Hey y’all! Have you been reading anything that we need to know about? Are you looking for new books from a specific genre? Drop your recs/wishes below!
ps: thank you to Brooke Dawsonfor recommending this thread topic!
I’m currently on “Braiding Sweetgrass” by Robin Wall Kimmerer, about the intersection of Indigenous ways of knowing with western science in the botany world -- it’s just gorgeous. A recent fave was “Wintering” by Katherine May, about the “winters” of our lives, and how to embrace those darker moments and emerge renewed in the spring.
LOVED Braiding Sweetgrass. It’s usually so hard for me to get through non-fiction and I did have to push myself a little, but what a beautiful book. I was gifted Gathering Moss and look forward to that one too.
I didn't expect to love this book as much as I did! Second this recommendation even if you don't think you're a "video game" person. Reminded me of Meg Wolitzer's sweeping narratives :)
I’m reading Ghosts in the Schoolyard by Eve Ewing, about racism and school closures in Chicago’s Southside. It’s really good but I have to do small sessions because it makes me emotional 😤
I read that last winter, it's so eye-opening and heartbreaking! A brother-in-law saw me reading it and assumed it was about school racism back in the 60's, he was surprised when I told him it was about the 2013 school closings! Very well written
I'm reading the Ex-Hex, so fair it's a fun rom com. I also recently read Circe which is the retelling of a Greek myth. I had never heard the myth so it was all new to me!
Have you read Miller’s “The Song of Achilles”? I read that one first, and just loved her version of the story. I’m reading “Circe” now and really enjoyed the part in Knossos. (I was an Ancient Studies major and spent time in Greece in college. Did a lot of research on Knossos 🥰
I listened to SONG OF ACHILLES until 72%. My library borrow expired and I just never went back to it. I figured I’d be really said when Patroclus dies. This was right before the pandemic, and I haven’t listened to or read any books with sad endings since 2019.
I read Ex Hex a few months ago and it was an adorable quick read! The author is part of a girl gang of writers who did a series of different witchy rom com books.
I just finished reading “The invisible life of Addie LaRue” it was it one of the most incredible books I’ve ever read. 10/10. There is supposed to be a movie adaptation in the coming future but not sure when!! I hope someone feels inspired to read it!
I really enjoyed reading Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson. A book about loss, pride, family secrets and how food (specifically black cake) connects and overcomes it all. I’m currently reading, Convenience Store Woman.
Hi Emily, I would love some recommendations if you could help me out! I have just commented asking if anyone could suggest something for me based on my interests. This is what I said:
If anyone could recommend a book to me that would make me feel passionate about reading again, I would really appreciate it! I have always been an avid reader but I've found it really hard to focus my attention on books in the last couple of years. I'm a big fantasy/sci-fi nerd, I'm not big on romance in novels unless it's very nuanced and progresses slowly and organically (Pride and Prejudice, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Jane Eyre are my favourite classic novels and I adore the way they develop characters).
Adding on to Braiding Sweetgrass (which is such an incredible read), I just finished The Sentence by Louise Erdrich. It gives some native history about the Minneapolis, MN area and tells a really charming story about a ghost that haunts a bookstore in the city. Bonus points because the bookstore is real, owned by Erdrich, and exactly as described! Visiting it was such a huge treat. I also loved Exit West by Mohsin Hamid -- if you like magical realism you'll love both of these books!
If anyone doesn’t know there are FREE audio and written books on the Libby or Overdrive app that you log into though your library. It’s excellent I use constantly
Libby is *great*. And, too tag on, the graphic novel reading experience on Libby and Kindle has improved dramatically. I tried about a decade ago and said never again, but now it's like walking through a story with your fingertips.
Mid-way through _Sea of Tranquility_ and it's excellent! An original story with compelling stories that feels very tightly written. I now need to read her other books!
The Telling Room by Michael Paterniti- I'm reading this for book club. It is a wild nonfictional story (with excessive footnotes, be prepared to use your brain!)
The Holiday Trap by Roan Parrish- a light, fun, updated, non-cis/het take on the romance novel
Goodbye to All That edited by Sari Botton- a devastating series of essays about leaving New York, but really about leaving behind your twenties and reckoning with the hopes/dreams that you carry
Rereading Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (lesbian necromancers in space!) and just finished Accidental Saints by Nadia Bolz-Weber which was a quick, thoughtful read on faith, hope, and compassion.
If anyone could recommend a book to me that would make me feel passionate about reading again, I would really appreciate it! I have always been an avid reader but I've found it really hard to focus my attention on books in the last couple of years. I'm a big fantasy/sci-fi nerd, I'm not big on romance in novels unless it's very nuanced and progresses slowly and organically (Pride and Prejudice, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Jane Eyre are my favourite classic novels and I adore the way they develop characters).
Sara Douglass is my favourite author ever. I would HIGHLY recommend her Axis trilogy and Wayfarer Redemption series', they absolutely changed the way I thought about myself and the world around me. She's an Australian author who unfortunately passed away in 2011. I have a signed bookmark from her that I will treasure forever.
If you’re looking for something to lose yourself in, I recommend House of Leaves by Mark Danieliewski. It is incredibly challenging but it changed my life. Incredible thriller and psychological horror book!!!
Currently starting Hell Bent, by Leigh Bardugo! Im a fan of dark fantasies, though I wasn't a huge fan of Ninth House honestly. I want to read Babel by R F Kuang next!
In the summer I read "Nothing to See Here" by Kevin Wilson. It's about these twin kids that spontaneously combust when they start feeling heightened emotion! It's a lil heartbreaking and very heartwarming and quick to read, it was so enjoyable. I recommend!
I’m re-reading the Lord of The Rings trilogy with a nephew and a friend’s kid. A lil book club! I haven’t read them since I was a teenager, so it’s been pretty special to introduce it to them.
Other recent books I’ve liked: The Newlyweds by Mansi Choksi; Bad Vibes Only by Nora McInerny; Start Here, Start Now by Liz Kleinrock. And all guests on my pod!
I just finished A Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers. It’s sci-fi, nice and short, and is the warmest hug of a book! I just started Her Majesty’s Royal Coven by Juno Dawson and it’s very fun so far!
Yes! I had never heard of her before reading A Children’s Bible but now I’m very excited to read her other works. I’ve only heard good things about her!
I recently finished listening to the audio book (slowed to (0.9x speed ... made the narration more pleasant IMO) of The Night Circus, and really enjoyed it!
Currently, I’m reading Other Terrors! It’s a diverse anthology that explores different short stories that explore the meaning of “otherness” from the perspective of those who are normally considered other (BIPOC, LGBTQ+, differently abled authors)
currently listening to Greedy: Notes from a Bisexual Who Wants Too Much by jen winston on audible! i find myself listening to her and being like yes! exactly that! how are u in my brain?! lol
Also looking for recommendations for rom coms and romance. I just realized I liked romance and need recommendations! Looking for light and fun reading--thanks!!
I live for "Beyond Beautiful" by Anuschka Rees. It talks about how the beauty industry invents flaws so they can sell you "cures". It changed my perception of how self worth is formed and made me ask myself why I never liked my looks (except for that one time I was a size 4 and literally didn't eat).
I also just finished reading "Moon of the Crusted Snow" by Waubgeshig Rice. I was looking for something with wintery/snowy vibes. It's written by a Canadian First Nations author. It was great! About a community living on a reservation when suddenly their satellite, power, etc go out and it starts blizzarding; apocalypse vibes, but I didn't find it strenuous on my mental health or anything. Very quick to read, I read it in 3 sittings. There were some nights during the week where I knew I couldn't start reading in the evening or else I would never go to bed!
So far this year I’ve read This is how it always is, I know this much is true, americanah and I’m currently reading the book theif. All are really good.
My favorite book of 2022 was "Great Circle" by Maggie Shipstead. I've been recommending it to everyone! Other recent favorites have been: anything by Emily St. John Mandel and Ruth Ozeki, "Nightcrawling" by Leila Mottley, and "Olgla Dies Dreaming" by Xochitl Gonzalez.
I loved Great Circle! Maggie Shipstead has a book of short stories out called "You Have a Friend in 10A." I haven't read it but love her writing style, so might be worth checking out. :) (ps - hello from another Claire)
Yes! "You have a friend in 10A" was great! I had a big Maggie Shipstead crush last year and read EVERYTHING she has written lol. "Astonish me" is another brilliant one!
My favs from last year were The Midnight Library by Matt Haig, True Biz by Sara Nović, and Finding Freedom: A Cook’s Story; Remaking Life From Scratch.
Midnight Library was just lovely, I love Matt Haig’s writing style. And I also believe in many different universes and also reincarnation which were themes in this book so it was just truly such a wonderful read.
I learned SO much from True Biz!! Super interesting to read all the different perspectives of characters with different types of deafness and how they each take in the world around them. Loved the breaks woven throughout that showed you how to sign different words. Truly fascinating!
Finding Freedom was nostalgic and heartwarming and tough. I don’t normally read memoirs but I read this and Crying in H Mart recently and just loved them. I loved all the imagery Erin set up in her writing. She vividly described her cooking and plating and restaurants.
If anyone wants to be good reads friends my name is the same on there!!
I’m loving “Braiding Sweetgrass” right now. It’s a beautifully written examination of how Indigenous ways of knowing and western science meet in the world of botany. The way she describes plants is just pure poetry ☺️
If you like history, Erik Larson's books read almost like novels. Dead Wake (about the tragic 1914 torpedoed ship Lusitania) was hard to put down, and In the Garden of Beasts (about the US Ambassador + his family in Berlin, 1933-35) was excellent too! Devil in the White City is popular too, I just have not had a chance. Happy reading!
I'm currently reading The House in the Cerulean Sea (thank you for the rec!) and am loving it.
Top five books of all time!
Such a beautiful book! This one still stands out to me.
LOVE that book - so many amazing quotes.
I’m currently on “Braiding Sweetgrass” by Robin Wall Kimmerer, about the intersection of Indigenous ways of knowing with western science in the botany world -- it’s just gorgeous. A recent fave was “Wintering” by Katherine May, about the “winters” of our lives, and how to embrace those darker moments and emerge renewed in the spring.
LOVED Braiding Sweetgrass. It’s usually so hard for me to get through non-fiction and I did have to push myself a little, but what a beautiful book. I was gifted Gathering Moss and look forward to that one too.
Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow!
I didn't expect to love this book as much as I did! Second this recommendation even if you don't think you're a "video game" person. Reminded me of Meg Wolitzer's sweeping narratives :)
That’s exactly how I felt! I kept thinking oh I’m not a video game person I don’t want to read it. And it was soooooo good.
One of my faves last year!
I'm also currently reading this!
this is on my list! It is perpetually checked out at my library, so just waiting my turn!
I’m reading Ghosts in the Schoolyard by Eve Ewing, about racism and school closures in Chicago’s Southside. It’s really good but I have to do small sessions because it makes me emotional 😤
I know that feeling!
I read that last winter, it's so eye-opening and heartbreaking! A brother-in-law saw me reading it and assumed it was about school racism back in the 60's, he was surprised when I told him it was about the 2013 school closings! Very well written
I'm reading the Ex-Hex, so fair it's a fun rom com. I also recently read Circe which is the retelling of a Greek myth. I had never heard the myth so it was all new to me!
Love Circe!
The Ex Hex was a PERFECT adorable lil rom com book when I read it last Halloween-time! <3
Have you read Miller’s “The Song of Achilles”? I read that one first, and just loved her version of the story. I’m reading “Circe” now and really enjoyed the part in Knossos. (I was an Ancient Studies major and spent time in Greece in college. Did a lot of research on Knossos 🥰
I listened to SONG OF ACHILLES until 72%. My library borrow expired and I just never went back to it. I figured I’d be really said when Patroclus dies. This was right before the pandemic, and I haven’t listened to or read any books with sad endings since 2019.
It was so good but I was SOBBING
I read Ex Hex a few months ago and it was an adorable quick read! The author is part of a girl gang of writers who did a series of different witchy rom com books.
Who else is in the girl gang? I LOVE Erin Sterling/Rachel Hawkins! I’ve read her Hex Hall series at least 5 times through over the last decade.
Well now *I* want to be in a girl gang of authors.
totally interested in this girl gang! I just googled trying to find out, and I discovered that she wrote "another" ex hex book called The Kiss Curse!
I really enjoyed Ex Hex but loved Kiss Curse even more!
The audiobook of Circe was phenomenal!
I just finished reading “The invisible life of Addie LaRue” it was it one of the most incredible books I’ve ever read. 10/10. There is supposed to be a movie adaptation in the coming future but not sure when!! I hope someone feels inspired to read it!
I really enjoyed the audiobook for that one, the narrator was so good!
I really enjoyed reading Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson. A book about loss, pride, family secrets and how food (specifically black cake) connects and overcomes it all. I’m currently reading, Convenience Store Woman.
I’m a high school English teacher and happy to recommend if anyone is looking for something to read ❤️
Hi Emily, I would love some recommendations if you could help me out! I have just commented asking if anyone could suggest something for me based on my interests. This is what I said:
If anyone could recommend a book to me that would make me feel passionate about reading again, I would really appreciate it! I have always been an avid reader but I've found it really hard to focus my attention on books in the last couple of years. I'm a big fantasy/sci-fi nerd, I'm not big on romance in novels unless it's very nuanced and progresses slowly and organically (Pride and Prejudice, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Jane Eyre are my favourite classic novels and I adore the way they develop characters).
Adding on to Braiding Sweetgrass (which is such an incredible read), I just finished The Sentence by Louise Erdrich. It gives some native history about the Minneapolis, MN area and tells a really charming story about a ghost that haunts a bookstore in the city. Bonus points because the bookstore is real, owned by Erdrich, and exactly as described! Visiting it was such a huge treat. I also loved Exit West by Mohsin Hamid -- if you like magical realism you'll love both of these books!
Love Songs of W.E.B. DuBois, very good!
One of my favorites from last year!
If anyone doesn’t know there are FREE audio and written books on the Libby or Overdrive app that you log into though your library. It’s excellent I use constantly
Libby is *great*. And, too tag on, the graphic novel reading experience on Libby and Kindle has improved dramatically. I tried about a decade ago and said never again, but now it's like walking through a story with your fingertips.
Just finished the Bookish Life of Nina Hill. I’m on my fluffy, mind candy book phase. Nothing super substantial, just fun fiction. 😊
I'm also in this phase
I really enjoy Abbi Waxman's writing - would also recommend Adult Assembly Required!
Oooh, I’ll rent that one. I really like her writing too. I’m now reading her book the Garden of Small Beginnings.
Just read Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison. Now Sula by her. Anything by Toni Morrison is brilliant work.
Mid-way through _Sea of Tranquility_ and it's excellent! An original story with compelling stories that feels very tightly written. I now need to read her other books!
Everything she writes is magic!!
I highly recommend the book Lost and Found by Kathryn Schulz. It's a beautiful collection of creative non-fiction short essays.
Yes! I loved this book too.
The Telling Room by Michael Paterniti- I'm reading this for book club. It is a wild nonfictional story (with excessive footnotes, be prepared to use your brain!)
The Holiday Trap by Roan Parrish- a light, fun, updated, non-cis/het take on the romance novel
Goodbye to All That edited by Sari Botton- a devastating series of essays about leaving New York, but really about leaving behind your twenties and reckoning with the hopes/dreams that you carry
I'm reading Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell -- it's very good. An imagined retelling of Shakespeare's wife and family.
Rereading Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (lesbian necromancers in space!) and just finished Accidental Saints by Nadia Bolz-Weber which was a quick, thoughtful read on faith, hope, and compassion.
If anyone could recommend a book to me that would make me feel passionate about reading again, I would really appreciate it! I have always been an avid reader but I've found it really hard to focus my attention on books in the last couple of years. I'm a big fantasy/sci-fi nerd, I'm not big on romance in novels unless it's very nuanced and progresses slowly and organically (Pride and Prejudice, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Jane Eyre are my favourite classic novels and I adore the way they develop characters).
Sara Douglass is my favourite author ever. I would HIGHLY recommend her Axis trilogy and Wayfarer Redemption series', they absolutely changed the way I thought about myself and the world around me. She's an Australian author who unfortunately passed away in 2011. I have a signed bookmark from her that I will treasure forever.
If you’re looking for something to lose yourself in, I recommend House of Leaves by Mark Danieliewski. It is incredibly challenging but it changed my life. Incredible thriller and psychological horror book!!!
Currently starting Hell Bent, by Leigh Bardugo! Im a fan of dark fantasies, though I wasn't a huge fan of Ninth House honestly. I want to read Babel by R F Kuang next!
I just reread Ninth House in preparation for Hell Bent!! Can't wait. I love the way Leigh crafts her stories and her characters and her sentences.
In the summer I read "Nothing to See Here" by Kevin Wilson. It's about these twin kids that spontaneously combust when they start feeling heightened emotion! It's a lil heartbreaking and very heartwarming and quick to read, it was so enjoyable. I recommend!
emergent strategy by adrienne maree brown!!
I’m re-reading the Lord of The Rings trilogy with a nephew and a friend’s kid. A lil book club! I haven’t read them since I was a teenager, so it’s been pretty special to introduce it to them.
Other recent books I’ve liked: The Newlyweds by Mansi Choksi; Bad Vibes Only by Nora McInerny; Start Here, Start Now by Liz Kleinrock. And all guests on my pod!
I just finished A Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers. It’s sci-fi, nice and short, and is the warmest hug of a book! I just started Her Majesty’s Royal Coven by Juno Dawson and it’s very fun so far!
I just finished A Children’s Bible. A very quick, exciting, and thought provoking read!
Ooh is that Lydia Millet? I love her. I remember reading Oh Pure and Radiant Heart and being just gobsmacked.
Yes! I had never heard of her before reading A Children’s Bible but now I’m very excited to read her other works. I’ve only heard good things about her!
Her second book Dinosaurs is FABULOUS!
I recently finished "Her Body and Other Parties," which is an amazing collection of short stories.
I loved this one!!
Yes! So, so good!
Cannot recommend Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari enough!
I recently finished listening to the audio book (slowed to (0.9x speed ... made the narration more pleasant IMO) of The Night Circus, and really enjoyed it!
I also loved her book The Starless Sea
im currently reading The Book of Night by Holly Black!
My goal this year is to read, quote, most lesbian romances. Taking a break for Leigh Bardugo's Hell Bent, then back in the thick of it 😉
Currently, I’m reading Other Terrors! It’s a diverse anthology that explores different short stories that explore the meaning of “otherness” from the perspective of those who are normally considered other (BIPOC, LGBTQ+, differently abled authors)
currently listening to Greedy: Notes from a Bisexual Who Wants Too Much by jen winston on audible! i find myself listening to her and being like yes! exactly that! how are u in my brain?! lol
Also looking for recommendations for rom coms and romance. I just realized I liked romance and need recommendations! Looking for light and fun reading--thanks!!
I just read Lunar Love by Lauren Kung Jessen. It was really cute!
Currently reading Babel, but would love book recs for great memoirs!
Crying in H Mart by Michele Zauner was my favorite memoir from last year!
I live for "Beyond Beautiful" by Anuschka Rees. It talks about how the beauty industry invents flaws so they can sell you "cures". It changed my perception of how self worth is formed and made me ask myself why I never liked my looks (except for that one time I was a size 4 and literally didn't eat).
I also just finished reading "Moon of the Crusted Snow" by Waubgeshig Rice. I was looking for something with wintery/snowy vibes. It's written by a Canadian First Nations author. It was great! About a community living on a reservation when suddenly their satellite, power, etc go out and it starts blizzarding; apocalypse vibes, but I didn't find it strenuous on my mental health or anything. Very quick to read, I read it in 3 sittings. There were some nights during the week where I knew I couldn't start reading in the evening or else I would never go to bed!
I absolutely loved that book! A sequel is coming out soon -- Moon of the Turning Leaves, I think it's called.
no wayyy! i will be keeping my eyes out for it!
So far this year I’ve read This is how it always is, I know this much is true, americanah and I’m currently reading the book theif. All are really good.
I want to read:
Really good, Actually
River Sing Me Home
Atomic Habits
Traumata
This is how it always is was SUCH a great read!! I read it a few years ago and think about it often!
I absolutely loved it. 10/10 recommend for everyone to read! I just bought it for my bestie for her bday!
The Book Thief is one of my all time favorites
I just finished it and it is definitely one of mine as welll. Such a strong story.
For Non-fic I recommend Motherhood by Shelia Heti and Hatching by Jenni Quilter both are about deciding or deciding not to be a mother
Just finished People Person by Candice Carty-Williams, and am about to start Crying in H Mart
Crying in H Mart was one of the best books I read last year!! Hope you enjoy
I’m also about to start Crying in H Mart!
Midnight Rising by Tony Horwitz about John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry, WV. I'm mostly a non-fiction girl.
My favorite book of 2022 was "Great Circle" by Maggie Shipstead. I've been recommending it to everyone! Other recent favorites have been: anything by Emily St. John Mandel and Ruth Ozeki, "Nightcrawling" by Leila Mottley, and "Olgla Dies Dreaming" by Xochitl Gonzalez.
Agree about Emily St. John Mandel! I’ve been making my way through all of her books
I loved Olga Dies Dreaming! It had me roped in right from the beginning.
I loved Great Circle! Maggie Shipstead has a book of short stories out called "You Have a Friend in 10A." I haven't read it but love her writing style, so might be worth checking out. :) (ps - hello from another Claire)
Yes! "You have a friend in 10A" was great! I had a big Maggie Shipstead crush last year and read EVERYTHING she has written lol. "Astonish me" is another brilliant one!
My favs from last year were The Midnight Library by Matt Haig, True Biz by Sara Nović, and Finding Freedom: A Cook’s Story; Remaking Life From Scratch.
Midnight Library was just lovely, I love Matt Haig’s writing style. And I also believe in many different universes and also reincarnation which were themes in this book so it was just truly such a wonderful read.
I learned SO much from True Biz!! Super interesting to read all the different perspectives of characters with different types of deafness and how they each take in the world around them. Loved the breaks woven throughout that showed you how to sign different words. Truly fascinating!
Finding Freedom was nostalgic and heartwarming and tough. I don’t normally read memoirs but I read this and Crying in H Mart recently and just loved them. I loved all the imagery Erin set up in her writing. She vividly described her cooking and plating and restaurants.
If anyone wants to be good reads friends my name is the same on there!!
I’m loving “Braiding Sweetgrass” right now. It’s a beautifully written examination of how Indigenous ways of knowing and western science meet in the world of botany. The way she describes plants is just pure poetry ☺️
Check out From Here to There: The Art and Science of Finding and Losing Our Way. Also, Entangled Life.
You might also want to check out "The Overstory" by Richard Powers!
Oooo, maybe try "Eager" by Ben Goldfarb. A super engaging read about Beaver and their role in healthy ecosystems!
"All We Can Save" is upsetting but also uplifting. It's nonfiction but also very personal essays on climate change.
If you like history, Erik Larson's books read almost like novels. Dead Wake (about the tragic 1914 torpedoed ship Lusitania) was hard to put down, and In the Garden of Beasts (about the US Ambassador + his family in Berlin, 1933-35) was excellent too! Devil in the White City is popular too, I just have not had a chance. Happy reading!
My wild garden by Meir Shalev is good!
This is your mind on plants by Michael Pollan
What your food ate by David Montgomery and Anne Bikle