Suggested readings from 2012

It's been an interesting year for the novel. I haven't read as much this year as I normally do, as I've been spending more time reading unpublished manuscripts, but what I have read has been astounding.

Despite the fears that Amazon will somehow wrestle control of the fiction market, the best is still coming out from the big six (well, five, another interesting thing that happened). If Amazon wants to continue competing for the mediocre market, so be it. They have plenty of competition. I won't mention names, because I have several friends who do business with these companies.

And so here's a short list of my favorite novels for the year. Though most were released this year, some may have been released later in the previous year. It's an unapologetic list. I don't pretend to read everything out there..

EDGE OF DARK WATER by Joe Lansdale

HOPE: A TRAGEDY by Shalom Auslander

OSAMA by Lavie Tidhar

SOME KIND OF FAIRY TALE by Graham Joyce

THE UNINVITED GUESTS by Sadie Jones

Back in the late 80s and early 90s, Joe Lansdale came across as a Texas-fried Robert Bloch. I didn't mind, I enjoy Bloch, and it was nice to see someone from Texas getting some props. Had I been making a list of my years favorites, Joe's novels might have made it only once or twice before. But know this he's always a contender. He can write, and EDGE is one of his best pieces up there with THE BARRENS, FREEZER BURN, and SUNSET AND SAWDUST.

I'd never read Auslander before, HOPE came as a recommendation. Someone said I'd enjoy it, so I took to reading it. I don't know how to describe HOPE, other than it reminds me of a modern, humorous version of Franz Kafka. It's a dark, foreboding world, how we choose to live in it is our choice.

OSAMA is easily my favorite read of this year. I was stunned by the descriptions and the visuals. The novel does require the reader to invest some intellect, so if you're not prepared for that put it away for another day. I wanted to call this an alternate history, but that wouldn't be quite right. Osama bin Laden: Vigilante is a series of pulp novels (think Mack Bolan) written my Mike Longshott in which Osama carries out attacks in various parts of the world. It's a mindbender. Read it.

Graham Joyce has been writing some of my favorite novels since I can remember. The thing is, he does what I don't expect him to do: he keeps getting better. I would go further than to just recommend FAIRY TALE, I would suggest you read anything he's written. The metaphysical FAIRY TALE is an astounding work, a story about telling stories. That alone is a bold move by any writer, but in the capable hands of Joyce, it's a joy to behold.

I like to laugh and Sadie Jones helped me do just that. UNINVITED is an inviting mixture of Chesterton and Christie, with some Coward thrown in for good measure. The book is well plotted and if you love your British comedies, you will definitely enjoy this book.