This book is absolutely fantastic. It is beautiful and smart in equal measure. I was *this* close to going back to the beginning and reading it all over again once I turned the last page. It is both thought provoking and soothing in its selective repetition.
2. Noble House (& the rest of the Asian Saga), James Clavell
Noble House is a spy novel, a story of corporate espionage, and (nearly) the end of the saga that goes all the way back to Shōgun. With so much intrigue, a few natural disasters, and a compressed time frame, Clavell keeps all of his stories moving at a quick pace without sacrificing detail or muddying any waters. All of the plot threads are so deftly intertwined that nothing ever gets lost or dropped. While Noble House can certainly stand on it's own, the story is much richer and more nuanced if Shōgun, Tai-Pan, Gai-Jin, and King Rat are in your back pocket.
3. Whirlwind, James Clavell
Whirlwind is by far my favorite Clavell book. It's suspenseful and frightening and exciting and it never lets up. I found it very easy to identify with the characters since they don't fully understand their situation or adversaries any more than Clavell allows the reader to do so. Most important of all, Clavell does a stellar job conveying the terror, uncertainty, and confusion that simultaneously overwhelm a revolutionary state, especially when that revolution is powered by fanaticism and seems completely devoid of reason, common sense, or any true leadership on the local level. From beginning to end, Whirlwind is a top notch historical and military thriller with a true sense of adventure.
The story is a simple one, and simply stated in stripped down prose, yet it is written with such depth of feeling and attention to detail. There is nearly as much to be found between the lines as there is in the text itself. It is a quiet book made profound by the evocative, nuanced descriptions of cities and towns, restaurants and bars, houses and apartments. Tracing a man's life through his relationships with women is a wonderful concept by which to lay a character bare. Yes, there are plenty of gaps in the story, but even peripheral characters are followed-up on and accounted for, creating a fully realized world orbiting around the protagonist.
5. The Last Six Million Seconds, John Burdett
Burdett's take on Hong Kong (he lived there for a number of years) evokes a wonderful sense of place; the extremely descriptive writing really brings the streets of Hong Kong to life. Like all of Burdett's books, The Last Six Million Seconds is highly atmospheric; it does what all the best thrillers should do: transport you, shock you, and keep you guessing. It entertains while being thought provoking and allowing a glimpse into another world.
6. Boomsday, Christopher Buckley
Out of all the younger Buckley's satires that I've read, this one is both the laugh-out-loud funniest, and also the one that stands up best to the passage of time. Of course, it was written only six years ago, and Boomers and Social Security are both still extremely relevant issues. The dialog in this book is simply wonderful, and the whole thing is skewed just enough to make it seem like a parallel universe that is just this side of too familiar.
7. Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, Helen Fielding
Fielding is pitch perfect, perfectly in tune with contemporary social challenges, and produces a book that is a pure joy to read. Mad About the Boy provides the same warm comfort of a film like Love Actually, or, for that matter, Bridget Jones' Diary (fancy that). Once in a while, a girl just needs Happily Ever After to seem like it could possibly be within reach.
8. Me Before You, Jojo Moyes
This is a perfect travel book or bedside companion: an easy to read, compelling story with interesting characters. From the way the main characters are written, it is clear that the author truly cares for them, and she made me care about them too. Her descriptions were also highly evocative -- this is one of those books that easily played out like a movie in my head while I read it.
9. All You Need Is Kill, Hiroshi Sakurazaka
I'm not sure I completely follow the time travel loop logic and mechanics, but the background story of the aliens and the protagonist's learnings from his own loop are all really well conceived and exceedingly compelling. I actually wish that the book were a little longer and took more time to delve into the various histories and backstories.
10. The Hard Way, Lee Child
The Hard Way is my favorite Reacher book because it allowed me to picture Jack Reacher walking around my own back yard in the here and now. Child gets all of the details of New York just right, and then he does the same thing for London. In other words, Jack Reacher could totally be my bestie based on this book.
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