hooray for books! 📚 ♥️

This email isn't trying to sell you anything, except maybe an exceptional reading experience/ a trip to your public library 🤓

In what may be one of the nerdiest things I’ve ever done (there’s a long list), I managed to read every text in my elementary school library before I had finished fourth grade, which meant that, during library time, I was afforded me privilege of being our librarian, Mrs. Goza's assistant. She was a kind, soft-spoken lady with short, swoopy hair, one of those rare elementary school adults who never condescended to us, not one bit. Her eyes twinkled as she taught me to adjust the numbers on the due-date stamp, then line it up with the next rectangular box on the inside pocket card. She deputized me to check out books and I felt like a little joy elf, stamping cards and handing back books to my classmates, sending them off into new worlds to meet characters I had already encountered and loved.

I was a voracious reader through college and graduate school (although, in those later years, most of what I read I had been assigned to read, which has value, too.) Even as a middle school teacher I managed to read a fair amount–I was lucky to occupy that particular role as YA fiction exploded, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading as much as I could, in order to recommend books to my students. Unfortunately, as I began teaching high school and working in earnest on Brown White Black, my reading habit took a backseat. Thankfully, the smart and thoughtful book club I was in had me reading at least one new thing per month, but some years, I didn’t read much more than that.

from the adorable Peach Street Books in Cape Charles, Virginia

Quantity is not the most important measure, of COURSE, and numbers are relative–it’s definitely not a competition. What I really mean to say is that I missed books. I missed the role that they had played in earlier parts of my life, missed their companionship, missed the feeling of getting lost in them for long stretches of time. And so it is inside of that context I find myself feeling giddy about the fact that I have read so much this year! And not just so many (relative to past years), but so many GOOD books: books that made me think, books that made me laugh, books that taught me and pushed me to question my perspective and to imagine bravely. This is what I treasure about books, why they have been such faithful and trusted companions for me nearly all my life. I never feel guilty about escaping into a book when my own life feels tricky or difficult. Books embolden me and I find that I return to my own experience with courage and perspective, often carrying the wisdom and bravery of the characters I just read about with me.

I have despaired in the past year about my own writing voice, where she’d gone and if she’d return, whether or not there was another book inside of me and when that book might be ready to come out. And though I often found myself unable to write, I could certainly read. When I was a kid, I remember my mom telling me something her father told her: "If you love to read, you'll never be lonely." At the time, I took this for granted–I was an only child used to spending time on my own, so it never really occurred to me to feel any particular way about it. But as a middle aged lady living alone for the first time in her adult life, books have once again proven to be good and faithful companions. They’ve kept me company in the house I am learning to make mine, reminding me that I not only can manage, but actually enjoy being on my own. I am remembering what my young self instinctively knew–books bring me joy.

Also, no surprise I guess, but what I worried was a fallow period for writing now simply feels like preparation for the next season, which I intend to be writing-heavy. Spending time with all of these books, thinking and journaling along with them, has left my fingers feeling itchy and my brain whirring. I’m ready to go, and I’m so grateful. A reminder to me to have faith that every season indeed has its purpose, even if I can’t see what that is just yet.

Back in June, I shared a list of favorite reads from halfway through the year; here’s my list from the second half of 2024. As always, I would love to know what you have read this year that you’d recommend, and/or if you’ve read any of these. Thanks, as ever, for nerding out with me. (And thank you to my friend Marynelle, who recommended several of these books that became favorites! So glad we’ve been reading together for 25+ years 💗)

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer - I was late to the game on this piece of nonfiction, which deserves all the acclaim it has received. Kimmerer is a trained botanist, ecologist, and Indigenous wisdom keeper who weaves many ways of knowing about the planet and what gives life meaning into this remarkable book. She also narrates the audio version of this book and has the loveliest voice, making it a delight to listen to. I am not exaggerating when I say that this book changed me, truly, in the ways I attempt to relate to the living beings around me. Very much worth everyone’s time.

Everything Sad Is Untrue (a true story) by Daniel Nayeri - I love a book that not only tells great stories but also plays with form in a way that tickles my fancy as an author. This book, along with the next one on the list, do both beautifully. Nayeri melds the fantastical imaginings of a young boy who loves superheroes and good food with the stark realities of being a refugee in Oklahoma. Though it’s billed as a middle-grade book–and I would totally teach from it if I still worked in a classroom–I think adults will particularly benefit from the ways that Nayeri plays with the relationship between memory and imagination. This would be a great book for parents to read or listen to with their kids.

Stay True by Hua Hsu - He won the Pulitzer Prize for a reason, okay? A beautiful portrait of grief, college friendships, and immigrant childhood. If you were a mix-tape maker like me and if you are old enough to remember driving around with friends listening to the radio, the nostalgia alone will transport you. Personally, I find the structure of the book fascinating from a composition perspective and plan to read it at least once more to take notes.

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty - Definitely the most fun and least formulaic book on my list. You’ve got a middle-aged pirate captain who went into retirement to keep her daughter safe, pulled out of retirement via blackmail by one of her former crew member’s mothers, in pursuit of a black-magic-dabbling mercenary. If this sounds far fetched, I swear it doesn’t sound like it on the page at ALL. There are monstrous sea creatures, epic battles, and characters you can’t help but root for. An extremely delightful, inventive romp; I can’t wait for the next tale in this trilogy to be released.

The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green - I’ve been a John Green fan since I first picked up The Fault in Our Stars, but this book represents a very different kind of writing from him. A collection of mini-essays, The Anthropocene Reviewed grew out of a podcast by the same name, where Green “reviews” various phenomena of our current age (the anthropocene), combining fascinating bits of trivia with meaningful reflection about the experience of being human on this fragile planet in this strange time. Written during the Covid-19 pandemic, the book is a kind of time capsule that explores everything from scratch ‘n’ sniff stickers to Halley’s comet to Diet Dr. Pepper. It’s a lovely, vulnerable piece of work and a great choice if you want something you can pick up each night before bed, since each chapter is fairly discrete. Also, he does his own audiobook, which feels very intimate.

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett - Another one I’m late to the game on, but Tom Hanks narrates the audiobook, and as a child of the nineties, there’s rather a soothing quality to having his voice accompany me through my days. Also: Patchett can write a novel. Not a whole lot happens in this book, which is the kind of thing some people can get into and others can’t, but I found it a pretty fascinating study of family behavior, especially the sibling dynamic and the way that money does weird shit to people.

The Elements of Marie Curie by Dava Sobel - Just finished this one and DAMN what a boss Mme. Curie was. Isn’t it funny how I hated chemistry in high school but found everything I learned in this text fascinating? Most of us know the basic sketch of Curie’s life, but the love story between her and Pierre, as well as the extent to which Curie made a point to mentor young female scientists throughout her insanely impressive career really made me swoon. Also, I sincerely hope that some of the more ridiculous restrictions she faced (“You can’t be a professor because you’re a woman and you’re married!”), which we now look back on with scorn, will be how we someday look at the current “debate” regarding trans rights and bodily autonomy. A girl can dream, right?

The Mirror and the Light by Hilary Mantel - If you haven’t read the previous novels in this series, you probably won’t want to pick up the third and final installment until you do. Despite the anti-colonialist flavor of my upbringing, I am a terrible Anglophile (the two things do often go together, because paradox) and while I don’t actually give a fig about Henry VIII, Mantel is such an exquisite writer that I would have happily read another 300 pages here. If the physical span of the text daunts you, the audiobook is performed by a talented stage actor and that went a long way to helping me keep up with the large cast of characters. Also, I finished this around the time of the Presidential election and being caught up in petty court politics from 16th Century England was an oddly comforting reminder that tyrants and self-serving politicians are nothing new.

The Rose Code by Kate Quinn - Historical fiction is probably my favorite genre and this is such a fine exemplar of the genre. Based on the lives of real women who worked at Bletchley Park during World War II, this novel is thrilling, excruciating, and cathartic. With feminist themes as resonant now as then, you will find yourself rooting for the women in this novel who gladly give of their talents in service of their country, only to be questioned and condescended to at nearly every turn. Of course, not all of the men they keep company with are awful, and that’s a good reminder, too, that allyship is no modern construct and always possible, no matter the circumstances. But also - female friendship forever.

The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict & Victoria Christopher Murray - Another fascinating piece of historical fiction, based on the true story of Belle da Costa Greene, personal librarian to J.P. Morgan. A bit of a spoiler (though any Google search will reveal this) - Greene, who was Black, passed as a White woman, and that right there makes for a sort of wild “How did she do it?” feel as you read. Also, as my opening anecdote makes clear, I have a thing for librarians/libraries.

Tomorrow And Tomorrow And Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin - Once again, I take issue with the way this book has been marketed - namely, the emphasis on the “gamer” themes in the text, which made me think I wouldn’t like it. Thankfully, my friend Marynelle assured me this was not one to miss and I’m very glad I listened to her. This is a story about friendship, grief, longing, and creativity. A really beautiful read, and, most impressively for a novel, an ending that did not feel like a letdown. Probably one of my favorite contemporary novels ever - captures a zeitgeist without being beholden to it, if that makes sense.

Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley - Also billed as YA, there’s definitely a “teenage girl protagonist” feeling to this book that I personally don’t find off putting, having been a teenage girl myself not long ago. The protagonist of this text has all of your regular teenage girl things to contend with: parents, school, a sibling, a crush, while also learning to navigate her identity as an Ojibwe woman, including code-switching in the White world. There’s mystery and intrigue and also a lot of learning about the messed-up stuff that goes down with regard to Indigenous artifacts and repatriation and private museums. I’ve loved reading more by Indigenous authors this year and will take recommendations for more!

Hope December is treating all of you well—

xx

Nishta