Popular this time of year among the many book sites I follow is to discuss the best books of the past year - either those published in the past year or those read in the past year by the writer. Naturally, with my affinity for books, I love these articles (great way to get more information about potentially very good books to read in the coming year!). Looking back at my year in reading, I struggled to think of what book I considered the "best" book I read this year. In part, this is because of the difficulty in understanding exactly what is meant by "best" in this context. Is it the book that I most enjoyed? The book that was most significant to my thinking for the year? The book I learned the most from? Some combination of these answers and various other questions that could be posed?
The answer to that question will go a long ways to determining what books would be considered the best. Thankfully, due to my ongoing use of Goodreads, I have a helpful reminder of what I read, what I considered good, and what my thoughts were at the time. Per Goodreads, I read 55 books, totaling almost 19,000 pages. The shortest book I read was James Baldwin's "The Fire Next Time" (which I just finished recently and was amazing), and the longest was a history book by Nathaniel Philbrick, "Valiant Ambition," about George Washington and Benedict Arnold. Of the 55 books I read this year, 24 were non-fiction and 31 were fiction (I always try to keep this balanced). I liked most things that I read, giving 11 books a 5 of 5 stars rating on Goodreads and another 22 books 4 of 5 stars. Only 1 book got a 1 star review, with another six getting the 2 of 5 stars rating (2 stars meaning "it was ok" in Goodreads parlance).
In looking back at the 11 books I gave 5 stars to, I feel I could almost pick any of them as a best book (which, makes a certain amount of sense, as I felt all 11 was amazing). That said, of those 11, two really stick out to me. "Twilight of the Elites" by Chris Hayes and "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson. Both works of non-fiction that I found to be compelling reads, insightful, and relevant. Either of those would make a worthy title holder as the best book I read this year (so, I'm not going to choose between the two of them).
When I started this year, I wanted to read more than last year; and I did (55 books to 50, though I was hoping for 60). But I probably read easily close to or more than 5 additional books in the number of magazines I read this year. I haven't consistently read a magazine in several years, and got back into it early this year with a subscription to The New Yorker. Later, I added subscriptions to The Atlantic and The Economist to my weekly/monthly reading. Considering The New Yorker and The Economist are weekly magazines that often total near a 100 pages each week, and The Atlantic is a monthly that can be even longer, I feel like I accomplished my goal of dedicating more time to reading, even if it only meant five more books. In many ways, I felt reading was as much of my daily and weekly routine as it was several years ago (such as 2011, when I read 75 books).
All that said, there is always more to read; more stories to be entertained and awed by; more histories and peoples and cultures and ideas to learn about. All of these things are why I enjoy reading so much, and why I want to continue to push myself in the year ahead. Here's hoping for a year maintaining the magazine subscription reading while pushing towards 60 books!
"A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies, said Jojen. The man who never reads lives only one." - George R.R. Martin, A Dance With Dragons
"Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers." - Charles William Eliot
"I cannot remember the books I've read any more than the meals I have eaten; even so, they have made me." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
The answer to that question will go a long ways to determining what books would be considered the best. Thankfully, due to my ongoing use of Goodreads, I have a helpful reminder of what I read, what I considered good, and what my thoughts were at the time. Per Goodreads, I read 55 books, totaling almost 19,000 pages. The shortest book I read was James Baldwin's "The Fire Next Time" (which I just finished recently and was amazing), and the longest was a history book by Nathaniel Philbrick, "Valiant Ambition," about George Washington and Benedict Arnold. Of the 55 books I read this year, 24 were non-fiction and 31 were fiction (I always try to keep this balanced). I liked most things that I read, giving 11 books a 5 of 5 stars rating on Goodreads and another 22 books 4 of 5 stars. Only 1 book got a 1 star review, with another six getting the 2 of 5 stars rating (2 stars meaning "it was ok" in Goodreads parlance).
In looking back at the 11 books I gave 5 stars to, I feel I could almost pick any of them as a best book (which, makes a certain amount of sense, as I felt all 11 was amazing). That said, of those 11, two really stick out to me. "Twilight of the Elites" by Chris Hayes and "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson. Both works of non-fiction that I found to be compelling reads, insightful, and relevant. Either of those would make a worthy title holder as the best book I read this year (so, I'm not going to choose between the two of them).
When I started this year, I wanted to read more than last year; and I did (55 books to 50, though I was hoping for 60). But I probably read easily close to or more than 5 additional books in the number of magazines I read this year. I haven't consistently read a magazine in several years, and got back into it early this year with a subscription to The New Yorker. Later, I added subscriptions to The Atlantic and The Economist to my weekly/monthly reading. Considering The New Yorker and The Economist are weekly magazines that often total near a 100 pages each week, and The Atlantic is a monthly that can be even longer, I feel like I accomplished my goal of dedicating more time to reading, even if it only meant five more books. In many ways, I felt reading was as much of my daily and weekly routine as it was several years ago (such as 2011, when I read 75 books).
All that said, there is always more to read; more stories to be entertained and awed by; more histories and peoples and cultures and ideas to learn about. All of these things are why I enjoy reading so much, and why I want to continue to push myself in the year ahead. Here's hoping for a year maintaining the magazine subscription reading while pushing towards 60 books!
"A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies, said Jojen. The man who never reads lives only one." - George R.R. Martin, A Dance With Dragons
"Books are the quietest and most constant of friends; they are the most accessible and wisest of counselors, and the most patient of teachers." - Charles William Eliot
"I cannot remember the books I've read any more than the meals I have eaten; even so, they have made me." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
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