A little late, but here 'tis: the Scooties best books of the year are back! Enjoy …
1. "On the Road," by Jack Kerouac
The vision of Dean Moriarity hunched over the steering wheel, head stuck out the window, hurtling across the nation with a leer, is one of the most profound and enduring images in all of American literature. The book that cemented and defined the beat movement, Kerouac's tome—which he wrote in a staggering three weeks—seized me in a way that no book has since I read "Lord of the Flies" in a single night as a sophomore in high school. My only lament is that it took me so long to discover this masterpiece, which informed and defined an entire generation of artists. "On the Road" may just have become the best book that I have ever read.
Passage to remember:
"So in America when the sun goes down and I sit on the old broken-down river pier watching the long, long skies over New Jersey and sense all that raw land that rolls in one unbelievable huge bulge over to the West Coast, and all that road going, all the people dreaming in the immensity of it, and in Iowa I know by now the children must be crying in the land where they let the children cry, and tonight the stars'll be out, and don't you know that God is Pooh Bear? the evening star must be drooping and shedding her sparkler dims on the prairie, which is just before the coming of complete night that blesses the earth, darkens the rivers, cups the peaks and folds the final shore in, and nobody, nobody knows what's going to happen to anybody besides the forlorn rags of growing old, I think of Dean Moriarty, I even think of old Dean Moriarty the father we never found, I think of Dean Moriarty."
2. "Water for Elephants," by Sara Gruen
A poignant and lively tale that encompasses the wistfulness of growing old, the dreams of forgotten youth and the tangible beauty of the in-between, "Water for Elephants" was a delightful surprise to read. It's amazing qualities held even more meaning to me since the first draft of this book was written by Gruen in a month-long novel-writing contest called NanoWrimo, which I have participated in and completed. The adventures of Jacob Jankowski (partially based on the biblical story of Jacob) as a love-struck veterinarian, balanced against his funeral-home fight to retain his relevance, makes for one of the more memorable reads of 2008.
Passage to remember:
“My real stories are all out of date. So what if I can speak firsthand about the Spanish flu, the advent of the automobile, world wars, cold wars, guerrilla wars, and Sputnik-that’s all ancient history now. But what else do I have to offer? Nothing happens to me anymore.”
3. "The Audacity of Hope," by Barack Obama
I'm not here to tell you that "The Audacity of Hope" is a quintessential literary achievement; I'm not going to posit that it boasts sweeping turns of phrase or heart-stopping prose. But I am here to tell you that, in sheer terms of powerful messaging and ability to restore a little optimism to a wounded country, yes, Obama's book represented a defining occasion for this year. On a personal level, this book ranks here on this list due to the effect that it had on me, as someone who was searching for a brave candidate capable of holding up a searchlight in our nation's befuddled, painful darkness. I read it, and I knew.
Passage to remember:
"For I am getting to an age where I have a sense of what satisfies me, and although I am perhaps more tolerant of compromise … I know that my satisfaction is not to be found in the glare of television cameras or the applause of the crowd. Instead, it seems to come more often now from knowing that in some demonstrable way I've been able to help people live their lives with some measure of dignity. I think of what Benjamin Franklin wrote to his mother, explaining why he had devoted so much of his time to public service: 'I would rather have it said, He lived usefully, than, He died rich.'"
4. "Dubliners," by James Joyce
I had been disappointed in my own relative lack of familiarity with this landmark author, and with a trip to Ireland upcoming, I took it upon myself to check out the catalog of one of Dublin's most famous natives. "Dubliners" is a collection of short stories and sketches, making it a much less daunting read than the epic "Ulysses." It certainly piqued my interest in Joyce, added to the excitement of visiting his museum in Dublin and helped prepare for some day tackling "Ulysses" (*gulp*).
Passage to remember (from "The Dead"):
"His soul swooned slowly as he heard the snow falling faintly through the universe and faintly falling, like the descent of their last end, upon all the living and the dead."
5. "Duma Key," by Stephen King
This King novel is very much a psychological thriller, and while there were points at the end where I felt the story broke down somewhat, it was one of the better King efforts I have read of late. Edgar Freemantle had his highly successful life, career and family taken away from him in a horrific accident, but in exchange, he has discovered an incredible artistic gift. The pursuit of this new talent leads him to an isolated area of the Florida Keys, where he discovers his true self, a portal to an older world and many mysteries. One has to think that this is another King tome that is informed by his own personal brush with death in the late '90s, and it's a very enjoyable and worthwhile read.
Passage to remember:
"How do we remember to remember? That's a question I've asked myself often since my time on Duma Key, often in the small hours of the morning, looking up into the absence of light, remembering absent friends. Sometimes in those little hours I think about the horizon. You have to establish the horizon. You have to mark the white. A simple enough act, you might say, but any act that re-makes the world is heroic. Or so I've come to believe."
Editor's Note: I also made my way through Ernest Hemingway's "A Farewell to Arms," but I was underwhelmed, as I often am in turning back to Ernie. I also tried to hammer through "Armies of the Night" by Norman Mailer, but I gave up halfway through. I figgered I deal with enough pretentiousness, in writing and otherwise, to the point where I don't need to invite it into my spare time. "Meat Market" by Bruce Feldman was a quick, easy read about the ugly truths involved in college football recruiting, especially in the SEC, written from within the confines of former coach Ed Orgeron's Ole Miss program. Also, most of the latter part of '08 involved me slogging my way through "War and Peace" by Leo Tolstoy, with the fruits being much worth the work.
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