As with all of my annual “best books of the year” lists, these don’t have to be “new” books, but they’re all new to me, and the list includes no re-reads, only first-timers. I’m pretty happy with this year’s overall batch. These are the ones that kept me up late into the night flipping pages and reading on, and as usual, I cheated a bit and added more than 10!

10. Lowside of the Road by Barney Hoskyns

You can tell this biography of the enigmatic beat poet of Rock and Roll is unauthorized because the author goes to great lengths to complain about how Tom and his wife asked folks to please not speak to Hoskyns about their lives, something that clearly irked the author. This grew tiresome and seemed like an incredibly petulant move on the author’s behalf, but thankfully it only crops up in the beginning and end, and in the middle you get a trove of amazing anecdotes about Tom’s life, era to era and album to album, with excellent insight into who played on what song and why certain songs or albums sound the way they do, as well as plenty of strange Tom stories, like the one about Detroit rocker and Waits fan Bob Seeger, who randomly found Tom walking along a remote road outside LA. He offered him a ride, and 30 minutes later was told by Tom, “You can just drop me off where you picked me up, I wasn’t finished walking into town I guess.” Hilarious, and such a Tom Waits thing to say and do. For those kinds of gems, this book makes the list.

9. I’ll Be Gone in the Dark by Michelle McNamara

I love a good true crime book, and this was a good one. It reminded me of Robert Graysmith’s Zodiac, except that by the time I read it we all knew who the Golden State Killer turned out to be, former cop Joseph James DeAngelo. Somehow knowing it was a cop this made this book so much scarier, and also heartbreaking in that Michelle didn’t get to discover this before her untimely death. The book’s organization isn’t always as smooth as it could be, but that has more to do with her researchers and fellow writers piecing the book together after her death than it does with her style. She kept tending the fire of this mystery long after many gave up, and this book is an excellent addition to the true crime tradition. It kept me up late with plenty of horrifying details, and I’m sure it will do the same for you.

8. Room by Emma Donoghue

Speaking of horrifying details, this book absolutely terrified me, especially the claustrophobic feeling Donoghue is able to create in the first half of the book. I truly lost sleep over this one and woke up a few nights in a row with a feeling like the walls were closing in on me. Powerful stuff. She also creates a very creepy and heartbreaking atmosphere in which a young boy doesn’t understand the truly terrible state of his existence, and that is the book’s gut-punch magic trick: seeing this situation through his eyes, yet we know so much more than he does. Our ability to fill in the gaps and read between the lines is the stuff of nightmares. I thought the second half might flag and let up on the tension, but it didn’t, and I kept waiting for the next terrible thing to befall the characters, all the way to the final pages. It’s a powerful book, but if you have a young child this might give you some major anxiety, so be warned.

7. Bird Box by Josh Malerman

Here’s yet another tension-filled novel in which Malerman does a brilliant job making readers feel the impact of the claustrophobic setting, the paranoia, the mistrust, and the self-doubt. Is all this real? Is what I’m seeing, hearing, feeling true? Is this hysteria, or self-preservation? Fake news or dire warnings? Madness or Lovecraftian hellscape come to life? What is really happening out there? The characters and I both felt the weight of these questions. I’m glad I gave it a shot after the shellacking the Netflix movie version took upon its release (all justifiable, by the way). That made me think the book wasn’t worth it, but the old adage came true once again: the book is better than the movie. By a longshot. Don’t sleep on this one, and trust me, its climax will keep you up whether you like it or not.

6. Work by Bud Smith

This memoir about growing up in New Jersey, finding love, learning to write, and working a series of blue-collar jobs is equal parts funny, insightful, surreal, earnest, gritty, crazy, quiet, and inspiring. It's like a modern version of Factotum or Ham on Rye except Bud is a pretty amazing guy while Buk can be, let’s face it, kind of a jerk (says a guy who loved Buk for a long time and still low-key does). This book is full on glass-half-full, embrace-the-weirdness, isn't-life-great-even-when-it-kinda-sucks-but-who-cares, and Bud wrote the damn thing on his phone during heavy construction coffee breaks. He’s one of the best around. A+ work from Bud, as usual, and I highly recommend it.

5. Motel Chronicles by Sam Shepard

Most know him for his acting, but Shepard was an incredible writer as well, and this collection of poetry and short prose pieces explores family relationships, western landscapes, the ups and downs of the Hollywood life, transience, loneliness, motel scenes, diners, joy, sadness, love, and so much more. I don't think it's a stretch to say that had he been alive a little earlier he'd have been the best of the Beats, but he's also so much more grounded, authentic, and simple. For anyone who enjoys the writings of Bukowski, Steinbeck, or Kerouac, Shepard is not one to miss.

4. We Have Always Lived In the Castle by Shirley Jackson

Wow, another one I waited far too long to read, and it might be even better than her much-celebrated classic The Haunting of Hill House (which is excellent in its own right). This one explores the world of the Blackwood family, or what is left of it after many of them died in a tragic…or murderous…poisoning incident. The two sisters and their infirmed, possible-delusional uncle all find a way to live together in a fascinating microcosm that is equal parts infused with gothic and domestic terrors alike, with hints of witchcraft, all set in a cynical, suspicious mid-century American town. It’s commentary on societal norms, class, and expectations, as well as loyalty, family, and love. It’s not quite horror, not quite family drama, but it’s brilliant and powerful and moving. Highly recommended.

3. Vacationland and Medallion Status by John Hodgeman

Yes, these are technically two books that aren’t in a series, so I should divide them, but they both explore two major aspects of John Hodgman’s world: his personal life, and his career. Both books contain his trademark wit, his tongue-in-cheek egoisms, and his droll superciliousness, all of which comes across as both hilarious and adorable. But most of all, his stories about living in Maine and western Massachusetts and about his life as a minor celebrity always chasing that next fame perk are insightful, honest, and endearingly human, and if you enjoy his brand of acting/humor, whether from his appearances on The Daily Show, HBO’s Bored to Death, or his podcast Judge John Hodgman, you’ll love these books. And if you’ve never heard of any of that, or of John at all, then I highly recommend you check these out. I couldn’t put them down and I can’t wait to re-read them in a few years.

2. The last few Harry Potter books by J.K. Rowling

To be specific, I read the last three Harry Potter books early this year and it was an absolute marathon, especially the last 200 pages or so of Deathly Hollows. I was pacing my apartment on a Saturday in a fever, flipping pages, desperate and eager to finally get to the ending, and it didn’t let me down. I still know people who turn up their noses to these books because they’re “for kids,” and those people are fools. This is an excellent series with heart, impact, and intelligence, and Rowling creates a large cast of characters you care about in a world full of dire consequences. There’s a reason why this series because such a phenomenon over the course of the last 25 years – it’s fantastically conceived and written and maybe in 15 or 20 years I’ll crack them open on a quiet vacation or winter storm at home and begin the adventure all over again. I can’t wait. Special shoutout goes to Amelia Hershberger for inspiring me to finish so we could watch all the movies together! (Which was equally brilliant!)

1. Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain

I put off reading his books for far too long, and after reading this one, I have no idea why. The scathing insights, the brutal honesty, the food and the pain and the passion, it was all very addicting and only made me realize what a treasure we lost when he died. Thankfully he has others for me to dig into, but this breakthrough look at the world of cooking, of running restaurants (often into the ground), and of conniving ones way through an industry full of cutthroats, schemers, and crazy geniuses is absolutely worth your while. If you haven’t yet, add this to your 2020 reading list ASAP!