books #124-170 (2008)

I was sure I was on track to read 200 books this year, but I guess the past 5 weeks in which I only read 5 books messed it up.

124. The Boat by Nam Le ****

125. If Today be Sweet by Thrity Umrigar ***

126. When We Get There by Shauna Seliy ****

127. And the Band Played On by Randy Shilts ****1/2

128. A Case of Exploding Mangoes by Mohammed Hanif ***1/2

129. Consequences by Penelope Lonely (audiobook) ***

130. Child of My Heart by Alice McDermott (audiobook) ***

131. The Secret Scripture by Sebastian Barry ***. The ending on this was just too unbelievable.

132. The Stone Gods by Jeanette Winterson ****

133. Back When We Were Grownups by Anne Tyler (audiobook) ***

134. Personal Days by Ed Park ***. It wasn't bad, but if you're only going to read one book set in a soulless office and written in first person plural, read Joshua Ferris' Then We Came to the End instead. I wasn't expecting there to be two books like that. I bet Ed Park was annoyed when he heard about TWCttE.

135. Tolstoy Lied by Rachel Kadish ***1/2

136. The Amazing Remarkable Monsieur Leotard by Eddie Campbell and Dan Best ***

137. The Private Lives of Pippa Lee by Rebecca Miller ***

138. Then She Found Me by Elizabeth von Arnim (audiobook) ***. I don't think this is much like the movie.

139. Before Green Gables by Budge Wilson ***1/2. I thought this was a pretty good prequel. Most things matched up with the original book, although there were a couple of things I would have expected to have been mentioned in the original if they'd happened. I'd never actually thought about how horrible three sets of twins would have been to look after.

140. Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery ****.

141. The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry ***1/2. This was fun.

142. The Tenderness of Wolves by Stef Penney ****1/2

143. Sickened by Julie Gregory ***.

144. Get it Done When You're Depressed by Julie A. Fast **1/2.

145. This Charming Man by Marian Keyes ***.

146. Heart, You Bully, You Punk by Leah Hager Cohen ***1/2. I was expecting this to be better. I would have loved it if the ending hadn't been awful.

147. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo ****. I read this because of Flea's review, in which she described sobbing her way through it. I cried my eyes out, too.

148. Love at Goon Park by Deborah Blum ****. This book made me think I should never have kids.

149. Loneliness by John T. Cacioppo and William Patrick ***. I was hoping for more advice on overcoming loneliness.

150. Netherland by Joseph O'Neill ***.

151. Novel About My Wife by Emily Perkins

152. When Will There Be Good News by Kate Atkinson ****1/2. There were several violently shocking moments in this book that made me curse Kate Atkinson for making me read murder mysteries, but I still love her writing.

153. The Book of Dahlia by Elisa Albert ***

154. Hurry Down Sunshine by Michael Greenberg ***1/2

155. Atmospheric Disturbances by Rivka Galchen ***

156. Home by Marilynne Robinson ****1/2. Gilead from another character's perspective. I liked it a lot better.

157. House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones ****. I wish I'd read more of her books when I was younger, but they're still great.

158. No Logo by Naomi Klein ***1/2

159. The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion (audiobook) ***1/2

160. Doomsday Book by Connie Willis ****. Someone (New Kid?) mentioned this as a comfort read and it was very enjoyable, so thanks!

161. Love is a Mix Tape: Life and Loss, One Song at a Time by Rob Sheffield ****. I wasn't expecting this to be so sad, but it was very good.

162. Refuse to Choose by Barbara Sher

163. The Good Thief by Hannah Tinti ***1/2

164. When You are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris (audiobook) ****. David Sedaris books are definitely ones that work as audiobooks.

165. Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan ****1/2. Excellent book (although disturbing enough to make it hard to believe it's really a YA book) and excellent cover.

166. Black Like Me by John Howard Griffin ***1/2.

167. She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb ***. It kept me interested, but in that trainwreck way that makes me feel icky and is typical of Oprah's book club books.

168.The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood ****1/2

169. The Lady and the Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier ***

170. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman ****1/2. This might be my new favourite Neil Gaiman book. I have to read The Jungle Book now.