Books Read in 2008

1. We Are All Fine Here- by Mary Guterson : A short, (150-ish pages, isn't that about 50,000 words?) quick read. Julia is a middle aged woman in a floundering marriage, she meets up with an ex-boyfriend and gets pregnant, but she doesn't know which man is the father. The story is a bit grim but there is a lot of dry humor, but I really liked the main character even though she is far from perfect. Her voice rang true.
   
2. The Secret Life of Bees- by Sue Monk Kidd: I loved this. Some great quotable passages. Definitely a contender for my favorites list. Even though everyone else has already read it. For their book club. 3 years ago. sigh.
3. It's all too much- by Peter Walsh: Still working on this. I pick it up, digest it a little bit. Put it down. read some more. etc.
   
4. The Mermaid Chair- by Sue Monk Kidd: I agree with Airlea (surprise, surprise! ;) This one is a good read too, but not as good as Secret Life of Bees.
   
5. Al Capone Does my Shirts - by Gennifer Choldenko: (this is YA fiction) I read it because my drama teacher is using it as the basis for some scenes she is teaching this term- and I found that I really liked it! It's historical fiction about a family that lived on Alcatraz in 1935. The sister in the book is autistic, and the author's sister is as well, so the accounts are very true to life. The author even includes a helpful little piece at the end and explains what is fact and what is fiction.
6. Confessions of a Slacker Mom by Muffy Mead-Ferro: Yes, "Muffy". Very small short book (one of the moms in my class recommended it) Not so much a parenting "how to" as a parenting manifesto. Let me sum up for you; Kids are tough, they need to learn natural consequences, you don't need to be super-mom for this to happen. The end. It's an interesting read, but I am glad it's short and that I bought it used. Her "I grew up on a ranch and my family is the salt of the earth" premise gets pushed a bit too much in my opinion.
7. Eat, Pray, Love- by Elizabeth Gilbert: I am guarded going in, since I read that she got an advance to write this book (and it paid for this year of travel that she took to Italy, India & Bali) but so far it's a lot less affected than I thought it would be. It's pretty good, and a great read for a non-fiction book. The part in India at the Ashram isn't really what I am into, but she makes it interesting. I now want to live in both Italy and Bali.
   
8. Twilight- by Stephanie Meyer: More YA fiction, but I really got hooked on it. There is a lot of teenage longing going on (so you can sort of see why the reviews on Amazon are all "OMG this is, like, the BEST book evar! I looooooooovvvvveeee it!") But if you can wade patiently through that, it's a great vampire story.
   
9. The Ivy Chronicles- by Karen Quinn : Fluff. Mildly funny. It's like "The Nanny Diaries" except it's about kindergarten applications to NYC private schools. Based on the author's true life experiences.
   
10. Rise and Shine - by Anna Quindlan: It didn't grab me the way some of Quindlan's other books have. (Blessings for example.) More of a character/relationship story rather than based on a plot. I didn't hate it, I am just underwhelmed.
    
11. The Tenth Circle- by Jodi Picoult; I didn't know when I picked this up that one the of the main characters is a comic book penciller. Or he started out as a penciller and worked his way up to artist at Marvel or something. Anyway, throughout the novel there is a shorter graphic novel at the beginning of each chapter that runs parallel to the storyline. I have never seen a novel done in that way before, so that was kind of interesting. This is the first Picoult book I have read and it was fairly decent so I will probably try some of her other novels as well.
12. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan - by Lisa See ; LOVED this book. A very engrossing story about one woman's life in rural China. Lots about foot binding and other Chinese customs- but it's mostly a story about friendships. I liked it a lot more than I thought I would, though it was highly recommended to me. I was so fascinated by the footbinding part that I had to look up Google images. Don't do that unless you have a strong stomach.
13. Laced- by Carol Higgins Clark ; fluff my mom gave me.
    
14. The Kite Runner -by Khaled Hosseini; I liked this a lot more than I expected to. It kept me up late reading the end too- the last 150 pages or so.
    
15. The Other Boleyn Sister - by Philippa Gregory; I've read this before, but I had lent it out a few years ago and had forgotten about it. It came back to me and I was surprised how much I had forgotten. I think I enjoyed it more this time around. It's long-ish (600+ pages) but very good, and it's an interesting theory about the court of Anne Boleyn. I wanted to re-read this before I see the movie. (or The Tudors series)
    
16. The Virgin's Lover- by Philippa Gregory; Not as good as The Other Boleyn Sister, but still a good read. It's written in exactly the same style and although different characters, like all good royals, they are all related.
    
17. New Moon- by Stephanie Meyer; the sequel to Twilight. (see #8)
18. Same Sweet Girls- by Cassandra King. A story about 6 college friends who still get together twice a year for SSG weekends. (sound familiar?) Pretty sappy, a little predictable, with some lovely prose and descriptions though. The SSG's have a "crowning" ceremony in which one of them is voted the "sweetest" and gets to be the queen for the whole year.
19. Durable Goods - by Elizabeth Berg. A coming of age story set in the early 1960's. It's kind of sparse, but a very gripping story. (I finished it in one day) I guess this author has two more books about this same character (Katie) because her fans wanted to know what happened to her. But the author says that this one is her best novel. I also learned that although Elizabeth Berg has always written as a hobby, she didn't aim to be a published writer until she was in her mid-30s. Then, she did short stories and articles for magazines for 10 years before her first novel was published.
20. True to Form - By Elizabeth Berg. A follow up to the previous book, Durable Goods. I wasn't going to read them back to back, but I am glad I did. I actually liked this one better than the previous book about Katie. In this one Katie makes things happen rather than things just happening to her. Plus the character is allowed to be a lot more introspective, but still in keeping with an adolescent voice. I really enjoyed it.
    
21. Mommies Behaving Badly by Roz Bailey. Chick lit (in disguise, the cover threw me off) It was pretty good as far as the genre goes. Decent characters. Good for a plane or the beach.
22. I was Told There Would be Cake- by Sloane Crossley. A collection of essays. Some very funny, but I didn't think it was as funny as the person who recommended it to me. Maybe my expectations were too high? Though the one about Oregon Trail is hilarious.
    
23. The Thirteenth Tale - by Diane Setterfield
24. Eclipse - by Stephenie Meyer (sequel to #17 & #8)
    
25. Middlesex by Jeffery Eugenides- well it won a Pulitzer, but it was kind of slow. It is an epic story, and mostly interesting and enjoyable, but the ending was not very satisfying.
26. Breaking Dawn- by Stephenie Meyer. A little different than the first three- but still enjoyable. I was really worried that I was going to get let down by the end, but I really wasn't. I can not wait for the movie to come out. Robert Pattinson....mmmm.yummy.
27. A Question of Attraction by David Nicholls - a Brit's first year at university as an English Lit. major in 1985. Very very funny.
28. Second Chance by Jane Green- fluff. I've never read her before- she writes like a Brit but seems to live in the US so I am not sure what the deal is there.
29. Bury Me Standing- The Gypsies and Their Journey by Isabel Fonseca
    
30. Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon- Recommended to me by my friend E (especially after reading the 13th Tale) Similar  novel-related drama and intrigue. Not really a mystery.  A very good and engrossing story about a writer. 
    
31. The Understudy by David Nicholls- I loved the other David Nicholls book I read so I had to try this one too. So far I like it just as well.