read 25 books in 2008

It’s about a girl who commits suicide, but she leaves behind a set of cassettes that tell why she chose to end her life.

The main character, Clay, is one of the people who receive the tapes, which means he’s one of the reasons she killed herself.

I really liked this book. It reminded me of my life list – what a lot of people call the Bucket List. So much can happen if you just write down what you want…and you think outside of the box. :D

Barnes and Noble Synopsis:
Synopsis

Anne Marie Roche wants to find happiness again. At thirty-eight, her life’s not what she’d expected—she’s childless, a recent widow, alone. She owns a successful bookstore on Seattle’s Blossom Street, but despite her accomplishments, there’s a feeling of emptiness.

On Valentine’s Day, Anne Marie and several other widows get together to celebrate…what? Hope, possibility, the future. They each begin a list of twenty wishes, things they always wanted to do but never did.

Anne Marie’s list starts with: Find one good thing about life. It includes learning to knit, doing good for someone else, falling in love again. She begins to act on her wishes, and when she volunteers at a local school, an eight-year-old girl named Ellen enters her life. It’s a relationship that becomes far more involving than Anne Marie intended.

It also becomes far more important than she ever imagined.

As Ellen helps Anne Marie complete her list of twenty wishes, they both learn that wishes can come true—but not necessarily in the way you expect.

ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT

by Erich Maria Remarque

Excellent book. I’ve always complained that what I needed in order to understand food and cooking better was someone who explains it from a scientific approach. Willett does just that but also suceeds wonderfully in making that science interesting and accessible. From discussing the politics behind our current USDA Food Pyramid, to providing a better “Healthy Eating” pyramid he provides a solid understanding of how “healthy food” has been defined in the U.S. Also, I find it very respectable that he admits upfront that the science that dictates food recommendations is suceptible to the same trial and error process that all science is. Five out of Five stars. I feel better equipped to make healthy food choices now than before and recommend it to anyone who’d like to know more about food and our body.

10. Animal Farm – George Orwell

Classic.

Far less depressing than most of Steinbeck’s work, Cannery Row actually borders on hopeful, with it’s lovely character study of those with and without means in difficult times. There are no bad guys in the piece, and Steinbeck is careful to describe each of the characters in the most positive light, much as they would see themselves. The conflict, then, is between all these people and the environment of scarcity.

I really enjoyed this book. It’s a fast read, a classic, and a great character study for those who are trying to master the art of writing fiction.

13. 41 Short Stories By O. Henry
Overall good, but because of O. Henry’s penchant of the twist ending, the stories were actually predictable after the first few. I enjoyed O. Henry’s writing style, though. Worth the read.

14. The Poison Belt (by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
A very short read (I read it in well less than 24 hours), but a very good story. It seems to dwell a bit more on philosophy and introspection than The Lost World (the other Sir Arthur Conan Doyle book I’ve read). I actually slightly preferred The Lost World to The Poison Belt. At any rate, a top-notch story!

Metallica and Philosophy – Irwin

I really enjoyed this book which explored some philosophical aspects of Metallica’s music and actions such as Nietzschean values seen in songs like Escape and Seek and Destroy, Foucault views on insanity and confinement seen in Sanitarium, Descarte’s mind and body relationship views and euthanasia in general regarding One, whether capital punishment like in Ride the Lightning can be justified and also things like Hetfield’s addiction to alcohol and whether or not Lars made a sound argument against Napster.

This book combined two of my biggest interests and explained philosophical ideas I was already familiar with very well. If you are a Metallica fan interested in the meanings behind songs but have never got into philosophy, then this is an ideal book for you.

10) gods in Alabama; Joshilyn Jackson, good
11) Run; Ann Patchett, good
12) The Secret Life of Bees; Sue Monk Kidd, excellent
13) The Shack; William P. Young, excellent

I breezed through this one within days. It was interesting, funny, poignant and very honest.

Jancee Dunn was a writer at Rolling Stone magazine and interviewed celebrities including Madonna, Barry White and a handful of rock stars during the pre-Nirvana and post-grunge hey day. She had a stint at MTV and shared several insights into the life of the rich and famous (Christina Aguilera is real, JT not so much).

In between exposes and revelations, she shared stories about her childhood, her close-knit family and a few failed relationships. In short, this book was a compulsive read, like flipping through the juiciest tabloid and reading the diary of a girl who got to live her wildest dreams. Inspiring!