THE BEST READS OF 2005
Every year we ask our customers to report their favorite
– and least favorite – reads of the year. Here are the reports we got for 2005.
If you want to contribute your own picks,
just email us. We’ll add yours to the list.
Thank you for
doing this every year!! I get such great reading suggestions from your Best
of...lists!!---here's my contribution:
General
Fiction:
The
Historian (Elizabeth Kostova) - Dracula's back and scarier than ever -- in
a very literary and well researched way. As huge and full of
minutely researched historical detail as the Historian was, I could not
put it down!!
Zorro
(Isabel Allende)- Allende's take on the Zorro legend. Like so many
of Allende's other books, reading Zorro was like listening to a
master story teller.
The Mermaid
Chair - another beautiful book by Sue Monk Kidd.
The Highest
Tide (Jim Lynch) - Set on Puget Sound, the story takes place during
one strange, magical summer in the life of 13 year old Miles O'Malley who
is obsessed with the Sound, marine life, Rachel Carson and the older, troubled
girl next door. This is some of the most beautiful, luminous writing I
have come across in a long time -- and it's funny. Miles is a great
narrator/main character in the tradition of Scout in To Kill A
Mocking bird and Lily in Secret Life of Bees. Great book!!!! Would
make a really good book club choice.
Misfortune
(Wesley Stace) - Boy raised as girl by English nobleman wealthy enough to hide
the child's gender for years. Dozens of characters, plot twist upon plot
twist, a charming narrator and oodles of details of Victorian life in
The Secrets
of Jin-Shei (Alma Alexander) - eight girls living in a mythical Chinese
kingdom who pledge lifelong loyalty to one another through Jen Shei - a secret
women's language passed from mother to daughter. In spite of some clumsy
plot devices, I loved this book, the characters, the author's explorations
of loyalty and friendship, and the whole idea of JenShei.
This would be a really good book for teen girls.
Elizabeth
Buchan's novels (Revenge of the Middle Aged Woman, etc.) - women
involved in crisies/life altering events. Buchan's books are often
found in the chick lit section - they are really just very good lit.
gods in
The Curious
Incident of the Dog in the Night Time (Mark Hadden) - incredibly
original, deceptively simply "mystery" told from the viewpoint of an
autistic boy.
Mystery/Thriller
The Smile
of a Ghost (Phil Rickman) - this is the seventh in Rickman's series about
the Rev. Merrily Watkins, Anglican priest, mother, widow,sort of girlfriend of
a sort of rock star, and official diocesan Deliverance Counselor (the pc term
for exorcist)and it might be his best. As usual there are suspicious
deaths, shady characters, eccentrics, political maneuvering both in and out of
the church, possible supernatural events and loads of
suspense. Rickman is not well known in the
Dearly
Devoted Dexter & Darkly Dreaming Dexter (Jeff Lindsay) - You
can't help but love Dexter, the friendly neighbor hood sociopathic serial
killer. Hey, he only kills other serial killers...so
far. Dark, creepy, and laugh out loud funny.
Dead Run
(P.J. Tracy)- the Monkeewrench gang is back in book 3 and inadvertently
involved in homegrown terrorism. Just as fast-paced and fun as
Monkeewrench and better than Live Bait.
Confessions
of a Teen Sleuth (Chelsea Cain) - Clever parody of the Nancy Drew
series. There's not much mystery here, the fun is in the send ups - It
turns out Carolyn Keene is a real person who is out to use
Chick
Lit:
Any of Elinor
Lipman's novels!!!
Good in Bed
by Jennifer Weiner
Memoirs,
Biographies, Essays:
Garlic and
Sapphires (Ruth Reichl)- Reichl's third book about her culinary
adventures. This time, she's food critic for the New York Times. To
avoid special treatment, she visits the restaurants she intends to review
inot only n disguise, but totally in character.
We're Just
Like You, Only Prettier - Confessions of a Tarnished Southern
Belle ( Celia Rivenbark?) - This collection of essays about the ways
of Southern women is so funny that my copy has been floating around town for
about 7 months - "...so and so just HAS to read it..." This is
the book you actually get out and read to your friends generating great
hilarity.
Julie and
Julia: 365 days, 524 recipes, 1 tiny apartment kitchen (Julie Powell) -
stuck in a rut, Julie Powell decides to cook every one of Julia Child's recipes
in Mastering the Art of French Cooking and blog about it.
Hidden
Kitchens: Stories, Recipes and More from NPR's The Kitchen Sisters (Nikki
Silva & Davia Nelson) - the companion book to the NPR series. In the
NPR series, people called in and left messages on an answering machine about
"hidden kitchens" - food traditions that are disappearing,
community get togethers inspired by food, etc. The book is great,
featuring stories about and recipes from hidden kitchens from NASCAR to
the old
Spook:
Science Tackles the Afterlife (Mary Roach)- Mary Roach wants to find out
what happens when we die, so she visits
Flirting
With Pride & Prejudice: Fresh Perspectives on the Original Chick-LIt
Masterpiece (edited by Jennifer Cruise) - collection of essays by
contemporary writers - how can you resist reading pieces titled:
"Does this petticoat make me look fat?"; Gold Diggers of 1813; Pride
and Prejudice: the Realty Show; My Firth Love?
Jane
Austen: A LIfe (Carol Sheilds) - great pairing of subject and writer.
Feet on the
Street: Rambles Around
Cottage for
The
Tender Bar: A Memoir (J.R. Moehringer) - this book should win some
awards. lovely but never maudlin, moehringer's memoir
follows his search for love, a father(his left before M. was born) and a way to
take care of the people he loves - mainly his mother. Moehringer
finds a group of men in a local bar who provide him with "fatherhood
by committee" and a sort of "home". Wonderful story
by an extremely talented writer.
Sci-Fi,
Fantasy, Speculative Fiction:
The
Traveler (John Twelve Hawks) - This is a can't put down, can't wait for
the sequel read about people mystical and otherwise living "off
the grid," as supposedly does the author, the mysterious Twelve
Hawks.
F. Paul
Wilson's Repairman Jack series - a repairman who "fixes"
situations in an X-files kind of world. Fun, fast paced,
forgettable fluff.
American
Gods (Neil Gaiman) - the old gods (such as Thor, Anansi, the Queen of
Sheba, and many others) are about to go to war with the ..."new gods of
credit card and freeway, of Internet and telephone, of radio and hospital and
television, gods of plastic......" here in the U.S .
Gaiman is a terrific writer with an incredible imagination.
Vamped(David
Sosnowski) - Yet another take on the vampire genre. Vampires outnumber
humans who are now for the most part raised on farms. Marty, so
bored "he could die - again," rashly decides to adopt a
runaway human child to raise in secret. Funny, charming, and
original.
Gentle
Fiction -
The Moosepath
League series by Van Reid - wonderful series about the bumbling efforts
of a group of men calling themselves the Moosepath League to solve mysteries
and right wrongs in late 19th century New England.
A Light
from Heaven by Jan Karon
Cookbooks:
Frank
Stitt's Southern Table - Gorgeous cookbook, great recipes with profiles of
life in Stitt's South. And wow, Stitt is a really good writer!!
Galatoire's
Cookbook
Young
Adult Lit:
Harry
Potter and the Half Blood Prince(J.K. Rowling) - Great!
Chasing
Vermeer(Blue Balliatt) - A Vermeer is stolen! Two
Down the
Rabbit Hole: An Echo Falls Mystery (Peter Abrams) - 13 year old
Ingrid( a big Sherlock Holmes fan) finds herself involved not only in a
production of Alice in Wonderland, soccer, and school, but in a murder.
Abrams is an adult novelist who knows how to write for children.
Lots of fun and chills!!!Looking forward to the next installment.
Silverfin:
A James Bond Adventure(Charlie Higson) - Bond, James Bond, pre-007 , a
schoolboy. Exciting and imaginative telling of Bond's beginnings.
The
Callahan Cousins - books one and two - this is what a childhood summer
should be : huge, old house, the coast, friends, cousins, a permissive
and cool grandmother, minimal adult involvement and little bit of mystery and
adventure.
The
Penderwicks:A Summer Tale of Four sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting
Boy(Jeanne Birdsall) - another fun, old fashioned story about summer
vacation.
Rebel
Angels(LIbba Bray) - Bray's sequel to A Great and Terrible
Beauty. The further strange and magical adventures of Gemma Doyle and her
school friends, this time in Victorian London.
Gregor the
Overlander series by Suzanne Collins
The Last Apprentice
by Joseph Delaney
Twilight by
Stephanie Meyer - girl in love with good (not to mention gorgeous) vampire who
has a good, loving and gorgeous adoptive family. Then the bad
vampires come to town....Well written.
The
Children of Greene Knowe series by L.M. Boston - everyone should read
these books!
Hope this is
not too long - feel free to edit and correct mistakes!
Nanne
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I use the
"Best Reads" list every year for recommendations on what I might
enjoy reading. Consequently, I read books about a year or two after
everyone else does. Sometimes I'm disappointed -- I read Speaks the
Nightbird after the recommendations of so many others and I didn't enjoy
either volume of the story. Sometimes the list leads me to read something
I wouldn't otherwise have considered, which is the case with my favorite
fiction read of 2005, The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini. This
book is fascinating, enlightening, and evocative, allowing the reader to
experience every emotion in the course of winding one's way through the
story. It gives a glimpse -- sometimes compassionate and sometimes
dispassionate -- of life in
In non-fiction, I recommend Pat Conroy's cookbook. I had the pleasure of
meeting and working with Mr. Conroy and his wife, Cassandra King, when CB&N
and Huntingdon hosted them for a lecture and booksigning in the spring, but
even though I love his writing, and even though I love cookbooks, I didn't buy
his cookbook at the time. My husband surprised me with it later in the
year, and I am savoring it, one story/recipe at a time; it's great fun!
--Su Ofe
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Here are a couple of lists from katie and scott -- feel free to edit them. I'll
send more if I can think of some.
scott first
As usual, most of my reading didn't get published during the current year. But
some event, movie, or new book prompted my reading some older book --
Layer Cake -- by J.J. Connolly -- a drug dealer/mob comedy thriller that was
made into the movie by the same name that came out this year. Clever and
likeable.
If Chins Could Kill -- by Bruce Campbell -- the star of such B-movie classics
as the Evil Dead provides a very low key, non-filling and entertaining memoir.
Unlike most film industry memoirists (is that a word?) he has a very realistic
view of his place in film history. And as he brags at some point, the pictures
(some real and some faked) are spread throughout the book, not just clustered
in the middle. (He has a new book out called Make Love the
True Notebooks -- by Mark Salzman -- this may not be Salzman's best, but he is
good enough that it is really, really good. Salzman relays his experiences
teaching writing to young criminal behind bars, many of whom will never be
released.
Katie
Here's Lily- By Nancy Rue
this is a very good book a about a girl named lily who Sixth grader with red
curly hair and freckles dand she gets teased about her looks untilk she evetrs
the modleing indsutrie. right before the big show she injures herself.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - J.K. Rowling
In the fourth book of the harry potter seires which is also my favorite so far.
Harry finds him self in the tri wizard tournament. Where he is accidently found
up against three sevteen year witches and wizards.
The princess diaries - Meg Cabot
Fourteen-year-old Mia, who is trying to lead a normal life as a teenage girl in
New York City, is shocked to learn that her father is the Prince of Genovia, a
small European principality, and that she is a princess and the heir to the
throne.
Ella Enchanted - Gail Carson Levine
This is a twist on the cindereall story that tells her version of the story.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear ones,
Here is my
favorite book of the year if it is not too late.
Martin Luther
by Richard Marius
I found it on
the shelf while walking through a bookstore. I bought it because I have
always enjoyed Marius' fiction. It was not an easy book to read
because life was not easy for Martin Luther. It was comforting for me to
find that life and faith were a struggle for him as they have been for me and
that understanding did not come as easily to him as it appeared to me when I
read church history.
Hope to see
youall next week,
Mary Ann
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The two most
memorable books that I read this year were from last year's list of favorites:
Life of Pi by Yann Martel - the most wonderful story; makes you think about the
meaning of life
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini - this story will make you appreciate
growing up in America
Other favorites:
Shadow Divers by Robert Kurson - true life adventure mixed with history
Rain Fall by Barry Eisler - love the sexy John Rain character
The Mermaid Chair by Sue Monk Kidd - a much better novel than Secret Life of
Bees
Your Best Life Now by Joel Osteen - reading this book will help you keep a
positive attitude
Least favorites:
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner - I know he's one of the great writers but
this reminded me of why I did not enjoy American lit. in school!
Gods in
The Three Miss Margarets by Louise Shaffer - can anyone write a novel about
interesting southern women without making one of them gay?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here is my
authorized list of best reads 2005. The absence of editorial notes reflects a
lack of time rather than a lack of enthusiasm!
–Tess Ware
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Here's my list
of favorite reads this year:
The Work of
Wolves -- Kent Meyers
Kite Runner --
Khaled Hosseini
The Wild Girl:
the notebooks of Ned Giles, 1932 -- Jim Fergus
No Country for
Old Men -- Cormac McCarthy
Lizzie's War --
Tim Farrington
A Wild Ride up
the Cupboards -- Ann Bauer
Good Grief --
Lolly Winston
-Ann M. Boles,
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It was great
popping in even if for only a few minutes last week on my semi-annual
My vote for
book of the year is
Thanks again
for your wonderful store and good luck to all of you in the new year.
All the best,
Andrew Frantz,
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Here's my list
of BEST READS for 2005:
The Widow of the South
The Point of Fracture
Lucy
Ten Minutes from
Unwise Passions
American Soldier
Happy New Year!
-Suzanne B. Nicholas,
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I'm not sure I
read all of these in the last calendar year,
but all of them
were read in the not-too-distant past. Two novels I really enjoyed are
Hell at the Breech by Tom Franklin and The City of Churches by Kenneth Robbins. Both are set in
in
authors attempt
to describe how individuals and families were affected by the events the novels
are based on.
I also read and enjoyed Freedom Rising: Washington During the Civil
War by Ernest Furgurson. While the time period covered by Freedom
Rising is the Civil War and while Abraham Lincoln, not surprisingly, is one of
the principal figures, the book is really about the transformation of
The arrest, trial, conviction, and hanging of Leo Frank for
the murder of
Mary Phagan in
Steve Oney has
produced a comprehensive and eminently fair account of these
events. He concludes that "tragically there will never be a
resolution to the Frank case." Of
course, there is much to be learned by contemporary
Americans from
the events of the Frank case.
Since I have just begun Doris Kearns Goodwyn's Team of Rivals, I won't include
it in this year's reading, but it does give me an excuse to recommend two other
works by Goodwyn. The first is No
Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in
World War. This is an extraordinary account of the greatness as well as
the eccentricities of both members of this most unconventional partnership.
The other book by this author is more for those of us who have been
baseball fans from our youth and especially for those who have been fans of
perennial losers. Its title is Wait Till
Next Year: A Memoir. Here Goodwyn recounts growing up in the
'Till next year,
-Bradley Moody
I finally read
some of the books my daughter has been recommending for years--Rising Tide
and Devil in the
-Carole Yeaman
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One of our best
reads here at Opp Public Library for 2005 was On Hitler's Mountain by
Irmgard Hunt. The narrative is of the German control by Hitler in World
War 11 as seen through the eyes of a young girl growing up. It should be
required reading for everyone as a preventative against the same thing
happening in our country.
Others that we
enjoyed were 1776 by David McCullough, The Historian by Elizabeth
Kostova, The Polished Hoe by Austin Clarke.
-Gayle Clare, Opp
The best book
I've read this year was MARLEY AND ME by John Grogan. It's a wonderful
book looking at the joy of having a pet - in this case a 90+ pound
I also read
with my boys THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE by C.S. Lewis. This
started as a precursor to seeing the movie. We all loved it. I
think that is Lewis' biggest talent appealing to young and old
alike. We have now started on the other CHRONICLES and what a treat
they are. By the way the movie is good too - great way to spend time
seeing all the characters come to life on the big screen.
-Michael
Morris,
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Best Read of
2005 -- Clapton's Guitar :
Watching Wayne Henderson Build the Perfect Instrument by Allen St. John. I typically don’t read much non-fiction, but
this title caught my fancy. I was not
disappointed. The author (a sportswriter
for the Wall Street Journal – not many folks can say that!) was ready to move
up to a handcrafted guitar for his own playing pleasure…he met Wayne Henderson,
who is perhaps today’s Antonio Stradivari in the world of acoustic guitar
making.
– Cleve Poole
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The most
important book I read this year was On Bullshit by Harry G. Frankfurt,
Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at
--Robert Ely
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Favorite Reads:
The
"Bones" Series by Carolyn Haines (ex. Splintered Bones, Hallowed
Bones) Love that ghost!
The Alphabet
books by Sue Grafton (Kinsey is great!)
Joanna Harris
(all books ex. Holy Fools, Sleep Pale Sister, Chololat)
Barbara
Kinglover (all books ex The Bean Trees, Animal Dreams, Poisonwood Bible)
Mary Doria
Russel (The Sparrow, Children of God)
-Amanda Edwards
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Favorite books
- read in 2005
The Last
Juror by John Grisham
A Fine
Balance by Rohinton Mistry
Pillars of
the Earth by Ken Follett
Persuader
by Lee Child
The Kite
Runner by Khaled Hosseini
The Lady and
the Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier
Limbo by
A. Manette Ansay
Daughter of
the Queen of
Skinny Dip
by Carl Hiaasen
Devil in the
-Joyce Franz
And Merry
Christmas to you, too! My favorite read of 2005 was "Widow of the
South" by Robert Hicks. Based on the Battle of Franklin, TN (Civil War), a
well written, new approach to the whole bloody mess . I have a personal
interest in the material, as my husband's grandfather fought, and lived
through, this battle, but I recommend this book highly, whether or not
ones relatives fought at
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Judas
Burning by Carolyn Haines. It was a far departure from the Bones
books, but I loved(?) it. I stayed up
until
-Danna Goodson
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hi kids, and
Merry Christmas to all of you there. It's certainly been
easier, moving up here, knowing there's such a cool indie bookstore not
just in town, but right around the corner.
Since I now have a job that requires me to read so much, my home
consumption has decidedly slacked, especially when it comes to novels.
But that just means I've been reading more short fiction. Top of my list
of favorites this year would be Bret Anthony Johnston's /Corpus Christi/
and Bart Barton's latest, /Dancing by the River/. I've also gotten a big
kick out of Sarah Vowell's spicy collection of essays, /The Partly
Cloudy Patriot/. The book I took on vacation was a collection of horror
stories called /I Am Legend/ by Richard Matheson, who wrote for the
original /Twilight Zone/ series. I realize in writing this that the few
novels I have read (for fun) and finished this year are also somehow
tied into movies, but at least they're classics: /The War of the
Worlds/, and /Pride and Prejudice/ (which I'm finishing now, and it's a
blast); that would also include a Modern Library reprint of the 1933
novelization of the original /King Kong/, which was surprisingly as
well-written as anything by H. Rider Haggard. I'm currently reading
Charles Dickens's /The Haunted House/, a humorous ghost story collection
which is essentially a reprint of one of his Christmas magazines, and
thus a nice way to close out the year.
Hope that helps! Again, Happy Christmas to you guys, and I'll see you soon!
--Jim Gilbert
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Here are some
of my favorite books that I read this year.
The Nanny Diaries- by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants- Ann Brashares
Angels and Demons- Dan Brown
Confessions of a Shopaholic- Sophie Kinsella
Wicked- Gregory Maguire
Ella Enchanted- Gail Carson Levine (a GREAT young adults book)
Sex and the City- Candace Bushnell
- Mary Hodo, New Orleans
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Hi- i wanted to
recommend Looking For Alaska as one of the best books of the year. It's by John
Green, about a boarding school in
Favorite novel:
With by Donald Harington
Favorite nonfiction work: John James Audubon: The Making of an American by Richard
Rhodes
Favorite bookstore: Capitol Book & News
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
-
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Three books
stand out in memory of last year:
“
“Fallen” by
David Maine: Another one in which writing skill takes precedence over plot. We
know the story of “the first dysfunctional family” but by starting at the end,
when Cain is dying, and moving backwards toward Adam and Eve’s expulsion from
the Garden of Eden,
“The French
Lieutenant’s Woman” by John Fowles: I may be the only person alive who didn’t
read the book or see the movie when they came out decades ago, but Fowles’
recent death may inspire rereading for those who did. If you’ve only seen the movie, read the book,
as Pinter’s screenplay does different things with Fowles’ postmodern plot
juggling. Both book and film are a lovely change of pace from the currently
popular Jane Austen.
-Karen Pirnie
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Please
disregard the first list of favorites and use the revised list as shown
below. I’m taking up too large a space with that initial batch of books,
which included some of Bill’s favorites and some of mine. Here are the
books we agreed were our top selections for the year:
Do You Hear What I Hear? Minna
Proctor
Shadow Divers Robert
Kurson
I Capture the Castle Dodie Smith
The Constant Gardener (paired with
seeing the film version) John LeCarre
Everything Is Illuminated (paired also
with film) Jonathan Safran Foer
Les Miserables
(unabridged) Victor Hugo
A Tale of Two Cities Charles
Dickens
And for
browsing, a volume replete with literary lore and recipes titled The Book Club Cook Book.
Now I must stop
before the list gets too long again.
Happy
Mae Mallory Krulak, Baltimore
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What a special
treat to rendezvous with B.J. Blunt at Capitol Book in February while visiting
Marti and Hank Spence in
American
military derring-do, A Soldier of the
Great War by Mark Helprin, Case
Histories by Kate Atkinson,
Waiting for Snow in
got onboard the
Harry Potter express and found books four, five, and six extraordinary plus a
study titled The Wisdom of Harry Potter
exploring Stoicism in the series. Here’s to continued good reading
for one and all in the new year.
From Baltimore, Mae Mallory Krulak
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Most
enjoyable reading of 2005:
Gilead - Marilynne Robinson (my favorite)
The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time -Mark Haddon
The Secret Life of Bees - Sue Monk Kidd
Kaaterskill Falls - Allegra Goodman
Skinny Dip - Carl Hiaasen
Double Whammy - Carl Hiaasen
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - J.K.Rowling
Looking for Alaska - John Green
Death of a Travelling Man - M.C. Beaton (murder mystery)
The Year of Living Dangerously - Christopher Koch
Little Woman - Louisa May Alcott (I was prompted to
reread this after starting March by Geraldine Brooks.
I never finished March, in which the main character
was based on the father in the Little Women, but loved
rereading Alcott's classic.)
~Anne Kimzey
Thank you for
the opportunity to share a favorite book or in this case a favorite
author. I was just introduced this year to the writings of Carolyn
Haines. A coworker shared a light mystery she had picked up at a second
hand bookstore. I enjoyed it so much I checked the Internet to see if
there were more. I discovered there were five mysteries in the "Bone
Series". I highly recommend them to anyone who enjoys Southern
writers and/or mysteries. They are most enjoyed when read in
sequence.
I then
read Ms. Haines' two earlier works SUMMER OF THE REDEEMERS and TOUCHED.
They are deeper, darker works that are extremely well written. Her latest
book is JUDAS BURNING which was released this October. This
"trilogy" is interesting in that it has different time frames,
different characters but the same setting. I look forward to hearing what
others are reading,
-Mary Earle
Adams,
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Best reads
2005
Pope Joan
is a well written examination of the story that once there was a female
Pope. Donna Cross takes this premise and writes a novel that
is beautifully detailed and engrossing.
Middlemarch
by George Eliot is said to be the best English language novel of all
time. It's difficult to get into but gathers speed and soon you're
following the many character's lives eagerly. I've stayed up way too late
way too many nights reading this epic novel.
The No.
1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith is light
and entertaining, but not at all fluffy. Main character Precious
Ramotswe is wise, endearing, and easy for all of us to relate to. The
entire series is wonderful. Think of these gentle books as literary
sorbet, to digest between heavier novels.
The Underdog
by Julia Szabo is a great book about mixed breed dogs. Szabo writes about
dogs that often go unadopted at shelters because their lineage is, shall we
say, interesting. Her mantra is that adopting a North American shelter
hound is the ultimate act of patriotism -- and the highest form of
recycling. I've worked with shelter mutts for years, but I
found that Szabo's book contained lots of brand new information and has been
really helpful.
I can't wait to
read all of your lists! Thanks, Capitol Books, for offering this.
-Marcelle Furrow-Kiebler
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At the top of
my list of favorites read over the past months is one you've
mentioned, William Boyd's 2002 memoir-styled novel, Any
Human Heart. As The Washington Post notes on the cover of the
2005 Vintage International edition, "Its pleasures are
countless...supremely entertaining." Next would be J. M.
Coetzee's 1985 novel of
- Julia (Judy) Oliver
-
Although I
haven't finished my list of reading for 2005, I'll share my top 15:
1.The Celestial Jukebox--Cynthia Shearer
2.Saints at the River--Ron Rash
3.Parchment of Leaves--Silas House
4.The Coal Tattoo--Silas House
5.Brave Enemies--Robert Morgan
6.The Mermaid Chair--Sue Monk Kidd
7.Roxanna Slade--Reynolds Price
8.The Ballad of Frankie Silver--Sharyn McCrumb
9.Rococo--Adriana Trigiani
10.Gods in Alabama--Joshilyn Jackson
11.Sweet Water--Anne Rivers Siddons
12.The Tea Olive Bird Watching Society--Augusta Troubaugh
13.The Ladies of Garrison Gardens--Louise Shaffer
14.Life with Strings Attached--Minnie Lamberth
15.The Dogs of Babel--Carolyn Parkhurst
Thanks,
-Lou Fuller, South Pittsburg, Tennessee
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
James Frey’s
harrowing, yet captivating story of addiction and recovery “A Million Little
Pieces” was one of my most meaningful and gripping reads of the year.
–Amy
Nachman,
May I add “my
friend Leonard” to my favorite reads in 2005?
–Amy
Nachman,
Is it just me
or has this been a really slow year for books? I found two novels I loved
(both from tiny publishers), a few I liked, and a decent cookbook here and
there. Fiction: Tie between "Rocks That Float" by Kathy B. Steele (John
Blair, $22.95), a wonderful quirky depiction of the interdependence of
small-town Southern life, and "Mockingbird" by Sean Stewart (Small
Beer Press, $14), a wonderful quirky depiction of Southern sisterhood and dark
magic. Honorable mention to "Oh Pure and Radiant Heart" by
Lydia Millett (Soft Skull, $25), a dazzling but deeply weird novel about the
creators of the A-bomb and to Kelly Link's delightful surrealistic story
collection "Magic for Beginners" (Small Beer, $24). Nonfiction:
"Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell (Little Brown, $25.95)—fascinating and ompulsively readable. I'm not sure if I
follow his thesis 100%, but that never made my interest flag. Cookbook:
"The Best Recipes in the World" by Mark Bittman (Broadway, $29.95), a
great collection of recipes from all over. As an added bonus, they're
quite easy.
–Frazer Dobson,
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
We decided to
introduce Rick, version 2.0, in the form of Charlie, III, in February (we had a
baby, in
simpler terms) and I have had a good deal of reading time this year, so I've
submerged myself in the Harry Potter series. I just came up for air this past
Tuesday, when I finished book 6. I will forever remember my son's infancy
as the time I read the HP books and I cannot wait for the final
installment. I would recommend the series to children of all ages,
especially those over age 30. Rowling is every bit as masterful a storyteller
as the press would have you believe and I encourage readers to delve into her
world. I've heard some people decry her work as Satanistic, but I
respectfully disagree. Like the Narnia
books and many other tales, the series is a classic formula of good versus
evil. I started reading the series intending to go back and read the books
aloud to my five year old, but I think we'll hold off for a good long while
because each book gets significantly darker as its subjects age. It's entirely
possible that I am the last human on the planet to read the HP books; still,
they're my faves in 2005. Best wishes,
-Stephanie Hill
(waiting for #7)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And
just for the fun of it, here’s a list of every book Cheryl read in all of 2005.
Her very favorite reads are in red.
|
|
TITLE |
AUTHOR |
GENRE |
DATE |
RATING |
|
1 |
Life With Strings Attached |
Lamberth, Minnie |
Fiction |
|
**** |
|
2 |
A Year at the Movies |
Murphy, Kevin |
Film |
|
*** |
|
3 |
What Goes Around Comes Around |
Lehane, Con |
Mystery |
|
*** |
|
4 |
Wolves Eat Dogs |
Smith, Martin Cruz |
Fiction |
|
**** |
|
5 |
The White League |
Zigal, Thomas |
Mystery |
|
DNF |
|
6 |
Each Little Bird That Sings |
Wiles, Deborah |
YA |
|
***** |
|
7 |
Gentle's Holler |
Madden, Kerry |
YA |
|
**** |
|
8 |
The Language of Baklava |
Abu-Jaber, Diana |
Memoir |
|
**** |
|
9 |
The Poet of |
Brewer, Sonny |
Fiction |
|
*** |
|
10 |
Plan B |
Lamott, Anne |
Memoir |
|
*** |
|
11 |
Torpedo Juice |
Dorsey, Tim |
Mystery |
|
*** |
|
12 |
With No One as Witness |
George, |
Mystery |
|
***** |
|
13 |
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants |
Brashares, Ann |
YA |
|
**** |
|
14 |
|
Haigh, Jennifer |
Fiction |
|
***** |
|
15 |
Big Love |
Dunn, Sarah |
Fiction |
|
* |
|
16 |
Being Dead Is No Excuse |
Metcalfe, Gayden |
Food |
|
*** |
|
17 |
The Town That Came A'Courtin' |
Rich, Ronda |
Fiction |
|
** |
|
18 |
Second Summer of the Sisterhood |
Brashares, Ann |
YA |
|
**** |
|
19 |
Looking for |
Green, John |
YA |
|
**** |
|
20 |
Strange Affair |
Robinson, Peter |
Mystery |
|
**** |
|
21 |
King's English |
Burton, Betsy |
Memoir |
|
** |
|
22 |
Innocent |
Coben, Harlan |
Mystery |
|
*** |
|
23 |
Bearing Witness Not So Crazy in |
Thompson, Carla |
Memoir |
|
* |
|
24 |
Wonder Spot |
Banks, Melissa |
Fiction |
|
*** |
|
25 |
Piano Girl |
Goldby, Robin Meloy |
Memoir |
|
**** |
|
26 |
The Sign of the Book |
Dunning, John |
Mystery |
|
**** |
|
27 |
Sowbelly |
Burke, Monte |
Nonfiction |
|
*** |
|
28 |
Reluctant Tuscan |
Doran, Phil |
Travel |
|
*** |
|
29 |
Confessions of a Teenage Sleuth |
Cain, |
Fiction |
|
**** |
|
30 |
Girls in Pants |
Brashares, Ann |
YA |
|
**** |
|
31 |
Citizen Vince |
Walter, Jess |
Fiction |
|
*** |
|
32 |
Garlic and Sapphires |
Reichl, Ruth |
Memoir |
|
***** |
|
33 |
Climbing |
Noble, Don |
Stories |
|
*** |
|
34 |
Man of Two Tribes |
Upfield, Arthur W. |
Mystery |
|
**** |
|
35 |
Skinny-Dipping |
Matturro, Claire |
Mystery |
|
*** |
|
36 |
Wildcat Wine |
Matturro, Claire |
Mystery |
|
*** |
|
37 |
Ladies of |
Shaffer, Louise |
Fiction |
|
*** |
|
38 |
Luncheonette |
Sorrentino, Stephen |
Memoir |
|
** |
|
39 |
Hot Fudge Sundae Blues |
Marshall, Bev |
Fiction |
|
*** |
|
40 |
The Closers |
Connelly, Michael |
Mystery |
|
**** |
|
41 |
Seasoning of a Chef |
Psaltis, Doug |
Food |
|
*** |
|
42 |
To Darkness and to Death |
Spencer-Fleming, Julia |
Mystery |
|
**** |
|
43 |
|
Burdett, John |
Fiction |
|
**** |
|
44 |
Cover the Butter |
Kabak, Carrie |
Fiction |
|
** |
|
45 |
Breaker |
Walters, Minette |
Mystery |
|
**** |
|
46 |
The Glory of It All |
Wilsey, Sean |
Memoir |
|
**** |
|
47 |
Funeral Music |
Joss, Morag |
Mystery |
|
*** |
|
48 |
In the Dark of the Moon |
Hudson, Suzanne |
Fiction |
|
DNF |
|
49 |
Penumbra |
Haines, Carolyn |
Mystery |
|
**** |
|
50 |
The Tender Bar ***BEST OF 2005*** |
Moehringer, J.R. |
Memoir |
|
***** |
|
51 |
Fearful Symmetry |
Joss, Morag |
Mystery |
|
*** |
|
52 |
Dancing by the River |
Barton, Marlin |
Fiction |
|
***** |
|
53 |
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince |
Rowling, J.K. |
YA |
|
***** |
|
54 |
The Big Over Easy |
Fforde, Jasper |
Mystery |
|
**** |
|
55 |
Piano Shop on the |
Carhart, Thad |
Memoir |
|
*** |
|
56 |
Essence of Style |
DeJean, Joan |
Nonfiction |
|
DNF |
|
57 |
Relics |
Evans, Mary Anna |
Mystery |
8/2/05 |
*** |
|
58 |
The Lincoln Lawyer |
Connelly, Michael |
Mystery |
8/2/05 |
**** |
|
59 |
Deadly Slipper |
Wan, Michelle |
Mystery |
8/9/05 |
**** |
|
60 |
Best of the South Second Decade |
Ravenel, Shannon |
Stories |
8/11/05 |
*** |
|
61 |
Julie and Julia |
Powell, Julie |
Memoir |
8/12/05 |
**** |
|
62 |
I, Coriander |
Gardner, Sally |
YA |
8/18/05 |
**** |
|
63 |
Pardonable Lies |
Winspear, Jacqueline |
Mystery |
8/20/05 |
**** |
|
64 |
Cinnamon Skin |
Mosley, Walter |
Mystery |
8/25/05 |
**** |
|
65 |
Kudzu Christmas |
Various |
Stories |
8/31/05 |
*** |
|
66 |
Time Was Soft There |
Mercer, Jeremy |
Memoir |
9/1/05 |
DNF |
|
67 |
Paris in Mind |
Various |
Travel |
9/5/05 |
*** |
|
68 |
Toast |
Slater, Nigel |
Memoir |
9/8/05 |
DNF |
|
69 |
Feet on the Street |
Blount, Roy |
Travel |
9/12/05 |
**** |
|
70 |
Letters From New Orleans |
Walker, Rob |
Travel |
9/14/05 |
**** |
|
71 |
Love and Other Impossible Pursuits |
Waldman, Ayelet |
Fiction |
9/24/05 |
**** |
|
72 |
The Stranger House |
|
Mystery |
|
**** |
|
73 |
French Fried |
Rochefort, Harriet |
Food |
|
* |
|
74 |
La Belle |
Horne, Alistair |
History |
|
*** |
|
75 |
King in the Window |
Gopnik, Adam |
YA |
|
DNF |
|
76 |
Sisters Grimm:Fairy Tale Detectives |
Buckley, Michael |
YA |
|
**** |
|
77 |
She Got Up Off the Couch |
Kimmel, Haven |
Memoir |
|
***** |
|
78 |
City of Falling Angels |
Berendt, John |
Travel |
|
**** |
|
79 |
The Unusual Suspects |
Buckley, Michael |
YA |
|
**** |
|
80 |
The Year the Music Changed |
Thomas, Diane |
Fiction |
|
*** |
|
81 |
The Lighthouse |
James, P.D. |
Mystery |
|
***** |
|
82 |
A Goose in |
Rosenblum, Mort |
Food |
|
**** |
|
83 |
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe |
Lewis, C.S. |
YA |
11/5/05 |
***** |
|
84 |
Murder in Clichy |
Black, Cara |
Mystery |
11/6/05 |
** |
|
85 |
Magician's Nephew |
Lewis, C.S. |
YA |
11/7/05 |
**** |
|
86 |
The Horse and His Boy |
Lewis, C.S. |
YA |
11/11/05 |
**** |
|
87 |
A Rat's Tale |
Seidler, Tor |
YA |
11/12/05 |
*** |
|
88 |
Death at La Fenice |
Leon, Donna |
Mystery |
11/14/05 |
*** |
|
89 |
The Lost Painting |
Harr, Jonathan |
Nonfiction |
11/16/05 |
*** |
|
90 |
Flush |
Hiaasen, Carl |
YA |
11/20/05 |
*** |
|
91 |
Prince Caspian |
Lewis, C.S. |
YA |
11/21/05 |
*** |
|
92 |
Voyage of the Dawn Treader |
Lewis, C.S. |
YA |
11/23/05 |
*** |
|
93 |
The Silver Chair |
Lewis, C.S. |
YA |
11/25/05 |
** |
|
94 |
The Last Battle |
Lewis, C.S. |
YA |
11/26/05 |
** |
|
95 |
Innocent Graves |
Robinson, Peter |
Mystery |
11/27/05 |
**** |
|
96 |
Blood at the Root |
Robinson, Peter |
Mystery |
12/1/05 |
*** |
|
97 |
The Year of Magical Thinking |
Didion, Joan |
Memoir |
12/3/05 |
***** |
|
98 |
The Constant Princess |
Gregory, Philippa |
Fiction |
12/5/05 |
*** |
|
99 |
The Penderwicks |
Birdsall, Jeanne |
YA |
12/9/05 |
***** |
|
100 |
Apricots on the Nile |
Rossant, Colette |
Memoir |
12/13/05 |
*** |
|
101 |
Return to Paris |
Rossant, Colette |
Memoir |
12/21/05 |
*** |
|
102 |
A French Country Murder |
Steiner, Peter |
Mystery |
12/22/05 |
*** |
|
103 |
A Share
in Death |
Crombie,
Deborah |
Mystery |
12/25/05 |
*** |
|
104 |
All Shall Be Well |
Crombie, Deborah |
Mystery |
12/28/05 |
*** |
|
105 |
A Way of
Life Like Any Other |
O'Brien,
Darcy |
Fiction |
12/30/05 |
*** |
|
106 |
Prep |
Sittenfeld,
Curtis |
Fiction |
12/30/05 |
**** |
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