Ranked in the most visually appealing fashion:

Overall Best Read:

The Historian, by Elizabeth Kostova. This was by far my most enjoyable read of the year. Suggested by multiple freinds, it is now in my “instant recommendation” list. It’s got vampires, history, Eastern Europe, and a story spread over 3 generations. Don’t be scared by the size, it doesn’t slog anywhere in the story.

Best Fiction:

• Hotel at the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
• All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

My 20th Century History fascination shows through with these choices. Both of these novels have WWII settings, although they are set on different continents. They both contain wonderful depictions of the impact of war, but more interesting was that both novels really captured how each culture (Chinese, Japanese-American, French, German) had their own unique perspectives on the war.

Best Non-Fiction:

• The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
• The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel by Douglas Brunt

The Devil in the White City was another multi-friend recommendation, and it also goes into my instant recommendations. The combined story of HH Holmes and the Chicago World’s Fair, it’s a wonderful combination of horror and architecture. It also provides a wonderful travelogue for visiting Jackson Park and Hyde Park, where many of the 1893 Columbian Exposition buildings once stood.

The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel was a complete and wonderful surprise. The majority of the book tells the story of the engineer and his dreams of powering the masses, and the fight for control of a technical revolution. Then comes the Great War, the German Navy, and a disappearance. Brunt’s conclusions on what actually happened are a perfect combination of conspiracy and history, and he never lets the conspiracy distract from telling the honest story.

And The Rest:

Execution by Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan is a 20 year old “Leadership” book, and it shows. The first 100 pages is okay, laying out an interesting set of rules and paths for how to actually achieve results at an organizational level. The remainder of the book is a slog. The authors are from a different business era, the stories are woefully out of date, many of the companies referenced have folded or pivoted 3 or 4 times since publication. I was assigned this one to read; save the time and just google the high points.

The Last Castle by Denise Kiernan tells the story of The Biltmore Estate and its creator, George Vanderbilt. I really enjoyed her other work on Oak Ridge National Laboratory (The Girls of Atomic City), and this one was equally researched and crafted. I just didn’t find the story as enthralling; an issue with the subject and not the author. I’ll still buy and read her next books.

Dare to Lead is one of Brené Brown’s most recommended works. I generally struggle with “leadership” and “business” books. This one was no different. It’s a good message about embracing your own vulnerability to make you a better leader. If these kind of books are your thing, pick this one.

I’ve been on a kick to learn a lot more of Chicago’s ‘forgotton’ history. The Third Coast was a fantastic read exploring the city from the ’20’s through the ’60’s. It’s a longer read at 560 pages, and the author chooses to cover as much ground as possible for as much of a comprehensive look at Chicago’s cultural history. You won’t go deep into every story, but you’ll hear them all.

Violeta by Isabel Allende is fantastic. Read it.

Lamb is a violently funny take on the ‘missing years’ of the New Testament. Definitely worth a read, especially if you have a good working knowledge of the source material.

The Everleigh Club in Chicago was the world’s most famous brothel in the first decade of the 20th century. Sin and the Second City chronicles both the Everleigh sisters who ran it, the city politics that kept it going, and the vice commission who eventually shut it down.

Paulo Coehlo’s The Alchemist is a modern classic. You should read it.

The Four Agreements has been a Self-help staple for almost 30 years now. If that’s your Jam, it’s worth a read. It’s endorsed by Oprah.

Happy Reading!