Books that feel like the end of summer
Plus more fall releases and a new translation of an old epic
Hey, readers!
This week my husband and I packed up the car and headed east with Bingley, my podcasting gear, and a month’s worth of books. We’re visiting family on Long Island and in D.C. for most of September and, while the drive was quite long, the change of scenery is wonderful. I’ve got a lot of projects happening at the moment, including of course my extensive reading for the Aspen Literary Prize, but I’m trying to treat this week as a real vacation by setting my phone and computer aside as often as possible and picking up some true beach reads!
And speaking beach reads, schedules, and changes, there will be one small change coming to these newsletters in the coming weeks. Because both of our schedules have gotten a little busier, Michelle (my wonderful intern and former student) and I will be trading off sharing our week in books for the next couple of months. That’s going to help me a ton because so much of what I read is for Aspen Words, which means I can’t share much about it yet. But hopefully in two weeks time, I’ll have some non-submission books to share! And once my role is over at the end of October, I’ll be back to sharing weekly reads with you here!
This week in books.
This week I read…
Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi*. Gyasi’s first book was epic in its reach, and this one is microscopic in comparison. Somehow it is just as powerful as her debut and her writing has only gotten better. Amazon | Bookshop
Little Gods by Meng Jin*. Jin pieces together a family’s story through a non-chronological timeline and multiple perspectives. Somehow she creates a remarkably intimate portrait of these broken and beautiful people. Amazon | Bookshop
The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi*. Emezi’s writing is beautiful and haunting and I haven’t stoped thinking about this story since I set the book down. Amazon | Bookshop
Untamed by Glennon Doyle. In this book, Glennon Doyle recounts the story of falling in love with a woman and leaving her toxic marriage for this new relationship. Doyle’s two previous books are grounded in Christian spiritual identity and her second is about making her marriage work after her husband admitted to infidelity. I hadn’t read either of these precursors, but I did enjoy learning about Glennon and how she’s made sense of the changes in her life since writing those books. I’ll admit that I have a hard time reviewing books that are intended to be inspirational. Either you will find this helpful and inspirational, or you won’t. I didn’t think this book was particularly revolutionary and it didn’t hit me hard like it has for other readers. But that’s not to disparage the book…I think this could be a world-changing read for many women, it just wasn’t for me. Amazon | Bookshop
*These books were submissions for the Aspen Literary Prize. Due to my participation on the selection committee, I will not be able to fully review these works until the long list is announced.
Now I’m reading…
Thin Girls by Diana Clarke. I started this a while ago and put it aside, but I picked it back up this morning. The writing is pretty good, but I’m just not feeling grabbed by the story yet. Amazon | Bookshop
The Bright Lands by John Fram. I don’t read a lot of horror novels (I think this is horror although at the point I’m at it’s more mystery/thriller), but so far this one is giving me Friday Night Lights meets Stranger Things vibes and I’m here for it. Amazon | Bookshop
3 books that feel like the end of summer.
I love that end of summer feeling. The days are still long and hot, but there’s the sense of an ending hanging in the air. I know many people—myself included—feel like the start of fall is a new beginning, which makes the final days of summer the close of something else. Here are three books that capture that feeling.
The Year I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han. For a coming-of-age story about the magic a single summer can have on the life of a girl. Amazon | Bookshop
The Burning Girl by Claire Messud. For an intoxicating novel about the power and intensity of teen friendships and the pain of first losses. Amazon | Bookshop
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. For a classic the simultaneously evokes the oppressive late summer heat and the crisp fresh feelings of fall. Amazon | Bookshop
Bookish reading.
This essay by Jesmyn Ward about losing her husband to Covid is stunning and an absolute must-read.
Check out the 19 fall releases the Vulture editorial team is most excited to read.
Read it Forward’s assistant editor Jess is moving on to a new job. As a parting gift, she shared her favorite books of all-time.
I adored Maria Dahvana Headley’s book The Mere Wife and I can’t wait to read her translation of Beowulf (I never thought that would be a sentence I’d type…).
Read about the history of Mulan from ballad to movie.
Vulture’s Rebecca Alter read the new Twilight book so we didn’t have to.
Novel Pairings.
This Tuesday we’re releasing our episode on The Great Gatsby! It may very well be our most anticipated discussion yet, and we both had so much fun digging deep into the text and discussing why we think this is the quintessential text in American high schools. I think you’re going to love this one!
The following week, we’re blowing up your to-be-read lists and sharing our most anticipated fall releases with backlist pairings.
If you haven’t subscribed to Novel Pairings, yet, now is the time! Find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, and wherever you get your podcasts!
And if you already love Novel Pairings and need more, be sure to check out our newly launched blog. This is where you can find shownotes, bonus pairings, book lists, teaching tips, and more. We are so excited to have another platform where we can put great books into your hands
End notes.
Watching: Fall episodes of Gilmore Girls
Listening: The Allusionist podcast. It’s making my word nerd heart very happy.
Making: A mini-podcast to share with my Patreon community. Patrons will get access to a Ranked Reading Recap podcast where I share every book I read each month and crown the best of the bunch. I’ve been putting the August outline together and I’m so excited to share the first episode! Join me on Patreon to get access to that and much much more!
Loving: Read an entire book in a single day. I rarely get to do that, but at the beach it’s suddenly possible!
Readers, thanks for spending another Sunday catching up on books with me. I hope all of you U.S. readers are enjoying a safe and relaxing Labor Day weekend! For questions, comments, or suggestions, please don’t hesitate to reach out by emailing fictionmattersbooks@gmail.com or responding directly to this newsletter. Michelle and I love hearing from you!
And 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
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