Best Books of 2008
December 01, 2008
Newspapers across Britain have released their recommendations for 2008's best books of the year.
The Observer Review's 'Most Thrilling Books of 2008' include A Most Wanted Man by John Le Carré, Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith, Palestinian Walks by Raja Shehadeh, A Mercy by Toni Morrison and Cormac McCarthy's novel The Road. The Observer also recommends Gerald Martin's biography, Gabriel Garcia Marquez: A Life and Edward Stourton's book, It's a PC World: What It Means to Live in a Land Gone Politically Correct.
The Daily Telegraph's ‘Best Novels of 2008' include: The Act of Love by Howard Jacobson, A Fraction of the Whole by Steve Toltz, Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith and This Charming Man by Marian Keyes. The list also includes The Broken Window by crime novelist Jeffery Deaver and Tim Binding's children's fantasy novel, Sylvie and the Songman. The Telegraph also recommends Gerald Martin's biography, Gabriel Garcia Marquez: A Life and Sue Townsend's The Lost Diaries of Adrian Mole 1999-2001. Among The Sunday Telegraph 'Seven' Magazine's suggestions for Books of the Year are A Most Wanted Man by John Le Carré and Oscar's Books by Thomas Wright.
The Sunday Times' Culture magazine proposes Toni Morrison's novel A Mercy as Best Fiction Novel of the Year and also highly recommends Deaf Sentence by David Lodge. In their humour recommendations they list Victoria and Giles Coren's book, Chocolate and Cuckoo Clocks: The Essential Alan Coren.
The Financial Times has split their Christmas list into separate categories. Among other novels they highly recommend Siri Hustvedt's The Sorrows of an American, Steve Toltz's A Fraction of the Whole, Toni Morrison's A Mercy, Tom Rob Smith's Child 44, John Le Carré's A Most Wanted Man and Bernadine Evaristo's Blonde Roots. In their Politics and Religion category, Thomas L. Friedman's book Hot, Flat and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution - and How We Can Renew Our Global Future is highly recommended.
Andy Riley's DIY Dentistry... and Other Alarming Inventions is a Christmas hit on the Independent on Sunday's ‘The New Review' of 30 November. The Independent on Sunday also lists 2008's best sports books, including The Great Swim by Gavin Mortimer.
The Times recommends
Deaf Sentence by David Lodge and
A Fraction of the Whole by Steve Toltz. John Le Carre's novel
A Most Wanted Man makes it onto 'Michael Parkinson's Pick' for 2008.
Patricia Cornwell's
Book Of The Dead is listed as a Top Five 2008 bestseller along with
Tim Butcher's travel memoir
Blood River: A Journey to Africa's Broken Heart.
The Guardian runs a ‘Season's Readings' article where writers and politicians pick the best of 2008 and Tom Rob Smith's Child 44, David Lodge's Deaf Sentence and Raja Shehadeh's novel Palestinian Walks are all recommended.
