Love the book about Failure. This morning I woke upto an incident that was making me feel like a big time big fat failure and your comments in this section of your newsletter helped me realize-- ya know what? Sometimes I'm going to be a big fat failure and that's okay because we have to accept that life is failure. We all go out the same way and we all fail at the end then I guess we are all failures and all that jazz and with that! I'm going to listen to the band Faikure who I have not failed to enjoy and adore so much since I was a tween. Lol. With all that, it helped me to feel less bad about myself and more open to realizing-- maybe that was the kick in the face I needed to get this morning to realizing I'm human just like everyone else.
Glad the part about failure was helpful. I really loved Joe Moran's book. It was interesting and as the subtitle says, nice solace. No one can avoid failure, so we might as well find a way to embrace it.
Oh, sorry, I thought THE YELLOW WIFE was a romance! The cover fooled me. But, okay, historical novels with strong female characters--LADY TAN'S CIRCLE OF WOMEN by Lisa See is awesome, about a female doctor in 15th century China.
Great post, Robyn. Three books I loved this year: "The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy" by Robert P. Jones. "Upstream: Selected Essays" by Mary Oliver. "Why We Love Baseball: A History in 50 Moments" by Joe Posnanski. And yes, I agree with you that Timothy Egan's book was terrific.
Ooh, another tricky one. Have you ever read Howard Bryant? Black sports writer, he's in the additions to the Ken Burns baseball documentaries, the 10th inning? Maybe there's an 11th inning, too? My husband loved his biography of Hank Aaron, which brings in the importance of the racial history of the time to understanding Aaron's life. It's called, THE LAST HERO. He also has a book specifically about Black athletes called, THE HERITAGE: BLACK ATHLETES, A DIVIDED AMERICA. And a biography of Ricky Henderson.
Leaning more in the poetry direction, maybe the poetry of Ross Gay. His essay collections are amazing, but I also loved CATALOG OF UNABASHED GRATITUDE which is poetry. Other poetry--the collection THERE ARE MORE BEAUTIFUL THINGS THAN BEYONCE by Morgan Parker.
Robyn, I have not read Howard Bryant's books, but you've now given me several reasons to check him out. More importantly, I'm as impressed as heck that you can look at three book titles and come up with such interesting options. I wouldn't try this in a million years . . . but then I don't read 200 books a year! I'll check out Bryant, as well as the poetry of Ross Gay and Morgan Parker. Thanks for the suggestions, and thanks for sharing your superpower with us all! DJB
Three books I liked this year, “Holly” by Stephen King, The Lst Bookshop in the World: A Novel of World War II” by Madeline Martin, and “The Wizard’s Butler” by Nathan Lowell.
THE WIZARD'S BUTLER sounds like so much fun! I love what Travis Baldree called novels of "high fantasy with low stakes." So if you haven't read his LEGENDS AND LATTES, it's a hoot! Also started as an indie book and the next book, BOOKSHOPS AND BONEDUST, is set in a bookstore. I also loved ASSISTANT TO THE VILLAIN, by Hannah Nicole Maehrer. I can't tell how horror-ish HOLLY is, but if you want to go in a horror direction, I discovered Darcy Coates this year and loved FROM BELOW which is horror story set in the exploration of an underwater shipwreck. I also love Tananarive Due's horror and she has a new book out this year, THE REFORMATORY. More in the bookstore/library direction, there's a cool fantasy series by A.J. Hackwith that begins with THE LIBRARY OF THE UNWRITTEN.
Thanks for all the great book recs and a BOOK CONCIERGE! This is such fun, a perfect gift for a book nerd. Tough to pick just three, but I'll say THE SHAME by Makenna Goodman, CLOUD CUCKOO LAND by Anthony Doerr, and LADYPARTS by Deborah Copaken. Also, The Biblioracle looks like a great rabbit hole to fall into. Always looking for those lol. Happy holidays! ✨
THE SHAME sounds awesome. Just requested it from the library. In the same vein of women coming into their own, I read this weird book this year, THE LAST ANIMAL, by Ramona Ausubel, about a mother and her daughters and the discovery of a baby wooly mammoth. Yeah, weird like that. If you loved LADYPARTS, you might also like VAGINA OBSCURA by Rachel E. Gross. CLOUD CUCKOO LAND stumps me. That books is so original. Probably you've already read this, but the closest I can think is STATION ELEVEN by Emily St. John Mandel, which is both beautiful and full of hope for humanity in the midst of dark times. We could all use a bit of that, couldn't we?
This is such a lovely gift, Robyn, thanks so much! The Shame was so good, I'd be interested to hear what you think of it. And all these recs are going right on the TBR list (as if it isn't entirely too long already). Oh well, book addiction is the best addiction.💚
I loved Murder Your Employer! I mean, who isn't reading that just on the title alone? Have you read the Murderbot books by Martha Wells? I just saw Apple is making them into a streaming series and they are FANTASTIC! A security cyborg (hence, Murderbot) hacks its control module so it has agency and autonomy. Mostly what it wants to do is avoid humans and watch a lot of the futuristic equivalent of Netflix, but the pesky humans keep getting in the way. I've heard these books described as the most human nonhuman character ever. Murderbot is us. The books start out very short, like novella-length, and then get longer.
You also might like Tamsyn Muir's The Locked Tomb series that begins with Gideon the Ninth. I mean, who can resist lesbian necromancers in space? Not me.
If you liked Love in the Time of Cholera, you might also like Isabel Allende. I loved her historical novel, A LONG PETAL OF THE SEA, about a couple fleeing Franco's Spain on a boat chartered by Pablo Neruda. Also, Luis Alberto Urrea. His novel, THE HUMMINGBIRD'S DAUGHTER, is beautiful with some of that magical realism like Gabriel Garcia Marquez. If you're looking for nonfiction, THE DEVIL'S HIGHWAY is amazing, an account of a group of Mexican men's attempt to cross the border.
Did it make you smile? When you saw what I did there, because I think you did just before you pushed the fire button on your laser guided smart bomb, did you smile?
Thanks so much! BOYSLUT sounds very interesting. In the memoir category and still LGBTQ+, I loved Saeed Jones's HOW WE FIGHT FOR OUR LIVES (also, some complicated mother dynamics there) or BORN BOTH about Hida Viloria who is an intersex activist. I started PAVED PARADISE and it was so fascinating, but then I got busy and it was a library book so I didn't finish it. Thanks for reminding me to go back to it! I found STOLEN FOCUS by Johann Hari to be similar in that he dives deep into one issue--our lack of attention--and sees how it permeates so much of society. If you want to stay with the theme of cars and city building, maybe DIVIDED HIGHWAYS by Tom Lewis.
Boyslut is one of those books that changed my life! I'm always happy to recommend it, but with the warning that it gets pretty spicy. I'm admittedly lacking in reading about LGBTQIA+ topics, and the ones you've recommended sound so interesting.
Stolen Focus and Divided Highways seem like the kind of books I'd buy on impulse, so I'm pretty eager to get to them next
I've never heard of these books, but what a great list! So thanks for new-to-me books! For the nature writing, have you read Robin Wall Kimmerer's BRAIDING SWEETGRASS? About nature and spirituality and the environment. And hopeful. I loved it. In the spirituality/memoir vein, Kate Bowlers, EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON AND OTHER LIES I'VE LOVED, which I loved. I haven't read it, but other people also love her book NO CURE FOR BEING HUMAN. Also nature-ish, THE COMFORT OF CROWS: A YEAR OF BACKYARD LIFE, which I haven't read yet, but very much want to.
Thanks Robyn! Braiding Sweetgrass is one of my favorite reads. Thanks for the reminder to read Kate’s book. I also put The Comfort of Crows on my list.
Hey, Sandy! In the Olive Kitteridge vein, try Stewart O'Nan's EMILY ALONE or also, MAJOR PETTIGREW'S LAST STAND. Both have main characters who are cranky old people. For that matter, A MAN CALLED OVE, though warning, that will probably make you cry. Okay, historical women breaking the rules--THE HOUSEKEEPERS by Alex Hay. Or really anything by Taylor Jenkins Reid, but I liked THE SEVEN HUSBANDS OF EVELYN HUGO. If you liked Demon Copperhead, I'd just read more Barbara Kingsolver. My favs: PRODIGAL SUMMER, THE POISONWOOD BIBLE, THE BEAN TREES. Kingsolver-adjacent would be Louise Erdrich. Or branch out into Isabel Allende. I loved THE LONG PETAL OF THE SEA.
Love the book about Failure. This morning I woke upto an incident that was making me feel like a big time big fat failure and your comments in this section of your newsletter helped me realize-- ya know what? Sometimes I'm going to be a big fat failure and that's okay because we have to accept that life is failure. We all go out the same way and we all fail at the end then I guess we are all failures and all that jazz and with that! I'm going to listen to the band Faikure who I have not failed to enjoy and adore so much since I was a tween. Lol. With all that, it helped me to feel less bad about myself and more open to realizing-- maybe that was the kick in the face I needed to get this morning to realizing I'm human just like everyone else.
And I failed to miss a typo-- the band is called Failure and I'm going to listen to their record Fantastic Planet from 1996 I believe. Xoxo.
Glad the part about failure was helpful. I really loved Joe Moran's book. It was interesting and as the subtitle says, nice solace. No one can avoid failure, so we might as well find a way to embrace it.
Three books I loved this year: "there was an old woman" by Andrea Carlisle; "A Certain Time" by Kate Kasten; and "The Yellow Wife," by Sadeqa Johnson.
This is a tricky list! Have you ever read any Beverly Jenkins? She's been writing Black historical romance for ages. If she had written a memoir it would have been the perfect book! But INDIGO is one of her most famous books, a historical romance set during slavery. Also, this awesome interview with her on NPR: https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2021/02/11/966404855/the-queen-of-black-historical-romance-talks-race-love-and-history
Thanks for playing!
I don't read romance, but I might give her a try.
Oh, sorry, I thought THE YELLOW WIFE was a romance! The cover fooled me. But, okay, historical novels with strong female characters--LADY TAN'S CIRCLE OF WOMEN by Lisa See is awesome, about a female doctor in 15th century China.
Great! I like Lisa See's writing. I'll check out Lady Tan's Circle of Women. Thank you! (I also like historical China, and female doctors! bonus)
Great post, Robyn. Three books I loved this year: "The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy" by Robert P. Jones. "Upstream: Selected Essays" by Mary Oliver. "Why We Love Baseball: A History in 50 Moments" by Joe Posnanski. And yes, I agree with you that Timothy Egan's book was terrific.
Ooh, another tricky one. Have you ever read Howard Bryant? Black sports writer, he's in the additions to the Ken Burns baseball documentaries, the 10th inning? Maybe there's an 11th inning, too? My husband loved his biography of Hank Aaron, which brings in the importance of the racial history of the time to understanding Aaron's life. It's called, THE LAST HERO. He also has a book specifically about Black athletes called, THE HERITAGE: BLACK ATHLETES, A DIVIDED AMERICA. And a biography of Ricky Henderson.
Leaning more in the poetry direction, maybe the poetry of Ross Gay. His essay collections are amazing, but I also loved CATALOG OF UNABASHED GRATITUDE which is poetry. Other poetry--the collection THERE ARE MORE BEAUTIFUL THINGS THAN BEYONCE by Morgan Parker.
Thanks for playing!
Robyn, I have not read Howard Bryant's books, but you've now given me several reasons to check him out. More importantly, I'm as impressed as heck that you can look at three book titles and come up with such interesting options. I wouldn't try this in a million years . . . but then I don't read 200 books a year! I'll check out Bryant, as well as the poetry of Ross Gay and Morgan Parker. Thanks for the suggestions, and thanks for sharing your superpower with us all! DJB
Three books I liked this year, “Holly” by Stephen King, The Lst Bookshop in the World: A Novel of World War II” by Madeline Martin, and “The Wizard’s Butler” by Nathan Lowell.
THE WIZARD'S BUTLER sounds like so much fun! I love what Travis Baldree called novels of "high fantasy with low stakes." So if you haven't read his LEGENDS AND LATTES, it's a hoot! Also started as an indie book and the next book, BOOKSHOPS AND BONEDUST, is set in a bookstore. I also loved ASSISTANT TO THE VILLAIN, by Hannah Nicole Maehrer. I can't tell how horror-ish HOLLY is, but if you want to go in a horror direction, I discovered Darcy Coates this year and loved FROM BELOW which is horror story set in the exploration of an underwater shipwreck. I also love Tananarive Due's horror and she has a new book out this year, THE REFORMATORY. More in the bookstore/library direction, there's a cool fantasy series by A.J. Hackwith that begins with THE LIBRARY OF THE UNWRITTEN.
Thanks for playing!
Thanks for the thoughtful suggestions. I will let you know how they work out! I feel like you ought to be running a bookstore.
Oh, I wish I were running a bookstore. Or at least working in one. Maybe someday!
You have a lot if very interesting titles on your bookshelf!
Thanks! I am curious about A LOT of things.
Thanks for all the great book recs and a BOOK CONCIERGE! This is such fun, a perfect gift for a book nerd. Tough to pick just three, but I'll say THE SHAME by Makenna Goodman, CLOUD CUCKOO LAND by Anthony Doerr, and LADYPARTS by Deborah Copaken. Also, The Biblioracle looks like a great rabbit hole to fall into. Always looking for those lol. Happy holidays! ✨
THE SHAME sounds awesome. Just requested it from the library. In the same vein of women coming into their own, I read this weird book this year, THE LAST ANIMAL, by Ramona Ausubel, about a mother and her daughters and the discovery of a baby wooly mammoth. Yeah, weird like that. If you loved LADYPARTS, you might also like VAGINA OBSCURA by Rachel E. Gross. CLOUD CUCKOO LAND stumps me. That books is so original. Probably you've already read this, but the closest I can think is STATION ELEVEN by Emily St. John Mandel, which is both beautiful and full of hope for humanity in the midst of dark times. We could all use a bit of that, couldn't we?
Thanks for playing!
This is such a lovely gift, Robyn, thanks so much! The Shame was so good, I'd be interested to hear what you think of it. And all these recs are going right on the TBR list (as if it isn't entirely too long already). Oh well, book addiction is the best addiction.💚
Truly. If I'm going to be addicted so something, let it be books!
Murder Your Employer (Rupert Holmes), The Gods Themselves (Asimov), Shadow of the Scorpion (Neal)... i rlly love science military fiction
I loved Murder Your Employer! I mean, who isn't reading that just on the title alone? Have you read the Murderbot books by Martha Wells? I just saw Apple is making them into a streaming series and they are FANTASTIC! A security cyborg (hence, Murderbot) hacks its control module so it has agency and autonomy. Mostly what it wants to do is avoid humans and watch a lot of the futuristic equivalent of Netflix, but the pesky humans keep getting in the way. I've heard these books described as the most human nonhuman character ever. Murderbot is us. The books start out very short, like novella-length, and then get longer.
You also might like Tamsyn Muir's The Locked Tomb series that begins with Gideon the Ninth. I mean, who can resist lesbian necromancers in space? Not me.
Thanks for playing and re-stacking!
oooo murderbot has that sweet, sweet clickbait title that i just can’t resist! thanks for the recs!!
You’re most welcome!
Men Who Stare at Goats, Love in the Time of Cholera, and Ben Franklin’s Autobiography.
If you liked Love in the Time of Cholera, you might also like Isabel Allende. I loved her historical novel, A LONG PETAL OF THE SEA, about a couple fleeing Franco's Spain on a boat chartered by Pablo Neruda. Also, Luis Alberto Urrea. His novel, THE HUMMINGBIRD'S DAUGHTER, is beautiful with some of that magical realism like Gabriel Garcia Marquez. If you're looking for nonfiction, THE DEVIL'S HIGHWAY is amazing, an account of a group of Mexican men's attempt to cross the border.
Thanks for playing!
I wondered how you would navigate that one. Excellent job, Robyn.
Thanks!
Did it make you smile? When you saw what I did there, because I think you did just before you pushed the fire button on your laser guided smart bomb, did you smile?
This was a great post!
Three books I loved this year: "I'm glad my mom died" by Jennette McCurdy, "Boyslut" by Zachary Zane, and "Paved Paradise" by Henry Grabar
Thanks so much! BOYSLUT sounds very interesting. In the memoir category and still LGBTQ+, I loved Saeed Jones's HOW WE FIGHT FOR OUR LIVES (also, some complicated mother dynamics there) or BORN BOTH about Hida Viloria who is an intersex activist. I started PAVED PARADISE and it was so fascinating, but then I got busy and it was a library book so I didn't finish it. Thanks for reminding me to go back to it! I found STOLEN FOCUS by Johann Hari to be similar in that he dives deep into one issue--our lack of attention--and sees how it permeates so much of society. If you want to stay with the theme of cars and city building, maybe DIVIDED HIGHWAYS by Tom Lewis.
Thanks for playing!
Those all sound amazing! Thank you so much!!
Boyslut is one of those books that changed my life! I'm always happy to recommend it, but with the warning that it gets pretty spicy. I'm admittedly lacking in reading about LGBTQIA+ topics, and the ones you've recommended sound so interesting.
Stolen Focus and Divided Highways seem like the kind of books I'd buy on impulse, so I'm pretty eager to get to them next
Thank you again! Here's to more reading in 2024!
You're so welcome. Spicy is good! Yes, all the reading in 2024!
This Here Flesh by Cole Arthur Riley, Nature’s Best Hope by Douglas Tallamy and What Looks like Bravery by Laurel Braitman
I've never heard of these books, but what a great list! So thanks for new-to-me books! For the nature writing, have you read Robin Wall Kimmerer's BRAIDING SWEETGRASS? About nature and spirituality and the environment. And hopeful. I loved it. In the spirituality/memoir vein, Kate Bowlers, EVERYTHING HAPPENS FOR A REASON AND OTHER LIES I'VE LOVED, which I loved. I haven't read it, but other people also love her book NO CURE FOR BEING HUMAN. Also nature-ish, THE COMFORT OF CROWS: A YEAR OF BACKYARD LIFE, which I haven't read yet, but very much want to.
Thanks for playing, Mary! And happy new year!
Thanks Robyn! Braiding Sweetgrass is one of my favorite reads. Thanks for the reminder to read Kate’s book. I also put The Comfort of Crows on my list.
Happy New Year!
BRADING SWEETGRASS a beautiful book. Just also thought of Annie Dillard's PILGRIM AT TINKER CREEK, which is a book I read over and over again.
Yes! Totally worth a reread. Thanks for that reminder. I just write about Braiding Sweetgrass on Sunday. I love her expanding definition of motherhood. https://open.substack.com/pub/pocketfulofprose/p/a-new-year-a-new-story?r=qqbxq&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web
Beautiful post, Mary!
Thank you! Thanks so much for reading and commenting!
Lessons in Chemistry, Olive Kitteridge, Demon Copperhead.
Hey, Sandy! In the Olive Kitteridge vein, try Stewart O'Nan's EMILY ALONE or also, MAJOR PETTIGREW'S LAST STAND. Both have main characters who are cranky old people. For that matter, A MAN CALLED OVE, though warning, that will probably make you cry. Okay, historical women breaking the rules--THE HOUSEKEEPERS by Alex Hay. Or really anything by Taylor Jenkins Reid, but I liked THE SEVEN HUSBANDS OF EVELYN HUGO. If you liked Demon Copperhead, I'd just read more Barbara Kingsolver. My favs: PRODIGAL SUMMER, THE POISONWOOD BIBLE, THE BEAN TREES. Kingsolver-adjacent would be Louise Erdrich. Or branch out into Isabel Allende. I loved THE LONG PETAL OF THE SEA.
Thanks. A man called ove did make me cry. Really not difficult; commercials do so often.
I've read most Kingsolver so glad to try the 2 other author options. Anxious to read your suggested books.
Thanks again.
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Thanks so much for the mention, Robyn! And Happy New Year! <3