my best books 2017

The 8 best books I read for the first time this year (out of 28 that I have completed as of today -- obviously 13-year-old me would sneer at the pathetic amount, but 18-year-old me is certainly very proud of having read more than 2 books a month amidst completing the IB and starting uni.)

I got a goodreads account (@kangjiaqi) in august and log my readings on there (seriously though, goodreads needs to update its interface a little, it's still got that 2008 vibe... they should take some notes off the cleanliness and efficiency of letterboxd)!! also this page on my blog meticulously records when i started and finished reading a book

The Best: Do Not Say We Have Nothing
Currently my favorite book, a wonderful, wonderful story that, like most works about the Chinese diaspora, talks about the Cultural Revolution and the Tiananmen Square protests, but in a beautiful, elegant, and extremely sad way. Timeless, quiet, poised. Similar in style to All the Light we Cannot See, which is also amazing. Bought this at Geneva airport before embarking on post-exams grad trip, and boy am I glad that I had this book to accompany me during that week of sunshine and alcohol.

Special mention: Sour Heart (published 2017)
Jenny Zhang, poet, essayist, and now fiction author, is an indispensable figure of this generation and I dearly hope that she will be remembered in the years to come. As I say in my review, I have never encountered another writer with such raw, relentless honesty. Zhang is fearless. She is sharp and witty and straightforward and no-nonsense, and she is also tender and caring and full of love.

I bought this book at Shakespeare & Company in Paris, which is apparently really famous but that I only knew because Zhang had mentioned it in her essay that you can find online that I have now read a billion times, The Summer I Learned I Wasn't the Exception. I paid an extra few euros to avoid having Lena Dunham's name on the cover (the book is the first to be published by Dunham's new firm). Read in a tiny Paris hotel room and on the TGV back to Geneva. Also read How It Feels, which is mind-blowing, and They Pretend to Be Us but Pretend We Don't Exist (or something like that), Zhang's Buzzfeed essay about white authors' exploitation of non-white authors. Both are online.

Inspiring: On The Road (Original Scroll)
The original scroll is fantastic. This total chaotic blur is so exhilarating and exciting and I definitely need to do a US cross-country road trip. Oh my God!!!!!

Most recommended: Death's End
Everyone in the world needs to read Liu Cixin's Remembrance of Earth's Past. Enough said.

Required reading: The Chequebook and the Cruise Missile
Mother Roy goes OFF in this series of interviews where she talks about capitalism, neo-colonialism, and corporate globalisation in modern India. This and Capitalism: A Ghost Story are just must-reads for everyone.

Expectations met: The Name of the Rose
I'm writing this post less than an hour after having finished this book and it is definitely a Classic. All the 1-star reviews on Goodreads are hilarious because the people have totally misunderstood this absolutely PERFECT novel. Read in the Maldives (theology and semantics -- light beach reading, naturally.)

Underrated: Wind, Sand, and Stars 
The first book I read this year and it was such a good way to start off a year that, though highly stressful, ended up also being a year of contemplation and romance. Underrated because The Little Prince is so widely adored, this wide-eyed autobiographical account is so purifying and heart-opening that I just. Ahhhhh.

Page-turner: Call Me By Your Name
Also loved the movie. Recommended to me by Emily and devoured in one morning. Really quite good.