15 great books I read this year, in no particular order:
Book I couldn’t believe wasn’t more popular
Tim Kreider’s We Learn Nothing
Book that introduced me to one of my new favorite thinkers
Sarah Bakewell’s How To Live: Or A Life Of Montaigne
Book I probably pimped more than my own
Mike Monteiro’s Design Is A Job
Favorite novel I read that isn’t really a novel in any conventional sense
Padgett Powell’s The Interrogative Mood
Books read about reading
Pierre Bayard’s How to Talk About Books You Haven’t Read and Alan Jacobs’ The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction
Best book about how art works
David Byrne’s How Music Works
Best book about my favorite musical era
Will Hermes’ Love Goes to Buildings on Fire: Five Years in New York That Changed Music Forever
Best book with the ugliest cover
Susan Cain’s Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Won’t Stop Talking
Book I thought I would hate that I actually liked a lot
Alain de Botton’s Religion for Atheists: A Non-believer’s Guide to the Uses of Religion
Book I can’t believe I’m putting on this list but it was actually super helpful
Pamela Druckerman’s Bringing Up Bébé: One American Mother Discovers the Wisdom of French Parenting
Book that made me laugh a lot
Gary Shteyngart’s Super Sad True Love Story
Book I’d never read that was adapted into a movie I’ve probably seen a dozen times
Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?
Best book (only book) I read this year that mentioned Tommy Wiseau’s The Room
Tom Bissell’s Magic Hours: Essays on Creators and Creation
Best book that I should’ve spread throughout the year, but gobbled up in one chunk
Jonathan Lethem, The Ecstasy of Influence