The Limits of Data

five favorite books from a year

This year, like most years, I read between 20 and 50 books. The majority were novels, a handful poetry, and a large but unspecified quantity of picture books. My reading habits have not changed much since I started keeping track a few years ago. According to Storygraph, my tracking app of choice: 

Mainly reads fiction books that are emotional, dark, and reflective.

Typically chooses medium-paced books that are <300 pages long.

Cheers to that, right? But these statements, generated to describe my reading habits from the data it has available, don’t show the whole picture. These two sentences have not reflected my tendency to indulge in salacious memoirs (ex: Wild Game by Adrienne Brodeur )  - nor any number of locally written and published poetry collections that don’t exist in Storygraph’s database. 

I felt a tug this year to reflect on my favorite books of the recent 12 months. This is that reflection, with my initial review in parentheses. 

(didn’t get a photo of ‘Kim Jiyoung’ , unfortunately.)

1. Tinfoil Butterfly by Rachel Eve Moulton 

(4.75 stars. I love hated every part of this incredible book. Like a raw nerve, a black ooze scooped out of someone’s skull.)

Tinfoil is far and away, the most impactful book that I read this year. A taut 250 pages, it stalked me through bloody snow over the course of only a day. I love books that have that x factor, the “unputdownability” and forward momentum, that this gem holds. I even recommended this one to my husband, which I only do when desperate to talk about a book in detail. 

2. Shadow Tag by Louise Erdrich 

(5 stars. Impeccable. New favorite author.)

Shadow Tag represents a very close second place. Another short, tense read, it comes in at 272 pages. The alternating perspectives revolve around a dysfunctional family of artists, narcissists, and secrets. The central family, the Americas, remind me of the Figueira clan from Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card. In both, the character in each novel which inhibits the role of “witness”, or “watcher” is the one I connected with the most: Olhado in Speaker, and Riel in Shadow. What that says about me, I’ll leave up to your interpretation. 

3. The Nursery by Szilvia Molnar

(5 stars.) 

The viscera of The Nursery still clings to the ceiling of my skull. A claustrophobic story of postpartum depression (& anxiety & psychosis, though not explicitly named as such). Ultimately hopeful, the majority of the novel takes place in an apartment, where the protagonist tries to cope with a constant dripping.

As I mentioned before, data collection can only take you so far in understanding a person’s reading habits. Another chararacteristic Storygraph has not picked up on is my  “micro-genres”, of which The Nursery is certainly an example. The micro-genre in question being, of course, “scary books about motherhood” largely at the recommendation of poetartistmother Amy Bornman. Other examples include: 

a. The Need by Helen Phillips

b. We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver

c. Shadow Tag by Louise Erdrich

d. Tinfoil Butterfly by Rachel Eve Moulton

e. Baby Teeth by Zoje Stage

f. The Obelisk Gate by NK Jemisin 

4. Kim Jiyoung, born 1982 by Cho Nam-Joo

(4.75 stars. Very important read, super easy and clear writing, and fast! No excuse to not read this one.) 

Kim Jiyoung, the titular character, is an everywoman. The author is quoted describing her: "I thought of Kim Jiyoung's character as a vessel that contains experiences and emotions that are common to every Korean woman." I knew a little bit about the state of women’s rights in South Korea going into reading this book, but Jiyoung’s story was nonetheless quite moving and informative. At 163 pages, this novel is the shortest on this list. 

5. Authority by Jeff Vandermeer

(4.5 stars.)

I picked up Authority in the first month of 2023, after thoroughly enjoying the mind-melting effect of its predecessor (Annihilation). This sequel is twice as long, and had a different bite than the first. To me, Authority was part hardboiled detective story, and part dry office drama - with quick knives of horror like a switchblade to the jugular. Speaking of which, this one also falls under another “micro-genre” of mine: “human evil”. This group of books generally includes things like psychological horror, themes of emotional and mental violence, unreliable narrators, revenge / “good for her” stories, and any book in which a character meets their end in an unnatural way. 

Some of my favorite examples besides Authority include: 

a. The Inverted Forest by John Dalton 

b. In the Lake of the Woods by Tim O'Brien 

c. Summer House With Swimming Pool  and The Dinner by Herman Koch 

d. Pew by Catherine Lacey 

I’ve gone on long enough. Time to close with some honorable mentions. 

• You Should Have Left by Daniel Kehlmann. Perfectly disconcerting and teeny tiny, just the way I like it. 

• The Fixed Stars by Molly Wizenburg. This standout memoir asks tough questions about family, love, queerness, and growth with warm curiosity, and a generous love of humanity. 

• The Town Of Turtle by Michelle Cuevas. A 5 star picture book - the illustrations! the whimsy ! the writing! A masterpiece. 

Thank you for reading, and reading, and reading. 

- mk