Author: Ellen Zielinski Whitfield

I generally watch one of my go-to sitcom favorites if I’m looking for laughs, but sometimes I’m in the mood for a funny book instead! Here are some of our favorites to incite the giggles.

Wow, No Thank You. by Samantha Irby: The essays in this collection draw on the raw, hilarious particulars of Irby’s life at 40. 

Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton: Who knew an apocalyptic tale told through the eyes of a pet crow would be so wry?

Bossypants by Tiny Fey: ​​Tina Fey reveals all, and proves what we’ve always suspected: you’re no one until someone calls you bossy.

A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole: After more than three decades, the peerless wit and indulgent absurdity of A Confederacy of Dunces continues to attract new readers.

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? By Mindy Kaling: In this hilarious instant classic, the creator of The Mindy Project and Never Have I Ever invites readers on a tour of her life and her unscientific observations on romance, friendship, and Hollywood.

Lamb by Christopher Moore: In this hilarious and irreverent novel, the acclaimed Christopher Moore shares the greatest story never told: the life of Christ as seen by his boyhood pal, Biff.

Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris: The witty collection lifts the corner of ordinary life, revealing the absurdity teeming below its surface. 

Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding: A devastatingly self-aware, laugh-out-loud account of a year in the life of a thirty-something Singleton on a permanent doomed quest for self-improvement. 

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams: The mega-selling pop-culture classic sends logic into orbit, plays havoc with both time and physics, offers up pithy commentary on such things as ballpoint pens, potted plants, and digital watches . . . and, most important, reveals the ultimate answer to life, the universe, and everything.

The Sellout by Paul Beatty: A biting satire about a young man’s isolated upbringing and the race trial that sends him to the Supreme Court, Paul Beatty’s The Sellout showcases a comic genius at the top of his game. 

Hyperbole and A Half by Allie Brosh: Brosh’s debut marks the launch of a major new American humorist who will surely make even the biggest scrooge or snob laugh. We dare you not to.

Broken (in the Best Possible Way) by Jenny Lawson: This collection of essays is equally hilarious, observant and poignant. Jenny Lawson is one of the only authors who can make you laugh until you cry, and cry until you laugh.

Growing up, I always wanted a sister (apologies to my brother), because I imagined that basically meant you had a best friend who lived in the same house as you. Now that I’ve grown up a little, I understand that sisterly bonds take work, and are more complicated than I thought as a child, which makes them even more important! These books celebrate the relationships between sisters, in all their messy, complex glory!

Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott: A classic for a reason! Grown-up Meg, tomboyish Jo, timid Beth, and precocious Amy. The four March sisters couldn’t be more different. But with their father away at war, and their mother working to support the family, they have to rely on one another. Whether they’re putting on a play, forming a secret society, or celebrating Christmas, there’s one thing they can’t help wondering: Will Father return home safely?

Yolk, by Mary H. K. Choi: A funny and emotional story about two estranged sisters and how far they’ll go to save one of their lives–even if it means swapping identities.
Jayne and June Baek are nothing alike. June’s three years older, a classic first-born, know-it-all narc with a problematic finance job and an equally soulless apartment (according to Jayne). Jayne is an emotionally stunted, self-obsessed basket case who lives in squalor, has egregious taste in men, and needs to get to class and stop wasting Mom and Dad’s money (if you ask June). Once thick as thieves, these sisters who moved from Seoul to San Antonio to New York together now don’t want anything to do with each other. That is, until June gets cancer. And Jayne becomes the only one who can help her.

In the Time of the Butterflies, by Julia Alvarez: It is November 25, 1960, and three beautiful sisters have been found near their wrecked Jeep at the bottom of a 150-foot cliff on the north coast of the Dominican Republic. The official state newspaper reports their deaths as accidental. It does not mention that a fourth sister lives. Nor does it explain that the sisters were among the leading opponents of Gen. Rafael Leónidas Trujillo’s dictatorship. It doesn’t have to. Everybody knows of Las Mariposas — the Butterflies. In this extraordinary novel, the voices of all four sisters speak across the decades to tell their own stories, from secret crushes to gunrunning, and to describe the everyday horrors of life under Trujillo’s rule.

My Sister, the Serial Killer, by Oyinkan Braithwaite: Korede’s sister Ayoola is many things: the favorite child, the beautiful one, possibly sociopathic. And now Ayoola’s third boyfriend in a row is dead, stabbed through the heart with Ayoola’s knife. Korede’s practicality is the sisters’ saving grace. She knows the best solutions for cleaning blood (bleach, bleach, and more bleach), the best way to move a body (wrap it in sheets like a mummy), and she keeps Ayoola from posting pictures to Instagram when she should be mourning her “missing” boyfriend. Korede has long been in love with a kind, handsome doctor at the hospital where she works. She dreams of the day when he will realize that she’s exactly what he needs. But when he asks Korede for Ayoola’s phone number, she must reckon with what her sister has become and how far she’s willing to go to protect her.

Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen: Marianne Dashwood wears her heart on her sleeve, and when she falls in love with the dashing but unsuitable John Willoughby she ignores her sister Elinor’s warning that her impulsive behaviour leaves her open to gossip and innuendo. Meanwhile Elinor, always sensitive to social convention, is struggling to conceal her own romantic disappointment, even from those closest to her. Through their parallel experience of love – and its threatened loss – the sisters learn that sense must mix with sensibility if they are to find personal happiness in a society where status and money govern the rules of love.

Stalking Shadows, by Cyla Panin: Seventeen-year-old Marie mixes perfumes to sell on market day in her small eighteenth-century French town. She wants to make enough to save a dowry for her sister, Ama, in hopes of Ama marrying well and Marie living in the level of freedom afforded only to spinster aunts. Marie laces some of the perfume delicately — not with poison but with a hint of honeysuckle she’s trained her sister to respond to. Marie marks her victim, and Ama attacks. But she doesn’t attack as a girl. She kills as a beast. Marking Ama’s victims controls the damage to keep suspicion at bay. But when a young boy turns up dead one morning, Marie is forced to acknowledge she might be losing control of Ama.

Here Comes the Sun, by Nicole Dennis-Benn: At an opulent resort in Montego Bay, Margot hustles to send her younger sister, Thandi, to school. Taught as a girl to trade her sexuality for survival, Margot is ruthlessly determined to shield Thandi from the same fate. When plans for a new hotel threaten their village, Margot sees not only an opportunity for her own financial independence but also perhaps a chance to admit a shocking secret: her forbidden love for another woman. As they face the impending destruction of their community, each woman–fighting to balance the burdens she shoulders with the freedom she craves–must confront long-hidden scars.

In Her Shoes, by Jennifer Weiner: Meet Rose Feller, a thirty-year-old high-powered attorney with a secret passion for romance novels. She has an exercise regime she’s going to start next week, and she dreams of a man who will slide off her glasses, gaze into her eyes, and tell her she’s beautiful. She also dreams of getting her fantastically screwed-up, semi-employed little sister to straighten up and fly right. Meet Rose’s sister, Maggie. Twenty-eight years old and drop-dead gorgeous. Although her big-screen stardom hasn’t progressed past her left hip’s appearance in a Will Smith video, Maggie dreams of fame and fortune — and of getting her big sister on a skin-care regimen. These two women, who claim to have nothing in common but a childhood tragedy, DNA, and the same size feet, are about to learn that they’re more alike than they’d ever imagined.

The Ones We’re Meant to Find, by Joan He: Cee has been trapped on an abandoned island for three years without any recollection of how she arrived, or memories from her life prior. All she knows is that somewhere out there, beyond the horizon, she has a sister named Kay, and it’s up to Cee to cross the ocean and find her. In a world apart, 16-year-old STEM prodigy Kasey Mizuhara lives in an eco-city built for people who protected the planet and now need protecting from it. With natural disasters on the rise due to climate change, eco-cities provide clean air, water, and shelter. Their residents, in exchange, must spend at least a third of their time in stasis pods, conducting business virtually whenever possible to reduce their environmental footprint. While Kasey, an introvert and loner, doesn’t mind the lifestyle, her sister Celia hated it. Popular and lovable, Celia much preferred the outside world. But no one could have predicted that Celia would take a boat out to sea, never to return. Now it’s been three months since Celia’s disappearance, and Kasey has given up hope. Logic says that her sister must be dead. But nevertheless, she decides to retrace Celia’s last steps. Where they’ll lead her, she does not know. Her sister was full of secrets. But Kasey has a secret of her own.

Silver Sparrow, by Tayari Jones: Set in a middle-class neighborhood in Atlanta in the 1980s, the novel revolves around James Witherspoon’s two families–the public one and the secret one. When the daughters from each family meet and form a friendship, only one of them knows they are sisters. It is a relationship destined to explode.

The Most Fun We Ever Had, by Claire Lombardo: Marilyn Connolly and David Sorenson fall in love in the 1970s, blithely ignorant of all that awaits them. By 2016, they have four radically different daughters, each in a state of unrest. Wendy, widowed young, soothes herself with booze and younger men; Violet, a litigator turned stay-at-home-mom, battles anxiety and self-doubt; Liza, a neurotic and newly tenured professor, finds herself pregnant with a baby she’s not sure she wants by a man she’s not sure she loves; and Grace, the dawdling youngest daughter, begins living a lie that no one in her family even suspects. With the unexpected arrival of young Jonah Bendt — a child placed for adoption by one of the daughters fifteen years before — the Sorensons will be forced to reckon with the rich and varied tapestry of their past.

The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls by Anissa Gray: The Butler family has had their share of trials — as sisters Althea, Viola, and Lillian can attest — but nothing prepared them for the literal trial that will upend their lives. Althea, the eldest sister and substitute matriarch, is a force to be reckoned with and her younger sisters have alternately appreciated and chafed at her strong will. They are as stunned as the rest of the small community when she and her husband, Proctor, are arrested, and in a heartbeat the family goes from one of the most respected in town to utter disgrace. The worst part is, not even her sisters are sure exactly what happened. As Althea awaits her fate, Lillian and Viola must come together in the house they grew up in to care for their sister’s teenage daughters.

Atonement, by Ian McEwan: On a hot summer day in 1935, thirteen-year-old Briony Tallis witnesses a moment’s flirtation between her older sister, Cecilia, and Robbie Turner, the son of a servant and Cecilia’s childhood friend. But Briony’ s incomplete grasp of adult motives — together with her precocious literary gifts — brings about a crime that will change all their lives.

I don’t know about you, but I became obsessed with Mare of Easttown and came up with all sorts of theories of how it would end. Now that it’s over and all has been revealed, my hunger for thrillers and crime are at an all time high. So if you are looking for something to fill the void, check out some of these books!

1. The Trespasser by Tana French: French is a master of the genre and you’ll root for the tough female detective Antionette (very Mare-like) as she works to solve the murder of a pretty blonde who everyone assumes was killed by her lover.

2. The Chestnut Man by Soren Sveistrup: This thriller is full of twists and turns as a kidnapping and a series of gruesome murders are found to be linked through handmade dolls made of chestnuts. The author is the creator of the hit show The Killing, and his ability to create suspense will leave you on the edge of your seat. I literally couldn’t put it down.

3. The Vera Stanhope series by Ann Cleeves: These books follow detective Vera Stanhope as she works to solve various crimes in the seaside town she grew up in. All of these books are perfect for crime lovers wanting to connect with a character over time. The backstory of Detective Stanhope and her connection to the town are revealed slowly, much like the slow-burn of information about Mare in the show.

4. Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn: If you are looking for family drama mixed with murder, this book is right for you. Complicated relationships and past traumas come to a head in this book that was also turned into a television miniseries.

5. The Alienist by Caleb Carr: This is a classic crime novel all about young people being murdered and a group of people using profiling to come up with a suspect for the first time successfully. There are a couple twists in this novel that feel very Mare of Eastown that you will enjoy.

6. The Whisper Man by Alex North: Much like Mare of Easttown this book takes place in a small town, Featherbank, where past murders by The Whisper Man are brought back into the light as a young boy vanishes. The two detectives, Amanda Beck and Pete Willis, have to confront the past in order to save the boy before it is too late.

7. My Sister, The Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite: This book also looks at the question: “What would you do to protect the ones closest to you?” as a sister grapples with the knowledge of her sister’s murderous habit.

8. And Now She’s Gone by Rachel Howzell Hall: This story follows Grayson Skyes as she relentlessly looks for a woman who has disappeared, Isabel Lincoln. The more she searches, the more she uncovers about Isabel’s past secrets. A cat-and-mouse game between two smart women.

9. If You Tell by Gregg Olsen: This one can be hard to read because it is the true story of three sisters living in a house with an abusive and murderous mother. Like Easttown, it evaluates the lengths people go to in order to protect themselves and their family. Definitely not for the faint of heart.

10. The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware: A much more straightforward mystery novel with a female protagonist who is finds herself in prison for a murder of a child she swears she didn’t commit. The twist at the end is what makes it a perfect fit for this list.

I have a ton of cookbooks and I love to read informational books about food, but there’s something special to me about a personal story that incorporates recipes as part of the narrative. I love a book that makes me hungry, so anytime what I’m reading features a meal, I’m likely to try to cook it. It’s one of my (long-term) goals to make a little cookbook of recipes that were inspired by books that I’ve read, but we’ll see if I ever actually get around to doing it.

Here are some of the dishes I’ve made recently, and the books that influenced them, and a recipe I used! Some of them follow a recipe listed in the book, others just use the book as light inspiration, but I encourage everyone to play around with the food — it’s supposed to be fun!

Tahdig, inspired by Darius the Great is Not Okay by Adib Khorram

There are so many delicious-sounding Persian dishes mentioned in this book, but tahdig is one that I have always wanted to try, and Samin Nosrat’s recipe makes it easy for a beginner. This might be my favorite thing I’ve ever made.

Split pea soup, inspired by Still Life by Louise Penny

If you’ve read the Three Pines series, you know meals shared among the community are a central part of most of the books. This greenish-brown soup might seem like an odd choice, but it’s warm and nourishing just like Penny’s stories. Plus it’s cold in the book, and this should warm you right up!

Banana cake, inspired by Beard Science by Penny Reid

One of the characters in this romance has been made famous by her banana cake recipe, and this recipe makes a great version.

Kimchi, inspired by Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

This book is about the author’s relationship with her mother and learning to deal with her loss. She deals with this in part by cooking traditional Korean dishes that her mom made, including kimchi. This had special meaning for me because my dad lost most of his sense of taste last year but can still taste kimchi, so there was a double layer of emotion that went into preparing it.

Pozole, inspired by Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

Yadriel and his family have some things that they are working through in this book, but I remember the feeling of comfort that Yadriel seemed to find in his abuelita’s cooking, and to me, this pozole ate like a big plate of love.

The Su Special, inspired by One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston

No recipe for this one because the author made it up, but it’s basically a breakfast sandwich involving Texas toast, bacon, a fried egg, hot sauce and maple syrup. I tried it and it blew me away. 10/10 will make again.

Gingerbread bundt cake, inspired by Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert

There’s a very important gingerbread festival that much of this book centers around, and this cake seemed exactly like something Eve would whip up to knock everyone’s socks off.

Platanos maduros fritos, inspired by American Dreamer by Adriana Herrera

Nesto owns a food truck in this romance novel, so I was hungry the entire time I was reading it. I made some platanos early on and snacked on them while finishing the book, and I highly recommend you do the same.

Cheese gougeres, inspired by Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake by Alexis Hall

One of the love interests in this book makes “cheesy bites,” which reminded me immediately of gougeres — I made them years ago and they were absolutely delicious. They also require a little bit of technical skill, which feels right for a book about a cooking competition.

Lemon verbena tembleque, inspired by With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo

Emoni, an aspiring chef, puts together flavor combinations that other people would never dare to try to make magical dishes. This blog recreated one of her recipes from the book, and it was everything I hoped for.

Apple pie, inspired by Check, Please! by Ngozi Ukazu

The main character in this graphic novel is just as talented at baking as he is at hockey (and figure skating), and can often be found crafting his next pie. I picked apple because it’s a classic that can still hold some surprises, just like Bitty.

Whether everyone takes turns choosing a book, or the entire club votes, picking the next read is always challenging. You want to pick something that will spark discussion but has a wide appeal. We’ve put together a list of recommendations that we think will be a great fit for any book club.

A Place for Us by Fatima Farheen Mirza
We actually did read this in my book club years ago, and it was so enjoyable. Everyone related to a different character in a different way, and it remains my favorite book to recommend for that very reason.

A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
This is a classic that will appeal to clubs who love historical fiction, coming-of-age stories and strong women.

There There by Tommy Orange
I never would have picked this up if it weren’t for my book club, which would have been a huge loss. The stories are so powerful, and the way Orange weaves them together is masterful.

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
Maybe not the best choice for a pandemic, but the way this story is weaved together likely will have everyone talking — and might even lead to some interesting end-of-the-world theories.

The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett
There’s a reason this book has been everywhere. It is full of questions that have no clear or concrete answers but will keep you thinking for months after reading it.

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
If you’re looking for a humorous book that also explores emotion and has a great cast of characters, this is a great fit.

Born A Crime by Travor Noah
The affable TV host’s presence translates well to the page, but the stories about his childhood will capture you even more than his humor. (Note: If you get the chance, grab the audiobook because he’s a great narrator as well!)

The Space Between Worlds by Micaiah Johnson
Science-fiction is a tough choice for many people, but this book paints such remarkable metaphors that are applicable to our reality — many different realities reflecting divides along racial lines, income lines, and more.

An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
If you are in a book club that likes to pick sides, look no further. A marriage is tested when the husband is sent to prison, and most people land firmly on the husband’s side … or the wife’s.

Educated by Tara Westover
This was one of the wildest true stories I’ve ever read and one that had us Googling “did this really happen” during our book club meeting.

The Nickel Boys by Colson Whitehead
Blending fiction with some horrifying truths, Whitehead’s writing will have you highlighting passages to bring up at your book club meeting to see if they blew everyone else away as well.

Goodbye, Vitamin by Rachel Khong
It’s likely that most people in a book club have experienced feeling lost during a quarter-life crisis or have dealt with the circumstances around aging parents. This slim volume explores both beautifully.

Eloquent Rage by Brittney Cooper
Hilarious, heartbreaking, and so so smart, this should be required reading for any book club with white women.

Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi
A meditation on faith without being overtly religious, Gyasi also dives into grief, family, and science in interesting and often devastating ways.

Stamped from the Beginning by Ibram X. Kendi
This would be a commitment because it’s very long, but there were so many times when I was reading this that I wanted to be able to talk to someone and ask them if they were just as shocked as I was by what we were reading.

Find this complete list of great book club picks at bookshop.org.

Ted Lasso was one of my absolute favorite new discoveries of 2020, and I thought it would be fun to peek inside the luggage he brought with him to start his new job in England.

1. Check, Please! by Ngozi Ukazu Ted has shown a baking prowess just like the main character in this graphic novel, and I feel like Ted would be absolutely hooked on its team spirit and the absolute sweetness.
2. One Life by Megan Rapinoe If I know Ted (and I do because I’ve watched the show several times), I know that he worships Megan Rapinoe as a hero on and off the soccer field.
3. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle Ted has been shown to be a fantastic father, and I feel like this book would be a perfect buddy read with his son.
4. Notes From A Small Island by Bill Bryson When Ted told a bookseller he was going to be moving to London, they recommended this book.
5. Furia by Yamile Saied Méndez Of course this book about a rising soccer star is on Ted’s radar. “If it’s good enough for Reese, it’s good enough for me.”
6. The Queen’s Gambit by Walter Tevis Coach Beard watched the show with Ted and then recommended this book to further his chess education.
7. Darius the Great Is Not OK by Adib Khorram A focus on soccer and discovering one’s identity? A perfect fit for Ted.
8. Fever Pitch by Nick Hornby A true British classic about football and all the weird rituals that come with it makes a great introduction for Ted.
9. Only When It’s Us by Chloe Liese Of course Ted reads romance. And he especially loves a romance with a feisty, strong soccer star like Willa.
10. The Collected Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle He said he felt like he had to read it to complete his British education.

Cheers! Drink and book pairings to celebrate national cocktail day

National Cocktail Day is March 24 — also coincidentally my birthday, so double cheers! I’ll be cozying up with one of these drink + book combos to celebrate!

Summer Club by Katherine Dean Mazerov 

Normally, politics, parent drama, drunken soirees, snarkiness and sex-capades reign at Meadow Glen Swim and Tennis club where Lydia Phillips presides as president. Now, a strange car following the club manager, a break-in at Lydia’s home and a shocking discovery on the club grounds have this stay-at-home mom dusting off her newspaper-reporting skills to unravel the mystery. When a body surfaces in the river, Lydia’s life gets a whole lot more complicated — and dangerous.

Pairing: A frozen margarita, perfect for a hot summer day

 

Viral BS by Dr. Seema Yasmin

In Viral BS, journalist, doctor, professor, and CDC-trained disease detective Seema Yasmin, driven by a need to set the record straight, dissects some of the most widely circulating medical myths and pseudoscience. Exploring how epidemics of misinformation can spread faster than microbes, Dr. Yasmin asks why bad science is sometimes more believable and contagious than the facts.

Pairing: A gin and tonic, once used for medicinal purposes

 

The Authors of This Dream by Seth Mullins

Brandon Chane’s life is spinning out of control. After an altercation outside a performance venue nearly proves fatal, he’s feeling at the mercy of dark forces threatening to tear his life apart. Even as a gifted poet and musician, his efforts to channel pain, frustration, and thwarted love into his music may not be enough to save him.

Pairing: The Rock ‘n’ Rolla is self-explanatory.

 

Rethink God by Nadiez Bahi

Sherif and Christian are two strangers whose paths cross by nothing more than serendipity. For their different reasons, they become companions on a journey trying to find an answer for the big question “Does God Exist?”

Pairing: Nectar of the Gods will help you ponder the big questions in life.

 

Murmuration by Sid Balman Jr.

Charlie Christmas, Ademar Zarkan, and Prometheus Stone are the best of America—united by war, scarred by displacement, and resolute in the face of the troubles that rip the nation apart over three decades. Christmas, a Somali translator with a split personality, and Zarkan, a Muslim sharpshooter who defies gender and religious constraints to graduate from West Point, are first brought together by Stone, a lapsed Jew and an Army captain, amidst war and famine in East Africa. Their ensuing journey — which takes them from the mean streets of Mogadishu to the high desert of West Texas, from the barren plains of Indian country to the rolling hills of Minnesota — is at turns tragic and uplifting.

Pairing: A Texas Sunrise mocktail (alcohol is illegal in Somalia) that hails back to Sid’s home

 

Sing Me Forgotten by Jessica S. Olson

In this gender-swapped, feminist version of “The Phantom of the Opera,” Isda does not exist. At least not beyond the opulent walls of the opera house.

Cast into a well at birth for being one of the magical few who can manipulate memories when people sing, she was saved by Cyril, the opera house’s owner. Since that day, he has given her sanctuary from the murderous world outside. All he asks in return is that she use her power to keep ticket sales high — and that she stay out of sight. For if anyone discovers she survived, Isda and Cyril would pay with their lives.

Pairing: A Death in the Afternoon — an unforgettable cocktail for this unforgettable tale

 

Wings of Ebony by J. Elle

“Wonder Woman” meets “The Hate U Give” in a “Black Panther” world in this New York Times-bestselling YA fantasy about a Black teen from Houston who discovers she has magic powers — and learns how powerfully strong and resilient she truly is. Savor this moving story of Black girl magic with a glass of Black Magic Sangria–this cocktail even matches Wings of Ebony’s gorgeous cover! 

Pairing: A Black Magic Sangria matches the the enchanting cover perfectly.

 

The Magician by Kathleen Shoop 

It begins when narrator Patryk Rusek’s great-grandson Owen pulls up to Patryk’s nursing home, and discovers Patryk reading from his chronicle of the town of Donora to half the nursing home’s employees and residents. Flashback to Donora, 1920: Mary Musial is expecting again, and she and Lukasz Musial are hoping for a boy after four daughters. When Stanislaw Franciszek Musial is born, Mary hopes it will bring Lukasz joy, whose American Dream is rapidly fading. The story of Stan inspires Owen’s lifelong dream of being a pro baseball player despite his family’s wishes for his future. Everyone close to Stan has different goals in mind for him, but are they what Stan wants? Will insecurities and the people close to them lead them both to make choices too late, and decades apart from each other, or will they choose to follow their dreams after all?

Paring: The Sidecar is a perfect fit for the 1920s aesthetic. 

 

Among the Beautiful Beasts by Lori McMullen

Set in 1920s Miami, Lori McMullen’s historical fiction novel reveals the remarkable untold story of Marjory Stoneman Douglas– the woman who saved the Everglades. After running away from her husband – a swindler thirty years her senior – and entering into an all-consuming affair, Marjory finds herself drained by the demanding men seeking control over her life. She finds solace in the natural world – wild and free as she longs to be. So, when the Everglades are threatened with irreparable damage, Marjory knows she must speak up, or one of the greatest wonders of the world will be lost.

Pairing: A Matcha Mint Julep has a very earthy vibe. 

 

Closer to Fine by Jodi S. Rosenfeld

One of the warmest, most relatable new adult novels of the year, Jodi S. Rosenfeld’s “Closer to Fine” follows Rachel, a 20-something psych student who knows the human brain but struggles to understand her own anxiety. When a progressive female rabbi shakes up her community — and a new love interest, Liz, shakes up Rachel’s world — Rachel finds herself caught between the person she is and the woman she wants to be.

Pairing: The Sazerac has evolved and changed over time.

 

Denied by Mary Keliikoa

The second book in the gripping, award-nominated PI Kelly Pruett mystery series, “Denied” follows Kelly as a seemingly straightforward missing persons case quickly leads to hidden gambling debts, a severed finger, and an explosive message from the mafia. With a strong and relatable female lead, off-the-charts tension, and breathtaking twists, Mary Keliikoa’s action-packed story is one you won’t want to miss!

Pairing: A Reposado Old Fashioned is a feminine twist on a noir classic. 

 

Rea and the Blood of the Nectar by Payal Doshi

It all begins on the night Rea turns twelve. After a big fight with her twin brother Rohan on their birthday, Rea’s life in the small village of Darjeeling, India, gets turned on its head. It’s four in the morning and Rohan is nowhere to be found. Unwilling to give up on her brother, Rea and her friend Leela meet Mishti Daadi, a wrinkly old fortune-teller whose powers of divination set them off on a thrilling and secret quest. In the shade of night, they portal to an otherworldly realm and travel to Astranthia, a land full of magic and whimsy. Rea must solve clues that lead to Rohan, find a way to rescue him and save Astranthia from a potentially deadly fate.

Pairing: A mango fizz mocktail will be fun for the kids and make them feel adventurous.

 

The Reincarnationist Papers by D. Eric Maikranz

After an arson job gone wrong, Evan is confronted by a mysterious woman, Poppy, who recognizes him for what he is because she also remembers multiple lives — except that she is much older, remembering seven complete lives.  But there is something else Poppy must share with Evan — she is a member of a secret society of similar individuals who remember sequential past lives and reincarnate life after life.  These 28 people created a secret society called the Cognomina centuries ago so that they could associate with each other from one lifetime to another.  They are, in effect, near immortals — compiling experiences and skills over diverse lifetimes into near superhuman abilities that they have used to drive human history toward their own agenda on a longer timeline. 

Pairing: You should be able to find a good negroni no matter where your lives take you.

 

One Must Tell the Bees by J. Lawrence Matthews

It begins in 1918 in the English countryside  where the world’s greatest detective has retired to tend his bees and write his memoirs — memoirs that reveal the full story of his journey to America, first as a junior chemist at the DuPont gunpowder works in Wilmington, then as a companion for young Tad Lincoln on what turns out to be the evening of President Lincoln’s assassination — and finally as an unsung participant in the electrifying manhunt for the assassin, John Wilkes Booth.

Pairing: The Bee’s Knees is a prohibition-inspired cocktail incorporating honey. 

 

Tools of A Thief by D. Hale Rambo

How do you stop being a thief? Zizy assumed quitting her job, stealing from her boss, and flitting magically across the continent was one way to give it a go. Getting in and out of sticky situations is typically Zizy’s specialty. A little spellwork here, a pinch of deception there, and she’s home free. Quick-fingered, fast-talking, and charming the gnome knows traveling across a shattered continent won’t be easy. Still, she has the skills to keep herself from getting killed.

Pairing: Pink champagne punch is fizzy and fun, with a rosy hue.

A couple of us on the Books Forward team are obsessed with WandaVision, and we put together a list of some books to check out if you also can’t stop watching! Most of these books are fairly dark, so keep that in mind if you plan to pick one up.

1. The Stepford Wives by Ira Levin and Peter Straub – An idyllic neighborhood hides a terrible secret. Sound familiar?
2. Fool Me Once by Harlan Coben – Maya catches a glimpse of her husband playing with her daughter on their nanny cam, but he had been murdered weeks ago. 
3. When No One Is Watching by Alyssa Cole – This thriller about gentrification is imbued with dread and quickly turns into a horror story.
4. Fledgling by Octavia Butler – A young girl has no memory of her past, but starts to realize she has inhuman and startling abilities.
5. Dark Matter by Blake Crouch – Jason is abducted and wakes up in a new, alternate version of his life. If you love WandaVision for the twists, this is the book for you.
6. Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty – Big, brittle smiles cover up a lot of secrets in this seemingly perfect community filled with tight-lipped housewives.
7. Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng – On the surface, Lydia leads a perfect life, but when her body is found in a lake, her family must explore what she had been keeping inside.  
8. Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia – A tough, smart heroine and a story that gets weirder and weirder as she digs deeper.
9. The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi – Vivek’s death at the beginning of the book leads to an exploration of grief, identity and family.
10. Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn – Camille heads to stay with her family in the town where she grew up after a stay at a psychiatric facility, only to find that they have gotten more stifling, more secretive and more dangerous.

March is national foreign language month, and to mark the occasion, our team put together a list of books in translation that we’ve loved or are looking forward to. These are books that were originally published in a language other than English.

“Love in the Time of Cholera” by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
I’ve owned a copy of Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Márquez for years, but I’ve yet to crack it open. I’m hoping to tackle a few unread books from my home library this year, including this one! So many people have raved about this novel, so I’m excited to finally dive in.

– Angelle Barbazon, lead publicist

“Woman at Point Zero” by Nawal El Saadawi
Originally published in Arabic in the 1970s, this book centers on Firdaus, a woman whose entire life was marked by abuse at the hands of the powerful. Imprisoned in Cairo as an adult, she recounts her life story from childhood to the present day. Her heartbreaking tale reflects the true stories of countless women who face a combination of sexism and class-based oppression.

“The Emissary” by Yoko Tawada
This slim dystopian science fiction novel takes place in Japan, which has cut itself off from the rest of the world following a nation-wide disaster. The book centers on a child, Mumei, who lives with his grandfather. Mumei is part of a generation of children born with a series of medical problems who rely on their comparatively spry grandparents for assistance. Despite the dystopian nature of the plot, Tawada’s tale is full of bright spots and lighthearted moments.
– Jackie Karneth, publicist

“In the Miso Soup,” by Ryu Murakami
My library happened to have it sitting featured on a shelf, so I picked it up on a whim a couple years ago. The novel follows Kenji, a young Japanese sex tour guide who accompanies his new client, a creepy American named Frank, for three nights among Tokyo’s nightlife. Reading this book was at times like a fever dream. Equal parts horrifying and intriguing, I often had to go back and check that what I had just read was really happening. When I finished it, I truly didn’t know if I could even say I liked the book. But I find myself remembering scenes from it randomly, thinking about conversations the characters had, and how the story ultimately took hold of me. A completely different kind of thriller than those I’m used to reading, this book is gruesome: Besides the grizzly murders that take place, it makes us analyze our own worst behaviors and the steps we’ll take to avoid being alone.

“A Man Called Ove,” by Fredrick Backman
This was my first Backman novel, and it still sits with me and is one of my favorite books I’ve ever read. The book follows Ove, a cranky old man who adheres tightly to routine and socializes with no one. When new neighbors moving in start to interfere with Ove’s carefully laid out plans, we begin to see just how broken and alone this grouch really is after losing the love of his life, Sonja. Backman has a way of writing that is effortlessly beautiful without being pretentious. On more than one occasion, I had to stop and take a deep breath after reading the way he so accurately describes feelings like love and heartache.

– Jenn Vance, social media coordinator and publicist

“The Flowers of Evil” by Charles Baudelaire
I remember first reading Charles Baudelaire’s poetry collection, “Les fleurs du mal,” in my college World Poetry class, and it quickly become one of my favorite collections that I read that year. Indulgent, decadent, erotic, romantic, and angst-ridden, the collection is a Poe-esque angst fest and everything you would hope to get from a mid-19th century Parisian poet and laudanum addict. If poetry titles like “Madrigal of Sorrow,” “The Serpent’s Tooth,” and “Vampire” appeal to you, then grab this volume and a glass of red wine, light some candles, and get ready to swoon on your chaise lounge.

– Chelsea Apple, content coordinator

“Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead” by Olga Tokarczuk
I’ve seen so much buzz around this book in the past year or so, and every time I see mention of it, I think to myself “oooo I need to read that soon!” and then I get distracted. But it has everything that I like in a book — an award-winning literary mystery — and it’s set in Poland, where I have roots. So I’m going to get to it soon. I promise.

“The Memory Police” by Yoko Ogawa
This is another book that I’ve been excited about for a while, but I haven’t read it yet because frankly it sounds a little scary and I am a wuss. It involves an Orwellian police force who disappear things and people and is a reflection on memory and loss.

– Ellen Whitfield, senior publicist

“Bottled Goods” by Sophie van Llewyn
I received an ARC of this one a few months back and I devoured it quickly. This concise novel takes place in Romania, a country I know little to nothing about, during the 1970’s. An intimate portrait of a perspective far from my own, I cherished each page of this succinct novel.

– Elysse Wagner, publicist and campaign strategist