2022 was my year of ruthless reading. I shamelessly left behind more half-read books in recent memory. A book that will be left unnamed was returned to the library after the second chapter. I haven’t looked back.
In place of a numeric reading goal was a simple mission: to seek stories that pull me out of a reading rut and let go of what sunk me further into one.
A benefit of completing less books this past year was the intentionality I took to what I consumed. Whether it be what I read, watched or listened to, I placed more focus on the way they made me feel – a metric I now place above anything else.
The beauty of reading is twofold. Stories provide a tool for escapism and a tool for connection. A character from the Alan Bennet play “History Boys” eloquently said, “the best moments in reading are when you come across something – a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things which had once been thought special and particular to you. Now here it is set down by someone else, a person you never met, and it’s as if a hand has come out and taken yours.”
I hope more stories will take me by the hand as I continue my practice of knowing when to let go and when to see them through til the end.
I’m back from my long book-review vacation in time to share my favorite novels of the past year.
Nowhere for Very Long by Brianna Madia
Brianna Madia’s memoir was a full course meal. It satisfied many genres I love: the-coming-of age-tale of her adolescence was the appetizer, the adventure was the main course, and her poetic prose was the sweet dessert.
Like many readers, I was introduced to her on Instagram thanks to a viral feature of her family on the feel-good animal loving account, The Dodo.
Beyond vibrant photos in Moab with her growing dog-pack and recognizable orange set of wheels, Madia is a gifted wordsmith that can make even a trip to the post-office sound captivating.
Before van-life blew up into a hashtag, she and her ex-partner were soaking up the desert sun off-grid. Before the term “influencer” entered the internet vernacular, she had amassed nearly 300k Instagram followers. Her authenticity being the common thread to her wide audience.
Her writing is as vulnerable as diary entries but as polished as a seasoned writer wise beyond her years. She recollects quitting her 9-5, buying a van with nearly every penny in her bank account, some personal devastating losses and her unbreakable bond with her dogs that she never leaves behind. Her specificity paints a vivid picture within each chapter that readers can conjure up and appreciate without seeing her IG feed.
Fair warning: after you put down her memoir, you’ll likely wipe away tears, hug the nearest animal in your vicinity and hit the road someplace beautiful. Lucky for us, book number 2 is on the way.
The Light We Lost by Jill Santipolo
Two strangers meet in the middle of New York City on a day the country won’t forget, September 11th 2001. The unique circumstances ignited their wildfire romance until their careers split them up to opposite ends of the world. Despite the distance, they re-enter the revolving door into each other’s lives.
I enjoy a romance or drama now and again as a cushion from intense thrillers. Little did I know how heavy this story would weigh on my heart. In place of a Hallmark template with vanilla love interests, are two earnest and mature but equally complicated people. It’s refreshing to meet characters with as much depth as Lucy and Gabe. I was rooting for them as individuals and together.
One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins-Reid
A young woman’s high school sweetheart goes missing after a helicopter crash shortly before their wedding. Years later after she falls in love again she hears the news that changes her world – her fiánce is still alive. Torn between the two most important people in her life, she must decide who’s promise of forever she’s willing to keep.
Taylor Jenkins Reid is the modern fiction author of our time with a distinctive voice that feels as familiar as an old friend. I’m a fan of TJR’s works in The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Malibu Rising but for me, One True Love is at the top of her fictional hierarchy. Perhaps I’m partial to it because it was reminiscent of the love-story in Pearl Harbor, a film that left a lasting impression in my romantically naive teenage heart. Unlike so many movies involving love triangles, neither of her partners were the bad-guy or the obvious choice. In real life, there’s rarely a villain. Reid is able to create nuanced relationships that breathe life into her tender writing.
We Were Never Here by Andrea Bartz
I mentioned We Were Never Here in a previous blog-post but it bears repeating, I’ll scream it from the rooftops: READ THIS BOOK!
Two girlfriends annual backpacking trip goes awry after a dead body is found in their hotel room. After the pair covers up their tracks and vows each other to secrecy, they start to question why tragedy follows them when a similar situation happens to them the following year. As they handle their guilt and grief differently, the dark secrets wedge between their fragile relationship.
The horror they experience consists of several acts 1) how they found themselves in their precarious situation 2) the will-or-won’t they get caught paranoia and 3) maneuvering the lost trust between their unraveling toxic friendship.
It’s a murder-thriller as much as it is an exposé on female friendship. In your twenties, your friends are your chosen family. Your world. The author has an intimate understanding of the looming bitter anxiety of a friend break-up. There’s a slice of relatability for readers to connect with amidst their ugly history.
We Were Never Here reminded me of the electricity that can live inside of a good book. I’m indebted to Andrea Bartz for pulling me out of the depths of my reading rut and making it fun again. I’m in the middle of another of her nail-biting novels, The Last Night with fulls plans on enjoying it until the end. The new year is looking bright.
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