3 Favorite Books of 2007 - Part 8

Read this post to see what this is all about. For more favorites, see here.

Scott Turow, author of Limitations

• D.R. MacDonald - Lauchlin of the Bad Heart (published in Canada)
• Jeffrey Toobin - The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court
• Greg Iles - Third Degree

Robert Crais, author of The Watchman

Cutting to three is like giving yourself a root canal, but here goes:

• Sherman Alexie - The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. The semi-autobiographical story of a geeky kid on the rez struggling to improve himself. It's written with honesty, heart, and Alexie's trademark humor.
• Ian Toll - Six Frigates: The Epic History of the Founding of the U.S. Navy. I'm a history buff, especially naval history, so this book felt like a personal gift. Toll presents a detailed account of the birth of the U.S. Navy. If you're into Patrick O'Brian (as I am), this is a must-read.
• Joe Hill - 20th Century Ghosts. A collection of short stories by the author of Heart-Shaped Box. Hill has a lovely, natural voice and a terrific imagination, but his work stood out for me because his stories are written with an enormous amount of "heart."

Libby Fischer Hellmann, editor of Chicago Blues

• Jody Picoult - My Sister's Keeper
• Jeremy Scahill - Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army
• Sara Paretsky - Writing in an Age of Silence

Robert Ward, author of Four Kinds of Rain

• Alexander Dumas - The Count of Monte Cristo. The 1200-page unabridged version. And even at that hefty tonnage I wished it would never end. It was wonderful on every level. First, a great story of injustice and revenge, and finally forgiveness. Second, every page is filled with brilliant insights into people, money, class, friendship, loyalty, and romance. If this is a children's novel, let me read another one. Nothing like the movies made from it, which are like story outlines for cretins. Read it, and be prepared to be swept away.
• Ken Bruen - Blitz. Actually any book by Ken Bruen. They're short, powerful, poetic, nasty, touching, philosophical, and most importantly, hilarious. The idea that Bruen is considered a "crime writer," thus a second-class citizen by the literati, is ridiculous. He can do anything any "Qual Lit." (to steal from the late T. Southern) writer can do, then do it backwards, forwards, and up-side down. Blitz features one of Bruen's greatest characters, Detective Sergeant Brant, who is vicious, hilarious, outrageous, and always gets his man, even if he doesn't have any evidence.
• Jason Starr - Lights Out. A rising Star (sorry) in the crime writing world, Starr is the real thing. I've read all his books and can't put any of them down. He writes about real people, and his books don't need High Concepts or Doomsday Machines because all the doom is within the human heart. No fat, no frills, brilliant plot turns, and great dialogue, Starr gets to the heart of the matter. And cuts yours out with a pen knife in the process.

Ali Karim, Assistant Editor at Shots, Literary Editor and Judge at CWA and Blogger at The Rap Sheet

• George Orwell - 1984. A novel that I revisit each year and find that Orwell's world is one that we all sadly live in today.
• John Connolly - The Unquiet. His best work so far, taking PI Charlie Parker into the heart of darkness.
• Michael Marshall - The Intruders. A thriller with a Horror / SF edge making it one of the most unsettling books of the year.

Comments

[The Complex writer]

Great info. Thx!