Chapter #39: Books I Wish I Could Read For The First Time Again
Memorable characters + shocking twists = take me back!
Feeling My Shelf is a bi-weekly newsletter about books, life, and well, life with books. Grab your favorite caffeinated beverage and get comfy. First up, some recent reads.
Sisters With A Side of Greens by Michelle Stimpson
Rose retires after three decades working for the United States Postal Service with rediscovered dreams of opening a restaurant. But to do so, she needs the secret recipe for her late mother’s beloved spice mix. The only other person who knows it is her estranged sister, Marvina, who wants nothing to do with her. Initially, their reunion goes as smoothly as expected (i.e., not smooth at all), but an unexpected guest soon brings the sisters together again. With themes of faith and forgiveness, the pacing was a little slow at times, but I enjoyed all the banter and bickering.
Love, Me by Jessica Saunders
A lawyer and mother of two is unexpectedly thrown into the spotlight when love letters and photographs of her and her now-famous high-school ex surface. I love a good second-chance romance, and this one was messy as hell. Frustrating characters and lots of flashbacks made for a fun little read.
With Any Luck by Ashley Poston
I love everything Ashley Poston writes, and this story was no different. It's another romantic short story from The Improbable Meet-Cute Collection. It follows an unlucky-in-love woman who is cursed with always being the person one kisses right before one finds their soulmate—until now. It's a quick read with a fun premise and a hint of a dislike-to-lovers.
We all have (at least) one.
That book we haven’t stopped thinking about since we finished reading it. Our go-to recommendation whenever we’re asked for one. The novel that we desperately wish we could read again for the very first time. Oh, what we’d give to experience the joy, the heartbreaks, the twists, the happy endings once more. I feel this way about a few books, including Before I Let Go by Kennedy Ryan, which inspired me to write this. Yesterday, the second book in the series was released, and I couldn’t stop thinking about the first. Just how good it was. Hell, how good I felt reading it. Sure, I can reread it, but the second read will never be as pure as the first.
Again: I could say the same about countless books I’ve read over the years, but for the sake of time and space, I decided to spotlight just a few titles I wish I could read for the first time again. Add them to your TBR list!
Before I Let Go by Kennedy Ryan
What it’s about: A second-chance romance that follows Yasmen and Josiah, a divorced couple who find their way back to each other while co-parenting.
Why it’s so worth reading: I don’t even know where to start. It was sexy and swoony, and I devoured it in about five hours. Once I started reading, I couldn’t stop and found myself belly-laughing at 3 a.m. at a line about ribs. Honestly, I’m still laughing at that line.
What it’s about: A coming-of-age story that examines how one teenage secret affects a tight-knit, middle-class Black community in Southern California.
Why it’s so worth reading: The writing!!! It’s beautiful and authentic. One of my favorite lines: "All good secrets have a taste before you tell them, and if we'd taken a moment to swish this one around our mouths, we might have noticed the sourness of an unripe secret, plucked too soon, stolen and passed around before its season."
Tears of a Tiger by Sharon M. Draper
What it’s about: A high school basketball player struggles with guilt and depression following the drunk-driving accident that killed his best friend and teammate.
Why it’s so worth reading: It’s the kind of book that sticks with you long after it’s over. Case in point: I read it in tenth grade, and I’m still thinking about it. Sure, it’s dark and sad and devoid of a happy ending. But it’s also raw and thought-provoking—a touching exploration of grief.
Instructions for Dancing by Nicola Yoon
What it’s about: Evie, a seventeen-year-old who used to swoon over romance novels, doesn’t believe in love anymore. But she’s soon mysteriously bestowed the power to predict the romantic fates of couples via visions she sees when they kiss.
Why it’s so worth reading: It's heartfelt and bittersweet with a dash of magic. It's a quick but extremely meaningful read with a very relatable main character. Just be sure to keep tissues nearby.
One of the Good Ones by Maika and Maritza Moulite
What it’s about: When a teen social activist and history buff is killed under mysterious circumstances after attending a rally, her sister begins to question the idealized way her sister is remembered.
Why it’s so worth reading: As someone who has been told that they’re “not like other Black people” and “one of the good ones” before, I related to this book 100000%. It’s frustrating, dehumanizing, and not a damn compliment! Not only does this book challenge this ignorant rhetoric beautifully, but it also has some exciting twists.
What it’s about: A twenty-eight-year-old goes to Vegas to celebrate getting her PhD and wakes up after a drunken night married and begins reexamining her life and what it is she truly wants.
Why it’s so worth reading: I cried so much reading this (which is a pattern with all the books listed here, I’m noticing now). I went in expecting just a sapphic romance. Instead, I got that and a deep-ass story about shedding expectations, starting over, and finding yourself. I loved every bit of it.
Now, it’s your turn: What’s a book (or two) that you wish you could read for the first time again? 📚
This Could Be Us by Kennedy Ryan. Although I was fifth(!) in the line, I could not wait for who knows how many weeks to receive this book on Libby. So, I went out and bought it. But technically, I didn’t break my book-buying ban since I used a gift card (which was one of my exceptions!) I gushed about the first book in the Skyland series above, and I expect this one, which follows Soledad as she builds a new life as a single mother after an unexpected divorce, to be just as good!
Bridgit Mendler is proof it’s never too late to reinvent yourself. Ariana Godoy defied publishing rules & won with teen romance series Through My Window. Timothée Chalamet plays the same character in Dune & Little Women. RuPaul is sending a rainbow bus to give away books targeted by bans. One library is letting patrons pay fines with cat pics. Xochitl Gonzalez’s ghost story. An in-depth Kindle review! Riveting nonfiction you need to read. The Black-history books teachers hope won’t be banned.
Hey thanks for reading (typos, misplaced commas, and all)! If you'd like to (further) support this newsletter, forward this email to a friend who likes books with a recommendation to subscribe!
I wish I could reread Black Cake and The Invisible Life of Addie Larue for the first time. I'm sure there are others!
I wish I could read Meg Mason's Sorrow and Bliss for the first time again. It made me laugh and tear up and totally cracked my heart open! And it made a big impression on my own writing and what would become my novel!