Books, Best of 2007

Yep, I really read 106 books last year. I’d read more if I could find the time but I really do have other things to do & if anything, maybe I should read a little less (don’t really want to do that) in order to concentrate on more important items.

As was my decision last year, I will put forth two top ten lists. One with books released in 2007 only and the second will be comprised of books released in years prior to that (because there are too many good books that I have not read yet).

Without any further bloated meanderings, here are my top ten books (in order) of 2007:

1. Dead Boys Richard Lange
   
2. A Good and Happy Child Justin Evans
3. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows J.K. Rowling
4. Crashing Through Robert Kurson
5. After Dark Haruki Murakami
6. In the Country of Men Hisham Matar
7. Blaze Richard Bachman
8. Mistress of the Art of Death Ariana Franklin
9. Heart-Shaped Box Joe Hill
10. The Uncommon Reader Alan Bennett

Here is the second list (in order) but I will not place books in this list that I have re-read such as The Lord of the Rings trilogy, older Stephen King titles, Murakami, Herbert etc- you know, favorites you read again & again.

1. Special Topics in Calamity Physics Marisha Pessl
2. The Book of Lost Things John Connolly
3. Feeding a Yen Calvin Trillian
4. The Stupidest Angel:A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror Christopher Moore
5. Gringos in Paradise Barry Golson
6. Heat Bill Buford
7. Comes a Horseman Robert Liparulo
8. Mostly True: Collected Stories & Drawings Brian Andreas
9. Exile on Main St.: A Season in Hell with The Rolling Stones Robert Greenfield
10. Sharp Objects Gillian Flynn

I read a lot of good books last year and there are authors on the list such as John Connolly, Cormac McCarthy and Don DeLillo that I had never read before. I look forward to reading more of their work in the future.

Newer authors such as Marcus Sakey, Bill Cameron, Hisham Matar, Richard Lange & Justin Evans are also not to be overlooked.

There are also new titles to look forward to in the coming months:

1. The Serpent’s Tale (Ariana Franklin- released 01/31/08)
2. At the City’s Edge (Marcus Sakey- just released)
3. Indefinite Leave to Remain (David Sedaris- released 06/03/08)

Finally, if you have not heard of Granta (The Magazine of New Writing) and you like good short stories, non-fiction, poetry, photography & overall quality literature, then check it out. It is a quarterly publication that is issued in trade paperback format and retails for around $15.00. It is money well spent and a great way to learn of authors/subjects you may not have heard about.

Below is a complete list of what I read in 2007 and when I finished each title (nerdy, I know). The books have varied in length… some less than 50 and others almost 900 pages.

There are lots of good books on the list.

Happy Reading!

1. Heat Bill Buford 01/06/07
   
2. Talk to the Snail Stephen Clarke 01/08/07
   
3. The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror Christopher Moore 01/11/07
4. The Book of Lost Thing John Connolly 01/16/07
5. Comes a Horseman Robert Liparulo 01/18/07
6. Sharp Objects Gillian Flynn 01/22/07
7. Exile on Mainstreet: A Season in Hell with The Rolling Stones Robert Greenfield 01/26/07
8. The Road Cormac McCarthy 01/28/07
9. Travels in the Scriptorium Paul Auster 01/30/07
10. You Suck: A Love Story Christopher Moore 01/31/07
11. The Alexandria Link Steve Berry 02/04/07
12. 102 Minutes Jim Dwyer and Kevin Flynn 02/05/07
13. The Blood Spilt Åsa Larsson 02/08/07
14. Suite Francaise Irene Nemirovsky 02/10/07
15. The Castle in the Forest Norman Mailer 02/19/07
16. Pistol: The Life of Pete Maravich Mark Kriegel 02/22/07
17. In Harm's Way Doug Stanton 02/24/07
18. In the Country of Men Hisham Matar 03/06/07
19. Heart-Shaped Box Joe Hill 03/08/07
20. Mistress of the Art of Death Ariana Franklin 03/18/07
21. Granta 96: War Zones Ian Jack (Editor) 03/22/07
22. Gringos in Paradise Barry Golson 03/26/07
23. Scavenger David Morrell 03/31/07
24. Nocturnes John Connolly 04/09/07
25. Climbing the Mango Trees Madhur Jaffrey 04/12/07
26. Crashing Through Robert Kurson 04/17/07
27. Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Frank Miller 04/26/07
28. The Far Side Gallery 5 Gary Larson 05/03/07
29. Jamestown Matthew Sharpe 05/13/07
30. The Double Eagle James Twining 05/15/07
31. After Dark Haruki Murakami 05/17/07
32. The Adventuress Audrey Niffenegger 05/22/07
33. The Judas Strain James Rollins 05/23/07
34. The Overlook Michael Connelly 05/24/07
35. The Witch of Portobello Paulo Coelho 06/04/07
36. The Curse of Madame "C": A Farside Collection Gary Larson 06/05/07
37. The Far Side Gallery 4 Gary Larson 06/06/07
38. A Thousand Splendid Suns Khaled Hosseini 06/11/07
39. Blaze Richard Bachman 06/19/07
40. God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything Christopher Hitchens 06/19/07
41. The Good Guy Dean Koontz 06/20/07
42. Michael Tolliver Lives Armistead Maupin 06/22/07
43. Wall and Piece Banksy 06/23/07
44. Mediterrean Summer: A Season on France's Cote d'Azur… David Shalleck with Erol Munuz 06/24/07
45. The Children of Húrin J.R.R. Tolkien 06/27/07
46. The Rug Merchant Meg Mullins 06/29/07
47. Zugzwang Ronan Bennett 07/02/07
48. Granta 97: Best of Young American Novelists 2 Ian Jack (Editor) 07/06/07
49. Lost Dog Bill Cameron 07/07/07
50. The Atheist's Bible: An Illustrious Collection of Irreverent Thoughts Joan Konner (Editor) 07/08/07
51. Milk Eggs Vodka Bill Keaggy 07/09/07
52. The Dark River John Twelve Hawks 07/13/07
53. The Blade Itself Marcus Sakey 07/15/07
54. Mostly True: Collected Stories & Drawings Brian Andreas 07/15/07
55. Chill of Night John Lutz 07/16/07
56. Still Mostly True: Collected Stories & Drawings Brian Andreas 07/16/07
57. Rickles' Book Don Rickles with David Ritz 07/17/07
58. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows J.K. Rowling 07/22/07
59. Kingdom of Ten Thousand Things Gary Geddes 07/28/07
60. Falling Man Don DeLillo 07/31/07
61. The Uncommon Reader Alan Bennett 07/31/07
62. A Good and Happy Child Justin Evans 08/06/07
63. Granta 98: The Deep End Ian Jack (Editor) 08/10/07
64. The Amateur Gourmet: How to Shop, Chop, and Table-Hop Like a Pro Adam D. Roberts 08/11/07
65. Interred With Their Bones Jennifer Lee Carrell 08/13/07
66. Spook Country William Gibson 08/20/07
67. Different Seasons Stephen King 08/21/07
68. Dune Frank Herbert 08/25/07
69. Crooked Little Vein Warren Ellis 08/28/07
70. Dune Messiah Frank Herbert 08/30/07
71. Nexus Confessions: Volume One Lindsay Gordon (Editor) 08/30/07
72. The Sanctuary Raymond Khoury 09/03/07
73. Children of Dune Frank Herbert 09/06/07
74. Baltimore, or, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden 09/08/07
75. Special Topics in Calamity Physics Marisha Pessl 09/16/07
76. Death and the Devil Frank Schatzing 09/18/07
77. The Intruders Michael Marshall 09/23/07
78. Dead Boys Richard Lange 09/29/07
79. Super Crunchers Ian Ayres 10/01/07
80. Inside Kenneth J. Harvey 10/04/07
81. Red Sea Emily Benedek 10/07/07
82. Fire in the Blood Irene Nemirovsky 10/11/07
83. I Am America (And So Can You!) Stephen Colbert 10/14/07
84. God Emperor of Dune Frank Herbert 10/17/07
85. The Sad Truth About Happiness Anne Giardini 10/21/07
86. Kafka on the Shore Haruki Murakami 10/28/07
87. The Hobbit (or There and Back Again) J.R.R. Tolkien 10/30/07
88. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring J.R.R. Tolkien 10/31/07
89. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers J.R.R. Tolkien 11/06/07
90. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King J.R.R. Tolkien 11/07/07
91. Cancel Your Own Goddam Subscription William F. Buckley Jr. 11/09/07
92. Exit Ghost Philip Roth 11/12/07
93. Sword of God Chris Kuzneski 11/14/07
94. Deadfall Robert Liparulo 11/19/07
95. Holidays on Ice David Sedaris 11/25/07
96. Granta 99: What Happened Next F. Ahmed, L. Jobey, M. Weiland (Editors) 11/26/07
97. The Sharper Your Knife, The Less You Cry Kathleen Flinn 11/27/07
98. Skeleton Crew Stephen King 12/01/07
99. Feeding a Yen Calvin Trillin 12/03/07
100. I Am Legend Richard Matheson 12/11/07
101. 2033: The Future of Misbehavior Nerve.com, Editors 12/12/07
102. The Fortune Cookie Chronicles Jennifer 8. Lee 12/19/07
103. Granta 67: Women and Children First Ian Jack (Editor) 12/23/07
104. The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon (A Pop-up Book) Stephen King 12/25/07
105. The Venetian Betrayal Steve Berry 12/27/07
106. The Darkest Evening of the Year Dean Koontz 12/31/07