READ ALL ABOUT IT
Since 2012, I’ve been writing about books. And the act of reading. And the importance of story and narrative. But, mostly, the underlying theme of all I write is how taking a moment to stop and digest some longform text — instead of scrolling, instead of watching a video, instead of multitasking — can be one of the most grounding things we can do for ourselves. Here’s the one-stop online home for all this writing.
You can read more about me and my work by moseying over here. Want to peruse periodic “essay drops” — excerpts from my work-in-progress essay collection about Homesickness? Here ya go.
Joyride, Bluets, Paper Girl, Dead and Alive
Been a while since I’ve done one of these. (Self-aware pattern recognition: I guess I say that every time.) Here’s a roundup of nonfiction I’ve read lately**.
The Ten Year Affair
The Guardian recently published a piece about tropes. You know, the prescribed templates that are staples of romance, a genre I don’t read but I’m clued in enough to understand the gist.
Birthday Book Recs 33/50 : Small Ceremonies by Carol Shields
Birthday Book Recs: 33/50
Small Ceremonies by Carol Shields
Trust Exercise
When I interviewed my niece for my homesick project, I asked her what homesickness feels like. Among other things, I loved that she very specifically said, “I feel it in my sternum.” Because there’s a real physicality to emotion, right? See: pit in stomach, butterflies in chest, etc.
The Material
A+++ and 100% to this clever and skewering novel about a Stand-Up MFA program. (Haha)
Birthday Book Recs 32/50 : The Overstory by Richard Powers
Birthday Book Recs: 32/50
The Overstory by Richard Powers
Near Flesh
What does it mean to have something published posthumously? (I mean, I know what it means, but what does it MEAN. [Know what I mean?])
Birthday Book Recs 31/50 : The Lifespan of a Fact by John D’Agata and Jim Fingal
Birthday Book Recs: 31/50
The Lifespan of a Fact by John D’Agata and Jim Fingal
On Social Captal & AI
From Newsletter Issue No. 23:
On New Year’s Eve, we got together with friends. Aside from the general joviality of a post-Christmas catch-up with some of our favorite people, we played a game called Priorities. It’s fast and easy, and the basic gist is that one player at a time is given five cards, each with a very specific “thing” on it, and then proceeds to prioritize them in order of how much they value/like these things.
Birthday Book Recs 30/50 : The Heidi Chronicles by Wendy Wasserstein
Birthday Book Recs: 30/50
The Heidi Chronicles by Wendy Wasserstein
Birthday Book Recs 29/50 : Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
Birthday Book Recs: 29/50
Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
Birthday Book Recs 27-28/50 : Commonwealth by Ann Patchett and Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson
Birthday Book Recs: 27-28/50
Commonwealth by Ann Patchett
Nothing to See Here by Kevin Wilson
Birthday Book Recs 26/50 : TalkTalk: A Children’s Book Author Speaks to Grown-Ups by E.L. Konigsburg
Birthday Book Recs: 26/50
TalkTalk: A Children’s Book Author Speaks to Grown-Ups by E.L. Konigsburg
Birthday Book Recs 25/50 : Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson
Birthday Book Recs: 25/50
Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson
State of Wonder: A Posture for a New Year
When you scan the books scattered among the shelves for something
— you haven’t yet read
— isn’t anything like this collection of autofiction* that all at once became ready to pick up at the library and is now accumulating on your side of the bed
Birthday Book Recs 24/50 : The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing
Birthday Book Recs: 24/50
The Golden Notebook by Doris Lessing
Birthday Book Recs 23/50 : Main Street by Sinclair Lewis
Birthday Book Recs: 23/50
Main Street by Sinclair Lewis
Mrs. Dalloway
The 2020s are so weird and there is absolutely no denying that. But when Matt and I watched Ken Burns’ documentary on prohibition a few years ago, all I kept thinking was that the 1920s seemed pretty weird too.
Birthday Book Recs 22/50 : The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson
Birthday Book Recs: 22/50
The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson
Birthday Book Recs 20-21/50 : Love, Work, Children and Morningside Heights by Cheryl Mendelson
Birthday Book Recs: 20-21/50
Work, Life, Children and Morningside Heights by Cheryl Mendelson