You’re Devastated About the Wildfires in Hawaii

Are joining the Bookstore Romance Day festivities or love a cheese board

Hi friends,

Hope you’re doing well.

I spent Saturday at the National Book Festival. I listened to a fascinating panel featuring true crime writer Sarah Weinman and novelists Angie Kim and Rebecca Makkai about the ethics of true crime. (I interviewed Sarah for a future Q&A.) I met Doug Salati, author and illustrator of my current favorite kid’s book, Hot Dog, and caught an interview with Beverly Gage and James Kirchick. And, I collected a bunch of stickers that I’ll include with Bingo prizes. All around, a fabulous day.

Thanks to everyone who submitted their worst job stories on last week’s Q&A with Kate Flannery. I so enjoyed reading them. You can add yours by 5pm EST on Friday to enter the giveaway for Kate’s memoir Strip Tees.

And, now, what to read …

You’re Watching the News out of Hawaii with Sadness

Hula by Jasmine ʻIolani Hakes

The news out of Maui is devastating — these wildfires are now the deadliest natural disaster in the state’s history. Thousands of structures and acres have been burned; nearly 5,000 people need shelter. As I read about the community’s response to help their neighbors, I was reminded of Hula, Jasmine ʻIolani Hakes’ searing intergenerational family saga, set in Hilo, Hawaii.

For generations, the women of the Naupaka family have danced the hula — not the tourist version, but a dance that shares the history and tradition of the island — and won the Miss Aloha Hula competition. But after Laka wins the crown, she leaves Hilo, only to return years later with Hi’i, her young, pale, red-headed daughter. Laka’s mother refuses to recognize her grandchild, and the fractures grow beyond the Naupaka family to the entire community. To heal the divisions, Hi’i decides to enter the Miss Aloha Hula contest, and her quest to win exposes long-held secrets.

I love a family saga — and Hula is a strong addition to the genre, showing the complexities of both the Naupaka family and the legacy of colonialism on the island. It’s a sweeping saga featuring lush, gorgeous descriptions of the landscape and a strong debut that establishes ʻIolani Hakes as one to watch.

If you want to support relief efforts, Honolulu Civil Beat has a list of places to donate. A group of romance writers are also hosting an auction to benefit relief efforts. (Some real amazing prizes here, from some of my faves.)

You’re Ready to Celebrate Bookstore Romance Day

The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams

The fifth annual Bookstore Romance Day — a nationwide celebration of romance novels and the indie bookshops that sell them — will be held on Saturday, August 19^th. Historically, many independent bookstores have declined to carry romance, even though it’s a wildly popular genre (I guess out of some misguided sense of literary snobbishness?), so Bookstore Romance Day highlights the ones that do with events, sales and more. You can see a list of participating bookshops here, and check out the online activities here. If the idea of a community of readers enjoying romance novels brings you joy, grab a copy of Lyssa Kay Adams’ The Bromance Book Club.

As the book opens, baseball superstar Gavin Scott is shocked to learn his wife is unhappy in their marriage. After he melts down with her revelation, she asks for a divorce. A friend confesses that he, too, went through a similar marriage struggle, and found support in an unlikely place, the Bromance Book Club, a group of powerful men who read romance novels to strengthen their relationships. Gavin reluctantly agrees to give it a go, and begins to read the club’s latest pick, Courting the Countess, with the goal of becoming the hero of his own love story.

As someone who runs a romance book club, I expected I would like The Bromance Book Club. I did not expect it would make me laugh so hard that the friend I was on vacation with told me to “read faster!” so she could have it next. The genre regularly gets criticized for setting unrealistic expectations for women, but this book shows even the outlandish plots of a book like Courting the Countess offer lessons in how to build a real happily ever after.

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You Love a Charcuterie Board

The Telling Room by Michael Paterniti

Summer is picnic season, and, for me, that normally involves putting together some sort of charcuterie board. I do this at home, too, sometimes when it’s too hot to cook (the internet informs me this is now apparently called #GirlDinner). If you find yourself turning to meat, cheese, veggie and cracker plates regularly, consider adding The Telling Room by Michael Paterniti to your TBR.

Shortly after finishing his MFA, Paterniti worked as a proofreader for Zingerman’s, the mail-order high-end food company. While editing a mailing, he read about Páramo de Guzmán, a $22 per pound cheese (in 1991, an inflation calculator tells me thats roughly $50/lb today) that’s “rich, dense, intense, a bit like Manchego, but with its own distinct set of flavors and character.” Even as he became a successful author, editor and father, Paterniti couldn’t get that cheese out of his head. Eventually, he went to Spain to track down its maker. There he discovered delicious food and wine, idyllic scenery and a years-long feud that led to the end of the Páramo cheese.

The Telling Room is a quirky book. It’s as much about the process of reporting and crafting a narrative — and how we eventually begin to believe the stories we tell — as it is about cheese. It reminded me a bit of a less bonkers Sounds Like Titanic, with fewer nutty composers and more wine.

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Thanks, as always, for reading.

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