You Always Watch the Olympic Ice Skating

It’s an audiobook extravaganza

Hi friends,

Exciting news: Libro.fm, a platform that lets you buy audiobooks from independent bookstores, is hosting a “for the love of audiobooks reading challenge.” If you listen to ten hours of audiobooks between February 5-14, fill out this form, and you’ll get a free audiobook.

(Yes, that requires an hour a day of listening. I recommend consuming audiobooks while taking long walks, cleaning or lying on your couch.)

In honor of the challenge, I’m highlighting three books that stand out on audio. Like previous audiobook editions (see here, here and here), they’re all great in book form too.

Quick programming note: I’ll be in your inboxes on Tuesday next week due to Presidents Day.

And, now, what to read (or listen to) if…

You Loved “I, Tonya”

The Favorites by Layne Fargo

According to my dad, as a four-year-old I wandered around the house saying, “I’m very worried about Nancy Kerrigan, very worried” after men, hired by her rival Tonya Harding’s husband, attacked her. Twenty years later, I devoured Sarah Marshall’s brilliant essay on Tonya Harding and then three years after that watched Margot Robbie skate her way through “I, Tonya.” All this is to say that I’m invested in figure skating drama. If this describes you, you’ll want to grab Layne Fargo’s The Favorites immediately.

This cover.

The Favorites is best described as a combination of Wuthering Heights, Daisy Jones and the Six and “I, Tonya.” It follows ice dancers Kat Shaw, who has known since she was a girl she was gold-medal material, and Heath Rocha, who moved in with Kat’s family after a tumultuous time in foster care. The pair clung to each other — on the ice and off — as they navigated a turbulent childhood and rose to champion status, until their relationship and skating partnership collapse after a scandalous reveal at the Olympics.

Ten years after their final skate, an unauthorized documentary claims to tell the true story of ice dancing’s wild children through interviews with their friends, rivals and coaches. Instead of staying silent, Kat decides to finally share the secrets behind the obsession she and Heath have with each other.

I became obsessed with this book about obsession (shout out to Laura Hankin who put up with me live-texting her my reactions). Interspersed with Kat’s confessions are excerpts from the documentary. It’s these sections where the full-cast audiobook — which includes skating icon Johnny Weir narrating a character that’s based on him — really shines. Swifties, there’s an Easter Egg for you in this one.

You’ve Ever Internet Stalked Someone

The Claudia Lin Mysteries by Jane Pek

If you claim you’ve never Googled someone to try to figure out their life, I don’t believe you. “Crazy Ex Girlfriend” did a fabulous song about the practice:

If that hits a bit too close to home, add The Claudia Line Mysteries to your TBR.

I highlighted the first book in the series, The Verifiers, a while back, noting, “The book follows Claudia Lin, who recently started working at Veracity, a secretive company that investigates clients’ matches on dating apps. A lifelong fan of Jane Austen and mystery novels, Claudia thinks she’s landed her dream job. She spends her days running background checks on bad dates, monitoring the social media accounts of ghosters and ensuring long-term partners are what they seem. But, when one of her clients vanishes, Claudia goes rogue, breaks Veracity’s protocols and investigates the disappearance. While searching for her client, she uncovers a conspiracy.”

I’m spotlighting the series again because I recently listened to the second book, The Rivals, and thought Eunice Wong’s narration was excellent. I mentioned this to Jane Pek when I interviewed her for Crime Reads and she said, “Eunice is great. She really captures Claudia's inner voice. When you hear her read the book, you feel like you can get all the nuances of what Claudia is thinking.” I don’t know how to give it a better endorsement.

You’re Looking Forward to SNL’s 50^th Anniversary Show

Bossypants by Tina Fey

Saturday Night Live will celebrate its 50^th anniversary this coming weekend with a re-broadcast of the first ever episode on Saturday and a star-studded three-hour show on Sunday (Weird, I know. I fact-checked it three times). Tina Fey hasn’t been announced as a guest but I’ll be shocked if she’s not there — as will the betting markets, which set her as the favorite to host. If you’re looking for more Feyness (of the Tina variety, not the actual word), check out her essay collection Bossypants.

In it, Fey charts her rise from an awkward, comedy-loving Pennsylvania kid to SNL’s head writer/guest Sarah Palin impersonator. As Janet Maslin wrote in the New York Times when Bossypants first came out almost fifteen years ago, “Bossypants isn’t a memoir. It’s a spiky blend of humor, introspection, critical thinking and Nora Ephron-isms for a new generation.” She recounts her friendship with fellow comedian Amy Poehler, time spent creating and producing “30 Rock” and taking a cruise for her honeymoon (“It’s just fun. Don’t overthink it.”).

Bossypants is one of those books I’ve returned to at multiple points in my life and found something relevant to the exact moment each time. Part of this is that I’m a writer who admires Fey but I also think some of her stories are universal — or at least something that people will find funny. Fey narrates the audiobook, bringing her wit and humor to life. It’s five and a half hours, and feels even faster than that.

Bonus recommendation: If you need a laugh, I’ve become obsessed with the British show “Taskmaster,” where five comedians compete at absurd missions.

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