The weekly post
The one where we fall back in love with a reread
Hi friends, I am writing to you feeling refreshed and restored post-vacation. It’s amazing what one week of unstructured time does for my well-being, and my goal each day of vacation was simple: read as much or as little as you like. For the first time maybe ever, I packed the exact right number of books (three), and I am so delighted to share a new review and a recap from a recent author talk with you all.
These “weekly” posts are coming a little less frequently than I’d like because I’m reading a lot less than I’d like. That said, I’m still having an absolute blast any time I get to share a review or connect with one of you on a recent book recommendation. Thanks for being here for the journey and please keep sharing what you’re reading and what’s on your wishlist. Wherever you are, I hope you’re getting some rest this summer and taking good care.
Currently Reading
THE RACHEL INCIDENT by Caroline O’Donoghue. I received this from a dear friend, and this book has been crossing my path for several months now. I have only just started, though I will admit I am intrigued about where this one might be headed.
Recent Recommendations
TOMORROW, AND TOMORROW, AND TOMORROW by Gabrielle Zevin (5 stars). A couple weeks ago, some very dear friends and I attended a book talk featuring Gabrielle Zevin, who declared, “You cannot discuss a book unless you’ve read it twice.” That hot take elicited murmurs among the audience, but as an avid rereader, it was music to my ears. When I first read Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow late in 2022, I knew it would be one I came back to again (and again and again). My plan was to pick it back up this fall or winter - it makes a great cozy read - but after seeing her discuss this book with fellow author Angie Kim, I truly could not resist restarting it right away. I am so glad I listened to that instinct, and I hope you’ll indulge me this slightly longer reflection.
This book came to me at an incredibly important and challenging time two years ago. I had seen it on the bestseller list and many friends’ Goodreads, and I resisted it because of its subject matter: video games. Interestingly, Gabrielle addressed this at her book talk a couple weeks ago, laughing about how this is maybe the only topic where everyone feels the need to disclose their own relationship with video games before telling you if they loved or hated the book. Indeed, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow tells the story of Sam and Sadie, who meet in middle school and become fast friends over their shared love of video games and grow up to become video game designers and partners. That said, it is evident from the first chapter that while this is a book about video games, it is also a book about friendship, art, grief, and growing up.
There are so many places to start with this book, but I’ll begin with the characters in this story. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is comprised of complex, loving, anxious, competitive, and deeply flawed and human characters, and I felt so inspired hearing Zevin discuss her creative process specifically around character development. She remarked that, as a reader, she often feels books have a slower start because the author spends the first couple of chapters getting to know their main cast of characters. rather than already knowing them deeply. Zevin intentionally set out to know her characters, what drives them, scares them, excites them, and she spent time imagining them to give this novel a running start from the first page. Every decision made and every line of dialogue spoken by Sam, Sadie, and Marx is so very true to who they are individually, making them feel like real people and creating a rich reading experience.
Impressively, Zevin infuses that same richness and development into the fictional video games featured in this story, which made me - a non-gamer - desperately crave the ability to play these games. At her talk a few weeks ago, she shared that she has been a casual gamer for decades, but in writing this book, she set out to play and research every type of game. There is an intricacy and vibrancy to the way she describes building and playing these games, spotlighting them as a true art form and prompting reflection upon what constitutes successful or meaningful art. I loved becoming immersed in a world so unfamiliar to me, and rooting the video games in a larger framework of friendship, competition, and success makes them all the more accessible and relatable.
“It isn’t a sadness, but a joy, that we don’t do the same things for the length of our lives.”
Finally, I was so delighted that author Angie Kim, who interviewed Zevin at the event a few weeks ago, dedicated a decent portion of the discussion to dissect Zevin’s use of perspective and her vocabulary throughout this book, which is something I noted in my first read and something I appreciated doubly this time around. She moves between narrator perspective and jumps back and forth through time in a truly artful way; I have never read a book where this happens both so smoothly and without warning to its reader. This is a book that required me to look up words several times in each chapter, and while that may seem small, I genuinely could not remember the last time I had a book that broadened my vocabulary so significantly. The fact that Zevin pulls this off in a way that isn’t pretentious at all, but is rather fitting for the book and the characters, makes it all the more impressive. Zevin is a brilliant, beautiful writer, and this novel proves she is an expert and artist in her craft.
It feels impossible for me to discuss all my thoughts on this book without giving everything away - and I hope I have struck the right balance here. In closing, if not already evident, this is a beautiful story and one I feel deeply grateful to have experienced. It may not be your next beach read, but I cannot recommend it highly enough for your TBR queue for when you feel ready to receive it.
Three Words
Carrying lightness forward.