2017 Book Reviews
Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Black Man - Henry Louis Gates: Fantastic collection of biographical pieces on men ranging from Colin Powell and James Baldwin to Harry Belafonte and Bill T. Jones. Gates uses these men’s stories to examine what it means to be a black man now and what it has meant throughout the past few hundred years. The stories are riveting and the social commentary is perfect—Gates is a model of engaging complexity and embracing narrative as a way to understand our culture. Highly recommended, especially in our current political moment.
The Fellowship of the Ring - JRR Tolkien: Loved it. Although compared to “The Hobbit” (the only other Tolkien I’ve read), it’s pretty dense (you probably already know this).
Anne of Green Gables - Lucy Maud Montgomery: A little literary stroll down memory lane. Anne and Gilbert forever.
The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood: Dystopian novel about a near future where women have lost their rights and nearly all their functions, save those reproductory or housekeeperly. Sharp writing, chilling story, good stuff.
The Creative Habit - Twyla Tharp: I’ve had this book for a long time and never read it, and now that I’ve read it I kind of feel like I should stop reading books on how to be creative and just go create stuff, you know? This book had some good ideas and exercises, though, and Tharp is cool. I just need to stop lollygagging and actually write.
The Buddha of Suburbia - Hanif Kureishi: Funny, weird, irreverent coming of age story. Enjoyable.
I Am Malala - Malala Yousafzai: The writing isn’t anything special here, but the story is important and Malala is SO COOL.
The Red Parts - Maggie Nelson: A very Maggie Nelson telling of the trial of her aunt’s murderer, 40 (I think) years after the murder took place. If you haven’t read any Nelson, I think this is a really good place to start. It’s the most accessible of her books that I’ve read, and the writing is gorgeous.
The Braindead Megaphone - George Saunders: A nonfiction collection from Saunders? YES PLEASE. Saunders’ writing and being are pretty much everything I aspire to be. There is no one I love reading more.
Hausfrau - Jill Alexander Essbaum: UGH. If I have to read one more book of rich people whining while exhibiting zero self-awareness, I will . . . nothing, because I don’t actually have to read this stuff. But I did finish it (though I’ll cop to speed-reading the last third) and I thought it stunk.
If Our Bodies Could Talk - James Hamblin: Hamblin is a former MD and current editor for The Atlantic, and I love him so much. His little videos on various health topics are hilarious. This book was super enjoyable, filled with health questions from which Hamblin launched into an examination of the public health field, current issues in pharmacology, the agnotology of the public (I learned the word agnotology from this book! I love it!), the history of modern medicine, and narratives of all sorts—plus a good bit of practical health advice. Loved it.
The Christ-Centered Home - Emily Belle Freeman: Like “The Christ-Centered Christmas”, this book lays out a series of family nights, this time one for each month of the year focusing around filling our homes with the Spirit. I love Freeman’s ideas here, and we’ve started this month to put them into practice. Now I want to read her Easter book!
Traveling Mercies - Anne Lamott: Lamott brings her wit and undeniable charm to the topic of faith, and the result is a gorgeous, wise, and funny meditation on religion, belief, friendship, service, and forgiveness. I loved it.
Inherited Disorders - Adam Ehrlich: A collection of short shorts about fathers, sons, and inheritance. Most of the pieces are strange and delightful, some of them are very funny, and a few probably could have been cut from the collection without any tears on my part. But overall, I really enjoyed this.
Seinfeldia - Jennifer Keishin Armstrong: The history and cultural influence of Seinfeld. If you’ve watched the bonus features on the DVD versions, you probably know most of the info. It was a good book, but I think there was an opportunity to dig deeper here, if I can say such a ridiculous thing about Seinfeld.
I'm Thinking of Ending Things - Iain Reid: UGH THIS BOOK. It’s super suspenseful and does a great job cultivating a very creepy vibe, and then totally blows it all in the end by having an utterly disappointing and underwhelming conclusion. It’s a very quick read, and it is scary; a lot of people seem to have enjoyed it. I just felt like the payoff was way too low.
The Girls - Emma Cline: I had heard great things about this book, but also got a negative review from someone I trust, so I wasn’t expecting too much. But I really, really enjoyed it. Cline describes being an adolescent girl so well that I felt afterward like I understood my teenaged self better. Parts of the narrative are horrifying, but Cline writes with such adept self-awareness that it doesn’t come across as over-the-top at all. Loved it.
London, You’re Beautiful - David Gentleman: Mostly a book of illustrations of London, with Gentleman’s thoughts and meditations. I can’t get over his little sketches and watercolors. His lines are just bonkers expressive. Lovely.
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