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Matthew Sciarappa

@matthewsciarappa

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🏳️‍🌈. little book reviews.

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🥂 SEPTEMBER WRAP-UP

A month of book joy, that’s for sure. Swipe thru for all the highlights and see my reading recap below.

🤓 I read a whopping TEN books. All but one plucked right from the Booker Prize and National Book Award lists.

Booker Books - in order of preference: 🤴 MAY WE FEED THE KING [my fav of the month, I loved this reluctant king so much, I could live in these curated pages], 🍬 SWITZY [my lord if I could cry then I would have been in tears, a beautiful representation of a life at its end], 🍻 THE PALM HOUSE [really loved her sparse writing and intricate dialogue, these friendships are so real, I love a plotless book], 🦴 ALL THEM DOGS [this boy needed a hug and I wish I could have given it to him, loved the emotional intensity and it’s hard look at gang violence, also yay gay], 🗝️ THE RENOVATION [turning a Kafka-esque prison experiment into a moving exploration on migration and family duty is *chef’s kiss*], and 🤭 BLACK BAG [I giggled throughout and had a romp of a time, but I was also like how curious!].

NBA Books - in order of preference: 🌗 BEGINNING MIDDLE END [omg why’d it take me so long to read this?! I get it yall, I GET IT, tandem reading this while listening to the audio was a valued experience and I highly recommend doing it], 🐍 PYTHON’S KISS [so thankful to experience these speculative, empathetic stories, not a bad one in the bunch but I think my fav was “Hollow Children”], and 🌤️ DÈY [a powerful look at trauma, the intricate balance of joy and grief after tragedy was expertly done].

And 🪿 BAD BAD GIRL, my work book darling, ily. Go read it!

Tell me all about your September, yes?

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#readingwrapup #bookstagram #publishing #nbawards #thebookerprizes

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i have aged a thousand years since shelves one because wdym it’s wednesday and my whole body still hurts

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Day 2 was filled with a whole day of adventures. Going to the Brooklyn public library to volunteer, running around Williamsburg for a scavenger hunt, and dancing the night away at the fantasy ball. It was an epic fun day ! Thank you @epicreads @avonbooks @harpervoyagerus @williammorrowbooks for everything day 2!

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I did a miserable job capturing Shelves and the City, but let’s just call it living in the moment. I had a fantastic time with so many wonderful bookish people and am so grateful to the teams at @harpervoyagerus @avonbooks @epicreads and @williammorrowbooks for the opportunity. Invite me back any time! 😬

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Shelves & the City - Scavenger Hunt!
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Harper Collins had us running around Williamsburg finding various sites, people, and shops - taking photos, asking strangers questions, and recommending books for a prize…. Out of 10 teams it came down to 2 that completed the entire mission! Team 7 and team 9, and the rivalry will continue… I declare a rematch to win fair & square by a hunt (because trivia is HARD + I had to phone a friend 🫣😬 - TAHNK YOU @jillsreadingbooks ❤️🫂)
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Also note the random motorcycle meetup we got caught in, that exhaust was INTENSE!
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#ShelvesAndTheCity #Bookstagram #ScavangerHunt #Williamsburg #BookishTrivia

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Do you know how many people work on a book behind the scenes? A lot. (My daughter, who’s looking over my shoulder because school doesn’t start till Tuesday and I totally dropped the ball on securing babysitting for today: “You should do A LOT in all caps.”)

ANYWAY. Here’s @jennyjacksonpineapple , my wonderful editor at @aaknopf , with Exit Party mailings! We’ve been working together since Station Eleven. She sees my books before anyone else at Knopf does, and her notes always make my work better.

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♥︎a week of hellos see you laters and congratulations♥︎

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Bye bye, Matthew (he didn’t 🪦 he just got a new fancy job and is leaving me forever bc WHY GOD WHY?!)

As we embark on this last day of working together (it’s only technically our last day together bc I’m on a summer Friday and I think you already turned in your computer), I reflect on the things I learned from you as my boss:

• books are good
• martinis are good
• you can love your job
• trees are the dragons of our time
• bosses may F***KING LEAVE YOU but friends are five-ever 🫶

(but for real, thank you for everything you taught me 🥹 I’m def a worse person but a better marketer for it)

@matthewsciarappa
#bookpublishing

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☀️ AUGUST WRAP-UP

Summer amped up and so did my reading: 9 books total.

😶‍🌫️ THE DISAPPEARERS by Marlon James was absolutely my fav read of the month (and possibly the year 👀). I’m obsessed. This devastating reckoning will haunt me forever; I’ve never felt so conflicted towards a character in all my reading days - ugh. Exceptional writing, storytelling, characterization, etc, etc, etc.

🏆 My head was spun right round right round with Booker longlistees THE VIVISECTORS, HELEN OF NOWHERE and THE END OF EVERYTHING.

👤 THE SHADOW OF THE OBJECT by Chloe Aridjis surprised me in the best way. The playful storytelling toes the line between surreal and real in magnificent ways. And Chloe’s visuals pair seamlessly with this meditation of mortality and the stories held within the objects we hold dear.

🚞 I took a little Booker palate cleanser with Riley Sager’s THE VENGEANCE (fun but by no means anywhere near my fav of his).

🚴‍♀️ AGNES LIVES! by Hallie Elizabeth Newton will live in my mind for a v long time. What started as a darkly hilarious satire on millennial womanhood quickly became something much much more: a social critique of how society commodifies, objectifies, and hollows out women’s bodies and minds. LOVED it.

Annnnnd I dipped my toe into the cool waters of Women in Translation Month with all-time fav authors Mieko Kawakami and Mariana Enríquez. I have now read all of Kawakami’s work translated into English with the completion of 🍋 SISTERS IN YELLOW (tr. by Laurel Taylor and Hitomi Yoshio). 🔥 THINGS WE LOST IN THE FIRE: FOUR GRAPHIC STORIES (tr. by Megan McDowell and illustrated and adapted by Lucas Nine) is a perrrrfect pickup for anyone looking to sh*t themselves this spooky season. The visuals are truly terrifying and the stories will live in your bones.

A wonderful month of reading and summer fun. Swipe thru for all the action.

And tell me about your August?

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#readingislife #whatiread #readingwrapup #thebookerprize #womenintranslationmonth

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behind the scenes + the scenes!!

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😎 JULY WRAP-UP

I only read 5 books this month bc busy busy busy boys - but all five reads knocked it out of the park.

JOHN OF JOHN by Douglas Stuart is definitely the standout for me this month. The setting, the characters, the questions he asks - gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous. Is a home really a home if you can’t be yourself there? The hype is real and the chances of us seeing a double Booker winner are high.

ALMOST LIFE by Karen Millwood Hargrave was such a fully realized book. This one had me had the steps of the Sacré-Cour and Laure has my heart forever. Do yourselves and favor and go meet her.

My year with Austen contines strong with EMMA completed. I loved reading an Austen chatracter who wasn’t perfect from the get-go. Emma Woodhouse is messy and spills the tea, y’all. I love her and I continue to love Jane Austen.

@sandorfpassage continues to pump out politically precise, weirdly devastating, and quirky catastrophic translated lit and THE HAMLET CALLED AMERICA by Khrystia Vengryniuk, 🇺🇦 tr. by Kate Tsurkan & Dmytro Kyyan is no exception. This isolated town full of eccentric characters will make you giggle and make your brain fizz.

And finally, I GET IT OKAY? Elena Ferrante is queen for a reason and MY BRILLIANT FRIEND has laid the foundation for a new author / series obsession. Does she have me contemplating reading the next book in the series alongside the Booker longlist? Yes, yes she does. (also, WHO IS SHE)

A great month of reading and a great month of shenanigans, both here and abroad. Swipe thru for all the chaos.

How was your July?

#readingwrapup #italianvacation #bookish #gaybookstagram

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