The weekly post
The one where we set 2024 reading goals
The first week of the year so often feels like one of the longest weeks of the year, and that certainly was the case for me last week. A tremendous bright spot, however, is gleefully scrolling through Goodreads to see my dear friends setting their reading goals for the year. This to me is so much more than a simple quantitative measure: deciding you’re going to read 6, 10, 20, 50 books in a year is really a commitment to the time you’re going to gift yourself to sit quietly and immerse yourself in a fiction or fantasy novel, learn something new about science, history, or political theory, or slip on someone else’s shoes within the pages of a powerful memoir. We have busy lives where distractions abound, and it is absolutely worth celebrating the moments we can give back to ourselves.
Relatedly, we may have so little time to give to reading that maybe we set different kinds of goals this year: like not finishing books that feel like a struggle (instituting a 50-page rule last year was a game changer for me), reading five minutes each day, or rereading a book for the first time.
Whatever you’re reading and whatever goals you’re setting, I hope you’re taking care and appreciating the quiet moments when you can grab them. I’d love to hear from you and what you’re looking forward to in 2024.
Recent Recommendation
YELLOWFACE by R.F. Kuang (4 stars). In full transparency, I am still processing this book so this may be a bit meandering, but I wanted to at least start my review while this was all still fresh. Since starting Yellowface just before the new year, there has been an element I couldn’t quite put my finger on. The premise of this story is fascinating and unique: the book opens with June Hayward, an author whose debut novel was a bit of a literary flop, witnessing the death of her friend (frenemy?) and fellow author, Athena Liu. Importantly, Athena has had great and early publishing success. After Athena’s death, June comes across one of Athena’s unpublished manuscripts and decides to workshop it. But what starts as a writing exercise to get June’s creative juices flowing, quickly turns dark, as June decides to publish the novel as her own, under the name Juniper Song. The book takes off from there, with the reader witnessing June’s attempts to both keep this secret and her literary stardom.
This novel had my attention the full way through. The back cover promises a “hilarious thriller.” I would pose that its more satirical than hilarious, and while I felt gripped by the pages, it didn’t feel much like a thriller until the last quarter of the book. Kuang’s writing and pacing is strong, and June’s anxiety and paranoia was palpable off the pages. After June publishes the manuscript, her inner dialogue helps drive the story along: it’s clear that she sees this work as her own, and she’ll go to extreme lengths to protect her reputation and future as an author. Upon reflecting, I think where this book fell somewhat flat for me is that the character development of June, and the friendship/competitive relationship between June and Athena, didn’t happen early or fully enough. Once June has a taste of success, financial freedom, and notoriety, I can feel and follow her addiction to these things. But why she stole the manuscript in the first place is told to the reader, rather than shown, and that became a disconnect for my reading experience.
With all of that, this book is posing interesting questions and giving some fresh perspectives on the themes of race and racism, plagiarism and creative ownership, cancel culture and counter culture, and the thrill of success. While some of these messages are delivered with a heavy hand, that almost feels like the point, and Kuang forces the reader to sit with some of these uncomfortable questions.
One additional note for my DC readers… this book is set in the DMV, which always feels like a special thrill (mostly to see how much an author gets right/wrong about the city). Kuang attended Georgetown so she gets a whole lot right, but I did feel myself chuckling at the idea of a K Street Trader Joe’s, and then I felt totally deceived to learn two-thirds of the way through the book that the narrator lives in Rosslyn (though admittedly I may have overlooked early mentions of this). Interestingly, there’s a scene at the Exorcist steps in Georgetown, and I recently attended an Exorcist screening night with a group of friends. Very timely!
Recommend for… fans of Luckiest Girl Alive, The Vanishing Half, and Ruth Ware thrillers
Currently Reading
THE WOMAN IN ME by Britney Spears. I am thrilled to finally be starting this memoir by Britney Spears. I’ve heard from so many people that this is powerful, well-written, and raw, and this marks my official return to celebrity memoirs. I would also be wildly remiss not to take this moment to brag about my best friend Caroline, who works for Simon & Schuster and who worked TIRELESSLY on this book. I know this was one of the more complex and intensive projects Caroline has worked on in her many years at S&S, and I am endlessly inspired by her and grateful that she produces such beautiful books.
Read Ahead
Drum roll please…. I am over the moon to share that I will be hosting a Silent Reading Party on Wednesday, February 7 at Lost Gen Brewing in NE DC. Perhaps you’ve seen this NYT article about the takeover of silent book clubs or have already attended silent reading parties. My best friends and I are frequent fliers at Silent Book Club at Sonny’s Pizza on the last Wednesday of every month, and I decided that we need even more opportunities to read together.
The premise is quite simple: arrive between 6:30 - 7:00pm to order food, drinks, and chat with fellow readers (Lost Gen allows for outside food and they also have a rotating food truck on-site); read quietly from 7:00 - 8:00pm; and after 8:00pm, feel free to hang around for a bit and chat about what you read.
Lost Gen has requested an estimated headcount so please do RSVP via this invite or comment below that you’ll be attending. And of course, bring your favorite reading companions for the journey - I cannot WAIT to see you there!
Three Words
Cultivating the calm.