There was quite a bit more nonfiction this year than last (16 vs. 7). Not sure what that's down to, but there were four autobiographies in there (Obama, Sinéad O'Connor, Michelle Zauner, and sex writer Tracy Clark-Flory), which is quite unusual for me. I enjoyed all four of them, actually, for radically different reasons.
I also finished my re-read of Neil Gaiman's Sandman series of graphic novels. Still great. I'm looking forward to the Netflix series coming soon.
A few more thoughts on my favorites:
- Jhumpa Lahiri, Whereabouts: a quiet, introspective book about a woman living in Italy, which reads like a collection of short stories. Reminiscent of Ishiguro for me, in that very little really happens and the success turns on a mood that encourages reflection. Written originally in Italian and translated by the author into English, this is very different from her previous work.
- Conor Dougherty, Golden Gates: a must-read for anyone interested in California's housing crisis, this is a journalist's take on the roots of the problem, the rise of the YIMBY movement, and an overview of SF's 21st century politics around the issue.
- Dorothy Brown, The Whiteness of Wealth: the racial history of U.S. tax policy? Yes. If you've never thought about tax policy, this is a good introduction. If you're a tax policy nerd, there's a lot here you probably didn't know.
- Naomi Novick, A Deadly Education and The Last Graduate: while I'm generally a bit tired of the YA category, I can't resist Novick's books, and these two are no exceptions. Impossible to put down, I devoured both.
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