010: recent reads
self declaring as a Brontë sun, Gornick moon, Sedaris rising
I run on a back-to-school calendar meaning September is my new years. It’s when I like to refresh my wardrobe and start to reflect on the past year/upcoming one. Doing it before December always takes the pressure off and makes me feel one step ahead.
Fall is also the perfect time to pick up a new book. Here are a few I’ve read this past year.
(seasonal) classics
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley is an iconic fall read. Everyone thinks Frankenstein is the monster but he is actually the doctor. You can tell this to people at parties and it will make you seem more academically inclined.
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë is the greatest book ever written, home to my literary crush Heathcliff and favorite monologue: “I was only going to say that heaven did not seem to be my home; and I broke my heart with weeping to come back to earth; and the angels were so angry that they flung my out into the middle of the heath on the top of Wuthering Heights; where I woke sobbing for joy." Modern novels couldn’t fathom a sentence so romantic.
The director of Saltburn is also turning Wuthering Heights into a MOVIE!
essays for laughing
I love personal essays.
Especially Approaching Eye Level by Vivian Gornick, a collection on what Gornick calls the landscape of marginal encounters. You don’t have to live in NYC to appreciate the nuance but it’s better if you do. She is an incredible writer and her stories are strikingly timeless. Calypso by David Sedaris was just as much easy a read as it was a laugh. A great beach novel (non-derogatory).
what men think about women
Together, these three books would make an amazing syllabus for a comparative literature class.
I read Women by Charles Bukowski and Men Without Women by Haruki Murakami back to back over the course of a week and found it… enlightening? On Women by Susan Sontag was kind of a bummer. Mostly focused on the unfairness of women being hindered by the aging process (a self fulfilling prophecy I don’t want to be reminded of).
books for optimizers
How to Do Nothing by Jenny Odell is a good intro to the attention economy that we all feel so helpless against. I stole You Have More Influence Than You Think from my office. It was an easy read with some good studies on why everyone actually IS looking at you, although not for the reason you think…
I don’t think I have ADHD but I also haven’t been able to finish reading Scattered Minds by Gabor Maté MD so take meaning from that how you will.
the best sellers
Despite the hype, Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin feel like they were written for the lowest common denominator. Beach novels (derogatory) at best.
On the other hand, My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottessa Moshfegh— I love this book so much I wish I wrote it myself. It’s like the better written, more stylized version of Cat Marnell’s biography. Always a good reread.
That’s all for now! Say hi & share with a friend <3
