You’re Getting the Garden Ready

Watched the Hillsong documentary or are fascinated by falcons

Hi friends,

Happy (early) Easter! Happy (early) Passover! And Ramadan Mubarak! I hope — whatever you’re celebrating — you have a joyful holiday.

I have two fun book-related reads for you:

• NBA star Stephen Curry and cookbook author Ayesha Curry are installing 150 little libraries all over Oakland, California. Their goal is to distribute 30,000 books to kids in the Bay Area. Stephen Curry said the program “means 30,000 books at the hands of kids that need the inspiration, the tools to develop at the right ages and hopefully bring an amazing experience of fun to reading which is what it’s all about.”

• Home Essentials designed three gorgeous bedrooms inspired by beloved children’s books, including The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe and The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

And, now, what to read if…

You’re Starting to Spend Time in the Garden

The Sprite and the Gardener by Joe Whitt and Rii Abrego 

If you’re getting your hands dirty planting and weeding — or are trying to get the kids excited about gardening — The Sprite and the Gardener is your book. It’s a charming middle-grade graphic novel with whimsical, colorful illustrations and a lovely story.

Writer Joe Whitt and illustrator Rii Abrego imagine a world where, long ago, sprites cared for gardens, lovingly helping each flower grow and thrive. When humans started to grow their own plots, the sprites retired and turned to a life of leisure until a curious fairy, Wisteria, discovers she has the power to help flowers bloom and teams up with a young human planter to revitalize a yard.

My friend Sarah loaned The Sprite and the Gardener to me, and I’m so glad she did. I breezed through it one evening last week (my middle-grade kick continues) and enjoyed every page. The illustrations are perfect for putting you in a bright, springy mood, and it will inspire you to try and develop a green thumb.

You’re Following the Hillsong Church Saga

God Spare the Girls by Kelsey McKinney

Just a few weeks ago, Hillsong was, in the words of the New York Times, “the leading edge of cool Christianity, a quickly expanding network that appealed to young people and city dwellers with energetic, stylish preachers and an upbeat atmosphere.” Celebrities including Bono, Justin Bieber, Kevin Durant and Kylie and Kendall Jenner, among others, attended services there. But, amidst a series of scandals, now chronicled in a three-part documentary on Discovery+, Hillsong lost half of its American churches. I’m Catholic, yet I’m fascinated by the culture of megachurches and how they shape our broader society.

If you share my interest — or just want a solid, moving book —pick up Kelsey McKinney’s God Spare the Girls. In the novel’s opening pages, Abigail and Caroline are shocked to learn their father, a pastor at a megachurch known for his viral sermon on purity culture, had an affair with a parishioner. The sisters flee to the ranch house inherited from their grandmother, desperate to get away from their parents and gossiping church members. There, for the first time, they get to know each other and, with Abigail’s wedding just weeks away, try to figure out how to move forward from their father’s betrayal.

McKinney, who grew up in an Evangelical church in Texas, writes with empathy about the girls’ struggle with their faith. She avoids all the tropes and easy jokes so common in writing about Christianity, and the relationship between the two sisters is beautifully written. I read God Spare the Girls in a single sitting on New Year’s Day, texting my friends demanding they read it immediately so we could discuss. 

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 Ever Thought About Getting into Falconry

The Falcon Thief by Joshua Hammer

I stumbled upon this story about the “soap opera” involving falcons nesting at UC Berkeley last week. Locals have been following Annie, a peregrine falcon nesting at the university since 2016, as she went missing, reappeared, lost her partner Grinnell and then met a new mate. 

The story, which explores why people are so spellbound by the powerful, giant birds, reminded me of Joshua Hammer’s The Falcon Thief. It’s a true-crime tale about Jeffrey Lendrum, a career criminal who stole rare bird eggs from exotic locales worldwide. Hammer puts Lendrum’s crimes into the broader context of the long history of falconry, showing that people have always sought to capture and train the birds.

The Falcon Thief alternates its focus between Lendrum’s time scaling mountains and smuggling eggs and Detective Andy McWilliam’s quest to arrest the thief. The result is a book that’s equal parts adventure and true crime. It’s perfect for fans of The Feather Thief or The Dinosaur Artist.

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That’s it for me this week. You can catch up on last week’s recs here and my Q&A with Liz Scheier here.

I’m excited to share a guest recommendation from Jim Ruland, author of Corporate Rock Sucks: The Rise and Fall of SST Records (out tomorrow!) and the Message from the Underworld newsletter.

“I read a ton of punk books. They come in all varieties but most tend to be on the grim side. After all, extreme music attracts extreme personalities. Gina Schock’s recent book Made In Hollywood: All Access with the Go-Go’s is an exception to the rule. It’s a coffee table book with tons of bold colorful photos broken up by short intimate chapters. Schock dishes on everything from her beginnings in Baltimore, to the early days of the LA punk scene, to the time Belinda Carlyle offered her cocaine while Schock was in the hospital recovering from heart surgery. Made in Hollywood is as fun to read as listening to one of the Go-Go’s bubblegum blasts.”

As always, feel free to leave a comment, reply to this email or reach out on Twitter if you’re looking for a book rec. I’m always happy to help.

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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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