Top Ten of 2021: A Reflection

 This is my favorite time of year, where I get to look back on what I have read and think about how it has changed my outlook on life. So, much like other reading bloggers, I'm going to do a Top 10, but these are mostly not in any order other than something akin to an annotated bibliography, since some of these I can't put over the others, which means these are alphabetical.

Chee, Alexander. How to Write an Autobiographical Novel: Essays. Mariner Books. 17 April 2018. 

I read this book with Life's Library. In fact a few of these were picked by John Green or Rosianna Halse Rojas as books that the Life's Library community should read, and I'm glad that they chose these books. This one touched me in a way that I hadn't expected. Chee writes beautiful, striking prose about his struggle as a gay, Asian male looking to find his place in the writing community. If I was to teach a college-level Creative Writing class, this book would be at the top of my syllabus as one of the books that striving young writers should read. I loved the way that his prose flowed. 

Ferne, June. Chimpie. Bowker. 15 September 2019.

I admit, I loved this book not just because of the content, but also because I know the author personally, and she's a wonderful person. That aside, however, Ferne writes a beautiful children's/middle grade book about the fear that comes from our current social atmosphere of fear, especially in the reality of school shootings and in the shadow of Sandy Hook. Chimpie tells the tale of a young girl and her stuffed animal that comes to life for her and teaches her important lessons about overcoming fear.  I loved this book!

Green, John. The Anthropocene Reviewed. Dutton. 18 May 2021.

John Green is one of my heroes and I want to be him when I grow up even if he is younger than I am. His books are beautiful, heartbreaking prose with a poetic style that just opens you up and makes you really think. Anthropocene Reviewed is no exception. In this book, Green takes the same format as the podcast of the same name and writes reviews for things that are found in our current era, giving them a thorough, thoughtful consideration that covers both the history of the thing as well as his own reflections. I listened to the audiobook, which included a few extra tracks, the most touching of which is the review of the Hawaii O-O.   It is completely worth it to buy both the physical book (as it does have a few extra adorable reviews, including a review of title pages and end pages and fun publishing things), but the audiobook is worth it to listen to Green's emotion as he reads through the reviews. 

Headley, Maria Dahvana. Beowulf: A New Translation. MCD x FSG Originals. 25 August 2020.

I include this mostly because how excited I was for it and how amazing the language is. If it wasn't in my classroom with all of the books that I use for teaching (as I'm home on Winter Break) I would quote some of the amazing poetic writing that Headley included in this version of Beowulf. However, the thing I loved about it the most was that it is a text that I can (sorta) use with my students to show them how kenning works and the feminism of Beowulf written in a language that they can understand with the rhythms that they can get behind. I loved it.

Klune, TJ. The House in the Cerulean Sea. Tor Books. 17 March 2020.

This was, by far, one of the best books I read all year, and is at least in the top three, if not the top two, if not the absolute top book.  I read this in a period of some mental distress, and the way that Linus deals with the assignment he has been given was calming, as his tone was often one of reason. I loved the kids in this book so much, and the way that Arthur treated his wards and the things that he said and noticed about them made me think of my own students in a different light. I particularly loved the philosophical discussions that Lucy, Arthur and Linus would have.  The whole plot just made my heart sing. Though these may not be my students, I connected with each of the children in this book and wanted to see the world through their eyes. Fortunately, I have my students who show me a new world every day. 

Miller, Madeline. The Song of Achilles. Ecco. 20 September 2011.

Another Life's Library pick that I would have probably picked up on my own eventually, as I loved Circe which is also by Miller. The Song of Achilles was so beautifully written, and I cried so much at the end.  I honestly didn't have much of a grounding in Greek mythology before reading this or Circe, so some of the stories- like the sacrifice of Iphigenia- just incensed me. I was outraged, and I screamed and I gnashed my teeth. My husband was calm and said, "Oh, didn't you know that would happen?" and I said "NO!" and he laughed at me for not knowing my Greek Mythology better.  Patroclus's love for Achilles just sang out and was so beautiful, and I cried when he cried. I loved this book.

Noah, Trevor. Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood. Doubleday Canada. 15 November 2016.

I already love Trevor Noah for The Daily Show. I was excited to read his life's story. Born a Crime is a book that I think I will try to teach some day. Noah's reflections on his language, his family and the lessons he learned growing up in apartheid and then post-apartheid South Africa were wonderful. I would use this in my AP Language classes, especially the parts about how Noah became fluent in many different languages as well as the gift of argument and that was how he was able to really succeed.  I loved the way he talked about his own life, and I also listened to the audiobook for this one and got to hear the way he sounded when he smiled as he read certain stories. You can always hear the smile.

Rowell, Rainbow. Carry On. Wednesday Books. 6 October 2015

This was a light read that I needed so much and I absolutely devoured this book. It made my heart sing. I already had an idea of the premise, which is that Simon Snow is going to change the world, save the world, from the ultimate evil which is sucking magic out of the world. I already knew that there was a relationship that happens, and I was just waiting for it... and then it happened, and I danced and I jumped up and down, and I reveled in it. I loved this book so much for the romance and the self-discovery, and the WINGS! It was wonderful. I going to read the next one in the series sometime around Valentine's Day. It will probably be on next year's top ten list.

Washington, Bryan. Lot: Stories. Riverhead Books. 19 March 2019.

Ok, to be honest, I gave this book five stars, which means that it falls in my top ten, but I didn't write a review for it, and I read it back in January, which means that I've forgotten what it's about. Probably not really top ten worthy, since I can barely remember it, but I do remember the writing was good - and I definitely can't use it in my classroom due to some... explicit... material. It's the story of a young, gay man in Texas living with his father and his neighborhood. There is a good bit in the middle about baseball, and there is a lot about a strange underworld. It's a good book, I swear... I just can't remember it that much.

Wells, Martha. Network Effect. Tor.com. 5 May 2020.

I love love love the character of Murderbot, and I love ART, and I love it when ART and Murderbot get together because of all of the sarcastic wit and fun and wonderfulness, so this book was one I went into knowing that I would love it, and it didn't disappoint. When ART basically forces Murderbot to come to his aid, hilarity ensues as the whole Preservation gang gets involved in an elaborate plot to save the day.  If you haven't read Wells's Murderbot series, now is the time to do so. The books are short and amazing (though this one was actually novel length- it was totally an awesome read).

So, those are my top ten for 2021. I already have the makings of a good list for 2022. I went to the bookstore today and bought the books.  Now to do ALL of the reading!  Have a great 2022 y'all! 

 

Goodreads Links and what I've just finished reading.

 I read a lot. I read so much that my husband thinks I should read less, but I love the written word.  On my Goodreads page right now, it says that I'm currently reading eight books. Eight! That seems crazy to me, but when I review the list, they are books that I am "currently" reading, though some of them have been laid aside for other books, I will come back to them.

My mother and my sister- who read, but aren't "big" readers- ask me how I can keep up with eight books- or even three books- at a time.  This is how I explain it. People watch television series all the time, and they can keep track of three or four storylines a week at the very least. (My mom LOVES the soap opera, Days of Our Lives and records it so that she never misses it!) For me, reading is the same way. I can pick up a book and immediately remember the characters, the story, where we were going and what I was expecting.

I'm one of those people who will cry because of a book, who will hug a book to my chest because it is so wonderful or the character needs a hug. I'm a sucker for romantic stories, or stories where people grow, so my most commonly read genres are Young Adult and Romance, but I read practically anything put in front of me. If it's well written, the characters are well developed and the storyline intrigues me, I will read it.

So, some books that I have finished recently:

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo: Far and away 5 stars for this one. I would recommend this to everybody who wants to be a writer and I would love to teach this book. The character, Xiomara, is incredibly relatable in her fights with her (excessively) religious mother especially about what it means to be a proper young lady in modern day New York City. The way the character develops, and finds her voice and her courage make for a wonderful story. I also loved the LGBTQ+ representation- though I want to hear more of that story!

The House on the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune: Five stars! Again.. another book I would love to teach to my students, but most of all I think every teacher and social worker should read. This book had me looking at my students in a completely different way, and made me want to hug every single one of them. The way that Mr. Parnassus deals with trauma affected children is amazing, and the way that the reluctant social case worker, Linus, deals with his own emotional growth is incredibly well written. It's so wonderful to have a character that you're rooting for and then watch him grow a heart. I loved the philosophical discussions that Linus and Arthur have around the idea of moral imperative. It was perfect.

Why Fish Don't Exist by Lulu Miller: Three stars, but mostly because I don't really like reading non-fiction too often. The writing is well done and pushes you forwards into the narrative quite a bit, but the reveal about the subject of the book, David Starr Jordan, and his philosophies was disappointing. I felt like I had been given a team to root for and then told that the team was involved in kicking puppies or something. I listened to this one mostly on audiobook (Thank you Life's Library for that!), but found myself putting it down - or turning it off- a few times. The ending was a bit redemptive for Miller, who weaves in her own memoir amongst the research on RSJ, but I still wasn't entirely thrilled with this book.

That's what I've been reading. What is currently on my desk and will get reviewed as I finish them:

For Jolebokaflod: Hubby picked Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells out of a stack of books that I already owned- since I didn't need to buy more books- for our traditional Yule book reading. I'm excited about this, since I love Murderbot!

From Life's Library: Rosewater by Tade Thompson: Only two chapters into this sci-fi story and loving the narration so far. Trying to keep with the LL accelerated calendar so I can participate in the discussions this time around. I'm not great at that!

Also reading: How the Word is Passed by Clint Smith: I'm already almost halfway through this book and loving the personal reflection and history of places that I will probably never visit, but which are so important to the story of slavery.