Category Archives: nihlism

Audition by Katie Kitamura

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This is the first book I’ve read by Katie Kitamura, and I thought it was great! This is a 2025 release. I rarely read brand new books. In fact, this might be the only 2025 release on my reading list this year.

Audition is a very concept-y book. I assume this is Kitamura’s “thing” because it’s quite unique–this specific type of concept-driven prose, I mean–but can’t say for sure since I haven’t read her other works yet.

The book is, without doubt, very carefully and artfully written. The pacing is like a dictionary, and yet the characters all feel very human and knowable. The book’s takeaways and insights, always shown with subtlety, are profound.

Spiral Staircase: A Meditation on Alchemy by Alyssa Spungen

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Normally I post these books in the order that I complete them, but looking back through my notes, it appears that I didn’t get around to posting about this one, which I also read this summer.

I initially bought Spiral Staircase: A Meditation on Alchemy by Alyssa Spungen because the publisher, White Stag Publishing, is just so intriguing. They are an indy press that specializes in the spooky, mystical, spiritual realm, but with literary quality. (This combo is RARE!) They also offer kits that go along with the books, which include things like candles, tokens, and charms that all align in some thematic way with each individual book.

This book, and the kit that came with it, offered such a lovely and meditative experience. The whole thing kind of felt like a spa day–to open a package, light a candle, look through the little treats, and then read a book of poetry. It was a unique experience, but one I would definitely treat myself to regularly whenever the press publishes works that catch my eye. Spiral Staircase is a beautifully woven tapestry of poetry with themes of spiritual alchemy artfully tied in throughout.

How Should a Person Be? by Sheila Heti

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I have a quick follow up after yesterday’s post because I just also recently finished How Should a Person Be? by Sheila Heti.

Lately, I’ve had a hard time telling if some main characters are intentionally or unintentionally insufferable, and this is one of those instances where I couldn’t always tell. The main character is supposed to be insufferable to a degree, sure, but to this degree? I’m not so sure.

That said, with books like these, I’m always glad they get published. I’m glad this was published. For most, this is worth the read. However, if you are feeling a bit on the sensitive side, maybe skip this one (for now). There is a wandering, an aimlessness, and unknowing that may be comforting, but there is also deep friendship and closeness, which I could imagine may feel alienating to some. There is also some short sections of depravity that may be better left unread by some.

For the average reader, acquainted with and able to stomach what I’ve mentioned above, do read this unique book.

Women by Chloe Caldwell

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I had two of Chloe Caldwell’s books in my backpack, and so I read them back to back. Women by Chloe Caldwell is her more well-known book, and I do think it it has the most literary merit and staying power of her work that I’ve read so far. Caldwell offers a very focused, very detailed immersion into an intense, obsessive, and destructive relationship with a woman.

This book is not the triumphant lesbian novel I think people want it to be. It is unclear to the reader the extent that Caldwell is lesbian, bisexual, or heterosexual, and this is a key question throughout the book–for Caldwell and for her readers.

A clear look at the experience of being intensely caught up in forbidden love is the point of the book, I think, and also just that experience of living life as a human with desires, stupidity, and pleasure, plus some good old fashioned bed rot and mental illness. Most readers with a beating heart will recognize at least some pieces of this book.

I’ll Tell You in Person by Chloe Caldwell

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I read I’ll Tell You in Person by Chloe Caldwell right before reading her other more well-known and previous book entitled Women. The book reads as a memoir and Caldwell as the main character is unhinged and insufferable, but recognizable, and this seems intentional and is the interesting thing about this book.

Caldwell’s depictions of coming of age in the 90s and early aughts is detailed and nostalgic, and this part will resonate with most readers who have lived through that era.

There’s something to say about privilege/social class and mental illness, but I’m not sure what except maybe just that people with support networks can experience drug addiction and depression more safely than those in more precarious situations.

I found myself wishing I’d read the book 20 years ago, but it was published in 2016.

I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman

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I can admit when a book is perfect, and I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman is a perfect book. While maybe I do not love this book, and while maybe this book will never be one that I recall with fondness, and while this is not typically my genre, it is one that is wholly unique and one that will stick with me forever. 

My Mother Gets Married by Moa Martinson

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This book has been on my tbr list for over a year now, and I finally found a copy to read through interlibrary loan. My Mother Gets Married is an account of Moa Martinson’s own childhood growing up in impoverished Sweden around the turn of the last century

My own grandma was frugal, but everyone was who lived through the great depression. It wasn’t clear to me if her family immigrated more because of harsh living conditions in the old country or more because of the promise of the “new” world.

While I can’t be exactly certain of my family’s exact circumstances, I think perhaps things weren’t so dark as Martinson depicts in her book based on some information I have. Either way, the book offers insights into some of the culture in Sweden at that time. I appreciated learning about the schooling they would have received, the dresses they would have worn, and the tokens that would have been important to them.

Personal interests aside, Martinson’s writing is strong. There is a subtle, underlying and scathing observations on gender, social class, and justice. Martinson’s writing reveals a deep insight and understanding of the human condition.

Making Love with the Land by Joshua Whitehead

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Making Love with the Land by Joshua Whitehead is one of the best there is in contemporary literary prose. I want to say that Whitehead is incredibly “playful” on the level of the line–unique and like nothing I’ve ever seen before–but “playful” doesn’t seem quite like the right word because of intensity and oftentimes heaviness of the content, but a better alternative escapes me. The book is vulnerable, embarrassing, and brave and deserving of the accolades.

Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

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I don’t often read books that I think will appeal to a wide range of readers–those romancey, thriller, and beach readers. However, Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver was that book: great, accessible to a broad audience, and also…read by me.

The Bean Trees was the first Kingsolver book I ever read, and I remember absolutely loving it. That was probably over years ago! I am continually impressed by Kingsolver’s ability to put herself into other worlds and characters with such conviction. She also layers in social issues in a way that is compelling, but without disrupting the narrative flow.

Overall, this is a compelling book, a great narrative, a great main character, important, perhaps a bit too long (although by now you know how I like a pithy book) and one that will, I think, have a lasting impact in literature. Oh, and Kingsolver also gardens and raises sheep, which you can see on her social media, so you know she’s good!

The Blue Fox by Sjón

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The Blue Fox by Sjón is that beautiful, unique, and compelling work of literary prose that we all seek to read. My only critique is that perhaps it could have been just a bit longer, which is saying something coming from me.