How to Create a Good Reading List
Not one of them 1000+ lists, chile.
Lovers & Friends,
Wassuuuuuuuup? This is KB Brookins, coming back to you like I said I would.
As I start to refine my poetry collection in-progress, I’ve been thinking a lot about reading lists — how important (or not) they are to curate as a writer, what they can do for you when you’re working on a project, and the balance between influence and plagiarism. I’ll write a bit more about that, but first, some updates.
UPDATES ON MY LIFE & STUFF
I’m a finalist in two categories in Austin Chronicle’s Best of Austin :) — specifically “Nonfiction Writer” and “New Book By An Austin Writer”. If you live in Austin, you can vote for me here until 11.59pm today, May 19th. It takes 5 minutes, tops. Note: you may need to create an account if this is your first time voting.
I’m a 2025-26 Black Mountain Institute Shearing Fellow, which means I’m moving to Las Vegas in August (!). Very excited to enmesh myself in new academic and literary communities and do what I do best (write & manage literary programs). I will miss my home state immensely, but truly, I bring Texas with me everywhere I go <3
By some mixture of persistence and a praying grandmother, I am also a 2025-26 ACLU of Texas Artist-in-Residence. For this, I’m curating stories and creating art on the impact of pre-trial detention in Texas. Simply put, some people are sitting in jails simply because they can’t afford bail, and we over-rely on jails to solve larger societal problems like homelessness, mental health, and substance abuse. I think we should be making art about it! More on this soon.
I graduated, & I won an award! Much love to the University of Texas’ Black Queer Studies collection for this immense honor.
I’m doing an event called “Three Trans Poets in Conversation” with CD Eskilson and SG Huerta on June 10, 7-8:30pm. If you’re in Austin, comethru!
I’ve got three new poems in the latest issue of American Poetry Review. They’re all from my narrative poetry book in-progress called Vintage. Read one here, and buy the whole issue (which features Cameron Awkward-Rich, Luther Hughes, Yanyi, and more heavy-hitters) for $7 here!
I have a poem in an anthology called Ecobloomspaces: Poetry at the Intersection of Social Identity and Nature, Environment, and Place. The anthology features Joshua Nguyen, Kelli Russell Agodon, and many others. Order it here!
I have an essay in an anthology called Edge of the World: An Anthology of Queer Travel Writing. The anthology features Alexander Chee, Alex Marzano-Lesnevich, and many others. Order it here!
That’s it. Now, onto the reading list debacle!
On Crafting a Good Reading List
I’ve been working on the same book on and off for three years. It’s hella influenced by music, novels in verse, narrative-driven poetry collections, Black queer southern narratives, etc — yknow, the stuff of books. A year into writing this book, it became unwieldy, so I took a step back and asked “what book that already exists feels similar to mine"?” That question led me to my first reading list.
Tbh, I wasn’t much of a “creating a reading list for a project” girlie until my last book, Pretty. When I sold the book, I wasn’t actually done with it (hehe), and in one of my first meetings with my editor, Erroll McDonald, he suggested I continue reading books comparable to the book I was writing.
“You’ll be better off that way,” Erroll said. He was hired by Toni Morrison, so naturally, I trust him.
I was expecting a never-ending list — “a list I’ll never finish,” if you will. Outside of the structure of school, that’s how all my reading lists looked. Hell, my TBR on Storygraph is 1000+ books deep rn. But no: it was about 10 books in the subject matters (Black, queer, southern) and genres (poetry, essay) that I was most interested in. That specific, manageable list made it so I finished my book!
Fast forward: I have an award-winning memoir. And a much clearer head when talking about the influences behind it (as I do above). Instead of 50, 100, 200 books on a TBR, it was… 10. Maybe 20. My top three influences are in the above video, and I wrote a book that, yes, covers a wide subject matter, but does so in a focused way. Controlled chaos, if you will.
Now, you may be asking “how does all of this help me, KB?” To that I say, be patient lol. When you’re working on a project and looking for guidance via a reading list, consider the following questions:
What story am I trying to tell? What book tell a similar story?
What genre(s) am I working in? What book navigates genre in a similar way?
What information do I NOT already have that I need to gain to write this book? What book(s) have that information?
What skills do I NOT have already that I need to gain in order to pull this project off? What book displays those skills?
How much can I read for understanding in a year? How will I pace this reading list?
I ESPECIALLY wanna give attention to this last question, cause some of y’all are making 100-book reading lists knowing damn well you don’t actually read at that quick of a pace. Some of y’all are also telling yourself that “reading is writing” when, tbh, writing is writing. Reading feeds the writing, but a blank page is just that: blank. Don’t let “I’m doing research” get you 1 year into a project without so much as 10 pages. Don’t find ways to distract yourself.
Also note that I said read FOR UNDERSTANDING. That’s different than reading for pleasure. It takes re-reading, taking notes, etc. Budget time for that. If you know it takes you a week to read a book for understanding, then don’t schedule yourself to read 2 books per week.
So now, make a reading list. And: take notes as you read. Write down questions, places that made you laugh/cry/feel anything. Try to figure out HOW the writer is doing what they do. Try to imitate their style (trust me; this helps you figure out/refine your own). Free yourself from making reading lists you’ll never finish.
That’s all for this month. What did I miss? What do you have questions about? Tell me in the comments.
I hope this email finds you easing into the summer, enjoying the new movement of trees in your neighborhood, and drinking the chillest of liquids to stay cool. Till next time.
Love, Peace, & Chicken Grease,
KB
The reading is not writing was a personal attack lmao
already voted!!! and congrats on the fellowships!!!!