Happy Holidays to all you book lovers out there!
Wow, a decade of book recommendations!
Since 1993, I’ve reviewed 154 books (greater than half of the 277 read) in my traditional year-end Recommended Reading List. It’s been a gratifying experience. Over the years, many people have told me they’ve made new book discoveries and look forward to receiving the list each holiday season. (Oh, the pressure!) My lists have served as a source of ideas for book clubs across the country and have been shared with others beyond the original circle of friends. They’ve even resulted in the formation of new friendships.
This fall has been crazy-busy with an intense work schedule, the screening of many movies, opera season, a weekly movie course on Buster Keaton led by Roger Ebert, and a home remodeling project that’s turned into a massive time commitment. Whew! And yet, there’s always time for reading.
So here, in no particular order, is my list of the best read in 2002. Happy reading!
- The Return of the Native, Thomas Hardy (1878)
- Empire Falls, Richard Russo (2002)
- Nickel and Dimed (On Not Getting By in America), Barbara Ehrenreich (2001)
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling (2000)
- Picture, Lillian Ross (1950)
- The Lovely Bones, Alice Siebold (2002)
- Mary and O’Neil, Justin Cronin (2001)
- The Professor and the Madman, Simon Winchester (1998)
- Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier (1997)
- The Wayward Bus, John Steinbeck (1947)
2 Things @ Once 