Best Reads 2008
So what are the best books that you've read this past year?
My top fiction pick is The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson. This book was so different and it really amazed me the same way Life of Pi and Atonement did a few years ago. You know when you start reading a book and you have to keep putting it down to marvel how good it is? This was that book for me.
I discovered A.M. Homes this year and read everything she's ever written up to buying an ARC of her latest, The Mistress's Daughter: A Memoir before it was released. My very favorite is This Book Will Save Your Life.
Food and Politics by Marion Nestle. It really educated me about the way agribusiness and government do not have our nutrition or health in mind. That may be a no brainer to most, but this book has all the facts and more.
In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan This is a book I just think everyone should read. It's impossible not to be changed and really think about how we treat our bodies and the earth. If you liked Fast Food Nation, you will love this one.
The Ethics of What We Eat: Why Our Food Choices Matter by Peter Singer and Jim Mason. Very informative and non judgmental book about how food is produced and how to make ethical choices in one's diet. The format is interesting, too. It follows three families and their diets and then dissects their choices. The first family eats a conventional diet, shops at Wallmart for convenience, eats a lot of processed food. The second family are conscientious omnivores, trying to eat ethically and sustainably. The third family are complete vegans. It's really good and balanced writing. There's lot's of information and it's presented in a way that does not overburden the reader, but inspires instead. It inspired me to make certain changes in my life.
Cooking by Hand by Paul Bertolli More meditations on ingrediants rather than a cookbook. I just loved this so much. This is a man that makes his own salami and starts a keg of balsamic vinegar for his son when he's born!
Yeah, lots of books about food, food, food. But for me food is also politics and respect for other people and the earth. So leave me alone!
Shortly after pullin up a chair at the Cult bar I heard all this talk of some guy called Clevenger and a brilliant debut novel. So its the Contortionist Hand Book for my numero uno read for 2008.
I had to go away and remind myself of this guys name but the names of his books are imprinted on my memory. The author is Stephen Elliot and I would recomend Happy Baby and a book of shorts called My Girlfriend Comes To The City And Beats Me Up, the guy has a style of writing that left me with the taste of a leather gag in my mouth and the sting of a riding crop across my ass.
There are no pacts between lions and men.
My two favorite books of the year I haven't even finished, cuz lately I'm so distracted. But they are
Magic for Beginners by Kelly Link
The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter
Both these books are amazing. Kelly Link is mindblowingly inventive. Sometimes what she does with a page seems more inventive that what I've done with a lifetime of my writing.
Angela Carter's control of language, and the way she writes about dark and disturbing this facinatings and titilates me. This book is revisions of popular fairy tales. My favorite so far is The Company of Wolves, which is a revision of Little Red Riding Hood. It should be the offical version. It's like how I feel about Nolan's Batman, that should be the official version.
You can get a free download of Magic for Beginners here,
http://lcrw.net/kellylink/mfb/Kelly_Link_Magic_for.pdf
I kind of forgot what I read this year. American Psycho, Crash, and God is Dead I remember but draw a blank when trying to recall what I read at the start of the year.
Sooo glad I'm now keeping track of my reads. Facebook's visual bookshelf is a useful tool just to keep track for yourself.
"They sold you hippies grunge, hip hop, now liberty activism."
Is this supposed to be the best books i read this year or the best that came out this year?
Well, i'll just say what i read this year.
LEDFEATHER by Stephen Graham Jones, beautiful and haunting. My favorite book that came out in 2008.
THE LONG TRIAL OF NOLAN DUGATTI by Stephen Graham Jones, funny and quick, but packs a punch. Seems straight forward til about two thirds through, when the walls start slipping around you.
THE BIRD IS GONE:A MANIFESTO by Stephen Graham Jones, third read and it just made it better than the previous two reads. Such a close to perfect book.
THE BOOK OF LAZARUS by Richard Grossman, this book belongs in my top two favorite books of all time. I've said a lot about it somewhere, so i don't much feel like giving a run through. Just trust me that it's fantastic. Beyond great.
THE MAGUS by John Fowles, another book i've been talking about a lot over the year. Just so fantastic in every way. This book should be mandatory for anyone serious about reading. In my top five.
ULYSSES by James Joyce, so much, almost too much. Some of these pages, though, they glisten and shine. You've all heard about it, and what you heard is probably true.
MOBY DICK by Hermann Meliville, so fucking great. I've talked this up a shit ton elsewhere, too.
THE WAVES by Virginia Woolf, just fucking brilliant. Top five, easy.
THE GRAVEYARD BOOK by Neil Gaiman, just such a great and wonderful book. Couldn't put it down.
EUGENE ONEGIN by Pushkin, loved this little book. Got a lot a bit of everything, humor, love, tragedy, and wonderful poetry.
LANARK by Alasdair Gray, man, some beautifully twisted story that burns right onto your retinas. Structurally, so perfect, and the prose is just wondrous.
ALICE AND WONDERLAND and THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS by Lewis Carroll, so absurd and so funny. Love this.
RUBICON BEACH by Steve Erickson, man, could talk for pages about this book. Just incredible. Some of these sentences, pages even, just rip right through you. Prose so strong and beautiful. Haunting and shattering.
There are probably some more that are worth mentioning, but i can't recall. But, yeah, those were the best books i read this year.
Stephen King: 10 Best Books of 2008
Dearest ejrathke, I am adding some italics to the first post of this thread just for YOU. Heck, I even added some bold!
I finally got to House of Leaves by Danielewski sometime in 2008. It's definitely somewhere around the top of my list.
Also:
Zen in the Art of Writing - Bradbury
Deliverance - Dickey
Geek Love - Katherin Dunn
Knockemstiff - Pollock
All Saints - Brenda Marie Osbey (book of poetry)
Raw Shark Texts - Steven Hall
Like a hooker, my taste consists mainly of stuff that's already been around the cult a few times.
Geek Love kicked my ass when I read it! I think I was hooting at parts. I could not believe what I was reading. Loved that book!
Dearest ejrathke, I am adding some italics to the first post of this thread just for YOU. Heck, I even added some bold!
Bah, sorry, i'm dumb.
I followed the rules anyway, though.
Dearest ejrathke, I am adding some italics to the first post of this thread just for YOU. Heck, I even added some bold!
Bah, sorry, i'm dumb.
I followed the rules anyway, though.
ah, I was just teasing you. 
Impressive list!
This is easy this year. Hands down, the best book I read this year was The Book Thief . It was a gift from Derek, as many of my favorite books are. If any of you haven't read it, you need to. It has been passed around to every member of my family and it has kept us all glued to the pages and torn at all of our hearts.
"I'm glad I live in the GPS era. In a different century, I would've set off to visit the other side of the village and wandered off into the mountains and been eaten by a carnivorous plant. Or discovered the Americas."
-LaJessica
I never knew this existed. Thank you!
http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20244426,00.html
Ahh! I hate it when you have to click lists item by item, like they're forcing us to read the reviews rather than just see the list. Normally, I'd be delighted to read The King's reviews, but today my computer isn't up to the task.
"They sold you hippies grunge, hip hop, now liberty activism."
Twilight, William Gay
Serpent Box, Vincent Louis Carrella (released this year)
Wonder Boys, Michael Chabon
Watchmen, Alan Moore
Ledfeather, Stephen Graham Jones (released this year)
Lamb, Christopher Moore
http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20244426,00.html
Ahh! I hate it when you have to click lists item by item, like they're forcing us to read the reviews rather than just see the list. Normally, I'd be delighted to read The King's reviews, but today my computer isn't up to the task.
I copied the list, just for you.
10. The Good Guy, Dean Koontz
9. Old Flames, Jack Ketchum
8. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Stieg Larsson
7. Hollywood Crows, Joseph Wambaugh
6. Heartsick/Sweetheart, Chelsea Cain
5. Nixonland, Rick Perlstein
4. The Tenderness of Wolves, Stef Penney
3. When Will There Be Good News?, Kate Atkinson
2. The Garden of Last Days, Andre Dubus III
1. The novels of Robert Goddard
Derek sent this to me as well! I'm sorry I haven't read it yet. I will!
Thanks, Bug.
"They sold you hippies grunge, hip hop, now liberty activism."
The Book Thief would probably be the best book I read this year.
This was my first year that I've actually been the most involved in reading, to the point where it has come somewhat of an obsession. I only really had to buy two text books so I got a good 500 dollars out of my tuition to spend in our campus book store.
Classics
Some of my favorites were:
Cats Cradle and Breakfast of Champions by Vonnegut. They are both classics and I'm sure many of you have read them, or at least some Vonnegut, if not you should probably get on it. I read these two novels this year and they easily became two of my favorites by Vonnegut. Cats Cradle eloquently combines both narrative and satire. His books flow like no other, and they read so easily and quickly. The same can be said of Breakfast of Champions, it basically has this giant sarcastic attitude towards life in general, as well as a great plot line. All of Vonneguts work were great, but I think I'm now mature enough to really appreciate his work like I never have before.
Nine Stories by JD Salinger
Smooth, easy and fun.
Plus, Banana Fish!
The Dubliners- James Joyce
Fun collection, especially "The Dead".
Philosophy
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance This was required reading for a philosophy course I took. It's like Kerouac meets *Insert existentialistic philosopher* meets.. I don't know. But I enjoyed it.
Beyond Good and Evil by Nietzsche, as well as various other pocketbook philosophy guides.
The Pig That Wants To Be Eaten Fun little book. It's basically a book full of thought experiments and philosophical concepts, just put in modern terms, then followed by a paragraph written by the author discussing his take on the problem, and what field of philosophy and what philosopher the problem deals with.
Zen and The beginners mind. This helped me to further understand Zen Buddhism.
Modern-ish
Sex, drugs and Coco Puffs by Chuck Klosterman was a great little look satirical book on ..basically society in general. Very funny, classic Klosterman.
Jesus' Son It was fun because they were all short stories, but also the imagery was haunting.
Less Than Zero and American Psycho
Bret Easton Ellis is just amazing, in my opinion. Less than Zero was great because it opened my eyes to Ellis, you could kind of tell it was written when he was younger, when comparing it to his other work, but all together it was a great start especially when following it up with American Psycho.
I read all of Palahniuks books this year, starting with Choke, I read Fight Club a few years back. Choke kinda gave me the bug, I joined after reading it. So, you can add Choke and Invisible Monsters to the list.
I'm reading The Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall at the moment and I am enjoying it so far.
And as much as I didn't love House of Leaves like I thought I would, I am glad I read it, it was very innovative.
Ah, I know there are more, I read a shit ton this semester, but these are the ones that really really stood out to me, so I guess you can say that these are the best I've read in 2008.
Derek sent this to me as well! I'm sorry I haven't read it yet. I will!
move it to the top of your pile, you won't regret it.
"I'm glad I live in the GPS era. In a different century, I would've set off to visit the other side of the village and wandered off into the mountains and been eaten by a carnivorous plant. Or discovered the Americas."
-LaJessica
Libra by Don DeLillo
Fools Die by Mario Puzo
The Contortionist Handbook
Survivor
The Black Dahlia by James Ellroy
The Brothers Bulger by Howie Carr
I love Howie Carr, and even got a personalized copy while he was in Concord, but I only made it halfway through The Brothers Bulger. Interesting stuff, but each chapter did not build to the next at all. I paused and never picked it back up.
"They sold you hippies grunge, hip hop, now liberty activism."
Nice list, Fox! Thanks for posting. I was hoping you would, you excellent reader, you.
Bananafish!
I have moved The Book Thief up a couple.
Furlyguy: I read Lamb a couple of years ago and loved it. But I can't get into anything else by Moore. His books are a bit too..I don't know.. like Tom Robbins who just bugs me now though I used to love him. Have a recommendation? Or do I just not really care for Moore.
peoples, I just want recommendations, please post a book or two that you really loved this past year.
Pale Fire by Nabokov
Pastoralia by George Saunders
Mumbo Jumbo by Ishmael Reed
None of these are from 2008 but they were the best ones I read this year.
Oh, that's great, thank you. I'll check out A Dirty Job for sure. And that first chapter as well. Thanks again.
Pastoralia by George Saunders
Mumbo Jumbo by Ishmael Reed
None of these are from 2008 but they were the best ones I read this year.
Oh, yeah that's exactly what the thread is about. It doesn't matter when it was published, just if you read it this past year.
I've heard of Pastoralia but haven't read it. What did you love about it?
I think the only book I read that came out this year was Snuff.
Oh yeah, and The Ron Paul's The Revolution.
There's so much old stuff that everyone needs to read that books need not come out so fast.
"They sold you hippies grunge, hip hop, now liberty activism."
Just finished up The Raw Shark Texts.
Loved it.
No One Belongs Here More Than You
She's funny and quirky and occasionally profound and she writes flawed, furiously fucked up characters who do flawed, furiously fucked up things without making the reader feel like a voyeur on something dirty or inhumane or pointless. Just like Chuck's work, for all its black humor, has a rugged human-heartedness that resists easy sentimentalizing, yet still rescues the work from feeling merely perverse. Her work has that quality about it, but she gets there in her own unique and often startling ways.
Also, I love both the short story and the very short story as forms. These are the two genres that she writes in. Which means you'll probably spot Amazon reviewers nonplussed that she didn't take any one of these great stories and expand it into a novel. But if you love the Zen quality of the very short story, if you love the poetic compression and emotional distillation of say, Amy Hempel stories, then you should find these stories rewarding.
July is a filmmaker and performance artist as well as an author.
Here's a little free sample of the kind of thing she does in film.
Also, when you order this book from Amazon, make sure to get her feature-length film:
Me and You and Everyone We Know
You can even buy it as a download and be watching it within minutes.
I ain't messing around. Even if you aren't blown away by the short film I linked to above, get the book and get the feature film. Yes, both. The short is interesting in its own strange little way, but it's no real measure of the other works. The book and the feature film are both much better than the short and are the best recommendations I have for the entire year. Both have an internal compass for mixing strange humor with provocative themes amidst the banalities of everyday life and exposing characters who seem like real people instead of idealizations. It's all carried out in a way that is unique to the author and gently takes the top of your head off when you're least expecting it and then peppers your brain with sweetness and longing. Buy these stories and read them as slowly as you can.
VP - Workshop Dog
Heres a few of mine
The Book Thief by Mark Zuxak
The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson
Cold Snap by Thom Jones
Drown by Junot iaz
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
I just ordered a copy of Cold Snap for Nightrious. I thought I had a lot of copies laying around, but it looks like I gave them all away except my UK copy. The UK copy I bought on ebay just because it was inexpensive. I buy Cold Snap all the time to give it away. The wonderful and amazing thing about my UK version is that it's signed! And came with a handwritten note in it from Thom Jones to a friend saying there;s a typo in the book and he hopes the person will like it.
The title story, Cold Snap, is my single most favorite story ever. It knocked out Good Country People by Flannery O'Connor which was my favorite story for about 10 years. But the story I really, really want Nightrious to read is Tarantula. Do you agree that he's going to like that story, Derek?
I read Drown a few years ago and loved it.
I cant remember too much about each individual story but I loved the whole book. I dont think it was until I read Cold Snap and Drown this year that I appreciated how good a short story can be.
Speaking of short stories the one that really strikes a chord with me is Song of th Silent Snow by Hubert Selby Jr.
I'll have to look for that one, thanks!
The title story, Cold Snap, is my single most favorite story ever. It knocked out Good Country People by Flannery O'Connor which was my favorite story for about 10 years. But the story I really, really want Nightrious to read is Tarantula. Do you agree that he's going to like that story, Derek?
I read Drown a few years ago and loved it.
I need to get hold of Cold Snap. I've never read that collection, but I did read Sonny Liston Was a Friend of Mine & thoroughly enjoyed the stories in that one (Kid Dynamite *sigh*).
The title story, Cold Snap, is my single most favorite story ever. It knocked out Good Country People by Flannery O'Connor which was my favorite story for about 10 years. But the story I really, really want Nightrious to read is Tarantula. Do you agree that he's going to like that story, Derek?
I read Drown a few years ago and loved it.
I need to get hold of Cold Snap. I've never read that collection, but I did read Sonny Liston Was a Friend of Mine & thoroughly enjoyed the stories in that one (Kid Dynamite *sigh*).
Kid Dynamite is a great character. I heartily recommend his other two collections, Cold Snap and The Pugilist at Rest. I don't know anyone else that writes like him. Sonny Liston is his most subdued collection. Cold Snap is all over the place (in a good way) and probably has a story in it for everyone.
He gave Chuck a blurb for Fight Club!
If I find a copy before you I will send it to you.
If I find a copy before you I will send it to you.
Thank you! It's still in print I believe so I should be able to find a copy.
Alecia!!!! You have a subscription to the New Yorker, yes?? Cold Snap is in their online archive here!: http://www.newyorker.com/archive/1993/06/21/1993_06_21_083_TNY_CARDS_000...
OMG! Yes, I do!!! Thanks, Mirka, what a find!
Enjoy!
I've heard of Pastoralia but haven't read it. What did you love about it?
have you read any Saunders before? He's really great and this is the best of his stuff that I've read(although all the other books are good too). He does a lot of satire on the professional world with all the double speak and propaganda that comes along with it. Most of his stories are laugh out loud funny but they also hit at some deep problems. I dunno, Im bad at explaining why I like books, i just give em the thumbs up or the thumbs down. But you should definitely check Saunders out if you havent already.
I've heard of Pastoralia but haven't read it. What did you love about it?
have you read any Saunders before? He's really great and this is the best of his stuff that I've read(although all the other books are good too). He does a lot of satire on the professional world with all the double speak and propaganda that comes along with it. Most of his stories are laugh out loud funny but they also hit at some deep problems. I dunno, Im bad at explaining why I like books, i just give em the thumbs up or the thumbs down. But you should definitely check Saunders out if you havent already.
I haven't read anything by Saunders. I'll add him to my list. 2009 is shaping up to be a good reading year!
I've heard of Pastoralia but haven't read it. What did you love about it?
have you read any Saunders before? He's really great and this is the best of his stuff that I've read(although all the other books are good too). He does a lot of satire on the professional world with all the double speak and propaganda that comes along with it. Most of his stories are laugh out loud funny but they also hit at some deep problems. I dunno, Im bad at explaining why I like books, i just give em the thumbs up or the thumbs down. But you should definitely check Saunders out if you havent already.
I haven't read anything by Saunders. I'll add him to my list. 2009 is shaping up to be a good reading year!
I heard about Saunders around here before and I picked up a copy of Pastoralia a few weeks ago. Im looking forward even more now to reading it.
Yes, I did!! I can't believe you haven't read it yet!
MIRKA SAID: I discovered A.M. Homes this year and read everything she's ever written up to buying an ARC of her latest, The Mistress's Daughter: A Memoir before it was released. My very favorite is This Book Will Save Your Life.
Me too! I don't know what my favourite of hers is though. It's probably The Safety of Objects but since I read that in the tail end of last year so it's a bit OT. OT! Another author I assimilated this year was Richard Yates. I started off with Revolutionary Road after being attracted by the pretty cover art on Amazon and in no time I'd read all of his novels and was easing my way through the short stories as slowly as I possibly could (meaning I had them finished within a week). My favourite of his was Young Hearts Crying. The books are just great really, stories about shattered dreams, characters are endearing but painfully flawed. They're funny and heart-breaking and excruciating.
I have a few bookshop staple guys who always deliver the goods-these are the authors I can find in pretty much any bookshop so I'll grab one of their books if I come into work without a book or finish a book in the middle of the day and have to nip out at lunch for a new one. Or if I'm in danger of leaving a bookshop without buying anything. There's Margaret Atwood (The Blind Assassin, Cat's Eye, Alias Grace), Philip Roth (American Pastoral, The Human Stain) and Paul Auster, I know he's a fave around here, I really loved The Book of Illusions.
Everyone's probably already read The Heart is a Lonely Hunter but that's a book that I read this year and would recommend because it's got everything including a coming-of-age tale-these are like crack to me.
My bestest book this year was The Little Friend by Donna Tartt. I read it twice and would have read it again but the copy I have is an unwieldy hardback and heavy to carry around.
Hands down the worst book I read this year is No Time For Goodbye by Linwood Barclay. I was gonna say it was a hunk of crap but hunk is too substantial a word for this hollow little book. Shrill and unbelievable.
Hi Vendetta! Nice to see you are a fan of A.M. Homes, too. I'll have to check out Yates. I TOO am a Donna Tartt fan! The Secret History is one of favorite books of all time.
Haha, I know what you mean, but I doubt they'll be publishing that review, taken out of context that you 'had to put it down'.
Essentials of Philosophy by James Mannion. Overview of everything philosophy, sucked me in. I'm considering taking my studies in a philosophy direction.
The World's First Anarchist Manifesto by Anselme Bellegarrigue. Fun primer on individualist anarchism. Being more a philosophical satire than a political rant made it a breath of fresh air among the more sciency stuff, necessary as they may be.
Non-Violent Resistance by MK Gandhi. Converted me to strict non-violent revolutionaryism.
The Revolution, by Ron Paul, read earlier this year, as I began being disillusioned by the system. While the means may be different, it's good to know there's a movement which cherishes the same goals (minarchism). Even if I'm leaving it behind, that's where it starts.
I've got 50 pages left in The God Delusion by The Dawkins and as much as I think Dawkins is a self-righteous douche, he's definitely made my world beliefs secularize. I'd recommend the book to everyone, atheist, agnostic, or jihadist.
"They sold you hippies grunge, hip hop, now liberty activism."
http://freeconcord.org