The weekly post
The one where we crawl out of a reading slump
Hi friends, first of all: Happy Earth Day! It’s been ages and ages, and I cannot believe we’re already more than halfway through April. To be honest, I hit a total reading slump, though that might be generous for how I was really feeling. It wasn’t that I wasn’t enjoying what I was reading; it’s that I wasn’t reading at all. Between work and a few life happenings over the past month, I ended each day feeling totally uninterested in picking up a book. This happens from time to time, and I knew not to push it, but it definitely felt like an added weight to not be reading. Thankfully, last weekend, I realized that while I didn’t want to read any of the books sitting quite nicely on my coffee table, I did (finally!) want to read something. I’m excited by what I picked up at Politics & Prose, and I am feeling so much more inspired by my April and May reading list.
Currently Reading
SAY YOU’LL BE MINE by Naina Kumar. I picked this up at Politics & Prose from the “Genre Bestsellers” table, having never heard of it before. It’s early days for me, and I’m not totally hooked just yet, but I’m interested enough to see where it goes. The premise, so far as I can tell, tells the story of Meghna and Karthik, who embark on a fake engagement adventure to help Meghna get over her “what-could-have-been” guy and to help Karthik get away from his mother’s never-ending pressure to get married. This is Kumar’s debut novel, and I am always delighted to find a new-to-me author. Full review coming (hopefully) next week!
Next in Queue
April is a busy month: National Poetry Month, Earth Month, and National Arab American Heritage Month, and we are officially one day away from the release of Emily Henry’s new book, Funny Story. This means I have set some ambitious and extremely specific reading goals for the next few weeks, which feels so good after the great reading slump! I would absolutely love to hear from you on what you’re reading these days, or what you’re most looking forward to reading this spring.
My “spring hopefuls” line-up includes: Evil Eye by Etaf Rum, a Palestinian-American author, whose first book A Woman is No Man I couldn’t put down a few years ago;
rereading excerpts from All We Can Save, a beautiful collection of essays written by women about addressing the climate, nature, and environmental justice crises;
I Am the Rage by Dr. Martina McGowan because this collection of poems has sat on my bedside table for two years;
and Anita de Monte Laughs Last by Xochitl Gonzalez, which was part of my weekend haul from Politics & Prose!
Read Ahead
Silent Reading Party has been the treat of my month since we kicked things off earlier this year, and I am deeply grateful to you all for making it possible. We will next be convening Wednesday, May 8 from 6:30 - 8:00pm at Lost Generation Brewing for the usual run-of-show: gather between 6:30-7:00pm to order food and drinks; read silently from 7:00 - 8:00pm; and hang out as long as the bar is open to connect with your fellow readers. Please remember to RSVP here and share with your friends!
Reading Soundtrack
The Tortured Poets Department, OF COURSE. This album was made for uninterrupted reading sessions and long walks to the bookstore. My list of favorite songs changes on a daily basis, and I love discovering new favorite lyrics (and would be remiss not to say I obviously love Taylor’s Stevie Nicks reference).
Three Words
Back to reading!