Fionnuala Lirsdottir

What can I say about my year in books? I read a lot in quarantine, but not as much as some of my Goodreads friends. The bulk of my reading was fiction, the better to escape during this pandemic year, but I managed some memoir, poetry and art books. I would like to see more classics on my list or at least books from the Twentieth Century other than the one [a:John O'Hara|27991|John O'Hara|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1208901276p2/27991.jpg] and [a:Annie Dillard|5209|Annie Dillard|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1551806922p2/5209.jpg]. Hopefully, my addiction to the podcast Backlisted.fm will spur me on in 2021 with forgotten titles. I would also like to read more books in translation and look forward again to the groups on GR which offer great weighted suggestions.
My favorite books this year were [b:Shuggie Bain|52741293|Shuggie Bain|Douglas Stuart|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1602094778l/52741293._SY75_.jpg|72463055] and [b:The Hare With Amber Eyes: A Family's Century of Art and Loss|7821828|The Hare With Amber Eyes A Family's Century of Art and Loss|Edmund de Waal|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1316730175l/7821828._SY75_.jpg|10861805]. I was most affected by [b:What You Have Heard Is True: A Memoir of Witness and Resistance|40712499|What You Have Heard Is True A Memoir of Witness and Resistance|Carolyn Forché|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1532440456l/40712499._SY75_.jpg|63320481]. I enjoyed rollicking along with the writer in [b:Writers & Lovers|45289222|Writers & Lovers|Lily King|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1580228175l/45289222._SX50_.jpg|70005226]. The poetry of [a:Dorianne Laux|155377|Dorianne Laux|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1199379173p2/155377.jpg]made a lasting impression. My most challenging read was [b:Milkman|36047860|Milkman|Anna Burns|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1526985855l/36047860._SY75_.jpg|57622946] but worth it in the end. The most unexpected treasure was [b:The Hanky of Pippin's Daughter|46228008|The Hanky of Pippin's Daughter|Rosmarie Waldrop|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1564693856l/46228008._SX50_.jpg|661274]which reminds me to pay attention to the other titles from Dorothy, a Publishing Project. [b:A Line Made by Walking|30971749|A Line Made by Walking|Sara Baume|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1488552364l/30971749._SY75_.jpg|51589488] and [b:Index Cards: Selected Essays|52974306|Index Cards Selected Essays|Moyra Davey|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1572994494l/52974306._SX50_SY75_.jpg|73796167] with her thoughts on reading were completely unexpected finds, very different but both introspective. [b:The Writer's Library: The Authors You Love on the Books That Changed Their Lives|49203398|The Writer's Library The Authors You Love on the Books That Changed Their Lives|Nancy Pearl|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1588038545l/49203398._SX50_.jpg|73236167] was fun for a bookaholic particularly with my intention of reading backwards into the 20th Century.

Here is the 2020 list: https://www.goodreads.com/user_challenges/20181926… (plus d'informations)

In my dreamscape, I was assessing my 2021 year in books, thinking how many I shared with some of you (aha-that's how I came up with some of those unusual titles and new publishers like Dorothy). So many of the same titles Fionnuala read, I too could do a biographical pattern, yet I do enjoy biographies and memoirs. These Goodreads connections add much meat to my bibliophilism and I wish you all the best reading year yet in 2022. My 65 books list was better than past challenges, mostly due to insomnia over the pandemic. [b:A Ghost in the Throat|51498568|A Ghost in the Throat|Doireann Ní Ghríofa|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1591993457l/51498568._SY75_.jpg|76159117] was my favorite novel. For once, my Read list exceeds my Want to Read List but not by many. I was most proud of reading and enjoying[b:Moby-Dick or, the Whale|153747|Moby-Dick or, the Whale|Herman Melville|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327940656l/153747._SY75_.jpg|2409320], one of over a million on Goodreads who did. Other highlights and top ratings went to a reread of [b:Housekeeping|11741|Housekeeping|Marilynne Robinson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327882949l/11741._SY75_.jpg|1056302], and newer books: [b:Hamnet|43890641|Hamnet|Maggie O'Farrell|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1574943819l/43890641._SY75_.jpg|68289933][b: Essential Ruth Stone|51168174|Essential Ruth Stone|Ruth Stone|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1588575997l/51168174._SX50_.jpg|75946345], (poetry), [b:The Waves|46114|The Waves|Virginia Woolf|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1639098410l/46114._SY75_.jpg|6057263], [b:The Promise|54633172|The Promise|Damon Galgut|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1619750215l/54633172._SY75_.jpg|85240090],[b:Intimacies|55918474|Intimacies|Katie Kitamura|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1605570704l/55918474._SX50_.jpg|87129689], and [b:The Copenhagen Trilogy: Childhood; Youth; Dependency|53317528|The Copenhagen Trilogy Childhood; Youth; Dependency|Tove Ditlevsen|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1593377780l/53317528._SY75_.jpg|62438608]. [b:Something New Under the Sun|55905024|Something New Under the Sun|Alexandra Kleeman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1624229177l/55905024._SY75_.jpg|87121418] was not for me--dystopian stories rarely are and I felt [b:Great Circle|54976986|Great Circle|Maggie Shipstead|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1603740174l/54976986._SY75_.jpg|68771390]needed a tough editor. I particularly enjoyed the [a:D H Lawrence|21995061|D H Lawrence|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] non-fiction in tandem with [b:Second Place|54785558|Second Place|Rachel Cusk|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1620840483l/54785558._SY75_.jpg|85465242] and the memoirs of [a:Abigail Thomas|17421|Abigail Thomas|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] [a:Anatole Broyard|42968|Anatole Broyard|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1331655291p2/42968.jpg], [b:Three Simple Lines: A Writer's Pilgrimage into the Heart and Homeland of Haiku|55725502|Three Simple Lines A Writer's Pilgrimage into the Heart and Homeland of Haiku|Natalie Goldberg|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1606708000l/55725502._SY75_.jpg|86909800] and [a:Mary Morris|28781|Mary Morris|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1498574860p2/28781.jpg], and bios[b:The Life She Wished to Live: A Biography of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, author of The Yearling|53597776|The Life She Wished to Live A Biography of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, author of The Yearling|Ann McCutchan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1612030875l/53597776._SY75_.jpg|83925126] and [b:Sybille Bedford: A Life|53481715|Sybille Bedford A Life|Selina Shirley Hastings|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1594001332l/53481715._SX50_.jpg|83658786]. I got a kick out of the Backlist.fm title [b:The Bloater|2408042|The Bloater|Rosemary Tonks|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1589650080l/2408042._SY75_.jpg|2415213]. [b:Secrets of Happiness|54338144|Secrets of Happiness|Joan Silber|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1599340636l/54338144._SY75_.jpg|84793244],[b:Unsettled Ground|53341634|Unsettled Ground|Claire Fuller|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1591958345l/53341634._SY75_.jpg|74659792], [b:A Lie Someone Told You about Yourself|48931085|A Lie Someone Told You about Yourself|Peter Ho Davies|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1603447232l/48931085._SX50_.jpg|74339662] and [b:Should We Stay or Should We Go|55659646|Should We Stay or Should We Go|Lionel Shriver|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1612196281l/55659646._SY75_.jpg|86671892] all contributed to contented reading during the losses of 2021.… (plus d'informations)

A satisfying year meeting my goal and reading a few extra volumes (69 total) mostly due to pandemic quarantining. My most generous reviews were of my husband's book [b:Southern Voices: Biet Dong and the National Liberation Front|58713102|Southern Voices Biet Dong and the National Liberation Front|Michael Robert Dedrick|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1628257979l/58713102._SX50_.jpg|92393695] (about the Vietnam War), several poetry volumes (discovered [a:Robert Wrigley|171109|Robert Wrigley|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] and [a:Larry Levis|33323|Larry Levis|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1304304677p2/33323.jpg], revisited [a:Octavio Paz|7469|Octavio Paz|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1511722231p2/7469.jpg]), and fiction: [b:Still Life|57001545|Still Life|Sarah Winman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1618151291l/57001545._SY75_.jpg|87853238], [b:Fight Night|56978048|Fight Night|Miriam Toews|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1615339835l/56978048._SY75_.jpg|89128919], [b:The All of It|751140|The All of It|Jeannette Haien|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1439915494l/751140._SY75_.jpg|737273], [b:The Fell|57845085|The Fell|Sarah Moss|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1629821819l/57845085._SX50_.jpg|90343354], [b:Recitatif|34842610|Recitatif|Toni Morrison|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1576716320l/34842610._SY75_.jpg|62851828],[b:Burntcoat|56555133|Burntcoat|Sarah Hall|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1618279572l/56555133._SY75_.jpg|88305236], [b:Trust|58210933|Trust|Hernan Diaz|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1631246461l/58210933._SY75_.jpg|91248878], [b:The Lovers|56754741|The Lovers|Paolo Cognetti|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1636977222l/56754741._SX50_.jpg|93269068], [b:Companion Piece|58511594|Companion Piece|Ali Smith|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1637333569l/58511594._SY75_.jpg|91902195], [b:The Passenger|60526801|The Passenger (The Passenger, #1)|Cormac McCarthy|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1647021401l/60526801._SX50_.jpg|58040703], and [b:Small Things Like These|58662236|Small Things Like These|Claire Keegan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1627655660l/58662236._SX50_.jpg|86476810]; and non-fiction include Virginia Woolf's [b:A Room of One's Own|18521|A Room of One's Own|Virginia Woolf|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327883012l/18521._SY75_.jpg|1315615], [a:Deborah Levy|147246|Deborah Levy|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1591038543p2/147246.jpg]'s memoir trilogy, [b:Aurelia, Aurélia: A Memoir|57693626|Aurelia, Aurélia A Memoir|Kathryn Davis|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1620689695l/57693626._SX50_.jpg|90371780](memoir), [b:Suppose a Sentence|52753017|Suppose a Sentence|Brian Dillon|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1570965428l/52753017._SX50_SY75_.jpg|73726508] (on favorite sentences), [b:In Love: A Memoir of Love and Loss|58065372|In Love A Memoir of Love and Loss|Amy Bloom|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1641777500l/58065372._SY75_.jpg|91007528](on death with dignity), [b:The Last Days of Roger Federer: And Other Endings|58772764|The Last Days of Roger Federer And Other Endings|Geoff Dyer|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1635861565l/58772764._SX50_.jpg|92535768] (on endings), [b:Also a Poet: Frank O'Hara, My Father, and Me|59577177|Also a Poet Frank O'Hara, My Father, and Me|Ada Calhoun|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1643829850l/59577177._SX50_.jpg|93828384], and [b:A House of My Own: Stories from My Life|25614824|A House of My Own Stories from My Life|Sandra Cisneros|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1436979577l/25614824._SX50_.jpg|45028633], both memoir hybrids and [b:Figure It Out|48658183|Figure It Out|Wayne Koestenbaum|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1572618149l/48658183._SX50_.jpg|74001094] (on art and life). A satisfactory collection but this year I would like to strive for more classics, read more books in translation and finish [b:Ducks, Newburyport|43412920|Ducks, Newburyport|Lucy Ellmann|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1546225252l/43412920._SX50_.jpg|67454703]. Certainly, something can be found in my TBR pile of 1,093 titles the oldest and highest rated of which is [b:The Invention of Hugo Cabret|9673436|The Invention of Hugo Cabret|Brian Selznick|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1422312376l/9673436._SY75_.jpg|527941]. I am already looking at a maxed out library holds list and an ample in-house collection.… (plus d'informations)