Mid-Month Reading Update: 3, 2, 1...go? Uh...go!!
Plus my National Book Award longlist thoughts and all the good links I bookmarked for you this month
Hi, book friends.
You know, September really has some nerve being more than halfway over already. How did that happen?
Obviously, since this “mid-month” update isn’t hitting your inbox until the 19th, it’s been a busy start to the month over here (also see: the state of the world). But hurray that National Book Award season is now in full swing! In case you missed it, here’s the Fiction longlist shared last Friday. I talked more about my overall thoughts here.
In short, I’m excited about the mix of books, but I’m also frustrated that discourse will be somewhat limited to influencers and publishing insiders since nearly half the books are not yet published. Still, I am privileged to have access to eight of the ten (hopefully nine soon, shout me back about Palaver please FSG), so I have officially embarked on my longlist journey.
Also, I didn’t say this in that video, but I am very excited to see The Antidote by Karen Russell on the list! It’s the only one I’ve read so far, and I’m pumped that now more of my friends will read it. And friendly reminder that Flashlight is this month’s Booker of the Month book club pick, so sign up for the Zoom on the 29th if you haven’t yet!
What I’ve read so far this month
Full reviews coming soon!
Telephone by Percival Everett 📖🎧: Brilliant. Even more impressive after my IRL book club uncovered and dissected the differences between the three secret versions. If you’re an Everett fan, this is a must-read.
Don't Call It a Comeback: What Happened When I Stopped Chasing PRs, and Started Chasing Happiness by Keira D'Amato† 🎧: This was the perfect audiobook to keep me company on my last few long runs. Keira is one of my all-time favorite pro women runners and she didn’t disappoint.
The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings, #1) by J.R.R. Tolkien 🎧: Wowza am I glad I read The Silmarillion before starting this reread. I had so much fun!
Currently reading
Flashlight by Susan Choi† 📖🎧
That’s right: It’s been a week and I haven’t even finished one book from the NBA longlist. I’m halfway through! It’s been hard this month to find pockets when I have time to read and my brain is working. I’m still going to try to get through as many as I can before the finalists are announced in early October. We’ll see where I land!
Still on my September TBR
As many of these NBA longlisters as I can squeeze in. (I’m saving The Sisters for early October.)
North Sun: Or, the Voyage of the Whaleship Esther by Ethan Rutherford
The Wilderness by Angela Flournoy*
The True True Story of Raja the Gullible (and His Mother) by Rabih Alameddine*†
A Guardian and a Thief by Megha Majumdar* (out 10/14)
The Pelican Child: Stories by Joy Williams* (out 11/18)
*print copy gifted to me by the publisher
†audiobook gifted to me by the publisher
Linkity link link link
Today is the last day of Libro.fm’s 2-for-1 sale for members! Join here if you aren’t a member yet — use code SWITCH to get 3 credits for the price of one, which means you could get SIX AUDIOBOOKS in this sale! And here are eight books from the sale I recommend.
Have you SEEN the trailer for the Hamnet film?!? Vulture’s film critic said it was the most devastating movie he’s seen in years, and I’m so ready. Actually, I’m not; I’m planning to reread in October to soften the wallop I fully expect as a first-time mom.
ICYMI, Anthropic has settled with authors over the theft of their work to train its models to the tune of $1.5 billion. It sounds like a lot until you realize that’s only $3,000 per book, which is…not nearly enough.
P. Djèlí Clark pulled together a list of great fantasy novels with unlikely heroes for the New York Times, and I love it. (Gift link!)
It’s library card sign-up month! I loved this post from
on how to support your public library all year long.The incredible Jon and Mac of
covered Frog and Toad!!!!
ICYMI
Here are some Instagram posts from the past month that I’m especially proud of:
As always, thanks for sharing your corner of the internet with me! It would mean a lot if you were to take a second to like this post. I’d love to hear how your September reading is going in the comments, too.
Finally, if you like this newsletter, please send a few friends my way.
Until next time!
— Deedi (she/her)
Thanks for the shout out!! ❤️💖
I've finished 7 books so far this month, my favorite of which was The Potency of Ungovernable Impulses, the third in a series I have come to adore. WLW, cozy scifi mystery, a detective and a scholar on a human habitat on Jupiter solve cases together and *yearn*.