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Emily Poe-Crawford

@emilyinherhead

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This morning I was back on my strollway bench with a thermos of hot coffee, excitedly opening a new book, soaking up the sounds of red-shouldered hawks calling across the creek to each other and light rain pattering on the leaves above.

The vibes: immaculate.

So far, 𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘤𝘢 𝘓𝘦𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘬𝘺 is smart, funny, and engaging—and I aim to finish it in time for a Zoom book club discussion tomorrow afternoon, so I’ll report back soon with further opinions.

What (and where) are you reading this weekend? by @emilyinherhead

Scenes from a too-short visit to one of my favorite places on earth. I might be back home now, but mentally I am (always) here. by @emilyinherhead

A snapshot of my current reading moment.

Right now:
- 𝘈𝘭𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘓𝘪𝘧𝘦 by Kiran Millwood Hargrave

Newest library loan:
- 𝘊𝘢𝘯𝘰𝘯 by Paige Lewis

Most recent additions to my unread shelf:
- 𝘔𝘤𝘚𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘺’𝘴 82
- 𝘉𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘏𝘰𝘳𝘯 by Prudence Bussey-Chamberlain

What’s coming up next for you? by @emilyinherhead

Scenes from, as it is referred to in my household, Indepeezy Booksteezy Deezy, which I celebrated at @bookmarksnc:

♥︎ The fiction shelves, my favorite area to thoroughly browse
♥︎ Staff recommendations nook
♥︎ A recent read I enjoyed, spotted among the new releases (@patrickmcottrell)
♥︎ The one thing I bought for myself
♥︎ My empty chai latte mug and the rainy view from @chadschai’s window

Did y’all hit up any independent bookstores on Saturday? by @emilyinherhead

I got to hear Xochitl Gonzalez speak at Bookmarks on Wednesday night, all about the places we come from, how they change, and the painful nostalgia we feel when we can’t go back to them as they exist in our memory. It was a really lovely event.

Bonus points for the incredible sunset view afterward as I walked to my car!

Can’t wait to get into 𝘓𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘕𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘉𝘳𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘭𝘺𝘯—have you read it? by @emilyinherhead

Just a little spring appreciation post! 🌷

Everything is blooming and I am living for front porch reading and writing time. by @emilyinherhead

I was so excited to receive a box from @aardvarkbookclub in the mail earlier this week! They sent three selections based on my reading preferences and go-to genres and I think they nailed it.

𝘋𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘵 𝘔𝘦 was one I enjoyed last year and now I’m really looking forward to the other two, neither of which was previously on my radar:

𝘞𝘩𝘰 𝘞𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘓𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 by Hanna Thomas Uose is about soulmates and parallel universes and the possibility of infinity, recommended for fans of 𝘛𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘛𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘛𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘖𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘋𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳 by Jemimah Wei is a story of sisters in Singapore, “a major literary debut, imbued with equal parts emotional clarity and searing social insight.”

Have you read any of these? What should I start with?

Thank you to Aardvark for the lovely surprises! ♥︎ by @emilyinherhead

I fell in love with Emily Austin’s writing back in 2022 after reading her debut novel, 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘙𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘉𝘦 𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘥. Since then she has published two more books, both of which I devoured, and now her fourth is here! 🎉

𝘐𝘴 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘊𝘳𝘺 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘏𝘦𝘭𝘱? is about a 30-something lesbian librarian named Darcy who is newly back at work following a mental health leave of absence. As she continues to process the unexpected death of an ex, the incident that sent her spiraling, she also faces the fresh hell of super vocal conservatives who object to certain library policies and want to remove LGBTQIA+ books from circulation, and she’s doing all of it alone—her wife’s sister has just given birth, so her wife is away helping with the new baby.

On the surface, it’s a lot. But Austin’s tone is gentle and funny, and the amount of care and empathy she shows to these characters more than balances the heaviness of what they’re going through. This book, like her others, is a warm hug when everything feels like too much, and it’s exactly what I needed right now.

HUGE thanks to @atriabooks for hooking me up. Everyone go forth and read it!! 📚🐈

♥︎

#BookRecommendation
#NewReleaseFiction
#2026Books by @emilyinherhead

𝘈𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘦 by Natan Last is out today! This is nonfiction all about “the past, present, and future of the crossword puzzle.” As a long-time crossword lover, I saw it on Netgalley a while back and couldn’t request it fast enough.

Natan Last is a crossword writer for 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘠𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘳 who has also worked closely with Will Shortz (𝘕𝘦𝘸 𝘠𝘰𝘳𝘬 𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 crossword editor), so he knows his stuff. And he gets into all of it, detailing the origins of the crossword, tracing its development across time, highlighting a few “crossword crazes” that have bubbled up over the years, describing what goes into constructing a puzzle and writing effective clues, and showing how crosswords can be both indicators of and vehicles for equity and social change.

The writing jumps around in time and includes a lot of names, which occasionally tripped me up, but on the whole I found this to be an absolutely fascinating learning experience. I finished the book wanting to construct my own puzzle someday.

Highly recommended for word nerds, gamers, and appreciators of puns and wit. 🤓

(Thank you to @pantheonbooks for my copy) by @emilyinherhead

Happy book birthday to 𝘔𝘺 𝘓𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘋𝘰𝘯𝘬𝘦𝘺 by Martha Cooley, and thank you to @catapult for my free copy!

The blurb of this one really caught my attention:

“Sparked by a move to a small Italian village after a lifetime in New York City, this collection of curious and surprising essays chronicles one woman’s encounters with people, animals, the past, and herself.”

While not every essay was a hit for me, and I thought the collection as a whole lacked the cohesion I was expecting, I did enjoy some of these pieces very much. My favorites were “Flukes,” about coincidence; “No Such Thing,” about silence, music, perfectionism, and practice; and “If Only For a Moment,” about boredom.

More thoughts on this one in yesterday’s newsletter:

emilyinherhead.com by @emilyinherhead

Rainy day views—the timeline needed some plants and cats. 💚 by @emilyinherhead

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I was lucky enough to get my hands on an advance copy of 𝘞𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘉𝘦 𝘙𝘢𝘵𝘴 last November, but I sat on it for a while, saving it for the right moment. As it turns out, the start of the new year was it.

I’ve read and loved both of Austin’s previous novels, 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘙𝘰𝘰𝘮 𝘞𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘚𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘉𝘦 𝘋𝘦𝘢𝘥 and 𝘐𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘍𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘴 𝘈𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘚𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦, so I figured there was a decent chance I’d enjoy her newest as well. (I was right.)

This one is about Sigrid, a twenty-something high school dropout with a big imagination, and her older sister Margit, with whom she is not especially close. The first part of the book is written as a long series of suicide notes, Sigrid attempting to more precisely dial in her tone and message each time she starts over.

Through these we learn about her experiences as a child and young adult, of trying to express herself and find happiness despite repeatedly feeling misunderstood. Eventually the point of view changes and we hear from Margit, but Austin is doing some compelling work with structure that I don’t want to spoil, so I’ll leave it at that.

This is definitely the darkest of her books so far, but it also has a real tenderness to it—her exploration of the love between sisters, even those who were never very close, and the capacity of this relationship to deepen and grow, is really moving.

𝘞𝘦 𝘊𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘉𝘦 𝘙𝘢𝘵𝘴 is out today, so get thee to the bookstore or library! Thank you so much, @atriabooks and @netgalley, for my copy. ♥︎ by @emilyinherhead