#087 : CAT'S BOOK CLUB / EVERYTHING I READ IN FEBRUARY
Original publication date: March 11, 2024
I am *ravenously* reading (mostly) contemporary fiction right now because:
A) I’m writing fiction for the first time.
B) I have an addictive personality.
C) Novels and novelists are glammmm-orousssss, dahlings. Rare air. I haven’t been this teenybopper-excited to learn about a universe since I got into architects, or the NBA.
I read all Black authors in February, bloody loved doing so, and hereby declare it my tradition forevermore. I can’t list all 20 books like last time, so I’m gonna highlight my favorites and then make up categories for the rest. Let’s go!
CAT’S 4 FAVORITES (not in order):
SUCH A FUN AGE by Kiley Reid
Like, say, the novels of Sally Rooney, this is the kind of particularly emotionally intelligent contemporary novel women can’t get enough of. SUCH A FUN AGE was longlisted for the Booker Prize (which I am always mentioning because it’s one of my faves) in 2020. It’s about a young babysitter, who is Black, working for an affluent white mother in Philadelphia. The narration switches between the subdued sitter and the hilariously paranoid, try-hard mom, and it was just so well done—uniquely feminine and smart. Chic Kiley Reid is 37, from Los Angeles, and was just in town promoting her new book. I had another event that night but I wanted to go to see her!