Some of my Favorite Books Read Last Year

I read a lot of medium quality books last year, but there were also some exceptional gems as well! Here are some of my favorites:

Fiction

• The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich: She’s always been one of my favorite authors, and there were so many things that made me nod my head about this book. She just understands the places and culture she’s writing about so well, and these characters are terrific.
• My Friends by Fredrik Backman: It was excellent. I couldn’t stop reading.
• Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano: I loved these characters, this family and all the tension.
• Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson: This wasn’t anything like I expected, and I found the story so engaging.
• Three Days in June by Anne Tyler: Only Anne Tyler could make such an exceptional book where not that many things outwardly happen, but the characters are so deep and rich that it doesn’t matter. The whole book is about a transformational thought change, and the ordinary shines.
• Into the Deep Blue by Jennifer Archer: OK, this one is a bit of a cheat, because I actually read it just this week, but this is the best YA book I have read in a long, long time! I loved these deep characters and felt their grief.

On Audio

• The Wedding People by Alison Espach: I was hooked on these people and rooting for the protagonist.
• Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McGonaghy: This was riveting, and so well narrated. I couldn’t stop listening. I even kept walking and doing household chores so I could find out what happened next.
• It Wasn’t Roaring, It was Weeping by Lisa Jo Baker: This memoir was fascinating. I loved it so much and learned so much more. I would also consider this my favorite nonfiction read for the year as well.

Poetry

• The Threshold We Carry by Nick Trelstad: I discovered this local poet and loved this collection.
• Small Town Lines by Doris Lueth Stengel: Poetry by a fellow North Dakotan who moved to northern Minnesota made me feel so seen that it felt like a warm hug from the page! This poet grew up just a few miles north of where I grew up.
• Slow Wreckage by Barbara Crocker: She continues to be one of my very, very favorite poets. It’s all the ordinary moments, like reading photographic snapshots that make you think deeply that draw me in again and again.
• Colander by Mike McFee: I found this in a little library book box, and it was great!