The 21 Best Books I've Read In The Last Five Years

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

Comments

[Jacob]

I don't know a lot of the books on the list, so I'm going to look into every one of them. I'm hopefully going to read 20 books this year.

[Ray]

I've read most of this list. I would add Jamie O'Neill's "At Swim, Two Boys," Alice Walker's, "The Temple of My Familiar" and "Possessing the Secret to Joy," Toni Morrison's "The Bluest Eye," and anything by Jeanette Winterson

[Larry]

I read a ton (in fact, I read 105 books last year, but my life isn't as exciting as yours) and most of the books on your list I've read and absolutely loved. Joshua Henkin's "Matrimony" was so good that after I wrote a review of it on FB, he friended me.

I listed the 15 best books I read this year on my blog, so if you're interested the list is at http://itseithersadnessoreuphoria.blogspot.com/2010/01/best-books-i-read-in-2009.html.

[father Tony]

I bristle at seeing sharp Michael Cunningham and the inflated Wally Lamb in the same list. You should try O'Hagan's "be near me". And "The Fermata" by Nicholson Baker containing a terrifically good story about a librarian with a garden.

[JD]

The Chabon books and Middlesex are on my list too. You've spurred me on to read Three Junes, which has been sitting on my bookshelf for about 6 years now.

[Briansh75]

I am reading Call Me By Your Name right now. It is fantastic. Thanks for posting the list!

[BosGuy]

I just finished reading "Call Me By Your Name" this past fall and I really enjoyed it. Loved this posting.