Chuckabilly's Best of 2010 Literary Lollapalooza

NON-FICTION:

1. What is the What by Dave Eggers

What I said then:

“What is the What is the life story of a surviving “Lost Boy” of the Sudan… The story is a heartbreaking one of many trials and tribulations.”

“This is an incredibly true story about one man’s overcoming great odds to survive and live happily as an outsider in the United States.”

“Seriously, Eggers is one hell of a writer.”

What I say now:

“This one is shelved in fiction, but Valentino Deng is a real man whose tale is told here by the talented Mr. Eggers, so I include it in my non-fiction picks. Like Zeitoun this is an incredibly true story of an ordinary man overcoming unbelievable odds.”

2. Into the Wild by Jonathan Krakauer

What I said then:

“Into the Wild, is a troublesome blend of biography, outdoor enthusiasm, and personal authorial insight and wisdom. It is as fascinating a read as it is a short, strange trip into another man’s life and death.”

“I recommend this book. Highly.”

What I say now:

“I still enjoyed Sean Penn’s film adaptation more than the original source material, but Mr. Krakauer’s scholarly musings on Christopher McCandless’ wanderlust evoke more personal reflection and less maudlin melancholy. A rich portrait of a unique young man.”

3. Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach

What I said then:

“Mary Roach is probably the funniest person to ever write about the uses of the human body after it has expired.”

“I wouldn’t have believed I would have so much fun reading about human corpses… The accounts of medical grave-robbing are as inspiring as they are horrifying.”

“Science never seemed so fun!”

What I say now:

“Again, I think of this book so often it almost frightens me. It inspired me to read the original Frankenstein and re-watch Branagh’s film adaptation, and it changed my mind about being an organ-donor. Now I watch the X-Files movie and am reminded of early experiments involving transplanting a dog’s head onto another dog’s body. Yep, this one sticks with me.”

4. Medium Raw by Anthony Bourdain

What I said then:

“Medium Raw is a love letter to the art of cooking and to those who still devote themselves to it.”

“Bourdain creates a quite comprehensive look at what his life is like post-kitchen: he travels, he writes, he drinks, he reminisces, he raises a family…For Bourdain, life is pretty good. He gets paid to travel and eat and record what he does.”

“Reading this is a joy simply because for the week that you read this you’ll have Tony Bourdain talking in your head constantly.”

What I Say Now:

“While this isn’t the groundbreaking expose that Kitchen Confidential was, it is lighter, wider in scope, and Bourdain is infinitely better adjusted: A great book of essays by our consummate traveler/foodie.”

5. Funny Misshapen Body by Jeffrey Brown

What I said then:

“Brown’s great gift is his ability to tell a story in a very small hand-drawn square. The amount of detail he manages to squeeze in to those little 2-inch squares is astounding, never failing to connect one instantly with their own awkward childhood, or hard-partying college days. The fact that this memoir is practically told without words (the text never overtakes a frame, and is always a tiny portion of the 2-inch square) is a testament to Mr. Brown’s tremendous talent.”

What I say now:

“I am still amazed at what this guy can do in an inch and half square with no words.”

6. The Audacity to Win by David Plouffe

What I said then:

“This is a book that wallows in election tedium, but as a insider’s view of the campaign that changed the way America votes it is a fascinating account of how a handful of people with a shared belief in a candidate and his ability to operate outside of political norms did everything against the book and came up big winners, and ultimately reshaped the face of the American electorate.”

“Just seeing the nuts and bolts of the campaign is worth the read. But seeing candidate Obama taking the same slow, thoughtful approach to every issue that arises as he does everyday as our president is glorious. It seems we got the right man for the job.”

7. The Next 100 Years by George Friedman

What I said then:

“At a glance Friedman’s foray into the future is an elaborate guessing game. A parlor trick involving crystal balls and ominous knocking on tables and walls. But then something interesting happens: It starts to make sense.”

“I like the thought it inspires, the conversations it encourages, and the questions it urges... A fascinating read.”

8. Morbid Curiosity: The Disturbing Demises of the Famous and Infamous by Alan W. Petrucelli

What I said then:

“The book contains hundreds of factoids surrounding the deaths of celebrities and newsmakers, and is great fun (if you think death can be fun, that is.)”

“This book is a trivia lover’s dream.”

9. Bedwetter by Sarah Silverman

What I said then:

“Silverman is dangerously funny, and seems honestly unable to keep from being funny… The surprise is how emotionally tuned-in Silverman turns out to be: She is at once honest, self-critical, vulnerable, and defensive.”

“In any case this is a highly enjoyable memoir, from her days as a hairy little bedwetting Jewess at summer camp, to her days as an underappreciated non-ivy-league SNL writer, Silverman is uncompromising and unflinching.”

10. The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb

What I said then:

“The fact that Crumb manages to faithfully reproduce the first book of the bible in beautifully illustrated detail is remarkable.”

“The Christian Right may disapprove because (Heavens!) Eve’s breasts are naked (as they would have been), but this is a damn fine literal translation of the first book of the Old Testament, made abundantly accessible to every single denominator, not just the most common. Words are no longer necessary. Crumb’s beautiful but crude drawings tell the whole story.”

“The truth is Crumb’s detailed illustrations provide a marvel of cross-cultural understanding… Here is hope that mankind might better come to understand and love one another by viewing Crumb’s brilliant illustrations, and love one another as the distant cousins that the bible asserts that we are.”

FICTION:

1. House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski

What I said then:

“Those needing a clear path and a well-lit view will steer clear. And it’s good they do. This isn’t for them. It’s for me. And people like me, that like to believe that books matter, and that words hold power….”

“I found myself reading this book compulsively and obsessing over every little detail, lest something should be missed… To tell the truth, even now I am a bit haunted by it.”

“This is by far one of the most unusual and challenging books I have ever read…(it) will be with me forever.”

What I say now:

“Haunting. Absolutely haunting. There are few days that pass that I don’t think of this book. In many ways it has become a watermark of what I am looking for in a book. I crave that next book that will swallow me whole, and leave me perplexed and breathless and terrified.”

“Funny story: I placed this book in Borders as a staff pick, wrote a little blurb, and placed it on an endcap in the Horror section; said something similar to what I said above. A few days later I find that someone has added a comment to my staff pick blurb. A customer has taken the time and effort to find a scrap of paper and write an addendum to my staff pick. I laughed, but ultimately just understood why he felt the need to do so. The note, a small plain white square tucked into the corner of the plastic shelf-talker, said simply: ‘I agree.’ --Brian.”

“Again, not a book for everyone, but those of you willing to give yourself over to a mystery and follow its many mazes may find yourself haunted like me and Brian.”

2. Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami

What I Said Then:

“Written in a heightened style, mixing reality with metaphysical planes, Kafka on the Shore reads like a strange but engrossing dream. With fun characters, pop culture references, music, fish falling from the sky, and talking cats. This book is one of a kind.”

What I say now: “Simply a magical read. Written like a noir-influenced, Saki-soaked dream. The characters are incredible and lovable, the adventure is inspiring, and the goings-on just this side of downright weird. I can’t wait to read more Murakami.”

3. The Hunger Games—­­Suzanne Collins

What I said then:

“This is a great modern dystopic novel full of great storytelling, great characters, and tons of action, intrigue and adventure.”

“This is a modern classic.”

4. The Magicians—Lev Grossman

What I said then:

“A haunting, heartbreaking work of youthful excess, The Magicians draws from a myriad of popular children’s fantasies to create its magical landscape. As much a paean to The Chronicles of Narnia as it is to Harry Potter, mixed with the drunken ennui of Somerset Maugham, this one will make you nostalgic for simpler days and almost make you believe those worlds still exist.”

“A great, propulsive read.”

What I say now:

“Again, this one just sticks with me. And it always pops up in my head when enjoying some of the famous source material: latest Harry Potter film, there is The Magicians. The latest Narnia film: The Magicians. I can’t wait for the sequel to this one.”

5. Scott Pilgrim V. 1-6—Brian Lee O’Malley

What I said then:

“This is the most fun you can have while reading. I’m not kidding. Scott Pilgrim is the greatest graphic novel document of modern twenty-something culture probably in the ever. With frequent gamer nods and slacker mentality to spare, this is funny and fun and utterly charming.”

What I say now:

“Rating: Awesome.”

6. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

What I said then:

“Never Let Me Go is a rare piece of fiction that is part science fiction, part literary coming-of-age tale, and part mystery.”

“Deeply engrossing and intriguing, it is a book that works on many levels at once…Spellbinding fiction.”

What I say now:

“This book is another staff pick at Borders and it sells like wildfire. I have to refill my staff pick shelf constantly with this title. Beautiful, delicate storytelling, with a tremendous pay-off.”

7. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

What I said then:

“Oryx and Crake is an inventive, dystopic novel that makes great hay out of current scientific and philosophic issues such as genetics and cloning… But the heart of the story is how Crake and Oryx got us to where we are, extinct but for one man, and the soured relationships that tread the path.”

“This is astonishing science fiction. Even going above and beyond such a title, it is an invigorated imagining of a very possible human future. Like Bradbury and Orwell before her, Atwood has created a world all its own that is at once believable and frightening.”

8. The Angel’s Game—Carlos Zafon-Ruiz

What I said then:

“This book is a love letter to books and book-lovers everywhere.”

“The characters are vivid and wholly human in their grandeur and their shortcomings, and the ensuing tale of intrigue is not one I have ever read or seen before. An utterly original and engrossing literary mystery, this one is for all the book lovers out there, this incredible tale of romance and shadows will baffle and inspire you.”

9. Point Omega by Don DeLillo

What I Said Then:

“A short and brisk novel of surprising force.”

“DeLillo is a master of those tiny human moments that add up to make a life. Both profound and shattering, Point Omega is a breath-taking work about the struggle to reconcile the soul with its surroundings, and to understand the scope of space and time.”

“DeLillo’s lean prose is as spare and athletic as ever, weighing in at only 117 pages, it is a breathless and energetic read.”

What I say now:

“DeLillo is an American master that can evoke more in 117 pages than most writers would be happy to capture in 1000 pages. Exceptional.”

10. Fortress of Solitude by Jonathan Lethem

What I said then:

“Crossing as many genres and styles as one book can, this is book is a tour-de-force. It is an amazing literary force to be reckoned with, demanding to be taken seriously with its serious social issues of homelessness, gentrification, race wars, class wars, drug use and addiction and heartfelt examination of what it’s like to be raised white in a largely black community.”

“It is both a tough coming of age novel about growing up amid gang and drug influences in Brooklyn, and a fantasy story about a kid who inherits a ring from a dying superhero that bestows magical powers upon the person who wears the ring.”

“An important and devastating novel.”

What I say now:

“The comic book nerd in me loves that this book takes the superhero theme as its main point of attack. The fiction writer in me loves that Lethem takes that superhero theme and shoves into the background making it just another fact of life in the midst of a messy 80’s adolescence.”

Honorable Mentions:

Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri

What I said then:

“Her writing is elegant and precise, and yet moves with the fierce yearning of love.”

“This is beautiful and warm prose that gently urges you to keep reading. And when one finishes, you won’t be able to resist diving into the next irresistible world. An incredible debut collection, this is the type of book that as soon as you finish it you want to tell somebody else about it. Don’t resist that urge.”

The Passage by Justin Cronin

What I said then:

“…where this novel exceeds its peers is in its scope and vision. We see our world. We see our world die. We see the remnants of a world in chaos. And then we see the world reborn. At 700+ pages this is a pretty hefty beach read, but you won’t find a more engrossing and engaging beach read this year.”

“Cronin is a highly-skilled writer and his words flow effortlessly. He deftly balances character and action and finely-hewn details to create not just a believable fictional world but several.”

The Great Perhaps by Joe Meno

What I said then:

“Joe Meno is a writer with a unique style. He writes the absurd while remaining completely honest with the emotional world of his characters.”

“This is a great novel of normal, everyday unhappiness. A book about how far we don’t reach for our potential everyday of our lives, despite our most fervent prayers and daydreams otherwise. It is a sad malaise into the thoughts and dreams of four very lonely and deeply connected individuals, a.k.a. a family who come out the other side and finds redemption in one another. It is a great tale of a dysfunctional family just like yours, only worse.”