First things first, here’s Yaya:

Now that you’ve paid the Yaya tax, let’s talk books. I’m back with more book recommendations because there’s always room for more books, right? right???

Below are two more of the recommendation requests I received through my instagram and my suggestions. Got a suggestion for these readers in need? Leave them in the comments! Share the love!

“Poetry that makes me love the world again”

I feel this so deeply. When the world feels hard to love poetry so often offers a window into something more. Not to be like, have you read Mary Oliver, but, have you read Mary Oliver??

Really, though, if you know and love the poetry of Mary Oliver, may I recommend the audiobook, Wild & Precious: A Celebration of Mary Oliver? It’s an audiobook original that features Mary Oliver reading her own work and various artists and writers from Ross Gay to Samin Nosrat to Carmen Maria Machado reflecting on Mary Oliver’s impact on their own lives and work. I’m a pretty serious Mary Oliver fan (ha!) and I learned so much from this audiobook. More than anything, it’s a portrait of an artist who taught herself to love the world.

If you’ve only engaged with Mary Oliver’s work through singular poems here and there I do recommend reading a collection cover to cover. My favorite? Dream Work.

Speaking of Mary, did you see the trailer for the upcoming PBS documentary about her? As the kids say, I am sat. I am seated. I am ready. I am listening.

Here are two more quick poetry recs for you:

You Better Be Lightning by Andrea Gibson - If you’re not familiar with the work of the late poet Andrea Gibson, there is no better time to engage with their remarkable body of work. I had the privilege of seeing them perform live about ten years ago in Boston and it changed my understanding of poetry can be and do. Read these poems then listen to Andrea read them alongside you.

Come See Me in the Good Light, the documentary about the end of Andrea Gibson’s helped me love this world.

Falling Back in Love with Being Human by Kai Cheng Thom - It’s right there in the title! This collection of letters and missives and poems is a a guide for drawing your own map to follow through the harsh realities of this world. It’s small enough to tuck in your tote bag and just knowing it’s there makes me feel more equipped to face whatever is ahead.

“A page-turner that’s joyful, but not naive”

I love the specificity of this request! I’m like damn that’s what I want to read too…

My first answer is going to be really annoying because it’s not out for many months, but I promise it’s worth the wait.

Yes, I am talking about American Hagwon by Min Jin Lee (out September 29th). If you followed along with me to the annual Booksellers’ Conference this year then you might remember that all of us booksellers went absolutely feral to get our hands on the advanced copies of Min Jin Lee’s first novel in nine years.

I am so pleased to tell you that the hype is absolutely real and this book is worth all of it and more. Can a 656 page novel really be a page turner? Normally, no. In Min Jin Lee’s hands? Yes. Unequivocally yes. I don’t know how she did it, but she had me ripping through these pages like there was no tomorrow.

The characters in this novel face deep hardship, betrayal, and grief, but there is an undercurrent throughout the novel that is undeniably joyful. Min Jin Lee has something to say about education and family and money and, quite simply, what makes a good life The skill and love with which she tells this story is always joyful and never naive. It’s a marvel. I can’t wait for you to read it.

While you wait for September, there’s another buzzy 2026 release that I think falls right in that “joyful, but not naive” sweet spot: Kin by Tayari Jones.

I know this book has been everywhere and doesn’t need me to hype it up, but I promise this novel is worth your time. Like American Hagwon, when I say that Kin is joyful, I do not mean that there is not hardship, but that there is great joy in reading a work of fiction so masterful in its storytelling and clear in its purpose. Both Tayari Jones and Min Jin Lee write with great care for their characters and, I think, for their readers. This makes for an unforgettable reading experience.

And one more joyful-but-not-naive rec for the road: have you tried Woodworking by Emily St. James?

This 2025 debut about a closeted trans teacher and her trans student in contemporary South Dakota is funnier and more joyful than it has any right to be. Yes, there are moments of deep pain in which the reality of the dangers trans folks face in rural, middle America is laid bare. And yet, Emily St. James writes these flawed, deeply human characters with such heart and humor, the reader is buoyed the whole way through.

Okay, that’s all I’ve got for you. Thank you for playing and letting me hone my bookselling skills! Don’t forget to leave your suggestions for these readers in the comments.

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Remember: you do not have to be good.

I love you.

I’m glad you’re here.

Love,

Rosamond

One of the best and trickiest parts of being a bookseller is fielding book recommendation requests in real time. There is truly no greater pleasure than hand selling a book you love to a customer that needs it. That’s what it’s all about.

Sadly for me, nine times out of ten when a customer asks me to recommend a book I immediately forget every book I’ve ever read. Usually this passes and I can recover, but when in doubt I guess I can just recommend Heated Rivalry?

Because I suffer from performance anxiety, I love to ask for book recommendation requests on my instagram. This gives me time to remember books that are not gay hockey smut. But, also, have you tried gay hockey smut?

Anyway, below are some of the requests I received and my recommendations. Books are medicine to me, so I take this responsibility very seriously. Thank you for trusting me, and I hope you find just the book you need.

“Something to break my reading slump!”

The reading slump is the scourge of every reader! She comes for all of us from time to time. When I find myself in a slump I tend to reach for short reads that can quickly give me the dopamine hit of finishing a book or re-reads of old favorites.

Sometimes you’ve got to go back to basics. Do you remember a book you loved in fifth grade? Go back and read it! The books we read when we were 11 or 12 are so foundational and you might be surprised by what you find when you return to your early loves.

Really this is my way of saying you should read Holes by Louis Sachar and Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis. I am telling you my experience reading these two novels rivals any contemporary “adult” fiction. These books are just good. They are fast-paced, full of plot and big ideas about how to live a good life. Like I said, back to basics.

My next recommendation for slump-breaking books would be anything from the new romance imprint 831 Stories. The person who made this request is a big-time romance expert so she already knows this, but for everyone else, it’s worth paying attention to what 831 is doing in the romance publishing market. They specialize in novella-length romance novels that you will instantly recognize by their signature cover style.

I read Big Fan by Alexandra Romanoff last year and I had a great time. Plus, this year they’ve got a sapphic WNBA romance out so you know I’ve got my eye on that.

“Something great on audio and simple enough to listen to while sick”

Oh no! I’m so sorry you are sick. Listening to audiobooks is one of the best things you can do when you’re sick if you ask me. There is something so soothing about just lying back and letting someone read to you.

I know this is somewhat of a niche recommendation, but I just listened to The Third Gilmore Girl by Kelly Bishop on audio and it was such a pleasure. Kelly Bishop narrates her own memoir, of course, and it’s everything you hope it would be. And you know what would pair well with that? Have I told You This Already? by Lauren Graham. Again, maybe niche, but if you enjoy listening to smart, funny women tell you about their lives, Kelly and Lauren will nurse you through your illness.

On the off chance that you are not a Gilmore Girls fan (it’s okay I’m very open minded), then I would recommend anything by R. Eric Thomas, who narrates his two wonderful essay collections on audio and is one of the funniest writers working today.

“Medical vibes! I just finished Small Rain and Five Days at Memorial”

Oh, I love this. Small Rain is a simply astonishing novel that is also remarkable and deeply compelling on audio.

I think the logical next step in your reading life is to dig into the work of Tracy Kidder, particularly Mountains Beyond Mountains and Rough Sleepers. Each of these works of narrative nonfiction tells the story of an exceptional physician and their work outside of the four walls of a hospital. Mountains Beyond Mountains is an account of the work of Dr. Paul Farmer who founded Partners in Health and committed his life to fighting infectious disease in Haiti. Rough Sleepers tells the story of Dr. Jim O’Connell and his work serving unhoused patients in Boston.

Tracy Kidder, who died just a few weeks ago, was one of the greatest nonfiction writers of our time, a legend of the field, and a local hero here in Western Massachusetts. He was a dear friend of Broadside and supported us since the publication of The Soul of a New Machine in 1980.

I will always remember Tracy Kidder as deeply humble and truly kind. If you haven’t yet read his work, you are in for a literary treat and a journey of the mind and heart.

Okay, that’s all I’ve got for you today. I didn’t have time to get to all the recommendation requests I received so stay tuned for more next week!

In the comments, tell us you’re favorite books for breaking reading slumps or for audiobook listening while sick. Or if you’ve got recommendations for books with medical vibes, don’t gatekeep! Drop those titles in the comments!

Leave a comment

In the mean time, if you’ve read this far you must now pay the Yaya tax and admire her shocking beauty.

We love you.

We’re glad you’re here.

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Love,

Rosamond

Hey! You’re here. Thank you.

How are you holding up? It’s all….. a lot. It feels a little silly to tap out a newsletter about books and reading with all that is going on around us. But when has that ever not been the case? And yet here we are. Here you are. And we still need books. I need books, that is for sure.

Do you know those signs that people put in their lawns that say “In this house we believe…” and list out basic core progressive values? They are everywhere in my little town. Like anything you stick on a lawn sign or a bumper sticker the message starts to feel like cheap virtue signaling, but nonetheless I love the idea of stating simply and plainly what you believe. Corny as it may be, I like the idea of creating a list of your values and making them visible.

With this mission in mind, I thought I would create a list of my reading values. I spend a truly insane amount of time thinking about books, talking about books, and, of course, actually reading books. If you’ve read this newsletter for any amount of time you know it’s more than a hobby for me.

So what are the principles that anchor this way of life?

I feel a little silly just listing out “rules” but I really do believe in these and they serve me well so I want to share them with you.

I’m going to channel my inner Fran Lebowitz and just tell you what I believe.

But you know the real trick of it? I made it all up! So, please, in the comments tell me your made up rules for reading.

Reading is a morally neutral hobby

This is not exactly a hot take, but I think it’s worth saying. Reading is morally neutral. Reading in your free time no more makes you a good person than watching Love Island on a constant loop makes you a bad person.

Do I think reading can build empathy and help a person look outside themselves? Of course! Do I think helping young people build a practice of reading for pleasure can set them up for success in life? Duh!

For me, reading is a cornerstone of a life well lived. That said, I realize that many, many people do not spend their precious free time this way and it’s possible to live a rich, meaningful life without ever cracking a book spine.

So take the pressure off!! Read if you want to. Read one book, read ten books, read one hundred books. It’s what you do with what books give you that actually matters.

The number of books you read doesn’t actually matter to anyone besides you and you get to decide how much it matters to you.

For those of us who read for pleasure, it can be so easy to turn reading into just another mountain to climb. Just another box to check on the self-actualization to do list. Once again, I have to refer to my queen Fran Lebowitz.

I love reading challenges like The Stacks Mega Reading Challenge because it connects me with a community of readers and forces me to read outside of my comfort zone. Plus I live for the dopamine hit of hitting goals I set for myself.

The number of books you read really only has meaning in the context of your own life! So if you want to read more books that’s a fun and laudable goal, but don’t forget that it’s also very personal and probably no one cares about or is judging your “numbers.”

I love using Storygraph to track my progress toward my reading goals. It’s instant dopamine and gives me a sense of control in a world that feels out of control. But I also really try to remember that I made this mountain up.

Read for pleasure sometimes, read to learn sometimes, and always leave room for overlap between the two.

Once again, this seems obvious, but it’s worth repeating, right? Reading for pleasure is essential to my well-being. When I discovered romance novels I was shocked to learn we are allowed to have this much fun. But as I continued to read in the romance genre, with the help of my romance fairy godmother Grace, I quickly learned that these books are much more than just “pleasure reading.” Romance novels are a container in which I have read about grief, neurodivergence, consent, recovery, class inequality and more, more, more. And that’s all before I read Heated Rivalry….

I wrote about reading for pleasure vs. reading for a better world immediately after the 2024 election and it’s a principle that has served me well in the time since. We can do both and sometimes (shocker!) the binary between the two is not set in stone.

Ask people what they are reading.

Every Friday on my instagram I ask my followers what they are reading and share some responses in my stories. It’s a simple tradition that I absolutely love. I know this seems obvious, but if you know someone who is a reader: ask them what they are reading. Reading is wonderfully solitary, but it’s so much richer when you can talk about it with someone else. So just ask!

Build your own canon.

I think many of us feel reading shame (boo!) because we are taught that reading only really counts if you read certain capital B Books. The canon etc.. etc..

But if there is one thing I believe in as a reader and a bookseller it’s building your own canon. Pretend you are in charge (spoiler: you are!) and pick the books you would place at the center of your own life.

You already know mine, but I still put them together here because just seeing those books together makes my heart pitter patter and reminds me why the practice of reading is one I will cling to for my whole life if I can.

Yes, I finished The Long Game. No, I’m not ready to talk about it yet, but when I am it’s over for you fools.

Even if you are like me and you think about books constantly, I think there is so much value in returning to your own canon, reminding yourself of the books that built you and continue to shape your world.

Okay I think that’s enough pontificating for one day! Tell me in the comments. What are you YOUR rules for reading?? Let’s make them up together.

I love you.

I’m glad you’re here.

Love,

Rosamond

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I don’t know about you, but over here we are absolutely army crawling toward spring. I am trying my hardest to keep my eyes open for glimmers in the midst of these in-the-middle days. Mostly those glimmers look like kisses on the top of tiny chihuahua heads, opening the windows for the first time, a light jacket, iced coffee (always, always iced coffee), and - duh - books.

I want to tell you about the five books I read in March. I paired each book with a little good thing/glimmer that’s keeping me afloat.

Common Goal by Rachel Reid

When I said books are keeping me afloat what I mostly meant was gay hockey smut by Rachel Reid is keeping me afloat. If you know, you absolutely know, and if you don’t know well might I recommend you dabble a toe??

Common Goal is book 4 in the Game Changers series which I am currently devouring like a family size bag of smart food popcorn. Absolutely delicious. This one was not my favorite in the Rachel Reid universe but I can’t pretend I wasn’t invested.

I’m pairing this sports romance with one of my favorite sports moments in recent memory: the opening match of Boston’s brand new NWSL team the Boston Legacy.

If there is one thing I love it’s being a fan and I could not be more excited to be a fan of a women’s soccer team in my home state. I watched from my couch and felt real genuine hope and excitement.

I loved what my favorite sports journalist, Frankie De La Cretaz had to say about what this moment means for those of us who have spent years waiting for women’s sports to get this kind of investment and attention.

Role Model by Rachel Reid

Oops, then I just read the next one in the series because - and I cannot emphasize this enough - these books are very good. I wrote about this one a little bit here. I loved it, I loved it, I loved it.

My knowledge of hockey comes only from these smutty little books but that hasn’t stopped me from putting the PWHL on because, as previously stated, I love being a fan and if there is one thing I’m a fan of it’s women doing basically anything you know what I mean? Plus, did you know PWHL games are all free on youtube??

No spoilers but it’s very entertaining and very gay.

The Third Gilmore Girl by Kelly Bishop

It’s extremely bad for my reputation as the biggest Gilmore Girls fan you know that it took me over a year to read my hero Kelly Bishop’s memoir. Let this be a reminder that the right books will wait for you and it’s never to late to read that book you’ve been meaning to read forever! Anyways, this is not about me this is about Kelly and, impossibly, reading her book made me love and admire her even more.

I listened to this one on audio narrated by Kelly herself and it was pure delight. I loved walking home on the bike path and thinking to myself, no one knows Kelly Bishop is speaking her life story right into my ears.

Don’t meet your heroes, but you can listen to them narrate their memoirs as you walk home in the waning March light.

Paradise by Toni Morrison

It was Toni Morrison month in the The Stacks book club and we tackled Paradise. Each year, invites an author/scholar/reader to discuss a Morrison novel with her on the podcast and this month she and Namwali Serpell talked Paradise, a challenging, strange, rich, tangle of a novel. This is my second time reading this book and it’s one that demands multiple re-reads and a community of thinkers to read alongside. I am so lucky to have that community in The Stacks.

Much of this novel still feels beyond my grasp, but I am learning to be comfortable reading through that confusion and immersing myself in Morrison’s exquisite imagery and prose. What sticks with me most from this novel is the group of women living in what is called “the convent” - a kind of makeshift home for cast-off, wayward, troubled women who shave their heads and sharpen their incisor teeth. If you are compelled by this, read on and then listen to Traci and Namwali’s rich discussion. It’s like going back to English class except way, way better.

Speaking of The Stacks, was really on one in March. Each of the guests (T Kira Madden! Tayari Jones!) was exceptional and the conversations and insights kept me thinking and reading all month long.

Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid

I remembered I have free will and I make the rules so I just read it again.

You see that happy, content face Yaya is making in the above photo? What made you feel that way this week? Tell me please. And tell Yaya she is a good girl. Obviously.

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I love you.

I’m glad you’re here.

Love,

Rosamond

Hey! You’re here. Thank you.

I was up earlier than usual today because our dear anxious Dunkin has a regular check up at the vet this morning which requires some special preparation when you have a brain like Dunkin’s. In our case it means stuffing a potent cocktail of calming drugs into his favorite food in the world … old pizza crust.

There is definitely a metaphor about pizza crust and medicine and mental health care and being up on a cold, March morning waiting for my little dog to give me a fecal sample for his vet visit and noticing the way the sky is perfect orange pink right around the edges. I’m too sleepy to fully land the metaphor, but I’m glad I’m here and I’m glad you are too.

Somehow it’s already the end of March, so here are some books and glimmers that kept me afloat this month.

Favorite Read

Role Model by Rachel Reid

One day I’ll finish a book that is not in Rachel Reid’s brilliant Game Changers series but today is not that day. I’m down bad. The last time I was this committed to reading every word of a series of books in the order they were written was probably The Series of Unfortunate Events in the fourth grade. Like I said, I’m down for the count. In Role Model we have a grumpy, closeted hockey player with a strong moral compass (you’ll see!) who falls for the social media manager for his new team who happens to smell like apples (you’ll see!!) and is good with puppies and processing emotions. I love these guys!

One Bright Glimmer

what is a glimmer?

This weekend, Rebecca’s chamber music trio performed in a “growhearsal” at the Northampton Community Music Center. They call it a growhearsal because many of the musicians are beginners and calling it a recital or a performance comes with too many connotations of pressure and evaluation. Rather, a growhearsal values learning, trying something new and making mistakes. It’s as good as it sounds. I’m biased, but anytime I get to hear my favorite musician perform is the brightest glimmer of all.

Book I’m Looking Forward To:

Nasty Work: Resist Systems, Explore Desire, and Liberate Yourself by Ericka Hart // Out April 14th

I’m thinking that this new book by sex educator Ericka Hart might be a perfect non-fiction pairing with the Game Changers series. According to the publisher, Nasty Work blends eye-opening research with powerful, poignant personal narrative that disrupts everything you thought you knew about sex and society, offering a liberatory framework that makes pleasure accessible for all. Sign me up!!

Biggest Surprise

If you are tired of hearing me moon about the power of these smutty hockey books, then please by all means skip this bit, but I need to tell you what it’s like to be a bookseller in this timeline. There was the older gentleman who came up to the counter and said why don’t you have …. and I immediately tensed because that’s never a good start. But he continued .. why don’t you have any books by Rachel Reid? Well turns out this man read about Heated Rivalry in the New York Times and he wanted to see for himself what the fuss is all about. He didn’t know we had a romance section and it was my absolute pleasure to direct him there. Would you believe me if I told you he bought the first two and came back for the next two in the series. I don’t know if I would believe it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes. Or the gentleman who came in and bought the series and told me they were the first books he would read in decades. When I watched the show, I just couldn’t believe what I was seeing … that’s my experience. Or the harried Mom who had two toddlers hanging off of her when she bought The Long Game. I said Oh I love these books and she said The Cottage is my happy place. Or the man who brought back his copy of The Long Game because there was a printing error and fifty pages were missing in the middle (homophobic!) and I gasped like someone killed a puppy. I was so happy to be able to give him a fresh copy with every single page in tact. He immediately took his book mark out of the old copy and put it into the new copy so he wouldn’t lose his place.

Five years ago Broadside didn’t even have a romance section.

I could list dozens of reasons why March 2026 is a burdensome timeline to exist within. You know the reasons. Rachel Reid has given me a dozen reasons why I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

The faces the dogs make when they realize I’m still talking about the gay hockey books.

Wish Dunkin and me luck at the vet today and pray for our collective nervous system.

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Tell me your glimmers and your favorite March reads in the comments.

I love you.

I’m glad you’re here.

Love,

Rosamond

Yaya is here too and for what it’s worth she thinks you are doing a really good job. In fact, she thinks you should probably ease up on yourself today.

We are just days away from the first day of Spring and I don’t know about you, but I am ready to feel just a little sun on my skin, to drink an obscene amount of iced coffee, and maybe, just maybe, read a book outside?? Can you imagine?? I can. I’m manifesting it for all of us.

With dreamy spring reading in mind, I’ve created a little seasonal to-be-read (tbr) list for myself. Whenever the world feels like too much, when the overwhelm starts to feel like it’s reaching above my shoulders, I make a list of books. I mean this quite literally. Sometimes I write down the titles on a little scrap of paper. If that’s not possible I just repeat the titles in my head like a prayer. There are still so many books to read. There are stories I haven’t yet encountered and thus whole ways of being and seeing waiting for me to discover them.

So really, more than a tbr, this is a list that grounds me and reminds of the goodness that’s still ahead. And that’s what I hope spring can be, too. A reminder of the goodness that’s still here.

Here’s my little list of intentions. Will I read them all? I’d be surprised! But I’m going to keep planning and hoping and making my little lists.

On Witness and Respair by Jesmyn Ward // Jesmyn Ward is an auto-read author for me. I’d read the phonebook if she wrote it. This is a collection of old and new essays and for months I’ve been misreading the title as “Witness and Repair.” But no, that word, Respair, meaning fresh hope after despair, is new to me and I can’t wait to read my favorite writer explore it in these essays. Out May 19th.

The Duke by Anna Cowan // I am desparate for some sapphic romance novels in my reading life and this one caught my attention. Here’s the publisher blurb: A sapphic regency romance about the duke who fears nothing... until the woman she never forgot walks through the door and brings her to her knees. Yeah, sign me the fuck up. Also my pal and bookseller extraordinaire said I should read this one and I do what Nicole tells me to. Out April 28th.

Night Owl by Aimee Nezhukumatathil // It’s always a good time to incorporate poetry into your reading life, but something about reading poems in spring hits different. I loved Aimee Nezhukumatathil’s earlier collection World of Wonders, and I had the joy of hearing her read at Smith College a few years back - as joyful and laughter-filled a poetry reading as I can ever remember. In her new collection, she explores “the transformative powers of the night” and I will follow her there.

The Long Game by Rachel Reid // I think Rachel Reid is a genius. I really, really do. I know that many romance readers have known this for a long time, but I’m so happy to be here now. Being a reader and a bookseller in the era of Heated Rivalry is a surprising and deep, deep joy. I’ve been saving the second Shane & Ilya book because shocker I really am quite sensitive and I don’t know if my teeny heart can take it. I hear there is a dog in this one?? God help me.

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn // So many readers I admire love this YA fantasy series about a reinvents the King Arthur legend with a young, Black girl as the heroine. I’ve got the craving to dig into a series like this and it feels like the right time to finally dig into this series.

The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson // Speaking of books that readers I admire love! This is a book I am embarrassed I have not yet read, but who has time to wallow in embarrassment?? I mean, I can usually make the time to be honest, but not anymore! My Mom and I are going to read this one together this Spring and that’s really the buddy read of my dreams.

I will read as many of these books as I possibly can, but just making this list has been the dopamine hit I needed. If you’re just that kind of nerd maybe make a list of your own! And, of course, tell me about your spring reading intentions in the comments.

I love you.

I’m glad you’re here.

Love,

Rosamond

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Here in Western Massachusetts we are coming off two days of perfect early spring weather. You know that feeling when it gets above sixty degrees for the first time in the season? And you realize that you have a body that needs sunlight like any other living being? Yeah - that feeling - we are in the thick of it and it’s glorious.

I love this little respite between seasons. I love that everyone in New England knows we still probably have a handful of cold, icy, mushy days ahead of us and we’re choosing to be hopeful anyway. I love that my aim this season, as always, is to drink as much iced coffee and read as many books as I possibly can. Who is with me?

Speaking of books, here are some baby book reviews of the books I read in February.

For each of the five books I read this month I’m going to tell you why I picked it up and then sort it into one of three categories: books that yes you absolutely should read no matter what (go read them already), books that maybe you might like with some key qualifiers, and books that if you picked them up I would gently shake my head and say, just no.

Admittedly, there aren’t any just no books this month because let’s be honest I know what I like. But I hold out hope that one of these days I am going to enter my critic era and really lay it on you.

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

Why? The bookish internet in which I dwell was all aflutter about the new Wuthering Heights adaptation so you know I had to get on that nerdy bandwagon.

Yes, Maybe, Just No? Maybe, if you have a smart, fun community to read alongside or at least a friend who shares an affinity for dark, weird, frankly fucked up books. For me, the joy of this reading experience came from reading alongside my bestie who organized a whole book club discussion and delighted in the intricacies of the text and the uproar over the adaptation. I loved it all.

Pool House by Mary H.K. Choi

Why? This is one of my most anticipated reads of 2026! One of my goals this year is to read more new releases before they come out and Mary H.K. Choi’s adult debut (out June 9th) has been on my radar for months now.

Yes, Maybe, Just No? Maybe, if you want a summer read that does more. I think publishers do a disservice to books they market as “summer reading” because it’s too easy to lump them all together as one-note, escapist, plot heavy novels. This is not that. This book takes on class anxiety, a deeply strained mother-daughter relationship, suicide, racism in Hollywood, and much more. It’s an ambitious book, full of heart and hurt. These characters and the weight they carry has stayed with me.

Dominion by Addie E. Citchens

Why? This debut novel has been high on my TBR every since Addie E. Citchens was a guest on The Stacks Pod back in August. I challenge you to listen to this conversation between Addie E. Citchens and and not immediately seek out a copy of Dominion. Plus, I will always, always read fiction set in the Mississippi Delta.

Yes, Maybe, Just No? YES. This book deals with rape and rape culture within the context of a church community in a small, Mississippi town. Please check the content warnings and be careful with yourself. That said, I think this is a piercing, surprising read that I would recommend to almost anyone. These days, so many novels are too long or take on too much. This novel is perfectly paced, darkly funny, and full of rich, unforgettable female characters. Sometimes with fiction I think it’s better to go in knowing almost nothing. Just know that you are in the hands of a skilled and capable storyteller and Addie E. Citchens will not let you go unchanged.

Fat Swim by Emma Copley Eisenberg

Why? Another of my most anticipated reads of 2026! Plus writes one of the best bookish newsletters on the internet.

Yes, Maybe, Just No? YES. You guys, I have such a crush on this book. It is so smart and interesting and weird and gay as anything. These are loosely connected short stories that center fat bodies and queerness and sex and Kiese Laymon is right - I was shaken. I read the first story on the plane sandwiched between two strangers on the way to bookseller camp and I truly felt my heart beating faster because I could tell I was dipping my toe into something brilliant. Again, with great fiction I don’t want to tell you much, but whether you are a reader of short stories or not, please know that this book will reach out and grab you. I’m endlessly glad it exists.

Tough Guy by Rachel Reid

Why? Because I am a proud participant in the mass psychosis that is gay hockey smut, obviously.

Yes, Maybe, Just No? Maybe, if you are already bought in to what Rachel Reid is serving. I’m in. I’m seated. This is no Heated Rivalry but I was invested in these two guys and their sweet love story. I loved the depiction of chronic anxiety in this one. Plus, the hockey player’s comfort book is Anne of Green Gables and he brings it on planes with him because just being near it makes him feel better. So, yeah, I’m into it.

Tell me: what was the best book you read in February?

Eleven days into March and I’m reading a real banger let me tell you.

Thank goodness for books, thank goodness for you.

I love you,

I’m glad you’re here.

Love,

Rosamond

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I was absent from your inbox last week, but I promise I had a good reason! I was living it up in beautiful Pittsburgh for the American Booksellers Association’s annual conference known as Winter Institute if you’re fancy and just a good ass time if you’re me.

Every time I have the opportunity to attend one of these conferences I feel unbelievably lucky. A gathering of booksellers from all over the country? Learning from fellow booksellers, meeting authors, getting a sneak peak at all the books hitting the market this year? Yes please!!

If any of this sounds at all fun to you then you are my people (but we knew this!) and come along for a little review of my time at bookseller camp.

My time in Pittsburgh started with a bookstore tour aka don’t tempt me with a good time. Essentially, hoards of booksellers load up on these big buses and ride all around the city stopping at various independent bookstores along the way.

Our first stop was Stay Gold Books, a small community bookstore just outside the city limits of Pittsburgh with one of the loveliest storefronts I’ve ever seen.

Next stop was White Whale Books, a gorgeous general interest bookstore and coffeeshop/bar that was just voted the Friendliest Small Business in Pennsylvania! It’s so clear to see why. If you are ever anywhere near Pittsburgh, you’ve got to stop by White Whale. It was simply dreamy.

We also visited Sparks Books, a new woman-owned children’s bookstore, and Mystery Lovers Bookshop, a specialty mystery bookstore that’s been around for over 30 years! The more I learn about what it means to keep a small bookstore alive, the more certain I am that every bookstore from the teeny, dusty old ones to the shiny new ones is a shot in the dark, a lighthouse that’s defying all odds.

I’ve been to three of these conferences now and three bookstore tours and every store I’ve visited is completely singular. Bookstores are as unique and weird and loveable as we are and isn’t that something?

Day two of the conference started with a bang by which I mean a keynote address from the one and only LeVar Burton. Can you imagine?? I could not. I could not imagine it until I heard that voice singing the Reading Rainbow song along with 500+ booksellers. There were many tears. Some of the tears were mine.

The days of the conference are full of education sessions on everything from how bookstores are resisting ICE occupations in their communities to how to hand sell middle grade novels to young readers to the basic economics of publishing to sales presentations from publishers.

There is so much to learn and see and take in and I did my best, but I won’t lie I was a particularly big fan of the Silent Reading Room.

I know a silent reading room hates to see me coming.

I was excited for LeVar Burton, of course, but I was really jazzed about the day three opening address - a panel on historical fiction featuring authors Xochitl Gonzalez, Marlon James, Min Jin Lee, and Colson Whitehead, all of whom have new novels coming this year. Someone call Bad Bunny because this is my Super Bowl. It’s always a pleasure to hear authors speak about their work, and to be in a room with these authors in this moment felt like a true privilege.

The finale of day three is something called the “author reception” which sounds fairly tame, but I assure you is a simply bonkers phenomenon that you have to see to believe. Authors are set up at tables around the perimeter of a giant room. Booksellers line up at the doors of the room and are given maps of which authors are at which tables. At the appointed time, the doors are opened and the booksellers surge in to meet their favorite authors and receive signed advance copies (ARCs) of their upcoming titles. Again, maybe that sounds tame but when you’ve got a limited number of advance copies of Min Jin Lee’s first novel in over ten years things can get a little chippy. As I overheard one bookseller say, “It’s giving hunger games.” It’s giving hunger games except everyone is very polite and nerdy.

Like literally everyone else, I was desperate for a Min Jin Lee ARC so I scurried over to her table armed with a totebag, a nametag, and social anxiety. It’s a happy ending because I got the book and Min Jin Lee told me she liked my dimples?! A big win for the dimple community.

I enjoy these conferences for the spectacle, for the opportunity to visit bookstores, for the reminder that yes, this is a real job and many, many people are doing it too. It’s the people, of course, that make it all worthwhile. You’re telling me I get to be a bookseller and make bookseller friends? Unreal.

Here I am with my friend Elisa who is a bookseller at The Bookstore Plus in Lake Placid, NY. This year, Elisa was a reader for the Indies Introduce Panel, a select group of booksellers that read tons of new releases by debut authors and select several titles to feature and present to the entire conference. This means that Elisa presented to over 500 booksellers and she absolutely killed it. I’m tell you, my fellow booksellers are some of the coolest, bravest people you could ever meet.

It sometimes feels like a fluke that I find myself in these settings with these brilliant people, but I’m here and I’m just trying to hold it all in my heart and my giant totebag.

Pittsburgh was so dreamy and I hope to go back and see more of the city one day. For now, though, I had two little dogs waiting for me and it was time to go home.

I’ve got dogs to snuggle and books to read and I hope I never take that for granted.

If you’ve read this far you are a real one. Tell me: if you were to attend a bookselling conference what ARCs (advanced reader copies!) would you throw an elbow or swing a tote bag to get your hands on? This is metaphorical, of course, I know you’re all very gentle, peaceful people, but never underestimate a nerd you know what I mean?

I love you.

I’m glad you’re here.

Love,

Rosamond

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Between the (gay) Olympics and Heated Rivalry fan edits and the little chihuahua I met yesterday named Ellie (best bookstore customer), I’m starting to think we might, might be okay.

Whenever I get a little too complimentary about another dog I have to tell Yaya that she is still my best girl. She already knows, but you can’t be too careful.

Sometimes it can be hard to see the good things. Here are five wonders that are keeping me going through this good, grey month.

Tell me your good things in the comments if you like.

Leave a comment

On Valentine’s day, Rebecca and I went to a matinee showing of Wuthering Heights and I’m so sorry to the haters, but it was a blast. Call me smooth-brained (lol but actually), but I had fun. Was it anything like the book? Of course not! Was the theater laughing and gasping and squealing and generally having a merry old time? Yes!

We were sitting next to an English major who was basically having heart palpitations (not in a good way) and behind a group of women who weren’t even trying to contain their giddiness over all this nonsense on the moors (especially when the nonsense involved Heathcliff in the rain - it almost always involved Heathcliff in the rain). You know what? I loved them all. I love when people love things. I love that people love this 179 year old book so profoundly they are in a blind rage over an adaptation they think falls short. I love that a director could love a book so much she could make a film adaptation of her absurd teenage fantasy of said book even if she knows it will get some knickers majorly in a twist. I love what my friend had to say about all this. I loved talking it all through in a book club discussion organized by my brilliant bestie . I love imagining what Emily Brontë would think about all of us getting hot and bothered over her novel 179 years on. I think she’d get a kick out of it, but really what do I know?

Also, at the movies we got popcorn and crisp diet cokes and I don’t know if that’s not all I really need for a good time.

Our girl Yaya is thriving, but like any 15 year old chihuahua she’s got a few quirks. She gets quite restless at bedtime and paces in tiny circles. We do everything we can to keep her comfortable, but sometimes it’s hard to know what she’s trying to tell us.

Want to know the only thing that really helps her settle down? Warning it’s very tender….

Turns out what she really wants is to be cuddled up next to her little, big brother. Once she’s next to Dunkin’s stinky, good self she goes right to sleep. I don’t really know what to do with this goodness, but I thought you should know.

I’ve been reading less this year and I think it’s okay. I know this sounds absurd to anyone who doesn’t work the in the book industry or spend too much time in the bookish corners of the internet. Reading is essential to my job and it’s also my favorite hobby and a profound source of joy and purpose and meaning in my life. With all that in mind it’s easy to fall into the trap that more is more is more.

But you know what? I’ve read seven books so far this year. I would characterize five of those as knock-out, five star reads. I’m slowing down and I’m teaching myself that’s not a bad thing. This is really just a note to myself, but if it’s helpful or relatable to you at all, please take it with you! This is supposed to be fun and we are all making it up as we go, so go at your own pace.

Speaking of book joy, do you have a moment to hear about the joy of being a bookseller in the era of Heated Rivalry?

Some day I’ll tell you about the older gentleman who came in and asked do you have those hockey books? He’d read all about them and couldn’t wait to read them for himself. Or the harried Mom who bought The Long Game so of course I was like gotta love the cottage lol and she looked me in the eyes so earnestly and said, it’s my happy place. So like, yeah, don’t panic people are still buying books and books are still changing lives. I shall continue to report from the front lines!!

And last but not least, I leave you with these two legends. Almost nothing makes sense these days, but coming across these two in the middle of a doom scroll stopped me in my tracks.

Not to be gross, but there is still some goodness out there if you know to look for it.

I love you.

I’m glad you’re here.

Love,

Rosamond

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I hope you are staying as warm and as cozy as ever you possibly can these days. It’s February and the world is the world, this country is this country, our government is our government, but I’ve been reveling in the art and artists that make my world go round.

Bad Bunny? Sublime. Heated Rivalry? To quote this substack, I am a woman possessed. New music from MUNA my favorite band in the world? I can breathe again. Kristen Stewart bought this movie theater? I can’t explain it but this is very important to me.

I need some time to just lie on the floor and think about all the art (gay shit) and artists (gay people) that I love.

Don’t even get me started on the Olympics.

Sadly, I do live under capitalism (bummer) so I can’t just sit on my couch and make Dunkin and Yaya rewatch Heated Rivalry with me for eternity. Luckily, I am a bookseller and I love my job most days. Speaking of bookselling, I put out the call on instagram for any questions about bookselling for a little series I like to call Ask a Bookseller.

Thank you for letting me yap! Tell me about your favorite bookstore/bookseller in the comments.

Leave a comment

Does Broadside host fun community events in addition to selling amazing books?

We try! The truth is that the work of stocking and selling books takes up most of the time and capacity of our small staff/small store, but we host author events whenever we can particularly with local authors. It’s always such a pleasure to see our little store packed full of readers and customers. I feel self-conscious of our small space and uncomfortable folding chairs, but time and again I am reminded of the power of gathering and supporting books and authors. It’s so special. Earlier this month we hosted local author Howard Bryant to read from and talk about his new book, Kings and Pawns: Jackie Robinson and Paul Robeson in America. Howard went from an appearance on Morning Joe to little Broadside for a book launch event and it was such a treat and an honor to host him. Connecting with authors and holding space for them to connect with readers is a sacred responsibility and pure pleasure for any bookseller.

Do distributors/publishers prioritize sending stock to big booksellers over indies?

I’ve been a bookseller for six years now and I am still learning the ins and outs of the distribution process and learning new ways that Amaz*n has it’s knee on the neck of small booksellers and publishers and distributors. So the short answer is yes. Anecdotally, I know that we are frequently scrambling and struggling to get a popular book (hello The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny) and it seems to be endlessly available on Amaz*n. That’s the bad news. The good news is that independent booksellers are a powerful community and we wield our influence however we can. The creation of bookshop.org and Libro.fm both give me hope that we still have tools in our toolbox to fight back. This is where consumer choices really do matter. I know you know this, but when you choose to buy a book locally it’s a small but meaningful piece of evidence that consumers still care about little shops like ours. I’ll be attending the annual American Booksellers Association conference in Pittsburgh in just a few weeks so hopefully I will learn new and better ways to answer this question soon!

What is one thing you wished everyone knew about bookselling?

It’s very glamourous and steady and well-paid. JUST KIDDING!! No but in all seriousness, and I don’t know how to say this without sounding trite, but I want people to know that booksellers really do love books. We love books and we love what happens when the right person finds the right book. It’s that simple and that impossible and complex. Before I worked in a small business, I knew that shopping locally was a good thing to do, that supporting a little stores felt good. Now that I’ve seen behind the scenes I think I just want people to know that it feels good because it makes a measurable difference. As consumers we can tell when our purchases are making a quantifiable difference to the bottom line. You know the feeling. Chase that feeling! There’s so much that’s hard about existing in this system as we know it today. I know I am preaching to the choir here, but choosing to spend your money where it really counts is actually never a small thing. Whether it’s a book or a cup of coffee or a hat or Heated Rivalry merch, spend your money with real people. It’s a dopamine rush for a reason.

AI could never explain or predict the legions of lesbians fighting to buy these books about their gay hockey boyfriends, you know what I mean?

Anyways, thank you for letting me yap. I hope you find what you need today. And if what you need is in an indie bookstore?? All the better!

I love you.

I’m glad you’re here.

Love,

Rosamond

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We made it through January and for that I personally think you deserve a gold star. Seriously, go get yourself a treat already.

I read five books in January and not to be gross, but I was really intentional about what I picked up and I’m so happy how with how my reading month turned out.

I figured it’s as good a time as any to bring back my favorite game: yes, maybe, just no. For each of the five books I’ve read this month I’m going to tell you why I picked it up and then sort it into one of three categories: books that yes you absolutely should read no matter what (go read them already), books that maybe you might like with some key qualifiers, and books that if you picked them up I would gently shake my head and say, just no.

There aren’t any just no books this month which is a win for my reading life but don’t worry I’m sure I’ll have the chance to play the role of the critic as this year goes on.

These are loosely in the order of least favorite to most beloved, but I read some real bangers this month so don’t hold me to it.

Girl on Girl: How Pop Culture Turned a Generation of Women Against Themselves by Sophie Gilbert

Why? The Stacks Book Club of course!! One thing about me is I’m going to be reading the Stacks book club pick. Unless it’s something I’ve read recently, I basically never miss a month and yes that’s a brag.

Yes, Maybe, Just No? Maybe, if you are interested in the ways pop culture seeps into our psyches, particularly pop culture’s impact on girls and women in the nineties and early aughts. I love a book that takes pop culture seriously and this book certainly does that. If you want to listen to two very smart people talk about this, you’ve got to listen to and Christiana Mbakwe Medina discuss this one on The Stacks. Being a girl is no joke and this book makes some interesting arguments about why growing up as a girl in the nineties and early aughts was particularly bruising.

Whidbey by T Kira Madden

Why? I want to read more buzzy 2026 books this year, and I’ve followed T Kira Madden for years so her debut novel felt like a good place to start my reading year. I also wanted to start my reading year with a queer book so this one just checked all my boxes.

Yes, Maybe, Just No? Maybe, just be prepared for a book about some of the toughest topics albeit written by an author who writes with a singular care for and solidarity with victims of abuse. This is a book about sexual abuse of minors and pedophilia. It is about the victims and the perpetrators of these crimes and culpability and revenge. It is not an easy read, but it is deeply worthwhile. I’m not the first to say this, of course, but I think there is great value in reading books that make us uncomfortable. I think T Kira Madden is the kind of writer I trust to carry the reader into these murky waters though she provides no easy answers or exit ramps. The writing is masterful and I was gripped from beginning to end. As readers we must take care of ourselves, so I would recommend this with the note that it is a rich and rewarding reading experience that demands a lot from it’s reader. In the advanced reading copy I read there is a short, but profound content warning that I so appreciated and I hope sets an example for authors and publishers moving forward. Whidbey comes out March 10th!

Kin by Tayari Jones

Why? Remember my goal to read more exciting new releases? It doesn’t get much more exciting than a new novel from powerhouse Tayari Jones.

Yes, Maybe, Just No? YES. Unequivocally yes!! This is the kind of novel that reminds me why I love reading novels in the first place. From the first five pages I could tell I was in good hands and I just disappeared into this deceptively simple, deeply compelling narrative. With good fiction like this, I think it’s best to go in knowing almost nothing so I’m not going to give you too many plot details beyond that this is a female friendship novel for the ages. I was head over heels for these characters from the jump and when I wasn’t reading this book I was thinking about it. said in her review that it’s a novel about choices and that’s exactly right. It’s about the choices our two heroines make in their lives and it’s brilliant in it’s simplicity. Tayari Jones doesn’t do any high flying tricks on the page because she doesn’t have to and that’s a real flex. If you tend to avoid buzzy books I totally get that but please don’t skip this one. It is very much worth your time. Kin comes out February 24th.

Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid

Why? More like WHY NOT??? Mom and Dad if you are reading this (and I know you are - love you!!) you can skip this because I can’t talk about these books with you.

Okay, everyone else, if you have any interest at all in smutty gay romance then yeah believe the hype. I don’t know what Rachel Reid is putting in these things, but it is really doing it for me. I love Ilya and Shane so deeply and I love the way the world loves them even more.

Yes, Maybe, Just No? YES. Smarter people than me can tell you why Heated Rivalry matters so much and I would turn you in particular to two of my favorite writers: and Laura Sackton whose pieces on Heated Rivalry made me teary with delight.

I love these gay hockey boys!!! I am surprised by this joy!!

I didn’t know we’d get pure pleasure like this is in 2026, but you can catch me rejoicing in it as much as the next gay hockey romance loving lesbian.

Small Rain by Garth Greenwell

Why? This was the January pick for my in-person book club and also a book that my friend Laura (of Heated Rivalry and queer syntax fame!) loves deeply.

Yes, Maybe, Just No? YES. I wrote about my love for this book last week. Novels by poets, am I right??? I think you should read this one. I think you should read it on audio if that’s enjoyable or accessible to you.

Please tell me in the comments if you’ve read or plan to read any of these books! Also tell me if you read any Yes or Just No books this month.

Remember what I said up top about getting yourself a treat? I’m so for real. Leave a comment on this post and then go get a treat already!

I love you.

I’m glad you’re here.

Love,

Rosamond

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Hey! You’re here. Thank you.

I don’t have to tell you that these days are heavy. It’s scary. No book or poem or substack can solve this. I do know that people are taking action. People are showing up for each other. I’m scared, but I’m in awe of the courage of my neighbors, my community, and especially my colleagues in bookselling. I hope I can live up to it.

I hope that you are giving money where you can, paying attention when you can, and, of course, taking care of yourself where and how you can. I don’t have anything new to say, but may there never be any doubt where I stand.

This is not normal and it doesn’t have to be this way. I am beyond grateful to the leaders and friends and neighbors who remind me of this truth every day. If it helps, here’s a book and a movie that made this month feel just a little more possible.

Favorite Read

Small Rain by Garth Greenwell

I read some real stunners this month and I’m going to tell you about all of them next week, but if I had to pick one to tell you about right now it has to be Small Rain by Garth Greenwell. My friend Laura has been an evangelist for this book since it first came out, and it is no surprise at all that she was right. I love a novel by a poet and this one bowled me over. I think it’s best to go in to this one knowing very little. It’s about a poet who has a health crisis and is hospitalized in July 2020. It’s about the body and the mind and nothing less than how to live a good life. What I really want to tell you is that this book is remarkable in every form. I listened to much of it on audio and it is one of the best audiobooks I have ever encountered. Sometimes I can only judge a book based on how I feel when I read its last word and this one left me stunned and hopeful, looking out the window, feeling glad to be here.

One Bright Glimmer

what is a glimmer?

On Saturday evening, just before the storm, Rebecca and I went out into the cold to see Come See Me in the Good Light, the new documentary about the poet Andrea Gibson, which was screening in town as a fundraiser for the local non-profit Translate Gender. Before the film began the poet and singer Mary Lambert spoke about her friendship with Andrea and what it means to be a friend and a person and an artist at a time like this. I listened to this song by Mary Lambert approximately 1289798734 times when I was coming out to myself. I listened to this poem by Andrea Gibson approximately 13897549287 times to get through some of my most impossible days. I don’t know that I would be this person with this life were it not for Andrea Gibson and Mary Lambert.

Come See Me in the Good Light is streaming on Apple TV and if you have the chance, I do think you should see it. I try not to overuse the term life-changing because when I say it, I really want to mean it. I mean it here. This film was life-changing.

And so we went home in the frigid cold. Well, we stopped at Taco Bell first because crying makes you hungry. Over our crunch wrap supremes we talked about why the movie hit the way it did. Rebecca said this and she is so right: the film is many things, but it’s also just a story about a queer couple who love their dogs and it did something to me to see that up on the big screen.

That’s all I have for you today: a book and a movie I loved and just the hope that you will carry on as best you know how. I’m trying, too.

Be gentle with yourself if you can.

If you’d like, tell me your glimmers in the comments.

I love you.

I’m glad you’re here.

Love,

Rosamond

Hey! You’re here. Thank you.

It’s full capital W Winter around here and we are cold, but we are doing our best.

I want to write a jaunty little newsletter about books to beat the winter blues, but I think we all know it’s hard to “beat” the winter blues with everything going on right now. I can’t pretend that books are enough when ICE is targeting our neighbors and killing with impunity.

I know you are seeing the same videos I am, the evil people in power lying to our faces and the remarkable courage and persistence of the folks on the ground in Minneapolis and across the country. Books alone can’t counterbalance the horror or equal the courage of the protestors on the front lines.

And yet. It’s winter and I’m cold and we’re doing the best we can. I am going to share a little stack of books that I think might make worthy winter companions if that kind of thing is a comfort.

This newsletter was fully inspired by this reel I saw of bookstore owner and author Emma Straub sharing a stack of winter reading recommendations.

Emma is a legend and Books are Magic is a haven. I aspire to this level of bookselling skill and style.

If you were to walk in to Broadside and ask me for some recommendations to chase away the winter sadness, this is the little stack I would give you. Well, first I would panic and forget every book I ever read, but then I would remember and give you these wonders.

We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman

I am a Catherine Newman stan and We All Want Impossible Things is my favorite of her books. No one asked me, but I much prefer the original cover. Either way, what’s inside is that rare and remarkable thing: a funny novel about death. Set in late winter in a small New England town this book rings so true. I remember exactly where I was when I read it for the first time in one perfect sitting. You could read this one any time of year, but I think it was made for dark winter days just like these.

How to Write an Autobiographical Novel by Alexander Chee

This pick is completely inspired by my two dear friends, Emma and Laura, who recently read and re-read this modern classic. It feels like a disservice to call this one a back-to-school book, but I mean it as the highest praise. Whether we like it or not, January can be a kind of new beginning and what better way to mark a new beginning than this masterpiece from a wonderful teacher. Chee covers so much ground in this collection, but if you are a reader, a lover of story, a believer in words, you will find something to guide you forward.

Lost & Found by Kathryn Schulz

This is an evergreen recommendation for me. If you’ve been around me at all over the years, I’m sure you’ve heard me recommend it, but it’s too good and important to pass up the opportunity. here The subtitle of this memoir - “Reflections on Grief, Gratitude, and Happiness” - might give you the wrong idea even though this book is of course a reflection on those things. This is not your average self-help memoir hybrid. Schulz struggles and questions and rejoices right there on the page and it is a wonder to witness. I know it feels like winter will last forever, and this is the book to read when you start to lose sight of the good things ahead.

An Island Princess Starts a Scandal by Adriana Herrera

The winter blues you say? May I prescribe some sapphic historical romance?? It might not fix all your problems but it’s worth a try if you ask me.

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

I read this one right at the end of the last year, and it was such a weird, strangely cozy book to snuggle up with at the end of one year and the beginning of another. This book is singular and I think it’s better to know almost nothing going in. I want to read more fantasy, particularly this time of year, but I’m intimidated by big, long tomes. This is a slim, cerebral, surprising novel that works your mind and your heart. Not to be a cliche, but I can so imagine snuggling up with a cup of coffee and reading this book beginning to end as the snow falls gently outside.

Dunkin can imagine this too and actually he would like to go snuggle on the couch right now.

Thank you for letting me practice my bookselling skills. I hope you find a book this week that is just the company you need. I hope you keep fighting the power. Maybe we can’t beat the winter blues, but we can keep each other company while we’re here.

I love you.

I’m glad you’re here.

Love,

Rosamond

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Last night, I went to a book event for Margot Douaihy, author of the Sister Holiday mystery series and all-around legend. Margot’s books feature a lesbian, punk rock, chain smoking nun who solves crime and I really don’t know what else you need to know. It was a dream to sit in the audience and listen to Margot read and discuss her work. What I will remember, though, is that Margot began her presentation by reading from this poem - an elegy for Renee Nicole Good written by Danez Smith and published this week in Harper’s Bazaar.

Renee, I saw the video. I’ve seen the scene from every angle. I know what I saw. Despite the party’s wishes, I trust my eyes and my ears. I know you should be somewhere safe, close to your loved ones, musing on a poem to rescue our souls from the seduction of despair, the comfort of inaction, and the false safety some see in fascism. Neighbor, I know you should be alive. I know what I saw. - Danez Smith / An Elegy for My Neighbor, Renee Nicole Good / Read the full poem here.

I appreciate Margot and her work for so many reasons, and I will always remember how she set this example and began this reading. Before we begin anything in this time, let us first acknowledge this time. Let us acknowledge the evil that is working right now, killing out neighbors, asking us to deny what our own eyes have seen.

I am afraid and I am grateful for the artists and truthtellers who are still lighting the way forward.

My dear friend and fellow bookseller Emma wrote this little blurb for Margot’s latest book, Divine Ruin, and I want to share it with you here because it’s just too good.

Everyone’s favorite queer, punk nun is back! Douaihy’s bold, poetic prose and gritty plot combine to create another Sister Holiday mystery that is utterly unique. Divine Ruin will inspire you to ask hard questions about faith, love, and loss and get some new tattoos along the way. - Emma, Bookseller, Broadside Bookshop

Listen to Emma! Listen to Margot! I don’t know how to move forward, but I know whose light I’m following.

With all that in mind, this week I am going to share some of my reading goals for 2026, because I love a little homework, I love a goal I set for myself, and most of all I love the opportunity to give myself a gold star.

complete the mega challenge!!

It’s my third year participating in the Stacks Mega Challenge and believe me when I say I absolutely live for this nerdy literary treasure hunt. Created by the one and only , the challenge - which you too can access by supporting The Stacks on patreon - consists of 52 unique prompts designed to stretch and enrich your reading life. Thanks to last year’s challenge I read a book about David Koresh and the crisis at Waco, a queer YA regency romance, a novel I’ve been meaning to read forever, and so many other titles. It’s fun, it’s satisfying, and it comes with a whole community cheering you on. Gold stars for everyone!

keep up my book journal

There are so many books in the world, it’s hard to resist the urge to feverishly rush from one book to the next. Sometimes, it’s okay to indulge that urge! That said, this year I want to pause to take the time to write down my thoughts about the books I read. I hope this will deepen my reading experiences and help me keep some of these books up here in this swiss cheese brain just a little longer.

At the very least, I’ve got some cutie stickers on my journal and that’s got to count for something. I’ve already journaled about the first two books I’ve read this year: Whidbey by T Kira Madden and Small Rain by Garth Greenwell. Another gold star for me!

read 40% new releases

So many readers I admire are dedicated to resisting “buzz” and reading backlist titles that have stood the test of time or unsung titles that never got the shine they deserve. I respect and admire this deeply. Reading only buzzy new releases can make for an unsatisfying reading year. That said, because of my job and because I am a ho, I want to be in the middle of the conversation. I don’t want to miss out on the books that have us all yapping this year.

Thanks to the Mega Challenge (see above!) and my two book clubs, I know I will have the chance to read some backlist titles I missed over the years. Beyond that, I want to prioritize new releases this year so I can recommend (or not recommend!) them with confidence.

Plus I just want to be in the middle of it all! Gold star for meeeee.

Last week I shared some of my most highly anticipated 2026 releases. Am I the buzz??

read 12 books before their release date

Being a bookseller is sadly not as cozy or glamorous as you may imagine, but it does come with some major perks and joys not the least of which is access to advance reader copies (also called galleys) of new books. Having access to books before they come out still feels deeply special and cool (braggy brag brag!!) and I always think about how excited little Rosamond would be to learn that publishers and authors actually want her to read their books early. This year, I want to continue to take advantage of this incredible perk and read books before they come out so I can recommend them with confidence and obviously so I can brag. Speaking of bragging about galleys do you follow ? You should.

My first read of the year was Whidbey by T Kira Madden which comes out on March 10th so once again gold star for me! But really, gold star for T Kira Madden because this book is simply astonishing and it should absolutely be on your radar if it’s not already.

read 12 romance novels

I set this goal for myself last year and I ended up reading 16 so you already know…. gold star for me!! My romance reading has become richer and more tailored to my specific tastes thanks to one person and one person only and that is Grace, my dear friend and romance expert, my personal romance recommender, my romance fairy godmother. I am so excited to read more romance this year and I’m not just talking about Heated Rivalry though I am, of course, talking about Heated Rivalry.

A moment please for the kobo case Rebecca got me for Christmas. Yeah, it’s going to be a good year.

Tell me: what are you giving yourself a gold stars for?? any new reading goals for this year? any special gold stars you earned (from yourself of course) in the last year?

In case you need it, I’m going to give you a big gold star right here, right now just for being here and trying. It’s an impossible time. I’m glad you’re here. Gold star for YOU.

I love you.

Love,

Rosamond

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It’s been two whole weeks since we’ve met in this little corner of the internet. I hope you got some room to breathe, some time with the people and animals you love, and, of course, some quiet time to read.

I can’t help myself: I love the new year. I love the idea that we get to start again. I love that we all commit to the notion that there is more story to tell. I love reflecting on the books I read in the previous year and looking ahead to all the books in my future. It is hopeful. That kind of hope feels pure and rare these days so I’m holding on for dear life.

I’m packing in a lot of goodness here, so it may be too long to read in your inbox. Just make sure you click the tiny link at the bottom that says “view entire message” so you don’t miss a thing.

In the name of hope and being a book nerd and looking forward to things, here are twelve books I am hyped about in the coming year.

Is This a Cry for Help? by Emily Austin // January 13th

For the last few years I’ve been making these most anticipated lists, there is almost always an Emily Austin title in the mix. I don’t know how she does it, but no one churns out novels about the anxious lesbian experience like Emily Austin. I can’t quit her! This one is about a lesbian librarian having a mental breakdown and was inspired by the song Motion Sickness by Phoebe Bridgers. Yeah, I’m in.

Rooting Interest by Cat Disabato // January 27th

I think the blurb on the cover of this romance really says it all:

“Even a real-life WNBA game can’t compare to the high-stakes drama of this gorgeously rendered, thrillingly queer journalist-meets-athlete romance”

No your eyes do not deceive you. This appears to be a sapphic, basketball romance. Things are looking up, folks!!

On Morrison by Namwali Serpell // February 17th

In this new work of literary criticism, scholar Namwali Serpell delves into the artistic genius of Toni Morrison. I won’t lie, I am intimidated by this book. I don’t know if I’m smart enough for it, but I think reading it might be a little like taking an incredible college course and that appeals to me in a big way. The publisher calls it “accessible and uncompromisingly rigorous…. a primer on how to read one of the most significant American authors of all time but also how to read great works of literature in general.” I’m ready to go back to school!

Brawler by Lauren Groff // February 24th

Lauren Groff is one of my favorite authors (and booksellers!) so a new LG release is always going to make the list. This cover is so striking and creepy, I can’t wait to see what these stories have in store for us.

Let the Poets Govern by Camoghne Felix // March 3rd

This book is billed as a part-memoir, part-manifesto that “interprets Black radical literary traditions to reimagine freedom through refusal.” Camonghne Felix worked as a speechwriter for Elizabeth Warren’s most recent presidential campaign. She is also a poet and memoirist schooled in the tradition of Audre Lorde and Gwendolyn Brooks. I am so interested in this intersection and Felix’s thesis statement here about the middle of the venn diagram between policy and poetry.

Whidbey by T Kira Madden // March 10th

I’m reading this remarkable novel right now. I’ve got about 30 pages left and I can tell you this one is the real deal. T Kira Madden has pulled off something remarkable in her debut novel about abuse, redemption, and survival. Check all the content warnings on this one - it deals explicity with the impact of Childhood Sexual Abuse across the lives of several different women and is not an easy read by any means. That said, I know for sure that this book is going to spark difficult, necessary conversations and I’m so glad it exists.

Court Queens by Emma Baccellieri & Jordan Robinson // March 17th

More books about women’s basketball please!! I simply cannot wait to get my hands on this “definitive, first-of-its-kind, richly photographic celebration of women’s basketball.” I know everyone is watching the WNBA now and I’m curious to read all about it, but let’s not forget the athletes that made the WNBA what it is today. I’m hopeful that this book by two female sports journalists will do justice to this history and culture that is deeply important to me and so many others.

Fat Swim by Emma Copley Eisenberg // March 17th

I’ve been a fan of ever since I heard her read at my local library a few years back. The way she talks about books and fatness and queerness and bodies is revelatory. Her substack is not to be missed. This new book is a collection of linked short stories and I’m in based on that brilliant cover alone.

Mother Tongue by Sara Nović // May 5th

I’ve been following Sara Nović ever since reading her debut novel True Biz back in 2022. In this new memoir, Nović, a deaf activist and instructor of deaf studies, reflects on the experience of parenting her two sons - one biological and hearing, and the other adopted and deaf. True Biz is memorable for the way it examines the borders between the hearing and deaf communities, particularly within family units, so I am so interested to see how Nović explores these questions now in the memoir form.

No God But Us by Bobuq Sayed // May 26th

I always want to include some debuts on this list and this one about two gay Afghan men whose lives dramatically intersect when riot police descent on a Pride march in Instanbul sounds particularly fascinating and excellent.

Whistler by Ann Patchett // June 2nd

I love Ann Patchett. I am not alone in this, I realize. I am just one of many bookish people who hang on Ann’s brilliant every word. The woman knows what she is doing. And her dog Nemo is the king of bookstore dogs. Anyway, she wrote a new novel and it comes out in June and that’s simply enough for me.

Pool House by Mary H. K. Choi // June 9th

As with so many of my favorite books and authors, I was first introduced to the wonderful Mary H. K. Choi when I heard her on The Stacks Pod with . We read her YA novel, Emergency Contact, for book club and I officially became a member of the Mary H.K. Choi fan club. Choi’s debut adult novel is “about mothers, daughters, and the complexity of family set against the backdrop of Hollywood.” A Summery fiction about big feelings and messy families?? Yes please.

Dunkin says it’s time to wrap it up and get back to actually reading (aka cuddling/napping on the couch).

Tell me - what books have you tingly with excitement in this new year??

It’s not just me that gets the new books tingles, right? Tell me I’m not alone!

Take care of yourself this week.

I’m glad you’re here.

Love,

Rosamond

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Guess what? We made it through another year! I don’t care what kind of year you had, that’s no small thing. It’s tough out here. I say it a lot but I really do mean it: I’m so glad you’re here.

One thing that keeps me going in the most literal sense is…. wait for it you will be shocked…. books!! I read some really, really spectacular ones this year and I want to tell you about them.

Who am I kidding, I know I have already told you about all these books over the course of the year in this here newsletter. That said, there is still such satisfaction for me in putting these ten remarkable reads in one stack and admiring the wealth and depth and wonder of these works.

Have you ever tried to take a cute photo with two tiny dogs, ten books, and one Rosamond?? Not an easy task let me tell you.

I’ve read 72 books so far this year.

I read 67% fiction and 33% nonfiction. 32% of the books I read this year were 2025 new releases. Those are just some numbers for you if you are into STEM.

I’m a feelings girl myself and these books had me feeling it all. Thank you for letting me moon about them forever and always, and don’t forget to hit the comments before you leave to tell me about a book you loved that I should read next year.

Leave a comment

I couldn’t contain myself on this one, so it is likely too long to read the whole thing in your email inbox. Just make sure you click the tiny link at the bottom that says “view entire message” so you don’t miss any of my nonsense.

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

I know I may have been the last person on earth to read this 1992 novel, but let me be proof that it’s never too late. Rebecca read this first and her zeal for it inspired me to finally pick it up. What I found was a novel that I think so many novels since have tried to imitate. It’s dark and twisty and strange. The characters are deeply unlikeable and there truly wasn’t a single one I was rooting for. And yet, I was fully, deeply committed to them up to the very last page. Only a great writer can do that. Rebecca and I even took a drive to Bennington, VT to see the scene of the crime. If you know, you know. Go off, Donna.

Stag Dance: A Novel & Stories by Torrey Peters

This short novel and accompanying short stories is unlike anything I’ve ever read. You know that feeling when you realize in the first few sentences that you are in the hands of a great writer and you can just trust where they are taking you? That’s how I feel anytime I read a Torrey Peters work. From gender play among lumberjacks, to a dystopian plague, I never knew what was around the corner in any of these stories. This one is also excellent on audio!

Articulate: A Deaf Memoir of Voice by Rachel Kolb

I wrote a whole book report about this one! I’m awed by memoirists that are able to zoom in on their own stories and then deftly zoom out to simultaneously tell a bigger tale. That is exactly what Rachel Kolb does in her impressive debut memoir. Since I first read it, I’ve had the chance to discuss it with friends and family and what keeps coming up is how Rachel manages to teach the reader without ever making you feel that you are the student and she is the teacher. There is a sense of curiosity and play that persists throughout Rachel’s narrative that has stayed with me.

Spent: A Comic Novel by Alison Bechdel

When I’m thinking about authors that changed the course of my reading life (aka my whole life), Alison Bechdel is always going to be near the top of the list. I knew, then, that I was going to love her fiction debut - a graphic novel about a cartoonist named Alison Bechdel who is wrestling with the moral implications of a wildly successful TV adaptation in her work and also running a pygmy goat farm in Vermont with her wife (LOL). But even I, an Alison stan, was surprised and delighted by the humor, wit, and play in these pages. Alison skewers everyone, herself first, and it was just such fun. Thank you, Alison!

Wreck by Catherine Newman

I LOVE Catherine Newman. I’m ready to throw my hat in the ring for President of the Catherine Newman fan club. Move over, Ann Patchett!! I don’t think anyone is writing funnier fiction in 2025 than . Wreck is a follow up to Sandwich and I will follow these characters and this family to the ends of the earth. If you are anxious or a weirdo or both (hi), this one is for us.

One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El-Akkad

I wrote a book report about this one, too. I think the term “essential reading” is probably overused but if I had to apply it to one book, it would be this one. From it’s brilliant title to the very last page this book speaks for itself and you won’t be able to look away. ’ interview with Omar El-Akkad on the Stacks is my favorite podcast episode of the year. I would also urge you to listen to El-Akkad’s acceptance speech after winning the National Book Award just last month.

Original Sins: The (Mis)Education of Black and Native Children and the Construction of American Racism by Eve L. Ewing

More non-fiction! Who is she? I would think that a 400 page history of the education system in America would be a bit of a slog for a reader like me, but in the hands of scholar and poet Eve L. Ewing, this remarkable achievement of research and scholarship is also a page-turning, generous, accessible read. Anyone who has ever interacted with schools - as a student, an educator, or just as someone who loves a student or educator - should read this book.

Feeding Ghosts: A Graphic Memoir by Tessa Hulls

This book won the Pulitzer Prize for memoir in 2024 and nobody asked me, but woweee they got it right this time folks. In haunting, vivid illustrations, Hulls tells the story of three generations of women in her family within the larger context of Chinese history since 1949. When I finished this one I had to just sit quietly and stare at the wall for a good, long time. It’s about intergenerational trauma, forgiveness, mothers and daughters, exile, and recovery. It’s one of one. I remain in deep awe of this book and Tessa Hulls’ commitment to telling this story.

Things in Nature Merely Grow by Yiyun Li

I read a lot of grief memoirs. For all kinds of reasons, I am fascinated by books that attempt turn the impossible pain of living into something tangible between the two covers of a book. I read a lot of grief memoirs and I’ve never read anything like Things in Nature Merely Grow. I suspect I never will. It is a memoir for Yiyun Li’s son James who died by suicide six years after her son Vincent also took his own life. It is a book that looks the reader in the eye and says: these are the facts. I recommend this one carefully because I believe readers should care for themselves particularly when reading about suicide. That said, as a survivor of suicide loss, no book has every made more sense than this one.

The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong

I have not been quiet about my love for this novel. I hope you already know, but I’m still going to say it: this is my favorite novel in recent memory. This is the book that I would reach for from rock bottom. I don’t know much about the “canon,” but I know this great American rural New England fast food gay neurodivergent recovery wrestling civil war pig grief novel belongs there. I know that this book changed my life. I know that selling this book has been one of the greatest joys of my professional life. If you read this book with me this year, if you made room for me to tell you what it means to me: thank you. I had the time of my life engaging with this book this year. I can’t wait to read it again.

Yaya is telling me it’s time to pack it up and, as always, she is correct.

Reading is my refuge, so you better believe I am already thinking about what books will keep me company in the new year.

Tell me: if you could recommend one book for me to read in 2026, what would it be?

I love you.

I’m glad you’re here.

Love,

Rosamond

Well, it’s full on winter here now. Icy, crunchy, dark, boogers freezing in your nose, capital W Winter.

We’re all being really brave about it.

Despite the booger freezing cold, I love the invitation this season brings to reflect on the year that’s been. Particularly, of course, when it comes to books and reading.

If you’re a fan of year-end, best-of lists, then gird your loins because next week I’m coming at you with my ten favorite reads of the year. I know you’ve been waiting!!!

We set a high bar last year thanks to the help of my creative director so here’s hoping we can meet the moment this year.

In anticipation of the big one next week, this week I’ll give you a little taste of some books I adored that just didn’t make the top ten list. Many of these superlatives were inspired by ’ best books of 2025 column for shereads.com. Her list is unsurprisingly excellent and her influence on my reading life will be abundantly clear. Thank you, Traci!

Best Book to Start the Year

Dog Songs by Mary Oliver

I started my reading year with some Mary Oliver dog poetry and I do think I did it right. I’m a reader who believes it’s crucial to start the reading year off with a guaranteed banger. My advice? Read something that is deeply on brand for you. It’s not too early to start planning your first read of 2026, and may I gently suggest some Mary to get you going?

There is also an audiobook version narrated by Mary herself and it just doesn’t get much better than that.

Books I Love Recommending

Trust & Safety by Laura Blackett & Eve Gleichman

I successfully recommended this novel to both Rebecca and so I’m calling that a major win. This one is like if Jane Austen wrote about millennials in the Hudson Valley and I ate it up with a spoon. It’s funny and surprising and just a very good time.

Woodworking by Emily St. James

I recommended this debut novel to my Mom and she is reading it right now! This story of a trans teacher in South Dakota is moving, funny, and deeply compelling. One way I measure the impact of a book is how often I bring it up in conversation (apologies to anyone who ever has to talk to me) and this one kept coming up again and again. It also made me laugh out loud (lol for real) in a way very few books really do.

The History of Sound by Ben Shattuck

Like many of my favorite reads, this one was recommended to me by my bestie . And now I’m just passing on the gift and reaping the rewards of her good taste. She is particularly an advocate for the first, titular story in this collection and she is, of course, correct. That story is an all-timer. I haven’t seen the movie adaptation yet, but it’s high on my list. I love recommending this whole collection, though, because both Western Massachusetts (my current home) and Brunswick, Maine (my hometown) feature throughout the collection. If you live in and love either of those places (I know many of you do!) then this is essential reading.

The audiobook is also one of the best I’ve listened to in recent memory. If you aren’t an audiobook reader, this one may convert you.

Romance that Lives Rent Free

First, please know that if you like any of my romance recommendations, you really just like Grace’s recommendations and you should just follow her bookstagram @dogbuttsandbooks immediately. Grace hand selects perfect romance recs for me and it’s truly a gift that once again I am simply passing on to you.

Make Room for Love by Darcy Liao

A trans femme graduate student gets help organizing a union from her gorgeous butch electrician roommate. We’ve got forced proximity, we’ve got bisexuality, we’ve got sapphic love, we’ve got unions!! What else do you need, really??

Wherever is Your Heart by Anita Kelly

This little novella gets it’s title from a Brandi Carlile song and quite frankly that’s enough for me. It’s also about a longhaul trucker and the bartender she’s been pining over for years. And now that *really* is enough for me. I read this one way back in February and these two women have been top of mind ever since.

Don’t you just love a book that weasels into your mind/heart and takes up permanent residence?? Tell me about a book you read this year that you just can’t quit thinking about.

I hope you come back next week for my top ten of the year. I hope you get to pet a dog today. I hope something makes you laugh and something makes you put your hand on your heart just to remember it’s there.

I’m glad you’re here.

Love,

Rosamond

First things first.. some GOOD NEWS. We learned from Yaya’s vet that while the tumor they removed two weeks ago was malignant, it was low grade and they got it all so our girl is now completely cancer free.

I started this little newsletter to talk about books (though it quickly devolved into dog talk) and I never imagined it would create a community that would make me feel so held through the highs and lows of loving a senior dog. Thank you for taking Yaya seriously. Thank you for loving her and caring for us both. I will never forget it.

Meanwhile, Yaya is like “Ok enough yapping about me, do your job, woman.” As usual, she is correct.

My job is, of course, to tell you about some books. This time of year in particular my job is to convince you to purchase those books from an independent bookstore (or bookshop.org!). If you’re reading this, I likely don’t need to convince you why this matters. You know that independent bookstores live and die based on the success of the holiday season. You know well that the dollars you spend in small businesses this time of year make a measurable and immediate difference to the real live humans trying to keep that business afloat.

It is, frankly, a terrible system, but here we are.

Last year, I took you on a little walk through the bookstore, and one year later I stand behind all these picks.

If you are lucky enough to have some bookish beloveds on your list this year, here are just a few ideas from your friendly (anxious) neighborhood bookseller.

for the person you want to be in a book club with

Ok hear me out: maybe you have a smart, bookish friend or family member, and you’d love to talk books with them more in the new year. Picture this: you gift them a copy of Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and then you both read it and watch the new Guillermo del Toro adaptation on Netflix together and discuss it over fancy seasonal coffee drinks at a local coffee shop?? Even better you could both listen to The Stacks Podcast Book Club episode about Frankenstein. No one will get you hype about Frankenstein like . This is a sort of a gift bundle that comes with a built in movie night and coffee date. It’s pretty genius if I do say so myself. Shout out Mary Shelley for writing a banger that’s so ripe for discussion 200+ years later.

for the smart, funny, gay reader

Guys did you know that Alison Bechdel published a new book this year? Is it just me or are not enough people talking about this one? Anyway, I thought this “comic novel” was an absolute DELIGHT and would be perfect for all the smart, funny, gay readers in your life. I always think graphic memoirs and novels make lovely gifts because the big hardcovers feel kind of luxurious and this is something someone could cuddle up with and read over the course of one delicious, snowy day.

for the armchair traveler

This one is for the reader in your life who wishes she was celebrating Christmas in London. Okay fine it’s me I am the reader. Emily Everett’s debut novel, All That Life Can Afford, is a sort of Pride and Prejudice retelling about a young American woman scraping to build her own life as she navigates the world of the London elite. Just like supporting indie bookstores during the holidays is a win-win, supporting debut authors is a win-win-win. Emily is local to Western Mass and her book is perfect if you just can’t swing the transatlantic flight to make high tea in London this year. Who needs it when we can sink into the pages of a smart, sparkling coming of age novel??

for the sports fan

If you know someone who proudly wears a EVERYONE WATCHES WOMEN’S SPORTS shirt, you should get them this book. This collection of sports writing from 2025 is edited by my favorite poet/basketball fan, Hanif Abdurraqib. I would follow Hanif anywhere, but I don’t even need convincing with this collection. The best sports writing illuminates how sports are about more than the game itself and I know these writers, including my favorite sports journalist Frankie De La Cretaz, will deliver.

for the gay poetry fan

May we all have many, many gay poetry fans in our lives!! Can you imagine anything better than unwrapping a book shaped present and seeing the SUPER GAY POEMS in giant letters across the cover?? I personally cannot. And not to mention that this comprehensive collection is edited by beloved poet and scholar Stephanie Burt.

for the literary pop culture girlie

This teeny, tiny Maggie Nelson book is fresh off the presses - it literally came out last week. At just 64 pages, this longform piece is “a buoyant melding of popular culture and literary criticism” and I, for one, am on board. A little literary stocking stuffer with a touch of sparkle? Yes please.

Okay that’s all I’ve got for you today. If you’ve got a person on your list and you want to get them a gift but you’re just not sure what… leave a comment, send me a DM, I’m your girl!

I hate the retail madness of this time of year, but I live for talking books with people I love. And I love you.

Be kind to yourself. Be kind to retail workers.

Go read a book if you can.

I’m glad you’re here.

Love,

Rosamond

Thank you so, so much for your kindness and support about last week’s newsletter and our girl Yaya’s health journey. Thank you for holding me and holding her.

We’re still here! Yaya made it through surgery like a champ. She had the whole vet’s office wrapped around her tiny paw and was just as brave as a little 8 pound toothless chihuahua can be.

I was scared last week. But I also knew I was not alone. I hope I can fold up that feeling and give it to someone else because it was a blessing. Thank you for loving what is precious to me. I’ll never forget it.

Here’s a little round up of some other things that helped me move through November.

Favorite Read(s)

Feeding Ghosts by Tessa Hulls

I wrote about this remarkable graphic memoir earlier this month, but I had to give it a little more shine because it just knocked me out. I love the all-consuming reading experience that graphic memoirs offer when done well and this one sets a new standard for the genre. It’s not an easy read, but it’s worth your time. It also turned out to be in conversation with my other favorite read of the month:

Things in Nature Merely Grow by Yiyun Li

This memoir is simply astonishing. As a literary project, as a witness to a mind wrestling with the unthinkable, as a refuge in a senseless world, this book will stay with me forever. All of that said, as a professional book recommender I recommend this one carefully. It is a memoir for Yiyun Li’s son James who died by suicide six years after her son Vincent also took his own life. It is a book that looks the reader straight in the eye and says: these are the facts. I’ve never read anything like it and I don’t believe I ever will. That said, please do take care of yourself and pick this one up when and if your heart feels up to the task.

I’ll leave you with this short quote that I would underline a hundred times if I could:

The notes and letters coming in after both my children’s deaths: the most comforting ones were those that expressed shock, confusion, helplessness, and the pain of not having the right words. All those feelings were close to ours. I cannot think of a more consoling connection I felt after both boys’ deaths, than when I read those notes. Words may fall short, but they cast long shadows that sometimes can reach the unspeakable.

- Yiyun Li, Things in Nature Merely Grow

One Bright Glimmer

what is a glimmer?

The worry and fear around Yaya’s surgery was profound. We are still deep in that in many ways. But the chance to love Yaya and celebrate her and give her what she needs? That will always be a glimmer.

It’s hard when you are a glamourous old broad and the vet tells you you must wear the dreaded cone of shame for two whole weeks. Luckily you have two lesbian moms who love you more than life itself and one (Rebecca of course!!) who bedazzled and decorated your cone so it is befitting of your queen status.

Yaya might not be ready to call this a glimmer, but I sure am.

Book I’m Looking Forward To:

It is officially end-of-year reading season. The time when we book nerds look back at our favorite reads of the year and look forward to all that is ahead. There is so much goodness ahead. I’m going to do a whole newsletter about the 2026 new releases I’m looking forward to, but for now here is one coming in early January that has my attention.

Is This a Cry for Help? by Emily Austin // Out January 13th

I think the publisher blurb really speaks for itself here:

Emily Austin, the bestselling “queen of darkly quirky, endearingly flawed heroines” (Sarah Haywood, author of The Cactus), returns with a luminous new novel following a librarian who comes back to work after a mental breakdown only to confront book-banning crusaders in an empowering story of grief, love, and the power of libraries.

How good does that sound?? I am an Emily Austin completist, and while her debut Everyone in this Room Will Someday Be Dead is still my favorite, I’ve loved every neurotic, loveable lesbian heroine she’s given me.

Biggest Surprise

I read a science fiction novel… and I had such a good time! So many readers I admire raved about The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers that this really should not be a surprise at all. I fell in love with these characters and this setting so quickly and deeply, that may wariness of the sci-fi genre quickly fell to the wayside. It was the perfect escape and refuge in this season of dark nights. And I hear that the second book in the series is even better! Here’s to books that surprise me and reader friends that lead me out of my comfort zone. I’m grateful.

Cozy season is a very serious business around here.

Also a friendly reminder about Dunkin’s elbows. How are they so cute and pointy?? Please discuss.

As we head into this holiday week, I hope that you can find some of what you need, especially if what you need is (please god) some quiet time to read.

Be kind to retail and service workers. Be kind to yourself.

I’m glad you’re here.

Love,

Rosamond

Last week at a regular vet check up the vet found a small mass on Yaya’s chest. Tomorrow, she will have a procedure to remove the tumor. For the last week, Rebecca and I have been having hard conversations - conversations we’ve always known we’d have to have. Conversations I’d move heaven and earth to never ever have.

But don’t get it twisted. Yaya is a tough old broad. Her vet was clear - for a fourteen year old girl her heart rate is good, her kidneys are solid, her vitals indicate she is strong enough to withstand a small surgery to remove the mass and hopefully buy us more time.

I know how that might sound if you’ve never loved an old dog. I know how it might have sounded to me before I knew this little dog.

The problem is now I know what I know, and a world without her is unimaginable. It’s also inevitable. We know what we know.

We’re going to keep on trucking until Yaya tells us it’s time. We’re going to trust that Yaya will tell us when it’s time. We’re going to enjoy every moment we’ve got with our very good girl.

At ten years old Yaya was rescued by animal control from a hoarding situation in which she lived with more than ten other dogs in conditions of neglect and cruelty. She arrived at the shelter having never been spayed and clearly having given birth to many litters of puppies. Now we know that this history put her at a much a higher risk for the kind of mammary tumor the vet found last Tuesday.

I know we’ve given her a good home for her golden years, but it’s laughable to speak in terms of what we’ve given her, when she’s given us everything.

But once again please do not get this twisted - this is not a eulogy. If Yaya could talk, I believe she would be a retired showgirl wrapped in a boa sitting at a dive bar, smoking a cigarette, drinking a dry martini, and rolling her eyes at my dramatics.

While I’ve been wringing my hands and bargaining with the universe, my wife Rebecca, in typical Rebecca fashion, put her worry and fear to use. She went to the store, got some new yarn in “Yaya colors” and crocheted her get well soon blanket.

This act of care and creation says everything about Rebecca, and everything about the love Rebecca and Yaya share. It’s always been about softness. It’s always been about a safe place to land in a cruel, impossible world.

My dear friend , who like so many of you knows what it means to lose a soul dog, sent me this poem by Ada Limón. The whole poem is stunning. I am thinking particularly of these lines -

I know this is ostensibly a newsletter about books, so if you’re still reading thank you for bearing with me and my worry. Today, though, I have a question about books for you.

Tell me: What do you read when you’re scared? What words and stories do you turn to when it all feels too cruel?

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I don’t know, man.

I don’t know how to carry on, but I know that if we’re lucky we’ll feel this kind of fear many more times in our lives.

More than anything, I hope you know that your grief, whatever its name, is valid. I hope the comments section here can be a reminder that you are not alone.

Dunkin wants you to know that he only borrowed Yaya’s blanket for a little bit and he is actually being really brave too.

I love you.

I’m glad you’re here.

Love,

Rosamond