called out by the new york times, and why i don't judge what i read anymore
guilty pleasures are no longer guilty
This morning I took the New York Times quiz about whether you can get literary references. I scored 4. It didn’t tell me how that compares to other people, but I have an inkling that it’s, uh, unfavorable.
I’m an author. I’m supposed to be bookish. Hell, I wrote a dark academia novel that is all about literary snobbery and Dickensian insults. So why don’t I know the difference between Lysistrata and Anabasis? I feel judged. Is Donna Tartt in the room with us right now?
I do like classic literature. And lit fic. Let’s establish that. I’m not some reverse snob who is gonna say that all the old stuff secretly sucks. I love The Master and Margarita and War and Peace and Jane Eyre and The Bluest Eye etc etc etc. I like Elif Batuman. I read a lot of nonfiction, especially history stuff.
I also really fucking loved Captive Prince, okay?
(Say what you will about problematic content, but Damen should be protected at all costs.)
(There is also a point to be made in here somewhere about the self-imposed guilt about abuse-related content consumption by abuse survivors and how processing your trauma through fiction is valid actually.)
(See The Fever King.)
Have you ever read/heard of that book Steal Like An Artist? My agents actually recommended this to me when I first signed with them. I admit I didn’t read the whole thing, but I got the gist.
To distill it for you: it’s okay to get inspiration from existing media, and you shouldn’t feel bad about reappropriating tropes or the edges of certain characters and plot twists into your own work. Obviously do not plagiarize. But there is nothing new under the sun, and nobody owns sun magic, so you might as well write the story that excites you.
Full disclosure, The Fever King had some definite inspiration from X-Men. A Lesson in Vengeance obviously had some roots in The Secret History. I am repurposing tropes from a fanfic I started but never finished for The Girl That Time Forgot. And it’s fine. It’s aalllll fiiiiine.
How can reading guilty pleasure books be guilty when they make me excited, or inspire me to write something into my own work? Hurt-comfort is awesome. Give me all the hurt-comfort books so I can spin it into my next novel.
I’ll finally finish reading Anna Karenina one day. Until then, I’m very happy rereading All The Young Dudes.
What I’m reading: A Short Walk Through the Wide World by Douglas Westerbeke
What I’m listening to: “labour” by Paris Paloma
What I’m eating: Alison Roman’s eggplant parm (my first ever eggplant parm, and an official new favorite)
Favorite NYC spot right now: Martiny’s
Currently writing: The Love Variations (coming spring 2025)