I intended to read a minimum of 36 books this year. I have forgotten at least some of the books that I read this year, but even so, I am probably not going to make that. My Goodreads has 16 as my tally but the real number is going to remain a mystery. I want to post 10 that I can’t forget, however, for various reasons. In no particular order—
The Zorg: a Tale of Greed and Murder That Inspired the Abolition of Slavery, Siddharth Kara
This was not an easy read, academically or emotionally. I learnt plenty about sickening depravities of violence and injustice the British and Americans committed against enslaved people. It was hard to enjoy the schadenfreude of petty colonialist in-fighting and their managerial incompetence after that. The book is also a fascinating look into the historical British legal system (and the toweringly evil structures of insurance and banking that supported the slave trade). I intend to read more from this author.
There Is No Antimemetics Division, qntm
Outrageously cyclical. Very tight editing, clearly, almost every early point comes around again in the endgame to rage or tear-inducing relevance.
The Monster’s Bones: The Discovery of T. Rex and How It Shook Our World, David K. Randall.
Early archeology was so deliciously messy. I read this the way one would read a celebrity gossip magazine. I developed opinions on museums, curators, and people who shaped American culture. The connections between Christian theology and dinosaur categorization are much more interesting than I would have thought (and more philosophically substantial than popular critique would imply). There are some truly fascinating portraits of utterly horrible people in this book.
To Drown Among The Stars, L.K. Frost.
pure fun, easy reading, I dove into this and came out a couple hours later feeling refreshed. a slowburn romantasy with a knight and a magical dragon woman.
Poirot Investigates, Agatha Christie.
I don’t like Christie’s prose, and I was surprised by that. I enjoyed the mysteries and all the flash portraits of interesting people.
Cursed Daughters, Oyinkan Braithwaite.
I read this because I read and loved another book by the same author. Interesting and artful structure, painful and beautiful ironies and mirrors. Probably the most lovely book I’ve read this year.
Shopgirls, Jessica Anya Blau
Funnily enough, I was glad that I’d recently read The Girls In the Picture (Melanie Benjamin) before reading this one. Historical fiction novel, technically, but so recent. The depiction of ludicrous diet culture and silly friendships between women of varying ages and backgrounds was exactly right.
Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder: The Complete Pain Management and Movement Therapy Guide for Patients and Clinicians, Dr. Avery Sinclair.
I think this book was written for someone who is exactly like me in every way except with more insecurities. Basically every section opened with emotional reassurance that I did not care for in the least aimed at comforting someone who has a different outlook on disability than I do. I nodded at first with the intended message that the disabled reader has worth and dignity, but the more I read, the more fervent a disagreement I developed with the assertion that my body is “different, not broken” or something like that. There are things I cannot do and a good many more things that I should not do unless I’ve judged them worth days or months of painful consequence. It’s literally just the factual case that my body is broken and malfunctioning and unfixable, I don’t have particular negative feelings about that aside from anger which I feel is rational. I think that trying to rebrand that is counterproductive to disability justice.
That quibble of messaging aside, Dr. Sinclair is authoritative, clever, and well-organized. I am confident in her expertise. I learnt a lot from this and I assume I will be rereading it periodically. This is a very useful book, if a bit focused on the less disabled end of Ehlers-Danlos (perfectly reasonable given the clientele one would expect to be able to pursue therapy for goals like running marathons), and I wish many medical professionals would read it.
The Harvey Girls, Juliette Fay
very exciting historical novel following two different women (one is a girl, really, for much of the novel.) Well-researched and lovingly set in an era that I didn’t know about at all. deft-handed depiction of personalities and social dynamics.
Girl Dinner, Olivie Blake.
this is the shining star of comp titles for Pretty In Japan. I loved this book and I chewed very hard on it. The magical pain of girlhood, the devotion to and betrayal of sisterhood, the indignities and opportunties of modern existence- fantastic. so tasty. Everyone should dig in. And when you do, tell me what you think about it, please, i want to talk about this book!
