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Top Ten Books Read in 2008?
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I didn't read any new releases this year (on purpose).
i can't really remember what I read this year, but one book that stands out is Richard Ford's The Sportswriter, which absolutely bowled me over. I don't think it's for everyone, but I loved it. The main character kinda reminded me of a mix between Kevin Spacey's character in American Beauty and Vincent Chase from Entourage for some reason.
Also, I read Gary Shteyngart's Russian Debutante's Handbook which is funny as hell. Perhaps, not as sharp as Absurdistan, but still a really good comic novel. I can't wait for his third book.
Which brings me to Kingsley Amis Lucky Jim and Everyday Drinking. Lucky Jim is a funny book. There's really no way to say it. If you like the dry, absurd humor of Office Space, you'd probably like Lucky Jim. Everyday Drinking is funny too, like a good friend when he's drunk.
And finally, Denis Johnson's Nobody Move serial novel that was published in Playboy was good. Johnson has a tendency to get pretty zany in his novels, and I think this was the work to prove it. He's always worn the Chandler influence quite loudly on his sleeve, but this is his most flagrant homage to the father of hard-boiled crime fiction. Hopefully they will publish this in a trade paperback.
i also read a bunch of poetry for this first time this year. I especially enjoyed the Coleman Bark translations of the rumi and the daniel ladinsky tranlastions of Hafez. Other than that, Bukowski and Billy Collins were constantly in tote where i went. The Raymond Carver collection of poetry All of Us was good as well.
merry christmas
i can't really remember what I read this year, but one book that stands out is Richard Ford's The Sportswriter, which absolutely bowled me over. I don't think it's for everyone, but I loved it. The main character kinda reminded me of a mix between Kevin Spacey's character in American Beauty and Vincent Chase from Entourage for some reason.
Also, I read Gary Shteyngart's Russian Debutante's Handbook which is funny as hell. Perhaps, not as sharp as Absurdistan, but still a really good comic novel. I can't wait for his third book.
Which brings me to Kingsley Amis Lucky Jim and Everyday Drinking. Lucky Jim is a funny book. There's really no way to say it. If you like the dry, absurd humor of Office Space, you'd probably like Lucky Jim. Everyday Drinking is funny too, like a good friend when he's drunk.
And finally, Denis Johnson's Nobody Move serial novel that was published in Playboy was good. Johnson has a tendency to get pretty zany in his novels, and I think this was the work to prove it. He's always worn the Chandler influence quite loudly on his sleeve, but this is his most flagrant homage to the father of hard-boiled crime fiction. Hopefully they will publish this in a trade paperback.
i also read a bunch of poetry for this first time this year. I especially enjoyed the Coleman Bark translations of the rumi and the daniel ladinsky tranlastions of Hafez. Other than that, Bukowski and Billy Collins were constantly in tote where i went. The Raymond Carver collection of poetry All of Us was good as well.
merry christmas

Some of the best books that I read this year are:
1. The Soloist
2. Thousand Splendid Suns
3. No Country for Old Men
4. The Catcher in the Rye
5. Discovering Impressionism
6. Magic Study
1 & 2 are my top 2 picks this year. The rest are in no specific order.

1. The Lord of the Rings
2. Poison Study
3. The Shadow of the Wind
4. The Princess Bride
5. The Hunger Games
6. Graceling
7. Princess Academy
8. The Art of Racing in the Rain
9. Lady Cottington's Pressed Fairy Book
10. Flipped
Pride and Prejudice would be at the top of the list, but it's a re-read.

1. A Thousand Splendid Suns
2. A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier
3. Water for Elephants
4. The Secret Life of Bees
Thank goodness there is ŷ.com to help me keep track of books I read because I'm sure there were more to add to my list but I can't remember them all.
Books mentioned in this topic
Water for Elephants (other topics)The Shadow of the Wind (other topics)
Princess Academy (other topics)
The Lord of the Rings (other topics)
The Princess Bride (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Raymond Carver (other topics)Charles Bukowski (other topics)
Jalal ad-Din Muhammad ar-Rumi (other topics)
Billy Collins (other topics)
More...
10. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
9. Graceling by Kristin Cashore
8. Pretty Monsters by Kelly Link
7. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz
6. Dune by Frank Herbert
5. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
4. Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder
3. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
2. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
1. Atlas Freakin' Shrugged by Ayn Rand
and I'm sure if I got around to reading The Watchmen before the year is over, that'd bump most stuff down a notch.
Your turn!