Fully Booked
Book mail, Q4 reading lists, reading tips, and podcasts
(Apologies if you’re reading this via email. Apparently, this post is too long and will be truncated, so you have to finish reading via the Substack app or desktop!)
Helllllooo! I’m back. Did you miss me?
I didn’t release a Frontal Lobe last week, but I was so busy with various work things that I decided giving myself a little break was paramount to productivity. However, I didn’t leave you all hanging completely– I did post a new installment of Articles of Amnesia, my series dedicated to styling the clothing I forgot I bought. Check it out if you haven’t already!
*clears throat* Okay, now that pleasantries are out of the way, let’s get into this week’s dispatch.
October was simultaneously ADHD Awareness Month *AND* National Book Month, and while those are both present in my life, they don’t connect easily. It frankly feels like a setup to have ADHD and books collide in the same month. Instead of wallowing in the conspiratorial nature of these two monthly themes, I changed my perspective a tad and figured the two topics could (and would) coalesce in this dispatch! Below, you will find a few book titles that I hope to close out the year reading, in addition to some helpful tips and resources to sink deeper into the practice of reading whether you live with neurodivergence or not. When you finish reading, please comment, share, like, and SUBSCRIBE (if you haven’t already done so)! I would love to hear your thoughts.
What Am I Reading in Q4?
My TBR List has grown substantially over the past year. I have 48 book titles that have piqued my interest, or the covers have consumed my brain. At my current reading rate, I’m not the type to finish more than 15 books in a year, so I won’t finish my list anytime soon. My TBR list will also grow with every new release and discovery. Here are five titles that I’m hoping to tackle by the start of 2025.
The Mesmerist / Caroline Woods*
I saw this novel in Rizzoli after I decided I deserved a (few) little treat(s). I had gotten some good news and wanted to celebrate with a new book (or two). I walked into the bookstore with my mind set on two novels…and then I saw The Mesmerist. I guess you could say that my first impression was that I was mesmerized by the gorgeous indigo background, the cover illustration, and the viridescent lettering, and then I got into the premise. It’s a Victorian/Gilded Age murder mystery set in 1894 Minneapolis. The story follows the perspective of three women living in a home for unwed mothers. The taboo of it all is calling me! In addition to encompassing my obsession with the Gilded Age/Victorian period, it was the perfect read for Spooky Season. Finding mystery/thriller books that draw me in is very difficult. Mysteries are the genre that got me engrossed in reading. I was seven reading about arson and robbery in the Nancy Drew series, so my standard is relatively high. I’m excited to crack the spine and get to know the three women at the center of the story on top of learning who is killing the women in the 27-year-old city. Clearly, Minneapolis was going through its Saturn return.
(**Doubleday sent me a gifted copy of this book, but the book was on my TBR list prior to the offer. Thank you, Doubleday! The list of books Penguin Random House/Doubleday gifted me will be at the bottom of this post.)
Intermezzo / Sally Rooney
I felt a bit cliché setting Sally Rooney’s Intermezzo on the bookstore’s cash wrap. I felt like such a…millennial. (Millennial feels like a slur nowadays.) I like Rooney, though. I like how she thinks, and her approach to being a 21st-century author feels very refreshing in an era when many are taking up the craft of writing to place themselves in proximity to celebrity. I was also intrigued by the idea of men exploring grief. My father, who I was not close to, died last year, and our strained (see: adversarial) relationship made the grieving process very confusing and outstandingly nonlinear. Through Intermezzo, I believe I’ll find comfort and understanding from brothers Peter and Ivan, who are grappling with the same kind of loss while holding their lives together.
Sky Full of Elephants / Cebo Campbell
What would a world without whiteness look like? How would the world’s inhabitants function in the absence of physical whiteness but all the ideals of white supremacy still very much here? Those were my initial thoughts when I learned about Cebo Campbell’s Sky Full of Elephants. I was scrolling through BookTok as I often do, observing how strangers have fashioned their extensive libraries when Campbell’s commanding voice erupted through my phone, explaining the précis. I went to Simon & Schuster’s website to read the full summary and became fixated. I needed to get my hands on this book! It follows a father and daughter living in an entirely new world while heading south to the newly named “Kingdom of Alabama.” It’s a story about community and survival in a truly “post-racial” America. I can’t wait to read it this fall!
The Sisterhood / Courtney Thorrson
Community is such a buzzword these days that I’ve started categorizing events and functions as “little-C” or “big-C” events. Little-C is truly community-oriented, and Big-C, is a thinly veiled enterprise masquerading as community. I’m interested in the former but am forced to contend with the latter. Then I came across The Sisterhood. I've seen this photo several times; I’ve posted it on social media, stared at it with abandon, and imagined the brilliant conversations (and disagreements) that took place. I never knew The Sisterhood existed as a tangible organization, though. Then, my homegirl introduced me to the book at an organizing meeting. I ran out and borrowed it from the library the next day. I’m still making my way through this thorough and layered text. Still, it’s helping me construct an idea of the community and friendships I hope to forge in my lifetime: layered, vulnerable, adaptable, and fortitudinous. It’s also inspiring to see women in their 30s, 40s, and beyond rally around each other, burst through the gates of the ivory towers, and help each other achieve their dreams.
I talked about this book with a friend over the weekend, and they stated their reservations about reading it because a white woman wrote it. I thoroughly understand; however, there is a tremendous dedication to scholarship in the writing of this book. The members of The Sisterhood openly shared their stories with Thorrson, who is simply keeping the record and presenting this fellowship's history, power, and beauty.
Disorientation / Elaine Hsieh Chou
I have been picking Disorientation up and putting it down for the last three years (yes, I do that). I'm sure this stop-and-start is because I always attempt to start the book at night and commit to a strict reading schedule, but after approximately two nights, my arrangement is interrupted by dinners and events. Also, my attempts took place during my mom’s PhD peregrination, and after observing how tedious that process was, reading about someone else's journey to a postgraduate degree is equally as exhausting. I love the premise, though, and I love a coming-of-consciousness story. This fall, I’m finally ready to delve into Ingrid Yang’s doctoral odyssey that results in book burnings, collegiate protests, and drug hallucinations. I think I’ll wait until after the hellection to read, but I’m very interested in this novel, not to mention the cover is a jocular delight.
Reading Tips and Tricks for Spicy Brains
Lately, I’ve been consumed not only with the mere act of reading but with how people read and form habits around the discipline of reading. How do people fit reading into their day? How do people manage to finish 50+ books a year? (I don’t think I’ll ever finish that many books in a year. How does one internalize and process all the information?) What are people’s routines around reading? How do they like to read? In what rooms? These questions were shaped by an episode of The Bookcase podcast in which America’s favorite billionaire (Oprah) talked about how, where, and what she likes to read. Wealth hoarding and semaglutide aside, I enjoyed hearing how she establishes time for perusal. This led me to ponder my reading habits and routines. From those reflections, I have scraped together a few tips for the spicy brains who find it difficult to see a book through to the end.
Read in the morning…
Before my ADHD diagnosis, I used to read in the morning from 10:30 to 11:30 (and sometimes beyond, depending on my schedule). I find my mind is sharper before 1 p.m. However, I hated how black-and-white I made this task. It was all or nothing. I either read a massive quantity, or I read nothing at all. There were also substantial gaps in my reading because I was waiting to be inspired to read, but just as in writing, discipline surpasses inspiration.
Nonetheless, I was listening to a Life Kit episode about reading (neurodivergent people are natural wormhole explorers), and my old method of reading in the morning was highlighted as a fantastic way to breeze through a read without consciously thinking about it. The show also pointed out that the most challenging part of reading is picking up the novel or text. I’d never thought about that; they were right. On a day when I begrudgingly open my book, I naturally start to enter a state of flow once I read four to six paragraphs.
So I began (again)! Instead of laying in bed until my second alarm sounds at 9 o’clock, I’ve started to read again and it’s unassumingly perfect. I thought I’d fall back asleep, and occasionally, I do when I experience duff sleep. Still, waking my brain up with pages of a book vs. the blue light of my phone makes for a gentler, more peaceful morning. The chaos and chatter of social media and the news will still be there once I reach for my phone around 10.
Utilize public transportation…
Another trick that’s worked for me is reading on the train. I know we’re supposed to keep our heads on swivel in Gotham, especially on the subway, but nothing passes a trip or drowns out the non-sequiturs of fellow straphangers like a good book. Few things in this world beat looking up from my novel and feeling like I’ve practically teleported to my destination. I’ve made a substantial dent in my books utilizing my 35-minute jaunts to and from Pilates class– don’t even get me started on the express bus!
Set (realistic) reading goals…
I once asked a friend how she reads so fast, like a book in a week. She said she divides the number of pages by seven, and that’s how she knows how much she needs to read in a day to meet her goal. Now, I’m in no rush to read a book in a week, but I want to clear at least two books in a month. Therefore, when I get a new book, I divide the number of pages by 14, which is my two-week reading goal. I don’t have to read all in one sitting, either. I can read a portion in the morning, another chunk on the train, and finish my pages at night with a cup of lavender chamomile tea.
Join a book club…
No anxiety compares to showing up unprepared to a book club meeting. The stomach knots that ensue while the in-depth discussion takes place are enough to ensure that I read the allotted chapters. While I don’t believe anxiety and shame should be the impetus to reading, the desire to show up prepared certainly helps. I joined an impromptu book club when I read Octavia Butler’s Parable of the Sower because I was too frightened to read it alone. We were wrangled together through a poll in a Close Friends Instagram story. Thoughwe’ve only had one meeting (busy schedules, exhaustion, etc.), it was nice to take away some insights and additional perspectives that I never would have considered while reading. I also liked being able to commiserate with others instead of talking to myself about the twists and turns of the novel’s plot. Being answerable to a reading group wasn’t a rigid experience and pushed me to carve time into my routine to read. While reading is technically a solitary activity, it’s easier when you’re accountable to others
Get your books from the library…
This may be the recovering people-pleaser in me, but knowing that other people are waiting for a book lights a bit of a fire under me to finish a book. The borrowing duration also supports the third point on setting realistic reading goals. Your local library will love the extra foot traffic, the exercise will cost zero dollars, and you’ll be breezing through books like Matilda! It’s a triad of wins if you ask me.
Extra! Extra!
These $7 bookmarks have also assisted me in my reading goals. Three friends have asked me for the link, so I figured I’d share one of the keys to my elementary system.
These refrigerator post-its have also been great to keep track of my weekly reading. Beyond keeping track of the groceries I need to restock and creative victories of the week, I make a hash mark at the end of each reading session. The dopamine rush of regularly finishing a task is matched only by lavender matcha (which I’ve been making a lot of lately).
With that, I will wrap up this latest communiqué from Frontal Lobe. Thank you so much for reading. Please like, comment, share, and/or subscribe if you haven’t already. I will see you in two weeks (not three, not four) with another dispatch. Ciao for now! :)
Penguin Random House/Doubleday Gifted Books:
I, too, have trouble finishing a book, so I will try the reading in the morning advice! Also, I need to try lavender matcha; it sounds delicious!
I was similarly wary of The Sisterhood but I ended up loving it. I took so many notes and it made me wish we had modern day Black feminist reading groups as a meama foe polirical education and communiry builsing (also wish Essence was publishing more political content like it was during their time!). Really appreciated your reading tips as well!