The Reading List: Staci's Winter Reads
As a writer and editor, the number of books I completed in 2017 is truly shameful. Between Jen's recs and my own, I barely got through even a fraction of everything we recommended in 2017.
So one of my 2018 *goals* (fuck resolutions) is to read more. Sure, I get paid to read all day, 'errday, but it's not the same as reading for pleasure and the stack of books that have come out and are coming out that excite me is massive.
When I head down to Florida later this week, I'll be READING en route this time, instead of listening to podcasts (I really need to learn to live with a long podcast queue because I'm never going to listen to them at 2x speed like my boyfriend does). So in addition to Jen's fabulous list (new Sloane!!!!!), here's what's on mine to get me through the rest of this frigid hellscape winter. (NOTE: Subheads linked, so you can support these fab FEMALE writers...Jen's were all femmes too!)
By Marie Kondo
THE LIFE-CHANGING MAGIC OF TIDYING UP
Alright, so I've actually already begun reading this one because another one of my 2018 *goals* is to be more minimalist. Actually, I mean it's not even really a goal. I just get visceral disgust when I open my cabinet and see two full shelves overflowing with mugs. I love my cozy apartment, but after a year since completing a massive moving purge, I'm about ready for another purge. Now, TBH, I think Kondo has some rulllll OCD issues going on based solely on her descriptions of herself as a kid running around, compulsively throwing out her parents' and her siblings' shit (without even telling them). But my latest podcast obsession, "By the Book," Kondo'd the shit out of their homes, and I'm convinced the first half of the KonMari method will do me some good.
By Abby Norman
ASK ME ABOUT MY UTERUS
Out March 6
YOU GUYS. I am so fucking excited about this book. Yeah yeah, based on the title, I'm sure that surprises no one. But if it sounds familiar to you, "Ask Me About My Uterus" is also the name of a fabulous Medium publication, and you MIGHT just recognize the name because Ms. Norman picked up the essays I wrote in 2016 about my own sassy uterus! Abby is a true badass, a brilliant writer, and a crusader for women endometriosis and other chronic pain and illness. YAS KWEEN!
By Michele Lent Hirsch
INVISIBLE: HOW YOUNG WOMEN WITH SERIOUS HEALTH ISSUES NAVIGATE WORK, RELATIONSHIPS, AND THE PRESSURE TO SEEM JUST FINE
Out February 27
Speaking of chronic illness, this one promises "An exploration of women navigating serious health issues at an age when they're expected to be healthy, dating, having careers and children." WELL. I hadn't heard about this one until I saw it on one of my favorite local bookstagrammer's feeds, @kathareads. If you've read my aforementioned essays, you know that this very topic was the common thread I wanted to express in my stories about struggling with endometriosis, so I am stoooooked for this one to come out!
By Jennifer Romolini
WEIRD IN A WORLD THAT'S NOT: A CAREER GUIDE FOR MISFITS, F*CKUPS, AND FAILURES
I am also super excited for this one. Let's just say in addition to 2017 being my year of surgeries and bad luck, it was also a big year for me for existential career angst and general questioning of WTF am I doing. My wifey who knows me so well recommended this one, and coincidentally, I heard Romolini several weeks later on a podcast. She was super witty, funny, and REAL, and I feel like this book is just what the doctor (and therapist and wife) ordered.
By Tina Brown
THE VANITY FAIR DIARIES
Literal boss lady Tina Brown has released her "diaries" from her years spent rescuing Vanity Fair for Condé Nast. Granted, everyone seems to think the book is a bit, um, gossipy and embellished from what may be her actual diaries, but they've also given it rave reviews. And frankly, after immersing myself in a lot of books about the unfair challenges women face, it will be nice to read a story about a boss lady with a happy ending with a side of dirt about a bunch of rich people in NYC in the 80s.
What are you reading this winter?
-Staci
