Top 10 Books of 2008, Part 2

Belmontmedina and I have far too many books that we want to read.  This is not usually a problem because we never have to ask ourselves ‘what to read next,’ but it does become a problem when we miss out on quality recently published books because our list is so long.   In that spirit,  here in no particular order is our list of the best books that were published in 2008 that we wish we had read before the the end of the year.*

The Widow Clicquot, by Tilar K. Mazzeo

Woman becomes a widow and ends up in charge of one of the most famous Champagne houses in the world.  I wish this were my biography.  There’s still time.

2666, Roberto Bolaño

This is supposed to be Bolaño’s masterpiece.   I want to see if the hype about this book is real (though I don’t doubt that it is).

The Best American Travel Writing, ed. by Anthony Bourdain

My senior thesis was going to be a book about my travels.  Didn’t pan out, mostly because my travel plans were sharply curtailed, but I remain obsessed with other people’s accounts of their journeys.  Also, Anthony Bourdain!

The White Tiger, by Aravind Adiga

I’ve heard this is a really good book and besides, I enjoy dark comedies.  Oh and it won the Booker beating some real heavy hitters.

Bananas!: How the United Fruit Company Shaped the World, by Peter Chapman AND Bacardi and the Long Fight for Cuba by Tom Gjelten

I’m grouping these together, because they cover the same sort of ground.  Small company grows into massive multinational and begins pillaging Latin America.  US government either ignores it or is complicit.  Revolutions ensue.

The Solitary Vice: Against Reading, by Mikita Brottman

Reading has always been my vice.  I’m not prepared to comment on masturbation.  This book examines the link between them.  No, seriously.

Lush life, by Richard Price

One of the many reasons I love to read is because it’s an easy and unobtrusive way to give in to my inner voyeur.  Great books, ranging from The Corrections to More Terrible Than Death make you a fly on the wall.  Price is a master at that.

Netherland, by Joseph O’Neill

What can I say, I’m a literary whore.  Any novel that took 7 years to write is bound to either be amazing or droll, possibly both.

A Nuclear Family Vacation: Travels in the World of Atomic Weaponery, by Sharon Weinberger and Nathan Hodge

I’m a bit of a Cold War/nuclear weapon nerd.  Traveling around the world looking at different nuclear weapons sites actually sounds kind of fun.

Bush’s Law: The Remaking of American Justice, by Eric Lichtblau

More than just a Bush-bashing book (which seems to be rather prevalent over the past few years), this book examines the importance of the rule of law and checks on Executive power in a democratic society.

*As before, you’re welcome to guess in the comments which picks are Belmontmedina’s and which are mine.

UPDATE: Obviously Nam Le’s The Boat should be on this list, but we have him down for our January book club selection so we thought he wouldn’t mind not being on our humble list.

The Top 10 Books of 2008, part 1

Belmontmedina and I have way too many ‘to-read’ books on our respected nightstands so that we usually don’t get to read all of the new books that come out in a particular year in a timely fashion.  Since that is the case we’ve compiled two lists – one of our favorite books we’ve read this year and one of the books that came out this year that we’d like to read.  Today we’ll give you one list and tomorrow the second.

Top 10 Books Belmontmedina and I have read this year (in no particular order)*:

Maus I, by Art Spiegelman
I went over to a friend’s and read this entire book in a single 90-minute sitting while supposedly watching Family Guy with them.  It’s that good.

Tropic of Cancer, by Henry Miller

Some people have said that this is the greatest novel of the 20^th century, I don’t know if I’m inclined to disagree with them. The book paints a rich description of the life of an artist in post-WWI Paris, but it’s so much more than that. Miller shows us the cruelness and baseness that lies in the heart humanity and its the connection to the artist.

The Hummingbird’s Daughter, by Luis Alberto Urrea
Magical realism + 19th century Latin America (in this case, Mexico)= sold.  This book is actually the author’s retelling of a family story.

Neuromancer, William Gibson

As a child I was a huge sci-fi nerd and most trips to the library would end with me carrying home a stack of sci-fi paperbacks of questionable quality. As the years went by and my taste in books matured, I never quite got over sci-fi, instead choosing to watch sci-fi based shows and movies. Well this year I decided to come back to my young love with this book and I was not disappointed. It’s an amazing fast-paced look at the future (though it’s looking more and more like our present). Gibson’s writing is crisp, clear and amazingly vivid. This is the book I recommend to all of my non-sci-fi reading friends, it’s that good.

To Hate Like this is to be Happy Forever, by Will Blythe
I am from North Carolina, and have been steeped in the Duke-UNC rivalry as long as I can remember.  I’ve been reading a lot of sports books this year, and for anyone who loves college basketball, or needs some insight into those of us that are AWOL for March and April every year, here you are.

Boys Will Be Boys, by Jeff Pearlamn
Another sports book.  I am also a Dallas Cowboys fan, and this book covers the entirety of the Cowboys from their inception through the end of their dynasty in the late 90’s.  Smith, Sanders, Staubach, the White House, the fedora, the rich hick from Arkansas- it’s all there.  A must for anyone who loves football, even if you don’t like the Cowboys.

The Master and Margarita, by Mikhail Bulgakov

A masterful satire wrapped up in an intricate parable about good and evil. Well written and hilarious (odd for a Russian).

In Defense of Food, by Michael Pollan
So my tastes in nonfictions basically run from food to sports.  You can imainge how I spend my Sundays.  This is the  follow-up to The Omnivore’s Dilemma.  If I remember correctly, this book came out around the first or second of the year, and I had read it by the tenth.

The Night Watch, by Sergei Lukyanenko

Lukayanenko’s debut for American audiences, this dark urban fantasy explores the relationship between good and evil while exploring complex political themes.  Also, I couldn’t put this book down once I started.  I think I read this and the two other books in the trilogy in three days.

The Diary Of Anaïs Nin, Volume 2 (1934-1939) , by Anaïs Nin

I’m a voyeur at heart so reading one of Nin’s diaries was indeed a treat.  Nin isn’t the best writer, but her life and friends are so interesting that you don’t even notice.  Who would’ve thought that I’d be living vicariously through a woman from the first half of the 20th century?  And an amazing girl at that.

* Bonus points if you can guess in the comments which ones are Belmontmedina’s picks and which ones are mine.

Top Ten Lists Coming This Friday

As an after Christmas treat, belmontmedina and I will be posting our top ten favorite reads of 2008 our top ten books published in 2008.

Update:  Belmontmedina and I are full of a little too much Christmas cheer.  The lists will be coming on Saturday.

Best Books of 2008

A round up of some “Best of…” lists:

The New York Times’ 10 best.  Extended list of 100 is here.

Slate’s major contributors each pick a book.

The Washington Post has tabs for fiction, nonfiction, and critics’ picks.

Amazon.com (also includes readers’ 100 best picks)

Goodreads- the fact that a Stephanie Meyer book tops this list makes me distrust it.  Some good picks further down the list though.

Publishers Weekly

NPR’s collection includes literary letters and graphic novels.

The ever snarky Salon.

Emmzzee points out that this blog has a TON of aggregate lists.

UPDATE: The Economist’s 2008 list.