My favorite books that I read this year
Reading is what keeps me sane.
I am so grateful that there are libraries and librarians. If I ever decided to leave church work (not on the horizon - I love what I do!), I would want to be a librarian. Librarians are ministers to the community, providing access to resources that would otherwise be out of reach to some. They introduce us to new perspectives and new worlds. And they fight back against the forces that threaten our existence, gifting us the knowledge we need to work for the flourishing of all.
Here are some of the books I gleaned so much from in 2023, all of them found on the shelves of my local library:
Non-fiction
The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy and the Path to a Shared American Future by Robert P. Jones. In his latest book, Jones looks upstream from white supremacy in the United States to show how it is connected to the country’s fraught past with Native Americans, and even further back to the Doctrine of Discovery, which provided political and religious cover for European colonizers to steal land from indigenous people.
The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness, and Healing in a Toxic Culture by Gabor Mate. Excerpts from this book were assigned to me for a Doctor of Ministry class on trauma. I ended up reading the whole book because it was so compelling. Mate makes the case that our experiences - and our framing of them - activate parts (or don’t) of our genetic code in ways that manifest as physical illness. Medicine, then, must treat the whole person, not just the body.
Rest Is Resistance: A Manifesto by Tricia Hersey. I listened to the audiobook version (read by the author) in January, and I am still chewing on the content. Hersey, popularly known as the Nap Bishop, makes the case that rest is just as important as any other act of resistance, not just because it refuels our tanks for the fight but also because rest is itself an act of protest against the ultra-capitalist, white supremacist, ableist machine.
Fiction
The Celebrants by Steven Rowley. Two years ago I read Rowley’s book The Guncle in the immediate aftermath of my dad’s death. Rowley has a gift for communicating the poignancy of grief in the midst of snarky dialogue, and The Guncle was key in my own processing. The Celebrants is another beautiful book in the same vein. I highly recommend both novels, and I encourage listening to the audiobook versions of them (read by the author).
The First Ladies by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray. This work of historical fiction recreates the deep friendship between Eleanor Roosevelt and educator, entrepreneur, and civil rights activist Mary McLeod Bethune. It gives a window into race relations in the first half of the 20th century, and it highlights Roosevelt’s progressive politics and influence in FDR’s administration and McLeod Bethune’s influence with Eleanor Roosevelt and within the Black community.
Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano. There is so much I love about this book, such as the push and pull of family dynamics, the impact of trauma, and the descriptions of 1980s fashion. Even though the book is mainly focused on female relationships, though, what drew me in most were the depictions of male friendship. I don’t think I’ve ever read a novel with that much depth in this area. William and his lifelong friends, made during college, show up for each other in their most difficult moments and are not reluctant to express care and support through actions and words.
What were your favorite books this year?