The Shining by Stephen King

This is one of those books that's been on my must-read list for a long time. It is truly an amazing work of fiction (and possibly a cry for help from the author). It's difficult to say whether Kubrick's vision of this story tainted my reading, but I can definitely say that King's creep factor is way higher.
Jack Torrance, an alcoholic writer haunted by the ghost of his father and his past mistakes, takes a winter job at a remote mountain resort as a last chance to get his life in order. Reconnect with the family. Finish the magnum opus play. Live the American dream. His wife is dealing with issues of her own, from her enabling nature to her battles with her overbearing mother. Their son, Danny, is dealing with more substantial ghosts. He has an invisible friend Tony who gives him visions of possible future events. One thing Tony knows: this winter job is not a good decision. The Overlook Hotel, the hidden main character of the story, slowly invades the psyche of all who dwell within during the winter. Jack, Danny and Wendy are all affected by the hotel in different ways. Jack sinks further into depression, Wendy grows increasingly wary of her husband, and Danny teeters on the brink of sanity. As they move deeper into the winter and the snow isolates them further from society, the hotel begins to show more signs of life. The ghosts of 80 years of business start to hover at the edges of reality. Murders, suicides, affairs, greed, lust, power, and evil have been constant guests at the hotel. Danny, Jack, and Wendy must fight to make sure that they don't become the next permanent residents of the Overlook.

The Shining is full of suspense and shocking twists, but the real meat of the story is the family dynamic. King has an amazing undercurrent running throughout the tale of the bonds between fathers and sons, husbands and wives, and the sins of past generations cursing the future.

The Men Who Stare at Goats by Jon Ronson

Jon Ronson delivered an amazing look at the conspiracy underworld with "Them", his book detailing his attempt to find the secret cabal that pulls the strings of the world. In The Men Who Stare at Goats, Ronson dives into the murky subculture of American Black Ops. Did our country really try to employ people who claimed they could stop a Goat's heart from beating just by thinking about it? Would the US really think about utilizing tactics such as quick freeze sticky foam as seen in the movie "Hulk"? Was Barney the Purple Dinosaur an effective implement of torture? Can you mask subliminal messages in an all-girl Fleetwood Mac cover band's CD?

If you believe the book, the answer to all of these questions is yes. (In the case of the goats, it's more of a ...sort of. And the hamsters didn't fare much better.) Ronson manages to uncover indirect connections between our government and the Heaven's Gate mass suicide, as well as the training of some of the 9/11 hijackers. He follows one man;s quest to exonerate his father, who died under mysterious circumstances while working for the government. The book is humorous at times, but primarily it's unsettling. You've always thought these kinds of things happened. But only because 24 and The X-Files and Alias told you they might. When you realize it's actually real (there are photographs in the book), it becomes frightening. Our government has programs that make Abu Ghraib look like a daycare center. While it's being done for our protection, the underlying message becomes clear: How far is too far? What's really necessary? How much of this is driven by waste and corruption?

Ronson delivers another solid account into a side of life most people fear to examine. He doesn't politicize any of his findings, merely presents them for readers to make their own conclusions. He invites you to step out of your comfort zone and look for the truth.

The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2004, Dave Eggers, Ed.

You know you're in for a good story collection when the introduction of the book breaks your heart. Actor Viggo Mortensen recounts the time his personal journals were stolen. These were books that had traveled most of Africa with him, books that may have been in Middle Earth... well, you get the idea. The stories here are solid, although there's not as much humor as in previous years. My two favorite entries are Sammy Harkham's "Poor Sailor" for it's bleak and effective visuals, and "Hidden Lives of Lakes" by Gina Ochsner. Ochsner creates a slice of Iron Curtain melancholy that effectively uses "Russian Humor" to make the happy moments tragic, and the tragic moments hilarious. David Sedaris has a pretty funny riff on his childhood sleepover experiences, and there seems to be an abundance of stories on Africa and South America. It's good to get some cultural diversity in there...

Ben Ehrenreich's "What You Eat" is easily the most disturbing story of the bunch, as an abused boy seeks revenge on his overbearing father. Christopher Buckley's "We Have a Pope!" is a marvelous illustration of corporate politics and inside the beltway humor. The weakest effort in the book is Eggers' Foreword, which tends to ramble in his stream-of-consciousness, smart-because-it's-not-smart humor that Eggers usually employs well. I always recommend this collection and can't wait to read last year's! (So I'm always a year behind. So what?)