A brand new reading guide and an unpopular opinion

Plus Lit Hub staffers best backlist books, Nikki Giovanni, and Florida book bans

Earlier this year, I wrote about the crisis I was having about public reading. While I love discussing books, writing reviews, and sharing my reading life here, this year I realized that I had begun to let the content I create drive my reading, rather than letting my reading drive the content I create.

This reading crisis helped me know it was time to retire my annual Fall Fiction Compendium and 2024’s guide will be the last of its kind that I release for the foreseeable future. But I received a lot of feedback that you all really enjoy reading guide-type projects where I compose blurbs and organize books in a way that helps you find books you may not have otherwise. I spent a lot of time thinking about what a project like this this might look like without becoming a determining factor for what and how I read.

And today I’m thrilled to tell you about…

A Mood Reader’s Almanac

For this comprehensive guide, I’m taking a look back at all the books I read in 2024 and organizing them in a way that will help you find great books all throughout 2025. This year I’ve been hearing from readers experiencing serious overwhelm in their reading lives. There are just so many books coming out all the time and the pressure to keep up with them can make us batty.

With that in mind, I wanted to create a guide that wasn’t all about putting brand new books on your radar, but instead about finding new ways to pitch you on great books I’ve reviewed previously. The Almanac will be about putting books in conversation with each other and helping you find the right books for the right time. There will be seasonal book lists, themed book pairings, recommendations by mood, and some special pages that have been so much fun to dream up and create.

My goal is for this to feel like opening the Scholastic Book Fair catalog when you were a kid. I want you to be able to pour over it, recognizing old favorites, remembering books you’ve been meaning to read, and discovering titles that have never crossed your path before. The Almanac will be released in mid January (exact date TBD) and I’m so excited to get it into your hands!

In the lead up to the launch of A Mood Reader’s Almanac and to celebrate the holiday season, I’m currently offering a 20% off annual subscriptions. Now is a great time to sign up for a year’s worth of newsletters. It gets you all past guides, the forthcoming Almanac, and weekly paid subscriber posts and book lists. I’d love to be a part of your reading life in 2025!

Alright, let’s get to the good stuff!

This week in books.

This week I read…

• Stoner by John Williams. I have been meaning to read this cult classic for years, and finally got around to it this month. This the story of William Stoner, a young man from a poor Missouri farm family who, as a college student, finds himself captivated by literature and leaves the world he came from to become an English professor. The novel follows him for the entirety of his life as he endures personal and professional upheaval with the occasional moment of joy along the way. I generally love lyrical explorations of quiet lives and I was expecting this to be a huge win for me, but it wasn’t. The writing is indeed stunning and the ending is undoubtedly one I’ll be thinking about for years. But while I found a lot to like in it, I also struggled with some of the choices, both in terms of content and style. Most of my issues of this book would get into spoiler territory so I’m contemplating writing a longer piece for those interested in my thoughts. What I can say is that I didn’t like the way Williams seemed to force the reader to constantly sympathize with Stoner and to paint him as a noble hero. (If you disagree with this reading, take it from Williams himself who said of his titular character, “I think he’s a real hero.”) The tactics he used to create these sensations were stifling, and I found myself chafing against them as a reader. I will also say that this book is beloved and that I have never gotten more Instagram DMs demanding¹ I explain myself as I did than when I shared my less than glowing thoughts in my IG stories. As mentioned, I might write more about why I didn’t love Stoner in a lengthier piece of literary criticism, or I might take my friend Mike’s advice and “just never speak of this again. Keep the mystery.” Only time will tell. Bookshop | Libro.fm

Now I’m reading…

• Still slowly making my way through this nonfiction on audio.

New on my TBR…

• I hadn’t planned on reading the new Garth Greenwell but multiple people have brought it up recently and I’m feeling like it might be a sign.

Quick interlude to remind you that a FictionMatters subscription makes a great holiday gift. I even have gift cards for you!

Links I love.

The Best (Old) Books We Read in 2024 (Lit Hub)

As much as I love a list, I always appreciate a real reflection more. Here are the NYT Book Critics on their year in books. (NYT, gift link)

Nikki Giovanni passed away this week. It’s a great time to pick up some of her exquisite poetry. (NPR)

I love Maureen Corrigan’s taste in books. (NPR)

The most banned books in Florida. (Electric Lit)

10 great biographies and memoirs. (NPR)

End Notes.

• Louise is obsessed with the movie Sing which is certainly annoying at times, but the fact that she now knows all of the words and sings along to “My Way” is undoubtedly worth the pain.

• I broke my no new things streak to purchase a pair of slippers—allowable because my old ones had massive holes. While I liked these Rothy’s a lot, this time I got a pair of Glerups and they are far superior. I got the shoe version and they are incredibly warm and it feels like my feet are being hugged all day long. (P.S. you know I’m being honest here because I do have a Rothy’s affiliate link but not one for Glerups 😂)

• I did a massive office straightening and am feeling very good about unhauling a lot of books and organizing my piles in a way that will help me with book club selections and selecting books for my Paperback Summer Reading Guide. A huge win after a year of severe disorganization!

Did you find your next great book or discover a new way to think about reading in today’s newsletter? Upgrade to paid to get even more recommendations and thoughtful explorations of the literary life.

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Happy reading!

Sara

1. Ok, many of these messages were genuinely curious and kind, but many others were indeed demanding and aggressive.