one year of hannah reads!
On December 14, 2023 I pressed publish on the very first newsletter here on Hannah Reads. Over the past year I've chronicled my reading life, shared recommendations on everything from mythology retellings to books to read in the wake of the election, and occasionally yapped about pop culture from American Girl and Dear America books to Taylor Swift.
I started Hannah Reads because I missed writing. From my earliest memories, I've always wanted to write. My mother would be quick to tell you that when we went to Walmart I asked for a notebook to write my "stories" (aka random scribbles) in over a new Barbie. I majored in journalism when I was in college because it felt like a "stable" career path (this was 2007, so it wasn't as naive as it sounds) and wrote dozens of articles for my college's student-run newspaper. After college I worked very briefly a weekly newspaper near Cape Cod, only to discover that I am in no way cut out for small town reporting.
Other than one year completing NaNoWriMo (the now disgraced National Novel Writing Month, in which I wrote 50,000 in November 2015), I hadn't written much beyond the occasional journal entry when my thoughts got to be too much for me. I wish I could tell you when I first heard of Substack, but my memory fails me here. I do know that for many years I've wished I could be the type of person who shares their reading on YouTube or TikTok or a podcast, but I am way too self-conscious for video or audio. I naively assumed that blogging was basically dead, only to find that it's thriving here in newsletter form.
I plan on continuing publishing a newsletter on Thursdays, though I did learn this year the value of taking weeks off around my birthday and holidays. I'm also excited to announce two big changes coming in 2025!
Introducing the Hannah Reads Book Club!
One of my bookish dirty secrets is that I've never been in a book club as an adult (my mother did take me to Barnes and Noble once a month when I was in elementary school for an American Girl book club, but I don't necessarily think that should count). Most book clubs in my area either meet during the day when I'm working or are part of other established groups, like mom's clubs. When I've voiced my desire to join a book club, more than one person has said I should start one myself, given how much I read, but my social anxiety always gets the better of me when I think about being the organizer of a group of people.
A virtual book club though, comprised of my dear readers, is something I feel much more confident in. And so I will be establishing the Hannah Reads Book Club in 2025. The book club will be offered seasonally and feature titles written by women, people of color, and lgbtqia+ individuals. All selections will be back list, meaning that they were published at least a year ago, so they should be available in paperback and the waits at your local library shouldn't be too long.
I'll be announcing our first title and sharing how we will virtually discuss it on January 23, so stay tuned!
Anticipated releases and paywalls...
Cataloging upcoming releases I'm excited for is one of my favorite newsletters to write, but I am going to try to go about it differently in 2025. Instead of quarterly, I will be sharing the books I'm most excited for monthly. My top three most anticipated will be free for everyone to read, while the rest (however many there end up being) will be put behind a paywall.
I have been very torn about pay-walling anything on this newsletter. Especially given how expensive things are these days, I feel silly thinking my little posts are worth people's hard earned money. However, I do put many hours into creating those anticipated release posts, so I'm hoping this is a fair solution.
Also starting now, the archive of Hannah Reads will be going behind a paywall as well. Posts will be archived after three months. Again, hoping this is a fair solution that gives everyone enough time to read them.
I am so grateful to everyone who has welcomed me into their inboxes the past year. My biggest wish that you've come away with a book recommendation or two. Here's to another year of Hannah Reads!
