You Went All in on Eurovision

Are a bookworm or are ready for season 3 of "Bridgerton"

Hi friends,

I hope you had a lovely weekend. Here in D.C., we got a brief break from the rain we’ve had all week, so I tried to soak up the sun while I could. I keep looking at my garden and hoping that May showers will bring June flowers.

And, now, what to read if…

You Watched the Eurovision Finals

Vampire Weekend by Mike Chen

A friend (hi Monica!) invited me to a Eurovision watch party on Saturday, and I quickly went from knowing next to nothing about the continent-wide singing competition to having very strong feelings about the scoring system. (For the uninitiated, Eurovision is kind of the Olympics of pop music — with countries sending an act to a giant week-long competition. As CBS reported, “it’s an extravaganza that melds pop, partying and politics — a cross between a music festival, an awards show, and a meeting of the United Nations Security Council.”) If Eurovision has you thinking about music’s ability to bring people together, grab Vampire Weekend by Mike Chen.

Vampire Weekend reminded me a bit of A Man Called Ove with a vampire and punk rock twist. It follows Louise Chao, a lonely vampire who works as a night-time janitor at a hospital (easy access to soon-to-expire blood) and dreams of finding a band she can play in while maintaining her secret. Her solitary routine is thrown into chaos when a long-lost teenage relative, Ian, literally shows up on her doorstep. Empathizing with his love of music and a teenage attitude reminiscent of her own, she agrees to let Ian stay, but the arrangement grows complex when he begins to suspect her true identity.

I’ve been working through Chen’s backlist after enjoying A Quantum Love Story so much earlier this year and I’m yet to find one that isn’t a winner. He excels at writing books that use speculative elements to explore real, human relationships. Louise may be a vampire, but she also feels like a person I could hang out with. She jumps off the page as a thoroughly realized character. I’m looking forward to more Chen. (As an added bonus, for fans of the band Vampire Weekend, there’s an oxford comma joke in it that I’m convinced is an Easter egg.)

You Measure Your Life in Books

Why We Read by Shannon Reed

If you’re reading this newsletter, you’re likely a Book Person, meaning Why We Read, by the aptly named Shannon Reed, is the perfect book for you. It’s a joyful memoir in essays about the power of books and reading.

As I wrote in the Washington Post when Why We Read first came out, “Covering topics ranging from the deliciousness of that twist in Gone Girl and the joy of Amish romance novels to the semester she spent decoding George Saunders’s Lincoln in the Bardo, Reed — who teaches writing and contemporary fiction at the University of Pittsburgh — chronicles her lifelong relationships with books and reading.”

I lost track of the number of times I thought, ‘That’s me!’ after reading a sentence or chapter in it. Book lovers will find Why We Read the equivalent of a good hug or sitting under a weighted blanket — cozy and comforting.

You’re Ready for the ‘Bridgerton’ Premiere

Never Blow a Kiss by Lindsay Lovise

The first episodes of Bridgerton’s third season drop on Thursday. This season of the Netflix show is based on Romancing Mr. Bridgerton, the fourth book and my favorite in Julia Quinn’s beloved romance series. If you’re looking for another historical romance, you’ll want to check out Lindsay Lovise’s Never Blow a Kiss, the first in a new series starring a ring of governess spies.

Emily Leverton is a charming governess hiding a dark secret. When she’s recruited to join a network of governesses who spy on members of the ton to uncover their crimes, she sees it as a chance for redemption. Emily’s efforts to expose the misdeeds of her boss grow more complicated when her path crosses with Zach Denholm, a butcher’s son-turned-railroad magnate, who is now hunting a serial killer while working for the Metropolitan Police. They have an instant attraction, but Zach’s investigation threatens to expose Emily’s secret and take them both down.

As that description implies, Never Blow a Kiss is a wild ride, featuring lush balls, lavish gowns, an intense mystery and more. I read an early copy a few months before it came out and was annoyed with myself when I finished because it meant I had to wait even longer for the sequel. Fans of Sarah MacLean will want to check this one out.

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Thanks for reading! Did you watch Eurovision? Were you happy Switzerland won? Let me know! 

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