Three British novels with classic flair

Plus a major audiobook sale and a voter literacy reading list

Hey, readers!

I’ve had a great few weeks of reading and then, of course, I was hit with the dreaded reading rut. This isn’t the kind of slump where I start 15 books and can’t get past the first few pages of any of them. It’s not the kind where I hate every book I try. It’s the kind of rut where I simply cannot choose a book to start.

I think this has something to do with the background hum of anxiety I’m feeling around the election. There is so much uncertainty surrounding us every day that the uncertainty of beginning a new book is too much to handle. Every time we pick up a new book we can’t be sure what kind of world we’re entering, what sort of characters we’ll meet, and what we might vicariously experience. While that’s typically what I love about reading, I’m finding myself shying away from anything that adds to my uncertainty quotient at this given time. I think this is why I have been reading so many quintessentially British novels. For me, they feel like well-trod ground.

And while I don’t particularly like this aspect of how I am processing our current moment, I have decided that it’s probably better to accept it rather than fight it. I might pick up a reread in the coming days or I might keep choosing books that exude familiarity even if they’re new to me. Hopefully this is a brief season, but part of the uncertainty is an uncertainty about how long this feeling will last.

I am lucky to live somewhere that makes voting very easy and have cast my ballot, with hope, for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. I’ve gotten a notification that my ballot has been received and will get another notification when it the signature is verified and it is counted. With nine days left, here are some resources to make your voting plan and ensure that we don’t back:

• Everything you need to know to vote (Vote.org)

• Are you ready to vote? (Vote Save America)

• Get voter guides and sample ballots (USA.gov)

This week in books.

This week I read…

• Our Evenings by Alan Hollinghurst. My goodness, I loved this book. Alan Hollinghurst is a beloved writer by many, but I hadn’t heard of him until I (almost simultaneously) became aware of him through receiving an advanced copy of Our Evenings and seeing his Booker winning novel The Line of Beauty on the New York Times Best Books of the 21st Century list. And now I want to read everything he’s written. Our Evenings follows Dave Win, a gay biracial boy growing up in England in the 1960s. He has never known his father but has a beautiful relationship with his mother, who is on her own journey of personal discovery. When Dave receives a scholarship to attend a prestigious boarding school, his life becomes loosely tangled with that of the Hadlow family and their brute of a son, Giles. Hollinghurst then follows Dave for six decades exploring the relationships that come and go and his long career as an actor. This is a story about one man’s life, but it is also a story about politics. The hum of political discourse is playing at varying volumes throughout this novel and we see how the personal can become the political as characters externalize long-held grievances and global politics affect the intimate lives of people. I found this to be exceptionally poignant. I have always hated the sentiment that books shouldn’t be political or have an agenda. I know what people mean by this—we have all read books that feel like they are driving home a singular point and that can feel reductive and, quite frankly, annoying. But it’s foolish to pretend that politics ought to be removed from fiction. People are political—we exist in a political landscape and it just makes sense to me when novelists choose to explore this rather than ignore it. This is all tangential because, of course, like many good novels that address political realities, what will scaptivating readers of Our Evenings is the vulnerable humanity on display and the emotional resonance Hollinghurst is able to achieve. It’s an exceptional book that I would recommend to anyone who loves sweeping personal journeys and exquisite prose. Amazon | Bookshop | Libro.fm

• Bitter Orange by Claire Fuller. I am a huge Claire Fuller fan and for years some of my most trusted book recommending friends have been telling me that I need to read Bitter Orange. It’s Fuller’s take on Gothic novel, but set in a sunshiney summer at a dilapidated British estate. The story is told by Frances, a dying woman who is looking back to her summer at Lyntons twenty years prior. From the onset, we know something went terribly wrong because Frances describes seeing a body lying prone in bath filled with pink-tinged water, and yet Fuller’s mastery of her craft means we are still left wondering until the book’s provocative conclusion. I really enjoyed this book and I’m so glad I chose it for our October FictionMatters Book Club read. It was captivated and just a good read—something I think many of us needed this month. Personally, I enjoyed Fuller’s abundant use of literary allusions and the smart way she toys with genre. Gothic novels often explore the depths of the human psyche and the way the past can haunt us, and this book does all of that expertly. If you are a literary fiction reader who wants the vibes of a thriller without cheap tricks or clunky prose, this book is for you. Amazon | Bookshop

• A Month in the Country by J.L. Carr. I picked this up at Blackwell’s in Oxford because the charming pastoral scene on the cover was too beautiful to ignore—especially during a stay in the Cotswolds. I’m so glad I had it on hand because this lovely modern classic is exactly what I needed in the moment. the story follows Tom Birkin, a physically and psychologically wounded WWI veteran who is hired to uncover a mural that’s been whitewashed over on the wall of a country chapel. As a Londoner, Birkin is a bit reticent about the country folk he finds himself amongst and he is sure they will be reticent of him. Instead, he finds a warmth and connection. I absolute adored this book. It’s a quiet exploration of love, memory, and the people and moments who unexpectedly define our lives. Plus, the sentences are astounding and my copy is filled with page markings. Pick this up if you love On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan, The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro, or just need a restorative month in the country to heal your weary soul. Amazon | Bookshop | Libro.fm

Now I’m reading…

• This gem that I picked up at an indie bookstore in Takoma Park.

New on my TBR…

• This Booker nominee was already on my radar, but my friend Liz bumped it way up during our most recent This Month in Books conversation.

Links I love.

Libro.fm is having a Buy One Get One Sale and it ends in four days! This is for members only so if you haven’t signed up yet, use my link to also get three audiobooks for the price of one!

How does Louise Erdrich keep writing great novels? (Kirkus)

My pal

Traci Thomas

shared a voter literacy reading list for SheReads. Be sure to also check out this amazing interview she did with Jessica Valenti of

Abortion, Every Day

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At least once a week I think about how glad I am I never had to teach during the existence of Chat GPT. I found this article about how the culture of an institution can combat the problem to be fascinating. (Atlantic, gift link)

Do dogs know what are is? (Paris Review)

I enjoyed learning more about Susanna Clarke and I’m feeling like it might finally be time to pick up Dr. Strange and Mr. Norrell. (NYT, gift link)

This bookstore historian sees bookselling as activism. (The Millions)

I love a myth retelling in poem form. (Lit Hub)

10 books about maritime disasters. (Lit Hub)

7 novels featuring protagonists over 70. (Electric Lit)

5 essential books for understanding Native American history. (Lit Hub)

End Notes.

• This was a fun listen from Pop Culture Happy Hour.

• Ever since I explained werewolves to Louise (thanks, Halloween decorations!) as “part man, part wolf,” she has been describing things as “part ___, part ___” with some regularity. She described these pumpkin treats as “part cookie, part muffin” and, honestly, she was spot on.

• Speaking of baking, thank goodness Great British Bake Off is back!

• I am so sad that English Teacher has ended. I’m already ready to rewatch it.

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