The Five Best Books I've Read This Year - Page 2

4. What The Dead Know by Laura Lippman: This book is a perfect example of what Patrick Anderson is talking about. It’s a thriller and mystery, yes, but it is about much more - ranging from the human condition, to relationships, to our wanting to believe the best about people. I’ve been following Lippman’s career for a few years because, like Michael Connelly, she managed to make the transition from journalist to novelist. I interviewed her about one year ago. Her books keep getting better, though I don’t know if it’ll be possible to top the stunning work that is What the Dead Know. I do know I'll keep reading to find out.

5. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling: To not only produce this great book but the whole seven-volume Potter series is an impressive feat. Whatever Rowling tries next -- maybe a detective series as Ian Rankin, another favorite mystery writer/interview of mine — famously suggested then sort of retracted, will, I’m sure, be fascinating. Personally, I’d love to see Rowling and Rankin try a joint project. The best review I’d read of Rowling’s book came from Stephen King.

That ends this list. I have another ten books waiting to be read and I can already tell you two candidates for my best of the year list: Beyond Reach, the latest by Karin Slaughter, and The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs. Both look great, though in completely different ways. Slaughter’s books, appropriate to her name, are violent but she does so to raise awareness of violence, whereas Jacobs takes interesting concepts and runs with them.

I interviewed Jacobs about one of my favorite non-fiction books, the hysterical Know-It-All, for which he read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica and documented the feat, which pretty much took over his life and drove family and friends crazy. For his new book, which comes out in October, he tries to follow the rules contained in the Bible, from not shaving (he documents with photos) to stoning to death those committing adultery (I think, he decided for legal reasons, to skip that one) and, well, you get the idea. Mayhem ensues.

Look for interview with both authors in the next few months. Take care and happy reading. And remember what Groucho Marx said: "Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read."

Article Author: Scott Butki

Scott Butki was a newspaper reporter for more than 10 years before making a career change into education... then into special education.

He reads at least 50 books a year and has about the same number of author interviews each year and, …

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