You Have a Creepy Airbnb for Labor Day Weekend

Were a theater kid or have ever had a weird pop culture obsession

Hi friends,

I hope you had a great weekend. A few notes — including a giveaway (!) before we get to this week’s recommendations:

• Thanks to everyone who signed up for my new Louise Penny newsletter, Notes from Three Pines. There’s still time for you to subscribe before we launch! For a bit of extra encouragement to sign up, Mel Joulwan of Strong Sense of Place has agreed to contribute. 
  

• Next week’s newsletter will come out on Tuesday due to the Labor Day holiday.
  

• Bingo cards are due next Friday, September 9. (I know, I can’t believe it either.) Check out the available prizes here if you need some extra motivation to submit your card.
  

• I’ve partnered with Berkley to give away a copy of Love in the Time of Serial Killers, a surprisingly moving true crime romance I reviewed last week for Best Evidence.

The heroine, Phoebe, is writing her PhD dissertation on true crime. To enter the giveaway, leave a comment about the pop culture you would write a dissertation on.

And, now, what to read if …

Your Long Weekend Airbnb Seems a Little Murdery

No One Will Miss Her by Kat Rosenfield

If you forgot to book a rental for your vacation until the last minute, you might have ended up with a creepy Airbnb. In that case, throw a copy of Kat Rosenfield’s No One Will Miss Her in your bag (or save it for when you’re home if it’ll freak you out).

No One Will Miss Her is a Gone Girl for the sharing economy. In the book’s opening pages, Lizzie Oullette, the pariah of her small town in Maine and proprietor of a small rental property, is found brutally murdered. Her husband, Dwayne, is missing. As investigators attempt to uncover the killer and find Dwayne, they’re led to Adrienne Richards, a glamorous social media influencer who rented Lizzie’s cottage. Both women, it turns out, are hiding the truth of their relationship.

I mentioned Gone Girl because Rosenfield pulls off a twist mid-way through the book reminiscent of Gillian Flynn’s bestseller. I audibly gasped as I listened to it while walking the dog. No One Will Miss Her is Rosenfield’s first adult book after writing YA novels (including a book with comic book legend Stan Lee), and I’m excited to see what she does next. It’s a propulsive thriller with a satirical, thought-provoking edge.

Bingo boxes this book checks: Book with multiple narrators 

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You Spent the Summer Doing Community Theater

All’s Well by Mona Awad

We were trading summer stock books in the summer reading recommendation thread back in July. I hadn’t read Mona Awad’s All’s Well by then, and the setting is a college theater department, not community theater, but it’s so weird and wonderful I wanted to plug it here.  

All’s Well follows Miranda Fitch, a former actress whose promising career was cut short by a devastating stage injury. She now suffers from chronic pain and teaches drama at a local college. She’s selected “All’s Well That Ends Well,” one of Shakespeare’s “problem plays” — neither a drama nor a comedy — as the drama club’s next production, but the players are in rebellion. They demand to perform “MacBeth,” and Miranda risks her job by refusing to acquiesce. At her lowest point, she goes to a neighborhood bar, where she meets three mysterious men who help ease her pain and get revenge on her troublesome students.

I love this cover.

Look: This book is weird and certainly not for everybody, but I ended up really enjoying it. Awad proved with Bunny that she excels at writing dark, bizarre books with unstable female leads, and she continues that work here. I particularly appreciated the book’s exploration of the ways we ignore and trivialize female pain.

Bingo Boxes this Book Checks: Book that teaches you something new (There’s a lot here about Shakespeare and ‘All’s Well…’ I didn’t know, but Bard experts may already know it all.)

You’ve Ever Loved Something Deeply Uncool

This is Not a Book About Benedict Cumberbatch by Tabitha Carvan

Benedict Cumberbatch is not deeply uncool, but Tabatha Carvan’s essay collection is — as the title implies — is about more than the actor. It’s about loving something, anything so much it feels like an obsession.

Carvan had two young kids at home and was struggling to prioritize her writing career when she discovered the “Sherlock” star. She quickly devoured his entire filmography, began reading about him obsessively and joined fan sites to discuss the actor with other “Cumberbitches.” Her fascination concerns her, but she ultimately decides to embrace this thing that is bringing her such joy, even if it is a little odd. The essays explore topics ranging from identity and motherhood to online fandom cultures. Through it all the message is love what you love, even if it’s not cool.

I adored this book so much that I messaged Carvan on Twitter to tell her (and to ask if we could an interview. Stay tuned for a Q&A!). My copy from the library is filled with sticky notes on passages I need to write down and I’m planning to buy my own copy soon so I can mark it up as well. Coming off a few rough years, I think we all need a reminder that doing what makes us happy is worth it.

Bingo Boxes this Book Checks: Book that teaches you something new, new-to-you author, short story or essay collection 

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That’s it for me today. I’ll be back on Thursday with a Q&A featuring literary critic and publishing industry reporter Bethanne Patrick.

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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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