March Reading Edit

Favorite books of March, a literary activist call to action, plus my Weekly What

Please be sure to scroll down towards the bottom of today’s newsletter for important information regarding a potentially devastating attack on Ohio libraries and a time sensitive call to action for fellow Ohioans.

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I read 24 books in March. Here’s a little breakdown of my reading month:

• 18 library/Libby borrows

• 5 gifted from publishers

• 1 book I own (Catching Fire)

• 5 backlist titles (21%), 19 frontlist (79%)

• 13 audiobooks, 6 print, 5 hybrid reads (print + audio)

I had an audiobook heavy month thanks to some home projects. Nothing helps me tackle tasks like having a good audiobook queued up!

Here are my favorite reads from March:

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Let’s chat March reading!

• What did you read in March?

• What was/were your favorite book(s) of the month?

• Have you read any of my March favorites?

• What are you reading/watching/eating/drinking/loving this week?

What I’m…

Reading

• Deep Cuts by Holly Brickley. A 2000s coming-of-age set in San Francisco and New York about a music duo brought together and torn apart by music. As a contemporary of the MCs this story felt very nostalgic to me. I was super into this book up to a certain point, it fizzled out for me a bit towards the end. Still a great, literary leaning read that I’d broadly recommend. The book is already set for a film adaptation by A24 starring Saoirse Ronan and Austin Butler.

• Tilt by Emma Pattee. Set over the course of a single day following a 37-week pregnant woman navigating Portland, Oregon in chaos after a devastating earthquake. This is a debut novel from a climate journalist so you know the environmental aspects are well done. I absolutely inhaled this book in a single day.

• Woodworking by Emily St. James. A coming of age story in many ways this is about a trans teen and her newly out trans teacher navigating life in small town South Dakota in 2016. It’s messy, as life is, heartwarming, humorous, and honest, and there are some really interesting dynamics at play. I read this book across 2 days and about 24 hours because I really needed to see what happened with the characters. Not only does this book have broad appeal there are some universal themes and elements that would make for great discussion in a book club setting. This is the debut novel from cultural critic and journalist Emily St. James who has also written for Yellowjackets. It’s published by Crooked Media’s Crooked Reads imprint at Zando Books.

Listening

• Unshrunk: A Story of Psychiatric Treatment Resistance by Laura Delano. A provoking and interesting listen challenging common mental health treatment practices through Delano’s lived experience being diagnosed bi-polar as a teenager.

• The Ezra Klein Show: Our Kids Are the Least Flourishing Generation We Know Of. This conversation with Jonathan Haidt on kids and technology has a slightly different context than I typically see The Anxious Generation being discussed. Highly recommend a listen.

Watching

• Severance, Season 2 (Apple TV+). Finished up season 2 and it did not disappoint.

• Long Bright River (Peacock). I really enjoyed the book. I think this is a good, not great adaptation. It’s very watchable and only 8 episodes.

• Anora (Hulu). Kind of long at 2h 20m, but it won best film of the year so what do I know?! I liked it.

Eating & Drinking

• We had a at-home takeout night with these Arby’s inspired Slow Cooker Beef and Cheddar Sandwiches served with fruit and curly fries from the freezer

• Took advantage of nice weather to grill pork chops served alongside roasted potatoes and asparagus. This is my favorite pork chop marinade. It is super simple, I always have the ingredients on hand, and it makes juicy, flavorful chops.

• Another batch of this addictive snack mix. I like to add an extra tablespoon of brown sugar and decrease the ranch seasoning by 25%. We think this yields the perfect blend of sweet and salty.

Links + Loves

• Kirkus announced their Best Books of the Century (so far). It’s an interesting mix of titles. I appreciate the broad selection of 100 titles for each of 5 separate categories: fiction, non-fiction, teen/YA, middle grade, and picture books. My favorite part of the “best of” lists is always the discourse surrounding them so definitely let me know if you have thoughts!

• When Republicans reference George Orwell’s 1984 without seeing themselves in the Ministry of Truth it’s a stark (and maddening!) reminder we are truly living in separate realities and one of those realities doesn’t have a firm grip on facts. We Are All Living in George Orwell’s World Now (New York Times) is an interesting piece exploring how people across the ideological spectrum can believe we’re moving towards a 1984 like reality but disagree on which ideological side is most Orwellian as well as how Orwell himself may have interpreted current events.

• Can Simon & Schuster Become the A24 of Books? (The Cut) The fact that I’ve seen so much chatter about surrounding this article and new publisher Sean Manning’s recent announcement shaking up the flagship imprint’s policy on blurbs (or the sheer fact I’m referencing Manning by name) makes me think they’re onto something here. Manning recognizes the publishing and literary environment has drastically shifted and other publishers are no longer the biggest threat, they’re competing against social media and streaming and diverse strategies are needed to break through to grab attention.

• Social media trends often have a much more complex and sometimes sinister underbelly beneath the surface level. I appreciate this thoughtful exploration of What We Talk About When We Talk About “Bringing Back Yearning” (Book Riot)

• "Reading Builds Empathy": The Case for Saving America's Libraries (Salon) “Libraries are the nexuses of democratized access to culture, community expertise, diverse perspectives on history and the instruments that further that knowledge. They also are gathering spots and safe spaces for the vulnerable.” And this is precisely why they’re under attack as outlined in this article.

• And speaking of the importance of libraries, Ohio libraries are now under attack. Look, it’s always a bad thing when libraries are under attack, and I know I’m biased as an Ohioan, but beyond the personal this attack feels particularly egregious in a state home to some of the nation’s top libraries by collection size, circulation, and visits. We have more libraries than Starbucks, more libraries than McDonald’s, 732 individual libraries across 251 systems in fact. In one year Ohio libraries saw visits from enough people to fill Ohio Stadium 434 times. Perhaps we should be known more for our libraries than football. Traditionally, Buckeyes have taken our libraries seriously and a huge part of why we have such a robust and elite library presence is due to the way we fund them. Now, Republican lawmakers intend to make drastic changes to not only the method by which we fund our libraries they also seek to cut funding by $100 million. As if that’s not enough, they are using the budget to implement new bullshit policies targeting LBGTQ+ materials and changing terms of service for public library boards to wrest more control. All of these changes will disproportionately affect rural libraries. None of this is being championed by our Republican governor, but that doesn’t matter as our deeply gerrymandered Republican controlled legislature goes rogue all the time and has zero hesitation overriding a veto from their own party.

  • If you would like to learn more about this Book Riot has a good write up. Here’s a more in depth look from Ohio Capital Journal. And here’s a brief overview from a local news outlet if you want a quick read. If you’re local your library website likely has more information so check there.

  • If you are an Ohioan now is the time to act. Contact your state representatives to express support for libraries before April 8. A call is best, but everyone can easily send an email right now, today. You need to contact two people regarding this issue:

    • Ohio House Speaker Matt Huffman

      Phone: (614) 466-6344

      Email: rep78@ohiohouse.gov

    • Your state representative. If you are unsure who that is you can find that here.

    • Here’s a good example of what to say:

      My name is _______ and I am a proud patron of [ insert your local library system ] and one of your constituents. I am contacting your office today to voice my opposition to proposed cuts to the Public Library Fund. This drastic reduction of resources to my library and libraries across our state will rob all Ohioans of treasured and often vital programs and services that contribute to a thriving community.

      Even better use this as a jumping off point to express how and why the library is important to you, your family, and/or your community. How frequently do you visit? What services do you most appreciate? What makes your branch or system unique? What will you lose if they are forced to close or reduce programming?

    • If you get someone on the phone engage them in conversation. Ask them to account for what the purpose and desired outcome is of these policies and how the state intends to support the rural libraries that will be forced to close by their proposed cuts. Some constituents are reporting their representatives are telling them the proposed budget increases funding for libraries (it doesn’t.) If this happens ask them to walk you through this discrepancy. Remember: these yahoos work for you. (Or they’re supposed to anyway 🙄)

  • Whether you’re an Ohioan or not, get loud on social media, share what’s happening and encourage any Ohioans in your network to take action. This isn’t just about Ohio as Republicans everywhere are sharing the same playbook. We have to resist the authoritarian march whenever and wherever we can.

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