I’m keeping it simple this year. Especially on the music front. I kept delaying this post, because it would literally take me hours to craft a full list of all the music I loved. Instead I am going simple. Top threes (or fours in one case). Enjoy.

Novels:

Once Upon a River by Bonnie Jo Campbell

The Devil All the Time by Donald Ray Pollock

Curse the Names by Robert Arellano

You Can Make Him Like You by Ben Tanzer (yes, I published it, but still, it’s one of my favorite books of all time).

Story Collections:

Volt by Alan Heathcock

Normally Special by xTx

Ayiti by Roxane Gay (seriously, same deal as YCMHLY)

Poetry Collections:

The Book of Men by Dorianne Laux

Things I Say to Pirates on Nights When I Miss You by Keely Hyslop

Birding (chapbook) by Kat Dixon

Albums:

The Black Keys: El Camino

Wilco: The Whole Love

The Decemberists: The King Is Dead

Songs:

“I Might” by Wilco

“Lonely Boy” by The Black Keys

“Holding On To Black Metal” by My Morning Jacket

Ryan W. Bradley

Website

Ryan W. Bradley has pumped gas, changed oil, painted houses, swept the floor of a mechanic's shop, worked on a construction crew in the Arctic Circle, fronted a punk band, and managed an independent children's bookstore. He now works in marketing. His latest book is Nothing but the Dead and Dying, a collection of stories set in Alaska. He lives in southern Oregon with his wife and two sons.