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decemberthirty) wrote2007-01-01 08:11 pm
decemberthirty) wrote2007-01-01 08:11 pm
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My 2006 Literary Oscars
Now that the year is officially over, I offer my third annual list of the best stuff I read during the year. I don't take publication date into account; anything that I read for the first time in 2006 is eligible. Links lead back to my primary post about each book.
Books marked with an "R" are rereads and therefore not eligible for an award.
Books marked with "BC" were chosen by my book club. I did this solely because this was the first full year that I participated in the book club, and I was curious about how much of my reading was dictated by my participation.
In chronological order:
1. The Ambassadors by Henry James (BC)
2. The Commitment by Dan Savage
3. Reading in the Dark by Seamus Deane
4. Brick Lane by Monica Ali (BC)
5. Truth and Beauty by Ann Patchett
6. The Inner Circle by T.C. Boyle
7. At Weddings and Wakes by Alice McDermott (BC)
8. Creative Writing and Rewriting ed. by John Kuehl
9. East of Eden by John Steinbeck (BC)
10. Geek Love by Katherine Dunn
11. My Michael by Amos Oz (BC)
12. A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. LeGuin (R)
13. The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. LeGuin (R)
14. The Farthest Shore by Ursula K. LeGuin (R)
15. Tehanu by Ursula K. LeGuin (R)
16. Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie
17. Howards End by E.M. Forster
18. Oh, Play That Thing by Roddy Doyle
19. The Awakening by Kate Chopin (BC)
20. Talking It Over by Julian Barnes
21. Long Day's Journey Into Night by Eugene O'Neill
22. The World According to Garp by John Irving (BC)
23. Tender At the Bone by Ruth Reichl
24. Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
25. The Ventriloquist's Tale by Pauline Melville (BC)
26. Close Range by Annie Proulx
27. Fun Home by Alison Bechdel
Best short story collection: I only read one collection of stories this year. What's up with that? That one collection was Close Range by Annie Proulx, so that's the winner by default. It's good enough to win for real, though, so it's kind of shame that there was no competition.
Best short story: This is tough. I really liked "The Mud Below" from Close Range. I also really liked "Bohemians" by George Saunders, although I have a vague feeling that I may have read it a year or two ago... At the very least it gets an honorable mention.
Best nonfiction: I read three whole nonfiction books this year! That's a lot for me. The best one was Truth and Beauty by Ann Patchett.
Best young adult novel: Without a doubt, Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie.
Best graphic novel: Fun Home by Alison Bechdel. This is also the only graphic novel I've ever read. Yeah, ever. I'm not very hip. But I really liked it and I'd like to read more graphic novels, so that's a start, right? (Also, there's no link because I haven't posted about this book yet. I've got some catching up to do, and I should get to it in the next day or two.)
Best title: Tender at the Bone by Ruth Reichl. Not a very good book, but I really like that title.
Worst novel: At Weddings and Wakes by Alice McDermott. God, did I hate that book. So, so boring. The runner-up for this prize is The Inner Circle by T.C. Boyle--it wasn't nearly as bad as At Weddings and Wakes, but it was a big disappointment because I know Boyle can do so much better. I really disliked The World According to Garp too, but I think that was more about me than about the book.
Best novel: Oh, this is also so hard to choose. The contenders this year are Reading in the Dark by Seamus Deane, The Awakening by Kate Chopin, and Gilead by Marilynne Robinson. How can I choose? Reading in the Dark was so powerful, and its images stayed with me for so long after I read it. And The Awakening--I identified so strongly with Edna, and loved the book so much more than I thought I would. And then there's Gilead, which comforted me at a time when I needed it most.... Forget it. I can't pick this year. It'll just have to be a three way tie.
Books marked with an "R" are rereads and therefore not eligible for an award.
Books marked with "BC" were chosen by my book club. I did this solely because this was the first full year that I participated in the book club, and I was curious about how much of my reading was dictated by my participation.
In chronological order:
1. The Ambassadors by Henry James (BC)
2. The Commitment by Dan Savage
3. Reading in the Dark by Seamus Deane
4. Brick Lane by Monica Ali (BC)
5. Truth and Beauty by Ann Patchett
6. The Inner Circle by T.C. Boyle
7. At Weddings and Wakes by Alice McDermott (BC)
8. Creative Writing and Rewriting ed. by John Kuehl
9. East of Eden by John Steinbeck (BC)
10. Geek Love by Katherine Dunn
11. My Michael by Amos Oz (BC)
12. A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. LeGuin (R)
13. The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. LeGuin (R)
14. The Farthest Shore by Ursula K. LeGuin (R)
15. Tehanu by Ursula K. LeGuin (R)
16. Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie
17. Howards End by E.M. Forster
18. Oh, Play That Thing by Roddy Doyle
19. The Awakening by Kate Chopin (BC)
20. Talking It Over by Julian Barnes
21. Long Day's Journey Into Night by Eugene O'Neill
22. The World According to Garp by John Irving (BC)
23. Tender At the Bone by Ruth Reichl
24. Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
25. The Ventriloquist's Tale by Pauline Melville (BC)
26. Close Range by Annie Proulx
27. Fun Home by Alison Bechdel
Best short story collection: I only read one collection of stories this year. What's up with that? That one collection was Close Range by Annie Proulx, so that's the winner by default. It's good enough to win for real, though, so it's kind of shame that there was no competition.
Best short story: This is tough. I really liked "The Mud Below" from Close Range. I also really liked "Bohemians" by George Saunders, although I have a vague feeling that I may have read it a year or two ago... At the very least it gets an honorable mention.
Best nonfiction: I read three whole nonfiction books this year! That's a lot for me. The best one was Truth and Beauty by Ann Patchett.
Best young adult novel: Without a doubt, Haroun and the Sea of Stories by Salman Rushdie.
Best graphic novel: Fun Home by Alison Bechdel. This is also the only graphic novel I've ever read. Yeah, ever. I'm not very hip. But I really liked it and I'd like to read more graphic novels, so that's a start, right? (Also, there's no link because I haven't posted about this book yet. I've got some catching up to do, and I should get to it in the next day or two.)
Best title: Tender at the Bone by Ruth Reichl. Not a very good book, but I really like that title.
Worst novel: At Weddings and Wakes by Alice McDermott. God, did I hate that book. So, so boring. The runner-up for this prize is The Inner Circle by T.C. Boyle--it wasn't nearly as bad as At Weddings and Wakes, but it was a big disappointment because I know Boyle can do so much better. I really disliked The World According to Garp too, but I think that was more about me than about the book.
Best novel: Oh, this is also so hard to choose. The contenders this year are Reading in the Dark by Seamus Deane, The Awakening by Kate Chopin, and Gilead by Marilynne Robinson. How can I choose? Reading in the Dark was so powerful, and its images stayed with me for so long after I read it. And The Awakening--I identified so strongly with Edna, and loved the book so much more than I thought I would. And then there's Gilead, which comforted me at a time when I needed it most.... Forget it. I can't pick this year. It'll just have to be a three way tie.
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