Happy new year! I hope you’re shifting into this time with relative ease and peace of mind. I’m not sure if I’m going to make official resolutions, but I suppose my hopes for 2024 are similar to the hopes I have every year: to write more, exercise when I can, and be more compassionate to myself and others.
One of my favorite things about the new year is all the upcoming books to look forward to. Last year was kind of a meh year for literature. Not much captured my enthusiasm. Though I really enjoyed my time with Isabella Hammad’s Enter Ghost, Henri Cole’s Gravity and Center, and Matthew McNaught’s Immanuel. I also checked out Jamaica Kincaid’s Lucy and read Amina Cain’s Indelicacy for the second time. Those two were probably my favorites of 2023
I started reading super seriously and paying more attention to the literary scene when I moved to New York in 2020. Back then, I felt compelled to read every new release and develop thorough, spotless opinions. Nowadays, I’m trying to be more discerning and spend less time (and money!) on flashy titles. I love contemporary literature and I still plan to read the new stuff, but I’m over the current trends:
“psychological” “feminist” “thrillers” (which usually have a dull political core)
realist millennial fiction (the humor is bad, the sentences are boring, so mfa-coded)
autofiction about writers (I don’t want to read about writers anymore. I’m over it!)
the choice plot (I’ve just read so many! too many! books about the decision to have or not have a child)
identity-obsessed-poetry (often cloying, so 2018!)
snarky, disjointed poetry (opposite end of the spectrum from the above, but just as boring)
novels disguised as short story collections (just call it what it is)
This year I’m setting my sights on exquisite sentences, well-written arguments, and good narratives. I want to sink my teeth into imaginative writing that is elegant and smart and pretty, or just fun to read. Below are some forthcoming and backlist titles I hope will fulfill those hopes. Feel free to share yours in the comments. (I’d also love to know the trends you’re over.)
New Releases
Dead Weight - Emmeline Clein
The Singularity - Balsam Karam
The Moon That Turns You Back - Hala Alyan
Laura’s Desires - Laura Henrikson
Worry - Alexandra Tanner
Early Sobrieties - Michael Deagler
Mood Swings - Frankie Barnet
Pleasure Principle - Madeleine Cravens
Victim - Andrew Boryga
Martyr! - Kaveh Akbar
Backlist
Doppelganger - Naomi Klein
Winter Stranger - Jackson Holbert
If An Egyptian Cannot Speak English - Noor Naga
Hanging Out - Sheila Liming
Let Us Believe In The Beginning Of The Cold Season - Forough Farrokhzad
Philosophy Of The Tourist - Hiroki Azuma
The Furrows - Namwali Serpell
Annie John - Jamaica Kincaid
Agua Viva - Clarice Lispector
The Neopolitan Quartet - Elena Ferrante
Painting Time - Maylis de Kerangal
Crossroads - Jonathan Franzen
Interesting list! I read Lucy last year too and am writing a piece kind of inspired by it (it’s about the recent trend of novels where minority women are nannies to rich white families).
I have a soft spot for autofiction about writers…but I'm definitely over identity-obsessed poetry and choice plots! Plus millennial fiction from Sally Rooney copycats that have relatively shallow commentary on class and capitalism…
For 2024, I'm hoping to read Naomi Klein's book and more Clarice Lispector as well. Hope you have a lovely reading year, and looking forward to your future book recs and thoughts!