THE BEST READS OF 2007
Here’s the (mostly) unedited collection of
our customers’ Favorite and Not So Favorite Reads of 2007.
If you’d like to add your own
favorites, just email
them to us
Do they have to be from this year? If not, here goes:
I read McCarthy’s “The Road” and enjoyed its nihilistic sparseness. Still, I
believe “All the Pretty Horses” and “Blood Meridian” are both better.
David Mitchell’s “Cloud Atlas” has been out for a few years, but I finally got
around to reading it. It is like nothing I’ve ever read, and though loose ends
might not be tied up at the end, it’s an enthralling read, part sci-fi, part
thriller, all weird in a good way.
I also enjoyed Logan Ward’s “See You in a Hundred Years.” Nice little tale
about how living the simple life ain’t that simple.
-Monte Burke
How entertaining could it be
to read about someone's angst-ridden divorce? That's what I thought "Eat,
Pray, Love" was going to be about, and I didn't believe my friend Melissa
when she said she couldn't wait for every hour of sit-down with this book.
Melissa was right, though.
"Eat, Pray, Love" is so much more than a chronicle of author Liz
Gilbert's relationship woes. It's a rare glimpse into the emotional and
spiritual growth of a brilliant, quirky, funny 30-something women.
Following her messy divorce, Liz blocks out a year to learn how to really eat, pray and love. She
eats her way through
P.S. For those of us who
love to write, Gilbert's website includes some interesting thoughts on writing.
You can read these, and more about "Eat, Pray, Love" at
http://www.elizabethgilbert.com/writing.htm.
- Melanie LeMay
I am particularly
interested in historical literature or novels whose settings incorporate exotic
cultures. For this reason my favorite reads of 2007 are The
Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai, A Thousand
Splendid Suns by Khalid Hosseni,
The Blood of Flowers by Anita Amirezvani, Mozart’s
Sister by Rita Charbonnier, The Other Boleyn
Girl by Phillipa Gregory, and The Book Thief
by Markus Zusak. Other favorites of this year
include Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro, Hard Boiled Wonderland and
the End of the World by Haruki Murakami, Water
for Elephants by Sara Gruen, Dreaming Water
by Gail Tsukiyama, The Ha-Ha by Dave King, The
Monsters of Templeton by Lauren Groff, Sister Mine by Tawni O’Dell, A Garden of Earthly Delights by Joyce
Carol Oates, The End of the Alphabet by C. S. Richardson, and Bridge
of Sighs by Richard Russo.
The Inheritance of
Loss describes a life away from
modernity. An orphaned girl lives with her retired grandfather and his
cook in the
A Thousand Splendid
Suns gives readers a glimpse of
two women’s lives, married to the same abusive man, in
In The Blood of
Flowers, we get a beautiful portrait of the daily life of Ancient
Persia. A strong female narrator, although she remains nameless,
personifies the unjust treatment of women in this time and place, and gives us background
information on the making of Persian rugs.
Mozart’s Sister tells the story of
The Book Thief is about a girl who finds a way to bring books to
her family and neighbors and manages to distract them by reading to them while
they often gathered in basements during bomb raids during World War II.
The girl and her adopted parents illustrate their humanity when they attempt to
hide a Jewish man to save him from the Nazis. The point of view of poorer
Germans during the Holocaust is unique because during this time of war they
were victims, too, but that is rarely considered. Another unique element
is that the narrator is Death. A strange concept, but very well
done.
I just realized that all
the favorites I portrayed here have females as main characters who were
persecuted in some way. I guess that is because I am inspired by reading
about the strength and goodness of women who are capable of overcoming any
adversity.
Thank you for giving me
an opportunity to write about some of my favorite books. When I read this
report last year, I started a list of every book I’ve read this year. It
has been very helpful. I’ve read 55 books so far this year! If this
is published and someone who knows me is reading this and wondering what to get
me for Christmas, you can’t go wrong with a gift certificate to Capitol
Book!
-Stephanie Chance
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak: Such marvelous writing and different way of
telling a sad, yet wondrous, tale.
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen: It has
depth and substance and is informative and entertaining.
Without Fail by Lee Child:
My favorite suspense author. So far, in my opinion, Lee Child has
yet to deliver anything less than a riveting book.
War By Other Means by David Crouse:
I picked this book because the author is from
My Cat Spit McGee by Willie Morris: Just a fast, enjoyable read for
anyone who has known and loved a cat (and maybe even for those that haven’t).
Moloka'i by
Alan Brennert: A smooth story about the early 1900’s
in
The Falls by Joyce Carol Oates: This book has a magnetic
effect from page one.
Saints at the River by Ron Rash: Environment vs. emotion and, for me, as I read this story I kept asking
myself whose side I would be on, and just when I thought my mind was made up,
the other side made a very good point.
-Joyce Franz
I
should have taken your warning to heart. You know, the one about never
reading a book with the picture of a dog on its cover. Well, the photo of
the golden retriever on the cover of the book was so appealing that I read Merle's
Door by Ted Kerasote, anyway. Of course, it
does have a sad ending, but the journey there is joyous most of the way.
It's a lovely book. To offset the sadness, I read Sonny Brewer's Cormac: The Tale of a Dog Gone Missing.
I heartily recommend both.
-June
Zimmerman
Hi, Cheryl, Thomas or
Eleanor....don’t know who does this
The hard part is always
remembering what I read.
Clearly, the best read of the year for me for A Thousand Splendid Suns. I
really enjoyed The Tipping Point. I’m glad I read American Prometheus and
Animals in Translation.
-Phyllis Kennedy
My favorite read n 2007
was Eat, Pray, Love.
You don’t have to have
your life completely fall apart like the authors did to appreciate and greatly
benefit from this book. There are so many wise, sage and helpful
nuggets in it which stick with the reader long after they’ve finished it. The
world we live in today is difficult and chaotic in certain ways, and her wisdom
cuts right through a lot of it and can truly be beneficial to all
who read it. Plus it’s highly entertaining and humorous at the same time.
And it is NOT a self-help
book which I run from.
-Amy Nachman
Fiction-- The Cunning Man, by Robertson Davies; Magic Time,
by Doug Marlette,
Non-fiction -- The King's English: Adventures of an
Independent Bookseller, by Betsy Burton
-
The yearly challenge is
to narrow down to my favorite book in the past
twelve months. There were so many good reads this year that it was hard to
choose, but I would have to say that the book with the most lasting impact
was The Yiddish Policemen’s
social commentary, and love story in one thought-provoking package. A
classic "what if" tale that turns history on its head, it
nevertheless is
rooted in current political realities and is a damning look at all
religious fundamentalism. I can't stop thinking about it! Other favorites
this year include Eat, Pray, Love; Run by Ann Patchett;
Bridge of Sighs by
Richard Russo; Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver; Harry
Potter and the Deathly Hallows; Ines of My Soul by
Isabelle Allende
(wonderful); and The Road by Cormac McCarthy.
-Alice Hart Wertheim
Whoops, I almost forgot
...
Mr. Sebastian and the Negro Magician by
Daniel Wallace. Is the magic real or not? You'll never know until the
breathtaking final page. Henry's giddy journey through a life lived on the
confusing border of what is either delusion or illusion reads like a cross
between James Thurber and Ray Bradbury--wicked fun.
The Night Country by Stewart O'Nan. The ghosts of three teenagers killed in a car
wreck haunt their survivors on the one-year anniversary of their deaths
(Halloween, naturally). O'Nan reveals the truth
behind the accident with painstaking perfection; the final moments are
stunning--one of the best endings I've read in years.
Happy holidays, guys!
-Jim Gilbert
Thanks for asking about
my favorite (and least favorite) books this year. Since mid-May I've read
61 books I've read and listened to 19 audiobooks.
Of those 80, here's my response:
Favorite books of 2007
(in no particular order):
Speak (Laurie Halse Anderson)
- young adult
Talk Talk
(T.C. Boyle) - fiction
Everyman (Philip Roth) - fiction
Then We Came to the
End (Joshua Ferris) - fiction
Five Roundabouts to
Heaven (John Bingham) - fiction
Imperial Life in the
The Worst Hard Time (Timothy Egan) - non-fiction
Favorite audiobooks of 2007:
Beowulf (Seamus Heaney) - he read his translation
magnificently
Restless (William
Boyd) - interesting story, well read
His Dark Materials:
The Golden Compass (Philip
Pullman) - he was exactly the right reader for his work
Least Favorite (I didn't
even finish them):
The Piano Turner (Daniel Mason)
The Sunday Philosophy
Club (Alexander McCall Smith)
An Innocent Man (John Grisham)
The Testament (John Grisham)(audio book)
-Jean Tucker
My favorite book of '07
was Wrapped in Rain. Everyone I recommended it to loved it!!! -Julie Shashy
I
sent you about a billion for last year’s book roundup and certainly read some
good books in 2007. I read A Thousand Splendid Suns last week-
good, but not the surprise that The Kite Runner was. However, the
one I JUST finished has to go on
the list. Run, by Ann Patchett, takes
place over the course of two days and tells the story of families broken and
remade. Quite wonderful.
BTW
– the Beatles book I bought from you for my daughter was a huge hit!
Apparently she’d been wanting that exact book (I had no idea) and this
particular one had Ringo (her favorite) on the
cover. Thanks for helping me (unwittingly) give a nearly perfect
gift.
-Diane
L. Christy
Dear Tom, Cheryl and
Eleanor,
My favorite read in 2007 was The Poet of Tolstoy Park by Sonny
Brewer. This novel is based on the life of Henry Stuart, a retired,
rather eccentric professor, who in the 1920s was diagnosed with
tuberculosis. He was told by his doctor that his condition was
terminal, but that his quality of life during what remained of his
life would be enhanced if he moved to warmer climates.
As a result, Stuart decided -- sight unseen -- to move to Fairhope.
Through the mail, he contracted with a business agent in Fairhope to
purchase 10-acres of land in Montrose. And, then, he begins his journey.
I hate to reveal much more than this because the book is so rich and
full of surprises. It is a beautifully written account about a man's
journey, his philosophy of death, his love of literature --
especially anything written by Tolstoy -- and what he thinks will
become his final project before he dies.
This book is well worth the read, and if will most likely inspire
readers to dust off one of their old Tolstoy novels, or -- better yet
-- purchase the new translation of War and Peace.
-Cathy Gassenheimer
My favorite was ATONEMENT
by Ian McEwan. I've also read SATURDAY and ON
CHESIL BEACH by McEwan and enjoyed both of them, but
ATONEMENT, in my opinion, is really a masterpiece--gorgeous writing,
captivating characters, and an intriguing plot.
-Betty Burgess
My favorite book was WOLF
OF THE DEEP by Stephen Fox. The personal story of Raphael Semmes, a
transplanted
It was a stay-awake all
night book!
-Dot
These were my favorite
reads for 2007:
Illuminated by Matt Bronleewe. This book
is a cross between "The DaVinci Code" and
"National Treasure." In it, the hero is an archeobibliologist
who is forced to help a criminal discover clues to an ancient secret hidden in
illuminations in the Gutenberg bible (hence the name). The secret the
hero of the story finds threatens the very foundation of Christianity.
This book is both thrilling (I couldn't put it down!) and interesting.
The secret societies and other historical events in the book actually happened.
This book was published by Nelson and is Christian fiction but I do warn that
it is a thriller and not for the timid.
The Oath by Frank Peretti. I had been
intending to read this book for a long time and just recently got around to it
during the Christmas holidays. This story is another Christian thriller
like Illuminated. However, unlike Illuminated, Peretti's experience as a story-teller shines
through. I felt Peretti did a better job of
character development than Bronleewe. As the
story developed, I felt like I knew the characters and I was anxious to see how
they faired. In The Oath, a town is ruled with an iron fist by the
descendant of one of its founding fathers. Anyone who crosses him or
breaks "the oath" mysteriously disappears. The title refers to
an oath taken by the founding fathers not to reveal a shocking secret
having to do with the founding of the town. It also refers to an oath not
to reveal the reason by the mysterious disappearances. This was another
book I couldn't put down. In my opinion, Peretti
is just as good a storyteller as Stephen King.
I read another novel by Peretti in 2007, Monster.
Peretti's novels typically deal with good vs. evil in
more of a spiritual sense. Monster was more of a cross between
"King Kong" and "Frankenstein" in the sense that the
monster was a result of man's tinkering around where he shouldn't be.
Another book that was hard to put down and, like the other two, I highly
recommend it.
-Susan Tudor
Montgomery,
Cheryl and Thomas -
Here is my list:
The Places in Between by Rory Stewart - Just a
tremendous book, combining travel, adventure, and
sociology. Very informative. I have given copies to
all my friends who are deploying to
Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in
Thomas Ricks - Good book that captured the initial
stages of Operation Iraqi Freedom, both the
failures (not enough ground forces) and the great
heroism of our soldiers. I went back and read it
again this year after the surge and it was interesting
to compare
The Foreigner's Gift: The Americans, the Arabs, and
the Iraqis in
all year! Great story and insight from a leading Arab
scholar. For anyone who wants to understand the
religious (and therefore political) landscape in
this is an absolute must.
The Creek War of 1813 and 1814 by H. S. Halbert, T.
H.
Ball, and Frank L. Owsley - I actually took this book
on our trip to
ended up reading it completely. Halbert and
Ball
actually wrote this book in 1895, but Owsley has done
a tremendous job in adding later notes. I was
astounded by Halbert and Ball's insight into the
origins of this war, especially considering it was
written in 1895.
Pickett's History of Alabama: And Incidentally of
Albert J. Pickett - I have read this book once a year
since college graduation in 1991. Written in 1852, it
is a great companion book to
they are an informative and entertaining compendium of
Manhunt: The 12 Day Search for
James L. Swanson - For those who are interested in
history, conspiracies, or just want to get an idea
what our country was like in the immediate post-mortem
period of the Confederacy. Also, if you're familiar
with
on how much the Capitol Region has changed in the 143
years since the assassination.
America Alone by Mark Steyn - Steyn
writes about how
population and immigration patterns in the
will change
Hope this helps. I tried to keep it a 'best' list.
-David
Dear Tom and Cheryl,
This is such a great
thing that you do. I only wish there was the time to read all of the books that
are on the list you put together.
Some of these are first
reads and some are re-visits during 2007:
DISGRACE by J.M Coetzee. A disturbing book in the best sense. Stark and
lyrical at the same time.
ON BEAUTY by Zadie Smith. Terrific and smart. She writes of a literate
and honest family.
DISTRICT AND CIRLCE by
Seamus Heaney. The great Irish poet continues to startle and enhance my
life.
INTO THE WILD by Jonathan
Krakauer. A re-visit of a harrowingly true story.
MOY SAND AND GRAVEL by
another great poet, Paul Muldoon.
THE DIVING BELL AND THE
BUTTERFLY by Jean-Dominique Bauby. A memoir by the
editor of Elle who had a massive stroke and suffered a "locked-in
syndrome." The fight to keep communicating.
THE PROFESSOR AND THE
MADMAN by Simon Winchester. How the OED came to be. A great read.
SHAKESPEARE'S ENGLISH
KINGS by Peter Saccio. I have read this a few times
but was pleased to re-visit it while we did THE
WARS OF THE ROSES at ASF this past season.
Thanks and my very best
to you in this New Year.
-Greg Thornton
Cheryl, Tom, a short list
of a few of my favorites for '07:
Masters of the Air by
Donald Miller - A superb WWII account of Eighth Air Force .... extremely well
written and researched ... a real page turner.
Soldier's Heart by
Elizabeth Samet - Very interesting view of teaching
literature at
SOG by John Plaster -
Excellent book that details special operations in
Einstein by Walter Issacson - Terrific bio. Interesting life! Tough to get the
mind around some of the physics but fun trying.
Lone Survivor by Marcus Lattrell - Great read about a true American Hero!
The Doolittle Raid by
Carroll Glines - Very enlightening account of the
infamous raid on
The Rescue of BAT 21 by
Darrel Whitcomb - First class account of one of the more heroic search and
rescue efforts in
The Rescue of Streetcar
304 by Kenny Fields - Very well told story of the shootdown,
escape and evasion, and rescue of a Navy Fighter Pilot.
Happy New Year - Keep
smiling.
-Joe Panza
I
recently picked up a couple of copies of “Things I Want My Daughters to
Know: A Small Book About the Big Issues in Life” by Alexandra Stoddard
for Christmas gifts for my girls. It’s a very good read that really makes
you stop and think about what’s really important.
I
also re-read “The Book of Virtues: A Treasury of Great Moral Stories” by
William Bennett. As the grandmother of 10, I need all the examples and
help I can get in working with them.
“Manhunt:
The 12-day Chase for
“Playing
for Pizza” by John Grisham started off a little slow but by the time it was
over, I was involved with the players and cheering for them to win.
-Sandra
Porter
Children (including those
of the 60s) have a real treat in Puff
the Magic Dragon, which includes a terrific CD with a beautifully
illustrated book. My 4 yr. old granddaughter was transfixed by the book &
the CD, & older members of the family joined her in singing along but also
talking above her enthusiasm about the songs, the 60s, & the “settings” for
many Peter, Paul & Mary creations that characterized our generation and
entrance us still.
-Mary Morgan
I spent an afternoon
visiting with old friends of Capitol Book and News in August. We were all
celebrating George Browning’s birthday. George has lived a very
interesting life and it is one of his contemporaries that introduce to you
here. Patrick Leigh Fermor is a little older
than George and like George he is still around to grace us with wonderful
stories. Fermor was knighted by the Queen a
couple of years ago at the age of 92. At the age of 18 in 1933 Fermor began a hike across
The Everyman’s Library
edition of History of My Life by
Giacomo Casanova was exceptional. The eleven
volumes have been abridged and serve the modern reader well. What you may
think of Casanova should be placed in a brown bag and put out on the edge of
the street with the trash. Here is a sensational history of the workings
of European society. Casanova was indeed a lover but he was also much
more. Diplomat, priest, flim flam man,
politician, gambler, investor, prisoner, escape artist, tutor, father, and
lover, Giacomo was not more scandalous than most
young and talented men in
Lieut.
Henry Timberlake’s Memoirs 1756-1765 by
Henry Timberlake is a detailed account of one American-British officer’s time
spent among the Cherokee Indians in
Lost
Son by M. Allen Cunningham is this
novelist second book and one of my favorite novels for 2007. A fictional
memoir of Rainer Maria Rilke, this novel could
certainly pass as a memoir save for the first person narrative. The conversations between Cunningham’s Rilke
and Auguste Rodin is
worth the price of this one, but please don’t try to read this on the Delta
flight 58 from
Boone
A Biography by Robert Morgan
breathes new life into the dusty relic of myth we call Daniel Boone. Here
is a satisfying biography that gives us the real man. Boone preferred
words to bullets and his gift for gab saves his and many others scalps.
Morgan’s bio is just the perfect follow up to Richard Rhodes biography of John
James Audubon, John James Audubon The
Making of an American. Two great adventures in a wilderness lost
to us. Read Boone with a Fess Parker Pinot Noir and forget the coon
skinned cap, Boone never wore one.
And the best novel I have
read in years, Any Human Heart
by William Boyd is lush and timeless this novel smacks of a young Somerset
Maugham. You can drink this one now or let it age and it will still be
full bodied. This is the story of Logan Mountstuart
beginning in Montevideo, Uruguay, then to Oxford in the 1920’s and on into the
world. Mountstuart is everywhere you would want
to be with the charm and accent every woman would want in a man, but not
everyone becomes wise and reserved in their later years. This novel is as
good as Of Human Bondage and
will leave you wanting more. The first 5 chapters will read well with a
Guinness while the rest of book is best capped off with scotch. Here’s to 2008.
-Steven Wallace
Here are a few from my list in no
particular order.
Sufficient Grace by Darnell Arnoult--A
good Southern story of the lives of two families and the effect Gracie's
illness has on their lives.
Balzac and the Little Chinese
Seamstress by Dai Sijie
On Agate Hill by Lee Smith--Lee Smith is at her best when she
uses the diary of her main character to reveal herself.
The Innocent Man by John Grisham--Shocking nonfiction--reminded me
of In Cold Blood
Mockingbird: A Portrait of Harper Lee
--I have loved any tidbit of
information about Miss Lee for about 40 years since I read To Kill a
Mockingbird.
Home to Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani--Enjoyed
the series and catching up with Ave Maria.
The Memory Keeper's Daughter--Heartbreaking about the choices we make and
their consequences. My daughter recommended this after her book club read
it.
Alabama Moon by Watt Key--Loved this little book and Moon
Blake. What a character he is.
The Bean Trees and Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver--Good books and I learned a
lot about nature. Interesting connections between the characters and
their particular love of nature.
Death in Equality by Lucinda Ebersole
Letter from Point Clear by Dennis McFarland
Since I have my first grandchild, Stella and
I have also enjoyed selections from
Read to Me Grandma
Collected Nursery Rhymes
So Big
Merry Christmas, Mouse
Stella and I have found many seasonal
books to enjoy except for Thanksgiving. Someone needs to write some
Thanksgiving books for all ages.
Thanks,
-Lou Fuller
My favorite reads of 2007
included both the Alex Cross and Women's Murder Club series by James Patterson.
All of them were outstanding reads. One of my favorite authors is Homer Hickam and I loved The Coalwood
Way , a continuation of his brilliant The
Rocket Boys. Covering the same period as Rocket Boys, it
covers other humorous and moving stories of Homer's high school days in the
-John Brown
Because they are the most
recent reads, and I remember them and can put
my hands on them on the bookshelf...
in no particular order:
The Seasons of Rome, by Paul Hofmann
Read this one on the plane to Rome; great way to enjoy the rhythms and
nuances of the Eternal City in preparation for landing.
The Genius in the Design: Bernini, Borromini and the Rivalry That
Transformed Rome, by Jake Morrissey
A terrific way to get a dose of architectural history in context with
the power and politics that have shaped Rome since the beginning, so its
fun even if you're not interested in architecture. A true life
thriller.
A Valley in Italy, The Many Seasons of a Villa in Umbria, by Lisa St
Aubin de Teran
I had read and enjoyed Palladian Days by Sally Gable and this one
really ups the ante on the crazy, wacky lovable characters, and they're
not only the Italians ! This family adventure is a delight, and I would
be jealous if I weren't so spoiled by the comforts of indoor plumbing.
The City of
Another page turner, and a delightful look behind the crumbling, shored
up facades of that fabled city,
characters who are actually real people, it has wonderful descriptions
of life outside the tourist routes that cross the many and venerable
bridges of this city in a lagoon. Go figure.
Are you detecting a theme here?
The Lost Painting, by Jonathan Harr
What can I say? Yet another fantastic book that brings real people and
places to vivid light and life. What passion and intrigue! Let's head
off to track down all the Caravaggio's we can find.
Satyr Square, A Year, A Life in Rome, by Leonard Barkan
A little more complex to follow, but an interesting and honest
exploration of finding oneself in finding a new place. I did seek out the
Square in order to see the stair, and discovered some other gems in the
city that I had heard about before but not yet found.
Michael Graves: Images of a Grand Tour, by Brian M. Ambroziak
A picture book, full of glorious drawings and paintings and sketches by
a noted architect,
Professor of mine in college. This has been a very inspirational tome.
Roman Builders: A Study in Architectural Process, by Rabun Taylor
Fascinating and detailed account, well illustrated, showing the
development of Roman building form and process. OK, OK, so it’s another
book about architecture, and Roman at that. But one cannot discuss the
buildings a culture creates without discussing something about the
culture.
Ditto for
The Pantheon: Design, Meaning and Progeny, by William L. McDonald
Great story of a great building.
The Garden of the Finzi-Continis, by Giorgio Bassani
I had always wanted to read this book (and see the film), and a trip to
the Gardens at Ninfa, which inspired the author,
finally caused me to
achieve that goal; the movie is next on my list, or somewhere on my
list.
I've started a couple of cheezy prep school-private
school novels,
Prep, Academy X, The Upper Class, but they didn't hold my interest long
enough to finish, and summer was coming to a close.
I also started The World Is Flat, by Thomas Friedman, but I haven't yet
gotten into the rhythms of his writing; I will probably start again
sometime soon.
The Big House, by George Howe Colt, allowed me to luxuriate in the
fantasy of a rambling shingled summer house, as I sat in the living room
of my mother's charming wee cottage on
green light of a too brief summer stay.
Frank Lloyd Wright's Rosenbaum House, by Barbara K. Broach, Donald
Lambert and Milton Bagby
Thoughtful and articulate and loving account of the restoration of a
Wright treasure in Florence (there's the connection to the theme, see
!?)
discussion, as well as another really interesting glimpse into the life
and times of the PEOPLE who built the house, nit just the structure.
You can never have the architecture without the story of those who
built it, what the times were like, and what legacy they hoped to leave.
I am pleased to say that almost all (but not quite) of these books were
purchased (at some point in time) at CAPITOL BOOK & NEWS COMPANY.
Enough. There were some other texts, too. Stop,
Scott. Leave these
poor people alone.
Grazie mille
-Scott Finn
DISTRICT AND CIRCLE
by Seamus Heaney. The great Irish poet continues to startle and enhance my
life.
-Greg Thornton
My
book club reads a lot of different kinds of books and sometimes I can't
remember when exactly that I read them but here goes my closest guess as to my
favorites for 2007: first I believe One
Thousand White Women: the journals of May Dodd by Jim Fergus was
probably the most favorite. It is an historical fiction but we all kept
questioning whether it really happened or not Fergus had just enough facts
mixed in to keep you believing this was actual history plus the story was
wonderful you laughed, you cried, and you were angry all the emotional roller
coaster.
Second not a book club selection but A
Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hoseini
another one that was a ride on the roller coaster. It is set in the present in
The rest are The Saddlemaker's
Wife by Earlene Fowler a love story mystery.
The Space Between Us by Thrity Umrigar
another foreign class system story.
Between
The Chili Queen by Sandra
Dallas a western mystery quite a surprise ending.
My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult just sad but you didn't want to see
either side win.
Downtown : the journal of James Aloysius Holcombe Jr. by Ferrol Sams
interesting history of a
And finally three Clare Ferguson mysteries by Julia Spencer-Fleming All Mortal Flesh, Out of the Deep I Cry, and In the Bleak Midwinter I just love
the characters of Clare and Russ the priest and the local police chief.
-Lois Keel
Hi, I sure spent a lot of
time with my nose in the books last year. But I have to say that my favorites
were Angels and Demons by Dan Brown, Memoirs
of a Geisha which is old and everybody's read but I just
read it and loved it.
Also, read Snow
Flower and the Secret Fan which is somewhat reminiscent of
Memoirs but reads quite quickly (because you cannot put it down once you
get started).
I did discover a new author
Allison Winn Scotch who wrote The Department of Lost and
Found. A very promising novel about a young girl
diagnosed with breast cancer and the effects of chemo in regards to her life,
both personal and professional.
Also, I
read The Historian .....which folks either love or hate. I loved it.
A friend suggested it to me. Along with Good in Bed
which has some personal meaning to me.
I recently finished Skipper's
Revenge, The Five Love Languages, The
Handmaid and The Carpenter,
and The Devil Wears Prada, and The
Eyre Affair.
I was really disappointed
with Shopaholic and
Baby but then I never really cared for any of these but read
them because they are so quick.
Hope you all had a great
year reading!!!!
My book pile is getting
taller and taller already. And this year I will brave the Lord
of the Rings trilogy which I have
never read.
Take care....
Sit down with a good
book....
-Rachel Nanzer
I forgot to mention that
The Garden of the Finzi-Continis was
thoroughly engaging, beautiful and sad. It is one that haunted me for
quite a while, and I seemed to see the world in sepia tones for a day or
two, and felt anxious about the state of the world and the fragile
beauty of the things we have created in the world around us.
Also read The Secret Life of Bees.
Delightful, cathartic, funny and happy sad. It was one of those books
that just came at the right time into my hands, and I cried a good long
cleansing cry for the loss of my own mother.
-Scott Finn
Here is my list and thanks for publishing
your list. Each one was my favorite while I was reading it.
Servants of the
Map-Andrea Barrett
The Whole World
Over-Julia Glass
The Road- Cormac McCarthy
The Creation- E. O.
Wilson
Naturalist- E. O. Wilson
The Children of Men- P.
D. James
The Curious Incident of
the Dog in the Night Time-Mark Haddon
The Ruins-Scott Smith
Everyman-Philip Roth
The Emperor’s
Children-Claire Messud
Suite Francaise-Irene
Nemirovsky
The Kite Runner-Khaled Hosseini
March-Geraldine Brooks
The Girls-Lori Lansens
Hannable Rising-Thomas Harris
Middlesex-Jeffrey Eugenides
Big Bad Love-Larry Brown
Good Scent from a Strange
Mountain-Robert Olen Butler
The Bear Bryant Funeral
Train-Brad Vice
Gus Openshaw’s
Whale-Killing Journal-Keith Thomson
Brunelleschi’s Dome-Ross King
Coming of Age at the Y-
William Cobb
The Sportswriter-Richard
Ford
Underworld-Dan Delillo
-Randy Shoults
I recently finished Mary
Morris' THE RIVER QUEEN that proves once again she is one of the finest
memoirists writing these days. Like her NOTHING TO DECLARE of a few years ago,
QUEEN is a fantastic story, telling about her journey with couple of
interesting midwestern good old boys on a small boat
down the
I am currently reading an
outstanding history and autobiography, REVOLUTION OF HOPE, by Vicente Fox, the
former president of
Sena Jeter Naslund's
ABUNDANCE tells the colorful, dramatic, and explosive tragedy of Marie
Antoinette. It's a wonderful historical novel filled vibrant characters
-Wayne Greenhaw
San Miguel de Allende,
Anything by Ron Rash!!
You can tell this guy was a poet first; his
language is so great. Of course, the fact that he is from the same area
of NC as I am helps too! THE WORLD MADE STRAIGHT, ONE FOOT IN
SAINTS AT THE RIVER
Agate Hill by Lee Smith -
A really unique Civil War epistolary novel
If you're looking for laughs, Carl Hiaasen's NATURE GIRL or SKINNY DIP
will keep you in stitches.
One book that I loaned out that got rave reviews (one lady even had me
order 3 for her to give as Christmas gifts!) was BEING DEAD IS NO
EXCUSE by Gayden Metcalfe. And it has great recipes!!
THE
is one of those authors who makes me look forward to
her next novel.
Katherine Valentine's series - A MIRACLE FOR ST. CECELIA'S, A GATHERING
OF ANGELS, GRACE WILL LEAD ME HOME -
are kind of a Jan Karon/Thomas Kincaid style but have
their own merit.
You get involved with the people of the town as in the Karon
novels but
these are set in a
WINTER BIRDS by Jamie Langston Turner. Another author
that deals with
people's lives in a small Southern town. While not as related as
Karon's or Valentine's, the story is well thought out
and written.
Sharyn McCrumb returns to
NASCAR with ONCE AROUND THE TRACK. I have
always enjoyed her Appalachian Ballad novels but was surprised how much
I enjoyed ST. DALE.
-Susan Graben
Thank
you for the opportunity to recommend two terrific books from 2007.
As
a resident of the
My
other recommendation is Ron McLarty's "The
Memory of Running." I picked it up in the marked-down display, read
the first page, and was captured by Smithy Ide's trek
across the continent. His transformations on the trip, physical and
mental, are beautiful to witness.
Thanks
so much, hope you all have a wonderful year.
-Pat
Mayer
It
was hard to narrow it down, but I have read two books in 2007 that I really
loved and would highly recommend.
The
Queen of Bedlam, by Robert McCammon, was a wonderful
follow up to his last book, Speaks The Nightbird.
The Queen Of Bedlam was so hard to put down, full of colorful characters, and
drenched in history and mystery. I look forward to reading more about
Matthew Corbett and his further adventures.
Rhett
Butler's People, by Donald McCaig, ended up being
quite a surprising read. I usually don't like it when authors "mess
with the classics", but this book is indeed an exception. The story
of Rhett Butler's childhood and all of the things he did that were not
mentioned in Gone With The Wind made for fascinating reading, I truly loved the
book, and have been recommending it to all of my friends.
-Laura
W.
As we approach the 100th
anniversary of the beginning of World War I, which did so much to create the
world we live in, I've been thinking about how it is going to be commemorated.
Historians still debate what caused it. Rather than a historical tome, I would
recommend the trilogy of novels by the British author, Pat Barker:
Regeneration, The Eye in the Door, and The Ghost Road.
-Elaine Fuller
Dear Thomas,
One of my favorite books was "Loving Frank," a novel about the affair
that Frank Lloyd Wright had with a married client. I had developed a liking for
FLW's architecture only after watching my friend,
Barbara Broach, work to restore the only FLW house in the state, the Rosenbaum
house in
A book I hated was "What Happened Before He Shot Her," by one of my
favorite writers, Elizabeth George. As those who follow her books about
Inspector Thomas Lynley and Detective Barbara Havers of Scotland Yard know, Lynley's
pregnant wife was gunned down in the book before this one. Thus
the title of this one. It begins in the housing projects of
(If I think of others, I'll send them along. It's amazing how hard it is to
remember what you read last January! I just read "Loving Frank" at
the end of November or first of December, so I can remember it.)
Til later,
-Sunshine Huff
Hello and Happy New Year!
In 2007 our book group at Saint Thomas Episcopal Church read Lenten Lands by
Douglas Gresham, a memoir of Gresham's growing up years with C.S.Lewis and Joy Davidman, his
step father and mother. We also read The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio by
Terry Ryan, the true story of a woman who kept poverty at bay by winning
contests. In the Fall we read Boo Who by Rene Gutteridge,
a zany funny book with a serious side. This book is reminiscent of a Frank
Capra comedy! As our public library sponsored a one read event in October,
we followed the library lead and read the great To Kill a Mockingbird. We
finished the year with Eat, Pray, Love a very, very popular book that our group
enjoyed a great deal. Future reads are Pride and Prejudice, another great
classic, Things Seen and Unseen by Nora Gallagher, a year in the life of
Trinity Episcopal Church in
The Friends of the Library in
I am currently reading Bookmarked to Die by Jo Deleske
and Paula Deen's It Ain't
All About the Cookin'! Very different
books, but both enjoyable. I can' wait to read Julia
Spencer-Fleming's next book I Shall Not Want which is due in the Summer. I
continue to recommend Margaret Coel's mysteries, set
among the Arapaho people. The most recent, The Girl with Braided Hair, was very affecting.
Thanks for keeping us all informed about the best in reading materials! Keep up
the good work and have a great 2008!
-Sonya Boyd
Columbus,
Thanks
for providing "Favorite Reads." I always enjoy seeing what
others are reading.
This
was a good year for good books. Let me mention several that I particularly
enjoyed.
TWELVE
MIGHTY ORPHANS by Jim Dent - An inspiring and interesting David-Goliath story
about a football team of misfits. Verne Lundquist of CBS Sports
says, "This just might be the best sports book ever written."
THEY
MARCHED INTO SUNLIGHT by David Maraniss - Written
several years ago, this book paints a picture of the incredible events in the
MONEYBALL by Michael Lewis - Non-fiction book about
the incredible and largely unknown changes that have occurred in major-league
baseball.
NINETEEN
MINUTES by Jodi Picoult - A tragic event happens in a
small town. This is one of Picoult's
best. I read it just around the time of the Virginia Tech tragedy.
That made it all the more pertinent.
-Don
Bouldin
I
always enjoy your column in the Montgomery Advertiser. Unfortunately I
have never visited your shop; it's off my beaten path, but I still read your
column every Sunday.
In
today's column you asked readers to e-mail favorite and least favorite reads of
2007. Here are mine.
Favorite
Read: The Religion by Tim Willocks.
The frontspiece of the dust jacket lays it right
out. This book sweeps you away and sucks the breath right out of
you. An historical novel about the seige
of
This
British physician author, Tim Willocks, is new
to me but The Religion is the first book of a Trilogy, and I will find,
buy, read, and treasure the remaining two when they are published. For
any student of history, this book absolutely will blow
you away.
-Cecil McElvaine
Best reads of 2007
There is an ephemeral pleasure to be felt when looking
back over a list of books read during the year and enjoying those books anew. A
similar sensation occurs when reviewing a list of movies watched or birds
observed. Perhaps we feel an ability to conceive time in a different fashion
through this activity, or perhaps it is just satisfying to remember books that
have entertained, enlightened or sustained us over the past 12 months.
Surely though, it is more than this. It is an
accomplishment, a building up of emotions and sensations and memories that adds
up to something substantial, even though it is not measurable in any
conventional sense. The memory of a good book, and all that it evokes, is one
of the great pleasures in life.
Here are some brief notes on the books I enjoyed in 2007:
“Arthur and George” by
Julian Barnes -- A historical-fiction mystery (is that a category?) about the
relationship between Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and George Edaljy,
a lawyer of Pakistani descent in the end of the 19th and beginning
of the 20th centuries in
George is accused of a heinous crime, and is able to
enlist the help of Arthur. Both men have emotional difficulties and family
problems. Barnes uses an artful technique with which to unfold the tale.
“Smonk”
by Tom Franklin –
To
attempt further description of this book would overtax my limited abilities.
Read it and everything else written by Tom Franklin.
“We Were the Mulvaneys” by Joyce Carol Oates – Oates is one of our
greatest living writers and this book is one of her best, according to many
critics. After a young girl is victimized in a despicable act, her family
slowly disintegrates in a most excruciating fashion.
Oates
unfolds the story with gentleness and great descriptive skill and lightens it
with humor and some pleasant family moments.
“How to Read a Poem…and
Start a
“On Writing” by Stephen
King – King describes his process and provides a short “writing biography” in
this fairly short book. His process is much more workman-like and less
fantastic than I had previously thought. He also describes the experience of
being struck by a vehicle while on one of his daily walks and how it nearly
killed him.
“The Amazing Adventures
of Kavalier & Clay” by Michael Chabon – This turned out, quite unexpectedly, to be my
favorite book of the year. It is large is size and scope and tells an epic tale
that includes Hitler’s persecution of the Jews before and during World War II,
the rise and glory days of comic books and the effects of war on the
individual. Chabon also covers the world of escape
artists and magicians (illusionists), family life, love, sex, horror, art and
the
It
is a 600-plus page rollicking good read that moves with great speed through
moments of elation and utter heartbreak and just about everything in between.
“The Yiddish Policeman’s
Chess and chess history are featured prominently in this
novel, and I didn’t get all of these references, since I never played. It is
still a very good novel that I think will appeal to mystery lovers and just
plain fiction lovers alike.
“The Fifth Woman” by
Henning Mankell – If you are a mystery lover and are
looking for something different, Mankell is your man.
His novels are set in and around
Wallender is a senior police
investigator who spends a lot of time drinking coffee and making lists when he
is not complaining about the weather. But when a murder is committed, he
instantly becomes all business – relentless and brilliant. A series of bizarre
murders has Wallender stumped until he is able to
decipher the message conveyed by the method of the killings.
“The Dogs of Riga” by
Henning Menkel – Wallender travels
to
Wallender has to resort to
spy-like tactics to solve the murders, and quite surprisingly finds romance in
the gray city of
“1912” by James Chace
– This is history in a very academic form – possibly a doctoral thesis made
into a book. The year in question was a tumultuous one, with fears of communism
and the rise of unions informing the presidential election. History buffs will
enjoy it.
“A Death in the Family”
by James Agee – The Pulitzer Prize was awarded to Agee posthumously for this
novel, which feels heavily autobiographical. One of Agee’s greatest talents was
the ability to describe the world through a child’s eyes.
The stream-of-consciousness passages here are similar to
those found in “Let Us Now Praise Famous Men.” They can be difficult to read
sometimes, but they offer some of the most tender and sentimental moments of
the book.
-Clark Bruner
My
favorite read for 2007 was "Blackbird" and it's sequel "Stillwaters" by Jennifer Lauck.
The true and amazing story of a young girl and the incredible odds that she is
able to overcome with a family that keeps falling apart. An unbelievable
testament to the human spirit.
-C. Robbins
I
was born near the end of World War II, and as a child I was fascinated to hear
my mother and aunt reminisce about victory gardens, rationing and coupons,
knitting sweaters and socks for the troops, plane spotting, and rolling
bandages. Women's contributions to the war effort have always been an
interest, and in 2007 two books were especially informative and appealing. (1) Our Mothers' War:
American Women at Home and at the Front During World War II, by
Emily Yellin. Inspired by her mother's WW II
journal and letters written while a Red Cross volunteer in the Pacific, the
author presents the wartime experiences of movie stars and average Janes, women of many ethnic and socio-economic backgrounds
who served at home and overseas as members of the military or as everyday
civilians. An excellent overview of what life was like for American women in
the 1940s. (2) No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt: The Home Front in
World War II by
Two
baseball biographies were on my list. Jane Leavy's
Sandy Koufax, A Lefty's Legacy made me marvel at Koufax's monumental talent and left me wondering what
records he might have set had his arm and his career lasted another
decade. Terrific book! I was not nearly so taken with Joseph Durso's DiMaggio: The Last American Knight, mostly because the
subject was not as appealing. The Yankee Clipper comes across as arrogant and
utterly self-centered - the opposite of Koufax. But
perhaps I should, in all fairness, confess to a preference for the National
League over the American....
The Tender Bar, J. R. Moehringer's
autobiographical account of growing up among the denizens of a New York
bar, abounds with some of the strangest, most memorable characters I've
ever encountered, and I'm glad none of them was part of my own formative years.
A
friend introduced me to the thrillers of Iris Johansen late in the year, and
both Countdown
and Stalemate
satisfied my liking for plot twists, snappy dialogue, and boffo
finishes.
-
I have read several
Elizabeth George books during 2007 and loved all of them. They are so British, have
great plots and character development. I have also enjoyed reading Julia
Fleming Spencer who has won several prestigious awards for her mysteries. I met
Julia at the Montgomery Book Fair this past year. She is a new author for me
and I have found her series about the female Episcopal priest and the small
town police chief working together to solve murders to be very compelling
reading.
-Char Freeman
Hey guys,
I'm sending along my vote for the best of 2007. I didn't do as well as I did
last year; I only got in 85 books, but I was very pleased w/the offerings this
year. It seemed like everyone had something new to offer, from a biography
about the Crocodile Hunter to the last Harry Potter book to Lost in Austen (a
choose your own adventure Austen book that I couldn't include because I haven't
finished it yet!) to the reissue of Kathryn Tucker Windham's book about front
porches. I think I'll remember 2007 as one of the best years for books in a
long time. It was hard to find time to read them all and still harder to pick
from the lot and choose the best. Still, I've made a go of it and here are my
10 picks for the best of 2007:
10) The Last Stand by Chris Claremont
I am a HUGE X-Men fan. The whole universe just captures my imagination. The
movies have been a major source of entertainment and can always make me feel
better on a down day. They are thrilling, exciting, and action-packed. This
book is the novelization of the last X-Men movie. I
know, why would you read it if you can just watch it? Because
The book is even more exciting than the movie and provides valuable insights
that aren’t available in the motion picture. It really makes me think that
there will be another movie, which is a great source of comfort for me.
It gets A+ **** Energizingly Brilliant
9) Mr. Monk Goes to the Firehouse by Lee Goldberg
I love the TV show Monk. It's always so funny and Mr.
Monk's OCD is just great. This is actually the first season Jonathan and I have
watched it & we're now addicted. I was thrilled beyond words to learn that
there was a mystery series out there based on the characters. And a little concerned. Let's face it, books based on
television series and/or movies don't always live up to their expectations. So
I read this book warily.
I needn't have worried. Goldberg is brilliant. He captures Monk perfectly. And
the other characters, too. The plot? Monk tries to
solve the murder of a firehouse dog and ends up involved in trying to solve
another murder. It was a great whodunit and a true jewel for fans of the show.
By the way, for those who loved Diagnosis Murder, Goldberg also wrote a
series of mysteries about that show. I'm definitely gonna
check them out.
It gets A+ **** Hilariously Brilliant
8) I'm Proud of You by Tim Madigan
I readily admit to being a Mister Rogers fan. When I've had a bad day, it's
nice to turn on the television and see that Mr. Rogers is still sharing the
same message of unconditional love. I have wondered, of course, if he was as
nice in real life as he was on television. And apparently, he was. This is the
story of Madigan's 'unlikely' friendship with Fred Rogers, host of Mr. Rogers'
Neighborhood, which began when he was interviewing the television star. Madigan
copies letters written by
It gets **** A+ Joyfully Brilliant
7) My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
Jodi Picoult is one of my favorite writers; she has a
talent for tackling controversial topics and making you think about your
position. This one is no exception. Picoult tells the
story of a 13 year old who was conceived to be a genetic match for her sister
who is dying of leukemia. It tells the stories of the many times that she goes
to bat for her sister, placing her own body at risk, at her parents' request to
save her sister. Until the day she doesn't want to do it anymore. It's
skillfully and eloquently done. I have thought of this topic many times and I
had never considered what it would mean to be the child who was only born to
help a sibling. What if the sibling had never needed help? Picoult
tackles these aspects with care and concern. While I haven't changed my mind
about genetic matches, I now can appreciate the other side better. And isn't
that the mark of a truly great writer?
**** A+ Achingly Brilliant
6) A Perfect Match by Jodi Picoult
As previously stated, Picoult is one of my favorite
writers. The writing is clean and fresh, sharp and clear. The situations,
however, are muddy, confusing, and worthy of debate. This novel focuses on
Nathaniel, a child who was molested and his mother, the Prosecutor, who can't
stand what the "justice" system will do to the little guy. As a
social worker, I have ranted and raved many times about how helpless children
are before our system; there is no one to speak for them, no one to protect
them. The predators are protected securely by the system. I agree fully with Picoult's view of the system. It fails. Many
many times. Too often.
And if you've ever seen the system fail a kid, you know the frustration. So the
mother extracts her own justice. And fails. I have to
tell you, it was eye-opening to me. I've thought (quite happily) about the kind
of justice I would extract from someone who hurt my nephews. This, however, got
me to thinking. Is justice really best for the kids? Did Nathaniel benefit from
what his mother did? The questions are many and this book sparked some
wonderful debates around the office. Picoult is
passionate about her subject and her talent shines through.
**** A+ Profoundly Brilliant
5) The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
This was a surprising treasure I lucked up on at my public library. What
bibliophile could resist such a title? It was a foreign concept as well, the
tale of a German girl during World War II. Not a topic I had given much
thought, although I had thought much and read much about Jewish Germans during
that time. So what must it have been like? A leader run amuck
and dragging his country with him. Although many agreed with him, not
all did and life for them was a constant gamble. In this tale, told in
mesmerizing fashion by Death himself, the characters shine brightly and tales
of bravery and humanity (even by Hitler's staunchest followers) are an everyday
occurrence. Zusak has true talent and I look forward
to reading much more of his works.
It gets **** A+ Vividly Brilliant
4) A Girl Named Zippy by Haven Kimmel
This is a book recommended to me by my dear husband about a year ago. It took
me this long to get to it. And, now that I've read it, I'm very sorry I didn't
get to it sooner. This is the memoir of a girl growing up in a small town in
It gets **** A+ Sparklingly Brilliant
3) Across the Miles: Tales of Correspondence by L.M. Montgomery
I adore Ms. Montgomery. Have ever since I was 12 and got Anne of Green
Gables for Christmas. Her writing is extraordinary and is fresh even in
2007. I read all the novels I could get my grubby little paws on, but wanted
still more. How wonderful to discover a collection of short stories written by
her and compiled by Rae Wilmhurst (a true heroine for
locating the jewels).
While there are several collections, this is the best of the group. Ms.
Montgomery had a reputation for recycling story lines, but you see none of that
in this collection. Each story is a brand new treasure. They are stories
revolving around letters and journals; everything from love letters to lost
notes. They are heart-warming and satisfying. Even for fans who eschew the
short story collections, this collection should be examined closely. I loved
it!
It gets **** A+ Wonderfully Brilliant
2) Steve & Me by Terri Irwin
I didn't really think much about the Crocodile Hunter. I mean, beyond the fact
that my nephews love him and the kitties like to watch his show. That is, I
didn't really think about him until his untimely death and then I heard a kid
make a remark that one of his dreams would never come true now. He is a
brilliant kid, interested in wildlife, who wanted to grow up, move to
When I saw this book, I just had to pick it up. Mostly, I was curious, but I
wasn't holding my breath that it would be a brilliant read. Just
a good one. I can't say why. I just didn't. I'm very glad to say that I
was wrong.
Steve & Me is written by Terri Irwin, a grieving widow raising two
small children. A major feat, I'm sure. It is unflinching as it looks at her
grief and sparkling as she talks about the man that she loves. She does not
make him out to be a saint, but shows us his flaws. And it makes us respect him
more because he wasn't perfect.
It's a fast read and well worth the time.
It gets **** A+ Authentically Brilliant
And finally... My vote for book of the year goes to....
1) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
I have waited for this book for so very long. Ever since I
read the first one, really. How does it all end? Does Harry survive? Can
the Wizarding World ever be truly safe from Moldy Voldy? (Gotta
love Peeves!) The release, however, was bittersweet. After all, it’s the
end of a phenomenon. Very likely the last time we will see children standing in
line at
The final installment in the Harry Potter series is, in my humble opinion, the
best of the lot. This follows Harry on his search for the Horcruxes
and the Wizarding World’s descent into the dark days.
I had feared that we would be left with unanswered questions and a lack of
resolution (remember Snicket’s The End?), but
none of that is true. There is resolution and the whole series is wrapped up
lovingly. It is the most exciting of the series and I was thrilled from the
first page to the last. There were no flaws and I could not have asked for
more.
I will include a warning: I’ve heard people saying that they’ll start with this
one and go back and read the first books later. Don’t. You’ll miss the joy of
discovering Harry, Hermione, and Ron along the way and the pay-off won’t be
there for you. Trust me on this one. You’ll want to wait. It is well worth it.
It gets A+ **** Magically Brilliant
-Amanda Cullum
Valley,
My favorite read of 2007
was Water for Elephants--hands down. What an interesting, unusual,
and tightly woven tale, with layers and layers of emotion, drama, mystery, and intrigue
lightened by a love story and by contrasting perspectives of the main
character's life. The books I enjoy most are those through which I learn
something new, and this book was packed full of information disguised as
fiction. When I first read the back cover, I thought: why would I
want to learn about circuses in the time of the Great Depression? After
the first paragraph, I couldn't put it down. What a great read!
The other books I remember most from last year were Suite Francaise, by Irene Nemirovsky,
and four by Jodi Picoult, My Sister's Keeper, The
Pact, Plain Truth, and Songs of the Humpback Whale, in order of
preference beginning with the one I enjoyed most. Picoult
takes a scholarly approach to her writing and research, which I enjoy immensely,
but her language is delicate and nuanced. After reading a few of her novels, I
could see the formula by which she completed the work, but that only bothered
me a little bit. I still want to read more from her. Suite Francaise is the first two novels of what Nemirovsky planned to be a series of five on the topic of
the German occupation of
-Su Ofe
Lagging
behind my wife's, here is my list of 2007 reads, in the approximate order that
I read them:
1.
40 EXAMPLES by Ansel Adams -- As my interest in
photography continued to develop (pun intended) early in the year, I decided to
study up.
2.
PICTURE TAKER: PHOTOGRAPHS BY KEN ELKINS -- A career's worth of great work
from one of
3.
EUDORA WELTY: PHOTOGRAPHS and COUNTRY CHURCHYARDS, both by Eudora Welty -- This was my year to rediscover Welty's
genius after a brief encounter in college. Again, these are "picture
books" but full of depth nonetheless. Unlike the work of Walker
Evans, Welty's images of the South are captured with
the affection of a native.
4.
PHOTOPORTRAITS by Henri Cartier-Bresson -- I pored over several books by the
legendary French photographer, but this is the one I find most impressive, for
its visual elegance.
5.
ENCOUNTERS by Kathryn Tucker Windham -- Short essays and photos from a living
6.
1/2 PRICE LIVING: SECRETS TO LIVING WELL ON ONE INCOME by Ellie Kay -- A
bit skimpy, but I enjoy Kay's financial wisdom and Christian perspective
anyway.
7.
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS by J.K. Rowling -- Rowling pulls off the
final chapter of this years-long balancing act with a lot of finesse.
Dark stuff, full of imagination.
8.
THE END (A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS) by Lemony Snicket
-- I didn't think there were any surprises left after 13 books, but WOW, what a
clever ending! It blindsided me. My interpretation: the Snicket character in the book is not the man we've thought
he was. My wife, on the other hand, says I misread the ending... But
I think not!
9.
A REDBIRD CHRISTMAS by Fannie Flagg -- My first time
reading another Alabamian. Generally entertaining and heartwarming.
10.
DOLLY: MY LIFE AND OTHER UNFINISHED BUSINESS by Dolly Parton
-- The music history and childhood remembrances are fascinating. I could
have done without some of the pseudospiritual
fluff.
11.
MR. MONK GOES TO THE FIREHOUSE by Lee Goldberg -- One of the best of the year,
surprisingly. Goldberg takes a lovable TV character and brings him to
life with pinpoint accuracy. A page-turner in the very best sense of the
word.
12.
A CURTAIN OF GREEN AND OTHER STORES by Eudora Welty
-- My favorite of the year, perhaps the whole decade. Welty proves herself head and shoulders above most other writers
with now-classic stories like "The Whistle" and "A Worn
Path." Her figures of speech are startling in their imagery, her
sentences seem constructed with surgical precision. Otherworldly in its
masterful use of language.
13.
MR. MONK GOES TO HAWAII by Lee Goldberg -- Lighter fare after Welty. Somewhat more predictable than MR. MONK GOES TO THE
FIREHOUSE, but Goldberg's pacing and characterizations are spot-on.
14.
JUST AN ORDINARY DAY by Shirley Jackson -- For some reason, it took me a year
and a half to finish this book, even though it is an
average-length collection of weirdly interesting short stories. A
deal with the devil, death by chocolate, and ghostly children inhabit the pages
of this mixed bag from the author of THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE and
"The Lottery."
Jonathan
Cullum
Here
are some books I really enjoyed in 2007 apart from the bestsellers already on
people's radar:
"Suddenly They Heard Footsteps: Storytelling for the Twenty-First
Century" by Dan Yashinsky, a professional
storyteller who lives in Canada, is a great book that combines experiences Yashinsky has had as a storyteller, his insight on why
storytelling is important and how to be a good teller and a collection of
stories. It has great stories about telling stories, along with great
stories.
"Only You Can Save Mankind" by Terry Pratchett
is one of his "young adult" books from the early 1990s, although I
don't think it was published here until somewhat more recently. The book is
about Johnny Maxwell, a British boy who gets sucked into a computer game where
some of the characters no longer want to fight, and it has a lot to say about
war both in the game and real worlds. The humor and the crackerjack writing
will appeal to adults (even those like me who don't play computer games), and
it's a must-read for any kid or adult who enjoys computer games. The two Johnny
Maxwell sequels are a lot of fun, too.
I have just recently discovered Jane Austen (How did I manage to put off
devouring these books off as long as I have?) and cannot believe what a
"modern" voice this author of the early 1800s had. And the books are
so funny. I've found that I particularly enjoy them as audiobooks.
"
-Madelyn Dinnerstein
Pittsburgh, PA,
Usually
I prefer fiction but, in 2007, I found two very interesting nonfiction books.
After watching both The King of Scotland and Hotel Rwanda, I read The
Bone Woman: A Forensic Anthropologist’s Search for Truth in the Mass
The
second nonfiction book I liked was The Colony by John Tayman, which deals with the establishment of the leprosy
colony on
On
the fiction side, I liked the following:
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. It’s
about a circus and has thrills, chills, a love story and, of course, an
elephant!
The Girls by Lori Lansens. Rose and Ruby Darlen are the oldest, surviving conjoined twins and they
are writing their life story. They write individually and in very
different styles and their interpretations of life events are often very
different. It’s a fascinating look at how they see their family and
community and how they feel about each other. Although it sounds like a
nonfiction book, it is fiction.
This
is probably cheating because I read this book two years ago but I loved The
Twelve Little Cakes by Dominika Dery. Ms. Dery, who was
born in 1975 in what was then
-Jean
Smyth
Maurice
Manning’s Bucolics, a book of poetry that
poses the age old man/god in a pastoral setting with a laborer constantly
haranguing someone he calls “Boss” was my number one favorite poetry read of
2007. Many poets write wonderful and memorable poems, but Mannings’
book is unique – it’s a poet’s book, as well as one that will touch the heart
of anyone who has ever wondered – who made us? why are we here? is anyone
listening? For fiction, hands down I have to say Ian McEwan’s
Atonement was one of those books in the league with Ahab’s Wife
or Sound and the Fury, a true ground-breaker. This book had
languished in my house for at least a year before I picked it up in December.
To swim in the ocean of such powerfully well-made fiction is exhilarating, and
I really didn’t want to come up for air. This is a book that changed my life as
a writer.
-Jeanie
Thompson
Executive
Director
Easily: Stephen Colbert's
"I Am America (and So Can You)" I never would have bought it for
myself, but I got it as a gift and it is hilarious!
-Foster Dickson
-More
than likely many of your customers have read these first two books and
perhaps had the opportunity to see the author at Huntingdon. Two of my
favorites were Magic
Time and The Bridge both by Doug Marlette who has sadly left this life.
Magic Time is the story of Mississsippi's
Freedom Summer of 1964 told in flashbacks between that summer and current time
in
Pat
Conroy said that The Bridge is the finest novel to come out of the South
since Thomas Wolfe's Look Homeward Angel! It centers on the past as well - the
Great Textile Strike of 1934 and life in the mills and their villages. Its main
character has to deal with his career, the tear in his marital relationship,
returning home to his extended family and their eccentricities and the
truth that is uncovered that helps to settle his questions and
his life. This book caused a huge controversy in
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See is a fascinating book about women
in a remote province of 19th century
The Distance from the Heart of Things by Ashley Warlick
is a beautifully written novel about the South. It's about family and the
strong bond that exists as this lead character becomes a woman.
Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert was such a good read! After going through a
divorce and severe depression a woman journeys to
Elizabeth
Baucom,
I am lucky to have
creative folks in my life and in 2007 three of them had new books.
In April I introduced my
friend Tom Kimmel for his reading at the Alabama Book Festival in
Another friend who is a
poet, Barbara Wiedeman, published her book, The
Half Life of Love, later in the year. Lots of Barbara’s poems are set in
the American southwest and her images and emotions transported me back to my
own desert adventures many years ago. Barbara is a powerful poet and her work
describes landscapes exterior and interior in ways that makes a mental,
emotional and spiritual impression.
Lee Smith swears that her
latest novel, On Agate Hill, is her last because creating the characters
require so much emotional investment. Certainly, the characters of her new book
are full, commanding, endearing, and sometimes even frightening. Although for reasons most readers of these
comments will know, I am forever in love with Ivy Rowe, Molly certainly
deserves a place in my heart. Lee
remains concerned On Agate Hill is too dark. But anyone who is even a
little versed in the tale’s time period—Reconstruction—knows that those days
were tough, and it took tough characters to survive them. Molly, Jacky, BJ,
Simon are tough, alive, and present to an amazing degree. Hanging out around a
dinner table at the Sunset Grill in
And since I am writing
about folks that I do even pretend to be objective about, I heartily recommend
Tim Henderson’s book, A Glorious Defeat, and not just because I am a fan
& he is my hubby! He’ll probably get mad at me for writing this, but I
really think it is his best writing so far. In entertaining, lyrical prose, Tim
explains the events and situations that brought the
-Karren
Pell
Cheryl and Thomas,
Your book list is always one of the highlights of my year. I've read some
really wonderful books in 2007. I'm terrible at describing books so will
not even try because I don't want to discourage anyone. The following are
truly exceptional books - I was sorry when each of them ended.
Body and Soul by Frank Conroy
Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
Queen of the Underworld by Gail Godwin
A Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst
-Lee Eaton
I am enjoying Galt Neiderhoffer's
"A Taxonomy of
Barnacles" very much. I read horrible reviews of the
book (which is what made me decide to read it for
myself), but I'm finding it witty. The author, who
was pretty widely panned for this book, drew me in
immediately with descriptions of the six Barnacle
sisters, their crazy penthouse apartment (complete
with indoor zoo!) and their lives, each of which is
utterly different.
Jon Krakauer's "Into the Wild" is at the
top of my
2007 list. I loved the kid and hated his careless
disregard for his life. Although I didn't think
McCandless was completely arrogant or the least bit
suicidal, I found Krakauer's story about his own
hiking adventure to be explanatory and moving, in the
context of the book. Krakauer said that he suffered
from "hubris, perhaps, and an appalling innocence,
certainly; but [he] wasn't suicidal." He went on to
say that at his age, death was an abstract concept.
Several 10th grade M.A. students read this book for
extra credit last semester (thank you for the
suggestion, Capitol Book) and enjoyed it; one intrepid
student pointed out that as McCandless shed his
belongings during his cross-country trek, he also left
behind the guitar on which his mother played lullabies
for him. That, and the part where McCandless'
parents
visited the bus where McCandless spent his last days,
broke my squishy mom heart. I can't wait to see the
movie at the
-Stephanie Hill
Don't know if you are still collecting reads for the 2007 but that was the year of the classics for me, I went to my old favorites to check them out again
Hamlet by William Shakespeare (need I say more)
The Iliad by Homer (again a great one)
Then I jumped into some other reads such as:
The Golden Compass by Phillip Pullman
and back to one of my favorite authors, Joanne Harris for
Gentlemen and Players
I read some others but most were literature reads. I think we should visit the classics from time to time.
This year I will get back to visiting Carolyn Haynes in her books, I have three on my plate:
Ham Bones, Wishbones, and Bones to Pick.
Amanda Edwards
And just for the fun of it, here’s Cheryl’s list of
all her 2007 reads:
|
|
CHERYL'S
2007 READS |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
TITLE |
AUTHOR |
RATING |
SETTING |
GENRE |
|
1 |
Blind
Submission |
Ginsberg,
Debra |
*** |
US/San
Francisco |
Fiction |
|
2 |
Burning |
Johnson,
Diane |
** |
US/ |
Fiction |
|
3 |
Three
Men in a Boat |
Jerome,
Jerome K. |
*** |
|
Memoir |
|
4 |
A Fatal
Grace |
Penny,
Louise |
**** |
Canada/Quebec |
Mystery |
|
5 |
Warm
Springs |
Shreve,
Susan Richards |
***** |
US/Georgia |
Memoir |
|
6 |
The
Overlook |
Connelly,
Michael |
**** |
US/California |
Mystery |
|
7 |
The
Last Chinese Chef |
Mones, Nicole |
**** |
|
Fiction |
|
8 |
Pleasures
and Landscapes |
Bedford,
Sybille |
** |
|
Travel |
|
9 |
Prisoner
of Memory |
Hamilton,
Denise |
*** |
US/ |
Mystery |
|
10 |
Dark
Fire |
Sansom, C.J. |
*** |
|
Mystery |
|
11 |
The
Woods |
Coben, Harlan |
**** |
US/ |
Mystery |
|
12 |
Mr.
Sebastian & the Negro Magician |
Wallace,
Daniel |
**** |
US/Alabama |
Fiction |
|
13 |
Somebody
is going to die… |
Metcalfe,
Gayden |
*** |
US/Mississippi |
Humor |
|
14 |
Letter
from Point Clear |
McFarland,
Dennis |
***** |
US/Alabama |
Fiction |
|
15 |
The New
Yorkers |
Schine, Cathleen |
**** |
US/NYC |
Fiction |
|
16 |
All-of-a-Kind
Family |
Taylor,
|
*** |
US/NYC |
YA |
|
17 |
Thistle
& Twigg |
Saums. Mary |
*** |
US/Alabama |
Mystery |
|
18 |
Mistress
of the Art of Death |
Franklin,
Ariana |
*** |
|
Mystery |
|
19 |
The
Dead Father's Club |
Haig, Matt |
*** |
|
Fiction |
|
20 |
Crimes
of |
Willis,
Clint |
*** |
US/NYC |
Nonfiction |
|
21 |
The
Late Bloomer's Revolution |
Cohen,
Amy |
*** |
US/NYC |
Memoir |
|
22 |
The
Secret of Lost Things |
Hay,
Sheridan |
** |
US/NYC |
Fiction |
|
23 |
Garden
Spells |
Allen,
Sarah Addison |
** |
US/NC |
Fiction |
|
24 |
The
Invention of Hugo Cabret |
Selznick, Brian |
**** |
|
YA |
|
25 |
Death
Comes for the Fat Man |
|
***** |
|
Mystery |
|
26 |
Mediterranean
Summer |
Shalleck, David |
*** |
|
Travel |
|
27 |
A
Thousand Splendid Suns |
Hosseini, Khaled |
***** |
|
Fiction |
|
28 |
The
Discomfort Zone |
Franzen, Jonathan |
*** |
US/St.
Louis |
Memoir |
|
29 |
Free
Food for Millionaires |
Lee,
Min Jin |
**** |
US/NYC |
Fiction |
|
30 |
The
Eyre Affair |
Fforde, Jasper |
***** |
|
Fiction |
|
31 |
What
the Dead Know |
Lippman, Laura |
***** |
US/Baltimore |
Mystery |
|
32 |
Animal,
Vegetable, Miracle |
Kingsolver,
Barbara |
***** |
US/Virginia |
Food |
|
33 |
Lost in
a Good Book |
Fforde, Jasper |
***** |
|
Fiction |
|
34 |
The Dud
Avocado |
Dundy,
Elaine |
*** |
|
Fiction |
|
35 |
Officer
Down |
Schwegel, Theresa |
**** |
US/Chicago |
Mystery |
|
36 |
The
Well of Lost Plots |
Fforde, Jasper |
***** |
|
Fiction |
|
37 |
Probable
Cause |
Schwegel, Theresa |
*** |
US/Chicago |
Mystery |
|
38 |
Here If
You Need Me |
Braestrup, Kate |
**** |
US/Maine |
Memoir |
|
39 |
The
Janissary Tree |
Goodwin,
Jason |
**** |
|
Mystery |
|
40 |
Lying
Low |
Johnson,
Diane |
*** |
US/California |
Fiction |
|
41 |
The
Tenderness of Wolves |
Penney,
Stef |
***** |
|
Fiction |
|
42 |
Heartsick |
Cain, |
**** |
US/ |
Mystery |
|
43 |
Something
Rotten |
Fforde, Jasper |
**** |
|
Fiction |
|
44 |
A
Student of Living Things |
Shreve,
Susan Richards |
**** |
US/Wash,
D.C. |
Fiction |
|
45 |
Our
Former Lives in Art |
Davis,
Jennifer S. |
*** |
US/Alabama |
Fiction |
|
46 |
Wash
This Blood Clean from My Hand |
Vargas,
Fred |
***** |
France/Canada |
Mystery |
|
47 |
|
Russo,
Richard |
**** |
US/NY/Venice |
Fiction |
|
48 |
A Valley
in |
St.Aubin de Teran, Lisa |
*** |
|
Memoir |
|
49 |
Stalin's
Ghost |
Smith,
Martin Cruz |
**** |
|
Fiction |
|
50 |
Death
at the Old Hotel |
Lehane, Con |
*** |
US/NYC |
Mystery |
|
51 |
The
Grave Tattoo |
McDermid, Val |
**** |
|
Mystery |
|
52 |
Harry
Potter and the Deathly Hallows |
Rowling,
J.K. |
***** |
|
YA |
|
53 |
The
Pirate's Daughter |
Cezair-Thompson, Margaret |
**** |
|
Fiction |
|
54 |
|
Burdett,
John |
**** |
|
Mystery |
|
55 |
Within |
Spender,
Matthew |
*** |
|
Travel |
|
56 |
Thursday
Next: First Among Sequels |
Fforde, Jasper |
***** |
|
Fiction |
|
57 |
No Time
for Goodbye |
Barclay,
Linwood |
*** |
US/Connecticut |
Mystery |
|
58 |
The Used
World |
Kimmel,
Haven |
**** |
US/Indiana |
Fiction |
|
59 |
The
Tenth Muse |
Jones,
Judith |
*** |
US/NYC |
Food |
|
60 |
Down
River |
Hart,
John |
**** |
US/NC |
Mystery |
|
61 |
Little
Heathens |
Kalish, Mildred Armstrong |
*** |
US/Iowa |
Memoir |
|
62 |
The |
Knight,
Michael |
***** |
US/Alabama |
Fiction |
|
63 |
Ratking |
Dibdin, Michael |
**** |
|
Mystery |
|
64 |
A Nail
Through the Heart |
Hallinan, Timothy |
**** |
|
Mystery |
|
65 |
Three
Junes |
Glass,
Julia |
***** |
|
Fiction |
|
66 |
Trail
of Crumbs |
Sunee, Kim |
**** |
|
Memoir |
|
67 |
Death
in the Garden |
Ironside, Elizabeth |
***** |
|
Mystery |
|
68 |
The Wee
Free Men |
Pratchett, Terry |
*** |
|
YA |
|
69 |
Away |
Bloom,
Amy |
**** |
|
Fiction |
|
70 |
The
Wrong Kind of Blood |
Hughes,
Declan |
**** |
|
Mystery |
|
71 |
Let Me
Finish |
Angell, Roger |
**** |
US/NY/Maine |
Memoir |
|
72 |
The
Various Haunts of Men |
|
***** |
|
Mystery |
|
73 |
But
Enough About Me |
Dunn, Jancee |
**** |
US/NYC |
Memoir |
|
74 |
Persian
Nights |
Johnson,
Diane |
***** |
|
Fiction |
|
75 |
Death
in the Truffle Wood |
Magnan, Pierre |
*** |
|
Mystery |
|
76 |
|
Lippman, Laura |
*** |
US/Baltimore |
Mystery |
|
77 |
The
Pure in Heart |
|
***** |
|
Mystery |
|
78 |
Taken |
Bloor, Edward |
*** |
Us/ |
YA |
|
79 |
The
Accomplice |
Ironside, Elizabeth |
***** |
|
Mystery |
|
80 |
Hons and Rebels |
Mitford, Jessica |
***** |
|
Memoir |
|
81 |
Unaccustomed
Earth |
Lahiri, Jhumpa |
***** |
US/Mass |
Fiction |
|
82 |
Friend
of the Devil |
Robinson,
Peter |
**** |
|
Mystery |
|
83 |
An
Incomplete Revenge |
Winspear, Jacqueline |
**** |
|
Mystery |
|
84 |
Diary
of a Wimpy Kid |
Kinney,
Jeff |
*** |
|
YA |
|
85 |
The
Namesake |
Lahiri, Jhumpa |
***** |
US/Mass/NY |
Fiction |
|
86 |
My
Family and Other Animals |
Durrell, Gerald |
*** |
|
Memoir |
|
87 |
The
Hard Way |
Child,
Lee |
**** |
NYC/England |
Mystery |
|
88 |
Killing
Floor |
Child,
Lee |
**** |
US/Georgia |
Mystery |
|
89 |
Bad
Luck and Trouble |
Child,
Lee |
**** |
US/California |
Mystery |
|
90 |
One
False Move |
Coben, Harlan |
*** |
US/NYC |
Mystery |
|
91 |
First
Drop |
Sharp, Zoe |
**** |
Us/ |
Mystery |
|
92 |
Second
Shot |
Sharp, Zoe |
**** |
Us/NH |
Mystery |
|
93 |
Frost
at Christmas |
Wingfield, R.D. |
**** |
|
Mystery |
|
94 |
The
Seasons of |
Hofmann,
Paul |
** |
|
Travel |
|
95 |
Born Standing
Up |
Martin,
Steve |
***** |
US/California |
Memoir |
|
96 |
Let Us
Eat Cake |
Boortsin, Sharon |
** |
US/California |
Food |
|
97 |
Last
Night at the Lobster |
O'Nan, Stewart |
**** |
US/ |
Fiction |
|
98 |
Beautiful
Lies |
Unger,
Lisa |
*** |
US/NYC |
Mystery |
|
99 |
The Man
Who Turned into Himself |
Ambrose,
David |
*** |
US/ |
Fiction |
|
100 |
The
Cruelest Month |
Penny,
Louise |
**** |
|
Mystery |
If you want to be “in the know” at all
times, you should
subscribe to our email newsletter. Just
click on the “email” link below,
and tell us to sign you up!
Need more info? Want to reserve a book? Here are the many ways you can contact us:
Capitol Book & News Company
1140 E. Fairview Avenue Montgomery, AL
Voice 334-265-1473 | Fax 334-834-2405
Email Us!
Monday-Friday 9-5:30 | Saturday
10-4 | Closed Sunday