i'm obsessed with shorts. short. stories.
normally i write a blog post about the best books i read in the year prior. it’s a tradition. this year, i acknowledge that i read a fair amount in 2020 and it was so hard to do, with the pandemic and resultant anxiety, and the creeping sadness of isolation. but i managed to read … Read more
in the face of COVID winter, i started a book club for writers. it’s something many writers yearn for–a comfortable place to drop into analysis and symbols and flights of word fantasy with others who truly UNDERSTAND. it’s like talking shorthand. anyway, the first book is SING, UNBURIED, SING by Jesmyn Ward, a book from … Read more
it’s the 25th anniversary of The Women’s Prize aka The Orange Prize. i’ve listed the winners below. i resolve to read each of these books over the next 6 months and track the greatness. i could use the inspiration TBH. in reality, i’ve read only 4 of the books listed below and my memory is … Read more
time for a list. top 10 books that carry weight in my adult(ish) mind. a list on this particular day, for no particular reason, in no particular order: 1. WIDE SARGASSO SEA by Jean Rhys2. THE SUN ALSO RISES by Hemingway3. OLD FILTH by Jane Gardam4. JESUS’ SON by Denis Johnson5. THE REMAINS OF THE … Read more
it’s been a year. reading through 2019 was weird, starts and stops, some slowly read books and some quickly read books and some abandoned books. this year i set down any book that lacked emotional truth. i plan to continue that practice, in reading and in life. i was saved by words and sentences, saved … Read more
it’s always hard to pick the best books you’ve read until it isn’t. they jump out at you. 2018 was a difficult year for obvious and less obvious reasons: the news cycle continued anxiety-provoking, and there were personal losses in my life that i won’t go into because they’re difficult–death and loss and the inevitable … Read more
this year i’m giving short stories their own list because they fucking deserve it.** and besides, there’s too much of an emphasis on novels. but keep in mind that i don’t always read collections in their publication year. i mix it up. some of the collections i read this year are older (like 20 years … Read more
i read a lotta books in 2017 but i lost track, didn’t properly record them. the year was too much, too much. i’m working from memory here; please forgive me, please forgive my omissions. i am too little and too much. 2017 was an absolute shit show from a reading perspective because, as a news … Read more
here are my top reads for 2016. in no particular order, for no particular reason. my reasons for loving a book are divergent. sometimes it’s a premise, a tone, a setting. sometimes it’s where i read the story that means so much. i don’t know. i try not to think about it too much. because. … Read more
The Cutting Room by Louise Welsh (genre) Toby’s Room by Pat Barker (novel) Night Moves by Richard Van Camp (short stories) How to write a sentence by Stanley Fish (craft) 19 Knives by Mark Anthony Jarman (reread)(short stories) NW by Zadie Smith (novel) Critical Condition by Patrick Finn (criticism)(partial read) The Quick by Barbara Scott … Read more