I know a lot of these aren’t exactly hot off the presses, but so what? Good books are like good albums. Have you heard every Stones record? Yeah, I thought not.
1. Crooked Little Vein, Warren Ellis. Can’t remember if I actually read this last year or the year before, but it really doesn’t matter; Ellis’ utterly original blend of classic noir tropes, black humor and imaginative details was the most entertaining and satisfying thing I’d picked up in at least a couple of years.
2. Shutter Island, Dennis Lehane. I got around to reading most of Lehane’s body of work this year, and it’s all amazing, but this one’s my favorite. The writer steps away from Patrick Kenzie’s violent cases and troubled psyche for a mind-bending thriller that borders on horror and provides a genuinely surprising twist.
3. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon. Can’t decide between this or The Yiddish Policemen’s Union for my favorite Chabon, but they’re both so good it’s sick. Chabon conducts the English language like a maestro.
4. Please Step Back, Ben Greenman. The best rock ‘n’ roll novel ever written? Probably.
5. The Lost City of Z, David Grann. A wonderful and highly informative look back at the early years of Amazonian exploration centered on legendary adventurer Percy Fawcett’s search for what might or not have been El Dorado.
6. Sacred, Dennis Lehane.
7. Prayers for Rain, Dennis Lehane.
8. A Drink Before The War, Dennis Lehane.
9. Darkness, Take My Hand, Dennis Lehane.
10. Pirate Latitudes, Michael Crichton. Definitely not my favorite Crichton, and I don’t think it was finished, but it did provide an entertaining adventure yarn.
I also got turned on to a great writer named Kelly Link via her blazingly original short stories “Catskin” and “Monster,” and was pleased enough by the intriguing ideas behind Virginia Baker’s Jack Knife to want to check out some more of her work.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I can confirm that you read CLV in 2009, just after my surprise visit with the DFKF hooligans.
I thought so, time just flies so fast I couldn’t remember if it was fall ’08. Thanks for that marvelous turn-on. Did you get your books back from Jason?
My “To Be Read” shelf is already overflowing and The Mrs. is beginning to give me The Look whenever I being more books home. And here you are, telling me MORE books I need to read. When I get The Look I’m blaming you.