The Funsies Booklist

The Funsies Booklist
Photo by Jason Leung on Unsplash

(Note: If you are one of those people who thinks color-sorting your books is a fantastic home aesthetic, only to discover it goes against all of your librarian-oriented cataloguing impulses, I see you.)

Check out what I’m reading now, what I’m trying to get through and not finishing, and what’s on my TBR pile. Sorted from oldest to most recent at the top, and a quick summary/review when I’ve finished.

To buy any of these great recommendations and support independent bookstores in your community, visit my affiliate link at Bookshop.org. Or click on the title link on any individual books listing.

One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel García Márquez (fiction): This is craft homework from the master of magical realism. It definitely feels like homework right now. Reading in progress…

Midnight’s Children, Salman Rushdie (fiction): This is also craft homework on the art of character interiority. It is beautifully written, and aspirational. Reading in progress…

The Sentence, Louise Erdrich (fiction): One of my favorite authors of all time. Reading Erdrich takes focus. Having trouble finding enough lately. Reading in progress…

A Tale for the Time Being, Ruth Ozeki (fiction): Another bit of craft homework on magical realism. Not enough hours in the day. Reading in progress…

There There, Tommy Orange (fiction): Some of the most compelling books I have ever read have been by Native authors. I became an anthropologist after taking a Native American Women Writers class in college taught by the incomparable Betty Bell. They are authors I return to over and over for engrossing storytelling and historical knowledge. There There holds the bar in my mind. The topic of “urban Indians” is one that is close to my heart, and was the subject of my first Masters thesis in 1997. Tommy Orange depicts the urban Indian community in modern-day through the lives of twelve characters whose fates intertwine around a central tragic event at the Oakland Pow-Wow. I’m late to the party on this book, released in 2018, but Tommy Orange is one of my new favorites.

The Apology, Jimin Han (fiction): This novel is a multigenerational Korean ghost story. Like many great family sagas, this one throws into question the lengths we will go to in order to protect our families, and the relationships we will sacrifice along the way at unknown cost. It imagines what strings the ancestors might be pulling from beyond without our knowing. It is slow to start, but by Chapter 18, it is a wild ride until a satisfying end.

Land of Milk and Honey, C. Pam Zhang (fiction): A combination culinary love letter and warning of dystopian future, this novel is truly original. It is intricately woven, and remarkable in its ability to create great empathy for a narrator and main character whose name we never learn.

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store, James McBride (fiction): I was reluctant to try this one after I tried and failed to get into McBride’s previous book, Deacon King Kong. Although after hearing this discussion on the NYTimes Book Review podcast, I had to think again. I was instantly hooked into the lives of Jewish and Black families living in Chicken Hill, Pottstown, PA, in the mid-late 1930s.

Flores and Miss Paula, Melissa Rivero (fiction): A sweet read about an immigrant mother and American-born daughter who grow apart after the death of their husband/father, and how they finally learn to see each other’s choices as more than just obligations to family and community.

How the Scots Invented the Modern World, Arthur Herman: (non-fiction) This one speaks to my Scottish ancestry. It’s an oldie but a goodie. Finally getting around to it.

Babel, R.F. Kuang: (fiction) I love books about the history of knowledge, even made-up ones. This book is so beautifully researched even before the critical elements of magic are introduced. The story and characters are rich and satisfying. It is a great reflection of the historical choices of Empire building, and the consequences for the colonizers and the colonized.

The Library Book, Susan Orlean: (non-fiction) This one inspired a recent trip to Los Angeles to understand better the heyday of old Hollywood. (I ended up doing more beach cruising than research.) It reads like a thriller for library nerds. Highly recommend.

A Swim in a Pond in the Rain, George Saunders: (writing craft) This is the book version of the short story class that Saunders teaches at Syracuse University. Short stories are an intimidating form to me. So much depth in so little space. Trying to conquer the fear and figure it out. This book is a masterwork. (See his Substack in my Recommendations.)

TBR Pile:

  • North Woods, Daniel Mason (Random House, 2023)
  • The Future, Naomi Alderman (Simon & Schuster, 2023)
  • Mexican Gothic, Silvia Moreno Garcia (Del Rey, 2021)
  • Matrix, Lauren Groff (Riverhead Books, 2021)
  • Killers of the Flower Moon, David Grann (Vintage Books, 2017)
  • The Night Travelers, Armando Lucas Correa (Atria Books, 2023)
  • The Great Divide, Christine Henríquez (Ecco, 2024)