My Favorite Books of 2007 (Annotated List)

A couple of days ago, I posted my favorite books of 2007. Here's the list again, but with my comments regarding my choices!

Favorite Biography of the year: End of the Spear by Steve Saint
-- I blogged at some length about Saint’s book last fall, and also reviewed it on Epinions. Technically it’s probably more “memoir” than straight biography, but I think it qualifies for this category. What’s fascinating is that it’s not only a slice of Saint’s own life, but the biography of a people, a tribe heretofore pretty much unknown and misunderstood. And the best parts are all the many places where Saint’s story and the story of the Waodoni are inextricably intertwined.

Children’s biography of the year: Mary on Horseback by Rosemary Wells (runner-up: The Art of Eric Carle)
-- I’m coming to realize just how much I love biographies, which is why I need a separate children’s category. The sweet girl and I read Mary on Horseback in December, as a ‘read-aloud’ during school mornings. What an amazing story it told: of Mary Breckenridge, founder of the Frontier Nursing Service. I was a little afraid at first that the stories themselves would overwhelm my daughter, filled as they were with details about poverty and illness in the mountains, including diseases that rocked the lives of young children. But Wells told the stories well and sensitively, and they opened up avenues for gentle but important discussions about life as it was (and still is) for some families in our world.

--My runner-up is The Art of Eric Carle, a book that I enjoyed on several levels. The first section of the book was a straightforward biography of Carle, written primarily for adults (or possibly older children). It was interesting to read about his childhood in Germany and his subsequent coming to America as a young man, where he used his artistic skills in advertising before becoming what he terms a “picture-writer” for children. The second part of the book detailed some of Carle’s artistic techniques, which inspired me and the sweet girl to tissue paper and paint greatness!

Picture book author of the year: A tie between Shirley Hughes and Anna Dewdney
--I couldn’t choose just one, because both of these authors meant a lot to our family this year. Hughes has been a family favorite now for about three years, and her books are almost constants around here. She doesn’t seem to be writing as much now, but she did win the “Greenaway of Greenaways” this year for her wonderful book Dogger, another reason it just felt right to have her on this list. Anna Dewdney delighted my little girl by giving the world a sequel to Llama Llama Red Pajama, one of her favorite books of all time. Llama Llama Mad at Mama surprised me by proving to be almost as charming and funny – and just as big a hit in our family – as the first.

Best Devotional Book: God With Us by various authors (runner-up: Mudhouse Sabbath by Lauren Winner)
--This was a tough one. I didn’t find God With Us until late in the year. It came out in October, and I read it (as intended) during Advent and Christmas. The line-up of excellent writers made this a real gem, along with the gorgeous paintings included throughout. I was sad to have to return this one to the library. All the writers were good, but I was especially taken with the work of Scott Cairns, and now plan to try to find some of his other poetry and prose to read in the coming year.

--I chose Mudhouse Sabbath as a runner-up, both because I enjoyed the book very much, but even more because I enjoyed having a chance to attend an all day seminar with its author, Lauren Winner, back in June. As fine a writer as she is, I think she’s an even finer teacher. Her musings and reflections on Sabbath-keeping, and her unique perspective on that and other topics as an Orthodox Jew turned Christian (and Anglican) always make for interesting work. Given my own background growing up in an Orthodox Jewish neighborhood, and my own growth in the Anglican tradition, I find her insights especially meaningful.

Best Novel I Read This Year: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
--This is not a cop-out. It’s just plain true. I can’t tell you how much I looked forward, for months and years, to the ending of Rowling’s seven-book saga. I laughed, fretted, worried, and cried through this fittingly powerful and satisfying ending. Seldom have I felt so exhilarated or so sad upon leaving a fictional world for the last time, except perhaps with Middle Earth and Narnia. And that’s high praise.

Besides the fact that I just plain loved the book and the series, I’ve also loved the conversations I’ve gotten involved in with many people in online communities who have shared a love for the books. These stories make people think as well as laugh and cry, and some of the conversations have been deep literary and spiritual ones. A gift to my year.

Best Novel I Re-Read This Year: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
--Yes, I know it’s a “children’s book” (but remember what Madeleine always said: it got turned down from countless publishers because they thought it was “too difficult” for children…and then when it finally got published, it turned out that the children “got it” far better than adults)! I’ve re-read Wrinkle so many times over the years that it’s like visiting with a very old, well-worn friend when I open the covers. This time out was especially poignant, however, as I read it a few weeks after Madeleine’s death in September. She is one of the most formative writers of my life, and I will miss her.

Best "pop culture" book: Unlocking Harry Potter: Five Keys for the Serious Reader by John Granger
--When I created this category last year, what I intended was to describe my favorite book that engaged, in creative and life-giving ways, some phenomena of popular culture, whether music, books, theater or movies. So this was almost a no-brainer this year. John Granger’s work on the alchemical literary framework of the Harry Potter stories has been a rich mine for several years. When I first began reading his work a few years ago, it opened the series up to me in new and vital ways, and helped me to understand more deeply how and why these books were speaking so powerfully to our age. His alchemical insights continue to deepen, and with this book he added new and interesting insights into the influence of postmodernism on Rowling’s work – how she is both clearly representative of that stance, and yet transcends it (and sometimes subverts it) by her melding of postmodern sensibilities and traditional symbolism. This book will, I think, be looked back on as the fountainhead of a golden age of Harry Potter literary criticism.

Not to mention that through his website and his correspondence, John Granger has inspired and helped to maintain much of the most fruitful, charitable and thoughtful conversation about the Harry Potter books to date. Thank you, John.

Favorite "new to me" children’s book, mid-grade reader (8-12 year old category): tie between Bella at Midnight by Diane Stanley; Princess Academy by Shannon Hale; and The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall
--An impossibly hard category for me to choose a favorite in this year – just too much good stuff! If I had to choose between these three very wonderful but completely different books, I would choose Bella at Midnight, just because it has a timeless and classic quality about it. Which isn’t to say that the other two books won’t last. All three are just excellently told stories. Bella is fairy-tale/fantasy; Princess Academy more of a folk tale; and The Penderwicks is a lovely, old-fashioned family tale that reminded me Elizabeth Enright and other early 20th century writers. Fun and wholesome – the kind of book that makes you want to curl up in a window-seat (I still long for one!) on a rainy day in a big, old house that begs to be explored.

Favorite "new to me" young adult book (12-15 year old): tie between Rules by Cynthia Lord (I may be stretching, this might be considered mid-grade) and Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson
--Is Cynthia Lord’s award-winning Rules considered YA fiction? I think it should be. At any rate, however you “categorize” it, it’s just good reading…sensitive, authentic, creative. Hattie Big Sky was also terrific. I couldn’t choose between them, primarily because the first is so contemporary and the second historical (which tends to be my favorite kind of fiction). Both books worth adding to your shelves.

Best Children’s Book I Re-Read This Year: The Hundred Dresses by Eleanor Estes
--This was a hard choice because the sweet girl and I read so many books together this year, including The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, which sort of stands in a class by itself for me. I picked Estes’ because I loved it so much as a child, hadn’t read it a long while, and was nearly knocked off my feet again by its simplicity, elegance, and honesty. I remembered it was a good story. I just hadn’t remembered how good. She was quite an artist.

Favorite "new to me" picture book: Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen, illustrated by Kevin Hawkes
-- This is one of those books that a child can climb inside and inhabit. The world it creates – of a public library visited daily by a loveable, book-loving lion – is just a wonderful place to visit. The rhythm of the story feels close to perfect, and the characters are funny and memorable. Great illustrations. We read this one over and over, roaring with delight.

Book I Wish I Hadn’t Wasted My Time Reading: Moxy Maxwell Does Not Love Stuart Little by Peggy Gifford
--Hmm. I’ve been visiting some of the “mock Newbery” sites (various book groups, libraries, etc. speculating on their “short lists” of favorite books and getting ready for this Monday’s upcoming Newbery awards) and was surprised to see this had made a couple of lists. Maybe I was too hard on it when I reviewed it, but it really didn’t work for me, despite clever and creative photographs. Too much style, not enough substance. Children’s literature can do better than this. I’m thankful that it usually does.

Book I Should Have Finished (and still plan to): The History of the Ancient World by Susan Wise Bauer
--I’d actually like to change this category to “Book I Want to Finish” rather than “should.” I honestly don’t know when I would have had time to finish Bauer’s great tour of ancient history, but I’ve loved keeping this one by the bed and picking it up whenever I’m in the mood to step back – way, way back! – in time. Cogent, clear, stimulating reading.

The Book That Surprised Me Most: The Children’s Blizzard by David Laskin
--Wow. It’s hard to know what to say about this one. I almost listed it as my favorite “biography” this year, except it’s hard to know if one could really call it that. It’s not the story of one person as much as it is the story of a storm, a place, a time, and a developing American ethos on the frontier. I’m not sure what I expected from this book, but I was powerfully moved by it. Beautiful prose. And a book that’s inspired me to think about ways I might write history someday.

The Book That Made Me Laugh the Most: I can’t really think of one that made me laugh. Smile, yes, chortle, okay. Lots of things made me giggle with the sweet girl. But not one book really made me laugh. Yikes.

Book That Challenged Me the Most: (besides the Bible): End of the Spear by Steve Saint
--I listed the Bible in this category last year, but realized that I could list it every year! So next to the Bible, what reading challenged me most? I returned to Steve Saint’s journey in End of the Spear. What I found challenging: the depth of his trust in the sovereignty of a loving God; his patience in unfolding the “long view” of the story of his family (both his birth family and his adopted family, the Waodoni); the depth and power of forgiveness as it flows from God’s heart through one person to another person – and how that makes for peace.

And new categories this year:

Favorite new mystery writer: Joanne Fluke and her Hannah Swensen mysteries
--These are just fun, really fun! I’m looking forward to another one, so I hope Fluke is working on one. I’m also hoping that Fluke’s cookie-baking sleuth Hannah will finally see the light and choose the right beau. (Pssst….pick Norman, Hannah! You won’t be sorry!)

Favorite "new to me" Spiritual Resource/Bible for Children: The Big Picture Story Bible by Helm and Shoonmaker
--I keep meaning to review this over at Epinions. The sweet girl and I have read through it twice together, and it’s really grown on me. Unlike most children’s Bibles, this one does not just provide a “sampling” of stories from Old and New Testament, but a comprehensive sweep through the Scriptures with emphases on the promises of God and on certain important Biblical themes. It’s been a great teaching tool.

Favorite book of theological reflections: Evil and the Justice of God by N.T. Wright.
--This was not an easy read, but I think it was an important one, given the reality of evil and its presence both in history and in our world today. I didn’t mention a runner-up for this category, but realized later that I probably could: I really enjoyed Michael Card’s Sacred Sorrow, which especially gave me new insights into the book of Job.