I am a promiscuous reader.

I enjoy all genres in all the formats (hardcover and paperback, audiobook, Kindle). I read when I’m waiting in line or in the minutes between meetings. I read via audiobooks when I’m doing chores or running errands. And I’ve been engaging in some serious revenge bedtime procrastination every night this week because Nalini Singh’s Psy-Changeling world is just too good.

Ever since I learned how to read, it has brought me a sense of peace and adventure - two contradictory emotions that somehow emerge when I pick up a book and lose myself in someone’s world. I don’t think about the to-do list that runs across my brain like a chyron. I stop dissecting the e-mail I had sent and wonder if I could’ve phrased it differently. And the negative self-talk (we all do it!) fades away as I lose myself in someone else’s life.

August was a messy month. It has some high moments for sure, but an expected depressive episode and the slow climb out of it has been hard. When I couldn’t get out of bed, I re-read Julia Whelan’s wonderful Thank You For Listening while curled up under my chill blanket and weighted sloth (a combination I recommend for all days). Pandora’s Jar reshaped my perspective on just how feminism’s roots are just as deep as sexism’s in our history and turned on the languishing historian inside my head. I wanted nothing more than to escape to a clan of Russian bears when I was reading Silver Silence (one of the best contemporary fantasy series I’ve ever read).

And while I devoured Carrie Soto Is Back, I also watched a number of TikToks from Latiné creators I respect on the criticisms of Carrie Soto and about white authors writing BIPOC main characters with more care. It did put me in a tennis mood, and I cannot recommend Andre Agassi’s Open more if you want to understand what playing tennis in the 80s and 90s was like.

For me, reading is like breathing or drinking water. It’s not just a hobby, but a vital thing for me to do every single day to stay healthy. My promiscuous reading habits are also how I support business that reflect my values (I buy all my physical books and audiobooks via Libro.fm and Bookshop.org and support The Lit Bar, Uncle Bobbie’s, Harriet’s Bookshop, and Semicolon - all Black-owned bookstores - with my purchases).

And while I know many of you rely on Goodreads to track and recommend books, I do not trust myself to read my own books’ reviews when I log onto it. I’ve been logging my current reads over on Copper Books (I’m @hitha on the platform), a woman-founded company that’s creating the Goodreads/Facebook Group/DM platform I’ve always wanted.

What are you currently reading? What hobbies are an essential ‘can’t live if I don’t do it’ ritual for you?

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What I Read This Month (And Finished!)

All of these books are linked to Bookshop.org, but you can purchase them via Libro.fm or Amazon here.

What Everyone Else Read This Week

Shibani

The Decoy Girlfriend by Lillie Vale - this is the story of an actor (Taft) with a fake-girlfriend costar (Mandi), and an author (Freya) who looks like Mandi. For romance reasons, Taft and Freya have to pretend to be in a relationship, with Freya pretending to be Mandi. If this sounds complicated, it is a very well-executed story with celeb-normie fake dating AND a literary angle. It's a slow burn, gets steamy in the last third, and has good banter. This is out September 6th, so pre-order it!

Top #5SmartReads Of The Week

Don’t Call Them Trash (The Atlantic)
Siffat Haider, Morning Routine (The Newsette)
The Metamorphosis of Mindy Kaling (Marie Claire)
Restraint Collapse is So Real (So Many Thoughts)

The rest of the week’s reads + last week’s (and conversations!) are below:

Your Recommendation Requests, Linked
(you can search and find all the links over on my LTK profile)

noise-cancelling headphones
pill box/holder
bags/purses (these are the ones I’ve been using all summer long)
high quality blouses to wear under blazers
hair oil
anti-aging serums
gifts:
- kids
- hostess

I’ll be adding more to the FAQ collection, so don’t hesitate to reach out with your requests!

Have a wonderful rest of your weekend, and happy reading!

xo,
HPN

#5SmartReads

issue #148 - the reading one