You Want a High-Flying Read

Are excited for “She-Hulk” or want your next narrative non-fiction read

Hi friends,

I hope you’re all hanging in there. The news out of Buffalo is devastating. I’m not sure I have more to say other than I’m thinking about all of you and praying for the victims.

To distract myself from the news, I was scrolling BookRiot and found this article about a new study on reading habits. Some top-level findings:

• Almost 90% of adults surveyed had read a book in the past year.

• During the pandemic, more Americans turned to reading.

• Audiobooks have become more popular, too. In April 2019, just 4% of participants reported listening to audiobooks. This April, 27% did.

• Nearly 20% of Americans get their books from the library. (This surprised me — I thought it would be higher.)

Where do you get your books?

And now, what to read if…

You’re Fascinated by the Golden Age of Flight 

Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead

Ninety years ago this month, Amelia Earhart completed her groundbreaking nonstop transatlantic flight. She flew from Harbor Grace, Newfoundland, to Londonderry, Northern Ireland.  As Earhart was preparing for her flight, the son of Charles Lindberg (the Army Air Corps Reserve officer who just five years earlier had completed the first-ever solo flight across the Atlantic) was famously kidnapped, and during World War II, Lindberg became a Nazi sympathizer.

Maggie Shipstead covers all this history and more in Great Circle, a masterful novel about Marian Graves, a daredevil female pilot in the first half of the 20th century. The book alternates between following Marian’s quest to become a pioneering pilot and the story of a contemporary actress playing the aviator in a movie. Marian’s story begins in 1914 when she and her infant twin brother Jamie are rescued from a sinking ocean liner. Years later, as a teen desperate to become a pilot, Marian enters into a partnership with a bootlegger. It’s a decision that will hang over her for the rest of her life.

I loved so much about Great Circle. While I enjoyed Shipstead’s first two books, Astonish Me and Seating Arrangements, Great Circle is on another level, a sweeping, multi-generational saga. The relationship between Marian and her brother Jamie — so close and so complicated — made me cry. It’s impeccably researched, illustrating this era of aviation, life in the American West in the 1900s and London during World War II. The second plot line, focusing on the movie, adds a layer of complexity to the novel, raising questions about how we remember and depict famous women. Fans of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo will find a lot to like about Great Circle.

If you hit the little heart at the top or bottom of this email each week, it makes it easier for people to find What To Read If.

You’ve Already Watched the “She-Hulk” Trailer Multiple Times

Secret Identity by Alex Segura

Disney released the trailer for its latest Marvel TV entry, “She-Hulk: Attorney at Law,” last week. The show, which premieres in August, will focus on Jennifer Walters, who gains superpowers after receiving a blood transfusion from her cousin, the Hulk. If you can’t wait to see a female superhero, grab a copy of Alex Segura’s Secret Identity, a noir mystery set in the world of 1970s comic books.

Secret Identity follows Carmen Valdez, an assistant at Triumph Comics, a middling comic book company. Carmen, who recently relocated to New York from Miami, dreams of writing her own superhero, but her boss blocks her at every point. So when a co-worker, Harvey Stein, approaches her about working together to develop a new character, Carmen tentatively agrees, even though she knows he’ll get at all the credit. Together, they create a new female superhero, the “Lethal Lynx,” who becomes wildly popular with readers. Then, Harvey is brutally murdered, and Carmen becomes obsessed with finding the culprit.

Segura has written both comic books and detective stories before — and his expertise shows. The dark subject matter and ’70s New York setting give it a gritty, noir feel, but the female sleuth and focus on comics put a new spin on a classic tale. He also incorporates pages of the “Lethal Lynx” comics, letting readers see what Carmen has created. It’s a cool addition that really adds to the reading experience. While I’m normally a huge audiobook advocate, I think this is one you should read with your eyes.

You’ve Ever Wondered How Someone Becomes a Criminal Kingpin

The Mastermind by Evan Ratliff

Paul LeRoux started his career as a coder. He developed game-changing encryption software called Encryption for Masses. Instead of continuing to build new programs, he put his software to a darker use, creating a global criminal empire. In the early 2000s, he launched RX Limited, a telehealth pill mill that doctors used to prescribe painkillers without ever meeting patients. Ultimately, he got involved in arms dealing, trafficking illegal drugs and more.

In The Mastermind, journalist Evan Ratliff documents how LeRoux built and ran his kingdom, how U.S. Drug Enforcement Agents took him down and the kingpin’s shocking decision to cooperate with the authorities. Ratliff focuses on the nitty-gritty of running this sort of vast conspiracy, taking us into call centers (yes, call centers!) where LeRoux’s employees handled complaints about RX Limited. I can’t believe I’m writing this sentence, but the bureaucracy is fascinating.

Ratliff spent years reporting on Paul LeRoux — he describes the serial killer board he built in his bedroom to understand the size and scale of the drug lord’s empire — and has distilled all his research into a fascinating, compulsively readable book. Narrative non-fiction and true crime fans will enjoy this one.

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Thanks all! I’ll be back in your inboxes on Thursday with a Q&A featuring Kirthana Ramisetti, author of Dava Shastri’s Last Day.

One programming note: Next week’s newsletter, with the Summer Reading Bingo Card launch (!) will go out on Tuesday due to the Memorial Day holiday.

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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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