For reference, more books I've read: (See: Year 1 | Year 2 | Year 3 | Year 4 | Year 5 | Year 6)
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith - I savored this. Its slow-paced descriptions of life in a Brooklyn that no longer exists, its portrayal of poverty and the small delights of children, and the heartbreaking characters were almost as good as the story of the main character, Francie. My only regret is that I hadn't read it sooner. The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang - This is the story of a girl with Asperger’s who is trying to learn how to date when she falls in love with her dating tutor. I am just not a romance novel person, and this is what this ended up being - many pages of belabored sex scenes and descriptions of muscles. We definitely need more books with people like Stella, the main character. But it should also come with good dialogue and a less predictable plot.
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman - I completely enjoyed this book, its dark humor and unexpected Eleanor quips.
Garlic and Sapphires: The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise by Ruth Reichl- The jury’s out on how much I like Ruth Reichl. Until I got to the acknowledgements at the end of this book, I was a bit shocked and put off by her burning-bridges approach to describing her former coworkers at the New York Times. But I think I see a part of myself in her, too, as she grapples with the snobbery of food criticism (and the audience it caters to) versus what brings us to the table in the first place: hunger and connection, followed by all the sensory experiences a good meal can bring. But her food writing in general irritates me, like the number of times she describes something as “laced with” another aroma or ingredient.
Howards End by E.M. Forster - I am embarrassed that I didn’t realize, until the end of this book, that E.M. Forster is a man, perhaps because there were so many well-written, dominant female characters. Luscious writing turned a plot I didn’t think I cared about into something I ultimately devoured.
Long Life: Essays and Other Writings by Mary Oliver - This was the collection I turned to upon hearing of Mary Oliver’s death. “What does it mean, say the words, that the earth is so beautiful? And what shall I do about it? What is the gift that I should bring to the world? What is the life that I should live?”
The Reporter’s Kitchen: Essays by Jane Kramer - I’ll take Jane Kramer over Ruth Reichl. I guess the main difference is that Jane is a reporter. She takes you places and introduces you to people and teaches you things - more objective, less subjective. Writing like this doesn’t leave me feeling like an inexperienced eater or an unprivileged Northwesterner - it makes me want to have adventures and live an interesting life.
When We Were Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro - This was the only Ishiguro book available at my library at the moment I wanted to read an Ishiguro book. I really enjoyed it for its briefly suspenseful moments, its reflections on the role of memory, and the fact that it took place in a part of the world (Shanghai) that I rarely read about in novels. That said, I am hoping his big ones (e.g., Remains of the Day, Never Let Me Go) are a little better.
Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover - It is what everyone said it would be - riveting, shocking, a page-turner.
Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid - I joined a book club this year and this was our first selection. It was the perfect way to begin because it was easy to get through, fun to imagine as an actual documentary (which was how it was written) and try to hear the music of the fictitious bands, and it spurred great conversation. That said, not my favorite, but I hope there's a movie.
Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan - This was such a slog by the end, though the premise is compelling, and certain passages were particularly beautiful.
There There by Tommy Orange - Good lord, this was one of the best. I love when many storylines converge into one, and the moment they did was extremely powerful. There was so much to reflect on relating to the Native American experience in the 21st century, and each story had its own sense of deep-seated tragedy.
The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai - Gut-wrenching, because the 1980s and AIDS. But such a good read and worth the tears.
Midnight’s Children by Salman Rushdie - This was my epic of the year. I was forced to acknowledge how little I know about India, and about Great Britain’s messing with it, and the border it shares with China, and its relationship to Pakistan, and, and, and. It is so complex. Because there’s so much symbolism wrapped into this story, I am sure I didn’t appreciate it as much as I could, but novels like these are why I read. The writing was poetic, at times hilarious, and dense. I look at India with new eyes, with a heightened appreciation for its recent history, and an awareness of how much more I should learn.
A Stash of One’s Own: Knitters on Loving, Living with, and Letting Go of Yarn by Clara Parkes - Books like these are like popcorn. This is a collection of essays by different knitters, and I treated myself to one each night for a week or so. I’d happily pick this up again from time to time.
City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert - I liked this, but it felt like I was hearing Elizabeth Gilbert’s voice the whole time. I do love her voice, but I wanted to hear someone else’s, to be honest. Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue - A story about the American dream and what we really want in life, through the perspective of two Cameroonians in New York during the Lehman Brothers episode. A random find at my local bookstore that I ended up really loving.
The Way We Eat Now by Bee Wilson - Wilson objectively but cunningly addresses all the food related subjects I have gotten preachy about over the last five years. Why are we eating so many protein bars? Why must it be so hard to invite over people for dinner? Is it truly healthy to view food as medicine? Would it be so bad if the only place you could eat a Neapolitan pizza was in Naples? Also, for the love of god, can we stop calling it “clean eating”? We are armed with perhaps too much information and given so many options, and in many ways we’re all still stumbling over our food choices, but I appreciated Wilson’s case for optimism that we are primed to enter the next stage of food, one in which our economy and lawmakers can support measures to ensure more people eat and desire the best food for our bodies, and that health is not only derived from the nutrients in our food, but also from our genuine enjoyment of it.
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston - It was fun to read this again since my first reading in high school. Reading it as an adult, I have a heightened appreciation and sympathy for Janie’s motivations in life. And for the amazing woman that was Zora Neale Hurston.
Three Women by Lisa Taddeo - I picked this up at the library knowing it had some buzz but didn't know going in what exactly I was getting into. Subject-wise, this is a painful book to digest. I am sad and angry and feel ever more convicted about how we truly have no idea about people’s private lives, how we have no right to assume we know or understand the lives of others, and how women so often do not make the space to understand themselves and what they need and why. Not a book for people who would prefer not to read about a lot of sex. This is unlike any nonfiction I've read, so thoroughly reported (so it seems to me, at least) and yet feeling so unfinished, because these three women's lives go on after this book's publication.
The Overstory by Richard Powers - I will never look at trees the same way again. Humans are such blips on this planet. Trees are so everlasting in so many ways, even as we destroy them. Like other readers, I found the plot a little more tedious and slightly confusing toward the end, but the overstory of The Overstory was ultimately powerful.
The Water Dancer by Ta-Nehisi Coates - This book is remarkable for its magical-realism take on the Underground Railroad. I loved the way Coates centered on the importance of memory as the bridge to the past and also a way to move forward.
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