Now that I don’t travel long term as much as I used to, the number of books I get a chance to read has greatly diminished. In years past, I would read at least 30 in a 12 month period. But given the fact that I didn’t even write this post last year, I still wanted to challenge myself this year.
This is the second year in a row I’ve attempted PopSugar’s 52 Week Reading Challenge and while it gets me to try new types of books, I didn’t even get close to that amount. But if you want to keep up with what else I’m reading, or what’s on my to-read list, be sure to follow me on Goodreads.
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Comics and Graphic Novels
The Walking Dead Volumes 1-5, Robert Kirkman
I first got into The Walking Dead television series a few seasons back and just happened to find a few issues of the comics for $20 at an antique store. From there, I read through them fairly quickly and am slowly working my way through.
They’re my first graphic novels and vary greatly in some regards to the show. Certain characters don’t exist and others are very different. But the same general storyline and detailed drawings make them compelling reads.
Memoirs and Non-Fiction
Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women’s Prison, Piper Kerman
I picked up this book from a Goodreads deal for fairly cheap and it had been on my to-read list for some time. But I must admit that I was fairly disappointed. Where the Netflix show is clever but also shows the real issues going on in the world (privatized prisons, brutal force, overcrowding), the book read like a spoiled yuppie experimenting with prison.
It wasn’t much of an expose, but an expanded diary. Every person she mentioned, she noted how much they liked her. If you’re a fan of the show, I’d say skip it and keep binge watching old seasons.
Lucky, Alice Seabold
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Lucky was an incredibly powerful memoir that spoke strongly about a serious issue facing us still: rape on college campuses. I was a fan of Alice Seabold before I read this one and was haunted by The Lovely Bones.
This book tells of her freshman year of college when she was raped by a stranger while walking home from a friend’s house. She decided to pursue prosecution but a number of other tragic things happen during the process. I don’t recommend it to those who might be triggered by graphic descriptions of assault, but I think it’s important to read.
The Girl with the Lower Back Tattoo, Amy Schumer
This was on my pre-order list for a while. I respect Amy Schumer as a rare female in a world of mostly male comics. You can certainly expect some funny stories from her exploits with men and alcohol, but there are also serious topics. She covers gun violence, especially after a Louisiana theater screening her film was victimized by a shooter.
If you want just another funny female memoir, you might be disappointed, but I very much enjoyed the way Amy uses her fame to support her friends, family, and fans.
Novels
All the Light We Cannot See, Anthony Doerr
I received a free Audible audiobook through a podcast and chose this lengthy Holocaust memorial. I will admit that at times I found it difficult to listen to just because it jumps back and forth between points in time and to different characters.
I think it would have been easier to follow with a real book because I’d be able to go back if I didn’t hear something. I did love how the characters connected, even with the tragic circumstances.
Where’d You Go, Bernadette?, Maria Semple
Perhaps my favorite non-fiction that I read this year, this playful story is told from the standpoint of a gifted child living in the Pacific Northwest. The documents used in her mother’s disappearance offer different angles of the story, from the busybody neighbor to emails between her father and his assistant. While some elements of the story seem a bit wacky, it’s a quick read but doesn’t feel like “chick lit.”
The Night Circus, Erin Morgenstern
It took me almost a year to read this book. Like All the Light We Cannot See, there are many characters and points in time that needed a map. I liked the fantasy element of a circus that arrives seemingly out of nowhere as well as characters with unique talents. But it was very difficult for me to follow.
First Comes Love, Emily Giffin
My mom was reading this in hardback on a trip to the beach, so I picked it up once she was done. I’ve read a couple of Giffin’s books and as much as I want to support a hometown girl (she’s from Atlanta), sometimes I find her characters to be unrealistic or downright unlikeable.
This one wasn’t my least favorite or my favorite. I did like mentions of places where I live, including restaurants I’ve been to. It tells of two very different sisters moving on from the death of their brother. It’s a quick read for the beach, but not much else.
Me Before You, Jojo Moyes
Yes, I finally read it before the movie came out. A friend on a cruise gave it to me once she finished and I did actually enjoy it…and maybe cry. While you think that Louisa is the flightly screwup and Will is the cranky former playboy, their relationship warms the way I think it can in real life. And, of course, there are some real-life issues in there about the “right to die.”
Creativity/Inspiration
Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear, Elizabeth Gilbert
Vastly different from all of Gilbert’s other books, I first listened to this topic on her podcast Magic Lessons. This book about finding your passion and pursuing it with reckless abandon is a great read for creatives like writers, musicians, actors, and the like.
Rising Strong, Brene Brown
Another in the same vein, Brene Brown is an anthropologist of sorts, studying different elements of what it takes to be confident in our convictions. She goes through three systems, the reckoning, the rumble, and the revolution, in order to “rise strong.” Fans of her Daring Greatly will also enjoy this one.
True Crime
People Who Eat Darkness, Richard Lloyd Parry
My interest in true crime goes beyond all the podcasts I listen to. I picked up this one on an Amazon deal. It’s about a British girl who goes to Japan to work as a “hostess,” a job that is somewhere between waitress and escort. The author, a newspaper reporter, dives into the culture of this part of Tokyo, the role that these foreign women had, and what it took to find the man who murdered her.
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