2007 Final Reading List

This was a fantastic year of reading for me. I have become fascinated by two very different authors this year and have read extensively of their work: David McCullough and Ian McEwan. I became enamored with McCullough when I purchased an abridged book on CD version of '1776' while on an extended work trip. I loved it so much I bought the book and read it cover to cover. I then followed up with the best non-fiction of 2007, John Adams. The book was so good I was depressed for a week after finishing it. I am stoked to find out that HBO is producing a 6-part mini-series on the book to air in early spring. I can't wait.

My new favorite novelist has become Ian McEwan. I usually stick with classic novels because I just love the beauty of their writing; I usually prefer to read Jane Austen or Henry James to almost anyone modern. All that changed when I was introduced to McEwan during an interview for Charlie Rose (one of the smartest people of TV). At the time, he was discussing his new novel 'On Chesil Beach' so I picked it up. It was amazing so I moved on to his others and found the best novel of 2007 (I read it this year, it's a couple of years old): Atonement. Do yourself a favor and read this book; you'll thank me.

• ATONEMENT - Ian McEwan
  This is not just another Ian McEwan novel, it is, by far, the best modern novel I have ever read. McEwan's prose is savory and sweet-it is to be relished like a fine wine. The man can describe just about anything. This novel specifically, and McEwan's writing in general, will spoil you with its quality and beauty. You may not be able to sit through another John Grisham novel again. This novel, and now a major motion picture, is just about perfect. It is complex and nuanced and compelling; it's a big story, an epic that does not disappoint in its ending. And what an ending it is. It has a fantastic ending; not one in which Bruce Willis saves the earth with a brave act of self-sacrifice (hear the music swelling?) but one in which the entire novel, all the characters and plot lines, the emotions wrenched and suspended aloft throughout the entire story come to a beautifully complete and wholly satisfying conclusion. I recommend this book to everyone. Everyone, that is, that is literate and fairly intelligent. Be advised, the story prominently features the worst curse word in the English language; it wouldn't be that same without it.
• JOHN ADAMS - David McCullough
  While Atonement is the best novel I have read, 'John Adams' is the best non-fiction I have read this year. I am angry at my high school history teachers for not teaching me more about this paragon of American Revolutionary history. Few, if any, men have accomplished so much and played so prominent a role in the creation and formation of this wonderful country than this paragon of integrity, intelligence, honor and virtue as John Adams. That he and his awesome wife Abegail corresponded so much, and with such deep and personal revelations, make this book easily the climax of McCullough's literary career. He is such a fantastic writer that this material takes on a life of its own in a great narrative that is hard to put down. Read this book!!
• A DAY AT THE BEACH - Helen Schulman
  I chose this book around the anniversary of 9/11 and was not disappointed. Enough time has passed and the interval has brought the beginnings of reasoned perspective on that horrible experience. Helen's book was a great reminder of the raw terror of that day as a couple and their small child witness the first World Trade Center attack from their high-rise apartment just blocks away. They flee the city to their tranquil and quiet Long Island beach house. The narrative is quick and terrifying and harried and therapeutic as well.
• FALLING MAN - Don DeLillo
  After reading Helen Schulman's book I looked for another along the same vein and was not disappointed. This is very different from 'A Day At the Beach' but is equally chilling. The prose is experientially linked to the confusion and blur of a survivor of the Twin Towers who tries to return to daily life. 
• MYSTERIES OF THE MIDDLE AGES: The Rise of Feminism, Science and Art from the Cuts to Catholic Europe - Thomas Cahill
  This book comes in a close second as best non-fiction book of the year. First of all, the book is absolutely beautiful. Almost every page had some decorative margin border or photograph of some medieval fresco or painting. As for the writing, Cahill is fantastic as he weaves a thoroughly compelling story of the awesome characters of the Middle Ages: Augustine, Abelard, Teresa of Avilla, Bernard, Aquinas, Heloise, ect. Within these detailed profiles, Cahill presents a clear argument for the rise of Feminism and the eventual beginnings of the Enlightenment. In the great book there is nothing Dark about that Middle ages. Excellent.
• UNDAUNTED COURAGE - Stephen E. Ambrose
  This is a fantastic biography of Merriwether Lewis and William Clark and their Corps of Discovery that explored the Louisiana Purchase. These are two of greatest explorers and Americans to ever live. To accomplish what they accomplished when they accomplished it was an accomplishment of monumental proportions.
• AMSTERDAM - Ian McEwan
  This brief McEwan novel is fantastic. It's witty, fast-paced, and devilishly fun. Two despicably self-absorbed former lovers of a recently deceased socialite make a solemn pact whose consequences will change their lives and possibly alter the course of political leadership in England. This novel is fun.
• SATURDAY - Ian McEwan
  One fascinating day in the life of a successful surgeon will alter his life and that of his family. This is a quick-paced novel with a fantastic last 100 pages.
• NAKED - David Sedaris
  Another great book by David Sedaris. A total laugh-riot. On an additional note regarding David Sedaris. Dave Gundlach's Christmas present (he's my roommate and we're not gay) was to see David Sedaris live in concert. He was hilarious and read our favorite story about the Stadium Pal. Thanks Stadium Pal!
• THE CONTENT OF OUR CHARACTER - Shelby Steele
  This is the best book I have ever read dealing with the question of race in America. I re-read this classic for Martin Luther King's birthday.
• A ROOM WITH A VIEW- E. M. Forester



• THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV - Fyodor Dostoevsky
  I am re-reading the classic Russian epic. I am reading a translation by Richard Pervear and Larissa Volokhonsky that is awesome. It is so much better than the older Constance Garrett version. This translation seems much more Russian; it has a roughness, a foreign quality that seems much more authentic, less Westernized. Follow the title link or the book image link for a hardcover version of this masterpiece of Russian literature. See my character summary when you begin reading and this study guide for more background.
• WHITE GUILT - Shelby Steele
  The book tagline is "How Blacks and Whites Together Destroyed the Promise of the Civil Rights Era."
• A ROOM WITH A VIEW- E. M. Forester
• DESPAIR - Vladamir Nabakov
• ON CHESIL BEACH - Ian McEwan
  This was my initial introduction to the writing of Ian McEwan. This novella is centered around a couple's wedding night in 1962. Though the setting might seem like that of a porn movie, it is actually very good. This story is very intimate without being seedy or voyeuristic.
• TRUMAN - David McCullough
  This was another great McCullough book. Truman was the only U.S. President to drop an Atomic Bomb in wartime. What an awesome responsibility and a decision that, while debated to this day, was sadly the best choice available. How quickly Americans forget how fanatical and evil the Japanese regime was.   
• HOW THE IRISH SAVED CIVILIZATION - Thomas Cahill
• THE WORST HARD TIME - Timothy Egan
  This National Book Award winner about the Dust Bowl in the 1930s is great.
• JOHNSTOWN FLOOD - David McCullough
• PARADISE LOST - John Milton
• DANGEROUS NATION - Robert Kagan

Books in progress...

• THE PASSION OF THE WESTERN MIND - Richard Tarnas

Comments

[Jane]

u should read vladimir nabokov!
great, great books!