A Few Fun Fall Fiction Finds
Welcome to 90 weeks of book recommendations you didn't ask for
One truth about me and my many years in marketing: I have exactly two copywriting tricks and alliteration is 1.5 of them. Truly, can decades of women’s magazine cover stories and clickbait headlines be wrong?
(No, fine, YOU’RE RIGHT AS USUAL, the word “clickbait” has not been around decades. Because I care for you, dear reader, I looked it up. Turns out it was first used in 2006. The more you/we know!)
Anyway, is this week’s fiction really fun? I mean … I don’t know your life, or what you think is fun. But for me, they were all unusual, or interesting, or thrilling enough for a good speedy read and to overcome any nits I might have with plot or writing. Nothing here is too, too heavy. Throw in a weighted blanket and a flimsy excuse for cancelled plans that everyone can see through but somehow kindly forgives me for anyway, and you’re talking about my kind of fun, at least. Enjoy!
If you read last week’s newsletter, you know I have a special place in my bookish heart for books that are a twist on familiar characters or stories. How to Be Eaten takes classic fairy tale characters like Red Riding Hood and Gretel and puts them in modern day group therapy.
It’s a little twisted, darkly funny, a little confronting, kind of weird. It shines a light on the “fairy tales” that women are fed and the cost it demands. I liked it.
Why the lambs, for crying out loud? I’m glad you asked.
The Bad Muslim Discount addresses a heavy topic - the Muslim immigrant experience in America, following Pakistani Anvar whose family immigrates for more freedoms, and Iraqi Safwa, who is forced to flee from a warring city in the face of a dangerous family situation. I know - sounds like good times! But Anvar’s irreverance, coupled with an at times comedic, at times deadly serious, at times romantic plot, makes this a read that’s both enlightening and fresh as well as entertaining. (Thanks for the reco, Yair!)
Who doesn’t love any plot featuring identical twins? This mystery, I’ll Be You, follows former child actors and twin sisters who have become estranged due to Sam’s addiction issues and Elli’s desire to be the perfect wife and mother. But when Elli disappears, Sam is compelled to find her, and figure out their mysteries. Perfect? No. But I blitzed through this in basically one night. Page-turnery.
Here’s one for my rom-com lovers - The Trouble With Hating You. All the tropes - independent woman, frenemies, etc - with the added elements of featuring South Asian families and traditions as realized in Houston, TX. OK, the plot’s predictable, the writing’s a little pedestrian. If you’re not a rom-com reader, you’re going to want to stay with Jasmine Guillory, but if this genre is your jam, this one will scratch the itch with characters you don’t see all the time!
Another Book Confession
This year, I’ve averaged 2.75 books a week.
This week, I read .3 of a book and honestly, that was a challenge without a real end to this reading struggle bus in sight.
Some weeks you have the reading vibe, and some weeks you need to watch Great British Baking Show instead. What can I say?
If you are having those weeks, or those months, or even those years, know that your friend Kerry has your back.
And Lastly:
If these books were not your idea of fun - well, there are 89 other weeks of books in the archive. Check it out!
All links go to Bookshop.org. I think we can all agree that this is the more better way to buy books. You can see many of my past recos here - if you buy from my links, I get a small affiliate bounty. But this has happened exactly one (1) time (thank you, Mayu, you’re my real publicist) so really it’s all theoretical.
The other copywriting trick I have is to put clauses or descriptors in groups of three. Like if something is affordable, accessible, and amazing. I’m not saying it’s a great trick but I stand by it.