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books I'm thankful for this year

Thanksgiving, aka The Best Holiday of All of Our Holidays, is almost upon us. Let's all take this moment to remember that Jimmy Kimmel sketch where Meghan Trainor hawked a fake Thanksgiving album:


But also! Also -- let's remember books read this year for which we are thankful. The following are my favorites for 2015 (so far). All these books have stuck with me in some positive way, and I'm glad I read all of them.

Murder by Candlelight: The Gruesome Slayings Behind Our Romance with the Macabre

I haven't written a review of this yet, but IMAGINE A BOOK that talks about Regency murders and links them up with how the culture around them reacted and it all culminates in the much-later Ripper murders and it all gives you a greater appreciation for the Romantics who you maybe have made fun of a lot in the past. I like this book.

Sandman
I AM SO THANKFUL FOR SANDMAN. I'm on volume 8 in the series, and despite being in a state of decluttering my life and getting rid of what books I can, I know this is something I'm going to want on my shelves for a long time.

Then Comes Marriage
Robbie Kaplan's book about her journey with Edith Windsor to the Supreme Court that eventually led to federal recognition of LGBT marriages is one of my favorites of the whole year. I cried so damn much during this book. We needed something to remind us how hard this fight was and her book does exactly that. <3



Big Little Lies
You guys. I just love Liane Moriarty. It's so nice that her books exist. I haven't read The Husband's Secret yet, but I'll bet I will and I'll bet it feels real and human and funny, because that is how she writes.

The Hallowed Ones
Remember that time I read two Amish vampire novels? Because I do. It was awesome.

Revolutionary Summer: The Birth of American Independence
I still think about this book. Bonus points to PastAlice for asking a Hamilton question before that shit blew up. Joseph Ellis is a kickass author, and this book is short and to the point about the summer of 1776 and all the stuff that happened and set up the rest of the war. 

you boys are all silly.


East of West
East of West is one of the best comics I've read this year. It's probably my favorite right after Sandman, and that list includes Locke and Key, Chew, Black Widow, Sex Criminals, Bitch Planet, Fables, etc. Post-apocalyptic Western!

Aquarium
DO Y'ALL REMEMBER AQUARIUM? Because my review is entitled "Bring a crown of roses, for this book and I shall wed." I love Aquarium. I just looked at my review again so I could link to it and it made me want to read the book all over again. I barely care about fish, but I care about people and what they love and how they relate, so I love this book. 



King Mob
King Mob! I read Dickens's Barnaby Rudge this year, which was terrible, but also set during the London riots of 1780, so I read a book about the riots, and it was great. It also gave me a healthy fear of what rioters can do, because they pulled down prisons and it was terrifying.

Carmilla
My lovely 1872 lesbian vampire book! Carmilla should be requisite reading, y'all. It's so sympathetic to its seeming antagonist, and it predates Dracula, and it's short. Oh gosh, it's so swell.

Look at that. Those're all from this year and I love ALL of them and last year I had no idea. What stuff are we going to read next year that will make our lives that much better and give us an infinitesimally better understanding of our fellow humans? I'm immensely excited about this and by the scant reading time there is left for 2015. Let's all pick good things for December, and happy Thanksgiving, I love you all!



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