Adventures in reading (2017)
“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies, said Jojen. The man who never reads lives only one.” — George RR Martin
I’ve always been a reader of books. In 2016 I read (and audio-booked) something like 50 books.
But 2017 is now my first year ever as a subscriber of news. We made this decision for a lot of reasons, not the least of which because we wanted to support good journalism — with our voices, with our pocketbooks and, with our time.
Lucky for me I have a long commute.
Currently, Ryan and I have paid subscriptions to The New York Times, Outside Magazine and The Economist, to name a few. Subscriptions we pay for. And use. (p.s. you should too, I even included subscription links here to make it easy for you.) My commute takes a roughly an hour. And every day I spend 30 minutes on the ferry reading the news and and 30 minutes on the bus (each way!) reading for pleasure.
Each morning I read the NYTimes daily briefing on my phone, and each week when the Economist comes in the mail I throw it in my backpack and skim the leaders and the world today and any other sections that catch my eye (while Ryan prefers to listen online), and each month when Outside Magazine arrives I fall into the rabbit hole of adventure.
For some people, that’s a lot of reading.
For me, it’s not enough.
I can’t explain why books are so important to me, only that they are. While reading the news can be personally fulfilling (and let’s not forget draining), I also desire storytelling in a deeper sense. Reading books that allow me to dream, to experience, and to understand. And even though sometimes commuting from Oakland to San Francisco each day feels like a drain, it does have its perks because I have automatic time to read.
So, despite the uptick in news consumption, this year also includes a new bundle of books in the corner marked read. Here are some of my favorites…
Memoirs & Autobiographies
This summer I spent every month reading a new memoir. In June I started Steve Jobs, in July I read The Glass Castle, and in August I read The Push.
After weeks of picking up and putting down Steve Jobs and feeling a bit like I was just plowing on I am happy to say I finished it and actually, loved it. Steve was a man truly capable of anything — and I’m glad to have an appreciation for how significant his ideas all those years ago have become (from the iPhone, to Toy Story, and beyond).
Reading The Glass Castle was also an emotional adventure. As the child of two recovering alcoholics (hi mom and dad!) who also spent time growing up in the desert I could completely empathize with and visualize Jeanette’s story. And The Push by Tommy Caldwell was both interesting and beautiful, which surprised me in the best possible way.
As Ryan would say, for each of these books: “9 out of 10, would recommend”
Fun in Fiction
I’m not sure what it was this year, but I think there were at least 10 different books making the rounds with girl in the title (see The Gone Girl with the Dragon Tattoo on the Train for more about this trend…). And after having read All the Missing Girls and The Girl Before to meh reviews (didn’t love, didn’t hate), I wasn’t super thrilled when my friend Catherine recommended Luckiest Girl Alive. (It’s not so much about the themes within the books as it is a dislike for the editors who all decided at the same time that to put girl in the title of a book means… what? I’m not sure.) But with her super enthusiastic review I dove in, and I’m so glad I did. The world Jessica Knoll built for Ani and the way she describes Ani’s hated and love and loathing for self and others felt so real to me as a woman. Honestly, if you read one book from my list, give this one a try. Plus Reece Witherspoon signed on to produce the movie (fingers crossed) and she’s been GOLD lately with her picks (hello Big Little Lies).
Science Fiction
I finally got around to “reading” Dune (oops, I audio-booked it) and let me tell you, it was about damn time. I know this because I still find myself falling asleep at night thinking of the sand worms and Muad’Dib and the Fremen living their entire lives hoarding water in the hopes of a better future for their children. I also fell down the rabbit hole hard after finishing the book, and read what felt like every review for the book, info about the old miniseries, and news about an upcoming (maybe?) movie! I was very disappointed to hear from my friends that the rest of the series was a bit meh so I haven’t read any farther but maybe one day…
Historical sci-fi adventure-romance
Laugh all you want about the genre here, but this year I also started the Outlander series and I promise it is actually historical sci-fi adventure-romance. I remember my ears perking a bit when I first heard about the TV show, but I never bothered to watch or pick up the books the series was based on until a few months ago. Honestly, my three favorite genres are historical fiction, sci fi, and romance… I’m not sure it was possible for me to hate these books. Luckily, the research seems solid, the story consuming, and the tension very real. My recommendation: Love historical fiction? Read it. Love adventure books? Read it. Love romance novels that include real, painful, fulfilling and yes sexy stories about love? Read it. Love a bit of time travel in your storytelling? Read it. Basically, give it a go! And don’t let the page count scare you…. =)
Politically relevant
We didn’t only read news to get updated on politics this year. Ryan and I both read Merchants of Doubt, which according to my GoodReads review from Feb 2017 is “a depressing tale (nonfiction) of how we got ourselves into this current anti-science mess.” I think I sum it up quite nicely actually.
Other books worth mentioning in the “political” arena: The Hate U Give and Small Great Things — one a “truly great” YA novel and the other a new Jodi Picoult classic. Both center on issues of race in America but for completely different audiences and with entirely unique stories.
All three of these books are 100% worth your time.
Sneaker favorites worth considering
All Grown Up, Oryx and Crake, The Chemist, Call Me by Your Name
Closing thoughts
I read so many amazing stories this year these few summaries don’t even begin to wrap them up. I also completely fail to actually leave reviews on GoodReads for about 90% of my reading, but let me know if you want to hear more about any particular book and I’ll happily share my thoughts!
As usual, here goes…
January
Kindle: A Man Called Ove
Audiobook: Bossypants; Lock In (my favorite book this year I didn’t review)
February
Kindle: Merchants of Doubt; All the Missing Girls
Audiobook: American Gods (meant to watch the STARZ series, still haven’t gotten around to it…)
March
Kindle: Oryx and Crake; The Year of the Flood; MaddAddam (a scifi triology from Margaret Atwood? yes please)
Audiobook: We Are Legion (We Are Bob)
April
Kindle: In Cold Blood; Before I Fall
Paperback: All Grown Up; The Girl Before
Audiobook: Foundation
May
Kindle: Carrie Pilby;
Audiobook: Company Town; Dune (21 hours of listening took up all my time)
June
Kindle: The Mountain Between Us; Steve Jobs by Walter Issacson
Paperback: The Dry
Audiobook: Based on the recommendations from multiple friends, I spent the summer furiously listening to the “My Favorite Murder” podcast from Feral Audio. For those of you who haven’t given it a listen, go give it a try. Also, I’m writing this in December and am still not caught up. So much good content!
July
Kindle: Luckiest Girl Alive
Paperback: The Party; The Glass Castle
Audiobook: The Atlantis Gene
August
Kindle: The Push
Paperback: Into the Water
Audiobook: Underground Airlines
September
Kindle: Steve Jobs by Walter Issacson (picked it back up again and managed to finally finish)
Paperback: In a Dark, Dark Wood; The Lying Game; It’s Always the Husband
October
Kindle: The Hate U Give; Outlander
Audiobook: still obsessed with “My Favorite Murder” and you should be too (even Rolling Stone agrees)
November
Kindle: The Golden Compass; Alias Grace; Call Me by Your Name
Paperback: The Chemist (Stephanie Meyer continues to write good books that aren’t Twilight!)
Audiobook: Inferno
December
Kindle: Dragonfly in Amber (Outlander book 2)
Paperback: The Widowers Wife; The Princess Saves Herself in this One
What are some of your favorite books from 2017? What must I include on my 2018 reading list? Send your recommendations my way! You can find me on Goodreads =)
happy new year friends,
samantha
