highly specific recommendations for finicky readers

+ some extra good links

I just finished Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, and am still processing how much I loved it. I don’t want to give anything away (the beauty of this book is the subtle build up to the WTF IS HAPPENING moment — page 87, to be exact), but I am forever indebted to its author. It totally changed how I feel about science fiction, and I can see why it made the top ten for the NYT’s top 100 books of the 21st century.

There’s no better feeling than being sucked into a rapturous book, but sometimes scratching that itch is tricky. We’ve all been there. The book you’ve chosen doesn’t excite you. It’s a chore to pick back up, and you find yourself scrolling instead. It’s suddenly been two hours, and all of your TBR stack feels stale.

Having gone through this cycle many times, I’ve developed an arsenal of “deslumpifying” books. These are just a handful of my go-to recommendations, but maybe one will speak to you!

PS. Are you in a reading slump? Drop a comment or email me what vibe you’re looking for… Would love to send a rec! 💌

If you loved Pachinko and are craving multigenerational literary fiction… Try Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi.

I still think about this 2016 novel all of the time. The sprawling story follows 300 years of one Ghanaian family, with chapters alternating between Asante land and the American South. Crisscrossing throughout history, this book tackles a lot — slavery, Jim Crow, the Great Migration, and the jazz age. But it never feels bloated or overdone. Instead, you’ll sail through, and be left devastated when it’s finished.

I can’t believe this was Gyasi’s debut novel. It’s so, so good.

If you want something bite-sized… Try Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata.

Years ago, my friend Ebba sent me this book when I was going through a breakup, and I swear I smiled through the whole thing. This slim novella follows Tokyo resident Keiko Furukura, a thirty-six-year-old convenience store woman who loves her job. And I mean LOVES her job.

This book is delightful and perfect to read in one sitting. It also perfectly skewers late stage capitalism, and who doesn’t love that?

For someone who likes to play detective, piecing together bits of information in drips and drabs… Try The Examiner by Janice Hallett.

If you’re feeling slumpy, this book may be the antidote. It’s beyond addictive — I stayed up late to keep reading and woke up early to finish.

Like all of Hallett’s books, The Examiner unfolds over a series of emails, text messages, and essays.¹ This latest novel follows a group of students in an art master’s program, and the twist is SO good I gasped aloud.

Paul bought me this book at Hammett, my favorite Krimibuchhandlung (“crime bookstore”) in Berlin, but it should be available in the US now. I recommend reading by the fire this Christmas.

For a celebrity memoir that doesn’t suck… Try I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jeannette McCurdy.

I feel very meh about most celeb memoirs, but there’s a reason why this one was sold out for so many weeks, and remained the #1 bestseller for ages.

Although the book follows McCurdy’s career as a child actress, it’s really about her relationship with her abusive mom who died in 2013. I grew up watching iCarly, but even if you aren’t familiar with Jeannette McCurdy, this book is worth reading.

Although I don’t normally recommend audiobooks, this one is narrated by McCurdy herself and is great.

And if you want your life to be irrevocably destroyed… Try A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara.

In recent years, this book (and its eccentric author) has faced a lot of backlash, inciting much capital D “discourse.” At the end of the day, though, I struggle to think of another book that elicits such a strong emotional response. A Little Life follows four friends who meet in university, and traces their lives throughout adulthood. I love how

EJ Johnson

describes it in her Substack:

I am prone to gushing, so I will bear that in mind and try to keep this brief. I have never been so moved by a book, more in love with characters, more affected by their lives. There’s something about a book that follows characters across a lifetime– if done well– where those characters end up following you, the reader, for a lifetime, and that is the case with this book.

I once cried so hard reading this book on a plane that the flight attendant had to ask if I was okay (spoiler alert — I wasn’t!).

My December goals

📚 On my shelf

• I have a couple books to get to first, but I just picked up My Husband by Maud Ventura. This book was a massive sensation in France, and tells the story of a wife besotted — really, unhealthily obsessed — with her husband. Reviewers love it, and I’m excited.

• Still enjoying The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo! Hoping to finish on the train ride back from Munich.

📚 Links and Things

• I’ve been savoring this podcast about the political turmoil in 1968. It feels especially relevant in our current moment 🎧

• I loooove the Next Page newsletter from Vox book critic Constance Grady. It’s a great place to find your next read.

• Check out this lovely Substack,

  Slow Scottish Stories
  . In a super hectic world bustling with a “go, go, go” attitude, I really appreciate how Molly reframes happiness and fulfillment. This is an old post, but one I keep turning to: The person I’ve become since I left social media.

Happy reading! 💛

XOX

Alli

1. All of her books use this convention — to varying effect. I loved The Appeal, thought The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels was just okay, and couldn’t finish The Twyford Code.