The Top 15 Books I Read In The Last Two Years

A humble gift for brilliant authors whose work has changed my life

The best book list is that year-end bandwagon I try hard not to miss, though I have been delinquent. Last year, my small business struck gold and until the first week of January, I was baking holiday gifts. This December, I was nowhere to be found, embedded in the hustle of my tiny workshop, up to my ears in flour and sourdough orders. Not that I’m complaining, but two years of doing this did make me feel somewhat removed from the one gift on this planet, aside from music, that keeps on giving: books.

So this year, I switched to DND mode and became invisible, at least during that magical week between Christmas and New Year. It has always been my favorite time of the year, when I get to spend days just breathing, living without expectation, schedules and to-do lists that I forget what day it is. These are not exactly do-nothing days. This is the true holiday season for me, when I resume reading, catch up on the year’s movies and documentaries, and write about what made sense in the past year and what didn’t.

But what about my reading life is worth imparting? You might find an eclectic selection, but these books were revelatory, consequential and now vital to my being and journey of becoming. I am no authority on books, so choose an adventure at your own risk, but over the years, there have been encouraging responses to my reflections. I try not to read popular books or the latest bestsellers because they tend to…