10 books that made me want to write one

these are a few of my favorite reads

to know me is to know i love to read.

when i was a child, my elementary school library had a little enclave tucked into the far right corner. they called it the publishing center. in it, students could craft books of their own—cobble together pieces of paper with handwritten words or hastily cut out computer sentences, pair them with drawings or photos we found in magazines, bind them with colorful pieces of tape. i spent hours in the publishing center; somewhere deep in the recesses of my parents’ basement is a box full of the books i “wrote” as a child, the first of which i believe was creatively named the cat and the dog go to the farm.

to me, books have always represented so much more than words on paper. they’re an escape hatch, a way to leave the world behind for a moment. they’re a method of transport, a chance to step into lives entirely unlike your own without leaving your home. they’re a companion, keeping you company on subways and airplanes, at bar seats and sandy beaches. they’re a safe haven when things feel hard, or scary, or untenable. a way to expand your world, your grasp of language, your grammar skills.

they are, to nod to author emma straub’s brooklyn bookstore, magic.

i’ve long dreamed of writing a book of my own.

i’ve started many, abandoned them when life got busy, or stressful, or uninspiring. i’ve yet to get more than 50 pages on ‘paper’—but i still hope (and maybe even believe) i’ll do the thing someday.

but in the meantime, i thought i’d share a shortlist of the books that have solidified in me the desire to write one. the books that make my heart skip a beat. the books that have taken me places. the books i’ve highlighted, underlined, clung to. perhaps they’ll speak to you too.

in no particular order, here are 10 books i love dearly.

one. middlesex by jeffrey eugenides.

this book. THIS BOOK. this is the book i tell everyone is my favorite, the book i tell everyone they must read. middlesex won the pulitzer back in 2003, also known as the year i entered my senior year of high school, and applied to colleges, and decided i’d be an english major. it is eugenides at his best, a multi-generational epic that is a master class on both plot and language. i don’t dare tell you too much about it, because i don’t want to spoil it for you. here is what i will tell you: middlesex contains my favorite book quote, one that hits me right in the gut, every time i read it. it is lyrical, perfect, literary magic, and i want to share it with you below.