Oh I've read and loved many of these (A Moveable Feast and Victory are in my all-time top 10) and Far From The Madding Crowd is in my tbr stack. Thanks for this wonderful list -- lots to check out!
rilke is incredible. as is the waste land by t.s. eliot. it takes work but i think it's one of my favorite reading experiences of this year so far!
i haven't read that one from rilke but a collection of his other poems.
i'd also recommend throwing in sylvia plath's poetry if you haven't read hers. i'm in the middle of her collected poems and i already loved her but it's solidified her as one of my top 3 writers ever (among all of fiction/nonfiction/poetry).
someone HIGHLY recommended her poetry to me, and you’re now the second one. i will leave room for it in the new year, i promise. thank you for suggesting it. and yes, rilke is awesome — with me, you’ll mostly find all great authors’ least-discussed work because i like to forage for them and highlight them. i find it beautiful that readers will find a way to connect with authors beyond their famous canon once they have become familiar with their most popular works. that’s the way it should be. it’s like loving coldplay for songs like “yellow” and then going down the rabbit role to find a hidden gem like “violet hill” — and being mesmerized. ahhh look you got me all thinking now. haha, thanks!
i admit i may have dreamed someone would say this to me when i was putting this list together & beaming with a tad bit of self-pride — and you’ve fulfilled that dream lol 🤎 thank you, please stay in touch!
I love books with history. I loved knowing they've had a life before getting to me and I love making the books I own truly mine. There's something so magical about leaving behind that type of proof of my existence in the stories I love. Like I become part of them just like they become part of me <3
this is why we belong in each other’s orbits. you get me so well!!! i love the phrase “proof of existence” because i know sometimes we think about legacy without realizing that there are some relics we will leave behind one way or another and that’s especially beautiful when it’s preserved by a complete stranger whose only similarity (that you know of) to you is that you both picked the same book. see, you made me think deeply!!!
I love the way you put that—how legacy can be quiet and accidental, just a trace left behind for someone we’ll never meet. It makes the act of loving something feel even more meaningful. I’m really grateful you shared this with me <3
ok but I SO agree with literally every word of the introduction! getting a second hand book (as opposed to a completely new one) is like getting two stories for the price of one: the story that the book contains obv but also the story of its previous owner and WHAT could be more beautiful than that?
yes!! love this. especially what you said about secondhand books. I think also the effort you put into searching for a specific copy makes the payoff so much more special when reading it.
also, if you love short fiction with a powerful voice I would really recommend small things like these by Claire keegan if you haven’t already, it’s one of my absolutely favourites and such an important little novella.
thank you so much for acknowledging that lol - it was a lot of work but i wanted to do it right. i have heard of this book!!! i’ll check it out. i always leave a little extra room in my reading lists for the inevitable wonderful recommendations that come from the likes of you 🤎
If you have time, the unbearable lightness of being is the best book ever.
i’ve heard so much about it. will add to my bonus shortlist! thanks for suggesting ❤️
can you actually tell me more about it?
Milan Kundera, one of my favorite books ever
Oh I've read and loved many of these (A Moveable Feast and Victory are in my all-time top 10) and Far From The Madding Crowd is in my tbr stack. Thanks for this wonderful list -- lots to check out!
ah that’s so amazing to hear! we clearly belong in that book club together, my friend.
Is the January book club book a mystery? Or can we know what it is before deciding if we want to request to join?
great question — members will vote and discuss together to pick — and likely going to be one of the books listed here.
Thank u!
we’re going with a room of one’s own by woolf, i think!
rilke is incredible. as is the waste land by t.s. eliot. it takes work but i think it's one of my favorite reading experiences of this year so far!
i haven't read that one from rilke but a collection of his other poems.
i'd also recommend throwing in sylvia plath's poetry if you haven't read hers. i'm in the middle of her collected poems and i already loved her but it's solidified her as one of my top 3 writers ever (among all of fiction/nonfiction/poetry).
🫂
someone HIGHLY recommended her poetry to me, and you’re now the second one. i will leave room for it in the new year, i promise. thank you for suggesting it. and yes, rilke is awesome — with me, you’ll mostly find all great authors’ least-discussed work because i like to forage for them and highlight them. i find it beautiful that readers will find a way to connect with authors beyond their famous canon once they have become familiar with their most popular works. that’s the way it should be. it’s like loving coldplay for songs like “yellow” and then going down the rabbit role to find a hidden gem like “violet hill” — and being mesmerized. ahhh look you got me all thinking now. haha, thanks!
speaking of that, i just got rilke's novel, which is definitely much lesser known and i've heard very good!!
Immaculate book taste
i admit i may have dreamed someone would say this to me when i was putting this list together & beaming with a tad bit of self-pride — and you’ve fulfilled that dream lol 🤎 thank you, please stay in touch!
these are such amazing recommendations!!
thank you so much!!! definitely let me know if you end up checking any out xoxo
absolutely loved reading this!! i want to read a lot of books and i don’t know where to start
thank you!!! glad to hear. hope you will start with something on this list! try appointment in samarra by john o’hara — it’s glorious.
I already know I'll want to read a lot of these books too! emily dickinson is a definite must-read, lovely list<3
when your favorite substacker recognizes you 🤎
thank you so much, i thought of you a lot when i put it together 🤎🤎🤎 you’re the ENTIRE reason why i love reading letters <333
I absolutely loooove kafka!!
he’s the man. did you ever read his letters?
yes yes! they’re so sweet:’))) such a yearner.
I love books with history. I loved knowing they've had a life before getting to me and I love making the books I own truly mine. There's something so magical about leaving behind that type of proof of my existence in the stories I love. Like I become part of them just like they become part of me <3
this is why we belong in each other’s orbits. you get me so well!!! i love the phrase “proof of existence” because i know sometimes we think about legacy without realizing that there are some relics we will leave behind one way or another and that’s especially beautiful when it’s preserved by a complete stranger whose only similarity (that you know of) to you is that you both picked the same book. see, you made me think deeply!!!
I love the way you put that—how legacy can be quiet and accidental, just a trace left behind for someone we’ll never meet. It makes the act of loving something feel even more meaningful. I’m really grateful you shared this with me <3
ok but I SO agree with literally every word of the introduction! getting a second hand book (as opposed to a completely new one) is like getting two stories for the price of one: the story that the book contains obv but also the story of its previous owner and WHAT could be more beautiful than that?
you get me!!! i knew a beautiful soul out there would be the first to acknowledge this and of COURSE it was you 🤎
yes!! love this. especially what you said about secondhand books. I think also the effort you put into searching for a specific copy makes the payoff so much more special when reading it.
also, if you love short fiction with a powerful voice I would really recommend small things like these by Claire keegan if you haven’t already, it’s one of my absolutely favourites and such an important little novella.
thank you so much for acknowledging that lol - it was a lot of work but i wanted to do it right. i have heard of this book!!! i’ll check it out. i always leave a little extra room in my reading lists for the inevitable wonderful recommendations that come from the likes of you 🤎
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