Best books read in 1996 (listed alphabetically by author)
- Burke, James Lee. Black Cherry Blues
- Irving, John. A Prayer for Owen Meany
- Margolin, Phillip. The Last Innocent Man
- O'Brien, Tim. In the Lake of the Woods
- O'Connell, Carol. Mallory's Oracle
- Sandford, John. "Prey" series (I admit this is cheating since it's more than one book)
- Shields, Carol. The Stone Diaries
- Smith, Sarah. The Vanished Child
- Westlake, Donald E. Smoke
- Woods, Stuart. Choke
Honorable Mention
- Coben, Harlan. Fade Away
- Dobyns, Stephen. Saratoga Bestiary
- Dunning, John. Booked to Die
- Muller, Marcia. Ask the Cards a Question