The *not including the towering pile of art and illustration books I added to my collection this year

Happy new year, friends,
We made it to the other side. Though just barely, am I right? If ever there was a year to bury your face in a book and disappear, 2016 was it - for so many reasons. Not least of which was the passing of our beloved friend Kimberly, who was (among many things) a librarian and the one friend who never tired of talking books with me. This one's for her. 

Tell the Wolves I'm Home 
by Carol Rifka
I loved (loved LOVED) this book. Every page of it. Not only is it beautifully written, it is packed with heart. I don't want to spoil it with a plot overview, but let me jus say that if you don't love it, you may be a broken robot. 

Eligible
by Curtis Sittenfeld
Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice reimagined in the modern day, by a really smart writer, who, in my opinion, totally nailed. it. (As she did with The American Wife, which I read years ago and also highly recommend). While you could certainly enjoy the novel on its own merit (if you're not an Austen fan), it's nerdy good fun to see how Sittenfeld recasts the story in today's reality-tv world. Highly recommend. 

​Sisterland
by Curtis Sittenfeld
Not the most endearing cast of characters, but it's a quick read. Identical twin sisters. One's a seemingly normal married, mom. One is an eccentric and psychic, who sets the story in motion when she very publicly predicts a catastrophic earthquake. No spoilers here - and this is a quicky if you're curious to see how the story unfolds, especially if you haven't yet tired of the identical-twins-with-magic-powers plot device. I have. 

Being Mortal
by Atul Gawande
This is a powerful book on an important and often undiscussed subject in our culture - how we approach dying. Quality of life versus quantity. When is suffering worth it? And how much suffering is too much? My first encounter with Gawande's writing was in this (stellar) New Yorker piece about palliative medicine. It changed the way I think about death and dying. In Being Mortal, Gawande further examines medicine's approach to terminal disease - and invites us to rethink "what matters in the end". Highly recommend.


When Breath Becomes Air 
by Paul Kalanithi
In the same vein as Being Mortal, a neurosurgeon who has been diagnosed with lung cancer chronicles his remaining days and the crisis of identity that happens when you can no longer do what you are - or what you think you are. There are so many poignant, make-you-think moments in these pages, as you can imagine. One that comes to mind: Paul and his wife are trying to decide whether to have a child, and she asks, "Don't you think saying goodbye to your child will make your death more painful?" His reply is the crux of his story: "Wouldn't it be great if it did?"

Between the World and Me
by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Difficult subject. Difficult reading - on a number of levels. Any sentence I could write about how this book contributed to my understanding of the black experience in America is quickly obliterated by the voice in my head screaming "DON'T DO IT, WHITE GIRL. JUST LEAVE THAT SHIT LIE."  I'll let you form your own opinion on this one (isn't that nice of me?) , but I do know that we all have to keep reading and reaching. We have so, so much work to do. 

Just Mercy
by Bryan Stevenson
The statistics and stories are heartbreaking - and the writing is very accessible. A worthwhile (if not enjoyable) read. 

Dietland
by Sarai Walker
This novel is BRILLIANT and subversive and supremely readable. It sparked my obsession with books about The Fat Experience and what it says about our culture and our values. Holy shit, y'all - we are WRETCHED! Wretched in our obsession with beauty and thinness and sameness. It's sickening. We have to do better for ourselves. 

Shrill 
by Lindy West
Listen to this episode of This American Life and then go read this fabulous, funny, and poignant memoir. If you find yourself turned off by the noisy fat girl with her big thighs and even bigger opinions, you're part of the problem. Do not pass go. But go read the next book on this list. 

Big Girl
by Kelsey Miller
Same important topic. Another personal memoir in my new favorite subgenre. (When I'm on a roll, I eat ALL THE ROLLS).  Miller sets out, with the guidance of a counselor, to stop binging and yo-yo dieting once and for all and, instead, "eat intuitively" - which (I'm told) is how "normal" people eat. Her journey is fascinating and funny. And if you're first question is "does she get finally get thin in the end?"  ... you really need to read this book. 

Fat Pig
by Neil LaBute
Ha ha ... this is getting weird, I know. I haz issues. This is actually a play. (Do you ever read plays? You should. They're kind of amazing for the brain.)  Keri Russell (Felicity), Jeremy Piven (Entourage), Andrew McCarthy (my preteen fantasies) and Ashlie Atkinson (never heard of her? I wonder why! Perhaps because she's a fat actress? Hmm.) were in the original cast and Keri plays the mean girl. If I've lured you into my fabulous FatLit web, add this to your list. Like the others, it will make you see the world in a different way. I promise.

10% Happier
by Dan Harris
Memoir/Inspirational/Self-Helpish, with the emphasis on Harris's personal experience and how he used meditation to manage anxiety and enjoy life more. His style is engaging, and he comes across as a genuinely likeable guy (whose life-changing panic attack happened live on television). If you've ever suffered a panic attack, you'll relate to and learn from Harris's experience. And who couldn't stand to be 10% Happier? 

The Girl on the Train
by Paula Hawkins
If you loved Gone Girl, you'll love The Girl on the Train. Unless you're a grumpy dick like me, who thought the (admittedly wretched) characters in Gone Girl were far more interesting. The psyhcological plot twists in Train felt overly engineered to deliver a certain (Gone Girl) experience, and it just didn't grab me. It grabbed a lot of other people though, so if you like suspense - it's probably worth ignoring my warnings.

Felicity
by Mary Oliver
I read a lot of poetry, and I don't typically incorporate it into these lists -  but on the (very) off chance you haven't met Mary Oliver - I need to introduce you. Especially if the word poetry makes your ass draw up. There is a lot (a. lawt.) of bad poetry out there - and it often appears right alongside the good stuff, so you read it and feel stupid and confused and it drives you to drink. Or maybe that's just me. Mary Oliver is all good, all the time. Poignant, life affirming stuff. Felicity is her most recent. They're all beautiful. 

Be Frank With Me
by Julia Claiborne Johnson
This one's really fun. It made me think of Where'd You Go, Bernadette meets The Nanny Diaries, both of which I loved - though The Nanny Diaries was probably more appealing to me in my twenties than it would be now. Anyway, Be Frank is light and sweet, like a cronut for the mind. Eat up.

Is It Evil Not to Be Sure
by Lena Dunham
A collection of essays based on Lena's (I can call her Lena, we're close like that) journals from around 2005ish, when we were already adults, and she was like 12. She released this as a fundraiser for charity, and if you love Lena, you'll love it. If she rubs you the wrong way, well, maybe it's because she's not a size 2 and has the audacity to expose her flesh on national television. I kid! (Sort of.)  If Lena Dunham rubs you the wrong way, that's completely understandable. She's an iconoclast. Iconoclasts are scary. And they don't give a rat's ass how you feel about it. It won't stop the millions of low-rent shitwads from making lewd and hideous comments on her personal Instagram, but the Iconoclasts keep on conoclasting. And I love them for it. Also! For Lena lovers who want more (MORE! MORE!) - check out her amazing interview with Judy Blume.  Are you there, God? It's me Amanda. Thanks for sending us Lena Dunham. 

Love Warrior
by Glennon Doyle Melton
A bazillion articles have been written about the lovable spiritual wonderball that is Glennon Doyle Melton. If you missed her somehow (the way I missed the news of her latest love interest - holy whatballs!) you have hours and hours of glorious reading ahead. Glennon has a blog, momastery.com, and her first book, Carry on Warrior. Dive in. Love Warrior is a fierce little memoir (little only in stature, like Glennon herself) about infidelity and the fight to rebuild a marriage in the face of betrayal. It's also about addiction, anxiety, family, and faith. And love, of course. Always love.

Salt to the Sea
by Ruta Sepetys
This is an amazing novel that happens to be labeled "Young Adult" fiction (because it's short and there's no sex, I think. It doesn't feel like it's written for young people - which is probably why it's great for young people.) It's a historic novel set during World War II, inspired by the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff , the refugee ship--and savior that never was. If you haven't heard of the Wilhelm Gustloff, you're not alone. And when you finish reading this book, you won't believe this event was banished to the basement of history.

Fates and Furies
by Lauren Groff
Oh my god, I loved this book so much. I admired her other novel Arcadia, because the writing was beautiful and the subject matter was interesting - but it was so quiet. Like a meticulously drawn out secret. Fates and Furies has more feist and crunch and the plotting and mutliple viewpoints (think there are two sides to every story? holy shit, are there ever) are perfection. Have I used the word brilliant yet? Brilliant. 

The Story Hour
by Thrity Umrigar
Note to self: Indian women do not write bad books. This one's a beautiful study of two women in two very different marriages, whose lives become intertwined by fate. Culture, race, love, friendship - it's all there. The Story Hour is one of seven for Umrigar - and the first of her work for me. It won't be the last. 

Admission
by Jean Hanff Korelitz
I believe Tina Fey starred in the movie adaptation of this novel, which seems like an odd choice to me. Adapting this novel for film at all seems like an odd choice to me, because the drama of elite college admissions doesn't really play out in the physical world. It happens almost entirely on paper, and that's what makes it so interesting. (How do we put our best foot forward without setting foot in front of the decision makers?) I haven't seen the movie - but I imagine it turned this literary-ish novel into a comedic farce. It would have to. Inner monologues and the angst of college apps don't make for great viewing. They do make for good reading. 

I Let You Go 
By Clare Mackintosh
My sister in law was visiting over the holidays, and she was telling me about her addiction to literary suspense. Devouring a book a day in page-turning bliss is sometimes just what the doctor ordered. And this one would fit that prescription. A tragic accident sets the wheels in motion, and you think you know where you're headed, only to be spun around by a well timed plot twist. It's hard not to feel the commercial drive behind books like this (PLOT TWISTS AND CRAZY WOMEN SELL, BABY!) but if that doesn't faze you, and you liked the creepy feeling you got while watching Sleeping with the Enemy,  (when she comes home and finds he's organized all the CANS in the cupboards OMG) you'll probably dig this book. 

​The Light of the World
by Elizabeth Alexander 
I may be burnt out on grief memoirs. Perhaps because I've read so many - and also watched more than my fair share of real life grief memoirs play out over the last year. A lot of people loved this award winning memoir and love story - and the first half is gorgeous. The rest feels a little forced. As in, forced to deliver an entire manuscript, when a chapter would have done the trick.

Case Histories
by Kate Atkinson
Missing persons, daffy aging sisters, a handsome tortured detective, a perfect daughter, apple of her unsuspecting daddy's eye, multiple murders and unsolved mysteries. The Virgin Suicides, meets Grey Gardens, meets British detective novel. In lesser hands this book would be a hot mess, but Atkinson assembles it all and wraps it with a weird little bow.

Commonwealth
by Ann Patchett
I loved this novel so much, I called an emergency book club. (That's my new strategy. Read a book. If you like it, ask other people who've read it to come to your house and talk about it. You'll never have to slog through a bad book out of loyalty to the group again). This is Ann Patchett's best, I think - and her most autobiographical work of fiction to date. (I think it may be her only autobiographical work of fiction to date, though she's an absolute master memoir and essayist).  This is the family saga at its best, bursting with symbolism and ideas that make it great book club material too. Highly, highly recommend.

And the Pursuit of Happiness
by Maira Kalman 
I lied. I'm going to let one art book slip in here - because it's also a great piece of history/travel writing. Kalman is such a delicious high functioning weirdo (I mean that in the best way). I love her artwork and the quirky way she digests history. I read this out loud to the boys at night, and they settled right in, even if some of the content went over their heads. Kalman is a national treasure, and one of my inspirations. This tour of American democracy is the ultimate picture book for grownups - a genre I might have to dip my own creative mitts into one day.

One Amazing Thing
by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
A sweet and beautiful read to finish out the year (actually I'm about 60% of the way through the Goldfinch right now). My mom recommended this one to me (during our Commonwealth bookclub discussion, in fact). The plot: When a massive earthquake strikes the American visa office of the Indian Consulate, nine people, who couldn't be more different, are trapped. As water rises from the floor and they await rescue--or death--they each share a story about one amazing thing that happened in their lives.  Intriguing, yes? Yes. 


Happy 2017, and happy reading. 

There's a time and a place for all kinds of books. When I was a young girl, I loved (lurrrrved) the Sweet Valley High series, and would likely have been an even more voracious reader if I'd had access to the plethora of girl fiction that graces bookshelves today. But the books that have really stayed with me, the ones that transported and shaped me as a reader, were the classics, like A Little Princess and The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett, the likes of which just aren't being published today. 

Quality fiction is still being written, don't get me wrong, but the subject matter has shifted. It's all about dystopian worlds, fantasy worlds, and the real (REALLY real) world and its more difficult themes:  violence, rape, bullying, isolation.

That's one of the reasons I'm so thrilled to recommend Story Stones, a book just published by Thea Gammans. Years and years in the making, this novel harkens back to the themes and structure of the literary classics I adore. Mary Cleary is a spunky and likable heroine whose fish-out-of-water story will keep young girls turning pages, under the covers with a flashlight, late into the night. It's a really, really beautiful book. 

The other reason I'm so thrilled to share this book with you is because it was written by grandmother (SQUEEEE!) (who has more books where this came from, by the way). At 85 years old, she can now add published author to her (long) list of achievements (attending Radcliffe, mother of 11, Nashville songwriter, world traveler, real estate maven, and did I mention MOTHER OF ELEVEN?). It's about time the world knows about this amazing woman. 

If you have a young daughter, or you yourself love a warm, wonderful and delightfully easy read - please buy a copy of Story Stones. It's about $7 on Amazon ($5 on the Kindle) and worth a great deal more. Then tell me and everyone you know how much you loved it, okay?

Here's a quick synopsis:

And if you read it, and you love it? Leave a review on Amazon. It makes a world of difference for up and coming authors! 

It was an odd year of reading, I'll be honest. I abandoned dozens of books mid-way through, not because they were bad, necessarily (though some were), but because I needed something different at the time. And while there were some definite winners, others I begrudgingly finished because they were okay, I guess, in spite of their flaws. Here's the rundown:

1. A Gate At the Stairs by Lorrie Moore The critics love Lorrie Moore. Read the reviews of this book and you can almost hear them climaxing at the end of every paragraph. Jonathan Lethem, writing for the New York Times Book Review:

I’m aware of one — one — reader who doesn’t care for Lorrie Moore, and even that one seems a little apologetic about it. “Too . . . punny,” my friend explains, resorting to a pun as though hypnotized by the very tendency that sets off his resistance. For others, Moore may be, exactly, the most irresistible contemporary Ameri­can writer: brainy, humane, unpretentious and warm; seemingly effortlessly lyrical; Lily-Tomlin-funny. Most of all, Moore is capable of enlisting not just our sympathies but our sorrows.

Make that two--two--readers, Jonathan. Moore is brainy, definitely. Humane, I suppose. Unpretentious and warm? Lily-Tomlin funny? Capable of enlisting our sympathies? I must be missing something. I didn't connect with the narrator and the couple at the center of the story (for whom the narrator works as a nanny) is harboring a dark and truly horrifying secret that's revealed so late (after they prove themselves to be miserable, grossly self-centered people) that it was difficult for me to see their humanity. But I'm not the brightest bulb on the artificial Christmas tree, so enlighten me. If you loved this book-or think I should revisit Lorrie Moore--tell me what her writing makes you feel. It makes me feel like I'm standing in an eclipse. 

2. Daring Greatly by Brene Brown Brene Brown can do no wrong in my eyes. (Except maybe when she talks about feeling your feelings. Why must we all speak of feeling our feelings? Can't we just, you know, feel? It makes me want to vomit so much less.) If you ask me, Jonathan Lethem's description of Lorrie Moore suits Brown perfectly. Brainy, humane, unpretentious and warm ... Lily Tomlin funny. Capable of enlisting sympathies and sorrows. And she writes non-fiction. "Self-help" without the ugly cover graphics and goofy youkenzdoitgirlfriend-ness. If you've ever struggled to embrace your imperfections, this book will give you some perspective. If you haven't, you should write a book. 

3. The Antagonist by Lynn Coady Okay. This one was good. A recommendation from Ann Patchett (on her blog, that is). I'm a big fan of epistolary novels and the premise of The Antagonist was especially interesting. The main character, "Rank", discovers that an old friend from college has published a novel that borrows liberally from the events of Rank's own traumatic past. Feeling betrayed and misrepresented, Rank tells his version of his story in a series of emails to the novel's author. He's funny, he's furious, he's damaged, he's surprising, he's sympathetic -- it's a ride. Worth reading. And quick. 

4. The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne Valen This was recommended to me by an old friend, who is brilliant in that way that she can afford to give herself over, body and soul, to fantasy fiction. If you believed in reincarnation you would consider her further along in lives than I am; and the wise have more room for whimsy. I'm still kind of an idiot and need my books to resemble my own reality more closely in order to reap their lessons. When I read fantasy fiction, I can’t seem to relax and go along for the ride. The writing in this novel is delightful—it reminded me of a more modern Alice in Wonderland (another story which makes me profoundly uneasy). If fantasy is your cup of tea—or your daughter’s—I say drink up.

5. Gone Girl Dude. This book was awesome. Chances are you’ve already read it, but if not, you’ll whip through it in a day or two. There was much debate about the ending. I, for one, found it completely satisfying. In fact, I’d venture to say it couldn’t have ended any other way. To say why would be a spoiler, but I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

6. Defending Jacob by William Landay After Gone Girl I wasn't ready for the suspense to stop, and someone recommended Defending Jacob. I picked it up at the airport and read it over the course of two nights. Fun, entertaining, suspenseful, surprise ending, the best that mass market paperbacks have to offer. Think: John Grisham meets Jodi Picoult. 

7. The 10th of December (stories) by George Saunders I don't typically read short story collections because, honestly, they bore the shit out of me. How can something so short take sooooooo loooong? I might get hooked by the first story and by the second I'm likealrightythenmovingon. Writing a short story is like performing a magic trick, and somehow George Saunders has managed to perform an entire magic show in The 10th of December. The guy is equal parts brilliant and humble. His insights are so striking and so well rendered through his characters, and yet he never sounds self-satisfied. If I was his self, I'd be pretty damn satisfied. 

8. The Clock Winder by Anne Tyler Is it just me or does Anne Tyler keep writing the same book over and over again, with different characters? Don't get me wrong, she handles her subject well, but her novels have such an unmistakable tone and theme (isolation/family)—it’s funny that I can keep them distinctly sorted in my mind. The Clock Winder is one of her early novels (maybe one of her first) and it definitely has a more old-fashioned flavor. I think that's what I liked about it. I found it at Goodwill, and it was like stumbling on an undiscovered classic. I really liked it. 

9. Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple Looking for a good time? Call Maria Semple. This novel (also epistolary) was somuch fun. Somehow, despite the fact that the whole thing is sort of whacky, it manages to hover in a genre somewhere between chick lit and literary fiction. I could identify with Bernadette's crippling anxiety--if not the lengths she traveled to avoid it. Most of my friends also loved this book, though my mother (who typically shares my taste in fiction) did not. She couldn’t find anything relatable. (And I’d be willing to bet that the protagonist allowing tree roots to grow up between her rotting floorboards was a bit of a turnoff.)

10. Insanely Simple by Ken Segall This was assigned reading for work. While it contained some interesting anecdotes about what it was like to work with Steve Jobs (Segall worked for Apple’s ad agency), it was hard for me to get past the irony of someone writing an entire book about keeping it simple. The author could have taken his own advice and written a great article for Fast Company, but when opportunism knocks, I guess the businessman has to answer.

11. Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walters This one got a lot of attention this year—lots of critical acclaim—and I agree, it’s very well done. But it’s light, light, light vacation reading. Like reading a Hollywood blockbuster.

12. The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving by Jonathan EvisonI liked this while I was reading it—it was funny, well paced and stylistically up my alley—but the “terrible, awful” of the narrator’s past—which is the unseen engine that propels him--is so terrible and awful I couldn’t help feeling like it didn’t belong here in this unlikely buddy road trip story. It felt tacked on, as if an editor wanted Evison to take it to the next level, give it some gravitas, supply the TRAGEDY people crave.

13. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald This was my fourth reading of The Great Gatsby, and once again it was a completely different book. I read it in high school. Again in college. Again in my twenties. And now again at 38. It’s the damndest thing how this novel shapeshifts with every reading, and it gets better every time.

14. Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline Loved it while I was reading it, but it didn’t dwell with me afterward. (I think that’s okay – not all books have to reside in your heart for eternity to be worth your time). Also (if you’ve read it, chime in) the main character’s decision at the end seemed totally unrealistic, given the specifics of her traumatic past.

15. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson A young adult novel about the subject of rape. Award winning. Critically acclaimed. Justifiably so. If I had a teenage daughter (Gus does NOT count) I would share this book with her.

16. A Hologram for the King by Dave Eggers Hoo. Boy. I sure do like Dave Eggers. I sure did like Zeitoun. And I get this book. I do. It’s like Death of a Salesman meets Waiting for Godot in Saudi Arabia. But ugh … it just … dragged on and on and on (which I realize was the point but still) … ultimatelyit was too much subtlety to sustain me. I will say, Eggers paints a vivid picture. I envisioned William H. Macy as Alan Clay so much so it was like watching a film. A very slow independent film I would have raved about when I was in college.

17. Waiting to Be Heard by Amanda Knox I know. I KNOW. I couldn’t resist. I hardly ever read this kind of book, but I was just socurious. Like, how the hell did this happen, you know? And it’s astonishing to hear the details of her ordeal in her own words. What’s even more astonishing is how naïve she was, incriminating herself at every turn, when she was, undoubtedly, innocent. A thousand times I must have said out loud, OH. MY. GOD. STUPID, STUPID, STUPID. WHYYYY? And yet I really liked Amanda Knox in the end. And this book.

18. The Art of Fielding by Chad Harbach Hands down my favorite book of the year. This was The One. Loved the writing, loved the characters, loved the story arc, did not want it to end. And I’m not even a baseball fan.

19. Wild by Cheryl Strayed Finally got around to reading this memoir (I’ve read her novel, Torch, and Tiny Beautiful Things, her book of advice columns from The Rumpus—both excellent, especially the latter). I know there were people (crazy, crazy people from Amazon comment land) who didn’t like this book—but they’re no one I know. It’s just an amazing story, beautifully told. I tweeted to Cheryl Strayed last year saying I loved Tiny, Beautiful Things in a Big Beautiful Way – Huge Goober of a fan. And she wrote back to thank me. (!!!) LOVE THAT WOMAN.

20. Letter to a Christian Nation by Sam Harris I got in a bit of a debate on Facebook about atheism and creationism and my younger cousin encouraged me to read this. She considers herself an atheist and, like Harris, questions religion and religious beliefs, and I have no issue with that, no issue at all with questioning. As long as I don’t have to do it with family, over Thanksgiving dinner. Harris’s writing is thought provoking, though I disagree with his position that religion is fundamentally flawed because it’s based on faith, as opposed to observable evidence. Religion is fundamentally flawed because people are idiots. WE are flawed. And because we are flawed there are things we don’t see and can’t know and it’s a healthy respect for the unseen and unknowable that I call faith. God, in my own simple estimation, is somewhere in the connections between people—that force that keeps this whole life thing from collapsing into a pile of shit. What keeps us from giving up on each other? What makes us want to be better people? What makes us long for connection? Whatis that? Do I think there’s a kind bearded man in the sky who loves me like a daughter and can’t wait to welcome me to his fancy kingdom with a Friendly’s Peanut Buster Parfait? I do not. But no one ever got anywhere by not believing in something, and (I think Harris actually agrees) atheism is an “anti” position that seems to have no purpose other than to say “I’m against what you’re for.” Okay. Now what? Good reading (and available free in PDF form online) if you’re interested in this subject. And a far less angry and condescending alternative to the late “antitheist”, Christopher Hitchens.

21. The Still Point of the Turning World by Emily Rapp I heard an NPR interview with Rapp, whose baby was diagnosed with and died from Tay-Sachs disease, a rare and always fatal genetic disorder. She’d published this memoir after his death, but it was written—originally in blog posts—when he was still alive. The result is a very raw account of events intertwined with (highly) academic reflections on various pieces of literature, which she used as sort of a coping mechanism and escape. In other words, it wasn’t cohesive in the way a memoir is when someone is looking back and reflecting on the past as a whole. That’s not a criticism, so much as a curiosity. I wonder what forces compelled Rapp to rush this story to print while her son was still alive. And I wonder how she’s doing now.

22. Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim and James LapineWhen Gus was cast as the narrator in Into the Woods, I’d never seen or read the play in full. We’d performed excerpts in college, but I had no idea how the story tied together. IT. IS. BRILLIANT. I read it over and over again. Of course, I love reading plays—and then seeing them live—and reading them again. It’s a totally different reading experience that I highly recommend.

23. Proof by David Auburn Since we’re on the subject of plays—I followed up Into the Woods by reading this one, which I saw years ago at Tennessee Repertory Theater. It’s one of the better known Broadway plays, thanks in part to Mary Louise Parker’s turn as Catherine on Broadway (and Gwyneth Paltrow’s in the movie adaptation), and the acclaim is well deserved.

24. The Likeness by Tana French BRILLiant. Brilliant. Brilliant. My second go-round on this one (because I forget what I've read, it was like reading it for the first time). Tana French has written the quintessential literary thriller. It’s a complex (but easy to read) page turner that is rich and smart and totally satisfying, unlike the highly processed airplane reads that are entertaining and all exactly alike.

There are others I’ve started but haven’t finished, so I’ll leave those to my 2014 wrap up. To see my roundups from past years, click 2012and 2011.

What were your favorites this year? 

My 2012 Reading List, Unabashed and UnabridgedMy New Year’s blogging tradition began last year with My 2011 Reading List, Unabashed and Unabridged. It was, to my great surprise and delight, one of my most popular and often referenced posts. Readers returned to it throughout the year, looking for good things to read, and I love that. So I'll continue.

I’ve kept a running list all year--so the books listed appear here in the order in which I read them, starting in January of 2012.

1. The Getaway Car: A Practical Memoir About Writing & Life – by Ann Patchett I’ve read everything Ann Patchett’s ever written—fiction and non—and while I bow down to her in both arenas, I will put down whatever I’m reading to read her non-fiction the minute it’s published. She has a bookstore in Nashville now, and a blog (joy!) so there’s even more of Ann for me to love. The Getaway Car was a quickie—a long essay, more than a memoir—but a wonderful way for writers or readers to get the new year started right. (And I just noticed it's available on Kindle right now for $2.51)  

2. Half a Life – by Darin Strauss
If you’ve ever listened to the radio program This American Life, you’re familiar with the honest, unsentimental voicing of personal narrative that is its signature. Parts of this memoir (I learned after reading it) were originally broadcast on This American Life, and that makes perfect sense to me. In it, Strauss pieces back together the emotional fallout from one tragic event that happened in the final months of his senior year of high school, when he accidentally struck and killed a classmate who veered in front of his vehicle on her bike. If you’re the type of person who reads memoirs and gets annoyed at the author because surely you would never have reacted like that—you might want to skip this one. If you can accept grief and guilt and the many, often unpoetic, ways it manifests—this is a unique and compelling read.

3. Left Neglected – by Lisa Genova 
I stayed up late into the night finishing this novel about a high-powered, type-A working mom who is forced to reevaluate her life when a car accident leaves her severely brain damaged, suffering from a rare neurological condition called Left Neglect. The novel doesn’t go deep, however. While the writing was tight and the story well paced, the end result was more Lifetime movie than serious literature. Still—there’s nothing wrong with a little Lifetime movie every now and then.

4. The Book Thief – by Markus Zusak 
If you haven’t read this, you must. It’s wonderful. This review of it by Janet Maslin made me irate, wherein she totally missed the beauty and magic of this gorgeous, gorgeous novel. I’ve read a fair amount of young adult fiction, and in almost every instance I’ve found it impossible to shake the feeling that this is a book for teenagers. Not so with The Book Thief. It’s just a great story, beautifully told. Destined to become a classic.

5. A Visit from the Goon Squad – by Jennifer Egan 
I loved this book while I was reading it, and I thought about it for weeks afterward, because the form was so different from any novel I’ve ever read. The book’s description on Amazon didn’t appeal to me at all, and I typically shy away from novels that have the critics peeing all over themselves with delight, but when I find a lone copy of a new bestseller at McKay, I can’t help myself. It’s like winning a lottery I never entered. So I read it. And what Jennifer Egan did here—with time and intersecting narratives—is an amazing feat.

6. How to Write an Inspired Creative Brief - by Howard Ibach 
I read it for work. It was recommended to us by one of our art directors in Memphis, and while parts of it were kind of, sort of helpful (kind of, sort of), it fell short in the way that most business advice books do: telling me how to think and behave in a perfect way … under near perfect conditions, with a brazen disregard for the fact that 99.9 percent of the time, THAT AIN’T HOW SHIT ROLLS.

7. Always We Begin Again – by John McQuiston II 
This one’s a bit of a gem. My mother in law introduced me to it—she keeps hers by her bedside and takes it with her while she travels. McQuiston was a busy attorney who wanted to uncover the secret to living a truly balanced life. What resonated with him was the rule of St. Benedict—which he's interpreted and restated here for a modern readership. A keeper.  

8. Girl Walks Into a Bar – by Rachel Dratch 
I read this on a business trip to Chicago—and I laughed out loud on an elliptical machine in the tiny hotel gym at six in the morning. Dratch’s humor is the humble kind—self-deprecating, but not self-loathing. She’s the kind of person I’d love to meet at a cocktail party where I didn’t know a soul.

9. Holy Hunger – by Margaret Bullitt-Jonas 
Oh, you know, just your run-of-the-mill memoir about the daughter of raging alcoholics who becomes an Episcopal priest and practitioner of 12-step spirituality to overcome years of debilitating food addiction. If that’s your cup of tea (and whose cup of tea isn't it, really?), this is worth the read.

10. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo – by Stieg Larsson 
I liked it. I heard a few other people did too. My friend Betsy was turned off by the ending—and all the sandwiches. I agree, the characters in this book eat a lot of sandwiches. And the first 50 pages were a bit of a slog, but after that it settled into a fast-paced movie-scape, which I probably don’t need to tell you, because I was the last person in America to finally read it.

11. The Gift of Fear - by Gavin de Becker 
My friend Amy recommended this to me one day, and I finished it that night. De Becker is an expert in how to predict violent behavior. He’s worked for government officials, celebrities, police departments, and battered women’s shelters—and he says that our intuition or “gut instinct” is not just an emotional response , but a logical, unconscious reading of cues and patterns that are harbingers of danger. Trusting your gut, he says, can save your life. And he gives many real world examples of how.

12. The Beginner’s Goodbye – by Anne Tyler 
The main character in this book reminded me a lot of Macon Leary from The Accidental Tourist—and the two novels have a lot of thematic parallels. If you liked one, you’ll like the other—though this was the softer and quieter of the two.

13. Look At Me – by Jennifer Egan 
With a Visit from the Goon Squad still fresh in my mind, I was craving some more brain bending genius from Jennifer Egan. In Look at Me, a fashion model (Charlotte Swenson) is horribly disfigured in a car accident, and once her face is reconstructed, she returns to her Manhattan life still (inexplicably) beautiful but completely unrecognizable. It was an interesting book, and like Goon Squad, uniquely constructed, but the characters seemed soulless to me. By the end, I wanted to shake Charlotte and scream, “It’s LOVE, you moron. LOVE IS THE MEANING OF LIFE. I THOUGHT WE’VE BEEN OVER THIS.” The novel got around to making that point eventually, but not before I came to detest everyone in it.

14. The Marriage Plot – by Jeffrey Eugenides 
I loved this book, but I can see how someone might not. While the story is ultimately about love, and idealism, and the pursuit of ideas, the humor is very specific to liberal arts academia—and I’d be curious to hear from anyone who’s not coming from that kind of education whether this book resonated with them.

15. Cutting for Stone – by Abraham Verghese 
Another one that’s destined to be a classic. Straight-up awesome storytelling, beautifully written.

16. Born Standing Up – by Steve Martin 
I typed a note to myself when I finished this back in June. “Martin is so quiet and reserved on the page. I kept wondering why I was enjoying this, when there was no dramatic tension to speak of, except for the strained relationship between him and his father. It held me lightly, but in the end—a great payoff.” So. There’s a payoff at the end of this quiet, reserved book. And I can’t for the life of me remember what it was.

17. I’m Dancing As Fast I Can – by Barbara Gordon 
Hoo boy. This one. I really hate to be critical of books, especially memoirs, but I have to call shenanigans here. This book has been translated into many languages (and made into a feature film), so clearly its Emmy award winning author is doing just fine without my blessing. But for me what promised to be a fascinating story of anxiety, addiction and redemption devolved into a mental health emergency caper run amok. I can actually envision the whole thing starring Miss Piggy. Absent was the deep reflection and introspection that make for great memoirs, and the writing was so overwrought in places that I actually laughed out loud, though I'm certain it was not intended to be funny.

18. Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violet Faith – by Jon Krakauer 
I read this just before our summer trip to Utah, and it was fascinating, if a bit heavy on historical detail (places, shmaces TELL ME MORE ABOUT THE CRAZIES, Jonny!).

19. Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar – by Cheryl Strayed 
I’d heard of—but never read—Dear Sugar, Cheryl Strayed’s advice column at therumpus.net. I stumbled on this collection of her columns at this awesome little book store in Park City, Utah, and I didn’t put it down until I finished it at home in Nashville later that night. This book is what happens when you toss Dear Abby into the deep end. It was all I could do not to eat the pages.

20. Torch – by Cheryl Strayed 
Torch is Strayed’s autobiographical novel, about a mother of two teenage children who is diagnosed with end-stage terminal cancer. Torch was written before Strayed’s memoir Wild became an Oprah selection and runaway hit—and they cover some of the same ground—though the novel centers entirely on the mother’s death and immediate aftermath. Torch is heartbreaking, and so well written. My mother gave it to me right after Patrick was born, and I put it down because I couldn’t read it without crying. After reading Dear Sugar, I decided to pick it up again, and I’m glad I did. Wild is next on my list.

21. The Four Agreements – by Don Miguel Ruiz 
I'm way late to the party as usual. I feel like kind of a doofus whenever I talk about popular self-help books like this, but the four agreements are good messages that bear repeating. Be impeccable with your word. Don’t take anything personally. Don’t make assumptions. And always do your best. Tough to argue with.

22. How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk - by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish 
Ha ha ha ... oh me. I just—yeah. My new year’s resolution is to not read any more parenting books, and possibly to write my own parenting book entitled "Every Strategy Works For a Little While, But Then It All Falls to Shit So Why Bother?"

23. Arcadia - by Lauren Groff 
Hippy commune goes to hell in a stunning and cinematic handbasket. This is another one I read over the course of one weekend. Lauren Groff is a virtuoso. 

24. Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake – by Anna Quindlen 
Anna Quindlen is one of my heroes, and her most recent collection of essays did not disappoint. I had the pleasure of reading the whole thing in one glorious sitting, thanks to our neighbors Kortney and Dave taking the kids for an entire afternoon-long adventure. I advise you to be a cliché. Grab that cup of tea and a blanket, and enjoy the hell out of this book.

25. A Widow’s Story – by Joyce Carol Oates 
I don’t know what it is with me and the grief memoirs. Maybe it’s the equivalent of me throwing open the closet door instead of cowering in bed just wondering if there’s a boogeyman. I’ve never been able to read Joyce Carol Oates’s fiction, sensing this sort of cool remove she has from her always dark subject matter. But this memoir, about the death of her husband, partner, and best friend—might have changed that. There was so much truth and humanity and vulnerability here, the fact that one critic (surprise, surprise, it's Janet Maslin again) dismissed the whole book out of hand because Oates remarried within a year is maddening and absurd.

26. The Handmaid’s Tale – by Margaret Atwood
I don’t think dystopian fiction is my bag. While the premise of this classic novel was compelling (and somewhat frightening as my reading coincided with the firestorm of right-wing rhetoric from team Romney) I really need to root for my main character. This one felt like a vague sketch of a person (and maybe that was the point), but the whole time I was reading I desperately wanted her to show signs of, I don't know, having a soul. Or at least a personality.  

27. Help Thanks Wow – by Anne Lamott 
Here we have awesome Anne Lamott doing her thing once again, and doing it well. If you’ve never read her essays, you should. If you’ve read and loved all of her essays, this delivers more of the same good stuff--this time turning our attention to prayer (particularly the three essential prayers the book is named for).

28. The Leftovers – by Tom Perrotta 
Tom Perrotta is an interesting author. He takes high concept storylines and packages them as literary fiction. In this case, a community is devastated when many of its residents vanish in an inexplicable “Rapture-like event”. Characters struggle with how to pick up the pieces—when there are no pieces to pick up. While the characters in The Leftovers are fairly sympathetic, they’re not easy to get close to. This is why I struggled with loving the book, though I still thought it was a worthwhile read.

29. The Night Circus - by Erin Morganstern 
I hate the circus. I loved this book. It’s a beautiful, magical, grown up fairy tale with depth and heart and huge, huge, imagination. The imagery alone would have been enough to make this one of my top picks for 2012, but Morganstern does one better, delivering a thoughtful story of love and sacrifice and the illusion of a world being black and white.

30. Telling True Stories: A Nonfiction Writers’ Guide from the Nieman Foundation at Harvard University – Edited by Mark Kramer and Wendy Call
The title is a mouthful. The book is a brain-full. GOD how I loved this collection of essays—every one shedding light on some aspect of nonfiction storytelling I’d forever wondered about. And not just the high-level philosophical stuff—but the nitty gritty, this-is-how-it’s-done stuff. Nora Ephron, Macolm Gladwell, Tom Wolfe, Gay Talese, and dozens more Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists from the best of the best newspapers and magazines, serve up the inside scoop. I was in heaven. A great way to finish off the year.

If you’ve come this far, I hope you’ll leave your favorite reads of 2012 in the comments or share your thoughts on any of the books above. I wish each of you a wonderful new year—and happy reading in 2013.


POSTED ON TUESDAY, JANUARY 01, 2013 AT 10:33 PM | PERMALINK

My 2011 Reading List, Unabashed & UnabridgedI love to swap book recommendations with people, so I thought this would make a nice New Year’s tradition. For myself,  anyway. (I won’t speak for you.) These are the books that I finished. There were others I started and stopped for various reasons--so anything listed here has some merit, regardless of whether it was a favorite. I think it's an interesting snapshot of where my head was during various points throughout the year. So let's compare notes ... and please don't leave without telling me your best (or worst!) reads of 2011.

1. Plan B: Further Thoughts on Faith
Anne Lamott
This was actually a re-read. I think I’ve read all of her books of essays twice now. And none of her fiction. I’m not sure why.

2. The New Testament
This was on my bucket list.
Check. 

3. I Thought It Was Just Me But It Isn’t 
&
The Gifts of Imperfection
Brene Brown
I read these books back to back, after seeing Brown's TED talk. You know when you find a writer or a blogger whose voice is just so real and honest and funny, you wish she wanted to be your friend? Brene Brown is one of those writers and one of my better discoveries in 2011. Check out her TED talk about The Power of Vulnerability for an introduction.

Just Kids
Patti Smith
Perfection. Probably my favorite book of the year. I (should probably be embarrassed to say) I knew absolutely nothing about Patti Smith before I read this. But it's worth noting that this is a standalone work of art that requires no prior knowledge or familiarity to enjoy.

Bossypants
Tina Fey
*Dreamy sigh.* *Hearts swirling around my head.*

Taft
Ann Patchett
I wish they’d re-release this book under a different title. I can’t think of Taft without conjuring up the bemustached president or the boarding school, and this book has nothing to do with either. The subject matter was vastly different from other Patchett novels, but it was nonetheless excellent.  

The Long Goodbye
Meghan O’Rourke
I think what makes the best memoirs is the feeling that the writing isessential. Like the words had to be written in order for the writer to fulfill her mission on earth. Sometimes the memoir is the mission (see Ann Patchett’s brilliant, brilliant Truth & Beauty) and sometimes, as I believe is the case in The Long Goodbye, the memoir is a gateway the author needed to pass through. Either way, both author and reader are better off.

Say Her Name 
Francisco Goldman
Another grief memoir. (What the hell, self?) I’m sorry to say I had a tough time feeling this one. Goldman’s writing was elegant in places, but in others his ego would swell up and tromp across the pages, resulting in an overall effect that was uneven and, in moments, just flat out weird. Descriptions of the author’s post-loss sexual escapades, for example (ostensibly crafted to illustrate the depth of his grief and confusion) felt crass and gratuitous.

29 Gifts
Cami Walker
If you have even a passing familiarity with Jesus Christ, you might find the author’s “revelation” that helping others gives life meaning a little hard to take, but it’s not enough to dismiss this story of personal growth—and the movement it started.

The Memory Palace
Mira Bartok
I liked it. But I wanted to love it, because the author’s experience made for rich material. Somehow Bartok managed to write an entire memoir without revealing very much of herself.

Launch
Michael Stelzner
I read this one for work, and it served its purpose. The overall premise being “Use social media to be helpful, and the business will follow.” Easier said and done if your business is knowledge/service oriented. 

We Need to Talk About Kevin
Lionel Shriver
Daarrrrrrrrrk. Dark. Dark. And deeply disturbing. But so perfectly written, I suspect this author is an off-the-charts genius. And I never, ever want to meet her in person.

The Post Birthday World
Lionel Shriver
An expert execution of a marital “What if” scenario. What if you chose to cheat on your husband, and what if you chose to resist? Shriver runs two perfectly rendered plot lines side by side to brilliant effect.

Beatrice and Virgil
Yann Martel
My exact words when finishing this book: What the ever-loving fuckwas that? Call me if you know something.

The Possibility of Everything
Hope Edelman

State of Wonder 
Ann Patchett
While this wasn't my all-time favorite Patchett book (and I've read them all), I really enjoyed it. You know when Vanity Fair does that Hollywood issue every year, and they give a handful of actors titles like “The Classic”, “The Ingenue” and “The Activist”, etc, etc? Well if they did the same thing with authors, Ann Patchett would be The Professional. The woman just doesn’t write a bad book.

The Weight of Silence 
Heather Gudenkauf
This one reads more like a movie of the week. There’s nothing groundbreaking about the writing, but it’s a solid, suspenseful and well-crafted page turner.

The Art of Client Service 
Robert Solomon
A must-read for account service people in advertising—I’m surprised it took me this long to discover it. I usually abhor the plastic trendy BS of business books, but this one was useful and entertainingly written.

The War of Art
Steven Pressfield
When more than one blogger whose writing you admire falls all over herself to recommend a book about writing, it usually means one of two things. Either the book is exceptional, or the blogger really likes the guy who wrote it. People praised this book up and down for its genius, and while there are a few morsels of insight bobbing around in there, the (mercifully short) book reads like someone’s unedited bedside dream journal. (The one they were only half awake when writing). Maybe it’s just me. Some artists arrive in your life at a time when you’re not of a mind to receive them. Like Gwen Stefani, for example.  Or Lady Gaga. I'm, uh, happy that you like them so much, but they remain a question mark for me.

Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?
Mindy Kaling
Funny. An entertaining and worthwhile read, which I wrote about here.

Open
Andre Agassi
Paying full price for books makes me panicky, but I couldn’t walk away from the grand opening of Ann Patchett’s Nashville bookstore empty handed. So I grabbed the paperback edition of Open off a high shelf, vaguely remembering an interesting interview with Agassi and Terri Gross when the book first came out in hard cover. Agassi has an amazing story—but I was afraid his writing would suck . I was blown away—by the writing and the story, in equal measure. There’s a point (around the time he hooks up with Brooke Shields) where the book gets a little Hollywood tell-all, but still, it’s entertaining, and it doesn’t stay that way for long. If I were a douchey book blurber I’d used words like FIERCE and TRIUMPHANT to describe this memoir, and you’d think I was full of shit. But I’m not. Open is fierce. And triumphant. And one of the best books I read all year. I happen to love tennis, but I’m pretty sure that’s not a prerequisite to enjoying this book.

The Descendants
Kaui Hart Hemmings 
Every page of this novel was perfect. And you'll know within one page whether you agree. 

Heart of the Matter
Emily Giffin
Oh, sue me. Sometimes I crave a small dose of chick lit, and Emily Giffin is always a safe bet. If you can believe it, I have criteria for this genre. (Standards, I tell you!) I don’t do funny fat girls with great taste in shoes. Or single women with horrible taste in men. Or just-shy-of-chic Manhattan <publicists/magazine editors/advertising execs> who save the day at work, show everyone how smart they really are, get the guy, and score themselves AND their plain-Jane sidekick the promotions and makeovers they both so readily deserve. Giffin does high-concept plots featuring flawed but sympathetic characters, and while it's not deep, she writes like a grownup. A grownup who found a formula that works.

The Hunger Games
Suzanne Collins
With less than 48 hours left in 2011, I asked my Facebook friends for reading recommendations. Over the past year I’ve heard dozens of people rave about The Hunger Games, and I’ve always dismissed it, because it’s Young Adult fiction and dammit I want to read big-girl books. But when one friend, who has always told me that he hates to read, commented that The Hunger Games made him a reader, I figured I owed the book a chance. And it was worth the read. Fast paced and entertaining, good characters, a fun plot. It reads like YA fiction, which is to say the text is stripped down to the bare essentials (probably another reason why so many people enjoyed it), and the plot turns were predictable, but it doesn’t really matter. It was a lot like watching a Hollywood blockbuster, in your brain.  

So that's it. Please, please hit me up with your favorite books of 2011--I never tire of this topic. And happy reading in 2012.