Largehearted Ledger

At any given time I am in the middle of at least a dozen books. Waiting for the author to submit a playlist for their forthcoming book to Largehearted Boy, in between chapters of something I am teaching to my 8th grade class, or something tangential to another book I recently finished. I have to confess, I used to keep my place by dogearing the top edge of the page. Some call this sacrilege, but when there wasn’t a publicity one-pager or bookstore receipt handy, this was my solution.

I have been paging through Maggie Smith’s book Dear Writer this week (on the recommendation of a friend), and have been impressed with how she inspires creativity. The book is broken down into ten different elements of creativity (like wonder, vulnerability, and tenacity), and also offers writing exercises and suggested reading lists. Outside of ’s amazing books, I rarely turn to craft books for inspiration. My creative fire is churned by literature: fiction, literary nonfiction, and poetry.

2025 has flown by. Teaching, travel, and writing have all consumed my time, but the one daily constant in my life remains reading. On the subway, in the backyard, in between classes with my feet on my desk. Even after only half a year, putting together this list has been daunting. So many good books from talented writers have been published… These are the books I have loved the most so far this year. What is your favorite book of the year so far?

2024 has surprised me with a plethora of brilliant debut novels, thought-provoking story collections, and transportive nonfiction. These are the books I have loved the most so far this year. All Friends Are Necessary by Tomas Moniz Tomas Moniz’sAll Friends Are Necessary is one of the most moving novels I have read in years, an evocative exploration of grief and the restorative power of friendship.

In late January, Largehearted Boy turned 22-years old. This past year has brought much change into my life. I started teaching, the first full-time job other than writing I have had in 20 years, began the last year of my MFA program, and found my time limited for almost everything outside of these two pursuits. Largehearted Boy had to change, too.

2023 was an amazing year for new music. Increasingly, I found myself drawn away from indie rock and alt-country into the worlds of electronica, dream pop, dance music. These are the albums I recommended to friends, Largehearted Boy readers, and strangers the most this year (my personal metric for “favorite”). Laurel Halo mixes acoustic sketches with ambient music to great effect on Atlas.