On the non-fiction front, I enjoyed the exuberant homage to evolutionary biology, “The Greatest Show on Earth: The Evidence for Evolution,” by Richard Dawkins.

“Lowboy” by John Wray — didn’t get the attention it deserved. Simply superb tale about a schizophrenic teen. Also loved Gail Collins’ “When Everything Changed” about the women’s movement.

I’ve been recently reading Losing Mum and Pup which is quite surprisingly one of the better books I’ve read in awhile. The book could have been amazing dreary but it wasn’t at all thanks to Buckley’s wonderful sense of humor and surprisingly insightful perspective.

funny! The first book mentioned, “Chronic City” is one I’ve begun but just can’t get interested in! I think Jonathan gave in to the writing disease of the last 10 years: creating a world and characters that no one cares about, but writing so beautifully that it fools many into reading it and just thinking their not smart enough to really “get” it. Jonathan is, I will admit, a gorgeous wordsmith. But I also have to say that this book sounded to me more like something the other modern Jonathan, Safran Foer, would have also written. Sorry, not on my list… Sara Waters is, though!

Anyone interested in jazz especially the bebop era needs to read the new Thelonious Monk biography. A great history of the period.

For teen readers – “The Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins. Captures the reader from page 1. It takes place in a future North America, where the rulers televise an annual competition to the death. Teens are chosen for the competition by lottery. Our heroine, Katniss, who hunts illegally outside the district fence, volunteers herself in place of her younger sister who is the lottery “winner”.
It has it all: mystery, adventure, love and yes – violence. What’s not to like?

Written shortly after 9/11, “The Faith Club” (by R. Idilby, S. Oliver and P. Warner) prompted me to begin an in-depth exploration of faith and culture. On my journey, I discovered “Dangerous Words: Talking about God in an age of Fundamentalism” by Gary Eberle. Both of these book were fascinating and inspiring.

“Have A Little Faith” by Mitch Albom was a very moving and inspirational book. Teaches us how to be humble

Colson Whitehead’s “Sag Harbor” is a great Fiction.

Ms. Miller’s apparent approach to book reviewing is fine if you look on books as pabulum. If you think books can be important to the mind, to society, to the heart, then book reviews should be balanced and critical (which does not preclude enthusiasm). That is not “namby pamby” — it is thoughtful and serious. Would you hand an autobiography or biograpy, pro or cont, of G. W. Bush to an enthusiast. How about “Mein Kampf”? Or just ignore anything controversial or evil?
Pheh!

I enjoyed “One Thousand White Women” (speculative historic fiction?) and Rebecca Goldstein’s “Mazel” — lyrically written, hard to put down.

My wife and I both enjoyed two books by Roberty McCammon: Sings the Nightbird and The Queen of Bedlam. Historical fiction taking place at the turn of the seventeenth century North Carolina and New York.

Andrew Bacevich’s Limits of Power is a honest look at the US political system and military. He has a very unique point of view on the matter as a BU professor, Vietnam vet, and son of a fallen US soldier. His previous book, New American Militarism is also a fantastic read.

Best book of 2009…”The Help” by Kathryn Stockett!!

In Non-fiction I really enjoyed the book “Shadow Of The Sword” by Jeremiah Workman. A harrowing tale of war and how even when a soldier leaves the battle field, the battle field doesn’t always leave the soldier. I have already purchased this book for a friend of mine for a Christmas gift.

WOLF HALL is everything an historical novel should be — it gives a picture of the times, and has great characters. And the language is detailed and terse at the same time.

‘Bite The Hand That Feeds You’ is a wonderful 2009 nonfiction collection of journalistic essays by an Englishman who might be considered Alistair Cooke’s alter-ego, Henry Fairlee. He complained eloquently and insightfully about the inadequacies of American political ideologies and philosophies through the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s, and his comments and prognostications seem prescient in 2009.

Ahmed Rashid’s writings on the Afghanistan/Pakistan region are impressively knowledgeable and lucid– the first hour of ‘On Point’ reminds me to check out his 2009 book, ‘Descent Into Chaos.’

I’m giving copies of “Sunshine” by Robin McKinley. Its the first adult book by an author best known as a Newbery award winning YA author. It is a many layered tale of a coffee house baker, captured by vampires, who finds that sunshine gives her powers she never guessed at. This is not your typical vampire book … it has a confused heroine who finds herself confronting evil in a suddenly ambiguous and complicated world. It is out in a new trade paperback edition, and I have to buy it for myself as well, since I have re-read my original to death.

Nonfiction — Temple Grandin’s ‘Animals Make Us Human’ is a marvelous read. As she did in ‘Animals in Translation’ and in ‘Thinking in Pictures’, Grandin gives the reader something new to think about on every page. She is a synthesizer from many scientific fields, drawing her insights both from her scholarship and from her experience as a person with autism. With co-author Catherine Johnson, she is able to set up the rare but maddening situation in which you’ve been dog-earing pages to share with others, and realize you are dog-earing each page. Drat. Incapable of sentimentality, she is gifted to ‘get’ animals as they are, and her observations from wide reading and experience are fascinating even to people who are not particularly interested in animal behavior. Just a sure-fire read and gift.

Loved LITTLE BEE, LET THE GREAT WORLD SPIN and STENGTH IN WHAT REMAINS

I fell in love with, and was bewitched by, the character Flavia in the fiction piece The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley. Its a murder mystery solved by a young precocious girl who is in love with the wonders of chemistry. Anyone who loves a good mystery should read this book.

I am a bookseller for one of the big bookstores, one of my favorites of the past year is a fiction book titled The Collected Works of T.S.Spivet, really unique, I just finished the new Stepen King(I mention this dispite the disdain of my literay snob friends) top of his game, best thing he’s done in 20 years

Carol Besse’s mention of Muriel Barbery’s Elegance of the Hedgehog is welcome but she treated it so lightly I wonder if she savored it as it should be. This award-winning book is more that a delightful story of a concierge in an upscale Parisian building and her encounters with a 13-year old resident and a Japanese newcomer in the building. Much more. Barbery is a philosophy teacher who captures in this magnificent book the depth of family relations, the meaning of art, the sense of beauty, and the confronting of mortality. She does so with humor but it is a mistake to stay at the level of good story-telling. Its richness is in capturing so many essential feature of the human condition. This book, which has been made into a movie, ranks among the very best fiction I have read in the last decade.

Even though I have enjoyed your discussion today, I felt compelled to comment on David’s off-hand comment about students who were “taught poetry badly in high school.” As a long-time secondary school teacher, I find this sort of stereotypical assessment of public school teachers and teaching insulting. We all work hard to provide kids with a stimulating and relevant educational experience.

1959 by Fred Kaplan

Manhhod for Amateuers by Michael Chabon is one of the best nonfiction books I have read recently

R.L. Salvatore

please check out this guy or comment on, the dark elf series are great along with the stories and spin offs from this still going to date.

I’m shocked that Going Rouge didn’t make the any of the lists. It is further proof of the elitism of the Eastern liberal media and the contempt they have for utter morons and their ghost writers.

Up front , a disclaimer. I am the father of the author I’m recommending. (He’s still a good author.)

Graziano, Michael S. A. – is a prof. of neutoscience at P:rinceton. He has written books in science and his research is well known and important i9n his field. He is also a novelist, with, I think, 4 or 5 novels thus far.

For something different, check out his brief novels “Love Song of Monkey,” and “Divine Farce.”
Both are extraordinarily creative, unusual, even bizarre. He puts people into these surreal situations
and examines their behavior, feelings, and motivations. Kafkaesque in nature. Stimulating, different, and great reads.

I am a huge fan of author Gina Barreca, Ph.D (Professor of English & Feminist Theory, author and blogger). Her most recent book: “It’s Not That I’m Bitter …or How I Learned to Stop Worrying about Visible Panty Lines and Conquered the World.” As Wally Lamb remarked, “Regina Barreca’s prose, in equal measures, is hilarious and humane. Her no-holds-barred observations make me laugh, tear up a little, and nod my head in recognition. A witty paisana, Barreca packs a punch and lays bare our foibles.” A great addition to your list today for holiday books.

Your Country Needs You, by Thelma Robinson. Part one chronicles the history of the US Cadet Nurses of WWII; part two presents personal stories of several former Cadets and excerpts from the Cadet Nurse Corps News. This book by Robinson, a former Cadet Nurse,author and historian is her third and most comprehensive account of this forgotten Corps of 179,000 young women: It is a must read for all living Cadet Nurses and/or their families and all Americans. Many archival pictures are featured plus a treasure trove of references. It’s nursing and women’s history for all. They too are members of The Greatest Generation!

I’m giving copies of “The Union of Their Dreams – Power, Hope and Struggle in Cesar Chavez’s Farm Worker Movement” by Miriam Pawel. It’s a powerful, inspiring story, and it’s the first true account of this remarkable history, both what went right and what went wrong in the UFW.

Union Park Press (disclaimer: I work for them and wanted to spread the word to fellow WBUR listeners!), is a small start up press in Boston with beautiful, historical, cultural, and non-fiction books dedicated to Boston and New England. Anyone looking for New England holiday gifts should check out Discovering the Boston Harbor Islands: A Guide to the City’s Hidden Shores (June 2008) and The Die-Hard Sports Fan’s Guide to Boston: A Spectator’s Handbook (June 2009) by Christopher Klein. (Can learn more about them on http://www.unionparkpress.com).

I was wondering if you advocated for any particular book company for online buying? I love Better World Books (www.betterworldbooks.com) for their neutral carbon footprint and that they fund literacy programs all over the world by you buying their books. I’ve found all my books there and got them cheaper than amazon. I hope you guys can support somebody other than amazon, that company is a huge monstrosity.
Thanks.

Although, probably not the best nonfiction book of 2009, one that bears our interest is “The Day the World Ended at Little Bighorn.” Written by James Marshall, it reconstructs the demise of the Lakota[Sioux} Nation from this battle, a victory for the Lakota and Northern Cheyenne, to the present. Yet, it portrays the Lakota in a positive light as they have taken inspiration from their past to enable them to deal with the problems of the present and the future. We have not yet done enough for the people whose land we have stolen over the past 400 years.

The Mystic Arts of Erasing All Signs of Death, by Charlie Huston – Crime Noir, Dark Humor, and a guy trying to cope with Life, Death & Love in LA. Stephen King’s a big fan. What more can I say … other than, a Cool Read!

–a “great story” and a beautifully written biography about one of the great Italian writers in the post-year wars. This book will change the perceptions of anyone who reads it….and will lead back to the great fictional masterpieces he wrote.

Bitter Spring: A Life of Ignazio Silone by Stanislao G. Pugliese.

A boy born in a poverty-stricken rural region is orphaned at an early age and is motivated by the wish to help the poor. He reacts against corruption and refuses to accep the necessity for the harsh lives that are the bitter results of corrupt institutions, political parties, etc. His growth into being one of the most influential writers of his times is a story in itself. –with many lessons for our times.

Quotes: “A man who thinks with his own mind and remains uncorrupted is a free man.”

Check out this informative and inspiring video on why people choose vegan: http://veganvideo.org/

Also see Gary Yourofsky: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bagt5L9wXGo

Anything from Europa Editions, but especially:
The Most Beautiful Book in the World
by Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt,

I was in and out of the car listening to this program. Tom Ashbrook mentioned a book he particularly liked, but I missed the author and title! I think it started with a family reunion and went back in time to describe the dynamics, psychological and otherwise, of this family, and the protagonist’s coming to terms with the past. Can any of you come up with the name?
I enjoy On Point immensely and hope it will continue for years.

I really enjoyed both John Irving’s new book “Last Night in Twisted River” and also “Olive Kitteredge”

The best book to me is Have A Little Faith by Mitch Albom.

For recent non-fiction I enjoyed “How To Break a Terrorist” by Matthew Alexander, about using “brains not braun” to find Zarqawi in Iraq, and “Methland” by Nick Reding.

Does Amazon pay NPR for the direct links to their website? These books can be purchased at any local bookstore, why is the only link to Amazon?

Lorrie Moore’s A Gate to the Stairs. Everything I have read since has just seemed mediocre.

Columbine was hands down the best non-fiction book I have read in a long time. I was impossible to put down once I started reading, and there was one revelation after another throughout the book. Any thinking person had to take a look at themselves and their assumptions particularly related to this tragedy after reading what really took place. Dave Cullen put his heart and soul into writing this book, and yet maintained a respectful distance and allowed the reader to draw their own conclusions. Here’s hoping it doesn’t take Cullen another ten years to write his next one.

Sheila–

On the show, a listener asked for Tom’s favorite nonfiction book of the year.

Tom loved Ted Kooser’s memoir “Lights on a Ground of Darkness: An Evocation of a Place and Time.”

Kooser is a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and former U.S. poet laureate. He was a guest on the show in September. You can listen to his conversation with Tom here:

http://www.onpointradio.org/2009/09/poet-ted-kooser

Thanks for listening.

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I would strongly recommend two books by The Conscious Poet which are, Rosebud of Solitude and The Letters. A compilation of poems that tells a story from within by an awesome secular poet.