The buzzy and the backlist

Plus the International Booker and "sporror" fiction

Hi, readers!

I’ve been reading a lot of new releases lately…much more than my typical balance. For whatever reason, many of the March releases have appealed to me and I haven’t been wanting to wait! April books aren’t looking as tempting to me so I’m letting myself go crazy with all these new books now, knowing that I’ll settle back into some backlist books from my TBR and all the prize list titles that have caught my attention. This week I did manage to prioritize two backlist books I’ve been meaning to read for awhile, and they were the perfect antidote to the buzzy new releases I consumed along side them.

I also spent a lot of this week reading and rereading articles about English majors. I loved my English major and loved (even more!) getting my MA in English. But I do think many English departments fail their students by not helping us figure out what to do with our degrees or how to market the skills we acquired there. While I think that’s fairly true across the board, the argument that English classes themselves might be constructed in a way that puts off students was more provocative and intriguing to me. I wrote a little bit about that in this week’s Reading in Public and I’m looking forward to continuing my reflections on this topic in future editions.

Reading in Public No. 4

This week in books.

This week I read…

• Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson. It’s no wonder this book is garnering a ton of buzz. It’s a fun and funny breeze of a book (with a gorgeous cover!) that will be perfect to throw in your beach bag or pull out over spring break. The story alternates between the perspective of three women—two sisters and their sister-in-law—in an exorbitantly wealthy family who are longtime residents of the uber elite Brooklyn Heights neighborhood. Jackson says she was inspired to write this book in part after reading an article about millennial heirs giving up their fortunes, and she did a decent job of portraying wealthy characters who are wrestling with their privilege. Though at times grating, Jackson’s writing is witty enough to convey that she’s in on the joke and I appreciate that she wanted to create characters whose position in life was both enviable and off-putting while still making those characters likable. The problem for me was that while the characters were ethically gray, they weren’t at all complex. Their motivations and actions felt simple and trite—and I think in avoiding a rich people behaving badly narrative, this ended up as a rich people behaving boringly narrative. I still think this is worth the read for Jackson’s quippy dialogue and a few genuinely laugh out loud scenes, but don’t expect anything particularly original here. Amazon | Bookshop | Libro.fm

• Mrs. Caliban by Rachel Ingalls. I’ve been meaning to read this book for years now since hearing Marlon James mention it on his podcast seemingly every chance he gets. This is the story of a grieving housewife who falls in love with a frog man recently escaped from captivity. It’s strange and poignant, and the way Ingalls writes about loneliness and the desire for love took my breath away. There was a plot point towards the end that I wasn’t crazy about, but Ingalls more than made up for that with this novella’s conclusion. Gorgeous, melancholy, but sprinkled with joy, this is a book I won’t soon forget. Amazon | Bookshop | Libro.fm

• Age of Vice by Deepti Kapoor. This year the FictionMatters Book Club is gathering every month to discuss a book that’s gotten a lot of buzz. So far we’ve talked about Demon Copperhead and Babel, and this month we’re diving into Age of Vice, a book I saw splashed all over bookstagram but then seemed to vanish. I initially started this in January and couldn’t get into, but I’m glad I gave it another go. This book is fast-paced and cinematic—perhaps at times to a fault. I occasionally felt like I was read the outline of a future screenplay rather than a fleshed out novel. I’m very much looking forward to unpacking this with the FictionMatters crew and to watching it when it makes its way to the screen. Amazon | Bookshop | Libro.fm

• If An Egyptian Cannot Speak English by Noor Naga. This is the story of two young people falling in love. But within that tale-as-old-as-time, Noor Naga does so much more. This is also a story about migration, uprising, and belonging set against the backdrop of the Arab Spring and conveyed in structure and style that is nothing short of dazzling. This is perfect for fans of novels by poets, inventive storytelling, and Exit West by Mohsin Hamid. Amazon | Bookshop | Libro.fm

Now I’m reading…

• The March FictionMatters Book Club selection.

• This super fun YA novel that’s perfect for fans of Derry Girls.

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 librarians are not alright.

The International Booker longlist was announced this week.

I didn’t watch The Last of Us (I am deeply disturbed by the idea of people turning into plants or fungi), but if you did here’s a LitHub list of what to read next and a Vulture round-up of sporror fiction (pretty great term right?).

9 books the NYT recommends this week and the books critics think you should read now.

I’m very interested in these three novels inspired by ancient folktales.

This is a wild list of aviation thrillers for anyone not already terrified of flying.

Mona Simpson on classics, bad prose, and how Middlemarch impacted her marriage.

Ready for spring break? Read your way through Miami with Jonathan Escoffery.

End notes.

This week in views, listens, eats, and moments of joy.

• My mom got me a membership to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science for my birthday. I’ve already taken Louise once and I’m excited to have a go-to place for getting out of the house when the weather isn’t great.

• This one-pot chicken and rice dish is so easy and so comforting.

• I went to a local bakery this week and got myself a truly decadent and fancy pastry that I devoured. It reminded me that sometimes it’s worth going slightly out of my way for the better option.

• This is Louise’s current favorite song and we’ve been listening to it a LOT now that she can effectively verbally request it.

• The Madewell 25% off sale is here! I got myself this breezy button up top and this chambray classic (Lou is still nursing so button-up tops are still my go-to). I’m also trying to wear hats more often as I spend time outdoors with Lou so I’m going to try out this plain baseball cap. I was tempted by this dress but since I haven’t been wearing dresses at all lately, I decided I should hold off for now.

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Happy reading!

Sara