tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15450865053588317502024-02-08T00:14:12.198-06:00Wendy on the WebUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger306125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545086505358831750.post-48509183921524925832024-01-02T16:06:00.000-06:002024-01-02T16:06:22.827-06:00Best Books of 2023<p>I wasn't sure how I was going to cobble this together. Since summer I have been busy reading for a big list, one of those without any real time or content limits, so it was hard to determine what to share here...</p><p>Well, I couldn't break the streak, so basically, this is what isn’t in contention over <b><a href="https://www.ala.org/yalsa/outstanding-books-college-bound" target="_blank">there</a></b>... In addition to all that reading, this year, I luxuriated in everything read out loud by Julia Reed and finally got into the sagas of Penny Vincenzi. I also listened to procedurals by Helen H. Durrant and even the Marco Pierre White memoir, basically anything read by Tim Bentinck, who I have known for years as the solidly-Middle English David Archer (as well author of <a href="https://search.worldcat.org/title/960494436">his own, very good biography</a>).</p><p><b>What to Wear</b></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHkNHA5Sq-2gmUm8SgHwKAdlbHCXS-R5s3ArkhTn02Dr9gYEVCQpKdV25Orf0IOgyUX5jhqnwPkO23hKQqI6CEQT5AhHegANowdcrlilycZcGr4ebeX06dj0ZQ3lVDfcH_f2Q0ot6ydiisgNMdCxmbw70TfVlQoBK2yosBmBbDGrfMNQgTxnzkTcRkfQc/s213/Prep.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="213" data-original-width="140" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHkNHA5Sq-2gmUm8SgHwKAdlbHCXS-R5s3ArkhTn02Dr9gYEVCQpKdV25Orf0IOgyUX5jhqnwPkO23hKQqI6CEQT5AhHegANowdcrlilycZcGr4ebeX06dj0ZQ3lVDfcH_f2Q0ot6ydiisgNMdCxmbw70TfVlQoBK2yosBmBbDGrfMNQgTxnzkTcRkfQc/s1600/Prep.jpeg" width="140" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://search.worldcat.org/title/1331707255" target="_blank">The Kingdom of Prep: the inside story of the rise and “near” fall of J. Crew</a> (2023) Maggie Bullock</p><p>Part archeology, part anthropology, all about what J. Crew represented in closets across America at the turn of this century.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxJewbjaZgsd4Y0-xP1Bqigs4mfUlRnvYfz9DlMVQYMlF87uChQMELJlfnoVS0eWOciImynGiqjNZI_62R2LsA75VSYJVhzovfKvEm0Hivkdxd5VfbJNHDv6Of_BdUxweCG9y4EblhDN2lGBjA9jGUTu6figS3I5Xcx2sXhxbjgGhAOQbZ22LJ1zXKgmY/s210/Counterfeit.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="210" data-original-width="140" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxJewbjaZgsd4Y0-xP1Bqigs4mfUlRnvYfz9DlMVQYMlF87uChQMELJlfnoVS0eWOciImynGiqjNZI_62R2LsA75VSYJVhzovfKvEm0Hivkdxd5VfbJNHDv6Of_BdUxweCG9y4EblhDN2lGBjA9jGUTu6figS3I5Xcx2sXhxbjgGhAOQbZ22LJ1zXKgmY/s1600/Counterfeit.jpeg" width="140" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://search.worldcat.org/title/1273914438" target="_blank">Counterfeit </a>(2022) Kirsten Chen</p><p>A fun, frothy novel about two former college roommates teaming up to undermine the luxury handbag industry.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjylBzOhpLFREbCX2o_32lBECqs4pHBtmMWjJ6TpmSFqBy8OtuiGaKJHU71Xey090ilLrgd64kIg6Crq0C4s1Dgs5iAvQt-ssDIb3FPmgAf8vW5AtMSVa8dzB9lWrownlzOO2FmVqco7dHsR-G7-nzoI_DZ0ogW5ux5gv1-qWamz8nW-ecwJT5sxW8q3aA/s215/Fabric.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="215" data-original-width="140" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjylBzOhpLFREbCX2o_32lBECqs4pHBtmMWjJ6TpmSFqBy8OtuiGaKJHU71Xey090ilLrgd64kIg6Crq0C4s1Dgs5iAvQt-ssDIb3FPmgAf8vW5AtMSVa8dzB9lWrownlzOO2FmVqco7dHsR-G7-nzoI_DZ0ogW5ux5gv1-qWamz8nW-ecwJT5sxW8q3aA/s1600/Fabric.jpeg" width="140" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="https://search.worldcat.org/title/1287887941" target="_blank">Fabric: The hidden history of the material world</a> (2021) Victoria Finlay</p><p>Finlay mixes memoir and her close study of fabric making around the world in this masterful volume. I can't wait to read her book on Colors.</p><div><b>Getting Out of Town</b></div><div><br /></div><div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihel4YUQ1S5L6cbHcapp9cRCT0B8kMQTdBNuIFphIW2WhNyiKA_m3j88BnxUFXS41QbQ04xJhRCvb8gD12vacVHyNV1545VaQ2tA9Sy5-nT_SExd08gBVaVN_JuJGA8Tj8W11zmZAJpPj4uva3QcHYxLm5y5u5UBBSzjCG5Uzb8sqrtm-k82KaLkSd974/s215/Tourists.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="215" data-original-width="140" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihel4YUQ1S5L6cbHcapp9cRCT0B8kMQTdBNuIFphIW2WhNyiKA_m3j88BnxUFXS41QbQ04xJhRCvb8gD12vacVHyNV1545VaQ2tA9Sy5-nT_SExd08gBVaVN_JuJGA8Tj8W11zmZAJpPj4uva3QcHYxLm5y5u5UBBSzjCG5Uzb8sqrtm-k82KaLkSd974/s1600/Tourists.jpeg" width="140" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://search.worldcat.org/title/1277282264" target="_blank">Tourists: How the British went abroad to find themselves</a> (2022) Lucy Lethbridge</div><div>A glimpse into the centuries-old industry of going abroad and all that it has come to represent ad involve. </div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3PTo5UouorTTpJMgb8jIFefy-sFECrNYG4fSDZsirvUIjQBzjw-PHUxWNJimDMBF0oKOJ4UPJsMk4KZe3jpdeT7sJRhKy-CusO6ONhZKWMBJyk8n05BaUeYoIqXjst8YaOj0d6jCoOpO82Gy5p1R4eQ4Jmm7VK31LY6u9Nr4ZcsICLTy32DefsdIHoS4/s210/Travelers.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="210" data-original-width="140" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3PTo5UouorTTpJMgb8jIFefy-sFECrNYG4fSDZsirvUIjQBzjw-PHUxWNJimDMBF0oKOJ4UPJsMk4KZe3jpdeT7sJRhKy-CusO6ONhZKWMBJyk8n05BaUeYoIqXjst8YaOj0d6jCoOpO82Gy5p1R4eQ4Jmm7VK31LY6u9Nr4ZcsICLTy32DefsdIHoS4/s1600/Travelers.jpeg" width="140" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://search.worldcat.org/title/1005686012" target="_blank">Travelers in the Third Reich: the rise of Fascism, 1919-1945</a> (2018) Julia Boyd</div><div><br /></div><div>Of course people went there. Mines fascinating primary sources accounts of those who went to Germany during Hitler’s regime.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div><div><b>First Person Stories</b></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4BP_US8oMtuF8aBk22fxtUSU-WguqLLLHXmrOD2FIwJYhr3jqDEYV0Q3-rSnH_6NDzNVusxKNYOE6qiRcyV17Qm0I8Md-sL5ePVRZxqmfSHgJMYZgUb0nt7J_39j7CfBC2ipt_ko5TBvY5AkI26H6hdu740EWllcR5-FZxLa37V7G4cBrlufd2EpElZ8/s211/Stash.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="211" data-original-width="140" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4BP_US8oMtuF8aBk22fxtUSU-WguqLLLHXmrOD2FIwJYhr3jqDEYV0Q3-rSnH_6NDzNVusxKNYOE6qiRcyV17Qm0I8Md-sL5ePVRZxqmfSHgJMYZgUb0nt7J_39j7CfBC2ipt_ko5TBvY5AkI26H6hdu740EWllcR5-FZxLa37V7G4cBrlufd2EpElZ8/s1600/Stash.jpeg" width="140" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://search.worldcat.org/title/1333085469" target="_blank">Stash: my life in hiding</a> (2023) Laura Cathcart Robbins</div><div>A standout memoir about addiction and recovery, with a surprising romance.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgStucS1uEoo6Oi5gqrqMaK0ykyetPjoofehTqmh6N3tf9x7lh1NMIO3a50wdE1m29Z6eN_nIxIklQtJNp9X4aAI3BlJDHxIrh6Fc6kbOcd7t1UVj4OhVKzUCEU_V7Ir0YHEMxbus8jIh0ftDkGFEpOo9g2-UtR6g_cSozeVWsT2V_B0wYsWPpdF8MHlLc/s211/Dirtbag.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="211" data-original-width="140" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgStucS1uEoo6Oi5gqrqMaK0ykyetPjoofehTqmh6N3tf9x7lh1NMIO3a50wdE1m29Z6eN_nIxIklQtJNp9X4aAI3BlJDHxIrh6Fc6kbOcd7t1UVj4OhVKzUCEU_V7Ir0YHEMxbus8jIh0ftDkGFEpOo9g2-UtR6g_cSozeVWsT2V_B0wYsWPpdF8MHlLc/s1600/Dirtbag.jpeg" width="140" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://search.worldcat.org/title/1184234826" target="_blank">Dirtbag, Massachusetts: a confessional</a> (2022) Isaac Fitzgerald</div><div>Fitzgerald’s semi-feral boyhood onwards, autodidactic response, and slough through the service industry are terrific fun to read about.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfRfYAXDX0KaihbTpwkU3FwiM-tx0paWixyHa7ltSwd9ZS4GiezeF7j_GTFhb1LDd7ZY2HjUaM55LnePaSHSZL-S26bzXWMiQxCNGZf5gb095qcYorTDAO7lryGiGWm5_5f-txLSREs_uoT1-9XI1nFKB2Ed0N6NB2hky9h_xxBWJZ5iVSxPZCwhJWPcE/s215/Odd%20boy%20out.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="215" data-original-width="140" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfRfYAXDX0KaihbTpwkU3FwiM-tx0paWixyHa7ltSwd9ZS4GiezeF7j_GTFhb1LDd7ZY2HjUaM55LnePaSHSZL-S26bzXWMiQxCNGZf5gb095qcYorTDAO7lryGiGWm5_5f-txLSREs_uoT1-9XI1nFKB2Ed0N6NB2hky9h_xxBWJZ5iVSxPZCwhJWPcE/s1600/Odd%20boy%20out.jpeg" width="140" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://search.worldcat.org/title/1246353791" target="_blank">Odd boy out </a>(2022) Gyles Brandreth</div><div>Gyles is a fixture on This Morning and in The Oldie; he is a true Renaissance man, and, after reading his wonderful biography full of gossip and name-dropping, I will never hear an Oscar Wilde reference or see a teddy bear without thinking of him. </div></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Shifting the Frame</b></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv-YaML2WvncfviSefqvUDbYSdzzFsIHaYzCeWEviP9Am2eFXFA6B1NQfp5ONMJzfLdj9aXaanxK43Y1ffU5c9Nql64o3USnz8TjhYsiMoaGXg4J6W3WH5NnVpFmAfNI2NPR7LYn-UHyly-uXT7PaT0TVKoQYXqnKZsaBWWQ_x_X6aT0pSE2CmQ4h6Z6Q/s225/Becky.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="140" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhv-YaML2WvncfviSefqvUDbYSdzzFsIHaYzCeWEviP9Am2eFXFA6B1NQfp5ONMJzfLdj9aXaanxK43Y1ffU5c9Nql64o3USnz8TjhYsiMoaGXg4J6W3WH5NnVpFmAfNI2NPR7LYn-UHyly-uXT7PaT0TVKoQYXqnKZsaBWWQ_x_X6aT0pSE2CmQ4h6Z6Q/s1600/Becky.jpeg" width="140" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://search.worldcat.org/title/1369098652" target="_blank">Becky</a> (2023) by Sarah May</div><div>Thackeray’s Vanity Fair recast in frothy ‘90s English tabloid culture.</div></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl5MCPR6YTwQTf2IVpH_cK06V81ItXllB7D8FYa4ZvU1xKeOMpkqptfxKQAdYA5nsU0rmWM5hMb9q4Zi6MRgchnMa1PLUfhyphenhyphenG2ksLTy6RSH-MQQKR0yBxhwE5nA2-cbzcC1voW5uRWwyQzvi9naSWDmNqztHhmtlGPTOU5ZsS1ea3FwTzk1Hwbs0OhH9Y/s210/Family%20Chao.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="210" data-original-width="140" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl5MCPR6YTwQTf2IVpH_cK06V81ItXllB7D8FYa4ZvU1xKeOMpkqptfxKQAdYA5nsU0rmWM5hMb9q4Zi6MRgchnMa1PLUfhyphenhyphenG2ksLTy6RSH-MQQKR0yBxhwE5nA2-cbzcC1voW5uRWwyQzvi9naSWDmNqztHhmtlGPTOU5ZsS1ea3FwTzk1Hwbs0OhH9Y/s1600/Family%20Chao.jpeg" width="140" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://search.worldcat.org/title/1252850118" target="_blank">The family Chao</a> (2022) Lam Samantha Chang</div><div>The Brother Karamazov in a midwestern ethnic restaurant, with siblings that feel like you know them.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_zedvLPfMwnBSvdJVaRRbJMzGnBED9NnpOuPBwmaxKoDTCeRafaPaFuBkifRQ8BlPiJc95gTC2MSTXe9C_zQBjfRk6ByxWW96RWWHFQqkz5tKUONCOl45-YJZTfjNYODQyqrU-KR622Uv9174dx72M5eJYp9I7G7qevuwhmJ7S4d-qg7bQYiMTMzjQDw/s211/Beware.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="211" data-original-width="140" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_zedvLPfMwnBSvdJVaRRbJMzGnBED9NnpOuPBwmaxKoDTCeRafaPaFuBkifRQ8BlPiJc95gTC2MSTXe9C_zQBjfRk6ByxWW96RWWHFQqkz5tKUONCOl45-YJZTfjNYODQyqrU-KR622Uv9174dx72M5eJYp9I7G7qevuwhmJ7S4d-qg7bQYiMTMzjQDw/s1600/Beware.jpeg" width="140" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://search.worldcat.org/title/1379209838" target="_blank">Beware the woman: a novel</a> (2023) Megan Abbott</div><div>In this expert gothic with a new bride held captive in a remote Upper Peninsula cabin, Abbott explodes many gendered tropes underpinning suspense.</div></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGK3T3DW3G1ez5-QzqVLVH9QrXUfuP-HnDOuo0FR9KMwQovSmja3EtcxNEsUzPwGZwjd99XmZZJyJSHNggirQU5ZZ8ZOOlTZdpyR0u2svRUavVE5p8tzoXsEMQPrGJAbQva6dTR6gImggtCcylCvYei3Wm_hlr02G_GCuHefqE2ALZIB5YXjdVrvqEiiI/s213/Fraud.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="213" data-original-width="140" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGK3T3DW3G1ez5-QzqVLVH9QrXUfuP-HnDOuo0FR9KMwQovSmja3EtcxNEsUzPwGZwjd99XmZZJyJSHNggirQU5ZZ8ZOOlTZdpyR0u2svRUavVE5p8tzoXsEMQPrGJAbQva6dTR6gImggtCcylCvYei3Wm_hlr02G_GCuHefqE2ALZIB5YXjdVrvqEiiI/s1600/Fraud.jpeg" width="140" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://search.worldcat.org/title/1354647592" target="_blank">The fraud</a> (2023) Zadie Smith</div><div>Smith imagines the story behind Tichborne claimant, the long-lost heir that had Victorian England captivated, as engineered by his Caribbean manservant.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><b>Some fiction, and one stranger than fiction</b></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH2-R6JF7L_aLk_FUwOLwX2nHDJ9fZk2EtdhbS_DXhGv85N9xJCrICH77YxJSz36EDbEnprTv87jr4Cz8GUL06OJtF_mmtHNXq66xX-29doTTffO4AJj8yVk_8_xB9E9awENMWcQcxyUEjsjXyNx_9ZPl5LFwhG9ESEzLp6o-H-90mXtBxFzQ2e9BYvmY/s213/Love%20marriage.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="213" data-original-width="140" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH2-R6JF7L_aLk_FUwOLwX2nHDJ9fZk2EtdhbS_DXhGv85N9xJCrICH77YxJSz36EDbEnprTv87jr4Cz8GUL06OJtF_mmtHNXq66xX-29doTTffO4AJj8yVk_8_xB9E9awENMWcQcxyUEjsjXyNx_9ZPl5LFwhG9ESEzLp6o-H-90mXtBxFzQ2e9BYvmY/s1600/Love%20marriage.jpeg" width="140" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b></div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://search.worldcat.org/title/1277184389" target="_blank">Love Marriage</a> (2022) Monica Ali</div><div>Two young doctors look like the perfect couple, but the upcoming wedding throws both the traditional Muslim parents of the bride and the arty elite mother of the groom into chaos. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCiPoxeX-JUtvBCehYnOeUCqCmeVBt_JB1WtMALpGEzgllvrI5cPdEqYbQQjpKL3hM-dxEMR6EBMfJjkUB5kA8Bs3ia3DyccY1yPO5d867ougHVM3B0Gesy3lCqkRaYHLXGKmksk5oIgJFh2V3zOi8_p1aiAROPrMYxqZ-uHhQg4xkcF8IKVPvouu4cxM/s212/The%20list.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="212" data-original-width="140" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCiPoxeX-JUtvBCehYnOeUCqCmeVBt_JB1WtMALpGEzgllvrI5cPdEqYbQQjpKL3hM-dxEMR6EBMfJjkUB5kA8Bs3ia3DyccY1yPO5d867ougHVM3B0Gesy3lCqkRaYHLXGKmksk5oIgJFh2V3zOi8_p1aiAROPrMYxqZ-uHhQg4xkcF8IKVPvouu4cxM/s1600/The%20list.jpeg" width="140" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://search.worldcat.org/title/1357013504" target="_blank">The List </a>(2023) Yomi Adegoke</div><div>When a young influencer’s fiancé appears on a crowdsourced list of wrong-doers, it throws their relationship and realities into conflict.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyTu6ao0kbqY617qzTN_h3nDhMQOSB8esHVa3_6c1w-Pv_B6nHYEH2TFV7SDEtSHm0IEhGlfLQNRI-YErumc52hrw3sRZMk16_EQQznMfKykYvvUndvP6bLnjWlQUzyWOuk50zWLeeBtYji_SWT4vf_oqcTOiT8d9husCxtrWsnkdZfQGG5xvtYfllvZ8/s211/Yellowface.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="211" data-original-width="140" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyTu6ao0kbqY617qzTN_h3nDhMQOSB8esHVa3_6c1w-Pv_B6nHYEH2TFV7SDEtSHm0IEhGlfLQNRI-YErumc52hrw3sRZMk16_EQQznMfKykYvvUndvP6bLnjWlQUzyWOuk50zWLeeBtYji_SWT4vf_oqcTOiT8d9husCxtrWsnkdZfQGG5xvtYfllvZ8/s1600/Yellowface.jpeg" width="140" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://search.worldcat.org/title/1341438278" target="_blank">Yellowface</a> (2023) R.F. Kuang</div><div>Literary jealousy made manifest when a hot young author leaves an identity-rich manuscript behind.</div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9zBvI6CbH0TIHyRfWZNA-ICNZod9TACzd3l2IwVZpy4M1IX-oT2Y68uIAAAh0lJlFFVmeOPrHJySAMxsyfdBQPO1SDR5JfboCMfwUYay6KzUyYT5rAEeoT1TB8bkUEB8mboawWeuVTmsi5lRDZB9cRjE1cRP5G8aX3z8EbBAS4cwUbTuDWOxcIIBMxio/s203/Factory%20girls.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="203" data-original-width="140" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9zBvI6CbH0TIHyRfWZNA-ICNZod9TACzd3l2IwVZpy4M1IX-oT2Y68uIAAAh0lJlFFVmeOPrHJySAMxsyfdBQPO1SDR5JfboCMfwUYay6KzUyYT5rAEeoT1TB8bkUEB8mboawWeuVTmsi5lRDZB9cRjE1cRP5G8aX3z8EbBAS4cwUbTuDWOxcIIBMxio/s1600/Factory%20girls.jpeg" width="140" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><a href="https://search.worldcat.org/title/1290014263" target="_blank">Factory girls</a> (2022) Michelle Gallen</div><div>Now-historical fiction amid textile workers at a factory in Northern Ireland includes 1990s interreligious conflict, juxtaposed with the lure of the broader world.</div></div><div><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgp3DgUlr1NMRN1Dg-D3d-jos7HB4LjCh2G7kR-HaXVzt7adKVtaCV09OzK86EBbC1qGyjWU9DylMHZmsias3jd-THgn5amDCzKqIxT8aEvZgThwJMy18jA0qCpi_YPUYlkBYRVZ48tP03JB89hmzMCvWvmFQS1fXELcqw1Pi4GVtPRlhCIHjeNcVBtro/s211/Wrong%20place%20wrong%20time.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="211" data-original-width="140" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgp3DgUlr1NMRN1Dg-D3d-jos7HB4LjCh2G7kR-HaXVzt7adKVtaCV09OzK86EBbC1qGyjWU9DylMHZmsias3jd-THgn5amDCzKqIxT8aEvZgThwJMy18jA0qCpi_YPUYlkBYRVZ48tP03JB89hmzMCvWvmFQS1fXELcqw1Pi4GVtPRlhCIHjeNcVBtro/s1600/Wrong%20place%20wrong%20time.jpeg" width="140" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://search.worldcat.org/title/1289987553" target="_blank">Wrong place, wrong time</a> (2022) Gillian McAllister</div><div>Not usually a fan of things that play with timelines, but this Groundhog Day-esque book where a woman moves through time trying to understand the events that led to her son’s arrest was a treat.</div></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihvYC1TPhG1oZxCyRwlpjhTk8YB9DP38Bn1kip1GAyJRc9Bcc2qp4nUvlJqHSLttD1U8Zr522jtfpQiyvkk03pPgDsZCKKnXmdLf83UIn2OK0iELUfHneck77KosDG_O7xMETba-hOJUQ0V2GtRdhkrFBO9YIoLQbtw1HBMN3AVowrV4iscXCHsEtCd-0/s211/Lycky%20girl.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="211" data-original-width="140" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihvYC1TPhG1oZxCyRwlpjhTk8YB9DP38Bn1kip1GAyJRc9Bcc2qp4nUvlJqHSLttD1U8Zr522jtfpQiyvkk03pPgDsZCKKnXmdLf83UIn2OK0iELUfHneck77KosDG_O7xMETba-hOJUQ0V2GtRdhkrFBO9YIoLQbtw1HBMN3AVowrV4iscXCHsEtCd-0/s1600/Lycky%20girl.jpeg" width="140" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://search.worldcat.org/title/1337154879" target="_blank">Lucky girl: a novel</a> (2023) by Irene Muchemi-Ndiritu</div><div>A coming-to-New York story about a young Kenyan student finding her very sweet way.</div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTqPo4S41zA9fqQ4LBKowAZdCyZ2pqglGuS3rqhmiiHb3sJNfjnRkbcjyg9tJIIwtQEIYuk6zw3IKNqAoHv9MMhMRHoVc-hjs76rST-8mxaFRN2GumVqZUIrkUCTpKwxZootXrif7Q2ZJ2FBhAY5k0mFvyT5Q8G99oAJ2VD5VhjpDmGBYchjtsyNXAWOE/s210/American%20pain.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="210" data-original-width="140" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTqPo4S41zA9fqQ4LBKowAZdCyZ2pqglGuS3rqhmiiHb3sJNfjnRkbcjyg9tJIIwtQEIYuk6zw3IKNqAoHv9MMhMRHoVc-hjs76rST-8mxaFRN2GumVqZUIrkUCTpKwxZootXrif7Q2ZJ2FBhAY5k0mFvyT5Q8G99oAJ2VD5VhjpDmGBYchjtsyNXAWOE/s1600/American%20pain.jpeg" width="140" /></a></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://search.worldcat.org/title/942839172" target="_blank">American pain: how a young felon and his ring of doctors unleashed America's deadliest drug epidemic</a> (2016) John Temple</div><div>A fascinating true story about the Florida pill mills feeding the opioid epidemic, their unique corportate culture and their downfall.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>See favorites from the past fourteen years below:</div><div><p style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/1545086505358831750/4079274426408317373" target="_blank">Best Books of 2022</a></p><p style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2021/12/best-books-of-2021.html" target="_blank">Best Books of 2021</a></p><p style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2020/12/best-books-of-2020.html" style="color: black; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Best Books of 2020</a></p><div style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><div><a href="https://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2019/12/best-books-of-2019.html" style="color: black; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Best Books of 2019</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2018/12/best-books-of-2018.html" style="color: black; text-decoration-line: none;">Best Books of 2018</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2017/12/best-books-of-2017.html" style="color: black; text-decoration-line: none;">Best Books of 2017</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2016/12/best-books-of-2016.html" style="color: black; text-decoration-line: none;">Best Books of 2016</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2015/12/best-books-of-2015.html" style="color: black; text-decoration-line: none;">Best Books of 2015</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2014/12/best-books-of-2014.html" style="color: black; text-decoration-line: none;">Best Books of 2014</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2013/12/best-books-of-2013.html" style="color: black; text-decoration-line: none;">Best Books of 2013</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2012/12/best-books-of-2012.html" style="color: black; text-decoration-line: none;">Best Books of 2012</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2011/12/best-books-of-2011.html" style="color: black; text-decoration-line: none;">Best Books of 2011</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2010/12/books-of-2010.html" style="color: black; text-decoration-line: none;">Best Books of 2010</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2009/12/books-of-2009.html" style="color: black; text-decoration-line: none;">Best Books of 2009</a></div></div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><br /><p></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545086505358831750.post-40792744264083173732022-12-03T10:04:00.002-06:002022-12-03T10:06:23.888-06:00Best Books of 2022<div class="separator"> </div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Remember how, when you made your crush a mixed tape, you included the name of the song and artist, but also what album the track came from? I miss that…<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/nostalgiaisdeadly?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#nostalgiaisdeadly</a></p>— laurelsnyder (@LaurelSnyder) <a href="https://twitter.com/LaurelSnyder/status/1598458363469524995?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 1, 2022</a></blockquote><br />Okay, this was a weird year. A lot more re-reading -- some Phyllis A. Whitney, lots of Jen Lancaster, Susan Isaacs, some of the late great Barbara Ehrenreich. And, let's face it, I spent a lot of time in the past. The 1980s, in particular, which is why the Snyder hashtag above, #nostalgiaisdeadly, resonated. I do feel like the arc bending towards justice gets a little longer every year, but that doesn't stop me reveling in some cultural nostalgia. And note that I am also including a bit more YA this go-round, since I am not reading for any awards requiring confidentiality.... <br /><br /><h2 style="text-align: left;"><b>All About the 1980s</b></h2><h3 style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://worldcat.org/title/1022200901">Paperback Crush: The Totally Radical History of '80s and '90s Teen Fiction</a> (2018)</h3>Gabrielle Moss<br /><br /><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/jn4WcwbBN1dNSZsZVCxGkHfZApXpKvEk6-xZhKyp6p64k9bgZZrg6Fl7DqtBNYdp8IF37-xAcAn-q5Q9FCTjfUhvsZkw32DfqQfzwyZGSkPtobsIaKWmx7AliPDgRotnieTk0kwasw2dtE1ph8cxmSnyO-zu294dRstf5dnHcRAZf7LyH7v9btQG0nQKCA" /><br /><br />Not unlike Grady Hendrix's <b>Paperbacks from Hell </b>on <a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2021/12/best-books-of-2021.html" target="_blank">last year's list</a>, this gorgeous volume collects some extraordinary cover art from a range of what-would-become YA books from past decades. A loving tribute to the books that made us.<br /><br /><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://worldcat.org/title/1325579853">Meet Me by the Fountain: An Inside History of the Mall</a> (2022)</h3>Alexandra Lange<br /><br /><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/B1WDpB4N9Sdcqvyze1_D374XGc8QHK3tijGWrj2YeHIzq87hBas2ZgXpzWWnUKIUNY1z7ccLOQn8jU9fN_Evit1p0IdJUm4EyQaAryo7CozdcGhbIDaRlbtRnFFvdgfh-_BHUUebEG3iD8-E4noOynb74GERwWGaAiwcrPxVco0bJmXhphqyjUlcDQ7U6Q" /><br /><br />This book is one of the best things I've read about American sociology, consumerism, and change over time. While not strictly about the '80s, that decade factors heavily. <br /><br /><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://worldcat.org/title/1232866358">Red, White, and Whole</a> (2021)</h3>Rajani LaRocca<br /><br /><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/OJ4akyImUNVC2tDfNe8igNxxCUe_zjLFxADDEU5l3IeOP_JoF4jFBHHq7-8vS3UYDpvgAnmVhI_OnUWSxzJPTk9i59WaV_AIf54-EXAg5JC_tlzF49MRxeWv5tJrxPHXyL1XwRrJ9sNp4E5lDKR1L8mhESYdIWvBODq54ZmCPCwkwwIs0RfI4kgY8bff3Q" /><br /><br />It's 1983, Reha's mother is sick, and this novel in verse explores her experiences, caught between cultures and working through those heady middle school friendships.<br /><br /><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://worldcat.org/title/1266252876">I Must Betray You </a>(2022)</span></h3>Ruta Sepetys<br /><br /><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/dVqTNG_VOH91RZqyKr3HOmjEG45tpJr1qep46D4EdbL3UaNqzeUampX2h1FMoHbHuPzRNgtmMlmZU8hGzsuRX_RLJ2FwDb61Up7tXL_5OsFEeBdLOUKKnaoL3loAO7tXUuuL9m18_G-dnRzfaefRvQPGy5hnUzOLSIRxDJ9PNFbu0B08hz9Hw1qEAiplPw" /><br /><br />Sepetys explores Ceausescu's Romania, where the VCR is upending totalitarianism and young people are negotiating freedoms. Watch <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2442080/">Chuck Norris Versus Communism</a> afterwards. <br /><br /><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://worldcat.org/title/961098476">Party Girls Die in Pearls</a> (2017)</h3>Plum Sykes<br /><br /><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/XnEa_pYn0hTYriNJrpgcaYqE8oBlcZcYUDg31ktnCx4P-bdlKIrz_ZeaFIQ91108W6jca6T2veZRwsplMjJt1Qer2WlZ4OvWoS2rd2L-bnrXiXtMTvJa1ah0ABCPfDy_Iw5P4x88iecffMk8jYh9nzJ35Ny2Wy2Aj_ViTqGskBcFepA2k_WV0nzE2fNR4A" /><br /><br />From the detailed descriptions of the '80s wardrobe to the silly in-group slang, I thoroughly adored this blast from the past wrapped around a mystery. <br /><br /><h2 style="text-align: left;">YA, YA (okay, and some MG)</h2><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://worldcat.org/title/1284916943">Himawari House </a>(2021)</h3>Harmony Becker<br /><br /><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/5Q4xhFe25Lt8ZH9Hw2BOi1NgZXWy6ThQRurPiD46cmelejp_vbnWNoyXuSsAPISdyTrsYrEbZoNODn4yOWH-irWIYz3jVniA7ddgtPoVRybwkEdmMhWADyuhWA9R0QIB35z0e5blG7jqIEcz1MBAaqZh9_N3G0yAbv_vUK9zeoxUgFhgIwl2Car5kbgzaA" /><br /><br />This really well-executed graphic novel features a trio of teenagers finding their way in the world and exploring aspects of Japanese culture, with re-discovery of their own identities thrown into relief. <br /><br /><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://worldcat.org/title/1192303768">In the Wild Light </a>(2021)</h3>Jeff Zentner<br /><br /><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/dO4jd5PqGx1VIbCQyCG0FY69wPXFroAo-B_fmNlDWwC_EG5rcXHNB8EYjuKm5YL_vyLibdv5lEpT9AMir1MzDUpYY55BClmGYwUYdEVz597MDy6uJqVhhb59Tw1iCUQM7H-2rTEUkCsAx4FtvkLA9SDkJ1wIsAAKEJpnG95y4faxxwgwx1X96dOkVJSESA" /><br /><br />Jeff Zentner has his finger on the pulse of the realities of the contemporary American South, even when you put those Southern kids in a Connecticut boarding school. <br /><br /><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://worldcat.org/title/1259443243">The City Beautiful</a> (2021)</h3>Aden Polydoros<br /><br /><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/Z768EODmSg72Lofdq6_wNfQM_wBpC9WKuhV6GC_jfsZcBIhgCnldZmtsL8_0MnIm4j3X3RHBr3QFZLHa43asV6Ij9cTZtNFDdYhv4tQ4hrxT6HNnslurtmMp6zhzpVhvLD8--GHFk3HvvOWlgg9BgWpSCn59rMj8aF25lZ4LGrmRXCGhB9MF0UJzjqkthA" /><br /><br />This incredibly dark YA novel will take you into the White City that was the Chicago World's Fair, with precise period details and an entirely new sensibility. Fans of Daniel Kraus will love it.<div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://worldcat.org/title/1151730349"></a><div class="separator" style="clear: both; display: inline;"><a href="https://worldcat.org/title/1151730349"></a><h3 style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://worldcat.org/title/1151730349">Last Night at the Telegraph Club</a> (2021)</h3></div><div>Malinda Lo</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjpN5aJ1czliDB63XlYmewUHQPFNOSVzE-1CRlrKOomUVFiYBslc3UUb8FrtLhW6lvlkAGga8CPVkyA6Dt7htZunJNMtEA7lAoHkSDRCbtH-cUjcWCvf_x__P4rQ6ZX9RmMBz0rV8jv2Y7s9wdI_nBKJvbZ4Q0e51HcNRK3Rq0RIgljMAR3wqZ2hHoI" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="210" data-original-width="140" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjpN5aJ1czliDB63XlYmewUHQPFNOSVzE-1CRlrKOomUVFiYBslc3UUb8FrtLhW6lvlkAGga8CPVkyA6Dt7htZunJNMtEA7lAoHkSDRCbtH-cUjcWCvf_x__P4rQ6ZX9RmMBz0rV8jv2Y7s9wdI_nBKJvbZ4Q0e51HcNRK3Rq0RIgljMAR3wqZ2hHoI" width="160" /></a></div><br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>I was in the middle of this one when it swept the ALA Youth Media awards in January. Historical, queer, romantic, complicated Asian identities, this book has so much going on and it still manages to be a page-turner. <br /><br /><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://worldcat.org/title/1289363926">The Tryout </a>(2022)</h3>Christina Soontornvat<br /><br /><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/s5SCYWh5nfCNI8lsac97mIUSsQFVlfYplwX7e0gpCr9BWmJ0JvfF49Z7qGpVQWrvfTWIHt0NQl6XYYpfAE4o5Ij7iYdiEAxlGh9rhPhjoQhoqnIxo10CdniI61LWtFtc_U1ZFzqip3pggf01WdNN8XwfIAhB__qtr88AyScT1emM0Sj_BpqJ_0BRxhKUqQ" /><br /><br /><br />A graphic novel about middle school with all the friendship drama and feels for your rabid Raina readers. I am already antsy for the sequel, which will be called The Squad…<br /><br /><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://worldcat.org/title/1255595534">African Town </a>(2022)</h3>Charles Waters and Irene Latham<br /><br /><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/b_12mSQL5S2UNz-NE_Av2DZSeZgLJXEA2hLX45wmJtOUKiJiKs-1Q2EHuYcStRX7v5VBMuKwYQdGSbojdNrxzE9UTt4P-nWiXSqX9hoNzQnmncGrgtq7qD5QmfS5nduovzm5YIE0wEvhGXyMRyVGIvLXH-Bb-0OmIJXsqyLafuHzgunz20mGZuUTOaG0zg" /><br /><br />An achievement of a novel in verse, told from alternating points of view, about the close-knit community founded by the last group of enslaved people brought to the United States. Carefully researched and masterfully executed, but funny and joyous, too. <br /><br /><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://worldcat.org/title/1191170901">A Sitting in St. James</a> (2021)</h3></div><div>Rita Williams-Garcia<br /><br /><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Qy7clTHXqNM3W5zZ8vGJ2rEhzqksm86XFtGVX8cgKfWDuYtgOPTNfmUHsPqTNMrLhRGqN5jgsN99B37duBHPruqnc3Fn_jUsXhNL2QPBqxyXs4MXTXrMeIpWdOBIe9NTU67sjShqt9EQsdUloIwfQwQDMzLNaUAwwV72N0GV0CnzXQaLgGQxBChi8B0DkQ" /><br /><br />A complicated family, a brutal place and time, and all sorts of personal agendas and generational vendettas make this novel absolutely Faulknerian. I dare most readers to even notice it is marketed as young adult.<br /><br /><br /><h2 style="text-align: left;">Thrillers, Mysteries, a Little Romance</h2><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://worldcat.org/title/1237278701">Apples Never Fall </a>(2021)</h3>Liane Moriarity<br /><br /><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/rF1SsbFV6PD53pFb_yIYkMkIwXgE0qcETQxtaUHL7LCXnTJidStyctcjCmEwpXGykEtvi1VTGRMERnZQle4XkGxRqr4IqwBKdbYjRc_ec7Yacev-7SRnVpWZ_skDVCL_B0UKrpBUx61TBVorEJoI9nXxicy1nXSfXoEMsCW5zjcPzxXcImCwGt0vAkQAGQ" /><br /><br />Back to vintage Moriarity, with characters who are so dimensional and stories that criss-cross in shocking moments of revelation. Here, four children attempt to figure out what has happened to their mother and what the young stranger who stayed in their home might have had to do with it. No one gets it right.<br /><br /><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://worldcat.org/title/1089692444">The Spies of Shilling Lane </a>(2019)</h3>Jennifer Ryan<br /><br /><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/F8ulsNqf34vNj5ZifDifPy0aYQOqfT7MmA0thbdLV50j6QwquvTVk0OTNwLQkauL-yCNgxGC28Ih50szx4DPSuZq6Zg9tJ_5BOPdmLbwb15GGHREQg0fZSbCkTxId_vMmXPuzGTmddqNKZ1bdZlnva_hENDZOdlGhM9GKyzXRAWQuh74vnMJkzbiTrBdtw" /> <br /><br />A young woman disappears while doing espionage work during the Second World War. Her headstrong mother heads to London to find her, and finds a sweet happily-ever-after of her own in the process. Jennifer Ryan has a great body of work set in this era, but this was my favorite.<br /><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://worldcat.org/title/1277140667">The It Girl </a>(2022)</h3>Ruth Ware<br /><br /><img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/rZUdFclgcqfKeG2FHTj9ueGzfVOUqbpQmLyhZKnoQ2x20ZBaUZ3pkonZoUiOLfzc4I2yuMb6QfsUwMskD9TbHSYb8GNQmJWzEFB1-4F49IG2nwXyWed61cc5aK9qFiPQU7iTaH3C3KSD4atibZ5G_TkiRVjuvOco2ViCy8IfbsqKF1gmQsfvVtcyJHf2Pg" /><br /><br /><br />Again, as with the Sykes, back to Oxford, only a decade ago but somehow more distant because of all the inherent institutional anachronisms. A cast of characters that will remind you of people you knew in college. <br /><br /><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://worldcat.org/title/1269216886">Meet Me in London </a>(2021)</h3>Georgia Toffolo<br /><br /><img src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/8jxXm6R0XoDS8I9-YxnsjkUKilToPOa_CRzHD4B_093wSdwkhW1eGfS_pu6dyIiS9D2p7o3VvbII88RX_fr3L-Aoe67YcHbsAPhef_HkX96IeC4tKOKFJ3unz-UD00O9W7frZk4ZWxGi_lpql4InxAGVQXJsEGyGQTr3QpyPQA1E_AYSbVB3jhfBwJfvmg" /><br /><br />I am not British, so I refuse to be thwarted by Toff's Tory leanings. This is the first in a series of four delightful linked romances, about a creative and an entrepreneur, and it's perfect for the holidays and for those who have not been abroad in too long.<br /><br /><br /><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://worldcat.org/title/1352261170">The Last Party</a> (2022)</h3>Clare Mackintosh<br /><br /><br /><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/Ev-OR_gmW5Mq6ek0Dr78s9U_ltYdeiD2qAHhYnNJZtTzifoeybx5D6ty7c5ldjj9P_524xmT_a1WvK_g39Ksr0MYbzN6tUMynf9RxZm7v6HRvp_27lE6h_HJd7l3DM8lXCW7tAIKAZ0OSm6ZhmbQBXokKFzZfExoqYCFUGsC0KSKf__mAEuyc6UxIif_pA" /><br /><br /><br />A fun procedural set in a border community where locals are dealing with an influx of weekenders at a new resort. Lots of interesting characters and a wonderful ending that leaves you wondering just who really "did it."<br /><br /><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><a href=" https://worldcat.org/title/1259049778">The Heights </a>(2022)</h3>Louise Candlish<br /><br /><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/qyQMV0L-1Mf23EGSHR3-IHS8o_BS2V6UL3xZIPGurm-vX-MMQipT1nAN0bU5sqmvKiPDWqS_M1-4gPi1PLRuoJfv7PaaUONGucebUE8ty2rfGdeffeyasBDQPC1bl-E0cR1f9wDH30ro1ifF7OH0lgJBCC-ZAbqhG4jxBTtgXq7NC-LtwCIOBXoQYmty6w" /><br /><br />The observation of someone who shouldn't be there, from a distance, spiraling into obsession, is the perfect pandemic-era thriller, at once claustrophobic and voyeuristic. <br /><br /><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://worldcat.org/title/1232012753">The Maid </a>(2022)</h3>Nita Prose<br /><br /><img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/bLStkM0o9_N10CrmXnI5g03QFrS1meuhDhBU1NcwdbKHjzF0rEGNeC53uK1PgGjNVQSaH6W7wYQRMx5v-2MYHVRf7KwMQ3ATTEC2RgL-h9i7T2C-Nb_ur-_CnvFJUL9jaBKuQ1gwfDciqKgpc5pwsVBQ1wubP2YD7jAxK6KJ0OY5POIeoF2_U2_6DqciCg" /><br /><br />The voice of a neurodivergent main character is so different, and the twists so very clever, it definitely made me think a thought or two. And can I mention how fun it is to read a book set in Canada?<br /><br /><br /><h3 style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://worldcat.org/title/757484469">The Rock Star in Seat 3A </a>(2012)</h3>Jill Kargman<br /><br /><img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/YF_DHetq9VUymJWgjHyP_7zEFS9nyXIZ4_xU8Kt_k6MBTz2vXPkO2WA9EpsUcO1SEbLOdJngnorvfTDV0-ECfk8dubuE37VsWPO2Y9TSEPwm62WZl2szxWUBuaxTQhdHQRp0jH7SLQFdyXwohpcWf15PxC1FxMqSR79rnOWHDbRJNfawsAVgJrovyOXq_A" /><br /><br />After a re-watch of the whole of Odd Mom Out, I ripped through all Jill Kargman's books this year, because I am convinced we would be best friends in another universe. This was particularly fun and sexy, and full of the trademark Kargman side-eye. <br /><br /><p style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;">Thirteen more years of best books:</p><p style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><br /></p><p style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2021/12/best-books-of-2021.html" target="_blank">Best Books of 2021</a></p><p style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2020/12/best-books-of-2020.html" style="color: black; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Best Books of 2020</a></p><div style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;"><div><a href="https://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2019/12/best-books-of-2019.html" style="color: black; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Best Books of 2019</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2018/12/best-books-of-2018.html" style="color: black; text-decoration-line: none;">Best Books of 2018</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2017/12/best-books-of-2017.html" style="color: black; text-decoration-line: none;">Best Books of 2017</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2016/12/best-books-of-2016.html" style="color: black; text-decoration-line: none;">Best Books of 2016</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2015/12/best-books-of-2015.html" style="color: black; text-decoration-line: none;">Best Books of 2015</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2014/12/best-books-of-2014.html" style="color: black; text-decoration-line: none;">Best Books of 2014</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2013/12/best-books-of-2013.html" style="color: black; text-decoration-line: none;">Best Books of 2013</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2012/12/best-books-of-2012.html" style="color: black; text-decoration-line: none;">Best Books of 2012</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2011/12/best-books-of-2011.html" style="color: black; text-decoration-line: none;">Best Books of 2011</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2010/12/books-of-2010.html" style="color: black; text-decoration-line: none;">Best Books of 2010</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2009/12/books-of-2009.html" style="color: black; text-decoration-line: none;">Best Books of 2009</a></div></div><br /><br />Books are such a gift, my boon companion, and I love this time of the year because I find so many wonderful things to read in these year-end lists. Here's to lots more great books in 2023!<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545086505358831750.post-80011351630037358202021-12-06T09:56:00.002-06:002021-12-06T13:10:31.000-06:00Best Books of 2021<p>Next year, I don't think I'll be reading for any awards, so I can say WAY more about literature for young people, but this year I am still in awe of the YA novel <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1141999091">Gravity</a> (2020) by Sarah Deming. It was a book I heard about at ALAN back when that was a face-to-face thing, but never actually ran across until later, but it was a stunner.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtEHfA-5EdGsAF0TN7sAue1rCDYwWRXrTMVcEZe7NM2qccnhUQubVVKyf6HcYAh8WigwtlkJ5GiKMw6mEWKOs0eRw8pi9_q2ePVt3tIFms2iSfG4C22X9PYxCG2auhVb1OWGFHyzlWI2Q/s210/gravity.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="210" data-original-width="140" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtEHfA-5EdGsAF0TN7sAue1rCDYwWRXrTMVcEZe7NM2qccnhUQubVVKyf6HcYAh8WigwtlkJ5GiKMw6mEWKOs0eRw8pi9_q2ePVt3tIFms2iSfG4C22X9PYxCG2auhVb1OWGFHyzlWI2Q/s0/gravity.jpeg" width="140" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><b><br /></b></p><p><b><br /></b></p><p><b><br /></b></p><p><b><br /></b></p><p><b><br /></b></p><p><br /></p><p>Actually, most of the protagonists I have been reading about in 2021 have been older...</p><p><b>Over That Hill</b></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQL8EUzd-W5dMa1bxlLSWra1kpBc-c-YhVEV9E3CdWtjV7QBY6mKWcwSGQBtQ5EJb9YuUrSK1c55zsaC6ZP5kLjyBXftSEY7yuwPM6zCtJkAwrgDSrFjlVTk2R5J6CMUkrVnXJrbKmMXo/s210/Grandmother+Plot.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="210" data-original-width="140" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQL8EUzd-W5dMa1bxlLSWra1kpBc-c-YhVEV9E3CdWtjV7QBY6mKWcwSGQBtQ5EJb9YuUrSK1c55zsaC6ZP5kLjyBXftSEY7yuwPM6zCtJkAwrgDSrFjlVTk2R5J6CMUkrVnXJrbKmMXo/s0/Grandmother+Plot.jpeg" width="140" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI7jbbsMEtiwih-Q86QwYQB8KTIAX65Y7nkZWdVAekUhHPAsK6FiODsTcHiAFKKCnLlO0pwI6kr6bS5244pdy7iSvFAHlDo7iZ2SwI2z1Fp_BfMwpOvTiCp8oll6NGywKsOdT01_fcRoM/s211/before+she+was+helen.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="211" data-original-width="140" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI7jbbsMEtiwih-Q86QwYQB8KTIAX65Y7nkZWdVAekUhHPAsK6FiODsTcHiAFKKCnLlO0pwI6kr6bS5244pdy7iSvFAHlDo7iZ2SwI2z1Fp_BfMwpOvTiCp8oll6NGywKsOdT01_fcRoM/s0/before+she+was+helen.jpeg" width="140" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>I was surprised to find Caroline B. Cooney had some new books out with some very grown-up themes but all her predictable twists and turns. I highly recommend <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1193556030">Before She was Helen</a> (2020) by Caroline B. Cooney and <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1182021796" target="_blank">The Grandmother Plot</a> (2021) by Caroline B. Cooney was a treat as well.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlCclk8tbwk4quyvoxZ1Qm2WAco1XoTjGahyphenhyphen-oQCHl3J-dQWEwZhF-94p8i29Yq-0r3FUJb_Dt2duzVl8SZZSmzUzo7sA-Ch80EY93K1PSFxOkJqcvHYjx8Xhyphenhyphen17no-P_GxtqkfL7rlso/s500/elderly.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlCclk8tbwk4quyvoxZ1Qm2WAco1XoTjGahyphenhyphen-oQCHl3J-dQWEwZhF-94p8i29Yq-0r3FUJb_Dt2duzVl8SZZSmzUzo7sA-Ch80EY93K1PSFxOkJqcvHYjx8Xhyphenhyphen17no-P_GxtqkfL7rlso/w153-h230/elderly.jpeg" width="153" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCA8GMJguMvSr9oqRJl3BWRclX90UY4TyDtXlIeGBtpLQg876BuG91aQpulGtTULLDBo12ZtCcEvh_bV8Uaj-lT97o1lpzsc4ZwLAJWkU10GpVxYeIuIYpeSsUikl_GobMBXpWsKNnWEE/s300/An+Elderly+LAdy.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="200" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCA8GMJguMvSr9oqRJl3BWRclX90UY4TyDtXlIeGBtpLQg876BuG91aQpulGtTULLDBo12ZtCcEvh_bV8Uaj-lT97o1lpzsc4ZwLAJWkU10GpVxYeIuIYpeSsUikl_GobMBXpWsKNnWEE/w160-h241/An+Elderly+LAdy.jpg" width="160" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>If you want to push your spunky old ladies a bit further afield, I recommend the always-underestimated Maude who appeared first in <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1159782056" target="_blank">An Elderly Lady is Up to No Good</a> (2018) by Helene Tursten and reappears in <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1267987306" target="_blank">An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed</a> (2021) by Helene Tursten -- so good that I preordered. Life changing! </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfIb-Ccy1LsHY1LNGR1uCNbFnmCZgAa5cHOUlHmaV5aVv-as901YlVv0UmzYXsXzVkVidnL7nUVs-7HCtFXqIs6oZRJsiLJUCPY8dq023TYggi4O9FFzASJhFzgqj10bqNneJmHAZkPg4/s211/Ditch.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="211" data-original-width="140" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfIb-Ccy1LsHY1LNGR1uCNbFnmCZgAa5cHOUlHmaV5aVv-as901YlVv0UmzYXsXzVkVidnL7nUVs-7HCtFXqIs6oZRJsiLJUCPY8dq023TYggi4O9FFzASJhFzgqj10bqNneJmHAZkPg4/s0/Ditch.jpeg" width="140" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>If you are of an anxious bent, <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1135414664" target="_blank">The Ditch</a> (2019) by Herman Koch will hit you right in the suspicions. Bonus: great Amsterdam scene-setting. Oh, to travel again!</p><p><b>Thrillers</b></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJIv3zlbGeW-IMYRWthbCAj1f-hLoOCMko1xmCz35YjX9HiSWwzqZmo6hR1sUoh1LHbh1YR0HQT31G4Alepwna3VfpUzOlZrsek8TiGyu449B7FYbJ8Wc49Nse_hN4vVm0_O2jan8g1EU/s215/Party+upstairs.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="215" data-original-width="140" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJIv3zlbGeW-IMYRWthbCAj1f-hLoOCMko1xmCz35YjX9HiSWwzqZmo6hR1sUoh1LHbh1YR0HQT31G4Alepwna3VfpUzOlZrsek8TiGyu449B7FYbJ8Wc49Nse_hN4vVm0_O2jan8g1EU/s0/Party+upstairs.jpeg" width="140" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b><p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>While it skewed a bit pedestrian, <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1263819696" target="_blank">The Party Upstairs </a>(2021) by Lee Connell has stuck with me all year -- I keep thinking about other people's right to trash coming before my own. Applicable in this pandemic and this economy for sure.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWpmqA9UYzO3cA56XvLOlUJynyS3JxkxjDiHvKnK3e2VzEbT54RSZ9kaKPNu3-DeKZjYV0QZ-_roM23IryOHiImdu-rNDaQJNnGL_c3-fHuzO2ZRYkcc3gdJ0sEoQbgu5T2QiDLlUlrRc/s211/more+better.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="211" data-original-width="140" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWpmqA9UYzO3cA56XvLOlUJynyS3JxkxjDiHvKnK3e2VzEbT54RSZ9kaKPNu3-DeKZjYV0QZ-_roM23IryOHiImdu-rNDaQJNnGL_c3-fHuzO2ZRYkcc3gdJ0sEoQbgu5T2QiDLlUlrRc/s0/more+better.jpeg" width="140" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Set in a very James M. Cain-esque midcentury America, <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1140778740">More Better Deals</a> (2021) by Joe R. Lansdale is remarkable is scene-setting, brutality, and character development.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6bFZ-Jo-_DMEASaytcAwSPkAn8jcvYcEhfziDTTxiO1GcteZPPAwMjZZkDDhZ1dDNGbS1DwEl9AIUom5IAz_cEisYsDPciZt4DXYrz_6380aTbQLvZp_AT2qv9ysL8MNhpQmL4BoaaDg/s219/anna+day.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="219" data-original-width="140" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6bFZ-Jo-_DMEASaytcAwSPkAn8jcvYcEhfziDTTxiO1GcteZPPAwMjZZkDDhZ1dDNGbS1DwEl9AIUom5IAz_cEisYsDPciZt4DXYrz_6380aTbQLvZp_AT2qv9ysL8MNhpQmL4BoaaDg/s0/anna+day.jpeg" width="140" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6MiD7Hs50Mluwqq497fsJ3kjIpXcUwVNafzsE76Vqz9eUnotfmqlWS6fN7ZA85NV-Ukr_EhmchBQb_11WJPrWzEfTY6om-FRui5mfuo6E3DLxjNLP6Bph-iOmLFHlo17hs1KdU_O4pyo/s216/Day+you+saved.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="216" data-original-width="140" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6MiD7Hs50Mluwqq497fsJ3kjIpXcUwVNafzsE76Vqz9eUnotfmqlWS6fN7ZA85NV-Ukr_EhmchBQb_11WJPrWzEfTY6om-FRui5mfuo6E3DLxjNLP6Bph-iOmLFHlo17hs1KdU_O4pyo/s0/Day+you+saved.jpeg" width="140" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>As in 2019, I am still all about Louise Candlish -- see <i>The Heights</i> coming out in 2022 -- but I have never seen set-ups quite like <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/750525538">The Double Life of Anna Day</a> (2006) by Louise Candlish (totally wild self-recreation in the shadow of the Alhambra) and the bystander-savior falling in love with the possibly homicidal teen mom in <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/793040299" target="_blank">The Day You Saved My Life</a> (2013) by Louise Candlish.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzRrwt4ND8ircG0-ufuKCpP7EQ1mmynYcscPuA_pgHBrD07u0zLCsyvQsWbkRVQgeWOpXH6mmdZjGZHGHmzOaxEedmat0G6OVZdDwmwjc1RkQu2cKvHcsAwFX_9YlC51VVHlYtvZ98jQk/s216/Books+reading.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="216" data-original-width="140" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzRrwt4ND8ircG0-ufuKCpP7EQ1mmynYcscPuA_pgHBrD07u0zLCsyvQsWbkRVQgeWOpXH6mmdZjGZHGHmzOaxEedmat0G6OVZdDwmwjc1RkQu2cKvHcsAwFX_9YlC51VVHlYtvZ98jQk/s0/Books+reading.jpeg" width="140" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Want to know how booksellers make Amazon work for them? <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1042352691">Some Books Aren't for Reading</a> (2019) by Howard Marc Chesley gives you some insight, and a little intrigue.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Memoirs</b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDxKiFIC3wi0YyGrYurc7BeW-YCogeu3-hAAC4vicxTOyN-H9Qv4iz5vPmuYVDm4ah2ckpA24YLb1DQMjtkGdw2FILiHnAtLLRUpApGozA8U1FzygOl3AXM0zob09exqtNbuUuo2xf4Pk/s204/Hungry.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="204" data-original-width="140" height="204" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDxKiFIC3wi0YyGrYurc7BeW-YCogeu3-hAAC4vicxTOyN-H9Qv4iz5vPmuYVDm4ah2ckpA24YLb1DQMjtkGdw2FILiHnAtLLRUpApGozA8U1FzygOl3AXM0zob09exqtNbuUuo2xf4Pk/s0/Hungry.jpeg" width="140" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1240111127" target="_blank">Hungry: A Memoir of Wanting More</a> (2020) by Grace Dent. Dent is one of my absolute favorite writers, and this is about the midlife crunch as much as it is about food and ambition.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg6y2zDsf5XXXOFKcRWv0TOJaYgUzr6ZlaCRgZpiDAOkbOqAt0Ql-uy6cAKFlaCwlWqkkUDMEKPhH6bv4_2ekkahHC3pUBbxGWY-UABPXtvNeN65YOoc3xz2HkbdfbqG16G3cGXNJiLd0/s273/H+mart.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="273" data-original-width="184" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg6y2zDsf5XXXOFKcRWv0TOJaYgUzr6ZlaCRgZpiDAOkbOqAt0Ql-uy6cAKFlaCwlWqkkUDMEKPhH6bv4_2ekkahHC3pUBbxGWY-UABPXtvNeN65YOoc3xz2HkbdfbqG16G3cGXNJiLd0/s0/H+mart.jpeg" width="184" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1249105582" target="_blank">Crying in H Mart: A Memoir</a> (2021) by Michelle Zauner. I don't know the band, and don't even really like Korean food, but the author's complicated relationship with her mother is relatable and will make you cry. </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKAX9UGYd_up5hRLwE0TXavagigLJz0Mpe-qP8HgBLibWSND6kfOemFVP0UZ5sMF8Y9bI2hCMsFKuVPTD7N8zFYETU_LwwmSi3nivxUiMeD8Uo3AVUGcvt-RRzBn7PHf7Hl1aSCwLhQuc/s211/Empathy.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="211" data-original-width="140" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKAX9UGYd_up5hRLwE0TXavagigLJz0Mpe-qP8HgBLibWSND6kfOemFVP0UZ5sMF8Y9bI2hCMsFKuVPTD7N8zFYETU_LwwmSi3nivxUiMeD8Uo3AVUGcvt-RRzBn7PHf7Hl1aSCwLhQuc/s0/Empathy.jpeg" width="140" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1241737721">The Empathy Diaries: A Memoir</a> (2011) by Sherry Turkle. Turkle herself is an interesting as her theories, especially when she writes about MIT and Seymour Papert.</p><p><br /></p><p><b>Nonfiction</b></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7CCVZBcaVON1OrRG7k5eqHFRAkR9SKjhbo1ncuKdIOzIXtKJCfOsudbY6ixNQvM7zs1kh3kcg-YYlrhpRuAX9Z-5pLc9u-PploElY_LZYSVRkufmHh5dMjsdxUvqSqidd_g1Tb2Pe5pg/s214/Dead+Close.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="214" data-original-width="140" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7CCVZBcaVON1OrRG7k5eqHFRAkR9SKjhbo1ncuKdIOzIXtKJCfOsudbY6ixNQvM7zs1kh3kcg-YYlrhpRuAX9Z-5pLc9u-PploElY_LZYSVRkufmHh5dMjsdxUvqSqidd_g1Tb2Pe5pg/s0/Dead+Close.jpeg" width="140" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1238090707" target="_blank">We Keep the Dead Close: A Murder at Harvard and A Half-Century of Silence</a> (2020) by Becky Cooper More academia, and more stories not ending the way you wanted them to.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3YdicfysXUDXZKlPGZvgxAK-eq8jKlf4VWVNDGBr_bjue5ffIY5aQv21ZRw2fLBPoLiDcgr7ECADLk_LOxbBWkJxn6k8VaWev37D4fEgUmohADYHPZMWGnxCnXnk5Adsbzc5OiXs3mkM/s210/pianos.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="210" data-original-width="140" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3YdicfysXUDXZKlPGZvgxAK-eq8jKlf4VWVNDGBr_bjue5ffIY5aQv21ZRw2fLBPoLiDcgr7ECADLk_LOxbBWkJxn6k8VaWev37D4fEgUmohADYHPZMWGnxCnXnk5Adsbzc5OiXs3mkM/s0/pianos.jpeg" width="140" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><b><br /></b></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>For real life and its ghosts, writing doesn't get more vibrant than <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1268931548">The Lost Pianos of Siberia</a> (2021) by Sophy Roberts, which weaves music and mystery and geography in a fascinating way.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzXG5lWpAdH_9bbFNMTq307WLg8MEo6BJOudnj6BavGBhIxqimTVXWh8lIYzVNaMo1_EqmJ6Kh2jtpGa8ZCiKhYI-MvV3-pwR74jvXhzP1XWIDpPI-PhshHOUv5dgqXtrGz4Qk5BsIszU/s2048/lady.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1324" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzXG5lWpAdH_9bbFNMTq307WLg8MEo6BJOudnj6BavGBhIxqimTVXWh8lIYzVNaMo1_EqmJ6Kh2jtpGa8ZCiKhYI-MvV3-pwR74jvXhzP1XWIDpPI-PhshHOUv5dgqXtrGz4Qk5BsIszU/w173-h267/lady.jpeg" width="173" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p>Again, Hallie Rubenhold manages to address all of this hidden, female history and I especially enjoyed the broadsheet coverage of the trial she includes in <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/712034022">The Lady in Red : an Eighteenth-Century Tale of Sex, Scandal, and Divorce</a> (2008) by Hallie Rubenhold.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5PoFx7vPNkivW5hvrSxcVEy_GHDp4tQjKBeRB6WpxXui6etGoAUOJpXyrWcZjl50zTcstLGzHzv_gU0Mzm9RHK_SoXUnC4UD9AepSLtKfZcoJ7uKajy71H0PYsF3HhzSbyn8CJ2sXLvI/s200/hell.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="140" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5PoFx7vPNkivW5hvrSxcVEy_GHDp4tQjKBeRB6WpxXui6etGoAUOJpXyrWcZjl50zTcstLGzHzv_gU0Mzm9RHK_SoXUnC4UD9AepSLtKfZcoJ7uKajy71H0PYsF3HhzSbyn8CJ2sXLvI/s0/hell.jpeg" width="140" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1004606872" target="_blank">Paperbacks from Hell: The Twisted Story of '80s and '80s Horror Fiction </a>(2017) by Grady Hendrix made me want to reach down into the backlist. Frankly. I am looking forward to spending a lot of this holiday break reading some solid old stuff -- I have dipped into Phyllis A. Whitney, Mary Stewart, and Dorothy Sayers all recently. Book history for real....</p><p><br /></p><p>Twelve more years of best books:</p><p><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2020/12/best-books-of-2020.html" target="_blank">Best Books of 2020</a></p><div><div><a href="https://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2019/12/best-books-of-2019.html" style="color: black; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Best Books of 2019</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2018/12/best-books-of-2018.html" style="color: black; text-decoration-line: none;">Best Books of 2018</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2017/12/best-books-of-2017.html" style="color: black; text-decoration-line: none;">Best Books of 2017</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2016/12/best-books-of-2016.html" style="color: black; text-decoration-line: none;">Best Books of 2016</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2015/12/best-books-of-2015.html" style="color: black; text-decoration-line: none;">Best Books of 2015</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2014/12/best-books-of-2014.html" style="color: black; text-decoration-line: none;">Best Books of 2014</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2013/12/best-books-of-2013.html" style="color: black; text-decoration-line: none;">Best Books of 2013</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2012/12/best-books-of-2012.html" style="color: black; text-decoration-line: none;">Best Books of 2012</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2011/12/best-books-of-2011.html" style="color: black; text-decoration-line: none;">Best Books of 2011</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2010/12/books-of-2010.html" style="color: black; text-decoration-line: none;">Best Books of 2010</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2009/12/books-of-2009.html" style="color: black; text-decoration-line: none;">Best Books of 2009</a></div><div><br style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /></div></div><div><br style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", Trebuchet, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px;" /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545086505358831750.post-78860563195074403582020-12-01T11:17:00.002-06:002020-12-01T14:33:07.517-06:00Best Books of 2020<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">This was a year like no other, and I think my reading reflects that. I spent a lot of time listening to Simon Vance and Hugh Fraser reading, and Victorian true crime pulled me out of the pandemic doldrums temporarily.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><i><span style="font-size: medium;">Pre-covid Realism</span></i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjizcpaExXhTjChToIzJDbgyz7yK8Fl4CBWBMXwLHOagfdogHyXHdpPJGMgvx7dV5ZUQAgBbqpDMTrrs5rh3-Kx9q5rkAPBy6hvlr3fKjhwA8vPkTPDc_PGRnEnoZVSlQjqvsq5KIG_nPw/s218/So+lucky.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="218" data-original-width="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjizcpaExXhTjChToIzJDbgyz7yK8Fl4CBWBMXwLHOagfdogHyXHdpPJGMgvx7dV5ZUQAgBbqpDMTrrs5rh3-Kx9q5rkAPBy6hvlr3fKjhwA8vPkTPDc_PGRnEnoZVSlQjqvsq5KIG_nPw/s0/So+lucky.gif" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1140755704" target="_blank">So Lucky</a> by Dawn O’Porter (2020) </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">No one quite gets the difficulties of contemporary womanhood like O'Porter. This one has some wonderful commentary on beauty standards and relative happiness.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc9jpOtahvQcUGeKU5sLsUN4byZKKnDG05GRYy73GRshI4mdNvmbQZtaa15qAeWJep_r9sw3h-6z413ugiDAIPNeNRdgMA04mGEdPW6rIsE3XZyvs632CgE4uKDQMk1QZQ3wl5C0lWsqQ/s215/The+switch.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="215" data-original-width="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc9jpOtahvQcUGeKU5sLsUN4byZKKnDG05GRYy73GRshI4mdNvmbQZtaa15qAeWJep_r9sw3h-6z413ugiDAIPNeNRdgMA04mGEdPW6rIsE3XZyvs632CgE4uKDQMk1QZQ3wl5C0lWsqQ/s0/The+switch.gif" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1148109059" target="_blank">The Switch </a>by Beth O’Leary (2020) </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I bought Everett's debut <b>The Flatshare</b> in February for one of those Buy 2, Get 1s at the Heathrow W.H. Smith (oh, back when we could travel!), but it was this up-ending of millennial and geriatric life where she really hit her stride.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><i><span style="font-size: medium;">Oh So Mysterious</span></i></b></div><div style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i></b></div><div style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvNA8qZFJ6MTESXuWJhihJvuSFCaf218IHiQ_li9Ftl5kFx-dckMFfRt99be-3qHnE2SzjsxJp1jJZsC2OWTM5zipsqKwMGfPfcoW7bnmVizqv0ZfjeByrDEF8CYap4kV94W07hag_9cg/s219/The+move.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="219" data-original-width="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvNA8qZFJ6MTESXuWJhihJvuSFCaf218IHiQ_li9Ftl5kFx-dckMFfRt99be-3qHnE2SzjsxJp1jJZsC2OWTM5zipsqKwMGfPfcoW7bnmVizqv0ZfjeByrDEF8CYap4kV94W07hag_9cg/s0/The+move.gif" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1180129609" target="_blank">The Move</a> by Felicity Everett (2020) </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Your husband buys and decorates a lovely remote cottage for you as a form of apology for his indiscretions. But is their rekindled romance and rural idyll as perfect as it seems?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOismyJTzubSVm9H8fgymoBLw3eTJb9QxzNstm0Gdq-Pe4En6KzSk89uzR95TmpdS99hyCujnIdBLJQ98L3c3vmOL25PY5w44MEJdNNtti3VuL0DQe7XaqRBfPxjoNbzwInrHh2RzWHmU/s213/The+guest+list.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="213" data-original-width="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOismyJTzubSVm9H8fgymoBLw3eTJb9QxzNstm0Gdq-Pe4En6KzSk89uzR95TmpdS99hyCujnIdBLJQ98L3c3vmOL25PY5w44MEJdNNtti3VuL0DQe7XaqRBfPxjoNbzwInrHh2RzWHmU/s0/The+guest+list.gif" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1201800417" target="_blank">The Guest List</a> by Lucy Foley (2020) </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Foley follows up <b>The Hunting Party</b> with another multi-viewpoint mystery circumscribed by geographical isolation. The remote venue for a wedding party is populated with more enemies than friends.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXaOpk7yb47TAhDFgVztiitvPGI7r7sXluLixMsORDnA_XkhFuHeqVKm8nmiB4tjsYrRkdJ-d2RExptFnzRPwzjPP7nGQwTR_mnjscKHji6CJFEshpt3pYvTrekLTXRpnZonnQpeDG8wo/s346/shiner.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="346" data-original-width="228" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXaOpk7yb47TAhDFgVztiitvPGI7r7sXluLixMsORDnA_XkhFuHeqVKm8nmiB4tjsYrRkdJ-d2RExptFnzRPwzjPP7nGQwTR_mnjscKHji6CJFEshpt3pYvTrekLTXRpnZonnQpeDG8wo/w132-h200/shiner.jpg" width="132" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1162207168" target="_blank">Shiner</a> by Amy Jo Burns (2020) </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The sophisticated structure of this novel, set among fundamentalists in remote Appalachia, delves itno the life-long friendship and secrets of two women.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTBhhYzhOtA4_7SmfBw2ipVPVg8JEx08EIYTKckq3typhI2w2C_kec9I9YOCVSpByiRZ3HyT5lWOTpHbGuhqo6WqeV_Gko4e02vuIAxc-X3cZ7O48utnWxuVqq6sFL3FfAJeR2v-7eDZA/s215/A+Burnable+Book.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="215" data-original-width="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTBhhYzhOtA4_7SmfBw2ipVPVg8JEx08EIYTKckq3typhI2w2C_kec9I9YOCVSpByiRZ3HyT5lWOTpHbGuhqo6WqeV_Gko4e02vuIAxc-X3cZ7O48utnWxuVqq6sFL3FfAJeR2v-7eDZA/s0/A+Burnable+Book.gif" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><a href=" http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/897028355" target="_blank">A Burnable Book</a> by Bruce Holisinger (2014)</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The poet John Gower, bereaved and blind, investigates the murder of a young woman thought to be a spy in Chaucer's London. Wonderful period details, just enough arcane language, and political machinations in a world that overlaps our own more than we might have thought, followed up with <b><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/928492042" target="_blank">The Invention of Fire</a>. </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvJ4W4x3XWrPw5LraSqvtiJfAz4xl1Vx-ZCQ8ZRhS-R3_FVHAy83wyMBkpAMpPmC0v_CQvMy1g3ZlvxrfMYKfJsDMS-1OAUOJ8BH_qVznm-_BvQlh0ioZVF8Gq8Eyc_2Lr30N8oUmrnok/s224/Trouble+makers.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvJ4W4x3XWrPw5LraSqvtiJfAz4xl1Vx-ZCQ8ZRhS-R3_FVHAy83wyMBkpAMpPmC0v_CQvMy1g3ZlvxrfMYKfJsDMS-1OAUOJ8BH_qVznm-_BvQlh0ioZVF8Gq8Eyc_2Lr30N8oUmrnok/s0/Trouble+makers.gif" /></a></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1024273724" target="_blank">The Trouble Makers</a> by Celia Fremlin (1975) </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Fremlin's slice-of-post-war-life about neighborhood gossip is just one of her fabulous novels with a soupçon of suspense and dash of class-consciousness. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjze3Eph9j9qPNv6T3u7Y-2Vr3lZd0muIcOJ_2rnTcSQmVGMACw8Cnx5-NXQjDVg7_A_qjcdwHg1P0udye-_BlR8n8_S9Yv4yS_tFMv5ibUBFP1uLJViL5GZSdoscPt09HeIzVncfDFvOA/s214/Fear+stalks+the+village.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="214" data-original-width="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjze3Eph9j9qPNv6T3u7Y-2Vr3lZd0muIcOJ_2rnTcSQmVGMACw8Cnx5-NXQjDVg7_A_qjcdwHg1P0udye-_BlR8n8_S9Yv4yS_tFMv5ibUBFP1uLJViL5GZSdoscPt09HeIzVncfDFvOA/s0/Fear+stalks+the+village.gif" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/918557604" target="_blank">Fear Stalks the Village</a> by Ethel Lina White (1942) </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">White wrote The Lady Vanishes, but this novella is wonderfully social and claustrophobic. She is especially good at ambiguity. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><i><span style="font-size: medium;">Stranger than Fiction</span></i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPqbSFQj_YSjlkTlUE7Qm2ShmXphDvQ6Jq1JVxcRauir7yQ4-1DuX8cqp1t66gkiAovdEjbeYenv0vhuIR4-SZ4qjbrnDgK8rQmZxot7AX1i5k3iiy9Pu8DXFkXjN6OlUS43iMnc-fGf4/s211/The+five.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="211" data-original-width="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPqbSFQj_YSjlkTlUE7Qm2ShmXphDvQ6Jq1JVxcRauir7yQ4-1DuX8cqp1t66gkiAovdEjbeYenv0vhuIR4-SZ4qjbrnDgK8rQmZxot7AX1i5k3iiy9Pu8DXFkXjN6OlUS43iMnc-fGf4/s0/The+five.gif" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /><b><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1050143595" target="_blank">The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper</a> by Hallie Rubenhold (2019) </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">The Ripper story is one you think you know, but Rubenhold asserts that the "canonical victims" might not be prostitutes. This delves into each of these women's backstories, showcasing the range of female experience, dependence upon men for support and the range of social services available for the unhoused and destitute. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaulGMAB0MJAgGNkOXv1V6d6poyXRpDZRxQBE50YkCQJDF9UKk8g8_VcOUO_YnvL93vW7Q-X3kWL3XC6O_g2QL8awaAW3aF78fbHVlsD4SVgg-uetIsCCpWGAnuDQi7ndbr2LsF31TnzE/s205/kill+him.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="205" data-original-width="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaulGMAB0MJAgGNkOXv1V6d6poyXRpDZRxQBE50YkCQJDF9UKk8g8_VcOUO_YnvL93vW7Q-X3kWL3XC6O_g2QL8awaAW3aF78fbHVlsD4SVgg-uetIsCCpWGAnuDQi7ndbr2LsF31TnzE/s0/kill+him.gif" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1021097874" target="_blank">Did She Kill Him? A Victorian Tale of Deception, Adultery & Arsenic </a>by Kate Colquhoun (2014)</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">An Alabama woman marries an Englishman, and her beauty secrets could be blamed for the arsenical poisoning of her older, hypochondriac husband. Lots about crime and punishment in Victorian England, and the dialogue between cotton production state-side and the weaving trades of the Midlands. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz3XW4dsIcL4G2qzC9DhCRS7oKThAa8teJMJKYp-30ILqhiYiWqQkVHQss2FLvK27RlxhY2L02yWnSgXaVd2wSboCviOoYN2d7CEfwlQUPgtnf9o8SV8Nf2D3wxTmFZdFjbNAXluH9hYI/s210/Mrs+Robinson.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="210" data-original-width="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz3XW4dsIcL4G2qzC9DhCRS7oKThAa8teJMJKYp-30ILqhiYiWqQkVHQss2FLvK27RlxhY2L02yWnSgXaVd2wSboCviOoYN2d7CEfwlQUPgtnf9o8SV8Nf2D3wxTmFZdFjbNAXluH9hYI/s0/Mrs+Robinson.gif" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/810534041" target="_blank">Mrs. Robinson's Disgrace: The Private Diary of a Victorian Lady</a> by Kate Summerscale (2012)</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;">I had long been a fan of Dr. Whitcher, but this is great exploration of the social shifts which led to more modern divorce laws in the U.K. and female desire. I really cannot wait for <b>The Haunting of Alma Fielding: A True Ghost Story.</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtHSVfdivATp7hMIcVx8Nx3VrFT70DD-bJSLUFg5wP7Cx0ZsCg3H_JoBGuPexPVAOn3oS1yXLzbViWCpCu4xmwEbLlpXZHrktgnxPBAGfzyOxUSlhsG-fITcekZYa4use7N70hncO52D4/s206/18th+c.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="206" data-original-width="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtHSVfdivATp7hMIcVx8Nx3VrFT70DD-bJSLUFg5wP7Cx0ZsCg3H_JoBGuPexPVAOn3oS1yXLzbViWCpCu4xmwEbLlpXZHrktgnxPBAGfzyOxUSlhsG-fITcekZYa4use7N70hncO52D4/s0/18th+c.gif" /></a></div><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/441155032" target="_blank">English Society in the 18th Century</a> by Roy Porter (2008) </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Scholarship is pushing me towards an interest in the long eighteenth century, and this is a fascinating social history, literacy in particular, with all sorts of nuances I never knew.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgphNR126hsssTIkkYOQe37sj42xNNi7BPu6YdYfY8eLdgpSa57bCFplohjsraJlau7pwyr_2LwvGEiUJry7v8T8iJghQ1OteWBJvS0yIOO5-6nlnsqLA02KqfFQNMdiEuXQbTKhveKoyo/s215/Great+influenza.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="215" data-original-width="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgphNR126hsssTIkkYOQe37sj42xNNi7BPu6YdYfY8eLdgpSa57bCFplohjsraJlau7pwyr_2LwvGEiUJry7v8T8iJghQ1OteWBJvS0yIOO5-6nlnsqLA02KqfFQNMdiEuXQbTKhveKoyo/s0/Great+influenza.gif" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1056196005" target="_blank">The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History</a> by John M. Barry (2018) </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Early on, I read this historical account, offering near-perfect contextualization for our current crisis. Includes so many parallels with the current viral spread, with its conclusion offering a glimmer or two of something like hope.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGzYFAl8Qsz8iM6gIKksy9cxXyYOXM2JEuWdtfxaTmWy9z0giTXkLFfCyicWT40Tq1SdglE6ZYRJJDFqe7D1molcddadU4WPk00wK8bw-_A0hjpvTzCTwRKEEjW0ukEepQsp0HTBk-O9I/s1360/X%2526Y.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1360" data-original-width="907" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGzYFAl8Qsz8iM6gIKksy9cxXyYOXM2JEuWdtfxaTmWy9z0giTXkLFfCyicWT40Tq1SdglE6ZYRJJDFqe7D1molcddadU4WPk00wK8bw-_A0hjpvTzCTwRKEEjW0ukEepQsp0HTBk-O9I/w133-h200/X%2526Y.jpg" width="133" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/975834936" target="_blank">Mr. X and Mr. Y</a> by Donald Brown (2016)</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">True crime, self-published by newspaperman who covered this East Alabama case as a cub reporter in 1959. It is a fascinating story of a young farm woman pushed to the brink.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirJh7GUOZhpZ3qTDwEw2j6o5x96FS6whC9MYsMn49wXmrSg9ujZnz4oNK54nI_H5FuofXggR8873NQiYo97dyy8_I5A74mmj5gpAzwcTlZg8ObLCyRLKTaYCnv8n675m1eoaniKWzBozA/s224/Secret+diary.gif" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="224" data-original-width="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirJh7GUOZhpZ3qTDwEw2j6o5x96FS6whC9MYsMn49wXmrSg9ujZnz4oNK54nI_H5FuofXggR8873NQiYo97dyy8_I5A74mmj5gpAzwcTlZg8ObLCyRLKTaYCnv8n675m1eoaniKWzBozA/s0/Secret+diary.gif" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1108174505" target="_blank">The Secret Diary of Hendrick Groen, 83 ¼</a> (2016) by Hendrick Groen </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We don't hear enough about life in sheltered housing, and this fascinating account of like in a Dutch old-people's home is terrifically funny. There is a sequel, <b><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1108155529" target="_blank">On the Bright Side: The New Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen, 85 Years Old</a>. </b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">SO MUCH nonfiction. SO MANY mysteries. SO MUCH time to read. I am counting my blessings!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b><br /></b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2019/12/best-books-of-2019.html" target="_blank">Best Books of 2019</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2018/12/best-books-of-2018.html">Best Books of 2018</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2017/12/best-books-of-2017.html">Best Books of 2017</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2016/12/best-books-of-2016.html">Best Books of 2016</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2015/12/best-books-of-2015.html">Best Books of 2015</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2014/12/best-books-of-2014.html">Best Books of 2014</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2013/12/best-books-of-2013.html">Best Books of 2013</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2012/12/best-books-of-2012.html">Best Books of 2012</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2011/12/best-books-of-2011.html">Best Books of 2011</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2010/12/books-of-2010.html">Best Books of 2010</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2009/12/books-of-2009.html">Best Books of 2009</a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545086505358831750.post-37744087707264869672019-12-09T20:14:00.000-06:002019-12-09T20:14:20.546-06:00Best Books of 2019<b>Another year, another handful of fabulous reads...I will be posting some of my favorite children's books SOON... </b><br />
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<b>Mysteries</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJgh9OZc7dasWT7FExmxrbL6eehIlkDjyAa13nlZxAb2QgRUMlKf0Q_lMqbbyLpeGErzNpg5aNwur5FWi_7vE7v773jmE_J5NJ6KyY-rYmM_5ne46nFOjVxxHu1LKmlTTHDAaEVqXZO-Q/s1600/those+people.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="212" data-original-width="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJgh9OZc7dasWT7FExmxrbL6eehIlkDjyAa13nlZxAb2QgRUMlKf0Q_lMqbbyLpeGErzNpg5aNwur5FWi_7vE7v773jmE_J5NJ6KyY-rYmM_5ne46nFOjVxxHu1LKmlTTHDAaEVqXZO-Q/s1600/those+people.gif" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1090896485" target="_blank">Those people by Louise Candlish</a> (2019)<br />
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I love a thriller, and this one about some undesirable neighbors with unreliable narrators and multiple points of view has me hooked. I’ve read a LOT of Candlish since this one.<br />
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<a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1006803018" target="_blank">Three things about Elsie by Joanna Cannon</a> (2018)<br />
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Not enough stories deal with the difficulties of aging, and this one has some fabulous wrinkles.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghMPmYpQxTX7zeNAIk8nxw9iZkQbCJlBbTpsz_nc8-mlGP2uy_fKNtqSltaCw6VB7Npk1OloyJ1I9MTxJZjrwi5cyxVWu-YEIP3LVa9X95-3SGAD04iDyOd_mBonxcRvaXHMKFHjHdd-A/s1600/mother+in+law.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="215" data-original-width="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghMPmYpQxTX7zeNAIk8nxw9iZkQbCJlBbTpsz_nc8-mlGP2uy_fKNtqSltaCw6VB7Npk1OloyJ1I9MTxJZjrwi5cyxVWu-YEIP3LVa9X95-3SGAD04iDyOd_mBonxcRvaXHMKFHjHdd-A/s1600/mother+in+law.gif" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1108618148" target="_blank">The mother-in-law by Sally Hepworth</a> (2019)<br />
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Another thriller, this one a very interesting exploration from two very distinct points of view.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsfQUAHPFKFugUbx6t9PtBLyRvrbptRmHqmImhwoTSs5rXhwBeNKJl7u-VfL8UyHyZuMqtlK0pRXl94KbvR9bP-TZNpLnT_vxgwl0D2OhK_AFWzzGQAMsstjezO-magvodtgNDWTBJTU0/s1600/other+mrs+miller.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="211" data-original-width="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsfQUAHPFKFugUbx6t9PtBLyRvrbptRmHqmImhwoTSs5rXhwBeNKJl7u-VfL8UyHyZuMqtlK0pRXl94KbvR9bP-TZNpLnT_vxgwl0D2OhK_AFWzzGQAMsstjezO-magvodtgNDWTBJTU0/s1600/other+mrs+miller.gif" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1090828094" target="_blank">The other Mrs. Miller by Allison Dickson </a>(2019)<br />
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There is something eerie about a look-alike assuming another identity, and this one, set among the idle not-rich, strikes a very contemporary cord.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWr32kvwqiO-THm9D85JHiZH_0GH4sRUcAwv1VwfpYuU9qThIK6oZXC8BfkAYkOHNtplm74hSDsb1QWciYlTS4nwN5DQgMX10JIeom2tZYi_sAA6DF8w0dloB7u54Sc1_kY-LqDQ6G1TI/s1600/The+knowledge.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="211" data-original-width="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWr32kvwqiO-THm9D85JHiZH_0GH4sRUcAwv1VwfpYuU9qThIK6oZXC8BfkAYkOHNtplm74hSDsb1QWciYlTS4nwN5DQgMX10JIeom2tZYi_sAA6DF8w0dloB7u54Sc1_kY-LqDQ6G1TI/s1600/The+knowledge.gif" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1031835211" target="_blank">The knowledge by Martha Grimes</a> (2018)<br />
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The mythology of London’s black cabs underpins this solid Anglophile mystery.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjYAP8Y7qYtWEA14z3RQEqC9Cu_URft3P1ogtrNd4e4s8yVgbugiPYvv9hds4ffm-tYxEphUBOoO81Z9aluMsIL_DIL5AU5tcdWfx9Kmg-QUWMe-u9sTp67yVPLwiq56WpBShjmX5cR1Y/s1600/My+sister.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="215" data-original-width="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjYAP8Y7qYtWEA14z3RQEqC9Cu_URft3P1ogtrNd4e4s8yVgbugiPYvv9hds4ffm-tYxEphUBOoO81Z9aluMsIL_DIL5AU5tcdWfx9Kmg-QUWMe-u9sTp67yVPLwiq56WpBShjmX5cR1Y/s1600/My+sister.gif" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1117322145" target="_blank">My sister the serial killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite</a> (2019)<br />
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It is so refreshing to read something from another part of the world, and this Nigerian thriller is funny and complex.<br />
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<b>Realistic fiction</b><br />
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<a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1006465310" target="_blank">Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams</a> (2019)<br />
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An amazing, nuanced look at youth and mental illness in modern, multicultural London.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGbJxh32dUtusqvmXTFFiv6_mRODu_-TFK83sy03A-Y7fWc2MCxleCzQjI-R5qyQxqnoswyaaUE9IECgxK2Yvv6Aj6nUTQW8XOUmUFygwwvcz1jlPzR6ikmwP82LvJjMbTova5bz86Tts/s1600/fleishman.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="211" data-original-width="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGbJxh32dUtusqvmXTFFiv6_mRODu_-TFK83sy03A-Y7fWc2MCxleCzQjI-R5qyQxqnoswyaaUE9IECgxK2Yvv6Aj6nUTQW8XOUmUFygwwvcz1jlPzR6ikmwP82LvJjMbTova5bz86Tts/s1600/fleishman.gif" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1103884928" target="_blank">Fleishman is in trouble by Taffy Brodesser-Akner</a> (2019)<br />
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Plumbs midlife malaise has many deft touches that elevate it, a la Philip Roth.<br />
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<a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1065302892" target="_blank">There was an old woman by Hallie Ephron</a> (2014)<br />
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Both contemporary and historical, this look at gentrification, addiction, and adulthood stuck with me.<br />
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<b>Brit lit</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuMhwwVv8fp16u3eIKYeX177S_B7KFwDJbRXf414cALkn4w-ZonL6ofKIITUEjB5pafWRNher7K_YzUK7jZIuoo-eCfcvLvffW6-bZObWeXnOZr0foSNLH41QtS0veppd4oacVLnzwWds/s1600/Somewhere.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="216" data-original-width="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuMhwwVv8fp16u3eIKYeX177S_B7KFwDJbRXf414cALkn4w-ZonL6ofKIITUEjB5pafWRNher7K_YzUK7jZIuoo-eCfcvLvffW6-bZObWeXnOZr0foSNLH41QtS0veppd4oacVLnzwWds/s1600/Somewhere.gif" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1099889451" target="_blank">Nothing to report (1940)</a> and <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1099887912" target="_blank">Somewhere in England (1943)</a> by Carola Oman<br />
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I often think I would love to search for backlist titles for ebook editions: isn’t that the promise of the long tail? Dean Street Press has done a terrific job with recovering this pair of provincial English wartime accounts.<br />
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<b>Nonfiction</b><br />
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<a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1088288721" target="_blank">Thick and other essays by Tressie McMillan Cottom</a> (2019)<br />
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Another excellent piece of biographically informed nonfiction, which I have turned back to and recommended again and again.<br />
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<a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1126253125" target="_blank">Because Internet: understanding how language is changing By Gretchen McCulloch</a> (2019)<br />
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Linguistic ticks to re-framing communications, the network has changes how and why we communicate.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuR8nQ0Wg7dyrDrgvmRVz-nGJsO4oBg3P0SBcBVlNXMloSuRmuzV8rXjmvSB7Es8TFaNsbq5THLOzop9u3uQm7qN26xsOu-stT1UkL1iCppv7MzplpDSYJHmxfpbV28hMXcGiwMNx9H4s/s1600/how+to+do+nothing.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="211" data-original-width="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuR8nQ0Wg7dyrDrgvmRVz-nGJsO4oBg3P0SBcBVlNXMloSuRmuzV8rXjmvSB7Es8TFaNsbq5THLOzop9u3uQm7qN26xsOu-stT1UkL1iCppv7MzplpDSYJHmxfpbV28hMXcGiwMNx9H4s/s1600/how+to+do+nothing.gif" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1112607998" target="_blank">How to do nothing: resisting the attention economy by Jenny Odell </a>(2019)<br />
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Artist Odell calls for a return to time unplugged for an authentic life and urges connection with the natural world.<br />
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<a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1105512601" target="_blank">From Goodwill to grunge: a history of secondhand styles and alternative economies by Jennifer Le Zotte</a> (2017)<br />
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When I heard about this at SHARP, I downloaded it immediately and devoured it. For anyone obsessed with vintage things, this is a must-read.<br />
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<a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1090828569" target="_blank">How to own the room: women and the art of brilliant speaking by Viv Groskop</a> (2018)<br />
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Call it a public speaking guide, but it is also a manifesto about power and the public.<br />
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Strangely, this list is ALL WOMEN. Hmmm.<br />
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<a href="https://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2018/12/best-books-of-2018.html" target="_blank">Best Books of 2018</a><br />
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<a href="https://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2017/12/best-books-of-2017.html" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Best Books of 2017</a><br style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" /><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2016/12/best-books-of-2016.html" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Best Books of 2016</a><br style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" /><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2015/12/best-books-of-2015.html" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Best Books of 2015</a><br style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" /><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2014/12/best-books-of-2014.html" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Best Books of 2014</a><br style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" /><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2013/12/best-books-of-2013.html" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Best Books of 2013</a><br style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" /><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2012/12/best-books-of-2012.html" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Best Books of 2012</a><br style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" /><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2011/12/best-books-of-2011.html" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Best Books of 2011</a><br style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" /><br style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;" /><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2010/12/books-of-2010.html" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Best Books of 2010</a><br />
<br /><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2009/12/books-of-2009.html" style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif;">Best Books of 2009</a><br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545086505358831750.post-29814304541134186192019-07-30T19:05:00.004-05:002019-07-30T19:09:30.887-05:00Fleishman, the Performative Middlebrow and Legible ClothingI saw this tweet just after I'd started the book<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcIxHR50yGOy3Fhm3S-JCegEEqiCK2XtmbO9bm_JAp7FsV7YrTYZv0zPdgFdSxjY7iMNsjZ1wfvOmN-Kp9o6KIiAF-fpUAweG92rFqM7pAdqNc45fa-bxqoiGsaxki_T5g1-ezeMQ34Vg/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-07-30+at+6.51.02+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="258" data-original-width="595" height="171" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcIxHR50yGOy3Fhm3S-JCegEEqiCK2XtmbO9bm_JAp7FsV7YrTYZv0zPdgFdSxjY7iMNsjZ1wfvOmN-Kp9o6KIiAF-fpUAweG92rFqM7pAdqNc45fa-bxqoiGsaxki_T5g1-ezeMQ34Vg/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-07-30+at+6.51.02+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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and then I saw the Susan Hill comment after</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcVtoHt_6eUoqqtvXCK4TIQKfl2JmURYIm7qWjq9tp9gHJ415_EvMUoQSkVRduKCrgVFu4t5tTK6ax5UBv3BJZvW17ipllv6v6lzqeyDb0QYyFcucrx3Dt7RtfDyawq__AluATy0rU1Yw/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-07-30+at+6.58.04+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="608" height="110" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcVtoHt_6eUoqqtvXCK4TIQKfl2JmURYIm7qWjq9tp9gHJ415_EvMUoQSkVRduKCrgVFu4t5tTK6ax5UBv3BJZvW17ipllv6v6lzqeyDb0QYyFcucrx3Dt7RtfDyawq__AluATy0rU1Yw/s400/Screen+Shot+2019-07-30+at+6.58.04+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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so I'm not the only one that can't stop thinking about this book.</div>
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One of my favorites bits in the novel are the legible tank tops that Rachel and her cohort wear.</div>
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Brodesser-Akner has her finger on the pulse with these:</div>
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<ul>
<li>Spiritual gangster</li>
<li>But first, coffee</li>
<li>Brunch so hard</li>
<li>Ride or die</li>
<li>Lipstick and lunges</li>
<li>Any yoga I do is hot yoga</li>
<li>Nevertheless, she perspired</li>
<li>Run the world</li>
<li>Nah 'ma stay in bed</li>
</ul>
I have been fascinated by slogan-ed clothes for a while. They are an aggressive form of signaling. Virtue-signaling, too, because they are on tank tops teamed with yoga tights. The choice to wear such little clothing in public, yet having it speak so assertively intrigues me. These are texts, right?<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545086505358831750.post-55496751143900276292019-06-23T05:54:00.000-05:002019-06-23T05:54:11.864-05:00Turning the TItanicEarlier this year, I was feeling a little over ALA. I was becoming convinced that it was too enormous and unwieldy to be useful to me as a nascent academic. I questioned the utility of a conference experience where it seemed like social media created an in-group and out-group. I even did some research into professional involvement life cycles to confirm I wasn't some sort of negative Nellie outlier.<br />
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<img alt="Image result for world landscape blowing up" src="https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQoTNgoRafbJFEOvjcoySwbQQHtXIyspdhcFWMH-yt5zr3euOSEaw" /><br />
<br />
Then things began <i>shifting</i>. There was the "future of Midwinter" conversation. In our spring meeting, AASL board talked about some changes, including publishing the electronic Board Books so members can read them before the conferences, combining association awards like Best Apps and Best Websites (since there is considerable overlap and probably considerable streamlining in these areas), and eliminating the committee liaison role of the Board to have them report directly to the EC. There is the very real prospect that Council (which has some issues, though participation there was one of the best experiences I have had with ALA) might vote itself out of existence.<br />
<br />
Then, in my final act as regional director on the AASL board yesterday, I seconded a motion and we voted unanimously to investigate restructuring that body -- a fleshed-out proposal would be sent to the membership for a vote, but it was a big signal to me (along with the whole <a href="http://www.ala.org/aboutala/steering-committee-organizational-effectiveness-0" target="_blank">Steering Committee on Organizational Effectiveness</a> and LITA/ALCTS/LLAMA confluence) that the organization and AASL as a piece of it was more responsive and forward-thinking that I had feared. And I got to use a little Latin in a meeting.<br />
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<a href="https://www.socialcooling.com/" target="_blank">Social cooling</a> aside, this felt worthy of reviving this little channel. I now feel I am a different place with ALA. Maybe this January, I will actually get to a program or two. So I am optimistic. Happier. A librarian can hope.<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545086505358831750.post-21690925298513428772018-12-14T12:54:00.000-06:002018-12-14T12:54:15.380-06:00Best Books of 2018<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Everyone's got an opinion. I'm sort of over everyone critiquing everything as if they were Pauline Kael. And this year has been full of way too many serials -- a year of Laura Lippman, Alafair Burke, Mo Hayder. But I wanted to add to my body of favorites...for the historical record as it i</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">s. Here goes!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>For Younger Readers</b></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMDPBDcybtL0QTZNxBFD2ZWBW1rRwHpC3cxnUA46yw553XtXXb_X-WwbFKkybJiNJJodqI46fWNxsGQz1VVAz6OVNui1kuodRunY42-IVnAOOoOG8uWtJEjzf-e7vzgmxbeH-kpZktAo4/s1600/monday.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="648" data-original-width="429" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMDPBDcybtL0QTZNxBFD2ZWBW1rRwHpC3cxnUA46yw553XtXXb_X-WwbFKkybJiNJJodqI46fWNxsGQz1VVAz6OVNui1kuodRunY42-IVnAOOoOG8uWtJEjzf-e7vzgmxbeH-kpZktAo4/s200/monday.jpg" width="131" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1037273575" target="_blank">Monday's Not Coming</a> (Katherine Tegen, 2018) by Tiffany D. Jackson</span><span style="white-space: pre;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="white-space: pre;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="white-space: pre;">Totally transporting and a little mind-bending, this slide of D.C. life deserves a lot more love. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; white-space: pre;">I've got my fingers crossed for midwinter.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUKFdI7bWywcPlq_WbwhtMcHG4rsvascdlt9lp8z1yAXUJGLso7tKjLZEL3Q2z-eNH18eN4iMzd0EElq9sHI73TE_S8vQd7vAfQ2nqH5V1uodfgRJaS6JVrGfidPgYd11e9tgOXlJifEU/s1600/boyds.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="203" data-original-width="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUKFdI7bWywcPlq_WbwhtMcHG4rsvascdlt9lp8z1yAXUJGLso7tKjLZEL3Q2z-eNH18eN4iMzd0EElq9sHI73TE_S8vQd7vAfQ2nqH5V1uodfgRJaS6JVrGfidPgYd11e9tgOXlJifEU/s1600/boyds.gif" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1030438204" target="_blank">Ghost Boys</a> (Little Brown, 2018) by Jewell Parker </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rhodes</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Real racial justice talk for middle grade readers, bonus Emmett Till.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7trFPy-MjLLd_NfaVztXgc5es1D3w41tEgd537x7eBAfVtdlI0Wy0WLwbVBUDXLjcflvbHAke41kqMAjhlr22aaQ3-Dz4OxeIszpZBVYoe6LbMvL-p9Cml7G5X_zZg53_U3h7sBAGS4Q/s1600/nate.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="211" data-original-width="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7trFPy-MjLLd_NfaVztXgc5es1D3w41tEgd537x7eBAfVtdlI0Wy0WLwbVBUDXLjcflvbHAke41kqMAjhlr22aaQ3-Dz4OxeIszpZBVYoe6LbMvL-p9Cml7G5X_zZg53_U3h7sBAGS4Q/s1600/nate.gif" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1055273780" target="_blank">Nate Expectations</a> (Simon & Schuster, 2018) by Tim Federle</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After E.T.: The Musical folds, Nate returns to Jenksburg and goes in for production in a big way.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqUHJ3vTOMvLkwsbJeLGKccM_Mkl2_eQX_5f0j5pekOS6V25DNzKdotVhvGZitBlhOX2SFq3pT9yq1sGDjONvfnXxaP8Qiby4FmcBhWwkCDZ5vWa4JltQ5snwkdNE1qOGiVa1y6jcKmvo/s1600/jordi.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="209" data-original-width="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqUHJ3vTOMvLkwsbJeLGKccM_Mkl2_eQX_5f0j5pekOS6V25DNzKdotVhvGZitBlhOX2SFq3pT9yq1sGDjONvfnXxaP8Qiby4FmcBhWwkCDZ5vWa4JltQ5snwkdNE1qOGiVa1y6jcKmvo/s1600/jordi.gif" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/999577889" target="_blank">The Summer of Jordi Perez (and the best burger in Los Angeles)</a> (Sky Pony, 2018) by Amy </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Spalding</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The fashionista details, the L.A. locale, the sweet sweet romance are all top-notch.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Mystery and Suspense</b></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPgDwO3jgbhDNJQrQsodkgvpWPpQYVIqtTpVMIQ3Lat0paH8U_LJADPtra1eC4ue4ZAA4SI2DC-NRVUJ3tEZqrq7-N2uBok9B0ZYLC1mOK6P0qnExZgSdsp2Bzna1i5ibSMWmnIlsjVR8/s1600/sabrina.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="181" data-original-width="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPgDwO3jgbhDNJQrQsodkgvpWPpQYVIqtTpVMIQ3Lat0paH8U_LJADPtra1eC4ue4ZAA4SI2DC-NRVUJ3tEZqrq7-N2uBok9B0ZYLC1mOK6P0qnExZgSdsp2Bzna1i5ibSMWmnIlsjVR8/s1600/sabrina.gif" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1020001084" target="_blank">Sabrina</a> (Granta, 2018) by Nick Drnaso</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The aesthetic and palette are kitschy, but the mystery is well handled, anxiety palpable and the product is ambitious.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeC3zHNpLwdjo1noCMcbdGgXiU4uWew9gbKbrELFXCb8a6GDTgqNszuqJWJo-NYdEdrrPQ1Bp3xDnC9hBRxs8vG_QShNGlIsXa3EF3NUT-2r1o09M87mCnbMPM6qehmzyWsnrnN4gA7J4/s1600/hand.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="211" data-original-width="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeC3zHNpLwdjo1noCMcbdGgXiU4uWew9gbKbrELFXCb8a6GDTgqNszuqJWJo-NYdEdrrPQ1Bp3xDnC9hBRxs8vG_QShNGlIsXa3EF3NUT-2r1o09M87mCnbMPM6qehmzyWsnrnN4gA7J4/s1600/hand.gif" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1047663924" target="_blank">Give Me Your Hand</a> (Little Brown, 2018) by Megan </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Abbott</span><span style="white-space: pre;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="white-space: pre;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Megan Abbott makes her regular appearance. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="white-space: pre;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This science-y one more than passes the Bechdel test. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1047659351" target="_blank">Sunburn </a>(Harper Collins, 2018) by Laura </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lippman</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Top-notch noir in an out-of-season Maryland beach town. I have read it three times already. The nods to James M. Cain are triumphant. It led me into the world of Tess Monaghan, and now I spend as much time thinking about Baltimore as Alabama.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4mNkUN9hvYGhcsM1b0nDW8-uBlWEpISvGajJqfnkwfkBvVrd_3-lByzNLhvYbejArLfw4TLraxL4xmPztUeB1Xpe_5YWfMdEsr0HDglf6op4atf6PzVhEW2OsIAm0HHQ3MMYmk5WfO0I/s1600/bb.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="191" data-original-width="128" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4mNkUN9hvYGhcsM1b0nDW8-uBlWEpISvGajJqfnkwfkBvVrd_3-lByzNLhvYbejArLfw4TLraxL4xmPztUeB1Xpe_5YWfMdEsr0HDglf6op4atf6PzVhEW2OsIAm0HHQ3MMYmk5WfO0I/s1600/bb.jpeg" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1078540756" target="_blank">Bluebird, Bluebird</a> (Little Brown, 2017) by Attica Locke</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Faulkner-worthy Southern communities with twisty, intergenerational and interracial relationships? Yes, please. I was late to this party, but Locke is stellar. This one is my favorite of hers.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ2ah0D8ie62GpYeeKv8n2mOv5DnOkrtNym5abzR8IARPkHA-74IjB974MtY81KX3ovkHoYTCjc6myifj9_IZNXFNdvGlwslVRfaIVhat9BtsjKYcZapD74C1YEK20e0yvMoargZKfKrc/s1600/vic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="406" data-original-width="274" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ2ah0D8ie62GpYeeKv8n2mOv5DnOkrtNym5abzR8IARPkHA-74IjB974MtY81KX3ovkHoYTCjc6myifj9_IZNXFNdvGlwslVRfaIVhat9BtsjKYcZapD74C1YEK20e0yvMoargZKfKrc/s200/vic.jpg" width="134" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1049989307" target="_blank">#FashionVictim</a> (Crooked Lane, 2018) by Amina Akhtar</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This book could have been frothy social media satire, but there was just enough Patrick Bateman-y rage and truth in the shifting sands of Anya's relationships to make it stand out.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1o9d4EMT-8y2mdFh4udl2ZZtniwAe-X3T9rq_hQxLeblcCv8vj4L-bftlIpwZQzQOYQiwuMKUfPPJHkIi5EwuKsJVS9aQemOEFFiL-C1FWQDHm88_RY_hWiq7c6croXQDObYjSMtPDMM/s1600/lane.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="214" data-original-width="140" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1o9d4EMT-8y2mdFh4udl2ZZtniwAe-X3T9rq_hQxLeblcCv8vj4L-bftlIpwZQzQOYQiwuMKUfPPJHkIi5EwuKsJVS9aQemOEFFiL-C1FWQDHm88_RY_hWiq7c6croXQDObYjSMtPDMM/s200/lane.gif" width="130" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/991352714" target="_blank">The Woman at 72 Derry Lane</a> (Harper Collins, 2017) by Carmel </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Harrington</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I read a lot of frothy, soapy women's fiction, but this one has just enough intrigue, with its backdrop of the 2004 tsunami in Thailand and intergenerational support, to stick with me. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Health, Mental and Physical</b></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2A8FJc4Bi5ozrhOmwXplBSK3dIz7cmiGm80EpXxNZXEh7ECwFIEjJstnQwPCyMvcaVrpm-4I_dmQee6drEO_lKaAYiYVhIoRvTLddm11_Ls5eM3VdpmiiY0zIQW_9pdowdC3OA0RlbkY/s1600/rest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="595" data-original-width="394" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2A8FJc4Bi5ozrhOmwXplBSK3dIz7cmiGm80EpXxNZXEh7ECwFIEjJstnQwPCyMvcaVrpm-4I_dmQee6drEO_lKaAYiYVhIoRvTLddm11_Ls5eM3VdpmiiY0zIQW_9pdowdC3OA0RlbkY/s200/rest.jpg" width="131" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1047628685" target="_blank">My Year of Rest and Relaxation: A Novel</a> (Penguin, 2018) by Ottessa Mohfegh</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's literary fiction, but a primer for everyone who's ever wanted to check out, as our protagonist crawls towards 9/11.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLwsOXST5hO7PntLCeT6eY36pD1xer6t0ePS5pBVpcU0Fkso9USer1At51hvuQwdvY3DnJRBWTefKGK3H6bkyDDIdQKRgjR4CklvCUI-bnA766fruMfQiFJV5-zXK4EOVX_qYHQC1wdao/s1600/kiddo.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="198" data-original-width="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLwsOXST5hO7PntLCeT6eY36pD1xer6t0ePS5pBVpcU0Fkso9USer1At51hvuQwdvY3DnJRBWTefKGK3H6bkyDDIdQKRgjR4CklvCUI-bnA766fruMfQiFJV5-zXK4EOVX_qYHQC1wdao/s1600/kiddo.gif" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1049152928" target="_blank">Hey, Kiddo</a> (Scholastic Graphix, 2018) by Jarrett J. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Krosoczka</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This tale of connection and loss and addiction will leave you teary, and it is all too relatable for too many people.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5UbNNU20gA4LmsQ_zIC0lJrhYvFt1wzr7JA9SmFR1sH6rKKRc9vF_-lYIaXJiEXWwn1EGthdpwK3dV1v6EkCsokLHb6rlQiq3S11JfEYBOC2KiH9WbBGKgidevd0kVyttbV0JBmWl4-c/s1600/heavy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="261" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5UbNNU20gA4LmsQ_zIC0lJrhYvFt1wzr7JA9SmFR1sH6rKKRc9vF_-lYIaXJiEXWwn1EGthdpwK3dV1v6EkCsokLHb6rlQiq3S11JfEYBOC2KiH9WbBGKgidevd0kVyttbV0JBmWl4-c/s200/heavy.jpg" width="130" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1076663419" target="_blank">Heavy: An American Memoir </a>(Bloomsbury, 2018) by Kiese Laymon</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the modern south's most interesting voices does a sustained memoir. I've heard the audiobook's a treat, too.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihPQlW7Q_e_L7qcNJBU0eCUGyht-bsifbrwTtTEZa6_1sxEYNkDn15deS-0m8MImY9tV0kFSVzwJ4400jp6OdVsSouBE7XvSb5mG2kuMN61kRyoeTTbNNTXBMB2DzJdFkeOHwJPgm-cz4/s1600/causes.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" data-original-height="211" data-original-width="140" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihPQlW7Q_e_L7qcNJBU0eCUGyht-bsifbrwTtTEZa6_1sxEYNkDn15deS-0m8MImY9tV0kFSVzwJ4400jp6OdVsSouBE7XvSb5mG2kuMN61kRyoeTTbNNTXBMB2DzJdFkeOHwJPgm-cz4/s200/causes.gif" width="132" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1048444615" target="_blank">Natural Causes: An Epidemic of Wellness, the Certainty of Dying, and Killing Ourselves to Live Longer</a> (Grand Central, 2018) by Barbara </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Ehrenreich</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I love a good Ehrenreich, and this one's a top-form take-down of the medicalization of older age. National treasure. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here's to another year of reading!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /><br /><br /> <a href="https://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2017/12/best-books-of-2017.html">Best Books of 2017</a><br /><br /><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2016/12/best-books-of-2016.html">Best Books of 2016</a><br /><br /> <a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2015/12/best-books-of-2015.html">Best Books of 2015</a><br /><br /> <a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2014/12/best-books-of-2014.html">Best Books of 2014</a><br /><br /><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2013/12/best-books-of-2013.html">Best Books of 2013</a><br /><br /><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2012/12/best-books-of-2012.html">Best Books of 2012</a><br /><br /><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2011/12/best-books-of-2011.html">Best Books of 2011</a><br /><br /><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2010/12/books-of-2010.html">Best Books of 2010</a><br /><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2009/12/books-of-2009.html">Best Books of 2009</a></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545086505358831750.post-85224090757028713962017-12-14T16:12:00.000-06:002017-12-14T16:13:39.556-06:00Best Books of 2017This was a big confidential committee reading year for me, so when I saw down I can uncertain if I'd even have enough books to do this...but of course, I did. And how could I <b>not</b> make a list?<br />
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When I think of 2017, it will forever be the year of Angie Thomas's tour de force <b><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/974210531" target="_blank">The Hate U Give</a>.</b> If you haven't heard Bahni Turpin's audio version, get it -before- it takes the Odyssey Award (only my prediction, but...)<br />
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<b>Anything by Dorothy Whipple.</b> I'd looked at the Persephone Press editions of Dorothy Whipple for eons, but this was the year I dug in. Whipple provides some of the best analysis on social dynamics in the 20th century and is pretty funny, too. I think my two favorites were <b><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/892870292" target="_blank">Because of the Lockwoods</a> </b>(1949) and <b><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/315693578" target="_blank">They Knew Mr. Knight</a> </b>(1934). The Persephone editions have the same dove gray covers, but gorgeous endpapers.<br />
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<b><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/966492330" target="_blank">The Line of Beauty</a></b> (2004) by Alan Hollinghurst. I liked this quiet novel because it had the right feel for a Brideshead-update for Thatcher-era Britain.<br />
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<a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/995878286" target="_blank"><b>The Awkward Age</b> </a>(2017) by Francesca Segal This one is about step-families and aging and dogs dying and all sorts of other hard things. You WILL cry.<br />
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<b><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/893656943" target="_blank">Poor Cow</a></b> (1967) by Nell Dunn. When I saw the Drabble blurb, I had to buy it, and it introduced me to a fascinating women and a really interesting body of sociologically derived work.<br />
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<b><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/920447275" target="_blank">The Cows</a></b> (2017) by Dawn O'Porter An expansive domestic fiction that deals with just about every aspect of modern life and womanhood. This one made me gasp out loud.<br />
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<b><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1006778721" target="_blank">The Leavers</a> </b>(2017) by Lisa Ko. I think the immigrant story everyone was reading was <b>Behold the Dreamers</b>, which I also enjoyed, but this one was haunting, most especially the ending.<br />
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<b><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/243697473" target="_blank">The Dead of Summer</a></b> (2008) by Camilla Way. I listened to <b>Watching Edie</b>, but this quiet, dark book was strangely compelling in the way it captures summer idleness and the potential for violence.<br />
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<b><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/966098476" target="_blank">Different Class</a></b> (2017) by Joanne Harris This book seemed to take forever to read, but it was back to <b>Notes on a Scandal </b>caliber for Harris's take on inside-school politics.<br />
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Holly Brown was an exciting discovery, and her <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/243697473" target="_blank"><b>This is Not Over</b> </a>(2017) is about the sharing economy gone bezerk. No AirBNB for me.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvoXuGhaBDkrCDk-FNsGfeq7E2YZiFNW0K9TZ1rTbjdpGGoggEvqDkyGsvJG4Q0wKZAhrUbl3PGac17F2rIXl366iWWPq-XOSzN_bOQdD7pF_HcEETkn233OzCXsSBkuZVKaFdyHQae3Q/s1600/lowered.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="211" data-original-width="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvoXuGhaBDkrCDk-FNsGfeq7E2YZiFNW0K9TZ1rTbjdpGGoggEvqDkyGsvJG4Q0wKZAhrUbl3PGac17F2rIXl366iWWPq-XOSzN_bOQdD7pF_HcEETkn233OzCXsSBkuZVKaFdyHQae3Q/s1600/lowered.gif" /></a></div>
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<b><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/243697473" target="_blank">Lower Ed: The Tooubling Rise of For-Profit Colleges in the New Economy</a></b> (2017) by Tressie Milliam Cottom By really dissecting the motives behind our knee-jerk faith in education as a social good, this book changed my thinking about education forever.<br />
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<b><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/970586751" target="_blank">Dreamland: The True Tale of America's Opiate Epidemic</a> </b>(2015) by Sam Quinones really gets into a new model of drug trafficking. I liked it so much I read his other book about Mexico just after.<br />
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<b><a href="https://www.blogger.com/http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/974495397" target="_blank">Respectable: Crossing the Class Divide</a></b> (2017) by Lynsey Hanley A really interesting memoir about a hard-working girl determined to make good.<br />
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<b><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/918590664" target="_blank">Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body</a> </b>(2017)<b> </b>by Roxane Gay A memoir like no other -- brave and fierce and candid in a glorious way.<br />
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<b><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/990837390" target="_blank">How to Murder Your Life: A Memoir</a> </b>(2017)<b> </b>by Cat Marnell I was a huge fan of Marnell's XOJane work, and frequently wear a lipstick she recommended. Her story of addiction and struggle went beyond the usual misery memoirs to really get at modern young womanhood and what it means to claim control.<br />
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More nonfiction than usual, I think...and perhaps more 2017 titles.<br />
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<a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2016/12/best-books-of-2016.html" target="_blank">Best Books of 2016</a><br />
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2015/12/best-books-of-2015.html" style="color: #626262; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Best Books of 2015</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2014/12/best-books-of-2014.html" style="color: #626262; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Best Books of 2014</a></span></span></span><span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="color: #626262; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; text-decoration-line: none;"><br /></span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="color: #626262; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; text-decoration-line: none;"><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2011/12/best-books-of-2011.html" style="color: #626262; text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Best Books of 2011</a></span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><u style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></u></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><u style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2010/12/books-of-2010.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Best Books of 2010</a></span></u></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><u style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></u></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><u style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2009/12/books-of-2009.html" style="text-decoration-line: none;" target="_blank">Best Books of 2009</a></span></u></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545086505358831750.post-24273618872334366302017-05-21T21:22:00.003-05:002017-05-21T21:22:55.463-05:00Five months!Did you read the New Yorker piece, "<a href="http://www.newyorker.com/culture/jia-tolentino/the-personal-essay-boom-is-over" target="_blank">The Personal-Essay Boom is Over</a>"? It pretty much summed up how I've been feeling about so much online content -- writing blogs, reading blogs, tweeting links to blogs -- I weeded my feed reader aggressively a few months back, have pretty much only been reading posts from former <b>Sassy</b> staffers, The Pool, and a handful of libraryland sites.<br />
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So I haven't posted here since some best books lists in December, and I also noticed I hadn't composed a tweet, only RTed since our state library association conference last month.
<a href="http://www.columbian.com/news/2017/may/18/twitters-new-privacy-terms-increase-tracking-ads/">And now there are those new, Facebook-esque targeting and tracking strategies, yuck.</a>)<br />
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A machine intelligence might intuit I'm depressed, which with all of the family drama and the horrific and divisive political landscape, that isn't off base...I can't help but notice that my web-based reticence pretty much maps to the presidential administration. Obviously, the daily social media proclamations from the White House have brought a whole new level of scrutiny to online microinteractions.<br />
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As much as I believe in transparency, it just seems any candid statement can come back to bite you in completely unanticipated ways. And, after some very bad repercussions from what I thought of as sheer observation, I'm downright reluctant to share anything that isn't 110 percent cheerleader-y <b>because you never know who's watching or who will scroll back absolute years in your accounts </b>like every horrible and alarmist "digital footprint" lesson warns.<br />
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Anyway, I used to find the interwebs stimulating, now I just find them tiring. Thanks for reading, though.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545086505358831750.post-66599839997763250252016-12-19T11:10:00.002-06:002016-12-19T11:10:38.155-06:00Best (Audio-)books of 2016It was The Archers that hooked me, the Odyssey Award kept me listening for production errors, now I can't get in the car without "something good to listen to..." I wanted to share some of the audiobooks I particularly enjoyed this year.<br />
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<b>Author, Author</b><br />
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Toni Morrison is not the only one to light up her own audiobooks. This year, I was particularly besotted with Tim Federle's <i>The Great American Whatever, </i>as warm and funny as you would expect, and M.T. Anderson's <i>Symphony for City of the Dead. </i>All that Russian! And fun, if a different sort of fun... the author definitely gets some latitude.<br />
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<b>The Year of the Thriller</b><br />
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Thrillers demand particular skills from narrators. The talented Imogen Church reads both of Ruth Ware's novels, <i>The Woman in Cabin 10 </i>and <i>In a Dark, Dark Wood, </i>doing an excellent job with a diverse cast of characters, in addition to the mounting suspense.<br />
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Georgia Maguire builds the tension minute-by-minute in <i>Behind Closed Doors</i> by B.A. Paris...<br />
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There's a full cast for <i>The Widow</i> by Fiona Barton.<br />
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Penelope Rawlins and Dugaid Bruce-Lockhart alternate in two nail-biters by Gilly Macmillan, <i>What She Knew</i> and <i>The Perfect Girl.</i><br />
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And in nonfiction, but it seems to apply: <i>Lost Girls: An Unsolved American Mystery b</i>y Robert Kolker, read by Sean Pratt. Interesting and sympathetic take on Craig's list escort disappearances.<br />
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<b>Simon Vance</b><br />
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Did you read his <i>Audiofie </i>interview with Alan Moore? The man's a treasure! The first Simon Vance I ever listened to was <i>People Who Eat Darkness: The Fate of Lucie Blackman </i>by Richard Lloyd Parry, but I got completely into it, enough to listen through twice, even picked up a few Japanese phrases. I liked Vance enough to tackle <i>The Witch of Lime Street: Seance, Seduction and Houdini in the Spirit World</i> by David Jaher and the much-better <i>The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: The Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective</i> by Kate Summerscale. I loved his version of <i>The Little Stranger</i> by Sarah Watters, and missed his tones almost, but not quite enough to listen to some of the Ian Fleming in our public library's Overdrive account.<br />
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I bought the 47 hours of his complete Sherlock Holmes...stay tuned.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545086505358831750.post-46382049273732675422016-12-09T18:42:00.002-06:002016-12-09T18:48:18.875-06:00Best Books of 2016I read so many things NOT on this list this year, some rather hush-hush. Let's just say, I am particularly proud of our Amelia E. Walden Award Winner, <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/921142245" target="_blank"><i>All-American Boys</i> by Jason Reynolds and Brendan Kiely</a>. What a tour de force! But I decided to just leave out all other YA for that reason.<br />
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Some of my other favorites...<br />
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<b>Politically Incorrect</b><br />
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<a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/951136412" target="_blank"><i>The Mandibles </i>by Lionel Shriver (2016)</a><br />
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I read this just before the election. Like Glory O'Brien, it's looking strangely prophetic. Say what you will about Shriver's indictment of identity politics, but I class her with Philip Roth or Alan Warner for pure virtuoso talent. She nailed the "pull-the-ladders-up-after-ourselves" ethos informing my own generation.<br />
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<a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/932050574" target="_blank"><i>The Wangs vs. the World</i> by Jade Chang (2016)</a><br />
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Another economic novel, this one about the over-confidence of an immigrant Chinese cosmetics tycoon fallen on hard times and his children and the navigate life on the skids.<br />
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<a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/887605559" target="_blank"><i>The Sellout </i>by Paul Beatty (2016)</a><br />
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It made me gasp and laugh and tear up, in quick succession, its irreverence a delight, and Beatty's unchecked ping-ponging between esoteric associations is a joy to behold.<br />
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<a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/892458620"><i>Re Jane </i>by Patricia Park (2015)</a></div>
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Not that I didn't enjoy the Joanna Trollope and Curtis Sittenfeld (Eligible) efforts, but Charlotte Bronte is relatively unmined, and the Korean-American take it irresistible. This one was an Alex title.<br />
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<b>Thrillers</b><br />
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If there is one genre I know inside and out, it's women's fiction. And I love, love, love the decidedly creepy tone of the minute. While 2016 will forever be The Year I Discovered Sophie Hannah, and not from those Agatha Christie sequels of late, there are quite a few good thrillers in the wake of <i>Gone Girl </i>and <i>Girl on a Train</i>. I myself can't wait for a revival of the gothic. <i>See also </i><b>Ruth Ware</b><i>.</i><br />
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<a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/964510466" target="_blank"><i>The Killer Next Door</i> by Alex Marwood (2014)</a><br />
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A thriller set in the worst sort of rooming house, where streetwise three women nonetheless come together and form their own sort of family. I've read all the Marwood this year, but this is my favorite.<br />
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<a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/910530613" target="_blank"><i>Girl in the Dark </i>by Marion Pauw (2016)</a><br />
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Translated from the Dutch. Our protagonist discovers she has an older brother she has never met. Her mother is one of the most original and chillingly drawn character I've ever encountered.<br />
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<a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/780415734" target="_blank">What the Nanny Saw by Fiona Neill (2012)</a><br />
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Neill may be best known for her satire, Yummy Mummy, but this bird's-eye view of the 2008 banking crisis rivals Capital.<br />
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<b>Nonfiction</b><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhheEBwBm4SX8cRpeH9X06l1AUeLkvIob0tqhQMol_yOYU5LDSe3nqZj8MMkV33ZrbupTPE3TNcVWgajqWpeTh95vv1oUkLVrjv6qJoTKJMBSVBnbz-doFeYbhZ22Gt7KcXGz_6lTt5-ek/s1600/girls.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhheEBwBm4SX8cRpeH9X06l1AUeLkvIob0tqhQMol_yOYU5LDSe3nqZj8MMkV33ZrbupTPE3TNcVWgajqWpeTh95vv1oUkLVrjv6qJoTKJMBSVBnbz-doFeYbhZ22Gt7KcXGz_6lTt5-ek/s200/girls.gif" width="133" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/935983444" target="_blank"><i>American Girls: Social Media and the Secret Life of Teenage Girls </i>by Nancy Jo Sales (2016)</a><br />
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Ethnography about the wild west that is social media.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOOmBvwicdM2h4JQi50zJahLo7sFTj4FZKEEQFWm08_Kg92AQE612SYAuTZMAUSmCWMKLn1P09i5s92NWx0PJLvQXCCfYTlEHjcrTpMKWTCLQ31LcYlcrfkUCAreWIWbD4FOBfQMZ373c/s1600/florence.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOOmBvwicdM2h4JQi50zJahLo7sFTj4FZKEEQFWm08_Kg92AQE612SYAuTZMAUSmCWMKLn1P09i5s92NWx0PJLvQXCCfYTlEHjcrTpMKWTCLQ31LcYlcrfkUCAreWIWbD4FOBfQMZ373c/s200/florence.gif" width="141" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.worldcat.org/title/florence-broadhurst-her-secret-extraordinary-lives/oclc/70818842&referer=brief_results" target="_blank"><i>Florence Broadhurst: Her Secret and Extraordinary Lives</i> by Helen O'Neill (2006)</a><br />
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The jaw-dropping story of a flamboyant Australian textile designer whose life and murder proved stranger than fiction.<br />
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<a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/921166270" target="_blank"><i>Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman </i>by Lindy West (2016)</a><br />
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If you're a Lindy West fan, you don't need particulars.<br />
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<a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/938991009" target="_blank"><i>Every Falling Star: The True Story of How I Survived and Escaped North Korea</i> by Sungju Lee (2016)</a><br />
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A gripping first-person narrative about life in one of the world's most fascinating places.<br />
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Because I'm not writing about YA this time, and leaving out my Alabama authors, this year's one has more titles written specifically for adults than past years (below), if it matters. And I am scraping together another list, Best (Audio-)books of 2016, to follow soon.<br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><br /></span>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2015/12/best-books-of-2015.html" target="_blank">Best Books of 2015</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2014/12/best-books-of-2014.html" style="background-color: #fff2cc;" target="_blank">Best Books of 2014</a></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2013/12/best-books-of-2013.html" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Best Books of 2013</span></a></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2012/12/best-books-of-2012.html" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Best Books of 2012</span></a></span></span></div>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2011/12/best-books-of-2011.html" target="_blank"><span style="background-color: #fff2cc; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">Best Books of 2011</span></a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;"><u style="background-color: #fff2cc;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2010/12/books-of-2010.html" target="_blank">Best Books of 2010</a></span><br /><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2009/12/books-of-2009.html" target="_blank">Best Books of 2009</a></span></u></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545086505358831750.post-7999639551179325032016-11-18T07:57:00.001-06:002016-11-18T07:57:56.296-06:00Goings-onThis year has been one of the most challenging I've ever had. I'm a privileged being, but I'm obviously operating in a world I didn't see coming and that I didn't really know existed. All the things I care deeply about -- children, public education, equity, diversity, social justice, freedom of speech -- seem not just to be discounted, but actively fought against. It's dispiriting, to say the least.<br />
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I'm grappling to redefine myself since I've lost my street cred as a practitioner. I have incredible students, doing important work, but I'm feeling more and more like my job is to buoy their spirits in addition to educating and enculturating them as school librarians. There are practical considerations as well as philosophical ones. <a href="http://knowledgequest.aasl.org/using-essa-start-important-conversations-school-libraries/">I spent a month doing work around ESSA</a>, only to hear from my state department of education that things related to that implementation were on indefinite hold, post-election. I'm at NCTE, but library-less, so my ALAN box will go to one of my students. It is more philanthropic and abstract, and a lot less fun than pressing just-right books into students' hands.<br />
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Maybe things are ripe for backlash. Maybe we will end up investing heavily in the arts and humanities, in creating social and cultural supports. Whatever the answer is, I am going to have to push beyond my comfortable affirmative bubble that cosseted me this far. I have to confront my own fears, and the bile in my throat, to be a force for the positive. But I only have so much time, energy, and money to expend, and to what ends?<br />
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This is a journey, with some trying detours. but imagine how wonderful it will feel to finally put your foot down heavy on the accelerator, or better yet, set the cruise control. These potholes are only temporary, right? But I don't think the answer is privatizing the roads.<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545086505358831750.post-24480238192878371602016-09-21T09:38:00.002-05:002016-09-21T09:42:06.216-05:00Inching my way out<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">I wrote most recently about <a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2016/08/from-all-your-eggs-in-one-basket-file.html">my renewed paranoia about the internet of things</a>. I, who love the publishing and educational opportunities afforded by all out wonderful online resources, am getting cranky about putting myself out there. Even with all these plug-ins and anonymizers, I am downright worried about visiting certain sites, especially with political sea-change looming. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yesterday, I tried to comment on a local newspaper article, but couldn't - I don't have facebook. There was no other authentication or login method. You are expected to locate yourself and your network that way. I was as affronted as the first time Apple told me how many minutes to what it had intuited was my workplace.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">So when I read Nicholas Carr's <a href="https://aeon.co/essays/the-internet-as-an-engine-of-liberation-is-an-innocent-fraud" target="_blank">The World Wide Cage</a>, excerpted from his new book, so much rang true, especially about blogging, what it was and isn't now, but also about the economics and power dynamics of this system we have enabled.</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"[Benkler et al.] failed to appreciate how the network would funnel the energies of the people into a centrally administered, tightly monitored information system organised to enrich a small group of businesses and their owners."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">"The culture that emerged on the network, and that now extends deep into our lives and psyches, is characterised by frenetic production and consumption – smartphones have made media machines of us all – but little real empowerment and even less reflectiveness. It’s a culture of distraction and dependency." </span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">It reminds me of the conversations I had around privacy when I visited Russia in 2006. The teachers and librarians I met didn't understand the concept. Surely, they argued, you would want privacy only if you were doing something illegal or untoward. I found it difficult to justify the fact that maybe you just wanted to keep somethings to yourself, or choose what to put out there. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "times" , "times new roman" , serif;">I think the central issue I have is people taking random leavings on the web as a whole of someone's being -- the alleged criminal whose anti-authoritarian re-tweet from 2012 is showcased on the newscast, the beauty queen whose liking a racially-tinged joke on facebook comes back to haunt her, what passes for journalism in our world of churn. <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2013/11/20/googles-cerf-says-privacy-may-be-an-anomaly-historically-hes-right/">Well, after all, privacy was an anomalous state.</a></span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545086505358831750.post-21017319415721920132016-08-29T15:48:00.001-05:002016-08-29T15:55:14.272-05:00From the all your eggs in one basket file...I sometimes used to riff during Google workshops that someday they was going to hold my data hostage and I would be forced to give them whatever they desire. But I sort of did that to myself this past month.<br />
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I blame Citizen Four, the documentary with Edward Snowden. After he scared me good, I basically firebombed my Macbook Air, downloading all sort of anonymity tools in a fit of paranoia.<br />
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And then a series of unfortunate events conspired to leave me Google-less.<br />
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1. Suffering from election-year neuropathy (seriously, my last flare up was in the summer of 2000), I fall down in a parking garage at UNC-Asheville, breaking my beloved Android Nexus tablet, my favorite ereading device and main entry into G-world.<br />
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2. You cannot buy that tablet anymore, for love or money, but there may be a new version soon. So I am down to an iPhone and a laptop for our three week long twenty-year-anniversary trip to Australia and my subsequent IBBY 2016 Congress in New Zealand. Thank goodness I did not take the Chromebook!<br />
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3. In Australia, need a text code from my phone to use Google-stuff on the <i>tabla rasa</i> black box Macbook Air. But my phone seems to have run up again the silver compact in my bag, shattering the screen and now only the home button is working. Why I thought putting something the size and weight of a hockey puck in my purse was a good idea is uncertain. I should have just used that front-pacing camera for a mirror like a normal person, obviously. So now I don't even have a camera for travel pictures.<br />
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4. Inexplicably, I didn't bring one of my unlocked phones and even the little bag of pay-as-you-go SIM cards that usually lives in my bag. Blame my perpetual quest to always carry my luggage on the plane <i>a la</i> Meet the Parents. And it's winter there, and people kept telling me how cold it is.<br />
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5. Evidently, my rescue email is from a job I last had in 2012.<br />
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6. No Drive, no Calendar -- almost worse than not gmail.<br />
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7. Can't I just restore to an earlier browser and system incarnation? I try it, but still demands authentication code.<br />
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8. My husband gets sick. We learn that New Zealand is a medical paradise, inexpensive, patient-centered, and super clean. Eventually, we are cleared to leave the country.<br />
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8. AT&T is happy to give me a new phone<i> for two more year's bondage</i>.<br />
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9. Success at last! Welcome back to 3,632 emails. And the jetlag from Oceania is no joke. So if you are waiting on an email from me, it might be a few days.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545086505358831750.post-69421676538393651712016-07-04T19:25:00.003-05:002016-07-04T19:25:33.371-05:00Rare experienceALA Annual was an energizing blur of celebrations... but one experience was so extraordinary I can't not write about it. We all have our pet topics, things we particularly enjoy reading about. My own include Anne Frank, New Orleans, and North Korea. So the opportunity to chat with debut author Sungju Lee, whose memoir about leaving North Korea, <b>Every Falling Star</b>, will be published by Abrams' Amulet this September, was especially thrilling.<br />
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In South Korea, there are only 30,000 people who have escaped North Korea, so Sungju is one of a small coterie able to talk about life in the closed society. Funny and thoughtful, Sungju is professionally determined to work towards reunification of Korea through diplomatic channels, and his book for young people sets out his dramatic backstory.<br />
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Sungju's book focuses on his experience as a relatively pampered child of privilege who is forced to fend for himself after his family leaves the capital city of Pyongyang. When famine forces his parents to leave to seek food, he takes to the streets, where he and his band of brothers develop their own society and moral code. It concludes when, at long last, Sungju finds his grandfather and eventually, his father, joining him in South Korea.<br />
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We spent so much of the evening in Orlando talking about Sungju's experience after leaving North Korea, living in Canada and studying at Warwick, but after reading his book -- it was the first I grabbed after reading nineteen YA novels over the past six days -- has left me wishing I'd ask more about his leaving home. I almost asked him about whether he had to change all his clothes, since that seemed such a part of other accounts I'd read, but it seemed too intimate. It turned out to be a component of his journey, too.<br />
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A fascinating read!<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545086505358831750.post-75511536869163439782016-03-15T08:00:00.000-05:002016-03-15T08:00:10.471-05:00Election time!No, not that election, silly. A much more civilized and less contentious one, the American Library Association, our beloved professional organization. Those ballots open today!<br />
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I happen to be on that ballot twice -- once for the 2018 YALSA Nonfiction Award, once for AASL's Regional Director. If you are reading this, you probably know my <i>raison d'etre</i> happens to be reading, books, libraries, literacy. If you are a member of those divisions, I would appreciate your vote(s).<br />
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But I also have some recommendations.<br />
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<b>AASL </b><br />
President-elect: <i>Steven Yates</i>. Steven is a fellow Alabamian, a fellow school librarian, a solid fellow full of graciousness and responsibility. He also can have hard conversations. Excited to see where he takes AASL...<br />
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<b>ALSC</b><br />
President-elect: <i>Ernie Cox</i>. Smart guy, has done the hard work to get here. And if that's not enough, Ernie chaired the Newbery that picked <i>Last Stop on Market Street</i>, so he thinks out of the box.<br />
Board of directors:<br />
<i>Amy Koester </i>You can't get more dedicated to children's services.<br />
Newbery:<br />
<i>Sarah Wethern</i> Sarah is a voracious reader, watcher, thinker with very good taste. I trust her implicitly.<br />
<i>Angie Manfredi </i>Whip-smart social justice warrior, perhaps the smartest person on the front lines today.<br />
Caldecott:<br />
<i>Sylvia Vardell </i>USBBY stalwart, promoter of poetry in this age of ours.<br />
<i>Katie Salo </i>One of those twitter friends who constantly impressed you with her enthusiasm and smarts.<br />
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<b>YALSA </b><br />
Board of Directors:<br />
<i>Robin Kurz</i> When you work on a committee with someone, you can tell if they are conscientious, and Robin most certainly is.<br />
<i>Kafi Kumasi </i>I met Kafi at an IMLS seminar at Indiana in 2006 and have been following her solid work over the last decade.<br />
Printz:<br />
<i>Kathy Burnette</i> Someone I just know from online, but Kathy's thoughtful presence there bodes well.<br />
<i>Edi Campbell</i> One of the absolute best kidlit bloggers out there.<br />
Margaret A. Edwards:<br />
<i>Jennifer Anne Rothschild </i> Somehow, Jen manages to be quick, deep, and connected, all at the same time.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545086505358831750.post-33404003839784595372016-03-11T20:09:00.003-06:002016-03-11T20:09:56.712-06:00Long time, no blog<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="line-height: 20.24px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Three months? Been gone for a minute, but <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MoU4oYFVWc" target="_blank">now I’m back with the jump-off</a>, as Lil’ Kim once said so pithily. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But some positives, too:</span></span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">I'm sad I couldn't make </span><a href="http://lambda.sis.utk.edu/" style="line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;" target="_blank">the LAMBDA Summit in Knoxville</a> <span style="line-height: 20.24px; white-space: pre-wrap;">this week</span><span style="line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">. That looked really important. </span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.allanet.org/?page=7" style="line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;" target="_blank">Our state library association conference next month.</a><span style="line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;"> Spy theme!</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">Our state school library association conference this June. Joyce Valenza! </span><a href="https://docs.google.com/forms/d/16-4Jp2EXQn6y9c7DZLgjj-pandyPIW3yzcYL4p57nOk/viewform" style="line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;" target="_blank">Submit your proposal to present today.</a> And we have <a href="http://www.alasla.org/?DivisionID=3590&ToggleSideNav=ShowAll" target="_blank">scholarships, and shiny awards</a>, too, so Alabama peeps should get on it... </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">I'm planning to go to AASL’s CLASS II Research Summit this April in Washington, D.C. </span><a href="http://www.ala.org/aasl/research/class" style="line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;" target="_blank">Causation, how you gonna prove it?</a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">Gaming as Meaningful Education: </span><a href="http://www.ala.org/aasl/GAME" style="line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;" target="_blank">AASL & Gaming RT conference this September in Rochester.</a><span style="line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;"> The Fall Forum morphs into something really enticing.</span></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">Data Literacy Webinars (sponsored by IMLS/</span><a href="http://www.4tvirtualcon.com/" style="line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;" target="_blank">4T</a><span style="line-height: 1.38; white-space: pre-wrap;">) all online July 14-15, mark your calendars now. Part of a really exciting IMLS funded project from the smart people at the University of Michigan. </span></span></li>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And just when I was sort of over Twitter, taken over as it has been by amateur marketers, but <a href="https://www.the-pool.com/news-views/lauren-s-blog/2016/5/lauren-laverne-on-her-favourite-women-online" target="_blank">Lauren Laverne reels me back in…</a> but, no, seriously, I'm checking out (if not posting) to insta & tumblr much more often these days. </span></span></div>
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<span style="vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Looking back on the eight-year cycle of my mental health, I can’t be the only person who gets the presidential election blues. I basically have to avoid the mainstream media to function AT ALL. How DO you cope? </span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545086505358831750.post-9755002369617726442015-12-03T06:49:00.002-06:002015-12-05T09:04:21.201-06:00Best Books of 2015<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It's that time of year again...this year's personal best list might be a little lop-sided with backlist, but I excluded anything I read for committee work.</span><br />
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<span id="docs-internal-guid-20247abd-67c5-ee8f-ba44-c8ab4c2eb861"><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><img alt="petro.gif" height="211px;" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/OZnsJIwgGVwFzmBHejIOpmNoDR3Pm7Glqqtt5qgq1Ok4Rb1V4zN2WazYRbtVsOV2TOj-odV2qf44k1M9D0LOPtm6YReHFfGO1YKx17QQcMKRvuumQPAMd282LMoSgrQVDDSF1DU" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="140px;" /></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/70335311" target="_blank">Petropolis</a> by Anya Ulinich</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/860395376" target="_blank">Can We Talk About Something More Pleasant, Please?</a> by Roz Chast </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br class="kix-line-break" /></span><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">If you have older relatives, you can’t help but laugh. And cry. And laugh some more. Chast gets it right.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="little friend.jpg" height="226px;" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/ySyjtmq48m-EBxC3ZYoJ5Vy3fdeUk-cyWz80facsOPZ9IGeHRR2L1p6WBDZfKbcn3RKrsZ4CsKmGOZa3g6DlbN3aDlAz_XPFhTa6vNjIyit4nn77XLOR7kLBxNTNQjtrcpcFWZg" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="148px;" /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/49603052" target="_blank">The Little Friend</a> by Donna Tartt </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">For some reason, I had an entirely wrong idea about what this novel was about. Tartt shows her Mississippi roots by depicting a wide range of far-from-stock Southern types in a show-stopper of a novel. I should have picked it up earlier. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="everybodyrise.jpg" height="231px;" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/Tc54D8ywVs1tu1NncI16jhJHO-Bwj9GAjGG9oarkEG6nQoDTeH8nHxukJ-RX5hUNeusss_gniKOia1xyEIeRz97ObvfwjnLUnUHDkfqty_xohXx_YXa_Uuczlswv2IE4t4ENBWk" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="151px;" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/908699027" target="_blank">Everybody Rise</a> by Stephanie Clifford </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">It’s like The House of Mirth, but in the heady days of the oughts. Start up sensibilities, old money mores, and the corrupt Wall Street culture collide.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="dark road.gif" height="210px;" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/1vje-gKNTXRKNINKbke11rIGGLfgmSCBc5S8F6YA1PZtxz4PpAxA7NaGmS8zYeB9U6A42EsP0IrjdGHpl7CRp6K73LXaKv_08gyc8c0jCTY_uZQNUgS1ewIUj1RsRWiCv9kEdbA" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="140px;" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/827259541" target="_blank">This Dark Road to Mercy</a> by Wiley Cash </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">It’s about baseball, the Home Run Derby of 1998 as backdrop for a former minor league standout trying to liberate his daughters from the foster care system after his ex-wife's overdose. I had been disappointed by Cash's ballyhooed debut, but I loved this one.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="foolish.jpg" height="200px;" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_SMuekWlR3pAesur4FlAB9KBP9V5_6q07NBsrEpMvOSHnqj21J023pqzndoi9gOR8pKal9DMAz11eVud5zTz9shAKOGzbv4RNtXuIJB1eHKWcy7vqpceuTqN2t8PT6DkwW7ODmU" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="139px;" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/294892" target="_blank">The Foolish Gentlewoman</a> by Marjorie Sharp </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">Marjorie Sharp wrote The Rescuers, and some surprisingly deft mid-century fiction for grown-ups. This one opens with the titular heroine cowering in the bath while the bailiffs come to re-posses her furniture.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/846537024" target="_blank">Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont</a> by Elizabeth Taylor </span></div>
<br />This pairs nicely with the Chast -- an elderly woman goes to live in a residential hotel filled with her contemporaries in decline. The loneliness resonates in Mrs. Palfrey's concoction of a loving grandson.<br /><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="glory.gif" height="212px;" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/ngkkWFDaA3rKSRuswIyDgOt8VvYxLqjsSuhticKnTiEGk2nNlxb8c3EdhqzOP3MwNrRxloNSTcUn556M-tC0drMBDMRr7aAeIv3r5Sk9ehM7L7-ExWb5any9Wfd-jUUbw7g9I8g" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="140px;" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/863127587" target="_blank">Glory O’Brien’s History of the Future</a> by A.S. King </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">Glory glimpses a f</span></span><span style="font-size: 14.6667px;">rightening future and rises to meet it in this exhilarating tour-de-force that manages to be about everything, but mostly about the way politicians can frame the most evil things as for the common good.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="dumplin.gif" height="212px;" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/EWm8vcAIdrMQxROkcrpEgDEsu5fAWx9lnLdFLg3G82ylPiHOmi12EBV5Ic_bDT-RWyI-E6j6d_SLBmAIcVj_e4TWmvyOf5FBhelgPTddxOMsI2y0ftbUNuyGL2KCUKxxyFwhlwE" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="140px;" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/894777660" target="_blank">Dumplin'</a> by Julie Murphy </span></div>
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It's not just about pageants, or fat girls. Willadean inspires every reader to find their place on stage.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">Dazzling Debuts</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="only ever yours.gif" height="198px;" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/t1-tL6UhDT900KpMh5P2mblDp0QOk7X22Eu0V6lzpjk1SlB9CFyJpykC03W0KjJCaUGFwgCkKODvVqr7F8NSDs8uy9SjVCRLyie-7CoAp1zxo56o5-2hGtVsqZDTlRBLMFENIlx6" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="140px;" /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/904444611" target="_blank">Only Ever Yours</a> by Louise O’Neill </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">O'Neill's future is only a little more remote than Glory O'Brien's. Women have value only as refracted through men. I hope this is a feminist manifesto for the fourth wave.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="more happy.gif" height="210px;" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/eBn4HxLhywvWYE-in8sA-WJn-5Mox1BKLupxuJgmY25TdVW7NMQapMCJaoiGQobSlKLfemcrncDYv9jDfL_FTdMo4Yferg55xV-3-syKp9ykqpY6EbP1uE8_vPoj84LlEq-q6M4" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="140px;" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/891609163" target="_blank">More Happy Than Not</a> by Adam Silvera </span></div>
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This was recommended, or I might not have picked it up, but I was thrilled I did. Silvera has a great ear for language and captures the cadences and communities of the Bronx rather perfectly in this twisty tale. Realistic fiction readers needn't be put off by the just-slightly-fantastical premise.<br /><br /><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; font-weight: 700; vertical-align: baseline;">Things Get Dangerous</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="dangerous.png" height="217px;" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/KK0AJx60TSy70UiZF4GPUvbfTC7MFEduCEfpd_a1LGlyaNQlk_lb9a799XVEve-qY_IaQWmhB3f2RBv9O1eKSJkZqjcuBwFL9FUQspABgGIY1QGGfz2VrJARbnpgS-Yr_9ky1nQ" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="142px;" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/835110491" target="_blank">Dangerous Girls</a> by Abigail Haas </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">It's like Gossip Girl meets Amanda Knox. What really happened among the group of vacationing friends? Who was at the beach when? Frothy, but fun.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="fever.gif" height="213px;" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/f_QqEYS0T7Je_GKkAYE9wBR547iwU2UwGaUNP466khzaz6xDapSVCzsZxqkaiwAlv9KfWeaUIUDQd2eyyJVGO3h3AbfrY4fcNKdEsIlwLPfqByXTp7Q0xGbHaePN4vnkyyGVoAM" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="140px;" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/860757048" target="_blank">The Fever </a>by Megan Abbott </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">Abbott is pitch-perfect in drawing a largely female cast in this novel where the seemingly inexplicable is rooted in garden-variety high school dynamics. Abbott is hugely underrated, probably because she writes about women.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 20.24px;">ALA Finds</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="girls.gif" height="209px;" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/IU3S6iwBBPfRc1NHz4ugcPk1_FUjl39r_ba8PgyF8AALyGnHQ-_1PjKCmgewFEUQpMxkvn_Uo71G0YINOsr_RWL18bAufOTJS8Twv7Y4EbbhCXRopsVAxJCLZM3bqYnf1crw9SU" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="140px;" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/857879327" target="_blank">Girls Like Us</a> by Gail Giles </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">Giles documents the unlikely friendship of two girls sent to live in a care-in-the-community set-up. This is a book which changes readers. Schneider Family Book Award, 2015.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="confessions.gif" height="210px;" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/XJY0_1W0R7frNGtyxqBBiuPvAn1i2amK_Xk1Av9D_FoWahuI9v1T1OqyIQk5dts6NweBnb8KzvrhjZE2rR56N8Cli3ZsALheFd5PxdQK5MuaVujLTMdqOVR8fMtlf1d69vUTv-A" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="140px;" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/864092726" target="_blank">Confessions </a>by Kanae Minato </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">Your nipponophiles will love this peek into Japanese classrooms and culture as the mystery of the teacher's son's death is covered from so many angels. Alex title, 2015.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;"><img alt="quiet.gif" height="212px;" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/c0PH-sk9nUG8Ku_i2D9iAkCNNllIYUSVTWP9YeUH3HO9jaAptwoMnvxTfsIbY9rE5R5r8WLUOUH2ln4px5g7WcmBp-Lf3NDrn6ZHgopyXmmIB6aO0Iv6JvMAY_qTQ4qP-vhYXFk" style="-webkit-transform: rotate(0.00rad); border: none; transform: rotate(0.00rad);" width="140px;" /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/695683619" target="_blank">Quiet: the Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking</a> by Susan Cain </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">I didn't go see Cain when she was an auditorium speaker at ALA, but I sure heard about this book. When I finally got around to reading it, it made me feel SO MUCH BETTER. About everything. As only a great book can.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;">This year's list is a little estrogen-laden, but so was this year for me.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2014/12/best-books-of-2014.html" target="_blank">Best Books of 2014</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2013/12/best-books-of-2013.html" target="_blank">Best Books of 2013</a></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2012/12/best-books-of-2012.html" target="_blank">Best Books of 2012</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2011/12/best-books-of-2011.html" target="_blank">Best Books of 2011</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2010/12/books-of-2010.html" target="_blank">Best Books of 2010</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 14.6667px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2009/12/books-of-2009.html" target="_blank">Best Books of 2009</a></span></div>
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</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545086505358831750.post-70580111067969621162015-11-08T12:36:00.002-06:002015-11-08T12:36:46.503-06:00#AASL15I have been to a half-dozen AASL National Conferences now, but this year's was one of my favorites. I'm adding Columbus to my list of lovely Midwestern cities (along with Minneapolis and Chicago). The sessions were stimulating, and the conversations with old and new friends gave me much fodder for thought. I got a particular thrill from hearing Eszter Hargittai at the closing section, as she is one academic whose work I follow closely and believe reveal fundamental truths about our society and the ways we relate to technologies.<br />
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<a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2015/11/on-way-to-aasl.html" target="_blank">As I wrote earlier</a>, I spoke twice, <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/wsstephens/aasl-2015-esls-research-panel" target="_blank">at the ESLS research session</a> and with Maggie Crawford from the Newseum on using social media in the classroom. I got to help several librarians send their first tweets!<br />
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On the whole, the vibe was optimistic, especially coming after what seems like years of gloom-and-doom. It seems like more school librarians are trying new things and pushing the boundaries. Like "making," innovation, design thinking, and guided inquiry are all new names for old tricks. Two years from now, the event will be in Phoenix. I hope we will all have as many triumphs and inclusive moments to report.<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545086505358831750.post-63275627121516681002015-11-04T15:28:00.001-06:002015-11-08T12:37:11.995-06:00On my way to AASL...I was at a meeting today -- if I were staging my biopic, I'd want a whole committee deliberation where things are praised as being "literary" or decried as "not literary," which is ridiculous because so many amazing things are not literary and so many terrible things are literary -- and a retired school librarian asked me if I were going to AASL. Her nice recollections about the conference, which she described so sincerely as her favorite, made me slow down and appreciate the fact that I'll be in Columbus, somewhere I've never been, tomorrow morning for our every-other-year professional meeting. Thousands of school librarians...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTlV4QvMvsHnsYbKNICcKwl5lMoCi_w7Q5ntof74NWnfRjqsTy9SYJLm71RaXiX6WrhvO0sE44ZrX7MOGvV-8Rog5WHJ-4-0Maknb52gWJ7wnZR2EhVIU6x6Rl2wLCslFjyz_ivw9igBo/s1600/webbadge-Presenter.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTlV4QvMvsHnsYbKNICcKwl5lMoCi_w7Q5ntof74NWnfRjqsTy9SYJLm71RaXiX6WrhvO0sE44ZrX7MOGvV-8Rog5WHJ-4-0Maknb52gWJ7wnZR2EhVIU6x6Rl2wLCslFjyz_ivw9igBo/s320/webbadge-Presenter.png" width="222" /></a></div>
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I'm doing two presentations, both on Saturday. I'm speaking on a research panel for the Educator of School Librarians Section (ESLS) early that morning and then with Maggie Crawford from the Newseum for the "Making a Change" session later in the afternoon. I'm most looking forward to hearing Eszter Hargittai, the really incisive sociologist whose work on the "second level digital divide" really inspired my own beginning doctoral work.<br />
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Now I'm really glad to be headed to AASL. What had seemed like a chore now feels like a thrill.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545086505358831750.post-69542231757717354492015-10-27T15:04:00.000-05:002015-10-27T15:04:05.155-05:00What October?I can say without a doubt the last two months have seemed like an eon, replete with all sorts of onerous tasks, wasted time, and and tying of up loose ends. As much as I love Halloween and all the autumn changes, I'm ready for the calendar to turn to November.<br />
<br />The #IBBYNYC Regional was as amazing as I knew it would be. The walking tour with Leonard Marcus, talking about the picture book bohemia that was Greenwich Village not so long ago, was a definite highlight, but I think about all the listening I did -- I heard Lois Lowry talk about falling in love late in life and Chris Radschka talking about Vera C. Williams dying, Susan Cooper being skewered for writing about Native Americans in Ghost Hawk, David Almond sharing his notebooks, translators talking about being funded by supportive national governments rather than publishers -- a whole world of ways of living, the sort of treat that will keep me going. And I managed to see <b>Hamilton</b>, which was as good, and as strange as everyone said it was. A mixed race hip hop musical about the Founding Fathers? Isn't that a Simpsons' punchline? <div>
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Now, I'm in the weeds with award committee reading. If you're more organized than I am, tonight and tomorrow night, the Library of Congress is hosting some interesting online sessions for teachers looking to do more with inquiry, questioning, and primary sources in the classroom. Sign up <a href="http://www.loc.gov/teachers/professionaldevelopment/webinar/online-conference-2015.html" target="_blank">here.</a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545086505358831750.post-7098825081453806712015-09-28T18:37:00.004-05:002015-09-28T18:39:44.130-05:00AcquisitionsI bought three brand-new shiny young adult books this month, and I plan to keep all of them for myself. That almost never happens. But I couldn't resist:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib3hgo08zdLn5XTXKLUVGGHqIFKCmVjnvdJpD-Gq8w9UdNMsWqQ0bQ8ce23WqrwVtQQur-tgGVgBETIyqRbty5AvpENzfcgzoX97DXA2JnLkzjxZsEDwgVXqHPFqcN1-KNnzXfraEhX7I/s1600/Asking-for-It-by-Louise-ONeill1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib3hgo08zdLn5XTXKLUVGGHqIFKCmVjnvdJpD-Gq8w9UdNMsWqQ0bQ8ce23WqrwVtQQur-tgGVgBETIyqRbty5AvpENzfcgzoX97DXA2JnLkzjxZsEDwgVXqHPFqcN1-KNnzXfraEhX7I/s200/Asking-for-It-by-Louise-ONeill1.jpg" width="126" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/922021498" target="_blank">Asking for It</a> by Louise O'Neill, <a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2015/03/only-ever-yours.html" target="_blank"> because Only Ever Yours really was that good</a>. I imported this one.<br />
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<a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/898433400" target="_blank">Most Dangerous</a> by Steven Sheinkin. After hearing the Pentagon Papers bandied about as the whistleblower touchstone in ALA Council chambers, I felt I needed to know more, and Sheinkin is never boring. Now I sort of have a crush on Daniel Ellsburg.<br />
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<a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/894777660" target="_blank">Dumplin'</a> by Julie Murphy, <a href="http://wendyontheweb.blogspot.com/2015/07/find-out-who-you-are-and-do-it-on.html" target="_blank">because the ARC rocked my world</a> and I wanted that adorable pre-order pin. Murphy will be in Nashville for the Southern Festival of Books next week, so I'm determined to shower her with the praise she so rightly deserves.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545086505358831750.post-64503437772992344022015-09-12T14:40:00.002-05:002015-09-12T14:40:35.470-05:00The greatest generation<div dir="ltr">
My husband has some remarkable longevity in his family. Until just a handful of years ago, all of his grandparents were still living. The second of his grandfathers died last week at home. It was expected, but still difficult. </div>
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Harry was crazy athletic and physically active well into his late eighties, had served in the South Pacific theater (Guadalcanal), and was one of the first Marines to work with the nascent technology that would become radar. I never knew either of my grandfathers, but since I've been married for almost twenty years, Harry and my other late grandfather-in-law, Barry, filled those roles for me. They were funny, smart and unflaggingly supportive.</div>
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Harry was the archetypal patriarch, and a role model for us all. I feel especially fortunate to be a member of such a loyal and expansive extended family through marriage. Now, we will all worry about and dote upon his widow, left alone after seventy years. Hers is a position that seems both incredibly fortunate and incredibly difficult.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1545086505358831750.post-46566374257625307572015-08-27T17:00:00.000-05:002015-08-27T17:00:04.750-05:00Setting a Watchman
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I really didn’t want to read <a href="http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/902725212" target="_blank">Go Set a Watchman</a>. I was in
shock, at ALA Midwinter, when it’s discovery was announced. I, like so many
Alabamians, was so suspicious. To Kill a Mockingbird is such a part of our
culture. What were they doing to Harper Lee’s legacy?<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">But it wasn’t just OUR story. In Massachusetts, I saw
readers clutching their copies the day it came out in July. Will we ever really
know the true story behind the discovery? Is it a draft? Is it a sequel? <a href="https://twitter.com/wsstephens/status/630370336459067392" target="_blank">Is it “secondin a series” as the Overdrive metadata asserts</a>? How much was it (and TKAM)
shaped by an editorial hand? I would love to see a really talented literary
scholar get their hands on those respective manuscripts. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Frankly, I can’t see it as a draft. If the cover didn’t
evoke the other, if the authorial name were different, if not for the shared
place and personal names, would I have even of connected the two works?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">There’s just enough allusion to the “meat” of the Tom
Robinson trial, and of Scout’s growing up, for continuity’s sake. But it’s very
much about Scout as pubescent, as a teen, about Jean Louise as 1950’s era New
York bohemian, about what happens when women in claustrophobic small towns get
married. It’s more Shirley Ann Grau or Ellen Gilchrist than TKAM, laced with a
much more modern feel. There were passages I loved. The description of the surreptitious
ways that people in Maycomb drank was spot-on.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Calibri;">And I think the pre-publishing indictment of Atticus as
racist is a little pat. His joining the Citizen’s Council “to keep an eye on
things,” him wanting progress, but at a more measured place, echoed conversations
I heard growing up, but not from any one with malice in their heart, just
people favored by the status quo, people who weren’t cut out to be crusaders. I
guess I forgive them, and I forgive Harper Collins, and Tonja Carter. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0