You’re Planning a Trip to New Orleans

Loved “The People v. O.J. Simpson” or are obsessing over the Kardashian-West divorce

Hi friends,

I hope you had a good weekend. It was gorgeous here in D.C., so I was able to sit outside and read for a while — one of my favorite activities.

In light of the recent wave of book bans, Sojourners featured reviews from kids of books that have been removed from schools and libraries, including The Perks of Being a Wallflower, When Wilma Rudolph Played Basketball and New Kid.

 On When Wilma Rudolph Played Basketball, a children’s book about an Olympian who overcame polio and racism to become a star athlete, one child commented, “I liked that Wilma tried hard to walk even though she had an illness and she was able to accomplish her dream of being a great runner. I want other people to read the book because it is uplifting and it helps you be more confident about yourself and accomplish your dreams. It taught me that God loves everyone no matter their abilities and strengths.” 

It sounds like a book that should be read widely — not banned.

And now, what to read if …

You Wish You Were in New Orleans for Mardi Gras

The Yellow House by Sarah Broom

The Big Easy’s annual Mardi Gras celebration occurred last week, with revelers enjoying live music, parades, costumes and good food. If photos and videos of Mardi Gras have you planning a trip to New Orleans, grab a copy of Sarah Broom’s The Yellow House. It’s a reported memoir about New Orleans East, an area seven miles from Bourbon Street that has been ignored by the city’s leaders and historians alike.

Broom, the youngest of 12 children, charts the history of her family and her city — both before and after Hurricane Katrina — by documenting the status of the Brooms’ home, the titular Yellow House. Broom’s mother bought the house in 1961, with insurance money from her first husband’s death. Her second husband, Broom’s father, began several improvement projects that halted abruptly after his death. As a result, the yellow house fell into disrepair, with holes in walls, exposed wires, failing plumbing and a never-ending infestation of flying cockroaches. Still, the family loved the home. After the house was condemned and torn down due to hurricane damage, one of Broom’s brothers mowed the lot’s lawn for years.

Broom uses the history of her family and her home to illuminate an underreported and undiscussed view of a beloved American city, taking us to trailer parks and abandoned lots in ignored parts of New Orleans. She writes, “Much of what is great and praised about the city comes at the expense of its native black people, who are, more often than not, underemployed, underpaid, sometimes suffocated by the mythology that hides the city’s dysfunction and hopelessness.” The Yellow House won the National Book Award in 2019, and it’s easy to see why. It’s a masterful history, searing memoir and brilliant read.

You’re Rewatching “The People v. O.J. Simpson”

The Holdout by Graham Moore

First off, if you haven’t watched “The People v. O.J. Simpson,” FX’s 2016 dramatization of Simpson’s murder trial, I highly recommend it. It’s a nuanced, multi-layered look at the people behind “the trial of the century” and the forces that led to the NFL great’s acquittal in a double murder trial.

The Holdout is a fictional take on what it’s like to serve on a jury in a similarly high-profile case. It follows Maya Seale, who single-handedly convinced her 11 peers to vote to acquit a Black teacher accused of murdering a wealthy, white 15-year-old student. Sequestered, the jury had no idea the general public was convinced of the accused’s guilt. Following the trial, they became pariahs and blamed Maya for leading them astray. Ten years later, a true-crime docuseries arranges a reunion of the jury,  where they claim game-changing evidence will be presented. Instead, a juror is found murdered, and Maya is the top suspect.

Moore alternates between the murder investigation and flashbacks to each juror’s experience during the months-long trial, deftly showing how their time together a decade ago continues to affect them today. Fans of John Grisham and other legal thrillers will find a lot to enjoy about The Holdout, which offers a peek into both how the prosecution and defense teams prepare for trials.

You’re Obsessing Over the Kardashian-West Divorce

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid 

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West’s divorce became official last week, but headlines and social media focused on West’s new music video, which shows him decapitating comedian Pete Davidson, Kardashian’s new boyfriend. Celebrity breakups bring out the rubberneckers in us as we try to understand what goes on in the private lives of public people.

Taylor Jenkins Reid imagines what it’s like to be an A-lister accruing headlines for infamous divorces in The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. In the book, reclusive actress Evelyn Hugo, a Hollywood star for decades, approaches Monique Grant, a low-level magazine writer, to author her biography. Monique is confused as to why Evelyn selected her but becomes fascinated by the performer’s tales and desperate to know the truth behind her scandalous seven husbands. Evelyn shares stories of old Hollywood, secret affairs and life-long friendships, and the glitz and glam of being a star.

With this recommendation, Taylor Jenkins Reid becomes the most recommended author on What To Read If. Her last three books — Evelyn Hugo, Daisy Jones and The Six and Malibu Rising — focus on the cost of fame and the differences between our public and private selves. (They also each exist in the same universe, and her next book Carrie Soto is Back focuses on a bit character from Malibu Rising.) I love her books because they’re simultaneously propulsively readable and thought-provoking. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo is no exception.

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That’s it for me today. I’ll be back in your inboxes on Thursday with a Q&A featuring Jess Pryde, editor of Black Love Matters, a new essay collection by Black romance writers.

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