You’re Ready for the Ultimate Book Hangover
Are weirdly excited about Philly’s new privately funded arena or need even more Jane Austen
Hi friends,
Hope you’re staying cool.
Thanks to everyone who joined Friday’s recommendation thread. If you’re looking for even more reading ideas, check it out here. There are lots of good options in there, and I had a ton of fun answering your questions.
Congrats to Becca, who won last week’s Christmas in July giveaway from Poisoned Pen Press. Becca recommended “My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories,” which she said is “a delicious sampler platter of holiday stories with different themes and styles.” She won The Christmas Murder Game by Alexandra Benedict, Ada Moncrieff’s Murder Most Festive, and a collection of short stories titled A Surprise for Christmas.
If you’re jealous of Becca, don’t fret. We have tons of Bingo prizes, and I’m cooking up a few more giveaways.
And, now, what to read if …
You’re Ready for the Ultimate Book Hangover
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
After finishing Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow on Friday evening, I laid on my couch, unable to do anything but think about the book I’d just completed. I’d been obsessing over it while reading and haven’t stopped since finishing — it’s that good. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is the rare, buzzy new release I’m recommending. It completely lives up to the hype (and selfishly, I want more people to talk about it with).
The novel follows two childhood best friends, Samson Masur and Sadie Green, who reconnect after a chance encounter on a subway platform. Their meeting sparks a creative collaboration on a video game called Ichigo that becomes wildly successful, making Sam and Sadie wealthy and famous in the gaming world. Their friendship is both the defining feature of their lives and a complicated, ever-changing relationship.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is about so many things: friendship, grief, love, the creative process and the importance of art — in all its forms — in our lives. I’m not a gamer (I’m the person at the party who watches people play Mario Kart) but Gabrielle Zevin reeled me in with the mechanics of building a game that people would find engrossing. Most importantly, though, Zevin made me love her characters. Sam, Sadie, their friends and families will stay with me for years.
Bingo Boxes this Book Checks: I think it could apply to many options depending on your card
You’re Weirdly Excited About Philly’s New Privately Funded Arena
Rethinking Fandom by Craig Calcaterra
The Philadelphia 76ers announced plans to build a privately funded $1.3 billion arena in the city’s downtown last week. Lots of people likely skimmed over the news (others expressed skepticism it would actually happen) but I was heartened by it. Years ago, a friend (Hi Allison!) told me that her hobby horse was opposing publicly funded sports stadium projects because they almost always end losing governments money. Since then, I’ve become interested in the issue.
Professional sports teams — raking in billions in profits — vying for taxpayer dollars to build new arenas is one of the issues veteran sports writer Craig Calcaterra explores in Rethinking Fandom. Calcaterra, who writes a great newsletter, dismantles what he calls the sports-industrial process. A lifelong sports fan, he criticizes teams for purposely losing to get high draft picks and the NFL for ignoring decades of research on the dangers of concussions to its players. Then, in the second half of his book, he lays out ways for fans to push back against these practices and find joy in sports.
I appreciated Rethinking Fandom because Calcaterra is clearly a sports fan. This isn’t an academic dismantling of America’s beloved pastimes but a true enthusiast grappling with the bad practices of something he loves. Beyond that, he’s an entertaining, witty writer who packs a lot of thought-provoking material in a short book.
Reminder Rec: In Sidelined, Julie DiCaro, an editor at the sports website Deadspin, writes about her experience as a female reporter in a male-dominated field and the roadblocks female athletes still face.
Bingo Boxes this Book Checks: New-to-you author (it’s his first book), book that teaches you something new
You’re Enjoying Hot Austen Summer
Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin
It is a truth universally acknowledged that Jane Austen is once again having a moment. Between Hulu’s “Fire Island,” Joel Kim Booster’s modern, queer retelling of Pride and Prejudice, Netflix’s new version of Persuasion and a bunch of new Austen-themed books (including The Murder of Mr. Wickham, which, yes, I have requested from the library), the popular regency author is once again at the top of zeitgeist.
If all the Austen mania has you craving another adaptation, consider Ayesha at Last, a Pride and Prejudice retelling set in a Canadian Muslim community. The titular Ayesha dreams of being a poet but teaches to pay off her student loans. Her loud, tight-knit family constantly reminds her that her younger cousin Hafsa is fighting off marriage proposals while Ayesha remains single. When she meets Khalid, Ayesha finds herself attracted to him, despite his harsh judgements. Then, Khalid and Hafsa announce a surprise engagement, and when looking into rumors about her cousin’s fiancé, Ayesha uncovers unexpected truths about herself, her family and Khalid.
I’m fascinated by the sheer number of Pride and Prejudice adaptations and how so many of them make the hundred-year-old story feel fresh and new. With Ayesha at Last, Uzma Jalaluddin manages to make the source material and her characters shine. It’s a tough needle to thread, and she pulls it off. It’s a lovely story that both Austen super fans and those who haven’t read the original will enjoy.
Reminder recs: I’ve shared an embarrassing number of P&P retellings, including Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld, Pride by Ibi Zoboi and Unmarriageable by Soniah Kamal.
Bingo Boxes this Book Checks: Book set outside the U.S., read a book based on the cover
That’s it for me today. You can catch up on last week’s recs here and the discussion thread here. If you’re still reading and you want even more of writing, you can read a profile I wrote of my neighbor Jill Nguyen, who sells delicious sourdough out of her home each week.
I’ll be back in your inboxes Thursday with a Q&A featuring Alex Segura. I’m really excited to share this one. Alex has written noirs, comic books and podcasts.
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 Twitter @elizabethheld.
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Did someone say Jane Austen?! LOL, love your picks here, some of our faves!
Oooh I’m so glad Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow lives up to the hype! That cover has had a chokehold on me for months.