We Had a Little Real Estate Problem: The Unheralded Story of Native Americans and Comedy by Kliph Nesteroff is the perfect combination of modern non-fiction, oral history, and cultural history. The structure of the narrative hops around amongst modern day interviews and historical background and biographies. This structure is both engaging and a good reminder that within any culture or community there is plenty of individuality. Nesteroff does a great job taking the world of comedy – mostly born of live shows and standup – and transcribing into the text, but his ability to bring the humor across mediums does make me hope one day this book can became a documentary so we can see and hear some of these voices as originally delivered. If you can’t decide on your next book, read this.

A Carnival of Snackery by David Sedaris was intended to be my bedside book for a while. It’s Sedaris’s edited diaries from 2003-2020 so I figured it would be the perfect short bedtime reading – except that Sedaris is so funny I couldn’t put it down. I even listened to parts of the audiobook so I could stay in Sedaris’s world while doing the dishes and walking the dogs. He’s as funny and honest as ever. If you read Theft By Finding, this is a new era for him. He’s successful and has money but he’s still himself as he travels the world, picks up trash in England as his hobby, and deals with his family. Tracey Ullman is an excellent addition as a fellow reader on the audiobook for stories Sedaris believed needed her accent and comedic timing skills. Sedaris was my first in-person event after COVID lockdowns (because unlike everyone else in the world he refused to cancel his tour – he loves touring so much he would only postpone it.) I’d share what he wrote in my signed copy of Snackery, but you wouldn’t get the joke unless you standing next to me when he wrote it.

The Night Climbers by Ivo Stourton is a book full of loathsome people which is not always a deal breaker for me. This time, however, it kept me from really engaging with the novel because every other page the thought okay but why am I still reading about these people popped into my head. I technically finished it to see if maybe the different timelines would lead someone to some positive character development, but it didn’t.   

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia has been floating around as a must-read for a few years now. It’s a quick, intense, wonderfully weird novel. My only recommendation is to clear your mind of expectations (which can be hard to do when a novel has been hyped up as much as this one.) I went in expecting a gothic novel re-mix (because of the title) when in fact it was an excellent gothic/science fiction mashup – I had to put it down and sort of recalibrate my expectations in order to fully appreciate the second half but in the end, it was a creepy, vibrant tale.

How to Stay Sane in an Age of Division by Elif Shafak is a small, important book everyone should read when they really feel overwhelmed in our modern world. Shafak doesn’t hide behind soft words; there is no empty solace in this book. But she also reminds readers what we are capable of when we set our minds to change.

The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle by Matt Cain is a great addition to the section of my book shelf I call “the British heartbreakers” where an author writes a funny modern novel that breaks your heart – only to give you hope in the end. (See The Midnight Library, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine etc.) I find British writers excel at this genre – tackling major issues with optimism. With The Midnight Library it was suicide and depression. In Eleanor Oliphant it was unaddressed childhood trauma. In the case of Albert Entwistle it’s the life and heartbreak and regret of a gay man finding the strength and support to come out of the closet. Author Matt Cain wanted to write a story celebrating the progress that has been made for men that went through what Albert went through as a teenager – hence the positive tone of the novel. You will cry but you will also laugh and get a warm fuzzy feeling when you’re finished.