This was a good year for reading and, while I can’t mention all the good books I read, I’ve put together a list of my favorites. I’m afraid the list is rather long. If necessary, forgive me. Or not. Some of these books I was able to discuss with members of the book club I belong to, a highlight of each month. In a way, I’m discussing them with you now. Please let me know your favorites from the year.
Fiction
Rachel Joyce, The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry (2013): This was one of my favorites, about an ordinary old man who took on an extraordinary task, that of walking the length of England under the believe that this would save his friend from dying. He suffers, makes some strange friends, and reflects on his life. A book about transformation. I also read the sequels, The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy (2014) and Maureen (2022).
Rachel Joyce, Miss
Benson’s Beetle (2020): Similar to Harold Fry, this story features a frumpy
old spinster who has a passion for beetles. She decides to journey to New
Caledonia to try and discover the fabled Golden Beetle. Her quirky traveling
companion and the adventures they encounter make this a highly entertaining,
and inspiring, book.
Dean Koontz, The
Bad Weather Friend (2024): A combination fantasy/suspense novel about Benny
Catspaw, a man who is “too nice.” He gets fired from his job, loses his
girlfriend, but discovers he has been assigned a craggle, a critter with
supernatural powers who is like, but not the same as, a guardian angel. They
battle global injustice and try to save the world from destruction. Very
entertaining.
Sara Nisha
Adams, The Reading List (2021): This very good novel weaves the stories
of several people who all mysteriously find a list of books “for whoever needs
them.” As people read, some of whom have not before been interested in
literature, they come together and their lives are touched for the better.
Colson Whitehead, The Nickel Boys (2019): This historical novel, a Pulitzer Prize winner, tells the story of the Nickel Academy, a juvenile reformatory in Florida, based on a real school that operated for 111 years. It deals with injustice and cruelty, focusing on two boys, one of whom escapes. The story follows him through life as he tries to recover from the trauma. Hard to read, but important.
Jennifer Ryan, The Kitchen Front (2021): I loved this book—even cried at the end. The historical background is England during World War II and a BBC radio show, “The Kitchen Front,” that gave recipes to British housewives using only the rations granted. The story revolves around four women who enter a cooking contest, with prize being co-hosting the radio show. (I also read The Underground Library, 2024, by the same author, another WWII historical novel of the library set up in an underground shelter in London during the blitz.)
Richard Powers,
Playground (2024): Fascinating tale of four people whose lives finally
converge on the island of Makatea, on the verge of a decision that will
determine its future. The playground is 1) the ocean, the real protagonist of
the book—its vastness, beauty, life, and endless variety and 2) a brilliant AI
platform named “Playground” that threatens to overpower human intelligence. In
a sense the book represents the contest between artificial intelligence,
humanity, and the mysteries of nature.
Barbara
Kingsolver, Prodigal Summer (2000): Takes place in the farms and forests
of Southern Appalachia in a humid summer when everything seems to
procreating—plants, animals, and complicated human beings. Three intertwined
stories of people trying to find their relationship with nature—and with each
other.
Linda Sue Part,
A Single Shard (2001): This Newbury Award winner is the haunting story
of an orphan boy in 12th century China, homeless and living with an
older man who is crippled. The boy, Tree-ear, becomes enchanted with the
beautiful celadon pottery and is apprenticed to one of the skilled artists.
Shows the boy growing, maturing, taking a great risk, and being rewarded beyond
his expectations.
Ariel Lawhon, The
Frozen River (2023): A stunning story based on the true history of Martha
Ballard, a mid-wife and healer in colonial Maine, 1789. Martha becomes involved
in solving a murder mystery, fighting the injustice of men in the town who are
leaders and oppressors. I loved it for the view of colonial life; a midwife’s
profession; the brave, intelligent, honest heroine; and the portrayal of a good
marriage. A bit of brutality, but the topic was brutal and the author did not
fudge. Or exaggerate.
Marie Benedict,
The Mitford Affair (2023): Historical novel based on the Mitford sisters
in upper society London in the years leading up to WWII. Two of the sisters
become fascists, even being drawn into Hitler’s inner circle. The political and
the personal intertwine when another of the sisters has to made a decision
between family and country.
Marie Benedict,
The Queens of Crime (2025): Incredibly clever plot has a group of female
crime writers join to solve a real crime and thus prove their worth to the male
writers who don’t give them their due respect. The leader of the group is
Dorothy Sayers and her cohort is Agatha Christie, which makes the book especially
fun to read.
Non-Fiction
John Simpson, The
Word Detective: Searching for the Meaning of It All in the Oxford English
Dictionary: A Memoir (2016): Simpson spent over four decades working for
the OED, the last 20 of those years as Chief Editor. He relates the later
history of the OED, from 1976 to 2013, including its breakthrough into the age
of the Internet, making it accessible to the masses (me) as never before.
Alistar
McGrath, C.S. Lewis: A Life (2013): Best biography of Lewis I’ve read.
Learned a lot about his relationship with Mrs. Moore, his response to the war
(refusing to deal with it), his relationship to Tolkien, the conflicts with
Oxford, and his relationship with Joy. A treasure.
Connie Dawson, John
Wimber: His Life and Ministry (2021): I learned a lot of details about his
life, and especially his struggles and the attacks against him. The book
summarized the tremendous influence of his life on the church.
Carolyn Maull
McKinstry While the World Watched: A Birmingham Bombing Survivor Comes of
Age during the Civil Rights Movement (2011): The author was a child and a
member of the Birmingham Sixteenth Street Baptist Church that was bombed on
Sept. 15, 1963. She tells the story of her experience, with background of the
whole civil rights movement especially in Alabama. She details aftermath of the
bombing, how it affected the country and how it affected her. Excellent
resource for understanding the suffering from the black point of view.
Bianca Bosker, Get
the Picture: a mind-bending journey among the inspired artists and obsession
art fiends who taught me how to see (2024): Bosker, a journalist, decides
to dive into the contemporary art scene in NYC, trying to understand the art,
and why art in general matters. Has incredible experiences in the five years
she ends up spending there. In some ways it reads like an anthropological case
study. Fascinating.
Safiya
Sinclair, How To Say Babylon: A Memoir (2023): One of the best books
I’ve read this year. Sinclair tells of growing up in the Rastafarian sect in
Jamaica, a “communistic Christian commune.” Learning about the sect was
fascinating, but Sinclair’s personal story griped me more. In this male
dominated culture, with the father as autocrat, she was abused into believing
she had no worth. This is the story of her coming to discover her identity and
rise to become a recognized writer and poet. A tribute to the human spirit.
Kristin Gault, The Way We Walked: Friendship, Faith and the Camino de Santiago (2025): the book chronicles the walk Kristin (my daughter) and her friend Heather took on the famous Camino de Santiago, starting in mid-Portugal and following the coast up to the northern Spanish city of Santiago, with its famous cathedral. Details the challenges the women faced—physical, mental, spiritual— the transformation it worked, and the satisfaction on reaching the goal. Interesting description, with lots of humor, as well as inspiration.
Poetry
Nancy Thomas,
editor, An Arc of Grace: selections by Quaker poets of the Pacific Northwest
(2026): Maybe putting this book on the list is cheating because it isn’t
published yet. But I spent a good part of the year with the poems of 14 good
Quaker poets, and I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The book includes black-and-white
photos of various Quaker photographers to match the mood of the poems. Prepare
to purchase! And enjoy!
Note: I am posting this blog from a hospital bed! Much to my surprise! (Do you see how devoted I am to keeping up on my blog?) Fortunately I wrote it yesterday.
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