BitterSweetLife

We’ve all seen those “Book of the Year” lists, or at the very least the NY Time’s Top Ten. At first glance, the idea of compiling lists of books, pitting them against each other, and designating some as “best” seems to be a winner. And for the most part, it is. Even if the “top ten” were, by some freak accident, composed of pulp fiction, vitriolic ravings, and sentimental nonsense, there would arguably still be some value in the discussion such a list would provoke.

However, there are problems with standard “Book of the Year” lists, the most obvious being their chronological bias. I mean, c’mon! You’re telling me that every year, the “best book” just happens to be one that was published that year. Talk about a rush to judgment. Talk about societal self-importance.

We ought to have a level playing field, the only requirement for contestants being that they have been read within the given year. My winner will not be artificially bound by publication date. No chronological snobbery here. Simply the best book. Period.

Some of you may think it’s a little late to be choosing the “best of” from 2004. However, considering that the finest effects of good literature often appear long after consumption, a February ’05 release date makes perfect sense.*

So then. The initial field of contenders was about 40 deep. (For convenience’s sake, textbooks were not included in the initial reckoning.) Some quick weeding reduced the competition to an elite group of ten, listed alphabetically, not by probable level of greatness. (Note that—defiantly—not one of my finalists was actually published in 2004.)


Something Wicked This Way Comes – Ray Bradbury, © 1962

Brendan – Frederick Buechner, © 1987

The Great Divorce – C.S. Lewis, © 1946

Leap Over a Wall – Eugene Peterson, © 1997

Don’t Waste Your Life – John Piper, © 2003

Atlas Shrugged – Ayn Rand, © 1957

Whole Prayer – Walter Wangerin, © 1998

The Picture of Dorian Grey – Oscar Wilde, © 1854

The Jesus I Never Knew – Philip Yancey, © 1995

Recapture the Wonder – Ravi Zacharias, © 2003


As I surveyed my Top Ten, I realized the trap I was setting for myself. If I attempted to narrow the list down, degree by degree, book vs. book, until I had selected the “best” volume, I’d have to somehow outline my criteria, justify the elimination of the other nine, and write a very convincing explanation of why The Book was astonishing and life-changing.

I don’t have that kind of time.

Therefore, here is your winner. In five different categories.

Best Theology/Philosophy-Conveying Story
The Great Divorce – C.S. Lewis

Best “Classic” Bittersweet Novel
The Picture of Dorian Grey – Oscar Wilde

Best “Modern” Bittersweet Novel
Something Wicked This Way Comes – Ray Bradbury

Best Life-Formation
Recapture the Wonder – Ravi Zacharias

Best Applied Theology
The Jesus I Never Knew – Philip Yancey


Of course, you should just read them all. It goes without saying that each of the “top ten” have bittersweet, truth-inducing undertones to them, when read in the right light. The right light, of course, being Christ. Beyond that, you’ll have to take my word on their bestness, without further enumeration...at least for now.

So get reading.


* Although even this is somewhat rushed. Ideally, choosing 2004’s best book would be an ongoing process. It’s totally feasible that in ’06 I might realize that what I had thought was ‘04’s masterpiece was just a passing fancy…and a previous darkhorse had turned out to have real staying power. And then, Surprise! in 2008 I would examine 2004’s revised winner, and realize… You get the point.