Books I read in 2016

Books piled up at Should We’s studio space. I do most of my reading on Kindle, but I like a few books in my peripheral vision.

Books piled up at Should We’s studio space. I do most of my reading on Kindle, but I like a few books in my peripheral vision.

Out of all the books I read in 2016, my favorites were:

Reflections

This was a slow reading year for me, especially in terms of fiction. I started a few different novels, only for my Kindle to become graveyard of abandoned ones. In retrospect, my mistake was trying to get into sci-fi without accepting that invented vocabulary slows me down. I also maxed out on a certain style of nonfiction: “provocative claim → anecdotes yanked from scientific studies → here’s what it means for you.” In the end, I much prefer provocative claims in the form of enigmatic manifestos (see: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, by Marie Kondo) or lyrical explorations told from a personal perspective (see: Playing Big, by Tara Mohr; The Artist’s Way, by Julia Cameron; all of Brené Brown’s books).

My dream is to find a well-written, plot-driven series anchored in intersectional feminism that can rekindle my fiction habit in 2017. Let me know if you have any recommendations!

The Full List

Originally published on Medium

Diana Berlin