October Reads

Went on a Ruth Reichl bender this month; trying to learn to cook and she's my inspiration. Also working on my classic book list, which is full of books that everyone else in the world seems to have read already, and I've been reading a lot since I was about 4 and still I feel like I have read maybe 2 of the classics. When did everyone else get to all of them? Mysteries.

Thank you for comforting me in my book anxiety last month :). I'm so glad to know I'm not alone in the struggle!

Sublime Physick - Patrick Madden: Pat is an essayist for essayists, and one of the first examples I pointed my students to when it came to teaching the form. Pat is the kind of person who can find interesting connections between almost anything, and it’s delightful to follow his mind as it meanders on the page. I think his writing especially shines when it gets emotional. My favorite essays in this collection are “Entering and Breaking” and “In Media Vita”. Excellent.

Confessions of a New York Taxi Driver - Eugene Salomon: I saw this on a table of recommended books at a bookstore and put it on my library list. It was pretty meh. Some interesting anecdotes about Salomon’s years driving a cab, but mostly he was a poor narrator of them.

Tender at the Bone - Ruth Reichl: I read Reichl’s novel “Delicious!” last year and loved it. My friend asked me about the book and was surprised I had no idea who Ruth Reichl is; I decided to remedy that by reading more of her. This memoir of her early life is super enjoyable, interspersed with recipes and New York-y anecdotes. It made me want to cook, which is exactly what I was hoping it would do. (Reichl, by the way, is a former restaurant critic, food writer, and editor of Gourmet magazine. And she is super, super cool.)

The Secret Life of the American Musical - Jack Viertel: Loved this! Viertel breaks musicals down into their structural parts and draws parallels across loads of different shows to demonstrate what moves they are making, why, and how they are able to affect an audience. I love musical theater more than just about anything, and reading about it from this viewpoint was fascinating and entertaining. I know “real New Yorkers” hate Times Square and whatever, but I love it because it’s associated for me with shows and there is nothing better than a show.

Practicing - Glenn Kurtz: I saw this book in a bookstore and immediately put it on my list, and then my wonderful friend Michaela ended up having gotten it for me for Christmas. This particular Christmas present made it to me in August :). I was expecting something more self-helpy, but it’s very much a memoir. It also gets into the history of the guitar and similar instruments, which was fascinating. Kurtz’s intensity and devotion to music made for a really interesting narrator, too.

Comfort Me with Apples - Ruth Reichl: Picking up where “Tender at the Bone” left off;  same feel, except with more adultery. And more celebrities.

My Kitchen Year - Ruth Reichl: Part diary of the year after Gourmet was shuttered, part cookbook, totally inspiring, and beautifully put together. I loved that all the recipes have stories and context; I found myself dog-earring almost every page so I could jot down the recipe later. It’s not a prescriptive cookbook, but more a collection of inspiring ideas to nudge you into the kitchen.

Tenth of December - George Saunders: I can’t think of many writers I’d rather read. Short stories are my favorite thing to read and Saunders is the best of the best. This collection is almost shocking in its perfection. Hilarious, tragic, cruel, deep—I don’t know how to describe him except brilliant. My friend Michaela took me to a reading with him and Carrie Brownstein and it was just stellar.

Sitting Still Like a Frog - Eline Snel: A book of mindfulness exercises for kids (and parents). Graham’s a little young for it, but I’m trying to work some of the ideas in here and there. The kid has a lot of feelings and we’re looking for any way to help him handle them productively!

And Then There Were None - Agatha Christie: Classic. This had me super freaked out late one night when David wasn’t home. Also, I totally had it solved before the ending :).

Non-Places - Marc Auge: Academic treatise on supermodernity and the concept of non-places, which are essentially transitional spaces, like stores, airports, highways, etc. Super interesting, but DENSE.

Play It As It Lays - Joan Didion: Good heavens, this book is depressing. I love Joan Didion so much, but everything she writes is so SAD.

The Color Purple - Alice Walker: So excellent. The revival of this musical that’s playing with Cynthia Erivo right now is just about the best thing I’ve seen. The book is a beautiful evocation of the human spirit, which is a lofty sentence but I stand by it.

The Awakening - Kate Chopin: I’m trying to read all the books everyone else seems to have read in high school. This is one of them. Every time I have a feminist realization, David jokes that I’m going to walk out into the ocean and never come back. And now I get the joke :).