My top 10 picks from the over 120 books I read last year.
You may find old books here but if they're on this list, then they were new to me! In no particular order.
Note: I've been doing this since 2008 — check the label cloud in the sidebar for "Best of" to see other lists.
2022 BEST BOOKS
Damon Runyon Favorites
by Damon Runyon
This is perfect light-hearted reading along the lines of P.G. Wodehouse or O'Henry. These short stories are set on Broadway, featuring gangsters, gamblers, guys and dolls who use a colorful vernacular like no other.
(Full review here.)
The End of the Affair
by Graham Greene
Both the prose and the novel itself are simply magnificent. Read it
despite the topic. There is much more there than meets the eye so don't
judge this book by its cover — or title.
The Man Who Died Twice
The Bullet That Missed
(Books 2 and 3 of the Thursday Murder Club series)
by Martha Wells
by Martha Wells
The Thursday Murder Club is a group of four retirees who have become friends through weekly meetings to try to solve cold cases. When a real murder is dropped into their laps (so to speak) they quickly warm to the task of solving a real case. The first one, which I read in 2021, was funny, smart, and entertaining. The second and third books matched the first. This series is just a lot of fun.
Travels on My Elephant
by Mark Shand
Started on a whim and pursued with a passion, modern-day adventurer Mark
Shand's remarkable journey through India on the back of a 30-year-old
elephant named Tara covered 800 miles, from the Bay of Bengal to the
world's largest elephant bazaar at Sonepur on the Ganges.
This delightful book gives a good behind-the-scenes look at what elephants are like, what
it is like living among Indians, and some of the different cultures are
that make up this vast and diverse nation.
Unexpected Tales form A to Z
These light, funny stories are very appealing and not just for
children. They are just a few pages long, featuring quick-witted
children who must overcome unlikely, whimsical predicaments, often with
equally unlikely solutions. The titles give you a sense of the range but
not of the author's comic imagination: Alexandra and the Argumentative
Alligator, Hendrik and the Horrible Hollyhocks, Neville and the
Negligent Neanderthal, and Yolanda and the Yak Yoghurt.
The Medieval Mind of C.S. Lewis
by Jason M. Baxter
I am interested in the medieval mindset and this book does a
great job of showing how different it was, and also how logical which is
not something the modern reader expects. Baxter is equally masterful at
laying out the argument for how Lewis's work is imbued with medieval
concepts and acting as a bridge between that time and our own.
A Beginner's Guide to Dante's Divine Comedy
by Jason M. Baxter
What makes A Beginner's Guide shine is the way Baxter bridges the gap
between our different ways of thinking. He explains the theology, the
poetry, the context (both historical and literary), and makes Dante more
accessible than any other guide I've read — and I've read a lot of very
good ones. I really appreciated the way that he kept connecting
different parts of the poem to each other for contrasting so that we
could get the deeper message as well as appreciate Dante's artistry.
A Retreat for Lay People
by Ronald Knox
I now can see why C.S. Lewis called Ronald Knox the wittiest man in
Europe. At times I kept forgetting I wasn't reading Chesterton but was
reading a collection of Monsignor Knox's talks he'd given on many
retreats for us regular folk - a.k.a. lay people. These are really wonderful because Knox seemingly effortlessly combines
practical advice, inspirational thoughts, and unexpected ways to think
about God and our relationship with him.
Barchester Towers
by Anthony Trollope
No wonder this is one of Trollope's best loved books. It is a lot of fun
and perfect light reading. It makes me think of Thackeray's Vanity Fair
although this book is gentler than that but it has the same vibe for
me. He carefully builds a complicated tangle of characters who come
clashing against each other quite naturally as each works toward a
single-minded goal.
Praying the Rosary Like Never Before
by Edward Sri
This is an amazingly thorough book on the rosary which includes so much
for meditation. The second half of the book, focusing
on the mysteries, was simply amazing. I especially loved the way that Sri didn't focus on just one moment for each mystery but would look at it from many angles. For example, in the Presentation we are shown how Luke is pointing us
toward the story of Samuel, how Simeon is responding to the Holy Spirit,
and how Simeon's phrasing has special prophetic resonance.
Meditations onVatican Art: Angels
by Mark Haydu
These are coffee table sized books with gorgeous reproductions of
paintings and lovely page design. They contains the scripture which is
being considered along with the painting, insightful commentary and good
reflections. They are wonderfully inspirational daily reading and
meditating on what the artists were conveying was fascinating.
The Feast
by Margaret Kennedy
Midsummer 1947. Pendizack Manor Hotel is buried in the rubble of a collapsed cliff. Seven guests have perished, but what brought this strange assembly together for a moonlit feast before this Act of God -- or Man? Over the week before the landslide, we meet the hotel guests in all their eccentric glory: and as friendships form and romances blossom, sins are revealed, and the cracks widen.
There was equal tension as some characters changed in ways that allowed
for growth and redemption of the trajectories their lives had been on.
This book is not just about the mystery of who will live and who will
die. It is also about spiritual realities by which these people live
their lives.
The Case of the Man Who Died Laughing
The Case of the Deadly Butter Chicken
The Case of the Love Commandos
The Case of the Reincarnated Client
(Books 2-5 of the Vish Puri detective series)
by Tarquin Hall
by Tarquin Hall
Vish Puri, Most Private Investigator, does what is needful to solve his
cases. They usually involve investigating prospective brides and grooms
for arranged marriages, but there are also big, serious cases. The serious cases often highlight a big problem in Indian culture or society. The first book in the series is The Case of the Missing Servant (reviewed here) which I read long ago.
Puri is a judiciously quirky Indian detective (meaning realistic) and his operatives are highlighted, as well as his Mummy who sets out to solve a mystery that her son does not take seriously. These books all get my thumbs up as serious, interesting mysteries which also are enjoyable "cozy" sorts of mysteries, like a trip to India.
Puri is a judiciously quirky Indian detective (meaning realistic) and his operatives are highlighted, as well as his Mummy who sets out to solve a mystery that her son does not take seriously. These books all get my thumbs up as serious, interesting mysteries which also are enjoyable "cozy" sorts of mysteries, like a trip to India.
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