But I did narrow it down to five books. And they’re (for the most part) in slightly different genres.
So there’s that.
When I am choosing the “best books” I have read in any given year, I may not be selecting ones that had the best writing (although all of these are well-written) or were the most profound (although all of these definitely had those moments). The sole factors that determine my decision are:
Did I love reading it?
Did I get something meaningful (possibly even life-changing) out of it?
And out of all the books I’ve read so far this year, these five meet those two criteria the best.
Here For It: Or, How To Save Your Soul in America by R. Eric Thomas – Kind and funny and charming. My favorite parts were the ones in which he talked about his wrestling with faith and identity and how that plays out.
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner – As my parents age, I am more drawn to stories about loss and grief, and this was a gorgeous memoir that explored both as well as the food that reminds her of her mother.
This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone – Is it a love story? Is it fantasy? Is it science fiction? Yes. In all the best ways.
Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree – This book made me fall in love with cozy fantasy. I’ve already put the second one on hold at the library.
Paying closer attention to my writing life reminded me that I may need business cards at some point. I’m not quite satisfied with this copy but it’s close.
For the past 12 weeks, I have been experimenting with the concept of a DIY MFA. I don’t have any career aspirations that actually require an official MFA, but I know that there’s so much that I could learn from such a program that would be beneficial to me as a writer, and I am a big fan of lifelong education. I essentially wanted to outline my own class to take each semester, leaning into the wisdom of others and all the rich resources that are out there to improve my writing. Each semester would be 12 weeks long, giving me three courses a year plus a nice break between them.
So I read a ton of the background info on the DIY MFA website (see link above), created a sort of MFA 101 syllabus (gosh, I’ve missed this part of teaching so much), and jumped right in.
There are definitely challenges with trying to teach yourself something that you don’t already know. There are also delightful discoveries.
If I give myself an honest assessment, I would have made a B in the class I created if I had taken it for real from an accredited university. I accomplished the main goal, which was to build strategies for incorporating the following four elements of a traditional MFA into every week:
Writing (putting words on the page to improve craft, creativity, and productivity)
Reading (learning both what works and what doesn’t from the examples of others)
Community (collaborating with writers/artists, connecting with an audience, and/or submitting/performing work)
Education (listening, watching, and reading things to learn how to do the previous three elements better from people who excel at them)
But I didn’t come close to finishing all the things I had outlined to do. I loaded myself up with articles to read and podcasts to listen to (the plan was to mimic a studying/lecture situation), and I made extravagant goals that, looking back, pretty much ignored the fact that I have two jobs and am not a full-time grad student.
I gave myself a ton of resources to get through and activities to complete every week. It didn’t look like that long of a list when I started, but about seven weeks in, out of curiosity, I added up the time it would take to get through the resources outlined in that week’s plan. Almost 11 hours of podcasts alone, which are not my favorite media by a long shot. Before I started this project, I might have listened to one or two podcast episodes a month. And suddenly I expected myself to dive into 11 hours of them a week? Bless my heart. No wonder I was overwhelmed.
Additionally, podcasts were but one aspect of my education that I was trying to fit in. I also listed weekly writing, reading, and community goals that, if completed in full, would have taken at least twice as many hours than the education portion. This resulted in a to-do list that would have been a heavy load even if this project was the only responsibility I had in life.
It was easy to get discouraged by looking at all I wasn’t getting done every week. Upon reflection, however, the reason this typically straight-A student is pleased with the overall outcome is that no semester in a traditional MFA would have been this packed. A 9-hour class schedule in most programs is considered full-time, because it takes into account that, to do well, you will likely need to spend 3-4 times as many hours outside class, reading and completing assignments, as you spend inside class. I went into this as if it were one (3-hour) course, but the syllabus I created was easily the equivalent of a 12-hour graduate workload. That I finished a little more than half of it means I exceeded my initial expectations.
And I loved every minute of it.
Well, most of the minutes. Gonna be more selective and seriously dial back the number of podcast episodes I listen to each week for the next round starting in January. I just…that is not the life for me.
But it forced me to be more mindful of my goals and how they balance. As a result, I’ve written more in the last 12 weeks than I have in the rest of the year combined. I also feel less stressed about decisions about my involvement with my various artsy communities (specifically, those times I want to do something but need to say no) because I now have a better overall understanding of my creative life as a whole. More of that, please.
I also think having an official textbook for each semester would be helpful because then I can choose additional resources that complement it rather than jumping topics so much. For example, the next session’s textbook is Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way, which I have been through once already, but I know there’s so much more to learn there. And Cameron’s book is so detailed that the syllabus will basically write itself.
So this first session was a success, even if it didn’t always feel like it at the time.
A few things that are available to peruse for those who need to take a break in my office. Just a little light reading.
I love December and also am already tired of December. There are so many things that I really enjoy happening. But also…there are so many things. This month is Advent, the end of the semester, the start of Christmas, and the end of the year all in one. There are evaluations, interviews, EOY reports, etc., due. There are parties and reviews and the tying up of all manner of loose ends. Also, don’t forget joy and magic and miracles (oh my).
I’m reading Silence and Other Surprising Invitations of Advent by Enuma Okoro throughout the month, but I’m also combining finishing up my reading goal with my Advent calendar. I use little knitted pockets on my tree to store prompts, and this year, they’re reading prompts. I’ll pick one, read a book that fits the category, and then go to the next one. The categories include things like:
Christmas themed
Next in a series
Features a talking animal
Single word title
They also include practical things like:
Next book due at the library
Girlxoxo challenge
Alphabet challenge
Book club selection
If this goes as planned, I will finish my reading goal by the skin of my teeth. Even if nothing goes as planned, though, I still have an exciting reading (etc.) month ahead, and I hope you have a wonderful December regardless of how you spend it!
Last week, I was at the family farm and limiting screen time due to a concussion, but I’m feeling much better now. It’s the time of the year when I’m holiday-ing and transitioning to a new yearly theme, but there are still snippets of home that you’ll see throughout each week’s review this month (and of course, there will be a general review of what the theme has taught me near the end of December).
I love this tour of the place where the writer lives. So much good stuff about home and honoring the generosity of the earth and all its creatures. Read it slowly with your favorite warm beverage.
Did You Hear About Kitty Karr? by Crystal Smith Paul – I would probably not have picked this one up if it wasn’t suggested for a book discussion at work. I’m so glad I did. The pacing was perfect. If I were teaching a writing class, this is the book I would use to show how it’s done. The writer unfolded the story beautifully, revealing just enough to spark interest along the way and building up to big moments with perfect timing. I felt like I was making discoveries along with the main character. I was never bored at any point, and there are not many books that I can say that about.
The Silent Gondoliers by William Goldman – I adored this small book by the author of The Princess Bride. Similar storytelling style – a lot of charm and humor and quirky characters. Fantastical, mystical…it was a lot of fun.
The 12 Week Year by Brian P. Moran and Michael Lennington – This book was about 200 pages, but it seemed so much longer. If you want to brush up on your time management skills, this is a decent guide with solid tips. It’s especially helpful if you’re a person who tends to thrive with short bursts of intense focus and activity. Reader beware, though – there is a LOT of traditional, neurotypical, motivational speaker-y advice on productivity that fell flat with me. If I could hype up or push myself into being more productive, I would have already published 40 books, own a house, be a Pilates instructor, and have a regular workout schedule that seems as intuitive as breathing by now. If you are reading it and find these bits more overwhelming than instructive, it’s ok to put it down.
Y’all. I was looking for my mom’s surprise cookies recipe to take to cookbook club tonight, and I ran across my old blog that chronicled the foodie weekends Maggie and I had. There are only a few posts, and it’s very, very yellow, but it was a fun trip down memory lane. Damn, I loved that kitchen. *moment of silence* Also, I notice that our cocktail weekend didn’t make it to print. That tracks. That was a fun time. And aw, also this one, the blog I had on Blogger for a minute before I decided that WordPress was a better fit for what I wanted to do when Livejournal started getting wonky. Good times.
The weekend is full, but it should also be fun. I hope yours is fun as well!
I spent last Friday driving up to Broken Bow to hang out with my art collective and make plans for the upcoming year. We stayed a few days and returned on Monday. It was relaxing and wonderful and good to just do one thing at a time for a minute. I forgot how grounding that is. I should do more of that in my regular life – slowing down enough to focus on each thing.
Here are some things I’ve read in the last couple of weeks. Hope you enjoy!
I stole this right out of Modern Mrs. Darcy’s Links I Love this week because I love this idea. I typically assume “I mean this genuinely and with no subtext” with most texts, but sometimes there IS subtext and I miss it because my brain is very face-value in its interpretation. That can cause issues. The thought of having confirmation of my assumption in writing is comforting.
At Midnight: 15 Beloved Fairy Tales Reimagined compiled by Dahlia Adler – I love a good fairytale retelling. I enjoyed most of the ones in this book, and I found a few new-to-me authors I want to read more from. I enjoy that the end of the book included the original fairytales for readers who want to compare and contrast.
Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin – I started this one a couple of months ago when one of our book clubs at work discussed it, and I just finished it this weekend. It lived up to the hype for me, even though it’s on a topic I know next to nothing about. I especially recommend it to people who enjoy video games, particularly online RPGs. I don’t want to spoil anything, but suffice it to say my favorite part is the saddest part. I love how the author wrote that plot point so much that if I were teaching a writing class, I would have them read this book so we can analyze the way it was crafted.
The One-in-a-Million Boy by Monica Wood – I think this was another Modern Mrs. Darcy recommendation, and my book club loved it. It has themes of grief, estranged relationships, healing, chosen family, and redemption. One member said it was probably her favorite book she’s read all year. The characters are endearing, and even if you don’t like one of them, it’s easy to see why they act the way they do because they’re well-written and well-developed. I don’t think I would have picked it up based on the description or the cover, so I’m glad I saw the recommendation.
I’m pondering my theme for next year, and as is often the case around this time of the year, I have been noticing a certain word standing out among the crowd. It keeps popping up in the newsletters I’m subscribed to, and it is often the subject in social media reels or podcasts that meander across my feed. Susan Cain’s new community sounds like it would be a great way to explore the theme that’s currently in the running for first place. If it’s at all cost-effective, I am definitely interested.
Goodreads tells me I’m 20 books behind on my goal. What Goodreads doesn’t realize is that November and December are typically cozy, super-reading months, so I am confident that 180 for the year is still within reach. I’m still finishing up several books from last month, but of course, I’m already excited about what’s next.
Book Clubs
The Measure by Nikki Erlick (which will also satisfy my “author whose name begins with E” prompt for the alphabet challenge)
I started the year with the goal to 1) read books I already own and 2) work on my massive TBR. While I have technically done both of these things all year, I’ve realized that trying to even make a dent in my home collection as well as all the books I want to read enough to put them on the list is somewhat of a fool’s errand. I may have finally come to terms with the fact that this is never going to happen and that’s OK.
Something I can complete and that keeps me out of a rut? Reading challenges. Oh, how I’ve missed Book Riot’s Read Harder Challenge and the POPSUGAR Reading Challenge this year. Even though I linked them, I’m not even going to read through that list. It’s too tempting to see how far I can get in two months (i.e., not far. I already know. No need to torture myself.).
What I am going to do is try to finish the simpler challenges I took on this year. I still have quite a few to go for my alphabet challenge, and I have a good shot at finishing both the Girlxoxo and MMD Minimalist ones before the year is out.
Since October’s blog was full of foodie joy, today I’m sharing a few of the other things I read last month with you. Some magical cozies and books about spooky houses or other scary things.
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna – I loved this book. So many people recommended it to me, and it did not disappoint. It’s a cozy fantasy in which the main character is a witch who gets hired to train three young witches. Except she was raised to believe it was dangerous for witches to be together for long periods of time, so as you can imagine, some angst ensues. It’s not just a cute story, though. It’s also a wonderful treatise on the residual effects of chronic loneliness and one of the best explanations of the difference between “nice” and “kind” (spoiler – kind is far better) that I’ve ever read.
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia – I liked this book a lot. I think there could have been more buildup in the beginning, but it was a great concept and solid execution. I love any book where the house or the place itself acts as one of the characters, and this story did not disappoint in that regard.
The Book Woman’s Daughter by Kim Michele Richardson – I was introduced to the original book woman and the Blue People of Kentucky in the first book of this series (duology?). This is why I love my book clubs. I probably would not have picked either of these books up on my own, but because someone recommended them for discussion, I got to read them and learn something new. This book started a little slower for me than the last one, but it was still an enjoyable read.
The Enchanted Hacienda by J.C. Cervantes – Jenny Lawson was right. It really was like Encanto and Practical Magic had a baby. I loved this story and the way family connections were woven together. There were enough surprises that it kept me interested, but nothing particularly stressful or jarring. Just what I needed last month. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more from this author.
Holly Horror by Michelle Jabès Corpora – I ordered this book because I grew up with Holly Hobbie accessories for my room – my first bedspread was Holly Hobbie themed, and I had a tea set as well. The quilt that my Great Aunt Edna made me that I still use today has a Holly Hobbie-esque pattern. This story is a dark twist on the character, turning her into a girl who mysteriously disappeared years ago and now haunts her old house. I enjoyed the descriptions and the way the author introduced all the essential characters. I will definitely read the next in the series!
And finally, I offer you this excerpt from Samantha Irby’s new collection of essays, Quietly Hostile. When someone rains on your parade or tries to grade your taste, a simple “I like it!” is indeed a sufficient response. When you find joy – wherever you find it – in this world, it’s yours. You get to have it, even if you can’t articulate exactly why you like it (or, frankly, just don’t want to explain).
I hope you get to do a lot of things you like this weekend!
Tomorrow, our Rise and Shine book club is discussing spooky reads and there’s a Halloween party in the evening. On Sunday, there is a book fair at a local bar and our annual Spiderdead show in the afternoon, and then I have an RLA interest presentation (the last one I’m giving this year!) early that evening. I’m definitely taking Monday and Tuesday off for what will be some much-needed and long-overdue downtime.
Here are five food-related/adjacent ponderings I’ve had this week:
I especially love this time of year because, while I do enjoy some spooky things and darker themes, I mostly just love how much cozier everything is. Cool weather (actual cool weather, not the “it’s no longer in the triple digits must be a cold front ha ha” phenomenon) is on its way in the next 48 hours. I will wrap up in a blanket with a cup of tea and a bowl of popcorn while I settle in to re-watch a soul-soothing show or movie any time of the year, but cool weather means I can do that without cranking up the A/C. Tonight I’m probably going to watch something hygge/homey/foodie from this list. My regulars are Chocolat or Under the Tuscan Sun, but the list reminds me of quite a few I haven’t seen in a while, and also how did I miss A Good Year?
Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree – I think I’ve found the genre I want to write. Cozy fantasy. This one was especially lovely to me because the main character is an Orc who decided to leave the mercenary life to open a coffee shop. I WANT TO LEAVE THE MERCENARY (I mean, Student Affairs, but sometimes it’s basically the same) LIFE TO OPEN A COFFEE SHOP. It’s like The Hobbit, but if Bilbo had just said, “No, thank you, but would you like another spot of tea?” instead of going on the adventure. It taps into my deep-seated desire to have a home that is so cozy and welcoming that I never want to leave and is also a place where I can feed people and watch their faces as they have those little moments of joy that a really good cup of coffee or delicious pastry can bring.
The main thing I like about joining Tertulia is all the discounts I get (and also I enjoy their co-op vibe). Another thing I like is that I get curated lists like this one in my inbox with recommendations to add to my home foodie collection. Alice Feiring’s To Fall in Love, Drink This has been on my TBR for a while. That may be my next Tertulia purchase.
I’m pretty good about keeping my pantry and freezer (and to a lesser extent, my fridge – sometimes some questionable things linger in there) reasonably stocked and cleaned out. When space is limited, it only takes a little swerve in the direction of either sparse or out of control to have me ordering takeout more often than I (and by I, I do mean my budget) would like. But occasionally, I get a wild hair and end up buying way more of one item than I need. Right now, I have so many canned beans in my apartment. I mean, as overages go, shelf-stable ones are my preference, but dang. I guess I’m having beans in just about everything I cook at home for the foreseeable future.
I really could have used a list like this when I was first starting out as a new-ish home cook. There’s lots of great advice and resources linked in here. It also sparked a bit of nostalgia through several moments when I thought, “I remember when I learned that!” It took me so long to figure out that “What are your favorite flavors and textures?” is such an important question for me when it comes to a meal plan that I’ll actually use (rather than one that I feel is a good plan I should want to use – very different things).
My long weekend is so close I can taste it. I hope your weekend is nice!
I participated in Dewey’s Readathon this weekend. Well, sort of participated. I stretched it out into three days because I had extra plans. Also, my month has to go A LOT more smoothly than this one has for me to have the stamina for a 24-hour readathon. So I was gentle with myself but still got a lot of good reading time in.
My go-to food when I’m hunkering down for a long reading weekend (whether in conjunction with an online event or on my own) is a series of snack plates that fall under the category of charcuterie. It doesn’t take much prep time. It also can typically be eaten with one hand, leaving the other free for smudge-less page-turning.
I don’t just resort to this type of meal when I’m reading, though. It’s a frequent staple at my place. This habit started long ago.
One of my favorite weekday lunches when I was little was a plate full of cheddar cheese chunks, Vienna sausages, raw veggies such as celery or carrot sticks, and crackers (typically saltines, but every once in a while we got fancy with those buttery Club crackers). Looking back, it’s clear that this was one of Mom’s favorite lunches for us, too, because we had it a lot. She was usually in the middle of a cleaning project or getting ready for afternoon errands or planning dinner, so it made sense to find something quick to put on the table. As a bonus, we could feed it to ourselves with relatively little potential mess.
My charcuterie tastes have matured somewhat (I now spring for the salami or prosciutto, and there may not be crackers or bread at all involved), but it’s still one of my favorite meals. It’s easy, simple, and delicious.
I love having a free day. I was off work today, and my car is fixed, and I had cookbook club tonight, and it was just a great day.
Here are some foodie things I enjoyed reading this week.
And we’re right out of the gate with some controversy, but I really need to get something off my chest. Sweet potato pie is superior to pumpkin pie. Discuss if you must, but I said what I said.
We had a whole discussion about favorite holiday foods and favorite sides at staff. There were divisions, alliances were formed, shots almost fired. It was glorious. Best staff meeting ever. In related news, I need cranberry salsa in my life.
When I find a foodie book I really love, I often re-read it. In fact, of all the genres, foodie memoir or fiction is what I’m most likely to re-read. We are discussing Lessons in Chemistry in a book club at work on Monday, so I’m listening to it again this weekend. It may be my favorite book I’ve read this year. It’s so good. I’m also re-reading Love, Loss, and What We Ate by Padma Lakshmi, and I love it just as much as I did the first time. The stories people tell about food, its place in their lives, and its impact on culture are meaningful to me. It’s one of my favorite ways to get to know someone.
The Modern Proper: Simple Dinners for Every Day by Holly Erickson and Natalie Mortimer – I adored this cookbook from the beginning when one of the authors was talking about her grandma teaching her the “proper” way to dice. What little culinary education I gleaned during childhood was learning the proper way (i.e., Mom’s way) to do something. My mom and I once had an argument because I was adding water to the pie crust recipe wrong (my point was that I had seen several bakers doing it a different way and their pies turned out ok…to which she responded “But they weren’t baking in my kitchen.” Welp, they sure weren’t. She had me there.). Conversations like this one were why, while most of my formative memories of food stem from the place I grew up, most of my actual cooking skills were developed when I had a kitchen of my own. Like the authors of this cookbook, I have great memories of observing Mom, Aunt Gale, MeMaw, and (later in adulthood) Dad in the kitchen, but my workable knowledge is the result of experimenting and creating my own sense of the proper ways to do things. It’s how I learned that the way I add water to a pie crust is just fine and also that if you replace half the water with vodka (or gin), you get a flakier crust (the dough puffs as the alcohol evaporates). Sometimes learning new ways to do things is good.
And this has absolutely nothing to do with food, but it has everything to do with home, and also I love Jenny Lawson, and maybe someone here might benefit from reading it, and plus…I do what I want. Actually, looking at the drawing, I can picture myself curled up in a blanket, drinking something warm and eating something comforting in that little house. So it IS sort of food-related after all (if you really want it to be). Read all the way to my favorite line at the end – “Sometimes the mistakes are beautiful. Just like you.”
M. Suzanne Terry 