Let’s tend to your reading life.

I’m so glad you’re here. Welcome to The Booktender, a newsletter for people who want to discover books that stand up to the reality we’re living in, books that push beyond the boundaries of you already know you like— without ever feeling like an assignment.

You’re in the right place if you have a love-hate relationship with your book club. We’ll go beyond the algorithms and best seller lists to help you discover new reads and backlist books worthy of your in-depth attention. Choose the one of the monthly recommendations that speaks most to you most, and join in the discussion.

Free subscribers get:

• a monthly reading provocation to inspire you and cocktail-style review mash-ups in response to it;

  April Reading Provocation

  Abra McAndrew

  ·

  Apr 4

  

  Like Anne Patchett recently confessed on her social media, I’ve been known to say, “I don’t read mysteries.” Except that’s only partly true.

  Read full story

  March 2024 Reading Provocation

  Abra McAndrew

  ·

  Mar 5

  

  Spring has arrived in the desert, announced by these asparagus death spears sprouting from the hearts of two agaves in my driveway.

  Read full story

  Chaotic Academia Is Having A Moment

  Abra McAndrew

  ·

  Feb 1

  

  It’s February and the obvious choice would be to focus on romance. So instead: I’ve selected Chaotic Academia as this month’s provocation. One of my readers, a former academic colleague, reached out recently to share what she enjoys about the style of the letters she’s receiving from The Booktender. She said they remind her of being an…

  Read full story

  January Reading Provocation

  Abra McAndrew

  ·

  Jan 1

  

  A wannabe. A fraud. Or a journalist posing undercover. A character who deceives often exposes painful and important truths.

  Read full story

• access to archives for 8 weeks and recaps of live events.

Become a paid subscriber to enrich your reading life while contributing to collective donations to folks fighting book bans. All payments you make in 2024 will go toward a collective donation to folks fighting book bans and sketchy responses to book challenges. So far, we’ve contributed to the American Library Association’s United Against Book Bans campaign and a GoFundMe supporting Suzette Baker, who filed a wrongful termination suit against Llano County after she was fired from her librarian position for refusing efforts to censor books. You’ll also get:

• First dibs on all live events.

• Write me to request a book recommendation for yourself or your book club or participate in a Book Talk featured in the newsletter.

Get the discounted $50 annual subscription (<$5 per month) for full access to the community:

• A loyalty bonus: fill out my survey about your reading interests and three times per year I’ll send you a personal note with tailored reading recommendations that haven’t been featured in the newsletter yet.

• My gratitude for your trust in me to help tend your reading life— and for the opportunity to form a deeper connection with you and contribute to community action together this year.

I do offer a monthly option for $5 and those subscribers will also have access to the virtual gatherings and any paywalled content. But I encourage you to commit to tending to your reading life for a whole year. It will be worth it!

Become a Founding Member and receive everything above plus bespoke book subscription service for one year. (~$375 value)

• Three physical books (or two books + access to one serialized Substack subscription, free to you for at least three months) handpicked for you based on your interests and delivered on a quarterly basis, with a personalized note sharing why I think you’ll enjoy them. Treat your shelves to a personalized surprise from The Booktender four times per year.

• A beverage recipe to match your recommendations, just for fun.

Just visiting? Every local haunt needs that mysterious, quiet observer. Consider yourself invited to drop in anytime to access the most recent posts and some of the more popular ones, too. We’ve got a the cozy corner for you— and I hope one day you’ll become a regular.

Cheers,

The Booktender

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