Amazon SF/F Top 10's Jeffrey Ford's Own Top 10 Books of 2008

Jeffrey Ford's story collection The Drowned Life made Amazon's Top 10 Science Fiction/Fantasy Books of 2008. Ford is a multiple award-winning author, with an Edgar and several World Fantasy Awards. I thought it would be interesting to ask him for his own top 10 books read in 2008. I'll be posting more such lists later this week. - Jeff V

Here, coming straight to you from my insular world, is a list of the best books of 08.  Not all of them were published this past year.  A few have been out there for a while, and I just happened to find them recently.  As they are listed below, they are in no particular order of eminence.  I think they’re all equally well worth a reader’s time.  Happy reading in 09. - Jeffrey Ford

                         

Pictorama – Kim, Seth and Simon Deitch:  The brothers Deitch present “pictofiction,” varying proportions of text and image (straight-up comics, illustrated and illuminated short stories).  Kim Deitch has to be one of the greatest living comics creators, and his two full-length comics in the book bear this out.  His brothers are also wonderfully talented -- Seth, a writer, and Simon, an artist.  Here are tales of an incredible bottle cap collection, the Golem, and killer rats.

Dangerous Laughter – Steven Millhauser:  I once bought a subscription to a magazine I had little interest in to get a look at a new Millhauser story.  Impeccable writing that slowly and surely draws the reader into quiet, strange realities.  No one can capture the sinister side of enchantment like Millhauser, as evidenced in the title story.  This volume also contains the story “Elaine Coleman,” which he’d written some years ago, and I’ve been waiting for in one of his collections. 

The Library At Night – Alberto Manguel:  I’ve read almost everything that is out by Manguel in English.  His work never fails me.  His essays, his reading journal, his book on art, all of them are filled with interesting bits of information and teeming with stories.  The Library At Night is no exception.  The Library viewed from different perspectives – historically, philosophically, architecturally, personally, etc.  The book is a library itself. 

Drood – Dan Simmons:  Simmons must be eating his spinach lately because right after publishing last year’s The Terror, a sizeable book, here he is [in early 2009] with Drood, another big one.  The idea of another novel about some famous historical personage involved in a mystery initially left me cold, but the minute I started reading this testimony of Wilkie Collins about the great Charles Dickens, I was hooked.  The book truly captures the time and the voice of the age, and the mystery is a dark horror.  The research that’s gone into this novel seems deep.

The Best of Lucius Shepard and The Best of Michael Swanwick – I’m double dipping here, I know, but these two reprint collections are by two of SF/F’s best ever short fiction writers.  From genre defining to genre breaking works and beyond, the reader is treated to continually great fiction.  These are those kinds of books that if you don’t acquire them now, some day you’ll wish you had. 

Tender Morsels – Margo Lanagan:  This is Lanagan’s first novel.  Somehow, through her economical yet descriptively rich language, she makes the fairy tale worlds of her stories seem realer than Realism, and this book is no exception.  There’s an honest harshness in her fiction and she’s not afraid to show it to you.  I’ve been a fan of her short story collections, and if this one is any indication, I look forward to more novels as well. 

After Dark – Haruki Murakami:  This novel grew on me as I read it.  It, at first, felt slight and haphazard, but as the entwining stories developed and the night of the events carried on, I became more and more invested in the characters, the strangeness, the personal tales of loneliness and love and friendship.  Murakami works some real magic here. 

Pretty Monsters – Kelly Link:  This book is supposed to be aimed at a YA audience, but anyone who knows Link’s work knows that her stories are always for everyone.  She has just such a unique story telling voice.  There’s an emotional realism attended to the strange, sometimes surreal, occurrences in her fiction that grounds and invests the reader.  There is a wicked sense of humor.  This volume collects some of her best work to date along with a new story.  It’s also one of the most beautiful books of the year with illustrations by Shaun Tan. 

The Mirror: A History - Sabine Melchoir-Bonnet:   The title says it all here; it’s  the history of mirrors in fact and legend.  The recounting of the historical events of the mirror’s development is worth the price of admission – industrial espionage between Venice and France, murder, the scientific discoveries that lead to the process of their creation, description of a time when mirrors were rare.  And then an investigation of the ideas and daydreams that mirrors gave rise to.

Dr. Haggard’s Disease - Patrick McGrath: I’d had this book kicking around my office for years.  Finally I picked it up this year and read it. The elegant, economic writing plays superbly off the subdued gothic weirdness of the plot.  Once you’ve read the early chapters, you may think you know where this book is going, but I’ll bet you don’t.  I still vividly remember the imagery of the story even though I finished it months ago.

Comments

[e on December 17, 2008 at 10:42 AM]

Reputations and Choice

Reputation is the image people have of your standards of conduct, your ethical and moral principles. Most people think that a good reputation is needed for success in any job; and it is, therefore, one of the most important personal assets you can acquire in your life.

“A bad reputation can result from one misdeed”

A good reputation is a valued asset that requires time, effort, and discipline do develop and protect. A bad reputation can be long-term liability established in a short time. It can result from just one misdeed and can be a heave burden to carry throughout life.

It is very important to realize, therefore, that you have an opportunity to develop and protect the reputation you want. You have many choices to make that will destroy or enhance the image you want to extend. The choices are hard; and honestly, loyalty, and dedication are most often involved.

“Choices you make destroy or enhance your reputation”

Learning About People

Many aspects of a job present challenges to those who strive to do their best in all they do. One of the most critical challenges all workers face is being able to relate well to the many individuals with whom they work. It is common for the workers to have daily dealings with bosses, peers, and subordinates.

Also, most workers will interact with telephone callers and visitors from outside and inside the company daily.

“Relating well to others is a critical challenge”

While it is critical to learn all you can about your job and company, it is often just as critical to learn about the people whom you work and interact. Frequently you rely upon experienced workers for information that will help you analyze the formal and informal structures of the organization. What you learn may help you determine what an employer expects and likes or dislikes, and will help you make a good adjustment to your workplace.

[Tim Pratt on December 24, 2008 at 10:17 AM]

Actually, Tender Morsels isn't Lanagan's first novel; she's published lots of young adult novels. Most just didn't have editions outside Australia. It's a hell of a book, though, and probably the first of her novels most readers will encounter.