Lucky's Favorite Books of 2012

[+ Lucky]

This list was going to go right under WilliamM's list, but then I thought that it might handicap those who want to review his list without the books getting mixed up. Arguably we don't each need a separate thread, but it seems that if someone wants to discuss a book, continuity would be hampered by the mixing of the lists. So, of the 125 books I read in 2012, the following deserved five stars:

 

Listed in reverse order of being read:

Mortality by Christopher Hitchens

The Double game by Dan Fesperman

*Telegraph Avenue by Michael Chabon

A Foreign Country by Charles Cumming

*The Headmaster's Wager by Vincent Lam

 

Truth Like The Sun by Jim Lynch

Red Star Rising by Brian Freemantle

Black List by Brad Thor

Creole Belle by James Lee Burke

The Inquisitor by Mark Allen Smith

 

In One Person by John Irving

*From the Memoirs of A Non-Enemy Combatant by Alex Gilvarry

Zero Hour in Phnom Penh by Christopher G. Moore

The Good Father by Noah Hawley

Prague Fatale by Philip Kerr

 

Moscow Sting by Alex Dryden

Hard Knocks by Howie Carr

Three Seconds by Anders Roslund

 

* = My Top Three of the 18. There are, of course, two weeks left in the year. Today I picked up Kevin Powers' novel, The Yellow Birds, and am hoping that it makes my list too. It's won some big prizes.

[tyro]

I bought Mortality about six weeks ago but still haven't had a chance to start it. Glad to see it made your list.

T

[BaronArtz]

I admire you for reading 125 books in one year. That's an inspiration!

[operalover21]

I find it just a little strange that one keeps a list of books one reads during the year. That makes it seem like less reading for enjoyment than reading for sport. Just me.

[+ newatthis]

I find it just a little strange that one keeps a list of books one reads during the year. That makes it seem like less reading for enjoyment than reading for sport. Just me.

I keep a list of books I want to read -- recommended by friends or reviewed somewhere --on an excel spreadsheet that's easy to print up and take along to the library with me. (This is the successor to a paper list I started keeping in my wallet when I was 15 -- another way in which computers have simplified my life.) I mark them read when I've finished and the entry then gets hidden. It would be very easy to reconstruct all of my reading from this if I wanted to, although that's not the object of keeping the list.

[+ newatthis]

This list was going to go right under WilliamM's list, but then I thought that it might handicap those who want to review his list without the books getting mixed up. Arguably we don't each need a separate thread, but it seems that if someone wants to discuss a book, continuity would be hampered by the mixing of the lists. So, of the 125 books I read in 2012, the following deserved five stars:

 

List omitted...

A few of these are still on my to-read list. The ones I've read are Telegraph Avenue (I agree; one of the best), Creole Belle (I love Burke's writing, but I am getting a little tired of his characters, especially Clete), and Prague Fatale (I enjoy the atmosphere of his novels).

 

I've just discovered Joshua Henkin, through his latest, well-reviewed The World Without You. Now working my way back through his earlier novels.

[+ WilliamM]

I find it just a little strange that one keeps a list of books one reads during the year. That makes it seem like less reading for enjoyment than reading for sport. Just me.

 

Lucky is smart to keep a list. I do not, so when someone recommends a book I forget the title and author within five minutes.

 

That may explain why my 2012 post on books jumps around so much, except on Vietnam. I wish I had Lucky's discipline.

[operalover21]

I keep a list of books I want to read -- recommended by friends or reviewed somewhere --on an excel spreadsheet that's easy to print up and take along to the library with me. (This is the successor to a paper list I started keeping in my wallet when I was 15 -- another way in which computers have simplified my life.) I mark them read when I've finished and the entry then gets hidden. It would be very easy to reconstruct all of my reading from this if I wanted to, although that's not the object of keeping the list.

 

But that's why God invented the Notes function on the I-phone!

[operalover21]

Or the Amazon wish list?

[+ Lucky]

After I read a book, I write a little review of it for Amazon and Barnes & Noble. That way I keep a record of what I have read and what I thought of it, and maybe along the way I help someone else make a decision as to whether they want to invest the time and money in the book. On top of that, I get feedback from other readers that helps me both write better reviews and learn what other books I might like to read. Perhaps The World Without You could be on my list after newatthis recommended it!

 

(And perhaps WilliamM will enjoy The Headmaster's Wager after I recommended it to him. Perhaps.)

[+ WilliamM]

(And perhaps WilliamM will enjoy The Headmaster's Wager after I recommended it to him. Perhaps.)

 

I just read the reviews on Amazon. I have spent time in Cholon, so I do plan to read the book soon. In fact, I shall probably bring it with me over Christmas. In turn, I recommend Tim O'Brien's "The Things They Carried", or Michael Herr's "Dispatches."

 

Both books are a mix of fiction and non-fiction. Herr is a liitle too proud of his writing skills, which he also used in the revised version of "Apocalypse Now" and "Full Metal Jacket" to great effect. O'Brien is the best author on what it's like to be a grunt in Vietnam.

[+ Charlie]

One of the things I missed as a result of being an English major was the time to read popular best-sellers. Hard though it may be to believe, until this week I had never read any book by J.R.R. Tolkien or Ian Fleming, nor seen any movie based on their works. So I have just finished reading "The Hobbit" and "Casino Royale." The former is something I suspect I might have enjoyed more when I was a child, the latter more boring than I expected.

 

I have also never read Mario Puzo nor seen any of the "Godfather" movies, ditto for John Grisham, but I think my next venture will be John LeCarre.

[+ WilliamM]

 

I have also never read Mario Puzo nor seen any of the "Godfather" movies, ditto for John Grisham, but I think my next venture will be John LeCarre.

 

I envy you. I was out of work in the mid-1980s because of illness, and read prime Le Carre back to back for three weeks. Specifically I am referring to the trilogy, Tinker, Tailor, Sailor, Spy/The Honourable School Boy/Smiley's People. I remember the second book, The Honourable School Boy, as the most complex and satisfying of the three books. Those three weeks went by very quickly thanks to Le Carre.

[operalover21]

One of the things I missed as a result of being an English major was the time to read popular best-sellers. Hard though it may be to believe, until this week I had never read any book by J.R.R. Tolkien or Ian Fleming, nor seen any movie based on their works. So I have just finished reading "The Hobbit" and "Casino Royale." The former is something I suspect I might have enjoyed more when I was a child, the latter more boring than I expected.

 

I have also never read Mario Puzo nor seen any of the "Godfather" movies, ditto for John Grisham, but I think my next venture will be John LeCarre.

 

Before you have done anything else you must see The Godfather movies. In the annals of the greatest works of art of the 20th century these films are in the top ten. Go. Now. Do. Not Stop!

[+ Lucky]

Before you have done anything else you must see The Godfather movies. In the annals of the greatest works of art of the 20th century these films are in the top ten. Go. Now. Do. Not Stop!

 

There can certainly be a debate on that. Even within the trilogy fans argue which is the best, and which is the worst, with the third movie usually getting the least respect. But Charlie is in luck if he really wants to see all 3, because I have a nice boxed set.