Reading Guides
A Literary Epcot: Part 2
In May 2021, as the world very slowly began to reopen before retreating again under a new strain of Covid, I wrote a travel memoir guide titled A Literary Epcot that included some of my favorite travel writing from around the world. Having not traveled in some time, writing the post served as an opportunity to go someplace new without leaving the comfor…
Audiobooks That Speak Volumes
I’m frequently asked how I have time to read so many books. My answer is simple: audiobooks. Because I rarely have time to sit and read a physical book for long, uninterrupted stretches, I rely on audiobooks to propel my reading while doing daily tasks. The below list includes 17 books that I think translate particularly well to the audio format and in …
A Guide to Choosing Your Book Club's Next Read
Some readers of this blog have recently let me know that their book clubs occasionally use my recommendations as inspiration when choosing their next pick. I was so pleased when I heard this that I decided to come up with a selection guide to meet every book club’s needs. If you’re not in a book club, consider this a hyper-curated backlist recommendatio…
A Not So Short List of Short Stories
I love short story collections. In my opinion, a great short story is one that creates an entire world in a limited amount of pages. A common critique that I hear against the short story is that it is, predictably, too short, and that just as you are getting settled in, it’s over. I believe that the best short story is one that you wish would keep going…
2023 Summer Reading Guide
Happy summer! Earlier this month, I sent out my summer 2023 Publishing Preview, a list of books coming out in the coming months that I am looking forward to. Here, I’ve compiled a list of 19 books, all of which I have read and loved, that I think are perfect for every summer reading taste. The categories include classic beach reads, thrillers and myster…
Word Salads with a Grain of Salt
Cooking and family gatherings go hand in hand. Whether it’s Thanksgiving or Passover, our holidays are known for lots of cooking and many opinions about what should be made and how. Recipe lists are sent out in advance and some are even tested before they are allowed to make their debut. The food bonanza comes from a love of cooking in our daily lives, …
Backlist Book Guide
I normally have two options for where to pick up books: my local bookstore or the library. Given how expensive habitual book purchasing can be, especially if the purchases are new releases in hardcover, I’m a frequent patron of my branch of the New York Public Library. But use of the library also requires patience and a smidge of organization - patience…
2022 Summer Reading Guide
We have now reached my official halfway point of summer - July 15. With the prospect of fall and a busy law school schedule looming, I’m trying to pack in as much reading as I can. Maybe you’re like me and want to pack in as much reading as you can before the season ends or maybe you’re looking to get your reading season started. Either way, I’ve compil…
Listen Up!
I’ve always been a big reader, but graduating during a pandemic has made this even more true. While some people used the lockdown at the start of the pandemic to learn how to knit or get a sourdough bread starter going, I focused on getting to all the books I did not have time to read while in college. With libraries closed and small businesses struggli…
2021 Summer Reading Guide
It’s mid-July, and that means if you haven’t already done some summer reading, it is time to start. As I mentioned in my beach read post a few weeks ago, I don’t think that summer reading has to be easy or without substance. The ideal beach read is one in your comfort zone; one that is inherently fast-paced and readable for you. The following list inclu…
Books for the Beach
I hate the term “beach read.” Or more specifically, I hate how beach reads are typically defined. Books that are labeled “beach reads” are known as light and fluffy, usually involving romance, and marketed exclusively towards women. Books in the beach read category often intersect with another identifier that I dislike: “women’s fiction.” More often tha…
A Literary Epcot
After over a year in which travel has been limited to nonexistent, I find it comforting to read books about other people’s travel experiences, even if most of it took place pre-pandemic. Travel memoirs are a niche genre - full of personal self-discovery and sometimes comedic mishaps, but also great primers on the areas that the authors explore. Travel m…
An Obamarama
Fun fact about me: I have read nearly every memoir written by alums of the Obama administration. These memoirs range from low-level staffers (think: the stenographer), to high-level staffers (think: communications director, deputy national security director, and deputy chief of staff), to Cabinet level officials. These books hit a real reading niche for…
Books on Espionage in the Cold War Era
This second post in my Cold War espionage series focuses on non-fiction books. The global reach of these four books emphasizes the broad expanse of the Cold War and how the conflict was by no means limited to the United States and the Soviet Union. These four books explain the tenuous relationship between carefully laid plans, chance, and how intelligen…
Books on Espionage in the Cold War Era
For many people, the Cold War is synonymous with espionage. In college, I spent a lot of time thinking and writing about the Cold War. While my focus was on United States diplomatic relations, I’ve always been interested in the ways that leaders get information and make decisions. No informed decisions can be made without enough information, and during …
Book Recommendations for Tackling American Hate
In the past few months there has been heightened discussion in the United States about the far-right and misinformation. As the following books show, white supremacy, conspiracy theories, and the alt-right are not new phenomena for this country. Instead, they are woven into its foundations. Each of the following books explores a different element in the…