This year I tried something different, posting reading recaps every four months instead of waiting until the end of the year. If you'd like to read the two previous recaps, the first "trimester" roundup is here and the second "trimester" can be found here.
Raising Critical Thinkers by Julie Bogart
Leave it to me to discover this book when my youngest child is less than one year from legal adulthood. Larry swooped into the room while I was reading it and asked, “do you think it’s too late?” Perhaps. But, I picked it up because I was curious how Bogart would approach the subject of critical thinking, breaking it down into its essential components. I love books about thinking—and how we can do it better, and this one is excellent. You don’t have to have kids or be teaching anyone other than yourself to enjoy and benefit from it, though if you do have kids or are trying to teach them to think critically, there are some fantastic and thought provoking exercises here that you can do with them, all tailored based on age, to cultivate critical thinking skills. A few concepts that are rattling around in my head right now after finishing: the limitations of empathy; how one’s identity, which includes how others see you—both for better and worse—impacts critical thinking; and the real meaning of close reading. Terrific food for thought.
Good Arguments: How Debate Teaches Us to Listen and Be Heard by Bo Seo
Part memoir, part history, part instruction manual, Good Arguments lays out the fundamental ingredients of a good debate and, in so doing, helps us to imagine a world that embraces conflict, approaching it in a spirit of mutual growth, instead of destruction. Seo is a two-timedebating World Champion senator and former coach of Harvard’s debate team, who began competing in middle school. His voice is engaging, broad-minded, and not the slightest bit arrogant; I felt like I was climbing under his wing and getting a bird’s eye view of a world I’ve always been curious about (the world of competitive debate) and a world I want to live in, where instead of becoming increasingly polarized we are committed to listening, learning, and arguing well.
Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
I don’t know how Ann Patchett does it, but man, I'm glad she does. Another perfect novel. A perfect cast of characters. This is a story of first love, true love, family, and the roles we are destined to play. A brilliant homage to Thornton Wilder’s play, Our Town, Tom Lake is a story within a story that’s layered and rich and charming and clever as hell. Loved every minute. (If you loved City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert, I think you'll love this too.)
Now Is Not the Time to Panic by Kevin Wilson
People seem to love Kevin Wilson’s novels. This one got a ton of buzz, as did the previous one Nothing to See Here, which I enjoyed but wasn’t as gaga for as the rest of the world (or maybe he just has an exceptionally good publicity team?). Anyway, I felt like I was reading this one to understand why everyone is talking about reading this one. For one thing, it reads like YA. It’s told mostly from a teen’s perspective and has that same interior exposition that, in adult novels, would be left to the reader to figure out. (Show, don’t tell, etc.). We’re supposed to believe that the narrator has good reason to obsessively harbor this secret into adulthood, and the stakes just don’t feel high enough to warrant all the angst. I’m curious to know what others think about this one. I didn’t love it.
Big Swiss by Jen Beagin
Well this was a weird, whacky, and wonderful ride. The premise: a woman moves to a new town in the Hudson River Valley and takes a job transcribing the 1:1 sessions of a sex therapist and his patients. Since it’s a small town, our protagonist soon discovers that she recognizes people by their voices and is privy to their most intimate secrets. One patient in particular becomes her obsession. Drama—and self discovery—ensue.
Everything / Nothing / Someone by Alice Carriere
Wow. This was an absolute stunner. A shocking, tragic, and ultimately redemptive memoir of dissociative disorder, rooted in a wildly neglectful and boundariless but seemingly privileged New York City upbringing with a famous artist mother and actor father. Carriere’s parents aren’t only villains (and they aren’t the only villains in her story; the mental health “professionals” who treat Carriere mishandle her case egregiously.) While her story alone would be compelling, Carriere is a phenomenal writer, and this is an incredible work of art.
What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma by Stephanie Foo
A welcome coincidence that this became available from the library right after I finished Carriere’s memoir. Foo’s story is equally astonishing and her writing is compelling. After a childhood of profound abuse Foo is finally diagnosed with complex PTSD. Her memoir documents her quest for healing, belonging, and love--and does so beautifully.
Doppelgänger: A Trip Into the Mirror World by Naomi Klein
Remember Naomi Wolf? Third-wave feminist and author of The Beauty Myth, published in the 1990s? Apparently, she's a full-fledged vaccine conspiracy theorist and frequent guest of Steve Bannon on the War Room now. And for years people have been mistaking her for Naomi Klein, the liberal social critic and anti-capitalist author of No Logo and The Shock Doctrine. Both women are Jewish. Both are named Naomi. Both have written influential books. And apparently that’s all the similarities our little brains can handle without collapsing them into one person and wondering what the hell happened to “Naomi Klein”? So that was the impetus for this book—Klein exploring what it means to be confronted by her own doppelgänger, a funhouse mirror version of herself, wreaking havoc in the world. But that’s just her jumping off point. Doppelgänger is an in depth exploration of the titular theme, looking at language and ideas and political movements and identity through the lens of mirrors, echos, doubles, binaries and twins. Weaving together a vast range of topics from personal brands and socialism to AI and anti-vaxers to climate change deniers and zionists—all within the doppleganger framework, it’s a 300-page feast for thought.
Us Against You by Fredrik Backman
The second book in Backman’s Beartown trilogy was every bit as beautiful as the first, maybe even more so. God, Backman is a unique writer and his characters and storytelling and pacing are exceptional. It’s funny, I didn’t realize it after the first book, but after reading Ann Patchett’s Tom Lake, I realized there’s a bit of Thornton Wilder’s Our Town echoed here. I highly (highly) recommend this series. (Would be great for a book club, too.)
Opinions by Roxane Gay
Subtitled “A Decade if Arguments, Criticism, and Minding Other People’s Business” this is a wonderful collection and representation of Gay’s essays, opinion pieces, interviews and advice columns, most of which I’d never read. Gay has a distinctive voice and an insightful take on every topic she tackles, from black lives to the particular pleasures of the Fast and Furious franchise. Very happy to have her collection in mine.
Democracy Awakening: Notes on the State of America by Heather Cox Richardson
Larry turned me on to Heather Cox Richardson, a professor of American History and author of the extremely popular daily Substack newsletter (and Facebook page) Letters from an American, which puts the news of the day in historical context. HCR’s superpower is bringing history to life and adding much needed historical color and context to current events. In Democracy Awakening (which I listened to On Audible, read by HCR herself), she provides a tight and enlightening primer on American history to answer the question on every progressive’s mind, how the hell did we get here? The book is excellent, especially if you’re interested (as I am) in how language is co-opted by political parties and movements to reshape public perception and opinion.
The Winners by Frederik Backman
The final book in the Beartown trilogy was also the best. How that’s possible I don’t even know. What I do know is that I will miss this town and these people and this story and this writing. I’ve never read anything like it. Just perfection. Everything there is to like about fiction is here in these pages. I just can’t imagine anyone not falling in love.
The Many Lives of Mama Love by Lara Love Hardin
Described in its subtitle as a “Memoir of Lying, Stealing, Writing and Healing” this is a beautiful (and entertaining) redemption story and an infuriating reminder of how broken and crushing and unjust our criminal justice system is. Jenette McCurdy (author of the memoir I’m Glad My Mom Died) chose this as a recent book club pick and I would love to hear the conversations and questions that came of it, starting with when, if ever, can a punishment fit a crime?
A Day in the Life of Abed Salama: Anatomy of a Jerusalem Tragedy by Nathan Thrall
If you want to understand what life is like for Palestinians under Israeli occupation, this is a powerful and heartbreaking place to start. Thrall, a journalist who lives in Jerusalem, tells the history of Palestinian apartheid through the lens of what happened in 2012, when a bus carrying Palestinian kindergartners, including Salama’s son Milad, collided with a semitrailer and burst into flames near an Israeli checkpoint on the outskirts of Jerusalem. Thoroughly researched and reported this complex and brutal story is one ever American needs to know and understand.
Who Thought This Was a Good Idea? by Alyssa Mastromonaco
When the global shit is hitting the fan, which it almost always is these days, I like to be reminded that there are good people in the government; civil servants who genuinely care about things like democracy and human lives. Alyssa Mastromonaco was Obama’s deputy chief of staff and she wrote this memoir to inspire young women to consider getting into politics. It is funny and heartfelt and enlightening (and also a good listen on Audible, read by the author herself).
So Here’s the Thing: Notes in Growing Up, Growing Older and Trusting Your Gut by Alyssa Mastromonaco
Why mess with a good thing? I walked many miles to Mastromonaco’s first book and she was great company, so I did the same with this follow up book of essays. Definitely written for a millennial audience, but this Gen Xer enjoyed her stories very much.
Can We Talk About Israel? (A Guide for the Curious, Confused, and Conflicted) by Daniel Sokatch
The rhetoric online following the events of October 7th rocked my brain. I felt like I was seeing the gears of the propaganda machine turning this way—then that way—dividing once reasonable progressives into two warring factions, at each other’s throats. My grasp of Israel’s history and the Palestinian struggle put me squarely in the curious, confused and conflicted camp, so I did what I do and started to read and watch and listen (with my propaganda antennae cocked). This book was an enormous help to me and I’m surprised I’m not seeing it highlighted everywhere. Not only is it fairly current (published after Biden’s election) but it maps out the history of Israel and Zionism and all of its complexity in an accessible and even-handed way. The writing is entertaining, too. Not a slog. I am so grateful for it.
The Guest by Emma Cline
I think this would be an excellent book club pick. A young woman, a New York City call girl on the run from a man she owes money, disappears herself to the Hamptons, where she pretends her way into the lives of its wealthy inhabitants. The novel takes place over the course of one week, during which Alex (our white, blonde, slender young protagonist), cast out of her older lover’s home (finished with her, e thinks he’s successfully sent her back to the city), waits him out, house surfing (and human surfing) until his Labor Day party, where she believes she’ll show up and be welcomed back into his arms. The energy and tension in this book is wild, and the writing exceptionally sharp, reminiscent of Cheever’s “The Swimmer”, Kate Chopin’s The Awakening and Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway (though you don’t have to have read those to appreciate The Guest. The ending is cinematic (and Vanity Fair published this great piece about it, with spoilers https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2023/08/the-ending-of-the-guest-is-anyones-guess). If you are a person who can tolerate (or better yet, relishes) ambiguity, I highly recommend.
Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson
About three quarters of the way through this novel about a wealthy family in Brooklyn Heights and their “struggles”, I googled Jenny Jackson and learned that she is a high level editor at Alfred A.. Knopf, who edited several of my recent favorites including Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow. This is her first novel. She has a great ear for dialogue, particularly the dialogue of very rich white people from Brooklyn Heights, which she wields to glorious effect. The novel bops along at a pleasant pace, and even when the going gets tough for some of the younger members of the waspy Stockton Clan and their spouses, it's nothing that money can’t—and doesn’t—quickly solve. I didn’t get the sense that Jackson meant for this to be anything more than sheer entertainment (or a streaming series pitch), so don’t hold your breath for any revelations about the dangers of generational wealth or income inequality, but she does succeed (for me anyway) in making this wealthy family seem real--and if not exactly likable, at least, amusing. I do wonder if you have to have been around people like this to appreciate the humor and its accuracy.
The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth Tova Bailey
I’ll be honest: I can’t believe I read this. It’s a Larry book—a slow, close look at some natural phenomenon. He is drawn to nonfiction like “The Secret Life of Trees” or “The History of Salt” or "Salmon: A Biography", for which I lack the curiosity or patience. But, having read this slender volume, I can see what he sees in this style of writing. The author, bedridden due to tick-borne encephalitis, finds an unlikely companion in a tiny snail living in a terrarium beside her bed. For a year she studies the snail, how it moves, what it eats, where it hides, and how it lives—giving her a sense of purpose from her horizontal, immobile state. Her curiosity leads her to study snails, discovering many fascinating facts (they shoot love darts! They can slime-craft little shelters for themselves, using a natural technology akin to double glazed windows!) All of this make her (and her readers) appreciate these magical, time-defying creatures.
Wild Card by Jen Cownie and Fiona Lensvelt
Man, I love reading about Tarot, and this book, subtitled “Let the Tarot Tell Your Story” is as gorgeous as its cover, right up there with my beloved Tarot for Change by Jessica Dore. Unlike the boring (and frankly, ridiculous) quick-guides to tarot (this card means you’re going to get a letter!) Wild Card applies a narrative lens, offering not only a really excellent overview of the deck, but provocative questions to accompany each card and get you thinking about how the symbols connect to your own story. Highly recommend.
What was the best thing you read this year? Anything on my list that didn't hit you the same way? Hit me up with your recommendations in the comments. Happy 2024.
Previous 2023 Reads:
Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
The Book of Delights by Ross Gay
The Undocumented Americans by Carla Cornejo Villavicencio
A Ghost in the Throat by Doireann Ni Ghriofa
Ode to a Nobody by Caroline Brooks DuBois
You Just Need to Lose Weight and 19 Other Myths About Fat People by Aubrey Gordon
Book Lovers by Emily Henry
Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
Lord of the Butterflies by Andrea Gibson
All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin
Sam: A Novel by Allegra Goodman
The School for Good Mothers by Jessamyn Chan
Night by Elie Wiesel
Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
Hijab Butch Blues: A Memoir by Lamya H.
I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai
Drinking Games: A Memoir by Sarah Levy
Emergent Strategy by Adrienne Maree Brown
The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O'Farrell
Indelible in the Hippocampus - Writings from the Me Too Movement Edited by Shelly Oria
Small Blows Against encroaching Totalitarianism Volume One by McSweeney's
Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld
Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan
True Biz by Sara Novic
A Heart that Works by Rob Delaney
Poverty, by America by Mathew Desmond
Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver
Foster by Claire Keegan
You Could Make This Place Beautiful: A Memoir by Maggie Smith
Outlawed by Anna North
Happy Place by Emily Henry
The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka
Quietly Hostile by Samantha Irby
Beartown by Fredrik Backman
You'll Grow Out of It by Jessi Klein
The Colony by Audrey Magee
Mating by Norman Rush
Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich
Letters from Max by Sarah Ruhr and Max Ritvo
The Lady's Handbook for Her Mysterious Illness by Sarah Ramey
My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Otessa Moshfegh
The Last American Man by Elizabeth Gilbert
The Collected Schizophrenias by Esme Weijun Wang
Ripe by Sarah Rose Etter
The Chronology of Water by Lidia Yuknavitch
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks
13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl by Mona Awad
Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli
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