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.
O Caledonia
I read O Caledonia by Elspeth Barker, and, well I think the main thing I need to say about this is that teenage protagonist Janet is maybe, probably, definitely, for sure an Enneagram 4 (but notch it waaaay up to 11 — or more).
Stolen
“Good things come to those who wait” — always true?
Sharing a Book
Did you know that in addition to Valentine’s Day, February 14 is also International Book Giving Day? (Of COURSE it was @bethanyschlegel who tipped me off to this factoid a few years ago. #whoelse)
I Love LA
Recent headline in the NYT: “Why the LA Public Library Acquired a Book Publisher.” The owners of Angel City Press — a small, 32-year-old shop dedicated to LA-specific books that are “drenched in nostalgia but undeniably cool” (yessssss!) — were ready to retire so offered up the whole shebang to the local library system.
Challenge Accepted
From Newsletter Issue No. 17:
I like a new year — I think most people do, yes?
Emergency
The short stories in Kathleen Alcott’s debut collection Emergency are like the sorts of people who seem to exude way too much cool and bravado but then you have a conversation with them and you’re like, “Ok, I guess you’re maybe a normal person with typical self-conscious neuroses too.” But then once in a while their sense of coolness peeks through the whole aw-shucks routine and you wonder if it’s all really a charade after all.
The End of Drum-Time
One day while writing I fell down this massive rabbit hole and came across something called discrete emotion theory, which posits that everyone — regardless of culture or geography — has the same set of basic emotions. There are exceptions and nuances, though…mostly having to do with language, which is how I circled into this whole thing in the first place.
The Queen of Dirt Island
So, the cover art for The Queen of Dirt Island is deceiving. Yes, we all know not to judge a book by its cover, but … what, huh? I’m a huge fan of Donal Ryan, and when I collected this copy from the library I wondered if he had abruptly taken a treacly, romantic, sentimental turn. In fact, his writing — subject matter, prose, narrative style — has not transformed for the “worse”; it’s actually so great (and contemporary, as much of the book takes place in the 90s as opposed to the 40s vibe that the cover boasts) that I couldn’t get Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird out of my head.
Bookshelf Wealth
Here we go again! And here I am eating it all up!
I’m an Alum!
I ran by this guy the other day who was wearing a Tufts shirt. I was wearing a “Bowdoin Mom” shirt. (Yup, I am 100% that dork who wears “Mom” shirts from my kids’ schools.) This is likely meaningless to you if you’re not familiar with a certain subset (or “milieu,” because let’s face it, “milieu” is probably an apt word choice in this case) of small colleges. As I approached this young guy, he smiled really big, pointed at his shirt, and then pointed at mine. I knew exactly what he meant: One way or another, there was a tacit agreement that we A) understood a certain culture and were both part of it, and B) were currently situated outside that culture. Then I made it more confusing because right as we passed each other I took my ear bud out (why?) and pointed more aggressively at his shirt and said, “I’m an alum!” probably way too loud. (Let’s also spend a minute envisioning the other people who may have been around who all of a sudden heard only “I‘m an alum!” punctuating the relative silence.)
American Fiction
Is the novel always better than the book? This could easily have been a question cleverly slotted into the movie American Fiction — and it is, kinda, in a meta sort of way — but the film also does an awesome job addressing: book festivals, literary awards (and their judges), what constitutes a “Black book,” and the marketing/pandering-to-audience/money rigmarole of the publishing industry.
Prophet Song
Have you ever had an intensely negative visceral reaction to a book?
I wouldn’t normally say publicly if I did, but Prophet Song by Paul Lynch (which just won the Booker) is my answer.
Kantika
I’ve always been fascinated by my family’s history — the lore, the movement from one place to another, the individuals whose quirks (either good or bad) become mythologized in some broad-brush kind of way. There’s nothing particularly dramatic or unusual about my history, but family stories are usually the first kinds that we hear as a child, so we internalize and memorize them and grant them a bit of tidy morality lesson. Maybe you’re this way too?
Gen Z and Millennials to Libraries’ Rescue
According to a recent study released by the ALA (American Library Association), 54 percent of those surveyed in the Millennial and Gen Z cohorts responded that they had visited a library in the past year. Woohoo, great.
The Future is Just Around the Corner
“This is the present…the future is just around the corner.” A good message for a new year, yes?
Paju Book City
New Year’s Resolution (but not for 2024…that, I know): Go to Paju, South Korea.
This email subject from the NYT caught my eye this morning: “South Korea’s city of books.” Say no more…<open email.> I already want to go to Seoul, but how about a little side trip to Paju, which is just over 20 miles from the capital and “home to the nation’s elaborate book publishing hub”?
North Woods
A bit of …
Lincoln in the Bardo (George Saunders);
The Overstory (Richard Powers);
Hamnet (Maggie O’Farrell);
Her Perfect Symmetry (Audrey Niffenegger);
Swann (Carol Shields)…
People in Their Privacies
So much happens when we’re not looking. We’re unaware, tucked in, oblivious to life that is churning outside our door.
My parents were once discussing doorbell cameras with friends and someone said, “I’ll just say that maybe you really don’t want to know who’s wandering around in the middle of the night.” Yikes, but true…
Let Us Descend
And this is why Oprah is the queen. I mean, Jesmyn Ward is the queen. But they’re both the queens for different, but linked, reasons.
The Book Makers
Something that I used to post about more often was this idea of book-as-object.
* It was sometimes in a playful way: Are fake books ok décor? What about spines-in shelving? (FYI, I’ve cooled my jets on rainbowtizing shelves.)
* Sometimes in a “wow, humanity” way: Whose eyes were skimming this exact library book before mine? And what were they thinking?
* And sometimes in an archival way: I love the idea of antiquarian/rare books (watch the documentary The Booksellers!), but I am mostly happy just to own a bunch of beat-up paperbacks. Either way, the paper, font, cover art, and blurbs all point to a moment in time when a specific edition was printed. Add in readers’ penned-in notes and underlines and you have a perfect artifact.
