Why Evolution Is True

Jerry Coyner

I found the wonderfully accessible “Why Evolution Is True” by the evolutionary geneticist at the University of Chicago, Jerry Coyne, an informative and fascinating read. It’s also timely given the 150th anniversary of the publication of Charles Darwin’s “On the Origin of Species.

The Band’s Visit

Sasson Gabai, Ronit Elkabetz, Saleh Bakri, and Khalifa Natour

One of two foreign films on my list this year that definitely warrant a larger audience. “The Band’s Visit,” is about a police band from Egypt that takes the wrong bus and gets left off in a small backwater town in Israel. While I found both films on the list this year very funny, they are also moving and perceptive portrayals of our common humanity.

When You Are Engulfed in Flames

David Sedaris

While David Sedaris may not be for everyone, one of the funniest books I read this year is his “When You Are Engulfed in Flames.” The essays are even better when you listen to Sedaris narrate them.

12:08 East of Bucharest

Sasson Gabai, Ronit Elkabetz, Saleh Bakri, and Khalifa Natour

“12:08 East of Bucharest” is about how various hapless residents of a small town recall the Romanian Revolution and the overthrow of Nicolae Ceauþescu. While I found both films on the list this year very funny, they are also moving and perceptive portrayals of our common humanity.

What Is the What

Dave Eggers

A woman I met on a flight to Sacramento described “What Is the What” by Dave Eggers as one of the most moving books she ever read, and I have to agree. It’s a heartbreaking yet uplifting story of the civil war in Sudan as seen through the eyes of an American immigrant.

The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher: A Shocking Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective

Kate Summerscale

I particularly enjoy the way she explains how this incredible yet true crime mystery served as the inspiration for some of the great literary works by the likes of Wilke Collins and Charles Dickens.