Gasp! A Straightforward Book Rec

After months of writing this newsletter, I'm finally recommending something.

There are many ways to judge the impact of a book. Does it make you think? Open you up to a new perspective? Feature a character you deeply connect with? Kill in the sentence department?

The books I most enjoy have a delicious blend of amazing language and big ideas, but they’re also—for one reason or another—deeply memorable. They are sticky. I want to carry them from conversation to conversation, showing off all they’ve taught me. It’s not unlike having a new outfit I’m really excited to wear or a recipe I just can’t stop making.

This brings me to Jessica Knoll’s Bright Young Women. The story follows Pamela Schumacher, who spots an unnamed serial killer (based on Ted Bundy) as he escapes her sorority house after killing one of her best friends. The story spirals out from there with a singular message: There was nothing special or “bright” about Ted Bundy; the women he killed were the special ones, the bright ones.

This book had been sitting untouched in my Audible library for over a year. We went on a road trip a couple of weeks ago, and I finally consumed it all in one gulp. The narrative gripped me all the way until the end, and even though I didn’t feel particularly dazzled by the language (which is usually a non-starter for me), I could not stop thinking about it. I could not shut up about it. It became the narrative anthem of our road trip.

In other words, this book is sticky. Like honey-tree-sap-maple-syrup sticky.

As we drove home from San Francisco (one of three 5-hour-plus drives we’ve done over the last three weeks), we made the dubious choice of listening to several podcasts about the Trump verdict and the election. Bright Young Women kept appearing in my mind. It gave me a new lens for considering the American political landscape—and Trump in particular.

I won’t say more because I would hate to spoil this reading/listening experience for anyone else, but I highly recommend punching your Bright Young Women ticket and then listening to Knoll’s interview below. Your mind will be fly paper, and you won’t regret it.

---

Reading: Exhibit, R.O. Kwong

Watching: Better Call Saul

Eating: Hella good air fryer salmon