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In the spirit of pointless, self-promoting “Best of 2006” lists, here are the books I enjoyed reading this year.

Cat’s Cradle and Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut
You should read these. They’re both terrific satires—wickedly funny, yet tragically true.

Moneyball by Michael Lewis
If you like baseball stats, read this book. It’s a decent introduction into the realm of sabermetrics. Plus, Joe Morgan hates it.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
I think this book was even better the second time around. It’s still my favorite novel.

The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
Though it was heavy-handed and propagandistic at times, I still loved Rand’s sense of language. There’s a good chance this book will piss you off.

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers
Uneven, but still a solid effort. I’d say it’s worth reading.

Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams
This was most likely the funniest book I read this year.

King Dork by Frank Portman
There’s also a chance that this was the funniest book I read this year. If you hated Catcher in the Rye, which is perhaps impossible, and/or love music, and/or ever wished your prom could end like a certain Stephen King novel, this is the book for you.

Mrs. Dalloway and To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
One of my new favorite authors. If you read “Modern Fiction,” my criticism of plot-driven narrative is summed up perfectly.

Howards End by E.M. Forster
Despite its reliance on coincidence, it offered a nice glimpse into several aspects of English life, especially in its exploration of class and gender distinctions.

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
A fun read, despite the somewhat disturbing subject matter.

Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl
Flawed and pretentious, though I still enjoyed it.

Blue Angel by Francine Prose
If you’ve taken a creative writing workshop or have done some literary theory, you’ll get the jokes in this novel.

Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
This wasn’t bad. I thought the ending was kind of silly, but Palahniuk had the right idea, instead of the cheesy way the film closes.

The Buddha of Suburbia by Hanif Kureishi
I wish I grew up in the 70s.

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