February '26 Reads
mmmmmmmmmmmmhmm
MY LiFE iN ART
by Konstantin Stanislavski
SYNPOSiS
The father of modern acting chronicles his lifelong pursuit of artistic truth. It is memoir meets spiritual training manual. You see him rub shoulders with Russian greats, war, famine, failure and yet still remain unapologetically surrendered to his craft.
WHY i READ/CONNECTED
I’ve been studying acting as spiritual practice for some time. The art form is literally about how to be any kind of human on command. And Stanislavski was the first to approach it from an embodied, spiritual foundation. Acting is ontology. As Marlon Brando once said, life is a perpetual performance.
FOR FANS OF
Letters To A Young Poet, Zen In The Art of Archery, The Artist’s Way
HiGHLiGHTED PASSAGE
RATiNG
THE COPYWRiTER
by Daniel Poppick
SYNPOSiS
A dissatisfied poet keeps a journal as his life falls apart—he loses his copywriting job, his girlfriend of seven years, and his apartment in short order. Through the many little fragments, he tries to piece together a tightrope of sanity. Is keeping a diary perhaps the most narcissistic practice of all?
WHY i READ/CONNECTED
The good people at Scribner (shoutout Emilyy) sent me this book, Daniel’s first novel (he’s a poet by trade). I love anything that plays with form, and this did a good job at capturing the voyeuristic thrill of peeking through someone’s notebooks. As someone whose default state is self mythology, it was fascinating to experience the mind of someone who faithfully records his lack of transcendence with an exhausted grace.
FOR FANS OF
My Struggle, Substack writing, Her
HiGHLiGHTED PASSAGE
RATiNG
THE MARRiAGE PLOT
by Jeffrey Eugenides
SYNPOSiS
Set in Brown in the early 80s, the novel follows Madeleine as she is torn between Leonard—a charismatic but unstable scientist, and Mitchell—a spiritually hungry romantic. After graduation their lives splinter across faith, mental health and careers. What if the love only works because it is a triangle?
WHY i READ/CONNECTED
I’ve been steadily chugging along the campus novel canon, drawing inspiration for my own work. Jeffrey is electric when it comes to writing young women characters and capturing the desires of neurotic overachievers. I was captivated by how is able to use the smallest of brush strokes to capture the details that define a sinking relationship.
FOR FANS OF
Normal People, The Secret History, Before Sunrise
HiGHLiGHTED PASSAGE
RATiNG
WUTHERiNG HEiGHTS
by Emily Brönte
SYNPOSiS
A Gothic classic that stuns in its ferality. It is a generational love saga set on the Yorkshire moors, with an unredeemable demonic hero who is persistent in exacting revenge on those who took his only love away. There are no morals to be found here, only intensity.
WHY i READ/CONNECTED
All the talk around the recent adaptation got me curious—so I dusted off the copy I bypassed for the Sparknotes back in high school. Fuck this book is insane. I didn’t care for the plot much, but I did A. adore Heathcliff, and B. adore the layered narrative. What I would give to have a conversation with Emily.
FOR FANS OF
Anna Karenina, Phantom Thread, Frankenstein
HiGHLiGHTED PASSAGE
RATiNG
INTERPRETER of MALADiES
by Jhumpa Lahiri
SYNPOSiS
A collection of short stories centered around Indian & Indian-American characters navigating love amidst distance—from their marriages, their countries, and themselves. Most of the stories deal with misreading desire, projecting meaning, failing to communicate. Does it hurt more to be alone or misunderstood?
WHY i READ/CONNECTED
Restraint has been the primary focus of my writing education this year. Lahiri is a masterful teacher. I can’t get over how effective she is at making you feel a character’s pain viscerally in such a short span.
FOR FANS OF
Sally Rooney, Pachinko, The Lunchbox
HiGHLiGHTED PASSAGE
RATiNG
BRiGHT LiGHTS, BiG CiTY
by Jay McInerney
SYNPOSiS
A week in the life of a young fact checker in 1980s Manhattan, after his model wife has left him. His hedonist best friend leads him through a glitzy spiral that results in him losing his job and his sanity. Will he realize that meaning cannot be inhaled through the nose?
WHY i READ/CONNECTED
Big ups to one of the debut novel legends, one of the last (for now) rockstar writers. He captures that hinge of post grad life perfectly—your party lifestyle is growing tired, but you don’t know what your soul needs to be nourished. Incredibly conversational style (second person) that made me finish this book in one go.
FOR FANS OF
Less Than Zero, Play It As It Lays, This Is How You Lose Her
HiGHLiGHTED PASSAGE
RATiNG
SEASON OF MiGRATiON TO THE NORTH
by Tayeb Salih
SYNPOSiS
A Sudanese man returns to his village after studying in Europe, only to become entangled with a mysterious, brilliant, and haunted outsider. This stranger left behind a life in the West filled with seduction, destruction and post colonial reckoning. The two engage in a hypnotic duel that is part confession, part ghost story and leaves you deeply disoriented.
WHY i READ/CONNECTED
After reading Martyr and My Friends, I was interested in delving deeper into the Arab canon. Tayeb is one of the most influential figures in this space, and his style was intoxicating. I love the erotic turned into dark power and then doubling back on itself—this book manages to do that while still transmitting a political awakening.
FOR FANS OF
The Stranger, 100 Years of Solitude, Purple Noon
HiGHLiGHTED PASSAGE
RATiNG
THE HOUR OF THE STAR
by Clarice Lispector
SYNPOSiS
A poor, forgettable woman moves from Brazil’s rural northeast to the slums of Rio and dates a cruel boyfriend. She lives a life of quiet deprivation yet is spiritually fulfilled in her ignorance. Her story is told by a self-conscious narrator that takes us along for his meditation on the fragility of being alive.
WHY i READ/CONNECTED
The Passion According to GH was my final read of 2025 and immediately made me a fan of Clarice. This book rocked me to my core. I love the meta, and I love an artist tormented by their own gift. This book is the perfect example of how restraint creates tension that the audience ends up releasing masterfully.
FOR FANS OF
Season Of Migration To The North, My Brilliant Friend, Wings of Desire
HiGHLiGHTED PASSAGE
RATiNG
