Southern Bluestocking's 100 Books in 2016

Last year I was somewhere around 150 (way too many forgettable series in there, but enough "quality" reads that I'm not completely embarrassed): this year, I aim to read narrow and deep. Long classics, not all 15 in such and such series. No elaborate reading plans at present (a change for me, I so enjoy the unreachable goals), but I'd like to read a few more informative books than I did last year (20 would make me proud), as many biographies and memoirs as I did last year (12ish?), more works in translation, more classics (this hung me up last year-- what's a classic? 19th century? Winner of the Booker Prize? Something I think is excellent?-- so this year... I still don't know how I'm defining. Maybe canonical classics and modern classics?), and more theory, more science, more of all the things that make me smarter and let me analyze the other things I read. Also, to write. But that's a project for another site.

January
1. Recipes for Love and Murder: A Tannie Maria Mystery, Sally Andrew
Loved this so much I bought the audiobook immediately after finishing, and have listened to it twice since the beginning of the year. (Today's the 6th.) So good. I love Tannie Maria, I'll be watching for her future books so very anxiously.

2. Her Royal Spyness, Rhys Bowen (Audible)
I think I'm just ready for the return of Downton Abbey-- these books are fine, don't love the narrator, protagonist is likable, mysteries a little forgettable or confusing or maybe I'm just not paying attention. Good enough, though. Read and enjoyed a book late in the series at the end of last year, and it was good enough to make me want to read these.

3. Maisie Dobbs, Jacqueline Winspear (Audible) Excellent. The horror of WW1 gives this otherwise-cozy mystery a depth that is hard to shake. That said, there is a LOT going on in this book though-- class-jumping maid, shell-shocked and disfigured soldiers, a secret cult, a lost love-- wondering if the next will be as good, now that the backstory has been established. 1/7

4.Birds of a Feather, Jacqueline Winspear (Audible) Very good. I didn't figure out the reason for the murders until halfway through, and didn't know who it was until a chapter or so before the revelation. Everything fit in together very well-- the plotting of the story is better than characterization (the protagonist is good, but some of the secondary characters are a little underdeveloped imho). But very good. Reminds me of Dorothy Sayers (of course, that's likely largely in part because of the era), and that's ridiculously high praise. 1/9

Pardonable Lies, Jacqueline Winspear--didn't finish, didn't care for the addition of supernatural elements.

5. The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax, Dorothy Gillman (Audible) Certainly not the first time I've read this, but the beginning of the semester and all of those applications brings anxiety, and the cozy makes me happy.

6. The Amazing Mrs. Pollifax, Dorothy Gillman (Audible) Still chugging through the cozy. Enjoying the Cold War xenophobia of it all.

7. The Thirteen Problems, Agatha Christie (Audible) Again, continuing with the cozy, but markedly better cozy. Love this collection-- Miss Marple, and several of her nearest and dearest, gather for the Thursday Night Club, at which each recounts a mystery, the solution of which is known only to themselves. The redoubtable Miss M is, of course, consistently and surprisingly --to fellow club members, if not to readers-- unerringly identifies the truth of each story. Good stuff.

8. Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte (Audible) This was one of my favorite books when I was a teenager-- one of those I read and reread, luxuriating in the thrill of such a romance. Good god, how did I figure Heathcliff as a romantic hero? Positively psychopathic. But I still love this book-- This time through I was interested in the structure, the narrative elisions of Nelly Dean as she proclaims her innocence in such and such action, or her intention in this other. And interested in the conclusion, the neat burying of a two generations' drama through the effects of a reemergence of that romance.

9. The Elusive Mrs. Pollifax, Dorothy Gillman (Audible)-- ok, these are getting old. I love Mrs. P, but the author's attempts to make her hep just jar. This is the second time she's weirdly associated with 70's/modern/free love kind of teen-- since I don't really care for that kind of character, I really just want her to start making better choices in her companions. Also, these aren't written all that well-- enjoyable, but at times the prose is just carelessly bad. ("The darkness was silent and dark." Yep. That.) But I'll probably finish, since I actually paid for this one from Audible, instead of using a credit. (I make nothing but good decisions.)

10. Cranford, Elizabeth Gaskell (Audible)-- certainly not my first time reading, but I'm not so familiar that I know what to expect when. The structure of this reminds me of The Thirteen Problems-- it's basically a bunch of sketches, connected by location and character, but not really by theme or any over-reaching plot. The narrative voice in this is quite funny--it overtly defends Cranford against London, time and again, but the reasons for Cranford's superiority are so funny-- a cow in a waistcoat, the lace with the *interesting* history. Love this. Think I'm going to have to rewatch the BBC version.

11. Persuasion, Jane Austen (Audible)-- I love this book. It is, by far, my favorite Austen, and (along with Wuthering Heights, Romeo and Juliet, and The Scarlet Pimpernel) one of the books that I read most frequently and had the most influence on me as a teenager. I think these books created my sense of romance, which is, perhaps, just a tad problematic. Such is life.

Currently Reading: Possession: A Romance, A. S. Byatt (Audible) -- my god, I love this book. I've lost track of how many times I've read it, but more than a dozen, at a conservative estimate. One of those books that is now so entwined with my identity (I sometimes wonder if my academic research in Victorian supernatural originated here) that I reread when I lose track of myself. So rereading. Or relistening, actually. Virginia Leishman is perfect as the narrator.

Also Currently: A Jury of Her Peers: American Women Writers from Anne Bradstreet to Annie Proulx, Elaine Showalter

Also Currently: Here on Earth, Alice Hoffman

Twice in six days is certainly a glowing recommendation!

Possession--I love it too. Angels and Insects is also fine.

February
12. Here on Earth, Alice Hoffman (Audible) After rereading Wuthering Heights last week, I found myself drawn to a reread of this-- and holy mother, it slays me every time. This is one of the darkest of Hoffman's that I've read-- it retells the story of Wuthering Heights: Catherine/March is a middle aged woman and mother who married her Linton after Heathcliff's decampment; when she returns to the town with her young daughter, the affair recommences. It is so dark because it shows-- somewhat sympathetically at first-- the dark side of passion-- obsession really. She stops eating, doesn't notice when Heathcliff is monitoring all of her communication and manipulating circumstances to make her more dependent, fails to notice that her teenage daughter isn't being fed, and just generally gives herself up to some sort of non-rational embodied experience. It's disturbing. And abusive. And I can only read it every so often (this is the first time in five years, though I think about it often), because it just kind of grips my mind and doesn't let go.

13. The Painted Veil, W. Somerset Maugham (Audible) Such a good book. I'm apparently feeling drawn to the darker side of romance these days, and this one just breaks my heart. Kitty is just so silly, and so sympathetic (I think, anyway), and her moral growth is so halting and unsure and imperative. And Walter-- I saw the movie first, and I think they romanticized it a little (though I haven't seen the movie in ages)-- I feel like in the movie she falls in love with him at the end, just as he is dying... but I may be thinking of Tasha Alexander, anyway, I'd forgotten that love doesn't really bloom in the novel, but a kind of deep self respect and a corresponding respect of others, including Walter. Which is a different kind of triumph, a harsher success. Beautiful book.

14. The Monsters of Templeton, Lauren Groff (Audible) I enjoyed this-- the complexities of the ancestry, the different voices providing various pieces of the puzzle-- loved it. But there is a lot going on here. Monsters and ghosts and so many pregnancies and illnesses and horrors and murders and on and on and on. Lush, but a little disorienting in parts. Loved the voices, all speaking from various manuscripts and journals and correspondences through centuries. That was excellent, and well worth the price of admission. Or the price of time spent. Or whatever.

Currently Reading: Americanah, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie stopped on this one because I needed to read the physical, not listen to the audio. I am too unfamiliar with African names to differentiate audibly, and was getting very confused. But reserved immediately, and looking forward to reading.

15. After Alice, Gregory Maguire I've enjoyed every book by Gregory Maguire that I've read. That said, I don't think I enjoy Alice in Wonderland quite as much as some of the other "source texts" that he's undertaken-- I find it interesting to analyze, but I always feel like there is too much that I'm not catching to really relax and enjoy it. (The misspent youth of a fundamentalist-- there MUST be another layer of meaning behind this text-- serves me well as a literature student, but not in reading this.) But I loved the world in which the reality was set: the preoccupations of faith and evolution in 19th c England is basically where I spend my life. And the disability angle was interesting. I thought it ended much too quickly (people come and go so quickly here)-- there were ends that I wanted tying up: was Wonderland real or some sort of laudanum dream? Did the packet under Ada's foot "fix" her limp? Did the governess marry? What what what happened next? Also, this is just the SECOND book this year that I've physically read, not listened to. and I'm feeling like there is a difference in attention paid-- I listen to books while I'm working, driving, cleaning, knitting, whatever... but my mind does, occasionally, wander. And while my mind wanders while I'm physically reading a book, the story stops when that happens. And the story doesn't stop when my mind wanders while I'm listening-- I just jump back in a few sentences later. Not sure if this matters, but it is a difference.

Currently Reading: American Gods, Neil Gaiman my god, I love this book. I'm amazed every time I read it at the scope.

16. The J. M. Barrie Ladies' Swimming Society, Barbara J. Zitwer, Enjoyable and fast read, conclusion was a little too fast and undeveloped. I hate the designation "chick lit," because it's a gendered derogatory term, and has been used to classify and diminish truly great work. So I won't say that this was chick lit. I will say that it was perhaps not as developed or as dense as it could have been. I loved the old women swimming, I loved the touches of history, I didn't dislike the main character or her issues (though work vs. life... I know that's a common decision, but it was a little stereotyped.) I hate being critical about books-- I flash on this author, honing her work-- being creative, while I'm merely imbibing the creation-- and I can't criticize. It was good. I enjoyed it. Obviously, I'm torn. And the faint praise dammeth-- it was good. I have reservations about a whole-hearted approval, but it was good. How's that for a really rambley review?

17. American Gods, Neil Gaiman (Audible) So excellent. This is one of those books that bears a frequent reread-- I think I read it every two years or so-- and it's so dense and complicated and just FULL that each time is worth it. Thoroughly enjoyable.

Currently Reading: Anansi Boys, Neil Gaiman The necessary follow up to American Gods.

18. Anansi Boys, Neil Gaiman (Audible) Can't believe I never noticed how the relationship between Fat Charlie and his boss mirrors Tiger and Anansi in the stories. Also, so good. Completely different in tone than American Gods-- I'm always fascinated by the way that the two have a bit of crossover, but so many differences. I think it replicates the difference in tone in mythological traditions. Good stuff.

19. The Mystery of the Lost Cezanne, M. L. Longworth Good, but perhaps not my favorite in this series. I like the relationship between Marine and Antoine best-- individuals in a couple-- and there was very little interaction between them in this book, and what interaction was there was fraught with tension. Realistic, perhaps, but not as fun as I'd have liked. Longworth uses different techniques in each of her books-- the interspersed 19th century bits worked for me, but I wanted more information. So much more information.

20. Nelly Dean, Alison Case Seriously, the BEST book I've read in ages. I love Wuthering Heights (see my January reread) and this was just an absolutely perfect return. This last time through Wuthering Heights I was particularly interested in Nelly Dean's voice-- the narrative structure, the possible self-interest in the story, the resulting questionable narration-- and this was just perfect. While the drama of WH is happening in the background, and, as a servant to the family, obviously frames much of the events, this is a complete re-imagining, but still completely faithful to the original. Highly recommended. Reminded me (a bit) of Longbourn, but love this in a way that I didn't love that. Anyway. Tells the story of Nelly Dean's life. And not to be missed.

21. How to be a Heroine: or, What I've Learned From Reading Too Much, Samantha Ellis Ellis analyzes all of the books she's loved and what she took away from the character arcs. This was excellent-- so many of these books are ones I love, and I think all readers interpret their lives like this-- I certainly do.

22. Sacre Bleu: A Comedy D'Art, Christopher Moore, Always funny. Moore approaches the Impressionists (various muses and complicated personal lives, syphilis, the demands of art, the demands of the purse) from an unusual perspective. Made me want to reread The Swan Thieves, I Always Loved You, and just generally learn a lot more about art and France in the late 19th century. Good stuff.

23. The Flood Girls, Richard Fifield, Good. Finished it more than 10 days ago (forgot to write about it), but very enjoyable story of a small town with nothing going for it, making amends, and a softball team that might just make everything better.

March
24. Murder on the Orient Express, Agatha Christie, (Audible) Certainly no surprises here, but solidly enjoyable, as always.

25. And Then There Were None, Agatha Christie (Audible) I remember this scaring the pants off me when I was about 18 (the overwhelming feeling in the book is terror verging into panic-- she actually does the atmosphere really well), and it got me this time too. Everybody is guilty, and I couldn't remember who was orchestrating the whole thing or if anybody escaped. I think Agatha goes off the rails a bit, in a good way, when she gets away from Marple and Poirot. The atmosphere in those-- like Toward Zero or Sad Cypress-- is just much creepier.

26. The Madwoman Upstairs: A Novel, Catherine Lowell Excellent book, ending felt rushed and a little-- eh. Samantha Whipple is the only living descendant of the Bronte line-- her father (dead these four years) has arranged for her education at Oxford and supplied her with a few unconventional study aids. The main point or question seems to be what is the purpose of literature-- to look in or to look out. I loved the theory of literature parts (speaks to me, as one who has wrestled with the question of how to enjoy literature after analyzing it), and loved the Oxford bit (not surprised that Deborah Harkness appreciated it)... didn't quite buy the romance. Of course the taciturn tutor is strangely attractive... but I'd have been happier with a twist on, not a fulfillment of, the Byronic hero. Still, very enjoyable.

27. The Strangler Vine, M.J. Carter

28. The Moonstone, Wilkie Collins

29. Black Rabbit Hall, Eve Chase

30. A Dirty Job, Christopher Moore

31. Agnes and the Hitman, Jennifer Crusie,

32. Bite Me, Christopher Moore

April

33. Secondhand Souls, Christopher Moore

34. Good Omens, Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett

35. Passing, Nella Larsen

36. The Beekeeper's Apprentice, Laurie R. King

37. A Monstrous Regiment of Women, Laurie R. King

38. A Letter of Mary, Laurie R. King

39. The Moor, Laurie R. King

40. O Jerusalem, Laurie R. King

41. Justice Hall, Laurie R. King

42. The Game, Laurie R. King

43. Locked Rooms, Laurie R. King

44. The Language of Bees, Laurie R. King

April, summing up: Eh, stress and enjoyable. Loving the Mary Russell novels, but flying through them so fast I feel I've lost track of myself, a bit. (Ever do that? Get so enmeshed in a series-- and for me, it's even worse when it's Audible, because all the rote tasks get done with half a brain, while you'd have to focus if a physical book. It's like a hangover. Like a black-out-drunk, what's happened with the last four days, book hangover. The Lost Weekend for nerds. Anyway.)

Currently Reading: Vienna Melody (long hibernation)
Currently Reading/listening: Packing for Mars, Mary Roach

May
45. The God of the Hive, Laurie R. King
46. Pirate King, Laurie R. King
47. Be Frank With Me, Julia Claybourne Johnson
48. The Nest, Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney
49. The Argonauts, Maggie Nelson This was intense. Nelson contemplates the personal through the lens of the theoretical (a favorite pasttime of mine!) and it's seriously excellent. Difficult, complicated, and oh so amazing.
50. Garment of Shadows, Laurie R. King
51. Texts from Jane Eyre, Mallory Ortberg
52. The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood
53. Outlander, Diana Gabaldon
54. Dragonfly in Amber, Diana Gabaldon
55. Voyager, Diana Gabaldon
56. The Book of Strange New Things, Michel Faber Wow. I love The Crimson Petal and the White (have read it maybe six times, and it is HEFTY), this did not disappoint.

June
57. Arcadia, Iain Pears

trying to move, so not a whole lot of reading going on. Lots of podcasts though-- does that count?

July
58. The Swans of Fifth Avenue, Melanie Benjamin
59. The Age of Innocence, Edith Wharton
60. Americanah, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
61. Misfits
62. The Passion, Jeanette Winterson
63. Decline and Fall, Evelyn Waugh
64. The Museum of Extraordinary Things, Alice Hoffman
65. Wishful Drinking, Carrie Fisher
66. A Little Princess, Frances Hodges Burnett

August
67. The Last Summer Before the War, Helen Simonson. I've been looking forward to this one for ages, and it didn't disappoint. Veered between cozy and dreadful, and all of it was great. Keeping and rereading. Vacation

68. American Housewife, Helen Ellis. snarky, sardonic, very enjoyable. Vacation

69. The Last Painting of Sara de Vos, Dominic Smith. Beautiful descriptions of paintings, great evocation of the three different time periods, deft and not overwhelming handling of the interplay between the periods, reminiscent (likely because of material) of The Swan Thieves. Vacation.

70. The Borrowers, Mary Norton. As fun as I'd remembered. book club, vacation

71. The Queen of the Night, Alexander Chee. Lush and entrancing. Protagonist reminded me of the protagonist in Belle Cora-- trauma/drama told in retrospect, with repercussions still to be endured. Nearly 600 pages, gulped in a day. High praise, if I say so myself.

72. Eligible, Curtis Suttenfield. One of the best Austen rewrites I've read. As a rewrite, it's up there with Hoffman's Here on Earth. So good. Jane and Liz are 40 and 38 respectively, Jane's a yogi, Liz is a writer, both live in New York until their father's stroke brings them home to Cincinnati, where there mother is still bewailing their single status, Lydia and ? are hardcore into CrossFit, and Mary is pursuing her third MA online. Oh, and oh-so-eligible doctors, Bingley and Darcy, are the newest members of the little society. So good. Reminded me of Jennifer Crusie, and higher praise there is not. Vacation.

73. Mycroft Homes, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Anna Waterhouse. Good but not the best of the neo-Holmesian genre I've read. I was invested until the unmasking of the female protagonist's motives-- that didn't ring true to me, and so the rest didn't hang together. I did enjoy the focus on Mycroft--he never gets enough attention. vacation

74. Mistress of the Art of Death, Ariana Franklin. This was so freaking good. I know very little about medieval England-- most of my understanding comes from a very shaky knowledge of the history plays. This was so good-- kind of a Bones meets the dark ages kind of thing. Strong female protagonist, well-plotted and paced mystery, believable interactions. Bought the next immediately after completing. vacation

75. The Serpant's Tale, Ariana Franklin. Again. So freaking good. I love the strong female protagonist, with a conception of her identity that is separate from her romantic entanglements. (This is why I love Dorothy Sayers, whose books-- especially the Harriet Vane ones, Strong Poison, Have His Carcase, and Gaudy Night-- these remind me of.) (And that was a convoluted sentence, if ever there was one.) Vacation.

76. The Satanic Mechanic: A Tannie Maria Mystery, Sally Andrew-- loved this, loved the first, love Tannie Maria.

77. A Murderous Procession, Ariana Franklin, I'm so sad that this is the last book-- I loved this series. 12th century murder investigation by examination of the corpse. Fascinating, independent, strong, female doctor as protagonist. So good.

September

78. Grave Good, Ariana Franklin
79. An Unnecessary Woman
80. A Wrinkle in Time, Madeline L'Engle
81. A Swiftly Tilting Planet, Madeline L'Engle
82. A Wind in the Door, Madeline L'Engle
83. The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym
84. No Room on the Voyage, Timothy Findley
85. Oroonoko, Aphra Behn
86. A Visitation of Spirits, Randall Kenan
87. Colonel Jack, Daniel Defoe
88. A Bold Stroke for a Wife, Susanna Centlivre
89. Typee: or, a Peep at Polynesian Life, Melville
90. Narrative of a Life, Frederick Douglass
91. The London Merchant, George Lillo
92. The Moonstone, Wilkie Collins

so I started my PhD this month, in literature (19th c., specifically) of course. first thoughts: (a) never been happier; (b) oh my god the reading (books are about 25%, as there are gobs of secondary readings) and (c) did I mention never been happier? But very little "fun" reading.

October
93. Fluke, Christopher Moore. Off to a great (albeit unsanctioned) start, as this was a lark and a spree from the Mt. Everest that is Moby Dick
94. The Limits of Human, Felicity A. Nussbaum
95. The Female American, Unca Winkfield
96. Shepwreck Modernity, Ecologies of Globalization, 1550-1719, Steve Mentz
97. The Blithedale Romance, Nathaniel Hawthorne
98. Fanny Fern, Ruth Hall
99. Hermsprong, Robert Bage
100. Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor, Rob Nixon

November
101. Benito Cereno, Melville
102. Ennui, Maria Edgeworth
103. Oryx and Crake, Margaret Atwood
104. Mansfield Park, Jane Austen
105. Emergent Ecologies, Eben Kirksey
106. Iola Leroy, Frances Harper
107. The Moonstone, Wilkie Collins
108. Parable of the Sower, Octavia Butler
109. Sacred Hunger, Barry Unsworth
110. Closed Casket, Sophie Hannah, Agatha Christie

December
111. Girl in Need of a Tourniquet, Merri Lisa Johnson
112. Hag-seed, Margaret Atwood
113. The Gentleman, Forrest Leo
114. The Trespasser, Tana French
115. Sense and Sensibility, Joanna Trollope
116. Crosstalk, Connie Wilson,
117. Precarious Life, Judith Butler
118. The Limits of Critique, Rita Felski
119. The Eyre Affair, Jasper Fforde
120. Lost in a Good Book, Jasper Fforde

2016 Reading Wrap-Up

This year has been busy! and that has been reflected in my reading. I finished up my PhD applications, managed to get through the admissions process without insanity, made my choice, started, finished my first semester. I found a new place to live. I created and taught (three times now) a course on women's literature and philosophy. It was a good year.

Much of my reading wasn't self-directed. I'd like to focus a bit more on that in the coming year-- the short-term responsibilities need to be kept in check to the long-term goals, and those won't be accomplished without maintaining focus.

The best series I discovered (sadly short) was Ariana Franklin's "Mistress of the Art of Death" books. Best theory/memoir was Maggie Nelson's The Argonauts.
Best books
Recipes for Love and Murder, a Tannie Maria Mystery, Sally Andrew
Nellie Dean, Allison Case
Eligible, Curtis Sittenfeld

Most re-read book this year The Moonstone, Wilkie Collins, coming in at a whopping THREE rereads this year alone, with countless other partial reread/listens (I was writing about it, so understandable, perhaps.) I also reread Wuthering Heights, Persuasion, Here on Earth, American Gods, Anansi Boys, Passing, The Handmaid's Tale... and a lot of others that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Goals for the new year: 50 19th century books (so this is going to be most of my reading for the foreseeable future), and a little theory every day.