Kelly's Year in Books 2006 Review

so here it is, the much awaited (okay, only by me) Kelly's 2006 Year in Books Review.

please note that this is only books consumed by me in the past year, not books actually published this year (common misconception of the first ever 2006 Kelly Review). also these books are in no specific order, not chronological, hell, not even alphabetical - i'm far too lazy for any of that.

also, although i prefer a four star system, the ratings i have been doing on netflix over the past year(s) (2500+ ratings and counting) have corrupted me over to a five star system, so here is how it breaks down.

* = hated it
** = did not like it
*** = liked it
**** = really liked it
***** = loved it (supberb!)

unlike what netflix allows you to do however, i am allowing myself half stars as this rating stuff all became very difficult at some point. it should also be said that it is unlikely you will find much below a three here as i have a fairly foolproof system for picking books for myself these days (see previous riveting blogs for more on that)

okay, enough, on to the list!

1. Little Children (fiction) by Tom Perotta - 3 Stars
this experience has robbed me of reading the book before seeing the movie. i will never again rush to the book before the movie because although the book was good, i felt the movie (for once) was far superior and yet the movie was tainted for me because i kept getting caught up in remembering the book. i was quite annoyed.

2. Twilight of the Superheros (short fiction collection) by Deborah Eisenberg - 3 stars
nice collection. some weak spots however that brought down the overall ranking.

3. Human Oddities (short fiction collection) by Nora Jabonski - 4 stars
this was occasionally difficult for me to read as i'm a bit squeamish, but it was a beautiful collection of stories and reallly made me push myself in my own writing.

4. A Good Man is Hard to Find (short fiction collection) by Flannery O'Conner - 4.5 stars
this is a brilliant collection by a prolific female writer who was really breaking boundaries for her time. the short piece that shares the name of the collection is a real standout as well - if they were all that good i'd have had to go with 5 stars.

5.Yellow (fiction) by Janni Visman .. 3 stars
this book originally blew my mind and i still like it, but it hasn't stood the test of time like others. i did however read it in one day, so that speaks well for it.

6. Ishmael (fiction) by Daniel Quinn .. 4 stars
this book also blew my mind and continues to. i still think of it often, especially when i consider hunger, poverty and other world issues (which i'm sorry to report .. especially considering i just saw children of men today .. is not often enough).

7. Good Omens (fiction) by Terry Prachett & Neil Gaiman .. 4.5 stars.
i read again this summer in Hawaii while on vacation and tore through it just as hungrily as the first time. a brilliant read, that while "light" is also surprisingly "heavy"...

8. The Best American Short Stories 2005 (short fiction collection) edited by Michael Chabon .. 4 stars
a great collection, maybe not "the best" in my mind, but a lot of the best.

9. The Dead Fish Museum (short fiction collection) by Charles D'Ambrosio .. 4 stars
some of these stories blew me away, and i was pleased to realize that i'd already read many of them in other publications.

10. Remote Feed (short fiction collection) by David Gilbert .. 3.5 stars
this was great stuff, but not as great as i had expected .. perhaps my expectations were up too high.

11. China Dog (short fiction collection) by Judy Fong Bates .. 4 stars
i looked for this collection for fucking ever and it was worth the wait. i'm hoping to read her novel this coming year.

12. Klepto (fiction) by Jenny Pollack .. 3 stars
to be fair to Ms. Pollack i actually enjoyed her book and thought it was a great light ride, it's just not really aimed at me and thus missed it's mark for my rating system (it's young adult fiction really).

13. How We Are Hungry (short fiction collection) by Dave Eggers .. 4.5 stars.
fucking brilliant. no more needs be said.

14. Icelander (fiction) by Dustin Long .. 4 stars
it took me awhile to get through Icelander but when i did it really paid off. plus .. beautiful! hands down the most beautiful book i have ever read, cover to cover .. not a misstep visually.

15. Here They Come (fiction) by Yannick Murphy .. 4.5 stars
this was a great read .. from the packaging right through to the content i loved it. Mc'Sweeney's Press strikes it right again.

16. Some of the Parts (fiction) by T. Cooper .. 3.5 stars
a really interesting read, sometimes i thought i was falling in love, other times, less so.

17. Exercises in Style (fiction) by Raymond Queneau .. 3 stars
this rating is not fair because this book probably opened my mind more than any other two books i read this year, but i didn't fall in love reading it and that is what i am remembering as i write this.

18. Rape: a love story (fiction) by Jocye Carol Oates .. 2 stars
i was very disappointed by this. a great idea, but weak execution to my mind.

19. Black Hole (comic book/graphic novel) by Charles Burns .. 4.5 stars
this is a brilliant fucking book and my reading it was LONG overdue.

20. V For Vendetta (comic book/graphic novel) by Alan Moore .. 3.5 stars
also a long overdue read, but reading it just after Black Hole was a mistake, it couldn't stand up.

21. Fat Pig (play) by Neil Labute .. 4.5 stars
awesome. honest. brutal.

22. The Stinging Fly: These Are Our Lives (short fiction collection) edited by Declan Meade .. 4 stars
a really great collection of international short works.

23. McSweeney's Quarterly Concern ..20 (short fiction collection) edited by Dave Eggers .. 4.5 stars
AWESOME. they owe the last half point to a couple of really mind blowing stories at the end. and of course to their superior production values.

24. The Walking Dead Hardcover edition ..1 - ..25 (comic book/graphic novel) by Robert Kirkman .. 5 stars
i've talked enough about this book on here .. we all know i'm in love with it like an itty bitty fanboy.

25.The Best American Non-Required Reading 2005 (short story collection) edited by Dave Eggers .. 3.5 stars
i think my hopes were up too high for this one, it didn't pay off as i'd hoped.

26. Don't Get Too Comfortable (collected essays) by David Rakoff .. 4.5 stars
i loved this and have become an instant fan. saw mr. rakoff on tv with my secret boyfriend (jon stewart) .. went out and bought the book as soon as possible and was not disappointed, unfortunately i also purchased Fraud, and though it is good, it does not live up to his latest.

27. Fraud (collected essays) by David Rakoff .. 3 stars
see above.

28. Last Evenings on Earth (short fiction collection) by Roberto Bolano .. 4 stars
i wish i could give this 5 stars .. it seems every other reviewer on earth did, but maybe my education is just not there yet. i'll try re-reading it in a couple years and see if i change my mind.

29. Honored Guest (short fiction collection) by Joy Williams .. 3 stars
this started out strong, but really tapered off for me unfortunately.

30. Lucky (comic book/graphic novel) by Gabrielle Bell .. 4 stars
i just read this a couple days ago and really enjoyed it. plus the cover is just great.

31. Same Difference and Other Stories (comic book/graphic novel) by Derek kirk kim .. 4 stars
this was just great .. especially the title story.

32. Men and Cartoons (short fiction collection) by Jonathan Lethem .. 4.5 stars
i absolutely loved this collection. the stories were all very different but had similar strains that pulled them together beautifully. also the creativity in some of the stories made me literally feel as if my mind was expanding at times. it was a great read. the only reason it loses the 5 star rating is because there was one story that i did not like and i felt did not fit the collection in the same way as the others (the national anthem). still brilliant though.

33. Pearl ..34 - 2005 (short fiction collection) edited by Smith, Johnson, and Hauk - 4 stars.
a really nice collection with some haunting pieces from a real variety of writers.

Alright, that is it for 2006 .. 33 books .. which isn't bad, especially considering there are certainly more little books in there (especially comic collections) that have been missed in my accounting i'm sure (apologies you brilliant but unacknowledged few). Nevertheless I am going to shoot for 52 books for next year .. some of those include:

The Crying of Lot 49
All the McSweeney's Quarterly Concerns that i receive
Giraffe
Consider The Lobster
This is Not It
Third Class Superhero
Best American Short Fiction 2006
Best American Non-Required Reading 2006
Best American Comics 2006
Art Out of Time
An Anthology of Graphic Fiction, Cartoons, & True Stories
Brief Interviews with Hideous Men
Midnight at the Dragon Café
The Island
House of Leaves
American Genius, A Comedy
Eat The Document
Save Your Own
Lolita
Tropic of Cancer
Watership Down
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
2007 Pushcart Prize XXXI for the small presses
and of course, all The Walking Dead i can get my hands on..

best to you all and a happy 2007