Tampa Book Buzz

top 10 books i read in 2006

I love Stephen King’s back-page column in Entertainment Weekly.  He’s funny, witty, and loves to talk about books and movies. His list of the top 10 books of 2006 has inspired me to create my own list.  Following King’s example, my list refers to books I read in 2006, not books only published in 2006.

The top ten books I read in 2006:

10. The Nanny Diaries by Emma McLaughlin and Nicole Kraus — A snarky look at rich yuppie families and their overworked and underpaid household help.  A great way to while away a summer afternoon.

9.  Saturday by Ian McEwan — A thoughtful and intricate look at one life-altering day in the life of a middle-aged, successful-but-bored British doctor.

8.  Bitter is the New Black:Confessions of a Condescending, Egomaniacal, Self-Centered Smartass, Or, Why You Should Never Carry a Prada Bag to the Unemployment Office by Jennifer Lancaster — A society- and fashion-obsessed career woman loses her job and discovers what it’s like to have overdue bills instead of the latest fashions.  Finally, a reason to embrace chick lit.

7. The Dead Beat:Lost Souls, Lucky Stiffs and the Perverse Pleasure of Obituaries by Marilyn Johnson — The title pretty much says it all.

6. At Sula’s Feet by Ersula Knox Odom — A moving collection of poetry about Odom’s experience as an African-American growing up in the rural South and the lessons she learned from her wise and witty grandmother Sula.

5. Fork It Over:The Intrepid Adventures of a Professional Eater by Alan Richman — GQ food critic Richman shares some of his humorous, unusual and moving experiences with food.  Funny and fascinating.

4. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold — A young girl tells the story of her murder and its aftermath. Not your typical point of view, for sure.

3. Alfred Hitchcock’s Mystery Magazine Presents Fifty Years of Crime and Suspense edited by Linda Landrigan — An amazing collection of short stories showcasing some of the best crime and mystery writers of the last fifty years.  The brief biographies summarizing each author’s life and genre were almost as fun to read as the stories themselves.

2. Eternally Yours by S.L. Juers — A haunting, original tale of the life of a two-hundred-plus-year-old vampire, as recounted in his suicide note.  Don’t let the phrase “vampire fiction” keep you from reading this.

1. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon — A mystery, drama, romance, coming-of-age story and history lesson all wrapped up in the bibliophile’s world of obsession and adoration.  There are no summaries or reviews capable of explaining this book adequately.  To read it is to fall into your own world of obsession and adoration.