Okay, one last reading list because I can't help myself...

I enjoyed all of the books I read last year but I think I'm at the point where no matter what, I find most of the writing I pick up if not good, at least interesting. It's like blogger Kara Norman wrote in her recent post:

"The point of making things - songs or books or cookies or blog posts, I would say - is not necessarily to arrive at an aesthetically-pristine product, but for the artist to go through the process of making it and the audience to go through the process of receiving it. It's perhaps why, at this point in my life, I'm not sorry when I read a bad book by a favorite author. It's exciting to watch someone I respect keep trying, whether they sometimes miss the bar or not."

Only once I started creating (actually creating) did I stop looking for, as Kara says, an aesthetically-pristine product. Still of the books I read, there were some that stood out and so here they are, in no particular order:

* The Interior Circuit: a Mexican City Chronicle by Francisco Goldman: Like I said in a previous post, this was my favorite book of the year. It had a perfect mix of the personal, the political and some travel writing as well. Goldman's ode to his favorite city and his complicated love for it knocked it out of the park for me.

* Maud Martha by Gwendolyn Brooks: Brooks chronicles her narrator's every day, the small tragedies, the beauty in the somewhat mundane and all of the little moments that equate to a life. It's a classic and deservedly so.

* Working Hard, Drinking Hard by Adrienne Pine: An anthropological study on Honduras, this might not be everyone's cup of tea but it was incredibly eye-opening for me and also, somewhat applicable to life in the states. It mainly looked at the violence in Honduras and those who are seen as perpetrating the violence and how they are victims themselves of even greater violence by the state. So, you know, a fun read.

* Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri: Not a word missplaced or a story line that falls flat. I'm mesmerized every time I return to her work.

* Homing Instincts by Sarah Menkedick: I've been following Menkedick's journalism for a while but in her first book, she shifts gears a little, writing about motherhood while she adjusts to life stateside in Ohio. There were some really poignant moments in this book that have lingered on after reading. 

* Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi: What a masterpiece of a book. It's meticulously researched and such a creative feat, telling the story of seven generations, starting in Ghana and weaving it's way through most of American history. I can't recommend it enough.

* Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown: A bit dated but I think that's why I liked it. The novel also serves as a slice of history, telling the story of a woman navigating life as a lesbian in the eighties.

* Scratch: Writers, Money and the Art of Making a Living by Manjula Martin: This one was right up my alley, as a group of writers discussed how they came to make a semblance of a living off their writing. Each essay describes a different journey, which served as a nice reminder that there is no one way, it seems.

* Woman Hollering Creek by Sandra Cisneros: Like Lahiri, I love everything by Cisneros. The title story was phenomenal (I read it twice because I was so in love).

So alas, there are my reads for 2017. What about you? Any recommendations for 2018?