Fall Reading and Literary Drama

We’re nearing the end of our Outlander Slow Read, but we also needed a minute to talk about everything else on our nightstands. Fall is Laura’s favorite reading season, partly because the big, weighty books land this time of year and the awards lists start rolling in.

We started with what we’ve been reading. (Sarah is head over heels for Kingsolver’s Partita, which feels like a writer with nothing left to prove showing you exactly how good she is anyway. Laura is 12% in and not hooked, so I’m working on her.)

We talked into the literary controversies of 2026. We covered AI in publishing, Rachel Cusk’s Life of M and the Natalie Portman of it all.

We closed with Sarah’s son Griffin, who is 500 pages into It and ready to quit. Laura explained why it’s her all-time favorite, so I’ll be delivering a pep talk and reporting back.

Book club is this week, and we’ll announce our next Slow Read before Thanksgiving. It starts in January and is open to everyone. Head to slowread.substack.com to nominate what we read next!

Books We Mentioned

What we’re reading

* Partita by Barbara Kingsolver

* Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver

* So Big by Edna Ferber

* Giant by Edna Ferber

* Peck & Peck by Bonnie Garmus

* Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

* Exit Party by Emily St. John Mandel

* Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

* The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel

* Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

* Under Story by Chloe Benjamin

* Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert

* John of John by Douglas Stuart

* Mestra by Madeline Miller

* Circe by Madeline Miller

* An Elderly Lady Is Up to No Good by Helene Tursten

* Hollywood Ending by John Green

The controversies

* Life of M by Rachel Cusk

* Outline by Rachel Cusk

* The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger

* The Nanny Diaries by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus

* Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott

* Famesick by Lena Dunham

* The Odyssey, translated by Emily Wilson

* The Tell by Amy Griffin

* How to Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan

* Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

Adaptations and Stephen King

* Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders

* East of Eden by John Steinbeck

* Carrie by Stephen King

* It by Stephen King

* The Stand by Stephen King

* Outlander by Diana Gabaldon

Thank you Jessie Benkert, Heather Jones, Tracie Omit, Christie T, Erin Feeney, and many others for tuning into our live video! Join me for my next live video in the app.

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