The New York Times Didn't Ask Me...
but here are my 10 best books from the past 24 years.
Riffing off The New York Times “The 10 Best Books of the 21st Century” project I’ve been thinking about what my own top 10 books are. The ones that I recommend over and over. That I can’t stop talking about. That I read and re-read. (I’m a re-reader. Are you?) I shipped twenty five odd books to me in Berlin from me in Durham. They’re not here yet but six of them are on this list. Books are a comfort item for me especially my favorites. Here are my ten best in no particular order:
Heavy (memoir) by Kiese Laymon. A master class in how to write vulnerability, Laymon offers us the deepest access points into his life with this book. There is an entry point for any reader as Heavy covers topics race, abuse, dysfunctional family, working class, addiction and body. I don't normally like the word "brutiful" but this book is that: beautiful and brutal all at once.
James (fiction) by Percival Everett. The newest book on this list, James is the telling of the Huck Finn story from the perspective of the enslaved character, Jim. This book is sharp as a tack but it's not only smart, it's gorgeously written. Scenes of humor, softness and brilliant originality are interspersed throughout which makes it a quick read. I inhaled this book.
What Happened To You? Conversations on Trauma, Resilience and Healing (non fiction) by Oprah Winfrey and Dr Bruce Perry. Set up as a conversation between Perry and Oprah, this book is the primer on why what happened to us stays with us, how we can be more resilient and everything in between. Perry is a brilliant teacher for all issues related to abuse. (He also played a major role in my decision to start facilitating trainings on the affects of sexual abuse on reproductive health. His other books are life changing. ) What Happened To You? is laid out in accessible language (and not just because it is Oprah-fied, Perry is a genius in breaking the complicated down into simple) that everyone should read. Because everyone is a trauma survivor and we all could benefit by understanding more about how it affects us.
Having and Being Had (non fiction) by Eula Biss. My writing teacher (I call her that because I took two of her classes) Margo Steines introduced me to Biss and I have been smitten since. Eula Biss writes braided essays - the ilk of nf that I most often write-- with tight prose and voluminous passion. I love her every word. Having and Being Had is an exploration of capitalism and consumerism as it shows up in real life: the purchase of a house, paying a sitter, drinking an expensive cocktail, sending her child to a posh summer camp. It's a book that also discusses race, class and money with frankness and generous splashes of history with a chance to examine who we are through what we have. Really top drawer.
In The Dream House (memoir) by Carmen Maria Machado. If you are new to memoir or have been unimpressed so far, read In The Dream House. Machado chronicles her relationship with an abusive partner in a way that reads like watching The Shining. Did you get that? It doesn't read like reading The Shining, it reads like watching The Shining. Chilling and mesmerizing all at once. If you have ever been involved with an abusive partner, worry that you are currently or wonder what that would be like, reach for this book.
a compliment someone paid to me in one of Margo’s writing classes. I screenshotted and keep it close. Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow (fiction) by Gabrielle Zevin. No fewer than 10 people have I turned onto this book, including my husband and brother in law. It's a different kind of love story that starts in the 80s and continues to present day. One of the best parts of this novel is that you are IN IT from page 2. No waiting for things to happen, wondering if the hype will be lived up to. Let me tell you, it does. Fast paced but slow where it counts, this book may leave you breathless and impressed.
Easy Beauty (memoir) by Chloé Cooper-Jones. The best memoirs are by writers who keep the door of their humanity open for the entire book. Cooper-Jones does this in her quest to explore how her size affects not only how she is seen (the section where she is a Beyoncé concert in Milan is fucking fantastic) but also how she sees herself. Brave, unrelenting, stunning with pockets of hilarity. Find a great interview with CCJ here. Final for a Pulitzer and IMHO, should have won.
The Love Letters of W E B DuBois (fiction) by Honorée Fannon Jeffers. I buy very few books before I read them in their entirety. Love Songs is an exception. I read twenty pages of my library copy, closed the book, opened a tab in my computer and ordered it. I would wait for my copy to arrive before diving back in. It was worth it. If you’ve been here for a minute, you know I love me a saga. Well, this is The One I chose for this list. Love Songs explores a Southern Black family pre Civil War to the present. The main character, Ailey, is whip smart, fun and uncertain all at once aka endearing and you’ll be rooting for her well after the last page. Many knew Jeffers first as a poet and this book reads that way: lyrical, smooth, with every word carefully chosen.
Bluets (non fiction) by Maggie Nelson. In Bluets, Nelson explores all aspects of the color blue, full of "propositions" (prose poems) about the color. Simultaneously charming and serious, this book is also short. 1900 total words. A splendid exploration of what words can do that makes me want to write a color book of my own. Bluets is a fun book.
The Beatryce Prophecy (YA fiction) by Kate DiCamillo. When she was younger, my daughter loved the Mercy Watson books, DiCamillo's early chapter books about the adventures of a pig. Sassy Mercy was my only DiCamillo reference until my sister Caroline recommended The Beatryce Prophecy to me. My daughter and I read it as a bedtime story and I was hooked. In the spring I devoured a handful of other DiCamillo book. But The Beatryce Prophecy remains a top favorite. This book shines golden like the best fairy tales, not losing any dim with time or as newer, shinier, “better” come along. A young girl who has lost her memory but found some unlikely friends in a misfit monk and unruly goat is the heroine. A new classic for all ages.
Coming in at numbers 11-15 (again not in any order): The Covenant of Water (fiction, Verghese), Demon Copperhead (fiction, Kingsolver), Strangers to Ourselves (nf, Aviv), Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents (nf, Wilkerson) and The Prophets (fiction, Jones).
What I’m Thinking About:
…is now the #FridayQuestion! This section and the #FridayQuestion feel too similar. What I’m Thinking will now be merged to #FridayQuestion. In your inbox every Friday morning. Click here for this week’s.
What I’m Reading:
My friend Bev’s piece, Trail Magic, in JAMA. In it, Bev talks about her work providing abortion care out of state. The trail magic metaphor meanders between and forth between Bev’s perspective and her travels and those of her patients. It’s a short piece that I think everyone should read. It’s paywalled, however, so I added it as a non-linked page on my website in JPG form. Here it is.
The Care and Feeding of Ravenously Hungry Girls (fiction) by Anissa Gray. Chosen because one of the narrators is Dominic Hoffman who narrated James (above), I’m listening to this on Libby. Aptly described as “The Mothers (Bennett) meets An American Marriage (Jones)”, The Care and Feeding… is a book ultimately about family and the cost of secrets. Three sisters and a brother so of course I’m in but 1/3 of the way through I still want to listen.
This piece in The Washington Post chronicles the decades of abuse inflicted on Native American children by Catholic clergy. We do a wretched job coming to terms with abuses that the US government has inflicted on minorities (involuntary sterilizations, medical experimentation and now* as accessories to abuse in residential schools) this must-read piece offers a better understanding of not only affects of trauma but also “forgotten” history that is neither forgotten nor as far in the past as we’d imagine.
*”now” meaning we are more recently hearing about it, not that this is “new” in any way.
As always, thank you for being here <3. I’m writing this just a few days after my arrival in Berlin where I’ll be for a year. More on that to come and in the meantime, follow along in my Notes (daily updates, mainly pictures ;-) and in my Instagram Story (@EMJWriting). Bis bald!
such succinct and fun and compelling write-ups! i keep seeing James everywhere but this makes me want to finally get it. and i loveeee that you included kids lit!! i’ve written 2 posts about kids lit and it’s just the best
VERY good choices :)
Hoping your books come back to you soon!