Sample Saturday is when I wade through the eleventy billion samples I have downloaded on my Kindle. I’m slowly chipping away and deciding whether it’s buy or bye. This week, all three came via Print Mag’s 2024 100 Best Book Covers article.

Naples 1925 by Martin Mittelmeier

Summary: The untold story of how the volcanic landscape surrounding Naples influenced a crucial moment in twentieth-century intellectual history (as the true birthplace of the Frankfurt School and the foundation principles of Critical Theory).

I’m thinking: Maybe.

Greta and Valdin by Rebecca K Reilly

Summary: The story follows a brother and sister as they navigate queerness, multiracial identity, and the dramas big and small of their entangled, unconventional family, all while flailing their way to love.

I’m thinking: Yes.

Ask Me Again by Clare Sestanovich

Summary: At sixteen, Eva meets Jamie by chance. She lives in middle-class South Brooklyn; he comes from the super-rich of upper Manhattan. She’s observant, cautious, and eager to seem normal; he’s curious, bold, and full of mysteries. As Eva goes off to an elite college, Jamie drops out of school and joins the Occupy Wall Street movement. These two characters, pulled into separate spheres, circle the same issue of how to define their values and find their purpose.

I’m thinking: Yes.