Seattlest's favorite reading experiences of 2005.

Matt:
The Secret Man: The Story of Watergate's Deep Throat ended 30 years of speculation about the Watergate whistle-blower's true identity, and those decades of obsession lend this book an historic value that supercedes its casual, fluffy quality; A gripping political thriller like All the President's Men this book ain't. W. Mark Felt usually occupied a special place way at the top of everyone's list of suspects, but the more exotic suspicion that Deep Throat was actually former Nixon speech-writer Pat Buchanan (a theory supported by a University of Illinois study) held so much promise and intrigue that Seattlest can't help but wonder if it would have been better to have just let the secret man remain secret. Woodward's recently disclosed conflict-of-interest issues with that whole Karl Rove/Valerie Plame matter make a re-read mandatory and put this book in to yet another political context, where the journalist's fealty to truth and loyalty to sources are absurdly subsumed by Rove's Machiavellian schemes. Nixon must be laughing in Hell.

I think somebody needs to mention the new Robt. Williams book [Through Prehensile Eyes -- ed.]. It's got my vote for most important book of the year because it is the first collection in nearly ten years of his paintings, since 1997's Malicious Resplendence. I cant write about it for conflict of interest reasons (I sold a big ad to the book's publisher).

Steve:
My fave of '05 was TV A-Go-Go: Rock on TV from American Bandstand to American Idol. Jake Austen's authoritative book is possibly the definitive account of the ongoing collision between our two biggest pop-culture institutions: television and rock 'n' roll. I wrote a full review of the book on my website.

Michael:
Literary lion Philip Roth's imagination has been set on fire by American history (American Pastoral, Human Stain, I Married A Communist). The Plot Against America persuades us of the existence of an America where Nazi-sympathizing, hero-pilot Charles Lindbergh is elected President of the United States. It's not a snide allegory and comes across creepily real, thanks to the book's focus on a thoroughly believable Roth family.

Donte:
The Art of Project Management by Scott Berkun
While the topic of project management is hardly one that will keep you awake at night, Scott Berkun's writing style (simple and straight-forward) presents the topic in as approachable a manner as can be done. More importantly though, Berkun gives a good overview of how to maneuver in today's business culture. It's more encompassing than just project management, without feeling like it's overreaching. While it does have a very tech slant to it, it's definitely a worthwhile read for anyone looking to improve, either professionally or in other realms of productivity.

Common Grounds by Troy Hickman
Rather than presenting the glamorous side of superheroism, Common Grounds presents the more human side of that existence. Centered around the coffee shop where both heroes and villains congregate after a hard day's work, this graphic novel's dozen tales fill in the details that are left out of traditional comics. What happens when superheroes retire? If you've got super-speed doesn't that have a negative impact on your love life? Do superheroes get tired of being super? Sure, heroes like the Acidic Jew aren't fixtures in the collective consciousness, but in many ways the subjects of these stories are more real than their more popular counterparts could ever hope to be.

Susan:
Two are 2005 books: Joan Didion's The Year of Magical Thinking, which everyone else on the planet seems to have liked as well. I've always liked her books and this one seemed like a real distillation of what she can do with repetition and simple sentences to get across complex ideas.

The other 2005 book is Charles Burns' Black Hole. Jet-black comic about coming of age in Jet City. Creepy and graphic and awesome.

But the one book that really stuck with me this year was written many moons ago: Somerset Maugham's The Razor's Edge. I've never seen the movie, and I read the book in one very long series of sittings (flying from Amsterdam to London to JFK to Seattle). It is suspenseful without suspense--the characters came to life for me and I cared very much what happened to them. But mostly I liked it because it is the sort of book that makes it seem okay, even honorable, to not know what you want out of life but to at least be searching.

Margaret:
I'd like to plug The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. I read it in late September of this year, and it was one of the first books in months that I wanted to carry with me everywhere I went in case I had a spare minute or two to keep reading. It's original and kept me thinking. It comes out and tells you what's going to happen, but still manages to surprise you in the end. I thought it was lovely and heartbreaking, and I'd read it again in a heartbeat.

Seth:
Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin. Like 2002's The Lunar Men, which traced the story of England's great 18th century inventors, this is the story of a group of people working together to accomplish magnificent things--in this case, how Lincoln's cabinet successfully prosecuted the Civil War. The title refers to the fact that Lincoln chose his rivals for the 1860 presidential nomination to join his cabinet--men who opposed him and, especially in the case of William Seward and Samuel Chase, thought him inferior.

Goodwin is a mediocre writer, but a tenacious and thorough (if occasionally careless) researcher. She draws from unpublished diaries to paint a fuller picture of Lincoln as a friend and as a manager (she also neuters evidence that Lincoln was gay). Empathetic and understanding, Lincoln successfully exploited the talents of his cabinet as he hedged against their weaknesses.

Of special interest is the brazen political strongarming, bordering on bribery, that Lincoln employed to ensure passage of the 13th Amendment (which outlawed slavery). Lincoln was no saint--he could get in the gutter when he had to.

If you are looking for keen analysis or criticism, don't look here. Goodwin's written a hagiography. But that's not an invalid perspective, and, if anyone deserves it, it's the railsplitter.

Don:
Bel Canto and Truth and Beauty by Ann Patchett. You cannot put them down....

Audrey:
Haruki Murakami is one of our favorite writers. His books are often described as "dreamlike," perhaps none more so than Kafka on the Shore. As with most Murakami, the book features two seemingly separate plotlines told in alternating chapters and distinct perspectives, even after the stories intertwine. Murakami is a master of pacing, knowing exactly when the reader requires more information or a shift into the next act. But most of all, he makes the magical accessible. He is the only writer who can get us to cry from a hermaphrodite's ruminations on love and memory. His books always leave us with a little, reflective smile.

And pour a little out for Radar Magazine. Radar was a whip-smart, acerbic mag that tackled all things culture: high-brow and low-brow, pop culture as well as politics. It was equally willing to skewer Paris Hilton and George Bush---or draw striking comparisions between those two hapless figues. Perhaps Radar was too smart for its own good. Depending on who you believe, the mag lost its funding after only four issues due to publisher Mort Zuckerman's discomfort with his staff's willingness to mock powerful people (see their excoriating piece on Scientology). Whatever the case, Radar Magazine, gone too soon.

Courtney:
The Polysyllabic Spree by Nick Hornsby. Learn how to give up in the middle of a book and not feel bad about it. Nick Hornsby's collection of monthly articles for McSweeney's mag The Believer from 2004 was the slimmest yet most enjoyable pick from our towering, constantly growing stack of books next to the bed--half of which we either cast aside or failed to crack open after Hornsby freed us from the shackles of self-imposed expectations.

The Best American Science Writing edited by Dava Sobel.
Nothing screams erudition like being able to discuss string theory, particle physics, or current neuroscience trends at your friends' holiday cocktail parties. Even if you're really in middle management, this book will make you sound like a science rock star, and each piece is an enjoyable read in its own right.

A Conspiracy of Paper by David Liss.
Yes, the behemoth Baroque Cycle trilogy made many "best" lists, and no, you shouldn't feel bad for not slogging through 2,700 pages of Neal Stephenson just to say you did it. We did that for you (prior to reading The Polysyllabic Spree), and gladly recommend A Conspiracy of Paper in its place. Same time-period (18th century), a common key locale of London, similar topics and themes, some overlapping historical characters, and much, much more enjoyable at a manageable 437 pages.

Kristofor:
No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy: McCarthy meets Jim Thompson, strikes up a lengthy and fruitful conversation. Pulp with a deep black underscore. Quickly read and, according to McCarthy, quickly written. Born to be a movie, but by the Coens? I'll pass.

K. by Roberto Calasso: The brilliant author of The Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony weighs in on Kafka. If ever an appropriate mind chose to explore an appropriate author, this is it. Calasso's understanding surpasseth all understanding.

Dan:
Ok, The Best Book I Read This Year That's Set In Seattle is Zioncheck for President. I interviewed the author for Seattlest and I think his book is required reading for anyone in Seattle who cares about Seattle.

A distant second in the Best Book I Read This Year That's Set In Seattle category is Transmission by Hari Kunzu. That's a good one for the geeks.

The Best Book I Read This Year By An Author Now Living In Seattle is Old Glory by Jonathan Raban about his travels down the Old Mud. The Old Man.

The Best Book I Read This Year That Has Nothing To Do With Seattle Whatsover was The Fortress Of Solitude by Jonathan Lethem. It's a couple years old and I finally got to it.

The Best Book I Read This Year That Has Nothing To Do With Seattle Whatsover And That I Hereby Vow To Read Every Year is a book of short stories I got by Anton Chekhov.