282 ratings | 150 reviews | avg rating:4.56

Alison’s Year In Books

Alison’s 2025 Year in Books

Take a look at Alison’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.

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Alison Kinney

Goodreads Author

Website

http://www.AlisonKinney.com

Twitter

Alison_Kinney

Genre

Nonfiction, History, Contemporary

Member Since

April 2007

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Alison Kinney is the author of the upcoming nonfiction book UNITED STATES OF REJECTION: A STORY OF LOVE, HATE & HOPE (UGA Press, May 2026), as well as AVIDLY READS OPERA (NYU Press 2021) and HOOD (Bloomsbury 2016).
alisonkinney.com.

Her essays and articles on cultural history, art, opera, literature, and social justice can be found online at Paris Review Daily, The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Guardian, Harper's, Lapham's Quarterly, L.A. Review of Books, The New Republic, Longreads, and other publications. Five of her essays have been named Notable Essays in The Best American Essays, from 2016 through 2020. She teaches nonfiction writing at Eugene Lang College, The New School.

“Provocative and highly informative, Alison Kinney's ...more

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Combine Editions
Alison Kinney’s books

Average rating: 3.96 · 115 ratings · 37 reviews · 3 distinct works • Similar authors

	Hood by Alison Kinney (Goodreads Author), Ian Bogost (Series Editor), Alison Kinney (Goodreads Author) 3.92 avg rating — 118 ratings — published 2016 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Avidly Reads Opera 4.21 avg rating — 19 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	United States of Rejection: A Story of Love, Hate, and Hope (Crux: The Georgia Series in Literary Nonfiction) really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1 rating — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

* Note: these are all the books on Goodreads for this author. To add more, click here.

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Alison’s Recent Updates

Alison rated a book it was amazing The Other Americans by Laila Lalami (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I read my first book by Laila Lalami, THE OTHER AMERICANS, drawn in by the fact that it contained a murder mystery and stories of immigrants and families and lovers, all set in Yucca Valley, which is located amidst my favorite place in the world. I l ...more
7 hours, 40 min ago · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Other Americans by Laila Lalami. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Other Americans by Laila Lalami <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Alison wants to read Written/Unwritten: Diversity and the Hidden Truths of Tenure by Patricia A. Matthew	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Mar 19, 2026 11:38AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Written/Unwritten by Patricia A. Matthew. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Written/Unwritten by Patricia A. Matthew <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Alison rated a book it was amazing You Better Be Lightning by Andrea Gibson	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
I read Andrea Gibson's poetry for the first time this winter and can't believe such a person was among us. I read their last book, YOU BETTER BE LIGHTNING, basically highlighting everything. Here's a favorite singing from "Homesick: A Plea For Our Pl ...more
Mar 19, 2026 11:31AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of You Better Be Lightning by Andrea Gibson. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — You Better Be Lightning by Andrea Gibson <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Alison rated a book it was amazing Whereas by Layli Long Soldier	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Next in Book Joy: If, in these times (and post-AWP-frenzy), we all need new bursts of hope and restoration....from Layli Long Soldier, WHEREAS: "WHEREAS I did not desire in childhood to be a part of this but desired most of all to be a part. A piece co ...more
Mar 19, 2026 11:30AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Whereas by Layli Long Soldier. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Whereas by Layli Long Soldier <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Alison rated a book it was amazing Wade in the Water: Poems by Tracy K. Smith	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
My first acquaintance with Tracy K. Smith's work was her amazing erasure poem "Watershed," which exposes DuPont's poisoning of groundwater with carcinogenic chemicals. (It's collected in WADE IN THE WATER, which I promptly bought and never had leisur ...more
Feb 23, 2026 01:04PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Wade in the Water by Tracy K. Smith. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Wade in the Water by Tracy K. Smith <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Alison rated a book it was amazing Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 20, 2026 02:19PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Alison rated a book it was amazing Women Talking by Miriam Toews	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 20, 2026 02:18PM · 1 like · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Women Talking by Miriam Toews. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Women Talking by Miriam Toews <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Alison rated a book it was amazing Conclave by Robert Harris (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Feb 20, 2026 09:36AM · like
Alison rated a book it was amazing Love Is an Ex-Country by Randa Jarrar	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
For the sake of spreading joy, I'm just going to post the most delightful and illuminating books I've read this summer and fall. First: Randa Jarrar, LOVE IS AN EX-COUNTRY. "For a very long time, I intensely disliked the word naturalized. It made me fe ...more
Feb 20, 2026 09:34AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Love Is an Ex-Country by Randa Jarrar. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Love Is an Ex-Country by Randa Jarrar <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Alison rated a book it was amazing My Brilliant Friend (Neapolitan Novels, #1) by Elena Ferrante	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
When Elena Ferrante's MY BRILLIANT FRIEND burst onto the literary scene and beyond, so many people told me, "I'm not sure YOU will like it, Alison." Now I'm wondering, What on earth did they think about what I like and don't like? It's a book about gi ...more
Feb 20, 2026 09:33AM · like · see review