april 2025, jojo's season

No, I haven't gotten my car fixed yet. Yes, this bookletter is the latest I've ever sent out. No, there is no reason for that! Yes, this is called "jojo's season" but I haven't finished it yet, nor do I have anything to say about it. Yes, I'm about to plug some stuff.

To read two chapters (and counting) of a short fiction story that I recently was derailed from writing because I ran into my ex but will be back at it soon:

If you aren't following my book account on instagram:

If you need a bookmark for a gift or for yourself:

Now here's what you missed on Glee.

[Books I read]

Misfits: A Personal Manifesto (2021) by Michaela Coel (2021) | Quick summary: Michaela Coel's brief declaration against refusing to conform in the entertainment industry.
Michaela Coel wrote a poetic memoir I fell in love with from the first moth parallel. I somehow still haven't watched Chewing Gum, which this short memoir is sort of about, but when I watched I May Destroy You, I watched it thrice. There were scenes about friendship and love that I think about daily. There were sections and lines about friendship and love that I will think about daily.
[nonfiction, motivational, career advice, written by a Black British actress, writer, and television director, short read]

Opacities: On Writing and the Writing Life by Sofia Samatar (2024) | Quick summary: Collagea, creative writing, publishing, friendship, and roots.
I took my time reading this, I think, because I struggle with viewing myself as a "creative." I'm a collage person or have been for a few years, and though my collage art usually comes out in the form of a bookmark, I am obviously a writer, too. And maybe there's a way to be a collage writer and this book is exactly what that is about, and more. Reading about writing is so good for me; a reminder I need to do that more.
[nonfiction, essays, creative writing, written by a somali american scholar, novelist and educator, medium-length read]

Book Lovers by Emily Henry (2022) | Quick summary: A parentified literary agent falls in love with a stern small-town editor.
I'm not an Emily Henry Fan or even honestly a romance reader. I read a lot of things, and I love love, but romance as a genre of reading has never totally been my thing. I like one occasionally, especially if they are written by a non-white woman, and I don't mind Emily Henry! But I do read these books more critically. I wonder why they need to be so long, why they adopt "internet speak," which is such a turn-off for me, why they are so hetero, and why, if they're not, it's markedly clear. I wonder what complex romance books look like and think of Toni Morrison, Audre Lorde, bell hooks, and even Abigail Jimenez. I wish I could just read the book and like it and have that be that, but I read Book Lovers and enjoyed it; I even cried! But the whole time, I thought, even complex choices are easy for white people, from romance to jobs. That quickly bleeds into resenting the writer, and I end up bitter that Emily Henry can write her parentified-sister-romance-happily-ever-after, but someone like me cannot. Anyway, I liked this book. But I can never just like a book like this. It comes with so much weight.
[fiction, romcom, written by a white american author, medium-length read]

Possessing the Secret of Joy by Alice Walker (1992) | Quick summary: Tashi's traumatic story of life, love, and genital mutilation.
I haven't read The Color Purple in many, many years and didn't realize this book is billed as part of an unofficial trilogy. That said, this book reads totally fine on its own and would probably be slightly more powerful as a trilogy. I'll read it again, though. I'll always, always read Alice Walker again.
[fiction, romcom, written by a white american author, medium-length read]

What My Mother and I Don't Talk About: Fifteen Writers Break the Silence by various contributors, edited by Michele Filgate (2019) | Quick summary: A collection of essays about mothers.
My therapist joked that I needed to read a book called What My Mother Shouldn't Have Told Me instead of this one, but regardless, I enjoyed several of these essays, and others meant absolutely nothing to me. My favorites were written by Bernice L. McFadden, Kiese Laymon, and Brandon Taylor. It is interesting that the bulk of these essays were focused on the writers' mothers concerning their fathers or other men. I am now challenging myself to tell stories about my mom that pass the Bechdel Test, good or bad.
[nonfiction, essay collection, family, written by various writers, edited by a white american writer and editor, medium-length read]

[Books I heard]

Connie: A Memoir by Connie Chung (2024) | Quick summary: The life story of journalist Connie Chung.
Connie Chung, I was not familiar with your hotness. I was very familiar with Chung's presence in journalism and news, but I didn't know much about her. She's a super interesting, sharp, biting person who wrote a really great memoir! I still can't believe she's been married to Maury Povich for so long.
[nonfiction, celebrity memoir, written by a chinese american journalist, read by the author, longish listen]

Run Towards the Danger: Confrontations with a Body of Memory by Sarah Polley (2022) | Quick summary: The life story of actress Sarah Polley.
Recommended by a coworker who knows I love a good memoir! I don't know Sarah Polley super well (but you might!) but went into this memoir knowing it was about a traumatic brain injury and ended up taking so much more from it. Polley is a real advocate for a number of vital issues, but what I found most compelling was, as a former child actress, her take on whether or not kids should be acting. I didn't expect that angle, but I really enjoyed and respected it. A great listen as well as a great memoir.
[nonfiction, memoir, written by a canadian filmmaker, writer, political activist, and actor, read by the author, longish listen]

Aftershocks: A Memoir by Nadia Owusu (2021) | Quick summary: A genre-bending memoir about identity, home, Blackness, womanhood, and trauma.
I've heard Aftershocks described as "in the tradition of The Glass Castle," which is one of my favorite books of all time, though I would not put these two books in the same category. Aftershocks almost feels like a multimedia memoir, even though it really is just the written word. Owusu's storytelling was indirect but powerful, honest, and raw. Glass Castle primarily tells a story in order; Aftershocks takes you on a real journey of identity, motherlessness, and family lore. I enjoyed it deeply, though I recommend reading this rather than listening!
[nonfiction, memoir, written by a canadian filmmaker, writer, political activist, and actor, read by the author, longish listen]

The House of My Mother by Shari Franke (2025) | Quick summary: The oldest daughter of a "famous" youtube family tells all.
I've never gotten into youtube. I've never followed anyone specifically, watched a series, or subscribed to anything other than a friend's channel to be supportive. So I know very little about 8 Passengers, the Franke family's now defunct youtube channel, but what I'd gathered is that the mom (Ruby) was really fucked up and abusive and exploitative. Shari Franke's memoir is solid and strong, and I just really hope she is able to sign off for the rest of her life now that this book is out. (Spoiler alert: Ruby is currently incarcerated.) This is a brave girl!
[nonfiction, memoir, written by a white american author and former youtube star, read by the author, medium-length listen]

[Books I recommend]

• If you are a writer: Opacities
• If you are a Michaela Coel fan: Misfits
• If you love The Color Purple: Possessing the Secret of Joy
• If you're against adults exploiting kids: Run Towards the Danger and The House of My Mother

"In a class exercise, however, the teacher commanded we run to point A if our parents owned a home or to point B if they didn't. When everybody else ran to point A, and I found myself isolated at point B, I was astounded. Had land-owning taken over my race? Why did this class exercise even exist? I thought, then blogged about it. Not about how hard it was not owning a house; I wrote about the resilience born from having no safety net at all, having to climb ladders with no stable ground beneath you." Misfits

"for if writing never ends, then to start right here is altogether marvelous, perfect, whoever it is, wherever it is." Opacities

"No worries," I say, "I'll drink yours." Book People

"There are those who believe Black people possess the secret of joy and that it is this that will sustain them through any spiritual or moral or physical devastation." Possessing the Secret of Joy

"My mother was not the kind of person who played games with children. Even when she tried to laugh with us, I always felt the edge of her ridicule stabbing my sides." What My Mother and I Don't Talk About