Every year I keep a list of the books I have read. I don’t number them, so as I enter the titles in a small notebook I manage to lose count sometime around the end of February. That means that come New Year’s day each year, I can tot up the number of books I have read the previous year and surprise, or disappoint, myself with the total. Obviously, I spent a lot of 2008 sitting comfortably in quiet surroundings reading, because my total of books read was 101. Those are only books I actually finished. Any book I abandon before I get to the end doesn't make it onto the list.
Out of those 101 books there were some very enjoyable ones, a number of indifferent ones which I shall probably not read again, and a few I had to struggle through to finish just for the sake of it. I have picked a dozen that I particularly did enjoy – seven fiction and five non-fiction – and for what it’s worth they all carry my recommendation.
1 – Smoke by Donald E. Westlake. I was actually giggling out loud at this book in Starbucks, much to my wife’s embarrassment. Westlake is a very amusing writer, and this is one of the best I have read of his so far.
2 – Shakespeare by Bill Bryson. An extremely readable, and concise, book on the Bard himself , his writings and his legacy.
3 – Soho by Keith Waterhouse. I didn’t really know what to expect when I ordered this but this gently amusing tale of a young man from the north of England who comes down to London, specifically the red light area of Soho, to look for his girlfriend, was riveting.
4 – The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder by Vincent Bugliosi. Probably best known as the Assistant D.A. who successfully prosecuted Charles Manson and several members of his “family”, Bugliosi sets out a credible set of reasons why President Bush, in initiating the Iraq war, can and should be prosecuted for murder.
5 – The Deal by Peter Lefcourt. The deal in question is the one required to greenlight a movie. This is the story of a washed-up producer who stumbles upon a story, and after a number of “conceptual changes” manages to get it made in an overseas location, by a mad director. This is a send up of the whole Hollywood circus.
6 – Boomsday by Christopher Buckley. Another of my favourite writers. This is about an attempt to legalize voluntary euthanasia for senior citizens in the USA. It’s a lot funnier than that one-sentence summary would suggest.
7 – Born Standing Up by Steve Martin. An entertaining though brief (204 pages of not particularly small print) autobiography by Martin, who is described on the dust jacket as a writer, artist, actor and performer; I should imagine that most people think of him with those categories in reverse order.
8 – Pompeii by Robert Harris. A brilliant novel about the seaside town of Pompeii on Italy’s west coast, and several characters in particular,, in late August, 79AD, just as Mount Vesuvius was about to erupt and wipe out the town and almost everyone in it..
9 – Kitchener’s Last Volunteer by Henry Allingham with Dennis Goodwin. Obviously Goodwin did most of the writing because Henry Allingham is 112 years old, born in June, 1896. He is the only man still alive who volunteered to join the British Army at the outbreak of World War One in 1914 and one of only three WW1 British soldiers still living at this writing (the other two were drafted in 1917). He served throughout the war and this is his story, taken down from his recollections. A vital historical document, secured for posterity before WW1 passes from living memory.
10 – The Appeal by John Grisham. All Grisham’s books are good, and this is no exception. It’s about an appeal against the decision in a lawsuit between a corporation and the people it apparently has wronged, and the lawyers and judges who are involved in the case.
11 – Humble Pie by Gordon Ramsay. The chef’s own story, told in his own words, expletives included, about his life in a dysfunctional family, his abusive father, how he started a career in football (soccer, if you really insist), was injured, and went to catering school instead. And 21 years later he is the most successful, and richest, chef in the world. Some of his frank descriptions of his childhood experiences got him into trouble with some of his family members, but that is bound to happen when you don’t sugar coat things.
12 – That’s Me in The Middle by Donald Jack. Until fairly recently the nine novels about Bartholomew Bandy were out of print but I’m glad to say that several have been reissued by a Canadian publisher and I have managed to get hold of them all. This is the second volume, about a WW1 pilot from Ottawa who manages against all expectation to become a war hero. War isn’t normally an amusing subject but this book manages to make it so without indulging in poor taste.
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Hey, thanks for the recommendations! I put Smoke and Kitchener on my to read list. I've been hearing good things about Bryson's book. I pretty much have all of his books on my list already - love him.
Posted by: Bumbles | January 02, 2009 at 10:36 PM
An interesting and diverse list, N. Well done on the 101!
I'm a bit jealous as I don't seem to have much time on my hands these days... don't even think I made it to 50 this year, though I stopped counting sometime in the summer.
I must pick up that Bryson book. The only one of his I read (can't remember the title) was about hiking the Appalachian Trail. I laughed my ass off...
Posted by: Wylie Kinson | January 03, 2009 at 01:13 AM
I just finished 'The Appeal' this morning. My husband gave it to me for Christmas, figuring that after the almost 1000 page 'The Pillars of the Earth', I could use a quick read. :)
Posted by: J | January 03, 2009 at 02:38 PM
I read about 70 books in 2008, which is a bit less than the number I read in 2007. I hadn't heard of any of your recommended books, except the Grisham one. I'll try to check it out, as I normally enjoy his books.
Posted by: PJ | January 04, 2009 at 11:21 AM
Your reading selections are so diverse. Do you favor a particular genre? How do you find the books you read? Some, I've never head of. Happy New Year! Wishing you MIles of Smiles in 2009
Posted by: Adelle Laudan | January 07, 2009 at 06:29 PM