My friend Betsy Phillips wrote a book called Dynamite Nashville: Unmasking the FBI, the KKK, and the Bombers Beyond Their Control. The book is about three integration-era bombings that happened in Nashville sixty years ago and have remained unsolved - until now, thanks in part to Betsy. I interviewed Betsy about her book for the Nashville Scene, which you can read here.
The book launch event was this weekend at the Tennessee State Museum and the mayor introduced Betsy and announced two policy changes.
I’m so proud of my friend and excited for everyone to read this book. You can catch me and Betsy on Aug. 1 talking about the process for writing and publishing this book. Our chat is part of the The Porch’s Birthing the Book series and is free to attend.
Okay, now let’s get into what I read in June!
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1000 Words: A Writer's Guide to Staying Creative, Focused, and Productive All Year Round by Jami Attenberg
I’m obviously aware of Jami Attenberg’s Twitter juggernaut: 1000 words, but I’ve never done it because I’m a curmudgeon and I hate being told what to do. But I also basically don’t write for myself anymore, so I thought, why not?
When I tell you that I have read every craft book, I am not exaggerating. I’ve read them all and this is the first one that made me actually start writing. This book either has magical powers or I read it at the exact time I was ready to start writing again, but whatever happened, it worked.
If you’re locked up, or just looking for fresh ideas and inspiration for your writing, I can’t recommend this book enough.
Funny Story by Emily Henry
I loved this book. Not every Emily Henry book has been my favorite, but I loved the last one and I loved this one. It’s hard to talk about this book without spoilers, but also, the spoiler happens at the very beginning of the book, so … Here’s one sentence from the summary: “But it's all just for show, of course, because there's no way Daphne would actually start her new chapter by falling in love with her ex-fiancé's new fiancée's ex...right?” It’s so good! Also great on audio.
Dust Storms May Exist by Ben Groner III
More! Friends! Writing! Books! This is my friend Ben’s debut poetry collection. Ben and I worked together at Parnassus. This is a gorgeous collection of poems about Ben’s 10,000-mile road trip across the U.S. and what he saw. From the press release: “These poems are a reckoning with what his country is and could be.” I loved it.
Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros
Um … I guess? The first half of the book is a real page-turner and I thoroughly enjoyed it, but the book is so long, and as everyone on the internet has already noted, it could’ve used an edit! But sometimes it’s fun to read the big, fun book everyone is talking about. I’m not going to read part two.
ICYMI, here’s what I read last month:
If you’re looking for something to read this summer, I hired two local booksellers to help me create a summer reading list. Parnassus Books is offering 10% off each title when you use the coupon code FATGIRLSUMMER at checkout. Coupon valid through Aug. 23.