2023 Reading List

Read often, read widely - this is the most common advice I hear for those looking to enter the literary translation and/or publishing fields. This year, I've taken that advice to heart and am currently on track to read over 80 books this year. Regardless of whether I fall miserably short of that goal, just barely reach it, or surpass it, I'm most interested in simply reading more. The more implicit and explicit knowledge I can acquire about writing, language, cultures, experiences, philosophies, and opinions, the more well-equipped a translator, writer, and publishing professional I can become.

Here is what I've read so far in 2023 (favorites bolded):

January

  1. The Body is Not an Apology by Sonya Renee Taylor

  2. The Novelist by Jordan Castro

  3. "You Just Need To Lose Weight" And 19 Other Myths About Fat People by Aubrey Gordon

  4. A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles

  5. Enjoy Me Among My Ruins by Juniper Fitzgerald

  6. The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy

  7. The Tea Dragon Society (Tea Dragon, #1) by Kay O'Neill

  8. The Tea Dragon Festival (Tea Dragon, #2) by Kay O'Neill

  9. The Tea Dragon Tapestry (Tea Dragon, #3) by Kay O'Neill

  10. The Carrying by Ada Limon

  11. A Psalm for the Wild-Built (Monk & Robot, #1) by Becky Chambers

February

  1. A Prayer for the Crown-Shy (Monk & Robot, #2) by Becky Chambers

  2. Babel: An Arcane History by R.F. Kuang

  3. Gathering Moss: A Natural and Cultural History of Mosses by Robin Wall Kimmerer

  4. Conversations on Love by Natasha Lunn

  5. Couplets by Maggie Milner

  6. Lonely Castle in the Mirror by Mizuki Tsujimura translated by Philip Gabriel

  7. The World Goes On by László Krasznahorkai translated by George Szirtes, Ottillie Mulzet, John Batki

  8. Lapvona by Otessa Moshfegh

March

  1. Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree

  2. The Codependency Recovery Plan by Krystal Mazzola MEd LMFT

  3. Cultish: The Language of Fanatacism by Amanda Montell

  4. Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison

  5. Violent Phenomena: 21 Essays on Translation by Kavita Bhanot (editor) and Jeremy Tiang (editor

  6. Pure Color by Sheila Heti

  7. The Quiet Before: On the Unexpected Origins of Radical Ideas by Gal Beckerman

April

  1. Of Women and Salt by Gabriela Garcia

  2. Wordslut: A Feminist Guide to Taking Back the English Language by Amanda Montell

  3. Nevada by Imogen Binnie

  4. Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto translated by Junichi Mastura and Lourdes Porta (Spanish edition)