2006 Book Diary: Year-in-Review

Kasey Cox

Somewhere between Christmas and New Year’s, I usually get a new journal. One year, my brother gave me “A Book Lover’s Diary” for Christmas. The trick is to jot down a few reflections on the various books you read as the months go by. Reading over the journal later shows you a wonderful slice of your life in any given season. This little record also serves to answer the question that inevitably arises for great minds whose bookcases are overflowing: “Did I already read this book?”

Although I didn’t keep such a journal this year, I thought I’d share a few highlights from my Book-Year-in-Review. Hopefully, a few of these treasures will go on your reading list for 2007.

For January, I’d recommend John Updike’s “A Child’s Calendar”. Many readers associate Updike with his award-winning “Rabbit” series, which is not about cute little bunnies. Nevertheless, Updike scores big with this lovely collection of poems for children. Each month has a beautiful illustration and a timely poem.

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, Kevin and I discovered a copy of “Oriental Love Poems”. Three-dimensional origami fold-outs which accent the poems make this a book to delight your eyes and your heart. In March, I took the lighter side of love and laughed my way through Christopher Moore’s “The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove.” Good thing I read about amorous sea monsters first, because next I read Jodi Picoult’s intense, haunting, but incredible first book, “Songs of the Humpback Whale”. A story told alternately through the voices of several of the main characters, Picoult stunned me with her writing craft and powerful story. This book, too, is a love story – one that weaves many kinds of love together but allows the reader to see each strand.

As May came to Wellsboro, I longed for the smell of fresh air and the feel of my hands in the dirt. Reading Richard Goodman’s “French Dirt” satisfied me when my garden efforts were stymied. An account of an American who eventually gets to know his new neighbors in a small village in France, I think “French Dirt” is better than the more well-known books by Peter Mayle.

I spent a lot of the summer reading “Eragon” and its sequel “Eldest”. If you haven’t heard of the phenomenon of Christopher Paolini, wunderkind author of these popular books about dragons, just remember: the book is always better than the movie.

As fall approached, I chose to honor September 11 by reading one of the first authors to deal with 9/11 through fiction. Jonathan Safran Foer, also hailed as something of a wunderkind for his first novel “Everything is Illuminated”, maintains his unique style in “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.” The title alone speaks volumes. The narration belongs to precocious Oskar Schell who lost his father in the Twin Towers.

For Halloween, I re-discovered a childhood favorite by Judith Viorst. Many people know her from “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Day”, but my brother and I also loved one we found at the Green Free as kids. It’s another long title which is just as much fun as the book – “My Mama Says There Aren’t Any Zombies, Ghosts, Vampires, Creatures, Demons, Monsters, Fiends, Goblins, or Things.”

In November, I saw an interview with Stephen King about his newest book, “Lisey’s Story.” He drew a parallel between writing novels and playing baseball – sometimes it’s a base hit, sometimes a homerun. He felt “Lisey’s Story” is the best he’s done in years. I agree.

Currently, I’m thrilled that Jeff Shaara’s detailed historical fiction, “To the Last Man”, about World War I, is out in paperback. As I’m reading, certain names and facts jump out at me as things I had to memorize in school, but now the pieces of the war I know so little about are coming together.

Here’s hoping Santa filled your stocking with some great books, and that you find time to read in the coming year. Happy holidays!