Thursday, January 1, 2009

Books I Read in 2008

  1. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (bookclub)
  2. There is No Me Without You by Melissa Fay Greene
  3. Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut (bookclub - bazillionth reading)
  4. The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz (bookclub)
  5. Franny & Zooey by J.D. Salinger (bookclub - 3rd reading)
  6. Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri
  7. The Bastard of Istanbul by Elif Shafak
  8. The Artist's Guide to Public Art by Lynn Basa
  9. Rowdy in Paris by Tim Sandlin
  10. In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan (bookclub)
  11. Bento Box in the Heartland by Linda Furiya
  12. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
  13. A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami (bookclub)
  14. Sharp Teeth by Toby Barlow (bookclub)
  15. Waiter Rant by Steve DuBlanica (bookclub)
  16. Suite Francais by Irene Nemirovsky
  17. A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby
  18. In the Tennessee Country by Peter Taylor
  19. The Yiddish Policeman's Union by Michael Chabon (bookclub)


Auxiliary List 1: Books I Didn't Finish This Year
  1. Hold the Enlightenment by Tim Cahill (bookclub - sorry SMBD)
  2. How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman (I don't think I ever finished the bread section. Maybe soup.)
  3. de Kooning by Mark Stevens and Annalyn Swan (I'll finish it eventually)
  4. City of God by E.L. Doctorow (just couldn't get into it)


Auxiliary List 2: (Newly Read) Books That I HIGHLY Recommend from This Year
  1. There is No Me Without You by Melissa Fay Greene
  2. The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
  3. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
  4. Suite Francais by Irene Nemirovsky

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

i'll give you the dekooning book story here: he was poor, he drank too much, he had lots of sex, drank too much, had a way way wacky relationship with his wife, drank too much, had a sad relationship with his daughter, and he drank too much.
the best bit: he once traded paintings with norman rockwell.
i read it over the summer because everyone i knew swore by it, in hindsight, i'd skip it.

did i mention he went on benders and drank too much?

i'll look for that f scott fitzgerald version of Franny and Zooey, does he stay pretty true to the salinger version?

Memphis Urban Sketchers said...

Colors of Red My Cheeks Are Turning from Embarrassment:
1. fire engine red
2. burgundy
3. red orange
4. orange red
5. brick red
6. cranberry
7. maroon
8. scarlet

Unknown said...

I've read 5 1/2 of those books.

(my word verification is "ismiling.")