Consistent with the prior nine years, the last message of the year is devoted to summarizing some of the more interesting books I’ve read over the past twelve months. Why? Well, like Descartes said, “The reading of all good books is like a conversation with the finest minds of past centuries.”
As usual, my reading was dominated by history and biographies, although this year I did read more novels. The best bio I read was Isaacson’s Einstein. I admit I had trouble comprehending the explanation of most of Einstein’s theories, but Isaacson is such a terrific biographer that it was still immensely enjoyable. Robert Caro is the best biographer I have read, but Isaacson is in an elite group just behind him.
Speaking of Caro, I read his book Working, which is about how he approaches his craft, but it was also a mini autobiography. I sure hope he lives to complete the fifth volume of his LBJ series. I also read a similar book by Stephen King titled On Writing which was also excellent.
Another interesting autobiography was Undisputed Truth by Mike Tyson. I know everyone has problems, but I doubt anyone reading this message has the magnitude of problems that Tyson has. Granted, many of them were self-inflicted, but no one has control over where they are born and to whom they are born, which were two of Mike’s bigger problems.
The best book I read last year was The Birth of Loud by Ian Port. Subtitled Leo Fender, Les Paul, and the Guitar-pioneering Rivalry that Shaped Rock ‘n Roll, the book spoke to me. As a boomer who grew up experiencing some of the later events described in the book, it was by far my most enjoyable read of the year.
David McCullough, a terrific biographer in his own right, wrote The Greater Journey, about Americans living in Paris during the 19th century. As with most of McCullough’s books, it was exceptional.
I also read six novels this year, which may not be a lot to some, but for me it was the most in many years. Nelson DeMille’s The Gold Coast, about a Mafia Don moving into an old-money neighborhood on Long Island’s north shore was funny and enjoyable. I believe I’ve said before that I consider Steinbeck to be one of America’s premier storytellers, and East of Eden and Cannery Row did nothing to dispel that notion.
For whatever reason, I had never read To Kill a Mockingbird, but as the saying goes, better late than never. It is considered a classic for a reason. I also had never read anything by Joan Didion, so I read Play It As It Lays, one of her earlier works. I didn’t love it, but I didn’t hate it either. I also read her short story Slouching Towards Bethlehem, which I enjoyed more than the novel.
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I wish you all a joyous Holiday Season and thank you for reading and commenting.