Jason Tate
12/29/08, 08:02 PM
Top 11 Books We Read in 2008
Mikel:
The Road Cormac McCarthy
Impenetrable. Bleak. Strange. Desperate. the landscape McCarthy paints with his words is heartbreaking and oddly hopeful. I loved this book.
The Audacity of Hope Barack Obama
It probably says something good about America that this is an obvious choice for 2008.
Steven:
Saturday - Ian McEwan
If you've ever wondered how a British neurosurgeon sees the world, this book takes you through one semi-ordinary day in the life.
The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
The consummate English butler takes a road trip and reflects on his career. Hilarity ensues.
Noah:
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz
Coming of age, multi-style, genre switching. Maybe punk rock, definitely Latino.
When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris
Classic NPR/Mcsweenys esque bitchfest. Real life musings in an insightful and funny tone.
Anna:
The Corrections - Jonathan Franzen
A good read for anyone with relatives. An ailing father, a stunted mother, and three messed-up adult kids grow up, more or less. This is just an intimidatingly good piece of writing.
The Crying of Lot 49 - Thomas Pynchon
The first sentence is one of the longer grammatically perfect sentences in modern literature. And the rest of the off-kilter book is spent untangling the clues held in the first pile of clauses.
A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
It took me a while to sink my teeth into this one, but once I accepted the absurdity of the fat, smelly, misanthropic hero, I got into the book's dark humor.
Daren:
Cat's Cradle - Kurt Vonnegut
Never have I laughed so hard at a book with such a tragic ending.
Bumping Into Geniuses: My Life Inside The Rock and Roll Business - Danny Goldberg
A retelling of stories and experiences throughout his career told with a no-bullshit-yet-sentimental tone. Great for those of us who love to read about musicians and/or "the business."
Mikel:
The Road Cormac McCarthy
Impenetrable. Bleak. Strange. Desperate. the landscape McCarthy paints with his words is heartbreaking and oddly hopeful. I loved this book.
The Audacity of Hope Barack Obama
It probably says something good about America that this is an obvious choice for 2008.
Steven:
Saturday - Ian McEwan
If you've ever wondered how a British neurosurgeon sees the world, this book takes you through one semi-ordinary day in the life.
The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
The consummate English butler takes a road trip and reflects on his career. Hilarity ensues.
Noah:
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz
Coming of age, multi-style, genre switching. Maybe punk rock, definitely Latino.
When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris
Classic NPR/Mcsweenys esque bitchfest. Real life musings in an insightful and funny tone.
Anna:
The Corrections - Jonathan Franzen
A good read for anyone with relatives. An ailing father, a stunted mother, and three messed-up adult kids grow up, more or less. This is just an intimidatingly good piece of writing.
The Crying of Lot 49 - Thomas Pynchon
The first sentence is one of the longer grammatically perfect sentences in modern literature. And the rest of the off-kilter book is spent untangling the clues held in the first pile of clauses.
A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
It took me a while to sink my teeth into this one, but once I accepted the absurdity of the fat, smelly, misanthropic hero, I got into the book's dark humor.
Daren:
Cat's Cradle - Kurt Vonnegut
Never have I laughed so hard at a book with such a tragic ending.
Bumping Into Geniuses: My Life Inside The Rock and Roll Business - Danny Goldberg
A retelling of stories and experiences throughout his career told with a no-bullshit-yet-sentimental tone. Great for those of us who love to read about musicians and/or "the business."