Most of the year’s best books listed compiled by book reviewers cover only books published during the current year. My list, however, includes books that I read during this past year, regardless of when they were published.
Being a full-time student has cut way, way down on my pleasure reading. This past year I only got through 38 books (exclusive of textbooks, of course!). Here’s my list of best reads for 2008, arranged alphabetically by author’s last name:
The Top 10
- Beauvoir, Simone de. The Second Sex
- Capote, Truman. In Cold Blood
- Fitzgerald, F. Scott. The Great Gatsby
- Goldberg, Natalie. Old Friend from Far Away: The Practice of Writing Memoir
- Hood, Ann. Comfort: A Journey through Grief
- O’Farrell, Maggie. The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox
- Saks, Elyn R. The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey through Madness
- Schwartz, Lynne Sharon. Disturbances in the Field
- Weller, Sheila. Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon–and the Journey of a Generation
- Zusak, Markus. The Book Thief
Honorable Mention
- Barry, Brunonia. The Lace Reader
- Botton, Alain de. How Proust Can Change Your Life
- Cheever, Susan. American Bloomsbury
- O’Brien, Tim. The Things They Carried
- Tyler, Anne. Saint Maybe
Happy New Year to all!
