Five Books I'll Bet You Didn't Read This Year

End of the year and the "best of" lists are upon us like autumn leaves. I'm not complaining about "best of" lists - Invisible Sisters made several of them in 2009, and they make a big difference in how a book is received. Which is why I'm starting my own first annual "Five Books I'll Bet You Didn't Read This Year (Get 'em While They're Hot)" list. Disclosure; three of these five are by friends. But if they weren't good, I wouldn't recommend them. And in the habit instilled in my by years of corporate slavery, this list is alphabetized by author surname. I wouldn't want to list someone in preferential order or perceived preferential order. 1. Burial for A King, by Rebecca Burns. Research-driven and beautifully voiced, a look at the week of Dr. King's burial. 2. East of the West, by Mirov Penkov. Sardonic, witty, and spellbinding short stories from a masterful new author. 3. A Moment in the Sun, by John Sayles. John Sayles, 900+ pages, every one of them brilliant. And it's about imperialism. Need I say more? 4. Fall Line, by Joe Samuel Starnes. Money vs. history in 1950s middle Georgia. You didn't think that was a natural lake, didja? 5. The Memory of All That, by Katharine Weber. A family history that includes George Gershwin, a film-gimmick that stank up a garage, a beloved grandmother and a search for solid footing in a lapidary memoir. All of these are available via IndieBound