The 4 books I keep on my nightstand

From poetry to romance, in times when picking up a new book seems daunting, these are the titles I turn to for some comfort in the pages

It’s almost one week post-election and just when I think I’m doing okay, my brain shows me I’m not. At dinnertime, finding I left half of my lunch in the microwave. A burst of rage at an inanimate object. Leaving things in weird spots around the house. I know many readers found it hard to pick up a book leading up to the election, and even more so now. And that’s okay, the pages will be waiting for us.

So for now, here are the books I keep on my nightstand for moments when it’s hard to start something new. I can read a few pages and be reminded of why I read, that the pages are there to teach, challenge, activate, disrupt, inspire, comfort, and entertain us.

Alive at the End of the World, Saeed Jones

I always turn to this book of poetry from the brilliant Saeed Jones when I want to feel less alone about the state of the world. On the morning of Nov. 6, when it was hard to get out of bed, I read his words.

They Can’t Kill Us Until They Kill Us, Hanif Abdurraqib

“I’m not sold on pessimism as the new optimism. I need something that allows us to hope for something greater while confronting the mess of whatever all this foolish hope has driven us to. America is not what people thought it was before, even for those of us who were already familiar with some of its many flaws. What good is endless hope in a country that never runs out of way to drain you of it? What does it mean to claim that a president is not your own as he pushes the lives of those you love closer to the brink? What is it to avoid acknowledging the target but still come, ready, to the resistance?”

There are a few favorite essays I revisit, but Searching For A New Kind of Optimism, recalling the December after the 2016 election especially resonated this week.

Everything I Know About Love, Dolly Alderton

“Nearly everything I know about love, I've learned in my long-term friendships with women."

With Alderton’s words in a mix of personal stories, satire, and even recipes, revisiting this makes me reflect how I’ve grown up—navigating heartbreak, career, friendships—and recognize the women in my life who were there supporting me along the way.

Funny You Should Ask, Elissa Sussman

“It's almost like I'm coming home. Not to a place, necessarily, but to a feeling. To a possibility of more.”

This is my favorite romance book and the way it’s structured, short chapters flashing from the present to ten years prior, makes it easy to jump into a scene for some comfort. The slow-burn, celebrity/normal person story was inspired by this real-life profile of Chris Evans. It’s a book that has a lot of things that make me happy: lunch, a bookshop, LA, and a dog.

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If you have any comfort reads you’ve turned to, I’d love to hear them. If you’re not at a point where you can pick up a book, I hope you’re taking care in other ways. One of few things that made me feel better this past week was mailing notes to the Harris/Walz volunteers and public servants in my life.

A few links I’ll leave you with as we transition from mourning to action:

• For Dear Life with Maggie Smith
  : A Poem for This Day

• LitHub: It’s time to radicalize your book club
  “What are the groups you’re involved with? Who are the talented organizers in your community who are already building? Where are people in your community gathering to help and care for each other? Wherever you are, someone has already begun the work.”

• Culture Study
  : This is How Much America Still Hates Women

  “They hate us, and they think we will learn to hate ourselves, too. But they also underestimate us. We are stubborn and unruly, annoying and persistent, bitter and terrified. And unlike them, we are not animated by fear or cruelty. We are audacious in our faith that a better world is possible. That faith is not rational, and the last eight years has consistently rattled it. But it endures, as it has endured for hundreds of years. We must not be the ones to lose it.”

• Emily in Your Phone
  
  ”For one week only I’ve lowered the ANNUAL subscription price to $30 (the minimum allowed!) Ends November 13 at 5pm EST. That’s only $2.50 a month to get fact-based and actionable information about politics.”
  

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