Escapist Enlightenment

We are rapidly approaching the end of the year, so it is time for the lists of the year's best to start making the rounds. 2011 was a lighter year for me on the reading front, mostly because the 82nd Regular Legislative Session, and all it's wailing and gnashing of teeth, kept me more than a little busy for the first 6 months of the year. Since June, however, I've done my best to catch-up and enjoyed some immensely entertaining and beautifully written literature. I highly recommend any and all of the following to the bibliophiles on your Christmas list. Happy reading.

Disclaimer: The books listed here were not necessarily published during 2011, some were, some were not . . . 2011 was the year I got around to reading them and recommending them to you.

1. The Help - Kaythryn Stockett (2009 - Putnam)
Best book I read this year hands down, and probably the best (non-classic) I've read in many years. Brilliant, honest, and ridiculously readable.

2. The Sisters Brothers - Patrick DeWitt (2011 - ecco)
I'm not typically drawn to westerns in any medium, but this old west shoot 'em up had me from page one. Sharp, dry, and wildly witty, DeWitt turns the image of wild west machismo on its ear.

3. Fall of Giants - Ken Follett (2010 - Dutton)
Epic, relevant, and gripping. Follett's tracking of multiple families through the events of the first world war is riveting and richly detailed. A prime example of the modern historic epic.

4. The Hypnotist - Lars Kepler (2009 - Sarah Crichton Books)
I've said it before, and I'll say it again - Swedish authors seem to have cornered the market on the chilling, mind-bending, thriller market. The Hypnotist is twisted, stark, cold, and brutal - in all the best ways possible.

5. Scorch City - Toby Ball (2011 - St. Martin's Press)
Toby Ball is on a multi-year streak and trying heroically to bring back a dark and shadowy street beat detective voice that was so classically defined by greats like Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett. This is his second book and you can bet I'll be standing in line when the third is released.

6. Crash of the Titans: Greed, Hubris, The Fall of Merrill Lynch, and the Near Collapse of Bank of America - Greg Farrell (2010 - Crown Business)
A detailed account of the financial crisis of 2007-08, Farrell's detailed focus on two of the financial giants leading the mess is simply mesmerizing. Many have tried to source out the failings of this period over the last several years, but Farrell succeeds. Unfortunately, the subject remains topical.

7. Our Kind of Traitor - John le Carre (2010 - Viking)
Standing in stark contrast to the recent dumbing down of spy thrillers in this country, le Carre presents an intellectual story of greed, corruption, and crime that spans continents and pulls in the guilty and innocent alike. Riveting.

8. Empire - Steven Saylor (2010 - St. Martin's Press)
Where Follett's historical epic is intricately researched and detailed, Saylor's is richly descriptive, flashy, and fun. The pinnacle of Imperial Roman history was a dichotomy of wealth and splendor interwoven with squalor and need. Saylor conveys both with the ease and swagger the period demands.