Birthday Book Recs 36/50 : Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout
Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout
Birthday Book Recs: 36/50
Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout
Well, well, well…how the mighty have fallen. Despite the somewhat hodge-podge nature of how books are displayed in our home — there is some semblance of reason or organization for maybe a quarter of them, tops — I’ve always claimed that not only do I have a strong idea of what books I own vs what I’ve borrowed, but also that I could find any book on this wall lickety-split.
I knew I wanted to include Tell Me Everything, the most recent novel by everyone’s favorite Mainer, for these Birthday Book Recs. (But word on the street is that she has a new one forthcoming?) Her novel Olive Kitteredge (this is the first Strout I read) won the Pulitzer in 2008, and Oh William! was shortlisted for the Booker in 2022, but I think Tell Me Everything is my favorite not only because it ties together so many characters, but also because what I think of as Strout’s “spiritual philosophy, accessible for all” is on full and glorious display. With this one, in particular, I felt like she was in my head. How can she put into words what I’m thinking and feeling?! I’ll never have the opportunity to do so, but I wonder what it would be like to be introduced to Strout via Tell Me Everything instead of, say, Anything is Possible. (So do it for me?)
Anyway, hello, it turns out I do not own this book. Twice, Matt spied me standing in front of all these books furtively staring. I just KNEW it was here somewhere! Maybe I was subconsciously trying to will it into existence. If I had just gone back and looked at what I had written in late 2024, I could have saved myself some time:
“Let me put it this way: I own only about half of Elizabeth Strout’s books, and some are on my Kindle. Once all our books are unpacked from storage and work is done on our house [amazing book wall incoming!], I will be buying physical copies of alllll her books. I could read Tell Me Everything, in particular, over and over. Collection worthy, for sure.”
MAJOR DOY. (But check out the socks I gave to 2 friends for Christmas. I don’t think they’re meant to channel Elizabeth Strout, but I mean…THESE are legit “reading socks.”)
You can find all my 50th Birthday Book Recommendations HERE.
originally published on instagram