The panicked response: [totally blank mind, even if I put down a book just minutes before]
The workaround: Mentioning one of my favorite authors of detective fiction (Louise Penny, Michael Connelly, Donna Leon).
The somewhat more effective solution: Keeping a list of books read; reviewing it before social engagements where the dreaded question might be asked.
So for each of the last 22 years, I've kept such a list. At the end of each year, I look at the list, cringe at my lowbrow tastes, and marvel at how few of the books were memorable. In fact, some of the titles always look so unfamiliar that I have to google them to make sure there's no mistake.
But some books are outstanding, and here are my favorites of 2018 ... apart from those already mentioned detective series by Penny, Connelly, and Leon. And also Alexander McCall Smith, Martin Walker, Ian Rankin, Laura Lippman, Ann Cleeves, Peter Lovesey...
As I look at my favorites, I realize that each one--in spite of their stories of pain, suffering, and downright evil--is ultimately hopeful.
Two favorite novels:
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Stephen McCauley, My Ex-Life, 2018
A comedy of manners that is not Jane Austen, though I also adore Jane. Funny, wistful, compassionate.
Octavia E. Butler, Kindred, 2004
Two parallel stories, maybe 150 years apart, with some of the same characters. Suspend disbelief: it's worth it.
Three favorite books of nonfiction:
Kate Bowler, Everything Happens for a Reason: And Other Lies I've Loved, 2018
An excellent memoir by a youngish professor of religion who is living with stage 4 cancer. The book was published in February; she wrote this op-ed piece in the New York Times last week.
Isabel Wilkerson, The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration, 2010
A classic. Big. Full of stories. So interesting you might not notice how much you're learning.
Michelle Obama, Becoming, 2018
Fascinating on so many levels, and not only because she's America's most admired woman this year. And hey, this is President Obama's favorite book of 2018!
Enjoy! There are still 362 reading days in 2019.
