We’re grateful our community of readers is characterized by kindness, curiosity, and thoughtfulness. The double standard is particularly thorny when considering how authors of color are also assumed to be writing from real life.

Her writing has appeared in the New Yorker, the New York Times, the London Review of Books and elsewhere. And I think really building an exciting queue of titles for next year is going to keep that ritual up for me. Because what fantasy and also science fiction can do so well is explore those questions of identity and belonging and otherness in a way that can slip in past our defenses, you know, because there's so much that's so different.I wrap up our conversation today with a stack of titles for Natalie’s winter reading queue, including suggestions for the genres Natalie’s excited to explore in the year ahead. Now we are stepping a little bit more into magical, fantasy, sci fi territory, if that's all right with you. Her family unfortunately is crap, her mother is an useless mother But when I witness Rooney’s massive hype across the media and internet, I can’t help but chafe against her literary empire’s assumption of relatability and universality—one that is only afforded to white narratives. When they both earn places at Trinity College in Dublin, a connection that has grown between them lasts long into the following years.

We know many readers might see themselves in Natalie’s story, and today we’re diving into Natalie’s experience, sharing her tips, and of course, adding to her reading list.

I don't know if you know, and I think it's fascinating, but there's just something about it that feels both engaging and soothing in a way that I really haven't found a lot of other hobbies in my life do. I am still awaiting the day that girls of color get mainstream coming-of-age stories that sell a million copies; when we’re finally viewed as normal people, and we get to take the lead.