BEST IN BOOKS: 2005

It's that time of the year for all of those lists to come out. Everyone's got their opinion on what were the ten best (insert mass media genre) and worst of the year. I've decided to share mine because that's the kind of dork I am, and I will start out with books. T.V., Music, DVD, and Movies will come in the next few weeks. I'm saving the big screen treats for last because there are still about a dozen films I'd like to see before I make any rash decisions.

We don't do a lot of book reviews here on this site; that should probably change. I know a lot of us are pretty big readers. I might be the biggest. My thinking is if Teddy Roosevelt could read a book a week while being President, I should be able to do the same. I don't always accomplish that feat, but some weeks I'll read three, so I think by year's end I'll make up for it. I don't read a lot of non-fiction, so for you non-fiction fans, sorry I can't help you. Although I do include one non-fiction book if you want to call it that, but that will be on my worst list, and there is also one on my best list. Also, a couple of titles (I'm not really sure) might not be 2005 titles heresay; I just got to them in 2005. Also one was a 2005 reprint, but was so damn good I couldn't leave it off the list. So, away we go.

THE TEN BEST BOOKS I READ IN 2005

10. VELOCITY (Dean Koontz) - Koontz is as hit or miss as they come, but he's one of those authors I've been reading since I was a teenager, and for nostalgic sake I guess, I just keep reading him. I'll miss a few here and there, but the dude writes at least three novels a year lately. No matter what, Koontz can always provide you with an enjoyable quick read, and the good definately outweighs the bad. However, in 2004 Koontz wrote, what is in my opinion his best book yet, "Odd Thomas." Well, in 2005 he topped that. "Velocity" is far and away the best Koontz novel yet, and with over seventy of them out there that is saying a lot. He takes a very gimmicky premise, a ordinary joe bartender recieves a note on his car windshield after work one day that reads: "If you don't take this note to the police and get them involved I will kill a lovely blond school teacher...If you do take this note to the police I will instead kill an elderly woman active in charity work. You have six hours to decide. The choice is yours." This type of slam, bang beginning could really go haywire in most writer's hands, and in the recent past Koontz would have screwed this up just as well. But he has found some kind of muse here recently, and he takes this early twists and never lets up. Throughout the next three hundred and change pages the twists come at lighting speed, and the ending believe it or not is not a letdown. The most entertaining novel of 2005.

9. DEAD RUN (P.J. Tracy) - This is P.J. Tracy's third book in as many years, and she is the most exciting new writer to come out in awhile. Actually they are; it's a mother/daughter duo (The Mother is Tracy, and the Daughter is P.J.). They said they got the inspiration for this story driving through a small town in Wisconsin one Sunday, and there was not a soul to be found, and everything was closed down for the day. Come to find out there was a Packers game on, but they take that premise and ride it well beyond the obsessive football game watching community. I don't want to give anything away, but let's just say there's a military prescence involved and a lot of nuclear something or other. This is also the third book in a series (Monkeewrench and Live Bait) are the other two about a series of characters, a couple of cops and a group of computer programmers, who always find themselves in the craziest and deadliest of circumstances. And the thing about this series, unlike a lot of mystery series out there, is that each book keeps the continuity going very nicely, and each one is better than the one before. I don't know how long they can keep this series going at this kind of premimum pace, but I am dying to find out.

8. LUNAR PARK (Brett Easton Ellis) - Ellis is of course the mastermind behind such cult following novels like "American Psycho" and "Rules of Attraction," both made into moderately successfull movies. Now he does the most arrogant thing of all, and writes himself into his own novel, and he is also the lead. Suprisingly it works out beautifully. Ellis has been all but forgotten in the past ten years; he pissed a lot of people off after a promising start when he did "American Psycho." And I am one of those people. "American Psycho" has always been in my opinion one of the most ridiculous self-involved novels I've ever read, and when I heard the premise of "Lunar Park," I figured it would be the same shit of late, but thankfully I was wrong. Ellis seems to realize how much he let his fans down with his last few books and his attempt at going Hollywood (that part doesn't bother me as much as it does a lot of these Ellis freaks) so he writes himself down and out after a ten year slump and trying to write the next great novel. However, this fateful Halloween party turns his real life into a better idea for a novel than he's ever had. There's dolls coming to life, a haunted house, and yes, even Patrick Bateman (the killer in "American Psycho") comes to life and starts offing his close friends. It sounds silly, and it probably should be, but for me it worked for the most part. It's not a perfect novel, but it's very inventive, and is a most definate unique experience. Ellis also shows some true ability at writing a great horror novel; I'm kind of hoping he stays in that genre for a couple more novels to see what he can come up with.

7. THE CLOSERS/THE LINCOLN LAWYER (Michael Connely) - If you've never read Connely's "The Poet," then go to your local bookstore and pick it up now; it is one of the ten best novels that I have ever read. It was written in 1996, and while he has never been able to achieve that kind of narrative genius, he has been as consistent as hell ever since. "The Closers" is the latest in the very popular Harry Bosch series, a modern day Sam Spade, who had left the police force for a few novels and has since returned to the Cold Case squad. I went into this thinking that this would just be an attempt to cash in on the popularity of the similar CBS show, but "Cold Case" wishes it could be this cool. "The Lincoln Lawyer" is Connely's first attempt at a lawyer novel, a genre I avoid at all costs. But Connely does the unthinkable and completely reinvents the genre and makes it his own. Read it if you don't believe me. Most bookworms would scoff at the writers of popular fiction, and in a lot of cases they would be right (take that Dan Brown), but Connely is one of those cases where just because you're popular doesn't mean you have no talent; it just means a lot of people realize what a fucking incredible writer you are and can't put your books down.

6. MAKE LOVE THE BRUCE CAMPBELL WAY (Bruce Campbell) - Bruce Campbell wrote the best autobiography I've ever read a few years ago called "If Chins Could Kill," here he tackles his first attempt at fiction, and succeeds rather well. Like "Lunar Park," Campbell makes himself the main character of his novel, and this self refferential bullshit is something I usually stay away from, but apparently 2005 was a year of change for me. Campbell is of course a very popular B-movie actor, but in this novel he gets his first real chance at breaking out in a big studio picture directed by Mike Nichols and starring Richard Gere and Renee Zellwegger. As the story goes on, Campbell does everything he can to screw up the production with his B-movie ways. It's a very clever novel that only an actor of Bruce's experience could make work. His independent spirit shines nicely in his writing, and makes up for his lack of certain writing talents. If you're a fan of the man, or just goofy stories about Hollywood this one won't dissapoint.

5. CRYSTAL LAKE MEMORIES: THE COMPLETE HISTORY OF FRIDAY THE 13TH (Peter M. Bracke) - I was lucky enough to score an advance copy of this; I think it will be more widely available in 2006. While detesting the "Friday the 13th" films as pure cinema, I have always been fascinated by their popularity. 11 films (counting "Freddy Vs. Jason) and a T.V. series (That was actually pretty good) later, Jason has become an iconic figure that love him or hate him, you will never forget him. We all do the "Kill, kill, kill, ka, ka, ka" occasionally; come on and admit it. Bracke has tackled this popularity with a journalist's eyes, but also giving it the respect that a cash cow deserves. Call "Friday" creator, Sean Cunningham, a hack if you want, but he's richer than any of us at L&N will ever be combined. This is engrossing as hell, and I found it fun reading about how all of the films were made, and all the troubles that went on set. I've read about a lot of the classics, but even bad movies have a lot of great on-set stories and histories behind them. For any film lover, this is a must.

4. THE GIRL NEXT DOOR (Jack Ketchum) - This was the reprint I was referring to, written in the eighties, this was given the reissue treatment it deserved. Ketchum is known well among the horror reading crowd, but as far as mainstream he's never really made it. And if you read this novel, you will know why. There has never been a more intense writer than Ketchum; he takes gore and violence to a whole new level. It's a simple story set in the 1950's about a new girl coming to a small neighborhood, and the chaos that ensues after that is something I don't want to explain. I want you to be able to experience this for yourself. Not for the faint of heart, but if you like some dark, dark shit, this is the novel for you.

3. THE HOT KID (Elmore Leonard) - I can't remember the last time Elmore Leonard wrote a good novel, and now he has written what might very well be his best. I've actually read this twice, and it only came out over the Summer. Leonard actually combines his two favorite genres, the western and the more modern gangster shoot'em up and comes up with a "Bonny and Clyde" story for the new century. There's bank robbers, U.S. Marshall's, and a hell of a twisted love story. If Quentin Tarantino feels like he's got another Leonard novel in him, this would be the one to tackle.

2. SATURDAY (Ian McEwan) - Reading a novel relating to the events of 9/11 is not the most entertaining thing to tackle, but I'm glad I read McEwan's book. The entire novel takes place in one day and follows London neurosurgeon, Henry Perowne. Starts with a plane crash, and ends with a sadistic dinner party where being held hostage is the least of Perowne's problems. The scariest book I've read in a long time for the simple fact that you could imagine this happening to you. McEwan really taps into the true fear that we all have of terrorism, so this might not be for the squeamish, but it's a hell of a triumph.

1. OBLIVION (Peter Abrahams) - Abrahams is the best writer out there that no one is reading. While this is the best book of 2005 that I read, I wouldn't even consider this one of Abrahams five best books; that should tell you how great of a writer he is. This book is all about discovering one's identity. Sounds cheesy, I know, but it's told through a private eye's perspective, so it's a lot of fun to. Private Eye, Nick Petrov, wakes up in a hospital room with clothes that are two sizes two big and the last three days of his life gone from his memory. Discovers he's dying of cancer, and decides to figure out what the hell happened in those missing three days. This becomes his one last lease on life; he discovers that he had started a case, and basically (kind of like "Memento") tries to solve it from the end to the beginning. And what a great beginning the novel leads to. Looking at my list, I realized this was a great year for mysteries (although after you read my worst list you'll see it could be a bad year as well), and this was the best of the bunch. And after you read this, go track down Abrahams other works, you will not be dissapointed.

I will have the worst list up in the next day or so. Hope you guys have picked up some new authors to go check out.