I’m really going through some writer’s block this holiday. It’s not that Christmas was blase, on the contrary! There is definitely some blogging material there. But I’m so in relax mode now, I don’t even feel industrious enough to compose a paragraph about it. Perhaps because I should devote more than one paragraph! In any case–Christmas was very nice, very busy and with one major in-law conflict that I am trying to put behind me. So I’ll probably let it simmer for awhile and then it’ll be so far past Christmas, I’ll not blog about it.
All this to say this: INSTEAD YOU GET LEAH’S ANNUAL BOOK LIST! I know you’ve been on the edge of your over-stuffed chesterfield WAITING for this list. Me too.
So, without any further adieu, I present the books I read during 2008, ordered from least to most liked.
20. The Pillars of the Earth, Ken Follett (Book Club)
18. (tie) The Forest Lover, Susan Vreeland & The Street of a Thousand Blossoms, Gail Tsukiyama (Both Book Club)
17. A Girls’ Guide to Hunting and Fishing, Melissa Banks (Book Club)
16. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
15. Atonement, Ian McEwan
14. For One More Day, Mitch Albom
13. The Sea, John Banville (Book Club)
12. The World According to Mimi Smartypants, Mimi Smartypants (Second Reading)
11. The Red Tent, Anita Diamant (Second Reading)
10. Dragonfly in Amber, Diana Gabaldon
9. Rebecca, Daphne duMaurier
8. Fall on Your Knees, Ann-Marie MacDonald (Book Club) (Second Reading)
7. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, Mark Haddon (Book Club) (Second Reading)
6. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, Barbara Kingsolver
5. Voyager, Diana Gabaldon
4. Drums of Autumn, Diana Gabaldon
3. A Student of Weather, Elizabeth Hay (Book Club)
2. Late Nights on Air, Elizabeth Hay (Book Club)
1. Outlander, Diana Gabaldon
You’ll notice that quite a few of these are second readings. Sadly, I found that going back to some of my most-loved books (The Red Tent for example), lessened their greatness for me. However, others like Mark Haddon’s book, kept their appeal and were just as readable. I always recommend the top 10, but this year would really recommend almost all of them with the exception of the last 3. What do you think? Have you read any of these? If so, what did you think? What are you reading now? What were your favourite reads of 2008?
Here are the lists for 2007, 2006 & 2005.
