Always love reading about your reading highlights, Jacyln! If Search History is your Hydra of 2023 then I really must get to it!
I read The Rachel Incident on audio just recently without really knowing who Caroline O'Donaghue is at all, and gosh I just adored it! Captured that age so perfectly and it's made me think back with more kindness on my younger self too - I actually feel that it healed something unspoken for me. I probably wouldn't have read it if I hadn't seen it on your Insta feed, so thank you.
Super interesting lists! I loved Easy Beauty - a library borrow I plan to buy so I can re-read. Beautifully written and challenged my thinking in a really good way: it asks you to inhabit a valuable perspective. I actually didn’t love The Rachel Incident ... I liked it, but was expecting it to be great and found it more ‘fine’ than great, for the last half of the book. I did find myself loving Rachel and James and Carey though ... I think when you expect to love a book, you can be easily disappointed. (I had expected the prose to be a bit crisper and zingier, I think.)
Oh I love this! Equal parts worried and thrilled about how many titles just skyrocketed to the top of my TBR.
Sorry not sorry xxx
I love your vision for a bookish community here! Thanks for the recommendations.
This is the Substack I have been waiting for!
So glad you’re here x
What a wonderful collection of recommendations Jaclyn! I’ve been wanting to read ‘Wifedom’ I’m intrigued by it - what did you think of it? X
Wonderful thank you! Have read so many biographies this year need to diversify....
Gorgeous recommendations! I so admire your ability to write a sentence long review that sucks me in on a book. They all sound like I need them. 😅
Always love reading about your reading highlights, Jacyln! If Search History is your Hydra of 2023 then I really must get to it!
I read The Rachel Incident on audio just recently without really knowing who Caroline O'Donaghue is at all, and gosh I just adored it! Captured that age so perfectly and it's made me think back with more kindness on my younger self too - I actually feel that it healed something unspoken for me. I probably wouldn't have read it if I hadn't seen it on your Insta feed, so thank you.
I just finished Birnam Wood. Not what I expected! Gripping and bonkers and I adored it. Read the last half in what felt like one long inhale.
That ending!
Ooo! This makes me want to read more Australian lit! Thanks for the recs :)
Hi Jaci! Thrilled to have this Substack in my list. HT to Bri Lee for the recommend
Wow. This is amazing. Thanks for sharing it here :-)
Super interesting lists! I loved Easy Beauty - a library borrow I plan to buy so I can re-read. Beautifully written and challenged my thinking in a really good way: it asks you to inhabit a valuable perspective. I actually didn’t love The Rachel Incident ... I liked it, but was expecting it to be great and found it more ‘fine’ than great, for the last half of the book. I did find myself loving Rachel and James and Carey though ... I think when you expect to love a book, you can be easily disappointed. (I had expected the prose to be a bit crisper and zingier, I think.)
Thanks for the suggestions! I love pointing people to good books. :-)
I’m curious to know why you’re actively trying to read less, Jaclyn (if it’s something you want to talk about)?
SO looking forward to the new Anne Michaels!! Poets write the best prose, but they do tend to take their time… 😅
I think I might write a newsletter on that very topic (both why I want to read less and when poets turn to prose).
Yes! Also keen to hear why you want to read less if you’re happy to talk about it