Salon Book Awards

Ten books from 2000 we wished would never end.

By Laura Miller and Maria Russo

Dec. 18, 2000 |

This year marks the fifth anniversary of the Salon Book Awards, with a bit of continuity (Laura Miller has participated all five years) and a bit of fresh blood (this is Maria Russo's first shot at it). On the following pages you'll find lists of our favorite books of fiction and nonfiction published in 2000 -- five of each.

Although almost everything else about Salon.com has changed (including that domain name) since we drew up our very first list in 1996, we're still sticking by the mission we set for ourselves back then. The 10 books we present to you here aren't necessarily the most critically acclaimed, or by the most widely revered authors, and you won't find many bestsellers among them, either. But we loved them, we couldn't put them down; we rifled through their pages like a thief through a jewel box, knowing that we'd found treasure.

To find them, we first gathered recommendations from Salon's staff, regular critics and friends. Then we sifted through piles of books so vast that Laura hasn't been able to close her office door for weeks, read until our eyes ached and our heads were numb, picked up each new volume feeling like we'd rather do just about anything else than open it. And in spite of the jaded state of our print-addled minds, a handful of books still had the power to enchant us. They made us forget our neglected friends and family, the tempting movies that came and went unseen, even the madness of the presidential election, and transported us to worlds both fabulous and familiar and introduced us to people we'll never forget. We hope they'll do the same for you.

Next page: The fiction winners