The Passion of Christopher Pierznik

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I’ve always been an avid reader and, despite checking many books out of the library in my early 20’s and then selling many of my books to help finance the purchase of my first house in my mid-20’s, I’ve always been a book hoarder too.

Finally, after subscribing to Ryan Holiday’s hugely popular monthly reading recommendation email, I chose to rip him off (Sorry, Ryan) and do my own version. Here we are at the end of the year. Below are the best of the best - my favorite books and article of the year. Remember that these are all books I read (or listened to) this year and were included in one of the Pierznik Monthly editions this year. Also, a few numbers. Including December, in the ten months since this list began, there have been 27 works of fiction and 26 works of non-fiction (as well as ten articles and ten throwback choices each). For a refresher or the full experience, click here for the complete 2014 Pierznik Monthly archive

I’m hoping to eclipse those numbers in 2015.

On to the Best of 2014!

• Fiction

3. Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn (2012)

2. The Martian by Andy Weir (2014)

1. The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt (2013)

My top three for fiction this year were clear-cut. All three were books that stuck with me for days and weeks after I finished them, giving me a greater appreciation for both the story and the writing long after it was over. 

Gone Girl is a brilliant work of mystery. Gillian Flynn isn’t one step ahead of the reader, she’s ten steps ahead, and every once in a while she doubles back to make you think you’re catching up before taking off again. Every single idea or notion that I had of where the book was going weren’t just wrong, they were insanely wrong. 

There is a part of me that wants to put The Martian at number one. A wonderful mix of geeky and dramatic, it really is like Apollo 13 meets Cast Away, but even smarter. It’s incredible that this was originally self-published. There is a lot of technical jargon, but Andy Weir explains it all clearly and succinctly and, most importantly, he resists the urge to drag out the ending, something a lot of writers would be eager to do. A film adaptation directed by Ridley Scott and starring Matt Damon is set to be released at Thanksgiving, so hopefully Weir’s excellent book will get even more attention.

Generally, book critics and I do not have the same views, so when I try to read something that is proclaimed as a great piece of literature, I’m usually unmoved to the point of boredom. Plus, it’s a point of pride to proclaim something offbeat like The Martian as the best book I read all year. But I can’t. The Goldfinch won the Pulitzer Prize for a reason. A multitude of reasons, actually. A slow-building, unraveling novel that somehow gained both momentum and clarity as it went on, my mind kept returning to it for months afterward. Just as I was amazed by Gone Girl’s plotting and The Martian’s intelligence, I was completely taken by all of The Goldfinch. Even the parts that felt slow or plodding in the story were later revealed to be important to the overall arc of the story. It’s not the easiest novel to read, but that’s the point. Challenge yourself. Donna Tartt will make it worth your while.

Honorable Mention:

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green (2012)

The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith (2013)

Room by Emma Donoghue (2010)

City of Thieves by David Benioff (2008)

Killing Floor by Lee Child (1997)

• Non-Fiction

3. The Big Payback by Dan Charnas (2010)

2. Open by Andre Agassi (2009)

1. Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand (2010)

Choosing a top three for non-fiction was much more difficult than for fiction. I was able to get through some great works this year, even more than are included in the Honorable Mention section.

As someone that has written two books on hip-hop (and researched hundreds), it’s rare for anything written about rap to impress or surprise me, but The Big Payback did both. Telling the chronological history of hip-hop through the lens of its business dealings, it really brings into focus how the music grew from nothing into one of the biggest genres in the world and how the money influenced the music. 

When Andre Agassi’s autobiography was released, I remember the news stories that cherrypicked from the book (He smoked crystal meth! He never really loved Brooke Shields!) and wasn’t really interested. Man, was I wrong. The problem most autobiographies have is that they focus on the triumphs but the struggle is far more interesting - and insightful. Open does not fall into this trap, showing Agassi honestly, flaws and all, in beautiful prose and imagery. When I read that it was (ghost) co-authored by J.R. Moehringer, I understood why it was so good. (Note: I’m in the middle of reading Moehringer's The Tender Bar and I can say that if I had finished it sooner it would have been on this list.) 

If you’ve watched any amount of TV over the past month, you’ll no doubt have seen previews for the Angelina Jolie-directed film, Unbroken. I can assure you that no matter how great the film is, it will never match Laura Hillenbrand’s book. The story of a young Olympian who is shot down over the Pacific in World War II, spends an ungodly amount of time floating in a raft, and is eventually found and placed in a POW camp, Unbroken is everything: engrossing, heartwarming, heart-wrenching, deflating, inspiring, and everything in between. Most of all, though, it’s perfectly told, at a pace that moves along steadily without glossing over anything, and even though you know how it will end, it keeps the reader turning pages until the end.

Honorable Mention:

A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn (2009 update)

Trust Me, I’m Lying by Ryan Holiday (2012)

Think Like a Freak by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner (2014)

God is Not Great – Christopher Hitchens (2007)

Esquire: The Meaning of Life edited by Ryan D’Agostino (2009)

• Article

“How YouTube and Internet Journalism Destroyed Tom Cruise, Our Last Real Movie Star ” by Amy Nicholson (2014, LA Weekly)

My choice to only include one article per month proved difficult a few times as I found more than one I wanted to share (though I usually got over this by just tweeting it out). However, I knew that nothing was going to be as fascinating or disheartening or enlightening as Amy Nicholson’s examination of how our current media’s constitution changed the way we view Tom Cruise (because it changed the way we view everything). It is a devastating read and with every word, you sympathize Cruise, a guy that was and is the perfect movie star for a bygone era.

Honorable Mention:

“Lance in Purgatory: The After-Life” by John H. Richardson (2014, Esquire)

“The Pow! Bang! Bam! Plan to Save Marvel, Starring B-List Heroes” by Devin Leonard (2014, BusinessWeek)

Thank you, all, for reading and supporting. Our world is constantly speeding up, often at the expense of thought or insight, so books are more important than ever.

Happy New Year!

- CP

If you have a book recommendation for me or want more info on something I’ve read, please contact me on Facebook or Twitter or check out my Goodreads page here.

Christopher Pierznik is the author of six books that can be purchased in Paperback, Kindle, and Nook and has written for a variety of websites. He works in finance and spends his evenings changing diapers and drinking craft beer. He once applied to be a cast member on The Real World, but was rejected. You can read more of his stuff on Medium here, like his Facebook page here and follow him on Twitter here.