On reading the best book of the 21st century

Plus anticipated fall releases and brooding Gothic novels

Sep 01, 2024

This may have been the best week of my life as a self-employed mom. Or if not best, the most content, productive, and balanced. Louise started full-time preschool this year and she is thriving. That wasn’t the case last year. The beginning of last year started out pretty rough and gradually become a place she enjoyed on good days and tolerated other days. But this year she is obsessed! She walks into the room and immediately gets busy playing—she barely looks up when we say goodbye. The pictures we get from her teachers show her little face with a mix of sheer delight, deep focus, and total wonder. She comes home talking about all the things she’s learning and the friends she’s making.

Between the number of childcare hours we now have and the knowledge that my kid is absolutely loving life there, my time and my headspace are much freer during my workdays and then I have the time and energy to fully enjoying being with Lou after school. It’s truly life-changing.

First day of school. Didn’t even turn around when we left.

The biggest work routine change I’m trying to implement is to do my reading as early in the day as possible. I can tend to focus on the tangible things I need to get done—writing newsletters, outlining podcasts, editing episodes, posting on IG, making graphics—and then run out of time for the actual reading. I always fit it in elsewhere, of course, but I’d been prioritizing the creation of content during my childcare hours only to realize recently that I can chip away at those things in spare bits of time, but settling into a long, uninterrupted reading stretch is impossible with my toddler around. Changing up my workflow in this was has been awesome for my reading life and made me feel more creatively energized. I’ve also managed to start fitting in exercising, making good lunches, and going for more walks—all things that help me feel balanced between self, work, and motherhood.

To keep things real, the downside to all of this is our weekends are much more difficult at the moment. We are out of our routine on weekends while also trying to fit as much family time as we can into just two days. The build-up of fatigue after full school days (often without naps) for Lou means we’re living on the edge of a meltdown for much of Saturday and Sunday. I’m sure we’ll settle into this new rhythm, but right now that part is hard and makes me miss our summer days together.

But nothing is perfect and I’m going to keep celebrating that content, productive, and balanced feel while trying to get our weekends back on track.

P.S. I’m currently running a back-to-school sale from now until my fall guide releases on September 15th. You can get annual subscriptions for 20% off, which guarantees you the 2024 fall guide and the 2025 Paperback Summer Reading Guide, plus my entire back catalog of Mood Recs, guides, and paid posts. Thanks for supporting FictionMatters!

Get 20% off for 1 year

This week in books.

This week I read…

My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante. Back in April I chose the first book in Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan Quartet as the FictionMatters Book Club selection for August. We try to do a woman writer in translation every August and this was a book people had for years been telling me I would love. And then in the time between selecting the book and reading it, it was named the best book of the 21st century so far by The New York Times in a list that sent the book world buzzing this summer. It was great timing for the book club because it amped up interest in reading for current and new members alike, but it also made for a strange reading experience. How can a list like this not change a reader’s expectations for a book? And I’m not just referring to hype here. It was impossible to read this book without constantly asking myself, “Is this the best book of the century? Why do so many people think it is?” Those questions playing on repeat will undoubtedly alter the reading experience and they did for me. It’s really not fair to be reading a book wondering if it deserves to be called the best of the century—it’s not how we’re meant to read! But I’m happy to say I really enjoyed this book. The novel begins when Elena, a woman in her 60s, gets a phone call from a friend’s son. She thinks he’s calling to ask her for money, but it turns out his mother is missing. As Elena listens to the news and begins to gather some details, she reflects on her relationship with her friend Lila and then sits down to write their story in order to “see who wins this time.” Then Ferrante takes us back to their childhood to follow their intense, fraught, complicated, essential friendship from six to sixteen, ending with a bit of a cliffhanger to compel readers to continue on with the series. I love books about friendship and because this one spans so many years and pages, it goes deep. I loved the complexities it explores and the tension between wanting what’s best for a friend and sometimes wanting what they have. I particularly loved the way Ferrante and Goldstein use the central relationship to develop themes of power. The hierarchy between Elena and Lila is constantly shifting and of extreme importance to both girls, yet they have so little power in their larger world. I also loved tracking the way mothers and motherhood showed up in the text. Elena’s descriptions of her mother as monstrous and frightful—the last thing she wanted to become—were dripping with symbolism and literary callbacks and I just ate that up. So do I think this is the best book of the 21st century? No. But I, like everyone else, understand My Brilliant Friend to be standing in for the entire series and I can’t wait to discover what’s next. Amazon | Bookshop | Libro.fm

Now I’m reading…

I’m finally circling back to The Road to the Country. I chose it as our Buzzy Book Club selection for September because I know I’m not the only one whose been meaning to read it since it came out.

New on my TBR…

The rest of the Neapolitan Quartet, of course!

Links I love.

I aced this very fun quiz from the Book Review: Can you guess the classics that were panned by the NYT? (NYT, gift link)

Speaking of the NYT, the now have a printable list of the best books of the 21st century. Thanks so much, Book Review pals! (NYT)

Vulture’s anticipated fall books list is up. There are quite a few I’m also excited about and a couple that will be in my fall guide, but they’re also missing a lot of really good small press books! (Vulture)

The best book covers of July—I always look forward to these roundups. (Lit Hub)

August’s best sci fi and fantasy books. (Lit Hub)

I didn’t know this book existed until this interview, but I feel that it was written for me. (NYT)

8 brooding Gothic mysteries set on the British Isles. (CrimeReads)

There are some gems in this translated fiction review roundup. (Guardian)

Books for kids starting kindergarten and middle school. (NYT, gift links)

End Notes.

I downloaded the One Sec app to help curb my rampant Instagram use, and I’m liking it. Basically you install it and then every time you open the social media apps you’ve chosen, it forces you to wait a second and then asks if you really want to open the app. I’m not sure it’s cut down on my total Instagram screen time, but it has certainly helped me avoid those mindless scrolls where I can’t even remember opening the app. There are some annoying aspects of the free version, but it’s working well enough that I’m not sure I need to upgrade at this point.
I’ve had my grandmother’s watch in my possession since she passed away in 2022 and I finally took it in to have it repaired, resized, and cleaned. I’m really loving wearing something so special everyday—plus having the time on my wrist is another way to combat mindlessly opening my phone!
I bought a Blackwing pencil at a fancy stationary store in London and it’s the best pencil I’ve every used. Not only do I love the way it writes, it has these tiny hooks by the eraser that hook on the pages of your book to keep it in place. I’m not sure I can justify spending so much on pencils going forward, but I’ll have to at least consider it.
We had a family movie night on Friday. Family movie night is one of the things I most looked forward to when I imaged having a kid. Louise won’t quite sit through a full length feature (she’s getting close though!) and she’ll only watch one movie (Cars…it’s Cars), but I still love cuddling up on the couch with my family and snacks and unwinding together after the week. We have now instituted a rule that we alternate choosing the family movie night movie so next weekend I’ll report back on whether we finally got away from Lightning McQueen.

The way Blackwing pencils hook onto pages is unbelievably satisfying.

FictionMatters Newsletter is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. If you’d prefer to support my work by purchasing the standalone Paperback Summer Reading Guide or with a one-time “tip,” visit my Buy Me a Coffee page.

For questions, comments, or suggestions, please don’t hesitate to reach out by emailing fictionmattersbooks@gmail.com or responding directly to this newsletter. I love hearing from you!

This email may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase through the links above, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.

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