Reading List: December 2024

A reading recap and book giveaway

Before we begin: TTFA Patreon and moved the archives of Terrible, Thanks for Asking over here, combining all of my work into place (what took me so long??). The podcast will return as a Substack exclusive in 2025, so now is a great time to become a paid subscriber or gift a subscription to lock in that 2024 pricing before the price goes up on January 1! All the details are right here.

If you’re here from Patreon as a monthly member — you’ll need to log into your Substack account and add your payment info to keep your access!

Ah, December.

One of the least stressful months of the year, when everyone (especially me!!!) is at their best. A truly carefree, fun-loving 31 days with nothing to do but relax and read and enjoy the final weeks of a truly flawless year.¹ I know I had a perfect time!

This month’s highlights include: live shows in Minneapolis, a cookie party, a magical Christmas Eve, a solid Christmas Day, only getting one extremely mean email from a stranger, and being on The Stacks! TWICE!

Here’s what I read this month:

Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout was everything I wanted it to be: a warm quilt straight from the dryer on a cold night. A new friend who somehow understands you better than people who have known you for decades. A perfect cup of coffee first thing in the morning. I finished this early in the month and placed it lovingly on my shelf with its siblings, a full Elizabeth Strout Collector’s Set. Like all of her stories, it makes you feel achingly alive.

Imminent: Inside The Pentagon’s Hunt for UFOs by Luis Elizondo was recommended on Sexy Unique Podcast and highly relevant given the drones and orbs everyone is seeing! Luis worked in a top secret part of national intelligence where he learned that yeah, UFOs are real and yeah, the government knows. It’s written like a government document and I honestly LOL’d when I opened the photo section expecting to see, I don’t know, UFOs…and it was mostly photos of Luis?

Wicked by Gregory Maguire was available on audiobook through Libby and I downloaded it right before my trip to Minneapolis. I’d seen the musical in London (brag!!!) with Aaron in 2011 and after seeing the movie, which is apparently only a PART ONE (!!!!) I couldn’t remember how it ended. The audiobook was a treat, so I simply had to order a special edition hardcover as a Christmas gift for myself. I HAD TO.

The Personality Brokers by Merve Emre was another audiobook from Libby, a perfect listen if you’re interested in personality testing and want to know the origins of Meyers-Briggs. As an INFJ…I didn’t know anything else about this test other than what I got on it, and it was a HELLUVA STORY. The audiobook narration was podcast-level good.

Intermezzo by Sally Rooney was on my list for months, and I finally got to it. Sally Rooney has the same kind of spell on me as Elizabeth Strout; there’s just something about the way she writes that makes me feel seen and safe. But I’ll be real honest: I do not know anything about chess, I don’t want to know anything about chess, and every time they discussed chess in this book I was like please please stop why couldn’t this character be interested in anything else?? I also felt — like I felt about All Fours — it could have ended like 40 pages earlier and been better for it.

Sucker Punch by Scaachi Koul is the ARC I’ve been waiting for (and begging for), and I finally got it. It’s the story of a divorce (GOD I LOVE DIVORCE CONTENT!) but it’s also the exploration of her own anger, propensity for picking a fight (one of my favorite hobbies!) and how someone gets into (and stays in) a relationship that is plainly not right for them. Scaachi is also one of the funniest writers of our time, and I lol’d as often as I underlined. Scaachi will be on the pod soon (but not soon enough! Her work boundaries are simply too good!), which will be a treat for everyone.

Trust Exercise by Susan Choi took me a minute to get into. It’s set at a performing arts school in the 1980s, and as a not performing arts kid, some of the scenes were simply too much for me. But I stuck with it, and the payoff as the story went on was worth it.

Book Giveaway Time!

I’ve cleaned out the shelves and I’m ready to part with the following books, which will be lovingly mailed to anyone in the United States (sorry!!! Even shipping to Canada is TOO EXPENSIVE!). Leave a comment with what you’d like, and I’ll choose winners at random and message for your address².

• Imminent by Luis Elizondo

• Weyward, Emilia Hart (magical realism/multiple timelines/witchy)

• Trust Exercise, Susan Choi

• Eleanor & Park, Rainbow Rowell (one of my absolute favorites, I just have an extra copy?)

• Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell (again a total favorite but I have an extra!)

• How To Stay Married, Harrison Scott Key (more about his book here, and his podcast episode is here)

• Tacky, Rax King (as discussed on The Stacks here)

• I Will Do Better, Charles Bock (listen to his episode here)

• The Anxious Generation, Jonathan Haidt

• The Crane Wife, CJ Hauser (a memoir in essays)

Help me pick a book!

I’m a vast collector of Weird Old Books, and I want to recap a few of them on the podcast. Help me choose from this selection:

• The podcast relaunches in January and I want your stories! If any of the prompts inspire you, call or text 612.568.4441

  • What do you wish you knew before_______?

  • What or who were you wrong about?

  • Are you lonely?

  • The song that’s the soundtrack of your life and why

  • How have you learned to accept help (or not)

  • Who is your most unlikely friend/relationship and why does it work?

  • What’s your secret heartbreak?

• The things I bought for Christmas on Christmas (a proud family tradition):

  • This sherpa trench coat for my mom.

  • These Nike dunks for Ian.

  • These sweatpants for Ian.

  • This skirt for me (which my mom also bought for herself, twins!)

xo,

Nora

1. I’ve had my phone Bricked since December 24 to “relax” and “be present” and I have to say, without a constant firehouse of horrors to browse through, I almost actually feel that way. Code NORABRICK gets you 10% off, but it’s iOS only!

2. Book giveaways are a perk for paid subscribers! If you can’t comment, you aren’t a paid subscriber and need to upgrade your subscription!