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John's BEST READS in 2008 Another year of reading ended, and I found it was time to look through my reading journal and pick out my favorites. It's a tough job, but I found that I was up to it. 2008 was a rich year in my reading, with nearly 100 books read. I don't set out to make a list of the 10 best, or the 5 best, it's just a list of what shines the brightest.  Enjoy. And as always, Got a list? Send it to me and I'll put it up.

OUR STORY BEGINS: New and Selected Stories by Tobias Wolff Wolfe has simply written a wonderful collection of short stories. From his previous collections I knew that his work was great, but it was such a pleasure to be reminded again. He’s still got it.

BREATH by Tim Winton This small novel gave such a splendid feel for the surfers’ view of the ocean blue that I could shut my eyes and feel the whole experience. I was riding the waves with the sun and the spray, impatient for the next wave, and especially being tossed and beaten under the heavy surf, struggling to figure which way was up to the next much-needed breath. I swear I had sand in my shoes after finishing the book. The story involves young Australian teenagers who are rapidly coming of age under the vague “guidance” of their surfer hero/guru and his wife. But any plot description is just distraction from a wonder of fiction creating a reality. Read the book, not anybody’s review.

FATHER AND SON by Larry Brown (1996) I’ve been a fan of the rather twisted world of the late Larry Brown for years and this novel is one of his very best. Brown is able to manifest evil perfectly in the form of the novel’s character Glen. This man is bad news wherever he goes. This is one of those visually rich novels that just cries out to be made into a movie, a very intense movie. There is an early scene with a monkey that’s a gem and stays fresh in your mind for days. The novel’s ending really works, and I’ll say no more. Unaccustomed A short story collection can be very impressive and still have a sameness from story to story. Lahiri is a real master of the short story and has the ability to give the reader an awesome variety of plot, setting and emotion. It’s easy to think that you are reading a collection written by a whole gaggle of short story masters. It’s all coming from one mind. There are few that can touch her talent and range.

THE GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows A sweet book, with a sappy title, told entirely in the form of exchanged letters, this novel could have crashed and burned right into my Oh-don’t-go-there pile, but it’s a real gem! The main character is a writer looking for the subject for her next book. She finds herself pulled into a community of Brits on one of the Channel Islands off the coast of France. The story tells of the residents response to their island’s occupation by the Nazis during World War II. Well it’s much more than that, but you should simply read the book to find out. This book pulled me in, and I WAS resisting, but by the end, it had completely won me over.

UNACCUSTOMED EARTH by Jhumpa Larhiri She is simply a fabulous writer. This collection of short stories displays a wonderful variety of plot lines and emotions that I find so impressive. But I'm not surprised, I read her Interpreter of Maladies and it's always a go-to recommendation from me when someone is looking for short stories. I'm certainly not alone in singing here praises (be thankful you can't her me singing) - the reviews for her novel The Namesake (made into a movie) were most glowing, and, well, she did win the Pulitzer Prize. Oh, a good short story collection is such a rich pleasure ... great rewards in a such a short span of time.

MAN IN THE DARK by Paul Auster Until this novel, I was a virgin to Paul Auster’s writings. Now I’m experienced and much the richer for it. This short novel worked on many levels. It brought massive family tension and feelings about the war in Iraq together, to swirl around with some terrifically-drawn characters. The book’s ending has a wonderful scene between a grandfather and his granddaughter that continues to live with me. It feels so good not to be an Auster virgin anymore.

THE GARDEN OF LAST DAYS by Andre Dubus III It's not every author that can bring together a strip club, a missing daughter, a confused kidnapper, a terrorist bomber and create a truly special work? The author is so good at portraying many different ways of viewing things; his characters are so distinctly drawn. I flew through this book. It also seemed that Dubus was channeling Larry Brown at the same time he was writing in the blue collar world of Russell Banks. Yet, he put it all down on paper like no one else. Thanks Andre.

THE ENGLISH MAJOR by Jim Harrison If you’re a Jim Harrison fan, you know he brings a world of endearing and puzzled characters, vast landscapes, and a comfort to his special style of fiction. Particular things seem to always populate a Harrison novel. Like bears, motorcycles, and bizarre accidents in a John Irving book, Harrison’s work so often involve an aging man on his own (separated or widowed), road trips, and a strong attention to the opposite sex – some would say he’s oversexed. There’s nothing wrong with that. With each new work, Harrison seems to be able to eliminate more and more words from his work, there’s a fantastic sparseness to his writing. His writing creates a comfort zone for many of his fans. What are the ingredients for a relaxing time? It would be a drink, some comfort food, a faded flannel shirt and a well-worn pair of jeans, a comfortable reading spot in the sun, and a Harrison novel – that’s a good time for me.

THE OTHER by David Guterson As I was reading this book, I kept thinking that it didn’t measure up to his previous work, yet my enjoyment has continually grown in my mind ever since I finished it. The relationship between our storyteller and his best friend, a famous hermit, is the center of the book and it’s a uniquely crafted relationship. It’s a strange and strong bond between these two men. This bond, though it is often time denied, creates a special tension to a fascinating story.

NONFICTION

MOYERS ON DEMOCRACY by Bill Moyers Fabulous! Fabulous! Fabulous! That’s what the entry for this book says in my book journal. This is a superb collection of speeches given by my favorite voice from PBS. Selections are from many different venues, but Moyers words are without fail, always interesting, thought-provoking and inspiring. The themes that Moyers has spoken to and investigated for decades now, are a reflected here. Man is his brother’s keeper and we (individually and collectively, as in our government) are here to help those in need. This is the power of the word at its peak.

THE CONSCIENCE OF A LIBERAL by Paul Krugman With this book, Krugman gives the reader a quite an education on the history of income inequality in America. His style is always accessible, without any feeling that the mighty economist is talking down to the layperson. As anyone who has read his columns, or heard him as a talking head on TV, Mr. Krugman never shies from political commentary. The book reveals his high hopes for the recently-realized Democratic victory. That hope is that there’s a possibility that our government can use policy to start us on a path towards a much more reasonable level of income equality and social justice. Here’s hoping.

THE POST-AMERICAN WORLD by Fareed Zakaria This a valuable book in that it clearly presents the world’s problems from a fresh viewpoint. It’s not that usual, fear-of-anything-different-out-there, of scary foreigners plotting against everything good in the American homeland. Clear, well thought out, and easy to relate to, he gives us a worldly view of the world – one where more matters that just how things affect this country. It gives one hope that with this book, his many columns and newsmagazine stories, and now his Sunday TV show, more people will listen to him and be able to expand their horizons and become more curious of the rest of the world’s peoples and countries. Wouldn’t it be grand if we all could appreciate the freshness, broad scope and validity of his conclusions.

THE LIMITS OF POWER by Andrew Bacevich Inspired by the author’s appearance on Bill Moyers Journal on PBS, I had to read this book. As was to be expected, I found his printed words are as grounded and clear as when he speaks. He’s grand between the covers. His argument goes to the core of our foreign policy; that policy has degraded to the pint that it’s clearly more about business self-interest than politics. As he sees it, a major problem with our economy is that we will be unable to expand our GNP forever in an increasingly competitive world economy. He spells out how our government has given itself up to big money and their lobbyists, and that democracy has become just a verbal prop, it’s no longer a living, breathing form of governing. And then, the use of our military as the answer to so many international problems seems to be as depressing to Bacevich as it is to me. He says that the country, the people and the government, need to come to grips with these problems. This is a very thoughtful man and if you have any interest in how government works or fails, it’s an important book to read.

BOOKS by Larry McMurty As a bookseller myself, it was a treat to read an entire book full of McMurtry’s experiences in the book trade. His life as an author and bookseller has spanned decades in Washington DC and Texas. In case you weren’t aware, McMurtry owns almost every building in the small town of Archer, Texas, and he has filled them all with books. This book’s chapters are very short and are almost teasers, but it was great fun to hear about the many strange, grumpy, and oddly-fascinating people who are involved in his world of books. My experiences in the booksellers’ world only reinforce what a wonderful world it is and certainly that being an independent booksellers is truly one of the best job there is to have.

SAMUEL ADAMS: Father of the American Revolution by Mark Puls (2006) As some one who has been reading about America’s founding fathers for years, it was good to finally fine one on Samuel Adams, and it’s a keeper. Here Adams wasn’t presented as the drunken rabble-rouser that some authors have made him out to be. Puls portrayed a real person, a fascinating character that explained what it was to be a revolutionary in 1770’s, in the colonies that were to become the United States of America. Without Samuel Adams the American Revolution might have taken much longer to happen. Over the years, he was central in keeping things stirred up in Boston. He was a force of nature. Adams played a key role in forming the structure of the nation’s government, and then returned to Massachusetts to hold many state offices, including governor. His modern day reduced stature in the founding fathers circle is directly related to this withdrawal from the national scene. Oh, and it was his father who was involved with hops and possibly brewing, but I still lift a Sam Adams beer in honor of this revolutionary hero on occasion.

THE OMNIVORE'S DILEMMA by Michael Pollan (2006) This is one well-put-together and through collection of information on food, meals, farming (both organic and industrial) food processing, transport, marketing and the selling of what we eat. At times it’s a depressing look at what food has become in regards to social interactions, political damnation, major health problems and environmental degradation, but he does create hope, simply by drawing more attention to these issues. Only when the general public becomes more informed on some or all of these things will the political will be there to make substantial changes. Take part in your own education, pick up a copy.

HOT, FLAT, AND CROWDED by Thomas Friedman Be prepared, the first third of this book is so depressing, so bleak, and seemingly so hopeless that you might give up – I’m talking just in regards to the book, not life. But it is pretty bleak, reality bites. Then, finally he starts to write about what could change, what could be done, there is hope, but it must START NOW. He makes it extremely clear, that even if major efforts are made tomorrow, most things will continue to get worse before they start improving. Changing a planet’s climate is some heavy lifting. The hope is that people will listen and then enough of them will act - if they care enough. Damn, this is our only planet! Education is the key and this book is a good place to start. I seem to write about the need of people getting educated a lot. Let’s read up on all matters of things and then who knows what good will come our way.

THE REPUBLIC OF PIRATES by Colin Woodard (2007) Pirates are one of my guilty pleasures. I admit it; I’ve been fixated on pirates all my life. But you should believe me when I say that The Republic of Pirates is a rousing book that lays out much of pirate history in the Caribbean. There power was such, that for a time, they held official government offices there. The book is hours of reading pleasure, be you a pirate junkie, history buff, or regular civilian.

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