Leticia’s Creative Obsessions: The Magic of the Bookshelf

Have you ever walked past your bookshelf at home, or a stack of books, a book cart at the library or a display at a bookstore and felt the irresistible pull of a book, your hand reaching out for it instinctively without your mind even realizing what you are doing?

When I was younger and my attention span wasn’t as warped by access to the internet, I could sit on my beanbag chair (by far the most memorable Christmas gift I received as a child) with a snack (dunking Frosted Mini Wheats in a glass of milk) and read one book for hours. Now, my scattered and altered brain struggles to read one book for prolonged periods of time without getting distracted. I am also a notorious mood reader, so I will often be reading 10+ books at a time depending on my interests and mood that day, thus why I relate so much to the scene in Gilmore Girls when Rory is defending why she needs so many books in her backpack, one for each occasion and period of the day. Sometimes I will read a nonfiction book, anthologies, poetry collections and short story collections for months, sometimes longer, other times I feel pulled to pick up one book and concentrate on it entirely. My timelines for reading books is also, of course, dictated by whether I have purchased it or checked it out from the library and how long I have it for. I mean, there is only so many times a person can renew a book, and even then, as a library volunteer, I have turned in a book that has been overdue, checked it in to the system, and then immediately checked it out again just to keep reading.

For the last few months, as we were undergoing home repairs and packing to sell our home, I had to make some grueling decisions about my books, which spanned across five book shelves, a home library cart Ramiro purchased for me for my birthday two years ago and stacks of books on several surfaces for easy access, including my desk/bedside table which has now been packed away. I have given books away, lent books to responsible loved ones for safe keeping, though not before stamping them with a custom stamp from my good friend Laura that says, “From the Library of Leticia Urieta,” packed them away for storage, and decided on which precious books get to go on the road with me, space and weight permitting.

I’m not a hoarder I swear…a book dragon maybe, but I do like to share my books with others, and try to only keep books I think I will teach from or read and enjoy again. There are books I have annotated, sticky noted and reviewed that have left a lasting impact on my mind and heart. My consolation is that once I do return to the books packed away, I can rediscover them like old friends, revisiting them as a surprise once again. You can read more about my love for our home in my zine, Home Love, which you can purchase using the link from my website.

Not only am I a mood reader, but I am often a mood writer. I jump around across projects, only accountable to my whims, and occasionally to editorial deadlines. I oscillate between writing intense body horror, deeply reflective poetry, speculative fiction, zines and more! As I was reflecting on this tendency the other day, I thought about how I often create this way both to channel my own creative energy, but also to create in a way that elicits many different feelings, whether it be deep discomfort, thoughtfulness or fear. Lately, those feelings have been focused on love and care. I started what I thought was going to be a short fantasy story, the first I have written in years, and turned into the script for a fantasy graphic novel. I haven’t plotted it out entirely yet, but it was cool to give myself space to create that way with a vision in mind-I even sketched out the first page!

What’s Happening with Leticia?

At the end of this month, I will be leaving my role at Austin Bat Cave (please make a donation in my name!) and preparing for our travels. I’m working on new several new projects, including revisions of stories and work to submit and to prepare for the release of my next book, The Remedy is the Disease, out next spring from Undertaker Books, my paranormal historical novel (more on that in June) and much more I hope to share soon!

I am also considering what the future of this newsletter will be once I have am writing full-time. I know that I want to document our travels once we head out on the road, as well as continue to discuss my creative work, provide book recommendations and other resources. I am also realizing that to make this newsletter more sustainable, I may need to convert this newsletter to a paid model where followers can pay a small monthly fee for the the resources (and more!) provided. Take a minute to fill out the poll below to let me know your interest in any of the resources I am considering providing in going forward.

What I’m Reading: Caring Fantasy

In my February newsletter, I talked about my love of and long-standing interest in folklore and how it has informed my own work. For the last couple of years I have been reading a lot of horror because there are so many excellent and diverse horror books out now and because that is primarily what I have been writing. That won’t change, but I have also started venturing back into reading more fantasy books as I did when I was a younger reader. I loved fantastical stories a kid, and in high school I read a ton of fantasy, including The Lords of the Rings Trilogy and several books in the Dragon Rider’s of Pern series by Anne McCaffrey.

Now, as an adult, returning to all of the wonderful new fantasy books coming out for both youth and adults is gratifying. Fantasy books being published now are more diverse, and span many cultural storytelling traditions and experiences. While much of the fantasy I read as a teen is considered epic fantasy, what I love now is the subgenre of “cozy fantasy.” Calling something cozy in the publishing industry and bookish community usually denotes that the story will be lower stakes, and center on a character, or characters quest for healing, and often belonging in a community. This is not to say they don’t face danger or other problems, but that their creating the life they want is the central focus.

While I love the idea of coziness as a way to characterize these kinds of stories because of how they make us feel, wanting to curl up with them in a big squishy chair (or dare I say beanbag?!) with a nice cup of tea, I often find myself feeling that the better word to characterize these types of fantasy stories is “caring.” These are stories that center on characters in need of community, in need of care, in need of acceptance and healing from traumas and experiences that continue to affect and shape their lives. And besides the beautiful book covers of many of these books and their special edition sprayed edges, the caring characters of these books who come together for one another in community despite all is what keeps me reading, and often crying at the end. Bonus if they also include characters expressing their creativity and care through music, nature, food or all of the above!

I was talking about this descriptor with my friend Lindsey Carmichael recently, who is an avid cozy fantasy reader and author, and she described these kinds of books as gateways for readers our age to imagine the quiet, caring lives we have always wanted for ourselves. Really spoke to the latent hobbit in me. In what feels like a deeply uncaring world we are living in, reminders that platonic love, labor and found family can create better worlds are necessary for us to imagine and create better for ourselves.

Here are some of the books I have read or am reading now that speak to fantasy, folklore and care:

1. Magical Realism: Essays on Music, Memory, Fantasy and Borders by Vanessa Villareal 
   • While this book is nonfiction by one of my favorite poets and scholars, Vanessa Villareal, I am loving this memoir about Villareal’s experiences as first-generation college student, the child of immigrants and a single mom, told through the lens of cultural critiques about a variety of properties, including the sweeping fantasy worlds of the NeverEnding Story and Game of Thrones.
2. Queer as Folklore by Sacha Coward
   • I’m really enjoying this book so far! This historical books explores the queerness of folkloric creatures across storytelling cultures and traditions. Each chapter is devoted to creatures like mermaids, unicorns, werewolves and more and how these folkloric creatures reflect different cultural understandings of gender fluidity, often becoming queer icons for present day communities. I also love that Coward includes quotes from folklorists and storytellers across global traditions who share their connections with these creatures and their stories.
3. Legends and Lattes, Bookshops and Bonedust and Brigands and Breadknives by Travis Baldree
   • This interconnected fantasy series is immensely popular in the cozy fantasy tradition, mainly because the characters in each of them represent second chances, found family, new love and the opportunity to create quiet but vibrant lives after living dangerously. I have read Legends and Lattes, about a battle-weary orc named Viv who opens her own coffeeshop with the unexpected help from her neighbors and travelers who aid in making her dreams come true, and Bookshops and Bonedust, about Viv’s early days as a mercenary when she is injured and forced to recuperate in a small seaside town called Murk, where she finds herself inadvertently helping the beleaguered owner of a local bookshop which has fallen into disarray. I recently received an ARC of Brigands and Breadknives, so excited to read more about these characters.
4. The Spellshop and Enchanted Greenhouse by Sarah Bell Durst
   • This is another fantasy series that really embodies the many facets of what it means for a community to care for one another. In the Spellshop, Kiela, a librarian of the Great Library of Alysium, must flee the city with her sentient spider plant, Caz, when a revolution begins and the library burns. Taking what precious spell books she can salvage with her, Kiela and Caz return to Kiela’s childhood cottage on a remote island. There, she creates income, and a caring community, by opening up the island’s first (illegal) spellshop. This romantasy book is so warm and comforting, and I am enjoying the second book in the series, The Enchanted Greenhouse as well!
5. The LuteSong Series by RK Ashwick
   • This series was one of my favorite surprise fantasy books that I read last year. In The Stray Spirit, we Emry, a talented lute player who just wants his chance to play the big stages with the Auric Guild, the most prestigious musical group in Thalis. But when an unnatural earthquake strikes and Aspen, the spirit of a local tree possesses Emry’s lute. The two strike a deal: Aspen will help Emry play better than ever before, and Emry will enlist the help of his studious but prickly ex-girlfriend Cal, to investigate the earthquakes that threaten all of Thalis and the spirits that dwell in nature around them. Emry, Aspen and Cal’s story continues in the Spirit Well, and I am excited to receive an ARC of The Spirit’s Curse, the next book in the series!
6. House of Frank by Kay Synclaire
   • This is a beautiful book that really centers on the many facets of how grief affects us and how care from other’s can help us to heal. I got to read this with my book club and enjoyed the discussion. In it, a young witch named Saika seeks out the house belonging to Frank, a gentle Minotaur, to honor her sister’s last wish and plant her remains in the famous Ash Gardens there. Still, Saika struggles to say goodbye to her sister, and to accept that she has been disconnected from her powers since her sister died. With the care and patience of the motley folks who live in the house of Frank, Saika learns to honor her joy, and her grief through the love of others.
7. Off Menu by Oliver Gerlach, illustrated by Kelsi Jo Silva
   • This beautifully drawn graphic novel tells the story of Soup, a soux chef who aspires to more but feels stuck in the kitchen that has been her home since she was found on their doorstep as a baby. But when the abuse of the kitchen’s head chef becomes too much, Soup bands together with her friend and local community to challenge the elven chef to a cooking competition. I love any fantasy books where food are central, and I loved how Soup honored the cultural foods of her community members in her final dishes to save her town!

Cozy Fantasy and Sci Fi Books on my TBR List:

1. The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar
2. Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell
3. Emily Wilde’s Series by Heather Fawcett
4. When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill
5. The Name-Bearer by Natalia Hernandez
6. Ink Blood Sister Scribe by Emma Törzs
7. Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers
8. The Teller of Small Fortunes by Julie Leong
9. Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea by Rebecca Thorne
10. Last Gifts of the Universe by Riley August
11. Before the Coffee Gets Cold (series) by Toshikazu Kawaguchi

Since I highlighted some of my favorite poetry books last month, I wanted to also highlight some books I am reading about music. Much of the fantasy I read includes music as a tool for uplifting the spirits and honoring memory, and for me, music is integral to my creative practice and sense of self. My father is a drummer and self-taught guitar player, and my husband Ramiro also plays guitar, bass and piano. I have a pretty good singing voice and underwent some vocal training for a few years when I thought I might pursue musical theater as a career. While that wasn’t in the cards for me, I still sing frequently and am learning to play the ukulele with more fluency. I’ve started writing songs and would love to record and write a children’s book of bilingual lullabies in the future.

As I have talked with my dad and learned more about his time with his former band, The Brew, I’ve also thought about writing about their story at some point. So many projects to pursue. I love studying history, and musical history and theory is incredibly interesting to me. Here are some books I am reading or plan to read this year about music:

• Austin City Limits: A History by Tracey Laird (music historian at my alma mater, Agnes Scott College!)

• Music is History by QuestLove 
• I Heard There Was A Secret Chord: Music as Medicine by Daniel Levitin
• A Natural Woman by Carol King
• The Law of Music by Laura Enriquez 
• Bridge to Bat City by Ernest Cline *an ode to Austin and the music that made it great!*
• The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Perez
• Freddy Mercury: An Illustrated Life by Alfonso Casas

Writing Prompts

Where do you find magic in each day? How does it manifest?

If this magic were to bloom, how would it grow? If it is a song, what would it sound like?

Call to Action: Opportunities for Solidarity and Care

Under this administration, it is challenging to find an equilibrium and a focus for our collective and individual actions (that is on purpose!) because so many rights and communities are under attack. If you, like me, are feeling stuck because you care about everyone affected by the stripping away of federal funding for healthcare and services for people with disabilities, public libraries, public education, and the outright assault on immigrants, trans and queer people and free speech dissent against genocide and Palestinian personhood, I refer you back to my post a few months ago called We Are Interconnected, as I stand by some of these suggestions while also knowing that some of these actions will need to escalate and organizing will need to become even more strategic. I am so proud of friends and community members who have joined or are organizing labor unions in their workplaces, as I truly believe union organizing will be one big way to strike back against our fascist government and hold our “leaders” accountable. No one is coming to save us. We have to ready to take the next steps to care for one another and make real change, even at small, incremental levels.

Palestinians in Gaza are being starved by the brutal Israeli regime. Very little food and aid is being allowed into Gaza, and the food that remains is prohibitively expensive. I am asking those reading to please give to The Sameer Project, a grassroots organization that provides crucial aid to Palestinians in Gaza for whom food, water and medical supplies are scarce. In addition, you can support two families, Marwa and her children and Eman and her family. If you have a little extra this month, help these families to purchase the food and supplies they need!

If you give to both Austin Bat Cave and The Sameer Project, or Marwa and/or Eman’s campaigns, comment and comment on this post, I will send you a free copy of one of my books, Las Criaturas, my Home Love Zine or a copy of my limited edition chapbook, The Monster.

What actions are you engaging in or organizations you suggest? I’d love to know in the comments! Or, just let me know what you’re reading!

Take care, each and every day ❤️

Leticia