Welcome to Shelf Life, ELLE.com’s books column, in which authors share their most memorable reads. Whether you’re on the hunt for a book to console you, move you profoundly, or make you laugh, consider a recommendation from the writers in our series, who, like you (since you’re here), love books. Perhaps one of their favorite titles will become one of yours, too.
Lola Kirke always has to be doing something (she “abhors relaxation,” or so says her Instagram bio), but this month, that something is a particular thrill: the publication of her debut essay collection Wild West Village: Not a Memoir (Unless I Win an Oscar, Die Tragically, or Score a Country #1).
The London-born, New York-raised, Nashville-based musician and actress (Mozart in the Jungle, Mistress America, Three Women, and Gone Girl, among others) majored in film theory at Bard College, where she was in an alt-country band, She Rose; signed as a senior with a talent agent; was directed by sister and fellow actress Jemima Kirke for her “Mama” music video; quit smoking with the help of a hypnotist; has been in therapy since she was 10; wrote a letter to the New Yorker objecting a movie review criticizing her character’s look in Gemini; went through a punk phase in her teens; and has a Substack, Love, Lola. She’ll next be seen in Ryan Coogler’s supernatural thriller with Michael B. Jordan, Sinners, this spring.
Good at: Eating (she likes mayo with her fries); living within a block of a Two Boots Pizza.
Bad at: Eating neatly; having bangs; boot-scoot line-dancing (she’s better at two-step); having an assistant.
Fan of: Rosanne Cash; monogamy; corniness; memes; cute dog videos (Kirke has a dog named Santino); neo-noir ’90s thrillers; Joni Mitchell; filmmaker Zia Anger; Vivienne Westwood; self-care; getting lost in the medieval section at The Metropolitan Museum of Art; trucks; the smell of gasoline; and vacuuming.
Not so much: Men who don’t ask questions; phones at the dinner table; dietary restrictions. See her book recs below.
The book that:
…I swear I’ll finish one day:
I have three copies of Women Who Run With the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estés. People just won’t stop giving that book to me. I’ve tried to read it. To feel empowered by it. And for about ten pages, I really do. Then I stop. But I swear I’ll finish one day.
…I consider literary comfort food:
I consider both Social Studies and Metropolitan Life by Fran Lebowitz to be my literary comfort food, despite a very uncomfortable memory involving myself and the author. I was 23 and had somehow wound up on a private jet. (Don’t ask.) She was the only other passenger. “Oh my God!” I squealed, starstruck and hoping a lifelong friendship might evolve. “You’re the judge from Law & Order!” Instead, she wordlessly donned an eye mask and reclined. Next time, I’ll say it more quietly.
…has the best title:
My Ántonia by Willa Cather. Maybe because Ántonia is the best name? But also because Willa Cather is a master.
…I’d like turned into a TV show:
My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Otessa Moshfegh because I love it but also because I want to play Reva. I love Reva.
...fills me with hope:
Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed. I think you’d have to actually be a heartless monster for it not to?
…that holds the recipe to a favorite dish:
Julia Reed’s Queen of the Turtle Derby not only contains my favorite dish (George Jones’s Sausage Balls—and no, that’s not a euphemism!) but also a recipe for a refreshing perspective on food, the South, fashion, and pleasure as a whole. Her writing is so delicious I find myself returning to it over and over.
…kept me up way too late:
Emma Forrest’s Busy Being Free. Her writing is always a wildly honest blend of poetry and prose, and her chronicle of divorce, celibacy, independence, and very un-vanilla sex is no exception.
…made me weep uncontrollably:
Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors. It’s about dysfunctional sisters in New York City, which is basically my personality. Regardless, I find most of Coco’s writing to be eerily resonant. Maybe it’s because we both grew up precocious British expats. Her wisdom and style are singular.
…I read in one sitting, it was that good:
Carrie Fisher’s Wishful Drinking. To be fair, the font is huge. But Carrie Fisher’s writing thrills me. I also love Postcards From the Edge and think the film is a must-see.
…helped me become a better writer:
While I’d like to say Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye made me a better writer, I think it’s really just the experience of reading some of the greatest writing ever to be done. I like to think some of it rubbed off on me by osmosis, though.
Bonus question: If I could live in any library or bookstore in the world, it would be:
The bookstore from You’ve Got Mail.
Bonus question: The literary organization/charity I support:
Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. By starting a foundation that promotes early childhood literacy, Dolly demonstrates once again what it is to be the best possible version of a human being. Supporting the Imagination Library also comes with a major perk if you happen to be a Tennessee resident: a license plate with her picture on it. Heaven!