Everything I've Read in 2016

We love to make lists at the end of every year–I’m not excluded from that cohort. It helps us gather our thoughts and compound dissimilar units of measurement to gauge how we spent our time or figure out what sticks after another calendar year. Even though no one reads this (except perhaps my mother, and I’m sure even she is not diligent about it), here is the fourth iteration of ‘Everything I have Read in 20XX.’ Cheers to odd years holding more promise than the even ones.

1. 11/23/63 Stephen King

I was drawn to the idea of this novel because I have never read Stephen King and it’s sort of a bucket list item. There’s also a strong appeal of the conspiracy/aura/lure of everything related to the Kennedy assassination. The book uses a mix of fictional and historical characters to tell the story of protagonist, Jake Epping, an English teacher from Maine who discovers a portal and travels back in time in order to attempt to prevent Lee Harvey Oswald from shooting JFK. While the time travel device is often seen as trite, King uses it well. Don’t bother touching the James Franco show based on the book–it’s garbage.

2. The Chinese in America, Iris Chang

I grew up resenting my (half) Chinese heritage and constantly being annoyed at my father for trying to force me to watch PBS Documentaries about early Chinese immigrants and the lives they carved out for themselves in the United States. It took a while to realize that my self-imposed shame was a product of my environment. The book is a chronology of the uphill battles Chinese immigrants and their descendants fought and continue to fight since first coming to America–including the racist and exclusionary laws and the occupation of a racial space that falls in between black and white. It’s an eye-opening read that sheds light on racial and ethnic issues that continue to be prevalent in contemporary America.

3. My Brilliant Friend, Elena Ferrante

Recommended by a coworker, this is the first book in the four-volume Neapolitan Novels Series. The author maintains anonymity and Ferrante is the pseudonym she employs. Earlier this fall, there was speculation over her true identity amid an Italian journalist’s speculation that Ferrante was actually a Rome-based translator named Anita Raja. All of the books in the series are quick reads and play on themes of female friendship, family, love, loss, hardship and ‘coming of age.’ The main characters Lena and Lila grow up in a poor neighborhood in Naples (‘the neighborhood’) and their divergent paths pull them apart, while their roots solidify an eternal bond.

4. The Story of a New Name, Elena Ferrante

I think that this may have been my favorite in the series, perhaps because of the years it covers in Lena’s and Lila’s lives. Things remain hopeful for the characters, even though they are going through hardship and their relationship matures.

5. Those Who Leave and Those Who Stay, Elena Ferrante

Perhaps my least favorite in the series because of the content and while things were always a bit dark throughout, they seemed to take a serious turn here. It’s hard to express specifics without giving away too much of the plot.

6. The Design of Everyday Things, Don Norman

I have recently become interested in UX Design and started a shortlist of design books related to the discipline that could be helpful and informative. It’s a great look into products and why some are successful and solve problems, while others are just infuriating and frustrating.

7. The Story of the Lost Child, Elena Ferrante

I enjoyed the last book in the series more than the third and I enjoyed the whole series overall tremendously–even though the characters’ personalities and actions are infuriating at times.

8. The Devil, Leo Tolstoy

With a title as a giveaway, sure it’s expected that this will be dark. The art of the novella is definitely under-appreciated. The tale is about a married man who cannot control his lust for a woman from a different class–and naturally, the ensuing consequences.

9. Moby Dick, Herman Melville

Perhaps this book is one of those classics that one puts off reading indefinitely because the task seems too daunting. Read it in the summer, dream of a trip to modern-day Nantucket and revel in the Cetology and the pre-Darwinian belief systems. The character development is a lot stronger in the first 1/3 or so of the book and it sort of drops off/gets lost after that. Still enjoyable.

10. Gilead, Marilyne Robinson

Apparently this is one of Obama’s favorite novels. It’s religious and it’s set in small town Gilead, Iowa in 1956. The narrator, 76-year-old pastor named John Ames, who believes he is dying, is writing what is essential his memoirs to his 7-year-old son. The letter recounts a lifetime of memories, offers moral advice, and gives all of the tidbits one would expect to receive from a dying man quick to get everything on paper. Obama cited this book (along with the works of Shakespeare, the Bible and Moby Dick) as among his favorite works that help him better understand the human condition.

11. Hooked, Nir Eyal

In the same UX vein as The Design of Everyday Things, Hooked outlines why some products ‘capture our attention, while others flop.’ The hook model is a four-step process that companies use to introduce customer habits. I think that it is hard for me to process this type of information in this format and I need to be able to digest it in a different, perhaps more interactive manner. I found it hard to retain.

12. The Complete Short Stories, Flannery O’Connor

I am not very well-read in fiction by women authors and I wanted to remedy this. Cue this series of short stories–including one of O’Connor’s most well-known, A Good Man is Hard to Find. O’Connor was a southern writer focusing on regional settings and grotesque characters. Her Roman Catholic background was also drawn upon in her writing, as are mortality and ethics. Dark is an understatement when describing her works. It’s also a bit weird digesting the racial terminology of the day. While tough to read at times (due to the graphic nature and general attitudes of the characters), these stories are successful at conveying the sentiment of the locale and the time. They’re like a neatly packaged bundle of racism told by an excellent narrator with a knack for getting to the point.

13. M Train, Patty Smith

I was really looking forward to Smith’s Just Kids follow-up. Her previous work left a huge impression on many and really romanticized the 1970s New York City landscape. Her love affair with Robert Mapplethorpe and their trials and tribulations really provided the crux of the story. But M Train did not live up to my expectations. It reads more like poetry (or at least attempts to take that form). There is no narrative and the book simply outlines Smith’s day-to-day. It’s peppered with encounters with famous friends (i.e. ‘Klaus’), post-Hurricane Sandy strife and a pain-staking account of every cup of coffee consumed within the last 5 or so years. She also recounts many of her trips abroad, but fails to make them compelling.

14. UTZ, Bruce Chatwin

Another recommendation from a co-worker (from my defacto boss, actually). Kaspar Utz is a collector of Meissen porcelain in Czechoslovakia during the Cold War. He manages to find his way outside of the eastern bloc to obtain new pieces. He considers becoming a defector, but cannot bear to leave his collection behind.

15. The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P., Adelle Waldman

This is just one of those books that’s sort of considered trendy and I fell into its trap. It’s the ‘coming-of-age’ story of Nate–a Harvard man in his early 20s in New York City (let’s get more cliche). Despite his Ivy League background, he’s hardly complex. He’s sort of a self-interested serial monogamist who’s just indecisive and whiny. Nate’s not a likable character and he occupies the annoying space of every other entitled white male before him. His search for ‘love and happiness’ has no real conflict or resolution. The characters all really lack depth–there’s also no story arc.

16. The Sellout, Paul Beatty Winner of the Man Booker prize, it’s difficult and poignant and it gives a shockingly accurate portrayal of the racial landscape of contemporary America. The narrator (referred to by his last name, ‘Me’), tries to reintroduce slavery and segregation in his Los Angeles neighborhood, which eventually leads to a Supreme Court case. The story manages to be simultaneously funny and troubling. I was reading this book during the election. On the day of the election results, its contents, while meant to be a satire, became entirely too real.

17. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne & John Tiffany

The main complaints (on Amazon and virtually everywhere): it feels like this isn’t J.K. Rowling’s work–because it isn’t (entirely). But, I had to–because I knew it was out there and while I did not have high hopes, I’m glad I did it. Other complaints include: time travel tropes used are tiresome, the dialogue feels forced, and the characters feel stretched. Please stop. No more books.

18. Hillbilly Elegy, J.D. Vance

I cannot rave enough about this memoir–it’s such a compelling story. The author’s family has roots in Kentucky and he grows up in Ohio–he’s essentially raised by his grandparents and comes from pretty extreme poverty (for American standards). The subject matter and rust-belt locale are timely in a post-election world and the story begins to answer the questions raised by the election results. The story deals with addiction, politics, industrialism, and family. Vance struggles through early life and then manages to overcome every statistic stacked against him to end up at Yale Law. His writing is clear, concise and carries so much emotional weight.