"I’m also irritated by my irritation"... ROFLMAO. I can totally relate to this sentiment. So human. Adding your best book recommendation to my "must read" list now.
"Wellness" by Nathan Hill is at the top of my list: I laughed in equal measure to aching for the main characters. I remember laughing equally Hill's "The Nix," which I now want to reread. The fact that "Wellness" is set in Wicker Park as it is becoming gentrified and at the School of the Art Institute added to my enjoyment.
Best fiction I read this year was Pip Williams' "The Bookbinder" (published outside of the U.S. as "The Bookbinder of Jericho" and, no, I don't know why they felt the need to change the title). Set during World War I, it's the story of a young woman bookbinder at Oxford's Clarendon Press who has ambitions to attend Somerville College. Williams' portrayal of working class life in Oxford, the conflicts between "Town" and "Gown", the restrictions of women's lives, and the war effort on the home front, are well-done. But her description of the war itself, through narratives of survivors of destruction and carnage, in letters from hospitals at the front that made it past the censors, was so powerful that I had to set it aside for a while. Too much like the front page of today's papers.
Best non-fiction was Blair Kamin's "Who Is the City For?: Architecture, Equity, and the Public Realm in Chicago", which I really think should be required reading. It's a collection of articles written while he was architecture critic for the Chicago Tribune, and illustrated with great photos by Lee Bey, who still pens the occasional column on architecture for the Sun-Times.
If I have to limit myself to one - it would be Tom Lake. Others in my top 5 include West with Giraffes, The Reading List, The Many Regrets of Clover, and Lady Tan's Circle of Women.
Thanks for reminding me about Hannah's book - I am going to read it soon! We used to teach together at DePaul and when I saw this book coming over the transom earlier this year and read about it, I felt terrible for her. She is having the proverbial last laugh here (but I'm sure she'd much prefer none of this happened at all.)
Best book I read this year was Song of Solomon, which I had somehow made it through my 20s and 30s without reading. Excited to someday read Wellness, which a lot of folks here have been recommending, after I get off the library waitlist. Check back with me in 2025 and I'll probably have finally gotten my hands on a copy :)
Favorite book published this year was North Woods by Daniel Mason. The more I wrote about it the more interesting it became and spawned one of my favorite newsletters of the year.
I’ve read some very good books this year, but if I have to pick just one, I’m going with “The Goldfinch” by Donna Tartt. Such good writing, and so much in it, including a sad tale of unrequited love, drugs, and art theft. And antique furniture.
I'm always looking for a good memoir and this one sounds like something I'd like. I've just put it on hold at the library. Thanks for the recommendation. I'm assembling my 2023 best-books-I-read-this-year list now, for a talk I have to give tomorrow. I'm thinking "We Are Too Many" will be on next year's list. I had quite a few faves this year, among them "Demon Copperhead" (partly because I had a Demon Copperhead living at my house while I was reading the book), "Romantic Comedy" by Curtis Sittenfeld, "Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow," by Gabrielle Zevin, and "Acceptance," by Emi Niefeld. I'll publish my list later in the week on my Substack.
John, Substack Reads brought me your page. I think we're working in similar ballparks. I'd love it if you'd check out David's Lists 2.0: https://longd.substack.com/ Thanks!
"I’m also irritated by my irritation"... ROFLMAO. I can totally relate to this sentiment. So human. Adding your best book recommendation to my "must read" list now.
Let's go with "The best book I read this year, even though it was published in 2021": The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green.
My favorite was Babel by RF Kuang. So powerful! And still... Fantasy, kind of. What if Harry Potter would actually be about something?
Favorite--maybe "Lessons in Chemistry". Or "Tom Lake."
If I can add a nonfiction favorite--"You Could Make This Place Beautiful."
I did a really bad job of picking just one, didn't I?
Also, the title "We Are Too Many' has an ominous undertone from the Hardy allusion! Sounds like a really good read though.
"Wellness" by Nathan Hill is at the top of my list: I laughed in equal measure to aching for the main characters. I remember laughing equally Hill's "The Nix," which I now want to reread. The fact that "Wellness" is set in Wicker Park as it is becoming gentrified and at the School of the Art Institute added to my enjoyment.
Best fiction I read this year was Pip Williams' "The Bookbinder" (published outside of the U.S. as "The Bookbinder of Jericho" and, no, I don't know why they felt the need to change the title). Set during World War I, it's the story of a young woman bookbinder at Oxford's Clarendon Press who has ambitions to attend Somerville College. Williams' portrayal of working class life in Oxford, the conflicts between "Town" and "Gown", the restrictions of women's lives, and the war effort on the home front, are well-done. But her description of the war itself, through narratives of survivors of destruction and carnage, in letters from hospitals at the front that made it past the censors, was so powerful that I had to set it aside for a while. Too much like the front page of today's papers.
Best non-fiction was Blair Kamin's "Who Is the City For?: Architecture, Equity, and the Public Realm in Chicago", which I really think should be required reading. It's a collection of articles written while he was architecture critic for the Chicago Tribune, and illustrated with great photos by Lee Bey, who still pens the occasional column on architecture for the Sun-Times.
If I have to limit myself to one - it would be Tom Lake. Others in my top 5 include West with Giraffes, The Reading List, The Many Regrets of Clover, and Lady Tan's Circle of Women.
Thanks for reminding me about Hannah's book - I am going to read it soon! We used to teach together at DePaul and when I saw this book coming over the transom earlier this year and read about it, I felt terrible for her. She is having the proverbial last laugh here (but I'm sure she'd much prefer none of this happened at all.)
My top reads from 2023:
Wellness
Tom Lake
The Last Ranger
Best book I read this year was Song of Solomon, which I had somehow made it through my 20s and 30s without reading. Excited to someday read Wellness, which a lot of folks here have been recommending, after I get off the library waitlist. Check back with me in 2025 and I'll probably have finally gotten my hands on a copy :)
Favorite book published this year was North Woods by Daniel Mason. The more I wrote about it the more interesting it became and spawned one of my favorite newsletters of the year.
I’ve read some very good books this year, but if I have to pick just one, I’m going with “The Goldfinch” by Donna Tartt. Such good writing, and so much in it, including a sad tale of unrequited love, drugs, and art theft. And antique furniture.
Tom Lake!
I'm always looking for a good memoir and this one sounds like something I'd like. I've just put it on hold at the library. Thanks for the recommendation. I'm assembling my 2023 best-books-I-read-this-year list now, for a talk I have to give tomorrow. I'm thinking "We Are Too Many" will be on next year's list. I had quite a few faves this year, among them "Demon Copperhead" (partly because I had a Demon Copperhead living at my house while I was reading the book), "Romantic Comedy" by Curtis Sittenfeld, "Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow," by Gabrielle Zevin, and "Acceptance," by Emi Niefeld. I'll publish my list later in the week on my Substack.
John, Substack Reads brought me your page. I think we're working in similar ballparks. I'd love it if you'd check out David's Lists 2.0: https://longd.substack.com/ Thanks!
On this recommendation, I read “We Are Too Many” and absolutely loved it. Great rec!