Favorite Books I Read This Year

Fiction:

The reading highlight of the year fiction-wise was my discovery of the Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion series, which fall squarely in my cozy-but-not-saccharine-or-fluffy reading needs.

New to me Le Guin is always a good thing, and while Five Ways to Forgiveness is a little heavy-handed in its worldbuilding (drawing on chattel slavery in the US South), it’s as masterfully done as you’d expect. I keep thinking about power and oppression and the things people do to each other.

Tamsin is an unexpected gem with an absolutely wonderful voice, highly underrated, and The Gardener’s Hand series is a completely enjoyable fantasy trilogy.

I loved rereading The Woman in White, imo the best Collins. Nothing else quite scratches this very Victorian gothic itch. And of course, the Benjamin January books I read in any given year are always a highlight of my year. I’m trying to draw out the series as long as possible so I won’t be bereft when I get to the end. There is no other series of books that so perfectly vibes with my specific interests.

Nonfiction:

The Anthropocene Reviewed was THE literary surprise of my year. I did not expect for this book to make me laugh, cry, and want to live harder I didn’t know John Green had it in him, but I’m so glad he did.

In books that helped me better understand my own world, Under the Eye of Power contextualized the USAmerican obsession with conspiracy theories for me.

I don’t tend to like funny books, but I make the exception when it’s David Mitchell ragging on British royalty in his own audiobook, Unruly.

Would you believe that despite my mad love for Devil in the White City, I had never read any other Erik Larson books? Shame on me. Isaac’s Storm was my second and now I’m going to read everything else the dude ever published.

My expectations were low for The Devil at His Elbow, but it was of local interest to me, so I gave it a chance, and I was so impressed with the way the writer handled this seedy subject matter.

And, of course, I love spending time with my grandma Ursula’s beautiful mind, and The Wave in the Mind is a beautiful collection.

 

But honestly, I had a really good reading year–there are a half dozen in each category that were so very good but didn’t quite make this best of list.