I always have a book on me, just in case. Friends who can share space and time quietly reading are the best sort of friends. One of the greatest expressions of love Chris and I share begins with, “Can I read this aloud to you?”
After hosting a vibrant and delicious Christmas bibimbap lunch for family, we loaded the car and drove the 1.5 hours it takes from our place to get to the sleepy beach town of Westport, Washington, where we are spending five nights on reading holiday. I packed my clothes last minute, but I filled two bags full of books in anticipation of this vacation over a month ago.
And I’m thinking now: when did this love of books take root in me? I understood reading could be a source of power in grade school. I excelled in the color-coded reading curriculum to the aptly named gold level, which made me feel like girl-boss royalty. I come from a poor family full of dysfunction. While I’m not quite sure how I thought about it at the time, I do remember how I felt. I felt like I could do anything. And I wanted more of that feeling.
Early reading also included memorizing bible verses, which perhaps laid the groundwork for the pleasure I take in decoding sentences with complex architectures. I loved books that I could escape into. Those seemed to be books that featured highly-capable children or twisted realities: The Box Car Children mysteries, the Wrinkle in Time books, the Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle series, the Chronicles of Narnia. I also very early on learned that books provide wisdom to help you be the person you want to be, as in the lovely series of Serendipity books by Stephen Cosgrove and Robin James. The list could go on.
As a teen, I found that books contained exit ramps to rebellion and personal philosophy. At any time, I had a few books in my bag, carried around as totems of who I wanted to be. At every single class in every single subject in high school, the first thing I’d do upon arrival was pull out my pile of personal reading books, just in case. I’m a high school teacher now, and I feel only the slightest pang of guilt for the fact about how that was really just a different iteration of keeping my phone hidden under my desk.
Books have shaped me more than friends or parents.
Even my yoga practice began with fifteen-year-old me sitting with an open instruction book on the floor of my bedroom. I had been practicing yoga for a decade through books, before I ever popped in a video or attended a class.
When I want to learn something or solve something or know more about something, my first impulse is to buy a book or three on the subject. In my early twenties, my anxiety amped up to a crippling extent. I was about to graduate from college, my son was four years old, and I began to fall apart. Knowing that (at least for my son’s sake) I could not let this happen, I checked out every book on anxiety the library had and spent an entire weekend reading up on it. As a result of these reads, I started running for the first time, a movement practice that has been a stress killer for me ever since. I recommitted to my yoga practice and tried meditation for the first time. All these gifts came from books.
So, here I am, at the beach, wrapping up 2024, with a deep immersion into reading and resting. I’ve already exceeded my reading goal this year (50 books) by ten. At this point, it’s all whipped topping, chocolate sprinkles, plus the maraschino cherry. Below, I’ve listed all the books I’ve read so far this year. When the year is officially over, I’ll add the books yet to go. Along with each title is a one sentence reader response. For my fellow booklovers out there: Happy New Reading Year to you!
A lot of people talk about what they want to let go of in the new year. One thing I’m letting go of is the idea that I could ever own too many books, that I shouldn’t bite off more than I can chew, or that books equate to clutter. Time to embrace the glorious reality: there is no way I’ll ever read all these books, but I will die trying.
Here’s a recap of my year in books, starting with the one read first and ending with the one read last. I’ve linked some of them to my Bookshop.org affiliate page. The ones with links are the ones that, immediately after reading, I wanted to pass on to others, because they were that good and arrived in my life right on time.
1. Christmas at Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons: Not what I expected going in, since it was a story collection and not a novel and delightfully subversive!
2. So Late in the Day by Claire Keegan: Holy moly! Each story is a wonder of complexity and spareness, and I am awed.
3. Cities of the Plain by Cormac McCarthy: John Grady Cole, rest his naïve, romantic soul.
4. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen: Predicaments of well-read women that, after some bumps along the way, end happily ever after for those who deserve it.
5. In Limbo by Deb JJ Lee: A beautiful graphic memoir about growing up Korean American, how complicated feelings can be, and how their repression and denial can do harm.
6. Foster by Claire Keegan: A model of writing from a child’s perspective, done really well.
7. The Dharma of Poetry by John Brehm: The book that inspired me to start having a yoga book in my yoga bag to read a little of before class, plus a reflection on all we have to learn from poetry.
8. Lessons In Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus: Lively and fun; I would totally watch Elizabeth Zott’s cooking show!
9. Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo: An immersive novel in verse, about two sisters from different worlds who don’t know about each other, until they do. Read for a 2023 Battle of the Books!
10. Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan: If there could be one holiday season book to remind us of the difference between generosity in theory and generosity for real, this would be it.
11. Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley: Listened to this one eagerly, wondering how it would all turn out for this smart, spunky protagonist, and appreciated the subtle but effective immersion in native culture.
12. Poet Warrior by Joy Harjo: Your life and your poetry are heartbreakingly beautiful in the reading of them.
13. An American Sunrise by Joy Harjo: Poetry speaks truth to power—speak on!
14. Dear Memory by Victoria Chang: An exploration on identity through the juxtaposition of letters passed on to me by a work colleague; books passed on are such gifts!
15. Florida by Lauren Groff: A collection of stories full of moments of both horror and awe that leave you a bit more cautious.
16. Lore by Alexandra Bracken: A Battle of the Books title about a young girl who turns out to be a goddess—what’s not to like?
17. Keeping the Wonder by Ashley Bible and friends: Read in a collaboration team with colleagues focused on bringing more wonder to our classroom. <3
18. Weaving Sundown in a Scarlet Light by Joy Harjo: Fifty years of poetry, proving that Harjo has been a consistent master of her craft.
19. A Boy and His Dog at the End of the World by C.A. Fletcher: A gripping dystopian that takes place on an island off the coast of Scotland. A read for Battle of the Books that was quiet and terrifying.
20. The Paris Wife by Paula McClain: Somehow reading Hemingway from the perspective of a woman he should have treated better made him more empathetic? Huh…
21. No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy: The movie might be better.
22. Orange World and other Stories by Karen Russell: Again, Russell creates stories that are impossible and true at the same time, that rattle around in your brain long after you close the book.
23. The Poetry of Mindfulness, Impermanence, and Joy by John Brehm: Brehm makes the connection between poetry and spiritual practice, leaving me convinced to take up the practice of keeping a poetry book in my yoga bag to slowly read before class; thus a habit is born.
24. Tomorrow, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin: A page turner of a book artfully written that will leave you more appreciative of the art and storytelling that goes in to making video games.
25. Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyassi: Proof that Gyassi can write narrow novels too in this story that weaves the portrait of one immigrant family with depth and detail.
26. The Road by Cormac McCarthy: Surprisingly beautiful, moving, and impossible to put down, even in the midst of so little hope or help.
27. Understanding Cormac McCarthy by Stephen Frye: This helped me have a little more to bring to my McCarthy book group this year.
28. Future Home of the Living God by Louise Erdrich: I just kept pausing to copy down sentences, but the story was also a gripping and believable dystopia centered around native lives.
29. We Are Not Strangers by Josh Tuininga: Another one passed on by a colleague, this graphic memoir serves as a reminder that even in our darkest, most divisive times, there are connections and friendships possible across supposed boundaries.
30. Chang Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah: You must read it; It’s outrageous and also not. It’s the most unique book I read this year and it’s a stunning success. If you read the back of the book and think it doesn’t sound like your thing, you might be wrong.
31. Friday Black by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah: Clearly the practice ground for Chain-Gang All-Stars where Brenyah distorts and dystopes in order to explore the real and relevant.
32. The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett: This one got hyped (and, in turn, may have affected my read), but I enjoyed the story all the way through.
33. Deeper Learning by Monica Martinez and Dennis McGrath: Affirming and also frustrating at times, because after twenty-six years as an educator it’s apparent to me that the system is a mirror image of the larger system: designed to remain stagnant and stubborn, immune to big change. I was like, okay, we’ve got these eight examples—when’s the revolution?
34. Sourdough by Robin Sloan: This book absolutely delighted me in it’s simple, empowering, playfully rendered exploration of the value of finding fulfilling, creative work.
35. Evil Flowers by Gunnhild Oyehaug: Another book passed on by a colleague, this collection of short stories was truly meta-fictive (therefore, thinky) and surreal; and I loved them!
36. The Covenant of Water by Abraham Verghese: Read as an e-book, this work made my flight to Spain pass like a blink, so immersed was I in this place and this family. Read it the whole flight and still only got 40% done!
37. The Power of Student Teams by Michael Toth and David Sousa: Stepping up our group work game for a year of team teaching with my bestie—go team!
38. The Passenger by Cormac McCarthy: Confusing plot at times, but lovely writing that leaves you pondering many fundamental questions into the nature and meaning of life.
39. The Myth of Normal by Gabor Mate: An important book that addresses the role of ‘normal’ in perpetuating chronic illness in our society—and a call for change.
40. The Morningside by Tea Obrecht: From the mind of an eleven-year-old refugee child, this strange post-apocalyptic world is normal, creating a lovely tension in the mind of the reader between the questions the reader has and the questions the story wants to answer.
41. This Is What America Looks Like by Ilhan Omar: An inspiring and honest memoir of a principled and imperfect public figure, powerfully and humbly told.
42. The Bee Sting by Paul Murray: Such page-turner anxiety for all the characters, all the time, with some deep themes and a baffling ending.
43. The Thing With Feathers by Noah Stryker: Birds are even weirder, more diverse, and more fascinating than I thought; and we do have a lot to learn from them.
44. How To Change Your Mind by Michael Pollan: Fascinating and informative book, where I learned that we have the leading expert on mushrooms right in our little Oly-town (which really shouldn’t be all that surprising).
45. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison: Second read that, as always, leaves me in awe of how fearlessly Morrison successfully writes theme-driven fiction; left me more appreciative of the role of the narrator Claudia and her sister this time through.
46. The Vaster Wilds by Lauren Groff: At first, I was running through the muck with the narrator and wondering why, why, why we were going nowhere; but once the story cracked open, there were stars of meaning everywhere, and I was left in awe.
47. The Menopause Brain by Lisa Mosconi: I needed this book, and I felt far less crazy, hopeless, and alone after reading it.
48. The Soul Is Here for Its Own Joy, collected by Robert Bly: This poetry collection served as power-ups for my yoga practice for months as I sat and read a little bit before each class.
49. La Rose by Louise Erdrich: Found so many stunning sentences in this beautiful tale of grief, family, and friendship; and I am such an Erdrich fangirl right now, because her characters are so damn alive.
50. White is for Witching by Helen Oyemi: Smart, crafty, spooky, and cool, this ghost story is elegant.
51. Poems by Elizabeth Bishop: Took me many months to traipse my way through new and familiar poems by one of my all-time favorites, whose work is sometimes elusive and always witty.
52. Revolutionary Letters by Diane DiPrima: Read these poems in one day on November 5; it filled me with hope, and focused my rage in the right direction.
53. Sula by Toni Morrison: Second book for my Morrison book club that surprised me with its complex take on female friendship, and how directly she challenged the way women fail each other.
54. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams: A re-read and, honestly, why not lose yourself in a silly satire where Earth is demolished to build an intergalactic highway post-2024 election?
55. Monstrous by Sarah Myer: Stunning illustrations that could be a study of how to show the interior life of characters in comics, and a moving depiction that shows the impact of racism and identity on mental health.
56. Salvage the Bones by Jesmyn Ward: Devastating, flawless, moving story of a family living in the margins during Hurricane Katrina—what a writer!
57. World of Wonders by Aimee Nezhukumatathil: This series of essays about various plants and animals of the natural world was read in preparation for her Seattle Arts and Lectures talk—wonderful!
58. Nightbitch by Rachel Yoder: Every time I thought she couldn’t pull it off, she did, even the ambitious finale; Chris and I read this book with horror and delight!
59. Bite by Bite by Aimee Nezhukumatathil: Like World of Wonders, but about different foods and the memories associated with them—I totally want to use one of these as a prompt for my students to write about a food they have strong memory associations with.
60. A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson: A few plot holes, but a thoroughly enjoyable story about a young girl who decides to solve a murder as she procrastinates writing her college essay; read for Battle of the Books.
61. Hope in the Dark by Rebecca Solnit: Written during the Bush years, relevant now—look to the margins for hope—it’s there.
What books did you read this year?
What’s on your reading list for 2025?
I also work as a writing coach and love helping writers gain confidence, set goals, and develop their work. For more information on coaching, email me at eatyourwords.lizshine@gmail.com.