The Uncomplicated Joy of a New Book From a Beloved Author

Celebrating the new Laura Van Den Berg book, "gnocchi authors," and writing goals.

When I was a tween, it was the new Series of Unfortunate Events book or the latest Percy Jackson installment. In high school, it was all about Twilight and Divergent. My tastes grew more adult in college; I waited with great anticipation for the new Jojo Moyes or Stephen King or Liane Moriarty. Throughout all these stages of feverish book obsession, I read late into the night and canceled plans. I listened to audiobooks on the subway and on the treadmill at the NYU gym. I let more words fill my head than I said aloud or wrote.

Aren’t we lucky that, as readers, we occasionally get new books from our author “soulmates?” No thoughts necessary, no consideration involved. We love them, and so we read their work. How many other things in life are that simple?

Last weekend, I picked up Laura Van Den Berg’s brand-spanking-new book State of Paradise. I’ve been anticipating this title since last fall when my parasocial relationship with Van Den Berg hit an all-time high. I’d just re-read her sophomore novel, The Third Hotel, an absolute f*cking masterpiece about a woman who goes to Havana after her late husband’s death, only to find him very much alive (and wearing a linen suit she’s never seen before).

In the springtime, I read her novel Find Me, which I also loved. And now, to borrow a phrase from The Ringer podcast network, I’ve officially purchased LVDB season tickets. Deciding to read her work is like deciding that, yes, obviously, I will order the gnocchi because it’s the best thing on the menu. Duh. So from now on, I will call these authors Gnocchi Authors (probably just to myself and you guys because who else will know what I’m talking about?)

My “Gnocchi Authors” or Writers Who I Will Read, No Matter What

This whole train of thought got me thinking about my current slate of Gnocchi Authors¹. There are so many people² whom I could list, but I made myself whittle them down to just ten, ahem 13, and here they are. Many of these names probably sound familiar if you've been reading Life Lives for a while.

• Katie Kitamura

• Stephanie Danler

• Ottessa Moshfegh

• Chelsea Bieker

• Elena Ferrante

• André Aciman

• Alexandra Kleeman

• Emily St. John Mandel³

• Lauren Groff

• Samantha Schweblin

• Carmen Maria Machado

• Hanif Abdurraqib

• Laura Van Den Berg

A Wrinkle in the “Gnocchi Authors” Methodology

As I typed out these names, I noticed something interesting. There are actually two types of writers here: writers whose new books I must read immediately, stat, pronto, N-O-W, and authors whose books I divvy out to myself in times of boredom or reading ruts. While I consumed the complete works of Elena Ferrante in two years, I’ve been saving Lapvona, the latest Moshfegh, for over three years now. (What am I saving it for? I couldn’t tell you—but there’s something.)

Why do these two categories exist? I don’t think they necessarily say anything about which authors I love most. Instead, this duality reminds me that our relationships with authors are personal, deep, and mysterious. There’s something in between a reader and writer that’s hard to describe, a unique chemistry. The invisible string between Lauren Groff and Kells looks different than the one between Hanif Abdurraqib and Kells—and isn’t that cool?

As we’re reading, we can parse through this bond. How do we feel in the presence of this authorial voice? What do we love? What challenges us? What’s exciting about this voice? This connection?

Tell me, who are your “Gnocchi Authors?” I’m always looking for new names to add to my list.

The Writing Report: June 15 - July 9

After writing about 20,000 words of a new novel, I put it aside. I loved the idea, but the project didn’t have any energy. It was dead in the word document. Instead, I’m poking my fiction prod at an old wound and seeing what comes out of it. It’s amorphous, but it has energy. Here’s my writing report since I started the project on June 15.

Over the next couple of weeks, I’d really love to see my average hit 500 words a day. Goals are important :)

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Reading: All Fours, Miranda July; State of Paradise, Laura Van Den Berg

Watching: Better Call Saul, Sex and the City re-runs

Eating: Farmer’s market apricots and plums

1. I think it’s worth mentioning that many of my Gnocchi Authors have passed. For example, I will sadly never get to anticipate a Shirley Jackson release. But if she decided to write from beyond the grave, I would 100 percent pre-order that bitch.

2. Also, I’d like to say that debut authors are underrepresented on this list. For instance, I’m fairly sure that Julia Armfield will be among the Gnocchis after I get my hands on her second novel, which is (tragically) only available in the U.K. at the moment.

3. St. John Mandel is a complicated case because I haven’t read many of her early works. I started with Station Eleven and have happily read everything she’s released since then. However, I haven’t felt compelled to go back to her first four novels, I think, because they’re historical fiction, and I’m not a historical fiction person. Oh well.