This year, I’m listing my favorite books with some amount of
trepidation. It hasn’t been a good year for reading. Normally, I love to read.
It’s one of my favorite pastimes. But this year, I found it incredibly
difficult to focus on practically any book that I picked up. I think a
combination of factors led me to this state. I won’t go into them here. As we
speak, I’m trying to get back into the reading groove.
My total for the year came in at an abysmal 24 books. That’s
an average of two books per month. However, I finished the vast majority of
those books in the first half of the year. Of these 24 books, 14 were fiction; 10
were non-fiction.
None of the ones listed here gripped me, but they were all
books that I enjoyed immensely. I should note that I’m currently reading The Lost City of Z by David Grann. I
don’t anticipate finishing it before midnight tomorrow, so it will have to go
in with my 2013 books. However, if that weren’t the case, it would be my top
book of the year.
So, without further hedging, here are my top books of 2012:
5. Nothing Daunted by Dorothy Wickenden
The true story of two young, unmarried society women who, in
1916, traveled to the wilds of Colorado (and they were the wilds back then) to
teach in a one-room schoolhouse. The courage, pluck, and resourcefulness of our
ancestors never cease to amaze me.
4. The Poisoner’s Handbook by Deborah Blum
A book about all the delightful ways we used to poison each
other and ourselves (both unintentionally and not), set against the backdrop of
Jazz Age NYC, an era that gave birth to modern forensic science. This one
satisfies us morbid folk while also explaining the science of poisons in an
easy, accessible manner.
3. Isaac’s Storm by Erik Larson
The true story of the September 8, 1900 hurricane that
devastated Galveston, Texas. Written in interesting detail & chilling.
2. The Ice Balloon by Alec Wilkinson
I honestly don’t know how anyone wouldn’t want to read this book. In 1897, a Swedish adventurer by
the name of S.A. Andree tried to fly a hydrogen balloon to the North Pole.
Aren’t you just dying of curiosity to see how that turned out for him? Luckily
for you, this book is short, easily readable, and utterly fascinating.
1. Coroner’s Journal by Louis Cataldie
Cataldie served as chief coroner of Baton Rouge for a number
of years, including during the mid-1990s, when the city was terrorized by not
one, but two serial killers at the same time. During his years of service,
Cataldie kept extensive notes in a journal, and this book is the result. I
found his writing style very accessible, and I liked the way the book was laid
out: crazy accidental deaths in one chapter; suicides in another; child deaths
in another, etc. You knew what you were going to get with each chapter. Really
interesting stuff. I think I finished this book in two days.
6 comments:
I always like your book suggestions. I need to do more reading in the new year too. I've probably asked, but have you read Ghost Map? I really enjoyed that one.
I have read The Ghost Map. In fact, I read it while we were both living on Maui. :)
I didn't dislike it, but it's not one of my favorites. For some reason, I found it difficult to get into. In the "epidemic" genre of books, my personal favorite thus far is The American Plague. It's about yellow fever.
I remember that now :-)
I'll have to look up the American Plauge. I need something else to be afraid of.
Haha, I'm pretty sure that Chicago's climate is too cold in general to support yellow fever. It's more of a tropical disease. Just remember that on your next trip to Cuba. ;)
I think the average number of books people in the US read is something horrible like "four" so you are doing great in my book. Book! Hah! Why do you think you like that time period so fascinating?
I'm quite intrigued by the Colorado teachers book. It sounds fabulous.
P, I think you would really like Nothing Daunted. I hope you get a chance to read it some day. I'd love to discuss it with you.
I find this particular time period so fascinating because it was full of so much change and innovation. It had even more cultural upheaval than the 1960s. Also, I'm convinced that this was the last time period when people were truly badass (except for WWI).
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