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What's Buzzworthy? The Best Books of 2007

BuzzSugar — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 11:30:21 PST

I love reading under any circumstances, but with the writers' strike likely to roll into next year, I'm going to be needing book recommendations more than ever. So before we flip the calendar to 2008, I wanted to ask you all about your favorite books of 2007.

One of my favorites: Will Allison's What You Have Left, a book I picked up almost by accident at my local library and ended up devouring in a weekend. The novel is essentially a set of interconnected short stories focusing on an estranged father and daughter trying to find their way back to each other, with side appearances from NASCAR, the Confederate flag, and poker machines. It's a small, spare book that manages to be incredibly affecting.

Others from the year that I'd recommend: Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, which made me want to make my own cheese; Ann Patchett's Run, which had some of my favorite characters of the year; and Khaled Hosseini's A Thousand Splendid Suns, as good a follow-up as I could have imagined to The Kite Runner.

So now, what are yours? Just use BuzzSugar's cool bookmarking tool to find your favorites online, write a little blurb about why they stood out to you, and tag them with the phrase Best Books of 2007. Then, next week, I'll feature some of the books here so we can all get our reading lists ready for the coming year.

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The Kite Runner: Poignant But Brutal

BuzzSugar — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 12:28:32 PST

Logically, I understand that The Kite Runner is a beautiful, stirring work of storytelling. It's a tender homage to the power of brotherhood and forgiveness. It's a song of redemption. Having read the arresting novel by Khaled Hosseini, I knew all this going into the screening. I also knew that the movie, like the book, might emotionally wreck me. And it did.

At its heart, The Kite Runner is about the enduring strength of love between men - brothers, friends, fathers and sons. The sweet relationship between Afghani best friends Amir and Hassan is the focus of the film, made somewhat complicated by the class differences between the two boys. Amir is the son of a wealthy intellectual from whom he consistently seeks approval and praise. Hassan is the son of Amir's father's servant. This is at times uncomfortable, but it doesn't deplete the tremendously innocent and emotional bond the two boys share.

Indeed, the most extraordinary thing about this relationship is the very image of purity it presents. It takes me back to childhood friendships I remember having, but it's also separate from my experience because of the simplicity of the boys' lives. Movie watching for them is a huge treat, not a given. Amir can read while Hassan cannot, so Amir reads Hassan's favorite stories to him. Their favorite activity is competitive kite flying. The beauty of this boyhood connection often moved me to tears. Yet the story doesn't remain innocent for long. To find out what I mean,

read more. Amir witnesses Hassan being brutalized by bullies, and does nothing to stop it. This event causes a shift in the boys' friendship, and Amir's guilt haunts him his entire life. Amir moves to the U.S. with his father and eventually marries a woman, though they are unable to have children. When Amir learns that Hassan and his wife were killed by the Taliban, and that Hassan's young son has been taken in - and regularly brutatlized - by a Taliban leader, he travels back to his homeland, determined to save the child. Here's what I don't get: For whom, exactly, was this movie made? Those who have read the book well understand the emotional meat grinder the story will put them through. I myself thought I would be prepared for some of the more vicious scenes, thinking that nothing could be worse than those conjured up by my imagination. Unfortunately, the opposite is true: I now have the vivid memories of these scenes, clear images of, say, a woman being beaten to death by stoning, that continue to haunt and nauseate me. These pictures are not easily chased away, and at times they arise unbidden. The movie is well done in many technical regards. The screenplay adaptation is an efficient consolidation of an expansive story, and the performances - especially on the parts of the two little boys - are deeply affecting. The underlying message is ultimately one of love and forgiveness, but is it worth it to go through so much to understand that message? I suppose peoples' thresholds for this sort of thing vary from person to person, so I'll let you decide for yourself. Just consider yourself - and your tear ducts - warned.

Buzz Gift Guide: Go, Daddy-O

BuzzSugar — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 15:28:33 PST

Looking for ways to beef up your dad's entertainment arsenal? Check out today's holiday gift guide, as full of daddy love as this week's episode of Heroes was.

What man hasn't dreamed of being James Bond? Indulge your dad's slick, shoot-em-up fantasies with the Ultimate James Bond Collector's Set, which includes all 21 films to date plus a full disc of special features for each, including deleted scenes and interviews.

Well, I don't know about your dad, but mine is a huge Ken Burns fan, and no Ken Burns documentary collection is complete without The War, Burns' exploration of the effects of the Second World War on not just the soldiers fighting abroad, but average American families here at home.

My dad is also a big fan of author Khaled Hosseini's bestselling novel The Kite Runner, and he recently enjoyed Hosseini's newer release A Thousand Splendid Suns. And, if your dad enjoys the book version of The Kite Runner, then you can take him to see the upcoming film adaptation.

Another dadly gift is the DVD set Neil Young: Under Review 1976-2006, a documentary chronicling the second half of Neil Young's musical career. There is also another documentary that reviews Young's earlier years as a musician, from 1966 to 1975.

First Look: The Kite Runner

BuzzSugar — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 12:42:55 PDT

The new trailer for The Kite Runner has just been released, and it's already making me feel emotional. Having read the powerful novel by Khaled Hosseini, I've been waiting with a mixture of hope and fear for the movie version, directed by Marc Foster (Monster's Ball, Stranger Than Fiction, Finding Neverland). By the looks of the trailer, however, it looks like Foster might just be doing the book justice.

The story follows two childhood best friends: Amir, the son of a wealthy businessman in Kabul, and Hassan, the son of Amir's father's servant. Before Amir and his father flee to America, the boys' friendship is tested by a moment when Amir falls silent as Hassan is brutally beaten. Settled in California as an adult, this moment haunts Amir until he learns of Hassan's death at the hands of the Taliban, and returns to his homeland to search for Hassan's young son.

Opening November 2, you have plenty of time to read the book if you haven't already. To watch the trailer,

read more Poster art courtesy of Paramount Vantage