The Top Twelve Books (I've Read) of 2018

In previous years, I’ve limited my Best Of list to 10 books, but this time around, I had to go for a dozen.
Out of the 50 odd books I read each year, there are usually several standouts, plenty of solid reads, and a few misses.  2018 proved a good year for reading, because most of the books were vying for the top spots.  There were only one or two duds overall, and that was due primarily to poor editing and pacing.

Here are my 12 favorites:
The Genius of BirdsJennifer Ackerman
I totally geeked out over this book.  Fascinating research, interesting theories, and plenty of nifty facts about how birds do their bird-thing.  From problem-solving crows to inventive sparrows, crafty mockingbirds and milk-stealing zebra-finches, this book covers amazing material about intelligence and how it is defined.





Stories Doris Lessing
First off, a confession.  One of my favorite novelists is A.S. Byatt (see below), and I knew that she had a sister who was also a writer (Margaret Drabble).  While browsing a bookstore, I confused Doris Lessing with Margaret Drabble, and wound up with this collection of short stories.  A momentous find!  Lessing’s use of language is a masterclass in itself, plus her crafting of her stories is something that all writers can learn from.  Whereas oftentimes short stories focus on one pivotal event in a character’s life, Lessing’s stories take their time so that her characters learn a little bit about themselves and then a little more, emphasizing that insight is rarely a flashbulb moment but rather something much more nuanced.  An amazing read.

You Don’t Even Know Meand The Skin I’m InSharon G. Flake
A two-for-one.  It’s a tough call to name one book as better than the other, but if I had to choose, I would select You Don’t Even Know Me, only because this is the one that introduced me to Flake’s talents.  She drops her characters into identifiable situations and allows them to face challenges in realistic ways.  Plus, she is a fine wordsmith.  More please.




Six FourHideo Yokoyama
A police procedural set in the bureaucracy of a Japanese district.  The story follows the director of media in a police station who becomes involved in the cold case kidnapping of a young girl. Much of the novel follows his pursuit through a network of political rivalries and bureaucratic blockades as he deals with the disappearance of his own daughter.  Highly recommended.




Pilgrim at Tinker CreekAnnie Dillard
I’ve lost track of the number of times I have read Thoreau’s Walden.  When a friend heard me praising that book, he recommended Dillard’s Pilgrim.  Poetic language blends with scientific observations to create a meditation on environment, biology, and our connection to the natural world.  This is a book I will come back to again and again.  It’s my new Walden.




The Real Life of Marian Evans:  George Eliot, Her Letters and FictionRosemarie Bodenheimer
George Eliot is one of my favorite authors, so it’s no surprise that I’ve read a few biographies about her.  Bodenheimer’s book does not focus on the chronological details of Eliot’s life. Instead, it offers an analysis of key points in the author’s life as they are addressed in her private correspondence and novels.  Plenty of keen observations about Middlemarch, Daniel Deronda, and The Mill on the Floss that offer a slightly different lens on viewing these works.



Stories of Your Life and OthersTed Chiang
A collection of sci-fi stories that address metaphysical questions, such as first contact with an alien race (bring in the linguists!) or building the Tower of Babylon and what happens if you reach heaven.  Clever and thoughtful.







The Three-Body ProblemLiu Cixin
Another sci-fi novel that also addresses issues of first contact.    The Three-Body Problem uses questions regarding physics and astronomy to pose the challenges facing an alien race which must migrate to another planet to survive.  But the true focus of the novel is on the humans who have made first contact and how they view the arrival of another species as the necessary judgment against how humans have mishandled society.  This story also harks back to some of Doris Lessing’s science fiction novels, which are more about society and less about science.  There are two other books in the series:  The Dark Forest and Death's End.


An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on EarthCol. Chris Hadfield
Lots of space-related winners this year.  Col. Hadfield proved to be a YouTube phenom with his mini science lessons on-board the International Space Station (ISS).  In this memoir/self-help book, he describes what skills are required to become an astronaut and how to meet the unexpected challenges of living on the ISS.  All these skills are applicable to everyday life on earth, so pay attention.  A fun read.



The Sweetness at the Bottom of the PieAlan Bradley
Flavia de Luce is a sleuth who knows a thing or two about poisons.  She is also 11 years old.  Bradley has created a vibrant character who commands this story (as well as multiple sequels).  Her enthusiasm makes her highly observant as well as extraordinarily brave and quite witty. Pure entertainment.





A People’s History of Chicago Kevin Coval
Taking Howard Zinn’s A People’s History of the United States as a model, Coval tackles the often-times overlooked or marginalized history of Chicago.  Self-described as a breakbeat poet, Coval offers up 77 poems (one for each of Chicago’s neighborhoods) that jazz on Harold Washington, Jane Addams, Studs Terkel, Fred Hampton, and many others.  Entertaining, informative, and definitely challenging when it highlights racism, classism, and all sorts of other -isms that have kept Chicago decidedly segregated.  But his poems also celebrate the heroes we have not yet learned enough about.
Here’s the complete list of books I’ve read in 2018:
The Genius of Birds, Jennifer AckermanI Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Maya AngelouThe ‘It’s A Wonderful Life’ Book, Jeanine BasingerDeath is a Lonely Business, Ray BradburyThe Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, Alan BradleyThe Cat Who Played Brahms, Lilian Jackson BraunThe Biographer’s Tale, A.S. ByattJunky, William S. BurroughsIn Cold Blood, Truman CapoteStories of Your Life, Ted ChiangDie Trying, Lee ChildThe Three-Body Problem, Liu CixinBarely Breathing, Pamela ClareThe Man in the High Castle, Philip K. DickThe Old Curiosity Shop, Charles DickensPilgrim at Tinker Creek, Annie DillardThe Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, David EdgarDangerous Minds, Janet EvanovichThe Black Stallion, Walter FarleyThe Skin I’m In, Sharon G. FlakeYou Don’t Even Know Me, Sharon G. FlakeJudith Guest’s Ordinary People, Nancy GilsenenAn Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth, Col. Chris HadfieldThe Homecoming, Earl Hamner, Jr.Invisible Life, E. Lynn HarrisMisty of Chincoteague, Marguerite HenryAll Creatures Great and Small, James HerriotSelected Poems, Langston HughesFinders Keepers, Stephen KingA Wrinkle in Time, Madeleine L’EngleStories, Doris LessingUltimate Voiceover!, Jeff LupetinA Charlie Brown Christmas: The Making of a Tradition, Lee MendelsohnThe City and the City, China MievilleStickeen, John MuirDog Songs, Mary OliverMy Life in Dog Years, Gary PaulsenFantastic Beasts: The Original Screenplay, J.K. RowlingThe Golden Gate, Vikram SethThree Doors to Death, Rex StoutGhosts, Raina TelgemeierThe Other, Thomas TryonVinegar Girl, Anne TylerMary Poppins, P.L. TraversMary Poppins Comes Back, P.L. TraversIn a Dark, Dark Wood, Ruth WareBirdy, William WhartonBend, Kivrin WilsonWordsworth, William WordsworthTony and Susan, Austin WrightSix Four, Hideo Yokoyama