Friday, January 04, 2008

Top Reads of 2007, and a Preview of 2008

Every so often, my creative gland stops secreting, and I turn to my fellow bloggers for inspiration on topics to address. Over at Cognitive Blindspot yesterday, zero_zero_one listed all the books he'd read in 2007 (and an impressive list it is!); today, his c0-blogger noisims listed his top 5 reads of 2007.

Well, I didn't keep a list of everything I read last year, so I can't match zero_zero_one's list, but I can look back at the best and worst reads of the past year as noisims did...

My top 5 good reads of 2007 (not in any particular order):

Who Will Tell the People, by William Greider: a marvelous look at how our democratic political processes have been corrupted to the point at which our representative government truly represents only those wealthy and organized enough to buy or demand representation. Worst thing: this book was originally published in 1992, and 15 years later, nothing has changed.

Book of the Dead, by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child: great brain candy - the final book of the trilogy documenting the battle between Special Agent Pendergast and his Evil Brother Diogenes.

The Quest, by Wilbur Smith: more great brain candy, but meticulously researched and well-written. If you are fascinated by ancient Egypt, over-the-top sex scenes, and hairy-chested macho adventure, anything by Wilbur Smith is for you.

Sharpe's Fury, by Bernard Cornwell: great historical fiction; the latest in the ongoing adventures of soldier/adventurer Richard Sharpe, who evidently took part in every battle of the Napoleonic Wars...in this book, the battle of Barossa in 1811. This is a man who can write great action stories.

The World Without Us, by Alan Weisman: interesting speculative nonfiction...what would happen to all man's works if man suddenly disappeared?

And the worst reads:

The Book of the Dead, by Patricia Cornwell: I like much of her work, but this one left me yawning, particularly over the ludicrous cardboard character of her nemesis, Dr Self. A waste of good reading time.

Hannibal Rising, by Thomas Harris: beautifully written, as is everything by Harris, but it really took much of the mystery and inherent evil out of the character of Hannibal Lecter. A real disappointment.

Right now, I'm re-reading Thunderhead, by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child (my mealtime and bathroom book, and a rocking brain candy adventure) and The Fall of Berlin, 1945, by Anthony Beevor (my commuting book), a gripping look at the vast and bloody battle for the Nazi capital at the end of World War II.

There's a lot of 2008 left, a stack of unread books (and books deserving of re-reads) at home, and people keep writing even more books. In July, Harry Turtledove will publish his new novel The Man With the Iron Heart, an alternative history of the aftermath of World War II in Europe...how would history have been different if the occupation of defeated Nazi Germany had been more like today's bloody occupation of Iraq? I heard Turtledove talk about this book at the National Book Fair back in September, and can't wait to read it.

What's your reading plan for this year?

Gotta go - Punky needs walking, my lunch needs to be packed, and a new day of work awaits.

Sigh.

Have a good day. Read more. More thoughts tomorrow.

Bilbo

6 comments:

The Mistress of the Dark said...

Seems like everyone is blogging about books right now. I blogged about a book I just read last night...

I wish I could keep track of what I read, but that's just too much of a waste since I read a lot of fluff.

Have a great weekend.

Unknown said...

Happy New Year.
It would be impossible to list all the books I have read in 2007 but fun:)

Jean-Luc Picard said...

Patricia Cornwell stopped writing good books when 'Blowfly' came out.

Amanda said...

I like it when people blog about the books they read. It helps me pick the next book I buy....and I'm on the look out for now. Unfortunately, I find that I'm getting stingy with books as I grow older....I prefer libraries.

craziequeen said...

I don't blog about the books I read, but you can usually see what I'm reading on my sidebar.
Literary taste is so very personal.

Ooh, the new Lincoln Child! I absolutely adore him - Utopia and Death Match are high on my list of favourites...and are re-read usually once a year. Utopia was fantastic.

I re-read a lot - I have my favourites and they write well, so I like cruising the same journey again and again.

cq

NathanRyder said...

I haven't read any of the books that you mentioned... I often wonder if I will ever be able to read all of the books that I want to read in my life.

My reading plan for this year is to read all of the books that I got for Christmas (over a dozen or so), the books that I had bought myself before Christmas but not quite got to (about a half a dozen), and then embark on a serious re-reading plan of the books I own that I really enjoy (some Peter F Hamilton space opera to start with I think).

Then I'm moving on to the classics that I haven't read yet but really want to: Anna Karenina, Don Quixote, War and Peace, Les Miserables... This may spill into 2009.

PS - Thanks for the link!