2023 reading list
- Ducks, Kate Beaton (graphic novel)
- Inseparable, Simone de Beauvoir (fiction)
- Death of Ivan Ilyich, Leo Tolstoy (fiction)
- Straight Edge: A Clear-Headed Hardcore Punk History, Tony Rettman (nonfiction)
- Poetry as Insurgent Art, Lawrence Ferlinghetti (poetry)
- Cyclettes, Tree Abraham (nonfiction)
- Content Strategy: Connecting the Dots Between Business, Brand and Benefits, Noz Urbina, Rahel Anne Bailie (nonfiction)
- Year of Magical Thinking, Joan Didion (nonfiction)
- All the Horses of Iceland, Sarah Tolmie (fiction)
- An Episode in the Life of a Landscape Painter, Cesar Aira (fiction)
- Convenience Store Woman, Sayaka Murata (fiction)
- Birds of Maine, Michael Deforge (graphic novel)
- The Country Life, Rachel Cusk (fiction)
- The Farm, Wendell Barry (poetry)
- Alienation, Ines Estrada (graphic novel)
- Woolgathering, Patti Smith (nonfiction)
- The Trees The Trees, Heather Christle (poetry)
- The Book of Change: Images and Symbols Inspire Revelations and Revolutions, Stephen Ellcock (nonfiction)
- Brian Blomerth’s Mycelium Wassonii, Brian Blomerth (graphic novel)
- Remina, Junji Ito (graphic novel)
- The Willows, Algernon Blackwood (fiction)
- What Time Is It?, John Berger (nonfiction)
- Awakening Loving-kindness, Pema Chadron (nonfiction)
- Lone Women, Victor LaValle (fiction)
- Wise Blood, Flannery O’Connor (fiction)
- Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead, Olga Tokarczuk (fiction)
- Heaven, Mieko Kawakami (fiction)
- Good Talk, Mira Jacobs (graphic novel)
- Threshold, Rob Doyle (fiction)
- Seek You, Kristen Radke (graphic novel)
- The Long Loneliness, Dorothy Day (nonfiction)
- Speedboat, Renata Adler (fiction)
- The Fourth Island, Sarah Tolmie (fiction)
- Kafka on the Shore, Haruki Murakami (fiction)
- Be Happy, The Dalai Lama XIV (nonfiction)
- Monica, Daniel Clowes (graphic novel)
- Content Strategy Toolkit, Meghan Casey (nonfiction)
- Light for the World to See, Kwame Alexander (nonfiction)
- It Will All Hurt, Farel Dalrymple (graphic novel)
- Zen is Right Here, Shunryu Suzuki (nonfiction)
- Archetypes in Branding: A Toolkit for Creatives and Strategists, Joshua C. Chen and Margaret Hartwell (nonfiction)
- Alive at the End of the World, Saeed Jones (poetry)
- Sea Shells, Paul Valéry (nonfiction)
- Shadow Life, Hiromi Goto (graphic novel)
- Sun Ra: Art on Saturn, Sun Ra (nonfiction)
- Fantastic Four: Full Circle, Alex Ross (graphic novel)
- Before the Coffee Gets Cold, Toshikazu Kawaguchi (fiction)
- If Beale Street Could Talk, James Baldwin (fiction)
- I Must Be Dreaming, Roz Chast (graphic novel)
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Last Ronin, Kevin Eastman, Peter Laird, Tom Waltz (graphic novel)
- Timequake, Kurt Vonnegut (fiction)
- Why Art? Eleanor Davis (graphic novel)
- Monologues for Calculating the Density of Black Holes, Anders Nilsen (graphic novel)
- The Postman Always Rings Twice, James M. Cain (fiction)
2022 reading list
- I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness, Claire Vaye Watkins (fiction): This one could have been called, I Love This Book But It Should Come with a Trigger Warning. Named a best book of the year by a variety of outlets, this autofiction novel is a book of collapse, detailing the abrupt decision of the narrator (also named Claire Vaye Watkins) to leave her husband and months-old baby by extending a trip out west for a book event into a months-long, hedonistic flight. There's a bunch here also about Watkins' real-life father's time with Charles Manson's cult.
- A Swim in a Pond in the Rain, George Saunders (non-fiction): Here Saunders teaches a masterclass on Russian short stories (as he does for his MFA students at Syracuse University) by deconstructing four short stories by Russian masters. Every paragraph drips with insight, so it's taking me about a semester to get through.
- The Dorothy Day Book, Dorthy Day, edited by Michael Garvey and Margaret Quigley (non-fiction): Picked this up during my solo retreat last summer at a monastery. In this collection, excerpts of Day's writings are interspersed with the writings of artists, writers, philosophers, theologians and communist-leaning intellectualists to provide a deeper view into the influences behind Day's thinking.
- Encircling, Carl Frode Tiller (fiction): This book is the first in a trilogy but it was so anti-climatic and devoid of interesting insights that I have no interest in picking up the second and third of the series. In theory, this one should not lack for interest. A man loses his memory and posts a newspaper ad offering a reward for help from those who knew him in recapturing his memories and identity. What we get are a series of memories written by a few who knew this mysterious man in between third-person snippets from this man's life, pre-memory loss. The premise could be a powder-keg of tension and dread but it lacks any of that and, most damningly, a payoff. The book itself is enjoyable enough, but when you get to the end and realize you're still two volumes away and you've barely learned anything, you may be like me and question why you read this one in the first place.
- On a Sunbeam, Tillie Walden (graphic novel): This graphic novel was on my list for a long time due to its critical acclaim. Its definitely beautifully drawn, illustrated and inked, and I love the story that unfolds in this sci-fi love story. But I struggled connecting to any of the characters. I'm not the right audience for this one, but I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it for the right audience.
- Chilean Poet, Alejandro Zambra (fiction): I've been a huge fan of Zambra's work since discovering his novella Bonsai a decade ago. While I haven't always loved his experimental novels, I've always appreciate their ideas. This one lacks any of that previous ambition and sticks to the formula that first made me fall for him. Which is to say, Chilean Poet is a warm, deceptively simple and funny novel about familial relationships that avoids all the trappings of rom-coms. I adored it.
- Pure Colour, Sheila Heti (fiction): Heti's novel takes a fun inventive approach and largely makes it boring. Like a frustrated writer, G-d's on his second draft of existence. The first one, like Hemingway said, truly was shit. The conceit is great! And despite highlighting a dozen or more imminently quotable passages, this one still felt like a slog, despite its relatively slim 224 pages.
- Baddawi, Leila Abdelrazaq (graphic novel): Young Ahmed is struggling to find his place in his world, which happens to be a refugee camp in Northern Lebanon. This coming-of-age graphic novel is heartbreaking, raw and hilarious.
- Savings, Linda Hogan (poetry): Earlier this year, I donated to Coffee House Press, one of my favorite small press book publishers, and they sent me a few poetry books as a measure of thanks. This one by Hogan, a Chickasaw poet, novelist, essayist, playwright, teacher and activist, has been a delight!
- Adult Children of Emotionally Immature Parents, Lindsay C. Gibson (non-fiction): I got this on the recommendation of my therapist. I wouldn't necessarily say my parents are emotionally immature, but this classic has nonetheless been an eyeopening, gutpunching beast of a read. Proceed with caution. You will be cut open.
- Battles in the Desert, José Emilio Pacheco (fiction): Picked this novella up at Two Dollar Radio because I'll read any one they sell. This one especially caught my eye though because it's Mexico's beloved and bestselling version of A Catcher in the Rye. Didn't disappoint!
- Under the Glacier, Halldór Laxness (fiction): I discovered Laxness while planning for my honeymoon to Iceland in 2013. I bought his Nobel Prize-winning Independent People, which I loved but never finished. This one reminds me a lot of Confederacy of Dunces, only it's set in Iceland and features a bishop's emissary on a reluctant mission to track down a wayward and negligent pastor.
2021 reading list
- The Hole, Hiroko Oyamada (fiction): After her husband transfers jobs closer to his parents and hometown, Asa drifts aimlessly, trying to adjust to her new rural surroundings and kill time. Soon, she follows a creature to the riverbank and falls into a hole built just for her. No surprise here, perhaps: Fans of "My Neighbor Totoro," David Lynch and "Alice in Wonderland" will def enjoy this Japanese novella.
- Ways of Seeing, John Berger (non-fiction): Based on a BBC series in the 1970s, this book's a classic — one of the most influential books on art in any language. Berger's primarily focused on how we look at art and pictures — and thus, everything — from how context shifts meaning to the ways images have been used since humankind's beginning.
- Woman World, Aminder Dhaliwal (graphic novel): Originally an Instagram web comic, Woman World imagines a world without, well, men. The results are hilariously glorious.
- The World of Edena, Moebius (graphic novel): Moebius (aka Jean Giraud) is perhaps the most influential science fiction writer/artist that you've never heard of. Name the film, chances are the French artist has his fingerprints on it in some fashion "Star Wars," "Blade Runner," "Dune," "Alien," "TRON," "Space Jam," "The Fifth Element." Oh, and he also co-founded the iconic sci-fi and fantasy magazine Heavy Metal.
- Transcendent Kingdom, Yaa Gyasi (fiction): I'm probably alone in my relative ambivalence toward Gyasi's debut, Homegoing, but her follow-up, Transcendent Kingdom, about a Ghanian family in Alabama and the daughter who must balance her faith with her science training, absolutely FLOORED me.
- I Want You, Lisa Hanawalt (graphic novel): Filthy and hilarious, but then again, you'd expect nothing less from the creator of "Tuca & Bertie" and the "Bojack Horseman" production designer.
- The Nakano Thrift Shop, Hiromi Kawakami (fiction): Kawakami's quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. I adore her relatively minor, low-stakes novels. Though typically centered on an unconventional romance, you wouldn't call Kawakami a romance author necessarily. The characters are too quirky and unconventional, the pacing too slow, the plot lines almost non-existent and the romantic tension almost borders on platonic. It may sound underwhelming, but I find it the perfect balm and palate cleanser.
- Park Bench, Christophe Chabouté (graphic novel): This mostly wordless French graphic novel centered on a singular park bench and all the visitors it receives, was more profound and entertaining than its description suggests.
- Voices, Arnaldur Indridason (fiction): I've been obsessed with this Icelandic crime novelist since traveling to Iceland for my honeymoon almost a decade ago. His latest had all the weird, moody Nordic noir vibes I dig about Indridason's writing.
- Alone, Christophe Chabouté (graphic novel): Another mostly wordless black-and-white graphic novel from the French master, this one shines a light on every day objects through the imaginative lens of a lonely hermit living in an island's lighthouse. When the hermit receives supplies from passing fishermen, his imagination his only companion, we, too, experience the mundane with a newfound sense of wonder.
- Dune, Frank Herbert (fiction): For whatever reason, I could never finish this classic before, but the COVID lockdown broke that lock for me. After the first 100 pages or so, I finally grew smitten and have only become more obsessed since finishing it. Needless to say, super stoked about the upcoming adaptation.
- Becoming Horses, Disa Wallander (graphic novel): If I could be a graphic novel, I'd want to be this one. Ever felt like an abstract painting? What if your self portrait were a collection of weird shapes? In this mixed media adventure, Wallander removes boundaries to explore creativity, art and self-expression in a playful, wry and gently philosophical manner.
- Sticks Angelica, Folk Hero, Michael DeForge (graphic novel): DeForge is my favorite working cartoonist. He's proflic af, so it's hard to keep up with his work — still waiting to pick up this year's "Heaven No Hell" --
- First Person Singular, Haruki Murakami (short stories): Murakami's short stories are severely underrated — often weirder (if you can believe it) and more literary than his novels, this collection is no exception.
- Jesus in the Lotus: The Mystical Doorway Between Christianity and Yogic Spirituality, Russill Paul (non-fiction): Paul was trained as a monk under the renowned inter-spiritualist Bede Griffiths. Griffiths, of course, was a British-born priest and Benedictine monk who lived in ashrams in South India and became a noted yogi. This book continues much of Griffiths' teachings, which seek to better harmonize the intellectual and bodily experiences of both religions.
- Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck (fiction): Another lengthy classic I long neglected, this one, however, I couldn't finish. Got three-quarters of a way through it, and my Kindle's suggestion that there were still four hours to go broke me — perhaps not too unlike the Joad family itself. Also, perhaps not a wise idea to tackle a book right now that's about the powerful terrorizing the powerless during a huge societal upheaval. YMMV.
- Anger: Wisdom for Cooling the Flames, Thich Nhat Hanh (non-fiction): Despite the similarities in name, this furiously named book approaches injustices with a set of solutions. I'll read just about anything by the famous Vietnamese Buddhist monk.
- Spring and All!, William Carlos Williams (poetry): Williams was part of the Imagist movement that pushed poetry past rigidity in form and toward a more open, freewheeling one focused on everyday objects and lives. This collection — equal parts poetry and almost-stream-of-consciousness rants on imagination — contains perhaps his most famous poems, "The Red Wheelbarrow" and "This Is Just To Say" — which has taken on a life of its own more recently as a meme.
- Signs Preceding the End of the World, Yuri Herrera (fiction): Pro-tip: Buy anything from the publisher And Other Stories and/or the Mexican author Yuri Herrera.
- New Seeds of Contemplation, Thomas Merton (non-fiction): I returned to this book, the first of Merton's I'd ever read (and still my favorite), this summer when I made a pilgrimage to Merton's former monastery, The Abbey of Gethsemani, in Louisville for my fortieth.
- Captains Outrageous, Joe R. Lansdale (fiction): Despite familiarity with Landsale's work elsewhere ("Bubba Ho-Tep"), this was my first dip into his infamously over-the-top crime fiction. This one, which takes place largely in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, after our two heroes are abandoned there by a cruise line they've pissed off, paired quite well with my trip with Jess to Playa del Carmen for fortieth. We avoided knife fights and other seedy elements of Mexico's criminal underbelly, fortunately, but this was just the sucker-punch of a quick read I needed.
- The Luminous Novel, Mario Levrero (fiction): I loved this one more in theory or on paper more than I did in reality. Despite quotable lines nearly every page, I found the stop-start nature of this diary's first 100 pages too herky jerky. The narrative not quite in gear, I abandoned this one early, but I'm still interested in completing this one.
- The Dorothy Day Book, edited by Margaret Quigley and Michael Garvey (non-fiction): I picked this "reader" up at the Abbey and have dipped into a page or a two nearly every day since September. I've loved getting into the mind of Day, one of my favorite radical Catholics, by reading quotes from her favorite thinkers and inspirations.
- The Hole, Hye-Young Pyun (fiction): The second Asian book by this title I read this year and I'm not sure which I liked better. This one is basically an Asian version of "Misery."
- Shiver, Junji Ito (graphic novel): Continuing my foray into horror manga (I'm sure there's a more official term here), I LOVED this one by Ito.
- Take Me with You, Andrea Gibson (poetry): Picked this poetry collection up from the library on a whim. Didn't like it all.
- Goodnight, Punpun, Vol. 1, by Inio Asano (graphic novel): A school student who appears as a bird to readers, Punpun is a heartbreaking coming of age manga I immediately fell for thanks to its pathos, nostalgia and unrequited romance.
- Naive, Super, Erlend Loe (fiction): A 25-year-old university student in Norway grows disillusioned and quits his job in this classic Norwegian novella. The perfect read if you're looking for some Great Resignation Inspo.
- The Fisherman, John Langan (fiction): Weird fiction is right up my alley, and this one def held my attention and creeped me out.
- Goodnight, Punpun, Vol. 2, by Inio Asano (graphic novel): Still making my way through the second volume of this coming-of-age graphic novel.
- Concerning the Book That is The Body of The Beloved, by Gregory Orr (poetry): An epic poem recalling Rumi, Rilke, Hafiz, etc. Not quite finished with this one, but that's mainly because I prefer reading this on my phone while out and about for opportunities to dip into the sacred and holy among the mundane.
- A Swim in a Pond in the Rain, by George Saunders (non-fiction): A master class from Saunders on what makes a masterful story so impactful through a page-by-page examination of several short stories by Russian masters like Chekhov and Turgenev.
- A Year of Swollen Appendices: Brian Eno's Diary, by Brian Eno (non-fiction): This one's gonna take me a year to get through but that's largely by design. Eager to explore Eno's mind in more depth over the coming year.
- Anarchy & Christianity, by Jacques Ellul (non-fiction): Recommended this book by my pal Colin, I've been blown away by Ellul's examination of the overlaps between Christianity and Anarchy. Though originally published in the early 1990s, there's much here that's enlightening given the rise of Christian nationalism among the United States' evangelicals.
- In the Cart, Anton Chekhov (short story): One of the short stories included in Saunders' short story class, I'm including this one here, despite not usually including individual short stories in my lists, because of how many times I re-read this one (and The Singers below) as part of this book. Not my first introduction by Chekhov, but one of the best introductions into what makes him so revered.
- The Singers, Alexander Turgenev (short story): I was not familiar with Turgenev aside from knowing he apparently inspired Hemingway, but this story, despite its shortcomings, made me a fan.
2020 reading list
- Hellboy: Seed of Destruction, Mike Mignola & John Byrne (graphic novel): Mignola's recent-ish visit to Columbus (want to read my thoughts on that?) re-sparked my love affair with Hellboy, so I'm starting the story from the beginning and proceeding in chronological order.
- Inspired, Marty Cagan (non-fiction): Inspired (pun intended) by work colleagues who love Marty and this book. Couldn't finish it. But I'll likely pick it up again soon.
- Dunce, Mary Ruefle (poetry): A short, lovely poetry collection damn near anyone can enjoy
- Big Machine, Victor LaValle (fiction): Everything I read from LaValle always seems perfectly suited for my current preoccupations and predicaments. This one continues the streak with a plot about a cult hiring former junkies and other won't-be-misseds for metaphysical detective work.
- Allen Carr's The Easy Way to Control Alcohol, Allen Carr (non-fiction): Every year I read a book or two about sobriety. Maybe one of these years it'll fully set, but the lessons I've learned so far have carried over into so many other aspects of my life, too.
- Superman: Year One, (Vol. 2), Frank Miller & John Romita, Jr. (graphic novel): The second installment of Miller and Romita's Superman. Nothing revolutionary, but enjoying it nonetheless.
- Dear Ijeawele, or a Feminist Manifesto in 15 Suggestions, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (non-fiction): The title says it all. Required reading for all parents.
- Prayer & Make It So, Justin McRoberts & Scott Erickson (non-fiction): Loved both of these short illustrated spiritual guides.
- The Hard Tomorrow, Eleanor Davis (graphic novel): This may be a bleak look at a near-future but the book's calls to activism, empathy and belief in another world was somehow just the shot of hope I needed.
- Outline, Rachel Cusk (fiction): Cusk's attempt at a protagonist- and plot-less novel isn't quite all its billed as, but I still find myself wishing to be whisked away by her prose and the attempt nonetheless. This is the first of a trilogy, all of which I read basically back to back, so that's saying something, too.
- Is This How You See Me?, Jaime Hernandez (graphic novel): Another masterpiece by a Hernandez brother.
- Silver Surfer: Black, Donny Cates (graphic novel): Recommended by a friend, this comic was a little too campy at times, but the sci-fi psych artwork compensated nicely.
- Transit, Rachel Cusk (fiction): See my review above for Outline.
- Kudos, Rachel Cusk (fiction): See my review above for Outline.
- The Word Pretty, Elisa Gabbert (non-fiction): Just about any book that describes itself as a meditation on writing or words is going to grab me. This one did that and more. My highest praise for it is it's a book I wish I had written but know I never could've pulled off.
- The User's Journey, Donna Lichaw (non-fiction): Another book centered on my obsession with storytelling dynamics and how to implement those elements into content writing and website design.
- Love and Rockets, New Stories No. 1, Jaime and Gilbert Hernandez (graphic novel): Within the first few sentences, the narrator of The Dry Heart has shot her husband. What transpires next is a narrative that flits between the after-math of the shooting and the past that led to it. Written in spare, dry prose, this short Italian fiction book is really hitting the spot for me.
- I Remember, Joe Brainard (fiction): True story: About 10 years ago, I was convinced I wrote a first chapter of a novel where the entire premise was a series of "I remember..." statements. Turns out, that's the entire premise of this beat cult fave. So far, I'm enraptured — if only a little jealous.
- Grapefruit, Yoko Ono (non-fiction): A collection of abstract, absurdist aphorisms that's best dipped into in dribs and drabs.
- Miss Lonelyhearts, Nathaniel West (fiction): A classic novella I had never read. Dated at times, but I liked West's prose and the story overall.
- Parade, Hiromi Kawakami (fiction): After reading Strange Weather in Tokyo, I vowed to devour anything by Kawakami, whose books read like Murakami's Norwegian Wood. Which is to say, they're full of scenes spent eating and drinking but the overall vibe is one of longing and romantic regret.
- Havoc, Tom Kristensen (fiction): A Danish classic that's almost like "Breaking Bad" but with a newspaper writer and a lot of booze instead of a teacher and meth. I read Havoc in anticipation of our trip to Denmark, a trip, of course, that never happened (thanks again, COVID). But this book was an absolute gem of a discovery.
- Their Eyes Were Watching God, Zora Neale Hurston (fiction): One of those classics that are a classic for a reason and you finish it wondering why you had never read it before.
- How to Do Nothing, Jenny Odell (non-fiction): The perfect manifesto for the capitalistic attention economy that's sucking all of us dry.
- True Grit, Charles Portis (fiction): A short Western that's perhaps most famous for its two movie versions. I ADORED this.
- Too Loud a Solitude, Bohumil Hrabal (fiction): I find myself returning to this every year, never finishing it but loving every sentence along the way. This year was no exception.
- Chronicle of a Death Foretold, Gabriel Garcia Marquez (fiction): Every summer I read Marquez. It's never let me down yet.
- Junior: Writing Your Way Ahead in Advertising, Thomas Kemeny (non-fiction): A copywriter's take on how to succeed in advertising.
- Include Me Out, Maria Sonia Cristoff (fiction): TBH, never finished. But the summary still pulls me; I'll return.
- Homie, Danez Smith (poetry): The best poetry collection I've read in a minute. Contemporary, urgent, accessible — a must-read.
- No Man Is an Island, Thomas Merton (non-fiction): A digressive but at times profound look at Merton's ideas of community and Oneness, with a glimpse at the latter blending of mystical Christianity and Eastern thought that would later captivate so many.
- How to Be Anti-Racist, Ibram X Kendi (non-fiction): As recommended as you already know.
- Speedboat, Renata Adler (fiction): A classic of the '70s, I couldn't get through this experimental novel.
- Drifts, Kate Zambreno (fiction): One of those books where the author has writer's block, which itself turns into the book. This isn't exactly that, but it's close. At times, this reads like a memoir or diary, with Zambreno blending reality and fiction into a fog-addled novella about creativity and its death and rebirth through motherhood.
- Cat's Cradle, Kurt Vonnegut (fiction): One of Vonnegut's classics, Cat's Cradle was one of the few I had yet to still read.
- A Fortune for Your Disaster, Hanif Abqurraqib (poetry): You can basically copy-and-paste my review of Homie for my Columbus pal's poetry collection.
- The Lying Lives of Adults, Elena Ferrante (fiction): I still have Ferrante fever, all these years later. This did nothing to quell that.
- Clumsy, Jeffrey Brown (graphic novel): Transparent and vulnerable diaristic comic
- What Happens at Night, Peter Cameron (fiction): TBH, never finished. But the summary still pulls me; I'll return.
- Kurt Vonnegut Drawings (art/illustrations): This collection of Vonnegut's drawings and sketches shows the writer's sense of humor and whimsy in other forms.
- Underground Railroad, Colson Whitehead (fiction): LOVED Whitehead's magical realism take on the underground railroad.
- Draft No. 4: On the Writing Process, John McPhee (non-fiction): A treatise on writing from one of the originators of creative non-fiction. Making my way slowly through this to savor each sentence.
- Wildest Dream, Gary Panter (art/illustrations): This collection of Panter's sketches and doodles are deceptively simple, as if your high school stoner artist friend gave you his notebook of dinosaurs and Apocalyptic warriors.
- 6:41 to Paris, John Phillipe-Blondel (fiction): Documents a largely mental back-and-forth between two former lovers who cross paths on a train to Paris, as each personally recounts the devastating event that led to their split.
- Exit Wounds, Rutu Modan (graphic novel): When an Israeli man meets a stranger and learns his father may have been killed in a suicide bombing, his sets off on an adventure that'll change his life. I made that sound way more cliche than it is; I absolutely ADORED this.
- Tokyo Ueno Station, Yu Miri (fiction): A ghost of a Tokyo homeless man haunts a subway station and park, eavesdropping on the conversations of homeless peers and reminiscing about his former life as a dad and husband. Super depressing! But I liked it anyway!
- Familiar Face, Michael DeForge (graphic novel): DeForge is the *IT* guy in underground comics right now — or has been for a while I guess. Either way, Familiar Face will likely show you why he's also controversially so. All of his best gifts are here: idiosyncratic sci-fi grounded in a love story combined with a unique line-art style juxtaposed against bright, almost-primary color backgrounds. For many, the sum of the parts don't add up to the incredible hype. Like a moth to the flame, I'm attracted to just this type of pretentiousness, admittedly. YMMV.
- Welcome to America, Linda Boström Knausgård (fiction): After her dad's unexpected death, Ellen stops talking. Believing his death is her fault, Ellen's muteness is one more exertion of power by a character type (pre-teen women) too often shown as powerless — or, inversely, falsely powerful in an exaggerated, cartoonishly unrealistic way.
- The Christ of India, Abbott George Burke (non-fiction): A Hindu practitioner makes the case that Jesus' time before public ministry was spent studying yoga and Hinduism in India, a practice continued and expanded upon by his apostle, Saint Thomas, and that this Eastern-inspired practice was the true Original Christianity. I'm shamefully unfamiliar with Hinduism and most of my experience with Christianity is woefully Western, so I found many of the claims here worthy of skepticism. Still, even as nothing more than a thought experiment, this short book is worth the read. But much of what I've gained from this read extends beyond mere thought experiments.
- The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist, Adrian Tomine (graphic novel): I don't think I've ever LOL'd at an Adrian Tomine graphic novel before. There was a first for everything in 2020, I guess. Presented as a comic book hastily drawn and written in a Moleskine, The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist traces Tomine's earliest days as a cartoonist and New Yorker cover illustrator. But it's the self-deprecating spin on this early success that makes this graphic novel, hands-down, my favorite comic-related book this year.
2019 reading list
- Frankenstein in Baghdad, Ahmed Saadawi (fiction)
- Unreal City, DJ Bryant (graphic novel)
- Sabrina, Nick Drnaso (graphic novel)
- The Pathseeker, Imre Kertesz (fiction)
- They Ask, You Answer, Marcus Sheridan (non-fiction)
- Too Loud a Solitude, Bohumil Hrabal (fiction)
- Lizard, Banana Yoshimoto (fiction)
- Your Inner Critic is a Big Jerk, Danielle Krysa (non-fiction)
- The Sacred Enneagram, Christopher L. Heuertz (non-fiction)
- Kaizen, Robert Maurer (non-fiction)
- The Beastie Boys Book, Michael Diamond, Adam Horovitz (non-fiction)
- Growth Hacker Marketing, Ryan Holiday (non-fiction)
- Giovanni's Room, James Baldwin (fiction)
- Chop Wood, Carry Water, Joshua Medcalf (non-fiction)
- The Obstacle is the Way, Ryan Holiday (non-fiction)
- At the Bay, Kathleen Mansfield (fiction)
- The Invention of Morel, Adolfo Bioy Casares (fiction)
- A Manual for Cleaning Women, Lucia Berlin (fiction/short stories)
- Enneagram Transformations, Don Richard Riso (non-fiction)
- Young Frances, Hartley Lin (graphic novel)
- Ego is the Enemy, Ryan Holiday (non-fiction)
- Night Sky with Exit Wounds, Ocean Vuong (poetry)
- Keep Going, Austin Kleon (non-fiction)
- THIS, Michael Gungor (non-fiction)
- The Summer Book, Tove Jansson (fiction)
- The Taiga Syndrome, Cristina Rivera Garza (fiction)
- Tomie, Junji Ito (graphic novel)
- How to Find Fulfilling Work, Roman Kaznaric (non-fiction)
- Superman: Year One, Volume 1, Frank Miller (graphic novel)
- The Cluetrain Manifesto, Christopher Locke, David Searls, and David Weinberger (non-fiction)
- Monsieur Pain, Roberto Bolano (fiction)
- In the Distance, Hernan Diaz (fiction): Holy crap did I LOVE this Western. Everything I hoped for. My most-recommended book of the year, In the Distance is haunting, tender story about the settling of America, immigration, open heartedness, reconciliation, the consequences of violence, myth-making, and so much more. The NYT LOVED it, as did the Guardian, and many, many others, like the Pulitzer Prizes (!). Plus! It's published by one of my favorite small presses. Go support independent literature and pick up a copy from Coffee House Press.
- Epic Content Marketing, Joe Piluzzi (non-fiction): I've read A LOT of content marketing books and though I'm generally turned off my titles that include words like "ninja," "guru," or "epic," this is by far the most informative, inspiring and engaging content marketing book I've read yet.
- Season of Migration to the North, Tayeb Salih (fiction): Took me about 70 pages to really get into this book but that says more about my reading habits of late than it does this novella. But dang am I hooked now. Published in the 1960s, Season tells of the plight of Arabs and Africans who find themselves unsettled in a no-man's-land between modernity and tradition, Europe and Africa. As the NYT notes, "this novel is more instructive than any number of academic books.
- The Drop Edge of Yonder, Rudy Wurlitzer (fiction): Continuing my Western obsession with this acid-washed take by a descendent of the famous organ Wurlitzer family and published by locals Two Dollar Radio. So far, so good.
- Sober Curious, Ruby Warrington (non-fiction): WHOA. What a foundation-shifting, perspective-rearranging book! Key takeaways: Everyone has a drinking problem, because alcohol is addictive. That's why moderation doesn't work. Alcohol is also hugely detrimental to our health, so even a little bit goes a long way toward messing with our bodies.
- America, Andy Warhol (non-fiction): This tremendously fun photo-book from the art icon is filled with interesting insights on everything from celebrity to small-town America to professional wrestling.
- Aug. 9—Fog, Kathryn Scanlan (fiction): I wrote here about how much I enjoyed this book. In short, this collection of cut-up diary entries is charming and, well, short--almost a non-book and almost poetry.
- I Love This Part, Tillie Walden (graphic novel): A quiet, meditative, and atmospheric take on the coming-of-age story, as viewed through the perspectives of two young women falling in love.
- The Children of Palomar, Gilbert Hernandez (graphic novel): A comics version of a Gabriel Garcia Marquez short story, The Children of Palomar is rich with characters, mood, and surreal goings-on.
- Pedro Paramo, Juan Rulfo (fiction): One of Mexico's most heralded books, Pedro Paramo is said to have inspired a whole host of Central and South American authors, most notably Gabriel Garcia Marquez, who swore this was the one book he had completely memorized and had read the most.
- Bumperhead, Gilbert Hernandez (graphic novel): Another magical realism graphic novel from Hernandez I adored.
- Do the Work, Steven Pressfield (non-fiction): An incredibly short kick in the pants to help you embrace resistance as a way of overcoming procrastination.
- Silence: In the Age of Noise, Erling Kagge (non-fiction): A short, poetic and just damn lovely meditation on silence by a Norwegian explorer. I've already copied multiple passages and looked up every painting and photograph for more information on the artists behind each.
- Free Shit, Charles Burns (comic book/zine): A collection of the zines Burns made for friends, conventions, etc. A must-have for hardcore Burns fans.
- Homegoing, Yaa Gyasi (fiction): After only ~42 pages, I was shattered into a million pieces at least a million times. So, yes, it's heartbreaking. But it's also all those other things that usually accompany literary epics like this: soulful, life-affirming, lovely. And though I'm not usually a fan of alternating perspectives, the device here is used so effectively, in large part because the two sisters are so richly drawn, I'm already engulfed with both characters' arcs.
- How to Make Sense of Any Mess, Abby Covert (non-fiction): I've always wanted to be a librarian, but my wife and I agree there should probably only be one in the family. This short accessible introduction to information architecture is serving sufficiently as a class I've wanted to take for years. 10/10 recommend for anyone interested in thinking about how content and information should be organized to be serve the reader/customer/user.
- The Latest Winter, Maggie Nelson (poetry): Maggie Nelson, as far as I'm concerned, is the most interesting writer alive. I've devoured and adored everything I can get my hands on, including this poetry collection, which I picked up at Two Dollar Radio.
- The Eternal Now, Paul Tillich (non-fiction): Billed as a set of sermons, this book reads as more of a collection of essays on various states of the human condition. Though ostensibly Christian, the essays are much more broadly appealing, touching on broad subjects with incredible depth of insight into human behavior.
- A Western World, Michael DeForge (graphic novel): DeForge gets billed as one of the weirder underground cartoonists, but beyond his oddly shaped figures, geometrical landscapes and a neon-inspired color palette is a tenderness and sentimentality that pulls me in every time.
- Star, Yukio Mishima (novella): Based alone on the synopsis of this story (an inside look at a movie star coming apart at the seams), I probably wouldn't have picked this one up. But this novella came highly recommended, and I'm glad I heeded it.
- My Heroes Have Always Been Junkies, Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips (graphic novel): A young woman obsessed with celebrity junkies and the drugs they loved, finds herself in rehab and falling for another addict.
- Conversational Design, Erika Hall (non-fiction): I nerded out over this one hardcore. Conversational Design is brimming with ideas around web design, UX, writing, linguistics and the shift from mass communication to a highly personalized approach. Hall's central thesis here is that the internet has brought about a second orality, which means we should design our interfaces (e.g., websites, email newsletters, social media channels) knowing this. In other words, humans use the web as a form of conversation, which is the complete opposite way we used the mediums of print, radio and TV.
- Kingdom Cons, Yuri Herrera (fiction): I took to Kingdom Cons more readily than the first time I tried reading one of Mexico's hottest authors. In theory, that book, The Transmigration of Bodies, is much more in line with the types of fiction I gravitate toward. Maybe it wasn't the right time for that one. For whatever reason, Kingdom Cons grabbed me and wouldn't let go. This novella follows The Artist, a singer who finds asylum from the streets in the King's courtyard. Appearances are, of course, deceiving, and The Artist soon finds himself in the center of a widespread ring of corruption.
- Strange Weather in Tokyo, Hiromi Kawakami (fiction): V Murakami-esque, at least in terms of his more direct and relationship-driven novellas, this one involves a budding relationship between an older widowed man and his former student.
- Tribe of Mentors, Tim Ferriss (non-fiction): A collection of advice Ferris has gathered from countless interviews. I've been dipping in and out of this one whenever I need advice or inspiration.
- Tools of Titans, Tim Ferriss (non-fictoin): Similar to Tribe of Mentors, this book collects the tacts, habits and routines of various successful people across a multitude of disciplines.
- Memory Police, Yoko Ogawa (fiction): This dystopian novel is about a government bent on eliminating all sorts of things from people's lives and memories. It's gathered a cult following over the years, but for whatever reason, this one didn't grab me, even after ~80 pages.
- Kitchen Curse, Eka Kurniawan (fiction): I fell in love with Kurniawan's writing after reading his masterpiece, Beauty is a Wound. Nothing else he's done, of course, lives up to that, but I still enjoy this author's take on Indonesian pulp.
- Jakarta, Rodrigo Márquez Tizano (fiction): I should have known this novel wouldn't have lasted with me. I don't like books that purposefully try to confuse the reader by bouncing between past and present to create a dream-like state. And yet, every time descriptions like that draw me in. I didn't last 50 pages with this one before abandoning it.
- Allen Carr's The Easy Way to Control Alcohol, Allen Carr (non-fiction)
- The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober, Catherine Gray (non-fiction)
- The Dry Heart, Natalia Ginzburg (fiction): Within the first few sentences, the narrator of The Dry Heart has shot her husband. What transpires next is a narrative that flits between the after-math of the shooting and the past that led to it. Written in spare, dry prose, this short Italian fiction book is really hitting the spot for me.
- First You Write a Sentence, Joe Moran (non-fiction): Lovers of books, writing, words, sentences, etc. will find much to love in this love letter to, well, sentences.
- Contagious, Jonah Berger (non-fiction): I started this one on my phone several months ago and even though I was enraptured with it, I kept forgetting it was there, on my phone. I recently picked it back up, so to speak, and am obsessed all over again. Right now I'm reading about triggers used by marketers to trigger your subconscious to make decisions. It's all rather terrifying and fascinating.