In order:
Jan: Passing by Nella Larsen
Jan: Stay Sexy & Don't Get Murdered by Karen Kilgariff & Georgia Hardstark
Feb: Circe by Madeline Miller
Mar: A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
Apr: The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood
May: Outline by Rachel Cusk
Jun: Under the Banner of Heaven by Jon Krakauer
Jul: Solutions and Other Problems by Allie Brosh
Jul: Kindred by Octavia E. Butler
Aug: No One Is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood
Sept: What We Don't Talk About When We Talk About Fat by Aubrey Gordon
Oct-Nov: Early Riser by Jasper Fforde
Dec: Play It As It Lays by Joan Didion
Dec (haven't finished): Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
By the authors:
In 2022, I finished 13 books by 12 female authors and 2 male authors. Two of the authors are BIPOC, 2 Canadian, 2 British, and at least one is Queer. Four are deceased (Le Guin, Larsen, Butler, Didion). Of the living authors, the oldest is Margaret Atwood (as she usually is) and the youngest is Allie Brosh. One author is one week older than me (Hardstark) and another is the same age as my parents (Krakauer).
About the books:
The oldest book I read is Passing (published 1929) and the newest is No One Is Talking About This (2021). I read 4 books published in the 20th century (Passing, A Wizard of Earthsea, Kindred, Play It As It Lays) and the rest are from this century.
The books were all fiction except for the 2 memoirs (Stay Sexy & Don't Get Murdered and Solutions and Other Problems), Under the Banner of Heaven (Mormons), and What We Don't Talk About When We Talk About Fat (social justice). Of the 9 novels, 4 were fantasy. Of the novels set in recorded time, only Kindred is about a time period other than the author's own (the early 1800s, writing from the 1970s). Locales include New York, Maryland, Chicago, Seattle, Las Vegas, California (southern and northern), Greece (ancient and modern), Mormon country (mostly Utah), the lands of Allie Brosh (Idaho and Oregon), Wales, the Portal, and Earthsea.
But let's talk about me:
Circe, Kindred, and Under the Banner of Heaven were my favorites of the year. I didn't dislike anything I read this year, but I'll admit that No One Is Talking About This was a challenge.
This year, I read my 10th book by Jasper Fforde, my 7th by Margaret Atwood, my 3rd by Ursula K. Le Guin, and my 2nd by Joan Didion. Of the authors I read for the first time this year, Madeline Miller and Octavia E. Butler will definitely be appearing in future Big Book Posts.
Passing (holiday gift swap), Under the Banner of Heaven (found it on a Brooklyn stoop), and Where the Crawdads Sing (bought with a gift card) were/are book club selections (all chosen because they've been adapted for film/TV). Circe (holiday gift) came recommended to me by many people, and led to me reading The Penelopiad (saw it in Powerhouse Books) due to the subject matter. Kathryn recommended and loaned me A Wizard of Earthsea and Solutions and Other Problems. Kathryn gave me No One Is Talking About This as a gift after seeing it on my Goodreads to-read list, but I don't remember why I put it there. I found Outline in a pile of books in the lobby and the neighbor who put it there recommended it to me. I love the "My Favorite Murder" podcast, so Stay Sexy & Don't Get Murdered (written by the hosts) was an obvious holiday wishlist item. I also love the "Maintenance Phase" podcast, so when a friend posted What We Don't Talk About When We Talk About Fat (written by one of the hosts) as a giveaway on FB, I pounced on it. I got Kindred and Early Riser with a Books Are Magic gift card from my friend Mary (along with The Sword of Achilles which I'll read next year). My friend Sara loaned me Play It As It Lays after I finished Early Riser on my way to visit her and needed something to read on the trip back.
Goals:
- This year's goal was to read only women authors, and while it is pathetic that I did not achieve that goal, I did read more women authors this year than in any previous year. I'd like to continue the trend of reading more women than men, and also better representing Queer, BIPOC, trans, and non-binary authors in the books that I read.
- I read most of the books that were loaned or given to me this year, and that I got for myself. Top of the list for the coming year are the following books that I acquired recently: Fuzz by Mary Roach, Happy-Go-Lucky by David Sedaris, The Sword of Achilles by Madeline Miller, The Constant Rabbit by Jasper Fforde, and more Ursula K. Le Guin (continuing the Earthsea series or the Hainish novels & stories)
