We tend to have best movie of the year items come up about now
but I can't recall a best book of the year item.  So in this
case it doesn't matter when the book was written just that
you read it in '94.

My favorite book of the year is...

79 responses total.

Jane Hamilton's _A Map of the World_.  Outstanding fiction.
It was one of those rare books where I tend to reread whole 
sections before going on for the sheer pleasure of the spun
words.  Highly recommended.

Edward De Grazia's _Girls Lean Back Everywhere_.  A must-read for anyone with
any interest in free-speech issues.  Non-fictional account of the books, people
and supreme court decisions which comprise the history of obscenity laws and
the use of same in the suppression of avant-garde literature.  Clearly written,
extensively foot- and endnoted, with a minimum of legalese, and liberally
bent, it is written by the attorney who argued many of the cases discussed, 
some in front of the supreme bench itself.  Includes excerpts of most of the
major works involved, including: _Ulysses_; _Lady Chatterly's Lover_; lyrics
from 2 Live Crew's "As Nasty as They Wanna Be"; _Memiors of Hecate County_;
_Advice to a Young Bride_; _Naked Lunch_; _Howl_; etcetera.

 Oh, I can name several, and I will---


  Lonesome Dove and Streets of Laredo-By Larry McMurtry. LD starts with a
cattle drive from Lonesome Dove to the Yellowstone River in Montana where
Woodrow Call and Gus McRae would like to have a cattle ranch. However, it 
 doesn't quite pan out that way, but they manage to have an exiteing time
of it. 
   Streets of Laredo was a continuation of LD about 15 or so yrs later,
and now there is a killer loose and it is up to Call and an accountant 
from Brooklyn to bring him to justice. Good reading, and never a dull
moment.

  My Current book, "The Book of Virtues" By William J. Bennett is a treasury
of moral tales. There are 12 chapters, and each contain stories on 
such virtues as compassion, work, honesty, love, etc. I'm not reading it
from front to back as I normally would read a book, but I am skipping around
from place to place, and reading what hits my mood. I highly recommend this
book for every house, and moreso, if you have kids. I will be buying this
book.

Although I haven't finished it yet, I started reading E. Annie Proulx's
_The Shipping News_ in 1994, so maybe it counts.  To judge by the book
so far, it will be one of my favorites of the last couple of years at
least.

dittos to omni for #3. Afriend loaned me _Streets_ and I was very pleasantly
surprised.
I read sooooo much that it's sometimes hard to remember what was when. After
making it through 'A Brief History of Time' I am in love with Mr. Hawking!
Once you let go of your ingrained ideas, his work flows and takes you on a
lovely mind trip.

Can you believe that I'm 34 and only just now read "The Hitchhiker's Guide'?

   Sure.  There aren't enough copies out for everyone to have read it.

Either "Red Mars" by Kim Stanley Robinson or "Chung Kuo" by David
Winthrop.  I've been in a science fiction mood of late.  For
action adventure fans, pretty much anything by David Morrell is a
large cut above the rest.

"The Women of Brewster Place" and "Linden Hills" both by Gloria Naylor,
and loosely related.  These are two wonderfully written books.  Women is a
set of short stories about seven (I think) women who live on a condemned
street somewhere in a Northern city, and chronicles how they fight the
downward momentum of their lives.  Linden Hills, tells the story of a
neighborhood for the black middle class, and its odd founder.  Both books
feature marvelous prose, dynamic characters and a bitterly compassionate
(and yes that's possible) look at urban life.  (These are fiction by the way.)

"raising gerbils for fun and profit". Just kidding.  I'd have to say "Learned
Pigs and Fireproof Women" a book about the history of strange Vaudeville acts.

Anything by Sue Harrison. She's the best author out these days.

What's her genre?

My favorite horror book of the year was "Dead in the Water" by Nancy
Collins (I think).  I read it months ago and I still think about it.

She write books about a native american woman growing up on the alleutian
islands. Very suspensful, sad, happy, exciting. It has everything and you
wont put it down until it's done.

I can't remember everything I read, but I am still working on, and completely
enthralled by Tom Peters _Liberation }i Management_.  It takes one on a
long and complicated exposition of what the most successful and progressive
companies are doing to thrash their competition, if they have any, and goes
into depth on progressive organization schemes that allow employees to enjoy
their work - "everybody wins" concepts.  If you're into understanding such
things it's a must-read.

i myself am a big fantasy buff, and right now im reading the `Wheel of Time'
series by Robert Jordan.  im about to start the fourth book in the series. if
any of you like fantasy, then read these books. they're about 700 pages plus
and if you've read them already, tell me what you think.

Mike, by chance the fourth one was the one I ran across first; I've now read
all but the most recently-released one, & the 4th remains my favorite.  Just
my $1/50

Thanx Dave. Ive met some people on m-net who are big R.Jordan fans too, and
they keep trying to tell me what happens.:>

_The Hot Zone_, by Richard Preston.  I'm sorry I read it.

Why are you sorry? What is it? Any good?

It's about a Level 4 organism (HIV is only Level 2) that
is airborne, 90% fatal within 30 days, and kills by turning
its victims into skin-covered bags of bloody mush.  It
accidentally gets loose in a government lab and almost
escapes into the general population.  Stephen King highly
recommends this book, according to the dust jacket.  The
bad part is, it's true.  The organism is the Ebola virus,
and the human race apparently almost ended a few years ago.

WOW! Sounds great. I'm going to buy it today and start reading it.
Thanks Michael, you made my day. I've been looking for a good book
lately. :):):) <Peacefrg is ecstatic>

You're welcome!  Happy nightmares.

Brrrrrrr.

Love in the Time of Cholera by Marquez
        ------or------
Wendal, His Cat, and the Progress of Man by some guy in Atlanta whose name i
can't remame  i can't remember

 Chuck Darwin?

Ah, "Love in the Time of Cholera" is a lovely story.  Just the other
day I was reminded of the book while watching "Like Water for Chocolate".
Very similar in many ways.

I liked "Storm Warnings" by Mercedes Lackey

Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card.  I can't believe I waited this long
to read it.

Clockwork Orange...Get the book, see the movie.

To those that are interested in ebola "The Coming Plague" by Laurie Garrett w-l
work.  For those that want wonderful descriptive, delightful writing try
"Another Roadside Attraction" by Tom Robbins."."

Tom Robbins has written a new book, which is now available.  i saw it
in the Border's window showcase last week as i was walking by.

Is this the tim robbins, the actor?

This item has been linked to the books cf. Readers in agora might
like to browse books, and find other interesting discussions of
books generally and specifically.

Yeah, it's a good conf.

just about any urban fantasy (esp. Misty...unfortunately those books are so
good they rarely last longer than a day...if that long)

re #32, 
no, tom robbins is just an author who lives in seattle.  he's written
fiction since the 60's.  his works include "even cowgirls get the blues,"
"still life with woodpecker," and "skinny legs and all".

   Unforunately, that book isn't Speculative Fiction.  ...And, to
make things more interesting, there is another virus which is about
as bad.  Called Lassa fever, it has killed nearly all who became
infected with it during the last breakout in Africa.
   Thanks for talking about that book Michael, I'll have to go
and get it.  Missed when it finally came out.

Last night I bought "The Hot Zone". 

  Is that by Dr. Ruth, or Masters & Johnson, Mary?

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