Over the past few years, I've gotten a bit more serious with my commitment to reading, and it’s all thanks to a recent, albeit ubiquitous, game changer - my local library. I discovered my local library during Melbourne’s 5th or 6th lockdown and I haven’t looked back.
I love the process of reserving a book online, and then arriving at the library a few days later to see a shelf with your reservations waiting for you to pick it up, painstakingly stacked by the librarian (apostrophes in surnames are confusing as hell so they have my sympathy!).
This year I managed to get through a record 40 books. Goodreads tells me that the average length is about 350 pages and the smallest book I read was 150 pages (if you want to add me / see the books in full - my Goodreads user name is gabyd).
I read widely but was partial to fiction in 2023. I discovered RF Kuang and so had to read all the books in the Poppy War series and Yellowface was such an enticing plot that I could hardly give it a miss.
I feel so blessed to have encountered Barbara Kingsolver’s work this past year. Truly reading The Poisonwood Bible was such a beautiful experience and I did take my time with it; I felt every word on those pages. Picking up Demon Copperhead after that was a bit of a no-brainer and it was an utterly tragic book. Barb writes pathetic tragedy so well.
Yellowface - I loved the plot and thought it was brilliantly told. The book delicately laid waste to all the ideas around WOC writeres having it easy in the publishing world. I think that often WOC/POC get told that we have it easy or “yeah they were just trying to fill their diversity quota” but it’s as if some people cannot bear for that to be untrue - that it gets in the way of them understanding that perhaps there are things we have to say that is important, and that there is a market that exists for these ideas.
An honourable mention for bell hooks’ All About Love. It has taken me far too long to get into bell hooks, and I regret all this wasted time immensely. All About Love was an absolute delight to read and confirmed in some way a lot of my preconceived notions about death and love. You do not fear death as much if you can love freely - this is probably my key takeaway from this book (paraphrasing, of course). Our ability to love each other is a salve for all of our wounds. May we always lean into that urge.
Anyway in no particular order below are my top 10 and my “working” for each
10, RF Kuang Poppy War series - first book.
9 Entangled Life - Merlin Sheldrake
This book gave me constant feelings of wonder (I’m sure there’s a one-word German word for this). I took my time with it and had several Google and Wikipedia tabs open alongside my copy. I learnt about leafcutter ants and how they have a symbiotic relationship with fungus, I learnt about the origins of ‘oudh’ and how fungi are responsible for its strong aromas, and about basilisk lizards (seriously look them up they’re cool af).
8 The Bell Jar (yes I know I am very late to this). What won me over was that I was listening to the audiobook version narrated by Maggie Gyllenhaal, which I have to say was the most excellent casting decision.
7 Say Nothing - Patrick Redden Keefe - It’s getting to the point now where I will read anything ANYTHING written by this guy. His writing is so good and so compelling, and the struggles in Northern Ireland were not something I was very familiar with. I walked away with a much deeper appreciation for the sacrifices that were made in the resistance.
6 Killers of the Flower Moon - made me much more aware of the FBI and had me digging into things subsequently (presently reading biography of Hoover). It also further confirms to me what I knew intuitively about how one’s class or wealth does not negate the disadvantage of one’s race, particularly in the case of minorities in Western countries. This was true then, and I think it’s still true now.
5 But the Girl - Jessica Zhan Mei Yu This was such a heavy and interesting book by a very cool debut author. She manages to put words to experiences that felt so personal to me and ones that I didn’t even know how to begin explaining (mostly about living and being seen as a person of colour in Australia). Pasting an excerpt below because I think it encapsulates perfectly what this book is about.
4 Bad Art Mother - Edwina Preston
3 Naomi Alderman - The future (great premise - I really don’t want to say anymore in case I unintentionally give away the plotline).
2 Barbara Kingsolver - Poisonwood Bible
1 Gulag - Anne Applebaum
This I read over several years. It never ceases to amaze me just how vast Russia is and how widespread the gulags of the USSR were. It’s an impressive piece of archival work. Will be reading Gulag Archipellago next (after a sufficient breather).
On the look out for more books to read this year, so please throw me some good ones in the comments!
Thanks for your recommendation for "Say Nothing".
The audiobook was gripping, thoroughly researched and left me wondering whether Scott Morrison had decided that Gerry Adams might be a good role model or mentor.