Panic! at the Bookshelf

When a mood reader loses the mood, plus my Weekly What

Apr 19, 2025

I found myself in a strange reading mood this week. Not a reading slump exactly, though it feels closely adjacent enough that I’m treading lightly. It’s more that I’m unable to pinpoint what kind of reading mood I’m in, which leaves me, a mood reader, unable to choose my next read.

Quite the pickle.

I’m a mood reader. This means, rather than having a clear, prearranged reading plan I sort of fly by the seat of my pants. I’m generally not a fly by the seat of my pants kind of gal. This is not the only way my reading life is different from much of the rest of my life.

Knowing yourself and your tastes as a reader is important to a fulfilling reading life. A benefit of being a lifelong reader is having a lot of practice at this essential element. I like to think I’m pretty good at meeting my reading needs, such as knowing what I’m in the mood for.

My reading selections are chosen via complicated alchemy involving pub dates, buzz, FOMO, the weather, season, library due dates, my last read, general disposition, and probably some astrology involving moons in planet orbits I don’t even know about. Obviously, I don’t overtly consider all of these elements each time I select my next read. It functions more like something of a personal algorithm trained on decades of constant reading pointing me in the right direction. This is to say, I typically know what I want to pick up next when finishing a book.

Mid-week last week, I read Emily Austin’s We Could Be Rats — it was fine, I didn’t love it.

Then I spent a few days finishing up Emma for the

Novel Pairings

spring readalong — I really enjoyed this!

Sunday morning I found myself at a total loss for what to start next. Typically, beginning a fresh book at the start of a new week on a day when I had time to settle in and enjoy would be the best possible scenario… but I had no idea what I was in the mood for. It was almost as if everything and nothing sounded good at the same time. I undoubtedly had too many options and too little focus.

As I felt my Sunday morning bed reading opportunity slipping away, the pressure to choose only made things worse. After too much frantic consideration I settled on a plotty book quite different from what I had recently been reading. This is my go-to remedy when I’m feeling slumpy. Except… I wasn’t in a slump, I was struggling with placing a finger on my current appetite. Nevertheless I persisted.

The book I chose, Allison Gunn’s Nowhere, offered nothing to satiate me. 80 pages in I found myself totally frustrated with the writing style — warranted, I think, but certainly spurred by my state-of-mind. I did a very uncommon thing for me, setting the book in my library return pile and marking a DNF on Storygraph.

I feel good about that. But I was back to having nothing to read.

Eventually I took a breath and a beat. I put pub and due dates entirely out of the equation. I let myself freely contemplate what I was really craving.

…something backlist.

…a little off beat.

…something I’ve been meaning to read.

I settled on Jeffery Eugenides’ The Virgin Suicides — perfect!

This is actually a reread for me. I first read The Virgin Suicides in my teens, possibly very early 20s. Thanks to the universe, the Book Gods, or Baader-Meinhof, The Virgin Suicides has recently and randomly come to my attention enough times I decided I would answer the call with not only a re-read but a purchase, adding this modern classic to my shelves (an act not lightly undertaken.)

Finishing The Virgin Suicides I had a brief moment of panic about what to read next. I really didn’t want to go back to the Bad Place. I took a breath, a beat, and decided on Hamnet. Another backlist book I’ve long been meaning to read, the timing partly inspired by my high schooler’s Shakespeare unit (wasn’t I just studying Shakespeare in high school?!)

I can’t always predict the random influences which shape my reading, but receiving them as they arise is part of the magic for me. I have to remember to tune out the noise, allowing space for inspiration to flourish.

Sometimes the mood just needs a minute.

Tell me:

How do you choose your next read?
What type of reader are you?
What type of book have you been in the mood for this week?

What I’m…

Reading

Emma by Jane Austen.
Novel Pairings
spring readalong. My third Austen (I previously read Pride and Prejudice x2, and Mansfield Park early this year) and surely will remain a favorite! After reading I watched the 2020 film adaptation — also a treat! I grew up with Clueless and have long known it’s a modern Emma adaptation. Now, having read the source material, I see what a clever reimaging it is and appreciate the film on a whole new level!
The Virgin Suicides by Jeffery Eugenides. This is a great book. Rereading allowed for deeper understanding of the story as a metaphor for the American Dream. Glad I revisited!
Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell. My first O’Farrell! I have been meaning to read Hamnet since the buzz surrounding its U.S. pub in mid-2020. Though many trusted Readers have raved and recommended this book and author to me, and though I truly meant to read it, I’ll be honest: it was easy to not prioritize a story set in Elizabethan England about Shakespeare. Well, if you, like me, aren’t entirely sold on the whole Shakespeare angle let’s just set that aside because Shakespeare’s name is never once uttered in this novel.

Hamnet is the story of Agnes, an eccentric free spirit, a hedge witchy healer, rumored able to see things others can’t. Her story initially follows something of a fairytale trajectory as she wiggles out from her cruel stepmother’s grasp leaving behind the farm where she was raised to marry a young Latin tutor in town. Together they have a life and growing family while Agnes helps her husband blossom into who he’s meant to be. While he’s in London finding fame, she’s left behind tending hearth and home, content until her world is upended by the sudden loss of their 11-year-old son to bubonic plague. Hamnet is, yes, the backstory to Shakespeare’s Hamlet, but it’s really a story of love, marriage, family, and the impact of loss. Though it’s setet more than 400 years ago the story, characters, and evergreen themes are vibrant and relatable. I adored O’Farrell’s writing style — this will not be the last I read from her!

Listening

The Ezra Klein Show: The Emergency is Here. If anyone is waiting for some sort of ringing alarm to signal the constitutional crisis has officially arrived: 🚨 This is an important and useful listen detailing exactly what the crisis is, why we should all be scared, and how to move forward.
A Great Disorder: National Myth and the Battle for America by Richard Slotkin. An examination of cultural and political identity as shaped by evolving American mythology throughout our history. A comprehensive read that offers important context on current culture wars. Read this if you appreciated Jesus and John Wayne and/or Loaded: A Disarming History of the Second Amendment.
Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism by Sarah Wynn-Williams. This is the expose Meta, the great champion/weaponizer of free speech, is working so hard to silence. (Oh, the irony.) I’m not going to do a full deep dive on the book, though I think it’s actually quite important we are all aware of the damning claims made within. (This Slate review is pretty detailed and gives a good idea of the broad strokes if you’re wondering.)

Aside from Wynn-Williams personal experiences — which are valid and add important context, this is not a dismissal — nothing in this book is likely to be a total bombshell to those of us paying attention to the man behind the curtain. If you’ve just awakened to the reality that Zuckerberg is a bad hombre, then, well, this book isn’t a bad place to start. The main takeaway is Mark Zuckerberg/Meta are knowingly sowing and exploiting chaos and division globally to further their own interests with no regard for consequences, like say, genocide. Their only concerns are profit and power and they won’t stop harmful practices until rules and regulations catch up with them.

This book is about Mark Zuckerberg and Meta, but it’s really bigger than one man and one company. It’s a stark reminder of self-evident truths we must hold dear:
- Billionaires: not like us
- Billionaires: not going to save us
- Billionaires’ bottom line (maximizing profits and exploitation of resources) are diametrically opposed to our own (a share of those profits, the egalitarian founding principles of this country, a reasonable existence). If left unchecked they will exploit and extract everything and anything they can.
- Billionaires have much too much power and influence, which they will never voluntarily cede. It is imperative we craft rules and regulations that see to our own needs.
Recommended related reading:
- The Chaos Machine: The Inside Story of How Social Media Rewired Our Minds and Our World by Max Fisher
- Superbloom: How Technologies of Connection Tear Us Apart by Nicholas Carr

Watching

The Pitt (Max). Like a modern ER in the best way. In fact, there’s a breach of contract lawsuit alleging The Pitt is not just inspired by the medical drama, but a direct ripoff 😬
Emma (2020)(Paramount+). After finishing the book I, of course, had to see a film adaptation! I’ve long heard good things about this version and it did not disappoint!

Eating & Drinking

My second time making this Chicken Pot Pie Casserole with Cheddar Biscuit Topping. Comes together quickly with the help of a rotisserie chicken.
This Sausage Potato Cabbage Skillet is my go-to when I have cabbage to use up — am I the only one who always seem to end up with giant heads of cabbage?!
I used the other half of that rotisserie chicken in this Chicken Enchilada Skillet. I added a can of drained and rinsed pinto beans since I only had 2 cups of chicken.
One of my kids requested Chicken Alfredo. This quick Instant Pot recipe hit the spot. I served it with salad because the last time I added broccoli I got complaints, womp womp.
For a treat I made a pan of Scotcharoos. I like to make it with corn flakes. We’ve also used Cheerios as well as the prescribed Rice Crispies — the cereal aisle is your oyster.

Links + Loves

Publishers Weekly Summer Reads 2025 is a fun browse to stock your summer TBR.
Most Americans want to read more books. We just don't. (NPR) Some interesting reading stats.
The age of being 'very online' is over. (Mashable) I’d love to pull a single quote from this piece, but I was too busy nodding along the entire time I was reading about why the internet is no fun anymore.
A new Pride and Prejudice miniseries (The Hollywood Reporter) is coming from Netflix and Dolly Alderton! (I think we call them “limited series” now, but that term just doesn't have the same dignity.)
I purchased these silicone freezer trays early last year and I'm so pleased each time I use them! I most frequently utilize the trays to freeze individual portions of soup. I have the 2 cup size which includes measurements for 8 and 16 oz right on the tray — handy! Once frozen the food easily pops out and can be stored in a freezer bag or container. The cubes are just the right size to pop into a bowl to reheat as needed. Big fan!

That Bookish Life {Stacked}

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