But you don't have to take my word for it.

Each year, I resolve to read more books. Ever since I was a tiny tot, reading has been one of my biggest pastimes. There's never a day when I don't read at least for a few minutes, and most days I read for an hour or more. If I were stranded on a desert island, the one thing I'd need with me would be a really good book - ok, and maybe a tube of Chapstick.

In 2008, I read 27 books, which is seven more than I read in 2007, and I'm pleased to report that almost all of them were pretty darn good. There was only one I didn't finish - Evening by Susan Minot. What a steaming pile that was! But tonight I want to tell you about the ten books I most enjoyed, and you can take that for what it's worth. If you're looking for a good book, there may be something on this list for you. Caveats: I don't read books with lipsticks, baby strollers, wedding rings or martini glasses on the cover. I didn't really like the Twilight books all that much (and I'll tell you why another time). And I'm really into drama and nonfiction. That said, take this top ten list for what it's worth.

Top ten reads in 2008 (in no particular order aside from the order I read them):

Atonement by Ian McEwan
This was the first book I read in 2008, and I could not put it down. I think I read the whole thing in less than two days, and it's a dense book, written in a style that reminded me of James Joyce or Virginia Woolf (only a whole lot less tedious). The story revolves around a series of events witnessed by a young girl, her interpretation of them and the consequences of the stories we tell. It's a heartbreaking, haunting story of what appeared to be and what might have been. McEwan is an absolute master of both the English language and of storytelling.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
It's a classic, but somehow I missed it in school - never had read it until this year. And I suppose it's not quite accurate to say I read it, but rather, listened to the book on CD as read by Sissy Spacek. And it was fantastic. I love it when something completely lives up to the hype. The story of a Southern girl coming of age as her father defends a man on trial for a crime he didn't commit amidst prejudice and hate has surprising relevance today.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling
Some of you may not have gotten into the series, but what I always loved about these books was that they allowed children to grow up right alongside the characters. Adults enjoyed the first few books because they were whimsical and reminded us of Roald Dahl and other writers. But around about the fourth book in the series, Rowling really took the saga to a deeper, darker place. The seventh book in the series was intricate, touching and tender - a perfect capstone to a historic achievement.

Dreams from my Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance by Barack Obama
Had Obama not won the presidency in 2008, he would definitely have had a future as a writer. His first book, written in 1995, is all about his personal struggle for identification as a black man. Obama tells of growing up with his grandparents in Hawaii and his mother in Indonesia. He is brutally frank about race issues in Chicago and his struggles to connect with the family he never knew in Kenya.  The tough questions he boldly asks of himself and the world earned my respect.

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer
This book absolutely haunted me for days after I finished it. And then I saw the movie - intense. Journalist Jon Krakauer expands on an article he wrote for Outside magazine detailing the strange disappearance and untimely death of Christopher McCandless,  a young adventurer who died alone in the Alaskan woods. A thrill-seeking adventurer and hiker himself, Krakauer weaves stories of other explorers and loners into the framework of McCandless's journey as he tries to piece together the chain of events leading up to his death, and the motivations behind what would seem to some a suicidal odyssey.

The Road by Cormac McCarthey
It's tough to explain why you should read this book - it's one of the most stark, bleak and terrifying novels I've ever held in my hands. The world, and almost everyone in it, is dead. There is a father and his son, and they are trying to survive, trying to find food to eat and shelter from the cold. Trying not to be killed by the bandits who would kill for the last remaining scraps. Desperation seeps through every page, but in the father's determination to take his son to a better place, to help him survive, there is a very inspiring hope.

Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia by Elizabeth Gilbert
After spiraling into depression, Elizabeth Gilbert took a year to herself. She spent four months in Italy exploring true pleasure, then four months in an Indian ashram seeking spiritual nirvana, and four months in Bali attempting to marry the two. This is one of most passionate, inward-searching travel memoirs you will ever read. I found myself asking, what are we doing with our lives? What should we be doing? And craving gelato like you wouldn't believe.

The Great Derangement: A Terrifying True Story of War, Politics and Religion by Matt Taibbi
If you read Rolling Stone, chances are you've seen Matt Taibbi's scathingly cynical pieces. I happen to love them - you may not. But even if you're conservative to the core, this is an interesting - and scary - read. Every country must rise and fall, and Taibbi explores the way people act at that moment when their country is breaking apart - which, he claims, is happening right now. He discusses how we can no longer separate fact from fiction, and the role the media, the government, and the people have in skewering the truth. He travels to Congress and chats up the crazies from the 9/11 Truth Movement. A major part of the book revolves around his under cover work as a pseudo-member of a major born-again Christian church in Texas. This book just might piss you off, terrify you, or both.

A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore
This book is really, really weird - and a whole lot of fun. Charlie Asher's wife dies and then he becomes Death - and hilarity and madness ensue. This book has a little bit of everything - pawn shops, dark magic, demons, the devil, slobbering hellbeast dogs, a cute toddler, racial stereotypes and a lesbian! Need I say more?

The Reader by Bernhard Schlink
Squeezed this book in right at the end of 2008, and loved every page. This is the story of a teenager who has an affair with an older woman, and years later discovers her involvement in the Holocaust. One of the reasons I was drawn to this book is that it brings up questions I've long thought about - who are the people who commit crimes, and who are the people who love them? The story deals with the German guilt following the Holocaust and what it means to love the people who committed unspeakable crimes.

Honorable mentions you might want to consider:
The Lobster Chronicles: Life on a Very Small Island by Linda Greenlaw
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan

Here's to more great reading in 2009! Now - do you have suggestions for me for this year's reading list?

Comments

[Carolyn]

Totes agree on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows!

I haven't read any of the others, but thanks for getting my 2009 reading list started! :-) Sound like some really good finds!

Oh, and I am in love with the Twilight series, so we'll have to compare notes some time...

[Tammy]

Okay. Can I just say that you're making me feel bad about my recent book reading...not because I ahven't read. In fact, I've probably read about the same number of books this year, but they have mostly been crappy chic-lit books. Somehow, I've become addicted to them. I haven't read a REAL book in ages. I just finished Nicholas Sparks new book, and finally read the first Twilight book (that I fought off for several months because of its daunting popularity. It's rather pathetic to say that my author choices this year consisted of Jennifer Weiner (no guilt here, really. I truly love her), Lee Nichols, whose books are wildly amusing but have no real merit as literature, and sophie Kinsella....come on, the woman writes about shopping addiction! Then we throw in a healthy dose of Candace Bushnell, my obligatory Nicholas sparks, and a few other lipstick smoocers, and tere you have it.....a year of wasted reading time! But, oh, I must admit I enjoyed it!

[Sarie26]

Haha - you know, I don't mean to make you feel bad Tammy! It's just that those books don't do it for me. It's not like I don't enjoy a bad movie or a stupid tv show and then like everyone else, but I can't stomach the sugary sweetness of Nicholas Sparks. I just can't do it. I have tried, believe me, to read that stuff. I just don't enjoy it. But if you do - that's your bag and you shouldn't feel bad about it. People go to books and movies for different reasons, and that's fine - that's why there's such a variety of stuff out there. I just meant that my booklist might not be for everyone.

[Heather]

Thanks for the suggestions! I am truly making it a priority to read more this year - I set my goal at a low 12 books this year - a goal I know I will attain and hopefully widely surpass. I love to read, but haven't made as much time for it in the past. I have The Kite Runner on my shelves waiting on me to finish a Mary Higgins Clark book (loved her in my late teens, and didn't get as much enjoyment out of this one as used to, 10 years later, but I am going to finish it). I am also reading a horse advice book, which is great.

I plan on picking up a few of these at Half Priced Books this year! Do you take advantage of the library, or do you buy? I am a buying snob, but I feel I should take advantage of the library system like I did as a kid!

[Sarie26]

Heather, I am an avid supporter of the library, but I do love to buy books too. I used to be really bad about buying too many, so I've really upped my library use.

[Kyle]

Nicely done, Sarah! That's like a half-dozen BookIt personal pan pizzas.

We made the same resolution in 2008. I cranked out 34 and Colleen did a whopping 53! Our goals were 20 and 25. She reads with demonic speed (brimstone and everything), and did that with work, school and everything else. I will never know how.

This year we are doing the same thing. I focused on detective noir; now I am going for Dickens and Victorian detective fiction. So, I recommend novels by Matthew Pearl and Daniel Woodrell. End of communication.