Ep. 196: New Year, Fresh Reads with Sweetpea Flaherty
EQ: What books or trends do you think will define the reading experience for 2025, both for individual readers and the community your bookstore serves?
Today, we are back with the one and only Sweetpea Flaherty of King’s Books in Tacoma. Sweepea talks us through anticipated book releases for this spring. Get something to write with, because you’re going to want to take notes!
Sweetpea also joined us for Ep 184: Hot & Steamy Summer Reads and Ep 186: Pumpkin Spice & Bookish Advice
Support Bookstores
Support Libraries:
Learn more about digital content in libraries
Nonfiction:
Dark Laboratory: On Columbus, the Caribbean, and the Origins of the Climate Crisis by Tao Leigh Goffe
Strike : Labor, Unions, and Resistance in the Roman Empire by Sarah E Bond
Authority by Andrea Long Chu
Memoir/Biography
Harder I Fight the More I Love You by Neko Case
Rachel Carson and the Power of Queer Love by Lida Maxwell
Picture Books
Make a Pretty Sound : A Story of Ella Jenkins—The First Lady of Children's Music by Traci N. Todd, Eleanor Davis
Make Your Mark : The Empowering True Story of the First Known Black Female Tattoo Artist by Jacci Gresham, Sherry Fellores
Yáadilá! : Good Grief! by Laurel Goodluck, Jonathan Nelson
Rise Up!: Powerful Protests in American History by Rachel C. Katz, Sophie Bass
Teen
They Bloom at Night by Tran Thanh Tran
Poetry
Strange Beach by Oluwaseun Olayiwola
Eternal Dice by César Vallejo
Buzzkill Clamshell by Amber Dawn
Fiction
Life of Herod the Great by Zora Neale Hurston
Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor
Relationship Mechanic by Karmen Lee
Listen to Your Sister by Neena Vel
Stag Dance by Torrey Peters
Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones
Great Gifts
Black in Blues : How a Color Tells the Story of My People by Imani Perry
Bookstore Romance : Love Speaks Volumes by Judith Rosen
Ep. 186: Pumpkin Spice and Bookish Advice w/ Sweetpea Flaherty
EQ: Which books should be on your fall reading list this year, and how do they reflect and respond to today's societal and current events?
Get ready to spice up your fall reading list with the one and only Sweetpea Flaherty from King’s Books in Tacoma! We’re talking seasonal book cravings, why non-fiction suddenly gets so popular, and the must-read sci-fi and speculative fiction that’s heating up the shelves. Plus, Sweetpea spills the tea (or should we say pumpkin spice latte?) on debut authors, hidden gems, and the best cookbooks and gift sets to grab this season. We’ll also chat about creating the coziest autumn reading nook and why it’s time to decolonize that bookshelf. Join us for laughs, book talk, and a few tips on getting seriously cozy this fall!
Poetry Recs:
Latino Poetry: The Library of America Anthology, Rigoberto González
Forest of Noise, Mosab Abu Toha
Blues in Stereo: The Early Works of Langston Hughes, Langston Hughes
What Remains: The Collected Poems of Hannah Arendt, Hannah Arendt
Food & Drink Recs:
Good Lookin' Cookin' : A Year of Meals - A Lifetime of Family, Friends, and Food, Dolly Parton, Rachel Parton George
Modern Navajo Kitchen : Homestyle Recipes that Celebrate the Flavors and Traditions of the Diné, Alana Yazzie
Wild Chocolate : Across the Americas in Search of Cacao's Soul, Rowan Jacobsen
Our South : Black Food Through My Lens, Ashleigh Shanti
Memoir/Biography Recs:
Survival Is a Promise : The Eternal Life of Audre Lorde, Alexis Pauline Gumbs
Thousand Threads : A Memoir, Neneh Cherry
Nonfiction Recs:
Turning to Stone : Discovering the Subtle Wisdom of Rocks, Marcia Bjornerud
Erasing History : How Fascists Rewrite the Past to Control the Future, Jason Stanley
Message, Ta-Nehisi Coates
Black Utopians : Searching for Paradise and the Promised Land in America, Aaron Robertson
Last Stand of the Raven Clan : A Story of Imperial Ambition, Native Resistance and How the Tlingit-Russian War Shaped a Continent, Gerald Easter, Mara Vorhees
Resist : How a Century of Young Black Activists Shaped America, Rita Omokha
Serviceberry : Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World, Robin Wall Kimmerer
Fiction Recs:
She Who Knows, Nnedi Okorafor
Absolution, Jeff VanderMeer
Mighty Red, Lousie Erdrich
Model Home, Rivers Solomon
Jamaica Ginger and Other Concoctions, Nalo Hopkinson
City and Its Uncertain Walls, Haruki Murakami
Great Gifts:
Visualizing Palestine : A Chronicle of Colonialism and the Struggle for Liberation, Jessica Anderson, Aline Batarseh
On Freedom, Timothy Snyder
Modern Magic : Stories, Rituals, and Spells for Contemporary Witches, Michelle Tea
Korean Feminist Artists : Confront and Deconstruct, Kim Hong-hee, Kim Hyesoon
Do Your Fudging Homework:
Annie: Perpetual advice: support your local bookstore. If you don’t have one, support King’s Books via online orders on their website, kingsbookstore.com
If you’re a busy reader and haven’t yet, consider starting your own book list with a rating system. I’ve found that it helps me not only track the books I’ve read, but also making better recommendations for others.
Hope: Another call to decolonize your bookshelf–just pick 1 outside your comfort zone.
Sweetpea: jump into a world you know nothing about!
Ep. 30: Decolonize Your Bookshelf
EQ: Why is important to decolonize your bookshelf and how do you do it?
Guest: Kristen Sierra, Tacoma born & raised, Lincoln teacher-librarian, TPS mom
Kristen helps us understand what it means to decolonize your bookshelf, including challenging us to read more authors from diverse backgrounds! We also learn more about Project Lit, a Nashville based program that addresses the problem of “book deserts” in urban areas. This program focuses on providing high-quality, culturally relevant books that empower students as readers and leaders.
Support her work to transform the Lincoln Library by:
Donating to Project Lit Lincoln Abes
Learn more information about Project Lit as a Nation wide Movement:
Jared Amato who started Project Lit
Project LIT: How a Nashville educator turned a class project into a nationwide movement
Other useful links:
Contact for Tacoma Public Schools Library Director for information on supporting our Milgard Fundraiser & support in general: Ms. Suzanna Panter: spanter@tacoma.K12.wa.us
Link to Tacoma Public School Library websites for supportive citizens to contact their local school librarian (scroll down and click on the name of the school) https://www.tacomaschools.org/libraries/Pages/default.aspx
Contact for our Superintendent & our Assistant Superintendent to voice your support of school libraries:
Superintendent Santorno: csantor@tacoma.K12.wa.us; Superintendent Pace: tpace@tacoma.K12.wa.us
Link to requesting materials and sharing suggestions with our Tacoma Public Library (must sign in first to access this feature)
Attendance at events matters and created more opportunities for events! Link to event pages
Come out to Kwame Alexander Author Event on 10/15 at Urban Grace in Tacoma: tickets here
Guilty Favsies:
Hope: good ranch dressing (fancy spices)
Annie: niiiiice office supplies.
Kristen---People, Gossip
Do Your Fudging Homework:
Annie: use your public library. Support your neighborhood school’s library. Libraries are vital to our communities.
Kristen: buy a book for our library! Donate to Project Lit Lincoln Abes
Special Announcement:
We are going to read White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo! #IWLreads #readlessbasic