Book Lists
As someone who is often described as stoic and emotionless, I sometimes like to surprise people by telling them about reading a book that made me cry. My students have an especially difficult time believing this, even though I have felt myself start to get choked up on several occasions while reading to them. But in all honesty, I love when books make me cry, and I frequently ask people for recommendations of tearjerkers. So, just in case there are other weirdos out there who are in need of a good cry – and in honor of my most recent re-read of Firefly Lane – I thought I would provide you with a list of some of the books that have made me cry the hardest over the years.
Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo The Crossover by Kwame Alexander Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry by Fredrik Backman The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky Unbecoming by Jenny Downham If I Stay by Gayle Forman How to Make Friends With the Dark by Kathleen Glasgow The Fault in Our Stars by John Green Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini Monday’s Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger Bang by Barry Lyga The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough Atonement by Ian McEwan The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness Before I Let Go by Marieke Nijkamp All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven Wonder by R.J. Palacio Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera Winger by Andrew Smith All the Rage by Courtney Summers Before Green Gables by Budgie Wilson Where Am I Now? by Mara Wilson Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
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Folks, 2023 was not my year when it came to reading. Having finished 141 books in 2022, I figured it would make sense to set my 2023 goal at 145 books. Well, 2023 brought a handful of pretty major life events, all of which severely cut into my reading time and I managed a mere 91 books. I know, I know! I’m ashamed of myself, too! But, as always, I wanted to share with you the books I enjoyed most from the year, though, to be perfectly honest, this wasn’t my best year in terms of loving the things I read.
1. Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo I did my best to avoid spoilers for this book over the years, and I’m glad I did, because parts of it were a major punch in the gut. This book broke my heart, but also gave me hope. It’s one of those I’ll likely revisit several more times in the coming years. 2. The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D. Jackson I love Tiffany D. Jackson and I love Stephen King’s Carrie. So it should come as no surprise that this landed toward the top of my list. It held onto the unique format and several basic plotlines from Carrie while giving it a wonderfully modern twist. I’ve now read almost all of Jackson’s novels, and this is my favorite so far. 3. The Confessions of Frannie Langton by Sara Collins After seeing several TikToks about the Frannie Langton TV series, I knew I had to read it. Collins does a great job of using language that gives the book the feeling of being a classic, but includes way more spicy scenes than anyone from that time period would have allowed in their literature. It gave me Wide Sargasso Sea vibes, and that’s one of my all-time favorite books, so I really enjoyed reading this one. 4. The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes In all honesty, I don’t remember as many details about this book as I thought I would since I read it way back in February. I found it the perfect amount of unsettling and liked most of the characters, despite the dumb decisions they often made. One thing I really liked in this book was the amount of detail given to even the most minor of characters. 5. In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez My only regret about this book is that I listened to the audio version instead of reading it myself. Normally, that isn’t a problem, but in this case, there were too many narrators. Each of the sisters had chapters from their points of view, and each sister had her own narrator. Unfortunately, the narrators all sounded pretty similar to each other, so it was sometimes difficult to know which sister was the focus of each chapter. 6. The Girl Who Smiled Beads by Clemantine Wamariya This is the third memoir I’ve read about the Rwandan genocide, and is by far the one that had the biggest impact on me. The other memoirs I’ve read on this topic took a more religious and forgiving tone, whereas Wamariya openly struggles with her anger toward the people who wanted her dead. This made her story feel more realistic and relatable. It was a very short book, though, so I hope she writes more about her life in the future. 7. Monday’s Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson Oh, look! Another Tiffany D. Jackson book! This book has one of those endings that will likely divide readers into either loving it or hating it. Personally, I loved it, because it was genuinely surprising. And, like all of Jackson’s books, this one is pretty heartbreaking, but also leaves you with a lot to think about. 8. Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston This book was so much better than I anticipated! I assumed it was going to be a fairly generic (though queer) romance, but it ended up being incredibly well-written, sweet, a little sad, but altogether an absolutely delightful read. 9. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier I’ve been meaning to get to this book for years, and finally decided it was time. I knew the basics of the plot before I read it, but I was actually kind of surprised by who the villain turned out to be. My only complaint is that I wish the narrator had been a bit more strong-willed instead of letting everyone push her around all the time. 10. Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danticat This was the first book I finished in 2023, so I’ll admit I don’t remember all of the details. I do remember, however, that the ending pretty much wrecked me emotionally. There you have my Top 10. Now for the rest of my top 2023 reads in list form: 11. Loud in the House of Myself by Stacy Pershall 12. When Two Feathers Fell from the Sky by Margaret Verble 13. Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi 14. Hurricane Child by Kacen Callender 15. To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo 16. Mudbound by Hillary Jordan 17. Harvest by Catherine Landis 18. Me Before You by Jojo Moyes 19. The Sunshine Sisters by Jane Green 20. Lucie Yi is Not a Romantic by Lauren Ho 21. I Wish You All the Best by Mason Deaver 22. A Winter’s Promise by Christelle Dabos 23. People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks 24. Bel Canto by Ann Patchett 25. Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon 26. River of Teeth by Sarah Gailey As always, I welcome any and all recommendations. Happy New Year and Happy Reading! Folks, I almost didn’t make it to this year’s goal. Since I read 135 books last year, I decided to bump my goal to 140 books for 2022. Well, December 1st rolled around and I was still 25 books short, so I kicked it into high gear and managed to finish book 141 on December 29. Will I learn from this and set a more easily achievable goal for 2023? Probably not. But that’s tomorrow’s problem. For now, I’d like to share with you the books I liked most this year.
Hold on. Before I start, I would like to say that these top four were almost impossible to rank because I thought they were all basically perfect. So it’s pretty much a 4-way tie for my favorite book for the year. Okay, now I’m ready. 1. The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab I can say with 100% certainty that I will re-read this book at least 10 times throughout my life. I loved every second spent with Addie LaRue and my only complaint is that this book wasn’t 2,000 pages, because I would have gladly let myself be sucked into this world even longer. I understand why V.E. Schwab kept jumping over chunks of Addie’s life, but I would have been perfectly content to read about every single day she lived. 2. The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett Brit Bennett’s first book was one of my favorites back in 2017, and I liked this one even better. The characters are so deeply complex and my heart broke for them over and over, even when I wanted to shake them and tell them to make better decisions. Also, I need Brit Bennett to write at least 500 more books, because the two she’s written so far are absolutely beautiful and I desperately need more. 3. Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher I finally grabbed a copy of this after hearing about it for months on my favorite book podcast. Based on the title and cover, I assumed it was going to be a creepy fantasy novel. I was incorrect. This book is hilarious and heartbreaking and fantastical and I could give you a whole list of adjectives, but instead I’m just going to recommend it to everyone who will listen. 4. Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune TJ Klune grabbed the #2 spot in 2021 with The House in the Cerulean Sea, and I loved this one only slightly less. I didn’t have high hopes for it, because several people had told me it wasn’t nearly as good. I was pleasantly surprised, because this book was a delight. I was immediately pulled into these characters’ lives and I was legitimately sad when the book was over and I had to re-emerge into my own life. 5. Before Green Gables by Budge Wilson I’ve loved the world of Green Gables since I was little and wore out our VHS tapes of the Megan Follows Anne of Green Gables miniseries. Then, when Anne with an E hit Netflix, I obsessively watched that. So I was both excited and nervous about this book, because I was sure it couldn’t live up to my high expectations. As usual, though, I was quickly proven wrong. This book covers Anne’s life before she was sent to live with Matthew and Marilla, and Budge Wilson does an amazing job capturing the world of Anne Shirley’s imagination. I’ll warn you, though, this book has some absolutely devastating moments, so read it with some tissues nearby. 6. The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi When I started this book, I felt kind of indifferent toward it. The more time I spent within the world of the book, though, the more it got under my skin in the best possible way. Akwaeke Emezi is one of those writers who somehow manages to pick only the most perfect words for every single sentence and I now want to read everything they’ve ever written and everything they will write in the future. 7. Before I Let Go by Marieke Nijkamp This book caught me completely off guard and knocked me on my ass. Marieke Nijkamp is kind of a hit-or-miss author for me, but the way they wrote the friendship in this book hit way too close to home and I’m honestly surprised I didn’t spend most of this book bawling. 8. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller We all know the basic story of Achilles, right? (If not, maybe skip this blurb, because I’m about to spoil something.) We all know Achilles is killed by Paris during the Trojan War. But even knowing that the main characters in this book were going to die, I was still very upset when it happened. Also, Madeline Miller writes some gorgeous sentences. 9. They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera Much like The Song of Achilles, I went into this book knowing the fate of the main characters. In this case, the title literally tells you what’s going to become of them. But again, even knowing the main characters are going to die, I was devastated when it happened. 10. Read Between the Lines by Rachel Lacey Look, no one is more surprised than I am to see a romance novel in my top 10. But this story was so cute! Yes, it’s predictable and hits all of the major romance tropes, but I didn’t even care. All I wanted was for the two main characters to get together and I was so excited when they did. As usual, I’ve reached my limit for writing blurbs. So, I’m just going to list the others. 11. Never Have I Ever by Isabel Yap 12. The Proposal by Jasmine Guillory 13. Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton 14. Bone Gap by Laura Ruby 15. We Ride Upon Sticks by Quan Barry 16. Carol by Patricia Highsmith 17. 90s Bitch: Media, Culture, and the Failed Promise of Gender Equality by Allison Yarrow 18. Gabi, a Girl in Pieces by Isabel Quintero 19. The Sentence by Louise Erdrich 20. The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner 21. I’m Not Dying With You Tonight by Kimberly Jones & Gilly Segal 22. Working on a Song: The Lyrics of Hadestown by Anais Mitchell 23. We’re Going to Need More Wine by Gabrielle Union 24. Black Girls Must Die Exhausted by Jayne Allen 25. The Ophelia Girls by Jane Healey 26. The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi 27. Fruit of the Drunken Tree by Ingrid Rojas Contreras 28. The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness 29. Q by Evan Mandery 30. American War by Omar El Akkad 31. Nagasaki: Life After Nuclear War by Susan Southard 32. Calypso by David Sedaris 33. The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore As always, I welcome any and all recommendations. Happy New Year and Happy Reading! Because I continue to be exactly the same person I’ve always been, I have once again compiled some stats about my reading life. For those of you who read my post about this last year, I hope that enough has changed throughout this year to keep things interesting. For those of you who are new to my stats obsession: Welcome and I apologize.
Last year, I did a little write-up to explain my stats, but I feel that they’re pretty self-explanatory. So this year, you’re just getting lists of the top few stats for each category. If you would like more information about anything, feel free to ask. To remind everyone, I started tracking my reading in May 2005, right after I graduated 8th grade, so these stats are from May 2005 through December 2022. Total Books Read: 1,630 Total Pages Read: 502,017 (Fun fact: In 8th grade, we had to make a goal we wanted to accomplish by the end of the school year. I said I wanted to read 1,000,000 pages. I clearly underestimated how long that would take considering it’s taken me 17.5 years to get halfway to a million.) Re-Read Books: Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys (6 times) To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (6 times) The Body by Stephen King (5 times) (Someday, when I’m no longer a teacher, I’ll be interested to see if a book that’s not part of my curriculum makes its way into the top 3.) Authors: Stephen King (44 books) Mary Higgins Clark (29 books) Margaret Peterson Haddix (15 books) Meg Cabot (15 books) Gender Breakdown of Authors: 1,014 female authors 720 male authors 6 non-binary authors Page Ranges: 300-399 pages: 557 books 200-299 pages: 479 books 100-199 pages: 266 books (I’ve still read only 5 books that were over 1,000 pages, so let me know if you can recommend a good door stopper of a novel.) Genres: Coming-of-Age: 139 books Historical Fiction: 138 books Fantasy: 123 books Reading Levels: Adult: 822 books Young Adult: 620 books Middle Grade: 189 books Publishing Years: 2017: 155 books 2016: 151 books 2015: 95 books (I clearly need to read more new releases, as I’ve read only 4 books published in 2022.) Reading Formats: Physical Copies: 1,317 books Digital ARCs: 167 books Audiobooks: 136 books Where I Get the Books: My Personal Library: 436 books Oberlin Library: 264 books Hays Library: 233 books Would I Recommend a Book to Others? Yes: 1,478 books No: 153 books Nationality of Authors: American: 1,237 authors British: 146 authors Canadian: 49 authors (I’m really working on this one, I promise!) White Authors: 1,435 authors Authors of Color: 154 authors (I’m also really working on this one!) I recently discovered that Book Riot has a very intense spreadsheet that I’m going to use to track my reading in 2023 (in addition to the spreadsheet I’ve been using for years, of course). At the moment, I’m trying to convince myself that I absolutely do not need to copy that spreadsheet and attempt to input ALL of my data from the past 17.5 years into it. So far, I’ve kept myself from doing it. But it makes the charts for you, so I’m pretty sure I’ll give in eventually. As someone who is endlessly fascinated by the lives of others, it’s no surprise that I love reading memoirs. I also find that memoirs are one of the easiest genres to recommend, because you can usually find something to interest any kind of reader.
Now, because I love ranking books, I originally planned to list my 20 favorite memoirs. But then I realized this post works better if I just break up the books into categories. So, I present to you the memoirs I always recommend based on what type of story someone is asking for (listed in alphabetical order by the author’s last name, because I’m not a monster): If they want something that might make them cry but will definitely make them laugh out loud: 1. Candy Girl by Diablo Cody 2. When Life Gives You Pears by Jeannie Gaffigan 3. Stay Sexy & Don’t Get Murdered: The Definitive How-To Guide by Karen Kilgariff & Georgia Hardstark 4. Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson If they want something that sounds too crazy to possibly be a true story: 1. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt 2. Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs 3. Left to Tell by Immaculee Ilibagiza 4. I Am I Am I Am by Maggie O’Farrell 5. Look Me in the Eye by John Elder Robison 6. The Sound of Gravel by Ruth Wariner 7. Educated by Tara Westover If they want something written by a celebrity (in these cases, I always recommend the audiobook if it’s read by the author): 1. Home by Julie Andrews 2. I Want to be Where the Normal People Are by Rachel Bloom 3. As You Wish by Cary Elwes 4. Talking as Fast as I Can by Lauren Graham 5. Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick 6. We’re Going to Need More Wine by Gabrielle Union 7. Where Am I Now? by Mara Wilson If they want something to make them feel better about life: 1. 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff 2. How to be a Family by Dan Kois 3. Call the Midwife by Jennifer Worth And finally, if they want something that will make them think about the world around them and inspire them to try to help others: 1. P.S. Your Not Listening by Eleanor Craig (Side note: The spelling of "your" in the title is intentional, not a misspelling on my part.) 2. Hand to Mouth: Living in Bootstrap America by Linda Tirado I have no doubt that I’m missing several categories and also hundreds of memoirs. But as you all know, I’m always looking for more books to read. So if you have some go-to memoir recommendations, don’t hesitate to let me know. My reading goal for 2021 was 52 books. I figured that no matter how busy my life got, I could at least manage one book a week. But then one of my co-workers and I got into a little bit of a competition with each other and I ended up reading 135 books instead. And, as always, I’m here to tell you which ones I liked the most.
1. These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong I hate Romeo and Juliet, but for some reason, I tend to love retellings of it. In this version, set in Shanghai in the 1920s, Juliette is the heir to a ruthless Chinese gang and Roma is fighting to one day take charge of a rival group of Russian gangsters. But their blood feud has to take a backseat to the sudden wave of “madness” taking over the city and causing people to tear out their own throats. This book was bloody and suspenseful and romantic and I highly recommend reading it and then immediately grabbing the sequel, Our Violent Ends. 2. The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune A friend of mine recommended this book and it happened to be on Hoopla, so I decided to give it a listen. I ended up listening to the entire book in one day, only pausing it when absolutely necessary. It is one of the funniest, most heartwarming, wonderfully characterized books I’ve read in years and it will likely remain one of my favorites for years to come. 3. Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley This was one of the first books I read in 2021, and I wasn’t sure anything would knock it from the #1 spot. I assumed it was just going to be your usual coming-of-age story about a girl trying to figure out what to do with her life after high school. But when her best friend is murdered in front of her (Not a spoiler! It happens almost immediately!) everything she’s ever known is torn apart and she’s forced to take part in a dangerous investigation. I know this was Angeline Boulley’s debut novel, but you can tell she’s been writing for a while, because this book was so amazingly well-written. 4. Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé One of the book podcasters I follow described this book as Get Out meets Gossip Girl. Now, I haven’t watched either of those, but I know enough about them to understand the comparison. This book has everything you could want in a thriller about rich kids at an exclusive private school and I was absolutely here for it. 5. The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner This was the last book I read in 2021. I picked it up because Jeff Zentner is supposed to be the 2022 keynote speaker at a conference I attend every year, so I figured I should familiarize myself with some of his work. I almost always go into books without knowing anything about them, and based on the title, I assumed The Serpent King was going to be a fantasy novel. It absolutely is not. Nevertheless, I was invested in the three main characters from the beginning and I think it’s safe to say Zentner is one of the best character writers I’ve read in a long time. Also, if you read this one, I recommend keeping some tissues on hand, because I ugly-cried for about the second half of the book. 6. At Any Cost: A Father’s Betrayal, a Wife’s Murder, and a Ten-Year War for Justice by Rebecca Rosenberg This book pissed me off more than anything else I read this year. The writing was great, but the subject matter was infuriating. It tells the true story of Rod Covlin, who murdered his wife and then spent the next decade manipulating his children (and everyone else around him) to keep himself out of jail. As a true crime junkie, this book was right up my alley, but be warned: some of the things Covlin does, and convinces others to do, are absolutely disgusting. 7. Broken (in the best possible way) by Jenny Lawson I will read anything Jenny Lawson writes, and I will love every single word. I pre-ordered this book the second it was available, and read the whole book the day it arrived. 8. Dividing Eden by Joelle Charbonneau I grabbed this one because I liked Joelle Charbonneau’s Testing trilogy. This book is nothing like those books, but in my opinion, it’s better. It tells the story of twins who are forced to fight each other to inherit a throne neither of them wants. But they both have dark secrets that only the other can use against them. I definitely liked one twin more than the other, but I still found myself constantly flipping between which one I was rooting for throughout the story. 9. Ordinary Grace by William Kent Krueger This one was recommended by one of my aunts, and I was surprised by how much I loved it. It started out as just a regular small-town family drama and then became so much more. It’s impossible to know which characters to trust and who to feel sorry for. All of the characters were so well-written and I sobbed through several chapters. 10. Wolf Hollow by Lauren Wolk This is one of the best middle-grade novels I’ve ever read. I even ended up feeling sorry for the antagonist by the end, because Lauren Wolk makes her characters so believable that you can’t help but want the best for every single one of them. Y’all know how much I hate writing blurbs, so the rest of these I’m just going to list. 11. The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill 12. Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo 13. Gather the Daughters by Jennie Melamed 14. The Survivors by Jane Harper 15. Girl, 11 by Amy Suiter Clarke 16. The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd 17. Unbecoming by Jenny Downham 18. A Blade So Black by L.L McKinney 19. The Maidens by Alex Michaelides 20. The Devil Crept In by Ania Ahlborn 21. Dear Martin by Nic Stone 22. These is My Words by Nancy E. Turner 23. Her Name Was Rose by Claire Allan 24. ‘Til the Well Runs Dry by Lauren Francis-Sharma 25. 22 Britannia Road by Amanda Hodgkinson I hope you enjoyed my list of my favorite books I read in 2021. Let me know if you have any recommendations for next year’s reading, and here’s to hoping 2022 is better all around. Earlier this year, I decided to combine a few of my favorite things: books, lists, and data. I considered making a fun bullet-journal chart out of the results, but that was starting to take up way too much space. So instead I just kept track in a Word document, which is less fun but more practical.
I started keeping track of every book I read in May 2005, right after graduating from the 8th grade. Using the information from that spreadsheet, this is what I’ve discovered: The book I’ve read the most is Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys, which I’ve read 5 times. Tied for second place are The Body by Stephen King, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, and The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin, all of which I’ve read 4 times. While I love all of these books, I probably would not have read them so many times if I didn’t teach them every year. My most-read book that isn’t part of my classroom curriculum is Need by Carrie Jones. I’ve read this book 3 times because I re-read it every time the next book in the series came out. Unsurprisingly, the author I’ve read the most is Stephen King. Considering that I’m attempting to read all of his works in chronological order, it’s a little pathetic that I’ve only read 42 of his books up to this point. At a slightly distant second place is Mary Higgins Clark. I was a little surprised I’ve read only 29 of her books, considering I’ve been reading her stuff since the 5th grade. Coming in third place with 15 books is Meg Cabot, probably because I got really into her books during my first two years of high school. I’m very proud to say that I read way more female authors than male authors. I’ve read female authors 922 times, male authors 672 times, and non-binary authors 2 times. It’s possible that I’ve actually read a few more non-binary authors than that, but those were the only two who specifically identified as non-binary on their “about the author” page. December tends to be my best reading month, probably because of Christmas break. It could also be because December is when I realize that I need to hurry up and attempt to meet my Goodreads goal, so I try to cram in as many books as possible. February, on the other hand, is usually my worst reading month, likely because it’s the shortest month. So far, my best reading year was 2017. I read 220 books that year, and I’m pretty sure it’s because I put myself on a book-buying ban that year, but set aside $1 for every book I read, which I was then allowed to use to buy new books in 2018. Most of the books I read (496 of them) are between 300 and 399 pages long, though I also read a lot of books (448 of them) in the 200 to 299 page range. I’ve read only 5 books that were longer than 1,000 pages, so I might need to work on reading more super-long books. My most-read genre is historical fiction with 129 books, probably because a lot of the books I teach fall into that category. I also read a lot of coming-of-age books (127 of them), but that could be because I often put books into that genre if they’re about young adults and I don’t know what else to label them. I was surprised to discover that I’ve read way more books targeted toward adults (751) than those written for young adults (575). I haven’t read many middle grade novels (164), which isn’t surprising considering I kind of skipped over those even when I was in junior high. I tend to read way more backlist titles than new books, so I’m kind of surprised that most of the books I’ve read were published in 2016 and 2017, 147 and 143 respectively. I’m not sure, though, if I read them right after they came out, or if I’ve read them in the last couple years when they were no longer brand new. Unsurprisingly, I read way more physical copies of books than any other format, with 1,248 of my books being paper copies. I’ve gotten more into audiobooks lately, so those are making a slow rise, though I’m still at only 67 of those. The majority of my books come from my own personal collection, with 398 of them coming from my bookshelves. The next highest number is 264 books, which are from the library I went to at least once a week during high school. Clearly, I know how to pick books because of all the ones I’ve read, I would recommend 1,342 of them and think people should skip 147 of them. Unfortunately, most of the books I’ve read are by American authors (1,126), so I clearly need to do a better job of diversifying my reading. This is also clear based on the fact that I’ve read 1,325 books by white authors and only 122 by authors of color. This is one of those things that I’m sure no one else cares about, but I find it interesting. And this helps me create new reading goals, which is also one of my favorite things! Those of you who have followed my posts for the past few years are used to seeing my lists of books that I love. So I decided to shake things up by writing about some books that I absolutely hated. I’m sure many people will strongly disagree with me on some of these, and that’s fine. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, I just like to post mine publicly.
So, for anyone interested, here are my 10 least favorite books. (I don’t know if I’d say these are in any particular order. Because they all got the same number of stars when I reviewed them.) 1. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger I know this is a classic, but Holden Caulfield is a whiny little bitch and I have no patience for him. In fact, I read this as a sophomore in high school and instead of writing a normal book report, I rewrote the ending so that Holden died from boredom of his own self. If I remember correctly, my teacher told me that she hated what I had done, but was giving me an A anyway, because it was well-written. 2. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer I get that Twilight resulted in a bunch of teenage girls reading when usually they wouldn’t care about books, but I absolutely hate this series. Bella is a horrible character for girls to look up to and Edward is just a romanticized version of an abusive boyfriend. And while I love Kristen Stewart, don’t even get me started on how awful the movies are. 3. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce This book is around 280 pages long and it took me approximately 280 days to read it. I’m sure there are people who love it, and they’re probably smarter than I am, but I was just bored the whole time I was reading it. There’s probably a purpose to this book, but I honestly can’t even remember the plot. 4. I Know by Keith Becker It probably makes me a terrible person to dislike this book so much, but I guess that’s just something I’ll have to live with. Becker spends a couple hundred pages telling teenagers about the dangers of alcohol, drugs, and porn, using the real-life example of his brother’s death to really drive home the point. I’ve been to two of Becker’s presentations and he is a significantly better speaker than writer. The book just feels too preachy and gets way too repetitive after the first couple chapters. 5. Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D.H. Lawrence Considering how scandalous this book was at the time of its publishing, it sure is boring to read now. I’m sure it says more about me than it does about the book that I was extremely disappointed with how not sexy this book is. 6. The Witches of Eastwick by John Updike Have you ever seen those posts on social media that mock the fact that male writers are terrible at writing female characters? I’m pretty sure John Updike is the original reason those posts exist. Most of this book follows three women who have the potential to be badass, but instead spend the whole book simpering over a douchey dude. And the passage from this book that gets quoted the most often is the part where Updike opines that women take longer to use the bathroom because their internal organs are so confusing that the urine gets lost on the way out, as opposed to men whose urine instinctively knows how to get out of the body quickly. 7. Gizelle’s Bucket List by Lauren Fern Watt If I had to guess, I’d say most of you have probably never heard of this book. It only ended up on my radar because I was given an early digital copy through NetGalley. I’m sure this book, a memoir about Watt coming to terms with the imminent death of her beloved dog, is supposed to get an emotional reaction out of the reader, but I was too busy being annoyed with how selfishly Watt behaves the whole way through. She constantly yells at her dad for not divorcing her mom the second she relapses into alcoholism. She cuts her mom out of her life every time she starts drinking, the whines that her mom never comes to visit her. She moves her giant English mastiff into a tiny New York apartment, and then tells her roommate that if she wants to continue living there, she’ll have to take care of the dog in the mornings so Watt can sleep in. Then, after said dog is diagnosed with cancer and can barely walk, Watt sets out to drag the dog around to complete a bucket list that is clearly designed for her own enjoyment (I can’t imagine a dog cares too much about going antiquing or finding the best donuts in New England). The book is supposed to make you feel bad that the dog is dying, but instead I just felt bad that the dog got stuck with such an immature owner. 8. Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James Do I really need to say that much about this one? The writing is terrible. The sex scenes aren’t nearly as sexy as advertised. Anastasia Steele has no personality and Christian Grey is an abuser who pretends he’s into BDSM. I’m glad that people who actually know about BDSM have been so vocal about the fact that what is portrayed in this book is neither healthy nor safe, because too many people read it and just assumed that it was accurate. The least surprising thing about this book is that it started out as Twilight fanfiction. Because, just like Twilight became popular because of teenage girls who aren’t really readers, this series only went as far as it did because of adult women who aren’t really readers. Trust me, there are so many sexy books that are actually well-written. 9. Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert This book was fine. I love Elizabeth Gilbert and think she’s a great writer. However, I have problems with this book. My main issue is that when the majority of us have a problem in our lives (like divorce, in the case of this book), we can’t drop everything and get paid to travel all over the world trying to “find ourselves.” No, most of us have to just suck it up and power through. So, while I have no issue with the writing, Gilbert’s “feel sorry for me” attitude through this story just really rubbed me the wrong way. 10. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote I know, I know! How could someone as obsessed with true crime as I am dislike one of the most famous true crime books ever written? Hear me out: This book is boring. The only exciting part was the description of the murders. The rest of it was just dragging us around behind the killers while Capote attempted to make us feel sorry for one of them. And Capote only wanted us to care about that particular killer because he fell in love with him while interviewing him for the book. And, I’m sorry, but I just can’t bring myself to hope that someone who murdered four members of a family, plus a few extra people along the way, gets let off in the end because he’s a “tortured soul.” No. Absolutely not. Well, let me have it. Tell me how wrong I am. I’m sure I’ve angered several people with these opinions, and that’s understandable. I’ve read many 1-star reviews on some of my favorite books. But remember, these are just my opinions. If you love any of these books, that’s fine. I’m glad someone likes them. And I’m sure we have some books in common. Just not these. Now, let me know. What are some of your least favorite books? Like so many aspects of 2020, my reading life was not great. I set out to read 100 books throughout the year, but only ended up finishing 56, several of which were re-reads because I was teaching them. And out of the books I read this year, there were very few that I really loved, which made it difficult to make this list. However, I still enjoy tracking my reading and sharing book recommendations with all of you, so here are my favorite 10 books that I read in 2020.
1. Dread Nation by Justina Ireland It’s a reimagining of the Civil War, but with zombies! While this wouldn’t normally be my type of book, I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of this. And it somehow managed to seamlessly combine elements of historical fiction, horror, humor, and political commentary all into one book. 2. Light from Other Stars by Erika Swyler This is the second of Swyler’s books I’ve read, and I have absolutely fallen in love with her writing style. She composes some of the most lyrical sentences I’ve ever read and she’s great at sprinkling slightly unbelievable moments into otherwise realistic plots. 3. Allegedly by Tiffany D. Jackson I read this after hearing Jackson speak at a conference, and my only regret is that I didn’t read it before. Based on some of her talking points, I figured she was one of those writers who throws in a huge twist that readers either love or hate, but I was in no way prepared for Allegedly. I read this back in March and I am still trying to wrap my head around it. I can’t say more without spoiling the plot, but if any of you have read this one, please talk to me about it. 4. The Book of Lost Friends by Lisa Wingate This is one of those books that came into my life at the right time. It alternates chapters between two timelines and two characters, one of whom reminds me of myself and certain aspects of my teaching career. 5. I Want to Be Where the Normal People Are by Rachel Bloom Rachel Bloom is one of my favorite celebrities, so I pre-ordered this memoir the second it was available. While this book definitely isn’t for everyone, I read the entire thing in one night and pulled myself out of a reading slump with it. 6. Devils Unto Dust by Emma Berquist Apparently zombies were my theme for 2020, which seems kind of appropriate for this year. Also, a zombie western is not something I ever thought I’d be into, but apparently it is. 7. The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton Why did I wait so long to read this book?! I don’t like many “classics,” but this one will easily go down as an all-time favorite. And it made me ugly-cry in front of my 14-year-old nephew, which is always a plus. 8. Wake of Vultures by Lila Bowen Supernatural westerns were also a common theme for me in 2020. The plot of this one is difficult to describe, but if you enjoy westerns and/or supernatural creatures, then this is definitely for you. 9. The Hangman’s Daughter by Oliver Potzsch I read this book back in June, which was probably for the best. Everything was shut down, I’d just finished teaching summer school to the kids who refused to put in any effort during remote learning, I was helping one of the other teachers paint her entire classroom, and I was just kind of pissed off about everything in general. So reading a horrifically violent book about a man who is paid to torture criminals was exactly what I needed. 10. Pretty Girls by Karin Slaughter You all know that I’m a sucker for an unreliable narrator, and this book gave me two! It was also pretty graphically violent, but it was still a solid thriller. Because of how much my overall reading sucked in 2020, I’m trying to alter my goals for 2021. Instead of attempting to read a huge number of books, I want to focus on enjoying the books I read. So for the first time, I’m giving myself permission to not finish books if I’m not enjoying them. (I think the best way to achieve this is to have my college professors assign them to me, because I rarely did my assigned reading in school. Don’t tell my students!) I also want to read more widely (and more worldly). I’ve kept track of my reading stats over the years and it turns out that 75% of my reading is from American authors, and 90% of my reading is from white authors. So I’m also going to attempt to pay more attention to the writers I choose to read. So if any of you have recommendations, please let me know! Here’s to hoping 2021 is better for everyone and their reading lives. Considering how many books I didn’t read in 2019, I have decided that teaching high school full-time is not for me. So I think in 2020 I’m going to become a hermit, have all of my groceries delivered, and not show my face in society until I’ve read all the books I want to read. I’m sure my boss will understand, right?
Anyway, I read only 97 books this year. (I know that a lot of people see that as an accomplishment, but for me it’s the equivalent of a marathon runner saying “I ran only 10 miles this year.” It’s still good, but it’s way below what you’re capable of.) Overall, I didn’t really love too many books this year, and even struggled a bit to make my list. However, I’ve been doing this since 2015, so I figure I shouldn’t stop now. So without further ado, here are my favorite books that I read in 2019. 1. How to Make Friends With the Dark by Kathleen Glasgow This is one of those books that came into my life at the exact right time. Those of you who know me in real life, or have read this blog post, know that my 8-year-old niece died suddenly in 2017. And I still haven’t really found a way to deal with my grief. So I absolutely fell in love with this book about a teenage girl whose mother dies suddenly, leaving her to navigate the world and her grief without the person she loved the most. Almost every chapter in this book left me in tears and I had to set it aside several times because I was crying too hard to keep reading. Now, reliving your own heartache through the sorrow of a fictional character isn’t for everyone, but it was extremely cathartic for me. 2. The Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo I’m a sucker for a fairy-tale retelling, and this book is full of them. It’s a series of short stories, each one giving a new spin to a well-known tale. And if the stories themselves weren’t amazing enough, the artwork is absolutely stunning. While I loved all of the stories, the Ursula origin story was my favorite. 3. Stay Sexy & Don’t Get Murdered: The Definitive How-To Guide by Karen Kilgariff & Georgia Hardstark Of the many podcasts I listen to, My Favorite Murder is my favorite. If you’ve never listened to it, it’s Georgia Hardstark and Karen Kilgariff talking about true crime and telling jokes. It’s hilarious and horrifying and endlessly fascinating. The best thing I was able to do in 2019 was go to one of their live shows in Denver back in April. This book is a dual memoir where they take turns writing chapters about events in their lives that shaped them into the amazing women they are today. I think fans of the podcast will probably like the book more than non-listeners, but you don’t have to know the podcast to enjoy the book. But seriously, listen to the podcast. It’s the best. 4. Daughters Unto Devils by Amy Lukavics This book scared the crap out of me. I don’t want to give away too much, but the main gist is that it’s the story of a young pioneer girl who moves with her family from the mountains to the prairie. Oh, and she might be slightly possessed by some kind of devil. You know, just like Little House on the Prairie. 5. Frog Music by Emma Donoghue If you liked Room by Emma Donoghue, don’t pick up this book thinking it’s going to be similar. It was about as far away from Room as two books by the same author can be. It’s an amazing book and definitely deserves more attention; I just felt the need to throw out a warning that the two books are very different. Frog Music is about two women in the 1870s who are trying to navigate a sweltering summer in San Francisco and their feelings for each other. 6. The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo I will never turn down a novel that’s written in poetry, and this is one of my favorites in that style. The main character’s voice is so strong and her poems hit me right in the part of your heart that makes you tear up a little. 7. Shout by Laurie Halse Anderson This was another book told through poetry, but this one was about Laurie Halse Anderson’s actual experiences. And if you’ve read this blog post, you know that I have a special place in my heart for Laurie Halse Anderson and everything she writes. 8. Chase Darkness with Me by Billy Jensen Full disclosure: Billy Jensen is the love of my life. So that might have influenced my ranking of this book. He’s also a co-host on another favorite podcast of mine, Jensen & Holes: The Murder Squad. Billy Jensen is an investigative journalist who uses social media to solve cold cases, and this book tells about some of the cases he’s solved and some that he’s still working on. He also talks a bit about his friendship with Michelle McNamara, who wrote my favorite book of 2018, I’ll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman's Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer. 9. Sadie by Courtney Summers I have loved all of Courtney Summers’ books so far, but I especially liked her writing style in this one. It tells the story of a murdered teenager and her older sister who has gone missing. The chapters alternate between past and present, and several of them are written as the script of a podcast about the girls. Someone also made an actual podcast based off the book, but I haven’t listened to it yet. 10. Honor Girl by Maggie Thrash This graphic memoir tells about the summer camp Maggie Thrash attended when she was 15. The main conflict in the story centers around the feelings Maggie develops for one of her female counselors. Though I wasn’t a huge fan of the artwork style, the story itself kept me reading and I didn’t want to leave the characters when the book ended. 11. Educated by Tara Westover This book made me cry and pissed me off with almost every chapter. It’s a memoir of Tara Westover’s upbringing in a survivalist family. Despite receiving no formal education until she was 17, she managed to succeed in college and make her own way in the world. But the majority of the book is about the abuse she endured at the hands of her father and oldest brother, most of which they inflicted upon her because she dared to want more out of life than living on the farm and preparing to fight against the government. 12. The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas If I had to guess, I would say that most of the negative reviews on this book are from extreme right-wingers who haven’t actually read it. Maybe I’m wrong, but I’d say it’s a pretty safe bet. As someone who sits pretty much in the center politically, I was able to go into this book with an open mind. And if you can read the whole novel and still walk away thinking that we don’t have a serious problem in our country, then I’m concerned about your reading comprehension skills. 13. The Wilds by Julia Elliott I’ve been trying to read more short story collections and I am so glad I stumbled upon this one. Every single story is super weird and I honestly don’t know that many people I can recommend them to. Because they’re just really strange. Good, but strange. 14. Lighter Than My Shadow by Katie Green This graphic memoir hit so close to home and made me cry quite a few times. It tells about Katie Green’s struggles with an eating disorder that slowly takes over her whole life. The artwork is simple, but very effective. 15. Broken Monsters by Lauren Beukes One of my friends said that this book was a rip-off of the first season of True Detective and refused to read past the first couple chapters. But I’ve never seen any season of True Detective, so I did not care. This book was super weird and super creepy and I absolutely loved it. The rest of these aren’t getting blurbs. If you want more information about any of them, feel free to ask. 16. In West Mills by De’Shawn Charles Winslow 17. The Beauty, Volume 1 by Jeremy Haun, Jason Hurley, & John Rauch 18. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell 19. Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh 20. The Grace of Enough by Haley Stewart 21. Uprooted by Naomi Novik 22. Be Prepared by Vera Brosgol 23. The Lie Tree by Frances Hardinge 24. The Water Knife by Paolo Bacigalupi 25. Postal, Volume 1 by Matt Hawkins & Bryan Hill 26. Habibi by Craig Thompson 27. DeadEndia by Hamish Steele |
Jacinta M. CarterProfessional Book Nerd Archives
December 2018
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