Quick Lit: Short and Sweet Reviews — January 2026
A grumpy bookseller novel, Lydia Millet’s razor-sharp short stories, Joy Harjo as the wise auntie we all need, and a strange new Roxane Gay–imprint release about grief, obsession, and the soul of a dog.
Serviceberry Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World by Robin Wall Kimmerer
The book argues that joy and justice are not separate pursuits, and that caring for the earth is less about sacrifice than participation. By treating the world as a gift rather than a resource, Kimmerer reframes responsibility as relationship—and asks what becomes possible when we take only what we need and let the rest circulate.
Ghost Work: How to Stop Silicon Valley from Building a New Global Underclass by Mary L. Gray and Siddharth Suri
There's a gray area between the robots taking over and human labor, and a new class of worker bridging the gap between what Artificial Intelligence systems can and can not do. Enter the world of Ghost Work."
Success and Luck: Good Fortune and the Myth of Meritocracy by Robert Frank
Not enough people recognize the role that good fortune and luck plays in their success, and that too many people attribute their success entirely to their own hard work and virtue
Generation Priced Out: Who Gets To Live In The New Urban America? by Randy Shaw
The challenges around housing in urban areas are about NIMBY politics and the generation that owns everything, according to Randy Shaw. Stories from San Francisco, New York, Seattle, Austin, LA and Denver illuminate.
Bullshit Jobs by David Graeber
Meaning and purpose. David Graeber's book is about the growth of jobs with neither.