Volume 2, No. 9: Books & Bakes Turns One + Fifty-Two Things I Love

Greetings, readers and bakers! Books & Bakes turns one today! I’ve been writing it for a whole year, which means I’ve sent out 52 whole newsletters. Whether you’ve read one issue or fifty-two, thank you for being here! It’s a joy to talk books with you each week.

To celebrate, I’m doing a giveaway! Two lucky winners will receive a copy of any book I’ve recommended here—your choice! To enter:

• Share this newsletter (or any other issue). Forward it to a friend, share it on social media, or use the handy share button below.

• Let me know you’ve shared it by leaving a comment, tagging me on social, or replying to this email.

I’ll announce the winners a week from today, on Wednesday March 16th. Happy giveaway-ing!

At some point in my early twenties, I decided to make a list of one million things I loved. I can’t remember what inspired me to undertake this absurd project, but I started a list in my journal and got to five or six hundred before giving up.

Needless to say, I am never going to finish that list. But I think younger me was onto something, even if writing out one million separate beloved things is unrealistic. I wanted to remind myself of the expansiveness of the world. I wanted concrete proof that even though we’re surrounded by heartbreak and suffering, there is still so much—so much—worth celebrating. I wanted to challenge myself to pay attention to every shade of green, every kind of wind, every beloved face, every unique taste.

So, to celebrate a year of Books & Bakes, I’m channeling 22-year-old Laura with a list of 52 things I love—one for each newsletter I’ve written. It might not be a million, but it’s a start. I hope this list of books and cakes and beauty brings you some joy on this ordinary Wednesday in March.

The Books: 25+ Under the Radar Gems

Buzzy books are gonna buzz. But there are so many brilliant books that don’t get the attention they deserve, and I’m here to celebrate them! These 25 books all have fewer than 450 reviews on Goodreads. Many of them have fewer than 100 reviews. I didn’t include any books published in 2022, but beyond that, this is a random selection of some of the many under-the-radar books I’ve loved—fiction, nonfiction, poetry.

#1: Vermont People and Vermont Farm Women by Peter Miller

Two beautiful collections of photographs and stories about Vermonters.

#2: The Specimen’s Apology by George Abraham

A gorgeously inventive book of poetry, one that demands attention, angry and playful and riveting and strange. At times it’s work to read—as it should be. What Abraham has to say about being a queer person, about being Palestinian American, about bodies and desire and trauma and geography, is complex and layered and deserves rigorous attention.

#3: Such A Pretty Girl by Nadina LaSpina

A powerful memoir about disability activism in the 1960s, 70s, and 80s, before and leading up to the passage of the ADA. This is definitely a book about disability rights, not disability justice—but it’s a beautiful read that taught me a lot about disability history in the 20th century.

#4: Skye Papers by Jamika Ajalon

A strange, twisty novel about autonomy and surveillance and music. I didn’t exactly enjoy reading it, but it was riveting and surprising, and I often find myself thinking about it still.

#5: With Great Abandon by E.H. Macmillan

This is a webcomic! It’s a sweet slice-of-life queer romance set in London over the course of a year.

#6: Untangling the Knot: Queer Voices on Marriage, Relationships & Identity edited by Carter Sickels

This came out in 2015 and I read it years ago. A lot has changed since then. But it was the first nonfiction book about the possibilities of queer relationships—in and outside of marriage—that truly made me feel seen.

#7: White Freedom by Tyler Stovall

A challenging book about the history of whiteness and freedom. Stovall examines the history of racism in the U.S. and France, explaining how modern ideas about freedom and democracy are linked to whiteness. It’s academic, but it’s worth setting aside some time for.

#8: The Rib Joint by Julie Koets

A beautiful memoir-in-essays about queerness and invisibility, secrets and closets, the intersections of religion and sexuality. It’s a deeply personal collection, but Koets also weaves in bits of history, science, and pop culture (the history of organs, Sally Ride, anatomy).

#9: The Iraqi Nights by Dunya Mikhail, translated from the Arabic by Kareem James Abu-Zeid

Gorgeous, gorgeous poems.

#10: Sovereign Erotics: A Collection of Two-Spirit Literature edited by Deborah Miranda, Daniel Heath Justice, & Qwo-Li Driskill

An eclectic collection of poetry, fiction, and essays by queer and Two-Spirit writers. There’s a wonderful diversity of form and subject matter.

#11: Heaven by Emerson Whitney

A messy genre-blending memoir about gender and queerness and trauma and family. It’s unpredictable. Emerson puts a lot on the page and doesn’t explain it all. So many things about this book feel new.

#12: Sing for the Coming of the Longest Night by by Katherine Fabian and Iona Datt Sharma

The most tender, funny, delightful, and beautifully magical queer family story. I love the setup (two people who don't like each other are forced to work together to find their missing mutual boyfriend). I love the exuberant queerness of it. I love how real it is, with messy parenting and people avoiding important conversations and complicated bio families. It feels like a book about people I know.

#13: Limbo Beirut by Hilal Chouman, translated from the Arabic by Anna Ziajka Stanton

A story of five different people and their intersecting lives, set during the violence in Beirut in May 2008.

#14: Here and Nowhere Else, Five Thousand Days Like This One, and Clearing Land by Jane Brox

A trio of memoirs about a small family farm in Massachusetts. Gorgeous writing about family, history, land, the seasons, and, of course, farming.

#15: Gods, Wasps, & Stranglers by Mike Shanahan

This delightful little book is packed with fascinating stories about the history and biology of figs. They've woven their way into many cultures all over the world; they have secret flowers on the inside of the fruit; every species of fig has its own species of fig wasp to pollenate it; and they do truly incredible things for tropical forest ecosystems. Shanahan uses so many lenses to tell the story of this wild plant: ecology, conservation, culture, history, religion, botany, mythology, politics. I'm in awe of fig trees now.

#16: Don't Let It Get You Down by Savala Nolan

Brilliant essays about race, gender, food, dating, violence, history.

#17: Love and Other Poems by Alex Dimitrov

A beautiful praise song of a book, conversational and open, full of love poems and odes to New York.

#18: Aspara Engine by Bishakh Som

A strange and beautiful book of graphic short stories. Very strange. Sometimes disturbing. Incredible art.

#19: For the Love of April French by Penny Aimes

The kinky queer and trans romance of my dreams! It’s heartfelt, and it deals with serious life stuff…but it’s just so fluffy and fun! That’s not an easy balance, and Aimes nails it.

#20: All the Water I’ve Seen is Running by Elias Rodriques

A slow, meditative book about how we carry the past and the ways that particular places can haunt and shape a life.

#21: Brown Album by Porochista Khakpour

Wonderful essays about Iranian American identity, immigration, politics, travel, class.

#22: Belly of the Beast: The Politics of Anti-Fatness as Anti-Blackness by Da'shaun L. Harrison

Essential reading on anti-fatness and anti-Blackness. This book challenged me in the best way.

#23: Comics for Choice: Illustrated Abortion Stories, History, and Politics edited by Hazel Newlevant, Whit Taylor, & O.K. Fox

This is an empowering, beautiful, honest, and fierce collection of comics about abortion. The styles and kinds of stories told vary widely, and the contributors represent a diversity of identities and experiences. Many of the comics are not just about abortion, but about health care, access, mental health, family, relationships, identity, racial and economic justice. As a whole, the collection tells a powerful story about the importance of self-determination and having control over your own body, but also about the decisions we make in life and how they change and affect us through time.

#24: The Queers of La Vista Series by Kris Ripper

I’m cheating a little here because the first book in this series (Gays of Our Lives) has 495 ratings, but the last one (As La Vista Turns) only has 25! Anyway, this is a wonderful series of five romances about a group of queer friends in the Bay Area—M/F, M/M, F/F, M/M/M. There’s a murder mystery plot that ties them all together, and like most of Ripper’s books, they’re all about found family.

#25: And So Many More…

As I was making this list, I realized that many of the books I’ve recommended in previous newsletters also have less than 200-300 reviews on Goodreads. So I made a list on Bookshop of a few of my absolute favorites. Go give these books some love!

The Bakes: 8 Cakes I Have Known & Loved

Since cake is a traditional birthday dessert, here are eight cakes I’ve loved over the years.

#26: Victoria Sandwich with Strawberries

I can’t remember what recipe I used for this particular cake, but I’m not going to argue with Mary Berry’s recipe.

#27: Sunken Apple Cake

I’ve made many versions of this cake over the years, but this beautiful one from Luisa Weiss is my favorite.

#28: Earl Grey Tea Cake with Candied Lemons & Hazelnuts

This particular recipe is lost to my memory and the bowels of the internet, but I made a similar cake last fall and shared the recipe here. Anything that involves soaking dried fruit in tea is a win in my book.

#29: Cauliflower Cake!

Who says you can’t make a savory cake? This eggy cauliflower cake is from one of Yotam Ottolenghi’s books (I can’t remember which one). It’s delicious!

#30: Mini Apple Anise Cakes

These perfect little apple cakes are adapted from Luisa Weiss’s Classic German Baking. This is also the very first recipe I ever shared in this newsletter—and it remains a favorite.

#31: Spiced Pecan & Burnt Honey Cake

If you’re looking for a delicious project, this is a heavenly layer cake. It’s from The New Way to Cake by Benjamina Ebuehi, and you can find my slightly altered recipe here.

#32: Towering Chocolate & Tahini Birthday Cake

I made this decadent cake for my dad’s 75th birthday last year. I thought about including the recipe here, but it’s one of those complicated, many-step bakes, so I never got around to it. It’s one of the tastiest cakes I’ve ever baked, though. The layers (four of them) are Joanne Chang’s Midnight Chocolate Cake (from Flour). The fillings: tahini caramel buttercream (buttercream mixed with tahini caramel from Sweet), and chocolate ganache lightened with whipped cream. The frosting is the same tahini caramel buttercream, and the drizzle is just more tahini caramel.

#33: Spelt & Orange Drizzle Cake

This is wonderfully simple orange drizzle cake from Scandinavian Baking by Trine Hahnemann. I split it in half and filled it with orange curd (this is the only citrus curd recipe I ever use anymore) and topped it with candied orange peel. It’s a special cake.

The Bowl and The Beat

The Bowl: Five of My Favorite Quick Dinner Hacks

Just some lil things I love that make it easier to cook dinner when I’m tired, stressed, and hungry.

#34: Tahini Lemon Yogurt Sauce

I don’t have an exact ratio for this magic sauce, but it’s something along the lines of two parts yogurt and tahini to one part olive oil and lemon juice. Mix it up with some salt and pepper and a pressed garlic clove. I often add fresh herbs: parsley, mint, cilantro, etc.

I put it on everything. Roasted cauliflower. A simple bowl of chickpeas or red lentils. Burgers. Chopped cukes and tomatoes. A pita stuffed with leftover roasted squash. A sauce isn’t dinner, but sometimes just remembering how easy it is to mix up tahini-yogurt sauce is the inspiration I need to figure out what to put it on.

#35: The Cheese + Nut + Dried Fruit Salad Formula

Typically, I am not a salad-for-dinner kind of person. But I do love this magic salad formula! It’s so endlessly adaptable! Think spinach, goat cheese, pistachios, and dates with a spicy tahini dressing. Or mixed greens, cheddar, walnuts, and raisins with a mustardy dressing. Or kale, Parmesan, pine nuts, and figs with a garlicky balsamic dressing.

#36: The Tuber + Allium + Protein and/or Brassica Sheet Fan Formula

If you’ve been around here for a little while, you’ve seen at least two and maybe a dozen variations on this formula. I make it all the time because it requires minimal effort for maximum deliciousness. At least once a week I throw some combo of sweet potatoes or potatoes (the tuber), onions or leeks (the allium), sausage, tofu, or chicken thighs (the protein) and cauliflower or broccoli (the brassica) onto a pan, drizzle it with some olive oil, spices and/or herbs, and stick it in a 450 oven for 30 minutes. Magic.

#37: I Get Scared When I Have Less Than 2 Dozen Eggs in My Fridge: A Love Story

I just want to jump up and down for a minute about how amazing eggs are. They do so many different things! Can you think of any other food that can transform itself so drastically? This is not a dinner hack, this is just me exclaiming about how grateful I am for eggs and their endless versatility.

#38: Leftovers, Reimagined

I live alone and while I love to cook, cooking for myself every night is hard, and it never happens. I am someone who can happily eat the same thing over and over again, so I often make a big pot of something and then eat it for four days straight. It works for me, but a much more fun version of this is to make a big pot of something transformable, and eat the transformations for four days straight. If I make a pot of black beans on Sunday, it means quesadillas on Monday, black bean soup on Tuesday, black beans with eggs and toppings on Wednesday, and refried bean patties on Thursday.

The Beat: Five Beloved Audiobook Narrators

I reached a new peak of audiobook obsession when I added “known narrator” to the list of reasons for reading a book on my reading spreadsheet.

#39: Bahni Turpin: She’s the reigning Queen of Audio as far as I’m concerned. I will never forget her performance in The Stars and the Blackness Between Them by Junauda Petrus. I’m considering rereading You Made a Fool Out of Death With Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi when it comes out in May because she’s narrating it.

#40: Dion Graham: He’s brilliant in everything, always. But I still get shivers thinking about his narration of Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James.

#41: Robin Miles: How do I pick between Passing by Nella Larson and The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin? I can’t.

#42: Kevin R. Free: I dare you not to fall in love with the voice of Murderbot. But there’s also Real Life by Brandon Taylor and The Sun Does Shine by Anthony Ray Hinton. Talk about range.

#43: Xe Sands: Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth and Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey are my top listens, but I’m annoyed I didn’t hold out for the audiobook of I Came All This Way to Meet You by Jami Attenberg because I guarantee Sands narrates it perfectly.

The Bookshelf

The Visual

#44: My Favorite Reading Room (this beautiful photo was taken by my brother!)

#45: Bookshelves That Reflect Who I Am: For years and years, my bookshelves mostly consisted of books I’d been carrying around with me since high school, many of which I no longer had any interest in. I got rid of most of those books, and I’ve been slowly replacing them with books that delight me. I’m still amazed by how much I love the physical presence of these books in my house.

Around the Internet

#46: Bird Photos Organized by Taxonomy

My dad is an amazing birder and photographer, and he’s recently put together a public gallery of bird photos he’s taken, organized by bird family. You can browse through wading birds, shore birds, owls, hummingbirds, swifts, woodpeckers, larks, wrens, and so many more. It’s gorgeous.

#47: Black Love Matters

My amazing fellow Rioter Jess Pryde is writing longform reviews of romance books centering Black folks and Black love on Medium! I’m so excited! She’s very good at it and I love reading her work. (Also check out her recently released essay anthology, Black Love Matters, which is wonderful.)

#48: To Survive on This Shore

A few weeks ago I put together a list of queer photo books for Book Riot. It reminded me how much I love looking at portraits of queer people. This project by Jess T. Dugan and Vanessa Fabbre is spectacular.

The Boost: Community Orgs (Geographically) Close to My Heart

I often link to organizations whose work I support in this part of the newsletter. This week, I’m thinking about orgs that are doing work I care about right here in my little corner of the world.

#49: Black & Pink Massachusetts is a prison abolition organization currently raising money to help set up and furnish an apartment for unhoused trans people in need of housing after incarceration.

#50: Stone Soup Cafe is a local nonprofit in my little town of Greenfield that provides delicious pay-what you can meals to community members once a week.

#51: The Trans Asylum Seekers Support Network is a rad mutual aid collective doing amazing work in various parts of the country, including my home of Western Mass.

As always a little bit of beauty to send you on your way: I’m spending most of this month on my beloved island. If I went back to making that list of one million things I love, the ocean would count for at least a couple hundred thousand.

#52:

Wow! You made it all the way to the end of this long list of 52 things I love! I’ll be back with a regular newsletter next week. In the meantime, don’t forget to enter the giveaway for a chance to win a Books & Bakes rec of your choice.