Before we get to the winners of the 2013 Andys (gotta build a little suspense), let me offer an overview of what I read this year. Of the twenty-four books listed, five were fiction, two were business books, six were audio books and eight were narrative non-fiction.
Anything new in my reading habits this year? Yes, a couple things. The list included the first ebook I read on my Kindle given to me last Christmas. And there were two self-published books in the list. Both suggest I am part of key trends–and I do love to be trendy.
But now, to the winners, with my own incisive and hyper-witty Synop-Tweet (a tweet-sized synopsis) of each:
Most Fun and Fascinating
SuperFreakonomics, Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner
Synop-Tweet: From how to stop a hurricane to the truth about child car seats to how to catch a terrorist–thoughtful, provocative and just fun.
Best Book About Journalism
The Man Time Forgot, Isaiah Wilner
Synop-Tweet: Henry Luce did not create Time magazine but suppressed the memory of the genius who did. A fine piece of investigative journalism itself.
Best Multiple-Storyline Book
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Rebecca Skloot
Synop-Tweet: Skillfully interweaves four storylines in an amazing true tale of science, family, race and a writer’s obsession.
Oldest Book Read
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle
Synop-Tweet: What great fun! It’s easy to see why Sherlock is enjoying such a revival with two recent TV series and a movie franchise.
Most Blogged About on Andy Unedited
I Is an Other, James Geary
Synop-Tweet: The secret life of metaphors–where they come from, where they are going and why they rule the world.
Most Honest Book
Life, on the Line, Grant Achatz and Nick Kokonas
Synop-Tweet: Achatz shows himself as the stereotypical perfectionistic chef with unflinching candor. Yet his partner/ coauthor wins “Human of the Year.”
Best Parenting Book
The Connected Child, Karyn B. Purvis, David R. Cross and Wendy Lyons Sunshine
Synop-Tweet: While this is how to parent adopted children from traumatic backgrounds, it shows how any parent can stay in charge while saying yes.
Best IVP Book
Obviously a trick category. Would a mother say which child she loved best?
