I read between fifty and sixty books a year, a mix of serious writing and trash that captures my fancy. I am definitely a mood reader. Books comfort me by transporting me to other places, times, and perspectives.
My overall rating for the books I read is four stars. In practical terms, this means that I like but don’t love most of what I read. There is a reason for this. To get published in the highly competitive market, most books meet a baseline of readability. They have already been pre-checked first by an agent and then by an editor. Book reviews and bloggers take it up from there. By the time I select my next read, hundreds of people have given it the thumbs up.
Scores of readers can certainly disagree on quality, but they will catch and flag the things that make something unreadable: incomprehensible prose, preposterous characterization, and sluggish pacing. The high standards of the industry also guarantee that nothing truly terrible gets launched.
When it comes to star ratings, I’m the equivalent of an easy B. You don’t need to be the voice of your generation to earn my praise. As a panel judge, I’m more like Mel B than Simon Cowell.
It’s another thing entirely,though, to sustain my recommendation over time. By the end of the year, I usually can’t fill a top ten list of five-star reviews. I do try. But over time, some works fall by the wayside.
So as we prepare to close 2020, what are the books that have sustained my interest?
Here are six.
6.
This is one of those love-it-or-hate it books, tempered perhaps by whether you have read Lolita. In addition to being a compelling page turner, it challenges the reader on notions of consent. I kept thinking of Soon Yi Previn and how she maintains to this day that she made the choice to be with Woody Allen. But did she?
5.
I read a lot in the mystery/suspense genre. This was a truly outstanding narrative, with a vivid setting, compelling characters, and a surprising plot. I am still thinking about the storefront that rented out a back room to let homeless junkies get high, and about the high emotional stakes for the woman detective. This is a good example of strong execution.
4.
Passing – the ability of light-skinned people of color to gain access to white privilege – is something I hadn’t thought much about before reading this beautifully written story of twin sisters with different options. Stella, the light skinned one, lives her life as a white woman, severing all ties to her Black family in Louisiana. The moral compromises she makes raise uncomfortable truths that we all need to be addressing.
3.
The term original voice gets thrown around a lot. This book is the real deal, an insightful deconstruction of the social value of beauty. Vividly set in Lagos, I truly rooted for the narrator, a plain Jane living in the shadow of the titular killer.
- (tie)
Sometimes a book gently corrects a reader’s ignorance. That was the case for me reading this story of Felix, a transgender teen and artist who falls in love for the first time. By getting to know this character, I understood his identity and struggles, and could relate to him as well. It’s also a satisfying rom-com with some unexpected twists.
- (tie)
A boring Friday afternoon disappeared before my eyes as I opened this story. Written in transcript, it tells the Behind The Music rise and fall of an LA singer named Daisy Jones who joins a ’70s super group. By mid-point, I had to Google to confirm that this wasn’t a real band. Completely satisfying as a book, it also begs for visual and aural representation. The songs, in particular, will now need to be written to satisfy the audience. That’s quite an accomplishment. I imagined a younger Sienna Miller in the TV role. Turns out Elvis’s granddaughter has been cast instead.
Books Smitten 