Best Books I Read in 2011
I *could* do an "everything sucks" wrap up for 2011, but instead of that, I'm going to tell you about the best books I read. I read 77 books in 2011, here's the full list. For the first time since probably high school, I'm tending toward reading fiction (and my first book purchases for 2012 are fiction, too). Here's to rampant bookwormism!
Here are my faves:
Fiction
The Call, by Yannick Murphy. Ridiculously beautiful book about a rural veterinarian, animals, love, death, family, and spaceships.
Rain Village, by Carolyn Turgeon. A re-read, as amazing the second time around. A girl, a library, the trapeze, running away with the circus.
Once Upon a River, by Bonnie Jo Campbell. After being deserted, raped, and then orphaned, a girl lives on the Stark River in Michigan.
The Blue Orchard, by Jackson Taylor. Story of a white woman in rural Pennsylvania who becomes a nurse for a black abortion doctor. Based on the life of the author's grandmother.
Burnt Shadows, by Kamila Shamsie. Beautiful story of two generations of interconnected families and three wars.
Non-Fiction
Queer (In)justice: The Criminalization of LGBT People in the United States, by Kay Whitlock, Andrea Ritchie, Joey Mogul. Sharp analysis of the criminalization of sexual diversity and gender variance, and centers the experiences of people of color, people living in poverty, immigrants, and trans women and men.
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, by Rebecca Skloot. A real contribution to cultural understanding of the ugly history of ethics & science, particularly through the lens of race and class.
The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration, by Isabel Wilkerson. Well-crafted narrative that illuminates a fascinating piece of American history.
Secret Historian: The Life and Times of Samuel Steward, Professor, Tattoo Artist, and Sexual Renegade, by Justin Spring. Totally engrossing, a really interesting portrait of not just Samuel Steward, but the lives of gay men, tattoo artists, and writers in United States during the middle of the 20th century.
Memoir
Half a Life, by Darin Strauss. In which the author ruminates on the fact that he was involved in an accident which killed a girl on a bike when he was a senior in high school.
Chronology of Water, by Lidia Yuknavitch. So much more than a survivor memoir. Gorgeously written.
Paying for It, by Chester Brown. A client's perspective on the sex industry, in graphic novel format.
