I wrote a book review (Klara and the Sun – Welcome (10000daysreadwriterun.com)) and remarked within the review that I liked the book but did not love it. A friend of mine challenged me to share books that I truly loved, and that got me thinking, leading to an attempt to list my top ten books of all time.
I have learned from years of sharing and reading recommendations that everyone has a different preference in books, topics, writing style and the truths derived. Last year I attempted to compile a list of all the books I have ever finished, an interesting exercise that I should have started a long time before. I have read many library books; there remains no physical record of these, and memory must suffice. Books I have saved lie at rest on bookshelves and closets and piled on dressers and desks with no formal sense of order. Other I have given away to friends and family; most never return. My list has grown to nearly 300 books, and often I remember and add other to the total. Perhaps there are another 100 lost book memories. So how to choose a top ten? My books are a fair mix of nonfiction (biography, history, some sports, natural sciences, and current events). I favor a half dozen fiction writers though, there are many others in my collection. After a lot of sorting and summarizing I narrowed the list from 300 to fifty to 20 to ten. And then when I finished, I realized that I had in-fact summarized 12 books.
This may be a fool’s errand. Choosing one running related topic, or on history, biography, sociology is like ranking the best NBA players in history, a difficult task. My selections were representative of the best writing I have found, and most impactful to my understanding of the world. I appreciate the stories of people and places, characters that I can relate to, and amazing stories being told. Here they are in no certain order, along with a few honorable mentions.
See my full essay and set of book summaries at the following page link: http://ekt.fvs.mybluehost.me/10000daysreadwriterun.com/reading/my-top-ten-twelve-books/ What are the books that you love?
Non-Fiction: Leonardo Da Vinci – Walter Isaacson (Publication date of October 2017) Beyond the 100th Meridian – Wallace Stegner (January 1954) The Beginning of Infinity – David Deutsch (January 2012) Today We Die a Little! Biography of Emil Zátopek – Richard Askwith (May 2016) The Signal and the Noise – Nate Silver (January 2012) The Warmth of Other Suns – Isabel Wilkerson (September 2010)
Honorable Mentions (Non-Fiction): Thomas Jefferson, The Art of Power – Jon Meacham (November 2013) Undaunted Courage – Steven Ambrose (January 1996)
Chasing the Hawk: Looking for My Father, Finding Myself – Andrew Sheehan (September 2001) The Unwinding – George Packer (May 2013)
Fiction: Canada – Richard Ford (May 2012) Life after Life – Kate Atkinson (March 2013) A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius – Dave Eggers (February 2000) 11/22/63 – Stephen King (January, 2011) Demon Copperhead – Barbara Kingsolver (October 2022) My Antonia – Willa Cather (Published in 1918)
Honorable Mentions (Fiction): Cold Mountain – Charles Frazier (January 1997) The Hotel New Hampshire – John Irving (September 1981) What is the What – Dave Eggers (October 2006) The Corrections – Jonathon Franzen (September 2001)
