JACK'S BEST READS OF 2008

From one book lover to another, here's my annual list of the best books I read this past year. It's not a typical "year-end" list in that it's personal and subjective, and these are not all books published in 2008 (six are new, four are from my library). I read a lot, all of it for pleasure, and these are the books that gave me the most reading pleasure (and may be worth trying out)

1.) "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini (2007)...by the author of "The Kite Runner", another, even better novel set in his native Afghanistan. An instant classic.

2.) "Killing Rommel" by Steven Pressfield (2008)...a master historical novelist uses North African desert maneuvres between Rommel and the Brits for a blend of fictional and real characters and events. You will like it and learn from it even if you aren't a WW2 buff.

3.) "Dark Horse" by Ralph Reed (2008)...Following the maxim of "write about what you know", Religious Right leader Reed weaves a tale of a near-future presidential election contested by a Democrat, a Republican, and a popular independent candidate undergoing a stunning personal and political transformation. Rarely is a book this inspirational AND suspenseful.

4.) "The Book of Lies" by Brad Meltzer (2008)...As with #2, a tale of empathetic fictional characters mixing it up with the mythology of one of America's best loved superheroes. If you or someone you know loves comic books, get this one.

5.) "China Mountain Zhang" by Maureen McHugh (1992)...I've had this book for sixteen years and never got around to reading it. To think I almost missed out on maybe the best sci-fi novel I've ever encountered. My gold standard for sci-fi: I think this stuff could really happen.

6.) "Willie Nelson: An Epic Life" by Joe Nick Patoski (2008)...I'm not really a fan of Willie's music, but he's had a fascinating, frustrating life and Patoski's the best in the business at covering the biography of popular music.

7.) "Sins of the Assassin" by Robert Ferrigno (2008)...Second installment of a hybrid political thriller/science fiction series imagining the US as fractured into a large Islamic republic, a Christian theocracy and large areas uninhabitable due to nuclear fallout. It's a marriage of what I loved about #3 and #5, although Ferrigno demands that you have a vivid imagination.

8.) "The Devil We Know" by Robert Baer (2008)...You don't have to agree with the conclusions drawn by the CIA's former top operative in the Middle East (I often don't) to appreciate the clarity of his analysis. He makes you think and you're better off for it. Hope this one is kicking around the White House.

9.) "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" by Jonathan Safran Foer (2005)...An unforgettable young boy deals with unspeakable loss in the 9/11 attacks by going on an epic adventure. Here comes the cliche: you will laugh, you will cry, you will beg your friends to read it too so you can have someone to talk it over with.

10.) "When Trumpets Call" by Patricia O'Toole (2004)...Ever notice how presidential biographies seem to end when the man exits the White House? In the case of Teddy Roosevelt, his amazing life story takes on even more poignancy and human interest its final, post-presidential decade. It's a great ride and the author is a terrific raconteur.

I hope you will share your questions, comments and reviews with me---and if any of these books hits the mark for you, feel free to recommend one right back!

jack

posted by Jack @ 6:49 PM