This year was such a whirlwind and yet it also felt very long. Things that happened in January feels like it happened two years ago, things that happened in June feels like it happened a year ago, October feels like 6 months ago. I got the shortest haircut I’ve had since I was eight (that was also uneven), baked the first full tier cake by myself without my mother (for my mother), went to Greece (and lost by 1,059-day Duolingo streak in the process), had the most annoying succession of maintenance requests for my delinquent apartment, watched the entirety of Game of Thrones for the first time in the span of a few weeks, had some interesting health experiences, lost three family members in the span of the month of November, and was surprised by a Christmas with 70-degree weather outside and beautiful sunsets.
The books I read exist entirely in another realm, unconnected to the events of the year. I followed the same system as I did last year, choosing the books and order I read them at the beginning of the year. I followed the list except for adding The Log of a Cowboy since I had to return the book to my brother and adding Fear and Trembling because I was too intrigued and it felt very relevant to my life at the time. I’ve ranked them below in categories of Bangers (my favorite books of the year), Honorable mentions, Duds, and Get thee to a nunnery (the worst books of the year). I have 15 books across the bangers and the honorable mentions, and only 11 across the duds and worst categories, but I feel like a lot of books simply bored me this year compared to previous years. However, that might be because I finished the year on two duds in succession, Tom Lake and Catcher in the Rye. Looking at the list, I actually had a very balanced year.
Bangers:
- The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky
- A new addition to my favorites shelf. It has superb character exploration and depth and Dostoevsky has the most humane and sensitive way of writing characters. Whenever I think of books like this one and Crime and Punishment and East of Eden, I just sit shaking my head to try to comprehend my awe, and accept that I can never do the book justice.
- Reread: Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
- One of my favorite books of all time. It’s such a painful book, but it’s not “trauma porn.” There is so much to unpack in the novel, it was such a brave concept for the time period, and the book stays with me after every reading.
- Reread: Washington Square by Henry James
- I loved the character study in this and how the different archetypical characters play off each other. James leaves everything just open enough for every reader to make their own judgements on the motivations of the characters, which is genius writing.
- Fear and Trembling by Soren Kierkegaard
- This philosophy book provided clarity on long-standing questions about the Abraham & Isaac story and gave me a lot to think about regarding faith.
- Beware of Pity by Stefan Zweig
- The charm of Zweig is that he picks such niche, specific topics to write about, and it always strikes as original. The star of the novel is the idea of proving pity is poison, and it is served well by the writing and the characters.
- All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
- This was one of the most emotionally investing novels throughout the year, and it was the only book where tears were shed, but it didn’t prove to be the most memorable. I really enjoyed the atmosphere of the novel.
- The Martian by Andy Weir
- Amazing for pure entertainment value. The humor really carried it, and per some people who know a lot more that I do, the science was well-researched. So much better than the movie.
- Anxious People by Fredrik Backman
- 3/4ths of this novel was such a pleasant read, and I loved the twists and how even the twists could fool you. All of the elements set the mystery up so perfectly, but it ended so disappointingly and unbelievably.
Honorable mentions:
- The Idiot by Elif Batuman
- This might be the most confusing reaction to a book I’ve ever had. I disliked nearly every part of the novel except for Selin and Ivan’s tangible dynamic, but it somehow pulled me in and left me with unexplainable emotion after reading it.
- As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
- Another one where I thought I objectively didn’t like it due to the strange writing style, but I somehow got emotionally invested all the same. The atmosphere is so haunting and vulnerable.
- Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands by Heather Fawcett
- Not as good as the first installment of the series, and I’m not itching to buy the third book as I was this second one. But I always enjoy Wendell’s humor.
- Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi
- I really appreciated the insight into some personal perspectives about what happened during the Iranian Revolution, and I loved how the literary analyses were callbacks to my own literary college experience. But I thought the writing wasn’t up to par and often tried too hard.
- Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke
- This wasn’t transformative for me as it is for other people, but Rilke’s writing is incredibly poetic, and he provides a lot of interesting nuggets of advice. I think ultimately this book was designed for revisiting and connecting with it based on the time of your life and what you need to hear.
- Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
- I admire the influence this book had over the genre, and the plot is very clever and well thought out, but I also had a lot of misgivings and complaints about many aspects of the novel that I couldn’t overcome, particularly the Count’s ego, his lavish spending, and some of the melodrama.
- Book Lovers by Emily Henry
- I love reading rom com banter, but that is the only reason I read rom coms, and the only reason I liked this book enough to place it above the duds. But overall, it falls into a lot of formulaic tropes and is very predictable.
Duds:
(I’m least set in the ratings in this section. Books can move up or down moment to moment)
- Either/Or by Elif Batuman
- Largely forgettable. According to my review, Selin’s meanderings in the first half of the novel were more relatable than her meanderings in The Idiot, but Selin isn’t a strong enough character for them to nudge into the spare space of my memory. And I really didn’t like the last quarter/half.
- The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
- I just don’t think I read this at the right time in my life. If I had read it as a teenager, or maybe even in college, I might have a more flattering impression of the novel. I unfortunately found it a bit dull even though I didn’t mind Holden or think him too unlikeable.
- Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier
- The characters felt like caricatures. Like I said in my review, the vibe was an old black and white movie where everyone was overacting. There was only one aspect of the novel that displayed du Maurier’s signature subtlety.
- Franny and Zooey by J. D. Salinger
- The only reason this doesn’t get rated lower is because of Franny’s section, which was the only part of the novel I liked. It was also the shortest. Zooey’s section felt too obnoxious and distant.
- Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
- It’s sweet, but in a typical way. It was also too repetitive, and a lot of the characters’ reactions were caricature-like and over-the-top.
- Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux
- This is just so overshadowed by the musical, which I love way more. The narrative distance and the melodrama in the novel were severe impediments to my enjoyment, though I appreciate Leroux for giving us the story.
- The Log of a Cowboy by Andy Adams
- A good supplement to western fiction or western films. It’s very informative about the day to day life of a cowboy, but it’s not a book to pick up for entertainment.
Get thee to a nunnery:
- Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami
- I again have very little to say except “meh.” And perhaps “ew.” It was just lacking in any wow factor. Except the aforementioned “ew.”
- Tom Lake by Ann Patchett
- So boring and dull, including the indistinguishable characters. It was offensively blasé about traumatic events, and the main character was too unlikeable and passive.
- The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
- Unimpressive and not at all a prophetic dystopian world. None of the characters were intriguing. The protagonist was a bland flavor of passive. I didn’t see what everyone else loves about this novel.
- Babel by R. F. Kuang
- This is the only book I genuinely hated this year. It was such a chore to get through. One of the laziest books I’ve ever read that’s been hyped so much, I assume because it discusses important themes even though it delivers absolutely nothing new.
