My "cult favorites" of 2023
The book, song, TV show and more I loved most this year.
Reader Q&A of the week
Q: What’s the hardest thing about being published?
A: First I want to make sure to express that I am unspeakably grateful for the ability to publish my writing. It is my dream, and I rarely take it for granted. However, the publishing process doesn’t come without its challenges, which for me are more psychological than practical. I find the hardest part to be the juxtaposition of stress that no one will read the book and then the sense of fragility once so many strangers actually do! I love to write my books, I love to talk about them, I even enjoy the marketing and publicity process, but once I’ve fully cooked and given birth to the thing and it’s in strangers hands, I find myself ricocheting between feeling overjoyed and humbled that people are finally stepping into this little world I’ve created, but then also extremely mentally feeble. Taking suggestions for grounding exercises in the comments :)
Have a writerly question for me? Leave it in the comments below, and I’ll answer it in a future Monday post!
Gift a paid MAGICAL OVERTHINKERS subscription for the holidays!
It’d make a lovely, easy, and eco-friendly present for the book lover and/or overthinker in your life :)
Win a signed and annotated copy of my new book.
Interested in winning an annotated advanced copy of The Age of Magical Overthinking? I’m filling a galley from my personal stash with little secrets and love notes and juicy tidbits and page flags. Make sure you’re a paid subscriber, and you’ll be automatically entered to win!
Canadaland’s CULTS podcast included me in their MLM episode!
It’s episode 7 in the series, and it’s about MLMs! The reporting in this podcast is so great. Read a bit about the episode below, and listen here!
“Nearly 1.4 million Canadians and almost 50 million Americans are involved in multi-level marketing. And that sheer volume of people makes it a near certainty that you’ve encountered MLMs in your life somehow. The promise of financial freedom can be an intoxicating lure. But MLMs, like so many other cultish enterprises, are about more than just money. They’re about transcendence.”
A weekly roundup of books, podcasts, TV shows, tchotchkes, and anything else I’m currently “cult following.” This week, an end-of-year roundup of absolute cult faves of 2023!
MUSIC: Lizzy McAlpine’s cover of “A Little Bit of Everything” by Dawes
Don’t even make me reduce my love of this song to a two-sentence description. It’s about the meaning of life. And Lizzy’s voice is so gorgeous I could simply barf. Just go listen on repeat. Without question my top listen of the year.
BOOK: The Secret History by Donna Tartt
Yes, my favorite book of 2023 was published 30 years ago, so sue me!! What I would give to spend a year in Donna Tartt’s brain, or even an hour. The woman is an elusive treasure. I used a quote from The Secret History as the epigraph of one of my new book chapters. You’ll have to wait and see which!!
TV SHOW: The Bear, Season 2
Yes, daddy chef! Behind!! I fell in love with quite a few shows this year (Succession, White Lotus, Jury Duty, episode 3 of The Last of Us, I finally got into Better Call Saul), but Season 2 of The Bear is really what’s stuck with me. The show is truly a feast for the eyes, the acting is chef’s kiss, and the character journeys are scrumptious. I think I liked it even better than Season 1!
CLOTHING ITEM: Wacky Wacko Play It As It Lays T-Shirt
By far my favorite clothing purchase of this year. I thrifted an XL long-sleeve version of this Didion tee the other month and have not taken it off. A cool band tee but a book tee? If I ever lose it, I’ll perish.
HOBBY: The Huntington Botanical Gardens
I guess it must have something to do with the three months I spent in Europe this year, but my god, an afternoon spent strolling through a botanical garden??? Heaven. I became a member of The Huntington this year, a lush and romantic expanse of plant life in the suburbs of LA, and popping out for a few hours of journaling amid the roses and giant succulents or just lying in the grass by the koi ponds is such a gorgeous, escapist way to spend time. Do not underestimate the power of a botanical garden!!!
What were some of your cult faves of this year?
Also, on the theme of AI and our sociocultural present and future, I’ve been meaning to recommend The Future by Naomi Alderman. Not sure if you have already ready/recommended it and I missed it, but it’s a very 2023 take on the end of days!
I read (listened to) The Secret History per your ‘5 books that changed my life’ recommendation! It’s not my usual genre, but I got so invested, and i’m bashfully giddy to finally understand the allure of dark academia fiction.
Excitedly explaining the plot to my mom during our occasional and unofficial book club meeting — which is just the two of us chatting about books we’ve read recently and which ones we recommend — she cuts me off to ask “Yeah... Bunny, right?”
We have overlapping tastes in books, but of all the books we’ve shared with one another, it feels special that this was the only book we’ve both came across separately and were able to share together. 💓