all about books

I've decided to keep track of the books I read this year:

a) so I can look back at the end of 2009, and remember and review, and pick favourites

b) to make sure I keep reading

In 2008, my bestest book was The Road by Cormac McCarthy. It made my insides cave in, filled my head up with ash and despair. I read that so fast, consumed by it, I don't even know how much I actually read. I have since learned from an Empire magazine that it has been made in to a movie, with Viggo Mortensen as the lead. I'm not sure about this. The book is intense, especially with what isn't spoken, and so grey. Ashen. I will be interested to see how that translates to film. (if you go to IMDB.com and look it up, the character names give away so much of the most awful parts of the story, the parts as a reader that are sprung on you. Especially the role played by "Mark Tierno". If you haven't read the book, don't visit IMDB and read about the movie until you have).

Books so far in 2008:

Does This Make Sense to You by Renee
- I love how Renee writes humour into sad or tragic situations. She has a gift. I was rooting for the main character the whole way. A Kiwi author, one of our tutors at Whitireia, an inspiration.

Stiff by Mary Roach
- I've started this before but didn't finish. This time I got to the end. A good non-fic read about the 'lives' of cadavers.

Behind the Scenes at the Museum by Kate Atkinson
- Love her writing, one of my newer discoveries. I think the first one of hers I read is still my fave though, Case Histories.

Tales from the Town of Widows by James Canon
- Reminds me a lot of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, which seems inevitable. Everyone will make that comparison. This, though, I found more accessible. I devoured it at the bach in Tata, got sand in the spine.

The Secret History by Donna Tartt
- Picked this out of the bookshelf at the bach at Tata. It wasn't what I expected, yet now after finishing it, I'm not sure what I did expect from this book (something more like Zadie Smith?). This book made me feel... unsmart, and I know there was more to it than I was getting.

The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields
- Cheat entry, as did not complete. Got bored. Tried very hard and some parts were great, but then it would skip to a character who was uninteresting. Had a feeling she killed off the best character in the first few pages. Won the Pulitzer Prize in 95. I really wanted to like this one.

Mr Pip by Lloyd Jones
- I'm cheating a little bit with this one too, because I read this on the plane to NZ (e.g., 2008), but as it kicked off my holiday reading, I'm still counting it. I haven't read Great Expectations. I feel I should! Kiwi author, nominated for the 07 Booker.

Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
- A fantastic collection of short stories. I like the one, god I can't even remember the title now, of the kid being babysat by the Indian woman learning to drive, and the one with the woman having an affair.

Moral Disorder by Margaret Atwood
- Mum gave this book to me for Christmas. I love Atwood. The stories in this book feel kind of autobiographical and I'm curious how much of it mirrors her life.

And currently.... The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd.