Stuff I Read Last Year

I had the great fortune to have lots of time to read books in 2016. So, in the tradition of other eminent authorities like The New York Times, Amazon, and MAD Magazine, I thought it was incumbent upon me to publish my “Best of 2016”. Also, I felt like writing another blog post and I couldn’t think of anything else to say.

Way back last January I read Before The Fall, which I thought was very well written, somewhat intriguing, and very apropos in regard to the contemporary media environment. I gave it CCCC. (Aren’t those icons pathetic? I’m still using Windows 2007.)

There are few things I love more than comic novels; heating pads, maybe, or a big sloppy kiss from my dog. I read a couple of good ones (comic novels) this year: Everybody’s Fool (CCCC¹/₂C) and Kitchens of the Great Midwest (CCCC¹/₂C). Kitchens is a send-up of food snobbery; the chapter about bars is a classic. Fool is a sort-of sequel to Nobody’s Fool, both by Richard Russo, one of my favorite writers. Both Fools are a hoot, and I recommend these books highly if you’re seeking a chuckle or two.

(Random interjection: my two favorite comic novels are It Won’t Always Be This Great, and The Financial Lives of the Poets {don’t be put off by the title, it’s awesome}. I find few joys in life as fulfilling as funny books).

I read lots of crime/mystery/suspense novels last year. The best one was The Trespasser, by Tana French, a wonderful writer; I gave it CCCC. I also liked Michael Connelly’s latest, whatever it’s called; I read all of his books. Laura Lippman’s latest was also good. My new favorite writer in this genre is Michael Robotham, and his book about the guy who escapes prison the day before his sentence was up was excellent. I gave these an aggregate of CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC; I’ll let you figure out how to allocate them.

Still in the crime category, I read a noir book from around 1950 called Hell Hath No Fury that I really liked. You get 10 points if you can define “noir” adequately without cheating. I gave it CCCC¹/₃C. I started to read a Raymond Chandler but it was too clichéd for this cynic.

Last, and probably least, I liked Harlan Coben’s new book. Harlan Coben is like Fig Newtons: tasty, familiar, and you can’t stop until you’ve eaten the whole sleeve; CCCC.

I read lots of other thrillers, but they were mostly forgettable. Maybe they were wholly forgettable, since I can't remember them. I did not read any Lee Child/Jack Reacher books; they ruined it when they agreed to cast Tom Cruise as Reacher in the movies. Ugh.

Sort of still in that crime category was a delightfully twisted little book called You Will Know Me about a gymnastics team. A treat for young and old alike, I gave it CCCC¹/₂C.

If you like dysfunctional families, and who doesn’t, The Nest was good fun (CCCC). Also in the dysfunctional family vein, The Sport of Kings was quite a remarkable book. It reminded me of a trip to a great art gallery, or perhaps watching a foreign movie without translations: I felt like I was missing a lot of the best stuff, but it was an exhilarating ride anyway. I'll give it CCCC¹/₂C

Highly acclaimed works I started but discarded included The Homecoming, The Nix, and LaRose. I actually liked LaRose, I’m not sure why I quit reading it. Maybe The Caps were playing or something. I’ll probably take it up again.

A couple of books I read back-to-back that turned out to be companion pieces about women were My Name is Lucy Barton by Elizabeth Strout, and This is Your Life Harriet (Somebody) by Jonathan Evison. I love Elizabeth Strout’s books, and I like Evison a lot, too. CCCC¹/₂C and CCC¹/₂C, respectively.  And, both authors have previous books that are even better, read them all!

About the same time I was reading Homecoming I read Barkskins, which was fun since both were about immigrants to The New World around the 18^th century. I finished Barkskins, mostly just to be able to say I finished it. (No rating.) Not sure why I bother to mention it here.

I listened to The Vegetarian on tape. If You Will Know Me was twisted, The Vegetarian was twisted-on-steroids. I know it was profound, but I have no idea why; I gave it no rating, and I only mention it here because it won The Man Booker Prize, and I’m quite the book snob.

The Thicket was gory and sadistic, but also cute and charming. I liked it; CCC¹/₂C. Reminded me of another underrated book that I liked: The Sisters Brothers. If you liked the movie Hell or High Water, you might like these books.

Dodgers was pretty good. It’s his first book, and he’s from Northern Virginia, so you should read it. CCC¹/₂C. Allison liked it too, and since we sort of refuse to like the same books, that’s a rare endorsement.

Last week I actually read a non-fiction book, Thank You For Being Late. It’s supposed to an optimist’s look at the future, but I thought it was terrifying. Of course, I think getting out of bed is terrifying. (Isn’t it?) Anyway, it’s good book, I gave it CCCC¹/₂C.

OK, so here’s the grand finale. The two best books I read last year I actually read in the last two weeks, which of course was not last year. However, they were both ingenious, beautifully written, funny, wise, entertaining, and in many ways astonishing; two of the best novels I have ever read. Both by very accomplished authors, and in my mind, their greatest works. Both about brilliant, iconoclastic men; and again, in a sense, companion works. And so, the winners are, for best books of 2016…

Moonglow, by Michael Chabon

A Doubters Almanac, by Ethan Canin

They won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but I loved them. And after all, this is all about me. Though I hope I gave you some ideas of things you might like. Feel free to contact me if you would like more recommendations or details. Happy reading!