What was your favorite book last year?

Let's create a list of the best books that came out in 2006. Tell us the name of the book, the author, and why it should be included among the best. (Naturally, "best" is subjective, so make your best argument!)

Fiction

Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl. This was her first novel, and she's so young! Only 28! For highly literate readers, you will love the hundreds of cultural references to books and other writings. It's a bit of a mystery, set in the mountains of North Carolina, and the characters are a group of teenagers who are seniors in high school. The protagonist is 16-year-old Blue van Meer who moves to the area with her brilliant professor father, and soon becomes part of a elite group of students and their part-time film teacher with a Svengali-like influence over them. Very, very funny, intense, creepy, mysterious, and with a twist of an ending. I can't recommend this book highly enough. It is the book that made me start reading fiction again. My review is on my blog: Atelier of Alacrity
- jazzzytina

The Birth House, by Ami McKay was a bestseller in Canada, knocking The Da Vinci Code out of the #1 spot and staying on The Globe and Mail's list for 29 weeks. Inspired by the life of a midwife who once lived in the author's house, it is a mesmerizing tale of women's wisdom, traditions, and history. Set during WWI - the story and characters felt amazingly important in today's ever-changing political and social climate. Best of all, it's a beautifully written narrative with characters I'll never forget. I know it sounds cliche, but I couldn't put it down - I lost sleep over this book! A great pick for book clubs as well. For more information, check out the author's web site. There's a reading group guide, other book club goodies and there's even a quiz to see how many treatments for "hysteria" you might need. (Based on a funny/juicy bit in the novel on hysteria that involves the history of vibrators!)
- Katamarigirl The Birth House

The Rising Tide, by Jeff Shaara. Following his successful novels about the civil war, revolutionary war, and World War I, Shaara brings his multiple-viewpoint style to the first book in a planned World War II trilogy. His approach, backed up by impeccable research and wonderful craftsmanship, presents us with a coming-together picture of nitty gritty moments as well as the sweep of the war and the politics behind it. We see World War I from the perspective of major figures and ordinary fighting men and we come away enriched by the experience. For more information about Shaara and his books, see Jeff Shaara.com.

The Secret River by Kate Grenville was one of the leading contenders for the Booker Prize last year, and one of the most impressive works of fiction I've read in a while. It's a beautifully written, compelling story about a man and his family struggling to carve out a home for themselves in the Australian outback. It also contains a very powerful statement about how dominant cultures treat aboriginal cultures, unflinchingly portraying violence done on both sides. Grenville managed to write without passing judgment on either side, which is impressive in itself. A daring book, The Secret Riverwas an important book on so many levels, and the fact the Booker committee didn't see fit to give it the prize still baffles me. I'd say it's my hands-down choice for one of the best books of 2006. - Bluestalking Reader, http://bluestalking.typepad.com


In the Company of the Courtesan, by Sarah Dunant. In the genre of historical novels, this is one of the best I've read since the author's last novel (The Birth of Venus). The two main characters, Fiammetta (a wily and beautiful courtesan) and Bucino (a dwarf) are unforgettable--as are the circumstances that surround their friendship. The story opens with them fleeing from Rome with nothing but a few jewels they swallowed, and they set up a new life in Venice. Fiammetta rises in the social ranks and we get a front row seat to the pageantry and politics, fashion and passion, of Renaissance Venice. I really was amazed at how it all came to life, as well as the fascinating role of Bucino throughout the story.

My favorite adult fiction of 2006 was Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky. It was written in 1942, but not published until recently. It didn't appear in English until July, so it totally counts as 2006! Suite Francaise is the first 2 novels of what Nemirovsky envisioned would be a 5 novel series about France in WWII. The first, Storm in June deals with the fall of Paris and the images of a Tolstoian cast of characters fleeing the Germans is pitch-perfect. The second novel, Dolce deals with life in an occupied village. Both are great and we can only sigh over the fact Nemirovsky didn't live to write the other three. Also, I envision authors weeping over the fact that this sterling prose was her rough draft! --kidsilkhaze

Hands down, The Road, by Cormac McCarthy. I've tried many times to read his Border Trilogy with no success. Perhaps I wasn't in the right mood. Whatever the reason, I had a completely different experience with his new book. The writing is sparse, but oh so beautiful. The little boy in the story just broke my heart with his wise observations. --Anonymous

My favourite was Marian Keyes's Anybody Out There? It made me laugh, cry and think, and all in all it was a great read. --Keris

I thought Murakami's Kafka on the Shore was one of the best books I've read in a long time. It is a fantasy, or a metaphor, and sometimes hard to figure out; but I loved it, and it stayed with me for a long time. --Anonymous

It has to be What is the What by Dave Eggers. Well written and well researched, it will give you a lot to think about. --Anonymous

So many books so little time. My current favorite is The Hummingbird's Daughter by Luis Alberto Urrea. A novelized retelling of the story of his great cousin and her magical influence on the Spanish Revolution. She was a healer and was thought of as a saint by the people who came to her. The Mexican government was so intimidated by her power that they deported her and her father. A lovely story of place, history and dynamic personalities. --Terri

The People's Act of Love, by James Meek. It has held on in my memory since Jan '07 - withstanding challenges by Cormac McCarthy's The Road and Phillip Roth's Everyman and Peter Carey's Theft. Reminiscent of Conrad and Dostoyevsky, haunting prose, well-built suspense, big meaty themes, dark desperation and spiritual hunger in the Siberian night - a bravura performance and a sleeper classic. -- Guybrarian

I really enjoyed Between, Georgia, by Joshilyn Jackson. It was a step above the "Southern Girl goes home" novel, and it was just so delightful to read! --Pattie

One of my favorite books to be published in '06 was Wintersmith by Terry Pratchett. While written for around grades 5 to 7 or 8, this third book in the Tiffany Aching trilogy demonstrated how Pratchett can write on many levels and create a story that is at once entertaining for kids and meaningful for the older set, dare I say, adults?! --Linda

My favorite book was A Taste of Darkness a paranormal romance by Nina Bangs. The book had a language all its own and was so realistic it seemed that you were in the story itself. I absolutaly loved this book!

Non-Fiction

Devil’s Teeth, by Susan Casey, exposes a secret society of sharks unheard of beyond Californian myth. Biologists, Pyle and Anderson, have enjoyed fourteen years of uninterrupted studies on an island off San Francsico; where they actually motor out to the kills and film the underwater drama. They refer to their little skiff, usually half the size of the circling sharks, as the “dinner plate.” This non-fiction book is as informative as it is fun, packed full of harrowing, close-encountered shark stories. A book that would make Benchley proud, but still keeps me on dry land. A close encounter with Cal Ripfin, I can miss. ~ maggiereads

My favorite nonfiction book this year was The Heart Has Reasons by Mark Klempner. I've read it twice now, and am amazed that it has not gotten more press because it's so well-written, and impossible to put down. In it, the author juxtaposes his own spiritual quest with the tales of Dutch citizens who risked their lives to save Jewish children during World War II. The result is a book that plumbs the very essence of what it means to live a moral existence. Despite the horrific backdrop of the Holocaust, I found it to be deeply inspiring. --Erica2

I was most moved by The Girls Who Went Away: The Hidden History of Women Who Surrendered Children for Adoption in the Decades before Roe v. Wade by Ann Fessler. Fessler is one of the children who was given up for adoption, and she has spent years interviewing the mothers who lost their children. What she has learned is that most did not give their children away voluntarily; their parents, church, and government officials took the children away. While the book is in some ways history, it is also a call for action to heal women, may of whom still have broken lives. -- ricklibrarian

Georgia author Philip Lee Williams (A Distant Flame) wrote an excellent volume of essays in 2006 called In the Morning: Reflections of First Light. Even if you're not a morning person, you'll love these essays from the world of Wildcat Ridge. Williams has keen powers of observation and a poetic style, and he brings you the natural world after the fashion of Aldo Leopold, David Raines Wallace, and Annie Dillard.

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic is a memoir by Alison Bechdel written in graphic format. It is rich and complex and very moving. It's one of those works that sneaks up on you until suddenly you have lost your breath, it's so good! --linda

Destructive Emotions: How Can We Overcome Them by Daniel Goleman is the fascinating account of a meeting between Western scientists and Eastern religious experts, most notably His Holiness The Dalai Lama. Goleman narrates the weeklong encounter, during which the scientists and psychology researchers share their most recent findings about emotion with the Dalai Lama at his headquarters in India, and together they all explore the connection between meditation and happiness, a topic that has been attracting much buzz lately. This book is not your typical nonfiction, but is very readable and interesting, not to mention quite educational. ~ misterK