no. 8 a year in books
my journey back to reading, the best books i read this year, and what i'm excited about on my TBR. (plus: the one thing that's been helping my migraines).
Aesop Resurrection Aromatique Hand Balm: a friend gifted me a tube of this rich, luxe hand cream for my birthday. It’s warm, earthy and slightly spicy, and doesn’t leave your hands slimy. Most promising: in just a week it has finally offered relief to the dry cracking my hands suffer each winter.
The Culture Study Podcast: I have a deep admiration and respect for
the author of one of my favorite newsletters . rolled out this week with Why do Clothes Suck Now, an episode featuring one of my *other* favorites - Atlantic staff writer Amanda Mull, whose work focuses on consumer behavior, talking all about how clothes actually are terrible now. I am delighted for this podcast, and know it will be a fast favorite.While magnesium is commonly found in dark leafy greens, legumes and other vegetables, almost 48% of Americans don’t get enough magnesium. Magnesium deficiency is related to factors that promote migraine headaches, and research indicates that adequate supplementation may reduce the frequency and severity of migraine attacks. As a lifelong sufferer of migraines (which have made a recent, viscous resurgence in my life) I recently swapped my solid supplement with the Blue Lemon Magnesiu-om, as water soluble supplements are more readily absorbed. After a month and a half with multiple migraines a week, things are finally looking up. Bonus: it’s delicious and according to my whoop my sleep scores are also improving.
From childhood bookworm to a period of adulthood riddled with DNF’s and late fees, my journey as a reader has run the gamut. In this issue, I’m sharing the 40 books I read this year, and what I’ve got queued up for 2024. You can skip to the bottom to get straight to the lists, but if you do you’ll miss the Thoughts and Feelings™ portion of the issue, which I think is a great one.
In my youth, I was what could only be described as a prodigious reader. A treasured family photo pictures me sleeping peacefully, surrounded by piles of books in my crib. I picked up reading extremely early, devouring chapter books by the time I arrived in kindergarten. I found no use for phonics when I got there and was summarily shipped off to the library with a milk crate to pick out my own books, while my class learned to sound things out. In second grade, my new teacher called my parents, convinced I had been fabricating the books on my accelerated reading chart in order to read so many in such a short period of time. In fourth grade, I needed special permission to check out “advanced” books from the young adult section from the school’s library: by fifth grade, I finished them all.
In middle school, I joined a program reviewing new YA books for Little, Brown, and Company, which I continued through high school. In high school and college I opted into advanced lit and composition courses, while continuing to demolish multiple books a month for fun. After college and a relocation to Los Angeles, I joined the public library a few blocks from my house, visions of all the beach reading I would do swimming in my head. The harsh reality of my first year of working life was a triple digit late fee and more abandoned books than at any point prior in my life.
In 2018, fresh on the heels of a lay-off inspired existential crisis and journey of self discovery, it occurred to me that I had not read a meaningful number of books in years. I had picked up a few here and there, usually prompted by a cross country flight and the opportunity to finish uninterrupted, but in the years since college the number of books I was reading on an annual basis was definitely less than ten, probably less than five. I felt my ability to think, understand and digest crumble with every scroll of social: felt my ability to craft worlds with words crumbling, sandcastles made of stone as I reached unsuccessfully for the right words.
Bringing reading back into my life in a meaningful way became an obsession. I rejoined the public library in Seattle, downloaded Libby, opted in to a subscription audio service, utilized my ancient ipad exclusively as a kindle, slowly but surely re-establishing myself as a reader. I’ve been in a monthly book club since 2021, and this year I’m on track to finish almost 45 books. Certainly not a record, but decidedly a return to form, and more meaningfully, one that has brought me a substantial amount of joy, inspiration and meaning.
Especially this year, as I navigated the first year of my child’s life, with the late nights and long feedings and time on my own with nothing but a small person and the weight of my own thoughts, returning to reading has been such a gift, bringing perspective, entertainment and inspiration. So much so, that it even inspired my foray into this newsletter: The more I read, the more I was inspired to return in a meaningful way to writing, and the more I sought out other aspiring writers, finding substack in the process. Reading essays like “The Art I’ve Made of my Life” from
all all, cultural commentary like “we’re getting influencers all wrong” from , and deeply helpful writing resources like a Write Along Essay Camp from has sparked creativity and excitement I haven’t felt in years.So, without further ado, I am absolutely delighted to present my 2023 year in books. Much like my Spotify wrapped which hit at the deeply specific venn diagram of y’allternative (Noah Kahan, Kacey, Hozier) and The Year of The Barbie Movie (Taylor, Oivia, Billie), this year’s selection is *extremely* me. It covers the absolute spectrum of topics and genres, ranging from capital L Literature to smutty fantasy to academic analysis of the way the seven deadly sins contribute to the societal control of women.
Here’s hoping that this list sparks something in you just in time for your holiday season, and the unparalleled delight that is polishing off a whole book during vacation.
Okay that’s all, love you!
Notes: links here are from bookshop. All proceeds from Bookshop affiliate links in 2023-2024 will be donated to Reach out And Read, a Washington state nonprofit focused on providing education about reading at pediatric checkups to drive early literacy and language development.
Regardless of genre, topic or subject matter, these were my top five reads of the year.
Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel. ESJM is one of my favorite authors (along with Lauren Groff, and Jennifer Egan) and I love her specific genre of speculative fiction. I was deeply, deeply moved by both the book and the limited series Station Eleven, and I found Sea of Tranquility a really lovely continuation of those themes: examination of both the incredibly unique experience of living through a pandemic, of the passage of time, and of the desire and challenge of creating. My favorite book of the year, and a certain addition to the top ten all time.
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