Hi Darling Ones,

I’ve read 170ish books so far this year. I will definitely read more before the year is over. However, I plan for all of those books to be cupcake-like mysteries that I will probably dislike a great deal. I read a lot of mysteries I dislike a great deal because I love to read mysteries and then judge them harshly.

For example, I read a mystery this week by a British author. The book takes place in both Arizona and Philadelphia, but features a British lady as one of the main characters. In the book the author has a person from Philadelphia repeatedly testify that a bloody sock was “three centimeters” away from someone’s foot.

As if. I should have quit after the second mention of the three centimeters, but I didn’t.

Anyway, this was a long explanation to say I’m sharing my favorite books of the year even though the year is not over. Speaking of years, some of these books were released last year or some other year that is not 2022. I do not care anymore. Art is timeless. We come to it when the time is right for us. Two of my favorite records of the year came out in 2021. So it goes with time and art.

If you’re looking for a good read you can’t go wrong with these books.

Several People Are Typing by Calvin Kasulke

A dude get sucked into the company Slack (board? App? I don’t know.) and weird stuff ensues. Kinda way more emotional than I would have expected and also cuts really close to the bone if you’ve ever worked in a corporate-y creative field.

The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan

Ugh. I don’t even have kids and this book scared the shit out of me. It’s one of those that doesn’t quite take place in the here and now, but you can definitely see it coming.

Carry the Dog by Stephanie Gangi

I read this one at the very start of 2022, and my affection for it has carried through a hundred other books and so many months. A 50+ woman as a main character who still loves sex and music, and is a vibrant, dynamic human. How could I not love this one? Plus there’s some family dysfunction and a long-dead artist mother. Trust me, this is good.

Work Won’t Love You Back: How Devotion to Our Jobs Keeps Us Exploited, Exhausted, and Alone by Sarah Jaffe

What I enjoyed so much about reading this book was how it made me say, “Oh my god, they are such fuckers” about all the bosses, companies, organizations, whathaveyou that employ people. I’m gonna say this about a few books on this list, but it’s super smart.

Shine Bright: A Very Personal History of Black Women in Pop by Danyel Smith

This is my favorite book of 2022. I’ve written about this book three times already this year. The only thing I have left to say is, read it.

How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu

This is a beautiful nightmare, jigsaw puzzle of a book that is probably smarter than I am, but I reading it was a joy even when it was making my stomach hurt with fear.

The Secret History of Home Economics: How Trailblazing Women Harnessed the Power of Home and Changed the Way We Live by Danielle Dreilinger

Adding this one to the list kind of surprised me. I mean, a book about Home Economics? It sounds like snoozeapalooza. It’s not. I learned so much and was kind of enthralled throughout. An unexpected delight.

Her Country: How the Women of Country Music Became the Success They Were Never Supposed to Be by Marissa R. Moss

I cried real, actual tears reading this book. The chapter about the Newport Folk Festival is chef’s kiss perfection. This is both infuriating and joyful in the best possible way. A must-read for all music fans even if you’re an “I like everything but country and rap” kind of jerk.

Unlikely Animals by Annie Hartnett

This novel is what would happen if a John Irving book had a baby with George Saunders’ Lincoln in the Bardo. Tender. Sweet. Kinda quirky.

Shit Cassandra Saw by Gwen E. Kirby

Reading this collection of short stories made my synapses feel like they were filled with pop rocks. The writing is so sharp and funny and poignant that reading it made my brain feel more alive.

The Hero of This Book by Elizabeth McCracken

I read this not-a-memoir novel the week after my dad died. It was the exact perfect book to read. This is about an unnamed author grieving the death of her mother all over London. It’s way funnier than you’d think.

The Change by Kirsten Miller

Probably my favorite novel of the year. It’s about three women coping with perimenopause/menopause in the most witchy and bewitching ways. Even when it was a little predictable this one had me cackling with glee. So much fun.

Happy reading, Darling Ones.

Love,
Jodi

P.S. I didn’t link to any bookstores. You’re grownups who know how to procure books at a store or from the library.

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Hi Darling Ones,

When I tell my friends or family that I’m bad at watching TV they laugh politely and then go on to talk about whatever show they are recommending to me.

It sounds dumb, but I am bad at it.

For example last night I signed up for a free-trial of Showtime so I could watch the Sinead O’Connor documentary “Nothing Compares.”

It took me three hours to watch the 1.5 hour documentary. I paused it to tweet, to watch the video for “Emperor’s New Clothes” and the 1990 Billboard Music Awards and the Stevie Nicks/Eddie Vedder duet, which I had to text to three different people. I paused it to go to the bathroom, to do the dishes, and for other reasons I can’t remember now.

This is why I frequently have to watch things twice and also why I watch the same things over and over again.

While I’m bad at watching TV, I’m really good at reading books. This quarterly book report feels a little disingenuous because my memory is basically Swiss cheese* since my dad died.

Today I found my kitchen scissors in the Tupperware cupboard. They are usually kept in a drawer or on the counter because I’m lazy and never put anything away.

Anyway. . . onto the best/most interesting books I read from July, August, and September.

The Secret History of Home Economics by Danielle Dreilinger

This was fascinating in a way that I didn’t expect. I love how a lot of home economics was started to give women more time to do something other than housework and how quickly it was corrupted. I love the hypocrisy of the 50s home ec pros who encouraged women to be the perfect stay at home wife while actively not doing that themselves. Also, the author does not at all shy away from the racism in the field. SO GOOD!

The Change by Kirsten Miller

I loved this book about three perimenopausal women coming into their supernatural powers and then wreaking havoc on their town. Some of it is a little predictable, but I didn’t care because reading about 40something women who were full, complicated human beings was a goddamn delight.

Acts of Violet by Margarita Montimore

A story about estranged sisters that involves magic and magical realism. This one might suffer if you think about it too much, but I just went with it and enjoyed the journey.

You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi

I’m always down for a sexy rom-com that stars someone who is not a thin, clumsy white woman who spills something or trips over someone. This one features a young widow and a hottie Top Chef-esque dude. And his son. It was a very hot read.

Unlikely Animals by Annie Hartnett

I love to do literary math because it is amusing nonsense.

So this one = John Irving’s early work + George Saunders’ Lincoln in the Bardo.

If you are bad at literary math, this is high praise.

The It Girl by Ruth Ware & Girl, Forgotten by Karin Slaughter

I read a crapton of mysteries. They are like Cheetos for my brain. The two were really good and kept me guessing without ever feeling coy or resorting to writerly bullshit to be mysterious.

Happy reading!
Jodi

P.S. If you’re a longtime reader and want to feel old. Today is my niece Jaycie’s birthday. She is 25.

 
*This is a reference to My Sweet Audrina, a creepy V.C. Andrews book I read when I was a kid. It left such an imprint on me that in my diary in a list I made for potential children’s names you’d find Audrina. Why I wanted to name a child after a girl who was gang-raped by her classmates and then drugged by her father to forget the incident (hence the Swiss cheese memory) is beyond me. Also on the list: Jory & Catherine from the Flowers in the Attic series. and Elizabeth & Jessica from Sweet Valley High.

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Hi Darling Ones,

This week I read Hanif Abdurraqib’s A Little Devil in America again. For the third time. Since October 2021. I love this book because it makes my synapses feel like they’ve been eating Pop Rocks. This is a smart, beautiful book and every time I read it I feel an eensy bit smarter.

It has become one of my comfort books, which is a little bit like my comfort TV shows.

Are you familiar with the concept of people binge-watching the same shows over and over again as a kind of comfort? Allegedly, a lot of people do this because it lessens the anxiety around what’s gonna happen because the watcher already knows. I like to watch the same shows over and over again too, but not for anxiety-reduction reasons. No, I watch the same shows over and over again because I have unimpeachable taste and am also horrible at watching TV. The worst.

When Sister #2 was here in April, she arrived just as I was watching the finale of a Julia Child cooking competition. I restarted the episode three times because I kept getting distracted and never found out who won. Eventually, I just gave up. I still don’t know who won. When I’m really invested in an hour-long show (see: Top Chef, Mad Men, Succession, etc.) I watch every episode twice because I inevitably zone out at about 30 minutes in and don’t tune back in until nearly the end of the episode. I miss a lot if I only watch something once.

So while I do watch the same TV shows on a loop because I already know what happens, it’s more to cater to my attention deficiency regarding watching TV and movies than to reduce anxiety. TV, in general, doesn’t make me anxious. Unless, of course, I’m watching one of those shows that gives you the maximum amount of anxiety for the lowest amount of stakes. I’m talking about Domino Masters and Blown Away. I really get off on competition shows where the everything can be ruined by one teeny, tiny wrong move. It’s the best.

One thing that is great about being bad at paying attention to TV is that even though you’ve seen a show about 84 times you can still catch something new. For instance, I’ve been re-watching Bob’s Burgers. I’ve seen the Halloween episode where Teddy throws the party and (spoiler) Bob kills Francis at least seven times. Probably more. But it was just this week when I realized that letters on Gretchen’s cheerleading costume are STI. It slayed me.

I like my comfort books for much the same reason: impeccable taste + learning something new with each reading. For instance, I re-read Blow Your House Down last month (which is why it’s been on my mind) and only this time did I catch that she wrote about listening to Jason Isbell. It’s a small detail, but it made me love the book even more.

My comfort books are an extra-special category of books because they have a lot of weight to lift. They must soothe my heart while simultaneously agitating my brain. It’s not an easy thing to do. My heart and my brain rarely agree on anything. Aside from Geek Love none of my Top 10 Favorite novels make the comfort book cut. I’ve read most of the Top 10 so often that they easily soothe the heart but they don’t so much agitate the brain anymore, even if I go years and years and years without reading them.

The best thing about my comfort books is that not only can I turn to them when I’m out of sorts, I can turn to them when I hit a reading slump. This is similar to rewatching shows for anxiety reasons. I re-read books because I know what I’m gonna get — something great and not at all boring or stupid.

Here’s my current list of comfort books. I’ve read all of these at least twice. I think I’ve read the Dessa book at least four times. And I cannot even remember how many times I’ve read Geek Love. Maybe every other year or so since the 90s?

• Little Weirds by Jenny Slate
• The Witch’s Heart by Genevieve Gornichec
• Circe by Madeline Miller
• Let’s Go (So We Can Get Back) by Jeff Tweedy
• A Little Devil in America by Hanif Abdurraqib
• The Final Revival of Opal & Nev by Dawnie Walton
• My Own Devices by Dessa
• Geek Love by Katherine Dunn
• Writers & Lovers by Lily King
• Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
• Red Comet by Heather Clark
• The Invisible Life of Addie Larue by V.E. Schwab
• Shine Bright by Danyel Smith

I thought I’d share since the idea of comfort books has been on my mind.

Happy reading,
Jodi

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Dear Darling Ones,

There’s a joke that goes around about how when men write country music songs about the end of relationships they’re sad tunes about how a woman took his hound dog and now his only friend is this whiskey. When women write country songs about the end of relationships the bastard ends up wrapped in a tarp at the bottom of a lake and nobody misses him at all.

This joke amuses me greatly. In general, women’s fury delights me and I love to listen to it or read about it.

And this is one of the myriad reasons I have a big ol’ crush on The Change by Kirsten Miller. How do I love this book? Let me count the ways.

1. There is literally a bog witch. Her name is Harriett and she is my new fictional twin (sorry Beezus Quimby & Elizabeth Wakefield).
2. Before she became a bog witch Harriett worked in advertising and after dealing with that bullshit she decided to fuck it all, turn her yard into powerful garden of poison and herbal remedies, let her hair go natural, and fuck as much as she wants to. Two words: Life goals.
3. It’s a story of female friendship and power with a healthy dose of magical realism.
4. One character can channel her rage & hot flashes into actual heat that leaves her finger tips, burning people and starting fires.
5. There are stories of the bad things men do to women and girls and there is revenge. So much revenge.
6. The three main characters are all nearly 50 and going through the change and wonder what that means for them biologically, emotionally, and sexually.
7. “Only when her magic began to return did she realize just how much she’d given away.” This line reminds me of what I was belly-aching about last week. And makes me ponder what I’ve given away to the unworthy over the years.
8. There’s a bit of mystery, the reveal of which was super obvious to me. That did not get in the way of my enjoyment.
9. Despite the dark subject matter it’s funny. There’s some HOA fuckery about lawn mowing and tons of snark towards mediocre men in positions of power. And even some pointed towards husband who weaponized their haplessness to avoid doing housework.
10. DID I MENTION THE BOG WITCH?

There are probably more reasons I’ll be thinking about this book long after I’ve finished it, but those are the highlights.

It makes me so goddamn happy to see character-driven books featuring 40+-year-old characters. I want more! I want more books about middle-aged women being women and not, as I have said before, sexless caregivers or embittered crones. If you too seek out more books like this, you should read Carry the Dog by Stephanie Gangi.

Your favorite spinster bog witch,
Jodi

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Hi Darling Ones,

I don’t know about you, but so far 2022 fiction is just not floating my boat, tripping my trigger, or setting my heart on fire with passion and love. I’ve read some good novels (see below), but nothing that’s really, really infected my world. This is unusual for me, because novels are very much my thing. If you have read some kind of fiction that lit you up, even if it’s not from 2022, please let me know. I’m afraid the fiction part of my heart is gonna atrophy and I’m gonna turn into your weirdo spinster aunt who reads books about lighthouses or something.

So, thus far in the year I’ve read about 90 books, and here are a few of the best ones I read this quarter. Curious? Here are the best ones from Q1 2022.

Shine Bright: A Very Personal History of Black Women in Pop by Danyel Smith

This is my very favorite book I’ve read so far this year. It’s smart and emotional and about music and the way in which it plays a role in one’s life. Here’s what I wrote about it back in May (which feels like sixteen years ago) when I first proclaimed it THE BEST:
The way Smith weaves the stories of the songs and the Black women who created them into her own story is nothing short of genius. It’s informative and captivating and super moving. I read the “Outro” twice because it is that moving. In it, she writes about how hard it is to stop writing the book because she’s afraid if she doesn’t capture it all she and other Black women will be forgotten.

Her Country: How the Women of Country Music Became the Success They Were Never Supposed to Be by Marissa R. Moss

I was inclined to like this one from the get go. Country music is my jam, though the music I listen to is rarely labelled country. Americana. Alt-Country. Whatever, it’s still rock & roll to me. In this book Moss explores the rampant sexism and racism in country music and tells the story of how Kacey Musgraves, Maren Morris, and Mickey Guyton built careers inside this toxic environment. Even if you’re only so-so on these women’s music (I am) and even if you’re a jerk who likes everything but rap and country, this is a must-read for music fans.

On a very personal level, I loved this one because it affirmed some of the work I’ve done to broaden my musical horizons (especially when it comes to listening to music by women of color). Every time Moss mentioned an artist I had been listening to, I was like “A+ for Jodi Chromey.” I was also introduced to a whole bunch of new-to-me female singers.

And another thing? I learned about Tomato-Gate, which made me feel so smart when the controversy came up in the James “White Men are Victims of Racism too” Patterson and Dolly Parton’s collaborative novel, Run Rose Run (which I do not recommend because it is preposterous).

We Are Watching Eliza Bright by A.E.Osworth

What happens when a smart, talented woman speaks up about being treated poorly at the video game company she works at? All hell breaks loose. This is one I read with my eyes wide open because what happens feels so outlandish but is not at all actually outlandish. So good.

How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu

This is one of those break your brain kinds of books about what happens when a pandemic collides with climate change disaster. The way threads of this story are woven together is nothing short of brilliant.

A Few Fun Mysteries
Mysteries like peanut m&ms, slim-hipped men, and Hawaiian Punch are my weakness. I gobble these suckers up like nobody’s business. I even read really shitty mysteries because even when they’re ridiculous they’re still fun.

• The Collective by Alison Gaylin: Bereaved moms behaving badly
• The Husbands by Chandler Baker: Wine moms behaving badly
• I am the Ghost in Your House by Mar Romasco-Moore: Literally invisible girl behaving sadly
• Never Saw Me Coming by Vera Kurian: College psychopaths behaving unexpectedly
• The Golden Couple by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen: Married people behaving badly

Right now I’m in the midst of a charming rom-com called Flying Solo by Linda Holmes and I’m enjoying it a great deal.

Booknerdily yours,
Jodi

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