My “To Read” pile grows immensely faster than my “Finished” pile, but here’s what I knocked out this past year.

Favorite Fiction Book of the Year: I noticed a pretty big lack of fiction this year. Or the fiction I did read, was quite time-consuming. I’d have to say that 2666 by Roberto Bolaño was my favorite of the year. It’s over 900 pages and took a dang long time to get through, but it was worth it. And it changes enough within the book so it doesn’t get old. Great book. If you have a few weeks and are looking to completely disappear in esoteric fiction, this is a good one. The Marriage Plot and The Sparrow are close seconds.

Favorite Non-Fiction, Non-Theology Book of the Year: This one is tough, because there are all kinds of subjects within a rather specific genre. Bossypants is incredible, but I feel like it’s cheating a little bit since I listened to the audiobook on the move down to Arizona from Minneapolis. I didn’t actually read the book. Chris Hedges’ The World As It Is is as wonderful as it is depressing. And it is both. I’d recommend reading it if you want a book to read a chapter at a time and then put down for a bit. It’d be pretty depressing to try to tackle it in one afternoon.

Favorite Non-Fiction Theology Book of the Year: Pete Rollins’ new book Insurrection really captured my imagination this year. It’s heavy enough for theology nerds like myself to read, but accessible enough for a more normal, well-adjusted person. Takes theologies of Bonhoeffer, Derrida/Caputo, Kant and others to construct a really interesting and rich theology. Highly recommended.

So what did YOU read this year?

Cheers,
Eric