29 Books in 2024 + 24 Books in 2023

I didn’t post the books I read last year. It was too hard, too much. In January, my dad passed away. All three of my dogs had serious health issues. I spent a lot of time curled up on my couch, cuddling with dogs and often watching bad TV so I could turn my brain off. But I kept reading. A collection of books via Libby and that became available in random intervals. Sometimes NOT choosing what book to read next is a delight.

In the past, I have sent Powell’s gift cards to clients and collaborators. But checking in, it turns out only a small percentage actually spent them. So instead…if you’re a client or a collaborator, reach out, say hi and tell me what you’ve been reading.

Here are two years mushed into one. Enjoy!

If you only read one book

Stay True *****

Hua Hsu

This is the first book I've read where I wiped away tears and then burst into laughter that woke the dogs a few minutes later. This book captured the urgency and intensity of deep friendship.

Books that Make You Question Reality

Sea of Tranquility *****

Emily St. John Mandel

Read in a single day. Parallel moments, cultures, tendencies that get tangled up in curiosity. Beautiful writing and a beautiful story.

How High We Go in the Dark ****

Sequoia Nagamatsu

The meaning of death. Of life. Across time and space. Another book with too many characters that connect to one another but it really doesn't matter. Or did it?

Pure Colour ****

Sheila Heti

In this draft of the universe, I am a bear who aspires to think like a fish. Much love to all the birds out there.

Memoirs and Misinformation **

Jim Carrey, Dana Vachon

This book has a "felt cute, might delete later" vibe.

No One Is Talking About This **

Patricia Lockwood

Clever but I didn't like it.

Stories of Magic

The Song of Achilles *****

Madeline Miller

Holding back an ugly cry / sob is sometimes the best way to end a good book. Gorgeous!

Where the Dark Stands Still ****

A.B. Poranek

A Polish folktale with wild woods, magic and stubborn women.

The Wood at Midwinter ****

Susanna Clarke, Victoria Sawdon (Illustrations)

More! I just want more of anything Susanna Clarke writes.

The Narrow Road Between Desires ****

Patrick Rothfuss, Nate Taylor (Illustrator)

Like so many others, I want his next "real" book. But this was sweet and thoughtful and interesting. A bit of a teen lit feel to it.

Half Magic ****

Edward Eager, N.M. Bodecker (Illustrator)

This children's book has been on my To Read list forever. And I found a beautiful vintage copy. What a fun read!

The Witch and the Tsar ****

Olesya Salnikova Gilmore

Baba Yaga with her hut on chicken legs in the deep woods. Who could be a more compelling heroine?

Everyone Knows Your Mother Is a Witch ***

Rivka Galchen

The slow burn and building anxiety of a witch hunt. Neighbors turn on each other and memories get horribly distorted.

The Famished Road ***

Ben Okri

A spirit child determined to live in the human world. Full of hunger, poverty, fear and violence. But also family, community, magic and hope. I would have given it 4 stars but it was a slog to read.

Gallant ***

Victoria E. Schwab

VE Schwab's books are fun to read. This was too so I'm not sure why I'm not giving it 3 stars.

Hell Bent ***

Leigh Bardugo

I should like this. Magic. Adventure. Etc. But it's just meh.

The Women Could Fly ***

Megan Giddings

Michigan, the patriarchy, witches, magic...should have been a hit. It was a meh.

The Bright Sword ***

Lev Grossman

Less magic, more dueling knights. Lots of dude bro energy.

In Defense of Witches: The Legacy of the Witch Hunts and Why Women Are Still on Trial **

Mona Chollet, Sophie R. Lewis (Translator)

She really likes to quote other scholars. A lot. I would have liked to hear her words a little more.

Hard-to-Read Memoirs

Everything/Nothing/Someone ****

Alice Carrière

This is what happens when parents have no idea how to be parents.

Consent: A Memoir ****

Jill Ciment

To write (rewrite?) your own memoir decades later seems unthinkable. But then again, the first memoir seems like it had a very unreliable narrator.

Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of a Life Interrupted ***

Suleika Jaouad

There's something unsettling about a memoir written early in life. There is so much being learned, but still so much left to learn as well.

Brutalities: A Love Story ***

Margo Steines

Her love story is with pain. The ending we hope for is falling back in love with herself.

I'm Glad My Mom Died ***

Jennette McCurdy

I never watched iCarly or even had any idea who Jennette was/is. But wow, what a life! The invasion of privacy and autonomy is staggering. Also, if you weren't sure...this book is not funny.

It's Okay to Laugh ***

Nora McInerny Purmort

Thanks Lindsay McMenamin for the recco. I needed to laugh. And maybe cry too. Grief is a weird thing.

Hysterical: A Memoir ***

Elissa Bassist

This sums it up nicely: "Being socialized is almost like being gaslit into mental illness."

About Sinead O’Connor

Rememberings ****

Sinéad O'Connor

This memoir puts her heart on display and hopes for the best. She describes how she learned to "ride the levels" as her albums were recorded and mixed. She tamed her loud, powerful voice enough to stay in the green and not eff up the vocals. Which seems like a metaphor for how she tried to please so many people for so many years.

Why Sinéad O'Connor Matters ****

Allyson McCabe

If I want to feel really really alive, I get in the car and play Sinead O'Connor and sing at the top of my lungs.?

Books about Historical Stuff

Into Siberia: George Kennan's Epic Journey Through the Brutal, Frozen Heart of Russia ****

Gregory J. Wallance

I'm still thinking about this months later. He explored the brutal wilderness as well as the brutalities in the wilderness of Siberia.

The Fraud ****

Zadie Smith

But it just got too complicated and switched timelines and characters too often. But I liked them.

The Books of Jacob **

Olga Tokarczuk, Jennifer Croft (Translator)

I was set to like this book: Nobel-prize winning author, religious cult, Polish history. But then reality set in: it took nearly 1/4 of the book to figure out what was happening, all the characters changed names about halfway through, things almost got interesting but then didn't. I am now several weeks behind my Goodreads challenge because this 1k page book was too hard for my brain. Also, I'm stubborn and could have just stopped but I didn't.

How To Be a Tudor: A Dawn-to-Dusk Guide to Tudor Life ***

Ruth Goodman

Tudor life wasn't as dirty as we imagine, but it also sounds pretty damn hard to be a Tudor. Always nice to see a historian go suuuuper deep.

Catherine de Medici: Renaissance Queen of France ***

Leonie Frieda

Loved The Serpent Queen and they always referenced this book in the credits. Solid biography with just enough historical context. Weird fat shaming from time to time tho???

The System: Who Rigged It, How We Fix It **

Robert B. Reich

Not sure who this book is for...anyone who needs it would never read it. So preaching to the choir? Also, he totally has a thing for Jamie Dimon. Weird.

Odd Duck Books

I Hold a Wolf by the Ears: Stories ****

Laura van den Berg

Very well written and interesting stories. Weird ones too. Enjoy!

Lapvona ****

Ottessa Moshfegh

Yay! A weird story with odd characters and an unpredictable plot. I needed this.

Solenoid ***

Mircea C?rt?rescu

I'll finish it someday...but I'm still adding it to the Read pile. What a weird tale that just kept surprising me. Thanks for the recco Rem Reynolds (he/him) !

I Seem to Like Books About Cults

Slonim Woods 9: A Memoir ***

Daniel Barban Levin

After reading the NYMag article about the Sarah Lawrence College cult, I still had questions. How did so many kids fall under his spell? How did no one realize how bad it was? How hard is it to extract yourself from a (seemingly) impossible situation?

Chaos: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties ***

Tom O'Neill

Like most moody teenagers, I read Helter Skelter and bought Bugliosi’s story. But man...there was a lot more weird shit happening then.

Sex Cult Nun: Breaking Away from the Children of God, a Wild, Radical Religious Cult **

Faith Jones

It feels harsh to give a memoir a two star review, but it wasn't necessarily well written, salacious or moving. ??♀?

What My Husband Would Call “Murder Stories”

Dear Child ****

Romy Hausmann

The TV show was compelling enough for me to try the book too. One of those "murder stories" my husband teases me about.

The Lost Kings **

Tyrell Johnson

A thriller with a "twist," but it wasn't really a twist. Dunno, maybe I'm being too hard on it.

Books about Health / Mental Health

The Invisible Kingdom: Reimagining Chronic Illness ***

Meghan O'Rourke

I'm tired most of the time. While I can't pinpoint a diagnosis, reactivated Epstein Barr is one of many likely culprits. So many people get mono, I'm just one of the lucky ones who still gets extreme fatigue at pretty regular intervals. I appreciated her thoughtful approach to what's known, and still unknown, when it comes to chronic illness.

Strangers to Ourselves: Unsettled Minds and the Stories That Make Us ***

Rachel Aviv

Some of the stories were more vivid and compelling than others — stories of when our minds work against us.

Unwell Women: Misdiagnosis and Myth in a Man-Made World **

Elinor Cleghorn

A historic and academic review of women's health. I agree with lots here, but slogged through reading this.

In an Unspoken Voice: How the Body Releases Trauma and Restores Goodness **

Peter A. Levine

Important information that reinforced so much of my somatic practice. But so boring. Too many examples from the same stories and examples. Way too many Freud references. TL;DR is "the body keeps score." Shaking and saying "voo" is healing. Fight, flight, freeze (don't forget fawn).

Books Related to My Weird Hobbies

Nose Dive ****

Catherine Haley Epstein

"Imagine you are making a capsule to send to aliens. Create a list of the top ten smells of planet earth, in order to prepare them for a visit." And thus begins a philosophical adventure in the world of fragrance and olfactory art.

Mend It!: A Complete Guide to Clothes Repair ***

Maureen Goldsworthy

While her desire is for invisible mending and I don't really mind if it's visible, it's helpful to see her technical approach to making repairs that will last. A fun read.

Quilts and Coverlets: A Contemporary Approach ***

Jean Ray Laury

A fun used book store find. I'm intrigued to see how I'll incorporate some of these techniques moving forward.

Retrieving for All Occasions: Foundations for Excellence in Gun Dog Training ***

Elsa Blomster, Lena Gunnarsson, Jenny Nyberg (Illustrator)

It's so hard to find any positive reinforcement training books about gun dog training. And this is close, but not exactly what I need for my versatile hunting dog. But there are good exercises sprinkled throughout that I'm going to try.

Breeding Dogs to Win ****

Carmelo L. Battaglia

Dipping my toes in the water… Much of it was over my head but I liked the last two chapters on how to track pedigrees in a more useful manner.

The Art of Hand Stripping ***

Scott Wasserman

A bit technical for the novice, but full of all the details you need to start hand stripping your dog's coat. With two Italian Spinone, this has helped quite a bit.

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