{"id":1573,"date":"2015-12-31T02:03:25","date_gmt":"2015-12-31T09:03:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theamericancrawl.com\/?p=1573"},"modified":"2015-12-31T02:03:25","modified_gmt":"2015-12-31T09:03:25","slug":"gnawing-my-way-back-home-books-read-in-2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.theamericancrawl.com\/?p=1573","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;Gnawing my way back home&#8221;: Books Read in 2015"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a title=\"Untitled\" href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/anterobot\/23712802349\/in\/dateposted-public\/\" data-flickr-embed=\"true\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/farm2.staticflickr.com\/1468\/23712802349_7d13436e90_z.jpg\" alt=\"Untitled\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" \/><\/a><script src=\"\/\/embedr.flickr.com\/assets\/client-code.js\" async=\"\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m currently halfway through Paul Murray&#8217;s\u00a0<em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Mark-Void-Novel-Paul-Murray\/dp\/0865477558\/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1451527518&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=mark+and+void\" target=\"_blank\">The Mark and the Void<\/a><\/em> and not likely to finish it before 2015 is over. For the 7th year in a row, here&#8217;s my breakdown of books read over the past year:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Books read in 2015: 162<\/strong><br \/>\nComics and graphic novels included in reading total: 28<br \/>\nBooks of poetry included in reading total: 3<br \/>\nBooks reread included in reading total: 4<br \/>\nAcademic &amp; Education related books included in reading total: 45<br \/>\nYA and Junior Fiction books included in reading total: 13<br \/>\nRoleplaying Game-related books (rules, modules, settings &#8211; related to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.naeducation.org\/NAED_166282.htm#Garcia\" target=\"_blank\">this<\/a> research work): 22<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>A few thoughts (As usual, here are my posts on books read in <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theamericancrawl.com\/?p=1483\" target=\"_blank\">2014<\/a>, \u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.theamericancrawl.com\/?p=1317\" target=\"_blank\">2013<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.theamericancrawl.com\/?p=1141\" target=\"_blank\">2012<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.theamericancrawl.com\/?p=971\" target=\"_blank\">2011<\/a>,\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.theamericancrawl.com\/?p=616\" target=\"_blank\">2010<\/a>, and\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.theamericancrawl.com\/?p=450\" target=\"_blank\">2009<\/a>):<\/p>\n<p>Two different sci-fi novels &#8211; perhaps thematically related &#8211; were highlights of the fiction I read this year: Neal Stephenson&#8217;s\u00a0<em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Seveneves-Novel-Neal-Stephenson\/dp\/0062190377\/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1451527674&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=seveneves\" target=\"_blank\">Seveneves<\/a><\/em> and Kim Stanley Robinson&#8217;s\u00a0<em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Aurora-Kim-Stanley-Robinson\/dp\/0316098108\/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1451527671&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=aurora\" target=\"_blank\">Aurora<\/a><\/em> were robust with ideas, questions, and plot hooks that I continue to ponder nuances from them.\u00a0I also really liked\u00a0<em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Station-Eleven-Emily-John-Mandel\/dp\/0804172447\/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1451527677&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=station+11\" target=\"_blank\">Station Eleven<\/a>;\u00a0<\/em>even if I wasn&#8217;t in search of another post-apocalyptic yarn it was an\u00a0unputdownable book.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s been a while, but volumes one and two of Mark Z. Danielewski&#8217;s\u00a0<em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Familiar-One-Rainy-Day-May\/dp\/0375714944\/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1451527729&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=the+familiar\" target=\"_blank\">The Familiar<\/a><\/em> were the enticing reads that returned me to the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theamericancrawl.com\/?p=101\" target=\"_blank\">BSRAYDEKWTDWT<\/a> genre.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Three different music related books I can recommend:The memoirs by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Girl-Band-Memoir-Kim-Gordon\/dp\/006229590X\/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1451527524&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=girl+in+band\" target=\"_blank\">Kim Gordon<\/a> and by <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Hunger-Makes-Me-Modern-Girl\/dp\/1594486638\/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1451527521&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=hunger+makes\" target=\"_blank\">Carrie Brownstein<\/a><em>\u00a0<\/em>were unflinching and feminist looks inside two tumultuous rock bands I&#8217;ve spent a lot of time listening to. And unrelated but Leon Neyfakh&#8217;s\u00a0<em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Next-Level-Friendship-Almost-Giving\/dp\/161219446X\/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1451527528&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=next+next+level\" target=\"_blank\">The Next Next Level<\/a><\/em> was the music biography about a musician I didn&#8217;t know that I didn&#8217;t know I needed to read. (I would encourage curious readers to listen to <a href=\"http:\/\/noeffectsshow.com\/post\/126043382935\/episodes-41-and-42-juiceboxxx-leon-neyfakh\" target=\"_blank\">the two podcast episodes of <em>No Effects with Jesse Cohen<\/em><\/a> where\u00a0he talks with the author of the book and with the musician Juiceboxxx.)<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">In terms of non-fiction, there was no book more important or more affecting this year than Ta-Nehisi Coates&#8217;s\u00a0<em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Between-World-Me-Ta-Nehisi-Coates\/dp\/0812993543\/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1451528609&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=between+the+world+and+me\" target=\"_blank\">Between the World and Me<\/a><\/em>. Enough has been written about this book that you don&#8217;t really have an excuse for <em>not<\/em> reading it at this point. Do it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Sherry Turkle&#8217;s\u00a0<em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Reclaiming-Conversation-Power-Talk-Digital\/dp\/1594205558\/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1451528613&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=reclaiming+conversation\" target=\"_blank\">Reclaiming Conversation<\/a><\/em>\u00a0is a book\u00a0that I&#8217;ve been chewing on and thinking about over the past two months.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">In terms of more popular non-fiction, Jon Ronson&#8217;s\u00a0<em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/So-Youve-Been-Publicly-Shamed\/dp\/1594487138\/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1451528617&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=so+you%27ve+been+publicly\" target=\"_blank\">So You&#8217;ve Been Publicly Shamed<\/a><\/em> was the book that created some of the more entertaining conversations and arguments with friends. Aziz Ansari&#8217;s\u00a0<em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Modern-Romance-Aziz-Ansari\/dp\/1594206279\/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1451528623&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=modern+romance+aziz\" target=\"_blank\">Modern Romance<\/a><\/em> was the book you give to a friend because it looks like another comedian&#8217;s memoir but ends up actually being a pretty impressive empirical, social science study.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">In terms of other media consumption in 2015,\u00a0there was no better live music experience this year than seeing Kamasi Washington with\u00a0family and friends play a flawless and touching (and nearly three hour long) set. <em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Epic-Kamasi-Washington\/dp\/B00UVIR4G4\/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1451528699&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=kamasi+washington\" target=\"_blank\">Epic<\/a><\/em> indeed.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">I listened to the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/After-Lady-Lamb-Beekeeper\/dp\/B00RWKNDSC\/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1451528703&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=lady+lamb\" target=\"_blank\">Lady Lamb and the Beekeeper album<\/a>\u00a0a bunch (yes, that&#8217;s really her name and yeah, I know). The track &#8220;Billions of Eyes&#8221; lends a lyric as the title of this year&#8217;s post.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/qMadelP88VA\" width=\"420\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Other albums I listened to a lot were Kendrick&#8217;s\u00a0<em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.amazon.com\/gp\/product\/B00UMRU4ZW?ie=UTF8&amp;keywords=kendrick&amp;qid=1451528712&amp;ref_=sr_1_1&amp;sr=8-1\" target=\"_blank\">To Pimp a Butterfly<\/a><\/em>, the\u00a0<em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Hamilton-Original-Broadway-Recording-Explicit\/dp\/B013JLBPGE\/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1451552515&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=hamilton\" target=\"_blank\">Hamilton<\/a><\/em>\u00a0Broadway Cast Recording,\u00a0Miguel&#8217;s <em><a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Wildheart-Miguel\/dp\/B00XIQNKK0\/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1451528707&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=miguel\" target=\"_blank\">Wildheart<\/a><\/em>, and Chance the Rapper&#8217;s collaborative <a href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/donnietrumpet\" target=\"_blank\">album with the jazz group the Social Experiment<\/a>.\u00a0(Check out Chance&#8217;s\u00a0performance on SNL from earlier this month:)<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"http:\/\/player.theplatform.com\/p\/NnzsPC\/widget\/select\/media\/guid\/2410887629\/2953438\" width=\"620\" height=\"349\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">When it comes to writing, I&#8217;ve been regularly listening to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Morning-Evening-Four-Tet\/dp\/B00XQODO9Q\/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1451528709&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=four+tet\" target=\"_blank\">this<\/a> Four Tet album, the titular <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Viet-Cong\/dp\/B00OHKK8K6\/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1451528717&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=viet+cong\" target=\"_blank\">Viet Cong<\/a> record, and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Colour-Jamie-xx\/dp\/B00V9MQZRU\/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1451528721&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=jaime+xx\" target=\"_blank\">Jaime XX<\/a>. (Did I mention, I published <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Pose-Wobble-Flow-Culturally-Instruction\/dp\/0807756520\/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1440913609&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=pose+wobble+flow&amp;pebp=1440913861477&amp;perid=0GA8V097GCFW23DVHHYG\" target=\"_blank\">two<\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Doing-Youth-Participatory-Action-Research\/dp\/1138813575\/ref=sr_1_6_twi_1_dig_twi_2_pap?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1433479951&amp;sr=8-6&amp;\" target=\"_blank\">books<\/a> this year? It was an intense year for writing.)<br \/>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/WjNssEVlB6M\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><br \/>\nWhat did you read and listen to in 2015? What are you looking forward to in the new year?<\/p>\n<div class=\"sharedaddy sd-sharing-enabled\"><div class=\"robots-nocontent sd-block sd-social sd-social-icon-text sd-sharing\"><h3 class=\"sd-title\">Tell people this is awesome:<\/h3><div class=\"sd-content\"><ul><li class=\"share-email\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"\" class=\"share-email sd-button share-icon\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theamericancrawl.com\/?p=1573&amp;share=email\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to email this to a friend\"><span>Email<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-facebook\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"sharing-facebook-1573\" class=\"share-facebook sd-button share-icon\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theamericancrawl.com\/?p=1573&amp;share=facebook\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Facebook\"><span>Facebook<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-twitter\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"sharing-twitter-1573\" class=\"share-twitter sd-button share-icon\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theamericancrawl.com\/?p=1573&amp;share=twitter\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Twitter\"><span>Twitter<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-print\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"\" class=\"share-print sd-button share-icon\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theamericancrawl.com\/?p=1573\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to print\"><span>Print<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-pinterest\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"sharing-pinterest-1573\" class=\"share-pinterest sd-button share-icon\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theamericancrawl.com\/?p=1573&amp;share=pinterest\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Pinterest\"><span>Pinterest<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-tumblr\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"\" class=\"share-tumblr sd-button share-icon\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theamericancrawl.com\/?p=1573&amp;share=tumblr\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Tumblr\"><span>Tumblr<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-reddit\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"\" class=\"share-reddit sd-button share-icon\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theamericancrawl.com\/?p=1573&amp;share=reddit\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Reddit\"><span>Reddit<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-linkedin\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"sharing-linkedin-1573\" class=\"share-linkedin sd-button share-icon\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theamericancrawl.com\/?p=1573&amp;share=linkedin\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on LinkedIn\"><span>LinkedIn<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-pocket\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"\" class=\"share-pocket sd-button share-icon\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theamericancrawl.com\/?p=1573&amp;share=pocket\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on Pocket\"><span>Pocket<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-end\"><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I\u2019m currently halfway through Paul Murray&#8217;s\u00a0The Mark and the Void and not likely to finish it before 2015 is over. For the 7th year in a row, here&#8217;s my breakdown of books read over the past year: Books read in 2015: 162 Comics and graphic novels included in reading total: 28 Books of poetry included [&hellip;]<\/p>\n<div class=\"sharedaddy sd-sharing-enabled\"><div class=\"robots-nocontent sd-block sd-social sd-social-icon-text sd-sharing\"><h3 class=\"sd-title\">Tell people this is awesome:<\/h3><div class=\"sd-content\"><ul><li class=\"share-email\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"\" class=\"share-email sd-button share-icon\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theamericancrawl.com\/?p=1573&amp;share=email\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to email this to a friend\"><span>Email<\/span><\/a><\/li><li class=\"share-facebook\"><a rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\" data-shared=\"sharing-facebook-1573\" class=\"share-facebook sd-button share-icon\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theamericancrawl.com\/?p=1573&amp;share=facebook\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Click to share on 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