BOOK ONION, FALL 2024
i will make my lists as long as i want
Hello,
Another half-year has zipped by, and again I am slacking off by listing my favorite posts on Substack from July 2024 to December 2024. This time there are 21 posts and the same number of writers that receive the coveted and elusive (and worthless and jokey, and serious and precious) prize: the Book Onion!
Because, as always, layers. And pages. And metaphors.
***This is a long post with a lot of links that might be truncated in emails. I highly recommend you click on the title to read the whole thing without interruption.***
Remember, my only two rules for this list are that the post is written in the relevant period of time and that it is not under a paywall. With that, let’s start!
Most of
‘s brilliant Substack is paywalled, so I was overjoyed when I saw that this post isn’t. It is personal and general, heartwarming and somber. It is about taking art back.
There cannot be a Book Onion ceremony without mentioning
. The man is a maverick. Time and time again, he delivers deep and troubling thought in a most lucid and engaging form.
I know exactly what
writes in this essay about because, for better or for worse, I write under a pseudonym as well. He nailed the main reason.
Of course, there always will be
to tell us why we are a danger to ourselves. If Cassandra had a Substack, she probably would be less popular—or less scary.
The subtitle of this cozy and convincing essay by
is “Why I’m proud of what humankind has accomplished in the last couple of thousand years," and after the previous one, it seems like a necessary read.
Back to the grim stuff, then.
delivers a worrying and exceptionally well-written message.
Few people pissed me off this year more than Ta-Nehisi Coates, and
delivers a thorough and fair explanation, why. is angry, and for a good reason. A whole industry—bigger, a whole branch of knowledge—is failing us. Like many posts here, this is not a crusade but a report, clear, thorough, and unpleasant, but oh-so-crucial to read.
A brilliantly conceived and executed test by
, with results that took me completely by surprise. I urge you to give the test itself a try.
There were many good posts about October 7th, and the Israel-Hamas war in general, and this is one of them. To me, a good essay contains a rational analysis of the facts and an emotional, personal angle, and
delivers on both accounts. And also a penis joke.
Another great post about literature, this time from
. To me, that was an important idea, exceptionally well-argued.Sometimes it’s ok to write about lighter stuff, and sometimes it’s ok to find darkness in it too. “Frasier” is not my favorite sitcom, and I don’t remember this particular episode, but
‘s description made me want to go back to it.
Somehow, I don’t think I gave @Scott Alexander (mentions disabled) a Book Onion before, but I certainly liked his stuff over the years. This is the time, then. I thoroughly enjoyed this book review.
So, this is maybe a cheat on my part, but
recently reposted her excellent essay, and that gave me the opportunity to include it in this list. This is grief, described as well as it gets and as quietly, somberly, and tenderly as it deserves.
I honestly like everything by
—I even like the nickname, goddamit!—but I think this is my favorite essay so far. But there is also one unread one in my inbox, so that might be a candidate for the next half-year list.
It’s always hard to pick THE favorite, so I won’t. But maybe the post that gave me personally the most joy in this half-year was this one by
, with a conversation with Irving Finkel, a real-life Dumbledore-from-the-first-two-books, without all the grey area stuff.
If you read all of the esteemed laureates’ posts in order, you will ride a crazy emotional rollercoaster, and this post, my friends, is a final plunge down.
tell the story of his mother. One of the most gripping and tragic reads of the year. It is rough, but all the truest things are.
Any post with translations from my favorite Russian authors will get into these lists, and this one from
is no exception. After that one, I had to scrap my own Evgeny Schwartz post. Also, get Vanya’s book, now!
I enjoy everything on
(so it’s a sneaky honorable mention), but I think this post by was my favorite. Here it is, in his own Substack as well. never disappoints in delivering an interesting story about the art of the Weimar Republic (I will buy the book, Topper!), but to truly appreciate his writing, you really should be a paid subscriber. Luckily for all of us and for this list, there are a few open essays as well, and one of those gets a prize.
Last but not least, I would like to mention
, who publishes her Soviet-life memoirs on Substack, chapter by chapter. These are personal, brave, blindingly honest. They are about a life in a state different from most of the ones that exist today, a state that I am a descendant of, a state that I sometimes see in the eyes of my parents. A lot of my thinking time is dedicated to it (as opposed to the Roman Empire), both because it helps me to understand things about myself and because it never really left. The Soviet Union, like a Lovecraftian monster, is always watching from not-so-afar.
What a half-year! I can’t believe some people are so damn good.
Previous Book Onion Awards List can be found here and features 15 more excellent posts from 2024:
BOOK ONION, SPRING 2024
Hello, It’s been a year. Well, slightly more, because I don’t keep up with my own self-imposed deadlines. But, yes, it has been a year on Substack for me, and I’m quite happy with it.
Best,
Ꙝ
Thanks for the inclusion!
Thank you the list, Konstantin, lots to discover here. Honored to be included!