so i’m what you call a reader. i read. i like book. i’ve read about 17 book this year (my goal was 20 and that doesn’t look like it’s happening) so i thought i’d make a list of the books that i read and finished. (this means i’m not talking about books i started and didn’t like, or books i had to read for work). let’s gooooo!
cursed bunny by bora chung
a freaky little book with some gross short stories (love). no two stories are the same. the first one is about a head in a toilet that calls the main character mother. there’s one about a fox that bleeds gold and talks. it’s crazy. i loved loved loved it. i wrote about it for the store’s blog and her editor sent me the manuscript for her next book, i haven’t read it yet but i CAN’T WAIT.
in the dream house by carmen maria machado
WOOF, dawg. this book is incredible. it’s a memoir told in vignettes about carmen’s experience in an abusive relationship. because it’s told in that style it makes it so much easier to take a second if things get too heavy. she came to the store and i told her that when i read it i had a nightmare and she went “oh my god, really? about what?” then she took a second and went “wait, i can’t ask you that”. queen. loved it.
big swiss by jen beagin
it’s gay, it’s quirky, it’s dry, it’s fun. jen beagin does this thing that i love that authors do which is letting the narrator have an opinion on what’s happening. so fun! i loved how gay it was and how sex was described in it. slay.
pretend i’m dead by jen beagin
i couldn’t let jen go. this one was quick and fun and a little dark, i’ll say. cw: sexual abuse. i can easily see this becoming a movie and if rachel sennott isn’t in it i’ll kill.
carnality by lina wolff
i picked this up because of the cover and because my friend zoe said she loved it. this is a freaky little frame story about an underground couples counseling show but is also about a woman who’s a caretaker but also about a man who cheated on his wife and kind of lost his mind. it’s so good. marcos read it and said he wasn’t super crazy about it. don’t listen to him.
candelaria by melissa lozada-oliva
i can talk about melissa’s work for hours. i think this was one of if not my favorite books this year. i truly can’t talk about it without spoiling it. this book reminded me of something my mom said once when talking about my grandma: “she is who she is because it’s all she knows”. this book made me look at my grandma, my mom, and myself with more grace and humanity. plus it’s got zombies and a weeeeeeee bit of cannibalism. i want to give melissa’s mind a lil kiss.
ripe by sarah rose etter
didn’t like it. whoops! pearl and i read it together as a lil mini book club because i got a galley and the finished copy (the publisher was BEGGING me to like it) and i didn’t. i read it as satire and maybe it wasn’t but oh well! my favorite part of the book was the little black hole that follows her around and has it’s own personality. otherwise, eh. pearl liked it, though!
yellowface by r. f. kuang
i think this was the book i finished the fastest this year. i loved it! it’s a page turner for sure. i love a book with an unlikable narrator and i found myself becoming more and more convinced by her reasonings. i was like “wait she’s kind of right” and then immediately like “wait no this is racist and horrible” which i think just means r. f. kuang is just a really great writer. i did think the end was a bit much, but i’m wondering if that’s just because she’s such an unreliable narrator that by the end she kind of just loses it. worth reading!
peluda by melissa lozada-oliva
as a hairy bitch myself i loved it. melissa is just so good at portraying friendships and love. reading her talk about her sisters makes me forget i don’t have any. does that make sense?
misfits by michaela coel
short and so powerful. i literally love every single thing she does. this was about artistry and responsibility when it comes to diversity and who the fault actually falls on. she talks about racism in the film industry and about how she couldn’t smell for a while. so so SO good.
bluets by maggie nelson
i liked this overall. i think it’s one of those books that you should read to say you’ve read it. i will say i wanted more about her personal life over the history of the color blue, but i will say it did have me noticing, seeing and loving my favorite colors more often.
a guest in the house by emily carroll
this is the first graphic novel i’ve read in a while and i LOVED it. the human mind is crazy and can do a lot of things when convinced of a certain truth. i loved the art style, i loved the way it felt so alive. i read it in one sitting at work and will probably read it again soon.
my sister, the serial killer by oyinkan braithwaithe
sent to me by marcos’ mom, sandra! we have similar taste in books and she really slayed with this one. it’s giving dexter but black and sexier. i loved the characters and in the end i’m rooting for my two queens.
glossy by marisa meltzer
love gossip, love marisa, loved this. i met marisa at work, she signed a copy to me, and the rest was history. why did they have portraits of beyonce, michelle obama, and frida kahlo in their offices? why didn’t they have an hr? a mess.
jonathan abernathy you are kind by molly mcghee
this is one of those books that’s really giving “wow, a book really can be anything” and i mean that in the best way. i don’t want to say molly was exclusively playing with form, but it’s the closest to it out of all the books i’ve read this year. it’s funny, it’s smart, it’s touching. the last four pages had me gasping and i actually gripped my chest and cried out in pain by the last page. also, when selling this book i always recommend reading her acknowledgements first. they’re really beautiful. i think knowing molly (even just through her acknowledgements) gives you such a stronger sense of what she was trying to do with this book. a slay slay slay slay slay!
monstrilio by gerardo samano cordova
i’m not kidding i think this might have been my favorite book this year, next to candelaria, ofc. it’s just such a beautiful depiction of grief, love, queerness, you name it. there’s really something to be said of the prose written by someone who is a spanish speaker. it’s so beautiful, so poetic, so loving and touching. plus that lil guy on the cover is so cute!
gentlemen callers by corrine hoex
my first erotica, again, recommended by zoe. there isn’t anything sexier than a metaphor, huh?
the dangers of smoking in bed by mariana enriquez
i’m on the last story and i LOVE it. the text is gorg, it’s spooky as hell, violent and gross at times. it makes me want to read her most recent book. it’s a fun read despite the gore, if you’re into that sort of thing! lotta poop, though. fair warning.
like i said, i have two more books to read to hit my goal but i don’t think that’s happening. which is ok! looking at my storygraph stats i realized i would go a month or two at a time without reading something (or, rather, finishing something). this is a fun goal to work on! next year i think i’m going to keep it at twenty but try and finish books quicker and more consistently. i also want to challenge myself to read thicker books. most of those books up there are skinny minis. i always joke that i tap out around 250 pages unless it’s really good but i’m sure i’m missing out on some good shit!
some books i want to read asap are:
chain gang all stars by nana kwame adjei-brenyah
i can’t stop thinking about it and all of my coworkers who have read it loved it
the secret history by donna tartt
i need to relive that saltburn fire and everyone keeps saying they’re similar
the book of form and emptiness by ruth ozeki
this one is like 500 pages but is sounds so cool
gingerbread by helen oyeyemi
i’m pretty sure if i don’t read a helen oyeyemi book soon pearl is going to kill me where i lie
shark heart by emily habeck
this just sounds so surreal and fun
a lot more that i’m forgetting about!
thanks for reading! happy new year, or whatever!
xoxo