Books Read Starting January 1, 2008
1.) A Death In Belmont Sebastian Junger
2.) The Memory Keeper’s Daughter Kim Edwards
3.) Stiff Mary Roach
4.) Spook Mary Roach
5.) This Time of Dying Reina James
6.) The Catholic Revolution Andrew Greeley
7.) Inside The Victorian Home Judith Flanders
8.) In The Woods Tana French
9.) Visions and Longing Monica Furlong
10.) Guns, Germs, and Steel Jared Diamond
11.)Twilight Stephanie Meyer
12.) Why Mermaids Sing C. S. Harris
13.) New Moon Stephanie Meyer
14.) Eclipse Stephanie Meyer
15.) Bloody Jack L. A. Meyer
16.) Curse of the Blue Tattoo L. A. Meyer
17.) Under the Jolly Roger L. A. Meyer
18.) In the Belly of the Bloodhound L. A. Meyer
19.) Mississippi Jack L. A. Meyer
20.) Devil in the Shape of a Woman Carol Karlsen
21.) Ninth Key Meg Cabot
22.) Reunion Meg Cabot
23.) Haunted Meg Cabot
24.) Twilight Meg Cabot
25.) The Double Bind Chris Bojhalian
26.) Darkest Hour Meg Cabot
27.) Shadowland Meg Cabot
28.) Before You Know Kindness Chris Bojhalian
29.) Labyrinth Kate Mosse
30.) Silent in the Grave Deanna Raybourn
31.) Silent in the Sanctuary Deanna Raybourn
32.) Washington Avalanche, 1910 Cameron Dokey
33.) Duma Key Stephen King
34.) St. Valentine’s Night Andrew Greeley
35.) Angels of September Andrew Greeley
36.) The Savage Garden Mark Mills
37.) The Way Life Should Be Christina Baker Kline
38.) The Law of Similars Chris Bojhalian
39.) Patience of a Saint Andrew Greeley
40.) The Nature of Monsters Clare Clark
41.) The Secret of Lost Things Sheridan Hay
42.) An Assembly Such As This Pamela Aiden
43.) The House at Riverton Kate Morton
44.) Sundays at Tiffany’s James Patterson
45.)Duty and Desire Pamela Aiden
46.) Virgin and Martyr Andrew Greeley
47.) These Three Remain Pamela Aiden
48.) The Host Stephanie Meyer
49.) Swine Not? Jimmy Buffett
50.) Blue Bloods Melissa de la Cruz
51.) Masquerade Melissa de la Cruz
52.) Sepulcher Kate Mosse
53.) The Secret History of the Pink Carnation Lauren Willig
54.) 700 Sundays Billy Crystal
55.) Girls in Trucks Katie Crouch
56.) The Masque of the Black Tulip Lauren Willig
57.) The Deception of the Emerald Ring Lauren Willig
58.) The Seduction of the Crimson Rose Lauren Willig
59.) Bonk Mary Roach
60.) And Only To Deceive Tasha Alexander
61.) Oscar Wilde and a Death of No Importance Gyles Brandreth
62.) Finding Darwin’s God Kenneth Miller
63.) The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Understanding Mormonism Drew Williams
64.) Breaking Dawn Stephanie Meyer
65.) Look Homeward Angel Thomas Wolfe
66.) A Poisoned Season Tasha Alexander
67.) The Water Lily Cross Anthony Eglin
68.) Blaze Richard Bachman
69.) Murder at the Universe Daniel Edward Craig
70.) My Bonny Light Horseman L.A. Meyer
71.) A Fatal Waltz Tasha Alexander
72.) The God Delusion Richard Dawkins
73.)A Bewitching Season Melissa Doyle
74.) Murder at the Hotel Cinema Daniel Edward Craig
75.) The Headmaster’s Dilemma Louis Auchincloss
76.) A Flaw In the Blood Stephanie Barron
77.) The Monster’s of Templeton Lauren Groff
78.) The Ghost of the Isherwoods Carol Beach York
79.) The Annotated Sherlock Holmes V. 2 Arthur Conan Doyle
80.) The Shadow Year Jeffery Ford
In 2008 a couple of things happened, first to finish off my degree I spent two months in Belize on an archaeological dig, I brought eight books with me (certainly a low estimate for a normal 2 month span of time); Tasha Alexander's And Only To Deceive, the first three books of the Mitford series by Jan Karon and the first three books in the Blind Justice series by Bruce Alexander. I ended up hating both series and was starved for reading material very quickly. Granted the work schedule (eight hours a day digging in muddy soil hoisting fifty pound buckets over your head) didn't really allow a lot of reading time, but many of the books I did manage to read were borrowed, and those few and far between.
Secondly I started my first full time teaching job a week after coming back stateside, and as any first year teacher will tell you, you're lucky if you have time for bathroom breaks. I know for a fact that I started reading The Ghost of the Isherwoods (a discard from our school library) around parent-teacher conference time in November which gives you an idea of how slow my pacing was.
That being said of the books I did read that year I began to embrace some of my very favorite authors, specifically Deanna Raybourn, Tasha Alexander, and Lauren Willig. Looking over at the headcase bookcase I can see copies of all three author's novels on the shelf, and I only buy my favorites. I admire all three women because they are a combination of smart women and classic writing. Never one for specifically chick lit, they strike a very enjoyable balance.
2008 is also the year I began reading young adult fiction in earnest. I teach middle school students, and as a result tend to soak up their literature. That being said, it is probably the hardest area o write in because the boundaries are so flexible that what is and isn't appropriate requires a lot of work. Three series that stand out are L.A. Meyer's Bloody Jack books, Meg Cabot's lesser known Mediator series, and Melissa de la Cruz's Blue Bloods novels. I also did read Stephanie Meyer's unavoidable Twilight series, my aunt had bought the first book for my fifteen year old cousin, who had no interest in reading at all. I picked it up on a whim while visiting and progressed my way through all three books out at the time, then her adult novel The Host, and when it came out the conclusion of the series. As far as writing is concerned its crap, solid gold crap certainly, and entertaining I suppose, in a slightly backwards way. If you want to read a vampire book, de la Cruz's novels are better written, more amusing, and actually have a plot, which is why I've continued to follow her through the years. Meg Cabot best known for The Princess Diaries, wrote the Mediator series originally under the pen name Jenny Carroll. I think they're a lot of fun with a positive role model and a nicely balanced view of what teenagers are really like. Too often in young adult books the squeaky clean teenagers are almost laughable they're so unrealistic. L.A. Meyer's Bloody Jack books could almost be written for adults they're that advanced. Terrific adventure stories, but still with accurate and fascinating history they're tough to beat.
Looking at the list I also see a lot of books that I have little or no memory of, and even more that I'm totally ambivalent towards. Some were just a novel with a poor concept, others I may have rushed through. I think a lot of it was that I thought they were books I should be reading, and ended up not enjoying the experience. I think you should be able to stand by the books you choose to read, not necessarily like all of them but still read them because they interest you, which this year I didn't always do.
