Name: Eleanor

Reading: Small: On Motherhoods, Claire Lynch

Why did you want to read this? It’s a really beautifully written book about queer motherhood, something that rarely gets talked about. I’ve found myself wanting to read a lot about motherhood recently, and it’s been so refreshing and reassuring to be able to read about it from a queer perspective.

How did you record yourself? I recorded myself on my laptop, sitting propped up on my favourite end of the sofa. The curtains were closed, daffodils on the table beside me, and a pizza in the oven.

Name: Jamie

Reading: Lucy, Jamaica Kincaid

Why did you want to read this? I loved this book - Jamaica Kincaid is deft and smart and her wryness made so many passages worth smirking at. She's unapologetic about how messy relationships can be, which I appreciate not being tidied into something that makes people feel like relationships exist for happy endings. And she's never afraid to question the idea of place as its own unique relationship in our lives - what it means to be who we are based on where we're at and where we've come from.

How did you record yourself? I recorded from a big pile on the couch: me (wearing one sock?), a hot water bottle, two blankets, my cat, pillows piled up with my computer on them, and Lucy all in front of the big window in my living room while it rained outside. A few bossy Stellar's jays were fighting for birdseed nearby.

Name: Flora

Reading: Looking to Sea, Lily Le Brun

Why did you want to read this? I chose to read Looking to Sea because it is a thoughtful, insightful reflection on 100 years of modern art in Britain, written by the brilliant Lily Le Brun. As the daughter of an artist and a painter myself, the work of many of the artists in this book is intrinsic to the fabric of who I am. Le Brun's exploration of the practices and pieces of Vanessa Bell to Bridget Riley provides an insight into more than just the why or how of their art; Le Brun captures the very essences of the artists themselves.

How did you record yourself? On my laptop in bed/on the sofa with my cat curled up beside me.

Name: Freya

Reading: Long Live the Post Horn!, Vigdis Hjorth translated by Charlotte Barslund

Why did you want to read this? I couldn’t stop laughing hysterically when I first read this, and immediately wanted to share it and talk about it with other people. I think I was originally drawn to it as the premise of finding an old diary + defending the postal service made it seem made for me (a bad-diary obsessive and snail mail fan), but really it’s the deadpan, looping inner monologue of the main character clawing to grasp her life, life, meaning, that is such a joy to read.

How did you record yourself? With my laptop at home. You’d think I’d be better at this by now, but I had to redo the opening as I forgot to take off my loudly ticking watch : /

Name: Loré 

Reading: Shmutz, Felicia Berliner

Why did you want to read this? When contemplating what to read, this novel instantly came to mind. I discovered it during the summertime and felt utterly swept up by Raizl's inner life. From religion and familial belonging to sex and friendship to the tension of figuring out one's identity, there are so many themes to chew on. Also, I'm a major slut for good prose and the lines in this book are just decadent. I want everyone to indulge themselves in this story.

How did you record yourself? I recorded myself via GarageBand and my roomie's microphone. It was my first time exploring this setup and I instantly (read: obnoxiously!) felt like a pop star.

Name: Amy

Reading: The Shame, Makenna Goodman

Why did you want to read this? 'The weight of motherhood is a backpack full of stones.' This book messed me up -- but in a good way. I first read it very shortly postpartum. It felt like such consolation, after all the sentimentality and raw emotion of feeling motherhood suddenly happen to my own life, to read this wild, complicated book about a mother who loves her children entirely, and is entirely complicated, disappointed, competent, and failing, all at once. I'm obsessed with the idea of failure within ordinary committed motherhood, and in some ways that feels like the thesis of this book. It felt like it was written in a voice related to mine. Not the same, but recognizable to me. Like being accompanied -- that's a big thing.

How did you record yourself? I recorded sitting in our 'cozy corner' where my toddler and I look at his Richard Scarry and lift-the-flap books every day. It's a big floor pillow under our front window, with lots of extra pillows -- one big and round like the moon. The best light in the house. I had a cup of coffee that quickly grew cold because I didn't want to take breaks to sip it. My toddler is at the Children's Museum with my mom. Just me and the dog in the house, so quiet. I hadn't read this chapter in a while -- reading it aloud was a treat.

*Content note: this episode contains reference to sexual assault*

Name: Yusra

Reading: Braiding Sweetgrass, Robin Wall Kimmerer

Why did you want to read this? Braiding Sweetgrass is the last book I read. It's beautifully written and very tender, offering a different tone for discussing the climate and ecological emergency. Whilst reading, I found myself reflecting a lot about the phase of life I'm in right now, my relationship with the world and all that inhabit it. Although it is the only book I've managed to read since having my son last year, it has been wonderful to dip in and out of. Relearning is a big theme in the book, so for me it has been very timely. Reading what others have said about it online, the book has been described as “grounding, calming, and quietly revolutionary”. I think that sums it up pretty well.

How did you record yourself? I used my laptop to record myself, whilst my son napped. It took a few sittings but we got there in the end!

Name: Ratnadevi

Reading: The Overstory, Richard Powers

Why did you want to read this? The Overstory is the most absorbing, courageous, wise, compassionate and skilfully crafted book I have read in a long time, a gift to the beleaguered world, particularly the trees. The novel weaves people and trees from very different backgrounds and geographies together, like mycelium connects root systems and fungi. It's deep-time sweep makes the heart ache: what are we humans doing, wrecking our beautiful home?

How did you record yourself? I recorded it on my phone, there was no option for quality when saving, hope it's okay.

Name: Lindsey

Reading: The Girl Who Trod on a Loaf, Kathryn Davis

Why did you want to read this? I read Kathryn Davis’s first novel, Labrador, earlier this year and felt like I was kicking the dirt off some kind of revelation I’d found in the ground. A few months later I was in my favorite used book store and saw this book, The Girl Who Trod On A Loaf; I read the back and though I’m not into opera (the central motif), I was immediately attracted to a story that seemed so unruly. Reading TGWTOAL, my jaw went slack nearly every page, in perpetual awe of Davis’s precision and muscle. I want everyone to read her.

How did you record yourself? I recorded myself reading in the floor of my bedroom, wearing my favorite Pepto-Bismol pink shorts, with the curtains open.

Name: Tanvi

Reading: The Island of Missing Trees, Elif Shafak

Why did you want to read this? This book struck that evasive balance between the past and the present. It combines the ambition for a bright future with the yearning for a past we cannot seem to leave behind. It's told through the eyes of characters who are as captivating as they are diverse. It moved me to tears and then took me to new heights of joy. I just wanted to share this bittersweet experience with as many people as I could.

How did you record yourself? I recorded this at my study table with my garden behind me, which is fitting for the nature of this book. Once you read it, I hope you will see why this was true for me.