No. | Book Title | Author | Year | Publisher | Comments |
22 | Reckless | Craig Lucas | 1989 | Theatre Communications Group | I did not read very many plays in 2022. This was the best of the lot. |
21 | Of Whimsies & Noubles | Matthew Hughes | 2014 | PS Publishing | Apparently, Matt is “the heir apparent to Jack Vance.” Very high praise indeed and I would agree. His dying Earth stories are always a delight. |
20 | The Best American Essays: 2022 | Alexander Chee (Ed.) | 2022 | Mariner Books | These collections of essays are always well-worth reading. Here are my favorites (in no particular order) from this collection: Melissa Febos, The Wild, Sublime Body; Naomi Jackson, Her Kind; Angelique Stevens, Ghost Bread; Jason Brown, The Wrong Jason Brown |
19 | Class: A Guide Through the American Status System | Paul Fussel | 1983 | Summit Books | Everything Fussel does is well-written. I found this particularly interesting to compare and contrast the current status system with the one he describes from forty years ago. |
18 | Hummingbird Salamander | Jeff Vandermeer | 2021 | MCD Farrar, Straus and Giroux | Intricate and well-plotted with strong characters and plenty of action. JV is a pro. |
17 | The Snake Pit | Mary Jane Ward | 1946 | Random House | A ground-breaking work providing insight into the nightmarish world of 1940’s psychiatric hospitals from a talented writer with first-hand knowledge. |
16 | Pastoralia | George Saunders | 2000 | Riverhead Books | Another superb collection of stories from a master of the short form. |
15 | The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Ninth Annual Collection | Gardner Dozois (Ed.) | 2012 | St. Martins Griffin | Another excellent collection of science fiction short stories and novellas from arguably the greatest series of best of anthologies. |
14 | Lord of Chaos | Robert Jordan | 1994 | TOR Fantasy | Book Six of The Wheel of Time series. This was the best of the several novels I read in 2022 from WoT. I consider WoT to be the fourth best epic fantasy series of all time. You’ll have to guess the first three. |
13 | The Women of Copper Country | Mary Doria Russell | 2019 | Atria Paperback | This is a very good piece of historical fiction set in the Keewenaw Peninsula of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula which makes it of particular interest to me. Everything MDR writes is good. I did a Zoom Q&A, arranged through UPPAA, with her about this book. She was charming and informative and at the end of the session announced she was retiring and that would be her final public appearance. |
12 | The Ocean at the End of the Lane | Neil Gaiman | 2013 | William Morrow | Another well-written fantasy novel by this writing superstar. This particular edition (2019) was beautifully illustrated by Elise Hurst. |
11 | Consider This: Moments in my Writing Life after which Everything was Different | Chuck Palahniuk | 2021 | Grand Central Publishing | A how to that is well-organized and filled with pragmatic advice for the would-be writer. It is also a fun read as he intersperses the advice with brief, improbable tales of the writer’s life on the road. |
10 | Telegraph Avenue | Michael Chabon | 2012 | Harper | A sterling effort from one of America’s premier novelists that is, once again, replete with fascinating popular culture references. |
9 | In Search of Snow | Luis Alberto Urrea | 1994 | Harper Perennial | My wife saw him speak and then introduced his work to me. He quickly became a favorite. He is a natural-born story-teller. |
8 | Strange Weather: Four Short Novels | Joe Hill | 2017 | William Morrow | The oldest son of Stephen King seems, like the old man, to have writing chops. I particularly liked Aloft. |
7 | The North Water | Ian McGuire | 2016 | Picador Henry Holt & Co. | A driving, relentless, force of nature novel. Gritty and brutal, it gets a hold of you and doesn’t let go. |
6 | Stories of Your Life and Others | Ted Chiang | 2002 | Vintage Books | Another superb collection of speculative tales by TC. He is one of our best short story writers. |
5 | Magic Hours: Essays on Creators and Creation | Tom Bissell | 2018 | Vintage Books | TB was born and raised in Escanaba. He is a hometown boy that’s made it big. So I had to try this book and was blown away by his writing. I’ll be looking for more of his work. |
4 | The Marriage Plot | Jeffrey Eugenides | 2011 | Farrar, Straus and Giroux | Another brilliant novel by this native Detroiter. He does not seem to write much but whatever he produces is well worth the wait. |
3 | Peter Watts is an Angry Sentient Tumor: Revenge Fantasies and Essays | Peter Watts | 2019 | Tachyon Publications | Picked up this book mostly because of the intriguing title. He writes with an arc welder so don’t get too close and be careful of your eyesight. I will have to read some of his novels probably starting with Blindsight. |
2 | Early Morning Riser | Katherine Heiny | 2021 | Alfred A. Knopf | I adored this book. Partly because of the northern Michigan setting but mostly because of its heart and humor. |
1 | The Sympathizer | Viet Thanh Nguyen | 2015 | Grove Press | Debut novels have no business being this good. It deserves, without question, its accolades and awards including a Pulitzer and Andrew Carnegie Medal. |