Quick Lit October 2023 Archives

The Cloisters

by Katy Hays

Our recent team and MMD Book Club discussions about Dark Academia inspired me to listen to this 2022 novel about a recent college graduate with a tragic past who travels from Washington state to New York City to take a summer job at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. When she arrives, she finds she is no longer needed—but is rescued by a curator at The Cloisters who has an opening. This outsider quickly falls in with the enigmatic group of curators and support staff at the museum, and becomes absorbed in their dangerous extracurricular pursuits involving rare artifacts and tarot cards. When those pursuits turn deadly, they all face terrible decisions in the aftermath. If you need characters you can root for this isn't the book for you, but I loved it for its intriguing setting, strong sense of place, and moody fall vibes. (If this sounds good, don't miss Ginger's post featuring 20 Dark Academia novels for moody fall reading.)

North Woods

by Daniel Mason

I love the conceit of this novel of interlocking short stories: the book tells of the inhabitants of one specific house in Western Massachusetts, from the Puritan era and then over the course of many centuries. We meet a pair of Puritan lovers, a soldier-turned-farmer determined to grow the best apples of the world, spinster sisters whose ghosts come to haunt the property, a pair of doomed lovers, a participant in a prison pen pal program, a panther. This didn't have the emotional resonance I find in my favorite novels, but there is much to admire in what I can only call a very good book: the ingenious looping and overlapping of some of the stories, the strong epistolary components throughout, the emotional pull of some of the threads.

The Rachel Incident

by Caroline O'Donoghue

This is the book I can't stop recommending! I picked this up on a whim and am so glad I did: the novel reads like a warmer, wittier Sally Rooney, perfect for fans of introspective first-person literary fiction. When the novel begins, Rachel is living in London, happily married and pregnant, when she hears the news that one of her old long-ago college professors is in a coma. (This beginning reminds me of one of my favorite novels, This Must Be the Place.) This discovery prompts her to recall a pivotal year in her early twenties, when she met her best friend James working at the bookstore and their lives soon became enmeshed with those of the professor and his wife. A provocative novel with an enticing plot that thoughtfully interrogates themes of power, class, art, and the queer experience; I adored the Irish accents in Tara Flynn's excellent narration.

Chemistry

by Weike Wang

I loved listening to Joan Is Okay and wanted to dig deeper into Weike Wang’s backlist. In her 2017 debut novel our narrator is a chemistry PhD student who, feeling crushed by her demanding program and exacting Chinese parents, takes a leave of absence. She hopes to use this time to figure out what she really wants to do with her life, and to examine why she can’t just say “yes” when her committed boyfriend keeps pushing the idea of marriage. This literary novel is smartly written, with tight prose and a fascinating structure that serves the story well and makes it feel memoir-esque. I thought the ending was one part abrupt and one part pure brilliance, and would LOVE to unpack it in a book club setting. (I do want to flag a quick comment about gun violence for the sensitive reader: it caught me off guard, and made me wonder if now, six years later, that topic would have been handled differently.)

The Cheat Sheet

by Sarah Adams

From the publisher: "The friend zone is not the end zone for Bree Camden, who is helplessly in love with her longtime best friend and extremely hot NFL legend, Nathan Donelson. The only problem is that she can’t admit her true feelings, because he clearly sees her as a best friend with no romantic potential, and the last thing Bree wants is to ruin their relationship. In any case, she has other things to worry about. After a car accident ended her chance at becoming a professional ballerina, Bree changed paths and now owns her own dance studio, with big dreams to expand it. Then, as usual, Nathan comes to the rescue and buys the entire building. A stubborn Bree is not happy about it and decides to rebel with a couple—okay, maybe more than a couple—of tequila shots. Then her plan backfires as she spills her deepest, darkest secret to a TMZ reporter. Before they can really talk about her confession, Nathan’s publicist proposes a big opportunity that could mean financial security for Bree. The catch? They have to pretend to be in love. For three whole weeks. What will happen when Bree gives in to the feelings she’s been desperately hiding for so long, and could she be imagining that Nathan is actually enjoying it?"

Remember Us

by Jacqueline Woodson

I picked up this novel from Jacqueline Woodson the minute I heard about it, because of my love for her 2020 MG release Before the Ever After. The story takes place the summer before Sage enters seventh grade, in Brooklyn's Bushwick neighborhood, called "The Matchbox" because buildings keep going up in flames. Her mother wants to move them to a safer neighborhood—especially because Sage's father died fighting one of those fires—but she's reluctant to leave the place that holds so many family memories. Woodson drew heavily on her own experience growing up in Bushwick in the 70s and 80s to pen this novel, and beautifully captures the dreams and pain of the tween years and the particular poignancy of Sage's struggles. This lyrical story of grief, change, and healing is especially good on audio, narrated by the author.

How to Keep House While Drowning: A Gentle Approach to Cleaning and Organizing

by KC Davis

This is therapist KC Davis's gentle instruction manual on how to maintain your home even when you're overwhelmed, depressed, or just living life with a neurodivergent brain that doesn't respond well to the advice that seems to work for everyone else. I loved this book, and found Davis's two-pronged approach extremely effective. First, a paradigm shift is in order: you are a person deserving of care; your home needs maintenance (not care) for the purpose of serving you well. Second, she provides specific instruction on momentum, motivation, and cleaning rhythms that make it easier to get done what needs to get done. This short little book packs a big punch: if you follow Davis's express path through the book you can finish it in an hour and start benefiting immediately.

Florence Adler Swims Forever

by Rachel Beanland

I've had Beanland's historical debut novel waiting for me in Libro.fm since its 2020 release; I bumped it to the top of my queue after enjoying her April 2023 release The House Is on Fire. This book is NOT what I expected: it's no spoiler to say that on page 14 the vivacious 20-year-old swimmer Florence drowns on a training swim in the Atlantic Ocean, and the book is truly about her Jewish family's elaborate attempt to conceal the truth from Florence's hospitalized sister, who they fear will go into premature labor if she learns of the tragedy. Beanland explains in her author's note that much of the story is based on her own Jewish family's history in 1930s Atlantic City, and teases out what is fact and what is fiction for her readers. I loved this on audio, narrated by a full cast including Jesse Vilinsky and Gabra Zackman.

Quick Lit October 2023

Buckle Up!

summer reading starts May 16th