September in Review

Hey! You’re here. Thank you!

Don’t panic! We still have six more days in September. This is just the last Wednesday of the month, so I am going to tell you what September looked like in my world.

Also, time is made up. Capitalism wants you think there’s not enough. But look you’re here. I’m here. We’re doing it. We have enough.

Speaking of which, the Rosamond Reads logo got a little spooky season upgrade courtesy of Rebecca:

You’ve got to be kidding me.

COZY AUTUMN SPOOKY GIRLIES OUR TIME IS HERE.

Okay, here are some bits and bobs from September.

Favorite Reads:

I read two books that absolutely knocked my socks off this month.

The first is Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout. The first thing you need to know is I am an Elizabeth Strout stan. I love her work. She writes about where I come from and I think she gets it right. Her care and attention to her characters and their worlds is unparalleled. At this point, the fictional town of Crosby, Maine with all her beloved characters and is like a literary Marvel universe. People often use the phrase “world building” to talk about fantasy and science fiction, but if you ask me no one is doing world building like Elizabeth Strout. I will never stop caring about the little worlds of weirdos she builds in these books. I love them all so much.

The second book that brought me to my knees this month was Liliana’s Invincible Summer by Cristina Rivera Garza. Don’t take my word for it - this wonder won the Pulitzer Prize! Whether you care about fancy prizes or not, this is a memoir that is worth your time and attention. Here, Cristina Rivera Garza tells the story of her sister Liliana, who was murdered by her ex-boyfriend in 1990. It is a grief memoir. Garza uses Liliana’s own voice in diaries, journal entries, and letters to make her sister come alive for the reader. It is a portrait of girlhood. It is a quest for justice and a terrifying exploration of femicide and intimate partner violence. The beating heart of the book, though, is the love one sister has for another. I can relate. I needed this book and I will never stop thinking about it.

One Bright Glimmer

What is a glimmer?

This month Rebecca and I went to a family wedding in Boston. It was wonderful to see my family and all be together on a clear, bright, beautiful day in September. I got to hang with my five-month old nephew, Maru, and can confirm he is the best to ever do it. I am a little nervous around babies, and this time he fell asleep in my lap! This felt like a serious milestone and a major boost to my auntie ego. Man, I love that guy. He has so many books in his future, he has no idea.

my latest addition to Maru’s personal library

Book I’m Looking Forward To:

Forest of Noise by Mosab Abu Toha is a collection of poems about life in Gaza by an award-winning Palestinian poet. Mosab Abu Toha and his family fled their home after it was bombed and destroyed by the Israeli army. Both his family home and the library he carefully built for his community were leveled. These are the poems he wrote in the midst of this horror. I don’t know what poetry can do, but I am learning. I don’t know what I can do, but I am learning. Place a pre-order at your local indie or request this title from your library to show you and your community value and support Palestinian art and artists. Out October 15th.

Biggest Surprise

You know I love women’s basketball. You know I am one of those WNBA fans who loves all the new fans but wants you to know I have been here longer. I went home this summer and rediscovered my collection of WNBA cards. My sister and I used to go to this little card shop in our town where they sold Pokemon cards and baseball cards and a tiny collection of women’s sports cards. We would go home and sort out our cards in those little plastic sleeves, admiring every new addition to our collection.

I hadn’t thought about this in years, but paging through these cards it is so clear what this fandom did for me - it allowed to idolize all different kinds of women and athletes. I didn’t have words for it at the time, but this collection represented so many different ways to be a woman and a person particularly when it comes to queerness and gender expression. Tragically, a professional sports career was not in my future, but looking up to these powerful athletes gave me a blueprint I still carry with me in my life as a nerdy bookseller/ lifelong WNBA fan.

Flash forward twenty years and I am proudly showing Rebecca my collection of WNBA cards. Because she is who she is, Rebecca immediately began thinking about how we could display the cards in our house. A special card frame has been acquired and this weekend we sorted through all the cards to pick our favorites so every day I can look at this reminder of what shaped me.

It’s not a surprise to me really, but I think little Rosamond would be surprised and pleased to see where we are now.

I am the luckiest.

I’m still learning:

How to watch the WNBA playoffs without cable!! Nothing profound this time, just a thirty-one year old lesbian without cable who needs to watch ESPN at 7:30 tonight. I am one step from walking into a straight bar and asking them to put it on. Will I be brave enough?? Gas me up! Give me your sports bar tips! What’s the etiquette? Are there rules? How many men will I have to interact with?

On a related note, I am kind of tied to the book business at this point, but if anyone has the resources to open up a dyke sports bar in Western Mass let’s talk okay??

Tell me your September glimmers in the comments. I’m so glad we are here together.

I love you.

Love,

Rosamond