Dave's Sweet Sixteen

Hey!  It's New Years again!  2012!  Mayan Apocalypse! British Olympics! Presidential Election! This year is going to suck!  So, let's look at the past year in books, a year that I read a personal best 77 books, and destroyed my fellow blogger's total here. (That's a warning, Alan.  Know what you're getting into.)  Every year, during the year, I think that the quality of books is not up to previous years, and then by December, I look at the best of list and think "best year ever!" And so, join me as we look at the top 16 off the best year of books I've ever had.  Why 16? Because it's my blog.

16. The Devil In the White City by Erik Larson
One of those "Non-Fiction which reads like Fiction" books, it's the story of the 1893 Chicago's World's Fair, the "White City" of the title, and H.H. Holmes, viewed by some as America's first Serial Killer, who operated just blocks from the Fair's entrance.  While Holmes story provides most of the thrills, I found myself more involved with the architects and their struggles. In fact , my favorite character was Fredrick Olmstead, the landscaping architect who hated flowerbeds, and had a breakdown seemingly every time he appeared.



15. The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
Great story, Great world building, Great thought provocations.  I really dug the idea of a world of humans who are all capable of being both sexes, depending on who they're "mating" with at the time.  And how that would look to a normal human, ambassador to a coalition of worlds wanting to establish relations. Definitely the strangest political thriller I've ever read, but worth it.

14. The Good Soldiers by David Finkel
Follows a battalion sent to Iraq as part of the "surge" in 2007.  This book captures all the feeling of being station in Iraq at that time, of not knowing which locals to trust, or feeling like every drive taken might be your last. This is a stark, unflinching look at a war that, no matter your political views (and the book is pretty non-political), was not fought on our terms or comfort zone.  It is not uplifting, but that does not take away from it's importance.

13. A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
And then there's this book, which defies you to take it seriously, forces you to laugh at the most inappropriate and offensive jokes, and will have you rooting for a reprehensible, slovenly anti-hero.  After reading this book, I found out that Will Ferrell wanted to make a film version, starring himself, and couldn't get any studios to put money up.  Which just proves that Hollywood hates things that are good.

Books that, for various reasons, I didn't enjoy.....

Metamorphosis and Other Stories by Frank Kafka- Germans are weird

Outlander by Diana Galbaldon- Already posted about this, but yeah, I'm definitely not the target audience...

The Black Hole War by Leonard Susskind- Basically one big F.U. to Stephen Hawking, by explaining Black Holes and Quantum Theory half as effectively.

Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen- I like circus freaks.  Next time, throw in some circus freaks.

Kit Carson: The Prince of The Gold Hunters by Charles Averil- There's a reason some books are free on the nook.

Less Than Zero by Brett Easton Ellis- Fuck you, Fuck you, Fuck you.  Worst book of the year.

Competing for the Future by Gary Hamel- Yeah, this is probably one of the best business books ever, and makes an appearence on James's top 20....but I can't stand reading business/managerial books.  It's not you, it's me.

12. Vicksburg 1863 by Winston Groom
The battle that made Grant and Sherman, and started the turning of the tide in the Civil War.  Vicksburg, MS took more than 6 months for the Union to take control of, but when they did, the supply line from western agriculture was cut, and the South was screwed, although it wasn't apparent for a couple of years.  Also, this (non-fiction) book is written by the same guy who wrote Forrest Gump!  I don't know why that fascinates me, but it does

11. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
Joe said a lot about this book, and I agree with a lot of what he said, and will argue against every point he made.  Which is what it's like to be wrapped up in "Immortal Life", you will make points that paint you in colors you never thought possible, and argue things that go against your personal beliefs.  There are no right answers, but lots of conversations to be had.

10. The Half-Made World by Felix Gilman
 Also posted about this book, but seeing this (and a couple other) books on the list reminds me how much I love science fiction books, and how I never feel like I read enough of them.

9. Warmth of Other Suns by Isabelle Wilkerson
I love how Wilkerson structures "Warmth", interspersing smaller stories of the "Great Migration" of Blacks, from South to North during the first half of the 20th century, with a hard look at the lives of 3 different people making the journey to 3 different parts of the country.  I also like the comparison of Northern-moving Blacks with European immigrants.

Books that just missed the cut..... 

Lullaby by Chuck Palahniuk- my love affair with Palahniuk continues

Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese- Very good, if a little dry

Tinkers by Paul Harding- one of a handful of Pulitzer winners I read this year.  I don't know what that signifies.

Song of Susannah (Dark Tower Series #6) by Stephen King- My favorite book series.  I plan on finishing it book #7 (the final book) this week.

Machine of Death by various authors- Anthology series, very well done, about a machine that tells you how you are going to die

Deepness in the Sky by Vernor Vinge- a prequel to Fire Upon the Deep, which was also excellent.  

Watership Down by Richard Adams- Who knew I would enjoy a book about british rabbits?  

This Side Of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald- on a mildly unrelated note, am I the only one pissed that Leo Decaprio is going to play Gatsby in the movie adaptation?

Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter by Tom Franklin- I mean, seriously, they couldn't have found somebody else?  I just don't see it.

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline- I don't hate DeCaprio as much as I used to (Scorsese has a lot to do with that), but I really don't want to see him in that movie.  Just a personal choice. What?  Oh yeah, these books were all good, etc, but seriously....

8. Blood and Thunder by Hampton Sides
Posted about "Blood" earlier this summer, but, much like sci-fi books, I'm aching to read more books on Western America.  The local bookstores around have a good selection of these books, and every time I go in to one of them I'm threatening to buy one or two.  I already have at least a half dozen books waiting on my shelf, including two different books on Custer's last stand. The lesson here, as always, is I buy way too many books.

7. Game of Thrones (A Song of Fire and Ice #1) by George R.R. Martin
The latest addition to the list.  I've wanted to start this series for a while, and James (who's a huge fan) has been hounding me to start it ever since I told him my intentions.  So I began reading it over the holidays, and Bam! got hooked instantly.  It also helped that when I got down to Florida for vacation, The TV show was on demand....Although I never watched any episodes that dealt with plot that I hadn't already read.  I have morals, dammit. Anyways, I think James and I are going to do a post on this, but I will say that I'm very much looking forward to book #2

6. The Virgin Suicides by Jeffery Eugenides
A terrific book about a group of teenage sisters who are suffocated by their parents, and the young males who watch them from afar.  I loved the dream-esque prose of the book, and the girls's deaths feels less like a horror story than a mythic tragedy, a tale whispered over and over by kids in hushed, barely contained tones. 
BTW, I read Eugenides latest book this December...meh.

5. It Never Rains in Tiger Stadium by John Ed Bradley
John Ed Bradley was an offensive lineman for LSU in the late 70's, and "Tiger Staduim" is a rumination on his playing days. Well, actually, it's more about his inability to get over his playing days, and his struggles to come to terms with football.  Definitely strange that one of the best sports books I've ever read has very little actual sports in it, but it will give you an idea how hard it is to give up on a sport after you spend a decade or more wrapped up in being a football player.

Sweet Sixteen by the numbers
Nookbooks- 10  Actual books- 6  (overall- Nookbooks-45 Actual books-32)

Fiction-8  Non-fiction-8 (overall- Fiction-49 Non-fiction-28)

My Choice- 7  Book Club-7  Other-2

9 books were written in the last 10 years.  The most represented year was 2010, with 5 books.

Every book was a new (to me) author.

4. How to Live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe by Charles Yu
I don't know if Yu just decided to name his protagonist after himself to be cheeky, or if this story about a son trying to find his missing father is largely auto-biographical, but it feels like the latter. Which, even if not true, says something about Yu's writing, which seems personal, and makes what could have been a flip, humorous meta-sci fi book feel a little bit heavier, and a little bit better.


3. Memoirs of World War II by Winston Churchill
If Winston Churchill wrote it, I will read it.  Anything.  If Winston Churchill wrote a history on the beginning of Golf, I would read that.  And I hate golf.  Golf is not a sport, it's an elaborate torture rich assholes put themselves through to try to remember what kind of pain real people feel.  That's how much I love Winston Churchill.

2. Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert Heinlein
Joe is going to make this book his first of 2012, and I'm curious what he, not being a sci-fi fan, thinks.  I loved this book, which touches on a lot of issues, but ultimately comes down to what it means to be human. I'm glad Joe is being forced by his wife choose to read it.

1. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
Wow. I've written more about this book than any other, and suffice to say this book is one of my all-time favorites. (Number 3 all time, for those following at home.) I don't know why Old Russian authors are better than others; maybe the horrible winters are conducive to nights spent thinking about the human condition.  Maybe it's the vodka.  (Vodka is amazing.) I've got to read some more this year, but Tolstoy has set the bar very, very high.