Welcome to Prettyboy Books! I’m glad you could join for my first ever newsletter. This month’s issue is all about emo nostalgia and sea creatures and friendship, with a heavy dose of translated novels under 200 pages. It’s also about being gay, because everything is about being gay, ultimately.
I hope this post exponentially increases your TBR and gives you something cool to suggest at your next book club meeting. I hope you’re reminded that reading is very cool and fun and it doesn’t always have to be super serious. I hope you find something to read that’s outside your literary comfort zone. And I really, truly, from the bottom of my heart, hope you preorder my book Goblin Mode, forthcoming from Quirk books 6/27/23. Thank you in advance :)
<3 McKayla
February’s Newsletter Exclusive Mini Reading List
This month’s newsletter-exclusive mini reading list is Fall Out Boy vibes because I’ve been seasonally depressed and all my brain can handle right now is FOB. I’ve been into this band since I was 13 so listening to their music always feels nostalgic and comforting, but honestly? I also think Pete Wentz is an incredible writer.
This is a time of year where I try to unabashedly dive into all my weird interests. I’m trying not to judge myself for wholeheartedly embracing silly things. It’s fun to return to something that you’ve loved for a long time! It’s fun to love something simple and joyful!
And if you’re wondering, yes, I have been making my way through a YouTube playlist titled “every single fall out boy interview i can find” that has over 400 videos. Please respect my privacy at this time (and listen to the new Fall Out Boy songs) (justice for Folie a Deux) (Pete Wentz if ur there I still love u).
Heartbreak Feels So Good: A Fall Out Boy Mini Reading List
Skim by Mariko Tamaki & Jillian Tamaki
We Play Ourselves by Jen Silverman
We Were Villains by ML Rio
Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (out 7/18/23)
Bluebird by Ciel Pierlot
Pen Pals: Gina Chung, author of Sea Change
Pen Pals is a monthly series where I feature my writer friends. It’s a fun way for me to share what my very cool friends are working on, and let them share their favorite books!
About Gina: Gina Chung is a Korean American writer from New Jersey currently living in New York City. She is the author of the novel Sea Change (Vintage, March 28, 2023) and the story collection Green Frog (Vintage, February 2024). A recipient of the Pushcart Prize, she is a 2021-2022 Center for Fiction/Susan Kamil Emerging Writer Fellow and holds an MFA in fiction from the New School.
Author photo by S.M. Sukardi
About Sea Change: Ro is stuck. She’s just entered her thirties, she’s estranged from her mother, and her boyfriend has just left her to join a mission to Mars. Her days are spent dragging herself to her menial job at a mall aquarium. Ro’s only companion is Dolores, a giant Pacific octopus who also happens to be Ro’s last remaining link to her father, a marine biologist who disappeared while on an expedition when Ro was a teenager.
When Dolores is sold to a wealthy investor intent on moving her to a private aquarium, Ro finds herself on the precipice of self-destruction. Wading through memories of her youth, Ro has one last chance to come to terms with her childhood trauma, recommit to those around her, and find her place in an ever-changing world.
Available 3/28/23 - Preorder now!
Gina’s Favorite Books:
Chemistry by Weike Wang
Writers and Lovers by Lily King
Memorial by Bryan Washington
Severance by Ling Ma
Mostly Dead Things by Kristen Arnett
February Reads
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This Month’s Reads:
Such Small Hands by Andrés Barba (translated by Lisa Dillman) - Recommend
Come Closer by Sara Gran - Not For Me
Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto (translated by Megan Backus) - Recommend
Strega by Johanne Lykke Holm (translated by Saskia Vogel) - Favorite
The Black Cathedral by Marcial Gala (translated by Anna Kushner) - Recommend
February Reviews
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Strega by Johanne Lykke Holm, translated by Saskia Vogel (Favorite)
Reading this book is like sitting down to eat a decadent feast & remaining at the able until late into the night. Your stomach hurts, but you don’t want to stop eating. Rich, sensuous, shimmering.
Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto, translated by Megan Backus (Recommend)
In this book, grief is large, complex, shifting. It's like another characters, or a relationship the characters must navigate. It's never easy, never fully resolved. It's both difficult and comforting. (TW: transphobia, death)
Most Anticipated March Releases
March 7:
What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez by Claire Jimenez
Monstrilio by Gerardo Sámano Córdova
Thirst for Salt by Madelaine Lucas
Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson
The God of Endings by Jacqueline Holland
March 14:
Blue Hunger by Viola Di Grado (translated by Jamie Richards)
Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano
The Dance Tree by Kiran Millwood Hargrave
March 21:
Lone Women by Victor LaValle
The Nursery by Szilvia Molnar
Y/N by Esther Yi
Flux by Jinwoo Chong
March 28:
Chlorine by Jade Song
Sea Change by Gina Chung
The Human Origins of Beatrice Porter and Other Essential Ghosts by Soraya Palmer
The Great Reclamation by Rachel Heng