April 2012

18. Unorthodox by Deborah Feldman - For work book club. The autobiography is about a woman who grows up in, then leaves, the hasidic jewish community in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. I had so many thoughts and opinions about the book that it’s probably best to say them in the book club forum. If you’re looking for a book to start a conversation, Unorthodox is a great one. OH! Almost forgot! I read Unorthodox via a friend’s ipad. So weird…

19. Wild by Cheryl Strayed - Are you a human being? Are you a human being with thoughts and/or feelings? Yeah well, you should probably read Dear Sugar. Then you should probably read Wild because Chery Strayed is hero status all over the place. Wild is about her journey hiking the Pacific Coast Trail and even though I have no interest in doing that whatsoever, she still made me believe that I can do whatever the hell I want in life. So that’s pretty great.

20. A Moveable Feast by Earnest Hemingway - This month I put the finishing touches on a trip to Paris this summer! So you know, obviously this had to happen. My friends may not be Scott Fitzgerald or Gertrude Stein (because they’re dead, otherwise I know we’d be tight) but I know they will be spectacular company in the city of light. Seriously can’t wait!

21. The Magician’s Assistant by Ann Patchett - Ann Patchett writes some of the best “now you’re hooked” books. If you need something for a short trip or plane ride, she’s your girl. The Magician’s Assistant definitely fit the profile because it had magic, family secrets, drama, and even with all that a sense that the story could actually happen. You don’t find that very often.

22. Heft by Liz Moore - Any hype Heft gets is so completely deserved. As I was reading it I kept thinking “Yes! This is my kind of book!” I’m not sure I could do the story justice by trying to summarize it here, but I will tell you that on the surface the book seems lonely or about the idea of loneliness. It is not that, though. It is a story of hope and finding connection. It was even a two day read for me, if that means anything about its abilities to capture an audience. I definitely look forward to whatever Moore writes next. 

March 2012

12. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green - I told a couple of friends that I wouldn’t read this book because I couldn’t handle what I knew would eventually happen. Turns out I read it anyway and of course found it to be actually cathartic. The writing is so superb that I’ve become a John Green fan along with the rest of you. Way to go internet for finally making me read this!

13. I’ll Never Get Out of This World Alive by Steve Earle - Yes, that Steve Earle. I didn’t even realize he wrote novels until I was browsing the library. The book was written as if one of his songs were stretched over a few miles of paper which is to say that I felt more like a listener than a reader.

14. Death Comes to Pemberly by P.D. James - A murder mystery set around Pride and Prejudice? P.D. James is now hero status. Soooooo good…. if you’re into that sort of thing.

15. Mr. Fox by Helen Oyeyemi - I took this recommendation from my friend Ryan and I’m glad I did because it was one of the most original books I’ve read in awhile. The only thing I wish I had done was read the inside cover first because I was a little confused about 80 pages in. But no fretting here! Turns out that I have a new writer to learn about an look forward to.

16. Smut by Alan Bennett - A couple of short stories about the other side of people. There is so much in this small book that it felt almost like it had to be hidden. But no! It’s fun to read on the subway.

17. Columbine by Dave Cullen - I was a freshmen in high school when it happened and even then I don’t think I grasped everything I should have regarding Columbine. This book puts every detail into perspective and attempts to answer why this even happened in the first place. It’s truly some of the finest writing I’ve encountered that doesn’t play to sympathy, but instead gives the reader what they need by simply telling the truth. I found this book via The Hairpin.

February 2012: Even with an extra day, not a huge round up here.

8. Hope: A Tragedy by Shalom Auslander - This was sometimes LOL, sometimes OMG, but mostly a combination of both. I mean, it’s an interesting question: what if you moved into a house and found out Anne Frank was alive and living in the attic and that she was totally nuts? I loved it.

9. Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name by Vendela Vida - Just beautiful. A lot of punch packed in a small book about a woman who goes to Lapland to find out the story of her parents. Highly recommended.

10. Pulphead by John Jeremiah Sullivan - If you’re anything like me and enjoy reading about Axl Rose or animal uprisings in the bathtub, you’ll like this one. Plus, it has an random anecdote about when the Real World cast came to my undergrad university that I totally remember. Weird to read about that kind of thing on the crosstown bus.

11. A Book of Common Prayer by Joan Didion - I got this because I love much of her other work, but this one couldn’t hold my attention at all. I tried, I really did. Not all is lost, however, as it won’t keep me from reading some additional books from her catalog.

I didn’t document what I read last year and now because of it I only remember a few things. When you’re used to lists, I guess it’s hard to give it up. This year, I’m not sure I’ll read 52 books, but at least this way I’ll have a record of what I read. Here it goes:

January 2012

1. The Night Circus by Erin Morganstern - Loved every single minute of it then told everyone I knew to check it out. I’ll be looking around town for a copy to keep to myself. 

2. We the Animals - A thoughtful, well constructed, and meaningful story about growing up. Some of the best simple storytelling I’ve read in a long time. 

3. Zone One - No. Just no. Did not like it. Not one bit. 

4. Running Man by Stephen King - I read it for book club and as a group we gave it 2.5 out of 5 stars. Very “meh” about the whole thing.

5. The Fates Will Find Their Way by Hannah Pittard - A novel about the way we grow up; what we want, what we expect, what we dream. So well written and true to the kind of wanderings people don’t even know they have. It made up for Zone One and Running Man tenfold. 

6. The Sense of an Ending by Julian Barnes - Excellent, excellent, excellent. As soon as I was finished I wanted to start it over again. Thanks for the recommendation Dad and Bailey!

7. Pigeon English by Stephen Kelman - Still not sure exactly how I feel about this one. It’s from the perspective of an immigrant 7th grader in the London projects who is dealing with the hand he’s dealt. I wouldn’t say I loved the book, but it’s worth a read.