Best Books I’ve Read in 2024—Beyond 5 stars
See Reviews Below
Alyan, Hala, Salt Houses (novel); Backman, Fredrik, And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer (fictional portrait of dementia); Backman, Fredrik, The Answer Is No (fiction, novella, aloneness); Backman, Fredrik, Us Against You (novel); Berry, Wendell, How It Went: Thirteen More Stories of the Port William Membership (short fiction stories); Bonhoeffer, Dietrich, Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Christian Community, (theology, personal faith, faith community); Everette, Percival, James (novel); Heifetz, Ronald A., et al. The Practice of Adaptive Leadership: Tools and Tactics for Changing Your Organization and the World (leadership, organizational theory, problem solving); Hesse, Hermann, The Journey East (novella); Ibrahim, Laila, The Paper Wife (novel); Johnston, Tony, and Maria Elena Fontenot de Rhoads, The Beast Rider: A Novel (novella, undocumented immigration); Martin, William, The Art of Pastoring (devotional for pastors); Matson, Morgan, The Firefly Summer (Young Adult Novel); McBride, James, The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store (novel); Merritt, Asa, Six Sermons (Fiction); Rutledge, Lynda, West with Giraffes (novel); Thurman, Howard, Jesus and the Disinherited (spirituality)
Alyan, Hala, Salt Houses (novel, Palestine, Middle Eastern conflict, family saga)
Part of my commitment to be a responsible world citizen during the Israeli-Hamas war is to read as much as I can about the historical, social, and personal context of the long-standing tragedy that is Israel and Palestine. This novel is a valuable addition to my understanding. It mentions the wider conflicts (the creation of the state of Israel, the 1948 displacement of Palestinians, the six day war, the refugee movements to avoid conflict, the Iraqi attack on Kuwait, the Israeli bombing of Lebanon, the civil war there, etc.) but only as a dim background for the family the novel follows. They are constantly on the run, trying to find places to live that are safe—starting life over. Some even settle in the U.S. and France, but uneasily. The family has its stories and its secrets. As one generation begats another, there is tension and struggle. This well-to-do family loses nearly everything over time, and we get rich stories of various personalities and emotional conflicts. A thought-provoking book.
The author titled the book “Salt Houses” because of all the different houses the four generations of this Palestinian family lived in—all washed away by the tides of time—like salt in the ocean. I thought of the biblical story of Lot’s wife, who turned into a pillar (house) of salt when she tried to look back at the town they were fleeing. This was a family that could not afford to yearn too much for the past, or it would paralyze them.
Backman, Fredrik, And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer (novel, dementia, aging, grandparent relationships)
In a brief novella, Backman moves back and forth between three points of view, three generations: a grandfather who has Alzheimer’s Disease, son Ted, and grandson Noah. The grandfather and Noah have a special relationship—they have similar personalities and outlooks. They both love science and math. Ted loves literature, arts, and writing. Ted struggles to understand both his father and son. But the novella centers around the grandfather and the grandson.
The grandfather’s mind is slowly “blowing away.” He describes it as the square of his existence getting smaller and smaller. He can only grasp pieces of his memory, and then only temporarily. But he and the grandson love each other dearly, and they cope.
One of the grandfather’s floating memories is of his wife—and how much he adored her. She is deceased as the story begins. But the memories of her seem very much alive for him from time to time.
The conversation between grandfather and grandson is clever and witty. The symptoms of the Alzheimer’s began while the grandson was still in elementary school—and the wife was still alive. The short story we read begins after the grandmother has died and continues until the boy becomes a grown-up and teacher himself.
The story is tender, brutally honest, emotional, and healing. It deserves re-reading and opportunities to be discussed by book groups, friends, and support groups.
Backman, Fredrik, The Answer Is No (fiction, novella, aloneness)
Lucas lives alone. It is his recipe for happiness. He even works from home. Each day is devoted almost entirely to his own desires and plans. No one to interrupt or complain. Operating on the (valid) assumption that nearly all our problems in life are caused by our interactions with other people–he has hit on the perfect solution for the good life–always say no whenever anyone else wants to butt in.
But unfortunately for his plan, there is the three member “apartment board” that comes to his door one day. Then there is the neighbor who wears purple. Then the neighbor who wears green. He has trouble escaping them, saying ‘no.’
The story is absurd, the dialogue and side comments witty. The underlying issues of the plot–issues common to the entire human race, are explored deftly. The voice of the author is delightfully droll. And the novella is short enough to be read in one sitting.
Backman, Fredrik, Us Against You (novel)
In the first book of the trilogy, a rape takes place in Beartown–and great forces are activated to protect the powerful perpetrator–at the expense of the teenaged girl. The first thing you notice about Beartown is that the village is crazy about hockey. It is their salvation from poverty, unemployment, addictions, cancer, and humiliations of every sort.
But what happens when hockey cannot save you from real life?
Book 2, Us Against You, picks up the story from Book 1. Several people’s lives have been shattered because of the rape. Will they find any sort of redemption? As people in Beartown pick up the pieces–new problems emerge. The factory is about to be shut down. The hockey team is probably going out of business. People from the nearby town of Hed–who compete with Beartown in both hockey and real life–are heating up the feud between the two towns. New information is exposed about some of the best hockey players. A female coach arrives–to the confusion and disgust of long-time residents. A death will throw the story in a new direction.
Backman tells a fascinating–yet highly realistic story. At times, the pain of the characters is almost too strong to read about. But then–as Backman always does, a spirit of grace moves in on both the characters and their stories.
It took me a while to get in to the book, but I was well rewarded for my persistence.
Berry, Wendell, How It Went: Thirteen More Stories of the Port William Membership (short fiction stories)
Port William is a fictional town, truthfully remembered by Wendell Berry. Berry brings keen understanding, insight, and empathy to his characters. He helps us see both the individuality of each character, and he points out how we all have much in common. Furthermore, Berry gives us renewed appreciation for our physical, natural, cultural, and social environments. In this set of short stories, featuring familiar characters from his other stories, but focusing on Andy Catlett, we see the deterioration of the land, the culture, and the society of Port William—all in the name of progress and technology. Catlett, born in 1934, is now 80 years old—and is looking back on the changes he has seen in his village.
Bonhoeffer, Dietrich, Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Christian Community, (theology, personal faith, faith community)
If you have to choose between seeing the latest Bonhoeffer movie or reading this short book by Bonhoeffer, read the book. Definitely. Bonhoeffer was chaplain and teacher in an underground seminary in Nazi Germany. This short book consists of essays he wrote about what it means to live together in community. The book is largely prescriptive in that it gives practical suggestions (which the modern reader may not find very practical) for how to read the Bible, pray, confess, etc. His work includes profound insights for how we practice Christian disciplines, both as individuals and collectively.
My book is filled with markings and under-linings. Page after page is stimulating and evocative. I’m glad it is only 120 pages! Just one nugget from his writings is his message on listening. This is a book to be read and reread.
Everette, Percival, James (novel)
For many readers, the novel, Huckleberry Finn, is interesting, but almost unbearable at times because of the frequent use of the “n” word and the constant stereotypes of African Americans. Schools have discussed bans on the book because of its dated and offensive language.
But Percival Everett came up with a better solution. He wrote a new novel–from the standpoint of Jim, the enslaved man who was Huck’s traveling companion.
Everett is aware of the inner sharpness of mind and depth of soul that is needed if one is to survive slavery. And in this novel, we see such a mind and soul in the man who insists on being called, James, rather than Jim.
Jame’s story is full of adventures, suspense, humor–and social insight. The culture that would permit slavery of other people–and the people who live in it without conscience or question–are exposed for their lack of intelligence and soul.
This is an example of how to deal with “dated” literature, such as Huckleberry Finn. Don’t ban it. Expose it with something that has more enlightenment and heart. This novel accomplishes that.
Heifetz, Ronald A., et al. The Practice of Adaptive Leadership: Tools and Tactics for Changing Your Organization and the World (leadership, organizational theory, problem solving)
Heifetz and his team have designed a theory of organizational leadership to help organizations move forward when conventional answers don’t work. When an organization is facing a problem, Heifetz puts the problem into one of two categories: 1) it is a problem that can be solved by those with experience, skill, and expertise, or 2) it is a problem that is unique to changing circumstances and requires leaders to think outside the box.
Most organizations are set up to rely on people with credentials, expertise, and experience. For example, if your car develops a mechanical problem, you take it to a garage to be fixed by someone who has the skill, knowledge, and tools to get the job done. But if you are a mechanic and you are out in the desert and run out of gas, then your expertise is of limited value. It may even inhibit your ability to solve you “car” problem.
More and more, organizations are facing challenges that they have never faced before. Culture and environments are changing rapidly. The technical and administrative experts, who are so good at doing what they do, may not be able at all to help your organization change its strategy and approach to work.
Heifetz points out the need for changed attitudes, new learning, experimentation, and courage to buck expectations and demands—all in order to lead organizations into relevance in the real world.
Hesse, Hermann, The Journey to the East, (Novella–a parable of idealism, quest, failure, renewal) 1932
Hermann Hesse (1877-1962) was a German novelist. He was a lover of literature, music, poetry, philosophy, art, mythology…. At one point suicidal. A visit to India in 1911 drew him to Eastern religion and philosophy, which then enriched and filled out his own poetry and novels. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1946.
Hesse’s father, a pietist Christian, surrounded his family with a religion that was “exceeding cheerful, and for all its Christianity, a merry world.” (quote from Wikipedia) As a young man, due to his occasional emotional instability, he spent time in a mental institution. In WWI, he tried to do his part in the war, but was found unfit to be a soldier–and put in charge of caring for prisoners of war. Not caught up in the fervor of war, he wrote and advocated against nationalism and militance. That war, Hesse’s position against it, and the attacks against him in response, were a turning point for him.
Tragedies in life (death of his father, his wife’s schizophrenia, his son’s physical illness–led Hesse into psychotherapy, where he encounter Carl Jung.
In 1932, as a citizen of Switzerland, Hesse published “The Journey to the East,” a story about a pilgrim who joined a league of others who were seeking their life’s goal–by traveling to the East together. In the story, a servant of the pilgrims, a man named Leo, disappears. His disappearance led to several reactions among the travelers. The narrator gave up both his pilgrimage and his membership in the league in reaction.
But later on, when the narrator tries to put his experiences in a book, including his disappointment in the league and the pilgrimage, several mysterious things happen to him that cause him to see everything about his past in a new light.
I experienced the book (only 118 pages) in ways that were very personal, evocative, and enlightening. It gave me perspective on many of my own past experiences, quests, and failures. And just as the protagonist in the story, I too experienced a liberating-indictment as the story unfolded.
Hesse’s writing skills are evident in “The Journey to the East.” It became a preliminary study for Hesse’s last book, “The Glass Bead Game,” which I am inspired to read soon.
Ibrahim, Laila, The Paper Wife (novel)
Mei Ling was forced into an arranged marriage when she was 18 to a man she had never met until the actual wedding itself. She was told that he was a widowed merchant in San Francisco who had a son. This arranged marriage would mean her leaving behind her parents and siblings, probably to never see them again.
The novel depicts the awkwardness of their first meeting, their wedding night, the awful trip across the Pacific to the United States, the lies she had to learn and tell in order to get past the immigration authorities, and a trafficked 6-year-old girl she met on the ship. She and her husband had many secrets from each other, and the novel explores the tensions those secrets caused. The story is told from Mei Ling’s point of view.
The writing is excellent, the characters well developed, the suspension pitch perfect, and the development of the characters satisfying and well described. There is even a murder in the book. A great read.
Johnston, Tony, and Maria Elena Fontenot de Rhoads, The Beast Rider: A Novel (novella, undocumented immigration)
A very short novel about a 12 year old boy who decides to leave his poor family in Mexico and hop a train (The Beast) to Los Angeles to live with his brother. His ambitions and dreams for life are more than his village and opportunities at home provide him.
The novel tenderly details life with his poor father and siblings, the care and wisdom of his grandmother, and the deep grief Manuel has at the loss of his brother–who has already slipped into the U.S. The reader is brought into a world of violence and suspense as Manuel hops aboard a beast traveling north. The dangers–physical and emotion–are extremely graphic for the young man.
Along the way, Manuel meets people who both want to kill him and those who want to help him. It is hard for him to tell the difference, and he is often fooled.
In this political hot house over immigration debate, this story gives us a truth that escapes all the polemics and partisanship. Let those who spout hot air on this subject quiet down for a spell and read this story.
Martin, William, The Art of Pastoring: Contemplative Reflections (devotional for pastors)
Martin, a pastoral counselor of pastors, has written this brief and gentle collection of 81 meditations based on Tao Te Ching. One page per meditation.
I read this book one week after Donald Trump was elected to his second term. The meditations quiet, heal, and restore the restless heart.
They offer an entirely different approach to succeeding as a pastor. Written for those of us who are pastors, the gist of the meditations is that we find our value in connecting our own hearts with God, not with programs, growth, and accolades. Our responsibility is not to get the congregation to fulfill OUR dreams, but to get people to experience the richness of their own souls.
It may seem that the meditations are an escape from the real world of poverty, oppression, and violence. But they actually build a counter-intuitive way of addressing these issues–through openness of heart rather than frenetic resolve.
I only wish I would have had more mentors through the years who got these truths through to me during the frenzied days of my pastoring.
Matson, Morgan, The Firefly Summer (novel)
A charming young adult novel about a teen-aged girl who belatedly discovers that she has grandparents—the parents of her late mother. Ryanna gets along great with her father and his new wife. But her mother died when she was three, and her father never told her that her maternal grandparents were still alive.
Then they send her a letter out of the blue, inviting her to spend the summer with them. She hesitates about going (her father doesn’t really want her to go) but in the end, her curiosity and her desire to learn more about her mother wins out.
The grandparents run a summer camp. But there are no campers that summer, only cousins, aunts, and uncles Ryanna never knew she had. It didn’t start off well for her. But the wanna-be detective in her causes her to persist, and we are drawn into an engaging tale of discovery, suspense, and reconciliation.
McBride, James, The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store (novel)
This novel is set in the rural mountains of eastern Pennsylvania in a section of Pottsville known as Chicken Hill. It was the wrong part of town, locale of the Jewish population at first, then the Black population. In the 1930s, only one Jewish couple remained, Chona (who ran the grocery store) and her husband Moshe (who ran two racially integrated theaters in town.) A rich cast of characters move in and out of the story, including the local doctor who is a member of the KKK, a mysterious dancer, a boy left totally deaf by an explosion when he was a child, and another boy with cerebral palsy who was condemned to an institution for the insane. There are political shenanigans, Mafia interlopers, questionable rabbis and black pastors, and dysfunctional families. There is also a body in a well and a suspect. All in all, this is a delightful novel that sheds light on race, disability, and mental illness in the 1930s—and gives us a great story about how empathy and courage can be contagious.
Merritt, Asa, Six Sermons (Fiction, Clergy in Crisis)
Alexis (read by Stephanie Hsu) is a fresh-out-of-seminary pastor, passionate about social justice, not overly pastoral, self-reflective and honest. She has exceptional skills as a preacher. Consequently, she is recruited right out of seminary to become the associate pastor of Trinity Grace Church, in order to train under Pastor Will and eventually become his successor. But her training comes to an abrupt end when Pastor Will commits suicide. Alexis must lead a stricken congregation and staff, work through her own feelings about her friend’s death, deal with routine political matters in the congregation (including an attempt to overthrow her) and grow up—real fast. The drama is insightful, realistic, and thought-provoking. There are also moments of refreshing wit and humor. Hsu’s performance is excellent.
As a retired pastor, I found this three hour drama inspiring and compelling. Whether the listener is a Christian or not, it is a worthwhile listen.
Rutledge, Lynda, West with Giraffes (novel–giraffes, depression era U.S.)
Lynda Rutledge has given us a delightful tale of a journey–a pilgrimage undertaken by a teenaged boy, two giraffes, a rebellious red-headed teenaged girl, and an old man. Based on a true story from 1938, the yarn Rutledge tells begins with a shipwreck in the Atlantic Ocean. The two crated giraffes, bound for the San Diego zoo, survive. Rescued and taken to New York, they are met by an old man who has been tasked with driving them across the U.S. to San Diego–no small feat in depression-era 1938, with poor roads, swindlers, bandits, thugs, flash floods, and sawed-off shotguns serving as obstacles along the way.
The teenaged boy is an orphan–his whole family dead–and failing at the hobo life of the depression. The giraffes are majestic–in both appearance and spirit, surprising in their interactions with the people who interact with them. The red-head is on the run, resolute and reckless in trying to fit a full life into just a few months. The old man does everything he can to keep the boy and the girl away from “his” giraffes.
It is a story that is worth re-reading, re-telling, recommending.
Thurman, Howard, Jesus and the Disinherited, (Essays on Spirituality–contrasts between Jesus and churches that would mutate away from his ways) 1949
Howard Thurman, a black man, one-time chaplain at Howard University, founder of an interracial, inter-denominational church in San Francisco, advisor to most of the Civil Rights leaders in the mid 20th century–wrote this book as an answer to a challenge.
When visiting a law school in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) he was confronted by the principle of the school: “More than 300 years ago, your forefathers were taken from the western coast of Africa as slaves. The people who dealt in the slave traffic were Christians. One of your famous hymn writers…made his money from the sale of slaves to the new world…The name of one of the…slaves vessels was ‘Jesus.’
“The men who bought the slaves were Christians. Christian ministers, quoting the Apostle Paul, gave the sanction of religion to slavery. Some 70 years ago you were freed by a man who was not a profession Christian, but was rather the spearhead of certain political, social, and economic forces, the significance of which he did not understand. During all this period since you have lived in a Christian nation in which you are segregated, lynched, and burned. Even in the church, I understand, there is segregation. One of my students sent me a newspaper clipping telling about a Christian Church in which the regular Sunday worship was interrupted so that many could join a mob against one of your fellows. When he had been caught and done to death, they came back to resume their worship of their Christian God.
“I am a Hindu. I do not understand. Here you are in my country, standing deep within the Christian faith and tradition. I do not wish to seem rude to you. But, sir, I think you are a traitor to all the darker peoples of the earth. I am wondering what you, an intelligent man, can say in defense of your position.”
I wouldn’t have known how to answer that challenge myself. And so I read on. “Jesus and the Disinherited” is Thurman’s response.
He begins by delineating between Jesus (one of the ‘darker peoples of the world’) and the churches in America–where people of color are ruthlessly segregated from white people. While churches in America condone and perpetrate racism (not every reader will agree with me here–so let’s have a dialogue) Jesus, in contrast, had both experienced oppression and freed his own heart from the fear, hatred, and deception that infiltrates the heart of every racially/politically oppressed person.
And so this little book is organized according to Thurman’s very personal experience of the life and teachings of Jesus. There is a chapter each devoted to the residue oppression leaves in the heart of every oppressed person: fear, hatred, and deception toward others. For Thurman, Jesus is the ultimate mentor who helps to free the heart from these destructive powers. His book concludes with a chapter on love–and a vision for a genuine fellowship that might take place between those in the oppressed classes and those in the oppressor classes.
A premise of the book is that no one should confuse Jesus himself with the church that has appropriated his name. He makes a compelling argument that it is impossible to be a follower of Jesus’ way without understanding that such a way represents a reversal of the way culture and religion are taking us.
A top book of the year for me–even though it is decades old.
Very Good Books I’ve Read in 2024—5 stars
For reviews of these 5 star books, as well as 1, 2, 3, and 4 star books, CLICK HERE.
Bair, Deirdre, Al Capone: His Life, Legacy, and Legend, biography; Bass, Gary J., Judgment at Tokyo:World War II on Trial and the Making of Modern Asia, history; Brands, H.W., The General vs. the President: MacArthur and Truman at the Brink of Nuclear War, history, biography; Brinkley, Douglas, Silent Spring Revolution: John F. Kennedy, Rachel Carson, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, and the Great Environmental Awakening, history of environmental movement; Catton, Eleanor, Birnam Wood, dystopian novel; Cohen, Adam, American Pharaoh: Mayor Richard J. Daley—His Battle for Chicago and the Nation, biography, Chicago history; Davis, Barbara, The Echo of Old Books, novel; Dunn, Susan, 1940: FDR, Wilkie, Lindberg, Hitler—The Election Amid the Storm, history; Goodyear, C.W., President Garfield: From Radical to Unifier, Greene, John Robert, I Like Ike: The Presidential Election of 1952, history; Gulley, Philip, Christmas in Harmony, novella; Hawker, Olivia, The Ragged Edge of Night, novel; Hilton, George W., Eastland: Legacy of the Titanic, Chicago history; Hudson, Virginia Cary, O Ye Jigs and Juleps, essays from a 10-year old; Jordan, David M., FDR, Dewey, and the Election of 1944, history; Kellman, J.A., The Snake, novel; Krist, Gary, City of Scoundrels: The Twelve Days of Disaster that Gave Birth to Modern Chicago,history, Chicago; Konigsburg, E.L., From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, young adult novel; Ladigen, Don, Lighten Up: A Complete Handbook for Light and Ultra-Light Backpacking, how-to book; Lencioni, Patrick, Silos, Politics, and Turf Wars: A Leadership Fable about Destroying the Barriers that Turn Colleagues into Competitors, leadership and management; Meissner, Susan, Last Year of the War, novel; Murry, Paul, The Bee Sting, novel; Osman, Alice, Loveless, novel, sexuality; Paterson, Katherine, Bridge to Terebithia, young adult novel; Peck, Richard, A Long Way from Chicago, young adult novel; Shirey, David, It Don’t Get Any Better than This: Stories from a Small Town Church, memoirs; Turow, Scott, Innocent, novel; Weir, Alison, The King’s Pleasure, historical novel about Henry VIII;
Good Books I’ve Read in 2024—4 stars
Boda, John, The Great Chicago Fire, Chicago history; Bass, Gary J., World War II on Trial and the Making of Modern Asia; history; Cooley, Robert, When Corruption Was King: How I Helped the Mob Rule Chicago, Then Brought the Outfit Down, history, autobiography, Chicago, Cremin, Dennis H., Grant Park: The Evolution of Chicago’s Front Yard, history, Chicago; Heimburger, Donald J., Illinois Central: Mainline of Mid-America: All Color Photography of the Largest North-South Railroad in the United States, railroad history; Lewnard, James, Trackside in the Land of Lincoln with Richard Ward, railroad history; Peterson, Joel, Entrepreneurial Leadership: The Art of Launching New Adventures, Inspiring Others, and Running Stuff, management; Ryles, Logan, Failed State novel; Turow, Scott, Presumed Innocent, novel;
Books I’ve Read in 2024—3 stars
Bly, Robert, The Man in the Black Coat Turns, Poetry; Captivating History Series, no author listed, History of Chicago: A Captivating Guide to the People and Events that Shaped the Windy City’s History, history, Chicago; Erpenbeck, Jenny, Kairos, novel; Grisham, John, The Exchange, novel; Littlewood, Fran, Amazing Grace Adams, novel; O’Mahoney, Peter, The Southern Killer, novel; O’Mahoney, Peter, The Southern Trial, novel; Riddle, A.G., Antarctica Station, dystopian novel;
Not so Good Books I’ve Read in 2024—2 stars
O’Mahoney, Peter, The Southern Criminal, novel;
Worst Books I’ve Read in 2024—1 star
Quinn, Meghan, The Reason I Married Him, novel; Charles River editors, The 1968 Democratic Convention: The History of America’s Most Controversial Convention, political history;
Repertoire 