Gasoline Books Newsletter #1

Curated Book Gift Guides, Monthly Must-Read, More

Welcome to Gasoline Books, the newsletter! If you’re receiving this, you’ve either signed up for one of my past Substacks or are a fellow busy bibliophile who wants to immerse themselves in the world of books — when time permits. In this monthly newsletter, you’ll receive bitesize book reviews, a smattering of Bookstagram accounts worth adding to your feed, and curated reading lists meant to lovingly uproot your current to-be-read stack.

Before we get started, some housekeeping items:

1. Free the email: Please check your email settings to ensure that this newsletter reaches your inbox rather than languishing in a deplorable spam folder. There’s nothing worse than braving “Dante’s Inferno” just to retrieve a silly newsletter. Let’s make this easy on everyone, O.K.?

2. Take one, pass it on: I’d be forever grateful that, if you enjoy the below, you share this with another literature lover. This is a burgeoning community that I hope to foster at least a hair longer than the woman managed in “My Year of Rest and Relaxation.”

3. Sampler platter: In my book recommendations and reading lists, you’ll find both old and new, hyped and no-hype books. I believe good books don’t have an expiration date and I intend to showcase a range accordingly. Have one you think I need to check out? DM me.

4. Fast follow: Should you be curious of what the world of Gasoline Books consists of outside of this monthly newsletter, check out my Goodreads, Instagram or Pinterest for more frequent posting. I most regularly check my IG messages, so be sure to drop a line there vs. email.

Everyone on board? Great. Let’s get started.

Monthly Book Highlight

In this section, I’ll feature a book I’ve enjoyed in the past month that I think you should read, too. That’s it. Simple as sweet tea.

The Woman in the Library: Sulari Gentill

No one loves a cozy mystery more than your faithful newsletter host. In “The Woman in the Library” by Sulari Gentill, you’ll want to hunker down next to a fire with a cinnamon tea (or hot toddy, this is a judgment-free zone, after all) and soak it in during a single sitting. Told as a book within a book, the suspense novel sidesteps any corniness by framing the plot as a vehicle for another mystery enveloping the fictional writer of said book within a book. Phew. Despite the knotty plot, it’s on the smaller side and will neatly fit into a travel tote during any holiday excursions.

Read If: You’ve alternated between “Murder, She Wrote” and “Law & Order” reruns more than once — recently.

Reading Lists

Well, I’ve gone and done it. Instead of sharing a simple must-read list, I’m going to throw the premise of this section out the window and include below a very brief, incredibly incomplete book gift guide just in time for holiday shopping. Here, you’ll find recommendations for the history buff to the true-crime nut and everyone in between (maybe).

And remember, shop local this holiday season or patron bookshop.org to support independent bookstores.

For the music nut:

1. “The Come-Up: An Oral History of Hip-Hop” - Jonathan Abrams

2. “The Philosophy of Modern Song” - Bob Dylan

3. “Meet Me in the Bathroom” - Elizabeth Goodman

For the history buff:

1. “How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning With the History of Slavery Across America” - Clint Smith

2. “G-Man: J. Edgar Hoover and the Making of an American Century” - Beverly Gage

3. “A Private Spy: The Letters of John le Carré” - John le Carré (Edited by Tim Cornwell)

For the mystery fiend:

1. “Mystic River” - Dennis Lehane

2. “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark” - Michelle McNamara

3. “The Push” - Ashley Audrain

For feel-good vibes:

1. “The Dutch House” - Ann Patchett

2. “The Best of Me” - David Sedaris

3. “All Adults Here” - Emma Straub

For the hostess:

1. “Cheryl Day’s Treasury of Southern Baking” - Cheryl Day

2. “Regarding Cocktails” - Sasha Petraske

3. “How to Be a Party Girl” - Pat Montandon

Social Scene

For a Bookstagram newcomer such as myself, it can be daunting to find folks who not only seem inclusive, but also match your reading tastes. These accounts make it easy. With their stunning photography, thoughtful reviews and uncanny individuality, I find these tastemakers to be teeming with creativity and 100-percent follow worthy.

Check out these accounts, their book recs to venture out of a reading rut, and novels they’re most excited to dig into next.

1. TheLitFicAgenda: Quick book reviews in quirky images that will overtake your saved folder

   Choice Book to Get Out a Reading Rut: Gentleman in Moscow - Amor Towles

2. Ifyaboutbooks: A relatable account of a bookworm showcasing genre-defying recaps and suggestions

   Reading Next: The Cloisters - Katy Hays

Like what you read? Think I missed something? Be sure to drop me a line — this is a first draft after all!