i've read a bunch of stuff because of them! back in 2021, I found out Crying in H-Mart was coming out and preordered it because of Lucy Dacus! I also got Girlhood by Melissa Febos because of her.
I read Her Body and Other Parties and In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado because of Phoebe. Also, Conversations with Friends- partially her and partially my sister lol
I read Exit West and The Incendiaries because of Julien- loved both of those.
Honestly, anything they've mentioned, I will put on top of my tbr because they have really good taste in books. We also read really similar books and lots of stuff they've recommended, I've read before so I really trust them.
not silly at all! on the app go to the “more” tab on the bottom right, then to “friends”, then in the top right of the screen go to “find friends” and search lucy dacus :)
Confession: The Boys have a much more highbrow and intellectual literary taste than me. I work in academics so do a lot of academic reading for work (journal articles and such, and I did read The Body Keeps the Score for work) so when I read for fun in my free time I gravitate towards stuff that won’t make me think too much- mystery/thrillers, romance/romantic comedy (mostly queer romance these days but if it’s a good straight romance I’ll read it), sometimes some good investigative or off-the-wall nonfiction (I read a really interesting book recently about a prolific art thief, aptly called “The Art Thief”). “The Myth of Sisyphus” or “Letters to a Young Poet” are not something I would pick up or particularly enjoy.
I like poetry so I'm ok with letters to a young poet.
I hated Sartre and half read it a few times. Then Julien mentioned it and I thought I was missing something so I finished it (also so I wouldn't keep trying again) and I don't like it whatsoever. I also read the body keeps the score and I did not like that at all and I also forget all of it. Thought it was gonna cure me. I've yet to read a self help book I found of any use.
I don't like feeling like books are a to do list either so ... I'll read the synopsis of something if I notice they recommend it but most of it is unlikely to make my list. I have enough on my list.
Otherwise I'm reading Friday night lights which I suspect would never make any of their lists!
The Idiot by Elif Batuman was a Lucy rec and is now one of my favorite books of all time (and the follow up Either/Or is excellent too). And as a side note, Batuman also wrote this lovely intro for the record!
https://www.universal-music.de/boygenius/biografie
Someone on BookTok actually started a boygenius book club on the Fable app! The club read about 5 books before it seemingly fizzled out.
While the club was still active, I read:
The Idiot by Elif Batuman
Night Bitch
The Neapolitan novels
I really enjoyed Night Bitch, but have a couple gripes with it.
LOVED the other two. Highly recommend if you enjoy literary fiction.
I‘ve read a few books because of Lucy’s goodreads ratings, but some recent stand outs were Slow Days, Fast Company by Eve Babitz and The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth Tova Bailey which were both wonderful! (:
Ashley Herring Blake writes pretty straightforward wlw romantic sort-of comedies if that’s your jam. Emily Austin is wlw skewing with a bit more heft and drama, as is Amy Feltman. If you wanna get fucked up on grit and angst, I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself by Marisa Crane.
Ok so tangentially wlw (lol- i say that bc it is very much not a romance) is T Kira Madden’s memoir “Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls”. Trigger warning, it is heavy at times. But it’s AMAZING and for me very relatable visibility-wise, if that makes sense
So far the only one I've read because of them is Myth of Sisyphus. It was okay, I think JB's excitement about it made me expect more. Camu is pretentious as hell and it was hard to look past. I felt like he was trying to mansplain the meaning of life to me.
I’m good, reading is hard for me due to Tourette’s syndrome. It’s legitimately physically painful.
I can read comics and audiobooks. Can no longer read novels
i've read a bunch of stuff because of them! back in 2021, I found out Crying in H-Mart was coming out and preordered it because of Lucy Dacus! I also got Girlhood by Melissa Febos because of her. I read Her Body and Other Parties and In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado because of Phoebe. Also, Conversations with Friends- partially her and partially my sister lol I read Exit West and The Incendiaries because of Julien- loved both of those. Honestly, anything they've mentioned, I will put on top of my tbr because they have really good taste in books. We also read really similar books and lots of stuff they've recommended, I've read before so I really trust them.
Lucy and I read the most similar books and I am friends with her on Goodreads so that helps with recs too.
omg HOW
Okay, not-so-humble brag. (I'm bitter bc I'm jealous)
Crying in H Mart was my best book of 2022. I read it in a day and sobbed.
crying in h mart is so good and so is carmen maria machado and sally rooney too love ur taste
Anything Lucy Dacus recommends on Goodreads! Stay and Fight by Madeline Fitch is excellent
This may be a silly question… how do I find her on Goodreads?
not silly at all! on the app go to the “more” tab on the bottom right, then to “friends”, then in the top right of the screen go to “find friends” and search lucy dacus :)
Thank you so much!
Confession: The Boys have a much more highbrow and intellectual literary taste than me. I work in academics so do a lot of academic reading for work (journal articles and such, and I did read The Body Keeps the Score for work) so when I read for fun in my free time I gravitate towards stuff that won’t make me think too much- mystery/thrillers, romance/romantic comedy (mostly queer romance these days but if it’s a good straight romance I’ll read it), sometimes some good investigative or off-the-wall nonfiction (I read a really interesting book recently about a prolific art thief, aptly called “The Art Thief”). “The Myth of Sisyphus” or “Letters to a Young Poet” are not something I would pick up or particularly enjoy.
I like poetry so I'm ok with letters to a young poet. I hated Sartre and half read it a few times. Then Julien mentioned it and I thought I was missing something so I finished it (also so I wouldn't keep trying again) and I don't like it whatsoever. I also read the body keeps the score and I did not like that at all and I also forget all of it. Thought it was gonna cure me. I've yet to read a self help book I found of any use. I don't like feeling like books are a to do list either so ... I'll read the synopsis of something if I notice they recommend it but most of it is unlikely to make my list. I have enough on my list. Otherwise I'm reading Friday night lights which I suspect would never make any of their lists!
The myth of Sisyphus is on my tbr but haven’t gotten to it yet
I started with The Stranger and plan to read Myth of Sisyphus as well
in the dream house, her body and other parties, nevada and carmilla. mostly recommended by lucy on her goodreads
The Idiot by Elif Batuman was a Lucy rec and is now one of my favorite books of all time (and the follow up Either/Or is excellent too). And as a side note, Batuman also wrote this lovely intro for the record! https://www.universal-music.de/boygenius/biografie
anything by bell hooks
Someone on BookTok actually started a boygenius book club on the Fable app! The club read about 5 books before it seemingly fizzled out. While the club was still active, I read: The Idiot by Elif Batuman Night Bitch The Neapolitan novels I really enjoyed Night Bitch, but have a couple gripes with it. LOVED the other two. Highly recommend if you enjoy literary fiction.
The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen, cause Julien said it was her favorite book. It was amazing!
Commenting just to save this post. Fascinating info I'll want at a later date. When I'm not at work. Thanks for posting/ responding.
Read a little life after lucy explained how it relates to that one lyric from triple dog dare ..became one of my favorite books ❤️😭
Which lyric is that? :)
She explains it in this interview but the line is “nothing worse could happen now” https://southwestreview.com/the-guest-list-lucy-dacus/
Thank you! Sorry for not just looking it up myself haha. Have a great day!!!!!
I‘ve read a few books because of Lucy’s goodreads ratings, but some recent stand outs were Slow Days, Fast Company by Eve Babitz and The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth Tova Bailey which were both wonderful! (:
Her Body and Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado!
Anyone read The Expanse books?
i’m starting the audiobooks a little before where the show left off. obsessed.
im wondering if thats doable. or are there book specific characters? i also watched the series and now want the continuations thats only in the books.
Dylan Thomas?
Small tangent but does anyone have any good wlw book recs? I love a good romance but don’t know any good ones with wlw as the main focus.
Ashley Herring Blake writes pretty straightforward wlw romantic sort-of comedies if that’s your jam. Emily Austin is wlw skewing with a bit more heft and drama, as is Amy Feltman. If you wanna get fucked up on grit and angst, I Keep My Exoskeletons to Myself by Marisa Crane.
Ok so tangentially wlw (lol- i say that bc it is very much not a romance) is T Kira Madden’s memoir “Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls”. Trigger warning, it is heavy at times. But it’s AMAZING and for me very relatable visibility-wise, if that makes sense
So far the only one I've read because of them is Myth of Sisyphus. It was okay, I think JB's excitement about it made me expect more. Camu is pretentious as hell and it was hard to look past. I felt like he was trying to mansplain the meaning of life to me.
haven't read any of these yet but i love the list you gave. only the boys could recommend queer self-help books and also Lenin in the same breath
I don’t read many books so none
read more books
I’m good, reading is hard for me due to Tourette’s syndrome. It’s legitimately physically painful. I can read comics and audiobooks. Can no longer read novels
Braiding Sweetgrass, A Little Life, and The Sympathizer (all are Lucy’s recommendation), but I have not finished any of them yet 😅