It’s that time of the year when I don’t recommend books for Christmas. Books have always been a personal thing for me, and I usually hesitate, and hesitate long, before I buy a book for someone else, unless they’ve expressed a desire for it.
That said, I can say there are a number of books I thoroughly enjoyed reading this year, and even though I’m not recommending them, I do think others – a lot of others – would enjoy them as well. They would definitely fall into the “best books I read in 2011” list.
One note: some of the titles below appeared first or only in their ebook versions. The industry is a-changing.
Fiction
Paradise Valley by Dale Cramer.
Lime Creek by Joe Henry.
Bright’s Passage by Josh Ritter.
The Emperor of Lies by Steve Sem-Sandburg.
The Devil’s in the Cows by Greg Sullivan.
The Opposite of Art by Athol Dickson.
Paper Angels by Billy Coffey.
Dancing Priest by Yours Truly (I had to include it, even though I’m biased)
Suspense
Maximal Reserve by Sam Batterman.
Darkness Follows by Mike Dellosso.
Nick of Time by Tim Downs.
Gravestone by Travis Thrasher.
Fantasy
The Map Across Time and The Land of Darkness by C.S. Lakin
The Canticles of Andurun: Dragonsong by Ian Thomas Curtis.
Poetry
Neruda’s Memoirs by Maureen Doallas.
Delicate Machinery Suspended by Anne Doe Overstreet.
Underworld: the Modern Orpheus by Matthew Duggan.
Another Hotel Room (new edition) by Steven Marty Grant.
The Back Chamber by Donald Hall.
Saint Sinatra by Angela Alaimo O’Donnell
Why the House is Made of Gingerbread by Ava Leavell Haymon.
Kingdom Come by John Estes.
The 93rd Name of God by Anny Krugovoy Silver
Faith
One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp.
All is Grace by Brennan Manning.
The Unlikely Missionary by Dan King.
Discovering Advent by Mark Roberts.
Man Shoes by Tom Watson.
On Earth as It Is in Advertising by Sam Van Eman.
My Amish Roots by Shawn Smucker.
The Four Holy Gospels by Makoto Fujimura.
Non-Fiction
Rumors of Water by L.L. Barkat.
What There Is to Say We Have Said: The Correspondence of Eudora Welty and William Maxwell edited by Suzanne Marrs.
Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas.
September: A History Painting by Gerhard Richter by Robert Storr.
Words Made Fresh by Larry Woiwide.
Beautiful & pointless: A Guide to Modern Poetry by David Orr
Photograph: Old Books by Petr Kratochvil via Public Domain Pictures. Used with permission.
How kind of you to list my poetry collection. A lovely surprise on this cold morning. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteFortunately, I have read a number of the books but by no means all. Your list would keep anyone in sufficient books throughout 2012. Will never catch up to you.
Btw, hope you might write about that Storr book.
Thank you, Glynn. This list will keep me busy for a while.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great list of non-recommended, recommended reads. :)
ReplyDeleteAll is Grace and a certain book about a dancing priest are on my list.
Thanks for recommending my fantasy series! I'm glad I've made you a new convert to fantasy. My next one, The Unraveling of Wentwater is all about the power of words and how they knit our world together. It'll be out in spring and I'll be sure to send a copy to you in about a month for sneak peek! Thanks again! Susanne Lakin
ReplyDeleterule #1 of book buying-
ReplyDeletenever, never, never buy a self-help book for a loved one.
hahaha nance! Good idea. Just wanted to let you know I'm getting a Kindle for Christmas and yours will be my first book to download. Not that I would peek...
ReplyDeleteA few of these are on my "someday" list.
ReplyDeleteThanks Glynn, I have several of these and yet they be a sittin' this time of year...I really want to get through the Bonhoeffer book over the holidays.
ReplyDeleteI always like to know what others liked ....
ReplyDeleteThanks for giving out this list.
I have your novel on my Kindle. I don't know when I'll get to it. And I'm going to make some non-recommendations for you, too--in the comments at the Saturday Review---because fools rush in . . .
ReplyDelete