Stories matter. Many stories matter. Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign, but stories can also be used to empower and to humanize. Stories can break the dignity of a people, but stories can also repair that broken dignity....The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story.
—Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie,
My personal reading this year has been specifically targeted toward reading more ethnically diverse books. I am on a mission to figure out who I am going to be as a book publishing professional in light of what I see in our American culture. (You can read more about my mission here.) With all the gathering of stories, characters, platforms, ideologies, and perspectives, I don’t have words yet for how I feel like I have been shaped, emboldened, or propelled by what I’ve read.
A few things I can say: I’ve been impacted. My heart has broken. I’ve been comforted. I’ve been strengthened and validated. Some things have become clearer, while others have become murkier. I’ve learned completely new and unexpected things. I’ve been surprised, enraged, and set at ease. Ultimately, I’ve been blessed by engaging with so many stories.
My 2016 Reading List
Note: Books by people of color or non-Americans are in red, in case you’d like to add diverse reads to your to-be-read list. Also, feel free to ask me any details about the books listed. If you think of something that I should read based on what I've shared with you here, let me know.
Adult Books
Fiction
1. Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
2. Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
***Most intersectional read of the year*** Amazing writing from my favorite living author
3. Moby Dick by Herman Melville
4. Disgrace by J. M. Coetzee
Post-apartheid story. Excellent cross-section of race, gender, and class; privilege and guilt over said privilege; criminality; etc.
5. Palace Walk by Naguib Mahfouz
A novel about Egyptian Muslim family life during Egypt’s the fight for independence from Britain. Layered with socioeconomic meaning—race, class, gender, religion, politics
6. Beasts of No Nation by Uzodinma Iweala
***Most difficult read of the year*** Amazing writing voice. Causes you to question your own morality if faced with the same things child soldiers are.
7. The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
***Most comfortable read of the year*** Like putting on an old comfy sweater. Tan’s writing feels good, normal, regular. Like, I easily forgot I was reading. Do you know how hard that is?
8. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
***Best read of the year*** I actually still miss the characters.
Nonfiction
9. Narrative Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass
10. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet A. Jacobs
11. Yearnings: Mexican-American Literature Anthology ***Most eye-opening read of the year***
12. Jesus Feminist by Sarah Bessey
13. I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai
14. The Making of Asian America by Erika Lee
***Most significant read of the year***
15. Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as If Your Life Depended on It by Chris Voss
Books I started and am still working through
16. Why We Can’t Wait by Martin Luther King Jr.—will have more on this one later
17. How Africa Shaped the Christian Mind by Thomas C. Oden ***Most academic read of the year*** I am really looking forward to continuing this one with and connecting it to other studies.
18. Twelve Years a Slave by Solomon Northrup
Children’s Books
Working at Scholastic and being on the book selection committee for Scholastic Book Fairs has led me to read a lot of children's books, most of which I would have missed out on. I also judged for our Kids Are Authors competition and read about 30-40 kids books in one day. Does that count?
Sometimes, being an adult, I think, "What am I going to do with children's books?" But let me tell you, kids' books are awesome. You probably already know this. If so, good for you. YA and children’s book are not second rate! Over the last year, I've had to catch myself mid-snobbishness, and realize that, yes, these books count toward my personal reading goals and purposes. And please understand, I LOVE children's literature. I bought picture books for my children before I was even pregnant. But something led me to think of them as things I had outgrown. So please excuse me for being short-sighted, and check out the list of YA and kids’ books I read this year.
Picture Books
19. Duck on a Tractor by David Shannon ***Three-way tie for the funniest read of the year*** Read aloud to my eleven- and fourteen-year-old. They died laughing.
20. Groovy Joe: Ice Cream and Dinosaurs by Eric Litwin and Ton Lichten
21. King Baby by Kate Beaton
***Three-way tie for the funniest read of the year*** Read aloud to my eleven- and fourteen-year-olds. They died laughing.
22. Looking for Bongo by Eric Velasquez
23. Mosquitos Can’t Bite Ninjas by Jordan P. Novak
24. A Greyhound, A Groundhog by Emily Jenkins
25. Sunny Side Up by Jennifer Holm and Matthew Holm
26. Last Stop on Market Street by Matt de la Peña
27. Pete the Cat and His Magic Sunglasses by Kimberly and James Dean
28. What If You Had Animal Ears? by Sandra Sparkle
29. Three Little Aliens and the Big Bad Robot by Margaret McNamara
30. Bob, Not Bob! by Liz Garton Scanlon and Audrey Vernick SUPER cute story!
31. Mousetropolis by R. Gregory Christie
32. You Don’t Want a Unicorn by Ame Dyckman
***Three-way tie for the funniest read of the year*** This book says you don’t, but trust me you do. I mean, come on! They poop cupcakes!
33. Don’t Call Me Grandma by Vaunda Micheaux Nelson
34. What Do Authors Do? by Eileen Christelow
***Favorite children’s book read of the year*** For obvious and maybe shallow reasons
Middle Grade/Chapter Books
35. The Crossover by Kwame Alexander
***Best children’s book read of the year*** Amazing writing.
Great cross-read for poets who are looking for creative and appealing ways to use their poetry gift. The Crossover is a fictional story in verse, and it is so very good with WIDE appeal.
36. Daisy Dreamer and the Totally True Imaginary Friend by Holly Anna
YA
37. The Star Thief by Lindsey Becker
38. Siren Sisters by Dana Langer
39. Overturned by Lamar Giles
***Favorite YA read of the year*** I don’t normally read YA, so keep that in mind with this rating. This was a past-paced, fun, and intriguing read. I loved how the male author found such a natural voice for his African American teenage female lead.
Yeah, I almost read forty books this year, but this is OK. I didn't set a goal for how many I would read, but I appreciate each one of them. They each taught me something.
What was the best book you read this year? What stories still live with you? How did you change based on what you read this year?