January: What I Read

I am kicking of 2018's reading goal with a banner month full of terrific reads.  The Thomas book might be the best book I have read.  EVER.  So, there's that.  The dad in that book is edging out Atticus Finch for my favorite literary dad in the world.  THAT'S HUGE, you guys.  I am going to say no more because my book club is talking about it next week and I want you all to read it.  WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?


17. The Slave by Anand Dilvar:  You can see my review here.

16. Artemis by Andy Weir:  This book was so bad it made me rethink how much I liked The Martian.

15.Vacationland: True Stories and Painful Beaches by John Hodgman:  He's charming and delightful, and so is this book.  You know memoirs are my jam.

14. An American Sickness by Elisabeth Rosenthal:  Wow.  Our healthcare system is even more screwed up than I thought.  Awesome.

13. After the Eclipse by Sarah Perry:  What a heart-breaking memoir!

12. In Gratitude by Jenny Diski:  Speaking of heartbreaking memoirs!

11. The Best Kind of People by Zoe Whittall:  This was a real page-turner and one of those books where I didn't like any of the characters but did like the book, know what I mean?

10. Turtles All the Way Down by John Green:  Loved it. So readable.  Such an engaging main character.  Great dialogue.  Read this-- it goes quickly.

9. The Stars Are Fire by Anita Shreve:  This is everything you want in a winter read: compelling plot, great characters, fast pace.  Liked it a lot.

8.The Big Push: Exposing an Challenging the Persistence of Patriarchy by Cynthia Enloe:  Read this and you will think different thoughts about an Oprah for president. Enloe is 81 years old and has had a fascinating career as a feminist political scientist. This is a thin, dense little book about smashing the patriarchy, and she weaves a fascinating transnational history of feminism that includes my very favorite Elizabeth Cady Stanton.  Read this one, you guys.

7. Verax by Pratap Chatterjee and Khalil:  OH MY GOODNESS.  First of all, I don't even like graphic novels.  But this one!  Read it.  Dev.  A.  Stating.

6. The End We Start From by Megan Hunter: Oh, dystopian fiction, I cannot quit you.  This one is spare and haunting and slim.  And!  It helps me meet my poetry resolution.  Win/win.

5. My Absolute Darling by Gabriel Tallent:  Jesus Christ.  This book.  I mean, I LOVED Idaho, but where the violence and terror of that book was sort gauzy, this one is IN YOUR FACE.  But, I mean, I couldn't look away.  I read this in literally 90 minutes.  90 traumatic minutes.

4. Standard Deviation by Katherine Heiny:  I LOVED THIS BOOK!  Audra is a fabulous character, and even though it's a thick book, I flew through it snuggled under a blanket while chaos whirled around me.  It's really great., about love and marriage and parenting and friendship.  Read it for the excellent dialog alone.

3. Mean by Myriam Gurba:  I love that this was the first book I read this year.  It is brilliant and brutal and poetry.  Another fabulous memoir.  You should definitely read it.  Right away.

2. The Four Tendencies by Gretchen Rubin:  Loved it.  But!  I am a diehard devotee (hello, redundancy).  Also an Upholder.  You know what I discovered after reading this, though?  BEN IS A REBEL.  This explains so much.  If you haven't already, TAKE THE QUIZ.

1. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas:  This book was hard to read.  It's so sad.  I felt so hopeless for the main character.  But then?  I fell in love with her and with her family and decided I could stick it out to find out what happened to them.  I think this might be one of the best books I've ever read.