Books for a year of chaos

My end-of-year assignment for Salon's staff was simple, perhaps deceptively so. I wanted to know what books we'd read this year that shed light — from some direction, and in some fashion — on the just-concluded year of extraordinary change, massive disruption and back-to-the-future political amnesia. There weren't any rules: The books didn't have to be new, and didn't have to directly concern politics or history. They didn't even have to be nonfiction, although only Amanda Marcotte went there. (Special gold star!). Saying something like "Enjoy!" here seems positively wrong-headed, but it's one hell of a list. — Andrew O'Hehir

"Down With the System: A Memoir (of Sorts)" by Serj Tankian

Serj Tankian's unmistakable voice is not only heard in System of a Down's driving, soaring heavy metal tunes, but also through his bold lyrics. This memoir is the logical extension of his ongoing and uncompromising expression of self, art and activism. While fans of the band may have previously been aware of Tankian’s social and political views previously, 9/11 proved to be a flashpoint. Not only did that day mark the band hitting No.1 on the Billboard charts with the single "Chop Suey!" — banned two days later for its lyric, "I don't think you trust in my self-righteous suicide" –– but the events of that day also prompted Tankian’s controversial essay, "Understanding Oil." His suggestion that U.S. policy in the Middle East policy was an underlying reasons for the terrorist attacks earned him and his bandmates immediate backlash.