Maggie Grace

This was a year of weird reading for me.

I keep a list in the Notes app on my phone of what books I’ve read this year, and a couple weeks ago when I was going through the list I was a little disconcerted to find that I don’t remember reading a lot of these books. This has been a weird year for me in general where a lot has changed in my life, and I don’t remember reading some of these books and also who I was when I read them.

I spent the first half of the year reading during my 90 minute commute on the commuter rail, then I spent the summer reading outside on my porch in my new apartment, then I spent the fall watching Schitt’s Creek instead of reading.

Here’s the full list of what books I read this year, with some commentary on the more memorable ones.

1. Leisure the Basis of Culture by Josef Pieper (1/14)
2. Educated by Tara Westover (1/22) Incredibly powerful, highly recommend. A memoir about growing up in a survivalist family/cult, and how education allowed her to escape.
3. Bullshit Jobs by David Graeber (1/23) I really enjoyed this and would recommend it, but you can probably just read the essay it was based on instead.
4. Join the Club by Tina Rosenberg (2/4)
5. The Utopia of Rules by David Graeber (2/6)
6. Calling Dr Laura by Nicole Georges (2/11)
7. The Great Beanie Baby Bubble by Zac Bissonnette (2/12) The ’90s were a weird time, and the guy who invented beanie babies was nuts.
8. The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan (2/24)
9. The Girls Next Door by Kara Dixon Vuic (3/16)
10. Pure by Linda Kay Klein (3/25)
11. Debt by David Graeber (4/3) A history of debt (and thus also of course a history of money). This took me weeks to read, and I wish I had had someone to discuss it with as I went through it. I’d like to re-read this with a little more support.
12. Waking Up White by Debby Irving (4/13)
13. Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson (4/15)
14. Compliant by Carmen Segarra (4/23)
15. The Job by Ellen Ruppel Shell (5/3)
16. The Enchanted Hour by Gail Cox Gurdon (5/7)
17. Money Rock by Pam Kelley (5/13)
18. Fun Home by Alison Bechdel (5/16) I’m re-reading this every year now and getting something different out of it every year.
19. The Human Network by Matthew O Jackson (5/19)
20. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston (5/30) I had read this in English class in high school and it was interesting to re-read knowing how the plot goes, and also having learned more about Zora Neale Hurston. If you also read it in high school, I would recommend taking a second look.
21. Punishment Without Crime by Alexandra Natapoff (6/10)
22. The New Childhood by Jordan Shapiro (6/16)
23. How to Disappear by Akiko Busch (6/23)
24. None of the Above by Shani Robinson and Anna Simonton (6/26)
25. Heading Home by Shani Orgad (6/29)
26. You Are A Badass by Jen Sincero (7/7)
27. Driven to Distraction by Edward Hallowell and John Ratey (7/14)
28. Bad Blood by John Carreyou (7/21) If you have heard the name Elizabeth Holmes and have not read this book, stop what you are doing and go read it now. What went down at Theranos is even weirder than what’s been in the news.
29. The Education of Hyman Kaplan by Leonard Q Ross (7/23)
30. Calypso by David Sedaris (7/30)
31. The Make or Break Year by Emily Krone Phillips (8/5)
32. How to Do Nothing by Jenny Odell (8/11) This might be tied with Educated for my favorite book of the year. Both pretty accessible and very deep, it gave me more language to think about technology and attention in a deeper way. Highly recommend reading this on a back porch on a summer evening in a place where you can hear both birds singing and subway trains going by.
33. Why Iʼm No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reno Eddo-Lodge(8/18)
34. Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich (8/19)
35. Moneyland by Oliver Bullough (8/25) I love reading about money and deceit — this book explains all the myriad ways that the mega- and ultra-rich are hiding their money to avoid paying taxes. They are essentially living in a different country from the rest of us — hence the title, Moneyland.
36. Superbugs by Matt McCarthy (8/28)
37. Reefer Madness by Eric Schlosser (9/5)
38. Eat That Frog by Brian Tracy (9/7)
39. The Overachievers by Alexandra Robbins (9/10)
40. Pledged by Alexandra Robbins (9/12)
41. The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth by Alexandra Robbins (9/16)
42. Range by David Epstein (9/19)
43. Beeline by Shalini Shankar (9/22)
44. Kids These Days by Malcolm Harris (9/25)
45. Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (9/28) I read this in a weekend, mostly under a tree in the arboretum near my house. I think I had read this while I was in college, because the characters seemed familiar even though the plot didn’t. While the book is very powerful it reminded me why I had mostly stopped reading fiction — profoundly upsetting, which I should have suspected when I picked up a book that takes place during the Nigerian Civil War.
46. Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrick Bachman (10/3)
47. Barracoon by Zora Neale Hurston (10/12) Read a little bit about how this book was finally published, then read this book. Zora Neale Hurston interviewed the last surviving person who was kidnapped from Africa and sold into slavery in the US during the trans-Atlantic slave trade.
48. An Indigenous Peopleʼs History of the United States by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz (10/21)
49. Children of the Dream by Rucker C Johnson (10/27)
50. Full Surrogacy Now by Sophie Anne Lewis (11/17) I picked this up because a friend who works in reproductive justice recommended it. This is another book where I wish I had someone to discuss it with along the way, and would definitely like to re-read with a little more support.
51. Those Who Wander by Vivian Ho (12/4)
52. 24/7 by Jonathan Crary (12/15)
53. A Field Guide to Getting Lost by Rebecca Solnit (12/21) I can’t believe this book was published in 2005, because it feels so current and urgent. I picked this up because it was recommended by Rosianna Halse Rojas, and I’d also seen quotes from it on Tumblr for years. I recommend pairing this with How To Do Nothing by Jenny Odell — both made me think deeply about attention, time, and space.

1. Leap In by Alexandra Heminsley (1/3) – a book about learning to swim in open water! very light and enjoyable
2. So You’ve Been Publicly Shamed by Jon Ronson (1/6) – about public shaming in the digital age, pretty interesting and a quick read
3. Fun Home by Alison Bechdel (1/9) – i’m trying to make a tradition where i read fun home every january. 2018 was the second time i did this, and 2019 will be the third. just opens wide my sad gay soul.
4. Far from the Tree by Andrew Solomon (1/21) – i’d wanted to read this book for years and years. really enjoyed it, a little heavy to be carrying on the train every day for two weeks though.
5. Running Like a Girl by Alexandra Heminsley (1/31) – the same woman who learned how to swim in open water also ran a marathon! easy ride and inspirational.
6. A Whole In the Wind by David Goodrich (2/12) – i think this was about biking across america to teach about climate change? you don’t need to read it.
7. The Book of Resting Places by Thomas Mira Y Lopez (2/28) – boring and a disappointment. too much about his dad.
8. And the Band Played On by Randy Shilts (3/28) – this was the most important book i read this year. almost cried every day on the train. so interesting, really captured the fear of in the early 80s having no idea what AIDS was. i wanted to do more to learn about LGBT history and this was part of that goal. please read.
9. The Stranger In the Woods by Michael Finkel – about a hermit who lived in maine! really enjoyed and sent to my grandfather who likes that sort of thing.
10. Transgender Warriors by Leslie Feinberg – some more LGBT history! enjoyed seeing how understandings of identities have changed even since its publication
11. Anatomy of an Epidemic by Robert Whitaker (5/13) – highly recommend. about the history of antipsychotic medications. disturbing to say the least – no psych med currently on the market is scientific evidence based at all!
12. The Book of Separation by Tova Mirvis (5/16) – a short memoir. fine.
13. The Cost of Being a Girl by Yasemin Besen-Cassino (5/22) – more academic than i was expecting, about how the wage gap manifests in how teenagers are paid for babysitting and the like
14. Insane by Alisa Roth (5/27) – more about constructions of mental illness.
15. The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker (6/3) – i liked this a lot! made me think differently about how meetings, parties, and any other gathering can flow.
16. Live Work Work Work Die by Corey Pein (6/13) – about silicon valley? not memorable enough apparently.
17. Text Me When You Get Home by Kayleen Schaefer (6/18) – i’m all about female friendships, and this was a nice little look at them.
18. The Mayor of Castro Street by Randy Shilts (6/23) – a harvey milk biography by the guy who later wrote And the Band Played On. interesting to see how harvey milk was thought of right then and there in san francisco shortly after his death. also dianne feinstein played kind of a large role?
19. Hunger by Roxane Gay (6/24) – very powerful, and should be discussed with more of a trigger warning when recommended.
20. Suspicious Minds by Joel Gold and Ian Gold (7/5) – more about mental illness but can’t really remember. it was a busy summer.
21. Love and Death in the Sunshine State by Cutter Wood (7/11) – a story about a murder in florida. it was fine.
22. Harvey Milk by Lillian Faderman (7/17) – another harvey milk biography, this time written in 2018 by a jewish lesbian. talked a lot more about milk’s jewish identity, and was interesting to compare with The Mayor of Castro Street.
23. The Milk Lady of Bangalore by Shoba Narayan (7/21) – terrific. great beach read.
24. Soon by Andrew Santella (8/5) – about procrastination, i think? read it on the beach and it was good enough for that!
25. Mad in America by Robert Whitaker (8/6) – more about the constructions of mental illness, very depressing. but i recommend Anatomy of an Epidemic More.
26. Shrewed by Elizabeth Renzetti (8/8) – about feminism? meh, it was okay.
27. Miss Ex-Yugoslavia by Sofija Stefanivic (8/14) – weird little memoir, read it on the beach.
28. El Deafo by Cece Bell (8/19) – a great graphic memoir, my mom read it with her esl students. quick and nice, if you have a spare couple hours.
29. Operation Chaos by Matthew Sweet (8/21) – this was bizarre, about conspiracies concerning vietnam defectors. didn’t really understand it.
30. Blue Pastures by Mary Oliver (8/22) – mary oliver poetry! god bless.
31. Vacationland by John Hodgman (8/23) – very funny. perfect beach read.
32. Gorilla and the Bird by Zack McDermott (8/29) – memoir about schizophrenia, pretty good!
33. The Lifespan of a Fact by John D’Agata and Jim Fingal (8/31) – the day i finished this book i saw that it was becoming a broadway play starring daniel radcliffe. weird concept for a book, but i really enjoyed it!
34. Good Prose by Tracy Kidder and Richard Todd (9/3) – actual writers may enjoy this more than i did.
35. Start Here: A Roadmap to reducing Mass Incarceration by Greg Berman and Julian Adler (9/7) – depressing but hopeful?
36. A Thousand Mornings by Mary Oliver (9/9) – mary oliver soothes the soul.
37. Ayiti by Roxane Gay (9/11) – thought this was a book of essays, it was not. beautifully written but kind of upsetting.
38. Political Tribes by Amy Chua (9/15) – interesting to read amy chua outside of the tiger mom arena, though i thought things were oversimplified
39. Gigged by Sarah Kessler (9/19) – about the gig economy. recommend.
40. Has the Gay Movement Failed? by Martin Duberman (9/24) – don’t really remember this? i think the answer was no?
41. The 3rd Bank of the River by Chris Feliciano Arnold (9/30) – really cool book about brazil, written during the world cup and olympics. recommend.
42. Breaking Free by Rachel Jeffs (10/3) – upsetting memoir by warren jeffs’ daughter. wish i had passed on this one.
43. The Pursuit of Endurance by Jennifer Pharr Davis (10/6) – highly recommend! about people who try to set speed records on the appalachian trail. very inspirational.
44. Beyond the Map by Alastair Bonnett (10/10) – book about weird places. it was fine.
45. I’ll be gone in the dark by Michelle McNamara (10/16) – just the right amount of upsetting and not-upsetting. if you followed the case at all you should read the book.
46. Tinderbox by Robert Fieseler (10/29) – about a fire a gay bar in new orleans that before pulse was the largest mass murder of gay people in the united states. trying to learn my history.
47. The Design of Childhood by Alexandra Lange (11/4) – a cool book about how children’s toys and spaces are designed. not something i think about a lot so it was interesting to learn about something completely new.
48. Every Happy Family by Jeanne McCulloch (11/9) – a kind of depressing memoir, but i enjoyed it.
49. See you again in Pyongyang by Travis Jeppesen (11/15) – really cool book about visiting north korea! i really enjoyed it.
50. The Formula by Albert Laszlo Barabasi (11/21) – truly no recollection. probably says more about me than about the book.
51. Unthinkable by Helen Thomson (11/25) – oliver saks-esque. nice and quick.
52. Dedicated to God by Abbie Reese (11/30) – about cloistered nuns! a little boring but i liked it.
53. What Stays in Vegas by Adam Tanner (12/16) – las vegas has all your personal data and it’s being sold all over the place.
54. A Girl Stands at the Door  by Rachel Devlin (12/27) – how girls were used as the leaders in desegregation movements across the u.s. i want to read more.
55. The life changing magic of tidying up by Marie Kondo (12/28) – someone sent us this for christmas and so i just threw away half my socks.

Books I’m Still Thinking About Months Later (aka favorites)

Anatomy of An Epidemic by Robert Whittaker

And the Band Played on by Randy Shilts

Far from the Tree by Andrew Solomon

The Pursuit of Endurance by Jennifer Pharr Davis

The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker

Fun Home by Alison Bechdel

I spent the first weekend of the new year watching a lot of YouTube videos. Mostly videos by smaller creators, like Rosianna Halse Rojas and booksandquills, who were talking about goals. Things they accomplished or didn’t accomplish in 2017, what they were aiming to achieve in 2018, where they stood on their list of things to accomplish before they turned 30. I really admire these women, the way they speak so thoughtfully, how they express their ambition and compassion. So with their videos and the general resolution-fervor in my mind, I started thinking about my goals for 2018.

I started a new job in October 2017 and right now that involves a 110 minute commute each way. At some point in the coming months (especially if we get a lot more snow) this will become unbearable and I will move closer in to the city. This is something I expect I will do in 2018. If I don’t do it, I will probably be a little frustrated by my quality of life and maybe a little disappointed about where I am in terms of others’ ideas of early 20s success. But because I very much expect this to happen, I feel weird putting it on a New Year’s Resolution list or a list of goals.

For the past five years, either in January or at the start of the summer, I have made a list of things I wanted to do and each year this has included hiking a local mountain. The mountain is not a strenuous hike, I would be physically capable of doing it right now, all I need to do is get in my car, drive there, and hike the mountain. But because I want to do it with friends or family and I was spending a lot of weekends at the beach, I’ve not done it. I find this very annoying, and I still want to do it, but I have chosen not to put it on a goal list for 2018. And who knows, maybe by mid-June I’ll be busy with my new city life that I won’t even think about it anymore.

What I have decided to do is set a goal or challenge for each month. It’s much more manageable, easier to see success, and lower level of commitment for each particular thing. Expectations are low for remembering to pick a new thing for each month, but here we are January 13th and things are going well.

January Challenge(s):

-Take a break from Twitter

-Read more

These two things are very much related. I never feel like I’m reading enough, though I do spend over 2 hours on a train every day , providing a perfect opportunity to do so. I also find that when I’m at home I will be watching TV and scrolling through Twitter at the same time, and I don’t like the feeling of not being present. I also like the feeling of Doing Things, and reading Twitter feels like the exact opposite. My productivity at work will also hopefully improve – I was finding myself checking Twitter too many times during the day, afraid that I was missing out on some new article or news item that everyone was talking about.

So I deleted the app from my phone. Easy.

Pros: I am reading more. While before I would spend about half an hour of my commute scrolling through Twitter, I’m now much better about getting on the train, putting my phone in my bag, and settling into the book or New Yorker article that I’m currently reading. Luckily I work very close to an amazing public library, so getting new books has not been an issue. I’m also trying to be thoughtful about the books I read (last year I don’t think I read a single book that I would recommend) and have been enjoying myself much more. Last week I finished re-reading Fun Home by Alison Bechdel and I’m currently a third into Far From The Tree by Andrew Solomon, a book I’ve been eyeing for years. I’ve also stopped scrolling through Twitter while I watch TV at home and before bed.

Cons: For some parts of my day I have replaced Twitter not with a great book but with Snapchat Discover. Yesterday, I read the GOOP Snapchat articles. GOOP! And at work I still find myself checking my phone too frequently, sometimes scrolling through Ask A Manager (the greatest blog in the world) or The Financial Diet (which stresses me out and I don’t really enjoy). I’m still bringing my phone to bed with me and refreshing Snapchat incessantly, which doesn’t even load properly since the Wifi in my room is very weak. In addition, Twitter has been a place for me to engage with a lot of new ideas politically, something I don’t do in my in-person relationships, and I miss that. I also don’t know a lot of LGBTQ people in real life while I do follow a lot of LGBTQ people on Twitter, so I find myself missing that community. Last and least, I still find myself thinking of little tweet-sized thoughts and being frustrated that I cannot post them.

Net result: Yes, I am reading more. But I will be glad to rejoin the outrage and meme cycles of my favorite social media platform promptly on February 1.

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Here’s a New Yorker article I just read about New Year’s Resolutions and self-improvement in general (I obviously have lots of thoughts):

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/01/15/improving-ourselves-to-death