We Ride Upon Sticks by Quan Barry
The losing Danvers High Women’s Varsity Field Hockey Team pledges themselves to dark forces by signing their names into a spiral notebook with actor Emilio Estevez’s face on it and by tying strips of sweat socks around their arms. When they start to win, the Falcons find themselves trying to recharge the power of Emilio with darker and darker witchcraft to keep their streak going all the way to state.
Everyone in This Room Will Someday Be Dead by Emily R. Austin
Gilda, a twenty-something, depressed, hypochondriac, lesbian atheist obsessed with death, finds herself accidently working as the office assistant for a Catholic Church. While she tries to blend in as a good Catholic, she becomes fixated on the death of the 86-year-old woman she replaced. Was her predecessor murdered?
The Ex Talk by Rachel Lynn Solomon
In order to save her public radio station and her job from the chopping block, Shay proposes a new show where exes-turned-friends deliver relationship advice. Her boss enthusiastically greenlights the show. The problem? He wants Shay to host it with Dominic, her arch nemesis, and pretend that they’ve dated, essentially lying to their listeners and violating who knows how many journalism ethics. Sparks fly immediately: the show becomes a hit, the deception grows, and Shay and Dominic start to fall for each other.
Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo
After seeing an ad for Tommy Andrews, male impersonator at the Telegraph Club, Lily sneaks out with classmate Kathleen Miller to see her perform. Both girls quickly become entangled in the underground lesbian culture of 1950s San Franciso, but Lily’s new secrets and her blossoming feelings for Kathleen jeopardize her father’s citizenship status.
When Mike abruptly leaves for Japan to see his dying father, his partner Benson finds himself the roommate of Mike’s mother, a woman he’s never met and who came for an extended visit the very same day Mike took off for Japan. As they separately unravel their traumas, Mike and Benson learn what it means to fall in and out of love over and over.
Rust: A Memoir of Steel and Grit by Eliese Colette Goldbach
When Eliese’s plans for escaping her hometown of Cleveland come to a halt during the Economic Recession, she finds herself working at the Cleveland Steel Mill as Utility Worker #6691. In confronting mental illness, gender inequality, Catholicism, politics, and the very real dangers of the molten iron she works with day after day, Eliese rebuilds herself, just like Cleveland.
My Monticello by Jocelyn Nicole Johnson
A descendant of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemmings takes refuge in Jefferson’s Monticello when white supremacists threaten violence; A university professor uses his son to test the depths of racism; A woman named Virginia tries to escape her namesake birthplace; Another crafts an impossible list for buying a house and attaining security. This collection of short stories explores racial identity and the quest for self-discovery in a world that is still grappling with the legacies of slavery and racism.
The Lying Life of Adults by Elena Ferrante
Giovanna’s father calls her ugly; she’s just like his sister, Vittoria. The comparison to a woman that she’s never met and that her parents so clearly hate triggers Giovanna’s insecurities and sends her into an existential panic. As Giovanna begins a quest to learn about her aunt and her identity, she must grapple with deceptions from the adults around her.
Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
It is February 1862 and the United States is slowly realizing that the Civil War is going to be a long, bloody struggle. Against the backdrop of the nation’s collective grief, President Lincoln is in anguish over the death of his eleven-year-old son Willie. While the President visits his son’s tomb and holds his body, Willie finds himself stuck in a strange purgatory, unsure where his soul should go, with a diverse array of ghosts.
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Kya is abandoned by her parents, her siblings, and even her community at a young age, but the hermit takes solace in the surrounding North Carolina marshlands and becomes an expert on the natural world. The lush landscape, however, can’t protect Kya when she is suspected of murdering the town’s most beloved son.
Beowulf: A New Translation by Maria Dahvana Headley– An iconic work of early English literature is updated in Headley’s feminist adaptation, bringing to light elements never before translated into English.
A Hawk in the Woods by Carrie Laben– A suspenseful, dark tale of family trauma, abuse of power, and the bonds of sisterhood that centers on supernaturally gifted twins Abby and Martha Waite and follows Abby’s choices after she discovers she has been diagnosed with late stage melanoma.
The Push by Ashley Audrain– A tense, page-turning psychological drama about the making and breaking of a family and one woman’s deeply affecting and difficult story of motherhood, womanhood, grief, and guilt.
Build Your House Around My Body by Violet Kupersmith– Haunting and inspired, this novel looks at the stories of three women in Vietnam, weaving together Vietnamese folklore and themes of national and racial identity, women’s bodies and their burden, and sweet revenge.
Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke by Eric LaRocca– A standout novella featuring an interesting combination of atypical structure, beautiful writing, and body horror about two women who meet in a queer chat room. This book, and the ending in particular, will keep you thinking long after you finish this short work.
Love and Fury: A Novel of Mary Wollstonecraft by Samantha Silva– An amazingly well-crafted and beautiful historical fiction novel of Mary Wollstonecraft – arguably the world’s first feminist and one of the world’s most influential thinkers. Inspiring and enlightening.
Betty by Tiffany McDaniel– Perhaps my most favorite book of the year, this heartbreaking and remarkable novel is inspired by the life of McDaniel’s own mother. Set in rural Ohio during the 50s, readers follow Betty Carpenter, as she endures terrible discrimination, violence, loss, and love in this luminous and often emotionally difficult book.
The Death of Jane Lawrence by Caitlin Starling– A beautifully written gothic romantic thriller with a dash of magic and horror. Drawing inspiration from such classics as Bluebeard and working the dangerous bridegroom trope, Starling delivers an engaging and tense tale.
The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo– A skillful and fantastical reimagining of The Great Gatsby that reimagines Jordan Baker as a queer Vietnamese immigrant, embellishing upon Fitzgerald’s original plot with commentary on gender, race, and sexuality, set in a magical Jazz Age New York.
Seek You: A Journey Through American Loneliness by Kristen Radtke– A timely and moving meditation on isolation and longing, both as individuals and as a society, delivered in a beautiful graphic novel.
As we approach the end of Year Two in a Global Pandemic, it remains equally difficult to concentrate on reading and impossible not to hide out in-between the pages of a book, yes? I don’t know if it’s a permanent change but I really leaned hard into audiobooks, with plenty of special appearances by SciFi and children’s classics. I didn’t include any of the classics, they get plenty of press, but I will note which titles I thought were particularly good audio editions. And so that’s my prepwork -all done! Now, are we ready to get into it? Let’s go!!
Special Shout Out:
Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells
If we’ve talked at all this year, you’ll know at the top of my most favorite and most suggested books would be the Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells. A series of novellas and one novel, these stories are about Murderbot, a self-named AI created to be hired out to protect humans in various settings out in space. Murderbot is smart and funny and thought-provoking and there’s nothing I don’t like about this entire series. I’ve listened to the audiobooks and the narrator is now the voice of Murderbot to me.
True Stories:
Easy Crafts for the Insane by Kelly Williams (Audiobook read by the author.)
Kelly shares her rollercoaster of success and health struggles mixed in with her sanity-saving crafting, with instructions included for your own crafting experience. Thoughtful, funny, and uplifting.
The Book of Hope by Jane Goodall and Douglas Abrams (Audiobook read by the authors.)
What an amazing individual Jane Goodall is, now I know more about her life story and I do feel more hope for the future (by taking action)!
These Precious Days by Ann Patchett (Audiobook read by the author.)
So many great essays on topics ranging from her childhood to the recent loss of her friend Sooki. If you listen, it’s like finding a new best friend.
Storyteller by Dave Grohl (Audiobook read by the author.)
Nirvana and Foo Fighters fans will already be on this one but you don’t have to know all his songs to enjoy his story. And if you’re more into Hollywood than rock star legends -I’ll sneak in a mention of The Boys by Ron Howard and Clint Howard, equally charming and insightful!
Had a Laugh, and maybe a smol sob:
Good Eggs by Rebecca Hardiman (Audiobook edition is a joy!)
This imperfect but loving Irish family has its fair share of drama but the story is peppered with sweet and funny moments. The audiobook narrator reads the book with a charming Irish accent.
The Girl Who Drank the Moon by Kelly Barnhill
Winner of the 2017 Newbery Award, I’m late to this party but I’m glad to finally have joined the group! Luna is a baby when she’s saved by a kindly witch named Xan and accidentally receives magical powers, with both good and bad consequences.
A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T Kingfisher
Mona lives in a world where some people have magical abilities and some don’t, and those with magic manifest their abilities in a variety of ways. Mona’s magic is working with baked goods. If that sounds weak to you, just wait to see how she joins the battle against the bad guys wanting to take over her country! Andre Norton Nebula Award for Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction in 2020.
Sheets (and Delicates) by Brenna Thummler
Sheets was a Barnes and Noble Best Book of 2018 and Delicates follows the same characters in this follow-up story of a family of ghosts living in a family’s laundromat. The human family is having a hard time financially and it might be their otherworldly guests have a solution, if they’re willing to work together.
Good People in Complicated Relationships
Back in the day, Vivian Dalton worked as a phone operator at Ohio Bell in Wooster and often accidentally overhears portions of private conversations. One misheard portion later, Viv and her world are upended. Great family relationships, historical tidbits, and a satisfying conclusion, all set in Northeast Ohio!
We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker
A modern Western with wide-open lands that still manage to hide plenty of dark secrets of the past and present. You’ll be rooting for everyone in this story-at bare minimum to survive but mostly to find a sense of peace in their lives.
How Not to Drown by Jaimee Wriston
After the death of her younger son, Amelia MacQueen has custody of her 12-year-old granddaughter Heaven. Grandmelia isn’t a cuddly kind of woman, her older son is still living at home and is agoraphobic, and Heaven’s mom is in prison for killing her dad, and they’re all doing their best in their own damaged way. And there are funny bits too, really!
After their mom’s death, Patrick O’Hara took his niece and nephew for the summer to help his brother out. The trio already have deep ties and the summer only increases their bonds, but there are tense moments when they work through complex feelings -individually and as a group but even more moments of laughter and love. I laughed out loud. I cried. I love Patrick and his family
Early Morning Riser by Katherine Heiny
Jane has taken a teaching job in the small town of Boyne City, Michigan and falls for the town lothario Duncan. Sometimes it seems like the best choice she’s ever made and sometimes the worst; but the joy of this story for me was in the quiet everyday moments, the small connections that show understanding of the people most important to your life.
Something Different:
The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse
Subtle hints of what might really be happening are mixed in with a complex backstory that could lead a reader down the wrong path of this dark and creepy mystery. The end hints there could be more, or maybe we’ll all be left wondering what happened next…
The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune (The audiobook narrator does different voices for the characters -and it’s fantastic.)
In this world, people with special abilities are forced to register their skills and are tracked “for everyone’s safety”. The children who live in The House are more exceptional than other citizens and are more closely followed than any others. But they each provide a unique and special viewpoint, they’re funny and sweet and kind to each other, and the adults learn a lot -finally.
Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger
Elatsoe is a 17-year-old Lipan Apache girl who can communicate with spirits, including her beloved childhood dog Kirby. When her cousin Trevor dies in a seemingly suspicious accident, Ellie and her parents travel to Texas to help Trevor’s widow care for their newborn baby. There is a dangerous force gathering strength in this small town, can Ellie and her family be the force for good that battles the darkness back? Supernatural forces, strong family traditions, and a ghost dog = winner!
A Psalm for the Wild Built by Becky Chambers
The first in the Monk and Robot series, this novella takes place in a world where robots have been liberated and live far from human communities. When a tea Monk, tasked with creating special tea blends for each customer as they share what’s on their mind, goes out beyond his usual boundaries he meets a Robot who’s been sent by his collective group to see how humankind is getting along. It’s a quiet story of small comforting moments.
Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata
Keiko Furukura started working at the Hiiromachi Station Smile Mart when she was 18-years-old and eighteen years later, feels truly at home in her job. She has a connection to the rhythms of the station, her customers, and the items they sell, but her family and friends tell her she should want something more. Should she listen? A unique character with an unique viewpoint, you don’t really see the full picture until you find yourself at the end of the book.
Have you read any of these? Did you like them? Let me know! Also, if you have any recommendations to share… feel free! Happy Holidays!
– Stacey
Take a look at some of the exciting new releases coming to our shelves in this week…
The Sleep Fix: Practical, Proven, and Surprising Solutions for Insomnia, Snoring, Shift Work, and More
by Diane Macedo – A renowned ABC News anchor/correspondent and former insomniac presents cutting-edge research, expert advice, intimate stories and easy-to-implement solutions to help millions of people get the sleep they need.
Silent Parade by Keigo Higashino, Keigo – When the suspected killer of two young girls—20 years apart—dies during the annual street festival, Detective Chief Inspector Kusanagi turns to his friend Detective Galileo to help solve the string of impossible to prove murders.
Jane Austen’s Lost Letters by Jane K. Cleland – When she comes into the possession of two previously unknown letters by Jane Austen, antiques appraiser Josie Prescott, as she sets out to authenticate these letters, learns that someone is willing to kill to keep her from finding out the truth.
Agent Sniper: The Cold War Super Agent and the Ruthless Head of the CIA by Tim Tate – This look at one of most important Cold War spies details how he was able to smuggle out a huge amount of Soviet bloc intelligence and military documents.
Everyday Trauma: Remapping the Brain’s Response to Stress, Anxiety, and Painful Memories for a Better Life by Tracey Shors – A neuroscientist explores how trauma impacts the brain, especially for women—and how we can learn to heal ourselves.
Tailored Brain, The: From Ketamine, to Keto, to Companionship, a User’s Guide to Feeling Better and Thinking Smarter by Emily Willingham – Helping us understand cognitive enhancement, a journalist and science writer explores the promises and limitations of well-known and emerging methods of brain customization, including new research on the power of your “social brain.”
Fixed: How to Perfect the Fine Art of Problem Solving by Amy E. Herman – An art historian and attorney uses works of art to present a new paradigm for problem-solving that focuses on critical thinking skills to help recognize and overcome biases that prevent us from seeing problems clearly.
Creative Types: And Other Stories by Tom Bissell – Writers, video-game developers, actors and other creative types who see the world a little differently and are each on the verge of artistic and personal crises populate a new collection of stories from the best-selling co-author of The Disaster Artist.
~Semanur
I’m not sure I can really do my 2021 reading list justice with a list of only ten books. So with some emotional support from my co-workers, and after a long talk with my cat, I was finally able to take a deep breath and chose twelve.
Reflecting over the past year, each one of these books takes me back to a time and place of extreme joy and extreme pain. Each one is a mile marker that reminds me to keep breathing, keep moving, and when all else fails- shut out the world and grab a good book.
Bingo Love by Tee Franklin: Reunited over bingo after 45 years, these two grandmothers find that their love for one another never faded. Hope, love, and realizing that it is never too late to live authentically and with all your heart!
Good Kids, Bad City by Kyle Swenson: True crime set across the decades in Cleveland, Ohio, this is the story of a still unsolved murder and the longest wrongful incarceration of three men and their fight for justice.
Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera: A young woman sets out to find community and herself. What she discovers is the true meaning of intersectionality and standing in her own self-love.
When No One is Watching by Alyssa Cole: A thriller that is a little bit ‘Rear Window’ and a little bit mole people. Gentrification, murder, evil pharmaceutical companies, and the most unexpected heroes.
The Final Revival of Opal & Nev by Dawnie Walton: A fictional rock biography that spans decades that reads and feels like non-fiction. This story explores the music industry, generational trauma, sexism, and race.
The Things She’s Seen by Ambelin Kwaymulina: This short thriller is narrated by a young girl, who happens to be a ghost trying to help her father get justice for another young girl. Part murder mystery, part Australian Aboriginal tale, this story will sit with you long after you finish the book.
My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite: A darkly humorus story about two sisters- the beautiful and popular one and the responsible one. They have nothing in common, including how they deal with their traumatic childhood. One sister becomes a serial killer, the other learns how to clean up a crime scene.
Skye Falling by Mia MacKenzie: A Black queer woman in her 30’s enjoys her life of no attachments and no responsibilities until the 12 year old egg she donated to a friend she’s lost contact with shows up one day. You will laugh just as much as you cry while you go along for a truly amazing ride!
The Deep by Rivers Solomon: How did the mermaids in the Pacific Ocean come to be? This is their origin story. Beautifully written, Solomon speaks to community, healing, and reclaiming your identity.
The Push by Ashley Audrain: A psychological drama about motherhood, family, and murder (?) that will have you holding your breath and gasping out loud.
The Supremes at Earl’s All-You-Can-Eat by Edward Kelsey: Three friends, affectionately called The Supremes, hold tightly to each other through decades of all that life can throw at them. All while Eleanor Roosevelt’s ghost is watching over them. Really.
The Forest of Stolen Girls by June Hur: A young female impersonates a man in order to find her father and solve ongoing murders. Set 600 years ago in Korea, this story will pull you in and not let go until the final word.
I read some really great books this year. It’s always so hard to pick my absolute favorites, but I did my best to list ten of the (fiction) titles I enjoyed the most below:
Ridgerunner by Gil Adamson
Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau
Early Morning Riser by Heiny
Morningside Heights by Joshua Henkin
Featherweight by Mick Kitson
The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman
Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead
Harlem Shuffle by Colson Whitehead
Very Sincerely Yours by Kerry Winfrey
We Begin at the End by Chris Whitaker
Hope you find something wonderful to read before the year is out and that you have a safe and happy holiday season!
-Carol
It is always difficult to narrow down my annual list to ten titles. The top five were easy to slot in, but there were another eleven I wanted to list. I have once again included the honorable mentions that did not make the final cut so that all the books I think were remarkable are included.
This year’s list sees the return of a few of my perennial favorites, though sadly, there is no new Steph Cha book for me to add to the list, and I am not picking up the final volume of The Expanse series until later today. Here is what made me 2021 Top Ten list:
10. Eathereater – Dolores Reyes
A young woman begins to feel compelled to eat dirt soon after her mother dies. When she does eat earth, she has visions of people with a connection to that soil. Though the locales are unsettled by her ability, people begin leaving jars of dirt with notes pleading for her assistance. This short novel was truly unique and unsettling.
9. Bullet Train – Kotaro Isaka
Bullet Train is an odd balance of fast-paced action, quirky humor, and Japanese psychological thriller. Mayhem ensues when a mix of criminals-for-hire and a youthful psychopath end up on the same train for several interrelated reasons. I have always had a soft spot for books set on trains, and the Shinkansen is a key to the story as the Orient Express in Agatha Christie’s classic whodunit. The movie adaptation is set to be released next year.
8. All Systems Red – Martha Wells
All Systems Red and protagonist Murderbot are unexpectedly charming. It is surprisingly easy to relate to Murderbot, who wants little more than to be left alone so they can watch their soaps. Funny and fast-paced, this slim novella left me excited to read the rest of the series.
7. Razorblade Tears – S.A. Cosby
Ike, a Black man, and reformed convict turned successful business owner, and Buddy Lee, a White good old boy ex-con with a penchant for drinking, would not normally associate with each other. However, when their married sons are murdered, both Ike and Buddy Lee are left with feelings of shame and regret over the strained relationships they had with their sons. Together, they start to look into the death of their sons.
6. Murder on the Red River & Girl Gone Missing – Marcie R. Rendon
Often my favorite crime novels are when the crime or mystery component takes a backseat to characters and setting to the point of the crime being almost superfluous. Renee “Cash” Blackbear, one of the disproportionate number of American Indian children removed from parental care and raised in various white foster homes, spends her days as a Minnesota farm laborer and truck driver and her evenings drinking and shooting pool in the local bars. Cash occasionally serves as an unofficial sidekick to the local Sheriff, and when a body is found in a field, Cash begins to dream of the victim’s house and family. Cash and 1970s Minnesota Red River Valley are the reason to keep reading – and I wish there were more to read.
5. Untamed Shore – Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Moreno-Garcia’s Velvet was the Night is on most of the 2021 notable books lists, same for Mexican Gothic last year and Gods of Jade and Shadow the year before that. That Untamed Shore managed to go largely unnoticed is a tragedy. This bildungsroman-cum-noir is more compelling and relatable than Velvet was the Night or Mexican Gothic.
4. The Secret Place – Tana French
Tana French’s Dublin Murder Squad series is consistently outstanding. I completed both Broken Harbor and The Secret Place in 2021. Broken Harbor was perhaps my least favorite of the series, and still very good, whereas, The Secret Place may be my favorite so far. French continues to cycle familiar characters from previous books into starting roles to excellent effect. I am excited to start the final installation of the series sometime soon.
3. The Sympathizer – Viet Thanh Nguyen
The Vietnam War is coming to an end, and as Saigon is about to fall, a Captain begins to plan his General’s escape from the county. Together, with a select few, they flee Saigon on one of the last army transports over-crowded with other refugees. The Captain, half-French half-Vietnamese, a man of two minds, is a communist agent whose role is to observe and report back on the military cadre as they establish themselves in America. As suspicion of a mole rises, the Captain must deflect attention away from himself at terrible costs. This was a poignant and relevant contemplation of war, refugees, politics, and film considering the parallels of the recent withdrawal of the United States from Afghanistan.
2. The Queen’s Gambit – Walter Tevis
I started reading The Queen’s Gambit shortly after seeing that Netflix has released a new series based on the book. The story follows orphan Beth Harmon as she discovers and embraces her natural genius for chess. Beth’s struggles with loneliness and addiction are simultaneously exacerbated by and inhibiting to her meteoric rise in the national chess rankings.
1. The Library At Mount Char – Scott Hawkins
It is not too often that a book manages to be so thoroughly unique, strange, and enjoyable from start to finish. After my wife finished reading it, she insisted, nearly daily, that I read it immediately, not so I would enjoy an excellent book, but instead to have some to share in the same “what just happened” experience. I have since hunted down several RRPL staff members to ask them what they thought of The Library At Mount Char.
Honorable Mentions
This week’s book recommendation is a little different from what I usually suggest, but I was so tickled by this particular book I needed to share it with you. Fluffy McWhiskers Cuteness Explosion is a delightful picture book with “explosions” by Stephen W. Martin and “cuteness” by Dan Tavis. The book is about Fluffy—an adorable kitten. So adorable, in fact, that anyone who sees her will spontaneously explode into balls of sparkles and fireworks. KABOOM! Find out if there’s any hope for Fluffy in this story about self-acceptance and finding friendship in unlikely places.
~Emma (KABOOM!)
Read it or Weep 