2006 has been very generous to book-lovers, and consequently we have a plethora of titles to choose from for our holiday gift-giving. This year avoid the mall, and give them a book from the eclectic selection of the best that emerged from the publishing houses this year.
1. Adverbs by Daniel Handler
Adverbs is a novel about love -- a bunch of different people, in and out of different kinds of love. At the start of the novel, Andrea is in love with David -- or maybe it's Joe -- who instead falls in love with Peter in a taxi. At the end of the novel, it's Joe who's in the taxi, falling in love with Andrea, although it might not be Andrea, and in any case it might not be the same Andrea, as Andrea is a very common name...
2. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Set during World War II in Germany, Markus Zusak's new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can't resist-books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement before he is marched to Dachau.
3. Empress by Shan Sa
In seventh-century China, during the great Tang dynasty, a young girl from the humble Wu clan entered the imperial gynaecium, which housed ten thousand concubines. Inside the Forbidden City, she witnessed seductions, plots, murders, and brazen acts of treason. Propelled by a shrewd intelligence, an extraordinary persistence, and a friendship with the imperial heir, she rose through the ranks to become the first Empress of China.
4. Lisey's Story by Stephen King
Lisey Debusher Landon lost her husband Scott two years ago, after a twenty five year marriage of the most profound and sometimes frightening intimacy. Lisey knew there was a place Scott went -- a place that both terrified and healed him, could eat him alive or give him the ideas he needed in order to live. Now it's Lisey's turn to face Scott's demons.
5. The Nimrod Flipout by Etgar Keret
The Nimrod Flipout is the latest collection from acclaimed Israili writer, Etgar Keret. Already featured on This American Life and L.A. Weekly, Keret's short stories include a man who finds equal pleasure in his beautiful girlfriend and the fat, soccer-loving lout she turns into after dark; shrinking parents; a case of impotence cured by a pet terrier; and a pessimistic Middle Eastern talking fish.
6. Possible Side Effects by Augusten Burroughs
Doll collecting. The Tooth Fairy. Incontinent dogs. eBay addiction. Hot cardiologists. Available locksmiths. Lesbian personal ads. Junior Mints. Blind dates. Nicorette gum. Coffins (as bookcases). Grandmothers. Dry skin. College t-shirts. Santa Claus. Enforcing traffic laws. Julia Child. Possible Side Effects explores the concept of cause and effect. It is a cautionary tale in essay form. Be forewarned and read the label: hilarious, troubling, and shocking results might occur.
7. This Book Will Save Your Life by A. M. Homes
Richard Novak is a modern-day Everyman, a middle-aged divorcé trading stocks out of his home. He has done such a good job getting his life under control that he needs no one—except his trainer, nutritionist, and housekeeper. He is functionally dead and doesn’t even notice until two incidents—an attack of intense pain that lands him in the emergency room, and the discovery of an expanding sinkhole outside his house—conspire to hurl him back into the world.
8. The Weather Makers by Tim Flannery
The Weather Makers is both an urgent warning and a call to arms, outlining the history of climate change, how it will unfold over the next century, and what we can do to prevent a cataclysmic future. Along with a history of climate change, Tim Flannery offers suggestions for action, from investing in renewable power sources like wind, solar, and geothermal energy, to offering a plan with steps each and every one of us can take right now to reduce deadly CO2 emissions by as much as 70 percent.
9. West of Jesus by Steven Kotler
In West of Jesus, Steven Kotler sets out to find the origins of a very particular surf legend about a surfer called "the conductor" who can control the weather with a human bone. In doing so, Kotler ends up exploring why surfing - not tennis, archery, softball, or NASCAR - is unique in the sense of spiritual fulfillment it provides the practitioner.
10. World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks
"Two hundred million zombies. Who can even visualize that type of number, let alone combat it? ... For the first time in history, we faced an enemy that was actively waging total war. They had no limits of endurance. They would never negotiate, never surrender. They would fight until the very end because, unlike us, every single one of them, every second of every day, was devoted to consuming all life on Earth." -General Travis D'Ambrosia, Supreme Allied Commander, Europe
