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Recommended Reading (by category)
Best Books Read in 2003
Best Books Read in 2002
Best Books Read in 2001
Best Books Read in 2000
Best Books Read in 1999
Best Books Read in 1998
Best Books Read in 1997
Best Books Read in 1996
Best Books Read in 2003
(listed alphabetically by author)
- Atwood, Margaret. The Blind Assassin
- Card, Orson Scott. Ender's Game
- Connelly, Michael. Lost Light
- Kidd, Sue Monk. The Secret Life of Bees
- Kidd, Sue Monk. The Dance of the Dissident Daughter
- McCafferty, Jane. Thank You for the Music
- McEwan, Ian. Atonement
- Philbrick, Nathaniel. In the Heart of the Sea
- Sebold, Alice. Lucky: A Memoir
- Tyler, Anne. Back When We Were Grownups
Honorable Mention
- Adams, Douglas. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
- Carter, Stephen L. The Emperor of Ocean Park
- Moriarty, Laura. The Center of Everything
- Ruddick, James. Death at the Priory
- Steinbeck, John. East of Eden
Other Best of 2003 Book Lists
Borders Best of 2003
http://www.bordersstores.com/features/feature.jsp?file=best2003
Includes lists of books (in several categories), kids’ books, movies, and DVDs
Amazon’s Best of 2003
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/10287051/104-6239458-4099143
Includes both editors’ picks and customers’ favorites for fiction and nonfiction
Back to the Top
Best Books Read in 2002
(Listed alphabetically by author)
- Brooks, Geraldine. Year of Wonders: A Novel of the Plague
- Connelly, Michael. The Last Coyote
- Dallas, Sandra. Alice's Tulips
- Diamant, Anita. The Red Tent
- Divakaruni, Chitra Banerjee. Sister of My Heart
- Hillenbrand, Laura. Seabiscuit: An American Legend
- Mason, Richard. The Drowning People
- McDermid, Val. A Place of Execution
- Pears, Iain. An Instance of the Fingerpost
- Stephenson, Neal. The Diamond Age
Honorable Mention
- Blacker, Terence. Kill Your Darlings
- Coben, Harlan. Gone for Good
- Palliser, Charles. The Unburied
- Rice, Christopher. A Density of Souls
- Strout, Elizabeth. Amy and Isabelle
Back to the Top
Best Books Read in 2001
(Listed alphabetically by author)
- Bragg, Rick. All Over But the Shoutin'
- Haruf, Kent. Plainsong
- Irving, John. The World According to Garp
- Lethem, Jonathan. Motherless Brooklyn
- Liss, David. A Conspiracy of Paper
- Oates, Joyce Carol. Blonde
- Oates, Joyce Carol. We Were the Mulvaneys
- Schwarz, Christina. Drowning Ruth
- Shreve, Anita. Strange Fits of Passion
- Vreeland, Susan. Girl in Hyacinth Blue
Honorable Mention
- Chevalier, Tracy. Girl with a Pearl Earring
- Dubus III, Andre. House of Sand and Fog
- Hurston, Zora Neale. Their Eyes Were Watching God
Other Best of 2001 Book Lists
- Editors' Choice (from the New York Times)
also includes lists of the year's notable books in categories such as fiction, poetry, children's books, mysteries, and science fiction; and lists of the year's best books in architecture, art, cooking, gardening, photography, and travel
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/02/books/review/editor.html?rd=hcmcp?p=041Zx3041Zv_47n7b012000mZ6CeZ683
- Our book critic's personal survey of the most winning books of the year
by Jonathan Yardley, Washington Post critic
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A36660-2001Nov29.html
- Two more from the Washington Post:
- Book World Raves: Fiction
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A36657-2001Nov29.html
- Book World Raves: Nonfiction
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A36658-2001Nov29.html
- The Best Books of 2001 (from the Los Angeles Times)
http://www.calendarlive.com/top/1,1419,L-LATimes-Books-X!ArticleDetail-47828,00.html
- Best of 2001
Bookreporter.com's recommendations in eight categories: hardcover fiction, paperback, debut authors, nonfiction, reading group books, teens, kids 4-8, kids 9-12
http://www.bookreporter.com/features/BestOf2001/index.asp
- Holiday Books (from USA Today)
a "look at the best for children, young adults, cooks, photography and science buffs and more"
http://www.usatoday.com/life/enter/books/2001-11-28-holiday-index.htm
- Best of 2001
Borders's lists of favorites in topics such as fiction and literature; general nonfiction; mind, body, spirit; romances; science fiction and fantasy; business and personal finance; and women's issues
http://www.bordersstores.com/features/feature.jsp?file=best2001
- Best reading illuminated hope and legends
A list of both the best and worst of 2001, by the book critics of USA Today
http://www.usatoday.com/life/enter/books/2001-12-27-bestreading.htm
- Read Alert: Best Books of 2001
http://www.citypaper.net/articles/122701/ae.books.shtml
- The year in literature: Essential fiction and poetry of 2001 (Las Vegas Weekly)
http://www.lasvegasweekly.com/2001_2/12_27/art_lit.html
Best Books Read in 2000
(listed alphabetically by author)
- Gibbons, Kaye. A Virtuous Woman
- Hamilton, Jane. The Short History of a Prince
- Hegi, Ursula. Stones from the River
- James, Henry. The Turn of the Screw
- Lee, Harper. To Kill a Mockingbird
- McEwan, Ian. Enduring Love: A Novel
- Percy, Walker. The Moviegoer
- Pipher, Mary. Reviving Ophelia
- Shreve, Anita. The Weight of Water
- Stansberry, Domenic. The Last Days of Il Duce
Honorable Mention
- Berne, Suzanne. A Crime in the Neighborhood
- Golden, Arthur. Memoirs of a Geisha
- King, Stephen. On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
- McCourt, Frank. 'Tis
- Turow, Scott. Personal Injuries
Other Best of 2000 Book Lists
- Holiday Books 2000 (New York Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/books/00/12/03/home/contents.html?1203bk
- Editors' Choice of the 10 best books of the year (New York Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/books/00/12/03/reviews/001203.03editort.html?1203bk
- Notable Books of the Year: fiction, poetry, nonfiction, children's books, mysteries and science fiction (New York Times)
http://www.nytimes.com/books/00/12/03/reviews/001203.03notablt.html?1203bk
- From the Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A13831-2000Dec2.html
- Best Fiction, Children's Books, and Nonfiction of 2000 (L.A. Times)
http://www.calendarlive.com/top/1,1419,L-LATimes-Books-X!ArticleDetail-12373,00.html
- THE LIT PARADE: Our 25 Favorite Books of 2000 (Village Voice)
http://www.villagevoice.com/vls/171/fave.shtml
- Best Books 2000 (Time)
http://www.time.com/time/sampler/article/0,8599,91096,00.html
- Holiday Books 2000 (San Francisco Chronicle)
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2000/11/19/RV18441.DTL
- Newsweek’s Best Novels of 2000
http://www.msnbc.com/news/508961.asp
- Salon Book Awards: 10 Books from 2000 We Wished Would Never End
http://www.salon.com/books/feature/2000/12/18/bookawards/index.html
- Starred Reviews 2000 (Publisher's Weekly)
http://www.publishersweekly.com/StarredReviews.asp
- 2000 Reviewers' Choice Awards (best mysteries of 2000 from About.com)
http://mysterybooks.about.com/arts/mysterybooks/library/weekly/aa001226a.htm
- Santa's Literary Helpers: books selected authors and publishers will be giving as gifts this year (Book Magazine)
http://www.bookmagazine.com/issue13/santa.shtml
- The Year's Best Kids' Lit (Newsweek)
http://www.msnbc.com/news/497874.asp
- Best Books of 2000 (Amazon; both customer favorites and editors' choices)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/stores/browse/-/bo2k-books/524140/002-8400807-2312041
- Oprah's Kids' Reading Picks
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/feature/-/65959/ref=b_bh_cr_f_ftm9/002-8400807-2312041
- Bookreporter.com's Top 10 of 2000 (in each of five categories: hardcover fiction, paperback fiction, memoirs/biographies, teens' books, children's books)
http://www.bookreporter.com/brc/bestof2000/index.html
Back to the Top
Best Books Read in 1999
In looking over the books I read in 1999, I find the list sparse in both
quantity and quality. The decline in quantity I attribute to the revitalization
of my freelance writing and editing business made possible by the Internet.
And the decline in quality I attribute, ironically, to participation in
book groups. I initially embraced book groups as a way to discover new
authors and books, but I’ve finally decided that trying to keep up with
five or six such groups is more harmful than beneficial. All I seem to
do is hop from one group’s required reading to the next one’s, with no
time to read books discovered through other sources. I suppose there could
be a worse fate, but for now I’ve cut back my reading group participation
and decided to be more selective in the books I read.
Anyway, here are the best books I read in 1999, listed alphabetically
by author:
-
Berg, A. Scott. Lindbergh
-
Cheever, Susan. Note Found in a Bottle: My Life as a Drinker
-
Connelly, Michael. The Black Echo
-
Danticat, Edwidge. Breath, Eyes, Memory
-
Deane, Seamus. Reading in the Dark
-
Dickens, Charles. Great Expectations
-
Joyce, James. A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
-
Krakauer, Jon. Into Thin Air
-
Lehane, Dennis. Gone, Baby, Gone
-
Paretsky, Sara. Hard Time
-
Tyler, Anne. A Patchwork Planet
-
Winchester, Simon. The Professor and the
Madman
Biggest Disappointments of 1999
-
Cronkite, Walter. A Reporter's Life
-
O'Connell, Carol. Shell Game
Books I Hope to See in the New Millennium
-
Social Activism in Mitford
-
Sweet and Sour Soup for the Unredeemed Soul
-
The Celeron Prophecy
-
I’m Dysfunctional, You’re Dysfunctional, and We’re Both OK
-
The Millionaire Book Group Leader
-
Into Thick Air (a reissuance of the classic On the Road)
-
Touched by Harry Potter
Other Books Lists for 1999
Back to the Top
Best Books Read in 1998
(listed alphabetically by author)
-
Austen, Jane. Emma
-
Berendt, John. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
-
Davies, Robertson. The Cunning Man
-
DeLillo, Don. Underworld
-
Ellroy, James. L.A.Confidential
-
Erdrich, Louise. The Antelope Wife
-
Frazier, Charles. Cold Mountain
-
Hamilton, Jane. The Book of Ruth
-
Irving, John. The Cider House Rules
-
Lefkowitz, Bernard. Our Guys: The Glen Ridge
Rape and the Secret Life of the Perfect Suburb
-
McCourt, Frank. Angela's Ashes: A Memoir
-
McCrumb, Sharyn. If Ever I Return, Pretty
Peggy-O
-
O'Connell, Carol. Judas Child
-
Solzhenitsyn, Alexander. One Day in the
Life of Ivan Denisovich
-
Watson, Larry. Montana 1948
Notables That Didn't Make the Cut
-
Irving, John. A Widow for One Year
-
Paretsky, Sara. Ghost Country
-
Quindlen, Anna. Black and Blue
-
Smiley, Jane. The All-True Travels and Adventures of Lidie Newton
-
Toole, John Kennedy. A Confederacy of
Dunces
-
Wolfe, Tom. A Man in Full
New (to Me) Authors I'm Glad I Discovered in 1998
Back to the Top
Best Books Read in 1997
(listed alphabetically by author)
-
Ambrose, Stephen E. Undaunted Courage
-
Atkinson, Kate. Behind the Scenes at the Museum
-
Byatt, A.S. Possession: A Romance
-
Dorris, Michael. A Yellow Raft in Blue Water
-
Finney, Jack. Time and Again
-
Gaines, Ernest J. A Lesson Before Dying
-
Mistry, Rohinton. A Fine Balance
-
O'Connell, Carol. Stone Angel
-
Smiley, Jane. A Thousand Acres
-
Walker, Mary Willis. Under the Beetle's
Cellar
Honorable Mention
-
Duncan, David James. The Brothers K
-
Guterson, David. Snow Falling on Cedars
-
Høeg, Peter. Smilla's Sense of Snow
-
King, Laurie R. A Grave Talent
-
Mitchard, Jacquelyn. The Deep End
of the Ocean
Back to the Top
Best Books Read in 1996
(listed alphabetically by author)
-
Burke, James Lee. Black Cherry Blues
-
Irving, John. A Prayer for Owen Meany
-
Margolin, Phillip. The Last Innocent Man
-
O'Brien, Tim. In the Lake of the Woods
-
O'Connell, Carol. Mallory's Oracle
-
Sandford, John. "Prey" series (I admit this
is cheating since it's more than one book)
-
Shields, Carol. The Stone Diaries
-
Smith, Sarah. The Vanished Child
-
Westlake, Donald E. Smoke
-
Woods, Stuart. Choke
Honorable Mention
-
Coben, Harlan. Fade Away
-
Dobyns, Stephen. Saratoga Bestiary
-
Dunning, John. Booked to Die
-
Muller, Marcia. Ask the Cards a Question
Back to the Top
Recommended Reading
Fiction
Nonfiction
Fiction
Detective/PI Series
Historical Novels
The Alienist by Caleb Carr
The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara
Humorous/Satiric Novels
Smoke by Donald E. Westlake
Literary Classics
Mainstream Novels
The Love Hunter by Jon Hassler
A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving
Mystery Series
The Ballad Series by Sharyn McCrumb:
(If Ever I Return, Pretty Peggy-O, The Hangman's Beautiful
Daughter, She Walks These Hills, The Rosewood Casket)
Psychological Thrillers
Supernatural Thrillers
Suspense
Novels Worth Finishing Even If You're Tempted Not
To
Possession: A Romance by A.S. Byatt
The Shipping News by Annie Proulx
Corelli's Mandolin by Louis de Bernieres
Back to Categories
Nonfiction
Autobiography & Biography
History
Undaunted Courage by Stephen
Ambrose
Lost Moon by Jim Lovell and Jeffrey Kluger (the story of Apollo
13)
Crime Reporting
The Corpse Had a Familiar Face and Never Let Them See
You Cry by Edna Buchanan
Medicine
Back to Categories
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Unless stated otherwise,
all material on these pages is ©1997-2003 by Mary Daniels Brown. It
is illegal to reproduce or distribute this work in any manner or medium
without written permission of the author. Contact Mary@notesinthemargin.org.
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The Mother's Day page graphics set was designed exclusively
for Notes in the Margin and Mary Daniels Brown and may not be reproduced.
© 2000 by Kate Marya Brown. Thanks, Kate!
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If you like Notes in the Margin, please recommend it to a friend by
clicking on this button:
