Say hello to August's book of the month

Carvell Wallace came to professional writing pretty late. But since his very first bylines he’s shown a supreme talent for depicting people in their full, complicated, glorious humanity. His nimble, thoughtful words have appeared everywhere from The Toast to The New Yorker; he has covered music, sports, celebrity, politics; and he has written about Steph Curry and Barack Obama and Viola Davis. But while he is often in the stories he writes, they are rarely about him. Until now.

I'm really excited to tell you that Another Word For Love: A Memoir by Carvell Wallace is our Curious Reading Club pick for August.

As soon as I opened up its covers, I knew immediately that I had to share it with you all.

Inside, Carvell shares intimate portraits of his own life and his own loves, and finds in them the same complicated beauty that he draws out of other people. He looks at himself with the same penetrating gaze that he turns to others.

And look, this book may surprise you—not just because, as a memoir, it's different from some of our other recent picks. There were parts that grabbed hold of me by the collar, parts that shocked me, and even parts that made me uncomfortable. But what emerges from it all is a sweet, savage, optimistic examination of what it means to be human. It is a tremendous, moving piece of work.

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Existing club members should be receiving their copies any day now, but if you aren't already signed up and think that maybe this is the moment, then click the link below, join the club, and we'll ship them out straightaway.

And we're lucky again that the author will be joining us later this month to discuss the book in person. So please join us for a live Zoom Q&A with Carvell Wallace on Tuesday August 20 at 6pm Eastern, 3pm Pacific.

We just talked to July's author, Ferris Jabr, earlier this week—a fun interview that I'm writing up for you all right now, and always such a privilege to have them give their time to us. I will be sending out email reminders closer to the time.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this month's pick. I loved it: Let me know what you think.

Onwards

Bobbie