Here’s my annual list of the best books I read in the past year. A few themes that stand out are concern about threats to liberalism and democracy, ambivalence about social media and alcohol, and interest in the Nordic region. As always, this post is about books I read during the previous year, not the year in which they were published.

Children of Ash and Elm, Neil Price — Price’s history of the Vikings is vivid and beautifully written, smartly forgoing a strictly chronological ordering of events for conceptual chapters exploring the mindsets and experiences of Viking life: spirit, gender, death, freedom, and much more. Highly recommended.

Smashing the Liquor Machine, Mark Schrad — I’m planning to write more about this soon, but for now I’ll just say that this history recasting prohibition as a progressive cause is one of the best books I read all year (and that’s coming from a libertarian cocktail enthusiast). Schrad coincidentally has a piece in the Atlantic today summarizing the thesis, but get the book.

The Fabric of Civilization, Virginia Postrel — Virginia is one of the writers whose books I’ll pick up regardless of topic; her interdisciplinary look at the history and innovation of textiles is fascinating throughout.

Sustaining Democracy, Robert Talisse — Talisse’s Overdoing Democracy made my list last year and the two books are best read as a pair. I may write more about these too, but for now I’ll say that I find his diagnosis of people’s increasing tendencies toward polarization and political “mega-identities” as threats to democracy more and more convincing.

The Constitution of Knowledge, Jonathan Rauch — Thoughtful analysis of the liberal epistemic order, particularly insightful with regard to attacks from the Trump era right.

Twitter and Tear Gas, Zeynep Tufekci — The Portland protests, January 6 insurrection, and some personal projects put Zeynep’s book on technology and protest movements on my radar. Insightful on the uses of social media and the unintended consequences of attempting to control it.

Love and Trouble, Claire Dederer — This arrived in my stack a few years ago but I didn’t pick it up until recently. Sharp, funny, biting, sexy, a fantastic midlife memoir.

How Magicians Think, Joshua Jay — 52 short essays on magic, each framed as an answer to a question magicians are often asked or ask amongst themselves. There’s little discussion of specific methods here, as one would expect in a book for a lay audience, but if you’re interested in magic at an abstract level I think you’ll enjoy this.

How Iceland Changed the World, Egill Bjarnason — Very fun, journalistic take on Iceland’s history and the nation’s often surprising role in world affairs.

My Father Left Me Ireland, Michael Brendan Dougherty — I bought this when it came out for my Irish grandmother, who loved it, but didn’t pick it up myself until an unexpected trip to Ireland this fall. I often disagree with Michael politically, but I appreciate knowing where he’s coming from, and the man can write.

Pandemics, Christian W. McMillen — Part of Oxford’s “very short introduction” series, 121 pages on the history of pandemics. From 2016 but obviously relevant! “For very often history is forgotten or rediscovered only when we confront contemporary epidemics and pandemics, and thus patterns from the past are repeated thoughtlessly.”

Drink?, David Nutt — Nutt makes a case for approaching alcohol less as an inevitable feature of the social landscape and more as a drug to be used (or not used) responsibly. Recommended for background on the health effects of alcohol and for how to drink more mindfully.

The Oxford Companion to Spirits and Cocktails, David Wondrich and Noah Rothbaum — I’ve just begun to browse this mammoth 800-page beast, but I’d remiss not to mention it. It’s going to be an incredibly valuable resource if you’re interested in the subject. You’ll also find a few entries from me in here, on aquavit, Batavia-arrack, Scandinavia, and Indonesia.

Brief notes on fiction: I didn’t read a ton of fiction this year, in part because I tend to read novels more when traveling or on vacation, both of which were still cut back considerably from pre-COVID levels. I started the year with the last three books of Elena Ferrante’s Neapolitan novels, which were perfect for becoming engrossed in during an isolated post-break-up, pre-vaccine winter. I coincidentally began Sally Rooney’s Beautiful World, Where Are You? before leaving for Ireland, and loved her stylistic adventures and portrait of millennial anxiety. Frank Herbert’s Dune never grabbed me in the past, despite enthusiasm for epic sci-fi, but I gave it another try in anticipation of the movie and can’t imagine why I didn’t love it before; I couldn’t put it down this time around. I enjoyed Dune Messiah too, but will likely end my reading in the series there absent a compelling case for continuing further. Kazuo Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun, a story of a kind-natured AI seeking to understand the complexities of human loss and growth, is the novel that will stay with me most.

Have recommendations for me to read in the coming year? Leave them in the comments!