I’m Glad My Mom Died, by Jennette McCurdy: I’ve never seen iCarly, but of course I’ve been hearing about this memoir for months while having it on hold at the library. I felt so terrible for McCurdy, and the book is completely compelling.
Doomsday Book, by Connie Willis: What a delight – somehow this managed to be both absurdist-silly and deeply profound in its story of an academic transported back in time to the era of the Black Death. There was one plot point that escaped me and that I still haven’t figured out, but the weaving of the modern storyline (in 2054, which has an epidemic of its own break out) and the 1300s journey was excellent and the subtleties of the two primary characters’ beliefs were perfect.
Good for a Girl, by Lauren Fleshman: I think I like reading about running in the way I like reading about people climbing Mount Everest, which may be to say that experiencing both by proxy is the closest I’m going to get (yes, I have run before; it makes my tongue hurt). Seeing the machinations behind NCAA and professional track was enlightening and slightly depressing, but the author provides a path forward.
The Trees, by Percival Everett: WOW. I’d not read any Everett before this; the conceit (which I won’t spoil) was incredible, the dialogue hilarious, and the whole book stunning. As with The Push, I really appreciated how much the title was doing. Although this is a singular work, it did remind me (tonally and in the sense of being, inexplicably, a caper) of Deacon King Kong, and the prose reminded me of Barry Hannah at times. The character names are hilarious except for one predictable groaner (well, set of groaners).
I Remember You, by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir: An Icelandic ghost story. I think some things were lost in translation on the sentence level (lots of words repeated in close succession, even some typos) but overall I enjoyed this. There were a few too many elements that were telegraphed heavily (to the point where I wondered if they would turn out to be intentional fake-outs) and some of the characters’ internal monologues felt off, but I was impressed by the intricacies of the plot, which had quite a few threads.
