SICKOS! What book cheeks you’re spreading this week? I've got a stack of books and a buncha media that I plan on working through, plus a look back at what I got done last week.

READING

REVIEW

A KNIGHT OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS by GEORGE RR MARTIN (fantasy)

Progress: Finished

Our March Fiction Sickos Book Club pick did not disappoint! This is a rare case where I enjoyed watching the show first as it helped my brain movies for the first short story that S1 was based on. I also think the show made solid choices with what it altered or expanded upon (looking at you, Lyonel Baratheon, you minx). Will probably fall somewhere around 3.75-4 stars with the first short story being the strongest.

HOW TO HOLD SOMEONE IN YOUR HEART by MIZUKU TSUJIMURA (contemporary fantasy/magical realism)

#2 in “The Lost Souls Series”

Progress: Finished

A bit underwhelming after Lost Souls Meet Under a Full Moon and I'll stick to the opinion that it might not have been necessary. Still had some high points but there were a couple chapters that either didn't live up to the potential of their premise or were somewhat uninteresting.

THE EYES OF GAZA: A DIARY OF RESILIENCE by PLESTIA ALAQAD (nonfiction memoir)

Progress: Finished

Phew! I'll talk more about this one soon because it's a harrowing read. The “Diary” in the subtitle isn't a metaphor or a stylistic label, it’s literal. It's a quick but powerful book taking real entries that's devoid of any flowery language and full of thought-provoking, raw sentiments.

GAMES WITHOUT RULES: THE OFTEN INTERRUPTED HISTORY OF AFGHANISTAN by TAMIM ANSARY (narrative historical nonfiction)

Progress: 101/350

Didn't make much of a dent in this but am now transitioning into the 20th century after Abdu'Rahman "set the parameters of a struggle in Afghanistan" between forward and backward-looking elements, which had "profound consequences not just for Afghanistan itself but for attempts by foreign powers to intervene in the affairs of the country over the next century".

PREVIEW

THE RED WINTER by CAMERON SULLIVAN (historical fantasy)

Next up on the fiction side is the Fiction Sickos April selection. I've already detailed what it's about so let's keep it movin'.

For nonfiction, I'm not entirely sure as I need to finish Games Without Rules by I may rock something like We Are Not Numbers or One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This if there's time.

WATCHING

REVIEW

SUCCESSION - HBO MAX

Progress: S4E3
Watching these goblin ah money junkies consistently step on their own junk has been a delight, I'm churning through it, and the episode I left off on was a biggie and so well done. Will finish the re-watch this week fo' sho.

FRIEREN - CRUNCHYROLL

Progress: S1E12
Slowly working through this and only watched two more episodes but I'm still just as invested.

PEAKY BLINDERS - NETFLIX

Progress: S2E5

Another one I had to sideline a bit because Succession and other stuff but will continue working through it when the mood strikes. And no, I will not be getting a flat cap.

GAME OF THRONES - HBO

Progress: S1E9

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms got me back in a Westeros mood, and today I'll be setting up the Red Wedding After Party forum in the Discord for those of us that are going to be re-watching and/or re-reading GOT/ASOIAF.

GAMING
Still working on the free solo difficulty climb on Cairn, and night time gaming has been Assassin's Creed: Valhalla. I just got through the opening missions and have landed in Ledecestrescire. If it hooks me from here, I'll see it through. If not, I'm thinking about trying Cyberpunk 2077 (which was also included in PS Plus).

A COMPLEMENT OF SCOUNDRELS UPDATE
We have final approval on the blurbs from John Gwynne and Nicholas Eames for the front/back covers (huge!). Another reminder that if you’re a Mega Sicko or above, go to your account settings and verify the name to be included in the “Thank You” page. I'll also stress again that pre-orders are massively important at this stage and you'd be really cool if you marked it as "Want to Read" on Goodreads.

OTHER RANDOM STUFF
Still rocking 3x days a week at the climbing gym and am posting some sends from today on IG/TikTok stories. I sent six "V3" problems today which is a personal best and am looking to project a V4 later this week. This is my happy place where I don't think about anything except scaling fake rocks. Oh, and I was successful in convincing my wife I needed new climbing shoes, HUZZAH!

Hello All,

Find the details for April’s book clubs below!

If you’re new, the bookclub chats happen in Discord (channels will be up for book clubs and the Toni Morrison readalong tmw!)

Of note: Our April bookclub pick for women in horror is Silk and Sinew (nominated for a Stoker this year!) and is edited by Boozhoo Books’ Spring author: Kristy Park Kulski

Our April Good Day to Read Indigenous selection is Old School Indian!

This is your last chance to populate our Cozy Quill/Traveling Tomes Newsletter with all your creative inspirations!

Our March theme is: A GENTLE THAW🍃. The Spring season is upon us and with it comes a thawing and an awakening. I wanted to feel that in the newsletter this month, so feel free to fill it with any examples of light entering, growth happening, and all the good things blooming.

Feel free to share: 

• A small sign of growth or change in your life (big or tiny) that made you smile this month.

• A cozy ritual, hobby, or creative moment that helps you feel lighter as winter thaws.

• A book rec, piece of writing, or project that has a theme of blooming or becoming.

• A photo of something emerging, blooming, or just quietly beautiful around you.

• A recipe that suits the spring.

I'll be accepting your creative offerings through tomorrow at midnight!

All the info you need is in the form below, but please don't hesitate to comment below with any questions. xx, Meg

Ready to submit?
CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE GOOGLE FORM

Hello Bindery Babes!! I am so excited for Pride this year -- Sapph-Lit and grotto in NYC have some incredible events planned and I just can't wait for it to be warm and read at the beach, the pool, on the porch and in my yard.

Summer to me is always when I read the most books -- there's so much sapphic romance and contemporary lit fic to get to! -- and for this upcoming Pride month Sapph-Lit has a fiction pick slotted for June.

Here are all of the books that are on my radar -- What is standing out to you? Is there a title that's not here you think we should vote on? Let me know in the comments!

As always, thank you so much for your support Bindery Babes!! xx Nina

• Girl's Girl by Sonia Feldman

• Nymph by Sofia Montrone

• Almost Life by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

• I Love You Don't Die by Jade Song

• Sweetbitter Song by Rosie Hewlett

• Best Woman by Rose Dommu

• Girls Girls Girls by Shoshana von Blanckensee

• Fat Swim by Emma Copley Eisenberg

• Sunburn by Chloe Michelle Howarth

• Perfume and Pain by Emma Dorn

Hey y'all,

I decided to switch things up for April so this month we'll be reading a collection of sci-fi short stories. One of them inspired the movie Arrival!

This month, we'll be reading Story of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang. I can't wait to hear your thoughts!

XoXo,

Rae

I finally finished reading The Ascended! Let's open up the discussion here (spoiler-free!) and dive into the book club questions:

1. The book introduces a unique world and set of rules—what were your first impressions of the setting, and how quickly did you feel immersed in it?

2. Which character did you find most compelling early on, and what drew you to them?

3. Themes of power and transformation seem important—how do you interpret the idea of “ascension” based on the opening portions of the book?

4. How does the narrative voice (including perspective and tone) influence your alignment with certain ideas or characters? Do you sense any intentional bias or unreliability?

5. In what ways does the book engage with questions of identity and self-determination? After finishing the story, did those themes evolve in the way you expected?

🔎The Watching You Book Club Kit Is Here!

If your book club loves dark psychological thrillers, twisty serial killer mysteries, and intense discussions, then you’re going to want this one ready for your next meeting.

Set against the shadowy streets of Edinburgh, Watching You delivers chilling tension, shocking twists, and plenty of clues to debate. And now you can dive even deeper into the story with a themed book club night designed to spark conversation, theories, and maybe even a little friendly competition.

Whether your group loves solving mysteries, debating plot twists, or just enjoying a great suspenseful read together, this kit will make your book club night even more fun.

📚 Ready to Host Your Thriller-Themed Book Club?

The Watching You Book Club Kit is now available.

👉 Tap the link to access the full book club kit and start planning your suspense-filled book club night!

https://tinyurl.com/4vhetdan 

And fair warning once the theories start flying, you might discover that everyone in your book club thinks they could be a detective. 🕵️‍♀️

Happy reading and happy sleuthing.

Our book club just finished Watching You by Helen Sarah Fields, and let’s just say the conversation got intense. This dark serial killer thriller set in Edinburgh had us all reacting very differently but we all agreed on one thing: it’s a seriously gripping ride.

👀 🖤 The Thriller Lover: I was hooked immediately. The creepy stalking vibes and the feeling that the killer was always one step ahead made this impossible to put down.

🕵️ The Detective Brain: DS Lively and forensic profiler Connie Woolwine were my favorite part. Their investigation felt tense and realistic, and I loved watching them slowly connect the dots.

💔 The Emotional Reader: Beth Waterfall’s storyline hit the hardest for me. A grieving mother already traumatized by a stalker suddenly becoming a potential target again? That emotional layer made the story even more intense.

📚 The Speed Reader: The pacing kept me turning pages. Every time a new body appeared, I thought I had the killer figured out and then the story twisted again.

😱 The Suspense Junkie: This book is dark. Like, truly chilling. If you love psychological thrillers and serial killer mysteries, you’ll probably devour it.

🧠 The Plot Twist Hunter: I really liked how the author slowly revealed clues. It kept our whole book club guessing until the end and we definitely had theories flying everywhere.

Overall, Watching You sparked a lot of debate in our group about the killer, the motives, and which characters we trusted. If your book club loves twisty crime thrillers with chilling suspense, this one will definitely get people talking.

✨️Thank you HarperCollins and Helen Sarah Fields for sharing Watching You with us!

❓️When you read a thriller, do you want to figure out the killer early or do you prefer to be completely shocked at the end?

What a week, y'all! Baseball is back, so I've been a bit distracted around here. If you follow me on Instagram then you know we've been ALL about the Dodgers the past few days. Opening weekend did not disappoint, but it did cut into my reading and writing time. Not much new content, but a few books worth noting.

This week I binged Rebecca Serle's latest, Once and Again. I won't lie, I enjoyed it. But that's no surprise given how much I've enjoyed all her other work. Her writing is somewhere between Emily Henry and Taylor Jenkins Reid, with a splash of Alice Hoffman. I love how she weaves magical realism into all of her books, but I'm a bit partial to magic. 😜 This felt a little familiar, meaning I recognized some of the same themes and plot points, so it didn't feel as fresh. Regardless, the idea of a little silver ticket that allows you to turn back time was pretty appealing. Triggers: infertility and infidelity. 3.75⭐️

I finally finished Before We Were Yours, the March BBFL book club pick. I enjoyed it, but it wasn't as mind blowing as I'd been lead to believe it would be. Sure, the story of Rill and the rest of the Foss children was super moving, but the contemporary storyline felt like a distraction, particularly when the romance subplot took off. I didn't care at ALL about Avery's lovelife. I did enjoy the setting and the writing though! I will definitely read more of Windgate's work. 4⭐️

I've officially started In the Great Quiet, Laura Vogt's debut novel, and, y'all, I'm so swept up in this historical adventure that I don't want to put it down. I was lucky enough to get access to the audiobook, so I'm switching back and forth between the print and audio just to keep the story going. Some people have a gift; Laura is one of those people! Don't forget, I'm giving away a physical copy (link below), but you can get a free ebook copy through the end of the month if you're an Amazon Prime sub!

Lastly, I wrapped up The Secret Lives of Murderer's Wives this morning and really enjoyed it. I think it's the perfect summer read, ideal for vacation or lounging around on a hot day. There's strong female friendship and plenty of mystery, and the 1960s Los Angeles setting was the icing on the cake for me. A satisfying ending + sweltering summer setting + a string of murders = ideal summer reading! 4.25⭐️

This Week in SBB:

• New Historical Fantasy Bookmail

• New Giveaway: In the Great Quiet Promo Box

• Five Year Bookstaversary

Hear it Here First:

I've got some fun things planned for next week's April newsletter, so be sure to subscribe asap!

It's official, Go as a River is the BBFL's April book selection. Join the club and read along if that one's still on your TBR!

xoxo

C

It's time to wrap up One Day At Horrorland and kick off Why I'm Afraid of Bees.

I absolutely loved revisiting One Day At Horrorland. It makes me wish there was a horror themed amusement park by me! Maybe one day I'll make it to the Horror Nights at Universal!

You can watch the two part episode here if you haven't already watched it.

WRAP UP

1. What was your favorite ride in Horrorland?

2. Would you visit Horrorland?

KICK OFF

Next up is Why I'm Afraid Of Bees which is one I don't remember reading as a kid. But I can sure say I don't like bees!

Synopsis: Gary Lutz needs a vacation . . . from himself. Bullies are constantly beating him up. His only friend is his computer. Even his little sister doesn't like him.But now Gary's dream is about to come true. He's going to exchange bodies with another kid for a whole week.Gary can't wait to get a new body. Until something horrible happens. And Gary finds out his new body isn't exactly human...

No episode for this one!

Nothing seems to get under my skin as much as bugs. They're gross and get into everything. The below books will be sure to stir up some buzz.

Nestlings by Nat Cassidy--This book made me feel itchy. I felt like I needed to take a Raid bomb and bomb out my house!

Wolf Worm by T. Kingfisher-- SO MUCH BUG body horror. Brace yourself near the end!

The Troop by Nick Cutter-- I cannot think about this book without thinking of WORMS.

ITCH! by Gemma Amor-- The ants go crawling one by one hurrah!

Shockwaves by Matt Kurtz--Amusement Parks and giant man-eating bugs! Nuff said.

Cicada by Tanya Pell-- A movie festival, small town ritual, and giant cicadas? HECK YEAH.

So excited to announce that I will be moderating a panel at Bay Area Book Festival this year! And it’s on Indigenous romance!

Eeeeeeeek!

The panel is From Colleagues to Courtship: Indigenous Romance and features Tashia Hart, Pamela Sanderson and Dani Trujillo. I’ve linked their books below!

Will I see you there?

Hey y'all,

Today at 1 PM, we'll be discussing The Year I Flew Away by Marie Arnold on Discord. Can't wait to hear your thoughts!

XoXo,

Rae

Super excited to meet folks at Bookcon this year!

And I’ve been keeping a huge secret (which as a gossip has been so hard!)

I will be moderating 2 THRILLER Panels

Saturday: Murder She Wrote: Thriller Writing and the Art of Suspense

Sunday: The Perfect Spot for Murder

I’ll also be giving away What Feeds Below arcs!

Check out the books below from the authors on the panels (+ What Feeds Below!)

My goal is to read 10 thrillers in 20 days! I’m almost done Nothing Ever Happens Here and I have NO IDEA how this one is going to end? Which one should I pick up next? How many bodies will drop across 10 books?! (From the attending authors I read The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark and The Scammer by Tiffany D Jackson last year- and they were two of my faves!)

Will I be seeing you at Bookcon?