My Favorite Books of the Year
A playlist of the week's best new albums, interviews with Sigrid Nunez & Michael Stipe, Cat Power on covering a Bob Dylan concert, an excerpt from Travis Jeppeson's novel, and more
This week I started posting my own year-end book lists at Largehearted Boy, with poetry collections shared yesterday and short story collections posted today.
These are my favorite books of the year, titles that inspired and informed my own writing while also being entertaining and expanding my world. Choosing my favorite books for poetry, short fiction collections, nonfiction, and novels is surprisingly emotional. I am connected to every book I read, a bit moreso if the author took the time to share a playlist for the book on Largehearted Boy.
Check out Largehearted Boy’s list of essential and interesting year-end book lists to see what others think are the best books of the year.
What were your favorite books this year?
A Playlist of the Week’s Best New Albums (6 albums, 76 songs, 5 hours and 14 minutes)
This week’s best new music includes albums from Jonathan Rado; field medic; Thy Slaughter, A. G. Cook & Easyfun; Guided By Voices; Gabby’s World; and Peter Gabriel.
Largehearted Likes:
This interview between artist Hannah Beerman and Eileen Myles
BEERMAN: Well, living in what seems like chaos is the way that I’m able to get anything done. While I’m looking for things in the studio, I’m able to have really un-self conscious thoughts and solve problems. While I think I’m looking to find a brush or a pair of scissors or a bottle of yellow paint and I can’t find it, and I’m crawling through here, I’ll have found an accidental sculpture. Then I’ll put that on the wall and deal with it from there. So many things that happen are just consequences of living.Levain Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies
With holiday gift-giving season here, Levain’s cookies are my go-to gift for friends both near and far.
Largehearted Book & Music Links:
Hernan Diaz on the books of his life
Henry James changed my mind about the English language in my teens. Theodor Adorno changed my mind about aesthetics a few years later. Samuel Beckett changed my mind about the novel in my mid-20s. George Eliot changed my mind about the ethical implications of storytelling in my 30s. David Markson changed my mind about literature as a whole in my 40s. Joy Williams will always change my mind in unsuspected ways.A Tribute To Shane MacGowan, By Tariq Goddard
Shane’s voice, even more than his lyrics, was the ultimate instrument of light and darkness.How Cat Power Re-created Bob Dylan's Most Controversial Concert
“Bob was always a superhero to me as a kid,” Marshall says. “I loved his writing, his sense of humor. I loved his beauty, his sense of the world. As a kid, I feel like he taught me critical thinking because of his songwriting.”Sigrid Nunez on writing her new novel
Including an animal character, even a minor character, is that inevitably—if you like animals, and most of us do—there’s going to be some warmth there, it’s built in. If I start writing out of my own observations about animals, there are two things that are going to happen. Some of it is going to be humorous, and some of it is going to be very poignant.Lucy Yu’s thriving New York bookstore burned down. How can she rebuild without burning out?
Yu is determined to reopen by early next year, and an outpouring of community support has allowed her to fast-track recovery efforts. An online fundraiser brought in $360,000 just days after the fire, including significant contributions from author Celeste Ng and actor Simu Liu. Yu used the funds to retain her staff, pay insurance deductibles and replace damaged inventory.
Last Week’s LHB Feature Posts:
Adrienne Chung’s playlist for her poetry collection Organs of Little Importance
Andy Mozina’s playlist for his novel Tandem
Largehearted Boy’s favorite poetry collections of 2023
Lexi Kent-Monning’s playlist for her novel The Burden Of Joy
Those Levain cookies are legit. I get them frozen from FreshDirect. I used to be in the vicinity of one of their bakeries and that stuff fresh is heaven.