A Year in Books

I completed the 30th book of the year in early December, a month ahead of schedule. I have since experienced the worst book hangover I've ever had and haven't been able to commit to one read. Not that that 30th read was all that amazing; I think it was my book brain relieved to have met the goal, and being pickier about my next read. Maybe.

This was a great year of reading. It was a good mix of authors, topics, BOTM picks, library books, and (limited, yet,) inspired purchases. I did not include every book on #mjreadingchallenge2017, but ensured that the ones I definitely recommend are in circulation there (and at least one I don't). The exception was "The Ministry of Utmost Happiness," by Arundhati Roy. I made a valiant effort toward finishing that book and thought that Instagram would help. It didn't and well, I am still only about halfway through (maybe I'm meant to complete it in 2018?). But 2/3 of my completed books did make it to Insta and all are reflected on Goodreads. 

I learned this year that I really like contemporary literature and find the most escape in murder mysteries (Tana French and Robert Galbraith!). I love to learn while I read or relate it to the world around me, even when it's depressing (Margaret Atwood and Yaa Gyasi). My love of Sherman Alexie is true as ever, and when Nina George's next book comes out in paperback, I'll likely read it right away. I also learned that hardcovers aren't so bad to read, but likely still will not travel very far with me. I still read every night in bed but also found pleasure reading every where else - on planes, ships, in parks, on walking trails, in waiting rooms. I was caught once-too-often without a book and it was a reminder that I should just have a car book, as well. 

I loved living in a neighborhood that was walkable to a library again. I miss it in my new place and need to get back into a library routine because it really is fulfilling.

Continuing the format of last year's summation, I want to highlight the following opinions:

• Best Use of Imagination: "Perfect Little World" by Kevin Wilson
• Why: I really liked following the thought experiment presented in the book - what would it be like for a child to be raised by a village? I thought the book used this plot to examine given and chosen families really well. While I would have loved to see the story go deeper, I appreciated it for what it was, and thought it used an imaginary world to the readers' benefit.
• Book I'd Read Again Right Now: "All the Ugly and Wonderful Things" by Bryn Greenwood
• Why: This book had me turning page after page to see what happened next. Through the process, it raised complicated feelings. I would read it again for the poetic writing, but mostly to re-examine my thoughts on the main characters and their dilemma.
• Book That Will Stay With Me for Years: "Homegoing" by Yaa Giasi and "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me"by Sherman Alexie
• Why: "Homegoing" was such an incredible read. It covered generations of one family, first during the Atlantic Slave Trade and through to today. It was a powerful exploration of colonialism and its impacts through the perspectives of different family members - first, one who is traded as a slave and brought to the US, and the other who remains in Africa but part of a fractured society, and then through the perspectives o f their descendants. 
• "You Don't Have to Say You Love Me" is Sherman Alexie at his best. I listened to the memoir via audiobook and also via the hardcover. Alexie's reading is powerful. This story had elements I have found in other of Alexie's literature, which made how he writes and incorporates himself into his work even more profound. There were also things that were clearly revealed in writing for the first time through this book, and you could feel the catharsis throughout. There were moments so emotional that in his reading, you could hear the author come to tears. The audio experience was unlike any I've had before, and the book itself is so relatable, touching, and one that I will revisit over and over again.
• Best Book With a Weak Ending: "Fierce Kingdom" by Gin Phillips
• Why: The book's premise is very truly something I think about frequently in this day and age - an active shooter in a public place. For that reason, I kept reading the book and asking myself as a I went - what would I be doing in this situation? Needless to say, that book is not one to provide answers. And maybe that's the point. It's billed as a "what would a mother do for her son" kind of story, but really that does not come across as strongly as the shooting itself. The ending felt abrupt and unclear - I feel like I spent a lot of time following the characters but didn't get much resolution.
• Book I am So Glad I Read Because of Current Events: "They Can't Kill Us All" by Wesley Lowery 
• Why: By proportion, more black men are killed by police than any other demographic. This book is one journalist's experience covering several events around the country and the activism demanding justice. The author is also a black man so it was interesting to read how he covers something that he even says, at different stages of the book, hits close to home. The book was also a good recap of events that had been lost in the shuffle of the 24 hour news cycle, and also raised data, questions and challenges related to how we ensure that people (and especially black men) are not needlessly losing their lives to police brutality.
• Book That Opened My Eyes the Most: "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann
• Why: I lived in Oklahoma for seven years and in that time, learned so much more about indigenous cultures and the history of U.S. colonialism. Still, I had not heard of the Osage Killings, which happened not very far from Tulsa! This book is a stunning accounting of a huge conspiracy to kill Osage people for headrights. It focuses on a handful of cases investigated by the early FBI, but acknowledges that likely hundreds of Osage were murdered without any investigation. It is a story that needs to be told more often and louder.
• When People Ask me to Recommend from my 2017 List: "Beartown" by Fredrik Backman and "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng
• Why: "Beartown" surprised me. I knew it was a book about a hockey town, and that something bad happened. What I didn't know is that I would be reading something so profound about rape culture and the intersections of family, sports, and misogyny. None of it was a surprise in the sense that - right, our society - but I didn't expect it from the book. I'll recommend it with the caveat that, particularly for women, it can be triggering. 
• "Little Fires Everywhere" is another Celeste Ng book worth reading. I loved "Everything You Never Told Me" and will recommend them together. I think what I like about Ng . that is reflected so clearly in Little Fires is her writing style - every word is carefully chosen and woven into may layers of plot. While complex, the plots are not overbearing, just enticing, and I'm always left wanting to read more.
• Book I Wouldn't Recommend to Anyone: "The Nightingale" by Kristin Hannah
• Why: UGH. Everyone told me this book was SO AMAZING. In my opinion, it is not amazing AT ALL. The story was interesting in some ways (I liked the idea of following a female resister) but OMG there were so many plot holes. The writing was sub-par and the love story, rather than being a selling point, was kind of an insulting tangent. I think there are better books to be read that take place in WWII France.

The 2017 Book Statistics:

• 63% were written by women
• 33% were written by people of color 
• I read more books by women of color (6) than men of color (4).
• 17 hardcovers
• 6 paperbacks
• 4 E-Books
• 3 Audiobooks
• 11 were from Book of the Month
• 9 represented experiences or worldviews different than my own
• 9 actively covered an aspect of non-dominant culture or a minoritized community
• 24 were fiction; 6 were non-fiction
• 2 were young adult
• 6 are now on my "Everyone Must Read" Goodreads Shelf
• 10,695 pages
• 20 completed books were posted to instagram (#mjreadingchallenge2017)

The Overall Book List

1. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston (January)
2. We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche (January)
3. Truevine by Beth Macy (January)
4. Hillbilly Elegy by JD Vance (January)
5. Homegoing by Yaa Giasi (February)
6. They Can't Kill Us All by Wesley Lowery (February)
7. Lilian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney (February)
8. Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon (February)
9. The Nightengale by Kristin Hannah (March)
10. The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George (March)
11. The Light of Paris by Eleanor Brown (March)
12. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (April)
13. The Sound of Things Falling by Juan Gabriel Vasquez (April)
14. Career of Evil by Robert Galbraith (May)
15. Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann (May)
16. Perfect Little World by Kevin Wilson (May)
17. The Nix by Nathan Hill (June)
18. A Million Junes by Emily Henry (June)
19. The Toughest Indian in the World by Sherman Alexie (July)
20. You Don't Have to Say You Love Me by Sherman Alexie (August)
21. In the Woods by Tana French (August)
22. Fierce Kingdom by Gin Phillips (August)
23. Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff (October)
24. The Blinds by Adam Sternbergh (October)
25. Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance by Ruth Emmie Lang
26. Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng (November)
27. Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward (November)
28. All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood (November)
29. Beartown by Fredrik Backman (November)
30. Origin by Dan Brown (December)

2018 Intentions: Windows and Mirrors

The good news is, I'm not getting worse at book diversity, but I could get better. I am going to push myself even more in 2018 to read books by more people of color, and particularly women of color. In 2017, I tried to read something associated with each of my travels (particularly Paris and Colombia) and I want to continue that in 2018; however, I also want to challenge myself to read authors from other countries, particularly from those I don't identify with. I will acknowledge, though, that it's ok for me to have books on my list that do line up with my identity (white, American woman of western European descent) because everyone needs mirrors. We also just need some windows. 

I didn't mind BOTM this year primarily for purchases, and will continue to question buying other books. I need to get back into a library routine and figure out what that looks like when I don't have one in my neighborhood directly, but I do want more library books!

What a year of reading, once again. 30 Books never disappoints - so here's to another 30 in 2018!

~MJ