A startling memoir of childhood abuse and a modern fable about the impacts of desparation
Deep Dives
Explore related topics with these Wikipedia articles, rewritten for enjoyable reading:
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Song of Solomon (novel)
14 min read
Toni Morrison's masterpiece is discussed in depth as the subject of the Books That Matter podcast episode with Rickey Fayne. Readers would benefit from understanding its themes of African American identity, mythology, and Morrison's narrative techniques.
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National Book Award
11 min read
The article centers on the National Book Awards ceremony and the author's experience ranking 15 years of shortlisted fiction. Understanding the award's history, selection process, and cultural significance adds valuable context.
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Misery literature
10 min read
The review of Sad Tiger by Neige Sinno discusses the genre of traumatic memoirs and how authors navigate telling stories of abuse. This Wikipedia article on 'misery memoirs' explores the literary tradition and cultural phenomenon the reviewer references.
I had the best week celebrating books and their people in New York City this week. I attended ’s annual Off-Site party and met literary luminaries I’m obsessed with like Brit Bennet and Patrick Radden Keefe. I toured the offices of some of my favorite Penguin Random House imprints and got to talk with the editors, marketers, and designers who bring books into the world. And then I attended nerd prom, otherwise known as the National Book Awards after party. It was the best week, topped off by the fact it was the first time my husband and I have traveled away from Louise. We missed her, of course, but wow traveling without a kid is a luxury I’m so lucky to have experienced again! One of my goals for 2025 was to bring more of my work life into in person events and this was the most perfect way to cap off that dream.
In honor of the awards, I went back through fifteen years of the National Book Award for Fiction and discovered that I had read 38 of the shortlisted titles. I ranked them all here, which was a much more fun exercise than ranking more recently read books. I highly recommend a trip back through prize lists when you’re feeling inspired!
Last week I also shared the second installment of Books That Matter. In this episode, I talk with Rickey Fayne, the author of The Devil Three Times about Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon. I was so excited for the chance to revisit Morrison’s masterpiece and grateful to Rickey for giving me entirely new ways to think about it. You can listen without having read either book, but I do hope the episode will inspire you to pick up both!
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