Top Ten Reads of 2008

I always have difficulty in determining what constitutes a favorite read. Obviously, I consider how much I liked the book and if I would reread it again, but I like books for many different reasons. Perhaps one book had a compelling plot and another had a favorite character and yet another book caused me to think more. There is also mood to contend with, maybe I didn’t like a book so much, but it isn’t the books fault. I could have been occupied or sleepy or it simply was the Wrong Time for that particular book.

After much deliberation, I bring you my top ten reads of 2008. I am not including books that were rereads (or else Harry Potter would be continually listed) and I’m factoring in how much I was consumed by the book. See, I normally set my reading time at 50 pages at a time (give or take a little for chapter breaks), because if I don’t several things happen: 1) I emerge from a reading binge with my eyes bloodshot and crossed and / or 2) I emerge from a reading binge with the kid hungry, the house a mess, no clean laundry, and bills unpaid. Usually, to combat blurred vision and domestic chaos, I read for 50 pages or so and then fold some clothes, or cook a meal, or say hi to the kid/cat; in general, I can maintain a sort of balance between my bookish self and the self that reality demands.

Enough with the babble; on with the books (listed in random order):

Innocent Traitor by Alison Weir – a fast-paced and insightful novel about Lady Jane Grey

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters – a thriller set in the Victorian-era and filled with switched identities, lust, greed, and violence.

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke – Victorian magicians and all manner of odd magical happenings; the “footnotes” were my favorite part.

Affinity by Sarah Waters – Victorian mental asylums and séances makes for unbridled creepiness.

Armadale by Wilkie Collins – A female antagonists who is fond of murder and deception plagues several men (men who I think were idiots and most likely deserved what they got).

Birds Fall Down by Rebecca West – a spy thriller featuring a bright young woman, a Russian family, assassinations and double agents.

The Black Tower by Louis Baynard – despite some plot issues, this book was fast-paced and concerned some aftermath of the French Revolution.

Geek Love by Katharine Dunn – I was surprised by how much I loved this book; the narrator is an albino dwarf and tells of her dysfunctional (and manufactured) family.

A High Wind in Jamaica by Richard Hughes – Bratty children and pirates make for an exciting story.

Coraline by Neil Gaiman – I read this YA book in one sitting; the black button eyes on the fake parents were by frightening.

There we go. I hope everyone is off to a tremendous reading year!

What I'm doing: at the Perk drinking a coffee and chair dancing to Joy Division; Hope looks mortified.
I'm about to: read The Sister and let Hope listen to Social Distortion.
Later today: clean up the house, do some laundry, help Hope do some knitting.