I have been a pretty bad blogger this year. Life got in the way. Two graduations, my father passing, my son leaving for college, losing my job, starting a new job, two car wrecks, and the holidays took the wind out of my sails. I did meet my modest (and revised downward) goal of reading 80 books. Not as much as I would like, but pretty good considering the circumstances. I’m always complaining about book lists containing books I haven’t read. So this is a list of books and I’ve read all of them. 🙂 My top books of the year are:
The Lou Norton series by Rachel Howzell Hall. If you read this blog, you know that I am a sucker for (1) detectives and (2) series. This fits both categories. Lou is female, African-American, Wu-Tang Clan quoting LAPD detective. I love her. These books are fantastic. I hope there are many more.
The Magpie Murders – Anthony Horowitz is a fucking genius. His plotting is nothing short of brilliant and if you don’t like him, you suck. If you haven’t read him, do so. Now. A book within a book? Check. Two Murder mysteries? Check. Genius ending to both? Check, check.
Mission Critical – let’s face it, The Grey Man and Mark Greaney are going to appear on this list as long as he writes. The books just keep getting better. I’m always so upset when the book is finished because I know I have to wait another year to read a new one-and that, my friends, is the sign of a brilliant writer and a great series.
Out Of The Dark- what I just said about The Grey Man, yeah, same goes for Orphan X. Gregg Hurwitz will also be on this list as long as he writes. He is just flat out amazing.
Midnight In Chernobyl – A true story of the events leading up to, during, and after the nuclear meltdown in 1986. I vividly remember the incident being on the news. This book brought it into laser focus. It’s just a fantastic piece of narrative nonfiction that is emotional, thrilling, and deeply sad.
Bad Blood – the story of Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos. John Carreyrou is a good writer and the subject of this book, Silicon Valley, tech, and fraud, is compelling. I really, really enjoyed this book. There’s also a really good podcast about this that was partially taken from the book.
The Bookish Life of Nina Hill – it’s like Abi Waxman has a probe in my brain and writes books that I would write were I not too lazy to try. Her characters are real and irreverent, and funny. Nina is my spirit person and her cat, Phil, is awesome.
The Floating Feldmans – Alyssa Friedland either has one hell of a crazy family, knows someone with a crazy family, or has the best imagination ever. This book, about a family and a cruise, is hilarious. I related to it on so many levels.
True Believer – Jack Carr is a retied Navy Seal. His first book, The Terminal List, blew me away. It left me in awe. So, I had high expectations for True Believer, the follow-up. And they were surpassed. I think Jack Carr’s true talent is his ability to be real. Nothing in his books ever feel contrived. And in the spy/military genre, that’s hard. But he does it exceedingly well.
The Night Fire – I think I said this when I wrote about The Night Fire earlier, but Michael Connelly is the Raymond Chandler of my lifetime, but better. He not only writes amazing, three-dimensional characters, but he uses Los Angeles as its own character in a way few, other than Chandler, has ever accomplished. I just love Harry Bosch and Rene Ballard. And Mickey Haller. And just about every other character Connelly has ever created.
My top ten list is complete. There are some honorable mentions: The Moroccan Girl by Charles Cumming; The Girl He Used To Know by Tracy Garvis Graves; Saving Meghan by DJ Palmer; The Silent Patient by Alex Michaladies; The Whisper Network by Chandler Baker; and Creative Quest by Questlove.
I’m going to leave you with a sneak peek of two books coming out next year that I have already reviewed on this blog, but continue to rave about.
The first is Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano. It is the story of a boy who is the sole survivor of an horrific plane crash. It is tender and amazing. I loved this book so very much. It is a compelling story told in a compassionate way. I loved Edward. He is an amazing kid. He is kind and lost and a trying to find a new normal after his family is lost.
The second is American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins. Don Winslow compared it to The Grapes of Wrath. It. Is. Better. If you don’t read, if you read a lot, or anywhere in between, read this book. Read. This. Book. It is the story of a mother and her son, who survive the massacre of their family by the cartel in Mexico and try to escape to the United States (el Norte). There just aren’t the words to do this book any kind of justice. Read it. Buy it and read it. If it doesn’t win every major book prize next year, I will be shocked and saddened.
Jess and Alex meet while sharing a house in London with Becky (who inherited the house and who knows all of the tenants), Emma, and Rob at Scottish chef. Becky has one rule – no hanky panky among the roommates. Alex and Jess immediately hit it off as friends. The book follows them through their friendship, other relationships, misunderstandings, and eventually, back to each other.
Words From Ms. Wise 