Hi friends,

Hope you’re doing well. Despite The Engagement Discussed Around The World, I’m continuing the tradition of featuring a Back-to-School edition after Labor Day. I’m trusting that Taylor and Travis will give us many, many conversation starters over the next few years. (That said, here are books for your favorite English and gym teachers, plus a football romance for good measure.)

Giveaway Alert: Judith Newcomb Stiles has generously offered to give free audio copies of her book Hush Little Fire (narrated, in part, by her daughter Julia Stiles, of “10 Things I Hate About You” fame) to ten readers of this newsletter. I’m listening to it now and, so far, it’s a delicious mix of murder mystery and family saga set on Cape Cod. Enter by adding the book to your Goodreads shelf and commenting below with the name of one of your favorite beach-set books.

Reminder: Summer Reading Bingo cards are due Friday. Everyone who submits a card will be entered in a raffle for a $75 gift card to either Bookshop.org or Libro.FM. Get your card here and submit it here.

And, now, what to read if …

You Majored in History

History Lessons by Zoe Wallbrook

I, like Daphne Ouverture, the heroine of History Lessons, majored in history, but she went on to earn a PhD in French Colonialism. As the book opens, she’s teaching at the elite Harrison University, working on her next book and preferring nights out with her friends over bad dates.

That all changes, though, when she receives a weird text message from Sam Taylor, a professor and one of the university’s rising stars, the night before he’s found dead. As if that wasn’t creepy enough, the killer believes Daphne has something incriminating and begins stalking her. Convinced the police aren’t taking the case seriously, Daphne decides to put her skills to use — after all, aren’t historians detectives of the past?

History Lessons is one of those books that I felt like was written for me. In addition to the well-plotted mystery and fully developed sleuth, it featured “Drag Race” jokes, nerdy history references and a slow-burn romance between Daphne and a cop-turned-bookstore-owner. Chef’s kiss.

You’ve Typed a Lot of Term Papers

Olivetti by Allie Millington

Olivetti, a middle-grade novel, is one of the most inventive books I’ve read in ages — it’s narrated, in part, by a typewriter.