top ten books of 2004

in the order i read them, not in any ranked order, b/c narrowing it down to ten was hard enough! i don't think these were all published this year, but these were ten books i really enjoyed reading in 2004.

i think the reason most of them are from the second 50 is b/c those are fresher in my mind. :) these are the books i'm still talking about and recommending to people, so i guess they deserve my tiny accolades.

7--February 18, 2004--Susan Fromberg Schaeffer's The Snow Fox
there was a great review of this book in the new york times a couple weeks ago, so i went and picked it up (and actually, when i got it, the dude at the regulator raved about how gorgeous the cover is). who knew someone named susan fromberg schaeffer could write such a lovely and sad novel about three people in japan nearly one thousand years ago? the major characters are a powerful clan leader and the two people he trusts and loves most--his ward/consort, the most beautiful and intelligent woman around, and his best warrior. of course the two end of loving each other, being separated, and finally reuniting (that's not giving any plot points away, don't worry, the discerning reader figures it out long before it happens). in the meantime, there's a lot of death, battling, intrigue--and poetry. there are also two personable foxes, and maybe that's a weird adjective to describe foxes, but it's apt. now i'm even more excited to knit my vegan fox stole, whenever the yarn gets here. anyway: two thumbs up and an enthusiastic recommendation! i'd say "two thumbs up anda big grin," but really i was pretty thoughtful and somber when it ended.

39--May 25, 2004--Ruth Ozeki's My Year in Meats
this is the aforementioned awesome book, which i finished in the time between doing laundry and waiting for my radio show to start. i will first give the warning that non-vegetarians might not want to read this (and vegetarians might want to give it to unsuspecting meat-eating friends to show them some of the dangers inherent to the modern meat industry). but anyway, this is a very funny and sweet novel about a woman working on making a documentary tv show in america to market meat to japanese housewives. i laughed out loud a few times reading it, especially at the end. seriously, i highly recommend this, and will probably read everything i can find by ozeki in the coming weeks.

46--June 9, 2004--Audrey Niffenegger's The Time Traveler's Wife
the last few times i've been to the regulator, i've casually picked up this book and set it back down. it looked moderately interesting, and the main character is a librarian (i feel a certain solidarity w/ librarian characters now, and this one is even a punk rock librarian), but the title was so off-putting! i mean, really, it sounds like a bad science fiction book. but then the new york times named it one of its notable books/books to check out during that summer reading binge, so i finally capitulated and bought it. and devoured it. like a few other books i've read, it's one i wish i could read again for the first time, for the pleasure of discovering each event unfolding. i don't want to describe it in much detail, b/c i don't want to give anything away, but trust me, it's worth the read. it's a very lovely book.

77--August 25, 2004--John Harwood's The Ghost Writer
i started this book before class today and only reluctantly put it down to learn stuff. i was glowing with the joy of reading it, planning to rush straight home after school to finish it, and then blog about it with heavy use of the adjective "brilliant." ok, the initial thrill has worn off a little, but still, this was a pretty fucking great book. there are new twists and turns constantly, and even though i guessed the big twist at the end, it was no less satisfying. the title is pretty apt--and it's a very creepy story. oh, i think the thrill is back again! this was so worth buying in hardback!

83--September 7, 2004--Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell
this book is being touted as a cross between harry potter and jane austen, or as harry potter for grownups. i suppose comparisons to harry potter are inevitable--the main characters are magicians, plus it really does hit that epic note that harry potter hits as well. the jane austen thing i get less, partially b/c i'm not really an austen fan--i think that's just due to the time period (1806-1817, more or less). but this is all beside the point! the point is that for me, this book lived up to all the raves i've been reading (or skimming, so as not to be overly influenced by any reviewers). yes, i told myself i'd stop reading at 11 b/c i have class in the morning, and then 11 came and i said, well, another half hour, and it kept on like that till finally i said, screw class, i want to know how this ends NOW!--as all the best books have made me feel. i can wholeheartedly recommend this to any fantasy lovers, any history lovers, anyone who loves a good story with interesting characters and lots of surprises and a satisfying feeling all around. it's 782 pages but it does go quickly! or maybe i'm just a nerd!

91--October 1, 2004--David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas
wow. wow, wow, wow. this book definitely deserves the booker prize. first, let me comment on its brilliant structure--stories sandwiched within stories, like nesting dolls--or as mitchell himself writes, regarding a score being composed by one of the characters, "in the first set, each solo is interrupted by its successor: in the second, each interruption is recontinued, in order. revolutionary or gimmicky? shan't know until it's finished, and by then it will be too late . . . " (445). trust me when i say it doesn't come off as gimmicky--all the stories are tied together, and each one revolves around an entirely different world than the one before. they interrupt each other at moments of high tension, which at first annoys ("but i want to know what happens to that character!") but then i was too wrapped up in the new story to care about the one before. don't worry, it all cycles back through to a lovely conclusion.

95--October 16, 2004--Philip Roth's The Plot Against America
this is probably the most terrifying book i've ever read, and definitely roth's best (not that i have read all of his books, but still). the salon.com reviewer totally and completely missed the point. interestingly, there's biographical information on all the historical figures he uses in a postscript in the back. i can't really say anything else right now--i'm still processing the story, and how it relates to the political situation now--but that this wasn't nominated for the national book award is the biggest travesty of the year.

101--November 12, 2004--Kelly Link's Stranger Things Happen
here's another book david n. recommended--though actually, it had been on my amazon wishlist since salon reviewed it in 2001. i was glad to have the excuse to finally order it--and it was sooo worth it. these stories are creepy and lovely. link brings in some fairy tale favorites and totally skews them (most notably in "the girl detective," one of my favorites) but it's her other stories that are most memorable--i really think "the specialist's hat" and "louise's ghost" might make it hard to fall asleep tonight, and "survivor's ball" was also a doozy. and on a mostly unrelated note, the cover art for this book is pretty awesome. high marks all around, 5/5 cute star-gazing, coffee-drinking bunnies, or whatever i decided that my rating scale would be. i am really quite glad i finally read this book! don't wait three years to read awesome books, people!

109--December 4, 2002--Miriam Toews' A Complicated Kindness
wow, wow, wow. this book was really, really good. it's about a young mennonite girl whose older sister ran away from home, and whose mother left shortly thereafter, and now the girl and her father are falling apart at the seams. i don't really want to say anymore about the plot, b/c it unfolds slowly and i don't want to give any of it away, but, i don't know, i like the books about teenage rebellion and angst that aren't all trite and boring. nomi is going through a crazy spiritual and familial crisis in this story, on top of all the regular teenage crap. anyway, toews really blew me away with this book--the writing is simple and honest and lovely. i'm definitely going to look for her other novels now.

111--December 15, 2004--Marilynne Robinson's Gilead
this novel is a letter that a dying pastor is writing to his young son, detailing his life and family history and his complicated relationship with his best friend's son, who happens to be his namesake. but you know what? nothing i can say to explain it will really get to the heart of what a great book it is, so next time you're at a bookstore, pick it up and flip through it, and if it seems appealing, you should read it. i'd give it five coffee-drinking bunnies, or whatever my ratings scale is.

honorable mention/authors i read (bunches of) books by and really enjoyed: robertson davies, a.l. kennedy, ann patchett, suzan-lori parks, and . . . well, lots of others. :)