...for me at least has been Gilead by Marilynne Robinson. Not new this year I know, but I discovered it this year, read it over the summer and am now reading it again. Not many novels make me want to do that, but this is beautifully written. The fact it's about a Pastor probably helps - it's in effect a series of letters/thoughts that an elderly Pastor in 1950s America leaves for his 7 year old son to read when he grows up. If that doesn't exactly sound gripping, you'd be surprised! It's positive, realistic, sad at times and makes you grateful to be alive. And is full of some great lines that are quotable out of context and still have an impact. Here are just two examples:
"People want to respect the pastor and I'm not going to interfere with that. But I've developed a great reputation for wisdom by ordering more books than I ever had time to read, and reading more books, by far, than I ever learned anything useful from, except, of course, that some very tedious gentlemen have written books. This is not a new insight, but the truth of it is something you have to experience to fully grasp."
"A good sermon is one side of a passionate conversation. It has to be heard in that way..."
I'm now looking forward to reading Home, the follow-up as such which did come out this year, I think.
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