(Alphabetical by author. * indicates re-read.)

Novels

• The Immortals of Tehran (2020), by Ali Araghi
• Starling Days (2020), by Rowan Hisayo Buchanan
  
• Upright Women Wanted (2020), by Sarah Gailey
• When We Were Magic (2020), by Sarah Gailey
• The True Deceiver (1982), by Tove Jansson
  
• The Leavers (2017), by Lisa Ko
• Disappear Doppelgänger Disappear (2020), by Matthew Salesses
  
• The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea (2020), by Maggie Tokuda-Hall

Story Collections

• Love and Other Criminal Behaviors (2020), by Nikki Dolson
  
• Dark Corners (2019), by Reuben Tihi Hayslett
• Everyone on the Moon Is Essential Personnel (2020), by Julian K. Jarboe
• Tender (2017), by Sofia Samatar
  

Poetry

• Inquisition (2018), by Kazim Ali
  
• The Voice of Sheila Chandra (2020), by Kazim Ali
• Travesty Generator (2019), by Lillian-Yvonne Bertram
  
• Postcolonial Love Poem (2020), by Natalie Diaz
• Boom Box (2019), by Amorak Huey
  
• Inland Empire (2019), by Leah Huizar
  
• Claim Your Space (2020), by Minyoung Lee
  
• It's Not Magic (2019), by Jon Sands
• Homie (2020), by Danez Smith
• Cadence* (2018), by Hannah Stephenson
  
• Emergency Window (2012), by Ross Sutherland
• Things To Do Before You Leave Town (2009), by Ross Sutherland
• The Slip (2020), by Kary Wayson
  

Graphic Novels

• The Adventure Zone: Petals to the Metal (2020), by the McElroys and Carey Pietsch

Nonfiction, Memoir, and Other

• Lot Six (2020), by David Adjmi
• Human Archipelago (2018), by Teju Cole and Fazal Sheikh
  
• Stamped From the Beginning (2016), by Ibram X. Kendi
  
• Keep Moving (2020), by Maggie Smith

Read Aloud With My Kids

• Silver on the Tree* (1977), by Susan Cooper
• Howl's Moving Castle (1986), by Diana Wynne Jones
  
• The Titan's Curse (2007), by Rick Riordan
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban* (1999), by J. K. Rowling
  

1. Lyz Lenz wrote about running through 2020, finding a new stride, and settling in for a long run.
2. Sarah McCarry's latest newsletter is about one of her shipmates and it's just a lovely bit of writing, the product of the kind of getting to know someone that comes from sharing a small space with them.
3. I recently read Kazim Ali's 2018 poetry collection Inquisition, and quite enjoyed it. One poem that particularly struck me, "The Astronomer's Son," came toward the end. In the end notes, Ali points out that some of the star facts presented in the poem are misremembered by the speaker. For me this adds an extra layer of bittersweetness to an already emotionally complex poem.
4. I finished reading Susan Cooper's The Dark Is Rising series with my son recently, which made the recent Backlisted podcast episode about the series' title book particularly timely. If, like me, that series was important in your childhood, I think you'll appreciate this conversation.
5. Finally, I recently read Rowan Hisayo Buchanan’s novel Starling Days. The book has some heavy themes, dealing with depression and suicide but it is sensitively done, intimate and often tender. It has one of the best portrayals of what depression feels like that I’ve read recently, and also one of the best portrayals of the feeling of infatuation. I appreciated it.

As always, this is just a portion of what mattered to me recently. I'm glad we got through last year—me, and you too. I hope something wonderful finds its way to you soon.

Thank you, and take care.