On curation, the bookish internet, and the joys of browsing

Aka where do you get your book recommendations?

What’s the book of the moment? If I had to guess, a safe bet would be Intermezzo by Sally Rooney, with Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors running at a solid second. Over the summer, it was all The God of the Woods by Liz Moore, The Wedding People by Allison Espach, and All Fours by Miranda July. (At least in my corner of the internet.) Romance-wise, we seem to be in a moment of seasonal titles, with a flood of witchy and Christmas romances. But I’m not entirely sure. And I’m okay with that.

A major theme of my reading life this year has been learning how to tune out the noise and get more specific about who I’m getting recommendations from. I largely stopped using Goodreads at the beginning of this year. (More to come on that in December!) I deleted the Instagram app off my phone at the end of May and now I’m 90 to 95% off it, depending on the day. I’ve never been on TikTok. What I’ve found myself gravitating towards over and over is recommendations from people whose taste I know and understand, even when it diverges from my own, and who have a distinctive point of view.

One of my favorite things about Substack is how it gives writers the space to cultivate that point of view. Admittedly, I’m a words person, someone who’s always learned best by reading and writing. But I feel like I know so much more about the Substack writers I subscribe to than any of the Bookstagrammers I used to follow. I understand why they read and what they look for, what books they might enthuse over and what might send them running for the hills. They’re creating a larger body of work, every post a new piece of the puzzle, and that context makes each and every one of their recommendations more valuable. I hope that’s what I’m doing here too, piece by piece.

But I’ve also been trying to make room for the spontaneous discoveries and the simple pleasure of browsing. One of my greatest childhood joys was the Sunday morning library browse, based purely on whatever sounded interesting to my younger self. I want to channel that energy when I go to the bookstore or library, whether it’s a colorful spine, an enthusiastic staff rec, or a zany premise that catches my attention. On today’s internet it can be very easy to feel algorithmically targeted and marketed to, reduced down to a set of types of aesthetics, and I want to reach for expansiveness and surprise in my reading life. I want to take a chance on something a friend waxes poetic about, an author that I’ve never heard of, or a wild swing of a set-up. I want to inspire other readers to take a chance too.

A non-comprehensive list of where I get my book recommendations, in case you’re curious:

• I keep up with romance releases through Smart Bitches, Trashy Books, browsing the new releases table at The Ripped Bodice in Brooklyn, and when I do go on Instagram on my laptop, flipping through a few of Meet Cute Bookshop’s new release carousels. (They’re a romance bookstore in San Diego and I am dying to visit!)

• Olivia Waite’s monthly romance column in the NYT, especially given our mutual love for Cat Sebastian.

• A plethora of Substacks, to the point where I could probably write an entire newsletter just about the newsletters I subscribe to. But I love FictionMatters for challenging and exciting literary fiction, Literary Leanings for cozy and smart reads, The Mindful Librarian for stellar book lists in every genre, Subverse Reads for spooky season, and The Eclectic Reader for romance recs. I’ve also recently adored Marginalia’s new series featuring readers and what’s on their nightstands and I have the feeling I’m forgetting so many more…

• A handful of podcasts, but mostly Bad on Paper. I’ve been listening to Becca and Olivia every Wednesday for years and I feel like I know enough about their respective reading tastes by now to know exactly when something one of them loves might be a hit for me too. I also quite enjoy dipping in and out of From the Front Porch and What Should I Read Next.

• The booksellers I chat to regularly, especially at the one bookstore near my office I go to on a near-weekly basis.

• Bookish friends both on and offline. One of my favorite questions to ask friends whenever I see them is what they’ve been reading. (A key part of all the long video chats I have with my best friend is when we recap our recent reads.) I also joined the FictionMatters Patreon community back in 2021 and they’re my go-to source for literary, translated, and under-the-radar picks. Book friends can be the very best friends.

Let me know your favorite book recommendation sources (and bookish Substacks) in the comments!

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Currently reading: Bitter Orange by Claire Fuller, for the FictionMatters October book club, and Best Hex Ever by Nadia El-Fassi, for a cozy and witchy bedtime read.

Recommendations, miscellany, and little bits of joy:

• I saw Maggie Rogers at Madison Square Garden last weekend, my first time seeing her alive, and oh, live music is one of the most thrilling things out there.

• My latest Trader Joe’s snack discoveries/essential fuel for a busy time of year: ranch-flavored cashews and petite pumpkin-spice cookies.

• A seasonal Gilmore Girls rewatch of all my favorite episodes. (Team Jess, always and forever.)