BEN GALLATY
Musician, Andrew Jackson Jihad
andrewjacksonjihad.com/
TOP 5 BOOKS READ THIS YEAR
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
Just another post-apocalyptic story? No, you shut your fucking mouth! I started reading this before bed one night, and I was forced to stay up until halfway through the book when the single glimmer of hope occurs. It is the scariest, bleakest shit I have ever read, and I couldn’t put it down.
Gang Leader for a Day by Sudhir Venkatesh
I have a hard time describing this one to people. It’s basically a nonfiction retelling of New Jack City. More specifically, a first hand, detailed account of Southside Chicago’s housing projects at the peak of the crack epidemic. You have no idea!
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey / The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe
My stepfather wouldn’t shut the fuck up about Ken Kesey. I proceeded, mainly out of spite, to read these books. Whether or not you agree with him, Ken Kesey is kind of a badass.
The Areas of My Expertise by John Hodgman
An almanac of made up facts. This book makes Benjamin Franklin look like a chump. As if he needed the help.
 Skinny Legs and All by Tom Robbins
It takes me a while to get through Robbins’s books, but I have enjoyed every one. Fortunately, I read most of this book while on the clock at a shitty job. Getting paid to read is fucking sweet!
SEAN BONNETTE
Musician, Andrew Jackson Jihad
andrewjacksonjihad.com/
TOP 5 BOOKS READ THIS YEAR
American Skin by Don De Grazia
This is some hard-ass, late ‘80s Chicago S.H.A.R.P. shit. Great beginning, better middle, and a fucking CRAZY twist. Ben, Dan, and I all read this one on tour after our friend Matt lent it to us in Chicago. Did I mention that the twist towards the end will snap your neck? Because it totally will.
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
I was at a bookstore in Louisville, Kentucky on the phone with my friend Nick. I had him pick out the book for me over the phone. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle is a very disturbing and sexy book. It made my veins hurt at times because of how vivid it was. It's about a lost cat, an absent wife, and a secret war against all of the douchebags in the world.
The Wu-Tang Manual by The RZA
The RZA is fucking crazy.
The Abhorsen Trilogy (Sabriel, Lirael, and Abhorsen) by Garth Nix
Haters be damned. These books were written for teenagers, I know. Can't a grown man enjoy teen sci-fi fantasy literature without being fucking judged?! Christ.
Preacher by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon (graphic novel series)
I remembered reading a few issues of this as a kid, but I'd never gotten through the whole series until I heard about this crazy new website called Amazon.com, where all of the comics I want are super cheap. The story revolves around a young man who can make people do whatever he tells them to. There is an overwhelming amount of beautiful violence and sexual deviance throughout this great American tale. It's beautiful.
 ALEXIS OHANIAN
Publisher, Breadpig
alexisohanian.com
TOP FIVE FAVORITE THINGS OF 2009
Creating a World Without Poverty by Muhammad Yunus
Muhammad Yunus is an idealist. No, he makes idealists look like cynics. And even after a Nobel Peace Prize for his Grameen Bank and pioneering microcredit, he still has big plans for changing the world; this book lays out that vision.
Thomas Jefferson: Author of America by Christopher Hitchens
As a UVA graduate, I'm probably risking my diploma by confessing that it took me this long to read a Jefferson biography. But I'm pleased Hitchens's was my first. It's remarkably digestible in its size (given what the man was able to accomplish in his extraordinarily long lifetime) and written with the flair, wit, and frankness Hitchens has used to make a career.
The Kindle by Amazon
Even if you're a purist, you'll have to concede that the newest version has a stunningly readable screen and is the only way to read a new release. Never be weighed down by another awkwardly large and heavy hardcover again! If you're an avid reader of overpriced new books, the Kindle pays for itself rather quickly. Librarians will silently judge you, though.
TED
If you haven't seen at least one TED Talk yet, there's something missing in your life. Set aside 18 minutes and watch one to see why this once-restrictive institution is truly living up to its slogan of curating "ideas worth spreading"—and doing a fine job spreading them. Once you're hooked, learn what it'll take to start a TEDx in your community.
Books are my aphrodisiac shirt
Is it wrong to plug some of my own merch in a top 5 list? Probably, but it's for a good cause, so I'm feeling pretty OK about it. That's right, profits from this shirt are building a school for children in the developing world—children who will one day also become lovers of books and buy this same shirt... muhahahaha...
 MARY OTIS
Author, Yes, Yes, Cherries
maryotis.com
This past summer I taught a writing workshop for high school freshman. Here are my top five favorite questions they asked.
- I tend to write about vulgar, violent things. And alcoholics. Is that a problem?
- If it’s not too personal, what’s your take on the planet Pluto?
- Were D.H. Lawrence and Lawrence of Arabia related?
- Is it true that most writers eventually get mental illness?
- What can I drink before class that won’t smell on my breath?
DOROTHY PARKA
Dilettante
MY FIVE FAVORITE BOOK COVERS
Book covers are annoying. Every lady book has either a photo of a woman from behind, a woman’s feet, or a woman with her head chopped off by the book’s trim. Every thriller has a dark photo with lots of shadows and uses the font Trajan. There are too many rough pencil drawings of wolves, too many Renaissance paintings with gold banners across the middle, too many The Tipping Point rip-offs. Here are book covers and jackets by designers who were not afraid to shake things up a little and do something different. Kudos to the publishers who didn’t listen to the sales departments on these.
1. The Interrogative Mood by Padgett Powell, designed by Alison Forner
You know how sometimes you just hate someone or something, but it’s completely irrational? Like, f’rinstance, I hate Will Ferrell. I don’t know why. I feel the same way about Padgett Powell. I should like his books, but I don’t, and the mere mention of his name stirs up intense ire deep in my bowels. I’ve also hated every book he’s blurbed. And yet, I read this book in a few minutes at a book store, only because I was intrigued by the cover. It’s brilliant. The book was terrible.
2. Our Noise by John Cook, Mac McCaughan, and Laura Ballance, designed by Andrew + Mike + Rebecca of We Have Photoshop
Nothing says indie rock like Chuck Taylors jumping in the air. And the hand lettering! This cover is perfect.
3. The Death of Bunny Munro by Nick Cave, designed by Charlotte Strick
I really like outsider/naïve/graffiti art, and I’m happy to see it applied cleverly to a book cover. Yes, it’s vaguely like some Chuck Palahniuk covers, but not enough to be derivative.
4. The End of Food by Paul Roberts (paperback), designed by Mark Robinson.
Putting the book title on a package is not a completely new idea, but the execution is pretty witty. Nice colors too.
5. How to Be Inappropriate by Daniel Nester, designed by Alvaro Villanueva
Gross! And yet I cannot look away.
 LYNNE JAMNECK
Writer/Editor, Periphery
http://lynnejamneckdiaries.blogspot.com/
FIVE BEST BOOKS READ IN 2009
1. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
My nerdy academic side was positively aflush and aflutter with glee after the first few pages. A beautiful, atmospheric, and hilarious work of art. These are definitely your mother's kind of magicians for she will sit them down and offer them tea and biscuits. And they'll love it, for they are gentlemen. Then they'll disappear into mirrors and walk the ancient faerie highways looking for the Raven King. The marvelous footnotes littered throughout the novel are simply the cherry on the cake.
2. The Neverending Story by Michael Ende
Technically, I've read this several times, but I have just started a postgraduate research paper on the novel and so am reading it from a critical perspective. It really is a weird book. And labyrinthine. The symbolism can be overwhelming when you really start paying attention, but every reference and subliminal point is so gracefully made that it contributes to the dreamlike quality of the book. All the more I realize just what an esoteric and metaphysical little number this is. In many ways, it's rather inaccessible, but that simply compounds the need for reading it again. Several times. And then some.
3. House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski
Speaking of labyrinths—while I enjoyed the first half of the book, I have to admit that the ending just fell apart for me. Doors appearing in your lounge room wall overnight that lead to caverns beneath your house is just the kind of thing that appeals to me, and Danielewski had me absolutely sold until two-thirds through. Then, either his own creation went gaga on him or he got lazy and thought that making the ending as obscure as possible would be the best way to put an end to its misery. As it stands, House of Leaves is a haunting representation of the psychological and emotional disconnection between two people. And I have to admit that there is something about the book that made me uncomfortable. Whether it's the subject matter or the typography or a combination of both, I'm not sure. For that alone, I would give the author props.
4. The Lord of The Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
I hadn't read all three novels as a whole before, and since Tolkien meant for it to be read and published this way it was the perfect excuse. I'm not a high-fantasy reader at all, but what I admire most about Tolkien is the way in which he writes fantasy real. The novel is built on and around such a foundation of mythical historicity that the reader doesn't even have to consider suspending disbelief. From the minute details relating to Hobbits' way of life to the politics of war and the created languages, everything comes together to create a work of such mastery that it would make any writer feel more than a little inferior. Yes, Tolkien can be pedantic, but I believe his flair for creation outweighs such drawbacks. C.S. Lewis said of it, "Here is a book that will break your heart." And that it does. Several times.
5. Paradise Lost by John Milton
The thing really is insidious, especially from a writer's perspective. I finally got to read it this year and found myself constantly referring back to novels, television, film, and even music that use core ideas and themes from the poem. I was particularly pleased at being able to root for Lucifer for a change despite the fact that Milton seems to have lost his nerve in the end by diminishing him to a dust-sniffing serpent. Still, God comes off as a little naff and more than a bit unreasonable. But it's the imagery of the poem that remains: the terrific war between the angels, Satan and his cohorts in Pandaemonium and Eve and Adam, unbeknownst (or are they?) twaddling around in Eden. It's good, grand stuff.
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