Gothic coming-of-age, fairytale fantasy, and deeply human stories
Plus new audiobooks for fall and exceptional banned books
This week has been heavy and hard, and I’ve been leaning into comfort reads. Comfort reading can mean a lot of different things to me. Sometimes I’m looking for an escape, and one of my reads this week was perfect for that. But more often than not my comfort books are the ones that make me feel connected to humanity—the books that remind me of common pains and joys of being a person. We talk a lot in the book space about the way reading promotes empathy. Often we’re talking about the way books allow us access to experiences that aren’t our own, and that is tremendously important. But I also think that reading just helps me feel more human. During times that can easily lead to overwhelm or desensitization, tapping into that humanity feels essential.
This week in books.
This week I read…
Goodbye, Vitamin by Rachel Khong. As anyone who has read this will tell you, Goodbye, Vitamin is a gem of a book. While I’m sorry I took so long to finally read this, I do feel like it came to me at a pretty perfect time. This week I was craving a book with meaning, humor, heart, and humanity, and this novella provided. This story follows a recently single thirty-year-old Ruth who moves back in with her parents to help care for her father who is experiencing severe memory loss. In the midst of this diagnoses, other marital problems arise between Ruth’s parents and questions arise about what can be forgiven and in what circumstances forgiveness can happen. Khong’s writing his hopeful and surprisingly funny. I didn’t want to put this down, but I parceled it out to spend more time with these characters and this family. If you love adult coming-of-age stories, quiet novels, or voicey writing, I highly recommend this one. Amazon | Bookshop
O Caledonia by Elspeth Barker. This modern gothic classic takes place in mid-20th century Scotland and begins with the discovery of a 16-year-old girl’s death. From that scene, we go back in time to trace Janet’s entire life and what lead to this tragic moment. While the book begins and end extremely grim, the story itself is sardonically funny and darkly charming (charmingly dark?). I adored Barker’s writing and Janet is an exceptional character—quirky, precocious, and wild without being annoying. My friend Alyssa called this a darker, gothic Anne of Green Gables, and I can’t get that perfect description out of my head! Even in the plot formation its similar: an episodic coming-of-age story that’s not without action, but definitely reads more like a character story than a plot-driven saga. Overall, this is simply a perfect little fall read. You also need to pick this up if you loved The Marriage Portrait. Maggie O’Farrell wrote the introduction for the new edition and I can definitely see seeds of inspiration in here! Amazon | Bookshop | Libro.fm
Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson. If you’re in need of a comfort read, look no further than this. Sanderson wrote this for his wife during the height of the pandemic and decided to publish it at her encouragement. The entire time I was reading this I kept thinking of The Princess Bride. It’s warm, charming, funny fantasy, with a winking narrator. It turns out Sanderson was indeed inspired by a family rewatch of The Princess Bride and he writes more about that (with details and spoilers!) in the author’s note that comes after the text. I just adored this story with its strong characters and beautiful world-building. I listened to the audiobook, which was fantastic, but I also purchased a copy to see the beautiful color illustrations. I’m very happy to add it to my shelves! Amazon | Bookshop | Libro.fm | Brandon Sanderson’s Website
Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman. I always loved reading and teaching Whitman’s Song of Myself, and for some reason I felt a desire to return to it this week. I purchased a beautiful Penguin Classics Deluxe version and spent my evenings exploring Whitman’s words. While I definitely enjoy his poetry more than the prose essays in this collection, I agree with Harold Bloom who described Leaves of Grass as the closest thing we have to a secular American Bible. While I wouldn’t necessarily recommend the entire book to most readers, spending some time with Song of Myself highlights is a wonderful way to spend an afternoon. Bookshop | Libro.fm
Now I’m reading…
Trust Exercise by Susan Choi. I started this book when it first came out and immediately recognized two things. First, I knew it was great and that I would love it if I read it at the right time. Second, it made me very uncomfortable reading it as a teacher in a high school setting. I decided to pick it up again and am very impressed by the craft so far. Amazon | Bookshop | Libro.fm
White Cat, Black Dog by Kelly Link. Link’s writing has never disappointed and so far this is a perfect fall story collection. Amazon | Bookshop | Libro.fm
If you are an international reader or just prefer UK covers, you can also order books through my Blackwell’s affiliate page!
Links I love.
The incredible poet and Nobel Prize Winner Louise Glück died this week. Here are five poems to start with if you’re unfamiliar with her work.
Meet this year’s Kirkus Prize winners.
The Book Review podcast shared the books they’re looking forward to in the last months of the year.
10 new audiobooks to listen to this fall.
The Electric Lit team shares their favorite banned books.
In case you missed it.
End notes.
This week in views, listens, eats, and moments of joy.
I was apprehensive about the return of full-length pants, but these are my go-to favorites and now I’m all in.
We had the most fun celebrating our two-year-old last weekend! The biggest gift hits were this PlayMobil train and this cleaning set. She also loved looking at pictures of herself over the past year and getting to play with balloons!
I made these cookie bars for Lou’s party and they were a huge hit. Thanks to American Girl Cookies, NYT cooking and the Aunt J for the recipe!!
I listened to a lot of Taylor Swift for last week’s Friday Mood Recs post, and it brought me a lot of nostalgic delight.
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Happy reading!
Sara
I’ve been reading O Caledonia this week too and loving it! Perfect fall vibes 🧡
Nothing quite like Papa Walt for the heavy hearted ❤️🔥❤️🔥❤️🔥