Duplex by Kathryn Davis
An astonishing, peculiar experience, reading Davis, like being pricked all over so that every bit of the strangeness of this book can seep into you. The kind of writer who makes me want to corner strangers on buses, so I can read whole paragraphs at them. This book is haunting me.
Mr. Fox by Helen Oyeyemi
I read Mr. Fox last year, and then I picked it up and read it again this summer. Loop-the-loop, whip-smart fairytale stuff, reminiscent of Angela Carter and Joanna Russ and Grace Paley.
Remember Why You Fear Me by Robert Shearman
My absolute favorite thing: a collection of really, really horrible and unsettling stories. Best read late at night, when no one else is home.
2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson
Expansive, character-, and idea-driven science fiction. I’m still reading this, actually, as slowly as possible. And then I’ll start his latest novel, Shaman.
Hyperbole and a Half: Unfortunate Situations, Flawed Coping Mechanisms, Mayhem, and Other Things That Happened by Allie Brosh
One of my favorite writers. Dogs, childhood, depression, cake.
Twin Spica Volume 12 by Kou Yagima
Final book in a really terrific manga series about kids, ghosts, and space academy.
Oh! And one more, at the very last minute. One of my favorite books this year was Kelly Braffett’s Save Yourself, a book I bought when it first came out, then misplaced, then finally (hallelujah!) found again. Save Yourself did a number on my heart and my brain. I love it in the same way that I love Tana French’s In the Woods, Dan Chaon’s work, and Asa Larssen’s thrillers.
More from A Year in Reading 2013
Don’t miss: A Year in Reading 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005
The good stuff: The Millions’ Notable articles
The motherlode: The Millions’ Books and Reviews
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