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Elizabeth

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“Oh YOU’RE the book club?”

A million congratulations to @elizabeth_fisher1 and @jackmooredraws on your beautiful and joyous wedding (with the best and most millennial-coded playlist). We love you EF—so grateful the internet brought us all together, from buddy reading to the side chat to our transcontinental IRL friendship. by @whatereads

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6 days ago

🌟WEEKLY READING REPORT🌟

(We’re back, baby.)

These might get a little repetitive because I’m reading some chonkers. Nevertheless, we persist.

This week I read QUEEN by Birgitta Trotzig (tr. Saskia Vogel), @sara_salsbury’s selection for the second round of our traveling book project. This book is excellent—rich, textured, almost hypnotic writing that beautifully serves the story of a struggling Swedish family and in particular the eldest daughter. Occasionally I got lost in the lyricism or symbolism, but overall I found this book riveting, and as always I loved seeing my friends’ annotations and contributing my own as I read. I also read BLACK MOVIE by Danez Smith, another incredible collection by my favorite poet. Despite its slim size and the consistent themes across its poems, the poems in this chapbook are operating on so many levels, and I am grateful to have still more Smith collections left to read.

Since finishing those two books, I haven’t had as much time to read as I would have liked over the past few days. I’m still in the middle of THE MORNING STAR by Karl Ove Knausgård (tr. Martin Aitken, a name I am suddenly noticing EVERYWHERE), which I am loving so far despite not yet having any real idea what’s going on. And I’m chipping away at THE STORY OF THE STONE vol. 3 by Cao Xueqin (tr. David Hawkes), in which things are starting to unravel for the main family in small ways that seem to signal big things to come.

I’ve been pondering my #tenbeforetheend list and I’m excited to finalize that soon. But first, @elizabeth_fisher1’s wedding weekend!

(Swipe for behind the scenes) by @whatereads

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8 days ago

🍉NO LAND TO STAND ON🍉

Required reading for Americans in 2026.

Mahmoud Khalil became an unwilling household name when he was arrested for pro-Palestinian organizing and spirited away to a Louisiana detention center a thousand miles from his pregnant wife and New York home. He was defamed by the administration as a terrorist sympathizer and made headlines when the government refused him a furlough to attend his son’s birth. He has written a compact memoir of his upbringing in Syria, his flight to Lebanon, his time in the United States, and his months in immigration detention. He details his legal battles as well as the stories of the men with whom he was detained—men just like him, but without his unwelcome fame and the resources that came with it.

I read this book in one sitting. The prose is spare and unadorned. The story is straightforward, and much of it recounts what I previously read in the news (or involves discussions of familiar legal processes). But this book is essential and urgent, offering a rare and unsparing look inside the concentration camps in which we are housing people under deplorable conditions in the hopes that they will lose hope and “self-deport.” As much as I appreciated reading Khalil’s story from his own perspective, the book is equally crucial as an archive of the misery to which we are subjecting countless human beings under the guise of law and order.

I also admire Khalil’s unwillingness to “make [his] case cleaner” by presenting himself as a “free speech martyr” rather than a “Palestinian” first and foremost. While Palestinians have long been required to make themselves “palatable, legible,” to “trim the truth to fit Western comfort,” Khalil declares, “I was no longer willing to participate in that transaction. I am Palestinian. That is not a complication to the story, it is the story.”

The book is carefully written. (It has to be—Khalil is still deep in legal proceedings.) I am sure his lawyers read it closely to ensure nothing could be twisted to misrepresent him; I assume it is not an unvarnished account of his emotions and views. I don’t think that matters in this context. Read it! by @whatereads

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9 days ago

✨ WEEKLY-ISH READING REPORT ✨

(Just being honest!)

It’s been a minute since I did one of these. As I just shared my September recap, I’m not going to rehash the last month but instead will focus on the past week and move forward from here.

This week I read OKPSYCHE by Anya Johanna DeNiro, a traveling book selected by @a.reader.reflects. It wasn’t my favorite, but I’m always glad to read and annotate in community with the best book friends. I also (finally) finished LITTLE APOCALYPSES by Kaitlyn Teer (a @cindyyhong rec), a book I had to read slowly because of all the emotions it dredged up. I had some quibbles, including that it was a bit sprawling and unfocused, but wow did it hit me directly in the feels at exactly the right stage in my life. Highly recommend for those with “maternal ecodistress.” @eunicekim82 and I buddy read […] by Fady Joudah, a searing collection by a Palestinian-American poet. Some of the poems went over my head (as is always the case when I delve into poetry), but the poems I understood took my breath away, and I highly recommend looking up “Dedication” even if you don’t read the whole collection. I unintentionally paired the poetry with NO LAND TO STAND ON by Mahmoud Khalil, who wrote devastatingly and with profound clarity about his detention by the American regime for exercising his First Amendment rights. I’ll share a review of that soon.

I’ve done a decent job of clearing my docket, with the exception of THE STORY OF THE STONE vol. 3, which I have been trying to make real progress on this week. I don’t know if I’ll finish any time soon, but I do love spending time with these characters—and I’m dreading seeing things start to unravel for them. I am casually reading SALT FAT ACID HEAT by @ciaosamin, inspired by @thestackspod to actually read a cookbook cover to cover and by my general interest in building my confidence as a home cook. And for fiction I’ve started THE MORNING STAR by Karl Ove Knausgård (tr. Martin Aitken), based on the rave review of @fictionmatters, who rarely steers me wrong—I’m trying to apply her recent Reading Well Challenge prompts as I go.

What have you been reading this week? by @whatereads

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15 days ago

✨SEPTEMBER READING RECAP✨

September was (finally) a great reading month for me. The delta between my favorite and least favorite book of the month was vast, but overall I really enjoyed what I read and loved making a point of prioritizing reading. I’m trying out sharing a little takeaway about each book in this recap—no promises that this will stick by next month.

In September I read:
✨MAY WE FEED THE KING by Rebecca Perry (read as an eARC though I held out for the gorgeous U.S. cover) | favorite of the month
✨THE FEAST by Margaret Kennedy from the @fictionmatters PSRG, on recommendation by @melizreads18 | an absolutely perfect late-summer vacation read
✨LIFE OF M by Rachel Cusk | no
✨LIFE AMONG THE SAVAGES by Shirley Jackson | a welcome reminder that parenting is hilarious and unhinged no matter the era
✨IT LASTS FOREVER AND THEN IT’S OVER by | I loved a zombie novel?
✨PALACE OF DESIRE by Naguib Mahfouz (tr. William Maynard Hutchins) | big letdown from the excellent first book in the Cairo trilogy; misogynistic and myopic
✨OKPSYCHE by Anya Johanna DeNiro | doing a lot, not always successfully, but I appreciated the later-in-life coming-of-gender transition story and the rare well-done second-person POV
✨LITTLE APOCALYPSES by Kaitlyn Teer | possibly too close to home for me to be totally objective about, but perfect for my current stage of “maternal ecodistress”

In October I’m looking forward to embracing fall with my kids, continuing to show up for my climate work, phone banking for the @environmentalvoter project (OK I am not looking forward to phone banking but I am publicly committing to it to hold myself accountable), and getting off my silly phone.

What was the best thing you read in September? by @whatereads

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16 days ago

✨CLIMATE READING LIST✨

Happy Climate Week! As I’ve alluded to, my extracurricular time has recently been occupied with climate reading and advocacy. I’m trying not to fall down a pure reading rabbit hole and let educating myself get in the way of doing work in the world, but being me I have naturally accrued an extensive climate TBR. I’m sharing it below in case others are interested in compiling your own climate curriculum and because I’d love feedback—anything on here particularly worth prioritizing or not worth my time? (Books mostly listed in random order as I compiled the list):

Vision and vibes:
What If We Get It Right✅ (changed my life! Must read if you haven’t)
All We Can Save✅
Climate Wayfinding
The Climate Action Handbook
Saving Us (Hayhoe)
Human Nature (Marvel)
The Future We Choose
Not the End of the World
This Changes Everything
A Planet to Win
Climate Courage✅
Generation Dread
➡️Little Apocalypses
It’s Not Just You
I Eat the Stars

Indigenous perspectives:
Braiding Sweetgrass
The Serviceberry
As Long as Grass Grows
Fresh Banana Leaves
Our History Is the Future

Climate justice:
The Intersectional Environmentalist
A Bigger Picture (Nakate)
Climate Justice

Ecology and nature:
The Comfort of Crows
World of Wonders
The Backyard Bird Chronicles

Policy/politics:
The Big Fix
The Green New Deal and Beyond
No Shortcuts
The Carbon Wave
Short Circuiting Policy

Technical/niche:
Electrify✅
Here Comes the Sun✅
The Grid
Cheaper Faster Better
Walkable City
Drawdown
Superpower
Life After Cars
The Devil Never Sleeps
Crossings
The Life and Death of the Great Lakes
Eat Like a Fish
Disasterology
Farming While Black
The Reindeer Chronicles
Slow Wood
Design Emergency

Beyond climate:
Slow Down
The Bigger Picture
Doughnut Economics
End-Times Fascism
The Triumph of Doubt by @whatereads

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23 days ago

✨WEEKLY READING REPORT✨

I missed last week’s writeup because we were on vacation, so I have a lot to catch up on. I’ve been trying to limit my scrolling and redirect that time toward reading, and one of my solutions has been to make sure that I always have a book going that is easy to get into and easy to get out of so I can dip in and out as my schedule allows.

Finished:
I finished and adored MAY WE FEED THE KING by Rebecca Perry. I thought it was brilliant, and I loved the project of the book, though I do wish she had made a few small trims to the ending to leave things a bit more open to interpretation. I also finished MY DREADFUL BODY by Egana Djabbarova (tr. Lisa Hayden). I appreciated the book as an exercise and as a window into a different culture and lived experience, but I didn’t love reading it and it felt surprisingly long for such a slim read. I loved THE FEAST by Margaret Kennedy, a perfect juicy late-summer read from a prior @fictionmatters PSRG that @melizreads18 encouraged me to bring on my trip. I identified my least favorite book of the year in LIFE OF M by Rachel Cusk, which I finished mainly to confirm that I understand her project, I just don’t think it’s good or interesting. And LIFE AMONG THE SAVAGES by Shirley Jackson was the ideal book for picking up and putting down (complimentary), and it was riotously funny and a reminder that no matter the era parenting has always been an insane and hilarious endeavor.

In progress:
I’ve nearly cleared my reading queue, and now there are only a few books that I am “kind of reading.” I’d like to prioritize finishing PALACE OF DESIRE by Naguib Mahfouz (tr. William Maynard Hutchins), THE STORY OF THE STONE vol. 3 by Cao Xueqin (tr. David Hawkes), and LITTLE APOCALYPSES by Kaitlyn Teer. My library hold on LOST LAMBS by Madeline Cash got recalled before I could make it very far, but I’d like to get back to it when the infinitely long library holds line comes back to me because it felt like the right next pick-up-put-down book.

What have you been reading this week? by @whatereads

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a month ago

✨JULY AND AUGUST READING RECAP✨

I am generally sticking to my plan of prioritizing backlist and classics, but I did deviate a bit over the past few months. I spent much of July closely reading a friend’s forthcoming manuscript in print, which always takes time, and in August I focused on women in translation.

I’m still trying to figure out the overall balance of reading with two young children and a demanding job, and sometimes I lean more in one direction or another. (In early August, for instance, I neglected my children for several days to read The Song of Stork and Dromedary, which I’m convinced is good for them, actually.) And I’m also trying to balance reading the books I have been wanting to read for ages against pursuing the new releases that are genuinely interesting to me and not just “buzzy” in the abstract. The main problem is that I just wish I had more hours in the day for all of it!

In July and August I read:
✨The Nights Are Quiet in Tehran by Shida Bazyar (tr. Ruth Martin) | more critiques than appreciation
✨Morning Child by @sanaelemoine (forthcoming from @riverheadbooks in 2027!) | loved and can’t wait for my personal preorder campaign
✨Thérèse Raquin by Émile Zola (tr. Robin Buss) | intense, claustrophobic, impeccable
✨Electrify by Saul Griffith | let’s do this
✨My Name Is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok | haunting slow burn
✨Sad Tiger by Neige Sinno (tr. Natasha Lehrer) | extraordinary
✨Climate Courage 🎧 by Andreas Karelas | interesting but a little facile
✨The Song of Stork and Dromedary by Anjet Daanje (tr. David McKay) | the book of my year
✨Here Comes the Sun by Bill McKibben | for a severe case of the did-you-knows
✨Exemplary Humans by Juliana Leite (tr. Zoë Perry) | interesting project, rambly execution
✨Welcome to America by Linda Bergström Knausgård (tr. Martin Aitken) | brutal little book
✨The Lying Life of Adults by Elena Ferrante (tr. Ann Goldstein) | kind of a mess
✨Jane Austen’s Bookshelf 🎧 by Rebecca Romney | the TBR exploder
✨My Dreadful Body by Egana Djabbarova (tr. Lisa Hayden) | appreciated but didn’t love by @whatereads

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2 months ago

✨WEEKLY READING REPORT✨

I managed to set aside some dedicated reading time this week and actually cut through my reading malaise quite effectively, albeit by brute force.

I finished EXEMPLARY HUMANS by Juliana Leite (tr. Zoë Perry) and THE LYING LIFE OF ADULTS by Elena Ferrante (tr. Ann Goldstein), both of which I had started two weeks earlier and neither of which had completely grabbed me. By the end of Exemplary Humans I was moved by the project of the book though I did find it somewhat disjointed and uneven: by the end of The Lying Life I was just thrilled it was over (sorry to the Ferrante stans). I devoured WELCOME TO AMERICA by Linda Boström Knausgård (tr. Martin Aitken), which was a brutal and tense single-sitting read. And on audio I finished JANE AUSTEN’S BOOKSHELF by Rebecca Romney, which delighted me and led me to expand my 18-century shelves.

Looking for a win, I next picked up MAY WE FEED THE KING by Rebecca Perry, which several trusted readers (including @fictionmatters and @butibroughtbooks) had hyped up. It is excellent and I am reading it slowly, to savor it. My main physical book is MY DREADFUL BODY by Egana Djabbarova (tr. Lisa Hayden), which I am appreciating though not yet loving. I somewhat randomly grabbed LIFE AMONG THE SAVAGES by Shirley Jackson while incapacitated next to the bookshelf by my nursing toddler (fitting!), and I was immediately captivated by her voice. I’m still working my way slowly through LITTLE APOCALYPSES by Kaitlyn Teer. I’m creeping along with THE STORY OF THE STONE vol. 3 by Cao Xueqin (tr. David Hawkes), which is likely to be true for a while. And on audio I have started THE MINISTRY FOR THE FUTURE by Kim Stanley Robinson, a rare fiction audiobook for me, but I think it’s perfect for that format.

I keep meaning to streamline my reading rotation and impose a bit of discipline, and instead I keep diving into multiple new books every time I finish something. It feels haphazard and I would much prefer to have just a handful of books in progress, but at least I’m never without options.

What have you been reading this week? by @whatereads

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2 months ago

✨WEEKLY READING REPORT✨

I'll admit it. I'm in a reading rut. After finishing THE SONG OF STORK AND DROMEDARY early last week, I quickly picked up two books by women in translation, THE LYING LIFE OF ADULTS (Elena Ferrante, tr. Goldstein) and EXEMPLARY HUMANS (Juliana Leite, tr. Zoë Perry), trying to keep up the momentum. This backfired because I haven't found either book particularly engaging, and I'm debating whether to power through or ditch them both and return to my backlist/classics plan. If anyone has read either of these, I would love some input, because I'm trying to find out whether I just have a reading hangover or these two books are simply not working for me. I’m normally quite bad at DNFing, but I don’t want my reading life to come to a halt simply because I’m insisting on sticking with books that aren’t doing much for me yet.

On the nonfiction side, I finished HERE COMES THE SUN (Bill McKibben), which I would highly recommend to anyone looking for a great case of the did-you-knows. Every page is brimming with interesting factoids and anecdotes, and it's a tempered but optimistic look at our climate possibilities. I've now turned to LITTLE APOCALYPSES (Kaitlyn Teer), on the recommendation of @cindyyhong, which I am loving but which I have to take in little chunks because it is dredging up ALL the emotions for me. On audio, I've returned to JANE AUSTEN'S BOOKSHELF (Rebecca Romney), which is also excellent—though it has triggered a small book-buying spree as I rush to fill my shelves with the aforementioned bookshelf.

Finally, because the Sealey challenge is in full swing, I decided to pick up a little poetry. I selected COUNTING DESCENT (Clint Smith) because I adored Smith's later collection, ABOVE GROUND, and was excited to read more of his work.

What have you been reading this week? by @whatereads

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2 months ago

Happy pub day to my favorite book of the year, THE SONG OF STORK AND DROMEDARY by Anjet Daanje (tr. David McKay). It’s possible something I read in the final few months will overtake it but I wouldn’t bet on it.

TSOSAD is the story of the mysterious life and tragic early death of a reclusive 19th-century author loosely based on Emily Brontë. But the book is also a kaleidoscope, with each chapter reconfiguring the themes and motifs of the prior chapters into new arrangements. It’s an homage to Wuthering Heights, featuring several moments that seem plucked directly from Brontë. It’s a literary mystery, gradually revealing new details that help the prior chapters click into place. It is much more horror-adjacent than my usual fare: It’s filled with ghosts and hauntings, the body count is extraordinarily high (I lost count of deaths in the first chapter), and there are definitely a few gruesome scenes seared into my memory. But most of all (to my mind), it’s about reading, all kinds of interpretation, and the deeply human urge to make meaning out of chaos—and it invites the reader to participate in that same meaning-making exercise.

If this all sounds very heady and philosophical, it is. But it’s also a complete page turner, and I couldn’t devour it fast enough. With just two mind-bending doorstops in two years, Daanje has cemented herself on my list of favorite authors, and I’ll read anything else of hers that gets translated into English (preferably by the brilliant David McKay).

For fans of The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton, Possession by A.S. Byatt, and of course Wuthering Heights. If this doesn’t make the International Booker longlist I will riot. by @whatereads

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2 months ago

✨WEEKLY READING REPORT✨

We’re out of town for a few days, so you’re getting a different backdrop for my photo. The big update this week is that I finished THE SONG OF STORK AND DROMEDARY by Anjet Daanje, tr. David McKay. As I anticipated last week, it is definitely my favorite book I have read this year, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it or recommending it since, and Daanje is now an autobuy author for me with whatever horror-tinged Dutch doorstop she chooses to put out next. Full review to come.

It’s always hard to follow up a reading experience like that. I decided to stick primarily with women in translation, so I’m now reading THE LYING LIFE OF ADULTS by Elena Ferrante (tr. Ann Goldstein) and EXEMPLARY HUMANS by Juliana Leite (tr. Zoë Perry). Neither has particularly hooked me so far, but I am interested enough to keep reading. Unfortunately I didn’t finish ENSHITTIFICATION by Cory Doctorow before it got recalled to the library, but I will return to that whenever I get back off the holds list for the audiobook. My primary nonfiction now is HERE COMES THE SUN by the legendary Bill McKibben.

With the WiT of it all I have put aside several books that aren’t by women in translation. I’m hoping to pivot back to those (PALACE OF DESIRE, STORY OF THE STONE vol. 3) once I’ve cleared my current queue. This almost certainly will not happen but a girl can dream.

What have you been reading this week? by @whatereads

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2 months ago