Welcome!
A Brief History of Books & Bakes
Books & Bakes is a weekly newsletter celebrating queer lit and, occasionally, home baking. It began in 2021 as a way for me to write freely about the books I love without word limits or constraints. In the early days, I recommended three books on a theme each week, along with a recipe and a whole lot of extras. Sections came and went, but the overall structure stayed the same: three reviews, a recipe, notes about what I was cooking and listening to, and links.
In the 3+ years that I've been writing it, the newsletter morphed and shifted and grown with me. These days, the structure is looser. I still share book reviews on a theme, but I also write mini reviews, longform reviews, personal essays, and monthly reading reflections. I've moved away from sharing recipes, though I do still write about food. Each week's newsletter is a surprise.
I have a wide and eclectic taste in books, but I love queer lit most of all. I don’t exclusively feature queer books, but 90% of what I read and recommend is queer. I especially love shouting about small press books and under-the-radar gems you probably haven’t heard of.
Mostly, I write about what matters to me: books and the doors they open, the woods, my pup, indie presses, earnestness, what's happening in the world, spreadsheets, collective liberation, picture books, cookies, and many other sorrows, wonders, curiosities, and delights.
Why Subscribe?
In 2024, after 3+ years of offering both free and paid subscriptions, I made the decision to make Books & Bakes a paid-only newsletter. Here's why: writing this newsletter is work. It is work I love doing. It is work I care about. It is work I believe in. But it is not a hobby and it's not a vocation. It's work. And I cannot work for free. It's that simple.
Subscribing to this newsletter is just like shopping at your local indie bookstore or buying bagels from your favorite bakery: those business can't do what they do without your money. I'm pretty sure most of us wish we didn't live in this capitalist hellscape, but here we are. Writing Books & Bakes is a joy, and a job.
Subscriptions are $5/month or $50 a year. If you want to support me further, and you can afford a little more, you can become a friend of the newsletter for $10/month or $100/year. All members get the same access to all content.
In the spirit of generosity, the Books & Bakes archive from 2021 through February 2024 will remain free to everyone. To give you sense of what you can expect from the newsletter, check out this selection of some of my favorite past issues, sorted by category:
Themed Book Reviews
Longform Reviews
- Rebecca as Queer Tragedy: On Reading the Past
- A Love Letter to 20th Century Queer Lit: On Imre: A Memorandum (1906)
- Making Space for Queer Grief: Pacing & Tragedy in 'And Then He Sang a Lullaby'
Personal Essays
- An Essayette of Delight: After Ross Gay
- Hand on my stupid heart: On living inside 'Meditations in an Emergency' & dreaming of a free Palestine
- A Brief History of Waters I Have Loved: Swimming Through At the Pond
Booklists & Mini Reviews
Special Editions
- The Sealey Challenge: Reflections on 31 Days of Poetry
- The Art of Book Cataloging
- The Words and the Words and the Words: On reveling in moments of beauty
Monthly Reading Reflections
- Wonder, Water, Words (September 2023)
- Witnessing, Rooting, Grieving, Weaving (October 2023)
- Snowing, Slowing, Sowing, Singing (January 2024)
New Queer Releases
About the Writer
Laura Sackton is a queer writer and professional book nerd based in rural Massachusetts. She writes about (mostly) queer lit for Book Riot, BookPage, Audiofile, and elsewhere on the internet.
She was a farmer for 12+ years, and still loves spending time outside, tending to her garden, and indulging in ambitious seasonal coking projects. She’s been an avid reader since she was small, and is currently at work becoming a poet.
You can find her on Instagram and and get in touch via email at queerbooksandbakes@gmail.com.