My Reading List: Books about books
A subscriber sneak peek
The list of books I plan/hope to read each month feels like insider information. First of all, if you know that I plan my reading life this much … you already know just a little too much about me. My reading lists hold so much of me: my hopes and dreams (and fears) and plans and goals. I read for growth and inspiration and fun and because I can’t make sense of the world any other way.
Because of (or despite) these reasons, I want to share my reading list each month with subscribers. These book lists won’t be curated, polished recommendations; instead, they’ll capture the topics I’m obsessed with at the moment and the rabbit trails that were too appealing to pass up. These lists will hold a curious, messy mix of fiction and nonfiction of many genres and themes, and somewhere between the lines, they’ll hint at what’s catching my imagination on fire and inspiring my own fiction.
I want my lists to inspire you, too. On the first day of each month, you’ll get a list that’s not only a preview of my reading life for the next few weeks but also a much more comprehensive look at the books I pick up than Goodreads will ever show. These lists will typically include:
A reading theme
A book pairing (or two)
A mix of other titles I can’t wait any longer to read
I wanted to send this very first reading list to everyone signed up for People Who Like Things emails. If you’re not yet a subscriber, I hope you’ll think about it.
As always, you can reach me directly any time by replying to this newsletter. Thanks for being here for this very first reading list, and I’ll see you around the inbox.
This is my private and personal reading list. Please glean what reading inspiration you can and then forget what you saw.
My October reading list: Books about books, intertwined lives (and more)
Reading Theme: Books about books
I kept noticing books about people who worked in bookstores, or about stories and their power over us, or about (in a very literal sense) books themselves as vital objects. These titles on my TBR list crystallized into this reading theme.
The Binding by Bridget Collins
The Library of the Unwritten by A.J. Hackwith
Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan
The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
If you’re intrigued by this reading theme, you could also check out The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern, The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow, and (of course) the Inkheart trilogy by Cornelia Funke.
If you’re looking for some delightfully bookish nonfiction, I’d recommend I’d Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life by Anne Bogel, an essay collection guaranteed to make every reader say “I thought that was just me?!” at least once. I also enjoyed reading the bookish memoir A Jane Austen Education: How Six Novels Taught Me About Love, Friendship, and the Things That Really Matter by William Deresiewicz earlier this year, and you can find that People Who Like Things recommendation here.
Book Pairing:
Eliza Starts a Rumor by Jane L. Rosen - I recently read Nine Women, One Dress by Jane L. Rosen and can only compare it to a very good chocolate truffle. Not the typical box of four nondescript chocolates that you can pick up in line at CVS — the good stuff, perhaps mail-ordered from the Swiss Colony catalog. In other words, it was absolutely delicious women’s fiction, a novel made up of the intertwined stories of nine women whose funny, sweet, captivating adventures hold just enough New York energy and old Hollywood-esque timeless glamour for enchantment. Suffice to say: I’m excited to pick up another Jane L. Rosen book.
Bailey’s Cafe by Gloria Naylor — Speaking of intertwined character lives, Gloria Naylor’s debut novel, The Women of Brewster Place, knocked me over almost from the first page. It’s a novel told in short stories, and I read it in two days. It’s one of those books where you can’t fully describe what it’s about, other than love and life and heartache and despair and hope, but you’ll never forget reading it. After finishing it, I knew I needed to read more of Naylor’s work as soon as my library could get it to my spot on the holds shelf. Bailey’s Cafe is billed simply as a novel “set in a diner where the food isn't very good and the ambiance veers between heaven and hell.” I can’t wait.
(and more)
The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune — I refuse to talk about how “good” this book is (according to many, many other readers) because at this point, I’m scared I won’t like it because my expectations are so high. Wish me luck.
Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law by Mary Roach — Mary Roach has a reputation for writing funny, fascinating nonfiction; topics of her earlier work include cadavers, Mars, and the afterlife. In this newest read, Roach takes a look at animals who crime. For obvious reasons, I need to read this ASAP and I’ve been waiting impatiently for my library hold to show up.
Dreadful Young Ladies and Other Stories by Kelly Barnhill — This book of short stories just came across my radar, and I can’t tell you if I was more sold on the title or the cover. I. Love. Weird. Short. Stories. I don’t yet know if I’ll love this specific book, but if you’re interested in recommendations for some of my favorite weird short story collections, you can check out this episode of Reading Like an Adult.