Salutations!

Welcome to the relaunch of my newsletter. Newsletters have not only become popular, but also hard to figure out which is the best to use. Some platforms even pay crappy people to write newsletters! So when my last platform didn’t give me what I needed and TinyLetter folded, I took some time to look into a platform that, as of this writing, seems decent. Plus at least one friend uses beehiiv.

What do I want to use this newsletter for?

I want to use this newsletter to get back into writing on a regular basis. To discuss things in a public space that is not based on a social media outlet, especially with the slow demise of the bird app. I continue to read advance copies of books and review them on social media, but those reviews are shorter than I want. I’ve started to track the top 8 WNBA rookies and you know I have thoughts on this summer of WNBA action.

In the early aughts, I had a blog where I’d dump all my thoughts. It was my sandbox for what I hope is now far more mature musings. So having this newsletter as an outlet for the zillion things that run through my head will be great for my mental health and writing routine!

My goal is to send a newsletter out every two weeks. At this point of the game I don’t have a paid option, but I am accepting dollars via venmo or ko-fi. I have enough ideas to send a newsletter every week, if not every day. I just don’t have the time.

What will I be writing about? What won’t I be writing about?

• Book reviews

• Women’s sports

• Chicago politics*

• Feminist news

• Workplace issues

• General oversharing

* Chicago politics will always be in the free version. This will keep anyone from thinking that I’m making a constituent pay for information. Ethics, baby! This will also go towards my personal goal of not getting indicted.

To kick off this newsletter, I present you a list of the books I’ve read and reviewed in 2024, in alpha order by author:

Over the Influence: Why Social Media Is Toxic for Women and Girls - And How We Can Take It Back by Kara Alaimo is a deep dive into how social media has become a toxic pit for women and girls. I am quoted as I discuss the bright side of social media - #365FeministSelfie. I also reflect on the evil genius of Kim K. as she plays trope after trope right to the bank. As someone who has lived her life online, I found the book pretty solid. The birthing chapter came up short as it missed the vital role midwives and doulas play, but still a great book to snag to learn more about how social media turned into a mostly gross pit of ick.

Pointe of Pride by Chloe Angyal is a hilarious, sexy, and touching romance where a hot-headed (also red-head) ballerina has the worst meet-cute with a retired ballet dancer only to find out they are the Maid of Honor and Best Man in the same wedding. Chaos ensues! Secrets are exposed! Hearts break! Set in Australia, I highly recommend searching for each beach location to make the book really come alive.

Hearts Still Beating by Brooke Archer. Have you ever asked someone you love to kill you if you ever turn into a zombie? Do you love romance books set in the apocalypse? Then this book is for you! Mara and Rory are childhood sweethearts, but only realize their mutual affection for each other the day before the world ends. Mara becomes infected and Rory witnesses Mara’s zombie rampage. Fast forward a few years and a treatment has been discovered! And the two are reunited. Can you fall back in love with someone who did what zombies do? The book starts off slow and the ending is cheesy by romance book standards, but it’s still a good romp.

Girls with Bad Reputations by Xio Axelrod is a sequel that stands on its own. What happens when a privileged young woman runs from her past right into a rock & roll lifestyle and then falls for a young nonbinary person who wants the world to forget their past? This workplace romance left me on the edge of my seat as both Kayla and Ty’s past jump scare them at the worst times possible. Added bonus of author, Xio Axelrod’s releasing her own singles from the band.

Late Bloomer by Mazey Eddings is too freaking adorable. We get a lottery win, chaotic Sapphic energy, and neurospicy brains falling in love. There is also a lovely sisters subplot that is the thing of, well, romcoms. While there are serious conversations, I found this to be pure delight.

The Span of a Small Forever by April Gibson is a beautiful and gut-wrenching poetry collection. Fellow Chicago, Gibson mines her journey through physical injuries and chronic health issues to gift us with pieces that are as brilliant as they are haunting.

Black Women Taught Us: An Intimate History of Black Feminism by Jenn M. Jackson is a must-read. Jackson provides us with profiles of 11 Black women leaders from bell hooks, Angela Davis, and Harriet Jacobs. Twelve if you count Jackson’s own reflections of how they grew into their voice as a queer genderflux androgynous Black woman, parent, and scholar - and you should. It is a great introduction and refresher (it’s been a few years since I’ve read any Lorde) to Black feminist thought.

When We Were Silent by Fiona McPhillips is a dark thriller, loosely-based / inspired on a swim coach scandal in Ireland in the 1980s. Lou, a working class kid, makes her way into the elite school, Highfield Manor, on a mission to expose the swim coach. But she soon finds herself drawn to Shauna, who herself is caught in his web. In present day, when Lou receives an audacious request to revisit their Highland days for a lawsuit, she must decide between doing what she knows is right and continuing to move on from a traumatic time of life and focus on her current family trauma. When We Were Silent has some pacing issues and the ending left me wanting more. CW for graphic sexual assault scene and death by suicide.

The City Is Up for Grabs: How Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot Led and Lost a City in Crisis by Gregory Royal Pratt is for every time someone asks me, “What happened with Lori Lightfoot?” The answer is “Lori Lightfoot happened to Lori Lightfoot and you might like this book.” Pratt followed Lightfoot every day of her one term. He writes with pride for asking the tough questions and sometimes that pride wades into boasting and for some readers that might be a turn off. But it is a good documentation of five ridiculous years in Chicago.

Oye by Melissa Mogollon is the book you gift your little sister. It is hilarious and centered around the baby sister as she tries to manage life while her big sister is off living her best life at college while their Latinx family deals with an eldery and vain abuela during a hurricane. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg Luciana must deal with her senior year of high school. Told through a series of phone calls Lucianas makes mostly to Mari the big sister, you are sure to laugh out loud.

The Write Choice by Allie Samberts is the third in her Leade Park series. It is a sweet tale of a rocky marriage. How do you find your way back to each other when work pulls you this way, kids pull you that way, and your parents expectations are muddying the water too? One answer is you lean on friends. And frankly that is why I really enjoyed this one.

And here are two very different books, written by friends, that I have read, but aren’t out yet, but I really think you should pre-order:

• Let’s Move the Needle by Shannon Downey

• Remember You Will Die by Eden Robins

All links are affiliate links. This means that I earn a small commission if you purchase a book or two from Bookshop.

WNBA Rookie Watch

I’ve been tracking the top 10 WNBA rookies, well 8 really since two of them are not playing in the W this season. At the end of the third week of the WNBA, this is how well (or not) they are doing:

I like to point out anytime any top 8 rookie makes it into a Top 5 of any stat. This week we see Clark at #4 for assists and 2nd for 3-pointers made, Brink is 3rd for blocks, and Pili is #1 for 3-point percentage (62.5%!!!). My Sky aren’t doing as well as I’d like, but they are playing better than most expected. I’ll take that win. Especially with the prospect of better years to come with Reese & Cardoso. Lastly, I believe that Rickea Jackson had the best progress this week as she is the only one who increased her season average in all three categories: +0.2 points, +0.7 rebounds, and +0.2 assists per game.

I’ll end by giving you a heads up that I’ll be reading at Miss Spoken on Wednesday, June 26th at 7 pm at The Gallery Cabaret (2020 N Oakley Ave in Chicago). This month’s theme is TEETH! See you there!

Thanks for reading!