Another year, another 76 books!
That number is consistent with the past few years, where a CFS relapse has given me much more time for reading. 70% fiction, 30% non-fiction.
My average rating was 3.5 stars, pretty much the same as last year. My use of GoodReads to select books has continued to give me a better quality reading experience.
I've maintained my 50-50 gender split in authorship, though I wasn't all that intentional about it.
I slipped backwards slightly on diversity, reading 70% cis/straight/white authors compared to 66% last year. Again, I wasn't as intentional about it so I probably need to work at it for longer to make it habitual. Interestingly I rated books by diverse authors higher at 3.7 stars vs 3.4 for non-diverse authors.
But first, some notables:
* Best Sci Fi book I've ever read: The Dispossessed by Ursula Le Guin
* Most Extraordinary & Improbable Natural Book: The Peregrine by JA Baker
* Biggest Let Down of the Year: The Mirror & The Light by Hilary Mantel
* Most Wanky Literature: A Season on Earth by Gerard Murnine
5 stars (2 books, 2.6%)
Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine,Gail Honeyman,"A life, damaged by the worst of humanity, unfurls under the gentle loving insistence of its best. Momentarily discomforting but deeply reaffirming."
The Dispossessed,Ursula Le Guin,"A communitarian utopia succumbing to the rot of power-hunger. Contrasted with a capitalist regime clamping down on the rage of inequality. A fully realised vision, prescient & nuanced."
4.5 stars (7, 9%)
A Gentleman In Moscow,Amor Towles,"Grasping a full life in a gilded cage. Maintaining impeccable manners & generosity despite the obliterating conformity of authoritarianism. Utterly charming & disarming."
The Peregrine,JA Baker,"A stunning account of a winter spent watching peregrine falcons. Repetitive but evocatively lyrical with a building rapport between author, reader & bird that set my dreams soaring."
How We Disappeared,Jing-Jing Lee,"A slow burn towards a looming horror, the depravity inflicted on comfort women in Singapore in WW2. Nearly worse is the social exclusion and avoidance that followed. Heart-scraping."
Becoming,Michelle Obama,"Extraordinary journey of coloured working-class girl to First Lady. Perfectly captures the challenges of being a black career woman & mother, subsumed by her husband's success, and the craziness of White House life. So good I'm a tad suspicious."
The Eighth Life (For Brilka),Nino Haratischvili,"An epic tragedy of six generations of Georgians, broken under Soviet rule. Hopes smashed, emotions confused, control lost, but the barest tendril of hope & possibility remains."
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian,Sherman Alexie,"Growing up as a 'reservation Indian', but incurring the wrath of the community for daring to try to escape the black hole of entrenched disadvantage. A deeply affecting tragicomedy."
The World-Ending Fire,Wendell Berry,"Eloquent & passionate essays on the worth of agrarianism and localism. Decades before its time."
4 stars (19, 25%)
Girl, Woman, Other,Bernardine Evaristo,"A tapestry of numerous women with myriad backgrounds & personalities, linked by being black in the UK. Rich & lively people and relationships. Efficient & energetic prose."
Salt,Bruce Pasco,"A collection of his best writing. Beautiful prose, striking stories and ground-breaking history."
Ocean,Bruce Pascoe,"The dispossession of the Bass Strait indigenous people, from the depravity of the sealers to the vain hopes of regained ownership. Gently & sympathetically told for a heavy subject."
The Thorn Birds,Colleen McCullough,"Classic epic centred on a station in far west NSW and the fortunes & failures of its family. Brings together vast landscapes, history & culture, fraught relationships & impossible love."
The Wooleen Way,David Pollock,"A visionary pastoralist attempts to regenerate his desperately degraded rangelands station. Impassioned commitment against social & economic forces and despite abysmal failures of governance. Why aren't land resources managed like fisheries?"
Who We Are And How We Got Here,David Reich,"A fascinating exploration of what our DNA reveals about the waves of human migration through history, and the unexpected & complex relationships between disparate populations."
Room,Emma Donoghue,"A boy, kept captive with his mother, begins life in an 11x11ft room. Touchingly captures his limitations, bewilderment & adaptability, in contrast to his mother's loss, guilt & trauma. A testament to the enduring power of love."
A Face Like Glass,Frances Hardinge,"Intrigue & action in a subterranean city where artisanal foods are magical and facial expressions don't come naturally but are learnt. A fine tale in a fantastic creation."
Bruny,Heather Rose,"Geopolitical intrigue centred on, of all places, Bruny Island. A bit of a stretch, and hardly subtle, but to good effect. Already aged but the longer trends may hold. A defence of place and the good life."
The Bear and the Nightingale,Katherine Arden,"The pagan tales of Russia brought to life, with Christianity powerless in a contest of primeval forces."
The Trespassers,Meg Mundell,"Corporate manipulation & migrant fearmongering in a pandemic-induced dystopian future."
Tess of the Road,Rachel Hartman,"A young woman discovers herself while on the road, free of patriarchy and religion. Slightly steampunk, but with dragons. Excellent on identity and sexuality."
From What Is To What If,Rob Hopkins,"A powerful call to bring imagination back into our lives, so that we can create the futures we so desperately need."
The Dead I Know,Scot Gardner,"Touching story of a messed-up kid unravelling into chaos but finding salvation in, of all places, a funeral parlour."
Blasphemy,Sherman Alexie,"More excellent insights into modern life as a Native American. The last story floored me - bittersweet and heart-rending."
The Yield,Tara June Winch,"Reclaiming culture in the face of historic trauma and rapacious greed."
An American Marriage,Tayari Jones,"The fallout of a racially-prejudiced miscarriage of justice. Powerful immersion in the messiness of love and duty."
The New Nature,Tim Low,"Explores the fascinating, unexpected & complex ways species have adapted to humanity's disruption. There is no 'pure state of nature', and rarely simple good or bad outcomes. Wish I'd read this 20 years ago."
The Hand, the Eye & the Heart,Zoe Marriott,"War, politics & love in a China-like kingdom with a trans protagonist. Courage, confusion, betrayal."
3.5 stars (20, 26%)
The Invention of Nature,Andrea Wulf,"The incredible but now neglected Alexander von Humboldt who pioneered the holistic, interconnected understanding of nature and science. Important history but not gripping."
Ancillary Sword,Ann Leckie,"Ship AI stuck in a single human body fights for justice through brilliance, an inclination to bend convention & force of will. Like a serious Murderbot but with extreme social awareness."
Blood Song,Anthony Ryan,"Fairly standard fantasy fare (child destined to be hero, nation-state politicking & war, dark arts), but quite nicely done with little wasted time and predictablility."
The Bands of Mourning,Brandon Sanderson,"Solid fantasy with good characters, entertaining action & decent humour. Perhaps some Mistborn historical revisionism?"
Sea People,Christina Thompson,"Very readable history of Polynesia, gradually revealed through the eyes of (mostly European) explorers and researchers. Highlights the tension between rational and traditional knowledges, but doesn't quite capture the wonder."
Fall of Hyperion,Dan Simmons,"Humankind, sprawled across the galaxy, is allied with super-AIs gone independent and now faces a mysterious existential threat. Intriguing with great big ideas, but suffers from vague unsatisfactory conclusion despite some uncharacteristic exposition."
The Cost of Living,Deborah Levy,"Keen-eyed portrayal of starting life anew after divorce, as a middle-aged woman surrounded by patriarchy. Includes electric bike joy."
The Golem And The Jinni,Helene Wecker,"A sensitive magical realist portrayal of discovering a new self & community amongst the upheaval of immigrating to New York in the late 19th century."
Kintu,Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi,"A clan finds solace and belonging by connecting with its past. Reveals the full range of Ugandan history, society and its conflicting beliefs."
Sharp Ends,Joe Abercrombie,"A cohesive set of stories that fill out the edges of First Law canon. The usual blood & guts with a distinct lack of glory."
Slaughterhouse 5,Kurt Vonnegut,"Life with the trauma of witnessing the Dresden fire-bombing. Somewhat trippy, expressing madness & disconnection well."
Rogue Protocol,Martha Wells,"Murderbot can't help but fight the good fight, despite infuriating humans and naive pet bots."
Black Is The New White,Nakkiah Lui,"The tensions and contradictions of identity, race & class. Sharp and funny. Would be a treat on stage."
Norse Mythology,Neil Gaiman,"Odin, Thor, Loki et al brought to life with gentle charm and the occasional irreverence. Makes me yearn for the days of oral storytelling."
Ubik,Philip K Dick,"What just happened? Psychic powers, quasi-death states, time reversion and a user pays future. Without let up. Quite a trip!"
"Arab, Australian, Other",Randa Abdel-Fattah (ed),"Excellent autobiographical accounts of living with an Arab background in Australia. Well written and revealing."
Flames,Robbie Arnott,"A melange of magical characters in an animist Tasmania. Creative & intriguing but doesn't quite come together."
The Old Ways,Robert Macfarlane,"To walk is to step through history. Beautiful and evocative when relating his own experiences, but the literary essays are a touch tiresome."
The Brethren,Robert Merle,"Life as self-made nobles during the Reformation upheavals of the 16th century. Rampant inequality and precarity. An obsession with heaving bosoms!"
Australia Day,Stan Grant,"Gentle musings (with the odd cry of rage & sorrow) on what Australia is, and the need to heal past wounds. Calls for a new liberalism that recognises the rights of the group as well as the individual."
3 stars (20, 26%)
The Unbearable Lightness of Scones,Alexander McCall Smith,"More humorous and perceptive tales of the ever-so-slightly mad folk of Edinburgh."
Growing Up Aboriginal In Australia,Anita Heiss (ed),"Brief autobiographies of (dis)connection, difference & strength. Mostly pedestrian, occasional striking gems."
The Glass Room,Ann Cleeves,"Solid murder mystery centred on a crime writing workshop - very meta."
Grandma Gatewood's Walk,Ben Montgomery,"The first woman to walk the 2000-mile Appalachian Trail in one go, at the age of 68! Then she did it twice more. An impressively tough old bird with a long impact, but a pedestrian telling."
10 Minutes 38 Seconds In This Strange World,Elif Shafak,"Diverse & colourful characters (odd-bod outcasts in Istanbul) but biographical style leaves them feeling distant."
Sabriel,Garth Nix,"Necromancy, magic bells and an immortal cat. Reasonable young adult fantasy with some intriguing hints at a bigger picture."
The Mirror & The Light,Hillary Mantel,"Cromwell finally puts a foot wrong with the fickle king. Interesting contrast of early modernist thought with brutality of absolute monarchy. Too long, too slow, excessive reminiscing. Infuriating use of 'he'."
Ashling,Isobelle Carmody,"A decent continuation of the series, but a bit clumsy - characters didn't seem to see what what obvious to me."
Plays from Black Australia,Jack Davis et al,"Four plays from the early days of Aboriginal playwrights. Plots & concepts now seem overly simple, but rich in culture & vernacular."
Novacene,James Lovelock,"We are on the cusp of a new era dominated by electronic life. It will maintain Gaia's integrity, but I wonder if it will decide that humans are an unacceptable threat. Short book, doesn't say much, or rigorously."
2312,Kim Stanley Robinson,"A convincing and textured future where humans have colonised the solar system. Sparse plot, opaque characters."
The Nightingale,Kristin Hannah,"Cliched (and inaccurate?) WW2 tale of suffering, courage and reconciliation from a valuable female perspective."
Little Town on the Prairie,Laura Ingalls Wilder,"Growing up faster than expected. Nothing like a spelling competition to brighten a pioneer's winter! Some unfortunate blackface."
Anne of Avonlea,LM Montgomery,"Wholesome 16 year olds teaching and being civic minded. Still charming but not much character or plot development."
Hamnet,Maggie O'Farrell,"The trauma of losing a child young in 16th century England. Loosely based on Shakespeare's family, but gains little for it. A hint of pagan magic."
Testaments,Margaret Atwood,"Matter of fact, though morbidly engaging. Doesn't add much to the horror of Gilead."
The Sandman: Preludes & Nocturnes,Neil Gaiman,"My first graphic novel. Dark & disturbed, not cogent. Interested to see where it leads."
Akata Witch,Nnedi Okorafor,"A Harry Potter-derivative but with Nigerian juju. The plot was basic and the characters didn't grab me but the magic was creative & fun."
How Powerful We Are,Sally Rugg,"A sparky insider's account of the campaign for marriage equality. I hoped it would explore theories of change making but it mostly dwelt in the details."
Snuff,Terry Pratchett,"The usual distinctive characters out to keep the Discworld spinning true (the streetwise butler is particularly pleasing). Enjoyable but not overly funny. Perhaps heavy-handed with anti-discrimimation message."
2.5 stars (5, 7%)
To Say Nothing Of The Dog,Connie Willis,"A detective-Wodehouse-time travel mash which isn't quite charming or clever enough."
A Wrinkle In Time,Madeleine L'Engle,"A simple story with good ideas that need fleshing out. Main character is annoyingly whiny."
Finding Chika,Mitch Albom,"Deeply conflicting. A loving ode to a spirited adopted child who died from an incurable brain tumour. But smacks of colonialism, privilege, and a harmful failure of acceptance."
Red Seas Under Red Skies,Scott Lynch,"Vault heist turns piratical adventure. Characters lack spark."
Energy Transitions,Vaclav Smil,"A cautionary history of the slowness and unpredictability of energy system transformation. Unnecessarily data heavy. Thankfully, for now looks overly pessimistic."
2 stars (3, 4%)
Lady Chatterly's Lover,DH Lawrence,"A lot of waffle about the ruin of industrialisation and man's loss of spirit, but ultimately it praises tenderness and physical connection. Some odd phrases to describe sex & passion (bowels, womb, loins, flank)."
A Season On Earth,Gerald Murnane,"Copius detail of a teenage boy's flights of fancy, as he misguidedly strives for the perfect inner life, but at the cost of a real one. Inane."
Who's Minding the Farm?,Patrice Newell,"A brain dump of reflections and opinions on family farming and land care. Nothing new here."
