A Reading Recap
Emily Apuzzo Hopkins | January 5th, 2024
Normally people have their year-end review posts at the end of the year - cute graphics and a nice farewell heading into the holiday mayhem.
Well, I didn’t do that.
I basically did the procrastinator’s version of that.
I did a decent job of book consumption this past year. I call it that because I know there are purists out there who do not count audiobooks as reading and I get it. No, I didn’t “read” all of these books but I consumed and completed them.
So there ;)
Here is my chunked-out list with reasons why I liked them and a few reasons why I didn’t…
The “All Things Adam Grant” List
Originals; Give and Take; and Think Again - all by Adam Grant
Option B by Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant
I really enjoy Adam Grant’s style. I love the research. I love how IN that world he is. As a result, the work is firsthand and his excitement and energy come through. I especially love his work in audiobook format. I like hearing his voice and feeling like we are having a conversation about these topics. The range of subject matter with the central thesis is always grounding and informational. Love love love.
Where this changes for me is with the Option B collaboration. I wanted to love it. I wanted to love Sheryl Sandberg’s other book Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead (co-authored by Nell Scovell) when I read it in 2022. But I just didn’t care for either offering. For that reason, I have to assume that the common denominator is Sheryl Sandberg and I just don’t like her stuff. I hate that, but what can ya do?
The “These are the Kinds of Books I Tend to Gravitate Toward a.k.a. Non-Fiction a.k.a. Self-Improvement-y” List
The Lazy Genius Way by Kendra Adachi
In hindsight, I don’t remember much about this book. I read it pretty early in the calendar year. I do recall it being very easy to get through - quick tips here and there. My favorite tip (and probably one I will re-work into my own life again) is having a Monday outfit. I want to say she did jeans and a black top - something simple. And always stuck close to that. I like the idea of having a go-to - especially on a Monday! Very lazy, yet genius-y.
Find Your Why by Simon Sinek, David Mead, and Peter Docker
Like most of you, I was introduced to Simon Sinek through his TED Talk about Why. At the time, I ate it up as I was at a professional crossroads and looking for what should happen next. Then I read the original Start With Why. Loved it back then. I listened to it again years later when much had changed and it still hit me, but in a different - and probably more profound - way.
This book was different. I kind of felt like I was being sold to, but not by Simon. It felt like David and Peter were trying to drag me through an uncomfortable professional development. This is saying a lot because I actually love professional development. It just didn’t click for me.
To Sell is Human by Daniel H. Pink
I poured over some Daniel Pink books back in 2022 so I threw this one into the mix in 2023. I read it pretty early on in the year and while I could not tell you details, I remember being really into all of the examples and stories he wove into the chapters. Much for the same reasons I enjoy Adam Grant’s books or even Malcolm Gladwell’s work, the points Pink makes through these stories made it very easy for me to grasp what I was supposed to get out of it.
The Year of Less and Adventures in Opting Out - both by Cait Flanders
I don’t remember how I stumbled across Flanders, but I was so glad I did! And sad that her books were so short! All I can say about her work is, damn. She gets PER-SO-NAL. She airs out everything and without forcing you to do so, offers opportunities for reflection. What could I truly live without? A lot more than I realize.
The “My Husband Thinks I Need to Read More Fiction” List
Romantic Comedy; You Think It, I'll Say It; and Eligible - all 3 by Curtis Sittenfeld
I first learned about Romantic Comedy through either Vogue or The Skimm. I remember totally judging a book by its colorful cover and… I loved it. I mean, I have always had a little thing for SNL, like an on-again, off-again boyfriend. It reels me in every once in a while. I have also devoured books by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, so this was the romanticized version of that and I loved it. I read it at a good time. I don’t remember when that time was, but it was good, so just go with it.
Because I liked that book so much, I checked out Sittenfeld’s collection of short stories in You Think It, I'll Say It and some of them I just wished had been full-fledged novels. I got really into the stories! But, I also think that fuller versions may have lost their punch, so I accept their brief and sometimes curt storylines.
I was surprisingly pleased with Eligible. I was not sure I would enjoy it but there was something about this one that made me want to keep going. I think it was the vast array of characters that seemed simultaneously outlandish and relatable. It was quite the mix for sure, but families can be like that.
Given the Sittenfeld track record, I think I need to read Prep now - or anything else she puts out. Clearly, I like her work.
Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson
This was another one that Vogue or The Skimm inspired. There were parts of Pineapple Street that I really liked. I loved the way their Brooklyn was depicted. There were parts of the characters I liked. And hated. And related to. In each moment I was reading the book, I enjoyed it, but in the end, I was left feeling kind of blah. I wanted more out of it. Instead, I walked away feeling like there wasn’t a point. Maybe that was the point? I don’t know, but overall - a bit of a disappointment.
Bad Summer People by Emma Rosenblum
Okay, so this was another one I found via the aforementioned media. Listen… I named this “The ‘My Husband Thinks I Need to Read More Fiction’ List” for a reason and I was trying to get suggestions from every corner of my world.
I very much liked this one. Part of it was because it took place on Fire Island and having been born on Long Island and visited family often, I felt some of the similarities. I also taught in private schools so I know these people - for better or worse. It started with a bang and then each character unfurled in their own way and man, it was basically the equivalent of reality TV guilty pleasure. And I was there for it.
Yellowface by R. F. Kuang
My colleague recommended this one and I am so glad she did. This may have been one of my favorite reads of the year. It hit on so many things. The cultural aspects were the most interesting to me. The idea of whose stories we can and can’t tell is a tough question and Yellowface took on that battle throughout. So many good things going on here. I liked it so much I would read it again! And if this became a movie or a TV series, I would be all over it.
Do Tell by Lindsay Lynch
I am almost positive I saw this in a rec list… I’ll give you two guesses :)
Anyway, I love this period - old Hollywood glamour. The A-Listers, C-Listers, and the clingers-on, but back in the DAY. Love that idea. And then the Gossip Girl elements - very fun. There were even some wonderful character arcs going on and then the ending happened and it just wasn’t satisfying. Some storylines just felt like they had been dropped off at the bus stop and never returned home. I wanted things to be dealt with more and instead, we were just fast-forwarded through time and voilà, the end. Bummer.
Normal Women by Ainslie Hogarth
I did not read the reviews of this book until I was done and I am glad I waited because some of those were scathing. I can’t disagree which sucks. This had so many relatable moments and dwelled on things for a while and I thought, “Interesting, interesting.” Then all of a sudden the rug was pulled out from under me, but not in a way that leaves you thinking how clever the writing is. This was more in that “sh*t, I gotta end this, how am I gonna end this, let’s throw everything in at once to tie it all up, and will it be believable?, ahhhh, f*** it, do it anyway” way. I was just left going but… Wait, what? Why?
Who We Are Now by Lauryn Chamberlain
I grabbed Who We Are Now because it was available (and it was probably mentioned on one of those lists). It sounded mildly interesting as its main characters were in college around the same period I was and I thought that might be fun. It also had co-ed relationships that I very much related to as that was my life in my 20s. My guy friends were just easier to be friends with.
The story had poignant moments of love, jealousy, and heartbreak and honestly, surprised me a bit. I was not expecting some of that. But in all, it felt real and was a nice quick read.
13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl by Mona Awad
I generally, as a rule, do not quit books, but I quit this one after about 5 or 6 chapters. I could not find my footing in it at all. I hate being a quitter, but this was just not doing it for me.
The “Memoir, Biography, This-one-is-not-like-the-others” List
Fallen Founder: The Life of Aaron Burr by Nancy Isenberg
At one point in my life, I found myself teaching social studies to 4th graders. I was nervous as I had always been just a music teacher and despite having recently obtained a MEd, I felt woefully unprepared to also teach prehistoric social studies up to the start of the Civil War. As luck would have it, I enjoyed it and found myself becoming more interested each year and even more (oddly enough!) since I left the classroom.
Fast forward, to standing in my mom’s room and seeing John Adams by David McCullough on her nightstand. She had not started it yet, so I took it and flew through it - as fast as one can with a 752-page book. Once that was done, I was yearning for more from that time period. Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton was still on the tip of everyone’s tongue thanks to the Disney+ release and while I know reading about Alexander would be a very different experience, my husband gifted me Fallen Founder: The Life of Aaron Burr.
You don’t get to hear much about him all told. He is always portrayed as a villain, but there is so much more to him and this perspective was fascinating. It did not shy away from his misgivings, but instead humanized him and reminded me that no one’s life is black and white. We all live in this world of gray and who we are, and what we do determines that. Definitely want to read more from Nancy!
Every Day in Tuscany by Frances Mayes
Like many other ladies longing to be in Italy back in 2003, I went to see Under the Tuscan Sun. It was nothing like Frances Mayes’ memoir of the same name, and that was fine because there was Italy. And handsome men. And food. And Italy.
Since then, I have read most of Mayes’ works about her Italian life and decided to take this one on as well. With an upcoming visit to Italy - and Tuscany specifically - I wanted to be surrounded by the sights and smells and tastes that come with it.
I consumed this piece via audiobook and was surprised to hear Frances Mayes reading it herself. I normally enjoy a book more when it is read by the author, but this one made it more difficult for me to start. Once I accepted the Southern drawl and carefully crafted word choice, I felt a little more at ease. Despite being in the South and surrounded by the accent, I was just not in the mood. But I got over myself and began to appreciate this book for what I believe she intended it to be. A love letter - through the seasons of life. In Tuscany. She pours over the descriptions of seemingly mundane things and tasks. It made me excited to return and be with the type of people she so lovingly describes.
What’s Next?
Oddly enough, I am trying not to listen to as many audiobooks this year unless they relate specifically to Italy. I plan to mostly listen to podcasts and short stories all in Italian to re-immerse myself in the language that I used to speak halfway decently. If a book lands in my lap, I will likely spend a long time on it - in no rush for a finish line. I imagine my 2024 reading numbers will be much smaller this time next year and that is just fine.
But…
I am still taking suggestions.
Especially for the “My Husband Thinks I Need to Read More Fiction” List :)
