Last month, we were floored by the number of impressive, interested, and enthusiastic readers who were interested in helping Team Booksweet explore the avalanche of Advance Reader Copies (ARCs) that we receive each month. We selected readers with reading preferences that are in alignment with our shop’s scope but also diverge from our small (but mighty!) team’s regular reading preferences.

Our dream team of Booksweet ARC Readers are currently working their way through their first ARC book stacks, with fresh recommendations coming soon! You’ll see their recs in-shop (shelf talkers) and on social media.

How will the online sharing work?

The Booksweet social media accounts (@shopbooksweet on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok) will be sharing posts that our ARC Readers tag us in. You can also follow our ARC Readers on Instagram for great reading recs and more! Find their handles in the introductions below.

Meet the Booksweet ARC Reader Team! 

Heather // @Thelindenbookie
Pronouns: she/her
Genre jams: Fantasy + Sci-fi

Heather is a nanny and doula who loves YA and adult fantasy, sci-fi, and dystopians, as well as thrillers and anything about cults. She also sometimes enjoys biographies and non-fiction social justice reads.

The last book that Heather enjoyed wholeheartedly: Hotel Magnifique by Emily J. Taylor

Jess // @jessicaletaw
Pronouns: she/her
Genre jam: Narrative Non-fiction

Jess is a buildings- and policy-junkie — and co-host of the pod Ann Arbor AF. She founded and leads Building Matters Ann Arbor, a nonprofit devoted to our local architecture and built environment.  Her vast preference is narrative nonfiction. She also loves memoirs, especially in nontraditional formats or by typically-marginalized people, and basically all science fiction.

The last book(s) that Jess enjoyed wholeheartedly: Talia Hibbert’s Take a Hint, Dani Brown, Randy Rainbow’s Playing With Myself, and Clint Smith’s How the Word is Passed.

Latitude (Lat) // @geographconcept + book blogging at geographreads.com
Pronouns: they/them
Genre jams: Queer reads, YA, and middlegrade

Latitude is a student of children’s literature at EMU and reads “anything and everything” but gravitates towards queer books, YA, and middlegrade fiction.

The last book that Latitude enjoyed wholeheartedly: This Rebel Heart by Katherine Locke 

Lynzie // @laustinbooks
Pronouns: she/her
Genre jams: Fiction + Mystery

Lynzie is the proud parent of an avid early elementary school reader. She has a passion for fiction, cozy mysteries, and “books where many people get murdered and there be sleuthing involved.”

The last book that Lynzie enjoyed wholeheartedly: The Agathas by Kathleen Glasgow and Liz Lawson

Ryan // @thefoldedcorners
Pronouns: he/they
Genre jams: Everything + Thrillers

Ryan is a writer, poet, and book enthusiast. Their preferences span many genres, but they’ve been super invested in thrillers recently.

The last book that Ryan enjoyed wholeheartedly: Woman, Eating: A Literary Vampire Novel by Claire Kohda

 Surabhi // @surabhi.reading
Pronouns: she/her
Genre jams: American literature, fiction, memoir, poetry

Surabhi is working on her English PhD at U-M and is especially interested in anything about rural America and/or authored by writers of color.

The last book that Surabhi enjoyed wholeheartedly: Jane Smiley’s A Thousand Acres

 We are so excited to have these six ARC superstars as part of Team Booksweet! Join us in welcoming Heather, Jess, Latitude, Lynzie, Ryan, and Surabhi by popping over to their socials and giving them a follow. You’ll be glad you did. 🙂