the Scott Stein

Frank Wilson asks, What's your book of the year? I didn't do a careful job of tracking all of the books I read, but here's my answer:

For fiction, I did read Alexander Solzhenitsyn's One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, but I don't list it as my favorite book of the year, though I don't question its excellence or its reputation. It's a remarkable document, but my favorites were books that challenged me, as a fiction writer, to think about possibilities in my own future work. Plus, they were just plain fun. So, for fiction, I have two favorites:

Code of the Woosters, by P.G. Wodehouse. Read about it here.

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, by Susanna Clarke, which I wrote about here.

Honorable mention goes to The Horla, (sort of) a novella by Guy de Maupassant.

For nonfiction, I can't remember that many books I read this year. Before 2006, for the past several years, I'd been reading far more nonfiction than fiction. That changed in 2006, when I got on a fiction roll. Looking through my personal library, I see titles that I think I read recently but that I can't pin specifically to 2006. Anyway, here is my nonfiction selection:

Dresden, by Frederick Taylor, discussed here.

I can't remember if I read Thomas Sowell's A Conflict of Visions: Ideological Origins of Political Struggles in 2006 or earlier. If I did read it this year, it would be my top nonfiction choice.

That's it. I guess a New Year's resolution to keep better records in 2007 is called for. Plus, I should write more book notes. Great, like I needed more things to improve on for next year.

I'd be happy to hear what made your list.

Update: Obviously, the books I listed were not necessarily published in 2006 (none of them were). I have no interest in "What was the best book of the year?" I am only noting my books of the year, which means books I read in 2006.