I love lists of books.
In fact, thanks to the proliferation of screens in my life, I seem to be reading more lists of books than I’m reading the individual books appearing in them, an embarrassing admission for sure.
In March of this last year, The Atlantic Monthly came out with a phenomenal list called “The Great American Novels,” covering books published from 1923-2023. The Spokane Is Reading committee—a partnership between Auntie’s Bookstore, Spokane County Library District, and Spokane Public Library—was delighted to see our 2024 book selection, Perma Red, listed as one of the outstanding titles. And I celebrated seeing so many authors I love—including Shirley Jackson, Jesmyn Ward, Toni Morrison, Louise Erdrich (even the devastating graphic novel Sabrina by Nick Drnaso)—included in its rankings.
Then The New York Times, just last month, published another heavy-hitting list, “100 Best Books of the 21st Century.” There are incredible titles gathered there, such as Min Jin Lee’s Pachinko and Gabrielle Zevin’s Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, but readers swiftly pointed out how the list egregiously neglected to include any Native voices (unthinkable, really). I also have a hard time believing a list reflects the ‘best’ when it lauds Jonathan Franzen’s The Corrections but doesn’t mention Louise Erdrich’s The Round House, a far more relevant American book in my opinion than Franzen’s. Also missing, horribly, were the works of Miriam Toews, and in particular Women Talking. As if in response to its omissions, The New York Times swiftly followed up with 100 books chosen by their general readership, which included Tommy Orange’s There There and Robin Wall Kimmerer’s Braiding Sweetgrass (I’m still mad no Erdrich or Toews though haha). Braiding Sweetgrass is not only penned by a Potawatomi botanist, but it’s also published by an indie press, the wonderful Milkweed Editions in Minneapolis. It seemed there was better indie press representation in the general reader list than in the “expert” list.
It goes without saying that book lists—especially those purporting to be selecting the ‘best’ titles—are arbitrary and subjective, but I love to examine them anyway. I love seeing books and authors uplifted. I love seeing carousels and collages of gorgeously designed book jackets. I love seeing how many books I’ve read, how many I’ll likely read, how many I unapologetically won’t read. I love saying, “Hell yeah, Ferrante!” And, “Hell no, Franzen!” I love laughing at myself for my strong opinions. I love seeing what others’ opinions are because it makes me consider and question my own. And mostly I just love seeing books celebrated, because I’ve noted how they are disappearing from our collective lives, and from my life, personally, due to new embraced modes of storytelling (screens). I am hoping we will all work together to keep the beautiful wondrous object of a book alive.
In the spirit of a great book list, I’ve penned one of my own. It’s not a ‘best’ list. It’s not a comprehensive list. But it’s a list of strong voices from around the Pacific Northwest, books all published within the 21st Century. If you’re looking for a great read from a Northwest author, this is a list for you. I made sure there was indie press representation here as well as the traditional publishers. I’m posting this with the caveat that this list IS subjective, it IS individualized, and it IS undoubtedly flawed.
What books have you read on the list? What books do you want to read? What books do you love? What would you add to the list that I forgot? Feel free to email me your thoughts at sshields@spokanelibrary.org.
My rules for selection are the following:
- The author must live in the Pacific Northwest or be affiliated with a Northwest tribe.
- I’m defining the Pacific Northwest (Cascadia) as Alaska, British Columbia, Washington State, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana.
- Only one book is allowed per author (unlike the NY Times list).
- The title selected MUST appear in our library collection here at Spokane Public Library.
- No listing of books from my own household (mine or my husband’s).
- All books have to be published in 2000 or thereafter.
- I do not include poetry, largely because a lot of my favorite poets weren’t included in our library collection! And poetry warrants a list all on its own. Local poets, please note you can ask the library to add your books to our collection here: https://www.spokanelibrary.org/request/
- I’m acknowledging there is a dearth of genre fiction here (again, this is a subjective list), and these books warrant their own list, too. There are so many awesome mysteries, romances, and more from authors here in Spokane and in the larger NW.
- I did not include children’s books (again! we should make another list for this!) and tried to stick mostly to fiction and memoir, but there are a few YA novels that appear here…
Ma & Me: A Memoir by Putsata Reang
The Meadows: A Novel by Stephanie Oakes
Fire Season by Leyna Krow
The Laughter by Sonora Jha
Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century by Kim Fu
The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt
Tell Me I’m an Artist by Chelsea Martin
The Flood Girls by Richard Fifield
The Book of Form and Emptiness: A Novel by Ruth Ozeki
Marrow Island: A Novel by Alexis M. Smith
Meet Me Tonight in Atlantic City: A Memoir by Jane Wong
The Heartsong of Charging Elk by James Welch
Thrust: A Novel by Lidia Yuknavitch
The Bird King: A Novel by G. Willow Wilson
Call Me Home: A Novel by Megan Kruse
Crow Talk: A Novel by Eileen Garvin
Hild: A Novel by Nicola Griffith
Exhalation: Stories by Ted Chiang
What Strange Paradise: A Novel by Omar El Akkad
The Boy with a Bird in His Chest: A Novel by Emme Lund
A Country Called Home: A Novel by Kim Barnes
Feeding Ghosts: A Graphic Memoir by Tessa Hulls
A Man Came Out of a Door in the Mountain by Adrianne Harun
One Two Three: A Novel by Laurie Frankel
Slay: A Novel by Brittney Morris
Deep River: A Novel by Karl Marlantes
The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin
The Death and Life of Aida Hernandez: A Border Story by Aaron Bobrow-Strain
Red Clocks: A Novel by Leni Zumas
Aviary: A Novel by Deirdre McNamer
Touching the Art by Mattilda Bernstein Sycamore
We Had No Rules: Stories by Corinne Manning
Midnight at the Bright Ideas Bookstore: A Novel by Matthew Sullivan
Heart Berries: A Memoir by Terese Marie Mailhot
By Any Means Necessary: A Novel by Cam Montgomery
Brave Deeds: A Novel by David Abrams
The Tsar of Love and Techno: Stories by Anthony Marra
Think Black: A Memoir by Clyde W. Ford
Community Board by Tara Conklin
The Liberators: A Novel by EJ Koh
Sun House: A Novel by David James Duncan
When the Moon Turns to Blood: Lori Vallow, Chad Daybell, and a Story of Murder, Wild Faith, and End Times by Leah Sottile
Michi Challenges History: From Farm Girl to Costume Designer to Relentless Seeker of the Truth, The Life of Michi Weglyn by Ken Mochizuki
Greenwood: A Novel by Michael Christie
The Way of the Writer: Reflections on the Art and Craft of Storytelling by Charles Johnson
Unspeakable Home by Ismet Pricic
Footnotes in Gaza by Joe Sacco
Two Old Women: An Alaska Legend of Betrayal, Courage, and Survival by Velma Wallis, Illustrations by Jim Grant
My Heart is a Chainsaw: A Novel by Stephen Graham Jones
Skin & Bones: A Novel by Renée Watson
The Beadworkers by Beth Piatote
The Cold Millions by Jess Walter
Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka
American Masculine by Shann Ray
Washington Black by Esi Edugyan
Where’d You Go, Bernadette: A Novel by Maria Semple
Cloud Cuckoo Land: A Novel by Anthony Doerr
Godforsaken Idaho: Stories by Shawn Vestal
Red Paint: The Ancestral Autobiography of a Coast Salish Punk by Sasha taqwšeblu LaPointe
The Collector: David Douglas and the Natural History of the Northwest by Jack Nisbet
Rough House: A Memoir by Tina Ontiveros
A Job You Mostly Won’t Know How to Do: A Novel by Pete Fromm
The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey
Idaho: A Novel by Emily Ruskovich
Rough Trade: A Novel by Katrina Carrasco
The Daughter of Doctor Moreau: A Novel by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
The Many Daughters of Afong Moy: A Novel by Jamie Ford
The Entire Sky by Joe Wilkins
Unexpected Weather Events: Stories by Erin Pringle
White Magic: Essays by Elissa Washuta
On Fragile Waves: A Novel by E. Lily Yu
The Book of Difficult Fruit: Arguments for the Tart, Tender, and Unruly (with Recipes) by Kate Lebo
Mediocre: The Dangerous Legacy of White Male America by Ijeoma Oluo
Homestead: A Novel by Melinda Moustakis
Becoming Little Shell: A Landless Indian’s Journey Home by Chris La Tray
Four Treasures of the Sky: A Novel by Jenny Tinghui Zhang
You and Me and Him: A Novel by Kris Dinnison
The Grand Promise: A Novel by Rebekah Anderson
Losers Bracket: A Novel by Chris Crutcher
West of Here: A Novel by Jonathan Evison
Wild and Distant Seas: A Novel by Tara Karr Roberts
Pigs: A Novel by Johanna Stoberock
The Jump-Off Creek: A Novel by Molly Gloss
Black River: A Novel by SM Hulse
Bury My Heart at Chuck E. Cheese’s by Tiffany Midge
The Manicurist’s Daughter: A Memoir by Susan Lieu
Everfair: A Novel by Nisi Shawl
Before Familiar Woods: A Novel by Ian Pisarcik
One Long River of Song: Notes on Wonder by Brian Doyle
B Street: The Notorious Playground of Coulee Dam by Lawney L. Reyes
Fledgling: A Novel by Octavia E. Butler
Bold Spirit: Helga Estby’s Forgotten Walk across Victorian America by Linda Lawrence Hunt
Lavinia: A Novel by Ursula K. Le Guin
The Crying Tree by Naseem Rakha
100 Tricks Every Boy Can Do: How My Brother Disappeared by Kim Stafford
The Great Glorious Goddamn of It All: A Novel by Josh Ritter
Bitterroot: A Novel by Suzy Vitello
The Child Finder: A Novel by Rene Denfeld
We Are Not Strangers: A Graphic Novel by Josh Tuininga
