I read a lot of books. This year the total will probably be 75-80. Once a year I share my favorites, and no it’s not always one of my books (though you should read Junkyard Wisdom Advent….just sayin’).
This list is not really the best of the year because, obviously, I didn’t read all the books available. So I call this my favorite books of the year.
A key factor in determining the winner is simply how often I find myself telling others about the book. If I’ve bored someone over lunch telling them about a book, or texted someone a link to the book, then it’s probably on this list!
There are different categories and one grand prize winner. There could be a dozen or more categories, but this is a blog, not an academic research paper, so I’ll keep it brief.
Let’s go straight to the grand prize winner. It has to be The Brave In-Between, by Amy Low. Wow. Great book. I don’t typically read books about people battling health issues because they are too depressing. But Amy takes the genre to whole new heights. It is deeply personal, vulnerable, and spiritual without being contrived. Thank you, Amy, for sharing your story with the world.
Best Mystery: Murder mysteries, detective mysteries, whatever you want to call them. My favorite of the year was Reykjavik, by Ragnar Jonasson. Brilliant book. Lots of good elements here — a believable and well-structured mystery with historical moments, heroes and heroines, plus most important believable characters. I couldn’t care less about Iceland and yet found myself highly engaged with the story.
Best History: This was a tough one. Forty Autumns, by Nina Willner is a great book, but the history book I found myself talking about more than any other was The Black Count, by Tom Reiss. The seldom told story of the father of Alexandre Dumas. What an amazing life he lived. He was, indeed, a black count in France, and lived through the French Revolution and beyond, including a modest rivalry with Napoleon (Bonaparte, not Dynamite). Great book.
Best Fiction: The Wizard of the Kremlin, by Giuliano da Empoli. Brilliant, extremely well written, fascinating, and frightening as hell. Why so frightening? Because one wonders if this is fiction. It feels like an allegory of modern Russia and Putin. The author may well have done that by design. Whether he did or didn’t, it will definitely open your eyes. Which is the best kind of fiction, right?
Best Theology and/or Spiritual: My choice here could fit into a lot of categories: current affairs, history, even pop psychology. But I place it in this category because it made me think more deeply about my faith. The book is The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory, by Tim Alberta. I read several leading religious writers, but nothing kept me thinking like this book.
Best Current Affairs: Democracy and Solidarity, by James Davison Hunter. The author, a favorite of mine, is entirely too sophisticated to title the book “How the heck did we get into this mess?” But he answers that question in a historical, cultural, and sociological way that makes a ton of sense. It’s a topic fit for an election year, but it’s an issue that will be with us for a long time.
Best Pop Psychology and/or Non-Fiction: This category is broad and hard to define, but the authors include David Brooks, Guy Kawasaki, Fareed Zakaria, and others. The winner is definitely Revenge of the Tipping Point, by Malcolm Gladwell. Even when the author is wrong, he’s still fascinating. The other authors mentioned probably read it and smile knowing it outdid them. A good read with interesting insights.
Best Series: Lots of murder here! It’s a tie between The Thursday Murder Club Mysteries by Richard Osman and the Marlow Murder Club by Robert Thorogood. Both have great characters, solid story lines, and just enough laughs to keep you smiling. These are better than bubble gum for the brain, but admittedly they are still escapism reads. Great vacation books.
So those are my favorites! But full disclosure, I read Macbeth this year. It’s not really a book, obviously, but everything above looks silly next to it. You probably haven’t read it since college, maybe high school. Do yourself a favor and read it again.
Want to see the entire list of books I’ve read this year (and more)? Check it out here.