A tense psychological novel of ideas and an illuminating behind-the-scenes of the book world
Hey readers!
After a 13-hour travel day that included multiple flight delays and an hour of circling somewhere over Western Colorado before landing in Denver, I’m home! Louise fell asleep on the floor of the baggage claim, and now we’re all still recovering from two weeks of non-stop play and readjusting back to our time zone.
I read very little on this trip. I definitely had time to read more than I did, it just didn’t happen. And that’s okay! My book count for this time of year is higher than it ever has been (barring that one year I read for a lit prize) so I’m not worried about that. Plus having a little bit of a lull has been somewhat of a palate cleanser. Sometimes, reading a little less is what helps me clarify what I want to read next, and I’m very excited about what I have on my TBR.
You all left the most amazing comments on last week’s post and I absolutely loved hearing about what you’re reading! Let’s keep that up and make the comments section on these Sunday posts a destination for TBR building!
This week I read…
New Skin by Sarah Wang. This smart and sophisticated debut defied my expectations in the best way, and is a book I think more readers should be picking up. The story is told from the perspective of Linli Feng, a woman in her mid-twenties who is forced to return to her troubled L.A. home to care for her ailing mother Fanny. Fanny’s suffering is both physical and psychological, though she is reluctant to admit the latter). She is addicted to plastic surgery which has rendered her face both unrecognizable and structurally unsound and has created a seemingly unconquerable chasm between mother and daughter. When Linli returns home, she is caught back in her mother’s orbit, unable to leave and forced to participate in Fanny’s newest plan to have a reality TV show foot the bill for total facial reconstruction. The plot sounds like it could be highly zany or maybe some sort of heart-pounding thriller, but it is neither of those things. Instead, Wang has written a deep psychological exploration of mothers and daughters, language and power, and immigration and assimilation. Blurbed by Maggie Nelson and Chris Kraus, this is a book that is very interested in big, complicated ideas and the joy of reading it—and taking your time doing so—is to mull over how Wang is using this horrifying story to say something universal about the human experience. I highly recommend this powerful debut and hope to see more readers pick it up! Bookshop | Libro.fm
Middlemen: Literary Agents and the Making of American Fiction by Laura B. McGrath. This behind-the-curtain glimpse into the role of one of publishing’s most important and mysterious roles is as entertaining as it is illuminating. Built on years of research and scores of interviews, McGrath combines robust statistics with juicy anecdotes to explore the fascinating history and legacy of literary agents, the tastemakers and gatekeepers who facilitate the sales of manuscripts to publishing houses. I loved the stories McGrath shares of deals over lunches and the legend of the first manuscript auction—they breathe life into the sometimes opaque world of publishing and remind us of the very real people who are making these decisions. Along the way, she manages to be very clearsighted about the role of the agent. There’s a real beauty in the idea of a human reader developing taste and relationships and shepherding authors from draft to published book, staying with them for their entire careers. At a time when newsletters and legacy media alike are filled with AI-generated listicles, I find it genuinely lovely to think about the humans who first see the potential in someone’s human writing. But McGrath never fully romanticizes the role, exploring the ways gatekeeping and over-reliance on a few (very similar) individuals’ personal tastes can homogenize what we see on bookstore shelves. This book is niche, yes, but if you’re reading this newsletter and are a fan of my Reading in Public series, I think you would love this book. The way McGrath tells the stories of these influential agents who have and continue to shape the literary landscape is nothing short of fascinating. Bookshop
*Sarah Wang and Laura McGrath each joined me for upcoming episodes of Books That Matter, so stay tuned for my discussions with them!
Now I’m reading…
I have in fact finished Whistler by Ann Patchett but I am too tired tonight to compose all of my thoughts. I’m currently reading May We Feed the King by Rebecca Perry and Body Language by Meg Howrey—both are very good!
New on my TBR…
I came home to an epic stack of book mail and honestly have no idea what I should read next. What would you open first?!
💬 Tell me about your week in books! What did you finish, what are you reading now, and what have you added to your TBR?
The small press titles you don’t want to miss this summer. (Electric Lit)
10 new books you won’t want to miss in July. (NPR)
Maris Kreizman shared her wisdom on culling a book collection. I’m in desperate need of her advice—maybe you are too. (Lit Hub)
And speaking of…can too many books be grounds for eviction? (NYT, gift link)
The rise of the “as seen on Tik-Tok” sticker. (New Yorker)
I think Thackeray’s Vanity Fair is brilliant and think it’s a classic more people ought to read. Here’s why it’s particularly relevant now. (Lit Hub)
Kid lit for Magic Tree House lovers. (NYT, gift link)
The Atlantic made “The End of Reading” their August cover story, and of course I have thoughts. More to come, but I wanted to be sure to provide a gift link now for those who want to read it!
If you’ve been here awhile, you may remember my annual Fall Fiction Compendium in which I read and reviewed as many fall releases as possible and pulled my favorites into a guide. I no longer have the bandwidth for that kind of reading and guide creation, but I still look forward to the fall new releases more than any other season. This year, my wonderful friend and This Month in Books co-host Liz Hein put together an incredibly helpful resource called the Fall 2026 Buzzy Book Guide. She read, rated, and reviewed 18 of the biggest fall releases and shared all of her thoughts on her Instagram account. If you’re wondering what to prioritize this fall based on your personal reading taste, you will find so much good stuff here!
We had a handful of edible tomatoes on our plants when we got home and Louise was so excited. Honestly, the first few weren’t that tastey (am I doing something wrong?) but the four-year-old’s thrill of picking her own snack overrode any complaints I have. She told me that “it’s important to experience your food,” and she’s absolutely right.
For questions, comments, or suggestions, please don’t hesitate to reach out by emailing fictionmattersbooks@gmail.com or responding directly to this newsletter. I love hearing from you!
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Happy reading!
