“It’s Not You: Identifying and Healing from Narcissistic People” by Dr. Ramani Durvasula. I don’t love a lot of self-help/self-improvement stuff. It’s mostly grifters and assholes – trust me, I knew a group of them for a while – but this one is on point. I placed a page flag every time I recognized something about a certain someone, and there are a lot of flags sticking out of my copy. Scary how spot on it was, and very validating. I started 2025 in a great place because of this book.
“Eve: How the Female Body Drive 200 Million Years of Human Evolution” by Cat Bohannon. Science is cool! And so is this body of mine. I got to meet Cat at the LA Times Book Fest in the spring, and she is also very cool.
“The Power of Gentleness: Meditations on the Risk of Living” by Anne Dufourmantelle. Beautifully written philosophy on the idea of gentleness. I will be reading this one again soon. I clutched it to my chest a lot and wish I had recorded my favorite parts. (And now I have a commonplace book to do that in!)
“The Edible Woman” by Margaret Atwood. I’m a bit surprised this is the only fiction on my list, but I’ve been writing fiction a lot, and I tend to read the opposite of what I’m writing. “[A] novel about emotional cannibalism, men and women, and the desire to be consumed.” Definitely on theme for my year.
“Raw Dog: The Naked Truth About Hot Dogs” by Jamie Loftus. I love everything Jamie has created, and I was lucky enough to attend the book launch for this in LA, which ended in a hot dog eating contest and two women making out on stage with hot dogs in their mouths. I don’t think there will ever be anything like it again. It’s hilarious and informative, and Jamie’s unique voice is just…I love her. (She also reads the audiobook. Worth listening to!)