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December 2001
Compiled by Sarah Flowers, of Morgan Hill (CA) Library, from contributions by the members of Fiction_L.

(To use this list in your library, book club, etc., please include the following credit line: "Compiled by the subscribers of the Fiction_L mailing list." This list may not be used for commercial purposes.)

Annotations are given when provided. Dated 2001 unless otherwise indicated.

Fiction

Bruce Alexander. Smuggler's Moon.

Isabel Allende. Portrait in Sepia.

Donna Andrews. Revenge of the Wrought-Iron Flamingos.

David Baldacci. Last Man Standing.

Jill Barnett. Sentimental Journey.

A wonderful romantic, emotional escape into the 1940s. I hope this is Barnett's breakout book. We need more 20th century 'historical romance' like this.

Elizabeth Berg. Never Change.

Berg's tendency to strong women characters is evident again here. Home health care nurse is assigned to a terminal cancer patient, who turns out to be a friend from high school.

Cheryl Bernard. Turning on the Girls.

While it probably isn't the best book I read in 2001, it's the one that I remember most vividly, and one I've suggested to patrons, colleagues and friends more than any other this past year.

Sallie Bissell. In The Forest Of Harm.

An excellent debut, well-characterized and tautly plotted. A female 'Deliverance' in which four women friends are stalked in the North Carolina wilderness. I can't wait to read more books by Bissell.

C.J. Box. Open Season.

Marion Zimmer Bradley. The Mists of Avalon. (1982)

Gillian Bradshaw. The Wolf Hunt.

A vivid yet poetic novelization of Marie de France's "Lai de Bisclavret" ("Song of the Werewolf").

Ann Brashares. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.

4 teenage girls, best friends, spend a summer apart, but share their adventures and a pair of unique thrift-shop pants that make each of them look and feel her best.

Geraldine Brooks. Year of Wonders: A Novel of the Plague.

Fantastic page-turner.

Lois McMaster Bujold. The Curse of Chalion.

An aging hero must lay down his life to preserve his homeland and its princess in a fantastic land analogous to medieval Spain.

James Lee Burke. Bitterroot: a novel.

A beautifully-written merge of the western and mystery genres, starring ex-Texas Ranger Billy Bob Holland.

Jan Burke. Flight.

Bebe Moore Campbell. What You Owe Me.

Kathleen Cambor. In Sunlight, In a Beautiful Garden.

A fascinating novel set just before the Johnstown Flood of 1889. You know how it ends, but I was engrossed by the characters' stories.

Stella Cameron. Glass Houses.

Lisa Carey. In the Country of the Young. (2000)

Susan Carroll.Midnight Bride.

Michael Chabon. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay. (2000).

Great fun, and lots of interesting facts about the comic book world and New York in the 30s/40s/50s.

C.J. Cherryh. Defender.

Tracy Chevalier. Falling Angels.

The story of two children who become friends in Victorian England. The story of their mothers is much more interesting, particularly that of Kitty, who yearns for more than her class and sex dictate for her.

Harlan Coben. One False Move. (1998)

Harlan Coben. Tell No One.

I could not put down this thriller about a man who receives a mysterious email from someone who could only be his long-dead wife.

John Colapinto. About the Author.

Michael Connolly. A Darkness More Than Night.

Terry McCaleb, the FBI detective from Connolly's novel Blood Work, works to exonerate LAPD detective Harry Bosch of a murder charge.

Bernard Cornwell. Archer's Tale.

Robert Crais. Hostage.

Deborah Crombie. A Finer End.

Justin Cronin. Mary and O'Neil.

Sijie Dai. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress.

Story takes place during the Chinese Cultural Revolution and demonstrates to us the power of literature to change lives. Excellent read!

Cecilia Dart-Thornton. The Ill-Made Mute.

A scarred amnesiac, unaware of sexuality, quests for understanding in a world warped by Faerie magic.

P.T. Deutermann. Hunting Season.

Anita Diamant. The Red Tent (1997).

Joanne Dobson. Cold and Pure and Very Dead.

Doranna Durgin. A Feral Darkness. A dog groomer must rout an ancient evil with the aid of a Celtic dog god-wonder escapism, and a delightful Corgi.

Leif Enger. Peace Like a River.

The best book I read this year, and one of the best I've ever read. When I finished it, I literally said "wow" out loud.

Janet Evanovich. Seven Up.

Richard Flanagan. Death of a River Guide.

Vince Flynn. Separation of Power.

Exciting thriller puts the CIA at risk when a "friend" becomes an enemy.

Jonathan Franzen. The Corrections.

Yes, even with all the hype and Oprah-controversy, this book is definitely worth reading. It has some great characterizations and laugh-out-loud black comedy.

Mark Friedman. Columbus Slaughters Braves.

Narrator Joe Columbus is just an ordinary guy, but his brother CJ is a famous baseball player. A beautifully written and moving story.

Diana Gabaldon. Fiery Cross.

Mary Ladd Gavell. I Cannot Tell a Lie, Exactly.

Roberta Gellis. Thrice Bound.

Hekate, a young sorceress, must destroy the bindings her evil father has placed on her and her mother, and remove the curse on another young sorcerer, Kabeiros, who has been changed to a blind black dog.

Elizabeth George. A Traitor to Memory.

A young virtuoso violinist is unable to play and is faced with tackling blocked memories of a tragic childhood event as well as the recent murder of his estranged mother.

Glen David Gold. Carter Beats the Devil.

A troubled magician becomes involved in the mystery surrounding the death of President Harding.

Joanne Harris. Five Quarters of the Orange.

Elizabeth Hay. A Student of Weather.

Jane Heller. Female Intelligence.

Her novels are light but I love this author for her humor and commentary about contemporary relationships. This was not her best but it was still a funny look at communication between the sexes.

Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson. Dune: House Harkonnen. (2000)

Alice Hoffman. The River King. (2000)

Nalo Hopkinson. Skin Folk.

A wonderful short story collection.

Nick Hornby. How to Be Good.

Linda Howard. Open Season.

Sarah Hoyt. Ill-met by Moonlight.

Will Shakespeare must rescue Anne Hathaway and their daughter Susannah from the Faerie Court.

James Hynes. The Lecturer's Tale.

Tanya Huff. The Second Summoning.

Claire, Dean & Austin the cat familiar must evict an angel and a demon from the earthly plane at Christmastime-a great escape read.

Greg Iles. Dead Sleep.

P.D. James. Death in Holy Orders.

Iris Johansen. Final Target.

Douglas Kelley. The Captain's Wife.

Best first novel I read this year.

Kate Kennedy. End Over End.

Chip Kidd. The Cheese Monkeys: A Novel in Two Semesters.

Laurie King. Folly.

While rebuilding her life-and a family cabin-after a mental breakdown, a woodworker finds her life threatened, just as her great-uncle's was in the 1920s, when the first cabin was destroyed.

Ross King. Ex Libris.

Barbara Kingsolver. Prodigal Summer. (2000).

Sophie Kinsella. Confessions of a Shopaholic.

Bridget Jones goes broke and much more. Fun read!

Jim Kokoris. The Rich Part of Life.

Dean Koontz. From the Corner of His Eye. (2000).

Dennis Lehane. Mystic River.

Wow. My pick for best of the year, easily. Lehane reinvents crime fiction with this extraordinarily well-written tale of childhood friends and their shared legacy. The fictionalized South Boston setting is vividly authentic

Elinor Lipman. Dearly Departed.

Margot Livesey. Eva Moves the Furniture.

David Lodge. Thinks . . .

Jo-Ann Mapson. Bad Girl Creek.

Juliet Marillier. Daughter of the Forest (2000).

A version of the "seven swans" tale.

Margaret Maron. Uncommon Clay.

George R.R. Martin. A Storm of Swords. (2000)

Maxine McArthur. Time Future. (1999)

A burnt-out female space station commander must quell internal rebellion, cope with a blockade, and catch an alien serial killer.

Elizabeth McCracken. Niagara Falls All Over Again.

Dennis McFarland. Singing Boy. (2000)

Terry McMillan. A Day Late and a Dollar Short.

Joan Medlicott. The Gardens of Covington.

Brad Meltzer. First Counsel.

Sue Miller. The World Below.

Jaclyn Moriarty. Feeling Sorry for Celia.

Told entirely in letters and notes, it details a tumultuous year in the life of 15-year-old Elizabeth.

Sena Jeter Naslund. Ahab's Wife, or the Star-Gazer. (1999)

Kris Nelscott. Smoke-Filled Rooms.

A black ex-serviceman searches for a serial killer of young boys on Chicago's South Side during the 1968 Democratic Convention.

Thisbe Nissen. The Good People of New York.

Garth Nix. Lirael: Daughter of the Clayr.

In this sequel to Sabriel, more high adventure, great magic, and the introduction of a couple of wonderful new characters.

Han Nolan. Born Blue.

A foster child grows up with nothing much but her astonishing singing voice and a few tapes of "the ladies"-blues singers.

Owen Parry. Call Each River Jordan.

A Welsh captain in the Union Army is detached by U.S. Grant to investigate the slaughter of 30 escaping slaves.

Eliot Pattison. Water Touching Stone.

A former Chinese police officer investigates the serial killing of Buddhist boys in Tibet. James Patterson. Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas. Romance, suspense, and a page turner.

Richard North Patterson. Protect and Defend. (2000).

Jodi Picoult. Plain Truth. (2000)

Meredith Ann Pierce. Treasure at the Heart of the Tanglewood.

Terry Pratchett. The Last Hero.

Cohen the Barbarian, determined not to die in bed, attacks the gods of Discworld.

Terry Pratchett. Thief of Time.

James Michael Pratt. The Lighthouse Keeper. (2000)

Susan Price. The Sterkarm Handshake. (2000).

Time travel/romance/adventure.

Lily Prior. La Cucina: A Novel of Rapture.

Philip Pullman. The Amber Spyglass. (2000)

Elizabeth Redfern. Music of the Spheres.

Kathy Reichs. Fatal Voyage.

One of her strongest books yet. R.eichs out-Cornwells Cornwell and her anthropologist Tempe Brennan is likable, real and compelling.

Nora Roberts. Midnight Bayou.

J.K. Rowling. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. (2000)

S.J. Rozan. Reflecting the Sky.

Richard Russo. Empire Falls.

A dying mill-town in Maine is the setting for more of Russo's great oddball characters.

Sara Ryan. Empress of the World.

At a summer camp for gifted kids, Nicola is astonished to find she is attracted to another girl. Great dialogue and characterization.

John Saul. Manhattan Hunt Club.

David Schickler. Kissing in Manhattan.

Anita Shreve. The Last Time They Met.

Karl Schroeder. Ventus. (2000)

Sheldon Siegel. Incriminating Evidence.

Deborah Smith. Stone Flower Garden. (2002)

Kristine Smith. Law of Survival.

Peter Moore Smith. Raveling. (2000).

Nicholas Sparks. A Bend in the Road.

Typical of Sparks, but he adds a little twist in this one.

Jerry Spinelli. Stargirl. (2000).

A great YA novel about how to be different and inspire those around you and what happens when being different makes others uncomfortable.

Leslie Stella. Fat Bald Jeff.

Sarah Strohmeyer. Bubbles Unbound.

A fun romp, much like Janet Evanovich's books.

Manil Suri. Death of Vishnu.

Beverly Swerling. City of Dreams.

This absorbing epic saga chronicles the life and generations of Lucas, a barber/surgeon, and his sister, Sally, an apothecary, who settle in what will become Manhattan in the mid-1600s. The medical procedures described can be quite graphic, so it's not one I recommend for the Rosamund Pilcher crowd.

Lalita Tademy. Cane River.

Amy Tan. Bonesetter's Daughter.

The story of a daughter's search for her mother's family and a mother's search for the truth about her nursemaid. Tan's best novel to date.

Aimee and David Thurlo. Red Mesa.

Charles Todd. Watchers of Time.

Adriana Trigiani. Big Cherry Holler: A Big Stone Gap Novel.

Anne Tyler. Back When We Were Grownups.

Typical Anne Tyler, this is filled with quirky characters who are dissatisfied with life but who manage to find their way in this crazy world.

Laura VanWormer. Trouble Becomes Her.

Larry Watson. Laura. (2000).

A boy becomes obsessed with Laura when she visits his family's summer home, and his obsession continues throughout his life.

Carl Weber. Married Men.

Michael C. White. A Dream of Wolves. (2000).

A transplanted Yankee physician struggles to reconcile the beckoning nostalgia of the past, when his son was alive and his wife was sane, with the allure of a hopeful future with a local attorney.

Connie Willis. Passage.

The queen of screwball-comedy-meets-science-fiction takes on near-death experiences. Two researchers race to discover what DOES happen when the body dies

Tim Winton. Dirt Music.

I believe Winton is Australia's greatest fiction writer-no one else writes so evocatively of the Australian landscape and seascape. You can smell it and feel it through his wonderful prose.

Virginia Euwer Wolff. True Believer.

Sequel to Make Lemonade continues LaVaughn's story.

Peter Ackroyd. London: The Biography.

Alexa Albert. Brothel: Mustang Ranch and Its Women.

A fascinating look at the world's oldest profession as practiced at the now defunct Reno business.

Lance Armstrong. It's Not About the Bike. (2000).

Read this book and you will meet a truly remarkable and honest human being. Armstrong's account of his battle with cancer is almost secondary to his growth as a person.

Paul Auster,ed. I Thought My Father Was God and other true tales from the National Story Project.

Ken Baker. Man Made: A Memoir of My Body.

Stephen G. Bloom. Postville: A Clash of Cultures in Heartland America. (2000)

Anthony Bourdain. A Cook's Tour: In Search of the Perfect Meal.

The audacious chef is back in this scorching and hyperactive tale of his travels around the world.

Rick Bragg. Ava's Man.

D. Graham Burnett. A Trial by Jury.

Emanuel Carrere. The Adversary: A True Story of Monstrous Deception. (2000)

Laura Claridge. Norman Rockwell: A Life.

Kate Cohen. A Walk Down the Aisle.

A young woman's examination of her wedding and its planning.

Stephen Coote. Samuel Pepys: A Life.

Cathy Crimmins. Where Is the Mango Princess? (2000)

Robertson Davies. For Your Eyes Alone: The Letters of Robertson Davies.

Rita Golden Gelman. Tales of a Female Nomad: Living at Large in the World.

Not your average travel narrative, this is the story of a woman who, at the age of 48, divorced her husband, sold everything but what she could put in a backpack, and starting traveling the world and hasn't stayed put since.

Miles Harvey. Island of Lost Maps. (2000)

Annie Hawes. Extra Virgin: A Young Woman Discovers the Italian Riviera, Where Every Month is Enchanted.

Two Brits decide to make their home in the hills of the Riviera in the 80's after falling in love with its people and culture. Wry humor, warmth, and insight make this a joy to read.

Teri Hein. Atomic Farmgirl: The Betrayal of Chief Qualchan, the Appaloosa, and Me. (2000)

Laura Hillenbrand. Seabiscuit: An American Legend.

Tony Hillerman. Seldom Disappointed: A Memoir.

Stephen King. On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft. (2000)

Joanne Marie Laskas. Fifty Acres and a Poodle: a story of love, livestock, and finding myself on a farm. (2000)

Peter Martin. A Life of James Boswell. (2000)

Jenny McMorris. The Warden of English: The Life of H.W. Fowler.

Joseph Mitchell. My Ears are Bent.

Ruth Reichl. Comfort Me With Apples.

Sequel to Tender at the Bone, this recounts Reichl's transformation from chef to food writer as well as other more personal changes.

Michael Ruhlman. The Soul of a Chef. (2000).

Three separate stories of chefs and their training and restaurants.

Terry Ryan. The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio: How My Mother Raised 10 kids on 25 words or less.

Robert Sapolsky. A Primate's Memoir.

The author, a neuroscientist, has studied baboons in Africa for years. The book is at turns funny and heartbreaking. Without a doubt the best book that I read this year.

Eric Schlosser. Fast Food Nation.

This is not just a study of fast food restaurants, but also an in-depth look at the food products, franchise operators, and the "manufacturing" of the food products that can affect your everyday diet. You will never look at a carton of "flavor-enhanced" juice the same way.

www.webrary.org/rs:flbklists/Best2001.html
First published on the Web: 1/8/2002
Last updated: 1/8/2002