Best Book Bets - Xmas Edition

The Literary Bookie's Best HOLIDAY Gift Giving Book Bets! 
(3 times fast!)

Alas, this  this not a top ten list, per say, the bookie will mention a few highlights of the year at the end of the month for no other reason than publishers aren't dropping books between the holidays and the bookie would like to take some time to read the books generously given during the holidays.
Holidays? Holidays?? What kind of war on Christmas rhetoric is this?
Holidays, as in Holy Days, be they Christmas, Hanukkah, Solstice, Kwanzaa, Festivus, New Year's... the list goes on!  If you celebrate any two then just chill out and enjoy the goodwill of the season. All cultures read books, all cultures are moved to be better by books, in fact a country found the seeds of freedom this year from one girl's passion for books and the education they bring. (Malala, You Go Girl!) As long as we use the power of books for good, not for throwing, burning or hating one's fellow man, it's all good (as in Good Book.)
In that spirit the Bookie has compiled a list of previously reviewed titles for every adult on your list. May this take the stress out of your shopping. 

Books: one size fits all and you don't need batteries.

(for more detailed suggestions of the following titles, refer to older posts.)

NEXT WEEK: Children/Teens Holiday Gift-Giving Lists
12/18- New Best Bests for the month
12/25- Literary Bookie's Best of 2012 

BEST BETS FOR THE LITERARY READERS ON YOUR LIST
 BIG books of the year for the serious Bookie on your list.

(Scribner)

The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman 

CLOTH. A man returns from war to live on a barren island with his steadfast wife, just when they face never having a child a dead body and a live child wash up on the shore.

The Dog Stars by Peter Heller

CLOTH. This novel is the compassionate side of distopian fiction shows that our humanity survive at the end of the world.

Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain

CLOTH. Do to a viral video of them in combat Dallas and Billy Lynn return from Iraq as media darlings. What follows is tragic-comic as they are dragged through the gris mill of pop culture.

The Casual Vacancy by J. K. Rowling

(Knopf)

CLOTH. This laudable adult novel has the same British sense of place and people that warmed us to the cast of characters at Hogwarts tells of a buried family secret .

Shout her Lovely Name  by Natalie Serber

CLOTH. This collection of short stories captures the loving, yet often-times contentious, relationship between mothers and daughters.

Telegraph Avenue  by Michael Chabon

CLOTH. Pop goes the literature in this culture clash of the musical obsessions celebrating the search for personal vision, the very thing that bonds us. 

(McSweeneys)

Hologram for a King by Dave Eggers

CLOTH. A wickedly insightful tale of a business and family man who goes to Saudi Arabia to save his family from foreclosure and the fallout of the American recession. 

The Round House by Louise Erdrich

CLOTH. The National Book Award winner, A humorous, yet tragic tale of a boy who investigates his Objibwe mother's past to discovers his roots and learns to transcend the past you must embrace the present.

Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver

CLOTH. Struggling with life and love in rural squalor Dellarobia comes upon a smoldering fire that can free her her from the isolation of her life.

(Harper/Collins)

The Forgiven by Lawrence Osborne

CLOTH. Western opulence and destitute survival clashes when a well-to-do man kills a Morocan local in a drunken accident.

Gold by Chris Cleave

CLOTH. Olympic track cyclists compete for more than just the gold medal, but for the riches only family and friendship can provide. 

Winter of the World by Ken Follett 

CLOTH. He takes the same mastery he has for suspense and applies it to this continuation of The Century Trilogy.

Sandcastle Girls by Chris Bohjalian 

CLOTH. Bohjalian pulls deep from his family’s emotional well as he shares the events of the Armenian genocide. 

BEST BETS FOR THE MYSTERY READERS ON YOUR LIST 

BIG list of Mysteries, Thrillers, Suspense, and the like. 

(Forge)

Live by Night by Dennis Lehane 

CLOTH. From prohibition streets of Boston to the world of crime in Florida's Ybor City one man becomes a prohibition’s Tony Montana. 

The Other Woman  by Hank Phillippi Ryan 

CLOTH. Jane Ryland uncovers a combination of shady political cover-ups and a serial killer motives, a perfect combination ratcheting up the odds to an unexpected climax.

 Gone, Girl by Gillian Flynn 

CLOTH. Flynn has the knack for getting into the minds of the twisted, here she trumps herself, taking the missing spouse formula and turning it inside out.

The Other Woman’s House by Sophie Hannah

(IG)

CLOTH. A  horrendous crime scene has all evidence of it removed moments afterwards, was it real, or madness?. 

The Care and Feeding of Exotic Pets by Diana Wagman   

CLOTH. A single mom is kidnapped by a deranged man who's obsession is his pet iguana; a psychological chess game.

Sutton by J R Moehringer 

CLOTH. A boy Brooklyn-bred with a tough Irish soul he becomes a legend, number one most wanted, but at what cost?

Broken Harbor by Tana French 

CLOTH. A police officer questioning his years on the force fears becoming the very beast he hunts.

The Lincoln Letter by William Martin 

CLOTH. Treasure hunters search for the elusive Lincoln diary, the President's inner most thoughts could help throw an election. 

(Algonquin)

The Art Forger by B.A. Shapiro 

CLOTH. An art student makes a deal to copy a Degas from the Gardner Museum heist. Who's deceiving whom?

 Jimmy The Stick by Michael Mayo  

CLOTH. A man builds is career in the speak easy business is tied to the Lindbergh baby kidnappings, tries to leave his life of crime to no avail.

The Cutting Season by Attica Locke 

CLOTH. While investigating a murder in Dixie more than the fate of a dead girl is unearthed. 

 Phantom  by Jo Nesbo 

CLOTH. Back in the drug-addled streets of Oslo a man fights the ghosts of his past.

(Akashic)

The Black Box by Michael Connelly 

CLOTH. 18th time round and Bosch is still one of the best. Post King beating L.A. is the backdrop but sometimes the greatest danger isn't on the streets.

Valley of Ashes by Cornelia Reed 

CLOTH. Crime journalist, now domestic goddess-in-training battles between an arsonist's rage and her maternal instincts.  

Boston Noire 2: The Classics  edited by Dennis Lehane 

CLOTH. 14 tales filled with New England flavor and draped in the shadows of Boston's back streets. 

BEST BETS FOR THE HORROR READERS ON YOUR LIST 

(Spiegel/Gra

Devil In Silver  by Victor Lavalle

CLOTH. Masterfully told tale of Pepper who finds himself wrongly convicted of a crime and sent to a mental institution where the devil roams the halls.                            

Little Star by John Ajvide Lindqvist, trans. by Marlaine Delargy

CLOTH. A  terrifying new vision. A baby found in the woods is raised her in a basement eventually finds herself a American Idol type competition. Then there’s hell to pay.

This Book Is Full of Spiders: Seriously, Dude, Don’t Touch It 

by David Wong 

CLOTH. The zombie apocalypse in the media is all hype. What is really happening makes zombies seem like puppy dogs. Gut wrenching and funny. 

(St Martins)

 The Twelve by Justin Cronin

CLOTH. Sequel to the epic, The Passage. Man-made vampire killing machines hunt a diverse group of people who's paths cross. Wonder where did they come from, now you'll know. Nothing sparkles here.

 Your House Is on Fire, Your Children All Gone by Stefan Kiesbye 

CLOTH. Sometimes children's games and tales of long ago are based on horrible truths. One village’s legacy is awakened. 

(St.Martins/Griffin)

The Colony by A.J. Colucci 

CLOTH. Normal size but pissed off killer ants infest NYC. Classic creature feature premise gets under your skin big time.

 Motherless Child by Glen Hirshberg 

CLOTH. The Whistler who take two mothers and transforms them into blood suckers. Now begins an intense battle between maternity and monster.

 A Book of Horrors edited by Stephen Jones 

ANTHOLOGY, CLOTH. A new compendium of stories by a cross section of contemporary masters. A welcome addition to any horror lover's library.        

BEST BETS FOR THE FANTASY READERS ON YOUR LIST

(Doubleday)

Some Kind of Fairy Tale by Graham Joyce

CLOTH. Fairy tale for adults, a 15 years old girl returns home 20 years later claiming she was taken away by fairies. 

Something Red  by Douglas Nichols 

CLOTH. Real characters being thrown into a fantastical world of ninja monks and battling knights and a well paced menace in the dark of the woods keeps the pages turning.

Oryx and Crake  by Margaret Atwood

CLOTH. In a post-plague world, be the last of their race and the last romantic triangle in existence battle corporate overlords and technological wastelands.

(First/Second)

City of Dark Magic by Magnus Flyte 

CLOTH. Beethoven’s Immortal Beloved leads to a portal of hell, sex with ancient dwarves, time-bending drugs? A book that defies category, how about funny, spooky, historical romance?

Sailor Twain: Or: The Mermaid in the Hudson 

by Mark Siegel 

GRAPHIC NOVEL. A haunting epic of American mythology. A tale of a steamboat captain rescues a mermaid in peril grows into a personal tale of love, longing and purpose.

Fairy Tales from the Brothers Grimm 

edited by Philip Pullman

CLOTH. R-imaging of the world of Grimm by the author of the stellar IR fantasy epic, The Dark Materials. handles the brother's work with the reverence it deserves. Grisly moral tales tweeked for a new generation.

 BEST BETS FOR THE OFF-BEAT READERS ON YOUR LIST

(Twelve)

Albert of Adelaide by Howard Anderson 

CLOTH. Albert, duck-billed platypus, is the narrator of this touching tale of friendship and self discovery.

Skagboys by Irvine Walsh

CLOTH. This sequel to Trainspotting is both repugnant and captivating, possessing all the magnetism of a car wreck.

The Fifty Year Sword by Mark Z. Danielewski 

CLOTH. From the twisted mind that brought usHouse of Leaves, an adults Halloween story told with his signature experimental tale telling. 

(Jonathan Cape)

LoveStar by Andri Snaer Magnason 

CLOTH. star-crossed lovers is a future world run by REGRET buck the system find themselves at odds with convention. God is now an app and proper consumer will be cared for.

Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan 

CLOTH. A tech designer decides to work at a bookstore that is not what it seems,  a Matrix powered by words.

Keyhole Factory by William Gillespie

TRADE PAPERBACK.  Breaks convention and allow the words to weave meaning between the letters. This is kaoes theory writing about the end of days. 

BEST BETS FOR THE TOUCHY-FEELY READERS ON YOUR LIST

 Novels about the human condition with an otherworldly twist!

(Reagan Arthur)

The Snow Child by Eowin Ivey 

TRADE PAPER. A Childless couple wrestle with the existence of a girl found in the woods the day after they made a of snow. 

The Unfinished Work of Elizabeth D. by Natalie Bernier

CLOTH. A trunk of a friend’s journals reveals the mystery of just who her friend really was and concealed truths.

You Came Back by Christopher Coake

CLOTH. The owner of an old house, formerly that of a grieving father tells him that it is haunted by the ghost of his lost son. A story of shared grief and parental love.

Love, Anthony  by Lisa Genova 

CLOTH. A woman uses in writing therapy discovers that the voice of her protagonist may the former owner's autistic child who had passed away.

Unsaid by Neil Abramson

TRADE PAPER. A dead wife narrates this tale of the man left behind, the mystical bond between humans and animals. and how they can bring out the best of us.

Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend by Matthew Dicks

CLOTH. A boy with Asperger’s clings to his imaginary pal Budo while the real world tests his existence.  "Just believe."

 

BEST BETS FOR THE COMEDY READERS ON YOUR LIST 

(Harper Collins)

Sacre Bleu; A Comedy D'Art by Christopher Moore 

TRADE PAPER. Moore is an outrageous satirist, taking his subjects to their intellectual extreme. The perfect book for art lovers, humor lovers, literature lovers, even just plain ol’ lovers.

Lost At Sea: The Jon Ronson Mysteries by Jon Ronson 

TRADE PAPER. From the man that brought us the addictive Pychopath's Test and the funniest pasts of All Things Considered, comes this world-wide memoir, call it investigative humor, call it fringe dweller archeology, I call it the funniest thing I've read in years.

What in God's Name? by Simon Rich

CLOTH. Heaven is incorporated, God’s CEO and is burnt out. Two angels must make two socially inept characters fall in love or it’s the end of the world. 

Lionel Asbo; State of England  by Martin Amis 

CLOTH. What if the bully amongst bullies, as nefarious and sin-consumed as a criminal can be, wins the lottery. 

Fobbit by Davis Abrams 

CLOTH. A soldier who avoids combat by remaining at a Forward Operating Base (FOB) presents this generation’s Catch-22.Funny and infuriating.

 BEST BETS FOR THE MUSIC LOVERS ON YOUR LIST

(McSweeney's)

How Music Works by David Byrne

NONFICTION/CLOTH. Brainchild behind The Talking Heads defines the mechanics and pathos of music. Part intellectual discussion on the influence of music, part entertaining autobiography of a Renaissance man.

Bruce Springsteen and the Promise of Rock 'n' Roll by Marc Dolan

NONFICTION/CLOTH. This 500+ page document is the definitive take on this American legend in music.The drop outs dream of stardom, the politics and passion that drives him, and more minutia than even the biggest Juice fan could hope for.

The Pleasure Groove: Love, Death, and Duran Duran: A Memoir

by John Taylor

NONFICTION/CLOTH. Not only a tell-all memoir, a snapshot of an instant in pop culture history where post-glam/anti-punk New Wave was all the rage. Read with your mix tape on your Walkman and enjoy the ride.

 BEST BETS FOR THE NON/FICTION READERS ON YOUR LIST

(Knopf)

Wild; From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail  

by Cheryl Strayed

NONFICTION/CLOTH. Account of a trek across the Pacific Crest, not a tale of do or die, a metaphor for finding meaning on the walk of life.  

 A Wilderness of Error: The Trials of Jeffrey MacDonald by Errol Morris 

NONFICTION/CLOTH. After a 20 year investigation of the MacDonald murder case, the documentary film giant who freed a man with his film Thin Blue Line again comes to the defense of an innocent man.

Dearie; The Remarkable Life of Julia Child by Bob Spitz 

NONFICTION/CLOTH. Julie Child’s joie de vivre comes through in the biographer's affectionate style presenting as a vanguard, a women constantly searching for individuality. Bon Apetit!

(Random House)

Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic by David Quammen 

NONFICTION/CLOTH. Forget monkey attacks, horse kicks and bear maulings, it’s the bugs carrying god knows what that we need to worry about. This alarming study reads like a Michael Critchton novel.

Conning Harvard by Julie Zauzmer & Xi Yu 

NONFICTION/CLOTH. The Harvard cheating scandal and the man behind it; an Ivy league Bringing Down the House.

Talking Pictures edited by Ransom Riggs 

NONFICTION/CLOTH. This collection of lost photographs captures inspirational emotions in faded sepia, an arty PostSecret.

(Little/Brown)

Dreamland; Adventures in the Strange Science of Sleep by Davis K. Randall 

NONFICTION/CLOTH. As entertaining as it is enlightening, more about the ramifications of dreaming than dream interpretation. Alarming, humorous, insightful revelations.

My Ideal Bookshelf 

edited by Thessaly La Force, illus. Jane Mount 

NONFICTION/CLOTH. If you are an avid reader, the books you cherish define you. Authors and celebrities pick their favorites.

Killer Show; The Station Nightclub Fire, America’s Deadliest Rock Concert by John Barylick 

NONFICTION/CLOTH. The tragedy of The Station niteclub fire and the subsequent legal battle and the devastation of all who lived through it.

(Chronicle)

Buddy: How a Rooster Made Me a Family Man 

by Brian McGrory 

NONFICTION/CLOTH. An urban professional finds himself in a relationship that comes with a petting zoo of dogs, cats, kids and a rooster named Buddy who has a chip on its shoulder. First  despising him, he comes to emulate him. Marley and Me with feathers.

The Writer's Toolbox; Creative Games and Exercises for Inspiring the 'Write' Side of Your Brain by Jamie Kat Callan

NONFICTION/BOX Its a book, its a game, its a great gift for fellow writers. What better way to shatter writer's block that making it a game. Book and Exercises made to jolt your Muse awake. Voila!

Best Book Bests - 11/27/2012

Buy a book for a reader, not a reader for the Bookie!

I need the tactile feel of the pulp under my fingers, well chosen words raised on them, for me to fully appreciate the reading experience. I was told when I was very young that I could go anywhere between the pages of a book. I wasn't told their true magic, that I could see that world through other people's eyes, that I could laugh with them, mourn with them, and stand in awe beside them as the words presented symmetry to the chaos we call life. In short, reading a book is an intimate affair. The pages are warm, the non-glare of a digital readers screen o so cold. In these days when daylight is at a premium there is no decision to be made. Here's this week's chestnuts to read, read, as opposed to virtually read over an open fire (real please, no fireplace DVDs).
NEXT WEEK: THE BOOKIE'S BEST GIFT BOOK BETS LIST TO HELP YOU SHOP!

(Penguin)

City of Dark Magic  by Magnus Flyte
CLOTH. How's this for a recipe? First-time novelist Flyte weaves historical fiction with romance, combines a rapier wit with a penchant for the mystical, all to produce a suspense thriller. The studies of musician Sarah uncovers a mystery hiding in Beethoven's artifacts. The Immortal Beloved he made reference to was indeed flesh and blood, especially blood. Before you can say hocus-pocus she is unearthing a murder mystery and a discovering a romantic interest. If that doesn't sound convoluted enough, let's see, Prague may be the portal to hell, Sarah's handsome prince is an ancient dwarf and her sexual liaisons lead her to drugs that allow her to play with the time line continuum. I know what you're thinking, it sounds like every other funny, spooky, historical romance you've ever read... NOT!

(Orion)

The Black Box  by Michael Connelly

CLOTH. This is the 18th time we get to follow Harry Bosch as he solves crimes. In many other author's hands (I'm talking to you, Patterson) this could just be another cookie-cutter mystery thriller. This time out however Connelly takes one of the most famous backdrops of racial tension and uses it to reveal the corruption of apathy in post-riot Los Angeles. Stacey Coon is acquitted for the Rodney King beating that instigated the urban unrest. A woman's body is found shot dead in the aftermath, a case barely investigated during the melee. Leave it to Bosch decades later with a bullet from the crime scene to reveal the crimes behind the crime. Sometimes the greatest danger isn't on the streets. A mature, heartfelt thriller told by a master who still knows how to surprize us as the mystery unfolds.

(Algonquin)

Life Among Giants  by Bill Roorbach 

CLOTH. David, the Lizard, has a bright future, popularity and athletic talent that promised an ivy league education and stardom. That is until his parents are killed and he spends his days trying to solve their murders. He still gets all he was promised, an NFL career, life among the rich and famous, even dalliances with a famous dancer but still the mystery that clouds his life wears on him. What will it take for The Lizard to be an active participant in his privileged life? The truth? It is a dizzy ride along with the haves as he searches for the one thing that will give relevance to his opulent lifestyle. As the mystery unravels you fear for both David and his older sister that the truth will not set them free but damn them. Reading this novel allows you to look through their jaded eyes at the world from the inside of their limo longing for contact.

(Viking)

Cascade by Maryanne O'Hara

CLOTH.  Being from New England, novels set there have a natural appeal to me. In the 1930s Desdemona was building a reputation as an accomplished artist in Boston when marriage and family obligations tear her from her dreams. The Depression hits and in the concurrent rebuilding of the infrastructure of America her hometown is slated to be flooded to provide water for Boston where her dreams had died. Desdemona's dreams still wait her there in the form of a fellow artist and love interest. Will she break from her established responsibilities as wife and daughter or defy convention and finally live her life for herself? Does she even live in a time where that is even an option? Her moral dilemma will bond you with her as she struggles with life first torn apart by poverty, now by impending war, each pulling her away from true love.
.

(William Morrow)

Sacre Bleu; A Comedy D'Art  by Christopher Moore 

FICTION/TRADE PAPER. Starting with Lamb (the tale of Jesus' teen years told by his best friend, Biff), Moore has proven to be an outrageous satirist. His obsessions, once set, are truly that, he takes everything to its intellectual extreme. If its Jesus, Santa or bloodsucking freaks, he puts every convention on its head just for a laugh. This book came out earlier this year and has just came out in paperback in time for gift-giving season. If you are looking for the perfect book for art lovers, humor lovers, literature lovers, even lovers, then this book could fit the bill. WARNING: You couldn't be any more left of center than in one of his novels. Potential side effects; side stitches, unexpected knowledge of the art of the French Masters, and a disorientation enhanced by not knowing what is historical fact and what is glorious hooey!

(It Books)

Talking Pictures  edited by Ransom Riggs

NONFICTION/CLOTH. Riggs magical young adult novel Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children combined a classic Gothic tale of orphans and a town's hidden secrets with an at times disturbing collection of found photographs that captured the author's imagination. This is one of the author's obsessions, collecting these lost oddities at flea markets, awkward and inspired moments strangers' lives. Here he presents some of his collection without a storyline to back them up. Here you see the photos story-telling strength in their raw form. All the emotions are captured in faded sepia with the sparsest inscription alongside. Think of it as an arty PostSecret. As you take in this collection you share the author's fascination with their emotive quality. No wonder such photos inspired him to write one of the best children tales in many a year.   

(Viking)

1775 by Kevin Phillips

NONFICTION/CLOTH. 1776 gets all the props, even a musical and a holiday but it was the year before that was the stepping stone for that banner year. Phillips builds a detailed account of the increasing unrest that preempted Lexington and Concord. A hungry people, increased oppression from Britain and the foundations of a class based government so much like what the colonists risked life and limb to get away from; all building a powder keg that was sure to blow up eventually. Phillips more than hints at that being the very intention of the British, to force the conflict and strip away the colonists power once and for all. Little did they know how calculated the colonys were at preparing for the inevitable. A thoroughly researched and passionate argument.

 Young Adult Hot Picks of the Week!

(Scholastic)

Rootless   by Chris Howard

YOUNG ADULT, CLOTH. Here we have Banyan, kind of a post-apocalypse Lorax who wants to save the few remaining trees in his dying world. Trees were a thing of legend until a tattooed  stranger tells him of a land where they still exist. Before that day young Banyan constructed replicas of them for the rich and the privileged. After finding himself newly orphaned (of course) with nothing to lose he embarks on a journey through a desolate world battling pirates and even man-eating insects. On his journey he makes seemingly unwise alliances and learns that his obsession with the trees is more connected to his family than he ever knew. This brilliantly imagined world provides one thrill after another as treacherous wastelands are revealed and forgotten lands are ultimately discovered. An powerfully original take on dystopian fiction with ecology and genealogy at its heart.

(Houghton Mifflin)

Son by Lois Lowry
YOUNG ADULT, CLOTH. Every young adult I know has at one time or not had to read The Giver as a summer reading assignment. Good thing too, for this Newbery award-winning book, along with its sequel Gathering Blue are some of the best examples of distopian fiction.  Little did we know that Hunger Games would propel such themes into the pop culture lexicon. Less slam-bam than Suzanne Collins, Lowry's voice has a more lyrical quality that counters her chilling vision of future society, more reminiscent of Atwood's Handmaid's Tale. This summer she has delivered the fourth and final in the series. Water Claire finds herself in a land devoid of emotion. Pregnant women are vessels not mothers, offspring product, not children. Still, the government can't refuse her heart and she joins in the final clash between good and evil for no better reason than reunion and the sanctity of family.

(Hyperion)

Beta   by Rachel Cohn

INDEPENDENT READER, CLOTH. With all the hubbub over Cinder this past summer here is one futurist young adult thriller that way have been glossed over. Similar to The Giver orThe Uglies series, Beta presents a world of conformity except this time it isn't the dominance over humans to contruct a utopian society, it is achieved by building the perfect societal beast. Elysia is born (constructed) a teenager, a blank chip off the assembly line. It takes the death of a real life girl to infuse this replicant with life experience. What could go wrong? She has been built to serve the remaining people on the island of Desmene. So this perfect female creature with the underlying heart of a dead girl becomes curious, then envious of the comforts and emotions of the human inhabitants. Any sign of humanity would result in her dissemblance so she plays along, and learns. Also, she's not the only one in the population of machines to feel these human emotions. Anyone who have read I, Robot can tell you this will not end well. This is a series so only the seeds of revolt are planted but in all it makes for a compelling read.