The Curator: May reads as self-assigned homework
plus all the non-book things I consumed this month and unicorn pens to lust after
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In keeping with our theme of book experiences and tackling big books, I’ve spent a lot of time this year pursuing book projects rather than the aimless charcuterie board I normally ingest. I can’t help but think in pathways and linkages - how books feed off one another, or how they speak in different languages about the same themes - partly because after a few years of writing about reading, I am bored by books in isolation. I robustly declared in January that I would be following all my weird obsessions, and I have since doubled down. These book projects feel authentic to my reading life - horror for snobs, the best Nordic Noir guide, rereading a novel I didn’t like the first time around, becoming a translator completionist.
recently wrote about how poetry has changed her reading life, and seeking weird, innovative, dark, and mysterious stories has changed mine. I plan to explore this in depth later, but for now, here’s everything I read in May (which wasn’t a whole lot thanks to you know who ::cough Solenoid cough::).
Fever Dream by Samanta Schweblin, translated by Megan McDowell
Wherever Megan McDowell goes, I follow1. Fever Dream is strange and unusual. Less than 200 pages and pocket-sized, I smashed it in a few hours between Solenoid marathons. It’s about a woman, Amanda, dying in hospital, trying to understand what led her here. Told as a conversation between her and a young boy, we float inside the story, drifting through vignettes as Amanda sorts her memory, pierced by eerie occurrences and urgent tragedy. People and places are recognizable, but the narrative is fragmented, feverish, haunting. Something bad happened, but what? And will her discovery mean anything? As Jia Tolentino says, “the genius of Fever Dream is less in what it says than in how Schweblin says it.” I was thoroughly taken by this book, and immediately ordered another Schweblin novel.
The vibes👻: a more succinct Mariana Enriquez, I too am strange and unusual, psychological horror, horror for snobs2 🤓
The Hypnotist by Lars Kepler translated by Neil Smith
I was not lying when I said everything is part of a book project. The Hypnotist is fifth in my list of Nordic Noir novels, and it was a solid police procedural. After having read seven different Nordic authors on the topic, a hierarchy is coming together of what I look for and recommend in the genre. More than the plot, more than the writing, it is the detective that makes the magic. Kepler created one of the best in Joona Lina. Sure of himself, calmly correct in almost every situation, he has a masculine energy that is refreshing after a few detectives who were direly in need of some therapy. While the plot was unnecessarily convoluted, the writing and dialogue were strong, and the pacing was top-notch. I will read another Kepler just to spend more time with my BFF Joona. More to come about all the Nordic Noir I’ve been reading this summer.
The vibes👻: the closest thing to a Stieg Larsson heir, John Wick as a mysterious non-violent detective
The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle
The dedication encapsulates everything this novel stands for: “For H.P. Lovecraft, with all my conflicted feelings.” Lovecraftian horror is notably racist, and yet his stories have inspired generations3. In Black Tom, LaValle takes out all his “rage and passion” of this inheritance through the streets of 1920s NYC, claiming the occult as power for the Black community. I was thoroughly sucked into the story of Black Tom, a young musician who encounters a strange wealthy white man that - against his better judgement - lures him from the safety of Harlem into his den of iniquity. Where in other stories the Black man might suffer, might be painted as desperate, conniving, or evil, Black Tom is both a victim of racism and a fully realized human being who makes decisions any one of us might take. He is talented, charismatic, and tender. When he gets his revenge, it is a powerful moment of triumph in a world set against him. Highly recommend.
The vibes👻: for anyone with a Sinners hangover
👻Favorite read of the month: Fever Dream
👻Voted most likely month to not finish any books 😂
now reading 🤓
I generally have two books going at a time - a “treadmill book” or something I can read on Kindle in bed, and something challenging. I’ve got a bit more than that this week and I’m ready to pare this down asap…
challenging read: I soldier on with Solenoid by Mircea Cartarescu, which gets a photo placement above because I’ve spent an inordinate amount of time on it. However, once I got about 30% in, things started picking up, perhaps because my brain adjusted to the insanity and existential crises. I hope to finish this weekend.
treadmill book: Next on my Nordic Noir list is Roseanna by Maj Sjowall and Per Wahloo at the recommendation of reader LE Karlson. I am forever indebted to you LE for recommending this timeless series.
physical arc: I needed something fun and entertaining along with S, so I picked up Dissolution by Nicholas Binge. Thus far, it is a unique and captivating techno-thriller with a bit of heart.
buddy read: And lastly, it’s Middlemarch Time. If you’ve ever wanted to tackle this massive classic, now is the time to let
guide you through it. We are just now in week 2, so you haven’t missed much. I’m only a chapter in, but I already love the sisterly vibes.
Friday links for your perusal this weekend 🔗
The only Hot GIRLS summer I can vibe with from
. I’ve read it twice already (Substack).Blessed be the fruit: is the handmaid’s tale the extent of your feminism? from
(Substack)Which is better for your image, babies or Birkins? People would rather have prestige than babies from
(Substack)It’s the body fat, stupid from
(Substack)The answer for Gen Z might be phoneless bars. Where are all the gen z barflies from
(Substack)Sober husbands unite! Five surprising books I made my husband read from
(Substack)Is your reading sinking in or surface-level? On permeability vs. lamination from
(Substack)Who needs intimacy? not these female writers (The Atlantic gift link)
It’s Wes Anderson’s world, and we’re just details in it (NYT gift link)
Is Tom Ripley gay? (Vulture)
The best books of 2025 (so far) according to Vulture
And the best according to The NYT (NYT gift link)
22 novels you need to read this summer (Lit Hub)
The books of Marie-Helene Bertino… with Marie-Helene Bertino (Book Riot Podcast)
Dystopian books to get lost in right now (in case you need a break from real-life dystopia) (Tertulia)
lusting after 🛒
This McNally vampire book that isn’t released for FOUR MORE MONTHS
A sweet summer cashmere cardigan for chilly mornings (if purchased it will be second hand let’s be for real)
These unicorn pens after discussing writing instruments at length with
Oversized blue light glasses that actually block light - anyone have any recommendations?
What was the best thing you read in May?
Are you lusting after any upcoming 2025 books?
What are you reading, and is it any good?
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See you around the bookshelf!
just look at this backlist https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megan_McDowell
I read this as part of my horror for snobs book project. I may need to keep some of my summer reads under wraps moving forward and share when it’s time
Read https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/07/arts/television/hp-lovecraft.html
Long live the short book while the longer ones are taking too much time.
i’m impressed by how structured your reading is, in a sense—or at least committed to your own homework. looking forward to all the end results of these projects.