2015 in Books (So Far)

Last week, I wrote about the good (and not-so-good) films I've seen so far this year. I also mentioned that I've been able to start reading for fun again recently, mostly because I finished school. And also because I got a library card.

LIBRARIES, Y'ALL. Why is there not more love for libraries?? They are earthbound Heavens, filled with books that you can take out for free. You don't even have to pay to get the library card! And -- I can't speak for all libraries, but at least at the ones in my town -- there is no limit to how many books you can check out at once.

Unlimited books. When the girl behind the counter told me this, I'm certain I gave her a look that would be most closely associated with that of a serial killer. I'm also 100% sure that I looked like a highly-sugared kid in a toy store when I walked back up to her, holding a stack of six books with both hands.

Anyway. In the spirit of sharing my opinions with anyone who will listen/read them, I thought I'd do a round-up review of the books I've conquered since January.

Let's begin.

The Giver - Lois Lowry

Photo: Goodreads

I know, I know. Everyone else in America read this book when they were in elementary school. I think it was even required reading for most people? But, despite going to a superb elementary school that I remain weirdly proud of at 22, I wasn't required to read it and I didn't crack it open until this spring. (Side note: I was required to read Lowry's book, Number the Stars, for L.E.A.P. in fourth grade. I haven't read it since, but I liked it then).

I also liked The Giver. I knew mostly nothing about it going into it and I really enjoyed it. It was kind-of nice to read a post-apocalyptic(ish) story that still seems relatively unlikely -- unlike, say, The Hunger Games, which seems terrifyingly possible. Even with suspension of disbelief in tact though, it was still a troubling story and fascinating for it. I liked Jonah and I loved the concept of "The Giver."

Without giving too much away, and at the risk of sounding very cheesy, I liked that this book made me think about humanity and what it means to be human, as well as the world around me and what I may not even realize I take for granted. And I liked knowing that so many teachers present those questions and concepts to little kids. Life is beautiful and terrible and I don't think it's every really too early to realize that.

(Side note, part II: The internet has just informed me that this is actually the first in a series, but I'm going to pretend that it did not.)


Ready Player One - Ernest Cline

It took me a pretty long time to finish Ernest Cline's Ready Player One, but not because it was un-enjoyable (more because I was reading it while I was supposed to be reading for class/writing papers/etc etc).

This book does something fascinating: it creates a futuristic world out of nostalgia. RPO takes place in the not-to-distant future, in a world that (like The Hunger Games) sounds pretty terrible and pretty possible. Most people escape the wasted place that was once the United States by plugging into a virtual reality. There, they be whoever they want to be. They can hop planets. They can visit fictional worlds. They can be bitcoin billionaires, wired-in warriors, techie tycoons.

That alone -- the concept of a virtual reality universe -- would make for a compelling book. But Cline doesn't stop there. RPO is more than sci-fi. It's actually a mystery. And an action story. All rolled into one.

And it is so, so good. I fell in love with it. The attention to detail that Cline put into his pop-culture-fueled world-building is actually insane. If you're like me, you'll find yourself frequently stopping to go look up a song he mentions or see if a TV show or film referenced actually exists (I'm 95% sure they all do). That is, until you reach a point in the story when you won't be able to stop because you'll just want to keep reading through to the end.

That's the mark of a great book, right?


Dare Me - Megan Abbott

Photo: Goodreads

The best way I can explain how I felt when I finished this book was: "that book messed me up."

When it comes to movies, I kind-of have a thing for ones that do this. That leave me unsure of how to feel. In a sort-of melancholy state, where I feel happy and sad at the same time ("and still trying to figure out how that could be"). Or maybe confused, but not in an unsatisfying way? I'm the kind-of person that digs an ambiguous ending or a story-line that doesn't quite tell you how to interpret it.

I usually like when movies mess me up.

I do not, however, usually like when books mess me up.

Typically, when I say a book messed me up, what I mean is that it bothered me in some way, but not always in some way I can articulate.

(Interestingly, a lot of the time the cause of the bothering is a story-line involving repressed memories -- my greatest fear, brought on because of how much media I've read or seen that involved the concept. A notable exception: The Perks of Being a Wallflower, which I obviously love, having quoted it approximately ten lines ago and having tattooed a line from it permanently on my body).

But when I say Dare Me "messed me up," I'm not necessarily saying I disliked it. I didn't dislike it. I just don't know that I...liked it either. There were certainly elements of it that I enjoyed. The writing was interesting and suspenseful and frustrating-in-a-good-way and some of the things Abbott writes were compelling. The stand-out line -- for seemingly everyone who's read it -- is, "There's something dangerous about the boredom of teenage girls." I love that. It sounds like a spell. And it's also true.

But I think the writing was also what bothered me about this book. It made me feel anxious and, at times, kind-of crazed. I can't explain why that is -- just that it did. I also spent the whole time expecting one kind of outcome and being jarred when I got a different one and, on a different matter, suspecting something was true and being ultimately right, but it not mattering quite as much as I expected it to.

I do recommend this book though. It was unpredictable. And I also think it's important to sometimes read and watch things that make us uncomfortable, even if we can't explain why they do. This book was that for me. Maybe it would be for you.


Everything Leads to You - Nina LaCour

Photo: Goodreads

I don't have a lot to say about this one. I read it immediately after Dare Me, as a sort-of palette cleanser. It seemed like a easy, breezy YA book that would not make me feel quite as weird as the last and that was what it was.

There's a bit of mystery, a bit of glamour, some bittersweet life lessons, some love won and love lost. It isn't challenging and that's what's nice about it. I recommend it if you want something sweet and charming to read on like, an airplane or something.

(Also, bonus: LGBTQ representation that isn't patronizing. Three cheers for that, always).


The Cuckoo's Calling - Robert Galbraith

Besides my family and friends, there is no one's existence I appreciate more than J.K. Rowling's. She wrote the greatest book series I have read and will ever read and, through that, helped me become the person I am today (no exaggeration).

But, I was skeptical of this post-Potter endeavor when it came out. I had tried to read The Casual Vacancy and found it lacking (I intend to re-try soon and actually finish it, whether I end up liking it or not). And I'm always a little wary of the concept of writing under a pseudonym. I totally get the intrigue -- J.K. is arguably the most famous living author, so I understand not wanting to be overshadowed by her own name -- but at the same time, I think shirking a well-known name can lead authors to not try quite as hard as they might otherwise.

I have next to no evidence of this. But, I know it would be the case if I was an author, so I imagine it could be for others.

It is not, thankfully, the case for J.K. The Cuckoo's Calling, the first in what has now become a series by J.K-as-Robert, is very, very good.

Important to note: it gets off to a slow start. And it is a slow-burning book. That was a little difficult for me, especially since my (horrible) method of reading mysteries is to go slightly insane while doing so, trying desperately to solve the case/murder/problem before the characters can (this is a horrible method because it obviously makes no sense -- you cannot solve a mystery that you don't have all the clues for yet, self). So, a mystery that unfolds in a careful, quiet manner didn't not seem ideal to me at first. But, it was nice to be forced to calm down a little. "Rowling always takes her time for a reason," I had to tell myself. "She's showing you all this stuff because it matters. Pay attention to EVERYTHING."

And all that exposition -- all the meticulous note-taking from protagonist/detective Cormoran Strike (a fantastic name, as is to be expected from J.K.), all the sneaky evidence gained by dutiful secretary Robin -- is worth it. The pay-off is wonderful and even with all my own mental note-taking, the cogs of my brain whirring as I still tried to crack the case first (though in a more chill way than normal), I couldn't predict it. I was genuinely surprised and satisfied.

I like when that happens. It's rare.


And that's all I've got so far! I'm currently reading Rock and Roll Will Save Your Life by Steve Almond and I'm absolutely in love with it (books about music are my kryptonite). Up after it is either Night Film by Marisha Pessl or Words and Their Meanings by Kate Bassett. One sounds pretty dark and the other relatively uplifting, so which comes first will depend on my mood that day.

Let me know if you've read any of these books and, if so, what you thought of them!