a small corrective for the strain of everyday
16 books I love which you may have missed, + part 3 of our discussion of scene writing, ++ chocolate cake, and les amis de Stanley
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Hi Hi!
Alert! I have alarming news. Reading for pleasure is down by 40% in the United States. If you merely shrug at this headline, consider please:
We know that reading for pleasure, among other forms of arts participation, is a health behavior. It is associated with relaxation, well-being, mental health, quality of life.
Diminished readership means everything goes downhill… and that my friends, is terribly SAD. The world is complicated and hard and exhausting. Picking up a book seems such an easy way to take care. Truth be told, my reading life and attention span has diminished. Is it smartphones, social media, even this newsletter? Yes. Yes. Yes. I don’t like it one bit.
As a corrective, today I bring you read.read.read! I’m sharing books from my private backlist. Why? They may not be in your radar, and they’re books that filled me up—books I love to press into a friend’s hand.
My wish for you is that you carve time to relax and read. Maybe it will be a small corrective from the strain of everyday.
memoir/essay:
THE COLOR OF WATER, by James McBride is a beautiful homage to his white mother. A Jewish woman who raised a loving clutch of twelve children! She insisted upon their hard work, took advantage of free arts education in New York City, and told her children, "God is the color of water," firmly believing that life's blessings and value transcend race.
WILD GAME, by Adrienne Brodeur is a wild ride of family secrets, affairs, betrayal, and a mother/daughter relationship which exacts a toll. Brodeur is a terrific writer.
THE FRIDAY AFTERNOON CLUB, Griffin Dunne. I listened to this memoir on a long drive and the hours sped by! It has a bit of celebrity caché, a murder, a famous family, and the trials of becoming a grown up. From the flap copy, “It is, down to its bones, a family story that embraces the poignant absurdities and best and worst efforts of its loveable, infuriating, funny, and moving characters—its author most of all.”
THE BOYS OF MY YOUTH, by Jo Ann Beard. If you’ve not read, I urge you to put this collection of personal essays at the top of your TBR pile. Beard writes with a gimlet eye about all the things—friends, death, dogs, divorce, work, mothers, and cousins. The essay, “Fourth State of Matter,” is essential reading.
THE CRANE WIFE, by CJ Hauser. The eponymous essay is so so good! About a near- miss bad decision, about being unseen, and, of all things, Beatrix Potter has a cameo. Published first in The Paris Review, the essay went viral and hence this collection was born. Hauser’s voice is intimate and warm and curious about what exactly equals happiness. I plowed through these essays twice.
CALYPSO, by David Sedaris. This collection is so tender, it made me wonder, do we all tenderize as life beats us up? Have no fears about Sedaris losing his edge and slipping into sentimentality, Calypso is scalpel sharp, and darkly funny.
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If you’d like to spend a minute with me talking about reading with a writer’s eye, you’re in luck! I have paired up with the terrific people over at The HerStories Project/
to bring you an hour long conversation!In Reading with a Writer's Eye, we will take apart the clock, jumping into texts with an eye toward how the writer did it! We will deconstruct how the characters come alive, how setting enhances tone and story, how vivid scenes snag us and keep us reading, how dialogue rings true. During the workshop we will discuss terrific writing samples and leave our time together with specific craft skills to apply to our work and our reading life. Whether you're an experienced writer, a newbie, or just love a good book, come ready to read, chat, laugh, and make new friends.
I’d love to see you!
We have zoom r.w.e. book group! Next we will be discussing TRAIN DREAMS, by Dennis Johnson, and Wally Lamb’s, THE RIVER IS WAITING. We meet on 21 September @ 9:00a PDT.
The book group is a perk for paid subscribers and let me tell you we are a lively bunch!
Go ahead, upgrade to paid and claim your spot among friends. I hope to get to know you better!
I've made a read.write.eat. Bookshop where you will find many of the books I've recommended. Buying books from my shop is another way you can support my newsletter.
novels/short stories:
STANDARD DEVIATION, by Katherine Heiny. A good marriage challenged, the delights and heartache of raising children, plus the irresistible temptation to wonder about the path not taken… is there ever a “right” choice? This novel is hilarious and sharp!
THE MOST, by Jessica Anthony. I loved this slim novel which takes place over a single day in which a wife/mother/woman goes for a swim and then refuses to get out of the pool. The novel slips through time clean as an olympic diver and a marriage falls apart. It is so good.
HEFT, by Liz Moore (THE GOD OF THE WOODS, and LONG BRIGHT RIVER). Honestly, I haven’t read this book for years, but it made me a tried and true Liz Moore fan because of the way she completely puts us inside these, foreign for me, characters. From the flap copy: “Arthur Opp weighs 550 pounds and hasn't left his rambling Brooklyn home in a decade. Twenty miles away, in Yonkers, seventeen-year-old Kel Keller navigates life as the poor kid in a rich school and pins his hopes on what seems like a promising baseball career. The link between this unlikely pair is Kel's mother, Charlene, a former student of Arthur's. Told with warmth and intelligence through Arthur and Kel's own quirky and lovable voices, Heft is the story of two improbable heroes whose connection transforms both their lives.”
I promise, I didn’t choose these two because they have dogs on the cover, though it is a value-add!
BARK, by Lorrie Moore, has one of my favorite Moore stories, “Thank You For Coming,” which involves a mom, a daughter, an ex-baby-sitter, an ex-husband, a man who combats his aging face, and a barn dance! It’s hilarious.
THE SOUVENIR MUSEUM, By Elizabeth McCracken, is a tour de force! She is so agile, so witty. Stories range far and wide, from a lonely mother feasting on loaves of challah to fill her sorrow. A bright and shiny new couple navigate a tightrope walk toward love. And on a trip to a Texas water park with their son, two fathers each confront a personal fear.
poetry/personal growth:
THE CREATIVE HABIT, Twyla Tharpe. I’ve given this book to many friends, particularly those at a crossroad in their lives. Tharpe insists that in order to make creativity a part of live, we must make it a habit. Whether you are a writer, musician, businessperson, or simply a human yearning to expand your creativity, Tharpe provides thirty-two exercises based on the lessons she’s learned.
WHAT YOUR BODY KNOWS ABOUT HAPPINESS, Janice Kaplan. This book shakes up the top down theory that our minds control our emotions when quite probably, it’s our bodies steering the mood-ship!
TRAVELING MERCIES, by Anne Lamott. Like you (maybe?) I have hidden burdens. It is so nice to find someone, a friend in words, who shares their hidden burdens, and their path through. Where I try my best to overlap with Lamott is in her open heart, her kindness, and her willing acceptance all things human.
Both collections are nice companions to dip into before you close your eyes at night, or upon waking.
THE PATH TO KINDNESS, Poems of Connection and Joy, edited by James Crews w/a forward by Danusha Lameris
HOW TO LOVE THE WORLD, Poems of Gratitude and Hope, edited by James Crews w/a forward by Ross Gay.
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It’s my hope that one of these books entices you to pull up a chair, put your feet up, prepare a slice of the delicious chocolate cake I’ve got in the after party, and read. Cheers to you, my friend!
What is on your backlist?
after-party🎉:
If you’re already a paid subscriber, Giant THANKS! And please, skip ahead.
Below the paywall you’ll find:
a chocolate cake that’s suitable for breakfast
Stanley!
Part 3 of our deep dive into scene writing!
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