Two of my favorite books read last year followed by a list of books to read this year!
How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder by Nina McConigley. Went in blind expecting a whodunnit. Some humor but heavier than the cover would suggest. Unintentional back-to-back books with incestual sexual abuse. Oof. Besides that, a fun window into the world of indian immigrants in rural Wyoming.
Yesterday bus to xc ski. Today bus to sled!
Took a free bus to miles of free freshly groomed nordic track. Transit-to-trails is on the up in Utah.
My Absolute Darling by Gabriel Tallent. A critic called it hard to read and harder to put down & that is how I felt about it. Graphic depictions of abuse almost make it not worth reading, but it is fantastic storytelling w. well-formed characters in a dreamy Northern California setting. SLC author!
Katabasis by R. F. Kuang. It took a long time to get into this book, but eventually it did hook me. Two grad students travel to hell, which has a lot in common with grad school, apparently. It's my least favorite and slowest pace Kuang book, but I would still recommend it.
North Woods by Daniel Mason. A fun exploration of landfullness, tracing the stories of people's experiences on a plot of land in western Massachusetts over like 3 centuries. If you've ever sat in the woods and thought about everyone else that might have sat in that same spot, you'll like this one.
2026 Book Thread: last year's thread was a nice way of documenting and processing. austinwhitehead.substack.com/p/books-of-2...
Keeping it up this year.
This proposed homeless campus in Dallas (or rather 10 miles outside of downtown) is very similar to the proposed SLC campus and indeed it is the same think tanks pulling the strings. www.texasobserver.org/dallas-texas...
Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki. I went into this book blind and enjoyed the genre bends and ridiculousness of it all. This still manages to be a cozy read while dealing with heavy issues, though it didn't quite have the world building or character development that i really wanted from it.
Everyday Eutopia by Kristen R. Ghodsee. A survey of eutopian visions, exploring their merits and shortcomings. Also a compelling case for dreaming a little bigger and thinking outside the box when organizing our lives.
I Love You, but I've Chosen Darkness by Claire Vay Watkins. I went into this blind and mostly bc gold fame citrus had a wait on Libby. While pitched as fiction, the commonalities with her real life made this so much darker and more interesting. Still processing and will think about it for a while.
Can't Spell Treason Without Tea by Rebecca Thorne. The cozy fantasy genre has been like a warm blanket to me over the past couple years. No story too cheesy and no bookshop too quaint. Just an escape to a far off world where powerful people just want to run a quiet shop and be good neighbors.
Evicted by Matthew Desmond. This book was heavy, so heavy that I could only read a chapter at a time. It's also important, expertly written, and will sit with me for a long time. I wish the epilogue was an entire other book of solutions and i wish we lived in a less cruel world.
Palace for the People by Eric Klinenberg. This has been a great balance of optimism and I've savored every page as I've read it, aptly, in parks and in libraries and on transit. Give people places to come together. It's as important now as it ever was.
Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler. I knew it was going in, but this book is heavy. many climate dystopia books actually feel quasi-eutopian (i.e. imagining survival) and i guess i could make that argument here, but it feels like a world thats too close & a hope thats too dim
The City We Became by N.K. Jemison. I've been told this is a strange introduction to Jemison, but I enjoyed this book. It felt a little like a marvel movie for nerdy woke urbanists. Over-the-top? Yep. Cheesy at times? Extra. Fun to read? An absolute blast.
The idea of modern day city gods is 🤌
The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang. Another kuang book that captivated me. God the second half of this book is dark and graphic though. And knowing that the genocidal descriptions are based on historic events made them that much tougher to read. I'll read the rest of this series but need a second.
How to Blow Up a Pipeline by Andreas Malm. An exploration of the ethics of property sabotage as advocacy that felt like an appropriate read for the 50th anniversary of the monkey wrench gang. Enjoyable and quick read for a heavy topic. Related substack: open.substack.com/pub/landdesk...
Legendborn by Tracy Deonn. The Chapel Hill setting sucked me in quick, but this was an engrossing read and people without a NC connection would still enjoy it. UNC always had a magical feel and Deonn makes it come alive in a really compelling and intuitive way. Can't wait to read more of the series
Assata by Assata Shakur. Reading about 20th century resistance has been grounding for me. The problems we face in today's era are huge, but I think they're less unique than we often pretend they are. Couldn't help but think about the parallels with cop city activists labeled as terrorists.
Jonathan Abernathy You Are Kind by Molly Mcghee. The kind of world that gives you a pit in your stomach. I could not put it down. May capitalism never come for our literal dreams.
City of Quartz by Mike Davis. This felt so relevant today and gave context to LA and western cities. Parts are dry and dense af and parts are all-time 🤯 prose. The scope is crazy broad and yet very specific. People will start talking to you if they see you read this - sparked good stranger convos.
The Vacationers by Emma Straub. This book was fine. Peak beach read enjoyable for killing time on a plane/on vacay. The book equivalent of a tv show you'd have on while doing something else.
Acts of Service by Lillian Fishman. A more explicit and marginally more queer Sally Rooney with shittier characters. It was a quick read and had some moments of great prose, but I didn't love the book. All 3 characters were shortchanged and lacked some depth. I don't regret reading it though.
Perfection by Vincenzo Latronico. A cautionary tale of moving through life strictly as consumers of and/or merchants of culture. The vignettes are beautiful and detailed and familiar and unsettling.
Coyote America by Dan Flores. A broad history of Coyote the symbol and animal that was super fun to read. It feels like coyote's story, one of persistence and adaptation through persecution and drastic change, is a relevant story for us today.
I just got word that this federal transportation grant was terminated today, despite us removing the word "climate" from the title. The moral of the story? Obeying orders doesn't keep you safe with this administration.
The Wind's Twelve Quarters by Ursula K. Le Guin. Been wanting to read her but didnt knownwhere to start. Came across this in a used bookstore in nyc. Quick stories, several memorable enough to stay w me for a while. A cool sampling of the breadth of her work and makes me want to read more Le Guin
Another spring week in slc
