Welcome back to The Fold! This is the first issue coming to you from Buttondown, a super spiffy newsletter platform.

If you’re new to The Fold, I’m so happy you’re here. We’re still getting the archives ironed out on this new platform, but when they’re ready, I’ll give you the nickel tour.

This issue is about books.

I have this particular memory from when I was the in the sixth grade.

It's the early 1990s, a Friday night, around 8 pm. I'm tucked in bed. I have a stack of fresh library books to my left. I'm ready to rock. Er, read.

Then I see my reflection in the little tv screen across the room. And I can't stand what I see.

I'm the loserest loser who ever lived. It's Friday night. I should be out partying. With the cool kids. Who are undoubtedly out partying on Friday night.*

*reader, they were not.

Compared to my peers, those girls with their makeup and their hairspray and their Raiders jackets and, somehow, their boyfriends? I could not be more wrong. I was everything I should not be. I mean, I read books. Ugh.

Fast-forward past a lot of years, a lot of life experience, and a lot of therapy. Now I know that sixth grader had it right all along. Tucked in bed at 8 on a Friday night with a stack of books? That is Boss Level Cool.

Now, in honor of that lonely kid, I present:

Friday Night Reads

Not too heavy, not too thick, these books are great for a chill Friday evening in bed. (Pro tip: They work every other day of the week, too.) If you prefer your cozy time while stitching or otherwise keeping your hands busy, grab the audiobooks.

I recommend getting books from your local library, or from Bookshop.org, where you can support independent booksellers. You do you.

To explore our place in the ecosystem:
The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer

To read about people who love books (i.e. Our People):
The Banned Bookshop of Maggie Banks by Shauna Robinson
Runner-up: Book Lovers by Emily Henry

To read about how bodies are weird:
Replaceable You by Mary Roach (recommended by my Mom!)

To get some creative inspiration:
The Creative Act by Rick Rubin

To read about robots and feelings:
A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers. Highly recommended by my indie bookstore of choice, The Floating Bookshop.

Robots and feelings with more pew pew:
All Systems Red by Martha Wells

For a grown-up fairy tale:
Princess Floralinda and the Forty Flight Tower by Tamsyn Muir (author of the Locked Tomb series, but this is a much lighter lift). My library has the audiobook, which I recommend. Moira Quirk is a top-tier narrator.

Looks like print copies are harder to come by, but …the sequel is coming soon!

For a grown-up fairy tale if you also love coffee:
Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree.

For a grown-up fairy tale if you also love Monty Python:
Guards, Guards! Part of the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett, aka my emotional support dead famous guy. Bonus: the new audiobook version has a loving afterward by Ben Aaronovich.

Let's turn some pages, y'all.

A GIF For Those Who Read This Far

Happy reading,
xoxo Sarah