New Discoveries in Bookish Newsletters
Everyone needs more bookish newsletters and I have a great selection to choose from
Hi readers,
I hope your weekend was good, whatever that means to you. Relaxation, fun, family, and hopefully, a little reading found its way into your life for a couple of days. I had planned on taking yesterday off work to make mine a three-day weekend, but just because tax season is over, it doesn’t mean there isn’t any work to do. I wound up with a client-imposed deadline, so I had to work yesterday after all.
Besides listening to bookish podcasts, I enjoy reading other bookish newsletters. So many creative readers have turned their love of books and reading into newsletters like I have, and I enjoy sharing those newsletters with you. I’ve shared many in the past, and this newsletter from February 2023 also has several links to others (scroll to the bottom for the links). Here are some newsletters I subscribe to and think that you might like reading also:
This newsletter comes from popular author Emma Straub, who also owns two bookstores in New York City. When she’s on tour with a new book, she takes the reader with her to different bookstore events. The rest of the time, she writes about all things books, her bookstore, the book-selling industry, and occasionally throws family and food newsletters in just because. Check out the newsletter below for fun at some book signing events, and scroll to the bottom to read what she says about being “uninvited” to a couple of schools in Texas. is a newish monthly newsletter by Adri where she gives the reader a peek into her real life and writes about books she reads, children’s books, backlist recommendations, and has fun goodies like bookmarks, book quotes, and such for her readers. Her “book snack” reviews are short and to the point, which helps the reader know if it would be something they might like to read. She’s recently started “Snacks-to-Go,” one-sentence reviews that leave no doubt if she liked the book or not. is a new to me newsletter that I would like to see in my inbox more often. Michelle combines her love of reading and photography in her newsletters with lots of pictures and many book reviews. In her newsletter, you’ll take a peek into her life through her photography, and read three shortish book reviews, three new books she’s looking forward to, and five good things that may or may not be bookish. One of my favorites, for sure!
Let's Read Nonfiction I don't read a lot of nonfiction, but if nonfiction is your favorite, Jaymi's weekly newsletter should be landing in your inbox. She picks a topic and writes about ten books related to that topic and also shares links to author interviews and so much more. Past topics have included Arbor Day, climate change, grief & loss, memoirs, and more. She has a very active Bookstagram where she focuses on specific books, runs a non-fiction book club, writes about libraries and independent bookstores, and has a delightful, vibrant community of book lovers and readers.
Authors Srisruthi Ramesh and Mishika Narula write this newsletter that celebrates, highlights, and shares books and digital media by South Asian and other authors of color. The monthly newsletter highlights one or more books with in-depth commentary on why they enjoyed it. I enjoy reading the reviews as they dig deep on specifics that I know I have a tendency to gloss over when I read. I always take away something from each newsletter, and I usually add at least one book to my TBR based on their writing. I know I keep saying this, but again, this is another newsletter I wish I could read more often than once a month. I get excited when I find another newsletter creator who reads many of the same books I do; I call that a "book twin." Holly DeMarco checks the book twin box for me. She writes in-depth reviews of books she reads, telling why she liked the book and what worked or maybe didn't work for her in the book. A word of caution though; she provides a lot of details in her book reviews, so if you are a reader that doesn't want to know ANYTHING about a book before you read it, make sure you don't read her reviews until after you read the book. She also writes about the upcoming releases she's looking forward to reading each month. The frequency of her newsletters makes me smile when I see them in my inbox. This newsletter wins the award for the most unique newsletter name. Zach says his newsletter is an "outdated and tortured bit of wordplay for a modern look at reading.” The name is a throwback to the original Hawaii Five-O's "book 'em, Danno." Zach reviews several books in each monthly newsletter and has put many books on my radar that I hadn't previously been interested in reading. He provides the names of a few other books as a comparison to help the reader know if the books might be for them. At the end of each newsletter, he provides a "lightning round" of several links to check out related to the book reviews. I can't help but repeat myself; Zach, are you listening? A couple of newsletters a month would be even better!
So, what do you think of the newsletters, readers? Are there any you are already subscribed to? Are there some you plan to check out? I’d like to hear about the newsletters that interest you and maybe a little about “why” they interest you. You can tell me in the comments below.
I went to three sessions of physical therapy for my knee last week, and the therapist identified the problem and devised a therapy regimen that seems to be working so far. My range of motion has improved quite a bit, and the pain is better overall, so that’s good. I hope the progress continues this week so I don’t have to do this for too long.
Have a great week, and happy reading!
Thanks so much for this post! I've been wanting to find some more book newsletters so this is perfect! :)
Just catching up here! this was great!