2008 Media Review: Top Books

[As you may have remembered from last year, some friends and I run down our personal favorites in media every year around this time. Last year's favorites can be found here, here, here, and here. And now, on to 2008's best, starting with my dearest love, the printed word:]

TOP 5 BOOKS OF 2008
5) Founding Faith: Providence, Politics, and the Birth of Religious Freedom in America, Steven Waldman [Finally, an objective look at what the "founding fathers" really believed. Their religious beliefs often get tossed around as this unanimous thing, but, as you may have expected, it isn't quite that easy. For some reason, this book is now reissued as a paperback with a different subtitle: How Our Founding Fathers Forged a Radical New Approach to Religious Liberty.]
4) Obsessive Branding Disorder: The Illusion of Business and the Business of Illusion, Lucas Conley [Fascinating and easy-to-digest treatise on the long and sticky fingers of modern advertising. Those in marketing would do well to check it out.]
3) Maps & Legends, Michael Chabon [Our generation's most lyrical writer tackles the non-fiction essay. The first paragraph of the first essay, "Trickster in a Suit of Lights" should be required reading for all aspiring authors.]
2) More Information Than You Require, John Hodgman [The delightfully bizarre follow-up to The Areas of My Expertise, a book which I also read in 2008. I will forever be indebted to Hodgman (aka "PC" on the Get A Mac commercials) for his extensive histories on hoboes, molemen, and the short essay, "When Writing, Avoid These Failed Palindromes."]
1) Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church, N.T. Wright [This book completely changed the way I look at my faith. Probably the most influential thing I've read since The Ragamuffin Gospel. I cannot recommend this book enough--it is by far my #1 book of the year; maybe this decade.]

BEST BOOK FROM A PREVIOUS YEAR
Gates of Fire, Steven Pressfield (1998) [Forget the slick crapfest that was 300 (both the book and movie versions) and read this instead for a more visceral, more accurate account of the Battle of Thermopylae.]

EXTRA BONUS PICKS THAT WERE REALLY GOOD, BUT NOT GREAT
When You Are Engulfed in Flames, David Sedaris [He's still funny, but since he's famous, he's just not as insightful as he used to be. Still, there are some very interesting thoughts in here on mortality.]
Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life, Steve Martin [The rise and planned fall of Steve Martin's innovative stand-up routine. Hard to believe the star of the forthcoming The Pink Panther 2 is this good of a writer.]
Half-Life/Die Already: How I Died and Lived to Tell About It, Mark Steele [I'm not just saying this because he's my friend--it really is a good book.]
Secrets of the 2008 Campaign, The editors of Newsweek magazine [Not technically a book, but their extensive behind-the-scenes breakdown of the campaigns after-the-fact was exponentially more insightful than any of the "news" stories we saw during the actual campaign.]

MIGHT'VE MADE THE LIST IF I'D BEEN ABLE TO FINISH IT BEFORE IT WAS DUE AT THE LIBRARY
Jesus for President, Shane Claiborne
Out of Mao's Shadow: The Struggle for the Soul of a New China, Philip Pan
The Carbon Age: How Life's Core Element Has Become Civilization's Greatest Threat, Eric Roston
The Ayatollah Begs to Differ: The Paradox of Modern Iran, Hooman Majd
The Wordy Shipmates, Sarah Vowell

BOOK THAT SHOULD'VE BEEN ON EVERYONE ELSE'S LIST
The High School Survival Guide: Making the Most of the Best Time of Your Life (So Far), Adam Palmer [Unless something crazy happens, I won't have a book to put in this category next year. Sniffle.]

WORST
Me of Little Faith, Lewis Black and Why We Suck, Denis Leary [Both of these chaps purport to be "funny" and "observant," but neither of their books is either. Shallow, trite, and stupid, both of these guys beat comedic horses that died long, long ago. I swear I heard some of these jokes around the time Jay Leno took over for Johnny Carson. I gladly put both of these books down the library's return chute very early on, but at the rate the authors were going, I knew it would only be a matter of time before they cracked wise about John Wayne Bobbitt.]

SECOND-WORST
The Shack, William P. Young [Throw aside the theological controversy: this thing is terribly written and is in major need of an editor. I read the third edition and caught typographical errors. In the third printing. But beyond that, the story is thin, manipulative, narcissistic, and indicative of the modern church's focus on self-help and utter disregard for historical perspective on faith.]