Myers

Between the Olympics and the Paralympics, both held in Paris, it’s been a great summer for sports fans, especially people who love the contests that are really only broadcast during the Games. If you’re looking to keep the Olympic vibes going into the fall, grab a copy of Excavations by Kate Myers.

Excavations follows four women on a summer archeological dig at the site of the first Olympics in Greece. The four have completely different backgrounds: Kara is a Type-A conservator who just cancelled her wedding; Patty is an undergrad seeking love and friendship; Z., just fired again, is desperate to find inspiration and Elise is a star excavator renowned for her skills on digs. When they find an artifact that shouldn’t exist — and would upend the entire history of sport — they’re forced to work together to expose the truth.

As I wrote in my Q&A with Myers, Excavations is a fun, fast-paced and feminist read that combines academic satire with a tale of four unlikely friends forming a bond. I devoured it and seriously considered booking a trip to Greece once I was done.

You’re Hunting for a YA “Ocean’s Eleven”

Thieves’ Gambit by Kayvion Lewis

I picked up Kayvion Lewis’s Thieves’ Gambit on a whim while visiting my parents a few weeks back and I’m so glad I did. The easiest way to describe it is “Ocean’s Eleven” meets Hunger Games, and if that doesn’t get you intrigued, I’m not sure what will.

Ross Quest comes from a family of master thieves, and at 17, she’s already known for her expert escape plans. She’s been raised with one rule stressed above all: Never trust anyone who is not a Quest. When her mom is kidnapped on a heist gone wrong, Ross enters a contest for elite teenage con artists to win the billion-dollar ransom. After learning one of her competitors is an attractive smooth-talking guy clearly interested in her, Ross’s commitment to the family credo — trust no one — is tested at the same time her thieving skills face the ultimate challenge.

Thieves’ Gambit is twisty, fast and a lot of fun. It’s near impossible not to root for Ross as she takes on a series of high-stakes mission, and considers when, if ever, it’s worth letting someone in. Read it now before the sequel comes out in November. (Don’t click that link unless you’ve already read Thieves’ Gambit or don’t care about spoilers.)

Reminder rec: I rounded up some of my favorite heist books here.

You Spent Last Week Devouring Reality TV News

Cue the Sun! by Emily Nussbaum

Last week was a banner week for reality TV headlines:

• The Bachelor franchise hit a new low. 

• Hulu premiered “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,” featuring Mormon mommy influencers.

• Ex-“Vanderpump Rules” star Stassi Schroeder said reality TV “turns you into a psychopath.

• The infamous scammer Anna Delvey will star in “Dancing with the Stars.” (I guess this is technically a game show, but it feels reality-tv-adjacent.)

If you read up on each of these stories — or are still befuddled about how reality TV took over our screens — grab a copy of Emily Nussbaum’s Cue the Sun! It’s an equally entertaining and informative examination of the genre’s history, tracking its roots in radio through the “Housewives” heyday.

Drawing on more than 300 interviews, Nussbaum takes us behind the scenes — literally — of shows such as “The Bachelor,” “Cops,” “Survivor” and “Real World.” (One particularly wild passage describes a “Survivor” producer who feared contestants accidentally ate deadly parasites during a grub-eating contest.) And while she includes these types of anecdotes, she doesn’t shy from calling out the dark side of reality TV, including its exploitation of stars’ mental health issues and struggles with addiction.

Nussbaum, who won the 2016 Pulitzer Prize for Criticism, brings her signature combination of sharp observation and witty writing to Cue the Sun!  As Samantha Irby said, “Only Emily Nussbaum could get me to read, and love, a book about reality TV rather than just watching it. Cue the Sun! somehow manages to be incredibly fun while taking its subject seriously.”

---

Thanks for reading! I’ll be back next week with three more picks.

---

What to Read If is a free weekly book recommendation newsletter. Need a rec? Want to gush about a book? Reply to this email, leave a comment or find me on Instagram or Threads.

If you’re reading this on Substack or were forwarded this email, and you’d like to subscribe, click the button below.

Disclosure: I am an affiliate of Bookshop.org and I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.