03 January 2007

2006: The Year in Reading, The Best

This is the full list. Unfortunately, I used to be much better at my superlatives. I'd like to elaborate on all of these, eventually, but if you need a quick hit leave a comment.

Semicolon has a huge round-up of best-of lists, which I am combing through greedily while hitting ADD TO WISH LIST on Amazon.

Tomorrow, an incomplete list of books I did not read in 2006, and what my bookstand looks like here in 2007.

Best Fiction I Read in 2006
Rona Jaffe, THE BEST OF EVERYTHING
Audrey Niffenegger, THE TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE
Daniel Handler, THE BASIC EIGHT **Note: Commenter Carl V. made me realize I should point out, this is the Lemony Snicket Daniel Handler, but this book is not for kids -- it's way too funny and dark.**
Vikram Seth, A SUITABLE BOY (it’s worth it)
Marisha Pessl, SPECIAL TOPICS IN CALAMITY PHYSICS
Ted Heller, SLAB RAT
Kirsten Lobe, PARIS HANGOVER

Critical choices: Harold Pinter, THE DWARFS; Margaret Atwood, THE PENELOPIAD

Best Nonfiction I Read in 2006
Blair Tindall, MOZART IN THE JUNGLE
Koren Zailckas, SMASHED: STORY OF A DRUNKEN GIRLHOOD
Sara Nelson, SO MANY BOOKS, SO LITTLE TIME
Jerry Oppenheimer, FRONT ROW ANNA WINTOUR: THE COOL LIFE AND HOT TIMES OF VOGUE'S EDITOR IN CHIEF
Michael Lewis, TRAIL FEVER
Critical choice: Dan Savage, THE COMMITMENT

Real page turners (or Books That Cost Me the Most Sleep in 2006)
Rachel Pine, THE TWINS OF TRIBECA
Jennifer Weiner, GOODNIGHT NOBODY
Colleen Curran, WHORES ON THE HILL
Kaavya Viswanathan, HOW OPAL MEHTA GOT KISSED, GOT WILD, AND GOT A LIFE
Megan McCafferty, CHARMED THIRDS
Tom Perrotta, LITTLE CHILDREN
Sarah Strohmeyer, THE SECRET LIVES OF FORTUNATE WIVES
Adam Langer, THE WASHINGTON STORY
Mary Gaitskill, VERONICA
David Mitchell, BLACK SWAN GREEN
Heidi Julavits, THE USES OF ENCHANTMENT
James Ellroy, THE BLACK DAHLIA
Critical choice: Matt Rauscher, THE UNBORN SPOUSE SITUATION

Best fiction in letter or diary format
Laurie Graham, GONE WITH THE WINDSORS
Steve Almond and Julianna Baggotte, WHICH BRINGS ME TO YOU

Amazing but depressing:
Frances Kuffel, PASSING FOR THIN
Adrian Nicole LeBlanc, RANDOM FAMILY

Just depressing:
Daniel Jones (ed.), MODERN LOVE: 50 TRUE AND EXTRAORDINARY TALES OF DESIRE, DECEIT, AND DEVOTION

Why did I finish this?
Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez, PLAYING WITH BOYS
Isabel Rose, THE J.A.P. CHRONICLES
Hilary De Vries, SO 5 MINUTES AGO
Kazuo Ishiguro, NEVER LET YOU GO
Mary Carlomagno, GIVE IT UP!

1 comment:

Carl V. Anderson said...

Loved Time Traveler's Wife, glad you enjoyed it too. I didn't realize Daniel Handler wrote a novel...other than those under his guise as Lemony Snickett. Assuming of course that this is the same Daniel Handler. I will have to look into that one.