Fave Reads of 2015

I'm going to preface this post with the fact that I had written this back in December to go live first week of January and it was gone. Thanks a lot WP. Anywho, I redid it and here goes. Gotta keep with tradition.

I think last year was stronger for books than previous years for me. I’ve been trying to spread out more in terms of reading more nonfiction and poetry, not just a handful but a significant amount to combat the amount of fiction I read. One can dare to dream for a job where this is your soul day-to-day. Alas, perhaps that is in my near future.

So here’s a breakdown of the books that totally tugged at my heart strings after I placed it back on my bookshelf.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Saenz (2012): This was a “hype book.” You know what I mean. Every year there are books I’ve read because of the hype, mainly word of mouth. And this was one of them. No matter who I spoke to about this book they loved it. End of the year I was brought down by a cold and happened to get a copy while visiting one of my favorite indies before it closed. So, I guess I should say “Thanks germs for sidelining me for several days” because I got to read Aristotle & Dante in one swoop. It was glorious and as lyrical, beautiful, romantic as everyone told me. The strength and loyalty of Ari and Dante’s relationship was one I envied in a way. The hype is real with this book, people!

The Turner House by Angela Flournoy (2015): I had heard about this book and this author before the year began so it was on my radar. When I was part of a reading with Angela I made a point to get a copy signed. And when I did my makeshift residency in October this was the book I sat with that gave me inspiration as I re-engaged with my own collection about an African American family. The control and focus of this novel and the intricacy of how each character is painted is a great lesson in novel writing and debuts. Turner House received many accolades last year, deservedly so.

Digest by Greg Pardlo (2014): This was a Pulitzer winner for poetry in 2015. I heard Greg read a few of his poems at a bookend event for Brooklyn Book Festival then went on to buy it on the spot. It’s political, personal, dynamic. Definitely deserved the Pulitzer. If you have a chance to hear Greg read it in person do so.

Endangered by Lamar Giles (2015): I read both of Lamar’s books this year. What I enjoy most about Lamar’s work is the narrative voice. He knows his characters and they have some attitude, rightfully so. In Endangered Panda seeks to get revenge on those who’ve hurt the less fortunate in her high school, but does that make her a Robin Hood of sorts or just as much of a bully as those she goes after?

The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander (2009): I wish I’d read this book when it first came out. I wish many people would read this book in general. It’s depressing as hell to know the statistics, yet it’s one of those truths you should know as an American citizen. Biases are real as is the fact that racism is alive and well in this country. When reading Jim Crow take a moment to breathe deep, sit with the facts and narratives that Alexander presents, and consider the deeper issues of society and how you can help make a change.

The Real Boy by Anne Ursu (2013): A longlist for the National Book Award in 2014, this was another book I’d heard raved about for the realistic depictions of an autistic protagonist, not as someone who needed to be fixed but who was a hero. It was refreshing and the slight twist and horrors kept me flipping each page. Anne Ursu was very careful and determined in the story she wanted to write. I and many others see she did so successfully.

Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass by Meg Medina (2013): Another “hype book”! This one I connected with especially because it took place in Queens, NY. In parts of Jamaica I am quite familiar with thanks very much. What struck me about Piddy’s journey was it wasn’t about fighting a bully but finding yourself and how the changes going on around her would dictate the decisions she went on to make in a new school without the friends she’d grown up with. Piddy has to get comfortable with herself and sometimes the way you fight battles isn’t with your fists.

The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl by Issa Rae (2015): I adored the Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl web series and truly wish it’d make a comeback. Alas, I must settle for a humorous memoir-type book. So be it. Issa’s voice translates to the written page, not just the TV script, and some of the best parts are her break down of the types of people one deals with, in particular the co-workers. I shared that with my own because it was too true to life.

Where’d You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple (2012): This was one of my first reads of 2015 and didn’t disappoint! I’d had it on my shelf for a while and sped through it thanks to the structure of the story told through text messages, emails, faxes, flashbacks, and so on in the search for Bernadette’s corporeal form and also the artist she’d left behind.

Native Guard: Poems by Natasha Tretheway (2006): Powerful about sums it up. This is another Pulitzer winner from years back. Natasha touches upon history in this account of how American society was built on the backs of so many others. This is one to savor if you really want to take in the light and dark of our history, Black history, African history, slave history.

Ghost Summer: Stories by Tananarive Due (2015): I was honored to interview Tananarive as the anniversary guest on my podcast. I received a copy of her book to read beforehand much to my delight. Ghost Stories isn’t just speculative/fantasy. It’s a lot of amazing personal, literary, transition stories with speculative elements. I think that’s Tananarive’s power in her prose is always touching on the human spirit and mind when moments that seem unreal come to play.

Additional highlights were Reality Boy by A.S. King, Blue Talk & Love by Mecca Jamilah Sullivan, The Art of the Memoir by Mary Karr, and The Martian by Andy Weir.

Book Expo 2013: How's the Publishing Industry Faring Since?

Well now that almost two months have passed since BEA, Penguin Random House has officially merged, there've been layoffs at academic publishers such as Wiley and Pearson, and who knows what more may come especially with the DoJ agreement keeping Amazon from owning a good portion of the industry in terms of rights. But, as always around Book Expo of America (BEA) time the outlook for the publishing industry and state of books is optimistic and favorable. But you wonder is this because of the BEA crowd being booksellers, librarians, bloggers, publishing professionals, authors, agents, and the like or because now that there's a day for Super Readers as well extends to people who just have a love for books?

This year BEA was very giving. And while there were rumors of some houses having significantly smaller booths than last year I didn't see much that was different from the past two years before at Jacob Javits Center. Random House had a good sized booth away from the cluster of the big six which helped them move and start lines in the autographing area. And many signings had huge turnouts and waits, particularly those for Rainbow Rowell's latest, Fangirl. The acclaim for Eleanor & Park (St. Martin's Griffin) sent fans standing in line for up to an hour just to get a chance to take a picture of the author whose lovely smile and comical and searing prose was worth the wait.

Rick Yancy's The 5th Wave (Penguin Teen) and Sarah Maas' latest in the Thrown of Glass series (Bloomsbury YA) drew huge crowds and waits before hand as well. And that's just a bit of proof of how much young adult titles continue to grow favor and lines at Book Expo with YA authors being a good portion of those doing signings.

Scholastic Editorial Director and author David Levithan signed two of his new/upcoming titles, one of which is the gorgeously elegiac Two Boys Kissing (Knopf for Young Readers). Veronica Roth signed posters for Allegiant (Book 3 in the Divergent trilogy, Katherine Tegen Books). Marie Lu signed samplers for Champion, the last book in the Legend series and she'll be gearing up for her new series with Penguin due out fall 2014.

Algonquin had a YA takeover at their booth one of the days of BEA in celebration of their new Young Readers imprint that will have debuts this fall. Two of their titles were on the YA Buzz Panel. Hitting the 30 year anniversary it seemed apt that a new imprint could bring a new face to Algonquin. And one of the big draws and titles talked about on the Buzz Panel were If You Could Be Mine about two girls in a relationship in Lebanon and the MG book The Time Fetch. And even Tuttle Publishing which is known for it's books bringing Asian education and flair to the marketplace has YA books they were promoting alongside many of their popular cookbooks. And with Paleo becoming a bigger contingent in the cookbook scene Tuttle Publishing has that covered.

There was also the literary contingent with Andre Dubus III signing a new book out with Norton. Elizabeth Gilbert signing her new fiction title with Penguin. Giveaways for National Book Award winner Jesmyn Ward's latest, a memoir entitled Men We Reaped about the men she's lost in her life and her life in the South. Colum McCann signed hard copies of his first book since he won the National Book Award in 2009, Transatlantic. Add in the talkative Adriana Trigiani and Jason Mott whose debut The Returned from Harlequin imprint Mira has been getting raves and there's a well-rounded amount of authors for a diverse audience. There was the hype for Burial Rites a debut from Hannah Kent and Wally Lamb's latest along with Son by Phillip Meyer. And Neil Gaiman didn't just have a children's book he was promoting and signing he also had an adult one (The Ocean at the End of the Lane) and drew a HUGE crowd on Saturday morning for his talk on writing and the business along with a signing afterwards.

Amy Tan was there to speak of her new book due out in November. Jim Carrey had a fast-moving line curling around Perseus's distribution booths for signing of posters for his first picture book for kids and Chelsea Handler was there for photo ops. Julianne Moore had another children's book she was promoting and Giada De Laurentiis signed her first children's book as well called Recipes for Adventure with an imprint at Penguin. But the biggest star seemed to be Grumpy Cat who had about a 45 minute wait for a picture beside him. But you could not touch the cat. At all.

So that's the fun stuff, but what about the business of publishing? How is that going? Ebook sales are rising but still do not make up a huge portion of the market. They take up 15-20% of sales in trade and many independent presses and small university presses are trying to find a piece of that pie. Making the Digital Zone and coinciding conference IDPF huge draws for industry professionals to get to know what's available on the digital side and how they can reap the benefits for low costs.

Even with sales not taking a huge piece of the pie like expected ebooks are and will continue to be very important to the market. Kobo, one of the lesser known e-readers may soon be striking a deal with the American Booksellers Association (ABA) to distribute their ebooks exclusively with independent stores helping both parties in one swoop. One of the detriments of the indie store has been competing in the digital market and a contract with Kobo can improve that. I mean look at this New Yorker cover (below). Doesn't that say enough about the state of the indies? Especially indies in big cities like NYC where ones pop up but need a steady base of customers to continue to go to. And in places like Queens and the Bronx we do not have many if any.

From the agent perspective, especially if you follow the Twitter-verse and look at new books coming out in the Young Adult realm certain trends are slowing and others are surging. Amy Tintera's Reboot and T. Mike Martin's The End Games both play off of zombies, which may be the new "thing." Dystopian is losing ground but there are still new ones coming out like Joelle Charbonneau's The Testing series from HMH Kids. And aliens are making a comeback! (See the popularity of The 5th Wave and also Malinda Lo's sequel to Adaptation.) Maggie Stiefvater's latest in the Raven Cycle series was a huge item up-for-grabs and traipses along a new line of fantasy and mystery and the hunt for a mystical king. Whereas contemporary YA is gaining ground and will always have relevance (note what I said about Rainbow Rowell's line).

Mysteries and their big name authors like James Patterson and Preston & Child had ARCs flying off the floor. And with the Readers Day on Saturday people went buck wild about the freebies.

More MG is being sought by publishers and agents. More specific stories and non-recycling of themes we've seen/heard/read before. It's becoming harder to become unique if in certain instances trends are the thing but good writing is good writing and books is what excites everyone about BEA in the first place.

So what is the outlook on the publishing industry? Well, it has ebbs and flows as any business does. Super Readers on Saturday proved to be big fans and also those in education seeking out titles to give to students and promote reading. Books will always be a necessity whether for entertainment, inspiration, or education. And BEA tends to remind those of us in the industry how much people enjoy it and how important it is. Yes, people get very grabby hands at BEA and there is shuffling of bodies and pushing of arms and taking of items clearly marked for sale but in the grand scheme of things it's about books and book lovers and uniting them for a celebration of the industry not just an analysis of it.

Time will tell what the (immediate) future holds for publishing. A lot of predictions made don't come to fruition. A lot of sites in beta may or may not be the next huge thing. And many books predicted to be hits may flounder and those that barely got any publicity may surge due to word of mouth from various people in the community. There's no true tell-tale sign except that publishing needs to be malleable and change with the times while consistently seeking to produce great content and find the audience for it.

For next year and the year after BEA will still be held in New York City at Jacob Javits before going off to Chicago for a year or maybe more. It's been really nice having BEA in my hometown/backyard for the past three years straight and I'll continue to enjoy it no matter the locale.