What's on your nightstand? Vol. 3: Kolina Cicero

Oct 17, 2024

Hello and welcome to the third edition of What’s on your nightstand? Today’s guest is the ever-inspiring

, an avid reader and writer I initially connected with on Instagram but have had the pleasure of getting to know better here on Substack. While the overlap of our bookish tastes leaves me always immediately wanting to read every book Kolina has ever loved, I’ve also found her thoughts on the writing life to resonate deeply in ways I never anticipated. She is open, authentic, and incredibly thoughtful in ways that give me hope as an aspiring writer juggling all the responsibilities that come with adulting and parenthood. Welcome, Kolina!

Alexandra (A): How do the books on your nightstand reflect where you are in life right now?
Kolina (K): The books on my nightstand are a reflection both of where I am in life right now and where I want to be. I’ve always got the one or two or three books I’m currently reading, but then there’s the stack below, which are the books I move from my bookshelf, or the library books that became available – all the books I want to read soon. When I finish a book and am ready to pick up my next one, this stack is where I try to go. It doesn’t always work out that way. Like I said, these books are indications of where I want to be, but I’m not always in the mood for them, so sometimes I stray and choose a book from somewhere else. I am a mood reader. A vibes reader. But I also receive a lot of books from publishers (am I the luckiest or what?) and if a title speaks to me, I’ll put it on the top of this dusty stack.

A: What’s a book that’s brought you peace or a new perspective during a difficult time?
K: I am going to cheat and say an entire author: Elena Ferrante. I have always written, but I long struggled to find my voice, as all writers do. It takes experimenting and practice and, in this case, reading. When I came across Ferrante’s frankness, her turns of phrases that leave you uncomfortable, her way of talking about ugly things beautifully, I realized what had been holding me back: the fear of touching on the mundanity of everyday life. There’s something to say about everything, even the garbage littering the streets of Naples. Ferrante did it, and, in reading her complete works, I learned that I could, too. For a specific book, though, I’d say one of her first: The Days of Abandonment.

A: Besides books, what other treasures do you keep on your nightstand?
K: I bought a tiny notebook from a bookstore while at a book reading. The intention was to carry it around and take notes; write down ideas or conversations I overhear. As it stands, two pages have been used and they were both done by my daughter. One is a page full of hearts, the other is a web of lines. I will get to it soon.

My habit tracking journal is always on my nightstand, unless I’m traveling, in which case it’s in my carry-on. I’ve been tracking my habits daily for four years. Or is it five? I began one November years ago, anyhow. It’s quite boring, but somehow I can’t stop: I write down the habits I want to track (reading, writing, and yoga, for example) and give myself an X if I do them in any given day, and this is how I stay on track of my life. It’s the black journal you see on top of Housemates.

There’s also the May 19, 2024 issue of The New York Times Style Magazine on the bottom shelf of my nightstand. I’ve been hanging onto the magazine because inside is a story about stuffed pasta – specifically Piedmont’s agnolotti del plin, that I want to read but have not read yet. I imagine it will remain in my nightstand for several months more. I’m not stalling, exactly. In fact, I’d like to stop what I’m doing and flip through the story now (it even has a field guide to ravioli!) but I keep putting it off because once I read it, it’s done. Italy is my safe place, and this story feels to me like it will be an escape. I’m saving it for when I need to take a little viaggio.

Kolina’s nightstand. Photo credit: Kolina Cicero

A: Do you have a seasonal reading ritual or a specific type of book/genre you gravitate toward during the cooler months?
K: I don’t have any seasonal reading rituals, but I am drawn to the darker novels this time of year (I am always drawn to them, but this time of year often escalates my thirst for them). I don’t like horror – in fact I put a book down the other day because it was too gruesome for me – but I like the psychological stories. Stories of contemplation. I also love dark academia because I am perpetually wishing I was back in school. These books lull me into a cozy nostalgic stupor.

Views of Kolina's nightstand. Photo credit: Kolina Cicero

A: What book are you always recommending to friends, and why do you think it deserves a spot on everyone’s nightstand?
K: This book isn’t on my nightstand because I borrowed it from the library, but I intend to purchase it because it’s the book I currently am recommending the most. It’s Open Throat by Henry Hoke. It’s a tiny book with a walloping hook. The narrator is a mountain lion living in the Hollywood hills. There is no punctuation in the book (he’s a mountain lion, we can’t blame him for improper writing) and when he says “ellay,” he is referring to LA, where he lives.

I adore this book. It’s one of the smartest novels I have read in ages. And even though it’s only 20,000 words, it was positioned as a novel. I imagine because it’s as emotionally hefty as any other novel on my nightstand. The mountain lion – who, by the way, goes by they/them pronouns – speaks of the people he sees hiking in his hills. It’s a beautiful, staggering observation of humanity, with their loud talking and their inability to look away from their phones.

It’s a remarkable book. Please read it, and if you do, I must hear about it.