As was the case last year, narrowing things down to a Top-20 isn’t easy. My first cut was a little longer this year, but I read a few more books this year. So, I started with all the 5-Star books according to my Goodreads ratings. That took me from 192 down to 63.
I really struggle from here, so I’m going to do the same cut down criteria that I used last year to eliminate some of the books. These are all great books, but I need a way to narrow things, so 🤷♂️
I took out first books in an existing, well established series that I just got around to, and that I liked enough to keep reading the series:
Leviathan Wakes (The Expanse)
Hope and Red (Empire of Storms)
Assassins Apprentice (Farseer)
Cop Hater (87th Precinct)
Oregon Hill (Willie Black)
Next I took out books in the middle of an existing, well established series that I already loved and these are just really good entries I read this year:
Rising Tides (Destroyermen)
A Local Habitation (October Daye)
Crooked Kingdom (6 of Crows/Grishaverse)
River Marked (Mercy Thompson)
The Night Fire (Harry Bosch)
Shadow Prey (Lucas Davenport)
Nowhere to Run (Joe Pickett)
The Inquisitor’s Key (Body Farm)
Hard Candy (Burke)
Iron Grey Sea (Destroyermen)
Long Shadows (Amos Decker)
Do No Harm (Lucas Page)
Eye of the Cricket (Lew Griffin)
In an Absent Dream (Wayward Children)
Gallery Whispers (Bob Skinner)
Then first books in a new series from an author I already love, but where there will be (hopefully) many more books to come:
The Starless Crown
Quicksilver
Books that are either stand alone or first in a series from a new (or new to me) author that were great but part of the reason they made the first cut was simply their novelty:
She Who Became the Sun
Braking Day
Salvation Day
Real Easy
Blood Sugar
Autobiographies that were really good, but not quite as good as the ones that made my Top-20:
Greenlights
A Queer and Pleasant Danger: A Memoir
Madly, Deeply
The Biggest Bluff
A Duology that I loved but not quite to the Top-20 level:
Trail of Lightning
Storm of Locusts
Books that are getting so much love from other people that putting them in my Top-20 seems superfluous:
Noor
Remember: The Science of Memory…
Dial A For Aunties
Random Final Cuts for various reasons:
Negro League Baseball
The Black Echo
The Hiding Place
Finally my Honorable Mention:
(23) Captain Ni’mat’s Last Battle
(22) Lightning Down
(21) Yellow Wife
Which brings me finally to my Top-20:
#20 — Cannonbridge by Jonathan Barnes
This is definitely one of those books that you will either love or hate. It’s got a wild premise, that this famous 19th century writer didn’t actually exist. It flashes back and forth between present day and 200 years ago, and the ending is odd enough that it loses a lot of people. But I loved the ride.
#19 — The Molly Southbourne Trilogy by Tade Thompson
A bit of a cheat here, getting three books into one spot. But they’re all novellas, so all three together are about the length of one decent sized book. Great Sci-Fi concept here, where every time a woman bleeds, the blood turns into a clone of her. And the clones all want to kill her. It’s a bit of Orphan Black, only darker.
#18 — Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist
Much like The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo or A Man Called Ove, this is a Swedish book that became a movie there, and then a movie in the US. And just like those, all versions of it were good, all were slightly different, and I think the book is best. It is longer and more involved that the movie versions, and even knowing most of what was going to happen, I still loved it.
#17 — Mickey 7 by Edward Ashton
A futuristic sci-fi book about a guy whose only way to get off planet is to become an “expendable”. Someone whose only purpose is to do the jobs too dangerous for other crew members. When he inevitably dies, a clone is created with most of his memories intact. But what happens when Mickey 7 is only thought to be dead, only to show up in his quarters to find Mickey 8 there?
#16 — The Mosquito Bowl by Buzz Bissinger
From the author of Friday Night Lights, a book about a group of marines getting ready to head for the battle of Okinawa. When it is realized that there are multiple all-American football players all in one small area, a football game is arranged. Mainly about the pacific theater in WW2, despite being marketed around the football game.
#15 — Broken (in the Best Possible Way) by Jenny Lawson
Funniest book I’ve read in a while, I laughed out loud many times. But also very insightful into the way that the mind of a person suffering from depression and anxiety works. It gave me a lot of information on how to deal with it in others, and how to spot it in myself.
#14 — La Femme de Gilles by Madeleine Bourdouxhe
A beautiful and tragic story about a love triangle between a woman, her husband, and her younger sister. Beautifully written and the story just breaks your heart. The author was lost to history for a long while. This was written in 1937 shortly before the Nazi occupation of France.
#13 — Warsaw 1944 by Zbigniew Czajkowski
It very much had the vibe of the Diary of Anne Frank. The author is a teenage soldier near the end of WW2, telling the story of the uprising of the Polish people as Germany is being pushed back by the Russians. It basically shows this teenager start with nothing but high hopes and good thoughts, who then watches most of his friends and fellow soldiers get wounded and killed around him. Tough read, but I couldn’t put it down.
#12 — The Kindness Diaries by Leon Logothetis
If you saw the show when it was on Netflix, this is the book it was based on. The author decided to travel around the world relying solely on the kindness of strangers. It made me laugh, and numerous times made me cry. It is so beautiful, and has so many great adventures from all over the world.
#11 — Blue Belle by Andrew Vachss
It is really, really rare that I put a random book from the middle of a series into my top books of the year. There’s a lot of them that I rate 5-stars, but there’s also a reason that I give them the section above that weeds almost all of them out. But every once in a while one of my favorite authors puts out an entry in a series I’m reading that is so much better than usual that I want to recognize it. The Burke series is a great look at the seedy underside of NYC, and this book is easily the best in the series so far.
#10 — Meditations by Marcus Aurelius
Easily the oldest book I’ve ever read. Written roughly between 160 and 180 AD, this is essentially the diaries of Marcus Aurelius, thought not to be intended for publication. It’s simply his thoughts on a variety of subjects, and mostly is easily relatable to many of the problems we face today, both individually and as a society.
#9 — The Cat Who Saved Books by Sosuke Natsukawa
Definitely unlike anything I’ve ever read. It’s a bit like a book version of a Studio Ghibli film. It also had special meaning as Sara and I took turns reading it to one another. It’s the story of a teenage boy who inherited a bookstore from his grandfather. He plans to close it until a talking cat named Tiger convinces him to go on some adventures with him to save books.
#8 — Gift From The Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh
A truly beautiful book about a variety of topics. Much like the Marcus Aurelius book above, this is the author’s thoughts on life, love, marriage, aging, peace and solitude. Written while she was on vacation by the sea, it’s a great book for reflection and contemplation of the changes we all face as we age. Thank you Rachel for the recommendation.
#7 — Putting the Rabbit in the Hat by Brian Cox
Brian Cox is one of those actors that we all know of, but often fail to ascribe to any particular role. This book, which catalogs his 60ish years in the industry, explains that that was mostly by design. He wanted to be the character actor, not the star. He wanted to do the WORK. Filled with dozens of humorous stories, candid thoughts, and even a few regrets, this is one of my favorite autobiographies ever.
#6 — Heat 2 by Michael Mann
Not the most original title, but it’s a book that’s both a sequel and a prequel to a movie that wasn’t actually based on a book. Not the easiest thing to pull off. Especially if you’re a first time author, who just so happens to be one of the great film directors of our time. I’m probably biased, because Heat is one of my all time favorite films, and I’ve loved every movie Michael Mann ever directed (and as I’m writing that, I realize that he directed Brian Cox of the previous entry, as the original Hannibal Lector). If you loved the movie, you’ll love this book.
#5 — Ten Low by Stark Holborn
My favorite sci-fi book of the year. It’s basically a space western with a Mad Max: Fury Road vibe to it. Filled with memorable characters, good villains, and a story that’s both complex and easy to follow. I hope that the story continues in future books, but it’s great as a stand alone also. This year wasn’t the greatest sci-fi year for me, but this one would hold up in any year.
#4 — The Bomber Mafia by Malcolm Gladwell
Continuing my trend of great WW2 books this year, this is the story of the birth of precision bombing, and the struggles it faced both in development and in execution. Also poses the question of the dilemmas faced by leadership in the Pacific Theater in WW2, as far as which path would lead to the fewest deaths and the shortest war. Almost 80 years later, it’s still up for debate.
#3 — Comfort Me With Apples by Catherynne Valente
What a fabulous, fabulous book. Just a novella, but it hits as hard as a full sized novel. I can’t really give you much info without spoiling it, but it’s worth a check out from the library for sure. It is surprising, shocking even. It will definitely offend some readers, but even saying who it will offend gives away too much. Read it, and we can talk about it afterwards.
#2 Educated by Tara Westover
The story of a woman who was born to survivalists in rural Idaho. She never went to school, or saw a doctor, or had much interaction with people outside of her family until she was 17. She eventually taught herself enough math and English to enroll in BYU, eventually going on to Harvard and Cambridge. A story of reinvention of self, while still never quite losing what got her there.
#1 — A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers
When I sat down to start this blog, I didn’t know much. I couldn’t have named many of the books that I had rated 5-Stars, and I wasn’t sure where most of them would end up in my rankings. But I knew from the beginning that this would be #1. The prequel to this book was #2 on last year’s list, failing to reach #1 simply because West With the Night is one of the 2-3 greatest books I’ve ever read.
These are possibly the most beautiful and hopeful books I’ve ever been fortunate enough to read. The characters are kind and generous. There is very little conflict or drama. It is simply telling a beautiful story with compelling characters that you have no trouble rooting for. It makes me happy and gives me a sense of hope in a way that so little does anymore. Everyone should read these books.
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