2018 Favorite Reads:
10 Fiction,
5 Nonfiction,
& 3 Must-Mentions -
All Well Worth Reading
It looks like my new blog trend is to make only one post per year. That may sound like literary inactivity - on the contrary, it is due to an overabundance of literary activity. After completing my memoir, The Bitter Pill, I have decided to divide it into two smaller books and am drafting new first and last chapters for each. I am also writing a novel, set in mid-1990's Maine and South Carolina. And just for pure fun, I took a class in Modern British Literature at the College of Charleston, where I learned to love Virginia Woolf and the beautiful, cohesive symmetry of term papers. Each class was an intellectual thrill, and the biggest thrill of all was earning an "A" in the course.
Now, on to the books. My yearly reading goal for 2018 was 64 books. I came up a bit short at 61 books read. Not one to give up, I will again shoot for at least 64 books read in 2019. This year, I had a hard time choosing just ten favorite works of fiction, so I have added three must-mentions to the list, all well worth reading. I have also chosen five favorite nonfiction reads. Here are my lists, with the titles in each section in no particular order of preference.
FICTION:
To The Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf
Reads like poetry, especially the Time Passes section.
Reads like poetry, especially the Time Passes section.
The Signature of All Things, Elizabeth Gilbert
A masterpiece of beauty and self-realization; in my top three favorite reads for the year.
A masterpiece of beauty and self-realization; in my top three favorite reads for the year.
The Reckoning, John Grisham
It's been a long time since I've read a Grisham novel & I loved this one. A tale of misunderstanding, love, war, and retribution, with a dose of Grisham legalese.
It's been a long time since I've read a Grisham novel & I loved this one. A tale of misunderstanding, love, war, and retribution, with a dose of Grisham legalese.
Hedda Gabler, Henrik Ibsen
A chilling play involving psychopathy in the form of the proper Victorian woman.
A chilling play involving psychopathy in the form of the proper Victorian woman.
Less, Andrew Sean Greer
When his partner leaves him to marry another man, the central character, Arthur Less, avoids the wedding by traveling the world in this funny, touching, and wild romp.
When his partner leaves him to marry another man, the central character, Arthur Less, avoids the wedding by traveling the world in this funny, touching, and wild romp.
Exit West, Mohsin Hamid
Population shifts and the refugee experience, facilitated by doorway portals. Very, very interesting.
Population shifts and the refugee experience, facilitated by doorway portals. Very, very interesting.
Pachinko, Min Jin Lee
A 2017 National Book Award Finalist, this work presents the Korea/Japan discordance through three generations of two extended families, revealing an ethnic rift that I never realized existed.
A 2017 National Book Award Finalist, this work presents the Korea/Japan discordance through three generations of two extended families, revealing an ethnic rift that I never realized existed.
Islands in the Stream, Ernest Hemingway
Posthumously published, this might be my favorite Hemingway book, although as one of my favorite authors, it is almost impossible to choose just one Hemingway work to love- The Green Hills of Africa and The Old Man and the Sea are my other favorites.
Posthumously published, this might be my favorite Hemingway book, although as one of my favorite authors, it is almost impossible to choose just one Hemingway work to love- The Green Hills of Africa and The Old Man and the Sea are my other favorites.
The Narrow Road to the Deep North, Richard Flanagan
This 2014 Man Booker Prize winner describes the POW experience in Burma in excrutiating detail. An unforgettable read.
This 2014 Man Booker Prize winner describes the POW experience in Burma in excrutiating detail. An unforgettable read.
Sing, Unburied, Sing, Jesmyn Ward
Told in the voice of a variety of characters, Ward weaves life, death, race, ghosts, prison, substance abuse, and love together to create an enthralling story. My favorite read, fiction or nonfiction, in 2018.
Told in the voice of a variety of characters, Ward weaves life, death, race, ghosts, prison, substance abuse, and love together to create an enthralling story. My favorite read, fiction or nonfiction, in 2018.
MUST-MENTIONS:
Husbands and Other Sharp Objects, Marilyn Simon Rothstein
This follow-up to her hilarious first novel, Lift and Separate, is a gem in its own right; a fun and witty read that I hope will breed another book in the series.
This follow-up to her hilarious first novel, Lift and Separate, is a gem in its own right; a fun and witty read that I hope will breed another book in the series.
An American Marriage, Tayari Jones
A sad view of a marriage, Ms Jones' story involves loyalty, strength, and the various components of love.
A sad view of a marriage, Ms Jones' story involves loyalty, strength, and the various components of love.
Good Karma, Christina Kelly
An entertaining peek into the lives of retirees living in an over-55 community on the sea islands of Georgia. I eagerly await Ms. Kelly's next book.
An entertaining peek into the lives of retirees living in an over-55 community on the sea islands of Georgia. I eagerly await Ms. Kelly's next book.
NONFICTION:
The Life and Death of the Great Lakes, Dan Egan
A work of painful truth, documenting one of the greatest American ecological disasters, perpetrated in the name of progress.
A work of painful truth, documenting one of the greatest American ecological disasters, perpetrated in the name of progress.
Worse than Slavery: Parchman Farm and the Ordeal of Jim Crow Justice, David M. Oshinsky
A horrifying picture of the evolution of the prison system in the American South, post Civil War, exhibited by Parchman Farm, Mississippi's oldest men's penitentiary.
A horrifying picture of the evolution of the prison system in the American South, post Civil War, exhibited by Parchman Farm, Mississippi's oldest men's penitentiary.
West with the Night, Beryl Markham
A beautifully written memoir of a woman's life in Kenya, early 20th century; about the African people - black and white - and her stint as a bush pilot.
A beautifully written memoir of a woman's life in Kenya, early 20th century; about the African people - black and white - and her stint as a bush pilot.
The Road to Jonestown: Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple, Jeff Guinn
Well-researched account of the rise and fall of Jim Jones, culminating in the massacre in 1978 in Guyana which left more than 900 people dead. A frightening look at what it takes to create and sustain a cult.
Well-researched account of the rise and fall of Jim Jones, culminating in the massacre in 1978 in Guyana which left more than 900 people dead. A frightening look at what it takes to create and sustain a cult.
Ghost Soldiers: WWII's Greatest Rescue Mission, Hampton Sides
The riveting, true story of the Rangers first combat mission, a resuce of the last prisoners of the Bataan Death March in the Philippines. The cruelty of man towards his fellow man never ceases to amaze and appall me, yet the redemption of random kindnesses somewhat restores my faith in the human race - this is a tough story to tell but an important one to hear.
The riveting, true story of the Rangers first combat mission, a resuce of the last prisoners of the Bataan Death March in the Philippines. The cruelty of man towards his fellow man never ceases to amaze and appall me, yet the redemption of random kindnesses somewhat restores my faith in the human race - this is a tough story to tell but an important one to hear.
That's it for the hi-lites of my 2018 reading life. I'm starting the new year with the book Beloved, by Toni Morrison. How about you?
