2025 Book Recommendations

Welcome back to the book review, friends! This year I made a big effort to reduce my screentime and it paid off. I read more than any year since I started keeping track. Highly recommend keeping a book in your bag for when doomscrolling threatens. Even though a thread of melancholy runs through a lot of my top reads  it's much more fulfilling.

Final count: 117 total, 54 nonfiction / 63 fiction

My top ten reads of 2025:

1. The Correspondent by Virginia Evans-- This is a beautiful book; I was sobbing by the end. It's about grief and connection and the love of words in both books and letters.

2. Splinters: Another Kind of Love Story by Leslie Jamison-- This one shattered me. I felt seen. “Whenever I spent hours of childcare writing nothing but terrible sentences, I always felt like I’d failed my daughter-- wronged her, even-- by squandering the time away from her. If I’d spent those hours with her, there would have been a moment, at least one, when she laughed so hard it lifted me out of my own body.” 

3. Circe by Madeline Miller-- Is this a safe space to admit that I wasn't moved by Miller's The Song of Achilles? But this story hooked me and didn't let go. Trigger warning for everything that happens in Greek myths. Five stars.

4. A Walk in the Park: The True Story of a Spectacular Misadventure in the Grand Canyon by Kevin Fedarko-- I joined an adventure book club this year and this was the first read. Thank goodness because what a great book. The author is funny and self deprecating but also extremely knowledgeable. I learned so much and looked forward every day to reading this.

5. Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer-- I'd heard about this one for years but never checked it out. I felt so much dread with this one as the expedition progressed but it's fantastically written; I couldn't put it down. Man vs nature is one of the core conflicts for a reason.

6. The Icepick Surgeon: Murder, Fraud, Sabotage, Piracy, and Other Dastardly Deeds Perpetrated in the Name of Science by Sam Kean-- Sam Kean is always great and this exploration of some dark scientific stories is no different. I knew some of these, and would argue that William Dampier doesn't belong with the rest, but I am also a piracy apologist.

7. Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead by Emily Austin-- A glimpse into an anxious obsessive brain. I'm someone who is also prone to anxious rumination and spiraling thought patterns and it's exhausting. I wouldn't say that I enjoyed this exactly but it's worth reading once.

8. News of the World by Paulette Jiles-- I'm a sucker for a grumpy protector/found family story. This one is set in the West, post Civil War, and I loved it.

9. The T Shirt Swim Club: Stories From Being Fat in a World of Thin People by Ian Karmel-- One of the few books that made me laugh out loud this year. I recommend the audiobook as the author is a wonderful narrator.

10. Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt-- I don't even know what to say about this one. It was captivating and I'm not sure why. I think going in blind may be best.

Honorable Mention: 

Lin-Manuel Miranda: The Education of an Artist by Daniel Pollack Pelzner   

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K Dick  

What were your favorite reads this year?

As always books are alphabetical by author. Rereads are marked with *** and recommendations are bolded. 

Nonfiction

The Valedictorian of Being Dead: The True Story of Dying Ten Times to Live-- Heather B Armstrong

The Third Gilmore Girl-- Kelly Bishop

Legacy: A Black Physician Reckons with Racism in Medicine-- Uche Blackstock

The Art of Waiting: On Fertility, Medicine, and Motherhood-- Belle Boggs

Memorial Days: A Memoir-- Geraldine Brooks

Food for Thought: Essays and Ruminations-- Alton Brown

In a Sunburned Country-- Bill Bryson

George, Nicholas, and Wilhelm: Three Royal Cousins and the Road to World War I-- Miranda Carter

Mr President, How Long Must We Wait?: Alice Paul, Woodrow Wilson, and the Fight for the Right to Vote-- Tina Cassidy

Something Lost, Something Gained: Reflections on Life, Love, and Liberty-- Hillary Rodham Clinton

The Black Guy Dies First: Black Horror Cinema From Fodder to Oscar-- Robin R Means Coleman and Mark H Harris

The Woman Who Would Be King: Hatshepsut's Rise to Power in Ancient Egypt-- Kara Cooney

A Life's Work: On Becoming a Mother-- Rachel Cusk

Aftermath: On Marriage and Separation-- Rachel Cusk

Tracks: A Woman's Solo Trek Across 1700 Miles of Australian Outback-- Robyn Davidson

Warren G Harding-- John W Dean

Blue Nights-- Joan Didion

***The Clockwork Universe: Isaac Newton, the Royal Society, and the Birth of the Modern World-- Edward Dolnick

A Walk in the Park: The True Story of a Spectacular Misadventure in the Grand Canyon-- Kevin Fedarko

***Wishful Drinking-- Carrie Fisher

The Age of Edison: Electric Light and the Invention of Modern America-- Ernest Freeberg

The Pirate's Wife: The Remarkable True Story of Sarah Kidd-- Daphne Palmer Geanacopoulos

Revenge of the Tipping Point: Overstories, Superspreaders, and the Rise of Social Engineering-- Malcolm Gladwell

The White Darkness-- David Grann

Calvin Coolidge-- David Greenberg

The Man Who Caught the Storm: The Life of Legendary Tornado Chaser Tim Samaras-- Brantley Hargrove

American Sirens: The Incredible Story of the Black Men Who Became America's First Paramedics-- Kevin Hazzard

Splinters: Another Kind of Love Story-- Leslie Jamison

Saving Michelangelo's Dome: How Three Mathematicians and a Pope Sparked an Architectural Revolutin-- Wayne Kalayjian

The Great White Bard: How to Love Shakespeare While Talking About Race-- Farah Karim Cooper

T Shirt Swim Club: Stories From Being Fat in a World of Thin People-- Ian Karmel

The Icepick Surgeon: Murder, Fraud, Sabotage, Piracy, and Other Dastardly Deeds Perpetrated in the Name of Science-- Sam Kean

Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt Everest Disaster-- Jon Krakauer

The Conquest of Everest: Original Photographs from the Legendary First Ascent-- George Lowe and Huw Lewis Jones

Eliza Hamilton: The Extraordinary Life and Times of the Wife of Alexander Hamilton-- Tilar J Mazzeo

Running with Sherman: The Donkey with the Heart of a Hero-- Christopher McDougall

This is Chance!: The Shaking of an All American City, a Voice That Held It Together-- Joe Mooallem

Come As You Are: The Surprising New Science That Will Transform Your Sex Life-- Emily Nagoski

Unreliable Narrator: Me, Myself, and Imposter Syndrome-- Aparna Nancherla

Things I Learned From Falling: A Memoir-- Claire Nelson

Fly Girls: How Five Daring Women Defied All Odds and Made Aviation History-- Keith O'Brien

Miracle in the Andes: 72 Days on the Mountain and My Long Trek Home-- Nando Parrado

Lin Manuel Miranda: The Education of an Artist-- Daniel Pollack Pelzner

Between a Rock and a Hard Place-- Aron Ralston

Olive the Lionheart-- Brad Ricca

About Time: A History of Civilization in Twelve Clocks-- David Rooney

William Howard Taft-- Jeffrey Rosen

Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder-- Salman Rushdie

Dreaming the Beatles: The Love Story of One Band and the Whole World-- Rob Sheffield  

The Muse of the Revolution: The Secret Pen of Mercy Otis Warren and the Founding of a Nation-- Nancy Rubin Stuart

Dying: A Memoir-- Cory Taylor

Mom Genes: Inside the New Science of Our Ancient Maternal Instincts-- Abigail Tucker

It Ended Badly: 13 of the Worst Breakups in History-- Jennifer Wright

Buried in the Sky: The Extraordinary Story of the Sherpa Climbers on K2's Deadliest Day-- Peter Zuckerman and Amanda Padoan

Fiction

The Power-- Naomi Alderman

Persuasion-- Jane Austen

Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead-- Emily Austin

The Inheritance Games-- Jennifer Barnes

The Hawthorne Legacy-- Jennifer Barnes

The Tainted Cup-- Robert Jackson Bennett

Tell the Wolves I'm Home-- Carol Rifka Brunt

The Girls With No Names-- Serena Burdick

Kindred-- Olivia E Butler

When the Wolf Comes Home-- Nat Cassidy

We Could Be Heroes-- Mike Chen

Raven Black-- Ann Cleeves

***The Hunger Games-- Suzanne Collins

***Catching Fire-- Suzanne Collins

***Mockingay-- Suzanne Collins

Sunrise on the Reaping-- Suzanne Collins

The Naming-- Alison Croggon

The Twelve-- Justin Cronin

Star Crossed-- Minnie Darke

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?-- Philip K Dick

Great Expectations-- Charles Dickens

The Safe Place-- Anna Downes

The Mighty Red-- Louise Erdrich

The Correspondent-- Virginia Evans

James-- Percival Everett

The  Hunting Party-- Lucy Foley

The House of the Seven Gables-- Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Old Man and the Sea-- Ernest Hemingway

News of the World-- Paulette Jiles

The Friend Zone-- Abby Jimenez

The Unicorn Woman--  Gayl Jones

Tales From the Cafe-- Tushikazu Kawaguchi

Small Things Like These-- Claire Keegan

Faker-- Gordon Korman

You Know Me Well-- Nina LaCour and David Levithan

Station Eternity-- Mur Lafferty

On Turpentine Lane-- Elinor Lipman

The Mapmaker's Children-- Sarah McCoy

Circe-- Madeline Miller

The Holdout-- Graham Moore

The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper-- Phaedra Patrick

Ellie and the Harpmaker-- Hazel Prior

The Man in Lower Ten-- Mary Roberts Rhinehart

Eleanor and Park-- Rainbow Rowell

Last Call at the Local-- Sarah Grunder Ruiz

Survive the Night-- Riley Sager

***The Alchemyst-- Michael Scott

***The Magician-- Michael Scott

***The Sorceress-- Michael Scott

***The Necromancer-- Michael Scott

***The Warlock-- Michael Scott

***The Enchantress-- Michael Scott

Where'd You Go, Bernadette? -- Maria Semple

In Five Years- Rebecca Serle

***Bartimaeus: The Amulet of Samarkand-- Jonathan Stroud

***Adventures of Huckleberry Finn-- Mark Twain

The Language of Silence-- Peggy Webb

Project Hail Mary-- Andy Weir

All Systems Red-- Martha Wells

Artificial Condition-- Martha Wells

In My Dreams I Hold a Knife-- Ashley Winstead

The Distant Dead-- Heather Young

The Storied Life of AJ Fikry-- Gabrielle Zevin

The Best Reads of 2024

This was an excellent year for reading. In making my top ten list I had to reject many books that other years would’ve been a shoo in for recognition. The only reason So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson isn’t on the list is because I fear recency bias. Here are my top ten, followed by a complete list. As always, I welcome your recommendations!

1. Miracle Creek by Angie Kim-- A nonspoiler trigger warning: this book revolves around the death of a child and the fallout from that. Parts can be hard to read. But it’s gripping and poignant and I still find myself thinking about it. The mystery element is well put together, with enough clues the reader can piece together what’s happening but some twists that also make sense. The characters are all flawed humans. Some I empathized with, some I hated, but they all felt like real people. The discussion this book is having about parenting is fascinating. What do we give to our children and what do they take from us?

2. Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr-- I went into this one blind and I think that’s how I’d recommend it. All you need to know is there are four narrators in three different time periods and they all have connections to an ancient Greek comedy. I sobbed at the ending of one of the narrator’s stories and I very seldom cry while reading. It’s long but Anthony Doerr is absolutely worth it.

3. The River of Doubt by Candace Millard-- This felt like an adventure novel, but all the best stories are true. In 1912, despondent over losing the presidency, Theodore Roosevelt traveled with his son and an expedition down an unmapped river in the Amazon. He set out to have a grueling physical challenge and, well, it definitely succeeded in being that. It’s incredible what humans can accomplish and where they can survive. This book made me feel like I could see the expedition unfolding before me. Highly recommend.

4. Extra Life by Steven Johnson-- Okay this is the nonfiction that got me to tear up this year. Insert the Seinfeld meme-- “You’re crying from reading about how lifespans have lengthened over the past century?” “The myriad of good that has come from science got to me.” As you probably know, the reason the average person’s life expectancy has shot up isn’t that people in the Middle Ages died randomly in their twenties or thirties (although that happened too) but because child mortality was so high. Why has it dropped? Beyond vaccines and antibiotics, which are obvious, artificial fertilizer is on the list. This is Steven Johnson’s best book since The Ghost Map, which he also references. It’s both scientific, well written, feel good, and somehow philosophical. What do we do with all this extra time most of us take for granted?

5. A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik-- As I age I read less and less fantasy as the tropes have grown tiresome, but this was a joy. A darkly funny joy. Think Hogwarts meets the Hunger Games. Students are drafted into a magical boarding school and don’t get to leave until they graduate-- if they can survive that long.

6. Joyful Recollections of Trauma by Paul Scheer-- I know and love Paul Scheer through the incredible How Did This Get Made podcast, which is something else I highly recommend. I had no idea that Paul’s childhood was this, well, traumatic, because he’s such a positive person. Obvious trigger warning for children experiencing trauma. But it’s not all bad; Paul is inherently funny and the book doesn’t dwell in moroseness. If you’re looking for an audiobook this is a great one to hear narrated by the author.

7. The Hilarious World of Depression by John Moe-- Kind of funny that these two ended up right next to each other on the list. They’re both about serious topics (depression and suicidal ideation in this case) with bleak sections, and yet are not depressing to read and have humor laced throughout. Whether you struggle with depressive tendencies or are trying to understand what it’s like, this is a great read.
8. Divine Might by Natalie Haynes-- Natalie Haynes writes in a delightfully droll way. I would read her analysis of anything, but goddesses in ancient myth is a real treat. I found this book in an airport bookstore and bought it immediately because Pandora’s Jar is one of my all time favorites. The well known names like Hera and Athena are here, but also some more obscure names, like Hestia. I especially loved Demeter’s chapter.

9. The President & the Assassin by Scott Miller-- This is the second book on presidential assassination to end up on my annual top ten (Candace Millard wrote the other; she’s a gem). There’s just something so intriguing about the intersection of two people’s lives in a way that changes the entire world. It feels inevitable, but it could’ve gone millions of different ways. I read this quickly and it left me humming Sondheim, of course. “Czolgosz/Working man/Born in the middle of Michigan…"

10. The Martian by Andy Weir-- This was a last minute decision as there were so many titles I could have put in this last spot, but this one just made me feel happy to read it. I’m late to the party but I’ll definitely be checking out more Andy Weir in the future.
 
Honorable Mentions:
Nonfiction-- Grandma Gatewood’s Walk by Ben Montgomery
Fiction-- Evil Under the Sun by Agatha Christie 

 Books are listed alphabetically by author. Asterisks denote a reread, recommendations are bolded.

Nonfiction
Why Does the Other Line Always Move Faster?: The Myths and Misery, Secrets and Psychology of Waiting in Line-- David Andrews
Invictus: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation-- John Carlin
Queen Victoria: A Life of Contradictions-- Matthew Denison
Revolutionary Summer: The Birth of American Independence-- Joseph J Ellis
All the Knowledge in the World: The Extraordinary History of the Encyclopedia-- Simon Garfield
Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body-- Roxane Gay
The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference-- Malcolm Gladwell
Misfit: Growing Up Awkward in the '80s-- Gary Gulman
Spare-- Prince Harry (It desperately needed an editor but who doesn't love Harry reading an audiobook, so it's worth checking out the chapters on the time periods you're interested in)
***Pandora's Jar: Women in the Greek Myths-- Natalie Haynes
Divine Might: Goddesses in Greek Myth-- Natalie Haynes
The Best American Magazine Writing 2023-- edited by Sidney Holt
Raising Demons-- Shirley Jackson (the only author to appear on both sections on this list!)
Extra Life: A Short History of Living Longer-- Steven Johnson
31 Dates in 31 Days-- Tamara Duricka Johnson
The Loneliest Americans-- Jay Kaspian Kang
The Envoy: the Epic Rescue of the Last Jews of Europe in the Desperate Closing Months of World War II-- Alex Kershaw
The Pirate King: The Strange Adventures of Henry Avery and the Birth of the Golden Age of Piracy-- Sean Kingsley and Rex Cowen
Forever Barbie: The Unauthorized Biography of a Real Doll-- MG Lord
In the Dream House-- Carmen Maria Machado
Bully!: The Life and Times of Theodore Roosevelt-- Rick Marschall
The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey-- Candice Millard
The President and the Assassin: McKinley, Terror, and the Empire at the Dawn of the American Century-- Scott Miller
The Hilarious World of Depression-- John Moe
Grandma Gatewood's Walk: The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail-- Ben Montgomery
I Know Who You Are: How an Amateur DNA Sleuth Unmasked the Golden State Killer and Changed Crime Fighting Forever-- Barbara Rae-Venter
So You've Been Publicly Shamed-- Jon Ronson
My Wife Said You May Want to Marry Me: A Memoir-- Jason B Rosenthal
100 Essays I Didn't Have Time to Write: On Umbrellas and Sword Fights, Parades and Dogs, Fire Alarms, Children, and Theatre-- Sarah Ruhl
Joyful Recollections of Trauma-- Paul Scheer
Jerusalem's Traitor: Josephus, Masada, and the Fall of Judea-- Desmond Seward
The Secret Lives of COlor-- Kassia St Clair
This Isn't Going to End Well: The True Story of a Man I Thought I Knew-- Daniel Wallace
Benjamin Harrison: America's 23rd President-- Jean Kinney Williams
Little Sister: My Investigation Into the Mysterious Death of Natalie Wood-- Lana Wood
Fiction
Evergreen Tidings From the Baumgartners-- Gretchen Anthony
***The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy-- Jeanne Birdsall
Evil Under the Sun-- Agatha Christie
***Gregor the Overlander-- Suzanne Collins
***Gregor and the Prophecy of Bane-- Suzanne Collins
***Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods-- Suzanne Collins
***Gregor and the Marks of Secret-- Suzanne Collins
***Gregor and the Code of Claw-- Suzanne Collins
Kill the Farm Boy-- Delilah S Dawson and Kevin Hearne
Cloud Cuckoo Land-- Anthony Doerr
Sometimes I Lie-- Alice Feeney
The Return -- Rachel Harrison
The Paradox Hotel-- Rob Hart
The River-- Peter Heller
Funny Story-- Emily Henry
We Have Always Lived in the Castle-- Shirley Jackson
Miracle Creek-- Angie Kim
A Stranger in the House-- Shari Lapena
No One Goes Alone-- Erik Larson
The Devil Among the Lawyers-- Sharyn McCrumb
***What Alice Forgot-- Liane Moriarty
A Deadly Education-- Naomi Novik
There There-- Tommy Orange
The Bell Jar-- Sylvia Plath
The Revenant-- Michael Punke
Excellent Women-- Barbara Pym
***Where the Red Fern Grows-- Wilson Rawls
The Labors of Hercules Beal-- Gary D Schmidt
The Glass Hotel-- Emily St. John Mandel
Stepping Off-- Jordan Sonnelblick
One to Watch-- Kate Stayman-London
The Martian-- Andy Weir
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow-- Gabrielle Zevin

A Hundred Out of a Thousand

 Short and simple:

I've read a thousand books since I started keeping track in late 2011. To celebrate I made a list of a hundred that I highly recommend. Organized roughly in the order I read them, blue is fiction, black is nonfiction. I'm happy to chat more about any of these if you'd like to!

1.      A Tale of Two Cities-- Charles Dickens

2.      Treasure Island-- Robert Louis Stevenson

3.      Oliver Twist-- Charles Dickens

4.      The Alchemyst-- Michael Scott

5.      Wuthering Heights-- Emily Bronte

6.      Hide and Seek With Angels-- Lisa Chaney

7.      American Emperor-- Stewart

8.      The Scarlet Letter-- Nathaniel Hawthorne

9.      Maphead-- Ken Jennings

10.   Ivanhoe-- Walter Scott

11.   War and Peace-- Leo Tolstoy

12.   My Fair Godmother-- Rallison

13.   The Uses of Enchantment-- Bruno Bettelheim

14.   The Great Brain-- John Fitzgerald

15.   Union 1812-- AJ Langguth

16.   American Eve-- Paula Uruburu

17.   James Madison-- Richard Brookhiser

18.   The Better Angels of Our Nature-- Steven Pinker

19.   Ender’s Game-- Orson Scott Card

20.   Roughing It-- Mark Twain

21.   Lad, a Dog-- Alfred Terhune

22.   The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau Banks-- E Lockhart

23.   At Home-- Bill Bryson

24.   The Ballad of Tom Dooley-- Sharyn McCrumb

25.   The Fellowship of the Ring-- JRR Tolkien

26.   The Color of Magic-- Terry Pratchett

27.   American Tempest-- Harlow Giles Unger

28.   The Merchant of Death-- DJ MacHale

29.   The Violinist’s Thumb-- Sam Kean

30.   The Ghost Map-- Samuel Johnson

31.   The ABC Murders-- Agatha Christie

32.   Okay For Now-- Gary Schmidt

33.   The Color Purple-- Alice Walker

34.   Emma-- Jane Austen

35.   Verily, a New Hope-- Ian Doescher

36.   The Kite Runner-- Khaleed Hosseini

37.   The Clockwork Universe-- Edward Dolnick

38.   Crime and Punishment-- Fyodor Dostoevsky

39.   Living My Life-- Emma Goldman

40.   The Book Thief-- Marcus Zusak

41.   Neverwhere-- Neil Gaiman

42.   Around the World in 80 Days-- Jules Verne

43.   The Hobbit-- JRR Tolkien

44.   The Heart of the Matter-- Graham Greene

45.   Song of Spider-man-- Glen Berger

46.   The Shakespeare Wars-- Ron Rosenbaum

47.   Gone Girl-- Gillian Flynn

48.   Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie-- Jordan Sonnelblick

49.   Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me?-- Mindy Kaling

50.   George Eliot in Love-- Brenda Maddox

51.   Four Seasons in Rome-- Anthony Doerr

52.   Alice in tumblr-Land-- Tim Manley

53.   This is a Book- Demetri Martin

54.   The Handmaid’s Tale-- Margaret Atwood

55.   Odd Thomas-- Dean Koontz

56.   Room-- Emma Donoghue

57.   Confessions of a Latter-day Virgin-- Nicole Hardy

58.   Fooling Houdini-- Alex Stone

59.   The Girl With All the Gifts-- MR Carey

60.   Born to Run-- Christopher McDougall

61.   Never Cry Wolf-- Farley Mowat

62.   The Princess Diarist-- Carrie Fisher

63.   The Civil Wars of Julia Ward Howe-- Elaine Showalter

64.   The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance-- Elna Baker

65.   Kissing in America-- Margo Rabb

66.   On the Map-- Simon Garfield

67.   Wishful Drinking-- Carrie Fisher

68.   The Ocean at the End of the Lane-- Neil Gaiman

69.   A Man Called Ove-- Fredric Backman

70.   A Train in Winter-- Caroline Moorehead

71.   Timekeepers-- Simon Garfield

72.   Junius and Albert’s Aventures in the Confederacy-- Peter Carlson

73.   What Alice Forgot-- Liane Moriarty

74.   The Caped Crusade-- Glen Weldon

75.   The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society-- Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Burrows

76.   I, Robot-- Isaac Asimov

77.   Clementine: The Life of Mrs Winston Churchill-- Sonia Purnell

78.   Anne of Green Gables-- Lucy Maud Montgomery

79.   Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine-- Gail Honeyman

80.   Strangers on a Train-- Patricia Highsmith

81.   The Girls of Murder City-- Douglas Perry

82.   Permanent Record-- Edward Snowden

83.   The Rest of Us Just Live Here-- Patrick Ness

84.   Planet Funny-- Ken Jennings

85.   Talking to Strangers-- Malcolm Gladwell

86.   Mao’s Last Dancer-- Li Cunxin

87.   The New One-- Mike Birbiglia

88.   The Mirage Factory-- Gary Krist

89.   The Fifth Season-- NK Jemisin

90.   Destiny of the Republic-- Candice Millard

91.   Station Eleven-- Emily St John Mandel

92.   American Heiress-- Jeffrey Toobin

93.   Listen to the Marriage-- John Jay Osborn

94.   Pandora’s Jar-- Natalie Haynes

95.   Life Among the Savages-- Shirley Jackson

96.   November Road-- Lou Berney

97.   Grant-- Ron Chernow

98.   The Queens of Animation-- Nathalia Holt

99.   Incendiary-- Michael Cannell

1       The Glass Hotel-- Emily St John Mandel

What I Read in 2023

 I meant to read more than forty eight books this year. But it turned out to be the hardest year of my life and the best we can do is all we can do. 

Top Ten of 2023:

1. November Road-- Lou Berney

Content warning for lots of sex and violence but my god I loved this book. I cried. Can we overcome who we have been?

2. Be Frank With Me-- Julia Claiborne Johnson

I usually hate precocious kid characters but this one was great.

3. Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, & the Last Trial of Harper Lee-- Casey Cep

Did you know at one point Harper Lee was apartment neighbors with Hall & Oates?

4. A Man of Iron: The Turbulent Life and Improbable Presidency of Grover Cleveland-- Troy Senik

5. It Came From the Closet: Queer Reflections on Horror-- Ed. by Jose Vallese

6. Tyrant: Shakespeare on Politics-- Stephen Greenblatt

7. Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts-- Kate Racculia

8. 100 Places To See After You Die: A Guide to the Afterlife-- Ken Jennings

9. Trailed: One Woman's Quest to Solve the Shenandoah Murders-- Kathryn Miles

10. Answers in the Form of Questions: A Definitive History & Insider's Guide to Jeopardy!-- Claire McNear

Honorable mentions: All Things Aside-- Iliza Shlesinger (nonfiction) and The Silent Land -- Graham Joyce (fiction)

And now the complete list. As always, my recommendations are bolded and sections are sorted alphabetically by author. Rereads are marked with ***. Here's to a happier 2024, and let me know what you think I should read in it!

Nonfiction

Black is the Body: Stories From My Grandmother's Time, My Mother's Time, & Mine-- Emily Bernard

Born Round: The Secret History of a Fulltime Eater-- Frank Bruni

***Shakespeare: The World as a Stage-- Bill Bryson

Furious Hours: Murder, Fraud, & the Last Trial of Harper Lee-- Casey Cep

A Mind Spread Out on the Ground-- Alicia Elliott

Tyrant: Shakespeare on Politics-- Stephen Greenblatt

Screaming on the Inside: The Unsustainability of American Motherhood-- Jessica Grose

Comedy Sex God-- Pete Holmes

100 Places to See After You Die: A Travel Guide to the Afterlife-- Ken Jennings

***Now I See You: A Memoir-- Nicole C Kear

The World Deserves My Children-- Natasha Leggero

Answers in the Form of Questions: A Definitive History & Insider's Guide to Jeopardy!-- Claire McNear

Trailed: One Woman's Quest to Solve the Shenandoah Murders-- Kathryn Miles

***Never Cry Wolf: The Amazing True Story of Life Among Arctic Wolves-- Farley Mowat

The Indomitable Florence Finch: The Untold Story of a War Widow Turned Resistance Fighter & Savior of American POWs-- Robert J Mrazek

The Impossible First: From Fire to Ice-- Crossing Antarctica Alone-- Colin O'Brady

The Taking of Jemima Boone: Colonial Settlers, Tribal Nations, & the Kidnap That Shaped America-- Matthew Pearl

The State of Affairs: Rethinking Infidelity-- Esther Perel

We Thought We Knew You: A Terrifying True Story of Secrets, Betrayal, Deception, & Murder-- M William Phelps

The Far Land: 200 Years of Murder, Mania, & Mutiny in the South Pacific-- Brandon Presser

Brave, Not Perfect: Fear Less, Fail More, & Live Bolder-- Reshma Saujani

A Man of Iron: The Turbulent Life & Improbable Presidency of Grover Cleveland-- Troy Senik

All Things Aside: Absolutely Correct Opinions-- Iliza Shlesinger

Missing, Presumed-- Susie Steiner

***Unfriending My Ex & Other Things I'll Never Do-- Kim Stolz

Sitting Pretty: The View From My Ordinary Resilient Disabled Body-- Rebekah Taussig

It Came From the Closet: Queer Reflections on Horror-- Edited by Joe Vallese

The Witches Are Coming-- Lindy West

O My America! Six Women & Their Second Acts in a New World-- Sara Wheeler

Fiction

And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer & Longer-- Fredrik Backman

November Road-- Lou Berney

Five Little Pigs-- Agatha Christie

Long Black Veil-- Jennifer Finney-Boylan

*** The Ocean at the End of the Lane-- Neil Gaiman

***The Wind in the Willows-- Kenneth Grahame

A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor-- Hank Green

The Thin Man-- Dashiell Hammett

The Utterly Uninteresting & Unadventurous Tales of Fred, the Vampire Accountant-- Drew Hayes

The Queen of the Tearling-- Erika Johansen

Be Frank With Me-- Julia Clairborne Johnson

***Howl's Moving Castle-- Diana Wynne Jones

The Silent Land-- Graham Joyce

Before the Coffee Gets Cold-- Toshikazu Kawaguchi

Interesting Times-- Terry Pratchett

Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts-- Kate Racculia

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle-- Stuart Turton

Quick Service-- PG Wodehouse

Lemon-- Kwon Yeo-sun

she persisted

 This has been the hardest, worst, most tumultuous year of my life. There is still a month and a half to go. But there have also been streaks of light and love and joy. Esther Perel says catastrophe has a way of propelling us into the essence of things. Well, honey, we're in the essence now. And feeling so much, all the time is so exquisite and cruel and relentless. My heart sometimes is hit by waves of pain and longing so pure it feels like I'll break into a thousand pieces. My feelings are jagged and unpredictable. My toddler exclaims, whenever I cry, "Mama has big feelings!" My baby doesn't understand anything yet. He just stares at me with his dark gray eyes as if to remind me how much I am needed, how much responsibility I carry. How can I, someone so flawed, have had a hand in creating something so beautiful? 

And sometimes my beloved holds me and I cry on his chest and he strokes my hair and I'm sure that if we can just make it to the new year I'll be okay. The person I was before may have died but I think who I am now has a shot at happiness, if I can play my cards right.

My heart is like my newly postpartum body-- it may still be bleeding but it is doing its goddamn best.

A Year in Books: 2022

Happy New Year! Almost!

It's that very special time of year where I collect all the books I read this year and recommend my top ten favorites. This year's top 10 list was heavy on nonfiction, which I find myself drawn to more and more. I still like a good fantasy, but I keep finding all the best stories are true. As always I am looking for recommendations, fiction or otherwise! I've read 950 books since I started keeping track in 2011 so next year I'm on track to surpass the big 1000 :O

Total: 73 books, 40 nonfiction / 33 fiction

1. Pandora's Jar: Women in the Greek Myths by Natalie Haynes

I want Natalie Haynes to write about everything. This exploration of women in the Greek myths captivated me from the first page. She takes us from those viewed in a positive light like Helen to those viewed in a negative light like Medusa (are there really any villains here?) and every shade of moral grey in between. I learned so much and I cannot recommend it highly enough. 

2. Just My Type: A Book About Fonts by Simon Garfield

This is Simon Garfield's third appearance on my annual Top Ten list and I don't see that stopping anytime soon. When I saw this subtitle I felt as though it had been written just for me. I'm a huge font nerd (Georgia is the best no contest) and read this trivia filled romp through the history of typeface with delight. Serifs vs sans, face off.

3. Live Among the Savages by Shirley Jackson

I don't think I'm alone in associating Shirley Jackson with her chilling short stories that often feature evil in everyday settings. I read "The Lottery" in middle school and am still not over it. But I had no idea she'd written a couple of semiautobiographical books about raising her children in the middle of the 20th century that are full of comedy, heart, and relatability. No frights, except for the terror of raising children and wondering what to do when the furnace won't start. Lovely.

4. I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy

Woooooooooof this is a tough read. One of the stars of iCarly opens up about everything. Trigger warnings for everything: Eating disorders, emotional abuse, sexual assault, really, really, really horrible parenting. I think we should abolish children acting on television, tbh. It's really well written, but skip if you're in an emotionally vulnerable place. I hope Jennette McCurdy is having a good day, god knows she deserves it.

5. Travels With George: In Search of Washington and His Legacy by Nathaniel Philbrick

I haven't read any of Nathaniel Philbrick's other historical books. Maybe I'm worried I'll be let down. But this was an excellent introduction and he's on my list for the future. He and his wife (and their dog) follow the path George Washington took after he was elected president and visited the thirteen original colonies. Philbrick mixes past and present day tales and tries to find connections between the two. You know what they say, the more things change....

6. American Heiress: The Wild Saga of the Kidnapping, Crimes, and Trial of Patty Hearst by Jeffrey Toobin

Well this was a wild ride. I had been vaguely aware of Patty Hearst and associated her name with Stockholm Syndrome but I had no idea of the full goings on. It is frankly ridiculous that she was (spoiler alert) reintegrated into polite society with no more than a slight slap on the wrist but that's having a rich family for ya! This reads like a thriller.

7. Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire 

There are only two fiction books on this list and they're both dark with elements of horror. Maybe next year's fiction will be lighter? When girls like Alice come back from Wonderland, how are they supposed to function in the "real world"? They go to a boarding school to help them accept their loss. But someone has started killing them....  This is a short read but an excellent job of world building.

8. The Unexpected President: The Life and Times of Chester A Arthur by Scott S Greenberger

I've said it before but in my presidential biography reading I often like best learning about the ones I knew very little about. While it's a tragedy (and an avoidable one at that) that James A Garfield died in office, Chester Arthur shocked everyone by rising above his corrupt background and following the encouragement of a letter writing spinster who told him she believed he could do better. 

9. Reprieve by James Han Mattson

A hands on, no holds barred haunted house with a charismatic CEO. A dead teenager. A trial. I will say that the ending felt a bit rushed to me, but the creepy atmosphere leading up to it for the rest of the book is spot on.

10. Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, and Love by Dani Shapiro

There have been a spate of the "I took a 23 and Me test and my life got turned upside down" books in the last few years, and I'm sure that craze isn't over yet. Whether through infidelity, adoption, or donor sperm, many people have learned secrets that never would have been revealed without DNA testing. Dani Shapiro ponders what makes a family in this bittersweet memoir.

Honorable Mentions: 

Just the Funny Parts by Nell Scovell (nonfiction)

Something to Live For by Richard Roper (fiction)

And now, all the rest! As always, recommendations are bolded and rereads are marked with *** and books are listed alphabetically by author.

Nonfiction

• Drunk Tank Pink: And Other Unexpected Forces That Shape How We Think, Feel, & Behave -- Adam Alter
• The Dirt on Clean: An Unsanitized History-- Katherine Ashenburg
• The Lost Prince: The Survival of Richard of York-- David Baldwin
• Maeve's Times: In Her Own Words-- Maeve Binchy
• The Poison Squad: One Chemist's Single Minded Crusade for Food Safety at the Turn of the 20th Century-- Deborah Blum
• Wildcat: The Untold Story of Pearl Hart, the Wild West's Most Notorious Bandit-- John Boessenecker
• Too Pretty to Live: The Catfishing Murders of East Tennessee-- Dennis Brooks
• The Great Pretender: The Undercover Mission That Changed Our Understanding of Madness-- Susannah Cahalan
• Eat the Buddha: Life & Death in a Tibetan Town-- Barbara Demick
• I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman -- Nora Ephron
• Secret Lives of the Tsars: Three Centuries of Autocracy, Debauchery, Betrayal, Murder, & Madness From Romanov Russia-- Michael Farquhar 
• Beyond the Wand: The Magic & Mayhem of Growing Up a Wizard -- Tom Felton (Excellent as an audiobook, narrated by the author)
• Ten Steps to Nanette: A Memoir Situation -- Hannah Gadsby (Excellent as an audiobook, narrated by the author)
• When Life Gives You Pears: The Healing Power of Family, Faith, & Funny People-- Jim Gaffigan
• Just My Type: A Book About Fonts-- Simon Garfield
• Last Call: A True Story of Love, Lust, & Murder in Queer New York-- Elon Green
• The Unexpected President: The Life and Times of Chester A Arthur -- Scott S Greenberger
• Murder by the Book: The Crime That Shocked Dickens's London-- Claire Harman
• Pandora's Jar: Women in the Greek Myths -- Natalie Haynes
• Life Among the Savages-- Shirley Jackson
• Heart: A History-- Saneep Jauhar
• The Women I Think About At Night: Traveling the Paths of My Heroes-- Mia Kankimaki
• Putting It Together: How Stephen Sondheim & I Created Sunday in the Park With George - James Lapine
• Walking the Bowl: A True Story of Murder & Survival Among the Street Children of Lusaka -- Chris Lockhart & Daniel Mulilo Chama
• Blowout: Corrupted Democracy, Rogue State Russia, & the Richest, Most Destructive Industry on Earth -- Rachel Maddow
• I'm Glad My Mom Died-- Jennette McCurdy
• Lions of the West: Heroes & Villains of the Westward Expansion-- Robert Morgan
• The Light We Carry-- Michelle Obama
• This Is What America Looks Like: My Journey From Refugee to Congresswoman-- Ilhan Omar
• Travels With George: In Search of Washington & His Legacy-- Nathaniel Philbrick
• Dancing in the Mosque: An Afghan Mother's Letter to Her Son-- Homeira Qaderi
• Catch the Sparrow: A Search for a Sister & the Truth of Her Murder-- Rachel Rear
• Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law-- Mary Roach
• Just the Funny Parts: And a Few Hard Truths About Sneaking Into the Hollywood Boys' Club-- Nell Scovell
• Inheritance: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity, & Love-- Dani Shapiro
• The Fly Trap-- Fredrik Sjoberg
• Word by Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries-- Kory Stamper
• Brothers on Three: A True Story of Family, Resistance, & Hope on a Reservation in Montana-- Abe Streep 
• The Year of the End: A Memoir of Marriage, Truth, & Fiction - Anne Theroux
• American Heiress: The Wild Saga of the Kidnapping, Crimes, & Trial of Patty Hearst-- Jeffrey Toobin
• Sigh, Gone: A Misfit's Memoir of Great Books, Punk Rock, & the Fight to Fit In-- Phuc Tran
• The Last Escaper: The Untold Firsthand Story of the Legendary World War II Bomber Pilot, "Cooler King," & Arch Escape Artist-- Peter Tunstall
• Instant Mom-- Nia Vardalos 
• The Fixed Stars: A Memoir-- Molly Wizenberg

Fiction

• Leave the World Behind -- Rumaan Alam (For the first time in nine years of book blogging I honestly don't know if I recommend it or not. I'm so torn. The writing was pretentious and I hated the ending but the middle was so compelling. You may love it, you may hate it; it's certainly not for everyone.)
• If Beale Street Could Talk-- James Baldwin
• The Immortalists-- Chloe Benjamin
• The Postman Always Rings Twice-- James M Cain
• The Boy on the Bridge-- MR Carey
• Highfire-- Eoin Colfer
• Absolute Certainty-- Rose Connors
• ***The Eyre Affair-- Jasper Fforde
• The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter-- Theodora Goss
• The Cactus-- Sarah Haywood
• The Perfect Girl-- Gilly Macmillan
• Reprieve-- James Han Mattson
• Every Heart a Doorway-- Seanan McGuire
• Oona Out of Order-- Margarita Montimore
• The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August -- Claire North
• Noor-- Nnedi Okorafor
• Listen to the Marriage-- John Jay Osborn
• The Magician's Assistant-- Ann Patchett
• Soul Music-- Terry Pratchett
• ***The Lost Hero-- Rick Riordan
• ***The Son of Neptune-- Rick Riordan
• ***The Mark of Athena-- Rick Riordan
• Something to Live For-- Richard Roper
• Lizzie Bright & the Buckminster Boy-- Gary D Schmidt
• It's Not Like It's a Secret-- Misa Sugiura
• The Little Old Lady Who Broke All the Rules-- Catharina Ingelman Sundberg
• Mrs Sinclair's Suitcase-- Louise Walters
• Lum-- Libby Ware