Stephen L. Carter is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist. He is a professor of law at Yale University and was a clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall. His novels include “The Emperor of Ocean Park,” and his latest nonfiction book is “Invisible: The Forgotten Story of the Black Woman Lawyer Who Took Down America's Most Powerful Mobster.” Read more opinion LISTEN TO ARTICLE 6:02 SHARE THIS ARTICLE Share Tweet Post Email

Photographer: Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images Photographer: Chris J Ratcliffe/Getty Images

One reason I love books is that there are some arguments and ideas that simply cannot be presented in a couple of thousand words, to say nothing of being squeezed into social media posts. The year 2019 was a particularly good one for books that made me think. No, I don’t read every book the industry has to offer, but I do peruse hundreds each year. Below are my 15 favorites from the twelve months just past, all of them serious efforts. I by no means agree with every point made by every author, but each work on this list fully engaged me, and, in some way, caused me to see the world a little differently.

To avoid the tyranny of the alphabet, the first 14 are listed in random order. At the end is my pick for best nonfiction book of the year.

Finally, my choice for best nonfiction of the year:

Jane Brox, “Silence: A Social History of One of the Least Understood Elements of Our Lives” – I have a confession to make. Until I picked up this volume, it had never occurred to me that silence had a history. But it does, both as concept and as practice. Brox makes use principally of two examples: the monastery and the penitentiary. We see how the rule of silence helped build the scholarly and reflective aspects of the monastic life but became a tool of oppression to the imprisoned. Also, a nice bit on how today’s constant sense of the passage of time is ruinous to the need for quiet.

That’s this year’s list. As always, happy reading.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.