Books read in 2008

Going into 2004 I decided I was for once going to fulfill a realistic New Year's resolution. People can't keep New Year's resolutions normally because the ones they make couldn't be kept by anyone. "I'm going to exercise everyday." Well what happens when you get sick? Sounds like a good one until reality hits. I wanted to make a resolution that was realistic to accomplish but one that would also stretch me. "I'm going to exercise once a month" obviously can be accomplished - but who the heck cares?

So my NYR that year was to read 50 books over the course of the year. To keep track I wrote down the titles and authors. By year's end I had 49 read. Failed - but how close can you get? So I tried the same the next year. Number of books read in 2005: 54. Yes, I have made and kept a NYR in my lifetime.

Since then I've unofficially tried to hit 50 books a year. This year I only read 48. In my defense - which is me comforting myself - one of the books I read was Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, which has around 1800 pages. I think that makes up for falling two short.

I thought it was beneficial to be able to look back and see the list of books I had read over the year. It helps for having something to look at when someone asks you for a book recommendation. So I've kept track of all of the books I've read since then, making a new list every year. So, here is my list of read books in 2008:

1. A Prayer for Owen Meany ~ John Irving
2. Seventh Son ~ Orson Scott Card
3. Crown of Swords ~ Robert Jordan
4. Elantris ~ Brandon Sanderson
5. Duma Key ~ Stephen King
6. The Appeal ~ John Grisham
7. American Gods ~ Neil Gaiman
8. The Emergent Manifesto of Hope ~ Doug Pagitt & Tony Jones
9. Dune Messiah ~ Frank Herbert
10. Red Prophet ~ Orson Scott Card
11. Sex God ~ Rob Bell
12. Apprentice Alvin ~ Orson Scott Card
13. Alvin Journeyman ~ Orson Scott Card
14. Heartfire ~ Orson Scott Card
15. The Crystal City ~ Orson Scott Card
16. 7th Heaven ~ James Patterson
17. Odd Hours ~ Dean Koontz
18. Twilight ~ Stephanie Meyer
19. Les Miserables ~ Victor Hugo
20. New Moon ~ Stephanie Meyer
21. Eclipse ~ Stephanie Meyer
22. The Shack ~ William Young
23. Communicating for Change ~ Andy Stanley
24. First Blood ~ David Morrell
25. The Dangerous Days of Daniel X ~ James Patterson
26. Anansi Boys ~ Neil Gaiman
27. Fight Club ~ Chuck Palahniuk
28. No Country for Old Men ~ Cormac McCarthy
29. UnChristian ~ David Kinnaman & Gabe Lyons
30. Adam ~ Ted Dekker
31. How to Speak to Youth…and Keep Them Awake at the Same Time ~ Ken Davis
32. The Godfather Returns ~ Mark Winegardner
33. Breaking Dawn ~ Stephanie Meyer
34. I am Legend ~ Richard Matheson
35. Brisinger ~ Christopher Paolini
36. Black Sunday ~ Thomas Harris
37. A Lion Among Men ~ Gregory Maquire
38. The Subtle Knife ~ Philip Pullman
39. The Memory Keeper’s Daughter ~ Kim Edwards
40. Cross Country ~ James Patterson
41. On the Road ~ Jack Kerouac
42. Ender in Exile ~ Orson Scott Card
43. The Great Gatsby ~ F. Scott Fitzgerald
44. Byzantium ~ Stephen Lawhead
45. Your Heart Belongs to Me ~ Dean Koontz
46. Wishful Drinking ~ Carrie Fisher
47. The Graveyard Book ~ Neil Gaiman
48. Blue Like Jazz ~ Donald Miller

Over the next couple days I'm going to comment on what my favorites (and not so favorites) were. I'm also going to think through my favorite music & movies from the year.

I'm not going to make any comments on the list or things for 2009 today though. It helps me to stretch out forward-looking-thinking.

I will say this though...Blue Like Jazz was a good book to end the year on. I needed to read it.