This year I had a goal to read 50 books.
I love to read but I don’t get to do it as much as I’d like to because work, school, and raising a cat to be a responsible member of society. But during the summer, I didn’t have school and had a little bit of free time and decided that this was going to be the year that I crushed it. And I did. By the end of the summer, I hit 50 and set a new goal of 75.
As of right this second, after finishing reading a play this morning, I’m probably going to end at 73 unless the Lord sees fit to bless me with the gift of super speed reading or slows time to let me finish the other two. I’m bummed about it, but okay with it (no, I’m not).
Because I review things sometimes and because reading all these books has clearly qualified me as a literary sage that you should all pay attention to (yes. absolutely.), I’m going to make you all a handy literary guide based off of what I’ve read this year. Some of the books are current (i.e. books released in 2017), but many aren’t, so please don’t judge me. Some of these are great family reads and some most definitely are not. I’m going to include some that blew me away as well as some that made me boo and throw rotten produce. You may not agree with my opinion, but that’s fine because in this great country, you’re allowed to be as wrong as you please.
Please enjoy this list, provided with excessive commentary and, as 2018 commences, happy reading.
(Asterisks denote that the book was an audiobook, although honestly who cares.)
Best Memoir: Where Am I Now? By Mara Wilson*
Growing up, Matilda was my absolute favorite childhood book and the movie adaptation with Danny Devito and Matilda continues to be probably the best book to movie that I’ve ever seen, as most, especially now, end up being giant piles of suck (looking at you, Prisoner of Azkaban, My Sister’s Keeper, Eat Pray Love, and, to include my father’s input, The Firm). Mara Wilson played the titular character in that masterpiece and is also pretty well known for her appearances in that sucktastic Thomas the Tank Engine movie, Mrs.Doubtfire, and that heartwarming Christmas movie remake that doesn’t really age well in the age of feminism, Miracle on 34th Street. After those, she kind of dropped off the face of the planet, an admirable feat for someone who didn’t join the ranks of trainwreck child stars, god bless. She popped back up on my radar when she did a voiceover role on Welcome To Nightvale as The Faceless Old Woman Who Lives In Your House and I was astounded. WHERE DID SHE COME FROM AND WHERE DID SHE GO? This memoir does a pretty good job of answering that question. Mara discusses her entrance to show business, shares some anecdotes about the making of some of those movies, and discusses her exit and life after in a way that is both poignant and, at times, hilarious. Honorable mention to an essay about Robin Williams that will make you cry like a baby. Mara left the movie scene and now works on writing essays and articles for various online publications, and I’m as big a fan of what’s she’s doing now as what she was doing then. Absolutely, 100% worth a read.
Worst Memoir: #GIRLBOSS by Sophia Amouroso*
Ick. Ick. Ick. Where do I start with this? Probably by copying and pasting the rant that I posted on GoodReads, tbh.
“Let me first say that I understand that the author is very accomplished in the business world at a young age. That's why I wanted to read this. And she does a good job of not shying away from her past- theft, unable to keep a job, didn't do well in school, etc. But she goes on to discuss the success of her business and most times, her advice sounds super condescending, assuming that the reader is stupid and/or naive. She also likes to discuss how lazy her generation is and how their parents told them how special they were and also participation trophies. (Gross.) While there are lazy people in every generation, it's not likely that these people are reading a book about a woman in business succeeding to gain insight. What a narrow view.
And admittedly, some of her views just completely clashed with mine, which is fine, but that dang condescending tone. Talking about how thinking about the political implications of actions isn't living, making comments about "aren't we at the point in feminism where we don't have to talk about it anymore?", and several "HAIL CAPITALISM" rants- no. I was just not a fan.
That being said, there is some good and interesting information in here and if you're a fan of the NastyGal brand (I'm not) you may find this enjoyable. I liked hearing about how she leveraged early internet shopping and some of her tips on money management. She really does have some good things to say. They just weren't enough for me to like this book or recommend it.”
The Netflix series does a good job of toning down the condescension and such and highlighting a lot of the bumps in the NastyGal’s start up road. It didn’t get renewed, which I wasn’t terribly heartbroken over, but if you’re bored and need a good binge, it wouldn’t hurt. The book though, nah, fam. Hard pass.
Honorable Mention Memoir: The Glass Castle by Jeannette Wells*
This was a book that I read to fulfill a personal rule of mine not to see a movie without reading the book. I’m a big Brie Larson/Woody Harrelson and wanted to see this when it came out but…uhhh…. that hasn’t happened yet? I don’t know why exactly. I’m working on it. But that’s not the point of this. (If you’ve watched it and have thoughts, please let me know. I’ve seen super mixed reviews and I want to know what I’m in for) The Glass Castle is one of those books that is super fun to break down and discuss, but will make you mad while reading it. It does a good job of discussing cyclical poverty and parental approaches to this subject, as well as discussing things like family dynamics, abuse, and neglect. It’s not a light read, but it’s a good read, nonetheless.
Best Play: Wit by Margaret Edson
Watching the Tony’s on an annual basis basically became a religious rite for me around 2008 or 2009, a couple of years before a revival of Wit came along starring Cynthia Nixon. The snippets that they aired fascinated me and I hunted for a bootleg but never found one and eventually forgot about it until this year, when I made my reading goals for 2018 (reading most of, if not all, of the modern Pulitzer/Tony Award winning plays because I am a MAD WOMAN WHO KNOWS HOW TO PARTY). Wit showed up again and I immediately ordered a secondhand copy on Thriftbooks to devour. If you’re not familiar, Wit follows the cancer diagnosis of an English professor whose study focused on poems that dealt heavily with concepts of mortality. We discover that she was a tough professor, at times lacking basic humanity needed for ease of human interactions. She is cared for by a researcher and resident who manifests many of these same qualities and the irony is heavy and it is tragic. Wit is well-written, incredibly poetic, and every bit as soul crushing as you would imagine. And you should read it immediately.
Worst Play: Fat Pig by Neil LaBute
Chrissy Metz’s character in This Is Us basically gives me life. It’s the first time I’ve seen a character on TV that looks like me without being a joke because of her weight, so when I heard she was doing a revival of a play, of course I assumed that that character would be equally empowering and great. Nope. Fat Pig is one of the most disappointing works I’ve read. A woman meets a man in a café, thinking that he’s made a comment about her size. He hasn’t, but they get to talking and end up taking a liking to each other. Guy has been dating a girl at the office who’s kind of a terrible human being and guy also has a friend at the office who is an enormous dude bro and terrible human being. Guy and girl continue to see each other. Girl at office is mad that guy is blowing her off. Both girl at office and dude bro friend find out that guy is dating a “fat pig” an tell him what an awful thing it is. Guy succumbs to their words and the play ends with them breaking up. Honestly, if I had to take away a moral from this play it would be, if you’re fat, that’s why you can’t have nice things. And as someone who works a 20/22 dress size and looks dang fine doing so, I’m not a huge fan of said moral, so hard pass.
Point of Order: I have to give credit to the heavy amounts of dry humor in the early parts of this play. Helen (the plus size protagonist) starts off great and ends up sad, which just kills me. Not all plays have happy endings and that’s actually a good thing. But the message with this one is what gets a no from me, especially since the author has a whole preface about his life as a plus size man and how he’s gotten into body acceptance. HEAVY eyeroll.
Honorable Mention Play: Tick, Tick, Boom by Jonathan Larson
Tick, Tick, Boom is the only musical that I actually got around to reading this year. Do yourself a favor. Download it on Spotify and treat yoself because it’s a delight. If you’re familiar at all with Rent, Jonathan Larson’s name should ring a bell because he wrote that and died the day that it opened (not from AIDS though, so can we please stop furthering that fallacy, pleaseandthankyou). Tick, Tick, Boom chronicles a man turning 30 in 1990 and is considered to be a semiautobiographical work on Larson’s part. It wasn’t produced until after his death, but the music is heavy on Larsonesque style. The story is eh at best, but has enough potential paired with the music to make one super sad that Larson didn’t live long enough to make more of his art, because that transformative rock music vibe is fantastic. And for the record, I was born in 1990, so if you don’t think I’m going to play the song 30/90 for the entirety of 2020, you just don’t know me at all.
Most Underrated Book: Intimacy Idiot by Isaac Oliver
For reference here, you need to know two things that happened relative to me reading this book. First of all, two of my friends received it for Christmas because I couldn’t NOT have them not read it and kept snapping, texting, reading them excerpts as I read it (Emily and Kate, you’re the real MVP’s for putting up with me, but also, you’re welcome.) Second, it’s uncommon for me to literally laugh out loud at something I’m reading. A light chortle, a dainty guffaw perhaps, but outright laughter does not happen. Enter Intimacy Idiot, the least family friendly book (read: not even a little bit. I repeat. Your kids, grandmother, and dog should not read this.) on this list and easily the most riotously funny book I’ve read this year or… um… ever. This book of essays has everything. Furries. Customer service horror stories. A lumberjack named Anson. In this garbage fire of a year, a solid laugh through an entire book was EXACTLY what I needed and this book delivered. (MPAA Rating: A solid R-.)
Most Overrated Book: The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold*
If I had to describe The Lovely Bones in one word, it would be “Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhh?” On Goodreads, I gave this a solid three stars and that’s really all you need to know. It wasn’t bad. It wasn’t….good? But everyone talked about it for a solid two or three years, so I was expecting the works. It deals with some interesting concepts, grief and how families deal with loss. But overall, I had to do a quick search just now to remember why exactly I was so bored by it because the story is THAT UNMEMORABLE. Maybe if I got with it during the hype, it would be different, but I didn’t, so it’s not. Sorry.
Extra Credit Reading: Check out the comments on the Goodreads page for The Lovely Bones. Many people had my same sentiment and put it in much more… eloquent.. ways. [laugh-crying emoji]
Most Boring Book: Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf*
Alternate title for this book- Rich, white, Victorian people have problems too! We promise! Problems like…. I don’t know… having your dinner party ruined because some inconsiderate fool committed suicide. Dang him. Dang him to heck.
Extra Credit Reading: A list of things more boring than Mrs. Dalloway
Best YA Book: Turtles All The Way Down by John Green
Turtles was probably one of the more anticipated YA books of the year, for good reason. John Green is the author of acclaimed The Fault In Our Stars, a book the was so heartwrenchingly tragic that I literally threw it across the room upon finishing it. That came out in 2012 and while John hasn’t gone away (he’s still super active online, crafting such magic as Crash Course and staying true to his roots with VlogBrothers videos), this was his first book in five years. How was I supposed to feel? The second that he announced its impending publication in June, I frantically preordered the book, desperate to have it as soon as it came out. When it did in October, I was not disappointed in the least. The protagonist deals with severe Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, an ailment that Green himself has been very open about dealing with and because of this, he brings Aza to life in an incredibly special and important way. Admittedly, I didn’t find the ending as satisfying as The Fault In Our Stars; it was more on par with Paper Towns, but this book also earned that privilege. A happier, more cohesive ending wouldn’t have fit, and because of this, I’m grateful for what there was.
Worst YA Book: Be More Chill by Ned Vizzini
If you know me, this may really, really surprise you because this is also a musical that I’m absolutely in love with (to the point of driving to NEW JERSEY to see a community production of it). I know, I know. I was as surprised as you are by this turn of events. I picked up the source material expecting to fall in love with dynamic characters anew but then I got a jar of hot, steaming garbage that someone had pooped on for good measure. Whereas the musical characters are diverse, heartfelt, and the musical tackles things like anxiety, peer pressure, relationship dynamics, and the rumor mill, the book’s descent into deep storytelling involves an unfortunate incident with an infected nipple ring. Yes. Infected. Nipple. Ring. You did read that right. Even my beloved Michael Mell is a self-serving garbage person. God bless The Joes Tracz and Iconis for making this source material so dang loveable because it really is a giant turd on its own.
Honorable Mention YA Book: Anything by Becky Albertelli. Anything isn’t the title. It’s referring to the fact that you need to read anything that she writes.
Becky Albertelli has two books coming out in 2018, if I’m not mistaken. So far, one of them is available for preorder and I did that the second I found out about it. Here’s what I love about her books. She seems to be making a point to show that everyone deserves a love story that they can relate to. Everyone deserves to see that they can be loved for who they are, without exception. I read two of her books this year, Simon vs. The Homo Sapiens Agenda (you may recognize this from previews for its movie adaptation, Love Simon) and The Upside of Unrequited. Simon is a gay teen. There aren’t many of those YA books in the mainstream and Albertelli wrote one. Molly (the protagonist of The Upside of Unrequited) is a self-described fat girl. I can tell you from experience that this absolutely isn’t a trope that the mainstream YA scope. Both of these characters get a love story that isn’t tainted with irony or treated as a joke. Speaking from my own experience, I almost cried when Molly kissed the boy who she ultimately ends up with and admits that she’s afraid that she would hurt or crush him because of her weight. It was real. It hurt. It was relatable. And I would have given anything to see that when I was in high school. I can’t wait for more of her books. I can’t wait for more kids to see themselves in her stories. I’m just so dang appreciative.
More Honorable Mentions for YA Books: Anything by Nicola Yoon. See Becky Albertelli’s note.
Nicola Yoon is another one of those authors that is new and exciting and whom I can’t wait to see further develop. Everything, Everything discusses fear in parenting, developing one’s sense of self, and tackles Munchausen by Proxy, which I’ve seen in one other book ever and exactly zero other YA books. The Sun Is Also A Star talks about how we fall in love, family dynamics, and the impacts of immigration and deportation on individuals and families (strangely relevant for the time). Her books have a refreshing amount of depth and give her young readers credit, trusting them to understand and be able to handle tough topics, even crave stories dealing with them. It’s all so good and I just want more of her writing, okay?
Most Fascinatingly Relevant Fiction Book: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
A word of caution- we live in a tough political climate and one of the subjects that is most incendiary is that of police brutality. I’ve specifically told one of my friends to hold off on reading this book because it hurts and it makes you mad, but it’s necessary. Like I mentioned with Nicola Yoon, Angie Thomas grants that her young adult audience can deal with more mature subjects that speak to their own stories. The protagonist in this story, Starr, is a black teenager who witnesses her best friend being shot by a police officer. Her friend is unarmed. The storyline follows activism erupting following the shooting, the case brought against the police officer, and the impacts that police brutality and violence have on individuals, families, and communities. It is disturbing, incredibly sad, and so relevant for today’s world. Read when it will not damage your mental health, but absolutely make a point to read.
Most Fascinatingly Relevant Non-Fiction Book: Shattered by Jonathan Allen*
Shattered deals with the Hilary Clinton presidential campaign. What’s interesting is that the book was meant to be a chronicle of the campaign of the first woman elected to the presidency. That was the premise of the book, that’s what the author went into this work for. However, after the disastrous election last year (which I’m still not ready to talk about), the book shed light on what exactly went wrong in the campaign. This book will literally make you hate everyone. Every. Single. Person. In. Politics. But overall, it’s a fascinating read if you’re able to stomach reliving the election. I know. It might be too soon.
Funniest Book: I’m Judging You by Luvvie Ajayi*
I found out about Luvvie from Jen Hatmaker’s podcast, where her humor struck me as incredibly relatable. She mentioned I’m Judging You during the course of the podcast and I immediately downloaded the audiobook. A word of advice- you should absolutely get the audio version of this book. While the text is funny on its own account, Luvvie’s delivery just gives it that little extra oomph. Basically, if you find that people suck and you find yourself judging others all too often, this book is probably for you. She tackles social media etiquette (e.g. don’t post your dead grandma’s casket on Facebook), those people that are constantly hot and heavy with baes who then just… like… disappear, and people who don’t know how to use hashtags, among many other so relatable, if slightly petty, pet peeves. If you’re problematic, it’s a handy guide to stop being so. And if you’re not, it’s still a handy guide, because even if you don’t think you are, I assure you, some of the rest of us disagree.
Point of Order: I know that I described Intimacy Idiot as the funniest book that I’d read this year. But it can’t win ALL of the awards and it already won one so shhhh….
Book That Will Make You Cry Buckets But It’s Worth It: Spoiler Alert- The Hero Dies by Michael Ausiello
If it weren’t for this stupid thing I have called a job, I would have read this book in one sitting. I did, however, read it in one day, much to the detriment of my mental health. Learn from me. Don’t do that, guys. Michael Ausiello chronicles his husband’s battle with cancer in a beautiful memoir that addresses how we deal with losing those that we love. The book flashes back to the beginnings of their relationship, to their near split, and their quick and private wedding in between discussing surgeries, chemotherapy, and everything that goes along with it. This book will make you believe in love, while simultaneously hating everything, but mostly cancer. Especially cancer. This is also one of the more beautiful books I’ve ever read. You will absolutely need a Zoloft or twelve, but that’s a cheap medicine and this book is worth it.
Series That I Can’t Believe I Didn’t Read Earlier: Percy Jackson by Rick Riordan
I would like to apologize to all of my friends and family who witnessed my descent into madness over the past three months, and by madness, I mean Percy Jackson. I just barely missed the Percy wave in its prime. My best friend is two and a half years younger than me and was right in that demographic but it passed me by and I was so unaware of all that I was missing. Enter the Lightning Thief Musical, a solid bop of a soundtrack that has been on repeat for a while now and that made me go, hmmmm…. maybe I should like, actually find out the storyline? I did and that’s the story of how I ended up in a binge spiral that had me reading all of the books, much to the detriment of my mental health and many of my social relationships. For the record, the last book screwed me up because everyone dies, so a curse on all of you who didn’t warn me about that. Grover’s storyline is by far the most satisfying. I totally get the Percy and Annabeth shipping and have boarded said ship with gladness. And I’m now reading the follow up series which might end up on this list next year should I be foolish enough to write another. (I’m in hour four of writing this as we speak. What a great way to ring out the year?) If you haven’t already, definitely read this. If you have, read it again and also listen to the soundtrack.
So that's it. That's my list. I have absolutely thought of more categories that I could add but am too lazy to do so. If you're interested, the link to my 2017 book list is here for your enjoyment (there's also a fun pictorial guide here). Be blessed. Be safe. Be well-read.
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