Welcome to Amateur Bibliotherapy, my newsletter about book-y things. Use this Google Form at any time to tell me about what you’re reading—you might be featured here or on my Bookstagram! I’m an affiliate of Bookshop.org, which means that I may make a small commission if you make a purchase through my affiliate links. That commission will be donated to Welcome To Chinatown.
Happy April. I made it here with the support of Swedish Marabou chocolate rolls (like slender, Rolo-shaped malted milk balls), flapjacks with mini chocolate chips melted to perfection on top from EJ's Luncheonette, and my first of many Tony Chocolonely honey almond nougat bars. Feel free to send me a chocolate of your choice for my birthday this month (along with, of course, your favorite paperback).
Book Business
My March was a mundane blur, but the bookish world beyond mine keeps moving. Jia Tolentino solicited super specific book recommendations, and the commentariat came through; Leigh Bardugo landed an eight-figure, twelve-book deal with McMillan, which means I will be petitioning for more Kaz Brekker until someone apologizes for the Shadow & Bone adaptation's lack of Crows content; Samantha Irby is promoting her next book, Quietly Hostile, with an all-star line-up; Sally Rooney wrote about hating landlords for The Irish Times; Sarah J. Maas is contracted for another four books with Bloomsbury; Michelle Zauner's Crying in H Mart adaptation will be directed by White Lotus actor Will Sharpe; Allison P. Davis profiled Emily Henry for Vulture, but romance readers are not thrilled about the headline's implications; and Jenna Wortham wrote about her time at a queer nude beach in Mexico, which I hope means we'll get a pub date for her forthcoming essay collection soon.
Library Business
The American Library Association recently reported that the number of book challenges doubled from 2021 to 2022, with a record 2,571 unique titles targeted for censorship. Libraries are getting it from all sides in New York, where state and local officials are also proposing immense budget cuts to chronically underfunded institutions. While it's not unusual for officials to propose cuts “for libraries and parks knowing City Council members will restore the funding, so everyone can take a victory lap,” it's a particularly unwelcome threat this year. You can urge New York City's representatives not to go through with the budget cuts (separate links for New York Public Library, Brooklyn Public Library, and Queens Library systems); get your donation to the Brooklyn Public Library matched before April 4; and advocate for libraries across New York state to get an increase in funding so they can continue providing important pubic services.
Books I Bought
After a fortuitous trip to Sahadi's, I was lured across Atlantic Avenue to Barnes & Noble and came out with Chlorine by Jade Song and Vagbonds! by Eloghosa Osunde. A bookseller at the Montague Street location of Books Are Magic complimented my beanie while ringing up a copy of The Sex Lives of African Women by Nana Darkota Sekyiamah for me. On a different trip there for I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself by Marisa Crane (based entirely on a quote I saw on Instagram), the same lovely bookseller chatted with me about books that use shadows as plot devices. I had them check the stockroom for Four Humors by Mina Seckin, but they only had copies at the Smith Street branch; they were kind enough to call in a hold for me to pick it up on my walk home. I’m pleased to report that I was able to resist the allure of beautiful book stacks at Albertine and the nostalgic draw of my childhood Barnes & Noble, though both visits were joyous and warranted.
Books I Read
❤️
Beautiful Country by Qian Julie Wang (audiobook via Libby). Wang's engaging and heartbreaking memoir is written from her perspective as a young child leaving behind relative safety and comfort in Northern China for life as an undocumented immigrant in the United States. By focusing the book on her experiences from elementary to middle school—like teaching herself English through children's books at the library, accompanying her mother on odd jobs in sweatshops and sushi processing plants, and rooting through garbage to find coveted Polly Pocket sets that had been discarded—you feel “as if you’re traveling with her on foot instead of observing by drone,” making the experience all the more visceral. In an interview, Wang noted that she rendered the book through the eyes of her younger self because she "didn't want there to be editorializing, I didn't want to speak to the mind, I wanted to speak from the heart and to the heart." It worked for me, as I listened to her story over the course of a single day and find myself thinking about her hunger and hope and sadness often. You can read an excerpt here to get a sense of Wang's story and style.
🖥️
Kingdom of Characters: The Language Revolution That Made China Modern by Jing Tsu (audiobook via Libby). Given that this is literally a book about the history of language, I've had a hard time pitching it at parties. Yale professor Jing Tsu “weaves linguistic analysis together with biographical and historical context — the ravages of imperialism, civil war, foreign invasions, diplomatic successes and disappointments” to illustrate the complex history of modernizing the ideographic Chinese script. If you enjoyed the etymology tangents in Babel by R.F. Kuang, have an interest in linguistic discrimination, or are curious about how a language with thousands of characters works in pre- and post-digital contexts, this is a great and accessible book for you.
💎
Partners in Crime by Alisha Rai (via Libby). After being thoroughly influenced by the What To Read If newsletter, I too became an evangelist for this action-packed romance that involves two exes on a wild Las Vegas excursion in search of missing jewels. There's plenty of costume changes, high-stakes poker games, and exactly two particularly steamy scenes to keep you entertained. I ate it up.
🔮
VenCo by Cherie Dimaline (via Apple Books). While VenCo promised a powerful front company of witches coming together to defeat a patriarchal monster, it left me with fairly forgettable characters and an implausible plot that couldn't be reconciled by the fun witchy vibes.
🧟
Undercover by Tamsyn Muir (via Apple Books). Much like Muir’s beloved Locked Tomb series, it’s probably better to go in knowing as little as possible about this creepy, gorey little story. It's part of the Into Shadow collection, which is technically an Amazon Original Series of seven tales following "characters who venture into the depths where others fear to tread" by the likes of Nghi Vo, Tomi Adeyemi, Alix E. Harrow, and others. (Though this sounds like an Amazon ad, rest assured that I did not read this through its intended channel.) Just know Muir's contribution is as unsettling as you'd expect from someone obsessed with bone magic, which makes this a good litmus test for if you’d like the brutal, grisly Locked Tomb series that I adore.
🐵
Patricia Wants To Cuddle by Samantha Allen (via Libby). This book promised a satire of The Bachelor's heteronormativity and trope-y antics with a thrilling twist, and a wild Lady Bigfoot who protects gay women and feeds on the death of straights. I received something that had the plot of a B-Horror movie and odd pacing. I could've easily done with another few chapters to make the ending less abrupt. That said, I couldn't put it down and wanted to know more about this wild world.
That’s all I have for you today. If you’re still looking for content, you can check out yet another explanation of how BookTok makes money (we’re on year three of these thinkpieces! wow!) or the latest on that publishing industry scammer who stole a ton of unpublished manuscripts. Let me know what you think. Bye!
Thanks for the shout out! I really loved that one.