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Alison Doherty is a writing teacher and part time assistant professor living in Brooklyn, New York. She has an MFA from The New School in writing for children and teenagers. She loves writing about books on the Internet, listening to audiobooks on the subway, and reading anything with a twisty plot or a happily ever after.
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Does anyone else like to stalk what books authors are reading on Instagram ? You don’t have to admit it. Now, I’ve done the work so you don’t have to. With cozy weather, back-to-school, and no excuse not to read with a cup of something warm and a soft blanket, these 25 authors are getting into the autumn reading spirit! So please be warned, reading further probably will increase the list of books you want to read.
Ta-Nehisi Coates is reading American Spy by Lauren Wilkinson
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This was really really good. Spy fiction plus allegory and a splash of pan-Africanism. What could go wrong? As it happens, very very little. Coolest part of @thrillkinson’s joint is how she extends the metaphor of a spy into so many spaces—a mother passing for white, a gay spook for straight CIA agent, and a black woman passing as an agent of empire. There’s a beautiful scene where the protagonist’s younger sister terrorizes a bully by pretending to be her friend and then beating the hell out of her for picking on her sister. That’s the second beatdown. After the first, which takes place at a public pool, the sister just remarks nonchalantly, “Made me get my hair wet.” I’m obviously not doing that moment justice, but trust me, the whole set-up and payoff is clever, bracing and darkly funny. As is the whole book. My pops was in the Panthers. The FBI spied during those years and for years after. I got a perverses thrill out of putting myself in the mind of the kind of black person who would have that done that spying. I know I’m weird. Or maybe that’s what fiction is supposed to do. Take us into alien selves. Anyway, you could do a lot worse than cracking this joint right here. Come for the thrilling open. Stay for fhe Thomas Sankara sightings. Thanks, Obama. No, seriously. Good looking out. (PS Kept thinking of Sam Greenlee while reading.)
A post shared by Ta-Nehisi Coates (@tanehisipcoates) on Oct 3, 2019 at 2:48pm PDT
Margaret Atwood is reading Empire of Wild by Cherie Dimaline
Laurie Halse Anderson is reading Internment by Samira Ahmed
https://www.instagram.com/p/B2VIF9mgy5e/
Taylor Jenkins Reid is reading Good Talk by Mira Jacob
Nic Stone is reading Slay by Brittney Morris, Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson, and Who Put This Song On? by Morgan Parker
Gayle Forman is reading Emergency Contact by Mary H.K. Choi
Adam Silvera is reading Frankly in Love by David Yoon
https://www.instagram.com/p/B28HTQuAIhH/
Rainbow Rowell is reading Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
Elizabeth Gilbert is reading I Might Regret This by Abbi Jacobson
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Balanced upon the palm of my hand is yet another delicious book that I wish you would all read. It’s called I MIGHT REGRET THIS, by the brilliant @abbijacobson. Many of you may know Abbi from her star-making and groundbreaking work on the TV show BROAD CITY. (A moment of silence and reverence, please, for the perfection of that show. Shhhh. Let’s just be still for a moment, for BROAD CITY is sacred unto me. Ok, thank you. Amen.) But Abbi is also a gifted and searching essayist, and a beautiful visual artist, as well. In this book, she combines her art and her words to create a funny, thoughtful, and heart-rich memoir of a long, solo drive that she took across America after a tough breakup. Studded with drawings and musings and sparkling observations, this book is what I WISH my journal looked like. It’s something very special, I think you’ll all relate to it, it’s freshly out in paperback, it would make a good gift for any cool women in your life, and I love it, and that’s all there is to say about that, except: CONGRATULATIONS, ABBI!!! Ya done good. ❤️LG #imightregretthisbook #abbijacobson
A post shared by Elizabeth Gilbert (@elizabeth_gilbert_writer) on Sep 30, 2019 at 1:26pm PDT
Aminah Mae Safi is reading Time of Our Lives by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka
Becky Albertalli is reading Dear Sweat pea by Julie Murphy
Victoria Aveyard is reading Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo, The Beautiful by Renée Ahdieh, and Serpent & Dove by Shelby Mahurin
Sally Thorne is reading Viral by T. Gephart
Jen Pastiloff is reading How to Cure a Ghost by Fariha Róisín
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QOTD: 1 random fact about you 💖 Happy book release Tuesday! I’ve checked the mail like five times already looking for my copy of Ninth House lol. I’m so excited today to be a part of the blog tour for Kwame Mbalia’s TRISTAN STRONG PUNCHES A HOLE IN THE SKY! I feel like I’ve been waiting for this book forever. Even before it was announced, I’ve always wanted to read a book, particularly a middle grade fantasy adventure like PJO!, with a mythology that was distinctly Black American. My anticipation for TRISTAN STRONG has only gotten more intense since following @mbalia1 on twitter, because he’s hilarious. Here are three facts about @mbalia1: 1. Like Tristan, I grew up in the Midwest. Milwaukee Wisconsin to be exact. I actually did try to stick my hands in the freezer when I came in from the cold one snowy day just to see if it was warmer. 2. Unlike Tristan I cannot box, but I love the sweet science as it's called. 3. The idea for Gum Baby came to me in a dream, when a tiny doll ridiculed me from her seat on my shoulder. BTW Gum Baby is a TALKING DOLL, so yeah, you want to pick this one up! All the books released by @readriordan Rick Riordan Presents have been so special. And I can tell TRISTAN STRONG is no different. Tristan Strong Punches A Hole in the Sky is available for preorder now and will be out in stores next Tuesday! • • • • • • • #bookstagram #📚 #bibliophile #bookstack #bookstafeature #bookstagramfeature #influencer #bookishglee #bookish #middlegrade #mgreads #tristanstrongpunchesaholeinthesky #kwamembalia #rickriordan #rickriordanpresents #cakeliterary
A post shared by Amanda Joy | Chicago, IL (@amandajoywrites) on Oct 8, 2019 at 12:55pm PDT
Dahlia Adler is Reading By Any Means Necessary by Candice Montgomery
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Did I accidentally preorder two copies of this baby? Sure did! Do I have any regrets? Sure don’t! I *love* this book, love the voice, love its warmth and humor, love its beekeeping MC, love its handling of complex relationships and communities, love its eye on gentrification, on growing up, on moving out, on moving forward. Love the friends, the romance, the college setting. Yes, okay, I’ll probably end up giving one copy away but for now, I’ll take as much of this baby in my life as I can get, and so should you 🐝 🐝 🐝 🐝 #bookstagram #ByAnyMeansNecessary #CandiceMontgomery #YAlit #LGBQTReads #gayYA #IGreads
A post shared by Dahlia Adler (@missdahlelama) on Oct 8, 2019 at 9:58am PDT
And if your Instagram itch hasn’t been totally scratched yet, peruse one of the following:
