Substack Reads: George Saunders, Margaret Atwood, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Nellie Bowles, and more select their top reads
We asked a number of Substack writers to share their favorite posts on Substack
Hello and welcome to a special edition of Substack Reads. This week, something a little different: we invited writers and readers to share their most memorable posts of all time (so far)—showcasing their tastes, intrigues, and writers who have inspired them and shaped their minds. The result is a festive compilation of greatest hits in writing, featuring new voices and old favorites, to make you think, laugh, cry, and maybe fall in love.
Read on for an assortment of top posts and publications selected by George Saunders, Margaret Atwood, Paul Kingsnorth, Nellie Bowles, José Andrés, Cheryl Strayed, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Elizabeth Gilbert, and Substack readers. We hope you enjoy it, and see you for more in 2024!
One of the world’s greatest short-story writers, winner of the 2017 Booker Prize, and a beloved teacher known to his students as “the kindness guy,” George Saunders writes on Substack. Here he selects from a wide pool of writers, spanning the literary and the bittersweet.
George’s top reads:
I sat and watched Not-Debbie sleep. It was weird, but I felt that, in those nine hours, I’d learned more about her than I’d ever known about my Debbie in the entire two-and-something years we’d lived together. The possibilities she raised in our search for the missing element revealed so much about her dreams, her desires, her fears. It wasn’t that she didn’t resemble Debbie, but there was also something else about her: she was open, brave, mesmerizing, and wild. Continue reading
Cry Baby Cry (hotel first draft) —
Welcome to LETTERS FROM LOVE —
What’s the point of a bad review? —
Milestone Dinners Through the Years —
A former New York Times reporter who now writes the popular weekly column TGIF for and her own Substack , Nellie Bowles shares her top Substack reads from Noah Smith, Emily Oster, and more.
Nellie’s top reads:
There is no such thing as autonomy or freedom or personal choice under the grips of a mental illness that hijacks the mind. You think involuntary treatment obstructs freedom? Schizophrenia obstructs freedom. You think involuntary treatment tramples on autonomy? Bipolar disorder tramples on autonomy. You think involuntary treatment denies personal choice? Schizoaffective disorder denies personal choice. Continue reading
The Press Is Now Also the Police —
You’re not going to like what comes after Pax Americana —
What Does Matter for Childhood Outcomes? —
Why are young liberals so depressed? —
Earlier this year, author Elizabeth Gilbert joined Substack with her publication , to much celebration from writers and readers alike. Her top reads include those on writing, parenting, history, and the creative pursuit.
Elizabeth’s top reads:
As he reached out to shake my hand and said, “How you been?” I blurted out, “I think we met before, at the wedding, right?” As soon as the words left my mouth, it occurred to me—you don’t think you met Jay-Z. It’s not like he’s somebody you bump into at the supermarket, and you’re like, “I think maybe we’ve met before.” But I was so discombobulated, still reeling from my practice sessions, and had momentarily forgotten how to communicate. All I could think was: Wait—what am I supposed to do now? Who am I? Who are you? Oh, you’re that guy I’ve been listening to for like 15 years. Oh yeah, that’s you! Right?! Continue reading
Essays on Craft and Writing: The Overcoat —
When New York went mad over hats —
Who’s on Judge Mathis today? —
I Love You. Stop Touching Me —
British writer Paul Kingsnorth helps readers of his Substack, , question their relationship to technology, the environment, religion, permaculture, and politics. His top Substack reads won’t disappoint the curious mind—from Ruth Gaskovski and Peco’s rallying call for a new way to behave in the world, to modern forms of sun worship and the concept of empires.
Paul’s top reads:
Does walking to the grocery store really make a difference? Does drawing a map by hand rather than using a GPS mend our addled minds? Does writing a letter in dip ink stop the Machine? The instinctive answer might be simply ‘no’, but when we consider that all meaningful change must start with small actions, even when they appear futile, it is a resounding ‘yes’! Continue reading
The picks of NBA legend and writer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who writes on Substack, showcase a delightful and diverse reading habit, from Scott Snyder to Eamonn Brennan and Roxane Gay.
Kareem’s top reads:
Long before the perfect “candids” of Instagram, decades reigned where stars’ images were managed as tightly as Shirley Temple’s curls, as studios (and their related PR machines) gave birth to the notion of Hollywood fame. The late 1920s-1960s produced some of the most iconic stars in the world—whose names would become known around the globe—aided by images meticulously created on red carpets, in magazine shoots and, yes, on staged vacation photos. Actresses were curated as girls-next-door or sexy bombshells; positive snaps of couples together conveyed happy, glamorous marriages. Continue reading
Best-selling memoirist and writer of on Substack, Cheryl selects posts on the female body, creative practice, climate, and parenting—work that challenges current thinking on identity and culture.
Cheryl’s top reads:
Is it possible to miss and not miss something at the same time? To long for the purity of exhaustion from simply having too many fun plans? To know (but not know, yet) that summers would become physically different in just
twentyten years? Here we all are, holding hands at the edge of a cliff. I guess what surprises me most about the end of the world is how much it smells like weed. Continue reading
José Andrés writes two Substacks: , about connecting people through food, and , his travel guide to the world. The globetrotting chef, humanitarian, and restaurateur offers a delicious selection of recommended reads.
José’s top reads:
Growing up, every dinner revolved around dal bhat (a combo of rice and dal), with lots of sides to go with it, like sautéed vegetables, stewed fish, and raitha. Nowadays, I eat dal more like a soup, adding a dollop of yogurt on top and dunking in a buttered roti. The pumpkin in this dal makes it extra silky once blended, or you can keep it chunky for more stew vibes. Continue reading
3 keys to fall gardening success —
Spreading the Gospel of Albariño —
The Healing Powers of Sopa de Paloma —
My Favorite Recipes for a Backyard Party —
Margaret Atwood joined Substack with earlier this year and was quick to start recommending other writers she loves. Here, she selects top reads from Wayne Grady, Heather Cox Richardson, Bill Davison, and Phillips O’Brien.
Margaret’s top reads:
Sinéad was an edition of one-of-one. It’s incalculable how much I admire artists who go as hard as she did, and struggle as much with the consequences. So I spent some time with this music, contemplating that head of hers. I hope you’ll join me and will mostly let you draw your own conclusions. I tensed up many times while listening to it—at the nakedness of it, the pain and vulnerability, the innocence and the love, the sense that she thought the world was hard but maybe it could get better if we chose to speak out against all the things wrong with it. To sing loud about it. As she did. Continue reading
Your top reads
Last week, we asked you to share your own recommendations for top reads of all time. Here’s a selection:
Then I was sober without so much as a fragment of good fortune to balance my hopes on, not a penny or a job, not even a phone number to write on an application. Not to mention I was unknowingly squatting in my apartment. I was sober yet the same irresponsible and broken person as yesterday’s version, still playing tag with shadows in an abyss. As the days passed, my mind became clearer, and the abyss’s roof inched back. I could see the exit. The only way for me to move forward was to retrace my steps. Continue reading
Charles Dickens and Miss Coutts —
, recommended by- , recommended by
My Favorite Nonfiction of 2023 —
, recommended by- , recommended by
- , recommended by
- , recommended by
Recently launched
New and noteworthy
shares news of the new book version of his Substack:
Join a live Q&A on college football taking place next Thursday on Notes:
Inspired by the writers featured in this special edition, or a previous digest, from Substack Reads? Writing on your own Substack in 2024 is just a few clicks away:
Take our reader survey
This year we brought you 44 editions of Substack Reads, and we want to keep writing emails you want to open. Tell us more about you and share your feedback with us about the posts you want to see more, or less, of in our five-minute reader survey:
Somebody pinch me. Did I just see one of my essays quoted at the bottom of that post? Dang. Thank you, Substack, for the recognition, and thank you, Sydney Michalski, for the recommendation. And to everybody else who has recommended my newsletter and essays or mentioned my name, thank you.
Oh my goodness! So honoured that Peco and I have made it onto Substack Reads. Deep gratitude to Paul Kingsnorth for his continued support of our work!