In Summation | August 2023

Newsletter plans, back-to-school anxiety, and my brand of book recs

Hey, readers!

Is it the most cliché sentiment in the book world to express a love for fall? Since this is the year of unabashedly loving things I’ll go ahead and say that I am SO excited for fall. I always thought it was my long running reliance on the academic calendar that made the start of fall feel like another new year, but I’ve since realize that many people feel that way, regardless of whether or not a school schedule is part of their rhythm. And how lovely is that? All of us starting fresh together, gearing up for a new season with new goals and rituals.

This year I think I’m going to celebrate the culmination of my current big project by embracing a truly cliché fall as soon as I press publish on my Fall Reading Guide. I’ve got a couple of new-to-me campus novels lined up on my TBR, I’ll put my favorite autumnal candle in my candle lamp, and I’m even contemplating a Gilmore Girls rewatch since it’s been a few years. It’s still too hot for fall clothes, but I’m drooling over Sezane’s knitwear collection (this and this and this and this…can you even?!), and I think I might add a pair of loafers to my wardrobe this season. Are we still doing lug soles or is classic the way to go?

Along with my aspirations to lean into autumn, I’m also planning a bit of a refresh to this newsletter beginning in September. You can still expect the regular Sunday letter you know complete with My Week in Books, Links I Love, and End Notes. Additionally, I’m adding a regular Tuesday newsletter to the rotation. The Tuesday newsletters will sometimes be editions of Reading in Public and sometimes—based on some positive feedback from you!—Ask FictionMatters responses. I’m looking forward to responding to as many requests for recommendations and readerly conundrums as I can, so keep sharing those with me here! Tuesday newsletters will be almost entirely free with the occasionally paywalled post or segment if it’s a particularly time consuming writing project.

The new addition to the newsletter I’m most excited about is a paid weekly post on Fridays I’m calling Friday Mood Recs. I always get requests to give more mood reading recommendations, but it’s quite time consuming! Friday Mood Recs will be a place for me to recommend books and more based on my current mood. Some Fridays will be all book recommendations, some will be things I’m using/reading/eating/watching and loving, and some will have all of the above! I’m already giddily composing my first Friday Mood Rec piece which will be Mood Recs for the back-to-school season including my favorite campus novels, the education-related articles I’m consuming now, and the clothes and goods that give me the on-campus feel I crave this time of year.

I’m looking forward to this new writing and posting rhythm, and to having a place to give more frequent and robust recommendations. If you’re interested in getting Friday Mood Recs, now is a great time to sign up for a paid subscription. Joining for September will get you access to my Fall Reading Guide, the Fall Reading Guide launch party, my Back-to-School Friday Mood Recs coming September 8th, my August Ranked Reading Recap podcast episode, and all archived paywalled content. I’d love to help you navigate your fall reading season and beyond!

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