February: What I Read

22 books.  TWENTY-TWO BOOKS.  You guys!

22. The Doll's Alphabet by Camilla Grudova:  This book of short stories was not for me.

21. The House of Marriage by Erin Hanusa:  Poetry:  Check

20. Forks, Knives, and Spoons by Leah DeCesare:  Beach read for sure

19. Bright Dead Things by Ada Limon:  Lovely.  (More poetry)

18. Peach by Emma Glass: MORE poetry-- this is really pretty but also totally grotesque.

17. Me and Nina by Monica Hand: These are sad and lovely poems.

16. Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur:  An Instagram poet. huh?

15. The Little Book of Life Hacks by Yumi Sakugawa:  This is totally adorable and you can buy it at Anthropologie and it LOOKS like you can buy it at Anthropologie.

14. Filling Her Shoes by Betsy Graziani Fasbinder: This is like printing out someone's blog and reading it.

13. Call Me Zebra by Azareen Van der Vilet Oloomi:  The narrator in this book is not reliable. Like, there's no way her version of events can really be happening, at least not in the same emotional register she describes.  So, this book made me feel uncomfortable and worried for her, but it was hilarious.

12. What We Lose by Zinzi Clemmons: You guys should read this-- I love her voice.

11. Before I Say Goodbye by Ruth Picardie:  Mother of almost-two-year-old twins who dies of breast cancer.  Memoir.  Need I say more?

10. Heart Spring Mountain by Robin MacArthur:  I liked this debut novel about 3 generations of Vermont women.  You should probably read it.

9. The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen:  A good thriller-- so entertaining, even when I was super tired.

8. Our Lady of the Prairie by Thisbe Nissen:  This is so funny and weird.

7. When They Call You a Terrorist by Patrisse Khan-Cullors and asha bandele: I really liked this Black Lives matte memoir. It was a good read after The Hate You Give and before I start to talk about the rhetoric of racial justice in my Great Speakers class.  Go ahead and read this one-- it is surprisingly slim and fast-paced.

6. Where the Past Begins by Amy Tan:  This is is lovely.  Read it.

5.  Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders: OH MY.  This book was really buzzy and I am a little behind, but YOU GUYS.  A little bit Our Town, a little bit The Canterbury Tales, a little bit amazing.  Read it.

4.  Don't Call Us Dead by Danez Smith:  THESE.  POEMS.  Read them!

3.  Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng:  EVEN BETTER than Little Fires Everywhere, if you can believe that.

2.  The Immortalists by Chloe Benjamin:  OH MY.  Yes, you should read this.  It is as good as everyone says, I promise.

1.  Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder by Caroline Fraser:  OH WOW.  The New York Times said that this book was one of the 10 best of 2017, and you guys?  THEY ARE NOT WRONG. A few things you should know before you read it:  1.  It is 500 pages.  2.  Then there are 100 pages of extensive end notes.  3.  I SOBBED for the last 100 pages.  4.  It is a really in-depth look at political context in the rural west, which I found fascinating but might not be your particular jam.  Basically, Fraser argues that LIW wrote her books to bring her family all together again after her parents and sister Mary died.  She didn't see her parents for the last like 50 years of her life, and it's all just SO SAD.  Her relationship with her daughter and her daughter's life is also SO INTERESTING!  Read this, but be prepared for it to take awhile.  Also, care to join me on my road trip this summer?  I want to go to Missouri, De Smet, SD, and Pepin, WI.