Twenty-eight in '08

"It is with a good book as it is with good company."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Reading has always been an important part of my life, and I thank my parents for that. Out of all the toys and knick knacks I wanted as a child, and children do want many things, books were one thing that they never said no to. Any book that I wanted was mine, and I think that was important in allowing me to develop a love for reading.

I've bought many books in my lifetime. Oh boy, have I bought many. It is a bit of a problem. Lately, I've attempted to curb this problem by utilizing the library more. So far, so good. Since the August book-buying frenzy at Powell's in Portland (really though, how can one go to such an awesome bookstore and not purchase something?), I've only bought one book (and I don't think that book should really count, how could I not own The Tales of Beetle the Bard?) So for the past few months, I've been supporting my local library and helping my wallet at the same time. Yay me.

I've also read many books in my lifetime. At the beginning of last year, I decided to keep a list of the novels that I read during the year. This is something I had never done before but wish I had. It would've been nice to have a record of my reading history, from when I was a child to now, to see how much and what I've read over the years. I guess that list will just have to start from 2008--during the year, I read 28 new novels ( I only counted the book if it was my first time reading it. In addition to the 28, I did re-read a number of books also.) Some I would have never picked up if it weren't for book club. Some made me laugh out loud, some made me shed a few tears. Some were a disappointment. And some, the little surprises, the gems and the reason why I read, were absolutely wonderful. So here it is, the list...

2008 books, in the order I read them:

New Moon, Stephenie Meyer
Eclipse, Stephenie Meyer
Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict, Laurie Viera Riglerr
Water for Elephants, Sara Gruen
Three Cups of Tea, Greg Mortenson & David Oliver Relin
Ender’s Game, Orson Scott Card
Duty and Desire, Pamela Aidan
These Three Remain, Pamela Aidan
The Witch of Portobello, Paulo Coelho
Fluke, Christopher Moore
Forever in Blue: The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood, Ann Brashares
Prep, Curtis Sittenfeld
The Host, Stephenie Meyer
Anansi Boys, Neil Gaiman
Jane Austen in Scarsdale, Paula Marantz Cohen
The Sirens of Titan, Kurt Vonnegut
The Tail of Emily Windsnap, Liz Kessler
Breaking Dawn, Stephenie Meyer
The Inheritance of Loss, Kiran Desai
The Lace Reader, Brunonia Barry
Salty, Mark Haskell Smith
Three Junes, Julia Glass
Holes, Louis Sacher
Princess Academy, Shannon Hale
Gilead, Marilynne Robinson
The Tale of Despereaux, Kate DiCamillo
Girls in Trucks, Katie Crouch
The Friday Night Knitting Club, Kate Jacobs