You Wish You Were Pool — or Ocean — Side

You’re ready to be hungry or the NCAA women’s “weight room” made you groan

Hi friends,

I hope you’re hanging in there. 

I know last week was difficult, especially for members of the Asian-American community, as we all grieve and attempt to process the shootings in Georgia. 

If you’re interested, my neighborhood bookstore, East City Bookshop, shared a list of book recommendations by Asian American authors. I endorse all their suggestions — and would add Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng and Jenny Han’s To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before.

If you’re looking to support those affected by the shootings, you can donate to the victims’ families here. There are also several great organizations, including Heart of Dinner and Stop AAPI Hate, working to support Asian-American communities nationwide. If you’re a fellow D.C. resident, a group of some of the city’s best chefs is creating a weekly takeout series to support Stop AAPI Hate. Find out more here. 

I’m sending love and good thoughts to all of you.

And, now, what to read if …

You Wish You Were on Spring Break

Out East: Memoir of a Montauk Summer by John Glynn

Yes, as the title suggests, Out East takes place over the summer, but it’s still a great spring break book. Glynn writes about a summer rental house he shared with a group of friends on Long Island’s Montauk Point, describing their days at the beach and nights spent barhopping. 

That premise makes it sound like a Bravo TV show, but Out East is actually a moving memoir of Glynn’s struggles with intense loneliness. With the help of his group house family, he acknowledges his depression and works to address its root causes.

I read Out East in a single sitting while in a vacation rental home with friends, so I can say it captures that feeling perfectly. Moments in the book felt like an extension of the long weekend my friends and I were having. If you’re longing for days spent in the sun, with friends and family, and a cocktail or two, Out East is the book for you. 

You Want a Book that Will Make You Hungry

The Duke Who Didn’t by Courtney Milan

The Duke Who Didn’t is one of those books that makes me smile as soon as I think of it. It follows Chloe Fong, a 19th century woman living in Kent and preparing to launch her cooking sauce business at her town’s annual festival. Chloe has a single-minded focus on making her business a success, writing list after list of the tasks she needs to complete over the next three days.

That is until Jeremy Wentforth, Chloe’s childhood sweetheart, returns to town to win her heart. Jeremy, though, is hiding a secret. He’s the Duke of Lansing — and owns Chloe’s entire village.

It’s such a ridiculous premise, but Milan is such a masterful writer that it works. It’s imbued with joy, wit, humor and warmth. The secondary characters are delightful, as are the descriptions of meals Chloe, Jeremy and their friends and family eat.

Once you’re done with The Duke Who Didn’t, check out Milan’s “food glossary” for the book, which includes recipes for Chloe’s sauce and many of the meals the characters eat. I’ve made the pork cutlets and barbecue pork, which were both delicious.

You Rolled Your Eyes at the NCAA Women’s “Weight Room”

Sidelined: Sports, Culture, and Being a Woman in America by Julie DiCaro

March Madness is upon us and so is the annual reminder that the NCAA still considers women’s sports an afterthought. Take a look at the weight room for the men’s teams compared to the “weight room” for the women.

I’ll let you guess which is the women’s weight room

 In Sidelined, Julie DiCaro, an editor at the sports website Deadspin, writes about both her experience as a female reporter in a male-dominated field and the roadblocks female athletes still face. The book covers everything from the transformative power of Title IX to the U.S. Women’s National Soccer team’s fight for equal pay. 

I’ll admit I haven’t yet finished DiCaro’s book (it just came out this week!), but so far I’m enjoying it. She demonstrates the way sports both create — and reflect — broader cultural trends and channels the aggravation I feel every time some random dude in a bar feels the need to question if I’m really a baseball fan. 

Sidelined could also be called “The Book Barstool Sports Doesn’t Want You To Read.” DiCaro carefully documents the misogyny and sexual harassment Barstool Sports has become famous for, and the sports blog is clearly unhappy about it. It’s launched a campaign dedicated to tanking Sidelined — if you care about women in sports, I urge you not to let them win.

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Have you read any of these picks? Let me know what you think.

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I have a couple of small programming notes to share:

• I know there’s been a lot of discussion about Substack as a platform over the past few weeks. Ann Trubek, the founder of Belt Publishing, wrote an excellent piece that summarizes my feelings. In short: no platform is perfect, so for now, particularly because this newsletter is free and will remain so, I’m sticking with Substack. Please do reach out with questions, but know I may be delayed in getting back to you because of the move (more on that below!).

• I’ll be back on Thursday, with a Q&A featuring Monica McAbee, a selection librarian at the Prince George’s County Memorial Library system, about e-book lending. She helped me understand the mysterious processes behind it. Thanks to everyone who sent questions for Monica!

• I’m moving next week to a new apartment, so Kathleen Barber has kindly agreed to substitute for me. I love Kathleen’s twisty thrillers and am looking forward to sharing her picks with you. When I return, I hope to have the long-awaited “Wandavision” read-alike. (For those of you following along on my MCU journey, I finished “End Game” last night.)

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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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You can see a full list of my recommendations at my Bookshop.org storefront.

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