sprouts: getting bookish
quick round-up of some TBR piles
Dearest Weed-ers,
When I was a kid, I usually read one book at a time. My commitment to the craft was quasi-religious. Especially because I took so much pride in finishing almost everything I checked out at the library or bought at Borders with my gift cards (remember Borders? Barnes and Noble could never).
Since graduate school, that mentality has shifted. I think it started the summer of my general exams when I would read 1-2 academic books per week during the day, and then crawl into bed with a novel in the evenings. During coursework, you’re reading the equivalent 3-4 books a week, if not more if you’re in a History seminar. And as I’ve entered the teaching and writing phases of graduate school, it’s truly such a luxury to be able to sink into one book or even one article at a time.
(caveat: a lot of this reading is mostly “grad school skimming,” essentially a form of reading strategically for central arguments and the components that help construct it. whenever i do it, it still feels a little like cheating bc i know how much goes into writing a published academic book, but then again it requires so much intellectual LIFT to be able to find the key points and reconstruct an argument for yourself in real-time! i will say, though, that is wrecked my ability to read other kinds of non-fiction…)
There’s always new stuff being published in every journal. There’s always a book to read that fits perfectly into a literature review. There’s always something to brush up on for a lecture or discussion section. And don’t even get me started on cram-reading in preparation for a conference presentation. So it never ends.
But winter is over halfway through. And I want to soak up the last of the hibernating months to just read a little more intentionally. This week, I have felt like everything is moving too fast, and that I need to also move quickly just to keep up.
Before spring comes, I’m determined to narrow my TBR piles of e-books, public library books, academic monographs that I’ve downloaded as pdfs, and the books I bought back when I first got to Paris because I was desperate to adorn the apartment with things that felt like me.
We’re gonna slow down and finish things, all in the spirit of 2025’s mantra of
C O M M I T M E N T.
I just finished Divine Rivals, which was billed as YA fantasy? I think? In a certain sense, it did feel YA in terms of how key plot points would be way too foreshadowed. But the myth-making about the war happening in the novel is really magically done, and what writer doesn’t love a story about two journalists falling in love? I’ve placed a hold on Book 2 in the duology.
I have been meaning to read this book since undergrad, but have gone through phases of forgetting and remembering it. Written by 19th-century author J.K. Huysmans, Against Nature (French title A rebours) is a classic in the genre of “lone, sad bourgeois man tries to retreat into the world of art and weird stuff happens.” It’s one of my favorite genres, potentially because I identify with how these intellectually under-stimulated men try to find meaning in everything around them even when there is none to be had. In this case, though, I’m reading the book to deepen my understanding about the role of creepy plants in fin-de-siecle aesthetic thought. And I’m going to be reading it in the original French, which will be good for my brain (as I keep telling myself).
I also found the perfect book for my literature review about urban design in Paris during the nineteenth century. The title says it all. This will be the first book I read digitally with my new iPad and iPad pencil. Weirdly nervous for it? But looking forward to just some straight ahead history
Finally, in September, I bought this copy of Sea of Poppies for a Euro at a used bookstore by the Notre Dame. I’ve read some of Ghosh’s commentary about literature in a time of climate crisis, and I have been meaning to dive into his novels for a while now. I intended to start with Nutmeg’s Curse, but this multi-perspective account of the time before the First Opium War (1839-1842) will do just fine. Plus, it was a finalist for the Booker Prize, and one of my reading side-quests is to read more Booker winners and nominees.
To round out this installment of sprouts, I also just want to recommend that, for anyone looking to reduce their social media scroll into the void, I have been enjoying having e-books to read on my phone! I think I avoided it for awhile because I didn’t want to up my screen time. To my surprise, though, my phone time has actually reduced because I’m being more intentional. It’s most helpful for when I’m on a crowded metro and pulling out a physical book is a logistical nightmare. And the tap of turning the pages scratches the same itch as liking a post or scrolling through a comment thread. 10/10 would recommend.
I’ve also written other things bookish here and also here, in case you’re interested and want some inspiration for your own shelves (real and virtual)! I’ll be back next week with some thoughts on marathon training, and boy howdy are there many…
Until then, stay warm, grab coffee with me, and stay muddy. <3
Cana