Favorite books read in 2022

 Last year I finally beat several Goodreads records from 2015, although an earlier one from 2013 eluded me.  I read 138 (versus 134) books, with a total pagecount of 34,176 (versus 33,492).  I just missed, in December (I made a push in the final two weeks over the course of two long weekends), my August 2013 total of 21 books with 19.  I was knowingly chasing the first two (although I guess I was probably safer with the second one than I'd thought), and would've definitely pushed a little further had I known how close I was with the third!

Such are the achievements of a book nerd...

1. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens, which I passed up reading for years, figuring a popular book club bestseller couldn't really interest me, but I finally reconsidered on the basis of the film adaptation once again placing it on bookshelves.  I actually love the film better, but the book is basically the American version of the Millennium Trilogy's full arc for Lisbeth Salander, and that comes with considerable praise for me.  I figure it's as close to a true classic as has been published in the last decade.
2. The Ink Black Heart by Robert Galbraith, the latest Strike/Ellacott mystery tackles social media poison from the same mind that has been cracking the modern psyche so brilliantly since it was done with wizards.  No further legitimate intellectual defense necessary.
3. The English Understand Wool by Helen DeWitt, the latest (slim) volume from the writer who has very quickly become one of my favorites.  I read her collection Some Trick twice this year, as well as Lightning Rods for the first time, and of course this.  Her Last Samurai is another modern classic.
4. Hannibal Rising by Thomas Harris, which is the last and probably clearest spotlight for the famous cannibal, which in later film appearances perhaps got lost in the infamy but I also explored this year in Hannibal, the sequel that cemented his later reputation, both in book and film.  
5. Metamorphica by Zachary Mason, a spiritual successor to his Lost Books of the Odyssey, both being miracles of modern interpretations for Greek myths.
6. The Complete Short Stories by Ernest Hemingway, which is fairly self-explanatory.  I didn't start reading Hemingway until Woody Allen's brilliant Midnight in Paris, which led me to A Moveable Feast, which led to everything else I've read to date, which covers what I believe to be all of the major works at this point.
7. Cowboy Graves: Three Novellas by Robert Bolano, the latest posthumous collection from my favorite writer, well worth the wait and yet another easy suggestion for anyone who still has yet to experience him and wants something simple before tackling his masterpieces (2666, The Savage Detectives).
8. Big Red by Jerome Charyn, the latest from another favorite writer, this time honing in on yet another creative dynamo, Orson Welles, and Rita Hayworth.
9. Sugergirl: Woman of Tomorrow by Tom King & Bilquis Evely, my favorite of the many graphic novels I read in 2022, and my favorite of the several Tom King masterpieces among them (including Rorschach and Strange Adventures).  This one's one of his shortest works, but most inventive, harking back to his best work, Omega Men.
10. Gump & Co. by Winstom Groom, the best of the considerable backlog of books on my shelves, a sequel to the first book and not the movie adapted from it, although cleverly written with an eye to it, a true piece of classic Americana that's been all but lost in an era that has little use for such things as it cherry picks for whatever is most useful for current needs. 

Favorite books read in 2019

Here's my list of favorite books I read in 2019.  As I don't read a lot of new releases, most of these will be older, in some cases quite a bit older, than what you typically find in these lists...

1. The Last Samurai by Helen DeWitt, something I tracked down expressly because of one of those wildly premature "best of the century so far" lists that began appearing within the last year or so.  And I was pleasantly surprised to really love it!  
2. Distant Star by Roberto Bolano, part of my push last year to collect and read all the remaining books from the late author I hadn't yet gotten around to.  This one focused on the little-explored legacy of Nazis who fled to South America following WWII, not merely from the spectacular reclamations for later trials, but the effects they had on the native populations, part of the youth that greatly affected Bolano's life.
3. Frankenstein in Baghdad by Ahmed Saadawi, which presents the imaginative response from another native perspective, this time as part of the Iraq War, a book I found at an airport.  (I recently bought a few more from another trip, and hope the results are even half as good.)
4. Don Quixote by Cervantes, a first-time read of a classic, and hugely illuminating.
5. For Whom the Bell Tolls by Hemingway, another first-time read of a classic, and by far the best book I've read in my recent push to finally read Papa.
6. The Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald, the first time I've read it since high school, and I'm pretty sure I got more out of it this time, and a greater appreciation.
7. Heroes in Crisis by Tom King, a controversial graphic novel for some, but the next great piece of writing from my current favorite in the medium.
8. Quichotte by Salman Rushdie, coincidentally released the same year I read the book on which it's mostly based.
9. The Perilous Adventures of the Cowboy King by Jerome Charyn, a book based on Teddy Roosevelt by one of my favorite authors.
10. Lessons from Lucy by Dave Barry, the latest from one of my favorite writers, slowly working his way past strict humor.

I spend all year writing extensive reviews over at Goodreads, and then I write the bare minimum here...At least I know about as many people are likely to care one way or the other!

Favorite books read in 2018

1. Green Lantern: Earth One, Vol. 1 by Gabriel Hardman & Corinna Sara Bechko - Brilliant reinvention of the mythos.
2. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald by J.K. Rowling - Timely cautionary tale about the splitting of society down ideological lines.
3. A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway - Finally reading Papa continues to be fruitful.
4. Batman, Vol. 4: The War of Jokes and Riddles by Tom King & Mikel Janin - Compelling look at the psychology of Batman and his villains.
5. Redeployment by Phil Klay - Piercing look at modern American warfare.
6. Bearing False Witness by Rodney Stark - Enlightening look at truth and fiction of the Catholic Church throughout history.
7. Boxers & Saints by Gene Luen Yang - Creative look at the Boxer Rebellion.
8. G.I. Joe Cobra Command - The Complete Collection by Chuck Dixon, Mike Costa & various - Costa's Cobra comics are essential reading, but this might be the best place to see it in context and IDW's G.I. Joe material in general at its finest.
9. 41 by George W. Bush - I read both this and Bush's memoir Decision Points during 2018, but this one turned out to be incredibly timely, chronicling his father's incredible life, in the year he passed away.
10. A Once Crowded Sky by Tom King - This was also the year I finally read King's pre-comics novel, that also features superheroes.

Favorite books read in 2017

1. Silence by Shusaku Endo - Brilliant study of Catholic faith in seventeenth-century Japan.
2. The Sheriff of Babylon by Tom King and Mitch Gerads - The definitive look at the Iraq War.
3.  The Sellout by Paul Beatty - Scathing look at the current state of race relations.
4. The Annotated Sandman by Neil Gaiman and Leslie S. Klinger - An intricate look at the most literary superhero comic ever.
5. A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness - Heartbreaking look at the impact of cancer on a boy and his other.
6. An Age of Madness by David Maine - Generational angst.
7. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens - A true classic.
8. Void Star by Zachary Mason - Visionary cautionary tale about the world of tomorrow.
9. Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi - Incredible parallel journeys of the offspring of two Ghanan sisters.
10. Russian Olive to Red King by Kathryn & Stuart Immonen - Poetic graphic novel.

Special mention of Ernest Hemingway, whom I've read for the first time, in A Moveable Feast and The Old Man and the Sea.  With more to follow.

Favorite books read in 2016

Here's the top ten:

1. Omega Men
This is a graphic novel from Tom King and Barnaby Bagenda that's an allegorical look at how the Iraq War happened.  It's the smartest comic book storytelling I've ever seen and to my mind an instant classic.

2. Go Set a Watchman
This "controversial" resurrected precursor to Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird is to my mind unmistakably the greater literary achievement.  No matter how it ended up finally being published, I'm absolutely glad it was.

3. The Third Reich
A chilling examination on the lingering effects of an actual Nazi's grip on a nation's pysche, by the masterful Roberto Bolaño.

4. At Twilight They Return
Greek literature from Zyranna Zateli that offers a glimpse of what life was like for an extended family a century ago.

5. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Between this and the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them script, this was an extremely good year to begin seeing what the future of J.K. Rowling's great creation might turn out to look like.

6. The Girl in the Spider's Web
David Lagercrantz's follow-up to the superb Millennium Trilogy is worth it.

7. The Tin Woodman of Oz
Having read all of L. Frank Baum's Oz novels this year, this late look back at one of the most iconic characters in the series is probably my favorite.

8. Primary Colors
Joe Klein's satire of Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign was a true revelation to finally read twenty years later.

9. The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair
This Joёl Dicker mystery is probably the most conventional thing I read this year, at least that I really liked.

10. The Blood of Olympus
The last in the "Heroes of Olympus" series of Percy Jackson novels from Rick Riordan to my mind is probably the most satisfying of them.