Ray's Reading Recs

by Rachel Loring

I know I’m late to this train. But, since Dolly just had a new release, it’s always worth revisiting her past work!

Everything I Know About Love is for the girls who are unlucky in love, who drink too much, say too much, and care too much. It explores romance, self-love, sex, men, late nights, hangovers, partying, FOMO, and (most of all) enduring and important female friendships. It’s about the ups and downs of your twenties, discovering yourself, finding empathy for others, and recognizing how love binds us in the crucial, messy, and difficult times of our lives.

Ray’s Highlights:

Dolly’s breakdown of intimacy vs intensity (a breakthrough for me too, Dolly). 

Nothing beats a good old-fashioned love story, except maybe a real one. Modern Love is a wonderful collection of editor Daniel Jones’ favorite submissions to the New York Times Modern Love column. 

Modern Love tells stories of near misses, loss, grief, life, hookups, embarrassment, first dates, and the stuff in the middle we call love. It’s real, it’s messy, and it’s a reminder that there is no perfect; there is only being a human and trying your best to love and be loved. It’s a great way to get into short stories and essay collections, being both entertaining, accessible, and relatively short. Plus, many of these stories have been adapted on Amazon Prime as episodes, so it makes a great companion piece. 

Ray’s Highlights:

“Loved and Lost? It’s Okay, Especially if You Win” by Veronica Chambers is my favorite story. It’s equal parts funny, raw, and reassuring. 

Whoops! I’m also late on the Emma Cline train, I KNOW!

This might be a seemingly random pick, but bear with me. What is love if not obsession? What is girlhood if not a shared delusion--a cult of desires, dreams, and deep yearning for belonging? This book has some of the most poignant quotes about girlhood, power, sex, and love I’ve read in a while, coupled with 1960s imagery and, because why not, a cult. I couldn’t stop underlining, nodding out loud, and at times, feeling wildly called out by Emma Cline’s writing. 

Ray’s Highlights:

Cline’s PHENOMENAL, vivid, in-the-moment, and hyper-specific prose. And, to the man on Goodreads who said it was bloated, to you I quote Cecilia Lisbon: obviously…you’ve never been a thirteen-year-old girl.