Oh hi.
You probably forgot you were subscribed to this newsletter, which was originally created for sharing book recommendations during/after COVID.
That’s understandable, since the last time I emailed this list, it was in February 2022. Sorry! In my defense, shortly thereafter, I got pregnant — so got more-than-a-little distracted.
Fast forward and now I have both a one-year-old daughter (who is just the best) and a new book-related reason for reviving this newsletter:
I’m writing a second book! (I’ve got book recs you can scroll down for — but first, bear with me for a quick description + an ask for you…)
So the TL;DR on what I’m working on: There are approximately one zillion books about “managing millennials” and “gen z in the workforce” — I’m currently reading a ton of them — but almost none that take us seriously as leaders in our own right.
That's a problem, because in the next few years, the youngest Boomers will hit retirement age. We’re (sadly! scarily! excitingly!) looking ahead to a post-gerontocracy generational shift in leadership across nearly every sector.
So to that end, I’m writing what I hope will be a first-of-its-kind how-to guide by and for the next generations as we step into our power, because while some aspects of leadership stay the same, there is no doubt that as bosses, managers, and leaders, we simply do it differently than those who came before.
I'm hoping to talk to as many leaders as I can, across a variety of industries, all millennials, xennials, or gen Z. Some will ultimately be just for informing the frame, some will be anecdotes, others will be more fleshed-out case studies, depending on how the manuscript shakes out. I want to include a broad array of voices in this book.
I’m looking for people who:
Embody that new style of leadership — whether at work or outside of it
Work or lead in any industry
Are millennials or gen Z (elder millennials or xennials obvs welcome!)
If you’re not sure if you or someone you know fits the bill, just ask.
If you want to talk for the book or know someone who should, just email me — amanda.litman.book@gmail.com or reply to this — and don’t hesitate to make the cold intro.
My goal through 2024 is to bring this newsletter back — both with more regular recs on books I’m reading but also as a way to share what I’m learning and hearing as I write, plus other odds and ends, primarily stuff not Run for Something-related. I can’t commit to any particular cadence (monthly, probably? TBD) but it will be the right amount of email, whatever that amount is to you.
Now, for books recs — this is some of (but not all of) my favorite stuff I read in 2023 and a handful of the best stuff from 2022. You can find my full reading list here.
While I’ve slowed down just a bit, I’m really proud that even after having a kid, I’ve been able to make time to read.1
I also think it’s important to say, just for the record: There is no moral value in reading more or less ~serious~ literature or non-fiction. Over the last year, I’ve leaned a bit more into romance (or fantasy/romance…) because that’s all my brain could mostly handle.
Life is hard, the books you read for fun should be just that: Fun.
With all that in mind, in no particular order, some suggestions if you’re looking for…
A warm, literary, thoughtful examination of the overlap between the Jewish and Black experience in the United States, especially in the context of the 1920s & 1930s, with a dash of murder: The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride
A carefully crushing story about the disappearance/re-appearance of a 4-year-old Indigenous girl and the way trauma ripples out to affect people far beyond the initial impact: The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters
Literary historical fiction about the intergenerational triumphs and trials of a Sephardic Jewish family across multiple countries, with a particular focus on the women who kept the family connected: Kantika by Elizabeth Graver
Light fantasy about two competing journalists covering a war between The Gods who become unknowing pen-pals and then romantic partners — just the gentlest romance: Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross
A well-done look at what happens to a family when the matriarch, a famous Black actress, dies and her three grandkids are left dealing with family secrets, the pressures of fame, and how to handle their legacy: The Blackwoods by Brandy Colbert
What if “When Harry Met Sally” but queer, modern, with technology, and wayyyy spicier: You Again by Kate Goldbeck
A buddy comedy/road trip combined with hot romance, a TikTok love story, and intergenerational hijinx. Trust me on this: You With A View by Jessica Joyce
A spooky fictionalized version of Ted Bundy with intense plotting and alternating timelines — if you like true crime podcasts, this is for you: Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll
One part deeply-reported dishy goss, one part business school case study on Glossier and its founder — if you’re a top tier Sephora VIB member, you will love this: Glossy by Marissa Meltzer
Kind of a thriller, kind of a coming-of-age story, kind of a COVID story, about a neurodivergent teenager, his siblings, and his dad who goes missing: Happiness Falls by Angie Kim
Another COVID story but cozier and way more romantic — the best way I can describe this is a summer book that’s also a winter book: Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
A compelling memoir about going blind and being blind from a man with a degenerative retinal disease that examines blindness, the blind community, disability advocacy, the way disability tech influences us all, blindness in literature, and more. I learned SO much from this book: The Country of the Blind by Tom Leland
A sweet lil’ second-chance romance about theatre kids who grow up, make it big (kind of) and find their way back to each other: Once More with Feeling by Elissa Sussman
Layers upon layers upon layers about a white woman who steals a manuscript from a recently deceased Asian American friend, then passes it off as her own with an ethnically ambiguous name/photo, which spirals out of control from there. Propulsive and spooooooky: Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
The perfect execution of the “fake engagement story” genre: Happy Place by Emily Henry
How to raise kids that don’t hate their bodies — a must-read for every parent who wants that for their children: Fat Talk by Virginia Sole-Smith
A gorgeously poetic memoir in essays and poems about how career success can ruin a marriage that maybe wasn’t so good in the first place, and how you can lose yourself but also find yourself in motherhood: You Could Make This Place Beautiful by Maggie Smith
An homage to Little Women in the form of an expansive story of four sisters (and one dude) as they live their lives in Chicago; the back third is especially good: Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano
Rich people in Brooklyn Heights living messy-ass lives. I can’t get enough of this stuff: Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson
A murder-mystery-kind-of at a fancy boarding school that becomes a true crime podcast story — one of the best structural feats I’ve read in a while: I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai
A nature-centered novel-in-the-form-of-connected-short-stories/mixed-media about a plot of land in rural Massachusetts over the course of centuries; there are ghosts; just trust me: North Woods by Daniel Mason
A gut-wrenching and also life-affirming story about grief and those left behind after someone dies by suicide, combined with the ways family can surprise you when you least expect it: Someday Maybe by Onyi Nwabineli
A beautifully funny/sad/timely story of the overlapping lives of an employee at a women’s health clinic, her drug dealer, a protestor outside the clinic, and a person enabling the protests. Trust me on this one, too: Mercy Street by Jennifer Haight
Complex PTSD is, as you’d imagine, very complex — this is an incredible memoir of the lived experience of someone with it that is hard to read but so worth it: What My Bones Know by Stephanie Foo
22 essays on motherhood — what if being a mom is a hero’s odyssey, and the challenge to conquer is “not losing your shit”?: I’ll Show Myself Out by Jessi Klein
A coming of age high school drama at a Deaf high school: True Biz by Sara Novic
A hot lil’ novel about a queer Nigerian American artist grieving a dead husband who gets back out on the dating scene and ends up falling for her new boyfriend’s dad. Yikes/yessssss: You Made a Fool of Death With Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi
One of my favorite books of the last few years about a love story between two video game creators. Read this: Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Two mandatory books on motherhood and caregiving from the best of the best, Angela Garbes. If you’re pregnant, Like A Mother was by-far my favorite of all the books I read about pregnancy/early motherhood (although the breastfeeding chapter I could take or leave); Essential Labor is for the phase that comes next.
A somehow laugh-out-loud very funny book about a woman helping her best friend die in hospice: We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman
A second somehow impossibly laugh-out-loud very funny book about losing your child to cancer. I read this while my baby napped on me and cried the whole time: A Heart That Works by Rob Delaney
A novel about personal redemption (and the power of therapy) as experienced by a newly queer Black woman coming out of prison for opioid possession, grappling with not letting her traumatic past define her future as a mother: Pomegranate by Helen Elaine Lee
I also read all the Sarah J. Maas books this year, plus Fourth Wing + Iron Flame, and I regret to inform you: They are (mostly) good. DM me if you want to discuss.
If you’re looking for specific recs — just reply and let me know what you’re in the mood for.
Fun new thing: Shop the full list on Bookshop.org!
Anyway. Thanks for letting me back into your inbox. Happy new year!
- Amanda
TBH, working on my own book proposal and then beginning the writing process has cut in to my reading-for-fun-time wayyyy more than my daughter has — there are only so many hours of the day that are not taken up by Run for Something or childcare responsibilities, you know? — so we’ll see how 2024 goes…