I read 18 books last year, with one I finished on the very last day of the year: Outliers
, by Malcolm Gladwell. I like the list. A nice mix of fiction and non-fiction.My favorite non-fiction was The Outlaw Sea
, by William Langewiesche. This book explores the open sea, and its inhospitable nature. There are pirates, storms, and descriptions of ships as they're being disassembled for parts. I felt it blended in well with Uncommon Carriers
, by John McPhee, which I read later in the year (and which was my second favorite). Honorable mentions: Ball Four
(Jim Bouton), Hammer of the Gods
(Stephen Davis).My favorite fiction was Then We Came to the End
. This is a novel set in a modern workplace, and it concerns itself with petty rumors, office politics, and layoffs. In other words, it's a fiction of the lives led by many people in the white-collar world. It has a lot of spot-on observations, and a tricky literary point of view (it's told from the first person plural ("We saw him come out of the elevator"), with a brief interlude to take on another character's point of view). This was Joshua Ferris' first novel, and it's a winner.Honorable mentions: Tree of Smoke
(Denis Johnson), American Pastoral
(Philip Roth), Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep
(Philip K. Dick).
I plan to read the Malcolm Gladwell book and will read the office politics novel you recommended.
ReplyDeleteCheck out shelfari.com and librarything.com. They allow you to keep track of a virtual bookcase. I've been on shelfari and I keep track of the books I've raad as well as books I'm planning to read via the site. Here's to more great books in 2009.
Great post Rick. I will definitely be following a couple of your recommendations.
ReplyDeleteMike H (fellow Arlingtonian :))