1. A book published posthumously: I'll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara (library book)
2. A book of true crime: People Who Eat Darkness by Richard Lloyd Parry (library book)
3. A classic of genre fiction: Foundation by Isaac Asimov (library book) - This is an interesting idea, but sort of flawed execution. It's a piece of its time, which means women don't exist and the entire world is made up of "great men" who make decisions. I think the scope of the world building is impressive, but the switching from one boardroom of men to another boardroom of men was not especially attention grabbing to me. I'll stick with I, Robot from Asimov.
4. A comic written and drawn by the same person: The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi (library book)
5. A book set in or about one of the five BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) countries (library book): Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts
6. A book about nature: H is for Hawk by Helen Macdonald (library book)
7. A western: Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurty (library book)
8. A comic written or illustrated by a person of color: In Real Life by Cory Doctorow and Jen Wang (library book)
9. A book of colonial or postcolonial literature: The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver (library book)
10. A romance novel by or about a person of color: North to You by Tif Marcelo (Kindle purchase)- This had a lot of tropes I don't care for in a romance novel. Hero saves the day (sexual assault by his friend - he has terrible choice in friends) and all the conflict they have could be solved with a simple conversation. Not my cup of tea, but I was happy to buy this and support a new author who will, I assume, get better in her next novel.
11. A children’s classic published before 1980: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle (library book) - I wasn't smart enough for this book as a child and I'm pretty sure I'm not smart enough for this book as an adult. I understood the plot on the surface, but I'm not sure I got whatever it is that makes people love this book. Eh. It's for other people, like Star Wars and Fox News.
12. A celebrity memoir: Kanye West Owes Me $300 and Other True Stories from a White Rapper Who Almost Made It Big by Jensen Karp (library book)- I'm notoriously anti-memoir, but I had heard Karp on two podcasts, Doughboys and Totally Beverages, and he seemed likeable enough. I passed a pleasant few hours on the couch with his pretty funny memoir. I recommend it if you, like me, don't care about famous people. Almost famous seems to really suit me.
13. An Oprah Book Club selection: The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett (library book)
14. A book of social science: White Folks by Timothy J. Lensmire (paper book I own!) - This author was on our campus and I was involved in a book club that met once a week for most of the first quarter of the year reading this book preparing for his visit. Lensmire interviewed a bunch of people who live in a small Wisconsin town and he then wrote this book about how white people gain their racial identity. Mostly this book is about fear - fear of the "other," fear of losing privilege, and fear of losing approval of the ones you most respect and love. I don't love interview-based work and I kind of think Thandeka did a lot of this same type of work in Learning to Be White more than fifteen years ago, but this was fine. I don't think I'll take much away from it, but I read it and enjoyed the book club.
15. A one-sitting book: We Were Liars by E. Lockhart (library book) - Two hours from start to finish. Okay book if you don't mind drug-addled unreliable narrators who happen to be the worst sort of entitled brats. The book starts by telling you there's a twist, so when the twist comes...you're not surprised. I'm maybe too harsh. It was fine. It was a fine book.
No, after months have passed, I have to tell you the only fine thing about this book was how amazing the characterization of the golden retrievers in the book was. I still occasionally think about those dogs and get annoyed when I think about the stupid main character.
16. The first book in a new-to-you YA or middle grade series: Starstruck by Brenda Hiatt (Kindle purchase, but purchased when it was free) - It takes a really long time for our main character to cotton on to the fact that she's a Martian, but then hijinks ensue. I thought this book could have been cut down by 25% to really propel the plot and I think the characters were cardboard cutouts of what people DREAM teenagers are like, but it was free on Kindle, so I got what I paid for, I guess. I will not be reading any more of the series.
17. A sci fi novel with a female protagonist by a female author: Ammonite by Nicola Griffith (library book)
18. A comic that isn’t published by Marvel, DC, or Image: Bolivar by Sean Rubin (library book) - An adorable graphic novel with great images. It tells the story of the last dinosaur in New York City, a dinosaur who manages to hide in plain sight as everyone else rushes around the city around. The illustrations were amazing, the story was delightful, and I would highly recommend this to anyone with children. It would be a fun read aloud book, I think.
19. A book of genre fiction in translation: Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata, translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori (library book) - Weird little book about a thirty-something woman in Japan who works at a convenience store part-time and is considered odd, unambitious, and vaguely unsettling by others around her. She appears to be asexual and unable to feel emotions. I found myself unable to stop reading it because it was interesting, but it was also weird. I'd definitely recommend it, but it's a bit out there.
20. A book with a cover you hate: Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate (library book)
21. A mystery by a person of color or LGBTQ+ author: Hollywood Homicide by Kellye Garrett (library book) - Funny read. I wasn't actually all that invested in the mystery, but the cast of characters was wonderful and interesting. I'd read more Garrett for sure.
22. An essay anthology: Here We Are edited by Kelly Jensen (library book)
23. A book with a female protagonist over the age of 60: A Twist of the Knife by Becky Masterman (library book)
24. An assigned book you hated (or never finished): The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (free on Kindle) - This book is terrible. Lord Henry is an evil villain and I was legitimately surprised by the ending, but the endless prattling of boring people was like a sleeping pill to me. I'd read half a paragraph and be out like a light. This is the third time I've tried to read it and I'm never reading it again. (Also, for all of my life I've been calling it The Portrait of Dorian Gray, which is not actually its title. Education fail.)
Books I loved: Lonesome Dove, Pillars of the Earth
Books I liked: H is for Hawk, Poisonwood Bible, Kanye West Owes Me $300, Bolivar, Convenience Store Woman, A Twist of the Knife
Books I thought were fine: People Who Eat Darkness, Perspepolis, Shantaram, North to You, White Folks, Hollywood Homicide, Here We Are
Books I thought were terrible: I'll Be Gone in the Dark, Foundation, In Real Life, A Wrinkle in Time, We Were Liars, The Picture of Dorian Gray
Books I forgot ten minutes after I read them: Starstruck, Before We Were Yours, Ammonite
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