Best of 2008: The Book Bloggers' Lists

 

I recently posted a list of 'Best Books of 2008'as chosen by some of the larger media outlets, but many readers noted they preferred bloggers' 'Best of' lists, which have started popping up recently.  I'm not quite ready to post my list, but I've been avidly checking out everyone else's lists.  This is usually where I get myself into trouble--adding new titles to my wishlist, buying ever more books, and generally messing up my own reading plans as I'm seduced by books that are certain to be excellent reads.  So, without further ado, here are some fellow bloggers' best reads of 2008:

Litlove has broken her favorites down into categories.   

Cornflower's nonfiction favorites and her fiction picks.

Somer's Best of 2008 choices.

Torque Control's Best Novels of 2008 according to SFX readers.

Sam's Top 15 Reads of 2008, which includes a list of fiction as well as nonfiction.

Harriet Devine has also broken her Best of 2008 list into categories as well (and I have to agree Alison Light's book was excellent).

Ted has already listed his favorite Fiction, Nonfiction, Short Fiction as well as best Young Adult Fiction and Sci Fi reads.     

John has shared his Best Short Story Collections of 2008, which will come in handy as I plan on concentrating less on individual stories next year and more on collections. 

Bluestalking Reader has shared her 2008 Wrap-Up.

BooksPlease has posted her Best Books of 2008 by choosing a favorite read of each month of the year. 

Sibylle's Best Reads of 2008 list contains many books that are already in my piles! 

 Elaine's Books of the Year 2008 includes several titles that I have had on my TBR pile and am determined to read in 2009!  And I must check out Patricia Wentworth, too, I see.

Rob's Favorites of 2008 include not only books but music and movies as well. 

Oxford Reader's Top Reads of 2008 is another list that mentions a few that I hope to read next year.

Check out Ella's list of books she Read, Reread, Forgot, Enjoyed, Hated and Adored in 2008 and  I heartily concur that Dodie Smith's I Capture the Castle is a wonderful read (must get it out and reread it sometime soon). 

Victoria's End of the Year Review includes favorites as well as a few reading statistics. 

Kimbofo's Best Reads of 2008 Part 1 and Part 2.  She always distills her thoughts down to such perfect little essences of each book, I usually want to give them all a try whether they would normally appeal to me or not.     

Dovegreyreader has chosen a dozen good reads: here, here, here, and here.     

Ana has chosen her top historical fiction reads.  I heartily concur with her choice of Catherine Delors' book! 

Katherine's Best reads of 2008 includes several titles I hope to get to in 2009. 

Marg's Best of 2008 has more juicy historical fiction finds.

International Noir Fiction's Best Crime Fiction Reads of 2008.  

Simon's Stuck in a Book's Books, which includes links back to his original posts. 

Hayden's Best Books of 2008. 

Melanie's Best of 08 includes a collection of short stories by Rosamond Lehmann--an author I said I would read her entire collection of work--I'll keep going next year (and will look for this Gipsy's Baby!). 

Kailana has shared her Best of 2008 historical reads. 

Musings of a Bookish Kitty's Year in Review.

Matt's Reading Wrap Up. 

Robin's 2008 Round Up.

Sassymonkey's Notable Books for 2008. 

A Life in Book's 2008: A Year in Review.

Dorothy's Best reading Experiences of 2008. 

Iliana's 2008 Favorites.    

Bookbath's 2008 Best of the Best.

Eva's 2008 Warap-Up.  (Oh, to read as many books as she can--just think how many NF books I could get through! :) )

Susan's Favorite Books.  (I really do need to read Rebecca West this year!).

Jenny's Year's End, 2008. 

Book Addiction's Top Reads. 

Ex Libris' 2008 in Retrospect. 

Carl's 2008: A Literary Year in Review.  (He always has the best illustrations to go with his posts!).    

Andi's Favorites of 2008.

Bloggin' 'bout Books' 2008: Year in Books. 

Krakovianki's Best Books of 2008. 

Tara's Best reads of 2008 . 

And I have to share Stefanie's 'anti' Top Ten List, which is made up of ten books she didn't get to read this year (I have a few of those myself...).

And don't worry, Stefanie shared her 2008: A Pretty Good Year, too! 

I'll be adding to this list as I come across more 'Best ofs'.  If you've already shared your list and I missed it, please let me know, and I'll add it here.  It's interesting to see where the media's lists and bloggers' lists cross paths (if indeed they do...).

Comments

[John]

I have a "best of short story collections" over at BookFox (thejohnfox.com).

[ted]

Great post, Danielle. I really enjoyed those and thanks for the link. I'm with you, I've been adding so many books to my list!

[Dorothy W.]

Very useful! I'm going to post a list when I get back from my Christmas trip, but there won't be many 2008 books on it -- just because most of the books I read are from earlier. I suppose that's one way bloggers' lists differ from critics' -- we're not necessarily trying to make a statement about the books published in the last year. And I really prefer to hear about older as well as newer books.

[Tara]

It's so great that you're compiling these! I cannot wait for YOURS!

[Danielle]

John--Thanks--I did see your list and meant to mark it, but I missed it somehow! I've been trying to read more short stories, so this is great!
Ted--I love seeing the variety of books people read, too! And if you have any other lists--I'll link those as well! :)
Dorothy--I think most of my favorites will likely be older books as well. I have read a few (maybe more than a few actually) books published this year, but I suspect they will be very different than the ones that have made the Best of lists the newspapers have chosen. I sort of like 'off the beaten path' types of books anyway.
Tara--I thought it only fair that I post on bloggers favorites since I listed all the other best of lists! I'll be sharing mine next week. And will watch for yours, too!

[BooksPlease]

I've just posted my "best of 2008". I couldn't pick the "best" book of 2008, so many were excellent.

[Danielle]

BooksPlease--Thanks. I won't be able to pick one favorite either, but can manage a list of favorites! I like your idea of choosing by month!

[litlove]

I love reading these lists and thank you so much for including mine! If only this didn't do such terrible things to my tbr pile!

[Sibylle]

Here's mine : http://heroineintraining.blogspot.com/2008/12/best-reads-of-2008.html
I think I'll be adding another book before the end of the year as I'm currently reading an excellent one as well.
I didn't comment on the list as I've been talking about these books everywhere on my journal.

[Stefanie]

so good of you to keep track of all the lists and to include my "anti" list! I look forward to your own best of list!

[Danielle]

Litlove--I've been discovering that I already have more than a few titles that are showing up on the lists--now I need to get around to reading them!
Sibylle--Thanks for giving me the link! I'm glad to see you have a blog again! :)
Stefanie--It's nice to have all the lists in one place--and you know how I love lists. I look forward to your real best of list, too!

[Elaine]

Thanks for mentioning my list Danielle and I always find blogger lists more interesting than the media and I take more note of them. I have mentioned re-reads as well which of course, book critics do not mention, and books which would not make such lists appear on bloggers. Lots here for me to click on. One visitor said that she would be using my list at her reading group which is a compliment of no mean order!
Here's to happy reading in 2009

[Danielle]

Elaine--I find many more books in common on these blogger lists than I do with the lists from newspapers. Critics tend to just pay attention to the recently released books, but lately I find I read far more older books than newer and I get my ideas from other bloggers (like you recent mention of Patricia Wentworth--I'm waiting on her first two books to come in the mail!). And I also look at your sidebar lists of books, too, and get many ideas there!