1. "The Happiest I've Ever Been" by John Updike
I'm starting off the year with a short story. I've never been an Updike fan but read somewhere that this is Kate DiCamillo's favorite short story and since Kate DiCamillo is amazing (Despereaux is such a beautiful, wise, wonderful book) I thought I should give it a try. It's a strange little story in which not much happens and I think the key point is that the narrator feels good about himself and the world because two people feel safe and secure enough with him, even though they don't know him well, to fall asleep in his company. I think that's about the gist of it. It did make me feel peaceful to read it.
2. Underground Airlines by Ben Winters
This is a very interesting read and a great companion read to Colson Whitehead's Underground Railroad. The crafting of what our world would be like if the Civil War had never been fought is fascinating and subtle and reminds me a bit of Philip K. Dick's The Man in the High Castle. The book is a thriller, with mystery, action and a good deal of violence. The main character is fully realized though the secondary characters are less so. The only one that I found a bit of a stretch was the transformation of Martha from desperate single mother to action hero agent of the Underground Railroad, but I forgave it as a genre trope. The writing about the main character's childhood, with his older brother Castle, is heartbreaking and beautifully written--just enough to make you wish for more (maybe the name is an homage to Dick's book?)
3. March book 2 by John Lewis
Re-read this so I can talk about it with the kids (they are reading books 2 & 3 in celebration of MLK day.) Extra relevant this week after Trump's Twitter attack on John Lewis.
4. The Story of A New Name by Elena Ferrante
I'm not really sure why I listened to 15 CDs worth of this audio book since I can't say I really enjoyed it. It is spectacularly well written and the reader is an excellent reader. I'll give it that. But I got so fed up with the relationship between the two main characters: Elena's passivity and longing for Lila's approval and Lila trampling over her feelings over and over again. How many times do I need to hear how Lila's eyes narrowed and Elena felt like an academic fraud? It ended with a cliff-hanger, but I think I may be done with this series. Thinking of the next book just makes me tired and there are so many other books out there I could be reading.
5. Between the World and Me (Audiobook) by Ta-Nahisi Coates
Why did no one tell me how amazing the Audiobook version is? I mean, reading the book is powerful, but hearing it read by Mr Coates multiplies that by an exponential factor. Hearing the worry and tenderness in his voice as he talks to his son about the black body--his body, his son's body, his friends' bodies--is so intense I had to pause the recording to catch my breath. It's only 3 CDs long. Everyone should listen to it.
6. The Secrets of Wishtide by Kate Saunders
Total fluffy Victorian mystery for escapism. Not particularly well-written or interesting, but a testimony to how much I need to escape from the world these days. Benign and harmless.
7. A Shadow Bright and Burning by Jessica Cluess
A decent-enough YA series about Sorcerers and Magicians in Victorian England. I'm not sure if it has enough ooph to warrant the sequel it is clearly aiming toward.
8. City of Thieves by David Benioff
I listened to the excellent audio book, read by Ron Perlman. I found it more interesting, in light of present politics, than I probably would have 6 months ago, before the threat of propaganda and totalitarianism was quite so palpable. The gallows-humor in this book seemed like an excellent strategy to adopt when dealing with a ridiculous yet powerful and threatening government. And it separates out a love of place from a love of the people in charge of the place: cultural identity does not have to be nationalistic patriotism. It also has wonderful characters: Lev is sympathetic and Kolya is incredibly charming and the latter is really, really hard to do (most of the time when a character is supposed to be charming, I find him annoying, but not Kolya). I really loved this book.
9. Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew'd by Alan Bradley
Escapist audio-book mystery that I wanted to be more fun than it was. I've read many of the other Flavia mysteries, but think the author has reached the limit of the series. I no longer found her personification of her bicycle charming. I no longer believed that she cared for her father (despite her proclamations of adoration repeated many, many times) when the only nurturing comes from the servant, Dogger. I no longer believe that adults are incompetent and her mind is the only one that can deduce the connections. I guess I won't be reading any of the future Flavia books.
10. Commonwealth by Ann Patchett
Wow. Beautiful, beautiful novel, rightly praised to the sky. This is a re-reader for sure.
11. Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly
An important story with lots of compelling moments, though the prose is pretty utilitarian. So not one of those non-fiction books where the author's style pulls you along, but the information is significant and I hope it becomes a well known part of the story of WWII aviation and the US Space program.
12. Apocalyptigirl by Andrew MacLean
Case in point that not everyone who can draw can tell a story....empty graphic novel.
13. The Turner House by Angela Flournoy
Excellent novel about an African-American Detroit family. I listened to the audio book which has an excellent reader, too. The story is mostly focused on the oldest and youngest of 13 siblings, but the arc includes the story of the two parents moving from Arkansas to Detroit during WWII, the rise and fall of the neighborhood where the titular house is located on Detroit's east side, and the complexities of various marriages, parent/child relationships and friendships. Highly recommended.
14. Zone One by Colson Whitehead
Whitehead's literary zombie novel is not an easy one to read right now. There are plenty of genre-faithful descriptions of the zombies and the ways they eat people, but the rest of the book is a meditation on the end of the world and people living with memories of "before" while struggling to survive "after." With our recent catastrophic election, this contemplation of "before" and "after" was hard for me to read because I make the same kind of comparisons (trauma, though of a less-grizzly variety) between life in October and life now.
15. The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi
Fun, escapist sci-fi read. All the "good" characters sound the same (like Scalzi at his best when he's on a rant on his personal weblog) but who cares? It's entertainment and the political/economic world building is pretty interesting.
16. The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen
Whew. Starts funny, becomes absurd, and ends really heavy. Wild ride of a book about the fall of Vietnam and the aftermath of exiles. The last third was really hard to read, particularly in its reflection on how all government is corrupt and ideology is empty.
17. Today Will Be Different by Maria Semple
Meh. Maria Semple does smart and neurotic so well, but I still found this book hard to care about. The main character is so privileged and such a mess that I didn't really care about her pain about the severed relationship with her sister or her worries about her husband. Also, didn't see much evidence that those were relationships that I should care about because I was only "told" they were important, not shown they were important. I felt great relief when her sister/brother-in-law dump her at the airport. When you have a flawed and fickle character, and you have to take her word for it that these people are important/good/worth caring about without really seeing any evidence in her interactions with the two people, then it decreases the significance. Also, the ending felt like a cop out (husband being disloyal to her by finding religion) and an easy way to end the book.
18. The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry
An interesting historical fiction which addresses the conflict between the natural sciences and religion at the end of the 19th C. But even more striking is the novel's focus on friendship in many different forms: between a man and a woman, a man and a man, a woman and a woman, a girl and a girl, a boy and a woman. While some have summarized this book as being about the fear of, and search for, a "Loch Ness Monster" type of creature in Essex, I'd say that the novel is mostly about the complexity of friendship. Memorable writing and characters.
19. What is Not Yours is Not Yours by Helen Oyeyemi
Quirky short stories that took me a while to get into but ultimately I'm glad I pushed through: beautiful, memorable moments. And it was nice to be in a reality that was less rigid than the one I usually occupy.
20. Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
I listened to a very well done audio book version of this. I'd been meaning to read it for a while and it was a thumping good story. The only parts that seemed a little too glib were Maddie's experience in occupied France: a little too easy and people too cheerful for my taste. But it is a YA historical adventure so maybe loading on the misery was not the point. Excellent writing about friendship and about smart young women.
21. LaRose by Louise Erdrich
The premise of the novel kept me from reading it for a while (child killed) but I'm glad I faced it down. It happens right at the beginning of the novel and, while this is a novel about grief, it is also a novel about living and about the complexities of all different kinds of love. I loved the closing scene with the ancestors coming to the feast and the newest ghost, the child who is killed in the first chapter, joining them.
22. The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
A fun sci-fi read. Lots of world building and interest in inter-species relations, plus playing around with how long distance space travel might work. Kind of like one of the newer Star Trek series but with humans being a lesser species in the hierarchy (which is refreshing).
23. How it All Began by Penelope Lively
Meh. Gentle (and by gentle I mean meandering and shapeless) novel about contemporary British people. Nothing unique or memorable here. A sense of tedium and fatigue in the writing and for the reader, tolerating, rather than enjoying the various characters.
24. Deep Secret by Diana Wynne Jones
Started off well but then deteriorated at the end into a hot mess. Clearly Diana Wynne Jones can envision alternate worlds in her sleep, because they are effortlessly drawn. But the plot? the characters? all over the damn place. The most baffling thing was how one of the main characters, Maree, is totally dropped as a narrative voice by the end. She shares the narration with Rupert for the first half and I kept waiting for her to come back into the narrative at the end. I waited in vain. She was silenced and I was pissed.
25. The Space Between the Stars by Anne Corlett
Engaging read, though maybe not for big time SciFi fans (very little in the way of science included despite many planets, space ships, space travel and human-made killer viruses). Lots of contemplation of one's place in the world and connecting, or not, with other people. There were things I definitely liked about the book, particularly the fact that the main character is somewhat surly and suspicious of other people while also knowing that she needs people to survive. There were also things that I wasn't so fond of like the coincidence after coincidence after coincidence that emerged to drive the plot (really? on a remote outer planet the three people who survive a plague all want to get back to the same little spot on the Northumbrian coastline?)
26. The Adventures of John Blake : mystery of the ghost ship by Philip Pullman
A graphic novel by Philip Pullman sounded promising, but it is pretty "meh." The plot isn't unique, the characters aren't unique, even the artwork isn't anything special.
27. Anything is Possible by Elizabeth Strout
Exquisite, intertwined stories from the world of Lucy Barton (so much more resonance if you have already read that work). I gobbled this down in one day and floated around for days afterward. Looking forward to reading it again.
28. A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
Favorite book so far this year (and that 's saying something since I read it right after Anything is Possible). Exquisite and gentle and funny and heartfelt. I loved every moment of it.
29. After Long Silence by Helen Fremont
A decent memoir about the author's parents who survived the Holocaust and the Russian gulag. Also about the secrets that families keep from each other.
30. Chemistry by Weike Wang
Intense. Funny. A main character who is both likable and unlikable at the same time. Complicated. Musings on family, language, science, meaning, relationships, compromise, happiness. It doesn't try to answer definitively any of these topics, but has something to say about all of them. I enjoying this quirky novel.
31. The Jane Austen Project by Kathleen Flynn
A weird mix of someone who wants to write time travel fiction that's as smart as Connie Willis' (this isn't), include lots of fan talk about the minutiae of Jane Austen's life and novels (successful at that part) but also include the heaving bosoms of any Regency romance novel. It was engaging enough, though obviously flawed, but I can't really recommend it because at the end I sort of shrugged "eh?"
32. Thick as Thieves by Megan Whalen Turner
Terrific addition to the Queen's Thief series of book. I enjoyed this one much more than the one focused on Sounis. The unlikely friendship that forms between the two main character and the transformation of Kamet's thinking from high-ranking slave to free man was interesting and moving.
33. The Book of the Unnamed Midwife by Meg Elison
Listened to a good audio book production. A grim dystopia about a plague that kills off 99 percent of men and 99.9 percent of women. The gender politics is harsh and realistic and sometimes horrific to read. I liked the tough as nails unnamed (or more accurately, many-named) midwife. I didn't realize that this is the first in a series because it stands alone well, but I plan to follow up with the next book, The Book of Etta.
34. Jane, Unlimited by Kristin Cashore
Hmmm. Not sure what I think of this yet. Well written, that's for sure. But I don't know if I care for the concept and the choose your own adventure style of plot. Seems to both subscribe to a layering effect in which each chapter isn't totally discreet from another and a quantum theory of universal possibilities which should mean that what happens in one chapter isn't relevant to the others. Definitely well crafted, but I don't know if I enjoyed it much. It might require some time to see if it sticks with me at all and maybe a re-read.
35. Turtles All the Way Down by John Green
Decent enough novel to help people understand the internal struggle of OCD, but only one character, Daisy, came alive for me. The rest, including the main character, I couldn't visualize and didn't care all that much about. Daisy seemed interesting and compelling and had a back story that I wanted to know much more about, but she was the sidekick, not the main character.
36. Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin
Beautifully written and so sad. The quest for identity and love in Paris of the 1950's. So lonely the prose aches on the page.
37. Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz
Clever doubled story within a story murder mystery. I didn't, however, find the main character, Susan, very convincing. But this might have had to do with the fact that I listened to the audio book version and the woman reader just sounded prim. I think if she'd had an edgier delivery, I would have believed in the risks the character was taking.
38. The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman
Oh Philip Pullman! Thank you for pulling me back in to the world of the Golden Compass! I gobbled this down like a hungry teen and loved every moment of it. And I loved how he was able to capture Lyra/Pan's spirit even through their pre-verbal infancy! Now the problem of waiting for the next book...maybe I'll dream about my daemon. I'm thinking a great horned owl right now...
39. Wedding Toasts I'll Never Give by Ada Calhoun
I really loved this non-fiction book about the complications, the struggles and the blessings of marriage. Finishing it gave me a profound appreciation both for Brian and for the invisible work we both do every day.
40. Jane Austen: The Secret Radical by Helena Kelly
I loved this non-fiction dive into a close-reading and social history of Austen's novels. And I'm heartened that there are still academics producing work like this which dive deep into the social issues that lurk in the background of her novels: I knew about the slavery, but had no idea about the issues of enclosure and discoveries in the natural sciences that subtly inform the texts.
41. Quiet Until the Thaw by Alexandra Fuller
Holy cow, what an amazing book. Heartbreaking and funny and beautiful picture of reservation life, written by a woman born in England, raised in Africa and now living in Wyoming. Right up there with Sherman Alexie and Louise Erdrich (and I can't help but wonder what their feelings are about someone who is not Native American writing this book.)
42. Swing Time by Zadie Smith
Zadie Smith's writing is so finely tuned, so biting and accurate in the observations and so unconcerned with likability. It's very brave writing, but sometimes I admire it more than enjoy it. I kept wondering if the book is on Madonna's radar as the music phenomenon for whom the main character is a PA is clearly based on her and her career.
43. The News of the World by Paulette Jiles
This book was such a pleasure to read: the relationship between the Captain and the reluctantly rescued captive was just beautiful. And Jiles does a better job than anyone else I've read writing about the complexities of the Kiowa culture.
44. Still Life by Louise Penny
I don't get it. People keep raving about this mystery writer, calling her books "literary" and different from other mysteries and I don't see it. From the stereotypical gay couple (really? frilly aprons?) to the murderer who fools everyone until it is revealed that he's a psychopath, to the hanging on detective trainee who is written about with scorn, rather than compassion, I thought this book was just a basic mystery and not a very good one at that. Even the writing about art and the idea that the clues were embedded in the paintings if only people knew how to read them was shabby. Didn't like it, won't be reading more of her books.
45. Autumn by Ali Smith
Beautiful story about the friendship between an old man and a girl/woman. The term "kindred spirits" (from Anne of Green Gables) was made for the relationship between Daniel and Elisabeth. Prose that is lyrical without ever being overblown and some lovely writing about art (which is very hard to do so I appreciate the craft). I can't wait to read the other seasons as Smith writes them.
I'm starting off the year with a short story. I've never been an Updike fan but read somewhere that this is Kate DiCamillo's favorite short story and since Kate DiCamillo is amazing (Despereaux is such a beautiful, wise, wonderful book) I thought I should give it a try. It's a strange little story in which not much happens and I think the key point is that the narrator feels good about himself and the world because two people feel safe and secure enough with him, even though they don't know him well, to fall asleep in his company. I think that's about the gist of it. It did make me feel peaceful to read it.
2. Underground Airlines by Ben Winters
This is a very interesting read and a great companion read to Colson Whitehead's Underground Railroad. The crafting of what our world would be like if the Civil War had never been fought is fascinating and subtle and reminds me a bit of Philip K. Dick's The Man in the High Castle. The book is a thriller, with mystery, action and a good deal of violence. The main character is fully realized though the secondary characters are less so. The only one that I found a bit of a stretch was the transformation of Martha from desperate single mother to action hero agent of the Underground Railroad, but I forgave it as a genre trope. The writing about the main character's childhood, with his older brother Castle, is heartbreaking and beautifully written--just enough to make you wish for more (maybe the name is an homage to Dick's book?)
3. March book 2 by John Lewis
Re-read this so I can talk about it with the kids (they are reading books 2 & 3 in celebration of MLK day.) Extra relevant this week after Trump's Twitter attack on John Lewis.
4. The Story of A New Name by Elena Ferrante
I'm not really sure why I listened to 15 CDs worth of this audio book since I can't say I really enjoyed it. It is spectacularly well written and the reader is an excellent reader. I'll give it that. But I got so fed up with the relationship between the two main characters: Elena's passivity and longing for Lila's approval and Lila trampling over her feelings over and over again. How many times do I need to hear how Lila's eyes narrowed and Elena felt like an academic fraud? It ended with a cliff-hanger, but I think I may be done with this series. Thinking of the next book just makes me tired and there are so many other books out there I could be reading.
5. Between the World and Me (Audiobook) by Ta-Nahisi Coates
Why did no one tell me how amazing the Audiobook version is? I mean, reading the book is powerful, but hearing it read by Mr Coates multiplies that by an exponential factor. Hearing the worry and tenderness in his voice as he talks to his son about the black body--his body, his son's body, his friends' bodies--is so intense I had to pause the recording to catch my breath. It's only 3 CDs long. Everyone should listen to it.
6. The Secrets of Wishtide by Kate Saunders
Total fluffy Victorian mystery for escapism. Not particularly well-written or interesting, but a testimony to how much I need to escape from the world these days. Benign and harmless.
7. A Shadow Bright and Burning by Jessica Cluess
A decent-enough YA series about Sorcerers and Magicians in Victorian England. I'm not sure if it has enough ooph to warrant the sequel it is clearly aiming toward.
8. City of Thieves by David Benioff
I listened to the excellent audio book, read by Ron Perlman. I found it more interesting, in light of present politics, than I probably would have 6 months ago, before the threat of propaganda and totalitarianism was quite so palpable. The gallows-humor in this book seemed like an excellent strategy to adopt when dealing with a ridiculous yet powerful and threatening government. And it separates out a love of place from a love of the people in charge of the place: cultural identity does not have to be nationalistic patriotism. It also has wonderful characters: Lev is sympathetic and Kolya is incredibly charming and the latter is really, really hard to do (most of the time when a character is supposed to be charming, I find him annoying, but not Kolya). I really loved this book.
9. Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew'd by Alan Bradley
Escapist audio-book mystery that I wanted to be more fun than it was. I've read many of the other Flavia mysteries, but think the author has reached the limit of the series. I no longer found her personification of her bicycle charming. I no longer believed that she cared for her father (despite her proclamations of adoration repeated many, many times) when the only nurturing comes from the servant, Dogger. I no longer believe that adults are incompetent and her mind is the only one that can deduce the connections. I guess I won't be reading any of the future Flavia books.
10. Commonwealth by Ann Patchett
Wow. Beautiful, beautiful novel, rightly praised to the sky. This is a re-reader for sure.
11. Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly
An important story with lots of compelling moments, though the prose is pretty utilitarian. So not one of those non-fiction books where the author's style pulls you along, but the information is significant and I hope it becomes a well known part of the story of WWII aviation and the US Space program.
12. Apocalyptigirl by Andrew MacLean
Case in point that not everyone who can draw can tell a story....empty graphic novel.
13. The Turner House by Angela Flournoy
Excellent novel about an African-American Detroit family. I listened to the audio book which has an excellent reader, too. The story is mostly focused on the oldest and youngest of 13 siblings, but the arc includes the story of the two parents moving from Arkansas to Detroit during WWII, the rise and fall of the neighborhood where the titular house is located on Detroit's east side, and the complexities of various marriages, parent/child relationships and friendships. Highly recommended.
14. Zone One by Colson Whitehead
Whitehead's literary zombie novel is not an easy one to read right now. There are plenty of genre-faithful descriptions of the zombies and the ways they eat people, but the rest of the book is a meditation on the end of the world and people living with memories of "before" while struggling to survive "after." With our recent catastrophic election, this contemplation of "before" and "after" was hard for me to read because I make the same kind of comparisons (trauma, though of a less-grizzly variety) between life in October and life now.
15. The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi
Fun, escapist sci-fi read. All the "good" characters sound the same (like Scalzi at his best when he's on a rant on his personal weblog) but who cares? It's entertainment and the political/economic world building is pretty interesting.
16. The Sympathizer by Viet Thanh Nguyen
Whew. Starts funny, becomes absurd, and ends really heavy. Wild ride of a book about the fall of Vietnam and the aftermath of exiles. The last third was really hard to read, particularly in its reflection on how all government is corrupt and ideology is empty.
17. Today Will Be Different by Maria Semple
Meh. Maria Semple does smart and neurotic so well, but I still found this book hard to care about. The main character is so privileged and such a mess that I didn't really care about her pain about the severed relationship with her sister or her worries about her husband. Also, didn't see much evidence that those were relationships that I should care about because I was only "told" they were important, not shown they were important. I felt great relief when her sister/brother-in-law dump her at the airport. When you have a flawed and fickle character, and you have to take her word for it that these people are important/good/worth caring about without really seeing any evidence in her interactions with the two people, then it decreases the significance. Also, the ending felt like a cop out (husband being disloyal to her by finding religion) and an easy way to end the book.
18. The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry
An interesting historical fiction which addresses the conflict between the natural sciences and religion at the end of the 19th C. But even more striking is the novel's focus on friendship in many different forms: between a man and a woman, a man and a man, a woman and a woman, a girl and a girl, a boy and a woman. While some have summarized this book as being about the fear of, and search for, a "Loch Ness Monster" type of creature in Essex, I'd say that the novel is mostly about the complexity of friendship. Memorable writing and characters.
19. What is Not Yours is Not Yours by Helen Oyeyemi
Quirky short stories that took me a while to get into but ultimately I'm glad I pushed through: beautiful, memorable moments. And it was nice to be in a reality that was less rigid than the one I usually occupy.
20. Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
I listened to a very well done audio book version of this. I'd been meaning to read it for a while and it was a thumping good story. The only parts that seemed a little too glib were Maddie's experience in occupied France: a little too easy and people too cheerful for my taste. But it is a YA historical adventure so maybe loading on the misery was not the point. Excellent writing about friendship and about smart young women.
21. LaRose by Louise Erdrich
The premise of the novel kept me from reading it for a while (child killed) but I'm glad I faced it down. It happens right at the beginning of the novel and, while this is a novel about grief, it is also a novel about living and about the complexities of all different kinds of love. I loved the closing scene with the ancestors coming to the feast and the newest ghost, the child who is killed in the first chapter, joining them.
22. The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
A fun sci-fi read. Lots of world building and interest in inter-species relations, plus playing around with how long distance space travel might work. Kind of like one of the newer Star Trek series but with humans being a lesser species in the hierarchy (which is refreshing).
23. How it All Began by Penelope Lively
Meh. Gentle (and by gentle I mean meandering and shapeless) novel about contemporary British people. Nothing unique or memorable here. A sense of tedium and fatigue in the writing and for the reader, tolerating, rather than enjoying the various characters.
24. Deep Secret by Diana Wynne Jones
Started off well but then deteriorated at the end into a hot mess. Clearly Diana Wynne Jones can envision alternate worlds in her sleep, because they are effortlessly drawn. But the plot? the characters? all over the damn place. The most baffling thing was how one of the main characters, Maree, is totally dropped as a narrative voice by the end. She shares the narration with Rupert for the first half and I kept waiting for her to come back into the narrative at the end. I waited in vain. She was silenced and I was pissed.
25. The Space Between the Stars by Anne Corlett
Engaging read, though maybe not for big time SciFi fans (very little in the way of science included despite many planets, space ships, space travel and human-made killer viruses). Lots of contemplation of one's place in the world and connecting, or not, with other people. There were things I definitely liked about the book, particularly the fact that the main character is somewhat surly and suspicious of other people while also knowing that she needs people to survive. There were also things that I wasn't so fond of like the coincidence after coincidence after coincidence that emerged to drive the plot (really? on a remote outer planet the three people who survive a plague all want to get back to the same little spot on the Northumbrian coastline?)
26. The Adventures of John Blake : mystery of the ghost ship by Philip Pullman
A graphic novel by Philip Pullman sounded promising, but it is pretty "meh." The plot isn't unique, the characters aren't unique, even the artwork isn't anything special.
27. Anything is Possible by Elizabeth Strout
Exquisite, intertwined stories from the world of Lucy Barton (so much more resonance if you have already read that work). I gobbled this down in one day and floated around for days afterward. Looking forward to reading it again.
28. A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
Favorite book so far this year (and that 's saying something since I read it right after Anything is Possible). Exquisite and gentle and funny and heartfelt. I loved every moment of it.
29. After Long Silence by Helen Fremont
A decent memoir about the author's parents who survived the Holocaust and the Russian gulag. Also about the secrets that families keep from each other.
30. Chemistry by Weike Wang
Intense. Funny. A main character who is both likable and unlikable at the same time. Complicated. Musings on family, language, science, meaning, relationships, compromise, happiness. It doesn't try to answer definitively any of these topics, but has something to say about all of them. I enjoying this quirky novel.
31. The Jane Austen Project by Kathleen Flynn
A weird mix of someone who wants to write time travel fiction that's as smart as Connie Willis' (this isn't), include lots of fan talk about the minutiae of Jane Austen's life and novels (successful at that part) but also include the heaving bosoms of any Regency romance novel. It was engaging enough, though obviously flawed, but I can't really recommend it because at the end I sort of shrugged "eh?"
32. Thick as Thieves by Megan Whalen Turner
Terrific addition to the Queen's Thief series of book. I enjoyed this one much more than the one focused on Sounis. The unlikely friendship that forms between the two main character and the transformation of Kamet's thinking from high-ranking slave to free man was interesting and moving.
33. The Book of the Unnamed Midwife by Meg Elison
Listened to a good audio book production. A grim dystopia about a plague that kills off 99 percent of men and 99.9 percent of women. The gender politics is harsh and realistic and sometimes horrific to read. I liked the tough as nails unnamed (or more accurately, many-named) midwife. I didn't realize that this is the first in a series because it stands alone well, but I plan to follow up with the next book, The Book of Etta.
34. Jane, Unlimited by Kristin Cashore
Hmmm. Not sure what I think of this yet. Well written, that's for sure. But I don't know if I care for the concept and the choose your own adventure style of plot. Seems to both subscribe to a layering effect in which each chapter isn't totally discreet from another and a quantum theory of universal possibilities which should mean that what happens in one chapter isn't relevant to the others. Definitely well crafted, but I don't know if I enjoyed it much. It might require some time to see if it sticks with me at all and maybe a re-read.
35. Turtles All the Way Down by John Green
Decent enough novel to help people understand the internal struggle of OCD, but only one character, Daisy, came alive for me. The rest, including the main character, I couldn't visualize and didn't care all that much about. Daisy seemed interesting and compelling and had a back story that I wanted to know much more about, but she was the sidekick, not the main character.
36. Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin
Beautifully written and so sad. The quest for identity and love in Paris of the 1950's. So lonely the prose aches on the page.
37. Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz
Clever doubled story within a story murder mystery. I didn't, however, find the main character, Susan, very convincing. But this might have had to do with the fact that I listened to the audio book version and the woman reader just sounded prim. I think if she'd had an edgier delivery, I would have believed in the risks the character was taking.
38. The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage by Philip Pullman
Oh Philip Pullman! Thank you for pulling me back in to the world of the Golden Compass! I gobbled this down like a hungry teen and loved every moment of it. And I loved how he was able to capture Lyra/Pan's spirit even through their pre-verbal infancy! Now the problem of waiting for the next book...maybe I'll dream about my daemon. I'm thinking a great horned owl right now...
39. Wedding Toasts I'll Never Give by Ada Calhoun
I really loved this non-fiction book about the complications, the struggles and the blessings of marriage. Finishing it gave me a profound appreciation both for Brian and for the invisible work we both do every day.
40. Jane Austen: The Secret Radical by Helena Kelly
I loved this non-fiction dive into a close-reading and social history of Austen's novels. And I'm heartened that there are still academics producing work like this which dive deep into the social issues that lurk in the background of her novels: I knew about the slavery, but had no idea about the issues of enclosure and discoveries in the natural sciences that subtly inform the texts.
41. Quiet Until the Thaw by Alexandra Fuller
Holy cow, what an amazing book. Heartbreaking and funny and beautiful picture of reservation life, written by a woman born in England, raised in Africa and now living in Wyoming. Right up there with Sherman Alexie and Louise Erdrich (and I can't help but wonder what their feelings are about someone who is not Native American writing this book.)
42. Swing Time by Zadie Smith
Zadie Smith's writing is so finely tuned, so biting and accurate in the observations and so unconcerned with likability. It's very brave writing, but sometimes I admire it more than enjoy it. I kept wondering if the book is on Madonna's radar as the music phenomenon for whom the main character is a PA is clearly based on her and her career.
43. The News of the World by Paulette Jiles
This book was such a pleasure to read: the relationship between the Captain and the reluctantly rescued captive was just beautiful. And Jiles does a better job than anyone else I've read writing about the complexities of the Kiowa culture.
44. Still Life by Louise Penny
I don't get it. People keep raving about this mystery writer, calling her books "literary" and different from other mysteries and I don't see it. From the stereotypical gay couple (really? frilly aprons?) to the murderer who fools everyone until it is revealed that he's a psychopath, to the hanging on detective trainee who is written about with scorn, rather than compassion, I thought this book was just a basic mystery and not a very good one at that. Even the writing about art and the idea that the clues were embedded in the paintings if only people knew how to read them was shabby. Didn't like it, won't be reading more of her books.
45. Autumn by Ali Smith
Beautiful story about the friendship between an old man and a girl/woman. The term "kindred spirits" (from Anne of Green Gables) was made for the relationship between Daniel and Elisabeth. Prose that is lyrical without ever being overblown and some lovely writing about art (which is very hard to do so I appreciate the craft). I can't wait to read the other seasons as Smith writes them.