From the earnest and soulful to the ironically depraved

Plus anticipated 2025 books and a metaconversation on book reviews

I know many of us braced ourselves coming into 2025. While it felt good to close out last year and turn the page, I can’t say I’ve been feeling optimistic about anything other than the slew of good books coming out this year. But to begin the year with the devastation of the fires in L.A. feels unsettlingly apocalyptic and is a scary reminder of how essential effective climate action is going to be moving forward. If you haven’t yet picked up What If We Get It Right? by Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, there’s no time like the present to get inspired towards climate activism.

For my readers in L.A., I am so sorry for what you are experiencing. If you have Go Fund Me pages or specific requests, please feel free to share with this community or email directly (fictionmattersbooks@gmail.com) and I will amplify it.

In terms of books, my reading has been a little bit all over the place recently, and this newsletter is a pretty apt description of that. The two books I’m reviewing today certainly would never sit on a shelf next to one another, yet they both made for impactful reading experiences for me as the calendar turned. I mentioned last week that this year I’ll be saving my review writing for the books I have something useful or interesting to say about, so in addition to my featured reviews, I’m also sharing a smattering of other books I read recently. If you have questions about any of those, feel free to put them in the comments and I’d be happy to share more!

This week in books.

This week I read…

• Ordinary Time: Lessons on Staying Put by Annie B. Jones. Beloved bookstore owner and podcaster Annie B. Jones’ debut essay collection was the last book I read in 2024 and it was a lovely way to close out the year. What ties this collection together ostensibly is meditation on staying—staying in a place, a relationship, a faith, a disposition, etc.—but what really united it for me were Jones’ voice and worldview. This collection is unshakably earnest in its approach to life in a manner that is both refreshing and inspiring. Whether she’s writing about line dancing or The Babysitter’s Club or leaving her church or the decision to have children, Jones brings an intentionality of will and openness of spirit that serve as exquisite models for how to be in the world. As with almost any collection, there were essays that resonated with me deeply alongside some that made less of an impression, but it’s the overall ethos of Ordinary Time that I’ll remember and take with me into the new year. If you’re looking for a gentle, but serious read that examines and lifts up the ordinary, add this to your TBR now. Preorder on Bookshop | Preorder from The Bookshelf | Preorder on Libro.fm

• Rejection by Tony Tulathimutte. This collection of short stories is exceptional, and I hated it. If you haven’t heard about this one (you likely have as it was long-listed for the National Book Award and on quite a few Best Of lists), it’s a series of interconnected stories about loners, losers, incels, and folks who have been rejected by life. I was adequately prepared for this book to make me want to look away. I had heard plenty about how cringey it is, how many distasteful characters occupy its pages, and how many icky sex scenes and fantasies I’d have to endure. But two things really surprised me about this collection. First, these stories are expertly crafted. Maybe that shouldn’t have surprised me because of the accolades its garnered, but I’ve heard so much more about the ick factors than the craft. In everything but their X-rated content, these are classical short stories—the kind that end with a turn so perfectly executed, they come as both total surprises and absolute inevitabilities. The other thing that surprised me, though again perhaps shouldn’t have given my understanding of my own emotions, is that this book made me irrevocably sad. Rejection didn’t make me squirm; it didn’t make me cringe; I didn’t find anything remotely funny about it. It completely depressed me. I am the kind of person who feels sad for hours after turning down a canvasser who comes to my door, so I should have known that a book exploring the most extreme possible results of rejection would get me down. As much as I wanted to revel in the depravity of this book, I just couldn’t get there. Still, I do believe that Tulathimutte is a masterful writer, and I’ll be eagerly awaiting whatever he does next and hoping I have the emotional disposition to handle it. Bookshop | Libro.fm

• How To Sleep At Night by Elizabeth Harris. I enjoyed this debut novel, which strikes that hard-to-find balance of juicy drama, weighty themes, complex characters, and solid writing. You can read more of my thoughts alongside an interview with Harris here. Bookshop | Libro.fm

• I also have a couple of books I ended the year on that I featured elsewhere and don’t have much else to say about but did really enjoy. The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon is the first high fantasy I’ve loved in a long time. Challengers by Adam Higginbotham is just as fantastic as everyone (okay,

  Traci Thomas
  ) told me it would be. Finally, Vengeance is Mine by Marie NDiaye is a hazy, enigma of a book that I thoroughly enjoyed reading and loved discussing all the more.

Now I’m reading…

• As part of my effort to read more essays, philosophy, and literary criticism this year, I’ve started All Things Are Too Small by Becca Rothfeld.

New on my TBR…

• I have no real information but there is a new Arundhati Roy coming out this year and I am over-the-moon excited.

Links I love.

There are too many anticipated books lists out to share them all, but I recommend this one from Vulture if you’re already feeling overwhelmed by your TBR and this one from Lit Hub for my maximalists out there. And the must view for everyone is R.O. Kwon’s annual Books by Women of Color list in Electric Literature.

If you’re looking to read more backlist this year, check out Lit Hub’s list of Best (Old) Books We Read in 2024.

My friend

Natalie

shared a slew of book recommendations in her 2024 wrap up newsletter.

I’m not a huge thriller reader, but I did add one of these to my TBR. (NYT, gift link)

Where to Start With: Zora Neale Hurston (The Guardian)

12 eye-opening nonfiction reads to kick-start your 2025 reading goals. (NPR)

In a sea of trad wife thinkpieces, this one is particularly good. (Lit Hub)

What to read when the odds are against you. (Atlantic, gift link)

End Notes.

• After a long winter break, my three-year-old went back to school this week and OH MY GOD do I love school. Don’t get me wrong, I love spending time with my kiddo, but being able to get work done without resorting to a Frozen viewing is incredible. And now that she’s three, I feel like she’s genuinely getting a lot out of preschool. She has so much to say about her friends and what she learned when she gets home! It’s very fun to know that the experts at her preschool are giving her incredible experiences I never could.

• Katy O.
  shared this podcast episode on book reviews and literary criticism and I loved it! I think the metaconversation about how we talk about books publicly that bubbled up in 2024 is going to really gain momentum in 2025 and I am here for it.

• Some colors of my very favorite sweater are on sale. These almost never go on sale so act fast!

• A new favorite newsletter! I eagerly await every new edition of

  Ezra Kupor
  ’s Galley Brag.

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