My Favorite Books of 2015

This isn’t a “best books” list because, obviously, I didn’t read all the books published in 2015. But it is a collection of my favorite books from the over one hundred I read this year. Hopefully it helps you find a few you’ll enjoy. Or maybe suggest a good gift idea. So here goes:

Best science fiction has to be The Martian by Andy Weir. I haven’t seen the movie but the book is so good I’m not sure I want to!

Best biography, with an honorable mention for business book, is Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future by Ashlee Vance. Musk is an amazing individual and Vance captures a lot of his brilliance, drive, and quirkiness.

Funniest fiction has got to be Mr. Nary: The Story of How Grady Thoms Got Published by Roo Carmichael. I laughed out loud at this “journal” of exchanged letters between a delusional first time author and his publisher. Very timely as I wrote my book in the midst of reading this one!

On a more serious note, check out Is the American Century Over by Joseph Nye. In our age of fear and doom, I love how Nye patiently paints a picture of American strength.

If you want to read about a nation with a very different future than America, check out Red Notice by Bill Browder. Part business book, part mystery, and part current events, Browder paints a dark picture of the Russian oligarchy and their inner workings.

I have to include a book about wine, right? My favorite this year was Tangled Vines: Greed, Murder, Obsession, and an Arsonist in the Vineyards of California by Frances Dinkelspiel. About ten years ago a huge fire destroyed millions of bottles of wine, and the events around the fire are truly bizarre.

If you love C.S. Lewis or J.R.R. Tolkien, then you have to read A Hobbit, a Wardrobe, and a Great War, by Joseph Loconte. Fascinating look at how World War I changed the way Lewis and Tolkien look at the world around them.

If you’re like me you’ve grown tired of Wall Street shenanigans. That’s what makes Where Are the Customers’ Yachts: or A Good Hard Look at Wall Street by Fred Schwed so poignant and funny. And it’s decades old!

One of the most challenging, interesting, and insightful theology books I read was Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes. This book will make you look at the Bible in a whole new way.

I discovered the Henri Nouwen jewel Gracias: A Latin American Journal and found myself soaking it all in. Brilliant journal from a brilliant man.

Jon Meacham is one of my favorite historians and his new book Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush is wonderful. I always admired Bush #41 and this book makes me appreciate him even more.

Possibly the BEST book of the year is The Road to Character by David Brooks. He not only explains why character matters so much, but how to work toward attaining character in our hearts, minds and lives. Truly a needed and much appreciated book.

I read a lot of books about hope this year, and my favorite wasn’t even focused on the theme. Roadmap to Reconciliation by Brenda Salter-McNeil takes a really difficult topic — racial reconciliation — and makes it approachable. Written with grace, humility and gentleness, Brenda offers hope.

Finally, if you want to read a true spy book, you’ve got to read Bridge of Spies by Giles Whittell. The movie is really good, but the book tells the true story and is just as compelling.