Musings on...My Book List, My Self
Recollections, Rabbit Holes and Realizations from A Black Friday Haul
I’ve always been bookish, and I had a habit of writing reports on books and topics I loved. I actually assigned myself the task of writing book reports for no grade or recognition. In my free time, for fun! As an adult, I turned my teenage habit into its modern iteration- a book blog. Let’s be honest: a book blog is just a book report with SEO. After some technical issues beyond my coding ability, my website imploded. I was dragging my feet deciding if I should have it redesigned, when I thought of this Substack. Since I’m always musing about books, I’ll just house it here alongside my other miscellany and revisit the archives from time to time. Substack is also free, so my decision may have been heavily influenced, but thanks for nothing GoDaddy Tech Support.
My Amazon list began innocently enough. My father, an early adopter, instructed me to build a wish list of the kids’ Christmas list. Boxes started appearing on our doorstep. This was when the kids were little, little munchkins and the boxes emanated “To infinity and beyond” or whatever other animated thing they were passionate about as we tried to hide them in random closets. Once I got a hold of the idea of this new virtual shopping list, it became a catalog of books I wanted, dare I say needed, to buy. The list became my Audrey II, and I her Seymour, continuously feeding the beautiful beast.
In an attempt to prune Audrey II, this year I deigned to buy any books discounted for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. I have been known to make a few purchases for myself while shopping for others, which only makes sense. Since I’m already here.
As I scrolled page after page, (and still more pages), I remembered the sparks of my original excitement. I was transported back to the radio or TV interview that made me want to learn more, I could revisit the absolute thrill of discovery. The joy of the list is it has become a scrapbook of my interests, an album of the rabbit holes I willingly jumped into, the digital depository of the sparks of ideas I want to investigate later.
Perhaps the book list has become a life list?
Sorry I’m Late, I Didn’t Want to Come!
I found on Substack. I read a few posts and at once subscribed. Jess works in a small bookstore and shares simply charming stories about the customers and staff. I was enchanted by her vignettes of life. The feeling reminds me of how I felt watching movies like Notting Hill or Four Weddings and A Funeral. The Hugh Grant of it all! A peak into life in a different place with quirky characters. The humor is slightly different, the conversations slightly askew, but more tart, if you understand what I mean by that. I have literally laughed out loud reading her work. I find laughter at literature the most delicious. Laughing at acting or performing is great, but the physicality of the actor helps you get there. Laughter at words on a page is a different animal. The writer must possess the power of helping your mind conjure an image and write words in a way that you can deduce the tone and the rhythm of the humor. That is a skill, and Jess has it in spades. When I discovered she was a published author, her book made it to my list. From the back cover:
Some people are great at talking to strangers, building new relationships, making friends at parties. I’m really good at other things, like loitering palely in dark doorways. Disappearing into couch corners. Leaving early. Feigning sleep on public transportation.
Delicious indeed!
Karl Lagerfeld. A Life in Fashion
This was on my list of highly anticipated coming attractions for 2022. This was just after the Kaiser's death and before his retrospective at the Met Gala. There is a section of my book list filled with books about Karl and Coco Chanel. I know Karl’s reputation has been debated ad nauseum, but as a fashion lover, this man has been a behemoth of an institution all of my fashion-loving life. Particular runway collections and designs freely rent space in my mind. I am able to move beyond the current collective cognitive dissonance, realizing as I grow older, that humans are notoriously, confusingly nuanced. I am attracted to the creative genius, and I endeavor to understand how a person can tap into such a rich reserve of visual beauty and craftsmanship. What is the origin, the inspiration, the process of creating beauty over and over again? The 2023 Met Gala honoring him was one of my favorites:
We Are Experiencing a Slight Delay
I can’t remember if I saw an interview with author Gary Janetti on CBS This Morning or Live with Kelly and Mark, which are the usual suspects, but it was on my list. This is such an outlier, because I usually remember distinctly the time a book strikes my interest enough to get on my list, but this is drawing the biggest blank. Nevertheless, when the Black Friday sales of “Your Saved Items” appeared on my Amazon front page, I put it in my cart. A book of travel misadventures, I was struck by the following when I flipped through:
Learning how to eat alone at a restaurant is kind of like sex. You have to start with what’s comfortable for you.
Got it-he loves to travel and has a wry sense of humor. Perhaps a cousin? He sounds like my kind of person, the one I want to sit next to at a dinner party. Then I discovered Gary and I have been missing our meet cute for a while. Turns out I have his other book Do You Mind if I Cancel? on my book list as well. That one wasn’t on sale, but obviously, Gary and I are meant for each other. I am changing my profile to: In a Bookish Situationship
Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent
This book has a very specific memory attached to it. Our youngest child graduated from high school this year. Both of my children are attending college about 45 minutes from our home. It has become a tradition that the morning after graduation, we travel to the university and their grandfather, my father, buys them as much college merchandise as they want. While they were debating sweatshirts and backpacks, I browsed the book section. I ran into this book by Dame Judi Dench, one of my favorite actors from one of my favorite movies Shakespeare in Love, which is a farce of how my favorite play Romeo and Juliet was written. Plus, I’m a sucker for a great title. Speaking of the man who used to pay my rent:
My father is equally my greatest cheerleader and chastiser. I tagged along on one of his business trips to Washington DC and he funded my ticket for a performance of King John at the Shakespeare Theater Company. Seeing a production from the level of expertise was transformative. He teases me that he is still on the theatre mailing list (20 years and one cross-country move later), since I bought the ticket with his credit card. The day was about my son, so the book went on my list for later, but it was heartwarming to have this circle back moment of how my father has always supported my interests as he was doing the same for my child. #imnotcryingyourecrying.
Hustle Harder, Hustle Smarter
This one has been on my list long enough that I was able to get the paperback for a steal. I’m workshopping an idea of this sub-genre of books I’ve dubbed Hustler’s Code of Self-Help. It’s been brewing since I was given an ARC of Charlemagne tha God’s Black Privilege. I loved that book and wouldn’t stop telling people to buy it. At the time I called it the Motivational Book for a Hip Hop Generation and applauded it as a self-help book for those that might not be exposed to a Tony Robbins or grew up on classics like Zig Ziglar, Dale Carnegie or Napoleon Hill. The vernacular may not be mainstream, but the principles for success are universal, even when the journey from the bottom to the top is routed through an urban landscape. With that in mind, I’ve been keeping an eye out for books by non-majority authors that offer a new translation to the classic self-help personal development tomes. So, buying this book is research. File that under “Lies We Tell Ourselves”.
Hidden Potential: The Science of Achieving Great Things
You can get any time with the verbiage “The science of”. I am a secret science nerd, and I love understanding the how. I consider myself an unrequited anthropologist in that I’m fascinated by the how and why of people through biology, social norms and cultures. I say unrequited because no one asked my opinion on such things, but that is what this Substack is for so huzzah! With sections titled Skills of Character, Structures for Motivation, and Systems of Opportunity, this book jumped into my list on its own, so it is not my fault. I look forward to nerding out on this very soon.
Martyn Lawrence Bullard: Design and Decoration
It wouldn’t be Christmas without new coffee table couture. Martyn Lawrence Bullard is one my favorite designers and I swoon every time his design work shows up in Architectural Digest. I’ve saved all the issues featuring his work. His work for RuPaul is perfection, no notes. His portfolio is extremely eclectic, but I’m drawn to his adeptness with black and white, arches and the intense pattern play of Moroccan design. I’m slowly adding his books to my collection. I purchased StarStyle earlier this year during a flash sale and the reduced Black Friday price on Design and Decoration means the books were practically free. That’s called Book Math.
Supreme Sirens: Iconic Black Women that Revolutionized Music
I featured the Supreme set in my Gift Guide. I had the first two books of this beautiful trio, but the final book was waiting for me on my list until Cyber Monday when I awakened to an alert of price drop. Add to cart and now my 3 lovely ladies are warmly ensconced together on my bookshelf. On a side note, Author Marcellas Reynolds was notified that I featured his books on my guide. He slid into my DMs with a thank you and asked where I lived. It seemed slightly catfishy until he offered to autograph my books. Next time I’m in New York, I just might take him up on the offer. I was touched by his kindness. As someone who extols other’s books just because I like them, I always remember when an author is gracious and acknowledges the effort.
Women Dressing Women
This book went on sale for Black Friday and I put it in my cart waiting for Cyber Monday to finalize my purchases, only to have the discount removed by then. I could not break my rule, so it went back to the list. Lucky for me a week later, I received notification it was marked down again. That still counts so score! I originally saw this book in the Met catalogue when my husband purchased the book A Line of Beauty from the 2023 Met Gala. ( I told you there was a list of Lagerfeld books). I wasn’t forcing him buy it-he asked me what I would like for my birthday just as the catalogue happened to be in my hand, and that’s what they call manifestation. I was drawn to this book because I do believe that women design differently than men. Male designers, for all their praise, design for how they want to see women live their lives. Women design for the lives that women have. Think about Donna Karan and the original capsule wardrobe Seven Easy Pieces. Dior dressed women in the chic, but excessive New Look, while it was Chanel that released women from the corset. Claire McCardell’s pockets and DVF’s wrap dress all speak to lifestyle and not the curation of women as paper dolls. Obviously, I have strong opinions and am excited to learn more from author.
If your TBR (to be read) list could speak, what do you think it would reveal about you?
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thank you for finding me and for the kind words!!!!! xoxoxo