All Booked | Emily’s Back and Her New Favorite Author
The original version of this newsletter was sent out on Tuesday, September 10.
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Hello, book lovelies!
After three incredible months, I am back at my desk. I hope you enjoyed hearing from my colleagues about their reading tastes and recommendations. I personally loved following along, and it allowed me to truly disconnect from this space to be with my son. With all that being said, I am also so happy to be back. I’ve missed my coworkers, my desk, and, most importantly — talking about books!
As expected, I read a bunch of books when I was out on mat leave. I’m not going to include them all in this email, but I will mention them over the course of the next few months — so stick around. 🙂
Probably the biggest news is that I’ve discovered a new favorite author, Emily Henry. Now, I know Emily Henry is incredibly famous and has been writing books for years now. But until a couple of months ago, I had not read any of her books. I had very little interest in picking her up because she was insanely hyped. But I decided to check out what I was missing out on, and it turns out I am just like other girls and indeed love a good Emily Henry romance. So much so that I read three of her adult romance novels over two weeks. Then I realized I only had one left, and I’ve been saving it ever since. I will say that the romances are a bit spicy, so if you’re not into that, then Emily Henry may not be for you.
I am a big believer in going into a book knowing as little as possible. I try not to read too much of the synopses or reviews, since most of them over-share. My pitches below are short and sweet just for that reason.
I decided to start with her newest release, Happy Place, which was published in April. Happy Place, ended up being my favorite Emily Henry novel that I read. It has some of my favorite romance tropes: fake dating, “only one bed,” and a second-chance romance. This book is a summer romance, but it also delves into some serious aspects of life, which for me brought it to a five-star read. I cried while reading this — not just a single tear gently gliding down my face, oh no, I was full-on ugly crying while listening to the audiobook. Henry also writes incredibly witty characters that made me laugh out loud. This book was a true joy to read. If you like Taylor Jenkins Reid’s earlier romance novels, you will love this.
Next up, I read Book Lovers. Coming off of Happy Place, my expectations were pretty high, and while Book Lovers didn’t quite beat out Happy Place for my favorite, it is a close second.
Nora is a bad-ass literary agent in New York City who loves the city almost as much as her job. Her little sister, Libby, convinces her to get away from the city and take a month-long trip to a small town in North Carolina, where maybe she’ll meet a small-town guy and fall in love. But instead she keeps running into a grumpy book editor she knows from the city.
Like Happy Place, Book Lovers goes deeper than a typical romance, focusing on Nora’s relationship with her sister, her mom, and her career.
Lastly, I picked up People We Meet on Vacation. We follow Poppy and Alex who, met years ago in college and for a decade have been taking incredible annual trips funded by Poppy’s travel-writing career. Two years ago, Poppy and Alex had a falling-out and haven’t talked since. In an attempt to rekindle their friendship, Poppy invites Alex on one last trip.
If you like friends-to-lovers romances, then this one is for you.
As always, I would love to hear from you. Do you have any romance recommendations? Have you read any Emily Henry books? Let me know!
Your smitten bookworm, Emily
UPCOMING BOOK EVENTS
Below, you will find a few bookish events coming up in Santa Barbara. If you are hosting a bookish event in Santa Barbara, be sure to submit the event to our online events calendar.
Book Talk and Signing: Bernie Taupin
Tuesday, September 26, 6:00 p.m. Chaucer’s Books
Tuesday, September 26, 5:30 p.m. Goleta Valley Library
Book Talk and Signing: Naomi Hirahara
Wednesday, September 27, 6:00 p.m. Chaucer’s Books
SB Reads: Dreamers Family Storytime
Wednesday, September 27, 2:30 p.m. Eastside Library
On Writing Three International Bestsellers: An Online Author Talk with Amor Towles
Wednesday, September 27, 5:00 p.m. Online
SB Reads 2023 Kick-Off with S.B. Public Library!
Thursday, September 28, 6 p.m. Wylde Works
SB Reads Poetry Workshop: In Praise of the Little & Large: Write an Ode
Tuesday, October 3, 6:00 p.m. Faulkner Gallery, S.B. Central Library
Book Talk and Signing: Jim Lichtman
Wednesday October 4, 6:00 p.m. Chaucer’s Books
Book Talk and Signing: Max Talley
Thursday, October 5, 6:00 p.m. Chaucer’s Books
Books and Breakfast: A Pride & Joy S.B. Event
Friday, October 6, 10:00 p.m. Faulkner Gallery, S.B. Central Library
Chaucer’s Presents Elizabeth Poett in Conversation with Matt Kettmann
Saturday, October 7, 5:30 p.m. El Presidio de Santa Bárbara
Sunday, October 8, 2:30 p.m. Mary Craig Auditorium, S.B. Museum of Art
LOCAL BOOK SPOTLIGHT
We at the Independent get many books sent to us by local authors, sometimes too many! It’s practically impossible for us to read and review them all, but just because we are busy bees does not mean that they aren’t worth the attention. In an attempt to not completely drop the ball, we have compiled a list of books here that have a local spin. They are all either written by a local author, feature someone in our community, or have another tie to Santa Barbara. I urge you to look through this list. Perhaps you will find your new favorite read!
The following are the most recent titles that have been sent to us. Click here for a more comprehensive list.
Loving in the War Years, and Other Writings, 1978-1999 by Cherríe Moraga
A Whole Person Makes the Whole World Better by Barbara Edelston Peterson
In My World by Barbara Edelston Peterson
When The Night Breathes Electric by Max Talley
Trust and Confidence by Jim Lichtman
For Girls Who Walk Through Fire by Kim DeRose
If you are a local author and would like us to feature your book in this section, please email allbooked@independent.com with the subject line “Local Author Spotlight.”
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