#98 Summer Reading for Writers

We are playing summer reading bingo these next few months, with 24 squares representing categories of books you can read. And you are invited. Grab your card to play along with us, then choose a row, column, or diagonal line, or complete the card. Why are we, a writing community and I, an instructor of writing courses, doing this book bingo? I answer this question in the episode. Listen as I dig into some of our summer book categories, why we chose them, and how reading books in these categories will improve your writing. More episodes to check out if you are looking for a craft book in a genre new to you: Episode 68: Writerly Love Community members Jennifer Robinson and Candace Webb joined me to talk about quite the throw-back book, The Poet’s Companion: A Guide to the Pleasures of Writing Poetry, by Kim Addonizio and Dorianne Laux. At the time, Jen and Candace were fairly new to poetry and found that this book helped them journey into a new genre. So, listen here if you’ve been writing short stories and want to try verse. Episode 72: Another community book club chat on Voice First: A Writer’s Manifesto by Sonya Huber. Listen to our book club conversation with Writerly Love Members Louise Julig, Lina Lau, and Wendy Atwell if you need help to shake up conventional wisdom on writing craft. Episode 88: I know I’m not alone in reading and writing for connection. Kae Tempest’s On Connection helped me understand how immersing ourselves in creativity can help us cultivate greater self-awareness and bring us closer to each other. Hear me talk about the book with Yolande House. Episode 78: Author Kavita Das joined us to talk about her amazing book Craft and Conscience, an intentional journey to unpack our motivations for writing about an issue and to understand that “writing, irrespective of genre or outlet, is an act of political writing.” Dig into this vital topic for writers and a great book to read, whether you’re crossing off a bingo square or not. Listen to our conversation with Kavita Das. All of the notes for this episode are up at rachelthompson.co/98 — Get my Writerly Love Digest, sent most weeks and filled with ideas and care for you and your writing: rachelthompson.co/letters A quick note for any writer with a draft they keep returning to, or an idea they want to explore further. Deeper Drafts starts November 15. Join me for three weeks of creative experiments, personalized feedback on five assignments, and the company of other writers as you take your work further. The session runs November 15 to December 6, 2026. Learn more at rachelthompson.co/courses/deeper.