Ten Most Recent Additions To My Bookshelf
Books arrive quietly.
Some are long-anticipated releases. Others surface unexpectedly — recommended by a reader, rediscovered in a bookstore corner, remembered at midnight, and ordered before morning. A bookshelf is never static. It reflects a season of curiosity.
These ten recent additions to my bookshelf span memoir, literary fiction, criticism, and history. They are not ranked or endorsed in advance. They are invitations — books I’m eager to read slowly, think with, and perhaps return to.
If you enjoy curated collections organized by theme and season, explore the full Reading Lists archive. It offers more literary gatherings.
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Top Ten Recent Additions
1 – The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
Didion’s account of mourning after the sudden death of her husband is unsentimental. It is a book about grief that has become a companion text for many readers. The account is also exacting. I’ve read it before. Yet, this copy feels like a return. It is one of those books that changes because the reader does.
Why it’s on my shelf now: Rereading as a way of measuring time.
Find a copy: Bookshop.org | Amazon
Rereading a book at a different stage of life reveals what has shifted. I reflect on this theme in my essay about rereading and literary memory.
2. The Art of Memoir by Mary Karr
Part craft guide, part literary reflection, this book explores what makes memoir endure. Karr is both practical and philosophical — attentive to voice, memory, and the ethics of writing about others.
Why it’s here: Because memoir remains central to how family history lives now.
Find a copy: Bookshop.org | Amazon
Memoir remains central to how family history survives in narrative form. I’ve written about this in Why Memoir Is Where Family History Lives Now.
3. A Swim in a Pond in the Rain by George Saunders
Saunders teaches Russian short stories with generosity and curiosity. This is literary criticism as conversation — attentive to structure, sentence, and surprise.
Why it’s here: To slow down and look closely at how stories actually work.
Find a copy: Bookshop.org | Amazon
4. The Lying Life of Adults by Elena Ferrante
A novel of adolescence and disillusionment set in Naples, written with Ferrante’s characteristic emotional intensity. Identity, language, betrayal — all sharpened under the light of adulthood remembered.
Why it’s here: Because Ferrante’s novels linger long after the final page.
Find a copy: Bookshop.org | Amazon
5. The Situation and the Story by Vivian Gornick
Gornick writes about the tension between experience and narrative — what happened versus what the story means. It’s slim, precise, and quietly demanding.
Why it’s here: Because interpretation matters more than incident.
Find a copy: Bookshop.org | Amazon
6. The Return by Hisham Matar
A memoir of exile and the search for a missing father, set against Libya’s political upheaval. Quiet, restrained, and deeply moving.
Why it’s here: For its meditation on memory, loss, and unfinished history.
Find a copy: Bookshop.org | Amazon
7. The Books of Jacob by Olga Tokarczuk
A sprawling historical novel centered on a charismatic religious leader in eighteenth-century Europe. Expansive and ambitious.
Why it’s here: Because sometimes the bookshelf needs a book that feels like an undertaking.
Find a copy: Bookshop.org | Amazon
8. Reading Like a Writer by Francine Prose
A reminder that attentive reading is the beginning of good writing. Prose moves sentence by sentence, asking readers to notice rhythm, diction, and structure.
Why it’s here: To reinforce that reading is an act of attention.
Find a copy: Bookshop.org | Amazon
Attentive reading is at the heart of how I approach literature. I focus on reading sentence by sentence. This is especially true in reflections on close reading and marginalia.
9. Still Life by Sarah Winman
A novel of friendship, art, and chosen family, stretching across decades and geographies.
Why it’s here: For its promise of warmth without sentimentality.
Find a copy: Bookshop.org | Amazon
10. The Argonauts by Maggie Nelson
Part memoir, part theory, part meditation on love and identity. Nelson blurs genre boundaries without sacrificing clarity.
Why it’s here: Because the shelf should include books that challenge form.
Find a copy: Bookshop.org | Amazon
A Shelf as Record
A bookshelf is not a declaration of taste. It is a record of attention.
These books may be read instantly or slowly. Some will be annotated. Some will be returned to years from now. Together, they show a season shaped by memoir, literary criticism, rereading, and novels that linger.
If you’re looking for more curated collections, you can browse the Reading Lists archive. Books are gathered not by hype, but by theme, season, and experience.
A bookshelf is not simply storage. It’s part of what I call a reading life. This practice is shaped by memory, rereading, and attention. You can explore more about reading life and its practices here.
Victorian Psycho is on my TBR list. I’ve heard good things about it.
Mona’s Eyes sounds like such a good read.