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.
Memoir as Fantasy
Hello. In case you weren’t aware, there is a new tell-all memoir out called Spare. Have you heard of it?
Trust
What makes a book “very readable”?
A Book Prize From Those Behind Bars: Goncourt des détenus
As always, I’m spending too much brain space on this notion of celebrities becoming book pushers. So this NYT article from a couple of weeks ago was a nice change-up. The Prix Goncourt is France’s version of the Booker or the Pulitzer, but in some ways it might be more akin to being bestowed the Oprah stamp of approval: The monetary prize is only €10, but the payoff in book sales is considerable.
Seven Empty Houses
First book of 2023: FIN. (To be fair, I had literally 3 pages left when I put it down yesterday. What is my problem.) Seven Empty Houses, by Samanta Schweblin, translated by Megan McDowell.
Curiosity > Accomplishment
Ahh, New Year’s Eve…the dawn of a New Life ™️. I truly love Jan. 1 — clean slate, fresh start — and do spend time thinking about how I’d like the impending year to unfold. Or rather, how I’d like to respond to how the year unfolds. I love a good quantifiable challenge —which, let’s face it, is what most people’s resolutions are — but I’m more interested in how an outcome might shape my outlook on life instead of just “I lost 5 pounds.” (Or, to tie in to this account: “I read 1,000 books.”)
The Days of Abandonment
On the back of this book — The Days of Abandonment by Elena Ferrante — a blurb by Mona Simpson states, “[Ferrante] is the Italian Alice Munro.”
Library or Police Station in McFarland?
Whooooo… (Picture me whistling in an ‘oh boy’ kind of way, not that I know how to do that). I picked up this article the other day. It’s part of the New York Times’ “Across the Country” series. In this installment, a reporter goes to McFarland, California, a migrant farming community. The Police Department needs more space, and it’s eyeing the public library. Not surprisingly, conflict has ensued. The library of course offers services beyond checking out books: “Perhaps more so than in wealthier places with more options, the library serves a vital role. On average, 200 to 250 people come through the doors daily.” And many would agree that communities need effectively staffed and resourced police departments. McFarland, in particular, is seeing higher crime rates and an uptick in violent gang activity.
Demon Copperhead
Ohhhhhh….I really wanted to lovelovelove Demon Copperhead, by the beloved Barbara Kingsolver. I did like her much-anticipated novel (very much so), a retelling of Dickens’ David Copperfield. It’s the ultimate “Bildungsroman,” as readers follow protagonist Damon (nickname Demon) from the first line (“First, I got myself born.”) to young adulthood set (mostly) amidst Lee County, Virginia — just one area in the middle of a pigeonholed-for-all-the-wrong-reasons region.
Sam Bankman-Fried Doesn’t Read
Booklovers went bonkers over this WaPo headline the other day: ‘Sam Bankman-Fried doesn’t read. That tells us everything.’ I shared it in stories because Matt had sent it to me with the comment that it sounds a bit “vegan-ish,” meaning people who create their entire identities as “book people” project the same sort of superiority and inflexibility that vegans stereotypically do.
Salka Valka
For those who haven’t seen my Instagram stories in the past month: I have finished Salka Valka by the late Icelandic novelist Halldór Laxness, and it is Annie Proulx’s “favorite Halldór Laxness book” according to a back blurb on this new translation by Philip Roughton and published by Archipelago Books. I don’t think many people outside of certain literary circles even know who Halldór Laxness is (I was in this camp, for sure), so I got a chuckle about how the heck had Annie Proulx (Barkskins, Brokeback Mountain, etc.) read enough Halldór Laxness books so that she could say Salka Valka was her “favorite”??
Foster
Ok. So I should just go ahead and read everything that Claire Keegan has written, correct? (Correct.)
Fleishman is in Trouble
A Selfie of One’s Own With Virginia Woolf
If you could take a selfie with an author, would it be…Virginia Woolf?
If I Survive You
“We can do [survive] hard things!” (Name the wannabe psychologist who likes to say this.) While I for sure don’t disagree with that statement, I suppose it doesn’t resonate with me (and often makes me feel kinda sad) because there always seems to be a whiff of oblivious privilege involved. While everyone needs a boost once in a while — and some people of course are in seemingly impossible (and even dangerous) situations where a “pep talk” like this might give them that extra resolve — I always wonder: Is this the first time some people have been told and encouraged that, yes, they can get through a situation? People have “survived” (done “hard things”) forever. Feel free to look up the Darién Gap in Panama and the story about the young girl who got separated from her mother there.
Northern Spy
Nope, I still don’t like “beach reads,” but I’ve decided I’ll take a good thriller any day for a “palate cleanser” type of book. This one — Northern Spy, by Flynn Berry — was recommended by @katrinschumann. And btw, I totally agree with her about the title and cover design: Nondescript. But Northern Spy is a great clip of a read and revolves around the IRA in contemporary Belfast. So set aside titling and design quibbles!
Public Benefit and Jack Kerouac
The Jack Kerouac Foundation is on the road, searching for donations. OK, dumb #ontheroad joke — and the Foundation is not on the road, per se. BUT it has kicked off a capital campaign as it seeks funding for what will hopefully be The Jack Kerouac Museum and Performance Center, repurposing the former St. Jean Baptiste Church in Lowell, MA, where Kerouac once served as an altar boy and where his funeral was held in 1969. This was first reported in the Boston Globe in early January 2022…which I found out about because a news story from Boston.com showed up in my newsfeed the other day sharing that architectural renderings are now complete and public. (See pictures, obviously! And btw, all 4 images are courtesy of The Jack Kerouac Foundation & SCB Architects.)
The Trees
The Trees by Percival Everett didn’t win the Booker this year — but it did make the short list. And not that I am a Booker judge and not that I even read every other finalist — but it was important and deserving that it was on that list. I can’t even begin to think of another book I’ve read quite like it.
Babbitt
Hey, I decided to mix things up and read something old! One hundred years old to be precise, as Sinclair Lewis’ Babbitt was published in 1922.
Spotify, Apple, and Audiobooks
Separate from Elon Musk and his sink, here’s some other tech news: Spotify wants to jump aboard the audiobook revolution, but Apple is playing gatekeeper.
Desperate Characters
Scene from my couch…
