Your Reading List: Sun Valley Writers' Conference
Stop procrastinating already. YWR: #147
I understand. You’ve had spring fever. You’ve had senioritis. July seems so far away and maybe you just would rather read the fourth Finlay Donovan. But all of a sudden your deadline has hit, your draft is due, your commitments are pending and we need to BUCKLE DOWN.
Yes. That’s the royal we, unless you also have some imminent literary deadline, in which case stop reading this and get to it.
Otherwise, this week we’re doling out Sun Valley Writers’ Conference reading assignments from their list of very impressive authors. Why? Because it’s what’s on my reading mind lately and I need accountability lest I show up without making the most of the three days (a high achiever’s nightmare, along with that nightmare about being onstage/at a swim meet/at finals/delivering your senior thesis without doing the work). And because you might find inspiration in such a range of options, so we can read together. Like a virtual, introverted book club.
So read on for a lighting round of books I’ve read (and maybe recommend?) and books I have yet to read. I won’t waste your time and mine talking about the books I have zero intention of reading (sorry NOT AT ALL SORRY, Fire Weather, leave your scary climate foreboding for someone made of sterner stuff than I. Like Anna.) And if you’ve read any from the list, please leave your commentary in the comment(ary) section so we can all benefit!
I’ve Read Them And You Might Want To Also But It’s Up To You Obviously!
Fiction
The Marriage Portrait - A lovely and sad novel about a young duchess in Renaissance Italy who is unexpectedly forced to marry a ruler and join his court. A beautifully sketched, increasingly urgent story about the a young woman survives, physically and emotionally, in a world designed to extract from her. Read it, unless you haven’t read Hamnet by the same author in which case you MUST read that and prepare to weep copiously, I’m sorry/you’re welcome.
The Latecomer - Totally different from Korelitz’s The Plot (a propulsive and provocative if sort of obvious thriller), The Latecomer is about an estranged family of siblings who somewhat refreshingly loathe each other; their late-in-life sibling; and the secrets and identities that bind them to each other and their parents. It feels oddly timeless but also really modern. Very funny, so well written. (Isn’t it interesting when authors can jump genres like this? You deserve the Colson Whitehead genre-hopping award, Jean.)
Small Mercies - Set in a hot 1974 Boston summer against the backdrop of school desegregation, this is a dark mystery/thriller/noir of a mother and her daughter, but of course it’s really about how we are shaped by and shape our environments. It’s not a perfect read with some appropriate quarrels about the protagonist as well as the ending, but boy is this an atmospheric vibe. Wait, should I read more Dennis Lehane?
Non-Fiction
The Amen Effect - Written by a rabbi and based on the Jewish faith, this is a non-fiction book about the power of community and how to reinspire a shared humanity. Which is a very noble goal!
For me, it was just okay. When I learned that this was based on one of her sermons, it made so much sense. Like - it coulda been an email and not a 240 page book, y’know? Nothing new in this book but if you need that message now, maybe you’ll like it.Love, Loss, & What We Ate - I’m a Padma stan and as far as I’m concerned, being labeled a succubus by Salman Rushdie should just make us like her more. Even given my bias, this was a really good celebrity memoir. Thoughtful, scaldingly honest, smart - a really moving reflection on food as memory. Way more substantive than you might expect. If you read this kind of book, it’s a great one.
On My List to Be Read and Why I’m Intrigued. Maybe You Will Be Too?
The Paris Novel - It’s not that I’m so optimistic in Reichl’s fiction abilities, but I dearly love a book deeply rooted in a a place. This book about a woman who goes to Paris after her mother dies seems like it will be one of those love letters. And is Paris not always a good idea?
Night Flyer - I was really impressed by Miles’s All That She Carried and I’ve read shockingly almost nothing about Harriet Tubman. Excited to know more about the person behind the mythology.
King: A Life - Confession: I want to want to read this more than I seem to want to read this because I feel like all modern biographies just want to show how much work they’ve done rather than craft a narrative. But All the Awards can’t be wrong!
In the Unlikely Event - I may or may not read this Judy Blume book but OMG JUDY BLUME IS SPEAKING WHAT A NATIONAL TREASURE!!! Please drop your favorite Judy Blume in the comments RIGHT MEOW. Mine is ummmm … Deenie. No, Freckle Juice. No, I don’t know. They’re all good.
Also for your/my/our reading consideration - Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange (I didn’t “enjoy” There, There but damned if I don’t think about it a lot.) Or the new Erik Larson, but do I want to read a thinly veiled warning about the perils of a divided country? Not really. But I’m stoked to hear from him in Sun Valley. In my mind he’s devilshly rakish and erudite!
See the entire SVWC reading list here and share your thoughts VIA THIS FETCHINGLY VIOLET BUTTON:
Maybe you want to go to this book festival? I dunno. It’s none of my business, really.
MY work life requires complete dedication every single gollblamed minute of February. But maybe YOU will want to go to the Palm Springs Readers’ Festival, Feb 7-9, hosted by newsletter favorite indie bookstore, The Best Bookstore in Palm Springs.
This has nothing to do with me and I get no kickback because lol this newsletter is, uh, not yet that influential. Just thought you might like to know! Tix here.
All links go to Bookshop.org, which supports indie bookstores. A nice but also quite fun thing to do, especially when the booksellers are very enthusiastic about their wares!
That said, Barnes & Noble is opening up again near me and I’m … pretty stoked about it.
Do you think the dream of opening a restaurant/B&B is more or less popular than the dream of owning a bookstore? Discuss.