š« Hello, charming people! Kicking off the year with a post for paid subscribers. Not only do I want to thank you for making this project feasible, but Iām also relieved to offer the following essay to a more intimate group: reviewing books is vulnerable! Thanks for the encouragement to all of you who pushed me to step outside of my comfort zone. š«
Every year, I tell myself that I wonāt set an overambitious Goodreads challenge. Every year, I do. Then, I tell myself that even having set an overambitious Goodreads challenge, I wonāt care when the new year comes knocking and my page count doesnāt stack up. When the year-end arrives, I always care, and scramble to cram in as many novellas and plays as possible to crawl closer to my arbitrary numeric goal. This is silly and pointless, I know!
Iāve said before that Iām not a critic. This requires some explaining. Despite being judgemental, terminally opinionated and having a firm idea of what I like, Iāve never had much of an appetite for telling people what to like. Iām also a bleeding heart. My Goodreads inflation is insaneāa constellation of four and five-star reviews. Iām loyal to my cohort of fellow word workers. Who am I to bring down the axe?
We are all so oversaturated. You donāt need this and I donāt need to write this. But, Substack is a network of little indulgences, and you are my captive audience. What Iām reading inevitably shapes the way I think and the way I write. Without further ado, I present the Charlotte Times Book Review: a ranking and review of every book I read in ā22.
Amsterdam by Ian McEwan
š Ranking: 20th
š Acquired: Strand, 12th St
š Two Cents: I believe in serendipity. As you will discover over the course of these reviews, I am not the most intentional reader in the world. That is to say that I donāt often have a firm, purposeful approach to what I read. I typically opt for convenience and read whatās in front of me: a book found in a box on the street, something easily ordered to the local library, or in this case, plucked randomly from the cozily cramped shelves of Strand Book Store. The book I had preselected was not in stock, so I left my choice to chance. I figured that most books have something to offer. McEwan wrote the well-liked Atonement; Amsterdam seemed like an opportunity to amble down a less-beaten path. As it turns out, some books are not very good. This was my least favorite type of ānot very good book,ā falling in the category of āan intriguing ideaā with poor follow-through. Itās the story of a devolving friendship between two flat and unlikely characters and itās quite clear that McEwan wrote the entire novel in service of the ~plot twist!~ ending. Probably not worth your time.
A Severed Head by Iris Murdoch
š Ranking: 19th
š Acquired: NYPL, Tompkins Square
š Two Cents: Another book that was all concept and unimpressive execution. I was disappointed to like it so little, given that it was recommended on a list that I loved. The protagonist was unlikeable without the redemption of being at least interesting. The plot twists made me roll my eyes. Wouldnāt it be intriguing if every single character in the novel had a romantic connection with every other character? To that, I say: um, kinda!
T ZeroĀ by Italo Calvino
š Ranking: 18th
š Acquired: Troubled Sleep, BK
š Two Cents: On Indigenous Peopleās Day, a friend and I both didnāt have work, so we trekked to Park Slope to check out Troubled Sleep Books. On the Q, I stood next to a man rolling a blunt who began threatening a middle-aged woman for looking at him. āIām going to hit you!ā he said. He didnāt, though. Iām a big fan of Calvinoās romp of a form-bending novel If On A Winterās Night A Traveler. I selected T Zero, and was doubly excited by the bookstore clerkās glowing recommendation. Sadly, I didnāt care much for T Zero. Too science fictiony (the protagonistās name is Qfwfq š), and too philosophical (the title refers to a theory of time, elaborated at boring lengths). I donāt think it was a bad book, but it definitely did not suit my taste.
The Virgin SuicidesĀ by Jeffrey Eugenides
š Ranking: 17th
š Acquired: Street Box, 9th St
š Two Cents: Idk, man. I probably would have loved this book when I was an seventeen-year-old pick me girl. I was certainly a fan of the movie. It felt a little grisly, but not in the way it was intended to be. Itās hard to parse whether this book uses its male gaze as a smart critique or a lurid device.
The Alice Network by Kate Quinn
š Ranking: 16th
š Acquired: Birthday Gift, Mom
š Two Cents: The Alice Network was a good bad book. That is to say that it was a delicious piece of smut. Itās a girlbossy rewriting of history, regarding WOMAN SPIES OF WORLD WAR ONE! I donāt often indulge in historical fiction, but sometimes itās nice just to read something easy. Give it a try! Maybe Iāll turn to erotica in 2023ā¦
In Cold BloodĀ by Truman Capote
š Ranking: 15th
š Acquired: NYPL, Tompkins Square
š Two Cents: Different people have different tastes. Who knew? This was one of my exās favorite books, but I found it to be a bit of a drag. Itās a tantalizing true story (even more juicy, perhaps when viewed from angles unspoken in the novel itself), but I had trouble with the pacing. I had to renew it from the library one thousand times, which made the book feel like a bit of a ball and chain. You might like it, but if youāre like me you might prefer spending 2 hours on the Philip Seymour Hoffman version rather than 2 months on the original text.
Mating in Captivity: Reconciling the Erotic and the Domestic by Esther Perel
š Ranking: 14th
š Acquired: NYPL, Tompkins Square
š Two Cents: An intriguing exploration of a paradox regarding intimacy. For some reason (and not just the pervy ones), last year I was really into reading about sex and relationships. Iāve had the desire to bite an apple that was not readily served in my upbringing. This book is good for people in relationships; even better for people in long, monogamous ones. Itās like viewing a lifetime of coupleās therapy from a surveillance camera. Perhaps it can save a few of us from our mothersā and fathersā brands of Mid-Life Crises. You also may recall that this book was a guest star in one of my earliest Insecure Tea posts, which was all about hands.
Bad Thoughts by Nada Alic
š Ranking: 13th
š Acquired: NYPL, Tompkins Square
š Two Cents: Yet another resident on the list of Insecure Tea lore. Bad Thoughts is the book that led me to its launch party that led me to write this post which led me to write this other post. If I hadnāt gone to that basement reading at Rayās, I would not have met a number of new friends and I think my life would look rather different today. I would not know Evanaāimagine the travesty! I liked Bad Thoughts, but not wholeheartedly. Itās a series of short stories that I imagine might be described as āwickedly funnyā or āblack humor.ā I thought that Alic sacrificed depth in service of quote-unquote out there ideas, though she still demonstrated talent in her prose. Also, my reaction to the book epitomized one of my own reasons for being too insecure to write fiction: I couldnāt help but think that every character was a little variation of the author herself. Maybe she would have fooled me better by plunking down a male protagonist or two.
The Listening Path: The Creative Art of Attention by Julia Cameron
š Ranking: 12th
š Acquired: Street Box, 11th St
š Two Cents: This book takes me back to the days of my old blog (which Iāve been gradually retiringāpersonal Squarespace websites are out!). The Listening Path is an instruction manual on how to be uncomfortably present, in order to improve your art and life. The book is structured in chapters at the end of which you are supposed to pause and implement tools into your life. Would anyone ever do this? I canāt imagine having such patience. Hope that doesnāt mean Iām on the wrong path.
The Turn of the Screw by Henry JamesĀ
š Ranking: 11th
š Acquired: Bookshelf, Brotherās Room
š Two Cents: Iāll be damned if I remember a single thing about reading The Turn of the Screw, but as a distinguished, erudite individual, I recall that I thought of it pretty highly. Itās a quick read, a classic, and a spooky page-turner. Read it on a drizzly day.
The Botany of Desire: A Plantās-Eye View of the World by Michael Pollan
š Ranking: 10th
š Acquired: NYPL, Tompkins Square
š Two Cents: Before I became a producer, I worked in development at a gardening nonprofit. The company culture was a patchwork quilt of personalities; it turns out that Liking Plants is not the strongest common thread. While Braiding Sweetgrass was the holy bible for the social-justice-plant-acoloytes, Botany was the book for the horticultural intelligentsia. Itās a delightful challenge to consider how our vegetal counterparts may be bamboozling us into fulfilling their wildest dreams. A gardener, a Berkeley professor, an intellectual disruptor, a writer of effortless proseāPollan is a treat. And to paint a picture of the bookās ability to sustain intrigue twelve years after it was published, Iāll tell you that I waited four months on a library waitlist before getting it in my hot little hands. This also could be mere evidence that New York City is a ridiculous place.
The NovelistĀ by Jordan Castro
š Ranking: 9th
š Acquired: NYPL, Tompkins Square
š Two Cents: This debut was buzzing around the downtown scene this year, and I heard a lot about it before deciding to read it with my own two eyes. The author was on all the fascist little podcasts and the book was launched over the summer in the good, red East Village. Evana brought the scene to life in her review and authored such gorgeous lines as āI feel guilty making a choice between a novel and novelty.ā Speaking of novelty, I do believe that Castro created something fresh in this work; small and suffocating, but fresh nevertheless. Read it if youāre interested in something so obsessive that youāll need to finish it in a day to have it done. Read it if youāre a writer. Donāt read it if youāre a writer.
On Earth Weāre Briefly GorgeousĀ by Ocean Vuong
š Ranking: 8th
š Acquired: Xmas Gift, Mom
š Two Cents: A review in nine words. Sad book about gay, Vietnamese American upbringing. Obviously good!
God Bless You, Dr. KevorkianĀ by Kurt Vonnegut
š Ranking: 7th
š Acquired: Xmas Gift, Brother
š Two Cents: God Bless You, Kurt Vonnegut, for writing this tiny book that allowed me to hit twenty books as of December 26th. Itās a whimsical series of interviews that the author wrote to broadcast on NPR. Vonnegut explores the afterlife as a journalist, using Dr. Deathās help to cross the pearly gates and interview various ordinary and infamous dead people. Reading this wonāt change your life, but if you like Vonnegut, youāll be sure to have a chuckle.
The Ethical Slut: A Guide to Infinite Sexual Possibilities by Dossie Easton & Catherine Liszt
š Ranking: 6th
š Acquired: NYPL, Tompkins Square
š Two Cents: The afternoon I returned home from Bushwick after sleeping with the second person in one week, I got an email letting me know that a book was ready for me at the library. The Ethical Slut. Oh, shuddup, I thought. I may mock polyamory rather frequently, but I think my critique is largely aesthetic. Thereās something distinctly sexless about talking so explicitly about sex. Yet, many of us are robbed of having a more fulfilling erotic life because we stumble to find the vocabulary to ask for what we want. This book was genuinely enlightening. As Iāve mentioned before, perhaps thereās enough love to go around.
The Candy House by Jennifer Egan
š Ranking: 5th
š Acquired: Barnes and Noble, Union Square
š Two Cents: I went to the Barnes and Noble on Union Square because a hardcover copy of Jennifer Eganās new book would cost me a dollar less than at Strand. I placed a hold on the book online to pick it up in the store, because we live in a broken society. I opened the candy pink cover to discover something hilarious: it was a signed copy. I donāt know if an authorās signature has ever meant much to me, but it is a little neat-o, I suppose. If you read A Visit From the Goon Squad any time in the last 12 years, now might be a good time to give its sequel a shot. A topical, smart piece of speculative fiction. I felt sad to leave each narrator behind at the end of each chapter. Compliments to the chef!
Guest of a Sinner by James Wilcox
š Ranking: 4th
š Acquired: Street Box, 9th St
š Two Cents: This is a weird little book that Iād consider to be one of the truest representations of New York Iāve come across. The vanity, the oddity of a life lived here. And, the only plot twist I genuinely loved in 2022.
Winesburg, OhioĀ by Sherwood Anderson
š Ranking: 3rd
š Acquired: NYPL, Tompkins Square
š Two Cents: If Amsterdam was an example of serendipity gone wrong, Iād count Winesburg as an instance of chance gone gloriously right. I went to the library and perused the āClassicsā section. There were multiple copies of this particular tome, which led me to believe that it might be Popular and Good (though, I suppose it could be argued that it wasnāt flying off the shelves. No matter!). And to add kismet to kismet, mere days after I finished the book, I went to the pool with some friends; and what did Paloma have clutched in her hands? Winesburg, Ohio. The characters are implausible and unbalanced, while still being perfectly full and round. Also featured in my hands piece.
Slow Days, Fast Company: The World, the Flesh, and L.A. by Eve Babitz
š Ranking: 2nd
š Acquired: Barnes and Noble, Manhattan Beach
š Two Cents: Slow Days, Fast Company is the dreamy balm for more squalid representations of the Sixties in LA, such as Play it As it Lays. You may recall the bitchy chart I made back in October. I stand by my testament that Eve Babitz is a problematic queen Iād want as a friend. Who else could pull off lines like: āThe contrast between his existence during the poverty-stricken English winter and my own L.A. days of champagne cocktails and diets made me realize that the world wasnāt all power struggles between me and pasta.ā Yum!
Cassandra at the Wedding by Dorothy Baker
š Ranking: 1st
š Acquired: NYPL, Tompkins Square
š Two Cents: I felt held by this cranky little book. Cheers to California! Cheers to Berkeley! Cheers to all the neurotic freaks and identical twins! Cheers to the split personality that is being a writer! Runādonāt walkāto read this book.
š« Thatās all folks! Until next time. Also, since weāre all friends here, Iāll let you in on an insecure secret: Iām working on a book! Teehee! Wish me luck. š«
Now I have a few things to add to my reading list!