Summer Reading

Recipe: Skordalia with Flatbread

Skordalia with Flatbread, 2025.

Seven Reads for Summer:

It turns out I have seasons of consumption. The rotation goes, fall trips, winter movies, spring shows and summer reading. The meditative hum of the air conditioner renders me to my couch in between errands. I consider this an ideal state to plow through a few books. There is a TikTok account I adore for book recommendations, many of them you’ll see here.

Nic Marna

has exceptional taste, often highlighting queer authors and queer stories.

And now, my seven reads for summer:

Stag Dance by Torrey Peters

Stag Dance contains four novellas with Stag Dance being the main chunk of the book. Each novella veers from the next but somehow they’re all connected in their depth. Desire unfolds affirming our innate emotional thirst for it. Torrey has a wicked sense of humor bringing levity to the text. Torrey will edge you with each novella, leaving you wanting more.

Nova Scotia House by Charlie Porter

This book has changed the way I write. Nova Scotia House reveals itself more like a train of thought. I found myself connecting with the story quickly because the chapters read more like journal entries. If you’re looking for an example of what true love is like, Nova Scotia House is for you.

In Tongues by Thomas Grattan

Steamy, sexy and gut punching. Youth and optimism flow ever-so-freely for the main character. It reminds me of an age where luck was abundant and somehow with time we seem to let go of it. This novel moves at an electric pace sure to be sopped up quickly.

A Language of Limbs by Dylin Hardcastle

A Language of Limbs is what I’m currently reading. This book has short, vivid chapters in between two potential lives. Which one will the main character choose? On the one hand, she can be her authentic self and on the other, she suppresses her intuition in favor of fear. Only time will tell.

Strangers to Ourselves by Rachel Aviv

Beautifully exposing truths about psychosis. The prose here is constructed thoughtfully to remove the wall between the reader and the subjects. Rachel Aviv reveals her own story and consciously threads us to the prose. Under certain circumstances, we are actually more alike than different.

Emotional Agility by Susan David

The Harvard medical professor, Susan David, has written a helpful book on not attaching yourself to your emotions. I recommend this book often to anyone who loves the genre of self help. Emotional Agility increases the awareness of your emotions and what they actually mean. Using the tools given, there’s a “a-ha moment” when you pivot emotions as data rather than as a compass.

Misrecognition by Madison Newbound

I’m happy to say that Madison is a friend. I went to a book talk she gave at McNally Jackson and a moment of synchronicity struck me. Madison spoke about the pieces she read when writing this book. As Madison mentioned Cruel Optimism by Lauren Berlant, I looked down and the book was right next to me on the shelf. Her book is a masterpiece on modern life and the seemingly mundane. It’s important how we see and relate to ourselves, even if there is Misrecognition.

Tool of the week:

The Box Grater

Hand over heart, this is my baby. The side with three long slots rarely gets used, however, the other three sides have delivered me heaps of joy. I use it to grate fresh horseradish, shred carrots and potatoes, I use it to finely pulverize an onion to make an exquisite ranch. The pictured side of the box grater gets the most use. Pecorino and parmesan entwine in the toothy grip and exposed holes. The irregularity of the grate is preferred. Feathery pieces commingling with beads and chunks. Pecorino and parmesan dust over a salad or pasta clinging to it lovingly. I prefer it over the sawdust nail filings of the microplane. Thank you box grater for improving my life, more than you’ll ever know.