march: 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 & 13

so much reading this month - a two week spring break helped!  and 3 of these were audiobooks...

the waters, by bonnie jo campbell (this was a read with jenna book club recommendation that i liked, but didn't love.  it's set in a marshy area of michigan and follows three generations of strong and wild women.  it's poignant and thoughtful, but not one that i'll be rushing out to recommend.)

good material, by dolly alderton (this was another read with jenna recommendation - the story of a break up told through the eyes of the man who has been broken up with.  i don't think we get that story often - break up stories are almost always ones about women struggling with a relationship ending.  this was funny and had some depth to it, and i think anyone who has been broken up with will find things to grab onto here.  a great beach read!)

fourth wing, by rebecca yarros (okay guys, i have been sucked in to the romance and dragons series.  i read this at a breakneck pace and am on the list at the library for the second book.)

rough sleepers, by tracy kidder (listened to this audiobook and then got to hear the author speak in pittsburgh last week.  this is the incredibly well written narrative nonfiction story of dr. jim o'connell and boston's healthcare for the homeless program. kidder is an amazing writer and this story is so poignant.  tough to read at points, but so so important.  highly recommend!)

invisible women, by caroline criado perez (another audiobook - this is about data bias and how it impacts women.  SUCH important and interesting information, and this book compiles a ton of it to make a really scary case for how women are being ignored in things from car safety to transportation policy to drug trials.  highly recommend, though it was a bit of a slog at points - the author is incredibly thorough with the information she's sharing and sometimes i was like, "i get it, can we move on?")

interesting facts about space, by emily austin (another light read that's intriguing and charming and would be perfect for binge reading while on a trip.)

the wager, by david grann (arron and i listened to this audiobook over one weekend - this is by the author of killers of the flower moon, so i expected to find it compelling and was not wrong.  it's the true story of an around-the-world voyage in the 1840s, a shipwreck and a mutiny.  definitely recommend it!  great audiobook narrator, too.)

february: 4, 5 & 6

this month's reading:

how high we go in the dark, by sequoia nagamatsu (often, i really love stories with separate plot lines that all come together at the end.  this book had some plot lines that i found really compelling - the theme park for terminally ill kids, the pig who learns to speak - there were SO many plot lines that i couldn't keep track of them all and i'm honestly not sure how many of them came together in the end.  i didn't dislike this book at all, but i don't think it will stick with me.)

the best minds: a story of friendship, madness, and the tragedy of good intentions, by jonathan rosen (i listened to the audiobook of this and found it SO compelling.  the premise - what you'll read on amazon or the back cover - is that this book is the memoir of a friendship between the author and his friend, michael, who has schizophrenia and who murders his pregnant girlfriend.  and that does happen, in real life and in the book, but the first 75% of the book is the story of their friendship and the onset and treatment of michael's mental illness.  this book doesn't turn the event into a tabloid article, and by the time the event happens, you feel such sadness and compassion for all people involved.  i'd highly recommend this - it was one of the new york times' 10 best books of the year, and i'm so glad it was because that's how it got on my list.)

tom lake, by ann patchett (i also listened to this, mostly because it is narrated by meryl streep!  i don't listen to much fiction, but maybe i should - i really enjoyed listening to this in the car and on walks with emma.  i have some bones to pick about certain elements of the plot that seemed implausible or out of character for certain characters, but overall i enjoyed this book for what it is - a 50-something women telling her 3 grown daughters the story of the summer she worked as an actress at a place called tom lake.  my book club is reading it this month so i can't wait to debrief it with them in a few weeks.  i have so many things i want their take on!)

january: 1, 2 & 3

tomb sweeping, by alexandra chang (this was a book of the month club pick of short stories - i liked this book just fine but didn't love it and have already put it out in my free little library.  not one that i'm going to push on you!)

birnam wood, by eleanor catton (the author's previous book - the luminaries - was one that i couldn't get through...and i tried twice.  so i was nervous about this one, but it got such great press that i did pick it up and found it really digestible and interesting and absolutely worth reading.  it follows this weird hippie gardening collective as they begin to plant and harvest on a huge estate run by a billionaire eccentric whose motives are suspect.  it turns into a thriller, though it doesn't start that way, and i really enjoyed following the mysterious story.  i'd definitely recommend this one if that description sounds palatable!)

the courage to teach, by parker j. palmer (this is a book that i started this summer but finally finished - there is so much goodness in this book about the magic and the challenges of teaching.  i was super inspired, and pulled parts of this into a faculty meeting this fall.  it was published 20 years ago, but if you work in education and haven't read it, i would highly recommend!)

2023 in books

this year i read 39 books, pretty similar to my reading habits over the past few years.  13 of those books meet some sort of diversity standard (as in, the main character or author is not white).  and 29 of those books were from my public library.  i heart the library.

my favorite books of 2023:

beloved, by toni morrison 

i have some questions for you, by rebecca makkai

hellhound on his trail: the stalking of martin luther king jr. and the international hunt for his assassin, by hampton sides

demon copperhead, by barbara kingsolver

a fever in the heartland, by timothy egan

the boys in the boat, by daniel james brown 

the covenant of water, by abraham verghese

december: 35, 36, 37, 38 & 39

i read a ton in december!

the seven husbands of evelyn hugo, by taylor jenkins reid (it felt like all of my friends read this book and pushed it into my hand.  i was definitely entertained by this book and i know it will make a great movie or limited series!  i had heard that there was a twist, and it took me by surprise, which was fun.  i'd recommend this as great vacation reading!)

the covenant of water, by abraham verghese (this loooooong (700+ page) book was so worth the read.  i'd loved his first book and so eagerly dived into this one - i saw the author speak in november and was only about 150 pages in at that point...then had to take a break to read evelyn hugo in time for a book club meeting discussing it.  this multigenerational story of christians living on the coast of india had a ton of characters that i came to care a great deal about.  i'd highly recommend this!)

again and again, by jonathan evison (this was a book of the month club pick that i would never have picked up but for BOTM club picking it.  the main character has lived many lives, including in moorish spain, as oscar wilde's cat, and in the present day as an old man in a nursing home.  this is the story of the love of his live(s) who he's trying to find again after losing her in spain several hundred years ago.  an interesting read that i very much enjoyed but didn't LOVE...though i did cry a few tears at the end of it, so i was clearly invested.)

an immense world, by ed yong (i listened to this audiobook over several months and really enjoyed it.  it was one of the new york times' best books of the year last year, and it definitely deserved that honor.  the chapters are organized by the different senses - from taste to sight to echolocation, with many others in between - and discusses how that sense is lived by different animals, including humans.  i learned a ton and found it very interesting and accessible.  highly recommend this!  very excited to see this author speak in pittsburgh in a few months.)

miracle creek, by angie kim (i'm not sure how this book made it onto my list, but it did and then came available from the library, so i read it in december.  the framework of this book is a courtroom drama over who is responsible for a fire in a hyperbaric chamber that leads to the death of two people.  i liked but didn't love this book and the end felt too drawn out, but i was definitely interested while reading and the author really built some interesting and sympathetic characters.)

november: 34

just finished one book this month and it was an audiobook and i think that tells you everything you need to know haha.  i did start reading two different books this month, both of which i finished in december, so expect to see a bigger month of reading then!

the boys in the boat, by daniel james brown (i am so late to the game on this one, but i LOVED it and am thrilled the film is coming out soon.  excellent narrative nonfiction that weaves together the story of one man, the crew team he was a part of, and the whole US olympic push in 1936.  at the same time we get snippets of the effort to put on the berlin games by hitler's administration.  i was so moved by this story and highly recommend it to you!)

october: 30, 31, 32 & 33

a fever in the heartland, by timothy egan (i loved a previous book of his - the worst hard time - about the dust bowl - it was amazing narrative nonfiction and this newest book did not disappoint.  it's about the rise of the KKK in indiana in the 1920s, an abusive klan leader, and a woman who (as the subtitle tells us) was able to stop the klan.  i listened to the audiobook of this, which the author reads well, and was fascinated by the characters and the portrayal of 1920s america.  highly recommend if you have an interest in american history.)

amazing grace adams, by fran littlewood (this was a read with jenna book club pick, and i really liked it - would be a great claire beach read.  a claire beach read is something that doesn't rot your brain but is relatively easy to get through, is entertaining, and moves quickly.  this is the story of a woman in her 40s who is trying to get a birthday cake to her somewhat-estranged daughter on the daughter's 16th birthday.  i laughed.  i was touched.  i recommend this!)

american sirens, by kevin hazzard ( this is another audiobook and is the book i'll be leading a book club on with faculty at school this year.  did you know that the first professional paramedic crew in the united states was all-black and in pittsburgh?  this nonfiction is absolutely worth a read, both to learn more about emergency medicine and to learn more about this fantastic story.  definitely recommend!  audiobook is well-narrated.)

one good turn, by kate atkinson (this is the second book in the jackson brodie mystery series, and i was into it.  will be reading the third!  this book is fast-moving and not terribly taxing on the brain, with likable and quirky main characters.)

september: 27, 28 & 29

the poet x, by elizabeth acevedo (written in verse, this YA novel definitely didn't have me as its target audience, but i really enjoyed reading it and can see why it won the printz and other awards.  would highly recommend to a teenage audience or to adults who like reading YA.  if YA isn't your thing, skip it.)

chain gang all-stars, by nana kwame adjei-brenyah (this is a "read with jenna" book club pick that started out hard to follow (for me) but i fell into the rhythms and the story line and am really glad i read this one.  i'd describe it as hunger games meets a commentary on the american prison-industrial complex.  i like many of the books that jenna bush hager recommends through her book club, but this one stopped me in my tracks: the daughter of the former republican president has elevated - perhaps even changed forever - the career of a black american author by featuring his debut novel in her book club.  and that debut novel is an overt critique of our prison system.  many people will read this book and learn and perhaps change their minds on this topic who never would have picked it up had she not told them to.  huge props to her for using her platform in such a way.)

the lover's dictionary, by david levithan (the new york times review of books recommended this in an instagram story a few months ago highlighting great short books.  i really liked this - the story of the building and crumbling of a relationship through dictionary entries.  i finished it in a day and a half and think it would be the PERFECT book to take on a plane ride.  recommend!)

august: 25 & 26

horse, by geraldine brooks (i really liked this book - historical fiction, set in the present day and in the 19th century - the true story of a champion racehorse owned by a slaveholder with a groom who was an enslaved person. liberties are taken, which turns this into historical fiction, but i was fascinated about this glimpse into one possible story of an enslaved person.  as with all books about slavery, i spent much of it fearful of violence, with a little pit in my stomach.  when the heartbreak comes, it's not what you expected.  i love this author's writing style, and this book is excellent.  highly recommend!)

case histories, by kate atkinson (i had read a few kate atkinson books in the past that i really enjoyed, and this one was no exception - it's a mystery with a human and flawed detective, and i liked that it was both a story that built up him as a character and solved some mysteries.  i read it quickly and will definitely be continuing on with this series - i was pleased to learn this is the first in a five-book arc with this detective!)

july: 20, 21, 22, 23 & 24

unsurprisingly, given the lighter workload at work, i read a lot in july, too!

hang the moon, by jeannette walls (i didn't love this book, and i was disappointed because i really liked some of her previous books - the glass castle and half-broke horses were excellent.  i didn't find the main character in hang the moon true to the personality of any young women i know, and in just about every chapter some life-changing tragedy happens suddenly and without a ton of emotion, and that didn't do it for me.  i hate to say it, but skip this one.)

now is not the time to panic, by kevin wilson (when i don't like a book, i often finish it and immediately try to find a review that validates my opinion.  because if i didn't like it and everyone else did, then something might be wrong with my taste.  this is from the new york times review: "The anxiety that adult Frankie feels when a writer from The New Yorker plans to expose her as the originator of 'one of the weirdest mysteries in American pop culture' becomes as implausible as the fact that her narrative voice has not changed a lick in 21 years."  thank you, new york times, for hitting the nail on the head of what annoyed the shit out of me about this book.  you can go ahead and skip this one, too.  i listened to it as an audiobook and perhaps the narrator's voice added to my annoyance?  who knows.  dislike.)

the trackers, by charles frazier (i enjoyed this book, set during the new deal with a main character who is a muralist for the WPA.  the title is a play on both the title of the painting he's working on in a post office and the fact that much of the plot of the book is him tracking a missing rich woman around the US.  i liked this book and was drawn in by the story, but this won't be one of my favorite books this year.  if you like charles frazier - and i do, having read everything he's published - you should read this one.  if you've never read anything by him, don't start with this - cold mountain and varina really moved me and you'd be better off reading those two first.)

poverty, by america, by matthew desmond (i listened to the audiobook of this one, which isn't terribly long and offers critiques and recommendations based on the research he did to write evicted, a book i was quite moved by.  this book was informative, and i think he hits the nail on the head with his belief that we CAN eliminate poverty, but as a country we have chosen not to.  but this book gets preachy/pessimistic in a way that turned me off a bit to his very important message.  i far prefer evicted, which you should read if you haven't already.)

is it hot in here? or am i suffering for all eternity for the sins i committed on earth?, by zach zimmerman (i had never heard of this book, but my friend veronica recommended it and i loved it - short, hilarious, and at points quite touching.  it's a series of comedic essays, and it's a great read.)

june: 16, 17, 18 & 19

a big month of reading - finally, the time and space that summer provides!

black cake, by charmaine wilkerson (i got this through the book of the month club, and enjoyed it more than i expected to - this is a theme for me when authors or main characters have very different experiences from my own - i assume this story about two black caribbean girls won't resonate with me.  perhaps someday i will really change my assumptions (sigh), but for now, i love being pleasantly surprised and sucked in by this book.  i read about half of it on a camping trip, which was lovely - long stretches of reading during the day - heaven!  highly recommend this.)

camp zero, by michelle min sterling (this was a read with jenna book club pick, and it was fine - but not revolutionary.  post apocalyptic canada, feminist, three converging story lines.  i liked but didn't love it.)

memorial drive, by natasha trethewey (i listened to this audiobook - at some point i read a list of the 20 best memoirs or some such and this book was on it.  it's incredible - beautifully written - and horrific - the story of the events that lead up to the author's mother's murder.  it's also about family and how we construct it and about interracial relationships and lives in the south in the 1960s/70s/80s.  it's an incredible book, but a tough read.)

the culture code, by daniel coyne (i'm trying to read three professional books this summer, and this was the first - and i found so much to like and to apply to my job and to try to incorporate into my professional life.  i read much of this in the hammock in our backyard.  the premise is that three things are needed to build a strong culture within a group: build safety, share vulnerability, and establish purpose. tons of great stuff here about things like "magical feedback," the vulnerability loop, patterns found in highly successful groups.  i underlined!  i took notes!  i recommend it to you.)

may: 15

i only read one book this month - a chunky one at 550 pages!

demon copperhead, by barbara kingsolver (loved this book, incredible writing, such compelling characters, beautiful and heart breaking description of a specific place and time.  it deserves all the accolades it gets!  highly recommend.)

april: 12, 13 & 14

hellhound on his trail: the stalking of martin luther king jr. and the international hunt for his assassin, by hampton sides (i listened to this audiobook, and was fascinated by it - the year leading up to (and then the year after) king's assassination - you follow both king and james earl ray and watch their lives collide.  this book is some excellent narrative nonfiction and it's a story that goes so far beyond what i had learn even as a college american history major.  highly recommend!)

1984, by george orwell (i read this, maybe for the first time, with a class of juniors and seniors at the school where i work.  i found it fascinating to read and discuss with teenagers and a great teacher to guide us - i got so much out of the discussions.  i'm really glad i read it!)

jack, by marilynne robinson (this is the fourth book in the gilead series, one of my favorite books of all time.  i think you need to read at least one of the previous books to appreciate jack (both the character and the book), and this made me want to go back and reread some of the previous books.  she's an incredible writer, and to get more about the most illusive and confusing character in the gilead series was a real gift.  parts of this were a bit hard to follow - the timeline in particular, maybe - but i'm really glad i read it and visited this world again.)

march: 9, 10 & 11

the paris apartment, by lucy foley (this was a great beach read in the thriller/mystery genre - not normally one i gravitate towards, but this book got a lot of press and was quite popular, so i gave it a try.  if you like this genre, i'd definitely recommend it!  and it got swooped up quickly when i put it out in my little free library after finishing it.  but this didn't change my life and wasn't a book that i was rushing home to read.)

the people we keep, by allison larkin (i finished this two months ago and am struggling to remember what it was about, so that tells you what you need to know: i liked this book, but it was pretty forgettable.  or maybe the title is all wrong?  a google search has reminded me of the main plot points, and i'm remembering now that i enjoyed this book but got frustrated with some of the main character's choices.  don't repeat the same mistakes again, character!  this was a decent book that i definitely read and enjoyed, but i won't be rushing out to recommend it to you.)

i have some questions for you, by rebecca makkai (okay, i really liked this book, which i read a large portion of when on vacation - my favorite way to read (my least favorite, and more typical way to read is in 10 minute spurts before i fall asleep).  this is set on a boarding school campus both in the past (main character is a student and one of her classmates dies mysteriously) and in the present (main character has come back to teach at the school and is revisiting the murder).  with one exception, the author really nailed what it's like to be on a private school campus, which is hard to do without hitting cliches.  i found out after finishing the book that her husband teaches at a private boarding school and she lives on the campus, so that makes sense.  i really enjoyed this book, and would highly recommend it to you - flipping between past and present really worked to build suspense and the plot line was interesting and the characters believable.  i liked her previous book, the great believers, and think this more recent one is even better!)

february: 6, 7 & 8

this month i read...

less is lost, by andrew sean greer (i really liked the first book in what is now a series - less - and this is a follow up, though it's not necessary for you to have read the first book.  we follow our main character on a jaunt around the country as he contemplates his relationship with his father and with his partner.  i enjoyed but wasn't particularly moved by this one - it might have fallen victim to the 10-pages-a-night-before-you-fall-asleep curse, where one can't realllllly get into a book when reading in those chunks.  liked but didn't love.)

lessons in chemistry, by bonnie garmus (this was a book club pick and i know it's HOT right now but i was able to get a copy of the book from the library, and i really enjoyed it.  quirky characters, well written, no other books out there exactly like it.  the cover design makes me think it's being pitched as a beach read, but it was so much better than that!  recommend.)

the best of me, by david sedaris (i listened to this audiobook, a collection of his stories from across the span of his career.  some i'd heard before, others i hadn't, but i just love david sedaris's writing and thoroughly enjoyed this listen!)

january: 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5

this month i read:

the circus train, by amita parikh (i actually finished this in late december, but forgot to add it to the list, so i'm rolling it over!  this was a book of the month club pick about circuses (interesting), disability issues (interesting - and not something i know a lot about), and set in the lead up to WWII (i enjoy historical fiction) - this was a great combination and i liked this book, but didn't love it - it wasn't one where i was rushing home to read or thinking about it a lot when i wasn't reading.  so i'd recommend it, but it won't make my favorite books list for this year!)

once there were wolves, by charlotte mcconaghy (i really liked this book, a gift from my mom, who also introduced me to migrations by the same author which i read last year.  i really like her strong, flawed female protagonists and her stories about the ways that people and animals are intertwined.  she isn't an author that i hear a ton of buzz about, but i really really like her writing and would highly recommend this!)

wishin' and hopin', by wally lamb (this was a cute holiday story by an author i really enjoy.  i listened to the audiobook, narrated well by the author.  this is kind of a throw away book for me - i can see myself in a few years trying to remember if i've read it or not - but it was nice to read a book by wally lamb that i hadn't read yet.)

beloved, by toni morrison (i read this along with an english class at the school where i work, and i was bowled over by it.  toni morrison deserves all the accolades she has won, and the way this story was put together was incredible - she did things with writing that most authors can't do.  i loved talking about this with the students and being led through some of the more challenging parts by the teacher.  i told the students i was joining class because it seems like all well read people should have read beloved, and i hadn't.  i stand by that - if you haven't read this, get ready for a book that kidnaps you from the first chapter and expects a lot of its reader.  thank goodness i had the class discussions to make sure i was up for the task.  a brilliant book!)

we are all completely beside ourselves, by karen joy fowler (i had heard that if you read this book, you shouldn't read any reviews - you should go in totally blind.  that intrigued me - and i LOVED booth by the same author - so i did it: went in blind.  and i'm glad i did, because the twist happens about 1/3 of the way into the book and was worth being in the dark about.  this was not as good as booth, in my opinion, but i did think about it a lot while i was reading it and am glad i finished it!)

2022 in books

this year my reading productivity fell off a little: i read 36 books - 3 a month, on average, which is a great feat!, but down from my highs in the 50s from a few years ago.  11 of those books meet some sort of diversity standard (as in, the main character or author is not white).  and 23 of those books were from my public library.

my favorite books of 2022:

invisible child, by andrea elliott

cloud cuckoo land, by anthony doerr

no one is talking about this, by patricia lockwood

tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow, by gabrielle zevin

booth, by karen joy fowler

how the word is passed, by clint smith

pachinko, by min jin lee

here's to another year of great reading!, with gratitude to the universe for the time to read, the public libraries for all they provide to our society, and the gift of sight.

december: 33, 34, 35 & 36

we are the light, by matthew quick (a book of the month club pick, which i found really interesting, and told in a way that allowed the story to spill out bit by bit in a way that was really intriguing.  it's an epistolary novel told in letters from a man whose wife died in a mass shooting.  so it's not light, but the character arcs are lovely and the story is really interesting.  i recommend it, but it is not winning my favorite book of the year.)

rogues: true stories of grifters, killers, rebels and crooks, by patrick radden keefe (i listened to this audiobook, which is a collection of long form magazine articles that were, almost across the board, fascinating.  if you like good narrative nonfiction, i'd highly recommend it!  the audiobook is well-narrated, too.)

where the world ends, by geraldine mccaughrean (this is another printz award winner, based on a true story of a group of teens who end up marooned on a skellig [new vocab word for me!] off the coast of ireland.  there's a great dramatic tension in the novel when they will get rescued and why they haven't gotten rescued yet that i found really compelling, and to find out (after finishing it) more details about the true story it was based on was a great touch.  this book didn't make a HUGE impact on me, what it was worth reading.)

haven, by emma donoghue (guys, how did i pick a second book IN A ROW about people who are stuck on a skellig WHEN THIS WAS NOT EVEN A WORD I KNEW BEFORE MID-DECEMBER.  but i did, guys, i did, and two in a row was too much.  this book is fine and i'm glad i read it, and the stories of building a religious haven on a skellig were really interesting, but if you're going to read one skellig book, make it where the world ends.  sorry, emma donoghue.)

november: 30, 31 & 32

the ghosts of heaven, by marcus sedgwick (after slogging through swing time i was determined to read some shorter books that i would like more.  i went back to an old favorite, the printz award winners list (for young adult fiction).  young adult books will not bore me, and the best ones are quite well written.  i found the ghosts of heaven on that list, and had read two other marcus sedgwick books so was excited to try this one.  i really liked it - four separate stories with a theme (spirals) that connects them.  the author says at the beginning that you can read them in any order, which really intrigued me.  i really liked this book, and if you're into YA fiction i would highly recommend it!)

we are okay, by nina lacour (another one from the printz award list (gotta cleanse that palate), this one the story of a college freshman who has cut off ties with her bff because of some family tragedies...and the bff reappears around the holiday season to try to make amends.  i liked it very much and i can see why it was recognized by the printz committee, but i preferred the ghosts of heaven.)

how the word is passed, by clint smith (i listened to the audiobook of this over the past few months and finally finished it.  EXCELLENT narrative non-fiction, and i'm actually now running a book club at school with faculty who are reading the book.  the author visits sites around the US that are important to the history of slavery and tells the stories, meets people, and reckons with the fine line between history and nostalgia.  highly recommend!)

october: 27, 28 & 29

jitney, by august wilson (i read this along with a class of seniors at the school where i work, and really enjoyed this exposure to a new (to me) august wilson play, with the benefit of a teacher guiding us through the reading and rather astute kids offering their take.  i was glad to have read it!)

wolfpack, by abby wambach (i listened to this audiobook after hearing the author on an old episode of brene brown's podcast.  parts were a bit cheesy, written as a leadership guide for a younger audience (brene says she buys this for every girl she knows when they graduate from high school), but then all of a sudden i was crying while listening?  so clearly it moved 39 year old me, too.  i'm glad i read it!  the audiobook is only about an hour long (bonus!).)

swing time, by zadie smith (i heard the author speak like 10 years ago, and bought the book as part of that event...and then never read it.  when i finally did, i wasn't blown away or rushing home to read more.  i think there are better zadie smith books out there - i enjoyed white teeth much more than this one.)