2017: On the Page

2017 was an epic reading year for me. I felt like I truly reclaimed reading, in I way I hadn't since childhood. I dedicated most spare moments to getting lost—lost in worlds and words. I pushed myself out of my comfort zone with reading material (you know, out of that comic-YA-modern fiction-repeat cycle), in large part thanks to a great achievement:

The glory!

I finished the SPL Summer Bingo.

That's right. Twenty-four books between Memorial Day and Labor Day, filling in whatever random criteria those Seattle librarians dictate. This list has haunted my reading goals since 2011, when I first learned it existed. Most summers I fill out about 6-10 books, then throw the list in the garbage to marinate in my shame and failure. But this year, it happened. It clicked. I read during Alex's naptime. I felt awake enough to read at night. I read outside in the sunshine, one of the most glorious and comforting reading experiences a person can have.* I utilized the library like a champion, finally mastering the art of the staggered hold list.** And in return, I learned to identify as a reader again. It felt like coming home.

*In my personal and completely correct opinion.
**Nothing is worse than an un-staggered hold list. You've got to plan these things, or else you'll have five vital books all come in on one day.

While I read so, so many gems this year, I also read a lot that was just a'ight. But that was part of the reader reclamation—the thrill of the grab bag, of discovery, and of not needing everything to be a winner.

Without further ado, the stats.

Total Books Read: 61. Super up from last year! I credit that beautiful summer of reading, where I read roughly ten books a month. It was glorious.

Books of Essays I Adored: Voracious, by Cara Nicoletti. I didn't love her writing necessarily, but the conceit of the book reverberated deep into my soul. She tracked her experience as a reader throughout the years, with a corresponding recipe for each significant novel. This is my BRAIN. Everything important in my life is linked with food, and that definitely spreads to novels. I still need to buy my own copy and try out some of the recipes (particularly the clam chowder. No, I haven't read Moby Dick and I certainly don't intend to, but that chowder sounds mouth-watering).
One Day We'll All be Dead and None of This Will Matter by Scaachi Koul. I read many, many collections of essays this year—thanks in large part to human angel Katie Tamola and her excellent newsletter—but Koul's was by far my favorite. I love her voice, and she manages the rare feat of being introspective without an excess of navel-gazing. I didn't want to slap her by the end of the book, which is the highest essayist/memoirist praise I can give. I can't say the same for Erin Chack, whose book is notably not on my completed list, because that mofo most definitely got thrown against the wall and returned to the library ASAP. I'm talking three chapters in ASAP.

Fiction I Enjoyed: The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas. It has been hyped, and as of writing this there is a movie out that I did not see but wanted to. In essence—yes. Everything you've heard is true. I cried, and thought it was important, and will be very interested in revisiting this in a few years to see if those emotions hold up.
The Little Friend by Donna Tartt, I'd never read Tartt before, and was really glad I started with this novel. It's apparently been held up as her weakest, and I can't yet speak to that (The Secret History has been on my bookshelf for a few months now), but I loved her style. The central mystery was compelling, the tone had an urgency mixed with a pleasing Southern lackadaisical overlay, and Harriet was the kind of cranky child that makes my heart sing. We need more unpleasant girls in literature.
To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han. You know what? I sped through the entire series in a week. I even bought them all, because I didn't want to wait for the library. What can I say? Are they light? Yes. Are they fast reads? Yes. Are they completely, utterly charming? Unequivocally YES.

Comic Corner: This year I caught up on Scott Snyder. I hadn't been loving his latest Batman work, so I let him fade into the background. I finally bought the volume release of Wytches, which was a return to the psychological horror that drew me to his work in the first place.
I also read all three A.D. After Death books, and felt so fulfilled by them. Jeff Lemire's art is incredible, the perfect sketchy starkness with moments of profound glory in certain spreads. But it was Snyder's writing that drew me in. I felt like this was his chance to return to his roots after being a cog in the Batman wheel for so long. These books were barely comics. They were more like illustrated short stories (almost like Snyder's first book, which was just stories, no pictures). The material was thoughtful, and didn't go where I expected it to. I will warn one more time for potential readers—they were like short stories. If you know the popular narrative structure in that form, be prepared.

Books That Disgusted Me: The Financial Lives of the Poets by Jess Walter. The first book that made me go, "hmm, I think I'm over white dudes." Add in a white dude who used to be a journalist, and now thinks his story urgently needs to be told? NEXT.
Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling. I'm over Kaling. Her schtick is no longer appealing. It barely was last book, and definitely isn't anymore. There. I said it.

Books That Vaguely Disappointed Me: Turtles All The Way Down by John Green. Am I over John Green? I might be. That being said, I still think this book was an interesting character study, and a great topic to try and tackle. It needed a plot though.
Carrying on the authors-I-championed-and-then-felt-let-down-by train, Genuine Fraud by E. Lockhart. I love The Talented Mr. Ripley as much as anyone, but I don't feel the need to write teen fanfic about it. However, it was very good teen fanfic. I think Lockhart is moving towards I style I don't find as appealing as the Lockhart that first captivated me. With this book and her last, We Were Liars, she's gravitating towards upper-class thrillers. I enjoyed her bubbly-but-introspective teenage girls. I guess I'll go reread Frankie Landau-Banks and The Boyfriend List to get more of that voice.*

*Spoiler: Did it, loved it, totally worth it. Adore those books.

Author Discovery: LIBBA BRAY! My friend Robin recommended Bray to me in 2015, and I am disgusted with the way I slept on her. Go read some Bray. Right now. She's delightful. I'm still not a Bray completist, as she has several series I haven't totally worked my way through, but I would definitely pick up something. My favorites so far have been Beauty Queens (my first) and everything in The Diviners series (which also has a spectacular audiobook, for the record).

THE COMPLETE LIST:

• Imaginary Girls by Nova Ren Suma
• The Silver Kiss by Annette Curtis Klause
• Popular by Maya Van Wagenen
• The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart
• The Love That Split the World by Emily Henry
• The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell
• The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
• Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling
• Saga vol. 7 by Brian K Vaughan and Fiona Staples
• Saint Anything by Sarah Dessen
• Black Science vol. 3: Vanishing Point by Rick Remender, Matteo Scalara, and Moreno Diniso
• The Fever by Megan Abbott
• Silver Screen Fiend by Patton Oswalt
• Paper Girls by Brian K Vaughan and Cliff Chiang
• A.D. After Death, vol. 1 by Scott Snyder and Jeff Lemire
• A. D. After Death, vol. 2 by Scott Snyder and Jeff Lemire
• A. D. After Death, vol. 3 by Scott Snyder and Jeff Lemire
• Wytches vol. 1 by Scott Snyder and Jock
• The Financial Lives of the Poets by Jess Walter
• Kiss Me Like a Stranger by Gene Wilder
• A List Of Cages by Robin Roe
• Today Will be Different by Maria Semple
• Voracious by Cara Nicoletti
• Echo by Pam Munoz Ryan
• The Little Friend by Donna Tartt
• The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
• Seconds by Bryan Lee O'Malley
• Too Fat, Too Slutty, Too Loud by Anne Helen Petersen
• Bless Me, Ultima by Rudolfo Anaya
• Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown
• The Wangs vs.The World by Jade Chang
• The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett
• Haunted Knight by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale
• The Long Halloween by Jeph Loeb and Tim Sale
• One Day We'll All be Dead and None of This Will Matter by Scaachi Koul
• Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
• To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han
• Tangerine by Edward Bloor
• P.S. I Still Love You by Jenny Han
• A Short Life of Trouble by Marcia Tucker
• Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith
• Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han
• The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
• I Was the Jukebox by Sandra Beasley
• All the Lives I Want by Alana Massey
• Black Science vol. 4: Godworld by Rick Remender, Matteo Scalara, and Moreno Diniso
• Beauty Queens by Libba Bray
• Dare to Repair by Julie Sussman and Stephanie Glakas-Tenet
• Talking as Fast as I Can by Lauren Graham
• As You Wish by Cary Elwes
• The Diviners by Libba Bray
• The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
• Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray
• Turtles All The Way Down by John Green
• Jinx by Sage Blackwood
• Going Bovine by Libba Bray
• My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows
• Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon
• Genuine Fraud by E. Lockhart
• I Loved Her in the Movies by Robert J. Wagner and Scott Eyman
• Black Science vol. 5: True Atonement by Rick Remender, Matteo Scalara, and Moreno Diniso