Everyone knows that the Joshes love books (and then some), and it's been a longstanding Josh & Josh tradition to release a list of our favorite books at the end of each year. This year, however, I wanted to put a new twist on an old favorite and do something a little different.
Since 2005 I've been keeping a list of every book I've read (I know, I know, go ahead and make fun), and by the end of 2009, I had a list of 105 books. That averages out to 21 books a year, so I decided to go through my list and pick my 21 favorites, thus creating a recipe for a perfect year of reading. It might not be realistic to make it through the whole list in 2010, but this list is a pretty ideal menu of tasty literary delights.
You really can't go wrong with any book on this list. I love each of these twenty-one books, and would read any of them a second time. (A few of them I've read a second or even third time over the years.)
So, without further ado, here's the list, five years in the making. I hope you find books here that you've already enjoyed, and I hope you find books here that you have yet to discover.
Another year of great reading begins!
(alphabetical by book title)
Atonement | Ian McEwan
Bean Trees | Barbara Kingsolver
Bright, Shiny Morning | James Frey
Call Me By Your Name | Andre Aciman
I Am Not Myself These Days | Josh Kilmer-Purcell
I Know This Much Is True | Wally Lamb
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell | Susanna Clarke
Matrimony | Joshua Henkin
Middlesex | Jeffrey Eugenides
She's Come Undone | Wally Lamb
Swish | Joel Derfner
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay | Michael Chabon
The Color Purple | Alice Walker
The Handmaid's Tale | Margaret Atwood
The Hours | Michael Cunningham
The Prince of Tides | Pat Conroy
The Whole World Over | Julia Glass
Three Junes | Julia Glass
Unaccustomed Earth | Jhumpa Lahiri
Wicked | Gregory Maguire
Wonder Boys | Michael Chabon
--Josh H