I read a lot this year, much more fiction than I usually do, specifically a lot of detective and crime novels. And I loved it. I just focused on reading what I wanted to, and if I wasn’t enjoying a book I dropped it. Since I was only reading what I enjoyed, I read at a quicker pace and which led to more books overall than usual. I’m continuing this approach in 2020. Here are my favorite books I read in 2019.
11/22/63 by Stephen King
This was my favorite book I read this year. It hit a lot of targets I’m really interested in: Historical fiction set in the 1960’s. Conspiracy theories. Elements of crime and spy stories with a scifi bent.
The main story has an outsider (to both time and place) time traveling back to first prove without a doubt that Lee Harvey Oswald killed JFK, and then decide whether or not to prevent the assassination by murdering the assassin. There are plenty of detours from this ‘main story’, which I actually loved, that explore all the realistic side adventures of a time travel story. He tries to save others along the way, sometimes with causing even more dire consequences. He bets on a long shot to win big and then has to avoid retaliation from the bookie that got duped. There’s a lot going on and I enjoyed it all. It also sneaks in a love story, which grew to be one of the most powerful parts of the book. We’re thrown in with the character adjusting to this new time and new place and how he forms relationships and ultimately becomes a part of the community he’s in. In these ways it reminded me of Winesburg, Ohio, which is one of the highest compliments I can give a book. King is amazing at making the setting almost literally become a character, an evil character here, with Dallas. It’s linked to his greater universe he’s created and we even get a glimpse at Derry (another evil city) and the monster that’s living there in 1958 (but more on IT later).
It’s just an amazing combination of genre, drama, and romance with plenty of tense, eerie suspense. On top of it all, it’s a time travel story, presented in maybe the best way I’ve seen it done. It’s laid out in fascinating, easy to follow detail right at the start, but then moves on with the rest of the story, returning to it when it needs to, without ever being bogged down by the ‘rules’. It’s a long book but I never felt bored. It was an exciting, interesting story the whole way through.
The Spenser Private Detective Novels by Robert Parker
While 11/22/63 was probably my favorite book this year, the Spenser novels are my favorite discovery. Robert Parker was a very local writer, living in Cambridge and teaching at BU, and though I hadn’t known of him previously, any time I brought him up to someone a bit older, they knew exactly who I was talking about. He’s a legend, considered the dean of American crime fiction, and wrote and released a book nearly every god damn year of his life once he got going. Almost all of the Spenser novels are set around Boston (with a few excursions, to London and Los Angeles, for example). It’s set when and where it was written, 1970’s and 80’s around Boston, but it also feels like it could be set any time, with many of the big landmarks and streets mentioned still here today. I read and enjoyed a lot of the detective novels I read this year, but this hit exactly what I was looking for. Spenser is the detective, and he’s a smart ass who likes to cook and read and work out at the YMCA. My guy!
While Spenser is recognized by all he encounters as one of the toughest, most reliable guys around, it’s much more realistic than a Jack Reacher Lee Child novel. He’s not unstoppable. He gets it as good as he gives at times, but his experience as a boxer and policeman make him a crafty, intelligent P.I.
Reading more about the author Robert Parker only made me like him more. Here’s some gold from his Wikipedia:
“Parker and his wife, Joan, separated at one point but then came to an unusual arrangement. They lived in a three-story Victorian house just outside of Harvard Square; she lived on one floor and he on another, and they shared the middle floor. This living arrangement is mirrored in Spenser’s private life: his girlfriend, Susan, had an aversion to marriage and living together full-time. Living separately suited them both, although they were fully committed to each other. Explaining the arrangement in an interview on CBS Sunday Morning, Parker said, “I want to make love to my wife for the rest of my life, but I never want to sleep with her again.”
And, “when asked how his books would be viewed in 50 years, replied: ‘Don’t know, don’t care.'”
I’ve read 10 of these books upon discovering it, in just the last four months of the year. They’re incredibly fun, easy reads that you can move right through. My favorites so far are The Goldwulf Manuscript, Mortal Stakes, The Promised Land, & The Judas Goat. I look forward to reading even more in 2020.
A few more favorite detective novels this year: The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler, Slow Horses by Mick Herron, Gun Machine by Warren Ellis, Red Dragon by Thomas Harris, Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith (JK Rowling)
IT by Stephen King
I ripped through this book at a pretty insane pace, because of how well-written it is, but by the time I got to the end I was ready for it. Maybe I read it a little too fast. King really is a master, but at the same time, he could’ve easily cut 10-20% of the book and it’d probably be even better. That being said, it only really started to feel like it was dragging for a moment towards the end, but then the shIT hits the fan and it’s an exciting, terrifying ride straight to the end.
As gruesome as it all is, the friendships between the Losers, the escape from misery they get among friends, and the joy and light-hearted humor they’re able to have with each other is really heart-warming and somehow plays well within the fact that a MURDEROUS ALIEN CLOWN IS MASS MURDERING CHILDREN IN THEIR TOWN. Great book, and another entry for me into the world Stephen King has built.
Leadership In Turbulent Times by Doris Kearns Goodwin
This is a great format to learn history through. It wasn’t a straightforward biography of one individual. Those can always be rough starting out; I don’t care about Lincoln’s uncle’s cousin, I want to hear about how he learned in his environment and built on those lessons to become one of the greatest leaders in American history . And this book provided exactly that. It looked at four President’s formation into the leaders they become, their style and methods, and the change they navigated and brought about through their leadership. The four Presidents were Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, FDR, and Lyndon Johson, all incredibly interesting, different type of people and leaders. You get to learn about each leader in depth without treading repetitive ground or insignificant details. Kearns focused on their process and strategy, but also the things that happened to them in their lives that formed their pursuits, widened their empathy, and drove them in the direction they would go. Each portrait was very interesting, and I learned more than I previously knew about each man. FDR’s chapters were particularly illuminating because he’s the one I knew the least about before reading. Teddy Roosevelt navigating and balancing on the tight rope for the coal miner’s strike was was very interesting too, and could be a whole book in itself (I’m sure it is), yet is perfectly encapsulated by Kearns in a chapter. I look forward to reading more of her work and about these different leaders.
Spider-Man: Life Story by Chip Zdarsky & Mark Bagley
Far and away the best comic I read this year. While I enjoyed X-Men: Grand Design, this is what I hoped it would be. Chip Zdarsky reimagines the life of Spider-Man chronologically in real-time, each issue covering a different decade, from the 60’s to the 10’s, with Peter Parker and the world around him aging as it goes on. By pulling from over 50 years of comics, distilling the greatest moments in each decade, Zdarsky was able to not only cover the highlights, but imbue each issue and the story as a whole with a tremendous amount of emotion and thoughtfulness. In comics, characters almost never actually age, or if so, extremely slowly. Having Peter Parker go through life, love, loss, and more, grounds the character and makes the emotional beats of the story that much stronger. While Grand Design whipped through story plots, giving a summarization of decades of storytelling, Life Story somehow accomplished a more powerful story in a much shorter page count. I loved this book and would love to see Zdarsky explore more of his planned world, where Captain America, Iron Man, Reed Richards and more age and suffer and live complete lives.
Station Eleven by Emily St. Mandel
I really this twisty post-apocalyptic tale. It’s grim, as you’d expect the apocalypse to be, but it also has a lot of heart, showcasing the importance of community, story-telling, and hope even in the darkest conditions. The structure of the book is great and it wraps around itself and connects all of the characters across time in a really interesting way.
Keep Going by Austin Kleon
I’m a big fan of Austin Kleon’s blog and previous books, and this is another winner. It will instant boost to be more creative, but it’s equally motivating for life in general. The world can seem pretty depressing and this is a book that challenges us to continue to cultivate our own gardens, inside our homes, our relationships, our daily practices, and to keep going in the pursuits and passions that make us feel more alive.
Awareness by Anthony De Mello
This is a kick in the pants book. I don’t know if I’d agree with everything De Mello says in this book, but his blunt, no bullshit talks on how life really is, how people really are, certainly attunes you to the way you’re living. It’s a good palate cleanser to wake you up and think about how much time your wasting on the inconsequential, and to get back in touch with who you really are.
Eat Me: the Food and Philosophy of Kenny Shopsin by Kenny Shopsin
Another no bullshit taker, Kenny Shopsin, wrote this wonderful cookbook/musings on life and creativity. This book reinvigorated my passion for cooking and is packed with glorious comfort food recipes. But the real value in this book is Shopsin’s view on life and creativity, allowing no compromises in how he runs his restaurant, how he cooks his food, and how he lives his life. Everyone is different, and Kenny Shopsin is certainly unique, but his drive to live on his own terms is truly inspiring.
A Few More Favorites:
Wonder Boys by Michael Chabon
All That You Leave Behind by Erin Lee Carr
My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Otessa Moshfegh
The Laws of Human Nature by Robert Greene
The Black Monday Murders by Jonathan Hickman
House of X/Powers of X by Jonathan Hickman
X-Men Grand Design by Ed Piskor