I’m back! I took a bit longer off than I originally planned, which you’ll already know if you listen to Future Flicks with Billiam because I missed the promised New Years episode. But you know what? There’s nothing wrong with wanting a lazy holiday. But now I’m back and have quite a few blogs in the chamber, so lets start with my favorite reads from last year. Please keep in mind that these aren’t going to be new books, so when you see a book from 1955, don’t be shocked.
2018 was the year of the book for me. I read more books and watched fewer movies, which I never thought I’d say. This is also the year I read books that I never thought I’d read. I strayed (heh) farther than ever from my comfort zone of Science Fiction and Fantasy and while more of my favorite books of the year could still be placed in those categories, I’m still proud to say that I took chances.
This is the first of two blogs where I discuss my favorite books of the year and to my surprise, I actually read enough non-fiction for it to have it’s own list! So yay! I normally stay away from non-fiction because frankly it’s boring. Or so I thought. It’s only KIND OF boring. If you find the right book then it can be just as interesting as any fictional journey you’ve ever been on.
This is the second year I’ve done the Pop Sugar Reading Challenge (something I’ll mention quite a few times in my book blogs) and what’s great about the challenge is that it can either broaden your horizons, or make you get really creative just to shoehorn in the books you want to read into the fifty prompts. I chose to do a mix of both and the books listed below are examples of times that I went out of my comfort zone and enjoyed what I read.
To be perfectly candid, there were only two books that didn’t make the cut, as I only read seven non-fiction books. The first is Wild Ducks Flying Backwards by Tom Robbins. This didn’t make the cut because I simply liked the other books more. There was nothing wrong with Robbins’ book of short essays. The second and only other non-fiction book I read in 2018 didn’t make the cut because it was terrible. It’s a little book called Wrong About Japan by Peter Carey and… well, just wait for my review to hear exactly how much I hated that book. But for now, let us focus on the books I did like. Here we go.
5: Dad Is Fat by Jim Gaffigan
Jim Gaffigan is one of my favorite stand-up comedians. He could have easily been stuck as the guy who does funny voices and says “hot pockets” a lot, but he was able to just barely escape that niche by his focus on food and family. If you’ve ever heard his stand-up you’ll know exactly what to expect from this book, and in fact, some of it may sound familiar. There are certain chapters of his book that were taken straight from his stand-up and that’s partly why this book didn’t get higher on my top five list. The new stuff was funny, enjoyable, and even relatable at times. But it was just disappointed to read parts of the book that were so familiar I could have recited it from memory. I would rather have had a shorter book with no material from his stand up. That being said, I still enjoyed the book.
In Dad Is Fat Jim Gaffigan focuses on being a parent and has a book full of stories and anecdotes to make you laugh and smile. If you’re a fan of Jim Gaffigan, check this book out.
4: A Night To Remember by Walter Lord
We all know the story of the Titanic. If you have a heartbeat you’ve watched James Cameron’s Titanic during Leo’s heartthrob days. But if you’re truly interested in the fate of the doomed ship, then check this book out. Walter Lord interviewed a multitude of survivors from the Titanic and put together the events of that night and to this day it’s still the most highly regarded book on the subject. If you have any sense of justice whatsoever this book will make your blood boil. But books like this are still an important read so we never forget just what a tragedy this was. Not just in the sheer loss of life, but in how preventable it all was and how being poor was the death sentence for so many.
If you’re interested in the Titanic at all, you have to read this book. There is no better book out there as far as the real experiences from the people who actually lived through it. This is also a short book, so it’s a quick read that will give you the full story of what happened that dreadful night.
3: 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff
I only picked up this book because it was super short and worked for a week long readathon Anne and I were taking part in. A book of letters between an American writer and a used book shop in London? How boring, right? No. Actually it wasn’t. What I thought was going to be a short but still mind-numbing book turned out to be a cute, funny, and charmingly sad relationship between a book collector and a few employees of a book store. Even though a few of the employees take time to write Helene, it’s mainly Frank Doel, the chief buyer for Marks & Co books.
This was an eye opening book not only to a time before Barnes and Noble and Amazon, but how hard it was during the post WWII food shortages in the UK. It made me realize how much I take for granted. Everything from the ease of access to fresh food to a little thing called Ebay which saves me from having to write letter upon letter to a bookstore in another country to find a specific used book. This is a quick and quaint read but I don’t think you need to own it unless this really appeals to you. At most, borrow this from your local library.
2: You’re Never Weird on the Internet (almost) by Felicia Day
I like Felicia Day, mostly. I know that some view her as a try-hard nerd, but I enjoy her work. I also realize that try-hard feeling she gives off is because she really is a huge nerd and for many, she doesn’t fit the preconceived notion of what a nerd is. I knew it was a risk listening to her book (audio books, yay!) but it was one that I was willing to take. If you’ve ever followed Felicia Day on social media you’ll know that she’s very loud about her beliefs, political, cultural and otherwise. Thankfully most of that stayed out of her book. She made the odd comment here or there but most of her book was about her career which was good because that’s what I wanted to hear about. If you pick this book (or audio book) up you’ll read about everything from The Guild to Dr. Horrible to Supernatural and beyond. This was a very entertaining book and if you’ve ever enjoyed her work, I highly recommend you pick it up.
1: Wild by Cheryl Strayed
I know. I’m late to the party. But better late than never, right? I plan on writing a review for this book soon, so I’ll try and keep this short. This is one of my wife’s favorite books and its always a risk when you give someone a favorite book of yours to read. What if they don’t like it? What if they talk crap about it? What if they don’t love it the same way you do? There were times where she thought I was talking sh*t about Strayed and the book, but as she came to understand, and I hope you will too, I really liked this book and it’s partly because Cheryl Strayed is a huge idiot.
What? Not quite sure what I mean? Allow me to explain. As you may or may not know, Wild is about a woman who decides to hike the Pacific Crest Trail without any experience hiking. What impressed me so much about Wild is how honest Strayed was. She’s honest about everything. From every great thing she did to every idiotic mistake she made that could have cost her her life. So I read along with her adventure and enjoyed every step of the way because not only does she have a way with words, but she was never once shied away from making herself look foolish by holding back some idiotic detail. This is a non-fiction book written like a fiction book. It wasn’t as dry and boring as some non-fiction can be and I recommend this book to anyone even remotely interested in hiking, the Pacific Crest Trail, or Cheryl’s journey.
That’s it for this list folks. Be sure to tune in next week for my list of favorite fiction books and, a week after that, movies.
Do you have any favorite non-fiction books you think I should read? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on twitter @BilliamSWN or email me at BilliamReviews@gmail.com