Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" The Authorized Graphic Adaptation by Miles Hyman

And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer by Fredrik Backman

  This is a simple little nugget. At only 76 pages, it's easily consumed in one sitting. I spent the last 20 in near-uglycry. Written to help the author understand his own struggles with the loss and dementia of those close to him, this hit super close to home. My grandfather spent his last 15 years locked in by Alzheimer's and my dad is currently battling the middle stages of Parkinson's. Surely I'll use some of these lines to cope in the next few years. 

(*sidenote: i'm super impressed by the author's grasp of English. if i didn't know that he was Swedish, i wouldn't know. most works by Swedish authors, translated or not, are grammatically and idiomatically hogwash.)

  "Tell me about school Noahnoah," the old man says. 

  He always wants to know everything about school, but not like other adults, who only want to know if Noah is behaving. Grandpa wants to know if the school is behaving. It hardly ever is. 

  "Our teacher made us write a story about what we want to be when we're big," Noah tells him. 

  "What did you write?" 

  "I wrote that I wanted to concentrate on being little first." 

  "That's a very good answer." 

  "Isn't it? I would rather be old than a grown-up. All grown-ups are angry, it's just children and old people who laugh." 

"Almost all grown adults walk around full of regret over a good-bye they wish they'd been able to go back and say better. Our good-bye doesn't have to be like that, you'll be able to keep redoing it until it's perfect. And once it's perfect, that's when your feet will touch the ground and I'll be in space, and there won't be anything to be afraid of."

  "What does it feel like?" 

  "Like constantly searching for something in your pockets. First you lose the small things, then it's the big ones. It starts with keys and ends with people."

  "Are you scared?" 

  "A bit, Are you?"

  "A bit," the boy admits.

  Grandpa grins. 

  "That'll keep the bears away." 

  "When you've forgotten a person, do you forget you've forgotten?"

  "No, sometimes I remember that I've forgotten. That's the worst kind of forgetting. Like being locked out in a storm. Then I try to force myself to remember harder, so hard that the whole square here shakes."

"It's a never-ending rage, being angry at the universe." 

  "And I don't think you need to be scared of forgetting me," the boy says after a moment's consideration. "...Because if you forget me then you'll just get the chance to get to know me again. And you'll like that, because I'm actually a pretty cool person to get to know."

2017 Reads

The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair by Joel Dicker
The Beet Queen by Louise Erdrich
The Unnamed by Joshua Ferris
Things Left Unsaid by Stephanie Hemphill↶↶
My Darling, My Hamburger by Paul Zindel↶↶
Revival by Stephen King
Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

The Map of the World by Jane Hamilton
Borderlines by Caroline Kraus↶↶
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
The Sixth Man by David Baldacci↶↶
The Dive from Clausen's Pier by Ann Packer↶↶

The Book of You by Claire Kendal
Behind Closed Doors by BA Paris
Those Girls by Chevy Stevens
The New Neighbor by Leah Stewart
Today Will Be Different by Maria Semple
Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan
The Feast of Love by Charles Baxter↶↶
The History of Love by Nicole Krauss↶↶

↥Goodbye, Vitamin by Rachel Khong
↥All the Ugly and Wonderful Things by Bryn Greenwood
Into the Water by Paula Hawkins
Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls
Stay by Victor Gischler
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

↥The Stranger in the Woods by Michael Finkel
↥Love Warrior by Glennon Doyle Melton
↥Lexicon by Max Barry
The World's Strongest Librarian by Josh Hanagarne
Love That Dog by Sharon Creech↶↶
Hate That Cat by Sharon Creech↶↶
Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick↶↶
She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb↶↶

Machine Man by Max Barry
Eggs by Jerry Spinelli↶↶
Truly Madly Guilty by Liane Moriarty
Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Weiner

A Darkness More Than Night by Michael Connelly
Are You Sleeping by Kathleen Barber↥
Emma in the Night by Wendy Walker


count to date: 42
↶↶ indicates a reRead
↥ indicates a favorite of 2017


up next: A Clockwork Orange, Fig, Empire Falls, Last Night in Twisted River, Devil in the White City, What is the Bible?, Everything is Awful

random thoughts: i wish this list included more YA...and was numbered in the 40s. trying to celebrate that my brain has the capacity to read twice as many as last year and more. that's a victory in itself. alas, i have 6 weeks left.

Behind Closed Doors by BA Paris

The New Neighbor by Leah Stewart

Those Girls by Chevy Stevens

Today Will Be Different by Maria Semple

"Today's prevailing stance seems to be I have an opinion, therefore I am. My stance? I have no opinion, therefore I am superior to you."

The Book of You by Claire Kendal

Psychological thrillers have become my go-to for several reasons. Eventually there'll be a linked post somewhere that will explain my brain "injury" and the resulting lack of reading that was 2016. The ease of following a fairly simplistic plot and relatively minor character exploration makes these books foregone conclusions for me lately.

With such quick pacing and stereotypically plot-driven arcs, I also don't take many notes or mark many quotes.

The Book of You popped up as a suggestion on the public library terminal recently, so I took the bait. It took a hot minute for me to figure out Kendal's writing style. There are 2 major plot lines intersecting here, as well as a bit of time-hopping.

Clarissa has a stalker who also happens to be her rapist. She's then chosen as a juror on a case where at least one woman has been kidnapped and assaulted. Clarissa makes a lot of smart moves, but ultimately does not report her assault. Sparing you my extended personal story, there were many points that resonate for me.

About a week prior to reading this, a man that I had just met began to harass me. I genuinely feared that he would show up at my house. As this happened while my roommate was out of town, I sincerely should have stopped reading. Alas, I stayed with it and the book did end. Fingers crossed that the harassment has, as well.

2016 Reads

Women in Clothes by Sheila Heti, Heidi Julavits, Leanne Shapton, & 639 Others
My Sunshine Away by M.O. Walsh
The Invisible Circus by Jennifer Egan
All Days Are Night by Peter Stamm

Wind/Pinball by Haruki Murakami
Always Pack a Party Dress by Amanda Brooks

The Girl with all the Gifts by M.R. Carey
The Winter Girl by Matt Marinovich
The Thing About Jellyfish by Ali Benjamin

After You by Jojo Moyes
The Grownup by Gillian Flynn
Hidden Bodies by Caroline Kepnes

The Myth of You & Me by Leah Stewart
The Green Mile by Stephen King

2015 Reads: September-December

Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume*
Tenth of December Stories by George Saunders

Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Wendy
Ask Again Later by Jill A. Davis
Make Good Art by Neil Gaiman*
Jill Bernard's Little Book of Improv*
Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult
Color of Water by James McBride*

The Precious One by Maria De los Santos
Let's Discuss Diabetes with Owls by David Sedaris*


Divergent by Veronica Roth
Bad Feminist by Roxane Gay


Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
Like No Other by Una LaMarche (5 stars)
We Are Liars by E. Lockhart
Matt & Ben by Mindy Kaling & Brenda Withers

Panic by Lauren Oliver




Last Words by Michael Koryta
Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon
South of the Border West of the Sun by Haruki Murakami
The Marvels by Brian Selznick
The Pillowman by Martin McDunogh

How Should a Person Be? by Shelia Heti
Luckiest Girl on Earth by Jessica Knoll
Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire
Women in Clothes by S. Heti, H. Julavits, Leanne Shapton & 639 others
Tigers Be Still by Kim Rosenstock
More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera
Absolutely True Story of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie*
Humans of New York Stories by Brandon Stanton
Love Maps by Eliza Factor

New for 2015: I surrendered a handful of books after my heretofore strict 50-page rule. Prior to this, if I would always finish a book once I had read 50 pages. Extending myself some grace, I started allowing myself to "quit" a book if it still sucked once I'd crossed that previously adhered-to boundary. Among them were Insurgent by Veronica Roth, The Children's Crusade by Ann Packer, Off the Page by Jodi Picoult, The Golden Circle by Doris Lessing.


total books read in 2015: 58
*indicates a reread