You know I read and read and read and read. It’s my happy place. My spiritual practice. My addiction. It’s my maternal inheritance, my most reliable way to get outside of myself, and my creative motivation. It’s a thing I do whether I have the time or not. I’ll ignore the dishes, a deadline, even my children if I must.
Courtney's list is the most creative and inspiring that I've read, surely better than those mentioned elsewhere, such as in the NY Times predictables. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to share mine!
My favorites this year were, first: "James Tully. To Think and Act Differently," ed. Alexander Livingston (Routledge, 2022). Tully is a professor of political philosophy at the University of Victoria, B.C., a leading Canadian philosopher who has specialized in the study of Indigenous peoples of North America since his publication "Strange Multiplicity" (1995). His ch.(12) in this current book entitled "Integral Nonviolence" is the most imaginative study of the theory and practice of nonviolence yet published.
Second, Brendan Slocumb, "The Violin Conspiracy", a totally absorbing novel about a African American youth raised in North Carolina who envisages a career as a professional violinist despite formidable odds. He unearths his great-great grandfather's ancient fiddle and discovers that it's actually an invaluable Stradivarius and the rest is a series of twists and turns that make this novel riveting until the end. (Random House, 2022).
Third, a book of poetry by Mahmoud Darwish, "A River Dies of Thirst", trans. from Arabic by Catherine Cobham. Darwish is a foremost Palestinian poet, and his writing assumes a special urgency now that Palestine is under even greater threat. The poems have a consistent anti-war theme, and the first one, "The Girl/The Scream", brought the kind of sobs that Courtney experienced when reading Ross Gay's "Inciting Joy" that also moved me deeply.
Fourth, Michael Sandel's "Democracy's Discontents. A New Edition for Our Perilous Times." For those familiar only with his earlier edition(1996), the new Epilogue is an extensive analysis called "What Went Wrong: Capitalism and Democracy Since the 1990's" (pp. 284-341). As we know, plenty went very, very wrong in this century, and Sandel's grim, piercing analysis makes us wonder if the American experiment in democracy will survive. (Harvard Univ. Press, 2022).
Fifth, China Mieville, "A Spectre Haunting."(Chicago, Haymarket Books, 2022). This is a treatise on Marx's Communist Manifesto by Britain's amazing public intellectual, writing both fiction and political philosophy. It's strongly recommended by Tony Kushner, Naomi Klein and Ruth Wilson Gilmore, as a powerful argument for the enduring relevance of Marx's work. Mieville is a Marxist who has such a sympathetic insight and complete command of political theory that gives us the best defense of this philosophy since Terry Eagleton's classic, "Why Marx Was Right" (Yale Univ. Press, 2011). Now I'll turn to some of Courtney's suggestions. How could I go wrong there? DD
Nightbitch is also a book that I am an evangelist for. Your description of Rachel is spot on. Thanks for bringing more attention to this essential book.
I love this list and resonate with the feeling of reading being the thing. My copy of “Inciting Joy” just arrived and Easy Beauty is on my list too!
My two fav reads of the year: “Her first Palestinian” by Saeed Teebi which is one of the loveliest and original short story collections I’ve read in a long time. All the stories are set in Toronto and it’s pretty close to perfect. And the second is “Olga Dies Dreaming” which is a love letter to Brooklyn and women of colour, and even months after finishing it, I still think about it..
I've been raving about Lisa Moore's "this is how we love" and Mary Lawson's "Road Ends" (fiction); Catherine Hunter's "Latent Heat" (poetry) and John Gould's short stories: "killer: 55 fictions."
Courtney's list is the most creative and inspiring that I've read, surely better than those mentioned elsewhere, such as in the NY Times predictables. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to share mine!
My favorites this year were, first: "James Tully. To Think and Act Differently," ed. Alexander Livingston (Routledge, 2022). Tully is a professor of political philosophy at the University of Victoria, B.C., a leading Canadian philosopher who has specialized in the study of Indigenous peoples of North America since his publication "Strange Multiplicity" (1995). His ch.(12) in this current book entitled "Integral Nonviolence" is the most imaginative study of the theory and practice of nonviolence yet published.
Second, Brendan Slocumb, "The Violin Conspiracy", a totally absorbing novel about a African American youth raised in North Carolina who envisages a career as a professional violinist despite formidable odds. He unearths his great-great grandfather's ancient fiddle and discovers that it's actually an invaluable Stradivarius and the rest is a series of twists and turns that make this novel riveting until the end. (Random House, 2022).
Third, a book of poetry by Mahmoud Darwish, "A River Dies of Thirst", trans. from Arabic by Catherine Cobham. Darwish is a foremost Palestinian poet, and his writing assumes a special urgency now that Palestine is under even greater threat. The poems have a consistent anti-war theme, and the first one, "The Girl/The Scream", brought the kind of sobs that Courtney experienced when reading Ross Gay's "Inciting Joy" that also moved me deeply.
Fourth, Michael Sandel's "Democracy's Discontents. A New Edition for Our Perilous Times." For those familiar only with his earlier edition(1996), the new Epilogue is an extensive analysis called "What Went Wrong: Capitalism and Democracy Since the 1990's" (pp. 284-341). As we know, plenty went very, very wrong in this century, and Sandel's grim, piercing analysis makes us wonder if the American experiment in democracy will survive. (Harvard Univ. Press, 2022).
Fifth, China Mieville, "A Spectre Haunting."(Chicago, Haymarket Books, 2022). This is a treatise on Marx's Communist Manifesto by Britain's amazing public intellectual, writing both fiction and political philosophy. It's strongly recommended by Tony Kushner, Naomi Klein and Ruth Wilson Gilmore, as a powerful argument for the enduring relevance of Marx's work. Mieville is a Marxist who has such a sympathetic insight and complete command of political theory that gives us the best defense of this philosophy since Terry Eagleton's classic, "Why Marx Was Right" (Yale Univ. Press, 2011). Now I'll turn to some of Courtney's suggestions. How could I go wrong there? DD
Nightbitch is also a book that I am an evangelist for. Your description of Rachel is spot on. Thanks for bringing more attention to this essential book.
Looking forward to these. Thanks for everything you share!
I love this list and resonate with the feeling of reading being the thing. My copy of “Inciting Joy” just arrived and Easy Beauty is on my list too!
My two fav reads of the year: “Her first Palestinian” by Saeed Teebi which is one of the loveliest and original short story collections I’ve read in a long time. All the stories are set in Toronto and it’s pretty close to perfect. And the second is “Olga Dies Dreaming” which is a love letter to Brooklyn and women of colour, and even months after finishing it, I still think about it..
Just started nightbitch. Excited to read your interview with Yoder. Visionary seems apt. Thanks!
Ada Limòn ..... swooning over here. What a gift.
I've been raving about Lisa Moore's "this is how we love" and Mary Lawson's "Road Ends" (fiction); Catherine Hunter's "Latent Heat" (poetry) and John Gould's short stories: "killer: 55 fictions."
(All CanCon :)
So many books; gotta make the time, right?!
What an inspiring list of books that I haven't even seen mentioned elsewhere! Added to the queue.
“The Hurting Kind” was my favourite book this year!!