IamThunderbolt
Well-known member
My top ten (so far) fiction books of the year (non-fiction later). I started the year unemployed, so my reading was way up (not Townie levels, but should hit right at around 100 books this year. I also read a lot less deep/philosophical fiction than Townie.
10. The Patron Saints of Nothing - Ronni Ribay
YA book, but a great look at identity, belonging and family. Protagonist is a young Filipino-American man. It was a quick, easy read but the characters were well developed and focuses on the nature of hope in the midst of so much that is going wrong while still acknowledging the complexity of people.
9. What Moves the Dead - T. Kingfisher (NC author)
A retelling of the Fall of the House of Usher. The writing was immersive, with the setting being the main character of the story. She writes such a sense of dread and despair into the narrative. An interesting twist on the story that lead me to Mexican Gothic as well.
8. How High We Go in the Dark - Sequoia Nagamatsu
stories and reflections of a many connected (some loosely, so closely) connected characters about how humanity has responded to a deadly virus, that at first affects only children, over the course of centuries. IT was a really interesting look at grief and connection, how capitalism affects our humanity, and what happens to humanity during crisis.
7. Before the Ever After - Jacqueline Woodson
A story in verse told from the perspective of a young man whose father was a famous football player, who is now suffering the effects of CTE. Might have been a "point in time" impact, but just a gut-wrenching read as a dad - I listened the audio book of this one driving down to GA to visit my mom whose capacity has been quickly declining due to Alzheimer's and found myself streaming tears driving down the highway.
6. The Great Believers - Rebecca Makkai
Telling the interconnected stories of the (and deaths and loss) of a group of friends in Chicago's Boystown in the 80s amid the AIDS crisis and then 30 years later as a women (and who found herself caretaker of the group wrestling with survivors guilt) tries to reconcile with an estranged daughter and ghosts of the past. It was an incredible, and the writing made it personal, look at how the disease affected the lives and relationships of the gay community.
5. The Final Revival of Opal and Nev
This book demonstrates how history and culture are best understood through art (and in this case, both the art of the novel itself, and the art of its subject). Opal and Nev uses the story of one art duo to tell a larger story of the creative process, racism, and misogynoir, and does so very compellingly. The device of presenting the book as an oral history recorded by an editor that is personally involved carried the emotion of the book (and admittingly, had me googling to see if Opal and Nev had been actual artists and not fictional).
4. The World We Make - NK Jemisin
Jemisin is one of my favorite authors. She has an incredible ability to build worlds and then add further depth and meaning in subsequent novels. This was no different. Building on “The City We Became,” this novel not only stands on its own as the continuation of the story, but also injected further meaning into the first novel. It tells the stories of cities that manifest themselves in a human avatar and fight for their existence and uniqueness. Lots of depth and comments on gentrification, immigration - and contains the story of a xenophobic populist rising to power before the ascension of Trump.
3. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow - Gabrielle Zevin
Two friends who love and hate each other come together as creative partners in the world of video game design, where success brings them fame, joy, tragedy, duplicity, and, ultimately, a kind of immortality (Good Reads description). Loved the look at relationships beyond a simple "will they/won't they" look at childhood friendships. Also dug the video game nostalgia that is the glue that holds them together.
2. My Heart is a Chainsaw/Don't Fear the Reaper - Stephan Graham Jones
Not a huge horror person, but loved these books, especially the first - part slasher story, part meta-study of the genre itself - really dug the characters and gained a lot of appreciation for the slasher genre of movies. I loved the cleverness of these books, it they are ultimately inconsequential
1. Demon Copperhead - Barbara Kingsolver
This has easily ascended to one of my favorite books ever. Kingsolver tells the tale of wrecked lives and the trajectory of small decisions and larger forces that contribute.
Demon Copperhead reimagines Dickens' David Copperfield set in SW Virginia amid the opioid crisis. Told with such care that I was drawn in to caring about each character and their wrecked lives. The story is told with great humanity and care for the region, detailing its rich history and exploring why it is often left behind and susceptible to opioids. While at times glossing over some of the troublesome parts of the region, it's written with the love of a native of Southern Appalachia (of which I am also) and many parts felt like home - both the setting and the people - I knew most of the characters in the story. It opens up a great window into the region, why it is the way it is, and what drives those that live there.
10. The Patron Saints of Nothing - Ronni Ribay
YA book, but a great look at identity, belonging and family. Protagonist is a young Filipino-American man. It was a quick, easy read but the characters were well developed and focuses on the nature of hope in the midst of so much that is going wrong while still acknowledging the complexity of people.
9. What Moves the Dead - T. Kingfisher (NC author)
A retelling of the Fall of the House of Usher. The writing was immersive, with the setting being the main character of the story. She writes such a sense of dread and despair into the narrative. An interesting twist on the story that lead me to Mexican Gothic as well.
8. How High We Go in the Dark - Sequoia Nagamatsu
stories and reflections of a many connected (some loosely, so closely) connected characters about how humanity has responded to a deadly virus, that at first affects only children, over the course of centuries. IT was a really interesting look at grief and connection, how capitalism affects our humanity, and what happens to humanity during crisis.
7. Before the Ever After - Jacqueline Woodson
A story in verse told from the perspective of a young man whose father was a famous football player, who is now suffering the effects of CTE. Might have been a "point in time" impact, but just a gut-wrenching read as a dad - I listened the audio book of this one driving down to GA to visit my mom whose capacity has been quickly declining due to Alzheimer's and found myself streaming tears driving down the highway.
6. The Great Believers - Rebecca Makkai
Telling the interconnected stories of the (and deaths and loss) of a group of friends in Chicago's Boystown in the 80s amid the AIDS crisis and then 30 years later as a women (and who found herself caretaker of the group wrestling with survivors guilt) tries to reconcile with an estranged daughter and ghosts of the past. It was an incredible, and the writing made it personal, look at how the disease affected the lives and relationships of the gay community.
5. The Final Revival of Opal and Nev
This book demonstrates how history and culture are best understood through art (and in this case, both the art of the novel itself, and the art of its subject). Opal and Nev uses the story of one art duo to tell a larger story of the creative process, racism, and misogynoir, and does so very compellingly. The device of presenting the book as an oral history recorded by an editor that is personally involved carried the emotion of the book (and admittingly, had me googling to see if Opal and Nev had been actual artists and not fictional).
4. The World We Make - NK Jemisin
Jemisin is one of my favorite authors. She has an incredible ability to build worlds and then add further depth and meaning in subsequent novels. This was no different. Building on “The City We Became,” this novel not only stands on its own as the continuation of the story, but also injected further meaning into the first novel. It tells the stories of cities that manifest themselves in a human avatar and fight for their existence and uniqueness. Lots of depth and comments on gentrification, immigration - and contains the story of a xenophobic populist rising to power before the ascension of Trump.
3. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow - Gabrielle Zevin
Two friends who love and hate each other come together as creative partners in the world of video game design, where success brings them fame, joy, tragedy, duplicity, and, ultimately, a kind of immortality (Good Reads description). Loved the look at relationships beyond a simple "will they/won't they" look at childhood friendships. Also dug the video game nostalgia that is the glue that holds them together.
2. My Heart is a Chainsaw/Don't Fear the Reaper - Stephan Graham Jones
Not a huge horror person, but loved these books, especially the first - part slasher story, part meta-study of the genre itself - really dug the characters and gained a lot of appreciation for the slasher genre of movies. I loved the cleverness of these books, it they are ultimately inconsequential
1. Demon Copperhead - Barbara Kingsolver
This has easily ascended to one of my favorite books ever. Kingsolver tells the tale of wrecked lives and the trajectory of small decisions and larger forces that contribute.
Demon Copperhead reimagines Dickens' David Copperfield set in SW Virginia amid the opioid crisis. Told with such care that I was drawn in to caring about each character and their wrecked lives. The story is told with great humanity and care for the region, detailing its rich history and exploring why it is often left behind and susceptible to opioids. While at times glossing over some of the troublesome parts of the region, it's written with the love of a native of Southern Appalachia (of which I am also) and many parts felt like home - both the setting and the people - I knew most of the characters in the story. It opens up a great window into the region, why it is the way it is, and what drives those that live there.
