This edition of All Booked was originally emailed to subscribers on October 8, 2024. To receive our literary newsletter in your inbox, sign up at independent.com/newsletters.

Hello, fellow bookworms!

As we all shake off Santa Barbara’s September second summer and dive into fall, keep your eyes open for lots of exciting things happening in the local book scene!

Chaucer’s Books, probably my favorite place in town, is hosting a slew of events through November 1 to celebrate their 50th anniversary! Zine-making workshops, story times, and writing contests abound, and it all culminates in a big ol’ birthday bash on November 1 at 5 p.m. Check out the full lineup of events here. Chaucer’s has had my heart since I was a tiny kid excitedly picking out the next Junie B. Jones and A to Z Mysteries books, so you can bet I plan on joining the festivities where I can!

I’m still working my way through the pile of books I got at the Planned Parenthood Book Sale, but I’m currently reading Women Money Power: The Rise and Fall of Economic Equality by Josie Cox, courtesy of my friends at UCSB Arts & Lectures. Admittedly, I’m only about halfway through as I write this, but I’m fascinated. Feminist history is one of my favorite topics to look for when I pick up nonfiction, and Cox’s writing style really brings these women to life as she details the way they fought for financial equality — from Margaret Sanger to Betty Friedan to the women behind one of my all-time favorite pieces of art: the real-life Rosie the Riveters.

Josie Cox will be at UCSB’s Campbell Hall on Thursday, October 17, 7:30 p.m. as part of UCSB Arts & Lectures to talk about her book and discuss the ways women are still fighting this fight today, and how financial inequality affects everyone. For tickets and more information, click here.

On to this week’s book recommendations! Our wonderful Web Content Manager Don Brubaker brings us a couple of contemporary reads to cover both the cozy and creepy aspects of the fall season. Whichever side of the spectrum you’re feeling, happy reading!

—Tessa, allbooked@independent.com





Funny Story by Emily Henry

I was introduced to Emily Henry by another Emily: the Indy’s very own Emily Cosentino Lee, the former writer of this very newsletter! Henry’s works read like rom-coms by way of a millennial-owned cottagecore emporium: The settings are idyllic, the storylines are entertaining and humorous, and the characters are relatable. Hell, most of the people in this book are doing the same things my thirtysomething-year-old friends and I do: farmers’ markets, wine bars, game nights, etc., etc., et. al. Funny Story’s plot feels less conventional than some of Henry’s other works, with some of its core lessons (abandonment, fitting in) feeling a little more apparent as well, but not to the story’s detriment. Ultimately, it’s another light, cozy read from Henry, the patron saint of modern millennial romantic literature.




The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley

Foley’s latest contains the same general trappings of her previous works: British socialites, a semi-remote location, and dark secrets that slowly come to light in a narrative told from the varying perspectives of its cast. Foley’s novels aren’t whodunits as much as they’re howdunits and, more interestingly, whydunits. The narrative, skipping between the past, present, and soon-to-be future, recounts the efforts of a bougie resort’s opening in an otherwise quiet seaside town. While not quite as captivating as 2020’s The Guest List (but certainly not boring), Midnight Feast continues Foley’s commentary on social class and wealth inequality, tangling the haves and have-nots up in a sinister web of devious, shared history to exceptional effect. With greater supernatural themes (albeit largely suggested rather than real) than previous entries, Midnight Feast makes for a superb read this time of year, as temps get cooler and leaves get crunchier.

—Don Brubaker


UPCOMING BOOK EVENTS

Below, you will find a few bookish events coming up in Santa Barbara. If you are hosting a bookish event in Santa Barbara, be sure to submit the event to our online events calendar.

Storytime at Solvang Library
Tuesday, October 8, 10:30 a.m. | Solvang Library

Bilingual Songs & Stories for Kids
Tuesday, October 8, 11 a.m. | Eastside Library

Baby & Me Storytime
Wednesday, October 9, 11 a.m. | S.B. Central Library

Romance Book Club
Wednesday, October 9, 5:30 p.m. | Virtual

Baby & Me Storytime
Friday, October 11, 10:30 a.m. | Goleta Valley Library

Polo: Men & Horses 2025 Calendar Signing
Saturday, October 12, noon | Chaucer’s Books

Storytelling Thru Zines: Zine-Making Workshop
Sunday, October 13, 2 p.m. | Chaucer’s Books

Preschool Storytime
Monday, October 14, 10 a.m. | Carpinteria Community Library

Bilingual Songs & Stories for Kids
Tuesday, October 15, 11 a.m. | Eastside Library

Baby & Me Storytime
Wednesday, October 16, 11 a.m. | S.B. Central Library

S.B. Reads Kickoff
Thursday, October 17, 6 p.m. | Satellite1117 State St.

Baby & Me Storytime
Friday, October 18, 10:30 a.m. | Goleta Valley Library

Community Storytime with Miss Angel
Saturday, October 19, 11 a.m. | Chaucer’s Books

Storytime: Author Stephanie Allain, Presenting Who’s in Charge?
Saturday, October 19, 11 a.m. | Godmothers, Summerland

S.B. Reads Dork Diaries Day
Sunday, October 20, 10:30 a.m. | S.B. Central Library

S.B. Poetry Series Reading
Sunday, October 20, 2 p.m | S.B. Central Library

Anna Vocino, Presenting Eat Happy Italian
Sunday, October 20, 6 p.m. | Godmothers, Summerland

Preschool Storytime
Monday, October 21, 10 a.m. | Carpinteria Community Library

S.B. Reads Teen Talk: Roadmap to Healthy Relationships
Monday, October 21,  noon | S.B. Central Library


LOCAL BOOK SPOTLIGHT

We at the Independent get many books sent to us by local authors, sometimes too many! It’s practically impossible for us to read and review them all, but just because we are busy bees does not mean that they aren’t worth the attention. In an attempt to not completely drop the ball, we have compiled a list of books here that have a local spin. They are all either written by a local author, feature someone in our community, or have another tie to Santa Barbara. I urge you to look through this list. Perhaps you will find your new favorite read!

The following are the most recent titles that have been sent to us. Click here for a more comprehensive list.

The Grandma Gang Mysteries series by Cathy Pepe

Sleeping in the Sun by Joanne Howard

How to Capture Carbon: Stories by Cameron Walker

The Mystery of Trash Island by Peter G. Martin

How to Master Your Goals: A Curated Collection of One-Page Worksheets for Your Success by Dr. Christiane Schroeter

Valley Mothers by R. Putnam Baker

If you are a local author and would like us to feature your book in this section, please email allbooked@independent.com with the subject line “Local Author Spotlight.”


Book Reviews Courtesy of CALIFORNIA REVIEW OF BOOKS*

Thanks to the generous contributions of David Starkey, Brian Tanguay and their team of reviewers at California Review of Books, we are able to provide a steady stream of book reviews via our content partnership. Recent reviews at Independent.com include:

The Big Green Tent by Ludmila Ulitskaya, review by Brian Tanguay

I Want to Be Where the Normal People Are by Rachel Bloom; review by George Yatchisin

*At the present time, all of the Independent’s book reviews are provided in collaboration with California Review of Books (calirb.com).

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