JANUARY '26 READS

yum yum yum

Feb 07, 2026

∙ Paid

ON THE ROAD

by Jack Kerouac

SYNPOSiS

A restless young writer crisscrosses America chasing after his most vibrant friend—in the hopes of finding it. The two engage in the beautiful, the self-destructive. It’s a fever dream of hunger, jazz and the highway. Does freedom cost peace?

WHY i READ/CONNECTED

Jack was the master of rhythm based writing. I am trending towards this somatic first approach and it was fascinating to witness the origin. And of course, what is youth if not the ouroboroutic ecstasy of spirituality battling the carnal?

FOR FANS OF

Autofiction, Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas, Bob Dylan

HiGHLiGHTED PASSAGE

RATiNG

iNTERMEZZO

by Sally Rooney

SYNPOSiS

Two brothers navigate grief and emotional paralysis after their father’s death. One brother is stuck in a tragic love triangle, the other experiences love for the first time. How do hurt people transcend miscommunication to connect?

WHY i READ/CONNECTED

Sally is one of the queens of the literary world. Studying her reveals answers to how to braid the artistic with the commercial. Compared to her other works, I really felt her relax into her auteurness.

FOR FANS OF

Phoebe Bridgers, The Fault In Our Stars, Outline

HiGHLiGHTED PASSAGE

RATiNG

JUNKY

by William Burroughs

SYNPOSiS

A writer surrenders to a heroin addiction in the 40s in order to capture the underground in its most honest form. He travels from NYC to New Orleans to Mexico, sketching the unforgettable characters that worship the junk. Have you ever wanted something so badly, you would give your life for it?

WHY i READ/CONNECTED

Burroughs has an unsentimental style which is well suited to capturing a topic as charged as this. I absorbed much in the way of documenting without moralizing. He knows how to tie together people with a common thread, yet still let their uniqueness shine through.

FOR FANS OF

Autofiction, Less Than Zero, Requiem For A Dream

HiGHLiGHTED PASSAGE

RATiNG

WOO WOO

by Ella Baxter

SYNPOSiS

A performance artist unravels in the lead up to her latest exhibition. The book serves as a critique to the pretentiousness of the art world. Have you ever felt like your art owns you?

WHY i READ/CONNECTED

Writing a character as obnoxious and un-self aware as this requires talent.

FOR FANS OF

Girls, My Year of Rest and Relaxation, FKA Twigs

HiGHLiGHTED PASSAGE

RATiNG

THE ROAD

by Cormac McCarthy

SYNPOSiS

A father and his young son walk through an apocalyptic United States. Despite the despair, the father teaches his son how to carry the fire. Are they ideals if you don’t believe when you have no reason to?

WHY i READ/CONNECTED

I was told that I would enjoy McCarthy’s sparse, cinematic prose. He writes a page turner with only two characters, and a virtually empty setting. And best of all, he is unapologetic about steeping his art in virtue.

FOR FANS OF

Johnny Cash, Children of Men, 28 Days Later

HiGHLiGHTED PASSAGE

RATiNG

REMiNDERS OF HiM

by Colleen Hoover

SYNPOSiS

A grieving mother tries to connect with her daughter after she makes it out of prison for accidentally killing her boyfriend while pregnant. She ends up falling for her daughter’s caretaker…her boyfriend’s best friend. What does it take to get a second chance?

WHY i READ/CONNECTED

Colleen is another rainmaker like Sally. Even if she may get criticized for the quality of her writing—I found true depth in this book. It does not surprise me that tens of millions of people connect with her work.

FOR FANS OF

Manchester by the Sea, Adele, Wattpad

HiGHLiGHTED PASSAGE

RATiNG

THiS SiDE OF PARADiSE

by F. Scott Fitzgerald

SYNPOSiS

A privileged, narcissistic young man strives to make it to the top through self mythology. His arrogance gives way to disillusionment, mirroring the arc of the Jazz Age itself. When the Ego drives, who pulls it out of the wreckage of Life?

WHY i READ/CONNECTED

F. Scott is currently my favorite writer. We share the same romantic, sensitive soul, with a taste for the finer things. This was his first book, and is primarily a campus novel, much like my own. I was entranced by how he experimented with form so heavily.

FOR FANS OF

Cris MJ, Sinister Street, The Social Network

HiGHLiGHTED PASSAGE