Thank you Graywood & NetGalley for the copy! Unfortunately this was a miss for me — I've enjoyed Maggie Nelson's more meditative and intimate works (Bluets, The Argonauts) for exactly that; and while an unveiling of once private conversations offered the potential for that same emotional proximity, it consequently felt like streaking: a voluntary undressing made into some forced exhibition.

That's not to disqualify this sort of unfurling, I feel as though Shiela Heti accomplished this well in Alphabetical Diaries. But I suppose in that case, her diary entries felt like sardonic revelations whereas Nelson's conversations read more as uneventful encounters that somehow escaped into public eye. There just seemed to be purpose missing, a sentiment to cling to, a feeling to be shared. It's hard to be moved by a carcass when even its ghost has disappeared.

Maggie Nelson has fantastic writing and Like Love continues that tradition. I liked the compilation and the narrator was easy to listen to.

maggie nelson's latest collection of essays, 'like love' contains writing from 20 years of nelson's work, told in interviews, essays, reviews, and shorter tributes to others working in the same space as her. the topics of these essays all centre around love, friendship, queer issues, and feminism, among others. this book was really interesting, as it showed the thought processes & idea generation that occurred while nelson wrote iconic books such as 'the argonauts' and 'bluets', both of which i enjoyed. i think this would have worked better in print instead of audiobook, as it was often hard to determine who was speaking. that said, the blending of personal stories with queer theory & scholarship was done seamlessly, a strength nelson has shown in all her books, and i ultimately enjoyed this one.

I was very excited to read 'Like Love' by Maggie Nelson seeing she is an author I love. I enjoyed the 'content' of the book within the essays and conversations, but I struggled to stay interested. I found the narration to feel a little robotic and disconnected from the book, so I ended up DNF'ing around 50%. That being said, I will likely pick up the physical at one point and give it another shot.

VERY GRATEFUL to #NetGalley for the opportunity to re-experience these essays and conversations on #audiobook. Grateful that this modality helps bridge my own gaps in better comprehending some TRULY INTELLIGENT, unfamiliar, and informative content. This is not the Maggie Nelson I've read in Argonauts, Bluets, Jane: A Murder, or The Red Parts. But WOW!

This is a span of writing (most from past publications/interviews) which includes literary criticism (some of which turned me on to new #writers and #artists like Ben Lerner, Eileen Myles, and Wayne Koestenbaum. The latter being my favorite piece within the collection. It feels like an honor to have experienced the pure intelligence and scope of topics shared in their discussion (the second essay in the collection). Their conversation is an amusement park built purely from language + passion. With an obvious dash of friendship!!!

This will not be for everyone but for those who LOVE LANGUAGE, LOVE MAGGIE O'FARRELL, and LOVE LEARNING new things with an open and enthusiastic mind, it IS for you.

The theme of this book is right up my alley- I love a book of essays to help see different situations and perspectives. However, I got this ARC as an audiobook and unfortunately the narration was very very hard to get through. I was unable to finish the whole book because the cadence and flat speech of the narrator was a big turn off for me. I am still very very interested in getting through the whole book, but I am going to try a different format (ebook or print). The parts I did hear were at least interesting enough for me to want to pursue consuming the book and making it worth the money to buy it. Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for allowing me the chance to listen to this ARC.

I love collections of essays and I am so thankful to Highbridge audio, Maggie Nelson, and Netgalley for granting me advanced access to this collection before publication day, April 16, 2024.