Meet Our New Reviewers


Bas Bleu’s readers are our greatest asset, your loyal support enabling us to keep the lights on in tough times and to flourish in good ones. Thanks to you, we’re flourishing now…and as our business grows, our team needs to grow to keep up! Every item you see in our catalog is hand-selected and reviewed by our small editorial staff, and we’re thrilled to report that staff just expanded by two. So today’s blog post is something of an introduction, a chance for our readers to meet our new reviewers, Rachel Radomski and Honor Chotkowski, before you see their initials pop up in our catalog.

Officially, Rachel (left) and Honor (right) are our Literary Merchandising Associates. What does that mean? That in addition to reading books and reviewing products, they’ll be…coordinating with publishers and merchandise vendors, working on our social media channels, ensuring our website content stays up-to-date and grammatically correct, creating catalog page layouts, and helping us keep all of the many moving parts at Bas Bleu as organized as possible!

Rachel Radomski (RR)

Hometown: Madison, Wisconsin

Education: BA in English with a concentration in Creative Writing from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Favorite reading genre: a twisty, literary thriller

All-time favorite book: Self-Help by Lorrie Moore

Hobbies (other than reading): trying new recipes with a glass of wine and loud music, listening to true-crime podcasts before bed, spoiling my cats, basking outside

Most paradoxical quality: wanting more friends but appreciating my alone time too much to make an effort

Turn-offs: general close-mindedness and unwillingness to change, but also people who like the movie more than the book

Hypothetical autobiography title: I Can’t, I’m Reading

Honor Chotkowski (HC)

Hometown: New York, New York

Education: BA in English with a minor in Psychology from the University of Alabama

Favorite Reading Genre: Non-fiction (memoirs, autobiographies/biographies, textbooks, how-to manuals…you name it!)

All-time favorite book: A Moveable Feast by Earnest Hemingway

Hobbies (other than reading): DIY projects; cooking; writing; walking (being walked by) my puppy, Poe

Most paradoxical quality: I’m an ambivert: quiet and reserved, but also likely to talk your ear off and guaranteed to grab the mic at karaoke. (I promise—you would much rather hear me talk than sing!)​

Turn-offs: Cars that switch lanes without a blinker, my refrigerator without a jar of pickles

Hypothetical autobiography title: An Aspiring Renaissance Woman