During a fairly recent Booking Through Thursday, we were asked to list our favorite books of 2008. I mentioned that if people left their favorite books of 2008 in the comments, I would compile a list and post it for you (if you don’t see a book here that you loved but you left a comment saying, “Come check out my post!”, well then it’s because I did go check out your post but it was too difficult to copy and paste your list into this post for whatever reason. So next time? Just leave me a list in the comments, otherwise I start banging my head on the keyboard and it’s just not pretty. I only have so much time to do the compiling. Don’t make me work for it. Thanks! ).

ANYWAY, I had every intention of doing really cool things with this list. Like putting authors with all the books. And linking all the books to Amazon (easier than trying to find the review in the various bloggers’ blogs). And noting what genre the book was. But this kind of thing takes hours, hours which I don’t have anymore. So I’m giving up and just presenting you with what I’ve accumulated. It’s not beautiful, but it is what it is.

Beware…you probably won’t be able to look at this list without having to add books to your TBR list. Mwahahaha!!

• The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
• Neverwhere – Neil Gaiman
• Coraline – Neil Gaiman
• Battle Cry of Freedom – James McPherson
• Mayflower – Nathaniel Philbrick
• No Time for Goodbye – Linwood Barclay
• Shape of Mercy – Susan Meissner
• The Diving Bell and the Butterfly – Jean-Dominique Bauby
• The Vintner’s Luck – Elizabeth Knox
• American Gods – Neil Gaiman
• Un Lun Dun – China Mieville
• A Moveable Feast – Ernest Hemingway
• Duma Key – Stephen King
• Up Till Now – William Shatner
• The Uncommon Reader – Alan Bennett
• Rebecca – Daphne du Maurier
• The Swallows of Kabul – Yasmina Khadra
• Village of Stone – Xiaolu Guo
• Disobedience – Naomi Alderman
• Memory – Philippe Grimbert
• Through Black Spruce – Joseph Boyden
• The Lizard Cage – Karen Connelly
• Me and Emma – Elizabeth Flock
• The Boys in the Trees – Mary Swan
• Night Train to Lisbon – Pascal Mercier
• Breath – Tim Winton
• The Whalestoe Letters – Mark Z. Danielewski
• Ten Thousand Lovers – Edeet Ravel
• City of Thieves – David Benioff
• The Door – Magda Szabo
• Detective Story – Imre Kertesz
• A Pigeon and a Boy – Meir Shalev
• A Thousand Splendid Suns – Khaled Hosseini
• The White Tiger – Aravind Adiga
• Home – Marilynne Robinson
• The Secret Scripture – Sebastian Barry
• Guernica – David Boling
• What Was Lost – Catherine O’Flynn
• Sorry – Gail Jones
• Offshore – Penelope Fitzgerald
• The Dawning of the Day – Haim Sabato
• The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay
• The Story of Edgar Sawtelle
• The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
• Sea of Poppies
• The Road
• Outliers
• Freakonomics
• there is no me without you
• We Need to Talk About Kevin
• Absalom, Absalom
• Disgrace
• The Book Thief
• In Defense of Food
• Man of the House
• Love Walked In
• The Big Four
• Brisingr
• Endless Night
• Farworld: Water Keep
• The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
• This Present Darkness
• Here, There Be Dragons
• Lady Susan
• That Hideous Strength
• Codex 632
• The Praise of Folly
• A Pocket Full of Rye
• Eragon
• A Flaw in the Blood
• The Gone-Away World – Nick Harkaway
• Little Brother – Cory Doctorow
• How To Ditch Your Fairy – Justine Larbalestier
• The Likeness – Tana French
• The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society – Mary Ann Shaffer
• and Annie Barrows
• Parnassus on Wheels – Christopher Morley
• Into Thin Air – Jon Krakauer
• A Walk in the Woods – Bill Bryson
• Tomato Girl – Jayne Pupek
• Mudbound – Hillary Jordan
• The Art of Racing in the Rain – Garth Stein
• The Wreckage – Michael Crummy
• Water for Elephants – Sara Gruen
• You Went Away – Timothy Findley
• Mostly Happy – Pam Bustin
• The Count of Monte Cristo – Alexandre Dumas
• The Road
• Interpreter of Maladies
• The Senator’s Wife
• Annie Dunne
• Last Night at the Lobster
• The Future of Love – Shirley Abbott
• Letter from Point Clear – Dennis McFarland
• Finding Nouf – Zoë Ferraris
• The Birds Fall Down – Rebecca West
• The Uncommon Reader – Alan Bennett
• A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian – Marina Lewycka
• The Dreyfus Affair – Peter Lefcourt
• Kansas in August – Patrick Gale
• The Year of Fog – Michelle Richmond
• 13 Little Blue Envelopes – Maureen Johnson (Young Adult)
• A Bride Most Begrudging – Deeanne Gist (Inspirational Romance)
• Austenland – Shannon Hale (Chick Lit)
• Cook’s Treasure – Jennifer Cooper (Romance)
• Drums of Autumn – Diana Gabaldon (Historical Fiction)
• Finding Hope – Brenda Coulter (Romance)
• Mansfield Park – Jane Austen (Classic, Romance)
• Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen (Classic, Romance)
• Northanger Abbey – Jane Austen (Classic, Romance)
• Sense and Sensibility – Jane Austen (Classic, Romance)
• Spiderweb for Two – Elizabeth Enright (Childrens)
• The Broken Window – Jeffery Deaver (Suspense)
• The Sleeping Doll – Jeffery Deaver (Suspense)
• I Am the Messenger – Markus Zusak
• The Year of Living Biblically – A.J. Jacobs
• Lamb – Christopher Moore
• The Omnivore’s Dilemma – Michael Pollen
• East of Eden – John Steinbeck

But to make things even more interesting, do you have any books that you’ve read since January 1st that you’re sure will be a favorite of the year? I have a few already, like The Help by Kathryn Stockett, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, and The Bodies Left Behind by Jeffery Deaver. So what’s captured your attention so far this year?

This week’s Booking Through Thursday question is:

• Hardcover? Or paperback?
• Illustrations? Or just text?
• First editions? Or you don’t care?
• Signed by the author? Or not?

I’ve never been a book collector. It’s always been my dream to be able to collect every single book I read, but I realized by the age of, oh, I don’t know, 18 or so that keeping every book I’d ever read would be next to impossible.

Also, I’m of the variety that books should be used. I don’t want my books to have to sit behind a glass case where people can’t touch them. I know people who collect books, but for as much as I read, I don’t really get it.

BUT, I’ve been going to author appearances for the first time in my life in the past couple of years, and I am a SUCKER for books I can get personalized. I fear those books will quickly overtake my already overflowing bookcase, making it that much more difficult to cull out unnecessary books when the time comes.

What is it with those personalized books that makes them so appealing? I think it’s that I’ve made a connection with the author. I have proof that my hero knew I existed, if at least for a minute or two. Authors — they are my rock stars. And if they sign a book that I’ve read (or have every intention of reading), that I’ve loved, then I will treasure that book.

I promise, though, for as much as I am a rabid fan of various authors, I will never ask them to sign my breasts.

Don’t forget to enter the Slanket Giveaway I have going on!

In the February 11, 2009 issue of Shelf Awareness, they had the above picture and the following blurb:

Last Thursday, the University Book Store, Seattle, Wash., held its first “Read Dating” event. Participants had eight minutes to chat about their favorite books and authors before moving on to the next person. Stesha Brandon, manager of public relations and events, reported that “a ton of people came, and I think even a few matches were made. We’re definitely going to do it again.”

Read dating? Really? I mean, I guess if you’re going to connect over something, reading’s as good as anything else.

So would you do it? If you were single, of course.

In the Land of No Right Angles by Daphne Beal is not a book I would normally read. It’s kind of like a travelogue, and while I would like to do some traveling, Asia holds almost no interest for me. Maybe that’s because I haven’t been anywhere else (like France!), but I’m just not interested.

BUT! This book got a really good review in Publisher’s Weekly, and it was mentioned in the year end recap of Publisher’s Weekly. I’m sure you all know that when you read lots of books, for one to stand out amongst the crowd means it’s something special. I really couldn’t find anything negative about this book, so I went ahead and checked it out from my library.

In the Land of No Right Angles tells the story of Alex, an American girl who spends a year in Nepal when she’s just 20 years old. Eight months into that year, Alex’s friend, Will, an American who is living in Nepal, asks her to find a girl for him when she mentions that she’ll be trekking in the central hill region of Nepal. Alex agrees and sets out to find this girl.

When Alex finds this girl, Maya, living with her family in the country, Maya is very poor and just wants out. Anything is better than where she is now, so she quickly agrees to leave with Alex because Will has a job set up for her.

Alex quickly learns that trying to help someone out of poverty who has no education is difficult at best. Alex wanted to be Maya’s savior, but finds that not everything is under her control.

Having left Maya with Will after her visa expired, four years pass with minimal contact and finally Alex makes it so that she can return and see her friend. This time, though, Maya is living with a man who beats her. Alex once again does her best to help Maya, but finds that choices are limited for a country girl with no education.

Alex has a hard time watching Maya flounder and make decisions that Alex doesn’t think are the best. But Alex first went to Nepal very young, very naive, and very much an idealist. It takes Alex a long time to learn that Maya is responsible for her own life, and as much as Alex would like to *fix* Maya’s life, that’s not her job.

I really enjoyed this book. This is a quick read, but there’s a lot going on. I like the author’s spare prose. She deftly handles descriptions of Nepal, letting me *see* it without dense descriptions.

This would be an excellent book club pick. If you enjoy traveling, I’m sure you’d like this book as well. (Hi, Jill!) If you like interesting, dynamic characters, you’ll like this book.

Rating: 88 out of 100

Other reviews:

S. Krishna’s Books

The title of this post in no way reflects the thoughts, ideas, or beliefs of the links provided below. I just like words that rhyme.

Usually when I do a link round up, I make the descriptions as brief as possible. But this link deserves a showcase.

From Destined to be the Crazy Cat Woman:

“‘The cover has to reflect the athleticism and sexiness of the culture. This photo is modern, her hair and swimsuit look natural. You see her freckles. Her body is amazing and she looks intelligent,” Terry McDonell, group editor at Sports Illustrated.

“Intelligent? I will not speculate on the intelligence of Bar Refaeli but to say that this picture does is beyond ludicrous. The picture does tell me that she is a beautiful young woman with a great body who looks fabulous in a bikini and has little in the way of pubic hair.”

And I just had to add…her breasts seem awfully fake, and I can’t get the phrase “fun bags” out of my head.

Click for larger image

Amy had a great post about Vampires and Werewolves and which one you, *ahem*, prefer. She mentioned Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, who, somehow, I’d totally forgotten about, and so I guess I prefer vampires over werewolves. But I definitely don’t prefer Edward Cullen. I think Stephenie Meyer got the vampire thing all wrong. Spike is all…right.