2021 Reading List
OK, it’s March, so i finally got around to wrapping up my 2021 reading…
Acceptance – Jeff VanderMeer
After finishing the first two books in the Southern Reach Trilogy I needed to finish the last. Although I liked Annihilation the most out of the three, both Authority and Acceptance build on the world created in the first book in an expansive way. Geographically, exploring deeper into Area X and the government agency studying it, historically, revealing the creation of Area X, and thematically. The mystery and strangeness of the setting seeps into the characters, changing them, literally. It does make the last book in the trilogy the most difficult to read, as what is rational falls away, but it still does make for a satisfying end.
The Blade Between – Sam J. Miller
The summary of this book seemed like I would really like this book. A gay man returns to his childhood home only to find his town besieged by gentrification and also ghosts so he enlists the help of two childhood friends (including his childhood love) to plot revenge. But I found the writing overly short and punchy, the mythology Miller created muddled, and I thought he overused the central metaphor.
Lot: Stories – Bryan Washington
This collection of stories sticks with me. Washington interweaves stories about people living in Houston, and while the stories are character driven, the city itself feels like its own character. His stories end before you expect them to, resisting attempts to tie things up neatly or in moments of revelation. It could be unsatisfying but ending in that moment before a resolution feels more transcendent.
How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States – Daniel Immerwahr
I picked this book up because I wanted to learn more about the history of the US occupation of the Philippines, which turns out to be a large part of this book. Immerwahr draws a line from Westward expansion all the way to constellation of US army bases all over the world today. Along the way he reveals an international cast of characters who have worked for and against US expansion. It’s a question that still deserves consideration today.
Red, White & Royal Blue – Casey McQuiston
The definition of a romp. The son of the president falls in love with the prince of England!? It captures that spirit of being in your 20’s and falling in love without being overly saccharine. Does it wave away some issues that might require a little more introspection? Yes. Is the plot seem a little too full? Yes. But it a pleasure to read. McQuiston walks a fine line between tasteful and smutty, I always prefer to err on the side of smut, but I suppose that’s what gives this book such broad appeal.
Folk Songs for Trauma Surgeons: Stories – Keith Rosson
I reviewed this book for Oregon ArtsWatch.
The Tun of the Screw – Henry James
Every so often I decide to pick up a ‘classic’. This was recommended to me as one of the first classic ghost stories. To be honest, I slogged through most of it due to the dense prose. But it’s really a slow burn and when the action took off and the line between reality and the fantastic breaks down, I couldn’t put it down.
Subcutanean – Aaron A. Reed
The premise of this struck me as a gay House of Leaves, two college students discover a secret passage in their home that leads into an endless labyrinth filled with doppelgangers of themselves. It also had that same grungy 90’s aesthetic as house of leaves. Also, very 90’s, there’s a self-loathing gay character who has an unrequited crush on his best friend. In the end I liked it OK.
My Sister, the Serial Killer – Oyinkan Braithwaite
Another fun fast read. Korede knows her sister keeps murdering her boyfriends and getting away with it. But her loyalty to her sister means she keeps helping her hide the bodies. As their relationship is tested we are treated to one of the most compelling characters I’ve read.
Catalog of Unabashed Gratitude – Ross Gay
Reading this short collection during 2021 was a valuable lesson. I could feel myself resisting the poems. I didn’t want to feel gratitude about anything. But Gay’s disarming lines won me over.
Lies with Man – Michael Nava
I was so excited for this because I thought it would be a continuation of the Henry Rios series. Bu instead it fills in some space between the 2nd and 3rd books, which actually addressed a complaint I had about that part of the series, the character Josh. For a someone who should have been so central to Henry’s life he felt like an afterthought, disappearing when inconvenient. This really fleshed out their relationship and I think improves the collection overall.
Mostly Dead Things – Kristen Arnett
I liked this alright. Just wasn’t for me, I think. The protagonist takes over the family taxidermy business in Florida after her father commits suicide, she’s also pining over her brother’s wife, who left the family years ago. It was another book about another queer person who can’t seem to get over someone they met in high school (and honestly is not that great). It’s a trope that I don’t find interesting anymore. Similar to The Blade Between I found the setting really compelling. The small town felt viscerally real. The contrasts between the heat and humidity of Florida and the constant air conditioning. I found the writing too short and clipped. Which is another thing it had in common with The Blade Between.
The Stagsblood Prince – Gideon E. Wood
I was really hoping to find a gay fantasy which that would be a gay Dragonlance. A sexy gay high fantasy. This wasn’t it. I found the internal logic of the book flawed, not the worldbuilding, but the actual plot points. It didn’t build to a satisfying conclusion. It was pretty smutty though, so it had that going for it.
American Cult – Edited by Robyn Chapman
I backed this book on Kickstarter because a friend had work in it. It’s an overview of cults in America from the arrival of European colonizers. There’s quite the history of them. I think what I appreciate about it was how empathetic it was towards people pulled into cults. There’s nothing special about people who fall under their sway, they’re just like us.
Generations – Flavia Biondi
Every year on my birthday I buy some graphic novels. I picked this up on a recommended shelf at Books with Pictures. It’s pretty rare for me to do that. Generations is a quiet and thoughtful story about a young Italian man who returns to his provincial hometown after breaking up with his boyfriend. I enjoyed my time with it but I’ll probably pass the book on to someone else.
Queer: A Graphic History – Meg-John Barker
I never took a queer studies class, not that I’m aware of one that was available while I was in school. This serves as a very beginner-friendly introduction to the field, providing jumping off points for further explorations. Even so, it really challenged me to think a lot about ideas I hadn’t really considered much before. Would recommend for anyone looking to learn more.
Signs Point to Yes – Christopher Church
I continue to look for gay mysteries to fill the hole the Henry Rios series has left in my life. This was not what I was looking for. Here, a gay guy who might be psychic decides to become a PI. I found the book too expository; characters were always overexplaining the plot/character details (not the mystery thankfully), and way too chaste.
The Song of Achilles – Madeline Miller
I was one of those gay kids who was obsessed with Greek mythology. So, this was basically made for me. It’s beautifully aching and really makes these mythological figures, even the gods, feel like real people I could understand.
Cosmos – Carl Sagan
My friend Ben never shuts up about Carl Sagan, so I figured I would take a closer look at him. I found Cosmos very engaging and accessible. It touches not just on astronomy, but cosmology, history, physics, and so much more. I love how Sagan invites the reader into his love of science.
The Haunting of Hill House – Shirly Jackson
Everyone told me that this was the first American haunted house story, and I guess I’m really leaning into writing strange things, so I picked this up. Jackson rides the line between the paranormal and delusion skillfully here. Everything the protagonist feels seems both reasonable and also suspect.
Less – Andrew Sean Greer
I found this book irresistible. And I definitely resisted. The protagonist… annoyed me to be honest. He’s an immensely privileged white gay man who has everything work out for him (despite his actions) in life all the time but he still feels sorry for himself. But the narrative voice has such tenderness for him, not too much I think, and I ended up caring for him a lot. I think that’s a skilled feat to pull off. So, hats off to Greer.
Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil – Hannah Arendt
I’ve been interested in Arendt for a while, so when I found this book through Goodwill, I picked it up. Eichmann in Jerusalem is made up of reporting Arendt did for the New Yorker about the trial of Adolf Eichmann for his role in the Holocaust. The book is half reporting of the trial and half philosophy. Arendt thinks a lot about the nature of evil and how it was normalized out in Germany, and the rest of the Axis powers. It’s also lays out the bureaucracy final solution in a very chilling way. Still feels very relevant today unfortunately.
Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning – Cathy Park Hong
What it means to be Asian American is so varied in this country. Hong’s background and life is so different from my own. But so much of this book names internal tensions I have felt for my entire life. Definitely recommend to Asian American folks, particularly if you are an artist.
Death Comes Darkly – David S. Pederson
Another first in a series of gay mysteries. This one set in the 1940’s. I thought it was fine. The mystery was good but it was too chaste. Not just the lack of sexiness, but it just felt like there wasn’t any danger in it. I read it in 2 days though.
Real Life – Brandon Taylor
This was a rare example of a book where my enjoyment of reading was all based on how much I admired the writing. Taylor is a master of interior. His protagonist Wallace is so specific, a listless Black gay man from South who is in a master’s science program, but I felt so able to empathize with him. I didn’t like the choices me made but I understood them. Taylor makes every small thing that happens feel big, and the big things that happen feel earth shattering. While it’s not my favorite, it’s something I’d definitely recommend to folks.
The Spring of Kasper Meier – Ben Fergusson
Another gay mystery, this time set in East Germany post WWII. I was attracted to the unique setting but didn’t really connect with the protagonist and I figured out the mystery too early. Another fast read.
My Favorite Thing is Monsters – Emil Ferris
This is a monster of a book, both in theme and heft. It’s presented as the diary of Karen, a 10-year-old girl who lives in Chicago in the 1960’s. Karen is obsessed with monsters and solving the murder of her upstairs neighbor, a Jewish woman who escaped the holocaust. Everything about this works for me: The way the art feels like something a (very talented) child would draw in her notebook, the way the art consumes the page, the ways Karen pours her secrets into the pages. An amazing read.
In – Will McPhail
If you follow McPhail’s Instagram then this graphic novel will really feel like an extension of his shorter works. It’s a story about connection, or the lack of connection in modern life. A real millennial story, which is my target demographic. I tend to roll my eyes at art that’s about how people need to put down their phones and talk to each other, I think it’s material that’s well-trod and I don’t know how much more we can say about it. But McPhail’s humor and art really won me over.
Loaners: The Making of a Street Library – Ben Hodgson and Laura Moulton
This is a dual memoir about the found of Street Books, a mobile library in Portland for unhoused people, and one of her patrons. It’s illuminating to see both the founding of an idea that seemed so preposterous to people and the story of how someone becomes unhoused and how they survive in the city. There’s also some really funny meta commentary in the book as each other addresses the other as they relate their shared story. Recommended for all Portlanders.
Dispatches from Anarres: Tales in Tribute to Ursula K. Le Guin – Susan DeFreitas
I am in this book. So obviously I am biased. But I think it’s a good collection! It’s a such a wide range of stories inspired by the wide breadth of Le Guin’s work.
Memorial – Bryan Washington
An excellent book to end the year on. Memorial follows Benson and Mike, a couple living in Houston. Their relationship is at precipice when Mike suddenly leaves to Japan to see his dying father, the day after his mother flies to Houston from Japan. Each of them grapple with what they mean to each other and their families. One of my favorite things about this book is how much attention Washington pays to food and cooking. It’s such an intimate thing that tells you so much about characters. If you liked the narrative voice of his collection Lot (which I also loved) then you might also like this.
