books read in 2008 - take 2

i started this list of books i've read during 2008 back in february. since today is april 1, it seemed like a good day to update that list:

21. michael baigent & richard leigh, the dead sea scrolls deception
22. stephen hodge, the dead sea scrolls
23. paul auster, in the country of last things
24. siri hustvedt, blindfold
25. siri hustvedt, a plea for eros
26. siri hustvedt, the enchantment of lily dahl
27. siri hustvedt, the sorrows of an american
29. stephanie pearl-mcphee, knitting rules!
30. stephanie pearl-mcphee, casts off
31. jonathan franzen, how to be alone
32. jonathan franzen, the discomfort zone
33. brian singer, the 1000 journals project
34. danny gregory, the creative license
35. danny gregory, everyday matters
36. jennifer new, drawing from life: the journal as art

after running onto siri hustvedt's new novel, the sorrows of an american, i got a little carried away, getting all her earlier stuff and reading it. but, after just finishing the enchantment of lily dahl today, i feel i've had enough. in a way, her work is all the same. some of the same characters from what i loved actually turn up in sorrows of an american. i've come to think of it all as rather self-indulgent and self-referential and frankly, i'm a bit sick of it. in the early books, you see the characters from the later books in their earlier incarnations. the writing is better and i do a lot more underlining in the later books...what i loved and sorrows of an american, are solidly recommended reads, but i definitely don't feel that way about lily dahl. i don't know what it is, really, but maybe the madness of a small town in minnesota is just too close to home for me. or maybe i read it in this monday malaise from which i seem to be suffering (now well into tuesday) and i just didn't really like it.

however, i shall keep reading. maybe i'll dig out barbara kingsolver, perhaps she can help me out of this funk...

books read so far in 2008

just read a list on another blog, books and cooks, of all the books this woman, tara, whose blog it is, has read thus far in 2008. and i thought that was a brilliant idea. so before i forget any of them:

1. elizabeth gilbert, eat, pray, love (twice)
2. donald c. johanson and maitland a. edey, lucy: the beginnings of humankind
3. dubravka ugresic, the ministry of pain
4. francis wheen, hoo-hahs and passing frenzies
5. josé eduardo agualusa, the book of chameleons
6. stewart lee allen, in the devil's garden
7. nigel slater, kitchen diaries
8. nigel slater, real food
9. nigel slater (are we detecting a theme here?), appetite
10. nigella lawson, feast
11. simon hopkinson, roast chicken & other stories
12. simon hopkinson, second helpings of roast chicken
13. sam and sam clark, casa moro: the second cookbook
14. paul cunningham, madjournal
15. tamasin day-lewis, good-tempered food
16. j.k. rowling, harry potter and the philosopher's stone (read to sabin)
17. j.k. rowling, harry potter and the chamber of secrets (read to sabin)
18. siri hustvedt, what i loved
19. bill bryson, the life and times of the thunderbolt kid
20. natalia rose, the raw food detox diet

i know, you're thinking, hey lady, a bunch of those are cookbooks, people don't read cookbooks. but you would be wrong. i actually DO read cookbooks. cover to cover. when the cookbook writers today write as well as nigel slater and nigella lawson, it's silly NOT to read them cover to cover. and be inspired.

i'm going to keep updating this list throughout 2008 and see how many books i manage to read. i've never really thought about keeping track before, so thanks tara, for the inspiration!