Back over 100 books in the year for the first time since the children; I am very proud of myself. My ratios aren't quite as healthy: I meant to read lots of 'hard' non-fiction, i.e., history, politics and theology, but that's down in percentage terms, if up in volume. Fiction is down too as I've read a awful lot of what I call cultural output*, mostly about cricket. This comes across in the BOTMs, with only four fiction, and five of the eight non-fiction were cultural (though only one was about cricket).
I had a plethora of riches in non-fiction, but politics and political history dominate. All out War was fantastic - a masterful pulling together of the Brexit campaign which continues to help make sense of what is happening now. However, Team of Rivals was absolutely exceptional. The contours of the story are well known, but the detail was riveting, and the context hugely enhanced my understanding of the American Civil War and of America in general. It has claims (from others) to wider relevance, but for me stands as a brilliant piece of political history.
In fiction, for the first time, none of the books of the month were book of the year. I do love The Leopard, which is the best thing on the list here, but I have read it before, and so Milkman was the novel I am most glad I read this year. By coincidence it was from the same month as Goodwin so it doesn't appear below. In general fiction has been a real vindication of the Booker prize. I read two shortlists this year, and the three of the four best novels I read came from them.
Books of the Month:
January: S. Middleton, The Daysman (1984)
February: T. Shipman, All out war (2016)
March: D. Sandbrook, Never had it so Good: 1956-63 (2005)
April: G. Tomasi di Lampedusa, The Leopard (1958)*
May: L. Booth (ed.), Wisden Cricketers' Almanack (2013)
June: P. Mathiessen, The tree where man was born (1972)
July: W. Thesiger, The Marsh Arabs (1964)*
August: A. Hartley, The Zanzibar chest (2003)
October: D.K. Goodwin, Team of Rivals (2005).
September: R. Powers, The Overstory (2018)
November: J. Morris, Trieste and the meaning of nowhere (2001)
December: J. Lahiri, The Lowland (2013)
*This year, Sport (20), Travel (11), Memoir and contemporary history (9), Food (4), Literature (3)
