Hi friends,
I warned you last week that I was going to be writing about reading as a form of networking with your coworkers (colleagues? This word makes it sound like I am wearing tweed). I made this discovery organically at the office when I was talking to someone I sit by but do not directly work with, after I noticed he often walks in with a book. I learned he’s a big reader and even hosts a book club at a bar! He is the one who recommended The Book Of George to me. At the time, I was in the middle of reading Martyr!, so a week-ish later I had a reason to talk to him again saying I started his recommendation. And then had another reason to find him days later once I finished to tell him what I thought of the book.
Swapping book recommendations forces you to circle back on a conversation, maybe with someone you do not usually have an excuse to chat with. Now, this particular colleague and I chat all the time about books and enough coworkers have meerkatted up from their desks when they hear us talking that I have started back up our internal reading Slack channel. No corporate book club (yet). I will say that two of the titles on my TBR below are from people I work with.
See you next month,
The Book Of George by Kate Greathead
★★★★
An honest portrayal of a guy in New York City making questionable choices and lacking a bit of direction. I talked more about it here.
Gwyneth by Amy Odell
★★★★
Listened to the audiobook
Gwyneth Paltrow is so well known today for Goop and what she packages as “wellness,” I sometimes forget she was an actress first. The first half of the book talks about the Hollywood bits of her life: movies she was in (some of them were so average and then there was The Royal Tenenbaums), her accusing Harvey Weinstein of sexual harassment, her dating history from Brad Pitt to Ben Affleck to Chris Martin. The second half is focused on the Goop chapters of her life.
This book is interesting because Gwyneth is basically pop culture, but it is also extremely relevant with someone like RFK Jr. leading the Department of Health.
RIYL: Celery juice, The Motherload, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
The Tell by Amy Griffin
★★★★★
Listened to the audiobook
Madeline gave this five stars and I agree.
Super interesting memoir about trauma, memory, sexual assault, and the legal system.
This book is definitely upsetting but I was so impressed and inspired by Amy Griffin’s strength. This is an Oprah book club pick and I could 100% see her interviewing someone like Amy Griffin on her studio couch if her talk show still existed.
RIYL: Know My Name
Blood, Bones & Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton
★★★
Listened to the audiobook
I read Cellar Rat last month and this felt a little too similar, even though it came way before (published in 2011).
If the restaurant Prune in NYC means something to you, read this book. If it doesn’t, maybe look for something else in the category.
Girl On Girl by Sophie Gilbert
★★★★
Listened to the audiobook
We know I get excited about feminist sociology nonfiction. The early aughts did a number on our girl brains. This talks about so many bits of pop culture from TV to film to music to porn to girlbosses.
Unreasonable Hospitality by Will Guidara - no one will be surprised I am reading another dining-adjacent book. This one is about Eleven Madison Park, restaurant and people operations, and obviously, hospitality.
Second Life by Amanda Hess - the “convergence of parenthood and technology,” yeah this is going to rock
Ruth by Kate Riley - the boss came back from paternity leave really excited to tell me to read this; I know nothing about it but the cover looks cool.
The Compound by Aisling Rawle - my coworker described it as “Love Island meets Hunger Games,” which has me sold
Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid - This is going to be my new Martyr! where it is going to sit on my TBR for months. But I do want to read it before EOY
Love this! Occasionally my job will use “what book have you loved recently?” as a check-in question and I’ve found some great recommendations that way.