(Read during the first half of January)
Hum, by Helen Phillips: I would live inside Helen Phillips’ brain if I could. The Need was my favorite book of 2019, and how lovely to start 2025 with Hum. I feel this way even though the book is quite bleak, because every moment Phillips creates – and so often those moments add up to death by a thousand paper cuts – is so precisely accurate to the world today (or at least how I feel about it).
All the Colors of the Dark, by Chris Whitaker: Epic, sweeping – not always plausible, sure, and at times I lost track of all the characters, but overall an extremely satisfying read. It flew by for being 500+ pages.
Hell Gate Bridge, by Barrie Miskin: It was harrowing to read about the symptoms of dissociation and suicidal ideation that Miskin experienced, which were related to but not directly caused by her pregnancy (in the sense that her symptoms likely arose from withdrawal of medication rather than from pregnancy itself). I cannot imagine going through something like that and felt very grateful that zoloft is not contraindicated in pregnancy.
Several People Are Typing, by Calvin Kasulke: A fantastic conceit, and often very funny, but for me it didn’t ultimately move beyond “fantastic conceit” into “fantastic book.” I kept thinking it must be under 20,000 words, but I think it’s more like 35,000 – just felt so slight.
The Devil at His Elbow, by Valerie Bauerlein: I had heard minimally about the Murdaugh murders (trailer on Netflix, etc) but I didn’t know much – good lord, what reprehensible people. Utterly terrifying to read about Alex Murdaugh and the outsize influence he had on every legal and judicial system in his county. Even more terrifying to know that there are others like him who wield even more influence over even more people.
