I love keeping track of what I read, with one or two sentence reviews and a 1-4 star rating. I also love reading other people’s top lists! This year 13 books (out of the 70 I read) got four stars. My mix, as usual, was fiction, nonfiction, and poetry (technically nonfiction but its in a class by itself). Every book listed is available at our local public library. I hope this four-star list (in no particular order) inspires you as much as it did me:
Memorial Days by Geraldine Brooks. Nonfiction/memoir. True and beautifully written on grief and love, a surprisingly compelling page turner, that’s the strength of her writing. You don’t need to be a griever to appreciate it.
Looking for Alaska by John Green. Fiction. Classic YA fiction with meaning of life, friendship, self-discovery, but also nuanced exploration of grief and spirituality.
The English Understand Wool by Helen DeWitt. Fiction. A novella: surprising, dry, impeccable and tight. Impossible to put down. The space between words is beautiful and eloquent. Wit at its best.
In Search of Small Gods by Jim Harrison. Poetry. Wonderful poems and prose that speak plainly and beautifully of aging, nature, death.
Women in Clothes by Sheila Heti, Heidi Juvits, Leanne Sharpton and 639 others. Non-fiction. Entertaining, thought-provoking, unusual compilation of observations and personal experiences around clothing and accessories.
Run for the Hills by Kevin Wilson. Fiction. Full-bodied story of siblings discovering each other. Entertainingly light but deep at the same time.
Radical Compassion by Tara Brach. Nonfiction. Solid practical dharma, easy to read and to put to use in daily life. I thought it would be too basic, but it was basic and helpful.
Ain’t Burned All the Bright by Jason Reynolds. Fiction. YA graphic novel with painterly, strong illustrations I really love. Story line is of Covid, family, black lives matter: i.e., what was 2020 for a teenager in a black family.
Off to the Side by Jim Harrison. Nonfiction/memoir. Not perfect, a little rambley, but so authentic, true and beautifully written. An inspiration for being yourself and full frontal living. A who’s who of dharma bums.
The Work of Art: How Something Comes from Nothing by Adam Moss. Nonfiction. I read every word of 400+ pages, and bought it for myself. The most insightful book about creative process since Art & Fear. I like the broad swathe of makers, the details of process, the intelligence. How so many makers start by not knowing.
Miss Benson’s Beetle by Rachel Joyce. Fiction. Page turning pop fiction with delightful quirky characters in post-War Britain fallout, heart-damaged humans and the freedom to be yourself, a story of female friendship.
The Little Paris Bookshop by Nina George. Fiction. Everything I love in a good fiction novel: character evolution, excellent writing, big life questions, love… all set in the French countryside, surrounded by books. Grief is deeply expressed and traversed.
One Long River of Song by Brian Doyle. Nonfiction. Essays of life, loosely connected. Nobody writes like him, he was one of a kind. Such wonder and enthusiasm for life with his flowing rivers of words.