What to read after an attempted coup by white nationalists
Honestly, I don’t know. Y’all, I’m not doing well at all. My counselor and psychiatrist are worried about me, Grant’s worried about me, and I’m worried about me.
Here’s what NOT to read or watch: the news (at all), social media, especially social media written by your first cousin (once removed), Janet, who is B-A-N-A-N-A-S. I thought TikTok might be safe, but it’s not (though still makes me laugh out loud, so I wonder if that cancels out the massive depression and anxiety combo).
What I have been able to read: romance and middle grade books. I have one book to recommend, that’s part of a series, so maybe you want to pick it up:
Snapped by Alexa Martin (it’s the 4th and final book of the Playbook series, but you wouldn’t have to read the others to get this one). Alexa Martin is the wife of a retired pro football player, and the series is about women who end up dating pro football players. This one involves a player who takes a knee during the anthem, so it takes on race (and does so in a nuanced way). Also, if you were like me 5 years ago and turn your nose up about romance, NOW IS THE TIME TO STOP BEING A ROMANCE SNOB. The WHOLE POINT of the genre is that there is always a happy ending. We all fucking need that in some part of our life right now.
What hopefully you read before the attempted coup but you might not have brain power for now, but maybe you could read later if there’s not an apocalypse:
The Orchard by David Hopen. I’d define this as literary fiction (and it made me think of how I felt when I was reading The Goldfinch, if that book was your jam) AND it’s a page-turner. Aryeh (AKA Ari, AKA Andrew, AKA Drew) is a junior in high school living in an ultra orthodox Jewish neighborhood in Brooklyn. He attends a Jewish school, focused more on the Torah without any expectations that students go to college. His dad loses his job and they have to move to Florida. They still live in a Jewish neighborhood (but the kind where on Shabbat someone might bump into the TV to turn on the football game) and he attends a Jewish school, but it’s very different. Drama ensues. It’s smart and sharp and tragic.
It’s sure hard to be human.
