Overall stats#
This year, I read 84 books. The vast majority of these were picture books: either graphic novels or children’s books. At a glance, 29 (35%) were by POC, and 37 (44%) were by women. (This was just me guessing based on the author names and pictures, so it might be a little wrong.) So, no improvement from 2018 on POC (2018: 33%), and a very decent improvement on reading women authors (2018: 21%). I noticed that many of the children’s book authors were women, and many of the comix as well.
Going forward, I’d like to:
- Again, re-commit myself to reading more by “minority” authors (that term feels outdated?).
- I’m really enjoying historical fiction, so more of that.
- I have read zero poetry in forever; something to explore.
- More STEM.
Now to the awards!
Most influential: Usual Cruelty#
Alec Karakatsanis’s Usual Cruelty, about the criminal “injustice” system, was incredibly enlightening and informative. It blew my mind. I gifted it to several folks for the holidays.
Most pleasurable in the moment: Bonfire of the Vanities#
More criminal justice things: Bonfire of the Vanities, that peak of 80s excess. A blazing satire. So much cackling. We watched the movie in our book club as well and it was truly awful. Amazingly bad. Bad as a film. Awful as a (re?)interpretation of a good book.
Honorable mention to Pachinko as well.
Best comix: Good Talk#
Good Talk by Mira Jacob was innovative aesthetically, with an authentic and poignant story of growing up the daughter of Indian immigrants.
Best kids’ book: TIE! Sheep Out to Eat and Cars and Trucks and Things That Go#
Oh, this one is hard. But it must be a tie between Sheep Out to Eat and Cars and Trucks and Things That Go. The sheep are delightful for their art, their knitting, and the rhythm and rhyme of their disasters. Boy, do they get up to some hijinx. The things that go are delightful for the absolute busy-ness, the chaos (a pickle truck!), the celebration of going for a ride (in something), and for this review.
Library Extension developers: Thank you!#
This year I re-discovered the library, namely that they have physical books. I talk about the glories of the library in my anti-Amazon post. But, srsly, Library Extension has changed my life.
