this should have been a very easy newsletter to write. last year's took like, an hour! but i've never met a project i couldn't over-complicate, and what should have been a jokey little ode to some books i really liked this year evolved into a mild crisis about taste, identity-making, and the pleasing-but-not-effortless labor of reading well.
I feel so *seen* by this book recommendation list! I am not in the publishing industry (unless being a social science academic counts? Haha 🫠) and I read in almost the exact same scattershot pattern you describe here. I read lit fic but get bored of it if it is all I read... I also devour romances, love the intense world-building of fantasy, and enjoy the policy exploration in really good sci fi. Here’s to reading widely & enjoying all kinds of books!
I now know why I stop reading some books after a few pages. Even though the ad or review made it seem promising, it was in actuality a “consumable product engineered solely to please you”. Also, I’m apparently the mom, the dad, the gen z kid, and the brother because I will put all these I haven’t read on the TBR!
Re: the kinds of reviews in footnote 3, I saw somebody proudly proclaim they noped out of 'Some Desperate Glory' because the narrator displayed homophobia. I know that book (like Gideon) is not going to be for everyone but I can't think of a more profound case of missing the point of a book that's about overcoming a toxic upbringing.
Honestly, it's a relief to hear an artist talk about having inconsistent (or non-existent) taste. I've always been a little envious of people who have a cohesive style or decorating aesthetic or genre of consumption/creation. I for sure express myself artistically in all those areas but never with any form of consistency. There is just. so. much. to enjoy and explore to have an identifiable taste. (Or god forbid, brand!) I want to see everything, learn everything, try everything. I want to dabble forever and ever and ever!
This is my first harrowing newsletter and…damn…to find that an author you adore shares….not only a good portion of your yearly reading list but also your call to just stop killing people…
It’s a good way to end my day. Grateful for the recommendation via the Amal El-Monhtar newsletter. #Subscribed
I feel so *seen* by this book recommendation list! I am not in the publishing industry (unless being a social science academic counts? Haha 🫠) and I read in almost the exact same scattershot pattern you describe here. I read lit fic but get bored of it if it is all I read... I also devour romances, love the intense world-building of fantasy, and enjoy the policy exploration in really good sci fi. Here’s to reading widely & enjoying all kinds of books!
I now know why I stop reading some books after a few pages. Even though the ad or review made it seem promising, it was in actuality a “consumable product engineered solely to please you”. Also, I’m apparently the mom, the dad, the gen z kid, and the brother because I will put all these I haven’t read on the TBR!
Love your eclectic recommendations, as always.
Re: the kinds of reviews in footnote 3, I saw somebody proudly proclaim they noped out of 'Some Desperate Glory' because the narrator displayed homophobia. I know that book (like Gideon) is not going to be for everyone but I can't think of a more profound case of missing the point of a book that's about overcoming a toxic upbringing.
I'm pasting your paragraph (can I call in a reading manifesto?) into my 2024 Reading Journal. Thank you.
I’ve read all the book recommendations except three!!
Thank you! What a glorious selection of reading suggestions. I think I'll be gifting me!
Honestly, it's a relief to hear an artist talk about having inconsistent (or non-existent) taste. I've always been a little envious of people who have a cohesive style or decorating aesthetic or genre of consumption/creation. I for sure express myself artistically in all those areas but never with any form of consistency. There is just. so. much. to enjoy and explore to have an identifiable taste. (Or god forbid, brand!) I want to see everything, learn everything, try everything. I want to dabble forever and ever and ever!
This is my first harrowing newsletter and…damn…to find that an author you adore shares….not only a good portion of your yearly reading list but also your call to just stop killing people…
It’s a good way to end my day. Grateful for the recommendation via the Amal El-Monhtar newsletter. #Subscribed