It was a difficult year to pour into my hobbies, but I got back in the stride in December. Of the 12 books I read this year, I read 6 in the last month, 3 in the two-week break between jobs, and only 3 in the other months. I hope to read more consistently in 2025, while also realizing ‘balance’ is elusive and mostly made-up.
- Just Kids by Patti Smith
- Crime & Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
- Patriot, Alexei Navalny’s memoir
- Why Fish Don’t Exist by Lulu Miller
- Forbidden Notebook by Alba de Céspedes
- Choice by Neel Mukherjee
- Biography of X by Catherine Lacey
- The Things They Carried by Tim O’ Brien
- Stay True by Hua Hsu
- A Day in the life of Abed Salama by Nathan Thrall
- A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
- City of Thieves by David Benioff
Crime & Punishment, Why Fish Don’t Exist, and Just Kids were incredibly moving – I am still thinking about each of them. Crime & Punishment made me think deeply about our standards of morality and punishment, about inner strife, family, guilt. I would put it in the category of the Fountainhead and 1984 – if I had read it when I read those other 2 books (in early high school), it may have had an even deeper impact on my world view and shaped who I am. I will re-read this book in the years to come. Why Fish Don’t Exist is hard to put in a box – which is partly what I loved about it. It worked through the ever-present questions of “does any of this matter?”, and “do we deserve the good and bad that happens to us?” through a gripping true story. One of my favorite pieces of writing is Scott Alexander’s 2014 piece on categories – this book had similar threads – it left me thinking deeply about the heuristics we use to ‘rank’ people and things around us. And reminded me I love dandelions! Just Kids was the biggest surprise this year – I laughed and cried with Patti and Robert Mapplethorpe. I loved reading about the NYC rock, punk, gay scene in the 80s and 90s. But, I was most moved by Patti’s and Robert’s friendship – the ebbs and flows, loyalty, love, growth, change, death, everything. It was one of the most beautiful things I’ve read.
Alexei Navalny is a hero the world perhaps didn’t deserve. I remember watching the documentary in 2021 by finding an unofficial link through Telegram, a while before it streamed. Yet, I ‘waited’ 2 months to read this book because it really felt like the ‘end’. I hope to have the steadfastness, courage, humor, and integrity he did. Rest in peace, Alexei.
Ipshita Agarwal 