With a Little Help from My Friends

gif courtesy of Press Press Studio

Yesterday, in a panic, I texted a bunch of friends to see if they could help me out. With school in full swing for my ten-year-old, new extracurriculars, work stuff, house projects, and general life chaos, I lost steam this week and didn’t follow through on my plan for book(ish). Luckily, I have generous, responsive, smart, and caring friends who somehow let me get away with last-minute asks. So, please enjoy: my friends. The assignment I texted? “A quick, gushing spiel about a book you recently loved.”

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It rained a lot here this summer. And I had a trip to South Carolina foiled by Tropical Storm Debby. So it was with a mix of feelings that I picked up Erik Larson’s Isaac’s Storm in August. How we chart and track weather has changed wildly since 2006–not to mention 1906–but a lot is still left to conjecture and just waiting to see what happens.

—Hans Weyandt

Lady Tan’s Circle of Women by Lisa See. Fascinating story about women in medicine during the Ming Dynasty in China. Ultimately, the book is about friendship! Enduring difficult times is so much easier when we aren’t alone. I finished it and reflected on how grateful I am for all of my close female friends. What a gift!

—Dahlia Brue

But how do you read a book made entirely of questions? Each line of The Interrogative Mood: A Novel? by Padgett Powell flickers among the playful, profound, surreal, and philosophical. It reads like a kaleidoscopic carousel ride, constantly shifting but forcing the reader to reflect as they become the subject of the narrator’s endless questioning. It’s a strange conceit to pull off, but it’s fun and a real puzzle in terms of craft. In a way, it's Oulipo-esque without the heavy constraints of math. There’s no traditional story here—the narrative is the experience itself. 

—Atina Hartunian

Finally finished Prophet Song. Oof. I need to cleanse with Disney on Ice or a petting zoo or something. I mean, it’s really fucking bleak but honestly super impressive - even if the Joycean run-ons grow a tad old.

—Jay Peterson

I recently finished Giovanni’s Room. As someone who frequently struggles to convey my emotional landscape with words, I was taken aback by how capably Baldwin articulates complex social-emotional experiences. It is succinctly human and being so, quite beautiful and yes, painful. Overall, a powerful exploration of the intricacies of relationships.

—Andrew Milstead

OK, I recently read My Brilliant Friend, finally. My expectations were really high because people gush about it constantly, and at first I was like, huh…..OK, not what I was expecting. But the writing was gorgeous, so I kept going, and by the end I was like, whoa. All these small stories and vignettes that seemed potentially unimportant or trivial added up to a gut punch at the end.

—Lindsey Wright

One that has stuck with me recently and I can’t help but relate all of life to it: Miranda July’s All Fours. And one that was super fun, silly, and heart warming: Margo’s Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe.

—Kelsie Marie

I recently got Nick Cave and Seán O'Hagan’s Faith, Hope and Carnage as an e-book from the library and, after thirteen highlights in the first twenty pages, realized I needed to buy my own copy. I’m only halfway through but that first half is all marked up with comments, stars, and underlines. I love reading about artists and their creative processes especially when there’s an element of mysticism. Nick Cave is obsessed with God and right now I’m obsessed with Nick Cave.

—Melody Heide

The books that have done it for me lately are so different from one another. Reading Genesis (2024) by Marilynne Robinson: if you care about human evil and God and have ever had a passion for the Bible, this book is as advertised. A book-length close read of Genesis, no chapter breaks. I loved this, and it changed me. I was once a Robinson obsessive, so this worked very well for me.

Brian (2023) by Jeremy Cooper was the first book I loved this year. I was in a place of wanting to read something quiet and tender where almost nothing happens. This is it! A Fitzcarraldo Editions novel about a middle-to-late-age introvert in London as he makes himself into a film buff, attending a local art house cinema. We watch him avoid human contact but then also, tentatively, make a few kind-of connections, all the while giving takes on the films he sees. The final thirty pages or so drag, but for the most part, it was exactly, exactly, what I wanted.

—Scott Melamed

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How about you, dear readers? This assignment is for everyone who has two minutes to spare. So, go for it in the comments: “A quick, gushing spiel about a book you recently loved.”

Please spread the love to your local libraries, independent booksellers if you can, or shop online at Bookshop. Thanks, as always, for reading.