Guys, I am tired. Dog tired. Ruff ruff. This is the long, arduous week that is Christmas-New-Year’s fugue state. I am Artax sinking into the Swamp of Sadness. I want to sleep, no, slumber. I do not want to write another word.
But I will!
I’ve got (free) lights to keep on and a (nonexistent) deadline to meet!
The books are linked to my favorite indie bookstore in Charlotte because screw Jeff Bezos! (As I add lightbulbs to my cart.)
Happy Hour by Marlowe Granados
This list is no particular order, but Granados’ debut novel might be my favorite book of the year. She is also a great Instagram follow. It’s Breakfast at Tiffany’s (not the film) meets Lena Dunham (without the cringe and entitlement) meets that one girl from high school that you still follow on Instagram who has some dubiously chic life in New York City. It’s a book about a set of girl friends who plan to not work and have endless fun doing so. So aspirational! Our main character flirts with the glamorous and dubious lives of the rich and famous, and she does so with more charm than all of ‘em combined.
Empire of Pain by Patrick Radden Keefe
Hello, I am over the age of thirty, and I like to read nonfiction. My favorite nonfiction to read are celebrity memoirs and drug books. I love reading about drugs. I wanna know how it is made and distributed. I wanna know how it feels to be on said drugs. Despite the Hollywood misconceptions we all have about drug culture, I do think it is productive to read about them from a sympathetic and realistic perspective especially in a post-Nancy Reagan era. We now know “just saying no” does not work and the criminality of drugs only affects the most vulnerable. Keefe’s extensive research into the opioid crisis and the involvement of the Sackler family is eye opening, to say the least.
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
I am now in my Post Plath Phase. For many years, I considered myself above the discourse. Pigeonholing her readers as “that girl” types, but I am brave enough to admit when I am wrong. Plath’s pseudo-autobiographical Esther Greenwood is deeply flawed and insufferable, but she is, also, extremely funny and heartbreaking. It’s definitely not the kind of book that will bring you out of a depressive cloud, but it’s there when you feel like looking back on those times.
A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J Maas
Sexy fairies having sex and doing magic. That is the best way to describe Sarah J Maas’ A Court of Thorns and Roses series (her entire work, to be exact). I’ve read Maas for years, and I would not necessarily consider it intellectually stimulating, but damn it if I don’t look forward to every single new book release. I would consider this fourth installment the best of all her writings because I am particularly fond of the characters who are the focus.
Object Lessons by Anna Quindlen
A true dark horse. I picked this book up at random at my favorite used bookstore despite my ignorance of plot and author. I read it over the summer, and I was absolutely charmed by it. A well plotted and written coming of age story about a young girl on the precipice of womanhood and the complicated relationships within her Irish, Catholic family.
The Wreckage of My Presence by Casey Wilson
I have been a diehard Casey Wilson fan since Happy Endings. She is best known for her supportive roles and for cohosting the podcast BitchSesh, so I was very excited for her collection of essays. Let’s be honest, a lot of celebrities “write” memories, and most of them are not very good, but Wilson is the real deal. Truly, one of the funniest books I have every read. You will laugh and weep. What could be better?
Adding all of these to my StoryGraph TBR shelf 🤪