You’re Looking for a TV Read-a-Like

It’s a Fall TV special edition

Hi friends,

I hope you had a great weekend. Last week, a friend and I went to see the Chicks in concert. Gaslighter is one of my favorite albums of the past few years — I even recommended a book based on it (I’ll also suggest fans check out the Hell’s Belles series from last week’s Q&A star Sarah MacLean), so seeing them live was a real thrill.

(Also, on the off chance any assignment editors are reading this and would like a 1000-word piece about how The Chicks are positioning themselves in the history of girl rock bands, not country music and why, please let me know.)

This year’s Fall TV season looks different than in previous years, with the actors and writers’ strikes delaying show production. Recent reports indicate the writers and producers may be close on a deal, but there’s still distance between the two groups. (As a writer I empathize with the TV writers — especially their concern about AI. I would be upset if someone used AI to make a knockoff of this newsletter.) That said, I am a sucker for a theme, so this week I have three TV-themed books.

And, now, what to read if…

You’re Excited for the Return of “The Great British Bake Off”

The Golden Spoon by Jessa Maxwell

I am so ready for the return of “The Great British Bake Off” this week. It’s such a joy to watch, warm and cozy, with truly scrumptious-looking treats. In The Golden Spoon, Jessica Maxwell uses a baking competition show as the setting for a murder mystery — and the stakes are much higher than being named Star Baker.

Each summer, ten amateur bakers arrive at Grafton, a manor home owned by celebrity baker Betsy Martin, to compete in a popular televised contest. But this year, things feel off. The producers have appointed a new Gordon Ramsey-esque chef to serve as Betsy’s co-judge, against her wishes. Then the contestants’ bakes are sabotaged — the sugar and salt swapped, a burner turned up high — but when a dead body is found, it’s clear something sinister is going on.

Told from alternating perspectives, The Golden Spoon will delight fans of traditional, Agatha Christie-style mysteries and, yes, “The Great British Bake Off.” Each of the bakers, and even the show’s hosts, are hiding secrets, and the manor is the perfect combination of luxurious and creepy for a mystery novel. I’d give it a Hollywood Handshake.

Reminder rec: Last year’s GBBO pick was Lucy Parker’s Battle Royal.

You’re Bummed ‘SNL’ Won’t be on this Weekend

Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld

The stars and alums of SNL are some of the most recognizable faces on the writers’ strike picket lines. Fred Armisen, Pete Davidson, Tina Fey and Seth Meyers have all joined the march. If you’d normally be watching the SNL premiere this weekend, grab a copy of Curtis Sittenfeld’s Romantic Comedy to be transported to 30 Rock.

Romantic Comedy follows Sally Milz, a writer for “The Night Owls,” a live late-night sketch show. Each week, Sally writes sketches at a break-neck speed, often with her pal and fellow writer Danny Horst (think Pete Davidson), who is dating a stunning actress. She writes a sketch mocking the phenomenon of average-looking men seeing glamorous women, titled “The Danny Horst Rule” that even her male coworkers in similar relationships begrudgingly find funny.  

But, when Noah Brewster, an attractive popstar promoting his latest album, guest hosts “The Night Owls,” Sally finds herself at the center of a gender-flipped Danny Horst Rule situation, as the musician and the comedian have an undeniable chemistry.

I read Romantic Comedy in a single sitting while at a lake in April. It was a chef’s-kiss perfection reading experience. I went in a little hesitant because I knew a chunk of it took place at the peak of the pandemic, and I wasn’t sure I was ready for that, but Sittenfeld writes about that time in a realistic, empathetic way.

Bonus rec: For some actual SNL behind-the-scenes stories, Bossy Pants by Tina Fey is one of my all-time favorite audiobooks.

You Binged “The Other Black Girl”

All Her Little Secrets by Wanda M. Morris

Hulu’s adaptation of Zakiya Dalila Harris’s New York Times-Bestselling The Other Black Girl premiered earlier this month. As I wrote about the novel a few years back, it’s “Get Out” meets The Devil Wears Prada, but set in book publishing instead of at a fashion magazine. If you’re looking for something with similar vibes, you’ll want to try All Her Little Secrets by Wanda M. Morris.

On a bitter, cold January morning, Ellice Littlejohn’s life is turned upside down when she learns her boss — who she’s having an affair with — is found dead from a gunshot in his office. Ellice’s company quickly promotes her to her boss’s former position, leading a company’s legal department. She’s now not just the only Black lawyer on staff, she’s the only Black woman in a leadership position. As she steps into her new role, she begins to receive threats promising to expose damaging information from her past and realizes she might be at the center of complex, dangerous conspiracy.

John Grisham readers won’t want to miss All Her Little Secrets. Its wild twists and turns kept me reading long after I should have gone to bed. Morris herself is a lawyer who has worked at a number of top companies. Her expertise plus writing skills shine here.

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Thanks for reading!

One note for D.C. subscribers: My book club, Really Reading Romance, is hosting a group of top authors — including

Andie J. Christopher

, Taj McCoy, Mia Sosa and Thien-Kim Lam, among others. Tickets are $12 and we’re donating proceeds to a D.C. food pantry. Hope to see you there!

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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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