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Jan 7th, 2006

Out of the books I read in 2005, it's hard just to name "the best" and "the worst", so here are some books I liked, for lots of different reasons.

My selections from 2004 are here.

Best History Books

Bobby Fischer Goes to War - David Edmonds, John Eidinow

Tells the story of the 1962 chess championship which turned into a symbol of the cold war.

USSR versus USA for the ultimate chess prize and the most interesting moves were not even made on the chessboard.

The Poisonwood Bible - Barbara Kingsolver

To be fair - this is a novel, but since the story is based in the Belgian Congo just before it became Zaire, it served as a history book to me.

It also does a neat trick of being narrated by five different women - each with their own take on the events as they occur around them.

Books I Didn't Finish

Short Stories - Guy de Maupassant

You'd think short stories would be easier to get into than a whole novel, but I've always found them harder.

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff - Christopher Moore

Actually this was mostly due to my own screwup. I was a third of the way through this when the movers packed this into a crate to ship to Sydney.

Best philosophy book written by someone with a French-sounding name

The Consolations of Philosophy - Alain de Botton

According to de Botton, philosophy is not just for people with massive brains and nothing better to do. It can actually help when you feel misunderstood, lonely, penniless or frustrated.

Status Anxiety - Alain de Botton

Another brilliantly written summary of philosophers who address the question: "So why do I spend so much time worrying about what other people think?"

Best Re-read

The Player of Games - Iain M Banks

If I ever put together a list of books I should re-read every year just for the pure joy of it, this would be on it.

Most Surprising

On Killing - Dave Grossman

In World War I, it's estimated that less than ten percent of soldiers fired their rifles in combat.

Grossman does a good job of explaining why, and then goes into the modern training techniques enabled the US and other armies to desentise their recruits into becoming killing machines.

Best Potboiler

Angels and Demons - Dan Brown

Vacations are for potboilers, and what better potboiler to read in Rome than one that involves the Vatican, the Illuminati, Renaissance Art and a wild goose chase through the streets of Rome.

Most Dangerous

A Fan's Notes - Fred Exley

A pseudo-autobiographical novel of obessession, alcoholism, mental illness, solipsism and football. Funny, frightening and fiendishly well written.

Life Changers

What Should I Do With My Life - Po Bronson

Bronson has collected ninety stories of people who have asked themselves the question contained in the title.

For an American book, it is remarkably free of cant, easy answers, unsolicited advice and contains neither seven, ten nor twelve secrets to success.

The fact is, most people approach this very difficult and personal question in many different ways. And it's encouraging to see that some people don't get it "right" first time.

Best Graphic Novel

V for Vendetta - Alan Moore

Soon to be made into a movie by the Wachovski brothers (makers of The Matrix trilogy), this is a genre-bending look at the politics of masked superheroes.

And if anarchist comicbook heroes aren't your cup of tea, Moore also wrote The Watchmen where the crime fighting crusaders were right-wing vigilantes.