What and Why
When I was in Grade Five or so, my best friend’s mom imposed a rule on her that she could not take out “junk” books from the library. She was not allowed to read what the rest of us were furtively reading, which were the Sweet Valley High and Cheerleader series, and their ilk. At the time it struck me as patently unfair, and now, looking back on it, it strikes me as patently stupid. What kind of a person puts reading restrictions on a ten-year-old? Even my own mother, who was no slouch in the “strict rules” department, did not know or care what I was reading at any given time; I soon graduated from those books to things like Flowers in the Attic, Clan of the Cave Bear, and Elvis and Me, all of which combined to give me a very strange outlook on life. To this day I will not eat powdered doughnuts.
No matter. I strongly believe that kids should read just what they want to read, and so should adults, with no apologies. For me, I have always been interested almost exclusively in the lives of girls and women – both the concept and the actual book – and so the vast majority of the books I read have female protagonists and are written by women. In fact, it’s somewhat of a joke in my house if I’m reading a book written by a man: the guys will ask if he’s gay, British, or gay and British, and indeed, that does tend to be the exception to my women-only rule. There are exceptions to the exception, though; this calendar year I have read two 5-star books by non-gay, non-British men, The Remains of the Day and Grace and Henry’s Holiday Movie Marathon.
I love character-driven novels about the minutia of life, I love books about the extraordinariness of ordinary life, I love prose and dialogue that is clever, witty, and beautiful. This means much of my reading is women’s literary fiction, although I do like an occasional upmarket or romance. I do not care for dystopian books at all, but as I said, there are exceptions: I love both The Handmaid’s Tale and I Who Have Never Known Men. I don’t like magical realism or fantasy, but I loved The Husbands and The Mists of Avalon, the latter of which I have read multiple times. I shy away from horror, having been scarred by a single reading of Misery back in 1990, and also because I generally am easily terrified. Books that contain time travel, sci-fi, or futuristic timelines are completely uninteresting to me and I refuse to read them. I don’t tend to gravitate toward thrillers or mysteries, but occasionally I will be coaxed into one by a glowing review from my friend Suzanne, and I always end up enjoying it (HI SUZANNE). Historical fiction is a tricky category for me. I don’t like when things wrap up too neatly, and also my number one pet peeve is when current day values or language are imposed on a book of yesteryear, which happens often in historical fiction. That said, I absolutely loved Isola, as well as any number of novels about spunky letter-writing women during the Blitz in London. I enjoy a well-written and entertaining memoir and the occasional interesting non-fiction as well. Sometimes I think I should branch out more, genre-wise, but mostly I just embrace what I like.
Who and Where
My TBR – to be read – list is staggeringly long and it just gets longer every day. The problem is I have so many well-read friends who are always recommending excellent books, although I have gotten very selective as to who I take recommendations from, having blindly picked up, and then regretted, many titles. And it goes the other way too: I once had an old school friend message me on Instagram, angry that she had BOUGHT three books on my glowing recommendations, and that “nothing happened in any of them!” They were so boring and I can’t believe you liked them! What a waste of money! she said. Well. The only thing I can say to that is that you really need to know a person’s taste BEFORE you take on their recommendations, and certainly before you commit to buying them. Support your local libraries! It’s a cost-free way to read – or not read – as many books as you like.
Speaking of Instagram, I do get a lot of recommendations from there; I follow a number of bookstagram accounts, and I also have some friends who are avid readers and with whom I share interests and tastes. My friend Anna (HI ANNA) and I enjoy 95% of the same books, so when she recommends something, I listen. I also get a lot of ideas from blog friends; notably Allison (HI ALLISON) who puts up a very detailed annual summary every January. I take a lot of her four and five star fiction recommendations. She is much wider-read than I am, genre-wise, but she always separates out horror, sci-fi, thriller, and mysteries, so I don’t get myself entangled in anything that I am uninterested in or scared of.
I also get a number of recommendations from podcasts, although that has been hit-and-miss for me. I enthusiastically picked up The Idea of You based on a podcaster’s recommendation and I never trusted that woman again. Just like that old school friend will never trust me again. The world is a vast tapestry, big wheel keeps on turning, Proud Mary keeps on burning.
When and How
I read 2-3 books per week, almost all physical books, the rest on an ereader, and the reason I can manage this pace is twofold: I am a fast reader, and I carve out time to read every day. Even in my busiest eras of life, of which I am markedly NOT in currently, I always made time for reading daily. Reading is the R in my REM Y REM protocol for mental health and general well-being. (Exercise, Meditation, Yoga, and REM sleep are the other key parts). I read both in small snippets throughout the day, and then longer stretches in the later afternoon or evening. My husband is a sports fan, and there are games or tournaments or what have you most months of the year, so while he watches those in the evening I keep him company by reading on the couch. I try to read for an additional 30-60 minutes during the afternoon, depending on my day. I read while I eat lunch, I always have a book in my bag so I have something to read if I’m delayed or waiting somewhere, and I try to pick up my current read whenever I have a few spare minutes, rather than scroll on my phone. Recently my friend Elisabeth (HI ELISABETH) shared a “Couch to 5K,” but for reading, which I think is kind of brilliant. We are all so fractured, attention-wise, these days that I think there is real value in just concentrating on a book. It’s beneficial for our brains and our outlooks on life. What could give us more knowledge and information than reading? It’s never wasted time, as far as I’m concerned, and I never feel guilty about it. I know plenty of people who feel that reading is unproductive, but a) what are we being productive for, b) taking time for ourselves benefits everyone in a “put on your oxygen mask before helping others with theirs” way, and c) fuck the patriarchy that wants to keep women busy every second of the day.
Weekly Reading
A Woman in Berlin. I know I declared Reread Fortnight to be over, but I squeezed in one more, which I first read about 25 years ago for a now-long-defunct book club. This is an actual account, based on the author’s diary and notes, of the fall of Berlin in 1945. If ever you are having a bad day, remember you are not a woman in Berlin, a city which was bombed to rubble, foraging for food and getting raped six ways to Sunday by the Red Army, all with the shame of what your country’s leadership has done. It is grim. But here is an interesting sidebar: up until TWO WEEKS AGO, I had a picture in my mind of post-war Germany, and that picture had a line down the centre, dividing it into East and West Germany. I had assumed that Berlin just happened to be in the middle of that line, thus the division and eventual wall. HOW WRONG I WAS! Berlin is actually very deep into the heart of what was East Germany, so that West Berlin was surrounded on all sides by red, if you will. This blows my mind! I had no idea. If you were a person in West Berlin, would you be able to travel to West Germany easily? I suppose there would be checkpoints and so forth, but it is a long way from West Berlin to West Germany. If anyone can point me to further reading material on this subject, I would be very grateful. I know I have some German readers, so please let me know if you have any recommendations.
Silver Sparrow. I loved this book about two girls who are half-sisters – one of them knows it, one of them doesn’t. Their father is a bigamist, and this is a dual-perspective story about the lives of the two girls as they grow up in Atlanta, but it’s so much more. The characters are so richly developed, and there is such a statement about generational cycles. The ending made my jaw drop a little. A beautifully-written, compelling story.
The Sweet Spot. Oh, I loved this delightfully heartwarming book with all its charming characters and really great arcs. It has all my favourite literary f-words: found family, friends, funny dialogue, and forgiveness. There’s fucking too, but it’s all closed-door and perfectly non-spicy, which is exactly how I like it, literarily speaking. I love it when a motley crew of characters all end up working together for a common goal, and that is exactly what happens when a baby finds itself in need of a caretaker – or, in this case, many caretakers. This is just a lovely, feel-good book, perfect cheer for a gloomy, rainy weekend. WHO recommended this book? I owe you one! And not in the way of my old school friend, or, I should say, my former school friend.
There was some sad news this week: Dolly Parton passed away. She was an absolute angel, and among numerous significant charitable contributions was a champion for children’s literacy. I dedicate this book talk miniseries to her memory. May she rest in fabulous, over-the-top, glittery peace.
Hi Nicole! As a Brit I am duty bound to comment that Kazuo Ishiguro is Japanese-British, he moved to the UK when he was 5! He talks about it on one of my favourite podcasts (The Adam Buxton Podcast) when he came on to discuss his novels. It’s a good ep 🙂
https://podcasts.apple.com/se/podcast/the-adam-buxton-podcast/id1040481893?l=en-GB&i=1000512969961
Helen! Thank you so much! I feel vindicated in that I can add Kazuo Ishiguro to my “gay, British, or gay and British” exception to my male writer rule! And also thank you so much for that podcast recommendation, I have downloaded it and will listen asap! Thanks so much!!!
Ha ha ha happy to help!
There is another podcast that I really enjoy called Just the Gist, they tell interesting stories that don’t get a lot of mainstream attention. I’m recommending you this episode based on how much you enjoyed Sky Daddy; it’s about a lady named Margaret who fell in love with a dolphin…
https://podcasts.apple.com/se/podcast/just-the-gist/id1828397649?l=en-GB&i=1000780110450
OOOOHHHHH I AM INTERESTED!!! Thank you!!!
i totally agree- everyone should be allowed to read WHATEVER THEY WANT. Kids especially should be encouraged to read, and if they want Diary of a Wimpy Kid, then great. The idea that time spent reading is “wasted” time is mind boggling to me. What else is life for??? It’s hard for me to imagine a life without reading. It would be so sad and empty!
A Woman in Berlin sounds good… that was a fascinating time in history. Ken Follett wrote about it so well in his Century trilogy, but I doubt you would want to read two long books to get to the third (also long) one. But it’s so good, and I also learned a lot about history. I did know that Berlin was stuck right in the middle of East Germany though- I know, that’s so crazy.
I mean, I had no idea! I feel a bit ashamed at my own geographical ignorance. I don’t know HOW I didn’t know that, since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the dissolution of the USSR happened when I was a young teen and we studied it at school. Well, maybe that actually does explain it. Young teens are not the greatest at retaining certain things, even if I did know it at a young age. (but also? I took a German history course, from Bismarck to post-WWII when I was in university, and I STILL didn’t know that!)
Lol, my kids LOVED Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and I always hated it, it is so mean-spirited. But! I didn’t yuck their yums.
I am opposite of you because I’m a slow reader! I read about a book a month, if that. I enjoy reading but sometimes I’m just not in the mood and go in spirts. One thing we have in common is the language in historical fiction books. The language has to match the time period. I always enjoy your book reviews! Happy September reading!
I find it SO distracting and strange when I’m reading, say, a book set in the 1800s and there is some very modern ideology or language used. WHERE ARE THE EDITORS??
I try to reserve at least a half hour for leisure reading a day, but often I spend the whole chunk on the newspaper (front section doesn’t count toward that time, but the rest does). I read a lot fewer books than you, though, about 3 a month.
I had a little more time for reading books while we were at Beth’s mom’s because I was doing less house/yard work and they watched some tv I didn’t care to watch. Also, I was reading the paper online which I don’t enjoy as much, so I was just skimming headlines most day, or skipping it altogether.
We listened to an interview with Elizabeth Strout on the Death, Sex, and Money podcast while driving home on Saturday. I know you like her, so you might be interested in that if DSM is not on your podcast lineup.
Steph! Thank you for that podcast rec, I have downloaded it to be listened to on tomorrow’s walk (or even later today if I have time). I don’t usually listen to that podcast but maybe I should start! I see they have some very interesting topics!
I might have been the one to recommend Sweet Spot! I loved that book. I am currently reading the latest Sedaris, and I think I need to thank you for mentioning it, as I did not know he had released another book. He never disappoints!
I’m with you on passing up horror, dystopian, and fantasy. I don’t have that much hate towards time travel and will occasionally read historical fiction. But I’m drawing the line at anymore WW2 books. I’ve read more than my fair share.
Well, thank you Bijoux! What a delightful book The Sweet Spot was! I loved all the characters. It was just so happy and heartwarming.
I think if someone told me that reading was unproductive (aka, a waste of time) that would taint my opinion of them forever. We might be friendly, but we would never be friends, if you know what I mean. Also, yes, who the fuck wants to be productive all the time? Not me, that’s for sure.
My husband was not a reader until high school, and I believe his gateway drug was music magazines. He reads a LOT now, mostly non-fiction, mostly music or politics, mostly stuff I would never look at twice. We have VERY different taste in books, generally.
I knew that Berlin was deep in East Germany, but I remember being surprised when I learned that, because like you, I assumed it was just a matter of drawing the line through the middle of the country. Maps are handy, I guess I just hadn’t seen it on one before that.
I read Silver Sparrow recently, and really liked it. She’s such a wonderful author, really.
My husband really enjoys historical fiction, like of the ancient Romans and so forth. It’s not my jam, but he really enjoys it!
I can’t believe I lived this long without knowing that was how Germany/ Berlin was divided!
HI NICOLE! Thank you for the sweet shout out! I love that we are book twins and the majority of my own TBR list is because of you. 🤗 I agreed kids should be able to read what they want. They also should not have to log their ‘reading minutes’ as homework each night, but that’s a discussion for another time. I needed the REMY reminder, that’s a good one. I will discuss with my husband about the Germany book recs, he’s a major WWII history buff and his book list is vastly different than mine, so he might have some ideas. 🙂
Oh god, talk about taking the pleasure out of reading. “You have only read 19 of your 30 minutes.”
Thank you! I will happily take recommendations from your household at large! Since I already take yours!
I have thoughts! Yes, kids especially should read anything they want to, and I 100% agree that you also should “just embrace what I like” with your reading, but that doesn’t mean I won’t recommend books; I won’t mind at all if you don’t try them, or try and don’t like them.
Historical fiction makes me think of The Gilded Hour and its sequel, Where the Light Enters, by Sara Donati. She has a whole series, Into the Wilderness, and this duology is sort of a later part of that, but I don’t think you need to have read the whole thing to enjoy them. They start in the 1880s in New York, with two women who are cousins and are both doctors, which of course was not exactly socially acceptable in a lot of circles. I really enjoyed both the characterizations and the details of what life was like then (the author has written about how much research she did).
Unrelated but have you read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society? It’s by two women (bonus points!) and is a post-WWII novel in letters, and I really loved the peek into post-war life and the characters and relationships.
You know what, I did read the Guernsey book back when it first came out. So…must be close to 20 years ago. And I’m sorry to tell you but I HATED it. Now, I’m not sure how I’d feel these days, but I was so put off by it and I DO NOT KNOW WHY. I can’t remember anything about it except my deep dislike! Maybe it’s worth a revisit just to see.
That said, those other books you mention do sound intriguing, and the amount of research is maybe the key! I will look them up!
Dolly’s spirit lives on!
The best way that I can describe my reading taste is “I like what I like”. Usually it’s the combo of characters that I care about plus a great story to back it up, but there are plenty of books that I love that only have one of these two things.
I get most of my recs from the Sarah’s Bookshelves podcast + bloggers. I’ve learned that no one person will be in lockstep with my reading tastes so I have to take everything with a grain of salt. My volume varies. If I have a string of good books going I might knock them back fairly quickly, but it’s just a normal for me to only read for a few minutes a day right before bed.
If reading is unproductive, then I don’t want to be productive!
Hard agree on “we like what we like” and also on being “unproductive!” I have only listened to one or two of Sarah’s Bookshelves, but maybe I should try it again. It sounds like it would be up my alley!
I don’t know if I recommended The Sweet Spot, but I’m pretty sure I posted it in my 2025 reading roundup so maybe you saw it there! I do enjoy Amy Poeppel. Oh, I just realized she has a new one out I haven’t read yet! Wonderful.
We do have a lot of similarities. I mostly refuse to read WWII historical fiction or non-fiction because I’ve just read SO MUCH and it’s all the same (sorry to overgeneralize). I also avoid magical realism and fantasy, with a few notable exceptions. Genre fiction just really isn’t my jam (horror, thriller, fantasy, romantasy, sci-fi) and I do tend to dwell in the pool of women’s literary fiction with well-written romcoms thrown in (there’s a lot of vapid junk in that genre so one has to be careful).
Oh maybe you are the person I need to thank! I do always look at your reading roundups! I am going to look into more from that author because really, she’s a delight!
I so agree with romcoms – some are so good and fun! And some are just vapid.
As usual, I could just ditto Birchie’s comment entirely:
“Usually it’s the combo of characters that I care about plus a great story to back it up, but there are plenty of books that I love that only have one of these two things.
… I’ve learned that no one person will be in lockstep with my reading tastes so I have to take everything with a grain of salt.”
Yes, yes, yes!
I definitely struggle with feeling unproductive while reading, but I push back and do it anyway. I read… a lot of books. Mostly in the evening when everyone else is asleep and I know I don’t get enough sleep because of it, but I just love reading so much and sometimes I need to prioritize it. It really does help my mental health to read.
Sweet Valley High was SUCH an era for me. I read all of them, over and over again. Which surely would have horrified my very conservative parents if they had known about it, but they never really stopped to investigate it too much!
In high school, I was all in on things like Robin Cooke, Tess Gerritsen, and Clive Cussler. Now I’m more into thrillers, thought-provoking fiction, or non-fiction. Romance doesn’t really hold much appeal for me, nor do medical dramas which were my bread and butter in reading for a while.
I think you could have knocked me over with a feather when you told me you read SVH!!! I love that.
Isn’t it interesting that our reading tastes can change so much? I went through a period that was so much celebrity memoir and essay collections, and now I rarely reach for those. I mean, sometimes I do, but I feel a bit memoir-ed out.
I don’t read as quickly as you, but usually manage an average of a book a week. I know what I like — Mysteries (not thrillers, definitely not thrillers); biography/memoir; history/non-fiction (especially British) or historic fiction (Rutherfurd, Follett); just about anything set in England; and some fiction, but pretty selective. I don’t like cute or formulaic fiction. Give me an Ann Patchett, Geraldine Brooks or similar any day and I’m all in. Nope on sci-fi, horror and most fantasy. But if someone really loves a book, knows me and recommends, I’m probably in it! I just finished “Becoming Duchess Goldblatt” and became such a fan!
Oooh I don’t know Becoming Duchess Goldblatt! I’ll look it up! This comment section is GOLD for my already-teetering TBR. Thanks Jeanie!
Tayari Jones is an amazing writer. I don’t even care what she’s writing about – I know it’s going to be good.
The first song that was played at my wedding reception was “9 to 5.” There’s nothing like an anti-capitalism song to get people from every generation on the dance floor.
OMG that is an INCREDIBLE “get everyone on the dance floor” song. You know what, I have always thought that your “entry song” (i.e., the song that would theoretically play every time you enter a room) would be “Man I Feel Like A Woman” because…why? Maybe you told me you liked that song? And I just picture you walking in a room “let’s go girls” – but NOW I’m picturing you walking in with the opening bars of 9 To 5. Either one suits you really well, I think! (my personal entry song is Maneater by Hall and Oates)
Re: reading material about East Berlin – I recently read Tunnel 29, which is non-fiction but told in a very narrative fashion- you might enjoy it.
Allison, thank you! I have just put it on hold at the library! I appreciate the rec!
RIP Dolly.
It’s so fun when a book in a genre you don’t especially like turns out to be awesome. I love character driven books too. I think that’s why series often appeal to me – because the characters are beloved, even if a couple of installments aren’t that great. I’ve gotten a lot of great recommendations from bloggers, for example, the Emma M. Lion series was recommended by Stephany, and I’m enjoying them so much.
Oh that’s awesome, Michelle! Sometimes I am sad to end a book because I love the characters so much! A series would help with that!
Thank you, I just added more books to my TBR!! I absolutely love character-driven books with just daily life happening!!
Sweet Dolly—what a gem of a human she was, and may her legacy live on.
Who limits what kind of books your kids can read? I mean, aside from the really raunchy stuff? That makes no sense.
One of my dearest friends loves the fantasy books…not sure what you really call them, but I read one and declared it was Fairy Porn. She thought for sure I would also like it–but nope, apparently I just like regular porn. KIDDING!
Suz! Was it A Court of Thorns and Roses? I listened to a podcast episode about that and they called it Fairy Porn! I wonder if it’s the same thing, or if Fairy Porn is a big thing now! (or a little thing, I assume, since fairies are small) (I think they’re small, maybe I shouldn’t assume their size) (oh lordy I am getting in deep here) (ahhhhh!)
It was ACOTAR!! Well, in this particular book that I read, the fairies were quite large, strong, and endowed in all the ways! I mean, it was pretty erotic, but just a bit too far-fetched for me. 🤣
Book recs are hard! I definitely don’t have the same taste as some people. I also enjoyed VC Andrews when I was younger! But I read (and enjoyed) most Stephen King books too (although Misery was brutal!) I know you enjoy more of a character driven book than I do, but we both loved Norah Ephron’s book about her neck! To each their own; luckily I know we can be friends no matter what our book tastes! Besides, there’s always wine, right?
I basically don’t recommend anything to anyone unless I specifically know if someone’s taste aligns with mine. In the case I mentioned, I only had posted about them on IG, not even specifically recommended them! And yes, we don’t all need to have the same tastes to be friends!
When I was in Berlin, I think it was in the Stasi Museum (and absolute must if you’re there (Berlin itself is an absolute must in my book) they had a map showing Berlin surrounded by east Germany, and there was literally a highway you could take to west Germany, but (if I’m recalling correctly, it’s been a few years) there was a lot of bureaucracy to do it. Wikipedia tells me there was also a train line.
That is fascinating!! Thank you! My older son was in Berlin this past spring and absolutely loved it, it was his favourite city!
Dolly we will always love you!
There is, as always SO much in this post. I read your blog in the morning then go back later in the day and enjoy it once again. First wow that mom that told her daughter she couldn’t read junk. Terrible; a comic book, graphic novel or SWH – it’s all reading. My mom was also very strict but never controlled what I read. Oh wait, when I was 12 and would sneak into my “I love trashy magazines and very racy novels” 18 year old sister’s room, she put a stop to that. And I think my sister also heard about as she then hid her reading material. I loved The Time Traveler’s Wife and Kindred so I guess I enjoy well-written time travel books. I also love historical fiction as it fills in gaps for when I never paid attention in history class. You mentioned Isola (loved). I also loved It’s Not About Us and am almost finished Sam by the same author. You may have recommended It’s Not About Us; I think you’d like Sam (She’s a female!). A lot of my reading comes from you Nicole so keep on blogging & posting!
Oh thank you! I’m glad to be of service!
Yes! Reading is reading! I would have never chosen the books my boys loved to read, but they loved them, and that’s all that matters!
The only people I have as much disdain for as those who think reading is not a productive use of time are the people that say “oh I wish I had time to read like you do”… It takes all of my self control to go off on them about priorities. We all have 24 hours in our day and we have different demands on our time, but I can still find time to read despite having a very full schedule. *steps off soap box*
I do not limit my kids reading either. I just want them to read, whatever that looks like. For Paul, it’s non-fiction books about sports or graphic novels. I read chapter books out loud to him and try to get him to read a paragraph here or there but only if he’s in the right kind of mood for that. Will can read whatever he wants. I have been known to hide books from him that I can’t bear to read another time, though…
We have nearly identical genre preferences. I don’t read thrillers, sci fi or horror unless someone whose taste I trust presses me to read something in that genre. I’m also out on ghosts as a character. I think we are pretty similar book twins but you might be slightly more literary than I am, just by a hair. It’s fairly rare for us to disagree on a book. I have a pretty short list of people I will take recommendations from. And there are people who I get specific recommendations from – like Stephany tends to recommend great romances to me that I otherwise wouldn’t have heard of. And there are a couple of podcasters whose tastes really align with me for the most part (Sarah of Sarah’s Bookshelves Live and Annie B Jones of From the Front Porch).
RIP Dolly. She was such a delight. We watched a CBS news story about her yesterday that showed her approval rating versus a bunch of other public figures. Hers was 70% which was MUCH higher than most of the other people, like Trump and other world leaders. But I thought – who’s in that 30% that doesn’t approve of her? Not anyone I’d want to know!! And now I really really want to watch Steel Magnolias. I loved her character in that movie!
WHO ARE THOSE 30%??? That’s wild. I didn’t love that movie but I loved her character “There’s no such thing as natural beauty, if there was, I’d be out of a job.” Lol, I love her.
I do NOT have a full schedule, but once upon a time I did, and I STILL READ BOOKS. I find it disappointing when it’s viewed as a frivolous waste of time. Fuck the patriarchy, we do not have to be super productive every second of the day, and also, EVERYONE has something they do while they relax. Sometimes it’s watching movies, or playing a game, or going out for dinner (which takes time!!!). We can all choose our leisure activities!
I’m so curious about your powdered donuts remark!
IDK the other novel you mentioned, Nicole, but I can attest that Ishiguro is very British. I mean, no one else is going to write about an English butler, lol.
I enjoyed _Silver Sparrow_ so much! I felt like it was a companion piece to _Kin_ in a way.
My mom continuously introduced me to the best books but was very conscious of age appropriateness. (I had to wait till I was 15 for to read Anne Frank.)
I mean, it’s obvious NOW that Ishiguro is British. I guess I saw “born in Japan” and didn’t read any more of the “about the author” page? I can’t explain it!
It was because of you I read Silver Sparrow, so THANK YOU!!!!
As for powdered doughnuts, spoiler alert for a 47-year-old book, but the grandmother in Flowers in the Attic fed the children poisoned powdered doughnuts and one of them died. That book is WILD, let me tell you.
Thank you for clearing up that mystery!!
Ooh I love this topic. I was generally allowed to read what I wanted as a child, although I do remember mum insisting on reading Anne of Green Gables aloud to me at 7 even though I wanted to read it myself. And when I was about 11, my best friend and I were BANNED by our mums from reading Forever by Judy Blume.
At uni, I studied a year of Junior Primary teaching which included Language Arts, taught by the illustrious Mem Fox. Her biggest lesson was that children should be allowed and encouraged to read whatever they want, including comics, magazines, “trash”, etc. Clearly I’ve never forgotten it!
OMG I love Forever! I can’t remember when exactly I read it, but I will say it really holds up on the reread! I don’t think my mom knew I read it!
I love that lesson: children should be encouraged to read whatever! I agree!
I read across a lot of different genres, but I love dystopian, SF, fantasy and historical fiction! I also have a number of books on my TBR that you recommended. I just carefully read what people write about the book, though, to work out whether it’s for me or not.
For life in Eat Germany Stasiland is a good read. My eldest had to read it for school, so I read it too.
Oh thanks so much – I will look up Stasiland right away!
We have the same taste in books so I will take all your recommendations except I think I like romance more than you (and I did like the Idea of You 😆).
I totally agree about letting kids read whatever they want. My son has recently gotten into the dungeon crawler Carl series which I’m told has some inappropriate parts but he has been a reluctant reader…. and I’m so thrilled he is enjoying reading that I really don’t even care. I was also always happy to see him read graphic novels too. All reading is good reading in my mind.
All reading IS good reading! I totally agree! And meh, sometimes things are inappropriate, but *shrug* being interested in reading tops everything!
I can’t imagine a day without reading. I too get a lot of book recs from Instagram and have an ever-growing TBR pile. I agree about letting kids read whatever they want. My dad was great at this. He had a bookcase of a mix of books ranging from thrillers to classics to Erica Jong’s Fear of Flying. As a child, I regularly dipped into his bookcase and pulled out books and read bits and pieces. He knew I was doing it, he never told me not to. Thus my love for reading was born.
Fear of Flying! The zipless fuck!!!
Putting restrictions on children’s reading is ridiculous!
All right Nicole, I should probably NOT be commenting because I am IN A FROTH, but your old school friend said WHAT??? “They were so boring and I can’t believe you liked them! What a waste of money!” WHO SAYS THAT TO THE PERSON WHO RECOMMENDED SOMETHING TO THEM THAT IS NOT OKAY. I recently suggested to Birchie and Kyria that they try “Lost Lambs” and it was not a hit for them — are they to shun me FOREVERMORE???? Or vice versa?!?! I mean, I do kind of think you should shun that old school friend forevermore, but not because she disliked books you recommended. No, for being a JACKHOLE.
Also, I feel like after two decades of being overly online, I should be well versed in The Things People Object To. I mean, I am not going to bring up tipping at restaurants or post a photo of a child in a carseat or discuss breast vs bottle feeding because I know better. But… there are people who OBJECT TO READING? Just, like, IN GENERAL? How???? And why??? “Not productive”???? But… ISN’T IT? I just cannot, Nicole. If someone feels that way, I feel embarrassed for them, followed by sad. (Am I being just as Judgy McJudgerson as your old school friend by reacting that way????)
I cannot imagine not reading. It is such an inextricable part of my life. My kid is in a highly busy phase of life (will this phase end??? perhaps not) and I was realizing last night that I am willing to sacrifice home cooked meals and I am willing to sacrifice showers and I am even — RELUCTANTLY — willing to sacrifice homework completeness and even a few minutes of sleep, but I am not, apparently, willing to sacrifice reading to her at night. Even if it’s just a paragraph or two, it feels very important to me — as a point of connection, a moment of relaxation, a time of escape from the pressures of everyday life. And also, it’s good for her brain and her vocabulary and her imagination and her sense of empathy.
Okay, I don’t even know if this rant makes a lick of sense. But I trust you Get It.
I appreciate your rant, because I 100% agree. FIRST OF ALL, I didn’t even RECOMMEND those books to that old school friend specifically, I merely wrote glowing reviews about them on IG. Second of all, even if I DID recommend those, what kind of response is that? How about “oh, it wasn’t for me, but thanks.”
THIRD of all, I feel embarrassed and sad for people who think that reading is a waste of time as well. It’s such a pleasure, and it is so beneficial on every level.
I GET IT!!!
I’m so glad you mentioned the part about “reading guilt”, it really hit home. Somehow I always have the feeling I need to be “productive”. So even when reading, I read in French because then at least I’m doing something “useful”. Apparently, my leisure time needs to justify its existence.
It’s really unhealthy! Your point about “what are we being productive for?” was exactly what I needed to hear!
I’m so glad, Catrina! We don’t need to justify our leisure time! We are not machines!
I loved this post, Nicole. I especially loved your reminder that reading is never wasted time. I think so many of us have been conditioned to feel like we always need to be doing something productive, when sometimes sitting down with a good book is exactly what we need. 💜
YES! We are conditioned to be Doing All The Things, but I think that’s really wrong and harmful!
HI NICOLE. I’m glad I’ve never scarred you with an accidental horror read. My friend Nat takes my recs blindly and she borrowed The Only Good Indian thinking it was going to be about residential schools and instead it was about a vengeful elk spirit killing a bunch of people, but fortunately she likes horror, so our relationship survived.
I think that mom was tripping also. If a kid wants to read a book you let them read whatever freaking book they want to. My parents were blissfully unaware of the horrifically inappropriate reading I did, but I knew every book that Eve read and I never would have limited her.
Hahahah omg, the vengeful elk spirit. I…do not want to read that. But your annual roundup always gives me great ideas, while filtering out the scary books!
I used to get the comment–as a child–that I “read too much” and “all I ever do or want to do is read!” AS IF THAT WERE A BAD THING. I will admit to being angry at my older sister for reading late into the night by the light of a closet with the door slightly ajar, sending the shaft of illumination precisely across her book. We shared a room for a long, long time, and that light used to keep me up.
Isn’t it fantastic when you absolutely love a book recommended by someone who also loved it? That was my experience with The Correspondent. It’s unimaginable to me that someone would blame you for a book you loved that didn’t work for them. Heaven forfend that you recommend a wine to her!
“Always her nose in a book” – me and you, childhood descriptors! AND I LOVE IT!!!
I debated to police girls’ reading and decided not to. it’s more important that they find reading relaxing than the content itself. reading itself helps with attention, curiosity, and really what a ride when one reads a good book. After I finished Americanah, I had a chat with Sofia about the joy of reading a good book and she can related which is great.
I am in the project of finish all my physical books at. home before getting new books, I must say I love carrying a book around. I don’t get to read extended time during the week which I would love, but at least I can find napping time on weekend and read for a while. Taking the pressure of reading everyday and as the only leisure helped me to enjoy it more when I get to read, instead of feeling guilty of not reading when I have 5 min.
Oh Coco, I so agree with you – reading does so much for us! And it can be so enjoyable. My kids loved books that were completely unappealing to me – and actually, they still do! But we are all different, and as long as they are reading, who cares!
I read Clan of the Cave Bear in FIFTH GRADE MY GOD. Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret was in second grade. The whole VC Andrew oeuvre in middle school. What a worldview! I agree with you about not censoring kid reading and about carving time to read– samesies.
It’s wild the things we read and yet, here we are! Fairly well-adjusted adult women! Who only occasionally think about what would happen if someone poured tar on our heads (just me?)
My daughter said she didn’t like reading so instead I got her “Teen People” magazine. It interested her and she was reading.
Joyce! That’s so smart! What a great solution!
I am a fast reader (the actual act of reading), but I definitely am in my slow reading era, meaning I don’t finish three (!) books in a week these days… I know it’s all about making time but I seem to have too many competing interests (not an excuse, an explanation). I really love the idea of the Couch to 5k for reading though. I think carving out time to read is so important (as a kid and young adult, I was always lugging books around and was asking for books for birthdays and Christmas). There’s nothing better than to immerse oneself in different worlds. It also helped me tremendously when learning a second language! (RIP Dolly Parton. She knew what’s important in life!).
Isn’t the Couch to 5K such an interesting concept for reading? I think we are all battling fractured attention spans, and it’s such a smart way to get through it!
As your certified Book Nemesis, I am appalled at the person who complained about the books you recommended! You don’t just BUY A BUNCH OF BOOKS from someone’s recommendation unless you know your tastes align. GET IT TOGETHER, RANDOM PERSON. I will not allow this to stand!
I am definitely someone who struggles to sit down and JUST READ for long stretches. That’s why my reading retreat was so good for me because I forced myself to do hour-long sessions. I need to get back into that mode because my reading time can be so fractured throughout the day.
Every day, I have a moment where I stop and remember that Dolly died and I just… I am not doing well. She was such a joy and a light, and it’s unbearable that she’s gone.
MY BOOK NEMESIS!!! I laughed and laughed. I guess it’s true! Have we had any overlap? I feel like we must have at some point!
A reading retreat…I want a reading retreat! Well, I probably don’t need one since I, you know, don’t have a job or young kids or anything. I could make every day a reading retreat! MAYBE I SHALL.
Hey, I’m neither gay nor British, and the protagonist in my novel is a strong-willed woman. I think that makes me a freakin’ unicorn!
Time travel books are my very favorites, lol. I can’t get enough of them.
Oooh well I should read your book because that IS a unicorn situation! I will look it up tout de suite!
Keeping a book nearby instead of automatically reaching for the phone is such a simple habit. Those little pockets of reading time probably add up more than we realize.
It’s so true! I find having my phone at more-than-arm’s distance away really helps.
Nicole, I love this post so, so much. We overlap in some reading loves and not in others. I, too, just learned that Berlin was in East Germany. (I gleaned that bit of knowledge from a story on the recent German elections, weirdly enough.) Powdered donuts. OMG. Also, I had to read Misery in my one and only (sigh) college English seminar, and then we had to watch the movie, and I was terrified. (I also just tried and hard-DNF’d another King book, The Talisman. It was dreadful.)
ANYWAY. Reading is life. I have (*counts on fingers*) three going right now: e-book, audiobook, and print book. I try to always have at least two, because life is short and there are too many good books out there.
#beginrant Finally, I could not care one iota what other people read. It’s in that category of things like who someone chooses to marry. Unless that person is me, why the heck should I care??? It does not affect me AT ALL. #endrant
Right! I don’t care either! Go ahead and enjoy your romantasy/ horror/ dystopian/ what have you! I always have a “daily meditations” kind of book along with one other book, but now I’m in a book club and I’m in charge of all the discussion questions (we do a chapter a week) and so I have that going too.
It is an interesting change of perspective as a German to read about your getting to know more about German history. As a west German who moved to Berlin in the 2000s, I still learned more and more. I think it is most important to keep in mind that the division happened gradually and was never complete. Two examples: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raisin_Bombers and it was not easy to travel from West Germany to west Berlin.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin_S-Bahn_boycott this took place when the wall was built, the S-Bahn system remained under east german governance.
I think the best book recommendation i saw all over was Ian McEwan The innocent. I haven’t read it – yet, though. john le carre the spy who came in from the cold – seems to be another classic. I will think of you if something else comes to mind!
Kate, thank you so much for this info and these recommendations! I am going to look up those books right away. I find the history to be fascinating and I want to learn more! I appreciate this, thank you!