Best of 2008
Okay, seeing as it’s the last day of the year, I decided to have some fun thinking about all the books I’d read this year, all the best-of lists I’ve seen over the past month, and both of those activities led to me making my own year end “best of” lists.
I’ve broken stuff up into categories that are pretty arbitrary, and as you’ll see some categories simply have a “best” rather than a Top 5 – just the way it worked out if there weren’t enough notable books (that I came across) to pad things out.
Top 5 Crime novels of 2008
1. Blood Runs Cold by Alex Barclay, for reasons detailed elsewhere, and because nothing else appeared in the latter days of ‘08 to knock it off its perch. It is being (criminally) discounted by some booksellers at the minute so there’s no excuse not to read it. (Edit Jan ‘09 – ooh, the prologue is up on the nicely revamped Alex Barclay homepage here. Click on the book cover to be taken to it.)
2. Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith, because it brought me back to the first time I read Gorky Park, and it has every right to become as much of a classic.
3. The Likeness by Tana French, again for reasons detailed elsewhere, prime among them mixing a police procedural with The Secret History and managing not to be in the slightest bit naff.
4. Nemesis by Jo Nesbo, because the man can do no wrong, and this was every bit as gripping as the previous two.
5. When Will There Be Good News? by Kate Atkinson, another outing for Jackson Brodie, this one is every bit as good as the first (Case Histories), and miles better than the second (One Good Turn).
Top 5 Novels of 2008
1. The Believers by Zoe Heller, no question about it. Hilarious, painful, moving and at times uncomfortable reading, there wasn’t a box that this one didn’t tick.
2. The Girl Who Stopped Swimming by Joshilyn Jackson, southern gothic family drama meets murder in a tale that can’t be called a thriller as it’s more about the people than the crime. Funny, touching and downright scary in places.
3. The Dissident by Nell Freundenberger, a tangled and memorable tale about art, deception and culture clashes.
4 A Fraction of the Whole by Steve Toltz, my own favourite on the Booker shortlist this year. A stunning debut, and ties with Heller in the black humour stakes.
5. The Monsters Of Templeton by Lauren Groff, because it stuck around in my head for a long time after I finished it, and because it managed to add something different to the “returning home to a small town” story that has been played out many times before in other novels.
Speculative Fiction Book of the Year
Anathem by Neal Stephenson, because it’s as epic and brilliant as you’d expect.
Kids Book of the Year
The Name of this Book is Secret by Pseudonymous Bosch. Hands-down the cleverest, funniest, page-turniest (?) and downright coolest book for kids I have read since I was one myself.
Funniest Book of the Year
Dilbert 2.0 by Scott Adams, 20 years of Dilbert cartoons in one beautifully-bound book (with a bonus dvd), unwrapping this on Christmas day sent me to geek and hilarity heaven.
Honorable mention: When you are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris. Not as funny as he can be, but still good for a few giggles.
Non-fiction Book of the Year
Bad Science by Ben Goldacre, for a geek like me, the combination of woo-dismantling and experiments to try at home coupled with Goldacre’s wit and erudition made this an easy choice.
And finally, the inaugaral inductee into the “Publishers, what were you thinking?!” Hall of Shame!
Turkey of the Year (all categories)
Sweetheart by Chelsea Cain. Just plain nasty, in every sense. Not a single redeeming feature, other than the fact that it has a last page.
Runner up (or should that be dishonorable mention?): No time for Goodbye by Lynwood Barclay – one of those books that sells by the truckload and gets lots of press, for seemingly no good reason. “Twists” that are signposted in mile-high letters for anyone with a passing familiarity with crime books, and characters with simply unbelievable psycho(path)logy. Not pretty, and not fun.
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