Last year I read 329 books and this year I read 314 books. Here are my favorites.

Poetry

~ Little Beast by Sara Quinn Rivara – A collection of poems equally brutal and beautiful, Rivara writes about the woman’s voice, violence, hope, heartache, and survival.

~ Blood Dazzler by Patricia Smith – A collection of poems about Hurricane Katrina – the people affected by the storm, the area, even the storm itself has a voice in these brutal poems.

~ The Anxiety Workbook by Christina Olson – A collection of poems about anxiety, survival, family, identity, home, the pandemic, and trying to fight the demon inside your own brain.

~ Avoiding the Rapture by Karen J. Weyant – A collection of poems about a rural childhood, about survival, about rooting for the girls who make it out.

~ Brilliant Little Body by Brett Elizabeth Jenkins – A collection of poems about love – finding it, losing it, searching for it. And about life and survival and humor and wit.

~ A Plumber’s Guide to Light by Jesse Bertron – A chapbook of poems from the plumber-poet perspective. There’s light, sorrow, loss, wit, humor, hope, and love in these poems.

~ Pink Elephant by Rachel McKibbens – A collection of poems that will fuck you up. Trauma, loss, abuse, survival, hope, and love, this collection comes out swinging and doesn’t stop until you’re down for the count.

~ Alive at the End of the World by Saeed Jones – A collection of poems about survival, identity, loss, grief, and being Black in America. The multiple versions of the title poem are especially good.

Creative Non-Fiction

~ The Tiger and the Cage: A Memoir of a Body in Crisis by Emma Bolden – A memoir of a body betraying, of the medical system failing, of the silent pain and suffering so many women endure. Bolden tells her story, which is both heartbreaking and infuriating, with lyrical narratives and beautiful prose.

~ I’m Wearing Tunics Now: On Growing Older, Better, and a Hell of a Lot Louder by Wendi Aarons – A collection of essays about aging in a female body that had me laughing out loud and nodding my head in agreement!

~ You Could Make This Place Beautiful: A Memoir by Maggie Smith – A memoir about her marriage, her divorce, and surviving it to become a better, stronger person.

~ Good for a Girl: A Woman Running in a Man’s World by Lauren Fleshman – A memoir about running, the female body and the pressure society puts on it, sports, and how these merge together and need to change.

Fiction

~ The Measure by Nikki Erlick – One day every adult around the world receives a box. Inside the box is a string which equates to the length of your life. An interesting and unique story with good characters and plot.

~ Yellowface by R.F. Kuang – A dark satire about a white writer and an Asian writer. One dies and the other takes her manuscript and publishes it as her own. A dark tale that I couldn’t put down.

~ The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin – A heartwarming and heartbreaking book about an unusual friendship between a 17-year old terminal patient, Lenni, and an 83-year old patient in the hospital. Prepare to cry when you read this one.