some books i read in 2014...

...  and I'd love to recommend to you.  These are some of my favorites from the year.  I'm always looking for a good new book, so if you ever have a recommendation, feel free to drop a note! 

P O E T R Y
1]  Suck on the Marrow by Camille Dungy:  Gorgeous language, historical narrative chronicling fugitive slaves.
2]  Reckless Lovely by Martha Silano (link to my review on The Rumpus here)
3]  Mysterious Acts by My People by Valerie Wetlaufer (link to my review on PANK here)
4]  The Messenger by Stephanie Pippin:  So many birds, so many startling, gorgeous poems.
5]  Pictures of the Afterlife by Jude Nutter:  Jude is, hands down, one of my favorite poets.  I recommend any of her collections.  This one is stunning.

N O N F I C T I O N
1] Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh:  It's funny because it's true.  I felt those laughs welling up in all the empty spaces.
2]  Crazy Salad by Nora Ephron:  I already loved her, but I fell in love again listening to this audio book.  It made me want to write the personal essay, my brain tumbling and tumbling with ideas.
*3]  The Empathy Exams by Leslie Jamison:  Easily my favorite book I read this past year.  A collection of personal essays that examine anything from "personal loss to phantom illness."
4]  Stiff:  The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach:  I'm late to the party on this one; I saved it for when I started to do some work on death and dying, and I was also saving it because I knew I'd love it.  Which I did. 
5]  Illness as Metaphor and AIDS and Its Metaphors by Susan Sontag:  I think this ought to be on one of those zillion books to read before you die lists.  Sontag is smart, her prose is well balanced and considering and will be re-read.

F I C T I O N
1]  Thrill-Bent by Jan Richman:  Lush language, sexuality strumming in this novel chasing roller coasters.
2]  Let's Do:  Stories by Rebecca Meacham:  I did a talk on the lyric essay in one of Rebecca's classes and after reading her stories, I wish I could teach a fiction class.  She's excellent and deserves a wider audience.
3]  Where'd You Go Bernadette? by Maria Semple:  Quirky and funny and sweet, all at once.  A good airplane read, but also a good conversational read, which made it an excellent book club choice.
4]  Montana, 1948 by Larry Watson:  This book feels to be a part of those standard required summer reading tables, and one of the few I hadn't read yet.  Certainly worth it:  Watson is controlled and balanced in his devastating narrative.
5]  California by Edan Lepucki:  A post-apocalyptic novel that has really grown on me since I've read it.  A couple in the woods discovers they're pregnant and makes an attempt to reach out for community.
6]  Gone by Colum McCann:  This one is an Amazon short (please forgive me for my Amazon sins) and like McCann's other work, controlled and so impressive in his style. 
7]  The Children's Hospital by Chris Adrian:  Such a strange, surreal, haunting narrative.  A hospital becomes an arc after a massive flood, the occupants the only survivors.
8]  The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt:  I think what appealed to me most were the sections in New York City, imagining the beauty of such old shops full of beautiful, rich objects.