Showing posts with label best books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label best books. Show all posts
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Best US Books of 2008
1. 'The Garden of Last Days' by Andre Dubus III
© W.W. Norton & Co.
The Garden of Last Days is instantly interesting and engaging, it grabs one's attention and holds it to the last page. It is compelling, thought-provoking reading that requires the reader to bring a "willing suspension of disbelief" for full appreciation. Strippers are human, too. Hijackers are human also. It is this last characterization that causes the most dis-ease as we read, but the effort is well worth the journey.
2. 'Hold Tight' by Harlan Coben
© Dutton
If there was ever a novel that called for a sociological flow chart,Hold Tight, a community murder mystery, is it. Harlan Coben has constructed a yarn with multiple points of view - a patchwork of tragically affected people connected to an incident of callousness and bad taste that festers into murder and suicide. And no one participant has any way of knowing how it all connects.
3. 'My Revolutions' by Hari Kunzru
© Dutton
My Revolutions is a thrilling novel in which idealism, anger, and social ambition fuel protagonist Michael Frame's involvement with a group of radical activists who protest the Vietnam War in 1960s London. The main character's turn to terrorism runs a recognizable course and offers striking insight into the modern tensions between individual and family, nation and state.
4. 'Outliers: The Story of Success' by Malcolm Gladwell
© Little, Brown & Co.
In The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell dissected the phenomena of social epidemics; and in Blink, he discussed the nature of split-second decision-making. In Outliers, Gladwell, the founding father of pop-sociology, examines high-achieving individuals and questions what makes them different from everyone else.
5. 'Serena' by Ron Rash
© HarperCollins
Set in Waynesville, North Carolina during the depression, Ron Rash's novel Serena traces the story of a wealthy lumber baron and his ruthlessly ambitious wife. Think Lady Macbeth in Appalachia.
6. 'Sharp Teeth' by Toby Barlow
© HarperCollins
Sharp Teeth takes the werewolf myth to new heights. It poses the question, "if there were werewolves - not just a single werewolf or even sporadic instances of lycanthropy, but lots and lots of werewolves - what would they do?" According to Toby Barlow, they would form packs like wild dogs, except they wouldn't be dogs - they'd be men.
7. 'State by State: A Panoramic Portrait of America'
© Ecco Press
State by State is beautifully bound as something approximating a 1950's textbook and contains essays on 50 states by 50 writers. Each contribution adds something unique to this collection of geographic essays with styles that range from Anthony Doerr's lyrical meditation on the Tukudeka Indians of Idaho to Jonathan Franzen's imagined conversation with New York State's publicist. The individual pieces, often eccentric and personal, are best taken one a day with adequate rumination before attempting to digest another.
8. 'Unaccustomed Earth' by Jhumpa Lahiri
© Knopf
Unaccustomed Earth finds Jhumpa Lahiri at the rising peak of her literary powers. These stories are longer (nearly novella length in some cases) than those in Interpreter of Maladies, her Pulitzer Prize collection of short stories. These new stories reveal a clear progression of her literary power from that first collection to her first novel, The Namesake, to now.
9. 'The Story of Edgar Sawtelle' by David Wroblewski
© HarperCollins
In The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, far and away the best debut novel of the year, David Wroblewski creates a beautifully imagined world filled with people who grapple with real issues. There is even a dog, Almondine, who shares her thoughts with us. This may be fiction, but it has the feel and punch of Life.
10. 'When Will There Be Good News' by Kate Atkinson
© Little, Brown & Co.
Kate Atkinson has intertwined what first seem to be many separate stories, giving an added sense of mystery: you know all the characters will connect, but the how and why aren’t always obvious; and the twists to get them there can make your head spin.
Must Reads in Literature
1. Mark Twain: Mississippi Writings
While you'll find more than one book in this Library of America collection, this volume is well worth it. You'll get a sense of why Mark Twain is such a well-known, and beloved, American writer. This volume presents some of Twain's most famous works: Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Life on the Mississippi, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and Pudd'nhead Wilson. These are works that are essential reading for young and old alike. You'll find adventure, and the stuff that great classics are made of.2. The Lord of the Rings
J.R.R. Tolkien spun his tales of fantasy and imagination with his legends of Middle-Earth--brought to life in his famous Lord of the Rings trilogy. Threaded through these pages is epic adventure, romance, heroism, the fight against evil, and the simple struggle of the smallest individual against the greatest odds. How could these few hope to overcome the overwhelming obstacles? How many horrific monsters could stand in the way?3. Dubliners
While not as famous as Ulysses, James Joyce's Dubliners is an introduction to this Irish writer's work, and these stories may leave you wanting to read more. This edition, from Oxford University Press, also includes eight specially commissioned maps of Dublin and an introduction by Don Gifford. Follow in the footsteps of some of Joyce's most famous characters!4. Middlemarch
Middlemarch, by George Eliot (Mary Anne Evans), is one of the great classics from the Victorian period. The complexities in this novel are amazing, as she creates her great web of society. Virginia Woolf once wrote that this work is "one of the few English novels written for grown-up people." Epic in scope (but about ordinary people), this novel is a must-read for every reader and writer. In this Norton edition, you'll find the authoritative text from the 1874 edition (the version last corrected by the author). This book also features the larger typeface for easier reading.5. The Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby is usually the novel for which F. Scott Fitzgerald is best remembered. With this and other works, Fitzgerald forged his place in American literature as the chronicler of the Jazz Age of the 1920's. Written in 1925, the novel is a snapshot of the time period. We experience the glittery-splendiferous world of the wealthy--with the accompanying emptiness of morally decayed hypocrisy. Gatsby represents so much that is seductive, but his pursuit of passion--at the expense of all else--leads him to his own ultimate destruction.6. Le Morte D'Arthur
Le Morte D'Arthur (the death of Arthur) is one of the first books about King Arthur and his knights (and it's still one of the best-known examples of Arthurian literature); the work is a retelling of older legends and stories. Sir Thomas Malory likely started this work while he was still in prison. The first printing of Le Morte D'Arthur appeared in 1485, from Caxton. This Norton edition of Le Morte D'Arthur features the unabridged version, with the original spelling.7. Gulliver's Travels
Gulliver's Travels is an entertaining, madcap romp through fantasy. But, beyond the surface misadventures of Gulliver's travels, we find a core that is ripe with political satire. Jonathan Swift managed to make digs at the ruling class, intellectuals, and to offer very profound statements about humanity--with its pettiness, greed, and violence. This Norton edition of Jonathan Swift's satirical classic is based on the 1726 text, which is usually considered the most authoritative. The text of Gulliver's Travels is accompanied by annotations, which will help you understand Swift's references in a historical context.8. The Voyage Out
Virginia Woolf's The Voyage Out is a journey of self-discovery for Rachel Vinrace, who sets sail for South America. The book was Woolf's first novel, first published in 1915. Clarissa Dalloway first appears in this novel. Woolf went on to write Mrs. Dalloway, To the Lighthouse, The Waves, and many other works. This edition is from Oxford University Press. The wit of Virginia Woolf shines through in this novel. E.M. Forster once said this novel was "an americanca whose spiritual boundaries touch Xanadu and Atlantis."9. Great Expectations
Great Expectations is a novel by Charles Dickens, and it's often considered one of the greatest works of the 19th century. The book is a Bildungsroman--written between 1860-1861. In this novel, you'll discover the story of Pip, an orphan who represents some autobiographical elements in the life of Charles Dickens.10. Don Quixote
What can anyone say about Don Quixote that hasn't been said? The book's been around for four hundred years, has inspired virtually every literary movement from the eighteenth-century picaresque to the most obscure works of twenty-first century postmodernism, and has provided the impetus for critical works by everyone from Thackeray to Ortega y Gasset. courtesy
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