Episode 404 || Best Books of the Year
This week on From the Front Porch, Annie and Hunter (@shelfbyshelf) discuss their top five favorite books of 2022!
To purchase the books mentioned in this episode, visit our website:
Annie's Top Five:
The Crane Wife by CJ Hauser
The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka
Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus
Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
The Many Daughters of Afong Moy by Jamie Ford
Hunter's Top Five:
The Crane Wife by CJ Hauser
The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka
Trust by Hernan Diaz
The Last White Man by Mohsin Hamid
Just by Looking at Him by Ryan O'Connell
Other favorites:
The Book of Goose by Yiyun Li
Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan
Dinosaurs by Lydia Millet
How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water by Angie Cruz
Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield
The Town of Babylon by Alejandro Varela
Paul by Daisy Lafarge
Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh
Clean Air by Sarah Blake
From the Front Porch is a weekly podcast production of The Bookshelf, an independent bookstore in South Georgia. You can follow The Bookshelf’s daily happenings on Instagram at @bookshelftville, and all the books from today’s episode can be purchased online through our store website, www.bookshelfthomasville.com.
A full transcript of today’s episode can be found below.
Special thanks to Dylan and his team at Studio D Podcast Production for sound and editing and for our theme music, which sets the perfect warm and friendly tone for our Thursday conversations.
Thank you again to this week’s sponsor, Visit Thomasville. Spend Christmas in Thomasville! There is something truly special about the holiday season in Thomasville. From shopping for those must-have presents for everyone on your list, to the twinkling lights, sparkling window displays, and tempting smells wafting from restaurants all add to the festive feeling of the season. From downtown hotels, to delightful vacation rentals, book your getaway to Thomasville and add a little more sparkle to your holidays! Learn more and plan your trip at www.thomasvillega.com or @thomasvillega on Instagram.
This week, Annie is reading Barracoon by Zora Neale Hurston. Hunter is reading A Woman's Story by Annie Ernaux.
If you liked what you heard in today’s episode, tell us by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts. Or, if you’re so inclined, support us on Patreon, where you can hear our staff’s weekly New Release Tuesday conversations, read full book reviews in our monthly Shelf Life newsletter and follow along as Hunter and I conquer a classic. Just go to patreon.com/fromthefrontporch.
We’re so grateful for you, and we look forward to meeting back here next week.
Our Executive Producers are... Donna Hetchler, Cammy Tidwell, Chantalle C, Kate O’Connell, Nicole Marsee, Wendi Jenkins, Laurie Johnson and Kate Johnston Tucker.
Transcript:
Annie Jones [00:00:01] Welcome to From the Front Porch, a conversational podcast about books, small business and life in the South.
[00:00:24] "The point was that we both understood how easy it is to let your life pass along, totally in book, unless you take a risk, disrupt the expected patterns, and try to make something human happen." C.J. Hauser, The Crane Wife.
[00:00:42] I'm Annie Jones, owner of The Bookshelf, an independent bookstore in beautiful downtown Thomasville, Georgia. And this week, Hunter McLendon and I are here for our last collaboration of 2022, chatting about our favorite books of the year. Just one last reminder (as we eek closer to Christmas) that I am joining author Melissa Zaldivar and podcast host Jamie Ivey for a Little Women book club as we close out this year and begin the next. We're starting our reading on Christmas Eve and we'll be reading one chapter together until mid-February. So one chapter of little women every day until mid-February, throughout these winter months will convene over Zoom to share our thoughts, opinions and reading experiences. All ages are welcome and a familiarity with Little Women is not required. Jamie's reading it for the first time and I know lots of first timers, like my mom, will be joining us too. To receive the reading schedule and to be signed up for the virtual meetings visit Www.cheerheron.com/littlewomen. There's a link in the show notes to. I'd love for you to join us.
[00:01:42] Now back to the show. Back in July on episode 381 of From the Front Porch, Hunter and I shared our top five reads of the year so far. We wanted to touch base in the middle of the year and now we are back looking back on to 2022 and ready to maybe kind of solidify our top 10 reads of the year. Hi, Hunter.
Hunter McLendon [00:02:04] Hello.
Annie Jones [00:02:05] Are you excited about this?
Hunter McLendon [00:02:07] I'm very excited to hear your top 10 because I need to know what I missed or what I need to prioritize. I want to see what crossover we have. So I'm very excited.
Annie Jones [00:02:18] I'm excited because I think it's been a few years since we've had a lot of overlap on our lists. And I like that because I like reading what you're reading and you help me diversify my reading. But I do think we're going to have at least a couple of overlapping titles this year, and I'm excited about that.
Hunter McLendon [00:02:39] We'll see.
Annie Jones [00:02:39] So we back on episode 381, which if you want, there's a link to that in the show notes as well. If you want to go back and listen or re-listen, you and I decided to do like our top five of the year. Tell me how you feel about this. I think it's almost easier to come up with a top five than it is a top 10.
Hunter McLendon [00:02:56] Yeah. I don't know why, but yes, I agree.
Annie Jones [00:02:58] Because it's almost like I can do a top five and a top 12, but a top 10 is kind of difficult. I don't know. Those back five titles are always difficult for me. So we did our top five of the year and I thought we could just remind folks of what our top five were. So do you want to go first?
Hunter McLendon [00:03:13] Yeah, my top five were the Crane Wife by C.J. Hauser, The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka, Trust by Hernan Diaz, The Last White Man by Mohsin Hamid. [Inaudible].
Annie Jones [00:03:26] I'm not 100% sure about that.
Hunter McLendon [00:03:28] And then Just By Looking At Him by Ryan O'Connell.
Annie Jones [00:03:31] Okay. We have the same top two. My top five were the Crane Wife by C.J. Hauser, The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka, Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus, Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin and The Many Daughters Afong Moy by Jamie Ford. How do you feel about those top five now that we are here at the official end of the year?
Hunter McLendon [00:03:58] I just realized that I think all of my top five are in my top 10, but just in different places.
Annie Jones [00:04:05] Same. That's the same for me too. All of my top five are in my top 10, but not the same spots they were in July. Tell me about your reading life this year. Like how do you feel how 2022 went? Was it hard to come up with the top 10? What are the vibes as we exit this very long year?
Hunter McLendon [00:04:24] Well, it's funny because typically I read a lot more new release titles. And that's kind like what we're doing. The best reads that came out this year. But I read a lot of backlist titles because of my National Book Award project. My friend Bernie was recommending a lot of books from previous book or longlists, and I read a lot of translated literature this year. I guess my year is not very different. So, yeah, it's been hard for me to come up with a top 10 just because so many of my favorite books were books that came out previously or aren't available in America and had to be like special ordered somewhere.
Annie Jones [00:05:06] Yeah, were it not for the fact that I was making you do frontlist titles, it would include a lot or maybe mostly backlist titles.
Hunter McLendon [00:05:14] Yeah. I love the Crane Wife, I love The Swimmers. And there's like a couple of others that I was like, oh, I love these. But I think a lot about books like Catch 22 was amazing, the Caine Mutiny, Invisible Man, that book Milk Man by Anna Burns that came out 2018. A lot of translated literature was [Inaudible] There's this book called Ellen Knows that was really good. So I definitely see that my overall top 10 is very different. But I love being able to figure out like, oh, what my favorite books that came out this year?
Annie Jones [00:05:46] Yeah, because often in my mind, part of the reason I do frontlist is because obviously The Bookshelf and I'm a bookseller and so I'm interested in talking about the books that released this year. But I also like to look at it as a time capsule, right? Like every year I love looking at my top 10 and thinking, how do these 10 books encapsulate the spirit of the time? Like, how do they capture the zeitgeist? How do they capture my personal mood, the mood of the globe, the mood of the country? And so that's why I like doing front list titles. Part of it is, yes, tied in to the business and to The Bookshelf, but a lot of it is also using the top 10 lists. Like even before I made this list, I went back to look at last year's top 10 and I was like, oh, how many of these books do I still talk about, do I still remember? Crying in H Mart, Olympus Texas, those are books I still reference. Those are still titles I really love. And then some maybe a little less so. But I think that's the nature of maybe a top five versus a back five. So I think it's fun to kind of look back and see how a top 10 list encapsulates a year.
Hunter McLendon [00:06:59] Also very quickly, Olympus Texas was last year, right?
Annie Jones [00:07:02] Yes.
Hunter McLendon [00:07:03] Okay. I was like, wait, I love that book. Okay. I was thinking, sure.
Annie Jones [00:07:07] Yes, it was last year. Don't worry, it's not this year. I think it's fun to kind of look back on the years and see what they held. And I think books that are released, art that is released in that time, just your Spotify wrapped. It's just helpful to see, okay, there were some backlist hits, but what songs encapsulated the spirit of this year? And so that is why I like to look at a frontlist list. When we recorded Episode 381, we did briefly ask ourselves about books that surprised us for better and worse. Are there any titles that stick out to you as a pleasant surprise that maybe didn't make your top 10, but you loved them?
Hunter McLendon [00:07:49] Yeah. Actually, it's funny because I was debating if I wanted to change a couple of things last minute. But Lauren Graham, you read her book Have I Told You This Already?
Annie Jones [00:07:58] Yeah.
Hunter McLendon [00:07:59] I listened to that audio book the other day and I was like, oh, wow, I love this. I don't know if it's a top 10, but I really love this. It was such a fun little listen.
Annie Jones [00:08:10] Yeah, it's charming.
Hunter McLendon [00:08:12] Yeah, I love that one. It's one of those things where I might change my mind. It might be on my top 10 December 31st. Do we have 31st one December? I don't know months.
Annie Jones [00:08:25] Yes, we do.
Hunter McLendon [00:08:26] Okay.Good. I just recently finished On the Rooftop by Margaret Wilkerson and I loved that one. You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty by a Akwaeke Emezi.
Annie Jones [00:08:39] Okay, well, I like that because I started it and was very sexy times. And so I was like, uh, I don't know about this for me.
Hunter McLendon [00:08:46] It is very sexy times. I think it's less sexy times since there's the other romances I read this year.
Annie Jones [00:08:53] Okay.
Hunter McLendon [00:08:57] No, it is sexy times. I was thinking about it and I was like, oh, wait a minute. No, it gets more sexy. But I was so surprised because not to spoil anything, but I thought it was such a exciting choice to have the love interest be who it was. And I thought Emezi is such a talent. And the way they were able to really elevate that to be more than what it was. I don't know. I was impressed with that one.
Annie Jones [00:09:24] Their talent to me and the way they write across genres is astounding to me. I do not know how they do it. I really do not.
Hunter McLendon [00:09:35] If I had that talent, I'd be thrilled. Also, I did I Came All This Way to Meet You, by Jamie Attenberg. I think that's a memoir.
Annie Jones [00:09:42] I think I would like that book. It was on my radar and I just didn't pick it up.
Hunter McLendon [00:09:46] I think you'd like it a lot, so recommend.
Annie Jones [00:09:50] Okay. Those are fun surprises. I was surprised by a couple of titles this year, but they mostly did exist in my top 10. I also was unpleasantly surprised by a couple of titles, which this year where I just felt like they were either books that were overhyped or perhaps they were not my genre. That is one thing I'm learning is, wait, maybe I don't actually like these books, but I keep trying these books and maybe that's why I don't like them is because I don't like the genre, not because the writing isn't good or the books aren't good. Maybe it actually has to do with the genre itself. And so I feel like I've learned a lot about myself this reading year. All in all, how would you compare your reading life or what you read in 2022 to 2021 or 2020 or pre-pandemic?
Hunter McLendon [00:10:33] I genuinely cannot remember. My brain is potatoes and so I just can't remember anything as much as I used to. And that is one thing the pandemic has just ruined it for me and I don't like that. And also, I don't know about you, but I'm sure you probably feel this way a little bit. I think the more you read for work, it does change the way that you engage literature. And that makes it harder sometimes to enjoy certain books. But at the same time, when a book can really push past all of those break through, I think it makes it even better.
Annie Jones [00:11:09] To remind listeners because we've done this a few years now, I think last year we actually did it for Patreon and I'm not sure if we did it on the main feed or not. I can't remember. But how do you decide your top 10? People are always asking like, Annie, how do you narrow it down when you read a 100b books a year or if you even read 50 books a year, like, how do you narrow it down to ten? So what is your top 10 criteria?
Hunter McLendon [00:11:27] For this year, I only remember being in love with a couple, but I thought to myself, what are the books that I can think of off the top of my head? And I also still remember most everything about them. And I remember enjoying them. And because there are some books that I loved, but I don't remember anything about them now.
Annie Jones [00:11:46] That's right. I think you've hit it. For me, you and I are on the same page. I will go through-- because I'm still doing star ratings, whether I continue that in the new year remains to be determined. But I go back and I look at four and five star books, specifically 4.5 and five star, but even four star, I'll kind of consider, even if it's five stars, if it's a book I do not remember much about, I'm like, no, that's not top 10 material. I liked it in the moment, but it doesn't need to be included in a top 10 list because it has to be something in my mind that sticks out. Something that holds weight, something that I will look back and think, oh, yes, I read that in 2022. To this day-- I think I'm pretty sure this is 2018, I hope I'm not misquoting-- I still think about A Place For Us from 2018. Like, I still can name those titles. And so last year, Olympus Texas immediately comes to mind. And so what is a book that next year I will think, oh, yeah, I read that in 2022 and really loved it? So memorable to me is key.
Hunter McLendon [00:12:47] Absolutely. I just have to say one thing that's going to be a dig, which is that I think only one book from the National Book Award longlist made my list.
Annie Jones [00:13:00] In your face. National Book Award longlist and shortlists.
Hunter McLendon [00:13:04] Yeah, it's like I am over them. For this year, next year we'll see.
Annie Jones [00:13:10] Can you help me? Because I don't know and I should know, but I don't know. When when will we find out the Pulitzer winner? Because I'm learning that that is my preferred book award.
Hunter McLendon [00:13:20] April of next year.
Annie Jones [00:13:22] Okay. So we got time.
Hunter McLendon [00:13:23] Yeah. Also, next year Lauren Groff should have that book, The Vaster Wilds come out. And if that book is not on the National Book Award longlist, I will write it.
Annie Jones [00:13:35] You will storm the streets. We've talked about this off air. I struggled with the National Book Award shortlist this year. I read, I believe, the winner of the nonfiction South to America, and I loved it. But yeah, it was not my vibe. And I think it's okay to say that they weren't my vibe. I think that's fine. And I touched base with you because I was like, look, can you help me? Is there something I should elevate in importance? Is there something I should read here? And you graciously were kind of like, no.
Hunter McLendon [00:14:06] Yeah, no, it's fine.
Annie Jones [00:14:08] Okay. Are you ready?
Hunter McLendon [00:14:10] I'm ready Freddy.
Annie Jones [00:14:11] Okay, let's start with number 10. My number 10 is our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield. I adored this book and when I look back on 2022, this is a book that will be memorable to me. It was incredibly original. It felt like a mishmash of genres. It definitely felt like literary fiction. It felt a little bit suspenseful. It felt a little otherworldly, slightly fantastical, which is not normally my vibe, but I kind of liked the monster elements of it all, kind of the wondering what was happening, what transformation was happening to this woman. It's about two wives, one who is essentially a marine biologist. She spends her time in a submarine. The submarine is supposed to be gone for three weeks. Instead, it's gone for, oh, I forget, six months or something. She spends an inordinate amount of time under the water and she comes home and weird things start to happen. She likes to take salt baths. She spends a lot of time in her room. And it is beautifully bizarre. I like a weird book. We talked about some other weird books earlier this year throughout the year, books like Hurricane Girl. This book was really weird in the best possible way. I thought it was gorgeously written. The prose was great, it was unexpected, it was short. That's another thing that I think my reading life has has been affected by the pandemic and by attention spans. And so I am drawn to books that can pack a punch in a short number of pages. And I think this book did that. And so I'm thrilled to include it in my top 10, Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield.
Hunter McLendon [00:15:45] Do you know, I'm not going to change my lists, but I had that on there and then I forgot that I had it on there because I left my list. I left my list at work and I was, like, I want to write them all down and I couldn't remember. So it's fine. Anyway, so just know that it would be on my top 10 if I had brought the list that I had written down originally. It's fine. My number 10 pick going to be Clean Air by Sarah Blake.
Annie Jones [00:16:19] Oh, yeah.
Hunter McLendon [00:16:20] I love Sarah Blake. She had a book that came out in 2019 called Nema that was about the Noah and the Ark, but it's from the wife's perspective. I thought it was great. Clean Air is a post-apocalyptic family drama/thriller. And I don't typically like scifi type things. I don't typically love thriller type things. But this one I found it so compelling. And so actually I think whenever we read The Road, I said that I thought that Clean Air would be a good title because it is about a parent and a child and that complicated love. But, basically, in the book pollen has kind of overtaken everything. And it's the point where you can't breathe and so people are in these little bubble pod things and someone who's slashing the pods open and killing people. It's very dramatic. And there's like a weird possible talking tree inside a girl. It's very strange. It's got medium. There's all kind of stuff that happens. The the thing is, it's one of those books where I sat down, I read it in one sitting, and I remember pretty much everything that happened. For a book that's not even part of the genre I typically enjoy, I'm like, good for you.
Annie Jones [00:17:42] Yeah, that's the mark to me of a top 10 worthy book for sure. And I feel like you talk about it a lot. That's the other thing. Like, is it a book that I reference a lot in conversation? Is it a book that I want to talk about with other readers or I want to tell Jordan about? That to me also means, oh yeah, this was a good book.
Hunter McLendon [00:17:59] Yes.
Annie Jones [00:17:59] Okay. My number nine is How Not To Drown in a Glass of Water by Angie Cruz. Did you read this?
Hunter McLendon [00:18:06] No.
Annie Jones [00:18:08] Okay. I think you'd really like it, actually. So, Erin on staff at The Bookshelf recommended this to me. I did it in audiobook format, which I highly recommend, although I do think the print version would be equally delightful because this is a book about a woman named Kara Romero and she lives in New York. It is 2008, so the recession has started and she loses her job. And the book is told entirely across 12 interviews she does with a career counselor. Like somebody who she's been assigned to help her find temp work, to help her find a new job. And so it's almost like an epistolary novel where you are just getting her interviews with her career counselor. You never even hear from the career counselor, you just hear from Kara. And the audiobook narration is fabulous. Like, I have Kara Romero's voice in my head just talking to you now. I felt like her voice was incredibly familiar and recognizable to me. It feels like one that will stick in my head a long time. And I also liked that interspersed throughout the chapters there are resumes and job applications and things like that. And somehow across these 12 interviews in this relatively short novel, you really get a sense of who Kara is and the life that she wants to lead. There's a really poignant look at her relationship with her son and what it means when you lose your job and you lose your identity and how you're supposed to figure out what's next for you. Also, the book is a lot about the immigrant experience and what that was like especially around that time. And so in its own way, it's a little bit of historical fiction as well, recent history, to be sure, but history just the same. And I just found it to be really unexpected when we talk about books that surprised us this year, this is one that surprised me. Erin really recommended it, really thought I would enjoy it. And she was entirely right. I loved it. And it's one that I think if I had read maybe in a more timely manner, I might have even picked as my shelf subscription or something like that. I really enjoyed it. So How Not To Drown in a Glass of Water by Angie Cruz. And I do recommend the audiobook version too.
Hunter McLendon [00:20:18] That sounds so good.
Annie Jones [00:20:19] I think you'd like it.
Hunter McLendon [00:20:20] Okay. My number nine pick, it's going to be Just by Looking at Him by Ryan O'Connell.
Annie Jones [00:20:29] Okay.
Hunter McLendon [00:20:30] Which was in my top five. And this book is like a romance type book about a man who is a TV show writer. He is gay. He has palsy. It's about basically he's cheats on his boyfriend. There's all this drama. And it's it's kind of like dealing with navigating the reality of being disabled not just in the workplace, but also in your life and how it affects these things. But it's also very funny. I will say this, the first line itself is going to throw a lot of people because it is a little bit graphic. But I think that the book itself is very charming and very lovely. And I say this all the time to the point where at this point, I think it's going to get me in trouble. I love when people have affairs. I do have too much anxiety to have an affair, I think. I should put that into the universe. But I love when people have them in books. And so if you love the drama of all that, I think this is a great one.
Annie Jones [00:21:38] If you like the messy.
Hunter McLendon [00:21:40] Yeah.
Annie Jones [00:21:40] Okay. My next one is a book I'm kind of surprised it didn't get as much buzz as I just kind of thought that it would. And that is The Many Daughters of Afong Moy by Jamie Ford. This was in my top five earlier this year. I think part of the reason it made its way toward the bottom of my top 10 is because I read it so long ago. I feel like I might have even read it at the tail end of 2021. I'm not 100% sure about that, but I feel like I read it a long time ago-- might have been the very start of this year. But, anyway, I really like this book. I was familiar with Jamie Ford's work, but I had not read his previous novels. They did very well at The Bookshelf. The Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet in particular is a book that did well for us. But I've not read his backlist. I've only read this one, and I loved it. So perhaps a little bit surprisingly, I'm not always one for an epic tale, but I am here for multi-generational drama. And so I've been thinking a lot about Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi and I feel like this book kind of plays with a similar format where we are introduced to Afong Moy who was the first Chinese woman to set foot in America. She's a historically accurate character person, and she was a real person. And then we learn about the generations that came after Afong Moy into the future. So we learn about some of these present day characters, we learn about some in the past, and then we fast forward to some in the future. And it's all about inherited trauma and also inherited joy and the things that generations pass on to us that we maybe wish they didn't, and the things we hold that turn out to be part of who we are. One of the things that enhanced my reading a lot this year was reading author's notes and particularly really well done author's notes. I've always loved author's notes, but Jamie Ford's kind of introduction to this novel I thought was excellent, where he talks about kind of walking by his son's bedroom one day and hearing his son listen to a band that he loved, but his son doesn't know that. And so just this idea that, like, we almost can't help who we become, or maybe it's a question of can we help who we become? Do we carry these things from our mothers and our grandmothers and our great grandma? Like, do we carry those things with us or are we our own people? And I love that idea. I love that concept. It pops up a lot in a lot of books I loved this year, but I thought Jamie Ford handled it really well and really beautifully and again surprised. I think I surprised myself by enjoying a work of historical fiction. This is historical fiction where it's kind of going back and forth in time periods and I really liked it. That's The Many Daughters of Afong Moy by Jamie Ford.
Hunter McLendon [00:24:26] I already feel like I'm missing out on so much. My number eight is another one that is not for you. It's Lapvona by Ottessa Moshfegh.
Annie Jones [00:24:38] Oh, yeah. Okay. This is the lamb on the cover.
Hunter McLendon [00:24:41] Yes. I actually love this cover. I do think that she would like My Year of Rest and Relaxation.
Annie Jones [00:24:47] I think I would too. I need to go back and read it.
Hunter McLendon [00:24:50] This one, only people like me-- if you like really weird, really nasty, really like questionable. If you like people where you're like, I hate them and I love them for it. Like, this is for you because this is like there's this boy who is deformed and he kills somebody. There's like an old crone and just a bunch of like-- it's hard to explain it because I feel like anything gives this book away, and I feel like this one is like it's best if you go into it knowing as little as possible. It's set in medieval times, but it still feels very modern.
Annie Jones [00:25:25] Oh, interesting.
Hunter McLendon [00:25:26] Yeah. It was not at all what I expected. Actually my friend Bernie said it reminded him a little tiny bit of Matrix just in the setting-- not in any other way..
Annie Jones [00:25:42] Okay. Hunter's like, do not read into [Crosstalk].
Hunter McLendon [00:25:45] I am telling you, this book is disgusting. I should not like this book. I'm embarrassed I like the book as much as I do, but I'm like but also other people did not like this book at all. And I'm one of those people where if other people don't like a book that I already liked, I'm like, you know what? I love it now.
Annie Jones [00:26:02] I can be that way, too. A little bit of a contrarian.
Hunter McLendon [00:26:04] Yeah.
Annie Jones [00:26:04] Yeah. Okay. My number seven, I'm so curious to find out if this is going to be on your list. So my number seven is Dinosaurs by Lydia Millet. First of all, I know that I need to go back and read The Children's Bible. I know this. I should have read it when it came out. I just didn't. And now I definitely will because I adored this book. I understand Children's Bible is quite different, and so I know that. But I have got to tell you, Dinosaurs is a book that utterly surprised me this year. I picked it up. It is about a man named Gil who is ridiculously wealthy, and he decides to walk from New York to Arizona to make his home next door to essentially like a glass house with this family that he winds up befriending. And for so much of this little novel, I kept thinking, oh, my gosh, what's going to happen? Like, I just kept waiting for Gil to be a schmuck or for Gil to have an affair or for the family to fall apart. I don't want to spoil it for anyone, but this book was delightfully hopeful and just about a single man trying to be a good person. I love books about people trying to be good because I think in my heart of hearts, whenever I find myself getting tearful, it's because somebody has told me, you're a good boss or you're a good daughter. Like, obviously, I have some hang ups around the word good. Don't worry, I'm in therapy. It's fine. But I do love books about people who are trying, and Gil is delightful and memorable. I don't think I will forget Gil anytime soon. I really found him to be unforgettable and the relationships and the community that he builds is so quirky. There's also a lot about Gil's relationships with a couple of men and the kind of the deep platonic friendships they build. And much like Hunter is to infidelity in books, as Annie is to platonic friendship in books. I just want to read about people who come alongside one another and figure things out together and try to exist in friendship with one another. I find it to be really realistic and true to my own maybe personal experience, true to my life. I just like to be surrounded by people who are trying, and I like to read books about people who are trying. It's called Dinosaurs. It gets its title from Gil and his backyard which is full of birds. And it's kind of this nature preserve. And of course, as we all know, birds were essentially dinosaurs. And so it's just a lovely book that completely surprised me in its delightfulness this year. And that is Dinosaurs by Lydia Millet.
Hunter McLendon [00:28:53] This is a slight spoiler alert. It is on my list. It is actually a little bit higher in the list. But I also wanted to say, one the things I love about that book is it's so well-written.
Annie Jones [00:29:09] It's so well-written. Oh, my gosh.
Hunter McLendon [00:29:10] And this is what's part of the problem, by the way. The National Book Award, hello, best written book by [Inaudible] Why are we overlooking one of the best written books of the year? Come on.
Annie Jones [00:29:19] And that tension that I was talking about where you think, oh, my gosh, is something bad going to happen here? Like, is Gil going to make a bad decision? Is this family going to fall apart? That tension comes from her writing.. And then she does this delightfully surprising thing, which is she doesn't go there at all, which is perhaps the most shocking thing I've experienced in literature recently, where she doesn't choose to go down the hopeless dark path. When I am typically drawn to hopeless dark books, but this is not that. And I think that is a tribute to her outstanding writing and storytelling. It's such good storytelling.
Hunter McLendon [00:30:00] Yeah, I'm a huge fan of hers. I've read this one. I read Children's Bible and I also read Sweet Lamb of Heaven. I love this one. They're all very different. They're all well-written. I highly recommend. I'll be mentioning it again in a minute. This is number seven?
Annie Jones [00:30:18] Yes.
Hunter McLendon [00:30:18] My number seven is a book called Paul by Daisy Lafarge. I think it was originally published in France, but it's a book about a woman who goes to another country to work on this farm and she develops this kind of relationship with this guy and it's possibly a little bit toxic. But what I actually ended up loving-- this book it stuck with me because I read it while I was on a work trip and I didn't even know if I'd like it. It was sent to me. It's a Riverhead book and I dutifully like Riverhead, but it was not a book that was really on my radar. But I was, like, I'm going to read it cause it's Riverhead. And then the first third of the book is written in present tense, and it's while she's with this guy. The middle third is written in past tense when she's away from the guy. And the last third she goes back to the guy and it's in present tense. And there's no back story and there's no real interiority to these characters, and it's done intentionally to kind of create that-- like, you're never sure what's going on in these people's minds or why they're doing things they're doing. But it is done in such an interesting way that like I was just so captivated by it and I thought it was well written that I thought it was so smart and very anxiety inducing. And there's this really beautiful metaphor about bees and honeycombs and stuff. I don't know. It's one of the books that really surprised me, and it's one that I can't stop thinking about, even though I didn't expect that.
Annie Jones [00:31:54] Okay. That does sound really good. Okay, number six. And now as I'm talking, I'm having your trouble where I'm like, wait, do you want to switch this with Dinosaurs. But I don't know. I'll talk about it first and then I'll decide. My number six is Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin. So I thought a lot about this because I adored this book when it released. I think I read it as an ARC, but shortly before it actually came out. And I put off reading it because I have been Gabrielle'Zevin's fan for a long time, and sometimes there's a lot of pressure when you like an author that you're not going to like their newest, latest and greatest. And so I was worried about that. And then I read it and honestly thought of her books, of which I have loved them all, I do think this is kind of her masterpiece. It's like the book that feels to me that most encapsulates her writing spirit and her story telling capabilities. But I also read a lot of books in this vein this year, so I came very, very, close to including Now is Not the Time to Panic by Kevin Wilson on my list. It wound up being essentially like number 11 and so I didn't include it. But because those themes felt similar, it was hard to figure out where I wanted to include Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, because by the end of the year I thought, well, I've read a couple of other books that are similar in tone. But then when I looked back, I looked at the review I wrote when I read it and I said this book will be in my top 10. And I thought, okay, I think that is deserving then of a spot on the top 10, but it moved down a little bit from maybe where I originally thought it would be. So anyway, Tomorrow and Tomorrow has been everywhere. But I will go ahead and remind people that it is the story of Sam and Satie. It is about their friendship and their development of video games. But as I have said often, video games are to Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow as comic books were to Station 11. So if you know nothing about video games, it's fine. You'll be totally fine. This is really a book about friendship and art. It's a lot about creativity and the stories we're telling with our art and how our relationships play a role in the art that we create. And I love the themes. And those themes again wound up popping up in a lot of other books I read this year in a good way. It was really fun to kind of see those same themes pop up in various works of literature I read this year, but I stand by my love of this one. I flipped through my ARC and thought, oh yes, there is some really good writing in here. The sentences are really good. I think because it's one of the more plot driven novels on my list, I tend to occasionally overlook those kinds of books because what I'm really drawn to is character driven stories. But inside the plot driven novel is really character stories about Satie and Sam, and especially they have a friend. It's about Satie and Sam. But in my mind, the hero of the book is a guy named Max. And Max is really my favorite character and I love him very much. And so he is a character that I think will also stick with me, much like Gil from Dinosaurs did. So Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin.
Hunter McLendon [00:35:01] Do you know? This is like a little side. I loved that book. So I listened to that book. I was looking up around the time that listening copy came up on Libro fm. I was listening to that 4 a.m., I was going on walks in the neighborhood. Don't worry, I'm not a criminal. But I loved that book. I thought it was great on audio, too. But sometimes this is why I think it's so important to just read, maybe like not a vacuum, but just kind of like distance yourself from hype. Because I loved the book and then everyone was like they were like-- you know how it's like. You start to get like a very hipster--
Annie Jones [00:35:39] I was about to say-- and you and I just admit it, we're a little bit contrarian and I think that's what it is, right? I read that book before it released and thought this is amazing. And I was part of the hype problem, right? Like I was the person saying you've got to read this book, everybody should read this book. And then it's like everybody read it and I was a little bummed, like, wait, this was mine.
Hunter McLendon [00:35:56] Yeah, well, because you're like, wait a minute, you didn't like it for the reasons I did. But I did love it. Actually, I think if you like that book, I think that that one and a Little Life and another book, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon, which is so like what Tomorrow, Tomorrow and Tomorrow does for video games, The Amazing Adventures of Cavalier in Clay does for comic books. It was a Pulitzer price winner.
Annie Jones [00:36:26] Oh, okay. Now I'm interested.
Hunter McLendon [00:36:27] Yeah. Something for the future. Have you ever read him before?
Annie Jones [00:36:32] I've not.
Hunter McLendon [00:36:33] There's Moonglow, Kavalier and Clay and Wonder Boys are three books you're going to love.Okay.
Annie Jones [00:36:41] Okay. Oh, this is exciting. Okay, well, maybe we'll do some more Pulitzer winners in 2023 for backlist.
Hunter McLendon [00:36:46] There we go. Okay. So this is number six.
Annie Jones [00:36:49] Yes.
Hunter McLendon [00:36:50] Okay. It's so funny. I keep like changing everything as I go. But like I said, I'm not expecting it. But I'm going with one that was in my top five but is now top six. It's The Last White Man by Mohsin Hamid. I think that's how you say it. So this was one about a white man who wakes up one day to discover that he is now no longer white. It's never clear what other ethnicity. We just know he wakes up and he has brown skin and he doesn't know what to do. At first he thinks he's just alone in it, and then it turns out it's become like a thing where everyone is is turning a different shade of brown. And so it's like a thing. It's kind of like blindness by Jose Saramago, which I really enjoyed. But it's very short. It's like under 200 pages. You would like it. You read Exit West
Annie Jones [00:37:41] Yes. I loved Exit West. I actually think I gave this ARC to my dad and my dad read it and really liked it. That's why I haven't read it yet.
Hunter McLendon [00:37:48] Yeah. So I do think you'd like it. He writes like paragraphs long sentences, but they're just so good. And he actually studied under Toni Morrison, I believe. And so you can't be bad. I feel like, you know...
Annie Jones [00:38:03] Right. If she's your teacher, you're probably doing okay.
Hunter McLendon [00:38:06] Yeah. And so I thought it was so smart, so well-written. And it's one of those things where, like, the ending had me weeping. And I'm a sucker for a good ending because we know how rare a great ending is. Wow, I'm glad that we're talking about this because I'm like, oh, I really did love this one. I'm glad. Yeah. So this is The Last White Man.
Annie Jones [00:38:29] Okay, I may need to get that one. That sounds good. I'm also intrigued by Clean Air. I'm still wondering if I need to read that or if I should go back and read Nema.
Hunter McLendon [00:38:37] Read Nema, I want to talk to you about it.
Annie Jones [00:38:39] I think I might like Nema. Okay, now we're in top five territory. My number five book is Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan. Look, this is the book that brought me the most comfort in 2022. I never-- and I would like to stress-- nreread books. I especially do not reread front list titles. I have too much to do. If I reread it's because it's a comfort book and I want to reread Little Women or something like that. This book is a book that I think I will remember as a 2022 title. It's a book I think I will return to again and again. It is the very best kind of romantic comedy to me. So I love romantic comedies, but I think really good ones are few and far between. And this one had so much depth and I have seen so many positive reviews about this book, so I know I'm not alone. I know that people are hungry for this kind of literature where the protagonist is Nora. She's a single mom. The kids are precocious but not obnoxious, which is a miracle. She typically writes maybe Hallmark style movies, but instead she has written a screenplay, rather, about her divorce and kind of the wonders that the tea house in her backyard kind of brings to her life. And so she's written the screenplay. And, of course, the actor comes film this movie at her house. And the lead actor is very attractive and there's some chemistry and romance. The sexual tension is delightful. The banter is lovely. The family. I love a book about a good interesting family. Like I think about Amy poeppel stories and how much I love the families in those books. Katherine Heiny. And so this book has all of that, and in my mind a lot more. I feel like it is a romantic comedy, but it felt deeper than that to me. And I think a good romantic comedy can bring comfort and also make you think. And so that is what Nora Goes Off Script is to me. I adored this book. I think I interrupted myself. I read it three times this year, which I do not. I don't even know how that happened. I read it twice and then listen to it.
Hunter McLendon [00:41:02] You never do that.
Annie Jones [00:41:03] Oh, I literally never do that. I do not know when I have ever done that. And I think I just miss these people so much. I think I finished it and thought, oh, no, I want to be back with them and there's no sequel. And by the way, I don't want there to be a sequel. It ended beautifully. I don't want a sequel, but I just thought how can I spend more time with these people? Well, the only way I can is to reread it. I think is the only time I've treated a book like I would treat a movie. It's like I rewatch When Harry Met Sally all the time. This is the first time I've found the book equivalent, I think, where I'm like I'm ready to hang out with Nora again. I'm ready to hang out with this family. I loved it. I thought it was very fun.
Hunter McLendon [00:41:42] See, I tell I'm telling you. I feel like I'm missing out on so much. Okay. So the next book for me is the only National Book Award book that made my list, which is The Town of Babylon by Alejandro Varela. I've been doing this National Book Award reading project, and a lot of books in the second half of the fifties and early sixties are these suburban type novels, things like John Updike's Rabbit Run or a lot of Philip Roth books. A lot of books, actually, by Jewish writers like Saul Bellow and Bernard Malamud. We see a lot of these books or whatever that are about suburbia, but the town of Babylon takes that core idea and then explores that through a queer lens and also the lens of a person of color. And it does it in a way that is just very interesting to me. And it kind of feels, I guess, like a deconstruction and a reevaluation of those narratives. And there's something that he does in the book where it's about this gay man who goes back to his 20th high school reunion. He's going back to that town also because his father is dying. And I think he found his husband was having an affair and his life is just kind of one of those moments. And so everything is really messy. But I don't know. I just thought this book was so interesting. I love what it had to say about, you know, we have this idea that we have to leave home to have success. But it's like, one, what if you can't leave home? Two, what if you don't want to leave home because what you need is there? What if your community is there? And there's a lot going on here that I thought was great. And there's something within the narrative itself. It's so interesting where he moves through the narrative. Did you read Florida? No, you did not. Did you?
Annie Jones [00:43:40] I read parts of Florida. I didn't read the whole thing.
Hunter McLendon [00:43:41] You read ghosts and empties, the first story of it. Okay. There's a part where she talks about, like, running through the neighborhood and looking through people's windows as if they're aquariums.
Annie Jones [00:43:52] Yeah.
Hunter McLendon [00:43:52] And I think that he does something similar here where the way he shifts through his first person and then shift into third person and kind of zoom out a little bit to talk about other people. And it feels like he's going throughout the neighborhood of this. And it's so smart. And so it's one of those that I was deeply invested in the characters and the story. But I was also really impressed by what the themes were and just structurally it was just really impressive. And it's one of those that I can't stop thinking about. And I also thought the cover is really interesting. It's like a bubblegum pink.
Annie Jones [00:44:29] Did you listen to this or read this physically?
Hunter McLendon [00:44:32] The audiobook is on Audible. I did listen to it. I do not support Audible, I just happened to somehow listen to it through that means.
Annie Jones [00:44:44] But it's on Libro, right? I could listen to it.
Hunter McLendon [00:44:49] It's not on Libro because they do that Audible exclusive thing.
Annie Jones [00:44:52] I hate that.
Hunter McLendon [00:44:54] I know. How are the book people letting this happen?
Annie Jones [00:44:57] It's Monopoly. Okay, so I've got to read the physical copy. Okay. So would I like it? Because it sounds like themes I very much like.
Hunter McLendon [00:45:05] I think you really would. Yeah.
Annie Jones [00:45:09] Okay. Number four. Number four for me is Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. I love this book. It could maybe even be higher. There are just a couple of books that I think just blew me away this year. But I adore Elizabeth Zott, she is as memorable as Maeve from The Dutch House. She is living in the fifties and sixties as a woman, is brilliant and smart and desperately wants to work unbothered in her field of science. But instead she of course endures sexual harassment and her career becomes a disaster because of standing up to sexual harassment. And she finds herself what I'm picturing as a PBS style cooking show, that winds up taking off because she is so smart and so unintentionally wise and funny. And this book is also deeply sad. I have said it before. I will say it again. I have no problem saying it. I hate this cover. I hate the American cover. I think it does this book a disservice and nobody cares about my opinion about that, but I'm telling you anyway because I think this book is dealing with a lot of stuff. It's dealing with sexual harassment, it's dealing with grief, it's dealing with deep seated issues that I think Bonnie Garmus handles beautifully. I just don't think the cover belies those things. And I think then you're missing a whole population of readers who might enjoy this. And then I also think you're confusing the readers who pick up this bright orange poppy fun color, and they think this is going to be a fun ride. And it is fun, but it's also a lot. It's also heavy. A lot happens to these characters. I love them. It reminds me in some ways of a J. Ryan Stradal book where deeply sad things are happening to these people. But you trust Bonnie Garmus to kind of redeem it all in one way or another. There's also a weirdly memorable dog character. I say weirdly because I typically do not care about animal characters in books, but I became very invested in 630. He is the best dog character I probably have ever read. I feel like I can say that safely. I adored this book. I feel like I could hands sell it to almost anybody. And that's what I've said as we approach the holiday season. I just feel like this is very much for anyone and almost everyone.
Hunter McLendon [00:47:26] I need to read it.
Annie Jones [00:47:27] I would love to know what you think because obviously it's perhaps a little bit more commercial maybe. But you like commercial lit. I mean, you like the Lauren Graham book, so I think you might like this one.
Hunter McLendon [00:47:37] That's the thing, too. I think I'm getting to the point as I near 30 where I start-- it's like when you're 16, 18, all the music you listen to it's got to be that hipster stuff no one cares about. I think that the majority of my twenties, I was like, oh, I have to like this really pretentious books-- which I love a lot of them, but I also have allowed myself to be like, no, I do enjoy some romances that are well-written. It can be commercial and it can be quality too, and that's fine.
Annie Jones [00:48:06] That's right. Well written books can cross genres and publishing boundaries.
Hunter McLendon [00:48:10] Yes. Like the Literary B-tree. I love that. My number four is Trust by Erin Diaz. I was going to put Dinosaurs here. But anyway. Trust is one that I did really enjoy. It's four sections. It kind of reminded me of Fates and Furies in some ways. It's part of the reason why I liked it the most. But it's a book about money, and the first book is this novel about this man who was very successful, especially during the Great Depression. He was like one of few people who still was like a millionaire or whatever. And then the second part is about the true story that's not based on the novel. Each section is like a different part of the story. It kind of all comes together to tell the full story. It was a Booker finalist. It should have been on the national record. It's fine. It's very well written. He was a Pulitzer finalist for In the Distance. But this is one of those books where I don't think you're going to like it if you have a problem with cold books. It's not very warm and inviting at times. It's definitely you are reading it because you enjoy it on a craft level, I think. But I just love what it have to say about money. And I loved it. If you're choosing between this and Fates and Furies, read Fates and Furies. But if you have read Fates and Furies and you liked a lot of the themes and ideas that Fates and Furies introduces, I think this book does it in a very different way that is in conversation with that book.
Annie Jones [00:49:43] You know who read and loved this was Lucy, former Bookshelf staffer. She loved this book. Yeah, she really did. Mm. Okay. My number three. And I was surprised, I thought this was going to be my number one, but some other books kind of crawled their way to the top. Number three for me is the Crane Wife by C.J Hauser. I read this book in January, curled up on my couch. I adored my reading experience. It's the kind of book that I would have loved apart from The Bookshelf. Do you know what I mean? We were talking about books that kind of transcend our jobs and kind of remind us why we love reading. And this book did that for me. It's an essay collection. The title essay was a work in the Paris Review and it went viral. And this essay collection is the result. I think it is a near pitch perfect essay collection. I think it was a shelf subscription for me earlier this year. We discussed it as part of our Patreon book club. I love discussing it with people because there is an essay in here for everyone, for every interest. The theme is, I think, C.J. Hauser learning to love herself, like learning to love who she is and who she's becoming. But there are some essays in here that I do not think I will forget. So one of them in particular is an essay that she writes about attending a robotics competition. And I just love the way she sees the world. And so much of what she writes feels familiar to me and feels like, oh, yes, that's an observation I would have made. And I think books are important because I think it's important to read books by people who are very different from us, who have different worldviews, different experiences. I also think sometimes it's fun to read books that make us feel seen and make us feel like, oh, we're not the only people that noticed that. And so I thought of Mary Laura Philpot and the ways her work has often made me feel understood. And I think C.J Hauser is doing that in the Crane Wife. There's a great essay about the Philadelphia story, if you love old movies. The Crane Wife obviously is an outstanding work of essay a form. If you are a student of writing, I also think this book is just kind of a class in an essay writing and I am interested in that craft. And so I found myself especially drawn to this because I thought it was an impeccable collection. There's an essay about her home and about kind of finding a room of one's own and that kind of thing. I just love there's not a dud in this essay collection, which I think is remarkable for a debut collection. And I really loved it. I loved my reading experience. I loved talking about it with other people. I loved reading it alone and in a vacuum. And it's amazing to find a book that you can read and enjoy in all the circumstances. The Crane Wife by C.J. Hauser.
Hunter McLendon [00:52:30] So my number three is one that you've mentioned, which is Dinosaurs by Lydia Millet. And I thought a lot about why did I love this book aside from it being so well-written and so hopeful. And I think it's that she continues to have really interesting conversations in her books about things that are happening. Like in the Children's Bible she was writing a lot about climate change. And I think she still does that a little bit too in Dinosaurs. It's not like on the nose, but it's there. But here I think she's writing a lot about what it really means to not be a bad person, but to have been spent most of your life being unaware of a lot of things, including your privilege and what it means to navigate the world and to be to generally be a good person, but to not know what's important to recognize, I guess.. I think in the character of Gill, I think you see him attempting to be good. And so there's a point where he volunteers for like a women's shelter. And I think a lot about stuff like this. And it's one of those things where it's talking about these tricky conversations that we're still figuring out how to have.
Annie Jones [00:53:58] Yes. Yes.
Hunter McLendon [00:54:00] And I think that she's offering us like a way to visualize this, we're seeing it kind of play out. And I love that because I don't think I've seen other books do this. And I don't think that a lot of authors could pull this off the way she does.
Annie Jones [00:54:15] I think Gill would have been an absolute loathsome character in somebody else's hands.
Hunter McLendon [00:54:20] Absolutely. Yes.
Annie Jones [00:54:22] I think we would have all rolled our eyes at him like, oh, this guy. And you're right, she is showing us a different way. It's a lot more tender. It's gracious. And I am interested in that.
Hunter McLendon [00:54:36] Yeah. So that's definitely one thing... I just feel like it's one of the things where if anyone else had written it, I'd probably be like, ick. And because she did this, I was like, okay, I love this. So that's definitely my number three.
Annie Jones [00:54:51] Okay. My number two is the Book of Goose by Yiyun Li. So I love this book. I want you to read this book. I think you would like it. The comparison to Elena Ferrante is very much on the surface. I think some critics even roll their eyes at that comparison because it is so obvious. But I think it's obvious because it is true. I think that is a very clear comp to this. But what Yiyun Li is doing, I think, is really interesting because again it goes back to the themes in Now is Not the Time to Panic and Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow where you've got these two young women, they are living in a post World War Two era France, and they're kind of living this provincial life. And the way she writes about childhood friendship and how you kind of will find yourself completely devoted to this person who maybe is not good for you or maybe is good for you. It depends on the day, but some days it's toxic and some days it's healthy. And I think we all have like childhood friendships like that where you find yourself just totally captivated by this other person and totally drawn into their circle. And so one of the girls gets this idea to write a book, and together they write this really dark stories about their provincial French town. And the book winds up getting published, and it's published under the other girl's name. And that's purposeful. But that decision winds up obviously impacting these two young women as they grow up and older. And this is no spoilers. Immediately upon starting the book, we know that one of the women in adulthood has died rather unexpectedly, and then one of the young women who is now a full adult woman has survived and doesn't live in France anymore and has had her own life. And so I love this idea of two roads diverged in a wood. Like these two young women with these very similar upbringings. But one of them kind of gets out and one of them stays. And is one of those options really better than the other? Who's to say? And it's also about art and creativity and who takes the credit and where ideas come from and where maybe how the places we call home shape us and how the people we call home shape us. These two childhood friends wind up just becoming utterly intertwined into each other's stories despite not really knowing each other in late adolescence or early adulthood. I loved this book. I raved about it. Five Stars for me. Obviously, it's my number two book of the year. I have had many readers kindly DM me and they're a little bit like, "Excuse me, what? What is this book? It's a little weird." Yeah, it's weird. And I love it. I love how weird and unique it is. This is my kind of historical fiction. I think it's brilliant. We did it for a shelf subscription book club, and I think people felt like, oh, this is fine. And then we talked about it. And, of course, that's the beauty of Book Club, right? Some people maybe change their minds, or at least felt a little differently upon having discussed it. But I thought upon having discussed it, I was like, oh yeah, this is brilliant. She's genius. This is a work of art. I will take no other opinions at this time. I loved it. The Book of Goose. Also the cover-- oh, my gosh, the cover is gorgeous. I loved the ARC and I really need a physical copy.
Hunter McLendon [00:58:09] Thing is I ead Where Reasons End and loved it. I do want to read this one. And now you're making me obsessed. I'm like, oh, why did I not read this before the podcast episode so I can have it on my top 10.
Annie Jones [00:58:30] Well, I don't know. Maybe you'll be one of those people who's like, Annie, this a little weird. But I think you'll like it.
Hunter McLendon [00:58:35] Oh, I think I will..
Annie Jones [00:58:38] Maybe you'll like it.
Hunter McLendon [00:58:42] I wonder if my number two would have been my number three if I had read this one. Because my number two is your number three, The Crane Wife. You know I love this book. It's so funny because a couple of years ago I wrote this piece, posted on my Instagram stories, I was working on an essay about (and I talked to you about this) recalibrating my identity for someone else I was with, and how I've done that my whole life. And I think that that's something that she writes a lot about in the Crane Wife. Like the Philadelphia story essays, a lot about how Katherine Hepburn's identity is based solely on who she ends up with.
Annie Jones [00:59:25] Yes. It's Julia Roberts in Runaway Bride.
Hunter McLendon [00:59:28] Yes. And I think so much about how to a certain extent we're all always shifting ourselves a little bit for people. But I don't think that we always realize it to an extent. And I think that she writes so beautifully about that and in a way that I had never really seen articulated this well. And like what you said, I felt so seen. And there's also this essay about her mom tells these stories that are probably not true.
Annie Jones [01:00:01] Yeah. And the family history of storytelling is fascinating.
Hunter McLendon [01:00:05] Yeah. And it's hilarious. And we've talked about laughing and then crying right away.
Annie Jones [01:00:13] Yes. This is a book that moved me, which there are just a couple this year where by the end I was moved to tears and Crane Wife is one of them.
Hunter McLendon [01:00:20] Yeah. Okay. So that was like number two. Now, I'm really curious, is your number one my number one?
Annie Jones [01:00:26] It must be, right? My number one is The Swimmer's by Juliet Otsuka.
Hunter McLendon [01:00:30] Yes. Yes. Yeah.
Annie Jones [01:00:32] Why was this book not in the National Book Award running? I will never understand that.
Hunter McLendon [01:00:38] Out of every book that was not on the list, when I saw this was not on the longlist I thought they don't know.
Annie Jones [01:00:48] I don't understand it at all. This book is profound. I am in awe of a tome. I'm in awe of long form storytelling. But there is something about the fact that Juliet Otsuka in 150, 200 pages tells just the most beautiful story you care so deeply. For those of you who don't know, I don't think it's foolish to say that the first half of the book is the story of the swimmers at this public pool. And then the second half is something else entirely. And this book deals with caregiving, with community care, with generational differences. And it's beautiful. Again, this is a book that moved me. I was very emotionally moved by it, struck by it. This is a work of genius. I don't understand why more people weren't talking about it. I feel like they were when it released. But to me it deserved award buzz. It deserved commercial buzz. I think it's very accessible while not being dumbed down in any way, shape or form. It's a work of art. I don't know why more people aren't talking about it.
Hunter McLendon [01:02:02] So I recommended this to people across it and some people liked it, but one person. She's an older woman and I was going to throw her down on the ground. I was so upset cause she goes, ah! It was terrible. And I said, "Terrible, in what world?" And she's like, it was just so sad. Sad is a terrible? Sad is sad. I was like, precision of language, Jonas. This is the giver. I was very intense. I think this is truly one of the best written books of this year. I think it is. And not just in American literature. I think all around it is one of the best written books. It is the way that she tells a story. It's interesting because I feel like I know people have told stories like this before, but there's something that feels so unique in how she's done it.
Annie Jones [01:02:51] It is utterly unique. And I would also like to gently push back on whatever this woman's name is. It's okay to read sad things. Look around, the world is sad. I want to read books that tell the truth about how the world looks. And The Swimmers, to me, tells the truth about how the world looks. I was completely struck by how the first half one of the swimmers is named, but everyone else goes unnamed. Somehow I cared deeply for these people, and when there was a crack in the pool, I thought, oh, no, what are these people going to do? I was incredibly invested. My heart broke because I felt like they developed this really lovely community and now they were going to be torn apart. And then the way she turns that into a metaphor that doesn't slap you over the head with its profundity, like it just is so graceful and subtle. I don't,know how she did it. I really don't.
Hunter McLendon [01:03:53] I will not be surprised if we see this in the Pulitzer conversation.
Annie Jones [01:03:59] I certainly hope so. Maybe it's because this book released January, so maybe it's because it came out so long ago. Are people not talking about it or is it just because, oh, they talked about it, but it was in January. Why aren't more people talking about this?
Hunter McLendon [01:04:16] Honestly, I wonder. Here's the thing, I don't know. I have no good answers. But my thing is we had eight debut novels on the National Book Awards. I'm not over it. I'm sorry. I'm not. I'm sorry, there's not one debut book ,short story collection or whatever that was better than The Swimmers.
Annie Jones [01:04:47] Right. It should have at least been in the conversation. And, again, maybe people were talking about it, but it was in January and like now we're over it. Anyone who read it, I don't know why it wouldn't be in every person's top 10.
Hunter McLendon [01:05:01] I think to me a book like that is kind of how-- what was that Wess Anderson hotel movie?
Annie Jones [01:05:08] Oh, no. It's on the tip of my tongue. I know what you're talking about.
Hunter McLendon [01:05:13] Yeah, it came out early the year that it was on the Oscar buzz or whatever. It was very early in the year. And it's one those movies that just happened to ride the wave the entire time. And I feel like The Swimmers should have been one that was able to ride the wave the entire time.
Annie Jones [01:05:27] Yeah.
Hunter McLendon [01:05:31] I'm mad. Basically this whole podcast episode was actually just a sneak attack against the National Book Award. No, I'm kidding. I love The Swimmers. I definitely think it is one of the best books I have read in a long time. I cannot stop thinking about it. I cannot stop recommending it. I think it is beautiful.
Annie Jones [01:05:49] Yeah, me too. Okay. So we had some overlap this year, which I think is really delightful. And I now have some books that I want to read, make sure you remember to text me the name of that one that I really want to read. But I love that we had some overlap. I think all in all, when I look at this list, I'm like, yeah, this book reflects my reading year where I really enjoyed a romantic comedy. I also loved reading no surprise. I loved reading about art and friendship and creativity, and that's not surprising. And then I loved really unique storytelling like Our Wives and the Swimmers. And so I definitely see why this list would be my top 10. Do you feel good about your list? Do you think you'll change it before this podcast is released?
Hunter McLendon [01:06:28] I'm sure I'll change it. I'm always changing stuff. But I do think that the ones that you and I have in common are the ones that are going to stick.
Annie Jones [01:06:36] Yeah. Well, thank you, Hunter. And thank you listeners. We would love if you would share with us some of the books that are in your top 10. Give us your whole list. Tag us. Tag us on Instagram. Tag Shelf by Shelf. I'm making them tag you. You might not want that. Tag AnnieBJones05, tag The Bookshelf @Bookshelftville and let us know your top 10. Leave us in the comments what your favorite books of the year where we would love to hear it. And next week you'll be hearing from our Bookshelf staffers on what their favorite books of the year were.
[01:07:06] This week, what I am reading is brought to you by visit Thomasville.
[01:07:10] Spend Christmas in Thomasville. There is something truly special about the holiday season in Thomasville. From shopping for those must have presents for everyone on your list to the twinkling lights, sparkling window displays and tempting smells wafting from restaurants all add to the festive feeling of the season. From downtown hotels to delightful vacation rentals, book your getaway to Thomasville and add a little more sparkle to your holidays. As you visit Thomasville this holiday season and as you wrap up your holiday visits, as the holiday season kind of culminates and comes to a close, I would encourage you to leave the downtown Thomasville area and head to Christmas in Lights, a display done by Flowers Foods. This is free entertainment for the family. If you're from Tallahassee and you love driving through Dorothy Bogan Park, this is a similar vibe and experience. I know some of my friends have been doing it since childhood. Some of them go every night during the holiday season, which I think is true commitment. It's just a little drive through lights display. It is magical. My cousin Carolyn adores coming up from Tallahassee and us doing it together. I think Jordan and I are going to go after we finished recording this podcast episode. So it is available every night from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.. It's just a drive through light display on 319 South and it is up from now until New Year's Eve. So even after Christmas, if you're looking for something to get out of the house to do, you can go grab a hot chocolate from Grassroots, from Dunkin Donuts and then go drive through this beautiful lights display.
[01:08:39] This week I'm reading Barracoon by Zora Neale Hurston. Hunter, what are you reading?
Hunter McLendon [01:08:45] I'm reading a Woman's Story by Annie Ernaux.
Annie Jones [01:08:49] Thank you again to our sponsor Visit Thomasville. To find out more about how you can visit Thomasville this holiday season, go to Thomasvillega.com.
[01:08:59] From the Front Porch is a weekly podcast production of The Bookshelf, an independent bookstore in Thomasville, Georgia. You can follow the Bookshelf's daily happenings on Instagram @Booksheltfville and all the books from today's episode can be purchased online through our store website: bookshelthomasville.com.
[01:09:16] A full transcript of today's episode can be found at:
[01:09:18] Fromthefrontporchpodcast.com.
[01:09:20] Special thanks to Studio D Podcast Production for production of From the Front Porch and for our theme music which sets the perfect, warm and friendly tone for our Thursday conversations.
[01:09:30] Our executive producers of today's episode are Donna Hechler, Angie Erickson, Cammy Tidwell, Kate O'Connell.
Executive Producers (Read their own names) [01:09:36] Nicole Marsee. Wendy Jenkins. Laurie Johnson.
Annie Jones [01:09:42] Thank you all for your support of From the Front Porch. If you'd like to support From the Front Porch, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Your input helps us make the show even better and reach new listeners. All you have to do is open up the podcast app on your phone, look for From the Front Porch, scroll down until you see, 'Write a Review' and tell us what you think.
[01:10:00] Or, if you're so inclined, you can support us over on Patreon where we have three levels of support. Front Porch Friends, Book Club Companions and Bookshelf Benefactors. Each level has an amazing number of benefits like bonus content, access to live events, discounts and giveaways. Just go to Patreon.com/fromthefrontporch.
[01:10:19] We're so grateful for you, and we look forward to meeting back here next week.