My Week In Reading

It's been a while

Good morning readers.

It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these posts. Selfishly, I’m looking for suggestions from all of you, so as always, please comment with any books, poems, shows, songs that have moved you lately.

It’s a snow day here. The roads are slick with ice, the kids are home from school, and the world is quiet. I just got back from a wild walk with the dogs. They always perk up when it’s cold out, but especially when there’s snow to gobble up and roll around in.

I looked out the window early this morning as the world lit, muted gray and white, and stared down the road. Through icy fog I couldn’t see far, and imagined a dark shadow figure, human or humanoid, trudging through the cold. Removed from the world around you, it’s easy to make up monsters. But when I stepped out into the cool air and snow crusted trees, all was pure magic and peace.

There’s a lesson there I’m always learning. Face the fear.

Photo by Amaan Ali on Unsplash

First, some songs.

I think I might be late to this party, but you know, better late than never? I’ve been obsessively listening to Phoebe Bridgers. I don’t know how I missed out on her, but I’m here now, and my playlist has gone something like—Bridgers, The National, Glen Hansard, The Frames, boygenius—on repeat.

Certain seasons invoke strong memories from certain periods of my life, and fall/winter is decidedly high school and early adulthood. It’s not surprising then that my musical obsessions have reverted to the styles and songs that touched me then.

“Suffer in Silence” was shown to me by that magical human I talked about in last week’s post.

“About Today.” This one takes me back to my early twenties. I heard it on Warrior—do you remember that movie? It tells the story of two brothers, sons of an alcoholic father, who end up boxing one another for a grand prize. I remember being devastated by this song when I heard it.

And of course here’s a favorite of mine by Phoebe Bridgers.

Listen to me butterfly,

there’s only so much wine that you can drink in one life

And it will never be enough

to save you from the bottom of your glass

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Some books.

This week I started reading Bridge to Terabithia to my daughter, and as usual, I was blown away by how insightful children’s books can be. They plant seeds, things we don’t pick up on when we first read them as children, but that we implicitly feel the impact of, then and later, as the text’s meaning unfolds with experience.

That got me thinking—I haven’t read many coming of age novels. There was Stargirl in middle school and Walk Two Moons in elementary. This Boy’s Life was a memoir that touched me deeply. And last year I read The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. But I think that sums it up.

So I’m reaching out to you, asking for your best coming of age novels. I want more!

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Some short stories

This summer, I finally watched Get Out by Jordan Peele, and man, the film has stuck with me. Particularly the images of The Sunken Place in that film. (If you don’t know what The Sunken Place is, it’s worth a watch. Hands down my favorite imagery of the film.)

The idea behind The Sunken Place—a method of hypnosis that the Armitage family in Get Out uses to trap people inside their own minds—came to Peele late in his writing of the screenplay. But it comes up again in his intro to his newly published anthology, Out There Screaming.

The idea that everyone has their own Sunken Place, perfectly curated to our individual fears, ties each story together as a particular and personal horror. I’m only a quarter of the way through, and so far each piece stands perfectly on its own. The collection is extremely strong, and I highly recommend to any and all horror and gothic fans.

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I usually add some Substacks for you all to check out, but I haven’t been reading many! Next time, next time.

Now for your part—what’s been on your mind lately? Any songs or shows or books to rave about? And of course, my burning question, what is a coming of age novel that you love?

As always, happy reading humans!