Sparkles and Gratitude

Edition 33: November 2021

Hello, hello!

In the season of gratitude, I have so much to be thankful for: my boyfriend and I got ✨engaged✨, I’m getting my booster shot today, and we might maybe really finally dewallpaper and paint our bathroom. I’ve also been doing some personal training and fitness classes so I feel less blobby, and it’s working! Like magic! And, of course, I am so grateful for all of you who read these words whenever they appear in your inbox. Thank you, truly.

That’s all I’ve got about me. Here are some good books and links.

What I read

🧠 This Is How I Disappear by Mirion Malle

This is a lovely graphic novel, translated from French, about a woman who is feeling trapped after a bad breakup and sexual assault. We get into her mind, her monotonous days, her exhausting attempts at keeping friendships. I saw myself in so many panels.

👻 White Smoke by Tiffany D. Jackson

Marigold and her family have moved into the only renovated house on a block of dilapidated and abandoned homes. Weird things are happening inside—like the day every kitchen drawer and cabinet is open and the contents are placed around the room. This is a ghost story and social commentary all wrapped up in one eerie package.

🔥 Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle by Emily Nagoski and Amelia Nagoski

I didn’t expect this book to speak directly into my soul, but it did. Women are socialized to be givers—sufferers of “Human Giver Syndrome,” according to the Nagoski sisters—from the moment they enter the world. And it leads to burnout. The book focuses on the struggles of women in particular and how they can heal.

💻 Several People Are Typing by Calvin Kasulke

If you want to read a weird-ass book about late-stage capitalism and being literally sucked into Slack, this one’s for you.

🏠 Perfect Dirt by Keegan Lester

From my review at Foreword: “Keegan Lester’s lyrical memoir Perfect Dirt concerns what and where “home” really is.” Real talk, I loved the shit out of this beautiful book about Appalachia and home and family and love and poetry. *dreamy sigh*

More interesting stuff

I’m really loving the discussions I’m reading lately about the internet and surveillance capitalism and algorithms and all of the things. Hank Green went on Ologies to talk about TikTok, Jia Tolentino went on Pod Save America to talk about the internet.

What I wrote

Mid-Book Crisis: What to Do When You Lose Interest in the Middle of a Book

I have always been a firm believer in not finishing books you don’t like, so here are some of the guidelines I follow and frequently bestow upon my friends.

Tips for Reading Horror When You’re a Scaredy Cat

Follow these tips, like reading only in the daytime, to enjoying horror if you’re a wimp like me. Or do the opposite and get really scared.

Little Free Library Etiquette

Inspired by a tale of my brother witnessing someone clearing out a Little Free Library at a train station and refilling it with Bibles.

True Crime Comics that Aren’t About Serial Killers

Because there is so, so much more to the genre than Ed Gein and Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer.

xoxo
Ashley

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Head’s up! I’m an affiliate with Bookshop.org and may earn a commission if you click through any book links and make a purchase. You can also find every book I’ve recommended here in the Crooked Reads shop.

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