Here's the thing -- any book ever written could be nominated. (But I had to read it that year.)
From there it's like any award, there's politics and in-fighting (did I mention I am the only one on the committee, but I will debate myself from time to time.)
If I were to give an actual award, it would be a sticker made to look like the big foam hand with the extended finger to convey "this is #1"! The same way books get an "Oprah's book club" sticker, I'd have a BOOK OF THE YEAR sticker with that hand.
Now let's get to the actual list. These are the best books I read between the years of 1996 - 2009. (Read the whole thing, or skip ahead to the end for a surprise.) Lastly, please keep in mind this is not necessarily a list of recommended reading, it's just that the timing was right -- these books spoke to me, because they connected with my then-current situation and where my head was at. I don't know that "The Best of Temp Slave" would mean as much to me today as it did 11 years ago.
The best required reading from my junior year of college. I was totally swept up in this unflinching story of Hollywood in the 1930's. West is a lean, mean writer and he gets at the loneliness of desperate people. There's one scene that describes a sad sack sitting naked on the toilet, crying his eyes out waiting for the bathtub to fill-up. It's a brutal story that doesn't pull any punches and I couldn't put it down. The John Schlessinger movie is visionary, but I prefer the book's intimacy. (Does that make sense? Sorry, I rarely write about literature.)
