Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Top Ten Books of 2012

I'm a big end-of-the-year list kind of guy. I read as many as I can, and I've enjoyed doing my own book and movie lists the last couple years. I'm back at it this year, and since I'll be squeezing in a few more movies, I'll start with my top ten books of 2012. I read 58 books this year (still working on #58, but I'll be done by the new year), up from 42 in 2011. The books on my list weren't necessarily published in 2012, just books I read this year.

10) The Age of MiraclesKaren Thompson Walker: This is the only YA on my list. The Earth's rotation begins to slow, and life is profoundly altered. Walker gives readers a believable teenage protagonist who continues to deal with the average problems of adolescence. 

9) Billy Lynn's Long Halftime WalkBen Fountain: Billy Lynn and the rest of Bravo unit are war heroes. The Bush administration has brought them back from Iraq for a PR tour. This is an excellent look at the US during wartime and the soldiers doing the fighting.

8) Canada, Richard Ford: How's this for an opening line: "First, I'll tell about the robbery our parents committed. Then about the murders, which happened later." If that doesn't grab your attention, I don't know what will. Ford's writing is sparse and graceful.

7) Cocktail Hour Under the Tree of Forgetfulness, Alexandra Fuller: This is the third memoir Fuller has written about her family's life in Africa. The Fullers are fascinating people, and I hope the memoirs keep coming.

6) Salvage the Bones, Jesmyn Ward: This is a brilliant book, but don't take my word for it, Ward won a little something called the National Book Award for this one. Ward shines a light on rural poverty in Mississippi with piercing and poetic language.

5) A Hologram for the King, Dave Eggers: A struggling businessman must travel to Saudi Arabia in a last ditch attempt to keep his life afloat. This is one of those rare books that comments on the times by showing the plight of a single character.

4) Beautiful Ruins, Jess Walter: I would call this one an epic. Walter expertly weaves together the lives of multiple characters over the course of a lifetime, with unrequited love always the driving force. Walter is emerging as one of America's finest writers.

3) Telegraph Avenue, Micahel Chabon: Not many writers will drop a 12 page sentence on you, and make you love it. Channeling his inner Quentin Tarantino, Chabon has given us a book about America, an America where black, white, gay, straight, male, female, live and struggle together. This one goes in the Great American Novel category.

2) Unbroken, Laura Hillenbrand: Nonfiction doesn't get any better than this. Louis Zamperini is a true American hero, and you will be a different person after reading his heroic story. Simply put, Hillenbrand is a nonfiction master.

1) Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn: This book is such wicked fun, I had to put it #1. I like to think of it as War of the Roses.....on steroids.....or even better, meth.  Flynn's first two books are really good, but this one was a coming out party for a great writer.

Let me know what you think of my choices. I'd love to hear what other people enjoyed reading this year in the comments, might give me some ideas for 2013. Your top book, top 3, 5, 10, whatever works for you.

21 comments:

  1. I loved The Age of Miracles, have Gone Girl on my To Read list, and just added Canada. You're right - that first line is amazing!

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    1. I heard Ford read the first couple chapters on NPR, and I knew the book would be amazing.

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  2. We did not overlap...
    Talk-funny Girl
    Heft
    The Last Child
    Rush Home Road
    Defending Jacob
    Unwholly
    The Kindness of Strangers
    What Alice Forgot
    The Kitchen House
    Mudbound (grim)

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    1. Thanks for the list-always love suggestions. Liz Moore was my last book of the year, her first one, The Words of Every Song. I really enjoyed that, and I'm looking forward to Heft.

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  3. It would take me years to read 58 books at the pace i am going. I did just read A Walk in The Woods though, which I very much enjoyed.

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  4. Tim, they all sound good. I'm in the middle of reading Hillenbrand's Unbroken. She is a master. When I read Seasbiscuit, I couldn't put it down. Thanks for sharing your top 10 list.

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    1. I hope Hillenbrand doesn't take as long between books this time.

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  5. I did not read a single one of these. Great ideas! My favourite book this year was Quiet by Susan Cain.

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    1. I haven't heard of Quiet-I'll check it out.

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    2. Excellent and long overdue look at the positive side of introverstion!

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  6. Interesting list, although the Kindle Fire can be dangerous in terms of mass book ordering - Canada sounds like it's worth a read.

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    1. The technology certainly makes it easy to just download stuff and then forget about it. Canada's a great one-let me know if you ever get around to it.

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  7. I loved Gone Girl, too! Definitely a fun read - the twists had me on the edge of my seat for the short time it took to read the whole book.

    Other favourites this year included City of Thieves by David Benioff (I highly recommend it) and Alone in the Classroom by Elizabeth Hay.

    I almost picked up 'Canada' just because of the name but if you say the writing is that good, I might have to make it a must read in 2013.

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    1. City of Thieves is one of my all-time favorites. Putting Hay on the to-read list.

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  8. You read 58 books in one year? Seriously? *jealous*

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    1. It's either a good thing, or it means I need to get out more.

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  9. Since I keep finding Gone Girl on all the best lists it's my first book this year!

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  10. I enjoyed several on your list - here are a couple of others from 2012 that you might like: Tell the Wolves I'm Home - particularly appealing to me b/c I spend my days with middle school kids and the narrator is 14 or so -- another? Wild by Cheryl Strayed - wonderful and personal story of her trek along the Pacific Coast Trail - similar but more personal than Bill Bryson's A Walk in the Woods -- Heft by Liz Moore is also a winner!
    Damn! I could talk books forever!

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