I listened to the audiobook on Libro.fm of Bad Vibes Only: (and Other Things I Bring to the Table) by Nora McInerny. I actually wasn’t familiar with McInerny before picking this up, and was interested mostly because the great cover and funny title appeared right when I was in the mood for essays and a laugh. I did not expect this book to be so touching - I didn’t know that the author’s first husband died of brain cancer, leaving her to deal with such grief while raising her young child at the same time. I mostly listened to this while walking the dog, and alternated between cackling like a weird lunatic while walking alone, and crying, also like a weird lunatic while walking alone. If you want to laugh and be entertained and also feel your feelings, this is a great one for that.

Years ago I started and never finished A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan. I can’t remember the details but I do remember that I just wasn’t that into the way the perspective changed so much - I guess I never felt fully invested. What a surprise to have loved The Candy House SO MUCH! You don’t need to have read Goon Squad to read The Candy House, though the same characters reappear. Thanks to @scribnerbooks for the ARC.

Every chapter of this book is about a different character and could be at a different point in the timeline. The stories are somewhat interconnected but each chapter is compelling on its own. The book mostly takes place in the near future, when technology has evolved to allow people to upload their consciousness to the cloud, known as the collective. Egan explores how we got to this point, and the moral dilemmas that accompany these new achievements.

I mostly listened to the audiobook of this one but sometimes switched to the print. I think the first chapter was the weakest - after listening to it, I was kind of like meh, I’m obviously not going to be into it (assuming my last experience with Egan was not a fluke). But then - I kept getting more and more invested. I loved tracing the connections between different characters through the years. Some of the narrators of the audiobooks were such standouts that I’ve since tried to see what else they have worked on, and want to listen to books just because of them. I particularly loved the chapters of this book that were more speculative and I’m hoping for more speculative fiction from Egan in the future.

I was truly so sad when this book ended! I’m definitely going to go back and read Goon Squad now, and probably everything else that Egan has written. I’m really glad that I gave her work another shot. This was a favorite for me of 2022, and I highly, highly recommend it.

Foster by Claire Keegan is a short story that has recently been published as a standalone novella. I love Keegan’s spare writing style. She’s able to evoke so much emotion with fewer words than most.

In this story, a young girl in Ireland is sent to live with another couple for the summer, because her parents are overwhelmed with her many siblings and another on the way. In her temporary home, the girl finds peace, and feels loved and cared for. At the same time, there are unspoken signs of another child, in the secondhand boy’s clothes she is given to wear.

This story, told from the girl’s perspective, is moving. At the end of the summer, I hoped she wouldn’t have to return home. If you are looking for a quick read to round out your reading goal this year, this book is an excellent choice.

We read True Biz by Sara Nović for my work book club. It was so good! I mostly listened to the audiobook, but I also referred to the physical copy to see how conversations in ASL were represented in print. Thanks to @randomhouse for sending me the hard copy! This book is centered around River Valley School for the Deaf in southern Ohio, in a fictional town near the greater Cincinnati area. I really like reading books that are set in the Cincy area, since it’s where I live. It was nice to feel so familiar with the setting - it gave the book a homey quality.

The three main characters of this book are Charlie, February, and Austin. Charlie is a transfer student to River Valley who grew up with a cochlear implant that doesn’t work very well. She has often relied on lip reading, and didn’t have the opportunity to learn ASL when she was young. February is the headmistress of River Valley. She learned ASL as a hearing child of Deaf parents and cares deeply for the students at the school. Austin is the school’s “golden boy”, raised in a family where deafness goes back generations, but his world is shaken when his baby sister is born hearing.

The stories in this book are compelling. I felt for Charlie as she struggled to fit into a world that seemingly had no place for her, and for February as she fought for the future of the school while caring for an aging parent. I also learned so much about deafness, ASL, and the importance of language.

A perk of working for @librofm - Sara Nović actually attended our discussion about this book! One thing that struck me was the uncertainty she felt initially when thinking about creating the audiobook edition of this novel. It was challenging and unclear exactly how to adapt the ASL aspects, which are visually represented in the print edition, for audio. IMO they ended up doing a really great job of getting across the conversations in ASL! The narration was fantastic as well.

I highly recommend this book! I think it could resonate with both teens and adults, since there are stories from both perspectives. If you’ve read this one, let me know what you thought!

I read How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu for my in person book club, but it had been on my radar before that. I typically really like pandemic novels and dystopians so I was excited for this one. This book is written as a collection of interlinked stories, starting when a frozen virus is discovered in the Arctic and subsequently devastates the world.

I think the first chapter of this novel was the strongest, but after that the book didn’t really work for me. The vibes were more sci-fi than I expected, particularly when it came to how the virus worked. I also struggled to care about the characters, and some of the stories were too bizarre and not well executed enough for me to take them seriously. To me, the writing felt simultaneously clumsy and melodramatic.

Overall, this one just wasn’t for me. I thought some of the ideas were interesting, but while reading this I found myself bored, and annoyed that I couldn’t even muster up sadness for kids dying at a euthanasia park because the writing was bland. But also, I’m probably just not the target reader for this book, as I tend to prefer more literary-feeling books that are more grounded in reality. I even want my sci-fi to feel realistic and believable. This one just didn’t hit that mark for me.

Lots of other people have really loved this book though! So if you like post-apocalyptic and sci-fi novels, this one might work better for you.

I recently finished listening to Status and Culture by W. David Marx via @librofm. I picked it up because I was interested in understanding why trends become trends, and how things gain popularity. Marx ties our choices to status, and argues that the desire for economic, social, or cultural capital is a driving force in what becomes popular.

This audiobook was interesting, but for me, it was ultimately forgettable. His ideas made sense but thinking back now, none particularly stood out or really deepened my understanding of these topics. I expected that the book would be a little more entertaining, especially when describing the choices of the ultra-wealthy, but instead it felt a bit academic. Still, if you are interested in these topics, I think it gives a good overview of how status and culture are connected.

Thanks to @riverheadbooks for an ARC of Seven Empty Houses by Samantha Schweblin. I devoured this book - I couldn’t get enough of the way Schweblin creates a disquieting atmosphere in seemingly everyday settings. From the very first story, I knew this collection would be a standout for me. The first story follows a mom and daughter driving around in neighborhoods they can’t afford. Even before the mom got the car stuck in the mud in front of a wealthy family’s house, I felt such a palpable sense of discomfort and dread. I think bringing up feelings so quickly and powerfully with short stories is such a special and rare talent. Every story in this collection had some element that felt jarring or uneasy, yet I stayed completely enthralled the entire time.

Thanks to @doubledaybooks for sending me Cursed Bread by Sophie Mackintosh. This book!! I did not want to put it down. It centers on Elodie, a baker’s wife in a the small French town of Pont-Saint-Esprit, where she lives a modest life after World War II. Elodie feels trapped in a marriage devoid of intimacy, and longs to be touched, though she doesn’t see herself as attractive or desirable. When a mysterious new couple arrives in town, an ambassador and his glamorous, put-together wife Violet, Elodie is swept up by them. She’s easily flattered by extra attention, and searches for meaning in her private moments with the interlopers.

Elodie is a complicated character. She is the archivist of the town’s secrets, but she is slow to piece together clues when it comes to looking inward and understanding her own circumstances. This book is based on a true mystery - the poisoning of a town - but even knowing the end, the slow burn to unravel the full story kept me reading.

This book reminded me a lot of Bitter Orange by Claire Fuller, so if you liked that one, put this one on your list! Overall, I really liked this one. Keep it in mind for when you’re in the mood for a dark, compelling story of enigmatic relationships and devious intentions.

The Transit of Venus by Shirley Hazzard is a special book. It follows the lives of two sisters, Caroline (Caro) and Grace Bell, through their lives. After losing their parents when they are young, the sisters face many challenges as they try to make something of themselves. The book mostly follows Caro, and her loves and losses.

Hazzard's writing is evocative and rich, and every word is chosen with purpose. On their own, her sentences are impactful and sharp. Altogether, I was stunned by the brilliance with which she leaves a trail of breadcrumbs scattered throughout. Every detail is intentional.

Caro!!! What a character. She goes through so much. So many ups and downs… these characters will live forever rent-free in my mind.

At the end of the book, so many details start to come together, and Hazzard suddenly speaks directly to the reader. A play within a play. Truly can’t say enough how impressive I found this book. I am still awestruck by her talent. Why don’t we talk about her more?! Why didn’t I know more about her already?! I was surprised how much humor is woven throughout. And she’s so smart, and it shows! This book inspired me to attempt to annotate for the first time. There were so many lines that I just had to underline, and sit with and digest and look at again and again. And I know I have even more to get out of it - one of those books that will definitely get richer with each reread.

I loved this one so much, I now plan to finish Hazzard's backlog next year. I've already read The Great Fire and will share my thoughts on it soon too. Have you read this one? If not, go ahead and get yourself a copy, and then let me know how much you loved it too.

I listened to The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker for my work book club and I learned so much about hosting gatherings of all varieties! I don’t host a lot of events, but this book was still really useful and applicable. I learned about the importance of purpose in any type of event, from dinner party to Zoom meeting. Something I thought was really interesting was that it can be important to exclude some in order to have an event that is actually inclusive in the way it is meant to be.

I read this at the perfect time for an event in my personal life, too - we were planning my dad’s 60th birthday while I was reading this. It inspired me to come up with creative games that got different friend groups talking to each other at his surprise party. We made a bingo game where the attendees had to find someone who met a certain criteria, and get them to sign the bingo board. It was a hit! And I probably wouldn’t have had any games ready to go if I hadn’t been listening to this book.

Even if you just occasionally host gatherings, I’d definitely recommend this one. It’s an easy listen with lots of actionable suggestions and anecdotes that will give you concrete ideas for how to host more successful gatherings. The audiobook was great, too.