Thesis and Antithesis

No, that's not a book title, just a way of describing this pair of books. 

Brainwyrms (by Alison Rumfitt)

I read this for the Tournament of Books and only because a friend and I are trying to be shortlist completionists this year.  It was truly one of the most unpleasant reading experiences I have ever had. I wanted the cover away from my Kindle as quickly as possible.  It's a body horror novel about anti-trans sentiment in the UK, and I admire the audacity, but boy, was this ever gross. Just like... so gross. Not poorly written. But.... very very gross.

A Family Affair (by Harper Bliss)

I needed something completely different, so immediately bought (yes, I actually purchased this one) a lesbian romance that was advertised to me on Facebook, about a woman who has an affair with her sister-in-law.  (If you don't like reading about cheating or forbidden romance, this is not for you, although it is handled sensitively.) This had one of my pet peeves, which is dialogue that doesn't sound like words anyone would actually say.  One character describes another by saying: "Although a touch distant, she was very nice."  I mean can you imagine anyone saying "Although a touch distant" in an actual spoken sentence?  But still, it is exactly what I needed to read and I enjoyed it, cheesiness and all.

Blackouts (by Justin Torres)

This is a Tournament of Books entry that also qualifies for the RHC, which is a delightful little two-fer.  It won the National Book Award in 2023, and I can understand why.  I think this NPR review can give you a better sense of the book than I can.

I've been turning it over in my head a couple of days and I think I appreciated this book more intellectually than emotionally.  But its a hell of an intellectual achievement. The blackouts and historical ephemera themselves are fascinating, as are the endnotes about them from the point of view of the narrator. That lifted the whole work for me.  

I wasn't as compelled by the two main characters and wished there had been something more, a stronger emotional core, I guess? But this is the kind of book that's perfect for plenty of ToB discussion, and I'm already looking forward to it.

Yes & I Love You (by Roni Loren)

Read for the RHC category "romance with neurodivergent characters." (I actually started The Heart Principle for this category but DNF when the plot changed halfway through and I did not want to read about someone being gaslit by their horrible family for hundreds of pages.) 

Yes & I love you is about Hollyn, who has Tourette's, and her neurodivergence is meaningfully incorporated into the plot and handled extremely well. I'm not a huge romance reader but this was enjoyable - instead of constant miscommunication, the leads communicated openly and the obstacles were real, not manufactured by the plot.  

There's also a throughline about improv (hence the title) and Hollyn using it to get our of her comfort zone (and also hook up with the hot improv instructor).  Recommended for romance fans!

A Fatal Crossing (by Tom Hindle)

The downside of the library system (and it is a very tiny downside compared to all the many upsides) is that I can check out some books over and over again, not have time to read them, and by the time they pop up, I forgot who told me about them or why I was interested in the first place.  I've been trying to clear out my queue by reading (or at least starting and DNFing) books that I've accidentally checked out or delayed repeatedly. I'm running out of holds and virtual shelf space!

Anyway, this is another Agatha Christie homage, with a murder set on a gilded age, Titanic-like passenger ship. I thought the plot was well constructed, but the characters are not as vividly rendered as those in a Christie novel, so some of them blended together and I sometimes got confused about who was who. The narrator is the ship's officer sidekick to the main detective, who quite frankly was unpleasant to read about as he was kind of a dick. The book is also fairly long and a bit repetitive at times.

There is a Christie-like twist at the end that's well-executed but I'm still not fully sure how I feel about it.  I need to talk about it in full spoilery fashion, so if you read this, let me know!

Breaking Free of Child Anxiety and OCD: A Scientifically Proven Program for Parents (by Eli R. Lebowitz)

This book was super helpful. I'm not going to talk too much about it on a public blog, but I can tell you a friend and I strolled along the beach yesterday and had a long chat about everything I learned and have been thinking about. It helped alleviate a lot of that all-too-familiar parental guilt, too.

If your child has any type of anxiety, this is worth a read. As I work to implement some of the book's strategies, wish me luck!

The Guest (by Emma Cline)

I love kicking off the year with a great read, don't you? This Tournament of Books entry is my first foray into Emma Cline and has a completely unsympathetic disaster of a main character and I absolutely loved every minute of it, including the ambiguous ending.

Alex is basically scamming her way across the Hamptons, trying to hang onto her rich boyfriend and ingratiating herself in other ways into the social scene there. She does not do a great job of this, but somehow we want her to keep coming out on top. Like the Talented Mr. Ripley, but with less murdering? 

This is not for everyone (the ending might be too ambigous for some) but if I were voting now for the ToB zombie, it would get my vote. Sorry Open Throat and Big Swiss, I still love you!

Year-End Book Wrapup 2023

Once again, my goal this year was to read 75 books and complete the Read Harder Challenge.  I finished 88 books and completed the RHC; you can check out which book I read for each category and see links to reviews in last year's post.

One of the challenges was, like last year, to "repeat a challenge from any of the previous years.” Both this year and last I went back to 2015, since I wasn’t doing this challenge in 2015.   This year I read a microhistory; last year I read a self-help book.

However, a lot of the other books I read (excluding the ones I read for the challenge this year, since I don’t double dip) also covered challenges in 2015. Here’s a list:

A collection of short stories (either by one person or an anthology by many people) - Forward
A book published before 1850 - Northanger Abbey
A book that was originally published in another language 
- The Aosawa Murders
A romance novel - Very Sincerely Yours
A book that someone else has recommended to you - Mercury Pictures Presents
A book by a person whose gender is different from your own - Madly, Deeply
A YA novel - 6 Times We Almost Kissed….
A book written by someone when they were under the age of 25 - Never Kiss Your Roommate 
A book published this year -  Friday I’m in Love
A book by or about someone that identifies as LGBTQ - It’s Not Like It’s a Secret
A book that you would consider a guilty pleasure - A Pocket Full of Rye 
A book that takes place in Asia - Earthlings
A book written by someone when they were over the age of 65 - Endless Night
A book that is a retelling of a classic story - The Love Match
A sci-fi novel - Cold People
A graphic novel, a graphic memoir or a collection of comics of any kind  - Boys Weekend

So I have six remaining categories from 2015 that I’ve never done, which I can work my way through in the next couple of years.

Top five books of the year:

1. Against White Feminism

This was the most personally transformative book I read this year, about divesting feminism not from white people, but from white supremacy. A challenging and worthwhile read.

2. Boys Weekend

Another entry from later in the year, but just delightful, satirical, clever. I’m not usually a huge graphic novel fan, but I loved all the easter eggs in this one.

3. I Have Some Questions for You  

Rebecca Makkai is absolutely great. I think after I finished this I immediately went back to reread The Great Believers.

4. Life Ceremony  

I love Japanese literature, and actually this book and the next both fall in that category. This one (by the author of the incredible Convenience Store Woman)  is probably not for everyone, since it gets a bit gruesome, but I love her writing.  I’m not usually a short story fan at all, but I adored this.

5. The Decagon House Murders

I read quite a few Japanese murder mysteries this year, and this homage to And Then There Were None was my favorite.

Honorable mentions: Big Swiss, Open Throat, 6 Times We Almost Kissed (And One Time We Did), The Anthropocene Reviewed, The Ship of Dreams: The Sinking of the Titanic and the End of the Edwardian Era, My Brother's Husband, Bad Fat Black Girl: Notes from a Trap Feminist


Bottom three books:



1. You Can Go Your Own Way



I finished this because it was a YA and it was quick but man, I got so angry at this book. Barely a plot, and the summary was a huge lie.

2. Cold People



I only finished this for the sake of being a ToB completist.  It had potential but absolutely no ending whatsoever, and the worldbuilding doesn’t quite cohere. 

3. The Other Black Girl



Read for the RHC last year and it sounded great, but was disappointing.  I felt like it ultimately failed to come together.
 
2024 plans: 

For 2024 my goal will once again be 75 books, and the Read Harder Challenge. I will track my Read Harder Challenge books here throughout the year and use the tag 2024 rhc.   


Some initial thoughts: My friend loaned me Legends & Lattes so the first category is a gimme. I like the author event category although that could be a challenge. I don’t know how to determine “a book that went under the radar in 2023” (what counts as “the radar”) but I’ll give that one some thought.  

 For “previous year’s challenges” I think Blackouts by Justin Torres would count for “A National Book Award, Man Booker Prize or Pulitzer Prize winner from the last decade” and it’s also in the Tournament of Books, so that's my plan there.  The others need some more thought! The full list of categories:

Total: 24/24

[X] Read a cozy fantasy book: Legends & Lattes
[X] Read a YA book by a trans author: Another First Chance
[X] Read a middle grade horror novel: Small Spaces
[X] Read a history book by a BIPOC author: The Warmth of Other Suns
[X]  Read a sci-fi novella: To Be Taught, If Fortunate
[X]  Read a middle grade book with an LGBTQIA main character: Noah Frye Gets Crushed
[X] Read an indie published collection of poetry by a BIPOC or queer author: Life on Mars
[X]  Read a book in translation from a country you’ve never visited.
[X]  Read a book recommended by a librarian: The Worst Perfect Moment
[X] Read a historical fiction book by an Indigenous author: The Lost Journals of Sacajawea
[X]  Read a picture book published in the last five years: Books Make Great Friends
[X]  Read a genre book (SFF, horror, mystery, romance) by a disabled author: Act Your Age, Eve Brown
[X]  Read a comic that has been banned: Brazen
[X]  Read a book by an author with an upcoming event and then attend the event: Last West
[X]  Read a YA nonfiction book: Vincent & Theo
[X]  Read a book based solely on the title: A Most Agreeable Murder
[X]  Read a book about media literacy: Factfulness
[X]  Read a book about drag or queer artistry: It Was Vulgar and It Was Beautiful
[X] Read a romance with neurodivergent characters: Yes & I Love You
[X]  Read a book about books (fiction or nonfiction): Days at the Morisaki Bookshop
[X] Read a book that went under the radar in 2023: The Final Season
[X]  Read a manga or manhwa: I Married My Best Friend to Shut My Parents Up
[X] Read a “howdunit” or “whydunit” mystery: The Devotion of Suspect X
[X] Pick a challenge from any of the previous years’ challenges to repeat! Blackouts (National Book Award, Man Booker Prize or Pulitzer Prize winner from the last decade)