The Books I Read in 2015 and My Top 10 of the Year

I said last year that my second book would be published this year.  It has not yet been published, but I have made a web site for it:  http://www.godhasabandonedamerica.com/

Here is the list of the top ten books I read in 2015 and a list of every book I read this year—sixty-nine books.


Top 10 of 2015

1. Altman—Kathryn Reed Altman and Giulia D’Agnolo Vallan

2. Remembering Who We Are

3. Lovely, Dark, Deep—Joyce Carol Oates

4. Jesus’ Son—Denis Johnson

5. The Unspeakable—Meghan Daum

6. Stealing America—Dinesh D’Souza

7. Things That Matter—Charles Krauthammer

8. Nothing Abides—Daniel Pipes

9. A Time for Truth—Ted Cruz

10. Sweet Freedom—Sarah Palin


The 69 books I read in 2015

1. Under the Skin—Michel Faber

2. Running Dog—Don DeLillo

3. Double Down—Mark Halperin and John Heilemann

4. Let the Great World Spin—Colum McCann

5. Altman—Kathryn Reed Altman and Giulia D’Agnolo Vallan

6. The Nightingale—Kristin Hannah

7. Jesus Prom—Jon Weece

8. Bias in the Booth—Dylan Gwinn

9. The Girl on the Train—Paula Hawkins

10. A Question of Upbringing—Anthony Powell

11. ‘Don’t Make the Black Kids Angry’—Colin Flaherty

12. Don’t Take My Lemonade Stand—Janie Johnson

13. Pigs Can’t Swim—Helen Peppe

14. All the Light We Cannot See—Anthony Doerr

15. Blood Feud—Edward Klein

16. Clinton Cash—Peter Schweizer

17. Rising to the Challenge—Carly Fiorina

18. Saturday Night Live—Alison Castle

19. The Naked Communist—W. Cleon Skousen

20. Surrounded by Friends—Matthew Rohrer

21. Country of Ghost—Gaylord Brewer

22. Split Season: 1981—Jeff Katz

23. The Silencing—Kirsten Powers

24. Lovely, Dark, Deep—Joyce Carol Oates

25. Remembering Who We Are

26. Jesus’ Son—Denis Johnson

27. Herzog—Saul Bellow

28. Abortion Free—Troy Newman & Cheryl Sullenger

29. Dragon’s Teeth—Upton Sinclair

30. Things That Matter—Charles Krauthammer

31. ¡Adios, America!—Ann Coulter

32. A Time for Truth—Ted Cruz

33. Go Set a Watchman—Harper Lee

34. Hillary Unhinged—Thomas Kuiper

35. 23 Anti-procrastination Habits—S.J. Scott

36. The First Family Detail—Ronald Kessler

37. Dragons of Dinosaurs?—Darek Isaacs

38. End of Discussion—Mary Katharine Ham and Guy Benson

39. Fanaticus—Justine Gubar

40. The Queen—Hugh Hewitt

41. Purity—Jonathan Franzen

42. It’s Not Over—Michelangelo Signorile

43. You’re Going to Be Dead One Day—David Horowitz

44. Scarlet Letters—Jack Cashill

45. A Divine Revelation of Satan’s Deceptions—Mary K. Baxter

46. Takedown—Paul Kengor

47. The Devil’s Pleasure Palace—Michael Walsh

48. The Eighth Kingdom—Perry Stone

49. The Marvels—Brian Selznick

50. The Atheist Who Didn’t Exist—Andy Bannister

51. The Poet’s Guide to Food, Drink, & Desire—Gaylord Brewer

52. Dreamers and Deceivers—Glenn Beck

53. Fool’s Talk—Os Guinness

54. God’s Crime Scene—J. Warner Wallace

55. The Unspeakable—Meghan Daum

56. Nothing Abides—Daniel Pipes

57. Juniors—Kaui Hart Hemmings

58. The Moor’s Account—Laila Lalami

59. Reasonable Faith—William Lane Craig

60. Blue Estate—Viktor Kalvachev and Kosta Yanev

61. Stealing America—Dinesh D’Souza

62. Sweet Freedom—Sarah Palin

63. VHS Video Cover Art—Thomas Hodge

64. Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims—Rush Limbaugh

65. Unlikeable—Edward Klein

66. The Clintons’ War on Women—Roger Stone and Robert Morrow

67. Chinese Propaganda Posters—Stefan R. Landsberger, Anchee Min, and Duo Duo

68. A Year in Photography

69. Between Riverside and Crazy—Stephen Adly Guirgis

The Books I Read in 2014 and the Top 10 Books of the First Half of the Decade

This year was a great literary year for me because my first book, The Breathing Advocate (http://www.amazon.com/Breathing-Advocate-Jarrett-McCall-ebook/dp/B00NP9IJT2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1412719081&sr=8-1&keywords=the+breathing+advocate), was published.  In 2015, my second book, a collection of short stories titled God Has Abandoned America, will be out.

These are my top 10 books for 2014:
1. The Circle--Dave Eggers
2. Big Tent--Mallory Factor and Elizabeth Factor
3. The Disaster Artist--Greg Sestero and Tom Bissell
4. Collusion--Brent Bozell and Tim Graham
5. The Marketing of Evil--David Kupelian
6. Midwinterblood--Marcus Sedgwick
7. Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?--Roz Chast
8. I Want to Show You More--Jamie Quatro
9. Monsters--Rich Cohen
10. Stonewalled--Sharyl Attkisson

My top 10 for the first half of the 2010s:
1. In Cold Blood--Truman Capote
2. Ragtime--E.L. Doctorow
3. The Circle--Dave Eggers
4. The Help--Kathryn Stockett
5. The Right Stuff--Tom Wolfe
6. Being There--Jerzy Kosinski
7. Atonement--Ian McEwan
8. Gone Girl--Gillian Flynn
9. The Orphan Master's Son--Adam Johnson
10. Mao II--Don DeLillo

These are the 79 books I read this year:
1. Vampires in the Lemon Grove--Karen Russell
2. A River Runs Through It and Other Stories--Norman Maclean
3. Your Best Life Now--Joel Osteen
4. The Hobbit--J.R.R. Tolkien
5. Players--Don DeLillo
6. Give Them Grace--Elyse M. Fitzpatrick and Jessica Thompson
7. 1984--George Orwell
8. Unbroken--Laura Hillenbrand
9. Orange Is the New Black--Piper Kerman
10. Midwinterblood--Marcus Sedgwick
11. Collusion--Brent Bozell and Tim Graham
12. Tropic of Cancer--Henry Miller
13. We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves--Karen Joy Fowler
14. Monsters--Rich Cohen
15. Better than Fiction--Don George
16. The Testament of Mary--Colm Toibin
17. Good Tidings and Great Joy--Sarah Palin
18. The Circle--Dave Eggers
19. James Madison--Jeff Broadwater
20. Foreign Affairs--Alison Lurie
21. 419--Will Ferguson
22. Caught--Lisa Moore
23. Chocolates for Breakfast--Pamela Moore
24. I Want to Show You More--Jamie Quatro
25. The Facts on Islam--John Ankerberg, John Weldon, and Dillon Burroughs
26. Breakthrough--James O'Keefe
27. The Secret History--Donna Tartt
28. Bark--Lorrie Moore
29. The 9/11 Report--Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colon
30. The Marketing of Evil--David Kupelian
31. The Disaster Artist--Greg Sestero and Tom Bissell
32. Not Cool--Greg Gutfeld
33. Eminent Hipsters--Donald Fagen
34. Sickened--Julie Gregory
35. Angry Little Men--Kevin Todd Porter
36. Blood Will Out--Walter Kirn
37. The Goldfinch--Donna Tartt
38. Daily Readings from Every Day a Friday--Joel Osteen
39. The Land of Steady Habits--Ted Thompson
40. The Son--Philipp Meyer
41. Terrorists & Novelists--Diane Johnson
42. Rules for Patriots--Steve Deace
43. Big Tent--Mallory Factor and Elizabeth Factor
44. Up, Up, & Away--Jonah Keri
45. America--Dinesh D'Souza
46. The Possibilities--Kaui Hart Hemmings
47. She Is Not Invisible--Marcus Sedgwick
48. In Paradise--Peter Matthiessen
49. Carrie--Stephen King
50. Assault and Flattery--Katie Pavlich
51. The Heist--Daniel Silva
52. Can't We Talk About Something More Pleasant?--Roz Chast
53. Confessions of a Spy--Pete Earley
54. Tenth of December--George Saunders
55. Euphoria--Lily King
56. The Truth about the Harry Quebert Affair--Joel Dicker
57. Trickle Down Tyranny--Michael Savage
58. If I Stay--Gayle Forman
59. Everything I Never Told You--Celeste Ng
60. Drowntown: Book One--Robbie Morrison and Jim Murray
61. Revenge: The Secret Origin of Emily Thorne--Ted Sullivan
62. The Cult of Common Core--Brad McQueen
63. Can You Be Gay and Christian?--Michael L. Brown
64. The Other Side of the Wall--Marie Micheaux
65. Barbaric Mercies--Gaylord Brewer
66. Let Me Be Clear--Katie Kieffer
67. Making Gay Okay--Robert R. Reilly
68. The Dog--Joseph O'Neill
69. Orfeo--Richard Powers
70. The Blazing World--Siri Hustvedt
71. Wolf in White Van--John Darnielle
72. Miracles and Massacres--Glenn Beck
73. Martin Scorsese--Tom Shone
74. The Odyssey of Falling--Paige Crutcher
75. Distortion--Chelsen Vicari
76. Inherent Vice--Thomas Pynchon
77. American Cornball--Christopher Miller
78. Stonewalled--Sharyl Attkisson
79. 'If I Had a Son'--Jack Cashill

The Books I Read in 2013

I read two books this year titled Drive.  The first was Larry Bird's autobiography; the other was the James Sallis novel that the 2011 Ryan Gosling film was based on.

My top 10 favorite books I read this year:

1.     Atonement—Ian McEwan

2.     Gone Girl—Gillian Flynn

3.     The Orphan Master’s Son—Adam Johnson

4.     A Hologram for the King—Dave Eggers

5.     What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank—Nathan Englander

6.     The Snow Child—Eowyn Ivey

7.     Conversations with Pauline Kael—ed. Will Brantley

8.     The Magnificent Ambersons—Booth Tarkington

9.     The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie—Muriel Spark

10. Love in Infant Monkeys—Lydia Millet

These are the 73 books I read this year:

1.     The Magnificent Ambersons—Booth Tarkington

2.     Cowards—Glenn Beck

3.     Is My Bow Too Big?—Victoria Jackson

4.     Gone Girl—Gillian Flynn

5.     A Hologram for the King—Dave Eggers

6.     Ritual in Death—J.D. Robb

7.     The Ginger Man—J.P. Donleavy

8.     Yearbook—Allyson Braithwaite Condie

9.     Atonement—Ian McEwan

10. Hollywood, Interrupted—Andrew Breitbart & Mark Ebner

11. The One and Only Ivan—Katherine Applegate

12. In Darkness—Nick Lake

13. Splendors and Glooms—Laura Amy Schlitz

14. 10 Things Jesus Never Said—Will Davis, Jr.

15. Dodger—Terry Pratchett

16. God’s Guest List—Debbie Macomber

17. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe—Benjamin Alire Saenz

18. Drive—Larry Bird

19. When the Game Was Ours—Larry Bird and Earvin Magic Johnson

20. Code Name Verity—Elizabeth Wein

21. God’s Not Dead—Rice Broocks

22. Three Times Lucky—Sheila Turnage

23. The Sheltering Sky—Paul Bowles

24. Messi—Luca Caioli

25. Life of Pi—Yann Martel

26. The Surrendered—Chang-Rae Lee

27. Under the Net—Iris Murdoch

28. Team of Rivals—Doris Kearns Goodwin

29. The Snow Child—Eowyn Ivey

30. The Orphan Master’s Son—Adam Johnson

31. The West’s Last Chance—Tony Blankley

32. What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank—Nathan Englander

33. All the Pretty Horses—Cormac McCarthy

34. The White Bicycle—Beverley Brenna

35. The History Boys—Alan Bennett

36. Wide Sargasso Sea—Jean Rhys

37. Jane Eyre—Charlotte Bronte

38. The Preacher and the Presidents—Nancy Gibbs and Michael Duffy

39. Wild—Cheryl Strayed

40. Drama—Raina Telgemeier

41. A Game for Swallows—Zeina Abirached

42. Bullies—Ben Shapiro

43. Love in Infant Monkeys—Lydia Millet

44. The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie—Muriel Spark

45. Fire in the Ashes—Jonathan Kozol

46. Desperate Characters—Paula Fox

47. Conversations with Pauline Kael—Will Brantley, ed.

48. The Sense of an Ending—Julian Barnes

49. The Journalist and the Murderer—Janet Malcolm

50. The Stench of Honolulu—Jack Handey

51. Radical Rulers—Robert Knight

52. Turtle in Paradise—Jennifer L. Holm

53. Six Easy Pieces—Richard Feynman

54. Amsterdam—Ian McEwan

55. The Homosexual Agenda—Alan Sears & Craig Osten

56. My Life Has a Price—Tina Okpara

57. A Mathematician’s Apology—G.H. Hardy

58. What’s So Great About America—Dinesh D’Souza

59. Drive—James Sallis

60. I Surrender All—Clay and Renee Crosse

61. Driven—James Sallis

62. Keep It Pithy—Bill O’Reilly

63. The Ocean at the End of the Lane—Neil Gaiman

64. Tell the Wolves I’m Home—Carol Rifka Brunt

65. Until She Comes Home—Lori Roy

66. The English Girl—Daniel Silva

67. Advise and Consent—Allen Drury

68. The Good Lord Bird—James McBride

69. The Flamethrowers—Rachel Kushner

70. The Luminaries—Eleanor Catton

71. Catching Fire—Suzanne Collins

72. The Thing About Luck—Cynthia Kadohata

73. Mockingjay—Suzanne Collins

The Books I Read in 2012

I will begin with my top 10 favorite books that I read this year:

1. Ragtime--E. L. Doctorow
2. Train Dreams--Denis Johnson
3. The Hunger Games--Suzanne Collins
4. Robert Altman: Interviews--David Sterritt
5. Wonderstruck--Brian Selznick
6. Never Fall Down--Patricia McCormick
7. The Lonely Polygamist--Brady Udall
8. The Nashville Chronicles--Jan Stuart
9. Changing My Mind--Zadie Smith
10. A Patriot's History of the United States--Larry Schweikart and Michael Allen

Here are the 99 books I read this year:

1. Burn Unit--Barbara Ravage
2. A Patriot's History of the United States--Larry Schweikart and Michael Allen
3. Far from Home--Mary Chung Hayashi
4. Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging--Louise Rennison
5. Changing My Mind--Zadie Smith
6. My Seinfeld Year--Fred Stoller
7. Dead End in Norvelt--Jack Gantos
8. Lost Detroit--Dan Austin
9. Where Things Come Back--John Corey Whaley
10. Jasper Jones--Craig Silvey
11. Bless This Mouse--Lois Lowry
12. Breaking Stalin's Nose--Eugene Yelchin
13. The Christmas Barn--C.L. Davis
14. Steve Jobs--Walter Isaacson
15. Holes--Louis Sachar
16. American Born Chinese--Gene Luen Yang
17. Death at an Early Age--Jonathan Kozol
18. When Your Kids Push Your Buttons--Bonnie Harris
19. The Hunger Games--Suzanne Collins
20. How to Be Alone--Jonathan Franzen
21. Inside Out & Back Again--Thanhha Lai
22. Coming Apart--Charles Murray
23. Barrel Fever and Other Stories--David Sedaris
24. Why We Broke Up--Daniel Handler
25. The Scorpio Races--Maggie Stiefvater
26. Naked--David Sedaris
27. Red Army--Aaron Klein and Brenda J. Elliott
28. Holidays on Ice--David Sedaris
29. Swamplandia!--Karen Russell
30. The Graveyard Book--Neil Gaiman
31. Spies of Mississippi--Rick Bowers
32. Black Hands, White Sails--Patricia C. and Fredrick L. McKissack
33. Catherine, Called Birdy--Karen Cushman
34. Farther Away--Jonathan Franzen
35. Quiet--Susan Cain
36. The Midwife's Apprentice--Karen Cushman
37. Out of My Mind--Sharon M. Draper
38. Red Scarf Girl--Ji-li Jiang
39. Life on Mars--Tracy K. Smith
40. Robert Altman: Interviews--David Sterritt
41. The Snows of Kilimanjaro and Other Stories--Ernest Hemingway
42. Train Dreams--Denis Johnson
43. Remainder--Tom McCarthy
44. Netherland--Joseph O'Neill
45. Sacred Marriage--Gary Thomas
46. The Winter Room--Gary Paulsen
47. Obama Zombies--Jason Mattera
48. Moon over Manifest--Clare Vanderpool
49. The Lonely Polygamist--Brady Udall
50. Christopher Durang Explains It All for You--Christopher Durang
51. The Bridge of San Luis Rey--Thornton Wilder
52. Missing May--Cynthia Rylant
53. Secret of the Andes--Ann Nolan Clark
54. The Moviegoer--Walker Percy
55. The Amateur--Edward Klein
56. Ragtime--E. L. Doctorow
57. Twilight--Stephenie Meyer
58. The White Darkness--Geraldine McCaughrean
59. The Tyranny of Cliches--Jonah Goldberg
60. The Lincoln Lawyer--Michael Connelly
61. Gomorrah--Roberto Saviano
62. The Higher Power of Lucky--Susan Patron
63. Young Lonigan--James T. Farrell
64. Same Kind of Different as Me--Ron Hall and Denver Moore
65. The Death of Nora Ryan--James T. Farrell
66. Quiet Strength--Tony Dungy
67. Going Bovine--Libba Bray
68. Sam Holman--James T. Farrell
69. Unprotected--Miriam Grossman
70. Luckiest Man--Jonathan Eig
71. Neighbors--Thomas Berger
72. This Is How You Lose Her--Junot Diaz
73. The Lone Pilgrim--Laurie Colwin
74. Mugged--Ann Coulter
75. Kingdom Come--Tim LaHaye & Jerry B. Jenkins
76. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children--Ransom Riggs
77. Wonderstruck--Brian Selznick
78. Children of a Lesser God--Mark Medoff
79. Nothing--Janne Teller
80. Prelude to the Century (Our American Century)
81. Cleopatra--Stacy Schiff
82. World's Fair--E.L. Doctorow
83. Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk--Ben Fountain
84. Paradise--Donald Barthelme
85. Endangered--Eliot Schrefer
86. Bomb--Steve Sheinkin
87. Whites--Norman Rush
88. Out of Reach--Carrie Arcos
89. Goblin Secrets--William Alexander
90. The Yellow Birds--Kevin Powers
91. Never Fall Down--Patricia McCormick
92. The Nashville Chronicles--Jan Stuart
93. Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices from a Medieval Village--Laura Amy Schlitz
94. Back to Blood--Tom Wolfe
95. Man Made--Joel Stein
96. Fool Me Twice--Aaron Klein & Brenda J. Elliott
97. The Plague of Doves--Louise Erdrich
98. The Round House--Louise Erdrich
99. Can America Survive?--John Hagee

The Books I Read in 2011

These are the 62 books I read this year (3 less than last year):

1. Les Misérables—Victor Hugo

2. Exposing the Real Che Guevara—Humberto Fontova

3. Their Eyes Were Watching God—Zora Neale Hurston

4. The Girl Who Played with Fire—Stieg Larsson

5. Inquisition—Toby Green

6. War and Peace—Leo Tolstoy

7. Guilty—Ann Coulter

8. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest—Stieg Larsson

9. How to Reach and Teach All Students—Simplified—Elizabeth Breaux

10. Mint Condition—Dave Jamieson

11. Righteous Indignation—Andrew Breitbart

12. The Complete Maus—Art Spiegelman

13. The Pale King—David Foster Wallace

14. Into Thin Air—Jon Krakauer

15. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People—Stephen R. Covey

16. Heaven Is for Real—Todd Burpo

17. I’d Go with the Helmet, Ray: A Doonesbury Book—G. B. Trudeau

18. American Splendor: The Life and Times of Harvey Pekar—Harvey Pekar

19. Persepolis—Marjane Satrapi

20. Demonic—Ann Coulter

21. The Recognitions—William Gaddis

22. Parrot and Olivier in America—Peter Carey

23. Persepolis 2—Marjane Satrapi

24. Falling Man—Don DeLillo

25. A Reliable Wife—Robert Goolrick

26. Wisconsin Death Trip—Michael Lesy

27. Primetime Propaganda—Ben Shapiro

28. Frindle—Andrew Clements

29. Don’t Cry—Mary Gaitskill

30. A Visit from the Goon Squad—Jennifer Egan

31. The Uncoupling—Meg Wolitzer

32. The Stoning of Sally Kern—Sally Kern

33. The Discomfort Zone—Jonathan Franzen

34. Riding toward Everywhere—William T. Vollmann

35. In My Time—Dick Cheney

36. Prince Caspian—C. S. Lewis

37. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader—C. S. Lewis

38. Troublemaker—Christine O’Donnell

39. Arguing with Idiots—Glenn Beck

40. The Invention of Hugo Cabret—Brian Selznick

41. Complete Plays 1913-1920—Eugene O’Neill

42. Salvage the Bones—Jesmyn Ward

43. Binocular Vision—Edith Pearlman

44. Flush—Carl Hiaasen

45. The Sojourn—Andrew Krivak

46. The No Spin Zone—Bill O’Reilly

47. The Buddha in the Attic—Julie Otsuka

48. Teacher Man—Frank McCourt

49. Bone Palace Ballet—Charles Bukowski

50. When You Reach Me—Rebecca Stead

51. The Help—Kathryn Stockett

52. The Angel Esmeralda—Don DeLillo

53. Americana—Don DeLillo

54. Savvy—Ingrid Law

55. The Tiger’s Wife—Téa Obreht

56. End Zone—Don DeLillo

57. Scumble—Ingrid Law

58. Mockingbird—Kathryn Erskine

59. Great Jones Street—Don DeLillo

60. Maggie: A Girl of the Streets—Stephen Crane

61. Ratner’s Star—Don DeLillo

62. Quartet—Jean Rhys

My top 10 books that I read this year:

1. The Help—Kathryn Stockett

2. Demonic—Ann Coulter

3. The Discomfort Zone—Jonathan Franzen

4. American Splendor: The Life and Times of Harvey Pekar—Harvey Pekar

5. A Visit from the Goon Squad—Jennifer Egan

6. The Angel Esmeralda—Don DeLillo

7. Heaven Is for Real—Todd Burpo

8. The Complete Maus—Art Speigelman

9. Righteous Indignation—Andrew Breitbart

10. Falling Man—Don DeLillo

For 2012, I plan to read mostly non fiction books. I have class coming up where I will have to read some Young Adult literature, but other than that it will be all non fiction. My plan for the next three years is to spend each year reading only a certain genre of literature. In 2012, it will be non fiction; in 2013, it will be poetry and drama; and in 2014, it will be novels and short stories. I plan to start of the year reading Barbara Ravage’s Burn Unit.