The Trouble with Short Stories

Sometimes, you read just the right thing at just the right time. But more on that in a minute. . . .

Speaking of reading, I am not doing very well with a lot of my reading challenges for the year (especially "reading books that are already on my shelf"). But I have been plugging away at the Short Story a Week Challenge. I’ve read fifty-eight short stories so far (which, yes, would equal more than one a week, if I spread them out). And I’ve learned something about myself.

I don’t like short stories.

I felt my unread backlog of New Yorkers stare accusingly at me every time I picked up The Cursed Child instead.

So far this year, I’ve read short stories from the New Yorker, from published collections, from literary magazines, from slightly-less-literary magazines, and from sci-fi magazines; I’ve read stories for children, stories for adults, and stories that ride that line between YA and fully grown up; I’ve read painfully realistic stories and confusingly absurd stories.

And while there were a handful I liked, or at least, appreciated, most of them left me cold. In fact, out of all them, the only two I had truly enjoyed were “The Jesters” by Joyce Carol Oates and a story called “Toad Words” by Ursula Vernon that I stumbled across on Tumblr.

I always feel a little sad when people tell me that they are “not into poetry.” Because that’s a little like saying, “I’m not into music” or “I’m not into food.” I suppose it’s possible. However, it seems more likely to me that they just haven’t found the right sound/flavor of poem yet.

But I was beginning to feel like I wasn’t “into short stories.” Like I was missing some essential part of the reading brain that allows you to enjoy short fiction.

In the midst of this, I found myself circling the “Quick Pick” section of my local library. (Not that I needed another book to read—I definitely did not.)

And I picked up a book with an introduction that said just what I needed to hear:

I recently spent a long weekend in Key West at a literary festival where the organizing theme was short stories. How delightful for me! There was much discussion on panels of the challenges that short stories present to their readers. The general feeling was that short stories could be difficult because their subject matter was so often grim; tragic. A novel you had time to settle into—novels wanted you to like them, it was agreed, whereas short stories were like Tuesday’s child, full of woe, and required a certain moral fortitude to properly digest. And yet it has always seemed to me that short stories have a kind of wild delight to them even when their subject is grim. They come at you in a rush and spin you about in an unsettling way and then go rushing off again. There is a kind of joy in the speed and compression necessary to make something very large happen in a small space. In contemporary short fiction, sometimes it’s the language of the story that transmits the live-wire shock. Sometimes the structure of the story itself—the container—the way it unfolds—is the thing that startles or energizes or joyfully dislodges the reader. But: it does sometimes seem to me that for maybe the last quarter of the previous century, the subject matter of literary short fiction was somewhat sedate: marriage, affairs, the loss of love, personal tragedies, moments of self-realization. The weird and the gothic and the fanciful mostly existed in pockets of genre (science fiction, fantasy, horror, mystery, children’s literature) as if literature were a series of walled gardens and not all the same forest (Kelly Link).

This was what was bothering me. Everything I had been reading, whether high or low-brow had seemed predictable. (“Gosh, I wonder if this bird—a symbol for your relationship—will die. Yes, yes, he will.” “Gee, I wonder if this child protagonist will learn a terrible truth about life—and handle it badly.” “Golly, I wonder if these stick-figure characters will act out the obvious moral of this story.”) And what’s worse, they largely lacked any delight for (this) reader. I don’t need my fiction to be “delightful.” But I need to find some sort of delight in it—whether of discovery or language or character. I need to be surprised.

The book I had picked up was The People in the Castle, a new compilation of Joan Aiken’s work. I picked it up because, seeing Aiken’s name, I was immediately flooded with memories of other collections (The Last Slice of Rainbow and A Harp of Fishbones) I’d read in high school. And while I didn’t necessarily remember (or even like) every single short story, I distinctly recalled their vibrant strangeness. (I believe there was one about a man or woman who had a sort of “face blindless” and then fell in love, but something happened to the person this character loved—I think maybe they got trapped in a tea kettle?—and without seeing their love interest for a while, this face-blind character couldn’t recognize them later. I don’t know if that’s exactly correct. But it has all the feel of an Aiken short story.)

I think of a novel as a house (I’m certain I’m stealing this metaphor from someone, is it Henry James?)—a full structure, carefully built, worthy of exploration. And I think of a poem as a window (looking in or looking out). A poem only gives you a glimpse, but sometimes the glimpse is more perfect, more satisfying than a tour through the mansion could be.

But then what is a short story? A room?

Maybe that’s the problem. So many of the short stories I’ve read lately have felt like hotel rooms: slightly different in their details but generic and unremarkable.

Aiken’s stories are like the front room of a questionable apothecary shop or a hidden room in the center of a manor house with a unexplained tree growing through the floor (the actual setting of “A Room Full of Leaves”). They aren’t all quite what I would call “literary.” And if you read enough in one sitting, you start to guess where some of her stories are going. But my word! did they delight me, did they surprise me, did they reawaken a pleasure I had forgotten I could receive from short fiction.

I know a work has really sunk into my bones when it makes me view the world a little differently for the rest of the week.

I’m curious to know: what was the last short story you read that gave you a sense of delight?


(Image from Small Beer Press.)

Strange Book Saturday: The Super Dictionary

It's time to explore another strange book from my shelves. Even before I fell down the deep, dark hole that is comic book fandom, I was fascinated by this volume.

The Super Dictionary is best known for the following meme (and it’s variations):

Lex Luthor: criminal mastermind, sugar addict.

Intentional or not, there's a sort of comedic genius in this phrasing. (Please, someone, direct me to the comic this panel was borrowed from. What was Lex originally stealing? Cakes of uranium?) But even beyond this entry, Super Dictionary is much loved by the internet. You can find blogs and articles dedicated to its strangeness.

The Super Dictionary was published by Warner Educational Consultants in 1978, and it is now, sadly, out of print. Several of the characters in The Super Dictionary appear to have been created just for the dictionary. These characters also appeared in a series of elementary readers known as Super A (and possibly AA, B, and BB). According to some internet sources, the art in Super Dictionary was repurposed from earlier comics, which would explain its sometimes unsettling disconnect from what's being defined.

I think what makes the Super Dictionary so fascinating is that A) it offers such weird, out-of-context images of our favorite superheroes, and B) it fails, so beautifully, as a dictionary for young readers.

Consider this entry:

"A Slow News Day"
or "Instilling Globophobia in Children Everywhere"

What exactly is this image supposed to represent to children? Why is the balloon shaped like a pterodactyl? I suspect this panel was taken from a story in which Wonder Woman fought dinosaurs and they just doodled in some strings. In case you are wondering, pterodactyl is never defined by The Super Dictionary.

Even when the entries have no images, they are headscratchers:

Ted and Teri Trapper are married detectives created for The Super Dictionary. They spend many of their scenes being ant-sized for no clear reason. They also have the sanest Super Dictionary experience.

Okay, yes, breakfast defined as the first meal of the day works. And I can understand dividing the concept of breakfast into categories (cold/hot, healthy/children’s cereal, late/early, homemade/on the run), but indoor/outdoor never seemed like a important part of the meal’s definition. Does Super Dictionary worry that children will stand outside, shivering, munching on pop-tarts because no one explained that breakfast could be eaten indoors?

The individual oddities of this dictionary’s entries were enough to make it worth owning. But I also enjoy the accidental narratives created by reading the dictionary in order:

Batman is a terrible guardian.

I can't tell if Robin is being sarcastic or just resigned.

"Be careful of the outside covering of your body. If you scratch the finish, I can't get my full refund."

The dictionary reminds us that Robin has nine more toes, but that still doesn't make this okay.

"Can I leave you here in this alley? Can I continue to ignore my responsibilities?"

Robin's life is just sad.

Look at how wobbly Robin is, Batman. I think you really damaged his toe.

"You think my constant repetition reeks of desperation, but it doesn't!"

Look at Robin's face. He knows that even the dictionary is mocking him now.

I guess it's never too early to introduce children to the looming horror of parental disappointment.

Batgirl and the robin are sharing that "maybe if we ignore him, he'll go away" look.

During the panels where Green Arrow isn't courting Black Canary, he's a ball of barely contained rage.

HULK SMASH PUNY ARROW! (The cop is trying to nod himself out of frame.)

Black Canary's face says that she knows exactly what those problems are.

I'd say that it's nice to see Green Arrow express something other than anger, but he looks pretty mad about that tear.

And Lex Luthor just loves him some cake.

I don't think I've ever seen him this happy. And I've seen him kill Superman.

Update: New Job, Popular Culture Association Conference, Ferry Frogs, and Tea Parties

Pro Tip: If you don't know how to begin your blog post, try "the photo of a strange thing I saw" cold open.

It's been far too long since my last blog post, and even longer since my last personal update, so here's a quick recap of the past few weeks (and an effort to pretend that I've been busy enough to have an excuse for not blogging):

1.) I got a new job! I am now a part-time staff writer for Children of Nations, a Christian nonprofit that works with orphans in Africa and the Caribbean. This news is so fresh that I haven't even had my first day in the office yet, but I'm too excited to wait to share it. (Generally, I don't discuss my "in-office" professional life on this blog, but I really want to you to check out the marvelous work COTN does.)

2.) I've spent a lot of time lately either writing (on things that aren't this blog), spending time with friends and family (birthdays, family visits, etc.), and dealing with mold. One of these things is not like the others.

I've learned that A) my family is very sensitive to mold and B) "mold hunt" is the worst form of scavenger hunt ever invented.

Rules:

Replace "You're getting warmer/colder" with "You're getting damper/dryer."

Try to guess which area or item in your house will unexpectedly become a sponge.

Find mold.

Five bonus points for each body part that either swells or turns red and itchy.

As I type this, I have approximately one hundred books piled on my bedroom floor; all pulled out so that I could find the single book that decided to go fuzzy on me. (So long, The Book of Tea.)

All the topics I'm "totally going to read up on one of these days."

3.) In slightly older news, the Popular Culture Association/American Culture Association conference was held in Seattle at the end of March. This was the closest McFarland Publishing (the publisher of that book I contributed to) was going to be to me all year, so I took a Thursday off and headed down to the conference.

Here I am with the lovely people at the McFarland table. (Many thanks to Gary and Karl-Heinz.)

The closest I will ever get to taking a photo with actual Dick Grayson, Boy Wonder.

Guys, I had a wonderful time at the conference. I can't even tell you. Most of the sessions I sat in on were about comic books, so I basically got to spend the day listening to academics overthink of one my favorite mediums. I was in heaven.

I also wandered the city and ended up eating macarons for the first time (from Belle Epicurean and The Yellow Cupcake Bakery, both of which I recommend).

And at the end of my trip, as I was waiting for my ride at the Bainbridge terminal, who should keep me company but this giant frog pictured above?

4.) I celebrated National Poetry Month in my typical fashion (with literary littering).

5.) I threw a small circus-themed May Day tea party with some wonderful friends.

I don't have any photos of us sitting at the table, but I promise I actually have friends.

My mom and brother created these little critters and their maypole, so I can't take any credit for them.

Now that we're caught up, I can get back to my regularly scheduled posting.

Strange Book Saturday: Boring Postcards USA

I'm introducing a new series of posts: Strange Book Saturdays!

In these posts, I invite you to gawk with me at oddball books. I won't write these posts every Saturday, but when they do show up it will be on a Saturday (or late Friday evening). Because I am a sucker for alliteration.

The preliminary "strange book" is a long-time favorite of mine: Boring Postcards USA (Phaidon).

Exactly what it says on the tin.

A friend and I used to send each other bizarre books we had discovered, and I think this is the first one she sent me (thanks, Cara!).

I spent three and a half of my college years in northern Indiana, yet I still never managed to cross a stretch of road quite this unremarkable.

Warning: You spend enough time staring at these postcards, you start to believe their claims. When I first saw this photo, I grimaced. Now, it actually makes me a little hungry.

The wonder of the book lies in the fact, not that someone took a photo of each of these places and objects, but that someone turned these photos into mass-produced postcards. What's more, some of these cards have obviously gone through the mail. I like to imagine the sort of messages sent from middle-of-nowhere America:

Dear Joan,

I wish you were here. But for all I know, you are here because "here" is indistinguishable from anywhere else.

In the moments between eating at diners dubbed only "Diner" and driving under the blue eye of a sky that never blinks, along a purgatory of endless interstates, I think of you.

Yours,

Jack

This looks less like a location you'd send a postcard from and more like the setting of a low-budget horror flick.

There's a part of me that desperately wants to take a road trip and find all the places where these photos were taken, to create a "before" and "after" series. Which seems like a waste. It's not as though there aren't many more interesting locales in the world, enough that I will never have time to visit them all. (If you'd like to learn about little-known, non-boring sites to plan a road trip around, check out Atlas Obscura.)

But Boring Postcards appeals to a part of me that relishes innocent delight in the ordinary. Anyone can see the beauty in the Grand Canyon. It takes a vigorous imagination to appreciate the beauties of the Gaines Truck Stop in Boyle, Mississippi. At one point, each of the places depicted here meant something to someone, was worth snapping a photo of or sending a note from. Even if only to say, "This is where I was today when I remembered that I love you."

Bethany Watches Movies Everyone Else Has Already Seen: Jim Henson's Labyrinth

                It’s (past) that time again! Time for another episode of Bethany Watches Movies Everyone Else Has Already Seen.

I know other rock stars were considered for the role, but can you really imagine anyone other than David Bowie playing a convincing Goblin King?

                I know I’ve seen parts of Labyrinth before, and I feel like I must have watched it as a child, but I have more memories of hearing about it than I have of seeing it. There’s a lot I could say about Labyrinth, but what really strikes me is how much it is a story about puberty—specifically, female puberty. Forgive me if I delve briefly into “over-analyzing children’s movies” (this is my favorite game, after “over-analyzing comic books”).

Middle-school me wants every single thing in Sarah's room.

                Jareth is a combination of symbols of male power and sexual fantasy, which explains Sarah’s uncertain relationship with him. (Seriously, the whole Goblin Kingdom is full of phallic imagery, never mind David Bowie’s. . .er, “magic dance.”) The story Sarah tells at the beginning is about the Goblin King being in love with her and offering her some of his power. Pre-journey Sarah is in love with the romantic and fantastical, but her baby brother represents the realities of adult responsibility (and real human relationships). Sarah wants the freedom and power she assumes are attached to adulthood (and romance), but she rejects their responsibilities, particularly the responsibilities of family, which she associates with her stepmother, while idolizing what she assumes was the more romantic life of her deceased actress mother.

                Before Sarah can accept the world of adult responsibilities, however, she has to go deeper “underground,” into the world of dreams and wishes, into her own subconscious.

Me and ever other Muggle who didn't get their Hogwarts letter.

                As with most hero’s journey’s, what the journey represents is change within the hero. As the story continues, Sarah begins to befriend creatures in the labyrinth, she looks for wisdom instead of easy answers, she becomes more generous, and she stops expecting the labyrinth to be “fair.”

                I know people have commented on how the dream ball scene seems a little creepy given that David Bowie is obviously so much older than Jennifer Connelly. Add that to David Bowie’s unsavory history with underage girls, and it becomes difficult to view this scene the way I think it was intended. But if you consider that everything in the Goblin Kingdom comes from Sarah’s fantasies, it’s a little less disturbing. The Goblin King is the romantic “other”—intriguing and sexually mature, dangerous and different, exciting and frightening, but also less threatening than a real flesh-and-blood boy Sarah’s own age would be.

It’s not really clear why the Goblin King would want a baby, but that doesn’t bother me. In puberty logic, it’s not really clear why anyone would want a baby; we’re just vaguely aware that is a thing people want.

                When she momentarily wakes from the dream, she thinks she is looking for “Lancelot”—her bear, but also her dream of courtly love—but what she is really looking for is her baby brother (representing family and responsibility) and her creature friends (representing, well, friends). Her childhood toys represent selfishness and an unwillingness to face adulthood, but paradoxically, her stories from childhood give Sarah the determination she needs to break free from the illusion that the self-centeredness of childhood can last forever.

                When Jareth says that he is “exhausted from living up to your expectations of me”—well, of course he is. He is a projection of everything Sarah thought she wanted. Jareth is pure fantasy, and he promises, “Just let me rule you, and you can have everything that you want.” In other words, “give in completely to fantasy and never have to face the hard world of reality again.”

               

I know, Sarah. This is pretty much what I thought adulthood was going to be like too. (For the record, I am severely disappointed by the lack of masquerade balls in my life.)

When Sarah remembers the line from her book, “You have no power over me,” she is finally realizing her own power—power that has not been given to her by Jareth or any figure of romance, but that is completely her own. And this is the point of story: to give us tools to face our own goblins, to remind us of our power.

                The dance party of rejected goblins that takes place in Sarah’s room at the end might seem to contradict the idea of leaving the realm of fantasy behind, but it actually shows Sarah’s ability to now incorporate her fantasies into her real life without letting them take the place of her real life (it also hints at Sarah now having the ability to make friends). Sarah has accepted reality. She sees that her treasured childhood toys are “junk” when compared to the value of her baby brother. She has traded the black-and-white childhood definitions of “fair” and “unfair” for a view of people that is both less naïve and more forgiving (allowing her to forgive Hoggle’s betrayal). And she is able to see both that she needs others (like Hoggle) and has a power of her own.

Why can't all movies have Escher stairs?

                All that aside, while Labyrinth is fun, and I appreciate seeing a fantasy coming-of-age tale with a female protagonist, it can a bit. . .tedious. I think this is partially because the movie is trying give the viewer a sense of also being trapped in a never-ending labyrinth, which makes the pacing much slower than the average children’s movie (and raises the question: who exactly was this movie intended for?). This also partially because the dialogue becomes repetitive, and at times, falls into the “if a character repeats and repeats something, with increasing freneticism, it must eventually become funny” fallacy. Also, Sarah is not a particularly enjoyable character for a good fourth of the movie (Jennifer Connelly plays a fairly one-note petulant teenager).

                All in all, I enjoyed the movie, even though I frequently caught myself checking the time. I give it three and a half plastic bracelets out of five. 

Update: The Hollins Critic, Guest-Blogging, and Bad Movie Ideas

Whenever I start out a week feeling especially ambitious (This is it. This week I'm going to get to everything on my list!), it's like the opening of the movie trailer.

VOICEOVER GUY: It was foolproof plan.

NAIVE PROTAGONIST [writing to-do list]: What could possibly go wrong?

VOICEOVER GUY: Until. . . .

[Music changes to a minor key. Smile on NAIVE PROTAGONIST's face slowly morphs into a confused grimace. . . .] 

[Trailer speeds up. Volcanoes. Poisoned darts. Fire. Man-eating kittens. Close-up of protagonist's horrified face. Explosions. A literal tornado of paper. Ninjas from the future. More fire.]

He's thinking about it; you can tell.

There may or may not have been man-eating kittens, but that's pretty much how the past few weeks have felt.

So there hasn't been a lot of blogging here. I have, however, been working on some new Bethany Watches Movies Everyone Else Has Already Seen posts, and I should have one of those up soon.

Meanwhile, you can check out my guest blog post, "Your Novel is Boring (Here's Why and How to Fix It)" over at Writing About Writing. I'm now an official guest-blogger there (with a bio and everything), so I guess I'm a real blogger now, in spite of my recent lack of posts here. (If you're reading this, Chris, I'm totally typing out a post for you right now, with my other hand.)

In other news, what should show up in my mailbox but a copy of The Hollins Critic?

With one of my poems on the back cover.

You can either order your own copy to read, or you can create a new poem out of the words visible between my fingers.

Reading Goals for 2016

Now that I've finally finished updating my reading challenges from last year, here are my goals for 2016.

A few goals are repeats from last year:

• at least seven books that are either collections of poetry or books about poetry
• at least one book by a Nobel-prize-winning writer whose work I'm not well-acquainted with 
• two Pulitzer-winning books, at least one of them fiction 

And few are new:

bed (n.):
a piece of furniture that prevents bookshelves

• literature from Argentina (watching a review of Evita made me realize that I know nothing about Argentina)
• literature from Nepal (based on some suggestions from a missionary couple I know)
• Seventy books (I've been reading a lot of graphic novels lately, and those tend to be faster reads, so I feel like it's time to update my goals to reflect this)
• Twenty books that were already on my shelves (digital or physical) at the beginning of 2016 (Maybe this will decrease my TBR pile and even make some space on my shelves? Unless I get rid of my bed, I don't really have wall space left for bookshelves.)
• One short story a week (It's time to get over my dread of the short story. A friend has given me his old New Yorkers, and I've been reading online publications, like Narrative Magazine. But if you have any short story suggestions, I'd be delighted to hear them.)

What are your reading goals for 2016? Do you have any recommendations for me?

Reading Challenge Update for 2015 (Part 2 of 2)

Every year, the number of books I read, the genres I read the most, and the challenges I pursue change. But one thing remains the same. . .I always forget how freaking long it takes to organize this post.

Beyond the PopSugar challenge I posted already, my other reading goals for 2015 were to read

• at least seven books that are either collections of poetry or books about poetry (Done!)
• at least one book by a Nobel-prize-winning writer whose work I'm not well-acquainted with (Nadine Gordimer)
• two Pulitzer-winning books, at least one of them fiction (This one I didn't manage. I did read two Pulitzer-winning books, but they were both poetry. I'd been trying to finish All the Light We Cannot See since before it won the Pulitzer, but there was a huge hold list for it at the library and I kept having to return it before I was finished.)
• literature from South Africa (Africa39, which contained three short stories by South African authors, and July's People by Nadine Gordimer)
• literature from Lesotho, focusing particularly (though not exclusively) on work relating to the Zulu people (Chaka by Thomas Mofolo is a fictional retelling of the history of a famous Zulu king) 
• Fifty books (I'll let you scroll down and see the list for yourself)

Key:

Fiction

Poetry

Nonfiction

YA or middle-grade 

Memoir

Play

Underline of any color= graphic novel/comic book  

1. Watch for the Light: Readings for Advent and Christmas—various authors 
2. The Art of Fielding—Chad Harbach (reread)
3.  The Yiddish Policemen’s Union—Michael Chabon
4.  Relish: My Life in the Kitchen—Lucy Kinsley
5. Ms. Marvel, Vol. 1: No Normal—written by G. Willow Wilson, art by Adrian Alphona
6. Batgirl, Vol. 1: Silent Running—written by Kelley Puckett and Scott Peterson, art by Damion Scott and Robert Campanella
7. Bone: The Great Cow Race—Jeff Smith
8. Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic—Alison Bechdel
9. In the Open—Beatrix Gates  
10. Behind the Beautiful Forevers—Katherine Boo
11. Return of the Dapper Men—written by Jim McCann, art by Janet K. Lee
12. Justice League International, Vol. 2—written by Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis, art by Kevin Maguire and Bill Willingham 
13. Bone: Eyes of the Storm—Jeff Smith
14. How Mirka Got Her Sword (Hereville #1)—Barry Deutsch
15. Gaijin: American Prisoner of War—Matt Faulkner
16. Diadem Me—Bethany Carlson
17. Shadow Hero—written by Gene Luen Yang, art by Sonny Liew
18. How Mirka Met a Meteorite (Hereville #2)—Barry Deutsch
19. Alpha Zulu—Gary Copeland Lilley  
20. Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo & Me—Ellen Forney
21. Neurocomic—Dr. Matteo Farinella and Dr. Hana Roš
22. Batman and Robin, Vol. 3: Death of the Family—written by Peter Tomasi and Scott Snyder; art by Patrick Gleason, Ardian Syaf, Greg Capullo, Mick Gray, Vicente Cifuentes, Keith Champagne, Jonathan Glapion, John Kalisz, FCO Plascencia, etc.
23. Mister Orange—Truus Matti, trans. from the Dutch by Laura Watkinson
24. New Covenant Bound—Tony Crunk (reread)
25. Hawkeye, Vol. 2: Little Hits—written by Matt Fraction; art by David Aja, Steve Lieber, Jesse Hamm, Francesco Francavilla, and Matt Hollingsworth
26. Runaways, Vol. 1: Pride & Joy—written by Brian K. Vaughan; art by Adrian Alphona, David Newbold, Craig Yeung, Brian Reber, etc. 
27. Bone, Vol. 4: The Dragonslayer—Jeff Smith
28. At Home: A Short History of Private Life—Bill Bryson
29. Trillium—Jeff Lemire
30. Zita the Spacegirl—Ben Hatke
31. Through the Woods—Emily Carroll
32. Bone, Vol. 5: Rock Jaw—Master of the Eastern Border—Jeff Smith
33. Marvel Super Heroes Secret Wars—Jim Shooter (and many others)
34. Heavenly Bodies—Cynthia Huntington
35. The Museum of Extraordinary Things—Alice Hoffman
36. On Gold Mountain—Lisa See
37. The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage: The (Mostly) True Story of the First Computer—Sydney Padua
38. Fangirl—Rainbow Rowell
39. The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl—Timothy Egan
40. In Real Life—written by Cory Doctorow, art by Jen Wang
41. March, Book 2—John Lewis and Andrew Aydin, art by Nate Powell
42. Leaving Megalopolis—written by Gail Simone, art by J. Calafiore and Jason Wright
43. Africa39: New Writing from Africa South of the Sahara—edited by Ellah Wakatama Allfrey (three authors from South Africa in collection)
44. Batman Incorporated, Vol. 2: Gotham’s Most Wanted—written by Grant Morrison, Chris Burnham, Joe Keatinge, Mike Raicht, Dan Didio, and Ethan Van Sciver; art by Chris Burnham, Jason Masters, Nathan Fairbairn, Hi-Fi, Andrei Bressan, Jorge Lucas, Ian Hannin, Dave McCraig, Emanuel Simeon, Brett Smith, John Stanisci, Art Lyon, Dan Didio, and Ethan Van Sciver, etc.
45. Batman and Robin, Vol. 4: Requiem for Damian—written by Peter J. Tomasi; art by Patrick Gleason, Mick Gray, Cliff Richards, Mark Irwin, Marlo Alquiza, John Kalisz, etc.
46. Delights and Shadows—Ted Kooser
47. Mink River—Brian Doyle
48. Diniwe in Dreamland—Desmond Dudwa Phiri 
49. The Cute Girl Network—written by Greg Means and MK Reed, art by Joe Flood
50. Asterios Polyp—David Mazzucchelli
51. Stitches—David Small
52. Cold Mountain—Charles Frazier
53. The Sculptor—Scott McCloud
54. Grayson: Agents of Spyral, Vol. 1—written by Tim Seeley and Tom King; Stephen Mooney, Jeromy Cox, Mikel Janín, Guillermo Ortego, Juan Castro, Carlos M. Mangual, etc.
55. Robot Dreams—Sara Varon
56. Batman and Robin, Vol. 5: The Big Burn—written by Peter Tomasi, art by Patrick Gleason
57. Runaways, Vol. 2: Teenage Wasteland—written by Brian K. Vaughan, art by Adrian Alphona
58. Crashboomlove: A Novel in Verse—Juan Felipe Herrera
59. Wuthering Heights—Emily Brontë (reread)
60. Wonder Woman, Vol. 3: The Circle—written by Gail Simone; art by Terry Dodson, Bernard Chang, Ron Randall, and Rachel Dodson  
61. Cinder—Marissa Meyer
62. The Compleat Terminal City—Dean Motter
63. Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake—Anna Quindlen
64. Griffin and Sabine Trilogy (Griffin & Sabine, Sabine’s Journal, and The Golden Mean)—Nick Bancock
65. Boundaries: When to Say YES, When to Say NO, to Take Control of Your Life—Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend
66. Gemini—Carol Cassella
67. Batman Eternal, Vol. 1—written by Scott Snyder, James Tynion IV, John Layman, Ray Fawkes, Tim Seeley, Kyle Higgins; art by Jason Fabock, Dustin Nguyen, Mikel Janin, Guillem March, Ian Bertram, Riccardo Burchielli, Andy Clarke, Trevor McCarthy, Emanuel Simeoni, Derek Fridolfs, Guillermo Ortego, Brad Anderson, John Kalisz, Blond, Jeromy Cox, Tomeu Morey, Guy Major, Dave McCaig, Dave Stewart, etc.
68. Hawkeye, Vol. 3: L.A. Woman—written by Matt Fraction, art by Annie Wu and Javier Pulido
69. Chaka—Thomas Mofolo, trans. Daniel P. Kunene
70. July’s People—Nadine Gordimer (Nobel Prize winner)
71. Absalom! Absalom!—William Faulkner
72. American Primitive—Mary Oliver (Pulitzer Prize)
73. The Diary of a Young Girl—Anne Frank, trans. Susan Massotty
74. The Winter’s Tale—William Shakespeare

Or to break it down:

32 works of fiction, 20 of them graphic novels/trade comic collections and 12 works of adult (non-graphic-novel) fiction

19 works of YA or middle-grade fiction, 15 graphic novels/comic collections and 4 novels (although deciding what counted as part of this category was difficult)

9 works of nonfiction, 8 prose and 1 graphic nonfiction

8 works of poetry

 5 memoirs (all of them graphic memoirs)

1 play

41 (!) comic collections and graphic novels

Favorite adult fiction:The Yiddish Policemen’s Union—Michael Chabon. This isn't much of a surprise to me; The Amazing Adventures of Kavelier and Clay is one of my favorite books. I love the playful way Chabon writes complex, verbose sentences, as though he is inviting you into a game rather than simply showing off. It's a murder mystery and a love story and a neo-noir alternative history of the 1980s. What more could you want?

Favorite work of nonfiction: Boundaries: When to Say YES, When to Say NO, to Take Control of Your Life—Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend. A lot of the principles in the book weren't new to me (and it does have some of the flavor of a nineties self-book), but I still find myself wanting to hand it out to strangers on the street, like some kind of Oprah of good emotional/spiritual health: "You get good boundaries! And you! And you!"  

Favorite poetry: It's a serious stretch to pick just one. I read a lot volumes this year that I found myself recommending to others, including one by a college classmate (Diadem Me by Bethany Carlson). But my favorite was actually an old favorite: New Covenant Bound by Tony Crunk. We read it in my book club, and I worried that I might find my enthusiasm for the book had dampened over time. But I loved it every bit as much as the first time.

Favorite memoir: Again, I liked a lot of what I read in this category for 2015 (and I'm not a huge memoir fan—graphic or otherwise). But March (John Lewis, Andrew Ayden, and Nate Powell) wins. Don't avoid it just because you think you already know this story.

Favorite YA/middle-grade: Ms. Marvel, Vol. 1: No Normal. Origin stories can get repetitive, but G. Willow Wilson handles this one with expert care and humor. Kamala Khan is a character I feel like I've been subconsciously waiting for. A breath of fresh air.

The contest for my favorite book read in 2015 ended in a tie.

Asterios Polyp (David Mazzucchelli) is book I shouldn't have liked (an egoistical architectural professor has a midlife crisis) but that I ended up loving. If you think graphic novels can't be pieces of serious literary fiction, you need to read this book. I've never seen every bit of a graphic novel's visual art (lettering, coloring, line thickness, panel-size, etc.) play into the theme and character development quite like this before. Amazing work.

The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage (Sydney Padua) is technically fiction. But it is hands-down the best researched book I read in 2015. It's half footnotes. And the footnotes are delightful. It has all the fun of a steampunk adventure, and Padua's characters leap off the page (sometimes, out of their panels), but you will leave the book remembering more history about Victorian England and the first computer than if you had read a slew of biographies. I highly recommend this graphic novel, even if, like me, you think you aren't that interested technological histories.


Here, I usually list the "other books" I've read: things that were too short (or not "word/narrative heavy enough") to make the previous list. But given the number of individual comic book issues I read in 2015, this list is longer than usual. So I've included it below for consistency's sake, but I'm happy to leave you here. In my next post, I'll probably talk about my reading goals for 2016.

But what were your favorite reads of 2015?

Other:

The Power of Shazam! The Arson Fiend, #2—written by Jerry Ordway; art by Peter Krause, Mike Manley, Glen Whitmore, and John Constanza  

Power Pack: Star Struck, #58—written by Michael Higgins; art by Tom Morgan, Nel Yomtov, and Joe Rosen

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight: Infected, Part One—Warren Ellis and John McCrea

Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight: Infected, Part Two—Warren Ellis and John McCrea

Raising Dion, #1­—written by Dennis Liu; art by Jason Piperberg

The Princess and the Pony—Kate Beaton

Cheetah Can’t Lose—Bob Shea

Robin: Buggin’, #23—written by Chuck Dixon; art by Aaron Lopresti, Stan Woch, Adrienne Roy, and Tim Harkins

Detective Comics: Rite of Passage: Shadow of the Sun, Part One, #618—written by Alan Grant; art by Norm Breyfogle, Dick Giordano, Adrienne Roy, etc.

World’s Finest: Worlds Apart, #1—written by Dave Gibbons; art by Steve Rude, Karl Kesel, and Steve Oliff

Green Lantern: Among My Souvenirs, #4—written by Gerard Jones; art by Pat Broderick, Bruce Patterson, Albert De Guzman, Anthony Tollin, and Kevin Dooley

Showcase 94 (Benedictions—Part 3: Vengeance and Forgiveness; Sparx!: Allure of New Orleans; The Atom: The Uncertainty Principle), #6—written by Chuck Dixon, Karl Kesel, and Len Kaminski; art by Phil Jimenez, Peter Gross, Tom McCraw, Scott Lee, Phil Allen, Brad Vancata, Fred Reyes, Rick Burcheett, Robbie Busch, etc.

Batgirl: Fresh Blood—Part Four, Settling Up, #59—written by Andersen Gabrych; art by Ale Garza, Jesse Delperdang, Wildstorm FX, and Rob Leigh

The Return of Donna Troy: A Golden Age to Conquer, #1—written by Phil Jimenez; art by José Garcia-Lopez, George Pérez, Martin Breccĭa, Nestor Preyra, Lee Loughridge, and Ken Lopez

Power Pack: Whose Power?, #27­—written by Louise Simonson; art by Jon Bogdanove, Al Gordon, Joe Rosen, and Glynis Oliver

Step Aside, Pops: A Hark! a Vagrant Collection—Kate Beaton

Batman: The Cult—Book One: Ordeal—written by Jim Starlin; art by Berni Wrightson, Bill Wray, John Costanza, etc.

Batman: The Cult—Book Two: Capture—written by Jim Starlin; art by Berni Wrightson, Bill Wray, John Costanza, etc.

The SheepOver—John and Jennifer Churchman

Days with Frog and Toad—Arnold Lobel (reread)

Frog and Toad Together—Arnold Lobel (reread)

The Secret Remedy Book—written by Karin Cates, illustrated by Wendy Anderson Halperin (reread)

The Magic of Millicent Musgrave—Brinton Turkle


Images from HarperCollins, The University Press of Kentucky, Top Shelf Comics,  Knof Doubleday, and Knof Doubleday.