I read 82 books this year, a new record for me. Here are my twenty favorite books of the year.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Technically I finished this on December 31, 2021, but I didn't get to put it on my list last year because I had already written this post. This was my first exposure to Jane Austen, and to be honest, I wasn't really looking forward to it. I had purposely avoided Austen most of my life, because I didn't really want to read 19th century romantic tale.
It just goes to show that good writing can make anything come alive. Just like Remains of The Day, one of my favorite books ever written, the plot of Pride and Prejudice, wouldn't necessarily grab me if I read it on the back of a book cover. But my experience reading this book in one word: delightful. Everything about this book is delightful from the Bennet family, to the subplots and dances, and the long simmering romance of Mr. Darcy and Ms. Bennet. An all-time great book.
The Power Broker by Robert Caro
Coming in at over 1100 pages, The Power Broker surprisingly was not the longest book I read this year (that distinction belongs to War and Peace). The Power Broker, however, is the best biography I've ever read. If you live or are interested in New York City history in the 20th century, this is essential reading. The tale of Robert Moses rise and fall is fascinating in the way all archetypal ways men of power rise and fall, their hubris eventually leading to their downfall.
The ABC Murders by Agatha Christie
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
Ok, I'm cheating. I've clustered two books by the same author, so I can fit more books into my list in part because I couldn't choose between the two. I won't spoil either mystery. I would just say both books are incredibly fun in the way only Agatha Christie is. In both books the twist surprised the hell out of me.
White Noise by Don DeLillo
The funniest book I read all year, DeLillo's White Noise is a sharp-eyed satire about American consumerism. It's a weird, weird book. There are toxic events, Hitler studies classes, shootings, and strange experimental drugs. It also has two all-time characters, Murray and Heinrich, both with their own odd take on American consumerism and death.
Archetypal Dimensions of the Psyche by Marie-Louise von Franz
Dare I say, Franz is a better writer and thinker of Carl Jung's psychology than Jung himself? Worth a read if you love Jungian thought.
Poems 1962-2012 by Louise Gluck
This took me almost two years to read, mostly because I would read a poem or two a day. My favorite poems are her later poems, when she gets to mythology, particularly Averno. Poets are somehow under read, even Nobel Prize winning poets like Gluck. Please read her if you can.
Ulysses by James Joyce
On my 4th attempt to read it, I finally finished Ulysses. I have been trying to read it for years, not because I thought it might be enjoyable but because I felt obligated as an English major to cross this off my list. But this book surprised me in that I actually loved it. The biggest surprise was how much it moved me, in particular the last Molly Bloom section. Definitely the hardest book I've ever read, but definitely worth the challenge.
Vietnam: A History by Stanley Karnow
I've always been intrigued by Vietnam, mostly because of how bad of an idea the war was, but how it kept escalating. I wanted to read more about to understand why everything ended up the way it did. Karnow's book does that and more. It's eminently readable. My biggest takeaway from this book? How rationality can easily rationalize death on a large scale for highfalutin noble cause.
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
The last book I finished of the year. I've been on a Sci-fi kick and heard this was good. I really loved it! It's not really a tightly plotted story, but more a reflection on what would happen to humans if everyone died and only a handful of people remained? The TV show was not as good unfortunately.
Men Without Women by Haruki Murakami
I'm embarrassed to say that this was my first experience with Murakami. What was I waiting for? This was great. All the stories had a strange, alien feel to them like a Japanese Kafka.
A Good Man Is Hard to Find and Other Stories by Flannery O'Connor
I read Flannery O'Connor in college and can't say I was really impressed. But rereading this, I was blown away. What stories. The theme of God's grace is behind all of them, but they show in people who are violent, petty and evil. The writing is perfect.
1984 by George Orwell
I've skipped this my whole life too! I was surprised how much I loved it. The end torture scenes were some of the hardest I've ever read, but I was riveted.
The Sweet Forever by George Pelecanos
I think this is the best crime novel I've ever read. I heard a podcast talking about how they loved this book and I decided to get it. Pelecanos was a writer on The Wire, which is the second greatest TV show of all time IMHO.
The writing is unlike more "literary" novels. The paragraphs are brief. The dialogue has swear words and and slang. But this novel is plotted in a beautiful way. And each character has its own unique point of view of the world. A must read.
The Moviegoer by Walker Percy
The most surprising book I read all year, because I was expecting to not be impressed. But I'm a sucker for this type of book: a one-person narrative written in a philosophical, sad tone. I can't even remember what happened in this novel, but the feeling of it has lasted since I finished it.
Barney's Version by Mordecai Richler
Along with White Noise, the funniest book I read all year. This is another first-person narrative about a real lout named Barney. Barney is among the funniest characters in all of fiction. He's a tragic figure too. He had a good life and lost it all because of his stupidity.
Hamlet by William Shakespeare
Richard III by William Shakespeare
I read a few Shakespeare plays this year for the hell of it and these two stood out. Hamlet is an obvious choice. It's quite possibly the greatest play ever written. It's funny, brash, philosophical and entertaining as hell. Richard III, however, doesn't seem to get as much love, and I'm not sure why. I love this play. King Richard is so delightfully and unabashedly evil. I can almost see him winking at the audience in jest.
My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout
I think this was my favorite book of the year. It's a 100-page masterpiece. It's the kind of book I wanted to hug after I finished it. Strout with simple earnestness that somehow never feels too maudlin, maybe because Lucy Barton feels like such a real person.
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
The longest book I've read, War and Peace lives up to its reputation. It's an interesting book: It's part Jane Austen romance and critique of upper-class society, and part a treaty on war being hell. Andrei and Natasha's romance was particularly fun to read.
Complex PTSD: From Surviving to Thriving
Tao of Fully Feeling: Harvesting Forgiveness out of Blame by Pete Walker
I won't say too much about these except these books changed me. Pete Walker is a great, compassionate therapist, and has forever changed how I am with my clients in therapy
The Candle in the Wind (The Once and Future King, #4) by T.H. White
The fourth book of The Once and Future King was its best. It's a tragedy of Arthur, Lancelot and Guinevere, but what it did best was to extrapolate how good intentions inevitably fall apart because humans are flawed and will always act of their own selfishness.
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