Oh my goodness, drop what you are doing and read this book! Spoiler alert: Jen and Ashley both loved Tiffany D. Jackson's The Weight of Blood (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm) so much, and there is a ton to discuss. This one just came out in September.
In the episode, we also offer a couple of other spooky reads perfect for the fall reading season including R. J. Jacobs’s Always the First to Die (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm) and Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé’s Ace of Spades (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm).
Bookish Check-in
Ashley - Graeme Simsion's The Rosie Effect (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm)
Jen - Tiya Miles’s All that She Carried: The Journey of Ashley's Sack, a Black Family Keepsake (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm)
Our Book Club Pick
Tiffany D. Jackson's The Weight of Blood (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm)
Our Spooky Read Picks
Ashley - R. J. Jacobs’s Always the First to Die (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm)
Jen - Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé’s Ace of Spades (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm)
Mentioned in Episode
Stephen King’s Carrie (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm)
Stephen King’s On Writing (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm)
Give Me One - Position on Candy Corn
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Bookish Check-in
Ashley was reading...
Graeme Simsion's The Rosie Effect (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm)
From the Publisher: "'With The Rosie Project, Graeme Simsion achieved the impossible and created an entirely new kind of romantic hero,' Jojo Moyes, author of Me Before You said. Now Don Tillman returns in the hilarious and charming sequel to the international sensation. Get ready to fall in love all over again.
"Don sets about learning the protocols of becoming a father, but his unusual research style gets him into trouble with the law. Fortunately his best friend Gene is on hand to offer advice: he's left Claudia and moved in with Don and Rosie.
"Picking up where The Rosie Project left off, The Rosie Effect is a fun, hilarious, and poignant read."
Jen was reading...
Tiya Miles’s All that She Carried: The Journey of Ashley's Sack, a Black Family Keepsake (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm)
From the Publisher: "In 1850s South Carolina, an enslaved woman named Rose faced a crisis: the imminent sale of her daughter Ashley. Thinking quickly, she packed a cotton bag for her with a few items, and, soon after, the nine-year-old girl was separated from her mother and sold. Decades later, Ashley's granddaughter Ruth embroidered this family history on the sack in spare, haunting language.
"Historian Tiya Miles carefully traces these women's faint presence in archival records, and, where archives fall short, she turns to objects, art, and the environment to write a singular history of the experience of slavery, and the uncertain freedom afterward, in the United States. All That She Carried is a poignant story of resilience and love passed down against steep odds. It honors the creativity and resourcefulness of people who preserved family ties when official systems refused to do so, and it serves as a visionary illustration of how to reconstruct and recount their stories today."
Our Book Club Pick
Tiffany D. Jackson's The Weight of Blood (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm)
"When Springville residents--at least the ones still alive--are questioned about what happened on prom night, they all have the same explanation . . . Maddy did it.
"An outcast at her small-town Georgia high school, Madison Washington has always been a teasing target for bullies. And she's dealt with it because she has more pressing problems to manage. Until the morning a surprise rainstorm reveals her most closely kept secret: Maddy is biracial. She has been passing for white her entire life at the behest of her fanatical white father, Thomas Washington.
"After a viral bullying video pulls back the curtain on Springville High's racist roots, student leaders come up with a plan to change their image: host the school's first integrated prom as a show of unity. The popular white class president convinces her Black superstar quarterback boyfriend to ask Maddy to be his date, leaving Maddy wondering if it's possible to have a normal life.
"But some of her classmates aren't done with her just yet. And what they don't know is that Maddy still has another secret . . . one that will cost them all their lives."
Our Spooky Read Picks
Ashley shared about...
R. J. Jacobs’s Always the First to Die (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm)
"For Lexi, the Pinecrest Estate has become a place of horror. The dilapidated manor house in the Florida Keys, once the site of her teenage movie debut, is now haunted by memories. Memories of working on a legendary horror director's most famous film and of the terrible death that propelled them all to infamy. And ever since Lexi fled the Keys, she has vowed to never return.
"Until, years later, her daughter escapes to the Pinecrest in search of answers. Right when a Category 4 hurricane hits the southern coast.
"Now, Lexi is back on the ravaged island with only a few remaining behind, and soon enough, her life begins to resemble the plot of her most famous film. And this time, she's not sure who will make it out alive."
Jen shared about...
Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé’s Ace of Spades (Bookshop.org | Libro.fm)
"All you need to know is . . . I'm here to divide and conquer. Like all great tyrants do. --Aces
"When two Niveus Private Academy students, Devon Richards and Chiamaka Adebayo, are selected to be part of the elite school's senior class prefects, it looks like their year is off to an amazing start. After all, not only does it look great on college applications, but it officially puts each of them in the running for valedictorian, too.
"Shortly after the announcement is made, though, someone who goes by Aces begins using anonymous text messages to reveal secrets about the two of them that turn their lives upside down and threaten every aspect of their carefully planned futures.
"As Aces shows no sign of stopping, what seemed like a sick prank quickly turns into a dangerous game, with all the cards stacked against them. Can Devon and Chiamaka stop Aces before things become incredibly deadly?
"With heart-pounding suspense and relevant social commentary comes a high-octane thriller from debut author Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé."
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