This is the list of books I read in 2008, from most recent.  So, I finished The Wide Open Door in late December, and I read Infidel in January 2008.

I'm going to track the 2009 books too, but I didn't want to lose "the list" from 2008 so I'm putting it here on a blog page.

This was fun.  I often wished, as I was reading, that I would stop and do a little book review at the end of each.  Or, at least pull out one quote I loved from each one.  I didn't do that (mostly because the blog page itself is not set up for that type of "go to another page to read a review" functionality).  Maybe in 2009.

One of the reasons I get to read so much is that I have a 3 hour round trip commute for my job 4-5 days a week.  That allows for lots of quiet time and reading.

I am also a writer, and every January, I think "I should write more."  Of course.  I even thought yesterday, "What if this were the Year Of Writing instead of Reading?"  3 hours of commuter writing.  I even got out my little notepad this morning on the bus and wrote down some thoughts.

Then I realized, NO, IT IS NOT GOING TO WORK.  Writing on the bus is horrible.  There's:

• The bad lighting.  The lights are not always bright enough.  Those that are, shine a light so that a dark shadow falls directly over the words I'm writing, so I LITERALLY CANNOT SEE A WORD I'M WRITING.  Pretty infuriating.
• Hand-writing.  I've used a computer for 25 years.  My fingers, hands and thoughts work better through a keyboard than through pushing a pen or pencil across paper.
• The paper.  There is no device, setup, book, pad, or whatever that can give me a comfortable way to write on the bus.
• The bumps.  The bumping and weaving and braking and leaning on a bus is maddening when trying to write by hand.  Just ask all the people who have ever had the misfortune of getting a letter from me that I had written while on the bus.
• The other people.  No elbow room.  Gotta have elbow room.

I could go on.  But I won't.  So, I will not be using my precious 3 hours a day for writing. I'm going to try to make a comment on the books I remember from the past year.  The first one will be easy because it is fresh in my mind.  I have no doubt that there were books I really liked, but I just don't remember any more.  That doesn't say much for the book or for my retention!

The Wide Open Door - by Neeraj Bhushan, MD This was fun.  Written by my personal physician.  So honest, vulnerable and earnest.  Lots to like about this book.  I'm happy for him.  And it is a comfort to know how he approaches me as a patient.

It's Your Ship: Management Techniques from the Best Damn Ship in the Navy - by Michael Abrashoff  Typical management/leadership style book.  I liked it.  It is wonderful when you are in a position to influence people's lives for the better just by being a better human being yourself.

Italian Lessons - by Peter Pezzelli  Okay

An Irish Country Village - by Patrick Taylor  Okay.  If you read "An Irish Country Doctor", this is the sequel.  Likable characters.

A Single Thread - by Marie Bostwick  Very nice!  I'd recommend it.  It uses quilting as a metaphor for life and does a nice job.

Where Are You Now? - by Mary Higgins Clark Good murder mystery.

The End of the Affair - by Graham Greene  Very intellectual crisis-of-faith book.

The Empty Chair - by Jeffery Deaver  Okay

Until Proven Innocent - by Stuart Taylor Jr and KC Johnson  OMG OMG OMG. Should be required reading for American citizens to remind us of our foundational value in the justice system - that we are innocent until proven guilty.  That power corrupts.  That both liberals and conservatives have evil extremes.

The Blue Nowhere - by Jeffery Deaver  Cool mystery!

The Ice Child - by Elizabeth McGregor Okay

Chosen by a Horse - by Susan Richards  Beautiful book.  Very humanizing and heart-warming.  Would really recommend it.  Learned a lot about horses and the animal/human connection.

Never Enough - by Joe McGinniss  True crime, sad story of depraved, spoiled little rich girl.

Sit, Ubu, Sit - by Gary David Goldberg  Interesting.

Sick Girl - by Amy Silverstein  Depressed me to read it.

Escape - by Carolyn Jessop with Laura Palmer  Really good true account of the wife of the most powerful man at the head of the fundamentalist polygamist Mormon branch of the church.  Very helpful to hear from her perspective, because we don't tend to understand how women can "allow themselves" to be a part of a right-wing, polygamist church like that.  Carolyn answers that question, and I think it is important for Americans to hear her, and understand her. 

Final Theory - by Mark Alpert  Interesting mystery.

The Christmas Promise - by Donna Van Liere  Okay.

Lady Killer - by Lisa Scottoline  I like Scottoline's mysteries.  This was good.

Sundays at Tiffany's - by James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet  Yikes.  Don't remember.

Dead Heat - by Dick Francis and Felix Francis  Interesting murder mystery.  Different approach/plotline.

Nothing but the Truth - by Avi Good reading for Americans.  Understand Free Speech and what it means.

The Sugar Queen - by Sarah Addison Allen Okay

Blue Heaven - by C.J. Box  Good.

The First Patient - by Michael Palmer  Enjoyable mystery!

Field Notes on the Compassionate Life - by Marc Ian Barasch  MY FAVORITE.  STILL.  READ THIS BOOK. READ THIS BOOK. READ THIS BOOK.  REALLY.

Someone Knows My Name - by Lawrence Hill  Wonderful.  I would never have picked up this book on my own.  An online friend recommended it to me.  Good for Americans to read and understand the lives of those who came here in slavery.  Really amazing story-telling and detail.  Extremely educational. 

Open Mind, Open Heart - by Thomas Keating Primer for Centering Prayer for the beginning contemplative pray-er.  Will use it as a refresher, inspirer and reference for a long time.

Jesus Land - by Julia Scheeres  Horrifying with very little redeeming value.  'Kept waiting for the book to resolve itself into some lesson, redemption, conclusion.  It never did.  Just a lot of pain.

Her Royal Spyness - by Rhys Bowen  Okay

The Year of Magical Thinking - by Joan Didion  I didn't love it.

The Watchman - by Robert Crais Yikes!  I don't remember.

The Choice - by Nicholas Sparks Classic Sparks, but not his best.

The Ghost - by Robert Harris  Good!

My Life With George, What I Learned about Joy from One Neurotic (and Very Expensive) Dog - by Judith Summers  Cute.

F5, Devastation, Survival, and the Most Violent Tornado Outbreak of the Twentieth Century - by Mark Levine Amazing

My Grandfather's Son, A Memoir - by Clarence Thomas Okay

Identical Strangers - by Elyse Schein and Paula Bernstein Fascinating - true story of twins raised apart.

The Blue Zone - by Andrew Gross  Good!

Water for Elephants - by Sara Gruen  Really wonderful.  Worth reading.  Loved the treatment of the elderly in the book, as well as the fascinating peek into the gritty world of the circus in the 1940's.

Iris & Ruby - by Rosie Thomas  Okay

The Dance of the Dissident Daughter - by Sue Monk Kidd  Very good.  Interesting to read about another woman coming to realizations I had in my teens (!).  It was a powerful book for many of the women in my book club.

The Long Walk Home - by Will North  Okay

The Shack - by William P. Young  Fun.  Reflected a very natural way of looking at God for me, so it wasn't new or groundbreaking, but more like good memories.  Worth reading if you've never been able to feel the human connection with God.

Bad Blood - by Linda Fairstein Yikes! I don't remember

How Starbucks Saved My Life - by Michael Gates Gill  Interesting true story.

Crashing Through - by Robert Kurson Wow.  Fascinating true story, worth the read.

Too Late to Say Goodbye - by Ann Rule True crime.  Always interesting!

How the Irish Saved Civilization - by Thomas Cahill  Long, ambitious compendium of history, anthropology, philosophy, religion, geography, and more.  Educational.

An Irish Country Doctor - by Patrick Taylor Quaint.

Step on a Crack - by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge Good.

Meet Me In Venice - by Elizabeth Adler Okay

The Overlook - by Michael Connelly Okay

Elizabeth - by J. Randy Taraborrelli Biography of Elizabeth Taylor.  Interesting.

Another Day in the Frontal Lobe, A Brain Surgeon Exposes Life on the Inside - by Katrina Firlik  Liked it a lot!

Dancing With Rose, Finding life in the land of alzheimer's - by Lauren Kessler Very nice.

Infidel - by Ayaan Hirsi Ali  I was really glad to read this book.  It is so important, I think, that we understand the mind, the life, the hopes, the experience of our Islamic brothers and sisters.  This goes a long way to helping.