Here’s my annual list of my ten favorite books read in the year. As always, this is merely the best books I read this year and not necessarily books published in 2016. For previous years see 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007 and 2006. You may also want to check out My Favorite Books of All Time or see Every Book I’ve Ever Read cataloged in Library Thing.
In alphabetical order:
- Boston’s South End, The Clash of Ideas in a Historic Neighborhood by Russ Lopez
- Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson
- Dreams to Remember: Otis Redding, Stax Records, and the Transformation of Southern Soul by Mark Ribowsky
- Drinking Coffee Elsewhere by ZZ Packer
- Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond
- God and empire : Jesus against Rome, then and now by John Crossan
- Granite, fire, and fog : the natural and cultural history of Acadia by Tom Wessels
- Holy Spokes : The Search for Urban Spirituality on Two Wheels by Laura Everet
- Nobody: Casualties of America’s War on the Vulnerable, from Ferguson to Flint and Beyondby Marc Lamont Hill
- The Secret Lives of Bats by Merlin Tuttle
And, here is every book I read this year with rankings. (A) is for audiobook.
The books are rated on a scale from 1 to 5 stars with links to summary reviews.
Here’s a thumbnail of what the ratings mean:
- 5 stars – all-time classic (I’m very stingy with these)
- 4 stars – a particularly interesting, well-written, or important book
- 3 stars – a good book from start to finish
- 2 stars – not a good book on the whole but has some good parts
- 1 star or less – basically a bad book with no redeeming values
January
- Alcatraz Versus the Scrivener’s Bones by Brandon Sanderson (A) – ***1/2
- Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli (A) – ***1/2
- So Close to Home by Michael J. Tougias (A) – ***
- The Detonators: The Secret Plot to Destroy America and an Epic Hunt for Justice by Chad Millman (A) – ***
- Trouble Boys: The True Story of the Replacements by Bob Mehr – ***1/2
- Another Brooklyn by Jacqueline Woodson (A) – ***1/2
February
- Nobody: Casualties of America’s War on the Vulnerable, from Ferguson to Flint and Beyondby Marc Lamont Hill – ****1/2
- The Walking Dead Vol. 25: No Turning Back by Robert Kirkman – **
- The Walking Dead Vol. 26: Call To Arms by Robert Kirkman – ***
- Frozen: The Cinestory by Robert Simpson – **
- How It Went Down by Kekla Magoon (A) – ****
- The devil’s picnic : around the world in pursuit of forbidden fruit by Taras Grescoe – ***1/2
- The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2017 by Bob Sehlinger and Len Testa – ****
- The Road to Little Dribbling by Bill Bryson (A) – ***1/2
- Unfamiliar Fishes by Sarah Vowell (A) – ***1/2
- Your song changed my life by Bob Boilen (A) – ***
March
- The Disneyland Story by Sam Gennawey – ****
- I Survived the Shark Attacks of 1916by Lauren Tarshis (A) – ***
- The Walking Dead Vol. 27: The Whisperer War by Robert Kirkman – **
- Our revolution : a future to believe in by Bernard Sanders – ***1/2
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Cabin Fever by Jeff Kinney
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Third Wheel by Jeff Kinney
- Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Double Down by Jeff Kinney
April
- Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City by Matthew Desmond (A) – ****1/2
- Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne (A) – *****
- The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain (A) – ****
- The Hidden Magic of Walt Disney World by Susan Veness – **
- Hunger Makes Me a Modern Girlby Carrie Brownstein (A) – ***1/2
- God and empire : Jesus against Rome, then and now by John Crossan – ****
May
- Ted & me: A Baseball Card Adventure by Dan Gutman
- Jackie & Me: A Baseball Card Adventure by Dan Gutman
- Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J. D. Vance (A)
- The Thinking Fan’s Guide to Walt Disney World: Magic Kingdomby Aaron Wallace
June
- Boston’s South End, The Clash of Ideas in a Historic Neighborhood by Russ Lopez – ****
July
- The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin (A) – ****
- Holy Spokes : The Search for Urban Spirituality on Two Wheels by Laura Everett – *****
August
- River of Doubt by Candice Millard (A) – ***1/2
- We Are Pirates by Daniel Handler – **
- I Was Told to Come Alone by Souad Mekhennet (A) – ***
- The humans who went extinct : why Neanderthals died out and we survived by Clive Finlayson – ***
September
- Acadia: The Complete Guide: Acadia National Park & Mount Desert Island by James Kaiser – ****
- Granite, fire, and fog : the natural and cultural history of Acadia by Tom Wessels – ****
- Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders (A) – ***
- Dreaming the Beatles by Rob Sheffield (A) – ****
- Democracy in Chains by Nancy MacLean (A) – ***
- Roll with the Punches by Amy Gettinger – **
- Welcome To Braggsville by T. Geronimo Johnson (A) – **1/2
- The Harlem Hellfightersby Max Brooks – ***
October
- The Sword in the Stone by T.H. White (A) – ****1/2
- A Burnable Book by Bruce Holsinger (A) – **1/2
- Swing Time by Zadie Smith (A) – **1/2
- The Secret Lives of Bats by Merlin Tuttle – ****
- Saints for All Occasions by J. Courtney Sullivan (A) – ***1/2
- The Sisters Are Alright by Tamara Winfrey Harris (A) – ***1/2
November
- Drinking Coffee Elsewhere by ZZ Packer (A) – ****1/2
- The Ballet Lover by Barbara L. Baer – ***
- Allegedly by Tiffany D. Jackson (A) – **1/2
- The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau (A) – **
- Gypsies of New Rochelle by Ivan Jenson – *
- The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro (A) – ***1/2
- Scrappy Little Nobodyby Anna Kendrick (A)- ***1/2
- Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson – ****1/2
- Every Exquisite Thing by Matthew Quick (A) – **
- Dreams to Remember: Otis Redding, Stax Records, and the Transformation of Southern Soul by Mark Ribowsky – ****
December
- The Well of Lost Plots by Jasper Fforde (A) – ****
- The Rook by Daniel O’Malley (A) – ***
Panorama of the Mountains 