I‘m mostly here to ask you to follow me on Mastodon, which is becoming the primary place to talk to me about books. Find me at: @KennyCoble@mastodon.social

But while I‘m here I‘ll also share with you My Favorite Books of 2022 (so far). Note: I put together this collage before I had read Our Missing Hearts, which definitely belongs on the list.

What are your favorites?

Everyone is reading this right now, right? That‘s what we decided?

So you know how as book people we live our whole lives for “it,” that feeling—that “this is the book I‘ve needed, this is so perfect and so good” feeling? Children of the Land is the first It Book of 2020.

‪My favorite books of 2019. Read them. I want you to love all the same things I love. ‬

If you‘re like me and listen to millions of audiobooks, you need Libro fm. It works just like Audible but isn‘t owned by Amazon; instead, your money goes to support a local bookstore! Start your monthly membership today or tomorrow and get FOUR audiobooks for the price of one ($14.99).

Use this link: http://libro.fm/referral?rf_code=lfm55801

I‘ll be posting My Favorite Books of 2019 soon, but I need a few more weeks to get that ready—so I thought I‘d re-share My Favorite Books of 2018. Here are books 1-6. #KennyCobleBookAwards #BestBooks2018

I‘ll be posting My Favorite Books of 2019 soon, but I need a few more weeks to get that ready—so I thought I‘d re-share My Favorite Books of 2018. Here are books 7-12. #KennyCobleBookAwards #BestBooks2018

“Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it is exhausting for children to have to provide explanations over and over again.” – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

This feels like the right bookmark for The Truths We Hold, don‘t you think? I highly recommend going to a bookstore today and getting this book. I‘m loving it so much. #ForThePeople

What is the last book you‘re going to read in 2018?

Mine is Never Let Me Go (my fourteenth readthrough).

WOW. I finished this book in less than an hour, but it hit me so hard. Knowing Louis‘s reputation, I thought I was going to read something powerful and profound, but I had no idea how much more than that this would be. Don‘t read the descriptions. Let yourself be surprised.

GOING!!!!!!!!

My Favorite Books of 2018. Check out my profile for all 10 (+1).

1. There There by Tommy Orange. One day I want to build a city where only people who love this book as much as I do live and it will be a place where there is love and creativity and, finally, justice. I love this book‘s voice, its brilliant structure, its heart. #BestBooks2018

Follow me on Twitter for more booktalk: www.twitter.com/KennyCoble

My Favorite Books of 2018.

BONUS. Women Talking by Miriam Toews. This book was released in Canada in 2018 but doesn‘t come out in the US until 2019 and since that‘s where I live I can‘t technically put it on this list, but believe me—this book is earth-shatteringly good. Wow. WOW. #BestBooks2018

PS. YOU HAVE TO ADD THIS TO YOUR STACK. IT IS ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS I‘VE READ IN YEARS.

My Favorite Books of 2018.

2. An American Marriage by Tayari Jones. I can‘t remember the last time I got this caught up in the lives of fictional people. These characters were so real to me. I found myself in love with them, mad at them, gossiping about them. It was just so good. #BestBooks2018

My Favorite Books of 2018.

3. Killing Commendatore by Haruki Murakami. I‘ve read a million Murakami books and before I read this I wondered if I would finally get over his whole thing, but then I read all 704 pages in 48 hours. I love when a book takes over. It was like reading Harry Potter. #BestBooks2018

My Favorite Books of 2018.

4. Tin Man by Sarah Winman. One day I am going to have to investigate why I love books that are this devastatingly sad so much. This is the saddest book I‘ve read since A Little Life and it is just so beautiful. Thank you, thank you, thank you. #BestBooks2018

My Favorite Books of 2018.

5. Washington Black by Esi Edugyan. When I was reading this book, it was all I could think about, reading it was all I wanted to do—I completely fell in love with the main character and loved traveling the world with him. #BestBooks2018

More on Twitter: www.twitter.com/KennyCoble

My Favorite Books of 2018.

6. The Incendiaries by RO Kwon. If you‘re like me, you will fall in love with the characters in this book and you will have to ask deep, dark questions about what loving them says about you and then you will keep loving them and everything about this book anyway. #BestBooks2018

My Favorite Books of 2018

7. Heart Berries by Terese Marie Mailhot. Every time I sell this to a customer, I feel like I‘ve made the world a better place. Everything about this book is special, its vulnerability, its bravery, the way it defies genre and form. Beautiful. #BestBooks2018

My Favorite Books of 2018

8. Split Tooth by Tanya Tagaq. This is that once-in-a-lifetime magic, filled with all my favorite things—poems, Jaime Hernandez art, heartbreakingly beautiful sentences. Fierce and tender, otherworldly in its perception, fully human in its execution. #BestBooks2018

My Favorite Books of 2018.

9. Winter by Ali Smith. You should write a dystopia in which you create a world where Ali Smith writes a book that isn‘t a masterpiece. That premise is so implausible, but if you pull it off you will win so many awards. But yeah, Winter is another masterpiece. #BestBooks2018

My Favorite Books of 2018.

10. Census by Jesse Ball. I read this almost two years ago and it has never left my heart—this father and son, this unbreakable bond, it‘s all so present, so truthful, so unforgettable. #BestBooks2018

More on Twitter: www.twitter.com/KennyCoble

MURAKAMI IS WHY I BREATHE.

— Daniel Heath Justice

Happy Indigenous Peoples‘ Day! I‘ve made a list of my favorite books written by indigenous writers (published in the last year) over on Twitter. https://twitter.com/kennycoble/status/1049360314762854401?s=21

Tanya Tagaq‘s novel, Split Tooth, is that once-in-a-lifetime magic, filled with all my favorite things—poems, Jaime Hernandez art, heartbreakingly beautiful sentences. Fierce and tender, otherworldly in its perception, fully human in its execution. I need you to read this book. More pictures: https://twitter.com/kennycoble/status/1047576784483442689?s=21

Your move, Reese. https://twitter.com/kennycoble/status/1044362165983952897?s=21

https://twitter.com/kennycoble/status/1044365284709040128?s=21

African Game of Thrones? This book is going to sell two million copies. What a thrill. Not to mention the most beautiful cover art.

THE GALLEY IS VELVET I‘M SCREAMING

This is the saddest book I‘ve read in a very long time. If you know me at all, you know this is the highest compliment. I love sad and beautiful things.

https://twitter.com/kennycoble/status/1038484367272624128?s=21

I love when you can‘t stop turning the pages. I love when you‘re at a meeting and you‘re supposed to be contributing your best ideas but all you can think about is the book you could be reading right now if these people would leave you alone.

An American Marriage is fiction, but Roy, Celestrial, and Andre are real people. You will never convince me otherwise.

https://twitter.com/kennycoble/status/1037865151834144768?s=21

Sometimes the only thing to do is leave the party early without saying goodbye to anyone so you can be home in time to read the rest of Little Fires Everywhere before it‘s time to go to sleep.

PS. I love this book more than Reese and Kerry do, maybe. Maybe not. We‘re allowed to all love it so much. OK?

Crazy Rich Asians. Saw it last night. A pitch perfect adaption of the book (which I also love so much).

Tweet me your thoughts: https://twitter.com/kennycoble/status/1027636053014790144?s=21

I started reading The Incendiaries (in bookstores today!) last night at 9 and I wanted to stay up until I finished it because I‘m totally obsessed but my doctor literally told me I‘m not allowed to do that and so I went to bed at 11:30 and now it‘s all I‘m thinking about at work and after work and every moment until I‘m with the book again. I‘m obsessed.

https://twitter.com/kennycoble/status/1024371586638405632?s=21

Today‘s book. The place these poems live is pre-English or post-English or beyond-English and similarly pre- and post- and beyond-gender and identity. Wherever we are, it‘s beautiful.

The whole world is awful except for this book. Every kid and adult and any type of human being should read this book.

PS. The gender binary is super dumb; let‘s throw it out.

PPS. Follow me on Twitter if you want to talk about books more. www.twitter.com/KennyCoble

Let‘s make it official. There There is my favorite book of the year.

Want some book, movie, and music recommendations? Katy Evans, Dave Jones, and I talk with Nathan Bowling about all our favorites in the newest episode of the Nerd Farmer Podcast.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/nerd-farmer-podcast/id1223805236?mt=2

A lot of you will be given this book in the coming months. Don‘t be offended. No one‘s saying this book says anything about you at all—obviously this is about all the other white people you know. But read it anyway. You know, just for kicks. It‘s not about you. Promise.

Anyone into creating a #Tacoma Litsy group? I don‘t know what we‘ll do yet, but the bookstore will contribute a bunch of awesome galleys and we can do what we love most—talk about books. Leave a comment if you‘re interested. @LitsyHappenings #PNWLitsyMeetup

‪I love this book so much and now it‘s in paperback and fifty other people I know love it too and all fifty-one of us want you to read it so you can be in this glorious community of Roxane Gay readers who know something true about vulnerability and beauty.‬

The most beautiful picture book. Of all picture books.

From now on, I‘m not even talking to your kid unless Julián Is a Mermaid is their favorite book.

Check out my Twitter for my photos of this gorgeous book. https://twitter.com/kennycoble/status/1003814703531880448?s=21

‪In bookstores tomorrow, my favorite book of 2018 (so far). xoxoxoxo ‬

Sometime in the near future I‘ll be returning to the Nerd Farmer Podcast to discuss a book I love, We Gon‘ Be Alright, with 2016 WA Teacher of the Year Nate Bowling and friends. Before we record the podcast, tweet your thoughts/questions (use #NerdFarmReads) and we‘ll include them in our discussion.

Subscribe on iTunes or listen to past episodes, including our discussions of Citizen and The Hate U Give, here: http://www.natebowling.com/podcast

This is one of my favorite books of 2018 and today is #MothersDay and this is the perfect recommendation for people who like being a mom or like having a mom or want to be a mom or never ever want to be a mom because their art is their child.

I had no idea this was coming. One day I showed up to the bookstore and there it was. PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED ZORA NEALE HURSTON.

THE NEXT BIG THING

(photo by Isaac Fitzgerald)

The best superhero movie of all time. The books have been excellent too, since Ta-Nehisi Coates took over. Treat yourself and get the beautiful hardcover. It includes the first three books of the series so it‘s actually more affordable than buying them separately. http://www.kingsbookstore.com/book/9781302904159

Yes. Yes, I do.

NEW COVER

(Head over to my Twitter to see the full cover: https://twitter.com/kennycoble/status/948645918873600000)