Sonya's post reminded me about the year that was in books. I always mean to track in some way what I've read but I never follow through for very long. But of course, the Kindle makes that somewhat easier (in 2008 anyway) since all the books I read through that medium are still in my possession and must have been read in 2008. This is mostly from May onward when I got the Kindle but I included some I know I read shortly before that (plus Watchmen, which is the only book I've read on paper since then).

I'm not going to do any kind of review of them since this is mostly for me and I know what I thought but if you are interested in anything in particular ask away. The biggest recommendation in the bunch I'd make, though, is The Ascent of Money. It isn't a great piece of literature, but it is a great popular explanation of global finance and why/how it is the way it is. If you watch the news only understanding vaguely what they're talking about it would be a great informative read. If you watch the news understanding well what they are talking about (I'm closer to this end but still not all the way there) there is still plenty of good information.

1. The Accidental Time Machine by Joe Haldeman
2. After London by Richard Jefferies
3. The Age of American Unreason by Susan Jacoby
4. American Lightning: Terror, Mystery, Movie Making and the Crime of the Century by Howard Blum
5. American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meacham
6. As She Climbed Across the Table by Jonathan Lethem
7. The Ascent of Money: A Financial History of the World by Niall Ferguson
8. The Billionaire's Vinegar: The Mystery of the World's Most Expensive Bottle of Wine by Benjamin Wallace
9. The Black Hole War: My Battle with Stephen Hawking to Make the World Safe for Quantum Mechanics by Leonard Susskind
10. The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable by Nassim Nicholas Taleb
11. Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life by Steve Martin
12. By a Slow River by Phillipe Claudel
13. Christian Science by Mark Twain
14. City at the End of Time by Greg Bear
15. Cry Wolf by Patricia Briggs
16. The Curious Case of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
17. Don't Get Too Comfortable: The Indignities of Coach Class, the Torments of Low Thread Count, the Never Ending Quest for Artisanal Olive Oil, and Other First World Problems by David Rakoff
18. The Dreaming Void by Peter F. Hamilton
19. The Final Solution by Michael Chabon
20. The Final Confession of Mabel Stark by Robert Hough
21. For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
22. The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins
23. The Great Derangement: A Terrifying True Story of War, Politics, and Religion by Matt Taibbi
24. Isaac Newton by James Gleick
25. Me of Little Faith by Lewis Black
26. Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
27. Millennial Makeover: MySpace, YouTube, and the Future of American Politics by Morely Winograd and Michael D. Hais
28. The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan
29. Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson
30. Skinny Bitch by Kim Bornouin and Rory Freedman
31. Sky in a Bottle by Peter Pesic
32. A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon
33. Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach
34. Traffic: Why We Drive the Way We Do (And What It Says About Us) by Tom Vanderbilt
35. The Trial by Franz Kafka
36. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne
The Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer41. The War Within: A Secret White House History 2006-2008 by Bob Woodward
42. The Wettest County in the World: A Novel Based on a True Story by Matt Bondurant
43. Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons
44. When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris
45. The Wordy Shipmates by Sarah Vowell
46. The World Without Us by Alan Weisman

Hey Vince, you might want to check the integrity of your LJ account!! It seems at least one of your posts has disappeared!