You Can’t Wait to See the Met Gala Outfits

Are prepping your coronation quiche or want something witchy

Hi friends,

Did you celebrate Independent Bookstore Day this weekend?

Some book club friends and I visited East City Bookshop, where I chatted with book buyer Emilie Sommer and picked up too many books and a special banned book puzzle that I plan on framing when it’s done.

 And, now, what to read if …

You’re Ready to Critique the Met Gala Fashion

The Kingdom of Prep by Maggie Bullock*

The Met Gala, an annual fundraiser for the New York museum’s Costume Institute, has earned the nickname “Fashion’s Biggest Night,” for the elaborate outfits A-listers wear. The theme for this year’s event, held tonight, is “In honor of Karl,” a recognition of fashion icon Karl Lagerfeld. If you’re fascinated by clothing, style or want an inside look at a top brand, grab

Maggie Bullock

’s The Kingdom of Prep, a history of J.Crew.

I listened to The Kingdom of Prep on a whim — I’ve never been super into fashion and am not a J.Crew shopper (although I did buy a sweater I now adore after reading this book) — but I’m so glad I did. Bullock uses J.Crew as a case study for how retail in America has changed over the past 40 years, documenting the shift from catalogs to malls to online shopping. In between chapters on the outsized personalities who defined J.Crew — and their boardroom battles — she explores the history of American fashion, showing how clothes, style and culture all influence each other.

With graduation season quickly approaching, The Kingdom of Prep would be a great gift option for the aspiring fashion designer in your life — or the newly minted MBA. Like last week’s pick Unscripted, The Kingdom of Prep demonstrates how much individual people, their quirks and their squabbles, come to define leading companies, as much as sales and customer feedback do.

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You’ve Planned Your Coronation Viewing Party

A Murder at Balmoral by Chris McGeorge

Charles III and Camilla will be crowned King and Queen of the United Kingdom on Saturday. The ceremony will feature a crown decorated with 444 (!) semi-precious gems that dates back to 1661 (!), a “Coronation Spoon” first used in the 12^th century and, likely, some family drama. If you’re preparing coronation chicken or quiche for your viewing party, consider adding A Murder at Balmoral to your TBR pile.

It’s Christmas, and the royal family has gathered for the holiday at their Scottish home, Balmoral Castle. When a snowstorm hits, they send home all but a handful of their staff, leaving King Eric’s beloved head chef, Jonathan, to cook and serve a full Christmas dinner fit for, well, a king, by himself. Knowing how much the King loves Christmas, Jonathan rises to the occasion and — despite the usual passive-aggressive sibling swipes — the celebration proceeds normally until King Eric dies just before he’s about to give a toast announcing his selected successor. Jonathan vows to find the killer, even if it puts him at risk.

A Murder at Balmoral is a cozy mystery where every character — including the sleuth — has something to hide. Fans of locked room mysteries or holiday whodunnits will want to give this one a try.

Reminder recs: I absolutely adore the Queen Elizabeth Investigates series and rounded up non-fiction books about the Windsors for Parade.

You Want to Give ‘Witch Lit’ a Try

Venco by Cherie Dimaline*

One of this year’s biggest literary trends, according to The Guardian, is the rise of “witch lit.” Phoebe Morgan, publisher of Hodder Fiction, told the publication, “Witches are definitely a big thing, which is exciting and fun… but it also has something to do with a sense that women’s rights are in danger of being stripped away again, with things like the overturning of Roe v Wade in America. These books are often concerned with pregnancy, abortion and abuse, as well as magic.” If that description has you curious, give Cheri Dimaline’s Venco a try.

Lucky St. James is a down-on-her-luck millennial, desperately seeking an apartment she and her elderly grandmother can move into after learning they’ll be evicted. Instead of housing, Lucky stumbles on a mysterious silver spoon with a tiny witch and the word “Salem” engraved on it. From there, she’s introduced to VenCo, a well-funded front company supporting witches worldwide and learns she’s the sixth witch selected for a long-prophesized seven-person coven. The catch? She has just days to find their last member.

Venco is part buddy road trip book, as Lucky and her hilarious grandmother drive down the coast searching for the seventh witch, part adventure story as the coven tries to outwit a man hunting them down, and part feminist fun.

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Thanks for reading! If you want even more books, I wrote a roundup of new spring releases for Parade.

* I received free audiobooks of The Kingdom of Prep and Venco from Libro.FM in exchange for an honest review.

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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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