As I said last year, the thing that always bothers me about the real book awards, like the Pulitzer, the National and all the rest of them, is that the competition goes by the publication date. If two really brilliant books are published in the same year, one loses out and the other becomes a classic.

Well, sometimes. Other times, the book is chosen from a rather mediocre collection of candidates, I guess because nothing that was published during the year was particularly outstanding -- or quality writing was overlooked by the committees. And the book, together with its prestigious award, is quietly forgotten.

So I've created a different kind of book award. We can do these things on the internet, you know. This one is based on my own and my friends' reading experiences. We read lots of books every year. And while I usually try to read good books that I hear about as they are published, occasionally I read older books too. 

Carrol, who has volunteered to become a literary editor for Clever Magazine, and I belong to several reading groups that don't choose reading material solely based on how many copies a book has sold. One group even reads a classic occasionally.

This is the second year for choosing books that deserve special recognition from Clever Magazine. (If you really wanna see the 1999 awards, click here.) The committee has met and we would like to present to you our winners.

Fiction Candidates:

Winner: Shark Dialogues, Kiana Davenport ~ a compelling Hawaiian saga, beautifully written, combing history and social commentary from an islander's point of view.
Runner-up: Dress Lodger, Sheri Holman~18th century England. It is the worst of times.

Nonfiction Candidates:

Winner: Perfect Storm, Sebastian Junger~read the book. It's way better than the movie.
Runner up: Africa: Dispatches from a Fragile Continent by Blaine Harden ~ this book is out of print so look for it in the library or a used bookstore. It's well worth the effort to locate because it's a great way to learn something about Africa that has a ring of truth about it.

Nature:

Winner: The legacy of Luna by Julia Butterfly Hill ~ at first you may think Julia Butterfly Hill, the brave soul in the redwood tree who spent two years in a desperate battle with loggers, is a little flaky, but keep reading. She'll capture your heart and amaze you with her story of survival.

Runner-up: Plague of Frogs by William Sounder ~ remember those frightening stories about the deformed frogs a few years ago? The research continues. Here's a summary of the story to date.

Travel Essay:

Winner: Notes from a Small Island Bill Bryson ~ Bryson, an American, spent nearly 20 years in England. Just before returning to America he took a nostalgic journey around England saying good-bye to some of his favorite haunts, as well as finally getting to see places he had always meant to visit. Nobody writes funnier than Bryson.

Best Mystery:

Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum Series ~ read them in order. Stephanie is a bounty hunter, sort of. She's witty, quirky and lots of fun to spend a few days with. There are five books now, maybe six, so you better get started.

Best Classic-that-I-only-read-part-of-but-I'm-a-better-person-for-it award:

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad ~ actually I read all of this one, a couple of times. It's a thriller and a tale of immorality. If somehow you missed reading this one in college, by all means read it now. It's a great companion to Blaine Harden's book (see above).

Inspiration:

How to Think like Leonardo da Vinci by Michael J. Gelb ~ inspiration books are a dime a dozen and are usually not worth spending much time with. This one is the exception.

Pure Drivel Award (also known as the "cashing in one one's fame" award):

Beauty Fades, Dumb is Forever by Judge Judy ~ why not? Judy's a star!

Wanna see the Book Awards for 1999 or 2001? Just click on the year.