Well, hi, hi! Over the last 3+ years, I’ve done so many casual book roundups, but it’s been…a while since the last one?
If you’re new, here are the old lists (still good, if we share book taste, of course—scroll down to the bottom of the link for various lists from 2019-2021). There are literally hundreds of books here, so dive in and see what might work for you.
Of course, this is all totally and completely subjective! Just a few I’ve read lately, not a complete list! Read what you love! Always!
With no further ado—
Books I’ve read recently + think you might enjoy:
Separation Anxiety by Laura Zigman
My God, it’s hard to be a person. Marriages fail, kids grow up, friends die. And yet there’s so much humor in this wonderful book. I first read it during the pandemic in some sort of fugue state and had to revisit it to really feel the heft of it, and was it ever worth it.
Flight by Lynn Steger Strong
Three siblings (and their families) get together over Christmas for the first time since their beloved mother has died. Three days in upstate New York in the snow! With so much family tension and drama and love! I inhaled it.
Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochilt Gonzalez
Set in New York City in the wake of Hurricane Maria, a brother and sister navigate their complicated family pasts and how to move forward with so many secrets holding them hostage. Beautifully immersive, incredible story telling, much fascinating political histories. Loved it.
Lucy By the Sea by Elizabeth Strout
Really you should read all the Lucy Barton books, starting with My Name is Lucy Barton, but you can really start anywhere. The most delicate prose, the most sensitive eye for the big and small things of life. This is a pandemic book that brings you right back to the fear and uncertainty of those early days, and the surprises that can emerge out of a life that’s been upended.
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Yes, everyone has read it already? But maybe you haven’t? What does it take to build a creative partnership — and a friendship and a business and a sustaining love — over decades? One of the most immersive reads I’ve had in a long, long while.
The Collected Poems of Lucille Clifton
Obviously I’ve not read the whole thing yet — it’s, like, 700 pages — but her poems are one tiny gorgeous thing after another.
The Hours by Michael Cunningham
I first read this in college and then again at some point maybe 15 years ago? If you’ve read Mrs. Dalloway, this one is particularly moving, but also exquisite in its own right. Three women in three different eras and locations navigate living and dying (and what it means to be a woman). The language alone makes it worth the read.
The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka
Such a deep, meditative, heart-wrenching book about loss. Told first in the collective “we” — and then in second person — The Swimmers dives deep into a community of swimmers at the local pool. When the pool is shut down, we hone in on one in particular: Alice, who is beginning to lose hold of her mind.
In the Kid Department (age 9ish)
Noa blasted through all of Kelly Yang’s Front Desk books, Grace Lim’s Dumpling Days and Lauren Myracle’s series, which begins with Ten. Now she’s exploring the Friends series. We both loved Holly Goldberg Sloan & Meg Wolitzer’s To Night Owl From Dogfish, and of course all the middle grade Judy Blumes (no Are you There God…yet!)
Books Coming Out Soon(ish) You Should Preorder and/or in my TBR Pile
A Living Remedy by Nicole Chung
Small World by Laura Zigman
Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado
We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman
All This Could be Different by Sarah Thankam Matthews
My Last Innocent Year by Daisy Alpert Florin
The Family Chao by Lan Samantha Change
Liberation Day by George Saunders
When We Were Sisters by Fatima Asghar
Stay True by Hua Hsu
The Crane Wife by C.J. Hauser
Run Towards the Danger by Sarah Polley
Happy reading! Comment below with some of your recent faves! I’d love to add them to be TBR pile.
Sending love,
xo Abs
Books Books Books! I'm currently reading Easy Beauty by Chloé Cooper Jones and loving it.
I loved Separation Anxiety so much! Also a fan of Zevin's new one but I liked Young Jane Young better.