Year sixteen of keeping a list of all the books I read is upon me, and while I record over on goodreads as well, I do love having the record here, too. Even if it's one of only a few posts for the year, at least there's something being marked here as time passes. At the end of 2022, I experienced a wave of enthusiasm for reading again, and while I'm realistically expecting that to continue to ebb and flow, I do hope that this year brings some enjoyable new reading times.
18. 12/27/23
Wow, No Thank You by Samantha Irby
How did it take me so long to find Samantha Irby's writing? The ridiculous number of dog-eared pages that mean I 1000% related to something she shared about her life or her experiences have increased the thickness of my paperback copy by at least 25%, no joke. Anxiety? Depression? Digestive issues? Outrageous intrusive thoughts? Damn if she wasn't singing to the choir of me with essay after essay here. Hilariously funny with self-deprecation dripping off the page, Irby is easily one of my new fave authors.
17. 10/20/23
The Witching Tide by Margaret Meyer
Woah, that was not an easy read, both in the weight of its subject and its actual language. I guess it was ridiculous of me to expect any lightness at all in an historical novel about the 1645 East Anglian witch trials. But be forewarned that the darkness here runs deep, and it's hard to come up for air while reading. Taking in the historically accurate depictions of what was done to so, so many women in the name of religious fervor disguising plain misogyny is a painful act of acknowledgement. "We are bitch. We are chit. We are slut. We are wrench, harlot, bawd, madam, jezebel, whore, daemon, sorceress, doxy, cunt, slattern, jade, hag, Madonna, quean, tart, sow, vixen, bee, shrew, bird, mutton, maiden, harpy, succuba, dame, mistress, hellion, crone. We are repugnant to Nature, contumely to God; We are monstrous, legion; We are too many, We are never enough."
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. by Judy BlumeI'm sure that I must have read this as a kid because everyone read it, right? Given that I'd like to see the movie soon, I thought it appropriate to not only read it, but add it to my personal collection, too, along with a couple of Blume's other classics. I laughed at the modernized cover, but was happy that the story stuck to the time period. There was an innocence to this writing that felt a bit quaint, as I'm used to even tweens in contemporary fiction being written a bit harder and more experienced. I'm curious to see how the friendships will be portrayed on screen, as at least one of Margaret's pals isn't always kind. This was fun to read (again, I think?) and I can only chuckle when I think back to a time when I actually wanted my period to come!
16. 9/24/23
The Island of Sea Women by Lisa See
I binged this book the day before I was meeting with my friends to talk about it, after looking at it sit on my desk for a couple of weeks. Once I got started, I was happy to just keep reading, so it didn't feel like a chore to read it all in the matter of a few hours. In addition to being reminded of how little I was ever taught about modern world history, I was amazed by the story of South Korea's haenyeo of Jeju Island, women who dive and harvest to feed and support their families and community. Gender, family, and friendship are the overarching themes of this fictional story presented against a background of true, and truly horrific, historical events. Lisa See delivers another complex novel with deeply drawn characters, as usual.
15. 9/2/23
I meant to read this when it first came out, but it kept getting pushed down my list. Damn if this wasn't sheer brilliance. Green's perspective and voice-- especially when he references his depression, anxiety, and general life views-- consistently hit me right in the gut. Here, his 'reviews' on a random assortment of human experiences are thoughtful and touching, and I wanted to immediately share passages with people in my life again and again. While I'd heard some of these essays on his podcast of the same title, reading them still breathed something new into them, especially the essay on "Auld Lang Syne" and one of the best humans ever, Amy Krouse Rosenthal.
14. 8/29/23
Please Don't Sit on My Bed in Your Outside Clothes by Phoebe Robinson
I finished this as I walked to work this morning, because I didn't want to wait until lunchtime. I'm a fan of Phoebe Robinson's writing style, having laughed at her previous collections of essays and her sitcom, so I was primed to giggle at her silly word abbreviations (abbreviashes?) and enjoy her voice again. I wasn't expecting the more serious tone that crept in, or the research-heavy references, but I absolutely shouldn't have been surprised. This is a collection of essays written by a Black woman during the last few years, of course there's some serious shit in here. And I'm here for it. Robinson's wit and wisdom are obvious, and their combination makes for a fantastic read.
13. 8/14/23
The People We Keep by Allison Larkin
I dog-eared so many pages of this novel to remember passages that were moving, tender, and touching that I almost doubled the book's thickness! I read nearly the whole book in a car ride home from DC, and it pained me to have to wait until the next day to finish. At the end, I wanted more, too-- more beautiful turns of phrase, more lyrical narrative, more story of a young person finally on the precipice of trusting and believing she could be loved. Through my tears, I closed the book, hopeful for true happiness for a character I know to be fictional but felt so real.
12. 8/10/23
What a perfect vacation read! I was already a big fan of Lindy West's writing, and with this collection of irreverent movie reviews, she had me chuckling again and again. I've never seen TWILIGHT, but by her retelling it sounds fucking hilarious. The book's title comes from her essay about my least favorite "holiday" movie... can you guess? About this terrible flick, she says, "Thank you for telling a generation of men that their intrusiveness and obsessions are "romantic," and that women are secretly flattered no matter what their body language (or mouth!) says." Brilliant.
11. 8/7/23
White Women: Everything You Already Know About Your Own Racism and How to Do Better by Regina Jackson and Saira Rao
White friends, this is a must read. Authors Saira Rao and Regina Jackson have put themselves and their own health in exhausting and dangerous situations, all in an attempt to get us white women to see our own racism clearly. If we don't acknowledge our racist beliefs and actions, along with the ways in which we actively uphold white supremacy, then nothing will change. Not for Black, brown, Indigenous, or other people of color, and, as they emphasize, for ourselves. They point out the ways in which our racism hurts ourselves, too. I'm personally thinking a lot about the pressure for perfection, and how rooted that is in white supremacy, and how harmful it is for everyone. Having read a couple other books of this nature (but sometimes authored by other white women), I was drawn in immediately by Rao and Jackson's tone and straightforward writing. Be ready to see yourself in ways that will make you feel uncomfortable and maybe become defensive. Be prepared to understand white privilege in a deeper manner-- white entitlement. I want to be better, and I have a lot to confront in myself. I think most of us white women need to.
10. 7/3/23
Outlawed by Anna North
My 17 year old kid recommended this one to me, and they couldn't have been happier when I loved it just as much as they did. I was absolutely taken with this alternate history of the U.S. in the 1890s and the Hole in the Wall gang, but with women and nonbinary folx at the heart of the action. The arguably honorable motivations of the thieves stem from all the ways they were outcast from mainstream society-- a society of religious zealotry that, of course, solely values women for their ability to bear children and deems them witches if unable to do so. The characters here can offer so much more and dare to try. In 2021, a television adaptation was announced, but I can't find any news on it since. Keeping my fingers crossed for a representation as gritty and tender as the book.
9. 6/19/23
Everything You Know About Animals is Wrong by Matt Brown
This was an entertaining book to pick up every now and then, chuckle at the author's jokes, and surprise myself with-- or sometimes confirm-- fun facts about the animalia kingdom. I'm not sure how much of these corrected misconceptions will stick in my brain, but if you had the pleasure of being nearby when I was reading this, you were undoubtedly subjected to me saying, "Hey, listen to this!"
8. 6/17/23
Why Fathers Cry at Night: A Memoir in Love Poems, Letters, Recipes, and Remembrances by Kwame Alexander
I've been a fan of Kwame Alexander's work for a long time now, and I've had the joy of seeing him present online and in-person several times, so I felt like I already had a decent sense of the kind of person he is. His memoir tells a lot more of his story than I had imagined, and I enjoyed thinking about his perspective on parenthood (from both the parent and child roles) and relationships. I've ever written love poems myself- nor had them written to me- but I connected with so much of the ride that new love can be. His writing about his mother and her death almost six years ago is deeply emotional, and through my tears, I hoped my kids would someday think similar thoughts about me. I'm still not confident that I read poetry the "right" way, but I felt a lot as I took in his words, and even more so when I heard him recite it in interviews. I appreciated the recipes in here, too, which allowed me to make some jollof chicken for the first time. (Not as spicy as I expected- can you believe it?!)
7. 5/21/23
Tomorrow, And Tomorrow, And Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Beautiful, and beautiful, and beautiful. I loved everything about this novel-- the language (even though I had to Google SO MANY WORDS), the character development, the joys and pains of the sprawling story. Talking with friends who've read this opened up conversations about which of the protagonists we connected with, empathized with, or even liked. I wonder about the author's ideas behind various gender expectations in our society and the influence on the characters she created. I questioned my own biases in how I responded to the characters, too. I have almost no personal experience with video games, especially the kinds created by the primary characters, and I honestly had no idea of the depth of the creation process. But maybe an old dog could try some new tricks, because the way gaming was portrayed here was intriguing.
6. 5/6/23
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. by Judy Blume
5. 3/24/23
Fat Angie by e.E. Charlton-Trujillo
You know when you start a book and the protagonist just immediately clicks as someone you understand, someone you know? This YA novel's Angie made sense to me from the jump, even as she doesn't make a ton of sense to herself. There is real trauma and darkness here, and there is also the strength of just continuing to TRY, day after day, amidst the pain. I'm glad this book found its way to me right now, and I'm going to have to get the sequels right quick!
4. 3/16/23
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
I'm so glad I didn't read this when everyone was first talking about it, because it made the exact perfect poolside read this week! Or should I say *yesterday* because I read it cover to cover in one day. This narrative is told in a compelling tone, leading me to devour chapter after chapter, with some pool breaks, of course. Reid writes in such a comfortable, conversational way, it's easy to tune out the world around you and stay absorbed with Evelyn Hugo's universe. This novel hit the spot as a vacation read!
3. 2/25/23
The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff
I'm mildly obsessed with the AppleTV+ series BAD SISTERS, and this novel very quickly reminded me of that brilliant show's plot. It took a bit longer before I sensed something even more similar- dark, dark humor. By the final scenes, I was literally laughing out loud at it all. Under the humor, there were themes of class (specifically in the caste system in India) and gender running through the story, often described through the protagonist's eyes as her perspective and understandings grow. While I had misgivings with some characterizations, overall, I quite enjoyed the novel.
2. 1/29/23
Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive by Stephanie Land
If working hard automatically equaled success and financial security, author Stephanie Land would have been set from the beginning. Instead, as she recounts in this memoir, she struggled through almost impossible systems that offer more suspicion than support. Her personal stories might be eye-opening to people without experience with poverty in our country, and I do hope that she can offer a detailed narrative that opposes long-held assumptions about people who "abuse the welfare system." I'm in awe at her sheer fortitude, and I look forward to hearing her speak next month as part of a community read event.
1. 1/21/23
The Sentence by Louise Erdrich
I had difficulty getting into this novel, and had I not been reading it with some friends, I may not have persevered. But I was under a deadline and started on page 33 earlier this afternoon, reading the final page (374) just before midnight. I'm so glad I kept with it, because even if I wasn't always clear on exactly what was happening or just what characters were talking about, I was definitely pulled in by the emotions. There's a whole lot of content being tackled here from death, haunting, incarceration, Indigenous life and history, the onset of Covid and its early days, the summer of the murder of George Floyd, so much. Maybe that felt overwhelming at times, but it ultimately was a perfect representation of the undeniably overwhelming nature of 2020.
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