Andi's Book Recs in Rotation

Hey, book nerds! Welcome back to a bi-weekly series where I provide rapid-fire recommendations from my most recent reads. Here’s a list of my recs in rotation:

Yerba Buena by Nina LaCour

This book employs your senses. It relies on the diligence of each image to take you on Emilie and Sara’s separate journeys. There’s passion on every page: complex relationships that feel real and awful, beautiful and desperate, strangled by time and circumstance. Sara is in a state of running away. But she’s cunning and creative, which gives her an edge when she puts roots down in LA after leaving her suffocating hometown. Emilie is meandering through her life. Her passions are dying to break through, but she often feels hindered by the stages of growth that must take place in order for her to thrive. When Emilie and Sara’s paths finally cross, it allows for loose ends to be tied in their separate lives. This book filled me with fragrant, tactile warmth. It’s a book predicated on love and punctured with glowing individualism. It’s one that resonates in that part of your brain that holds on to rose-tinted moments.

Sarahland by Sam Cohen

If you’re looking for an eclectic, raunchy read then this book is for you. I chose Sarahland to ring in the first-ever New & Noteworthy book club at Book + Bottle. It had been on my radar because of Andrea Lawlor’s front blurb: “Cohen’s stories rewire the brain.” I can attest that this short story collection does exactly that. Cohen manages to create worlds full of magical realism that stitch themselves into your imagination. You have no choice but to believe that characters can eat soil full of microbes and eventually turn into trees. You automatically succumb to the damp, festering nature of each story. Our book club discussion was engaging and nuanced. The consensus was: We didn’t always know where we were going, but we had a good time. I think many of these stories would reward a re-read. These queer, uninhibited characters—and the identity struggles they embody—live forever in my brain and will dictate all of my reading to come. 

We Do What We Do In The Dark by Michelle Hart

I’m a sucker for an unhinged main character. When I die, I want my tombstone to say: She lived for fictional characters who made terrible decisions. Michelle Hart’s debut novel gave me everything I wanted: a secret obsession, dissociative prose, lyrical yearning. Mallory is someone who is defined by her ability to be alone. She develops a relationship with one of her college professors to escape the reality of her mother’s death. Yet, the woman that she clings to is elusive and unhinged herself. Something I loved about this illicit affair was its sheer nonchalance at times. Mallory wants to cling to the woman, yet in a way that isn’t obvious or abrasive. I recommend this book as a quick, mesmerizing read. 

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

TW: This book deals with grief. Michelle Zauner—in profound, heartfelt detail—recounts her mother’s battle against cancer. Yet, really, it’s a love letter to her mother. It holds every ounce of her mother’s passions: food, skin-care routines, etc. And it functions as a reflection of her actions as a daughter. I felt my own relationship with my mother ping in my chest as Michelle Zauner told her story. There’s something universal about mothers and daughters—how they grow up and grow old together. This memoir made me laugh and cry over and over again. Michelle Zauner’s ability to bring her mother back to life with Korean culture, humor, and heart is truly graceful.

Note: I listened to this book in Michelle Zauner’s own voice using Libro.fm. Libro.fm is an alternative to Amazon’s Audible that allows you to support local bookstores like Book + Bottle. We also sell the physical copy in our shop!