My book count was down 40% in 2018.

Gad, that’s embarrassing.

For the first time in ages I read less than one hundred books last year—blame that on Netflix and podcasts, both of which have been stealing my time like a furtive thief.

Below, you’ll find my list of favorite reads, fiction and non-fiction.

How does it compare with your choices?

Fiction:

The World to Come (Stories) by Jim Shepard

Sweet Nothing (Stories) by Richard Lange

All For Nothing by Walter Kempowski (Translated by Anthea Bell)

Greeks Bearing Gifts by Philip Kerr

Vile Bodies by Evelyn Waugh

Nobody Move by Denis Johnson

Largesse of the Sea Maiden by Denis Johnson

The Implacable Hunter by Gerald Kersh

To Die in Spring by Ralf Rothmann (Translated by Shaun Whiteside)

Honorable Mentions:

The Feral Detective by Jonathan Lethem

Straight Cut by Madison Smartt Bell

American Rust by Philipp Meyer

Wait Until Spring, Bandini by John Fante

Neon Rain by James Lee Burke

Non-Fiction

Imaginary Cities by Darran Anderson

No Place to Hide by Glenn Greenwald

The Once and Future Liberal by Mark Lilla

Tunnel At the End of the Light (Essays) by Jim Shepard

Fighting Fascism by Clara Zetkin

Reporter, A Memoir by Seymour Hersh

Stanley: An Impossible Life by Tim Jeal

The Bending Cross (Life of Eugene Debs) by Ray Ginger

Blitzed: Drugs in Nazi Germany by Norman Ohler

Space Odyssey (Making of 2001) by Michael Benson

A Cook’s Tour by Anthony Bourdain

Honorable Mentions:

St. Paul, The Apostle We Love to Hate by Karen Armstrong

The Killing of Osama Bin Laden by Seymour Hersh

Remember, Remember (Essays) by Charles Beaumont

The Nasty Bits by Anthony Bourdain

Teaching a Stone to Talk by Annie Dillard

Note: You’ll find a list of my favorite films of 2018 over at Cinema Arete.