1. Reading: One of the best books I’ve read so far this summer is Kelly Barnhill’s adult novel When Women Were Dragons. Barnhill is the Newbery award winning author of the middle grade novel The Girl Who Drank the Moon (also a beautifully written book), as well as Iron Hearted Violet, and The Witch’s Boy, both of which I’ve read aloud to my children. Her adult novel is clever, entertaining, philosophically inventive, and (my favorite) delightfully feminist. I loved it so much I recommended it to my husband (who reads about four books a year, so I have to be picky what I recommend. Another recommendation, which he read, was Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s We Should All Be Feminists). I said, “This is one of the books you have to read this year.” So there you go.
2. Reading: The July issue of National Geographic had a fascinating story on the power of touch. I’ve said it before in this newsletter: National Geographic is probably one of the most enjoyable magazine subscriptions I have. Unfortunately, you can’t read the article without a subscription, but this free article provides some of the thoughts underlining the larger article and is just as fascinating. They also published a podcast exploring the science of a mechanic who lost his hand in an accident, getting the sensation of touch restored in a prosthesis. Science is amazing, isn’t it?
3. Reading: Mark Bittman, who’s best known for his cookbooks, published a book last year called Animal, Vegetable, Junk: A History of Food, from Sustainable to Suicidal. I finally got around to reading it, and wow. This was the first time I’ve read about (or even thought about) the history of food—how we became farmers, why processed food came into the picture, and how the food system highlights inequality and injustice. It was illuminating and very interesting. You may not be a food nerd like me, but it’s still worth a read, for the history and justice-minded solutions presented.
4. Watching: If you’re a writer, you need BookEnds Literary YouTube. BookEnds Literary Agency publishes videos about how to get a literary agent, how to tell when your book’s done, why revisions are important, answers to rights questions, and a whole slew of information that’s helpful for anyone new to the business or even those who have been in it for a while and have questions about whether or not the way things are working is “normal.” (There is no normal is the short answer to that.)
5. Reading: Liane Moriarty is one of my favorite adult writers, and her newest book, Apples Never Fall, is one of the best I’ve read of hers. She has this way of expanding on human nature and really exposing every side of her characters that’s simply delightful. Other favorites includes Big Little Lies, The Husband’s Secret, and Truly Madly Guilty.
