Ten I'll Never Get Rid Of
Books & a Small Success
Tasks I should do but consistently put off generally fall into three categories:
I think it’ll take too long
It’s a common, necessary task that I simply don’t like doing
There’s some level of fear and doubt associated with the task
The lesson I learn when I finally do the task generally falls into one category:
It wasn’t nearly as [insert thing here] as I thought it would be
I have learned and re-learned this lesson with a frequency that probably amounts to more than once a day. Whenever I gear up to do a task that falls into one of those three categories, I actively tell myself, “It really won’t be so bad if you just do it.” And yet…
This week, of course, I learned this lesson one more time. For a while now, on-and-off, setting up a bookshop.org affiliate link has been on my to-do list. The submission form is easy and I know because I’ve looked at that page around once a week for the last six months. The thing that kept tripping me up is that the submission would have to be approved.
There are plenty of people with Substack newsletters that have Bookshop affiliate links. But, from what I could see, it was people with large followings. Y’all are such a mighty group (have I said thank you recently?) but, admittedly, not necessarily a “large” following. So, I convinced myself my link wouldn’t be approved and kept putting it off.
This week, I made myself do it. It’s a conducive time not just because of the newsletter but because of other things I’m also working on. Need all those revenue streams! (millennial LOL…and hork.) I submitted the form and not five minutes later it was approved…which makes a lot more sense than whatever in-depth vetting process I had made up in my mind. Is this influencing??? I feel so fancy.
Yes, the whole opening of this week’s newsletter was to talk about the fact that I have a Bookshop affiliate link now. I will always note if I link to my affiliate page. There’s never any pressure, of course, to buy from those links or buy anything in general. If nothing else, I can use the page to curate some collections of books for y’all. Buying used, lending books, etc. is always a good idea. BUT if you are in the market for a new book, purchasing through my links will help support me and support local bookstores just a lil bit.
Some of you may have dipped out already as this definitely sounds like one big ad. That’s jusssst fine. Because if you can celebrate your little successes, what can you celebrate?? I got a task done! Yay.
Plus, this is a great moment to talk about one of my favorite things in this world: books. I want to be surrounded by them at all times. Books, in general, have made a decent amount of appearances in the newsletter over the last couple of years. (You can find all the books that have been mentioned* here.) But I’ve never dedicated a whole edition, exclusively, to some of my favorite titles. So, that’s what I’m going to do. These are 10 books** in my collection that I would never*** get rid of.
Note: I’ve included any content warnings I can remember from these books or that I could find notes of in searches. I hope it’s helpful. I may have missed some so I do always recommend reading up (ha) on the books before you…read the books.
Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson
CWs: discussion of loneliness, melancholy, and a bit of mental health although none of it is very strong
I took a post-modern literature class in undergrad and this is one of the books I was introduced to. It quickly became my favorite book. The top. The one. It’s probably the only book I reread with any consistency. In fact, I finished a reread a couple of weeks ago.
I’ve often said that everything you need to know about me, you can find in this book. It’s set not so far from where I grew up. It explores themes of identity, loneliness, and finding your way in the world, even if that way is outside of the norm. The language is lyrical and sparse, which, writing style-wise, feels a lot like a far less apocalyptic version of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. A friend of mine described it as “damp” which I think is exactly right. And it’s only around 200 pages long.
Now, the whole story is intertwined with a decent amount of biblical imagery (you know, floods and such) but, even though I’m not what you might call a religious person, it doesn’t take me out of it. Exploring biblical imagery is a big thing for Marilynne Robinson, basically the center of all her work. I think here, because it’s the backdrop of the greater story and because it’s being used to explore history and tragedy and how that is relayed from generation to generation, it’s effective for me. But I did want to mention it in case that’s not your thing. Fair warning and all that.
Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
CWs: depression, suicide, racism, abuse
Ng is probably best known for Little Fires Everywhere, partially because of the TV series that came out a few years ago. But I like Everything I Never Told You—her first book—a bit better. This is probably no surprise in light of my favorite book because it’s another one that is damp. A lot of time spent in and around the water. A lot of time exploring secrets and how we come to terms with questions about loved ones that we may never find the answers too.
Sing Unburied Sing by Jesmyn Ward
CWs: racism, sexual assault, drug use, incarceration, animal death…it’s a heavy one y’all.
It’s been some time since I’ve read it but I remember being absolutely taken in by the writing. Time didn’t seem to exist as I read this book. Lyrical and devastating, Ward’s language and style explores heavy themes so beautifully.
One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston
CWs: AIDs crisis, homophobia, neglect, mental health
Any list of my favorite literature tends to be filled with heavy and/or dark things so having one or two that has some humor and lightness is…necessary, probably. You probably know McQuiston because of her first book: Red, White, and Royal Blue. But, c’mon. Time travel lesbians on the Q Train? Inject it into my veins.
In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado
CWs: intimate partner violence/abuse, body image/body shaming/body horror
After I read her short story collection Her Body and Other Parties, Machado quickly became a favorite author. She has a writing style that is both grounded and ethereal at the same time. Her writing has a real focus on queerness and queer relationships and In the Dream House is no exception. This book is a memoir exploring her previous abusive queer relationship which is a subject (abuse in queer relationships) that hasn’t been studied much in literature yet. Of course, it can be really hard to read considering the subject matter but her investigation of her relationship intertwined with her exploration of language is really engaging.
Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner
CWs: cancer, death of a parent, grief
This book had a really big moment a couple of years ago and it’s been on my to-read list since then. But it wasn’t until last year that I finally read it. It lives up to the hype, I think. Since it’s a book about Zauner’s mother dying of cancer, grief is a big—some might say main—theme but there is also frank discussion about shame, feeling like you have a duty to do even if you don’t want to, and how some of life’s highest highs come in the midst of the lowest lows.
Gabriel: A Poem by Edward Hirsch
CWs: addiction, death of a child, grief
I am a sucker for poetry and this is beautiful poetry. Hirsch’s experience with his son’s battle with addiction and eventual death is chronicled in this book length poem. A friend of mine introduced it to me a while ago and it, obviously, has really stuck with me. There’s a personal connection with the subject matter and I feel like I could really find solace in some of what was being discussed. This is another book I’ve actually read more than once.
Special shout-out to another book-length poem: Autobiography of Red by Anne Carson. If you love more modern explorations of Greek myths by prolific writers/poets…this one.
My Mother was a Freedom Fighter by Aja Monet
CWs: war, death, sexual harassment and abuse
Another book of poetry that is a more recent read that has haunted me in the best possible way. There’s not a ton to say except: read it.
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes and Other Lessons from the Crematory by Caitlin Doughty
CWs: death, suicide, detailed discussions of burial processes including embalming and cremation, grief
Surprise! It’s a book by everyone’s favorite internet mortician! Doughty has first-hand knowledge of and a very approachable way of speaking about a subject that most people would rather ignore. It is at times scientific and medically descriptive and at times hilarious and poignant. She has humor and deep empathy for the process of dealing with the dead and the effects of that on the living. At the core, the book is also about Doughty as a young person trying to find her way in her chosen career. I feel like I’ve mentioned this before but I’m working on a play about burial and the funeral industry so I’ve read a lot of books in this vein and I think Doughty’s writing has some of the best tone and heart of any of them.
Your Art Will Save Your Life by Beth Pickens
CWs: none? I think?
This book is a bit of a wild-card because it was written in the wake of the 2016 election and some of it feels very specific to that time. Even when I read it then, I didn’t connect to all of it. The thing I did connect to, and the reason I’ve read it again in the last couple of years, is the reminder that your art and your creativity (whatever that means to you) is important even when it feels frivolous. This book discusses MFAs and residencies a bit and gives some good exercises and self-explorations, sure, but even if that’s not your bag, the undertone is one giant pep talk. And I can definitely use an artistic pep talk every now and then.
Okay, whew! That is probably more than enough for the day. If you’d like to see the whole list in one place, you can find it here.
Thanks for celebrating this little win with me today. Now, go out and spend some quality time with some art, you goober. Get!
*These are just books that have been mentioned. Not necessarily recommendations.
**This list was longer when I started writing. There’s always more on the list.
***Never say never. My apartment is small.
This seems like the exact right *~vibez~* for a very literary Sunday such as this one.
I am continuing on with the subscription donation project. For April and May, the organization is the Inclusive Outdoors Project. If you are new here (welcome!) or need a refresher, you can always find more details on the project on my About page.
Paid subscribers help fund my writing habit. SO, I have also decided to extend the paid subscription discount offer! Paid subscriptions are 10% off for the whole next year as a celebration for NYC Decade-aversary. If you want to upgrade, between now and August is a great time. Or, if a one time support is more your thing, my venmo is @samjeancoop.
It’s also also always a great time to share the newsletter.