DCTRENDING’s Third Annual Holiday Booklist
The indie bookstore edition
by Norah Vawter
As we contemplated our third annual holiday booklist, which features favorite books by D.C. area authors, we decided to reach out again to members of the D.C. area literary community. This year we’re focusing specifically on recommendations from local independent bookstores. Booksellers have a keen sense of what’s being published, read, and devoured in our community. It’s hard to find a better advisor than a bookseller. We want to support, celebrate, and shed light on our independent bookstores, which play a vital role in our society, providing space to gather, build community, and a means to finding your new favorite book. If you’re looking for a last-minute gift or just a book to curl up with, we hope you’ll enjoy this list of books for all ages.
Thank you to East City Bookshop, Little District Bookstore, Loyalty Bookstores, Potter’s House, and Politics and Prose for participating in our list this year! Read on for these bookseller’s recommendations for the best books of 2023 by D.C. area authors.
East City Bookshop opened in 2016 and is a gathering place for book lovers of all ages, offering author and other community events, and book clubs. They offer a selection of toys, gifts, art supplies, and bookish items. Their mission is to provide friendly and warm service, community-oriented events, and support for the literary arts at every reading level. Find events, book clubs, community gift drives, and custom gift bundles.
Loot by Tania James
Historical fiction. Recommended by Margo Grimm Eule.
"I always think it’s a good sign when a book inspires curiosity—about a person, place, or point in history. Loot piqued my curiosity on all those counts with the story of Abbas, an imagined – and very curious—young woodworker recruited by Tipu Sultan, the late 18th century ruler of Mysore, to collaborate on a mechanical tiger. The story it inspired is an adventure—full of history, humor, unforgettable characters, and timely issues such as erasure and art restitution."
The Daydreams by Laura Hankin
General fiction. Recommended by Destinee Hodge
"I absolutely love how Laura has bottled up the millennial obsessions with nostalgia, reality TV, and cast reunions. As always, writing with such deftness and nuance, she manages to balance having the effervescence of some of our pop culture staples with the weight of re-examining past choices."
Company, by Shannon Sanders
Short Stories. Recommended by Emilie Sommer
"I want this remarkable debut collection to get more love! Shannon Sanders's book of interconnected stories sparkles and shines, with many of the stories set in DC or adjacent areas. Readers will feel like they have truly come to know the Collins family as they learn about different family members and their legacies through the years. Recommended for those who love Danielle Evans, Deesha Philyaw, and Jocelyn Nicole Johnson, and that's good company indeed (no pun intended!)."
Location: 645 Pennsylvania Ave SE, Unit 100, Washington DC 20003
Phone: 202-290-1636
Website: www.eastcitybookshop.com
Little District Books is a queer-owned Washington, D.C. based independent book store that celebrates LGBTQ+ authors and stories. Their team curates stories to represent the full spectrum of LGBTQIA+ identities and aims to uplift local authors, independent publishers, and increase access to queer literature. Check out their curated surprise gift boxes, subscription boxes, and community events. All books are recommended by the store as a whole.
Baby Bank by Sarah Robinson
Romantic comedy
Mila Torres is a successful divorce lawyer by day, stand-up comedian by night and by all accounts—except her mother's—living a bisexual elder millennial's dream life in Washington, D.C. That is, until her doctor suggests at her annual pap smear that she should consider freezing her eggs if she wants kids in the future. Except, she doesn't want a child in the far future...she wants a child right now.
Congratulations, The Best Is Over by R. Eric Thomas
Essays
In this collection of insightful and hilarious essays, Thomas finds himself moving back to his perpetually misunderstood hometown of Baltimore — a place he never wanted to return to, even to be buried. They say you can't go home again, but what if you and your home have changed beyond recognition?
A Light Most Hateful by Hailey Piper
Horror
Mona Awad’s Bunny meets Stranger Things when a summer storm sweeps through a sleepy town, unleashing a monstrous power that threatens to bend reality, from the Bram Stoker award winning author of Queen of Teeth.Three years after running away from home, Olivia is stuck with a dead-end job in nowhere town Chapel Hill, Pennsylvania. Olivia figures she’ll die in Chapel Hill, if not from boredom, then the summer night storm which crashes into town with a mind-bending monster in tow.
Location: 737 8th St. SE, Washington, DC 20003
Phone: (202) 629-2975
Website: littledistrictbooks.com
Loyalty Bookstores was founded by Hannah Oliver Depp, a Black and Queer Bookseller who has spent her career working to diversify the book industry and better serve the powerful communities of color and queerness. Recently Christine Bollow became co-owner, bringing events experience and perspective as a Queer, disabled, and biracial Filipina bookseller. Check out their subscription boxes, preorder BIPOC books, and community events.
Gone Wolf by Amber McBride
Middle grade fiction. Recommended by Chardai Powell.
“I am in disbelief of how in love with this book I am. I immediately sent the synopsis to everyone I knew. Amber McBride is one of my new favorite authors I have discovered this year. Gone Wolf perfectly tells the story of all the feelings that little Black children go through in this world. I highly recommend the audiobook to accompany this book!”
Skeleanor the Decomposer by Emily Ettlinger
Children’s graphic novel. Recommended by Hannah Oliver Depp
“This book is so fun! Skeleanor goes on a quest to find her sound and finds so much more. With short chapters, awesome puns, and bold illustrations, this book will engage any young reader. As Skeleanor struggles to make her bone rattles into song, she learns to believe in herself and lean on the support of her friends. We're blessed to have author Emily Ettlinger in the DMV and even more psyched to enjoy the adventures of Skeleanor the Decomposer!”
A Living Remedy by Nicole Chung
Memoir. Recommended by Hannah Oliver Depp.
“This book is for all of us. While Nicole Chung writes brilliantly about complex, interracial family and the loss of her parents, she also brings all of us into a space of trust and healing. We have spent the last few years suffering great loss as a culture — loss of so many we knew, loss of connections both physical and spiritual and the loss of institutional and structural support. With deep generosity and crafted sentences, Chung brings us into her own journey so we know that we are not alone.”
(Also recommended by Loyalty booksellers: Plátanos are Love by Alyssa Reynoso-Morris. Picture book. Full Exposure by Thien-Kim Lam. Romance. Above Ground by Clint Smith. Poetry collection.)
Locations
Petworth | 843 Upshur Street NW, Washington, DC 20011
Silver Spring | I 823 Ellsworth Dr, Silver Spring, MD 20910
Politics and Prose began in 1984 as a small store opened by Carla Cohen and Barbara Meade, with three employees including the founders. It’s grown to three locations and employs over 100 staff. Under the current owners Bradley Graham and Lissa Muscatine Politics and Prose continues to focus on cultivating community and strengthening the common good through books, programs, and a respectful exchange of ideas. They’re committed to the values of independence, inclusion, and diversity. Learn about events, classes, trips, and book clubs, and subscriptions.
There Was a Party for Langston by Jason Reynolds
Children’s picture book
New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Jason Reynolds’s debut picture book is a snappy, joyous ode to Word King, literary genius, and glass-ceiling smasher Langston Hughes and the luminaries he inspired. Back in the day, there was a heckuva party, a jam, for a word-making man. The King of Letters. Langston Hughes. His ABCs became drums, bumping jumping thumping like a heart the size of the whole country. They sent some people yelling and others, his word-children, to write their own glory.
Loot by Tania James
Historical fiction. Recommended by Anton Bogomazov, Politics and Prose Head Buyer
“A wonderful historical novel that moves briskly through time and countries, Loot focuses on a talented young wood carver drawn into a sultan’s service in the 18th century. The novel follows his efforts to build a tiger automaton as his life becomes entwined with the fate of the nations and peoples of India and Europe, and James skillfully, no, beautifully, presents the places, characters, and events of this intricate, multi-faceted time in a brisk three hundred pages. Loot is immersive and engrossing (and yes, the tiger automaton is real and on display at London’s Victoria and Albert Museum).”
The Sisterhood by Liza Mundy
Nonfiction. Recommended by Rob Sayre
“There may be no institution more soaked in testosterone-fueled ambition and chest-beating than the CIA. This was especially true during its earliest years. Women were relegated to menial tasks and frequently treated as not much better than eye candy. They and their work were ignored, sometimes at spectacular cost in lives and policy failure. Mundy recounts the tenacity, wit, resourcefulness, bravery—and legal actions—that forced the men of the CIA finally to recognize their female colleagues as highly competent and worthy—capable of excellence in any role, including the most hazardous field duties. This is a stirring story, very well told.”
Locations:
Northwest DC | 5015 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, D.C. 20008
Union Market | 1270 5th Street NE, Washington, D.C. 20002
The Wharf | 610 Water Street SW, Washington, D.C. 20024
Phone: (202) 364-1919
Website: www.politics-prose.com
The Potter’s House, recently featured in DCTRENDING, is a nonprofit café, bookstore, and event space in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of Washington, DC. Since opening in 1960 they’ve been committed to deeper conversation, creative expression, and community transformation. In our rapidly changing city, in which development often means displacement, it’s is space to build relationships across differences, envision just alternatives, and grow movements. Right now this D.C. institution is struggling to stay open. Learn how to donate here, and check out upcoming events.
Monsters We Defy by Leslye Penelope
Literary fiction. Recommended by Aliza Cohen.
“Clara Johnson has been living under a spirit's curse for years when she's given the opportunity to free herself. And all she has to do is steal a ring from one of the most powerful women in the city. As someone born and raised in Washington DC, I'm always frustrated by the ways our city is depicted to the rest of the world. We're either demonized as "the Swamp" or reduced to the Hill. But author and Howard alum Leslye Penelope brings 1920s Washington DC to vivid life with thoughtfulness, detail, and obvious affection. The love she feels for the DC history, culture, and community is apparent in each and every sentence.”
Maman and Me: Recipes from Our Iranian-American Family by Roya Shariot and Gita Sadeh
Cookbook. Recommended by Aliza Cohen.
“Maryland resident Gita Sadeh and her daughter (now based in Brooklyn), present a selection of Iranian American dishes. Each recipe opens with an introductory paragraph and tips (such as pairing cheddar and sour cream chips with Greek yogurt dip). With gorgeous photos and a conversational tone, this beautiful cookbook feels like nothing so much as a warm bright kitchen.”
Location: 1658 Columbia Road Northwest, Washington, DC, 20009
Phone: (202) 232-5483
Website: www.pottershousedc.org
DCTRENDING magazine is committed to shedding light on the many talented authors local to the D.C. area. Particularly when their work explores themes of cultural awareness, social change, and social justice. We have too many favorite books to list here, but check out our reviewers’ four picks for fantastic books of 2023.
Hestia Strikes a Match by Christine Grillo
General fiction. Recommended by Norah Vawter, DCTRENDING’s Local Authors Editor.
“In her debut novel Hestia Strikes a Match, Christine Grillo imagines what would happen if a second Civil War broke out in the United States. It’s an alternate universe not that different from our own, where the events of January 6 are only the beginning of civic unrest. It’s also a romantic comedy. I am endlessly fascinated by stories that defy genre and make me question what kind of story I’m reading, and while I sank effortlessly into this funny and deeply human novel, I loved the opportunity to pick it apart.”
Look out for Norah’s forthcoming review of Hestia Strikes a Match!
Transplant by Bernardine Watson
Memoir. Recommended by DCTRENDING’s Editor-in-Chief, Cecilia Mencia.
Transplant: A Memoir, is a page-turning, personal journey into one Black woman's battle with kidney disease and the American medical system. Bernardine Watson's book is at once a truth-telling and an affirmation of the life force propelling us all toward love and hope. A vibrant, powerful portrait of what it means to be Black, female, and confronting a deadly disease in today's America. Winner of the first annual Washington Writers' Publishing House Creative Nonfiction Award, 2023. Named one of the '5 over 50' debuts in 2023 by Poets & Writers magazine.
Bad Questions by Len Kruger
General fiction. Recommended by Samantha Neugebauer, Day Eight fellow
From the light of the memorial candle back to 1971 in suburban Washington DC, Bad Questions is the story of Billy Blumberg, who carries guilt over the recent death of his father, a Hebrew school principal. After Billy and his mother move across Montgomery County in suburban Maryland, he encounters Ms. Marvin, a former teacher notorious for her macabre eccentricity. A séance in her apartment veers out of control, leading to a deadly "hex list" and Billy's discovery of his father's fatal secret. The winner of the 2023 Washington Writers' Publishing House Fiction Award. Bad Questions is Len Kruger's debut novel.
Look out for Samantha’s forthcoming review of Bad Questions!
Call Me Spes by Sara Cahill Marron
Poetry collection. Recommended by Greg Luce, regular contributor.
“In this new collection, Marron has invented a new poetic language with which to lead us through our modern-day technological Inferno. The book narrates the growing humanization of a smartphone operating system who names itself Spes, which, as it attains more and more human-like intelligence, slowly falls in love with the phone’s user. Much of the book’s narrative is made up of a mixture of binary code, machine language, and increasingly eloquent quasi-human speech. To my knowledge, nothing of this nature has been attempted in contemporary poetry; the effort alone is commendable, and the fact that it is so successful is remarkable.”
Read Greg’s review of Call Me Spes and more local poetry books in DCTRENDING.
If you have a suggestion for a book or author to feature in Local Authors DM us on Instagram @dctrending1, or email us at DCtrending4@gmail.com.
Norah Vawter is DCTRENDING’s local authors editor, a freelance writer/editor, and a novelist. She is represented by Victress Literary and has an M.F.A. in creative writing from George Mason University. She lives with her family in Northern Virginia. Follow Norah on Twitter @norahvawter, where she shares words and works of D.C. area writers every Friday.