Since we just passed the halfway point of the year, now seems like
a good time to look back over the past six months and recommend my favorite
reads of the year so far. I'll also look ahead to what I'm excited to read
soon.
Recommendations:
*The Nix, Nathan Hill, 2016
I wasn't sure at first that I
was up for a 700+ page story about politics and news in America, but I loved
this novel to bits. It follows Samuel Andresen-Anderson, a college English
instructor, as he debates helping his estranged mother with some nasty legal
and political trouble she's landed in. The story moves among 2011, 1988, and
1968, exploring Samuel's present and his childhood as well as his mother's
youth. Along the way we meet a publisher trying to capitalize on a scandal
before the public forgets about it, a man obsessed with an MMORPG, and a
college student addicted to social media and unable to discern truth from the
lies she tells herself. Ultimately this is a story about story and narrative
and truth and media and how no one individual can really know the whole truth.
It's brilliant.
*The Clancys of Queens, Tara Clancy, read by the author, 2016
I highly recommend the audio
version of Clancy's memoir, which she reads herself to perfection. She explores
how her childhood moving among her working-class relatives in Queens and her
mother's very well-off boyfriend in his fancy apartment affected her. The
childhood stories are by turns hilarious and touching, and you will feel like
you're hanging out with Clancy over a burger or a beer while she regales you
with stories of her life.
*Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen, read by Rosamund Pike
While I always recommend Pride
and Prejudice for your reading pleasure at any time, this rec is
specifically for the audio book version read by Rosamund Pike. (She played Jane
in the 2005 movie version of P&P too.) Pike gives an
excellent performance all around, interpreting the characters beautifully and
making the narrative shine. For a month I listened to this every evening while
I was getting myself and the fur critters ready for bed, and it was a delight.
I swear I slept better too.
*Hyperbole and a Half, Allie Brosh, 2013
You've probably seen some of
Brosh's drawings (if not her blog itself) since many of them have been
repeatedly meme-ified ("Clean all the things!"). This collection of
essays from her blog was a treat. At turns laugh-out-loud funny (who am I
kidding, gigglesnort-uncontrollably funny) and deeply affecting, these
illustrated essays are a singularly important addition to the genre of memoir.
Especially check this out if you are looking to understand depression. Brosh is
painfully and wonderfully insightful on that topic.
What I'm Reading Now:
*The Gentleman's Guide to
Vice and Virtue, Mackenzi
Lee, 2017
I'm enjoying this YA historical
fiction about a bisexual young man on his Grand Tour in 18th century Europe.
Things go awry and get dangerous and adventure-y. So far I'm loving the
attention to questions of privilege and representation, but I'm struggling a
little with the tone, which is so 21st century that I sometimes forget that
these characters are running around in 17--.
Up Next:
*The Maltese Falcon,
Dashiell Hammett, 1929
This is the next selection for
my book club, and I'm looking forward to seeing what the book is like. I've
seen the movie, but I don't know a thing about whether it was faithful to the
book. I'm expecting beautiful dames and shadowy alleys and gruff dudes with
nifty hats and cigarettes in the corners of their mouths. Can't wait to see if
that's what it really is or if I've been led astray by my impressions.
What I'm Looking Forward To:
*Prince Charles: The
Passions and Paradoxes of an Improbable Life, Sally Bedell Smith, 2017
I read Sally Bedell Smith's
biography of Elizabeth II a few years ago and was absolutely enraptured by it.
I can't wait to read this one about the man who will most likely be the next
king of England. I've already had a flip-through to look at the photographs,
and my interest is most definitely whetted.
*The Wangs vs. the World, Jade Chang, 2016
I keep hearing about this story
of fortune lost and family coming together, and every time I hear something new
about it I want to read it even more.
*A Gentleman in Moscow, Amor Towles, 2016
In 1922 an
"unrependent" Russian aristocrat is sentenced to house arrest and
finds his emotional life opening up as his physical space narrows. I hear this
is evocative and immersive, and that sounds like win to me.
*Swell, Jenny Landreth, 2017
The subtitle of Swell is
"A Waterbiography." I love the word play, and I think this UK-centric
look at women in swimming and the fight for equal access to swimming for women
should be fascinating. The included photographs alone are amazing.
