Favorite Reads of 2018

I read 223 books in 2018, and to be very honest, I feel a little weird about it. Not because of the number (although I don't recommend bringing it up at parties, unless you are trying to be unrelateable), but because the overall effect of the full list of titles is...who am I? Compared to previous years, which usually end up with a majority of interesting lesser-known novels and plays and poetry that reflect the way I see myself, this year makes my "reading profile" almost unrecognizable. Who reads DuckTales comics and also ? What part of Ulysses was I on that led me to reading seven children's books in one day? In fact, why is James Joyce (and related titles) even on this list so many times? At least that one's easily explainable: it was for school. But even that is a limited excuse, since I did some extra James Joyce-related reading on my own because...otherwise he made no sense. And there were some very controversial opinions: for instance, I finally read Jane Eyre, which I've long put off reading because I assumed I wouldn't like it, and, surprise, I didn't like it.

Despite all of that, I did still enjoy a solid number of books in 2018. Here are the twelve I enjoyed the most (in no real order):

A History of Violence by Edouard Louis (translated by Lorin Stein)
I need to buy this so I can reread it and keep it on my shelf to inspire me. It's classified as a novel but it's really more of a creative non-fiction memoir. The use of language (no small feat for a book translated from the French!), the framing technique (Louis listening in on his sister explain his rape to her husband, and she doesn't know he's listening), the exploration of what the intersection of gender, race, and sexual orientation can mean for a rape survivor...brilliant, raw, powerful. My top read in 2018.

The Hour of the Star by Claire Lispector
I bought this on a whim because some friends and I were going to start a book club. The book club didn't happen, which is really too bad because this was a great book club choice for a bunch of post-modernism-loving nerds.

Khirbet Khizeh by S. Yizhar
I'd had this book on my Goodreads TBR shelf for three years and finally read it after picking it randomly from the list. I can't remember how it got there in the first place, but I'm so glad it did. Devastating. You should read it too. It belongs on more book lists.

The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Another random selection from my TBR shelf. The Great American Novel of white poverty.

The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
A masterpiece that led me to learn more about the history of real servants in Britain. I read (and reread) it for class, and I'd have to agree with my professor's assessment: if it doesn't make you cry, you don't have a heart.

How We Get Free: Black Feminism and the Combahee River Collective by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor
Essential reading, especially for anyone who identifies as a feminist--know your history. (And when you're done, go read the classic collection All the Women Are White, All the Blacks Are Men, But Some of Us are Brave, co-edited by Barbara Smith, one of the original CRC members.)

Patient Zero and the Making of the AIDS Epidemic by Richard A. McKay
I had to read Randy Shilts' And the Band Played On for one of classes I took in 2018, and McKay corrects the falsehoods Shilts instilled in the communal memory of the history of AIDS--most notably placing the blame for the epidemic on a "patient zero." If you can get into academic non-fiction and care about the true history of AIDS, this is a must read.

Hit So Hard: A Memoir by Patty Schemel
I have a soft spot for celebrity memoirs, but I never expected this memoir by the original drummer for Hole to be one of my favorite reads of the year. I don't know if she had a ghost writer or what, but it was so, so, so well done. I also had no idea she was gay until I read this book, so that was a pleasant surprise. By the time I was done, I had spent a lot of time listening to Hole and I had a new understanding of heroin addiction from the user's perspective. There's also a documentary with the same title that I'll check out eventually.

A World Without "Whom": The Essential Guide to Language in the BuzzFeed Age by Emmy J. Favilla
I like to live on the edge of grammar, so reading this book was a no-brainer. If you have to deal with a style guide, BuzzFeed has the best one for our MODERN TIMES (in caps because I feel like it ok). It's definitely the most evolved on how to write about LGBTQ folks.

A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo by Jill Twiss
Another surprise hit! I read this as a palate cleanser after (finally) finishing Ulysses. I expected John Oliver-style gay jokes, but instead I got totally wholesome content that made me cry. So good, so cute.

The Sophie Horowitz Story & Maggie Terry by Sarah Schulman
First, let me say: Sarah Schulman is my favorite writer and all of her books are good. (She has like seventeen and I've read fifteen of them at this point.) I'll try to contain my inner fan girl. Her first novel (The Sophie Horowitz Story, 1984) and her most recent novel (Maggie Terry, 2018) are both mysteries (starring lesbians!) and it was interesting to see the style changes over 34 (!) years. Maggie Terry is a lot of fun, especially if you like fully-fledged, complex gay characters in situations you don't usually find them--like, for instance, mystery novels. Also, I love a book where you can tell a character's morality or "goodness" by the books on their shelf.

Here's to more great books in 2019!