2006 REVIEWER PICKS

Recently we asked our reviewers to provide us with a list of some of their favorite books from 2006. Included is a mix of fiction and nonfiction titles, all published this year. Take a moment to read these varied lists of titles, and see if you agree with their selections! Please note that due to personal and professional commitments, some reviewers were not able to participate in this feature.

Kate Ayers

• WILD FIRE by Nelson DeMille
  
• THUNDERSTRUCK by Erik Larson
  

• THE ROAD by Cormac McCarthy
  McCarthy has never been afraid of dealing with the topic of violence. But here he takes on the ultimate act of violence: a nuclear war and its aftermath. He does it with a lean, understated prose more reminiscent of Hemingway than the writer he has often been compared to in the past, Faulkner. This is an antiwar masterpiece.
  
• THE GUNS OF HEAVEN by Pete Hamill
  Hard Case Crime reprinted this book this year, originally written in 1983. And Hamill shows why he is one of America's greatest writers. This little book transcends the mystery/thriller genre to be a cautionary tale about terrorism and the murderous certainties that lead people to kill for God and Country. Even more relevant today than when it was first published.
  
• BUST by Ken Bruen and Jason Starr
  This Hard Case Crime paperback original is without a doubt the most fun read for me this year. Think an Irish Double Indemnity with a scheming Irish lass in the Barbara Stanwyck role. Hard Case combined two of the new masters of noir: one, Bruen (from Ireland) and the other, Starr (from America). The result is a work you can't put down.
  
• HUNDRED-DOLLAR BABY by Robert B. Parker
  The 34th novel featuring the Boston private eye named only Spenser showed Parker still at the top of his game. Any year with a new Spenser novel is a cause for celebration. And the stories are just as fresh, just as hard hitting as they were three decades ago. Parker has created one of the greatest literary series in history, and we have been lucky enough to be in the room when he did it.
  

• THE ALCHEMIST'S DAUGHTER by Katherine McMahon
  
• MORAL DISORDER by Margaret Atwood
  
• JAMES TIPTREE JR: The Double Life of Alice B. Sheldon, by Julie Philips
  
• THE ATTACK by Yasmina Khadra
  
• FAREWELL SUMMER by Ray Bradbury
  

• PASSIONATE NATION: The Epic History of Texas, by James L. Haley
  
• THE DEFINING MOMENT: FDR's Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope, by Jonathan Alter
  
• WITHOUT PRECEDENT: The Inside Story of the 9/11 Commission, by Thomas H. Kean and Lee H. Hamilton
  
• THE LOOMING TOWER: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11, by Lawrence Wright
  
• SOLDIER: The Life of Colin Powell, by Karen DeYoung 
  
• THE GREAT DELUGE: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, and the Mississippi Gulf Coast, by Douglas Brinkley
  

• THE LAY OF THE LAND by Richard Ford
  Frank Bascombe (THE SPORTSWRITER, INDEPENDENCE DAY) returns for the satisfying final act of this outstanding trilogy.
  
• FORGETFULNESS by Ward Just
  An underappreciated master spins a gripping tale of murder, revenge and love.
  
• ST. LUCY'S HOME FOR GIRLS RAISED BY WOLVES by Karen Russell
  This is a startlingly original collection of short stories from an exciting new voice.
  
• THE GREATEST STORY EVER SOLD: The Decline and Fall of Truth From 9/11 to Katrina, by Frank Rich
  The acerbic New York Times commentator rips the facade from the Bush Administration's failed spin campaigns.
  
• THE LOST: A Search for Six of Six Million, by Daniel Mendelsohn
  The well-known literary critic recounts the compelling story of his search to learn about his relatives murdered in the Holocaust.
  

• RUSTY NAIL by J.A. Konrath
  This was a year of re-visiting old friends and their new books with one notable exception. I not only met J.A. Konrath at the Mystery Writers Conference but have gobbled up all of his books, the latest of which is RUSTY NAIL. I am hoping he will begin writing faster!!!
  
• A CLEARING IN THE WILD by Jane Kirkpatrick is a real palate cleanser for us mystery/thriller fans. What a wonderful writer of historical fiction, presenting real heroes from our country's history.
  
• THE TWO MINUTE RULE by Robert Crais left nothing to be desired except our missing series heroes, Elvis Cole and Joe Pike.
  
• RICOCHET by Sandra Brown
  And finally, one of my favorite female writers, Sandra Brown, released another first-class effort, RICOCHET.
  

• THE ROAD by Cormac McCarthy
  An unrelentingly grim account of a man and his son traveling through a post-apocalyptic landscape, told with an unflinching vision that somehow proves that hope will endure to the end of time.
  
• BUST by Ken Bruen and Jason Starr
  Bruen and Starr, who have been quietly reconstructing crime fiction in their separate works, collaborate seamlessly to create a caper novel of dark genius. And they have another one coming. Note: if I had more slots to fill, I would have listed Bruen's AMERICAN SKIN and Starr's LIGHTS OUT as well. I didn't, so I won't!
  
• WHITE SHADOW by Ace Atkins
  Atkins recreates the Tampa, FL of the 1950s down to its last nuance in this addicting stand-alone novel about an unsolved murder with links to the mob and international politics.
  
• PRAYERS FOR THE ASSASSIN by Robert Ferrigno
  A speculative cautionary tale that is worthy of a spot on the bookshelf between Philip K. Dick's THE MAN IN THE HIGH SCHOOL and, yes, George Orwell's 1984.
  
• THE RUINS by Scott Smith
  You'll never go hiking again. Or talk to strangers. Or go outside. Or put down this long overdue work from the author of A SIMPLE PLAN once you start it.
  

• THE RISING TIDE by Jeff Shaara
  
• FRAGILE THINGS by Neil Gaiman
  
• BRETHREN by Robyn Young
  
• FAREWELL SUMMER by Ray Bradbury
  
• ONLY REVOLUTIONS by Mark Danielewski
  

• THE BASEBALL UNCYCLOPEDIA: A Highly Opinionated, Myth-Busting Guide to the Great American Game, by Michael Kun and Howard Bloom
  
• MANHUNT: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer, by James Swanson
  
• TELEVISION WITHOUT PITY: 752 Things We Love to Hate (And Hate to Love) About Television, by Tara Ariano and Sarah D. Bunting
  

• ABUNDANCE: A Novel of Marie Antoinette by Sena Jeter Naslund
  My favorite book of the year; a superbly written account of the life of the fascinating Marie Antoinette. Historical fiction at its best!!
  
• A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE DEAD by Kevin Brockmeier
  Intriguing investigation into a planet-wide viral outbreak and the effects it has in the 'city,' an afterlife populated by those who have died but are still remembered.
  

• THE WHISTLING SEASON by Ivan Doig
  
• THE WRONG HOSTAGE by Elizabeth Lowell
  
• THE JURY MASTER by Robert Dugoni
  
• THE LONG TAIL: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More, by Chris Anderson
  
• SHADOW DANCE by Julie Garwood
  

• FROM BAGHDAD, WITH LOVE by Lt. Col. Jay Kopelman
  
• WATER FOR ELEPHANTS by Sara Gruen
  
• HAPPINESS SOLD SEPARATELY by Lolly Winston
  
• TWENTY QUESTIONS by Alison Clement
  

• THE THIN PLACE by Kathryn Davis
  Original and startling, one of the most thought-provoking novels I've read.
  
• IN PERSUASION NATION by George Saunders
  Funny and subversive, wonderfully twisted, Saunders gets under your skin.
  
• THIRTEEN MOONS by Charles Frazier
  A rollicking tale about an interesting and tragic period in American history.
  
• TORCH by Cheryl Strayed
  Excellent characterization in this novel about grief and its effect on one contemporary Midwest family.
  

• HEAT by Bill Buford
  
• SPECIAL TOPICS IN CALAMITY PHYSICS by Marisha Pessl
  
• THE OMNIVORE'S DILEMMA: A Natural History of Four Meals, by Michael Pollan
  
• THE POX PARTY: The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Vol. 1 by M.T. Anderson
  
• AFTER THIS by Alice McDermott
  

• THE BRAID by Helen Frost
  
• THERE WILL NEVER BE ANOTHER YOU by Carolyn See
  
• MY LIFE IN FRANCE by Julia Child, with Alex Prud'homme
  
• THE BRIEF HISTORY OF THE DEAD by Kevin Brockmeier
  
• THE SISTERS MORTLAND by Sally Beauman
  

• CLEMENTE: The Passion and Grace of Baseball's Last Hero, by David Maraniss
  Great biographies are stories of not just people, but the times in which they lived. This story of baseball great Roberto Clemente is a great biography.
  
• THE LAY OF THE LAND by Richard Ford
  The third installment in the life of Frank Bascombe. Ford says this will be the last volume, but after reading it, I truly hope there is one more book.
  
• THE INNOCENT MAN by John Grisham
  Grisham's first nonfiction effort is a remarkable story about a man wrongfully convicted of murder and those who saved his life.
  
• ECHO PARK by Michael Connelly
  Harry Bosch at his best.
  
• FORGETFULNESS by Ward Just
  Ward Just may be one of America's most accomplished but least recognized writers. His novels are simply written but elegant in message.
  

• THE MIRACULOUS JOURNEY OF EDWARD TULANE by Kate DiCamillo
  This is a children's book suggested for ages 8-12. Edward is a china rabbit, a much-loved toy of a young girl. He becomes lost, and over the course of many years is owned by five different people, most of whom rename him. Edward learns many important life lessons before finally being reunited with his original owner who is now an adult. The illustrations by Bagram Ibatoulline are a lovely addition to a book that begs to be read aloud.
  
• SHE GOT UP OFF THE COUCH by Haven Kimmel
  Everywhere she went to promote A GIRL NAMED ZIPPY, readers asked the author what ever happened to her mother, Delonda, the couch potato. In this second book about growing up in a small town in Indiana, Kimmel champions her mother, who not only left her favorite spot on the old couch, but also lost a huge amount of weight, learned to drive and earned a college degree. As Delonda achieved each goal the reader finds herself wanting to yell out "You go, girl!" This book has a lot of heart and satisfies a reader who is looking for something unusual to read.
  

• THE NIGHT WATCH by Sarah Waters
  
• THE KEEP by Jennifer Egan
  
• INTUITION by Allegra Goodman
  

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