2008 Book round-up!

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Crystal Meth
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2008 Book round-up!

Post by Crystal Meth »

:yay

How many books did you read this year? (if you're into tracking that sort of thing)

What was your favourite book read this year?

Any stinkers?

Did you receive any books (or book-related items) for Christmas?

Do you have any "readolutions" for 2009?
Last edited by Crystal Meth on Wed Dec 31, 2008 7:41 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Sílvia
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Re: 2008 Book round-up!

Post by Sílvia »

How many books did you read this year? (if you're into tracking that sort of thing)
Only 10, 4 of them baby-related. I guess this is what happens when you have a baby! But in the last 5 months or so things have been better. I'm not so tired anymore, so I don't pass out the minute I get into bed. Therefore, I read more!

What was your favourite book read this year?
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield and Mother Shock by Andrea Buchanan (thanks, Beverly :))

Any stinkers?
Yeah, one of the baby books.

Did you receive any books (or book-related items) for Christmas?
Yeah, a gift certificate for my favorite bookstore! :yay

Do you have any "readolutions" for 2009?
Just keep reading strictly what pleases me. I've been way better about that now that my reading time is limited.
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Beverly
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Re: 2008 Book round-up!

Post by Beverly »

How many books did you read this year? (if you're into tracking that sort of thing)
~~36 ... quite a few short of the 50 I aimed for, but oh well.

What was your favourite book read this year?
~~Probably On Beauty by Zadie Smith. Or maybe A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. Although, looking back on the books I read, I see that there were quite a few good ones; it's so hard to pick a favorite.

Any stinkers?
~~Yeah, I wasn't really wild about the collection of essays edited by Dooce, Things I Learned about My Dad. There was some good writing there, but most of it fell flat for me. Also, the Jennifer Weiner book of short stories, The Guy Not Taken was pretty uneven, and not my fave.

Did you receive any books (or book-related items) for Christmas?
~~I got a book from my mom that I'm really looking forward to reading -- it's Bagels and Grits: A Jew on the Bayou by Jennifer Moses. It's the memoir of a Jew transplanted from Virginia to Louisiana.

Do you have any "readolutions" for 2009?
~~Nothing in particular. I've got a lot of books on my shelves that I'd really like to read, and I'm going to my best to get around to them.
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Crystal Meth
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Re: 2008 Book round-up!

Post by Crystal Meth »

How many books did you read this year? (if you're into tracking that sort of thing)
~ 36, but I wanted to read 50. (get out of my head, Beverly!)

What was your favourite book read this year?
~ On Beauty was great (seriously Beverly, out :lol ), but I also enjoyed the Charles Schulz bio, Ex Libris, and Breakfast at Tiffany's.

Any stinkers?
~ I am ashamed to admit that I picked up The Secret, but happy to admit that I thought it was hooey.

Did you receive any books (or book-related items) for Christmas?
~ Gift certificates, woo!

Do you have any "readolutions" for 2009?
~ Read more fiction. I read a lot of non-fiction, which I like, but I'm craving imaginary stories.
You got into this business because you're funny and weird, and you're socially retarded. And because it pays well. - Jack Donaghy, 30 Rock.

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mellenhead
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Re: 2008 Book round-up!

Post by mellenhead »

How many books did you read this year? (if you're into tracking that sort of thing)

Um, a lot? I have no idea the actual number.

What was your favourite book read this year?

Hmmm, probably American Wife. A close second is The Memoirs of Henry VIII. Oh and Mother Shock (thanks, Beverly!), which I reread every so often and can relate more and more to some of the essays.

Any stinkers?

A Lion Among Men by Gregory McGuire (the 3rd book in the Wicked series)....I couldn't even finish it.

Did you receive any books (or book-related items) for Christmas?


I got:
The Omnivore's Dilemma
Dreams of my Father
The entire set of the Sookie Stackhouse novels that True Blood on HBO is based on
Helen of Troy and Mary Queen of Scots and of the Isles by Margaret George

I also got "Goodnight Bush" a parody of Goodnight Moon, which is totally offensive and hilarious.

Do you have any "readolutions" for 2009?

I think I'm going to go on a history bender. I've read pretty much every book I can find on the Tudors. I need to find a new area to obsess over.
Rowan
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Re: 2008 Book round-up!

Post by Rowan »

How many books did you read this year? (if you're into tracking that sort of thing)
115 - my goal was 100 and I hit that in November. After that, I slowed down a bit.

What was your favourite book read this year?
There was several...I loved American Wife, Robber Bride, The Post-Birthday World, The Condition
Some new favorite authors are Jennifer Haigh, Chris Bohjalian

Any stinkers?
A few disappointments...Sequence by Lori Andrews was first in a series about a young woman DNA scientist - I was excited because that's me but it was lame and I didn't read the other 2 in the series; Dewey the Small Town Cat had rave reader reviews and I thought it was just meh; Just After Sunset by Stephen King was lame too

Did you receive any books (or book-related items) for Christmas?
I got a GC to Barnes and Nobles and the book 1001 books to read before you die which was cool

Do you have any "readolutions" for 2009?
Usually I try to beat the previous year but I won't beat 115 until I retire. I have decided to read at least 10 from the 1001 books to read before you die.

Here's my list if anyone is interested (sorry for the weird formatting - it was excel):

Rating Title Author
3.5 Shoot the Moon Billie Letts
3 Pressure Drop Peter Abrahams
3.5 The Taking Dean Koontz
3 Woman in Red Eileen Goudge
5 The Post-Birthday World Lionel Shriver
4 One Mississippi Mark Childress
3 American Outrage Tim Green
5 Robber Bride Margaret Atwood
3.5 Lost and Found Carolyn Parkhurst
4 The Dive from Clausen's Pier Ann Packer
4 The Lake of Dead Languages Carol Goodman
3.5 Songs Without Words Ann Packer
3.5 The Gravedigger's Daughter Joyce Carol Oates
4 Midwives Chris Bohjalian
3 Dogs of Babel Carolyn Parkhurst
4 Law of Similars Chris Bohjalian
3.5 Kabul Beauty School Deborah Rodriguez
3 The First Patient Michael Palmer
3.5 The Secret Between Us Barbara Delinsky
3.5 Last Night at the Lobster Stewart O'Nan
4 What is the What Dave Eggers
4 Change of Heart Jodi Picoult
3 Before You Know Kindness Chris Bohjalian
3.5 The Senator's Wife Sue Miller
3.5 Charley's Web Joy Fielding
2.5 Pandora's Daughter Iris Johansen
3.5 Certain Girls Jennifer Weiner
4 Paranoia Joseph Finder
4 Trans-sister Radio Chris Bohjalian
3.5 The Cure for Modern Life Lisa Tucker
4 Company Man Joseph Finder
3 Beautiful Boy David Sheff
3 Final Exam Pauline Chen
3 Past the Bleachers Chris Bohjalian
3.5 The Bright Side of Disaster Katherine Center
3.5 Suddenly Barbara Delinsky
2.5 Blue Heart Blessed Susan Meissner
3 The Art of Mending Elizabeth Berg
3 Water Witches Chris Bohjalian
2.5 The Day I Ate Whatever I Wanted Elizabeth Berg
3 Blue Smoke and Murder Elizabeth Lowell
4 Heartsick Chelsea Cain
3 Run Ann Patchett
3 The Wishbones Tom Perotta
3.5 Tweak Nic Sheff
2 Still Summer Jacquelyn Mitchard
3.5 The Genius Jesse Kellerman
3.5 Infected Scott Sigler
4 Bright Shiny Morning James Frey
4 Daddy's Girl Lisa Scottoline
4 Creepers David Morrell
4 Scavenger David Morrell
3 The Woman Who Can't Forget Jill Price
4 Three Girls and Their Brother Theresa Rebeck
3.5 Long Lost David Morrell
3.5 The Art of Racing in the Rain Garth Stein
4 The Story of Forgetting Stefan Merrill Block
3.5 Power Play Joseph Finder
3 Desperate Measures David Morrell
3.5 Restless Virgins Abigail Jones and Marissa Miley
3.5 Rock On Dan Kennedy
3 The Third Twin Ken Follett
3.5 Breaking Dawn Stephenie Meyer
3 The Patron Saint of Liars Ann Patchett
4 Made in the USA Billie Letts
3.5 The Last Lecture Randy Pausch
3 Sail James Patterson and Howard Roughan
4 Peony in Love Lisa Lee
3.5 Sweetheart Chelsea Cain
4 At Risk Alice Hoffman
3.5 Ghosts of Boyfriends Past Carly Alexander
3.5 The Keepsake Tess Gerritsen
4 If I Am Missing or Dead Janine Latus
4 Bright Lights Big Ass Jennifer Lancaster
5 American Wife Curtis Sittenfeld
3 Foreign Body Robin Cook
4 The Book of Lies Brad Meltzer
3 Girls Guide to Kicking Your Career into Gear Caitlin Friedman and Kimberly Yorio
3.5 Basic Black Cathie Black
3.5 Good People Marcus Sakey
4 The Opposite of Love Julie Buxbaum
3.5 Whacked Jules Asner
3 Bad Haircut Tom Perotta
3 Pharmakon Dirk Wittenborn
3 Their Wildest Dreams Peter Abrahams
3 Queen of Babble in the Big City Meg Cabot
3 Jury of One David Ellis
3 The Birthday Party Stanley Alpert
4 Mrs Kimble Jennifer Haigh
3.5 A Perfect Crime Peter Abrahams
3.5 Girls in Trucks Katie Crouch
3 Riding Lessons Sara Gruen
4.5 The Condition Jennifer Haigh
4 The Book of Joe Jonathan Tropper
4 The Kite Runner Khaled Hosseini
4 The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
3 Love the One You're With Emily Giffin
2.5 Confessions of a Contractor Richard Murphy
2.5 The Professors' Wives Club Joanne Rendell
3 The Doctor's Wife Elizabeth Brundage
3 Just Breathe Susan Wiggs
2.5 Just After Sunset Stephen King
4 The Glass Castle Jeannette Walls
3.5 The Girl Who Stopped Swimming Joshilyn Jackson
2 Sequence Lori Andrews
2.5 When You Are Engulfed in Flames David Sedaris
2.5 Sheer Abandon Penny Vincenzi
3.5 Such a Pretty Fat Jennifer Lancaster
3 The Hour I First Believed Wally Lamb
3 Eating Heaven Jennie Shortridge
2 Dewey Vickie Myron with Bret Witter
3 I'll Fly Away Wally Lamb
3 Plainsong Kent Haruf
3 Don't Tell a Soul David Rosenfelt
2 The Choice Nicholas Sparks
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Spudd
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Re: 2008 Book round-up!

Post by Spudd »

Thanks to Rowan's list last year, I kept a list this year. First the poll answers, then the list if anyone cares.

How many books did you read this year? (if you're into tracking that sort of thing)
* 29, apparently.

What was your favourite book read this year?
* I had a few I really liked: The Lovely Bones, on the more literary side, and the Gunslinger series as well as "The Vanished Man" on the more fluffy side.

Any stinkers?
* I do NOT recommend that Carol Higgins Clark book that I read (Hitched). It was awful. Luckily, I got it free from a cereal box, so I didn't have to pay for the awfulness. Also, the Friday Night Knitting Club was pretty bad. And I managed to slog through Master and Commander, but I really didn't enjoy it.

Did you receive any books (or book-related items) for Christmas?
* Actually, no.

Do you have any "readolutions" for 2009?
* I hadn't thought about it. I don't think I will make any aside from keeping tracking the books I read, because I really like having the list.

Here's my list:
  • Tess of the D'Urbervilles (Penguin Classics) by Thomas Hardy
    Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson
    Limits by Larry Niven
    A Hole In Space by Larry Niven
    The Drawing of the Three (The Dark Tower, Book 2) by Stephen King
    The Copper Beech by Maeve Binchy
    The Gunslinger (The Dark Tower, Book 1) by Stephen King
    The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks
    Invisible Monsters by Chuck Palahniuk
    A Thin Dark Line by Tami Hoag
    Fatal Voyage (Temperance Brennan Novels) by Kathy Reichs
    The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs
    The Vanished Man (A Lincoln Rhyme Novel) by Jeffery Deaver
    Hitched (Regan Reilly Mysteries, No. 9) by Carol Higgins Clark
    The Other End of Time (Eschaton) by Frederik Pohl
    Master and Commander by Patrick O'Brian
    The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
    Watchmen by Alan Moore
    Summer Sisters : A Novel by Judy Blume
    Anna Karenina (Signet Classics) by Leo Tolstoy
    Poor Tom Is Cold: A Detective Murdoch Mystery by Maureen Jennings
    Light A Penny Candle by Maeve Binchy
    The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
    Crazy Aunt Purl's Drunk, Divorced, and Covered in Cat Hair by Laurie Perry
    Anne of Windy Poplars (Anne of Green Gables) by L.M. Montgomery
    A Place of Hiding by Elizabeth George
    Deception Point by Dan Brown
    Anne's House of Dreams (Anne of Green Gables, No. 5) by L.M. Montgomery
    Knitting Rules! by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee
Rachael
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Re: 2008 Book round-up!

Post by Rachael »

How many books did you read this year? (if you're into tracking that sort of thing)

Didn't count, but quite a few. I read A - T of the Kinsey Malone mysteries by Sue Grafton, so that's 20 books right there. I also read Harry Potter 6 & 7 and a few Chuck Paluhniak books.

What was your favourite book read this year?

I loved Invisible Monster by Chuck Paluhniak.

Any stinkers?

No because I decided I'm not going to make myself keep reading books I don't like anymore! I've decided it's okay to abandon bad books without finishing.

Did you receive any books (or book-related items) for Christmas?

A crappy Walmart cookbook from my sister-cousin, plus a cookbook holder.

Do you have any "readolutions" for 2009?

Just to read for enjoyment most days of the year!
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