September
Practice Rosalind Brown
August
Taiwan Travelogue Yáng Shuāng-zi
︎I Am You Victoria Redel
The Forgery Ave Barrera - a self indulgent romp, as in Barrera wrote exactly whatever story he wanted to write, absurd and lavish, and that made it a joy to read. It doesn’t try to be anything more. José Federico Burgos is hired to forge a mysterious painting by the absurdly wealthy Horacio. Mega wealthy house with a hot mom. Dad ends up being a houseless guy who saves Jose from more pain. You can write what you wanna write!
The Wall Marlen Haushofer
One Sun Only Camille Bordas
July
Ink Blood Sister Scribe
The Lighthouse Virginia Woolf
June
︎ War and Peace Leo Tolstoy
May
Sunbirth An Yu
Elementals AS Byatt
April
Infomacracy Malka Older
Cities of Salt Abdulrahman Munif
March
Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet David Mitchell - Dejima & Nagasaki during the Napoleonic wars makes for a fascinating location, but can’t say I’d recommend this book, see, e.g., the comically evil baby eater villain ???? (sorry for the spoiler)
The Glass Bead Game Herman Hesse
February
︎Polostan Neal Stephenson - I usually like Stephenson but I got real bored by this quasi-historical early 20th centruy tale of the grooming of a KGB spy
The Labyrinth: A Novel Burhan Sönmez
The Golden Road William Dalrymple - really an academic history text; fascinating and detailed overview of 2000 years of Indian history and the influence southeast Asia had locally and on the Ottoman Empire, China, Rome, and southern Europe
︎Rose/House Arkady Martine
The Waves Extinguish the Wind Boris and Arkady Strugatsky
January
The Possessed Elif Batuman - a hilarious collection of essays from the Batuman about her PhD in Russian Literature; highly recommend, especially if you’re in academia. One of my favorite essay writers of our time --> subscribe to her newsletter.
︎The White Road: A Pilgrimage of Sorts Edmund de Waal - like every other millenial, I am an aspiring potter, but I am also geology-adjacent and huge nerd so loved de Waal’s foray into the geology and social history of porcelain. A well-written travelogue (though at times his white british priviledge could use some introspection, especially in the beginning) that shows de Waal’s dedication both to craft and to really understanding the lineage he’s a part of.
Covenant of Water Abraham Verghese - tale of a Christian family in Kerala, didn’t do much for me, read for a book club and struggled through, reall hit you over the head with its themes, badly needed to be edited down