Books Read in 2008

What is the use of a book', thought Alice,
'without pictures or conversations?'
~ Lewis Carroll ~

My annual list of books read in 2008.
The best book of the year for me was “The Given Day” by Dennis Lehane. It had a terrific story and memorable characters. The worst book was “Snuff “by Chuck Palahniuk. The most overrated book of the year was “All the Sad Young Literary Men” by Keith Gessen.

1. “Blonde Faith” by Walter Mosley (The end of Easy Rawlins)
2. “The Book of Air and Shadows” by Michael Gruber
3. “Dispatches from the Edge” by Anderson Cooper (A hard working journalist)
4. “Diablerie” by Walter Mosley (A more sexy style for Mosley)
5. “Beautiful Children” by Charles Bock (Didn’t knock my socks off)
6. “The Good Rat” by Jimmy Breslin (Interesting and sad)
7. “Ant Farm” by Simon Rich (Very funny thank you again B2)
8. “L.A. Outlaws” by T. Jefferson Parker (A fast moving detective story)
9. “The Finder” by Colin Harrison (An outstanding mystery detective novel)
10. “The Appeal” by John Grisham (ho hum, more of a political message book)
11. “Snuff” by Chuck Palahniuk (Utter crap)
12. “The Pillars of the Earth” by Ken Follett (A perfect summer novel)
13. “All the Sad Young Literary Men” by Keith Gessen (Didn’t knock my socks off)
14. “Sun Going Down” by Jack Todd (an interesting story of the mid-1800s to early 1900s)
15. “The Given Day” by Dennis Lehane (Simply outstanding)
16. “Something to Tell You” by Hanif Kureish (I wrote down a number of quotes such as "There are few people who, when they are old, wish they'd lived a more virtuous life")
17. “Lush Life” by Richard Price (A week or two on a case in New York. Made me realize that I couldn’t handle being a detective; far too much of the dark side of humanity)