The Best Books of 2010

OK, unlike most people who would actually post favorite books written in 2010, I'm posting about books I read in 2010.  So there is your caveat.

• "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand. An oldie but a goodie. I had only read "The Fountainhead" before tackling this one last spring. Compelling, political and vaguely ridiculous, it's truly a must read. And as much as I tell myself its a conservative's fantasy and irrelevant for today,  I find myself thinking about those images of a broken down, desparate country more often than I'd like to admit.
• "Cutting for Stone" by Abraham Verghese. An intimidating, big book starting with a nun in India and moving quickly to Ethiopia, the biggest surprise was how accessible and intimate the story is. Twins separated at birth, raised by surrogate parents, divided by love, so basic yet so touching.
• "The House of the Spirits" by Isable Allende. An epic in the truest sense of the word. It follows a family through three generations, not to mention a heavy dose of mystical realism. It's beautiful, visual and haunting. A relic from the 80s I'm glad to have discovered.
• "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro. Mysterious but normal. Futuristic and nostalgic. The trick of this book is how the truth eeeks out at you so when it's finally revealed, you kind of knew it all along. I love how it evokes that feeling from childhood – say, Santa Claus — that feeling of learning something slowly, so by the time you acknowledge what you know, it's an anti-climatic a-ha moment. So come for the mystery, but stay for the coming of age love story.
• "Freedom" by Jonathan Franzen. Just in prepping what to write I lost myself in a memory montage of all the vivid places and feelings of this book. From the busy house of Pattie's childhood, to the college apartments they inhabit…from suburban St. Paul to the young buck tourist in New York…from an exotic vacation to the hills of West Virginia. And of course, the mythical secluded lake house that was truly too good to be true. I could rhapsodize about the places for an hour. And then the characters? This is a gem. Read it.

Why I Liked “The Hunger Games” More Than “Twilight”

I came late to "The Hunger Games" as compared to the 12-year-old crowd. For the mid-thirties crowd, I think I was just in time. When I picked it up, I'd heard only that it was the new "Twilight" among tweens, and frankly that was enough for me. Say what you will about the franchise of "Twilight," those books were the kind of engaging read that you don't find very often. So I ordered "The Hunger Games" hoping for something just as good. And actually, it was better. Much better. Here's why.

1. The Heroine. Arguably the weakest link in "Twilight," the heroine is the best part of "The Hunger Games." As tough and self-sufficient as Bella is weak and co-dependent, Katniss is cool as a cucumber up against some pretty tough stuff. And instead of being a victim needing rescue from her stronger men, Katniss is frequently the one doing the saving. The feminist in me enjoys this.

2. The Plot. It's right there in the title, but still I was surprised to discover that "The Hunger Games" are literally games where oppressed and hungry children have to fight to the death. That's…kind of interesting. Add to that the nefarious President Snow and Capital gluttons and you have a good vs. evil fight that you are in for from the beginning.

3. The Triangle. I love Edward. I love Jacob. In fact I love Edward and Jacob more than I even liked Peeta and Gale. The two were pretty bland and not that swoon-worthy, especially in this first book where Gale is largely absent. But there was no moment in "Twilight" where you didn't know which side of that teeter totter Bella would wind up on. "The Hunger Games" feels a little bit more even handed. It's still a Tween book — so you know where it's going — but there is a bit more suspense.

4. The World. The world created by "The Hunger Games" is so incredibly engaging. The future — and what it holds — is bleak, according to this prognosis. But interesting! The egomaniacs in the Capital are gluttons who can, and do, get any pampering, feeding, glamorizing they want. While in the outside "districts" people live as primitively as possible. It's an interesting world that only gets more and more interesting as the books go on.

5. The Message. I find the messages of "The Hunger Games" to be so much more positive than those of "Twilight." First there is the heroine issue — a stronger woman is better than a weak one every time. And that Bella literally would give up her world for her man? Always bothered me. Katniss, on the other hand, would not. But it's not just that. "Twilight" always seemed to preach chasitity to me — did it, or did I just think it did? Either way "The Hunger Games" reaches for more. Freedom, self-sacrifice, when it's time to fight for what you believe in, etc. All of which get much more complicated, convoluted and … maybe a little off track by the end of the last book. But I'll talk about "Mockingjay" later.

Book Review: Game Change

Game Change, by John Heilemann and Mark Halerpin, is a very quick, highly engaging read on the 2008 election and the heated primary seasonthat preceded it.  I recommend this book for anyone even mildly interested in the behind-the-scenes happenings of the campaign. In fact, probably only for those of you mildly interested, because I'm sure that anyone really into the machinations of politics would want more detail.

Not much of it feels surprising — these are stories or references to stories that we heard during the election. But they are entertaining nonetheless. The first 2/3 of the book focus on Barrack vs. Hillary. And as that was the major story during the campaign, that is the major story here. Both come off pretty smart, though Hillary's team doesn't actually fare very well. Once it moves on to McCain, the book loses a little bit of steam. There aren't as many details about the team and I had a hard time picturing these peoplewho were so integral to the chapters I was reading. That is, until Sarah Palin came along. Basically the behind-the-scenes teaches us that as bad (or dumb) as you thought Sarah was, the reality was much, much worse.

Speaking of worse — John and Elizabeth Edwards get absolutely skewered. I could read two more books that focused solely on his narcisitic delusions of grandeur and her manic depressive craziness.

This is something you can knock out on a plane ride or two, and I recommend that you do.