Reading as a Writer:
Why I stopped reading books that I should read.
Upon graduating with a degree in English Lit, I was instantly plagued by my awareness of all the books I should have read to obtain my degree. Plowing my way through novels like The Pilgrim’s Progress, Jude the Obscure, Moby Dick, I dutifully tried to read those classic tomes that I had skimmed at university. Occasionally, I mixed it up by throwing in a Brontë sister to add a drop of ghostly estrogen to this cocktail of dead white men. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the amount of time I spent reading each week started to dwindle rapidly.
A year ago, I made the executive decision to start reading books published within the last three years. I had just moved from Boston to Oakland at the time. Perhaps it was the lure of the West that inspired me to throw tradition into the wind — or maybe it was the eye-catching displays in Mrs. Dalloway’s bookshop. Whatever the cause, the results were extraordinary. Unconsciously initially, and then intentionally, I sought out books written recently by women and BIPOC authors, particularly books written by women of color. Reading books like There There by Tommy Orange and Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng reignited my love of stories. I discovered a renewed admiration for writers’ ability to shape our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
Alongside trudging my way through dusty texts, I had also suffered from crippling writer’s block for most of my late twenties. I had pretty much abandoned my dream of being a writer by the time I reached sunny California. Feeling that gnawing at my soul that some call “the cries of your starved inner child,” and others call boredom, I joined a local creative writing group. I also joined a book club, which is a great way to discover books you may not pick up yourself off the shelf. My reading and writing started to become intertwined. Reading contemporary fiction fuels my desire to write, and my writing, in turn, influences what I choose to read.
Here are 10 of the most inspiring, entertaining, and relevant books I have read over the last year that I highly recommend:
- Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams
- Sabrina and Corina: Stories by Kali Fajardo-Anstine
- A Prayer for Travelers by Ruchika Tomar
- There There by Tommy Orange
- Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
- Untamed by Glennon Doyle
- Fruit of the Drunken Tree by Ingrid Rojas Contreras
- Hot Milk by Deborah Levy
- The Mountains Sing by Mai Phan Que Nguyen
- An American Marriage by Tayari Jones
The list above is a tiny portion of the many excellent books published in the last couple of years. I would love to hear which books you think I am missing from my list. Leave me a comment with your recommendations!
Follow @pollyturnsthepage on Instagram for individual book reviews and more recommendations.
P.S. As a former English teacher, I feel it is my duty to say I do not regret having read any classics — except possibly The Pilgrim’s Progress, because, let’s be honest, that was just hard work.
