Re-learning how to read

On reading as we live now, plus size robes + I'm teaching a BIG class this summmer

I am finally reading again, after several years of struggling to, and I think I’ve found a system that works for me. A big part of it was the pandemic of course — I found my attention span and nerves shot — and a big part of it was becoming a writer with a book out in the world and someone who teaches writing. Reading became work to me, and stress, became thinking about who was hot and who was not, who was winning the fanciest prizes, and which kinds of sentences were ones I would love to have written and which kinds of sentences irked me on a primordial level. Also there’s the quagmire of money and which books to buy, who to support when you have finite financial resources.

While in the in-between season, I not only wrote a lot but also took time to do a hard reset on how I read. I asked friends if and how they were reading and tried out a few different ways, formats, and approaches to reading. Here’s what’s working best for me these days:

1. I read three books at a time and in a mix of formats.

2. I always have a morning book—a book that’s more rigorous and maybe more formally complex that I’m reading in order to learn something from that I can then take into my own writing (I try to write every weekday from 9am-noon; I count reading for the first hour of that as writing). These are usually “classic” books that I’ve been wanting to read for a while or newer releases. Recently I’ve read Susan Sontag’s On Photography and Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man. I’m currently reading If An Egyptian Cannot Speak English by Noor Naga. Often I will read these books on e-book, and I buy them.

3. I always have a nighttime book. This is a book that I don’t want to learn anything from, that is just for pleasure and relaxation. I favor non-recent, but not classic, fiction here. These must be physical copy books and free. I’m getting most of these from the library — my university one or my local public one. I’m currently reading Mona Simpson’s Anywhere But Here, and I have plans to do Katherine Dunn’s Geek Love and maybe even a Taylor Jenkins Reid — probably The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo — next. I read these in bed before falling asleep or— my favorite recently — in the bath. If you want to see how I solved the problem of wanting a book tray but having a tub with no inside edge, look no further than my first viral TikTok.

4. I always have an audiobook. These books are a mix of books out in the last 15 years and current new releases, and this is where I’ve been doing my nonfiction, though I also love a good novel on audiobook. This is what I listen to when I walk, drive, do the laundry etc. This has really been helping me actually do the laundry — and other care tasks. Unloading the dishwasher is suddenly pleasurable. Recent books I’ve loved on audio include Easy Beauty by Chloe Cooper Jones, Stay True by Hua Hsu, Fleishman is In Trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner and Rebecca Makkai’s newest, I Have Some Questions For You. I’ve become very opinionated about audiobook narrators. This does mean however, that I’ve cut my podcast consumption wayyyy back. I mostly don’t pay for audiobooks (except I did buy Makkai’s because it’s so new) — I have mostly been getting my audiobooks through Overdrive/Libby, the public library’s free e-book and audiobook repository.

5. That’s it, that’s the system. What have you been doing that works for you? Tell me below or in the comments.

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I’m teaching a BIG class this summer

Thanks to all who contributed feedback on what you need and want for your writing this summer! I’m teaching a BRAND NEW CLASS this summer over at The Shipman Agency. If you are in the process of writing a nonfiction book—essay collection, memoir, reported project—at any stage and are ready to just DO THE DAMN THING, this might be for you. It will be a summer intensive, designed to have you walk out the door with everything you need to query agents and sell your project in the fall. If you have notes and dreams but need structure or accountability, if you have urgency, if you're confused, if you want someone to introduce you to some great people, if you just need a foot in the door, this might be for you. The price includes a selective cohort of 10 students, 1 on 1 consults with me, intensive craft sessions, and industry guest visits. It’s gonna be so much fun, and scholarships are available.

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Essential reading accessory: the fat robe

I do my best reading in my new robe by the fireplace, but it took me so long to find a comfy lounge robe that would fit all the way around my fat body. Why are robes one of the last frontiers of size inclusivity? I don’t know, but I can’t count the number of times I’ve visited nice hotels or pools or other self-care-y spaces that had a “one size fits all” robe that left me flapping open to the wind. Here is my roundup of my favorite plus-size snuggly robes. I am not an influencer, no sponsorship is involved. I just love robes and fat people.

1. The Barefoot Dreams CozyChic Ribbed Hooded Robe. I love its weird microfiber fabric, which makes it both good for cold weather and absorbent for when I get out of the shower. Hood. Stretchy. I usually wear a 2X and got the size 3, think it could accommodate up to around a 6X.

2. The Lands End Cotton Terry Long Spa Bath Robe. This is a classic white (or other colors) deal. Plus size fashion expert Rosie Beeme recommends this one. She says it’s cozy, absorbent, and comfy, though only runs to a 3X.

3. Peridot Robes offers a wide (haha) selection of robes in a variety of cuts and fabrics for sizes 14-40, plus they’re “fat-femme owned and operated, made in Los Angeles, and sustainable + ethically made.”

4. If you’re into more of a bright print/lightweight robe situation, people seem to like Block Shop Textiles, and say their robes (which go up to 3X) are super oversized.

5. Canadian company Pearle’s Classic Robes, also look really nice, and are perfect if you’re looking for a plus-size friendly waffle robe.

That’s it! See you next month.

yours,

Emma