Books of 2012
Around this time of year, we at the LOB take stock of the things that made things a little more fun and meaningful over the past year - music, movies, footie. By tradition, however, we start with the books that we loved in 2012. Here's my list:
1. R.J. Palacio – Wonder: Palacio’s miracle of a debut novel features a young
boy with a signifiicant
facial deformity who has been home-schooled until the 5th grade. His
entry into public school life is both sobering and inspiring.
2. Will Hermes – Love Goes to Buildings on
Fire: Will Hermes writes about the history
of the 70s NYC music scene from early garage punk
to salsa to new classical with the passion of a fan.
3. Dave Eggers – A Hologram for the King: Eggers’ latest novel gives us a
middle-aged broken man on business in Saudi Arabia.
His sympathetic treatment of all of the characters is admirable. And as usual
for McSweeney’s books, the packaging is incredibly beautiful.
4. Paul Mason – Why it’s Kicking Off
Everywhere: Guardian columnist Mason has
written the best
book so far on the Arab spring and the Occupy movement, focusing is
on the ways in which technology has aided these 21st century
revolutionary movements.
5. Tom
Rachmann – The Imperfectionists:
Rachmann looks at the demise of the newspaper business through
the lens of one small English-language paper based in Rome and its weird but
engaging group of contributors.
6. Dorothy Wickenden – Nothing Daunted: Wickenden tells the fascinating story
of two Rochester society girls who go to teach in the early public schools of the Colorado hills in the 1910s
7. Michael Chabon – Telegraph Avenue: Michael Chabon sprawling, multi-narrative novel centers on the fate of
a used record store in Oakland threatened by the arrival of a megatore.
8. Jeffrey Eugenides – The Marriage Plot: Jeffrey Eugenides’ college novel, surrounding a set of English literature students, has a sense of authenticity missing from many similar efforts such as Tom Wolfe's embarrassing I Am Charlotte Simmons.
9.
Anthony Clavane – Promised Land:
Clavane’s book covers the usual Leeds United history but from a supporter’s point of view, especially the element of the Jewish community and it support for the team.
10. Zadie Smith – NW: Zadie’s scabrous new novel is about North London,
an area that I
know well, and the struggle of a motley group of characters to make life in the crazy
mosaic of Willesdon work.
Notable Others:
• Rachel Dratch – Girl Walks into Bar…
• Thomas Franks – Pity the Billionaire
• Chuck Klosterman – The Visible Man
• Kevin Kumashiro – Bad Teacher!
• Stacie McMillan – The American Way of
Eating
• Sylvie Simmons – I’m Your Man
Disappointments:
• Hanna Rosin – The End of Men: In this much-buzzed about book, Rosin argues that
the so-called
battle of the sexes is over and that women have won. Make that – white, professional
women that Rosin knows in Georgetown – have won. I’m not convinced
by her premise or the evidence she provides.
• Gary Shteyngart – Super Sad True Love Story: Shteyngart’s much buzzed about novel provides another
dystopic view of our near future, centering on a sad sack guy who is hung up on a
Korean American princess. I found it depressing.
As usual, I encourage you to post your favorites here, mainly so that I can start building my "To Read" list for 2013. Cheers!
posted by The Blue Devil @ 7:12 PM
5 Comments:
Very good list BDB. I too loved Telegraph Ave and Loves Goes... I'll have a think and respond with some of my faves.
Favs included...
This Love is Not For Cowards - Robert Andrew Powell -- Easily the best footie book I read this year about an American who moved to Ciudad Juarez for a year and followed FC Juarez for the year that they were in the Primera in Mexico.
Skagboys - Irvine Welsh -- A prequel to Trainspotting when Rents, Sickboy, Spud, Begbie, and co are introduced to brown heroin and how they get to be in such terrible shape.
The Psychopath Test - Jon Ronson -- A droll stroll through the mental illness industry in the West, culminating in a crack-pot list of characteristics that psychos share. I spent weeks after I'd read this identifying all the people I knew and ran into as pyschos. Best parts of the book were Ronson's contention that much of the pool of CEO's in the world are psychos. Read it.
The Milo Series - Olen Steinhauer -- Three novels, The Tourist, The Nearest Exit, and An American Spy with the main character Milo Weaver. Steinhauer has the same skillset as Le Carre in crafting his spy novels.
Last Man In Tower - Aravind Adiga -- I loved his debut book White Tiger and LMIT didn't disappoint. The story surrounds the residents of a decaying apartment complex and their behavior when an unscrupulous developer makes an offer to rebuild their apartments. Like a murderous version of the townspeople in Local Hero.
Lionel Asbo - Martin Amis -- Amis has already gone over this territory in Money, and London Fields, but the language he uses to depict a lager-lout lottery winner is a joy.
Winner Take All Politics - Hacker & Pierson -- What I liked especially about this book is that after laying out the disastrous gap between the very rich and the middle class and how it wasn't always so, they provide a workable plan to reverse it.
I have also been enjoying the magazine format Blizzard and Howler. The former is the brainchild of Jonathan Wilson, columnist for the Guardian who edits this collection of high-minded football writing. The latter is a new mag about American Soccer that also has high minded writing in a glossy mag format.
Disappointments included William Kennedy's Changos Beads and Two-Toned Shoe. I love the Albany settings of his novels and find that when he leaves there, in this case for pre-rev-Cuba, he loses his touch. Also, sadly Jonathan Wilson's biography of Brian Clough Nobody Ever Says Thank-you really made for dull reading. I'd recommend you-tubing Cloughie to hear the man in his own words which were seldom dull.
Cheers, mate - great list. I've just plugged a number of your picks into my Half.com wishlist.
What about the rest of you lot? I'm still waiting for the annual UWS - "I don't read!" post.
What's a book?
LOL! That's the post I was waiting for mate! You're nothing if not consistent.
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