Today’s post is too long for email and is best read in a web browser or in the Substack app.

Okay, readers, after months of build-up, we are finally entering the time period of recognizable Great American Novels—the books we read in school or the ones we’ve always meant to pick up. Our collective enthusiasm and motivation might have dipped a bit in our Rhetoric and Revolution unit, but I hope you’ll find something in our Unit 3 syllabus that you are excited to read and discuss.

And for the first time in this project, we have a shared Touchstone Text to read collectively and help bring everything together. You can find more on that below, but this unit’s Touchstone Text is The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. This is a book I’ve wanted to revisit for myself since I stopped teaching it and one that bridges the Puritan ideals of Unit 1 with the Romantic sensibilities of Unit 3. Whether you’ve read it previously or will join me in a reading over the next two months, I’m so excited to discuss it with you! Unless there are many requests, I am not planning to create a scheduled read-along for The Scarlet Letter, however I will provide a kit with resources and reading questions in late May or early June for those planning to read it. Please let me know if you have a strong preference!

Housekeeping:

• There is now a This American Lit tab on the FictionMatters Substack homepage. You can access all past syllabi, unit discussions, and more from that tab.

• We have a PDF versions of the syllabi!! You all have requested PDF versions, and I’m happy to comply. You’ll the PDFs for Unit 1, Unit 2, and Unit 3 syllabi linked at the bottom of this newsletter.

This American Lit Unit 3: Romanticism, Reform, and the American Renaissance (1820s - 1860s)

The decades between roughly 1820 and 1865 produced some of the most extraordinary writing in the English language and gave birth to the American Novel. Emerson, Thoreau, Whitman, Hawthorne, Melville., and Poe are classroom staples and some of the first writers who come to mind of when we think of quintessentially American writers. This period gave shape to something we might start to recognize as a distinctly American literary voice—a voice that is expansive, obsessed with self-invention, concerned with the natural world, and highly focused on the self and the soul.

Read more

Read more

Hey readers!

Today’s questions are focused on the two short stories from our Unit 2 Capsule Syllabus: “Rip Van Winkle” and “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow” by Washington Irving. If you haven’t had a chance to read the stories, that’s okay! Today’s questions might be a good indicator to you whether you’re interested in diving into them or if these are texts you can opt out of. Both texts are available for free online. Personally, I think Sleepy Hollow is a more entertaining read while Rip is more pertinent to our discussion of American literature—perhaps that will help you choose if time is short!

There’s also an opportunity to answer questions about early American literature in general, so please don’t feel like you need to read either text to chime in. I love hearing what you’re reading and thinking throughout this project!

Read more

Read more

Today’s guest post is too long for email and is best read in a web browser or in the Substack app.

Hi Readers!

I’m Maddie Stough, an avid reader and big FictionMatters fan, stepping in this week with a guest post.

A Bit About Me:

I have known Sara for 6+ years, having first found her through the Novel Pairings Podcast and then I was a Day-One joiner of her Patreon and Substack Communities. I also support Sara with administrative and project help for the FictionMatters Patreon like book club notes and the Paperback Summer Reading Guide. I love reading fiction now, but I was a history major in college and have always had a soft spot for meaty historical non-fiction book.

In 2014 I started a project with my cousin (also a history major!) to read one biography of every U.S. President in chronological order. I started strong, but then sort of fizzled out (meanwhile my cousin finished in just a couple years…), but I was inspired to re-start after listening to the podcast Presidential, hosted by Lillian Cunningham, in the lead-up to the 2016 election.

Since then, I’ve read a handful of biographies each year, and since Sara’s This American Lit project is currently focused on the Revolution and Founding eras, we thought it would be fun to share some of my favorite reads of this project (so far) and also some biographies I’m most looking forward to.

The Presidency and the Presidents

The Presidency in the US was revolutionary in 1789 when the Constitution was ratified (Not a King!), and while a President is not unique in the world today, the US President has become a person with inordinate influence around the world. It has not always been the case, and this project has helped me see how significantly the office has evolved.

The biographies I’ve chosen thus far have also helped me see a broader context of the country over the last 250 years. While it feels like we’ve never been more divided, reading about the extreme regionalism in the early years, not to mention the stark divisions that led to the Civil War, remind me that this is not the only time our country has felt so disconnected and fractious.

How I Choose a Biography

I’m exactly halfway through the Presidential list, and I’m currently reading Benjamin Harrison (23rd President, 1889-1893). Some of the first 23 Presidents (well, really 24 because Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th President…) are more well known than others, and thus I had a plethora of options. With George Washington, I had literally hundreds of options to choose from. For others I had very limited choices both in volume and availability. Although I love a dusty old library book from time to time, I didn’t want to have to do InterLibrary Loans for the “definitive” biography of Millard Fillmore (13th President 1850-1853), for example, partly because those texts are TOUGH and partly because they are really old and honestly somewhat outdated. Because I’m looking for high-level information on the individual and their Presidency specifically, I have read several from the Presidential Biographies Series from MacMillan, which are quite condensed and contain limited commentary and historical context. But they definitely get the job done 🙂

For the well known presidents, I’ve tried to prioritize some of my favorite biographers and more recent publications. Ron Chernow, Jon Meacham and David McCullough are the giants, and I’ve read at least one by each, and plan to read several more. This field has historically been dominated by male authors, so if and when I can pick up a female author, I also try to prioritize that too. Authors (especially historians?!) always bring a bias to their work, and while I tend toward certain authors, I do also appreciate having a variety of perspectives, so I will try to keep working in new authors to this project instead of just reading every David McCullough that exists.

When possible, I prefer audiobooks for my non-fiction, especially for this project. I’m not reading these to write a research paper nor even to appreciate beautiful writing; I want to learn about the man, his life, his leadership (or lack thereof) and his time in office. I have found audiobooks - even very long ones - are the best way for me to absorb what I need to (and breeze through what I don’t!) So far, 13 of my 23 books for this project have been on audiobook.

Finally, I have relied on the great work of Stephen Floyd, who started his own journey in this arena around the same time as my cousin and me (I believe this is where my cousin got the idea!). He has read multiple biographies of each President and done fantastic commentary that has helped me decide what to pick up if I’m debating.

Ok, onto the books!

Maddie’s Best Presidential Biographies

(These aren’t necessarily my favorite presidents, but a good biography certainly helps boost them in my ranking…which I definitely have in a Notes app. Currently Grant is #1 and Andrew Johnson is dead last…and he will likely remain there for a while).

Read more

Thank you all for such a wonderful beginning to This American Literature. I have so enjoyed hearing about what you’ve read (or are reading) as part of Unit 1 and so many of the ideas and questions you’ve put in our comments are going to serve us well as we move into the next unit.

I hope that you are enjoying the self-paced, self-directed nature of this project. I know personally the freedom to really deep dive into the topics that fascinate me and move quickly through those that are not calling to me is necessary, but I also understand that this feels different than the traditional Substack readalong. Throughout the year, we will have a blend of both, but if the format or pace feels challenging, please reach out! I’m happy to tweak things as we go to better suit the community.

Housekeeping:

• There is now a This American Lit tab on the FictionMatters Substack homepage. You can access all past syllabi, unit discussions, and more from that tab. Thanks to a reader suggestion (shoutout to Anne!), I will also be creating a This American Lit index/central hub to house links to every post, overarching guiding questions, etc. Keep an eye out for that!

• We have a PDF versions of the syllabi!! You all have requested PDF versions, and I’m happy to comply. You’ll the PDFs for Unit 1 and Unit 2 syllabi linked at the bottom of this newsletter.

This American Lit Unit 2: Rhetoric and Revolution (1750s - 1820s)

The Revolutionary period is the moment America stops being a collection of colonies with a vague shared identity and becomes, at least on paper, a nation with a declared set of values. And those professed values are genuinely extraordinary. The rhetoric of the Revolution—liberty, equality, natural rights, government by consent—was pretty radical in 1776!

But here’s the question that I can’t stop thinking about and that I hope will guide your reading this unit: who is the “we” in “We the People?”

Read more

Read more

If you’d like to join this ongoing project, upgrade to a paid subscription to access all of Unit 1 and get the remaining Units delivered to your inbox throughout the year!

Subscribe now

I have been thoroughly enjoying my This American Lit reading and—most of all—reading the comments you all have left in the Unit 1 Discussion Board. These conversations are why projects like this are so exciting…you’re picking up on ideas and asking questions I wouldn’t have thought to. I love how we’re all bring our own interests, worldviews, and experiences while exploring the same big picture questions about the story(ies) of America.

In today’s post, I’m sharing some of what I’ve been thinking about in my own This American Lit reading as well as offering some additional ideas for Deep Dives, TAL projects, and big picture questions courtesy of this brilliant community. Throughout the year, I’ll continue to share posts like this that contain my own observations, but also loop in the comments and ideas you all are bringing to our discussions so we can continue to learn from each other.

Some housekeeping notes:

1. You all have asked for each unit syllabus to also be available as a PDF and I’m working on it! I’ll share the Unit 1 PDF as soon as it’s done and plan to release each syllabus as a PDF in addition to the Substack post for future units.

2. There is now a This American Lit tab at the top of the FictionMatters Substack homepage. From that link, you can access all of the available TAL materials. Hooray!

3. I haven’t been in the Discussion Boards as much as I have wanted to be for this unit because of our move, travel, and some ongoing family health issues, but I hope to be more present going forward. Thanks for understanding and for offering such rich discussions amongst yourselves!

4. One of the things I’ve loved has been hearing about the additional books, projects, and Deep Dives you’re adding into your own TAL year. Please keep them coming! I’ll be highlighting some of your additions with the whole group so we can keep learning from each other. While I’m the facilitator here, I truly believe that we all can learn from each other so please don’t hesitate to add onto or alter what I’ve shared!

Read more

Read more

Welcome to Unit 1 of This American Literature! Who’s ready for some Puritan drivel?!

In all honesty, I have been chuckling about these comments to myself all week (thank you, Amy and Laura!!) because it is so astute and so relatable! As a student, but even more as a teacher, the early weeks of an American Literature course are hard. You want to get into books—into literature!—and nothing crushes the momentum and joy in a classroom like a speech called “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.”

And yet for the purposes of a project like this, a project where we are investigating the way language and literature have shaped and challenged American myths and ideologies, we cannot skip the Puritans. They are essential to the United States’ understanding of itself. This is a group of settlers who saw themselves as God’s chosen people. Americans are taught that the Puritans were fleeing religious persecution and this isn’t entirely untrue, and yet the Puritans were not at all in favor of religious freedom. They didn’t want to be persecuted for their religious beliefs but more so they wanted enough power to be able to persecute others when they disagreed.

These foundations of exceptionalism and persecution continue to simmer in American ideology—not to mention that countless American orators have referenced verbatim these early Puritan speeches.

But don’t fret! I promise I have genuinely enjoyable reading in this syllabus. We’ll dip our toes into a few essential primary sources as well as some fiction and nonfiction that helps make sense of this time period. Of course, we’ll also look at pre-colonial Indigenous work and some early bestselling American memoir and poetry.

You can scroll down to find the syllabus, but since this is our kick-off unit, I do have a bit more groundwork to get us started.

My plan for this project is to provide you (and myself!) with a six unit syllabi over the course of the year—one unit every two months. Every other month, paid subscribers will get a syllabus that is organized both chronologically and thematically. These syllabi are intended as choose-your-own-adventure independent studies. I am not “assigning” you these texts and you don’t have to do all of the reading to participate in this ongoing project. Instead, I am providing you with some ideas for how to approach each time period of American literature and sharing what I’m reading as part of my personal This American Lit project.

Throughout each two-month unit, I will share 2-3 additional posts corresponding to that unit. Depending on the texts and topics, these might include close reads, readalongs, resources lists, Friday Mood Recs, or discussion posts. Every unit will end with a discussion thread where we can share what we individually read and learned from our reading.

Subscribe now

Here’s what you’ll find in each unit syllabus:

1. Guiding Questions - While I am organizing This American Lit chronologically, each unit has clear themes that I want us to explore. The guiding questions will help us stay on track with our big picture examination of the ways that American literature has shaped the American narrative and provide thematic frameworks for each historical period.

2. Historical Contexts - I’m not a history teacher and this isn’t a history project, but historical context for each literary movement is both interesting and important. Over the course of this year, I will be working my way through America, América by Greg Grandin to gain historical context with a new perspective. For those interested in reading this alongside me, I will share the corresponding chapters from America, América for each unit, as well as several other history books and resources I’ve enjoyed.

3. Capsule Curriculum - I’m a busy person and you are busy people. We can’t possibly read everything from any given literary movement or time period, even if we wanted to and often…we won’t want to. Each capsule curriculum is designed to highlight what I believe are the essential texts for understanding each period of American Literature.

4. Deep Dives - You all love a reading project, so you can think of these as projects within our project. Each unit will include at least two Deep Dives where I suggest ways to go even deeper into a particular theme, topic, author, or idea by putting a variety of texts into conversation with each other.

5. Choice Reads - The first couple units of American Literature are light on the literature—enter Choice Reads. In this section, I’ll round up contemporary literature that’s either set during the time period we’re in or exploring the themes we’re examining.

6. Extended Syllabus - For my maximalists or folks who want to poke around in various directions, I’ve rounded up even more reading material for each unit.

Read more

Here we are in January 2026 marking five years since insurrectionists stormed the United States capitol and currently in the midst of a resurgence of full-fledged American imperialism. Truly, there’s never been a better time to collectively ponder…how did we get here?

Enter This American Lit. This is my own personal reading and thinking project that I’m embarking on and inviting you into for the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. Over the course of the year, I’ll be examining how American literature has continued to shape and define the idea (ideal?) of America and what it means to be American—because nations are narratives after all.

Every two months, I’ll be featuring a unit defined both by time period and thematic question. For each unit, I’ll share a syllabus for paid subscribers with a capsule selection of primary and secondary texts that help us understand the prevailing ideologies of the time and how they continue to impact our thinking today. I’ll also share the new-to-me books I’m reading from and about each time period and topic. Throughout each unit, I’ll write a handful of reflections on my own reading and thinking and invite you into conversation through discussion questions. I’ll sprinkle some readalongs in along the way, but in its entirely This American Lit is more of an independent study kind of project, with a bunch of curious readers interested in putting some of these foundational texts into conversation with each other and with our modern cultural landscape.

Subscribe now

So where do we start?

This is a fraught question in the study of American Literature (and one that we will engage with in depth when the Unit 1 syllabus publishes on Friday, January 16th) but “where do we start” is also a complicated question when it comes to project open to all and organized by one. I’m coming from a particular background having taught American Literature to high schoolers for nearly a decade, but I myself don’t feel like an expert in the field at all—hence my interest in diving deep this year. As for participants, we come from all over the nation and the world, each bringing our own experience, expertise, and perspective. What I think of when I hear “American Literature” might be wildly different from what comes to mind for you.

So where do we start? Today, we’re starting with a series of questions. Whether or not you anticipate rigorously participating in this project, I would love for you to tell me a bit about your own ideas of American Literature. Here are my questions:

1. What (if any) American texts do you remember studying in school as a teen? If you’re willing to share where you went to high school, that would be fascinating too!

2. What book(s) comes to mind when you think about quintessentially American texts?

3. What American novels or authors have you always wanted to read, but haven’t yet gotten to?

4. What questions about American literature would you like to explore together this year?

Your responses will help me figure out what books I want to make sure I encounter as part of this project and continue to plan our year of reading together.

Thanks for reading and thinking alongside me this year. I can’t wait to find out what we discover together!

Leave a comment

For questions, comments, or suggestions, please don’t hesitate to reach out by emailing fictionmattersbooks@gmail.com or responding directly to this newsletter. I love hearing from you!

This email may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through the links above, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.

If you enjoyed today’s newsletter, please forward it to a book-loving friend. That’s a great way to spread bookish cheer and support the newsletter!

Happy reading!

Sara

Get 20% off forever

***Note: I believe Substack automatically limits this deal to new paid subscribers with no option to override on my end. You can still take advantage of this offer by canceling your subscription and resubscribing BUT you should only do this if you are a monthly subscriber or your annual subscription is about to end as canceling your current subscription is effective immediately and forfeits the remainder. Sorry for the inconvenience! Additionally, I recommend upgrading your subscription in a computer web browser rather than in the app. In app purchases come with additional fees paid to Apple or Google.

I know an annual paid subscription—or any paid subscription—isn’t right for everyone. As always, I hope I’m adding value to your reading life whether you subscribe at the free or paid tier, or just come by once in a while to check in.

Subscribe now

And if you are interested in upgrading your subscription, now is a great time. In the near future, you’ll get bonus best-of-the-year content, a special superlatives podcast episode with Liz Hein, and A Mood Reader’s Almanac coming in January. Throughout the year, paid subscribers get an extra Friday newsletter (typically filled with thematic book recommendations) and two podcast episodes per month: Ranked Reading Recaps and This Month in Books with Liz.

Additionally, I have a very exciting special project happening in 2026, which is my other big announcement for the day. In the new year, I am rolling out…This American Lit.

When I was hired out of grad school to teach high school English, I was given a teaching schedule of four sections of 11th grade American Literature and one senior elective. I was not thrilled about these assignments. I considered myself a Brit Lit kind of girl and almost nothing about the American Lit curriculum or rhetoric excited me. But one of the things good English teachers need to be able to do is teach any text—not just the texts we have been taught ourselves or love at first.

Over the course of that first year and the seven years total I taught these courses, I became enamored with American Literature and American literary history. One of my favorite aspects of reading is putting texts into conversation with each other and the condensed timeframe of American literary tradition means that’s easier to do—and much easier to do with students. And there is so much self-conscious myth-making and myth-breaking in American fiction. As a nation that has been self-consciously created on a foundation of ideas, ideologies, and legends, it’s fascinating to look at the ways stories have added to the formation of what we now think of as America. In this present moment, we are still steeped in, pushing back against, subverting, and reacting to these foundational narratives.

All of this has been rolling around in my brain for years since leaving the classroom, and I’ve been wanting a way to explore these questions with more readers. Now, heading into the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, it feels like the time to tackle this together.

What is This American Lit?

This American Lit is a year-long exploration of the ways American literature has and continues to influence the idea of America. While I will spotlight fantastic texts, this isn’t intended as a pure celebration of the American Literature canon. Instead, I want to create a space where we examine the ways that the books we read affect what we think it means to be American, the ideas and ideals this nation professes to value and values in practice, and the American identity projected at large. We’ll also look at the ways authors today are working within this tradition and upholding or subverting those narrative forebears.

Our year-long adventure will be a look at literature and ideology—not to crack the codes of books looking for their hidden political messages, but in the understanding that ideology shapes literature and literature shapes ideology. We’ll look back at some of the exceptional books that make up the Am Lit canon, uncover authors who deserve more attention, and put books into conversation with other media.

Why now?

The easy answer is that 2026 marks 250 years since the Declaration of Independence and the founding of the United States of America.

The complicated answer is that the concept of Americanness is always fraught, and currently, powerful politicians are trying to rewrite what it means to be American…both philosophically and legally. This feels, to me, like the right time to examine how we got here, knowing that the stories people tell about themselves have the power to shape reality for good and for ill. We will bring a close reader’s critical eye to the long-lasting narratives that have been used to define this nation through exercises of inclusion and exclusion, considering the ways books can both build and shatter borders.

What can you expect?

To be honest, a lot of this is going to unfold naturally over the course of the year. This is a first for me but I’ve worked on similar projects enough to know that there will be a lot I’ll figure out as we go. Additionally, I want this to be very community focused, so I hope to be influenced by your interests and expertise as well.

Here is what I’m developing so far:

• A year’s worth of American Literature syllabi organized by chronology and literary movement. As of now, I’m planning to release these every other month for paid subscribers. These will be designed for self-study and á la carte reading projects.

• Community threads and discussions. I’ll offer discussion opportunities to have conversations about specific texts and literary movements, but also broader questions about the Am Lit canon and the concepts that spark our interest.

• Readalongs. You all have asked for more of these following our Possession readalong this year, and I’m happy to oblige! In 2026, we’ll tackle a couple classic American texts together.

• Interviews and Q&As. I would love to talk to readers and writers as part of this year-long project to get a variety of voices and perspectives in the mix. If you have ideas or want to participate, please let me know!

• The option to add Lit Circles. I continue to get requests to offer courses and next year is the year! I will be offering a handful of This American Lit Zoom seminars, or Lit Circles, throughout the year. These classes will be thematic explorations of an Am Lit topic in which we close read and discuss 2-3 texts together, lead and facilitated by me. I will be announcing the first Lit Circle, sharing more details, and opening enrollment in January. Spots will be limited and Patreon members and paid Substack subscribers will have the opportunity to purchase and enroll first and with a discount code. I will then open the course to all until spots are full. I can’t even tell you how excited I am about this!! I miss teaching and course design. I have been thinking about this idea and talking about it with book friends for literal years, and while I’m a little scared to share it now, I’m also thrilled to finally be putting it all together.

What will happen to the other content you enjoy?

Nothing! This American Lit will only replace 1-2 newsletters each month, so if this year-long exploration is not for you, there’s still plenty to enjoy. For example, I may swap out one Friday Mood Recs list for a This American Lit syllabus or one Reading in Public essay for a TAL discussion thread, but those regular series will still be the main event. Sunday posts will remain free and exactly the same. Books That Matter episodes will continue as well, and I have some very exciting interviews lined up already!

What will be behind the paywall?

Syllabi and readalongs will be for paid subscribers because they are a lot of work! I’m hoping to keep discussions open and to sprinkle in some additional This American Lit content (such as interviews) for free subscribers throughout the year. Free and paid subscribers will have the opportunity to purchase and sign up for Lit Circles, but enrollment will open to paid subscribers and Patreon members first.

What if I’m in the FictionMatters Patreon but not a paid Substack subscriber?

I will be posting This American Lit syllabi on Patreon as well as on Substack, but discussion threads and readalongs will be hosted here on Substack. Patrons will have first access to and a discount code for Lit Circles, along with paid Substack subscribers.

Have additional questions or need a comped membership?

Leave a comment below with any questions or feel free to email me at fictionmattersbooks@gmail.com. I know things are harder than ever this year for many, so if this is a project that’s perfect for you, but outside of your budget, please email me and we’ll figure it out.

To get all of This American Lit and more for just $40, upgrade to an annual subscription!

Get 20% off forever

If you know someone who would love a year of reading with FictionMatters, consider gifting them a Substack subscription along with this downloadable card. Cards are printable and PDF fillable so you can hand deliver it to the reader in your life, or share it via email. Thanks for helping other readers find this corner of the internet!

One Year Fm

679KB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

Give a gift subscription

For questions, comments, or suggestions, please don’t hesitate to reach out by emailing fictionmattersbooks@gmail.com or responding directly to this newsletter. I love hearing from you!

This email may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through the links above, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.

If you enjoyed today’s newsletter, please forward it to a book-loving friend. That’s a great way to spread bookish cheer and support the newsletter!

Happy reading!

Sara